[1994-03-27-AJW-Wrestling Queendom] Aja Kong & Bull Nakano vs Akira Hokuto & Shinobu Kandori

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Well, that was quite the rollercoaster. Where do I begin? I don't think I can review this match and do it justice, but I want to try my best.

 

Kong just wipes the mat with Hokuto to start. Hokuto makes a comeback, and ends up tagging in Kandori with a slap to the face! Kandori says two can play that game, and that's how they end up tagging each other in and out through most of the match. Aja and Bull realize the dissension and act as the ultimate opportunists. An opening is created for Aja to try to take Hokuto out, which she does with a nasty vertical suplex on a ringside table and a series of piledrivers back in the ring. We all know the history with Hokuto's neck and they are pretty obviously playing on it.

 

Hokuto eventually fights back from this, and you just think if she would tag Kandori, they could work well together as a team. But she seems intent on fighting this battle alone, to a point where I'm just begging this idiot to tag Kandori in, but it seems like her pride will be her downfall. Hokuto doesn't stand a chance against these two, but she keeps on fighting anyway, even getting in her own shots that are probably the result of her stubbornness and instincts as much as anything else. She insists on doing things her way. Her emotions are overtaking her. When she takes Aja outside to do the piledriver on the table, it has nothing to do with winning the match or regaining control, and everything to do with getting back at Aja for the suplex spot. It backfires against her. She's in Kong's domain and is getting decimated on the floor. Kandori decides Hokuto is hopeless, but she doesn't like Bull, so she figures she might as well go into business for herself. She ends up fighting Bull back to the entrance. After things settle down, Hokuto is getting tended to by trainers. Kandori decided Hokuto made her bed, and she won't even look her way to see if she's okay.

 

To this point, Aja and Bull have worked together as a team, but they haven't really been taking this match as personally as Hokuto. But Hokuto taking liberties on Kong pissed them off, so now, they're going after Hokuto's knee, which was shattered a few months earlier and is still taped up. Hokuto is her own worst enemy, because she angers people who have a level of respect for her into wanting to beat the hell out of her because she's so frustrating.

 

Kandori is now trying to fight the good fight on her own. She applies a cross armbreaker to Kong and Bull climbs to the top rope to save her teammate. At first, Hokuto just casually looks on, but then she seems to have this "What am I doing?" epiphany moment and comes to her partner's rescue. She gets brutalized for a few minutes on her own, and she and Kandori are both being systematically destroyed by this well-oiled machine. In an amazing moment, she gets to her feet and distracts Kong *just* long enough for Kandori to apply a sleeper. Yay, they're working as a team! Yay, the match is turning the tide! Not quite so fast. You forget that Bull Nakano is still very much in this fight and is RIGHT THERE. All she has to do is casually strike Kandori to turn the tide back in their favor.

 

Now it's Hokuto's turn again to get destroyed. Kandori tries desperately to help her, and ends up making a big mistake, going for a tope on Bull on the floor, but ends up eating air. Hokuto seems beaten, but she somehow finds a way to always do one *tiny* thing that ensures her survival at the exact right moment. Sometimes it's skill, sometimes it's intelligence and sometimes it's just luck. I'm not sure what this moment was, but taking a small step to the side saves her from quite the onslaught.

 

Bull and Aja aren't stupid and realize that while they're in control, Hokuto still has some fight in her. From there on, their strategy seems to be a simple one: keep Kandori isolated and finish the job on Hokuto. But it's not as effective since now -- finally -- the two are on the same page. They could have saved themselves so much trouble had they been from the beginning. So the only question now if it's too little too late. They are tagging in and out so quickly. Neither can take a beating very long if they have any chance of winning this thing, but at the same time, neither has enough left to fight for very long. After Hokuto does a somersault plancha to Bull on the floor, Kandori neutralizes Kong in the ring and literally hands her off to Hokuto to finish the job. But she can't! You think you've seen this nice moment that you can wrap up in a bow, and then you remember that Aja and Bull haven't taken nearly the punishment and it's going to take more than that. That kickout was brilliant. Hokuto finally hits the ARC and gets the win for her team in the most triumphant conquering of the odds in wrestling history. It was incredible storytelling that saw Kandori and especially Hokuto mature emotionally when faced with a conflict.

 

Dreamslam between Hokuto and Kandori is such a key piece of the puzzle, but I think they topped themselves here. This is the best example I have ever seen of working a storyline into a match. I am putty in the hands of these four. They are smarter than me and know more about wrestling than I could ever hope to know. This is art. It's also the best match of the decade for me at this point. Only the '96 tag final is in the same conversation.

[FLIK]

Dreamslam between Hokuto and Kandori is such a key piece of the puzzle, but I think they topped themselves here. This is the best example I have ever seen of working a storyline into a match.

Since you're more familiar with those involved now and know more of the context I think you'd really enjoy the 2 Aja vs Hokuto matches in 93 & 94 and the Bull & Hokuto partnership that split off into the Bull vs Hokuto resepect feud that led back into the Bull & Hokuto partnership in late 91 & 92. Those 2 angles along with the formation of LCO tell a big part of Hokuto's story and add even more depth to matches like this one.

 

Also worth pointing out that Hokuto only wrestled on 3 shows in 94 with it being thought that she might retire so they treated every one of them as a super big deal and Big Egg being built around her.

[Loss]

Could you provide dates on all of those matches that fill in the gaps? I want to ensure that they all make whatever supplemental set we put together. Thanks.

[FLIK]

It's funny to look back on AJW and see how deep the booking was at times. Back when I used to cherry pick random big shows and watch them out of order it was easy to miss a lot of stuff.

 

You can take something starting in early like 1990 Bull becoming top dog with Aja as her high ranking cronie and then trace it to Aja & Bison spliting off to form their own group and feud with Bull. Kyoko rises up to become Bull's new #2 in the war. Kyoko gets her big singles push in mid to late 91, wins the JGP and challenges Bull. Still reamins part of Bull's group and friendly with her but kind of breaks away from teaming with her on a reg basis. Late 91 Hokuto takes Kyoko's spot as Bull's new BFF. Early 92 Kyoko & Hokuto become rivals which last throuout the year. Eventually the Bull/Hokuto friendship splits off into a feud in mid 92 and Hokuto forms her own stable. At the same time Aja starts teaming with Kyoko when Bison goes out with an injury. Then FMW invades a show to kick off the interpromotional era leading to Bull & Hokuto reforming their team to take on the invaders and Bull & Hokuto vs Kudo & Combat being the 1st interpromotional match. And finally all of the above paying off with Aja beating Bull after a 2 year chase to take over as the new ACE just in time for the interpromotional war to really kick into high gear and a new era to start.

 

Could you provide dates on all of those matches that fill in the gaps? I want to ensure that they all make whatever supplemental set we put together. Thanks.

The Aja vs Hokuto matches

 

10/9/93 which was supposed to be for the 3WA title but Hokuto is too injured so ask for it to be made a non title match before the bell. She guts things out but her leg is shot. Always memorable to me because they show backstage footage of Hokuto getting pain killers injected into her knee when she gets to the back.

 

11/20/94 Built around Hokuto trying to take out Aja's leg this time. Considered to be Hokuto's consolation prize for not getting the 3WA she got to win the V-Top tournament. Aja even gives her the belt post match if i'm remembering correctly. Only as a gesture of course with Aja still remaining champ.

They had another singles in 91 which isn't particularly memorable or important beyond just being a random good match at the time.

 

The Hokuto/Bull/LCO stuff

 

12/1/90 - fits into the same catagory as the 91 Aja match. Good match from what aired (only 6 or so mins) but not really important otherwise

 

1/4/91 3WA title match - amazingly great match

 

5/26/91 (2 out of 3 Falls) Bull & Bat vs Hokuto & Sakie - Bull & Hokuto basicly showing off beating up each others young girls. It didn't last long but Sakie was actually a heel and part of Bull's stable at one point previous to this.

 

8/18/1991 Suzuka Minami & Etsuko Mita vs Bull Nakano & Akira Hokuto - 1st time Bull & Hokuto really team up. They beat the snot out of Hokuto's former tag partner Suzuka & Future cronie Mita.

 

Bull & Hokuto teamed up in the tag league that year with the notable stand out match being 12/91 vs Aja & Bison in the finals.

 

3/15/92 Bull vs Hokuto - Real good not quite great match.

 

3/20/92 Hokuto vs Takako - Squash match for Hokuto. Bull's cronies Bat & Watanabe are working as 2nds for Hokuto but post match Hokuto recruits Mita to be her cronie giving birth to what would become LCO. Same show has a Bull vs Kyoko singles match.

 

7/15/92 (CMLL Women's title) Bull vs Hokuto - Bull had kinda ran through the roster by this point so having her defend the CMLL title for a while instead of the 3WA gave her some fresh stuff to do and let them recycle challengers while they held off on the title change until the big show at the end of the year. Kyoko & Watanabe are Bull's 2nds for this. Hokuto only has Mita so Shimoda comes into the ring pre match and begs to join Hokuto's team which she reluctantly agrees to making LCO complete. All 4 of the 2nds end up getting involved in the match later on & fighting with each other. Hokuto also has injured ribs during the match which plays into the finish. Bull hits her with the moonsault her most powerful finisher, Mima & Mita run in to protect Hokuto from any further damage and the DR stops the match. Hokuto's in tears post match, Bull tells her to fuck off. Probably their 2nd best match after their 1/91 title bout

 

Same show has Aja & Kyoko vs Yamada & Toyota for the tag titles. Since Bison is injured Aja's allowed to pick anyone to replace her and request Kyoko which surprises everyone, including Kyoko who'd allready wrestled earlier vs Terri Power in an All Pacific Title match. Post match Shark Tsuchiya & Crusher from FMW invaded to issue an open challenge and start shit, Bull runs down and chaos errputs.

 

7/30/1992 (Cage Match) Bull vs Hokuto - Hokuto wins, only the 3rd match Bull had lost in 2 years with the only other person who'd beaten her at that point being Aja.

 

8/15/1992 (Fuji TV Tag Tournament Final) Bull Nakano & Aja vs Yamada & Hokuto - This got covered on the 92 set

 

8/30/1992 Bull, Hotta & Suzuka vs LCO - one of the best matches of the year.

 

9/19/1992 in FMW Kudo & Combat vs Bull & Hokuto - Great match, super hot crowd

 

11/2/1992 Aja & Kyoko vs Bull & Hokuto - also on the 92 set

 

There's other stuff too but that's most of the important bits as far as getting the angle over goes.

[Loss]

Cool, thanks!

[NintendoLogic]

So do you no longer consider the Dream Rush tag to be the greatest match of all time?

[jdw]

It's also the best match of the decade for me at this point. Only the '96 tag final is in the same conversation.

That seems to be the answer, except...

 

"Whatever I write won't do it justice. It's far and away the best match of the year, and is possibly the best match of all time."

-Feb 16 2011, 08:50 PM on the 96 Tag League Final

 

"And there it is, the best match of all time from where I sit."

-Loss, Sep 2 2011, 12:06 PM on Dream Rush

 

So he did like Dream Rush more when he watched it after the 96 RWTL Final.

 

But he also mentioned that at the end of the process he'd go back to rewatch the top of the top to figure out where they fit for him.

 

John

[Loss]

So do you no longer consider the Dream Rush tag to be the greatest match of all time?

It's still in the discussion, but most likely not.

[NintendoLogic]

I liked this match, but not nearly as much as Loss. One the one hand, just about any match with both Aja Kong and Shinobu Kandori is going to be worthwhile. On that note, I still haven't seen anything that indicates that Bull was better than Aja. But this has the same problems that plague most joshi matches: terrible submission work, crappy transitions, and little or no long-term selling. Beyond that, I couldn't really muster any sympathy for Hokuto due to her being such an unlikable bitch.

[Childs]

The story of Hokuto and Kandori learning to work together, out of dire necessity, certainly carried this to a high level. That and Hokuto's gift for showing her spirit by fighting through absolute hell (I can't help but picture Toyota and how easy her comebacks would have seemed by comparison.) There was some dopey shit that took me out of the match, like Kandori and Nakano's jog to the entrance and Aja hitting five straight piledrivers without it seeming like that big a deal. That stuff would keep it out of a MOTD discussion for me. But it was a classic wrestling story played out to great effect.

[FLIK]

and Aja hitting five straight piledrivers without it seeming like that big a deal

Piledrivers in joshi have never been a big deal ever so you're looking for something that doesn't really exist in this case.

[Kevin Ridge]

Here we go. Hokuto and Kandori don’t seem to be the best of friends. I like the beating Hokuto takes outside the ring. They sure do make those tables sturdy in Japan. Don’t like the five piledrivers as much. Was that move just not protected at all in Japan? I know she didn’t try to pin Hokuto but what was the point of even doing those five piledrivers in a row.

 

Great segment with Hokuto and Aja just slapping each other back and forth and Hokuto wins. Another piledriver on a table outside which doesn’t break. Kandora runs Nakano down the very long entrance ramp. That was silly.

 

Hokutu and Kandori are great taking their beatings and Aja and Bull are complete monsters. Picks up a lot towards the end and the last few minutes are very enjoyable. Felt too unorganized at times and lot of repetition of moves. Cut a few minutes off and it’s a better match for me.

[ohtani's jacket]

Hadn't watched this in a long time. God it took forever. If they'd trimmed the fat it really would have been one of the greatest matches of all time instead of an overwrought epic.

[Childs]

and Aja hitting five straight piledrivers without it seeming like that big a deal

Piledrivers in joshi have never been a big deal ever so you're looking for something that doesn't really exist in this case.

 

I know, and I never would have thought twice about it if Aja had only hit one or two. But I felt she was trying to make a point (I guess about Hokuto's neck) by hitting five in a row. Hokuto's performance didn't pay off that particular point for me, strong as it was overall. Kandori running Bull down the ramp irritated me a lot more.

[Matt D]

Dreamslam between Hokuto and Kandori is such a key piece of the puzzle, but I think they topped themselves here. This is the best example I have ever seen of working a storyline into a match. I am putty in the hands of these four. They are smarter than me and know more about wrestling than I could ever hope to know. This is art. It's also the best match of the decade for me at this point. Only the '96 tag final is in the same conversation.

So. high praise doesn't even begin to cover this. I've seen 0, nada, zilch, ajw. I kind of want to see all of this stuff, but I'd forever be worried that I was missing nuance and context due to the language barrier.

[FLIK]

I've seen 0, nada, zilch, ajw. I kind of want to see all of this stuff, but I'd forever be worried that I was missing nuance and context due to the language barrier.

Eh, not knowing Japanese isn't really an issue but I do think ppl would get a lot more out of matches like these if they watched more of the stuff leading up to it to get a better idea of who the ppl involved are, what is and isn't important that they do and why.

 

This particular match is the blow off of a year + long angle between Hokuto & Kandori + has the added subtext of all the history between Hokuto/Aja, Hokuto/Bull and Aja/Bull.

 

You absolutely can still enjoy this match going in cold as it's quite great as a stand alone affair, but yeah, even better when you know the backstory.

[MJH]

Going into a match cold or 'not understanding the history' is so overplayed, but it's true of anything: the more you know and understand the wrestlers, the company, the feuds, etc., the more the matches will resonate with you.

[Matt D]

It seems like a hell of a payoff, but I'm not sure if I'm up to handling the learning curve right now.

[FLIK]

Going into a match cold or 'not understanding the history' is so overplayed,

Well yeah, my basic point really just boils down to it not being necesary but helping a lot.

 

but I'm not sure if I'm up to handling the learning curve right now.

Heh, it's not that hard. Joshi's it's own thing but it's not THAT diffrent then other styles of wrestling. Like OJ said in the "joshi for ppl that don't like joshi" thread, the easiest way is just to dive in and start watching until you start to pick up on how things work.

 

In regards to this specific match, while there is a lot of history, there's only maybe 4 or 5 essential matches that make up the bulk of the Hokuto/Kandori backstory so not a ton to cover if you were inclined to.

[Matt D]

If I was going to go for it, I'd go gung ho. As many matches as possible. I'm used to watching EVERYTHING available when I watch something. Obviously I wouldn't do that here, but I'd watch anything I thought would enhance the end product. What's the point of doing it half way if it's as good as the op says.

[ohtani's jacket]

I don't think they pay off the Hokuto/Kandori storyline particularly well. The match is four different match-ups happening at the same time and not very well laid out. The first Hokuto/Kandori match was perfect and didn't need to be expanded upon. Hokuto won but learnt her lesson at the same time. This match was kind of messy like it didn't know whether it was about the bitter regret about Hokuto's pending retirement or a resolution between the heat between Kandori and Hokuto or both, but really Hokuto should have moved on from being a bitch to Kandori. I don't think that aspect worked well at all. But more than that it just doesn't play out in the ring that well. Aja and Bull are unfocused in their attack and there isn't the heat segments you'd expect that deal with the uneasy Hokuto/Kandori alliance. You kind of expect them to go all FIP on Hokuto or something and it never really happens. The abuse she sustains is the abuse she sustained in every match. The part where Kandori finally starts acting like a partner to Hokuto didn't have much effect and the whole thing seemed like they were just winging a long match. I'm kind of down on all wrestling atm, but that's how I felt about it a decade or so after the last time I watched it.

[Exposer]

Hokuto's performance is one of the best in wrestling history. Aja is a lethal weapon in this so many times. That first kick to Kandori's head, those yuricans to Hokuto, and that goddamn suplex on the table. A lot of that came with the dissension between Hokuto and Kandori. It gave Aja and Bull the opportunities to annihilate the two. Bull took some crazy bumps in this including a lunatic tope where Kandori moved and Bull just vanished from sight. The finish was awesome and one of the best ever. This is one for the ages.

[soup23]

I think really great matches are able to tell the meat of the story in one match. Knowing the context of all the workers is icing on the cake. I am a huge joshi novice but I have seen Dreamslam so I knew Kandori/Hokuto were enemies. I also knew Bull/Aja didn't exactly have the most rosy past. I thought this match was really tremendous and seem to side with Loss and Exposer more than the naysayers. There was not a prolonged working the body part segment or heat segment in this match but the story crafted was so well done. Kandori doing her first normal tag in at 30 minutes was incredible. Hokuto deciding to be a little less stubborn was moving and them working together to fend off the monster team of Bull/Aja was perfect. Bull and Aja were no slouches in this either as they had to dish out the punishment and remain menacing for this to be effective. The strikes they used looked great and I thought the submissions were tight also. A true classic match that I was glad to watch for the first time.

[PeteF3]

Okay, so I heard the words "final countdown," a la Inoki, during the intros, so I get the Hokuto retirement tease thing. Other than that, was there a storyline explanation for why she and Kandori were teaming? Just curious.

 

So anyway, Dream Rush was the best match I'd ever seen, and this by comparison...well, gosh, I'm going to have to at least think about it. Hokuto and Kandori are facing possibly the longest odds in the history of wrestling--they hate each other (somewhere a certain young WWF Magazine editor is--oh, wait, I used that reference already) and Bull & Aja, despite an old rivalry in their own right, have been doing a lot more teaming than feuding of late, and they're the two most dominant women in the sport. Naturally neither Akira nor Shinobu gives a shit about the other's well-being, at least first, and it leads to both women getting the shit kicked out of them. Any attempts to fight back are met with more hate and hostility, climaxing when Aja brutalizes Hokuto on the announcer's table--at this point the audio goes out and the announcers are rendered silent, adding to the chaotic nature of things. The Odd Couple team gets brief moments of control but continually fuck themselves over through their own bickering and lack of cohesiveness. The turning point to when they finally start acting as a team is carried out pretty brilliantly. Kandori is trying to lock on a cross armbreaker and Bull leaps off with the guillotine legdrop to break it up, but Kandori manages to dodge it anyway (way cool spot). Hokuto then runs in and clamps on an octopus hold to neutralize Bull. But things aren't rosy between the two yet--moments later Bull tries another saving guillotine legdrop, this time on Hokuto, and Kandori won't return the favor by helping her. Finally things reach a permanent turning point with another awesome spot, as Kandori and Hokuto catch Aja (I think--maybe it was Bull) as she goes for a lariat or uraken or something and take her down into a combination wakigatame/STF, before Bull quickly breaks it up and NOW these two teams are on equal footing--from a teamwork standpoint, if not a fatigue standpoint. Just a fabulous combination of blending inventive spots with the overarching story. Now Kandori starts using her judo chokes that Aja seemingly has no defense for, while also getting Bull to take herself out on an ill-advised tope attempt. Hokuto gets the Northern Lights bomb...but Bull saves in a heart-stopping moment. Kandori neutralizes Bull yet again, now practically encouraging her former enemy to go for the win. Another Northern Lights bomb gets...two. I'm dead tired and in a lousy mood for other reasons and I'm still almost jumping out of my chair at this point. Then Aja gets a last tease of her own, because she's still the WWWA Champ and hasn't eaten a fall in God knows how long. But it doesn't last, and a THIRD Northern Lights bomb finally gets the seemingly impossible pin.

 

Yeah, that's one of the greatest psychological masterpieces you'll ever see. More psychologically sound than Dream Rush, if I may say so--that was so compelling because it was such a heated war between two promotions trying to outdo the other. This was just as compelling for completely different reasons. That was great from a physicality standpoint but this may well have been "deeper" (and it's not like they were taking it easy physically here). In a way, AJW booking has been about as conservative as All-Japan, in terms of hierarchy and who does jobs to whom, and when. Hokuto pinning Aja barely sounded conceivable in a one-on-one setting, much less with an antagonistic partner against Aja *and* her only legitimate peer. For her to do it under *these* circumstances was something special indeed. I figured going into this set that I could write 6/3 in for MOTY in ink and figure out which match was 2nd place afterward. Now that's out the window--I anxiously await getting to compare these two in-depth.