[1994-06-03-AJW-Grand Prix] Manami Toyota vs Sakie Hasegawa

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

One thing I will say about Toyota working the mat is that she is so ridiculously flexible that it makes it easier to get over the submissions. Her matches don't always play that up, but this match definitely does.

 

This match is laid out really well, but in a way that surprises me at first based on what I've seen from Hasegawa. I'm used to seeing her as the lovable underdog. She is the aggressor for the first few minutes of this, and after getting stretched like a pretzel for a while, Toyota has enough and gets pissed off, slapping her around a few times and really showing her who is boss on the mat. Eventually, they settle into a groove that is more like what we've seen from them before, but without many of the excesses that annoy Toyota haters much of the time.

 

They did an excellent job of making this match feel different from Hotta/Yamada on the same show, while still working a match primarily around holds. That's not usually what you get from Toyota, and for her to not only do it, but also do it on a show with other mat-heavy matches and still make the match feel unique, is impressive. I enjoy Hasegawa, but in this match, Toyota is the star. It's one people should point to when making the case for her as a great wrestler. The Hasegawa upset was a huge surprise and a great moment.

 

Something good in the water on 6/3/94.

[Kevin Ridge]

Toyota being all bendable like that did do a lot for those submission attempts and this did have a different feel compared to the other stuff I've seen of hers. I think my lack of Joshi knowledge hurts the significance of this upset. I can see from Hasegawa's reaction that this means a lot to her and I do enjoy when wrestlers shoe excitement about wins but overall I barely know enough about her to feel as strongly.

[Exposer]

This was really good. It was a unique start as Hasegawa was the one folding Toyota on the mat like a pretzel for the first several minutes. Which, by the way all looked brutal because of Toyota's athleticism and flexibility. Toyota starts screaming and then proceeds to do the same to Hasegawa. As the match progressed, Toyota continued to do extraordinary athletic spots. The finishing run was pretty great and the Sakie win was unexpected and a great moment.

[soup23]

Very good match also. Didn't like the structure of this as much as the previous match but it may have had a better ending and it was extremely rewarding seeing Hasegawa get the big win.

[PeteF3]

I liked this way more than the kickfest before, as this was much like a classic JWP match combining deliberate matwork with some advanced suplexes and dives toward the end. One of the best "reigned in" singles Toyota performances since the early part of the decade when she was trying to tear apart Hokuto's knee. Hasegawa provides some way cool holds and even cooler counterholds, and then scores a pin at the end! Wow, didn't see that coming. The second counter of the JOCS was perfectly timed, as after Sakie countered it once it looked for sure like Toyota was going to hit it the second go-round, but Hasegawa finds another way out.

[ohtani's jacket]

This wasn't overly special. I was hoping for a match in the same vein as the Ito or Kandori bouts, but Hasegawa didn't have the same skill set as those workers. Outside of her throws and kicking game there wasn't a whole lot to her. Her early submission work only looked good because of Toyota's flexibility and she was erratic in the way she switched holds. Toyota by contrast was much more focused with her submission work. Everything she did looked nastier and more painful, highlighting the difference in class between the two wrestlers. I'm not sure why Hasegawa is so popular on this site as I don't find her that compelling. There's plenty of girls who try hard in Joshi and a great many of them are charismatic. I suppose Hasegawa's wrestling style was a point of difference from other young underdogs, but I thought she was still quite raw here. On the plus side, I enjoyed the stretch run and some of Hasegawa's counters were nifty. I can see the argument for this being a "reigned in" Toyota performance, but Toyota often worked small scale league matches this way so it wasn't a change of pace as far as I was concerned. I liked the way Toyota sold the loss. One of her more underrated qualities is her post and pre-match selling. She often gets overshadowed by the larger personalities in Joshi, but she was a fine actress in her own right.

[Zenjo]

That was exciting! Quintessential AJW style action with both bringing their A game. High workrate with a spritely feel. I liked the occasional nods to familiarity in this growing rivalry. Hasegawa went after the back early on, but didn't cause much damage as Toyota was so flexible. There was a really nice little moment when Sakie found herself on the receiving end a few minutes later.

 

Now from time to time the AJW TV show would show features where the wrestlers were engaged in training. One particular occasion in the early 90's there was a clip of Hasegawa sitting down on the ground in the split legged position. One of the trainers then leaned on her back and pushed her upper body all the way to the ground. She was in agony and crying out in pain!

 

Fast forward a few years and she's in that exact same position when Toyota goes and stomps her face right into the mat. She sold it, but it didn't hurt much anymore. Seeing short term pain and hard work being rewarded in the long run is always immensely satisfying. It was a totally unimportant event in the context of the match, but was one of those little moments that make being a long time fan so rewarding.

 

As the match progressed the underdog psychology came more into play. They got the fans believing in the upset, and it really did happen. Great finish as Toyota had her up for the JOCS before BANG the kick and 1,2,3. Sakie continues to level up with her biggest win to date.