[1997-04-08-JWP] Dynamite Kansai vs Hikari Fukuoka

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

The work here is fantastic, but this is a tough crowd. They stubbornly work a great match and do everything they can to draw the people in, but Kansai has to throw Fukuoka around like a ragdoll to even get a polite "ohhh" on a nearfall. It's a shame, because it's worked like a big main event - with moments clearly designed to be memorable, including a huge conquering-of-the-odds layout - and some really top notch dramatic selling from Fukuoka. But the emotional response just isn't there until the last minute or so of the match. That they got anything at all from them is a surprise, to be honest. This would come across as a classic with a more responsive crowd, but as it stands, it just comes across as a really great match … even if I'm not quite sure what I think about a standing moonsault as a wrestling move.

[soup23]

Crowd did suck but I was enchanted with the work. Great storytelling from Kansai and her strikes looked vicious here. Kansai is one of my favorite joshi workers I have seen. The emotional impact of the win really resonated with me and I did like the two double stomp moonsaults as the finish.

[PeteF3]

Really good, simple, and well-laid-out big vs. little, champ vs. underdog match--another Joshi for People Who Hate Joshi special, as they work a meat-and-potatoes match based all around simple spots, Kansai being a dominant aggressor, and Fukuoka trying to play hit and run to avoid Kansai's kicks. And after so many teases with lower-ranked wrestlers taking the champ/ace to the limit, it was refreshing to see the challenger come through for once. That said, the atmosphere admittedly does hurt this, as this is a big title match and worked like one, but comes off as very mid-card in terms of crowd reaction and overall setting.

[Zenjo]

The classic battle of speed vs power. Fukuoka was a flashy high flier who had solid fundamentals as well. I'd say Itsuki Yamazaki from the 80's was her closest comparison. It was in a way a changing of the guard moment with Fukuoka climbing to the top of the mountain and becoming JWP champion. Dyno was still good, but now past her peak. As it would turn out Kansai's career went on a fair bit longer than Hikari's did.

 

The match improved in quality the longer it went. It was laid out as a big title match and well executed. The champion had most of the offence, but the challenger survived everything thrown at her. A strong finish saw Fukuoka nail a pair of Moonsault Footstomps to realise her dream. Damn that move looks painful. Emotional scenes in the aftermath.