[1997-03-14-FMW] Megumi Kudo vs Shinobu Kandori (No Ropes Barbed Wire)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Childs]

This wasn't quite as harrowing as their January match, but they did plenty of whips into the barbed wire and bled a bunch. They made pretty good use of the format. I liked Kudo reaching for a rope break as Kandori torqued on the ankle lock, only to realize she couldn't because she didn't want to grab barbed wire. The visual of Kudo doing a tope over the wire also looked cool. Apparently, this rivalry grabbed me, because I was pretty psyched when Kudo put Kandori away with a last, desperate flurry.

[Loss]

I'm really enjoying this rivalry. Kudo is the best in Joshi at pacing a match and building to big moments. There is palpable hate here, and they milk everything for maximum drama. Great moments here, one of which is the hesitation over reaching for the ropes that Childs mentioned. I also like the limb work focus in Kandori's offense. Kandori looks tough as hell for continuing to get up despite everything Kudo throws at her, and Kudo looks great for conquering such a strong foe. This was behind the January match, but only barely.

[soup23]

I preferred this to the January match and loved how they played off the pace and action of that match in this one. You know these girls can have a wild brawl so the only thing to contain them is a barbed wire environment. They play into the barbed wire shots and then once they start using it, the violence and chaos ensues. Smart psychology was sprinkled in like the aforementioned grabbing of the ropes spots. Splendid match with satisfying finish for Kudo.

[Kevin Ridge]

Wearing a tie in a barbed wire match is gutsy. My mind went off on why wrestlers don’t try to put the breaks on when Irish whipped in regular matches. After the initial teases, match gets going very well. Kudo with a huge dive over the barbed wire to outside. Lots of blood. Plenty of wrestling moves with pinfalls/submissions but also using the barbed wire. It was balanced well. Very good match.

[PeteF3]

Very good build to this, as they smartly find ways to avoid the barbed wire and make you wait for a payoff. I thought the first January match started out super-hot and then started to peter out towards a memorable finish, while this started slow--albeit by design--before building properly to the climax. So in that regard, it's hard to say which one I liked better. I think this is just the second time I've seen Kandori eat a pin, so it felt like a pretty monumental accomplishment for Kudo, as it came off a run of harrowing near-falls and required a pretty horrifying Kudo Driver to (basically) end it.

[Jingus]

Is Megumi Kudo quite possibly the single greatest barbed-wire worker of all time? She didn't have that many of those, but every time she nailed it with both airtight psychology and brutally epic spectacle. Terry Funk is the only person I can think of offhand who has a better run of wired matches; but some of those were SO violent and nasty that they become actively unpleasant to watch, which is a problem that I don't think Kudo ever had.

 

My mind went off on why wrestlers don't try to put the breaks on when Irish whipped in regular matches.

I've heard lots of people complain that particular spot is illogical. I think I can justify it thusly: being Irish whipped is usually a pretty neutral position in a wrestling match. Half the time, the whip-ee ends up coming back with their own move or reversal anyway. Being whipped isn't something to be feared in normal circumstances (unless it's being done by Stan Hansen, and he just now adjusted his elbow pad, in which case it's I Hope I'm Wearing Very Dark Pants time).

 

But, in a barbed wire match? You're not just gonna bounce off the wire and come back with a casual counter-move. Well, that happens occasionally as a Fighting Spirit~! hope spot, but not often. Usually you just hit the wire and STAY there, shrieking "OWWIE OW OW MOTHERFUCKER OW!!!" Hell, you might even be shoot-stuck there, caught on a barb (or worse, some barbs) and not wanting to move until you gingerly remove the sharp pointy steel from your gear/hair/flesh/whatever.

 

So it makes total sense to me that, in kayfabe terms, the wrestlers are paying much more attention to their ring positioning in a barbed wire match than in ordinary bouts. Small mistakes in one's gameplan can suddenly have much larger, much more painful consequences than in regular everyday wrestling. So they're taking a way more defensive approach than normal, constantly on the lookout for any attempt by their opponent to send them into the wire. In such a paranoid and nervous mindset, they're capable of making micro-adjustments in midstream; even though you'd never even try to just sandbag and collapse on an Irish whip in the middle of most matches, this is one situation where such an unusual action is warranted.

[Zenjo]

The third and final match in this outstanding rivalry. Kudo is the perfect sympathy babyface. Badass Kandori has no problem fitting into the role of heel when required. The LLPW invader dominated the early stages. Megumi fought back and it was a surprisingly even contest. The hardcore environment gave the FMW star home advantage. Both women bled more than a little. They also made dramatic usage of the barbed wire ropes. Running the ropes is suddenly a far less attractive proposition. In the end MK proved herself once more as Queen of the Death Match. Very well worked and a worthy follow up to their January classic.

[Tim Evans]

I don't know why I thought that was Toyoda before realising it was Kandori but I did. I liked how Kandori brough in wire cutters just to enter the ring while Kudo just went underneath. There was a lot of smart use of the wire.They fough for a while before Kudo gets sent into it. I haven't seen the other two matches these two had but kinda want to now. Kudo gets destroyed but then makes a big comeback. She damn near kills Kandori with a cop killah for the finish. Good bloody match.

[Mr JMML]

Kandori won in December 1996 and Megumi wanted her win back, this match was a part of Kudo’s retirement tour, she announced her retirement in 1996 after the retirement of Combat Toyoda the same year, I reviewed her retirement match two days ago if you want to know more about it. This match is better than the 1996 one, is way more compelling and interesting to watch Megumi’s performance is awesome, she looked great representing the company, she’s the best woman of the roster by far and I can confidently say that at this point in FMW history she was the best wrestler of the company regardless of gender. Shinobu Kandori is always tough she never gives up when she wrestles I have the sense that you have to knock her out to win and she will always go down swinging, she has an amazing attitude in the ring, I don’t know about anyone who doesn’t get her, as I said in my previous review she is the best ‘‘big match wrestler ever’’ along with workers like Sangre Chicana, people with the best matches without having the best careers.

The match itself played out as you could expect from any FMW barbed wire match, they put over the dangerous nature of the stipulation, the first one to make contact with the barbed wire was Megumi, Kandori cut open Kudo’s forehead which resulted in her bleeding profusely, then Kandori had the displeasure of being in contact with the wire, Megumi took advantage of this by cutting her forehead the same way she did it to her. The final stretch consisted of a few near falls and tense moments before Kudo hit a lariat for the three count.

I’d recommend this match to everyone who likes the promotion, it’s a match that only FMW could do.