[2000-11-23-AJW-Fusion] Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Kumiko Maekawa vs Kaoru Ito & Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi (Cage)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Graham Crackers]

This was a wild scene but only a few of these girls were decent brawlers. Takahashi and Nakanishi in particular just don't do it for me. Escape the cage is a weird stipulation for a team match but I felt like it worked better here than it has in other matches like this as the attempts to block escape from the outside were more violent and reckless. I didn't hate this but I've seen much better joshi from 2000.

[ohtani's jacket]

This was every bit as good as I remembered. I'm sick to death of LCO but when their matches are good they tend to be MOTYC level good. This was wild, chaotic, bloody and noisy. Honestly, it was one of the loudest crowds that Japan has had all year. Everything about this match was good but I do have some caveats --- the first is that I was raised on escape rules and I'm a fan of the gimmick, the second is that I am all-in on Kaoru Ito as All Japan Women's ace. Bearing those two things in mind, this was a glorious spectacle and probably the best women's match from the second half of the year.

 

Folks can hate on Momoe if they want but she brawled her guts out here. She pretty much had no choice locked inside a cage with LCO but she was throwing headbutts and wreaking havoc and absolutely nailed her role of patrolling the outside and making sure none of the heels escaped. Ito cut deep as usual and had a crimson mask for much of the bout. I loved the way she threw herself back into the cage to save her partners and ended up trapped and alone. And the kicker was that she went one-on-one with the Judas, Maekawa. That the shittiest of turns could lead to a great match was nothing short of amazing. It may be one of the greatest turnarounds in wrestling history. The part where Watanabe interfered was as good a run-in as you'll see in any Crockett bout or any WWF booked match. It was pretty much perfect from an emotional point-of-view. And the double foot-stomp off the top of the rope is just sick. That is the most debilitating looking move you can imagine. When they carried Maekawa off at the end she looked like she was coughing up blood and nursing six broken ribs. The four girls celebrating after the bout was one of the better face celebrations you'll see too. When do you ever see four women looking so emotional and so badass at the same time?

 

This was pretty much a symphony of chaotic, violence-filled Joshi with emotions running sky the entire time and the crowd right with them for the entire ride. I won't say much more since I'll end up overrating it in other people's eyes but it was considered the beginning of the short-lived AJW renaissance back in the day and holds up to this very day.

[soup23]

Holy shit was this a war and one of the best matches of the entire year. Just a done of frantic and hate filled action with all six throwing bombs at each other. All of the stuff going on in AJW that involves Maekawa and LCO felt justified watching this play out. Ito felt more like the ace here in waiting than at any point and the escapes and that leading to the torture of who was left was well done. At one point, Ito is isolated and LCO and Maekawa just continue to dish out punishment to her. Momoe coming back in and getting the advantage with some divind spots got a great reaction. Even more so when Ito hits the double stomp and it looks like she has the match in her grasp. Mima on the outside is able to fire off a fire extinguisher and prvent Ito from leaving. Ito and Maekawa end up being the final individuals left in the cage and they have a really dramatic few moments with the crowd heat at a fever pitch. Ito is a bloody mess but is able to hit another double stomp before she tries to scale the cage. Mima meets her at the top and gives her a fireball. What a prick duo LCO is. Maekawa is stopped by Momoe from escaping and we are still down to these final two. Maekawa goes for the other side when Watanabe stops her and sends her down. One more big double stomp from Ito from the top of the cage and they are the winners in completely dramatic fashion. Awesome, awesome match. ****1/2 (9)

[Tim Evans]

After watching some jwp, this was like night and day. What a crazy and chaotic brawl. Its like watching 80s JCP. I have no idea of the story behind this bit they did a good job telling it with all the isolation. Especially ito and lco. Those foot stomps from the top of the cage was nuts. Real good match