[1994-05-22-JWP-Super Major Queens] Chigusa Nagayo vs Mayumi Ozaki

[PeteF3]

Nagayo's SNK-sponsored video game entrance gear is rather amusing. I'm not sure to what extent the "generation battle" aspect of this meant anything, but this was definitely more epic in scope than the Kong/Kansai match. Ozaki brutalizes Nagayo on the floor to start with, but Chigusa begins a reocurring theme of the match by cutting Oz off with her "Super Freak" (tilt-a-whirl power bomb). Nagayo keeps it in the ring a bit and then pays Ozaki back on the floor with everything Oz did to her--including talking trash on the mic. There's sort of a story of Oz using weapons and chairs and whatnot while Nagayo keeps it basically to wrestling, but by the end of it Ozaki is the one who's bleeding a gusher. Ozaki throws all her big moves at Nagayo but Chigusa keeps kicking out, and then a finish that's similar to Hasegawa/Toyota, as Nagayo slips down Ozaki's back and levels her with one big surprise move for the pin. Very good match. I honestly hesitate to say if it was Match of the Night--I was clearly the way-high vote on Kong/Kansai and it was probably a little bit tighter and not really any less intense. This is definitely one for a supplemental set, though. It *feels* somewhat historic even if I'm not sure if it really is.

[Zenjo]

This was in essence a street fight in all but name and attire. Chiggy really was amazing whenever fighting in the JWP ring. This match also saw a performance from Ozaki that indicated her future direction. No more underdog babyface as she heeled it up early on. It was interesting as the female fans supported the 80's heroine and the male fans were mainly behind the home girl. Nagayo bled first, but not most as Oz had half her face soaked in blood. It made a great visual. There was plenty of rivalry psychology with evil glares and bringing the hatred. At 28m it felt quite epic and was structured like staged warfare. The wrestling quality was high. At the end Ozaki unleashed all she had. It wasn't quite enough. Too uneven for a classic, but the high points make it the JWP MOTY for me.