soup23 Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 This match was a garbled mess where they had some solid ideas and spots, but weren't able to execute it well enough to pull any of it off and the end result is a disjointed feeling while watching. The opening exchange was hot and overall this did seem to be a story about Toyota going toe to toe with Hotta and coming out on top, but there was also moments of Hotta dominance with leg work that was immediately forgotten by Toyota. Toyota also is really tough to believe as someone that can match up in a strike exchange with someone like Hotta and I would have liked more of storyline where she utilized her high risks and moves to then gain the advantage with her big moves and strikes. They did that a bit with the ramp dive but they also had her on even ground before then so the momentum shift seemed too easy. The ending stretch was a bomb fest with a ton of kickouts. Toyota winning felt like it should be a big moment but based on the flaws of the match before it, all I felt was hollowness. **1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 I had a completely different takeaway from this. I was completely engrossed and I thought this was awesome. In fact, I thought this had a lot of long-term selling, far more than a usual Toyota performance. She sold her leg throughout the match, and each time she executed a move, she seemed to favor it and sort of push herself through the execution, then sell the consequences of doing so afterwards. There were definitely times when she blew it off, but it was a vast improvement over what we normally get from her there. I also thought all of the matwork was compelling -- both Hotta working over Toyota's legs and Toyota rebounding by working over both Hotta's upper body with the camel clutch and her lower body to neutralize her footwork, which only worked to a limited extent. The spot near the end where Hotta came out of the corner with unexpected leg lariat was outstanding. I liked how by the end, both were wounded by knee injuries, so we were looking at a war of attrition. Hotta powered up, as did Toyota, and then they just slugged it out until Toyota pulled off the win. Not a perfect match by any means, but the best one I think I've seen so far, and from my position, Toyota's second ****+ match in the first four days of 2000. ****1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted January 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 I short changed this match when I watched it before. I still don't like it as much as Loss but the leg selling was much more consistent now in that I saw Hotta working a game plan and a long con of sorts for her to return to it in the third act of the match. The flaws that now hold this match from being great in my eyes is I continue to think Toyota took too much of the middle portion allowing the ending to not feel as triumphant as they were going for. ***1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbaugh Posted January 25, 2017 Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 Hotta shows up looking fly as hell here with the slicked back hair and the badass white leather jacket. Every time I watch a Toyota match I hope this is the one where she scales it back a bit, and every time I'm at least a bit disappointed. Up until Toyota kicked out of the top rope backdrop suplex, I was WAY into this. From there to the finish it felt like they kind of shrugged off everything that they had built, but even with that criticism, it is still the best match in the set so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cramerjason87 Posted January 26, 2017 Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 I thought Toyota was fantastic in this match until they gave up and just hit the last maybe minute or two. The way that Toyota controlled the pace and brought so much offense to the table was exciting to watch. You tack on a different back end to this match and it could have been outstanding. Really fun to watch Toyota here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laney Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 I really enjoyed this match. Toyota did a great job of dominating the match and it was worked very well up until the final stretch where they did a bit too much for my taste. Toyota does a pretty nice job of working the leg in this one. **** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puropotsy Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 I thought this was great. The middle portion of the match with Toyota in control made it feel like they were working on a non-title change. I liked the missile dropkick to the floor by Toyota and her two entrance dives a lot. The rolling cradle is always great for a hoot. Hotta took control with a cross armbreaker and then started nailing some suplexes. I really liked that Toyota wasn't able to hit the JOCS earlier in the match but was able to catch Hotta on the top rope at the end and hit it. This was a really solid title match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted February 19, 2017 Report Share Posted February 19, 2017 This is an underrated period of Manami Toyota's career. I thought she looked just as good here as any of her 90s contemporaries, male or female. The trouble was that she was wrestling Yumiko Hotta, whom I simply do not like. And that made for a mostly boring bout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Franklin Posted April 26, 2017 Report Share Posted April 26, 2017 I've gotta say that I was a bit let down by this match. I thought it started off solid but was not a fan at all of the closing stretch. It really felt 'your turn, my turn', to the extent that Hotta would plant Toyota with a cross-arm powerbomb and then get up, stand there and let Toyota kick her and go right to one of her suplexes. I'm not saying it was a terrible match, just that I feel like they could have a better match in them. I wasn't feeling this one. **1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Posted November 26, 2017 Report Share Posted November 26, 2017 I just couldn't get into this match. Wasn't a bad match by any stretch though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero GIFs Posted November 27, 2017 Report Share Posted November 27, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbrett Posted February 1, 2018 Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 I enjoyed this one, the fast paced start was good but the middle of the match could have used some work. Overall I think it is hard for these two to have a bad match. ***3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klhare Posted June 11, 2018 Report Share Posted June 11, 2018 This started very fast but settled in very quickly, almost to the extent that it was kind of jarring since both women came out so quickly. Hotta wants to slow Toyota down, but just a second before was going toe-to-toe with her. But, I did find all of the legwork fairly engaging, but then Toyota didn't really acknowledge it too much for a while. She did start to sell it amore as the match went n, so in the end it worked. Toyota's offense here looks really good. She has some cool submissions and hits a great dropkick to the outside. I really don't understand why they had to go into the crowd here. The dives were cool but completely unnecessary and didn't add much to the match for me. Still, it did escalate well and felt like a struggle between the two. Hotta countering the Ocean Cyclone with a simple boot to the face ruled. I thought the finish was very well done, too. ***3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pterois Posted May 8, 2020 Report Share Posted May 8, 2020 Good match. I enjoy Toyota's offense, she's fun. I agree though it's not the best selling of the leg I've ever seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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