[2000-01-09-JWP] Azumi Hyuga & Commando Bolshoi vs Devil Masami & Ran Yu Yu

[soup23]

Yu Yu and Hyuga start off and as with most of the joshi for this decade, these are two ladies I am not that familiar with especially Hyuga. It is really amazing how much time we have spent in Korakuen to start off the decade. The Masami/Yu team gains the early advantage. It is still a pleasure to see Masami be a bruising bully as she really grinds her elbow into Hyuga. Hyuga is able to tag out and Commando is able to tag in and go to work on Yu Yu. The focus seems to be on the neck. Masami gets frustrated and leg drops Commando but she doesn’t relinquish the attack. I have really liked the momentum shifts in this match so far. The control segments are drawn out enough to feel substantial and the comebacks feel well deserved instead of fluky. Yu Yu tags off as soon as she gets in a burst of offense and now it is Masami’s turn to brutalize Bolshoi. Hyuga saves her partner and they have Masami reeling. This is a great sequence where it really conveys the sense of struggle to the viewer. Masami is able to recover and regain control of the match overall. The match opens up more with Bolshoi and Yu Yu having a 50/50 sequence. Masami is certainly let Yu Yu take the lion’s share of the work in this match. Again, Masami misses a move off the top and feels in danger but she is able to recover. Commando and Hyuga team up and now they are able to pull off some substantial offense on Masami. Masami smartly gives way to Yu Yu and we near the ending stretch. Hyuga has some moments of execution that are less than stellar that started with her dive onto Masami and continue with her pin attempts against Yu Yu and her trying to put her foot on the bottom rope to kick out of a pin attempt but being too far away. Bolshoi is able to keep Masami at bay for Hyuga to deliver two headrops but Masami is able to make the pin save. Another capture pin attempt is made by Hyuga with Masami fended off and that gains the victory. I really loved the first 2/3rds of this match with the framework and the tonal shifts. I didn’t think the last third played off that groundwork as Masami should have been more prominent but I guess it did hold true that getting rid of her as a factor was the only chance that Hyuga and Bolshoi had. It was still really fun to see this tag match and I look forward to more JWP overall. ***1/4

[Loss]

I thought this was an excellent match in terms of establishing a clear and unique role for each person. They really protected Devil Masami -- who in this particular match is probably a better Aja Kong than I can ever recall Aja Kong being -- by waiting a long time for her to take any offense, which gave it meaning when she finally did. Azumi Hyuga and Ran Yu Yu are names we'll be seeing a lot more as the decade progresses. I suppose you could call them the hot new stars of the time and important figures in 2000s Joshi. I thought Hyuga was excellent in that not only did she provide the typical reliable athleticism, but she also sold consistently throughout the match, really favoring her neck every chance she got after DevilRan worked it over so much for so long. I also like Commando Bolshoi as a masked wrestler full of life and energy -- the consummate teammate who actually stood on top of Devil at one point (who was laid out on the apron) to prevent her from saving Ran Yu Yu when it looked like Hyuga may have the match in hand. I agree with Chad that Devil being built up so much and not being involved in the finish, and even being on the losing side, felt a little anti-climatic, but the work itself was strong. ***1/2

[Tim Evans]

I don't remember Devil being so big. She looks like Nia Jax. At least she stands out unlike Azumi and Ru. I thought I would give Joshi a chance in 2000 but this seemed pretty heatless. Devil was slow, the other two do most of the work and Bolshoi is timeless. She looks the same now as the did back in 2000. OK match.

[ohtani's jacket]

This was pretty good. It had plenty of Hyuga vs. Ran which was the match-up I personally wanted to see. Devil set the tone for her better-than-you-would-expect 2000 mostly based on her size and charisma. She was out of shape and wearing this ridiculous outfit that looked like Peter Pan crossed with the original Undertaker costume, but she's Devil and can get away with that sort of shit. The work was good but structurally the match had some flaws. I didn't buy Bolshoi neutralizing Devil. She doesn't have the size to do it and it doesn't utilize her skill set. Instead of focusing so much on Hyuga vs. Ran they may have been better off having Bolshoi trade holds with Ran while Hyuga used her athleticism and high impact offense to try to take Devil out. That would have made more sense than Bolshoi somehow being able to hold Devil back for what seemed like an eternity. The finish was pretty awkward as well. Still, I'd watch Hyuga vs. Ran again in a heartbeat and it was entertaining from that standpoint.