[1997-08-15-LLPW] Shinobu Kandori & Mizuki Endo vs Yumiko Hotta & Kumiko Maekawa

[Jetlag]

Some gentleman on YouTube is uploading random obscure joshi shows, so we get more great Kandori/Hotta sections. This was pretty great and if you added 10 counts you'd have a high end BattlARTS match. Hotta & Maekawa were just ruthless here as they would attempt to pulverize their opponent with kicks aimed at the face and head whenever they found an opening. And they really emphasized the striker vs. grappler matchup here as the LLPW team used almost no strikes. The beginning is 100% already, Endo rushes Hotta and tries to land punches from the mount, but a few seconds later she eats a punt to the eye and gets just destroyed from there. Kandori was in the Tenryu role as the tough asskicking boss, drawing amazing reactions with STARES and GESTURES. There were also plenty of great reversals courtesy of her, including turning a sleeper hold into an STO. Also, Kandori choking Hotta unconscious after she made repeated saves was such a simple, great spot that really should be used more often. This was also the best I've seen Maekawa look as she was basically all flashy kicks that landed. I liked that when she missed an especially flashy kick, she just immediately kicked her opponent in th face. Endo didn't look too great but proved she was worth her salt by grappling it out. Awesome match, pro wrestling isn't the same these days anymore.

[Phil Schneider]

PAS: I reviewed a great AJW tag between these two teams a week later, but this was at another level. Match starts out great with Endo going for a shoot and takedown on Hotta, unfortunately for her Hotta walks over after and gives her dental surgery with a kick to the face. Maekawa is great in this too, she lands these awesome hook kicks right to the head and face. Kandori and Hotta is an all time great rivalry and they have some cool interactions here. I loved the finish, Hotta comes in to make multiple violent saves, Kandori angrily gestures her to leave the ring and as Hotta turns her back Kandori back jumps her and chokes her out. We get a great run of near falls which ends with Kandori nearly ripping off Maekawas arm while she was waving and smirking at Hotta. Total asskicking and another chapter in the amazing Hotta vs. Kandori feud
 

[KB8]

How in the name of Christ did Kandori ever get a shitty rep as a worker? This was fucking wild. It's largely strikers (Hotta/Maekawa) v grapplers (Kandori/Endo), but the wrinkle is that Endo can't really hang and so it feels like Kandori often has to go it alone. It didn't help that Endo charged Hotta before the bell and I guess got punched or stabbed in the guts for her trouble, so she started the match even more handicapped than usual. Hotta and Maekawa were an unbelievable pair of thugs in this. About six seconds in Hotta punts Endo's teeth through the back of her head and from that point forward she and Maekawa throw a staggering amount of vicious kicks. Some of these were truly vile and they came in multiple shapes and sizes. Maekawa would fold Endo in half with a camel clutch while Hotta would blast her in the chest, then they'd switch over and try to outdo each other. Hotta was swinging for the fences like she always did, but her partner on the night had her beat. Maekawa was always stiff as a bastard, like Murakami only with kicks and even more reckless into the bargain. She was hitting ax kicks to the forehead and neck, pump kicks to the face, roundhouses, Wanderlei punts, penalty kicks, the whole repertoire of gratuitous violence. Kandori as walking tall badass was amazing, though. The first time she gets in there's a palpable sense of shit getting real and those moments where she was launching folk with judo throws and snapping into submissions were awesome. There were parts where Endo was lying half dead somewhere so she'd have to weather the storm by herself, taking one opponent down only to be kicked ridiculously hard in the face by the other, which more than once led to her being kicked ridiculously hard in the face by both of them. She's usually a great seller of strikes anyway, maybe my favourite in all of joshi, and there was one shot from Maekawa that was near Fujiwara level. All of the exchanges with Hotta ruled as well. You can sort of understand how it isn't really mentioned as a classic feud in the joshi pantheon, but every time they match up it's nuclear. The slow circling, the mugging, the shit-talking, Hotta's strikes v Kandori's wrestling, those highlights like Kandori spearing her out her boots and raining down elbows. How has this gone so far under the radar? Finish is awesome as well. Endo's been taken out for the umpteenth time and Kandori is trying to finish Maekawa, but Hotta won't give her a second's peace and is constantly breaking up submission attempts. Kandori clearly tells her to fuck off out the ring, and as she goes to leave Kandori jumps her and chokes her out. Kandori finally has Maekawa one on one and now she has until Hotta regains consciousness to put her away. The armbar at the end is grotesque and Endo managing to hold off the reawakening Hotta was a great little slice of revenge. I thought this was incredible and one of the best joshi matches of the decade.