Steven Watching Joshi (from every era, including current)

[Grimmas]

Over the last year, I've gone through the main stuff of the 1980s and started the 1990s pretty thoroughly (I'm up to the fall of 1992). I'm sharing my thoughts on chats and such, but never really here.

I have three areas I'm covering now (and leading till 2026). The 90s, as stated above, going through really thoroughly. I'm also filling in the 1980s gaps. Finally, I'm going to watch a HUGE amount of the 2000s, because that is by far my weakest spot. I'm not going to give massive reviews, but I will give my thoughts.

Starting off:

 

Jd' Star Maxium Risk (2000-03-07)

I have never seen Jaguar's promotion before, so I am excited for this!

1) Obatchi Iizuka vs. Nitohei

Intergender comedy match, I skipped it.

 

2) Sachie Abe & Hiroyo Muto vs. Fang Suzuki & Saya Endo

 

This starts as your wild 80s joshi tag that you love. Fang is obviously not Dump, but she has face paint and is in that vein. We are clipped up here, but even in the ring the heels (Endo & Suzuki) continue with weapons. This turns into FIP, heels cheat and double team, false tags, you know good wrestling! Wait, no hot tag and the FIP submits to the Torture Rack by Fang! That's so interesting!

 

Fang calls someone out, they come out and it's a pull apart. I didn't mention the 15 minutes of recaps of previous angles to start the show, Jd' Star is an angle driven promotion?

 

3) Yuko Kosugi vs. The Bloody

 

The Bloody is a nominee that I've seen one match of, so this is cool. They get into each others faces before the music even stops! It's intense from the opening bell, but not wild. Of course, after trying to beat the other down we spill to the floor and it gets WILD! Thrown into chairs, mats pulled up to hit to hit tombstones directly onto the floor by Bloody and her second covers Kosugi with chairs, as she hits a double stomp onto her and then a dive from the top! The Bloody is fucking Sabu! Yuko constantly tries to grab her and go for subs, which is a great contrast between the two! She makes her tab with one so submission. This was really fun! [7.00]

 

Bloody is a wild woman after the match and wants to kill everyone!

 

Kosugi calls out Lioness. This show with like 3 matches in have set up so many future matches already.

 

4) Lioness Asuka & Crusher Maedomari & Morimatsu & KAZUKI vs. Yuko Kosugi & Megumi Yabushita & Ranmaru & Himemaru (2/3 Falls)

 

Well, looks like that future match is happening right now! We are getting the two teams each having meetings to discuss strategy! Of course, right back to a Lioness promo filmed earlier, and now entrances, so no idea what is happening with this editing or this show! Road Warriors and Ninjas, this is some collection of people here!

 

Everyone pairs off and spread out all over the arena for wild brawling to start, before we settle down into a more traditional tag structure with the rare weapon shot. Lots of fun action from both teams, people tag in and out and we get a fall at 8 minutes, and the match continues? Nobody is leaving, so I'm guessing this 2/3 Falls? 

 

Lioness does not suck her, but she's not Crush Gals awesome either. She needs three death moves to pin Megumi for the second fall, Megumi I like. Her selling is good, I like her submission, and had some nice strikes. 

 

By the way, I'm totally rooting for the ninjas here! Great dives and flying, and some awesome kicks plus NINJAS!

 

Third fall starts to look like M-Pro!

 

Megumi goes for a springboard move, but gets kicked and EATS A FACEPLANT! After some counters, she runs up the turnbuckle for a SUPER ARMDRAG! Followed by a Fujiwara! Megumi!!

 

I do love that after the ninjas get real control with some awesome flying, the Lioness and road warriors go straight for weapons to get back in control. Crusher does do some really good power stuff with choke slams and power bombs and that gets them the third fall for the win!

 

This was a blast to watch and the slow parts never lasted long!

 

More angles post match to end the show, including the road warriors putting on the tiniest tag titles I have ever seen in my life!

 

Who I am most hyped to watch in the future? The Bloody, Yuko Kosugi, Megumi Yabushita, & Ranmaru.

[Grimmas]

ARSION Starlet 2000 (2000-03-15)

This is the first part of a commercial tape where the whole thing is 2 hours, expect a lot of clipping. Hyper Visual Fighting is a great nickname for a promotion and this tape starts with a Star Wars scrawl! Bonus points already for a promotion that I have heard so much about, but never watched.

1) Ai Fujita vs. Rena Takase

I forgot ARSION was like Battlarts, not my favourite thing. I enjoy it, but I never feel anything is high end. Maybe if it involves Aja Kong that might change some things for me. Anyways, both were solid and it was actually less shooty than I thought with handspring elbows and shit. Just a solid opener.

After the match the loser whines backstage about being a loser.

2) AKINO vs. Bionic J

 

Bionic J takes a great bump to the floor running into the corner. AKINO is super fun, doing run up the corner splash spots followed by armbars! This was pretty clipped for a 7 minute match. I liked AKINO, and Bionic J seemed ok.

 

3) Candy Okutso vs. GAMI

 

Heel shenanigans by GAMI early, as she has the turnbuckles removed and Candy eats the metal buckles. More clipping during the crowd brawling, it's hard to really comprehend the match. It's basically highlights (fun highlights though). GAMI kicks out of three moonsaults and I've lost interest. Two power bombs and Candy kicks out at one. So yeah, there is that. Moving on.

 

4) Etsuko Mita/Mima Shimoda/Yumi Fukawa vs. Ayako Hamada/Fabi Apache/Linda Starr

 

My AJW friends are back! They are a fun heel stable. It's very clipped, but really focuses on Hamada who is pretty damn good here. We get a little Apache, and the tecnicos do a dive train, quite good ones too. Heels win with a good finishing sequence, but we got way less than half of this.

 

5) Chaparrita ASARI vs. Mari Apache

 

ASARI is a great flyer. Apache is a great base. From what we've seen of this match it was so much fun! They have great chemistry, I wish this wasn't clipped.

 

6) Aja Kong/Mariko Yoshida vs. Rie Tamada/Hiromi Yagi

 

Yoshida is all grown up, and so strange to contrast her here to 1992.

 

I rather liked Yagi/Tamada here, they make a good heel unit and I want to see more of them, but hot damn does the mood of the match change when Kong enters!

 

Heels cheat with their second, a bunch of miscommunication spots and eat a spinning back first for their trouble. Not enough shown to really rate or anything. The next ARSION show I have never is also clipped, but I'm really looking forward to some full matches!

 

 

Who I am most hyped to watch in the future? AKINO, Ayako Hamada, Fabi Apache, Mari Apachi, Rie Tamada, Hiromi Yagi, and the new Mariko Yoshida.

 

[El-P]

22 hours ago, Grimmas said:

The Bloody, Yuko Kosugi, Megumi Yabushita

Three of my cult favorites back then ! I loved these girls. Jd' was a different kind of promotion, for sure.

8 hours ago, Grimmas said:

Who I am most hyped to watch in the future? AKINO, Ayako Hamada, Fabi Apache, Mari Apachi, Rie Tamada, Hiromi Yagi, and the new Mariko Yoshida.

Wait, Tamada ? Damn, from memory she wasn't very good at this point. Yagi was awesome. HamaKINO were great rookies (AKINO was insane) and the Apache sister went from sucking and being green as hell when the company started to pretty much ruling a few years later. Fabi Apache probably still rules to this day (she was great a few years back in AAA). Yumi Fukawa is the one you should watch, although she retired in 2001 because of a neck injury, but her stuff with Yoshida is just amazing. Okutsu made a great comeback in 98, but she did not sustain the same quality of work very long. She was probably too banged up (she came back from her retirement, which this this day is one of the most emotional event I've seen in pro-wrestling). 

[elliott]

4 hours ago, El-P said:

Three of my cult favorites back then ! I loved these girls. Jd' was a different kind of promotion, for sure.

 

The Bloody is just the fucking coolest. I wish her matches were easier to search for online. You don't want to be doing random youtube searches of "The Bloody vs" 

I maintain that the Joshi scene around this time was killer and loaded with talent. It was just spread out across a variety of promotions and there is so much fucking clipping for a lot of these show. 

[El-P]

29 minutes ago, elliott said:

The Bloody is just the fucking coolest. I wish her matches were easier to search for online. You don't want to be doing random youtube searches of "The Bloody vs" 

She certainly did not anticipate the social media digital revolution.  Why couldn't she keep the Bloody Phoenix moniker instead ? Plus it sounds so fucking cool. Or Naomi Kato, which is a good sounding name anyway. I would always call her Miss Naomi Kato back then for some reason, probably because "The Bloody" did not feel right.

Yabushita & Sakai the judo girls were cool as hell. And Yuko Kosugi as La Hija del Megumi Kudo was quite a promising worker too.

[Grimmas]

Thanks for the comments. Tamada was not in their much, it was heavily clipped. Her teamwork was great, but if she's not great that will show out over time. Really hard to judge.

Let's go back to the 1990s!!! 

Mariko Yoshida & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Etsuko Mita & Takako Inoue (AJW Fuji TV Tag Tournament 07/30/92)

After months of feuding on the undercard, Yoshida & Hasegawa say fuck it and team up for this tournament. It's a fun match, and Mita has changed her look and seems to step up her game. Inoue is someone we haven't watched much, but I was damn happy with her. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Hasegawa's kicks.

Akira Hokuto vs. Bull Nakano (AJW 07/30/92, Cage Match)

The two coolest wrestlers in history are in a feud here and let's settle it in a cage! The last match had Bull destroy Hokuto's ribs.

There is a lot of blood, both biting each other, vicious throws into the cage, and each have their moments until Bull hits some power bombs to re-ignite the ribs injury. However, Bull has been worn down after 2.5 years as champion and she misses a top rope legdrop off the top of the cage! Hokuto gains control and hits two North Lights Bombs and then climbs out, only to stop and hit an INSANE MISSILE DROPKICK FROM THE TOP OF THE CAGE! Hokuto climbs out and wins.  [Rating 9.25]

Great post match with Hokuto almost dead but is a conquering hero and the first person to beat Bull in a singles match in 5 years!

Mariko Yoshida & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda (AJW Fuji TV Tag Tournament 08/09/92)

We haven't seen too much of Shimoda, but she was damn impressive. I love that Toyota is not even teaming with her tag team champion partner, because she is jealous people think Yamada is better! Another fun tag which sees Yoshida and Hasegawa move to the semi finals!! Toyota is not happy,.

Aja Kong vs. Takako Inoue (AJW 08/09/92)

Inoue immediately attacks Kong during her entrance and hits a tope! KONG IS PISSED and destroys everything at ringside!! Inoue runs away for a bit, and then grabs Kong's garbage cans and tries to use them on her. Kong KILLS HER! Including a piledriver through a table and an easy victory. Inoue looked damn impressive taking it to Kong. [Rating 7.0]

Akira Hokuto & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Kyoko Inoue & Terri Power (AJW Fuji TV Tag Tournament 08/09/92)

Fun stuff. When Yamada goes for a pin, Hokuto grabs her canes and kills Terri Power blocking her from breaking up the tag. Yamada was not fucking happy with Hokuto being so mean. Power had some good power stuff and hit a nice rana, everyone else rules. 

Akira Hokuto & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Mariko Yoshida & Sakie Hasegawa (AJW Fuji TV Tag Tournament 08/13/92)

BEST MATCH EVER!!! After a few moments of Yamada in the ring, Hokuto gets in and KILLS Hasegawa with the canes. Injuring her ribs so hard the referee stops the match. Yamada is not happy again. Hokuto casually strolls away like it was nothing. Yoshida loses her mind and challenges Yamada/Hokuto to return and do this 2 on 1! Yamada comes back looking distraught. Hokuto casually comes back, hits a MASSIVE NORTHERN LIGHTS BOMB and pins Yoshida with her knee on her throat, before leaving Yamada mad as fuck. WATCH THIS! [Rating 7.25]

Aja Kong, Kaoru Ito & Miori Kamiya vs. Bull Nakano, Bat Yoshinaga & Tomoko Watanabe (AJW 08/13/92)

This sets up the finals of the tournament as Yamada/Hokuto will face Kong/Bull! So hyped for that, but before that we get another special Kong/Bull moment. Every time, even trios matches, it feels special!

Kaoru Ito does a fun spot as she does about 100 double stomps while running the ropes. What really stood out here is this amazing finish, as Bull ducks a spinning back fist that knocks out Karou, Bull immediately pins as Bat/Watanabe hold Kong off. 

Post match Bull says you better not try to do that shit to me in the tournament finals! Kong says some mean things back. This tournament finals is going to be a fucking war!

[El-P]

13 hours ago, Grimmas said:

Tamada was not in their much, it was heavily clipped. Her teamwork was great, but if she's not great that will show out over time. Really hard to judge.

That was one issue with the ARSION tapes, they were really clipped as all hell after the first year or so. Also, these are 20 years old memories, pretty much, I have no idea how I would look at it now (well, I can pretty much guarantee I would love Yoshida, Fukawa & Yagi just as much if not more today).

[Grimmas]

@El-P say first year, that gives me hope for the future ARSION tapes!!!

 

Back with the second half of the commercial tape. I won't point it out too much below, but we are in clippy territory again.

ARSION MILLENNIUM PREMIUM 4/7/00

The First Premium) AKINO vs. Rena Takase

Everything AKINO does is really sharp, her dropkicks, her strikes, and her throws. Takase is a fun under card worker and this was the exact type of match you want opening a show. 

Lots of fun little moments in this one. The finish ruled, Takase HARD SLAPS AKINO who gets pissed and unleashes a brutal arm submission for the win. Takase refuses the hand shake after.

The Second Premium) Chaparrita ASARI/Ai Fujita vs. Candy Okutsu/Linda Starr

Starr does a giant swing so this match is a win in my books. Another great moment was Candy going for about 4 lariats, which were all ducked by Fujita, leading to Candy tripping and falling. Great power bomb by Candy for the win. 

Overall though, from what we saw, a fun energetic tag match with the wrestlers who could fly in the company. I like all of these 4 (so far), but Candy is really standing out.

The Third Premium) GAMI/Rie Tamada/Hiromi Yagi vs. Etsuko Mita/Yumi Fukawa/Bionic J

This VIP stable with Mita and co. is fun times. This is really two rudo units trying to out jerk the other and that I enjoy. Mita works a long FIP segment, but the hot tag doesn't go too far. Some miscommunications by GAMI's group, leads to Bionic J crushing someone for the win. A solid but not spectacular match. Post match promo leads to them brawling to the locker room.

The Fourth Premium) Gran Hamada/Ayako Hamada vs. Gran Apache/Fabi Apache

I took no notes, because this match was too fun! Everybody ruled and shined! The clipping makes it hard to rate, but it was a super delight and I LOVED IT! Just wrestlers having fun and putting on a good showcase match.

The Final Premium) Aja Kong/Mariko Yoshida vs. Mima Shimoda/Michiko Omukai

I still can't reconcile that 1992 and 2000 Yoshida is the same person. Although 1992 Kong and 2000 Kong are very much the same person! Only older and wiser.

What this match lacked in structure, it more than made up for in the bombs! Especially thrown by Himoda and Omukai! Some damn impressive stuff, especially when hit on Kong. Their combo power bomb and flying knee drop was killer and an amazing nearfall! Shimoda counters a sub attempt by Yoshida into a nasty tiger suplex for the win in a damn fine tag match! [Rating 7.0]

Another fun show, hopefully we can get some ARSION without clipping soon!

[El-P]

The thing is, in 2001 (I believe), ARSION got on TV, so you don't have to rely on super clipped com tapes anymore. It's too bad that came when Aja left and Lioness got in, that really hurt the product to me and I gave up in late 2002 if I remember right. I'm sure I missed some good stuff still (I mean, Yoshida).

5 hours ago, Grimmas said:

Gran Hamada/Ayako Hamada vs. Gran Apache/Fabi Apache

I took no notes, because this match was too fun! Everybody ruled and shined! The clipping makes it hard to rate, but it was a super delight and I LOVED IT! Just wrestlers having fun and putting on a good showcase match.

I remember that one ! Yeah, like you said, too much fun to watch the father/daughter teams, quite unique too. Crazy how Fabi sucked really bad two years before, then left while Mary became really good in the meantime. Then Fabi shows up in 2000 and all of a sudden she's as good as her sister. Fabi Apache is most probably a contender for the Top 100, she's seemingly been a terrific worker for 20 years now.

5 hours ago, Grimmas said:

Aja Kong/Mariko Yoshida vs. Mima Shimoda/Michiko Omukai

I still can't reconcile that 1992 and 2000 Yoshida is the same person. Although 1992 Kong and 2000 Kong are very much the same person! Only older and wiser.

What this match lacked in structure, it more than made up for in the bombs! Especially thrown by Himoda and Omukai! Some damn impressive stuff, especially when hit on Kong. Their combo power bomb and flying knee drop was killer and an amazing nearfall! Shimoda counters a sub attempt by Yoshida into a nasty tiger suplex for the win in a damn fine tag match! [Rating 7.0]

Back then Ohmukai (aka Chama as we'd call her as it was her nickname) was often heavily criticized for her tendency to pop-up and no-sell big moves, but she was just what you said, a bomb throwing worker and was quite fun and impressive at it (she had a great body type for that style). I still really enjoyed her then.

[Grimmas]

Thanks @El-P I'm curious about more Ohmukai and how she looks without editing and in more matches. Bombs can be a cool worker sometimes!!

 

Let's go back to the 1990s!

AJW Mid Summer Typhoon (1992-08-15)

1) Chikako Hasegawa & Rie Tamada vs Akemi Torisu & Saemi Numata

It's your typical rookie match, Tamada looked pretty decent though so that's nice to see her back in two timelines.

2) Kumiko Maekawa & Tomoko Watanabe vs Terry Powers & Miori Kamiya

Another solid tag match. Terr is an interesting worker in this era. She is a great athlete and can do some cool stuff, but hasn't put it together. Everyone else worked really hard, but I didn't take any notes because I forgot!

3) Bat Yoshinaga vs Kaoru Ito

A fun match filled with some vicious ass strikes. I love butt based offense! Bat is WILD and it looked like Kaoru knocked Ito out. She made a come back and did the same. These two are well made for each other.

4) Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Cynthia Moreno vs Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue & Mariko Yoshida

I've love Kyoko so much! Yoshida, I am really liking. Takako is really really impressing and Mita and Shimoda have been solid, but haven't jumped out yet. That said, Mita was damn impressive in this one! 

After some good heel work to start, with lots of biting, we finally get Kyoko tagged in and the crowd loses IT! She gets in a really really long giant swing! That makes me so happy.

Another amazing spot was Inoues and Yoshida going for a triple move running off the ropes, only for Double Inoue to be tripped leaving Yoshida alone. After some confusion, on her part, Mita picks her up and gorilla presses her onto her teamates! Bad ass! Dive train by the heels too! It's really back and forth and Takako hits a super arm drag. I'm happy! The finishing stretch has Mita countering a power bomb for two with a backslide that looked slick, only to be power bombed by Kyoko for the win. A really fun contest. [Rating 7.0]

5) Akira Hokuto & Toshiyo Yamada vs Bull Nakano & Aja Kong (Fuji TV Tag Tournament Finals)

Back stage promos sees Hokuto attack Yamada! When Bull and Kong are more together as a team, you have issues!

After a beat down by Kong and Bull on Yamada to start, we finally get a hot tag to Hokuto and her spinning kicks to Kong are BRUTAL AS FUCK! Bull comes in and takes Hokuto to the floor and rams her into chairs! 

Obviously Hokuto grabs a cane, but Yamada yells at her and shames her into not using the weapon. Hokuto is her own weapon and goes one on one with Bull. There is too much to go over in this amazing match, but this is the story. Another awesome moment in that story is when a second throw Hokuto the cane and Yamada catches it and breaks it! That leads to Kong destroying them and then Bull hitting a huge plancha and Kong piledriving Hokuto through a table! Pure death.

As Kong and Hokuto are back in the ring, Bull is num chuking the fuck out of Yamada. Yamada is able to escape though and prevents a pin. Hokuto gets the advantage and then doesn't tag in Yamada, to her dismay! She hits a HUGE NORTHERN LIGHTS BOMB, but Kong breaks up the pin with a garbage can.

After some great moments, AJA KONG HITS A FLYING LEG DROP for the win and SHE HUGS BULL! Huge pop as Bull and Kong are hugging and smiling. Hokuto then goes on to destroy Yamada with the cane and drags her backstage as Kong wants one more title shot and they hug again. I think we have created the most scariest monster tag team of all time!  [Rating 9.0]

6) Toshiyo Yamada vs Manami Toyota (Hair vs Hair)

So... Toyota is upset with Yamada, because they are the tag team champions and in those matches, Yamada keeps getting the pin, so Toyota looks bad. Toyota waits until the tag tournament finals are booked and then challenges Yamada to a Hair vs Hair match on the same show. What a fucking jerk!!!

Yamada makes the worst mistake an opponent of Toyota can do and is work the legs. Toyota sells the leg so great in holds, but kind of forgets about it while on offense, so there is that.

This does have a lot of cool shit, like a swinging horse collar by Yamada, and some of Toyota's suplexes and moonsaults. Toyota wins, but this one wasn't for Steven.

Post match, Yamada cuts some of her own hair. Toyota does the same. Toyota tries to stop the head shaving, but the underlings stop her and Yamada is bald.

[Makai Club #1]

Apparently it's a different show, but it is on the same day. Semantics, I know. 

[ohtani's jacket]

I'm pretty sure the Yamada/Toyota hair match stemmed from their singles rivalry not their tag team. They had three time limit draws until Yamada beat her in June. Toyota was so incensed by the loss that she demanded a rematch, putting her hair and title on the line, which led to the famous ending where she regrets what she's done. This is pretty much one of the key matches to understanding Joshi. Folks interested in Joshi for the GWE should study it like the bible. 

[Grimmas]

3 hours ago, ohtani's jacket said:

I'm pretty sure the Yamada/Toyota hair match stemmed from their singles rivalry not their tag team. They had three time limit draws until Yamada beat her in June. Toyota was so incensed by the loss that she demanded a rematch, putting her hair and title on the line, which led to the famous ending where she regrets what she's done. This is pretty much one of the key matches to understanding Joshi. Folks interested in Joshi for the GWE should study it like the bible. 

I've just watched everything in order and maybe it's unfair it's due to jealousy and more the singles matches, this was true though. In the tag matches, Yamada got the wins. Also the challenge didn't happen till after the tag finals was booked, so it's kind of a dick move

I thought the hair match was the 3rd best on the show, so I don't know about pointing people to it and the story. Maybe I'm missing something with it being so long in the past.

[NintendoLogic]

She was just doing what she had to do to protect her spot, brother.

[ohtani's jacket]

4 hours ago, Grimmas said:

I've just watched everything in order and maybe it's unfair it's due to jealousy and more the singles matches, this was true though. In the tag matches, Yamada got the wins. Also the challenge didn't happen till after the tag finals was booked, so it's kind of a dick move

I thought the hair match was the 3rd best on the show, so I don't know about pointing people to it and the story. Maybe I'm missing something with it being so long in the past.

I don't get what you mean by the challenge happening until after the tag finals was booked. Toyota challenged Yamada on the mic after Yamada won their JGP match on 6/21. The tag tournament didn't start until 7/30. 

[Grimmas]

1 hour ago, ohtani's jacket said:

I don't get what you mean by the challenge happening until after the tag finals was booked. Toyota challenged Yamada on the mic after Yamada won their JGP match on 6/21. The tag tournament didn't start until 7/30. 

She challenged her to the hair match two months out for that specific day? I must had missed that one, my Japanese is horrible so I am not great with the promos. I'll take your word for it then.

[ohtani's jacket]

I went back and checked, and it's the show where Debbie Malenko is on commentary. Fumi Saito translates the promo for her. 

 

[Grimmas]

Back to the 1990s with a batch of JWP all from 1992-08-16.

1) Dynamite Kansai & Cuty Suzuki vs Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki

I don't know what to say about this match, but it freaking rules! As good as Cuty and Ozaki were, the real stars were Dynamite and Devil, who showed a real hate for each other.

Devil Masami picks up Cuty in a gorilla press on the floor and walks around before dropping her onto a table that had 0 give or breakage. Dynamite flips and run to make sure she's not dead. Then, later on, Devil does another gorilla press inside the ring, this time tossing her upwards. JUST WILD!

My favourite moment was when Devil had Cuty in a vicious sub which causes Dynamite to run in and give some mean kicks to try to break the hold. The staredown Devil-Dynamite had was so intense, and Devil giving Cuty some vicious kicks right after as an FU was awesome wrestling! [Rating 8.25]

 

2) Hikari Fukuoka vs Sumiko Saito

A really solid match with some great submissions, especially by Saito, leading to the match really picking up later on and Hikari winning with an O'Connor roll! Saito had like 3 years in total of a career, it's wild she is as good as she was here.

 

3) Plum Mariko vs Bolshoi Kid

The first time I remember seeing Mariko in this context and finally the arrival of Bolshoi! When I started watching very broadly in 2017ish she was someone I really fell for. A great technical wrestler. On the ARSION stuff there was a great match with her as PIKO that I lost the notes for. Now seeing her here in 1992! She's someone I can see making my list, if the footage is what I think it may be.

Bolshoi hands out candy pre-match, so this is the most clown like I have ever seen her. Early on we have some really good technical wrestling, with Mariko with especially great submissions, with some fun high flying by Bolshoi mixed in.

Mariko surprises me with some amazing high flying on her own, including a vicious springboard plancha and a Negro Casas dive off the apron. This all leads to Bolshoi countering a tombstone on the floor into her own followed by her own dive!

An amazing nearfall happens later on as Bolshoi is wiped into the corner, runs up the turnbuckles and hits a crossbody only to have Mariko bridge it into a two count. Some more close falls before a vicious looking German by Mariko gets the win. A really good match! [Rating 7.0]

 

I skipped the submission battle royal, sorry.

[elliott]

Devil's vertical suplex into a gorilla press is one of my favorite signature spots ever. In the 8/30/91 match against Itsuki Yamazaki (A fantastic match everyone should watch), one of the opening spots has Masami on the apron and Yamazaki in the ring, Devil does the vertical suplex into the gorilla press position and then just drops Yamazaki straight down onto the ropes for a snake eyes. Utterly spectacular. 

[Grimmas]

2 minutes ago, elliott said:

Devil's vertical suplex into a gorilla press is one of my favorite signature spots ever. In the 8/30/91 match against Itsuki Yamazaki (A fantastic match everyone should watch), one of the opening spots has Masami on the apron and Yamazaki in the ring, Devil does the vertical suplex into the gorilla press position and then just drops Yamazaki straight down onto the ropes for a snake eyes. Utterly spectacular. 

I still think about that spot, it ruled! These two were cooler, so watch this match!

 

[Grimmas]

The timelines are getting little mixed up, but here we are in modern day.

Stardom Tokyo Dream Cinderella Special Edition (2021-06-12)

Stardom gets English commentary and I generally watch their big shows. This one has been built up well too. Sadly I forgot to take any notes until a few matches in.

1) Maika vs Unagi Sayaka (Cinderella Tournament Semi-Final)

If you haven't watched Stardom, the Cinderella Tournament is a single elimination tournament where matches end by pinfall, submission, or being thrown over the top rope to the floor. Winner gets a dress, a tiara, and one wish.

Maika is an awesome power wrestler and Unagi is relatively new to Stardom and is getting a push here. A fun opener.

2) Saya Kamitani vs Himeka (Cinderella Tournament Semi-Final)

Saya patterns herself after Hayabusa and Himeka patterns herself after Jumbo Tsuruta, so this is a nice contrast. A really great dynamic here. Says hits the Star Crusher (Hayabusa's Falcon Arrow) for the win in a really solid match.

3) AZM & Natsupoi vs Giulia & Tam Nanako vs Mina Shirakawa & Momo Watanabe (Random Drawing Match)

Originally everyone was with their proper tag partners, but to make the match more exciting a few weeks back they announced that the teams would be determined by random drawing. Giulia/Tam have had a huge feud in 2020/21, Momo has made fun of Mina for being a joke, and AZM/Natsupoi are on different heel and face stables.

Normally this kind of shit would be annoying and stupid, but this FUCKING RULED!!! Momo going full comedy teaming with Mina and doing her poses was hilarious. AZM/Natsupoi kind of worked well together. Tam/Giulia would fight each other and their opponents. They did fun stop like slapping each other to pump them up or slamming each other into their opponents. It's also the best of this type of format as 3 people are in the ring and you only tag your own partner. This was a fucking delight! AZM rolls up Mina for the win.

Post match AZM says she made a great team with Natsupoi, but they won't be teaming up anymore. Giulia says she was unlucky to get Tam as a partner and Tam says "you are shit" and walks away. [7.0]  

4) Oedo Tai (Fukigen Death, Konami, Natsuko Tora, Ruaka & Saki Kashima) vs Rin Kadokura & STARS (Hanan, Koguma, Mayu Iwatani & Starlight Kid) (Elimination match, last person eliminated joins the other team)

A few months back they had a similar match where Oedo Tai took Fukigen Death and STARS are trying to bring the clown back home to their team and away from the evil of Oedo Tai. This is good stuff where everybody shines, but it all comes down to Starlight Kid against Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima. SLK gets a roll up on Saki, leaving it down to two. So either the most evil person in the company will join the goody stable or the most wholesome wrestler on the roster will join the most evil stable. An all out brawl erupts and Mayu gets tied up in the corner, while Tora taunts her and pins SLK with her looking on.

The post match is FUCKING AWESOME! Mayu is crying as she lost SLK and promises SLK she will win her back and asks her to be patient. Tora mocks Mayu and says SLK is now the bottom rung of Oedo Tai under even Rauka. SLK either fighting to stay pure or turning evil is going to rule and I can't wait to see where this goes!

5) Maika vs Saya Kamitani (Cinderalla Tournament Final)

Saya focuses on Maika's injured leg with some vicious limb work and does a great job of incorporating her high flying into attacking the knee. Maika's power is too much to be ignored and it makes for a great match. Some huge nearfalls near the end of the match including a top rope superplex that looked outstanding. To end the match Saya hits a Star Crusher for two and follows it up with a PHOENIX SPLASH for the win! Holy crap!!!! [8.0]

Kamitani will go backstage and get her dress and crown and come back later to announce her wish.

6) Utami Hayashishita (c) vs Syuri (World of Stardom Title)

THIS RULES!!!!!!!!

Utami is a great power wrestler and technician, while Syuri is a former UFC fighter who relies on submission, takedowns, and kicks. Two of my absolute favourite wrestlers working today. It does seem like everytime Utami gains some control, Syuri has a counter with a kick or an MMA submission. They have an outstanding and dramatic match that goes 30 minutes before being called a draw.

Post match they keep fighting before Syuri says she can keep going forever and so does Utami, so they restart the match!

The restart has these two really go at it! Syuri is a fucking never stopping machine and hits one of the coolest spots I've ever seen. Both on the top rope she does a wristlock takeover and holds on to it so when they are on the mat she keeps the submission on. 

Brutal strikes, some nearfalls (but not too man), and huge drama until one kick too many has both get knocked out at 13:19 of the restart, so a total of 43:19 of a match. [9.5]

I generally hate long matches, but this fucking clicked and never really felt long or excessive.

Post match, Syuri slaps her again before being helped to the back. Tora comes out to ride the wave of momentum and to challenge for Utami's red belt, which Utami accepts. Then she gets helped to the back.

Saya Kamitani arrives in a beautiful green dress and crown and gets a nice glass slipper trophy before saying she will challenge Tam for the white belt. Tam comes to ringside and doesn't look happy, but leaves giving Kamitani her moment with confetti to end the show.

This show rules and the english commentary was pretty okay, which is awesome for wrestling standards. Best Stardom show in a while!

[Grimmas]

Back to the 1990s!

AJW (1992-08-30)

1) Kyoko Inoue vs. Mariko Yoshida (Japan Grand Prix Quarter Final)

THIS RULES! Yoshida has been really stepping up in 1992 and Inoue always rules. We start off slow, but it really picks up with Inoue going for her bizarre moves and Yoshida going for pins. This match has one of the best giant swings where it goes forever and near the end Inoue is almost dragging Yoshida around. We also had one of the best knee up counter to top rope splashes. Some amazing near falls by Yoshida before she finally hits a super sunset flip for the win! Yoshida did a great job of selling her back the entire time. [7.25]

2) Bull Nakano & Suzuka Minami & Yumiko Hotta vs Akira Hokuto & Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda

The referee cannot contain this match and this is all about awesome shit happening, but because of the people on the apron they break up pins. One of my favourite things was a triple team senton as Bull's team holds up one of Hokuto's partners as Suzuka comes off the top with a senton. Later on LCO hold up Minami and Hokuto just comes off with a cane shot, REVENGE! Combat and Kudo are in the crowd, future interpromotional stuff! Suzuka Minami rules so hard and has always ruled, but never got a big sustained push. I really like her. Hotta hit a top rope cross armed german suplex on Suzuka and that was insane. What a fun chaos match! [7.5]

3) Aja Kong vs Toshiyo Yamada (Japan Grand Prix Semi Final)

This is my favourite match of the show. Yamada goes nuts trying to slap the shit out of Kong to start. That was a mistake and Kong destroys her with strikes before destroying her all through out the arena. Yamada bleeds real bad. When we get back in, Yamada gets some hope spots in, before Kong kills her again. She uses weapons and finishes her off with a top rope back elbow. This was essentially a squash with hope and it RULED! Kong is getting better and better. [7.75]

4) Manami Toyota vs Mariko Yoshida (Japan Grand Prix Semi Final)

Toyota continues to take on people who have already had a match earlier in the night. What a heel. Yoshida rules, but she makes the biggest mistake you can do in a match against Toyota, she works the leg. She sells so well in the moment, but later on she has to run the ropes and delivery a ton of dropkicks... She's the ultimate scarecrow wrestler, if she only had a brain she'd be the best. To be fair, she wasn't as bad here as normal. Weirdly enough, Toyota starts selling the back for no reasons, so Yoshida works that instead. Lots of great shit in this like Toyota's Asai and Yoshida hitting a top rope DDT. They trade nearfalls but a huge bridging back suplex by Toyota gets the win.

5) Aja Kong vs Manami Toyota (Japan Grand Prix Final)

Kong kicks ass. I love that she was doing a package piledriver in 1992! They trade nearfalls, it's fun, but doesn't hit the level of other matches. A big choke slam by Kong wins the Grand Prix.

 

AJW is the best!

[Grimmas]

I was kind of discouraged from writing, and threw out some notes, but I was persuaded to return to discussing my joshi writing.

Now how do you I get you all caught up with one month of viewing? Luckily I keep a google sheet active, so that helps, but expect future updates to have more details.

 

Let's start in 2021.

GAEA returned! Well, for one night at least. Meiko Satomura's Sendai Girls and Chigusa Nagayo's Marvelous got together and produced something really cool.

Leading up to that show there was a pretty fun tag match from 2021-03-11 featuring Chichiro Hashimoto & Canon against Mio Monomo & Ai Takarayama. Hashimoto is an awesome power wrestler and Mimono is super fast, but not in a bad way. This was pretty damn fun.

The big GAEA show was on 2021-06-13. There was some rookie matches, a Great Sasuke comedy match, a wild hardcore match, a legend's match, and then the main event.

Chihiro Hashimoto & DASH Chisako & Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls) vs Mei Hoshizuki & Mio Momono & Rin Kadokura (Marvelous)

The match was under elimination rules, but the winning team got control of both the GAEA titles and the Sendai Girls titles. Sadly Takuma Iroha was inured and couldn't be here to bring this to the next level. It was a pretty awesome match, that I ranked at 7.75, coming down to drama with Hashimoto going 2 on 1. People should really find it and watch it! Iroha came out after and made some kind of challenge to Hashimoto which is a match I am dying to see!

After that show, the feud between Marvelous and Sendai Girls continued and produced another great match with Mio Monomo and Chichiro Hashimoto going one on one. When you have power vs speed, these two match up so well. 7.25 from me.

Of course, I am also watching all of Stardom and there is a LOT of it. I highly suggest Stardom World, because it subtitles the promos which makes it really easy to follow. There is a lot of nothing house shows, but there is always some fun on those shows, and the stories have been really good.

Let's catch you all up on Stardom.

June 19th to 27th.

The big intrige was Starlight Kid and how she would fit in with Oedi Tai. What we got as a very dejected and reluctant SLK forced to wrestle against her former STARS friends. After many shows of this, Natsuko Tora offered SLK a new mask and told her that her former friends never supported her and she should embrace her evil. In a great moment SLK took the mask, and said she would be evil in her own way. Awesome stuff.

 

 

Lots of decent wrestling. Unagai Sayaka had a time limit match with Momo Watanabe which felt like Unagai maybe might be good happened on June 23rd. There was alos a really good draw between Konami and Utami Hayashishita which I ranked at 7.0.

The next big Stardom show was on July 4th "Yokohama Dream Cinderella in Summer" which also had English Commentary. Another solid show by Stardom, but a little step down from the previous PPVs of the year.

The tournament finals to determine the winner of the vacant Future of Stardom Title took place between the Cosmic Angels of Unagi Sayaka and Mini Shirakawa, and this was one of the first times I thought Mina was actually good. A real stand out here and very unexpected. Mina is now the champ!

The Goddesses of Stardom, Giulia and Syuri, successfully defended their titles against Mayu Iwatani and Koguma of STARS. Giulia went from a top miss superstar with me, until she lost her chair, and now is really not hitting with me. I think she'll get it back, but right now... Syuri as a bad ass on her own rules, her teaming and doing silly stuff with Giuluia doesn't hit.

The match of the night was Tam Nakano successfully defended her Wonder of Stardom Title against Saya Kamitani (the Cinderalla winner). I gave it 7.5. Tam is my current favourite wrestler and I can't help but root for her. Saya has really come on this year, and this was excellent stuff.

The main event with Utami Hayashishita and Natsuko Tora ended early with Tora getting a serious injury.

I've also seen the Korakuen Hall show from July 6th. 

Maika and Momo Watanabe had a fun draw, and the story of Maika trying to recruit Momo for Donna del Mondo is nice stuff. Another story coming out of this show was Mayu issuing a challenge for a rematch to win back SLK and Fukigen Death from Oedi Tai. Konami, now the spokeperson of Oedi Tai, instead demanded Mayu take on Oedi Tai 5 on 1 with over the top rope eliminations where if Mayu wins, SLK can make her own choice about leaving or staying in Oedi Tai, which Kogumi convinced her to take the challenge because she'll win. In the main event Cosmic Angels retained their Trios Titles over Queen's Quest. Another good match.

We had a Jackie Sato Watch Party and it fucking ruled! Everybody watch more Jackie Sato!

Back to the 1990s, which is the biggest of my focus for GWE, at least. This section, will be more lists than comments. The next update will have more thoughts.

1992-09-11: Bull Nakano vs Yumikot Hotta [7.0]
1992-09-15: Akira Hokuto vs Suzuka Minami [7.75]

1992-09-19: Akira Hokuto & Bull Nakano vs Combat Toyota & Megumi Kudo [8.75]

This was a FMW match and the first real interpromotional match in that upcoming war! Someone took a highlight video and handheld and mixed it together to give the full match. The atmosphere is SO great and this match rules.

1992-10-17:
Suzuka Minimai & Yumiko Hotta vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada [7.75]
Debbie Malenko & Sakie Hasegawa vs Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue [7.5]
Akira Hokuto & Etsuko Mita vs Bull Nakano & Cynthia Moreno [7.0]

1992-11-02: Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue vs Bull Nakano & Akira Hokuto [7.75]
1994-11-04: Double Inoue vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada [7.0]

The most awesome thing I watched during this period was the November 26th Dream Rush! Kadaveri was able to get the prommos subtitled which made the whole experience one of the best shows in history!

Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs Chikako Hasegawa & Miori Kamiya was a fun tag opener!

Suzuka Minami & Yumiko Hotta vs Takako Inoue & Terri Powers was the best Terri Powers match I have seen yet and I rated it at 7.0. Inoue is really growing on me, the more I see her. I'll forever be a fan of Minami from her Marine Wolves time and I think she rules whenever she gets a chance to shine, like here.

Debbie Malenko & Sakie Hasegawa vs Eriko Tsuchiya & Yoshika Maedomari was a smaller interpromotional match. Shark was pretty injured, so it was mostly Maedomari working her. They got some of their FMW stuff in and it was fun with a HOT crowd.

Bat Yoshinaga vs Kyoko Kamikaze where Bat defended her WWWA Martial Arts Title. People shouldn't sleep on Bat and this title! It was a fucking stiff war!

Kaoru Ito won the AJW Title from Tomoko Watanabe in another good match, sadly I missed part of it, but Ito's foot stomps are awesome!

I think this is where the Bison Kimura retirement ceremony was (if not it was on the show) and it was so awesome to see with subtitles. Aja Kong says she will win the title tonight and wants Bison in her corner. What an awesome moment between those two!

Akira Hokuto lets us know that titles mean shit, it's all about interpromotional wars! She then goes on to win the All Pacific Title in a classic. [9.5] Afterwards Hokuto sees the Kandori at ringside, insults her and it's fucking on!

After over two years Bull Nakano's WWWA Title reign comes to an end at the hands of Aja Kong in a 9.75 classic! Kong wins with the flying legdrop in sweet poetic justice. Kong says she couldn't had done it without Nakano making her better, and Nakano demands she raise the prestige of the belt. They hug, all time classic moment!

The main event is an all time classic, everybody knows about. I went 10.0, not surprisingly. Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota defeated the invaders of Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki in an insane match.

Moving on from Dream Rush, there was a few more matches I watched. Also, I kind of kept notes!

Akira Hokuto vs Takako Inoue (AJW 1992-12-13)

One thing I love about Hokuto is she never stays in a submission for too long, she always finds ways to make the submission more vicious. Everything is vicious, even before turning her over for the Sharpshooter she gives a mean kick.

Outside Hokuto tosses her into the guardrail. Inoue is pissed and is ready to fight, but when she gets in the ring Hokuto just goes back onto destroying her with one of the most vicious half Boston crabs ever!

A knit spot was Hokuto getting tied up on the top turnbuckle and then Takako kicks out her knee and hits the plancha. Drops her knee on the table and then goes to work on her knee! Great leg work, and selling by Hokuto. But, Hokuto guts through and hits a Northen Lights Bomb for the win. [7.25]

Kyoko Inoue & Aja Kong vs Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota (AJW 1992-12-13)

Yamada and Kong are the two work horses in this one.

A great moment with Inoue has Yamada in a surfboard and Kong gets in the ring and challenges Toyota to come in and break it up. Basically calling Toyota a fucking loser, and Toyota does not even try to challenge her.

Yamada and Kong battle all over the arena for a nice segment, and eventually Toyota gets in and does a million drop kicks.

The finish ruled as Kong held up Toyota up in the Doomsday Device position, and Inoue comes off the top with her backwards elbow for the win. Kong is super happy for Inoue to get the win. [7.0]

Finally,

Yumiko Hotta & Takako Inoue vs Mayumi Ozaki & Hikari Fukuoka (JWp 1992-12-01)

No real comments here, because the production was so shit garbage I was too annoyed to take notes, but the match was awesome. Interpromotional wars just hit a different level. [7.25]

I'll try to get these up weekly, so I can be more thorough and have these cover less.

[Grimmas]

Stardom Cinderella Summer Tour in Osaka (2021-07-10)

I thought this would just be another basic Stardom house show, but damn it ended up being a fun show!

1) AZM vs Mina Shirakawa vs Saki Kashima

Mina's prematch promo where she doesn't blink, because she is going to keep her eyes open since we all know AZM is the master of quick roll ups in three way matches. Kind of creepy with the eyes, but funny stuff.

This was a speedy and fun opener, about 8 minutes. Lots of action. AZM rolls up Saki, so Saki should had probably listened to Mina's promo.

2) Konami vs Tam Nakano

Two of my absolute favourites, but it's a house show so I didn't expect too much. This two, however, worked their asses off!

Konami gets the better end of mat exchanges, obviously, but Tam sticks with her the best she can. She doesn't give up, eh?

Konami, the constant dick, sits down and lets Tam kick her back. Tam, returns the favour and lets Konami do a kick. However, Konami instead kicks her in the face! That sets the tone, as Konami uses her Oedi Tai teammates to cheat through out this. 

Konami is such a killer, but Tam is the ultimate babyface and never gives up. We battle to a 15 minute draw. [6.75]

3) Oedi Tai (Ruaka & Starlight Kid) vs STARS (Mayu Iwatani & Koguma)

A solid match ends with Ruaka getting DQ'ed for hitting Mayu too much with a pipe. She goes to finish Mayu off, but SLK stops her. They have a stare down and Mayu reaches for SLK to let her know she will rescue her, but Ruaka drags her away. I love this storyline!

4) Queen's Quest (Momo Watanabe, Saya Kamitani, & Utami Hayashishita) vs Donna del Mondo (Giulia & Maika) & Lady C

With all the injuries, Donna del Mondo is using the very green and tall Lady C to help them out. As a reward, they give her a cool pair of sunglasses.

A solid and fun match, but it's not going to hit super heights with Lady C being so out matched.

5) SWA Undisputed World Women's Champion Syuri vs Unaga Sayaka

Unaga looks like she is ready for a big match here. I made that note, but I DID NOT EXPECT THIS!

Early on Unaga tries to grapple with Syuri, but she is not on her level. Like at all. Unaga keeps trying, but is out matched. This is a very old school start. Heck, Unaga getting a headlock gets a pop from the crowd, just her getting an advantage for the first time.

We start some fast movement from the grappling and Unaga gets in a big forearm, only for Syuri to take it and fire off a kick. Another mean kick gets a two. She then picks Unaga up and lawn darts her into the turnbuckles. A cocky cover for two and then right back to an armbar by Syuri.

Unaga comes back with some more forearms, which Syuri is able to take again and then Syuri murders her with a knee to the stomach and a judo throw. Every single time Unaga gets anything, it's an amazing hope spot, but Syuri has this!

Syuri with a VICIOUS kick. Unaga can barely get up and then eats another! Syuri lifts her up this time and then kicks her, where Unaga rolls to the floor. Tam and Mina have to encourage her to keep fighting and the crowd wants her too. Syuri, the whole time, just sits in the ring calmly waiting.

Unaga goes for another forearm, back in the ring, but Syuri takes her down and mounts her and slaps the shit out of her, before tossing on another armbar. BUT! BUT! Unaga counters into the mount and lays some forearms, Syuri tries to counter out, but Unaga is unleashed and destroys her with forearms! She's lost it!

Syuri finally gets out of it and stomps her to shit. What a hope spot. Syuri does some mean kicks, then some cocky Jericho esque kicks that just brush her face.

Unaga counters a rush with a bodyslam, for another awesome hope spot! Syuri is up first and Unaga tries another forearm, but Syuri can take that shit and UNLOADS on her and knocks her down.

Unaga fights to get up and we get a forearm exchange. Unaga actually has control, but eats a spinning kick by Syuri. Unaga fights back with an x-factor and a legdrop and for the first time this match, HAS CONTROL!!

She can't get a backslide, but she gets a faceslam for two. However her frog splash is met with a knee to the face. Syuri viciously DDTs her, then puts her by the ropes and takes a run with a big knee knocking her to the floor. From the apron Syuri misses a flying dropkick, as Unaga is able to side step. Both are down and I'm losing my mind a little bit here!

Back up, Syuri tries to kick Unaga's head off, but she ducks and Syuri's foot hits the post. Unaga rams her headfirst into the post. Syuri is able to ram Unaga into the side of the ring, but her running attack is caught into a stun gun on the apron. Back inside and Unaga unleashes some VICIOUS axe kicks to Syuri's back! This time she's able to hit the frog splash for a nice nearfall. Crowd loves this.

We exchange counters and a german by Syuri leads to Unaga trying to hulk up, but it's a real struggle, but she is able to catch Syuri with a faceslam. Both up and a knee gets a double knockdown.

Syuri goes for her finish, but Unaga wriggles out and gets a two on a roll up. A WILD KICK by Syuri is ducked by Unaga for another two count roll up. Syuri then is mad, unleashes a huge kick and tosses on another armbar. Unaga tries to fight, but Syuri rolls on top and really hooks it in with a wild look on her face. Unaga, barely barely barely gets her foot on the rope to break up the submission. AMAZING NEARFALL!

Unaga, amazingly, gets on a Gory special and really stretches Syuri out, but she has to drop her because she's too hurt and exhausted. The vicious Axe kicks by Uanga return and people are buying into a new champion here. She gets a Michinoku Driver for two. Syuri drops Unaga onto both her knees and both are down.

Unaga is able to get ontop of Syuri and unleashes SLAPS!!! MANY SLAPS, followed by a Double fist knocks Syuri down, but Syuri has kicks! Syuri PUNKS HER FACE OFF and the referee stops the match for a DQ! Holy shit! [7.25]

I LOVED the story of this match so much. Unaga being out matched, but this was her chance to prove herself. Syuri being too cocky, but for good reason. Watch this, it rules! I may be under rating it!

Post match, Syuri yells at Unaga asking if she is still alive? When she first heard that Unaga got a SWA Title shot, she thought "What the hell?". This really plays into the story of the match.

At the end of Unaga's 7 match trial, Syuri told her to rise up. Syuri say growth today, but not enough! She tells her to go for Mina's Future of Stardom belt, because it's a waste of time to challenge for her SWA Title. A title she will make the most prestigious in Stardom. What a fucking promo!

Syuri and Donna del Mondo end the show, thanking Osaka.

Usually Stardom's house shows are fun, but skippable. Don't skip this one!

[Grimmas]

AJW 1993-01-04

Sadly the only version of this show is edited on the AJW Classics, but it's a fun set of 4 matches. Plus I've hit 1993!!

1) Terri Power & Suzuka Minami vs LCO (Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda)

This one is heavily edited. One thing I love about LCO is that they are like the only legit tag team and that is nice to see. AJW mixes up partners so much, it can get confusing.

Power's rana looked even more smooth here. From what we saw, this was a fun tag match. Suzuka hit a nice senton for the win. It's nice to see her get a win!

2) All Pacific Champion Akira Hokuto vs Debbie Malenko

This match is either complete, or very close to complete. Thankfully so, because it rules!

We got got a cool spot, where Debbie has Hokuto in a reverse choke and Hokuto pushes off the ropes and flips over to turn it into her own reverse choke! Steve Austin should had watched this match.

A question that came to me in this match is: When will I feel comfortable with Hokuto coming off the top to the floor? I'm still not.

Debbie really takes it to Hokuto and works her arm a lot. Hokuto sells it so well and it slows down all her offense. However, it doesn't stop Hokuto from hitting the Northern Lights Bomb! [7.0]

Post match, Hokuto gives Debbie the trophy she was awarded for defending her title. She seems really impressed that Debbie pushed her that hard.

3) IWA Women's Champion Manami Toyota vs Sakie Hasegawa

Sakie proves she is one of the smartest workers of the 1990s, because she doesn't work over Toyota's knee! Plus she has the best spinning back kick in the history of wrestling!

I've been watching Toyota for a long time now and I have an explanation for her, I think. Toyota has ADHD! She can't sit still for too long. She has a million ideas and thoughts flowing out of her at all times. She forgets what she is doing, because a new idea comes to her and she must follow through with that. If Toyota was given Ritalin, joshi history may be different.

She does have a great Quebrada though and wins with an awesome Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex. Although the spot of the match was a huge top rope power bomb counter by Toyota!

4) Bull Nakano & Aja Kong vs Kyoko Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada

The winners of the Tag League (Inoue & Yamada) challenge the Mega Monsters! Now that Kong is champion, Bull dons purple to match up with her. 

I do love the friendship of Bull/Kong and how much they root for each other!

Lots of fun stuff in this match, including Kong taking Yamada all around the arena like always. She seems to always do this to Yamada. She must think she is a legit challenger.

Kong and Bull do a double flying leg drop off the top for a double pin. We are missing ten minutes of the match, so i can't rate it. It seems to have ruled though.

 

A fun hour of Classics, episode 67.