[1990-01-04-AJW] Bull Nakano vs Mitsuko Nishiwaki

[Calvin]

I've never heard of Nishiwaki, but she completely eats shit on a tope to the outside by bum-rushing Bull before the match even begins and juices herself into a crimson mask, so now I love her. She ends up being a great foil for Bull as the plucky, out-of-her-depth babyface. Her surprise attack in the beginning only serves to bite her in the ass. Nishiwaki postures and stalls a lot as she ponders on what to do, and even when she's gifted an opportunity (Bull injures her arm clotheslining a ring pole), it doesn't really amount to anything because Bull is an unstoppable titan. By the end, it's all high-risk moves and desperation bombs as Bull walks through everything she has to offer and puts her down with a back-breaking Thunder Fire Powerbomb to kickstart a career-defining WWWA title reign.

****

 

[corwo]

I slightly preferred this to the Dream Orca tag from earlier in the show, both in terms of brevity and individual performances. I liked Nishiwaki not sticking with one game plan for too long as to keep Nakano on her toes. Nakano was vicious here, nearly taking Nishiwaki's head off with a lariat, biting the cut on her forehead, and dangling her from the apron. Maybe Nakano gave her a bit too much, but she toed the line between vulnerable and towering behemoth quite well. Far from perfect, but a heap of fun nonetheless.