[2007-01-28-IBUKI #12 Road To Hall 1] Atsuko Emoto vs Mariko Yoshida

[Ma Stump Puller]

This is cut to 19 minutes of the original 30, because fun editing is all about making cool matches less cool, idk. We get to see the opening grappling and it's pretty great? Yoshida is obviously just a master of this craft, Emoto doesn't look lost and keeps a good tempo. Then they cut and it's generic shit and I'm sad again. They do actually work stuff into the match, namely that Emoto works the back and Yoshida works the arm. Emoto uses the ropes aplenty, either throwing her opponent onto them or using them as weapons to work the back more. They do the classic Kings Road 90's spot of teasing apron moves, which ends with Yoshida eating a nasty Gourdbuster onto it. It was as safe as can be but damn it didn't look nice. A good positive is that both of them really seem like they're working under urgency to finish this as soon as possible, and their respective selling is good, especially Yoshida when she's just cranking on a nasty armbreaker for dear life or her numerous counters to try to snap the arm into pieces. There's a consistent grind to the pair as they both try to basically push the other to beyond the breaking point with whatever hurts the most. Emoto feels like Roderick Strong here as she has all of these sick backbreaker/suplex variations up her sleeves, making her a strikingly jarring force to Yoshida's mostly ground-based offence: she also actually has charisma, so there's that also to factor into things. Either way, it's a really good styles-clash. 

They built off top rope struggles well; early on Emoto lands a huge superplex that basically sets up the back work for later, so when she tries again Yoshida is NOT playing that and works in a Spider Twist while on said top rope! Pretty awesome. The match seems like it's going to finish at a point (namely after Yoshida boots the lariat arm) but then it goes for another six minutes. Some of this seems like filler (long hold struggles that sorta burn out rather than get more intense) other bits have Yoshida full on punching her opponent in the face, so yeah, I think it's justified. Yoshida also does the Fujiwara Sugar Foot to combo off a Small Package? Then she gets the other arm for a Rings of Saturn transition? Yeah, this is pretty up there, not even going to pretend now. Emoto's lariats aren't great, but her super slick roll-ups and counters definitely work for the pace this match is trying to go at, and you really get the feeling that she's just doing them out of habit at this point to just rush out a pin as things start to tick down. The finish has Emoto just spamming sick suplexes, but can't get a definitive pin off any of them. Draw sounds after another failed roll-up that seemed mistimed. This is somewhat harmed by the clipping but damn if this isn't just a brilliant little gem. Both women bring the best of their styles here and we get a super well-paced showing that balances fatigue selling with plenty of astonishingly brutal spots. Probably the best of Yoshida in IBUKI, though I've yet to go though all of her matches. This just clicked way, way more than others.