Talk about it here.

Devil Masami at her best is too good for words. She is one of the best ever at working holds and keeping them interesting. Fukuoka gives her an awesome rolling cradle, which is a move I really enjoy when it's not Kyoko Inoue doing it in every single match. Mostly basic holds on the mat, but the facial expressions and sense of despair from both is so strong that it doesn't really matter what they are doing. Devil is a women's GOAT candidate when you consider how long she was good and the style variety in her best matches. They do a lot of spots you don't see every day in Joshi -- 10 punches in the corner, atomic drops, etc.

 

I remember saying Devil/Bull earlier in the year was awesome but felt dated, but I've kinda reversed my stance on that the more I watched. After a Devil match, I can remember almost everything that happened in the match. How many Joshi matches can you truthfully say that about?

Devil Masami in her prime was about as close as the greatest wrestler ever you'll ever get. In 1993 she was past her prime, but still amazingly good. The best facials in wrestling. Fukuoka was still young at that time, she got better by the mid-90's.

Fukuoka gives her an awesome rolling cradle, which is a move I really enjoy when it's not Kyoko Inoue doing it in every single match.

I'm assuming you meant Toyota not Kyoko (her move was the giant swing). They pretty openly admited Fukuoka was a giant fan of Toyota's so that's whear she jocked it from.

 

Mostly basic holds on the mat, but the facial expressions and sense of despair from both is so strong that it doesn't really matter what they are doing. Devil is a women's GOAT candidate when you consider how long she was good and the style variety in her best matches. They do a lot of spots you don't see every day in Joshi -- 10 punches in the corner, atomic drops, etc.

 

I remember saying Devil/Bull earlier in the year was awesome but felt dated, but I've kinda reversed my stance on that the more I watched. After a Devil match, I can remember almost everything that happened in the match.

Quite true, the ultimate on this set will be the JWP tag in November

Interesting point about remembering stuff in Devil matches as there's quite a lot o moments from that match and others of hers that have for sure stuck with me even in cases whear it's been years since i've seen said matches.

 

In 1993 she was past her prime, but still amazingly good.

It's funny to think of Devil as this old grizzled vet considering she was only 30/31 at the time.

Course, she'd been wrestling 15 years by now but such is the world of Joshi

Really good "main eventer vs. mid-carder" match (I assume--that's certainly how it comes across). The most telling moment is when Fukuoka has Masami clamped in a bodyscissors and we get close-ups of both women. Fukuoka is drenched in sweat and looks exhausted, while on the close-up of Masami she, despite being in the hold, is making the crowd laugh and has that semi-smirk on her face. Hikari gets a few good hope spots but this is a decisive Masami victory.

Devil Masami was fascinating during this match and led Fukuoka to a great match where Fukukoka gets her moments but the finish was never in doubt. This match emphasized how great joshi has been in 1993 and I know there was a bevy of stuff off the set that I need to seek out as well. The bodyscisscors that Pete mentions is second only to the one that Javier Llanes and El Dandy do in their 1994 match. ***3/4

This started slowly, but by the end Hikari looked like she could go with Devil. Not beat her, but give her a good match. Her two best spots were the sleeper (which she should have gone back to) and the Fujiwara armbar, both of which Devil sold beautifully. In the end, she was just too much for Hikari, which I'm guessing from what I've read above is the way it should be.

 

Kudos to Hikari for taking three or four straight bumps on the back of her head toward the end of the match. It may not have seemed like much then, but in this day and age where we're so sensitive about concussions and neck injuries, it deserves a mention.

 

As for what I remember from joshi matches, the answer is not much. Even the good ones tend to run together because bot only are the spots similar, but the look of almost all the wrestlers is similar. The two that have really stood out to me are Aja and Bull, who have the most distinct looks I've seen in joshi so far. Other than them, it's almost all a blur. I recognize the workers and enjoy the matches while I'm watching, but that's as far as it goes.

 

Devil's a real crowd pleaser with her mannerisms and such. I know I must have seen her before, but she never made much of an impression until now. Hopefully there's more of her to come on the rest of the set, because I liked what I saw of her here both as a wrestler and as an entertainer.