Joshi #9 – Mixed 80s

AJW early 80s TV (tracking fault): I have to emphasize that the tracking problem is bad and probably renders the copies from this disc unusable. The audio cuts in and out, and there's constant distortion at the top of the screen. Bummer because some of the matches are quite good.

 

Tomoko Kitamura (Asuka) vs. Noriko Kawakami - This was excellent. Kawakami beat the hell out of a young Asuka early, throwing her through rows of chairs on the outside and dragging her around by a rope tied around her neck. Asuka rallied by working Kawakami's leg, which wasn't an overused approach in AJW. Both women showed a lot of fire as they traded big moves down the stretch. This was an excellent display of young Asuka and deserves a nomination. The tracking wasn't as bad as it was during other matches on the disc, but we should still look for another copy if possible.

 

Ayumi Hori & Hitomi Ogura vs. Devil Masami & Wendy Richter - I love Masami. She brought a greater level of violence to everything she did. That said, this is little more than a squash.

 

Nancy Kumi vs. Lucy Kayama - Decent match but hard to watch because of audio and video break-ups.

 

Mimi Hagiwara, Rimi Yokota & Jackie Sato vs. Leilani Kai & Black Pair (Mami Kumano & Yumi Ikeshita) - This was a hot, hot match. The Black Pair were great heels and Sato had a nasty dispute going with them at this time. The heels conveyed real menace here, like you didn't want to be stuck in their corner because they'd abuse you in the dirtiest ways possible. Jackie was sort of the big sister for the face team. Yokota was the workhorse and the best athlete in the match. Hagiwara was one of the better sellers in AJW. The match featured wild action from the start, and lots of intrigue from factions on the outside. I hope we can get a better copy, because it deserves a nomination.

 

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Devil Masami - Good squash but you wouldn't know they were a few years from one of the greatest matches ever.

 

Mimi Hagiwara vs. Lucy Kayama - Hagiwara conveyed emotion better than most of her peers and that made up for a lack of high-end athleticism. Match was pretty good but nothing sticks out too much.

 

Jackie Sato vs. Mami Kumano - Continuation of their nasty feud but not that memorable.

 

Rimi Yokota & Tomoko Kitamura vs. Leilani Kai & Wendy Richter (end cut) - Hardly any shown.

 

AJW early 80s:

 

Devil Masami v. Yumi Ikeshita - I like anything with Masami but doesn't belong on a best-of set.

 

Jackie Sato v. Mami Kumano - Kumano was really nasty here, using a loaded glove to punch Sato in the face over and over. Sato got the crowd fired up with a big rally of slams and throws. This might be a very low-end nomination but I'll throw it on the block because it had great heat, almost like a Mid-South match given the glove and clear good-evil dichotomy.

 

Devil Masami & Mami Kumano vs. Lucy Kayama & Tomi Aoyama (2/3 falls, JIP) - People might like to see this because it featured incredibly high-end offense for the early '80s. Mami did some double stomps off the top rope onto Aoyama, who was draped across the top rope with her legs held up by Masami. Cima loves to do that spot in Dragon Gate but to see it in a match from 25 years ago is pretty unexpected. Aoyama later ended the match with a wild dive into the crowd that led to a countout. It wasn't a great match but might be worth a look given the high-risk theatrics.

Hey man, if the tracking makes the matches hard to watch, we'll ask Dan if he has other copies. No need to drive people crazy by forcing them to watch shitty VQ.

 

That is a shame too because you nominated 4 matches.

I do not know if you have my original list or the one without the repeats, but one thing with this set is that a lot of the DVDs were repeated and some matches later on had better quality.

I do not know if you have my original list or the one without the repeats, but one thing with this set is that a lot of the DVDs were repeated and some matches later on had better quality.

Yeah, the repeats are all noted on the list.

Can one of you look through and see if there isa repeat of the stuff on #9? If so, I will need to pick it up.