Posted March 25, 200817 yr comment_5429917 July 1985 TV: Dump Matsumoto & Crane Yu vs. Noriyo Tateno & Jaguar Yokota (JIP) - Only about 6 minutes shown. Yokota had a neat sequence in which she assaulted Dump with her butt and then slammed her, but the heels spent most of the match on offense, and it was pretty unmemorable. WWWA Tag Team titles: Dynamite Girls (Hori & Omori) vs. Dump Matsumoto & Crane Yu - This wasn't that great technically, but as a garbage brawl and a morality play, it worked. Dump and Crane dominated the first fall with weapons and interference from their heel ref. But the face ref took a stand and hit them with a DQ in fall 2 after they tried to strangle Hori with a chain. Hori and Omori then brutalized Dump in the third fall. This was pretty unusual as Dump controlled the great majority of matches I've seen her in. But Hori did a great job as the big, tough veteran who wasn't going to take Dump's shit anymore. And both Dynamite Girls hit big power moves on Dump, who was all bloodied by the end. I'm not sure how far this will go, but I'll throw it on the block. Jumbo Hori vs. Chigusa Nagayo - This was clipped to about 12 minutes of a 20-minute draw. These two always clicked. Hori delivered power offense as well as any woman in AJW in the mid-80s but was also athletic enough to participate in more complex mat sequences. Chigusa was always a great spunky underdog, whose execution and athleticism made her a threat against anyone. This wasn't an epic or anything, just a tight, competitive match between two excellent workers. I'll throw it a low-level nomination. All Pacific title: Devil Masami vs. Leilani Kai - This never built into much of anything. Kai controlled the early part with a concealed weapon and interference from one of her evil pals. Devil used a kendo stick to turn the tide. Then she won with a quick submission. Disappointing for a title match. September 1988 TV (88 The Best Tag League): Fire Jets sing Mika Suzuki, Hisako Uno & Chigusa Nagayo vs. Kumiko Iwamoto, Dynamite King & Dynamite Queen - This was the first of two trios matches in which the Dynamites were afted Chigusa's injured shoulder. It was okay, not much more. Bull Nakano & Dynamite Jack vs. JB Angels - Not enough back and forth here. The JB Angels started with a nice run of offense, but after Bull spit mist at them, the match turned into a squash for the heels. Crush Girls sing Lioness Asuka vs. Toshiyo Yamada - Yamada looked about 12 here. This felt like a sparring session for Asuka. Fire Jets vs. Yumi Ogura & Mika Komatsu - This was a longish match with nice stretches of offense from both teams. But it never took on much drama and ended in kind of a pointless double countout (starting to be my least favorite AJW standard ending because it often feels like they get to 15 or 20 minutes and say, "Ok, time to end, let's head outside.") Crush Girls sing Mika Komatsu, Toshiyo Yamada & Chigusa Nagayo vs. Kumiko Iwamoto, Dynamite King & Queen - Part 2 of the trios with Chigusa's injured shoulder at risk. This was fast and fun with Nagayo fighting through the injury to dominate. She showed a cockier, nastier side at one point when she allowed a Dynamite near a tag but then pulled her back at the last second. Anyway, there wasn't enough to this to merit a nomination from me. Mika Suzuki & Hisako Uno vs. JB Angels - When you have the JB Angels and a young Hokuto, you can bet on excitement. This was fun while it lasted, but it didn't last long. Fire Jets sing AJW wrestlers at the theme park having fun (Kaoru Maeda does not like the rides, so they force her to try every single one) Lioness Asuka vs. Yumi Ogura - Both women really brought it in this one. They opened with a nice sequence of counters and never looked back. Asuka looked very strong in dispatching a worthy challenger. I'll give it a nod though it might fall short of disc-worthy. Fire Jets vs. Bull Nakano & Dynamite Jack - Dynamite Jack was fairly useless, but Nakano was so good that it didn't much matter. She was a one-woman show here, delivering power moves that looked like they could snap a neck, bumping huge and adding nasty little touches like choaking on pin attempts. Hotta looked good as well in a spunky performance by the Fire Jets, but I nominate this one so folks can see Nakano near her peak. January 1986 TV: Crush Girls sing Kanako Nagayomo vs. Jean Kirkland - Kirkland was an African-American wrestler who played your basic mean brick wall. A squash.
