Following two big events from All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling, we get this show which is an episodic television installment, filmed on July 21, 1990 and aired on FujiTV on August 5, 1990, just days ahead of our next event, Survival Shout in Korakuen. Overall, this episode was lackluster and offered no great matches, including the main events.
With two traditional martial arts contests on the card, plus a third, dubbed a “Martial Arts Street Fight,” I was clearly in the minority with my opinion that these contests seemed out of place in this product and provided no real contribution. With the Japan Grand Prix I last reviewed, we were seeing the rise, however brief, of a martial arts component to All Japan’s Women’s Pro Wrestling’s events. Ultimately, a WWWA Martial Arts Championship would be created, mainly and most notably held and defended by Bat Yoshinaga.
MATCH #1
SAKIE HASEGAWA vs. MAYUMI YAMAMOTO
I was interested to get another look at Mayumi Yamamoto after she was dominated by Bat Yoshinaga at Japan Grand Prix. Unfortunately, this outing provided nothing in the way of improvement for Yamamoto. This performace was similar even though Yamamoto faced, in my opinion, a much weaker opponent on this night.
Hasegawa’s strikes were weak which should have opened the door for Yamamoto to go on offense. However, Mayumi’s strikes were still weak, as well, and her approach seemed timid. As each of the rounds drew to a close, both competitors seemed to get fired up and lay out a flurry of brawling strikes. As soon as the next round started, they went right back to timid.
The best spot of the match was Yamamoto going for some sort of somersault kick out of the blue and missing completely. Hasegawa tried to sell it momentarily, but not for long. Later, Hasegawa would try a bicycle kick, but that missed too. The contest went four rounds before Sakie Hasegawa was declared the winner. The final bell could not come soon enough for me.
WINNER: SAKIE HASEGAWA
MATCH #2
ETSUKO MITA, KAORU ITO & MIMA SHIMODA vs. KYOKO INOUE, MARIKO YOSHIDA & MIORI KAMIYA
SIX WOMAN TAG TEAM MATCH
The TV show producers apparently saw little value in the ring announcer or the identification of the wrestlers involved in each match. My guess is that those pre-match promos provided a great deal of information about these competitors in Japanese. For me, though, this match and the next one, resulted in an extended Google search to match faces with names.
Mita and Shimoda were on opposite sides of the opening tag team match of Wrestlemarinepiad ’89 with Mima’s team prevailing over Mita and Toshiyo Yamada. On this night they joined forces with Kaoru Ito for this six woman tag. The match featured quick offense and rapid tags in and out. Miori Kamiya gained the first advantage with a series of kicks, a running kick, and a double underhook suplex on Mima Shimoda.
Shimoda turned the tide when Kyoko Inoue tagged into the match. Shimoda forced Inoue into their corner where Mita and Ito joined for a triple team attack. When Ito got into the match, she joined Mima for a double dropkick on Kyoko Inoue, then intercepted the interfering Mariko Yoshida with another drop kick.
When Mima Shimoda returned, she tried to slow things down with an arm bar on the mat on Mariko Yoshida. Yoshida used a small package to force a break, then tagged Miori Kamiya who immediately got hit with two running palm strikes and a body slam. Kamiya eventually took control of the match against Mita with a running back elbow, a series of stomps and a suplex.
Inoue was locked in a small package as soon as she tagged back in, but she righted the ship with a fall away slam to Mita, followed by another to Ito. From there, Inoue looked for a surfboard, but converted it into a pendulum swing before she dropped Ito on her face. Yoshida re-entered and continued the punishment with a pop up flap jack. Yoshida tried a second time, but Ito amazingly landed on her feel and hit two back kicks and tagged Shimoda.
Inoue soon returned to the match and turned a Texas Cloverleaf into a giant swing, then picked Ito up in a torture rack airplane spin. Kamiya added emphasis with a run in and a senton, but Inoue could still could not get the three count. Kamiya came off the second rope with a side kick. Again, Inoue made the cover. Again, Ito kicked out at two. Frustrated, Inoue mistakenly monkey flipped Ito in the direction of her own corner, which allowed Ito to tag in a fresh Mima Shimoda.
Shimoda quickly tagged Mita who went for a conventional airplane spin. When that failed to earn her the victory, Mita set Yoshida on the top turnbuckle and tagged Shimoda who whipped Yoshida down to the mat by her neck. Mita ran in to assist with a double dropkick to Yoshida followed by a double body slam, then back body dropped Mita onto Yoshida. From there, Mita and Ito held Yoshida as Shimoda came off the top rope with a cross body to finally earn the victory.
WINNERS: ETSUKO MITA, MIMA SHIMODA & KAORU ITO
MATCH #3
ESTHER MORENA, KAORU MAEDA, MIKA TAKAHASHI & MITSUKO NISHIWAKI vs. BISON KIMURA, GRIZZLY IWAMOTO, HYPER CAT & LA DIABOLICA
EIGHT WOMAN TAG TEAM MATCH
This match turned into an eight woman brawl in the ring as soon as the bell rang. There seemed to be loosened rules for tagging in and out, which led me to believe this match may have been contested under lucha rules which allow one wrestler to enter once a teammate has left the ring. Bison Kimura took control with a neck snap on the ropes and a body slam to Mika Takahashi and dragged Takahashi to their corner.
The masked Hyper Cat tagged in and quickly hit a clothesline, double underhook powerbomb, and double clothesline with Grizzly Iwamoto. Iwamoto and Kimura teamed up for a weak double suplex on Mitsuko Nishiwaki. Kimura followed with two hair pull snap mares and tagged in La Diabolica who threw Nishiwaki outside and onto a table. This brought all eight competitors over for a ringside brawl, during which Hyper Cat slammed Nishiwaki’s face into the timekeeper’s table, then tossed her into the crowd through a bunch of steel chairs.
Back inside the ring, Kimura lifted Kaoru Maeda into a suplex, then handed her off to Grizzly Iwamoto for a super powerslam. Hyper Cat withstood a Thesz press reversal by Maeda, then rebounded with a tombstone pile driver that nearly ended the match. Kimura returned and hit a conventional piledriver, but still could not earn the victory. A double DDT with Iwamoto also could not seal the deal.
Still fighting, Maeda reversed an Irish Whip into a Frankensteiner, then tagged Takahashi who hit a facebuster and two Sliced Bread #2s. Maeda returned with a cross body to Bison Kimura which sent Iwamoto looking for a weapon. When Iwamoto grabbed a kendo stick, Maeda and Takahashi neutralized her teammates on the apron with simultaneous drop kicks that set the stage for another eight woman ringside brawl.
In the midst of the chaos, Kimura nailed Nishiwaki with either the kendo stick or a strike (the camera missed it, but we heard it) inside the ring. By the time the camera caught up, Nishiwaki hit a powerbomb to set up a flying headbutt by Mika Takahashi. Still the legal competitor in the ring, Nishiwaki used an O’Connor Roll to make the pin and earn the victory. For me, the best part of the match was hearing Teena Marie’s “Lead Me On” from the bar scene in the movie Top Gun instead of the usual dubbed entrance music as the winners celebrated.
WINNERS: ESTHER MORENA, KAORU MAEDA, MIKA TAKAHASHI & MITSUKO NISHIWAKI
MATCH #4
ERIKO YOSHINAGA vs. AKEMI TORISU
I think I have spoken at length, already, about my disdain for the martial arts matches to this point. No need to belabor that point. However, no one reading this should be shocked that this match ending in the first round was a cause for celebration in my house. Before the match started, the main question I had was how Yoshinaga planned to get the much larger Akemi Torisu off her feet. The answer came quickly, but not impressively.
Yoshinaga tried a series of kicks to weaken the legs of Torisu early. Just as I was thinking that this strategy might become time consuming for Bat, Torisu suddenly went down less than a minute into the match. Torisu got back on her feet after that, but went to throw a punch and clumsily fell onto her face without being touched.
After another reset, Torisu took a flurry of punches from Yoshinaga as Torisu cowered in the corner and hid her face. Still, Yoshinaga knocked Torisu back down for a five count. When Torisu stood up, she almost fell over again throwing a punch. Yoshinaga unleashed a series of low kicks. When those caused Torisu to go down a fourth time, the referee ended the match and declared Bat Yoshinaga the winner.
WINNER: ERIKO YOSHINAGA
MATCH #5
AKIRA HOKUTO & SUZUKA MINAMI vs. NORIYO TATENO & YUMIKO HOTTA
Tateno and Hotta started this match on fire. They double whipped Akira Hokuto and Suzuka Minami into each other, then nailed simultaneous German suplexes. Tateno hit a running knee strike and a side head lock to set up a rear choke. When Hokuto forced a rope break, Yumiko Hotta tagged in for a back elbow off the second rope to set up a Boston Crab on Akira Hokuto.
Hokuto escaped the Boston Crab with a tuck under and a roll up, then tagged in Minami. Suzuka hit a running knee and gut wrench suplex on Yumiko Hotta, then slowed things down with a rear choke on the mat. Tateno came in to try to break the hold, but failed. When Hotta managed to escape, Suzuka tagged in Hokuto who started with an arm bar, converted it to a cross arm breaker, then transitioned to a Fujiwara arm bar.
After some struggle, Hotta managed to escape and tag Tateno back in. Noriyo hit a running clothesline, then another, and climbed up to the top rope for a flying clothesline to. Hotta returned quickly and hit a top rope strike, two clotheslines, and a double underhook suplex to set up her own rear choke on the mat.
When Tateno tagged back in, she missed a clothesline that opened the door for a Suzuka Minami fisherman’s suplex. Hokuto returned soonafter with a German suplex into a bridge and a spinning back kick. Tateno managed to block a second back kick and countered with a back suplex and tagged Hotta.
Hotta also missed a spinning back kick to Hokuto. Hokuto tagged Minami who stunned Hotta with a Thesz press, but got hit with a pop-up power bomb when she tried a second time. Minami reversed an Irish Whip and hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a body slam. Suzuka tagged Hokuto and assisted her in a top rope senton that garnered just a two count.
Still fighting, Hotta managed to block a kick from Hokuto, but failed to see the ensiguri coming. Suzuka followed the ensiguri with a kick from the top rope, then held Hotta still as Akira Hokuto came off the top rope with a missile dropkick and made the cover for the win. After the match, Hokuto may have given an update on her injury from Grand Prix. The knee was wrapped and Hokuto seemed to be slowed, but less than I expected.
WINNER: AKIRA HOKUTO & SUZUKA MINAMI
MATCH #6
AJA KONG vs. MADUSA MICELI
MARTIAL ARTS STREET FIGHT
As I stated earlier, I looked forward to this match from the moment I saw it on the card. I got even more excited when I watched Madusa’s pre-match promo where, for the first time I have ever seen, she presented as an unhinged heel. She paced around and screamed during her promo. She bumped the backstage interviewer. She screeched at the fans as she made her way to the ring. It was fantastic.
I think I got too hung up on the “street fight” part of the name and ignored the “martial arts” part. There were no rounds like the prior martial arts contests, but the competitors spent most of the match squared off in a kickboxing style. As such, the first ten minutes of the contest felt like a feeling out process more than anything.
Madusa would hit a series of knee strikes, then set Aja up in the corner and stood over her on the second rope with punches. Miceli grabbed a towel, wrapped it around Kong’s neck, and snap mared her with it. Madusa went to choke Kong with the towel, but the referee took it away from Madusa just in time.
Kong made it to the ropes to force a break and quickly locked Madusa in a leg submission on the mat. Madusa tried everything to escape including kicks and weapons, but Kong held firm. Aja would convert it into more of a single leg crab at one point before Madusa broke the hold and collapsed into one corner. Frustrated, Kong tried to use another object to attack Madusa, but the referee took it away before she could (Isn’t this supposed to be a street fight?). Madusa capitalized by locking Kong in a leg submission of her own, from which Kong also could not easily escape for an extended period.
Kong forced a rope break and then dragged Madusa outside the ring with her. Kong threw Madusa on top of the timekeeper’s table, then threw the table on top of Madusa. They soon ended up brawling in the stands, where Kong sent Madusa crashing into the empty chairs, then took another empty chair and beat her with it. Kong returned to the ring first, and prevented Madusa from getting back in by tangling Miceli’s feet in the ropes. Kong pummeled her with knee strikes until a referee helped Madusa get untangled.
Obviously tiring, Madusa had trouble mounting offense from this point. A spin kick and a backfist, sent Madusa to the mat for a count of seven. Kong hit a jumping piledriver that resulted in an eight count. Kong nailed Madusa with headbutts. Four count. After this knockdown, though, Madusa came out with renewed energy, swinging knees and fists. The referee eventually forced a break, but Madusa hit a spinning back fist off the reset that knocked Kong down for the first time.
After an eight count, Madusa could feel the momentum shifting. Miceli hit a series of knees to the back of Kong’s head, then came off the ropes with a running knee strike to the head. The fans cheered as Madusa pumped up and shook the ropes like the Ultimate Warrior/ The referee’s count reached just six, though. Still fired up, Madusa used a front face lock and a series of punches to set up a top rope, missile dropkick. Unfortunately, Miceli went for a cover and was reminded, by the referee, that the only way to win this match was via knockout.
With that interruption, Kong regrouped and was able to avoid the first strike from Madusa. Kong ducked and countered with a knockout punch that sent Madusa to the mat face first. Unsatisfied, Kong following with a flying headbutt from the second rope, a falling headbutt to her back, and another falling headbutt into Madusa’s stomach. Somehow, Madusa made it to her feet at the count of seven. From there, Kong hit two spinning back fasts in rapid succession and got the ten count.
WINNER: AJA KONG
MATCH #7
BULL NAKANO (c) vs. MANAMI TOYOTA
WWWA WORLD TITLE MATCH
Bull Nakano is a force to be reckoned with. She was unphased when Manami Toyota hit a dropkick, then another. She never left her feet. When Manami tried for a third dropkick, Nakano simply swatted it out of the air and lifted Toyota high into the air with an illegal choke. When the referee forced a break, Nakano dropped Toyota like a bag of dirt attempted a pinfall with her knee on Manami’s neck.
Toyota made it to her feet and came off the ropes with a flying forearm. Nakano no sold it. Toyota came off the ropes again and Nakano threw her to the mat with little effort. Undaunted, Toyota tried again with a cross body off the ropes. Nakano caught her in mid-air and threw her down again. The look on Toyota’s face at that point clearly said, “What else can I do to this woman? Nothing works!”
Nakano no sold another drop kick, then whipped Toyota to the mat by her hair twice and hit an exploder suplex for a near fall. On the mat, Nakano used a rear choke to slow things down as the fans tried desperately to rally Manami Toyota. Manami pummeled Nakano with so many knee strikes in order to break the hold and got to her feet with a flurry of punches, but Nakano returned fire with her own kicks and punches that looked so much more devastating.
Toyota reversed an Irish Whip and tried a backslide for the quick victory. Nakano kicked out at one and locked Toyota back into a toe hold submission. Toyota tried to reach the ropes, but Nakano pulled her hair to prevent her from doing so. Finally, Toyota reached the ropes to force a break. Nakano broke the hold, but pummeled Toyota in the back to force her to release her grip on the ropes, then hit a lariat off of the ropes for a near fall, followed by a piledriver for another.
After being dominated for nearly ten minutes, Toyota mounted a rally. She hit a second rope dropkick, climbed to the top rope and hit a turn-around cross body. Nakano fought back with a German suplex into a bridge and a second rope leg drop, but missed on a second leg drop attempt. Toyota threw Nakano over the top rope down to the floor, but completely missed the plancha to the outside.
As Toyota tried to get back into the ring, Nakano forced her up to the top rope by pulling her hair. Toyota knocked Nakano off and followed with a cross body, but Nakano rolled through for a near fall and hit a Northern Lights suplex for another near fall. Toyota came off the ropes and ducked a Nakano clothesline, then rebounded again with a German suplex that came so close to a three count.
Nakano came off the ropes with a lariat to set up an overhead back breaker. Toyota managed to wriggle out and tried to roll up Nakano again, to no avail. Nakano whipped Toyota into the ropes again and hit a lariat so hard that Toyota flipped in mid-air, followed by a pretty jackknife power bomb.
WINNER: BULL NAKANO
The martial arts matches are as interesting to me as Roddy Piper’s Wrestlemania II boxing match against Mr. T. It seems out of place in a wrestling ring. Knowing very little about these martial arts contests makes it hard to follow as a fan. With only Japanese commentary, there were few opportunities for me to learn about the backstory of the contests or the rules/cadence of the match. With that, I essentially sat on my hands waiting for the big moment and nothing more.
In that same vein, the advertised Martial Arts Street Fight between Kong and Madusa was less of a street fight and more of a martial arts contest without rounds for the first ten minutes. Seeing these two incredibly talented wrestlers hamstrung by this creative was disappointing. I checked Cagematch before watching the show to see what was coming and I circled this contest as a must-see, based on my pre-conditioned idea of what a street fight should be. I was extremely disappointed.
I like the opening segments of these shows with the introduction of all competitors on the card together in the ring. The formality of the opening ceremony makes the event feel special, even if it is just a TV taping.
Did I already mention what a huge fan I am of Bull Nakano? There have been a lot of performers that I have been surprised with or introduced to for the first time, so far. However, Bull Nakano’s performances put her essentially alone in the “Everything I Expected and More” category. She is unique, her offense is brutal, and she knows crowd psychology. She’s a well-rounded performer and the obvious standout on the three shows reviewed so far.
Honestly, this show was a chore to get through…
EVENT SCORE: 55/100
Next up, All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling’s Survival Shout at Korakuen from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan on August 19, 1990.
The Indy Wrestling Experience 