In this installment of my journey through IWTV in chronological order, the sixth consecutive event from AJW, I review the January 11, 1991 episode of AJW TV. Looking at the card beforehand, it seemed top-heavy. The final two matches were far and away more interesting to me than the first four combined.
The feud between Bull Nakano and Aja Kong is at it’s peak early in 1991. At Wrestlemarinepiad ’90, Kong and Nakano battled in one of the most violent women’s matches I have ever seen. That night, Nakano ultimately prevailed by climbing out of the steel cage to retain her championship.
On this night, however, something potentially much more valuable would be on the line. The main event for this episode of AJW TV would feature an extremely rare women’s hair vs hair tag team match between Nakano and Kyoko Inoue vs Aja Kong and Bison Kimura, Jungle Jack.
Unfortunately, we had to begin the night with two consecutive kickboxing matches which always puts me in a bad mood. I was hopeful that the final four, and especially the final two, matches would make up for what I expected to be a slow first hour.
MATCH #1
KAORU ITO vs. SAKIE HASEGAWA
KICKBOXING RULES MATCH
Kaoru Ito started the first round with such immediate success, I thought she would get a first round knockout. Ito seemed to accidentally knock Hasegawa down just moments into the first round, which put Hasegawa on the defensive. After a reset, Ito unleashed a series of punches that landed square in the face of Sakie. As the nightmare round came to an end for Hasegawa, Ito knocked her to the mat once more.
In the second and third rounds, things finally settled in and the contest became more evenly matched. Ito exerted a great deal of energy in the first round and seemed prone to lean on Sakie Hasegawa after shorter bursts of activity. As she slowly started having more and more success, Sakie Hasegawa’s confidence grew.
Unfortunately, Hasegawa never really took control of the contest. Each time she started to have success, Ito had an answer for it. Hasegawa used a takedown to set up a body scissors in the third round that clearly weakened Ito by limiting her oxygen. Ito managed a successful takedown, and started to wrap Sakie up, just as the bell rang to end the third round.
In the fourth round Hasegawa reversed an Ito takedown, ended up sitting on top of Ito, and unloaded with punches and elbows to the back of Ito’s head. Ito returned fire with another takedown and a series of kicks to the fallen Hasegawa from a standing position. As Hasegawa struggled to get back to her feet, Ito nailed her with a handful of hard knee strikes to the head. The fourth round ended shortly thereafter and the referee awarded the contest to Kaoru Ito.
WINNER: KAORU ITO
MATCH #2
TOMOKO WATANABE vs. MIORI KAMIYA
KICKBOXING RULES MATCH
One down, one more to go. Even moreso than in the first contest, one competitor came out aggressively, and it paid off. Miori Kamiya came out with a flurry of punches, even as Tomoko Watanabe hoped to keep Kamiya on the mat. Kamiya kept on with harder and harder punches as Watanabe ducked and covered, hoping to simply make it through the round. A knockdown from Kamiya resulted in a standing eight count for Watanabe as the round ended.
Watanabe found her offense somewhat in the second round and went from firing off timid, defensive punches to landing some hard shots on occasion. Kamiya responded with some elbows to the back of Watanabe’s head, followed by some strong punches. Watanabe managed to land a few more punches of her own, but tried to charge Kamiya and slipped. As the round ended, Kamiya positioned herself over top of Watanabe, punishing her with blows to the back of the head.
In the third round, Watanabe struck first with a modified suplex and several shots to the back of Kamiya’s head. In response, Kamiya dropped multiple elbows to the back of the head, followed by three nasty high kicks to the face that eventually knocked Watanabe to the mat for a seven count.
The final round was mostly uneventful as the two competitors clearly had run out of steam. Watanabe used one takedown to set up and arm bar, and reversed a Kamiya kick into a second takedown. Kamiya hit one hard punch that knocked Watanabe down as the round ended. Kamiya’s dominance, especially at the beginning of the match, earned her the referee’s decision.
WINNER: MIORI KAMIYA
MATCH #3
MARIKO YOSHIDA & TAKAKO INOUE vs. MAYUMI YAMAMOTO & MIKA TAKAHASHI
Takako Inoue gained the upper hand as the contest began with back-to-back elbows and a body slam to Mayumi Yamamoto, then tagged in Mariko Yoshida who hit a beautiful back handspring elbow and a monkey flip, as well. Inoue returned to assist on a double dropkick and Yoshida hit a cross body for a near fall.
Mika Takahashi turned the tide once she tagged in with three consecutive facebusters to Takako Inoue, followed by a modified second rope bulldog and a double underhook suplex, each for near falls. Yamamoto returned with a sling blade to Inoue, and three more to the returning Yoshida for another near fall.
Yamamoto used a double leg takedown to set up a Boston Crab in the center of the ring, that soon converted to a single leg crab. As Yoshida neared the ropes, Yamamoto switched to a chin lock to prevent a rope break. Once Mayumi released the hold, Takahashi re-entered with a series of drop kicks and a standard suplex for a near fall.
As her partner had done moments earlier, Takahashi looked to slow things down and maintained control with a front face lock and a body scissors on Yoshida. However, Takahashi mistakenly whipped Yoshida into the ropes near her own corner, allowing Inoue to tag herself back into the match. Quickly, Inoue hit an arm drag and a cross body for a near fall, a double underhook suplex with a bridge for another, and a second cross body for yet another near fall to Yamamoto.
Yoshida maintained the advantage for her team with two flapjacks and an elbow to the back of Yamamoto’s head. Then slowed things down with an arm bar on the mat. Inoue returned and continued to work the arm bar on Yamamoto until Mayumi made it to her corner for a much-needed tag to Takahashi.
Takahashi and Yamamoto partnered up for a double back body drop before Takahashi held Inoue for an Yamamoto clothesline. Returning the favor, Yamamoto held Inoue still as Takahashi hit a second rope strike to Takako Inoue. Yoshida ran in and charged Takahashi in the corner, but got reversed by a head scissors takedown. From there, Mika Takahashi countered an Irish Whip with a boot to the mid-section, followed by a Northern Lights suplex to secure a hard-fought victory.
WINNERS: MAYUMI YAMAMODO & MIKA TAKAHASHI
MATCH #4
MIMA SHIMODA, NORIYO TATENO & YUMIKO HOTTA vs. ETSUKO MITA, SUZUKA MINAMI & TOSHIYO YAMADA
SIX WOMAN TAG TEAM MATCH
Etsuko Mita and Toshiyo Yamada teamed up for some early offense on Mima Shimoda, but Yumiko Hotta took control when she caught a Yamada boot, countered with an ensiguri, and hit a piledriver for a near fall. Noriyu Tateno followed with a running knee strike to Yamada and two more to Suzuka Minami.
After a double underhook suplex from Tateno, Mima Shimoda returned and held Minami for a double back elbow, then whipped Minami into the ropes for a shotgun dropkick. Out of nowhere, Minami hit a back drop and a power bomb to Mima Shimoda. When Tateno ran in to break up the pin, Minami used an O’Connor roll for another near fall.
Etsuko Mita entered just long enough to hit two shoulder tackles to Shimoda, then tagged in Yamada who hit a shotgun dropkick and a snap double underhook suplex, then locked Shimoda in a Boston Crab. Hotta ran in to break the hold, then tagged in only to be hit with a double clothesline and a missile dropkick for a near fall. Yamada hit a side slam to Hotta and tagged Minami.
Minami whipped Hotta into the ropes, but got reversed into a tilt-a-whirl back breaker that gave Hotta enough time to make the tag to Tateno. Minami hit a spear on Tateno, followed by a double underhook suplex for a near fall. Etsuko Mita hit a nasty knee strike to Tateno’s arm, but the momentum carried Tateno into her corner where she made the easy tag to Mima Shimoda.
Mita looked to continued her team’s dominance when she lifted Shimoda into an airplane spin and followed with a back drop. Unfortunately, Shimoda had the presence of mind to come off the ropes with a clothesline to stun Mita, followed by another to knock Mita down, then climbed to the second rope for a flying cross body.
Sensing the momentum shift, Shimoda quickly tagged Hotta who hit a spinning back elbow from the second rope. Hotta tagged Tateno who entered with a double underhook suplex for another near fall. Mita managed to roll up Tateno briefly, then tagged Suzuka Minami, with Yamada following right behind.
Minami and Yamada hit a double dropkick to Tateno and Minami hit a body slam, but Tateno rebounded with a cross body off of an Irish Whip for a near fall. Shimoda and Hotta joined Tateno for a triple dropkick, but missed Minami completely. Suzuka tagged Mita back in and Yamada joined in on a flapjack to Shimoda. Yamada used a suplex to set Suzuka Minami up for a top rope senton.
Minami’s top rope maneuver missed the mark, which gave Shimoda an opening to try a roll up for a near fall. When Suzuka kicked out at two, Shimoda tagged Hotta as Tateno followed. Hotta’s suplex hit the mark, but Tateno missed from the top rope. In the blink of an eye, Minami leapt up and hit a German suplex with a bridge for the win.
WINNERS: ETSUKO MITA, SUZUKA MINAMI & TOSHIYO YAMADA
MATCH #5
AKIRA HOKUTO vs. MANAMI TOYOTA (c)
ALL PACIFIC TITLE MATCH
I feel like I have been touting the toughness of Akira Hokuto in every post in this series. She survived an knee injury from a top rope dive into the crowd and somehow continued to show up in every match with maximum effort in spite of her weakened and bandaged knee.
On this night, Hokuto showed up with her arm in a pseudo-cast that looked more like a metal brace wrapped very tightly to protect Hokuto’s broken arm. Of course, Hokuto refused to allow a little thing like a broken arm stop her from taking on Manami Toyota for the All Pacific Championship.
Not surprisingly, Toyota went right for the injured arm and, essentially, never relented. The normally subdued AJW fans collectively gasped as Toyota tried to unwrap the arm and was successful. That seemed bad enough until Toyota decided she was going to rip the metal brace off of Hokuto’s arm, as well. The referee tried to stop Toyota, but the brace eventually came off as Hokuto rolled to the outside of the ring.
Several supporters rushed to circle around Hokuto and offer support, though it seemed unlikely that Hokuto could continue. When I noticed the referee was not really enforcing the twenty count, it seemed obvious that Hokuto would make it into the ring at some point.
Hokuto rolled into the ring and was immediately locked into an arm bar as Toyota also pummeled the injured limb with elbow strikes. Hokuto again rolled outside the ring after Toyota stomped on her arm repeatedly. Again, supporters gathered around Hokuto for an extended delay.
When Hokuto slowly rolled back into the ring once again, she had a plan in place. She ambushed Toyota with a boot to the midsection, followed by consecutive spinning back kicks and a near fall. Angered, Toyota went right back to the arm bar, converted into a hammer lock, then stomped on Hokuto’s arm and snapped it over the top rope.
Hokuto rolled outside a third time after a dropkick from the champion, but had the presence of mind to side step Toyota’s tope suicida attempt and roll right back in. When Toyota tried to return, Hokuto prevented her with a sliding basement dropkick, then leapt to the top rope for an incredible rolling senton to Toyota on the floor.
Hokuto used a single leg to keep Toyota under wraps briefly when the action returned to the ring, but Toyota regained the advantage with a boot to the midsection and a double underhook suplex for a near fall. Toyota hit a dropkick and climbed to the top rope, but Hokuto somehow made it to her feet and dropkicked Toyota, then climbed up with Toyota and hit the best superplex one could hope for with only one working arm.
Hokuto went for a body slam, but Toyota escaped and locked Hokuto in another arm bar, this time at an angle that made it look as though Hokuto’s arm would soon break in two. Hokuto nearly reached the ropes, but Toyota dragged her back to the center of the ring and locked her back in the hold.
When Toyota finally released the hold, she hit a piledriver and a top rope moonsault for a near fall, followed by a double chicken wing suplex for another. Toyota used a body slam to set up another moonsault, but missed. Hokuto jumped up to the top rope and hit a missile dropkick for a near fall followed by a German suplex with a bridge for another.
Hokuto got carried away and went to the well once too often. She climbed back up to the top rope but missed with a senton. The savvy champion quickly locked Hokuto back into the arm bar until Suzuka Minami threw in the towel for Hokuto who refused to submit. In defense of her friend and frequent tag partner, Minami took to the microphone and challenged Manami Toyota to a title match.
WINNER: MANAMI TOYOTA
MATCH #6
BULL NAKANO & KYOKO INOUE vs. JUNGLE JACK
HAIR vs. HAIR TAG TEAM MATCH
Before the match, a lengthy video package was presented that took the fans through the long and storied history between Bull Nakano and Aja Kong. These two women have been part of some of the most brutal exchanges in the history of women’s wrestling to that point with no end in sight to their feud.
This match would take the war to another level with the competitors’ hair on the line. Kong could not wait to get her hands on Nakano. Aja attacked Bull on the entrance ramp and started cutting Nakano’s hair with scissors out on the floor. Kong and Bison Kimura double teamed Nakano inside the ring until Nakano’s partner Kyoko Inouoe managed to find her way to the ring.
When Nakano got Kimura in the ring one-on-one, she laughed and no-sold four consecutive slaps to the chest from Kimura, then dropped her with one roundhouse right hand. Inoue entered for the first time and quickly hit a dropkick and a suplex, but allowed Kimura to reach her corner to tag Aja Kong.
Kong immediately took control with a flurry of puches in the corner to Inoue. When Inoue fell, Kong lifted her up by her hair and continued the onslaught. A back fist, shoulder tackle, and piledriver from Kong would’ve felled any mortal human, but Inoue managed to kick out at two.
Kong blocked Inoue’s suplex attempt and reversed with one of her own, then tagged in Bison Kimura who hit four back drops in a row and a body slam to set up a rear chin lock on the mat. Inoue finally broke the hold and tagged Bull Nakano. Bull hit a suplex to Kimura, then ambushed Aja Kong on the apron. Nakano hit a piledriver for a near fall, then began openly choking Bison Kimura who tried pulling Nakano’s hair to escape the hold.
Bison tagged Aja Kong who came in looking for blood with a metal box in tow. She pounded Nakano in the head with the steel object over and over, then capitalized with a piledriver. When that failed to end the match, Kong unloaded four straight spinning backfists on Bull Nakano.
After a near fall, Kong missed a spinning backfist off of an Irish Whip and Nakano countered with one of her own. Nakano climbed to the middle rope and was almost knocked off by Bison Kimura from the apron. Inoue ran in to help Bull and they both pounded on Kimura.
Nakano jumped down from her perch and went after Aja Kong with a pair of scissors, cutting a huge chunk of Kong’s hair off. Infuriated, Kong hit a flurry of punches, then grabbed the scissors from Nakano and cut off an equally embarrassing chunk of Bull’s hair. Not satisfied, Kong tried to dig the point of the scissors into Nakano’s forehead.
Kyoko Inoue rushed over to help, but Kong managed to dig the steel blade into Nakano’s flesh anyway, before turning the weapon on Kyoko Inoue. From the apron, Bison Kimura grabbed Bull Nakano and pulled her outside the ring. On the floor, Kimura flung Nakano into the stands as fans scurried out of the path of destruction.
When the action returned to the ring, Bull Nakano grabbed nun chucks and Aja Kong grabbed a long bamboo rod. What followed looked a little bit like a swordfight until Nakano caught hold of Kong’s bamboo and held it tight while unloading with rapid nun chucks shots to Kong’s legs.
Kimura ran in and grabbed the bamboo. At the same time, Inoue picked up the nun chucks and belted Kimura before she could do any damage. Kong picked up the nun chucks and slammed them into Kyoko Inoue’s leg, then picked up a chain and stood high on the second rope to get extra leverage to choke Inoue.
Nakano grabbed another section of the same chain and wrapped it around Kong’s neck to free her partner. Nakano pulled Kong outside the ring by one end of the long chain as Bison Kimura choked Kyoko Inoue inside the ring with the other end until all four women were, once again, brawling on the floor. Kong and Kimura dragged Inoue to the entrance ramp by the chain, but Nakano followed close behind with a pair of scissors and cut off section of Kimura’s hair.
Nakano and Inoue managed to get Kimura back into the ring first and cut even more of her hair off before Kong rejoined carrying a steel chair. At that point, Nakano turned her attention to Kong and began biting her face. Inoue came off the second rope with a strike to Kong and Nakano made the cover for a near fall.
Kimura returned and locked Nakano in a rear chin lock. Inoue tried to stomp Kimura to break the hold, but Bison refused to relent. Nakano eventually broke the hold and Inoue ran in to assist with a double DDT to Kimura. Nakano followed with a power bomb to Kimura for another near fall.
Somehow, Kimura reached her corner and tagged Kong who returned with two hard shoulder tackles to Bull Nakano, followed by a suplex for a near fall. Nakano rebounded with a clothesline off of an Irish Whip and Inoue again ran in for a double DDT. Inoue tagged back in and hit back-to-back falling second rope elbows and a German suplex with a bridge for three straight near falls.
Later, Nakano would reverse a double whip with two kicks to Kimura’s mid-section, then grabbed a pair of nun chucks that someone tossed into the ring. Nakano whipped Kimura’s legs repeatedly, then tossed the weapon aside for a traditional Northern Lights suplex for a near fall. Inoue returned to assist with a two-person facebuster to Kimura, but missed on a springboard back elbow which allowed Aja Kong to get back into the match.
Soon after, Nakano returned and Kong went back on the offensive. Kong hit two spinning backfists and a superplex, then tagged Kimura who assisted with a with a double flapjack that nearly ended the match. Nakano made it to her feet first and hit a back suplex that sent Kimura back out to the floor. Inoue rushed in and jumped on Nakano’s shoulders for a suicide dive onto Kimura at ringside.
Kimura returned to the ring where Nakano was waiting with a clothesline and whipped her into one corner. Again, Kyoko Inoue ran back in, leapfrogged her partner for extra height on a dropkick. Inoue slammed Kimura to the mat and Nakano followed with a top rope leg drop. Kong saved Kimura from defeat at the last second and began pummeling Nakano with the metal box from earlier.
This brought all four competitors back into the ring. Inoue hit a springboard back elbow off of an Irish Whip with Nakano acting as the springboard. Nakano quickly jumped to the top rope for another flying leg drop and, this time, earned the three count.
After the match, the most unusual thing happened. The defeated pair of Aja Kong and Bison Kimura sat down in two chairs voluntarily and allowed their heads to be completely shaved without incident. Nakano and Inoue even jumped in to assist the barbers in doing their job, but Kong and Kimura sat motionless, respecting the rules and the match stipulation.
WINNERS: BULL NAKANO & KYOKO INOUE
Overall, this show was average, but that was because the first two matches were pointless and the second pair of matches were time fillers. The kickboxing matches took up nearly half of the two hour show, with the two middle matches getting a total of twenty minutes.
The Hokuto match was great television, but not because it was a technical masterpiece. Rather, Hokuto’s sheer will to survive and her belief that she could actually compete and win with a broken arm against a seasoned competitor like Minami Toyota made it obvious that Akira Hokuto is virtually indestructible. Even with all of those things stacked against her, Hokuto battled to the end. Moreover, that end only arrived because someone else made the call for Akira. Hokuto was never going to submit. That much was obvious.
What else can I say about the main event other than it was the best match I have watched so far after six full shows. Nakano vs. Kong is a feud for the ages. I could watch those two fight literally anywhere and anytime. Both women are skilled at conveying their hatred for one another for the audience. Their battles are brutal and bloody, but with a running thread of a story of two giants battling for supremacy. You can feel the idea that, “This promotion ain’t big enough for the both of us” every time they are on screen together.
The two behemoths tend to be the focus, but their partners really added depth to this match. I am more and more impressed with Bison Kimura every time I see her compete and Kyoko Inoue is the perfect compliment to the strong-willed Bull Nakano. All four performers worked well together to create an all time classic match, as far as I am concerned. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend you do so.
EVENT SCORE: 77/100
Next up, All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling TV from March 17, 1991 from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan on March 17, 1991 featuring Manami Toyota defending her All Pacific Title against Aja Kong and a tag team match featuring Bull Nakano and Kyoko Inoue vs. Bison Kimura and Mika Takahashi. Stay tuned!!
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