Goody Bag 74: Back in the Saddle

 

Aja Kong v Akira Hokuto: From an AJW card in Tokyo Japan on March 17 1991. Kong attacks before the bell, and drags Hokuto into the crowd, beating her. Hokuto fights to get into the ring, but Kong nails her with a bodyblock the moment she does. Big boot, but Hokuto ducks, and sunset cradles for two. Kong quickly cuts that off with a bite, and she beats Hokuto into the corner. Kong whacks her with a weapon ahead of a piledriver, but Hokuto is in the ropes, so no count. Kong stays on her with a chinlock, and a sitdown splash gets her two. Kong unloads a ten-punch count, but a clothesline misses, and Hokuto tries an abdominal stretch, but she can’t hold the bigger Kong. Kong with a bodyslam for two, and she goes back to the chinlock. Hokuto scraps her way free, and manages to hit a flying dropkick for two. Front-facelock, but Kong is immediately escaping, so Hokuto shifts to a dragon sleeper, and Kong needs the ropes this time. Kong pops her with a right hand on the break, and a series of headbutts puts Hokuto on the outside. Kong follows to continue the assault on the floor, and they do another brawl into the crowd. Inside, Kong tries a spinning backfist, but Hokuto ducks, so Kong German suplexes her for two. Hokuto wisely rolls to the apron, but Kong is on her with a spinning backfist, and Hokuto falls to the floor. Kong dives after her with a flying bodypress, but misses, and Hokuto manages a flying somersault senton on the floor. Kong looks rattled for the first time, but beats the count, so Hokuto welcomes her with a spinkick. A second one gets two, and a scoop sitout brainbuster gets another two. Hokuto goes upstairs with a flying bodypress, but Kong catches her in a running powerslam for two. A spinning backfist gets two, and a package piledriver is worth two. Kong uses a bodyslam to set up a 2nd rope headbutt drop, but Hokuto dodges, and hooks a bridging German suplex for two. Hokuto adds a flying dropkick, but Kong sidesteps, and plants another spinning backfist for two. Kong decides to take her up onto the bottom rope for a sitout powerbomb, but that only gets two, so Kong adds a piledriver. That allows Kong to go upstairs with a flying splash for two, and you’d better believe that’s enough at 11:58. This took a while to find a groove I could dance to, but it was fun once it did. ** ½ 

Bull Nakano and Kyoko Inoue v Bison Kimura and Mika Takahashi: From an AJW card in Tokyo Japan on March 17 1991. Mika charges at Bull to start. It ends badly. Bull forces a tag to Bison, but Mika refuses it, she wants to prove herself. She comes at Bull with a bodypress and a dropkick, but both just bounce off, and Bull casually suplexes her. Bull chucks her back to the corner to tag, and this time Bison gets in. Bison manages to power Bull into the corner, but a series of strikes get shrugged off, and Nakano clotheslines her for two. Bull hooks a tree of woe for Kyoko to dive on, and Kyoko adds a dropkick, but Bison rebounds with a right hand. A bodyslam allows the tag to Mika, and Mika is much more successful with a bodypress for two. She adds a butterfly suplex for two, but Kyoko fights her off, and uses her own butterfly suplex for two, before going to a chinlock. She shifts to a bow-and-arrow, and then passes to Bull to clobber her for two. Bull with a big boot and a clothesline, followed by a piledriver for two. Bison manages to catch a tag, so Bull suplexes her, but Mika saves at two. Nakano works a chinlock, but Bison escapes, and cracks her with a series of tomahawk chops. Sleeper, but Bull won’t go down, so Mika throws a flying dropkick as an assist, and that shit works. Great spot. Bull is forced to get into the ropes to break, but now Bison shows no mercy, dragging her to the outside to abuse with the guardrail. Kyoko hustles over, but Mika cuts her off, and sends her into the rail, then beats on her with a bunch of chairs to make sure she gets the message. Bison likes that idea, and starts doing the same to Nakano, and suddenly Bull is not looking so tough. She manages to beat the count, so Bison welcomes her with a series of strikes, but loses a criss cross. Both tag, and Kyoko bodyslams Mika for two. Again, but Mika manages a snapmare, and adds a second. Mika with a pair of facebusters for two, and a bridging vertical suplex gets her two. She goes to a figure four from there, but Kyoko doesn’t want to quit, so Bison comes in to stomp her to help coax her along. Kyoko stays in it long enough to reach the ropes, so Mika drags her back to center ring, and slaps on a muta-lock. Nicely done. Kyoko makes the ropes, so Bison tags in, and gets her in an STF to try her luck at getting a submission. Kyoko makes the ropes again, so Bison slams her off the middle rope for two, and slaps on a half-crab. She manages to tag Bull while in the hold, however, and Nakano comes in with a northern lights suplex for two. Clothesline, but Bison ducks, and absolutely wallops Nakano with an overhead smash. Tag to Mika to throw a series of rights, but Nakano doesn’t go down. Finally Mika is left cowering, and Nakano clotheslines her, then drills her with a powerbomb for two. Why do they keep changing home corners at random? Bull with a suplex for two, and a piledriver gets two. Bull keeps coming with a DDT, but Bison runs in at two. Bull forces Bison to tag, and allows Kyoko to hit her with a big boot, followed by a springboard backelbow. Kyoko looks for a follow up, but Bison blocks. Electric chair, but Kyoko manages a victory roll for two, followed by a butterfly suplex to set up a flying backelbow drop for two. Bridging German suplex gets two, and a spinning powerbomb is worth two. Back to Bull for tandem press-drop across the top rope, and Nakano adds a powerbomb for two. Bull with a flying legdrop, but Mika saves with a chair at two. Aja Kong comes in for a nasty triple team where they spike Bull’s head into the mat, and Mika suplexes her for two. How was none of that a DQ? Bison and Mika with a tandem suplex, but Kyoko is back to save. Bull escapes to the outside, so Mika dives, but ends up wiping out. That allows Nakano to corner clothesline her on the way back in, and Kyoko adds a bodyslam to set up a flying somersault legdrop from Bull at 19:53. It took me a while to clue into the fact that Bull and Kyoko weren’t the heels here. Mika was playing such a perfect scrappy babyface that it felt really weird when all of a sudden she became a mega bitch as the match went on. *** ½ 

All Asia Tag Team Title Match: Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas v Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi: From AJPW TV on May 31 1992 (taped May 25) in Sendai Miyagi Japan. Kikuchi looks like a Dynamite Kid tribute act here. Dan and Kikuchi start, and it quickly turns into a slugfest, won by Kikuchi. Kikuchi keeps pounding after Dan is taken off of his feet, and Kroffat wisely bails to regroup. Tag to Kenta, and Dan maneuvers him into the corner for chops, but Kenta turns the tables, and cross corner whips the champion. Kenta blasts him with a shoulderblock from there, so Dan tags out, and he and Furnas deliver stereo jumping shoulderblocks for two. Doug with a bodyslam ahead of putting the boots to his challenger, but a whip into the ropes gets reversed, and Kenta lands a nice dropkick. Tag to Kikuchi for a leg lariat, so Dan runs in, but gets dispatched with a leg lariat. It bought Furnas enough time to escape, however, and the momentum is broken as Doug regroups on the outside. Doug manages a side-headlock on the way back in, so Kikuchi tries to criss cross, but gets leveled with a shoulderblock. Doug puts the boots to him, which only ends up firing Kikuchi up, so Furnas drops him with a spinebuster to cut off a tag attempt. Tag to Dan for a savate kick, but Kikuchi reverses a snap suplex, and man, this crowd is into this. Tag to Kenta, and he comes in hot on Dan. A jumping shoulderblock gets him two, and a bodyslam sets up a legdrop. Kenta works a modified chinlock, but Dan fights free, and manages a spinheel kick for two. Irish whip, but Kenta reverses, and clips him with a clothesline. He fails to cut the ring in half, however, and Doug catches a tag - only to get leveled with a clothesline as well! Tag to Kikuchi for stereo dropkicks for two, but a charge in the corner gets blocked with a clothesline, and Furnas press-drops him over the top. Doug follows to the outside to press-drop him on a table, and the champs use a bearhug/flying clothesline combo into a somersault cradle for two. The heels work Kikuchi over, until Kikuchi fights Furnas off with a leg lariat, and makes the hot tag. Kenta comes in with a superkick and a bodyslam, so Dan runs in, and the champs double team. Kenta fights them off, and a saito suplex on Doug gets him two. Kenta lands a corner clothesline, and he tries for a ten-punch from there, but Dan slams him off. That allows Furnas a clothesline for two, as the champs turn the tide. Doug with a bodyslam to set up a flying splash from Dan, but Kenta lifts his knees to block. Tag to Kikuchi, and he dives in with a flying headbutt drop on Kroffat for two. A bridging fisherman suplex gets two, but a corner whip gets reversed, and Dan superkicks him. That draws Kenta in, but Kroffat cuts him off, and tosses him over the top. He turns back to Kikuchi for a tiger bomb, but Kikuchi keeps blocking, so the champs hit him with an electric chair/flying clothesline combo instead… for two. Great near fall there. Dan ragdolls him in a cobra clutch, but Kenta fights off Furnas to make the save. Dan stays on Kikuchi for a superplex, but Kenta pulls him off, and an electric chair/missile dropkick combo allows Kikuchi a standing moonsault for two. Kenta tries a jumping shoulderblock, but Dan counters with a facebuster, and Furnas comes in with a rana into a cradle for two - count broken when Kikuchi dives in. Dan trades superkicks with Kenta, won by Kenta with a powerslam for two. Bodyslam sets up a dive, but here’s Doug. Kikuchi gets rid of him, allowing Kenta to finish his thought with a flying moonsault, but Kroffat has recovered enough to dodge. That allows Dan a bridging cradle for two, and a reversal sequence ends in Kenta drilling him with a double-arm DDT for two. Kenta uses a bodyslam to set up a flying moonsault, and this time Kikuchi is occupying Furnas ahead of time, allowing Kenta to get all of it, securing the title at 21:42. A really good match here, with a very intense and invested crowd, and tremendous pacing throughout. It’s amazing how far ahead of the curve Japanese tag wrestling was, this style took another twenty years or so to make it to the US. **** 

IWA Women's Title Hair v Hair Match: Manami Toyota v Toshiyo Yamada: From AJW Mid Summer Typhoon on August 15 1992 in Tokyo Japan. Toyota blitzes her at the bell, hammering, and delivering a dropkick. Yamada shakes her off, and manages a takedown into a fujiwara armbar, but Toyota won’t let her get it hooked. Yamada responds with a bodyslam into a front-facelock, but Toyota counters to a side-headlock. Toyota with a bodyslam and a legdrop, but a suplex gets countered with an inside cradle for two. Toyota responds with a pair of dropkicks to rattle the challenger, and a butterfly suplex gets her two. Toyota grounds her challenger in a bodyscissors, but Yamada makes the ropes, and powerslams the champion for two. Yamada grabs a chinlock, but Toyota keeps fighting, so Yamada shifts to a camel clutch instead. She’s really wrenching that one on, too. Toyota won’t quit, so Yamada corner clotheslines her, and unloads with kicks. A sidewalk slam gets her two, and she traps the champion in a hold, cranking the knee. Yamada with an airplane slam for two, but a big boot gets blocked, and Toyota takes her down into a surfboard. Toyota tries a bodypress, but misses, and Yamada cradles for two. Corner whip, but Toyota reverses, and sunset cradles for two. Toyota tries a charge, but Yamada blocks with a big boot of her own, and she unloads strikes. Yamada lays in some shots to the knee as she goes to town on the champion with kick after kick, and a snap suplex follows. Yamada with a spinkick for two, and she gets a half-crab on, but Toyota won’t quit. Yamada responds with more blistering kicks before trying again, but the champ won’t. Yamada ups the ante with a 2nd rope shoulderblock, but Toyota dodges, and capitalizes with a series of four 2nd rope dropkicks for two. Good try. Toyota with a bridging vertical suplex for two, and a bridging inverted straightjacket suplex gets two. Toyota dives with a flying moonsault press for two, and a bridging straightjacket suplex gets another two. Clothesline, but Yamada ducks, and grabs a bridging German suplex for two. Yamada with a corner clothesline, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Toyota uses a rolling cradle for two. Back to the top, but Yamada shoves her onto the apron. Yamada tries a turnbuckle smash, but Toyota reverses, and dives with a flying splash - missing. That allows Yamada a suplex for two, and a bridging dragon suplex gets another two. Tilt-a-whirl, but Toyota counters with a bridging tiger suplex for two, so Yamada hooks an underhook cradle for two. Toyota dropkicks her out of the ring, but Yamada attacks before the champion can dive. She tries bringing it back in, but Toyota blocks, and manages a flying moonsault press on the floor. She hustles Yamada back in for a bridging German suplex, but it only gets two. A bridging hammerlock suplex gets two, and a bodyslam sets up a flying moonsault for two. Yamada fires back with a roundhouse kick, and she drops Toyota on her head with a suplex to buy some recovery time. Yamada with a series of five side suplexes for two, but a spinkick misses, triggering a reversal sequence - won by Yamada with a cradle for two. Yamada goes up with a flying roundhouse kick, but Toyota falls out of the ring, so no cover. Yamada stays on her with a flying bodypress on the floor, but Toyota fights to the apron, so Yamada superplexes her for two. Yamada tries a gory special, but Toyota blocks, and a reversal sequence ends in the champ hooking a victory roll for two. A bridging electric chair follows from there, and Yamada is unable to kick out at 19:44. This was something. The sheer number of suplexes here was something to behold, but unlike the Brock Lesnar deal, these were actually unique variations of the move, not just the same one over and over. It was also interesting, in that it was kind of worked like a David and Goliath style match, though both women are pretty much the same size. Great execution throughout as well, and an absolutely blistering pace. **** ¼