|
01/17/99 Venue: Yokohama Bunka Gym, Yokohama, Japan PN Magazine Arena Report by Riki Fudo Well back from a meeting with the PNM lawyers about my press credentials being yanked from SJPW. seems that they want me to hold off on my next Tetsuo Matsumoto interview. Fine by me, I'm digging the all woman action going down in J.I.W.W.A. waaay too much to care. For those who missed it last time Diamond Kenyuki and Medusa Rage beat the crap out of each other to the point where the match was a double KO well past the 25 minute mark. Well the booking boys at J.I.W.W.A. shocked the world when they announced the big Main Event for this second show. Rage and Robin Blaze make-up the Gaijin faction as they do battle against Kenyuki and her monster of a partner Hurricane ARASHI. Throw in some choice singles matches and the first 2 matches for the 3WI tag belts and this card is a sure winner. Match 1 - Akira Kahn v. Chikako Kamiya This was Kahn's first J.I.W.W.A match though not her first night in the business. Kamiya is a fresh face recruited from Steel Wind Dojo (trained by no less than Junji Shirow). Kahn made her way out first wearing a blue tank top with a black and ying-yang on the front. She completed this with black training shorts(I've seen kickboxers wear these things as well boxers. Kahn is supposed to be some big time kickboxer in Muay Thai). The ring entrances were kept simple for the first few matches but Kahn still got a decent pop as she walked to ringside with sister Akiko Lao and husband Akira Kahn. Kahn did a few katas in the ring "Boku Wa Pioneer" played over the PA (Kahn seemed a tad agitated that Kamiya was getting her own ring music played). Chikako Kamiya came out to some light cheers, after all this is her first match, as she... God help me... SKIPPED to the ring!! The usual ring intros were done quickly and Junior Ref. Katsuhiro Ozawa let both women shake and return to their corners. The bell rang and BAM!! Right out of the gate the two locked up. Kamiya wasted no time taking the advantage and arm wrung Kahn into a standing wristlock. Kahn seemed to pensive, like she was trying to figure out just what the hell to do. Kamiya followed by getting Kahn into a standing hammerlock and grapevining one of Kahn's leg's with her own (Good way to stop forward movement, good idea kid!!). Kahn was looking VERY frustrated and was probably even more so after Kamiya took her down with side toss and roll. Now both women were on the mat with Kamiya firmly in control with the hammerlock and applied a reverse chinlock to better expose her position. Kahn was looking absolutely lost at this point and struggled to get free to no avail (Time - 2:06) Kahn finally displayed some offense with a down right evil back elbow to the side of Kamiya's face and followed with 2 more shots of the same breaking the hold. Kamiya was holding the side of her jaw in pain (Yes Virginia, if those elbows hit me I'd be in pain also) as both women slowly got to vertical base. Kamiya went in for another lock-up which Kahn responded to with yet another elbow (more of a forearm smash) and a short kick to the knee. Kahn seemed to be finally getting an idea of where she wanted to go this match as she collar and elbowed Kamiya and then unleashed a series of brutal knees to the midsection. Kamiya was looking very weak at this point as Kahn slammed her down to the mat and followed up with a knee drop and cover for a 1 count (Time - 4:15) Kahn was in control now keeping her attack focused on Kamiya's face, unloading with an elbow drop and STIFF kick to the right side of Kamiya's jaw (OUCH!! Kahn seems a tad to intense). Kahn then got Kamiya vertical and whipped her to the ropes. Kahn went for short lariat but Kamiya ducked and came off wit ha high cross bodyblock taking Kahn down for a 1 count. Kahn was livid and tried to follow with another lariat that again Kamiya ducked. Kamiya responded with a lariat of her own which Kahn sprung up from, only to be hit with another lariat. Kahn sprung up again but this time Kamiya got a little payback with a well placed forearm smash to the side of Kahn's head. Kahn was sent sprawling as Kamiya looked to the crowd for support (She got it as a "CHI-KA-KO" chant was starting). Kahn was slightly stunned as Kamiya came off the ropes with her arm stretched out for a lariat. Kahn to her credit saw this coming, ducked down and came up behind Kamiya, nailing her with a short kick to the knee. Kahn followed with a chop block to the same knee and Kamiya's rally was cut short. (Time - 6:41) Kahn then whipped Kamiya to the turnbuckles and ran in after her, nailing poor Kamiya with a double palm blow (or Kikosho). this was followed by three vicious elbows to the side of Kamiya's face and finally 2 wicked Muay Thai thrust knees to the ribs. Ref Ozawa checked on a now glassy eyed Kamiya before finally signaling for the bell. No doubt about it, Kahn scored a devastating KO. Winner: Akira Kahn Time: 7:21 Comments: Kahn has a reputation for slow starts and boy did that show here. Still she overcame Kamiya's short bursts of offense and unleashed the most wicked corner combo I've ever seen!! Kamiya is still learning the trade and showed her inexperience by not being able to follow up on the early joint lock she had. Still, there is some potential there. Match 2 - Shiori Kanzaki v. Michiko "SPARROW" Yokota I'll go on record and say it. Yokota is fantastic. She was the house of fire in last card's tag match that kept it from being a one sided win for the Wild Knights. Well tonight she was looking to get the first notch under her belt in the singles rankings as she took on Shiori Kanzaki. Kanzaki had that ignoble stain on her record of being beat in 1:01 by Hurricane ARASHI. That got ARASHI bumped from mid-card status to main event worker (How does that work? I know that must really hurt some of the other talent trying to get ahead. I mean they work these grueling matches and slowly move up the ladder and here comes ARASHI, creaming her opposition in 1:01 and BAM!! She gets to play with Rage, Blaze and Kenyuki). Shiori Kanzaki slowly came to the ring, still doing her praying Bhuddist impression. She knew if she wanted people to take her seriously that she has to last in this match. Even a draw could re-establish some respect, especially against Yokota. Kanzaki climbed into the ring with little in the way of crowd support. I mean not even a negative reaction. It was like no one cared. Then out came the feathers!! Decked out in her usual feathered ensemble Michiko "SPARROW" Yokota made her way to the ring to a large enough pop that it seemed everyone knew her. The ring introductions were handled quickly so the match could get started. Kanzaki and Yokota both shook hands before the bell and returned to their respective corners. At the sound of the bell the match got off to a quick beginning. Kanzaki ran towards Yokota full speed. Yokota dropped down and hip tossed the younger girl to the mat. Kanzaki was up again but again got hip tossed down. Kanzaki started to go for a quick stand again but opted underhook Yokota's leg leading to the SPARROW to fall to the mat. Both women were on their knees, not more than a few feet apart smiling. They circled and we had our first collar and elbow of the night. Kanzaki stepped in, applied a hammerlock and then executed a fast fireman's carry taking Yokota down. Kanzaki held onto the arm as Yokota got to her feet but wasn't prepared for the blindingly fast reversal about to occur. Yokota rolled through the arm lock, back flipped and then revered the hold so that SHE now had the standing wristlock on Kanzaki. (Time - 2:25) Yokota worked fast and with Kanzaki's wrist still in tow, she ran and spingboarded off the middle rope and took Kanzaki down to the mat with a flying headscissors. Kanzaki showed her frustrations as she took a wild swing at Yokota, who blocked and followed with a short headbutt. Kanzaki staggered back and fell flat into a sitting position. Yokota wasn't here to babysit and grabbed Kanzaki, slamming her down across her knee for a backbreaker. She then signaled to the fans by clasping her hands together (this got a pop from the crowd, they knew what was coming next) and executed a standing moonsault. Unfortunately Yokota ate a healthy portion of ring mat as Kanzaki rolled clear. Kanzaki followed up quickly grabbing Yokota's right arm and dropped a series of elbows down on it. She then folded the arm behind Yokota's back and scoop slammed her down. This was followed even further with Kanzaki executing a series of stiff kicks to Yokota's shoulder. This arm work early seemed pretty important. It looked like Kanzaki was going for a shoot approach to counter the aerial style that Yokota likes to use. (Time - 4:47) Kanzaki started her next batch of offense out by whipping Yokota to the turnbuckle. Yokota collided with a thud and Kanzaki charged in with a shoulderbutt, however Yokota countered by mule kicking Kanzaki right in the head. This was the second time in the match Kanzaki was stunned, as Yokota sprang onto the second rope and jumped off catching Kanzaki in a spinning bulldog (Yokota rubbed at her shoulder after this move, still trying to shake off the effects of the arm work no doubt). Yokota had some slight advantage and she picked up Kanzaki and executed a crushing release German suplex and a cover for 2. She then whipped Kanzaki to the ropes and met her with a HIGH elevation dropkick. Kanzaki was in some serious trouble now and needed a fast comeback. Yokota hooked Kanzaki in for a Northern Lights Suplex, obviously trying to put her away. Kanzaki blocked the attempt and turned the failed suplex into a release gutwrench. Kanzaki slowly got up and approached Yokota. Again she went to the arm, slapping on a Fujiwara armbar that had Yokota screaming in pain. (Time 7:17) Yokota actually moved backwards in order to hook foot to the bottom rope, this was after a solid 23 seconds in the Fujiwara. Kanzaki capitalized on her control and picked Yokota up and hit a release power bomb and a cover of 2. Unfazed by the near fall she executed a snap suplex and then dashed to the corner turnbuckle. Yokota was trying to recover at this point but was met with a missile dropkick that flattened her. Kanzaki then set-up a nice powerbomb and scored a cover for 2. Still keep her concentration, Kanzaki next picked up Yokota and damn near crushed her shoulder with a shoulder breaker. Personally I would've gone for a cover but Kanzaki decided that one more move was needed to wrap up a win. She dumped Yokota on the top turnbuckle and set her up for a top rope belly to back superplex. The crowd was nuts at this point, many people were screaming for Yokota to do something to escape, but in the end she got crushed to the mat with the move, landing right on her shoulder again. Kanzaki covered and seemed to be on her way to victory but Yokota got her foot on the bottom rope breaking the count at 2. (Time - 10:04) Kanzaki was now livid and complained of a slow count to the ref, Yokota scrambled and got a schoolboy from behind scoring a 1 count. Kanzaki immediately shifted to offense, stomping away viciously at Yokota's shoulder. The ref had to actually force her off Yokota because Yokota was once again in the ropes. Kanzaki looked to the fans, even doing her praying Buddhist routine to a chorus of boos. She then turned her focus back to Yokota and set her up for one more powerbomb. It must have been pure desperation because Yokota countered with a rana that put both women on the mat. Kanzaki scrambled, using the rope to get back to her feet, but Yokota had already kipp-uped and stood ready with a cocked arm as she charged and sent Kanzaki over the top rope with a lariat. Kanzaki flipped over the top, landed on her feet an then crashed head first into the guardrail. Yokota had already got her running start by this point and plancha'd herself right into Kanzaki. (Time - 12:13) Yokota completely went on offense at this point, ramming Kanzaki into the rail once more before throwing her back in the ring. Yokota then hopped on the ring apron and bided her time. Kanzaki struggled to her feet and was then met with an evil springboard lariat. Yokota covered for 2 and then picked Kanzaki up one more time, nailing her with a Liger bomb for another 2 (Gotta give credit to Kanzaki here, everyone thought that the Liger bomber did her in). Yokota legdropped Kanzaki and then darted to the top rope. Kanzaki was prone... or so everyone thought!! As Yokota perched herself, Kanzaki rolled to the ropes and shook them causing Yokota to get posted and fall down to the mat. Both women were down at this point and the ref got his count started. This match was intense thus far, no way were the fans going to settle for a double KO again. (Time - 14:11) Kanzaki was up first and scooped up Yokota, pushing her back into the corner. Kanzaki then went for an Irish whip to the opposite side but Yokota reversed and followed in with her flipping hurricanrana into sitting pin move (Already dubbed the Sparrow Roll on the Indy circuit, this move is weird but impressive to watch). Again another 2 count, which again surprised EVERYONE in the arena. Yokota could taste the win now and set Kanzaki on the top rope facing the fans. She hooked Kanaki in Thunderfire Powerbomb position and looked set to execute the Splash Mountain Yokota Bomb. Kanzaki was damn near crushed into the canvas as Yokota covered and scored a three count. Result: Michiko "SPARROW" Yokota via Yokota Bomb Time: 15:47 Comments: Hot match!! Kanzaki got a good response post match, obviously people are coming around to her skills. Yokota was favoring her shoulder after the match. Kanzaki did a good job of working it over. bookers are talking and we might see Yokota playing with ARASHI or Akira Kahn. Either way Yokota is adored by the fans right now and showed lots of great offense (That Sparrow Roll needs to be seen to be believed). Match 3 - The Wild Knights v. Darkness Descends to Madness The Wild Knights are way over with the fans. This I gathered by their last match in Japan against Yokota and Miho Watanabe, when the fans totally pumped their fists and shook their heads like children throwing a fit. This time I know the WK are the Japanese flavor of the month simply by the merchandise (WK Shirts, WK fanzines and even... so help me god... WK underwear!! Yes UNDERWEAR!! With Knight and O'Brien smiling right on the crotch. I damn near spit out my tea). Now DDM... this team is a mystery, they have some sort of rep but no one can get the dish on them (they must be working for WWC because that's the only place I can't get info on). After making the crowd wait for 10 minutes we finally got the first taste of a ring entrance. From the first few notes played I spotted "Highway To Hell". Sounds to me like the DDM dig AC/DC. We then were all treated to the appearance of "War Angel" Kimiko Ozaki, sporting a nice little black top with gold trim and a nice pair of gold boots with what seemed to be some heavy padding on her knees. Standing next to her was "Bloodwitch" Takako Wakizawa, dressed in a complete blood red ensemble (fitting ne?). Wakizawa sticks in my mind because at only 5'3 she seemed all to eager to show off the large mass of scar tissue on her forehead. Both walked to the ring, trying to get through the mass of fans that were swarming them. Finally they made it to the ring and both mounted the turnbuckles raising their fists to the crowd. This team was already getting a huge response as some of the crowd were actually chanting Wakizawa's name (I guess she's got a cult following. I'm guessing she worked the deathmatch circuit). The crowd was settling down... FINALLY!! But the new silence was broken when Iron Maiden's "Two Minutes to Midnight" burst out of the PA. That was practically drowned out as both Amanda Knight and Fionna O'Brien were greeted to the LOUDEST pop of the night. Plenty of fans were trying to hop the railing just to get over to touch the WK. I mean you'd think KISS was playing in the building with the response these two got. Knight and O'Brien stormed the ring, slapping every extended hand on their way. Both mounted the turnbuckles and pumped their fists to the chant of "KNIGHTTO!! KNIGHTTO!!". There wasn't a person in Yokohama that wasn't on their feet for these two. Again things calmed down and the ring intros were made. Both teams made it to center ring and received instructions from junior referee Takeshi Fujita. Interesting to note that DDM offered handshakes to the WK, it was odd because ... well, the whole image of the DDM doesn't seem to scream "Fair Play". We start the match with Knight and Wakizawa. Knight was very cautious, circling the opposition slowly, I guess she wanted see if Wakizawa would act first. After about 10 seconds of circling we finally got a collar and elbow. Knight had the advantage in leverage and power here as Wakizawa is pretty small and got pushed back into a neutral corner. Knight unloaded with a knife edge chop but her hand only met turnbuckle as Wakizawa ducked out and got behind her. Wakizawa was quick to unload with really fast kicks to the knee (looked like a total of 4... possibly 5). Knight dropped to one knee and then got whipped to the ropes. Now I swear I've watched tons of lucha matches where guys run the ropes but the speed that these two women were doing it made your average lucha match look like slow motion replay!! We had criss cross going for about three rebounds until Wakizawa hit a short lariat knocking Knight down. (Time - 1:05) Unfazed Knight got to her feet and started circling again until Wakizawa took some initiative and went for another collar and elbow. Knight came out on top this time, getting under Wakizawa and flipping her on her back. Knight then scooped up the "Bloodwitch" for a quick slam and elbow drop into a headlock. Both women were on the mat now with Knight with a slight amount of control. Wakizawa got to her feet and tried or a lift on Knight but was countered by side headlock judo throw, taking both women down to the mat again. Wakizawa was careful getting to her feet this time and finally escaped the headlock by tossing Knight to the ropes. Wakizawa stood ready and ducked down for a back body drop but Knight rolled over her back and reversed shoulder hooked Wakizawa for a 1 count. Wakizawa seemed a bit steamed that she was countered and charged in but Knight ducked the incoming lariat and hiptossed Wakizawa down and followed through by applying an armlock along with a tag to O'Brien. O'Brien was full of fire and let it show . As Knight held Wakizawa in a standing wristlock O'Brien elbow smashed the exposed arm twice before taking over the hold. (Time - 2:08) Wakizawa was whipped to the ropes quickly by O'Brien, who came charging in wit ha lariat. O'Brien though missed the blind tag that Wakizawa made to Ozaki. Even though O'Brien connected with her lariat on Wakizawa, Ozaki came from behind, hooked Fionna in and executed a fast Russian legsweep (Those blind tags are murder). Ozaki got O'Brien up and then planted her foot in the stomach with nice jumping spin kick. O'Brien was hunched over now and fell victim to quick spinning neckbreaker laying O'Brien on the mat. Ozaki then dropped 2 elbows and covered for 1. Keeping her momentum, Ozaki got O'Brien up and whipped her to the ropes again and caught her off the rebound with a Raiden bomb for a count of 2. Ozaki followed again this time with a standing short arm clothesline before tagging out to Wakizawa. Now Wakizawa had the advantage she lacked earlier and quickly let out more quick kicks to the knee (right knee in this case). O'Brien dropped top one knee but quickly found the other lifted up as Wakizawa executed a nasty dragonscrew legwhip. Wakizawa really kept the pressure on O'Brien now as she applied the spinning toe-hold and followed through into the figure four leglock. (Time - 4:27) O'Brien is known for her kicking power so it seemed the DDM had a strategy in place to eliminate that "Power Foot". O'Brien writhed on the mat in pain and attempted to turn the hold finally but had little luck. Finally after close to minute in the lock O'Brien fell back and the ref dropped to make a 3 count. But Amanda Knight wasn't going to lose the match that easily as she sprinted in the ring and hit a diving elbow on Wakizawa to break the hold. Ozaki sprinted in the ring and whipped Knight to the ropes as Wakizawa and O'Brien lay on the mat trying to recover and poor ref Fujita trying restore some order. Knight came off the ropes and ducked Ozaki's uraken with a baseball slide and then followed up with a bulldog to counter!! But she wasn't stopping there!! Knight mounted Ozaki and began unloading a furious assault of forearm smashes to the side of the head as ref Fujita began his 5 count. As for Wakizawa and O'Brien... both were up now, O'Brien looking worse for wear as she slowly limped to the corner. Wakizawa charged in after her but O'Brien lifted her legs up causing Wakizawa's shoulder to ram into the ringpost and leading to O'Brien countering with a sunset flip for... but no count as ref Fujita was trying to get Knight off of Ozaki. O'Brien doesn't miss an opportunity though and set-up Wakizawa in a gutwrench suplex near the turnbuckle before hitting her O'Brien bomb!! (Time - 6:30) Knight was of Ozaki now but took an opportunity to get a shot on Wakizawa and hit a Bronco Buster in the corner as whatever control the ref had was thrown out the window. Both O'Brien and Knight were up now and nodded to each other. Knight set Wakizawa on her shoulders as O'Brien came off the top bulldogging her down. A cover followed but Ref Fujita called it off saying it wasn't legal because of the double team (still that bulldog got one helluva pop!!). Finally Knight got out of the ring... but Ozaki was still in and chopblocked O'Brien's knee. Ozaki was up to 3 on her new ring count when she picked up the still Wakizawa and picked her like she was going to belly-to-back suplex her own partner!! She fooled me good as instead of falling back she catapulted Wakizawa down with vicious doubleteam legdrop move (VERY Midnight Express I must admit!!). Wakizawa was now somewhat back in her senses as Ozaki left the ring. Picking O'Brien up, Wakizawa whipped her to hostile territory i.e. the DDM corner turnbuckle where she was met with forearm smash by Ozaki. Wakizawa finally tagged out at this point. (Time - 9:14) Ozaki dragged O'Brien to her feet and hooked her in for a suplex. Ozaki lifted the dazed O'Brien up and then bounced her legs off the ropes for slingshot suplex and cover of 2. Ozaki then set O'Brien upright and was set to unleash a nasty looking uraken but... O'Brien blocked, grappled the arm and took her opponent down in a judo throw that followed right into a cross armbreaker submission. Ozaki was obviously less than prepared for this as she winced in pain on the mat. O'Brien was putting everything she had into that cross armbreaker but it wasn't enough to prevent Ozaki from reaching the ropes. O'Brien was up now (BARELY!!) as Ozaki scrambled to her feet only to met by quickest and most neckbreaking superkick this sport has ever seen!! Ozaki both fell to the mat, with O'Brien slowly trying to crawl over to her corner for a tag. Ozaki was closer to her own corner and tagged to Wakizawa, who promptly dropped a hard elbow to the back of O'Brien's head. DDM were now back in control a Wakizawa tied up O'Brien in the ropes and unleashed a vicious lariat that sent both women over the top rope. Wakizawa landed on her feet and immediately continued her offense by ramming O'Brien's head into the guardrail. Ozaki joined in, connecting with an uraken this time. No one noticed Amanda Knight though as she ran from the opposite side of the ring and executed a slingshot plancha onto all 3 women on the outside (not the best of moves when you consider your partner is getting the beejezus pounded out of her). (Time - 13:18) Knight was totally on fire as she rammed Ozaki into the ring post and then whipped Wakizawa into the guardrail. She then grabbed her own partner and whipped her into Wakizawa, nailing "Bloodwitch" with a lariat that sent both into the stands!! Ref Fujita was already at 9 on his ring count as Knight now unloaded an uraken of her own on Ozaki. O'Brien was struggling to her feet as was Wakizawa. Both started unloading with chops to the chest on each other and just when it seemed that O'Brien was getting the upper hand Wakizawa rammed her into the guardrail AGAIN!! By this time Knight had thrown Ozaki in the ring and quickly mounted the top turnbuckle. Knight executed a flying guillotine legdrop and went to cover Ozaki but Ref Fujita reminded her that neither woman was the legal member for their team. Wakizawa was now back out of the stands with O'Brien in tow and executed a shoulderbreaker before tossing her back in the ring. Knight immediately went after Wakizawa, nailing her with a stiff forearm. But Wakizawa stood there with this grin on her face as she took 2 more forearms before crumpling Knight to the mat with an overhead chop and a headbutt. Ozaki was up and dazed but still ran the ropes and landed an Asai moonsault on Knight before Fujita ordered her out of the ring. Wakizawa got O'Brien up and got behind executing a German suplex... another German suplex and finally releasing on the third German suplex. O'Brien was barely going on her own power at this point as Wakizawa dumped her on the top rope. Wakizawa looked like she was trying to set-up a top rope brainbuster but O'Brien tried fighting her off with a stiff forearm shot. Wakizawa was still up but fazed slightly as O'Brien unleashed another forearm that had Wakizawa stunned while still on the turnbuckles (Time - 16:28) O'Brien then got the hugest pop as she hit her counter... a TOP ROPE POWER BOMB!! Wakizawa got planted but O'Brien also landed wrong hurting her knee again. Luckily O'Brien was able to roll to her corner and tag in Knight (FINALLY). Amanda Knight was relatively fresh and started by whipping Wakizawa to the ropes and nailing her with a flying leg lariat. She then locked her in and executed a Northern Lights Suplex for a count of 2. Knight was on full offense at this point slamming Wakizawa down and then signaled the crowd for her Knight Rider suplex/piledriver. Ozaki dashed in the ring now and tackled Knight while she was setting the suplex up. Both Wakizawa and Ozaki now stood on opposite sides of Knight as "Bloodwitch" hit a superkick that sent Ms. Knight staggering back into Ozaki who then executed an atomic drop. Ozaki quickly went to her corner so she could be tagged. Wakizawa whipped Knight to the opposite neutral corner and then whipped in Ozaki to follow with a lariat. Knight fell down as Ozaki followed with a bulldog and what seemed to be an inevitable 3 count. but O'Brien made the save stomping on the back of Ozaki's head. This brought Wakizawa back in the ring, who threw O'Brien out and then followed her to reintroduce her to the guardrail. Ozaki now set Knight up for a suplex but was blocked by Knight on the first try. he tried a second time but again was blocked. O'Brien meanwhile was getting her knee mauled by Wakizawa, who kicked it, smashed the ring steps against it and then unloaded several chairshots against both O'Brien's leg and head. Ozaki tried for a third time on her suplex but was blocked and Knight reversed it into a suplex of he own but turned it into a tombstone piledriver... THE KNIGHT RIDER!! Knight covered for a 2 count. (Time - 22:47) O'Brien was in serious trouble on the outside, she retaliated against Wakizawa by ramming her head into the guardrail and even using the chair but Wakizawa just kept the attack on the knee coming!! Knight now was with Ozaki in the ring and unleashed an uraken and then her up for a powerbomb. Knight hit a crushing Ligerbomb but Ozaki to her credit kicked out at 2 again. (Knight looked very frustrated by all this and even questioned Ref Fujita's count). Knight whipped Ozaki to the corner turnbuckles but Ozaki jumped to the second buckle and sprang off with a twisting flying bodypress for a 2 count of her own. She then clobbered Knight with a lariat sending Amanda down. Wakizawa meanwhile atomic dropped both of O'Brien's legs across the guardrail leading to O'Brien screaming in agony. Back in the ring, Ozaki whipped Knight to the ropes and set-up for a back body drop. Knight countered with a DDT that just plain planted Ozaki's skull into the mat. She then followed by getting behind Ozaki and hooking in the full-nelson. This led to a dragon suplex and a 3 count as Wakizawa had just nailed O'Brien one last time in the her knee with the chair. Winners: The Wild Knights Time - 25:57 Comments: HOLY CRAP!! What a great match!! The WK advance but the DDM really put the hurting on. Did the Wild Knights really win? Truth is they won the battle but not the war. O'Brien was helped to the back by both Amanda Knight and Keiko Sakura. O'Brien got her knee banged up but good. Comments From the Wild Knights DDM Match (Continued): If a team got over tonight I'd have to sat it was the DDM. I love watching the Wild Knights but Wakizawa and Ozaki were really brutal and they singled O'Brien out realizing she was a threat because of kicking power. After this tournament is over look for the DDM to be one of the first teams to get a shot. I just hope the champs survive the ordeal. Match 4 - Reika Kusanagi/Miho Watanabe v. The Goddess' Of Beauty Hey I remember the Cruel Angels!! One of the most brutal teams to ever be produced by Japan. Reika Kusanagi and Megumi Urameshi were just plain great in that "We're Psychotic and after watching us wrestle you will be too" kind of way. Well Kusanagi resurfaces after a year of inactivity and MAN!! Has she bloated or what!! They announced her at 363 pounds... Rumor has it she went into the restaurant business... as in she went in to several restaurants and didn't leave till they were out of food. Well tonight she who "All you Can Eat Buffet" owners fear was teaming with Miho Watanabe. Miho already has a following as the cute little girl from Diamond Kenyuki's little stable who the fans love. Why? Because this girl can take a beating and keep coming at you. Things got interesting from the ring intros, first "If" by Janet Jackson came over the PA and Princess Yamaguchi came out with "Beauty Star" Angel Saito. It seemed with every flashbulb that went of as they walked to the runway both stopped to pose... geez trained models as wrestlers.. at least I know they can wrestle well. It was kept short for a ring entrance with Saito sporting a white one piece get-up mixed with lace around the midsection. I mean this was all white right down to the puffy sleeves. Yamaguchi, the "Princess" herself had on her white gown and cape and the shiniest tiara that seemed make everyone's eyes hurt. They greeted the fans as much as they could before "Ace of Spades" by Motorhead came on (Motorhead? Don't we have bands in Japan?) . Charging out of the runway came Reika Kusanangi and Miho Watanabe. Miho was receptive to the crowd, shaking hands and even signing a few autographs but Reika just plodded through the masses and got right in the ring and motioned that she was going to break both "Goddess'". Ring intros were handled quick as Kusanangi stood face to face with BOTH Saito and Yamaguchi (I got the feeling that Kusanagi HATES thin beauty queens which meant that tonight would especially violent). Miho had to attempt to restrain her partner with little success. Finally both teams returned their respective corners and surprisingly Watanabe started for her team. The bell rang and DAMN!! If Yamaguchi didn't hit the fastest dropkick I've ever seen to start off. Yamaguchi was determined to set the pace as she whipped Miho to the ropes and rebounded off herself finally nailing Watanabe with a jumping knee. Yamaguchi kept up her pressure with a snap suplex followed a running elbow drop. A quick tag to Saito was made who rebounded off the ropes and nailed Miho with a koppou kick. Little Miho was stunned already as she was tossed to the ropes again as Saito set-up a back drop but was met with a spinning neckbreaker instead. Miho executed a fast scoops slam and leg drop before making the tag to Kusanangi. Kusanangi was just a FORCE... not a force of nature but a force!! She unloaded heavy closed fisted punches on Saito (a total of 4) dropping the "Beauty Star" to the mat. Kusanangi followed with a falling headbutt and a cover for 1. Undeterred by the kickout she whipped Saito to a neutral corner and put all of her weight into a corner splash (ah.. .the old Avalanche!!) . Kusanangi followed with hanging suplex into a brainbuster and another cover this time pulling Saito up at 2. (Time - 2:27) Saito was trapped in center ring as Kusanangi rebounded off the ropes going for her big splash but Saito rolled clear and the "Iron Horse" ate canvas. Saito got Kusanangi vertical and unleashed a series of stiff forearm shots before tagging out to Yamaguchi. The Princess" and Saito then both hooked Kusanangi in and double suplexed her landing her on the mat. Yamaguchi let a forearm shot go but Kusanangi stood in the ring dazed. She hit another one but Kusanangi refused to rope (or maybe she was just out on her feet). Yamaguchi backed up and went for a running forearm smash but was met with the now classic Jawbuster Uraken (So called because she broke Rekka Sakura's jaw with it in Singapore). Yamaguchi dropped and Kusanangi shook off her dazed state before tagging Watanabe back in. Miho was all piss and vinegar as she scooped up Yamaguchi and slammed her to the canvas. She then mounted the second turnbuckle and dropped an elbow onto the "Princess" scoring a 2 count. Watanabe next whipped Yamaguchi into the turnbuckle but as she followed in met the heel of Yamaguchi's boots. (Time - 5:00) Yamaguchi quickly sprung to the middle turnbuckle an landed a double axehandle flattening little Miho. She then dragged Miho over to the Goddess corner, scooped her up and then tagged Saito. Yamaguchi planted Miho into the mat with a running powerslam followed up by Saito's top rope moonsault and cover. Looked to be a sure three, maybe that's why Kusanangi made the save with stomp on Saito. Yamaguchi rushed to tackle Kusanangi but the "Iron Horse nailed her with a stiff lariat and tossed her to the outside. Saito meanwhile stood Watanabe up but got snapmared over and then found herself in a revere chinlock. Saito got to her feet but found Miho had turned the chinlock into a sleeper and had backmounted her. Saito countered by stumbling forward causing Watanabe's throat to hit the ring rope, kind of a modified hotshot. Yamaguchi meanwhile dodged a Kusanangi chairshot and dropkicked the big girl into the railing causing her to ram her own head into the chair. Saito meanwhile took Miho down wit ha quick bulldog and a cover for 2. She made a tag to Yamaguchi as she set Miho in a powerbomb. Saito executed the powerbomb as Yamaguchi connected with a legdrop. Yamaguchi now went to work executing a fisherman's buster and followed by chokeslamming Miho down and covering. Again Kusanangi made the save, this time diving in (quite a feat for the Buffet queen). Kusanangi grabbed Yamaguchi by the hair and then lariated her down to the canvas. Saito tried to rush in but was met with another lariat. Kusanangi then picked up own partner and then hooked HR into a suplex. But it was a set-up because Kusanangi dropped Watanabe onto Yamaguchi for a possible pin and followed by hitting another lariat on Saito. Ref Fujita counted 2 before Yamaguchi got her foot on the bottom rope. (Time - 7:40) Kusanangi then threw Saito over the top rope to the arena floor as both Yamaguchi and Watanabe were struggling to get to their feet. Watanabe slowly started to use the ropes to drag herself but Yamaguchi got up first and charged in with a double axehandle. Watanabe countered with a shoulder butt into Yamaguchi's gut and followed up with a sunset flip. But Yamaguchi was wily enough to block the pin by dropping her knees on Watanabe's shoulder's for what seemed to be a 3 count. But just like in her last match Miho Watanabe showed her heart and courage and kicked out just in the nick of time. As this happened Kusanagi had her hands full as Saito was effectively blocking or answering every blow with of her own. Saito finally got the advantage on the larger Kusanangi when she hit a series of forearm smashes to the side of the head and then unleashed an utterly savage lariat!! Back in the ring Yamaguchi caught Watanabe in a Royal Octopus submission hold in center ring. She then rolled back catching Watanabe's down on the mat for not even a 1 count as Miho shifted her weight and rolled through ending up on Yamaguchi. Watanabe immediately slapped on a cross armbreaker in hopes of scoring a quick submission (Honestly how often does that REALLY happen?). Meanwhile Saito stunned everyone as she actually picked up the hefty Kusanangi for an over-the-knee backbreaker before scrambling back to her corner. (Time - 10:02) Yamaguchi stuck fast in Watanabe's cross-armbreaker and was looking for an out. She slowly managed to plant her feet and actually bridged her back causing Watanabe's shoulder to make contact with the mat. Watanabe countered by pulling harder on the arm at a 1 count breaking the bridge. Finally Saito rolled over into the ropes forcing a break. Watanabe got Yamaguchi in a suplex as fast as she could and hooked the right leg taking her over in a fisherman's suplex for a 2 count. Saito then went to look for a tag only to see that Usanagi had yet to return from the arena floor. Yamaguchi used this chance to slip behind Watanabe and throw her in a release German suplex and then roll over to Saito for a tag. Saito was quick and came and face planted Watanabe in the mat with a bulldog. Saito then went for a cover but just as the ref counted 1 she was dragged to the outside by Kusanagi's hamhock of a hand. Kusanagi blasted away on Saito with punches right by the ring apron as Yamaguchi ran around the ring to try and help her partner. Now Miho Watanabe is a rookie right? Well the rookie has guts because she actually did a slingshot plancha onto both Kusanangi and Saito that laid all three women on the floor. Here's the catch, Watanabe had been taking quite a beating and was the last to get up. It was Yamaguchi who rolled her back in the ring as Saito stumbled over to the turnbuckles and slowly climbed the ropes. Yamaguchi then dashed to the corner Saito was perched on an stood there wit her arm held wide over her head as Saito hit Her "Angel Star" Shooting Star Press. Saito landed clean on Watanabe as Fujita dropped and counted 3. Result: The Goddess' Of Beauty defeated Reika Kusanagi/Miho Watanabe Time - 13:46 Comments: The Goddess' of Beauty really showed their stuff. Angel Saito and Princess Yamaguchi win the second tier match. The real story is how great Miho Watanabe continues to be the most resilient little ball of fire in this promotion. she really gave her all and did almost all he work for the team. As For Reika Kusanagi... she should find Maiko Asakino and Megumi Urameshi and try to recapture the intensity that the Cruel Angels. She showed some real sparks of greatness but her current weight problem really affected her ring work. A solid match and the fans seem to dig Saito/Yamaguchi in a Jumping bomb Angels kind of way... but if they start singing I'm outta here!! We got a fifteen minute break so I slinked backstage to see what dirt I could dig up. Kenshiro Matsumoto gave me a scoop on the ARASHI/Kenyuki team, seems they've entered the tourney and Ken lined up a top flight team for them in form of... get ready kiddies... FIREBOMBER!! I couldn't believe I was told this. That means Kenuki/ ARASHI vs. Sakura/Shiratori at the next card. I damn near plotzed!! I also grabbed Tetsuo Masumoto backstage, seems he's really worried about the upcoming Tiger Kikuchi/Ed Dean match in SJPW. Tetsuo has totally changed since he dropped the Tengu gimmick. He expressed EXTREME worry for Tiger Kikuchi's well being. MAIN EVENT - Medusa Rage & "Heartbreaker" Robin Blaze v. Diamond Kenyuki & Hurricane ARASHI Well I got back to my seat with a large grin on my face and no sooner did my cheeks touch the leather than Hurricane ARASHI made her way out (sans ring music for some damn reason. I'm guessing the tech guy wasn't ready). ARASHI usually acts like a nut job which is why her entrance tonight was so weird. She acted like a regular human being. Mind you a regular human being that had someone piss in her drinking water but hey I take what I can get. She stalked to the ring with a face that just said "Kiss me and I'll eat your liver". Then up at the front of the runway was Kenyuki. Dressed in her black and silver get-up with black diamonds outlined on the chest and thighs. Let me give you an idea of what was on Ms. Kenyuki's mind for the night... on her right cheek in black face paint the kanji for "WAR" was scrawled. Kenyuki had a good amount of support, many greeting her with a gloved fist with white diamonds painted on the knuckles (Oooo, more merchandise to hock!!). She made it to the ring and simply nodded to ARASHI... very little in the way of dialogue between the two (NOT a good sign!!) Then the crowd erupted as the first few notes of Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker" came in over the PA. Robin Blaze then hit the runway with the whole damn arena chanting her last name. She hasn't been in Japan in over a year but the fans love her. She played up well cocking a fist before dropping to one knee and pointing to the curtain.. AND OUT CAME MEDUSA RAGE!! Medusa wasn't going to wait for Blaze as she stormed down the aisle and dove under the bottom rope going right after ARASHI and Kenyuki. Chops flew from Rage who knifehanded Kenyuki and overhead chopped ARASHI!! The ref didn't even wait for Ring Intros and called for the bell. Blaze dove in, coming hot Rage's trail and took over chopping of Kenyuki. We had a brawl and it wasn't even a minute old!! Rage tossed ARASHI to the ropes and nailed her with a high kneelift as Blaze unloaded some wicked stiff punches on Kenyuki. Both ARASHI and Kenyuki then dropped and rolled out of the ring. Rage walked to the near ring rope and pointed right at Kenyuki and then pointed down to the mat (Medusa really wanted to get the matter of "The Best" settled). ARASHI and Kenyuki conferred for a moment before ARASHI rolled back into the ring. Rage went right to work, stiff forearms punished ARASHI, just one after another. But ARASHI wouldn't drop, she answered the 5 forearms of Rage 4 of her own before dropping Rage with a lariat. Kenyuki then cinched Rage in and unleashed a hot snap suplex before whipping Rage to a neutral corner. Rage answered by sprinting right out of the corner wit ha lariat of her own and did her best Junkyard Dog impersonation by hitting a BIG THUMP powerslam for a one count. Rage then dragged ARASHI over to a corner and just unloaded with forearms. Rage then applied a standing wristlock before tagging out to Blaze. (Time - 2:11) The crowd went nuts as Blaze came off the second turnbuckle and dropped an elbow across ARASHI's arm. She followed by executing an over the shoulder single-arm Greco-Roman throw to send ARASHI crashing down to the canvas. Blaze was quick and slapped on a Fujiwara armbar and pulled it tight (She even went the extra mile, punching the arm between pulls). ARASHI was screaming incessantly but was quick to grab a rope. Blaze wasted little time, Irish whipping ARASHI to the ropes and backdropping her back to the mat. ARASHI stumbled to her feet and then slumped in her own team corner, slapping Kenyuki's hand for a quick tag. Kenyuki climbed through the ropes and started off right away by offering a test of strength. Blaze accepted but it was sucker ploy. Kenyuki unloaded with boot to Blaze's gut and then executed a hanging neckbreaker. Now Blaze was getting the bad end of the deal as Kenyuki just unloaded several jabs to Blaze's head. rage was over in her corner screaming at both Blaze and Kenyuki, wanting in the match VERY badly. Kenyuki responded by making her last blow to drop Blaze a forearm smash. Kenyuki followed by stomping on Blaze's head and taunting Rage by pointing to her "WAR" paint. Kenyuki then backed Blaze into a corner and mounted the turnbuckles, unloading with more closed fists to Blaze's exposed head. But Blaze responded by the fourth blow and executed a running inverted atomic drop and stumbling over to Rage for the tag!! (Time - 4:27) Kenyuki saw Rage coming and rolled to her corner, tagging ARASHI. ARASHI met Rage in center ring and both women stood toe to toe. ARASHI got right in Rage's face and the trash talk started. rage shoved ARASHI, ARASHI shoved Rage, Rage slapped ARASHI, ARASHI went for a lariat but Rage ducked and grabbed ARASHI's arm and dropped down with it in a cross armbreaker DDT. ARASHI was just not ready for that and grabbed her shoulder, Blaze's earlier arm work had some effect and Rage saw an opening to work. ARASHI was dragged to her feet as Rage slipped behind her and hit a side-belly-to-belly-suplex, crushing ARASHI's arm into the mat. Next it was Rage signaling to the crowd (who responded emphatically) and kicked ARASHI's arm, following that with a cross armbreaker. ARASHI saw Rage's game plan though and scrambled to the ropes as fast as she could. The ref ordered a break but Rage just smiled and pulled tightly on ARASHI's arm. Finally breaking the hold at a count of 5, Rage whipped ARASHI to her OWN CORNER and, basically challenging Kenyuki to come into the ring. Kenyuki slowly tagged ARASHI on the shoulder and entered the ring. The fans were just insane now, this was the match-up they were hoping for. Both women locked up, both struggling for position. Rage maneuvered Kenyuki into a headlock but Kenyuki shot Rage to the ropes. Rage rebounded, Kenyuki dropped to the mat, Rage skipped over and went for another rebound, Kenyuki leapfrogged over. Rage stopped after going through the leapfrog and grabbed Kenyuki from behind trying for a suplex. Kenyuki retaliated by striking Rage a few back elbows to break the waistlock. Rage rebounded off the ropes and hit Kenyuki with a hard forearm smash. Kenyuki stood there and shook her head before rebounding off the ropes and hitting Rage with her own forearm. Rage just glared at Kenyuki, grabbed her by the by the scruff of the neck and unloaded 2 more forearm shots. Kenyuki countered with 2 off her own. (Time - 7:48) Both women now just stood in center ring glaring at each other. Both shot to opposite ropes and rebounded. The collision was phenomenal as both RAMMED into each other, heads colliding!! Both women fell flat on their backs clutching their foreheads. Both Blaze and ARASHI egged their partners on, screaming for them to make a tag. Rage made it to Blaze first as Kenyuki slowly crawled to her corner. Blaze dove across the ring like a shot, cutting off Kenyuki and stomping on her leg (the same one Rage worked over in the Rage/Kenyuki Korakuen match). Blaze kicked, stomped and dropped a huge elbow on Kenyuki's leg before dragging her to center ring and crushing the knee with an atomic shinbuster. Blaze followed up with several knee drives to the inner thigh and then slipped into the figure four leglock. Kenyuki has had a month to recover the match with Rage but still, that combination of moves that Blaze laid on her must have undone weeks of physical therapy. Now Robin Blaze is no saint, She took advantage of her ring position and grabbed a hold of the second rope strand adding more pressure to the hold. Kenyuki writhed in pain, screaming many obscenities as Blaze tried to break her leg in 2. Finally Kenyuki's shoulders hit the mat and ref Fujita dropped to the mat for a count of 2 before she lifted her right shoulder up. But Blaze got caught for rope play and was forced to break. Determined still, she whipped Kenyuki to a neutral corner and followed in wit ha running forearm. But Kenyuki rolled clear, draping herself on the middle rope as Blaze's arm hit the turnbuckle. Kenyuki was making the slow crawl to ARASHI who was begging for the tag. Blaze recovered and tried to cut Kenyuki off with a front chokehold but the tag was made and a Hurricane hit the ring!! (Time - 10:07) ARASHI went berserk!! She crushed Blaze with a lariat, slammed her own partner on top of Blaze and then ran over to Medusa Rage and nailed her with a forearm smash. Rage wasn't going to have this and started to come in but ref Fujita stopped as ARASHI and Kenyuki (who was barely standing) set Blaze up for some choice double teaming. Blaze was on her feet with Kenyuki behind her and ARASHI in front when both unloaded with urakens!! BUT BLAZE DUCKED!! Kenyuki crumpled to the mat as ARASHI just looked supremely P.O.'d. She grabbed Blaze and rammed her head into a nearby turnbuckle, she held onto the head and ran Blaze across the ring to the other turnbuckle and slammed her head into that and finished it off by whipping blaze to the far corner and following in with a stampeder which made Blaze drop. ARASHI then rebounded off the ropes and landed a legdrop and covered for 2. She then smiled and looked to the crowd as she drew a thumb across her neck and then dug her teeth into Blaze's forehead!! Finally it was time to end... at least ARASHI thought so!! She set laze up for a variation on a Die Hard Thunderfire but Blaze slipped out and hit an inverted DDT dropping both women to the mat. Rage was reaching out her large arm over the top rope just begging to be tagged. Kenyuki was less enthusiastic as she hung her arms over the top rope and tried to catch some air. Blaze started to crawl to her corner but ARASHI grabbed onto her ankle and started climb up the leg. Blaze responded by unleashing a battery of kicks to ARASHI's head until the clutch on the ankle was broken. Finally, Blaze made the tag and Rage came in o finish business with BOTH Kenyuki and ARASHI!! Kenyuki came alive as she saw Rage enter the ring and sprinted in to cut her off from ARASHI, nailing a clean hard forearm shot to the side of the jaw. Rage responded with forearms of her own and then both degenerated it even further by unloading punches on each other. Ref Fujita tried to break it up was tossed to the side as ARASHI got to her feet and clubbed Rage on the back of the neck. Blaze was still on the mat recovering from her altercation with ARASHI and thus didn't see the coming set-up of Kenyuki grabbing Rage by the ankles and catapulting her up into an ARASHI LARIATTO!! Then ARASHI dragged Rage up, whipped her to ropes and then both ARASHI and Kenyuki crushed her with a double lariat. Kenyuki rolled out of the ring as ARASHI went for the cover. Ref Fujita counted 1, he counted 2 but the count of 3... NEVER CAMEE! Rage kicked out and while still on her back bit ARASHI's arm (and a more blood curling scream no one has ever heard!!) Rage was dazed but knew she had to carry some of the load till Blaze could get back to her feet. ARASHI was rolling on the mat holding her bitten arm as Rage stood over her and grabbed the arm and angrily pulled her enemy to center ring with it. Rage then dropped an elbow down the arm and then folded it back into chicken wing, she finished by getting a crossface on and pulled as hard as she could on ARASHI's arm. (Time - 15:04) Kenyuki dashed into the ring breaking the hold and possible submission with a double axehandle. Ref Fujita was all over her for this and got her back to her corner lickety-split!! Rage shook off the axehandle and tossed ARASHI to the corner where Blaze was now up and met the former Reiko with a solid headbutt. Rage made the tag to her partner and Blaze scampered in, getting ARASHI in a headlock and planted her in the middle of the ring with a bulldog. Rage dashed and tackled Kenyuki who was trying to make the save. But it was pointless as ARASHI kicked out at 2. Rage and Kenyuki then both spilled out of the ring clubbing each other in the face (Kenyuki was bleeding from the mouth at this point and later reports had Rage's right eye swelling almost shut). Blaze meanwhile pointed to all four sides of the arena and gave the signal for the "Heartbreak" punch. ARASHI was set up as Blaze backed up to unleash the fury of the fist. But as she stepped up ARASHI unloaded a VIOLENT Uraken dropping Blaze to the mat. ARASHI fell on top of her for a 2 count. ARASHI then slowly got to her feet and twirled her finger in the air, signaling her Hurricane Crush but Blaze (somehow) got to her knees and unleashed a furious kick to the back of ARASHI's right knee and then shoulder hooked her down for a count of 2. Rage and Kenyuki were both still trying to play "Last Man Standing" out on the arena floor and even Ref Fujita was ignoring the in-ring action as he yelled at both women to get back to their corners. While that was going on ARASHI retaliated to the earlier nearfall with a lariat that was just plain mean to look at. She then mounted Blaze on the top turnbuckle and climbed up to join her. As Rage and Kenyuki and Rage pounded the hell out of each other ARASHI Death Valley Bombed Blaze from the second turnbuckle and covered her. Ref Fujita dove in and made a count of 2, hesitated for a moment and then dropped his hand down for the final count. Result: Hurricane ARASHI & Diamond Kenyuki defeated Medusa Rage & Robin Blaze Time - 22:19 Comments: ARASHI continues to her winning ways, ruining Blaze's return to Japan. Still Blaze looked good and is already being talked as top contender for whatever singles title is announced. Rage and Kenyuki is getting beyond physical at this point. Kenyuki's face paint summed it up best... "WAR"!! Rage still wants to avenge her pinfall in the elimination tag match against ARASHI. Add to this ARASHI and Kenyuki taking on Rekka Sakura and Jun Shiratori in the 3WI tag tourney, which doubles as the Main Event for the next card and J.I.W.W.A. just gets more and more interesting. Overall Comments: Great show, ARASHI is really getting talked up by all the wrestling press. Rage and Kenyuki are at each other's throats and Robin Blaze gets to play with "SPARROW" Yokota at the Ota Ward Gym show on Feb. 14th. The Wild Knights continue to drive the fans crazy but the DDM are the team to look out for in the future. If J.I.W.W.A. continues to be this good I won't miss a single show. 
|