[1992-11-26-AJW-Dream Rush] Akira Hokuto vs Kyoko Inoue

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[FLIK]

(All Pacific Title) Kyoko Inoue © vs Akira Hokuto

They had a pretty good match in Jan which saw Kyoko get the win although it was a little screwy with Hokuto kicking out last second. There was the really great 6/27 tag with them forming a 1 time partnership to try and take the tag belts off Yamada & Toyota which failed when they couldn't get along. Don't think they ever exploited this as much as they should but there's also always been the underlying fact that Hokuto took Kyoko's spot as Bull's #1 tag partner after Kyoko broke away & Kyoko went on to become buddy buddy with Bull's #1 rival Aja instead. Lots of other run ins together in 92 as well so yeah, this is the culmination of a nice little sub feud that's been building all year. Early on they're quite respectful towards each other, handshake to start and clean breaks in the corner. Kyoko then slaps Hokuto who then drops Kyoko, hard, on her head with a back drop suplex in retaliation putting an end to all that nice nice shit. Soon as she regains conciousness Kyoko gets in a 33 rotation giant swing. The rest of this match really plays up the familiarity aspect between these 2. Lots of counter based spots and one upmanship. Kyoko runs though her usual array of wear down holds and stretches, Hokuto counters that and does the same but there's a lot of struggling to get stuff locked in. Lots of, "I know what's coming so i'm going to block it" moments. You know, it's a small miracle Hokuto never killed anyone with those jumping piledrivers she used to do, always cringe worthy and she gets a couple in here. Cool little stretch whear Hokuto wipes out Kyoko with a series of dives and Kyoko does an awesome job selling the impact and milking the 20 count on the floor to get back in only to be met with another attack every time she's close. Them knowing each other so well again playing a big factor during the final near fall section as almost every big move comes off of one or the other countering or avoinging another big move from the other. Kyoko regains controll, rolling though a cross body atempt. Kyoko's spring board back elbow is met with a drop kick to the spine. Hokuto's superfly splash meets knee. Kyoko's step up back elbow again fails for the finish as this time Hokuto just lifts her legs and punts Kyoko right in the bottom of the neck on the way down which did not look fun at all. Kyoko just barely kicks out but the NLB to follow up gets Hokuto the win and the title. Whole thing had a really awesome big match feel to it and they really steped things up here. They've done good things together before but this was easily their best and the 1st time any of their matches against each other delievered a true great home run. But wait, there's more, after a nice little show of respect between the 2 and a short celebration from Hokuto, more chaos erputs. Hokuto grabs the mic and starts talking shit on Shinobu Kandori (rocking the most amazing Cosby sweater ever) & the rest of LLPW who were sitting in the crowd. Kandori, Rumi Kazama & Harely Saito rush the ring. Cool Shiro Abe cameo as he's running gopher for them and fetches another mic. Kandori says nothing but Harley talks some shit back so they're setting the stage for the big Jan 6 man tag and LLPW's involvement in the interpromotional war.

[MJH]

(All Pacific Title) Kyoko Inoue © vs Akira Hokuto

...Kyoko does an awesome job selling the impact and milking the 20 count on the floor...

Obviously there's little to add to that run-down, Flik, the match is great. But showing Kyoko's face upside down is the only way they should ever shoot "lying down dazed"...

[Loss]

I expected to like this, but I didn't think I'd look at this as one of the best matches of the year. I thought it was phenomenal. It started as a somewhat polite match. Eventually, tempers flared and the aggression kicked way up. The giant swing is insane, but it's made by them selling it like they did afterwards so long (which may have been legit, I can only imagine how it feels to both give and take that move). The final stretch of false finishes is among the best I have ever seen in any wrestling match. I purposely tried to stay in the dark on the specifics of this because I wanted to be surprised, so while I assumed Hokuto would be going over to launch her '93, I wasn't 100% certain of it. I'm glad I did, because I bought almost every close call as the finish in the closing moments. The selling between spots made the impressive highspots doubly impressive. It's what puts Hokuto in a different class than, say, Manami Toyota. Toyota may be a slightly better athlete (although I'd say that's debatable more than definite), but Hokuto is so much better at pacing her matches, selling, and portraying emotions through body language and facial expressions. Everything she does seems positively earth-shattering when she's at her best, and she was at her best here.

[Tim Evans]

Kandori's Cosby sweater is the star of the match. I liked this but not as much as Loss. Hokuto is really good. Reminds me of a Japanese Owen Hart or someone like that. Don't know what to think of Inoue. Sometimes she's really but but sometimes she's kinda boring. She was in the middle here.

[Zenjo]

Their January meeting hadn't quite delivered, and they improved a fair bit this time around. A full length encounter with a decent stretch, particularly the finisher. I couldn't pick out any major problems, it just wasn't quite as high level as I remembered. Perhaps a more focused build? Something didn't quite click for me as lots of people have called this a semi classic match over the years. I'd still have it top 50 for the year.

[PeteF3]

This is the best joshi match of the year so far, even if it's because it's such a non-joshi layout. An actual feeling out process to start before building to the big moves, long sells between moves, and hot near-falls built around roll-ups and counters rather than giant bombs. This is a career performance for Kyoko to this point, with her fantastic glassy-eyed selling of Hokuto's dives and of those sick dropkicks to the back when she tried to do her springboard reverse dives. These girls also do more work struggling in pin attempts than some people do in entire matches. They were positively Liger-esque in their ability to convincingly fight through to last-second kickouts. There isn't a ton of super-innovative offense here but there are some very neat counters from Hokuto, and the near-falls are of course fantastic and had me biting several times. Interpromotional intrigue after the match--another one of those cross-promotional trends that makes these Yearbooks so cool.

[WingedEagle]

Note to self: check out FLIK's writeups before watching any joshi to make sure you don't miss any context.

 

I liked this, but it didn't register as anything particularly special for the year or the night. Things I did love: Hokuto's almost wristlock German early to start things with a bang, even if the crowd didn't really react. That giant swing -- quite gigantic and always fun. Hokuto's jumping piledriver was nasty enough you'd hope its part of a hot stretch rather than this early in the match. Really enjoyed Kyoko's focused attack on Hokuto's back, including a long scorpion. But then they seemingly dropped that aspect for the stretch run. Hokuto's somersault plancha looked super risky as she almost flew right past Kyoko. The finish was awesome with Hokuto nailing Kyoko in the back of the head when she came off the top with the Tenryu elbow. We get the great sportsmanship moment afterwards with Hokuto checking on Kyoko. Then comes Kandori in the Cosby sweater to get them involved as we head into 1993.

 

So what didn't I love? I liked what they had in mind with the back selling, the big moves and the hot finish. It just came off to be as incredibly rushed and trying to pack in as much as they could. One of those cases where less would've been more, at least for this guy. Not that this was a bad match. Its just why it doesn't rate much higher for me.

 

***3/4 feels about right.

[garretta]

This was the most physical women's match I've ever seen, bar none. These two looked like they'd been through a car wreck afterward, even though there was no blood. This one didn't need blood, though.

 

The first half was some of the snuggest submission work I've seen regardless of gender, as they worked some of the tightest holds I've seen yet. Then came the obligatory nearfall stretch at the end, and I was disappointed, because that usually means that all selling stops as the wrestlers in question try to wow the crowd with every pinfall attempt they've ever learned. But Hokuto's Boston crabs had taken their toll, as Inoue had trouble moving except in short bursts due to a damaged lower back. Then we had Hokuto's dives to the outside, which not only further injured Inoue by bouncing the back of her head off the security rail, but started taking out ring girls left, right, and center. I loved Inoue looking like she didn't know what planet she was on, and she may really not have known, because those bumps to the rail looked brutal.

 

Then we get the sickest three-move sequence I've ever witnessed. First, Hokuto goes for the winning splash off the top, only for Inoue to raise her knees and catch Hokuto on them so hard that it looked like she cracked at least three ribs. Hokuto was still selling the effects of that move in the postmatch ceremony. Then, Inoue tries a moonsault, only for Houkuto to pick her feet up and blast Kyoko in the back of the head on the way down. We get one last great sell from Kyoko as her running lights go out once and for all, her neck and head having been tortured throughout the match to the point where unconsciousness is a relief. Hokuto then makes sure Kyoko's gone by spiking her headfirst into the canvas like a tent pole for the winning pin. Words can't describe the sequence enough; if you haven't watched it yet, prepare to be disturbed.

 

So we've got a third promotion involved in our little war, eh? I've never seen an LLPW match, so I'll be interested to see how they fit in against the ladies from AJW and JWP.

 

Thirty-three rotations on the giant swing is beyond impressive. I know I lost count somewhere in the twenties. Hokuto looked like she'd legitimately passed out by the time Inoue finally threw her down.

 

This is the greatest women's match I've seen to date, although if what I've heard about the tag match from later in this card is true, it may not have a long reign on top.