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[1995-03-26-AJW-Wrestling Queendom: Victory] Manami Toyota vs Aja Kong


Loss

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

This was a great match. It's probably my favorite Toyota singles match to this point. It's not without its flaws, but nothing is so glaring that it completely takes the match off the rails. I do wish AJW would stay away from table spots completely. They're above it and don't need props, and I end up just getting annoyed that they aren't sold in the long term. Kong's back work on Toyota is just fantastic -- if only it hadn't immediately become a non-issue when Toyota started her comeback. (Not that I would expect anything different.) But as far as big moments that build drama and come to an exciting climax, this is quality stuff. Toyota dethroning the champion of 2+ years is a great moment.

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I liked it in the building. Liked the Kyoko-Bull perhaps a little more probably because the storyline is one that's usually pretty compelling to me: younger rising star tasting the big win over the legended, getting close... not getting it, but looking great in not getting it and earning the respect of the legend and fans. That's a storyline that plays well to me. In a sense, if Kong-Toyota also followed that, and Aja won in the end, I might have liked it more despite it meaning I missed out on Toyota winning Big Red for the first time.

 

That is perhaps what's lacking in this from the standpoint of the Aja Era storylines. There was no real chase here for Toyota. Instead, it seemed like Hotta was more of a challeger for Aja within AJW while Kansai was the outside one, while Hokuto as on Aja's level as a star and could be tossed in to challenge he at any moment and be credible in taking it off her. After all, Hokuto beat Aja in the final at the Dome, which you kind of thought would lead somewhere. Toyota tossed in her felt more like her getting a shot, getting turned back, and down the road would get the title.

 

It's always been a match, and booking, that I've rolled over in my head through the years.

 

John

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You're def right in that they really didn't do much to directly set up the switch but at the same time they had enough prior history & Toyota was a big enough star that I don't think it was a big deal.

 

Aja vs Toyota was a more subtle long term secondary rivalry and i'd put Toyota in the same cataroy as Hokuto as far as being someone you could buy taking down Aja at any time.

 

A large part of 91 was was about Toyota trying with various partners to try and take take down Aja/Bison until she finally pulled it off in early 92 with Yamada. Plus you can toss in their 30 min draw in mid 91

 

The rest of 92 was a reversal with Aja & various ppl taking on Toyota/Yamada. Notably you had the 2 big tags with Kyoko that they split and the 2 JGP matches they split.

 

93 nothing too major hap between them since the focus was on AJW vs the World but they were opposite a fair amount of tags a good number of which saw Aja pin Toyota directly.

Most of 94 saw the same thing, though of note you've got another Toyota/Yamada vs Aja/partner tag title match and the Dome singles.

 

You can toss in other things if you want to stretch it like Aja beating Toyota for the AJW title in 89.

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I like Toyota more against Aja than against anyone else, because she was forced to play the role for which she was best suited. She pretty much had to eat offense and sell for longer periods, and her rallies carried more drama because of it. She still blew off the back work, but at least she wasn't bouncing up every 30 seconds.

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  • 4 months later...
  • 2 years later...

This was good, but nowhere near Big Egg Universe. They blow a lot of stuff down the stretch, and Toyota blowing off the opening work was problematic. It looked like they were going for a JOCS off the top turnbuckle for the big mindblowing spectacular kill-Aja-dead finish and they couldn't execute. Still, Toyota's win gets a big pop, comes off as an upset, and is an historic moment, so it's worth watching for that alone.

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  • 2 years later...

This match was a lesser re-do of the Tokyo Dome classic from '94. I the watched the two matches back to back a few years ago and this look liked it should have happened before that match chronologically. I was confused why it was given a decent rating then, as well as now.

 

This match had historical importance but, lets be honest that's not important anymore. It was too sloppy for what it was trying to accomplish. This shouldn't have been the main event on this show...maybe third from the top...the rest of the show is pretty good to great stuff though.

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  • 1 month later...

#341

 

I agree with everyone who said this was disjointed and lacked focus. I found it a bit tedious, to be honest, since I'm already familiar with Toyota and Kong and felt that they weren't really clicking. As silverwidow mentioned, their June match was always considered superior to this. A lot of Toyota's work from ''94-96 leaves me cold, though. She's the only worker I can think of where I prefer their early and post prime work to their actual peak. Another thing I can't stop ignoring is how short Aja is. Once you see it, you can never unsee it. She starts looking smaller and smaller to the extent that in a match like this she doesn't look like a monster at all. It's fine when she works big, but she didn't really work big here and since Toyota was clearly taller it bugged me a bit. Can't say I really enjoyed this one.

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  • 2 months later...

This was a slower, longer, less effective & worse version of their '94 Tokyo Dome banger. This had pretty much the same structure (on paper) as that one w/ Aja Kong dominating most of it while Manami Toyota makes her action packed comebacks. Too bad none of it came off as any compelling to watch - it was just a bore to get through. *1/4

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  • 1 month later...

There was a sense of anticipation for a title change here. Toyota would go on to complete her journey and reach the top of the mountain in a historic moment.

 

Right away Kong gained control and would not easily relinquish it. She dominated proceedings and the first half was a sustained beatdown. Toyota continued to survive and made it a more even second half. This was a terrific performance by Aja. She led the match and also turned some of Toyota's sloppy execution into something positive mid-move. It takes such quick and clear thinking to be able to pull that off. Manami wasn't near her best so this fell well short of other instalments in the rivalry. Yet I'd still call this a success. They got the crowd cheering for the babyface, told the story and delivered a satisfying conclusion to a major show.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1995-03-26-AJW-Wrestling Queendom] Manami Toyota vs Aja Kong
  • 4 weeks later...

Very similar to the Tokyo Dome ’94 match, a bit slower but just as good in my opinion. Aja Kong showing who’s boss, dominating the entire match attacking the lower back of Toyota. Maiming her with those famous strikes of hers. Toyota being unable to find a way to get the advantage. Even locking in an abdominal stretch at one point but Aja Kong getting out of it within seconds. Trying everything, hitting some great suplexes which was the turning point of the match. The ending was a bit iffy with them trying to do an J-Ocean Cyclone Suplex off the top rope but they just fell back and redid the move from the mat. But ultimately this was a good match. Even the sloppy parts of the match were really well recovered by Kong. Like when Toyota missed the sunset flip so Kong just sat on her. Really clever stuff like that is what makes this match. ****½ 
 

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  • GSR changed the title to [1995-03-26-AJW-Wrestling Queendom: Victory] Manami Toyota vs Aja Kong
  • 4 years later...

This is for Aja's WWWA Championship.

Toyota naturally brings a genuine pathos to the face-in-peril role despite her penchant for underselling, so Aja battering her for the majority of the match works -- at least superficially it does. I would go out on a limb and say that Toyota wasn't too egregious about popping up and down here, though. They show a surprising amount of restraint -- and a completely unsurprising amount of Toyota sloppiness -- in a finishing run that is built up to with care. Toyota has to pull out all the stops to put down Aja, and in the end she finally wins the main title for the first time! This isn't a classic, or even a great match, but it's a Toyota singles match that is enjoyable without the need of a tinfoil hat to prevent your brain cells from imploding en masse.

***1/2

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