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[1994-01-24-AJW] Bull Nakano vs Kyoko Inoue


Loss

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  • 1 month later...

This was a war. Kyoko wrestles like she has something to prove and Bull is reliable, probably the best Joshi worker of all time. The match starts off with Bull as the aggressor, and as it progresses, Kyoko gets in her shots, but barely. Bull is cutting off Kyoko's offense pretty consistently, but is having to expend quite a bit to do so. It's pretty impressive that she can be in control of the match and still convey desperation at the same time. It's like she knows Kyoko is going to make a huge comeback at some point, and every time she covers her, you can see on her face that she really wants the match to end, but knows deep down that she still has a lot of work to do. When something works, like her back kicks off the middle rope, she clings to it as long as she can.

 

The spot mid-match that sees Kyoko's ankle tied in the ropes, followed by Bull's immediate tope when the underlings start trying to release her, feels like the beginning of a gut check for Kyoko. She realizes she's going to have to step up her game and takes the aggression to the floor, and even does a crazy lariat running down several stairs to finally nail Bull on the outside. When she starts teasing table spots, I keep thinking she's out of her league and trying to beat Bull at her own game, but she is holding her own and is surprising me.

 

Bull finally wins the match, but it takes every weapon she has in her arsenal. More than anything, she survived, and Kyoko is the one who was put over.

 

Great, great match that seemed focus on getting over Kyoko's toughness and ring smarts- not just her wrestling skill - with her taking the fight to Bull aggressively and forcing Bull to reach down deep and get desperate. This felt like the evolution of Kyoko from an athletic wrestler who has had some big matches and that fans like to someone who is a real threat to the existing hierarchy, and that's pretty cool.

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It'll be interesting to see how you compare this one to their September 91 match as they work a really similar "Bull gets desperate to survive the match & win" theme.

 

I've seen 4 singles between them (and shit, this just reminded me that i've got a 5th i've never watched) and the 9/91 & 1/94 are the 2 best.

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Excellent match. I'm a sucker for an up-and-comer mounting a serious challenge to a veteran star only to fall just short. Nakano was so solid in everything she did. I loved her tope and lariats. Inoue often annoys me because she was a bigger wrestler who nonetheless seemed desperate to work like Toyota. But she really brought it here. I was prepared to turn on her when she started doing springboard stuff on her bad leg. But Nakano cut her off before it went too far. Match ended where it should have instead of going a beat too long.

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  • 4 weeks later...

This kicked ass. The early minutes with Kyoko twisting a much larger Bull with various holds was neat. It really got awesome when the war lines were drawn and the two starting annihilating one another. The suplex off the table and onto the floor was a crazy spot. The finishing run ruled as well. Terrific match.

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Started this match last night and enjoyed it but was fading by the end. Gave it another chance today and I was glad I did. This is my #1 match so far. Bull's facial expressions at getting increasingly frustrated where amazing. I liked how in the finish she had to betray her original strategy and take a chance with two leg drops to seal the win. Great effort all around.

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  • 1 year later...

I think I liked 9/91 a bit better, though that seemed from memory more like Inoue lasting longer than Nakano thought possible--here, it really looks like Kyoko has a chance to win this. I got taken in by the first Niagara Driver near-fall, but when Inoue went for a second and Nakano countered, that seemed to spell the end. January has been a very hot month, but this is probably the best bout so far.

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  • 1 year later...

It played out the way you might expect at this point in time. Teasing that Kyoko would spring the upset before falling just short. This wasn't 1991 anymore where Nakano was the dominant force in AJW and Inoue was breaking into the big time. The status gap had closed a lot and there was a genuine chance of a Kyoko win. In '91 they had to have Bull bleed to make it more of an even playing field. Here they had more of a traditional wrestling match. Bool enjoyed majority offence but took plenty in return. The opening stages were lively. The build was pretty solid but ran 5m too long. There wasn't any particular focus to justify the 27m length so it dragged at times. The closing stretch was much better and overall I liked it a little more than last time out.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1994-01-24-AJW] Bull Nakano vs Kyoko Inoue
  • 1 year later...

This felt like a title match between the established veteran and the future of the company, but there was no title on the line.  Bull Nakano's selling was fantastic, really putting over Inoue and Kyoko brings it also.  Ending stretch was pretty awesome too (well, except when Nakano had to wait for a while for Kyoko's flying move).  Great match.

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