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[1991-09-07-AJW] Manami Toyota vs Toshiyo Yamada


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  • 3 weeks later...

- Manami Toyota vs Toshiyo Yamada

So this is the 7th singles match i've seen between these two and if you've ever seen even a few of their matches before you should have a good general idea how this one went. On this night Yamada was on offense for most of the mat work section working over Toyota's leg which I think Toyota did a good job of putting over. She doesn't exactly do it in the traditional "ow my leg" hobble around sort of way but she still gets across that Yamada's attacks are taking their toll as when she does go back on offense she can't put the same speed or strength behind her stuff anymore. Yamada while not taking as much punishment suffers in that department as well, perhaps being "rope a doped" into using up a lot her energy dishing out the beating. Turns into an interesting battle for the final stretch with each one delivering what the other can't. Toyota has a lot of big moves but can't put much energy behind them, Yamada has a little more energy but can't deliver a big enough blow to grab the win so things end in yet another 30 min draw between them. Not the best one in their feud but still a great match and a fine addition to it

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  • 2 months later...

This had moments I wasn't crazy about, but overall, I thought it was an excellent performance from Toyota, and a good one from Yamada. Yamada does some great work on Toyota's leg for the first half of this, which Toyota actually sells really well, and which I think is the highlight of the match. I really enjoyed watching them both race the clock for a fall toward the end of this too. The annoying tendencies Toyota would eventually develop are hinted at here, but don't really go overboard yet. I've grown to like her in 1992-1996 too, but I enjoy her in a different way in 1990-1991.

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  • 1 month later...

There was an awkward beginning here that had me wishing they'd just gone to the matwork, because that was very good and very vicious work over the legs by both women. Shame that none of it led to anything, as Yamada is up throwing kicks and Toyota dropkicks soon after. But for token New Japan juniors matwork, it served its purpose. Lots of urgency down the stretch including a fantastic moonsault to the floor from Toyota, but neither one can put the other away. Always a sign of pretty high quality that a time limit draw isn't telegraphed early on.

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  • 9 months later...

I had a hard time getting into this. It started out very generic with back and forth and both competitors jockeying for position. When Yamada took over the leg work, things picked up and the build to the finish left a frantic pace but the opening 7-8 minutes made it a really tough time for me to become invested. I had high hopes coming in and still think it was a good match but also a match with some great themes and ideas that didn't come together all the way.

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  • 1 year later...

I liked this match a lot better when they were trying to break each other's legs than when they were trading nearfalls at the end. I understand that a house style requires certain moves or sequences of moves, and AJW's house style requires a lot of high flying, particularly at the very beginning and the very end of matches. But to have that finishing sequence after Toyota and Yamada had spent the first half of the bout turning each other's knees into Cream of Wheat was a bit hard to take, especially since the submission holds looked so legitimately painful.

 

If they'd switched halves and done the high-flying close pinfall stuff first, then taken it to the mat, realizing that the only way to survive for each of them was to take out the other's legs, the match would have fit together a whole lot better, in my opinion. Both ladies worked hard, and there were almost no dead spots even though they went a full half-hour, which is a rarity. But since the two halves of the bout had almost nothing to do with each other, and in fact could have each been halves of a different match altogether. the whole experience leaves me a bit unfulfilled.

 

Flik mentioned above (if I'm not mistaken) that this is the seventh Toyota/Yamada match he's seen, and they've all been draws. I'd like to have seen one of those to notice if it was worked any differently than this one was, and if so how. It seems almost like these two had a formula and stuck with it for the most part.

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  • 2 years later...

That awkward start was really odd, seemed like Toyota was just missing things entirely. I agree that the work on the leg by both got blown off pretty much instantly when it was the other's turn to go on offense. That took me out of the match, but I could see the makings of a really good to great match in the opening matwork. It's just not really the style to keep that thread going throughout and for me it works against the match.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1991-09-07-AJW] Manami Toyota vs Toshiyo Yamada

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