Loss Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Talk about it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted October 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 Each Yoshida match becomes more and more like women’s BattlARTS. This is an awesome match. Yagi has always been a fantastic mat wrestler, even when it wasn’t en vogue in the Joshi world, and Yoshida seems to have met her match. Akino was a capable wrestler, but she was also a rookie. This is much more Yoshida taking on a peer. We get lots of really cool amateur rides and grappling that is as good as anything happening anywhere. I almost wish they wouldn’t throw in the pro style stuff at all - even though it’s limited - just because they’re so freakin’ great on the mat. Yagi attempts a belly-to-back suplex at one point and Yoshida cinches in so strong on a headlock that she brings her to her knees. The torque Yoshida gets on the stretch plum is way more nasty looking than any application of that hold I’ve ever seen from Kawada. They manage to give the last ten minutes of this some amazing dramatic flair, which shows if they can do it, the wrestlers in the big promotions who got way too into headdropping could have done it too. This just kept getting better and better the longer it went. That finish was nuts. This should be required viewing for Joshi skeptics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 This was a really great match. I liked how it starts off right away with Yoshida hitting the air raid crash, Yagi coming back with a German suplex and then transitioning into the match. The interspersed enough pro stuff with the mat work that the mat work didn't really feel like, well, mat work -- it just felt like regular offense that happened to be worked on the mat. Different from a shoot style match and also somewhat different from the way Battlearts does it too. The work was good and there was a lot of cool stuff there. Yoshida gets it trouble for a while with a hurt elbow and Yagi constantly looking for an armbar, and her comeback is well done. I especially like one spot where the goes to pick Yogi up but suddenly switches and pushes her to the mat in a quick pin attempt. This was a great match but somehow personally grabbed me less than some of the other matches on the set. I should probably rewatch it before ranking it on my MOTY list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 I need to rewatch this again cause so much was going on but I liked what I saw. Yagi has to be one of the more underrated Joshi stars and she sure is feisty. Always going for a armbar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted March 2, 2015 Report Share Posted March 2, 2015 What an awesome match. Some bomb throwing in the first minute and then we settle into a complete chess match where Yoshida goes after the leg and then Yagi starts going after her arm with a vengeance. Everything felt like a struggle and the last ten minutes were incredibly dramatic. The choke tap out finish was great and both women looked incredibly strong coming out of this match. One of the best mat based matches in wrestling history. ****1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetlag Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 I really liked this when I first saw it and it holds up very well on rewatch. The matwork won't make you forget your fancier RINGS bouts, but they created a nice intensity and snap with the constant scrambling for chokes, armbars and aggressive pin attempts. The meat is in they story they are telling. Lots of neat learned spots, aswell as establishing early on that locking up alone with Yoshida is dangerous. Yagi discovers the bandaged arm on Yoshida and goes after it with a variety of flying armbars, until she has the veteran with her back against the wall. Really liked the bit where Yoshida abandons the ropes in order to reverse the armbar but Yagi changes position and it looks like Yoshida has screwed herself. Brutal choke to finish this. Yoshidas defensive style here was pretty great, really. One of the best bouts of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenjo Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 I did not appreciate the finisher to start. After that was over with they began to find a nice rhythm on the deck. Yoshida had found someone to hang with her. The opening half was smooth in it's execution. The chain wrestling didn't have that much direction, yet was easy on the eye and fun to watch. The 2nd half kicked into top gear once Mariko's arm was targeted and injured. The submissions lasted longer and the selling was excellent. The fans sensed the peril and got into it, believing Hirouuuumi might spring an upset. Strong finish as the Queen of Arsion retains. I wouldn't have it down as a classic match but it was pretty boss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetlag Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 I've seen this match before and felt it was great. But watching all this stuff now has changed my whole outlook on this bout. Proof that sometimes context is everything. We've seen Mariko demolish everybody else on the mat, and everyone tries to beat her standing. But here's Yagi. Hiromi Yagi, in this match, feels like the lost great female worker. Like we all fantasybook Tamon Honda to go to BattlARTS or Carl Greco in U-Style, here is Yagi, an unusual worker in her home promotion, going into an environment that fits her perfectly, and blooming. Nobody was able to do shit to Yoshida on the mat, until Hiromi Yagi came to town. Even the opening move makes sense now: Yoshida catches Yagi and drops her, and this match is business as usual right? Well not tonight, because Yagi goes back in and proceeds to put the fear of god into Yoshida. Yoshida would show weakness and Yagi would throw herself at her, Yoshida would try a move and Yagi would get her into trouble like no one before. Not only can Yagi hang on the mat, she can win. Suddenly all of Yoshida's sweeps and grounding aren't working. Yoshida would go to the mat, and suddenly she would be the one in trouble. The bandaged arm didn't even seem that important now. In a way, knowing that made the lulls/slow parts better as the bout had a type of tension building that I don't recall seeing in many other matches. Now I understand the crowd reaction when Yoshida escapes that armbar but doesn't engage further. For the first time, Yoshida doesn't want to be on the mat anymore. They do a tremendous job teasing the big throws, and Yagi ends up meeting her tragedy. No wonder she didn't want to shake hands after the match. Unbelievable, mindblowing, truely great contest. I've loved it before but now it's in my canon of untouchable superclassics. The swank moves, slick matwork were present as before, but the story that the match told has now been elevated in my mind. Hiromi Yagi, what an astounding young lady. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted March 12, 2017 Report Share Posted March 12, 2017 Best joshi match of the year and a legit MOTYC in its own right. This was worked at an incredible pace, as you'd expect, but the big submissions were still put over huge, the way each woman frantically tried to escape them--for a match with almost no 2-counts there sure were a lot of "near-falls." Yagi also has a totally unique bridge version of the Saito suplex that I've never seen before but want to see stolen a million times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microstatistics Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Stone cold classic. The determined underdog puts the dominant and arrogant champion in serious peril through her perseverance and skill. Yoshida is rattled and is forced to adjust and dig deep. Matwork of the highest order, super dramatic transitions and a gripping finishing stretch. **** 5/8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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