AJW AT HAKATA STARLANES (Feb. 15th 1997):
* It’s time for sheer joshi greatness, as AJW wrestlers GO BOWLING!!! This time it’s a bit of February TV and the great Hakata Starlanes building- this looks like such a fun dumpy bowling arena, haha. And eventually the AJW teams split up and bowl against each other.

So on this show, Tomoko & Kumiko are our hosts, visiting a temple/shrine and talking to the audience. They bump into Kyoko Inoue praying and they do some joking about, then we’re off to the Starlanes! And a happy Dump Matsumoto is on commentary!

YUMI FUKAWA vs. YUKA SHIINA:
* It’s a rookie fight! Fukawa’s been getting an “almost push/watch this rookie!” build for all of 1996, and Shiina’s on a tier below her- Shiina’s no longer ultra-jobbery though, sporting a serious face and gear with her name on it- a sporty orange top with white shorts. Fukawa’s in white/blue, with… wow that outfit is almost entirely blue ruffles. I dunno if this is clipped or what.

OTA-KU CHAMPION LEGEND 1997:
(Jan. 20th 1997):
* The early months of 1997 have actually been pretty wild for AJW, because there was an Ota-Ku Champion Legend show in late January, and it featured a trifecta of impactful matches! It’s the first Red Belt defense of Kyoko Inoue, as she has to take on her partner, the sadist of beauty, Takako Inoue (no relation)! Also the WWWA Tag Team Champions (Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda) take on the up & comer squad of Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa- the guardians of the new generation!

The show starts with three intensely-clipped tag matches. It seems like the average length of an AJW match has shortened because none of these go over ten minutes.

TANNY MOUSE & MIYUKI FUJII vs. MIHO WAKIZAWA & RUMI SEKIGUCHI:
* Rookie Mayhem! And oh god it’s all the names I don’t recognize, plus the mouse. Rumi goes nowhere (she has no Cagematch profile), Fujii lasts a long time (2009-ish!), and Wakizawa has two separate multi-year runs. Tanny Mouse of course ends up a long-time comedy wrestler. The non-Tanny team is in matching rookie swimsuits, one in yellow and one in pink. Tanny’s in yellow and recognizable by… *sigh*… by her TAIL, and Fujii’s in a blue rookie swimsuit.

BUDOKAN MIDSUMMER NIGHT- DISCOVER NEW HEROINE (Day Two):
(Aug. 13th 1996):
* It’s the next day of the “Discover New Heroine” show! This time we get three straight rounds of the tournament, ending with a final match in this Rookie/Veteran Team tournament concept!

Tonight’s show is INFAMOUS for injuries, with two particularly brutal, violent-looking ones absolutely flattening some of the “New Heroines”. And, of course, those are the VERY TWO women going all the way to the final match!

In addition, we get the worked-shoot U*Top Tournament, where 3/4 of the fighters in it are of course big joshi stars who beat no-name European girls to move on. So come see rookies with potential teaming up with veterans giving mostly half-hearted efforts in matches half as long as the usual joshi contests… which actually kinda suits the style a bit more as the bouts have less padding than joshi typically does.

DISCOVER NEW HEROINE TAG TOURNAMENT ROUND TWO:

MEGUMI KUDO & KAORI NAKAYAMA (FMW) vs. BISON KIMURA & YUKI LEE (JD’):
* Most interpromotional stuff typically involves “Someone vs. GAEA” or “Someone vs. AJW”, so FMW & JD’ mixing it up is interesting for the time period. Both teams are the only representative of their company left, so it’s kinda anyone’s ballgame. Bison & Kudo notably were part of the same AJW training class in 1986. Bison & Yuki are in blue & white again, Kudo’s in black and Kaori’s in red & white.

BUDOKAN MIDSUMMER NIGHT- DISCOVER NEW HEROINE (Day One):
(Aug. 12th 1996):
* Welcome back to AJW, as they release this MONSTER interpromotional show in mid-1996, at the Budokan Hall! It’s just like the old days- AJW! FMW! JWP! JD’! GAEA Japan! Holy crap! It sounds like the biggest show in Joshi history… except it’s this weirdo “Veteran + Rookie” Tag Team Tournament so every match has amateurs in it, AND there’s also the U*Top Shoot Fight tournament on the same show, lol. MoskowDiskow, who regularly posts here, says this is one of those “the Matsunagas were losing their shirts so they let Rossy Ogawa book a show, and he did some weird Gimmick Show” situations.

Cagematch says this drew 4,500 to the Budokan, which is pretty crazy, but might be a lie… and also 4,500 is like 1/3 full, so if that’s papered/lying then HOLY CRAP. So this show is largely seen as a disaster. This show is also apparently quite infamous for injuries, but only on Day Two. So come see future stars and washouts give some decidedly iffy performances and take easy falls to veterans! And the “Joshi Style” wrestled in 5-8 minute matches instead of 16-minute wars!

DISCOVER NEW HEROINE TAG TOURNAMENT ROUND ONE:

AJA KONG & YOSHIKO TAMURA (AJW) vs. CHIGUSA NAGAYO & SAKURA HIROTA (GAEA Japan):
* Okay, so Aja/Chigusa is a huge “get” for a match, as their eras only barely overlap, and Aja was very young when Chigusa retired. I’m like “who the frig is Sakura Hirota?” but it turns out she’s making her DEBUT here, and is a new GAEA trainee to join the other recent ones this year. She’s actually still wrestling, making this a NON-washout GAEA hire! She’s a long-haired rookie in a pink Arena swimsuit (which was worn by Mariko Narita before her, but Narita vanished from the biz). Aja’s still a big, pushed star, and Yoshiko is a rookie getting a very sudden lot of emphasis. Aja is giving Chigusa the death glare to end all death glares, here- like I’m watching this on YouTube and even I’m kinda scared.

AJW JAPAN GRAND PRIX 1996 (Part Three):
(Aug. 16th & 23rd, 1996)
* And we finally finish the Japan Grand Prix 1996! This one has a handful more clipped matches, but this time we get full clips of the Semi-Finals and Finals, plus a bunch of other bouts! Reggie Bennett vs. Yumiko Hotta and Aja Kong vs. Kyoko Inoue! Also, Etsuko Mita vs. Mima Shimoda in the battle of Las Cachorras Orientales! Plus the legendary rivalry of Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada in a tag match, with each paired up with a rookie the company is desperate to focus on. We get the token “flukes can totally happen in round robins” stuff and end with a truly great match- sadly the only one in the tournament.

THE FINAL JGP RESULTS:
Aja Kong—————16
Reggie Bennett——–14
Yumiko Hotta———14
Kyoko Inoue———-14
Mima Shimoda——-12
Toshiyo Yamada——12
Takako Inoue———10
Kaoru Ito————–10
Etsuko Mita———–8
Tomoko Watanabe—8
Mariko Yoshida——-8
Chaparita Asari——-4

-So… more or less what I expected, especially the top four. The big surprises to me are Yamada being above Takako (even by 2 points), and Shimoda rising up that high (even though I figured she SHOULD be, AJW has been half-assed about her singles stuff). Tomoko & Yoshida also did quite poorly… but looking at the tournament, they’re both way lower in the pecking order than almost everyone else, so it’s probably inevitable. But just kind of a shame, and shows a lack of foresight, especially with Yoshida. Poor Mita being in the BOTTOM FOUR seems to sign her death knell as a performer (she even JOBS TO ASARI, looking at the tournament record), so it’s a wonder she’s a main event tag wrestler by 1997- the return of LCO seems to save her career. ASARI’s two wins are over Mita & Yoshida, actually.

AJW TAG LEAGUE THE BEST 1995 (Part One):
(Oct. 1995-Dec. 1995)
* So the final AJW tape release of 1995 appears to be a compilation of the Oct. 10th show and the Dec. 10th show, where the round-robin of varied teams is played up for Tag League THE BEST. We start off with four tourney matches, two of which are VERY clipped, then a show two months later where they have the Tournament Finals, with complete matches and some undercard stuff. Most of which is also badly clipped. I’ll split this in two, since it’s two different shows entirely and this would be an immense review otherwise. I’ll post this part part when the matches actually fit into the timeline.

The teams this year are actually sort of bizarre, as nobody is with their regular partner except for Akira/Shimoda- everyone else is in these mish-mash teams. The roster this year: Akira Hokuto & Mima Shimoda (the WWWA Tag Team Champions); Manami Toyota & Kaoru Ito (at least they’re stablemates); Aja Kong & Takako Inoue (called “Beauty and the Beast” entertainingly enough- the team of a dethroned Champ and an up & coming upper-carder); Kyoko Inoue & Tomoko Watanabe (a rising star and her style-clone; former stablemates); Reggie Bennett & Yumiko Hotta (the strongest & best fighter in the company, respectively- both upper-level wrestlers who are a threat to anyone); Sakie Hasegawa & Mariko Yoshida (former feuding wrestlers, now stablemates); Toshiyo Yamada & Etsuko Mita (the reunited DREAM ORCA, though both now as midcarders, sorta); and Chaparrita ASARI & Kumiko Maekawa (jobbers, especially here).

Tag League THE BEST ’95:
REGGIE BENNETT & YUMIKO HOTTA vs. CHAPARRITA ASARI & KUMIKO MAEKAWA:
* Ohhhhhhhhhhh my god someone is going to murder these poor girls. Stiff, unprofessional bully Hotta teaming with the powerhouse against poor diminutive ASARI and a rookie. Yikes. ASARI’s in red & gold, Kumiko’s in blue & white, Hotta’s in black (with much longer hair that any time previous) and Reggie’s in black & purple.

Part One

AJW DESTINY:
(Sept. 2nd 1995)
* So AJW is going wild at the moment- we’re in the middle of the Japan Grand Prix round-robin, a rival promotion’s Ace (Dynamite Kansai) is AJW’s World Champion, and ticket sales are suffering in part because we’re outta fresh match-ups. Yet we’re still having ****+ matches all over the place, so fuck it- I’D be buying tickets! This is a mega, mega, mega-event, too, with TOYOTA/HOKUTO as the Main Event- two of the very best on the entire planet at this point. It’s like them, Bret, Shawn, and three of the Four Pillars and that’s it.

Also on the card are matches between upper-midcarders Yumiko Hotta & Reggie Bennett, Kyoko Inoue & Bull Nakano doing another match in Bull’s last hurrah as a major solo act (and she knows it), Aja Kong taking on her old partner Bison Kimura, and even LCO fighting the Raijin Army, which includes their trainer Jaguar Yokota. This show is STACKED, and nearly five hours long. Mike Lorefice darkly notes that this is “the last excellent top to bottom show AJW has presented”.

Of particular note is the fact that this show is literally THREE DAYS after the fantastic “Queen’s Holy Night” show, which featured Aja lose the 3WA Title to Kansai in a ****1/4 match, Akira Hokuto & Mima Shimoda hitting ***3/4, and a ****3/4-***** match between Manami & Sakie and Double Inoue! So everyone on here is busting their ass despite wrestling on the same level three days earlier!

“TL;DR: What’s The Deal?”: One of the year’s best matches in the main event, plus the big stars in assorted other bouts (including what I think is Reggie’s best match). Also shorter match lengths than in many other big shows- only two go over 20:00, so nobody is overstaying their welcome.

We start with like THIRTY MINUTES of assorted stuff, with Bull’s old stable (her, Kyoko & Tomoko) showing up for an interview, assorted signings and even memorabilia (a J.B. Angels magazine cover, ASARI’s gear, etc.). Backstage stuff with Hokuto & Bull putting on their gear together. Everyone comes out in white shirts and red shorts to start the show- the real mark of a “big event”. Biggest reactions by far are for Bull (who almost never wrestles now) and Akira. Manami & Kyoko get the next biggest reactions, but much more muted.

Double Inoue vs. Manami Toyota & Sakie Hasegawa.

AJW TV (Jan. 1995):
* And welcome to the beginning of 1995 in the Joshi Spotlight! So I found a handful of stuff from the early part of the year, but of primary importance here are the huge Title defenses of Double Inoue & LCO!! So this is a “two-match review”, as both major Joshi promotions defend their top gold in the early part of January 1995!

So first off, Double Inoue make a very big WWWA Tag Title defense as Manami Toyota comes back for her gold, but with Sakie Hasegawa as her new partner! And then we have Las Cachorras Orientales defending the JWP Tag Team Titles on JWP home turf against the odd pairing of evil Mayumi Ozaki & rising idol Hikari Fukuoka! Both matches are absolute bangers, so come take a look!

AJW KORAKUEN HOLY WAR ’94:
(03.03.1994)
* “Seisen” translates as “Crusade”, but the Ringstarfield guy who uploaded this called it “Holy War”, which is a million times cooler so I’m going with that. The early part of the year tends to be a tad light in AJW (their big events were kinda Spring/Winter-y), but this one has some interesting stuff, though the “Interpromotional” stuff has taken a dive in favor of feuds going on within AJW itself. The Aja/Sakie duo is definitely getting pushed ahead of the “Monster Squad” team of Aja & Bull (which seems to be mostly for special appearances). We also miss Numacchi’s retirement ceremony, as the goofy comedy character only lasts about eight months or so before she’s gone.

As usual with this guy’s clips, you have to find the whole match by searching his “Videos” for the show name.

“TL;DR- Why Should I Care?”: Actually a really awesome show, with two ****-ish matches in the final slots.

KUMIKO MAEKAWA vs. MIKI YOKOE:
* Even the narration on the YouTube video advertises this as a rarity, because Miki is “Soon Retired”. Though she wrestled a TON in 1993, it was generally untelevised “exhibition” stuff. Kumiko’s in blue, and Miki’s in this hideous green/blue Jobber Singlet, with what looks like big sneakers on.

How many cards have had back-to-back ***** matches on them, anyhow?

AJW Tag League- THE BEST 1993 (Part 2):
(10.12.1993)
* And so we come to the last big tape release of 1993, and the capper on Akira Hokuto’s remarkable year, as Flying Dangerous (her team with Manami Toyota) have neared the finals, facing off against two of the other top workers in AJW- Kyoko Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada. Looks like much of the card wasn’t uploaded to YouTube, but the two big ones are. The original tape is apparently only 2 hours 30 minutes, making me suspect there was a lot of clipping.

This show is suuuuuuuuuuuuper famous (among puro nerds) because of the two matches at the end, which are the only time any wrestlers have ever wrestled back-to-back matches that got ***** ratings from Dave Meltzer. And of course, ALL FOUR people earned that honor.

One of those wrestlers who doesn’t seem great on most cards, yet will have one of the most buckwild brawls you’re ever going to see at random. Ever wanna see someone take a bump so insane in Korakuen Hall that I don’t even wanna spoil it? Look here!

JOSHI SPOTLIGHT- TOMOKO WATANABE:
Other Names: ZAP-T
Billed Height & Weight: 5’3″, 161 lbs. (it shifted a LOT, though- she was slender in the early ’90s, chubby later and really wide in the late ’90s)
Trainer: Jaguar Yokota
Career: 1989-today (still active)

-Tomoko Watanabe is one of those wrestlers who was quite good at times and has hit near-***** in multiple tag bouts, but has the bad luck of having some of the worst matches on the best Joshi cards of all time, owing to the Botchamania Highlight Reel that was the early part of her career. She was… very clearly the worst wrestler of the “Class of 1989”, with Sakie Hasegawa being the obvious future superstar, and Kaoru Ito being better than Tomoko and ending up the Ace when AJW ran out of stars- both were a lot more athletic than the squat Tomoko. But still, she was okay! Eventually! I mean, it took a while!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kL_phwJkEo

The main event, between Kyoko Inoue & Aja Kong. All the bouts are on this channel- just type in “Unified” or find out the names in Japanese and search that way.

AJW WRESTLING QUEENDOM 1997:
(23.03.1997)

-Aaaaaaaaaaaaand now we’re into the depressing year. 1997 is where it all fully went wrong for Joshi as a whole, but AJW wasn’t quite bankrupt here. What we now had was a very different company in a changing business, though, as the Joshi boom had hit big and then just DIED by this point. Admittedly it was kind of a “fad” thing and fads die out, but various other factors played into things. Kyoko Inoue was now the WWWA Champion, having defeated Manami Toyota to become the new top star… and sadly her reign was a complete box office failure. Perhaps because of that, this show is doing an interpromotional thing with Chigusa Nagayo’s GAEA Japan, but only with her rookies. So a lot of the undercard has GAEA girls on it. Otherwise, much of the card has people rapidly being pushed on it- the 3WA Tag Champs are Tomoko Watanabe and KUMIKO MAEKAWA of all people- a midcarder and a rookie as of last year! Kaoru Ito’s getting shoved into the Main Event spot, too- it’s like even with most of the old guard still around, they were desperate for people to fill the top spots.

“TL;DR- Why Should I Watch This?”: If you’re gonna love something, you should be there when it dies (ugh, I just compared a wrestling show to a dog being put down). And this is like watching the last hurrah of a company as it slowly falters and takes an eight-year lurch towards the grave. Okay, and the final three matches are all around ****.