All Japan Women Athena Satellite TV
5/12/01 (taped 5/4/01)
1. All Japan Tag Team Title: Miho Wakizawa & Kayo Noumi (c) vs Sayuri Okino & Carol Midori
The champions double booted Okino and dominated her early. Midori took Noumi down by the hair as did Okino. Okino and Midori choked Noumi in the ropes. Okino held Noumi in a camel clutch position as Midori gave her two dropkicks to the head. Okino and Midori dominated Noumi in heelish fashion. Midori attempted a hairmare but Noumi rolled her up. Midori recovered and got the better of Noumi. Noumi fought back with a dropkick on Okino. Wakizawa clotheslined Okino and hit a cross bodyblock for a near fall. Wakizawa applied a figure 4 leglock on Okino and Noumi gave Okino a top rope splash while she was in the hold. Midori weakly hit Wakizawa with a kendo stick to break the hold. Okino dropkicked Wakizawa. Midori snapmared Wakizawa and applied a sleeper. Wakizawa clotheslined Midori and attacked her right arm. Noumi did some kind of weird scream and flipped Midori by her hair. Noumi applied a bodyscissors on Midori but Midori quickly escaped and took her down by her hair. Noumi missed a second rope cross bodyblock on Okino. Okino was held back by Wakizawa but Noumi elbowed her partner when Okino moved. Noumi clotheslined Okino twice for a near fall. Noumi gave Okino a top rope dropkick as did Wakizawa. Noumi hit another top rope dropkick on Okino for a near fall. Wakizawa slammed Okino but Midori intervened. Noumi German suplexed Okino off of the second rope for a near fall. Okino fought back and Midori took her fight with Wakizawa into the crowd. Midori hit Noumi with a chair. Back in the ring Okino hit Noumi with a kendo stick twice and also hit Wakizawa with it. Midori rammed Noumi into a ringside table and into the ringpost. Shark Tsuchiya interfered and rammed Wakizawa into the barricade. Midori rammed Noumi into the barricade and Okino attacked her with a chain. Midori rammed Noumi into the ringpost. Okino hit Noumi with the kendo stick and Midori gave her some knees to the head. Midori DDTd Noumi and Okino landed another kendo stick shot. Okino gave Noumi a northern lights suplex for a near fall. She hit Noumi with a chain and gave her a top rope dropkick. Okino cradle suplexed Noumi for a near fall when Wakizawa intervened with a dropkick. Midori German suplexed Noumi for a near fall but Noumi recovered and German suplexed Midori. Wakizawa got the better of both opponents until Okino tripped her and Midori landed a dropkick to her head. Midori hung Wakizawa upside down in the corner and gave her a dropkick to the head. Okino and Tsuchiya threw a bunch of chairs into the ring. They sat Wakizawa in a chair and Midori hit her with another chair. Midori then kicked Wakizawa back and onto a stack of chairs. Midori gave Wakizawa another chairshot. Tsuchiya rammed Wakizawa into the announcers’ table and Midori rammed Noumi into the barricade. Tsuchiya and Okino placed Wakizawa on a table at ringside but Noumi intervened. The heels handcuffed Noumi to the ring and Okino gave Wakizawa a top rope splash onto the table at ringside. Okino hit Wakizawa with the kendo stick and Midori dumped her onto the pile of chairs. Midori clotheslined Wakizawa onto the chairs and went for a pin but the ref refused to count since they were on the chairs. Midori gave Wakizawa a urunage for a near fall. Okino attacked Wakizawa with the kendo stick again, including using it to worsen the small wound on her head. Okino continued to dominate Wakizawa in heelish fashion and kicked Noumi when she tried to intervene. Okino gave Wakizawa a northern lights superplex for a near fall and a Michinoku driver for another near fall. Midori accidentally came off the second rope with a chairshot on Okino when Wakizawa moved. Noumi then gave Wakizawa a top rope dropkick when Okino moved. Noumi held Okino on the top rope and Wakizawa gave her a top rope huracanrana for a near fall. Okino countered a northern lights suplex attempt but Noumi gave her one on a second attempt for a near fall. Okino attempted a German suplex but Noumi reached the ropes. Noumi backdropped Okino out of the ring and then hit a plancha on both opponents. Wakizawa then hit a plancha of her own on Okino and Midori. Back in the ring Noumi gave Okino a somersault senton with Wakizawa’s help for a near fall. Wakizawa gave Okino a cradle suplex for a near fall. Noumi gave Okino a northern lights superplex and Wakizawa gave her a fisherman buster for a heated near fall. Wakizawa gave Okino a second fisherman buster for a near fall but Midori then hit her with a chair. Midori rammed Wakizawa and then Noumi into a chair in the corner. Okino hit Wakizawa with the kendo stick twice. Midori attacked Wakizawa with a chain as Okino went after Noumi with the kendo stick. Midori threw Wakizawa over the top rope and hung her with the chain. Okino hit the ref with the kendo stick and hit Wakizawa as well. The heels hung Noumi upside down in the corner and placed a table against her neck. Midori then hit the other side of the table with a chair. The ref called the match off and declared it a no contest at 27:17, of which 25:57 aired. A cheap finish that fans really booed for as expected. I can’t really call it a good match given its length. There were flashes of brilliance, while other segments were really weak. Overall, the second half was significantly better, which is a plus. The fan heat was also pretty strong and much better than it would have been for the same match in 1998. Many of the wrestling exchanges were good, but these four could learn a thing or two from Etsuko Mita and Mima Shimoda as far as brawling is concerned. **1/4
2. Momoe Nakanishi vs Kumiko Maekawa
Maekawa landed a couple kicks early but Nakanishi held her ground. Maekawa missed a couple clotheslines but Manami Toyota then tripped Nakanishi. Maekawa flipped Nakanishi by her hair and gave her seven solid roundhouse kicks. Maekawa applied a sleeper on Nakanishi and then applied a bodyscissors. Nakanishi finally countered and went for a leglock but Maekawa quickly reached the ropes. Nakanishi kicked Maekawa but Maekawa fought back with some stiff kicks. Maekawa applied a Boston crab. She grabbed Nakanishi’s arm and gave her a sharp roundhouse kick. Maekawa choked Nakanishi with her knee and applied a camel clutch. Maekawa whipped Nakanishi into the corner but Nakanishi sprung (and that’s the right word) to the top rope. Nakanishi missed a flying bodypress and Maekawa rammed her into the barricade twice. Maekawa took the fight into the crowd and rammed Nakanishi into a wall. Maekawa, Toyota and other members of their group booted Nakanishi. Back in the ring they all slammed Nakanishi and Maekawa landed another roundhouse kick. She went for a pin but the ref refused to count because of the previous interference. Maekawa whipped Nakanishi across the ring but Nakanishi sprung back and rolled her up, then applied a legbar in such a seamless fashion. Maekawa reached the ropes but Nakanishi continued to attack her right leg. She kept coming down on Maekawa’s leg on each side of the ring. Nakanishi then applied a figure 4 leglock in the middle of the ring. Maekawa tried to reverse the hold but Nakanishi held her ground amidst solid crowd heat. Maekawa finally reached the ropes (with her teammates’ help as they pushed the ropes towards her) more than a minute after the leglock was applied. Nakanishi went for a top rope splash but crashed onto Maekawa’s outstretched boots. Nakanishi recovered and applied a leglock again. Maekawa countered by grinding her knee into Nakanishi’s face. She gave Nakanishi a roundhouse kick to the leg but limped herself. Nakanishi scored with a couple dropkicks to Maekawa’s right leg and a third to her body. Nakanishi attempted a double arm suplex but Maekawa countered with a backdrop. Maekawa superkicked Nakanishi for a near fall and scored with a roundhouse kick to the head. Maekawa landed another roundhouse kick and punted Nakanishi with a great bicycle kick for a near fall. Maekawa German suplexed Nakanishi for a near fall. Nakanishi fought back with some windmill chops and several dropkicks to various parts of Maekawa’s body. Nakanishi slammed Maekawa and hit a top rope splash for a near fall. Nakanishi went to the top rope but Maekawa knocked her to the floor with a great roundhouse kick. Maekawa gave Nakanishi an ax kick on the floor. Nakanishi fought back and gave Maekawa a released German suplex on the floor. Nakanishi rammed Maekawa into the barricade and tried to do it again but Maekawa elbowed her. Maekawa gave Nakanishi a slam/suplex on the floor (she lifted her like a slam but flipped her back). Back in the ring Maekawa hit Nakanishi with an ax kick in the corner. Maekawa went for a tilt-a-whirl, Nakanishi landed on her feet, but Maekawa punted her head. Nakanishi missed a clothesline and Maekawa gave her a released German suplex. Nakanishi sprung to the second rope but Maekawa pushed her to the floor and kicked her off the apron. Maekawa rammed Nakanishi into the barricade but Nakanishi then whipped her into the barricade. Nakanishi sprung to the top rope and hit a great plancha on Maekawa. Think of Mariko Yoshida’s plancha from her AJW days, only much sharper and quicker. Nakanishi attempted a German suplex but Maekawa elbowed her. Nakanishi hit a moonsault bodyblock for a near fall. She gave Maekawa four German suplexes in a row for a near fall. Toyota interfered and gave Nakanishi a top rope dropkick. Maekawa missed a high kick in the corner and Nakanishi German suplexed her. Maekawa caught Nakanishi on the top rope with a roundhouse kick. Maekawa gave Nakanishi a kneedrive to the head off the top rope for a near fall. Maekawa missed a koppo kick and Nakanishi rolled her up for a near fall. Nakanishi dragon suplexed Maekawa for a near fall. Maekawa countered a second dragon suplex with a roundhouse kick and scored with an inverted roundhouse kick to Nakanishi’s head for a near fall. Maekawa missed a kick and Nakanishi landed an elbow. Nakanishi gave Maekawa what started as a huracanrana but Nakanishi kinda twisted around and rolled her up for a near fall. Maekawa reversed the rollup for a near fall of her own. Maekawa hit an ax kick for a near fall. Nakanishi rolled Maekawa up for a near fall. Maekawa superkicked Nakanishi and gave her another great bicycle kick. Maekawa landed two more bicycle kicks but missed a third and Nakanishi elbowed her. Nakanishi German suplexed Maekawa for a near fall. Maekawa fought back with several roundhouse kicks but missed one and Nakanishi dumped her over the top rope. Nakanishi hit a flip dive off the apron and a top rope Orihara moonsault. Back in the ring Nakanishi slammed Maekawa but missed a top rope dropkick. Toyota rammed Nakanishi into the barricade twice and slammed her onto a ringside table. Maekawa spat red mist in Nakanishi’s face as they stood on the table. She rammed Nakanishi into the barricade. Maekawa trapped Nakanishi in the ropes and gave her a couple roundhouse kicks. Maekawa whipped Nakanishi into the corner but Nakanishi bounced to the top rope and came off with a sunset flip for a heated near fall. Maekawa and Nakanishi then had an exchange of roundhouse kicks and elbows respectively. Maekawa then scored with an inverted roundhouse kick for a near fall. Maekawa hit a koppo kick for a near fall. Nakanishi went for her huricanrana/rollup but Maekawa blocked it and rolled her up for a near fall. Nakanishi missed a moonsault bodyblock but landed on her feet and dragon suplexed Maekawa for a near fall. Nakanishi went for another dragon suplex but Toyota came in and German suplexed her. Toyota accidentally top rope dropkicked Maekawa when Nakanishi moved. Nakanishi hit her huricanrana/rollup on Maekawa for a heated near fall. Maekawa countered a German suplex with a kick and scored with an ax kick for a one count. Maekawa missed an ax kick and Nakanishi gave her a power elbow. Nakanishi top rope dropkicked Maekawa and rolled her up for a near fall. Maekawa fought back with a spinning kick and landed another ax kick for a near fall. Maekawa missed an ax kick and Nakanishi rolled her up for a near fall. Maekawa countered a whip with a superkick for a near fall. She missed a kick and Nakanishi German suplexed her for a near fall. Nakanishi hit another German suplex for a near fall. Maekawa hit an ax kick as time expired at 30:00. A sensational match that holds up on repeated viewings. They were so much sharper in their offense than those in the previous match. Maekawa didn’t land every kick perfectly, but her execution was the sharpest I’ve ever seen from her and many of her kicks were visually spectacular. Nakanishi was so much fun to watch because she had so much energy and quickness, especially in terms of how quickly she could execute certain moves. I thought the match built better than some critics give credit for, and that the first 20 minutes were very good. The final ten minutes were super and I would probably call it a classic if I only saw those last 10-12 minutes. Great exchanges of near falls, great counters, great heat an energy, etc. Nakanishi looked so sharp on her dives. Although she looks like she's only 4’ 10-11” (she's actually 5'2"), Nakanishi came off as such a credible star because of her unreal energy and great workrate. This was the first of their great singles matches, and one that any joshi fan should check out. ****1/4
3. Streetfight: Yumiko Hotta (w/Manami Toyota & Kumiko Maekawa) vs Kaoru Ito (w/Momoe Nakanishi and others)
Maekawa kinda attacked Ito before Hotta locked up with her. Hotta got the better of Ito and immediately took the fight outside the ring where she, Maekawa and Toyota would repeatedly gang up on Ito. Hotta whipped Ito into the barricade and threw her into a sea of chairs in the crowd. Hotta dropped a row of chairs on Ito and rammed her into a trash container in a hallway. Hotta rammed Ito into a coke machine and took the fight up a flight of stairs. They fought into the men’s room (!) where Hotta hit Ito with what looked like a trash can. Hotta continued to dominate Ito as the fight moved to the gym’s balcony. Hotta continued to repeatedly hit Ito with the trash can and Ito’s face was somewhat bloody by this point. Hotta actually bit Ito, gave her some punches and shifted the fight down stairs into the lobby. Ito fought back as they finally approached ringside again and gave Hotta a clothesline in the crowd. Ito attacked Hotta with a barrage of punches and clotheslined her again. Ito then rammed Hotta into the ringpost and the match finally returned to the ring. Fan heat was intense as Ito scored with a hip attack. Toyota tripped Ito and dragged her out of the ring. Hotta hit Ito with a ladder at ringside and rammed her into a wall near the gym’s exit. Hotta hit Ito with the ladder again. She pinned Ito under the ladder, then sat on the ladder as well. Hotta undid a chain from her pants and attacked Ito with it. Nakanishi tried to intervene but Toyota attacked her and Hotta dumped the ladder on her as well. Ito fought back and hit Hotta with the ladder twice. She went to DDT Hotta on the floor but Hotta countered. She choked Ito with the chain and then choked her with a long rope. Hotta dragged Ito with the rope around her neck to ringside and rammed her into the barricade. Hotta piledrove Ito on a ringside table that didn’t budge. She attacked Ito by throwing a bunch of chairs at her in the crowd but Ito fought back with a chairshot of her own. Ito rammed Hotta into a chair, hit her with a row of chairs, placed those chairs on Hotta, and threw more chairs at the heap. Hotta and Ito exchanged elbows amongst a sea of vacated chairs and Ito got the better of Hotta. Ito landed a barrage of punches and powerbombed Hotta on the floor at ringside. Ito kicked Hotta and jumped off the apron with an elbow strike. Ito whipped Hotta into the barricade and rammed her into a wall. Hotta fought back and hit Ito with the ladder twice. She tied the rope around Ito’s neck. Toyota and co. propped a ladder against a side of the gym. Hotta then climbed the ladder to the balcony, maintained her grip on the rope, and literally dragged Ito up the ladder by her neck using the rope. Hotta dragged Ito up the balcony amongst vacated chairs and out of the gym itself. Hotta tied Ito to a barricade atop the balcony section and gave her four roundhouse kicks. Hotta rammed Ito into a wall on another side of the balcony level and then rammed her into a wall on a deck outside the building. Funny site to see crowds of people looking out the windows trying to get a glimpse of the action. Ito fought back as they returned inside and applied a sleeper on Hotta. Ito dragged Hotta around the balcony and rammed her into the barricade at the bottom of the balcony. Ito landed a couple short clotheslines and teased throwing Hotta over the barricade to the floor below. Toyota, Maekawa, Nakanishi and co. each struggled to help their teammates in this situation. Hotta fought back and she and Toyota tried to throw Ito off the balcony. Nakanishi propped the ladder near Ito to try to break her fall. The heels tied the rope around Ito again. Ito finally fell to the floor, but actually fell off the ladder from a height of no more than 6 or 7 feet. Toyota attacked Ito on the floor and tied the rope around Ito’s neck and under her shoulders. Hotta then pulled on the rope from the balcony as she tried to hang Ito. Toyota hit Ito with the ladder as Ito was I think, tied to the something on the balcony. Hotta hit Ito with the ladder as Nakanishi freed Ito from the rope. Nakanishi stood over Ito but Hotta hit her with the ladder. Hotta charged with the ladder but Ito moved and gave Hotta a rock bottom on the floor. She gave Ito a second rock bottom (I know it’s a urunage, but I’m calling it a rock bottom since it’s a flat bump without a turn normally associated with the move). Nakanishi and Ito set up the ladder against the balcony. Ito powerbombed Hotta on the floor and hit an elbowsmash off the ladder. Ito then hit a foot stomp off the ladder from about 8 feet up but hurt herself in the process. Ito dragged Hotta back to ringside and rammed her into the barricade twice. Ito then gave Hotta a rock bottom at ringside and pushed her back into the ring. Ito went for a top rope foot stomp but slipped and Hotta moved. Hotta hit Ito with several chairshots. Hotta and Toyota propped the ladder across two chairs. Hotta landed another chairshot. She attempted to superplex Ito onto the ladder but they just kind of fell backwards and Ito did graze the ladder. Hotta then gave Ito somewhat of a double arm suplex onto the propped ladder. Hotta grabbed a screwdriver and she and the other heels undid the turnbuckles. Hotta landed another chairshot, whipped Ito into a ladder propped against the corner, and gave her two koppo kicks. Hotta then hit Ito with a turnbuckle bolt repeatedly. Hotta threw Ito off the ring, as the ropes had been undone, and onto Nakanishi at ringside. Hotta dragged Ito towards the stage. Hotta hit Ito with a ladder on the stage. Hotta charged with the ladder and Toyota from behind with a table, but Ito moved and the heels ran into each other. Ito and Nakanishi threw Toyota off the stage. Ito hit Hotta hard with the ladder and set it upright on the stage. Nakanishi set up the table and held it as Ito gave Hotta a powerbomb through the table. Ito climbed the ladder and jumped off the top of it with a foot stomp on Hotta for a pop. Hotta fell off the stage and Ito slammed the ladder down on her as well as the broken table. Nakanishi grappled with Maekawa as Ito dove off the stage with an elbow strike on Hotta. Ito clotheslined Hotta repeatedly but Hotta stood her ground, falling after four clotheslines. Ito dragged Hotta back into/onto the ring. Maekawa intervened and fought with Ito briefly. Ito powerbombed Hotta and dove off the top of the ladder with a foot stomp as heat was intense. Ito dove off the ladder with a second foot stomp. She missed a third and Hotta knocked her down with a shoda. Hotta hit Ito with some foreign object and nearly scored a knockout win. Hotta missed a punch with a chain wrapped around her hand and Ito scored with a shoda for a pop. Ito dove off the ladder with another foot stomp as fans went nuts. Toyota jumped off the ladder with a dropkick on Ito and Hotta landed a shoda of her own. Both women landed simultaneous shodas. Hotta set up a ladder against a ringpost and tied the rope around the ladder and ringpost. Ito recovered and knocked Hotta into the ladder with an enzu-lariat. Ito climbed the ladder but Hotta recovered and went after her by climbing the other side. Hotta trapped Ito upside down with her leg caught in the ladder and gave her three roundhouse kicks. Hotta also threw a couple chairs at Ito’s head and knocked her to the floor. Hotta tried to powerbomb Ito off the apron to a ladder on the floor but Ito countered and they both fell off the apron. Hotta recovered and powerbombed Ito on the floor. Hotta gave Ito a second powerbomb, this one a pyramid driver, at ringside. Ito fought back and knocked Hotta over the barricade with several blows. Ito clotheslined Hotta and gave her a sitout powerbomb of her own on the floor. Hotta countered a lariat attempt and gave Ito a tiger driver on the floor. Hotta wrapped a chain around her boot and gave her a couple roundhouse kicks. Hotta placed Ito upside down in the corner against the ladder and landed another roundhouse kick with the chain-wrapped boot. Hotta landed a couple more kicks to the head and scored a knockout win at 51:51, of which 49:57 aired. Hotta stood tall as many fans gave a standing ovation. Hotta and Ito exchanged words and went after each other again after the match. For those of you who have read this whole section, are you exhausted yet? I sure am after typing this much in a single sitting. In a night of long matches (the three on this show plus an untelevised 33:00 main event), this was the longest and in many ways the most memorable match. The wildness of the action has rarely been matches in other women’s streetfights, and this coming from two women I wouldn’t have expected it from. Is it the best women’s streetfight ever? I can’t say it is, because I’ve seen others with better and more solid actual work and wrestling content. While Ito and Hotta did go back to wrestling moves as the fight wound down, such exchanges comprised only a small percentage of the action. Combine that with the fact that neither is really as adept at brawling as Mita and Shimoda, or even Mayumi Ozaki in her prime. That said, they maintained a strong energy level throughout, and their brawling was solid enough to maintain very strong fan heat throughout. Some of the brawling spots were redundant, but became memorable because they were part of such a long match. The pacing was reasonably logical as well because, while the match lost momentum at times, it always recovered and the momentum was generally strong during the final 15 minutes, which was important. It wasn’t as great as the legendary Ozaki-Kansai ’95 streetfight, but it was even wilder, twice as long, and thus more memorable. I can see some not liking this match, because it was sometimes tough to sit through because of it’s length and occasional redundance. However, one must also consider what the viewing experience would have been like in person. Chances are, and fan heat seems to back this up, that this was a ***** spectacle live and very memorable for those in attendance because it was so wild and because the women fought all over the arena. One of the wildest matches in AJW history, and while not one of the best matches in federation history, definitely one of the most memorable. ****
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