WWWA Title: Aja Kong (c) vs Dynamite Kansai 8/30/95
Kong punched Kansai before the bell and slammed her upside down into the corner. Kong went for a corner splash but Kansai raised herself up and threatened Kong. Kong headbutted Kansai and gave her a second rope backdrop, falling on top of her in the process for a very early near fall. Kong hit a running lariat in the corner and gave Kansai some roundhouse kicks. Kong headbutted Kansai but Kansai kicked her leg and grabbed a headlock. Kong scored with a couple roundhouse kicks and some headbutts. She rammed Kansai into the corner. They traded chops and no-sold the other's blows. They exchanged palm strikes before Kong gained the advantage in a headbutts exchange. Kansai held her own with some headbutts on Kong and gave her some superkicks. Kansai elbowed Kong and gave her some stiff kicks to her left leg before applying a sharpshooter. Kong reached for the ropes but Kansai then applied an STF in a smart move. Kansai applied a modified camel clutch until Kong reached the ropes. They began the knockout gimmick as the ref counted to 7 on Kong. Kansai back suplexed Kong for a near fall and applied a sleeper. Kansai landed more roundhouse kicks but Kong responded with a bunch of headbutts and a couple big roundhouse kicks to Kansai's head. Kong scored with two more roundhouse kicks and nearly gained a KO win on Kansai before Kansai hulked up (well, not exactly but she did stand up quickly) for a pop. Kong suplexed Kansai for a near fall and piledrove her for another near fall. Kong missed a corner splash and Kansai missed a roundhouse kick and got her leg stuck over the top rope. Kong kicked Kansai's leg and stood on it. Kong missed a second rope splash. Kong gave Kansai a dangerous backdrop (her version, falling on her opponent while doing a backdrop) for a near fall and a second rope splash for another near fall. Kansai countered a brainbuster and elbowed Kong. Kong missed an uraken but scored with a roundhouse kick to the back of Kansai's head. Kansai barely answered the count and Kong gave her almost a backdrop driver (landed on her head, but not quite head first) for a heated near fall. Kong hit a top rope elbowsmash for a near fall. Kong missed an uraken and Kansai swept her legs from under her. Kansai landed a sharp roundhouse kick to Kong's head and nearly scored a knockout win. Kansai ran into an uraken and Kong nearly scored a knockout amidst great heat. Kong placed Kansai on the top rope but Kansai tried to fight back. Kong missed an uraken and Kansai slapped her. Kansai caught Kong climbing the ropes with a roundhouse kick to her face for a pop and a near-KO. Kansai attempted a splash mountain but Kong backed her into the ropes and slapped her hard. Kansai caught Kong climbing the ropes with a couple roundhouse kicks and gave her a splash mountain out of the corner for a great near fall as heat reached a fever pitch. Kansai attempted another splash mountain but Kong elbowed her sharp in the face. Kansai scored with a bunch of roundhouse kicks to Kong's right arm and Kong rolled out of the ring. Ringside attendants taped up Kong's arm as drama mounted. Back in the ring Kansai attacked the injured arm with more roundhouse kicks and even got in a few kick to Kong's arm as the ref checked on her. Kansai landed some roundhouse kicks to Kong's body. Kong countered a splash mountain and went for an uraken but Kansai kicked her right (uraken) arm. Kong tried an uraken again but Kansai kicked her arm repeatedly. Kong blocked a splash mountain attempt but Kansai kicked her in the head. Kansai went for a splash mountain again but couldn't hold Kong up and it ended up being more of a regular powerbomb, but it still looked fine and Kansai gained a heated near fall. Kansai placed Kong on the second rope and gave her a splash mountain out of the corner for the pin at 18:11 to win the title as fans came unglued. I can't believed I waited this long to watch this match from start to finish! This was somewhat of a climax of their singles match series dating back two years, and it was a perfect climax, as the chase was finally complete. Not only had Kansai finally gained her first singles win over the supreme monster of joshi puroresu, but JWP had finally claimed the "big sister's" top prize and the top prize in joshi puroresu. Lots to say about this match, and it's all positive. They worked a smart and flawless match from a psychological standpoint, with one of the biggest strengths being they got the fans into it right away and the heat didn't die down at all during the body of the match. Actually, they worked in such a fashion that they convinced fans the match could possibly end anytime after the 5 minute mark, which was amazing because WWWA title matches, like All Japan main events, rarely ended before the 20 minute mark. Kong and Kansai realized that most of the fan interest would be centered around their kicks, Kong's uraken and Kansai's splash mountain, so they built the match around those moves, either using them as potential finishers or as setups for potential submission endings early on. They hit each other very hard throughout the match and almost every kick, elbow, punch, uraken and other strikes landed perfectly and looked so sharp that fans bought them as potential endings. The work in between big spots was more focused than in previous matches, as they only worked submission sequences as long as they could to make them mean something, as opposed to tossing in lengthy submission sequences for the heck of it (see 5/22/94). This match also came across as more than just a toughwoman match (see 11/20/94 match), as this had the feeling of a major world title fight and a great sense of urgency throughout that was missing from their other matches (5/22/94 moreso than 11/20/94, haven't seen their 8/93 match). Not one of the 50 best matches of the 1990s, but definitely a classic match, the best of the Kong-Kansai series, and I think I'll have to rework my list of the top 100 matches of the 1990s! ****1/2
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