Yumiko Hotta Matches

 Mariko Yoshida vs Yumiko Hotta, AtoZ 11/9/2003

Really great match which delivers exactly what you want. Early grappling was very cool, as Hotta is slower and less skilled but bigger. Yoshida was moving around her pretty fast but you get the sense that it’s hard to move Hotta, and when Hotta gets a hold of you it really sucks to get out. When Hotta tried to be more aggressive Yoshida would instantly reverse her, but then run into a wall due to Hottas stubbornness. There is one cool moment where Hotta has Yoshida cinched so tight Yoshida has to get a rope break because her bad arm is bothering her. The bad arm doesn’t even come up again but it’s just one of those random cool bits of sellings Yoshida does because Yoshida is a fucking great wrestler. Second half had some absolutely disgusting violence that was up there with any BattlARTS match, insane kicks, bare knuckle punches, Yoshida taking some absolutely insane punishment to make Hotta look like a total monster. It was still a very well worked match with some awesome submission counters to add to the violence. I also really dug Yoshidas “My soul is leaving my body” selling whenever Hotta would hit a particularily brutal shot. When Yoshida took her glove off to punch Hotta bare knuckle in the face it really felt like one of the most epic things you’ve ever seen. The finish was kind of genius too, as it seems like the one way to take out a tough lunatic like that. Sick ass match that felt as violent and cutting edge as the best of BattlARTS, Yoshida was clearly one of the best in the world still in 2003.

Yumiko Hotta vs. GAMI, AtoZ 2/29/2004

Seedy rotten bloodbath with both women bringing some serious violence. Brawling is often forgettable in joshi, that wasn’t the case here as GAMI immediately started busting Hotta open with Necro-level punches, headbutts and biting. Didn’t know GAMI was such a great brawler as she did a great job working over a bleeding Hotta. Her stoic demenaour also makes her look like a psycho. Hitting Hotta in the face with the paper fan was delightfully deranged. Hottas bladejob was also grizzly as her eye and mouth were full of blood, she looked like she got shot in the face. As soon as Hotta got control she also amped up the reckless violence by smashing GAMIs face with chairs. I also didn’t mind Kumiko Maekawa interferring in the match as it adds to the chaotic “anything can happen” feeling and GAMI looked like an even bigger badass when she was beating up two opponents. There was also the crazy moment where all the ring girls had enough of Maekawa and start jumping on her. They keep the crazy moments coming (big suplex into pile of chairs, GAMI randomly getting a table smashed in her face) and working a fast pace with out any letdown. The re-start may have been a bit unnecessary but I really liked the final 5 minutes with both of them pulling out all the stops with crazy out of nowhere strikes, big bombs, green mist being used, really good spectacle ending run. GAMI hitting a surprise rolling kick to a bloody Hottas head is about as good as pro wrestling gets. Early 2000s joshi has a bit of a bad rep but this was just great and belongs up there with the better brawls of the classic era.

Yumiko Hotta vs Manami Toyota, AJW 6/6/1999

Great match because it was free of the usual Toyota bullshit and Hotta was going after her with a vengeance. Basically Hotta would not allow Toyota to do her usual stuff so Toyota gets pissed and Hotta just tries to crush her. Hotta trying to crack Toyotas skull early reminded me of a rampaging Hansen. Even a basic back elbow almost seemed to take Toyotas head off. Toyota trying to stiff Hotta and tightening up her act by going for armbars etc. was really good. Even Toyotas dive came across as reckless. Last few minutes were pretty great and different from the usual joshi bombfest. I loved how Hotta would pull Toyota into armbars whenever she tried to go for her signature moves. Toyota figuring out a better way to hit her convoluted finisher was really cool. Even that one Toyota no sell kind of worked because she's supposed to be this indestructable icon who goes harder than everyone else and Hotta had clearly cracked her pride. Hotta destroying a stubborn Toyota with reckless headdrops and insane kicks made for quite the finish, too. Loved that face stomp as well. Not shootstyle but felt very uncooperative and like there was legit bad blood.

Yumiko Hotta vs Manami Toyota, AJW 1/22/1996

Savage violent car crash match, maybe the most brutal I've ever seen. Basically Hotta is a psycho monster and out to kill Toyota from the get go throwing full force kicks to her head and mouth. Toyota can't do her usual stuff so she is forced to fire back. Loved Toyotas violent retaliations, stomping on Hottas face, kneeing her, headbutting her bloody etc. Even her dropkicks seemed to land flush in Hottas face. I also loved her using that huge trophy to beat on a bloody Hotta and standing on her, surprised you didn't see that kind of thing more often in the 90s. Toyota trying to survive and catch Hotta with her crazy flying moves kept the middle interesting. Floor dropkick was certifiably insane. Finishing stretch was a bit the usual stuff though Hotta finding violent counters to Toyotas finisher attempts was pretty entertaining, not to mention her tendency to just go berserk with the kicks again. Probably concussed Toyota just barely pulling off the finish suited the chaotic nature of the match, I thought. Hotta isn't very good at selling but she kind of worked like a monster here so it worked and Toyota didn't do any no selling (to be honest she was probably legit damaged by Hottas psychotic onslaught). Not as interesting as the 1999 match but must watch for the sheer brutality alone, I thought.