Command Bolshoi 7 Match Gauntlet

  

Command Bolshoi vs Kayoko Haruyama, JWP 4/13/2008

This was really great. It was very much a 25 minute epic where they kick out of everything, but for that it was about as good as these kinda matches can get. Early build was great and added to the match. We know Bolshoi is the submission queen, and she absolutely is that here, but Haruyama was able to rip out some awesome surprise Fujiwara armbars and go after the arm. Really enjoyed Haruyama modifying her signature corner fame asser to target Bolshois shoulder. Bolshois comeback was great as she hit a cool odd angle 619 and then a choice huracanrana to the floor that bowled Haruyama into the chairs. Bolshoi then hit one of the craziest flash submissions I’ve ever seen as she busted out this wild flying twisting bodyscissor into calf slicer thing. Haruyamas leg selling was also really great as she was constantly slowed down and it added some drama to her buildig to her big leg drop. Another neat moment Haruyama eating a leg kick but firing back with a spin kick and collapsing.Ending run had a ton of big moves but was peppered with great selling and tons of amazing counters especially from Bolshoi. Haruyama was a great base. The way Bolshoi would bust out flash pins, submissions and ranas was just peak level. They were also hitting really hard, Bolshoi with her palm strikes. Haruyamas lariat fury in the corner before collapsing was also an awesome moment. At one point Haruyama just kicked Bolshoi straight in the face. Just a ton of really intricate awesome stuff here, a lot of flash but also great substance, a rare combo when it comes to these kinda big matches in the late 2000s. But fuck are these two great.

Command Bolshoi vs. Nanae Takahashi, JWP 6/13/2010

Command Bolshoi has a great fucking match against somebody, are you really surprised?! Lots of really masterful wrestling from Bolshoi in this, holy shit she was just great from the late 2000s onward. The early chain wrestling reminded me a bit of Billy Robinson carrying Jumbo, Bolshoi would do all these cool touches even when doing basic holds against the taller, stronger Nanae, while Nanae was quite good here cinching in side headlocks and cravate holds. Nanae is slightly generic but she can totally drop bombs and clobber someone, very late 2000s-early 2010s flavoured bomb dropping like a twisted fisherman suplex into an ace crusher because why not. Her selling of the bad leg that Bolshoi kept chipping away at also gave the match some great hope spots. Really hot crowd for this that badly wanted to see their cult hero defeat the former AJW star, which combined with Bolshois Honda/Fujiwaraish counters and submissions makes for a really great big match. There was one moment where they did a Benoit/Angle sequence with crossfaces and ankle locks which is not my favourite thing in wrestling but Bolshoi was able to salvage even that by trying to lock in a nifty leg scissor move. Finishing run was 2.9 ville but the good kind thanks to Bolshois reversals and the big vs. little psychology remaining in tact.

Command Bolshoi vs. Kayoko Haruyama, JWP 7/11/2015

Alright, these two have had a few really great matches against each other. But, in 2015? Haruyama is on the verge of retiring and looks over the hill, while Bolshoi looks ridiculously yoked here, just totally shredded. No way it’s as good as their earlier matches, right..? But fuck it this is another great fucking match. It was a more deliberate and storytelling encounter than their other matches but for that it was great. Early goings Bolshoi was really good as an annoying bug outwrestling Haruyama, hanging on to submissions and staying out of reach of Haruyamas power. Top rope uranage was completely unexpected and immediately increased the tension after just a few minutes. The match seemed to be a piece of cake for Bolshoi, but Haruyama would show some hard and fight her way back into the match in compelling fashion. Haruyama has clearly slowed down, but she was still bringing it hard, clobbering Bolshoi and mule kicking her really hard. Her basing for Bolshois complicated highspots was also really great. I also dug her use of snapping Bolshoi down when she was draped on the ropes. Bolshoi also hits about the greatest jumping knees ever in this. It’s a great match, not just ‘for what it is’ but straight up great pro wrestling and these two rule.

Command Bolshoi vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki, JWP 7/31/2016

Great 10 minute match. It’s Bolshoi vs Kuragaki, so you know it’s gonna rule, but this was also a pretty smart match. Kuragaki is so fucking cool. Opening matwork felt very much like maestros stuff. I love how Bolshoi sells her wrists after Kuragaki throws her across the ring. There is passion in that kind of attention to detail. The match was pretty much their usual thing with Bolshois technique vs. Kuragakis power, but it was very well put together and as always they do some awesome stuff with Kuragaki being really great lifting Bolshoi from all kinds of positions and dropping her to the mat with some big bombs and suplexes. She even busts out a moonsault. I really hope her knees are fine now.

Command Bolshoi vs. Hikari Fukuoka, JWP 9/20/1997

Bolshois most famous 90s match. I hadn’t seen this one in forever so I decided to give it another look. Early goings of this were just brimming with intensity. Fukuoka seemed to be trying to punch through Bolshoi with her forearms, even with a move like her handspring elbow she just crashed into her. Bolshoi took a beating but wouldn’t back down and fight back with tenacity. Bolshoi didn’t do any of her signature submissions here, it was a bomb throwing war, but pretty smartly done as they put a ton of effort to create some meaningful struggle for control and unpredictable moments. Fukuoka looks great here, just absolutely nailing everything she did, even her dropkicks look like she’s just crushing Bolshoi. After she basically ran through Bolshoi early on, seeing her selling the damage and looking pushed to the limit towards the end made the match feel pretty epic. Of course you also have the famous spot where Bolshoi takes her mask off. There is some legwork that is done with intensity but ultimately is just filler, and there’s one kind of ugly no-sell, but other than that it’s an all-around great match.

Command Bolshoi vs. Toshie Uematsu, JWP 6/15/2006

Two wrestlers who can bring some serious goodness, bringing some serious goodness. While this was somewhat light-hearted the jokes were all done well, and they both do some ridiculously great pin-point accurate wrestling that it ends up being a really good undercard bout. Uematsu is great – her dropkicks are like something out of an unhinged Casas/Santo exchange, and she has no problem leaning into comical angles. Bolshoi decides to work like Volk Han for a bit, they do a thing where they both resist arm drags and it’s kinda comical but also cool, a ton of really good sprint action down the stretch with some sweet reversals and cool bits of creativity, especially from Uematsu. Yeah I love them both.

Command Bolshoi vs. Manami Katsu, JWP 6/26/2016

Katsu was one of the last wrestler to debut in JWP. She is kind of like a worse version of Haruyama here, she did some good stuff attacking Bolshois back but also seemed a bit sloppy here or there and it seems she doesn’t sell very well. Still Bolshoi is really enjoyable to watch, even when she’s dominating on the mat early on she makes you feel that Katsu is bigger and stronger and thus caution is required, and she’s always really fun to just tear into someones arm with submissions and hitting palm strikes. Enjoyable Bolshoi performance as always even against someone who is rather mid.

Ran YuYu 7 Match Gauntlet

     Ran YuYu vs. Azumi Hyuga, JWP 12/3/2005

These two have fought each other a bunch in the past, in matches where they threw everything imaginable at each other. This was shorter (at 20 minutes), more focused and quite great if I may say so. It was basically an amalgamation of their rivalry but put together very well. Everything here felt like it mattered and they were always doing something cool, even making things like a figure 4 or german suplex that are often just thrown out in joshi matches look like a struggle and putting some fresh spins into everything. There are some great missed moves and reversals and cool touches like Hyuga sidestepping YuYus kitchen sink and making her fall through the ropes that nobody else would really think of working into a match. The body of the match was really good and the finishing run was next level with both of them trying to crack each others heads and YuYu going crazy trying to topple the eternal ace. Hyuga did pretty much her thing, which is not bad as she has such great offense, she did bust out one Honda-ish deadlift german suplex that was really sweet. YuYu showed the fire and charisma and some great strikes as she always does. It goes without saying these two have great offense but their creativity is what really brings it to the next level, just some amazing ideas here without becoming too cute, they would always maintain that gritty vibe. It feels like a bit of a putdown to say a match is ‘just what you expect’ but from these two you expect a great match, and this may have been a bit better because they went above and beyond.

Ran YuYu vs. Tsubasa Kuragaki, JWP 3/22/2010

JWP may actually be my favourite non-shootstyle promotion going in this period, at least when it comes to these kinda big move slinging main events they do them better than everyone else as far as I’m concerned. Kuragaki is a badass wrestler in her own right, and these two could’ve just had a generic match and I would’ve liked it, but they decided to make things a bit more interesting. Basically Ran is a total prick with her kicks and knees that were stinging Kuragaki like needles to the face, while Kuragaki is working like the more valiant clean wrestler, almost a bit like Hash/Tenryu in 1993. Kuragaki is pretty great at that and Ran is a really great prick. I just love her use of the elbows and knees, there was also some cool leg selling from her as Kuragaki is too valiant to outright attack her bandaged leg but she does sell that it’s bothering her in some cool moments. Really good build here the finish was great with both of them going for the KO.

Ran YuYu vs. Azumi Hyuga, JWP 6/16/2002

This was a 2/3 Falls match. Like I said, in 2002 these two had a bunch of matches where they really went all out in ways few other wrestlers have. It was sometimes ill-fated but this one really distillates what these two stood for. This had the special rule that the first fall was 2 count pinfalls, 2^nd was submissions, and 3^rd a regular match. They go way past 30 minute so it’s not for the faint of the heart but there is a ton of damn great wrestling here. 1^st fall was already worked at a sprint pace as they both did a mix of insanely fast pin combos and trying to knock each other out with some really hard strikes. It’s brisk, creative wrestling that few others could pull off. 2^nd fall gets all gritty and dirty as they get on the mat and try to tap each other out. It could feel like a bunch of performative time killing, but these two do so much cool stuff to remind you that they are a class above when it comes to skill. There are cool moments such as Ran looking in a great rolling crucifix hold during a shootstyle exchange and there’s some really good arm and leg submission work. Hyuga hitting a missile dropkick to Rans bad shoulder, or Ran locking in a great rolling cross kneebar, all straight up high end wrestling.Again these two are really creative to make that stuff as interesting as they do here. And they just keep bringing the hard hitting, almost everything these two has insane force, down to their signature knee strikes and elbows but also other things like their dropkicks, slaps and even shoot headbutts. Hyuga even hits a gritty out of nowhere lariat to mix things up. The 3^rd fall retains that vibe nicely though it does go a bit long they never lost me. These two were insanely ambitious but with the kind of talent they had you can’t fault them for flexing their skills like this. Even though it was a long match they always managed to do something interesting so it never feels pointlessly long, just super impressive wrestling.

Ran YuYu vs. Sawako Shimono, Ayumi Kurihara Produce 12/12/2010

We go from Ran going over 30 against arguably the top womans wrestler of the 2000s, to Ran taking on a stocky underdog on the second match of a random produce show. Matches like that can be totally mailed in and by the numbers, but this was insanely entertaining to watch and imaginative. Basically Ran is all ornery and evil, stomping on Shimonos face and not taking her seriously, but Shimono could overpower her with her thrusty offense, even crashing into her with body checks in positions that no other wrestler has taken a body check in. It’s really well done and you can see Ran is a) really nice to sell for Shimono this much and let her get in a lot of offense and not making her look like a total jobber and b) making the effort to make even a throwaway match like this memorable. Rans offense did look great – that low angle sideways jumping knee thing she does is an amazing piece of offense, and all her knees were really knocking the wind out of Shimono. I also appreciate her making the effort to make basic things, like the lift for a firemans carry, or getting out of a pinfall, or any of the basic knees she throws etc, look important.

Ran YuYu vs. Yuka Shiina, NEO 5/3/2002

Shiina is a pretty unique wrestler. She’s not exactly a shootstyle grappler, but she’s quite stubborn in going for submissions, in a way that makes her holds actually feel like a big deal. Of course Ran is no slouch on the mat either so you’ve got a rad match up here. Shiina has some awesome twisting ways to lock in sleepers and armbars, and YuYu is a good overdog here smacking her around and kicking her in the ribs really hard. She does let Shiina look great even in losing, and I love her use of the double armbar.

Ran YuYu vs. Mima Shimoda NEO 5/4/2002

Mima Shimoda rules in this. YuYus arm took a beating from Shiina the night before, so Shimoda goes right at it, and constantly goes back to it, with YuYu looking like she really did not want Shimoda to keep attacking her arm. Shimoda would also look Tenryu-ish kicking and booting Ran in the face with her gravel voice. It’s some really good compelling work that unfortunately isn’t paid off well as Ran seems to not really give a shit about the armwork once it’s done. Her stuff still looks great and she times it very well, still I would’ve liked her to take the ball and roll with Shimoda a bit more. The finish is some bullshit run in so maybe that explains that. Still, it’s nice to see Ran against someone who’s not one of her JWP peers, even if the match ended up being more simplistic.

Ran YuYu & Toshie Uematsu vs. Kaori Yoneyama & Leon, JWP 9/18/2006

I want to focus more on singles matches with these but Rans team with Uematsu was a major part of her career. This is pretty much what you associate with joshi, it’s a totally insane movezfest where they try to cram everything they can think of and more into a span of about 20 minutes and never really slowing down. It wasn’t the most substantial or consequential but when it comes to pure action they pulled off some face melting intensity here. There’s some learned spot across the 2/3 falls format for some semblance of psychology, and I enjoyed the hell out of Ran and Uematsu here as they understood you have to mix in some really hard shots in between the moves to pepper everything up a little. Not that Leon and Yoneyama were bad. Lots of nifty unique move combos that you won’t ever see attempted by saner wrestlers, and the finish is just Ran knocking someone the fuck out with an elbow to the face and I love that.

Command Bolshoi Treasure Trove #8

 

Command Bolshoi vs Ran Yu Yu (JWP 11/11/2012)

This was right before Rans retirement. While she had slowed down a little, she could still bring the badass knee lifts and elbows. And Bolshoi had pretty much turned into a monster wrestler around this time period. Just such a well rounded wrestler who’s always doing something cool. Both these two have great offense, anytime YuYu hits a knee or elbow to stop Bolshoi it feels big, and everytime Bolshoi does something it feels like a cool trick to deal with her beastly opponent. Especially dug her 619s, the 619 is such a tired spot that few wrestlers pull off well but hers were great here, mostly because they came out of unexpected positions. Match also had some good matwork and well worked transitions. A nice late career highlight for Ran, and another entry in Bolshois resume of great matches around this time period.

Command Bolshoi vs Konami, GPS 12/19/2018

These two had already faced in 2017, now Bolshoi was just a year from retirement and Konami had advanced a little. As a result this is longer, and more stubborn. Loved how Bolshoi resisted the armbar over the ropes spot. At first it’s largely Bolshoi tearing Konami apart with her cool submissions and its really fun. Bolshoi makes even something like a basic stomp to the kneecap look outstanding which you have to love. Konami, however remains stubborn fighting back with her hard kicks and flash armbars. Bolshoi is up for a challenge against a shooter, but after some more hard fighting Konami is able to get Bolshoi in a great modified calf slicer. Bolshoi comes up limping, and what follows are some of the better minutes of pro wrestling I’ve seen in a while. A limping Bolshoi with her kneecap exposed desperately trying to avoid the killing blow and shutting down Konami with palm strikes, punching her in the face and sinking in a choke was pretty epic and exactly the kind of ‘wounding the veteran’ moment Konami needed. Finishing run had Bolshoi tying up Konami with more crazy submissions and palm strike maulings as well as more cool kicks and counter work. Really good stuff, Konami looked good engaging in this kind of stubborn submission-centric match and its just another great Bolshoi performance raising it to the next level with some great selling and character.

Command Bolshoi vs Ran Yu Yu, JWP 3/30/2006

Tremendous match, great in the same way as their 2012 encounter, but faster, scrappier, more tricked out, and bigger. This was really about Bolshoi evading Rans dangerous strikes and in the process busting out a ton of cool stuff. It really works because Ran is established that even a basic elbow or knee from her will fuck you up. Bolshoi was performing at peak level, hitting cool out of nowhere shotais and 619s, scrambling into triangle chokes, rolling her opponent up with ridiculous lucha pins or doing awesome submission counters into tying Ran up, and doing lots of cool blocking, dodging and evading with Ran eventually catching her. Ran has a bunch of awesome moments of her own, at this point she was a total a queen at these lengthy matches built around a few strikes, I mean I think you can count the ‘moves’ she hit in this on like 1 hand but she was incredibly compelling. So, smart match with a lot of great shit in it, no downtime, plenty unique and choice counters… yeah this pretty much ruled. One of the best of 2006.

Assorted OZ Academy

 

Carlos Amano vs Kaoru Ito, OZ Academy 1/22/2006

Fun match where they both show off their awesome offense. You’re not going to get a ton of psychology in Kaoru Ito matches, but there was some semblance of her selling the arm, and she will absolutely murder someone with double stomps. Amano was a dynamo in this match, here constant arm attacks and headbutt variations were great. I dug all the counters she had to the uranage slam, and the finish was the kind of nifty touch she is so good at pulling off. It’s always nice to get a match where Amano shines.

Dynamite Kansai & Jaguar Yokota vs. Aja Kong & Misae Genki, OZ Academy 1/22/2006

Very cool match. All these legends aren’t going to work super hard in a mid card match on a small show, but you will still get plenty of neat touches. Loved all the little things Aja did in the match, such as blocking a Yokota footsweep and stomping on her leg. Kansai looked spry, throwing good kicks and never slowing down. Her exchanges with Aja weren’t 1993 level but they were still good and would look good on anyone elses resume. Lots of cool offense from the bigger girls in this match, and Yokotas out of nowhere rolling kicks were awesome.

Carlos Amano vs. Amazing Kong, Oz Academy 8/8/2004

 

Cracking little under 5 minute match that is built around Amano basically trying to crack Kongs skull with running headbutts and chairshots. Kong definitely moved like a star at this point and gave back pretty good. The finish is pretty crazy as Kong takes a belly first bump through a Japanese table before getting clocked with another jumping headbutt off the apron. Gnarly.

I watched a bunch of BJW and the only thing that caught my attention was this Saburo Inematsu match

 

Saburo Inematsu vs. Takashi Sasaki, BJW 11/13/2006

Inematsu was a K-Dojo guy who I remember being a fun addition to BJW multiman tags during this period. I think this was the only bigger singles match he got in BJW at the time, and you kind of have to wonder why because he does really well for himself. The first 5 minutes are the standard forgettable deathmatch opening and not of much interest, but the last 10 minutes or so are really compelling. Inematsu has a lot of fun offense – running headbutts, well timed axe handles, a sick backdrop suplex, big knee drops – that feels really fresh in this kind of deathmatch context. Both guys also bleed like crazy, and increased the violence by really stiffing each other with their slaps and kicks. The struggle for control was really good. When Inematsu hit his big Death Valley Bomb from the top rope it felt like a huge moment not just because it was a huge bump but because of the way Inematsu had been controlling and cutting off Sasaki, it really alerted the crowd that the outsider could put away the established guy and it was really compelling, they maintained that sense of struggle subsequently in nice fashion. I’m not a guy who’s big on deathmatch wrestling but this was really good and fresh.

It's a MEN's World

MEN´s Teioh, Makoto Oishi & Shinobu vs. Onryo, Milanito Collection a.t. & Fantastik, BJW 8/20/2007

When I saw that Fantastik had a few TV matches in BJW in 2007, I was wondering if he still had it. He looks lumpier here than he did in the 90s… but as soon as he steps in the ring, it becomes clear that he still has it. Still has ridiculously beautiful execution, still works really pretty lucha sequences and he still hits that fucking senton to the floor he always does and it looks magnificient. Leave it to a lumpy old luchador to smoke a bunch of slender Japanese juniors with the biggest dive in a match. But, even aside from Fantastik being really good, this was super fun match. I remember these MENS Club matches being kind of last hurrah for Japanese lucharesu. I guess we can pin those matches being good on Men’s Teioh bringing his Michinoku Pro experience and some authority into them. He has fun dynamic hitting all those twinks with cool clotheslines and elbows. They do fun character multiman spots, everyone has some brief neat sequences worked out together, the pace is fast, they move through comedy briefly and with ease, and it doesn’t go into overkill. Onryo looked cool here doing his zombie shtick and ripping out cool flying ranas, including a flying reverse rana which was pretty insane. Nevermind all that shit. FANTASTIK~!

MEN’s Teioh & Mototsugu Shimizu & Hercules Oosenga & Wolf Ozawa vs. Kota Ibushi & Makoto Oishi & Milanito Collection AT, BJW 11/26/2007

Another really good little match from the MEN’s Club crew, this stuff definitely ages better than most other spotty stuff from the era. Big part of that is the ongoing story and character of these matches, with Shinobu playing underdog, the weird kamehameha comedy bit and all the twinks bickering at each other while Teioh looks kind of embarassed to be there and just comes in to hit stiff elbows and european uppercuts. Plus, the match had excellent structure and just the right pace, so compared to how spotty current wrestling is this looks like a fucking Bret Hart match in comparison. Everybody tags in and out fast enough to do something cool and not get exposed, you have a cool Teioh vs. Ibushi face off, Onryo doing his Wolf Ozawa persona (I think there was an angle in 2007 where Onryo came back to life and became Wolf Ozawa but later died again to transform back into Onryo), there’s a good Shinobu FIP section where Oosenga hits a cool second rope elbow (yeah, I remember the second rope elbow in a spotfest! I liked that), several cool synchro dives. And the whole thing doesn’t overstay its welcome. Yeah I’m gonna go on record to say this stuff ruled.

MEN’s Teioh & Onryo & Shinobu vs. Shiori Asahi & Makoto Oishi & Hiroyuki Kondo, BJW 5/26/2006

This was one of the earliest matches of this crew, I am not sure they were going by MEN’s Club at this point but the theme of Shinobu disappointing Teioh was already present. Teioh was great here, doing a bunch of totally awesome maestro exchanges with Oishi hooking him with neat holds and sweet reversals. 3 of the guys in this were really green so they were struggling to draw reactions from the crowd (then again it was Katsura Studio), but it moved into a really good ending section that didn’t feel like overkill. I enjoyed Asahi a lot, cool underrated indy guy who has a number of unique spinning wheel kicks and enzuigiri that look painful, and Kondo is always cool to see.

Tanomusaku Toba Documentation #21

Tanomusaku Toba & MIKAMI vs. Poison Sawada & HARASHIMA, DDT King of DDT 2008 - FUN

 

HARASHIMA was in snakeman facepaint and doing charms here. Sawada and Shima won’t blow you away here but they are a charismatic heel unit  and there are some fun charming spots including MIKAMI getting hypnotized while standing on top of the ladder. SUICIDE BOYZ were about as good as you ever see them here, MIKAMI can make any random move like a springboard back elbow look totally awesome and Toba was kicking and punching people as hard as ever. TOBA even broke out of the snake charms twice and hit one of his stiffest backfists I’ve ever seen. I also appreciate that Sawada looks old and like he doesn’t train anymore but still takes a full force Toba kick to his head. This needed another Toba tag in to push into GREAT territory but for what it is it is an immensely fun little match.

 

Tanomusaku Toba & MIKAMI vs. Cho-un Shiryu & KUDO, DDT 4/1/2009 - GREAT

This was from a weird theme show where they had all the wrestlers dress up as different nationalities. So Toba and MIKAMI represent Thailand with MIKAMI dressed like a thaiboxer and KUDO doing his New Beijing Pro Wrestling Dragon Achoooo gimmick. So this is thai boxing vs. hong kong movie kung fu match we all were looking for all of our lifes and it’s totally awesome. It works because Shiryu and KUDO are really slick and there are still a ton of stiff strikes in the match. I think the joke was that MIKAMI isn’t skilled enough to be a thaiboxer because he was mostly doing body shots early on, but he hit a pretty brutal jumping knee later. Of course Toba rules coming in and punching and kicking people really hard. Also, nice showcase match for Choun Shiryu, who is also awesome. This was only a slightly bigger finish away from an EPIC rating.

Tanomusaku Toba vs. MIKAMI, DDT 12/29/2006 - GREAT

This was for the Extreme Title and had a rounds ruleset where one round be pro wrestling rules, the next round would be martial arts rule and so on. Pretty smart match that was also brutally stiff. Even during the pro wrestling sections MIKAMI was absolutely leathering Toba with his clotheslines and kicks, for a skinny short guy he can really hit like Tenryu. MIKAMI was really trying to finish the match during the Pro Wrestling Rules section going for flash pins. MIKAMI was more cautious during the Kakutogi sections, trying to contain Toba with takedowns and groundwork. Eventually MIKAMI eats a knee to the face when shooting for a takedown and after that it’s time for Toba to kick his ass. The sections where Toba was blasting MIKAMI with his kicks and fists really felt like a fight to the death as MIKAMI barely survived. There was this great moment where MIKAMI went for a desperate schoolboy but Toba landed on top and rained punches on him from mount, you could just see MIKAMIS body going limp as Toba punched the soul out of him, if it had been martial arts rules it would have been a KO but because it was pro wres rules Toba had to go for a pin. Other neat moments include MIKAMI going for a 619 and getting punched in the face, as well as Toba countering a codebreaker attempt with a nasty elbow. Finish was great too as MIKAMI hit this really uncooperative shoulder dislocating armbreaker move before locking in an Octopus Hold, Mikami knows no martial artist can resist an Octopus Hold. Great match that had top notch selling from Mikami, brutal stiffness and a really well told story.

Tanomusaku Toba Documentation Project

Command Bolshoi Treasure Trove #7

 Command Bolshoi vs. Azumi Hyuga, JWP 4/23/2006

These two have wrestled each other a lot and they have really special chemistry together. Starts out really solid with some smooth exchanges but gets really great towards the middle and end. These two pull off some great struggling for control sequences with insanely tight executen. There was also no random offense from Hyuga like she often likes to do. Finishing run was brief but really good and Bolshois surprise submissions and incredible counters kept the match interesting. This went pretty short which I appreciate a lot in a sea of bloated joshi singles. Very good match.

Command Bolshoi vs. Kayoko Haruyama, JWP 8/21/2005

These two had a really great match in 2010, and this was likewise pretty great. Less strikes were thrown, but the match was chock full of fantastic sequences and nifty surprise counters by Bolshoi. Haruyama had gotten quite good at this point and she kicked Bolshoi in the face hard a couple times. Good stuff that even the dark joshi period wasn't all so dark.

Command Bolshoi vs. Meiko Satomura DX, JWP 10/19/2014

It's 6 minutes of Bolshoi vs. Satomura with some weird interference from a bunch of masked characters in the middle. Still, any wrestling between these two is gonna be great, and damn do I need a singles match between these two. Not the greatest match when it comes to sprints, but it was a nice taste of what could be if they got together and had a real main event.

Command Bolshoi Treasure Trove #5

 

Command Bolshoi vs. Kaori Yoneyama, JWP 3/12/2006

 

Another pretty high end workrate match. Opening had some really fun, fast lucharesu exchanges and Bolshoi constantly getting the better of Yoneyama on the mat. These two bust out slick counters and exchanges like it‘s nothing. There wasn‘t some kind of epic story but the action was fast and good and everything makes sense. Yoneyama matches up really well with Bolshoi, she bases extremely well for Bolshois more complicated moves, and her high spots look hurty. Once again, Yoneyama flipping out and beating the soul out of Bolshoi with a brutal barrage of elbows, double axe handles and knees was the highlight of the match. They spent good amount of time building to Yoneyamas Code Red and it was the most I‘ve cared about a Code Red in a match in a while. And Bolshoi was great as usual with her submissions and open hand attacks which she times great.

Command Bolshoi vs. GAMI, JWP 8/18/2013

This would‘ve been a super dream match in 1998, it was a pretty fun veterans contest in 2013. GAMI will bust out the paper fan and hit you upside the head, she‘s a bit slower but still a smart worker as evidenced by her excellently timed eye pokes and boot scrapes, you can kinda see here as a more credible Giant Baba. Bolshoi matches up really well against GAMIs trickery and busts out lots of neat submissions and out of nowhere stiff palm strikes. I really liked the dueling Stretch Plums, and also this was 2 count rules and that can be really fun as almost everything produces a credible nearfall.

BONUS MATCH - 

Command Bolshoi vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto, Ice Ribbon 12/26/2010

Tsukasa ain‘t much special, but she has some neat pin variations and is over with her Ice Ribbon crowd as an underdog. I can‘t imagine wanting to watch Tsukasa against mostly everyone else, but Bolshoi is a master grappler and this is her match. Really resembled a prime Yoshida the way she pulled Fujimoto into one submission after another. Her rolling calf slicer was awesome, and she just sets her stuff up incredibly well. Fujimoto also took some harder than usual open hand strikes from Bolshoi and timed her comebacks well. Quite great 9 minute match and Bolshoi was pretty unreal at this point.

Kings Road Hataage 1/15/2006

 Yuki Ishikawa vs. Shota Takanishi

Kings Road was this weird kind of low budget project that tried to simulate a classic All Japan feeling on a small stage. But they bring in Yuki Ishikawa to have a match against their bland rookie, so it's all good with me! About as good of a 6 minute rookie squash as you can ask for. Takanishi only has elbows and a boston crab and Ishikawa still makes him look like a threat while lookin like a badass himself. Check out how Ishikawa would put over a basic side headlock or Takanishis elbows. Really good brief mat-work section too. And then Ishikawa just choked the poor kid out. I'm guessing Takanishi was an AJPW Dojo reject because he kept working Zero1 never achieving much and quietly retiring 5 years later.

Yuto Aijima vs. Daisuke Ikeda

Aijima is a roided West Japan scum who surfaced in post-split AJPW. I'm guessing he owns the ring or something and that's why he's booked to look strong, that or it's just the fact they didn't have a roster for this fed. Ikeda mostly reverses Aijimas holds by doing biting, eye pokes etc. and does flash pins while Aijima huffs and puffs. Really not how you want this to be worked at all.

Gran Naniwa vs. Fake Tarzan Goto

Weird angle where real Tarzan Goto ands up coming in to kick ass. I don't get that if you have Actual Tarzan Goto and are running with a roster this thin why not just give him a match. Real Tarzan Goto vs. Gran Naniwa would rule.

Koichiro Kimura & Tomohiko Hashimoto vs. Shiro Koshinaka & Takao Ohmori

Slightly better match than you expect, as it had something resembling a story as the AJPW vets didn't take their indy scoundrel opponents very seriously at first only for Kimura and Hashimoto to isolate them. Kimura really can't abuse these vets like he can abuse random DDT and FUTEN undercarders to there was a ceiling to how good the match could be but it was solid. Koshinaka and Ohmori ate some stiff kicks and there were some big spots including a 3 man German suplex and Koshinaka busting out hip attacks left and right. Not much depth (Ohmori kind of no sells Kimuras arm work) but I would classify it as a working boots match for them.

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kazushi Miyamoto

Kazushi Miyamoto was the guy they put their hopes in to carry this weird fed. At this point he was like every first guy you make in the CAW mode when you play around with a new wrestlin game, he had borrowed all the cool moves from popular guys and he was a solidly trained wrestler, so he was capable of having good matches. He reminded me a bit of Jumbo in the 70s as he was largely inoffensive and solid but really doesn't add many flourishes. And Tenryu works this in the Jumbo role, and they lay the match out kind of like Flair vs. Koko B. Ware in Memphis as they start basic and then build to increasingly intense strike exchanges where the star fools people into thinking the nobody could win. So it's 70s Jumbo vs. Tenryu playing 90s Jumbo worked like Flair vs. Koko Ware... IT'S KING ROAD BABY~! Tenryu is really good here and Miyamoto is game getting punched in the face and catching tables with his head. Really liked all of Tenryus selling that he got caught by surprise from Miyamotos attack. Like he's shrugging off Miyamotos chops then suddenly goes OW MY THROAT and the crowd wakes up and there's actual excitement in this. Really liked the bit where Miyamoto hit this reckless headbutt to Tenryus jaw and then followed up with an even more reckless moonsault that was like an avalanche Pele Kick that also caught Tenryu weirdly. And you can make fun of Miyamoto for being a CAW but he was smart enough to open up Tenryu with punches and then do the Kawada kicks to Tenryus bloody face and putting on the Stretch Plum. Really really fun 2000s Tenryu main event overall.

The Library

RIP BADBOY Hido

 BADBOY Hido vs. Jushin Liger, Apache Pro 4/14/2006

Awesome 5 minute explosion of hate filled brawling in front of a rabid hot crowd. This was the conclusion of a series of CTU vs. Apache Pro tags in 2006 and Liger is giving Hido hell here. Liger is great as an invader beating on someone, and Hido bleeds and sells good. Hido makes a quick comeback going for his trademark bat shots which look great. Liger pins him pretty fast though and we get the whole Apache Pro roster jumping on him and Hido trying to cut his hair, which leads us to...

BADBOY Hido & Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs. Gedo & Jado & Jushin Liger, Apache Pro 4/14/2006

Also pretty great match, one of those 2000s interpromotional wars with a ton of heat that make wrestling fun and exciting. More hatefilled brawling, Liger getting pissed off at his cut hair was a nice touch, and CTU are a really good heel unit isolating their opponents, working the cuts and brawling. Everyone on Team Apache bleeds big and gives a fired up babyface performance. Normally I dislike Kuroda, but he just did a fired up hot tag here, foregoing his usual comedy spots, and then he also bled and we got more pissed off brawling. Kanemura/Gedo ending stretch was damn good. Hido was mostly selling and bleeding here, although he is a really good FIP and his superplex was a nice well timed moment.

BADBOY Hido vs. Shadow WX, BJW 4/28/2002

One of the crazier things I've seen in wrestling. BADBOY Hido is a complete psycho here. He beats the shit out of Shadow WX and everyone nearby, even some woman (who is maybe related to WX?). It really feels more like a worked shoot angle than a match, as it comes across like Hido is stepping over the line and being a menace, doing things he is not supposed to be doing, and what an achievement that is to create that effect in a deathmatch promotion. The pull part at the end was probably the most pissed off WX has ever looked, and damn do I want to see the bloody payoff that this set up.

BADBOY Hido vs. Hayabusa, W*ING 9/11/1996

We start this with a great rudo Hido section where he carves up Hayabusa, rips his mask, and hits some great looking bat shots. Hayabusa takes he over and is kind of a heel to the W*ING fans, but he's really not a very convincing bad guy. Finishing stretch was fun with Hidos simplistic violence vs. Hayabusa flying moves and the fans getting big into Hido. Hido hits his bat shots with real pop and he makes simple things like a dropkick to the face look very violent.

BADBOY Hido vs. Shinjiro Ohtani, WEW 9/22/2003

This was probably the best match to come out of the now forgotten WEW vs. ZERO1 feud. Ohtani bullies deathmatch boy Hido a bunch, and Hido comes back swinging baseball bats and tossing ladders at Ohtanis head. Ohtani doing garbage spots and bleeding is fun, and so is Hido taking Ohtanis boots to the face and getting suplexed on his head. Bat shots were pretty brutal in this and probably better than the usual lariatfest. Perfect meeting in the middle.

Assorted WMF

 

Mr. Gannosuke & Hisakatsu Oya & GOEMON vs. Soldier & Mineo Fujita & Black Buffalo (WMF 3/3/2006)

Really, really fun SWS style tag where everyone smacks each other hard and works a fast pace. Gannosuke is pretty great here in the Tenryu role of guy everyone wants to take down and who wolds the match together with his charisma and presence. Soldier acts like a spunky dipshit, so Gannosuke decides to break a kendo stick in half and stab the shit out of him. Really good FIP section with Soldier bleeding and all the veterans looking good. Dug Oya, who did little in the match except hit cool throat jabs and sick looking backdrops as Oya always does. There was one lariat/backdrop combo from Gannosuke and Oya on Soldier that looked like a decapitation. Everyone on the junior team looked good also and most importantly, everyone understood their role.

Mr. Gannosuke & Tarzan Goto vs. Mineo Fujita & Soldier, WMF 9/5/2005 - EPIC

Really great match largely thanks to the awesome veteran work of Gannosuke and Goto. These two basically treated their junior opponents like the Anderson Bros would treat a jobber team for large parts of the match. We get a really cool opening segment where they all hit the mat. Goto looks older and fatter here, but he is still so great rolling around, bumping for armdrags, working headlocks and eventually punching his opponent in the face. Soldier was in the role of spunky underdog here, he makes the mistake of challening Goto and ends up getting smacked down. Then, because Goto is Goto, physically besting an opponent isn’t enough for him, so busts out the foreign objects and Soldier is soon a bloody mess. Lord, has there ever been a match where Goto didn’t end up covered in his opponents blood? Soldier on offense isn’t very compelling, but he got in so little offense in this match and was willing to let Goto chuck tables at his head that I am willing to like him. Mineo Fujita is a bit more compelling on offense, as he has really good looking dropkicks, and he has some really fun sections where he mixes it up with Goto, who works surprisingly well against this type of opponent. However, Gannosuke catches him in a Scorpion Deathlock, and following that we get another segment built around Goto and Gannosuke destroying his back with awesome looking suplexes and slams. Lord knows I may be desensetized, but Goto trying to blow out Fujitas spine with a damn Vader Bomb to the back was absolutely sick looking. Then we get a great finishing run largely built around powerbombs and hard lariats. That kinda stuff is bread and butter for FMW workrate tags, but the body of the match here was built so well with Fujita and Soldier looking to be hanging on by a thread that I gave a shit. Also, wonderful nearfall here where Fujita catches Gannosuke in his own Gannosuke Clutch.

Mr. Gannosuke vs. Mineo Fujita, WMF 7/1/2006

Apparently Fujita is Mr. Gannosukes boy, and here they go long in what probably is Fujitas career match. I respect the hell out of Mr. Gannosuke for making a name for himself as a sleazy garbage brawling heel, and riding it out in the twilight of his career in grapple-heavy matches. Again this starts with lots of cool matwork, with Fujita busting out a cool calf slicer, and Gannosuke catching him with a crafty abdominal stretch. Gannosuke ends up working over Fujita and eventually working over his arm with some cool stretches before a grand old finishing run that was well done. Fujita isn’t super special or anything but his arm selling was servicable and he didn’t have any retarded offense, which I appreciate. Brutal brutal finish.

TARZAN GOTO DOCUMENTATION PROJECT