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Post by stunninggrover on Jul 15, 2018 17:33:19 GMT -5
1998-08-23 Manami Toyota vs. Shinobu Kandori [WWWA World Championship] (AJW @ Kawasaki Shi Taiikukan in Kawasaki, Japan)
Manami Toyota’s peak years were roughly 1992-1997, I’d say. So, this is a post-peak Toyota match, but still a memorable match, in my opinion. You can tell the vibe is different in 1998. The building looks half empty. Zenjo was slowly deteriorating. Well, at least there was this great match in 1998, which was a year that ARSION, for example, was far more interesting than Zenjo overall. Shinobu Kandori retained the Red Belt. I think this is my 1998 MOTY. It may sound like a clash of styles on paper, but Toyota started slowing down a bit around that time and projects like these have really shown that Kandori was one of the all-time great joshi puroresu workers (there are at least 5 Kandori matches I’m considering for my top 100 and Kandori plays a big role in the greatness in each of those 5 matches).
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Post by Cap on Jul 17, 2018 9:28:11 GMT -5
I really enoyed this match, thought it likely isn't going to get much serious consideration for my list. If I have time i will take another look and make sure I wasn't underselling it last time around. I do think it is one of my favorite Toyota singles matches.
I am in the same boat with Kandori. She is going to be in the running for most matches on my list.
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Post by jetlag on May 3, 2019 3:19:09 GMT -5
I enjoy this match, but I'll admit that it was more of a fun clash of styles than an epic match. Toyota gets a lot of shit (and rightfully so) but she does a nice job adapting to her opponent here, coming up with a few cool counters of her own and throwing palm strikes . The layout in theory did a good job in hiding Toyotas weaknesses, but there were a few awkward moments and I thought Kandori basically shrugging off Toyotas huge opening barrage took away from the match. Still the bomb throwing and Kandori finding ways to twist Toyota up on the mat was hugely entertaining.
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Post by KB8 on Oct 11, 2020 13:31:30 GMT -5
This was pretty great. When I first watched it a few years ago I thought it was one of Toyota's best performances, and that hasn't changed much on rewatch. How it was paced was very much a Kandori match, though. You know Toyota has a pace she likes to work at and that pace is fast and constant. Kandori will often slow things down, so in this you had a much slower pace than you normally get with Toyota, but there are still moments where she bursts into life and hits her stuff with all the ZEAL you expect from Manami Toyota hurling herself about the place. I get that if you're really into joshi and you're a Toyota fan then you have no problem with how she'd usually work (or actively like it), but for me personally she's much more enjoyable working at this pace. Makes her highspots feels so much more meaningful. She does a fucking headcase Sabu-style springboard somersault onto a table and a missile dropkick to the floor, but they feel appropriately crazy and huge because they aren't thrown out so quickly and in amongst a slew of other highspots. There are also a few bits where she just cracks Kandori in the face because Kandori will condescend to her or take her lightly, and once again Kandori's KO sell rules (there's a great payback spot later on and Toyota's own KO sell is just as great). No offence to her, but this is Toyota here, so you can expect one or two spots to come off looking ugly. The probability of her overreaching and botching something is simply higher than it is for others. It just...is what it is. Not everything was hit clean in this by any means, but the ugliness really worked, primarily because they were so good at throwing audibles. Usually those audibles involve Kandori just going fuck it and trying to yank a limb off, but I don't think it would be totally fair to attribute the quick thinking solely to her. By the end you've got a scenario where Toyota has to throw out the big bombs and go for broke before Kandori catches her in a submission far enough away from the ropes that Toyota can't escape. And at around twenty minutes in length there was no bloat and the stretch run never went too long. Some of the nearfalls were appropriately massive and, despite knowing the result this time, I still popped huge for one of those roll-ups. First time I watched this I thought it might be a top 10 joshi match of the 90s. While I'm not sure I'd still have it that high, I know it held up like I hoped and remains my favourite Toyota singles match.
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Post by elliott on Oct 12, 2020 18:47:27 GMT -5
This is an awesome match.
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