Hokuto & Kandori vs Nakano & Kong (AJW - 3/27/1994)

Seconded

My favorite female tag match of all time (and it really isn't close). This match is so complex and grand. They weave together multiple stories into this so well. They accomplish so much in one match that it is sort of stunning. Bull and Aja are incredible murder machines in this match. I see Kandori as sort of the glue in the match that can stand toe to toe with the big women, but also sell from underneath when she needs. All told though, this is the Hokuto show. She is so good throughout this whole thing and plays the match protagonist to a tee. This is a match that is locked in on the top half of my list and will get some serious consideration with the top tier.

Could pretty easily be my #2. The way Hokuto and Kandori progress from hatred to mutual respect * WHILE WRESTLING A GREAT MATCH * is just unbelievable. I love this match. Not very match needs to tell a story, but if you wanna do so, THIS is how you do it.

This is pretty much a lock for my top 10 and has a pretty strong argument for number 1. Possibly the best in-ring story ever told of Hokuto and Kandori having to put their differences (to put it lightly) aside to take on such a dominant team in Bull and Aja. The only criticism I can throw at this match is that it gets a little excessive at times (the amount of piledrivers thrown is pretty staggering), but this is still an absolute classic.

The big rivalries going in are Kong vs. Hokuto and Nakano vs. Kandori.

Hokuto is the top babyface in the company and has been chasing Kong for the WWWA Title but failed again earlier last year when a pre-existing knee injury flared up and caused her to lose. Hokuto's greatness is how she carries herself both as a tough as nails badass yet feels very vulnerable due to her history of injuries that she tries to fight through but alas sometimes they're too much. But she's stubborn as hell.

Kandori is from another promotion (LLPW) and led the cross-promotional wars against AJW. Her and Nakano have been having wild brawls all over the place in tag matches, my absolute favourite is the aforementioned 09/11/93 tag match where even if they don't directly fight that much they're so full of bravado to one another when beating up the others tag partner.

So at Queendom the two rivalries are gonna be combined as they fight it out in a tag match. Bull Nakano is the former WWWA Champion for almost 3 years and lost the title to her protege Aja Kong, after getting conclusively beaten in their feud she becomes Aja's ally, and the two become the most dominant tag team in the promotion's history. Maybe watch Aja Kong/Bull Nakano vs. Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada 01/24/93 to get what they're about, though it isn't directly linked to this match in storyline.

Akira Hokuto and Shinobu Kandori absolutely loathe each other from the last year when Kandori tried to end Hokuto's career at DreamSlam 1993, where they fought one of the most violent bloodbath matches ever. You absolutely need to watch that match first to get this.

Wait. You can't have a fair tag match between a longstanding great team and two wrestlers who can't be in the same room together!

The match starts. Hokuto and Kandori immediately fight among each other over something until Aja jumps in and back-suplexes Hokuto. Hokuto fights back with all her spirit but she's just getting her ass handed to her time and time again as Kong/Nakano tag in and out showing great teamwork. Kandori wants to be tagged in but Hokuto stubbornly ignores her. Hokuto eventually manages to take advantage of a mistake by Nakano and German Suplexes her and finally goes to tag in Kandori. She does so with a hard slap to the face! FINE YOU WRESTLE NOW THEN. Kandori brushes it off like her stoic self which is such a contrast to Hokuto who's as wild a hothead as you can find.

Kandori holds her own a bit against the unstoppable team of champions but eventually is forced to tag Hokuto back in. She does so with two slaps to the face. Hokuto doesn't take this as calmly as Kandori did, she grabs her partner by the hair and they start fighting before Kong/Nakano interrupt and start beating down their opponents on the outside with Hokuto getting thrown over the announce table and suplexed onto it.

They're back in the ring and Kandori tags Hokuto in. Still not really on the same page but at least this time the tag is a mere slap on the slap and a disgruntled look. Hokuto challenges Kong to a test of strength. This is not going to end well but she insists and gets squashed but refuses to go down totally until Kong unloaded a flurry of headbutts at her. Hokuto is still defiantly shouting on the floor so Kong lifts her up to headbutt her some more but Hokuto manages to blast her in the face this time and for once gets a bit of an advantage. But now she's vengeful and wants payback for that suplex on the table so she drags Kong out to the table and piledrives her onto it!

Now up until this point no one has targetted Hokuto's still injured knee which is in a brace. Because even though they're enemies there's still a certain level of respect that stops Kong/Nakano from going after it (note Kandori had no such respect last year in their DreamSlam match!). But Hokuto is too fired up to care about that, and once she's piledrived Kong onto the announce table the truce on her knee is off. Nakano gets Hokuto in a kneebar and attempts to rip it apart but Hokuto gets to the corner just in time and tags Kandori in to save her. No slaps this time.

Kandori gets double teamed in the corner and Kong attempts to superplex her off the top rope before Hokuto runs in to save her partner, getting a swinging backfist in the process. The odd couple are finally working together now but it still seems not enough to beat the most powerful tag team in AJW history.

Kong gets Kandori in a chokehold but Hokuto breaks it up with a dropkick from the top, and follows it up with a dive over to the outside onto Nakano, leaving Kandori in the ring along with Kong. As Hokuto gets back in the ring Kandori shouts at her to hit her finish, which gets a massive pop from the crowd! Hokuto hits the Northern Lights Bomb on Kong. 1, 2... Nakano breaks up the pin. Kandori throws Nakano out of ring so Hokuto can finish off Aja Kong and win the match. She hits another Northern Lights Bomb. 1, 2... kickout! This is still Aja Kong I'm afraid. Almost impossible to beat her even though Hokuto/Kandori are now working as a team.

Hokuto is despondent that Kong's kicked out but she drags her up to hit her with one more to win, but Kong fights out and beats her down. Meanwhile Nakano has overpowered Kandori on the outside. It looks like the inevitable is now coming. Nakano holds up Kandori so Kong can blast her out of the match, but Kandori ducks and slaps Aja Kong in the face! Then in a great callback to the start of the match, how does Hokuto react to her opponents slapping each other, she back-suplexes Aja Kong! One more Northern Lights Bomb and 1, 2, 3!!!

They did it! They managed to put aside their hatred of one another to defeat the most powerful tag team in AJW and all of women's wrestling! Then we get the greatest post-match ever where Hokuto's just sitting on the floor exhausted, and she extends her hand towards Kandori, who's about to leave the ring but stops a few seconds, then walks over, slaps her hand and lets slip the smallest of smiles, and leaves.

Kadaveri mentioned it, but I felt it was worth hitting a little bit harder...Bull vs Aja was THE top feud of AJW in 90-92 as Bull had become the Ace of the promotion and Aja was being pushed as her top rival. That feud helped change AJW's fan base from primarily school girls to an older, more male dominated "hardcore wrestling" fan audience.

I always felt the Bull/Aja history made this all the richer because they had the hate for each other that Hokuto & Kandori did, but were able to put it aside, team up and destroy people. Hokuto & Kandori still hated each other and had to figure out how to overcome it to survive against two of the biggest badasses in wrestling history.

Someone needs to do a 10,000 word write up on this match.

#2 overall.

Anyone knows what exactly Hokuto and Aja say to each other after the match?

That's fucking amazing! Thank u.