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Post by jetlag on Jan 16, 2019 11:07:11 GMT -5
Jaguar Yokota vs. Lioness Asuka (JD' 4/14/1996)
This was so much smarter and more organic than their 1985 encounter it's not even funny. We get a fun fast opening exchange with Jaguar countering the handshake drag, but the rest of this was worked like a high end 80s NJPW strong style classic. I'm not kidding. Highly competitive snug pro wrestling, with Asuka working as a big shooter/bruiser type and Yokota fighting from underneath with technical moves. It's the little things that really got me into this match: Yokota kicking Asuka in the head while they were matwrestling, going for a lucha submission when Asuka blocked her piledriver attempt, getting out of trouble by catching Asuka with a leg trip etc. When Asuka wasn't trying to kick Yokota to a pulp, she would try to snap her arm during the opening portions. Asuka working firemans carries and throws to set up arm submissions is infinitely more interesting to me than random back and forth. Yokota hitting a piledriver on Asuka and following up with a tight necklock is logical pro wrestling 101 and the spill to the outside was straight out of the 80s playbook aswell. After slapping Jaguar silly, Asuka would give her a taste of her own medicine. The Scorpion Deathlock that left Yokota crumbling was awesome aswell. Asuka really goes to town on Jaguar now hitting one of the fastest Giant Swings I've ever seen and mercilessly cutting her off at every turn. There is also a pretty great Sleeper spot down the stretch: the first time Lioness caught her with it, Jaguar immediatey scrambled to the ropes, the 2nd time she reversed it immediately, and the 3rd time Lioness locked her down and she was close to fading, with her eyes rolling back in her skull etc. This is how you put a hold over. Yokota is in so much peril, trying every possible comeback and getting cut off that hitting the murderous piledriver actually feels like a huge moment. The one slightly weak moment here is the fluke finish and that is forgivable considering this was a tournament semifinal. I should also point out while everything in this match was logical, the bout never got predictable or by the numbers. But damn this like the greatest match Asuka has ever been in and damn do I need more matches like this from these two.
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Post by shodate on Jan 16, 2019 21:15:53 GMT -5
Seconded very great match the techinician vs bruiser dynamic worked well.The strikes were well executed and all the work was snug and violent. But the headlock after the piledriver wasnt good cause there wasnt any urgency after that move like it should have been. Anyways the match escalated greatly with the moves getting bigger and more violent the deathdriver was really great but honestly nothing puts it on the level of any all japan match classics imo.anyway great match and easy contemder their 85 match was more fun but this was more realistic and better it just had everything well good matwork escalation great skill in execution realistic strikes with great work struggle wasnt on the level i wanted not great techinque or execution either.solid 83 percent a good contender.also the best asuka match my ass
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Post by club on Jul 13, 2022 13:10:21 GMT -5
This is a very different beast to their much more famous 85 match, but I may have preferred this. And I really like that 85 match.
The dynamic here is very simple; Asuka's power v Jag's technical chops. You see this right from the off with Yokota's slick counter to Asuka's handshake drag. That's basically the story of the match, with Jaguar finding ways to thwart Asuka with her technique and getting killed when she couldn't. I thought the finish played into this really well.
On a tangent, the rivalry between these two seems an interesting one. My understanding is that Jaguar is Asuka's senpai and they have at least these two great singles matches, plus a ten min exhibition match for Asuka's retirement. I saw Elliott recommend a 97 singles match of theirs also. Can anyone fill me in on their relationship, and any match recs?
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Post by jetlag on Jul 20, 2022 3:24:22 GMT -5
This is a very different beast to their much more famous 85 match, but I may have preferred this. And I really like that 85 match. The dynamic here is very simple; Asuka's power v Jag's technical chops. You see this right from the off with Yokota's slick counter to Asuka's handshake drag. That's basically the story of the match, with Jaguar finding ways to thwart Asuka with her technique and getting killed when she couldn't. I thought the finish played into this really well. On a tangent, the rivalry between these two seems an interesting one. My understanding is that Jaguar is Asuka's senpai and they have at least these two great singles matches, plus a ten min exhibition match for Asuka's retirement. I saw Elliott recommend a 97 singles match of theirs also. Can anyone fill me in on their relationship, and any match recs?
Their later matches (post 96) are more spot focussed with things like table bumps etc. JD is frustrating because so much of it is clipped. They also had a tag that was clipped down from like 60 minutes to 20 minutes.
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Post by club on Jul 20, 2022 11:17:39 GMT -5
This is a very different beast to their much more famous 85 match, but I may have preferred this. And I really like that 85 match. The dynamic here is very simple; Asuka's power v Jag's technical chops. You see this right from the off with Yokota's slick counter to Asuka's handshake drag. That's basically the story of the match, with Jaguar finding ways to thwart Asuka with her technique and getting killed when she couldn't. I thought the finish played into this really well. On a tangent, the rivalry between these two seems an interesting one. My understanding is that Jaguar is Asuka's senpai and they have at least these two great singles matches, plus a ten min exhibition match for Asuka's retirement. I saw Elliott recommend a 97 singles match of theirs also. Can anyone fill me in on their relationship, and any match recs?
Their later matches (post 96) are more spot focussed with things like table bumps etc. JD is frustrating because so much of it is clipped. They also had a tag that was clipped down from like 60 minutes to 20 minutes.
Thanks - that all sounds massively disappointing! Why the shift? House style? Not seen much JD from this period. |
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Post by jetlag on Jul 23, 2022 4:29:08 GMT -5
I think it was just them trying to prove they could do a more dangerous, exciting style despite being veterans. Don't get me wrong, those matches are good and quite insane, they blow away the similiar stuff from FMW or ECW in my opinion. JD was a fun promotion but match quality was inconsistent because many of the wrestlers were green, although Jaguar usually had good/great matches there. The promotions homegrown talent like Sumie Sakai and Megumi Yabushita had better matches in the early 2000s.
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Post by lemming on Jan 12, 2023 6:34:46 GMT -5
This is a really neat match that I've not seen recommended before. Jaguar in particular is tremendous, whether selling or on offense. I love how she's always scrapping and struggling so that Asuka has to earn every advantage, despite being the stronger of the two.
The only thing which falls slightly flat sadly is the finish, which is a bit too abrupt. But I loved everything that came before.
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Post by elliott on Sept 15, 2023 14:54:15 GMT -5
Good match. Really liked the sleeper towards the end & Jaguar's selling. Too OTT down in the final stretch for my tastes though.
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