Forever Forward Fridays

Crush Gals VS Jaguar Yokota/Devil Masami - AJW 9/26/1984

JJZ: Chris, this match was so good that it fully overcame truly terrible English commentary recorded on top of Japanese commentary. This was a two outta three falls fuck ing banger! Joshi is always just a ball of nonstop energy that is coming through your tv screen. Even with the sloppy jalopy announcers the crowd was still fully present in the mix the entire match. With a lot of Joshi I always appreciated that they hit moves out of timing and necessity. It feels very organic and not a spot they planned in the back. Totally not shitting on that style, I'm just saying that it makes Joshi feel very individualized. I thought the finishes were great and timed out excellently. Overall man. This match was awesome. Enjoy.

CJD: This match was awesome indeed, my friend! I think I've avoided this one because every time I hear these putsy AV club loafer wearing geeks on commentary I try to find another version. However reading through the YouTube comments makes me realize these guys might have actually recorded over these matches for US broadcast in the 80s?? That makes their forced, unintentionally hilarious, (but admittedly, open minded and enthusiastic), constantly cringe worthy audio at least a bit more palpable. Anyway, man this was a war of attrition. Jaguar and Devil looked individually superior, the Crush Gals stronger as a team for the majority of the match. Devil did work from under a good amount though and Chigusa looked every bit the emerging superstar she was. The selling was sporadic as you'd expect with this era but the structure, execution, and pace were so ahead of their time. Maybe even to the point they still haven't been topped. You said it to me behind the scenes, but we're truly on a tear of great matches right now man. The stuff that makes pro wrestling fandom special. Thank you for sharing this gem!

Forever Forward Fridays

Lioness Asuka VS Bull Nakano - AJW 5/14/1989

CJD: So I'm clearly doing something different with this match, closer to what you did way back with Takayama/Shibata than even your 5 minute Odyssey Jones match. This reminds me of what a lot of the Cena/Wyatt feud was trying to accomplish only more effective in 25% of the time. Established Warrior VS Young Monster and definitely a match that's building to something greater but I loved it for what it was. This was a fight for survival and an exercise in how to reconstruct expectations in pro wrestling but still deliver something satisfying. I also thought this was a nice payoff after the constant hijinks in my Yokota/Galactica match going unchecked... this is out of control but there are checks and balances.

JJZ: I haven't even started the match yet but I want more already. For fucks sake. The crowd is about to boil over. This might be the smallest I've ever seen Bull. Fuck man. I literally am getting chills just with the intros. There are so many little things that Bull does that I love. Like why did she elbow Asuka in the lower back when she couldn't get her up when everyone else just punches. Lioness is showing great heart in this match. I would love to see the rematch man. This was wild. In a lot of ways it reminded me of the Stan Hansen Terry Funk match you showed me before. I know you've shown me a lot Hansen/Funk stuff but I'm sure you know the one I'm talking about. I love this. I love you. I love wrestling.

Forever Forward Fridays

Jaguar Yokota VS Lioness Asuka - JD' 4/14/1996

JJZ: Man oh man did I enjoy this jawn. This match reminded me so much of a 90s Kings Road style match minus one thing. Which I am going to challenge you to figure out. The hot start was extremely attention grabbing and just plain awesome. Then they slowed it down with some real nice tight mat work and submissions. For me this match was a very nice surprise. I loved the stalling piledrivers and big backdrops. I need some more of this joshi in my life. The finishing stretch sped up so much and had me on the edge of my seat. I popped hard on the finish. Didn't see it coming and thought it was perfect timing and execution.

CJD: Yeah this match slapped all the porpoises. Their 1985 five star classic gets all the attention but I think I've heard some praise for this one too. Even so it's not enough, because I thought this was every bit as good and maybe even better on first watch (I don't think the 1985 match is 5 stars fwiw). So my first reaction would be the finish wasn't exactly Kings Road with the escalating bombs. Was that what you were thinking? We talk a lot about matches that have a real sense of struggle and this was exhibit 1A. At no point did I feel like these two epic rivals were doing anything other than trying to defeat each other. Lioness has more of a bad ass aura about her than ever before and Jaguar is becoming an all-time favorite for me. I felt like there was a clear ebb and flow to this one, after the hot start Jaguar couldn't figure Lioness out early, but was able to take control in the middle and tried to wear her down, but Lioness had done too much damage and was too explosive to contain her late. Then at the end, as you said that finishing stretch felt do or die. Jaguar's final rally made you believe the finish was going to happen at any moment. But was it enough?? I urge everyone who ever checks in on PIF to make time for this match and see for yourself!

JJZ: You got it baby cakes. I loved the finish so much because I never would've guessed it and it made me love this match even more.

Forever Forward Fridays

Crush Gals VS Akira Hokuto/Devil Masami - GAEA 05/14/2000

JJZ: The madness that is this match is hard to put into words. My wrestling viewing has been down recently and matches like this make me want to go down a squared circle wormhole for the rest of the day. Wild, stiff, a little sloppy (nothing wrong with that) are all ways I'd describe the match. Many times I said "Jesus!" out loud. Also saw a few things I've never seen before. The crowd was great and made the tension in the arena come through the screen! The non stop action made for a what the fuck is gonna happen next viewing experience. I couldn't see how this was gonna go home so for me the finish was perfect. I'm super curious if you've seen this before. If not hope you enjoy as much as I did.

CJD: You sent me this match the same week you sent me a deathmatch to watch and I definitely didn't expect this to be the wilder of the two matches. But boy was it ever. The Crush Gals have recently reunited for the first time in years and are main eventing GAEA's 5th Anniversary show in front of 9,000 fans. To answer your question no I haven't seen this before as early 2000s joshi is definitely a blind spot for me but right off the bat that says a ton about the historical significance all 4 of these women have in Japanese pro wrestling. This match is so all over the place I don't even know what to say about it. There were times I was kind of over it, but then it would hook me back in. By the end it's just too damn entertaining. I feel like there's an American influence on this match, like a big RAW main event or even ECW, but then with all the joshi legacy and storytelling that these women bring. It wrapped up like the ending of a blockbuster action movie. This one really took me on a ride!