Forever Forward Fridays

Shinobu Kandori VS Kyoko Inoue - AJW 8/25/1993

CJD: I tried to trace back where our Joshi Journey began and how long we've been on and off with it but it's had such a long winding road with so many twists and turns I couldn't pin it down. Suffice to say it's been the majority of 2021 and it's not exactly how I envisioned Forever Forward Fridays when I came up with the concept. There have been weeks when I really wanted to get back to the indies and to take a break from shrill screams and bridging out of pins. But there have been so many weeks where I've fallen in love with matches I might not have ever seen otherwise. And boy is this one of them! This is such an exciting, quintessentially pro wrestling dynamic. Colorful explosive babyface against world class badass. One wants to create separation and blow the match open, one wants to close in, lock in a hold like a bear trap, and squeeze the life out of the other. Sometimes I feel like 90s joshi gets overrated, then we find a match like this and I realize I still don't rate it highly enough.

JJZ: What the fuck. I should've played this last Saturday for the gang. This match was excellent. Had me saying "Oh shit!" a bunch. The loved the wildness of it and then you'd see some ridiculously wonderful submission that looked so fucking painful. I don't know if I can say they built to the finish because the energy level was at a ten from the start. BUT, I loved the home stretch of this one. The finish was perfect and I didn't see it coming. Very nice pick!

Forever Forward Fridays

Bull Nakano VS Shinobu Kandori - LLPW Chain Match 7/24/1994

JJZ: I honestly didn't know what to expect when I started this match. I was looking for Bull matches and when I saw this I was like, WHAT. I never recalled seeing a chain match from Japan before. I fucking love Nakano but I'm still pretty green on Kandori. The best word to describe this contest is violent. I mean Chris, this is brutal. These ladies go at each other with bad intentions. If I didn't know any better I'd think this was a legit fight. It slightly reminds me of Valentine VS Piper in that there ain't too many holds or even moves. If I was in my twenties with no kids I'd rewatch this a few times. Hope you enjoy.

CJD: It was so cool seeing Bull go from a baby monster to a legit Ace last week to this week. Her realizing her full potential right before our eyes. I have this match, I think on a Schneider comp, and I've watched it a few times before. I'm more than happy to rewatch it again as even if you include the very different Touch The Corners strap matches, I still think you can count on one hand how many great matches of this style stip ever happened. And this is one of them. These are two masterful big match wrestlers having, as you said, a grizzly violent straight up fight. The momentum shifts are abrupt, the pace is deliberate, and the blood perfectly accents the hatred. This match never drags but it never changes gears, and I like that about it. So many little great moments outside the action too, the ref getting smacked with the chain, the fight to throw in the towel. This match really has it all and I would say is mandatory viewing for anyone with a passing interest in joshi or anyone that just loves a brutal gimmick match done to perfection.