ALL TIME MOTY LIST Head to Head 1990: Onita/Goto v. Kurisu/Dragonmaster V. Shinobu Kandori v. Harley Saito

Shinobu Kandori v. Harley Saito JWP 7/19/90

 

PAS: Our boy Jetlag has been doing some real work in the footage mines uncovering gems like this. I feel like I need to do a Kandori deep dive because she was totally boss in this, hurling Saito to the mat with vicious judo throws, grabbing and twisting limbs throwing big shots, she has these nasty slaps where she uses her whole hand like she is trying to palm Saito face like a basketball. Saito was really game too, she had nasty kicks and refused to back down from Kandori's assault. Some great kneebar spots in this match, with Kandori really cranking back and Saito fighting out like Steamboat in a figure four. Finish was pretty neat as Saito gets a roll up for a super close pin, she thinks she has won and starts celebrating, Kandori is furious and comes back with a fury eventually beheading her with a clothesline and dropping sheer on her head for the pin.

 ER: We start with slaps before the bell, and that quickly devolves into more stiff shots, wrenched in heel hooks and nasty hard landing backdrops. Every bit of the suplexes thrown look tough, the lift looks tough, the landing looks like they're being dropped on concrete. The nastiest stuff is probably not the submissions, but the rifled kicks to the body every time a submission is broken. Saito gets to the ropes, then gets punted in the stomach several times. Kandori does this again, and it only makes Saito more vicious when it's her opportunity to stand above her prone opponent. Saito literally kicks a downed Kandori from one side of the ring to the floor on the other side, kicking her stomach, arms, face, hands, rolling her across the ring with her kicks, kicking her like a bad student kicking their backpack home from school. Saito's half crab is also outstanding, just bending Kandori's leg back diagonally across her body. I usually don't think about the pressure a half crab could put on the hip joint, but this crab looked like Saito was aiming to pop Kandori's femur out. We get some nice tight cradles for nearfalls, and we end on a disputed pin. It would have been a shame had that been the real pin, but we get the restart, and Saito flies across the ring to show Kandori that pin was no fluke. And she does bring a storm, but Kandori weathers it, blasts her with a lariat, and hits a straight vertical drop Tiger Driver (ummmm...so would it actually be a Tiger Driver '90?) for the win. We get a big post match pull apart like all the best interpromotional FMW or WAR matches, except this is the only time I've seen it with female trainees running breaking up the action in their all the colors of the rainbow gym shorts. All awesome stuff.

Onita/Goto v. Kurisu/Dragonmaster Review

Verdict:

PAS: Another hidden gem challenge for the FMW brawl falls a little short. Loved the joshi match, and it really isn't my style, but the kind of hurricane of violence in that tag is really hard to beat. That match just speaks to my soul as a wrestling fan, and as much as I loved this, it didn't reach that level.

ER: I gotta give the slight nod to the FMW tag as well, more as a style preference than anything. Four strangely dressed men getting vaguely unprofessional in violent ways is just turning my dial. But I couldn't be happier that matches like this are showing up for all to see.