Puroresu Show Reviews

My review of this event will be split in half since it covers two shows AAA did in Japan. Check back soon for my review of the Osaka event.
And this review contains SPOILERS.

January 23, 2004 Tokyo
Show kicks off with a sort of ring cleansing ritual as two girls and a guy dressed in traditional outfits come out and do some sort of traditional dance.

AAA VS Japan: Alebrije, Esther Moreno & Pimpenela Escarlata VS Ayako Hamada, Kazu Hayashi & Dansyoku Dieno
It sucked to be an ikeman like Kaz in this one as he was hounded by Dieno (gay) and Pimpenela (drag queen) all night! There was a surprisingly big pop for Pimpenela when he made his (?) entrance even if he did grab and kiss a few audience members! But that was nothing compared to when Dieno came out! Not only did he get a huge pop from the crowd, but he jumped right in and ran all around Korakuen Hall lunging at any male he could get his hands off! That is, EXCEPT Pimpenela, who he almost threw up when he saw him!
Alebrije is supposed to be somekind of demon/sea creature, and he has a mini by the name of Cuije following him around. At least I think Cuije is a midget. Could be a 5 year old kid under that costume for all I know. Anyways, despite his look, Alebrije has some pretty good moves, and can execute a few good diving attacks as well. He sorta reminds me of the Kaiju Mandoras from Osaka Pro back in the day.
Esther Moreno’s look is based on the X-Men character Storm. And she ROCKS in the ring! I think I might already have a fav Latina lucha wrestler! Plus, she has a great looking rack too XP
Anyways, the match itself was a pretty good mix of highflying action and comedy antics. Dieno & Pimpenela started things off on a real funny note as they bickered and pulled hair like little girls! Even the referee wasn’t spared! Or Kaz for that matter, who was in heel mode for most of the night as that was the only way to keep Dieno & Pimpenela off his back! It was also fun watching Ayako Hamada (who came out wearing SIX championship belts!!!) play up the scared little girl bit when confronting Alebrije! Cuije even got involved at one point, doing some cool dives. There was also the fun “everybody dives out on everybody else” spot, and some spots that didn’t go as smooth due to miscommunications. Still, a very fun opener for the show.
Match Rating: **1/2

Mascara Sagrada & Mascarita Sagrada VS Psicosis & Mini Psicosis
If there’s one thing I’ll never understand, nor do I want to understand, is when someone has to put over a midget. That’s what Mascarita is, a midget clone of Mascara. The two hold some kind of mix tag titles and Mascarita has several other belts too! Mini-Psicosis isn’t really a midget, just smaller then the original Psicosis, kinda like Mini Crazy-Max in Toryumon X. But it just makes me shake my head to see someone put over a guy literally half his size and sell his offense. Sure it looked good and impressive, but it just didn’t click with me.
It was interesting to see Psicosis go back to his old masked gimmick and full body suit after being unmasked in WCW several years back, but the guy sure hasn’t lost a step when it comes to his ringwork. Mascara is no slouch either despite the obvious guy he has that sticks out in the ninja outfit he wears.
A good match overall, even if the midgets don’t catch my fancy.
Match Rating: **

LLL VS AAA Captain’s Fall Elimination Match: Juventud Guerrera ©, Mr. Aguila, Charly Manson, Ghefar & Tiffany VS Jushin Thunder Liger ©, Oriental, El Zorro, Electro Shock & Lady Apache
Based on what info I could dig up, LLL is sorta like a heel NWO faction within AAA, and is led by Juventud Guerrera. Mr. Aguila is of course former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Esse Rios. Charly Manson is a guy using a Marilyn Manson shock-rocker gimmick, and wrestles like a brawler. Ghefar is a guy in a rubber suit of armor wearing a demonic skull-like mask. He looks impressive, but his skills leave much to be desired. The gimmick would probably work better if he was 7-feet tall I think. Tiffany is actually an American girl and she can work quite well.
Electro Shock and Lady Apache are a real life married couple who also wrestle together as a mixed tag team. I like Electro Shock’s look, but his work could use some touching up. It’s pretty obvious where El Zorro got his gimmick from. Funny he was carrying a Singapore cane instead of a saber though. The man also holds two HUGE belts, though I’m not sure what titles they are. Oriental I’ve seen recently when he worked the 2005 Osaka Hurricane show, but he was ten time better here than he was there! He was actually working the high-flying fast paced style I was expecting at Hurricane here. So maybe his injuries did play a part in his match with Daio Beetle?
Jushin Thunder Liger needs no introduction, but the man was severely BOOED by the Japanese crowd! And this was when he was still a babyface! Starting from when he was announced as the team captain for AAA. Probably cause it meant there was no chance in hell of him losing the match, right? WRONG! Despite the fact he was dominating the match and getting some incredible heat for it, he actually LOST the match to LLL team captain Juventud Guerrera!
Fun bit after the end of the match where Juvi taunted Liger and challenged him for the GHC Jr. title that he currently held. Juvi even cited beating Liger for the IWGP Jr. Title back when they were in WCW to infuriate Liger even more!
The only problem I had with this match was that it was clipped to the point that many of the eliminations were left out. Would have been fun to see how the whole thing went.
Match Rating: ***

AAA VS LLL: Latin Lover, La Parka & Gronda VS Abismo Negro, Cibernetico & Chessman
I haven’t seen Latin Lover since his short stint in WCW and a few appearances in the then WWF, same goes for Cibernetico who worked a few WWF shows, including a six-man tag on one of the Royal Rumble PPVs. Well, Latin Lover is the “Sexy Dancing Playboy”, ie. a gigolo who dances for the girls, and he gave a lapdance to a lucky fan in the audience during his intro. Cibernetico on the other hand is one of the top heels, and I’m guessing he’s also the world champion cause he came out wearing a HUGE belt. I know some of the other wrestlers that came out previously had some big belts like El Zorro did, but this was just HUGE and he could have worn it as a chest protector!
We all know who La Parka is from his stint as the “chairman” of WCW, and it was fun to see him again, especially doing his dancing entrance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller! We all also probably know Abismo Negro from his work in TNA, but the guy added some pyro to his intro here, that being he lights up and shoots flames from a spray can. Chessman looks like a buffed up version of the red ‘n’ black Sting from WCW, but wearing Kane’s old ring gear! He’s not 7-feet tall though.
And then we have Gronda. THE DEVIL! The man comes out in a big cape and a Spawn mask, but he drops the cape to reveal his chiseled frame, which includes drawn outlines of his muscles to give them more emphasis, but it’s when he unmasks and reveals his Devil mask complete with horns and fangs, that’s the really cool part as it’s all made to look like part of his body, which is painted up red too!
Unfortunately, the match itself was just piss-poor. After an initial contact of Gronda using his power advantage, the match gets clipped and cut to almost the end where the rudo LLL team are beating up the AAA team with a lot of outside interference! Gronda even is down as he gets his bad leg worked on by the rudos. Juvi than calls out team AAA, who of course respond and a big brawl erupts, and in the middle of all this, Latin Lover manages to steal a pin on Cibernetico to win the match for team AAA!
Match Rating: Sports Entertainment Level DUD

The show ends with team AAA, and Jushin Liger, celebrating in the ring. Check back soon for my review of the second day of the tour from Osaka, Japan, as well as my oveall thoughts on the shows.

For more information on AAA in Japan, visit HERE

Labels: Joshi, Misc Indies