Revisiting 90s Joshi #39

Bat Yoshinaga & Suzuki Minami v Rumi Kazama & Yukari Osawa (LLPW, 5/11/93)

This was the Bat Yoshinaga experience. I legitimately don't know if I've seen another match with her in it. I mean I probably have, but I don't remember any specifically and if she was running around acting like this on the regular then that feels like something I'd remember. She was a bit Hotta-ish here, maybe because of the occasion - AJW v LLPW - or maybe because she just kicks people in the face as a rule. Either way it worked! She was absolutely blitzing Kazama and Osawa with kicks and I've honest to god never seen a person as stocky as her throw a high kick with this much speed. It was rapid and also about took Kazama's jaw off so it had the sizzle AND the steak. When the LLPW girls would try and hit her she'd just stare them down before cutting them in half. There was one point where she had Kazama in a half crab, and as Osawa was kicking her in the chest and back and head to break it Bat would simply look at her stone-faced until Osawa was removed from the ring. That led to an incredible moment later, where Osawa had Minami in a half crab while glaring across the ring at Bat and Bat waltzed in and fucking erased her with a roundhouse to the face. The half crab was actually used really well throughout this. Both teams went to it pretty often in the body of the match, but it never felt time-killy like those holds sometimes will in joshi. There was some clear one-upmanship with it and the best part is that every time someone applied it they made it look as ugly as possible, all side on with the recipient's hip being cranked at uncomfortable angles, wrenching back on the knee, the lower back bent to oblivion, just the complete opposite of your garden variety half crab. As time goes on Bat starts to feel a little more vulnerable, but before she loses an exchange emphatically she still has time to counter a pin attempt with an iron claw, which was quite frankly amazing. Some of the exchanges towards the end were a wee bit haphazard, a few spotty transitions here and there, then Bat reels me back in again by throwing brutal wheel kicks right to the ear and temple. If this is her career performance then she has a real jewel in her crown.