Monday 11 September 2023

Do not try and deal with the Devil (or the Tarantula, prolly)

Devil Masami & Tarantula v Jaguar Yokota & Mimi Hagiwara (AJW, 1/4/83)

This was really good. I liked the start with Yokota and Mimi knowing what Devil and Tarantula were going to turn it into, so they got ahead of the curve and tried to take it there first. Initially that was with Mimi grabbing Tarantula from the apron so Jaguar could wail on her, only for that to backfire. Then Jaguar drags Tarantula to the floor and that backfires as well, as it ends with Yokota getting chucked over tables and Masami jabbing Mimi in the throat with a shoe! Mimi and Jaguar trying the heels' tactics only for it to blow up in their faces was kind of the larger story as they did it again later and got properly stomped. When they stick to what they're good at they get themselves on a roll, and even win the first fall with a string of big offence. Jaguar Yokota has the most gorgeous step-up monkey flip. Not long after the second fall starts the heels get to being bruisers with Devil headbutting Hagiwara. It was one of those "okay we've had about enough of this" headbutts, like when Hashimoto would volley someone in the liver. It goes to the floor and Devil is amazing smashing the microphone into Hagiwara's throat, the audible thud adding to it. It was basically your lucha evening things up fall, so short but pretty satisfying all the same. Mimi and Jaguar let their tempers flare again and to start the third fall they bring the fire to fight the bigger fire, which was about as silly as you'd think. They throw a whole table table off the referee's head for whatever reason - I've seen AJW refs let EVERYTHING go and he was nowhere near as bad as those ones - then they clonk both Devil and Tarantula with one. Devil's looked real nasty and Tarantula even gets chucked into the commentators' laps. Of course the babyfaces swiftly get obliterated for it and Devil, bleeding from the forehead, going apeshit was phenomenal. She fucking press slams both of them out the ring (after walking around with Mimi just to soak in the moment first)! In the end it's emphatic and those young women should not have tried to walk on that side of the tracks.