Making A Classic is a series dedicated to delving into some of the all-time classic professional wrestling matches. We will discuss the background, the match, the action, and hopefully be able to figure out what it is that makes a classic match. For the debut edition we go all the way back to All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling (AJW) for Akira Hokuto & Shinobu Kandori vs Aja Kong & Bull Nakano from 1994
Setting The Table: Akira Hokuto & Shinobu Kandori’s Animosity
Since 1990 one of either Bull Nakano or Aja Kong had stood atop the mountain in AJW as the WWWA World Champion. The two monstrous performers were the most dominant in all of AJW for the first half of the decade. After their feud in 1990 the two finally patched things up and by 1994 were able to team again to form one of the most formidable tag teams in AJW history.
Across from them were two of the baddest women to ever step foot in a wrestling ring. The “Dangerous Queen” Akira Hokuto had gained a reputation as one of the most violent and durable performers in the world, you would have to kill her to keep her down (she legitimately broke her neck in a match and kept wrestling until the finish). Shinobu Kandori made the jump from the world of Judo and with her shoot influences became one of the most feared wrestlers in all of Joshi. Kandori could not only make any wrestler tap out but she was not afraid to kick or punch the life out of any opponent
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This may seem like two formidable teams squaring off, but Kandori and Hokuto HATED one another. In 1993 they wrestled twice in two incredibly violent matches, the second of which ended with Hokuto getting knocked out following a series of punches to the head from Kandori. Safe to say neither woman had forgotten about their hatred for one another when this match rolled around.
The Match
While Nakano and Kong present a united front, their opponents try to go it alone. Predictably, this leads to Kandori and Hokuto getting beaten from pillar to post as Kong and Nakano act like lions toying with their prey. Both Hokuto and Kandori fight with everything they have to gain some foothold in the match but it’s just not possible when against two of the most dominant performers in the company.
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Slowly but surely, through a sheer need to survive we see Hokuto and Kandori become less and less hostile towards one another. When they finally do work together the crowd becomes unglued. The slow progression to the two rivals working together was beautifully done as their need to survive overtook whatever grudge the two had.
From here the match becomes more even as Kandori and Hokuto together have the necessary firepower to fend off Kong and Nakano, although it is still a very close affair. After 40 minutes of war, Akira Hokuto pins WWWA Champion Aja Kong with the crowd at a fever pitch. Following the match, Hokuto and Kandori show mutual respect for one another, a genuinely perfect way to close out the match as the two former foes acknowledge one another talents.
This match accomplished a number of goals at once. It delivered the star power necessary to be the main event of such a huge show, it also delivered a match worthy of the main event. It settled the animosity between Hokuto and Kandori. And most importantly, it made Hokuto look like a huge star and a threat to Aja Kong, something that would be needed as Hokuto vs Kong was the main event of the Tokyo Dome show at the end of 1994.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
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