{"id":66395,"date":"2020-04-09T12:17:53","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T16:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=66395"},"modified":"2021-01-08T18:02:59","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T23:02:59","slug":"legends-ajw-dump-matsumoto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2020\/04\/09\/legends-ajw-dump-matsumoto\/","title":{"rendered":"Legends Of AJW: Dump Matsumoto"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>All Japan Women\u2019s Pro Wrestling (AJW) is one of the biggest pro wrestling companies in the history of Japan.\u00a0 The all women\u2019s promotion housed some of the biggest women\u2019s stars in wrestling history.\u00a0 Legends Of AJW will take a look into the careers of some of AJW\u2019s legendary talents.\u00a0 This edition focuses on the biggest heel of her era Dump Matsumoto<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Every hero needs an equally good villain &#8211; Batman needed Joker, <strong>Stone Cold Steve Austin\u00a0<\/strong>needed\u00a0<strong>Mr. McMahon<\/strong>, The Avengers needed Thanos, we could go on and on.\u00a0 The key takeaway though is that the biggest heroes always have villains to play off of.\u00a0 In AJW the heroes like the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/03\/29\/legends-of-ajw-the-crush-gals\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Crush Gals<\/a> had the vile, monstrous Dump Matsumoto to battle against.\u00a0 Matsumoto was everything you could want from a villain &#8211; she didn&#8217;t need to bend the rules given her physical advantage, but she did anyway. She wasn&#8217;t afraid to bring weapons into the mix to bludgeon her opponents and even employed the services of a crooked referee.\u00a0 While Matsumoto was undeniably cool as hell, she was completely unlikeable and provided the perfect foil for the Crush Gals and other babyfaces.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Dump Matsumoto had mellowed a bit by then. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0MAe5AHbv8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/0MAe5AHbv8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Puro Central Shop (@purocentralshop) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/purocentralshop\/status\/759601731671957504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 31, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With her crazy hair, a swastika painted on her forehead, and always being accompanied by her other unruly faction mates Dump Matsumoto had a dangerous aura to her that most wrestlers could only dream of.\u00a0 Whenever she entered the ring you knew things were about to be bloody and violent.\u00a0 Dave Meltzer wrote in the 1988 Wrestling Observer Yearbook that &#8220;Matsumoto actually pioneered the gimmick that the Road Warriors would later use to great fame in the United States, of being face-painted bikers with bizarre haircuts and monster heels who sold very little, if at all, for the smaller, under matched babyfaces. [\u2026] Matsumoto\u2019s impact was so great that she often brought crowds literally to tears with her villainous tactics, and when she would merely walk down the street in any major city, people would scatter in fear (Laprade and Murphy, 291)&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If Dump Matsumoto attacking people with a fork isn&#39;t all that is pure and wonderful about wrestling than I dunno what is. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CvI8EMjwZj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/CvI8EMjwZj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Joshi City (@JoshiPuro) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoshiPuro\/status\/858153853824401408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 29, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Dump Matsumoto debuted in 1980 competing under her real name, but her early career didn&#8217;t see her find much success as her only title win in the first few years of her career was winning the AJW Championship from future rival <strong>Lioness Asuka<\/strong>.\u00a0 It wouldn&#8217;t be until she began feuding with the Crush Gals that she would hit her peak<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Gokuaku Domei (The Atrocious Alliance)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-66474\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/04\/Gokuaku-Domei-e1586275793500.jpeg\" alt=\"Dump Matsumoto\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Matsumoto would change her name to Dump Matsumoto in 1994 and became the leader of the villainous faction Gokuaku Domei (The Atrocious Alliance), the faction including a young <strong>Bull Nakano, <\/strong>as well as\u00a0<strong>Condor Saito<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Crane Yu<\/strong> and other assorted minions most famously waged many wars with the Crush Gals who were the biggest stars of their time that transcended wrestling and became cultural phenomenons.\u00a0 The Alliance and Crush Gals would meet many times in 1985 with each match seeing Dump and co. cheat without remorse getting the crowd more and more behind the Crush Gals with each passing match.\u00a0 The feud reached it&#8217;s arguable peak in 1985 when tensions between Matsumoto and Nagayo grew following Matsumoto eliminating Nagayo from the <em>Japan Grand Prix<\/em>.\u00a0 The two would have a highly acclaimed hair vs hair match in August 1985.\u00a0 Matsumoto mercilessly bludgeoned Nagayo before winning thanks to copious amounts of cheating, the members of Atrocious Alliance held Nagayo down as her hair was cut with many fans in tears at what they were seeing.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Dump Matsumoto vs Chigusa Nagayo Hair vs Hair <br \/>I\u2019m highlighting how much the crowd responded to the matches in AJW during the 70\u2019s and 80\u2019s. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pYkR7JNac6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/pYkR7JNac6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Allan (@allan_cheapshot) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/allan_cheapshot\/status\/797042518265331713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 11, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Crush Gals would get retribution shortly after by defeating Matsumoto and Nakano in the finals of the 1985 Tag League The Best basically ending the feud between the two teams as the Crush Gals would split up not long after.\u00a0 The enormity of this feud cannot be understated these two teams sold out practically every show they wrestled on and the feud drew huge ratings for AJW&#8217;s TV show.\u00a0 It also played its part in making Chigusa Nagayo one of the biggest stars in AJW as the feud between her and Matsumoto would continue with even more high stakes matches to come for the two.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Rematch With Chigusa Nagayo<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-66500\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/04\/Dump-Matsumoto-1986-e1586281600728.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"544\"><\/p>\n<p>While the feud between the tag teams was all but over, Dump Matsumoto and Chigusa Nagayo retained a hatred for one another.\u00a0 After losing to Nagayo in a singles match for the All Pacific Championship in April 1986 the Atrocious Alliance escalated the feud by cutting up Nagayo&#8217;s clothes following a performance.\u00a0 The rematch was set and on November 7th 1986 at Osaka Jo Hall Matsumoto and Nagayo had yet another violent match where Matsumoto even busted the referee open.\u00a0 Chigusa Nagayo would come away with the win receiving one of the biggest pops this writer has ever heard as she finally got her revenge and slayed the biggest villain in AJW.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GwmgmGjteaM<\/p>\n<p>Dump Matsumoto would retire in 1988.\u00a0 Her official retirement saw her team with<strong> Yukari Ohmori\u00a0<\/strong>against the Crush Gals in a match that was as chaotic as we&#8217;ve come to expect from Matsumoto.\u00a0 It speaks volumes that she ended the match by attacking and bludgeoning her own partner.\u00a0 Following that match, she requested to team with Nagayo just once before her retirement and the two would have a short match with Ohmori and Asuka, it was surreal to see two long time rivals team up but incredibly fun all the same.\u00a0 Matsumoto&#8217;s actual retirement match came against stablemates Bull Nakano and Condor Saito but her official ceremony followed the match with the Crush Gals and Ohmori.\u00a0 Like all retirements, it would not last and Matsumoto wrestled as recently as 2019 but this was the end of her main run.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/KuVAVGFe1Ys<\/p>\n<p>Dump Matsumoto retired as a two-time WWWA Tag Team Champion and a former AJW Champion, she was also inducted into the WON Hall Of Fame and the AJW Hall Of Fame.\u00a0 While she never won the big one in AJW it&#8217;s safe to say that she didn&#8217;t need it.\u00a0 Her reputation was enough to keep her as one of the most credible acts in the company, there was even a video game made for the Sega Master System named after her and her faction which goes to show how popular she was.\u00a0 She has become the archetype for what came after and defined what a heel stable and a hoss wrestler can be.\u00a0 Without her and the Atrocious Alliance the Crush Gals may never have hit the heights they did as it was the feud between the two teams that really made the Crush Gals into top names in AJW and made tag team wrestling a big draw for the company.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 308px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/joshicity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/aj5-2.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"308\" height=\"257\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gif Courtesy Of Joshi City <a href=\"https:\/\/joshicity.com\/ajw-classics-5-lioness-asuka-chigusa-nagayo\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/joshicity.com\/ajw-classics-5-lioness-asuka-chigusa-nagayo\/<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Stay tuned to the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All Japan Women\u2019s Pro Wrestling (AJW) is one of the biggest pro wrestling companies in the history of Japan.\u00a0 The all women\u2019s promotion housed some of the biggest women\u2019s stars in wrestling history.\u00a0 Legends Of AJW will take a look into the careers of some of AJW\u2019s legendary talents.\u00a0 This edition focuses on the biggest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2013,"featured_media":66502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7205,13,5302],"tags":[2903,6466,7206],"class_list":["post-66395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-history","category-international","category-joshi","tag-all-japan-womens-pro-wrestling","tag-dump-matsumoto","tag-pro-wrestling-history"],"modified_by":"Alex Richards, LWOF Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2013"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}