You’d think I’d be better at dealing with joshi retirements by now. They’re hardly a rarity and the one on this show happened thirty-four years ago. And yet, well, you’ll see when we get there. It’s AJW Classics Episode 10, and we’re saying farewell to one of the greats.
Dodgy screenshot aside, Dump is raising the badassery levels.
Episode nine of AJW Classics has four matches from the same show as we’re going back to December 12th 1985. There are two big titles showdowns and a retirement to get through, so let’s not waste any more time.
Has anyone ever mentioned that Bull is really cool?
We’re onto Episode Eight of AJW Classics, so we’ll definitely get to the end at some point in 2050. It’s another Crush Gals vs Gokuaku Domei heavy show, but we’re not about to complain about that, are we?
Episode seven of AJW Classics is all from the same show, and it’s a biggy. This was AJW’s Summer Night Festival in Budokan, an event that features at least two legendary matches. It went down on the 22nd of August 1985 and it’s time for us to dive in.
There is a theme to episode five of AJW Classics. All three of these matches took place in April of 1985 during the Fuji Cup and all three feature tag team partners facing off. We’ve got Dynamite Girls, Gokuaku Domei and Crush Gals imploding! Okay, maybe only one of these matches falls into the imploding category, but there is definitely some violence.
My screenshot doesn’t quite capture the badassery.
After a wee break, it’s time to return to the world of AJW for a Classics episode that pulls all three matches from the same show. It’s the 25th of February 1985, and this thing was stacked.
Episode three of AJW Classics has us finish up 1984 and move into January of 1985. It’s also a very Crush Gal focused hour of television, with three of the four matches featuring them. That shouldn’t be surprising as they were massive at this point, so if you’re going to focus on anyone, they’re probably a good choice.
Unlike episode one of AJW Classics, episode two does not take place over a single show. Instead, it spans most of 1984 as we get matches from April right through to September. Sadly, it features our first retirements, but we also meet some legends that I’m sure you’re heard of and follow on from our previous main event. Are you looking forward to it?
Joshi puroresu was a very different world in 1980. Unlike the modern-day where even the biggest companies in the scene draw rather modest crowds, All Japan Women were the big dog. Acts like the Crush Girls and Jaguar Yokota had pushed them into the spotlight, and they were riding a wave. So what better time could be there to go back and explore?
Unlike my ROH or Stardom Throwbacks, this won’t be going show by show. Instead, I’m going through AJW Classics episodes, which Mort kindly posted an archive of at the start of this mess. That means the matches won’t necessarily be from the same show, but I’ll make sure to try and provide context as we go. Fair? Great.