Miho Wakizawa announced that she'd retire later this year without a tear. She said wrestling isn't fun anymore because she has recurring probles with her neck, trouble moving her left arm, and a hernia. A physician advised that she take several months off to try to heal, but she decided to ride it out for a few more months and call it a career. Although I'm not exactly a big fan of her work, she the second best of AJW's young wrestlers behind Momoe and she does have a cult following with a good amount of popularity (relatively) among the schoolgirls. There are so few women in all the leagues now that even the biggest stiff is valuable because they take pressure off the other wrestlers (with more bodies there's less need for singles matches to have a full card and less pressure on people to come back from injury too soon or wrestle twice a show) and the promotion (less need to get a freelancer or deal with another promotion to fill out the lineup). Wakizawa has been wrestling 5 years and is only 21 years old. The age of the women retiring this year is ridiculously low. Chikako Shiratori is 27, Candy Okutsu is 26, Saika Takeuchi was 25 yesterday (and didn't even wrestle two years), Yumi Fukawa is 25 (24 when she retired), Kana Mizaki is 22. I think it says a lot for the glass ceiling in joshi that we've seen since the interpromotional period. When you aren't making much money and there's very little chance to supplant the veterans, getting out before your health deteriorates too much/any more starts seeming like a viable option.

8/23 Uni Zama Mise Chushajo 1,200
Toyota & Maekawa beat Ito & Noumi when Maekawa pinned Noumi at 17:44.
Hotta already avenged her JGP loss to Momoe, pinning her at 14:45. This result can serve no purpose beyond appeasing Hotta. It's a good tradeoff in the sense that few people are going to know it happened, but otherwise a really dumb and pointless move.

All-Japan Women's Grand Prix 2001 rundown from Nick Higley

Miyuki Fuji (0 points)i- Fujii lost all her matches. Give her credit though, as other “youngsters” who’ve been in similar situations have simply given up and quit wrestling. She IS improving, just very, very slowly.

Kayo Noumi (4 points)- Kayo beat tourny jobber Fujii and scored a rare win over Nanae Takahashi before losing the rest of her matches. Outside the tournament, she was able to score wins over JWP’s Kayuko Haruyama and her tag partner, Miho Wakizawa in route to winning the vacant All-Japan singles title.

Mike: She was fairing well outside of the tournament while it was going on, so it didn't seem like her tournament was as bad as it was.

Miho Wakizawa (10 points)- For her position in the company, Miho was able to fair pretty well. Aside from her win over Fujii, she was able to score a win over Kumiko Maekawa, avenging her All-Pacific title match loss to Kumiko on 1/2/00. She also scored a huge upset when she got a flash pin over her former mentor/tag partner Manami Toyota at the AJW Garage on 7/29. She lost to Kayo in the finals of the AJ title tournament, but then pinned in the Grand Prix on 7/8. She was also able to hold WWWA Tag Champion Nanae Takahashi to a draw and eventual tournament winner Momoe to a draw.

Nanae Takahashi (10 points)- Nanae did not fare as well her ex-partner in the tournament. She only got 10 points, losing to the top veterans and Momoe, and going to a draw with Wakizawa. She was able to get a moral victory of sorts by pinning Mima Shimoda and her WWWA Tag Title partner/All-Pacific Champ Tomoko Watanabe and in going to a draw with Kumiko Maekawa.

Yumiko Hotta (11 points)- The company’s top-heel did not go as far as anyone expected. Hotta’s push has been put on hold since May, when she announced she was going to run for a seat in the Japanese Diet. She lost, but was still unable to mount much offense in the tournament after the election. She lost to her heel understudy, Kumiko Maekawa along with Tomoko Watanabe in surprising, but not unexpected losses. Things went downhill after that, with Hotta getting pinned with the Momolatch at the big 7/27 show at Yoyogi National Gym, along with losses to Toyota and Shimoda before going to a draw with WWWA Champ Kaoru Ito (now 1-0-1 in their series of matches this year) and finishing off with a win over Mita. Hotta, despite being the promotion’s #2 star, has not won a JGP since 1994.

Mima Shimoda (12 points)- The de-push of LCO began after almost five years on top of AJW. Mima was able to beat Toyota, Hotta, and Mita, but lost to Nanae, Watanabe and on the final night against Momoe, a loss which knocked her out of the finals. On top of that, LCO lost the WWWA Tag Titles to Watanabe and Nanae on 7/27, with Shimoda getting pinned in the final fall by Nanae.

Mike: Mita & Shimoda have barely ever been pushed in singles, so their finishes here are about what you'd expect. Shimoda scored a few big upsets to bolster her stock, but also suffered a few tough losses to lower rated wrestlers. In the end, it balances out, which is pretty much what you want from the middle of the pack types. Her big wins aren't likely to be avenged since they were against her teammates, but her loses add some legs to the programs she's currently in because the younger wrestlers are gaining on her and Watanabe is now decidedly ahead in their seemingly endless rivalry.At least 95% of LCO's value is as a unit in tag matches, so basically what we have here is Watanabe & Takahashi getting extra wins over them to bolster their credibility (which is more important since they are members of AJW rather than freelancers) before they or perhaps someone else eventually loses the tag titles back.

Tomoko Watanabe (12 points)- The reigning All-Pacific champ was basically set-up for a fall with this tournament. She was able to beat Toyota, Shimoda, and Hotta, but lost to Momoe, tag partner Nanae, and WWWA Champ Kaoru Ito. The loss to Ito was the hardest, as it means she won’t be getting any title shots any time soon. Momoe and Nanae avenged All-Pacific title losses to Watanabe with their wins.

Manami Toyota (13 points)- “Miss August” Manami Toyota, who’s won an unprecedented four JGPs, finished fourth this year. She scored wins over Yumiko Hotta (avenging loss on 1/3/01), Kaoru Ito (first win in three matches), and went to a draw with Kumiko Maekawa. But she lost to the young girls, getting pinned by Momoe and Miho Wakizawa, along with Tomoko Watanabe and her former Tokyo Sweethearts partner, Mima Shimoda. After being the promotion’s sole draw for six years, she needed to be jobbed out here to try and elevate Momoe and Miho (the company’s next, best hopes) to eventually replace her.

Mike: She can withstain a subpar league because she's done so well in the past and she's Toyota. The win over Ito warrants another title shot and the win over Hotta keeps them more equal (as opposed to the #1 & #2 that has stupidly been reversed since Toyota's heel turn). The quick loss to Wakizawa was a tough one to take, but when they start to push her again it won't be something that keeps her down.

Etsuko Mita (13 points)- Mita went to the finals last year and started out badly this year, losing to Shimoda, Toyota and Nanae Takahashi (avenging losing to Mita in the semis of last year’s JGP). She was able to pin Watanabe and Maekawa, beat tourny winner Momoe, and go to a draw with WWWA Champ Ito. Not bad, all things considered.

Mike: She dug herself a big whole and couldn't quite get out of it, but her finish leaves a strong impression in the minds of people who were paying attention.

Kaoru Ito (15 points)- The reigning WWWA Champ Ito finished 3rd. She was able to get wins over Tomoko Watanabe on 6/1 and Mima Shimoda, but went to draws with Mita, Hotta, tourny winner Momoe, and lost to Manami Toyota. She also lost to Kumiko Maekawa, who went to the finals. Basically, Ito was kept strong against her immediate top rivals, as well as the tourny finalists, without scoring any decisive wins.

Mike: She nearly went to the finals, yet most of the important wrestlers can make a case that they deserve shots at her belt. Even Watanabe who she beat is deserving of a shot because she holds the other important belts, and since the winner gets the next shot they could give her a "big" win in the meantime to set her up for a subsequent title shot if that's the way they wanted to go. I doubt it is, but the point is they can go in almost any direction after Momoe's shot.

Kumiko Maekawa (16 points, tourny finalist)- Four years after her first superpush in the JGP, Maekawa has finally found a role and gimmick that work for her and she was much more successful in this attempt at a superpush. She scored wins over Watanabe and Ito, pinning both top-singles champs, Momoe Nakanishi (who avenged the loss in the finals), Mima Shimoda, and Yumiko Hotta. She went to a draw with Manami Toyota and Nanae, and lost to Mita. She also lost to Miho Wakizawa, whom she lost to in the finals of the 1999 Tag League. This was Kumiko’s first trip to the finals.

Momoe Nakanishi (16 points, tourny winner)- Momoe became the second youngest girl to win the tournament at 21 years old, a five-year veteran. Manami Toyota was 19 and a four-year veteran when she took the 1990 JGP. The Matsunagas basically shot the moon with this push, giving Momoe wins over Toyota, Hotta, Shimoda, Watanabe (avenging 9/11/00 All-Pacific title loss), and Nanae. She went to a draw with her “young counterpart” Wakizawa and with WWWA Champ Ito, losing to Maekawa and Mita. In the finals, she needed just 12 minutes to take out Maekawa and win the tourny after needing only 10 minutes to take out Shimoda earlier in the night. While it’s still too soon to give her the WWWA title, she’s ripe for a run with the All-Pacific Title. Getting wins over current champ Watanabe and previous champ Maekawa lends her credit to that.

Mike: Obviously there's no question about Momoe's ability. She's a much better wrestler than Toyota was when she won in '90, not to mention she's better than the vast majority of wrestlers currently working. There's too big gambles here though. First, has the promotion regained enough audience that they are willing to accept a new star. Someone getting reaction from the crowd doesn't necessarily equate to people being willing to pay to see them in main events. Although AJW has finally had to use some new people in the main events, Ito & Watanabe go back to the 80's and were around throughout the entire period where the promotion was big. Maekawa wasn't a meaningful player during that time, but she still goes back to '91 and has only reached the level where she's at best a #2 in a big tag match. The other gamble is whether someone as small as Momoe can be accepted as a top star. Generally the small wrestlers in Japan are great in underdog roles, but for various reasons are never able to escape this. Momoe will still be the underdog for a while because she hasn't won any important singles titles yet, but eventually people will have to get over her unimposing look or it's just another time biding move that luckily will make for some excellent matches.

This was the most intricately booked tournament since the 1997 World's Strongest Tag League. Even going into the final night, it was still possible for Mita and Ito to go to the finals ahead of Maekawa and Momoe, but both lost, allowing the “youngsters” to sneak in the back door to the finals. Overall, a great tournament.

8/17 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,870
Momoe Nakanishi won the Japan Grand Prix, pinning Kumiko Maekawa in her Momo*clutch at 12:28. Momoe (16) got to the finals by scoring somewhat of an upset over Mima Shimoda (12), pinning her in a German suplex hold at 10:27. Maekawa (16) was the favorite because she had an easy win over the lowly Miyuki Fujii (0) in the first of cards five league matches, pinning her at 10:33.
The final league match of the night was Kaoru Ito vs. Manami Toyota. Ito (15) was one point behind both Momoe & Maekawa, but Toyota (13) pinned her at 23:21 to eliminate the champion.
The other league matches were Hotta (11) pinning Mita (13) at 16:47 and Takahashi (10) slightly salvaging her league by upsetting partner Watanabe (12) at 11:23.

8/16 Chiba Choshi Shi Taiikukan 1,040
Watanabe & Takahashi beat Momoe & Fujii when Takahashi pinned Fujii at 11:19.

Japan Grand Prix league matches:
Ito (15) drew Momoe (13) 30:00
Hotta (9) pinned Wakizawa (10) at 9:30
Maekawa (14) pinned Noumi (4) at 12:59

8/12 Tokyo Differ Ariake 1,060
Ito & Wakizawa beat Takahashi & Fujii when Wakizawa pinned Fujii at 17:07.
Momoe pinned Takako at 23:27.

Japan Grand Prix league matches:
Toyota (11) pinned Hotta (7) at 11:40.
Watanabe (12) pinned Noumi (4) at 11:57.

8/11 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,680
Japan Grand Prix league matches:
Ito (14) drew Hotta (7) 30:00.
Watanabe (10) pinned Shimoda (12) at 15:51.
Mita (12) pinned Momoe (14) at 18:08.
Takahashi (8) drew Maekawa (12) 30:00

8/7 Ibaraki 1,550
Ito & Watanabe beat Toyota & Maekawa when Ito pinned Maekawa at 20:53.
Hotta pinned Takahashi at 15:49.

Japan Grand Prix league matches:
Nakanishi (14) pinned Fujii (0) in her Dragon suplex hold at 14:03.

8/5 Tachikawa Keirinjo Chushajo 1,520
Hotta & Maekawa beat Takahashi & Noumi when Maekawa pinned Noumi at 17:03.

Japan Grand Prix league matches:
Watanabe (8) pinned Toyota (9) at 17:20.
Nakanishi (12) drew Wakizawa (10) 30:00

7/30 Shizuoka 1,040
Hotta & Toyota beat Watanabe & Noumi when Toyota pinned Noumi in her JOCSH at 21:07.

Japan Grand Prix league matches:
Takahashi (7) pinned Shimoda (10) at 18:28.
Mita (8) pinned Fujii (0) at 10:29.

7/22 Masuda Shimin Taiikukan 1,170
Hotta & Toyota beat Watanabe & Wakizawa when Toyota pinned Wakizawa in her JOCSH at 21:25.
Ito pinned Maekawa at 13:54.
Noumi's minor push was continued when she pinned Takahashi at 16:43.

7/21 Miyagi Hokubu Kinen Taiikukan 950
Watanabe & Takahashi beat Hotta & Maekawa when Watanabe pinned Maekawa at 17:31. Preps them for their upcoming title shot.
In a JGP league match, Ito (9) pinned Noumi (0) at 14:44.

The 7/27 Yoyogi Joshi Wrestling Festival show has Ito vs. Erin Torghill in a vale tudo match, LCO defending the tag titles against Watanabe & Takahashi, Momoe vs. Hotta + Toyota vs.Maekawa in JGP league matches, & a tournament for the Zen Nihon Single Senshuken with Noumi vs. Haruyama and Fujii vs. Wakizawa as the 1st round matches

7/17 Kagoshima Sun Arena 980
Hotta & Maekawa beat Watanabe & Momoe when Hotta pinned Momoe at 17:24.
Japan Grand Prix league matches:
Toyota (8) pinned Takahashi (4) in her Japanese ocean cyclone suplex hold at 18:26.

7/8 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,970
Japan Grand Prix league matches:
Momoe (7) drew Ito (5) 30:00. Momoe was unhappy because she was still only able to draw Ito in the JGP, but vowed to win the league so she could show improvement by making her first challenge for the red belt.
Shimoda (10) pinned Toyota (6) in a henkei crotch hold at 18:52.
Mita (6) pinned Watanabe (4) at 12:05.

7/1 Hiroshima 980
Toyota & Maekawa beat Ito & Wakizawa when Maekawa pinned Wakizawa at 20:42.
Hotta pinned Watanabe at 14:11.
Best Denki Hai Tournament Semifinal
Momoe pinned Takahashi at 15:31

Final: Noumi.defeated Momoe with a dobitski kaiten ebigatame at 15:52.

6/30
Best Denki Hai Tournament 1st Round:
Noumi pinned Nishio at 9:51.
Takahashi pinned Fujii at 13:29.

Semifinal
Noumi pinned Wakizawa in a kaiten ebigatame at 16:09.

6/27 Aichi Tsushima Bunka Kaikan Dai Hall 950
Hotta & Toyota beat Watanabe & Nakanishi when Hotta pinned Nakanishi at 18:34.
Japan Grand Prix league matches:
Mita (4) defeated Maekawa (8) at 11:32.
Shimda (8) pinned Wakizawa (4) in her Tiger suplex hold at at 13:47

6/24 Zenjo Jimusho Garage 230
Japan Grand Prix league matches:
Maekawa (8) pinned Watanabe (4) at 11:48.
Mita (2) pinned Wakizawa (4) at 5:20.

From Nick Higley:
- AJW ran their annual Golden Week double-shot on 5/4 in Kawasaki City Gym and 5/5 in Korakuen Hall. 5/4 featured Kaoru Ito vs. Yumiko Hotta in a 55-minute! street fight, won by Hotta. Should be interesting to compare this to the 45-minute street fight between Vince McMahon and Triple H from two years ago.The show also featured LCO retaining the WWWA tag titles over Tomoko Watanabe and Nanae Takahashi. This went about an hour as well. The right team won as Nanae should be nowhere near a title anytime soon. The 5/5 show featured, as predicted, the reunion of the ZAPS. They went to a double DQ with Hotta and Toyota, clearly building up to the Odaiba W Explosion shows in July.

Mike: Takahashi should be nowhere near a title, but that's only good if Momoe is now given the All Pacific Title as a building block. The ZAP gimmick was bad from day one. I can't believe they'd bring this back during Ito's best chance to be seen as a star. It can only reduce her, and everyone around her.

- Rumi Kazama, of all people, won the All-Japan singles title from Miho Wakizawa at an LLPW show on June 6th. This seems strange, but the last few months AJW has been building up to MihoKayo scoring their first pinfall win over a member of Black Joker, and clearly Kayo Noumi will get the honor over Kazama in a title match down the road.

Mike: This is pretty funny since that's always been a title held by young girls and Rumi turns 36 this year. The title as no value so if Miho can get something from Black Joker in exchange it's well worth it.

- Momoe Nakanishi has been getting the superpush in AJW's Grand Prix 2001 tournament. She's used her Momoclutch/latch to get wins over Manami Toyota and All-Pacific Champ Tomoko Watanabe, setting her up as a legit contender for that belt. Kumiko Maekawa ended Momoe's winning streak on 6/13. Maekawa also scored a pin over WWWA Champ Kaoru Ito at the big 6/10 spot show in Chiba.

Mike: The League looks pretty good so far. Everyone that anyone believed had a chance to do anything is still in the thick of things, with the exception of Mita. As Mita isn't their wrestler and is only important to them in tag, her putting over people can only help AJW. Shimoda is doing well, so you have one of the two semi outsiders in competition and it's the one that gives you the better matches. Momoe & Maekawa (who has since beat Shimoda) are getting closer to acceptance.

From Nick Higley:
Here's a comprehensive look at everything that's been going down in AJW's Japan Grand Prix 2001. So far this tournament has been all about pushing the younger generation·of NanaMomo (or Momoe Nakanishi to be more specific) and Kaoru Ito.

The current standings:

1. Mima Shimoda 6 pts.
Manami Toyota 6 pts.
Momoe Nakanishi 6 pts.
4. Kaoru Ito 4 pts.
Yumiko Hotta 4 pts.
Tomoko Watanabe 4 pts.
Kumiko Maekawa 4 pts.
Nanae Takahashi 4 pts.
Miho Wakizawa 4 pts.
10. Etsuko Mita 0 pts.
Kayo Noumi 0 pts.
Miyukii Fujii 0 pts.

Analysis:

Mima Shimoda- Mima pinned her partner Mita on 6/1 in Korakuen Hall after 19 minutes, squashed Kayo Noumi in 9 minutes in Chiba on 6/10, lost to Kaoru Ito on 6/16 in Tokyo, and killed Miyuki Fujii on 6/17.

Manami Toyota- beat her former tag partner Noumi on 6/3 at the AJW Garage, beat Miyuki Fujii on 6/7 in Chiba, lost to Momoe Nakanish on 6/10 (Momoe? first win over Manami?) and beat Etsuko Mita on 6/16

Momoe Nakanishi- pinned tag partner Nanae on 6/3, pinned Manami on 6/10, pinned omoko Watanabe on 6/16, lost to Kumiko Maekawa on 6/14

Kaoru Ito- lost to Kumiko Maekawa, pinned Mima Shimoda and Miyukii Fujii.

6/11 Aichi Okazaki Shi Taiikukan 1,020
Hotta & Maekawa beat Takahashi & Noumi when Maekawa pinned Noumi at 16:51.
In a Japan Grand Prix league match, Momoe pinned Watanabe in her Momolatch at 11:34.

6/11 Aichi Okazaki Shi Taiikukan 1,020
Hotta & Maekawa beat Takahashi & Noumi when Maekawa pinned Noumi at 16:51.
In a Japan Grand Prix league match, Momoe pinned Watanabe in her Momolatch at 11:34.

4/1 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,740
Hotta & Toyota & Shimoda beat Ito & Watanabe & Nakanishi when Hotta pinned Watanabe at 27:39. Ito will face Hotta in a kenka match on 5/4. This will probably be a non-title, no rule match.
Mita made Takahashi submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 10:48.

3/31 Kanagawa Odawara Arena 1,020
Ito & Nakanishi beat Toyota & Maekawa when Nakanishi used her Momolatch on Toyota at 17:39.
Hotta pinned Takahashi at 13:43.

2/28 Tokyo Ota-ku Taiikukan 4,650
Hotta scored the first clean victory of her career over Kandori, forcing her to submit to a hizajujigatame at 7:20 of their Vale Tudo match. Hotta is 2-3 against Kandori now, but her previous victory was lame due to it being via count out. Hotta attributed the victory to video research. Kandori hadn't submitted since her 7/18/95 L-1 loss to Gundarenko, which was 2,052 days ago.
Ito & Watanabe & Nakanishi & Takahashi defeated Toyota & Mita & Shimoda & Maekawa 4-2 in an elimination match. The eliminations were Maekawa pinning Takahashi at 11:20, Nakanishi using the Momolatch (?) on Mita at 15:26 then pinning Shimoda at 17:52, Maekawa pinning Watanabe at 25:00 (avenges Watanabe eliminating her on 2/25), Ito forcing Maekawa to submit to the uraakiresukengatame at 26:24 then pinning Toyota at 30:27. The two survivors, Ito & Nakanishi, both come out looking really impressive since they scored two pins each and 3 of those 4 were ones you wouldn't normally see.
Wakizawa & Noumi beat Eagle & Takako via DQ at 12:57. It's not a good win, but it's not like Wakizawa & Noumi could have won in any other way.
This was probably the most successful show AJW has run in years because it drew an excellent crowd for women's wrestling these days and their wrestlers got the victories they badly needed.

2/25 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,950
Ito & Watanabe & Nakanishi & Takahashi defeated Hotta & Maekawa & Mita & Shimoda in an elimination match. What makes this result bizarre is that Manami Toyota interfered on behalf of Hotta's Kyusedaigun (former generation army) and officially joined them at the end of the match. One would think that such a colossal event as Toyota's first ever heel turn would at least result in her new side winning. Instead, Watanabe was put over big once again, being the sole survivor. The eliminations were Takahashi pinning Hotta in a kozutsumigatame in just 4 seconds, Mita pinning Ito at 15:22 to avenge the loss on 1/3 when she challenged for the WWWA Sekai Single Senshuken, Takahashi pinning Mita in the kozutsumigatame at 15:40 to avenge the tag title loss, Maekawa pinning Momoe at 19:14, Shimoda pinning Takahashi at 22:18 to avenge Takahashi eliminating her partner earlier, Watanabe pinning Maekawa at 23:35 to further prove her superiority over her, and Watanabe pinning Shimoda at 26:17 to try to solidify her in her new slot as #2 face in the company. The setup is rather weird now because Ito & Watanabe, who are less than a year younger than Toyota, are in what I guess we have to call the new generation, while Maekawa, who is 13 months younger than Ito is in the older generation. Also, originally Mita & Shimoda were the top heels, but Hotta going heel meant she was the leader of the group and now Toyota going heel means she's the star of the group even though Hotta will probably still be considered the leader since she's older. In any case, 3 heel turns in 4 months is a lot, especially when two of them are the top two wrestlers in the company. When you throw in Black Joker, the company is divided almost evenly between faces and heels now, but that's because every outsider that wrestles there is a heel. I think having Toyota turn right now is silly because she's the only draw that's actually in the company. I would focus on trying to turn some of the younger wrestlers into someone that can draw opposite her, rather than fixing what isn't broken. If AJW had someone else that could at least potentially pick up the slack then it would probably make for a hot program in the short term, but Ito & Watanabe as the top faces, regardless of them being damn good, won't cut it at the box office (look at the figures when Ito was in the main event on either side going back to '97 when she got her first real opportunity in that failed program with Kyoko) and behind them are wrestlers that get little respect because they "debuted too late (ie after the boom period when no one could create stars anymore)." I think what this does, essentially, is reduce the value of Toyota without adding value elsewhere. It does give Ito, Watanabe, Nakanishi, & Takahashi a better chance from a perception standpoint. At the same time, it lessens the role of Mita & Shimoda, who are basically the only two they've ever drawn against, and Toyota & Hotta being evil does not really make those same matchups that few people payed for before any more enticing because people like Hotta for her stiffness and "realism" and Toyota for her excitement and flying. Those two doing different things could be a nice change, but on the other hand being a heel probably compromises their style. The best thing Ito, Watanabe, NanaMomo, & MihoKayo have in their favor right now is that with Hotta, Toyota, Mita, & Shimoda as opposition, they are such underdogs on paper that they can theoretically prove a lot to the fans if the program is kept pretty even.

2/12 Fukuoka Hakata Starlane 1,340
Hotta & Maekawa beat Toyota & Ito when Hotta made Toyota submit to her udehishigigyakujujigatame at 21:09. Toyota & Hotta shook hands after the match.
Watanabe made her 3rd successful defense of the All Pacific Senshuken, forcing Takako to submit to an akiresukengatame at 19:24.
Nakanishi won the Kiss no Sekai One Night Tournament. She made Takahashi submit to a Momo*clutch at 14:51 then pinned Wakizawa in her Dragon suplex hold at 19:55. Wakizawa advanced to the final by pinning Noumi at 16:55.

2/9 Ibaraki Shimotsuma Shi Sogo Taiikukan
Kaoru Ito & Momoe Nakanishi beat Yumiko Hotta & Kumiko Maekawa when Ito pinned Maekawa at 18:19.
Nanae Takahashi defeated Manami Toyota when the ref had to stop the match at 13:49 because Toyota's suffered a right elbow separation.

Yumiko Hotta attended the LLPW show where she got Shinobu Kandori to agree to a rematch. This match will take place on 2/28 at Tokyo Ota-ku Taiikukan. I'm not sure if AJW really tried to get Kandori to fight Ito in a title match or that was just something Ito was talking about, but it's no surprise that it's not happening since Kandori wouldn't put Ito over and the last thing AJW needs is Kandori sitting on their belt for another year only to lose the title via screw job. Hotta will probably beat Kandori this time since she's so owed a victory over her.

1/4 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 2,130 sellout
LCO captured the WWWA Sekai Tag Senshuken, defeating NanaMomo 2 falls to 0. Hotta shocked everyone by betraying AJW and joining LCO. She beat up Momoe, which I guess is their out for not being able to win a fall. Hotta said she joined LCO because the present AJW was uninteresting. It's supposed to be interesting again now that she declared war against AJW for her, Shimoda, Mita, & Maekawa.
Yumiko Hotta pinned Manami Toyota at 21:31.
Takako Inoue pinned Tomoko Watanabe at 9:23.
Miho Wakizawa successfully defended the Zen Nihon Single Senshuken, pinning Kayo Noumi at 24:11.

1/3 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 2,050 sellout
Kaoru Ito made her first successful defense of the WWWA Sekai Single Senshuken, forcing Etsuko Mita to submit to a wakigatame at 27:05. Ito withstood outside interference, & 6 of Mita's deadly Death Valley bombs. She was blinded by Mita's poison mist, but she was still able to catch Mita's arm and go into the submission for the victory. She would like to raise the value of the title, so she suggested her next defense on 2/28 at Tokyo Ota-ku Taiikukan be against Shinobu Kandori.She asked Hotta to make the challenge for her since Hotta is appearing on the LLPW Korakuen Hall show on 1/8.
Mima Shimoda & Kumiko Maekawa defeated Manami Toyota & Kayo Noumi when Maekawa pinned Noumi at 18:20.