#11: Akira Hokuto vs. Manami Toyota, AJW Destiny (9/2/1995).
1990s Joshi is really just a treasure trove for some of the best matches you'll see across the entire wrestling spectrum. While other promotions at the time were trying to find their identity, ones like All Japan Women's were seemingly coming from all angles of the universe with its quality. I had my doubts at first, but after doing research for my wrestling book "King's Road," I can tell you that there is undisputed truth to the golden age of Joshi.
This singles match between two icons of the era is a great example of what I'm talking about. Akira Hokuto was a wild woman, complete with a unique aura in her entrance alone, followed by a hard hitting in ring style. Manami Toyota was among the most exciting wrestlers to watch in her day, and her innovative high flying offense and speed make her, to this day, one of the greatest to ever do it, male or female.
Things get off to a wild start, as Toyota strikes before the bell. Hokuto is quick to respond with a senton off the top rope to the floor onto Toyota, all while still clad in her entrance robe. Toyota nails a shotgun dropkick to Hokuto on the outside. Less than a minute in, and this poor woman's back is already asking for a break.
Right away, this is a noticeably more hard hitting style of match than what Toyota seemingly wrestles in. That probably has much to do with her opponent in Hokuto. Hokuto locks Toyota in a Camel Clutch, and uses her hair for leverage. Toyota gets sent into the ropes, and just jumps straight to the top rope with ease. She hits a springboard crossbody.
This is a hard hitting match with a fast pace and plenty of trash talk to go around. One such example is when Toyota hits a splash to Hokuto atop a table on the outside, and it doesn't budge. She then misses a senton to the outside, which looks painful as hell. Hokuto then hits a big powerbomb onto a table, which also doesn't budge. She follows that with a top turnbuckle senton to Toyota onto another table. Does it budge? Hell no!
Back in the ring, Toyota eventually finds herself as the victor following a series of Snow Plows to Hokuto, which finally keeps her down. This was a nice blitz of a match that was plenty full of offense and danger. It's much heavier than a lot of Toyota matches I've seen. On the contrary, it's nowhere to the level of brutality as Hokuto's match with Shinobu Kandori from Dream Slam. Personally, this match would benefit from a few extra minutes, but hey, I like longer matches!