#118: Dump Matsumoto vs. Chigusa Nagayo, AJW (11/7/1986).
This is a Hair vs. Hair Match.
On September 19th, Netflix will be premiering "The Queen of Villains," a show that will supposedly tell the story of Joshi legend Dump Matsumoto, a woman who has often been cited as the single most vile heel in the history of pro wrestling. So, I figured with that coming up, I'd look into her work to see if she was all that.
Needless to say, my fucking jaw was on the floor by the end of this.
This is another round in the long standing AJW rivalry between Matsumoto and Nagayo, one half of the Crush Gals, arguably the most popular wrestling act in the history of Japanese wrestling. Also, I learned that Nagayo was one half of the Crush Gals while doing research for this match. That's another one I'll have to look into in the future!
Basically, Matsumoto hates every single thing in existence, and Nagayo is as close to a white meat babyface as it gets, but with more sincerity.
Dump is wearing a bedazzled "Heavy Metal" shirt. Nice.
Nagayo offers a handshake, and Dump spits Sake in her face. Or, I think it was sake. Dump starts attacking the referee with scissors! He's bleeding all over the place. Nagayo looks scared to death, and Dump is celebrating like she just gave birth.
Dump goes after the referee again. The bell finally rings and both ladies square up. Dump tackles Nagayo into a series of nearfalls. Nice chops to the nose by Dump, and that gets her a nearfall. It may be because the ref is fucked up, but these counts suck already.
Dump chokes Nagayo against the ropes, then hits her in the head with scissors! Then, she just straight up stabs her in the arm with the scissors. Is this AEW All Out 2024 or something?? Sun set flip by Nagayo gets a quick nearfall, and Dump quickly takes control of the back.
She bends the arm back, and then drills Nagayo with a piledriver. Thanks to the slow as shit count, Nagayo kicks out. Dump chokes her against the ropes again. The ref admonishes her, and she just throws him into the turnbuckle. Nagayo with a spinning heel kick.
She goes to the top, and hits a missile dropkick for 2. Dump is quickly up, and she starts choking Nagayo with a fucking sword? What the fuck is this??? Dump stabs Nagayo in the throat with a fork now. I mean, really. Is this AEW All Out 2024?
Dump slams Nagayo's face into the turnbuckle multiple times. She looks totally fucked now. More stabbing in the forehead with the back end of the fork. Nagayo escapes to the floor to catch her breath. She's bloodied and bruised.
Dump is right there, dragging this poor woman back to the Ring by a chain! Dump is just ragdolling Nagayo, until they finally return to the Ring. She continues to pull at the chain, as she attempts to drain the life from Nagayo.
Dump has scissors again. Nagayo kicks out of a pin attempt, and eats a hard shot to the back of the head by Dump. She won't stay down, as she tries to fight back. A spinning heel kick stumbles Dump, but she falls onto Nagayo for a 2 count.
Dump brings Nagayo to her feet, but she gets tripped and caught in the Sharpshooter! Dump gets to the ropes to break it up, then applies a leg submission to Nagayo. Dump rolls her over into an almost sitting toe hold, then transitions to a pin for 2.
Dump drags Nagayo around the Ring, then stabs her in the head again with the fork. Enziguri by Nagayo, as she tries to mount some kind of offense. Dump is right back up, as she attempts a lariat, but Nagayo reverses into a German Suplex attempt.
Dump escapes, and lariats Nagayo. A standing splash follows, but Nagayo kicks out. Another standing splash, and Nagayo kicks out. Dump decks her in the head with a trash can. She follows with a piledriver.
Dump gears up for another can shot, and it connects. Nagayo is a bloody mess. Out of nowhere, Nagayo catches Dump off guard with a roll up to take the surprise win. I say surprise, because considering how this match has done, Nagayo should be dead.
Post Match, Dump loses her rainbow Mohawk and she is not happy about it.
That was fucking crazy. I don't even know how to describe this match accurately. I wouldn't call it a classic, and I wouldn't call it essential, but I'd say you have to see it at least once. This was a wild, violent, and bloody one sided ass kicking that Nagayo was lucky enough to win. Matsumoto beat the holy shit out of her for the entirety of the match, and she never let up. She was a shark that smelled blood in the water - only with a mohawk.
For its time, I imagine this level of brutality was unheard of. Hell, in 2024, it's pretty nasty, and I just saw Jon Moxley try to suffocate Bryan Danielson with a bag on PPV.