#276: Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori, AJW St. Battle Final (12/6/1993).
It’s been nearly a year since I started this blog, and one of the first five matches I did was the legendary first singles meeting between Akira Hokuto and Shinobu Kandori at Dream Slam I (#4). It remains the most violent women’s match I’ve ever seen, and it has to be up there as one of the stiffest professional wrestling matches of all time. Recently, Toni Storm and Mariah May put on my current 2025 Match of the Year at AEW Revolution (I’ll be writing about it at some point this year), and many people online were saying it was the most violent women’s match they’d ever seen.
The Japanese wrestling snob in me couldn’t help it to think “oh, if you only knew what violence was in women’s wrestling.”
Now, many match reviews later, I’m finally getting around to checking out the highly anticipated rematch between Hokuto and Kandori later in 1993. Let’s see how it holds up!
Hokuto rushes Kandori right at the bell, and both women immediately throw bombs, until they’re on the mat. Kandori is up first, but Hokuto kicks her in the face. She applies a leg lock to Kandori, and oh look, Hokuto is already bleeding from the mouth! She hits a gut wrench powerbomb to Kandori next. She covers, and she only gets a nearfall. Hokuto then locks in a variation of a Figure Four, while tying Kandori up on her back. The LLPW star gets to the ropes to break the hold.
Hokuto, dressed in white, looks crazed while bleeding. Kandori with a Judo throw, and a stiff strike to the face. Hokuto ain’t having that shit, and she grabs her by the throat. Huge slap by Hokuto, and one by Kandori! Hokuto goes for another, and Kandori has her in a brief arm bar, just for dominance. They scramble into the corner, and we get a break. They circle one another, looking for an opening, until Hokuto kicks Kandori in the gut and spikes her with a piledriver.
Another leg lock attempt by Hokuto, but Kandori is calm and returns to her feet and slaps her repeatedly. She’s even able to briefly turn the hold into a Sharpshooter, but Hokuto quickly grabs the ropes. More stiff strikes by Kandori to the midsection, and a hard kick. She makes the cover, and Hokuto kicks out. Kandori lands several hard kicks to the head, and then peppers in some light ones for added embarrassment.
Hokuto is back to her feet and lands several punches to the gut. She hits a double arm takedown, and traps Kandori in a choke hold of some kind. It looks painful! She follows up with a spinning heel kick, and now Hokuto is firing up the crowd. Another kick lands flush, and she gets a nearfall off of it. Hokuto looks for a rear naked choke submission next, and Kandori gets her legs on the ropes to break it up. Kandori sends her into the turnbuckle, and headbutts her to the mat.
More kicks to the head of Hokuto, and she doesn’t look too pleased. Kandori with some stiff slaps to Hokuto, who responds with some of her own. She won’t be bullied tonight. Nice suplex by Hokuto gets her a 2 count. She goes to the top rope and hits a shotgun drop kick, Toyota style! Hokuto returns to the top, and hits another. She rolls Kandori up, and gets a 2 count. They go to the floor, and Hokuto destroys Kandori with the Snow Plow. The thud was disgusting.
Hokuto gloats in the ring, as Kandori slowly makes her way back in. Hokuto greets her with a spinning heel kick, and Kandori quickly applies a sleeper hold. Hokuto escapes with a jaw breaker. She goes to the top rope again, but Kandori cuts her off this time with some slaps. She joins her there, and hits a Tiger Driver to the mat! Kandori is back to her feet, and Hokuto is as well, but much slower. Kandori hits a running pump kick to the head.
The Dangerous Queen fires back with a nice lariat to Kandori, and then she kicks her back to the floor. Hokuto goes to the top rope, and hits a cannonball to Kandori on the outside! Back in the ring, Kandori works on her comeback by hitting a clothesline, and a headbutt. Hokuto responds with a bridging German Suplex for a 2 count. She follows up with a back suplex for another nearfall. Hokuto lands a plancha from the top rope, but Kandori catches her in an arm bar. Hokuto frantically gets to the ropes to break the hold.
Repeated kicks to the head by Kandori. Hokuto again hits a back suplex for a 2 count. They continue to scramble, until Kandori locks in a leg lock submission. Hokuto just barely gets to the ropes to break the hold, because she knows the submission master she’s in the ring with. Kandori with hard punches to the face of Hokuto, and the Dangerous Queen responds with some of her own. Aja Kong is at ringside, showing her support of her fellow AJW peer in Hokuto.
Kandori seems to have the upper hand at this point, as she lands a stiff as fuck uppercut to the jaw. She rolls Hokuto up, and gets the 3 to take the win. I didn’t like this as much as their original match from Dream Slam, but it’s still a solid effort. It’s a more subdued, slower match than their previous encounter, but the stiffness and violence is still there. They wrestle again like they truly hate each other, and hey, maybe they did!
It didn’t feel quite as chaotic as the first match, but there was enough of the hatred present that it felt close to falling apart. A pretty good match, but not an all time classic like their first battle.