IIn the Dream Explosion series, Ryan Dilbert revisits and explores the best matches in All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling history.
Aja Kong & Bull Nakano vs. Akira Hokuto & Shinobu Kandori
AJW Wrestling Queendom
March 27, 1994
The Yokohama Arena hosted a star-studded tag team main event that brimmed with malice.
Other matches on the All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling card featured challengers seeking championships. The final showdown of the night, however, was something far more visceral than that.
Aja Kong and Bull Nakano vs. Akira Hokuto and Shinobu Kandori was a storm of violence, as four forces of nature roiled in front of more than 16,000 fans.
Kong and Nakano were an imposing, fearsome pair. The scowling powerhouse Kong and the wild-haired bruiser in Nakano fit seamlessly together. Two malevolent monsters with painted faces.
Never mind that they were blood rivals in the early ‘90s. Never mind that they tried to kill each other in a steel cage and Bull famously hit a leg drop from the top of the cage to try and crush her archnemesis.
The two had joined forces starting in 1992 to win the Fuji TV Tag Team Tournament and then started wrecking shop on the AJW scene the year after, taking out everyone from Double Inoue to Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada.
Their opponents on this night, were also an unlikely duo, rivals deciding to band together.
Akira Hokuto, The Dangerous Queen, was a wrestler awash with swagger, with presence. Kandori was a true badass with a judo background and a nasty attitude.
The two famously fought each other in two brutal bouts in 1993. These were matches that made you wonder if the action had devolved from entertainment into an altercation. Punches clacked against flesh. Blood spilled from their faces.
Now only a few months removed from their war at AJW St. Battle Final, they were on the same side. And not surprisingly, their bad blood could not be contained. Despite being partners on this night, Hokuto and Kandori fought each mid-match.
Their clash with Kong and Nakano had a wildness to it, a rawness. An energy that permeated many of these women’s matches over the years
It began before someone could even ring the bell when Aja Kong attacked Hokuto and suplexed on her head to get the party started.
Then both Aja and Bull laid into Hokuto with lariats. Kong was all fury and force. She was non-stop, laying offense on offense on offense before Akira or the audience could even breathe. Hokuto refused to be overwhelmed, however, and was soon fighting back like a cornered animal. She and Nakano slugged it out with big, wicked slaps.
This early action set the tone. We saw what kind of match we were going to get. The kind that brims with animosity. Even between partners.
Hokuto slapped her own teammate to tag her in. With no provocation. Just a spillover from their past melees.
It felt as if we were watching the wicks grow smaller on lit sticks of dynamite. A bigger explosion was coming.
Outside the ring, Kong beat on Hokuto, using the guardrail as a weapon and smashing her onto a table. Nakano followed that with a long stretch where she ground Hokuto into the mat, overpowering her.
We saw flashes of fight from The Dangerous Queen, but it was clear how uphill of a climb she had against these two brutes.
Kandori’s submission skills soon came into play. She used technical skill and grappling to offset Kong and Nakano’s power. She cranked on their arms and kept them off their feet. Perhaps this
These moments and everything in the match dripped with clear hostility.
Nakano threw (and missed) lariats that look like she was trying to tear her opponent’s head off. The wrestlers clocked each other with kicks to the head. This was never an athletic competition; it was a dog fight.
In the middle, the match’s pace slowed. Kong put her weight on Kandori and tried to snuff her out with various holds. The baddies wore down the other stars. Torture created groans.
The story became could Hokuto and Kandori survive despite their own issues with each other. They were going to need to call on their guts and power.
As they did. The rhythm of the combat quickened. Soon, Kandori and Hokuto were on the offensive outside.
Hokuto slapped Kong so hard she knocked the powerhouse off her feet. Kandori ran Nakano up the ramp and fought her amid the set. Chaos engulfed it all.
The more disjointed team proved to be tough as hell, taking all kinds of punishment and pushing on. Wailing, thrashing, ever-churning.
Kong hit Hokuto with a piledriver out on the floor which was scary as hell given Akira’s previous neck issues. Bull drove Hokuto’s head into the mat afterward and plastered her with a legdrop. But Hokuto and Kandori continued to persist until their bodies completely give out.
Kong and Nakano’s teamwork is far superior to that of their rivals. They are a dangerous machine, pistons firing. Near falls follows near fall. Watching on, you have to wonder what will be the final blow. What will be enough to stop the fight in Akira and Shinobu?
A flurry of spinning back fists from Kong isn’t the answer to those questions. Neither is a jackhammer of a suplex.
It is unmitigated will and moxie that finally clears a path for victory. Amid the bustling, turbulent moments, Hokuto hits brainbuster after brainbuster on Aja Kong. The first one doesn’t led to a three-count, nor does the second, but she keeps lifting her foe up and driving her to the canvas. The fourth brainbuster nets her the three-count and the unlikely victory.
Eventually, with enough blows of the axe, every tree falls.
And so ends a dramatic display of toughness, of imposing aura, of pure anarchy. Kandori and Hokuto were able to pause their own rivalry to achieve greatness. Kong and Nakano, meanwhile, would have to walk away with wounded pride.
This was a terrific match on first watch and one where the second and third viewing only revealed more nuance. I noticed more of Kandori and Hokuto’s infighting on the rewatches. I could better appreciate just how monstrous Aja Kong and Bull Nakano were here, as well.
The crackling animosity of this bout is the kind that can pull you in without knowing anything about these wrestlers. The more you understand about their histories, however, the more you can savor all the moving parts of this story.
Four all-time greats going at it. Copious amounts of violence. Rivalries intertwined. Glorious stuff.
Check out the previous entries in this series:
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