what should I keep in mind?

[Guest permagrinning]

I've just ordered Dreamslam I and II. I've never fatched female wrestling before and was curious if there's things I should keep in mind when viewing? Differnt nuances for the way the fighters react to each other or what not. Also, if I get into this what would be good to follow up on it with?

[Guest wolverine]

That's a lot of wrestling, a lot of hours and something that's probably going to be really overwhemling. They're incredible shows if you have some sort of familiarity with the workers involved, but as an intro to Joshi, these were probably the wrong choices. I would have started with some shows from 1992 (before the interpromotional period) to get accustomed to AJW, leading up to Dream Rush (11/26/92), which I feel has the greatest Joshi match ever on it (Toyota/Yamada vs. Kansai/Ozaki).

 

You need to see Big Egg Universe (11/20/94) for the V-Top tourney afterwards. And don't forget about AJW TV from Summer 2001, which was when they were putting out the best main events in the world.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Just in case no one's dropped this to you yet, Hokuto bleeds a TON in Dreamslam I. Not really something to keep in mind, but more to be aware of before you see it. Women blading can be a little disturbing for some, and that match features one of the most grotesque blade jobs you'll find.

 

Joshi wasn't something I got into right away. There's usually plenty of effort and passion to be found, but sometimes it becomes too over-the-top for its own good. Between the screaming, the slightly-clustered feel of the tag matches and the tendancy of some women to throw out needless spots, it can be overwelming to someone who's never seen it before. If you stick with it, though, there's plenty of great stuff to be found. Much of it is on the show you're about to watch.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that since the Dreamslams were inter-promotional cards. While this resulted in some phenomenal matches, it also lead to some awkward spots due to the women being unfamiliar with each other. Try not to get too hung up on that aspect of the work.

[Guest cynicalprofit]

Keep in mind that what you are about to see is far superior to everything else going on in the world of wrestling today.

[Guest Coffin Surfer]

Joshi not always but usually uses the Junior pointless mat work stuff to open the matches. To it's credit it still maintains interest and is very well done. And sometimes the selling is sacrificed to maintain the matches ultra fast pace. If your accustomed to the Juniors it won't be that hard to adjust too, but if your only accustomed only to the Heavies it might take some getting used to at first.

[Guest deadbeater]

Another thing: the brutality in the matches makes ECW look like a slumber party pillowfighting league.

[Guest RedJed]

..........which I feel has the greatest Joshi match ever on it (Toyota/Yamada vs. Kansai/Ozaki).

I had got a comp tape from a friend with the 3 match series of matches between those four.......was basically the first joshi I had really seen at the time and to say I was amazed was an understatement. If anyone wants to start out on a good foot with joshi, I'd say start here.

[Guest Jubuki]

If you want everything else to be a letdown, sure.

[Guest wildpegasus]

The first timed I ever watched any Joshi I was overwhelmed. I remeber getting a tape that featured highlights of Manami Toyota's career. This was around 1996 and compared to the WWF at the time this absolutely blew my mind. In all seriousness I would say the joshi product was at least 5 times better than the WWF! One thing I've found that some people may have a problem with is the hollering that a lot of the wrestlers do. There's a lot of constant shouting and it may take some getting used to. Another problem sometimes mentioned is selling. The workrate in the Joshi feds is exceptional, especially AJW at its' peak. Selling may not be as strong as some other leagues but this IMO is not a fault as I feel people are too hard on selling in general. To me, workrate is a lot more impressive than anything else. Anyone who's done 20 rep breathing squats to true failure will surely tell this! Anyway, hope I helped out some.

[Guest Jubuki]

After all, squats >>> performing.

[Guest wolverine]

The Toyota-style workrate Joshi was what initially hooked me, but over time, I've found the highspots and such to lose their lustre; whereas matches that feature strong storytelling (which you'll see plenty of from Akira Hokuto) continue to impress over time.

 

I'm also far more partial to Mariko Yoshida's shootstyle/prostyle hybrid that she mastered in 1999, en route to producing some of the world's best matches - doing it with complex matwork, fabulous submissions, great selling, and the ability to carry just about anyone to the best matches of their careers. I find this to be far more fascinating and intriguing than anything I saw from Toyota's workrate peak (even if Toyota was involved in more great matches).

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I've seen very little Joshi so far, but my favorites have been Bull and Aja murdering people.

[Guest CoreyLazarus416]

Only "Joshi" I've seen was an Electrified Barbed Wire Deathmatch between Megumi Kudo and Combat Toyoda. How does Kudo rank compared to other Joshi workers (because I was pretty impressed with her)?

[Guest RickyChosyu]

I'm not a fan of deathmatches or FMW, so I haven't seen the matches that gave her the rep, but she seemed alright from the interpromotional cards I've seen her on. Her match with Fukuoka against Suzuki/Takako was good, but she seemed a bit lost at times. It could have been a lack of familiarity.

 

I haven't been terribly impressed, but then I haven't seen what you have.

[Guest wolverine]

PWTorch.com reprinted a really good article from 1998 by Chris Zavisa on his views regarding AJW's future; in particular, the amazing progress of then 17-year-old Momoe Nakanishi. It can be accessed below:

 

http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/publish/arti...icle_2180.shtml

[Guest RickyChosyu]

An interesting read. I haven't seen the match he talked about, but Momoe's performance with Maekawa against KAURU and Yamada from 9/97 is really impressive. It's crazy to think how inexperienced she was at the time, and how good she looked in that match. That's made me eager to see her later matches that have gotten a lot of praise.