RIPPA Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 HIROYO MATSUMOTO CAGEMATCH Official Website Twitter Instagram vs. Hikaru Shida (Oz Academy) vs. Yoshiko (Oz Academy) vs. Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura (Fortune Dream) Matsumoto/Hashimoto vs. Io/Meiko (Sendai Girls) Matsumoto/Yoshiko vs. Shida/Kuragaki (Oz Academy) Matsumoto/Sareee vs. Hashimoto/Iwata (Sendai Girls) MYC 1st Round: vs. Rachel Evers 2nd Round: vs. Toni Storm NOTES All the links are Dailymotion. All the non-MYC links are from @Kevin Wilson because I trust them. The MYC ones are a crap shoot. She also has a great match against Kairi Sane (then Hojo) that is technically outside the time period. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Blue Sam Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 I love the fact that the stable of her, Kaori Yoneyama and Aja Kong are called Beast Friend. Really enjoyed the tag title win in OZ Academy, mainly for how many times Matsumoto seemed to be using Yoneyama as a weapon against her will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamBroken Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 One of the absolute highlights of the MYC. I especially loved the Evers match, but the Toni match was great stuff also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodear Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Watched the MYC matches to start because they are really designed to introduce you to wrestlers quickly and see if they can hook you. And in this case, they really succeed. You can tell from the introductions in the Evers match that no one knew who Matsumoto was when she walked out there but in two matches, she had built herself up to put over Storm really well. I think the messaging from Michael Cole was a little off point by giving her the 'loves to have fun' face like character which could have been adjusted with another line about what Matsumoto finds to be fun is beating people up. Notice the slight difference between the two matches in that Evers doesn't really counter anything Matsumoto tries that could be considered a trademark spot. This is the right thing to do for an introduction match and something I've seen screwed up by match lay out a number of times. Storm then counters a move or two in the second match and it makes narrative sense. We then throw in the wrinkle from counter to the powerbomb leading to the pick up spot going to a Boston crab this time to make sure we aren't too tied to the formula. I could see certain things Matsumoto does being too choreographed such as her crisscross clothesline but I obviously haven't seen the matches to make that case. Matsumoto has great facial expressions and allows you to know how she is feeling as the matches progress from the joy she gets from pummeling someone to the pain of the loss to Storm. I'm interested in watching more. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AverageKong Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Stylistically, Matsumoto reminds me of so many other joshi and you can even tell who she trained under at points. I see Etsuko Mita & Shimoda in her, Nanae, Kyoko, Aja. Yet she manages to separate herself by blending them together so well. The first couple of years I was not a fan. She was kinda clunky and unsafe.Though not purposefully, she did legit KO several girls with her backdrop driver. Also seemed like she was having the same matches over and over. It took some time before she got into a groove and then she was the hottest thing on the scene. I feel one drawback is she is from the era of free agents that hopped around so much that you kinda lost track of their work. The MYC was a great showing for her. I agree with the thought that she quickly got fans to buy into her. Without throwing everything at you, they managed to establish her legitimacy. She had been scouted by the WWE years ago. I recall 2 different occasions where she had tryouts. Being a big tough girl I enjoyed her encounter with other brawlers/bruisers like Yoshiko, Meiko, Kansai, etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, AverageKong said: Stylistically, Matsumoto reminds me of so many other joshi and you can even tell who she trained under at points. I see Etsuko Mita & Shimoda in her, Nanae, Kyoko, Aja. Yet she manages to separate herself by blending them together so well. She trained under none of them. Yoshida was her trainer. I doubt any of them did more than give her a pinch of advice at one point or another which makes it kind of amusing how she pulls more from all of them more than she does Mariko. Edited March 23, 2019 by Eivion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AverageKong Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 I'm aware she initially trained with Yoshida, but she spent time in NEO (Kyoko Inoe) early in her career and often associated herself with Nanae's projects. They definitely took her under their wings. Her offense expanded, incorporating their signatures, after her stints in their promotions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 12 minutes ago, AverageKong said: I'm aware she initially trained with Yoshida, but she spent time in NEO (Kyoko Inoe) early in her career and often associated herself with Nanae's projects. They definitely took her under their wings. Her offense expanded, incorporating their signatures, after her stints in their promotions. She was still training with Mariko when she was working NEO. What signature did she take from Kyoko? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AverageKong Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Yep, I think she continued to appear with Yoshida's Ibuki promotion until it closed. For the first couple of years Matsumoto used her Argentine gutbuster and later her Backdrop driver as finishers. During her stint in NEO when she tagged with Kyoko for a bit she started breaking out both a jackknife and ligerbomb, both of which Kyoko had been using at the time to finish matches. I know... it's hard to claim she took a "powerbomb", but I dont recall those moves in her offense prior to her time there. I remember one tag match where that was story; who can put the opponent away with powerbomb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 (edited) I don't recall Inoue using the Argentine gutbuster. That was a Matsumoto thing. I do recall Inoue using a version that ends with slam/throw to that mat (was so pleased to see it in 2k19). Hiroyo was bequeathed the ligerbomb variation from Devil Masami. I agree that Hiroyo took inspirations from the vets she was around, but I don't think any of them had an actual hand in her training per say. Edited March 24, 2019 by Eivion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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