Gokuaku Domei vs. Jumping Bomb Angels: The Beauty of Getting Heat

Corwo
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Gokuaku Domei (Bull Nakano & Dump Matsumoto) vs. Jumping Bomb Angels (Itsuki Yamazaki & Noriyo Tateno) (AJW, 8/22/1985)

2/3 Falls Match

On one fateful August night in 1985 at the Nippon Budokan, Gokuaku Domei of Bull Nakano and Dump Matsumoto took on the Jumping Bomb Angels duo of Itsuki Yamazaki and Noriyo Tateno. Gokuaku Domei didn’t come prepared for a pro wrestling match, but a fight. Adorned in dark clothing and carrying colored kendo sticks and nunchucks, they immediately set the tone for the beatdown that followed. Opposing them were the popular Jumping Bomb Angels, wearing bright attire and soaking in the adulation of the crowd.

Nakano and Matsumoto jumped Yamazaki and Tateno at the bell. The Gokuaku Domei crew were unwavering in their pursuit to dish out as much punishment to Tateno as possible, even as the crowd shrieked in terror and cheered on their heroes. There was little in the way of pro wrestling moves, and there didn’t need to be. Gokuaku Domei choked out Tateno with a chain, used Nakano’s signature nunchucks, tossed the referee across the ring, and were downright dastardly. 

Yamazaki’s apron work was incredible. Her energy was palpable, and you could feel the crowd living and dying with the Jumping Bomb Angels as she was fiending for the tag. When Yamazaki finally got the hot tag, her momentum was stopped short due to interference from the other members of Gokuaku Domei. Gokuaku Domei attempted to introduce a table and, in turn, ate a double dropkick as the place roared into a frenzy. The heat continued to build to a fever pitch as both teams were counted out. In a wonderful bit of comeuppance for Gokuaku Domei, Matsumoto attempted to strike Tateno with a kendo stick, but Yamazaki was there to make the save. 

The second fall saw a bit of a reset, as things settled down. With each passing near fall, belief in our heroes grew as chants of “Noriyo” and “Itsuki” reverberated throughout the arena. But in a cruel twist of fate, Gokuaku Domei downed Yamazaki with a triple spike piledriver as the referee tended to Tateno, stealing the win.

One could argue that the match was overly reliant on interference or weapon shots, but when there’s this much heat and the crowd is this invested, it’s hard to be concerned with such trivial matters. This is what it’s all about. Pro wrestling is the sport of queens.

corwo


Corwo watches far too much wrestling. He may or may not be a robot.