Victory Through Guts

In the 25th edition of the Victory Through Guts podcast, Dylan and Alex talk about three shows from AJW as the Japan Grand Prix 1992 commences. The three shows, all of which occur in June 1992, presented a changing landscape for the company, as we see Bison Kimura's final set of matches ahead of her indefinite hiatus, as well as the original members of LCO facing off against future member Mima Shimoda in a tag team match that also featured Manami Toyota. Dylan and Alex talk about similarities between the AJW schedule in 1992 and the Stardom schedule now, as well as the Time Limit Draws that plague both companies despite their 30-year difference. All that and more on this episode of Victory Through Guts!

Please Enjoy & Follow VTG on Twitter: @VTGPod @XXIchiban (Dylan) @LWOSPRAlexR (Alex)

In the 24th edition of Victory Through Guts, Dylan Murray and Alex Richards cover two AJW shows from April and May of 1992. The first is the ever-important Wrestlemarinepiad 1992 event, a show heralded as the Best Major Wrestling Show of the Year by Dave Meltzer and the WON faithful along with a 5-Star Match between Manami Toyota and Kyoko Inoue. While the VTG Boys are of the belief that the show didn't quite live up to those standards, the show did feature things to fawn over, namely the penultimate match in the Bull Nakano vs. Aja Kong series of matches. The following month, AJW ran Korakuen Hall and presented an arguably better card, with Manami Toyota and Kyoko Inoue battling in tag team action and delivering incredible performances. And, in the main event, the re-debut of MITA and AKIRA takes place as LCO finally arrives in AJW after a Spring excursion to Mexico. The Rudo tandem proves to be a problem for Jungle Jack (Aja Kong & Bison Kimura), with who they battle to declare the new #1 Contender for the 3WA Tag Team Championships. All that and more on Victory Through Guts Episode 24! Please Enjoy & Follow VTG on Twitter: @VTGPod @XXIchiban (Dylan) @LWOSPRAlexR (Alex)

Victory Through Guts returns with two months of AJW action from February and March of 1992. Starting with tour shows in both Gunma and Kanagawa respectively, we see the beginning of a Junior Tournament that features future stars like Kumiko Maekawa and Numata. We also see two Bull Nakano singles matches, with Gunma bearing witness to a massive brawl between Aja Kong and Bull, whereas Akira Hokuto got her third shot against the Boss of the World in Kanagawa. Later on in March, Saint Battle Day returns and pits Bull Nakano against Kyoko Inoue, making Nakano's unique singles performances in 1992 a popular topic of discussion amongst the VTG Boys. Further, Alex's near-hatred for Kyoko Inoue rears its ugly head, and things end with a discussion over clipped vs. raw matches, prompted by a 40+ minute bout between 1987 Gold Tag Combo (Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota) and Jungle Jack (Bison Kimura & Aja Kong). All that and more on this episode of the VTG Podcast!  Please Enjoy & Follow VTG on Twitter: @VTGPod @XXIchiban (Dylan) @LWOSPRAlexR (Alex)

After a brief hiatus, Victory Through Guts is back with Episode 22, the beginning of the 3rd season. For this episode, we provide coverage of January 1992 in Joshi wrestling, which proved to be a pivotal month for the scene as it saw the official closure of the Original JWP organization. Our esteemed co-host Alex was willing to spend four whole dollars to purchase the final show of Original JWP, and we watched it, covered it, and pontificated on the death of JWP and what it meant in the second half of the show. Before that, though, we had two AJW shows to watch on January 4th & 5th of 1992. On January 4th we saw Toshiyo Yamada and Manami Toyota had perhaps their best singles match together ever, with a finish that we suspect was later imitated to create one of the greatest matches in modern joshi wrestling. On January 5th, the tag titles took center stage as both the Japanese Tag Titles and the 3WA World Tag Team Championships were on the line in the opener and main event. For in-depth coverage of all this and more (including a few bits and gags), check out Episode 22 of Victory Through Guts! Please Enjoy &Follow VTG on Twitter:  @VTGPod @XXIchiban (Dylan) @LWOSPRAlexR (Alex)

It may be a new year, but we still have some things to finish up from 1991 in the world of Joshi Puroresu. Along with a horrendous fancam of FMW that featured Svetlana Gounderenko, Megumi Kudo, and underdog WWA Women's Champion taking on Combat Army, The Boys get a chance to see Miss A wrestle under the name Dynamite Kansai for the time in tag team action before finishing the year off with the final day of Tag League, The Best 1991. Down to just the teams of Akira Hokuto & Bull Nakano, Jungle Jack, and Kyoko Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada, it was a star-studded end to a great tournament at the end of the year. Afterward, the boys give out their Year-End Awards and finally say goodbye to 1991 and hello to 1992! Please Enjoy! Follow VTG on Twitter: @VTGPod @XXIchiban (Dylan) @LWOSPRAlexR (Alex)

In the 18th edition of Victory Through Guts, Dylan and Alex discuss a match between Medusa (aka Alundra Blayze) and Devil Masami from the Original JWP. They also briefly talk about Medusa's chemistry, or lack their of, with Joshi wrestlers over the years. Afterwards, the VTG Boys dive right into AJW's The Exciting Zone, which featured Bull Nakano's 9th 3WA Title Defense against Kyoko Inoue, a 30 minute clash between Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota, and a meeting between Class of 85 members Yumiko Hotta & Akira Hokuto over the All Pacific Championship. Please Enjoy! Follow VTG on Twitter: @VTGPod @XXIchiban (Dylan) @LWOSPRAlexR (Alex)

In the long-awaited return to AJW reviews, Dylan & Alex talk about matches from July & August in the juggernaut Joshi organization. Mainly focusing on the ascension of Kyoko Inoue through the Japan Grand Prix, AJW Classics episodes 47 & 48 also highlighted Aja Kong, Bison Kimura, Mariko Yoshida's respective runs throughout the tournament as well. Akira Hokuto also had a big couple of months defending the All-Pacific Title and even turning heel to align with longtime rival Bull Nakano. All that and more in the 17th edition of Victory Through Guts. Please Enjoy! Follow VTG on Twitter: @VTGPod @XXIchiban (Dylan) @LWOSPRAlexR (Alex)

In this episode, join Dylan & Alex in taking a look at the Original JWP promotion and matches that defined the company in the first half of 1991. The episode Includes coverage of the UWA Championship Tournament that featured Harley Saito, Shinobu Kandori, Miss A, Devil Masami & more fight for the top championship in the company. Afterwards we see Mayumi Ozaki & Eagle Sawai, better known as Gurren Tai, take on Miss A & Devil Masami, along with some other Ozaki singles matches from the spring and summer of 1991. The boys also discuss what could've happened if JWP never split, Miss A's eventual transformation into Dynamite Kansai, and the unique contrasts that can be seen between AJW & JWP at the time. Please Enjoy! Follow VTG on Twitter: @VTGPod @XXIchiban (Dylan) @LWOSPRAlexR (Alex)

In a not so special Anniversary episode of Victory Through Guts, the boys talk all about All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling May show "We Are Running Through" in Korakuen Hall. The show featured no championship matches, but did house two great midcard tag matches, two special singles matches and a hectic tag team main event pitting Akira Hokuto & Sakie Hasegawa against Gokumon-To's Bull Nakano & Bat Yoshinaga. While this could be considered one of the less notable shows for AJW in 1991, it still gave plenty of memorable points of interest for the boys to discuss. Please Enjoy! Follow VTG on Twitter: @VTGPod @XXIchiban (Dylan) @LWOSPRAlexR (Alex)

In the first episode of the new year, the VTG Boys talk about six AJW matches from January of 1991. More specifically, we cover the infamous Hair vs Hair match between Gokumon-To and Jungle Jack, an All-Pacific Championship defense by Manami Toyota, and two breakout performances from Akira Hokuto and Yumiko Hotta against Bull Nakano for the 3WA Championship. In just 45 minutes, we catch up you will all you need to know from the first month of what is set to be a big year for All Japan Woman's Professional Wrestling.

Please Enjoy!

Follow VTG on Twitter:
@VTGPod
@XXIchiban (Dylan)
@LWOSPRAlexR (Alex)

In the sixth episode of the VTG Podcast, Dylan & Alex talk about Aja Kong vs Bull Nakano in a Saitama Cage Match, Mitsuko Nishiwaki's retirement match against fellow Fire Jet Yumiko Hotta, and the forgotten member of the Class of '85, Grizzly Iwamoto. After that, two JWP offerings came from the "Best Singles Matches of JWP 1990" that Dylan searched the internet to find last minute to complete this episode. With competitors like Miss A (Dynamite Kansai), Mayumi Ozaki and Devil Masami, these matches personified the JWP style of the time, a topic our hosts talked in detail about near the end of the show. Please Enjoy! Follow VTG on Twitter: @VTGPod @XXIchiban (Dylan) @LWOSPRAlexR (Alex)

In this episode of the Victory Through Guts Podcast, Alex & Dylan recount the 1990 Japan Grand Prix. The smallest tournament held by AJW, the 1990 GP only featured 7 competitors and was full of blunders and mishaps that made for a chaotic tournament and, as a result, a chaotic podcast. The show also featured Bat Yoshinaga, Aja Kong & Suzuka Minami in non-tournament matches, along with a tournament lineup featuring the likes of Yumiko Hotta, Akira Hokuto, Mitsuko Nishiwaki, and Manami Toyota. Please Enjoy! Follow VTG on Twitter: @VTGPod @XXIchiban (Dylan) @LWOSPRAlexR (Alex) 

In the second episode of the VTG Podcast, Dylan Murray and Alex Richards cover the AJW Classics Episode 38 that featured matches from 03.18.1990 and 05.13.1990. Matches included two 3WA Tag Team Title defenses by Akira Hokuto & Minami Suzuka AKA Marine Wolves, along with an incredible Hybrid Shoot Fight between Aja Kong and Medusa. We also dive into the expanded world of Joshi wrestling at the time with matches from both JWP and FMW to start the show. Please Enjoy! Follow Victory Through Guts: @VTGPod Follow Dylan: @XXIchiban Follow Alex: @LWOSPWAlexR

On the inaugural edition of the Victory Through Guts (VTG) Joshi Wrestling Podcast, Dylan (@XXIchiban) and Alex (@LWOSPWAlexR) review the first AJW show of the '90s. The show featured Dream Orca vs Akira Hokuto & Yumiko Hotta, as well as Bull Nakano's 3WA Championship victory on January 4th, 1990 in Korakeun Hall. Please enjoy!