Manami Toyota vs Emi Motokawa (AJW 10/10/1998)

[@OsQuinneOsGwynneOsRobynne]

Honestly, I really enjoyed this match a lot. Even 3 years into her career, Emi Sakura has more personality than 90% of wrestlers alive. Definitely not your typical AJW "every match is candidate for match of the decade" but fully of personality.

[@manjiimortal]

What an utter ugly mess of a match, and I can't even claim it was due to lack of familiarity, as per records I find, this was their 10th singles match, plus they had several tags against each other. Part of that might be because of the size difference, but Motokawa was being sloppy at points, and Toyota just looked like she couldn't give a toss about it at other points, so there were lots of awkward sequences and botched spots (the second to last for example, where Manami blew the timing of the powerbomb counter) to bring the match down. This is 1998 Toyota working against a lower-ranked opponent, and an outsider to boot, but I wasn't expecting it to be this bad.

[@duckmercy11]

I didn't think it was that bad, the finish was perfect. But yeah, Toyota rapidly diminished after 1995-6.

[@davidshuff8838]

Toyota took a beating throughout most of her career. High flying stunts and lots of near misses. I don’t know if she needed the money or she’s just addicted to fame. But I would’ve liked to seen her leave the sport in 95. She was one of the very best female wrestlers in the world in her prime. And she’s so beautiful. Don’t be too rough on her guys, she’s had a tough career.

[@IsaacGabriel-kh5ds]

​@@davidshuff8838Well said. Toyota was spectacular at her peak, but watching her gain weight and decline in agility was certainly unfortunate. Retirement in 1996 would have been ideal.

[@davidshuff8838]

@@IsaacGabriel-kh5ds Maybe she just had to have the money I don’t know. But I’ve watched so many of her matches from the early part of her career, she really was a great athlete. She was always a fan favorite and I think at one time she carried Japanese women’s wrestling on her back. I will always love Toyota.