Before Stephanie McMahon revolutionised women’s wrestling (or at least that’s what WWE has programmed me to think), you’d rarely see substantial women’s traditional elimination matches at Survivor Series. Now, the women are given ample time to show they are just as good as, if not better, than the men. At Survivor Series 1995, the women were barely given ten minutes in their four on four elimination match. However, bolstered with talent from the (legitimately) revolutionary All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling, the women made the most out of their limited time.
In the late 1980s/early to mid-1990s, All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling (AJW) was ahead of its time. These female wrestlers were putting on matches that would put some modern epic matches to shame. In 1995, WWE struck an agreement with AJW in 1995, and for a few weeks some key wrestlers from AJW were featured on Monday Night Raw. The then-current WWE Women’s Champion, Alundra Blayze, roped some of AJW’s wrestlers into her feud against Big Bertha (and Bertha did the same). Conveniently, this was just before Survivor Series, so a traditional four on four elimination match was booked involving the two teams.
Just remember, this is only a taste of what AJW was all about (and what Alundra Blayze could do, as a matter of fact). These women know they only have a limited time to show the West how things are done in the East, so out of the window goes selling and storytelling (apart from the closing minutes). But get ready to feast your eyes on a dazzling array of high-risk moves and high-flying strikes that made the male wrestlers look like amatuers.
This event is remembered more for the cracking main event between Bret Hart and Diesel for the WWF Championship. But you can spare ten minutes to watch this traditional Survivor Series bout, a showcase of women wrestlers that were lightyears ahead of everyone at the time. It’s a shame it’s such a short bout, but it’ll leave you wanting to see more of the women of AJW. And that is a bloody good thing!
Hammy’s Rating: *** (out of 5)
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