Command Bolshoi: Send in the Clown, Volume 2 “2001 A Clown Odyssey”
One of my new favourite wrestlers over the last year is Command Bolshoi. She’s one of the all-time great technical wrestlers, a great flyer, a great brawler, and an ace of comedy matches.
On her YouTube channel, she is uploaded most of her JWP career! I thought it would be a great idea to review many of these, which I started on pro wrestling only. Volume 1 is on this very blog.
For the Greatest Wrestler Ever project I am focussed on ranking each year and currently, I am focussing on 2001, so here are all the 2001 Bolshoi matches I can find!
Command Bolshoi vs Azumi Hyuga
“JWP Openweight Championship”
JWP
February 18, 2001
Differ Ariake
Bolshoi came in as the champion and this was a great main event big title change! Bolshoi had the advantage in strikes and submissions, while Hyuga has the speed and flying advantage, so both tried to play to their strengths throughout the match. It was a great dynamic.
It’s amazing how often I find a new cool counter by Bolshoi in a match, this time coming off the ropes and looking to be hit by a powerbomb, but turned it into a triangle choke. Hyuga wasn’t to be out down in counters as later on Bolshoi went for a moonsualt, but ate two boots to the face for her trouble!
The last few minutes of Bolshoi trying to keep Hyuga down with the palm strike only for Hyuga to be in the ropes or to drop from exhaustion causing a miss was tremendous. When Bolshoi finally hit it, you thought it was over! Hyuga just had enough to barely kick out. After some tremendous nearfalls, Hyuga hit the Michonoku Driver to win the title.
Rating: 8.5/10
Command Bolshoi, Azumi Hyuga, Kayoko Haruyama, & Tsubasa Kuragaki
vs
Acute Sae, Kana Mizaki, Kaori Yoneyama, & Ran YuYu
JWP
April 20, 2001
There was a giant swing train and later on an airplane spin, so this match is a win. Lots of awesome spots, but this was pretty much a fun house show match.
Rating: Fun
Command Bolshoi vs Tsubasa Kuragaki
JWP Beauty
August 31, 2001
Itabashi Green Hall
This is an early version of this matchup that a few years later becomes magic. There are glimpses of that magic here, but this isn’t hitting their usual standard yet.
Rating: 6.75/10
Command Bolshoi & GAMI vs Azumi Hyuga & Kayoko Haruyama
“JWP Tag Team Champiosnhip”
JWP Flappers
September 10, 2001
Cinema Club
Weird note, this is shot from above the ring looking down. It’s an interesting perspective to watch a match on TV. Makes you feel like you are live.
Bolshoi and GAMI are a really good team. GAMI clearly makes Bolshoi work more like a heel and she’s great when she’s mean. Hyuga and Haruyama are a great face team to go against and take the titles from. The intensity of Bolshoi and GAMI really make this match.
Rating: 7/10
Command Bolshoi & Ran YuYu vs Azumi Hyuga & Kyoko Inoue
JWP Cannavaro
November 13, 2001
Cinema Club
This was an awesome high-action tag match. Everyone contributed great moments to this. Hyuga had the most time in the match and really shined through as a great talent. I did love Bolshoi’s interactions as she did something she always does, where she fits into the match and doesn’t try to overshadow others.
Rating: 8/10
Command Bolshoi vs Azumi Hyuga
JWP Cannavaro
November 21, 2001
Itabashi Green Hall
A great match that was mostly built around respect and trying to outwork the opponent on the mat and with submissions. That was all good, because both are awesome at that, especially Bolshoi. The match really picked up when then went to the floor and Bolshoi hit a vicious palm strike knocking Hyuga into chairs. Hyuga answered in kind relying on vicious knee strikes leading to a very exciting finish.
Rating: 8/10
Command Bolshoi vs Kayoko Haruyama
JWP
December 9, 2001
Differ Ariake
This was great! Haruyama attacks Bolshoi before the introductions and destroys her on the floor. The bulk of the match is Haruyama trying to put Bolshoi away, but Bolshoi was a tremendous babyface here. Her selling was tremendous and the kick outs were dramatic including bridging out of pins. She would also use kip-ups as hope spots.
When Bolshoi makes her comeback it’s awesome, including great moments on the ramp and brawling on the floor. When it gets back in the ring it’s intense and looks like it could go either way. The finish may have been a little anti-climactic, but I loved this.
Rating: 8.75/10
Command Bolshoi vs Kaori Yoneyama
JWP Beleza
December 18, 2001
Itabashi Green Hall
Yoneyama is less than two years into her career at this point and this is an opener that goes ten minutes, so your expectations can’t be too high. It’s really solid though and Bolshoi makes Yoneyama look like she can hang. The last couple of minutes really heats up.
Rating: solid
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Command Bolshoi: Send in the Clown
One of my new favourite wrestlers over the last year is Command Bolshoi. She’s one of the all-time great technical wrestlers, a great flyer, a great brawler, and an ace of comedy matches.
On her YouTube channel, she is uploaded most of her JWP career! I thought it would be a great idea to review many of these, which I started on pro wrestling only. Since I’m more focussed on writing here now I will continue that process. Now onto the reviews.
Command Bolshoi vs Leon
JWP Recapture in Shinjuku
“JWP Certified Openweight Championship Next Challenger Decision Battle”
October 25, 2015
Shinuku FACE
The first Command Bolshoi match, I can recall seeing, was against Leon from EVE. This takes place a few years before that, so revisiting this rivalry in JWP is a real treat.
Bolshoi may be the most perfect wrestler ever. In this match alone she combined amazing intense matwork and submissions with awesome flying, big suplexes, and vicious strikes.
The real highlight came from a segment with Leon on offence. First, she spears Bolshoi into the ropes, then from inside the ring to the outside, and finally from outside the ring into the apron. All nasty and well sold!
After the mat start, outside the ring middle, we enter the ring for the final act which has a lot of awesome flying and hard suplexes. Including a Northern Lights Bomb. Some of the nearfalls didn’t have the excitement you may have wanted, but none became excessive.
What a great way to get back into the series!
Rating: 7.75/10
Command Bolshoi vs Kaori Yoneyama
JWP Climax
December 24, 2012
Korakuen Hall
Bolshoi is wearing a very festive green and red costume for the holidays, so we are off to a great start.
It’s really cool to see a sprint that isn’t built on high spots, but instead built on hatred and wanting a quick destruction! In that vein we get Yoneyama hitting her really cool rolling german suplex during Bolshoi’s entrance.
There was an interesting sense of dread that someone was going to get injured in this one. There was a point, where they were both on the top rope, that made me very nervous. An odd feeling for two very safe veterans.
I want to point out how great Bolshoi’s fake drop to a knee to hit a palm strike dodge move is. Love it!
An awesome intense brawl with no down time that really felt like a fight for the finish. Another great match!
Rating: 8/10
Command Bolshoi & Rabbit Mito
vs
Kana & Makoto
JWP Itabashi Three Day Festival
May 3, 2015
Itabashi Green Hall
The YouTube description calls this the “Clown Showdown!” The highlight is seeing the two unique striking styles of Bolshoi and kana go at, but this match is just a solid tag. Nothing special here.
Rating: Solid
Command Bolshoi & Kaori Yoneyama
vs
Kayoko Haruyama & Tsubasa Kuragaki
JWP Climax
“Kayoko Haruyama Retirement Match 1”
December 27, 2015
Korakuen Hall
Yoneyama crying over the retirement, but still finding the time to do a sneaky stomp to the foot is such classic Yoneyama! What a legend.
Haruyama and Kuragaki have great chemistry as a team and we know Kuragaki and Bolshoi are unreal together, so this is a lot of fun. Kuragaki pulls out an one-armed gorilla press slam on Bolshoi, which is countered. I really need to sit down one day and watch every single match they have against each other!
This was a fun tag team match, but didn’t have the time or was designed to be anything more.
Rating: Fun
Command Bolshoi & Sawako Shimono
vs
Kagetsu & Leon
JWP Weekday in Tokyo
October 20, 2015
Asakusa Hanayashiki
The arena was dark with a spotlight on the ring. It was a weird production choice.
Shimono is someone I had never heard of before, she is a real bundle of energy with a cool look. I will look at her more in the future.
As discussed earlier, Leon and Bolshoi have some good chemistry, so the early matwork was a win in this one. The match really hit great levels when Kagetsu got in there. She brought a different energy to the match that put this over the edge. I would recommend this.
Rating: 7/10
It’s so nice to be watching Boslhoi again and exploring her channel.
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