Joshi Spotlight: GAEA Japan in August (World & Tag Title Defenses)

GAEA JAPAN IN AUGUST 1998:
* Here’s more GAEA Japan! And the entire thing but the first match is from an August 23rd show that sees both the AAAW World & Tag Team Titles up for grabs! It’s JWP’s Devil Masami defending against Chigusa Nagayo, primary star and booker of GAEA, and the tag titles are defended by GAEA First Class members Sugar & Chikayo against their mentor Mayumi Ozaki, and ARSION’s Aja Kong! A main event squad against two kids? Uh-oh. Plus it’s a LONG Meiko Satomura/Sonoko Kato match, as GAEA tries another “New Idea” in a series of them that they’ve been doing all year!

CHIGUSA NAGAYO & TOSHIE UEMATSU vs. OZ ACADEMY (Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima):
(Aug. 10th)
* Ozaki’s brats take on the boss and the boss and one of their classmates, the struggling Uematsu. Chigusa’s in yellow/black/blue, Toshie’s in green & white, Sugar’s in white & Chikayo’s in yellow & blue.

We’re JIP with Toshie using a chair but it quickly gets it taken away and used on her, but CHIGUSA uses the chair now, only for Sugar to dodge and beat on the boss. Okay so chairshots mean nothing now, lol. Toshie & Sugar scrap, but Toshie takes a massive bump on a missile kick miss. Chigusa & Toshie do a double-team stomachbuster on Chikayo for two, but Toshie missile kicks her partner and gets German’d. Chikayo Flying Stomps Chigusa, then Germans her after avoiding the running powerbomb- great form, there. Sugar with the Sit-Out Powerbomb on the increasingly-tired Chigusa, but the Double Missile Dropkick (Sugar misses) causes the GAEA NO-SELL and they get lariated down. Backdrop Driver/flying splash sets up Toshie’s running knee for two on Sugar, and it’s another GOO PUNCH/URAKEN face-off, as Toshie lands the straight right to the face, and Chikayo flies off the top rope to break the pin. Chigusa comes in and a lariat/Northern Lights combo nearly gets her- Chikayo dives in again. A shitty double-powerbomb gets two, but Sugar nails an uraken on a cheering Toshie. Her Ligerbomb is countered with a rollout that they butcher, and Sugar has to hit two more urakens into the Sit-Out Powerbomb for the pin at (8:16 of 13:27 shown) as Chigusa desperately tries to make it over, but gets held back.

Kind of “a bunch of stuff” as they run around and randomly interfere without having much of a flow to the match, which is a recurring GAEA thing as they get more experience (which… is weird- you’d think that would IMPROVE). They got into some okay stuff with the work on Toshie, but then they butchered the reversal of the powerbomb (Toshie was supposed to sunset flip out, but SLAMMED into the ground and even though Sugar “stumbled back” to save it, then ended up in a tangle). But Sugar picks up another win as she gains credibility over her classmates. Toshie is definitely struggling in wins and in the ring, though.

Rating: ** (not great for the most part, but some okay stuff)

TOSHIE UEMATSU & MAIKO MATSUMOTO vs. RINA ISHII & SAKURA HIROTA:
(Aug. 23rd)
* Rookie Mayhem! Rookie powerhouse Maiko teams up with Toshie against Rina (another Second Generation GAEA girl) and Sakura the comedy wrestler/rising starlet. Toshie’s in green, Maiko black/yellow, Rina orange & Sakura pink.

Sakura uses her ass-based offense to batter Maiko, and Rina tries a cartwheel handspring but gets caught in a near-hangman’s choke. Maiko CRUSHES her with a missile kick to the back, and a guillotine legdrop (!) gets two. Toshie assists an atomic drop by coming off the top holding Rina’s legs, then throws Rina back-first onto Maiko’s knee. Backbreaker & Saito Suplex get the “Fuck YOU!” bridge from Rina, and she gets a rana after a bunch of double-team attempts. Sakura gets the tag, but Flying Asses her own partner and Maiko helicopters her around by the hair- Sakura avoids a Doomsday Device and gets an ugly dragon sleeper, but Toshie missile kicks her & Rina and Maiko’s mountain bomb gets two. Toshie with the Goo Punch but her Northern Lights is reversed for two, and Rina hits a MASSIVE flying senton that pops the entire crowd, and Sakura adding a flying splash- Maiko saves. A bloody-lipped Sakura urakens Toshie for two as Maiko powerbombs Rina, but Rina gets pulled off the apron and Sakura nearly pins Toshie but fails to follow-up, and is finally caught with a Norther Lights Suplex at (8:43 of 19:44 shown). Man, that was LONG.

This was more spirited than good, with the rookies going all-out and Rina in particular being very impressive on defense and offense, taking a lot of bumps and then showing some moves far in excess of her experience. Maiko also didn’t do badly. The other two were more sloppy, but this was a really long match so I can see why.

Rating: ** (another basic early match with a lot of frenetic stuff, but good stuff from Rina)

MEIKO SATOMURA vs. SONOKO KATO:
* The two most-pushed stars of GAEA’s First Class! Months ago, they were in the AAAW Tag Contender tournament and were so fighty during their partnership that at one point Kato humiliated Meiko by pinning their opponent while Meiko was standing on the top rope waiting to do a double-team, so they have some issues. Meiko’s in red & Sonoko’s in blue.

And Kato Germans Meiko in the ribbons before the bell to start! Then hits her apron cannonball and waits her out- the each try finishers (dragon suplex/armbar) but it turns into a kick-war, Meiko winning with a Pele kick. They move slowly, hesitant to lock up, and grinding stuff on as they do matwork- we’re clipped to Meiko hitting her windmill elbow off the apron, but Kato goes for the Super Fireman’s attack only to get iron clawed on the top rope! Kato gets her legs up on a frog splash and works the gut, but takes a leghold, only to kick Meiko RIGHT in the head, but she no-sells it (god damn it) and they just roll around doing stuff. Meiko tries her Super Cross-Armbreaker but gets electric chair dropped and the guillotine legdrop gets two. Meiko catches her with a long armbar, and we’re soon clipped to 18 minutes in, Kato hitting stuff off the apron but Meiko cross-arms her out THERE. Meiko hits the European uppercut but gets caught with the Super Fireman’s Roll for two. She keeps fighting for the Dragon Suplex but gets caught in a NASTY armhold and that’s the closest call yet.

Both girls are exhausted, and Meiko charges in and gets caught with that Dragon Suplex for two. Kato is AGHAST, and tries to pick up a dead Meiko repeatedly for another, but they get into a sweaty strike-war, Meiko catching her with a snap Death Valley Driver. They “can’t get each other up”, fight on the ground, and both “collapse” on a whip to put over their exhaustion (the acting here is so overwrought), then spend minutes trying to fight each other into their finishers, being very “sloppy” with them (probably on purpose). Meiko throws on the worst cross-armbreaker ever, actually arbitrarily swinging her legs up and down to show “effort” or something- it’s not really over. It doesn’t work, nor does another Eurocutt, and Kato recovers and German Suplexes her for two. They fight and fight, hitting “strikes” and immediately falling over, and ultimately can’t get anything before (21:40 of 30:00 shown) is up- Time Limit Draw! But they clasp hands on the mat to end it, drawing some applause.

A REALLY long, hard-fought match, but it had a lot of issues- it was a deliberate attempt to go long and “show exhaustion”, but that meant they got tired and sloppy. They also worked and worked to get their finishers over… but did them HALF WAY IN, getting two-counts, meaning they were obviously not that big a deal, right? Weird stuff like working limbs repeatedly but then just moving on and that stuff gets ignored. They were selling their exhaustion by the end, and that was interesting but also felt… un-earned? Like it was a pretty standard-issue match! Long, sure, but it felt more like the boss told them “sell it like you’re dying due to being tired, but don’t actually blow yourselves up”. Except they got so sloppy it’s hard to tell if they’re doing that to “show sloppiness from the match” or actually just crappy offense, haha. Which is probably why most wrestlers don’t try shit like that. Though I think a bigger issue was their overwrought acting of “I’m TIRED!”- like it’s TOO MUCH and they’re not exactly subtle in there, just over-acting their tiredness. The match is impressive cardio-wise, but not really interesting (save the new “trying new thing” of being sloppy on purpose) and mostly skippable.

Rating: **1/4 (MEH. Not my type of match. Overwrought acting and such. Too long)

KAORU vs. TOSHIYO YAMADA:
* Again with these two? KAORU’s in purple and Yamada’s in red & black- Chigusa’s colors.

We’re JIP with KAORU hitting moonsaults off the middle rope to the floor, then pulling down the guardrail for some reason and trying an Asai moonsault but just getting kicked. Yamada fires off three Backdrop Drivers, which KAORU just stands up from (oh god dammit) and Michinoku Drivers her for a double-down. She’s up first, but whips Yamada and gets spinkicked, but they counter each other, then KAORU backflips off the top rope and Michinoku Drivers her again for two. She then SWIPES YAMADA’S FINISHER, hitting the Diving Brain Kick and just stands there taunting, and they do an ugly counter-routine of finishers until Yamada actually hits her Reverse Gory Bomb for once (actually just doing the electric chair drop version instead of the Tomikaze/Unprettier set-up) at (4:30 of 16:58 shown). Man, they ran it for THAT LONG?

Rating: 1/2* (hard to really rate, but what we got was more damn finisher pop-ups and KAORU spamming moonsaults, then some ugly counters- not good)

AAAW WORLD TITLE:
DEVIL MASAMI vs. CHIGUSA NAGAYO:
* It’s the main event for GAEA’s top title! Chigusa vs. Devil! They’ve had matches of varying quality over the past couple years, but have both gotten a lot sloppier with time, so I’m unsure what to expect here. Chigusa of course won a tournament to challenge for the belt. Chigusa’s in yellow & blue, Devil’s in black. Long, unsure staredown into the handshake before the match, a hesitant break… and Chigusa dashes out with a lariat before the bell.

Chigusa goes to work, but they’re quickly at a stalemate after Devil’s lariat. A fierce lockup and matwork have them still even, and they do a LONG fight into Devil hitting a chokeslam to a pop four minutes in. But Chigusa manages a wheel kick when Devil tries to follow up, then whips her off the top only to end up in the GAEA MDK Sleeper. She makes the ropes and throws a big kick, then gets a piledriver after Devil reverses the first time- Devil trips her up and fires lariats, and they both try to sleeperhold the other until they fight to the apron, where Chigusa fires lariats of her own and puts Devil up top so she can hit the Running Razor’s Edge for two. Death Valley Driver gets two and she goes up for the Brian Knobs elbowdrop, but Devil does the “Gaea finisher no-sell” and sleepers her again! The crowd reacted at first but pretty soon the whole hard cam side is sitting there blankly.

Chigusa makes the ropes and Devil starts throwing weird flailing kicks and lariats her over the ropes in an ugly “that Royal Rumble thing where the person doesn’t go out all the way but has to force themselves over” sorta deal. Chigusa does the “GAEA no-sell” of a superduperplex but stumbles into a Samoan drop and takes the Flying Cannonball for two. Now DEVIL hits the DVD, Chigusa bridging out but looking like she’s fading fast, and the crowd freaks out. But Devil tries a tiger driver-like thing and lets go all sloppy-like, losing Chigusa’s weight, and Chigusa awkwardly rolls onto her back with a bad camel clutch before switching to a bulldog choke, Devil making a lot of “I’m choking” faces… and actually collapses. And THAT’S IT! Chigusa wins the AAAW Title at (14:17)! Sudden come-from-behind victory after taking a huge beating for the whole back half. Once Devil’s awakened she’s all laughs and shakes hands with Chigusa like old pals

They were going for “Epic Encounter of Legends” here, and man they did NOT really hit that level. Devil always had the character work to back up any potential physical deficiencies (though from 1992-95 she really had none) but here they just kinda came off as a couple of lummoxes, milking every move so that it would look more epic than it really was. And what it really was was a fairly clumsy contest of spammed lariats and sleeperholds cuz those are the easiest moves to do. It’s interesting how they handle gaining weight or being hurt, because Aja Kong is heavier than either and a GOAT because she is still athletic and fights “Monster Style” more than they did- they seem like they can’t adapt as well. And it’s still weird because Devil plays to the cheap seats better than maybe anyone ever and Chigusa’s a master of selling, so they SHOULD easily be on Aja’s level, but it was mostly “they bullrush each other, keep going for sleepers, then Chigusa eats a bunch of moves in a row before scoring a last-ditch escape”. They’re big enough stars and can sell well enough (especially Chigusa) that the fans were still kinda into it by the end, though.

Rating: ** (not great- two legends like this in a World Title match and it’s barely taking advantage of their gifts)

AAAW TAG TEAM TITLES:
OZ ACADEMY (Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima) vs. AJA KONG & MAYUMI OZAKI:
* Aja & Ozaki won that tournament to become the challengers. Interestingly, Ozaki is the mentor and stable-boss of the Tag Champions, giving this a lot more edge. Though on paper her team is so ridiculously overpowered this can’t possibly have any drama to it, can it?

We’re JIP with Sugar doing her best against Aja, hitting her machine-gun knees and a bulldog to escape the Backdrop Driver, her legs smeared with Aja’s facepaint. She tries a piledriver (WHAT) and goes up, flying into a kick, but latches on at the landing to try and twist Aja’s leg. Aja blows it off, but ends up walking right into the dragon screw and Chikayo stomps her off the top rope! Sugar tries the piledriver again but just TRUCKS Aja down with the uraken backfist and HOLY CRAP what a selljob by Aja- she just got mowed down by that one by crashing down sideways. Off her own move! Aja gets a last-ditch kickout but avoids a rocket launcher, only to end up in Chikayo’s Bridging German! Then Aja’s tricked into nailing her own partner and the kids come swinging with chairs, putting the main eventers on their asses!

Chikayo stomps Aja all the way from the top to the floor, then do a Rocket Launcher Flying Stomp (flipping Chikayo down vertically) and Ozaki has to save, then finally nails Chikayo so Aja can backdrop drive her for two in a bridging kickout. But Ozaki ends up taking Aja’s oil can to the head and turning around into an uraken from Sugar and a Fisherman’s Buster gets two- Aja saves! The kids sense victory, but Sugar tries to powerbomb Chikayo onto Ozaki and that misses, and a hideous powerbomb (Oz nearly killing Chikayo by dropping her) gets two. But Aja finally cheats successfully and superplexes Ozaki onto Sugar for two, putting her in trouble, so Chikayo Germans Ozaki and Sugar thrice urakens her, holds Ozaki… then dodges Aja’s uraken so Ozaki gets her head blasted off! Sugar with the Ligerbombbbbbbbbbb- Aja (with Chikayo on her back) splashes the pile! Hilariously the kids just double-team Aja to prevent her from doing it again, Sugar clubbing her with a ton of urakens to force her down and Chikayo following with a dive, but Ozaki wins an uraken fight in the ring and scores her own Ligerbomb for two. But then she lands the mother of all Tequila Sunrises, spiking Sugar right on the back of her neck, and that’s the three at (6:52 of 12:02 shown).

Jesus Christ.

New champions! Aw, the Champs were doing so well, but they couldn’t deal with the Ozaki Last-Minute Victory push and their attempts to stop Aja just left Sugar alone with a superior opponent.

haha okay what a performance from Aja- too bad it’s clipped, because she was going all-out in making the rookies look good. Letting tiny-ass Sugar Sato completely level her with an URAKEN of all things, then acting befuddled, stunned and more against the spirited nature of her younger opponents. Then Ozaki starts doing similar things- the match being such a mismatch on paper that they let the kids do all this cool stuff to them to add drama. And it was fanstastically-choreographed, too- being a total GAEA Sprint but with the kids scoring move after move and even undoing all the veterans’ double-teams so they had them on their toes all match long. Aja couldn’t get ANYTHING done, so Ozaki had to pull out her “No Job” superpowers, because it looks like she just arbitrarily recovered and started firing off huge moves to win.

Rating: ***1/4 (fun by GAEA Sprint standards, but still the back half of the match)

So overall, it’s not the BEST show- most of the matches aren’t great. Devil/Chigusa for the title in particular is very disappointing, sloppy, and fails to take advantage of their character work and just spams the same couple of moves. Meiko & Sonoko are the two most pushed kids of Class of 1995 and they get thirty minutes, but it’s just too overwrought. The tag match was fun but we only got half of it.

This is a big example of GAEA trying “new things”, though- we’ve recently had a match where two wrestlers no-sell every finisher the other throws, and we see bits of that here as that finds its way into most of the matches between veterans (which is REALLY BAD). They also recently came up with the “GAEA Sprint” to cram in 20 minutes of work into 8-minute matches. And now there’s this “sell being SO TIRED” thing with that 30-minute draw. It’s… INVENTIVE, and it’s good to try new things, but maybe not all of THESE things.