Joshi Spotlight: GAEA Japan in Fall 1999

GAEA JAPAN IN FALL 1999:
* It’s time for more GAEA Japan! All the Zenjo content I found was concentrated in July & September, so now I’m back up to where GAEA was. And the first match is a BIG one- an 8-woman tag featuring Super Star Unit going up against Chigusa’s GAEA loyalists, with the added factor of Lioness Asuka’s new trainee, Sonoko Kato, shoring up the SSU side against her GAEA origins! This one ends up with big repercussions for GAEA as a whole with regards to the future of Super Star Unit- what was once the biggest heel stable in joshi pro!

Then we have a “600 Spurt” tournament of matches intended to be under 10 minutes- these are fluke-heavy sprints, so prepare to have expectations torn asunder! The finale has a big impact on what’s expected of GAEA in the future, I would think.

CHIGUSA NAGAYO, KAORU, TOSHIYO YAMADA & MEIKO SATOMURA vs. SUPER STAR UNIT (Lioness Asuka, Mima Shimoda, Etsuko Mita & Sonoko Kato):
(Sept. 22nd)
* Ohhhhhhhhhhh shit, this seems like a big one. Chigusa has been feuding with her ex-Crush Gals partner all year long, and Lioness recently took Chigusa’s second best trainee, Sonoko Kato, away! And now Kato’s teaming up with LCO & Asuka against the top four people still loyal to GAEA! Chigusa’s in black & red, KAORU white, Yamada xxxxxxxxxx and Meiko red, while Asuka’s in black & silver, Shimoda black & red, Mita black & yellow, and Kato blue.

We’re JIP with Asuka blocking a DVD from Chigusa and fighting her into a scorpion deathlock, then Kato works with her trainer. Chigusa is about to beat up the traitor but Asuka interferes, but Meiko pays that back with her own- Chigusa sets up Meiko’s frog splash, and the kids get into a spirited kickfight. Meiko was always pretty good at selling the “You TRAITOR!” stuff. Kato hits a cannonball and big Mita comes in, but when she tries a Super Electric Chair Drop, Meiko counters to an armbar in mid-air, requiring Shimoda to keep helping her partner, using a chair and assorted brawling to break stuff up. Mita finally hits a Blazing Chop & Powerbomb for two. Kato fails at interfering so Mita has to toss Shimoda a chair and this is getting increasingly sloppy without much flow and just “random stuff” happening. Yamada/Shimoda do a bit with Shimoda eating some great backdrop suplexes, hitting six in a row (!) with Shimoda doing a great roll off one shoulder so they look brutal, getting two. Yamada calls for Team GAEA to clear the ring for a finish, but gets shoved off so LCO can do their Assisted Somersault/Dive combo- Shimoda tries her Somersault Ax Kick but gets booted in the ass- Mita having to help her get an ax kick.

Asuka/Yamada go, Asuka braining her a couple times until eating the mandatory spinkick comeback, but she boots KAORU out of mid-air. KAORU keeps doing reversals and then dodges a lariat so Kato eats it, and hits a German & Brainbuster for two, Kato bolting in to save while LCO look disinterested (lol). KAORU moonsaults onto feet and gets German’d by Kato, but Meiko saves her from the “Painted Table” Asuka uses- Yamada ALSO runs in with some kicks, but Asuka hits a rolling kick on KAORU and Blue Thunder Bombs her for two. Ligerbomb gets two, broken by Yamada, and she directs Kato to hold off three women at once as she hits the Towerhacker Bomb (inverted fireman’s carry to ligerbomb)- Kato gets flung back into her. The camera is starting to focus on how little LCO are caring or getting involved. Powerbomb/Guillotine Legdrop fails when Kato misses her end, resulting in Meiko FINALLY coming in, but a Dragon Suplex hits her for two. Chigusa interferes, then Asuka, and Kato hits Kowloon’s Gate for two- GAEA saves. Asuka desperately tries to hold GAEA back as Kato tries another, but Meiko flips onto her feet and hits the Death Valley Driver for the pin at (12:12 of 21:36 shown), Asuka standing bewildered as AGAIN LCO didn’t help at all!

After the match, we get the fallout- Mita & Shimoda talk shit, then walk away (the intention is clear- Super Star Unit is dead). And then Nostradamus, the people who quit SSU, come out to rub salt in the wound, talking such smack that not only does Lioness try to charge them (Kato holding her back) but CHIGUSA does, too! And then… oh shit, Chigusa and Lioness actually stare at each other, showing discomfort but also like… thinking things out? Wondering how it all got to this point? Realizing they have a mutual enemy but wondering if they can trust each other?

Man, this was just ugly. I mean almost everyone here is terrific, but the match had no real flow and was just people running around, interfering, missing shit like nuts, etc. Several times interference when awry because somebody was off their mark or just plain whiffed, and people ran in at random to get in the way, too. The only real story seemed to be that Kato & Satomura were running all the interference for the most part, frequently running in to hit a move and then run back, or breaking up pins. This cements them as the “loyalists” of each group… especially as it becomes apparent that LCO aren’t putting any work into helping. Which is the whole story of the match, but it comes off like the match was pretty lazy until that point, many people just doing the bare minimum. Of course we also miss 10 minutes of it.

Rating: **1/4 (another pretty ugly “just okay” GAEA match with lots of moving parts and none of them moving in unison)

AJA KONG vs. SAKURA HIROTA:
(Sept. 22nd)
* It’s the GAEA singles champion vs. the comedy wrestler! Sakura, wearing a lovely fur coat (matching Aja’s 1950s husband robe), mimics Aja’s taunt before the match and has an oil can painted pink.

A perfect opening sees Sakura charge Aja full-tilt, immediately flattening herself trying a clothesline while Aja just shrugs it off. We get tons of comedy spots, like Sakura being tripped, having her face mangled, and takes bumps, then Aja hits a comically delayed suplex (featuring her DOING REPS) for two. Sakura actually gets her double-arm submission in a slick reversal of a suplex, but gets run head-first into the turnbuckle. Sakura keeps getting killed, but rolls away from the 2nd-rope splash and hits an uraken off the second rope for two, then grazes her with a Flying Ass and that has Aja stunned. Aja shoves her off and readies the Uraken, but Sakura puts the pink can over her head to defend- Aja swats her around and Backdrop Drivers her, but gets rolled up for two and Sakura punches her in the face after two backfists don’t do the job. This actually drops Aja, then Sakura tries the full Aja-style uraken with the face-slaps to start, but dizzies herself missing repeatedly and has to kick out of a pin. She manages an octopus stretch on Aja, who completely no-sells it and calmly just lifts her up, stretching the leg in a stretch muffler for the submission win at (10:18).

JESUS these Sakura comedy matches just suck the life out of me. I mean it’s all goofy fun but it’s always like TEN MINUTES and rarely clipped when the hard-fought matches get clipped to bits, haha. I just can’t do ten minutes of randomly-sold comedy wrestling. Aja’s probably the funniest wrestler in the business but it seems funny she’s doing the “has to struggle to kick out at 2.5” against a comedy goof she arbitrarily no-sells. Crowd loves it though, so fuck it. Comedy matches are non-continuity and accepted there, haha.

Rating: 1/2* (ages too long for a comedy match)

CHIGUSA NAGAYO & MEIKO SATOMURA vs. NOSTRADAMUS (Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki, w/ Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato):
(Oct. 2nd)
* Chigusa & her top student take on part of Nostradamus’s leadership in a really small hall show.

After a bit of JIP stuff, Nostradamus comes in for a four-way beatdown on Chigusa, posing on her. Chigusa manages the scorpion deathlock on Ozaki and Meiko puts Hokuto in a hold, and when Chikayo & Sugar hit the ring this time, the GAEA seconds haul them down and we have a quadruple stereo submission! Ozaki manages an armlock but nails Hokuto by accident, but Hokuto manages a plancha onto the GAEA team. Man you know it’s a house show when HOKUTO is being careful and not doing the full flip to the floor. Nostradamus use chairs on the floor and we’re clipped to DOUBLE JUICE from the babyfaces (on a show like this?). Meiko gets the Pele Kick into the DVD while Chigusa & Akira fight into the lighting guy’s gear, but the goons run in again. They fight off the GAEA ring girls and hold Meiko for a ton of short backfists followed by a big one into Ozaki’s Tequila Sunrise (tiger/dragon suplex) for the three at (5:32 of 16:36 shown). So basically 1/3 of a house show-ish show that nonetheless has double juice from the babyfaces and establishes more of the “impossible odds” against the heel squads.

Rating: N/A (really too hard to get a fair assessment of 1/3 of a match)

LIONESS ASUKA & SONOKO KATO vs. NOSTRADAMUS (Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki, w/ Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato):
(Oct. 3rd)
* This looks like the same arena as before, but the next night.

We’re JIP with a sloppy scrap on the floor, then Nostradamus do the “lure them into a flying attack” trick in the ring. Kato helps Asuka avoid the Tequila Sunrise but gets a table missile-kicked into her face then Asuka is dumped on top of her. Ozaki whips the table into her and she’s busted open when we’re clipped, and they grind away at the cut for ages, including a 4-person foot-press. Lioness is outraged on the apron, finally snagging Hokuto to come back, and a great bit seeks Akira flail like NUTS to avoid a Giant Swing, Asuka having to haul her over for Kato’s guillotine legdrop so she can complete the move. Flying stomp to a table draped over Hokuto! Then one from LIONESS (ouch)! Blue Thunder Bomb- Ozaki saves. Ligerbomb gets two. Kato can’t get her Dragon Suplex and gets beat on a ton- Ozaki repeatedly pulls her up after powerbombs and backfists Asuka using a chain, Hokuto following with her cannonball off the top. Chigusa herself gets involved in a melee on the floor as the chain keeps getting used, and Kato gets a quick Dragon Suplex in the ring for two. But Asuka is chained to the post, leaving Kato alone. Hokuto is stunned by her kicking out of two Dangerous Backdrops, then a powerbomb, and finally has to slaughter her with the Northern Lights Bomb at (9:39 of 11:22 shown).

A pretty hard-fought match, looking much like the previous one but in a fuller form. Kato was put over heavily by having her bloodied like nuts and then made to kick out of a numerous secondary moves and requiring Hokuto’s primary finisher- the crowd was getting into that by the end, despite the generally half-speed stuff prior. A later video’s comment suggests that Asuka was hurt here- she wears a neckbrace in the next video, allegedly because of Hokuto’s tope con hilo to the floor. It therefore explains oddities like Chigusa randomly getting involved and Asuka not factoring into the rest of the match. According to Cagematch, she misses 3 weeks after this, so maybe?

Rating: **1/2 (one of those “better than the usual house show but not quite truly great” bouts with a laser focus on Kato)

HIGH-SPURT 600 TOURNAMENT:
(Oct. 9th)
Block-A：Meiko Satomura、Kaori Nakayama、Sugar Sato、Toshiyo Yamada、KAORU、Chikayo Nagashima

-This, er, interestingly-named tournament is devoted to 600-second matches (ie. ten minute time-limits). It’s got the biggest stars plus lower-ranked wrestlers in it.

MEIKO SATOMURA vs. KAORI NAKAYAMA: We start off with high-ranked Meiko with low-ranked Nakayama, a Nostradamus goon from FMW. We’re clipped right away to Nakayama hitting a super rana for a close two, then a moonsault. She catches a kick with a capture suplex for two, then tries an exploder, counters a German reversal by landing on her feet, but eats the Pele kick. She nearly rolls Meiko up, but gets caught in the corner with a jujigatame and taps at (1:41 of 6:43 shown).
TOSHIYO YAMADA vs. SUGAR SATO: Yamada spinkicks Sugar in the head and finishes with the Reverse Gory Bomb at (0:26).
KAORU vs. CHIKAYO NAGASHIMA: Chikayo hits a ton of back suplexes and keeps going for a shoulder-mounted jujigatame-like thing, but KAORU eventually hits a Backlund Lift to stop her and hits two Michinoku Drivers for the pin at (1:34 shown).
MEIKO SATOMURA vs. TOSHIYO YAMADA: Meiko hits a quick DVD for two, then we’re clipped to her Pele kick. Another DVD out of a Gory Bomb, a Pele kick and three more DVDs finish at (1:11 of 4:44 shown).

(Oct. 10th)
Block-B：Mayumi Ozaki、Toshie Uematsu、RIE、Sonoko Kato、Akira Hokuto、Sakura Hirota、Chigusa Nagayo

MAYUMI OZAKI vs. TOSHIE UEMATSU: We just get clips of Ozaki dominating a bleeding Toshie, hitting a powerbomb, backfists and a Ligerbomb at (0:55 of 4:54 shown).
SONOKO KATO vs. RIE: Clips of random moves- RIE’s flying knee, Kato hitting a Guillotine Legdrop for two, then repeatedly trying Kowloon’s Gate before catching RIE with a Dragon Suplex at (1:19 of 5:53 shown).
MAYUMI OZAKI vs. SONOKO KATO: Ozaki hits a powerbomb, but Kato gets Kowloon’s Gate for a big two-count, then a Guillotine Legdrop to the back of the head. Clipped to Oz’s Fisherman’s Buster… but LIONESS ASUKA charges in, breaking up the pin and spewing RED MIST in Ozaki’s face! This distracts her enough for a Dragon Suplex to pin her at (1:36 of 6:01 shown), Kato getting the huge upset.

AKIRA HOKUTO vs. SAKURA HIROTA: Hirota comes out with “Hokuto” written on her shirt but dressed more like WCW’s Daffney than anything, complete with eyeshadow. She mimics Hokuto’s “clap on the top rope” thing and hits a backfist off Bret’s rope, but gets hauled into Stranglehold Gamma for the easy Hokuto win (1:26).

AKIRA HOKUTO vs. CHIGUSA NAGAYO: Chigusa gets attacked by the Nostradamus goons, but hits a DVD for two. Another gets the same, then Hokuto rolls her up a couple of times, but an ugly submission attempt leads to a tap-out from an armlock at (1:51 of 3:26 shown). Jobbing out Hokuto in 3 minutes? uh, okay.

BLOCK A:
KAORU vs. MEIKO SATOMURA: We’re JIP with KAORU working the leg repeatedly, then hits a Moonsault to the floor when Meiko tries her Super jujigatame, then a Brainbuster for two. KAORU escapes a few DVD attempts, one with a swinging inverted DDT, but Meiko turns La Majistral into one! KAORU escapes another and turns one into a submission hold (like a Rings of Saturn from her back), but Meiko rolls out backwards into a fireman’s and hits a third DVD for the win (4:00 of 6:59 shown)! Meiko’s now beaten two veterans!

BLOCK B:
CHIGUSA NAGAYO vs. SONOKO KATO: Chigusa responds to a before-the-bell attack with her Over-The-Shoulder Powerbomb finisher for two, then a lariat, and when Asuka spits blue mist into her own charge’s face by accident… Kato still blocks Chigusa’s attempt at a Pele kick and kneels on her for the win at (0:53)! Kato beats Chigusa!

Rating: 1/4* (okay that’s the entire match- just a minute’s worth but Chigusa hits some finisher-tier stuff and Kato blocks her one move with a surprise win. Obviously outta nowhere and it was KINDA clumsy but it’s okay)

FINAL MATCH:
MEIKO SATOMURA vs. SONOKO KATO:
(Oct. 11th)

Kato hits a cannonball right away, but Meiko dominates with several minutes of chain-wrestling into various holds, ending up with a bodyscissors and trying various arm stuff. Kato gets out and they just start smashing each other, but Meiko hits her windmill elbow and blasts Kato repeatedly when she attempts to counter. Kato finally gets some kicks and her running bulldog, but loses a strikewar and has to catch Meiko up top with the Super Kamikaze Bomb (rolling fireman’s off the top). A series of counters sees Kato with a German but Meiko transitions to a Fujiwara armbar. She runs into a head kick but keeps countering the Dragon Suplex, but turns Kowloon’s Gate into the Pele Kick for two. Meiko gets stunned by a kick out of a DVD attempt but dodges a Guillotine Legdrop, but sadly their exhaustion and fast pace results in the Super Jujigatame being botched and so the second attempt isn’t really over. Kato escapes, but ends up in a regular juji trying the Gate again, fighting a while before getting her arm crushed. A couple head kicks buy her some time as they’re just putting their all into the shots, and she gets the Guillotine for two, the Dragon Suplex for a CLOSE two, and… ends up Pele’d and DVD’d for two. Meiko calls for the finish, but Kato uses plain-ol’ HEADBUTTS to escape another DVD, fires off a head-kick, then counters a Meiko head-kick and fires off a pair of Lioness Asuka rolling kicks that stun her for another Dragon Suplex, and THAT gets the pin at (11:14). Kato wins the tournament!

A very, very hard-worked match with two tired-looking girls going all-out. They’ve worked together so much it’s always pretty smooth sailing, but we’ve also kinda SEEN IT a lot with them so it’s hard to get excited about their 900th bout. I liked how they would do the classics- fight for your big moves to start, fail, then pay those off later so the fans will bite on them harder. Meiko hitting near-full jujis for near-falls is funny when everyone else treats those like insta-kill submissions, but you can buy it with her weaker execution, I guess (she’s often just writhing around and has a weird angle at her opponents). I liked the story of Kato relying on a Lioness technique to win the match- the rolling kicks are hardly the biggest moves, but they’re a quick, reliable counter to a standing opponent and they set Meiko up for the proper finish.

Rating: ***1/2 (a good, dramatic match)

This means that Meiko Satomura, a 5-year vet now, beats Yamada & KAORU, two established veterans, all to set up Kato beating her. As Meiko had challenged for the AAAW World Title months earlier in her best match ever, and is thus much higher up than Kato, this match re-establishes them as rivals AND shows what Kato has learned from her senpai, Lioness. Particularly using her own moves to win the bout. So Meiko gets put over by two vets, mostly to put over Kato. Granted these “600 Spurt” tournament things often have flukes and so the fans don’t pop for them as much as you might expect, and we saw both Hokuto & Chigusa go down to what were TOTAL flukes, but it’s good enough.