Joshi Spotlight: GAEA Japan- Limit Break

GAEA JAPAN- LIMIT BREAK:
(April 29th)
* It’s time for a big GAEA show! this show pays off the Meiko Satomura/Akira Hokuto rivalry that sprung up, pushing the kid farther. Also of great interest is Chigusa Nagayo & Maeda Miyuki having one of the messiest, most business-exposing matches in wrestling! I’m also gonna do a thing where I try to read YouTube’s translations of commentary because I pick up some interesting stuff. I find that doing that means I start skipping action and reading (like watching subtitled anime, lol- I have the same issue where I stop WATCHING and just read), but occasionally I pick up some insight.

THE OPENING CEREMONY:
* Coming down to Detroit Rock City by KISS of all songs, they bring out the entire roster of the 2nd Generation Army, who now includes Kyoko Inoue I guess. Apparently KAORU is “The Hardcore Queen”. The Third Generation Army, the Crush Gals and their students, are next, but Sugar Sato sits it out on the floor because she’s injured. … and injured BIG-TIME, as I take a look at Cagematch and she doesn’t wrestle for an ENTIRE YEAR after winning the Tag Titles on the last show. Incredibly, they hold the AAAW belts for her & Chikayo until then (and spoiler alert- they lose them to D-Fix, haha).

CHIGUSA NAGAYO vs. MAEDA MIYUKI:
* OH MY GOD NO!!! It’s THIS match! I’ve actually seen this before, as it’s part of the infamous Miyuki story that started with ARSION. So Miyuki got an instant “Rookie Push” in ARSION because she came in tall, good-looking and athletic, and quickly got in bikini calendars and “holding my boobs” photos and whatever. BUT… she stank. She was not good. Like no rookie really is but she was particularly “uh, where do I go? What am I supposed to be doing here? What is selling again?”-level bad- a legit “Worst of All Time” contender and a PERFECT example of why wrestling rookies should be doing short, simple matches for the first year of their career. She had apparently started no-showing ARSION dates and they were gonna cut her loose, so they did some insanely bizarre angle where she came out in street clothes and did a “real fight” with Michiko Omukai, then quit ARSION (ie. she was probably told she was fired- no idea why they did this weird “Worked Shoot” angle other than to draw interest). So she was set to be this forgotten weird story… but then CHIGUSA brought her in. Maybe to add some notoriety to GAEA from whatever attention that got, or maybe to go “hey, a tall, good-looking rookie- maybe my superior GAEA training could fix what Aja & Yoshida couldn’t do”. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand let’s see.

This is treated as a shocker- commentary is like “AAAAHHH?!?” at her intro and she’s called her real name instead of Ryo Miyuki. “This match wasn’t on the schedule?”. They do the DRAMATIC LOCKUP to start, Miyuki actually pushing Chigusa all the way to the ropes, but Chigusa swings behind her for a schoolboy, Miyuki SPLATTING on the bump and sticking a leg up awkwardly. Chigusa throws on a headlock but gets shot off and they do no-sold shoulderblocks, Chigusa delighting in her new hire’s strength. Miyuki knocks her down on a third try and gets a loose short-arm lariat to put her against the ropes, and we’re looking good so far. Oh. Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. She literally stops five feet away out of hesitation and THEN tries to do a wheel kick, except she has no momentum now so just awkwardly turns around and falls on her ass. Crowd goes “ahhhhh”, as does commentary, who add “chotto” (ie. “a bit”, ie. “no that didn’t work”). Chigusa wisely doesn’t sell that, taunting her and asking her to do it again- Miyuki does it sorta correctly this time, grazing Chigusa with the kick when both are running.

Chigusa hits a European uppercut (Miyuki ALMOST sells too quickly) and they do mutual wheel kicks, both selling. Chigusa throws some kicks that Miyuki can at least sell correctly, then wheel kicks her down twice while Miyuki makes scowly faces at her. I think Chigusa literally yells the spot “HEEL KICK!” at her (maybe an intimidation thing in kayfabe, like “I’m so confident I’ll name my attacks”), scores a flush one, then holds her down (likely yelling at her to stay there) while Miyuki struggles, getting three at (2:34). Chigusa has this half-amused “jeeeesus” look on her face while Miyuki does the deep bow of supplication, smiles at her a bunch, then has an “Oh god did I just fuck up my entire career?” frown as Chigusa cuts an amused promo and they shake hands. Commentary is like “It was hinting at her as a potential future outfielder, but…” according to YouTube’s translator, likely “she might have been a new trainee/freelancer”. We will never see Miyuki in GAEA again. She heads over to new company DDT and wrestles periodically for a few months before leaving the business entirely.

Chigusa’s promo, translated by a reader: “Practice more. (crowd laughter). If you do it half-assed you’re gonna get hurt. It’s not for everyone… wherever you wrestle, people are waiting to see you get into the ring so I think that’s just “kejime”. thanks.” (“Kejime”: Doing what’s right, taking responsibility, or showing accountability. ie. people are spending money to see you, so put in more effort).

haha just a mess. That spot looked SO BAD as Miyuki either forgot what she was gonna do, or didn’t realize she was supposed to do it. Maybe she thought Chigusa was supposed to be running at her for the spot so stopped on a dime thinking the plan had changed? Because that’s what they do next. Was she supposd to do a lariat and forgot? In any case, Chigusa is a true pro, as you can see by her knowing how to handle that- WE could tell it didn’t hit, so she should act like it missed also- then taunt her to do it right and WILLINGLY take it. Then throw some kicks (probably easy to sell), then hit hte same move a couple times in a row and end it early before Miyuki exposes the business too bad.

Rating: DUD (only Chigusa prevented this from being an epic disaster)

AJA KONG & KAORU vs. DYNAMITE KANSAI & TOSHIYO YAMADA:
* The Second Generation Army is split up into two odd random teams- the AJW Class of 1986 vs. The Kick Demons- commentary even discusses how there “might be some nuance” to the matches after the Veterans vs. Students stuff started a year ago. Aja’s in red & black, KAORU’s in silver pants and a belly-shirt, Kansai’s in white & Green, and Yamada’s in white and more futuristic-type gear than her Flintstones stuff.

Aja & Kansai start slow as commentary brings up their old rivalry for the 3WA Title in Zenjo- Aja takes the lead with slaps and her chop/pose, and KAORU interferes to stop a comeback. Her boardsault misses but she intercepts a lariat with the board (“she’s been using it so long, it’s almost like part of her body”), then Aja does a ramp-run lariat… intercepted by Kansai’s! They build up a big second one… but KAORU interferes with her damn board and everyone seems disappointed, even Aja, lol. Yeah that was gonna be cool but she wants to do her SPOTZ- time for a Moonsault off the lighting truss to both demons! Kansai finally disarms her and throws kicks, then Yamada does her own. The board intercepts the Diving Brain Kick and a Brainbuster on it gets two. KAORU will not stop interrupting stuff with her board, so Aja comes in and eats some kicks, even getting floored by Yamada’s elbow. KAORU keeps running in with board attacks and even AJA shoves her over in frustration, as I sense this is the start of D-FIX here. Aja gets a big Brainbuster on Yamada for two.

Kansai runs in and nearly hits Splash Mountain on Aja, allowing Yamada to counter a charge with her spinkick. Aja & Kansai keep plastering each other with lariats and KAORU tosses Aja her oil can… but Aja ESCHEWS CHEATING, throwing it aside to applause! She settles for a backdrop driver, but Kansai rolls over her with a lariat- Aja counters a powerbomb but takes THE CLAW~~ up top and slowly hacks away at Aja with kicks and hits Splash Mountain for… 2.9, as KAORU fucks off to the ramp and won’t get involved anymore. She finally interferes so Aja can hit her flying back elbow for two on Kansai, but Aja gets sick of the board again, KAORU ignores her to smash away with it more and more… and Aja finally URAKENS her to knock her out! Aja swings away and finally tags Kansai with a weak uraken, but gets kicked in the head for two, then clocks Kansai again for the same. Aja finally prepares the UNGLOVED URAKEN, and this time YAMADA doesn’t step in, Aja pinning Kansai at (14:12) with no interference, just yelling “KANSAIIIII!”. KAORU runs in after the bell to smash the board over Aja’s head and crack the other two with it a bunch before abandoning them- she’s likely out of the 2nd Generation Army now.

Okay, KAORU’s “only using the board” offense was getting super annoying (it even ruined the ramp lariat spots!), but then that became the STORY, as Aja got sick of the interference and wanted to fight normally because that was fun and challenging, and it ended up splitting Aja/KAORU and she seems to piss off to form D-FIX with Ozaki in the future. The match was going along swimmingly without KAORU, Kansai & Kong hitting their reversals like old times (albeit slower), but KAORU’s interference being annoying in-universe kind of paid off and told the story they wanted to.

Rating: **1/2 (KAORU “ruining” the match ended up being kind of the story, and it mostly worked)

LIONESS ASUKA vs. KYOKO INOUE:
* These two warred all over the place a couple years prior when Neo Ladies & JD’ were both small indies fighting one another and trading their top belts. Now Kyoko is guesting in GAEA and they’re at it again! A sequel of sorts to the disappointing Crush vs. Aja/Kyoko match earlier in the month.

Kyoko is hesitant to trust Asuka during the pre-match hanshake but all’s well- she almost immediately hits her slingshot backsplash & DDT, but in a sad moment, just lets go of her Dancing Deathlock without doing the bridge. She can’t do it anymore! She uses her Mongolian chops & slugs Lioness down, but eats a face-full of green mist and a rolling kick puts her down. Lioness spams them & high kicks as it’s clear she got more mist on her than Kyoko did, and this is really slow-paced so far. Lioness barely runs into her table so it just sorta pokes at Kyoko, then powerbombs her to set up a top-rope thing, but Kyoko hucks it at her and superplexes her off. More slow-motion fighting outside the ring as a German is teased but it just leads to lobbing a row of chairs around. A long German fight ends with a pretty low-height backdrop suplex on the floor, but at least it led somewhere. Then FINALLY a big spot as Asuka hits a Flying Stomp through a table on the floor! Kyoko tries a comeback in the ring but takes the Iconoclasm for two, and the Towerhacker Bomb (inverted fireman’s to ligerbomb) gets the same. That means it’s time for a full minute of “set up the table spot”, but Kyoko shoves her off the top through it and hits a Niagara Driver for two. They do a slow fight and now Kyoko is FINALLY using her acting skills, and she fires off a quick lariat for two. She charges in with another but eats a high kick for two- now they’re doing last-ditch kickouts to EVERYTHING. Whip off the ropes and Kyoko screams in with a lariat/Ligerbomb for two. Asuka gets clubbed down and fed somethign by a second, avoids a Niagara Driver and sprays RED mist, but Kyoko is wise to it, ducks, and lariats her down struggling for the three at (12:27). Kyoko wins!

oh this was just SAD. Two of the GOAT wrestlers looking broken down and just plain SLOW as they went through their “greatest hits” for a match with almost no selling beyond the “lying down dead” one. Kyoko, one of the most theatrical sellers in the business, never once did her “pleading/desperation sell” to get the fans into it- she just ate moves and then would come back and quietly do her own. Watching one of the gods of fan interaction just slowly go through the motions was bizarre. And of course she pulls the selling back out for the last “three minutes that matter” as I type all that out, lol. SO basically it’s a ** match saved by some effort in the last couple minutes, even if they do the “indie match/both get over” thing where it’s just finisher spamming and 2.9 kickouts to “put each other over”. At least the finish uses some psychology as Kyoko dodges what had worked before.

Rating: **1/2 (kind of obviously lazy and broken down/slow for the longest time, then pulled out some effort with proper selling and counters, albeit predictable and slow compared to the old days)

CHIKAYO NAGASHIMA vs. DEVIL MASAMI:
* Operation: Get Chikayo Over continues as now SHE is getting her own “singular feud against a veteran”, calling out Devil directly for a single match! I unfortunately read too far ahead on the Quebrada notes and know how this ends, lol. I didn’t expect the note to be so immediate!

Devil snags a sleeper quick, but gets rana’d and Chikayo fights her to the ramp and flying stomps her out there. She tries a headlock for some reason so Devil just beats her up, but a powerbomb is turned into Chikayo’s upside-down hold in the ropes. She tries another, but Devil’s single arm is too tough, and when Chikayo grabs the hair, Devil swings her away using THAT, only for Chikayo to hit a Manami Roll into a rana for two. “When Nagashima loses composure and her attacks stop, that’s when she’s finished, I think”. Devil shrugs off a charge with a single knee- Ligerbomb gets two. Chikayo tries to no-sell, splats trying to counter a powerbomb, and Devil comes in with a lariat… and she’s down. She fucks up her left knee doing the move and is lying on her back unable to get up. She came in with a wide stance so I dunno if her ACL went or what. Time for EMERGENCY IMPROV as Devil is clearly in AGONY but Chikayo tries to lift her and they give up and work an armlock to waste time. Watching this is just sad- Devil attempts to work it and can stand, but stumbles a bunch and when she tries her “Triple Powerbomb” spot, has to move at 1/10 speed, then can’t flip Chikayo over off the first, then can’t go over for her rana reversal. THus exposing that it’s the person TAKING it that’s doing the work. Commentary puts over Chikayo’s honor in not targetting the knee as she fucks around with the arm again to explain why she isn’t doing the obvious. Poor Devil is left sobbing on the floor as trainers tape up her knee and people photograph her from feet away. After four minutes of this, she’s taped up and struggles on the floor, but pretty quickly they just give up- Chikayo shouts “I’m not happy to see her with legs like that!” and Devil wails as the ref finally mercy-kills the match at (14:21). Devil is WAILING and finally apologizes to the fans, saying “my body is… frustrating” and asks for a rematch in the future.

Rating: DUD (just a tragedy more than anything. I’ve never heard a wrestler SOB from an injury like that before. Never mind one as tough as Devil!)

RIP Devil’s 2001- she doesn’t wrestle again until April the NEXT year… just like poor Sugar Sato! GAEA’s card is looking like a disaster thus far.

AAAW WORLD TITLE:
MAYUMI OZAKI vs. CHIGUSA NAGAYO:
* A World Title match! Ozaki defends against the founder & head booker! This is actually a pretty big deal, as GAEA doesn’t run these kinda things a lot, and both are the top stars. Chigusa herself has a bad injury- her shoulder’s messed up and she has to go for surgery after this match (just what GAEA needs- more injuries and missed time!). lmao Ozaki is like “I don’t want to fight Satomura. I am looking for an opponent I can easily defend against, so I choose Nagayo” so she turns out Meiko’s title challenge and picks her senior and a veteran instead.

Ozaki spams backfists before the bell, but Chigusa shames her by demanding more, then catching one and spinning her around in a sleeperhold. Ozaki goes down to a regular sleeper, but after a powerbomb, snags that injured arm and twists away. She works the injured shoulder until Chigusa elbows free with her free hand and throws a jab combo (“You know, in America a lot of men use punches like that, but not women”). Running Release Powerbomb, then she pulls Oz up- Ligerbomb gets two. Ozaki gets swung up but hits her “perch on them with an armlock” submission on the injured shoulder, but Chigusa swings her into a spinning Samoan drop, bridging up for two, but Oz threads that into a Rings of Saturn from the back. She keeps tearing away at the arm, but Chigusa no-sells and hits a backdrop driver for two. Pump Kick outta nowhere gets two! She’s pulling out some unique stuff in this one. Chigusa goes to finish with her Razor’s Edge… but collapses because of the arm! And Ozaki immediately pounces with lethal-looking “just grab the arm and jam it upwards as hard as you can” submissions- Chigusa makes hte ropes once, but Oz drags her mid-ring and locks the other hand with her free foot and Chigusa has nowhere to go, giving up at (6:14). GAEA Sprint! Better yet, Ozaki won’t release after the bell and has to be pried off by Chigusa’s students, then flips off the crowd for beating their hero. The students perform in-ring medical intervention while Chigusa stomps her feet, and Aja gets taunted by Ozaki on the mic.

Actually good for what it was, which was a 6-minute “swing for the fences” match where they tried to kill each other immediately and had focused attacks. Chigusa pulling out brand-new offense was clever, as it made it look like she was tricking Ozaki with stuff, but Oz’s attacks were too consistent and focused and eventually Chigusa had nowhere to go. Given how sloppy Ozaki matches have become, I’m a bit delighted to see this, but of course it was short enough to avoid that kind of issue, haha. Turns out the secret to a “Good Ozaki Match” is doing a 6-minute focused attack bout! Though it still wasn’t EXCELLENT- Chigusa’s selling has been reduced to “kneeling over while holding the shoulder” and “randomly ignore that offense to try more”, but at least she failed at toughing it out in the end and fell to a hold.

Rating: **1/2 (one of the better singles matches from both, recently, helped by having such a precise focus)

MEIKO SATOMURA vs. AKIRA HOKUTO:
* It’s here at last! Meiko/Akira was one of the big solo matches from the post-2000 period that we all watched on Late Night Selfish Joshi Watchalongs in the night threads all those years ago. We watched two and loved them both, and now I finally get to assess it. This is particularly interesting because Hokuto’s GAEA run has NOT been great. It’s largely been half-assed matches, a long period of time off for injury, then returning for more half-assed matches where she’s obviously hurting and can’t give it her all. VERY few solo matches, too- and certainly nothing long enough to be impressive. She’s been used very much like a part-timer who mostly wants (or can only do) tags. But now it’s a big-time SOLO MATCH, and few people have ever had the character or instincts of Hokuto. Meiko comes out looking actually nervous- her usual tons of confidence now much more reserved. Like she knows what we know. The bit where she walks out slowly, then stalls 30 feet from the ring looking nervous as hell is perfect, and then to make it better, she comes into the ring and SCREAMS in Hokuto’s face. And we KNOW that this is less “I’m convincing Hokuto I’m good enough to beat her” and more “I’m trying to convince MYSELF I’m good enough to beat her”. Hokuto’s smug little “lol, ‘k” look at the child is dead-on.

Sadly, reactions before the match are more “polite clapping” than “going nuts for Satomura”, even after Meiko’s gone through all the veterans she could- Yamada, Devil Masami, and recently Dynamite Kansai in a BIG way. Hokuto is her greatest threat yet.

Both have the same idea to turn the pre-match handshake into a slap, but Meiko puts on the turbo mode with kickspam- Hokuto blocks the Pele Kick but keeps getting peppered so has to paintbrush the shit out of Meiko to stop her assault, and fires up in an extra-pissy mood and hits her with her own finisher, the DVD, then tries Stranglehold Gamma but Meiko scurries away. Meiko gets a miracle German but gets slapped down again, Hokuto now selling her back as she fires off more slaps to keep Meiko down. But it doesn’t work, as a Pele Kick beans her right in the head, Hokuto’s selling making it look like a mega-potato. Meiko spams more kicks to the head to buy time to recover, but Hokuto hauls her down from a DVD and has to be battered with European uppercuts and the windmill elbow- Meiko still has her on the backfoot all match long so far. Akira yanks her off the top by the HAIR, but in a great bit Meiko does the same thing to HER, then they do it two more times until Meiko Pele Kicks her on the top rope! But she tries a flying elbow and Hokuto nearly tears her arm off by cranking the shit out of a Fujiwara armbar, then cruelly whips her to the floor by her arm, where a teary Meiko gets her arm attended to. In a show with two debilitating injury finishes, no less (one for a shoot!). Meiko holding the arm like it’s palsied and being unable to easily get into the ring cuz she can’t use it is pretty high-level stuff. Hokuto wisely just waits her out because she’s a veteran and Meiko’s been pressing her a lot, and a DRAMATIC slugfest breaks out with Meiko throwing low kicks and Hokuto more slaps, Meiko finally using the injured arm to slap Hokuto down!

Meiko still grimaces as she holds that arm, but pulls Hokuto up and keeps trying submissions, Hokuto slipping out each time and tearing at her knee- Meiko counters a Scorpion Deathlock with her own but Hokuto effortlessly pulls her into an STF (you can see Meiko relinquish each hold to allow this), making sure to snag the arm a bunch. Meiko escapes the Dangerous Queen Bomb with a Pele Kick so weak Hokuto ignores it and starts potatoing her with boots to buy herself more time. Meiko finally worn down enough, Hokuto works those Zenjo-style missile dropkicks and the DQ Bomb. Stranglehold Gamma! Wrong arm, though. Meiko fights free at last and manages a snap-DVD counter, and finally stops Akira’s counters and catches her the same hold herself. Both have F’d up arms, now. Meiko lands a Northern Lights suplex for two after a breather for both, then a German, but a Frog Splash eats feet and Hokuto brings her insane Head-Spike Backdrop out of the mothballs for a close two! Hokuto pounds the mat in frustration and lands another dangerous backdrop for two. Deflated at that, Hokuto’s left doing her transition move spinkick and Meiko bridges out, and now starts fighting up- she kicks Akira straight through the uprights (… ow) and swipes her head off with a kick, leaving her slumped over and glassy-eyed. Meiko carefully waits her out, but Hokuto has the awareness to dodge a Pele Kick, and in a GREAT bit, slaps her down, has to do it again, then a THIRD time, then paintbrushes her for two, only for Meiko to kick out at “1”, boot her in the face, and Hokuto herself kicks out at “1” and slaps her AGAIN for two, and Meiko punts her in the mouth and both are down. Crowd is loving the nearfalls here and it’s off such simple shit.

Both are slumped on their knees and can only push their heads into one another and throw limp strikes- Meiko rolls to the floor from the persistence and it’s the TOPE CON HILO from Akira, but Meiko dodges and Uematsu is wiped out on the floor! That takes nearly everything out of Hokuto, leaving her glassy-eyed as she finally rolls back into the ring all dead, and Meiko hits the DVD- two! Another swiping head kick and Hokuto’s legs are limp and bent awkwardly like she’s KO’d… but no! Meiko builds herself up and hits another DVD, but also gets two. And Meiko hits Stranglehold Gamma! Things get so frenzied that OZAKI tries to charge the ring, but for some reason is held back by Police & KAORU, who want this fair and square (?? THEM??). We get a close-up of Akira’s face as it looks like she fades out, but as Meiko’s own strength fades, Hokuto springs to life again and starts fighting anew. She finnnnnally gets a toe on the ropes, and Meiko boots her in the face again and now HOKUTO is the one who bridges out! Meiko comes in too hot and eats another slap, and then two straight mutual shots bring both down! A third one… but Hokuto lands ON Meiko and it’s another heart-stopping nearfall! Hokuto, knowing only one thing will work now, prepares the Northern Lights Bomb, but collapses before she can even get a lift. So she tries again, and LANDS IT… but is too hurt to capitalize! The ref starts the count, and sure enough, Meiko finally gets up in the “ready” position at “9”… but Hokuto is still flopped over leaning against the middle rope! And she flops to her knees! MEIKO WINS!! Meiko beats Hokuto at (21:36)! Okay I could have sworn Hokuto won the first big match, so that got me, haha.

I liked the psychology of Meiko having too much “Go” for Hokuto in the beginning- for the first 5-6 minutes, she’s ALL energy and keeps spamming attacks until Hokuto’s forced to sell, her older, more beaten-down body feeling the effects quickly. Hokuto, by contrast, is smarter and has more counters (note that most are actually Meiko just slipping off the holds herself, haha), and so every time she hurts Meiko she makes sure to sit back for half a minute to recover a bit. She’s in no hurry, while Meiko IS. Work smarter, not harder. And once Meiko finally has some fight beaten out of her, Hokuto moves on to “slow veteran beatdown” mode, like Aja Kong would. Meiko still manages to tear away at her with holds, but Hokuto nearly kills her with those head-drops from the old school AJW stuff. And this leads to the endgame of the match- Meiko’s impossible drive and durability against Hokuto’s reliable death moves. Meiko JUST. KEEPS. COMING. And so it’s the DANGEROUS QUEEN who keeps sitting on the backfoot, finding all these desperation moves to keep Meiko at bay, like intercepting her with slaps or hitting finishers every chance she can get. And when she misses that Tope Con Hilo, it’s like the last bit of her durability is gone and Meiko seems to have her. The “mutual shots lead to double-downs, but Hokuto manages to land on her for a pin attempt” spot seems to evoke the legendary Hokuto/Kandori match, where the victory was down to Hokuto luckily landing a punch and flopping down in the right position to get a cover. And then the FINISH- Hokuto has the “go” to hit her finisher, but only on the second try (collapsing on the first), and when that finally hits… it was her last bit of effort, and she can’t even STAND afterwards. Too much is gone, and Meiko has just enough to remain alive. Once again, her durability and tenacity is her key over the veterans.

The only weird thing in the match is Meiko getting one of those “crippling arm injuries” that lasts precisely five minutes of nearfalls and after that she’s 100% fine to do whatever, haha. Meiko’s “One more desperate MOVVVVVVVVVVE” theatrics are very hammy and can be overdone, so she’s rarely the best part of her best matches, as she defaults way too often to “hit a last move/get a desperation kickout while screaming” compared to superior wrestlers. It’s just a BIT tryhard. BUT I’ll say she’s over-criticized by that by critics like Mike Lorefice, who notes that Hokuto’s great motionless selling is “Instead overwhelmed by fake and self-indulgent jittering” by Meiko “Unfortunately, the believability was taken way down by doing too much too fast. Satomura expended tons of energy shaking, jerking, and waving her head, arms, and legs in a foolish attempt to emphasize the idea that they were doing a grand drama.” This is a the guy who frequently jerks it over ARSION matwork fests that leave the audience sitting on their hands, mind you, while the fans were having a 15-minute heart attack during this bout. “They certainly aspired to Hokuto’s old level of drama, but weren’t close to consistent in attaining it because Satomura came off so phony (the crowd still reacted to her though)” WHICH IS THE POINT YOU DING-DONG.

Rating: ****1/2 (one of the only great GAEA singles matches I’ve seen- top-tier selling by Hokuto and the usual Meiko theatrics when they actually count)

SO!!!! GAEA Japan at last has another fantastic match (they’re going on one ****+ match every 6-12 months by my recollection… not great numbers). But on a show snakebit by awful things- Sugar Sato misses a year for knee surgery, then DEVIL will to because of an in-ring accident that ruins what was probably supposed to be Chikayo’s big coming-out match. Chigusa herself goes away for shoulder surgery after this one, missing five months of ringtime. So GAEA loses three of its like… twelve wrestlers for a giant chunk of time. At least Meiko gets another great step towards “Being Over” by defeating Hokuto, even if she couldn’t pin her. Given their whole gameplan for 2001 is “GET MEIKO OVER” and give her the belt to signify the next great star, that’s kind of necessary, though their “put her over every single veteran we have” methodology may be in question. Especially with hindsight, as GAEA has a rep for leaning on them time and time again when stuff isn’t working otherwise. As the roster becomes increasingly broken down (half the Class of 1995 is irreparably injured- Kato, Sato & Uematsu are shells of what they once were), disaster shows like this are a bad sign, even as good as that main was.