Joshi Spotlight: GAEA Japan in 11.2001

GAEA JAPAN IN NOVEMBER 2001:
* It’s a new era in GAEA! Chigusa said so! Sure it still involves Ozaki leading a heel group and endless bloody brawls with the same wrestlers as always, but NEW. ERA.

But yeah, Aja Kong just won the AAAW World Title back from Mayumi Ozaki, and Meiko Satomura has laid down her name as the first challenge. But we got a month to go yet! And the first show here details her teaming WITH Meiko… against Chikayo Nagashima and the returning DANGEROUS QUEEN, Akira Hokuto! Also a ton of house shows feature Aja & Meiko in tag matches where they work offense against each other, likely in preparation for their big fight… and a lot of drama as they try to establish that they can beat one another!

NOV. 10th:
* From Korakuen Hall.

CHIGUSA NAGAYO & TOSHIE UEMATSU vs. D-FIX (Mayumi Ozaki & KAORU, w/ Police):
* More of the eternal struggle against D-FIX sees Chigusa, freshly back with GAEA, teaming with the lowliest of the Class of 1995 against the heels. But wait… Toshie’s coming out SECOND? That almost NEVER happens in the hierarchical Japanese system! But we soon see why- Toshie debuts a SHORT HAIRCUT and an army fatigue-colored top with dark sweatpants! It’s actually not bad!

Naturally D-FIX immediately pounces and beats them up and Ozaki Ligerbombs Toshie the fuck through a ringside table (!!). Like holy shit, that move has killed and paralyzed people in the RING, much less when they’re all high-velocity getting scrunched up in a busted table. I know those diminish impact IRL but that can go all kinds of sideways. Chigusa bleeds and Ozaki uses a chain on her, and much beating leads to a powerbomb getting two. Then Toshie runs in and accidentally beans her with a knee and gets taken down by KAORU. Auspicious debut for her new look, haha. They stomp Chigusa’s hands, clothesline her with the chain and more until Toshie’s finally had enough and knocks them around with chairshots, then gets the tag and SMASHES Ozaki’s red staff with the chair and grinds away at her with a piece of it to excite the crowd. A chairseat breaks with the velocity of her swing to KAORU, too. She even knocks Police’s dumb hat off! Oz bleeds and Toshie bites Police, but then DEVIL MASAMI comes out and Toshie backs off in fear. Toshie still bites the shit out of D-FIX, nullifying their cheating and PLANTING KAORU with a German, but a jawjacker counters the biting (OW).

But Toshie bites Ozaki out of a POWERBOMB in a unique counter, then Chigusa’s in dodging a ton of chain-urakens and SNAPPING Ozaki’s arm to loosen her grip, and they tug-of-war into a backdrop suplex. Ozaki brings her down with urakens, but a counter-series sees Chigusa block one and smoke her with a kick. Police slips her a chain so she breaks the Running Three, but Chigusa ducks a chain-shot and it SMOKES Police, and KAORU tries her leaping attack and gets powerbombed into a Toshie splash and a Demolition Decapitation Knee. Toshie’s GOO PUNCH~~ is blocked by KAORU’s board but she counters another to her Dragon Suplex- Oz saves- KAORU bridges out after a knee and hits Excalibur (michinoku driver)- Chigusa saves. Chigusa sets up another Dragon Suplex for a CLOSE call, then KAORU tries a German and Chigusa Germans HER, creating a triple German situation that blows the fans’ minds- not sure if that move had ever been seen yet by that point. The crowd goes nuts and this is the endgame as everyone sells… Chigusa breaks up Exalibur, but Ozaki urakens Toshie with the chain to set it up, KAORU winning at (14:23). D-FIX rides again.

Another “D-FIX Clusterfuck Match”, albeit a little better than normal. Toshie’s biting frenzy was new and she has a bit more of an edge… and then it’s just never-ending cheating and she still loses, oh well.

Rating: **1/2 (it’s better than the filler garbage they usually do, but not enough to hit that *** level)

AKIRA HOKUTO & CHIKAYO NAGASHIMA vs. AJA KONG & MEIKO SATOMURA:
* !!!!!!! Well that’s interesting! Aja & Meiko are set to fight in a month for the belt, and here they are teaming up… against ANOTHER Legend/6th Year squad in Akira Hokuto, who is returning from injury (against Meiko, no less) and Chikayo. Hokuto’s now in boss olive-green colored garb, Chikayo in yellow, Meiko in red/orange and Aja debuting a LIME GREEN variant of her typical gear.

The crowd pops immediately as the VETERANS tee off to begin. And it’s immediately rad as Hokuto avoids a finger-stomp and just pulls Aja off her feet, then they each dodge each other’s early attempts at offense. But then Meiko surprises both by tagging in and machine-gunning Hokuto with kicks until Hokuto just plants her with a piledriver. Even when Chikayo’s in, Meiko tries a pot-shot on Hokuto. They botch Chikayo’s rana and Meiko works her over, then a fun bit sees Aja try her avalanche but Chikayo springs out with a rana- perfect timing! Chikayo even blocks the “counter-German kick” and dropkicks Aja in the head. A dive is caught, but Hokuto launches herself into Aja & Chikayo does the same using Meiko’s body. They whip Aja INTO Meiko, but Aja just charges out and lariats them one after the other, then catches Chiakyo & Meiko assists her powerbomb, getting two. Hokuto tags herself in & spinkicks Meiko for two, but Meiko hits a quick Pele Kick to stop the Dangerous Queen Bomb, then they take turns just throwing each other down by the hair and Akira slaps the ever-loving shit out of her.

Meiko manages a Northern Lights suplex to counter, then goes to the arm- Hokuto has to claw her face to escape, but still ends up in the DVD- a kick to the eyeballs gets two. Akira surprises her with a backdrop suplex, but Aja oil cans everyone to stop a Northern Lights Bomb & Brainbusters Akira for two. Uraken makes a hollow crack for two, Chikayo gets backdropped, then Chikayo lands on her feet from a superplex ONTO Hokuto and they take turns running on Aja’s body. Aja no-sells a missile kick and lariats Chikayo half to death for two, then Meiko adds some beats. Hokuto starts interfering using her staff, and Chikayo hits a German & tilt-a-whirl DDT, then a Flying Stomp- Aja saves. Meiko powers Chikayo out of a rana into her DVD- Hokuto saves- but then Aja URAKENS Meiko by mistake and that nearly gets two! Aja has to save after a Fisherman’s Buster as Meiko is floundering from that, but she dodges the Kick of Fear and DVDs Chikayo again for three at (16:48) while Aja sits on a defeated Hokuto. Post-match, Meiko makes a formal challenge to Aja and Aja agrees- we’re set!

A hard-fought, somewhat-impressive match, though also kinda sad because Hokuto appearances always remind me of how good she USED to be, and how she can only afford to occasionally draw that out. Here she was FINE, but she used to be one of the best ever, ya know? Chikayo also didn’t do much here, more or less being used to put over Meiko (which, to be fair, was the point). Meiko shrugging off the Uraken and still kicking out, then managing to win without assistance was an impressive bit and showcases her a lot. A few smart bits and seeing Meiko find new ways to haul people into the DVD was solid, but it was obviously not all-out for three of the four, only Meiko putting in her usual high effort. In particular you’d kinda want Hokuto to try extra-hard to avenge her loss to Meiko, but as usual you can just see how much every movement hurts her legit.

Rating: *** (one of the harder-fought recent GAEA matches, but still felt 0.25x speed for Hokuto)

NOV. 11th:
* This looks to be a tiny house show in Osaka, with the story that Sakura’s in one comedy match and one serious one.

THE ROAD TO KAWASAKI:
* This seems like a bunch of stuff meant to set up the big Dec. 15th show. Which *checks* is in Kawasaki!

CHIGUSA NAGAYO vs. SAKURA HIROTA:
* Sakura is now dressed as Yubaba from Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away”, but takes off the garbage-bag outfit and reveals Sen’s pink outfit instead.

We’re JIP with Sakura trying the Bronco Buster but getting flung off. She avoids a powerbomb but does a bunch of jokey stuff with Chigusa, leaping into her arms and “taking a nap” beside her after USING THE ASS as a weapon. Chigusa begrudgingly hits a knee from “European uppercuts” that whiff so badly she busts out laughing, then Sakura calls out “SHINING WIZARD!” and… steps on Chigusa’s knee and slides off, crotching herself on it and selling agony, so Chigusa just laughs and kneels on her lady-parents and gets the submission win at (2:50 of 3:01 shown). Not sure what to call THAT, haha.

Rating: 1/2* (one of the shortest Sakura Cosplay matches!)

CHIGUSA NAGAYO & SAKURA HIROTA vs. D-FIX (Mayumi Ozaki & KAORU, w/ Police):

We’re JIP with KAORU using the board on Chigusa and hits Excalibur on it. But she leaps in and Chigusa powerbombs her on it. Sakura adds her 2nd-rope uraken and two Sheeh Suplexes, then spams urakens until KAORU falls for two. Chigusa no-sells Ozaki’s uraken and Back Elbows her for two, then Running Threes her into KAORU & Falcon Arrows her for two. Then she tags in Sakura, hits Super Freak (her old tilt-a-whirl powerbomb) and then holds Ozaki up for Sakura’s uraken so SAKURA can pin her at (3:40 of 14:56 shown), blowing the fans’ minds! We saw very little of the match, but letting Sakura pin OZAKI is a true humiliation moment.

DECEMBER 2nd:
* More Osaka stuff.

TOSHIYO YAMADA vs. DYNAMITE KANSAI:
* The Rai-Rai Ken teammates go at it.

We’re JIP as Yamada hits an elbow, but gets kicked down for two. Kansai throws more kicks and her flying stomp. They avoid each other’s finishers and Yamada wins a strike-fight with elbows, but Kansai gets a kick and Splash Mountain… for two! In a shocker, Yamada scores a punch combo for the WIN at (3:20 of 8:58 shown).

NOV. 18th:

CHIGUSA NAGAYO & TOSHIYO YAMADA vs. D-FIX (Mayumi Ozaki & KAORU, w/ Police):
* This Yamada win leads right to her & Chigusa wrestling D-FIX… earlier? Okay then.

JIP as Chigusa gets a standing Falcon Arrow, but KAORU Brainbusters her. Chigusa gets a TKO (!), but Yamada flying spinkicks her by mistake and KAORU hits a sissy Excalibur on her board. Chigusa saves Yamada from the board and Yamada scores a spinkick, they sandwich KAORU with kicks, but Chigusa has to save after Excalibur hits. KAORU ends up grabbing a ring of keys and “uppercutting” Yamada into unconsciousness for three at (3:24 of 13:51 shown).

CHIGUSA NAGAYO vs. CHIKAYO NAGASHIMA:
* We’re JIP with Chigusa taking on the #2 of the Class of 1995.

We start with Nagashima working the leg, but she misses a flying stomp and Chigusa TKOs her. Chigusa works the arm, but ends up caught in the Tarantula, Nagashima pulling out new stuff. Chigusa gets a wheel kick & torture rack, but Nagashima works submissions of her own. Chigusa catches her charging in with a front facelock, then throws on the Inverted Figure-Four, Nagashima submitting at (3:24 of 14:59 shown). Seemed like a pretty slow-paced, basic house show match, but that remarkable match length means they were probably already a bit tired.

MEIKO SATOMURA & DYNAMITE KANSAI vs. AJA KONG & TOSHIYO YAMADA:
* An interesting one sees Rai-Rai Ken split up and Meiko teaming with one of them.

We’re JIP with Meiko leaping off Kansai’s shoulders on the top rope to splash Aja, and the DVD gets two. She fires up, but walks into the Uraken for two. Meiko gets crushed by a sandwich lariat as commentary suggests if she loses to Aja a third straight time, “people will wonder what she’s been doing” (ie. lose faith in her and realize she’ll never win or is inadequate), and the Diving Brain Kick & flying back elbow combo gets two. Four Urakens in a row are blocked or dodged, so Kansai sets up Meiko’s Pele Kick- Yamada saves, then Kansai saves Meiko after Aja’s kick. Kansai sets up the DVD for two. Meiko Pele Kicks the Uraken arm and hits an ax kick into the DVD… for the win (3:34 of 14:14 shown)! Commentary was taken by surprise. This felt like a lot of “Meiko can win, SEE?” to build her up to the fans, as she kicks out of one Uraken and counters tons of others to show how ready she is. Commentary still raises questions, suggesting it’s “like getting your best time in the qualifying round” because she won the preliminary match. Aja screams and rages, having to be held back as we’re out.

DECEMBER 9th:
* This is in a very strange building in Nigata- it’s SUPER-tall and has unfinished-looking walls with a handful of rows of fans visible on the hard cam, making this look extremely stark and depressing.

AKIRA HOKUTO vs. SAKURA HIROTA:
* It’s Cosplay Sakura again! She’s playing “Sakura Hokuto” here, with Hokuto’s old Noh play wig & mask, cracking up Hokuto before the bell. Hokuto’s in red & blue.

Hokuto attacks while Sakura’s still messing around with her theatrical outfit, beating her up and leaving her flat-faced on the mat. A disinterested Hokuto looks away as the ref counts, but Sakura pounces from behind nad hits the Flair Uppercut… Hokuto being no-selling like Peggy Hill (“For you see, *I* have no testicles”) and simply plopping down in the corner to watch Sakura struggle and get her gear off. Sakura takes about six tries to do a kip-up, drawing a pop when she finally sorta gets one, then crotch-chops and mimics X-Pac’s Bronco Buster again, Hokuto being like “ew get that outta my face” and shoving her off. Hokuto also shrugs off Sakura’s double-arm submission, then bites her head AND her ass, then piledrives her. Sakura repeatedly does goofy sells (staying upside-down on the piledriver, flat-facing off the top rope when Hokuto shakes the ropes), then Hokuto knocks her out with a violently stiff slap for three at (3:34).

Rating: 1/2* (even shorter than most Cosplay Sakura matches, with mostly a couple pratfalls instead of her actually mimicking Hokuto for long)

CHIGUSA NAGAYO vs. MAYUMI OZAKI (w/ KAORU, Devil Masami & Police):
* An oddly “big” match for such a small show sees a Chigusa/Ozaki struggle, too late for Chigusa to wrestle for the AAAW Title.

Ozaki shoves the ref into Chigusa before the bell, pouncing with the rest of D-FIX- Chigusa torture racks her, but Police aids Ozaki and she takes the lead again. Spooky Devil Masami also helps on the floor! Chigusa bleeds and gets beat up in the stands, Ozaki jumping off a raised seating area onto her, but Chigusa piledrives her on it. Ozaki beats on her with a fan’s umbrella and D-FIX teams up in the ring again (Ozaki bites Chigusa’s SHOE- that’ll show ‘er). More lazybones brawling until Chigusa just gets up and starts hitting back with big stomp-punches and yelling. Ligerbomb gets two. Chigusa nearly puts her out with a sleeper but KAORU puts her arm on the ropes (with the GAEA loyalists frequently trying to stop cheating)- Oz grabs a spike & a German but Chigusa does the “almost wrench the arm out from her back” move, and the Running Three gets two- D-FIX pounces again. Chigusa almost beats her with a sleeper, but Devil bites the cut and Oz tears at Chigusa’s arm now. Chigusa lariats both D-FIX girls, but takes an uraken/Tequila Sunrise for two. A bunch of urakens & Ligerbomb get two. Chigusa gets a backdrop suplex & Falcon Arrow for twos, and a front facelock & inverted figure-four have Ozaki desperately scrambling until D-FIX breaks free. A few more dramatic struggles and Chigusa weathers a bunch of urakens and dragon screws her into a FIGURE-FOUR LEGLOCK and that’s it for Ozaki, who gives up at (14:30). lmaooooooooooo I haven’t seen that move pick up a win in women’s wrestling in a DECADE. Just wild.

Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy house show match- predictable the whole way and rested on “bleeding” for drama instead of hard work and effort. But the story of “Chigusa’s allies hold off D-FIX” managed to work as THAT was the story of the second half, as Police & KAORU kept breaking free to save Ozaki until they couldn’t anymore, and then the figure-four of all things worked when 2 sleepers and an inverse figure-four didn’t.

Rating: *3/4 (it was barely above * until the last 4 minutes had a lot of desperate run-ins. Just a lazy house show nothing)

MEIKO SATOMURA & CHIKAYO NAGASHIMA vs. AJA KONG & DYNAMITE KANSAI:
* Uh-oh. Meiko beat Aja in the last match, but now Aja has Meiko’s partner from last time and Meiko just has her 1996 classmate.

Aja & Kansai immediately pounce before the bell and double-team Meiko, but she actually successfully lifts Aja and avoids multiple attacks. Chikayo works some stuff with Aja, but when she tries the “pop out of the corner for a rana” spot, Aja instead catches her and slaps on a lethal crab. Meiko breaks her out of it, but Aja powerbombs out of Chikayo’s upside-down hold in the ropes. Aja just blasts her in the head when she tries the same to Kansai. Clipped to Chikayo doing it to Aja off the top, setting up Meiko’s Super Cross-Armbreaker. The vets lariat the kids and Aja hits a Brainbuster on Meiko for two. Chikayo’s missile kick sets up the Pele Kick, but it whiffs and looks bad, but Meiko uses it to set up a Shining Wizard AX KICK as that move’s proliferation continues. Kansai saves and forces a tag, but Meiko takes over on her, then drags in Aja. She hits a weak DVD, but Aja Urakens her from the ground. Looking beat, she swings oil cans around to take over again, then Brainbusters Meiko ON the oil can! OW! Meiko is toasted, so Aja hits the flying back elbow to her back, getting two. Meiko gets a slick counter of an Uraken, sweeping Aja down after catching the arm, but misses an ax kick and the Uraken gets two. But Meiko stuns her with another Pele for a close one, then a DVD- a dogpile saves Aja. Aja escapes a DVD with an Uraken to the back of Meiko’s head, sending her stumbling into the corner where Chikayo grabs a tag and CHARGES in… right into an Uraken that pins her at (12:27 shown), Aja unable to beat Meiko but she CAN beat Chikayo. Poor Nagashima gets the “lol I can’t beat her but I can beat you” treatment.

Another slow house show match, but the drama of “Aja wants to get a pin on Meiko but NOTHING’S WORKING” is very strongly putting over the challenger. Aja stumbling around and having to get desperation offense is a pretty good sign of that. Oh, and apparently the Shining Ax Kick is later called “Scorpio Rising”- a fan in the comments appears surprised Meiko debuts that before the title match.

Rating: **1/4 (not terribly interesting and a lot of stuff seems missing from Chikayo & Kansai, but it’s alright)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOF- this was a whole lot of “House Show” stuff, with half or 1/3-speed matches worked and one good Hokuto match at Korakuen. All of this of course sets up Meiko/Aja for the Belt. Another interesting wrinkle is that D-FIX is running barely 50/50- this has been happening even before Ozaki lost the belt, but both Sakura & Chigusa pin Ozaki pretty close together, and the Moneyball Ladder Match is coming up. I wonder if this is the receipt for them getting all sorts of clusterfuck wins for ages.