Joshi Spotlight: GAEA Japan- Yokohama Limit Break (Akira Hokuto Retires)

GAEA JAPAN- YOKOHAMA LIMIT BREAK:
(Yokohama Gymnasium, April 7th 2002):
* It’s time for another big GAEA Japan show! This one features the big one- the Retirement of Akira Hokuto! Hokuto’s been in GAEA for like 5 years by this point, but her impact was always somewhat minor- she happily settled into “card filler” at points, rarely getting involved in major stories and simply appearing from time to time. She became a mother, had more and more injuries, and wrestled sparingly, especially near the end. In mid-2001, she put her all into putting over Meiko Satomura in a fantastic match, and is ready to call it quits. This show also features the return of Sugar Sato, as her team with Chikayo Nagashima defends the AAAW World Tag titles against the top heels D-FIX! Also rejoining us is Devil Masami, who went out at the same show that Sugar did, with a bad leg injury!

We start off with a recap of her penultimate match, teaming with Chikayo Nagashima against Meiko Satomura & Aja Kong, Chikayo losing to Meiko’s DVD in 16 minutes.

DEVIL MASAMI & TOSHIE UEMATSU vs. TOSHIYO YAMADA & CARLOS AMANO:
* Devil Masami’s back! And completely washed, as she was in bad shape BEFORE she got hurt, and now she’s taken an entire year off, having ended a match with Chikayo Nagashima due to a bad leg injury that left her in tears. She’s back with a spooky-looking expression but is about 20-30 lbs. lighter than she was before she got hurt (she was looking BULKY in 2001). And now Uematsu’s new heel character is paired off with her, likely to give her some kinda rub or bring some intrigue back into the midcard. Yamada/Amano are basically their job squad, I dunno. Both have been used as “Card Filler” of late.

Devil gets double-teamed, but immediately establishes the stakes by reversing Amano’s suplex, but her powerbomb is countered to a DDT & running jujigatame. Yamada holds Devil back, but she scores a lariat and tags Toshie, who gets a stunner but earns a stungun. She fires back with bites & punches, then an impressive missile kick but Amano DDTs out of her armsault. Both throw DDTs but Toshie gets the Kick of Fear for two. Amano gets an O’Connor roll and then lands on her feet out of a German & rolling elbows Toshie down. Yamada’s finally in, but she’s caught in Devil’s powerbomb right into Toshie’s flying splash for two. Toshie climbs up to Devil’s shoulders and pops the crowd with a huge corkscrew ass-slam to both opponents. Toshie’s Dragon Suplex gets two, and Devil comes in with a bokken (wooden sword), working over Yamada- she’s enzuigiri’d, but counters a kick with the bokken, too. Amano ducks so Toshie gets whacked with it, then she scores another rolling juji to DISARM Devil, earning a good reaction. Devil pops up after getting smoked with Yamada’s kick but gets plasted by Amano’s flying lariat in a good bit- Yamada gets two and absolutely spams elbows for another count, but tries her finisher and Devil strangles her in a sleeper while making absolutely psychotic faces.

Devil Masami, photogenic as always.

Amano saves and her rolling elbow sets up a charging elbow from Yamada, then they dump Toshie and another smash gets two. Devil catches Yamada up top and after a long fight, uses her bokken to hit a superduperplex. Yamada reels… but does a NO-SELL, screaming into a running elbow & Toshie has to save. Yamada tries an inside cradle but a Devil charging lariat gets two, then a big Ligerbomb. Yamada counters for two with Amano’s help, but an interesting double-team sees Devil haul Toshie into the air for an atomic drop-style Double Legdrop, that scoring the pin at (11:07). This was pretty disjointed and not that interesting, mostly Devil hitting some “greatest hits” and slowly fighting into stuff, but it got okay once Yamada settled into repeatedly trying running elbow smashes as a bit of a story to the thing. A lot of Devil by this point was reliant entirely on “Aura” while just hitting her big moves. Focusing on her in an 11-minute tag match meant that Uematsu didn’t have much to do, either.

Rating: ** (heavily flawed but okay)

SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE- POLICE:
SAKURA HIROTA vs. POLICE WOMAN:
* Sakura is back with Police doing their “P & A” schtick and making goofy faces while dancing to the ring, and now she faces… a Tokusatsu wrestler, in “Police Woman” (Yuki Miyazaki). The crowd joins them in shouting “FAT?” after every sentence, as yes, Steve Austin’s “What?” chant has even infiltrated JAPANESE wrestling! Police bullies the GAEA ref into stepping aside, too.

Immediately Police shows BIAS as he counts 1-2-3-4–5 to PW when she’s got Sakura in the ropes, then lackadaisically wanders around and goes “ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNE!… TWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” when Sakura starts chocking PW in those same ropes. But he immediately irks her by fast-counting her when PW rolls her up and gets an earful. Some comedy bits and shots of Sakura’s granny-panties lead to PW holding an abdominal stretch and saluting, then forcing Sakura to. Sakura trips her up and ties up the legs, falling back repeatedly to “FAT?” chants, then hits a bow & arrow and falling headbutts. She tries her Eccentric (bronco buster), and instead of having it countered like usual, does a Vader Bomb-style headbutt to the vagina. Well that’s unique. Then terrifies PW by revealing her granny panties and doing a slow-motion Stinkface. Four running moves in a row all end up hitting Police (GOOD), and he & Sakura get into a slapping contest that ends in him AND Police Woman putting the boots to her! And the crowd POPS! Police attempts Eccentric himself but gets his balls crushed so he can’t count Sakura’s rollup pin. She manages to spam urakens, then dodges Police’s elbow so PW gets hit, and the Shii Suplex gets two as Police takes out the GAEA ref. Police hits a big lariat to set up a DDT on a metal briefcase for two, but after he hits a shoulderbreaker of all things, he attempts a double-team and Sakura pantses him, then rolls up Police Woman for three from the GAEA ref (9:15). Amusing how Police’s bias went both ways until Sakura was the babyface after all her previous cheating. Tons of gags still technically kept up the “psychology” of having embarrassing underwear shots and assaults to the genitals, and other highbrow comedy.

Rating: ** (pretty much the average Sakura match)

AJA KONG vs. DYNAMITE KANSAI:
* In an interesting one, two of the bigger singles wrestlers (GAEA freelancers) are paired off. They were (formerly?) in a stable, had been a “Monster” tag team off and on for years, and had a huge feud during the Interpromotional Era (1993-95). Here, Kansai is fading physically and does a lot of jobs, but is kept vaguely strong, while Aja was just recently Champion.

Fans are quiet as Kansai wins a strike war with a lariat, but Aja ignores her holds and starts laying in chops & clotheslines to get famously-loud Yokohama fans agitated. Aja methodically wears her down, just standing on her and working a piledriver for two. They fight to the ring apron, where they collide with lariats with the ropes between them (Aja runs the ramp & Kansai the ring). And then Aja whips out a DIVE through the ropes from the ramp, effectively hitting a spear! Crowd noticed THAT one! Kansai gets a big head kick out of a powerbomb attempt, but charges into a waterwheel drop for two, but sweep-kicks Aja down and measures her with a head-punt for the same. She handily gets up from a low-angle Aja backdrop, scores a lariat into a head-kick into her own backdrop for two, then shoves Aja off the top for her Flying Stomp for two. Kansai blocks an Uraken but a backswing one pops her, setting up a German for two, but Kansai kicks the oil can out of her hands and peppers her with shots, but Aja avoids a piledriver and smashes the oil can & Urakens her for two. But Kansai keeps hammering her with kicks out of the corner until she hits a flying knee to the head for two! Kansai goes for Die Hard (razor’s edge off the top) but Aja pops her with a backswing, only to miss her flying back elbow and LA MAJISTRAL of all things gets two for Kansai. They lariat each other twice until Aja scores her own, but she climbs and Kansai immediately catches her with Splash Mountain from there… for only ONE, then Aja hits a Shining Wizard! Both are down and out until the count of “9”, and Aja’s Uraken… is blocked and she eats some head kicks until scoring the Uraken, dizzying both until Aja tries a Wizard AGAIN but it’s blocked. She SMOKES Kansai with an Uraken out of a charge, but now Kansai kicks out at one, but her big show of strength left her so dizzy she just ambles into another Uraken for three, Aja desperately holding her down at (12:23).

This was one of the most “slow & steady” matches I’ve ever seen, containing some of the slowest, most methodical action you’ll ever see, but with a lot of measured offense and basing it all around expected counters (ie. they know each other). Still so slow the fans pretty much only reacted for the big moves, though. Like, they’d sell and sell, doing the “lie down and sell until they counter the follow-up move” from 3 minutes in until the end. And eventually just spammed the same moves until one person got it- the “kicking out at ONE!” thing is a pet peeve of mine (as it’s often done for cheap pops and risks damaging moves), but at least here it led only to Aja being KO’d right after, then Kansai being finished by the next move. Similar to All Japan/NOAH’s “eat a huge move then charge into a counter and THEN sell” thing.

Rating: **1/2 (a disappointment given their pedigree but some very stiff action and interesting psychology)

LIONESS ASUKA & AYA SAKURAI vs. LAS CACHORRAS ORIENTALES (Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda):
* More interesting stuff sees Asuka have to bring the rookie against LCO. This is kind of during their fade-out, but they’re still names on the scene, and it’s another great chance to give the kid some experience against overwhelming opposition, and in a whole different kind of match.

Funny bit as LCO refuse to lower themselves to facing Sakurai so DEMAND Asuka… then immediately double-team her. Asuka manages to fight out and tag, but Shimoda awkwardly avoids Sakurai’s missile kick and disrespects her a bunch, then drop toeholds her into Mita’s chairshot. Mita keeps throwing chairs at the kid so finally Asuka saves, but Shimoda pulls Sakurai out so Mita hits a DVD to Asuka and LCO brings back the old Assisted Tope Con Hilo/Dive combo! They drag them in for a long Guardrail Drop spot, which thankfully gets a small reaction (Sakurai’s blocking her face with her hand but leaving her elbow pointed way up, which is dangerous). I kept thinking she might be hurt cuz the ref keeps checking on her but she’s obviously blading her, lol. Mita piledrives her (I think Sakurai was expecting a powerbomb) and pulls her up at two, and she’s bleeding now. LCO pose on her and do some torture spots to work the cut, then Shimoda impresses with a “mounted punches then springs off her face with a dropkick” out of the corner. Fun bit as Mita toys with Sakurai but almost takes her Chokeslam finisher, then elbows free and slugs her down for a desperate cover like she got spooked. And then next time Sakurai psyches her out and instead rushes to the corner for a run-up crossbody! The crowd “oohs” as Mita shoves her off at “1” and looks annoyed as she easily fends off a suplex… until Asuka runs in with a kick so Sakurai can pull it off!

Sakurai gets tortured by LCO, and Mita’s annoyed reaction to the kid getting offense.

Sakurai immediately dives to the corner to tag, so Lioness comes in- Mita avoids a powerbomb but Asuka kicks away her Chop and boots her in the head, but Mita Blazing Chops her out of a whip, then Shimoda’s chair sets up some stunners. Shimoda misses her flying ax kick and Asuka gives her the Giant Swing for two. Mita chairs Asuka in the ass and Shimoda gets her hooking clothesline, but they get too cute with Asuka’s table and Shimoda ends up Iconoclasm’d- Mita saves. Sakurai holds her down so Asuka can Flying Stomp her table onto Shimoda and a Ligerbomb gets two. Shimoda avoids the Towerhacker Bomb (inverted fireman’s ligerbomb) but Asuka ducks Mita’s chop, which stuns Shimoda and the Towerhacker Bomb gets two- Mita saves again. Sakurai’s finally in again, hitting dropkick spam on a flailing Shimoda, but Mita stops the Chokeslam with a Blazing Chop… but Shimoda charges into it anyways! For two! Shimoda sells so long she recovers and ax kicks Sakurai for two (Asuka saves), but Asuka descapes their finisher so Mita takes the ax kick and her team scores stereo backdrop suplexes for two. Shimoda stops a double team and just flings Sakurai into Asuka from the top, then tricks Asuka into lariating her down- Asuka tries to help but Shimoda sprays her with green mist, and Mita just waffles the kid with a chair for the pin at (13:07). LCO wins that one pretty handily with a few hope spots for Sakurai.

A very typical “LCO Template Match”, slowed as usual these days. Sakurai did okay as a bleeding rookie in peril but she was more about grimacing and writhing than screaming so the fans didn’t get TOO into it- her fiery comeback was also easily dealt with for the most part, and then Asuka’s just in for like four minutes to do stuff and kill that momentum. It kind of would be better if the bleeding was more in the back half and that’s where the desperation saves came from, but I guess they wanted Sakurai to do the selling first then get a lot of “nearfall” reactions for her Chokeslams. No shame on the rookie for losing, but given her best stuff seems to be “athleticism/counter”-based she’s probably just not as gifted at selling, which will come with time. or it would if she didn’t retire in a few months, haha. Match was fine, but Shimoda was even messier than usual, often just telegraphing counters but wobbling in place stiffly until someone could hit her.

Rating: **1/2 (typical “pretty good” LCO match with some good spots but nothing exciting)

AWWW TAG TEAM TITLES:
SUGAR SATO & CHIKAYO NAGASHIMA vs. D-FIX (Mayumi Ozaki & KAORU, w/ Police):
* So D-FIX were a nightmare for all of 2001 and continue that now, with her old kouhais Sugar & Chikayo defending their tag belts. They’ve beaten Ozaki-led teams A LOT over the years, but this is Sugar’s first match back. GAEA oddly kept the tag titles in stasis this entire time, never defending them so Sugar could try her first match from her long leg injury. D-FIX come out with BRIGHT red hair- with the trashy outfits they look like the Peg Bundy Express in here. Sugar gets the best reaction of the four, and looks to have dropped a lot of weight since last time. ugggggggggggggggh this video is 33 minutes long. Long matches are NOT D-FIX’s forte.

Fear the dreaded Peg Bundy Express! Also lol at Ozaki’s amused expression to troll the Champs.

Sugar immediately charges D-FIX, but KAORU dropkicks her knee out and she writhes in agony as Ozaki flies onto it- teasing a recurrent injury! Board shots and Ozaki’s comically-long red stick! But Chikayo ties up BOTH of them with her upside-down hold in the ropes and Sugar STOMPS the ring to indicate that no- her leg is fine! Erasing all doubters! And uses that knee to snap that stick! She quickly throws out body attacks to wipe out D-FIX simultaneously, then Police, which is funny cuz she’s very average-sized now. But she splatters Police in the corner, then crushes him twice more while selling for D-FIX- Police abuse is always fun. A D-FIX Powerbomb/Neckbreaker brings Sugar down, and KAORU does her flip dodge but ends up in an Oklahoma Stampede of all things! Chikayo misses a flying stomp but hits RANA SPAM of all things to a pop, but she tries a wheelbarrow rollup and gets inverted ligerbombed and Ozaki buckle bombs her. They add weapon shots and LCO poses but Oz ends up in a Tarantula (she fakely moves her own legs into position), but Ozaki uses a swinging dragon sleeper and shitcans both champs (Sugar flubs it and has to do the “rollout of shame”), but Oz just cannonballs KAORU by mistake. Rocked Launcher from the champs to the floor! This ends up in a brawl, won by Sugar just throttling Ozaki with both hands and hitting a Baldo Bomb for two from that, playing up her “powerhouse” stuff. Oz throws on a submission out of a chokeslam but Sugar deadlift powerbombs her for a good reaction. But KAORU’s in and smashes her with the board & Boardsaults her, but can’t get a Brainbuster and D-FIX settles for a piggyback avalanche in the corner. A cannonball, moonsault & brainbuster work Sugar over- Chikayo leapfrogs off her but ends up buckle bombed, but Ozaki tries a Manami Roll and Sugar hits a Spinning Ligerbomb! Rocket Launcher gets two and KAORU annihilates Ozaki with a missed board shot, then Police eats shit on the floor and takes a huge Flying Stomp Suicida from Chikayo!

Missile kick & Fisherman’s Buster gets only one for Chikayo, as Ozaki fires up with uraken spam and is I guess totally fine. Chikayo tries a run-up super frankensteiner to her but eats a SUPERBOMB, barely kicking out as the crowd is like “!!!” at that one! They follow it up with Ozaki standing on the top rope and tornado DDTing Chikayo off KAORU’s shoulders (is this an ROH match now?)- Sugar has to save this time, and this lets Chikayo hit a windmill rollup for two. Oz overpunches and ends up in her own Tequila Sunrise (tiger/dragon suplex)- two! Crowd has a heart attack with that one. Fisherman’s Buster hits and Chikayo does a cut-throat gesture… SOMERSAULT ASS SLAM from the top! KAORU saves! Ozaki sells big, turtling up in pain even after firing off urakens to the champs, but she hits a Shining Wizard- Sugar pulls her off. They bungle whatever Chikayo’s rollup was but Sugar belly-bashes KAORU out of a board shot, Chikayo leaps off the board-piece for a rana, then KAORU Germans Sugar. KAORU does a Cross-Armed Iconoclasm and moves so Chikayo flying stomps her own partner, but Sugar springs up with an elevated inverted DDT for two. Sugar belly-bashes everyone but Oz saves from a Ligerbomb, but NOW Chikayo gets that pop-up Super Frankensteiner and Sugar gets her flying back elbow for two! Chikayo sadly smashes her partner with the board so D-FIX puts her through a table on the floor. A double-team in the ring is telegraphed with interference that’s too late, but Sugar kicks out at “1” from Excalibur (michinoku driver), but KAORU does the same from a Ligerbomb. sigh. Chikayo beats up D-FIX but KAORU sprays red mist in Sugar’s eyes (two matches in a row? SLOPPY SHOP!). Oz with the least-devastating spear in history and Excalibur… gets two! Big reaction for that. A second seems to do it, but no! Sugar surprises by effortlessly doing her own to counter a third… but KAORU just rolls over to prevent a pin and gets up and hits three more Excaliburs for three and the belts at (22:02). What the fuck was that?

This wasn’t bad! I mean it wasn’t GREAT and had a lot of D-FIX issues (too long; Ozaki just randomly decides to stop selling as her comeback), but it had some good, fun stuff and the crowd reacted. D-FIX controlled the early half so the Champs controlled the back end. Interestingly they went full MOVEZ in the later portion, but started like 8 minutes before the ending, when it should have been the end-run. Like why give the fans all these heart-stopping bombs, kickouts and last-minute saves and then just… go another eight? That’s just bad mis-timing, lol. Especially as several of the other spots take a bit to set up and have mini-moves in between that don’t keep up the drama, so they have to capture it again. And then SIGH… kicking out at “1”. GAEA got over that obsession years ago but now brings it back for all the big matches. And they two straight mist-based finishes in a row- SLOPPY AGENTING! AND the finish was bad- Sugar hitting a counter should have been a big moment and a heartbreaker that just barely failed, but instead KAORU can just belly-roll to avoid even a count, and then wins easily?

Rating: *** (it was on easy street to 3.5 until all the bad tendencies of Ozaki & KAORU reared their ugly heads- missing the peak to do More Shit, then a weird anti-psychology KAORU finish. All this despite some GREAT action and big moves)

A video on Akira Hokuto joining GAEA Japan in late 1996 as a fantastic “score”, though she only wrestles occasionally. She has a mini-feud with Meiko Satomura early on, but in 1997 steps away to give birth (repping Betty Boop with her rad jacket). Momkuto returns in 1999 to join Super Star Unit (a heel stable), then Nostradamus. We jump past like 18 GAEA heel stables and her & Devil do the job to Crush Girls 2000 in a huge match. She jobs to Sonoko Kato by fluke rollup in the fall but quickly gets her win back in seconds. Ozaki & Hokuto won the AAAW Tag Belts from LCO the next year, beat Crush 2000, and later she loses to Meiko in a dramatic Double KO spot and is gone for half a year. She returns to do a beatdown of respect to retiring Miho Wakizawa, then declares her own intent to retire. The intros happen here, looking as mythical as possible. Ayako comes out first, then Meiko (in a new two-piece red & black outfit). Chigusa comes out in samurai gear with a short sword (maybe a wakizashi?) while Hokuto has a longer blade and her old Noh play mask.

AKIRA HOKUTO & MEIKO SATOMURA vs. CHIGUSA NAGAYO & AYAKO HAMADA:
* And now the final match. It’s kind of a funny one- teaming with a big rival against Chigusa (whom she kinda feuds with in GAEA but not much in singles) and Ayako, who’s just a big “get” as a free agent. An absolute SEA of black tape fills the ring at Hokuto’s name, and she gets a way bigger reaction than the polite ones for the other three. Chigusa reveals a gi beneath her robes, while Ayako’s in blue & silver pants with a tied top and Hokuto’s in mostly black gear.

Chigusa & Meiko start, teacher & student making us wait for the newbie and retiree- they trade wristlocks and simple stuff and their kicks meet and IN COMES HOKUTO! She & Chigusa kick and tear at each other, barely giving any ground until Chigusa kicks herself over the top while Hokuto does the “shitcan of shame” to the ramp, failing to go over. They brawl on the ramp while the other two brawl & try not to distract, and Hokuto builds and builds to… a simple shot from her sheathed sword. Oh well- I thought she was gonna do one last big ramp-run move, haha. D-FIX hand her their weapons for old time’s sake and Chigusa gets bashed by a stick & board, coming up bleeding. She roars defiantly, but stumbles when she hits the ring and is easily pounced on by Hokuto, who was staying off-camera for some reason. She bites and chokes bloody Chigusa, who finally fires off some punches and her wheel kick, bringing in Ayako, who immediately spinkicks Hokuto into her “collapse” sell, but Hokuto springs up, slaps her and hits her short piledriver. Good on them to let Ayako do something cool immediately. Hokuto hits one final spinkick for two, but gets enzuigiri’d and Meiko swats her to tag in, beating Ayako’s ass with a series of kicks.

Ayako has learned the “slap her head to sell damage” sell as she dodges some Meiko shots and hits a spinebuster/seated dropkick combo. Meiko beats her down and shows disrespect to Hokuto’s admiration, but Ayako uses the momentum of a European uppercut to spin into an octopus stretch- Chigusa comes in but a series of missed kicks end with Meiko nailing the Pele Kick, but Chigusa leverages into her new backbreaker for two. Meiko goes for an early Shining kick but misses and Pele Kicks her on the backswing and the Death Valley Driver gets two. They try a Doomsday Device Bokken Shot, but Chigusa grabs the sword and turns it into a superplex off Meiko’s shoulders! Ayako hits a moonsault & springboard dropkick, then builds and builds… into running to the corner, where she stops and has to slowly climb and turn around to hit an Orihara Moonsault to the floor. Bridging German gets two. Hokuto’s bleeding (… from the moonsault, I guess?) and a big Ligerbomb gets two. Stereo Ligerbombs (Ayako spinning) gets two. Everyone dogpils and Hokuto/Meiko get Stereo Stranglehold Gammas! The crowd roars as Hokuto gears up one final Tope Con Hilo to the floor, and once everyone’s sure she’s alive, she Germans Ayako for two. Last ever Dangerous Queen Bomb! Meiko takes over, but Ayako springs to life by countering the DVD to another octopus hold, then a German but she climbs and is hauled into the Super Jujigatame- Chigusa can’t save and so she writhes for a while, but her submission selling remains poor.

Hokuto tries to add the paintbrush slap of death but hits Meiko, who gets Ligerbombed again. Ayako tries her Super Hama-Chan Cutter, but gets tossed and both dodge kicks until Meiko backswings with one, but they trade shoteis until Meiko ax kicks her for two. She tries Scorpio Rising (shining ax kick- her big finish) but Chigusa bolts her outta midair. Everyone kinda runs into each other but Chigusa flies into Hokuto and hits the Running Three (razor’s edge) for two! Meiko eats one too, and a Ligerbomb gets two. This is clearly endgame and All Hokuto now- Meiko has to save her and a DVD/Pele Kick combo gets two as Hokuto can’t cover. Hokuto calls for the finish, but Chigusa is too fresh and hits a DVD for two. Ayako’s tagged in to finish a dying Hokuto, but a fisherman’s buster duo can’t get it done. She climbs, but Meiko pulls her into the tree of woe and PELE KICKS her in the head, and Hokuto gets her sick inverted brainbuster/backdrop thing and only Chigusa can save. Chigusa also cheats with a backdrop and Meiko has to save so they’re even, but when Ayako gets up, she takes Scorpio Rising! Ayako gets her foot on the ropes and Meiko/Chigusa roll away and the fans SENSE IT- it’s just these two- Ayako’s still got some gas, but Hokuto slaps her twice to take the life outta her and that stuns her enough- NORTHERN LIGHTS BOMB and Hokuto calls it a career at (20:51).

They understood the assignment with this one. Hokuto’s fragile body maybe couldn’t have taken a full singles match and this allowed faster wrestlers (Meiko, Ayako) to cover a lot of ground while she tagged in for one last version of everything she had. All the signature spots got used, Chigusa got to pummel her with all sorts of things to get one last shot of the “Hokuto death sell” (NOBODY sells like she could- just rolling over like a puppet with cut strings as each shot took more and more life out of her), then Ayako, the least credible of the four, is called in for the last moments so Hokuto can hit one final Northern Lights Bomb to end things, but only with Meiko’s help, sufficiently keeping anyone from looking too bad. Ayako did her job well- she was “the one with the cardio”, able to fill a lot of the match and do some exciting spots. Funny how putting her in a match with three great workers suddenly makes her seem a whole ton better in the ring. Chigusa had intensity but was sloppy and clumsy, at least playing up damage as she did so (it never felt like it was ruining spots, even when she failed to lift Meiko for that one ligerbomb and Ayako had to stall). I love bits like the end, though- where everyone keeps running in and interfering and being illegal, breaking up pins… and there’s this moment where they collapse to the side and sell, and the crowd instinctively knows that This Is It- the final moments before the winning fall. And they murmur and roar when they sense it- that’s the power of communication just through spots and in-ring stuff.

Rating: ***1/2 (more or less an ideal “Greatest hits” collection of spots and some good bits with added drama)

AKIRA HOKUTO’S RETIREMENT CEREMONY:

And after the match, Hokuto gets on the mic and immediately declares that she’s passing on her Northern Lights Bomb to Chigusa! This is kind of a big deal, as in Japan you’re usually not supposed to jack someone’s finisher (Manami was PISSED on Twitter when Bea Priestly started copying hers, after she’d only “passed it along” to other wrestlers). Unless it’s Etsuko Mita’s and then everyone gets that as communal offense, haha. Everyone comes up to say their goodbyes- Sakura comes up first and gets a slap. D-FIX hug it out with their old friend, and then hold Police’s arms at his sides so Hokuto can paintbrush him (GOOD!). Devil says bye as a respected senior to a junior. Carlos, Sakurai, the GAEA ref, Chikayo & Sugar are next, and she’s all hugs with Kansai. Yamada’s next, then Meiko draws laughs, then celebrates a slap by kicking Hokuto in the leg. FRIENDSHIP! The refs are next, and then evil old Shimoda’s black heart thaws a tiny bit as she sobs for the woman who literally saved her career (Shimoda was DYING as a singles act until she was allowed to join LCO). Poor Mita is just completely falling apart, collapsing in a heap and snarling out sobs. She manages an “arigato gozaimasu!” and slinks away. Ayako earns a “gracias, amiga!’ from the bilingual Dangerous Queen. Aja has a long conversation, Lioness Asuka a hug, and then Chigusa gets the mic.

LCO saying their goodbyes to their mentor/senpai, who pretty much took them from jobbers to huge stars.

Hokuto stays retired after this- her only matches are novelty one-off stuff (which nearly every women’s wrestler does) like some thing with her husband Kensuke Sasaki, so this is really it for all intents and purposes. I’ve covered a LOT of retirements since I started with the 1992 stuff, and this is one of the biggest. Though Hokuto had been missing years at a time periodically, she still managed to be the one big person to give Meiko the rub in GAEA before she gave it up. Her loss isn’t as profound as it otherwise might be because it was largely felt as of 1994 when she left the first time, but as someone with a really solid shot at being the greatest wrestler of all time, any sex, it’s nonetheless a big moment that we’ll never see her in a big match/angle again.

Next up… GAEA in the other show from April, plus Hokuto covering her biggest matches in some interview thing.