Event: GAEA Japan “SQUARE JUNGLE”
Date: April 3rd, 1996
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,450

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

Hey look, the GAEA Japan Project still exists! Moving on to the next show, not a lot of this one was released on TV as it aired on a one hour event on GAORA, but we will watch what they showed. The main event wasn’t broadcasted, as GAEA Japan chose to focus on their younger wrestlers. Here is the full televised card:

• KAORU vs. Meiko Satomura
• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Sonoko Kato vs. Toshie Uematsu
• Chikayo Nagashima vs. Michiko Nagashima

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on the website, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

KAORU vs. Meiko Satomura

Meiko attacks KAORU right at the start and gets her into a cross armbreaker, but KAORU gets into the ropes for the break. Dropkicks by Meiko and she snaps KAORU’s arm over her shoulder a few times before going for the Fujiwara Armbar. KAORU quickly gets to the ropes again, Meiko goes back to the arm but KAORU pushes her away and hits a backdrop suplex. They both get back up and get into a knucklelock, KAORU tosses Meiko to the mat and applies a cross-arm submission but Meiko is too close to the ropes. Meiko dropkicks KAORU and elbows her into the corner, but KAORU switches positions with her and hits a series of chops. Scoop slam by KAORU and she covers Meiko for two. KAORU stomps on Meiko’s leg and applies a cross kneelock, but Meiko eventually makes it to the ropes. KAORU drags Meiko back to the middle of the ring and puts her in a Mexican Surfboard, she lets go after a moment and stomps on Meiko. KAORU kicks Meiko into the corner but Meiko tackles her and hits a series of mounted elbows. Meiko applies a cross kneelock but lets go after a moment as they are close to the ropes, stomps by Meiko but KAORU sneaks in a small package for two.

Charging elbow by Meiko and she hits some more from a mounted position, she goes for the cross armbreaker but KAORU is too close to the ropes and gets out of it. Back up, elbows by Meiko and she hits a jumping shoulderblock, another one by Meiko and she covers KAORU for two. Crab hold by KAORU but Meiko gets to the ropes for the break, Irish whip attempt by KAORU but Meiko reverses it and hits an elbow. She goes for another one but KAORU boots her back, Meiko snaps KAORU’s arm over her shoulder but KAORU plants her with a release German. KAORU picks up Meiko and hits a scoop slam near the corner, she goes up top but Meiko recovers and joins her, sending her back to the mat with a cross armbreaker takedown. KAORU lands near the ropes and quickly gets there for the break, Meiko goes up top and she hits a diving shoulderblock for two. Irish whip by Meiko to the corner but KAORU jumps out to the apron and hits a swandive dropkick. German suplex hold by KAORU, but Meiko kicks out and immediately applies an armbar. KAORU gets to the ropes for the break, back up Meiko hits a couple elbows but KAORU slaps her. Big Boot by KAORU and she slams Meiko in front of the corner, moonsault by KAORU but Meiko bridges out of the cover. Brainbuster by KAORU, she goes to the ropes and on the second try she hits the swandive moonsault for the three count! KAORU is the winner.

I’m surprised how even this match was, considering their age and experience difference. Meiko brought all she had here but KAORU didn’t seem that interested, aside from being willing to give Meiko lots of offense. KAORU didn’t really have a focus it seemed or showed much emotion, she just occasionally hit a little offense between Meiko’s flurries that didn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason to them. Botching the ending didn’t help much, mistakes happen but they are amplified a bit when its the finish. Meiko showed some growth and fire, but just a little too meandering for my tastes.

Sonoko Kato vs. Toshie Uematsu

We join this one in progress, as Sonoko picks up Toshie and throws her down by the hair. Toshie sneaks in a cradle and throws Sonoko into the corner, connecting with a running elbow. Mounted punches by Toshie and she drives Sonoko’s head into the mat, scoop slam by Toshie and she covers Sonoko for two. Irish whip by Toshie but Sonoko reverses it and hits an elbow, Toshie throws Sonoko into the corner and flips off of her before hitting some elbows. Sonoko gets Toshie on her shoulders but Toshie slides off and applies a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch for two. Headlock takedown by Toshie but Sonoko blocks the next and hits a bulldog. Another bulldog by Sonoko and she covers Toshie for two. Sonoko connects with a pair of Lou Thesz Presses, elbows by Sonoko on the mat but Toshie returns the favor. Hard slap by Sonoko but Toshie avoids the leg drop and applies a Victory Roll for two. Dropkicks by Toshie, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Scoop slam by Toshie, she goes up top again but Sonoko gets her knees up on the diving body press and applies a sleeper. Toshie eventually gets to the ropes for the break, Sonoko picks her up and hits a scoop slam for a two count. Irish whip by Sonoko and she hits a pair of dropkicks, but again her cover gets two. She goes for a lariat but Toshie avoids it, Sonoko slams her to the mat anyway but Toshie kicks out of the cover. Leg drop by Sonoko, she Irish whips Toshie but Toshie hits a crossbody. Toshie picks up Sonoko, Sonoko throws her into the corner but Toshie cradles Sonoko for two. Irish whip by Toshie but Sonoko catches her with a bulldog out of the corner, cover by Sonoko but the time expires. The match is a… Draw?

Well no one is happy with that so they give them an overtime period. Tie-up to start but Toshie quickly gets Sonoko in a Fujiwara Armbar. Sonoko gets into the ropes for the break, Toshie goes off the ropes and dropkicks Sonoko twice in the arm. Irish whip by Toshie and she hits a back elbow, rebound crossbody by Toshie out the corner but Sonoko bridges out of the pin. Scoop slam by Toshie and she hits four elbow drops for a two count. Toshie goes up top and hits a missile dropkick before applying the Fujiwara Armbar again but Sonoko gets to the ropes, Irish whip by Toshie but Sonoko schoolboys her for two. Sonoko picks up Toshie but Toshie gets her back, Toshie rolls Sonoko to the mat and applies a cross armbreaker. Sonoko gets a toe on the ropes for the break, and again the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a….. Draw?

No, we are going to another overtime period. Toshie stomps on Sonoko before she can get up, but Sonoko sneaks in a backslide for a two count. Toshie picks up Sonoko and throws her towards the corner, reversed by Sonoko and Sonoko dropkicks Toshie as she goes for the corner crossbody. Irish whip by Sonoko but Toshie reverses it and cradles Sonoko for two. Sleeper by Sonoko but Toshie gets the break, snapmare by Sonoko but Toshie tosses Sonoko to the mat and applies the cross armbreaker. Sonoko wiggles herself to the ropes to get the break, Toshie approaches Sonoko but Sonoko cradles her for two. Scoop slam by Toshie, but her cover gets a two count. Irish whip by Toshie, reversed by Sonoko and Sonoko goes for the Kamikaze, but Toshie reverses that into a cover for two. Irish whip by Toshie and she hits a crossbody, but the bell rings as time has expired. The match is officially a Draw.

The effort was definitely there, I will give them that. Obviously, Sonoko and Toshie were still early in their careers at this point and it showed at times, as there were a few miscommunications and awkward spots even with the match being clipped. But I liked the general story they told, with Toshie being desperate to get a win to advance to the Finals in the tournament and Sonoko trying her best to hold her off. Both overtime periods were exciting and they did a good job conveying a sense of urgency. While rough around the edges, still a pretty solid match between these two young wrestlers.  Mildly Recommended

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Michiko Nagashima

Chikayo dropkicks Michiko before the match starts and keeps dropkicking her, but Michiko stays on her feet. Hard dropkick by Michiko, she picks up Chikayo and rubs her face across the top rope. Michiko slams Chikayo’s face into the mat and hits a scoop slam, running sentons by Michiko but Sonoko Kato breaks up the cover. Apparently, Sonoko dislikes Michiko. Chikayo elbows Sonoko until she leaves the ring, boot by Michiko to Chikayo and she boots her again. Michiko throws down Chikayo by the hair a few times but Chikayo schoolboys her for two. Michiko starts on Chikayo’s arm and applies an armbar, but Chikayo gets into the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Michiko but Chikayo drops her with a Stunner, front roll attacks by Chikayo and she covers Michiko for two. Michiko takes back over and drills Chikayo with a front dropkick for two. Michiko throws Chikayo into the mat and flings her around by the hair before choking her with her knee. Irish whip by Michiko, Chikayo goes for a sunset flip but Michiko blocks it and punches her. Michiko puts Chikayo in the ropes and pulls back on her head, while taunting Sonoko at the same time. Irish whip by Michiko but Chikayo hits a headscissors out of the corner. Dropkicks by Chikayo and she finally sends Michiko to the mat with one, scoop slam by Chikayo and she goes to the top turnbuckle to hit a missile dropkick. Cover by Chikayo, but it gets a two count.

Chikayo charges Michiko in the corner but Michiko moves and kicks Chikayo out of the ring. She goes out after her and throws Chikayo into the guard rail, Sonoko comes over but Michiko throws a chair at her. She throws one at Chikayo as well before taking her up into the bleachers and slamming Chikayo into the wall. Sonoko goes over to comfort Chikayo but Chikayo pushes her away and returns to the ring, where Michiko is waiting for her. Irish whip by Michiko and she his a jumping neck drop, she gets a kendo stick and whacks Chikayo with it. Sonoko runs in and tries to take it from her but Chikayo gets mad again at the help and dropkicks Sonoko out of the ring. Backdrop suplex by Michiko to Chikayo, but Chikayo barely kicks out of the cover. She goes for another backdrop suplex but Chikayo lands on her feet, she cradles Michiko but it gets a two count. Chikayo goes for a crossbody but Michiko ducks and jumps down on her back, backdrop suplex hold by Michiko but Sonoko breaks up the cover. The referee gets Sonoko out of the ring while Michiko goes up top, but again Sonoko grabs Michiko from the apron. Michiko pulls Sonoko into the ring and dropkicks her, she then dropkicks Chikayo as well and slams her in front of the corner. Michiko goes up top again but Chikayo avoids the diving senton, scoop slam by Chikayo but Michiko gets her knees up when she goes for a diving crossbody. Michiko returns to the top and this time nails the diving senton, picking up the three count cover! Michiko Nagashima is the winner.

One downside of not knowing Japanese and watching matches from 25 years ago is I have no idea what Sonoko Kato’s issue was. Chikayo didn’t even want her help but she kept helping anyway, obviously some side story going on there. It was a good match, as Michiko was dominate while at the same time still giving Chikayo some offense and nearfalls so it wasn’t completely lopsided. Chikayo hit everything well and came across as a rookie with a ton of potential and perhaps ready to make that next step in her career. Fast paced and entertaining, I can see why they put this match last, the Sonoko situation sometimes hurt the flow but overall a good match.  Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “SQUARE JUNGLE” on 4/3/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: GAEA Japan “TOO HOT!“
Date: March 8th, 1996
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 2,200

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

GAEA Japan returns to Korakuen Hall for the second straight show, and this one is a doozy. We get the continuation of the eternal Neo Energy Queen History ’95 Tournament, plus Fukuoka swings by for some tag team action. In the main event, Chigusa Nagayo faces off against Saki Hasegawa in a very special match, as Saki is on her retirement tour. Saki Hasegawa had a solid career in All Japan Women but due to various injuries announced her retirement at only 26 years old. Hasegawa is the first AJW wrestler to appear on GAEA Japan, so it was a pretty big deal for her to appear on the event and wrestle the GAEA Japan Ace in the main event. Here is the full card:

• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Chihiro Nakano vs. Toshie Sato
• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Makie Numao vs. Meiko Satomura
• Bomber Hikari vs. Sonoko Kato
• KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka vs. Toshie Uematsu and Chikayo Nagashima
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. Sakie Hasegawa

I am watching the commercial release of the event, so all matches will be shown in full. All wrestlers on the show have a profile on the website, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Chihiro Nakano vs. Toshie Sato

They charge each other to start, both go for dropkicks but they both miss. They trade elbow drop attempts until Toshie hits one, Irish whip by Toshie but Chihiro hits a back bodydrop followed by a kneedrop for two. Snapmares by Chihiro and she applies a side headlock, but Toshie gets out of it and applies a headscissors. They trade submissions until Chihiro locks in a crab hold, but Toshie gets to the ropes for the break. Chihiro applies a leg submission and then a headlock, but Toshie gets out of it and applies a front headlock. Bodyscissors by Toshie, she lets go after a moment and knocks down Chihiro with a shoulderblock. dropkicks by Toshie, and she covers Chihiro for two. Sleeper by Toshie but Chihiro slides out of it and applies a hammerlock, armdrag by Toshie and she goes for a cross armbreaker. Chihiro gets away and applies a stretch hold, they end up back on their feet and Toshie knocks over Chihiro with a couple weak shoulderblocks. Scoop slam by Toshie and she covers Chihiro for two.

Toshie applies a guillotine but Chihiro slams out of it and hits a series of elbow strikes. Dropkick by Chihiro and she hits a scoop slam, picking up a two count. Snapmares by Toshie and she applies a side headlock on the mat, she picks up Chihiro and hits another shoulderblock. Toshie elbows Chihiro and delivers a face crusher, cover by Toshie but it gets a two count. Chihiro throws Toshie into the corner and hits a knee, but Toshie avoids the next one and somewhat dropkicks her. Chihiro and Toshie trade cradles before Chihiro applies a kneelock, she lets go after a moment and hits a pair of jumping knees. Toshie avoids the next one and goes for a slam, but Chihiro reverses it into a cradle for two. Chihiro picks up Toshie and hits a scoop slam, she goes up top and delivers a diving kneedrop for a two count. Swinging neckbreaker by Toshie and she hits a second one, but Chihiro bridges out of the pin. Toshie goes up top but Chihiro grabs her from behind and slams her to the mat. Chihiro picks up Toshie but Toshie slides away and delivers an over-the-shoulder powerslam. Diving elbow drop by Toshie, and she picks up the three count! Toshie Sato is the winner!

For a rookie match, this was pretty fun. Chihiro and Toshie both show a lot of early talent, and while Toshie Sato went on to have a better known career (as Sugar Sato) at this stage they were pretty even. Nagayo trained her wrestlers to go for it regardless of their experiences so it wasn’t just dropkicks which we frequently see in rookie matches today, and it was a pretty exciting back and forth. You could tell they were rookies from watching this, but a good effort from both.  Mildly Recommended

Makie Numao vs. Meiko Satomura

Meiko and Makie start by jockeying for position on the mat, kick to the chest by Makie and she kicks Meiko again. Scoop slam by Makie but Meiko fires back with elbows, scoop slam by Meiko and she covers Makie for two. Meiko works a headlock but Makie reverses it into a headscissors. Meiko gets the headlock re-applied and she picks up Makie, rolling her back to the mat with a front guillotine. Makie gets out of it and elbows Meiko in the chest, Irish whip by Meiko and she hits a forearm smash. Meiko picks up Makie, snapmare by Meiko and she applies a front facelock. Makie gets to the ropes for the break, Meiko picks her up but Makie cradles her for two. Meiko picks up Makie but Makie pushes her to the mat and applies a crab hold. Meiko gets to the ropes but Makie drags her to the middle of the ring and re-applies the hold. Meiko gets to the ropes again and this time forces the break, kicks by Makie to Meiko and she covers Meiko for two. Makie applies a bodyscissors but Meiko gets out of it and applies a kneelock, she goes for Makie’s arm but Makie gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Makie but Meiko ducks a kick and pushes Makie to the mat.

Scoop slam by Meiko, Irish whip by Meiko but Makie kicks her in the face. Knees by Makie and she kicks Meiko in the back, cover by Makie but it gets two. Makie picks up Meiko but Meiko elbows her and applies a sunset flip for two. Meiko goes off the ropes and hits a series of jumping shoulderblocks, elbow drop by Meiko and she covers Makie for two. Irish whip by Meiko to the corner and she hits a jumping elbow, she goes for another one but Makie avoids it and cradles Meiko. Meiko kicks Makie but Makie returns to her feet and kicks her back, Meiko goes for a Fujiwara Armbar but Makie quickly gets to the ropes. Meiko goes up top but Makie avoids her dive, Dragon Sleeper by Makie but Meiko gets a foot on the ropes. Kicks by Makie to the chest, she goes up top but Meiko elbows her before she can jump off. Makie hits a sunset flip anyway, but it only gets two. Makie goes up top again and hits a diving crossbody, but that gets a two count as well. She goes for the sleeper again but Meiko rolls through it and goes for Makie’s arm, but Makie is too close to the ropes. Irish whip by Meiko to the corner, Makie reverses it but Meiko snaps her arm over her shoulder. Cross armbreaker takedown by Meiko, and she keeps the hold applied for the submission victory! Meiko Satomura is the winner.

Not a bad match but a step down from the previous one. Makie Numao doesn’t have the skill of the other three wrestlers we have seen so far, and her action is a bit clunky at times. Meiko Satomura of course is full of fire as a teenager the same as she is today, which helped the match but it was still a bit disjointed and didn’t really flow. Its hard to get too mad at rookies as not every match is going to land, but a skippable match.

Bomber Hikari vs. Sonoko Kato

Bomber and Sonoko circle each other, Bomber pushes Sonoko into the ropes and gives her a hard elbow. Sonoko elbows her back, she goes for an Irish whip by Bomber blocks it and headbutts her. Bodyblock by Bomber, and she covers Sonoko for two. Bomber runs over Sonoko but Sonoko avoids the body press, stomps by Sonoko and she hits a dropkick. Bomber doesn’t budge of course, Sonoko tries again but it doesn’t work. Finally Sonoko knocks over Bomber but Bomber quickly returns to her feet and hits a scoop slam. Crab hold by Bomber which she keeps on for quite awhile, Sonoko almost gets to the ropes so Bomber lets go and stomps on her. Scoop slam by Bomber, and she covers Sonoko for two. Irish whip by Bomber and she hits a hard bodyblock, she hits a second one before applying a headscissors. Sonoko gets out of it and applies a submission, but Bomber quickly gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Sonoko and she hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Sonoko and she hits a third for a two count cover. Crab hold by Sonoko, she lets go after a moment and puts Bomber in a stretch hold. Sonoko releases the hold and hits a leg drop to Bomber’s back, snapmare by Sonoko and she covers Bomber for two. Sonoko throws down Bomber by the hair, she goes to do it again but Bomber blocks it. Hard shoulderblock by Bomber and she applies a bodyscissors, she lets go after a moment but Sonoko dropkicks her to the mat. Another dropkick by Sonoko and she hits a third, she then hits a fourth dropkick before covering Bomber for two.

Scoop slam by Sonoko, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Bomber gets her knees up when Sonoko dives off. Bomber picks up Sonoko but Sonoko drives her back into the corner, elbows by Sonoko but Bomber delivers a powerslam. Irish whip by Bomber and she hits a hard bodyblock, she goes for another one but Sonoko avoids it and hits a bulldog. Cover by Sonoko, but it gets a two count. Sonoko picks up Bomber but Bomber blocks it when she goes for a bulldog out of the corner, Lou Thesz Press by Sonoko but Bomber kicks out of the cover. Sonoko throws Bomber into the corner but Bomber reverses it, Bomber slams Sonoko off the second turnbuckle but Sonoko gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Bomber drags Sonoko to her feet and slams her in front of the corner, Reverse Splash by Bomber but Sonoko gets a foot on the ropes. Irish whip by Bomber and she throws Sonoko to the mat before hitting mounted elbow strikes. Bomber picks up Sonoko and gives her the Airplane Spin, she grabs Sonoko and throws her over her head. Bomber does it a second time, cover by Bomber but Sonoko bridges out of the pin attempt. Bomber picks up Sonoko and slams her in the middle of the ring, she goes up top and hits a diving headbutt. She picks her up before the referee can count to three on the pin, she picks up Sonoko but Sonoko fights back with elbows. Bomber smacks her back and nails the Over The Top for the three count! Bomber Hikari is the winner.

At first it looked like Bomber was just going to squash Sonoko but in the end, the rookie got a fair amount of offense and survived some of Bomber’s bigger moves. Sonoko still never felt like she was going to win and didn’t really have any convincing nearfalls, but at least it wasn’t completely one-sided. A little too all-over-the-place to recommend as they didn’t seem to have much of a game plan going in, but there didn’t seem to be any miscommunications and Bomber gave Sonoko plenty before putting her down.

KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka vs. Toshie Uematsu and Chikayo Nagashima

Toshie and Chikayo attack their opponents from behind to start the match, they both hit headscissors before isolating KAORU. Double knee to KAORU and the rookies both dropkick her, double Irish whip to KAORU but KAORU hits a crossbody on both of them. KAORU elbows Chikayo and puts her in a facelock but Chikayo reverses it into a hammerlock. They trade holds but KAORU gets the advantage and tags Fukuoka, Fukuoka bounces Chikayo off the ropes and boots her. Dropkick by Fukuoka and she kicks Chikayo in the back, backdrop by Fukuoka and she applies a figure four leglock. Toshie breaks it up, Fukuoka throws Chikayo into the corner so that Toshie can tag in, Fukuoka kicks Toshie in the back before tagging in KAORU. Toshie gets KAORU to the mat and applies an ankle hold, but KAORU gets out of it. Toshie goes for dropkicks but KAORU doesn’t budge, she finally knocks KAORU off her feet but KAORU bridges out of the pin and delivers a dropkick of her own. KAORU stomps on Toshie’s leg and puts her in a Mexican Surfboard, but Chikayo breaks it up. KAORU smacks Chikayo before tagging Fukuoka, Toshie hits a crossbody on Fukuoka and tags Chikayo. Dropkick by Chikayo to Fukuoka and she hits another one, but Chikayo swats aside the next attempt and applies a submission hold.

Toshie eventually breaks it up, Chikayo tries to fight back but Fukuoka elbows her hard in the chest for her trouble. KAORU is tagged in but Chikayo hits a hurricanrana and tags Toshie. Dropkick by Toshie to KAORU and she applies a crab hold, she switches it to a stretch hold but KAORU gets out of it. Snapmare by Toshie and she tags Chikayo, Chikayo kicks on KAORU’s leg and puts her in a kneelock. Toshie comes in too and puts a kneelock on KAORU’s other leg, they let go after a moment but KAORU sneaks in a pin attempt for two. Irish whip by KAORU and she hits Chikayo with a back elbow, Jackhammer by KAORU but Chikayo breaks up the cover. KAORU tags in Fukuoka, double wrist armsault by Fukuoka but again Toshie breaks it up. Fukuoka picks up Chikayo but Chikayo hits a crossbody, Irish whip by Chikayo and she delivers a front roll into a headbutt for two. Chikayo tries to throw down Fukuoka but the hair but Fukuoka blocks it and tosses Chikayo instead, dropkick by Fukuoka but Chikayo gets to the ropes when she goes for a cover. Backdrop suplex by Fukuoka, but Chikayo bridges out of the pin. She tags in KAORU but KAORU lets Toshie tag in, hard elbow by KAORU to Toshie and she hits a double underhook suplex. Bridging suplex by KAORU, but Chikayo breaks up the cover.

KAORU tags Fukuoka but Toshie runs up Fukuoka in the corner and delivers an elbow. Dropkick by Chikayo to Fukuoka but Fukuoka dropkicks both of them and tags KAORU. KAORU charges Toshie but Toshie sneaks in a sunset flip for two. She tags Chikayo, roll-up by Chikayo to KAORU but that gets two as well. KAORU goes for the Space Rolling Elbow but Chikayo avoids it and hits a monkey flip. Step-over sunset flip by Chikayo, but KAORU lands in the ropes. She goes for it again but KAORU throws her to the mat, Fukuoka comes in and she hits a Space Rolling Elbow on Chikayo in the corner. DDT by Fukuoka and KAORU hits a swandive footstomp for a two count. KAORU picks up Chikayo and tags Fukuoka, missile dropkick by Fukuoka but Chikayo lands near her corner and tags Toshie. Headscissors by Toshie and she goes for a pin, but Fukuoka pushes her off. Dropkick by Toshie, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody. Chikayo goes up top next but KAORU comes in and kicks her down to the floor, suplex by Fukuoka to Toshie and she slams her near the corner. KAORU goes up top and nails a moonsault, Fukuoka follows with a moonsault of her own and she covers Toshie for two. Fukuoka picks up Toshie but Toshie sneaks in a backslide for two. KAORU comes back in the ring with a swandive missile dropkick to Toshie, Fukuoka plants her with a Tiger Driver and she picks up the three count! KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka are the winners.

KAORU and Fukuoka are both so good, KAORU in particular really looked great here. Chikayo and Toshie held her own but clearly were a step below. Which isn’t a knock on them of course, the teams were just lopsided by design. KAORU and Fukuoka did a good job of working with the rookies and gave them plenty of hope spots. I don’t think that Toshie was supposed to kick out after the moonsaults, but Chikayo was late breaking up the pin. A fast paced and entertaining match, but KAORU as she tends to do stole the show.  Mildly Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Sakie Hasegawa

Hasegawa attacks Nagayo from behind before the match starts, Hasegawa goes for a Uranage but Nagayo elbows her off. Hasegawa throws Nagayo out of the ring, she goes for a tope con hilo but comes up a bit short. Nagayo taunts her as Hasegawa gets back in the ring, she tries again and this time successfully delivers the move. Hasegawa gets back in the ring and waits for Nagayo, Nagayo returns and the two lock knuckles. Kicks by Nagayo but Hasegawa kicks her back, knees by Hasegawa but Nagayo blocks the double underhook. Hasegawa goes for a Fujiwara Armbar but Nagayo quickly gets to the ropes, Nagayo takes Hasegawa to the mat and applies a facelock. Nagayo then switches to Hasegawa’s arm, but Hasegawa blocks her from locking in the armbreaker. Hasegawa gets Nagayo’s back and goes for an armbreaker of her own, she gets it locked in but Nagayo rolls out of it. Bodyscissors by Hasegawa and she applies a facelock, but Nagayo gets out of the hold. Hasegawa applies a seated armbar and snaps Nagayo’s arm over her shoulder, dropkick by Hasegawa but Nagayo returns to her feet and challenges her for more. Chops by Hasegawa and she dropkicks Nagayo again, missile dropkick by Hasegawa and she covers Nagayo for two.

They end up back on the mat as Hasegawa applies a STF, but Nagayo crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Hasegawa hits a leg drop on Nagayo’s arm before picking her up, but Nagayo sweeps her legs and applies a Scorpion Deathlock. Hasegawa gets to the ropes to force the break, Irish whip by Nagayo and she hits a heel kick. Irish whip again by Nagayo but Hasegawa ducks the heel kick and delivers a savate kick. High kick by Hasegawa and she hits another jumping savate kick followed by a third, another kick by Hasegawa and she covers Nagayo for two. Irish whip by Hasegawa and they both go for heel kicks, sending them both to the mat. Nagayo is up first but Hasegawa gets her back and applies a sleeper hold. Nagayo hits a backdrop suplex to try to get out of it but Hasegawa keeps the hold applied until Nagayo finally makes it to the ropes. Hasegawa picks up Nagayo but Nagayo blocks the powerbomb attempt, back bodydrop by Nagayo and she lariats Hasegawa into the corner. Nagayo drives Hasegawa’s head into the mat with her knee, cover by Nagayo but it gets a two count. Nagayo gets on the turnbuckles but Hasegawa kicks her from behind, sending Nagayo out of the ring. Hasegawa dives out onto Nagayo with a plancha suicida, she goes for a Uranage but Nagayo blocks it and delivers a kick.

Nagayo goes up top and dives out of the ring with a plancha suicida of her own. Nagayo slides Hasegawa back in, she goes for a powerbomb but Hasegawa gets out of it and hits a hurricanrana. Hasegawa picks up Nagayo and hits locomotive underhook suplexes, cover by Hasegawa but Nagayo kicks out. Hasegawa picks up Nagayo but Nagayo blocks the Irish whip and applies a sleeper. Hasegawa knees her way out of it but Nagayo re-applies it until Hasegawa gets to the ropes for the break. Nagayo picks up Hasegawa but Hasegawa wiggles out of the Running Three, Nagayo armdrags out of the Uranage attempt but Hasegawa ducks her heel kick. Suplex by Nagayo, but Hasegawa quickly returns to her feet and delivers the Uranage. She picks up Nagayo and hits a second followed by a third, cover by Hasegawa but Nagayo gets a shoulder up on the cover. She goes for another one but Nagayo elbows out of it, Nagayo gets Hasegawa up on her shoulders but Hasegawa sneaks in a roll-up for two. Hasegawa goes for a heel kick but Nagayo blocks it, she picks up Hasegawa and nails the Running Three for the three count! Chigusa Nagayo is the winner.

After the match, Nagayo picks up Hasegawa and lays her on top of her, motioning for the referee to count to three. He does so, giving Hasegawa a visual pin to end the show.

I don’t know for sure what Hasegawa’s condition was going in but for a 20 minute match there wasn’t a lot to it. They spent a lot of time on the mat trading holds that didn’t go anywhere, which isn’t too unusual in main event matches but it lasted far longer than you’d expect with no real conclusion. Nagayo was a bit playful to start but did get serious as the match went on, but it was basically 18 minutes of not a lot happening with just an occasional burst of offense from one or the other. I’m sure this meant something for Hasegawa as she winded down her career but it wasn’t a great match as it was just too slow and at times had clunky execution. Probably a match worth watching for a huge fan of either wrestler but a disappointing main event.

The post GAEA Japan “TOO HOT!” on 3/8/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: GAEA Japan “WAR IS A FRIDAY NIGHT”
Date: February 16th, 1996
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,850

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

GAEA returns to Korakuen Hall with a fun show, as for the first time since mid-1995 we have some wrestlers from LLPW to spice things up. In the main event, we have a big singles match between Combat Toyoda and KAORU! Here is the full card:

• Neo Energy Queen History ’95: Makie Numao vs. Sonoko Kato
• Chigusa Nagayo, Sonoko Kato, and Bomber Hikari vs. Eagle Sawai, Jenn Yukari, and Michiko Nagashima
• Combat Toyoda vs. KAORU

All the wrestlers on the show have profiles on the website, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. The three matches were squeezed into about 45 minutes, so there may be some clipping.

Makie Numao vs. Sonoko Kato
Neo Energy Queen History ’95 Tournament

Makie starts the match on offense as she kicks Sonoko, but Sonoko fires back until Makie hits a leg sweep. Sonoko goes for a dropkick but Makie avoids it, kick to the chest by Makie and she hits a scoop slam for a two count. Irish whip by Makie and she kicks Sonoko again, Makie flings Sonoko around before applying a wristlock. Sonoko reverses it but Makie reverses it back and kicks Sonoko in the face. Bodyscissors by Makie, she picks up Sonoko and snapmares her before going back to the arm. Makie applies an arm submission but Sonoko gets a boot on the ropes to get the break, Makie keeps the submission applied however and holds Sonoko on the mat. Again Sonoko gets to the ropes for the break, Makie goes for a back bodydrop but Sonoko reverses it into a sunset flip. Dropkicks by Sonoko and she puts Makie in a crab hold, but Makie gets into the ropes. Sonoko drags her to the middle of the ring and applies a modified deathlock, but once again Makie gets the break. Kneelock by Sonoko but Makie reverses it, Sonoko reverses it back into the single leg crab hold before letting go to hit a dropkick. Scoop slam by Sonoko, she picks up Makie and hits a snapmare, but Makie applies a backslide for two.

Kicks by Makie, she picks up Sonoko and hits a scoop slam for two. More kicks by Makie and she applies a side headlock, Sonoko reverses it into a headscissors but Makie gets out of it. Makie picks up Sonoko and kicks her in the midsection, scoop slam by Makie but Sonoko hits a hard elbow in the chest. Knees by Makie but Sonoko hits  Lou Thesz Press, another one by Sonoko and she hits a third for two. Sonoko goes off the ropes but Makie avoids the leg drop, stomps by Sonoko but Makie kicks her back. Makie goes for a high kick but Sonoko catches her leg and applies an ankle hold, Sonoko picks up Makie and delivers a bulldog. She goes for another but Makie blocks it, Makie goes for a kick but Sonoko swats her away. Dragon Sleeper by Makie but Sonoko gets a foot in the ropes, Makie goes up top and delivers a diving forearm to the chest. Makie picks up Sonoko but Sonoko ducks the enzuigiri, Irish whip by Sonoko and she hits a Lou Thesz Press. She hits four more Lou Thesz Presses, but Makie barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Sonoko goes for a tornado bulldog but Makie pushes her away, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Sonoko avoids the diving bodypress. Sonoko picks up Makie but Makie cradles her for a two count. More kicks by Makie but Sonoko gets Makie on her shoulders and delivers the Kamikaze Bomb for the three count! Sonoko wins the match and gets one point in the tournament.

Even though I appreciate that she brings something a bit different to the table, Makie is still pretty rough around the edges. Sonoko is more smooth but struggled here at times to keep things in order, as there were quite a few awkward moments spread throughout the match. They also both don’t have a wide variety of moves so at times it felt repetitive. For two rookies, not offensive, but nothing I could ever recommend tracking down due to the general clunkiness that was present throughout.

Chigusa Nagayo, Kato, and Bomber Hikari vs. Eagle Sawai, Yukari, and Michiko Nagashima

Team GAEA Japan attacks before the bell rings as we immediately fall into chaos, powerbomb by Nagayo to Yukari but Sawai clubs her. Backdrop suplex by Nagayo to Sawai but Nagashima hits her with a kendo stick, Over The Top by Hikari to Nagashima but Yukari breaks up the cover. Sonoko and Yukari stay in as the legal wrestlers, lariat by Yukari to Sonoko but the pin is broken up. She tags in Nagashima, dropkick by Nagashima to Kato and she throws her around the ring by her hair. Yukari goes up top but Nagayo kicks her off, Yukari knocks Nagayo out of the ring and part of the teams brawl on the floor while Nagashima and Kato stay in. Nagashima gets a chain and bashes Kato in the head with it, busting the rookie open. Nagashima stomps on Kato before tossing her by the hair again, we get a look at Sawai beating up Nagayo at ringside as she is bleeding as well. Kato makes the hot tag to Hikari but Nagashima knocks her down and tags Yukari. German suplex hold by Yukari to Hikari, but it gets a two count. Yukari goes off the ropes but Hikari catches her with a powerslam, suplex by Hikari and she covers Yukari for two. Hikari goes up top and hits a diving headbutt, but Sawai breaks up the cover. Hikari tags Nagayo, Nagayo goes for a powerbomb but Nagashima hits her in the midsection with a kendo stick.

Sawai is tagged in but Hikari and Kato both dropkick her, Sawai lariats both of them but Nagayo fires back with a lariat of her own. Sawai falls in her corner and tags Nagashima, Nagayo gets Nagashima on her shoulders while Kato goes up top to go for a crossbody, but Nagashima ducks and hits a Victory Roll, causing Kato to crash to the mat. Nagashima picks up Kato but Hikari comes in, double Irish whip to Nagashima but they are tripped from the floor. Nagashima beats both with a kendo stick while Yukari and Nagayo battle into the crowd. Yukari hits Nagayo with a chair while Sawai gets a table, Nagayo gets the better of Yukari as Nagashima sets up the table in the ring. Nagashima puts Kato on the table as Sawai rescues Yukari, Nagashima goes up top but Hikari knocks the table over and hits an avalanche powerslam for two. Double shoulderblock to Nagashima, suplex by Hikari to Nagashima and Kato hits a diving body press for two. Kamikaze Bomb by Kato to Nagashima, but the pin is broken up. Sawai scoop slams Kato, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Nagayo hits her from behind and joins her.

Avalanche backdrop suplex by Nagayo but Yukari hits her with a chair, she tries again but Nagayo trips her and hits all three of her opponents with the chair. Kato gets the chain and hits Nagashima in the head with it repeatedly, as things break down even further than they already were. Kato knocks Nagashima out of the ring but Nagashima throws her into the railing, while in the crowd Nagayo hits Yukari with chairs. Back in the ring, dropkicks by Kato to Nagashima but Nagashima chokes her. We get a clip of Nagayo taking Sawai who knows where, but they are in the back before emerging near the balcony at Korakuen. They battle up there while Nagashima keeps choking Kato in the ring, Hikari headbutts Yukari while all of this is going on as the referee tries to convince Nagashima to stop choking so much. Nagayo and Sawai somehow make it back into the ring as Nagayo stretches Sawai in the ropes, sleeper by Nagashima to Kato but Nagayo breaks it up. Sawai comes in and slams Nagayo to the mat, she picks up Kato and hits a powerbomb with a cover, and while Nagashima hits Nagayo with a kendo stick she is able to pick up the three count cover! Team LLPW wins!

The inter-promotional match on the last event felt lackluster, which Chigusa Nagayo must have realized as for this one they took it straight up to 100. For a midcard match I wasn’t expecting much, but I was wrong. This was a wild brawl with constant violence going on, either in the ring or somewhere around it. There was blood everywhere, weapons constantly being used, interference every 15 seconds, about all you could ask for from a hateful match. My only complaint was just the length, as I wouldn’t have minded if it was a bit longer so that the end stretch could have been more fleshed out. Still, I loved the atmosphere and urgency of this match, and even though really it was a throw-away match they fought like they were in the main event at the Tokyo Dome. Probably my biggest surprise so far watching all the GAEA Japan events, really great stuff.  Highly Recommended

Combat Toyoda vs. KAORU

We join his match in progress, same as we did with Combat Toyoda’s last singles match in GAEA Japan. Toyoda Irish whips KAORU, KAORU hits a crossbody but she bothers her apparently already injured knee in the process. Figure four leglock by Toyoda but KAORU rolls into the ropes to force the break. Toyoda picks up KAORU and hits a vertical suplex, cover by Toyoda but it gets two. Irish whip by Toyoda but KAORU reverses it, she hits a dropkick but Toyoda doesn’t budge. Toyoda fires back with a dropkick of her own, another dropkick by Toyoda and she covers KAORU for a two count. Backdrop suplex hold by Toyoda, but again KAORU kicks out. Toyoda slams KAORU in front of the corner, she goes up top and hits a diving body press, but KAORU gets a shoulder up. She goes up again but KAORU gets her knees up on her second attempt, hurting both Toyoda and herself in the process. Both wrestlers slowly get up but Toyoda hits a dropkick before KAORU can do anything, backdrop suplex by Toyoda but her covers only gets two. Toyoda picks up KAORU and drops her with a wheelbarrow German suplex, she gets KAORU up and hits a Liger Bomb, but KAORU won’t stay down. Toyoda goes to the top turnbuckle but KAORU recovers and joins her, slaps by KAORU and she nails an avalanche Fisherman Buster. KAORU picks up Toyoda and slams her in front of the corner, she goes up top and delivers a moonsault. She hobbles to the corner and goes back up again to hit a second moonsault, she goes for a third moonsault but this time Toyoda manages to roll out of the way. KAORU clubs her in the stomach, she goes up a fourth time and hits another moonsault. Again she goes up but this time she debuts the Valkyrie Splash, cover by KAORU and she gets the three count! KAORU wins!

So this match was completely ridiculous. We missed the first half, which I assume was mostly work on KAORU’s leg, but from what we saw it almost goes beyond even suspended belief that KAORU could have survived Toyoda’s offensive onslaught. She basically took the following moves in a row without being pinned: backdrop suplex hold, diving body press, backdrop suplex, wheelbarrow German, and a Liger Bomb. Its just a lot to take from someone of Toyoda’s size/strength. Then of course to keep Toyoda down, KAORU had to hit four or five top rope moves in a row (not sure if the “miss” was intentional) since she had done nothing to wear Toyoda down. At least she had to bust out a brand new move, the Valkyrie Splash, to get the three count. It was kinda fascinating in a way and a very “Chigusa Nagayo” style of booking a match, as the GAEA Japan wrestler overcame the odds. But it went a bit too far with it for my liking as instead of making KAORU look sympathetic it made her look like superwoman. An interesting spectacle for sure but I think they missed the mark a bit with the story they told.

The post GAEA Japan War Is A Friday Night on 2/16/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using extensively to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

After a bit of a break, I am back to watching more GAEA Japan! This airing from GAORA TV is really interesting – they actually don’t air the main event from this show at all. The show ended with a big match between Chigusa Nagayo and Shark Tsuchiya, so while I don’t think there was an official reason why it never aired, either FMW didn’t give permission (less likely) or the match was really bad (more likely). In fact most of the matches from this show didn’t make the recording, as they only show two matches from the six match card. Here are the matches we will be watching:

• Meiko Satomura, Yuki Miyazaki, and Toshie Sato vs. Reiko Amano, Chihiro Nakano, and Kanako Motoya
• Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki vs. KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka
  

The airing is still an hour long, so safe bet that one of these matches will be on the lengthy side. You can click on the names above to go directly to that wrestler’s profile here on Joshi City.

Meiko Satomura, Miyazaki, and Toshie Sato vs. Amano, Chihiro Nakano, and Kanako Motoya
G & J 3 on 3 MIX

Yuki and Chihiro start the match but Amano quickly comes in to help before Kanako is tagged in. Kanako takes down Yuki and puts her in an armbar, but Toshie quickly breaks it up. Yuki tags in Toshie, kicks by Toshie to Chihiro but Chihiro hits a scoop slam for a two count. Irish whip by Chihiro and she nails a jumping knee, but that gets a two as well. She tags in Amano, dropkick by Amano and she scoop slams Toshie. Snapmare by Amano and she puts Toshie in a crab hold, but Yuki breaks it up. Meiko is tagged in and she trades elbows with Amano, running elbow by Meiko and she hits a scoop slam. Meiko tags in Yuki, dropkicks by Yuki but Kanako tags herself in. Crossbody by Yuki to Kanako and she puts her in a headscissors, she lets Yuki go after a moment and dropkicks her into the corner. Another dropkick by Kanako and she tags in Chihiro, snapmare by Chihiro and she puts Yuki in a crab hold. Yuki gets to the ropes for the break, Chihiro drags her back to the middle of the ring and starts working on her leg. Chihiro tags Kanako, crossbody by Kanako but Yuki kicks out. Yuki finally gets control of the match, snapmares by Yuki and she puts Kanako in a bodyscissors. Chihiro runs in and breaks it up, Kanako and Chihiro double team Yuki and Kanako dropkicks Toshie when she tries to help.

Kanako tags in Amano but Yuki avoids her diving body press, Amano tags Kanako back in and Kanako cradles Yuki for two. Meiko and Toshie come to to get Yuki back in control but she immediately hits a series of running boots from Kanako. Kanako tags Chihiro but Yuki slaps her against the ropes and delivers a hip attack. Another hip attack by Yuki and she tags in Toshie, face crusher by Toshie to Chihiro and she gets a two count cover. Irish whip by Toshie and she trades waistlocks with Chihiro until she delivers a neckbreaker. Chihiro quickly puts Toshie in a kneelock but it gets broken up, she tags in Amano while Meiko is tagged in as well. Amano tosses Meiko into the corner and hits an elbow, but Meiko returns the favor, jumping lariat by Amano but Yuki boots her in the head. Yuki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Amano, Toshie then hits one as well until Meiko delivers a diving lariat. Amano is dragged back to her corner so that Kanako can tag in, Yuki stays in too but Chihiro comes off the top with a knee to Toshie. We settle back to Meiko in the ring with Amano, they trade flash pins but neither can get the three count. Amano goes off the ropes and hits a jumping lariat, but Meiko avoids the next one and goes for Amano’s arm. Meiko goes for the cross armbreaker but Amano gets away, cradle by Meiko but Amano reverts it into a cross armbreaker and Meiko submits! Your winners are Reiko Amano, Chihiro Nakano, and Kanako Motoya!

When you put six young wrestlers in one match without any type of veteran to keep them under control, you are going to get chaos, which is what this match was. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for a mid-card fast paced match but if you are looking for structure then this isn’t the match for you as they were just running in and out with no regard to traditional tag rules. Chihiro’s jumping knee was the most memorable thing about the match, it was hit very flush and she looked great here. Even though they are young and inexperienced, it was certainly an exciting match and they all showed potential to be great wrestlers down the road (which many did in fact become).  Mildly Recommended

Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki vs. KAORU and Hikari Fukuoka

We join the match in progress with Ozaki in the ring with KAORU, KAORU applies a sleeper but Ozaki gets out of it, she manages to tag in Masami but KAORU immediately jumps on her back and applies a sleeper to her as well. Fukuoka goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Masami, but Masami fires back with a lariat out of instinct. Fukuoka still recovers first and puts Masami in a sleeper, Masami struggles for a few minutes until she finally reaches the ropes. Fukuoka picks up Masami and hits a German suplex hold, but Ozaki breaks it up. Fukuoka tags KAORU back in and KAORU puts Masami in a Mexican Surfboard, she lets go after a moment and hits a leg drop to Masami’s back. KAORU tags Fukuoka, Irish whip by Fukuoka but Masami blocks it and hits an overhead toss. This gives her time to tag in Ozaki, German suplex hold by Ozaki but it gets a two count. Liger Bomb by Ozaki, but that gets a two count as well. Ozaki goes up top and hits a twisting body press, but again Fukuoka kicks out. Short armbar by Ozaki, she picks up Fukuoka and snaps down on her arm. She goes back to the armbar before tagging Masami in, Irish whip by Masami but Fukuoka rebounds out of the corner with a dropkick. Rolling Cradle by Fukuoka, but Ozaki breaks up the eventual cover. Dragon sleeper by Fukuoka to Masami but Masami gets out of it, Irish whip by Masami and she slams Fukuoka. Fukuoka elbows Masami, Masami goes for a powerbomb but KAORU breaks it up before she can finish the move. Ozaki comes in to even the odds, Masami slams Fukuoka near the corner and she picks up Ozaki to powerbomb her onto Fukuoka, but KAORU dives off the top with a lariat to Ozaki instead. German suplex hold by Fukuoka to Masami, but Masami gets a shoulder up. Masami rolls out of the ring and Fukuoka goes out after her, but Masami slaps her hard in the chest and takes her up into the crowd. Masami tosses chairs at Fukuoka but Fukuoka gets behind her back and pushes Masami off the stage.

Masami lands on her feet but KAORU goes up on the stage and Fukuoka helps catapult her off the stage and onto Masami. Fukuoka then does a cartwheel on the stage before diving down onto both Masami and Ozaki with a crossbody. Back in the ring, Fukuoka tosses Masami into the corner and delivers the Space Rolling Elbow, she puts Masami on the top turnbuckle but when she goes for the Frankensteiner she gets powerbombed instead. Sleeper by Masami but KAORU breaks it up, Masami grabs KAORU and tosses her over the top rope to the floor. Masami picks up Fukuoka and hits a Liger Bomb, but it gets a two count. Masami goes back to the sleeper but Fukuoka gets a foot on the ropes for the break, KAORU suddenly flies in the ring with a swandive dropkick to Masami’s back and she drags Fukuoka back to her corner so she can tag her. KAORU charges Masami but Masami hits a Samoan Drop, scoop slam by Masami and she goes up top, but KAORU dropkicks her before she can jump off and joins her. Ozaki runs over and slams KAORU to the mat, powerbomb by Ozaki and Masami comes off the top with a leg drop attempt, but KAORU moves. KAORU picks up Masami but Masami kicks her in the back of the head, she gets KAORU on her shoulders as Ozaki goes up top, but KAORU slides off before Ozaki can connect with a dive. Ozaki stays in, cradle by KAORU to Ozaki but it gets a two count. Ozaki applies a short armbar, Masami then dives off with a leg drop to KAORU’s arm before Ozaki covers KAORU for two. Masami powerbombs KAORU, she gets KAORU on her shoulders as Ozaki goes up top, but KAORU armdrags Ozaki off the top turnbuckle before Fukuoka nails Ozaki with a Rider Kick. Space Rolling Elbow by Fukuoka to Ozaki followed by an assisted dropkick by KAORU, KAORU covers Masami but it gets a two count.

KAORU boots Masami in the head as does Fukuoka, KAORU picks up Masami and drops her with a brainbuster and she hits a second one, cover by KAORU but Ozaki breaks it up. Masami slowly gets up but eats a Rider Kick to the back of the head for her trouble, KAORU covers Masami but the referee won’t count it probably due to Fukuoka knocking her out when she wasn’t the legal wrestler. KAORU grabs Masami but Masami elbows her off of her, Ozaki dives off the top turnbuckle with a somersault but Fukuoka runs in and takes care of her. Scoop slam by KAORU to Masami and Fukuoka delivers a moonsault. Sleeper by KAORU but Ozaki breaks it up, Fukuoka takes care of her however and then goes up top and nails a moonsault footstomp onto Masami. KAORU then goes up top and hits two moonsault footstomps to Masami, cover by KAORU but Ozaki breaks up the cover. KAORU applies a sleeper to Masami while sitting on the top turnbuckle, but Ozaki runs in and elbows her before Masami delivers an Electric Chair Drop. Masami picks up KAORU and nails a Liger Bomb, but Fukuoka breaks it up. Ozaki powerbombs Fukuoka, Masami covers KAORU again but Fukuoka rolls over to break it up again. Ozaki comes in and nails the Tequila Sunrise onto KAORU, but KAORU gets a shoulder up. Another Tequila Sunrise by Ozaki, but KAORU gets her shoulder up again. Ozaki goes up top but KAORU recovers and joins her, Masami hits KAORU from behind and gets her on her shoulders before Ozaki dives off with a crossbody onto KAORU. Fukuoka breaks up her cover attempt, Ozaki picks up KAORU and goes for a powerbomb, but KAORU reverses it with a hurricanrana. Fukuoka goes up top while KAORU gets Ozaki on her shoulders, but Ozaki rolls up KAORU when Fukuoka goes for a Rider Kick. Masami powerbombs Fukuoka, Ozaki grabs KAORU and powerbombs her as well while Masami goes up top. Fukuoka feeds KAORU to Masami so that Masami can hit a leg drop on KAORU from the top turnbuckle, but the bell rings before she can make a cover. The match is a Draw.

This match started really slow since they were aiming for the 45 minute time limit but once it got going it stayed entertaining until the end. If anything they were doing too much, especially since it wasn’t the main event, with all the wrestlers hitting their finishers (or variations thereof) with not a lot of selling between moves. I was surprised how much offense Devil Masami took, she has a reputation of being selfish sometimes but here she was basically the “Face in Peril” during a good chunk of the match. Fukuoka is crazy and takes a lot of risks, she delivered the vast majority of the time here and it just added to the chaotic scene. This match wouldn’t look out of place even if it took place in 2018, they were ahead of the curve when it comes to fast paced hard hitting action and they delivered that here in spades.  Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Never Ending Bump” on 11/3/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using extensively to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

GAEA Japan continues to travel outside of Tokyo for this event, as it takes place in Osaka, Japan (which the name of the show gave away). Chigusa Nagayo’s battles with outsiders continues here, as she takes on Mayumi Ozaki from JWP in a Street Fight. Like the last show, only three matches from the event made the broadcast, so we are only seeing half of what the live audience saw. Here are the matches that made TV:

• Bomber Hikari and Saburo vs. Tomoko Miyaguchi and Sonoko Kato
• Devil Masami and Dynamite Kansai vs. Hikari Fukuoka and KAORU
• Street Fight: Chigusa Nagayo vs. Mayumi Ozaki

There will still be some heavy clipping as all three of these matches were quite long, we are going to find out how much clipping in just a moment. As always, all the wrestler’s above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go directly to it.

Bomber Hikari and Saburo vs. Tomoko Miyaguchi and Sonoko Kato

We join this match well in progress, with Bomber in the ring with Kato. Powerslam by Bomber, she picks up Kato and tosses her over her head, Miyaguchi comes in to break up the cover but Bomber throws Miyaguchi onto Kato. Body press by Bomber onto both of them, Saburo comes in and goes for her own body press, but both Miyaguchi and Kato move out of the way. Bomber gets Kato on her shoulders, Saburo then dives off and pushes Kato off of Bomber’s shoulders, but Miyaguchi breaks up Bomber’s cover. Bomber picks up Kato and hits the Over The Top, Miyaguchi and Saburo both come in the ring and Saburo slams both Miyaguchi and Kato. Diving headbutt by Bomber to Kato, and she picks up the three count! Bomber Hikari and Saburo are the winners.

This was clipped down to two minutes so not much to say. A dominating performance by Bomber as it was shown, as she is set to the be midcard enforcer for the extent of her run in GAEA Japan. But nothing special enough in what was shown.

Devil Masami and Dynamite Kansai vs. Hikari Fukuoka and KAORU

The match is joined in progress as Fukuoka hits a hurricanrana on Masami, she tags in KAORU who starts working on Kansai’s leg. KAORU puts Masami in a Surfboard, she lets go after a moment and applies a crab hold instead. After a moment she tags in Fukuoka, but Masami catches her with a Samoan Drop and then puts Fukuoka in the Surfboard. KAORU breaks it up but Kansai come sin too and tosses KAORU in to the corner, KAORU drops Kansai out of the ring however and then helps Fukuoka double team Masami. Tiger Driver by Fukuoka to Masami, but Kansai breaks it up. KAORU goes up top and delivers a moonsault, Fukuoka then hits a moonsault as well but Kansai again breaks up the pin. Fukuoka goes back up top but Masami avoids the moonstomp, she stacks KAORU and Fukuoka into the corner so that both she and Kansai can hit running strikes. Masami tags Kansai, backdrop suplex by Kansai to Fukuoka but KAORU breaks up the pin. Kansai hits a backdrop suplex on KAORU as well, Masami comes back and she powerbombs KAORU while Kansai powerbombs Fukuoka also. Cover by Kansai, but Fukuoka bridges out of the pin. Kansai kicks Fukuoka in the head and waits while the referee checks on her, Fukuoka slowly gets back up and Fukuoka goes for Splash Mountain, but Fukuoka reverses it with a hurricanrana for two.

Fukuoka tags KAORU, Kansai elbows KAORU back but KAORU boots her in the face. Fukuoka dropkicks Kansai to help KAORU hit a German Suplex Hold, but Masami breaks it up. Brainbuster by KAORU to Kansai, Fukuoka then dives off the top with a diving headbutt before KAORU hits her swandive moonsault, but Masami interrupts the pin. KAORU tags Fukuoka, Fukuoka goes up top while KAORU puts Kansai on her shoulders, Rider Kick by Fukuoka but Kansai barely kicks out. Fukuoka goes up top and nails the moonsault footstomp, but Masami breaks up the cover. KAORU goes up top but Masami grabs her from the apron, meanwhile joins KAORU up top but Fukuoka joins them too and DDTs Kansai to the mat. Moonsault by KAORU to Kansai, but Masami breaks it up. Fukuoka and KAORU both go up top together but Fukuoka avoids both of their moonsaults, Masami then comes off the top with diving leg drops on both of them. Masami and Kansai both go for powerbombs but Fukuoka and KAORU gets out of it, Kansai and Masami manage to powerbomb KAORU together and Kansai covers her for two. Kansai picks up KAORU and nails the Splash Mountain while Masami tosses Fukuoka out of the ring, cover by Kansai and she gets the three count! Devil Masami and Dynamite Kansai win the match.

While this match was joined about halfway in, the last ten minutes were just fantastic. Fukuoka sometimes was iffy with her move efficiency during this time period but that was no issue here, as she nailed everything including the moonsault footstomp and Rider Kick. Everyone looked 100% on point and they were just dropping bombs on each other. I liked that Masami was always around to break up the pin for Kansai, and then was smart enough to take out Fukuoka while Kansai hit the Splash Mountain on KAORU so that Kansai wouldn’t be interrupted. A smart, fast paced and really hard hitting match, since only half was shown I can’t give it my highest recommendation but still really entertaining.  Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Mayumi Ozaki

We join this one slightly in progress, as Nagayo puts Ozaki in a sleeper while using a rope for extra power. She lets go after a moment and hits mounted punches, she leads Ozaki around the ring with the rope while kicking her in the head before covering Ozaki for a two count. Ozaki makes a comeback and kicks Nagayo repeatedly in the head, she then goes off the ropes and hits Nagayo with the rope. Nagayo hits her back and hits a suplex, she wraps the rope around her knee and hits a kneedrop onto Ozaki’s head before slapping the sleeper back on. Nagayo Irish whips Ozaki but Ozaki collapses to the mat, running elbow by Nagayo and she waits while the referee checks on Ozaki. Ozaki returns to her feet and absorbs Nagayo’s headbutts, she knocks Nagayo to the mat and starts choking her with a chain. Ozaki stops choking her and starts hitting Nagayo with the chain instead, she puts the chain around Nagayo’s neck and pulls her out of the ring so she can toss Nagayo around the floor. She bring Nagayo back into the ring but Nagayo starts hitting her back with the chain, heel kick by Nagayo and she hits Ozaki with the chain again. Powerbomb by Nagayo, and she covers Ozaki for two. Nagayo picks up Ozaki and goes for the Running Three, but Ozaki slides away so Nagayo kicks her in the head instead. Nagayo goes up top but Ozaki recovers and joins her, she goes for a Frankensteiner but Nagayo blocks it and they both tumble out of the ring. Ozaki recovers first and takes Nagayo up into the crowd, she throws a table on top of Nagayo and starts chucking chairs at her. Ozaki returns to the ring with Nagayo slowly following, Nagayo gets on the apron but Ozaki hops over the top rope and powerbombs Nagayo to the floor. Ozaki then gets on the second turnbuckle and dives down onto Nagayo with a cannonball, she slides a table into the ring while Nagayo comes in with her rope.

Nagayo hits Ozaki with the rope and knocks her in the head, backdrop suplex onto the table by Nagayo and she then sets it up and brings Ozaki onto the table with her. Chigusa goes for a piledriver but Ozaki blocks it and hits a DDT. She goes for another DDT but Nagayo blocks it and puts Ozaki on the second turnbuckle, she tries to throw Ozaki onto the table but Ozaki blocks it and hits the Tequila Sunrise for a two count. Ozaki goes up top and hits a somersault down onto Nagayo, she goes off the ropes but Nagayo catches her and hits the Running Three. Nagayo picks up Ozaki and goes for a Running Three towards the table, but Ozaki reverses it into a roll-up for two. Nagayo finally powerbombs Ozaki onto the table but it doesn’t break, cover by Nagayo but it gets a two. Nagayo picks up Ozaki but Ozaki slides down her back and applies the sleeper. Tequila Sunrise by Ozaki and she hits another one, she delivers a third and a fourth but Nagayo gets a shoulder up on the final one. The referee starts a ten count on Nagayo but she makes it back up, Ozaki goes off the ropes but Nagayo catches her with a lariat. Wrist-trap suplex followed by a Tiger Suplex by Nagayo, she kicks Ozaki twice in the head and asks the referee to start a count. Ozaki makes it back up, Nagayo punches her against the ropes and the referee starts a count again. Ozaki returns to her feet but Nagayo hits a double underhook suplex, she sets the table back up but Ozaki recovers and hits a backfist. Ozaki gets on the table but Nagayo delivers a high kick, she then joins Ozaki on the table and powerbombs her off of it down to the mat. She signals for the referee to start a count, Ozaki doesn’t make it back to her feet in time and the referee calls for the bell! Chigusa Nagayo wins the match!

While far from perfect, this was a great chaotic brawl. Maybe because I am reviewing this in 2017 and not 20 years ago, but this type of match feels really fresh today since mainstream wrestling has gone away from bloody ‘through the crowd’ brawls with weapons and crazy spots throughout. Not every move was executed perfectly but other things they tried looked fantastic, and Nagayo is so good at the intangibles that I am always pulled into her matches. Ozaki really put up a fight, she wasn’t the top wrestler in JWP but Nagayo treated her as an equal with the weapons acting as a fair equalizer. Lots of excitement and drama, definitely worth the watch.  Highly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “First Fight in Osaka” on 9/17/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using extensively to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

For their first event outside of Korakuen Hall, GAEA Japan kept it pretty simple as they opted to showcase their top rookies in the main event instead of having a big Chigusa Nagayo singles match. For this broadcast, they are showing less of the matches that took place on the show, but with far less clipping of the matches so we will get to see more of the action. Of the six matches on the event, only three made air. Here are the matches we will be watching:

• Bomber Hikari vs. Toshie Uematsu
• Candy Okutsu vs. KAORU
• Chigusa Nagayo, Meiko Satomura, and Sonoko Kato vs. Devil Masami, Tomoko Kuzumi, and Tomoko Miyaguchi

You can click on the wrestler’s names above to go straight to their profile on Joshi City. Hopefully since the matches will be less clipped they will have more of an impact than what we saw last week.

Bomber Hikari vs. Toshie Uematsu

Toshie dropkicks Bomber in the back before the match starts, another dropkick by Toshie but Bomber doesn’t go down. Bomber tries to sit on Toshie but Toshie moves, she goes for a crossbody but Bomber catches her and tosses Toshie to the mat. Bomber goes for a running body press but Toshie avoids it, side headlock takedowns by Toshie and she covers Bomber for two. Dropkick by Toshie, she goes off the ropes but Bomber hits a body block for a two count cover.Bomber charges Toshie in the corner but Toshie jumps over her and applies a cradle for two. Another cradle by Toshie gets a two count, she hits a Japanese Rolling Clutch but Bomber gets a shoulder up. Headscissors by Toshie and she hits a long series of dropkicks, maybe a dozen of them before covering Bomber for two. Toshie charges Bomber but Bomber catches her and puts Toshie on the top turnbuckle. Toshie goes for a missile dropkick but Bomber swats her away, military press slam by Bomber and she hits a top rope Reverse Splash for the three count! Bomber Hikari wins the match.

This was a good little sprint, it gave Toshie a chance to get some moves in while also putting over that Bomber is strong and can crush anyone at any point. GAEA Japan had no issues doing really short matches when the situation warranted it, its a rather common theme we have seen so far but I like it as not every pairing needs to go 10+ minutes. Not long enough to really get excited about but a fun watch.

Candy Okutsu vs. KAORU

We join this one in progress, as Candy has KAORU in a Scorpion Deathlock, but KAORU gets into the ropes. KAORU quickly rolls out of the ring but Candy goes out after her and stomps her, Candy throws KAORU into the guard rail a few times and scoop slams KAORU onto the floor. Candy slides KAORU back in and dropkicks her in the back, scoop slam by Candy and she puts KAORU in a crab hold. Candy then applies a Camel Clutch followed by a bodyscissors but KAORU manages to get out of it with a tummy claw, kicks by KAORU and she hits a vertical suplex. KAORU puts Candy in a Mexican Surfboard, she releases it after a moment and stomps on Candy’s back before covering her for two. Irish whip by KAORU to the corner but Candy springboards out of it with a triple jump crossbody. KAORU rolls through the crossbody, she goes up top as Candy tries to join her, but KAORU pushes her back to the mat. She goes for a diving body press but Candy rolls out of the way, cradle by Candy but it gets two. Candy connects with a series of running boots but KAORU blocks one and slaps Candy in the face. KAORU hits her own boots, scoop slam by KAORU and she goes up top, but Candy avoids the moonsault.

KAORU lands on her feet but Candy quickly hits a release German, roll-up by Candy but it gets two. Candy goes up top but KAORU joins her and armdrags Candy back down to the mat. La Magistral by KAORU, but Candy gets a shoulder up. Sidewalk Slam by KAORU and she hits a bridging fallaway slam, but Candy kicks out at two. KAORU picks up Candy but Candy slides away from her and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Rolling Germans by Candy, but that gets a two count as well. Candy goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes up again and hits a diving crossbody, but KAORU again kicks out. Candy runs up the corner but KAORU kicks her in the chest, KAORU goes up top but Candy quickly joins her and suplexes KAORU to the mat. Big boot by Candy as KAORU falls out of the ring, Candy charges the corner and hits a triple jump plancha down onto KAORU on the floor. Candy rolls KAORU back into the ring and goes up top, but KAORU dropkicks her in the stomach on her way down and Candy rolls out of the ring. KAORU goes out after her with a springboard plancha, she slides Candy back into the ring and hits a swandive missile dropkick to her back. Brainbuster by KAORU, she goes to the ropes and nails the swandive moonsault for the three count! KAORU is your winner.

We saw less than half of the match, but they showed enough of it that it was still enjoyable. Candy is just a ball of energy, she runs up the turnbuckles more than any wrestler I’ve ever seen and has great Germans. I love that KAORU so far in GAEA Japan is just finishing people emphatically, not just pinning people but giving them a series of moves that you know means they aren’t kicking out. A fun match between the two, wish we could have seen the whole thing but at least what they showed was really good.  Mildly Recommended

Chigusa Nagayo, Meiko Satomura, and Sonoko Kato vs. Devil Masami, Kuzumi, and Tomoko Miyaguchi

Miyaguchi and Kato start the match, they don’t get far before Masami and Nagayo get into the ring as things already seem to go off the rails, but the referee calms them down and everyone leaves except the legal wrestlers. We try again, stomps by Kato to Miyaguchi but Kuzumi grabs Kato from the apron and Miyaguchi dropkicks her. Miyaguchi stomps Kato and tags in Kuzumi, dropkick by Kuzumi and she hits another one before scoop slamming Kato for a two count. Kuzumi applies a headscissors but Kato gets out of it, Kato yanks on Kuzumi’s arm as Meiko comes into the ring to help too. Kato tags in Meiko and she keeps on Kuzumi’s arm, stomps by Meiko and she hits a dropkick. Another dropkick by Meiko, she picks up Kuzumi and applies a headlock, but Kuzumi quickly gets into the ropes. Kuzumi gets to her corner and tags in Masami, Meiko tries to dropkick her but Masami shrugs her off and knocks her into the corner. Meiko avoids Masami’s lariat and tries to dropkick Masami over, but Masami absorbs the blows. Cross armbreaker takedown by Meiko, but Masami lifts Meiko by the head and slams her to get out of it. Dropkick by Meiko and she applies an armlock, Masami rolls out of it but Nagayo comes in and kicks her from behind. Vertical suplex by Masami to Meiko, and she tags in Miyaguchi. Miyaguchi throws Meiko into the corner so that Nagayo can tag in, Miyaguchi connects with running kicks but Nagayo shrugs them off.

Samoan Drop by Miyaguchi, she goes for a kick but Nagayo catches it and slaps her. Nagayo tags in Kato, dropkicks by Kato and she hits a scoop slam for two. Miyaguchi tags in Kuzumi, who comes in the ring with a top rope ax handle to Kato’s arm. Masami kicks Kato’s arm from the apron, stomps by Kuzumi and she applies a short armbar. Kato quickly gets into the ropes, Kuzumi goes for an armbreaker but Kato mostly blocks it. Kuzumi tags in Masami, Masami continues on Kato’s arm while staring at Nagayo, but Meiko runs in to dropkick Masami, which allows Kato to get close enough to her corner to tag in Nagayo. Kicks by Nagayo to Masami, but Masami blocks one and puts Nagayo in the surfboard. Masami tags in Miyaguchi, Miyaguchi comes in the ring with a diving body press, picking up a two count. Miyaguchi stomps on Nagayo but Nagayo puts her in the sleeper, Kuzumi comes in to break it up but Nagayo flings her to the mat. Missile dropkick by Kato to Miyaguchi, Meiko then hits a diving shoulderblock before Nagayo covers Miyaguchi for two. Uppercut by Nagayo and she tags in Meiko, Meiko stomps on Miyaguchi’s leg before hitting a trio of jumping shoulderblocks for two. Cross armbreaker by Meiko, but Masami breaks it up with a leg drop. Nagayo runs in and kicks Miyaguchi as payback, but Miyaguchi manages to make the tag to Kuzumi. Meiko elbows Kuzumi in both corners before tagging in Kato, dropkicks by Kato to Kuzumi but Kuzumi rebounds out of the corner with a dropkick of her own for two.

Kuzumi tags in Masami, Masami tosses Kato over her head but its close enough to her corner that she tags in Nagayo. Masami promptly powerbombs Nagayo, she tags in Kuzumi but Kuzumi missile dropkicks Masami by accident. Kuzumi connects with a swandive dropkick attempt but trips on the ropes when she goes for a second one, Nagayo stomps on Kuzumi and kicks her in the head. Nagayo knocks Masami and Miyaguchi off the apron before throws Kuzumi into the corner, Masami comes in but Nagayo kicks her in the head. She goes for the Running Three but Masami gets away and puts her in the sleeper. Nagayo gets out of it and both wrestlers lariat each other, sending them to the mat. Kato runs in and dropkicks Masami, Masami tags in Miyaguchi and Miyaguchi is dropkicked by all three of her opponents. Diving shoulderblock by Meiko, Kato goes up top and hits a diving crossbody onto Miyaguchi for a two count. Kato hits a bulldog, she goes for a tornado version but Masami grabs her from the apron to prevent it. Airplane Spin by Miyaguchi into a Samoan Drop, but the cover is broken up. Miyaguchi tags Kuzumi, diving body press by Miyaguchi but Kato bridges out of the pin. Miyaguchi gets to his corner and tags in Meiko, Masami comes in and lariats both Meiko and Kato, Masami then picks up Meiko and hits an assisted powerbomb with Kuzumi. Masami then picks up Kuzumi and tosses her onto Meiko, cover by Kuzumi but Nagayo breaks it up. Miyaguchi and Kuzumi stomp on Meiko until Nagayo runs in to help them out, Kuzumi goes to the apron and she hits a swandive sunset flip, but Nagayo breaks it up. Nagayo grabs both Miyaguchi and Masami, Meiko quickly cradles Kuzumi and she gets the three count! Chigusa Nagayo, Meiko Satomura, and Sonoko Kato win!

I really loved this match, both for the action itself and because I think it accomplished what they were going for. Masami has a reputation in some circles as ‘selfish’ but she is just old school, she was very giving to Meiko here and really put over a 15 year old rookie when she certainly didn’t have to. Nagayo did the same briefly for Miyaguchi as well as both veterans did their best to help out both their opponents and their own teammates. The brief sections with Masami vs. Nagayo were well done and the crowd got into it, so there was enough of the “main event” wrestlers to make up for the rookies. The action itself was fast paced, a few hiccups with the rookies but they always recovered well since Masami and Nagayo weren’t going to let the match go off the rails. A really entertaining match that set up more battles between the two rookie sides while putting on an entertaining show.  Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Miracle Night” on 8/5/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using extensively to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

After last week’s event crossed over onto two tapings, we are back to normal this week as this show was squeezed into a one hour recording. The FMW involvement really steps up here, as Chigusa Nagayo takes on Bad Nurse Nakamura in the main event of the show. A total of five matches aired so there will definitely be some clipping, here are the matches that made the broadcast:

• Chiharu Nakano vs. Meiko Satomura
• Chikayo Nagashima vs. Makie Numao
• Tomoko Miyaguchi and Tomori Kobayashi vs. Toshie Uematsu and Sonoko Kato
• Bomber Hikari vs. KAORU
• Bad Nurse Nakamura vs. Chigusa Nagayo

I have added profiles for all the wrestlers on the show, you can click on their names above to go directly to it. Let’s see how much of these matches actually aired.

Chiharu Nakano vs. Meiko Satomura

They tie-up to start, Meiko pushes Chiharu into the ropes but Chiharu pushes her back and hits a dropkick. More dropkicks by Chiharu but Meiko gets up and pushes her, they trade elbows until Meiko knocks Chiharu to the mat. Meiko starts on Chiharu’s arm and goes for the cross armbreaker, but Chiharu blocks it and applies a cross armbreaker of her own. Meiko quickly gets into the ropes, running knee by Chiharu and she hits a scoop slam. She goes for the cross armbreaker again but Meiko reverses it, they go back and forth with cross armbreaker attempts until Meiko gets into the ropes. Irish whip by Chiharu but Meiko elbows her, leg sweep by Chiharu but Meiko gets into the ropes again. Back up, jumping shoulderblocks by Meiko but Chiharu bridges out of the pin. Meiko elbows Chiharu and applies a cross armbreaker takedown in the middle of the ring, and Chiharu quickly submits! Meiko Satomura is your winner.

Very short, interesting that both kept going for cross armbreakers but neither really did anything to weaken it up first. Course the cross armbreaker is respected as an insta-death move but still some build-up would be nice. This match was more to put over Meiko Satomura and establish her as the top rookie.

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Makie Numao

Makie strikes first in the match as she kicks Chikayo repeatedly, she lets Chikayo get up and goes for another kick, but Chikayo blocks it and hits a fireman’s carry takeover. Chikayo works on Makie’s arm before booting her into the corner, stomps by Chikayo and she takes Makie to the mat again. Side headlock by Chikayo but Makie gets into the ropes, Makie rolls up Chikayo but it gets a two. Irish whip by Makie and she hits a dropkick, scoop slam by Makie and she yanks on Chikayo’s arm. Armdrags by Makie and she twists on Chikayo’s arm, but Chikayo gets a foot on the ropes. Makie elbows Chikayo in the arm and hits a scoop slam, Irish whip by Makie but Chikayo hits a jumping crossbody. Chikayo applies a kneelock, she picks up Makie but Makie applies an inside cradle for two. Big boot by Chikayo and she hits a scoop slam, rolling pushes by Chikayo and she slaps Makie in the face. Makie kicks Chikayo in the back and in the leg, more kicks by Makie but Chikayo boots her in the head. Chikayo goes for a monkey flip but Makie pushes her off, Chikayo cradles Makie and she gets the three count! Chikayo Nagashima wins.

This was clipped in half so hard to get a good feel for it, but I liked that Makie brings something a bit different to the table. That being lots of kicks. Chikayo looked solid too but this was mostly designed to show off the new rookie which I think they did a reasonably good job of doing. Too cut up to recommend but a good display by both.

Tomoko Miyaguchi and Tomori Kobayashi vs. Toshie Uematsu and Sonoko Kato

Toshie and Sonoko attack before the match starts as all four brawl in the ring, Tomoko and Tomori gain the advantage for a moment but GAEA Japan takes back over. Dropkicks by Tomori and Tomoko and Tomori hits two belly bumps on Toshie for a two count. Toshie stomps on Tomori and tags Sonoko, Sonoko works on Tomori’s leg but Tomori gets into the ropes. Tomori gets away and tags in Tomoko, shoulderblocks by Tomoko to Sonoko and she hits a scoop slam. Sonoko puts Tomoko in a leg lock but Tomoko inches to the ropes to force the break, Sonoko picks up Tomoko and she delivers a trio of dropkicks. Sonoko picks up Tomoko and hits a scoop slam but Tomoko hits a jumping crossbody, Tomori goes up top and hits an elbow onto Sonoko’s arm. Tomori hits two Bubba Bombs on Sonoko, Toshie comes in but Tomori fights off both of them. Sonoko dropkicks Tomori and makes the tag to Toshie, Toshie dropkicks everyone and hits a back elbow onto Tomori for a two count. Toshie tags Sonoko back in but Tomori boots Sonoko in the head, Tomoko tries to kick Sonoko also but Sonoko blocks it. Leg drop by Sonoko and she hits a springboard bulldog out of the corner., cover by Sonoko but Tomoko bridges out of it. Sonoko picks up Tomoko as Toshie goes up top and hits a diving crossbody onto Tomoko, Sonoko comes into help but she hits a missile dropkick on her own partner by accident. Missile dropkick by Tomoko to Toshie, Tomori then hits a diving body press and Tomoko covers Toshie for two. Tomoko hits a pair of jumping kicks to Toshie’s chest, she picks up Toshie and delivers the Airplane Spin Samoan Drop. Cover by Tomoko, and she gets the three count! Tomoko Miyaguchi and Tomori Kobayashi are the winners.

This one was clipped even further, as only 7 minutes of the 20 minutes was shown. I won’t be “that guy” and say I could tell that Tomoko would be a future star, as honestly it was Tomori that impressed more, at least with how they clipped it anyway. It was chaotic with no real selling, which either was because they were all excitable rookies or because they clipped out the slower parts. Anyway, solid fast paced rookie action but not enough was shown to really rate.

Bomber Hikari vs. KAORU

This match is joined in progress as Bomber stomps on KAORU, but KAORU rolls up Bomber and gives her some stomps of her own. KAORU puts Bomber in a single leg crab hold but Bomber crawls to the ropes and reaches them to force a break. KAORU tosses Bomber out of the ring and goes out with her, KAORU tosses Bomber into the guard rail and then into the chairs at ringside. KAORU returns to the ring and waits for Bomber, Bomber returns with a chair but KAORU hits Bomber with her own chair and hits a jumping double chop. Crossbody by KAORU, but it only gets a two count. KAORU puts Bomber in a surfboard before letting her go, Irish whip by KAORU but Bomber catches her with a powerslam. Bomber gets KAORU on her shoulders and gives her the Airplane Spin, which impacts both of the wrestlers equally. KAORU recovers first and headbutts Bomber, Bomber gets on the second turnbuckle but KAORU recovers and boots Bomber out of the ring. KAORU goes up top as Bomber gets back on the apron, KAORU dropkicks Bomber out of the ring but Bomber moves when KAORU goes to jump down onto her. Bomber gives off the ropes and dives out onto KAORU with a plancha suicida, Bomber charges KAORU again but KAORU gets back into the ring with a slingshot sunset flip. Bomber picks up KAORU but KAORU reverses the powerbomb attempt, Bomber goes for another one but KAORU rolls her up for two. Bomber goes up top but KAORU avoids the diving headbutt, KAORU gets on the apron and she delivers a swandive dropkick. Release backdrop suplex by KAORU, she picks up Bomber and hits a second one and covers her for two. KAORU picks up Bomber and hits a Tornado DDT, but Bomber barely kicks out of the pin. KAORU slaps Bomber but Bomber slaps her back, brainbuster by KAORU and she nails a springboard moonsault for the three count! KAORU wins the match.

It is a shame that less than half of this match was shown, as I really liked what I saw. KAORU was doing her usual crazy stuff but her just destroying Bomber at the end was certainly memorable. The suplexes were very rough, as was the DDT and brainbuster, and it was a very dominate and definitive ending. I have to give it a bit of a recommendation just for that, but more needed to be shown for it to be worth hunting down.  Mildly Recommended

Bad Nurse Nakamura vs. Chigusa Nagayo

Nagayo talks on the mic before the match while Nakamura plays with her wooden spike, which turned out to be a horrible idea on her part as Nakamura attacks Nagayo and knocks her out of the ring. Once on the floor, Nakamura and Shark both attack Nagayo, as Nakamura uses her spike to cut open Nagayo. Nakamura waits back in the ring while Nagayo bleeds, she finally recovers and gets back in the ring but is immediately hit again by Nakamura. Nakamura drives the spike into Nagayo’s head, Shark hands her a chain and Nakamura chokes Nagayo with it while biting her head. Shark helps with choking Nagayo but Nagayo finally gets away from their grasp and takes the chain. Nagayo whips the chain around while Nakamura avoids it, Nakamura manages to grab the other end of the chain and they get into a tug of war over it. Nakamura kicks Nagayo in the head until she lets go, Nakamura wraps the chain around Nagayo’s neck and leads her around ringside with it. Nagayo gets away from Nakamura, Nakamura returns to the ring and gets a giant pole and hits Nagayo with it as she goes through the ropes. Nagayo grabs the pole and delivers a high kick to Nakamura’s head, she chases Nakamura with the pole before chucking it deep into the crowd so that no one can use it again. Which seems incredibly dangerous. Nakamura gets another stick anyway and hits Nagayo with it as she gets into the ring, Shark comes in to help but the referee gets her out.

Nagayo takes away the stick and hits Shark with it, but Nakamura bails out of the ring and runs up into the bleachers. Nakamura chases her down and hits her with it repeatedly, but we clip ahead in the video to Nagayo outside the ring and talking to Nakamura on the microphone. The crowd is cheering, but I won’t pretend to understand what she is saying as she throws that stick into the crowd as well. Nagayo returns to the ring as Shark hands Nakamura another big stick, but Nakamura tosses it out of the ring. Shark argues with her (I will assume that on the microphone, Nagayo was challenging Nakamura to fight her without weapons), she tries to get Nakamura to take it back but she won’t. Nagayo gets on the mat in a wrestling position, Nakamura applies a headlock as Nagayo struggles. Side headlock takedown by Nakamura, Nagayo gets out of it but Nakamura hits a German suplex. Cradle by Nakamura, but Nagayo gets a shoulder up. Nakamura gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, but Nagayo fires back with a lariat. Face crusher by Nakamura, she goes up top but Nagayo kicks her in the head before she can jump off. Another high kick by Nagayo sends Nakamura back to the mat, Nagayo elbows Nakamura in the back of the head before kicking her in the head again. Headbutt by Nagayo, she picks up Nakamura and plants her with a Running Pirates (a Running Three variation). Cover by Nagayo, and she gets the three count! Chigusa Nagayo wins the match.

This was an odd little match. Shark and Nakamura continued to team after this show so there was no long-term animosity for Nakamura deciding to wrestle instead of using weapons. Whatever Nagayo said on the microphone was magic. No less than three times they hit audience members with weapons being thrown into the crowd, which was wild, and that helped the entire scenario be even more chaotic. I really liked the atmosphere, it was just a bit odd as it felt more like a storyline match than a standalone match as it was really just setting up Chigusa Nagayo vs Shark Tsuchiya down the road. I liked it, it was different and I liked the story told, it was just too disjointed and wasn’t a pure brawl with all the breaks and with Nakamura eventually basically giving up her chances to win. Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Hearts on Fight” on 7/29/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using extensively to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

Since for the moment I am reviewing what was broadcast on TV and not what was released on commercial tapes, this airing only showed half of the event. The TV show that GAEA aired on, called Champ Forum, was only one hour long so some condensing was necessary. This event features an LLPW invasion, as four wrestlers from the promotion participate in the top two matches. Here are the matches from the event that made air:

• Meiko Satomura, Tomoko Kuzumi, and Toshie Sato vs. Toshie Uematsu, Yasuko Kuragaki, and Sonoko Kato
• Chigusa Nagayo and Meiko Satomura vs. Eagle Sawai and Keiko Aono
• KAORU and Sonoko Kato vs. Miki Handa and Michiko Nagashima

I have added profiles for all the wrestlers above, you can click on their names to go straight to it. Some wrestlers had double duty on this event as GAEA Japan was still in the process of fleshing out their roster.

Satomura, Tomoko Kuzumi, and Toshie Sato vs. Toshie Uematsu, Yasuko Kuragaki, and Kato

We join this in progress, with Meiko taking it to Uematsu with shoulderblocks. Snapmares by Meiko and she applies the cross armbreaker, but Kato quickly breaks it up. Meiko tags in Sato while Kuragaki also tags in, Sato repeatedly shoulderblocks Kuragaki to the mat before tagging Meiko back in. Dropkicks by Meiko and she twists Kuragaki’s arm, but Kuragaki reverses it and tags in Kato. Slap by Kato and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but Sato breaks it up. Kato goes for an armdrag but Meiko reverses it into a cross armbreaker, Kato gets to the ropes but Meiko hits mounted punches before tagging in Sato. Face crusher by Sato to Kato and she hits a second one, covering her for two. Kato manages to hit a pair of bulldogs and tags in Uematsu, diving crossbody by Uematsu but Kuzumi breaks it up. Sato hits a neckbreaker and tags in Kuzumi, schoolboy by Uematsu and she dropkicks Kuzumi to the mat. Kuzumi gets the schoolboy applied the next time, she gets on the second rope but is knocked back into the mat. She tags in Meiko, Meiko clubs everyone but is tripped from the floor. Kato comes in but so does Sato and Kuzumi, evening things up. Kuragaki knees Meiko from the apron, she clears their opponents off the apron while Uematsu connects with a diving crossbody onto Meiko for the three count! Toshie Uematsu, Yasuko Kuragaki, and Sonoko Kato win!

Only about a third of the match was shown, but it wasn’t bad for a rookie match. Some miscommunications, but remember that for four of them this was their second ever match and first tag team match, so some issues were bound to creep up. Interesting to watch just knowing how big of stars they would later become, but not a very good match.

Chigusa Nagayo and Meiko Satomura vs. Eagle Sawai and Keiko Aono

After the pre-match handshake, Keiko nicely goes out to the apron while Eagle attacks both of her opponents from behind. Eagle grabs Nagayo and bits a bodyblock, but Nagayo doesn’t go down. Nagayo’s heel kick has the same effect, both wrestlers go for lariats and they knock each other to the mat. The rookies come into the ring to help, Meiko stays in with Eagle and goes for dropkicks, but she can’t knock Eagle over. Eagle slaps Meiko in the chest and hits a bodyblock, she picks up Meiko and hits a scoop slam before tagging in Keiko. Back elbow by Keiko and she hits a bodyslam, she covers Meiko but it gets two. Irish whip by Keiko but Meiko hits a few shoulderblocks, she throws down Keiko by the hair and hits an elbow in the corner. More elbows by Meiko while Nagayo cheers her on, but Keiko switches positions with her and hits her own elbows. Keiko asks for a tag but Eagle isn’t interested, Meiko Irish whips Keiko and hits a few more jumping shoulderblocks. She asks for a tag but Nagayo wants her to stay in too, she shoulderblocks Keiko again and tries to tag Nagayo again, but Nagayo refuses. Note the crowd is cheering this, it is not Nagayo being mean but rather wanting the rookie to get experience and fight.

Keiko comes back with her own shoulderblock and finally Nagayo allows Meiko to tag her, Keiko elbows Nagayo into the corner and dropkicks her to the mat. Dropkick by Keiko and a hard shoulderblock, she covers Nagayo but it only gets two. Nagayo finally plants Keiko with a high kick, more kicks by Nagayo and she covers Keiko for two. Irish whip by Nagayo and she delivers a spinning heel kick, she picks up Keiko and tosses her into her own corner so Eagle can come in. Nagayo goes for a sleeper but Eagle drives her back into the corner, Eagle then goes for a powerbomb but Nagayo reverses it with a back bodydrop. Nagayo tags in Meiko, dropkicks by Meiko and she goes for the cross armbreaker, but Eagle grabs the ropes to block it. Meiko tries to knock Eagle over and eventually half succeeds, but Eagle knocks her back to the mat. The crowd is really getting behind Meiko as she tries to knock over Eagle, but she can’t get Eagle completely off her feet. Meiko is pretty gassed at this point as Eagle scoop slams her in front of the corner and tags in Keiko, scoop slam by Keiko and she covers Meiko for two. Dropkicks by Keiko and she coop slams Meiko, but Meiko bridges out of the pin. Meiko goes off the ropes and hits a couple shoulderblocks, she applies the cross armbreaker and Keiko quickly submits! Chigusa Nagayo and Meiko Satomura are the winners.

This is one of those matches that to appreciate, you have to look at it as it was presented in 1995. Chigusa Nagayo and Eagle Sawai were the mentors here for their rookie tag team partners – it wasn’t about them. That’s why it wasn’t the main event. Nagayo thought very highly of Meiko and was coaching her from the apron, but she wanted her to do it herself so she could learn and grow. Eagle was doing the same thing. The crowd was very supportive of this and was cheering young Meiko on, it was a very effective tactic by Chigusa Nagayo to give Meiko a bit of a rub in this manner. Now in a vacuum, it was still two rookies with very minimal move sets and experience doing the bulk of the work so it wasn’t particularly creative, but they definitely accomplished their goal and with so many rookies on the roster, this type of match was needed to try to start elevating them in the eyes of the crowd. I enjoyed it, nothing that would compare to a match with more veterans in it but still fun to watch.  Mildly Recommended

KAORU and Sonoko Kato vs. Miki Handa and Michiko Nagashima

Nagashima and Handa attack before the match starts and they immediately take the match out to the floor. Kato is tosses into various objects before Nagashima brings her back into the ring and tags in Handa. Handa tosses around Kato while preventing her from tagging in KAORU, Nagashima returns and they double team Kato in the ropes. Kato is beaten around the ring and generally treated like a low ranked rookie for several minutes, until she finally gets close enough to her corner and tags in KAORU. KAORU tosses Nagashima around the ring and stomps her down in the corner, Handa runs in to help her partner but KAORU dispatches her and gets back to Nagashima. Vertical suplex by KAORU, but the cover gets two. KAORU applies a chinlock and then a bodyscissors, but Nagashima gets out of it. KAORU slaps Nagashima and tags in Kato, dropkicks by Kato but Nagashima kicks her and tags in Handa. Handa tosses Kato in her corner so that KAORU can tag in, jumping neck drop by Handa and she tosses KAORU to the mat. Handa goes for KAORU’s leg but KAORU gets into the mat, Handa tags in Nagashima and Nagashima stays on the offense, as now KAORU is the Face in Peril. Handa returns and hits a diving crossbody on KAORU, but KAORU finally manages to roll up Handa and tags in Kato. Double dropkick to Handa and Kato hits a scoop slam, swandive body press by KAORU and Kato tosses around Handa by the hair. Dropkicks by Kato but Handa punches her and hits an elbow to the back of the head.

Vertical suplex by Handa, but the cover to Kato gets two. Handa tags in Nagashima, who dropkicks Kato in the face. Kato rolls out of the ring but KAORU hits Nagashima with a missile dropkick, she tosses Nagashima out of the ring but Handa sails in with a missile dropkick of her own. KAORU dumps Handa out of the ring and goes off the ropes, but Nagashima trips her from the floor and pulls KAORU out with her. KAORU is hit with chairs by both of her opponents, KAORU and Handa go up into the stands while Nagashima kicks Kato in the ring. Handa returns first and helps Nagashima double team Kato, who by this point is busted open. KAORU finally returns and tries to help Kato, but is kicked in the back of the head for her trouble and hit with a double neck drop. Nagashima goes up top but misses the missile dropkick on Kato, bulldog by Kato and she hits a second one for a two count. Kato slams Nagashima in front of the corner and tags in KAORU, who hits a moonsault onto Nagashima for two. She goes up top again but Nagashima rolls out of the way of the second moonsault attempt, KAORU lands on he feet but is hit from behind by Handa. Nagashima gets a kendo stick and hits KAORU with it, but KAORU knocks it away from her.

Handa distracts KAORU while allows Nagashima to hit a backdrop suplex, Nagashima tags Handa but KAORU avoids Handa’s dive and rolls her up for two. Scoop slam by KAORU in front of the corner, she goes up top but Nagashima hits her with the kendo stick before she can jump off. Nagashima hits KAORU a few more times, KAORU tags in Kato so Nagashima starts hitting her with it instead. Kato finally gets the stick from it, KAORU takes it and hits Nagashima with it repeatedly. Handa runs in with a chair as things break down again, and all four end up on the floor with Nagashima and Handa in control. Nagashima throws chairs at KAORU while Handa takes Kato up into the bleachers to beat on her. Meanwhile, Nagashima puts KAORU on a table, she gets on up the smaller stage and dives down onto her with a body press, breaking the table. Handa returns to the ring with Kato with Nagashima joining her, and both hit Kato with missile dropkicks. Nagashima pins Kato but pulls her up so that she can drop Kato with a backdrop suplex. Again she pulls up Kato instead of pinning her, scoop slam by Nagashima in front of the corner and she delivers a diving senton. She finally covers the not-moving Kato, and she picks up the three count. The winners are Miki Handa and Michiko Nagashima

A very interesting match, I am not quite sure how to describe it. Nagashima and Handa were both great in their roles as evil invaders, not just using weapons but bloodying the rookie and refusing to pin her until putting in maximum damage. I think Kato was legitimately knocked a bit loopy as she didn’t budge on the diving senton, when normally wrestlers at least brace for the impact a bit. It was probably a bit longer than it needed to be as parts did drag, but since it was the main event they probably felt an obligation to reach a certain time mark. But I thought for her second match, Kato looked really good and took a hell of a beating, and both teams worked together really well. It was chaotic without much of a structure, but overall I’d say it was pretty enjoyable and probably the best match on the card. Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Second Battle Story” on 5/14/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using extensively to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

Welcome to the first ever GAEA Japan event! Even though GAEA Japan started with only three veteran roster members (Nagayo, KAORU, and Hikari), on this show they also had six (!!!) wrestlers debut as they began training them the year prior in preparation. A few JWP wrestlers are on the card also to fill in the main event, here are the televised matches:

• GAEA Neo Soul Battle: Chikayo Nagashima vs. Toshie Uematsu
• GAEA Neo Soul Battle: Meiko Satomura vs. Sonoko Kato
• Bomber Hikari vs. Sumiyo Toyama
• GAEA Neo Soul Battle: Maiko Narita vs. Toshie Sato
• Chigusa Nagayo and Dynamite Kansai vs. Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki

For all GAEA Japan reviews, you can click on their name above to go to their wrestler profile. KAORU had a match on the card, but for whatever reason it didn’t make the broadcast. The presentation is two hours long so there should be a minimal amount of clipping.

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Toshie Uematsu

Uematsu dropkicks Nagashima right off the start and dropkicks her again in the corner, but Nagashima pushes her away and goes off the ropes. Another dropkick by Uematsu but Nagashima hits a pair of fireman carry takeovers and applies a headlock on the mat. Uematsu gets to the ropes but Nagashima hits a trio of dropkicks, snapmare by Nagashima and she throws Uematsu towards the corner before dropkicking her again. Uematsu sneaks in an inside cradle to get back in control, she snapmares Nagashima around the ring before tossing her by the hair a few times. Headlock by Uematsu, she picks up Nagashima and dropkicks her in the chest for a two count. Now it is Nagashima that puts Uematsu in an inside cradle to take over, dropkick by Nagashima and she hits a scoop slam for two. More hair tossing by Uematsu follows and she applies a seated armbar, but Nagashima gets a toe on the ropes. Uematsu dropkicks Nagashima (lots of dropkicks) and hits a trio of back elbows, but the cover gets two.  Nagashima applies a headscissors but Uematsu gets out of it and hits a headscissors takedown. Nagashima flips out of a wristlock and hits a couple armdrags, Uematsu applies a bodyscissors but Nagashima gets into the ropes. Scoop slam by Nagashima but Uematsu reverses the second one, monkey flip by Nagashima and she covers Uematsu for two. Dropkicks by Uematsu and she hits a back elbow, another dropkick by Uematsu but Nagashima has a foot on the ropes before the cover attempt. Nagashima tosses Uematsu to the mat, monkey flip by Nagashima and she hits a front roll push for two. Nagashima gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, but Uematsu bridges out of the cover. Crab hold by Nagashima but Uematsu gets into the ropes, Nagashima goes for a running stomp but Uematsu catches it and applies a single leg crab hold. Nagashima gets to the ropes for the break, scoop slam by Uematsu and she hits a pair of dropkicks. Uematsu goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but the bell rings as 15 Minute Time Limit has expired.

But wait! We get an Overtime Period! They lock shoulders, Uematsu pushes Nagashima into the ropes and hits a series of hard elbows. Dropkick by Uematsu and she hits two more, but Nagashima bridges out of the pin. Nagashima trips Uematsu and hits a couple scoop slams, but her cover gets a two as well. Dropkicks by Nagashima, she covers Uematsu but it gets two. Uematsu schoolboys Nagashima, she tosses her into the corner and hits a back elbow. She tries again but Nagashima moves and hits a monkey flip, Nagashima picks up Uematsu and she hits a scoop slam. Nagashima picks up Uematsu and throws her by the hair, inside cradle by Uematsu but it gets two. Nagashima tries for a quick pin tto with no luck, and the bell rings again as the Three Minute Overtime has expired.

But wait! We get a second Overtime Period! Nagashima immediately rolls into Uematsu and pushes her over, she does it three more times before covering Uematsu for two. Uematsu comes back with running elbows, but Nagashima gets a foot on the ropes to break up the cover. Scoop slam by Uematsu, she picks up Nagashima but Nagashima applies an inside cradle for two. Scoop slam by Nagashima and she delivers a trio of dropkicks, but Uematsu gets to the ropes to stop the cover. More dropkicks by Nagashima, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Uematsu tosses her off. Uematsu picks up Nagashima and hits a dropkick of her own, she goes up top and she hits the diving crossbody, but again the bell rings as the Three Minute Overtime has expired. This time the referee decides that is enough, and the match is a Draw.

So I realize that isn’t the most interesting match description but I felt it was necessary to show how GAEA Japan kicked off their first ever event. Their first match didn’t feature anyone the crowd had seen before, but rather a 21 minute match between two wrestlers making their debut. Both definitely had the basics down pat, and I give them credit for how much stamina/guts they had to put on such a display as it was pretty well-worked. But its still two incredibly inexperienced wrestlers going a long time in front of a crowd that probably wanted a bit more. A risky decision by GAEA, it worked out OK because they did a decent job, but still a very unusual way to kick things off.

Meiko Satomura vs. Sonoko Kato

Sonoko slaps Meiko while she is against the ropes early in the match, which pisses off Meiko as she hammers on Sonoko with hard elbows. Dropkicks by Meiko but Sonoko grabs her head and hits a face crusher. Another one by Sonoko, but Meiko kicks out of the pin. Sonoko goes for Meiko’s arm but Meiko rolls out of it, she tries again but Meiko slides her arm out and hits a jumping shoulderblock. Another shoulderblock by Meiko and she hits another one, getting a two count. She goes for a fourth but Sonoko blocks it and dropkicks Meiko in the back of the head, Sonoko goes to pick up Meiko but Meiko schoolboys her for two. Meiko quickly puts Sonoko into a cross armbreaker, and Sonoko taps out! Meiko Satomura is the winner.

I don’t want to be that guys that says “even in her debut you could tell Meiko Satomura would be special,” but I will say that she instantly showed that intensity and passion that she became known for. For some people its a gift, others have to learn it, but Meiko clearly had “it” from the get-go. Sonoko didn’t get much of a chance here and it was a really short match, but it did help set up Meiko as the best of the class which she turned out to be. Quite fun to watch Meiko’s debut and seeing that even at a young age she had zero chill.  Mildly Recommended

Bomber Hikari vs. Sumiyo Toyama

This match is Joined in Progress, and was the only match on the broadcast not shown in full. Hikari gives Sumiyo a hard elbow and tosses Sumiyo over her head, covering her for a two count. Hikari goes for a lariat but Sumiyo ducks it and suplexes her, chokeslam by Sumiyo and she his a second one for a two count cover. Sumiyo gets Hikari in the corner and goes up top, she chokeslams Sumiyo while standing on the top rope but Hikari bridges out of the pin. Powerslam by Hikari, she goes up top and she delivers a Reverse Splash for a two count of her own. Hikari goes up top and hits a diving headbutt, Over The Top Bomb by Hikari and she picks up the three count! Bomber Hikari wins the match.

Very clipped, but it was definitely action packed. Both hit all their moves well and Hikari definitely had some strength to her as she tossed Sumiyo around the ring. Hikari retired due to injuries, I don’t think she ever would have been main-event level but she would have been a solid hand throughout just based on the few minutes I saw here. Too short to get excited about, but a fine two minutes of wrestling.

Maiko Narita vs. Toshie Sato

They start a bit slower than the last match as they feel each other out, Maiko gets Toshie to the mat and puts her in headlock. A backslide by Maiko gets two before she goes back to the headlock, dropkick by Toshie and she hits a scoop slam. Maiko bounces Toshie off the ropes as they go back and forth, scoop slam by Maiko but the cover gets two. Toshie gets back in control and hits a dropkick, she flings around Maiko by the hair before dropkicking her near the corner. Toshie applies a headscissors and rolls Maiko around the ring while keeping the hold applied, but Maiko eventually gets into the ropes for a break. Irish whip by Toshie and she hits a dropkick, scoop slam by Toshie and she covers Maiko for two. Toshie goes for a lariat but Maiko catches her arm and applies a short armbar, but Toshie gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Maiko keeps working on Toshie’s arm, she gets the short armbar re-applied but Toshie gets the break. Waistlock by Maiko and she rolls up Toshie with a wing clutch, but Toshie reverses it. Shoulderblocks by Toshie, and she covers Maiko for two. Toshie goes for another one but Maiko goes behind her back and sneaks in a schoolboy, one legged monkey flip by Maiko and she hits another one for a two count. Toshie gets away from her and hits a bulldog, she goes for a slam but Maiko gets away and hits an over-the-shoulder slam. Another slam by Maiko, but Toshie bridges out of the pin. Toshie reverses an Irish whip and hits a swinging neckbreaker, two more swinging neckbreakers by Toshie and she covers Maiko for the three count! Toshie Sato is the winner.

I have to say that all the rookies on this event looked beyond what you’d expect from someone debuting, and you could tell that Nagayo trained them well before throwing them out there. The match was basic, sure, but generally things were hit very smoothly and they did what they knew how to do quite well. Rookie matches will rarely blow anyone out of the water, but it was perfectly watchable and I think if you were there live than you would not have been disappointed. Nothing overly special, but solid for a rookie match.

Chigusa Nagayo and Dynamite Kansai vs. Devil Masami and Mayumi Ozaki

Kansai and Ozaki start off and immediately start swinging elbows until Kansai delivers a high kick. Ozaki rolls up Kansai but Kansai kicks her in the head again, so Ozaki tags in Masami. Masami lariats Kansai into the corner and Nagayo tags herself in, belly to belly suplex by Nagayo as Kansai stays in the ring to help. Double lariat to Masami but she stays on her feet, they finally kick her to the mat but Masami gets back up and Ozaki tags herself in. Nagayo and Kansai double team Ozaki and hit a double elbow drop, cover by Kansai but it gets two. Kansai applies a sleeper but Masami breaks it up, Kansai stomps on Ozaki and tags Nagayo back in. Heel kick by Nagayo and she applies a sleeper but Ozaki gets into the ropes, quick suplex by Nagayo but Ozaki kicks her and tags in Masami. Masami throws Nagayo in the corner and his a lariat, while also knocking Kansai off the apron in the process. Kansai picks up Nagayo and drops her with a piledriver, she slams Nagayo in front of the corner and Ozaki comes in the ring with a chain. Ozaki hits Nagayo with the chain repeatedly before choking her with it, Kansai comes in but she gets choked as well. Nagayo fights back with a chair as I think the match has officially broken down, Kansai and Ozaki fight over the chain before Kansai drops her with a backdrop suplex. Kansai tags Nagayo, sleeper by Nagayo to Ozaki while Kansai keeps Masami at bay but Nagayo lets her go after a moment. Ozaki is out but Nagayo lets go as she wants Masami (or Ozaki wasn’t the legal wrestler, who knows), Masami gets in the ring but Nagayo puts her in the sleeper as well. Ozaki tries to break it up but Nagayo ignores her, while Kansai runs in and takes care of Ozaki. Ozaki breaks free and finally helps her partner get to the ropes, Ozaki gets in but Nagayo gets in the mount and punches her face.

Ozaki regains control and hits a jumping lariat, German suplex hold by Ozaki but it gets a two count. Kansai comes in but Ozaki kicks her in the face, another kick by Ozaki and she puts Kansai in a short armbar. Ozaki tags in Masami since they suddenly started to use tags again, but Kansai promptly lariats her and both are down on the mat. Kansai manages to tag in Nagayo, kicks by Nagayo but Masami boots her in the corner. More kicks by Masami and Nagayo rolls out of the ring, which was a bad idea as Masami follows her out and chokes Nagayo with a chain. Masami hits Nagayo some with the chain on the floor, busting open Nagayo at some point during the melee. Masami drags Nagayo around the crowd with the chain as Nagayo has it hooked around her neck at this point, Masami hits Nagayo repeatedly in the head with chairs before finally bringing her back into the ring. Lariat by Masami, she drags up Nagayo and hits her with a second one before putting Nagayo in a sleeper. Nagayo backs Masami into her corner so that Kansai can help her break the hold, but Ozaki runs over and chokes Kansai with the chain. Nagayo grabs Ozaki and powerbombs her, she goes back to Masami and hits a scoop slam before tagging in Kansai. Kansai goes for the diving headbutt but Masami moves, powerbomb by Masami but Kansai kicks out of the cover. I think we just went 20 minutes before either team attempted a real pin. Masami goes up top but Kansai joins her, Masami puts her leg over Kansai’s chest and hits a diving legdrop to the mat. Sleeper by Masami, she picks up Kansai but Kansai hits a leg sweep and Nagayo runs in to punt Masami. Cover by Kansai, but it only gets a two. Kansai goes for Splash Mountain but Ozaki kicks her before she can hit the move.

Backdrop suplex by Kansai to Ozaki but Ozaki gets the chain and chokes Kansai with it. While being choked, Kansai inches to her corner and she makes the hot tag to Nagayo. Masami hits Nagayo in the back of the head with the chain and the action spills to the floor again, Masami throws Nagayo into the ring post but Nagayo comes back with a lariat. They trade lariats  until both fall to the mat, Masami recovers first and she throws Nagayo into the ring post. Ozaki brings a table into the ring while Nagayo and Masami get back in it, but Nagayo lariats her and pulls Ozaki onto the table. Nagayo goes for a powerbomb but Ozaki reverses it with a hurricanrana, dragon suplex hold by Ozaki but it gets a two count. Ozaki powerbombs Nagayo onto the table and Masami hits a diving legdrop, cover by Ozaki but Kansai breaks it up. Masami gets on the second turnbuckle but Kansai lariats her out of the ring, while Ozaki starts breaking down the ring so she can use the metal rod in the corner as a weapon. Outside the ring, Masami hits Kansai with a chair as Ozaki hits Nagayo with the metal rod in it, but Nagayo kicks it away from her and hits a suplex. Kansai apparently won her battle with Masami and gets in the ring, and with Nagayo they hit a powerbomb/face crusher combination on Ozaki, but Masami breaks up the cover. The ring ropes are down at this point due to Ozaki dismantling it, so tag rules are pretty much out. Kicks by Kansai to Ozaki, she picks up her up and nails Splash Mountain but Masami breaks it up by hitting Kansai with her metal rod. She hits Nagayo too before leaving the ring with Kansai, Nagayo picks up Ozaki and drops her with a powerbomb. Cover, but Masami hits her with the rod to break it up. Kansai grabs Masami while Nagayo picks up Ozaki, but Masami again from the floor hits Nagayo with the rod while allows Ozaki to reverse the powerbomb attempt into a Toyota Roll for the three count! Mayumi Ozaki and Devil Masami win!

Well that was a hell of a match. It clocked in at about 30 minutes but didn’t feel that long as the match had different phases. Devil Masami was doing her “Super Heel” gimmick here, which is kind of Undertaker-like, but she could still really work in 1995 and it didn’t really impact the match. I loved the chaos, and I also liked that they went a different way with hot tags as they rarely worked which is a nice change of pace. Nagayo bled as did Kansai, and the match really put over that GAEA Japan was going to be a bit crazy and unexpected at times, which is always a plus. Chains, chairs, tables, a broken ring, just a lot going on and four really talented wrestlers pulling it all together so it never felt sloppy or loose. I can see this not being everyone’s cup of tea, as it wasn’t always logical and the ending almost felt anti-climatic after all that came before it, but I still enjoyed it a lot and I think it was a fitting main event to show what GAEA Japan had to offer.  Highly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Memorial First Gong” on 4/15/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

After watching New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom, I got inspired to watch and review one of the biggest Joshi show of the last decade. Joshi promotions rarely run Sumo Hall, one of the most famous venues for professional wrestling, due to the obvious reason that Sumo Hall is huge and most promotions in general struggle to fill it enough to make the venture profitable. Stardom decided to take a chance in 2013, however, as one of the most popular and “recognizable outside the wrestling bubble” Joshi stars was having her retirement match. Before she started wrestling, Yuzuki Aikawa was a famous model in Japan and was also in an idol group. She joined Stardom in 2010, and instantly gained an even bigger following as a combination of her looks, charisma, and fighting spirit made her the most visible new Joshi star of that (brief) time period. This is why after wrestling for less than three years, she was having her Retirement Match at Sumo Hall and not a smaller venue, she exploded onto the scene and left while she was still at the top of her game. Stardom stacked the entire show for the special occasion, here is the full card:

• Risa Sera and Rutsuko Yamaguchi vs. Yui Yokoo and Sumire Yoshino
• Manami Toyota vs. Miho Wakizawa
• Kota Ibushi, Gota Ihashi, Lin Byron, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Michael Nakazawa, Hikaru Sato, Makoto, and Eri Susa
• Meiko Satomura vs. Takumi Iroha
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Act Yasukawa vs. Dark Angel
• High Speed Championship: Natsuki*Taiyo vs. Yuhi
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Kyoko Kimura and Hailey Hatred vs. Kairi Hojo and Natsumi Showzuki
• Kaori Yoneyama, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Syuri vs. Nanae Takahashi, Tsukasa Fujimoto, and Mika Nagano
• World of Stardom Championship: Alpha Female vs. Io Shirai
• Yuzuki Aikawa Retirement Match: Yuzuki Aikawa vs. Yoshiko

Big show! Let’s get to it.

Risa Sera and Rutsuko Yamaguchi vs. Yui Yokoo and Sumire Yoshino
Ryogoku Starting Over Stardom vs. Ice Ribbon

Risa and Sumire begin the match, they trade elbows against the ropes until Sera hits a dropkick. She tags in Rutsuko as Yui is also tagged in, Rutsuko boots Yui and she applies The Claw against the ropes until Sumire breaks it up. Yui and Rutsuko trade elbows, Rutsuko slams Yui into her knee but Yui returns the favor. Dropkick by Yui and she tags Sumire, Sumire goes for a cartwheel mule kick but Rutsuko moves out of the way and puts her in a crab hold. Sumire gets to the ropes to force a break, Rutsuko tags in Risa and Risa hits a series of dropkicks on Sumire. Schwein by Risa, she picks up Sumire but Sumire slides behind her and applies a sleeper. Sumire reverts the hold into a cross armbreaker but Sera gets a foot on the ropes. Cartwheel mule kick by Sumire and she tags in Yui, Yui goes for a chokeslam but Sera blocks it. RainSleeper by Yui but Rutsuko breaks it up, Risa picks up Yui and hits Ayers Rock but Sumire breaks up the cover. Risa goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, but Yui kicks out of the cover. Rutsuko comes in but she kicks Risa by accident, running elbow by Yui to Risa and she picks up the three count! Yui Yokoo and Sumire Yoshino are the winners.

I wouldn’t call this a good match, although it was generally inoffensive. Sumire was pretty rough around the edges, I am not terribly surprised she quit wrestling, and while Risa Sera is currently a really good wrestler she was still working out the kinks in 2013. Rutsuko stood out the most because she had the most personality, however Yui seemed like the most complete wrestler. A skippable opener, even if it is interesting to watch a match with young wrestlers from four years ago where three have already left the business.

Manami Toyota vs. Miho Wakizawa
All Japan Women’s Gold Tradition Ryogoku Advent

Wakizawa charges Toyota but Toyota hits a heel drop for a two count cover. Back up they trade slaps, a battle that Toyota wins, but Wakizawa fires back with elbows. Toyota bounces Wakizawa off the ropes and kicks her in the chest, Toyota charges Wakizawa but Wakizawa rolls her around the ring before covering Toyota for a two. Irish whip by Wakizawa but Toyota reverses it and gives Wakizawa a rolling cradle of her own. Toyota puts Wakizawa in the ropes but Wakizawa avoids the dropkick and kicks Toyota out of the ring. Wakizawa then goes up top and dives out onto Toyota with a plancha, she slides Toyota back into the ring and goes up top, connecting with a missile dropkick. Toyota gets back up but Wakizawa hits a Claw STO for a two count. Waistlock by Wakizawa but Toyota gets into the ropes, big boot by Toyota and she goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex but Wakizawa rolls out of it and hits a German suplex hold. Wakizawa picks up Toyota but Toyota elbows her off, release German by Toyota and she goes for a moonsault, but Wakizawa gets her feet up. Fisherman suplex hold by Wakizawa, but Toyota kicks out.

Wakizawa goes up top and hits another missile dropkick, she returns to the top turnbuckle but Toyota boots her down to the floor. Toyota climbs the turnbuckle and dives out onto Wakizawa with her own plancha, taking out a random innocent on the floor in the process. Toyota rolls Wakizawa back in and hits a missile dropkick, another missile dropkick by Toyota and she covers Wakizawa for two. Toyota returns to the top but Wakizawa joins her, Toyota pushes her off and dropkicks Wakizawa in the back of the head. Moonsault by Toyota, but Wakizawa barely gets a shoulder up. Toyota picks up Wakizawa and hits a German suplex hold, she goes up top but Toyota joins her and hits a Frankensteiner, which Toyota rolls through for a two count. Straight Jacket German by Toyota, she goes up top but Wakizawa joins her and hits an avalanche fisherman buster for two. Another fisherman buster by Wakizawa, but again Toyota kicks out. Wakizawa picks up Toyota but Toyota kicks her and hits the Japanese Ocean Queen Bomb, she goes for the cover but lifts up Wakizawa before the three. Toyota then drags Wakizawa up and hits a release Japanese Ocean Cyclone Queen Bee Bomb. She goes for one final one, but Wakizawa slides down her back and applies the Backslide From Venom for the three count! Miho Wakizawa wins!

Afterwards, Wakizawa is in tears as she is overcome with emotion, and Toyota gives her a hug. Streamers are even thrown for Wakizawa, so to say this win meant a lot to her is an understatement.

It feels odd that a match that clearly meant so much to Wakizawa is just an undercard match. An undercard match on a stacked show, but still. Anyone that has never seen Toyota will be an awe at how any times she goes to the top turnbuckle, she always lived up there in her heyday and still does even though at the time of the match she was over 40 years old. I couldn’t say this was a great match but they definitely gave it their all, as both were dropping bombs and trying everything to get the win. Wakizawa kicked out of Toyota’s best offense, but at this stage of her career that just wasn’t really a big deal to Toyota as clearly the point here was for Wakizawa to overcome and get a win that meant a lot to her on a personal level. An interesting match that is worth watching, even if in a vacuum it seems out of place.  Mildly Recommended

Ibushi, Gota Ihashi, Lin Byron, and Iwatani vs. Nakazawa, Hikaru Sato, Makoto, and Eri Susa
Ryogoku Special MIX Eight Person Tag Match

Mayu and Eri are the first two in, wristlock by Eri but Mayu armdrags out of it. Eri tags in Nakazawa, Sato comes in too but Mayu grabs their wrists and hits a springboard split-legged double armdrag. Mayu dropkicks both of them but Nakazawa soon takes back over and he tags in Sato. Sato puts on his swim gear and starts working over Mayu in the corner. He tags in Makoto, Makoto snaps Mayu off the ropes before tagging in Eri. DDT by Eri and she hits a second one, Mayu fights back and they trade elbows. Elevated DDT by Eri, and she covers Mayu for two. She tags Nakazawa, Nakazawa straddles Mayu on the top rope and slides her uh crotch-first across the ropes. That’s as nice as I can put it. Sato comes in and puts Mayu in a crab hold, but Mayu gets into the ropes. Sato goes off the ropes but Mayu dropkicks him and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count. Mayu tags in Byron, Byron DDTs Sato but Nakazawa runs in and attacks her. Eri comes in too as does Makoto, but Byron fights them all off. Sato recovers but Bryon drops him on the second rope, she goes for the Tiger Feint Kick but Nakazawa jumps in the way. Bryon punches him in the balls and hits the Tiger Feint Kick anyway, she goes up top but Nakazawa grabs her before she can jump off. Backdrop suplex by Sato, he tags in Nakazawa while Ibushi is also tagged in.

Pele Kick by Ibushi and he connects with a kick combination, standing moonsault by Ibushi but Makoto breaks it up. DDT by Makoto to Ibushi, she then hits a footstomp followed by a cartwheel kneedrop. Nakazawa covers Ibushi but Ihashi breaks it up, kick to the chest by Ihashi to Nakazawa and he hits a cartwheel moonsault. Ibushi then follows with a running shooting star press and a moonsault off the second turnbuckle, but Nakazawa kicks out of the cover. He tags in Mayu, double wrist armsault by Mayu but it gets two. Mayu picks up Nakazawa and they trade elbows, Mayu slaps Nakazawa but he takes off his clothes and hits a spear. He takes off his underwear and goes for the Ultimate Venom Arm, Makoto tries to stop him so she gets it instead. He goes back to Mayu but Mayu blocks it, Sato tries to help Nakazawa get the hold applied but both teams run in and have a Test of Strength with the underwear. Makoto come sin but she goes against Nakazawa as does Eri, helping Mayu successfully block the hold. Makoto and Eri continue helping Mayu’s team, as all the women hit running strikes on Nakazawa in the corner. Mayu picks up Nakazawa, Eri chops Nakazawa in the chest and Mayu nails the dragon suplex hold for the three count! Kota Ibushi, Gota Ihashi, Lin Byron, and Mayu Iwatani are the winners.

This was a bit too DDT-y for me as their brand of comedy isn’t my favorite, but I did like Eri and Makoto switching teams as they agreed with me. Mayu was still a bit shaky but still learning, and everyone else looked fine. A bit longer than it needed to be but if you enjoy Nakazawa you may enjoy this match too.

Meiko Satomura vs. Takumi Iroha
Takumi Iroha Debut Match

The match starts slow but Iroha fires up Satomura by elbowing her against the ropes instead of giving a clean break. Iroha kicks Satomura when they lock knuckles but Satomura elbows her hard in the face and kicks Iroha into the corner. Jumping elbow by Satomura and she applies a front necklock, armbar by Satomura but Iroha gets into the ropes. Back up they trade elbows, uppercut by Satomura and she knocks Iroha into the corner. Iroha swats Satomura away and kicks her in the chest, uppercut by Iroha and she dropkicks her into the opposite corner. Iroha picks up Satomura and flips her into a cross armbreaker, she reverts it into a triangle choke before then changing it to an ankle hold when she can’t keep Satomura down. Satomura gets out of it with a jawbreaker, she attempts an Irish whip but Iroha blocks it and re-applies the triangle choke. Satomura gets into the ropes, Iroha slams Satomura to the mat and goes up top, and she hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Iroha picks up Satomura but Satomura elbows her off, she goes off the ropes but Iroha hits a powerslam for another two count. Backdrop suplex by Iroha, she picks up Satomura and goes off the ropes, but Satomura kicks her in the stomach and knocks her down with an uppercut. Kick to the head by Satomura, and Iroha rolls out of the ring hurt. Iroha is pretty out of it so Satomura goes to get her, she slides Iroha back in and covers her for two. Satomura picks up Iroha but Iroha dropkicks her, Satomura quickly kicks Iroha in the ribs and nails the cartwheel kneedrop. Seated armbar by Satomura, but Iroha quickly gets a hand on the ropes. DDT by Satomura, she goes up top and she hits the diving body press for a two count cover. Satomura goes for a Death Valley Bomb, Iroha gets out of it but Satomura kicks her in the ribs. Backdrop suplex by Satomura, she covers Iroha but lifts her head before the three count. Satomura puts Iroha in a sleeper hold, Iroha can’t get to the ropes and goes to sleep. Meiko Satomura wins!

I enjoyed this one quite a bit, perhaps with some benefit of hindsight. Iroha no longer wrestles in Stardom as she left the promotion to join Chigusa Nagayo’s Marvelous, however she has really developed into a solid wrestler. I wouldn’t say she was a complete natural as aside from a few cool submission moves she didn’t do anything to really stand out in this match, but she sold really well and nothing ever felt awkward. Satomura gave the rookie a fair amount of offense but this was before Satomura went full ass-kicker on Stardom, I doubt a wrestler today in their debut match would have as much luck. An above average match with an obvious result, but it was nice to see someone debut on such a big stage.

Act Yasukawa vs. Dark Angel
Wonder of Stardom Championship

They trade holds to start, Dark Angel gets Act to the mat but Act gets out of it and they return to their feet. Dark Angel gets Act to the mat again, she pushes Act into the corner and she delivers a dropkick. Snapmare by Dark Angel and she rolls up Act for a two count, Dark Angel goes for a lariat but Act ducks it and puts Dark Angel in the Stretch Muffler. Dark Angel gets to the ropes, Act hangs her upside down from the top rope before kicking her in the leg. Act continues on Dark Angel’s leg, Dark Angel jumps up on the top turnbuckle but Act pushes her down to the floor. Act then goes out to the apron and she hits a cannonball down onto Dark Angel, Act slides Dark Angel back in and hits the ACT Special for a two count. Act goes off the ropes and knees Dark Angel in the head, but again her cover gets two. Act goes for a neck swing but Dark Angel gets out of it and the pair trade elbows. Springboard dropkick by Dark Angel, Act rolls out of the ring but Dark Angel goes up top and dives out onto Act with a plancha suicida, completely flattening her.

Act looks incredibly hurt but after a minute she manages to get back into the ring, slingshot bodypress by Dark Angel and she gets a two count. Dark Angel goes for the La Reienera but Act gets out of it, dropkick by Act but Dark Angel gets out of the tombstone and puts Act in the double chickenwing armlock with a neckscissors, but Act is too close to the ropes and gets the break. Dark Angel picks up Act and hits the Stun Gun, suplex by Dark Angel but Act kicks out. Dark Angel picks up Act but Act blocks the pedigree, reverse STO by Act and she delivers the Senton Bomb off the second turnbuckle. Act goes up again but Dark Angel recovers and tosses her off, Dark Angel goes up but Act joins her and powerslams Act to the mat for a two count. Act goes up top but Dark Angel hits the rope to knock her off, Act rolls Dark Angel to the mat but Dark Angel kicks out of the cover. Grounded necklock by Act but Dark Angel suplexes out of it, La Reienera by Dark Angel and after Act can’t escape the referee calls for the bell! Dark Angel is the new champion.

I like both of these wrestlers but I felt the match fell a bit flat. Something seemed off, they weren’t always on the same page and some of the moves just weren’t hit very cleanly. Act is always a bundle of fun to watch as she has a wide variety of offense and the pacing/time felt right as Dark Angel knows how to lay out a match, it just never sucked me in as the story was never really there (the crowd also never really got into it either). Some quality spots, but overall it didn’t reach the level I was hoping for.

(c) Natsuki*Taiyo vs. Yuhi
NEO High Speed Championship

After some fast paced rope running, things calm down with wristlocks until Yuhi pushes Taiyo into the ropes and goes for a Tiger Feint Kick. Taiyo ducks that, Yuhi grabs her arm and she hits a diving armdrag out of the corner. Taiyo goes off the ropes and hits an elbow onto Yuhi, kicks to the ribs by Taiyo and she applies an armbar. She releases the hold after a moment, kicks by Taiyo but Yuhi fights back with elbows. Taiyo dropkicks Yuhi hard in the chest, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. Running dropkick by Taiyo in the corner, and she covers Yuhi for two. Taiyo goes for the Iguchi Bomb but Yuhi hurricanranas out of it, quebrada by Yuhi but Taiyo kicks out of the cover. Yuhi goes up top but Taiyo quickly joins her and armdrags her to the mat, Iguchi Bomb by Yuhi but it gets a two. Kick by Taiyo but Yuhi blocks the Taiyo-chan☆Bomb, kicks by Yuhi but Taiyo catches one and pushes her to the mat.

Kick to the chest by Taiyo, she goes off the ropes but Yuhi slides away and kicks Taiyo in the chest. Ankle Hold by Yuhi but Taiyo gets to the ropes to force a break. Kicks by Yuhi and she hits a strike combination, handstand capoeira by Yuhi and she kicks Taiyo in the head for a two count. Yuhi goes up top but Taiyo avoids the Firebird Splash, Taiyo-chan☆Bomb by Taiyo but Yuhi gets a shoulder up. Hard elbow by Taiyo but Yuhi returns fire, knees by Taiyo but Yuhi gets into the ropes. Release German by Taiyo but Yuhi springs up and hits a German suplex hold for two. Taiyo goes for La Magistral but Yuhi blocks it, jumping kick by Yuhi and she delivers the Honey Flash, but Taiyo barely gets a shoulder up. Yuhi goes for a kick but Taiyo catches it and hits a leg trap suplex hold, but it gets two. Taiyo picks up Yuhi and puts her onto the top turnbuckle, Taiyo joins her and nails the Taiyo-chan*Spanish Fly, picking up the three count! Natsuki Taiyo is still the High Speed Champion!

This was a really fun match that delivered what it was aiming for – a fast paced entertaining midcard match that kept the fans engaged without overshadowing the bigger matches on the card. Yuhi was such a great young talent, she retired before she was even 18 so we’ll never know how great she could have been. This type of match was Taiyo’s specialty as she had a lot of different high speed offense, and even though the match was over ten minutes it flew by. I could watch this all day, far from a classic but just what the card needed to get the crowd back into it.  Recommended

(c) Kyoko Kimura and Hailey Hatred vs. Kairi Hojo and Natsumi Showzuki
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Kairi and Natsumi try to attack before the bell, but it quickly backfires as Kimura Monster-gun takes over. Kairi stays in the ring with Hailey but Kyoko pulls Kairi out of the ring and they battle on the floor. Hailey throws Kairi into the ring post while Kyoko slides Natsumi into the ring, Kyoko puts Natsumi in the Tree of Woe and jumps down on her in the corner. Hailey comes in too as they double team Natsumi, Hailey stays in and works over Natsumi’s leg. Kyoko is tagged in and she puts Natsumi in a leglock, but Natsumi rolls up Kyoko for a quick two count. Kyoko goes back to the leg but Natsumi hits a crossbody and tags in Kairi. Kyoko and Hailey double team Kairi as they slam her into the mat, but Kairi gets away and hits a double spear. Another spear by Kairi onto Kyoko and she hits another one followed by a third. Kairi picks up Kyoko but Kyoko slides away and pushes Kairi to the mat. Kairi recovers and elbows Kyoko but Kyoko boots her in the face for a two count cover. Front necklock by Kairi but Kyoko reverses it, Kairi gets into the ropes but Kyoko slaps her in the face. Kyoko picks up Kairi and puts her in a sleeper, but Natsumi runs in and breaks it up.

Slaps by Natsumi to Kyoko, she goes back out to the apron and Kairi tags her in. Knees by Natsumi to Kyoko, running knee by Natsumi and she covers Kyoko for a two count. Natsumi goes off the ropes but Hailey hits her from the apron, Kyoko tags in Hailey and they kick Natsumi around the ring, Kairi comes in too but ultimately Kimura Monster-gun keeps the advantage. Natsumi kicks Kyoko in the head while Kairi spears Hailey, kick by Natsumi to Hailey and she tags in Kairi. Assisted kneedrop by Natsumi, she goes up top and hits a diving double kneedrop onto Hailey. Kairi then goes up top and nails the diving elbow drop, but Kyoko breaks up the pin. Hailey clears the ring, she picks up Kairi and snaps off a German suplex hold for two. Hailey picks up Kairi again and throws her into the corner, Kyoko returns and they double team Kairi. High kick by Hailey, and she covers Kairi for two. Hailey gets on the second turnbuckle and they hit an assisted Gory Special, but Natsumi breaks up the pin. Hailey picks up Kairi but Kairi spins away and applies the 4173 (Gedo Clutch) for the three count! Natsumi Showzuki and Kairi Hojo are your new champions!

I haven’t seen a ton of Hailey Hatred, and maybe I am just watching the wrong matches, but I have yet to see her in a match look good. Every spear by Kairi to Hailey just looked rough, as if Hailey had never sold a spear before, and so much of it felt awkward. Her German Suplex was nice but nothing else was smooth. To be fair, some of the Kyoko segments looked rough too, it just felt disjointed as hell. Natsumi and Kairi were spunky as you’d assume and there were some solid parts, but overall just too rough around the edges to recommend.

Kaori Yoneyama, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Syuri vs. Takahashi, Fujimoto, and Mika Nagano
Nanae Takahashi That’s Women’s Pro-Wrestling

Kaori and Fujimoto start off but they reach a stalemate and tag in Mika and Syuri. Mika takes down Syuri, kicks by Syuri but Mika slides away and hits mounted elbows. Mika goes for a cross armbreaker and gets it locked on, but Syuri gets a foot on the ropes. Nanae and Hiroyo are tagged in and they trade elbows, shoulderblock by Nanae and she throws down Hiroyo by the hair. Hiroyo returns the favor and hits a body avalanche before making the tag to Kaori. Abdominal Stretch by Kaori, she puts Nanae in the ropes so that her teammates can help her with the Stardom star. Syuri is tagged in next, Nanae slaps her but Syuri slaps her back and knees Nanae in the stomach. She goes off the ropes but Nanae delivers a lariat before making the hot tag to Fujimoto. Fujimoto kicks down all three of her opponents, Mika comes in and she dropkicks Syuri in the corner. Double catapult dropkick by Fujimoto to Syuri, she goes for a suplex but Syuri blocks it and hits a scoop slam. Syuri goes off the ropes but Fujimoto dropkicks her and tags in Mika, Mika and Syuri trade elbows, Syuri knees Mika into the corner and she hits a jumping knee. Suplex by Syuri, and she covers Mika for two. Mika goes for a cross armbreaker but it gets broken up, her teammates run in too however and Mika gets the hold re-applied. Mike gets out of it, knee by Mika but Syuri knees her back.

Syuri tags in Hiroyo and Hiroyo suplexes Mika with Kaori’s help. Hiroyo gets Mike on her back but Mika slides away and rolls up Hiroyo for two. Sleeper by Mika to Hiroyo, Nanae is tagged in and she lariats Hiroyo in the corner. Another lariat by Nanae, she goes for a suplex but Hiroyo blocks it. Hiroyo and Nanae trade elbows, Hiroyo slides to the apron and snaps Nanae’s neck over the top rope. Hiroyo goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she charges Nanae but Nanae kicks her back and they trade strikes. Roaring Elbow by Hiroyo, but Nanae gets a shoulder up. Reverse Double Kneedrop by Hiroyo, but Fujimoto breaks up the cover. Hiroyo tags in Kaori, diving senton by Kaori to Nanae and she gets a two count. Everyone stacks on Hiroyo so she can hit a heavy kneedrop, cover by Kaori but Nanae kicks out at two. Nanae is thrown into the corner but Nanae lariats all of her opponents, she goes up top and hits the Refrigerator Bomb for a two count. Nanae picks up Kaori but Kaori sneaks in a flash pin for two. German suplex by Nanae but Kaori knees her in the back of the head, she goes up top and delivers the Takako Panic for a two count. Kaori picks up Nanae, elbow by Nanae and she hits a lariat. Yoshi Tonic by Kaori, she picks up Nanae but Fujimoto hits the Venus Shoot on her. Nanae picks up Kaori and delivers the Falcon Arrow, but Hiroyo breaks up the pin. The ring clears, Nanae picks up Kaori and she nails the One Second EX for the three count! Team Nanae Takahashi wins!

While a match like this isn’t going to blow anyone away, it was a smartly worked match that kept at a decent pace while giving all the wrestlers a chance to shine. Its a shame that Mika stopped wrestling as I love me a good MMA gimmick (well not a gimmick in her case), and her pairing with Syuri was entertaining. Nanae Takahashi was the star of the match by design but looked good, and everyone played their role well with no mistakes or miscommunications. Nothing special in the long run but a solid match bell to bell and quality filler.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Alpha Female vs. Io Shirai
This match is for the World of Stardom Championship

After Alpha Female jaws with the crowd they tie-up, Io tries to shoulderblock Alpha Female over but it obviously fails. Chops by Io, she goes for a slam but Alpha Female blocks it and hits a scoop slam of her own. Alpha Female throws Io into the corner but Io avoids her charge and hits a spinning headscissors followed by a standing moonsault for two. Io attempts to Irish whip Alpha Female but Alpha Female blocks it and hits a release German suplex. Alpha Female picks up Io and hits a German suplex hold, but Io kicks out at two. Clubs to the chest by Alpha Female and she hits a lariat, cobra clutch by Alpha Female but Io gets into the ropes for a break. Alpha Female picks up Io but Io lands on her feet on the suplex attempt and dropkicks Alpha Female into the corner. Space Rolling Elbow by Io but Alpha Female blocks the face crusher and delivers a release German. Alpha Female charges Io but Io ducks her lariat and applies the Tarantula in the ropes. Io releases it and goes for a swandive move, but Alpha Female grabs her before she can springboard and elbows her down to the floor. Alpha Female goes out after her and slams her into the apron, she puts Io against the ring post and goes for a lariat, but Io moves out of the way. Io then hits a Tiger Feint Kick around the ring post, she goes up top and delivers a moonsault down onto Alpha Female.

Alpha Female is rolled into the ring by Kyoko Kimura, Io gets on the apron and she hits a swandive dropkick to Alpha Female’s back. Tiger Feint Kick by Io and she hits another swandive dropkick, pinning Alpha Female for a two count. Armtrap Crossface by Io but Alpha Female muscles out of it, body avalanche by Io in the corner but Alpha Female elbows her in the other corner and they trade elbows. Palm strike by Io but Alpha Female elbows her hard in the face for a two count. Alpha Female charges Io but Io slides out to the apron, diving hurricanrana by Io and she hits a double knee strike in the corner. Alpha Female fires back with a lariat, she picks up Io and delivers a chokebomb, but Io barely gets a shoulder up. Cobra Clutch by Alpha Female but Io gets a foot on the ropes to force a break, Alpha Female picks up Io and goes off the ropes, but Io catches her with a Frankensteiner. Spinning kicks to the head by Io and she hits a standing moonsault followed by a moonsault off the second turnbuckle and top turnbuckle, but Alpha Female kicks out of the cover. Io goes for another hurricanrana but Alpha Female catches her and hits a Buckle Bomb. Alpha Female picks up Io and goes for a slam but Io blocks it and hits a Buzzsaw Kick. Io rains more Buzzsaw Kicks onto Alpha Female, rolling savate kick by Io and she hits a second one for a two count cover. They get up, kicks to the midsection by Io and she nails another rolling savate kick for the three count! Io Shirai is the new champion!

This match was good but weird. The ending felt… strange as while repeated kicks to the head is a solid way to win a match, it wasn’t one of Io’s regular ways and it would have been more impressive if she had won with a power move (like a bridging suplex). Odd ending aside, Alpha Female is one of the top female heels in all of wrestling and plays the part perfectly, she is strong enough to do just about anything but doesn’t mind taking the big bumps when needed to put over the ‘good guy.’ Watching the match four years after it happened, it didn’t really have an epic feel like you’d hope from the young local star defeating the evil gaijin for the promotion’s top championship, but it did show that Io is incredibly hard to beat, which is a theme that continues to this day. I liked it overall, but the ending was a bit flat and it didn’t feel as special as it was probably intended to be.  Mildly Recommended

Yuzuki Aikawa vs. Yoshiko
Yuzuki Aikawa Retirement Match

Aikawa and Yoshiko get right into it and end up on the mat, Yoshiko gets in the mount and holds down Aikawa. Aikawa hits an armdrag and kicks Yoshiko in the corner, figure four necklock by Aikawa and she rams Yoshiko’s head into the mat. Yoshiko kicks Aikawa into the corner and throws her down by the hair, bootscrapes by Yoshiko and she nails the running kick. Yoshiko puts Aikawa in the ropes and kicks her repeatedly in the chest, Irish whip by Yoshiko but Aikawa kicks her in the chest. Aikawa and Yoshiko trade elbow strikes, kicks to the leg by Aikawa but she poses for too long and Yoshiko bodyblocks her to the mat. Shoulderblocks by Yoshiko, she charges Aikawa in the corner but Aikawa hits a heel drop. Running body avalanche by Aikawa and she puts Yoshiko in a STF, but Yoshiko gets to the ropes. Aikawa goes for kicks but Yoshiko blocks them all and chokes Aikawa against the ropes. Aikawa goes for a fisherman suplex but Yoshiko gets out of it and hits a Codebreaker. Yoshiko applies a stretch hold before delivering a pump handle slam, she picks up Aikawa but Aikawa kicks her in the back. Fisherman suplex hold by Aikawa, but Yoshiko kicks out of the cover.

Hammerlock by Aikawa but Yoshiko slams her way out of it and hits a running senton. Another senton by Yoshiko and she hits one more for a two count. Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, cover by Yoshiko but Aikawa gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko goes up top again but Aikawa snaps her neck over the top rope. Yoshiko falls out of the ring, Aikawa goes up top and dives out onto her with a plancha suicida. Aikawa returns to the ring and waits for Yoshiko, Yoshiko eventually slides back in and Aikawa hits her with the Shining Yuzard. Yuzupon Kick Blue by Aikawa, but Yoshiko barely kicks out of the cover. Aikawa goes for the Tiger Suplex but Yoshiko gets out of it, Yuzupon Stunner by Aikawa but Yoshiko drops her with a fireman’s carry slam for two. Yoshiko goes for the Reverse Splash but Aikawa moves out of the way, jumping knee by Aikawa in the corner and she kicks Yoshiko in the head again. Another head kick by Aikawa, but again Yoshiko kicks out. Aikawa picks up Yoshiko and kicks her in the head, but Yoshiko comes back with a headbutt. They both slowly get up and trade slaps, kicks by Aikawa to Yoshiko’s back and she hits the Yuzupon Kick Red, but Yoshiko gets up and fires off lariats. Aikawa ducks one and hits the Tiger Suplex Hold, but Yoshiko kicks out. Another Yuzupon Kick Red, but Yoshiko still won’t stay down for three. Aikawa goes for another Tiger Suplex Hold but Yoshiko pushes her off and hits a lariat. Chokebomb by Yoshiko, she gets on the top turnbuckle and nails a diving senton for the three count! Yoshiko wins!

When you think about it, this result is really different and Stardom went ‘all in’ on Yoshiko by structuring the match this way. I mean Yoshiko was only 19, and not fully established. Aikawa very rarely got pinned once she was the star of the promotion, she never even lost her singles title and ended up forfeiting it when her retirement was planned. But on the biggest event in Stardom’s history, Yoshiko not only defeats the most popular wrestler in Stardom but takes literally every move that she has in the process. I mean Aikawa had nothing left, if you check her move list on wikipedia she did everything with no success. Then the first time Yoshiko hits the diving senton from the top, she gets the win. The crowd really didn’t react as they didn’t know how to, while Yoshiko was a rising star she wasn’t really on this level at this point and probably wasn’t expected to win. The crowd didn’t boo, they were just stunned. Anyway, the issue with the match was that it was just really back and forth with no real transitions at times. Aikawa would hit a few moves, Yoshiko would stand up and hit a few moves, and so on. It didn’t feel like either really had a plan, it was just both hitting moves randomly with little to tie it together. Aikawa never really got desperate or emotional, as even though it was a Retirement Match she had such a short career that it didn’t have that epic feel like the Dynamite Kansai Retirement Match I watched a few weeks ago.  The match was good, but nothing more than that, even though I admire Stardom’s balls for putting all their chips in one basket and really going for it.  Mildly Recommended

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