GAEA Japan “First Fight in Osaka” on 9/17/95 Review

Event: GAEA Japan “First Fight in Osaka”
Date: September 17th, 1995
Location: Osaka ATC Hall in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 2,600
Air Date: November 4th, 1995

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:

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.

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Bomber Hikari and Saburo vs. Tomoko Miyaguchi and Sonoko Kato

We jump straight to the fourth match of the show. This is a ‘mixed’ tag team match, but the mixing is done by promotion. Bomber and Kato are both GAEA Japan wrestlers, while Saburo (formally Sumiyo Toyama) and Miyaguchi are both JWP wrestlers. Saburo’s career never reached a high level of success, however the rookies Sonoko Kato and Miyaguchi (aka Ran Yu-Yu) would go on to have great careers. Bomber is mostly here to hold down the fort, as all the other wrestlers are far younger and less experienced.

gaea9-17-1We 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.

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Devil Masami and Dynamite Kansai vs. Hikari Fukuoka and KAORU

More JWP wrestlers joining in the fun. This is Hikari Fukuoka’s first match in GAEA Japan, she debuted for JWP in 1989 and held the tag title with Mayumi Ozaki earlier in 1995. She teams with the only GAEA Japan wrestler in the match, which is an odd pairing. On the other side, Devil Masami and Dynamite Kansai are the two highest ranking wrestlers in JWP and both are notoriously difficult to beat, so it doesn’t look good here for Hikari 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.

gaea9-17-2Fukuoka 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

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Chigusa Nagayo vs. Mayumi Ozaki

This is a Street Fight. Not that GAEA Japan is known for ‘rules enforcement’ but this match actively encourages using weapons, and both are wearing jeans to show they mean business. Nagayo and Ozaki have wrestled before, their first singles match was in 1994 when Nagayo invaded JWP, so there is some history here. Course, JWP has been very involved with GAEA Japan since it launched, as Nagayo has been having big matches against the promotion for much of the summer. Nagayo continues defending her home promotion against the invaders, and a Street Fight is sure to just ramp up the violence even more than usual.

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.

gaea9-17-3Nagayo 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

Final Thoughts
3

 

Even though this was a three match broadcast, it may have been my favorite GAEA Japan airing I’ve watched so far. The last two matches were both great in different ways, I loved the bomb throwing tag team match and the bloody violence in the main event, it was a quality 30 minutes of wrestling. Course I would prefer the whole show, but what they showed was really high end and worth tracking down.