I'm just jumping right in: 

Sonoko Kato vs. Akira Hokuto (09/15): Waaayy too short of a match but it was fun. Seems like more of an angle than a match. I dig it though.

Meiko Satomura vs. Devil Masami (09/15): I liked this pretty well. They did a good job telling the story that Satomura couldn't go toe to toe with Devil. So she uses her quickness and technique to weaken Devil's arms. Masami sells this pretty well and although she's able to power bomb Meiko, we can tell there's some effort. This is emphasized when Meiko is able to counter a couple bombs.**spoiler** They had me right up until the end where Satomura spams her Death Valley Driver...get another finishing move! This would have been the time to debut something new or a modified Death Valley Driver...A running one like Masato Tanaka or maybe one off the bottom rope. Instead she does it 3 times in a row and 5 times in the match. Those first two were a waste... and maybe the 3 in a row would have meant more if those earlier ones weren't done. The post match was interesting as Devil wouldn't respect Meiko despite just losing to her. Meiko tries to DVD her but Devil goes deadweight and hits her Steiner Screwdriver and cackles. I actually liked this because its almost like she let Satomura beat her...or at least Satomura just got lucky. Other than kinda killing off the impact of the DVD as a one maybe two hit finisher, showing us arm bars aren't going to win a big match, this was pretty good. 

Chikayo Nagashima vs. Mayumi Ozaki (09/15): There's a theme here with these matches. See if you can spot it  But this has the most back story as Ozaki is Nagashima's mentor and she was a former member of their heel stable. This was very good stuff. For a minute I thought this might be a repeat of the previous match but this was fast and sometimes frenetic enough to be its own thing. Ozaki was as giving as ever and really let Nagashima shine here. I think if they had more time or teased more this could have been a great match. Still its probably the best out of the three. 

Chigusa Nagayo & Lioness Asuka vs. Aja Kong & Dynamite Kansai (09/15/00): So this match is a result of the 07/22 Sonoko Kato return post match segment. And it's a dream match come true. Sure everyone is getting long in the tooth but GAEA is smart keeping things under 20 minutes. This way everyone can do their thing and still keep it intense. I thought this was a great tag match full of big moves, believable false finishes and spectacle. Because, this was a match about spectacle more than anything... Crush Gals continue their reunion tour taking on the baddest of the bad asses of the 90's. I think if Chigusa and Kansai were in better shape (health re: Kansai) then this could have been a classic. But that's taking nothing away from this match. This is just simple big time wrestling done right.

Tag Tournament Semifinal: Dynamite Kansai & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki (11/23): Really fun stuff! No it's not 1993 level at all but they still excel at putting on an exciting tag match. Not everything was pretty but dammit they went for it here. I think at ten minutes and going pedal to the metal the whole time, I can say this was very good stuff. 

Tag Tournament Semifinal: Devil Masami & KAORU vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura (11/23): Another really fun match! KAORU's sequence heavy opening was best. I'm not usually a fan of this kind of stuff but it came off pretty well. Everything wasn't ultra clean so it seemed spontaneous. As the match went on it seemed to lose direction but kept up the pace. The kicks were really cool in this one. I really like Satomura as the underdog tag partner to Chigusa. The Devil/KAORU team had a great power/agility/heel dynamic. Yeah fun stuff.

Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura (11/26/00): Sprint pace but Hokuto still sells! She is awesome. Also hits Satomura with a drop kick that looks like Meiko was shot out of a cannon. For an under 8 minute match, this was really packed full. They managed to throw a bit of drama in there as well. 

Sonoko Kato & Saika Takeuchi vs. Toshie Uematsu & The Bloody (12/17): Wanted to see more Kato and its been a long while since I've seen Toshie Uematsu who is a talent. About 6 minutes shown on a 13 minute match but from what was shown it was as good or better then the big time tag matches above.

KAORU vs Chigusa Nagayo (12/17): You will either love this or hate it. I loved it as it felt very Joshi does "attitude era" with all of the weapons (including a bat). What I liked was Chigusa's attitude to stick to her skills rather than rely upon weapons. There were lotsa neat spots and at ten minutes it was a lot of fun.

Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki (12/17/00) 21 minutes of a 24 minute match. And it was a great one too! They really gave everything for this one. One of the best Sugar Sato performances as she came with fire and didn't bungle anything.  The absolute highlight was Nagashima & Ozaki battling it out like their 09/15 match. This match was full of action (not always the prettiest) and exciting double teams and false finishes. The drama was there too as this was for the tag belts plus Sato & Nagashima were pupils of Oz and a big part of Hokuto and Ozaki's heel stable. The end of 2000 was all about the tag matches and this, the culmination of those bouts, was the best. A great way to end the year too!

2000 was another excellent year for top shelf matches in GAEA. There was a variety of singles and tag matches that were absolutely awesome. Aja Kong vs KAORU is by far the best of the year and is definitely an all time classic for GAEA and Joshi in general. Sonoko Kato, who I like more than the more popular Meiko Satomura, has been relegated to the under card due to her injuries. Had this not have happened, I'm sure this year would have been even better. Her 12/17 match is proof. 

I'm not done with GAEA but the best stuff looks to be less frequent as I look ahead to 2001 & beyond. But you know, I have found that I'm digging it way more than I thought. And I'm digging it more than others have in the past. Ohtani's Jacket makes a good point on the 11/23 Oz/Hokuto vs Kansai/Yamada match discussion archive/yearbook post, "if there's one thing I've learned about 2000 Joshi it's that the broken down 90s stars weren't as bad as we made out at the time." I think my GAEA viewing confirms that notion for me. GAEA was presented by some folks to be the Joshi retirement village but that is not true at all. In some ways it reminds me of when the guys from WCW (Jericho, Guerrero, Benoit, Saturn, Malenko, Misterio Jr.) and ECW (RVD,Tajiri, Super Crazy etc.) were in WWE together in the 2000's...their best work-rate matches were behind them BUT they were able to adapt with age & circumstances and continue to put on excellent matches.

Anyway, next post will be my end of the Best Match Watched of 2023...which really is about the best matches watched. I never seem 100%  committed to a #1 and just off the top of my head, this year should be no different Then I'm feeling I'm going to go ahead with more GAEA for Joshi January.