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Jetlag

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  2. Jetlag
    I could never really get into this match. Looks like your average wandering brawl to me. They rumage about the place and do stuff for 20 minutes, including some gimmicks, before the awkward finish. Match seemed to be lacking in hatred despite all the goofy attempted murder spots. There were some things I liked such as the work on the cut, but in total the match just couldn't grab/keep my attention. They both look like corny 90s action flick characters so I guess there's that.
  3. Jetlag
    When you find out about Masashi Aoyagi having his own promotion, you picture a bunch of reckless crazy wrestler vs. karate fighter spectacles. Instead it's mostly reckless seedy indy wrestling involving some half baked wrestlers mostly coached by Masashi Motegi. This, however, is the match that you picture when you hear "Masashi Aoyagi booking a sleazy indy fed". Mochi, Taru and Okamura are guys from Koji Kitao's dojo who all dress in black. You won't be surprised to learn they all have terryifing haircuts. Fukuda, Kamikaze and Kotsubo (famous caveman comedian) are the hybrid wrestlers to combat them and this is pretty much a dojo gang war where the karate guys spin kick recklessly and the wrestlers are looking to grab them and go for takedowns and head-dumping suplex moves. While it was more of a professional wrestling match and not like your typical Aoyagi different style, there was still lots of chaos and disdain to enjoy. Super fast paced general anarchy with a bunch of guys throwing kicks and flying around. For some reason the WDF homeboys work as the heels, it seemed the Buko dojo guys had their whole entourage with them so the whole match was ultra heated. Kamikaze despite being on the "wrestler" team took his time to soccer kick the Buko guys in the face. Taru took a good beating, incuding a bunch of dropkicks to his face and getting squished with sentons and double stomps, and the finishing stretch that had all the guys throwing down was pretty great and had a few neatly timed moments despite the mayhem. Especially loved Fukuda who decided he had enough and just hurled one of the karate guys around like a ragdoll with suplexes, then did this really awesome faceplanting bump for Mochizuki leg trip. Kotsubo, for a guy who has been nothing but shit in every match I've ever seen him in, had the night of his life when he went at it with fellow nobody Okamura (not the guy who went to CMLL) and had one submission counter into a chokehold that was probably the greatest thing he ever did. He was enjoying himself too and you know you are watching something special when fucking Tsubo Genjin is bringing it. So yeah, you had different style fighers trying to prove who's best, guys getting hurled around with uncooperative suplexes and decked sideways in the temple by surprise flying Mochizuki kicks, guys in black karate gis doing dives etc. Can't say I didn't love this match. Also note that all the Bukoh guys in this match would go on to be in Toryumon/Dragon Gate. How the fuck did that happen?
  4. Jetlag
    Yeah this was pretty damn fun also. This is Fujiwara & Nakano working as the Anderson brothers, tough veterans roughing up the young highflyers. Fujiwara and Nakano really can dish out a beating aswell as cut off the ring. I especially liked the spot where Nakano cut off one of Yume boys by grabbing his head and bashing it into into Fujiwara's skull to knock him silly. Nakano in his brief wrestling exchanges looked legit too. He had an awesome side throw. Fukuda & Kamikaze work pretty well as poorest mans Rock'n'Roll express. They even do a segment where Fujiwara & Nakano feed into a bunch of bodyslams and then Kamikaze hits a fucking Sasuke Special because he's indy trash. Finish plays off the previous Fujiwara/Fukuda interactions if you are into that.
  5. Jetlag
    Fujiwara and Fukuda had a very good singles match later in the year, and their story began at Yume Factory. This is a match very much carried by Fujiwara, who is really spry and turns it up to 11, totally being in "I can cripple you in two seconds" mode. Fujiwara brings the stiff fucking punches and matwork and Fukuda proves himself a game opponent. Kamikaze is the guy who'd go on to be in Big Japan and Zero1, and while I'm not going to pretend his exchanges with Kotsubo were good, they weren't dull either, and soon your attention will be back to Fujiwara snapping fools arms. I really liked the finish where Fujiwara kills Fukuda dead and seems to have the match in the bag but gets tricked.
  6. Jetlag
    Yes, I'm pimping a Motegi match now. What are you gonna do about it? Altough I'm pimping this mostly because of Shinichi Nakano, who had gotten all MUGA and really darn good at this point, as if he was hoping for getting another shot in NJPW or AJPW, but only ended up doing those weird 90s MUGA shows that never made tape. Dude looked way too in shape to be wrestling in fucking Wrestle Dream. This is easily the most epic a match Motegi has ever been in, as they rip it up on the mat and do a sleazeball BattlARTS match full of super stiff, nasty stomps and kicks to the hamstrings, short headbutts and truely spiteful slaps aswell as a bunch of ultra tight pop-his-arm-out-of-his-arm submission work. I could see some people hating the selling and lack of invetiveness, but the intensity was enough for me. There is a story about Maeda making Nakano pass out with a Boston Crab in the NJPW dojo, and his holds had the feel of a guy who held a grudge about simple holds cranked in to a point beyond human tolerance. Then they build into a gazillion big moves and nearfalls that actually work and don't come across as corny, as they had the selling in place and never did any stupid fighting spirit shit. I kinda got the feel that because Motegi is sorta part owner of this fed the match was designed to make him look good, but to his credit he tried hard to overcome his general crappiness. Motegi landed a really nice missile dropkick, and his desperation dive where he landed on his face was pretty gruelling and added to the match. Nakano has the really great offensive moments, his flash enzuigiri's are amazing, he also has the best powerslam and double wrist flip you've ever seen and also punches Motegi in the face for being such a sad sack. So there you have it, the greatest Masayoshi Motegi match ever. Whatever that means to you.
  7. Jetlag
    WDF is the kind of shit you start watching when you run out of BattlARTS. Everyone in this fed has a haircut straight out of Gummo, and everyone here hits stupidly hard. Cosmo Soldier is pretty green/possibly a backyarder who blows half his spots and hilarity ensues. Fujisaki and Saito are the WDF guys while Cosmo and Sato (no idea about that guy) are billed as IWA Japan scum so interpromotional hatred ensues aswell as hatred for no talent piece of shit pretty boy wrestlers, and they brutally beat the snot out of Cosmo. You really don't see this kind of shit anymore. Fujisaki and Saito are your ersatz Otsuka and Ikeda and ready to throw down and pummel a masked tanned goof into oblivion. It's kind of funny to watch these two nobodies puffing their chests and acting like they run shit, but yeah the shots in this match here are no joke. So you are watching this mess of an indy match full of kicks to the face, stomps to the jaw, dropkicks to the kidney and general pummeling anarchy full of awkward painful looking moves (especially the double teams), to the point where the crowd gets behind behind the crappy indy sleazeball and wills him on to keep going despite getting near KO'd a few times and then it dawns on you that Fujigasaki and Saito are Fugofugo Yumeji and K-Ness of Dragon Gate. And then you want to order some wrestling tapes from the alternate reality where Fugofugo Yumeji stayed Tadahiro Fujisaki and ended up saving japanese wrestling. I didn't get much from Sato. He took the dangerous head dropping back suplexes from future Fugofugo pretty nicely. This was 15 minutes of awkward brutal trainreck and pretty glorious.
  8. Jetlag
    DRAKE MF MORIMATSU!!! I'm starting to think JD is indeed the next lost great joshi fed. This was a super fun title match between two workers with great movesets, who mesh really well. Morimatsu is this butch powerhouse who is not afraid to have a go at Yabushita on the mat. The powerhouse vs. grappler style contrast worked really well. Great opening exchange in this match, and they fought like mad on the mat, stubbornly going for arm attacks. Keep in mind I didn't say the submission work here was pretty. I really liked how Morimatsu, when she couldn't get the advantage, resorted to punching Yabushita in the face and then roughing her up good by again attacking her face and finally cracking her with chairs and lariats. Both of them sold the ongoing wear and tear nicely and mixed it up well with some innovative moves and counters. Finishing run had good bomb throwing and drama, altough some people may be annoyed by Yabushita making a few easy comebacks. Still, she's a slick technico (technica?) and I still love her flash submissions. Still thought this was Morimatsu's match, altough that's not a knock on Yabushita.
  9. Jetlag
    Their previous matches were quick tournament finals, with Ayako as a huge underdog. Now, Ayako is the champion and they have their sights set on „epic“. Largely this match was pretty great, but there are some flaws. Yoshida dominating Ayako with submissions and punch combos still works perfectly, and these two still mesh really well. I thought Ayako's selling was great, and the spot that set up her dominance was both brutal and really smart. All of Ayako's stuff was extremely sharp and well timed. However, I expected a little smarter work from Yoshida in the last third of the match. Her selling was pretty spotty and she could've picked her offense a little better as the match progressed, as the previous urgency was a deflated a little. However, they redeem themselves with a great finish that was just fucking awesome pro wrestling. Anyways, this is one of the better and more interesting matchups japanese wrestling had in the store in the 2000s, and to be fair some of the flaws here are par for the course with lesser workers.
  10. Jetlag
    Lioness Asuka enters. Her License Number is 100! Yoshida is unimpressed and brings the fight right to the legend. Man, this dark looking Asuka is so different from the 80s Crush Gal. It's like some 80s pop star reinventing himself into a dark goth guy. I'd say this was a pretty good Yoshida signature match. Asuka gives an uncooperative & dangerous vibe so is a good match up for Yoshida's style. Altough she brought her own signature table to the match and tried some ECW shit that kind gave me a bad feel about her. Still Yoshida was a total trooper here taking a bunch of cringeworthy stiff shots from Asuka and working good submission nearfalls. Altough it is becoming noticable that move overkill is getting really out of hand in ARSION, seems the promotion is in it's death spiral, altough I'll see where it goes.
  11. Jetlag
    Ohmukai has done a good job at making me hate her and her bullshit. This match was a good way to redeem herself as it was a blood-drenched, stiff puro epic. Basically Hamada wasn't having Ohmukai's crap and forced her to up her game. At this point Hamada is good enough to carry a questionable worker by adding some much needed selling and struggle to everything, and she really knows how to use her intensity properly. Opening stuff had good animosity, and everything that came after the double juice was very good. Hamada at this point is close to masterful at selling covered in blood, beaten to a pulp, and Ohmukai's moveset consisting mostly of kicks, punches and knees to the face worked very well. Could see this being a low end MOTYC for some.
  12. Jetlag
    Ayako Hamada vs. Michiko Ohmukai (Queen of Arsion Title, 7/3/01 Tokyo) Ohmukai has done a good job at making me hate her and her bullshit. This match was a good way to redeem herself as it was a blood-drenched, stiff puro epic. Basically Hamada wasn't having Ohmukai's crap and forced her to up her game. At this point Hamada is good enough to carry a questionable worker by adding some much needed selling and struggle to everything, and she really knows how to use her intensity properly. Opening stuff had good animosity, and everything that came after the double juice was very good. Hamada at this point is close to masterful at selling covered in blood, beaten to a pulp, and Ohmukai's moveset consisting mostly of kicks, punches and knees to the face worked very well. Could see this being a low end MOTYC for some. Ayako Hamada vs. Emi Motokawa (7/21/01 Sendai) Hey look, it's... uh... Emi Sakura? Well that is a random worker to show up and battle the promotions ace. Hamada just wrestles her standard match, same spots as usual and so on, but Motokawa added some fun touches. I really liked her fast, vicious drop toe hold and her „crumbling“ style sells of Hamada's big strikes were fun. Feels weird that of all the wrestlers to show up in ARSION Motokawa would probably end up being the most influental one by training dozens of girls into wrestlers.
  13. Jetlag
    Michiko Ohmukai vs. Ai Fujita (6/9/01 Sapporo) Hey look... it's Ai Fujita. Pretty basic main eventer vs. Lower carder match. Ohmukai tortures Fujita a little before Ai gets some token nearfalls. Ohmukai landed some stiff shots, but she's so disinterested in selling it's hard to get into her matches. Okay take at the trope. Mima Shimoda/Etsuko Mita vs. Ayako Hamada/Mika Akino (Twinstar of Arsion Tag Title, 6/9/01 Tokyo) Bizarro world version of their 1999 match. LCO are busted open and have to fight back valiently against Hamada and Akino who act like pricks! Also, AKINO gets a lot of focus, which was nice for once. This was probably the best LCO performance in a while and pretty good in parts, but also kinda stupid. Hamada and Akino pretty much have LCO at their will and land all their finishers, but can't win the match. Eventually LCO make their big comeback by waffling Hamada and Akino with stiff weapon shots, and literally burying them under a pile of trash. Match wasn't bad though and I like that they are still trying new things. Lioness Asuka vs. Mariko Yoshida (7/3/01 Tokyo) Lioness Asuka enters. Her License Number is 100! Yoshida is unimpressed and brings the fight right to the legend. Man, this dark looking Asuka is so different from the 80s Crush Gal. It's like some 80s pop star reinventing himself into a dark goth guy. I'd say this was a pretty good Yoshida signature match. Asuka gives an uncooperative & dangerous vibe so is a good match up for Yoshida's style. Altough she brought her own signature table to the match and tried some ECW shit that kind gave me a bad feel about her. Still Yoshida was a total trooper here taking a bunch of cringeworthy stiff shots from Asuka and working good submission nearfalls. Altough it is becoming noticable that move overkill is getting really out of hand in ARSION, seems the promotion is in it's death spiral, altough I'll see where it goes.
  14. Jetlag
    20 minutes of matwork? I didn't think so.There were holds, yes, but when I think matwork I think of something more than that. Plus there were a ton of impact moves, flying and rope running. Pretty much just a regular match with a slight emphasis on holds in my book. That aside this was a really nice match as it was just them picking eachother apart over the duration. Plenty of bomb throwing, and Yagi gets to look excellent, surviving some harsh powerbombs and landing some great moves of her own. I tend to belief joshi matches are better when it's (talented) rookie vs. veteran and this was a very good showcase for lucha judoist Yagi in the 2nd year of her career, aswell as Ozaki's competence at putting a match together.
  15. Jetlag
    It's become a cliche, another box to tick off in the "This is Awesome" checklist, just like the shoot headbutt which everyone is doing now. Clueless wrestlers gonna be clueless.
  16. Jetlag
    ARS Tournament '01 Round 1 (4/30/01 Tokyo): Bionic J vs. Rena Takase This was a fun WCWSN 4 minute match. I liked Takase's judo throws and submissions, really liked Bionic J's power moves especially her turning a triangle choke into a sit down powerbomb. Mikiko Futagami vs. Rie Tamada Oh GAMI, you've really let yourself go. The moves her looked good but the stuff between was just...ugh. I expect better from two workers who have been working eachother for years. This just felt lifeless. Ayako Hamada vs. Hiromi Yagi We join the match just as the matwork ends. Seems like they removed the really good part. Yagi still has some amazing lucha cum shootstyle moves, but Hamada can't be arsed to sell for her and just beats her like a jobber. What a joke. Michiko Ohmukai vs. Mariko Yoshida This was okay. Just their standard stuff. Seems the workers stopped giving a damn about those 1st round matches. Semi Finals Michiko Ohmukai vs. Bionic J Man, Ohmukai didn't give a fuck in this match. Bionic J starts the match hitting all her finishers to avoid her jobber fate, but Ohmukai just looks so uninterested. Eventually J busts out a nunchaku and gives her some stiff hits. That may have been unintentional as Bionic J probably didn't have much experience about doing safe nunchaku shots. Ohmukai gives her some pretty stiff shots of her own and Bionic J joins the list of unfairly jobbed out women along with Hiromi Yagi. Mikiko Futagami vs. Ayako Hamada There was one cool moment here where Futagami counters the Ayakita. The rest of this was kind of terrible, however. Never seen Ayako so disinterested in selling and there was one horrid blown spot. This went 9 minutes but felt like half an hour. Finals Michiko Ohmukai vs. Mikiko Futagami Damn I hated this. Literally every 2nd or 3rd move was no sold. I try to be a little lenient in order to enjoy things, but this just couldn't grab my interest at all. Terrible. Mima Shimoda/Etsuko Mita vs. Ayako Hamada/Azumi Hyuga (Twinstar of Arsion Tag Title, 5/6/01 Tokyo) LCO faces the dream team of Hamada and Hyuga.My patience on LCO and their bullshit has far run out, but this atleast had a somewhat interesting layout. Basically Hyuga was barely in the match and Hamada just steamrolled both of them, so LCO were forced to use chairs and odd timing to their advantage. I dig Ayako in the ace role and thought this was a good performance from her. For me the match was a little too focussed on bomb throwing and a few no selling hiccups but overall the exeution was good and the narrative made this an effective bout.
  17. Jetlag
    I have seen Apollo before but not this match. Just leaving this here so people know Apollo was a total cat on the mat. He moved like a panther and did all these crazy Solar-ish moves. Boyer didn't seem to quite know what to do about it altough you need an advance degree in Negronavarrology to do that. I really liked the fistfight after the match too. Short and to the point.
  18. Jetlag
    I didn't think the interference was that bad here. In fact it's befuddling to me that in a match full of really graphic violence and lunatic bumps with one of them mostly taking a brutal one sided beating people are distracted by some (pretty minor) interference. Jaguar is a maniac here, bouncing around like she's not old enough to be your mom and splatting on the floor. Asuka is equally crazy slicing her up with reckless kicks and smashing her with props including chucking the wooden splittered edge of a table in her face. Asuka takes some certified lunatic bumps too for good measure. I didn't think it amounted to a great match like others as it really felt too rushed and ECW-ish in parts but as far as gruesome trainwrecks goes this is pretty high up.
  19. Jetlag
    This was pretty fun. AJ Styles bouncing around for Roman's superhuman strength and Roman just nuking him repeatedly made for an entertaining match. The crowd brawling, prop-focus and absurd overkill made this feel like a Big Japan match with WWE booking. I don't hate Roman but I really thought he shouldn't have won the match especially after AJ's flipping out and thrashing everyone with the chair. I got a kick out of the Usos "Doing it for the bloodline!!!"
  20. Jetlag
    You should upload that 1991 Santo/Casas match. I recall it being pretty great despite poor picture quality. These two developed had these borderline shootstyle lucha matches that are so fascinating.
  21. Jetlag
    Interesting backstory. I'll see how it turns out... Ayako Hamada vs. Azumi Hyuga (Queen of ARSION Title, 2/12/01 Tokyo) I liked parts of this, but overall wasn't exactly amazed by what was going on here. Hyuga seemed to be going through the motions and coupled with Hamada's green-ness that wasn't the greatest combinatilon for a match. I liked Hamada in this, liked her matwork, and she is game to take crazy punishment. I think this is the first ARSION match that went full „puro epic“, building from matwork to a slew of big moves and strikes being dished out. Hamada sold fine and the match had it's moments, but Hyuga's lack of urgency just kept taking me out of the match. Also, there was the popping up and sense of overkill that I've grown to dislike in 2000s japanese wrestling so much. Mima Shimoda/Etsuko Mita vs. Michiko Ohmukai/Bionic J (Twinstar of Arsion Tag Title, 3/20/01 Tokyo) This looked good but suffered from having the integral parts clipped out. We get to see LCO brawling and chair swinging, leading to Bionic J being bloodied and becoming the focus of the match. J sold fine and was a fun powerhouse, so this was a nice breath of fresh air. They seemed to have good drama going, but the finish was a little cheap and due to the clipping the match feels incomplete. Yumi Fukawa vs. Mariko Yoshida - Fukawa Retires (3/20/01 Tokyo) Yumi Fukawa retires. Hey, remember when this lady got to look like a worldbeater in 1998? This wasn't much serious like most retirement matches are. Decent grappling in a time when ARSION didn't do that stuff often anymore, but mostly just a nice sendoff for Fukawa. Ayako Hamada vs. Mariko Yoshida (Queen of Arsion Title, 4/21/01 Kanagawa) Their previous matches were quick tournament finals, with Ayako as a huge underdog. Now, Ayako is the champion and they have their sights set on „epic“. Largely this match was pretty great, but there are some flaws. Yoshida dominating Ayako with submissions and punch combos still works perfectly, and these two still mesh really well. I thought Ayako's selling was great, and the spot that set up her dominance was both brutal and really smart. All of Ayako's stuff was extremely sharp and well timed. However, I expected a little smarter work from Yoshida in the last third of the match. Her selling was pretty spotty and she could've picked her offense a little better as the match progressed, as the previous urgency was a deflated a little. However, they redeem themselves with a great finish that was just fucking awesome pro wrestling. Anyways, this is one of the better and more interesting matchups japanese wrestling had in the store in the 2000s, and to be fair some of the flaws here are par for the course with lesser workers.
  22. Jetlag
    Comprehensive list of the Best ARSION matches of 2000. The really good stuff is in bold. Aja Kong vs. Ayako Hamada (Queen of Arsion Title, 12/3/00 Tokyo) Chapparita Asari vs. Mika Akino (Sky High of Arsion Title, 12/3/00 Tokyo) Ayako Hamada vs. Mariko Yoshida (Arsion ZION Tournament Finals 10/17) Mariko Yoshida vs. Aja Kong (ZION Tournament '00 Semi-Finals, 10/17/00 Tokyo) Ayako Hamada vs. Mika Akino (SKY Tournament II Final, 7/16/00 Tokyo) Mika Akino vs. Mary Apache (SKY Tournament II Semi-Finals, 7/16/00 Tokyo) Aja Kong vs. Ayako Hamada (8/18/00 Tokyo) Ayako Hamada/Gran Hamada vs. Hiromi Yagi/Tiger Mask IV (P*MIX Grand Prix Semi-Finals, 6/29/00) Hiromi Yagi/Tiger Mask vs. Chapparita Asari/Great Sasuke (P*MIX Grand Prix Quarterfinals, 6/24/00) Yumi Fukawa/Minoru Tanaka vs. Mariko Yoshida/Alexander Otsuka (P*MIX Grand Prix Quarterfinals, 6/7/00) Aja Kong vs. Mariko Yoshida (ARS Tournament '00 Semi-Finals, 5/7 Tokyo) Michiko Omukai & Mima Shimoda vs Aja Kong & Mariko Yoshida (ARSION 04/07/00) Ayako Hamada/Gran Hamada vs. Faby Apache/Gran Apache (4/7) Ayako Hamada/Mika Akino vs. Aja Kong/Mariko Yoshida (2/18) So, 2001 is next... a big name makes her ARSION debut. Azumi Hyuga vs. Mary Apache (1/27/01 Tokyo) Our first look at Azumi Hyuga in ARSION!!! And she makes her debut in a... solid but very dry time limit draw. God damn it. There was technically nothing wrong here, but the match just felt extremely by the numbers and there was absolutely no fire from Hyuga which killed it. I mean, Hyuga was like, the super-ace of JWP at. this time, right? And she goes and works a „We are equal“ move trading match with Mari? That was nice of her I guess, and I like Mari, but... there wasn't a lot to sink your teeth into here. Mari dominated a big portion of the match with her submissions which was fine and technically Hyuga didn't no sell it, but they just settled down and ran through their offense for the rest of the match. The crowd was absolutely dead too. Proof good moves aren't worth a thing when the connection isn't there. Ayako Hamada vs. Mika Akino (1/27/01 Tokyo) I liked this a lot, fun match in the same style as their match from the year before, which shows Akino's growth. It didn't have the same air of excitement around it (I guess the crowd at this event just sucked) but the work was slick and fun. Really liked the matwork, and really liked the way Hamada dominated the match as she has learned to mix things up with vicious strikes. Akino's execution wasn't as good as in other matches but she could stay in the match believably. Mima Shimoda/Etsuko Mita vs. Mariko Yoshida/Aja Kong (Twinstar of ARSION Tag Title, 2/12/01 Tokyo) Aja is MAD! She waffles the hell out of LCO with stiff chair shots to start this match.Then she gets on the mic, yells something angry and leaves the match. What? Yoshida is left to fight on her own, and LCO quickly finish the 2 on 1 situation with a bunch of DVBs and the Avalanche Tiger Suplex in 5 minutes. More of an angle than a match. Also when Aja left they showed a chalkboard backstage. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
  23. Jetlag
    Now that I think of it, I'd take both Orton and Chono over Dory Funk Jr.
  24. Jetlag
    Last 2 matches for 2000. Rie Tamada/Mikiko Futagami vs. Mima Shimoda/Etsuko Mita (Twinstar of Arsion Tag Title, 12/3/00 Tokyo) More sprinty clipped action, with Futagami being in the ring most of the time. Futagami was no longer the tricky shootstyle wrestler. I guess this was a solid sprint altough there was nothing here you haven't seen before. They get some points for ending the match early instead of doing a million 2.99999 spots. Also, LCO's Smells like Teen Spirit ripoff theme is amazing. Aja Kong vs. Ayako Hamada (Queen of Arsion Title, 12/3/00 Tokyo) Ayako has done it all in ARSION in 2000. All she has left to go for is the gold. Aja remains unimpressed and thrashes her like she was still a 1st year rookie anyways. Aja really may be the ultimate „do the same shit in every match“ wrestler. If you can get over that this was really good. Aja just gives Ayako a monumental thrashing. I thought it wasn't quite right to have Ayako work this match the same as she would have in her rookie year given how much she had achieved previously, and Aja no-sold her a little too much, but when you get past all that and look at this in isolation this was brutal and efficient pro wrestling. Ayako is just the gutsiest wrestler you've ever seen taking every painful shot Aja has to dish out and getting caught in the ribs with a chair while doing an Asai Moonsault. The finish was fucking brutal aswell and easily one of the best moments ARSION has produced so far. Well, that was 2000. ARSION had kind of lost the cool quasi-shootstyle that made it's first two years so neat, and some of the wrestler degraded considerably. Still, we got a cool new development with Ayako becoming the ace, and there's still some things left on the table for Akino, Yoshida, etc.
  25. Jetlag
    At this point, I'm starting to think JD stands for JUDO and DEATH. This was another unique match as it has some big violence and blood. Starts out with a few psycho bumps, Sakai takes a really dangerous looking spill down a flight of stairs, misses a moonsault from a height into a pile of chairs etc. To be honest I thought the pace was a little off but it could've been due to the clipping. The second half was really well worked as you had Sakai doing her best Sangre Chicana impression, being bloodied and doing a very good job selling dazed and hanging on by a thread. I really liked how desperate Sakai was to avoid the chain punches from The Bloody, and the worked in some good exchanges. There were a few weird lulls in the match and some parts that felt a little rushed keeping this below it's potential.
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