[1998-12-27-GAEA] Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki vs Toshiyo Yamada & Meiko Satomura

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This is a very good match, but I wish it was a little less of a brawl and more of a standard wrestling match since that's where the Kong-Satomura rivalry shines. Of course we get their singles match in a big way in 1999 and it more than delivers and still acts as a terrific teaser for what's to come. In fact, you could call this entire match and post-angle that - a really effective way to set up all the big events of 1999. This is the first time Lioness Asuka and Chigusa Nagayo have interacted with each other since 1989 and it's a pretty big deal. Ozaki seems to be having too much fun instigating.

[FLIK]

but I wish it was a little less of a brawl and more of a standard wrestling match since that's where the Kong-Satomura rivalry shines

 

 

Pretty much the entirety of the major angle/feud that had been building in the company over the past few years is missing from the year book sets but in context it wouldn't have made any sense at all for them to have worked this as anything but a brawl.

 

They'd wrestled before leading up to this but the Meiko/Aja "rivalry" really isn't even a thing to be focused on for like another 7 or 8 months so that's the least of their worries at this point.

[Zenjo]

The opening stages were all a bit random. Picked up with a nice FIP segment and they should've gone to the finish right there. As it was they went back to the outside and it ended nowhere really. Much more memorable was the postmatch angle where Lioness Aska walks straight past her former partner and joins the heels. They would form a stable called SSU (Super Stars Unit) who would battle with GAEA loyalists over the next two years in hot group warfare.

[soup23]

I thought this was great. Aja and Oz are such a great bully tag team that they made Yamada and Satomura work for everything. The pace was relentless and the finish felt appropriate while sprinkling in some great hope spots. Perfect length too.

Chigusa and Lioness getting into in the post match made me look forward to 1999 GAEA. (****1/4)

[PeteF3]

Joshi MOTY? It's a shit year for AJW and joshi in general, but quite possibly. Everyone here had a role to play and they all played it well, and the match was laid out in accordance with those roles. Kong as the monster, Ozaki as the sneaky opportunist, Satomura as face in peril, and Yamada as the game but ultimately overmatched veteran. There was some uncharacteristic sloppiness down the stretch which will hurt this a bit, but nothing to get too worked up about and nothing that wasn't nicely covered for. Lioness Asuka shows up afterward and turns on Nagayo and joins up with Aja and Ozaki. Well, I didn't like Asuka's match from this set in the slightest, but maybe in GAEA in '99 she'll be better.