[1999-04-04-GAEA] Meiko Satomura & Sonoko Kato vs Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This has kind of an old vs new vibe and reminds me of some of the better Joshi tags earlier in the decade. Kong and Oz are the strong established heels with Satomura and Kato making a strong underdog showing against them. Oz works like a total veteran and seems to be ready for whatever offensive attempts are coming from the other side, but taking this kind of beating does a lot to get Satomura and Kato over as tough. Kato plays FIP and they do an awesome job of not just cutting off Satomura’s attempt to hot tag, but even beating up Satomura on the outside to make it seem like all hope is lost. The end result of this is that when Satomura and Kato pull out a surprise double comeback around the 16-minute mark, the place comes unglued. I like that they get their momentum by trying to choke them both out with sleepers. You really get the best of everyone involved here - Oz as a master of psychology and timing, Aja as a monster who looks strong but knows when to be vulnerable and make it mean something and Satomura and Kato as underdogs who can take a beating and later give the best comeback ever. That win was a major surprise!

 

Post-match, they tease the respect handshake before Aja kills that by hitting Satomura with a uraken, with Aja having a subsequent meltdown. Great staredown wrapping this up too, followed by a really cool post-match celebration. This was a great story and an awesome match, plus the finish is a prelude to the Kong-Satomura match in September. As great as the match was, the overall presentation of it was even better.

[tim]

I really liked this match. Had a lot of energy, a good dynamic and some really cool moments doing stuff you don't see often and that made things exciting. Stuff like how they worked some irish whip exchanges, how they did some cut off spots, Satomura ducking about three of Ozaki's spinning chops but then getting backed up into the ropes and restrained by Aja, Ozaki moving away from the pin so Satomura hits Kato with the double stomp she was trying to use to break it up. Unique stuff that kept you on your toes for the match. The transition into Kato's FIP was really great and the segment itself was great, really liked Aja and Ozaki isolating her and cutting off all her tag attempts. Satomura gets a great hot tag and runs offense for a little while but then Aja and Ozaki get back in control for a bit before things get wild. Really love the extended comeback on Aja leading to the win, the choke was a really great spot that I actually bought as a potential end to the match thanks to Ozaki's and Kato's reaction to it. Ending itself was awesome with Satomura goading Ozaki into hitting Aja with some big strikes before finishing her off with two big DVDs. Some really great, seamless double team spots here.

 

Although the blatant double no sell spot toward the middle of the match by Aja and Ozaki I thought was really lame.

[Tim Evans]

I agree with you guys. This was pretty good and man Satomura takes some punishment. I liked early in the match where Aja gives the faces a lariat and she does a full flip and lands on her neck. Aja was awesome as the angry vet that even Ozaki tries to calm down.

[soup23]

Great old vs. new dynamic and everyone playing their roles perfectly make this my #3 MOTY and it is neck and neck with #1 overall. I loved the way that Aja and Ozaki were cocky and violent but also gave credit to the underdogs and didn't let them have an inch to breathe. That made the comeback and final stretch so much more dynamic and rewarding. Aja flipping shit at the end also allowed the story to continue to be told. Fantastic storytelling and execution. ****1/2

[Zenjo]

From the GAEA 4th Anniversary show in Yokohama. It was held on the 4th day of the 4th month. There were 4 matches. Start time 4pm!

 

Very strong storyline in this one with the young upstarts taking on the veterans. For the majority of the contest the vets were in firm control. They outsmarted and outwrestled their adversaries at every turn. The GAEA girls showed great fighting spirit to take the beating and then fight back. The crowd were firmly behind their cause. Oz and Kato more than held up their ends with the main focus shifting to Kong vs Satomura. As they built towards the climax it looked like it was going to be one of those close, but no cigar occasions. But on this day Meiko was able to defeat Aja and punch a hole through the glass ceiling. Killer finish. There was one instance of poor selling that Tim mentioned. Otherwise it was spot on and a GAEA classic. The rivalry was far from over as they fought afterwards. Angry Aja!

[PeteF3]

If you're not getting emotionally drawn into this one by the end I'm not sure you have a soul. Kato and Satomura look completely helpless for the first 3/4 of this as Aja shrugs off almost everything they try, even their finishers. And of course Kong and Ozaki are way more willing to fight dirty and more effective doing it. Aja's no-selling and constant cut-offs almost reach the point of annoyance, but this was like one of those movies where you really had to watch all the way until the end until you could really appreciate what was going on before, as Aja handles her gradual weakening perfectly, and the battle between Kato and Ozaki in trying to prevent saves is almost as compelling. Satomura is joshi's next great young babyface and plays her role to precision, as she wrestles not only a gutsy but incredibly smart match in waiting for Aja to show any kind of opening that she can capitalize on. Right when this feels like the babyfaces have fired every bullet in their chamber, she manipulates Ozaki into running interference on her behalf and drops Aja with one last Death Valley Bomb to pull off the shock win. Joshi is filled with youngsters putting up gallant efforts and losing in the end, so when they get the win here it's the best feelgood moment of the set so far as Satomura and Kato seemingly have overcome the longest odds in a match since Hokuto & Kandori. Oh, and there's a fantastic, chaotic post-match as well that leaves you drooling for more, as if the match wasn't enough to do that on its own. This match isn't *that* good but it's a strong MOTYC for '99 without question.