[2000-10-17-ARSION-Hyper Visual Tournament] Mariko Yoshida vs Aja Kong

[Jetlag]

This was quite the badass little war. At this point they had matched up a few times, so to keep things interesting Mariko Yoshida had now started using GLOVES. Which means she absolutely goes nuts with stiff punches on Aja here to even things out a little. Aja also has a barrage of crazy stiff offense, altough that's nothing new. Still, she just ragdolled Yoshida around in ways that just had to absolutely suck and I winced at her brutal kick to Yoshida's hamstring. This had the usual cool matwork were Yoshida has to work hard in order to lock her holds on the beast that is Aja. Also really loved Aja's modified ankle hold here she just hugs and squeezes Yoshida's heel into her thigh. That is such an angry bear grappling move. This matchup is great everytime but this was especially compact, the selling was flawless and you get the usual neat, well timed, violent spots. Plus, punches to the face.

[soup23]

Something about the credible nature of these two and the way they match up make each match satisfying. They don't try to go big and with a MOTY level match but everything is so believable and logical. The matwork shows Aja's dominating size. Every time Yoshida is able to gain an advantage, it feels like a struggle. Her strikes were totally on point and brutal with the black gloves adding a smack when they made contact. The finish really played off the story of the match. The spider finally crafted a web that made it impossible for the monster to escape showing that bigger isn't always better. ***3/4 (7.4)

[ohtani's jacket]

This was awesome while it lasted. It's a shame they never had the classic they were capable of during their careers. In a sense, this feels like the high spots from a longer match, but another way of looking at it is that they were too hellbent on beating each other to have a slower bout. The problem is that Yoshida beating Kong should feel like something earth shattering but it doesn't. The submission hold is amazing since frankly, it would have to be... but the bout doesn't have say half the drama that Hokuto beating Aja at Big Egg did despite being a superior bout. Still, if you concentrate on the work then this is two of the best going at it.