1/16 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Chigusa Nagayo vs. KAORU
Lioness Asuka & Aja Kong vs. Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki
2/13 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Toshiyo Yamada vs. Mayumi Ozaki
AAAW Tag Senshukenjiai: Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Lioness Asuka & Sonoko Kato
AAAW Single Senshukenjiai: Aja Kong vs. KAORU 9:21 of 18:34
3/12 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura vs. Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki
3/20 Osaka IMP Hall: Lioness Asuka & KAORU vs. Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki
4/8 Honkawagoe Pepe Hall
Chigusa Nagayo vs. Chikayo Nagashima
Meiko Satomura & Sakura Hirota vs. Lioness Asuka & Sonoko Kato
4/16 Tokyo Zepp Tokyo Free Weapon Match: Sugar Sato vs. KAORU. This was either the highlight or lowlight of Oz #4 depending on whether you think those TLC matches are great or a contrived piece of trash. KAORU did the best she could, using the props to do a bunch of athletic stunts. She did a moonsault press with half a table, a moonsault attack off the stage, a senton off the top of a ladder in the ring to put Sato through a table on the floor, and a moonsault off the top of the ladder that didn't wind up working right. Both bled. Sato was even more horrible than usual, plodding around and lamely swinging or throwing objects. She put a barrel over KAORU and touched it with a mallet a few times. Of course, the match had no believability and was the king of contrived anyway. Both bled. *1/4
4/23 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Chigusa Nagayo & Toshie Uematsu vs. Devil Masami & Chikayo Nagashima
Sakura Hirota vs. Mayumi Ozaki
5/14/00 Tokyo Ariake Coliseum
HHH Senshukenjiai: Sakura Hirota vs. Dynamite Kansai. The expected slaughter. The highlight was Hirota tickling Kansai's nose with a feather then trying to hit her with it, but Kansai kicked her arm. Hirota tried a windsprint lariat, but tripped before she reached.
RIE vs. Saika Takeuchi. RIE used her heel tactics. Takeuchi showed heart by fighting hard and continually coming back. Takeuchi eventually scored the upset win, which was important even though RIE is not exactly a legend because this was the biggest show in company history and many of the fans hadn't seen her before.
Toshiyo Yamada vs. Kyoko Inoue. A lot better than the last time they wrestled in AJW, but far from their best. These two know each other well and were able to adapt to the changes they've made in their styles since the days when they wrestled regularly. For Yamada, this included wearing open hand shooting gloves and punching with them often. Yamada was very into the match, showing a level of intensity and fire we've rarely seen from her since the first quarter of 1995. She was the better of the two. Good match.
AAAW Tag Senshukenjiai: Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Toshie Uematsu & The Bloody. Good action. The execution wasn't perfect, but they never slowed down and always did pretty good moves. Bloody & Nagashima made the match, but particularly Bloody since she had the unenviable task of trying to make Sato look decent. Cool finish where Bloody tried to turn Sato's Ligerbomb into a huracanrana, but Chikayo dropkicked Bloody in the face then Sugar did the Ligerbomb.
Free Weapon Match AAAW Single Next Challenger Decision Match: Mayumi Ozaki vs. KAORU. I'd like to be able to recommend all of Ozaki's brawls, but this was the typical illogical clusterfuck we always get from KAORU. Too many gimmick spots and too much time wasted. There were some nice spots like KAORU putting Ozaki through tables with both a senton off a ladder on the ramp and a senton off the top. Ozaki did a funny spot where she kept breaking chairs over KAORU's head and leaving them hanging by KAORU's neck. She powerbombed KAORU on a garbage can then tried to suffocate her with a plastic bag that was big enough to go over KAORU's whole body. While KAORU was in the bag, Ozaki Ligerbombed KAORU on a pile of chairs but KAORU's second Jenn Yukari made the save. 28 minutes was way too long for this mindless style. **1/4
AAAW Single Senshukenjiai: Aja Kong vs. Meiko Satomura. This match doesn't get the credit it deserves. Certainly, it's worse than their 9/15/99 match, but clearly it's one of the top 5 matches in company history. Today's match was shorter and faster paced than their previous. The psychology was still excellent. Satomura tried to control Aja, but Aja was using her power to throw Meiko around. Satomura was effective countering Aja and using her speed. She tried to use arm submissions as often as she could to neutralize the uraken. Aja was beating Satomura up, but Satomura isn't afraid to be stiff as well. Once again, Aja did a great job of guiding Satomura, who followed Aja well. What made this match worse is Satomura didn't make anyone believe she was winning. It just didn't have the drama, which not only meant it wasn't as good, but also that it did far less for Satomura. Although the match they did was excellent, you just have to scratch your head at why this match came after the previous one when you consider the point of the match should be Satomura's growth and when you hold them in comparison this did a lot more to send her careening in the wrong direction. ****
Chigusa Nagayo & Lioness Asuka vs. Devil Masami & Akira Hokuto. Work and spots as usual, but this time they worked harder and did it for twice as long. There was definitely more brawling than usual, with Lioness bleeding early. Nice teamwork by both teams. In particular, Crush 2000 had a new spot where Lioness held Hokuto up for her high angle powerbomb and Chigusa came off the top with a reverse neckbreaker. Devil was the farthest above her typical level. Unfortunately, simply trying harder didn't cut it. Although it was a good match, there was nothing about this match (unless you count the ring entraces) that made it feel like it was the main event of a major show. **3/4
Feature: The Many Faces of Sakura Hirota
1/23/00 Nagoya-shi Taiikukan: Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Sakura Hirota 15:24
1/16/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Chigusa Nagayo vs. KAORU 4:41
1/16/00: Aja Kong & Lioness Asuka vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Akira Hokuto 10:12
1/22/00 Act City Hamamatsu: Mayumi Ozaki & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Saika Takeuchi 9:30
1/23/00: Mayumi Ozaki & Akira Hokuto vs. Lioness Asuka & KAORU 9:26
BIG DESTRUCTION 2/13/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Sakura Hirota vs. Saika Takeuchi :40
Mayumi Ozaki vs. Toshiyo Yamada 12:21
Chigusa Nagayo & Toshie Uematsu vs. Akira Hokuto & RIE 4:28
AAAW Tag Title Match: Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Lioness Asuka & Sonoko Kato 18:16
RUMBLING OF THE NEW AGE 1/30/00 Osaka IMP Hall: KAORU vs. Mayumi Ozaki 16:38
2/13/00, AAAW Title Match: Aja Kong vs. KAORU 18:34
BIG DESTRUCTION 2/27/00 Osaka IMP HAll: Chigusa Nagayo & Toshie Uematsu vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Sugar Sato 8:08
HEAVY GUARD 3/12/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Lioness Asuka vs. Saika Takeuchi 6:10
2/27/00: RIE vs. Sakura Hirota 11:43
3/12/00
RIE vs. Sakura Hirota 8:49
Toshiyo Yamada vs. Toshie Uematsu 8:58
Aja Kong & Lioness Asuka vs. Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima 15:41
Mayumi Ozaki & Akira Hokuto vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura 7:10
HEAVY GUARD 3/20/00 Osaka IMP Hall: Mayumi Ozaki & Devil Masami vs. Lioness Asuka & KAORU 16:17
4/23/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
RIE vs. Saika Takeuchi 5:49
Lioness Asuka & KAORU vs. Akira Hokuto & Sugar Sato 8:42
Chigusa Nagayo & Toshie Uematsu vs. Devil Masami & Chikayo Nagashima 6:10
4/8/00 Honkawagoe Pepe Hall: Meiko Satomura & Sakura Hirota vs. Lioness Asuka & Sonoko Kato 10:24
4/23/00
Mayumi Ozaki vs. Sakura Hirota 7:46
Aja Kong & KAORU vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Meiko Satomura 12:56
HHH Senshukenjiai: Sakura Hirota vs. Dynamite Kansai. The expected slaughter. The highlight was Hirota tickling Kansai's nose with a feather then trying to hit her with it, but Kansai kicked her arm. Hirota tried a windsprint lariat, but tripped before she reached. 5:31 shown
RIE vs. Saika Takeuchi. RIE used her heel tactics. Takeuchi showed heart by fighting hard and continually coming back. Takeuchi eventually scored the upset win, which was important even though RIE is not exactly a legend because this was the biggest show in company history and many of the fans hadn't seen her before. 4:45 shown
Toshiyo Yamada vs. Kyoko Inoue. A lot better than the last time they wrestled in AJW, but far from their best. These two know each other well and were able to adapt to the changes they've made in their styles since the days when they wrestled regularly. For Yamada, this included wearing open hand shooting gloves and punching with them often. Yamada was very into the match, showing a level of intensity and fire we've rarely seen from her since the first quarter of 1995. She was the better of the two. Good match. 9:48 shown
AAAW Tag Senshukenjiai: Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Toshie Uematsu & The Bloody. Good action. The execution wasn't perfect, but they never slowed down and always did pretty good moves. Bloody & Nagashima made the match, but particularly Bloody since she had the unenviable task of trying to make Sato look decent. Cool finish where Bloody tried to turn Sato's Ligerbomb into a huracanrana, but Chikayo dropkicked Bloody in the face then Sugar did the Ligerbomb. 7:42 shown
Free Weapon Match AAAW Single Next Challenger Decision Match: Mayumi Ozaki vs. KAORU. I'd like to be able to recommend all of Ozaki's brawls, but this was the typical illogical clusterfuck we always get from KAORU. Too many gimmick spots and too much time wasted. There were some nice spots, but 28 minutes was way too long for this mindless style. Highlights included KAORU putting Ozaki through tables with both a senton off a ladder on the ramp and a senton off the top. Ozaki did a funny spot where she kept breaking chairs over KAORU's head and leaving them hanging by KAORU's neck. She powerbombed KAORU on a garbage can then tried to suffocate her with a plastic bag that was big enough to go over KAORU's whole body. While KAORU was in the bag, Ozaki Ligerbombed KAORU on a pile of chairs but KAORU's second Jenn Yukari made the save. **1/4
AAAW Single Senshukenjiai: Aja Kong vs. Meiko Satomura. This match doesn't get the credit it deserves. Certainly, it's worse than their 9/15/99 match, but clearly it's one of the top 5 matches in company history. Today's match was shorter and faster paced than their previous. The psychology was still excellent. Satomura tried to control Aja, but Aja was using her power to throw Meiko around. Satomura was effective countering Aja and using her speed. She tried to use arm submissions as often as she could to neutralize the uraken. Aja was beating Satomura up, but Satomura isn't afraid to be stiff as well. Once again, Aja did a great job of guiding Satomura, who followed Aja well. What made this match worse is Satomura didn't make anyone believe she was winning. It just didn't have the drama, which not only meant it wasn't as good, but also that it did far less for Satomura. Although the match they did was excellent, you just have to scratch your head at why this match came after the previous one when you consider the point of the match should be Satomura's growth and when you hold them in comparison this did a lot more to send her careening in the wrong direction. ****
Chigusa Nagayo & Lioness Asuka vs. Devil Masami & Akira Hokuto. Work and spots as usual, but this time they worked harder and did it for twice as long. There was definitely more brawling than usual, with Lioness bleeding early. Nice teamwork by both teams. In particular, Crush 2000 had a new spot where Lioness held Hokuto up for her high angle powerbomb and Chigusa came off the top with a reverse neckbreaker. Devil was the farthest above her typical level. Unfortunately, simply trying harder didn't cut it. Although it was a good match, there was nothing about this match (unless you count the ring entraces) that made it feel like it was the main event of a major show. **3/4
G-BLOOD 5/20/00 Osaka IMP Hall
Mayumi Ozaki & Akira Hokuto & KAORU vs. Lioness Asuka & Toshie Uematsu & The Bloody 10:01
Devil Masami & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura 7:30
TOP OF THE WORLD 6/11/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Sakura Hirota vs. Saika Takeuchi 15:00
Mayumi Ozaki & Akira Hokuto & KAORU vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura & Chikayo Nagashima 20:38
Devil Masami & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Toshie Uematsu & The Bloody 8:43
Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai vs. Lioness Asuka & Sugar Sato 15:49
6/25 Osaka IMP Hall: Lioness Asuka & Meiko Satomura & Sugar Sato vs. Devil Masami & Akira Hokuto & Toshiyo Yamada 3:26 of 11:22
7/16 Osaka IMP Hall: Lioness Asuka & Meiko Satomura vs. Devil Masami & Toshiyo Yamada 6:24 of 9:31. Focus was on Satomura vs. Yamada since Yamada submitted Meiko in the previous match. Okay, but nothing special.
Meiko Satomura & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Devil Masami & Akira Hokuto 11:33. Satomura & Chikayo were fast; Devil & Hokuto were slow. I'm not sure it was much of a mix, and I'm sure these teams didn't work well together, but I suppose Satomura & Chikayo did enough to make it passable. The only thing really notable was the heat, which was tremendous though most of it seemed to be added in post production. Satomura Death Valley bombed Devil after the match, but Hokuto then left both opponents laying. **
Toshie Uematsu vs. Toshiyo Yamada 4:21 of 7:18. Yamada was at her current best here in carrying Uematsu. Brief but exciting and well executed.
Mayumi Ozaki vs. Sugar Sato 4:22 of 8:09. Sato was bleeding when they picked up the action. Good sequences and counters considering Sugar. Sugar got her moves in but lost easily. Chikayo stood up for Sugar after the match, leading to her match with Ozaki that was the standout of the big 9/15 show.
HHH Single Senshukenjiai: Sakura Hirota vs. Saika Takeuchi 2:42 of 6:33. Considering their ability, this was good. They wrestled straight and, amazingly, with intensity.
Lioness Asuka vs. KAORU 17:43. Though a similar minimal selling brawl, this was much better than the DUD they had a year later. This actually had some sequences that made sense and added to something of a collective whole. For instance, they fought through the crowd with chairs initially, but this sequence had purpose because Lioness' knee was tied in the security rail and KAORU went to town on it with the chair. When they returned to the ring, KAORU tried to continue the knee attack, but Lioness decided it made sense for her to go on offense. Shockingly, I can't fault KAORU much for this match because Lioness set the moronic predicent there, and she was the one that needed to be selling due to her early injury. Lioness' quick comebacks were really annoying here, with her again being more infuriating than KAORU. The highlight was probably when KAORU did a huracanrana off the apron onto chairs then put Lioness through a table with a diving senton to the floor. They did some sweet counters sequences that featured KAORU's athleticism like landing on her feet for the towerhacker bomb then turning Lioness' high kick into an ura hizajujigatame. Overall, I felt the work was somewhat disappointing for them. There was a huge screw up though when KAORU was supposed to turn the towerhacker bomb into a huracanrana, but she never came close to hooking Lioness' neck. Lioness jumped over and KAORU faked a cradle for a 2 3/4 count, which was one of the key near falls of the match. It was one of the more watchable fundamentally poor matches because it was generally well executed and had lots of nice spots, but no selling still equals no drama and that killed the match since they did so many near falls without allowing one to believe or care less. **1/2
Chigusa Nagayo & Sonoko Kato vs. Aja Kong & Dynamite Kansai 8:47. Kato was the standout here. She belonged in the main event not only from a wrestling standpoint, but because her fire and charisma added a lot to the excitement and interest level. Her work with Aja was particularly good, playing off the gap in their experience levels. Kato wound up bailing Chigusa out and taking both veterans on 1-2 for a while. As usual, it was short with screw ups and the usual annoyances like Chigusa no selling a Death Valley bomb, but in this case it was also well booked and exciting. **3/4
Chigusa Nagayo & Sugar Sato vs. Lioness Asuka & Chikayo Nagashima 8:06
Carlos Amano vs. Command Bolshoi 15:00
GAEA ACCESS-G 7/15/00 Act City Hamamatsu: Mayumi Ozaki & Akira Hokuto vs. Lioness Asuka & Chikayo Nagashima 12:38
Devil Masami & Akira Hokuto vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai 11:35
8/13/00 Nagoya Aichi Chikusa Sports Center
Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai vs. Chikayo Nagashima & Bloody 9:08
Devil Masami & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Toshie Uematsu 8:12
Akira Hokuto & KAORU vs. Lioness Asuka & Sonoko Kato 11:26
Meiko Satomura vs. Sakura Hirota 8:39
8/20/00 Osaka Herbis Hall
Sakura Hirota vs. Saika Takeuchi 6:12
Toshiyo Yamada & KAORU vs. Sugar Sato & Toshie Uematsu 10:07
Meiko Satomura vs. Sonoko Kato 8:55
Chigusa Nagayo & Lioness Asuka & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Devil Masami & Dynamite Kansai 9:08
Saika Takeuchi vs. Saya Endo 3:30 of 6:03. Takeuchi showed some good offense, but then went down from a couple of moves.
HHH (Hirota Henachoco Handmade) Senshukenjiai: Police vs. Sakura Hirota 6:04. Hirota cut an Onita-like promo in the back before coming out, with a pan falling on her head in the midst. She was dressed up as some ridiculous superhero. Aside from one or two nice sequences, there wasn't a high level of difficulty, but everything was done at least adequately. Basically the match was nothing spectacular, but there wasn't really anything wrong with it either. **
Free Weapon Match: Sugar Sato vs. KAORU 14:35. KAORU brought a chain and a ladder, while Sato hauled a barrel that was really too big and clumsy to utilize well. This match was so incredibly contrived. It was nothing but meaningless, totally illogical gimmick spots that took a year and a day to set up. This contained the I'll climp up a ladder so you can throw me off brand of "logic." What made things worse is Sugar is so slow she practically moves in reverse, and KAORU does nothing to make it look like she's dragging Sugar along, so you have KAORU standing there holding Sugar's hair while Sugar moves into the spot at snail speed. KAORU used the lighting rid for both a moonsault and a senton through a table, but those were about the only positives. There was a great stunt where KAORU put a ladder on Sugar, who was on the runway, then gave her a moonsault with a piece of a table, but what damage does a piece of wood hitting a ladder do to Sugar? 1/2*
Toshie Uematsu vs. Toshiyo Yamada 8:51. These two are capable of doing a lot of nice sequences, but instead they just wanted to strike. That's fine for Yamada because her kicks and elbows are top notch, but it doesn't come natural for Uematsu and that was a big reason that the execution wasn't particularly impressive. An adequate match, but they are capable of so much better. **
Sonoko Kato vs. Akira Hokuto 3:38. They seemed into it and the match was intense, but they didn't really do anything and then it ended. Fans went nuts for the upset, but the match itself was hardly memorable.
Meiko Satomura vs. Devil Masami 17:45. Devil was actually very professional during a match that she was losing. She is slow and can't bump anymore, but when she wants to be she's still a smart wrestler that does the offense she uses well, and today she wanted to be. This was not a glamorous match, but it was logically wrestled. Devil gave Satomura move offense than you'd believe given the outcome, which made it a lot more dramatic when Meiko was coming close because for once it was believable that the mighty Devil could lose. Satomura mainly focused on Devil's arm, but wound up leaving it near the end. These two worked well together because Devil used psychology again, and Satomura has the ability to make up for or work around Devil's lack of athleticism and mobility. I had a really good feeling about this match, but the post match ruined it for me because Devil was laughing, physically dominating Satomura, not going up for the Death Valley bomb to expose the work, and then laying Satomura out with her firevalley. Satomura eventually staggered up, but she just stared at Devil, which didn't exactly do anything to regain what she just lost. ***1/4
Chikayo Nagashima vs. Mayumi Ozaki 10:24. This was the most exciting match of the series. They always used big moves, but it was paced well and the selling was good enough considering the lack of time. They needed more time to really develop the match though because, although it was fairly heated and intense, the only story they had was Chikayo using some of Ozaki's own moves on her, but it wasn't developed enough to make the finish work to the extent that it should have. Ozaki showed she was pissed during the post match, but this was after Chikayo posed over her, and done in a way where it not only set up another match, but, if anything, added more power to Chikayo's win. ***1/2
Chigusa Nagayo & Lioness Asuka vs. Aja Kong & Dynamite Kansai 14:24. Crush 2000 had a cool entrance where there were dollars being blown around them. Aside from the pre match and the heat, there was nothing that would make you think this was the second biggest match of the year. It was a good match, but it could just as well have been the typical Korakuen main event. Chigusa was the only one that raised her game, but she was mainly paired with Kansai, who has nothing left and looks like she's in slow motion, so it still wasn't that good when she was in the ring. Lioness vs. Aja was much better, but they were not as good as they usually are, and certainly didn't approach the greatness that you'd think they'd be capable of delivering when programmed together. The match was a little longer than usual, but it was the typical one-dimensional fast-paced (considering the size of the women involved) spot match. Everyone used their big moves and finishers, and there were a lot of saves, so it seemed like a better match than it really was because the large crowd was into it. ***1/4
HS600 7 Big Single taped 9/17/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
High Spot 600 Rule: Toshiyo Yamada vs. Toshie Uematsu. Just to make sure no one thought Uematsu surpassed Yamada...0:21.
High Spot 600 Rule: Mayumi Ozaki vs. Chikayo Nagashima. All these rematches under spotfest rules were pretty much garbage. On one hand, this was the best of the bunch because at least it was well executed. On the other hand, this was the most frustrating because their match two days earlier was very good. Instead of improving upon that, they just rolled out a bunch of fisherman busters and the like without selling any of them. 3:58.
High Spot 600 Rule: KAORU vs. Sugar Sato. This was the worst of the bunch, really terrible, because Sugar was awful. KAORU actually had to slow up in the midst of the move she was attempting because Sugar was too slow to get into the right position. 1:27.
High Spot 600 Rule: Dynamite Kansai vs. Chigusa Nagayo. Since neither match had enough time to be good, they would have been better off letting Lioness carry Dynasaur and Aja carry Chigusa. Instead, we get weak setup and work that was far from smooth. 4:58.
High Spot 600 Rule: Devil Masami vs. Meiko Satomura. This wasn't as short, and the additional time allowed for some actual drama. Satomura's kicks were light, but this was generally quality and had by far the most clever finish on the show. 7:01. **
High Spot 600 Rule: Lioness Asuka vs. Aja Kong. The only match of this bunch that might have been good, so it was the only one they edited. 4:40 of 10:00.
High Spot 600 Rule: Akira Hokuto vs. Sonoko Kato. This was even more of a waste than Yamada vs. Uematsu because this was a non-competitive nothing of a main event rather than opener. 1:01.
FIRE AFTER FIRE taped 9/30/00 Honkawagoe Pepe Hall
Meiko Satomura vs. Saika Takeuchi. Solid match that showcased Satomura's ability to do the more realistic "shoot" moves. Takeuchi isn't able to compete yet, but she fought hard and took a beating. 6:02 of 15:32.
Amazingly, there was a funny camp segment involving Hirota. Soon after Uematsu won her worthless HHH title, she decided it was for the dogs, literally. She put it around her little dogs body and let it run off with the belt. Hirota tried to get it from the dog, but the group of poodles (appeared and) ran her off. Later, she caught up to the one (the others disappeared) with the belt by itself, but Takeuchi took the belt off the dog and tossed it in the back of a truck (so Hirota hopped on and became the 22nd HHH champ). Okay, the scenario wasn't played out with the slightest bit of logic and Hirota is about the 2nd worst overactor next to Mortimer Plumtree, but for Hirota this was "entertainment".
DEEP ENDLESS taped 10/22/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
HHH Senshukenjiai: Sakura Hirota vs. Sonoko Kato. Hirota was dressed up in what I'll call a Kato suit. One of those doomed Hirota matches where her opponent tries to wrestle straight, but she's in full "comedy" mode. Hirota actually did a nice rolling takedown into a backbridge, but otherwise this was pretty awful. 8:23. DUD.
Akira Hokuto & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Toshie Uematsu. Typical GAEA sprint except with more brawling. Uematsu looked good and the others were adequate. There were a few good moments early, but the match never built on them or even got any better. 12:18. **
Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima. Pretty much the Chikayo Nagashima show. Her stuff against both opponents was very good. She also kept Sato out of the ring most of the time, and assured her stuff was passable by coming in and doing the parts of the double teams that required ability or even using Sato's body as a prop. The match built up crowd heat because it was good and both teams had good chances to win. 12:12. ***1/4
11/3/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall AAAW Tag Next Challenger Tag Tournament 1st Round
Toshie Uematsu & The Bloody vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura 11:08 They wrestled with enthusiasm, putting effort and energy into all the holds and near falls. However, it was as mindless and goofy as ever. Uematsu charged at Satomura and tried to boot her off the apron, but Satomura Dragon screwed her over the top to the floor, which looked as dumb as you’d expect. Chigusa kicked out of Uematsu’s doublewrist armsault finisher at 1 then Uematsu did it again and we were supposed to believe in the near fall. Chigusa did it back to Uematsu, and actually came closer to winning with Uematsu’s move than Toshie did! Bloody was disappointing, and Satomura was in an odd mood, thinking she was a luchador. Uematsu stepped up to pick up the slack, and Chigusa actually sold some, even if not necessarily at the right times. **1/2
Dynamite Kansai & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Lioness Asuka & Sonoko Kato 8:37. They opened with a finishing sequence where Kansai nearly defeated Kato with her splash mountain and lariat. They kept everyone involved, mostly having Kansai & Yamada destroy Kato with Lioness regularly bailing Sonoko out. Kato wasn’t really given the chance to do anything since their offense was Lioness running through her routine. Yamada did most of the selling for her team, and looked fine. **
11/23/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Sugar Sato & Sonoko Kato vs. Chikayo Nagashima & Toshie Uematsu 11:12 They kept moving, but they seemed to not know where they wanted to go. In any case, they never found their stride or any semblance of a direction. Uematsu was pretty good, and Nagashima was second best. Kato, who seemed to not be close to 100% as usual, was disappointing. *3/4
New HHH Title Decision Match: Sakura Hirota vs. Lioness Asuka 8:03. Hirota was sporting a new title belt since a fan “won” the last one. She dressed up as Dump Matsumoto, so she tried to cut Lioness’ hair (I guess they figure Lioness, Chigusa, close enough?). However, while referee Tommy Ran was supposed to be Dump’s sympathetic heel ref Shiro Abe, she quickly double crossed Hirota, taking the scissors from her and cutting Sakura’s hair. Hirota was looking dumpier than ever, but got a free liposuction when Lioness ripped the newspaper she was using for stuffing out of her top. Hirota was on offense a lot, looking even more ridiculous than usual in making a farce out of Dump’s pathetic offense. In spite of the match being a joke, they did manage to make winning seem important. -*
Tag Tournament Semifinal: Dynamite Kansai & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki 10:19 Kind of sad to see Ozaki and Kansai running through their great old sequences in a slow and clumsy fashion. Note to Kansai: when you can’t even work with Ozaki anymore, it’s time to retire. Kansai was actually better than usual, but on the other hand it was painfully obvious she’s not 1/10th the wrestler she used to be. Ozaki had to do endless urakens because it’s hard for the person taking that to find a way to screw it up, but that’s not helpful when the person delivering them is either missing or grazing. The match was at it’s best when one wrestler was running at the other and doing a move because anyone can give and take a lariat. Luckily, it was mostly Ozaki vs. Yamada. They wrestled with urgency, but in the end Ozaki was the only one who really did anything, and she was off. **1/4
Tag Tournament Semifinal: Devil Masami & KAORU vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura 13:07. All action but totally random and devoid of reason. They lacked skill, but even moreso brains. KAORU was doing her best to make it exciting. Her first segment was sloppy and contrived, but she did keep Chigusa working fairly hard throughout. KAORU used the table excessively as usual, repeatedly hitting Chigusa with it, only to have Chigusa grin at her. Masami was the only solid wrestler in the match, but she always seems to be in Stupid Heel mode when she’s against Chigusa. I suppose she figures if Chigusa isn’t going to sell, why should she? In any case, Devil even did the zombie up after Satomura’s Death Valley bomb. It wasn’t enough for Chigusa to defeat Devil, she had to beat Ozaki up after the match too as a way to “promote” the tournament final. As consolation, Ozaki got to come up from behind and shake Satomura by the hair. **1/4
11/26/00 Osaka Umeda Stella Hall
Devil Masami & KAORU vs. Lioness Asuka & Sonoko Kato 5:37 of 8:19. Mainly KAORU vs. Kato. Good action, but somewhat sloppy.
AAAW Tag Championship Next Challenging Team Decision Tournament Final: Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura 7:47. Nonstop helter skelter action. Ozaki did most of the actual wrestling for her team, but Hokuto stood out due to being the only one who did enough acting to get some mileage out of the moves. The managed to put a little heat on Hokuto vs. Satomura, building to their big singles match on 4/29/01, though it was a relatively wasted opportunity during the match. Two things helped Satomura: Hokuto making it a huge deal that Meiko kicked out of her DQ bomb despite the fact it occurred just 4 minutes into this sprint and Chigusa actually being the one who was pinned by Hokuto, the latter setting up Satomura’s post match attack on Akira. Kind of a messy match, including Satomura and Hokuto cracking heads when Meiko tried her bicycle kick. **1/4
12/17/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Chigusa Nagayo vs. KAORU 10:43. They went all out, but it was the requisite big spot killing highlight reel of garbage. They actually did some different spots, with Chigusa even pulling out a shoulderblock off the apron and KAORU a diving footstomp to the floor, but there was too much silly brawling. KAORU hit her table with a bat before the match, which apparently was the cue for Chigusa to charge right into it at the bell. Later, Chigusa no sold some shots with the table half and screamed like an idiot. Someone must have discovered Chigusa fell short of her yearly quota of getting pinned, as she did another job her, going down to KAORU’s excalibur. **
Sonoko Kato & Saika Takeuchi vs. Toshie Uematsu & The Bloody 5:45 of 13:43. Energetic match. Takeuchi was obviously way out of her depth, but her effort got her over. She accidentally got a bloody mouth from Uematsu’s knee, which actually added to the positive effect. Uematsu did a nice job of carrying her team and making the match. Good match.
Devil Masami & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Lioness Asuka & Meiko Satomura 8:30 of 12:48. Okay match, though almost entirely devoid of give and take. Devil controlled the early portion against Satomura then Yamada bumped for Asuka. Devil vs. Satomura was an attempt at Devil’s brand of solid wrestling that didn’t quite come off due to Devil’s lack of athleticism, while Lioness vs. Yamada was a much faster and showier squash that even wound up looking more professional due to the consistently spot on execution. KAORU attacked Lioness from behind with a table half after the match. **
HHH Title Match: Sakura Hirota vs. Dynamite Kansai 2:55 of 7:48. Hirota came out looking like a portable shower to hide the fact she was dressed in Kansai’s outfit. I’ve seen a lot of bad finishes in my day, but this one may take the cake. Hirota actually held Kansai up for Kansai’s own splash mountain for 25 seconds, which is quite a feat. Obviously if any logic was involved, Hirota would want to slam Kansai as soon as possible, but since this is Hirota she never even dropped Kansai, instead submitting because Dynosaur’s girth was too much for her shoulder.
AAAW Tag Title Match: Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki 24:37. A memorable match by GAEA standards, and certainly a strong candidate for the promotion's match of the year. What made the match notable is they made it appear to be the usual 9 minute sprint only to wind up going nearly 25 minutes at an even greater than usual pace! Though certainly more of an exciting match than a particularly accomplished one from any technical or psychological perspective, they did a nice job of using double teams, saves, Nagashima's injured left arm letting her down, and general good timing to make it dramatic. I kept expecting the match to end, but they were always able to continue without makig it ridiculous. Hokuto sold early, with the idea seeming to be to keep Ozaki out of the ring for as long as possible since the heat is on her against her understudies. Unfortunately for the story, though fortunately for the match quality, the GAEA attention span only lasts a few minutes and they switched to Ozaki going alone after Nagashima gave both opponents diving footstomps off the entrance to the lobby. Ozaki & Nagashima gave the expected high quality performances, with Hokuto remembering her expertise in playing hurt and Sato even giving an effective power wrestler performance. It was truly Nagashima who made the match with her waterbug style. While she was far better against Ozaki, who she’s not only much more familiar with but also is about her size and much more athletic and flexible, Nagashima was always impressing with her energy and athleticism and kept Sato's involvement to a supporting player. The match was always at least decent, but never super despite some neat spots such as Nagashima landing on her feet for Hokuto’s nadare shiki brainbuster. Again, the main asset was the surprising length, making some of the normally pedestrian near finishes a little more surprising, though it was still more of a match that appeared close to ending than one that appeared about to end. Although it was almost 3 times the typical GAEA length, the match still essentially came off as a lengthy finishing segment. Sato & Nagashima were generally in control, so you believed they could retain. After defeat appeared much closer than the horizon, Nagashima came back with Ozaki’s old tequila sunrise finisher and her own fisherman’s buster finisher for near falls the crowd went nuts for. The fans really wanted to see Nagashima go over her mentor, but with Ozaki just about dead they pulled out a lame finish where Nagashima tried to take Ozaki out with her own uraken only to have an arm collision when Ozaki pulled her favorite strike at the same time. Hokuto then caught Nagashima with a missile kick and Ozaki put he away with her witchcraft to claim the titles. ***3/4
*2000 Year in review show*
8/20/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Mayumi Ozaki & Devil Masami & Dynamite Kansai vs. Chikayo Nagashima & Lioness Asuka & Chigusa Nagayo
9/15/00 Kanagawa Yokohama Bunka Taiikukan:
Chikayo Nagashima vs. Mayumi Ozaki
Sonoko Kato vs. Akira Hokuto
9/17/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall High Spurt 600 Tournament:
Akira Hokuto vs. Sonoko Kato
Meiko Satomura vs. Devil Masami
OZ ACADEMY 4/16/00 Tokyo Zepp TOKYO, Street Fight: Sugar Sato vs. KAORU
1/16/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Aja Kong & Lioness Asuka vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Akira Hokuto
7/22/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Lioness Asuka vs. KAORU
12/17/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall, AAAW Tag Title Match: Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Akira Hokuto
Highlights of CRUSH GALS reunion matches
Feature on Sakura Hirota
11/3/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Sakura Hirota vs. Chikayo Nagashima
GAEA Gala variety show