Issue 52C - 9/20/99 JWP on WOWOW 8/23/97

Aja Kong (AJW) & Cuty Suzuki vs. Hikari Fukuoka & Kanako Motoya

This looked like an excellent match, but time had to be devoted to other things so only 1/6 aired. The work and spots were great, and the match even had some heat. It was a treat seeing Aja vs. Hikari, one that made you crave a singles match between the two. You'd think that could be a great match since Aja reached a level where she could always carry Toyota to great match, but unfortunately we'll probably never know because Hikari retired before they ever had a singles match. Anyway, Aja & Hikari were throwing bombs back and forth. At one point, Cuty was holding Motoya in the corner and it looked like Aja might have Hikari beat with a backdrop. Motoya was reaching to make the save since Cuty had her legs, but she was too far away. However, Hikari bridged out just in time. Hikari came right back with a sunset flip powerbomb for Aja's nadare shiki no suisha otoshi. Motoya then gave Aja her diving senton then yelled at Hikari to recover and make the pin. It was cool seeing the normally quiet Motoya getting excited about the prospects of her team beating "the real devil" Aja's to the point that she was yelling at and gesturing to the senior member of her team. Motoya hit a diving footstomp on Aja then went to hold Cuty off while Hikari hit her moonsault footstomp, but Cuty just beat Motoya and made the diving save. Motoya got one near fall on Aja with her la magistral before the tide turned. Cuty took control of the match, but Hikari helped Motoya out by double teaming. Just when you thought the tide had turned back in their favor, Cuty avoided their double missile kick. What was interesting about this missile kick was that they both jumped from the same corner, holding onto each other so the timing wouldn't be off like it usually is when people jump from different corners. This was just about the end of the match, as Aja took care of Hikari while Cuty did her Dragon suplex and destiny hammer for the win. I found the finish to be anticlimactic and predictable. As far as their peformances went, Aja was great and Motoya was really impressive. For the other team, Cuty didn't hurt the match, while Hikari's really made the match with her tremendous offense. Overall it was a very enjoyable fast-paced match that appeared to be around 4 stars. 23:41 (4:45 aired).