14. Toshiyo Yamada vs. Sugar Sato, GAEA 12/15/2002
I wasn‘t sure what to expect from this, but ended up being a really great match full of neat moments, cool exchanges and the kind of super hard fought style of wrestling that I really liked. Sato has always been kind of the stepchild of the GAEA crew, not being as flashy as the others, but her aggressiveness and body checks and shoulder tackles style really clicked for me here. Opening was pretty great and closer to an 80s or 90s New Japan match as Sato tried to ground Yamada resulting in some really great struggling over basic leglocks and Sato trying to pounce on Yamada. I‘d say Yamada was pretty great here too and easily outshining her 90s peers. She was working like an aging asskicker, vulnerable but able to kick you in the face and put you to sleep. The match eschewed a traditional structure but they told their story – Sato being aggressive with her tackles and knee attacks while Yamada was selling, timing her comebacks and nearly KO‘ing her several times with unexpected kicks. The match had a few great spots which were the right mix of rugged and pretty, you had the barfight moves like Sato tackling Yamada through the ropes as well as the more flashier moments such as Yamada countering Satos running powerbomb with a beautiful rana. The pace was fast but they timed their stuff in beautiful fashion. I also gotta say Satos back body attack had to be one of the most beautiful, simplistic spots I‘ve seen due to the way it was timed and executed. Finishing stretch was great with Sato trying to avoid Yamadas finisher only to end up ending an Ikeda style punt to the face but still fighting her damndest. Amazing shit, I‘m not sure if this wasn‘t pretty enough for the joshi fans at the time or if they had simply all quit watching GAEA at this point.
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