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Post by Grimmas on Jan 5, 2018 21:39:10 GMT -5
Aja Kong vs KAORU (GAEA Big Destruction - 02/13/2000)
It's an all time classic and I really loved it. **** 3/4 for now, but I may re-visit that to go higher.
Early on KAORU just trying to survive was great, but we all knew once Kong gained control it was all over and the death came. 7 minutes in I was shocked looking at how much remained, because I couldn't imagine.
Then KAORU did some avoidness techniques and destroyed Kong's arm. The rest was KAORU trying to survive, while Kong trying to kill while wounded. Fuck it's great.
Reminded me a lot of Hansen vs Kobashi or Hansen vs Kawada from 93.
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Post by jetlag on Jan 6, 2018 4:46:31 GMT -5
2nd. Contender for the best garbage brawl of the decade. Full review from PWO:
I thought this was great, really felt like the best garbage brawl of the decade. The match had structure, every move made sense and counted. KAORU's comeback was very well done, as it was gradual instead of a random transition, she got her comeuppance on Kong and most importantly she found a believable way to control the monster. Kaoru using the table like in Magnum/Tully was awesome and Kong sold great. It wasn't quite Terry Funk selling his arm getting stabbed with a fork but it was great. Match was pretty brutal, everytime Kong hits it's a devastating blow, but did not go into overkill.
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Post by elliott on Jan 12, 2018 4:44:23 GMT -5
I'll third this.
Just watched it for the first time since probably March 2000. Excellent match. I'm not as high on it as Grimmas and definitely don't see the Hansen vs Kobashi comparisons. But this is an excellent match. If this exact match happened move for move in ECW in 1997 with Bam Bam Bigelow and Rob Van Dam, people would have called it the best US match of the 90s. Aja is insanely brutal in this match. Her kicks and urakens are fucking insane. If Aja Kong kicked me in the head that hard, and I didn't immediately die, I'd probably just lay still in bed for like 5 months. One thing that you rarely see get brought up with Aja is that she was an insane bumper. She took some absolutely ridiculous bumps in this match, any number of which could have ended the match. I liked KAORU a lot. She's someone I watched a lot of back in the day and haven't watched anything of in like 16 years. She's never talked about, but was a really great charismatic garbage brawler at her peak. Great match.
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Post by ringodread on Mar 6, 2021 9:49:35 GMT -5
Brutal, violent spectacle and a hell of a match. They hit each other so damn hard. Even in 2021 there's some genuinely shocking stuff here. The missed dive through the table, the dive that hit through the table, KAORU being sent flying over the top rope on a leapfrog attempt. The work around Kong's arm with the piece of table was nasty stuff.
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Post by Cap on Mar 6, 2021 10:26:27 GMT -5
I rewatched this recently to see if it still belonged on my list. It is close, but fuck it is really good. It defiantly belongs in the conversation.
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Post by club on May 6, 2022 3:32:18 GMT -5
Holy balls this was excellent. One of the best things about this project has been discovering all these wild joshi brawls. This was up there with the very best. Maybe the best. Maybe the best Aja match. The story of KAORU destroying Aja's arm and therefore her KO blow was really well done. Also loved KAORU's stubborness, going back to stuff she'd missed earlier in the match and her tit-for-tat punishment.
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Post by mvz on Oct 1, 2022 21:02:57 GMT -5
goddamn, this was great. Aja at her most brutal but also showing great vulnerability. Kaoru was amazing too, great never say die attitude. So happy I finally watched this, I am more on the grimmas and club side and think this is an upper half lock next time around.
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Post by lemming on Nov 7, 2023 6:09:21 GMT -5
I voted this #87.
Just a really fun match with the undersized challenger trying to hang with the dominant ace. The first third KAORU seems to be throwing everything she has at Aja - lots of high risk dives, weapon shots, using her speed to keep moving and not afraid to take short cuts. And despite everything all it achieves is getting her somewhere near to *parity*. Even when she's stringing offense together it feels like she's merely containing Aja, not really damaging her. Not enough anyway. Whereas there's always the sense that Aja can just level her at any moment if she gets a good shot in.
The spot where Aja injures her arm is a great turning point as suddenly Aja is in legitimate peril and KAORU is all over that arm, giving no respite. Adds a real sense of drama to the back half as you can sense the upset might now be on.
Great performance by Aja as well. Looks killer on offence as you'd expect, but she also bumps and sells big and projects tangible vulnerability and desperation.
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