An absolute horror show of a thing. I'm glad I knew more of the backstory this time as well, as it gave all the brutality and violence an extra layer. Aja has been steamrolling everyone for a while now, but Hotta beat her recently in a non-title match and Aja will run through brick walls to see that rectified. These are also two of the stiffest maniacs to ever live so you knew you were getting some potatoes. Aja going apeshit at the start and piledriving Hotta through the table (then launching the table at her) was a great way to kick things off, but Hotta picking up a nasty cut on her hand around this point is what later makes the match so memorable. Until that comes into play they just eviscerate each other. Some of this is ludicrous. Hotta's kicks may never have looked meaner and if you know anything about her then that should tell you something. Aja was hurling them too though, really trying to punt teeth into the crowd and mangle spine, adding a little extra mustard with basically every passing minute. The palm strikes that leave Aja's face swollen up like Jocelyn Wildenstein were insane and that only made Aja even angrier, to the point where Hotta came across as a serious underdog even before all the hand stuff. Hotta, renowned crowbar bully, as de facto babyface because her opponent is THAT much of a bastard. That's wild. And I thought Hotta nailed the role, with probably her very best selling performance from below, garnering sympathy in a way I've never seen her do before or after. There was a brief spell in the middle where they took it down a notch with a headlock segment, but then the ref' tells Hotta to get her bloody hand checked by the doctor and Aja, presumably on the fly because I can't imagine this was planned pre-match, decides she's going to punch, stomp, twist and kick the thing into uselessness. Any obscure body part work is going to be cool to me and this was right up there with some of the best ever. The close-up camera shots of Aja trying to rip her fingers apart were straight out of the Puerto Rico playbook and then she went and brought the finger-biting to really seal the deal. If I'm being critical I'd have liked them to stick with the hand a little longer, but the overall theme of Hotta being all the way up shit creek continued until the end regardless. I suppose you can boot someone in the face two dozen times as hard as humanly possible, but if that someone is Aja Kong then it might not matter.
No comments:
Post a Comment