Kaito Kiyomiya vs Takashi Sugiura (NOAH 6/9/19)
A journey of maturity Sugiura crafted for his student, seeing the seed he watered blossom in real time into the face of NOAH.
A night of definitive establishment for Kaito, and One of NOAH's most important matches of last decade.
This photo of the Villanos bloody as hell with their father Ray Mendoza with his white shirt covered in blood after beating the Brazos and taking their masks in October 1988
It didn't take Nanny Simpson (Toni Adams) to get involved as she helped the heels attack Jeff Jarrett until Miss Texas came out for a catfight
Brian Christopher would neutralize Miss Texas in his own way which ignited Corey Maclin while the fans chanted Whoomp There It Is
In 1999, ARSION attempted to tap into a tradition unique to joshi puroresu—the blending of professional wrestling and popular music. Previous generations had seen enormous success from wrestling idols such as the Beauty Pair and the Crush Gals, whose popularity extended far beyond the ring and into the Japanese music charts. Hoping to capture some of that same crossover appeal for a new generation, ARSION formed Cazai, a four-member girl group composed of some of the promotion's brightest young stars: Candy Okutsu, who at the time was performing under the name Candy Man, Ayako Hamada, Mika Akino, and rookie Ai Fujita.
The group's name, Cazai, is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of "Cat's Eye," a fitting title for a youthful and ambitious project built around four rising stars. Unlike many wrestling music ventures that existed only as promotional side projects, Cazai was presented as a serious attempt to create a genuine entertainment act that could appeal beyond the wrestling audience.
At the center of the project was Candy Okutsu, one of ARSION's most popular and charismatic performers. Demonstrating a level of commitment rarely seen in wrestling music projects, Okutsu personally produced the group's album, helping shape both its sound and direction. The group recorded original music, appeared in promotional materials, and performed as a unit while continuing their wrestling careers.
The lineup itself reflected ARSION's confidence in its future. Okutsu was already an established star, while Ayako Hamada and Mika Akino were quickly emerging as two of the most promising young wrestlers in the industry. Ai Fujita, the youngest member, represented the next generation of talent that ARSION hoped would carry the company forward into the new millennium.
Although the project generated attention, the level of mainstream success achieved by legendary joshi idol acts of the 1970s and 1980s proved difficult to replicate. Cazai never became a major commercial phenomenon, and the group was relatively short-lived. Yet judging the project solely by record sales or chart success would miss the larger story.
In hindsight, Cazai's greatest achievement may have been the remarkable careers of the women involved. Candy Okutsu cemented her reputation as one of the defining performers of her generation before injuries forced an early retirement. Ayako Hamada went on to become one of the most accomplished and internationally recognized joshi wrestlers of the 2000s, capturing championships across Japan, Mexico, and the United States. Mika Akino, later known simply as AKINO, enjoyed a long and respected career that established her as one of the most technically gifted wrestlers of her era. Even Ai Fujita, despite a much shorter career, remains remembered as part of ARSION's talented young roster during one of the promotion's most creative periods.
As a musical act, Cazai never achieved the lasting popularity of the legendary joshi idol groups that inspired it. As a gathering of future stars, however, the group was an undeniable success. Looking back, Cazai serves as a fascinating snapshot of ARSION at its most ambitious—a promotion willing to experiment with new ideas while showcasing a generation of wrestlers who would ultimately leave their greatest legacy inside the ring.