| Simon Watches Other Japan - 1990s; NJPW! M-Pro! Shootstyle! WAR! | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 6 2013, 02:20 AM (4,310 Views) | |
| Big Tuna | Jan 6 2013, 02:20 AM Post #1 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
I split it into AJPW and Japan, since AJPW is pretty self-contained, and the other promotions did tons of interpromotional work in the 90s. Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart [#1 Contender's Match], NJPW (1/30/1990) It's a testament to how great both men will become through the 1990s that a great match like this is also disappointing. Owen shows signs of his future career as a superb asshole heel in the opening minutes, slapping at Liger, pulling his mask, and generally treating him like a piece of shit. Liger shows a ton of fire and in the first NJPW match of the 1990s, pretty much shows off why I expect him to be the highest ranked NJPW guy on the big 90s list. There's a little bit of awkwardness, but it's few and far between. Opening matwork is obviously fantastic too. Finishing run has tons of cool shit, like Owen's Crossbody Suicida, Liger counters, etc. Liger wins with the Liger Bomb. If I recall, they will top this. *** Naoki Sano [c] vs. Jushin Liger [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (1/31/1990) This is the culmination of a big feud that went through most of 1989, so there's a lot of hate built in. And I love me some hate. Slapping, face grabbing, angry grappling, mask ripping, blood, and straight face punching. This is the good shit. You associate this title with pure wrestling and big move spectacles due to this decade, but this is more of a fight, and it RULES. Liger is busted open bad after his mask is ripped and Sano really goes wild on the cut. I dislike how in the NJPW style, they'll do random holds in between big nearfalls, but otherwise, this is amazing. There's a beautiful desperation to their nearfalls and fighting at the end. Liger hits a Tombstone and then breaks out the Shooting Star Press to win his first belt. ****1/4 Vader [c] vs. Stan Hansen [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (2/10/1990) This is the eye popping match, but it's a really enjoyable big man slugfest outside of that. They fight all around the ring and in the ring and at no point does the referee have any kind of control. Vader is quicker than Hansen and uses it to work him over good. Hansen has experience on his side, and is a little crazier as well. They do their thing, AND HEY YEAH, VADER'S EYEBALL FALLS THE FUCK OUT. UM. YEAH. Vader finishes the match like a goddamned man, and they do a double count out thing on the floor to end it so Vader can put HIS EYE THE FUCK BACK INTO HIS HEAD. ***1/4 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Jan 6 2013, 02:14 PM Post #2 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Minoru Suzuki vs. Tatsuo Nakano, UWF (February 27th) Shootstyle! MiSu with normal hair and attire is strange. Nakano is this fat dumpy guy. They rule on the mat, which makes sense, since it's sort of a requirement for this style. It's a totally different style with frantic attempts to grab holds and ot swat each other away, escalating constantly, and the rules only allow for KO or submission finishes or the first man to score 5 knockdowns. MiSu is already a cocky little shit, and the matwork is beautiful. This is a great intro to the style in the way that a midcard match in any style will show you what it's all about. Nakano gradually begins to punish the kid for being insolent, grinding his face into the mat, absorbing his blows, etc. It slows in the middle, but picks up in the end when they begin to throw down, and Nakano sets about showing MiSu just how much he has to learn. With kicks to the face. MiSu lucks out and gets a Piledriver, and Nakano is fucked up, but he gets in a wild punch to the top of the head to also knock MiSu out. MiSu is KO'd, but Nakano is just hurt, so it's a double count out. ***1/2 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Nobuhiko Takada, UWF (2/27/1990) Fujiwara is an old man against the face of the company, so this is like if Cena vs. Flair happened in 2006 or better yet, Flair/Punk in late 2012, as Takada is aggressive like Cena never was. Fujiwara tries to keep him at bay and extend the match since endurance might be all he has, but it gets to a point where he can't absorb the blows for too much longer. The matwork was all really intricate and well done and it's Fujiwara, so that's like saying Kawada's kicks were good or that Benoit can throw a chop. He's constantly grabbing any limb he can to hold the younger guy still. Strike exchanges are great, as Fujiwara is just SO outgunned, and he knows it. He gets a lucky headbutt in, and after that, gets slaughtered. Goes on too long before the finish though, despite how great the finish is. Takada puts on another shitty leglock after some kicks, but Fujiwara grabs his ankle and torques it into this disgusting ankle hold for the tap out. ***1/4 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Kazuo Yamazaki, UWF (4/15/1990) This is my favorite of the UWF matches yet. A lot of times, I think they can get too weighed down in matwork and while it's cool, it can go on too long and overpower any kind of a story. Here, they stick with a story of Fujiwara working more as dominating veteran against a young gun, and it's much more fun. Lots of really cool matwork and reversals, but Yamazaki is much more willing to pepper in some big strikes and throws than Takada. Lots of great little moments of both men maneuvering each other into perfect positions, especially by Fujiwara. The finish was anti-climactic, but also realistic for a realistic wrestling style, as Yamazaki scores a flash Roundhouse Kick to the head for a KO. ***1/4 Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Tatsuo Nakano, UWF (5/4/1990) This is short and sweet, and with this style, I seem to prefer the shorter and more compact matches, although this is the least of the UWF matches so far. No veteran story here, just two hate filled guys trying to destroy each other. Kicks and angry matwork and yeah. Yamazaki targets the leg and wins with a leg lock. *** |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Feb 3 2013, 02:36 AM Post #3 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Genichiro Tenryu vs. George Takano, SWS (10/19/1990) I have no idea who Takano is, but he jumps Tenryu at the start and lays in quite a fun little beating. Tenryu sells a ton, and then has an incredible comeback, as he's fucking Tenryu. He gets really violent to teach this useless fuckshit a lesson. Lots of great cumulative selling by Tenryu in the finishing run, when they get to dropping bombs. TENRYU DOES A TOPE SUICIDA. WELCOME TO THE LIST OF MY FAVORITE WRESTLERS, TENRYU! Takano uses speed to stay alive, but slows down after Tenryu batters him with stuff, and a Powerbomb with a tight cover puts it away for The Fucking Man. *** Keiji Mutoh/Masahiro Chono [c] vs. Hiroshi Hase/Kensuke Sasaki [IWGP Tag Team Championship], 11/1/1990 This is sort of a miracle match. Not that any of them have had bad careers, but it's only 1990, so Sasaki is a mere rookie (and he didn't become an actual good wrestler for another 10 years at best). It's helped a lot by the relatively short length for a big title match at only 16 minutes. Great story as MuCho comes in super confident since they're JUST about to break through to being THE guys, but Hase gradually chips at them until it's at the end, and Kensuke is able to hold Chono at bay while Hase hammers at Mutoh with Uranage after Uranage. Credit to that fuck Mutoh, as each kickout is weaker, until Hase then uses the Northern Lights Suplex to win the titles! ***3/4 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Feb 3 2013, 03:05 AM Post #4 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Jushin Liger [c] vs. Wild Pegasus [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship], 8/19/1990 Oops, forgot this series in 1990. This is the first match, and hey yeah, it's these two. Benoit isn't QUITE amazing yet, but shows all the promise of becoming the G.O.A.T. This only has some 7 minutes shown and is JIP, so it's probably the least of all their matches. Still though, quality work. Lots of cool counters and offense, and Benoit gets a Tombstone, followed by a Flying Legdrop to win the title! **3/4 Wild Pegasus [c] vs. Jushin Liger [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship], 11/1/1990 This is 13 minutes and shown in full, so yeah, shit delivers. Benoit is now showing his trademark super aggression and gets super violent on Liger. BENOIT USES HIS MISSILE DROPKICK OFF THE APRON FOR THE FIRST TIME! YEAH! Liger combats the violence with insane highspots and dives, after failing to do so with matwork early on. Really great storytelling there. Liger gets wild at the end, after head drops fail, and breaks out the Shooting Star Press again to regain the belt. ***1/2 Hiroshi Hase/Kensuke Sasaki [c] vs. The Steiner Brothers [IWGP Tag Team Championship], NJPW (3/21/1991) Awesome match. It's not exactly the super amazing all time classic groundbreaking event it was at the time, but hey, 22 years will do that. It's the prototype for a lot of the big bomb throwing Steiners stuff in the next few years, as they start with some cool matwork, and move into super cool power moves. Everyone dies on gigantic power moves, it is fantastic. The Steiners get woken up by a huge Kensuke Lariat, and then dominate Hase. Sasaki has a cool hot tag, and yeah, killer finishing run. Kind of a shitty end though, as Scott hits Kensuke with a poor looking Frankensteiner to win, which is like the least painful looking big offensive move in a 13 minute match. ***1/4 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Feb 3 2013, 03:28 AM Post #5 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Naoki Sano vs. Masa Funaki, SWS (4/1/1991) Fun slugfest in a shoot-style way. So you get spurts of quality matwork broken up by them trying to smack each other's faces in with their limbs. Takano gets a lot of mileage out of palm strikes, and Sano eventually tries to avoid them and keep it on the mat. Awesome finish, as he blocks a palm strike and transitions it painfully into a Keylock for the submission. *** Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart, 4/28/1991 This is their famous match with much more action than the January 1990 piece. Incredibly slick and fast matwork, and Owen has come retardedly far in the year or so since. Owen gets into some awesome arm work on Liger for about a third of the match then, and Liger's selling is fantastic. It was clearly a time killing measure, but Liger never explicitly no-sold it and used his legs primarily for the comeback, so whatever. Plus, the finishing run more than made up for it. Finish is sort of famous, as Liger hits a Super DDT for the win. ***1/2 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Feb 8 2013, 02:12 AM Post #6 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Masahito Kakihara, UWFi (5/10/1991) UWFi is the spiritual successor to UWF in the shoot-style style, and this is the first match on their debut show. Great match for such an occasion, as it gets the style over and is done within 15 minutes. Slick matwork, crazy stiff strikes, and everything makes sense. Tamura is much more the technician than Kaki, as he keeps going for holds instead of blows. There's a lot playing off this battle of styles, and they both try to draw the other into their style. Tamura gets rocked standing up, so turns it back into a hold for hold match. Kaikihara plays for too long and gets trapped in a nasty looking Legbar for the submission. *** Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Koji Anjoh, UWFi (7/3/1991) Tamura is a super rookie in UWFi, but Anjoh is an old pro, and breaks him in. Tamura surprises the veteran with his skill and fire, and Anjoh is kind of a dick, as he responds by brutalizing the beloved rookie. Tamura proves himself by hanging in there, and he blocks a lot of big stuff early on. All the matwork looks super organic and legit and hard fought, so this is fucking great. Anjoh's best stuff comes from striking, since that's Tamura's weak point, but Tamura has improved in that since his last match in May too, and they even have fucking revenge spots, which is rare for this style. But Anjoh is a vet, and he has counters on the mat that the kid simply isn't prepared for. Anjoh puts on a torturous looking Half Crab to win. This ruled, but didn't need 20 minutes. ***1/4 Vader vs. Shinya Hashimoto, NJPW (7/19/1991) HOW IS THIS LEGAL? Vader's arm is taped, so fucking Hash obviously spends the match chipping away. Vader immediately starts beating up Hash and yelling that he ain't shit and he's the man, and Hashimoto is in the running for most fire in a babyface ever, so he will not stand for that. And fuck it, enough with the pretext. IT'S VADER AND HASHIMOTO. THEY SLAUGHTER EACH OTHER. Every strike in this 17 minute match looks like it could kill a normal man. They waste some time here and there on useless holds, but it's NJPW, so that'll happen. 90-95% of this is an amazing power battle. Vader wins with a Big Splash after several Avalanches. Disappointing ending. ![]() ***1/4 Genichiro Tenryu/Samson Fuyuki vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu/Shinichi Nakano, SWS (7/26/1991) I have never seen Nakano before and my viewing of Yatsu and Fuyuki is limited to their AJPW stuff. But I will give any peak-era Tenryu match a try, and this delivered. Everything looks good from the secondary guys, AND YATSU AND TENRYU STILL HATE EACH OTHER! YEAH! Some disgustingly/beautifully stiff shots, Yatsu strangely and awesomely works over THE FUCKING EAR, and Tenryu has some killer sells. This really exists to build up a singles match between them in October, and it does the job, because I want to watch that now. Yatsu goes nuts with a chair on Tenryu, but a little bit later, he has a godly fighting spirit sell back to consciousness and slaughters poor Nakano with a Powerbomb for the win. ***1/2 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Feb 8 2013, 03:02 AM Post #7 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Shinya Hashimoto vs. Masahiro Chono [1991 G1 CLIMAX SEMI-FINALS], NJPW (8/11/1991) Chono in white gear and clean shaven and mobile is so strange. Great great fucking match, easily the best Chono match I've ever seen. He keeps going for the legs, both to cut off Hash's deadly kicks and to set up the STF. Hash works the neck for the Brainbuster or DDT. Both sell their hurt limb really well, although Hash does it a little bit better, since it's easier to sell a limb. Also, he's fucking Hashimoto. Out of this world great finishing run, and Chono keeps going to the STF. On the third one, he gets it, and Hash taps! ***1/2 Keiji Mutoh vs. Masahiro Chono [1991 G1 CLIMAX - FINALS], NJPW (8/11/1991) Chono has his arm taped after the last match. This is a super important match (more important than good honestly), as it's pretty much them coming out as the new top stars of the company. Opening matwork was tentative in the way you'd expect from two guys who came up together like they did, were tag partners, etc. Mutoh begins to target the knee, and it is solid, but he then smartens up and goes after that arm, inventing the Cattle Mutilation. Knee work is totally abandoned, so that was a waste of time. Arm work is good, and Chono sells it well on transition. CHONO THEN STARTS MAKING WITH THE FUCKING DIVES! WHOA! Gets dumb after that, as they trade Piledrivers for 2 counts in the middle of the match, and one on the floor is also sort of just another spot. They do a finishing run, and it is good, but not great really. Chono hits an awkward looking Powerbomb for the win. Atmosphere was amazing, but they failed to live up to it. They had 30 minutes and spent the first 10 on matwork that set up nothing and then the next 5 on limbwork ideas that were never followed up on, and then the last 15 just sort of doing stuff, since they failed to create any story in the first half. There's a reason Chono and Mutoh aren't all-time greats in the ring, and this is an awesome showcase as to why. **3/4 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Feb 8 2013, 11:37 PM Post #8 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tatsuo Nakano, UWFi (9/26/1991) Hey shocker, this ruled. Nakano gives Tamura another veteran ass beating, and throws some nasty blows. Tamura is super tenacious on his matwork and grabs any hold he can think of, but still absorbs a hellacious ass-mauling. He finally catches one of the kicks, and gets an Ankle Lock for the upset! *** Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu, SWS (10/29/1991) Beautiful brawl. Yatsu pounds the shit out of Tenryu's ear to cost him his balance, and Tenryu is Tenryu. Really violent piece of work here. Face punching, face chops, trading ear punches, punts to the face, etc. Just turned from a match into a goddamned fight in the middle, and yeah, really gritty and realistic version of a real fight in a pro wrestling environment. Tenryu has a higher threshold than the career midcarder though, and wins with the Powerbomb. ***3/4 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | May 31 2013, 04:29 PM Post #9 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Shinya Hashimoto vs. Riki Choshu, NJPW (11/5/1991) Great student/teacher dynamic here. The way they handle Hashimoto here is really brilliant, and a great way to deal with a young Ace in the making. The idea is that Choshu has to control him and can't give him distance to fire off kicks, but it fails and Hash begins to decimate him. But being young, he makes a mistake and uses his big offense too soon. There's this amazing moment where Hash has one trick left in his big Spinning Wheel Kick, but Choshu blocks it and has this look that's all like "Yeah, I got this." He goes nuts with Lariats, and it takes like 4 or 5 initially to knock him down. Hash keeps getting up, and after like the 7th or 8th one, Choshu can pin him to win. *** The Steiner Brothers vs. Sting/The Great Muta, NJPW (1/4/1992) This is from the yearly Dome show. It's early 90s Steiners in Japan, so it's a total bombfest. There've been probably at least ten better Steiners bombfests than this, but I'm a sucker for these when they're under 15 minutes. Great control seg on Muta, and Sting's hot tag is as great as you'd expect. Kind of a fuck finish as Rick has Muta beat, but Sting roll up Scott and the ref counts that one instead despite Rick being legal. Oh well. *** Big Van Vader/Bam Bam Bigelow [c] vs. Shinya Hashimoto/Masahiro Chono [IWGP Tag Team Championship, NJPW (3/9/1992) This is JIP, but we get 14 minutes, so that's good enough. Vader and BBB are a wonderful monster team. They don't have a ton of chemistry, but it's Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow in there wrecking dudes' shits. They are so dominating that they can even isolate Hash. And yeah, both match ups vs. Hash are out of this world great. However, Chono does not carry his weight and refuses to join in all the hard hitting and general badassery, so watching Vader and BBB sell for his pussy ass punches and chops is horrible. Almost kills the match, but then they throw in more Hash/Vader. Chono gets in at the end to lose. BAM BAM DOES A STANDING FLIPPING SENTON JESUS CHRIST. They hit his bitch ass with a Double Big Splash, and then BBB hits one off the top to win. *** Jushin Liger/El Samurai vs. Ultimo Dragon/Masao Orihara, WAR (4/2/1993) YEAH! This is NJPW vs. WAR, so you have all the fun interpromotional heat. Everyone is taking cheap shots, and Liger is amazing at getting hate across. The key build is for Liger/Ultimo, as the top juniors of each promotion, and that's a great match up. Since it's in WAR, the NJPW guys worked more heelish and the control seg on Orihara was good. Really crazy finishing run. Lots of cool offense done at a frantic pace with an insane crowd. They go a little long after the obvious high point, but not too long. Liger wins with a Frankensteiner. ***1/4 Shinya Hashimoto/Keiji Mutoh vs. Takayuka Iizuka/Akira Nogami, NJPW (4/29/1992) The youngsters try to bring it to the top level guys, and pay for their insolence. Mutoh doesn't bring the kind of aggression you'd want from a main eventer with his position being challenged, but Hash does, and that's why he's the best. Iizuka does awesome and gets to shine a ton, but Hash ends up slaughtering him with his power, and he hits the Jumping DDT for the win. *** Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai [1992 BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FINALS], NJPW (4/30/1992) This is one of the famous Liger matches of all time, and pretty much when he came out as the Ace of the division. Samurai goes full rudo early on, going to the eyes and trying to unmask Liger. Great shit. He really just dominated Liger with cheating and general violence for like 5-6 minutes before Liger just EXPLODES with a straight right hand out of the corner, which is so rare for him. He goes wild on Samurai now and tears his mask in revenge. Liger dominates him with tons of cool offense before a huge finishing run. Samurai comes back with tons of cool stuff and forearms, including a near Tito level Flying Forearm. Liger wins with a Frankensteiner. **** |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | May 31 2013, 10:37 PM Post #10 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Big Van Vader/Bam Bam Bigelow [c] vs. Keiji Mutoh/Hiroshi Hase [IWGP Tag Team Championship], NJPW (5/1/1992) Hase hits a gusher early and BBB and Vader seem to bust him hardway with straight punches and headbutts. He bleeds a TON and they have some great work on the cut. Hase is a wonderful underdog FIP, and because Mutoh is a piece of shit, he works like 14 minutes of the 15 this gets, and Mutoh again piggybacks points off of superior wrestlers. Awesome finishing run, and Hase survives BBB's Diving Headbutt and a Vader Splash, but loses to Vader's Chokeslam. ***1/2 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Akira Nogami, NJPW (6/20/1992) Great short affair. Nogami is an undercard junior, so he is fighting to prove a point, and Hash is firmly in command. Nogami fights HARD and has some amazing chops and slaps. But it's Hash, so y'know, Hash slaughters him once it becomes a strike battle. Nogami has some sweet nearfalls, but loses to a German Suplex. Hash is the man. ***1/4 Big Van Vader/Bam Bam Bigelow [c] vs. The Steiner Brothers [IWGP Tag Team Championship], NJPW (6/26/1992) This is both good and disappointing. Disappointing because it's these four and it should be great. The teamwork of the Steiners seems to be the key to finally stopping this insanely stacked team, along with the fact that The Steiners can actually power them around. They took like 5 minutes out of 15 to get going unfortunately, so 1/3rd of the match is dead space. Control seg on Scott was awesome, but then the Steiners never really got a comeback. Rick gets a flash Belly to Belly on BBB to win. **3/4 Hiroshi Hase vs. Kensuke Sasaki, NJPW (6/26/1992) YEAH! THIS MATCH! They used to be best friends as rookies, but Kensuke got hurt and Hase became a star without him. Sasaki is back and is mad. Some great matwork as Hase dominates before Sasaki begins exploding with offense to prove himself. Some amazing slap exchanges, and yeah. Sasaki has the spirit and fire, but cannot hang when Hase throws bombs, and after many Uranages, Hase wins with the Northern Lights Suplex. ***1/4 Volk Han vs Andrei Kopylov, RINGS (7/16/1992) Shoot style is back! Yay! You now have two sleazy looking Russians on the mat and kickboxing for 15 minutes, and it is very entertaining. Volk Han is THE BEST. He looks like a middle aged dead-eyed Russian hitman who is both bored with his work and also the best in the world at it. He's a goddamn genius and continually just invents insane holds and counters. Goes on a little too long for a leg-hold based match and it eventually just becomes them rolling around for a while. Han surprisingly taps to an ankle hold. **3/4 Jushin Liger vs. Wild Pegasus, NJPW (8/13/1992) This is great on the basis that it's these two for 15 minutes, but it also could have been better. It's kind of just an exhibition, as they move to holds to moves to bigger moves, but again, it's Benoit and Liger. Benoit wins with a Super Doctor Bomb. *** The Steiner Brothers [c] vs. Scott Norton/Bam Bam Bigelow [IWGP Tag Team Championship], NJPW (8/15/1992) THIS was the power match I wanted. It's not quite as great as it could be, since Norton is working with a bad rib injury. He does well in the first 7-8 minutes, but he then hurts himself bad, and rolls out. There's an awkward period, but Bam Bam works the rest by himself, and takes some completely disgusting and wonderful bumps off Suplexes by Rick and Scott. He gets beat with a Bridging German from Scott. *** |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Jun 1 2013, 02:46 PM Post #11 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Ric Flair [c] vs. Genichiro Tenryu [WWF Championship - Best of Three Falls], WAR (9/14/1992) I won't go so far as to say this feels like the last of 1980s Ric Flair, the last real classic "NWA Title" match, because I think that comes with Flair/Steamboat in 1994, but this is real real close. The kind of matwork you almost never saw out of Flair in WWF, and because this is 40 minutes, they get the time to really build stuff up and grind in holds. You move into great Flair dominance with those brilliant punches and what not. Tenryu makes a comeback into a killer chop war, and later goes 1-0 with the Powerbomb. Flair then comes back with the cheating and violence, and it is great. Tenryu fights back, so Flair goes after the knee, and it's Flair working a knee. He gets on the Figure Four, AND TENRYU IS ACTUALLY PINNED IN IT! WHOA! I love that. Flair keeps working the knee, and some of Tenryu's selling is questionable near the end, but not outright bad. Then because they cannot do a clean finish, they go to a double count out, and it kind of spoils it. **** |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Jun 7 2013, 10:39 PM Post #12 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Riki Choshu/Shinya Hashimoto vs. Hiroshi Hase/Kensuke Sasaki [1992 NEW JAPAN TAG LEAGUE FINALS], NJPW (10/21/1992) Hase vs. Hash is AMAZING. Choshu at this point is an older guy struggling to hang onto his position as an Ace against guys like Hase, Sasaki, Chono, Mutoh, and even his own protege, Hash. Hash is the successor, but Hase and Sasaki both obviously feel it should be them, so everyone has something to prove. Hase does a better job than Kensuke, since Kensuke doesn't become consistently good until like 2000. That's okay here though, because Hash forces him into a power and strike battle, which is all he can do at this point. The younger guys look great by dominating Choshu all match, and now it's Hashimoto who has to bail him out. He leads a flurry at the end without getting tagged in, and Choshu hits Kensuke with two Lariats to win. *** Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Kazuo Yamazaki, UWFi (10/23/1992) Tamura is the super rookie of shoot style at this point, and Yamazaki is an angry old bastard who wants to knock him down a peg. This is a classic striker vs. wrestler match, as Tamura wants it on the mat, and Yamazaki is better off kicking his shit in. Yamazaki CAN go on the mat, but it's even, and he'd rather throws his kicks. Tamura is a genius on the mat, and pulls shit out of nowhere that's mindblowing. They stand up at the end and Yamazaki slaughters the kid with kicks, but he arm drags out of a Sleeper and puts on a flash Jujigatame for the win. ***1/4 Genichiro Tenryu/Koki Kitihara [WAR] vs. Shiro Koshinaka/Kengo Kimura [NJPW], NJPW (10/23/1992) This is the start of NJPW vs. WAR, so despite never seeing a Kitihara or Kimura match before, I am watching. I'll watch almost any prime Tenryu though, dude's the best. The building is so hot that a riot almost breaks out between the seconds of the two sides before the match. NJPW works heel for some reason, but it totally works. Koshinka is especialyl fantastic, constantly taunting Tenryu and taking cheap shots at his partner. Tenryu has a sweet hot tag, but it also cut off AND THE YOUNG BOYS ON THE FLOOR ACTUALLY INTERFERE HOLY SHIT. Kimura and Koshinka have another killer control segment. Tenryu gets in again, and after another insane brawl, he beats Koshinaka with a Powerbomb. ***1/2 Masahiro Chono vs. Hiroshi Hase, NJPW (12/11/1992) Hase again has something to prove, as Chono is a month away from main eventing the Tokyo Dome. Hase dominates Chono on the mat early on, and he targets the neck. Chono fights back with some surprisingly great looking head-droppery of his own. Hase proves himself as a top level guy by repeatedly shutting Chono down almost immediately, and his attack on the neck is SO great. I hate that the Piledriver is like a DDT in Japan, but that's my only issue here. Chono attacks Hase's bandaged knee to come back though. I love stuff like that. Unfortunately, Chono totally ignored the 10 minutes of neck work. UGH. But Hase doesn't let me down, since he sells the knee. Hase is better than Chono at literally everything, but because he's not one of the chosen ones, he has to put his bitch ass over. Hase's knee gives out on the bridge from one Northern Lights Suplex, BUT HE HITS ANOTHER ONE AND GETS THE WIN! OR WAIT, WHAT?! HIROSHI MOTHER FUCKING HASE. NEW FAVORITE BEHIND HASH. ***1/4 Jushin Liger/Koji Kanemoto [NJPW] vs. Ultimo Dragon/Masao Orihara [WAR], NJPW (12/11/1992) Liger/Ultimo for the Junior Title is set for the Dome show, so this is all building to that. However, Koji is a rookie, so the WAR guys can beat him up a lot. Unlike October, this is not a pro-WAR crowd, so when they try and be dicks and Liger and young Koji slap the shit out of them, the crowd loves it. Koji shows signs of his future skill with some amazing kicks too. Really really awesome finishing run, with a lot of believable nearfalls, before Ultimo beats Koji with the Liger Bomb. ***1/4 The Great Muta vs. Hiroshi Hase, NJPW (12/14/1992) It's god damn tragic that a carryjob like this from Hase is known for Muta's bleeding when he contributed pretty much nothing else to this. This is the "Muta Scale" match, and I again stand by the belief that it's been The Eddie Scale for the last 9 years. Hase continues his hot streak with some fantastic brawling and his usual amazing fire. Once Hase has control, he goes after the neck with a lot of the same stuff that beat Chono. Muta has none of it though, because they're pretending he's the face of the new generation when everyone likes Hash more. They bleed a lot, and yeah, this isn't really even that much blood, but for 1992 standards, it's a lot. Muta ends up dominating way too much, and it's almost a burial, which is fucked up considering he's bleeding half to death in there and can still easily put down Hase? Fuck this company! Muta wins with the Moonsault. GOD DAMNIT, I FUCKING HATE HIM. **3/4 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Jun 10 2013, 06:32 PM Post #13 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Ultimo Dragon [c] [WAR] vs. Jushin Liger [NJPW] [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (1/4/1993) Really spectacular match. You have a lot of opening matwork that's good but ultimately goes nowhere, and I can deal with that because this is a first time match and you'd expect them to feel each other out a little bit. Then it picks up the pace lot, and Liger's really intense in dealing with the invader holding his belt. They're capable of better stuff and once Ultimo gets really good in the middle of the decade, they'll do it. Liger regains his title with the Frankensteiner. *** Shinya Hashimoto/Keiji Mutoh/Akira Nogami [NJPW] vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Ashura Hara/Takashi Ishikawa [WAR], NJPW (2/5/1993) Hash wants at Tenryu in a bad way, and oh my god, YES. This match is all about that becoming a thing, and it's the best. Both dudes clearly want to beat the everloving fuck out of each other, but everyone keeps pulling them apart. The other four kind of take it easy, especially Mutoh, and it holds this back from being truly great, but the Tenryu/Hash stuff is SO good. Nogami is trapped at the end, and he gets beat after a Powerbomb from Tenryu, a Lariat from Hara, and a Chokeslam from Ishikawa. **3/4 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Jun 17 2013, 06:23 PM Post #14 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Kiyoshi Tamura, UWFi (2/14/1993) Tamura did well and beat the gatekeeper, but now he's against the Ace. He's clearly outmatched, but holds his own very well. Tamura proved he was better on the mat than Takada, which really threw him off for a while. He turned it into a more strike-based match at the end, and started decimating Taumra with kicks, who wrestles with almost 100% of a focus on mat wrestlng and holds. There's an awesome nearfall where an almost knocked out Tamura catches a Roundhouse Kick into an ankle lock, but Takada gets the ropes, and once he has distance, knocks Tamura out with the Roundhouse Kick for the TKO. ***1/2 Shinya Hashimoto [NJPW] vs. Hiromichi Fuyuki [WAR], WAR (3/3/1993) THIS is the kind of match an interpromotional feud should produce. Two asskickers throwing down with tons of hate in their hearts. They have to be separated before the match even begins, and they spend 10 minutes slapping the shit out of each other, spitting, biting, choking, etc. in between holds and throws. Just a goddamned heavyweight fight. Fuyuki enrages Hash by using his own Jumping DDT on him, so Hash knocks him out with high kicks. *** Volk Han vs Andrei Kopylov, RINGS (3/5/1993) This is only 9 minutes, so this is good and less drawn out than the 1992 match. Tons of insane strikes and holds. This looks like two Soviet satellite nation factory workers had a dispute on their lunch break and are now fighting, but both sort of know how to grapple. Andrei is alright, but Volk is the master, and he continues to invent holds out of thin air, like a Reverse Figure Four. Han fucking jumps at him sideways to grab a standing body scissors. Jesus. He puts on on of the most disgustingly beautiful Heel Hooks ever for the win. *** Shinya Hashimoto [NJPW] vs. Hiromichi Fuyuki [WAR], NJPW (3/23/1993) Now they fight on NJPW turf, and it's slightly better because Fuyuki can really heel it up. You get some nice matwork early on, but you know what this is going to turn into, and it rules when that happens. They bust each other's faces up, and it's awesome and full of great revenge-y spots. FACE KICKING AND PUNCHING. Look, nobody reading this is going to watch this anyways. Hash wins with a Jumping DDT. *** Riki Choshu/Tatsumi Fujinami [NJPW] vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Takashi Ishikawa [WAR], NJPW (3/23/1993) Tenryu now gets in the ring with two legends who were the faces of NJPW in the 80s, and they show a TON of fire AND FUJINAMI DOES A RECKLESS TOPE SUICIDA! YEAH! After months of WAR guys being the aggressors, now the former Aces are the ones going wild with cheap shots and brawling, and it's so great. Tenryu is also fantastic, and he's really gone from a guy I always enjoyed into a guy who I'm starting to consider an all-time great due to these reviews. Ishikawa is there, I guess. He does his job fine, and he and Tenryu start cheating, and they take it to a new level by using the NJPW guys' big holds on them. They beat the shit out of him and Tenryu avoids getting in until the end when everyone is worn out. He does a number on Fujinami and ties up Riki in the corner. AND ISHIKAWA ACTUALLY PINS SOMEBODY AS HE BEATS FUJINAMI WITH THE LARIAT! WHOA! ***1/2 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Jun 21 2013, 12:16 PM Post #15 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Genichiro Tenryu/Takashi Ishikawa [WAR] vs. Shinya Hashimoto/Riki Choshu [NJPW], WAR (4/2/1993) This is supposed to build to Tenryu/Choshu in a few days, but Hash totally takes over. There's an AMAZING Hash/Tenryu fight in the first few minutes, and then he carries Ishikawa on the mat and has more great stuff against Tenryu, because that's the match I want to see. Choshu got isolated, and both Tenryu and Ishikawa were totally vicious and fantastic. Hash has an amazing hot tag, and is the first NJPW guy in 6 months to really be able to beat the shit out of Tenryu. But Tenryu then uses cheating to beat down Hash, AND HE FUCKING BEATS DOWN HASH. Tenryu and Choshu get too preoccupied with each other, and Hash hits the Jumping DDT on Ishikawa to win. **** Riki Choshu [NJPW] vs. Genichiro Tenryu [WAR], NJPW (4/6/1993) This is fun, but SO frustrating. Choshu is clearly in the twilight of his career, and Tenryu does the lion's share of the work. That isn't to say Choshu is useless, because he he has some great fire and still can bring some wonderful strikes, but this is Tenryu's match. Choshu rallies and it's awesome, and he does his usual parade of Lariats, and then like the 8th one pins Tenryu. WAT. There's no reason to do that, Tenryu's plowing through NJPW as an invader, and you can make someone a star like Hash or Hase by being the guy to stop him, and they just give it to a guy who's been on top for like 10 years. *** Volk Han vs. Mitsuya Nagai, RINGS (4/24/1993) Nagai would later become awesome in BattlARTS and other shoot-style places in the 2000s, but he is a rookie here. And Volk Han is fucking Volk Han. He continues to invent insane holds and counters out of nowhere, and just dominates the kid in amazing fashion. Nagai tries his best to turn it into a striking match where he can at least hold his own, but on the mat, nobody can fuck with Han. He ends up getting this Fujiwara Armbar while underneath Nagai and trapping his legs so he can't roll out, and that gets a submission win. Jesus Christ. ***1/4 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Jun 29 2013, 02:01 AM Post #16 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Vader vs. Tatsuo Nakano, UWFi (5/6/1993) Vader enters shoot style and just MURDERS this career midcarder. He wins via KO in like 3 minutes after his forearms and punches to the side and back of the head. ** Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Naoki Sano, UWFi (5/6/1993) This is one of those longer shoot style matches that I find hard to watch, but cannot deny the greatness of. It's Tamura, so you have tons of incredibly tight holds and smooth counters, a lot of which are very inventive and painful looking. But it's also Tamura in the sense that he wants to stay on the ground and Sano wants to strike, because he's a kicker. He draws Tamura into it, but Tamura is now able to catch his blows and survive them long off to turn it back into his match, and he can win with the Jujigatame. *** Hiroshi Hase [NJPW] vs. Hiromichi Fuyuki [WAR], WAR (6/17/1993) WAR is running a show in NJPW's building, so the crowd is split. COCKY HEEL HASE! AWESOME! He has this wonderfully douchey look on his face as he ties the home promotion guy in knots and has his way with him using his speed and youth. And then of course, you know, it's Hase so everything is really smooth looking and hard fought. Hase is absolutely the discovery of this project. Fuyuki comes back with brute force and dominates, and since there's a lot of NJPW fans here too, Hase gets the underdog babyface sympathy anyways. Fuyuki obliterates him with power offense, and his selling is superb. Hase gets a flurry, AND WINS WITH THE BRIDGING NORTHERN LIGHTS! YEAH! ***1/2 Genichiro Tenryu [WAR] vs. Shinya Hashimoto [NJPW], WAR (6/17/1993) Finally. And oh my god, this lived up to the build and hype. SO FUCKING GREAT. They take what make this match up work so well in NJPW, which is Hash's fire and Tenryu's stoic dickery, and turn it upside down to fit WAR. Tenryu is still stoic, but he's a babyface, and Hash's fire becomes out of control. He destroys Tenryu's knee with some really nasty kicks, sweeps, and holds. Tenryu keeps selling it throughout and they then throw bombs at each other. Classic format, but the superb leg selling takes it from good to insanely great. Hash kicks out of the Powerbomb that's stopped lots of other NJPW guys, but loses to a second one. ****1/4 Tastsumi Fujinami/Masahiro Chono [NJPW] vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Ashura Hara [WAR], NJPW (7/12/1993) This is not as good as the Tenryu/Hash tags, because nobody on the NJPW side this time is as good as a defender of the faith as Hash. However, Fujinami does bring a lot of fire still, and Tenryu is back to being an ultra-dick invader. Chono is fine as a younger guy trying to defend NJPW and all, and Hara does his job as Tenryu's backup, but this is mostly about Tenryu vs. Fujinami. Hara cannot stand up one on one at the end, so Tenryu tries to interfere, but Fuji cuts him off with a KILLER Tope Suicida. Awesome finish too. Hara steps back to avoid the Yakuza Kick, so Fujinami comes off the top with a knee to the back of the neck. He goes down and Chono puts on the STF to win. ***1/4 Super Delfin [c] w/ Yamaguchi-san vs. The Great Sasuke [UWA World Welterweight Championship - TITLE VS. MASK], Michinoku Pro (7/24/1993) I've loved NJPW vs. WAR and shoot style, but I've been waiting for this. This is the first big MPRO match and it means M-Pro stuff is coming! The crowd is super hot for Sasuke and Delfin is a really great heel. It's easy to forget what a piece of shit he was before KDX formed and he became a babyface to fight them. Sasuke is Sasuke. Great matwork, crisp highspots, etc. This took a little bit to get going but once Delfin definitively took over, it picked up. Lots of good nearfalls, and Sasuke hits a West Coast Pop to win the title. ***1/2 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Jul 1 2013, 06:36 PM Post #17 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
I found the G1 Climax 1993 commercial tape on XWT Classics, so here we go! Eddie Guerrero vs. Tiger Mask III, NJPW (8/2/1993) Eddie is without mustache, so that's WEIRD. TM3 is Koji Kanemoto, so he eventually becomes good. Eddie is already really fucking good by this point, and guides him through matwork and they have some cool faster paced stuff. Both men have some really fantastic dives, and it's neat to see Eddie as this young spry guy who springboards all the time instead of the incredible technician he came to ECW as in 1995. Ends in like 4 minutes though when TM hits the Tiger Suplex to win. Oh well. **1/4 Tatsumi Fujinami/Shinya Hashimoto/Masahiro Chono [NJPW] vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Takashi Ishikawa/Ashura Hara [WAR], NJPW (8/2/1993) HATE. TENRYU VS. HASH. FIRED UP FUJINAMI. Yeah, this delivers. You get some more Tenryu/Hash for a lot of this, and that might be the best match up in the world in 1993. Only thing close is Misawa/Kawada, and that's a coin flip situation. The other WAR guys do their part and Chono doesn't embarrass himself, so this is great. Awesome finishing run, but it's more about Chono than Hash or Fuji, so it's not AS great as other NJPW/WAR finishing runs. Ishikawa sneaks in to Chokeslam Chono, and Fujinami takes him out, but the damage is done and Hara hits a Lariat to pin Chono. *** Shinya Hashimoto vs. Hiroshi Hase [G1 CLIMAX - FIRST ROUND], NJPW (8/3/1993) So hey, this delivers. Not a lot of the actual tournament matches in this pack are in full or look good, but this is the only great looking one that's in full. This is the classic match of power against technique, and they immediately get that over. Hase can control Hashimoto on the mat, but it's a struggle to actually hold him down there. It's not that Hash is any kind of slouch on the mat, because he's great too, but he can get by with a power attack and Hase doesn't have that advantage. Hase eventually goes after the knees. Hash gets mad and doesn't let him get anywhere with it and begins WASTING Hase with kicks and slaps. Hase dares to get cradles and Hash snaps and starts punching him as hard as he can in the back of the head. He treats him like shit and even does a Chokeslam for the first time because he has this well in hand. EXCEPT HASE CATCHES HIM RUNNING OFF THE ROPES WITH A URANAGE, AND HE PINS HASH?! HOLY SHIT WHAT? FUCK YEAH HASE *** Pegasus Kid vs. Tiger Mask III, NJPW (8/3/1993) Tiger Mask has his chest and rightshoulder taped up, which maybe explains the abrupt ending in his match vs. Eddie. And it's Benoit as he's just becoming great against a dude with an injury, so OF COURSE this rules. Tiger Mask sells it well, but it's hard not to sell real injuries, I guess. Benoit is brutal as shit with his stomps and chops, and this is only 4-5 minutes because of the injury, but it absolutely ruled. Benoit wins with a Diving Headbutt onto the hurt side of the chest. **1/2 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Jul 4 2013, 12:26 AM Post #18 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Tatsumi Fujinami/Jushin Liger [NJPW] vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Koki Kitihara [WAR], NJPW (8/3/1993) They did a TON with 10 minutes here, to the point where even reviewing this when I have another Smackdown ahead of me this week was probably a mistake. Fujinami and Liger bring ALL the fire, and Tenryu is still the unstoppable NJPW killer. Koki does his job as backup and is an asshole, but WHATEVER, THIS IS ALL ABOUT LIGER VS. TENRYU! AND HOLY SHIT, IT RUUUUUUULES. Liger is all fired up but Tenryu is a lot tougher to push around then the juniors and he just eviscerates Liger for most of this. Liger has these beautiful comebacks and even knowing how Japanese division structure is, that Liger probably can't beat Tenryu, I'm buying into every nearfall. But Tenryu eventually beats him with the Powerbomb, and I now actually hate Tenryu for it. ***1/2 Masahiro Chono vs. Hiroshi Hase [G1 CLIMAX - SEMI-FINALS], NJPW (8/6/1993) Chono's won the last two G1 tournaments, so this is a foregone conclusion. Hase also comes in with a bad knee against Chono, who has the STF that works on knees. So Hase's fucked, UNLESS he comes right out of the gates and can make his own weakness. AND HASE GOES NUTS ON CHONO'S BAD NECK! YEAH! Chono sells well, but is PISSED and hits the most sudden and violent Saito Suplex I've ever seen. He goes after the knee now and Hase's selling is godly. Chono keeps on the knee and starts throwing bombs in the form of his big Yakuza Kicks, BUT HASE THEN GOES AFTER THE KNEE IN REVENGE/TO STOP THE KICKS! YEAH! FUCK YEAH. They do a great tease of a cheap Hase win where he holds the Figure Four on the floor until the count of 15 and gets in, but Chono slides in right before 20 to stay alive. Chono then does the same to him in revenge, and Hase gets in. Chono goes for the kill, BUT HASE CATCHES HIM WITH THE URANAGES! FUCK YEAH! NORTHERN LIGHTS CONNECTS, BUT LIKE IN DECEMBER, HASE'S LEG GIVES! HE HITS IT AGAIN LIKE HOW HE WON THEN, BUT CHONO KICKS OUT NOW. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK. CHONO HITS A DDT AND SHIT AND GOES WILD WITH BOOTS. BUT HASE BLOCKS ONE AND PUTS ON AN UPSIDE DOWN STF, PULLING ON THE NECK AND KNEE, AND CHONO TAPS! Matches like these are why we review, to find hidden gems that normally wouldn't be discovered. ****1/4 Hiroshi Hase vs. Tatsumi Fujinami [1993 G1 CLIMAX - FINALS], NJPW (8/7/1993) Hase's made it in against every fucking odd in the book, and he's turned back two of NJPW's three rising future Aces in Hash and Chono, but he's in there against one of the two Aces that are still barely in power...and he's in there with a barely functional knee against the dude who specializes in knee attacks. Hase tries to keep him away, but when he can't, he baits him to the floor and hits a Uranage on the floor to force him away. Hase was fantastic on offense, and he freaked out every time Fujinami even touched his bad leg, and couldn't put any weight on his knee. Fujinami does get to it though, and tears that shit apart. It ends up dragging a little, since Fujinami lacks the intensity on the attack of Chono. Fujinami unfortunately wins with the Sharpshooter. *** |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Jul 15 2013, 06:53 PM Post #19 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Eddie Guerrero vs. Shinjiro Ohtani, NJPW (8/8/1993) Eddie gets an fun match out of a super young Ohtani a good two years before their match in WCW that everyone rightfully remembers. This isn't as good, but it's less insane and on the undercard. Ohtani is also really new to wrestling here and badly fucks up a dive. Otherwise it's solid. Matwork is good but ultimately goes nowhere, and the finishing run is great. Finish is WAY too abrupt though, as Eddie gets a Gory Stretch Pin for the surprising three count. **3/4 Jushin Liger [c] vs. Wild Pegasus [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (8/8/1993) This rules. Benoit starts with a straight punch, a press slam to the floor, AND A FUCKING DIVING HEADBUTT FROM THE TOP ROPE TO THE FLOOR. GOD DAMNIT, CHRIS. This isn't their best work probably as there's some weird stuff here, like Liger recovering way too soon from Benoit's god damned insane opening flurry, but it's great overall. Benoit is basically superhuman here with the number of insane power spots and strikes he's throwing out, and all Liger's usual stuff fails or is countered, so he breaks out a sweet Uranage to barely pin him. ***1/4 Shinya Hashimoto [NJPW] vs. Genichiro Tenryu [WAR], NJPW (8/8/1993) Hey, it's another great match in this feud. Their first match was about putting Hash on Tenryu's level, and this is about further establishing that. It's a lot more tentative due to how physical the first match was, and while that means it's not AS enjoyable, it's still really great. They do some good matwork and target each other's arms. There's a great staredown where Hash's eyes say he's learned to not go RIGHT after Tenryu, and Tenyru looks at Hash with respect, the only time he's done that to a NJPW guy. Hash then takes out Tenryu's arm, and his selling is again fantastic. Tenryu's desperation is fantastic as he has to use more leg based offense to stay alive, and the finishing run is one of the best ever. Fuck it, this is just as good as the first. There's this AMAZING moment where Tenryu turns the tide for good and Hash realizes his plan failed because he relied on the hurt arm too much without going for the kill quickly, and Tenryu hits a second Powerbomb, BUT HASH KICKS OUT THIS TIME! FUCK YEAH! HASH FIGHTS BACK DESPERATELY NOW! YEAH! HASH MIGHT DO IT, BUT HE EATS A THIRD POWERBOMB! BUT HASH KICKS OUT AGAIN HOLY SHIT. An insane and unheard of FOURTH Powerbomb finally ends it for Tenryu. ****1/4 |
![]() |
|
| Big Tuna | Jul 20 2013, 10:46 PM Post #20 |
![]()
The Master and Ruler Of The World
![]()
|
Vader vs. Kazuo Yamazaki, UWFi (8/13/1993) Vader walking through the crowd to video game end boss-style music as he holds up the WCW Title and yells "WHO'S THE MAN?!" as people run away from him IS PRO WRESTLING. Vader now fights a midcard stalwart in his UWFi invasion. Yamazaki is a notorious asshole, but refusing to shake Vader's hand was a mistake. He tries kicks, but after a few, Vader catches one and HURLS him back across the ring before he holds up his arms, all like "Really?" BUT YAMAZAKI KICKS THE KNEE OUT AND GETS IN LOTS OF STRIKES! WHOA! THEY EVEN TUMBLE OUT TO THE FLOOR IN THE FIRST TIME IN A UWFI MATCH I'VE REVIEWED! Yamazki lands huge stuff and it seems like a fucking miracle, BUT VADER HITS THE LOUDEST FUCKING PALM STRIKE RIGHT TO THE FACE! Yamazaki gets up but is out on his feet and Vader hits a Chokeslam to win by TKO. ***1/2 Hiromichi Fuyuki [WAR] vs. Hiroshi Hase [NJPW], WAR (9/12/1993) This rules, obviously. Hase bleeds a lot and Fuyuki attacks it. Also, Fuyuki is a piece of shit and everyone hates him. He bites and grinds his joints into the cut and Hase sells like he's god damned Hiroshi Hase. The mat and his gear get covered in his blood. Hase pulls through and gets the win with the best Uranage ever. *** Hiroshi Hase [NJPW] vs. Genichiro Tenryu [WAR], NJPW (9/23/1993) THIS IS MY 1993 DREAM MATCH! AND OH MY GOD, IT RULES. This is a classic Ace/Underdog match. The theme is established in matwork, and then there's this beautiful moment where Tenryu swings his arm back for a chop but thinks better of it when he sees Hase is waiting to catch it, and subtly nods at him before backing off. It becomes a strike fest and Tenryu takes over. He throws tons of nasty and different blows at Hase, but the best part is how Hase never stops trying to fight back. Tenryu gets more and more annoyed and it takes more and more offense each time to shut him back down. This is honestly on the way to being totally perfect as I'm buying into all Hase's false finishes and shit, but then Tenryu starts dominating him at the end like he's nothing, and it goes kind of against the entire match. He wins with a Sitting Cattle Mutilation type stretch, and I am sad. I am also angry that NJPW keeps pushing worthless Mutoh and Chono and refuses to pull the trigger on Hase. **** Super Delfin vs. SATO, Michinoku Pro (9/28/1993) SATO is a young Dick Togo under a mask. He's really new here, so Delfin beats THE SHIT out of him. He throws him into the walls and doors of the building, slaps at him, tears at his mask, etc. Togo's selling is wonderful and he's breaking out all these crazy highspots despite being a pudgy stocky dude even this early on. This is unfortunately clipped down to some 8 minutes, so it's not quite great. TOGO DOES A HEADFIRST TOPE SUICIDA. DIDN'T KNOW I COULD LOVE HIM MORE. AND HE WINS BY COUNT OUT! YEAH! **3/4 |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
![]() Our users say it best: "Zetaboards is the best forum service I have ever used." Learn More · Register Now |
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Simon Reviews... · Next Topic » |










6:55 PM Jul 10