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Simon Watches Other Japan - 1990s; NJPW! M-Pro! Shootstyle! WAR!
Topic Started: Jan 6 2013, 02:20 AM (4,309 Views)
Big Tuna
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In an untaped match in September, SHINYA HASHIMOTO WON HIS FIRST IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE! YEAH!

Genichiro Tenryu/Ashura Hara [WAR] vs. Shinya Hashimoto/Masahiro Chono [NJPW], WAR (10/1/1993)
Under 10 minutes so it's not great, but it's hot and full of action and hate. Hash/Tenryu is again the best pairing ever. Career midcarder Hara can't hang with the NJPW young main eventers like Tenryu can though, and Hash does his best to keep Tenryu out of the ring at the end. Hara ends up getting the tag though and just uses his body as a road block to occupy Hash while Tenryu puts Chono away. He survives the Powerbomb, but then loses to the Cattle Mutilation type hold that put Hase down.
**3/4

Shinya Hashimoto [c] vs. Keiji Mutoh [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (10/12/1993)

Well, I'll just say this. Hash did his best. He guided Mutoh through matwork, had some great pieces of offense, and sold very well when Mutoh worked on the knee early on. This was just way too long at some 30 minutes for a guy like Mutoh. He barely even had 10 minutes of good offense, so he wants to spend the first 20 doing stuff on the mat, but it's clearly killing time, since he never goes back to the knee, and when he works on the arm, he never goes back to it, so Hash just gradually stops selling. Hash works Mutoh's arm, and he just immediately refuses to sell it. Fuck this guy. Finishing run is good, since they finally get to just do offense. Hash finally ends it with a Jumping DDT.
**

Vader vs. Nobuhiko Takada, UWFi (12/5/1993)

Vader's invasion now moves to fighting the company ace. This is really great for that kind of a match. Vader dominates and uses pro wrestling stuff to do so. Takada tries to chip away with kicks to the knee and attempts at the Jujigatame, but Vader withstands it and mauls him. Takada gradually does it though and Vader finally goes down to knee kicks. He amps it up and starts fucking slamming Takada and hurling him around, but Takada gets Vader to do something like punching himself out, and wins with the Jujigatame. For the story they told, 14 minutes wasn't enough, but I still really liked this.
***1/4

Volk Han vs. Pavel Orlov, RINGS (12/8/1993)

FUCK YEAH MORE VOLK HAN! FIGHTING ANOTHER RUSSIAN! Orlov is another average looking dude who never does anything again, but Han elevates the shit out of him. Han continues to invent the craziest god damned holds ever and with organic ass escapes all the time. Han's gotten even better, and does this awesome spot where he keeps grabbing Orlov's arms when he tries to reach for the ropes and incorporates some kind of an arm hold into whatever hold he already had on. He's throwing awesome slaps and knees now too. I'm gonna name my kid Volk Han. He finally puts Pavel in the Jujigatame for the win.
***1/4

Super Delfin vs. SATO [MASK VS. MASK], Michinoku Pro (12/10/1993)

This is the first great Dick Togo match. Really good matwork early on, establishing firmly that Delfin is a veteran and a heel, and SATO is a fiery young upstart. Delfin takes over with some great work and generally just stretches out the kid. Togo has some insanely athletic feats here for a guy his size. Dives are had and they are great. Great Sasuke comes out to ringside to root on his protege SATO. There's a really hot finishing run, but Delfin wins with a German Suplex snapped back into a Bridging O'Connor Roll.
***1/2
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Jushin Liger vs. Tiger Mask III, NJPW (1/4/1994)
Once again, the 1/4 show happens to be on youtube, so I'm grabbing all that looks promising. Tiger Mask Kanemoto gets his first big singles match here, and does alright for himself. It's clearly being led by Liger, but he doesn't look out of his depth doing opening salvos and matwork with the Ace of the division. TM3 starts thinking he's hot shit with his kicks and tries to man up and even slap Liger around, and he just gets dismantled and stretched out every time as punishment. TM tries to work the leg, but because he's a dumb rookie, he doesn't stay on it and Liger fights back. TIGER MASK KANEMOTO USES THE FIRST EVER CHRONOLOGICALLY INSANE TAKER DIVE I'VE EVER SEEN! FUCK YEAH KANEMOTO! Solid finishing run, and when Kanemoto misses a fancy splash off the top, Liger delivers another "FUCK YOU" with the shooting Star Press to win.
***

The Steiner Brothers vs. Keiji Mutoh/Hiroshi Hase, NJPW (1/4/1994)

This was almost great, but Mutoh kinda killed it. He sucks against the Steiners, but when he's out, this is great. It's then The Steiners, still in their prime, against Fucking Hase. Bombthrowing of the highest magnitude. They slow it down in the middle and Mutoh clearly kills a lot of time, and that's how what would be a killer under 15 minute match (and was with Steiners vs. Hase/Sasaki, WITHOUT MUTOH) gets stretched to 21 and is only very good. Hase rules and directs the match back to greatness at the end, before losing to the Doomsday Bulldog.
**3/4

Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara, NJPW (1/4/1994)

This was really fun for 9 minutes. It feels like two rival karate school masters who HATE each other, but respect each other enough to start slow. Fujiwara is the sneakier and more dangerous of the two, but Choshu is straight power. You get awesome and rough matwork and then Fujiwara starts baiting Choshu into stuff. Choshu gets fired up and fights back, but has to hit hard enough that Fujiwara can't grab his arm in the millisecond after he hits him. He finally gets distance with a series of Lariats and hits a final one to win. Kind of a rushed finish, but I liked the idea of this.
**3/4

Shinya Hashimoto [c] vs. Masahiro Chono [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (1/4/1994)

This was almost great. This was also overly long at 28 minutes, but Chono is a better sport about that than Hash. They established a power vs. technique theme so the opening matwork actually felt tentative instead of like obvious time killing. I'm getting this awesome vibe that Hash feels like he has to do matwork if he wants to be a classic IWGP champion like Inoki, Fujinami, Chono, Mutoh, etc. So he's good at it, but is clearly more at home pounding the shit out of Chono. Chono goes after Hash's knee to some success, but Hash turns the tide with an incredible flurry of straight punches and elbows, selling his knee. He then works the knee of Chono, both because that allows him to rest his leg and it works with the awesome idea that he's not comfortable controlling on the mat, and he does a lot of what Chono did to him. Chono sells well in transition, but it's less a focus so much as a great character deal for Hash. They move into throwing bombs and it is great. Hash pulls this all together and while Chono is worried about his knee and later his arm, Hash unleashes huge throws to shut him back down. I thought I understood this, and then they had a run of dueling kneework spots in between the bombs of the finishing run that neither man sold. Weird. Hash turns it back into an exchange of bombs, and nobody can stand with him there. Jumping DDT ends it.
**3/4

Volk Han vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, RINGS (1/21/1994)

Yamamoto is a rookie, but immediately steps up with a flurry on Han, and it's the first time Han's really been in trouble. Even when he lost once, it was a total out of nowhere flash submission. Han responds with a NASTY takedown, and he pulls up on Yamamoto's right leg while stepping on his left knee to keep him grounded, like he's snapping a wishbone, but with a grown man's legs. He dismantles Yamamoto all match. RINGS' system is such that you get 7 points for rope breaks or knockdowns that you use up, and when you're all out, you lose on the next rope break or knockdown. so when the kid has 1 point left, he goes for broke with kicks and slaps, but gets caught for his recklessness. Han invents this insane Crucifix Short Arm Scissors Cobra Clutch type deal to win. That is the best way I can explain it.
***1/4

The Great Sasuke/SATO/Shiryu vs. Super Delfin/Gran Naniwa/Jinsei Shinzaki, Michinoku Pro (2/4/1994)

FUCK YEAH THE MPRO SIX MAN ARRIVES! Much like SATO later becomes Dick Togo, Shiryu is a young and masked Kaz Hayashi, so you know he's great. The M-Pro multi man formula is so perfect that it basically lays the groundwork for what you expect a six man or eight man tag to be in 2013, outside of WWE, and when matches deviate from it, it's usually why they suck. CHIKARA did it brilliantly with the amazing KOW multi mans in 2005-7 and rode it to prominence and Generation Next made it even more insane in 2004-5. The first part is everyone getting the opportunity to have time, as there's three pairings (in this case, SATO/Delfin, Shiryu/Naniwa, and Sasuke/Hakushi) and they all get like 3-4 minutes. This helps a lot with time management, as if you do it right, you kill 10 minutes and it's super entertaining, gets each man time to shine, and establishes roles. Here, it gets over the Delfin/SATO heel vs. hot young babyface dynamic, gets Shiryu over as another hot young babyface as he keeps embarrassing and showing up Delfin's comedy sidekick Naniwa, and when Sasuke and Hakushi have the most intense and complicated exchange, it's clear that they're probably the leaders of their teams. Then you pick up the pace with insane stuff. The M-Pro guys who invented the style are masters of this, and it's why that even when you get the best imitations like CHIKARA and Gen Next stuff, you can't quite top the originals. The future KDX of Hayashi and Togo ALREADY shows a ton of great teamwork. Then you move into control segments, either multiple or one, it doesn't matter. This is still a rough prototype of the formula though, so the transition between this and the finishing run is very sloppy. Dive train was wonderful, but then they rush a finish with Sasuke hitting an in-ring Asai Moonsault on Naniwa to win.
***1/4

Shinya Hashimoto [NJPW] vs. Genichiro Tenryu [WAR], NJPW (2/17/1994)

THIS WAS THE GREATEST! They deliver huge in the third match and what feels like the conclusion of NJPW vs. WAR. It's only 15 minutes, and there's this great moment where they try opening matwork and while it's great, it feels like nobody really wants it, so off the first break, BOTH MEN PUNCH EACH OTHER IN THE FACE AT ONCE! They go wild with slaps and it's one of the most dramatic matches I can remember seeing ever because of the insane heat with the crowd, their facials, the fire behind both men, etc. They tease the Tenryu survival, but it's less assured in his face now, and Hash keeps coming back like never before, without the inevitability after the Powerbombs like in the first two matches. Hash fights back and now Tenryu realizes he might be in over his head with Hash now pretty well established as The Man. This time, it's Hash that cuts off the final rally and hits a second Jumping DDT to win. I loved this feud so much. This is legitimately one of my all-time favorite feuds now.
****1/2

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Jushin Liger, NJPW (2/24/1994)

This is a big rarity for the time, as the heavyweight and junior Aces clash in a face/face match. Hashimoto starts with matwork, but here it feels like he's grounding Liger as a display of dominance which is AMAZING. Liger fights with speed, but Hash very easily shuts him down, so Liger takes out the legs. He keeps going to the legs with awesome stuff to create openings and starts unloading his bombs on Hash for big nearfalls. He has the firepower to do a lot of damage, but not enough to put him away, and lacks the power to keep Hash at bay like Tenryu did when he unloaded multiple version of big big bomb to beat Hash in 93. So when Hash cannot be kept at bay anymore, he slaughters Liger with head kicks and a Brainbuster to win.
***1/2

Yoji Anjoh vs. Victor Zangiev, UWFi (4/13/1994)

Zangiev is another amazingly plain looking Russian shooter. while Volk Han looked like a dead eyed russian hitman who runs a shoelace factory as a front business, this guy looks like a retired low to mid level career Kremlin officer with his baldness and amazing mustache and total refusal to shave any body hair. Then he goes and does fucking gymnastics escapes and kip ups like he's 2007 Chris Hero. Great matwork and Anjoh has some sweet knees. This is a fun little 6 minute match. Zangiev has the amazing habit of grabbing Anjoh by the back of the skull when he locks up, like he's trying to size up how to sever his head if he has to. Anjoh ends it out of nowhere with Crazy Arm Hold. Fun stuff.
**3/4

NEXT SINCE THIS IS THE ONLY REVIEW THAT'S ALL ONLINE ANYWAYS: THE 1994 SUPER J CUP!
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I fucked up and didn't know these matches were online, but we must make a quick stop before the J Cup.

The Steiner Brothers vs. Wild Pegasus/Jushin Liger, NJPW (4/4/1994)
So there's no way this isn't great. It's the best US tag team of the decade in their primes vs. the best wrestler of all time as he comes into his prime and probably the best Japanese junior in the world in his prime. It's an insane dream match, you're not going to see The Brain Busters vs. Benoit and Liger in the 80s, you're not going to see The Briscoes or AMW or Steenerico vs. Benoit and KENTA or Kanemoto or Hayashi or whoever. This is what it should be, a 15 minute bombfest. Scott and Liger have good matwork, but that doesn't work with Rick and Benoit, since they're gonna try to destroy each other's necks and faces. Benoit and Liger had a flurry of teamwork, but it's teamwork vs. The Steiners, so they eventually got nuked. Benoit got isolated, and I hesitate to call this a control seg as much as a segment in which The Steiners unload with huge move after huge move and fail to pin him. Liger has a wonderful hot tag, and there are a few more crazily close nearfalls for a heavies vs. juniors tag in Japan. To put over how tough Liger and Benoit are, Scott has to break out the ultimate bomb with a Steiner Screwdriver for the win.
***3/4

Shinya Hashimoto [c] vs. Tatsumi Fujinami [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (4/4/1994)

This isn't amazing, but it's a good match and the storytelling is really awesome. Fujinami is still solid despite now being past his prime, and he'll give Hash a good defense. I loved the payoff of Hash's story here, as he again tries to go on the mat in an effort to be a classic IWGP Champion, but he's in there against the dude who defined what that was, and he gets kind of dominated on the mat because while it's something Hash does because he has to, it's Fujinami's bread and butter. Hash finally controls when he can start being Hash, but he seems majorly thrown off of his game. And it causes him to fuck up and charge into stuff, allowing Fujinami to repeatedly trap him. Hash perseveres and begins destroying the old dude with kicks. But he avoids one and gets a quick cradle to win the title?! WAT.
**3/4
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NJPW SUPER J CUP 1994
APRIL 16TH, 1994
Sumo Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Everyone comes out to open the show with a group photo.

Match #1: Dean Malenko vs. Gedo [WAR] [1st Round]
Malenko basically just has his way with this very average young man, a long away away from dat t-shirt and partnership. He guides him with some killer matwork, does awesome Malenko offense, etc. When Gedo gets to do stuff, he does horrible overhand karate chops and basic stompy stuff. I have no idea how he made this tournament. And because this tournament is so deeply political, they have to give the indy guys some wins over top talents like Malenko, and Gedo wins with a Powerslam after contributing literally nothing.
**1/4

Match #2: Super Delfin [M-PRO] vs. Shinjiro Ohtani [1st Round]

MUCH BETTER. Delfin is an asshole. He took SATO's mask with glee, tried to do the same to Sasuke, and dislikes most youngsters. Ohtani is a young guy starting to come into his own, and surprises Delfin with what he has, in addition to doing lots of quality knee work early on. Delfin sells well, but cheats to come back, and abuses Ohtani for his insolence. Ohtani has some great dives to comeback, but Delfin plants him with a ridiculous Brainbuster. He follows with a Tornado DDT, and applies the Delfin Clutch pin, which is essentially him tying up all the kid's limbs and teabagging him, and it gets the win.
***

Match #3: Black Tiger II vs. TAKA Michinoku [M-PRO] [1st Round]

This is only 6 minutes, but is SO good and can really be seen as something of a forefather to a Nitro cruiserweight match. TAKA has the first big stage of his career, and goes insane. He doesn't get a ton of offense since he's new and Eddie dominates in wonderfully aggressive fashion, but he dies on every bump, has a crazy dive, and has a nice run of nearfalls at the end. He gets shut down though after missing a second Moonsault, and Eddie hits the Tornado DDT for the win.
***

Match #4: El Samurai vs Masayoshi Motegi [WAR] [1st Round]

I have no memory of Motegi, so this is clearly a Samurai showcase. Motegi shows up well though, and has a SWEET Tope Suicida, which means this match earns my full attentions. They have some really good matwork after that, and Motegi is actually seemingly a great wrestler too. El Samurai wins with the Samurai Bomb, which is a Jumping Razor's Edge type deal and looks awesome.
**3/4

Match #5: Negro Casas [CMLL] vs. Ricky Fuji [FMW] [1st Round]

This isn't a lot, but it's only 5 minutes and clearly here so someone in the Quarterfinals has an easier time of it. Negro Casas is a mat master, but again, this is only five minutes. Fuji surprisingly wins with the Tiger Driver. He wasn't bad or good really, I have no opinion of him yet.
**1/4

Match #6: Jushin Liger vs. Hayabusa [FMW] [1st Round]

This is the longest 1st Round match, and it's pretty awesome. It's not great though, unfortunately, because Hayabusa totally refuses to sell his leg that Liger worked on, which means they spent the first half of this killing time, and that's always really frustrating. Great nearfalls at the end though. Hayabusa misses the SSP, but then kicks out of the Liger Bomb, so Liger kills him with the Fisherman's Buster to win.
**3/4

The Great Sasuke and Wild Pegasus were conveniently given draws.

Match #7: Super Delfin [M-PRO] vs. Gedo [WAR] [Quarterfinals]
Delfin does the best he can to get something passable out of Gedo, but like the first match of the show, Gedo just stands there like a fucking lump for 8 minutes and Delfin works around him. Then this short fat little ball of shit gets another fluke win with an inside cradle, because god knows we never needed to see Benoit/Delfin. Fuck you, WAR.
**

Match #8: Wild Pegasus vs. Black Tiger II [Quarterfinals]

This is the shit. It's Benoit vs. Eddie and even when it's not the best they can do, it's a great 9 minutes. Lots of holds exchanged instead of the non-stop shit beating contests they'd have in WCW and WWE, but they still did a good amount of that too. Benoit catches Eddie diving off the top and sort of arm drags him into a ridiculously hard Powerslam-style landing for the win.
***

Match #9: El Samurai vs. The Great Sasuke [M-PRO] [Quarterfinals]

These two get like 12 minutes, so they can have a real match now. Good matwork, obviously, with lots of struggle over most of what they do. Samurai clearly has no respect for Sasuke with the way he goes right at him, which makes sense since until this show, Sasuke is a regional star with Michinoku Pro, and it's only after his performance and booking in this match that he becomes something more. Samurai does legwork and never follows up on it after the finishing run starts, so Sasuke just stops selling it after a while. God damn the NJ Juniors inventing this trend, fuck. Great nearfalls though, and Sasuke survives the Samurai Bomb! He rolls through a Huracanrana attempt and gets a sunset flip for the upset!
**3/4

Match #10: Jushin Liger vs. Ricky Fuji [FMW] [Quarterfinals]

Liger again elevates an indy guy in defeat, although Fuji isn't as good or able to hang at Liger's pace as Hayabusa was. It's very clearly Liger showing off and getting all his offense over for the next round, which is fine, and Liger being put over as THE dominating force helps out the semi-finals' story a lot. He wins with a Huracanrana and trap pin.
**1/2

Match #11: Wild Pegasus vs. Gedo [WAR] [Semi-Finals]

As if I needed another reason to like Chris Benoit, he shows up and just runs through this undeserving cocksucker. The son of a bitch makes his feeble lame ass comebacks, but Benoit slaughters him like so many family members, and ends his existence in this review, I hope, with the Diving Headbutt.
**

Match #12: Jushin Liger vs. The Great Sasuke [M-PRO] [Semi-Finals]

This is where the tournament becomes legendary, with the final two matches. They do some matwork, and again, Liger is clearly treating an indy guy as his inferior and dominating just to do it. He works the arm, but it's more him exerting dominance and he then slaps Sasuke around and gives it up after only a few minutes. Sasuke has an AMAZING flurry with dives and the nearfalls are incredibly great. Liger regains control and CRUSHES Sasuke with a dive and the Liger Bomb, but he survives. Sasuke barely fights back, AND BOTCHES A SPRINGBOARD TO FALL ON HIS FACE! Normally, this fucks up the entire flow, screwing the finish up like this. but Liger shows why he's an all-rime great, AS HE SLAPS SASUKE AND MOCKINGLY APPLAUDS, PRESERVING THE UNDERDOG STORY AND ALLOWING SASUKE TO GET A FLASH HURACANRANA FOR A MASSIVE UPSET!
****

Match #13: Wild Pegasus vs. The Great Sasuke [M-PRO] [1994 SUPER J-CUP FINALS]

Another classic! This is a straightforward bombfest, with none of the bullshit matwork and limbwork preamble. Sasuke uses speed, and Benoit keeps clubbing him down and dropping him on his head. Sasuke comes back with completely unhinged insanity, using the Sasuke Special for the first time, and then a fucking Missile Dropkick from the top rope to the floor. They do some sweet nearfalls and Benoit gets the win and the tournament win with a Gutwrench Superplex.
****
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Sting [c] vs. Rick Rude [WCW International Championship], NJPW (5/1/1994)
Hey, it's Rick Rude's last ever match! These two obviously have done better work together given that it's Japan and most WCW top guys that went over at this point wrestled it as a house show because I have no idea. I don't blame them here though, because Rude fucks up his back in a career-ending way when he falls on the concrete after catching a Sting plancha in a totally random spot. They rest a lot, and Rude does his best to regain himself for the finish. They do stuff, and Rude hits Sting with the title for a two count. He then hits a Piledriver and a Flying Knee Drop to win the title.
**3/4

Hiroshi Hase vs. Riki Choshu [#1 Contender's Match], NJPW (5/1/1994)

Hase's finally back! This is a really good 10 minutes. Hase basically just throws out everything he has, short of the Uranage flurry, at the big dog, and comes super super close, but fails to put him away. Riki is able to block the Uranage, which puts that over a lot, and then goes wild with Lariats. Hase keeps kicking out, so Choshu puts his corpse into the Scorpion Deathlock for the win.
***

Tatsumi Fujinami [c] vs. Shinya Hashimoto [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (5/1/1994)

This was 6 minutes, and really was perfect for the story they're telling with these matches. Hash wastes no time trying to be a classic champion, he just kicks the shit out of the old man in his rage over the fluke. Fujinami tries matwork and cradles, but Hash isn't making mistakes or allowing distance, and steamrolls him. He hits a ton of massive head kicks, and wins the title back with the Jumping DDT.
**1/2
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Vader vs. Masahito Kakihara, UWFi (5/6/1994)
I thought Vader's shootstyle run was over, so I am very happy now. This is up there with Kid/Owen for the best 4 minute matches ever. This is Kakihara's first real match of note, and it's to reestablish Vader, I presume, but Kakihara brings it big time. He's what you'd expect from a fiery young shootstyle guy, he does a lot of slaps and kicks and uses a Jujigatame, but it's a style Vader can work with and that I love. Vader sort of lightly mauls him to try and get a measure of what he has, but the kid EXPLODES with heads kicks and body blows to actually knock Vader down. Vader reacts like you'd expect and murders him. VADER BREAKS OUT THE CHOKESLAM, BUT KAKIHARA GETS UP AT 4 AND SLAPS THE SHIT OUT OF VADER. OH GOD. VADER THEN USES THE WHEELBARROW FACE SLAM THING, AND GETS A KO WIN. THAT RULED.
***

Vader vs. Kiyoshi Tamura, UWFi (6/10/1994)

This RULES. I love how well Vader packs a ton of story and action into these really short UWFi matches, as this is only 8 minutes or so, but also amazing. Tamura has clearly grown up a lot, as he's embracing throwing kicks now. He gets a lot of knee kicks in and actually gets Vader to buckle with them. He gets more actual offense in on Vader than anyone in UWFi yet, even the ace Takada. Vader is still Vader though, and eventually the kid gets caught. Vader gets bored with this and nukes him with a Powerbomb for the TKO.
***1/2

Jushin Liger vs. Super Delfin [M-PRO] [1994 BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FINALS], NJPW (6/13/1994)

Delfin has new gear made specifically to mock Liger's gear. So yeah, he's gonna die. They start off with solid matwork and basic cruiserweight stuff, but Delfin just keeps antagonizing Liger by stealing his gestures and being a dick whenever he can get an advantage. The early stuff goes nowhere, but they don't lie about it with limbwork, they just gradually move on. Lots of good stuff, and Delfin continues to be a dick. Once his Tornado DDT and Delfin Clutch combo fails, he goes all out with low blows and shit, and even tries to win by count out since any win for him here is a huge massive underdog career-making victory. Liger barely survives, and finally starts destroying Delfin for his antics. They have some great nearfalls, and Liger puts him down with a Super Fisherman's Buster to win again.
***1/4

Jushin Liger/El Samurai/Shinjiro Ohtani/Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. The Great Sasuke/SATO/TAKA Michinoku/Shiryu [M-PRO], NJPW (6/15/1994)

I have no idea who Ishizawa is, but this is an interpromotional match with 7 of the best junior heavyweights of the 90s and interpromotional issues, so it'll rule. It's also SO weird to see the future KDX (Togo, Hayashi, TAKA) teaming with Sasuke. Liger and Sasuke have an upcoming title match in July, so that's the primary build here as Liger keeps calling out Sasuke. This feels like the first "KDX" kind of a match though, as they make with the crazy double and triple teams, Togo shows INSANE potential as a heel bully, and it's generally more insane than your average multi-man tag. After 10 minutes of back and forth showing off the different stories and interpromotional stuff, the M-Pro Dive Train takes place and the match breaks down. Shiryu gets hit with a Three Post Massacre, and Liger follows up with the Super Fisherman's Buster for the win.
***1/2

Shinya Hashimoto [c] vs. Riki Choshu [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (6/15/1994)

This is another awesome "Hashimoto beats up one of the Old Gods" match where a veteran has their last stand against the new Ace. It's power vs. power, and Choshu kinda knows he can't play this like he did against Hase, so he tries to go right at Hash, but now Hash is more powerful and counters almost everything. Choshu has to avoid an attack for once, which is rare, and then he moves right into the Lariats. Hashimoto keeps kicking out and there's this amazing moment where for the first time that I've seen in this review, Choshu has doubt as he argues with the ref. It starts to sink in, AND HASH LUNGES UP TO KICK HIM IN THE FACE AND COLLAPSES AGAIN! Hash then starts to destroy him like he did Fujinami with kicks. He hits the Jumping DDT, and to seal the deal, Hash uses a frighteningly graceful Flying Elbow for a man of his size to win.
***

Jushin Liger vs. The Great Sasuke [M-PRO], NJPW (7/8/1994)

This was both great and disappointing. Sasuke comes out hot and eager to prove the first match wasn't a fluke, and starts with a dive and some great arm work. It goes NOWHERE though, which really blows. Liger sells well on transition, but it was the best time killing armwork I've seen yet, so I was hoping it had a point. Then they trade bombs for a while, and Liger gets the win with a Super Brainbuster to murder Sasuke.
***

TAKA Michinoku vs. Jado, Michinoku Pro (7/30/1994)

Surprisingly fun little match. TAKA tries super hard, but Jado is actually a good wrestler and clearly the talent behind the team. He's not amazing, but he has some good offense, bumps and moves around well, and contributes instead of his sack of shit partner. Both men have some great dives, and the crowd is super super hot. Lots of great nearfalls and Jado hits a beautiful Frankensteiner off the very top to win.
***1/4

Hiroshi Hase vs. Shiro Koshinaka, NJPW (8/5/1994)

Holy shit, this was beautiful. Hase's come a long way in the last year. He beat Hashimoto in the G1, he beat Chono to get to the Finals, and put up an amazing effort. Since then, he's been highlighted, won the WCW IN Title from Rick Rude in a match I can't find ( :( !!!!) and even got an actual #1 Contender's match. So now he's a favorite here against a guy in Koshinaka who never really breaks out of the midcard in his career. They have some great matwork in the first half to get over Hase's dominance, but when Koshinaka starts fighting back, HASE SLAPS THE SHIT OUT OF HIM AND SPITS ON HIM. WHOA, HEEL HASE IS AMAZING. Hase gets cocky and dominant, and allows Koshinaka WAY too many openings. They have some amazing nearfalls, AND WHAT THE FUCK KOSHINAKA WINS WITH A POWERBOMB?! NO WAY.
***1/2

Hiroshi Hase vs. Takayuki Iizuka, NJPW (8/6/1994)

G1 is hardly on the insane roll that it was last year, unfortunately, so these are the only ones that stood out. Hase takes this young kid and puts on a masterclass. They do matwork for 10 minutes and it's really wonderful stuff. Really tight holds, lots of struggle, organic counters, tells a story, etc. Hase as the dominant guy is really great and shows how well rounded he apparently was. He takes over with work on the neck, BUT IIZUKA HITS HASE WITH A FUCKING URANAGE FIRST HOLY SHIT. He does arm stuff otherwise, and it works and is sold well, but Hase is PISSED. He gets the shot and invents the Wrist-Clutch Exploder here, before then hitting a German Murderplex and the Bridging Northern Lights to win.
***1/4

Daisuke Ikeda vs. Glenn Jacobs, PWFG (8/13/1994)

Baby Kane working shootstyle against fucking Ikeda, who becomes a standard bearer for the style in the late 90s and 2000s. This isn't much, they're both very new and Kane is clearly not cut out for this, but it's very fascinating. Ikeda already has sweet kicks, but Glenn pulls a Vader and does a Powerbomb in the middle of all these holds and strikes, before then putting on a Half Crab to wiin.
**

Vader vs. Nobuhiko Takada, UWFi (8/18/1994)

The rematch! This went a lot longer than the other UWFi Vader matches at almost 20 minutes, and suffered for it. Same general theme, which is Vader being Vader and it taking an insane amount to do any real damage to him, and Takada being the only one really able to do it. But it got repetitive in the middle when they'd keep using the idea that Takada can knock him down with 5 or 6 hard blows, but Vader only needs 1. One it got to the end where Vader started destroying Takada with power moves and the Vader Hammers, it picked up a lot. He barely survives a Powerbomb, but a Vader Hammer knocks him out and Vader gets his win back.
***1/4
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The Great Sasuke vs. Shinjiro Ohtani, Michinoku Pro (9/29/1994)
This was clipped to six minutes, but OH MY GOD IT WAS SO GREAT. They went nuts with dives, Sasuke's insane Asai Moonsault that he might do better than anyone else and then Ohtani's crazy springboard Plancha. They trade big nearfalls in the ring, lots of German Suplex type mid 90s junior stuff. Super hot crowd helps, and they get real dramatic with how close the counts are. Sasuke does his Splash Mountain Bomb for the win.
***

Vader/John Tenta vs. Gary Albright/Kazuo Yamazaki, UWFi (10/8/1994)

This was a lot of fun. It's three big fat awesome dudes in there and then Yamazaki throwing kicks just to stay alive. He does really well against Vader and comes out looking so much better than he came in looking. Tenta works the mat well for the first 8 minutes and wrestling is broken. Vader mauls people. Vader vs. Albright is built up all match very well. Vader almost ends Yamazaki a few times, and he has these miraculous saves from certain doom before tagging out. Albright goes wild with like five Side Belly to Bellies and puts on a Jujigatame, AND VADER TAPS?! WHOA.
***1/4

Wild Pegasus/Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Black Tiger II/The Great Sasuke [JUNIOR TAG LEAGUE FINALS], NJPW (10/18/1994)

Such a phenomenal spotfest. You get the great opening matwork that has tons of cool stuff and establishes the roles on the teams (matworker and a younger flippy guy who can also do mat stuff but isn't on that level). Sasuke and Ohtani pick the pace up to stay alive and then big spots happen. Lots of cool double teams emerge and Ohtani gets a huge upset when when he beats Eddie with a Bridging Dragon Suplex!
***3/4

Volk Han vs. Andrei Kopylov, RINGS (10/22/1994)

It's Volk Han bein' Volk Han. He's using more slapping and kicks now, because he needed to be MORE awesome. They invent holds out of nowhere, everything is super hard fought and legit looking, and it's short and sweet. Volk Han tries a Jujigatame to end it, but Kopylov blocks it. He gets Volk on his back and traps his leg in place. He then bends Han's arm back at the elbow using his own leg, and Han has to tap.
***
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SATO/Shiryu/Terry Boy vs. Jinsei Shinzaki/TAKA Michinoku/Gran Naniwa, Michinoku Pro (10/30/1994)
This is the first teaming of the first trio, who will later go on to form KDX. It's also an outdoor show during the day, for some cool visual stuff. Future KDX goes right at the other team with a sweet crowd brawl. Hakushi and MEN'S Teioh brawl on a scaffold, Togo belts TAKA with chairs, Hayashi jumps off everything, etc. It settles into a real match and continues to be great. FKDX shows flashes of future greatness as far as double and triple teams go. Hayashi gets a lot of time to shine and is already insanely good. Finishing run is what you'd expect. Super crisp and fast stuff, dive train, etc. Hayashi and Teioh hit A DOUBLE BRAINBUSTER GOD DAMN. TOGO DEBUTS DAT BACK SENTON TO WIN!
***3/4

The Great Sasuke/SATO/Shiryu vs. Super Delfin/Jinsei Shinzaki/Gran Naniwa, Michinoku Pro (11/20/1994)

This is good basic MPRO stuff. Togo and Hayashi making just the greatest tag team, Naniwa comedy, Sasuke vs. Delfin, etc. Opening exchanges are fantastic and gradually pick up, control segments are quality, Togo's grace for his size is insane, Sasuke is the best dude, etc. You know the drill by now, I really hope. Sasuke ends up beating Delfin with the Splash Mountain Bomb.
***

Naoki Sano vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, UWFi (11/30/1994)

Skinny young Takayama is so weird, but I can't look away. He throws a lot of great kicks already. Sano is disrespected by the kid coming right at him, and mauls him with strikes too. This is wonderful and short. Takayama is a rookie and can kick hard but his mat game isn't much, so once Sano can trick him into getting on the mat, he's not long for this match. Sano reverses into a Kimura for the win.
***

Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Masahito Kakihara, UWFi (11/30/1994)

This was amazing. Kakihara is on a hot streak, but not quite as proven as Yamazaki, but he comes in hot. Insanely fast hand and feet throwing, and Yamazaki is totally off his game. He slows it down, but Kakihara one-ups him with everything he tries to do, almost showing off. He keeps it up and they get way down there in points in a rarity for UWFi. However, while Kakihara seems intent on proving a point, Yamazaki is intent on WINNING. He takes the opening for two NASTY German Suplexes, and then puts on the Jujigatame to win.
****

Shinya Hashimoto [c] vs. Hiroshi Hase [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (12/13/1994)

This is Hase's first ever IWGP shot. It's such a huge deal that he CUT OFF HIS MULLET. HOLY SHIT. This is really amazing, and a marvel of storytelling and psychology. Hase's proven now that he CAN win huge matches over big names like Chono, Mutoh, and Hash, if he can focus on something. He tries the knees, his usual plan of attack, BUT HASH IS READY! Hash tears up his midsection instead, so Hase is fighting from underneath for once. His selling is amazing, and the comebacks are his most fiery yet, which says a ton. Great nearfalls off stuff, I bought into almost everything. Hash blocks a Northern Lights Suplex with knees and hits a Jumping DDT followed by a Brainbuster for the win.
****1/4
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The Great Sasuke vs. TAKA Michinoku, Michinoku Pro (12/15/1994)
Great student vs. teacher match here. TAKA comes at Sasuke hard, but Sasuke is mostly able to control him on the mat, leading to lots of great matwork before TAKA can finally break free and take over. All his shit looks fantastic, and the way he gradually gets more full of himself the longer he can control Sasuke is really great. Awesome finishing run after the comeback, and Sasuke hits the Splash Mountain Bomb. He puts on a Crossface Chickenwing after that just to prove a point, and TAKA taps.
***1/2

Akira Maeda vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, RINGS (12/17/1994)

Yamamoto is a young guy on a hot streak up against the ace of RINGS and one of the founders of shoot-style in the 80s. He slaps the shit out of the old guy a lot and really dominates him throughout the match. He gets really cocky about it, going so far as to signal for the end, which basically never happens in shootstyle that I've seen. It costs him, as Maeda keeps taking him to the mat and he wins with a Heel Hook.
***

Volk Han vs. Mitsuya Nagai, RINGS (12/24/1994)

This is a very young Nagai, not the surly shitkicker he'd become in the 2000s, but he shows promise. And it's a Volk Han match, so it's great no matter what. Volk Han counters everything with ease and looks bored by his own invulnerability, and it's amazing. Nagai mounts something of a challenge, but not enough to really worry Volk Han for a while. He's a god damned wizard, so he often just lets Nagai put holds on and then easily counters out into some insane hold that nobody will ever use again. Nagai almost wins with a TKO off a kick, but Han JUST gets up...and now Volk Han is upset. Volk Han now has an actual goal. I'm terrified. They do more stuff, and Han gets bored again. As soon as he does, he immediately puts on a Full Nelson. He gets it on the mat and rolls Nagai's head on the mat for it for even more neck pain, and he taps.
***1/4
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Shinya Hashimoto [c] vs. Kensuke Sasaki [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (1/4/1995)
Not sure why fucking Sasaki gets the Dome Show title shot instead of Hase, but NJPW always saw the world in Sasaki. Kensuke tries to man up hard early on with slaps and chops, and actually holds his own pretty well. He tries to go after the arm at a point, but he's basically all power. Hash goes after his arm to fuck his game up, and the kid is flustered. He comes back with straight power though, and throws all his bombs at Hashimoto. But Hash is the Ace, and like his straight power attack was survived five years ago, now he survives and once the kid has thrown his entire arsenal out, Hash starts firing off his big bombs to end it. Hash wins with a Fisherman's Buster.
***
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Shinya Hashimoto [c] vs. Scott Norton [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (2/19/1995)
This is beautiful. Norton again is all power, but now he has a taped up elbow for Hashimoto to chop away at throughout the match. Norton's selling is fantastic, and something that I honestly didn't know he had in him. With the WCW btb, he got that huge push because it just sort of caught on fire with readers so I went with it, but this makes me love him even more. He gradually becomes a one armed man, but he's still Scott Norton. Hash gets a little cocky near the end, but once Scott begins throwing bombs with one arm, Hash puts on a nasty hold on the arm and elbow for the tap out.
***1/4

Koji Kanemoto [c] vs. Wild Pegasus [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (3/13/1995)

Kanemoto is coming into his own, and Benoit has now become great, so this is great. Awesome matwork in the feeling out process early on, and Benoit takes over. He doesn't treat Kanemoto like much of a threat, content with holding him on the mat and easily striking him down when he gets up. He gradually increases the violence as Koji keeps fighting, and gets DAT TOPE SUICIDA. Benoit basically just dismantles this cocky little shit all match, but he lucks out and Benoit loses his balance on the top when hes' trying something with Koji. It allows Koji to hit a top rope Frankensteiner to barely get the pin.
***

Shinya Hashimoto/Hiroshi Hase/Riki Choshu/Junji Hirata vs. Masahito Chono/Hiroyoshi Tenzan/Sabu/Hiro Saito [Best of Three Falls], NJPW (3/13/1995)

Chono's started to turn heel, I guess, since he's now in all black and is way more aggressive. Chono and Tenzan have also started their famous team. And if you're gonna be a dick heel, there's not two better guys to do it against than Hash and Hase. They bring the FIRE big time. Hirata and Saito look good on my first time seeing them, and Sabu does awesome in a new environment. Choshu sends the faces up 1-0 with the Sharpshooter on Saito in about 5 minutes. Chono starts cheating a ton to take over and all the heels cheat a ton on old Riki. Hase and Hash are right at home against these cheating assholes and are fired up like they haven't been since the WAR feud. Hase vs. Sabu is AMAZING. They get Hase in a 4 on 1, and after a Yakuza Kick from Chono, all four dogpile on a cover to go 1-1. The faces get Tenzan after that and just KILL him. Shit breaks down at the end, and Sabu kills everyone with chair stuff. He puts Hase through a table, and Chono and Saito tie up Hash in the ropes before Tenzan hits a Moonsault on Hirata to win.
***1/4
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Ultimo Dragon vs. Chris Jericho, WAR (3/26/1995)
This is only 8 minutes and the start of their matches, but it's still a lot of fun. Jericho doing a Diving Headbutt without it being a mocking thing in a WCW btb is fantastic to see. There's some botching on both ends, since Ultimo isn't great at all and Jericho is still pretty inexperienced, and it holds this back, but it's a really fun short spotfest still. Jericho counters a Dragon Suplex into a Victory Roll for a big upset win.
**3/4

Koji Kanemoto [c] vs. Shinjiro Ohtani [c] [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship vs. UWA Junior Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (4/16/1995)

This is also clipped down to five minutes, unfortunately, but it's a little better off than Jericho/Ultimo. It gives off the vibe that if we got the full 15 or so minutes of this, it'd be ***+, but oh well. Kanemoto continues to get more and more arrogant with the IWGP belt and Ohtani is the best underdog in the division. He has amazing offense and a great dive, and the final part of them slapping the shit out of each other was fantastic. Kanemoto avoids the back kick and hits a Bridging Dragon Suplex for the win.
**3/4

Keiji Mutoh vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, NJPW (4/16/1995)

I watch this against my better judgment, since it's on Ditch's site. Mutoh now has a caveman beard in addition to his shitty mullet as some kind of prep for his incoming title win. I can't find it online anywhere, but Mutoh is the fucking piece of shit that ends Hash's yearlong title reign in early May 1995. This is great though, as it's one of the rare "Mutoh tries!" matches that become less and less frequent over time. Tenzan pisses him off, so he explodes on him early. Tenzan avoids a Flying Dropkick to take over, and then just sort of does solid basic stuff. He has a sweet Samoan Drop though. Mutoh comes back and they have some cool nearfalls. Mutoh again goes out of his wheelhouse with a Frankensteiner, BUT TENZAN INVENTS THE SUPER POWERBOMB COUNTER TO IT! TENZAN THEN BEATS MUTOH WITH HIS OWN MOONSAULT IN ANOTHER HUGE UPSET. YEAH!
***

Shinya Hashimoto [c] vs. Steven Regal [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (4/16/1995)

It's two of the greatest of all time, so this is a great match. Regal starts on the mat, so Hash gets to show off his mat skills for once. Regal keeps avoiding his attempts to turn it into a striking match with kicks and slaps, and starts trying to wear him out on the mat. This feels like a prototype for the incredible Joe/Danielson match in 2004. Hash doesn't really get upset though, so Regal starts getting more aggressive with the matwork. Regal then is the first one to get real violent too, AND IT RULES. Lots of straight punches and elbows to the face and he works over the nose when he bloodies it. NOSE WORK. REGAL IS GOD. Hash fights back, and fired up Hash fighting back while soaked in blood is one of the coolest things ever every time it happens. Due to the size difference, there's a lot of struggle on everything. Hash gets the better of a head on collision, and hits the Jumping DDT and a Jujigatame for the win.
****
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Vader vs. Nobuhiko Takada, UWFi (4/20/1995)
You know what you get by now, and it's really awesome yet again. Vader kills Takada a lot and throws him around with total disregard, and Takada has to stay alive and use kicks. They hit each other really hard and Vader uses the traditional pro wrestling monster offense. After two matches of Takada's bullshit, Vader finally goes to the mat with him and demolishes him with punches and forearms on the mat. Vader mauls him at the end, and introduces Lariats to shootstyle. Takada gets in a wild last flurry and hits a disgusting kick right into the face and Vader is knocked out.
***1/4

Black Tiger II vs. Koji Kanemoto, NJPW (6/25/1995)

This is part of the BOSJ tournament, and it's JIP with only 7 minutes shown. But it's all the best stuff, and Eddie gets the absolute best out of Kanemoto. Lots of dives and nearfalls, and from where it starts, it's basically an amazing spotfest. Kanemoto impressively kicks out of the BT Bomb, but Eddie wins with a Super Brainbuster.
***

Shinya Hashimoto/Junji Hirata vs. Masahiro Chono/Hiroyoshi Tenzan [Vacant IWGP Tag Team Championship], NJPW (6/12/1995)

Tenzan and Chono are assholes to Hash early on, so obviously they die initially. Hirata is perfect as the midcard brick wall who takes no shit, and they bring kind of a classic US style tag format to this with well defined heels and faces and the shine/control segment/hot tag idea. The finishing run when Hash gets in is really amazing, and there's a lot of super believable false finishes and dramatic saves and shit. The heels keep Hirata down on the floor long enough to reel off a ton of moves on Hash and eventually he gets beat by Chono's Yakuza Kick.
***1/2
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Volk Han vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, RINGS (6/17/1995)
Volk Han being Volk Han. Yamamoto is really awesome with all his kicks and shit, and it adds a new dimension to a VH match, as he has to face somebody who would rather stand up and strike now. Volk Han is able to mostly ground him and pull completely new holds out of thin air at an alarming rate. In a really cool bit, Yamamoto is the first guy to actually find a weakness in Han's game, as while Volk Han can catch strikes easily and invent holds out of thin air, he's not great at defending against the classic shootstyle Jujigatame, and when it's on, he scrambles to the ropes like never before. Volk Han gets actually pissed and invents a disgusting kind of Keylock Snap Suplex. Yamamoto gets in strikes once he gives up matwork and Volk Han now has to respond to 10 counts after getting dropped for the first time ever. He comes back, and wins with a Jujigatame as a wonderful final "fuck you".
***1/2

Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, UWFi (6/18/1995)

This is Yamazaki's final UWFi match, as he leaves to go elsewhere after this, since he's never getting a push in UWFi for some reason. It's a classic veteran vs. future star type deal here adapted to the UWFi style. Takayama looks like the man he'll become in the 2000s here, throwing those AMAZING knee strikes and using his size to his advantage for the first time. AND HE DEBUTS THE EVEREST GERMAN SUPLEX! YEAH! Yamazaki BARELY gets up after that, and Takayama knocks him out cold with a Jumping Knee. Beautiful 7 minutes.
***1/4

Yoji Anjoh vs. Naoki Sano, UWFi (6/18/1995)

This is great stuff, as expected. There's not a ton of story or dynamic stuff going on, but it's two great wrestlers having a shoot-style match. Awesome and super tight matwork, loud and painful looking strikes, cool counters, etc. Anjoh tries to keep it on the mat, but it forces Sano to go to his pro wrestling roots with Suplexes and kicks. He tricks Anjoh into trying to counters a German Suplex, and then takes him down the arm instead and puts on a Jujigatame for the win.
***

Ultimo Dragon vs. Chris Jericho, WAR (7/7/1995)

This is in full, and they do a classic kind of mid-1990s cruiserweight style face/face match. Really fast arm drags and stuff like that early on, and Jericho takes over on the mat. He does basic stuff and it's only alright because mid-90s Jericho is still really inexperienced and can get sloppy. The nearfalls were really fantastic though and it's where this excelled. They had a few totally out of nowhere counters that caught me off guard, even 18 years later when so much stuff from this era and style is now commonplace, and it helps override all the sloppiness. Ultimo misses a Corkscrew Moonsault, and Jericho hits a Butterfly Superplex to win!
***
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The Great Sasuke vs. Super Delfin, Michinoku Pro (8/12/1995)
This is part of the 1995 Mask League, a round robin tournament with a bunch of masked dudes, and it's Sasuke/Delfin in the 90s, so it rules. This is even better than their 1993 epic, because it has STORY! Sasuke comes in hot, but injures his hip off a dive, and Delfin goes APESHIT on it. He constantly puts pressure on it in holds, uses offense that hurts the back and hip, and stays totally on top of Sasuke in the best Super Delfin performance I've ever seen. Sasuke sells super well and when he comes back, he's recklessly hurling himself at Delfin to stay alive, since he lacks the grace and control he usually has. Delfin can't get it done though, and Sasuke takes a risk with a rare Moonsault, followed by the Sasuke's Edge for the win.
****

Super Delfin vs. Gran Naniwa, Michinoku Pro (8/13/1995)

This is good shit again. Naniwa wants to step out of Delfin's shadow, but he is just NOT good enough. So he cheats a ton and they do a lot of cool spots. Naniwa isn't amazing or anything, but he's content letting Delfin guide the match and goes along with everything pretty smoothly, so it works. Naniwa hits a fancy Victory Roll into a Huracanrana and hooks the legs coming down for the win.
***

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Keiji Mutoh [1995 G1 CLIMAX FINALS], NJPW (8/15/1995)

Hash guides Mutoh to the best singles Mutoh match I've seen in the 1990s. Mutoh is willing to try more since this is a huge match that he's winning, so Hash isn't trying to work a miracle getting him to try on the mat. Mutoh works on Hash's knee and Hash works on the arm, but they still do the infuriating NJPW style thing where the opening third of matwork is CLEARLY just time killing and goes nowhere. Mutoh actually sells the matwork focus in transition too, which is incredible for him. They start throwing big stuff early, and gradually build it up to an amazing finishing run, which is a nice change of pace. Hash murders Mutoh with stuff, but this fucking pansy still refuses to take face bumps or strike like a man. YOU'RE A FUCKING JAPANESE WRESTLER. EVERYONE ELSE LAYS IN THE FOREARMS, YOU FUCKING BITCH. Hash makes it epic in spite of that, as he stops striking anymore after Mutoh embarrasses himself. Mutoh hits two Moonsaults in a row to win, because fuck this company in 1995.
***1/4

Dos Caras vs. Super Delfin, Michinoku Pro (8/18/1995)

Back to the mask league! Dos Caras is really awesome and they have some remarkable matwork. Delfin does a killer job of putting Caras over as a huge deal and a big threat in the tournament, even in spite of Caras being a superstar in Mexico by now. He tortures Delfin for his taunting with insane lucha holds, until Delfin can break free with dives to take some control. Caras keeps going to the fancy lucha stuff, but Delfin drops impact work on his head and neck, AND HITS A GERMAN SUPLEX INTO A BRIDGING O'CONNOR ROLL TO ACTUALLY WIN?! WHOA!
***

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara, UWFi (8/18/1995)

Sakuraba goes on to make a name for himself in MMA and now in NJPW in 2012-13, but he's a young guy here. This file is problematic, as there's no ring intros and they're wearing nearly identical gear, so I can't give a super great analysis. But they hit really hard and do cool stuff, so this ruled. I find out at the end that Kanehara was in all black, while Saku had red boots. Kanehara wins via KO after a disgusting knee.
***

The Great Sasuke vs. Dos Caras, Michinoku Pro (8/23/1995)

This rules, but is ultimately a set up for their rematch. They do a lot of incredible matwork, and Sasuke's hip is still fucked. He gets aggressive on the mat to try and keep Caras off of it, but Caras is a legendary luchador, so he's just better on the mat and starts to dominate. He figures out the hip problem soon enough, and goes after it. He isn't quite as aggressive as Delfin, since he's pretty confident that he has this, and it lets Sasuke fight back early. Caras gets actually aggressive finally when it goes to the floor, and they get violent. CARAS DOES THE SWEET TOPE SUICIDA WITHOUT ANY REGARD FOR HIS HEALTH ON THE HARDWOOD FLOOR. YEAH. Sasuke hits the Sasuke Special dive, and they fight on the floor. Sasuke shoves Caras down and BARELY slides in to win by count out.
***1/4

The Great Sasuke vs. Dos Caras [1995 MASK LEAGUE FINALS], Michinoku Pro (8/25/1995)

This is the payoff to the shit established last time. Caras knows Sasuke's fucked up now and barely hanging on, and he gets aggressive with him the first chance he gets. Caras is better on the mat, stronger, more experienced, and by the middle of the match, Sasuke's only true recourse is to hurl himself into Dos Caras with reckless abandon. BUT CARAS FIGURES IT OUT AND DODGES A FLIP DIVE, SO SASUKE JUST SMACKS ON THE FLOOR. JESUS CHRIST DUDE. He's basically dead, but kicks out of a Powerbomb in the ring. Dos Caras follows with a Liger Bomb to finally end him.
***3/4
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Kazushi Sakuraba [UWFi] vs. Koji Kanemoto [NJPW], UWFi (10/28/1995)
The two companies have now begun their feud, and this is the first match in UWFi's backyard. Kanemoto's the one of these two who has to make the stylistic adjustment, seeing as there's only submission or KO wins in UWFi, and he's been using a Tiger Suplex all year. He's also a pretty huge asshole, so Saku gets fired up as a result and they kick each other really hard. It's still fairly tame since Saku is a rookie, but he has a nice moment where he adapts to Koji's style with a German Suplex. Koji then does the same with his Tiger Suplex, and puts on A Jujigatame to win.
**1/2

Yoji Anjoh [UWFi] vs. Masahiro Chono [NJPW], UWFi (10/28/1995)

Chono does not treat Anjoh like any kind of an equal or even a human being, SO ANJOH LIGHTS HIM THE FUCK UP. Chono is shocked by it, and then pissed off, and Chono actually throws forearms and slaps like a man. Chono can lay out a match real well and holds his own against guys like Hash and Hase WAY better than Mutoh at this point, but his strikes still usually leave a lot to be desired, but this brings it out of him. CHONO HAS TO RESORT TO A LOW BLOW TO FINALLY SHUT DOWN ANJOH'S OFFENSIVE! HOLY SHIT! He keeps going low and to the eyes to set up the ONE hold he really knows well enough to win with, the STF, but it fails, so he scrambles for more, BUT ANJOH BLOCKS ONE AND GETS HIS OWN KNEE TO THE DICK IN REVENGE! ANJOH PUTS ON A CRAZY FIGURE FOUR VARIANT, AND CHONO TAPS! HOLY SHIT! Anjoh got put over HUGE here.
***1/2
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The Master and Ruler Of The World

Shinjiro Ohtani [NJPW] vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara [UWFi], NJPW (10/29/1995)
This is another great short match in this feud where everyone is fires up. Kanehara shows up HUGE and adapts to pro-style really well. There's a pretty great story where he embarrasses Ohtani early on, so Ohtani spends the match trying to stretch and out-shootstyle him. Ohtani focuses on the mat though since he's never been a great stand up striker, which is a HUGE weakness in his shootstyle game, and Kanehara capitalizes with kicks and slaps. Ohtani goes back to the Suplexes and holds, but in trying to prove himself, he gives up sure pins to try holds that he's not as good as, and it lets Kanehara position him into a Jujigatame for the upset!
***

Yoji Anjoh/Yoshihiro Takayama [UWFi] vs. Masahiro Chono/Hiroyoshi Tenzan [NJPW], UWFi (11/25/1995)

FUCK YEAH ANJOH VS. CHONO! TAKAYAMA EMERGES BY PUNCHING PEOPLE HARD IN THE FACE AND THROWING DEM KNEES! This made me a believe in the ChoTen team BIG TIME. Chono is out for blood after getting embarrassed last month and gets super aggressive, but also remains a dick, because as a NJPW main eventer, he refuses to let it be shown that anyone from UWFi is on his level. Chono treats Takayama like shit to prove a point to Anjoh, so Anjoh just ABUSES Chono's protege Tenzan while openly challenging and calling him out. Chono again cheap shots Anjoh to take over, and they work an actual control segment in a shootstyle fed! I love how in this interpromotional feud, it's more even. I LOVED the NJPW/WAR thing, but WAR almost always came off as the bullies. But here, when it's a Chono match, he gets you behind UWFi, and the junior matches are more even. Anjoh low blows Tenzan after a run of cheating, but then Takayama gets the tag. Chono hits him with a low blow and the Yakuza Kick, BUT TAKAYAMA STANDS UP AND SLAPS CHONO. OH SHIT. CHONO HITS ANOTHER ONE AND TAKAYAMA JUST SHAKES HIS HEAD. TAKAYAMA'S A STAR TOO NOW, FUCK YEAH! Chono then puts on this NASTY Butterfly Lock type deal and Takayama taps.
***1/2

Masahiro Chono [NJPW] vs. Yoji Anjoh [UWFi], NJPW (12/10/1995)

This is only five minutes, but it's SO GOOD. CHONO JUMPS ANJOH AT THE BELL, AND NOW GETS CHEERED BECAUSE IT'S IN NJPW! ANJOH ACTUALLY BRAWLS WITH HIM THOUGH, AND THIS IS AMAZING! Anjoh goes wild on the knee, and now cheats against Chono. This is beautiful because it's exactly what Chono did to him when he came to Anjoh's fed, so it's deserved, but it's NJPW, so it turns everyone completely against him and for Chono. Chono comes back and unfortunately demolishes Anjoh with the Butterfly Lock to win far prematurely. Shame they didn't have a lengthier rematch, but hey.
***

Shinya Hashimoto/Junji Hirata [c] vs. Masahiro Chono/Hiroyoshi Tenzan [IWGP Tag Team Championship], NJPW (12/11/1995)

Hey, this rules! Hash has been mostly keeping his nose out of the interpromotional feud for now, having regained the tag titles with his pal, so he's been off the radar. This is JIP with Hirata being isolated, but we still get 10 minutes, so it kicks ass. Chono and Tenzan bring the wonderful heeling again as the best NJPW team of this review so far. Hash isn't in long, but it's still Hash being Hash, before Hirata gets back in. Hirata ducks a Lariat from Tenzan that hits Chono, and then gets a HUGE upset on Chono with a Liger Bomb!
***

El Samurai vs. Dos Caras [SUPER J CUP - FIRST ROUND], WAR (12/13/1995)
Unfortunately, this tournament is far lesser than the first one and less available due to it being a WAR release and not an NJPW one. I'll review what I can find though. The reason is both the lesser field of talent and that Gedo, of WAR, basically uses the tournament to try and get himself over like NJPW did with Great Sasuke in 1994. But it wasn't the push that made Sasuke, it was the amazing performances he had. Anyways, this rules for a 6-7 minute match. Cara again brings a wonderful Tope Suicida to the table to transition to the finishing run. Samurai does stuff, but Caras surprisingly wins with a Crossbody in 1995.
***

Wild Pegasus vs. Chris Jericho [SUPER J CUP - QUARTERFINALS], WAR (12/13/1995)
This is their first match together, and it's Jericho's first GREAT match. Jericho/Ultimo II was a fun spotfest, but really not a lot else, but Benoit guides Jericho. He puts him in the position of a young babyface in the match Benoit's starting to perfect against dudes like Ohtani, Kanemoto, Al Snow, Scorpio, etc. They go pretty crazy with dives and nearfalls, and this is also pretty famous as Benoit has to break out a fucking SUPER TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER to put Jericho away, immediately putting him over HUGE in defeat. Then, Gedo goes on to beat Benoit in the semi-finals, because this tournament is a fucking sham.
***3/4

Jushin Liger vs. Ultimo Dragon [SUPER J CUP - SEMI-FINALS], WAR (12/13/1995)

This is the REAL finals basically, as they work the big almost epic that the finals could be. Ultimo is a lot better here than in their 1992/1993 meetings in the NJPW/WAR feud, and doesn't have to be led so much by Liger anymore. Liger's still the dude guiding this because he's one of the all-time greats and Ultimo's just very good, but it's less obvious. Not a ton of story here, but the matwork builds up well to the second half of highspots without getting bogged down without too much false limbwork. They have sweet dives and big nearfalls, etc., while still holding back. Liger blocks a La Magistral Cradle into a pin for the win.
***

In the finals, Liger at least beats Gedo.
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Big Tuna
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The Master and Ruler Of The World

I'm going to review the full 1/4/96 Dome show here, trying something new.

IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Keiji Mutoh, Since 5/3/1996
IWGP Tag Team Champions: Shinya Hashimoto/Junji Hirara, Since 7/13/1995
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion: Koji Kanemoto, Since 6/14/1995

NJPW WRESTLING WORLD 1996
JANUARY 4TH, 1996
TOKYO DOME
TOKYO, JAPAN


Footage airs of big names arriving in the parking garage before the show. UWFi's Nobuhiko Takada arrives with a big entourage, WAR's Fuyuki arrives by himself and is super confident, Choshu arrives by himself and is super stoic. Jushin Liger gives an interview about his first title challenge in two years. Keiji Mutoh arrives last and is SUPER confident about defending the title against the invading Takada.

Match #1: Shinjiro Ohtani/Yuji Nagata/Tokimitsu Ishizawa [NJPW] vs. Kazushi Sakuraba/Hiromitsu Kanehara/Kenichi Yamamoto [UWFi] [NJPW VS. UWFI CHALLENGE SERIES - MATCH #1]
This is kind of a waste of Ohtani, but hey. Young Nagata still kind of sucks, and the other one will later become Kendo Kashin. ALSO KNOWN AS DRAGON SOLDIER B. GOD DAMNIT. Sakuraba continues to improve and forces Nagata to show flashes of the hard slapping angry man he'll become in 5-6 years. This is mostly kind of low level time killing matwork though until Ohtani vs. Kanehara got really heated for a few minutes. Nagata put Yamamoto in a Jujigatame to win. NJPW goes up 1-0.
**

There's a post-match interview in the back with the winning team, and while I obviously can't translate, I CAN read body language and voice tone. Nagata doesn't seem very impressed with the UWFi guys and seems like he's like "yeah, it was tough, I GUESS". Ohtani is openly laughing.

Match #2: Koji Kanemoto [c] vs. Jushin Liger [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship]
They get 18 minutes, which is almost a mistake. They do the stupid NJPW style thing where the first half is matwork and meaningless limbwork that goes nowhere and is ignored once it's time to trade moves, but they go SO crazy in the second half that it makes up for it. Liger ends up catching Kanemoto with a Shotei in mid-air, and hits THREE Liger Bombs and the Skytwister Press to regain the title.
***

In the back, Kanemoto refuses an interview. On the other hand, Liger is jovial and goes to the press area to answer questions and high five reporters.

Match #3: Hiromichi Fuyuki [WAR] vs. Yoji Anjoh [UWFi]
This is only six minutes, which is upsetting, but this is fun to see as it's two indy midcard guys who got built up huge by the respective NJPW feuds with their companies. Unfortunately, the match kind of blows. Fuyuki has cheating allies with him, and they jump Anjoh and hit a Superbomb to start, so he's hurt. He recovers way too quickly, and they just sort of do stuff for six minutes. Anjoh tries to work the leg, and Fuyuki sells nothing. He wins with a Lariat.
*3/4

Match #4: Riki Choshu [NJPW] vs. Masahito Kakihara [UWFi] [NJPW VS. UWFI CHALLENGE SERIES - MATCH #2]

Choshu is booking NJPW at the time, so he randomly gave himself a skinny young UWFi guy to destroy, which is both upsetting and so blatant that it's hard to really give him shit for it. It's a fun murder, and he runs through him in like 5 minutes. He hits the Lariat and then puts on the Sharpshooter to win.
**

A contract signing for the main event between Mutoh and Takada is shown, and feels like a big deal. It's now worth pointing out that the order of matches on this commercial release is WAY different than the actual show, as Mutoh/Takada was the main event then, and now it's the final match on Part One of the release, essentially put in the middle of the show.

Match #5: Keiji Mutoh [c] [NJPW] vs. Nobuhiko Takada [UWFi] [IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP - NJPW VS. UWFI CHALLENGE SERIES - MATCH #3]
This is the final match of the series, and has a pretty awesome character story. Mutoh's this super cocky and stylized guy being pushed as Ace, but yet to really face any hard competition since beating Hash, and he got lucky in their first match in October, and Takada is super vicious and hungry...and fuck it, it's basically a Rocky III kind of story, in terms of the characters. All Mutoh can really do is contain Takada, and he sure as shit can't go on the mat with him, because Mutoh as a technician is a total sham. Mutoh tries it, and Takada easily counters everything. They go on way too long with this before Mutoh starts using pro style offense to stay alive, but he just can't. Takada makes him tap to the Jujigatame, and Mutoh's allowed the IWGP Title out of NJPW's control for the first time ever. Great work, asshole.
**1/4

Takada celebrates and Mutoh leaves. NJPW and UWFi people come out to watch Takada awarded the title, and he gets the mic, AND CALLS OUT HASHIMOTO. OH SHIT. Hash gets in the ring and wags his finger, so Takada does it again. He gets in his face now, and they get pulled apart. HASH LOOKS AT TAKADA WITH THE TITLE AND JUST SHAKES HIS HEAD. HASH PROBABLY CHALLENGES HIM TO A MATCH AND SAYS "TOKYO DOME"! Takada leaves and gets carried out by the UWFi people.

Match #6: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Satoshi Kojima
Koji is coming back from a big foreign excursion, and jumps Tenzan to prove a point. They have a good little under 10 minute match with enough cool stuff to make their point that they're the future. KOJIMA DOES A RECKLESS TOPE SUICIDA AND BARELY CLEARS IT! FUCK YEAH KOJIMA NOW! He forces Tenzan to break out a lot of big offense down the stretch to put him away, and it takes a huge ass Splash Mountain Bomb and then a Diving Headbutt to win.
**3/4

Post-match, Kojima attacks Tenzan on the floor before getting pulled off.

Match #7: Masahiro Chono vs. Shiro Koshinaka
This is disappointing, almost. It's 90s Koshinaka so I don't expect a TON, but Chono had a really good 1995, so it's a shame to see him let Koshinaka have the reigns and give up a match that's basically 50% aimless chinlocks and Hip Attacks. Chono brings his great boots and heeling, and Koshinaka breaks out a sweet Powerbomb on the floor, but this isn't what it could be. Chono can survive all the big offense in the world, but Koshinaka eeks out a cradle for the big upset. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
**1/4

In the back, Chono is mad and argues with reporters.

Match #8: Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kazuo Yamazaki
Something finally delivers! This is chronologically before the IWGP Title switch match, but in a lot of ways, it feels like Hashimoto making a statement after Takada's actions. Yamazaki was a UWFi standout, but he jumped to NJPW in 1995 after Takada never gave him title shots, so it's still Hash beating the SHIT out of a shoot-style type. They have lots of really tight matwork and kick each other hard, and even if they're clearly holding back, it rules. Hash gets out of the shoot-style funk and corks off a Brainbuster for the pin.
***

Match #8: Hiroshi Hase vs. Kensuke Sasaki [Hiroshi Hase Retirement Match]

Hase got elected to Parliament, so he's retiring for the time being, before he shows up in All Japan in like a year. So Hase then comes back for a final match to put over his old partner here. Hase starts with killer knee work, like the stuff Triple H was doing to Booker T at Mania 19, but much much tighter. AND KENSUKE ISN'T SELLING A FUCKING THING. GOD DAMNIT. They then just sort of do stuff before a finishing run, and Hase brings as much fire as possible. Sasaki nukes Hase with stuff and wins with a Northern Lights Bomb. This is the most disappointing Hase match ever.
*3/4

Hase gets a retirement ceremony and says stuff, probably about how that was a waste of his talent.

Match #10: Antonio Inoki vs. Vader [Inoki Retirement Tour]
FUCK YEAH. This is basically Inoki jerking off by taking all of Vader's big stuff and then winning with a shitty looking flash Jujigatame, but it's Vader just MURDERING an old man for 15 minutes before that. This is the home of the famous German Suplex where Vader just about murders Inoki, but he also smacks the shit out of him and takes a few amazing bumps too. Vader gets sent over the railing and busted open, and he hurls chairs and tables at Inoki at ringside in response. Inoki survives a Chokeslam, Vader Bomb, and Moonsault, but at least avoids the Powerbomb so as to not kill this off. Inoki then quickly puts on the hold to win though, providing Vader with a window into the rest of his 1996. :(
***1/2
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Big Tuna
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The Master and Ruler Of The World

Yuki Ishikawa/Sho Funaki vs. Daisuke Ikeda/Katsumi Usuda, BattlARTS (1/13/1996)
This is the main event of the first BA show, which is very noteworthy. It's a shoot-style fed, but here's a lot more brutality in BattlARTS. Ishikawa vs. Ikeda is the eternal battle of hate, but it begins here. Funaki is fairly out of place, but everyone else stretches each other and smacks and kicks very hard. Ikeda is the standout of the bunch in their debut. Ikeda catches Usuda trying a Spinning Heel Kick and turns him into a heel hook for the submission.
***

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Big Tuna
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El Samurai [c] vs. Shinjiro Ohtani [UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (1/21/1996)
This is a highly regarded 90s classic that actually holds up mostly. It's weird, because they focus a TON on limbwork. The theme of the match is Ohtani working the knee and Samurai working the arm. They do a lot of cool stuff and adapt signature offense into focusing on the limbs. Then they just don't sell it at all in the second half. They still do stuff related to it and the finish plays in, but they just don't sell it anymore, which is SO weird. Usually it's forgotten to do moves or sold completely, but almost never this weird in-between thing. Samurai gets on the Jujigatame for the win.
***1/4

Jushin Liger/Black Tiger II vs. Koji Kanemoto/Shinjiro Ohtani, NJPW (2/15/1996)

Awesome spotfest. The young punks bring the heeling and isolate Liger. They have a lot of good teamwork and cheating and general dickhole behavior. Eddie gets fired up in response, as does Liger. Finishing run is fun stuff and Eddie hits Ohtani with the Frog Splash for a sure pin, but Kanemoto saves. Liger kills him off, and Eddie hits a Brainbuster for the win.
***
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