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Simon Watches Other Japan - 1990s; NJPW! M-Pro! Shootstyle! WAR!
Topic Started: Jan 6 2013, 02:20 AM (4,311 Views)
Big Tuna
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The Master and Ruler Of The World

Masahiro Chono vs. Shiro Koshinaka, NJPW (8/1/1998)
This feud somehow delivers in spite of the averageness of Koshinaka and Chono's being much more style over substance. I mean, the style is that he has the coolest entrance music of the era, looks like a badass, and oozes charisma, so it's hard to fault that, but still. They have good matwork and continue to display their dislike for each other with pretty much every motion in the match. Chono had good legwork and the finishing run was good. Tenzan distracted the ref so Chono could get a low blow, and he then won with the Butterfly Lock.
***

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Genichiro Tenryu, NJPW (8/1/1998)

THE HATE RETURNS. Hash is now pretty firmly the man even without the belt, but Tenryu is still not impressed. This is about 13 minutes and 10 of that is a strike exchange. That sounds insane, and it totally is, but these are two of the rare few who can make it work. They sell progressively more and more and hit harder and harder until Hash begins to surprise Tenryu with actual moves. Tenryu goes with it, but Hash cuts him off coming off the top with a kick. Tenryu blocks the DDT, but he's done now and Hash destroys him with knees, kicks, and slaps before firing off the Jumping DDT to win.
****

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Satoshi Kojima [G1 CLIMAX - SEMI-FINALS], NJPW (8/2/1998)

They're starting to build up Kojima now, so he gets the rub of hanging with Hash for a while before he dies. Firey young guy with his stupid mullet and all that. He goes after Hash's knee and uses Lariats as a double game plan, and it works. UNTIL HASH PUNCHES HIS BICEP IN MID-LARIAT. YEAH. He goes after the arm a lot, and it ruins his Lariat plan. Kojima still kicks out of two of Hash's DDTs, so Hash puts on a Jujigatame for the win.
***1/4

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kazuo Yamazaki [1998 G1 CLIMAX - FINALS], NJPW (8/2/1998)

These two make magic yet again. Hash has a bad knee, which means Yamazaki has more of a shot at this than ever. He gradually chips away at it and by the end, Hash is selling everything and in a ton of jeopardy. Hash comes back barely, and breaks out a crazy (for his size) Flying Elbow Drop, before ending with the Brainbuster to FINALLY win the tournament on his eighth try.
***1/4

Shinjiro Ohtani/Tatsuhiko Takaiwa vs. Koji Kanemoto/Dr. Wagner Jr. [IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship], NJPW (8/8/1998)

This is the first match to crown new champions. AND IT'S IN FULL HOLY SHIT. This is a great signifier that the new generation is close to taking over the division too. Kanemoto/Ohtani is a totally equal match, and Doc/Takaiwa is a cool power fight. Both teams are super similar in offense, and antagonize each other with their moves as a result. They gradually pick up the pace with a lot of cool double teams and the finishing run rules. Kanemoto and Wagner win out the battle to be the biggest assholes somehow, so Takaiwa gets to use his power for good, and Ohtani can do the same with his insane energy. Ohtani beats Doc with the Dragon Suplex.
***1/4

Tatsumi Fujinami [c] vs. Masahiro Chono [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (8/8/1998)

This is less good than important. The matwork in the first half is really good stuff, but ultimately goes nowhere as always with the lesser practitioners of the NJPW main event style. Chono works over the leg with good stuff, but when I say it goes nowhere, what I mean is that Fujinami doesn't give a fraction of a shit about selling it. Chono still targets the knee, but Fujinami is just being an asshole and not selling to tank this. Chono gets the STF on, AND CHONO FINALLY WINS THE IWGP TITLE! THE DROUGHT IS OVER!
**1/4

NWO Japan celebrates with Chono. Unfortunately, he reinjures his neck and has to vacate it in September, and never regains the belt. :(

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Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Koji Kanemoto, NJPW (9/14/1998)
This is JIP with nine minutes, so we get a good chunk for once. They both get really heated and violent, so this is a wonderful TV match. Lots of big counters and then even bigger spots, since they're best friends and know each other really well. Kanemoto in particular uses a lot of big new offense as he continues to come into his own as a singles guy in 1998. He has a sweet Overhead Belly to Belly, and gets another big win with the Tiger Suplex.
***

Shinjiro Ohtani/Tatsuhiko Takaiwa [c] vs. Black Tiger II/Chris Jericho [IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship], NJPW (9/23/1998)

Jericho's starting to actually get good now, so he has a much better NJPW showing. Eddie is Eddie, so their team is wonderful. They cheat a ton and are wonderful foils for Takaiwa and Ohtani to again be unlikely heroes against. It took them a while to get going, since they really didn't need 20 full minutes but once they picked up the pace and isolated Takaiwa, it was all good. Finishing run ruled, and Ohtani beats Eddie with the Dragon Suplex.
***

Scott Norton vs. Yuji Nagata [Vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (9/23/1998)

This is kind of a random pairing for the belt in Chono's absence, as you'd expect some combo of Hash, Mutoh, Fujinami, or Sasaki, but whatever. Nagata is off his rookie excursion and is starting to be built up now, so a good showing here against the top gaijin does that. Nagata looks like he aged 10 years in his WCW run, facially. He uses a lot of kicks and arm holds to try and combat the power, but it just doesn't work. Norton went after Yuji's arm just to do it, and his selling was surprisingly good. Norton easily shrugs off the comeback and hits a Powerbomb to win. FUCK YEAH SCOTT NORTON.
**3/4


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Shinjiro Ohtani/Tatsuhiko Takaiwa vs. Jushin Liger/Kendo Kashin, NJPW (10/18/1998)
JIP with only six minutes, plus it's a Kashin match, so this isn't amazing. They're building this asshole up now which makes sense from a logical standpoint to have the highest number of legit threats in the division possible. Ohtani and Takaiwa do their best with the finishing run, and then Kashin makes Ohtani tap out to his shitty Cross Armbreaker.
**3/4

Genichiro Tenryu/Shiro Koshinaka [c] vs. Keiji Mutoh/Hiroyoshi Tenzan [IWGP Tag Team Championship], NJPW (10/18/1998)

YEAH, TENRYU/TENZAN. Tenryu gets the best out of Mutoh and he's not actively bad at any point during this, but he gets outshined by the awesome Tenryu vs. Tenzan fights. NWO Japan tries to work this clean as under Mutoh's leadership with Chono gone, they're starting to become a babyface stable since they were all so fucking cool anyways. Mutoh and Tenzan have problems because of this, but they stay together. Tenzan innovates kind of a Moonsault Shadows Over Hell. Tenzan rallies big at the end, but because NJPW booking is weird now, he loses clean to Koshinaka's Powerbomb.
***

Jushin Liger [c] vs. El Samurai [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (10/24/1998)

JIP again with eight minutes. It's the big finishing run, and it's all really great stuff. Samurai tries the tricks from his summer 1997 miracle run, but this is 1998 and it's not the same magic. Liger counters and/or survives all that stuff, and then Samurai is left with what he normally has, which isn't enough to beat the king. He kicks out of a shotei at one with his FIGHTING SPIRIT~, but then is knocked out by a second and Liger wins.
***1/4

Jushin Liger/El Samurai/Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Shinjiro Ohtani/Koji Kanemoto/Tatsuhiko Takaiwa, NJPW (10/26/1998)

Another fun JIP 8 minute match. Wagner being an asshole for the forces of good was a cool new thing. Takaiwa got beat up to start, but then murdered Samurai with a Lariat to isolate him. And as usual, the young turks beating the shit out of a veteran in super cocky fashion was fantastic and then the Koji/Doc run at the end was great. This time, Doc gets the win with the Michinoku Driver.
***

Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani, NJPW (10/30/1998)

This gets five minutes. Fuck EVERYTHING. It's really awesome and they kill each other with a lot of stuff. Liger hits the mother of all Shoteis in the corner, and then a Super Brainbuster for the win. Probably could have been a classic if we got all of it.
**1/2

Shinya Hashimoto/Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Keiji Mutoh/Satoshi Kojima [1998 SUPER GRADE TAG LEAGUE FINALS], NJPW (12/6/1998)

Fujinami is again basically just a body, but it's Hashimoto being Hashimoto. NWO Mutoh continues to be more above average than at any other point in the decade, and Hash gets the best out of Kojima yet again. He's also a lot more aggressive now that he's in the NWO, so maybe the black and white just brings something awesome out of dudes. This was basically face/face as NWO Japan didn't cheat at all and Mutoh got treated like a hot tag just like Hash on the other end. Hash put Kojima's Lariats over really big, and then that bag of shit Fujinami got pinned after the Lariat, giving the tournament to the NWO.
***

ONE YEAR LEFT
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Big Tuna
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Shinjiro Ohtani/Tatsuhiko Takaiwa [c] vs. Dr. Wagner Jr./Kendo Kashin [IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship], NJPW (1/4/1999)
Real good stuff yet again. Ohtani and Takaiwa are tasked with putting Kashin over big here, so they become gigantic assholes again to get some sympathy behind him, or as much as possible for an opening match on a dome show which historically aren't hot for juniors. Wagner is isolated to build up the warm tag. Stuff happens, and Kashin gets a Frankensteiner into his Cross Armbreaker to make Ohtani tap. :(
***

Genichiro Tenryu/Shiro Koshinaka [c] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan/Satoshi Kojima [IWGP Tag Team Championship], NJPW (1/4/1999)

TenKoji forms! That's a very big deal. As always, Tenryu brings it. They do a perfect job of immediately booking TenKoji as a huge threat both individually and as a team. Kojima stands up to Tenryu in a slugfest, and the framing of the match has them as the babyfaces too. They show a lot of fire and gradually push through the usual teamwork that's beat a million other NWO Japan teams. Chono is seen on commentary and he is NOT pleased at the direction of the stable. Tenzan and Koshinaka are left at the end, but this time with Kojima able to do what Mutoh couldn't and cut off Tenryu, Tenzan can hit the Diving Headbutt to win the titles!
***1/4

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoya Ogawa, NJPW (1/4/1999)

HE'S BAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK. Inoki formed UFO as a company of shooters and they are doing a series with NJPW to lead to this. God fucking damnit. This is much more in line with what you want from a shooter vs. wrestler match though. Lots of striking and grappling and hate. There's some rough patches so it's not great, but it's better than I expected. Ogawa starts punching Hash right in the face and punts him in the face. He rolls out to the ramp knocked out, and at some point the bell is called and it's ruled a no contest. What the fuck?
**3/4

Hash comes to eventually and they have a big pull apart involving the locker room.

Scott Norton [c] vs. Keiji Mutoh [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (1/4/1999)
This didn't need 20 minutes, but it was actually very good in spite of the time given, so that shocked me. They had surprisingly good matwork, which shouldn't surprise me since Mutoh apparently became almost GOOD by this point (which is strange as you'd think his supporters would talk this stuff up instead of his shitty early 90s stuff or the Muta stuff) and Norton is good at everything else in the ring. It even has a psychological point, with Norton using his power to try and slow it down but gradually losing more and more control. That's basically the entire story of the match. Norton has some good power stuff and cut offs in his control. They yell GENIUS a lot for Mutoh, so that whole thing has started as he hits a Dragon Screw off the apron to create an opening. Norton sells his knee really well and it stops him from covering after big stuff. They never really get to a big finishing run, as it's just Mutoh staying on the knee and making Norton tap to the Figure Four. I can't believe that my complaint is that this needed MORE time.
**3/4

CIMA/Judo Suwa/Don Fuji vs. Masato Yakushiji/Naohiro Hoshikawa/Seno, Michinoku Pro (1/10/1999)

CRAZY MAX! They're the heirs to KDX's crown and are wonderful cocky little shits. Fuji and Suwa are more basic, but as you know, CIMA is one of the forefathers of the much spottier 2000s junior style. Suwa is maybe the best heel of his time and place, as he makes no effort to do anything fancy or even likable at all. Just a massive piece of shit. The faces aren't much besides Yakushiji and this goes a little long at 15+, but it's a lot of fun and shows the massive promise of the Toryumon grads. As always, the finishing run is great. Suwa beats Seno with a Diving Headbutt.
***

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Hiroyoshi Tenzan/Satoshi Kojima [c] vs. Yuji Nagata/Manabu Nakanishi [IWGP Tag Team Championship], NJPW (2/5/1999)
This isn't great because Nakanishi's there, but it could have been worse. Nagata continues to come into his own, and it's a nice window into the 2000s main event scene with the champions and Nagata. They work over Tenzan's knee, and Nagata's work is much better than Nakanishi's. He doesn't sell it super well/at all and Nagata is isolated. They have some pretty solid teamwork and Nakanishi...does stuff. It's not really bad at all, but it's totally just there. Nagata/Kojima in the finishing run is real good, and Kojima wins with the Lariat.
**3/4

Before the next match, Chono debuts his G.O.A.T. theme. It's the intro from Puffy's No Way Out saying "Damn...I never thought it would have been like this..." then some dude yelling "THE FUCK Y'ALL NIGGAS GONNA DO?" and it goes into Crash. Chono is the king of entrance music. It's at 1:45 on here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kek__8LtFsM&list=PLUMVJscqXPWNsw0WwrSiq_RYzNDy0FzUk&index=4

Masahiro Chono/AKIRA vs. Keiji Mutoh/Satoshi Kojima, NJPW (2/6/1999)
Chono is back and he's split off from the new babyface NWO Japan to form Team 2000 with Don Frye, NWO Sting, and he's brought back Akira Nogami under a new name. Not an inspiring line up, but it improves. AND MUTOH AND CHONO BEGIN FIGHTING ON THE RAMP BEFORE THE MATCH! The match isn't great either, but it gets me hyped up for a Mutoh/Chono match that never happens at this point for some reason. Mutoh's gear is not subtle, as it says "I AM BOSS" on it. Nogami and Chono use chairs and cheat a lot. Mutoh gets isolated at the end for a while and Chono beats him with the Butterfly Lock.
**3/4

Dragon Kid vs. SUWA, Toryumon (2/7/1999)

You forget how fucking good Dragon Kid was for a long time with how generic he got in the late 2000s, but he was so fucking crisp and athletic here. And SUWA is the perfect guy to display that against, since he sets everything up really well and his basic heeling emphasizes all the cool shit even more. Don Fuji came out to interfere a lot. Dragon Rana gives DK the win.
***

The Great Sasuke vs. Magnum Tokyo, Toryumon (2/7/1999)

They work a junior style epic, so Tokyo is getting THE RUB. This isn't great since Tokyo can't work the mat very well yet and that's half the match with this style. So Sasuke's pulling teeth there before the second half of cool spots. Tokyo has some real cool spots and it's all great, but I have trouble getting over the annoying time waste. Sasuke wins with the Thunder Fire Powerbomb.
**3/4

Keiji Mutoh [c] vs. Kensuke Sasaki [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (2/14/1999)

Mutoh works the knee. Kensuke sells it kind of until he decides it's time to ignore it for the finishing run. He does a lot more of his 2000s style offense here, and then his knee buckles. Oh, I guess it's still bothering him then! Then he goes right back to no-selling. Mutoh then wins with a Jujigatame after spending 15 minutes on the knee. THIS is the horrible Mutoh I remembered. Great to have you back, shithead.
**
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Keiji Mutoh/Satoshi Kojima vs. Kensuke Sasaki/Yuji Nagata, NJPW (3/20/1999)
This is JIP at only eight minutes, and Kojima vs. Nagata is again a great little pairing. The focus seems to be on Sasaki/Mutoh which is more baffling NJPW 1999 booking since they just fucking a had a match with almost no build. Anyways, this is a good TV length match since Mutoh lets Kojima do the work and they do a normal tag structure building to Kensuke vs. Mutoh. Nagata vs. Kojima happens at the end and rules, and Nagata gets his first real big win when he makes Kojima tap to the Nagata Lock, which is just the Crossface.
***

Minoru Tanaka vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, BattlARTS (3/21/1999)

MOCHIZUKI'S HERE! The 2000s are close. This is alright, but goes on a little long for their abilities at the time. Tanaka's sub-10 minute sprints vs. Tajiri in 1998 were perfect. The matwork is good and the dueling arm and leg work was a good idea, but neither of them really sold the damage at all, so it's ultimately useless. Minoru hits the Minoru Special, which is a Bridging Northern Lights followed by a Jujigatame, for the win.
**3/4

Hiroyoshi Tenzan/Satoshi Kojima [c] vs. Kensuke Sasaki/Shiro Koshinaka [IWGP Tag Team Championship], NJPW (3/22/1999)

TenKoji puts on another good performance, and manages to get a great match out of Kensuke and Koshinaka, which says a lot. They do some good stuff when controlling Koshinaka, but unfortunately, Kensuke is still being pushed super super strongly, so they have less luck with him. He gets in and kills everyone. They have some great nearfalls, but in another classic late Inoki era move, they immediately take the belts off of this hot young team as Kensuke beats Tenzan with the Northern Lights Bomb. GOTTA CONTINUE THAT KENSUKE PUSH.
***

Hiroyoshi Tenzan/Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata/Manabu Nakanishi, NJPW (4/10/1999)

The next generation gets a rematch on the Dome show to show off, but that means this is JIP with about six to seven minutes. It's very very good again, but the length is what cuts them off this time. Kojima vs. Nagata continues to show a lot of promise and TenKoji keeps improving their teamwork with basically every match. Good short finishing run, and Tenzan beats Nagata with a Moonsault.
**1/2

Koji Kanemoto [c] vs. Shinjiro Ohtani [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (4/10/1999)

This is somewhat JIP, but there's still 10-15 here. They wrestle this like the huge epic it should be by now, and use lots and lots of big moves. Kanemoto dominates after injuring Ohtani's leg. Ohtani comes back with his own leg work, and it helps sell the equality they've been building since '96 or so. Lots of nearfalls and Koji starts his ankle lockery, predating Angle on that trend. One Tiger Suplex fails, so he follows with a Moonsault for the win.
***

Keiji Mutoh [c] vs. Don Frye [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (4/10/1999)

My ongoing quest to review all the big title matches continues to hurt. Frye is a shootfighter of sorts, but he's aligned with Chono, so that's what this is about. This is at least short at 12 minutes, but it has a lot of Mutoh on the mat, which isn't good. He goes for the knees and his usual plan, BUT DON FRYE MAKES ME A FAN BY BLOCKIGN A DRAGON SCREW WITH AN UN-PULLED PUNCH TO THE MOUTH. His limbwork consists of punching Mutoh in the arms and legs. This still isn't good, but that at least entertained me. Mutoh then continues his horrible trend of working the knee all match and winning with a Cross Armbreaker.
**

The Great Sasuke [c] vs. Minoru Tanaka [NWA Middleweight Championship], BattlARTS (4/26/1999)

This was a lot of fun. It's a perfect clash of styles on the mat between Minoru's shootier stuff and Sasuke's basic pro wrestling matwork. Matwork was good, but they actually picked it up a lot sooner than I expected. And seeing Sasuke, the wrestler, as the guy working on top was a nice change of pace from how these styles clashes usually go. He kind of ate Tanaka alive at the end, but Tanaka's still really new, so it's not this total burial or anything. He drops him on his head with a Powerbomb, hits a Tiger Suplex, and then the Thunder Fire Powerbomb is what finally ends it.
***

Daisuke Ikeda vs. Alexander Otsuka, BattlARTS (4/26/1999)

It's these two doing stuff, so it's great. Otsuka immediately hardway's Ikeda with headbutts, so this is a war for the entirety. Otsuka has the stuff he wants to do in a match, but Ikeda is always reacting to other people's stuff and as always, it puts him in a predicament when Otsuka starts baiting him into things. Then because it's early BattlARTS, they randomly do dives and brutal looking pro-style stuff in between the nasty strikes and holds. Ikeda manages to bait Otsuka for once into a striking match and starts to demolish him before Otsuka begins with his head drops. Ikeda is the one who adapts for once with a Brainbuster, and he then puts on a Rear Naked Choke to win.
***1/4
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Hiroyoshi Tenzan/Satoshi Kojima vs. Masahiro Chono/AKIRA, NJPW (5/3/1999)
This a JIP version where we get five minutes of a ten minute match, but it was pretty fucking great. AKIRA flies around in addition to his cheating, and earns my appreciation with a great and totally reckless Tope Suicida. Tenzan goes after his former mentor in a huge way and Kojima keeps being awesome. They beat AKIRA after Tenzan's Diving Headbutt.
**1/2

After the match, Chono shakes their hands and offers them Team 2000 shirts. They nod and he raises their hands, BUT THEN KOJIMA HITS HIM WITH THE KOJI CUTTER! TENZAN HITS CHONO WITH THE DIVING HEADBUTT! FUCK YEAH TENKOJI. They should still be champions but the way they've gotten them over as THE hot young babyface team in only four months is phenomenal.

Keiji Mutoh [c] vs. Genichiro Tenryu [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (5/3/1999)
Tenryu goes after Mutoh's knee for a change, and beats the absolute piss out of him while doing it, but Mutoh escapes and hits the Dragon Screw off the apron. He works the knee and Tenryu's selling elevates this to greatness. They manage to achieve a real epic feel in an IWGP title match for the first time since it fell out of Hash's hands, which is probably more due to Tenryu than anything, but hey. Mutoh chips away at the knee for long enough to hit a flurry of Moonsaults for the win.
***

Koji Kanemoto vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, NJPW (5/19/1999)

BOSJ is here, but not as much as in past years is available. This is at least in full at some 9-10 minutes. This is super kicky and Kanemoto puts off a nice vibe of superiority compared to the indy scum he thinks Mochi is. The kid kicks out of the Moonsault though and does lots of offense before tapping out to a Torture Crab.
**3/4

Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Minoru Tanaka, NJPW (5/31/1999)

This is the same idea as the last one, but better since Minoru is a lot better than Mochi is in 1999. They have a hotter crowd here too and get more time to get violent and then get big stuff in at the end. Ohtani looks like he never believes for a second that he'll actually lose, even when Tanaka survives his big flurry. He blocks the Minoru Special and tries a Dragon Suplex, but Minoru gets out and he does the stepover takedown into the Jujigatame for the huge upset.
***1/4

Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto, NJPW (5/31/1999)

JIP also, but it's 10 minutes. Liger is on a shotei flurry when this kicks in, but Koji clips him and goes wild with his Ankle Locks and Ankle Holds. Liger's selling is pretty good as usual, managing to hit all his shit still but doing it in a way that keeps the injury at the forefront, allowing Koji to be the one to run into stuff instead of running to hit stuff. Liger hits a German Superplex and then puts on a Heel Hook. It's like 1/10th as amazing looking as Koji's holds, so it's a little disappointing when Koji taps to it.
***1/4

Kendo Kashin goes on to win the tournament, so it's good that I can't find the finals.
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Shinya Hashimoto vs. Genichiro Tenryu, NJPW (6/8/1999)
This is Hashimoto's return from the injury caused by Ogawa. AND WHO CARES, IT'S HASH VS. TENRYU. They're actually building Tenryu up pretty big now with the story of the close loss to Mutoh lighting a fire under him to actually commit to a company for once, so this has actual intrigue over who might win for the first time in a while. Hash actually throws a closed fist in retaliation to Tenryu and the usual strikefest happens. Hash is the one who dominates now, which is a cool change of pace. He gets super violent, and almost heelish here. It says a TON about these two that they can flip the roles completely and it still works as well as it does. They achieve that rare Benoit/Finlay/Regal level of rugged violence and it's no surprise that this is the first classic NJPW match since 10 months ago when they last met. HASH BREAKS OUT A ROLLING BACKFIST. Tenryu returns the favor with the Koppou Kick and he hits a running chop to the throat and a leverage pin to barely put Hash down.
****1/4

Yuki Ishikawa/Daisuke Ikeda vs. Joe Malenko/Carl Greco, BattlARTS (6/9/1999)

This is Joe Malenko's farewell match, so it's more mat based than usual in his honor. He puts on a master class with the two top BA guys, but in turn, they stretch and abuse his protege. Greco gets drawn into a more traditional BattlARTS type match, and Ikeda takes offense and beats him half to death. Yuki was more sporting, but still made him pay. Greco threw some kicks to actually hold his own, and since it's Joe's last show, he gets the feel good win with the Butterfly Lock on Ishikawa.
***

Jushin Liger/The Great Sasuke [c] vs. Shinjiro Ohtani/Tatsuhiko Takaiwa [IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship], NJPW (7/13/1999)

This is clipped in the middle, but it's for the best since it comes off like a commercial break on a US TV wrestling episode. The beginning is super hot and ends with with stereo babyface dives into the clip, and then the heels take over after the break. Sasuke has a hot tag, but then also gets isolated, allowing Liger to make the final hot tag going into a finishing run. Pretty much everything in this is killer as a result. Takaiwa ends up with another big win over Liger off of a Straightjacket German Suplex.
***1/2



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FOUND A TON OF G1 CLIMAX 1999 STUFF!

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, NJPW (8/10/1999)
This is clipped to seven minutes, but it's these two for seven, so I really liked it. Tenzan gets in a slugfest and doesn't win exactly, but he pushes Hash a long way in it, which gets him over even more. Like Kojima did last year, Tenzan targets Hash's leg and it helps him a lot. Unfortunately, he gets caught on the top rope and Hash yanks him down with a Super DDT. Tenzan kicks out surprisingly, but the Brainbuster seals it.
***

Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata, NJPW (8/10/1999)

YEAH BLUE TRUNKS NAGATA'S HERE. JIP to eight minutes as well AND IT RULED. HOLY SHIT. LOVE THIS NEW GENERATION. Kojima goes apeshit with his Lariats and Tope Suicidas and Nagata is basically swamped until he almost murders Kojima with a snap Belly to Belly counter to a running Lariat that drops him RIGHT on his head. Nagata keeps cutting the comebacks off with high kicks, AND HITS THE BRIDGING BACKDROP HOLD FOR THE UPSET! YEAH!
***

Kensuke Sasaki vs. Satoshi Kojima, NJPW (8/11/1999)

JIP with 8 again! This isn't as good though, since it's mostly Sasaki in control and being boring as shit and eating Kojima alive. Kojima and Tenzan have completely eclipsed this faggot in terms of crowd response AND actual ability, but ignore that, they're just going to keep making him go over them until YOU FUCKING ACKNOWLEDGE KENSUKE SASAKI AS A TOP GUY. Kensuke wins with a Lariat. FUCK.
**

Kensuke Sasaki vs. Yuji Nagata, NJPW (8/14/1999)

This takes a while to get going, because Kensuke. And it's not even that good, but it's a main event match in FULL, which is rare for this tournament, let alone 1999. Kensuke uses power and kills Nagata a lot, but he ducks a Lariat and clips the leg, AND THEN DESTROYS THE LEG? FUCK YEAH NAGATA. Sasaki sells kinda, and Nagata wins with a Legbar. That's what this mulletted faggot finally goes down to. He loses in a fucking boring as shit match to a shitty looking leg hold. I HATE YOU, KENSUKE SASAKI.
**

Masahiro Chono vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, NJPW (8/15/1999)

ALSO IN FULL. AND MUCH BETTER. Chono goes full force at his ex-protege, having been embarrassed by TenKoji repeatedly in losses now. He has trouble standing with Tenzan through this though and repeatedly goes to the eyes or low blows to regain control. This never really gets great since it's a midcard match on the final day of the tournament where neither man has a shot at the finals, but hey. Tenzan gets a big win with the Diving Headbutt.
**1/2

Keiji Mutoh vs. Yuji Nagata [G1 CLIMAX - SEMI-FINALS], NJPW (8/15/1999)

Under 10 minutes since the finals is right after, so it's not much. Mutoh's tights continue to provide hilarious slogans, now including "PLAY A BIG GAME" and "NEVER HAND OVER WIN". Nagata tries to go for his Nagata Lock all the time, but Mutoh works on the knee. This is 98% on the mat which I'd call cool if I didn't know Mutoh was just being a lazy asshole to conserve energy. He wins with the Figure Four.
*3/4

Keiji Mutoh vs. Manabu Nakanishi [1999 G1 CLIMAX - FINALS], NJPW (8/15/1999)

How THE FUCK is this the finals? NJPW 1999 is making almost no god damned sense. This absolutely blows. They kill like 10 minutes doing absolutely NOTHING on the mat. Chinlocks and leg holds that go nowhere. Then Mutoh pops off a Rana and goes on his Figure Four parade. Nakanishi makes no real comeback, but gets a flash Torture Rack and wins the tournament. This shitty green musclehead comes out of nowhere and wins the biggest tournament of the year. What the FUCK, New Japan?
*1/2
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SUWA/Curry Man/Super Boy vs. TAKA Michinoku/Magnum Tokyo/Minoru Fujita, Michinoku Pro (8/22/1999)
Delightfully random line up here. This is the first appearance of both Curry and Fujita, and they both impress. TAKA is still the king, and helps Tokyo a good amount. SUWA guides his team to some fun heeling in the control, and the finishing run is appropriately nuts. Which is to say not pants on head insane, but with some really cool spots that are still a little bit nuts. Fujita beats Curry Man with the Dragon Suplex.
***

Shinjiro Ohtani/Tatsuhiko Takaiwa [c] vs. Jushin Liger/El Samurai [IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship], NJPW (8/28/1999)

This is an outdoor show because OF COURSE in this year of batshit insanity where the wheel fall entirely the fuck off the decision making process, they spend a ton of money on this. Anyways, this is great to the surprise of nobody, I hope. It's not as frantic or insane as the one with Sasuke in Sammy's place, but I suppose that makes a lot of sense. Takaiwa's power continued to be the focus and what turned the tide every time. Ohtani beats Liger with the Spiral Bomb.
***

Genki Horiguchi vs. Susumu Yokosuka, Toryumon (9/14/1999)

GENKI WITH LONG AND FLOWING LOCKS. This isn't great, but it shows the world of potential that both guys have as they use a lot of the trademarks of their peak in the 2000s in a nice little package. 15 was a bit long and it drags them down since they don't get going until the second half. Some cool counters and spots, and Genki wins with what I can only describe as a cross between the CHIKARA Special and a Rivera Cloverleaf.
**3/4

Shinjiro Ohtani/Tatsuhiko Takaiwa [c] vs. Koji Kanemoto/Minoru Tanaka [IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship], NJPW (10/11/1999)

Good stuff, but not amazing or anything. Kanemoto and Tanaka used a lot of matwork to get over the styles clash, but nobody really bought them winning and it's also a Dome show, so the crowd is real real quiet for the juniors before the final moments of bombs. Still, really great bombs being thrown. Kanemoto eats the Springboard Missile Dropkick into the Triple Powerbomb, and then Ohtani finishes him with the Spiral Bomb for the win.
***

Naoya Ogawa [c] vs. Shinya Hashimoto [NWA World Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (10/11/1999)

This has an amazing video package of the feud's events recently. Ogawa called out NJPW as weak when he won the NWA Title, so Hash accepted a challenge. He then beat the shit out of him when they saw each other at the gym and flipped a table at the contract signing after Ogawa slapped him. Really epic feel here and it's that perfect shooter/wrestler thing. So much heat both from Hash and the crowd. Every time Hash lands a blow or throw, grown men are jumping up and down and yelling. Ogawa cheap shots him and starts pummeling him, but Hash isn't going down. Inoki throws in the towel on Hash's behalf, but Hash is pissed and yells and spits at him while he sits in the corner. So good.
***3/4

CIMA vs. Minoru Fujita, Michinoku Pro (10/19/1999)

Awesome 10 minutes. CIMA dives all over and is a cocky little shit once he takes over. Fujita does his kicky junior style stuff well too, and it's a good contrast. Lots of really cool ideas for counters and spots, and CIMA eventually regains his domination over the young one. Iconoclasm and Mad Splash gives him the win.
***

CIMA/SUWA vs. Magnum TOKYO/Tiger Mask IV, Michinoku Pro (11/7/1999)

SUWA brings the heelishness again, and it brings out a shocking amount of energy and fire from the usually just spotty Magnum and TM4. CIMA is more than willing to play along with his associate, so this has a real KDX flair to it as they tear TM's mask up. They also destroy TOKYO's back, and he sells alright. Big finishing run, and in kind of a shocker, SUWA makes Magnum tap out to a Half Crab.
***

Keiji Mutoh [c] vs. Genichiro Tenryu [IWGP Heavyweight Championship], NJPW (12/10/1999)

FUCK YEAH TENRYU DOES IT AGAIN. Mutoh tries the knee stuff immediately, including the Apron Dragon Screw. Tenryu sells really well, but Mutoh is so confident by this point after running through powerful guys and fighters all year that he allows Tenryu to get up and start slugging it out. They again get that really epic feel that non-Tenryu or Hash IWGP Title matches have lacked, and there's this great gradual feeling of everything slipping away for Mutoh. He can't get back to the legs once he's been outgunned, and he misses his Hail Mary with the Moonsault. He hangs on, but Tenryu keeps pounding away, AND TENRYU HITS A SCOOP BRAINBUSTER TO WIN THE TITLE! HOLY SHIT! FUCK YEAH TENRYU. WHAT A FUCKING END TO NJPW IN THE 90S.
***1/2

CIMA/Super Boy/Curry Man vs. Minoru Fujita/Jody Fleisch/Shiryu II, Michinoku Pro (12/21/1999)

The last match of this review. I have absolutely no idea who's under the hood as Shiryu II. This is a classic M-Pro style spotfest. Lots of cool stuff in a really fast order at a gradually increasing tempo for 15 minutes. I love it and always will when done this well. Fleisch and Shiryu II aren't much UNTIL the insane finishing run begins and then they go nuts and come off as huge stars. They keep doing crazy stuff in perfect order and it's easily the best MPro match since late 96. Curry Man jumps up to the top rope at the same time as Jody tries for a springboard dive and turns to Uranage him off the top to the mat. He follows with the Spicy Drop to win.
***3/4
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