Goody Bag 47: 1-9-9-1

Steve Williams v Toshiaki Kawada: From AJPW TV on June 1 1991 in Tokyo Japan. Williams goes right at him with rights, and quickly hits a shoulderblock to put Kawada on his ass. Williams tries a charge, but Kawada is ready with a kick to block, so Steve plants himself at center ring, and absorbs some charges. Kawada manages to knock him down with a lariat, however, and he adds a quick powerbomb for two, so Steve bails. Back in, Kawada keeps hammering him with kicks for two, and he grounds Dr. Death in a front-facelock. Williams counters to a hammerlock, so Kawada throws chops to escape, but Williams uses a double-leg takedown for two. Kawada tries more strikes, but misses a charge, and gets drilled with a lariat for two. Steve tries the Stampede, but Kawada manages to counter to a chinlock/bodyscissors combo, and Williams falls out of the ring to shake him off. He whips Kawada into the guardrail out there, and a clothesline sends Kawada into the first row. Steve then scoops him up for a Stampede into the posts that ends in a powerslam on the floor, all of which only gets two by the time he can get Kawada back inside. Steve ties him up on the mat for a bit, then uses a pair of belly-to-belly suplexes on him for two. He gives him a helicopter powerbomb for two, so Kawada tries to fight off the next attack with some kicks, but Williams responds by stomping him. Bodyslam sets up a three-point stance, but Kawada blocks with an enzuigiri for two, so Williams ties him up in a submission again. Kawada makes the ropes, so Williams tries the 3-point stance again, but hits the post when Kawada dodges. Steve spills to the outside, so Kawada goes after him for a powerbomb on the floor, but Williams counters with a backdrop driver out there. Steve pulls up the mats so he can give him the Stampede on the exposed floor, but Kawada reverses him into the post, and bodyslams Williams on the exposed floor! That gets two on the way back in, and a fist to the back of the head is worth two. Kawada grabs a chinlock, but Williams makes the ropes to escape, so Kawada slams him. He goes up with a flying elbowdrop for two, and now he's pissed, and unloads with a flurry of strikes on a dazed Williams. That serves to tucker Kawada out though, and his slow charge ends up getting caught with a powerslam for two. Williams quickly adds the Stampede from there, but Kawada has a shoulder up at two! Steve tries hooking the leg again, but Kawada kicks out at two once more. Williams responds by stomping his face, and it's time for a superplex, but Kawada blocks. He dives off the middle, but Williams catches him in a backdrop driver at 15:53. Fun power match. ***

G1 Climax Final Match: Keiji Mutoh v Masahiro Chono: From NJPW G1 Climax on August 11 1991 in Tokyo Japan. They size each other up and feel each other out to start, and even going in blind, you can tell this is going to be a long one just by how slow and reserved the opening minutes are. After about five minutes of that, Chono starts to get the better of him on the mat, so Mutoh bails to the outside to regroup. He cautiously comes back in, but Chono is read with a drop-toehold into a crossface. Mutoh fights free and pops him with a swift elbowdrop, but a handspring backelbow misses, and Chono drops him on his head with a German suplex. He capitalizes with an armscissors, but Mutoh fights to a vertical base, and throws a stomp before the referee steps in. That leads to a Chono dominated slugfest, so Mutoh throws a headbutt to shake him off, and goes to the mat with a grapevine. Chono tries to power out, so Mutoh shifts to a toehold, then back into the muta-lock to keep him away from the ropes! Mutoh holds that for a while, but Chono won't quit, so Mutoh ties him up in a bridging double-underhook instead, but Chono still won't give. I'll never cease to be impressed by Mutoh's ability to stand on his head for extended periods of time, and then just go right on back to a vertical base without even so much as getting a head-rush. Mutoh tries a cross-armbreaker next, but Chono escapes, and pops him with a big boot to put a stop to his submission bullshit. A second boot sends Mutoh to the apron, and a third knocks him into the guardrail in dramatic fashion, allowing Chono to dive after him with a tope! Chono comes off the top with another dive to the outside, and he drags Mutoh in to drill with a piledriver. Instead of covering, Chono pulls him up for a second piledriver, and he wants to finish up with the STF, but Mutoh is still with it enough to LUNGE for the ropes before he can apply it. Mutoh bails, so Chono follows for a piledriver on the floor, but Mutoh is able to counter with a backdrop out there. Feeling frisky, he drags Chono into the crowd for a piledriver on the exposed concrete, and then back inside for a missile dropkick for two! I like frisky Mutoh. Saito suplex gets two, and a bridging German suplex is worth two, frustrating Mutoh. He tries a cradle piledriver for two, but a dragon suplex lands in the ropes, as the frustration starts to take its toll. Mutoh decides to take a risk with a flying moonsault, but Chono has it scouted, and rolls out of the way. That allows Chono a running big boot to set up the STF, and he gets it locked on this time! Mutoh fights for (and makes) the ropes, so Chono uses a bodyslam to keep control, and hustles to the top rope for a flying shoulderblock. Abdominal stretch, but Mutoh gets the ropes again, so Chono side suplexes him for two. Snap suplex, but Mutoh reverses, and he tries his own abdominal stretch. An attempt to shift it into a cradle doesn't work out, so Mutoh decides to take a risk again, but it almost ends badly when Chono throws a dropkick as he's trying a dive. Mutoh sees it coming though, and leapfrogs over him, thus allowing him a saito suplex on the dazed Chono, followed by a missile dropkick! Mutoh is battered though, allowing Chono to try to sneak up with the STF, but he's shooting out of desperation, and fails to properly position himself - Mutoh immediately in the ropes. Mutoh dodges a dropkick and hits one of his own, followed by a backbreaker to set up the flying moonsault - only for Chono to lift the knees on him! Oh, what a DICK! That allows Chono to take him for a ride with a powerbomb, and we have a winner at 29:03! Very interesting match, one which didn't rely on crazy spots, but on telling a story through escalating sequences of moves, and callbacks to earlier spots. Be prepared for a slow build though, as the first fifteen minutes were almost exclusively mat-based, before they took it up a notch in the second half. *** ¼    

AJPW World Tag Team Title Match: Toshiaki Kawada and Mitsuharu Misawa v Jumbo Tsuruta and Akira Taue: From AJPW TV on September 8 1991 (taped September 4) in Tokyo Japan. Kawada and Taue start, and it doesn't take long for Kawada to start drilling him with knees, and to throw a clothesline. Over to Misawa, so Taue pulls back and tries to take it slow, but gets caught in a series of strikes. Misawa dumps him to the outside for Kawada to immediately pounce on, and Taue ends up taking a bodyslam on the floor as part of the assault. He tags out to Jumbo on the way back in, so Misawa tries throwing a dropkick, but Tsuruta is wise to him, and dodges. Over to Kawada to try, but Tsuruta controls a lockup into his home corner, and so Kawada starts throwing rights to get out of that bad neighborhood. Tsuruta responds with a stiff clothesline, and Taue tags in to beat on him in the corner a bit, ahead of an ugly looking facebuster for two. Taue works a front-facelock before tagging out, and Tsuruta comes in to try a sleeper, but Misawa saves before he gets too far. Tsuruta tries to keep it going with a suplex, but Kawada counters to a fujiwara armbar, and now it's Taue's turn to make a save. Tsuruta manages to tag out, and Taue comes in with a DDT for two. Powerbomb, but Kawada keeps anchoring, so Tsuruta comes in to beat this punk with a little double team action. Tsuruta gets him in an abdominal stretch, so Misawa comes in to break it up, but his man is way too far to make a tag, allowing Taue to apply his own abdominal stretch. Taue drops him throat-first across the top rope for two, and Jumbo tags back in to try his hand at the sleeper again. You could at least face Misawa when you do it this time, you dumb oaf. And, indeed, Misawa sneaks in to break it up again, because Tsuruta doesn't, in fact, have eyes in the back of his head. That one is finally enough to allow a tag, and he dives in at Taue for two, but fails to cut the ring in half, and here comes Jumbo! They slug it out, and Jumbo goes for the arm, wrenching it. Misawa refuses to back down from the slugfest, so Tsuruta starts trying to snap the arm until he calms down, then drops him with a clothesline to the back of the head. Over to Taue for a snake-eyes, and they dump Misawa to the outside, where Tsuruta tosses him into the guardrail, bad arm-first. Inside, Tsuruta cranks on a cross-armbreaker, but Misawa gets the ropes, so Taue tags in to stomp the crap out of him. Should'a tapped while you had the chance! Tandem big boot gets two, but Misawa manages to counter a suplex from Tsuruta with a DDT, and that's enough to pop off for a tag! Kawada comes in hot, but gets overwhelmed when Tsuruta digs deep, and ultimately fails to turn the tide! Tsuruta punishes him with knees as Misawa gets his shoulder taped up, but Taue runs into trouble, and Kawada bodyslams him to set up a flying back elbowdrop for two. He has no one to tag to because Misawa is still getting fixed up, however, allowing Tsuruta to sway things back in his side's favor. They go back to cutting the ring in half on Kawada, as Misawa is nearly done going full mummy out on the floor. Taue uses a sharpshooter to try and put it away, but Misawa comes in for the save, and Roseanne Barr the door! All of his tape hilariously goes flying off the moment he first swings his arm, ha. He and Kawada use some quick double teams, and he looks to finish Taue with a tiger driver, but Tsuruta saves at two! He pounds Misawa with a pair of short-clotheslines for two, and he goes back to the abdominal stretch, but again faces the wrong way, and Kawada saves. I get that guys named 'Jumbo' usually aren't the brightest bulbs, but come fucking on. No matter, Tsuruta gets Misawa in an armbreaker to go for the kill, but it's in the ropes before he can get it. Side suplex/flying elbowdrop combo with Taue gets two, and Taue adds a Samoan drop for two. Jumbo cranks on the arm ahead of a saito suplex for two, but Misawa topples him during a second saito attempt, and he gets him in a clutch! Taue runs in, but Kawada cuts him off, and Tsuruta looks finished! He ends up making the ropes, so Misawa goes up top, but Taue distracts him. That allows Jumbo to go up with a vertical superplex, and a powerbomb looks to put it away, but that motherfucker Misawa kicks out at two! Wow, these nearfalls are fantastic! Kawada rushes in to nail Jumbo from behind, and put Misawa on top, but Tsuruta is up at two! Misawa tries a German suplex, but Jumbo blocks. Repeat. He gets it on the third try, but Tsuruta kicks out of the bridge at two! Misawa goes right back to the clutch from there, but here comes Taue! Kawada manages to cut him off with his own clutch, and with his partner neutralized, and the ropes too far to reach, Tsuruta is done at 26:32! Wow, this really turned into a hell of a match! I mean, it was good the whole way through, but once it settled into them trading crazy nearfalls at the end, it was on another level. This style wouldn't really find its way to the US tag scene until much later, and thus this felt way ahead of its time for someone raised on American promotions. Even in 2018, it still totally holds up. *** ¾

AJPW World Tag Team Title Match: Toshiaki Kawada and Mitsuharu Misawa v Terry Gordy and Steve Williams: This is a tournament final for the vacant title, from AJPW Real World Tag League, December 6 1991 in Tokyo Japan. Kawada and Williams start, and they size each other up. Williams whips him into the corner for a clothesline, but Kawada dodges an elbowdrop, and Misawa tags in for a quick double team. He throws strikes, but Williams shakes him off long enough to tag, and we have a major slugfest with Misawa and Gordy. Misawa gets the better of it, and tags Kawada in to unload strikes in the corner, followed by a clothesline for two! Kawada goes to a front-facelock, but Gordy powers to a vertical base, so Kawada starts unloading in the corner again. Cross corner whip gets reversed, however, allowing Gordy to follow in with a clothesline, and Williams tags in to dive off the top for two. Steve works a chinlock to wear him down for a suplex, but Kawada still counters to a clutch, and Williams needs the ropes to save himself. Tag to Misawa for a dropkick, and a bodyslam sets up a senton splash for two. He grounds Steve in a chinlock, then over to Kawada to try an abdominal stretch, but Gordy marches in to break it up. That allows Steve a big clothesline, and Kawada wisely bails before Dr. Death can follow up. Steve brings him in from the apron with a suplex-slam for two, and Gordy tags in to work an STF. Kawada makes the ropes near his home corner, so Gordy pops Misawa in the face before a tag can be made, and he drags Kawada back to the American side of the ring. Gordy and Williams cut the ring in half on Kawada, with Kawada fighting and scraping to stay near the ropes to avoid getting trapped in a submission. They destroy the leg, but Kawada guts out an enzuigiri on Williams to allow the tag to Misawa, and he comes in with a well executed jumping shoulderblock for two. Gordy tags in and tries a suplex, but Misawa slips free, and uses a series of strikes to knock Terry to the outside for a tope! Williams has to help him back in, where Misawa is waiting with a snapmare for two, so Steve comes in and stomps the shit out of him to allow Gordy the time to tag. Now officially in, Williams blitzes him, but Misawa blocks a 3-point stance, and Kawada tags in with a spinkick. Williams fights him off with a bodyslam, but another attempt at a 3-point stance ends badly, with Kawada blocking with a big roundhouse kick for two. Kawada takes him for a ride with a series of short-chops for two, and it's over to Misawa with a flying dropkick for two. Slam sets up a flying frogsplash for two, and back to Kawada with a scoop powerslam for two. Tandem backelbow sets up stereo elbowdrops for two, and Misawa goes up with a flying forearm for two! Clutch, but Gordy runs in to break it up before he can get it locked, so Kawada tags in. Too late though, as Williams has recovered enough to drill him with a belly-to-belly suplex for two, and a backdrop driver gets two when Misawa saves. That leads to all four guys spilling to the outside, where the Americans look to take Misawa out of the equation with a tandem powerbomb on the floor! They rush Kawada back in to isolate, and Williams looks for the Stampede, but Kawada uses a small package for two. That gets him properly pounded by Gordy, and a pair of corner clotheslines hit for two, as Misawa is still down on the outside. Kawada tries a spinheel kick, and he grounds Gordy to buy time, but Williams simply comes in and starts kicking him in the face to end that flirtation. Kawada flips out and destroys Steve for the interruption, and he rides Terry in a chinlock to try and finish him before Williams can recover, but Gordy gets the ropes. Kawada responds by powerbombing him for two, and a bodyslam sets up a flying back elbowdrop for two. Another powerbomb, but Williams is back, and he helps Gordy topple him for two. Steve with a crisp scoop powerslam, and they go for the kill with a tandem powerbomb, but Misawa dives in to save at two! Lacking the cool camera angle where he dives in out of nowhere that the WWE would get these days, but still good. Misawa starts unloading on Williams to try and make this a fair fight again, allowing Kawada to hit Gordy with a bridging German suplex for two. Spinkick, but Gordy catches the leg, and drives him to the canvas for two. As Misawa and Williams brawl on the outside, Gordy is able to follow up, and a powerbomb ends it at 25:24. Not quite as wild as the match against Tsuruta/Taue, but another great tag team war, loaded with hard hitting exchanges. *** ¼