Owen Hart v Tatsutoshi Goto: From NJPW Bloody Fight Series, September 20 1989 in Osaka Japan. Owen looks like he's dressed as a tribute to the Confederacy here. They size each other up for a bit, dominated by Owen. Goto manages a takedown for a toehold, but Owen escapes, and gets Goto into a mat-based headlock. Bridging reversal sequence ends in Goto chopping him in the corner, and a cross corner whip sets up a clothesline. Pair of headbutts drop Owen, and a whip into the ropes sets up a jumping shoulderblock for two. Goto works a chinlock, but Owen counters to an overhead wristlock, and he works the part. Hart goes for a crossface chickenwing to put it away, but Goto gets into the ropes, and bails to break the momentum. Goto comes back in throwing strikes, but Owen catches the leg of one, taking him down for a Boston crab. Goto escapes into a cradle for two, so Hart fights back with a backbreaker for two. Abdominal stretch, but Goto escapes, so Hart puts the boots to him. Backdrop, but Goto counters with a backslide for two, and a bridging double-underhook suplex is worth two. Owen cuts him off with a bodyslam, and he hustles to the top for a flying dropkick, but Goto dodges. That allows Goto to drop him on his head with a saito suplex for two, but Owen blocks another one, and wins a reversal sequence. Hart with a tombstone to set up a flying headbutt drop at 11:51. This was mostly nothing. *
Owen Hart v Black Tiger: From NJPW New Spring Gold Series, January 25 1990 in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. This is the original Tiger, portrayed by Mark Rocco, not Eddie Guerrero. Tiger is all fired up to start, and takes Owen down in an armbar. Tiger with a snapmare to set up a kneedrop, and he works a chinlock, but Hart counters to a wristlock, so Tiger counters right back with a headscissors. Owen kips up into an escape, so Tiger chucks him to the outside, then dives from the apron with an elbowsmash. He whips Hart into the guardrail out there, and a hiptoss is worth two on the way back in. Small package gets two, so Tiger snapmares him down for a chinlock, then uses a facebuster to set up an elbowdrop for two. Dragon suplex, but Owen blocks, and he wins a criss cross with a backdrop. Backbreaker follows for two, and Hart slaps on a chinlock, but Tiger escapes. He throws a clothesline to set up a kneedrop for two, so he tries a standing wristlock, but Hart springboards his way out of it. Clothesline knocks Tiger to the outside, and Owen is on him with a baseball slide, but Tiger fights him off on the way back in, riding Hart down to the mat from the top, and using a leveraged pin for two. Criss cross ends in Owen taking a headbutt to the groin during a leapfrog, but he still manages a backslide for two. Tiger drops him with a DDT for two, and another facebuster sets up a flying elbowsmash for two. He grounds Owen in a chinlock for some wear down, and a bodyslam sets up another dive, but Hart dodges. Backdrop, but Tiger blocks, and uses a somersault senton splash for two. He goes back to the mat with a headscissors to keep Owen grounded, but Hart starts to escape, so Tiger uses yet another facebuster. Bodyslam sets up another somersault senton splash, but Owen dodges this time. Tiger tries to keep on him with a tombstone, but Hart reverses, and dives with a flying dropkick. Standard dropkick misses, allowing Tiger to try for a powerbomb, but Hart escapes. Owen barrels into him with a clothesline, so Tiger uses a suplex to send both guys over the top, and he whips Hart into the rail out there. Tiger seems content to get the countout, but Owen beats it in. He goes to the top for another dive, but Tiger superplexes him off for two. Tiger goes up with a flying backelbow drop, but Owen dodges, and hooks a bridging German suplex at 12:33. There were some issues with the overall flow at points, but a strong effort from both men here. *** ½
Sting v Great Muta: From the WCW/NPJW Starrcade in the Tokyo Dome (aka the WCW/New Japan Supershow) on March 21 1991 in Tokyo Japan. Muta attacks before the bell, and hits a handspring backelbow early. Backbreaker sets up the flying moonsault, but Sting dodges. Muta lands on his feet anyway, and a series of kicks knock Sting to the outside for a plancha! Muta dives again on the way back in, but Sting blocks, and press-drops him out of the ring, then dives with his own plancha to be a proper dick. Inside, Sting slows it down with a front-facelock, but Muta fights him off in the corner, and grabs a standing headlock. Sting whips him into the ropes to escape, and wins the resulting criss cross with a monkeyflip. He grounds Muta in another front-facelock, so Muta goes to the eyes, and plants a few kicks in the midsection. Another criss cross allows Sting to come back with a one-handed bulldog, however, so Muta bails. Sting follows to drop him across the rail out there, and he grabs another front-facelock on the way in, before sweeping Muta down for the Scorpion Deathlock! Muta is immediately in the ropes, however, and he throws a spinkick at the Stinger. Snapmare sets up an elbowdrop for two, and he works a chinlock, but another handspring backelbow misses. That allows Sting to go for the Stinger Splash, but Muta dodges. Backbreaker sets up the flying moonsault, but Sting lifts his knees to block this time. Press-slam, but Muta topples him for two, and delivers another backbreaker. To the top for the moonsault again, but this time Sting dropkicks him, crotching Muta up there. Here's a thought... maybe stop with the moonsault? It's not happening, brother. Sting side superplexes him for two, but a flying elbowdrop misses, and both guys stagger up to throw dropkicks, both missing. Muta is up first, and tries a hiptoss, but Sting counters with a backslide for two. Bodyslam, but Muta counters with a cradle for two. Sting keeps on him with another try at the Deathlock, but Muta makes the ropes again. He bails, so Sting feeds him the rail out there, and brings him back for the Stinger Splash - only for Muta to blind him with the mist to block! That allows Muta to dive with a flying bodypress, pinning the blinded Stinger at 11:42. *** (Original rating: *** ¼)
Sting v Hiroshi Hase: From NJPW Fantastic Story, January 4 1992 in Tokyo. Sting with a press-slam early on, and a pair of dropkicks send Hase to the outside to try and regroup. Hase comes ready with chops in the way back in, and he digs in with a side-headlock, but Sting wants to criss cross. Hase gets the better of it with a belly-to-belly suplex, and he takes Sting down in a toehold. Hase shifts it into a muta-lock, but a try at a sharpshooter gets blocked, so Hase settles for just kicking at the leg instead. He puts Sting in an elevated half-crab, but Sting escapes, and suplexes him for two. Hase fights back with a Russian legsweep to keep control of things, and he drops Sting across the top rope to be a dick. Hase works the throat, and a neckbreaker gets him two. This poor referee looks really out of shape, and is just suffering through these counts. Hase drills him with a piledriver to set up a flying kneedrop for two, and he tries a sleeper. Hase rides him down in the hold with a bodyscissors, and basically pins himself, though the referee doesn't bother to count it. Hase with a pair of uranages two, then a bridging German suplex for two. Full-nelson is applied, but Sting manages to drop out of the ring to escape, and he bodyslams Hase on the floor to turn the tide. Sting drops him across the rail before taking things back in, where he dives with a sloppy flying bodypress that ends in them collapsing in a heap. That one looked really bad, like they were on totally different pages. Hase tries more chops, but Sting gives him the no-sell, and reverses a cross corner whip. Pair of two-handed bulldogs get two, so he tries an overhead backbreaker, but Hase escapes with a bridging backdrop for two. That triggers a reversal sequence that Sting wins with a dive off the middle rope for two, and a bridging German suplex is worth two. Clothesline, but Hase ducks, and hooks a rollup for two. Sting nails him with the clothesline on the second go-around, however, but it only gets two. Another one, but Hase blocks, and a reversal sequence ends in Sting hitting a DDT. Bodyslam sets up a flying splash for the pin at 15:30. This was okay, but slower paced, and more American than I was expecting. ** ½
Shinya Hashimoto and Akira Nogami v Pegasus Kid and Brad Armstrong: From NJPW Fighting Spirit, February 15 1992 (taped February 8) in Sapporo. Nogami and Armstrong start, and Akira takes him down for a toehold right away. Brad escapes, and tries an STF, but Akira is in the ropes, and Armstrong tags out. Kid trades wristlocks with him until Hashimoto manages to tag in, and they chop the crap out of each other. Hashimoto tries a suplex, but Kid counters with a victory roll for two, so Hashimoto sweeps the leg, and dives onto it. He and Nogami work the part, but Brad gets the tag, and armdrags Akira into an armbar. Nogami powers into the corner to escape, but gets a cross corner whip reversed on him, and Brad follows in with a clothesline. Armstrong takes him upstairs for a superplex, but Nogami blocks, and dives with a flying bodypress for two. Bodyslam allows the tag out, and Hashimoto drops an elbow for two. Backdrop follows, but Brad fights him off in the corner, and manages to tag out. Kid comes in to slug it out with Hashimoto, but that's a losing effort, and Hashimoto works the arm. Funny bit, where Armstrong wants to make the save, so he charges in and kicks Hashimoto square in the face... and Hashimoto just keeps Kid in his armbreaker anyway. Ha! He has better luck breaking up a half-crab from Nogami, allowing Kid a side suplex for two, but a charge goes badly, and Kid bumps over the top. Kid tries a flying bodypress on the way back in, but that misses too, and Akira dropkicks him. A second one knocks Kid over the top, and Akira dives into him with a baseball slide. Brad tries coming in again, but Nogami dumps him as well, and throws a baseball slide at him, too. Serves him right, the dirty cheater. Back to Hashimoto for a backbreaker submission, so fucking Armstrong breaks it up again, and Kid capitalizes with a bodyslam to set up a 2nd rope legdrop for two. Tag to Brad for a kneelift, but he quickly gets railroaded into the corner, and Nogami tags in. Brad suplexes him for two, and a swinging neckbreaker is worth two. Back to Kid for a clothesline, but Hashimoto tags in, and sweeps the leg. That allows Hashimoto a series of strikes, but Kid fights him off with a corkscrew legwhip, and he tags out. Brad immediately gets powerslammed, so Kid comes in to save at two, and Roseanne Barr the door! And then Hashimoto finally gets sick of these fuckers, and drills Armstrong with a DDT at 12:02. This felt unfocused, and Armstrong's constant cheating got really, really annoying. And maybe that was the point, but the referee didn't even bother trying to reprimand him, and by the end if felt like there was no reason to even pretend that tags were necessary, since he was just coming in and out at will. * ½
Pegasus Kid v Tiger Mask: From NJPW Crush The Super Heavy III in Osaka Japan on May 17 1992. This is the Koji Kanemoto version. They feel each other out a bit to start, and Kid gets the advantage with a slam, setting up a 2nd rope legdrop for two. Why didn't he ever really use that move in the States? Tiger fights him off with a hammerlock, but Kid fights back with a Mexican surfboard, still kind of testing the waters. Tiger escapes and uses a backdrop, followed by a dropkick to put Kid on the outside. Tiger dives after him with a flying bodypress into the first row, but Kid beats the count, so Tiger spinkicks him. Bodyslam sets up a bootrake, and Tiger works a chinlock. He shifts to a cross-armbreaker, but Kid escapes, and snap suplexes him. Kid takes his head off with a clothesline, and a side suplex is worth two. Snapmare, but Tiger lands on his feet, and they criss cross. That leads to a reversal sequence, won by Tiger with a handspring clothesline for two, and he takes Kid to the mat for a modified figure four. Tiger shifts to a muta-lock, then uses a cradle for two, followed by a half-crab. Kid escapes, and manages a bodyslam, followed by a backbreaker for two. Criss cross allows Tiger to sweep the leg, and a bodyslam sets up a 2nd rope moonsault, but Kid lifts his knees to block. Tombstone sets up a flying headbutt drop for two, so Kid tries a bridging German suplex for two. Another suplex, but Tiger slips free, and throws a spinkick. Spinheel kick leads to a bridging tiger suplex, but Kid is in the ropes at two. Tiger stays focused with a bodyslam, but a 2nd rope corkscrew senton splash misses, and Kid dumps him over the top. Kid follows for a whip into the rail out there, but Tiger topples him during a side superplex attempt for two. Reversal sequence ends in Kid hooking a victory cradle, and that's enough at 12:56. This one was loaded with great execution throughout, especially from Tiger. And if you're out performing CHRIS BENOIT in that department, that's really saying something. ** ¾
Great Muta v Hiroshi Hase: From NJPW Battle Final, December 14 1992 in Osaka Japan. Muta is the IWGP Heavyweight champion, but this is non-title. Hase blitzes him at the bell, and drops him with the uranage early, but Muta bails to avoid getting covered. Hase chases for a whip into the rail out there, and he rolls Muta back in to dive onto with a flying elbowsmash. Hase with some chops, and he drops Muta front-first across the top rope, but Muta fights off a wristlock with some strikes. Criss cross goes Muta's way with a spinkick, and he traps Hase in a toehold, before bridging it into the muta-lock. Hase goes to the eyes to escape, allowing him a bootrake, and a neckbreaker for two. Muta bails and stalls for a while, and Hase manages a suplex on the way back in, but Muta fights off a second one, and dumps him. Muta pounces with a whip into the rail out there, and he lands a flying tomahawk chop on the way back inside. Back to the outside for a bulldog on the exposed concrete, but Hase beats the count. Muta elbowdrops him, then drops him crotch-first across the top rope to put Hase on the outside again. Muta follows to crotch him on the rail for good measure, but a trip to the top rope on the way back in ends in Hase vertical superplexing him. Hase with a bridging German suplex for two, and he rope burns him, but misses a dropkick. That allows Muta to bring a chair in to whack him with, and a backbreaker sets up the flying moonsault, but Hase dumps him to the outside to block it. He clotheslines a recovering Muta off of the apron, so Muta grabs a spike, but Hase knocks it away from him, and stabs him in the forehead with it. That triggers a gory bladejob from Muta, but Hase shows no mercy, biting at the cut. Within moments, Hase is drenched in Muta's blood, and it's just everywhere. Muta tries fighting him off with a handspring backelbow, but Hase avoids him, and hits a piledriver. More biting at the cut, and he drops Muta across the top rope. Sleeper wears Muta down, and his face is honestly redder now than when he made his entrance in full paint. Hase puts him in a sharpshooter, but Muta makes the ropes, so Hase plants a few big boots on him, but Muta starts absorbing them, not going down. Muta finds a saito suplex to buy time, and then adds a bunch more, like some proto-Brock Lesnar. Flying moonsault still misses, however, and Hase gives him a uranage for two. Powerbomb gets two, but Muta counters another uranage with a bridging dragon suplex for two. Another bridging dragon still only gets two, so he uses a backbreaker to set up the flying moonsault, and that's enough to finish it at 23:04. The gory bladejob that inspired the fabled 'Muta Scale' is certainly notable, the rest not so much. Given the participants, this was a pretty big disappointment, honestly. * ½
Super Grade Junior Heavyweight Tag League Final Match: Wild Pegasus and Shinjiro Otani v Great Sasuke and Black Tiger: From NJPW Super Grade Tag League IV, October 22 1994 (taped October 18) in Okayama, Japan. This is the Eddie Guerrero version. They can't even wait for the bell here, immediately brawling to the outside, where Tiger whips Kid into a row of chairs, and then beats him with one of them. Meanwhile, Sasuke dumps Otani to the outside for a slam on the floor, and Tiger beats HIM with a chair as well. Inside, they hit Otani with a vertical suplex/flying bodypress combo for two, and an electric chair/flying seated senton combo is worth two. Tiger with a bodyslam to set up a slingshot somersault senton from Sasuke - followed by another one from Tiger! Sasuke slows it down with a half-crab, but Otani makes the ropes, so Tiger stomps his damned hand away! Badass! Tiger tags in with a brainbuster for two, and he puts him in a sharpshooter, all while talking shit at Kid. That earns him a punch in the jaw, but Otani blows the opportunity by losing a criss cross. More shit talking, but this time Otani manages to come back with a spinheel kick to put Tiger on the outside, and he dives after him with a plancha. That's enough to allow the tag, and Kid clips Tiger with a clothesline, followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Tiger shoots a shot downstairs to buy time to tag out, and Sasuke goes to a cross-armbreaker, but Kid counters to a modified bow-and-arrow. Tiger comes in to poke him in the eyes to force a break, so Kid clotheslines Sasuke again, and then bodyslams him to take out his frustrations. Over to Otani for a criss cross, won by Sasuke with a bridging rollup for two. Otani tries a rana into a cradle, triggering a pinfall reversal sequence, ending in Otani throwing a dropkick. Back to Kid with a bridging German suplex for two, and a bridging northern lights suplex is worth two - Tiger making saves on both counts. Powerbomb gets two when Tiger saves AGAIN, so this time Kid kicks the shit out of him. Electric chair/missile dropkick combo leads to a bridging German from Otani, but Tiger breaks the count at two. Otani stomps the crap out of him as well, but that allows Sasuke to recover, and he spinkicks Otani down for a cross-armbreaker. Otani reverses, so Sasuke tries shifting to a cradle, but Otani just wrenches it on even harder. Sasuke makes the ropes, but Otani doesn't want to break, leading to Tiger coming in and acting all offended that Otani would dare cheat. It's his corner, bitch! Tag to Kid to try a keylock, but Tiger just keeps coming in, and they can't get any traction. Not that they stop trying, though, putting Sasuke through the ringer. Sasuke manages a bodyslam after yet another Tiger distraction, and he tags out so Tiger can dive with a flying frogsplash for two. Blockbuster slam gets two, and a rana off the top is worth two. Otani is dead, and Tiger is very pleased with himself, but still scrapes him off the mat for a gory special. He tags out to Sasuke while applying the hold so Sasuke can add a flying axehandle, and they cut the ring in half. Otani escapes a hold from Sasuke long enough to tag out, and Kid takes him up with a vertical superplex, but that damned Tiger breaks the pin at two again. Kid stays focused with a bridging dragon suplex for two, but eats a dropkick, and ends up on the outside. Sasuke dives with a flying bodypress, and a bodyslam on the way back in sets up a flying moonsault, but Kid dodges. Kid comes back with a powerbomb for two, but a side superplex attempt gets toppled for two. That allows the tag to Tiger, and a reversal sequence ends in Tiger hooking a rana into a cradle for two. Brainbuster gets two, but another reversal sequence goes Kid's way with a bridging dragon suplex for two. Tag out, and Otani tries a cradle, but Tiger reverses for two. Tiger drops him on his head with a sitout powerbomb for two, and a splash mountain follows, but Kid breaks up the pin. That draws Sasuke in, but Kid suplexes him over the top, then saves Otani from getting pinned off of a tornado DDT from Tiger. With Sasuke out of the way, they hit Tiger with a combo, and Otani hooks a bridging dragon suplex at 18:28. This was an outstanding match, all action from bell to bell, and loaded with great combos, saves, and move set. These were four guys that understood their characters, and knew how to play them perfectly. And unlike in the Armstrong match earlier, the illegal saves actually enhanced the match. There must have been something in the water when it came to tag wrestling that month, between this and the classic Michaels/Diesel/Ramon/Kid match in the States. **** ¾
Best Of The Super Junior II Tournament Semifinal Match: Wild Pegasus v Black Tiger: From NJPW Best Of The Super Junior II, July 13 1995 in Sapporo. Tiger is portrayed by Eddie Guerrero here, though the long blond highlights are gone, sadly. What's rock and roll about that?! Feeling out process to start, and Tiger gets control, hooking him in the gory special. Tiger with a slingshot somersault senton splash for two, and he works a chinlock. Pegasus escapes, triggering a reversal sequence that ends in Tiger using a headscissors takedown, but a criss cross ends in Pegasus hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Side suplex gets him another two, and he grounds Tiger in a headscissors for a bit. Tiger counters to a double-knucklelock, but Pegasus fights to a vertical base, and they do a reversal sequence that ends in Tiger suplexing him over the top rope. Tiger dives after him with a suicida, and he uses a bodyslam on the way back in, setting up a flying frogsplash for two. Chinlock, but Pegasus escapes, so Tiger tries suplexing him out of the ring again, but Pegasus blocks. That triggers a reversal sequence that sees both guys going over the top on a suplex, and Pegasus gets the better of it, capitalizing with a tope. Tiger beats the count with a flying rana for two, and a saito suplex allows him to deliver a splash mountain for two. Pegasus reverses a whip into the corner, allowing him a brutal powerbomb for two, and a bridging dragon suplex is worth two. Great execution here. Tiger comes back with a victory cradle for two, and a brainbuster gets two. Splash mountain off the top, but Pegasus blocks, so Tiger dives with a tornado DDT for two instead. Back to the top for a rana, but Pegasus counters with a tombstone off the middle to advance at 16:40. It felt like they had it in really, really low gear most of the way here, but it picked up enough in the second half, and the finish was good. This was strong technically, but lacked in passion. ** ¼
Best Of The Super Junior II Tournament Final Match: Wild Pegasus v Shinjiro Otani: From NJPW Best Of The Super Junior II, July 13 1995 in Sapporo. Feeling out process to start, dominated by Pegasus. Like the semi against Tiger, this is staying in low gear for an extended period here, as they trade off on the mat with little real direction. A nice reversal sequence ends in Otani dropkicking him out of the ring, and he dives after him with a springboard flying bodypress on the floor. Otani teases a second dive, so Pegasus hides out in the corner, and since Otani isn't Sasuke, he's safe. Back in, Otani snapmares him over for a headscissors, and he works that for a while. Pegasus counters to a toehold, but Otani is quickly in the ropes, so Pegasus drills him with a side suplex instead. Snap suplex is worth two, so Pegasus works his own headscissors, but now Otani counters to an STF. He shifts it to a camel clutch, but Pegasus reverses. Otani escapes, and a dropkick connects, but Pegasus is in the ropes so no count. He goes back to his headscissors on the mat, but Pegasus escapes, and chops him down. Powerbomb gets him two, but Otani counters a second one with a cradle for two, so Pegasus bodyslams him. Pegasus goes to the top with a flying headbutt drop, but Otani rolls out of the way, allowing him a bridging dragon suplex for two. Spinkick and a springboard flying rana into a cradle get two, so Otani uses a springboard missile dropkick to knock him really silly. Dragon suplex gets two, and Otani is flustered. That allows Pegasus a spinebuster into a somersault cradle for two, and his own bridging dragon suplex is worth two. Pegasus tries multiple pin attempts to further wear the man down, but Otani blocks a side superplex, and dives with a missile dropkick. Otani gets back to the top for another dive, but Pegasus follows, and brings him down with tombstone for the win at 19:16. This was super, super sleepy, and quite disappointing. * ¾
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