NJPW Super J Cup (April 1994)

Original Airdate: April 16, 1994

 

From Tokyo, Japan; Your Hosts are Masa Saito, Yoshinari Tsuji, Yuichi Tabata, and Soichi Shibata

 

First Round Match: Gedo v Dean Malenko: Gedo tries charging at the bell, but Dean dodges, and a pair of dropkicks but Gedo on the outside. Back in, Dean tries a waistlock, but Gedo counters to a wristlock, so Malenko takes him down in a leglock. Gedo fights to a vertical base by going after the arm, and a reversal sequence is won by Malenko with a headscissors takedown. Gedo takes him down in a leglock of his own, so Malenko tries stealing his trick of going for the arm to force it to a vertical base, but Gedo cradles for two. Gedo with a big chop, but Dean gets fired up, and hammers him with punches. Snapmare sets up a kneedrop for two, and Malenko keeps him grounded with a chinlock. He shifts it into a crossface chickenwing, then down in a dragon sleeper for two, so Gedo goes to the eyes. Malenko responds by turnbuckle smashing him, the drilling him with a brainbuster for two. He goes back to the mat with a headscissors, but Gedo counters to an STF, so Dean grabs the ropes to force a break. Both guys get vertical and slug it out, and a criss cross results in a double knockout. Malenko is up first, but Gedo reverses a tombstone on him, and he goes to the top for a flying headbutt drop - only for Dean to dodge! That allows Malenko a big clothesline for two, and a flying bodypress is worth two. Bodypress, but Gedo catches him in a powerslam at 8:04. Looked like a two count there, but nope, that was the pin. Off to a solid start here, as they did some really nice, psychologically sound mat work in the early going, before kicking into gear for the finish. ** ½

 

First Round Match: Shinjiro Otani v Super Delfin: Otani immediately takes him down, going ballistic on his leg, and working a leglock. Great intensity there! Delfin goes for the eyes, so Otani switches up to a grapevine, but Delfin makes the ropes. Otani gives him a clean break, but then immediately drags him back to center ring, and continues obliterating his knee. Half-crab looks to put it away, but Delfin makes the ropes again, and this time Otani milks the count. Delfin forces a criss cross, and manages to win with a dropkick, though he really shouldn't have been able to do that after just having his knee wrecked like that. Delfin with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, but a second one gets blocked, and Otani uses a spinheel kick to knock him to the outside. Otani teases a dive, but Delfin distances himself, and stalls. Inside, Otani goes right back to the leg, and he slaps on another half-crab, but Delfin gets the ropes again. Otani responds by choking him, and Delfin is actually selling the leg now, unable to get to his feet very easily. Otani shows no mercy with another grapevine, but Delfin escapes, and he puts the boots to him. Delfin with a saito suplex for two, and suddenly Otani is on the defensive. Delfin stays on him with a brainbuster for two, but Otani blocks a suplex, and knocks him to the outside with a dropkick. This time Otani is able to follow up with a dive, and he adds a springboard missile dropkick for two on the way back inside. Otani dropkicks the leg as Delfin tries to get back to his feet, and he cranks on a grapevine, but Delfin makes the ropes. Otani drags him off to slap it back in, but Delfin fights to the ropes again, refusing to die. Otani responds by cross corner whipping him, but a charge hits boot, and Delfin capitalizes with a tornado DDT at 8:09. I liked the story being told, with Otani destroying the leg, and getting increasingly frustrated when Delfin keeps making the ropes, until Delfin is able to capitalize by catching him with a big strike to win. I also really liked Otani's intensity. I didn't care for Delfin's general lack of selling, however. Otani was really aggressively working the leg, and then Delfin is doing criss crosses and running the ropes like nothing. That definitely hurt this one a lot, but it was still a nice bit of storytelling. ** ¾

 

First Round Match: Black Tiger v Taka Michinoku: Tiger is Eddie Guerrero. Tiger wins an exchange and adds insult to injury with a bootrake, then uses a slingshot somersault senton splash, followed by a powerbomb for two. Whip into the ropes sets up a crisp backelbow, and Tiger adds a neckbreaker for two. He works an abdominal stretch, but Michinoku starts to escape, so Tiger clotheslines him. Tiger with chops and an uppercut to ground Michinoku for a sharpshooter, but Taka escapes. Criss cross results in a collision, and Michinoku is up first. He grabs a headlock, but Tiger forces a criss cross, won by Michinoku. Another one goes Tiger's way with a clothesline, but a third ends in Tiger on the outside following a headscissors takedown. Tiger milks the count to break the momentum, and he takes a cheap shot on the way back in. Cross corner whip sets up a corner clothesline, but another corner whip backfires when Michinoku springboards to avoid the impact, and then suplexes him. Tiger bails, but Taka is on him with a dive, and a bridging German suplex gets him two on the way back in. Rana into a cradle is worth two, but another rana gets countered with a powerbomb for two. Tiger uses a bodyslam to set up a flying splash for two, so Michinoku tries a sunset cradle for two. His own powerbomb is worth two, and a flying moonsault gets two. Michinoku goes up for another one, but this time Tiger lifts his knees to block, and he drills the kid with a brainbuster for two. Okay, now he's pissed, and a tornado DDT knocks Taka silly for the pin at 6:46. Kind of weird that they'd book two matches in a row with the same finish. This had some stutter steps and flow issues, mostly due to Michinoku still being pretty green, but it turned into a hell of a deal once it got to them trading crazy near falls. It's too bad they never really crossed paths again in any meaningful way once Michinoku had matured into a better worker. ***

 

First Round Match: Masayoshi Motegi v El Samurai: Motegi attacks with a dropkick before the bell even sounds, and a second one knocks Samurai to the outside to set up a tope. Motegi wants another dive, but he botches his springboard, and lands on his ass. Ooh, that's disappointing on a stage like this. Motegi tries to recover with an armbar, but Samurai counters to an STF, likely trying to cool things down to prevent a domino effect with the botches. Samurai with a piledriver for two, and a side suplex is worth two. Samurai works a Boston crab, but Motegi counters to a cradle for two, reversed by Samurai, but they're in the ropes. Motegi goes to a headlock, but Samurai rolls it into a cradle for two, then counters to a headscissors. Tombstone gets him two, so Motegi starts throwing rights, and it turns into a slugfest. Samurai gets the better of it with a suplex for two, but a dropkick misses, and Motegi throws one of his own. Charge gets Motegi backdropped over the top, however, and Samurai dives at him with a tope. Samurai vertical suplexes him back in, and a flying dropkick connects for two. This referee has a really slow, deliberate count. Samurai tries a rana, but gets countered with a powerbomb for two, and Motegi works a surfboard. He turns it into a dragon surfboard, but Samurai escapes, and a criss cross ends in Motegi dropkicking him for two. Kinda. It was almost like he was going for a headscissors takedown, but Samurai sold it like a dropkick. Motegi with a rolling German suplex, but Samurai counters the third alarm with a victory cradle for two. Reversal sequence ends in Samurai using his own German suplex for two, and he murders Motegi with a powerbomb at 7:11. This was kind of all over the place, and had a pretty notable botch from Motegi, but a good effort overall. ** ¼

 

First Round Match: Ricky Fuji v Negro Casas: Casas with a dropkick after they square off for a bit, and he tries capitalizing with a chinlock, but Ricky is too slippery. They trade off on the mat for a bit, dominated by Casas, and he throws a clothesline for two. Ricky sweeps the leg and applies a leglock to fight him off, but Casas counters with a dragon sleeper, and then bodyslams him to set up a senton splash for two. Dropkick sends Ricky bailing, but Casas is on him with a springboard dive on the floor. Fuji beats the count, so Casas chops him, but Ricky comes back with a backbreaker. Bodyslam leads to a flying axehandle for two, and a vertical suplex is worth two. Another suplex, but Casas counters with a takedown, and hooks a magistral cradle for two. Snapmare sets up a senton splash off the middle for two, but a second one misses, and Ricky makes a comeback - a tigerbomb finishing at 5:53. This was pretty weak compared to the rest of the field thus far. *

 

First Round Match: Hayabusa v Jushin Thunder Liger: Hayabusa attacks before they even do the introductions, dumping Liger to the outside, and diving after him with a somersault suicida. Hayabusa with a flying dropkick on the way back inside, and Liger is pretty dead already. Hayabusa capitalizes by trapping him in a modified bow-and-arrow, and then uses a bodyslam to set up a legdrop for two. Hayabusa works the leg, but misses a kneedrop to the part, and Liger dropkicks his ankle, then slaps on a figure four. Hayabusa makes the ropes, so Liger abuses him with a series of palm strikes, and he adds a powerbomb for two. Liger works the leg a bit, and a whip into the ropes allows him a clothesline for two. He grapevines him, but Hayabusa escapes, so Jushin side suplexes him instead. Koppou kick in the corner leaves Hayabusa rattled, so Liger takes him upstairs with a vertical superplex for two. Clothesline misses, allowing Hayabusa a spinkick, and he adds a dropkick for two. Spinheel kick sets up a somersault senton splash for two, and a flying spinheel kick is worth two. Hayabusa with a bodyslam to set up a flying moonsault for two, and a flying rana is worth two. Nice variation there, where he dives at Liger from behind, and spins around in midair to hook the rana. I've never seen that before. Hayabusa with a backbreaker to set up a flying shooting star press, but he overshoots, and knocks himself silly. Points for not pretending like it worked when it clearly didn't. The miss allows Liger to recover with a sitout powerbomb for two, but Hayabusa blocks a superplex. He dives with another flying rana, but gets caught in a powerbomb this time, and Jushin drills him with a muscle buster at 10:23. Hot start, dull middle, strong finish. Interestingly, this would be the only match ever between the two legends, and while it was fine, it was definitely disappointing. ** ½

 

Quarterfinal Match: Gedo v Super Delfin: Delfin with a few takedowns to start, embarrassing Gedo. Gedo tries shooting for the leg, but Delfin fights him off with an enzuigiri, and he works a chinlock. Gedo escapes and manages a takedown, so Delfin responds by gleefully punching him in the balls, and this crowd is great at giving you the exact desired reactions every time. Criss cross ends in Delfin using a headscissors takedown, but another is won by Gedo with a dropkick. Delfin returns fire, so Gedo bails to break the momentum, but gets caught in a ten-punch on the way back in. He manages to fight him off with an inverted atomic drop, and a he cracks Delfin good with a few kicks to the shoulder blades. Gedo works a bow-and-arrow, but Delfin sends him into the corner to escape, and a snap suplex gets him two. Neckbreaker gets two, but trading chops with Gedo ends badly, so Delfin goes back to the dropkick to knock him to the outside. Delfin follows with a flying bodypress on the floor, but a corner charge his boot, and Gedo clotheslines him for two. Bodyslam, but Delfin counters with a victory roll for two, only to run into a powerslam during a criss cross. Gedo uses a bodyslam to set up a springboard moonsault for two, but another clothesline gets countered with a crucifix for two. Delfin follows up with a bridging saito suplex for two, and his own bodyslam sets up a flying elbowdrop for two. He's no Randy Savage, I'll tell you that. Delfin plants him with the tornado DDT, but instead of going for the pin, he gets overconfident and showboats. He wants to do it a second time, but this time Gedo cradles at 8:20. This was okay, but the execution wasn't on par with some of the other performers, and Gedo looked like he was having trouble keeping up. ** ½

 

Quarterfinal Match: Wild Pegasus v Black Tiger: Pegasus is Chris Benoit, and he received a bye. Feeling out process to start, and Tiger gets the advantage, giving Pegasus a bootrake. Tiger with a bodyslam to set up a slingshot somersault senton splash, and he adds a double stomp. A well executed saito suplex gets him two, so he grounds Pegasus in a headscissors. Pegasus makes the ropes, so Tiger kicks him in the ribs, and a criss cross ends in Pegasus wiping out after tripping over him. Not sure if that was intentional, but it looked like a botch. It didn't detract from the match either way, and they didn't try to repeat it, so whatever. Pegasus reverses a suplex into an inverted version, and a criss cross ends in him throwing a clothesline. Pegasus tries a suplex out of the ring, but Tiger blocks, so Pegasus pop-up flapjacks him instead. Pegasus dumps him across the ropes to be a dick, and a bridging German suplex is worth two. Flawless execution there. Powerbomb gets two and a snap suplex is worth two. Pegasus grounds him in a headscissors of his own, but Tiger gets into the ropes, and manages a schoolboy for two. Pegasus tries another pop-up, but this time Tiger counters with a rana, and his own bridging German suplex is worth two. Camel clutch wears Pegasus down a bit, and Tiger gives him a fallaway slam to set up a dive, but Pegasus is vertical before he can leap. Tiger tries a missile dropkick anyway, but Pegasus dodges, and side suplexes him for two. Double-knucklelock ends in Tiger springboarding to the top with a headscissors for two, and he takes Pegasus upstairs for a rana off the top for two. Brainbuster knocks Pegasus silly, but Tiger wants a tornado DDT to punctuate it, only for Pegasus to block. Pegasus takes him up for a superplex, but Tiger blocks. He wants the frogsplash, but once again Pegasus is up before he can dive, and once again he makes the mistake of diving anyway - this time with a flying bodypress that gets caught in an armdrag, allowing Pegasus the pin at 10:22. Not surprisingly, this was really good, with incredible execution throughout, and good storytelling. *** ½

 

Quarterfinal Match: El Samurai v Great Sasuke: Sasuke also got a bye. He takes Samurai down and works the leg to start, but Samurai gets pissed, and starts stomping the crap out of him. Samurai works the leg now, doing such an effective job that Sasuke is forced to bail at the earliest opportunity. Back in, Samurai bodyslams him for two, and then goes right back to the leg with a stump puller. He shifts to a grapevine, but they end up in the ropes, and Sasuke bails again. Back in, Samurai side suplexes him for two, and a Russian legsweep sets up a mat-based abdominal stretch, but Sasuke escapes, and lands a jumping backelbow to knock him to the outside. Sasuke is quick to capitalize with a space flying tiger drop, but a suplex on the way back in gets blocked, so Sasuke spinheel kicks him instead. Criss cross allows Samurai to come back with a clothesline, and a dropkick puts Sasuke on the outside for a somersault dive. Sasuke beats the count, so Samurai uses a bridging German suplex on him for two. Bodyslam sets up a flying headbutt drop for two, but Sasuke counters a powerbomb with a rana into a cradle for two. Bodyslam sets up a dive, but Samurai is vertical before he can leap. Samurai tries superplexing him, but Sasuke counters with a sunset flip off the ropes for two, only to miss a spinheel kick. That allows Samurai to murder him with a powerbomb, but it only gets two. Rana into a cradle, but Sasuke reverses it on him at 11:40. It took a while to find the right gear, but it was a hell of a deal once it did. *** ¼

 

Quarterfinal Match: Ricky Fuji v Jushin Thunder Liger: They feel each other out to start, dominated by Liger. Ricky throws a dropkick to knock him to the outside, however, and he dives with a plancha, then ups the ante by powerbombing him on the floor! Liger beats the count, so Ricky nails him with a jumping backelbow for two, and a snap suplex sets up a dive, but Liger is getting vertical before he can leap. Like Tiger earlier, Ricky dives anyway, and he lands in a dropkick. Really poor execution there, surprisingly. Liger with a bulldog, and he dumps Ricky to the outside to pay him back with a bodyslam on the floor. Liger then adds a flying double stomp out there, but Ricky beats the count, and he's looking pissed off. Liger responds with a koppou kick for two, and he brutalizes him with a powerbomb for two. German suplex gets two, so Liger corner whips him, and follows in with a dropkick. 'Don’t fuck with me Liger' is the most fun Liger. Liger takes him up for a superplex, but Ricky shifts the momentum, and topples him for two on the way down. Ricky takes him to the top for standing dropkick that knocks Liger to the outside, and Fuji adds a baseball slide out there, but Liger beats the count. Fuji welcomes him in with a side suplex for two, but a superplex gets blocked, and Liger dives with a flying rana while Ricky is disoriented, scoring the pin at 7:50. ***

 

Semifinal Match: Wild Pegasus v Gedo: Big criss cross to start, ending in a stalemate. Pegasus decides to take his head off with a clothesline, and a brutal neckbreaker sets up a 2^nd rope legdrop for two. I don't think I ever saw Benoit do that particular move. Pegasus takes him into the corner to abuse with chops, but a dropkick misses, and Gedo grounds him in a double-underhook. Pegasus makes the ropes, so Gedo dumps him on his head with a piledriver for two, and then goes to a chinlock to wear him down. Gedo with chops, but that backfires when Pegasus starts responding in kind, and you can guess who wins that exchange. Gedo manages to knock him to the outside with a dropkick, and he dives with a flying moonsault press out there. Back in, Gedo uses a powerslam for two, and a bridging northern lights suplex is worth two. Clothesline sets up a flying headbutt drop, but Pegasus rolls out of the way. He tries capitalizing with a saito suplex, but Gedo topples him for two. Reversal sequence ends in Pegasus coming back with a powerbomb for two, and another powerbomb sets up his own flying headbutt drop at 6:18. This was a good showing, and they'd have an even better match at next year's show, where Pegasus would return the job. *** ½

 

Semifinal Match: Jushin Thunder Liger v Great Sasuke: Sasuke circles for a bit, looking for an entrance point, but he loses the first exchange on the mat. Another one goes better when he's able to escape an inverted surfboard by going after the arm, but Liger gets him in another surfboard before long. Liger shifts it back into a completely vertical dragon surfboard, but Sasuke won't quit. That was a great looking submission, though. Liger with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two, and he wrenches on Sasuke with a camel clutch, bur can't get a submission. Sasuke is wrecked, however, and he's nearly ruled unable to continue, before Liger 'helps' him up for a punch to the head. Normally, it would be annoying to see them doing this sort of thing five minutes into a match, but in a tournament, it's fine. Liger with a tombstone, and he scrapes Sasuke's carcass off the mat to finish with a crossface chickenwing, but Sasuke just won't quit. Here's an idea... maybe try covering him? Liger starts working the arm next, and he tries a cross-armbreaker, but Sasuke still won't quit. He is actively begging off, however, but Liger keeps on him with a saito suplex, dumping him right on his arm. Bodyslam sets up a dive, but Sasuke gets vertical, so Liger leaps with a flying dropkick. He hits it, but hurts himself on the landing as well, and he bails to regroup. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke is right on his tail with a moonsault press. That also hurts both guys, but Sasuke gets the better of it. He tries a suplex back in, but Liger blocks, so Sasuke posts him to knock him back to the floor, then dives with a flying somersault senton that practically knocks Liger back to the dressing room. Back in, Sasuke throws a spinheel kick for two, and a piledriver gets two. Crucifix powerbomb gets two, and these commentators are getting to be more annoying than Michael Cole. And I don't even speak Japanese! Tombstone sets up a flying somersault senton splash, but Liger dodges. Jushin throws a clothesline for two, and a sitout powerbomb is worth two. Rana off the top gets two, and Sasuke reverses the cradle for two. That was a nice bit of storytelling there, with Liger getting overconfident, and nearly costing himself the match. Liger gets back on track with a release German suplex for two, though again with a nonchalant cover. Muscle buster only gets two, so Liger decides to suplex him out of the ring, and then dives with a flying bodypress on the floor! Liger figures he has the countout, but Sasuke makes it to the apron, so Liger knocks him back with a koppou kick. Sasuke recovers and tries a springboard, but slips, and wipes out. Liger mocks him, but then Sasuke recovers with a rana into a cradle at 18:08. I'm guessing that was supposed to be a springboard flying rana there, and he botched it. Though, it still kind of worked anyway, since it allowed Liger to get cocky again before paying a big price for it. Even with the messed up finish, this was still an intense battle of wills. *** ½

 

Main Event: Super J Cup Final Match: Wild Pegasus v Great Sasuke: I'm surprised they didn't switch the Semis around, but Sasuke immediately having to work another match definitely adds to the drama. Hopefully it doesn't detract from the workrate, but considering the participants, I doubt that it will. They trade wristlocks to start, and Pegasus manages to apply a cravat, but Sasuke blocks a snapmare. With style! Sasuke blocks a few more takedown attempts, and Pegasus backs off to strategize. Pegasus manages a takedown when they engage, and he holds an armbar, but Sasuke is quickly in the ropes. Pegasus responds by unloading in the corner, but a cross corner whip gets reverses, and Sasuke spinkicks him out of the ring. He teases a dive, but Pegasus hides out in the corner to avoid him, and comes back in on his own terms. Pegasus takes him down for a headscissors, but Sasuke counters to a bow-and-arrow, then works a Mexican surfboard. Pegasus slips out, so Sasuke snapmares him over for another bow-and-arrow, but Pegasus escapes, and slows things down to break the momentum. Criss cross ends in Pegasus hitting a clothesline, and a bridging German suplex gets him two. Another criss cross goes Sasuke's way with a spinheel kick, however, and a second kick follows. Sasuke with a bodyslam to set up a legdrop for two, and he tries a keylock, but Pegasus escapes. Pegasus tries a powerbomb, but Sasuke blocks, so Pegasus clobbers him with another clothesline, then dumps him across the ropes for good measure. Sasuke bails to the apron, but Pegasus is on him with a springboard bodypress, putting Sasuke on the floor. Sasuke beats the count, so Pegasus puts him in a full-nelson, then turns it into a bridging dragon suplex for two. Bodyslam sets up a flying headbutt drop for two, and a powerbomb is worth two. Another bodyslam leads to a sharpshooter, but I think we know Sasuke ain't submitting. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker is worth two, but a dropkick attempt misses, and Sasuke wins a criss cross with a clothesline. Pegasus comes back with a bridging German suplex for two, however, but Sasuke counters another dragon suplex with a victory cradle - only to have Pegasus reverse for two. Pegasus tries a corner whip, but Sasuke rebounds with a springboard bodypress, and he spinkicks Pegasus to the outside for a corkscrew space flying tiger drop! He figures he has the countout, but Pegasus is right on his tail on the way in. Sasuke responds with another spinkick, and a bridging German suplex gets him two. Bridging fisherman's suplex gets two, so Sasuke goes up with a flying dropkick, but Pegasus sidesteps him. Sasuke wisely bails before Pegasus can capitalize, so Pegasus tries to suplex him back in, only to have Sasuke reverse him all the way down to the floor! Pegasus beats the count, so Sasuke knocks him right back out with a standing dropkick, then dives after him with a crazy missile dropkick on the floor! Both guys are dead, and we're in jeopardy of a double countout, with all the beaten guys in the tournament (all at ringside) cheering them on to beat the count. Even Liger is cheering Sasuke, he doesn't want it to end that way! Both guys make it, both are punch drunk. Sasuke strikes first with a roundhouse kick, and a bodyslam sets up a flying moonsault for two. Both guys stagger up, and Sasuke tries another dive, but Pegasus is on his tail. Sasuke manages to knock him back down, but he's so battered that Pegasus is able to follow a second time - this time bringing him down with a gutwrench superplex at 18:46! Wow, what an epic final! There were some dull bits in the middle, but once they kicked it into high gear, it was pedal to the metal stuff. **** ½

BUExperience: The one that started it all! I’ve waited something like twenty years to finally see this show, and even with that much mental buildup, it was still worth the wait. There’s nothing even resembling a bad match here, the crowd is hot throughout, and it’s all topped off with a show defining finale, which ended up being the only singles match between the two to boot.

Though I liked the ’95 version a little better, how can you go wrong with either?

*****