Last legs of New Japan vs All Japan feud which started a year prior. Kawada dumped Fuchi for Nagai as his partner in 2001 which would lead to the unreal RWTL finals. This is neither the 12/11/00 classic or the 2001 RWTL Finals. This is surprisingly boring and I say surprisingly as I like 3/4ths guys a lot and just havent seen much of Nagai.

TenCozy who is on their last legs as a tag team jump the All Japan boys before the bell but that doesn’t really lead to much. The first seven or so minutes not much happens honestly. Tenzan misses a top rope diving Headbutt and sells like he has been KO’d by Stan Hansen’s lariat. It was really 0 to 60 oversell that didn’t even realize was happening when all of sudden Nagai doing one foot covers and Tenzan was collapsing on whips like he was Kawada. I was like lol what? Kojima screams “TENZAN~!” At the top of his lungs for like ten minutes. Seems like a little much. Kawada/Nagai’s heat segment wasn’t all that interesting outside one Dangerous Backdrop Driver. Kawada goes for the Powerbomb Tenzan counters and we get a decent hot tag from Kojima. Finger gun elbow. Powerbomb. They trade attacking each others Lariat Arm and Kawada gets the better with a Stretch Plum. Kojima gets the better of Nagai with an Ace Crusher. Tenzan gets his hot tag. The Kawada/Nagai near fall is a big boot into a German. After Kojima blasts Kawada with a lariat, Tenzan hits a Tenzan Driver and a Tenzansault to win.

It was a pretty dull match and not something I will remember next week. 

I have not seen Anjoh in forever! How the hell are you brutha? Dude is good craic, I should see him more often. 
 

Tenryu & Anjoh won the tag team titles from Kea & Johnny Smith. Kea has upgraded his partner to the reigning Triple Crown champion Keiji Mutoh. This headlined the September Budokan show with 12,800 in attendance not a bad figure and the only undercard support of note was Kawada & Nagai taking on Chono & Barton. 
 

Surprisingly for a Budokan main event, this is clipped we get 11 minutes of a 20 minute match. What we saw is very entertaining but without seeing the first 9 minutes I don’t feel comfortable rating it. 
 

We open with Kea on control of Tenryu but he tags out to Anjoh. Oh there’s a funny bit before the match begins where Tenryu big times All Japan President Stan Hansen when handing over the belts but Anjoh very quickly relinquishes them and bows to Hansen, I immediately love Anjoh again. 
 

So Kea is in control and takes exception to some Tenryu interference. Tenryu throws a tantrum over Kea whacking him, trying to grab the announce table but Hansen stops Tenryu. Tenryu gets his revenge by pulling down the top rope on Kea and then whipping him hard chest first into the railing. Anjoh hits a piledriver into a cross-armbreaker. Be still my beating shoot style heart. Anjoh drops a knee on bicep. This whole stretch was awesome. I really enjoyed the heat segment on Kea. 
 

Kea gets an enziguiri on Tenryu and Mutoh comes in and it is 2001 so you know the drill dropkicks to the knee, dragon leg screw and figure-4. Anjoh breaks it up and starts throwing Mutoh around with Saito Suplexes. Mutoh is able to wrest control and it is stereo Figure-4s! Doesn’t matter if it is Greensboro or Tokyo that shit is over. 
 

It is funny Mutoh is clearly feeding his chin to Anjoh on the second Figure-4 attempt but there’s a pregnant pause before Anjoh realizes he is supposed to clock Mutoh to stop the Figure-4. Mutoh gets his frankensteiner on the incoming Tenryu. Tag out to Kea. 
 

Kea gets the big near fall run with a Powerbomb and his patented kick combination. Funny moment Kea gets Tenryu in a Triangle and Anjoh wraps Mutoh into submission but realizes if he doesn’t relinquish and save Tenryu the titles are lost. His face tells a perfect story. Anjoh with kicks and elbows sets Tenryu up to polish Kea off with a Powerbomb and Brainbuster. 
 

I like 2001 Mutoh a lot but he played a very small role in this. I really enjoyed the Tenryu & Anjoh team. Great chemistry, they really complement each other well. Kea took a lickin and kept on tickin. This felt 3.5 +/- 0.25 star. Very entertaining would watch the whole thing. 

Man if you ever wanted to show someone the most bare bones, stripped down pro wrestling match this might be the one. They just sleepwalk through this match. All of Hall’s punches and work are tight but he is putting in minimal effort. Muto is in 2001 cruise control mode. He found a formula that is bulletproof in 2001. Muto with the Triple Crown is still a mind fuck. Weird fun fact that Hall challenged for Triple Crown.

I think there’s some lingering NWO civil war shit here. Hall is with Chono and Muto is with TenKoji. The first five minutes they work a headlock, Muto hits his power elbow. Hall hits a cool Eaton-esquires slingshot back Suplex to take control. His punches look great and he throws Muto out. More punches. The work is tight but feels pedestrian. Muto hip tosses out the ab stretch. Standard 2001 Muto stuff here. DROPKICKs to the knee, dragon leg screw, figure-4. Tries the back breaker/moonsault combo but Hall cuts him off with a super Back Suplex which Hall loved as a transition in the 90s. Hall runs through his shit: chokeslam, sack of shit. Muto works in the DROPKICK to the knee (that’s why 2001 formula is so good) and gets the moonsault but there’s shit with Chono and TenKoji. Shining Wizard but Hall hits a lariat, Razor Edge but Muto wriggles free and two Shining Wizards later he wins. 
 

A match that just never got out of first gear. 

As odd as my brief write up would indicate.

Surprisingly not bad in patches and decent up until the nerve hold.  Like Konnan’s match with Fidel Sierra, this too had a WCW TV feel about it.

Excellent TV match, as you'd expect from the talent involved. My favorite match up was Black Warrior vs. Casas. That's not a match up I can remember seeing a lot of in the past, but I thought they were excellent. For some reason, there seems to be a lot of emphasis on dangerous moves in CMLL. I'm not sure if they're trying to get over how high risk some of these new moves are, or if they're still trying to put over the finish to Universo vs. Aguayo, but twice wrestlers had to receive attention because of some dangerous move. The match ended with an altercation between Juventud and Casas after Casas accidentally drop-kicked him. Casas can't seem to buy a break at the moment with screwy partners and screwy finishes. 

Hail’s offense here looks better than against Abdullah the Butcher, some effective knife edge chops and punches that actually look like they connect.  Jimmy Hart is again providing interference from the floor, putting the boots to Gonzalez after he takes a bump over the turnbuckles to the outside from a whip to the corner.  Gonzalez with a dropkick to the knee followed by a big slam.  Hail kicks out of the cover and responds with a bodyslam of his own.  He heads up top, however Gonzalez falls into the ropes causing him to lose his balance and crotch himself across the top rope.  Hart gets decked when he climbs onto the apron and with Gonzalez mounting a comeback, he signals for the troops, Thunder & Lightning running out for the DQ.  Carly Colon makes the save and the two see the heels off. 

Less than four minutes of footage here which was not only joined in progress but also clipped too.  I wonder if Hogan had it written in Hail’s contract that he wasn’t allowed to do jobs so we got these non-decisions in Puerto Rico?

The Prototype, who comes out to the Rocky theme, attacks Russ from behind so he’s playing the heel here.  It sounds like he’s aligned himself with WCW, after they recruited him, according to what Les Thatcher is saying.  Haas ducks a swinging right and comes back with a flying forearm.  Cena does bump and feed well for Haas’ offense.  He counters a huracanrana with a powerbomb before opening up, although his punches look quite raggedy.  Russ avoids a standing splash and Cena is back bumping and feeding for him again.  Modified uranage by Haas, when Kwee Wee runs out and attacks Russ for the DQ.  Charlie rushes from the dressing room to help his brother and they quickly clear the ring of Kwee Wee.  He doesn’t bother sticking around or even attempting to try and help Prototype who falls to a double chokeslam, his recruitment by WCW already over it would seem.

Always interesting to see where John Cena is at in his development; good poise, bumping and feeding, poor punches, not sure he’d be cut out to be a heel from what we saw here.