JWA Trios Tournament Semi-Final and Final
January 24th 1986, Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumo Hall)
JWA Trios Tournament Semi-Final: The Machines vs Fujiwara, Takada, and Funaki
The Machines came out with new masks and, apparently, new names: They were introduced as Super Strong Machine, Sumo Machine, and Very Tall Machine. This match fit pretty snugly into the genre of “Shoot Style vs Pro Wrestling Style.” Fujiwara, Takada, and Funaki stuck mainly to strikes, suplexes, and submission attempts. The Machines bounced off of the ropes and used a ton of quick tags and double-team maneuvers. They integrated pretty smoothly, though. I’d bet that a lot of fans didn’t really notice the contrast in styles. Sumo Machine and Tall Machine each took a nasty beating but managed to escape their predicaments. Eventually, Funaki was trapped in The Machines’ corner and absolutely crushed with a Triple-Team Powerbomb move. Super Strong Machine Covered for the pin, and the mild upset victory.
JWA Trios Tournament Semi-Final: Baba, Jumbo, and Misawa vs Tenryu, Hara, and Kawada
There was ZERO clash of styles in this one. It was pure uncut 100 percent Kings Road Style (almost) all the way. Baba may have moved a little slowly and had a smile plastered across his face the whole time, but he was throwing bombs in this one. Obviously, Misawa and Kawada did their fair share of selling, but even the young boys got to throw some nasty kicks, elbows, and sentons. Hara was vicious, stiffing everyone on Baba’s team without mercy. Everything in the match built up to Jumbo Tsuruta facing off against the JWA Champion, and when they finally locked up our fans blew the roof off of the Sumo Hall. They fought to a stalemate around the 20-minute mark and didn’t lock up again until 8 minutes later, with the clock ticking down and the other four men all brawling on the outside. Tenryu took the momentum with a Diving Back elbow Drop, then set up to finish Jumbo off with a Lariat… but Jumbo rolled through the pin attempt and managed to catch Tenryu and pin him instead with… well… it kinda looked like Jumbo used a handful of tights to secure the win… but that can’t be right, can it?
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Kensuke (with Riki Choshu) vs Masa Chono (with Tatsumi Fujinami)
After bringing the crowd to an early peak, we cooled things down a bit (but not too much) with a young boys match. The rookie Kensuke got to show off his nasty attitude and explosive power for a few minutes before Chono turned things around with a Running Big Boot to the face, after which he trapped Kensuke in a Stepover Toehold Facelock for the win. Chosu went after Chono during the post-match, causing Fujinami to go after Choshu, and the crowd reacted to that really well.
Hiroshi Hase vs Masa Fuchi
And another rookie got a few minutes to show what he’s got (And Hase seems to have quite a lot for someone just starting out)... but when Hase caught Fuchi with a Big Boot and went for the STF, that seemed to enrage the veteran Fuchi. He dropped Hase on his head with a Belly to Back Suplex. Twice. Then he whipped the rookie into the ropes, caught him with a kick to the face on the rebound, and forced Hase to submit to (you guessed it), a Stepover Toehold Facelock.
After that, a still-angry Fuchi got on the mic and challenged Chono to a match. He promised to kick Chono in the face and tap him out, too.
Choshu, Terry Gordy, Rusher Kimura, and Siva Afi vs Fujinami, Kengo Kimura, Keiiji Mutoh and Shinya Hashimoto
Before the match began, Yoshiaki Yatsu ran out to ringside with a near-crazed look in his eye, and more or less begged Fujinami’s team to give him a spot in the match so that he could try and get his revenge on Terry Gordy. After some discussion, and much to the delight of the crowd, Mutoh agreed to step aside and allow Yatsu to compete.
Choshu, Terry Gordy, Rusher Kimura, and Siva Afi vs Fujinami, Kengo Kimura, Yoshiaki Yatsu, and Shinya Hashimoto
Before Yatsu could settle his beef, Fujinami and Choshu had an issue of their own (from the Kensuke vs Chono match) to address. That discussion quickly got out of hand, however, and the match went bonzo gonzo about two minutes in. During the brawl that erupted, Yatsu was once again put into position to take a Spike Piledriver, this time with Siva Afi assisting. However, Yatsu managed to back-drop his way out of danger (earning a nice little pop from the crowd), after which he and Gordy brawled out to the floor. They were quickly followed by Hashimoto and Rusher Kimura, then by a furiously battling Choshu and Fujinami. Alone in the ring, Kengo Kimura and Afi exchanged chops and head-butts. Afi took the advantage, and whipped Kengo into the ropes, but Kimura surprised the muscular Samoan with an Inazuma Leg Lariat, and then tapped him out with a No-hands Sasori-gatame. After the match, Choshu and Fujinami had to be held apart. With everyone else focused on that, Gordy approached Yatsu and… extended his hand in a show of respect. “I’ll be back in Japan again, some day” Gordy said. “Maybe we can fight again.” Yatsu and Gordy shook on it.
JWA Middleweight Champion Tiger Mask vs Gran Hamada
This match was wrestled very differently from Tiger Mask’s violent battles with Kobayashi at the Dome and Black Tiger in Osaka. Certainly, there were some stiff strikes and painful-looking submission attempts… but the whole thing was worked in a sportsmanlike and respectful manner. For the most part, Sayama and Hamada flew around the ring at a crazy pace. Hamada got near-falls off of a Hurricanrana and a Tornado DDT, but in the end he fell victim to a Tiger Suplex in the middle of the ring.
Having successfully defended his title against top opponents three times in one month, Tiger Mask left the ring as the clear Ace of JWA’s Middleweight division.
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JWA Trio Tournament Final Match: Baba, Jumbo, and Misawa vs The Machines
Both teams were showing obvious signs of wear from their tough semi-final matches. Sumo Machine, in particular seemed a little worse for the wear as he carefully limped to the ring. Baba’s team recognized this and immediately went after Sumo Machine as soon as he tagged in, but the man behind the mask (Takashi “Onoumi” Ishikawa) was tough enough to gut it out and make the hot tag to Super Strong Machine. SSM earned the first near-fall for his team with a Machine Lariat on Misawa, but the young lion kicked out and made a hot tag of his own. Giant Baba vs Super Strong Machine provided an early high point in a match that had more than a few. The momentum swung back and forth with almost every tag. Neither team was able to establish a clear advantage and all six men wore down more and more as the match continued. At the 29-minute mark, Jumbo Tsuruta and Very Tall Machine were going toe to toe in the middle of the ring, just hitting each other as hard as possible. Neither man backed down an inch as the punches, chops, and sweat continued to fly. Finally, the bell sounded to signal that the 30-minute time limit had been reached. Both fighters collapsed from exhaustion.
Ring Announcer Hidekazu Tanaka and Managing Director Hisashi Shinma came into the ring to announce that there will be a re-match next month to determine the winner of the Trios Tournament … and that the victorious team will be named the JWA Trios Champions.
