Zenjo

A scientific encounter from start to finish that never descended into fisticuffs. Owen was playing the role of heel, yet held off cheating because he was facing his tag partner. It was done in the same way as a rudo might stay within the boundaries of the rules because it's a title match. Some highly impressive chain wrestling, with sound technique utilised. It was reminiscent of famous battles both men had had with Bret. Full length, well paced and with a proper structure. It brought the best of Hart traditions. A top 5 American match for '97 I should think.

This had a fresh and different feel to it with new acquisition Takayama alongside his fellow UWFI alumni Albright. The crowd were into it as well. So it had it's upsides. However the Beast didn't work all that well with either opponent. I don't mind rough edges, but more ring time together was required in this case. Gaz didn't feature all that much. His best before date had expired. He just hit his big suplay with no build or drama.

Bret (4) lasts one day as Sid (2) climbs the mountain. That reign wouldn't last long either in this chaotic period for the WWF Title. This was impressive for a Sid match, although not standout in the grand scheme of things. The lame screwjob finish continues the buildup for Hart vs Cold at Mania. Undertaker and Sidney also face off ahead of the paper main event.

This was an interesting and original match with plenty of ups and downs. An early foray into the four way. It was a little chaotic and disorganised at times. On the bright side it didn't have a bunch of contrived multi-man spots. Tornado action all the way and DQ rules were certainly not in effect. Long-ish duration with all four men staying in for the most part so they could pair off. Vader sustained a nasty cut above the eye, but I'll give him MVP honours to make up for it. Overall it was always watchable and intriguing, but no more than good. The finish wasn't the best.

JIP 11m of 18m shown. It sucks having Hash matches clipped as he's such a master at creating a big match feel in the early stages. Mainly strike and submission based as you'd expect from these two facing off. Not on the level of their '98 G1 classic, but still quality action. The closing stages were particularly good. I've no doubt my rating on this has a clippage penalty but WCYD?

Kanemoto took control from the outset and delivered a sustained beatdown. His kick-oriented offence wasn't the most inspiring, but Liger sold it well and the structure was sound. The rivalry was spicy as well. Jushin fought back and there were plenty of big moves and near falls down the stretch. The Junior ace reaffirms his status with the win. Good stuff.

Unusually there weren't any highspots in the opening 15m. It was primarily matwork with some strikes thrown in. Whilst being fundamentally sound the work was quite dry and the fans didn't seem that invested in the rivalry initially. The build served its purpose, but in itself wasn't special. They then picked up the pace significantly and brought out all the stops. Liger's offence was no longer cutting edge so the focus was primarily on Ohtani's antics and desperation. Which is no bad place to be. Plus his German is a work of beauty. I'm never a bit fan of the shotei as a finisher. I'm not feeling this as a MOTYC, more like top 50. But hey, every year has widely praised matches I like rather than love.

They adapted to the different fanbase by working a little stiffer than usual with more struggling over holds as well. Stopping after one fall was a bit jarring, especially as it wasn't any longer than normal. Decent stuff while it lasted and a good showcase. Touring match perfectly sums it up.

More so than the other AJ Super-Classics this wasn't so much about the rivalry as it was about being an utterly extraordinary wrestling match. The structure, the move composition, the timings, the pacing, the match psychology. I was even sitting back thinking how great the transitions were. Fundamentally everything was near enough perfect. Then you've got the brilliant selling, strong execution and an audience that totally appreciates the splendour of what they are witnessing. Any criticisms I could make would be nit-picking considering the length and sheer physicality of the contest. Despite going 42m it never felt like they were stalling for time. The opening 15m were of a brisk pace and action packed. Yet they didn't overdo it and held back the biggest moves. Then you had the memorable arm work on Misawa. Having not watched this for a long time I thought it was a bigger focus than it actually was. Whilst a fundamental aspect of the match it didn't take up that high a proportion of the time relatively. Misawa's philosophy of 'I don't care if I get injured, the Triple Crown is more important than my health' really stands out. It was a true epic with plenty of exhaustion selling and near falls. Kobashi kicked out of the Tiger Driver '91. In a rare display of emotion Misawa unleashed a guttural roar before delivering the killer blow. I'm with Pete in that it kind of sucks in a way having the MOTY 20 days into 1997. Plus both guys had a better match the previous month. Just.

I finished watching this year a few months back, but have only just got around to adding my reviews to the match threads and ordering a top 100 list. That's 8 of the 10 years done now and 1997 is well underway. It would seem logical to do 1995 after 1994, but I find jumping around keeps things fresher. And I'm scared of Broadways. 1994 was an excellent year for wrestling. Whilst it was a clear step down from the glorious highs of 1992 and 1993, it was a decline rather than a crash. As other people have commented the second half of the year wasn't as strong as the first. In the context of wrestling history it still ranks highly. It's a very similar year to 1996 in terms of overall quality, I'd be hard pressed to choose one over the other. It will be interesting to see how 95 joins them up. Whilst it would be fun to have an unexpected #1, Misawa vs Kawada is the best match by quite a margin. I'd say only 1998 had a bigger gap between #1 and everything else. Plenty of famous matches in the rest of the list. It was still great times for AJW, AJ & NJ who have over half the entries between them. Rings and UWFI were battling for shoot style supremacy. WCW was really fun before Hogan arrived. And CMLL wasn't as far behind AAA as was generally believed. From a Sports Entertainment standpoint the transformation of Bob Backlund was the highlight of the year, and provided a couple of strong matches as well.

Zenjo's Top 100 Matches of 1994 100) Rey Misterio Sr vs Jerry Estrada (AAA 7/8/94) 99) Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue (AJ 3/24/94) 98) Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs Sergei Sousserov (RINGS 5/17/94) 97) Aja Kong vs Dynamite Kansai (AJW 11/20/94) 96) Mascarita Sagrada & Octagoncito vs Espectrito & Jerrito Estrada (AAA 11/6/94) 95) Devil Masami & Dynamite Kansai vs Mayumi Ozaki & Hikari Fukuoka (JWP 11/6/94) 94) Masahito Kakihara vs Kazuo Yamazaki (UWFI 11/30/94) 93) Vader vs Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFI 6/10/94) 92) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi (AJ 1/7/94) 91) Pantera vs Felino (CMLL 12/27/94) 90) Jun Akiyama vs Steve Williams (AJ 4/10/94) 89) Vader vs Dustin Rhodes (WCW 11/16/94) 88) Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund (WWF 7/3/94) 87) Shinya Hashimoto vs Shiro Koshinaka (NJ 8/7/94) 86) Devil Masami vs Dynamite Kansai (JWP 8/8/94) 85) Stan Hansen vs Steve Williams (AJ 4/14/94) 84) Aja Kong & Toshiyo Yamada vs Yumiko Hotta & Sakie Hasegawa (AJW 4/3/94) 83) Steven Regal vs Arn Anderson (WCW 2/20/94) 82) Brian Knobbs, Jerry Saggs, Dusty & Dustin Rhodes vs Arn Anderson, Bunkhouse Buck, Terry Funk & Colonel Parker (War Games) (WCW 9/18/94) 81) Toshiyo Yamada vs. Manami Toyota (AJW 8/28/94) 80) Nobuhiko Takada vs Naoki Sano (UWFI 10/14/94) 79) Jushin Thunder Liger & Power Warrior vs Rick & Scott Steiner (NJ 2/17/94) 78) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 11/25/94) 77) Yumiko Hotta & Toshiyo Yamada vs Shinobu Kandori & Harley Saito (AJW 4/9/94) 76) Jimmy Del Ray & Tom Prichard vs Chris Jericho & Lance Storm (SMW 8/5/94) 75) Steve Williams vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 3/29/94) 74) Bull Nakano vs Kyoko Inoue (AJW 1/24/94) 73) Dynamite Kansai vs Sakie Hasegawa (AJW 3/27/94) 72) Rick & Scott Steiner vs Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase (NJ 7/8/94) 71) Stan Hansen vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 3/24/94) 70) Mariko Yoshida vs Sakie Hasegawa (AJW 10/1/94) 69) Mitsuya Nagai vs Masayuki Naruse (RINGS 12/16/94) 68) Yasha Kurenai & Michiko Nagashima vs Rumi Kazama & Harley Saito (LLPW 6/9/94) 67) Combat Toyota vs Yumiko Hotta (AJW 11/20/94) 66) Jushin Thunder Liger vs Super Delphin (NJ 5/30/94) 65) Wild Pegasus vs Great Sasuke (NJ 4/16/94) 64) Rey Misterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera (AAA 4/1/94) 63) Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs Aja Kong & Sakie Hasegawa (AJW 2/27/94) 62) Megumi Kudo & Nurse Nakamura vs Rumi Kazama & Utako Hozumi (LLPW 2/7/94) 61) Andrei Kopylov vs Volk Han (RINGS 10/22/94) 60) Konnan vs Jake Roberts (Cage Match) (AAA 3/12/94) 59) Mocho Cota & Silver King vs El Dandy & Negro Casas (CMLL 3/18/94) 58) El Hijo del Santo vs Psicosis (AAA 2/16/94) 57) Rick & Scott Steiner vs Hiroshi Hase & Keiji Mutoh (NJ 1/4/94) 56) Toshiyo Yamada vs Sakie Hasegawa (AJW 3/3/94) 55) Shinobu Kandori, Eagle Sawai & Carol Midori vs Combat Toyoda, Eriko Tsuchiya & Tsuppari Mack (LLPW 2/7/94) 54) Salman Hashimikov & Victor Zangiev vs Kazuo Yamazaki & Yoji Anjoh (UWFI 6/10/94) 53) Steve Williams vs Kenta Kobashi (AJ 9/3/94) 52) Volk Han vs Mitsuya Nagai (RINGS 12/24/94) 51) Yumiko Hotta & Takako Inoue vs Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda (AJW 3/30/94) 50) Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue (AJ 4/14/94) 49) Steve Williams vs Kenta Kobashi (AJ 4/15/94) 48) Ric Flair vs Steven Regal (Marquis of Queensbury Cup) (WCW 5/12/94) 47) Steve Williams vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 4/16/94) 46) Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota vs Sakie Hasegawa & Kaoru Ito (AJW 6/10/94) 45) Mariko Yoshida vs Toshiyo Yamada (AJW 9/15/94) 44) Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan vs Brian Knobbs & Jerry Saggs (WCW 5/22/94) 43) Noriyo Tateno vs Harley Saito (LLPW 8/14/94) 42) Yumiko Hotta vs Toshiyo Yamada (AJW 6/3/94) 41) Stan Hansen vs Akira Taue (AJ 4/11/94) 40) Jushin Thunder Liger vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 2/24/94) 39) Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund (WWF 11/23/94) 38) Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs Kyoko & Takako Inoue (AJW 10/9/94) 37) Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne vs Brian Knobbs & Jerry Saggs (WCW 4/17/94) 36) Grom Zaza vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS 10/22/94) 35) Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs Manami Toyota & Takako Inoue (AJW 10/8/94) 34) Bret & Owen Hart vs Rick & Scott Steiner (WWF 1/11/94) 33) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 7/22/94) 32) Bret Hart vs Owen Hart (WWF 3/20/94) 31) Akira Maeda vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS 12/16/94) 30) Hiroshi Hase vs Shiro Koshinaka (NJ 8/5/94) 29) Toshiyo Yamada & Chigusa Nagayo vs Sakie Hasegawa & Mariko Yoshida (AJW 8/24/94) 28) Steven Regal vs Larry Zbyszko (WCW 5/2/94) 27) Steve Williams vs Mitsuharu Misawa (AJ 7/28/94) 26) Bull Nakano & Aja Kong vs Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda (AJW 6/10/94) 25) Kaoru & Chigusa Nagayo vs Cuty Suzuki & Hikari Fukuoka (JWP 9/18/94) 24) Genichiro Tenryu vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 2/17/94) 23) Chigusa Nagayo vs Plum Mariko (JWP 2/11/94) 22) Manami Toyota vs Kyoko Inoue (AJW 8/24/94) 21) Manami Toyota vs Sakie Hasegawa (AJW 6/3/94) 20) Chigusa Nagayo vs Mayumi Ozaki (JWP 5/22/94) 19) Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda (AJW 1/24/94) 18) Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (WCW 4/17/94) 17) Great Sasuke & Black Tiger II vs Wild Pegasus & Shinjiro Otani (NJ 10/18/94) 16) Ciclon Ramirez vs Javier Cruz (Hair vs Hair) (CMLL 6/7/94) 15 ) Blue Panther vs El Mariachi (AAA 10/30/94) 14) Great Sasuke & Black Tiger II vs Wild Pegasus & Shinjiro Otani (NJ 10/9/94) 13) Hiroshi Hase vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 12/13/94) 12) Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (WCW 4/21/94) 11) El Hijo Del Santo & Octagon vs Eddy Guerrero & Love Machine (AAA 11/6/94) 10) Espectrito vs Mascarita Sagrada (AAA 3/12/94) 9) Manami Toyota vs Aja Kong (AJW 11/20/94) 8) Vader vs Nobuhiko Takada (UWFI 8/18/94) 7) Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi (AJ 4/10/94) 6) Aja Kong vs Yumiko Hotta (AJW 1/24/94) 5) Aja Kong & Bull Nakano vs Akira Hokuto & Shinobu Kandori (AJW 3/27/94) 4) El Dandy vs Javier Llanes (CMLL 2/22/94) 3) Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 5/21/94) 2) Akira Hokuto & Aja Kong vs Dynamite Kansai & Yumiko Hotta (AJW 8/24/94) 1) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 6/3/94)

Reading this thread has made me realised how self-centred I've been whilst watching wrestling events from decades ago. Nay have I spared a passing thought for Mr. Takahashi in the 6th row and whether he made it aboard the last train to Chiba. The next time I'm enjoying a long main event I'll consider the very real human cost that may have been exacted. As an overall show this worked well. The last 5 matches all followed on from each other and rolled into one. The 6 wrestlers involved here all competed 3 times, which is a credit to their conditioning. Aja had deceptively good stamina. It was a credit to Reginald that she managed to last the course, particularly as the giants team didn't have any break. From an individual match quality point of view then it's far from an ideal format. The three matches here were all decent enough, but nothing standout as tiredness became a factor. The booking was rampant ToyotaMania, which was annoying. The Golden Girl pinned Bennett, Kong and Kyoko in the same night. Takako won the tournament as well.

Hyuga would go on to be one of the best Joshi workers of the 00's, so would definitely warrant more attention. A terrific performance by her in this one. She'd become JWP champion earlier in the year and had become a ring general by this stage. The challenger Amano had a very focused approach. Zoning in on the leg. Mainly with submission attacks, plus a few added shortcuts when necessary. So Carlos did her thing and it was up to Azumi to mould it into a strong match. She had a more balanced attack, mixing wrestling skills with high flying athleticism. It was a keenly fought contest. Always Good+, sometimes more. There's potential here to go a bit higher and in different directions.

They were both unsurprisingly tired so it only went 12m. I didn't like the start, it was too high powered even considering the circumstances. Then a short period of matwork before finisherthon. Basically they just hit all their big moves, which provided a fair bit of excitement if not a properly constructed match. Like Loss said it certainly wasn't their best bout, but it was a worthy contribution to the rivalry. Aja won with her 58th Urakan.

A touring match? Please point me in the direction of the AJW fan-cams with anything comparable to this. It was worked very well for a Dome setting. Compact pacing and a simple to follow structure and psychology. The story was told perfectly. Manami was a superstar, Aja was the champ. Both initially went for the quick win as this was a one night tournament. Toyota only used her high end and most damaging offence. Fighting like she was against a 'regular' opponent wasn't going to get it done. The execution was outstanding throughout, all the moves looking crisp and damaging. Manami so nearly got the upset before just falling short. The result felt like it could tip either way. Everything was just right and worked out exactly as they would've planned. A top 10 match for 1994. To qualify as a true classic it would need more of an emotional pull.

The crowd were probably burnt out as the big match atmosphere was gone quickly. It did last more or less full length. They did the stuff but it never caught fire. It felt like a 1996 AJW match rather than 1994, which isn't a compliment. The first half was nothing special. I wasn't buying the near falls later on either. Kansai hit the Splash Mountain too soon. There was no build up to the finisher being kicked out of. That made the future false finishes too obvious. The favour was naturally returned with Kyoko's finisher as well. Ugh. Whilst solid overall it didn't live up to expectations.

My 2nd favourite match from the 23 on offer this show. The matchup between the power wrestler and the striker was an intriguing one. Toyoda is sloppy at times and lacks polish, but she is credible and can take a beating. Hotta took out all her frustrations on her. Well maybe not all, but enough for today. She seemed surprised at how tough the match had become in a lengthy and eventful closing stretch. Lots of powerful moves and near falls as the momentum swung both ways. Hotta got frustrated and pushed the referee, who then screwed her over. Screwy, but logical. It was quite sad seeing how frustrated and upset Hotta was afterwards, as this was a once in a lifetime opportunity gone by. It added to her ongoing career narrative of being a choker when the stakes were high. Whilst the selling here wasn't always the best, this way exceeded expectations overall.

A fairly lengthy bout so the build was hold intensive. After taking 5m of solid back punishment Manami sold it not a jot. A bit your turn, my turn after that. I enjoyed Takako's heelishness, it increases her sex appeal as well. Toyota got angry with her at one point. There was definitely some spice after the tag bout. They went full out for the stretch but it didn't deliver as intended with the big moves and near falls. On another day it could've been a fair bit better. It wasn't one of Toyota's better performances. She wasn't adaptive enough. Doing move X at time Y no matter what. Despite the flaws it had a lively feel and entertainment value. Borderline top 100 for the year.

Does anyone have an archive link for Manzerman's old site? That would be a useful resource for this.

To this point Marinepiad had been one of the worst major AJW shows in years. Fortunately the main event was able to save the day. Over the three falls this lasted north of 35m. The opening fall was a mini-match in itself. Kyoko sustained a back injury that flowed into a FIP segment to start the 2nd. Strong selling from K. Inoue. It looked grim for the Sisters at that point. Yet they stemmed the flow and worked their way back into the match. The injury storyline was a really good idea as it added multiple new dynamics to proceedings and provided variety. The 3rd could've certainly done with trimming and it got sloppy due to tiredness. From purely a workrate perspective they didn't hit top gear. Despite its technical flaws I loved the narrative in the closing stages. With her partner ailing, #4 ranked Takako was forced to step up to the plate. That she was able to do by coming through at the end and winning it for her team. A personal breakthrough as she claims the biggest win of her career to date. A feel good moment.

This was coming off the back of two excellent matches and rounding off a huge show in Budokan Hall. I'm surprised at the criticism in this thread as it's received high praise over the years. It's about to get some more as it's my #2 match of 1994. It was Hokuto's first match in 5 months. She only appeared on 3 events this year, which not coincidentally were the three big interpromotional shows. Despite hobbling throughout the whole match she managed to produce one of her great performances. All of the individual matchups had something to them. The best part was how they integrated the Hokuto vs Kansai singles dream match into a tag match. It was brilliant booking. It was quite a shock to the fans when Hotta punted Kong and KO'd her. With Akira laying on the floor in agony it looked like a slaughter was imminent. Yet the Dangerous Queen was able to launch a monumental fightback. She was able to defeat Hotta and nearly achieved a miracle comeback. She didn't have to win, it's the climb. It's a measure of Dyno's popularity that some fans were cheering her on as well. Absolutely thrilling and so emotional too. An epic, big match feel. Hard hitting with great selling and perfect storytelling. I loved the postmatch as well. Hotta and Kansai were natural rivals and had only ever fought one another. Yet through this match alone they'd formed a bond and camaraderie through battle.

Least surprising announcement of the year. They'll probably have TV cameras at the birth.

Was Máscara Año 2000 a draw? I think most of his success was down to tagging with his brothers. Cien Caras seemed like the only one with star power. Whenever the CMLL TV show had these wrestler countdowns, Octagon seemed to be getting the most fan mail. Lizmark was very popular as well. He was Doña Vicky's favourite after all. Dandy deserves a mention also.

Can I please refer you to... Vince's Golden Rules of Sports Entertainment #24: Black people love to dance, sing and have fun. Unless they're an ANGRY Black person.