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Zenjo

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  1. Zenjo
    I would imagine that joining in progress would do this all sorts of favours. The first half was cagey and tactical. Or to phrase it differently; slow paced and underwhelming. It was well worth sticking with it as things got really good in the second half. Mutoh's head wound was reopened and Flair wasn't about to pass up the invitation. Plus the Nature Boy went to work on the leg at the same time. It was pretty awesome when Mutoh was bleeding profusely and selling the leg simultaneously. In classic style the face was energised by the loss of blood and his adrenalin helped Keiji to hulk up for the comeback victory.
  2. Zenjo
    It's 4th time lucky for Kansai as she finally defeats her nemesis. In doing so she becomes the first outsider from a rival Joshi promotion to hold the big red belt. Unsurprisingly it was a power based heavyweight battle. The chemistry and big dawg rivalry soon kicked in. There were some meaty head kicks leading to close down counts. They were superbly done, ramping up the drama and tension. In parts there was a high end feel. Ideally Kansai would've won it after 15m. That could've made it top 10 for the year rather than top 30. As it was the final stages felt a bit tacked on. Dyno viciously attacked the right arm for a spell before putting Kong away. The enormity of the achievement is brought home by JWP man in the victory celebrations. I love that guy!
  3. Zenjo
    The opening fall was quite strong with fast paced action. Kyoko impressed initially with her execution, but became repetitive as the match progressed. It was surprising that Hasegawa wrestled as a weak link #4 at this point in time. The segunda was sub-minute. Then the final fall was 15m of closing stretch. It really did suck. I was begging for a mercy killing. The near falls were horribly overdone. It might have been okay if they hadn't done any in the primera. As they had it was way OTT. Physically they put it all out there. Everyone apart from Kyoko was visably hurting afterwards. Takako looked like she might have been concussed. There were much better instalments of this matchup.
  4. Zenjo
    Only ran about 12m. Most of the match consisted of Tenzan beating down his opponent before Hash came back to win with a few moves at the end. This was one of those occasions when a main eventer gives a midcarder half an opportunity to shine without putting them over particularly. Tenzan was not ready to shine.
  5. Zenjo
    Mutoh did a characteristically juicy blade job here. You could even spot him putting the blade away afterwards. This instigated the type of brawling style bout which Chono would do with regularity through much of his career. I always felt he was better at the wrestling side. The match seemed to go down well with the crowd but wasn't my cup of tea. The finish was poor. The frankensteiner isn't a good choice for a flash pin as there is little weight on the torso overall. Day 2 was a comedown from the opening day. Flair vs Koshinaka was weak. The other 3 bouts were solid fare.
  6. Zenjo
    This was a fairly long one going over 21m. There wasn't anything particularly bad to point out, just being a bit on the dull side. Lots of holds employed, but the matwork wasn't captivating. Could've done with more action and a shorter duration. The work on Sasaki's left arm wasn't a whole lot of use as it was the other one that hit the winning move.
  7. Zenjo
    The opening night of the G1 with an eager crowd at the Ryogoku. Both participants looked sharp and energetic. The matwork was interspersed with quicker paced segments. They had the dynamic just right. The champion being on top and the underdog fighting from underneath. Mutoh always looked the likelier winner before one big move turned everything on its head. Literally. Kosh countered a top rope huracanrana and powerbombed Mutoh right on his noggin. A move of awesome brutality that made the upset make complete sense. Excellent storytelling. This wasn't a G1 classic, but would turn out to be the best bout of the tournament this year.
  8. Zenjo
    From the WCW vs NJ Best of 7 series. They worked this differently to how they would've done in the Orient. What they did wasn't tuned into the crowd very well however. Ohtani only searched for heel heat right after executing spectacular highspots. The flow was your turn, my turn with jarring transitions. Still the technique was decent enough. Unlike other interpromotional matchups on the night they did have experience working together. Didn't go full out for a big finish or anything.
  9. Zenjo
    I'd say this was an MPro type of six man with fast paced action all the way. So not surprisingly it was at its best when the visitors from the North East of Japan were in there. Only Fuji was a weak link. It won't make my year end list, but passed the time pleasantly enough. Taka vs Hayabusa in a long singles match from this time would've been good at best and quite possibly a mess.
  10. Zenjo
    It was cool to see the AJW class of 1986 reunite. See Green Day were wrong. There was a return from 86! All 4 wrestlers had taken different roads to this destination. A full length bout with solid action all the way. At times it threatened more, but it needed more intensity to reach the next level. Borderline top 100.
  11. Zenjo
    Like people have said it was pretty boring early on. The pace picked up, but then there was this surreal moment when Bret decided to blade after going back first into the ring post. WTF? That took me out of it and I'd lost interest in the match by the end. How anyone could prefer this to Summerslam 92 is mystifying. Despite not liking the action in the ring, this was one of the most fun chapters of the Yearbook. The real entertainment was the frequent close ups of Diana Hart Smith. She was comedy gold. I'm not sure if it was acting per se. Pretending to be something or someone else requires a rudimentary level of intelligence. It's the same impression I get when watching my guinea pigs staring into space sometimes. There's not a lot going on in there.
  12. Zenjo
    Okay so Gedo was out of shape, wore hideous attire and looked like a complete Jabroni. So probably not the best choice of finalist. He would get a whole lot better in future years as a tag specialist. This was your Liger vs broom 101. A functional showpiece final.
  13. Zenjo
    The build was solid enough, though it had issues. Some terrible non-selling of the leg from Dragon. Ultimo didn't impress me that much, it was Liger who made the match. Things picked up after that and it seemed headed for borderline top 100 status. Then the last couple of minutes were outstanding. Great psychology with La Majistal and a killer near fall. Match of the tournament.
  14. Zenjo
    Rion Harto's loudmouth character was gratingly obnoxious. He certainly hadn't entered his prime yet. A match that felt longer than it was because a disproportionate amount of time was given over to the closing stretch. It had some decent stuff in it, but nothing standout.
  15. Zenjo
    There was a big match atmosphere for this main event in the Ryogogu. Positive opening as they fought for control. Toyota upped the stiffness to make her look credible against the kicker. It was Dyno who gained the upper hand however. They worked it very much the way I expected. Kansai couldn't go go go at all times, throwing kicks instead of moves to conserve energy. Toyota slowed down and sold more to play to the strengths of her opponent. It had a strong base and seemed set for a higher rating. The stretch was a long and winding road. Kicking out of finishers was a bad sign of things to come. In the end Toyota was able to reverse the rope splash mountain for the duke (could've been executed better). Overall it was a bout worthy of the occasion and sent the fans home happy. 1995 was the peak year of Manami Toyota's career. So it's only fitting that she should end it as champion.
  16. Zenjo
    The roadshow comes to Japan. An ideal showcase for what the two young Luchadores had to offer. Sub 10m was just right and high fly flow abound. Excellent aerial assaults were the order of the day. Okay it was a spotfest, but they really nailed said spots and had their act down to a tee. Even compared to their other similar bouts I felt this was one of their best showings.
  17. Zenjo
    Not a lot of down time here as they maintained a spritely pace. Good atmosphere too. Both men had the spark and dynamism to energise a crowd on demand. They had the best bout of the G1 in August and combined well again with the IWGP Title at stake. There isn't much to choose between the two encounters. Mutoh worked over the leg with periodic Dragon Screws. His focused approach would eventually pay dividends. Kosh threatened the win beforehand. At one stage it seemed headed for a higher rating, but some of the selling later on didn't ring true.
  18. Zenjo
    A tag bout with an unusual and clearly defined structure. It began with a Tenzan FIP segment. Okay he was a heel, but you know what I mean. Once he tagged out Hirata was then the face in peril for a while. Then they moved onto the stretch. It would've benefitted from a hotter crowd as the action was really solid. In a surprise finish Hirata downed Chono. It was done in a way that made the pinfall seem just right.
  19. Zenjo
    Some nice chain wrestling early doors. Backlund then had a period working his opponent over that felt a fair deal longer than it actually was. Things then built towards a finish before Bulldog runs in for a lame DQ. They could certainly have had a good match with more of an effort on the booking and presentation. The high point was Bob, sorry I mean Mr. Backlund going nuts afterwards.
  20. Zenjo
    The final chapter of this legendary rivalry, but let's just pretend it never happened shall we? Misawa and Kobashi win the Tag League for the third straight year. Only Baba knows what that was supposed to accomplish. A comparatively terrible match that proves it ain't simply what you do, it's how you do it. They began with a closing stretch. Unless you're having a sprint there's nowhere you can go after that. There's value in experimentation, but this didn't work out at all. I didn't even watch it through to the end this time around. In contrast to the vast majority of 1995 All Japan, a total fail.
  21. Zenjo
    And now for something completely different. Probably the best way to describe this would be as a bombfest. Most of the moves were damaging and powerful. Both were going full out for the win right from the bell. They showcased the depths of their medium to high end movesets. The selling was really good. With the exhaustion and the damage inflicted it became a true epic, despite not lasting long enough to usually qualify for that title. Towards the end they took things outside for even more devastation via the table. Then Manami finished her off with two brutal Northern Light Bomb's. Hokuto did the mother of all sell jobs afterwards, as if a part of her had been destroyed. Some bizarre and emotional scenes between her and Mima Shimoda were to follow. There can be little doubt that this was Hokuto's idea all the way. She had such a great creative mind for wrestling theatre. Despite not being a typical Toyota match she looked like a total boss throughout, nailing everything. An ideal way to end their storied rivalry in AJW and the best women's match of the year. What an event.
  22. Zenjo
    Anjoh trolling Tenzan beforehand was comedy gold. The interpromotional rivalry was very heated with plenty of hatred and disrespect shown. They sure were laying in the stiffness too. So plenty of fun for the viewer. Though it was held in UWFI it sure didn't resemble shoot style very much. The application of the rules was ridiculously lax with several blatant low blows. The action was also uneven and the finish weak. So a mixed bag of tricks, but an enjoyable experience. It sure wasn't run of the mill.
  23. Zenjo
    The singles highlight of Kevin Nash's career. Plus it kicked off the whole Spanish Announce Table thang. Ran nearly 25m and the pacing was methodical. Both the structure and the selling were strong however. It had straightforward and effective match psychology. Technique & Experience vs Size & Power. Bret concentrated his attacks on the wheel. After getting tabled the Hitman looked finished, but he flashed his tired opponent to begin Bret (3). Right away Diesel GOT HIS HEAT BACK and turned to the dark side. Not a match of much note outside of the WWF microcosm, but one of the promotions best efforts of '95.
  24. Zenjo
    Considering that these weren't top guys they were generally more over than you'd expect. Including Barry. There were some good moments and others where you were reminded it was midcard WWF. The length was right on. The booking was mixed, although decent overall. It came down to Ridgeley against the newly heeled Kid. I don't see why they had to bring Sidney down to help him get the duke. It wasn't like the big man didn't have a match of his own that night. With a better finish I'd have it in my top 100.
  25. Zenjo
    It's a shame this wasn't on a bigger stage than WCW Saturday Night. They were reigning it in a bit early doors, but it picked up and they delivered a nice TV bout. 12m was a generous duration. The double KO after a top rope move was unsatisfying and cheapened what had gone before.
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