Zenjo

Boobs. Nose. Chin. Trish obviously hadn't had enough operations yet in Chyna's eyes.

As crazy as it sounds Torrie Wilson has wrestled on PPV more years than any other woman in the history of wrestling. From what I recall year 10 wasn't much of an improvement on year 1.

How I wish that Mrs Hebner had only given birth to one son. Although it probably would've just been Earl had that been the case. Or he'd have appeared at a later date. It's like one of those sci-fi stories where someone keeps going back in time to prevent an atrocity, but they still end up happening no matter what.

Zenjo's Top 80 Matches of 1999 80) Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr & Billy Kidman (WCW 3/29/99) 79) Masahiro Chono vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 8/11/99) 78) Genichiro Tenryu vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 6/8/99) 77) Mariko Yoshida vs Mika Akino (ARS 1/17/99) 76) Katsumi Usuda & Carl Malenko vs Yuki Ishikawa & Masaaki Mochizuki (BAT 12/5/99) 75) El Hijo del Santo & Negro Casas vs Dr Wagner Jr & Blue Panther (CMLL 9/17/99) 74) Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi vs Manami Toyota & Miho Wakizawa (AJW 10/11/99) 73) El Hijo del Santo, Emilio Charles Jr, Negro Casas & Olimpico vs Black Warrior, Blue Panther, Dr Wagner Jr & Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL 9/10/99) 72) Satoshi Kojima vs Tadao Yasuda (NJ 8/13/99) 71) Kumiko Maekawa vs Genki Misae (AJW 7/10/99) 70) Vader vs Kenta Kobashi (AJ 4/16/99) 69) Black Warrior, Rey Bucanero, Violencia, Fuerza Guerrera & Ultimo Guerrero vs Tony Rivera, Tarzan Boy, Pantera, Zorro & Olimpico (Torneo Cibernetico) (CMLL 5/14/99) 68) Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (AJ 11/20/99) 67) Genichiro Tenryu, Nobutaka Araya & Shoji Nakamaki vs Atsushi Onita, Sambo Asako & Shigeo Okamura (Street Fight Tornado Death Match) (WAR 6/20/99) 66) Cooga & Sumie Sakai vs The Bloody & Fang Suzuki (Jd' 6/13/99) 65) Black Warrior vs Shocker (CMLL 3/16/99) 64) Mima Shimoda, Etsuko Mita & Lioness Aska vs Manami Toyota, Kaoru Ito & Nanae Takahashi (AJW 7/11/99) 63) Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto (NJ 10/11/99) 62) Manami Toyota & Kumiko Maekawa vs Nanae Takahashi & Miho Wakizawa (AJW 5/5/99) 61) Jushin Thunder Liger & Dr Wagner Jr vs Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (NJ 3/6/99) 60) El Hijo Del Santo, Antifaz Del Norte, Olimpico, Tarzan Boy, Tony Rivera, Felino, Negro Casas & Emilio Charles Jr vs Rey Bucanero, Ultimo Guerrero, Black Warrior, El Satanico, Bestia Salvaje, Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera & Zumbido (Torneo Cibernetico) (CMLL 11/26/99) 59) Sonoko Kato vs Meiko Satomura (GAEA 10/11/99) 58) Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori (AJ 8/25/99) 57) Lioness Aska vs Cooga (Jd' 12/28/99) 56) Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs Rie Tamada & Yumi Fukawa (ARS 7/25/99) 55) Yuki Ishikawa & Daisuke Ikeda vs Joe Malenko & Carl Malenko (BAT 6/9/99) 54) El Satanico, Zumbido, Valentin Mayo, Virus & Rencor Latino vs Starman, Astro Rey Jr, El Oriental, Tigre Blanco & Mr Aguila (Torneo Cibernetico) (CMLL 7/18/99) 53) Daisuke Ikeda & Mohammed Yone vs Alexander Otsuka & Yuki Ishikawa (BAT 1/12/99) 52) Satoshi Kojima vs Yuji Nagata (NJ 8/10/99) 51) Keiji Mutoh vs Yuji Nagata (NJ 8/11/99) 50) Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko vs Raven & Perry Saturn (WCW 4/11/99) 49) Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama (AJ 4/4/99) 48) Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki vs Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda (FMW 3/19/99) 47) Bret Hart vs Chris Benoit (WCW 10/4/99) 46) Manabu Nakanishi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJ 8/14/99) 45) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 7/22/99) 44) Vader vs Mitsuharu Misawa (AJ 10/30/99) 43) Daisuke Ikeda vs Alexander Otsuka (BAT 4/26/99) 42) El Samurai vs Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ 6/3/99) 41) Lioness Aska vs Chigusa Nagayo (GAEA 4/4/99) 40) Meiko Satomura vs Toshie Uematsu (GAEA 2/3/99) 39) Yuki Ishikawa & Mohammed Yone vs Kazumi Murakami & Daisuke Ikeda (BAT 11/9/99) 38) Mariko Yoshida vs Yumi Fukawa (ARS 9/26/99) 37) Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh (NJ 5/3/99) 36) Rey Misterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera vs Psicosis vs Blitzkrieg (WCW 4/19/99) 35) Chikayo Nagashima vs Meiko Satomura (GAEA 1/8/99) 34) Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (AJ 10/23/99) 33) Kaoru Ito & Momoe Nakanishi vs Sumie Sakai & Megumi Yabushita (AJW 12/8/99) 32) Mr Gannosuke, Hisakatsu Oya, Yukihiro Kanemura, Hideki Hosaka & Hido vs Yuki Ishikawa, Daisuke Ikeda, Mohammed Yone, Takashi Hijikata & Katsumi Usuda (Elimination) (FMW 5/5/99) 31) Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh (NJ 12/10/99) 30) Kenta Kobashi vs Vader (AJ 1/15/99) 29) Azumi Hyuga vs Carlos Amano (JWP 9/23/99) 28) Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 1/7/99) 27) Bombero Infernal vs Solar I (IWRG 11/25/99) 26) Yoko Kosugi vs The Bloody (Jd' 7/7/99) 25) Atlantis & Villano III vs Mr Niebla & Shocker (Relevos Increibles) (CMLL 9/24/99) 24) Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 6/4/99) 23) Azumi Hyuga vs Ran Yu-Yu (JWP 12/23/99) 22) Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 8/10/99) 21) Mariko Yoshida vs Yumi Fukawa (ARS 5/4/99) 20) Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki vs Tamon Honda & Jun Izumida (AJ 1/16/99) 19) Mayumi Ozaki vs Mima Shimoda (OZ 2/28/99) 18) Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki vs Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima (GAEA 7/18/99) 17) Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa vs Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita (AJW 12/8/99) 16) Mariko Yoshida vs Mikiko Futagami (ARS 4/14/99) 15) Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS 5/22/99) 14) Mariko Yoshida vs Hiromi Yagi (ARS 2/18/99) 13) Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori (AJ 10/30/99) 12) Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (AJ 3/6/99) 11) Ayako Hamada & Akino vs Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda (ARS 12/11/99) 10) Aja Kong vs Meiko Satomura (GAEA 9/15/99) 9) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 1/22/99) 8) Meiko Satomura & Sonoko Kato vs Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki (GAEA 4/4/99) 7) El Hijo del Santo & Negro Casas vs Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr (Hairs vs Masks) (CMLL 3/19/99) 6) Vader vs Mitsuharu Misawa (AJ 5/2/99) 5) Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs Stan Hansen & Akira Taue (AJ 12/3/99) 4) Yoshiko Tamura vs Mizaki Kana (JWP 7/21/99) 3) Sting vs Diamond Dallas Page (WCW 4/26/99) 2) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (AJ 6/11/99) 1) Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS 6/24/99)

If you like their other matches then you'll like this I guess. I dislike their other matches and feel just the same about this one. The buildup to the next PPV revolved around Mike Awesome knocking out some of the teeth of Spike Dudley's girlfriend character. Presumably that happened here with the lariat/axe bomber. Putting a 100 pound untrained girl in there to take a hard bump against a 270 pound man fuelled by adrenalin and roid rage. Not the best idea. As this is the final chapter of the 90's Yearbooks I look back and compare it to the opening chapter of the 1990 Yearbook. 'We are Dynamite' was wrestling at its most goofy and cartoony. The final image here was a guy being powerbombed from inside the ring onto a table on the floor. Something that years ago would've been crazy and shocking now felt throwaway and meaningless. The 90's was a decade of great change for pro wrestling. Not always the right changes, but there was rarely a dull moment.

This was really well built up as LCO had just made Arsion the latest stop on their invasion tour, destroying Aja in a handicap match. Surely a couple of 2nd year pro's didn't stand a chance against them? As expected the Orientales dominated most of the match, whilst giving occasional openings to keep things interesting. The balance and pacing were really good. Hamada and Akino both drank lots of their own blood, probably for the first time. Ayako in particular bled like the proverbial stuck pig. It made her look like a wild woman as she fought back. Seeing the bloodied youngsters fighting against all the odds was so inspiring. The ending was well done as Ayako strung together a couple of high impact moves to get the fluke. Often after a one sided beatdown they go straight into an unrealistically competitive stretch. Here they got it right. A feel good moment. Afterwards HamaKINO had a tearful embrace with their mentor Aja. The last of the 90's vintage.

What a fantastic way to conclude a stellar year, and an out of this world decade for Zen Nihon. A celebration of the promotion in general and Stan Hansen in particular. It turned out to be another memorable Tag League final, with a match that surely blew away the most optimistic expectations. The fans were massively behind the veteran duo. You don't get atmosphere's like this anymore. Taue looked like he was still in his prime. Hansen may have slowed down but he still had his strikes. Not to mention all his experience and mental skills. He turned back the clock and gave the Burning all they could handle. The 20m duration was spot on. Only a couple of minor errors. Akiyama still doesn't quite come off as an A lister. The vets threatened before the momentum switched rapidly, with the defending champions putting together a decisive offensive salvo. It's hard to see how this could've worked out any better at this point in time.

Okay so the 16 participants began by having half a Battle Royal. The 8 men who were eliminated then faced the 8 who weren't in a Cibernetico elimination match. So the topic title isn't strictly accurate but I'm not volunteering to correct it. Now if you're the type of fan who is worried about knowing exactly what is going on at all stages then why are you watching wrestling in a language you don't understand this may not be for you. It's pretty much impossible to keep track of who is on which team and what the score is. Just sit back and watch lots of Luchadores flying about at lightening speed. There were plenty of exciting moves and it was enjoyable. There were also numerous flaws. It was too compressed to fully do the format justice. I counted 3 near falls where either the ref or the wrestlers got it wrong. With so many people and that many eliminations in a short time frame there were moments of confusion. It needed either more time or less people. In the end it came down to Santo against Ultimo Guerrero. My hero went on to win the Leyenda de Plata, so all was right in Arena Mexico. Overall I liked this a fair bit, but it was a mixed bag.

Really solid stuff here with a consistent level throughout. At its best when Ishikawa and Usuda were squaring off. Malenko came in carrying a minor leg injury, which didn't pass unnoticed. He didn't stand out like the match partnering Joe earlier in the Yearbook. Mochizuki's performance was the weakest, although it wasn't below average in the grand scheme of things. His style was a bit too Juniorish and would fit in better with a different promotion from the time period.

JIP. A bit over half of the 26:32 was aired. It's annoying that the whole thing isn't around as what was shown was tremendous. A great World Title atmosphere as two legends collided. The changes in momentum were spot on and the result was in the balance. After a dramatic stretch Tenryu becomes the IWGP Champion for the first and only time in his career. In full this could've been a low end MOTYC. Or perhaps the JIPpage was beneficial? When rating incomplete matches you just have to make a judgement call.

I have such golden memories of the 1988 match I don't want to rewatch it. The old Silver Vision video pretty much explains why. No that still isn't a side suplex.

The way the audience would collectively groan whenever the wrestlers went outside late in the match was akin to WCW fans standing up and looking towards the entrance for the run in. Bad conditioning.

You can probably find a detailed explanation about the traditional title match from some of OJ's posts here or his Great Lucha blog. In brief the match is supposed to be conducted in a technical style throughout. So strikes are frowned upon and the rulebook is rigorously enforced. Rudos would often have to completely change the way they fight to comply with the rules. Tecnicos should in theory already fight in a technical manner. Lots of matwork in the first and possibly second fall is a hallmark. The endings of the fall might briefly up the pace. The third fall would be like Mask/Hair matches with lots of near falls and 'Lucha Dramatica'. There are any number of examples. Around here El Dandy vs Angel Azteca 6/1/90 gets talked about a lot.

The two teams had only met three weeks beforehand, as well as earlier in the year. So the matchup felt stale. Had Baba still been alive he'd have kept this off TV. His booking philosophy centred around the long term and not flogging a good rivalry to death. That vision and confidence made him such a rarity amongst wrestling promoters. Whilst the booking might have been poor the 30m certainly flew by. Consistent quality through the build before peaking at the right stages. Ogawa naturally took the most punishment, although he did hold his own. The underdog had become a more formidable wrestler than would've ever seemed possible in previous years. He brought his A game here. The other three all brought their rock solid B games. Not a match of any significance or that I'll remember anything about. But it was good quality, and a pleasant way for an AJ fan to spend half an hour of his time.

The average Murakami match was never up to much, but every now and then he'd be involved in something a bit special. His 2002 bout against Nagata is one I have particularly fond memories of. He brought plenty of personality in this one and acquitted himself very well within the BAT style. A keen rivalry was present between the two teams and the action was hard hitting. The tag format works better in BattlARTS than any other shoot style promotion. Good quality in general with a strong climax taking it up a notch. There were a couple of awesome delayed suplexes from Ishikawa and Yone that I don't know the name of.

Despite the death match setting they kicked off with a period of actual wrestling. The fans sat in stony silence. Then the gimmicks and hardcore stuff began. The people had come to see crazy spots and blood, and that's what they got. I felt absolutely no emotional connection to any of it. As a spectacle it did have some entertainment value.

I approve of these shorter match times. It's like going back to the early 90's where things were less predictable. They briefly teased a slow build before Misawa was dumped on his head with a brutal release German. Not such easy viewing in hindsight. A hard hitting sprint unfolded. The action wasn't flawless, but they did deliver a satisfying main event. The lack of narrative was a limiting factor. Vader kicked out of the Tiger Driver '91 and somewhat surprisingly regained the belts with a powerbomb. It's great to see the big man back on top after his shameful treatment in America.

Got off to a hot start-o. The pace and intensity never let up throughout its 15m duration. They had the crowd all the way, which often wasn't the case in the late 90's. A keen rivalry was put across. For the first time I can recall Kobashi was in the role of angry veteran fighting off disrespectful younger opponents. It was great seeing this new dynamic as he entered the second decade of his career. No Fear both stepped up to the plate with strong performances. Akiyama capably took a background role for this one. In the end Kenta won after putting the opposition over strong. I was surprised by how good this was in all aspects. Excellent match. The best I've seen from Takayama and Omori in the 90's.

AJ continues to bring the goods. Ogawa helped to create a spritely opening. To his immense credit he didn't look at all out of place in tag team main events this year. Both teams utilised numerous double team manoeuvres. Of course everyone worked together like clockwork. The quality of wrestling was what you'd come to expect. It wasn't as strong as their previous battle. Could've lopped 5m off the duration. For the finish Kobashi downed Misawa with the Burning Hammer.

This was a really good card until the final two matches. On paper this was an appropriate way to end the 90's, but I didn't care for the match at all. The rivalry felt stale as did the wrestling. Before the bell they did some comedy regarding the handshake. That set the tone for a lighthearted build with crowd clapalong sessions. It developed into a low intensity, by the numbers spotfest. Bad Joshi. They tried to do an epic stretch but had given themselves no base. They weren't in the shape of years past either. The notion that kicking out of finishers is somehow 'taking it to the next level' is woefully misguided.

I do remember one TNG fan that I knew who didn't hate Wesley Crusher. The character was a great example of a heel babyface. I had about a dozen WWF action figures back in the day. My parents didn't understand that if you're going to get Ax, you have to get the Smasher as well. I probably preferred the Bushwhackers in plastic at the time.

Great post. Thanks for sharing.

It's painful enough already. I'm not even sure if your review is a parody or not? Analysing a Lucha match like it took place in Rings. In minute detail. Taking a style of wrestling and judging it by a totally alien set of standards and expectations. If you're looking for 'realism' in a pro wrestling context and a lack of obvious cooperation then Lucha would be just about your last port of call.

I've never paid much attention to which title is being defended. In my notes I'll just put 'Title' rather than specify the belt. What's important is whether it's conducted in the traditional title match style, which probably doesn't happen much these days. It's not like in other countries where the belts are the focal point of a promotion. The mask is king.