Zenjo

A TV bout that felt like a strong PPV encounter. It went 12m but felt longer in a good way. Frenetic brawling action that was a precursor to the style Austin would work in later years. A really good intensity, feeling wild and out of control. Things were moving away from face vs heel into the shades of grey time period. Lame run in finish.

A solid enough affair, yet I was expecting more. They'd left their best ideas in the previous bout 3 months ago. This felt like going through the motions.

They were both acting like faces. It can't be a huge surprise that the Alpha Male went down a hell of a lot better than the Pretty Boy. It was actually a quite reasonable match before the HSF. Now that's a rating killer. This night was the undoubted highlight of Sid's career. The mutant farmboy does make me mark out sometimes.

An all new match type, and this feud saw the birth of an all new Undertaker. The dead man was allowed to tone down the zombie act and become a worker. The fighting was mainly in and around the ring with occasional forays to the grave. It had a nice balance of brawling, high impact moves and some weaponry. The duration was spot on and these two had great chemistry. Their feud led to an upturn in the careers of both men. Some sportz entertainment fun in the aftermath with multiple burials.

The winning team had a bit of canine chemistry. In the early stages it was mainly low intensity matwork, which passed the time pleasantly enough. The pace picked up dramatically near the end, presumably because it was JIP for TV. Nice little match. Nakanishi was a straight up, developing midcarder at this stage. The goofy stuff would come in later years.

Zenjo's Top 100 Matches of 1996 100) El Dandy, Atlantis & Hector Garza vs Apolo Dantes, Dr Wagner Jr & Felino (CMLL 4/26/96) 99) Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (AJ 5/24/96) 98) Jaguar Yokota vs Lioness Aska (Jd' 4/14/96) 97) Shiro Koshinaka vs Satoshi Kojima (NJ 8/6/96) 96) Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota vs Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita (AJW 8/4/96) 95) Chigusa Nagayo, Sonoko Kato, Toshie Uematsu & Sakura Hirota vs Mayumi Ozaki, Chikayo Nagashima, Sugar Sato & Reiko Amano (GAEA 8/18/96) 94) Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & NWO Sting vs Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger & Sting (War Games) (WCW 9/15/96) 93) El Dandy, El Hijo Del Santo & Silver King vs Negro Casas, Apolo Dantes & El Satanico (CMLL 2/10/96) 92) Juventud Guerrera & Psicosis vs Volador & El Mexicano (AAA 1/12/96) 91) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Gary Albright (AJ 3/2/96) 90) La Parkita, Espectrito I & II vs Super Munequito, Baby Rabbit & Mini Frisbee (AAA 3/22/96) 89) Rey Mysterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Heavy Metal & Psicosis (Indy 6/1/96) 88) Black Tiger II vs Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ 6/5/96) 87) Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi (AJ 9/5/96) 86) Volk Han vs Mitsuya Nagai (RINGS 6/29/96) 85) Masahito Kakihara vs Shinjiro Ohtani (UWFI 3/1/96) 84) Steven Regal vs Fit Finlay (Parking Lot Brawl) (WCW 4/29/96) 83) Mascara Magica vs Guerrero de la Muerte (CMLL 8/16/96) 82) Great Sasuke, Masato Yakashiji, Norino Hoshikawa, Gran Hamada & Super Delfin vs Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo, Men's Teioh, Shiryu & Shoichi Funaki (Indy 12/1/96) 81) Mayumi Ozaki vs Hiromi Yagi (JWP 3/3/96) 80) Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 11/22/96) 79) Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs Yoji Anjoh & Yoshihiro Takayama (NJ 2/25/96) 78) Chapparita Asari vs Fusayo Nochi (AJW 12/8/96) 77) Sonoko Kato & Meiko Satomura vs Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima (GAEA 11/2/96) 76) Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (AJ 3/2/96) 75) Steve Austin vs Mankind (WWF 11/18/96) 74) Apolo Dantes, El Canek & Negro Casas vs Atlantis, El Hijo del Santo & Rayo de Jalisco Jr (CMLL 7/12/96) 73) Jushin Thunder Liger vs Dick Togo (NJ 6/17/96) 72) Volk Han vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS 8/24/96) 71) Mariko Yoshida vs Chapparita Asari (AJW 8/4/96) 70) Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Super Delphin, Gran Naniwa & Masato Yakushiji vs Dick Togo, Men's Teioh, Taka Michinoku, Shiryu & Shoichi Funaki (M-Pro 12/16/96) 69) Chris Benoit vs Kevin Sullivan (Falls Count Anywhere) (WCW 6/16/96) 68) Rayo de Jalisco Jr vs Apolo Dantes (CMLL 5/31/96) 67) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 11/16/96) 66) Panterita & Super Munequito vs Espectrito I & II (AAA 4/18/96) 65) Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshihiro Takayama (UWFI 12/27/96) 64) El Dandy, Silver King & Mr Niebla vs Negro Casas, Black Warrior & Emilio Charles Jr (CMLL 9/6/96) 63) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (AJ 5/24/96) 62) Steve Austin vs Marc Mero (WWF 6/23/96) 61) Great Sasuke, Tiger Mask IV, Hikari Fukuoka & Hiromi Yagi vs Super Delphin, Gran Naniwa, Candy Okutsu & Commando Bolshoi (JWP 10/13/96) 60) Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoji Anjoh (WAR 7/21/96) 59) Chris Benoit vs Dean Malenko (WCW 8/10/96) 58) Rey Misterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera (ECW 3/9/96) 57) Nobuhiko Takada & Masahito Kakihara vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWFI 6/26/96) 56) Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue (AJ 3/31/96) 55) La Fiera, Mascara Magica, Olimpico & Ringo Mendoza vs Black Warrior, Felino, Karloff Lagarde Jr & Scorpio Jr (Torneo Cibernetico) (CMLL 10/8/96) 54) Rey Mysterio Jr vs Psicosis (WCW 7/7/96) 53) Nobuhiko Takada vs Shiro Koshinaka (NJ 3/1/96) 52) Lizmark Jr, Negro Casas & Rayo deJalisco Jr vs Apolo Dantes, Bestia Salvaje & Satanico (CMLL 9/20/96) 51) Volk Han vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS 7/16/96) 50) Silver King vs Emilio Charles Jr (Hair vs Hair) (CMLL 9/27/96) 49) Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura (RINGS 9/25/96) 48) Perry Saturn & John Kronus vs New Jack & Mustapha Saed (ECW 8/24/96) 47) Undertaker vs Mankind (Buried Alive Match) (WWF 10/20/96) 46) Chigusa Nagayo vs Devil Masami (GAEA 11/2/96) 45) Steve Austin vs Savio Vega (Strap Match) (WWF 5/28/96) 44) Dynamite Kansai & Kanako Motoya vs Mayumi Ozaki & Reiko Amano (JWP 6/16/96) 43) Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobuhiko Takada (WAR 12/13/96) 42) Vader vs Antonio Inoki (NJ 1/4/96) 41) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 5/23/96) 40) Aja Kong vs Kyoko Inoue (AJW 8/30/96) 39) Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs Sonoko Kato & Toshie Uematsu (GAEA 9/16/96) 38) Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels (60m Ironman) (WWF 3/31/96) 37) Jushin Thunder Liger vs Shinjiro Otani (NJ 3/17/96) 36) Kazuo Yamazaki vs Keiji Mutoh (NJ 8/2/96) 35) Chigusa Nagayo vs Sonoko Kato (GAEA 11/16/96) 34) Mascarita Magica vs Damiancito El Guerrero (CMLL 2/27/96) 33) Steven Regal vs Fit Finlay (WCW 3/24/96) 32) Genechiro Tenryu & Nobutaka Araya vs Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka (WAR 11/9/96) 31) Mima Shimoda & Jaguar Yokota vs Cooga & Chikako Shiratori (Jd' 11/24/96) 30) Eagle Sawai, Jen Yukari & Michiko Nagashima vs Chigusa Nagayo, Sonoko Kato & Bomber Hikari (LLPW 3/12/96) 29) El Dandy vs Black Warrior (CMLL 11/2/96) 28) Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue (AJ 7/24/96) 27) Nobuhiko Takada vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 4/29/96) 26) Manami Toyota vs Kyoko Inoue (AJW 12/8/96) 25) Negro Casas & El Felino & El Satanico vs El Dandy & Silver King & Lizmark (CMLL 6/28/96) 24) El Hijo Del Santo vs Felino (CMLL 4/5/96) 23) Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs Chihiro Nakano & Makie Numao (GAEA 11/18/96) 22) Shawn Michaels vs Mankind (WWF 9/22/96) 21) Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka (NJ 6/12/96) 20) Mayumi Ozaki vs Dynamite Kansai (JWP 8/10/96) 19) Shinjiro Ohtani vs El Samurai (NJ 1/21/96) 18) Dynamite Kansai & Cuty Suzuki vs Devil Masami & Hikari Fukuoka (JWP 11/26/96) 17) Manami Toyota, Mariko Yoshida, Kaoru Ito & Yumi Fukawa vs Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue, Chapparita Asari, Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa (Captains Fall) (AJW 2/12/96) 16) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 7/9/96) 15) Masahiro Chono vs Keiji Mutoh (NJ 8/6/96) 14) Gran Hamada, Super Delfin, Tiger Mask IV, Gran Naniwa & Masato Yakushiji vs Dick Togo, Men's Teioh, Shiryu, Taka Michinoku & Shoichi Funaki (M-Pro 10/10/96) 13) Felino vs Mascara Magica (CMLL 5/21/96) 12) Bret Hart vs Steve Austin (WWF 11/17/96) 11) Takako Inoue vs Mariko Yoshida (AJW 10/6/96) 10) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 6/7/96) 9) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 11/29/96) 8) Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda vs Kaoru Ito & Mariko Yoshida (AJW 9/28/96) 7) Steve Williams vs Akira Taue (AJ 4/20/96) 6) Dynamite Kansai & Cuty Suzuki vs Hikari Fukuoka & Kaoru (JWP 7/7/96) 5) Ultimo Dragon vs Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ 8/4/96) 4) El Hijo Del Santo, Atlantis, El Dandy & Lizmark vs Blue Panther, Felino, Dr Wagner Jr & Negro Casas (Elimination) (CMLL 3/22/96) 3) Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyota (FMW 5/5/96) 2) El Dandy vs El Hijo Del Santo vs Negro Casas (Hair vs Mask vs Hair) (CMLL 12/6/96) 1) Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 12/6/96)

I remember that well. They'd just done a Tanahashi vs Nagata IWGP match before the G1. Then when Nakamura got legit KO'd in the SF they had to go with a Tanahashi vs Nagata G1 Final. And because the G1 winner gets a title shot then the next IWGP match had to be, you guessed it, Tanahashi vs Nagata for a 3rd time! So that's how you know Shinsuke sure as hell wasn't meant to lose that match. Fortunately he'd still be around 4 years later for his long overdue G1 triumph.

A decent enough house show type of bout. Nagata was a young heavyweight paying his dues at the time. He actually debuted in the same year as Ohtani, but his career would follow a very different trajectory.

Was Yakushiji the long lost brother of Kaoru Ito? This was a reality check after 10/10. Much humbler surroundings with the crowd sat on gym mats. More your typical quality main event you'd get at the time also. There was a longer heel beatdown phase in this one. It was nothing standout, but there was some decent stuff here.

These Days, the stars are out of reach... This has got to be the most impressive gymnasium in all of Japan. I think this was M-Pro's biggest ever show, and that certainly added importance to proceedings. Before 1996 it wasn't a promotion that had contributed much in the grand scheme of things. It was developing a new style, and the first few years of M-Pro were like building a jigsaw. This was the final result. Like most jigsaws it was broken up a little while after completion, so that short golden age has to be savoured. Lightening paced Lucharesu action throughout it's 32m duration. The style would've been blowaway at the time. It's still very impressive. There were inevitable errors but nothing terrible. Yakushiji is flashy and flaky. Believe me, he's one of those guys who needs really good support. The match never got bogged down at any stage, though I'd have probably trimmed a few minutes off the opening phase if nitpicking. The highlight was certainly the stretch. Very stylised with different team members taking turns in the ring and countless broken pinfalls. Exciting and exhausting, it felt like an epic. I have it ranked #13 for the year.

Sasuke seemed to get huge crowd support in whatever promotion he was fighting in. Heaven knows why the guy was so popular? I liked the opening 5m here as the matwork and standing moves were fast and fluid. After that it turned into your typical Sasuke fare. The Wrestle & Romance fans were red hot during the closing stretch. If you'd have just tuned into the final couple of minutes then you'd be left thinking it must have been a great match, rather than good tops. It got me thinking back to when I first became a Puroresu fan, and how badly I'd have overrated a match like this. At the time they didn't used to have loads of 2.9 counts in the American wrestling that I'd grown up viewing (that sure changed). So when I started off watching Japanese matches the thing that got me most was all these great near falls they'd have down the stretch. It didn't even have to be a particularly good match, just give me a few near falls and I'd be marking out for them. Okay, so I became a lot more balanced in viewing matches start to finish, but part of me misses being so easy to please!

This had started ruling within seconds, and there was more where that came from. These were the two quickest thinking and most instinctive mat workers in shoot style. Overall they were quite possibly the best two at the time. Some delightful technique on display and a few nice strikes also. It went just north of 10m, and I'd love to see them take it further next time.

A rather strange match. It had the vibe of a main eventer vs midcarder workout, even though Kosh was higher ranked than that. Hash was setting him up for the kill and Shiro-oh was going to presumably have a couple of token near falls before falling. Instead he hits two jumping hip attacks which Hash sells like death. I'm not buying the bumbutt as a KO move. Total fluke victory. I think it's pretty awesome that two fans can watch this and have polar opposite interpretations of what happened.

Shawn actually looked like an impressive champion and an offensive wrestler for once. I mean in regards to his moveset, he always was offensive. This was smartly laid out and very well executed. There were swings of momentum and the different phases fitted together nicely. Both Mankind's knee and hand were worked over. It made me laugh how Foley was the one taking all the dangerous bumps. There was plenty of outside action that wasn't crowd brawling. It was innovative and unpredictable. Mankind posed a credible threat and this was one of the highlights in both men's careers. Now there were downsides. Shawn's weak punches, the lame DQ finish and Earl Fucking Hebner. But the postives far outweighed any of them. A WWF classic and a really good effort worldwide.

An intriguing, and quite nifty little match. Certainly no shortfall of stiff strikes from both. The matwork was also hard. There was a styles clash so it felt awkward at times during the first 10m. Towards the end Regal started to connect with the audience and business picked up. Being in front of the Korakuen hardcores was beneficial. Regal could definitely have been a successful gaijin if things hadn't worked out so well for him in America. He won Hash's respect for being tough.

Watchable enough fare. Take it or leave it really. It was worked as a feature bout but the fans weren't into it.

A dream match for sure, and I loved the rematch in WAR. In UWFI it felt awkward stylistically. I want to see shoot style matches when watching a shoot style promotion. Outsiders should be adapting their own style, not having the home wrestler having to change to accommodate them. Tenryu submitting came as a big shock to me. How often did that happen over his career?

When you shoot for the sky you can have a big success, a big failure or a partial success. Usually the 3rd isn't that noteworthy, but this is 90's AJ baby. 23m of 29m shown. Solid work, yet it felt a bit long and bloated. The crowd were flat before the finish spike. It still got hot at the close, and the highlight was Ace's awesome modified sleeper suplay headdrop. He was a guy who looked badly exposed in singles bouts, but could contribute well as the junior partner in tag matches.

The Wargames had such a great format you wonder how WCW manages to fuck it up so often post 1992. Then again it should never be a surprise to see 'WCW' and 'fuck up' in close proximity. Through the 90's the annual Wargames match had classics and atrocities. The '94 edition was somewhere in the middle. The action here was reasonably good, though it was PG rated. There's the frequently changing dynamic of the heels having the numerical advantage before the face comes roaring in to even things up. It creates a strong structure and momentum by itself. Sting coming in to destroy his double was cool, but then he left in an angle and the finish fell a bit flat.

An infamous match with the biker crowd. I don't know if the version on the set was the original PPV as it sounds like the heat machine was brought into action here. Never has it been more gratefully received. It's only during the OT period I could hear the fans displeasure. Well I say fans in the loosest terms. Having a Nitro here would've been preferable to a PPV, as all the matches could be kept to 5m or less. I think an ECW show would work well in front of this audience also. Initially it went to a 20m draw, which is where they should've left it. Commendable workrate, good intensity and a wide variety of moves utilised. The structure and psychology were very Japanese. Exhaustion selling was also strong. Unfortunately they decided to have 5m overtime, not once but twice. Why have a time limit if you're going to do that? The 1st period was submission based, which they should've done earlier on in the bout, if at all. Then after that a screwjob finish. Ugh. Despite the booking I still enjoyed the match. Both were skilled competitors who worked well together. They connected with me, and that's all I'm really bothered about.

This is rightly viewed as one of the greatest Junior matches in history. Almost immediately they're referencing La Majistal, fantastic psychology. It's one of my favourite moves, but Ohtani let's us know that shit aint working a second time. They moved onto the matwork which was sharp and lively. There was a submission emphasis with both men looking like they were going for the win. It was far removed from the usual time killing. Then Puro dramatica down the stretch with back 'n' forth action and terrific near falls. Ohtani's character work was off the charts as the head was shaking. I was marking out so hard as he fell to another agonising defeat. Dragon certainly impressed, and provided the platform for Shinjiro to deliver a top class performance.

The 8 girls in swimsuits were a nice touch, as they each came out carrying a belt. It was all downhill from there. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this here before but the 'Great' Sasuke fucking sucks. He's like the Japanese version of Sabu or something. I'd be hard pressed to think of a Puroresu star from the era I dislike more. His Tiger Mask ripoff movement is tilting, his selling is abysmal, he's a total spot monkey slop bucket, and he has no idea how to construct a match by himself. For any good match he was in give major props to the opponent, because all Sasuke could do were flashy moves. And the fans loved the guy.

This was Stan's final TC match and he did himself proud. Going 26m was really tough physically at his point, but he produced a strong veterans performance. He outperformed Kobashi by far. Shin Champion had problems adapting to his new role. Some experimentation with Kawada-esque selling also backfired. The burly Texan was the underdog. It never ceases to surprise me how good he is at this role with his excellent selling. Kobashi was able to survive a right armed lariat in a poorly done near fall by the referee. The title felt like it was in jeopardy. Overall it was uneven as only one participant brought their A game.

Matwork, glorious matwork. Not too much vertical time in this one. Han is so inventive, he seems to come up with new moves nearly every outing. Kohsaka was also an adept technician as they went from hold to counter hold. The fans were believing it could end at any time, which was one of the main plus points of the style. Consistently good quality. It threatened to explode, but didn't. Near the end Han looked done for, yet he pulled one last counter out of the bag to prevail.