Bierschwale

I would add, combining off of your RVD point, that working to your character/gimmick/role in a match, is also key. Smart workers, to me, are generally ones who do what makes their matches feel like it's one that only they could have. Now, admittedly, it is very hard to reconcile the idea that Masato Tanaka is an all-time smart worker because he's an all-time great at working matches that feel like matches that only he could have, so it might not be a universal concept. But there you get into the question of enforcing your match on your opponent vs. maintaining a character in any setting.

Get it online for me! Screw these guys! Who HASN'T watched Antonio Honda-Dick Togo? Everyone go watch Honda-Togo.

UNOFFICIAL: Something wildly un-"All Japan" featuring the majority of the juniors and a "get people a payday" battle royal.

AJPW signs The Great Kabuki.

10/19/95 AJPW October Giant Series, Day Fifteen Akita Prefectural Gymnasium Akita 1) Haku, Konga, & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Takashi Ishikawa, Yoshinari Ogawa, & Genichiro Tenryu ends in a double disqualification. From the beginning of the match, it spilled to the outside, becoming a street fight in all but name. The Faces of Fear seemed eager to prove themselves to Jumbo to be made part of the team for his final match, with each going after Tenryu's teammates, leaving Ogawa buried under the timekeeper's table after a double powerbomb. Tenryu & Tsuruta both observed the gravity of the moment, knowing that this could be the final time that they faced off, before laying into each other with closed-fist potato shot punches and going for kicks to the gut looking for powerbombs. As Jumbo was able to win the preliminary battle and send Tenryu stumbling to the canvas, THE GREAT KABUKI appeared in AJPW for the first time since the SWS split and attacked Jumbo and offered his services before being chased out by Haku & Konga. Tenryu eagerly accepted Kabuki's offer, declaring his final team to be Ishikawa, Kabuki, Ogawa, and himself. Jumbo stated that he would gladly have the Faces of Fear, but that he would wait to name his last partner. Tenryu gave another of his shit-eating grins as he doubted that Tsuruta would be able to find a third man. (9:20) - 2) Osamu Nishimura defeats Black Tiger II via pinfall after an O'Connor roll. (17:15) - 3) Jun Akiyama defeats Ultimo Dragon via pinfall after a Death Valley Bomb. (11:42) - 4) Tamon Honda, Miguel Perez, Jr., & Katsumi Usuda defeat Satoru Asako, Maunakea Mossman, & Takao Omori via pinfall by Honda on Omori after a backdrop driver. (15:10) - 5) Masanobu Fuchi, Masao Inoue, & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi defeat Nobutaka Araya, Samson Fuyuki, & Koki Kitahara via pinfall by Fuchi on Araya after a DDT. (14:56) - 6) Stan Hansen, Akira Taue, & Ultimate Tiger vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, & Mitsuharu Misawa ended in a time-limit draw. Giant Baba sent the majority of the non-Revolution/SGA/UVA members of the roster to ringside to prevent this from becoming an out of control brawl following what had happened in the previous SGA-UVA matches and the Revolution-Tsurutagun fight in the night's opening match, which kept things more sedate than in previous encounters but did not decrease the in-ring intensity. It seemed to be a display of technique first and foremost, a match of one ups-manship, punctuated by Misawa hitting a top rope splash on Hansen with twenty seconds remaining in the match after Hansen delivered an almost decisive Western Lariat on Kawada, in order to nullify the pin. As the 30:00 time limit bell sounded, the six men slowly all met in the center of the ring, almost as though they were going to shake hands before deciding better of it. (30:00)

CARD FOR THE 15TH DAY OF THE OCTOBER GIANT SERIES IN AKITA (OCTOBER 19): Magic Dragon Cup semifinal: BLACK TIGER II vs. OSAMU NISHIMURA Magic Dragon Cup semifinal: JUN AKIYAMA vs. ULTIMO DRAGON SATORU ASAKO/MAUNAKEA MOSSMAN/TAKAO OMORI vs. TAMON HONDA/MIGUEL PEREZ, JR./KATSUMI USUDA NOBUTAKA ARAYA/SAMSON FUYUKI/KOKI KITAHARA vs. MASANOBU FUCHI/MASAO INOUE/TSUYOSHI KIKUCHI HAKU/KONGA/JUMBO TSURUTA vs. TAKASHI ISHIKAWA/YOSHINARI OGAWA/GENICHIRO TENRYU STAN HANSEN/AKIRA TAUE/ULTIMATE TIGER vs. TOSHIAKI KAWADA/KENTA KOBASHI/MITSUHARU MISAWA

Officially, it's just the '97 & '98 Rumbles and they weren't in the match at the same time in '98, so yes.

CURRENT CARD FOR 10/25: All-Asia Tag Team Championship match: MASANOBU FUCHI/TSUYOSHI KIKUCHI vs. SAMSON FUYUKI/KOKI KITAHARA © Tag team survival match: TAKASHI ISHIKAWA/YOSHINARI OGAWA/GENICHIRO TENRYU//??? vs. JUMBO TSURUTA/???/???/??? Magic Dragon Cup final: JUN AKIYAMA or ULTIMO DRAGON vs. BLACK TIGER II or OSAMU NISHIMURA Texas Death Match: MITSUHARU MISAWA vs. ULTIMATE TIGER AJPW World Tag Team Championship unification match: STAN HANSEN/AKIRA TAUE vs. TOSHIAKI KAWADA/KENTA KOBASHI

GIANT BABA WITH TWO HUGE ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR 10/25: Toshiaki Kawada will team with KENTA KOBASHI against Stan Hansen & Akira Taue to determine the new AJPW World Tag Team champions. This has to be announced now because of the other match officially being signed for the Budokan show-- a non-title match featuring MITSUHARU MISAWA against ULTIMATE TIGER. Baba feels as though "[his] hand is being forced" and that to settle this rivalry and prevent the "inmates from running the asylum", he must break from All Japan tradition, meaning that this match will be a FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE IN THE BUILDING TEXAS DEATH MATCH.

10/14/95 AJPW October Giant Series, Day Eleven Korakuen Hall Tokyo 1) Ultimo Dragon defeats Mascara Magica via referee stoppage with a Dragon Sleeper hold. (11:20) - 2) Black Tiger II defeats Alex Wright via pinfall after a Frog Splash. (12:36) - 3) Haruka Eigen, Tamon Honda, & Jumbo Tsuruta defeat Haku, Jun Izumida, & Rusher Kimura via pinfall by Tsuruta on Izumida after a powerbomb. After the match, Jumbo announced that his final match on 10/25 would be a ten-man tag team survival match, and that he wanted it to be an all-star affair, and challenged Genichiro Tenryu, whom declared to be his greatest-ever rival, to captain a team against him. Tenryu came out and accepted the offer, and the two men embraced. (10:47) - 4) Samson Fuyuki, Norio Honaga, & Koki Kitahara defeat Masao Inoue, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, & Richard Slinger via pinfall by Honaga on Slinger after a straitjacket German suplex. Despite the loss, Kikuchi challenged Fuyuki & Kitahara to a match for the All-Asia Tag Team titles on 10/25, where he would team with Masa Fuchi. The Romantic Warriors team accepted the challenge, with Fuyuki noting that Fuchi/Kikuchi were both junior heavyweights and of no threat to them, setting off Kikuchi who had to be restrained by Inoue & Slinger. (13:29) - 5) Osamu Nishimura defeats Nobutaka Araya via submission with a spinning toe-hold. (14:11) - 6) Jun Akiyama defeats Takao Omori via pinfall after consective Exploder suplexes. (17:10) - 7) Kenta Kobashi & Tiger Mask IV defeat Takashi Iizuka & Akira Nogami via pinfall by Kobashi on Iizuka after moonsaults by both Tiger Mask & Kobashi in succession. (18:42) - 8) Takashi Ishikawa & Genichiro Tenryu defeat Stan Hansen & Akitoshi Saito via pinfall by Tenryu on Saito after a diving back elbow drop. Tenryu named Ishikawa & Yoshinari Ogawa as his first two teammates for the 10/25 match against Tsuruta & his team. He extended an offer to Hansen, in case Hansen was wanting out of the AJPW Tag Team title match in which he had vowed to team with Akira Taue. Hansen responded that, despite his respect for Tsuruta, that he had no interest in winning Tenryu a testimonial match, and that Tenryu knew that, and that he found Tenryu's attempt at creating a rift between himself and Taue to be disgusting. Tenryu left the ring with Ishikawa looking as nonchalant as ever after his attempt to get under Hansen's skin. (14:04) - 9) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Ultimate Tiger ended in a double disqualification after both men brawled out of the ring and into the crowd. The match broke down after Ultimate Tiger caught Misawa's elbow suicida dive into a belly-to-belly suplex on the outside, which nearly resulted in a double countout itself. As he rose, Misawa snapped and grabbed a chair from ringside and laid into Tiger, who responded in kind. Blood could be seen trickling out of one of the eyeholes of Ultimate Tiger's mask as the two threw closed-fist punches. The Super Generation and Unsinkable Vengeance Armies emerged from the locker room to seperate their respective representatives. Giant Baba sent out the rest of the "Zen Solo" roster in order to provide impartial assistance to quell the potential war of the two armies in a scene so chaotic to have not been seen since the reign of terror by The Sheik & Abdullah the Butcher of the late 1970s. (15:40) - 10) Masanobu Fuchi & Akira Taue defeat Toshiaki Kawada & Maunakea Mossman via pinfall by Taue on Mossman after a nodowa. The match was a fevered and intense fight following the Misawa-Tiger match that preceded it, with all four men in the ring at once with all of the SGA/UVA members surrounding the ring and turning it into a de facto lumberjack match. Both factions stormed the ring at the match's conclusion, leading to a three-way fight between Kawada/Misawa's, Hansen/Taue's, and Baba's men. Again, Genichiro Tenryu would be seen smiling at the havoc being wreaked, being flanked by the entire Revolution stable at the entranceway as Korakuen descended into madness. (10:11)

Thanks. I don't have super-elaborate results stuff (big shows will be more colorful) but I do have a general plan to continue on the more angle-centric AJPW without it breaking the classic style of the promotion too much. I might add in a few shows sanctioned by AJ that aren't just "AJPW shows", which is more common now but NJPW did them regularly at the time with Muga/Heisei. With Tenryu, a WAR show seems pretty obvious. Planning on posting the 10/14 show today.

AJPW signs Miguel Perez, Jr..

AJPW signs Akitoshi Saito.

CARD FOR THE 11TH DAY OF THE OCTOBER GIANT SERIES AT KORAKUEN HALL (OCTOBER 14): Magic Dragon Cup Quarterfinal Match: MASCARA MAGICA vs. ULTIMO DRAGON Magic Dragon Cup Quarterfinal Match: BLACK TIGER II vs. ALEX WRIGHT Magic Dragon Cup Quarterfinal Match: NOBUTAKA ARAYA vs. OSAMU NISHIMURA Magic Dragon Cup Quarterfinal Match: JUN AKIYAMA vs. TAKAO OMORI HARUKA EIGEN, TAMON HONDA, & JUMBO TSURUTA vs. HAKU, JUN IZUMIDA, & RUSHER KIMURA SAMSON FUYUKI, NORIO HONAGA, & KOKI KITAHARA vs. MASAO INOUE, TSUYOSHI KIKUCHI, & RICHARD SLINGER TAKASHI IIZUKA & AKIRA NOGAMI vs. KENTA KOBASHI & TIGER MASK IV STAN HANSEN & AKITOSHI SAITO vs. TAKASHI ISHIKAWA & GENICHIRO TENRYU MITSUHARU MISAWA vs. ULTIMATE TIGER MASANOBU FUCHI & AKIRA TAUE vs. TOSHIAKI KAWADA & MAUNAKEA MOSSMAN

This really is outstanding.

I like the Havoc match more than the GAB match for Malenko-Rey, though I (of course) would enjoy a rewatch of both, though I don't like their Nitro match at MGM Studios that much. Am beginning to lose my mind over not having seen the Ki match, unless it's on Highspots or something. Love the Cena match. Such a great argument against Rey not having credible ground offense, those kicks are fantastic. I think that the ECW 2/3 falls match with Psic holds up wonderfully and is just BRUTAL. Rey's closest thing to an epic apuestas brawl, excluding something like Judgment Day '06.

10/10/95 AJPW October Giant Series, Day Eight Kurashiki City Gymnasium Kurashiki, Okayama. 1) Takao Omori defeats Masao Inoue via pinfall after a combination Axe Bomber/schoolboy rollup. (10:05) - 2) Black Tiger II defeats Katsumi Usuda via pinfall after a vertical brainbuster. (7:58) - 3) Ultimo Dragon defeats Yoshinari Ogawa via pinfall after a running powerbomb. (18:32) - 4) Osamu Nishimura defeats Satoru Asako via pinfall after a fisherman's suplex. (10:47) - 5) Nobutaka Araya defeats Tatsuhito Takaiwa via pinfall after a belly-to-back suplex. (9:24) - 6) Mascara Magica defeats Richard Slinger via submission with a Doble Palanca hold. (11:34) - 7) Jun Akiyama defeats Jun Izumida via pinfall after a Death Valley Bomb. (11:06) - 8) Alex Wright defeats Masao Orihara via submission with a Boston Crab hold. (14:57) - 9) Masanobu Fuchi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi defeat Takashi Iizuka & Akira Nogami via pinfall by Kikuchi on Iizuka after a top-rope diving headbutt. (14:22) - 10) Akira Taue & Ultimate Tiger defeat Haku & Konga via submission with an Ultimate Tiger-applied Scorpion Deathlock on Konga. (12:37) - 11) Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, & Mitsuharu Misawa defeat Samson Fuyuki, Takashi Ishikawa, & Genichiro Tenryu via pinfall by Misawa on Ishikawa after a Tiger Driver. The members of Revolution took off from the ring as Kawada issued a challenge to Taue to officially name his partner for 10/25. Taue came out with Stan Hansen, his cofounder of the new Unsinkable Vengeance Army, and said that Hansen would indeed be his partner for the interim tag team title. He immediately issued the challenge back to Kawada, and both Kobashi & Misawa stepped forward, to indicate that Kawada was reserving his right to wait until it was absolutely necessary to name one of the two as his partner. But as he did this, Ultimate Tiger emerged back out from the crowd and attacked Misawa as Hansen & Taue charged the ring to make it three on three. Only a few seconds of brawling ensued before Giant Baba made his return to AJPW at the ring entrance and stated that HE would make Kawada's decision for him. As the SGA left the ring, Ultimate Tiger and Misawa engaged in a bit of a staredown. (17:11)

First the tournament matches and then the tags. In one post, but they're separate enough to do a write-up in two sessions.

AJPW signs Maunakea Mossman.

CARD ANNOUNCEMENT FOR DAY EIGHT OF THE OCTOBER GIANT SERIES TOUR IN OKAYAMA (OCTOBER 10): Magic Dragon Cup First Round Match: MASAO INOUE vs. TAKAO OMORI Magic Dragon Cup First Round Match: BLACK TIGER II vs. KATSUMI USUDA Magic Dragon Cup First Round Match: YOSHINARI OGAWA vs. ULTIMO DRAGON Magic Dragon Cup First Round Match: SATORU ASAKO vs. OSAMU NISHIMURA Magic Dragon Cup First Round Match: NOBUTAKA ARAYA vs. TATSUHITO TAKAIWA Magic Dragon Cup First Round Match: MASCARA MAGICA vs. RICHARD SLINGER Magic Dragon Cup First Round Match: JUN AKIYAMA vs. JUN IZUMIDA Magic Dragon Cup First Round Match: MASAO ORIHARA vs. ALEX WRIGHT MASANOBU FUCHI & TSUYOSHI KIKUCHI vs. TAKASHI IIZUKA & AKIRA NOGAMI HAKU & KONGA vs. AKIRA TAUE & ULTIMATE TIGER SAMSON FUYUKI, TAKASHI ISHIKAWA, & GENICHIRO TENRYU vs. TOSHIAKI KAWADA, KENTA KOBASHI, & MITSUHARU MISAWA

1995 HARU SONODA MEMORIAL MAGIC DRAGON CUP PARTICIPANTS: Jun Akiyama. Nobutaka Araya. Satoru Asako. Black Tiger II. Masao Inoue. Jun Izumida. Mascara Magica. Osamu Nishimura. Yoshinari Ogawa. Takao Omori. Masao Orihara. Richard Slinger. Tatsuhito Takaiwa. Ultimo Dragon. Katsumi Usuda. Alex Wright.

The Magic Dragon Cup lineup to be announced soon. AJPW dojo graduates will receive priority.

This is... intense.

AJPW signs Takashi Ishikawa.

10/6/95 AJPW October Giant Series, Day Five Yashio Bunka Sports Center Yashio, Saitama. 1) Haku & Konga defeat Norio Honaga & Masao Orihara via pinfall by Haku on Orihara after Haku & Konga hit a double powerbomb. (12:32) - 2) Osamu Nishimura, Akira Nogami, & Tatsuhito Takaiwa defeat Tamon Honda, Ultimo Dragon, & Katsumi Usuda via pinfall by Nishimura on Usuda after a Northern Lights suplex. (16:08) - 3) Richard Slinger defeats Koki Kitahara via pinfall after a bridging German suplex. (9:29) - 4) Nobutaka Araya & Yoshinari Ogawa defeat Satoru Asako & Takao Omori via pinfall by Araya on Asako after a combination bearhug/leg lariat. (13:02) - 5) Masanobu Fuchi fought Samson Fuyuki to a time-limit draw. (15:00) - 6) Black Tiger II & Ultimate Tiger defeat Mitsuharu Misawa & Tiger Mask IV via pinfall by Ultimate Tiger on Tiger Mask after a combination powerbomb/top-rope splash. All six men in the main event accompanied their respective stablemates to the ring and ended up assisting with a dive train from all four combatants, at which point they were ejected from the floor and had to enter the crowd. (24:29) - 7) Jun Akiyama, Toshiaki Kawada, & Kenta Kobashi fought Stan Hansen, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, & Akira Taue to a no-contest. The match almost never stayed in the ring, with one brutal attack after another, including Kawada powerbombing Kikuchi over the timekeeper's table, Hansen hitting Kobashi with a Western lariat on the floor, and Taue delivering a nodowa to Akiyama from over the top rope to the floor. After this, Misawa & Omori stormed the ring but were met by Masao Inoue & Slinger, with Misawa hitting a tiger suplex on Slinger. As professional security, specifically hired by Giant Baba in the event of an incident like this, separated the feuding stables, Genichiro Tenryu in a suit, flanked by Fuyuki & Ogawa, walked out to the ring entrance and delivered a wry smile while smugly gleaming at the ring, before he and his wards walked backstage. (11:58)