Jetlag
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Pioneer Senshi feels like a fed unfairly lost to obscurity. After all, this is one of the founding blocks of japanese indy wrestling and a small but potent handful of wrestlers got their starts here, later cohabiting the cards of 90s indy feds. Most Pioneer cards are young workers filling up with a few guys who'd be undercard nobodies in NJPW and AJPW working main events. Go is the only one who's achieved significance through his battles with Fujinami in the late 70s, so he gets to play the ace role. This was a really fun cagey bout between two veteran workers who'd never get a chance like this in an established fed. Almost all on the mat, and it felt like quasi shootstyle as both guys constantly went for submissions with intent to force a tap. The real story here may have been Niikura, there's probably no other match where he gets to do his thing like he does here. He gets to look sharp blasting Go with mean kicks (including an enzuigiri that caught Go flush in the mouth), busts out his signature cool punch combo and hits some gnarly suplexes. This needed a bit more selling to be GREAT - as a +20 match of mostly matwork between two not super flashy, aging workers without a story can be a little rough. Still the action was good and if you are even reading this hell you are probably totally down for two obscure workers in the twilight of their careers stepping out to hit the mat hard and trade big suplexes for 20 minutes anways. Here's to you Fumihiro Niikura, you made the most of this night.
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I think a pro shot version of this is out there, but the handheld is good enough for me. Really simplistic, effective match. Pretty much two karate guys laying into eachother with punches and kicks. Aoyagi sells a shoulder injury and he is really compelling at doing that, really protecting his shoulder and barely getting in offense because he is hurting. Matsunaga – who was already Mr. W*ING and with the blonde hair at this point – doesn't do any garbage brawling, but he does pull Aoyagis jacket over his head at one point making him unable to defend himself. Aoyagi gets some pretty brutal brief offensive rushes, including one where he lands this nasty running punt before really stomping Matsunaga, and another where he hits these awesome low angle spin kicks. These short simple Aoyagi matches are pretty consistently a highlight on early 90s NJPW cards and this is another nifty one in the resume.
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Masashi Aoyagi & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Masanobu Kurisu & Kim Duk (NJPW 12/16/1991) Pretty much the definition of a fun houseshow match. Everyone gets to do their thing and look good, and they spice things up by doing things such as teasing spots and baiting and switching. All basic, but spicy enough to be a really enjoyable watch. Kurisu & Duk do some fun cheating, Kurisus only real game being throwing his opponent outside and going to town with a chair becomes a plot point as usual, Aoyagi hits all his cool offense and Koshinaka gets to look tough trading headbutts with Kurisu. -
Damn what a match! This is Hashimoto & Norton working as the Twin Towers. Just two big menacing dudes waltzing in and daring anyone to stop them. Norton going „So I'm a massive freak, what are you puny japs gonna do about it?“ is all kinds of fun and Hase looks really good trying to chop him down. Hase really lays clotheslines into Norton in such a way that Nortons shrugging him off genuinely looks impressive. Hashimoto was just laying epic beatings on everyone. At one point Hase got his throat worked over, and his hot tag is literally getting thrown into his own corner as a crumpled mess by a Hashimoto kick. There was some cute Muto stuff here, but both he and Hase take massive beatings and it actually looks like he has to dig deep and survive the onslaught. Some wonderful nearfalls down the stretch. This was just plain fun.
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Ludvig Borga: Formidable japanese big match worker is not something you hear about, but it's likely true. It helps he's facing Hashimoto. This is pro style so not as great as their different style fight, but Halme is a fun powerhouse who throws a lot of nice punches that Hashimoto sells in a big way. Hashimoto challenging Halme to a boxing fight and then headbutt him is classic Hashimoto. Really enjoyed Hashimoto destroying the big guy as usual and the finish was something Daisuke Ikeda would do.
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Okay this was just a blast. First of all Bigelow rules as a giant pinball and hitting swank flying kicks and powermoves. Then Hase looks just great here trying to take the big guys down. His interactions with Vader made me think a singles match would be up there with the Sting matches. He basically used a combination of technique and just rattling opponents with massive slaps and kicks and that totally works for me. Of course, Hase has a bandage which ends up coming off and he ends up taking a massive beating while bleeding and getting punched in the face. Of course nobody delivers a mauling like Vader who at one point was decking him with straight rights and Bigelow goes from giant doofus to blood sucking freak quite well. Gigantic, fun finishing run with everyone busting out crazy stuff, some big bumps, Vader just killing dudes etc. A working boots match that totally works in every way.
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Heated early 90s japanese wrestling is guaranteed quality and this is another goody. Fast pace, everyone runs in to beat the hell out of eachother, Heisei Ishingun are really fun as elderly japanese men in purple pants who will crack your ribs... the superstar charisma of Shinya Hashimoto stands out (as always) as anytime he steps in the ring things get a little more real, a little more intense. Surprisingly Tatsutoshi Goto makes a really effective main antagonist as he knocks people silly with stiff lariats and chucks chairs in Iizukas face. Iizuka & Nogami are fun in their goofy Rockers gear flying around and taking beatings. Match starts fun and it builds to some bigger and bigger moments and nearfalls and surprisingly well timed spots, we also get Aoyagi and Hashimoto facing off for a couple seconds. This is the kind of match that just leaves you wired by the end.
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It's nice to see Black Cat get to do something beyond prelim match duty. And damn this is a really really fun match. Koshinaka and Black Cat beating on eachother is really cool, Koshinakas calling really is vicious prick who will forearm you in the nose. God damn Cat looks great beating on dudes here, throwing these cool low thrust kicks and cross chops. There is some vicious arm work, Kabuki and Cat punch eachother in the face, Samurai is fine as energetic junior without unnecessary flashes... we also get a big Kabuki superkick and a fun finish with Koshinaka doing his really amusing cocky strut after the bell.
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The new Aoyagi singles matches may be the best thing about the flood of NJPW handhelds. This could've gone longer than 6 minutes but for that kind of match it was really fun puncher vs. Counter puncher type stuff. It's about Aoyagis kicks vs. Fujinamis sleeper holds, and both these guys do a really nice job selling kicks and sleeper holds. Fujinami shows more aggression than I expected pummeling Aoyagi and eventually catching him. Obviously Aoyagis kicks and knees ruled.
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The parts where the threw strikes were pretty great. Kimura has a nice punch combo, and Liger was just killing the old guy with fast kicks and palms. Unfortunately they decide to do a whole lot of dry juniors matwork. This is NJ vs. Heisei Ishingun, just brawl and work a fast pace. Finish was hot altough I disliked the 5 minute long Figure 4 spot. Fast forward through the holds and you get a fun match.
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This felt like a match worked for the magazines. Not much substance but the visuals were pretty big and amazing. You had big time blood and both guys threw huge, high angle suplexes. Hase has a bandaged leg and Koshinaka spends a good amount of time kicking the crap out of it. It doesn't amount to anything as Hase soon starts braining Koshinaka recklessly with chairs. The bloody beatdown on Koshinaka with him fighting back valiently was pretty damn gnarly. Soon Hase is DQ'd for excessive brutality. This had the makings of a potential classic but was dragged down by the pointless legwork and Hase making a comeback that looked way too easy. However, we get Hase & Hiro Saito beating on Koshinaka post match with Saito hitting his brutal crowbar senton on a bleeding Koshinaka and that's just badass. The photographers def. got their moneys worth here.
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Not a hidden gem like SSM/Hashimoto, but it had it's charms in similiar ways. Fujiwara is unusually grumpy and looking for a fight. SSM soon finds himself pushed and he responds with some gnarly shots of his own. I really liked how SSM tried to prevent Fujiwara's obligatory headbutt spot. Another neat finish.
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Good tag title match made cool by young Shiro Koshinaka putting on a gutsy performance against the overwhelming force of Choshu & Saito and a blazing hot finish sequence with Fujinami bleeding and Choshu hitting a massive lariat. Could've used slightly more efficient structure but the level of work was good, Shiro kept played his "underdog who will slap your shit" role to the max and the blood on Fujinami made this quite epic for a few moments. This is why it's worth going through the NJ handhelds.
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Pretty damn good young lion match. This was the earliest Suzuki I‘ve seen, but he was already firmly into the shootstyle thing. Lots of cool slick matwork with Suzuki locking in some clinical looking armbars and doing some really cool stuff, like turning a Fujiwara armbar into a pin. The cool thing was that they didn‘t make it look easy, both guys had to fight even for something like a snapmare. Watching this made me wonder how either guy would have done on a different career path, e.g. Suzuki staying in NJPW and Iizuka doing shootstyle. The last couple minutes rule with Suzuki hitting big throws and a great looking corner dropkick while trying to fend off Iizukas Sambo leglocks, while both guys are laying in the smacks. Good shit.
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This is the infamous match where Choshu gets shoot kicked in the face. Aside from questionable morals, it‘s a really hot match with the crowd being absolutely white hot for all the Choshu/Maeda exchanges. Maeda kicking the hell out of Choshu is fun, but Maeda outgrappling Choshu may be even funner. I wonder if that is what caused Maeda to snap because Choshu seemed not ready for Maeda to actually wrestle him and just wanted to do his usual spiel. The initial moments after the kick are some of the most intense you‘ll ever see in a wrestling ring, with Maeda egging Choshu on further and Masa Saito tackling the big guy. Really a thrill to check out, pity the kick was real because this would‘ve set up an amazing singles match.
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UWF crew going at it in New Japan. These guys could do no wrong and they don‘t disappoint. Fujiwara is the star here, bringing his trademark great matwork, counters and taking it to the UWF main eventers. Fujiwara doesn‘t care you‘re a megastar, he will punch you in the kidney and slap you like a bitch. Kido is subdued but it‘s cool to see him go toe to toe with Maeda. Lots of choice exchanges and a great finish.
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Crazy crazy heated match. You don‘t see a lot of matches with the crowd this excited for a bunch of technical guys in black trunks. Not quite a shootstyle match, but really tight action and really intense stuff with Fujinami & Kimura being outgunned by the UWF duo. Kido can always beat you with a slick reversal, and anytime Maeda starts throwing kicks you think he is about to kill someone. Kimura taking it to Maeda was cool to see and he and Fujinami had some inspired exchanges. Lots of cool moments throughout, including an awesome dive tease and a great crafty finish. It happens in a split second and once you realize what happened you smile. Check it out if you‘re a fan of the time period. This happened on the same card as Fujiwara/Yamada. Mid 80s NJPW was loaded.
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Brief but very good match that brought lots of quality matwork. Young Keichii Yamada was really good at shootstyle matwork, no question about it. Yamazaki is a UWF guy himself but Yamada was just overwhelming him here with constant wrestling and staying on him like a terrier until Yamazaki is able to dish out some kicks and catch Yamada in a fast scramble with a suplex. Some cool holds and the constant pressure from Yamada made this really entertaining.
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A pair of thick bastards maul eachother something fierce. Odds that I was going to like this match were very high to begin with, but Super Strong Machine bringing probably his finest performance ever here made this special. He was just being super vicious trying to take down Big Hash. The whole thing had a very uncooperative feel to it, guys would fight to the corner or the ropes trying to deal out shots, clotheslines were thrown where the guy being knocked down looked like he really didn't want to go down. Even the matwork feels gritty with Hashimoto really stretching out Machine's shoulder with all his weight, and Machine grinding down on the elbow joint. Most of this is Super Strong Machine surprising and overwhelming Hash, but the champ comes back once in a while with a super vicious flurry or DDT, just trying to kick Machine in different parts of his face, reminding everyone who he is. Machine trying to punch out Hashimotos jaw and legs only to be met with a spin kick to the chin was epic and the last ditch finish was awesome. Machine sold huge and it felt accordingly huge. Great super simple match on for Super Strong Machine probably the night of his life.
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Plenty brutal match that was characterized by Hashimoto looking great and and Ogasawara having an absolute meltdown, resulting in some gritty highly uncooperative exchanges. Ogasawara seemed too concerned with protecting himself so Takaiwa at one point just starts decking him for real. To make up for the chaos surrounding the karateka, there were some damn good exchanges between Takaiwa and Hashimoto. Hashimoto looked peak level sharp, including busting out some awesome submission counters dropping his full weight on Takaiwas shoulder, and Takaiwa looked great as a gutsy underdog trying to cut through him with lariats. There were some choice Fujiwara/Hash exchanges too altough Fujiwara went to his comedy later.
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This is one of those feel good matches you can just back and enjoy every second of it. Basically Hashimoto & Ogawa waltz in and just destroy everything in their path. STOs, nasty kicks and chops and various cool combination moves abound. Norton & Tenzan don‘t stand much of a chance but they try. You get a great little Norton performance as he sells all the nasty chops and kicks he takes to his shoulder in a big way. There is an art to selling in such a way that everyone can emphatize with you even when you‘re a giant muscled up dude like Norton and he had it down. Tenzan also doesn‘t suck!
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I wish MUGA had been a full time promotion at this time. This was mostly on the mat, which is where everyone here looks good. This was certainly a good use of Hase whose amateur style stuff still looks very powerful. He and Nishimura with his awesome briding where the standouts here early on. Mutoh just did his usual spiel for the finish, altough Fujinami hitting a flying knee on him was really fun and Nishimuras selling made it look better than usual.
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Murakami and his BattlARTS pal shake things up in New Japan. Tanahashi & Kenzo actually step up here, working shootstyle and look good. Tanahashi's matwork is especially way better than pretty much anything he did from 2006 onward. Kenzo throwing big crowbar suplexes is certainly way better than whatever he did later also. This was basically an Ishikawa section followed by a Murakami section with both guys bringing their signature stuff. Ishikawa doing cool matwork and Murakami punching dudes in the face. Good shit but you come out of this match wanting to see a singles match.
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Entertaining 5 vs. 5 Elimination Match. Not Peak WAR vs. Other Promotion material, though there are some good smacks and thuds here. Problem with the match is the booking, as they get rid of the spry guys first and soon you are stuck with an old, broken down Steve Williams, Arashi and Mutoh here. Williams can still throw a nice punch and not do much else at this point. Match has it's moments especially thanks to Orihara and Tenryu, while Shinzaki was working hard to get something cool out of Williams. Overall this match is symptomatic of the depleted roster AJPW was dealing with at this stage however.
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Welcome to Shinya Hashimoto's ZERO1, where 2 olympic medalists, a japanese megastar and a US nobody with a supersoldier gimmick get together to work Memphis meets Shootstyle with a sports entertainment twist. Ghaffari was pretty grotesque but was a really good monster/immovable object here, no lying. The fact his nasty gut squish attack lead to a credible nearfall aswell as him acting invincible like an olympic level greco roman wrestler should added a ton to the match. Hashimoto struggling to do anything and Ogawa finally taking him off his feet all felt like like big moments. Howard looked really good too at this point as he hit all his stuff perfectly, including braining Hashimoto with a world class superkick. Unfortunately the 2nd half kind of breaks down with lots of ref bullshit happening, altough there is still fun to be had with guys getting bowled around and Ghaffari almost killing Ogawa with one of the most devastating splashes ever caught on film. Should add Ogawa looked great here too heating up the fans and selling very well. Borderline listworthy, must watch if you want to check out something unique.