superkix

Five years later, 1994 is in the books. Here are the highlights: Kazuo Yamazaki vs Yoji Anjo (2/25/94) What a joy to watch these two dick each other around. Yamazaki sets the stage by attacking Anjo in the corner, and Anjo immediately being the king shit he is by taunting Yamazaki. Whatever negative stigma Anjo has, he's one slick cat on the mat when it comes to turning a strike into a takedown and transitioning into holds. At one point, he takes Yamazaki down into a dope armtrap face crank, which Yamazaki is able to escape out into a single leg crab hold. Of course, Yamazaki is no slouch - I loved his standing facewash to set up the leglock early in the match. But in the end, Anjo takes it by destroying the ankle with a short legwhip and then tapping him with the knee bar. Very good back-and-forth contest. Kiyoshi Tamura vs Masahito Kakihara (2/25/94) This is what you paid for - two of the feistiest going at it on the mat, supplemented with Slappy Kaki's signature slapfests and Tamura landing a few hard kicks to stun Kaki. They really worked and fought for every hold and counter. It really would've been an interesting sight had Kakihara followed Tamura to RINGS, as he's got the agility, strikes and colorful trunks to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Yamamoto, Naruse, TK, etc. After playing a little chess on the ground, Kaki's able to snag a toe hold to send Tamura scrambling. He tries to follow up with a dropkick and misses, which allows Tamura the opportunity to kick him in the head. Tamura's able to avoid the armbar and the spinning heel kick, popping Kaki with face and head kicks in response, but a heel hook takes Tamura to the ropes and the knee bar does the trick as Kaki comes away with the big win. Great stuff! Victor Zangiev vs Yoji Anjo (4/3/94) Essentially a five-minute Zangiev showcase, which is a good thing. From the takedowns to the suplexes, to the counters and reversals, the fans are loving every minute of it. I mean, he blocks Anjo's takedown attempt and then just shoves him down - so good. I liked the finish, too, which plays to Anjo's wiliness and how he's able to catch Zangiev in a mistake, trap the arm, and submit him. This was fun! Dan Severn vs Masahito Kakihara (4/3/94) Now we're talking. Probably the best match of the show, made only better by Kakihara's underdog performance. Loved the initial suplex spot, with Severn fighting for it and Kakihara's facials as he's trying to avoid it. Severn's got the weight advantage and he uses that to his...advantage...whereas Kaki's got the speed and he's able to slip out when he finds an opening. Severn has some cool throws, including a gutwrench, and Kaki's kicks are on point. Dan keeps trying to kill Kaki with a modified STF but Kaki's able to escape each attempt, trying to cut out Dan's legs to set up the kneebar. His roll through ankle pick was very dope, and leads to the kneebar finish and the big win for Kakihara. Good stuff! Nobuhiko Takada vs Kazuo Yamazaki (4/3/94) Classic match-up and a motivated Takada...yeah, this was good stuff. Takada comes at him with some knees but Yamazaki snaps him over with a German suplex...and then, of course, Takada pops right back up and they go to town on the legs, countering, re-countering, reversing, undoing, until finally, Yamazaki has to grab the ropes in order to stop the senior UWF prom. Takada does a good job of blocking the roll through armbar but yeah, on a whole, super solid counterwork from both guys – definitely one of Takada’s stronger performances as Yamazaki puts Takada through the wringer. Yamazaki doesn't hold back with the kicks toward the end but Takada takes it with the armbar, as expected. Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Yuko Miyato (4/3/94) This was fun. Miyato's feisty, Takayama is brutish. I loved Miyato’s armwhip counter to Takayama’s opening flurry and he throws some mean slaps late in the match, while Takayama’s high knees and high bridging German are awesome. Takayama tries to choke Miyato out with the rear sleeper but Miyato uses the judo throw counter into the neck crank for the submission. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Naoki Sano (5/6/94) I liked this a lot. I dig the jockeying for position, considering the speed with which both guys work. Everything is just so fluid. I thought Tamura did a really good job of establishing Sano as a threat on the ground. But Tamura's slippery. Loved Tamura ducking the kick and kipping back up to his feet. Sano's able to hit the German suplex but it spells his demise, as Tamura grabs onto the double wristlock and never lets go, which leads to a dramatic finish. Great stuff. Kazushi Sakuraba & Masahito Kakihara vs. Gene Lydick & Steve Nelson (6/10/94) Relatively unknown American grapplers Lydick and Nelson come into this match with a cool dynamic of Lydick being the suplex machine and while Nelson still busts out the occasional suplex, he works more of a ground game, forcing both Sakuraba and Kakihara to the ropes multiple times. Kakihara and Sakuraba are the aggressive stand-up strikers here but can be equally as dangerous on the mat. Early on, Kakihara gets control of Lydick’s arm, stuns him with a smack, then transitions to a leglock and Lydick freaks out, pounding away at Kakihara in an attempt to break out. Sakuraba’s kicks appear to be Steve Nelson’s kryptonite – he comes in, his legs get peppered with kicks, and he tags out. Enough is enough. After Lydick overhead suplexes Sakuraba, he cranks on a heel hold and Sakuraba equally freaks, which leads to an awesomely heated scramble around the canvas. The finish ruled, as Sakuraba gets dumped straight on his noggin by Nelson’s overhead suplex before Lydick comes in with a belly-to-belly, scooping him up with an awesome deadlift German suplex for the KO win. Very good stuff. Salman Hashimikov & Victor Zangiev vs. Kazuo Yamazaki & Yoji Anjo (6/10/94) UWFi tags are clunky but this had some pretty great moments, especially the stuff between Anjo and Zagiev, with Anjo trying to be sly and Zangiev realizing that, and responding accordingly. He demonstrates this a little later on when Anjo's trying to roll out of holds and Zagiev rolls right with him to keep him pinned down. Hashimikov doesn't have the finesse of Zangiev but he's good kick fodder for Yamazaki and Anjo. At one point, he does use a shoot-style Sharpshooter...of sorts. But Zangiev is the major attraction here and his kip up escape is a real crowd pleaser. I like that Yamazaki countered his rolling takedowns with a rear choke sleeper, and then later, Yamazaki trying to sneak in the German on the ropes was great. Anjo being a dick to Hashimikov in the ropes and then Zangiev in the corner is why Anjo is so good in these matches. Zangiev using the rolling cattle mutilation into the wakigatame was a dope finish. Fun stuff. Vader vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (6/10/94) Tamura, confident in his ways, slaps Vader before the bell because...well, that's just what you do to the monsters in your life, right? Tamura's strategy is an obvious one: take Vader down at the kneecaps. Kick kick kick until he crumbles. Vader's able to catch him with a few shots but then Tamura lets loose a series of slaps and high kicks. For a big dude, Vader's selling is terrific here, as Tamura hacks him down and puts him in a kneebar. Vader struggles to find his mark as Tamura continues kicking, again using that kneebar to take Vader to the ropes. In the end, however, Vader's able to club him down, slam him, and hit the big powerbomb for the TKO victory. As I said before, it's the classic shoot-style David vs. Goliath and it rules. Gene Lydick & Billy Scott vs. Masahito Kakihara & Kazushi Sakuraba (8/18/94) Similar dynamic to the Lydick/Nelson tag but with more of a mad scramble of takedowns and reversals, looking for an opening to the upper hand. As I mentioned on the podcast, I’m a sucker for the suplex>submission combo, like Scott with the overhead suplex>kimura and Sakuraba with the German suplex>neck crank. This time around, Lydick is a little more prepared for Kakihara’s usual whirlwind of slaps and catches him with an overhead suplex, trying to follow that up with a heel hook, which sends Kaki scrambling for the ropes. I love the way Lydick just grabs his opponent and figures out a way to suplex them while they're trying to squirm out. Kakihara, however, finishes strong, overwhelming Scott with his flurried attack and tapping him with the single leg crab. Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Tatsuo Nakano (8/18/94) This had that old-school UWF feel to it, as both guys were methodical and prideful, and extra snappy with their strikes. Nakano catching the high kick early on was a cool moment, which led to some nasty knees from Yamazaki and some dirty open hands by Nakano. The slower moments of the match were there but it paid off with the finish. Loved the fact that Kazuo escapes the rolling German attempt by throwing himself through the ropes. Great finish, too, with Yamazaki blocking the snap suplex with authority, enziguri'ing the kick counter, and grabbing onto the calf hold for the submission. Good stuff! Gary Albright vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (8/18/94) This has to be one of Gary's best singles performances in UWFi but it helps when your dance partner is Kiyoshi Tamura. Despite Tamura's presence, this still had some slower moments but Gary was definitely trying more on the mat than he has before. And the drama really bubbled to the finish. All of the suplex teases were well done, and Tamura's close calls with the armbars added tons to this. I mean, it's over 10 minutes before Gary hits his first suplex. Loved Tamura's enziguri counter, and him consistently slipping through Albright's fingers as he tries to set him up for the dragon suplex. One of my favorite parts of the match is when Gary nonchalantly slaps Tamura while he's got him on the ground, and Tamura responds with fire and sends Gary to the ropes. But that only pisses off Gary, who hits the belly-to-belly to set up another dragon suplex attempt, which Tamura is able to block...but not before Gary hits the back-to-back Germans to finish him off. Vader vs. Nobuhiko Takada (8/18/94) Easily, the best match of the trilogy and clearly Vader returns a little more well-versed in the shoot stylings. Much more aggressive with his strikes, with the big forearms and knees, and a better use of his power to keep Takada off his feet, not snapping off kicks. Takada's strategy is the same as before: chop the beast down and submit with the jujigatame. Sometimes he'll even throw Vader with a suplex but the end goal is the same. Vader doesn't stay down though and keeps popping him with shots. Loved when Takada finally levels him with kicks and goes for the armbar and Vader counters with a brutal palm thrust to the face. Also Vader grabbing him mid-strike to ragdoll him with the German suplex. Awesome. The fans are behind Takada but his comebacks aren't enough, and finally, Vader drops him with the deadlift powerbomb and continues the assault until Takada can't make the 10 count. Great match. Hiromitsu Kanehara vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (10/8/94) Considering the amount of punishment both guys dulled out for 15 of the 20 minutes, I thought they kept up the intensity for the duration. Sure, Takayama slowed down and was obviously struggling to do anything on the mat but the matwork was secondary. The stand-up portions were the obvious highlights -- some very brutal strikes thrown by both guys but Kanehara's high kicks looked really terrific here, especially given Takayama's height. And some of his reflex shots - yowzers. Takayama gets busted open but dishes it back out with the big knees and catcher's mitt slaps. Kanehara struggling for the armbar added a little drama on the ground but it never had the space to develop into anything substantial. This was literally an extended "who can hit harder?" contest, and yeah, it ruled. Tons of fire. Kiyoshi Tamura & Dan Severn vs. Yoji Anjo & Steve Nelson (10/8/94) Probably the third best match of an otherwise disappointing night, with a hot opening exchange between Tamura and Anjo. Tamura's armbar counter out of nowhere was slick as hell but Anjo is quick to re-counter. The stuff between Anjo and Severn was also entertaining, as it seemed like Anjo wanted nothing to do with him. But that led to some stiff work from Anjo, both on the ground and standing up, where he popped Severn's nose like a tick with an open palm strike. Loved the moment where they both nearly tumble out of the ring, getting tied up in the ropes. Nelson didn't do much at all except get suplexed by Severn and struggle on the mat. Severn basically chokeslamming him to set up the single leg crab was a big highlight. Tamura taps out Nelson with the choke, despite Nelson's best efforts to counter out. Good stuff from three of the four involved. Vader & John Tenta vs. Gary Albright & Kazuo Yamazaki (10/8/94) Albright saying "FUCK YEAH" before the bell is always a good way to start the match. The fans are stoked for Albright/Vader but are disappointed when Tenta stays in there and boy does he stink. Completely clueless to the style and mostly just lays there and no sells Yamazaki's kicks. But when Vader gets the tag, at least we get Vader launching Yamazaki with a German suplex and they have a pretty great strike exchange with Vader clubbing and Yamazaki firing off headkicks. The Vader/Albright exchanges is what everybody wanted and for the most part, they deliver. Albright isn't even that great of a wrestler but he throws dope suplexes and that's enough. Him dumping Vader with a big ass German was great before he finally submits him with the armbar. I think I preferred the rematch slightly more than this. Victor Zangiev & Tatsuo Nakano vs. Yoji Anjo & Yuko Miyato (10/14/94) Boy, I forgot just how much I missed Nakano and his mullet and little mustard and pudginess - in fact, Miyato hurts his own leg trying to kick Nakano's pudge. Anjo, with that shitty face of his, is spry and Zangiev is his usual dope hairy self, with some great throws, escapes, and exchanges with Anjo in particular. Nakano pops Anjo with some nasty knees but, of course, it wouldn't be a Tatsuo Nakano match without him busting his nose open. There are a couple of sick suplexes in this, like Miyato's backdrop suplex and Zangiev's German that totally annihilates Anjo. Zangiev does his swanky rolling double arm hold to set up the reverse armbar for the submission but I'm pretty sure that suplex knocked Anjo loopy. Pretty fun tag! Nobuhiko Takada vs. Naoki Sano (10/14/94) Sano, ever the bridesmaid, had a lot of really good moments in this match, getting his flurries in but also making Takada work on the ground. At some point on the mat, Takada gets busted open and that sparks his anger, as he gets back on the offensive and rockets Sano with a head kick. I thought the groundwork felt really personal in a way - not subdued, like a lot of Takada's opponents, as Sano wasn't holding back. The crowd seems to think Takada is in danger, bloodied and struggling to break out of holds. He does a good job of selling the struggle and of course, we know the outcome but Sano fights the entire way there. By the end, they're both zapped and Sano is just trying to squeeze out an upset, at one point snagging the armbar and making Takada scramble. But in the end, Takada takes it with the submission in kind of a fizzle of a finish. Good stuff for the most part! Vader & John Tenta vs. Gary Albright & Kazuo Yamazaki (10/14/94) This time Vader & Tenta jump them to start and a microsecond of crowd brawling before it settles into Yamazaki and Vader, which is a much better start than Albright/Tenta because Yamazaki immediately starts cracking legs with kicks. Vader sells big for him here but he finally clobbers his way back and drops him with a German, which Yamazaki subsequently sells really well. Again, Tenta stinks in there, just no selling everything and almost falling down trying to throw sumo slaps. He does use a crab hold, so there's that. The Vader/Albright interactions are, of course, the main attraction and Albright dumps Vader with Germans until he gets woozy. Yamazaki and Vader close it out and Yamazaki goes back to attacking the leg to set up the kneebar. That doesn't work and Vader ends up KO'ing him with a powerbomb. On par with the first match, though I slightly prefer this more based on the Yamazaki/Vader exchanges and Tenta not being in there as much. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Dan Severn (11/30/94) Severn foregoes the handshake (foreshadowing things to come) and he really just tries to his his size to his advantage to grab Tamura, throw him, and smother him on the mat, looking for a loose limb to snag for a submission. Unfortunately for Dan, Tamura never really seems in danger as he's always able to grab a rope before things escalate. Then Tamura starts in with the leg kicks, to which Dan does an incredible job of selling. Tamura catches him in the lip with a lightning-quick palm strike that leaves Dan bloodied, and from there on, he's fully in the driver's seat, taking the lumberjack approach to finally chop Severn down for the TKO finish. A bit one sided but Dan really sold it here, and I liked it quite a bit. Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Masahito Kakihara (11/30/94) Re-watched this match and it was a lot better the second time around, once you get past the largely middling groundwork. Kakihara being extra slappy here was great as always, and while the stuff on the mat wasn't the most exciting, the crowd was invested throughout. While Yamazaki tries to slow Kaki down, there is a great spot where he gives Kaki a taste of his own medicine with a burst of slaps and kicks in the corner. At one point, he cracks Kakihara in the armpit with a kick. He coolly ducks a spinning wheelkick in the corner and Kaki's German counter into one of his own was so seamless. In the end, however, Yamazaki hits back-to-back Germans before casually falling back with the cross armbreaker for the win. Nothing top tier but a solid match regardless.

Severn foregoes the handshake (foreshadowing things to come) and he really just tries to his his size to his advantage to grab Tamura, throw him, and smother him on the mat, looking for a loose limb to snag for a submission. Unfortunately for Dan, Tamura never really seems in danger as he's always able to grab a rope before things escalate. Then Tamura starts in with the leg kicks, to which Dan does an incredible job of selling. Tamura catches him in the lip with a lightning-quick palm strike that leaves Dan bloodied, and from there on, he's fully in the driver's seat, taking the lumberjack approach to finally chop Severn down for the TKO finish. A bit one sided but Dan really sold it here, and I liked it quite a bit.

Again, another perfectly solid match-up but not much more than that. This really benefited from the strike exchanges peppered throughout, as they really lit into each other. There were lulls as well but they didn't take away too much from the match and they always managed to turn the volume back up. Big German from Takayama and a strong submission finish from Sato. Pretty good stuff.

Nothing memorable but not a bad match per se. Scott doesn't bring much to the table but he's competent enough to string together a match. Nakano, of course, was the highlight, especially as he channels his shittiness with the grinding forearms and micro punches to the head while he's got Billy in a headlock. Later, he no sells a German suplex to blast Billy in the face with a kick. He also hits a dragon suplex hold, which he can't utilize for the pin but I'm still a sucker for a good dragon suplex hold. Nakano should've won this so the finish fell a bit flat for me, as he unsuccessfully fights out of a hold and taps to Billy.

Another perfectly solid match. There's a sloppiness to it that is in no way a detraction from the match quality but rather adds to it, as they scramble all over the place for position until Kanehara starts pulling out the submission holds. He's more proficient on the mat than Anjo but overall, it's still a good competitive back-and-forth match with a good finish, as Kanehara struggles to break free only to succumb to Anjo's submission.

Pretty solid match-up with some good, competitive tradeoffs, compelling matwork with some slick counters, and some hard strikes, including Miyato annihilating Sakuraba with that rolling solebutt to the midsection. The crowd was really into it and I like the build to the sharpshooter, which they ate up. At one point, Sakuraba tries for a German suplex and when that doesn't work, he drops Miyato with a rear naked choke. The match loses some steam heading into the finishing stretch and Miyato ultimately wins via submission but the pros outweight the cons, and this was perfectly solid.

Yamamoto's second match but nowhere near as fun as his debut against Sakuraba. Burton sucks, and while the opening and finish were kind of fun, Burton is clueless on the mat and sloppy. I did like the powerbomb into the single leg crab finish but aside from that, forgettable match. Skip.

I liked Takada trying to stay near the ropes to avoid getting suplexed, which only aggravates Albright, who demands him to get into the middle of the ring. The crowd really wants to see Takada get suplexed and they do a good job of milking it but the pay off is never there, and instead, we get a lot of boring stuff on the mat and Albright winning out of nowhere with an armbar. Not very good.

Sano, ever the bridesmaid, had a lot of really good moments in this match, getting his flurries in but also making Takada work on the ground. At some point on the mat, Takada gets busted open and that sparks his anger, as he gets back on the offensive and rockets Sano with a head kick. I thought the groundwork felt really personal in a way - not subdued, like a lot of Takada's opponents, as Sano wasn't holding back. The crowd seems to think Takada is in danger, bloodied and struggling to break out of holds. He does a good job of selling the struggle and of course, we know the outcome but Sano fights the entire way there. By the end, they're both zapped and Sano is just trying to squeeze out an upset, at one point snagging the armbar and making Takada scramble. But in the end, Takada takes it with the submission in kind of a fizzle of a finish. Good stuff for the most part!

Lydick with the dope tracksuit and Nelson looking as American as an apple pie from McDonalds - primetime 1994, baby! I wish Lydick would've done more with his pro-wrestling career because he has the look and the skill but alas, we can always watch him try to break Nelson's neck because he's here to throw suplexes. Of course, Tamura is the man and I love his nonplussed demeanor here. Kakihara is all over the place and Tamura couldn't care less because he knows exactly when to strike. At one point, Kakihara tries for a big kick and Tamura casually sweeps the opposite leg out from under him. Their exchanges are the real highlight in an otherwise whatever match, as things never really get to the next level. After Lydick dumps Nelson with a German, he brings Tamura in to seal the submission deal. Nothing special but some cool moments.

Boy, I forgot just how much I missed Nakano and his mullet and little mustard and pudginess - in fact, Miyato hurts his own leg trying to kick Nakano's pudge. Anjo, with that shitty face of his, is spry and Zangiev is his usual dope hairy self, with some great throws, escapes, and exchanges with Anjo in particular. Nakano pops Anjo with some nasty knees but, of course, it wouldn't be a Tatsuo Nakano match without him busting his nose open. There are a couple of sick suplexes in this, like Miyato's backdrop suplex and Zangiev's German that totally annihilates Anjo. Zangiev does his swanky rolling double arm hold to set up the reverse armbar for the submission but I'm pretty sure that suplex knocked Anjo loopy. Pretty fun tag!

What looked like it might have been a heated little match-up with Takayama getting up in Dan's mustachioed face pre-match turned into just an okay match with some throws by Severn and Takayama laying in the kicks and knee combos. Dan hits a weird swinging neckbreaker-type takedown and after a couple of cool suplexes, he tapes Takayama with a pretty sick looking modified STF. Needed some more spunk to take it to the next level but a decent enough five minute match.

This is Berkovich's final UWFi appearance (probably pro-wrestling in general) and he's mostly a kicking bag for Kanehara through much of the match. Kanehara's kicks look great but ultimately, the every awkward Berkovich gets a couple of cool throws and taps Kanehara with the arm before riding off into the sunset like a wet fart. Meh.

Welp, I'm back at it after a 5+ year hiatus because I realized I still had to finish out 1994. And what better way to jump back in then with Kenichi Yamamoto's pro-wrestling debut against Sakuraba a little over a year after his own debut. He definitely looks the veteran here, no longer throwing himself wildly at his opponent but instead, keeping his cool...until young pup Yamamoto tries to slap his way out of a leg lock, to which Sakuraba promptly lets him know whose ring he's in, giving him plenty of shots to the head. The takedowns to the mat are clumsy at times but then Sakuraba will fire off a beautiful belly-to-back suplex and force Yamamoto crawling to the ropes to escape a heel hold. The rookie gets a few counters and takedowns himself, including a belly-to-belly, and tries to submit with the crab hold but he's lit up and running on empty and ultimately taps out. A good enough debut against Sakuraba, who is starting to get comfortable in his groove.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to go on hiatus for a bit. Things are a little too hectic for me to devote time to this right now, I apologize.

Thanks. I've been a bit busy with real life stuff as of late, so I haven't been able to do much at the moment. To answer kevinmcfl's question, UWF rules is basically winning via knockout or submission only. No pinfalls. As far as the major differences, I can only go off of what I know regarding Japanese wrestling since I'm largely unfamiliar with American wrestling in the 80's...but it was more focused on the athleticism and incorporating legitimate moves from karate and other forms of martial arts, as well as catch-as-catch-can wrestling and traditional Greco-Roman wrestling. While they had some characters, it was less of the "larger than life" characters of the U.S. and more inspired by the masked wrestlers of Mexico, etc. Hope that helps!

NJPW signs Virus.

The show opened with an opening ceremony featuring a parade of champions, as well as Antonio Inoki to welcome the roughly 10,000 fans in attendance. The opening contest saw two fiery young wrestlers working a short but stiff match, with Hashimoto especially aggressive with his kicks. Funaki landed a few hard open hands to Hashimoto’s face and largely kept him in check on the mat. But after a solebutt kick to the midsection, Hashimoto planted Funaki with the DDT and cinched in with the guillotine choke to submit Funaki. In fast-paced six-man tag action, the junior heavyweight trio led by Black Tiger emerged victorious over the opposition, which included Steve Wright and Gran Hamada. Tons of innovative submission work from everyone involved but especially the interactions between Wright and Taylor. The younger Nogami was the chosen prey of both Tiger and Finlay, in the end, he fell victim to Tiger’s Black Tiger Bomb. Americans Mark Fleming and Scott McGhee made relatively short work of Revolution’s Ashura Hara and Toshiaki Kawada when Fleming planted Kawada with a big powerbomb. Perhaps the bigger moment came after the match when the Revolution members were attacked by a group of individuals who came through the crowd. Hiroshi Hase, Takayuki Iizuka, Kensuke Sasaki and Naoki Sano laid waste to Hara and Kawada, seemingly declaring war on Revolution Backstage, Hase said that his group, Wild Rush, is the last line to be drawn in New Japan. Revolution suffered further defeat when Ishin Gundan came out on top in a six-man tag team match. The crowd clung to every hard-hitting Tenryu and Choshu interaction, with Tenryu getting the better of Choshu throughout. When Choshu tried for an early lariat, Tenryu ducked it and shook him with a big backdrop suplex. Choshu, however, rallied his troops and after Hamiguchi and Kobayashi cleared the ring, Riki leveled Ogawa with the lariat for the three count. Backstage, Tenryu had no comment about their loss nor the attack by Wild Rush. Super Tiger’s hunt through the Takada Army ranks led straight to the top, as he challenged Nobuhiko Takada under the UWF ruleset, meaning knockout or submission only. Super Tiger held nothing back against Takada, rushing him with several shorts kicks before backing him into a corner and blasting him with the big jumping solebutt kick. Takada kept trying to take it to the ground but Tiger kept on him with the kicks, trying to wear him out. Takada finally found an opening when Tiger tried for a crossface chickenwing, and rocked Tiger with hard knees and kicks. Tiger couldn’t quite come back from it and after one last-ditch effort at the chickenwing, Takada countered into a cross armbar for the submission victory. The Cobra made his in-ring return to NJPW after a western excursion and immediately set his sights on regaining the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title. Reigning champion, Tiger Mask wasn’t going to let Cobra slow his momentum and he made Cobra work for every one of his pin attempts. But when Tiger wanted to keep the pace fast, Cobra tried to slow him down, keeping him trapped in the cobra stretch and trying to keep him from flying around the ring. He teased the piledriver throughout, much to the chagrin of the fans, but Tiger fought back and put Cobra down with the tiger suplex hold to retain the title. The underdogs in last month’s tag tournament, Akira Maeda and Osamu Kido, had the support of the fans heading into their title match against Takada Army’s Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Kazuo Yamazaki. This played out like an unofficial UWF rules-style match, with Maeda primarily battling back against Fujiwara and Yamazaki, with some support here and there from Kido. Fujiwara was especially keen to tap out Maeda on the mat but Maeda was too slick for Fujiwara at times, and his feistiness paired well against Yamazaki’s own fieriness. The final few minutes of the match saw Yamazaki hit a German suplex on Maeda but when he tried to transition into the armbar, Maeda stunned him with a double wristlock counter and Yamazaki had no choice but to tap out. Maeda and Kido celebrated with the titles, as Fujiwara looked on in disappointment. The night’s main event was one for the ages and a proverbial passing of the torch, as newly crowned IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Tatsumi Fujinami, made his inaugural defense against his mentor, Antonio Inoki. This was grueling in every sense of the word, with Inoki working as hard as he ever has to make himself look superior to Fujinami. But Fujinami proved to be a little too quick for Inoki, a little too agile on both his feet and on the ground, where Inoki tried to dominate. At one point, Inoki just started peppering Fujinami with hard slaps to the face out of frustration. He was able to capture Fujinami in the manjigatame but it wasn’t enough to finish off Fujinami. The champion made it known that he was the worthy successor and when he cinched in the dragon sleeper in the end, Inoki was too proud to tap out and succumbed to the sleeper. The fans lit up with excitement as Fujinami and Inoki embraced after Inoki’s recovery, and Fujinami held the title aloft as he stood triumphant on the turnbuckles. NJPW New Year Dash 1986, 1/3/86 Ryogoku Kokugikan 10,000 Fans 1. Shinya Hashimoto beat Masakatu Funaki (7:10) with a guillotine choke. 2. Black Tiger, Dave Finlay & Dave Taylor beat Steve Wright, Gran Hamada & Akira Nogami (8:45) when Tiger used the Black Tiger Bomb on Nogami. 3. Mark Fleming & Scott McGhee beat Ashura Hara & Toshiaki Kawada (6:34) when Fleming used a powerbomb on Kawada. 4. Riki Choshu, Animal Hamiguchi & Kuniaki Kobayashi beat Genichiro Tenryu, Samson Fuyuki & Yoshinari Ogawa (12:34) when Choshu used the lariat on Ogawa. 5. UWF Rules: Nobuhiko Takada beat Super Tiger (16:29) with a cross armbar. 6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Tiger Mask beat The Cobra (14: 55) with a tiger suplex hold (3rd defense) 7. IWGP Tag Team Titles: Akira Maeda & Osamu Kido beat Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kazuo Yamazaki (18:48) when Maeda used the double wristlock on Yamazaki to become the 3rd champions. 8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Tatsumi Fujinami beat Antonio Inoki (26:12) with the dragon sleeper (1st defense)

NJPW signs Dave Finlay.

NJPW signs Kensuke Sasaki and Takayuki Iizuka.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling has confirmed all three big title matches for New Year Dash on January 3rd, set to take place from Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. In addition to the aforementioned main event, with new champion, Tatsumi Fujinami, making his first defense against Antonio Inoki, as well as the winners of the Japan Cup Tag League, Akira Maeda and Osamu Kido challenging the reigning champs, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Kazuo Yamazaki, the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title will be on the line as Tiger Mask defends against the returning Cobra! In addition, Super Tiger's one man war against the Takada Army will culminate with Tiger taking on the leader, Nobuhiko Takada, under the UWF Rules. Finally, Revolution and Ishin Gundan will battle it out in a six man tag team match. More matches are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. NJPW New Year Dash 1986, 1/3/86 Ryogoku Kokugikan 1. Riki Choshu, Animal Hamiguchi & Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Samson Fuyuki & Yoshinari Ogawa 2. UWF Rules: Nobuhiko Takada vs. Super Tiger 3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Tiger Mask © vs. The Cobra 4. IWGP Tag Team Titles: Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kazuo Yamazaki © vs. Akira Maeda & Osamu Kido 5. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Tatsumi Fujinami © vs. Antonio Inoki

The last show of 1985 for NJPW, building toward their big January show, New Year Dash, which will feature all three titles (IWGP Heavyweight, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight and the IWGP Tag Team) on the line. I figured this would be a good chance to set the stage, with the respective champions (Fujinami, Tiger Mask, and Fujiwara/Yamazaki) already established. NJPW Japan Cup Tag Team League 1985, 12/12/85 Ryogoku Kokugikan ca. 9500 Fans 1. Tiger Mask & Shiro Koshinaka beat Ashura Hara & Yoshinari Ogawa (7:56) by DQ. A fast paced junior heavyweight tag match, with some very good interactions between Tiger Mask and Ashura Hara. The youngster Ogawa was also impressive when given the opportunity to go up against Koshinaka. As Tiger Mask prepared Ogawa for the tiger suplex hold, a masked man entered the ring and attacked Tiger, causing the disqualification. The masked man was none other than The Cobra, making his return to NJPW. 2. Antonio Inoki & Shinya Hashimoto beat Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (9:34) when Inoki used the manjigatame on Kawada. Antonio Inoki continued his dominance heading into New Year Dash, this time defeating Revolution leader, Genichiro Tenryu and young Toshiaki Kawada. Inoki brought his own young protege in Shinya Hashimoto, and while Hashimoto and Kawada were given plenty of time to work, the fans were buzzing for Tenryu and Inoki to go at it. Backstage, Inoki was asked about IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Tatsumi Fujinami, and his chances in the Japan Cup Tag League. Inoki said Fujinami is distracted and should be more concerned with their title match at New Year Dash next month. 3. Japan Cup Tag League 1985 Semi Final: Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura beat Riki Choshu & Animal Hamiguchi (12:41) when Fujinami used the dragon sleeper on Hamiguchi. The newly crowned IWGP Heavyweight Champion and his partner, Kengo Kimura, were successful in the semi-finals, defeating Ishin Gundan's Riki Choshu and Animal Hamiguchi. While Fujinami and Kimura had the speed advantage, Choshu and Animal brought the heavy blows and big slams, with Choshu trying to set up for the lariat on the champ. After Choshu hit Kimura with a backdrop suplex, he once again looked to take out Fujinami with the lariat but Fujinami countered with a high dropkick. Fujinami then was able to finish off Hamiguchi to advance to the finals. 4. Nobuhiko Takada beat Dave Taylor (8:15) with a jujigatame. A showcase match-up for Takada, with Dave Taylor giving him everything he needed to look his best. Takada continued to utilize his strike and submission-heavy offense, but Taylor more than held his own in both regards, putting Takada on the ropes a number of times with some unique European-style submission holds. 5. Japan Cup Tag League 1985 Semi Final: Akira Maeda & Osamu Kido beat Mark Fleming & Scott McGhee (10:57) when Kido used the Kido Clutch on McGhee. At the end of the day, technique proved to be in Maeda and Kido's favor as they were able to overcome Fleming and McGhee in the semi-finals. Fleming continued to impress as the skilled powerhouse, trying to submit both Maeda and Kido with his Boston crab hold. Scott McGhee also scored a nearfall off a German suplex hold on Maeda that Kido was able to break up. When McGhee tried to do the same to Kido, Kido rolled him up with the Kido Clutch for the three count. 6. Super Tiger beat Kazuo Yamazaki (13:44) with a roundhouse kick. The former Tiger Mask, Super Tiger, continued his attack on the Takada Army, this time taking out one half of the current IWGP Tag Team Champions in Kazuo Yamazaki. Tiger was very aggressive from the get go, mostly utilizing a variety of kicks to down Yamazaki before trying to choke him out on the mat. Yamazaki fought back and at one point, rolled Super Tiger up into a cross armbar but Tiger was able to break away and in the end, caught Yamazaki in the side of the head with a roundhouse kick for the win. 7. Japan Cup Tag League 1985 Final: Akira Maeda & Osamu Kido beat Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura (17:23) when Maeda used the double wristlock on Kimura. Largely considered the underdogs of the tag league, Maeda and Kido made it to the finals against the league favorites, and pulled off the big upset when Maeda caught Kimura with the double wristlock for the submission victory. Of course, the interactions were largely centered around Fujinami and Maeda, with Maeda especially looking confident against the new heavyweight champion. He managed to evade the dragon sleeper attempts and kept pace with Fujinami's speed and agility, while Kido brought the veteran beats. After the match, Maeda and Kido celebrated in the ring with their trophies and officially issued the challenge to Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Yamazaki for the IWGP Tag Team titles at New Year Dash next month.

NJPW signs Shinya Hashimoto, Naoki Sano, Masakatsu Funaki, Akira Nogami, Dave Taylor and Steve Wright.

NJPW picks up Mark Fleming from the free agency list.

Thanks all, looking forward to having some fun with NJPW in 1986!