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superkix

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  1. superkix
    A Steiners tag means little finesse but lots of discomfort for the opposition. To open, they’ve got Kensuke on the rocks, slamming and suplexing and clobbering away, slanging their meathooks in between fresh tags. When Kensuke’s finally able to turn it around, does he make the hot tag? Hell nah, dude, he puts Scott in the Scorpion Deathlock! And then he gets dropped with a tiger driver and one of Rick’s ugly slams. But when Hase does get that hot tag, oh baby, he runs straight into a tilt-a-whirl slam and a Samoan drop off the top rope. He’s able to deliver a uranage and the Northern Lights suplex hold but Rick breaks it up and it’s all downhill from there, as Scotty hits a Doomsday DDT and botches a frankensteiner for the win.
  2. superkix
    Every Murakami match has blood in it -- I mean, how else are you going to get him to lick it up? From a visual standpoint, it works. When you look at Murakami, with his wicked smile, you expect him to bust somebody open, possibly himself, and revel in it. Before Marufuji can even make his grand entrance, Marukami has already bloodied him. He takes him down to the ring and rams him headfirst into the ring post before showing off the carnage to the fans and licking the blood from Marufuji's forehead. What a nutjob. He tries choking Marufuji with a chair but once Marufuji gets a hold of it, he cracks it over Murakami's head a couple of times before getting him into the ring, where he starts paintbrushing him with slaps in the corner and choking him with his boot. He dumps him with a couple of German suplexes and they go back-and-forth with the slaps as the match momentum shifts into the next gear and Marufuji heats up on offense. He lands a couple of superkicks with the crowd behind him but...then Murakami hits back-to-back STOs and a lariat and it's over. Anti-climatic finish but a fun match while it lasted, with a post-match bonus beatdown from Murakami.
  3. superkix
    A cool little match-up. I loved how Kakihara faked like he was going to just grapple with Tamura before he unleashes his traditional flurry of strikes. Tamura shows off some skill on the mat but again, Kakihara’s hands are all over him like fly swatters. When he does get some breathing room, Tamura’s in-ring awareness is shines through, as he’s constantly grabbing limbs, settling into holds and avoiding the bigger blows from Kakihara to get a takedown. When Kakihara misses the big spinning heel kick, Tamura stays on him with knees to the ribs and a nasty shot to the face. When he starts swinging for the fences, missing wildly, Tamura coolly takes him down with a belly-to-belly slam. Kakihara finally grazes him with another spinning heel kick and follows up with another that squarely hits the mark. He then applies a front necklock, deadlifting Tamura with almost a brainbuster. The exhaustion faction plays into the finish of the match, as Kakihara is sluggish, trying to trade kicks with Tamura, and Tamura catches a leg for a takedown. Kakihara’s able to counter with a leglock of his own, but Tamura re-counters and Kakihara taps out.
  4. superkix
    Having not seen a lot of Owen Hart in Japan, he comes off as a good fit and a natural heel, shooting off a slap early on. After some of that early 1990's junior chain rasslin', Liger teases some matwork before Owen takes over on offense. I guess I never realized Owen was such a suplex machine, but he busts out plenty of pretty ones here, including a gutwrench, a German, a belly-to-belly, and a double arm. After Liger no sells a tombstone piledriver, he hits a superplex and the Liger Bomb for three. A cool exhibition and showcase for Owen, who took most of this match, aside from a last minute win by Liger. I'd love to see more of Owen in Japan.
  5. superkix
    This didn't quite hit the same highs as their 2002 match, but it was still fun for the most part, especially in the back half. It's kind of a mess to start as they scramble around until Nagata's able to fire off an Exploder after dodging a penalty kick. Nagata's kicks and knees look good, and he's able to bust Murakami's mouth with a knee on the outside...but on the flip, some of his strikes look weak as hell. Of course, it wouldn't be a Murakami match without blood and the image of it dripping out of his mouth is rather frightening. Nagata unloads on him in the final few minutes, hitting a brainbuster and a head kick. Murakami's gassed at this point, desperately swinging for the fences and missing, which allows Nagata to hit a nasty backdrop, followed by the backdrop hold for the pinfall.
  6. superkix
    I adore Super Delfin in the 1990's with his awesome 90's get-up and he was a definite highlight of this six-man tag. As for the match itself, it was a total blast, with good comedy, creativity, pacing, and placement of spots. You had Delfin and baby Dick Togo snapping off arm drags and hitting all the highs of that crisp mid-1990's junior chain rasslin'. The veteran no-nonsense Shinzaki beating the crap out of Sasuke, walking the ropes, and of course, Sasuke being an ass, jaw-jacking with the referee. And while Naniwa isn't the best wrestler, he provides probably the biggest laugh of the match when Delfin inadvertently gives him an arm wringer on the ropes, and Naniwa storms off...only to be brought back after a convincing kiss on the lips from an apologetic Delfin. Incredible. With six-mans, there's always a bit of slop and disorder but I really liked the continuous build to the dives, which culminates in everyone taking to the skies.
  7. superkix
    This was a perfectly solid rematch but with some of the clunky transitioning throughout. I like that Misawa shows more confidence and fire with his elbows, not allowing daddy Jumbo to punk him early on, before the match settles into a slower, back-and-forth struggle to maintain control. I love a good spat and when Misawa keeps pounding on Jumbo, Jumbo's finally had it and he lays into him with hard slaps and quick knees and then that big jumping knee to hype up the crowd. Then it's back to that slower pace of Jumbo working the leg and Misawa being aggressive with his elbows. I thought Jumbo's almost haphazard way out countering Misawa's offense was pretty great. At one point, Misawa starts heating up and the crowd is buzzing loudly for him but the decision to not hit the dive onto Jumbo on the outside really killed the momentum and the buzz. Misawa's able to score a big two count off of the German suplex hold but when he can't deliver the tiger driver, Jumbo dumps him with a brutal backdrop and follows up with two more to put him away. A good match, with a few great moments, but the pacing and transitions hurt the overall quality.
  8. superkix
    This match rules -- easily my favorite six-man tag in All Japan up until this point. Kobashi’s stellar babyface in peril performance, the Taue/Kawada hate still bleeding into this match, Fuchi being a dick, and of course, the rivalry between Jumbo and Misawa continuing to unfold. Taue himself is quite the dick early on as he keeps harasses Kawada on the apron until Kawada finally kicks the shit out of him while Taue’s laid back in a cross armbreaker. Violence ensues, with Kawada pummeling Taue into the canvas with his little shitty headbutts. Jumbo and crew are such good heels here, especially Jumbo, who goes from playing to the crowd to either piledriving Kawada on the floor or just stepping on his face. Fuchi’s the dirty daddy crass technician, immediately working Kawada’s neck with the headscissors after he and Taue double teamed him with a second piledriver on the floor. Kawada’s finally able to get some revenge on Jumbo with his face kicks – I love that when Jumbo tries to hulk up, Kawada puts him right back down and continues pelting him with those shitty face kicks. The young guns control for a while, isolating Taue, with Misawa launching Kobashi with a top rope plancha onto Taue outside the ring. Fuchi spoils the fun by getting the tag and immediately starts destroying Kobashi’s knee with great stomps and a knee crusher onto a chair. Terrific selling from Kobashi as he desperately tries to fight back but his knee is fucked and Fuchi takes advantage of it, using an STF and then just rolling back and cranking on the leg. Loved the look of intensity on Jumbo’s face as he’s wrenching on the single leg crab. They milk the teased tag outs by Kobashi with the crowd wanting nothing more than Kobashi to get the hell out of there but Jumbo and crew are absolute bullies, especially Fuchi, who ties Kobashi’s knee in the ropes and cheapshots him with punches. Kawada at one point enters the ring and kicks Jumbo, trying to help Kobashi out, but it ain’t happening. Kobashi FINALLY tags in Kawada, and while he and Misawa go at it with Fuchi, Fuchi’s such a badass that he fights off both and puts Misawa on the rocks against Jumbo. The final fews minutes of the match are incredible, with terrific nearfalls, a super hot crowd, and a hell of a pin break up by Kawada after the chokeslam from Taue. Once the ring has been cleared, Misawa’s up and he’s able to pick up the win with the tiger suplex hold. Fantastic!
  9. superkix
    I loved this match. These two have such fantastic chemistry together and I love that Kawada brings out Taue's shitkicker scrappiness. Kawada is the bigger shitbag of the two, whipping Taue around by the arm to maintain arm control and when Taue tries to work the arm, Kawada bleeds him with nasty boot scrapes to the face and adds insult to injury with those dirty little kicks of his. Watching Taue bulldoze Kawada with sumo slaps and fall out of the ring was a definite highlight of the match. Taue takes advantage of the outside element, suplexing and powerbombing Kawada on the floor, or lariating him over the guardrail. Kawada's so good at peppering his selling with subtle nuances, like flailing in the single leg crab, but his in-ring awareness is also on point, as he's able to counter the chokeslam attempt with the armbar, bringing it back to his opening armwork. He's able to catch Taue with a back kick that knocks Taue into the ref, and when he hits the powerbomb pin, the ref is slow to make the count. In the end, Taue wins by countout after chokeslamming Kawada...on the floor. Of course.
  10. superkix
    I mean, they managed to pack a 25:00+ minute main event into two minutes and some change. Ricky, really wants to win this, hitting the John Woo dropkick, the powerbomb, the thrust kick, before KENTA no sells it all to obliterate Marvin with a rolling lariat. For the most part, Marvin has answers to KENTA’s big offense, countering the first Go 2 Sleep attempt with the rana, but the second attempt connects and KENTA blasts him with the punt kick to win.
  11. superkix
    A polarizing match but one of my favorites for sure, as Inoue truly excels at making the most of his in-ring limitations, putting in the underdog heel performance of the year – yeah, he’s a blatantly classic heel but the crowd favorite against Akiyama. Before the streamers can even fly, Inoue lariats Akiyama and immediately dumps his ass with a cobra clutch suplex! Of course, Akiyama quickly gets the situation under control, wearing Inoue down with a front necklock for an Exploder but Inoue bails before Akiyama can hit what would be the first of…well, many, many knees. When Jun rolls him back in, Inoue promptly rolls back out to avoid him, remaining patient on the outside until he finds an opening to attack and he does so in the shittiest (I say that with love) way possible, scouring Jun’s face with taped wrists and forearms, running it along the ropes, then along the apron. This pisses off Akiyama, who in turn, dirty rubs his forearms across Inoue’s face…and gets booed for it! Loved how sloppy Inoue’s figure-four on the rampway is but the purpose behind it more than makes up for the execution, as he’s trying to get Jun counted out. When Akiyama finally puts Inoue in his place, calf branding him from the apron into the guardrail and piledriving him onto the floor, the fans continue to shit on him, which is awesome, as Inoue’s clearly the sympathetic dirty dog here. Inoue tries to build a little momentum, trying a couple of flash pin attempts, but when he goes up top, Jun cuts him off with a super Exploder…and the look on Inoue’s face is incredible. Inoue manages a few last gasps, including the torture rack and a powerbomb, but Akiyama slips out of the backslide and hits the first successful running knee. After an Exploder, the knee party really kicks off, but Masao’s not going down, not rolling over, stiff-legged. After ten knees (the number of completion), Akiyama delivers another Exploder for a big nearfall but the wrist-clutch variant is the final nail in the coffin for Inoue. Terrifc match.
  12. superkix
    The story of big daddy Jumbo having to deal with all these fucking younguns runnin' around his house in 1990-1991 is one of my favorite things. Probably the most insolent prick of the bunch of Kawada. Jumbo shows his dominance early on, with Kawada bumping like a maniac for Jumbo's kitchen sink knees, and while Kawada hacks out Jumbo's leg with kicks and overexerts himself with a single leg crab, Jumbo's soon tossing him around and busting his knee on the timekeeper's table. He keeps working Kawada over with the single leg crab, at one point, transitioning into a side STF. Desperation mode Kawada has to sacrifice that injured leg to connect with a gamengiri and the selling by both men in that moment is amazing. After an lariat to the back of the head, Kawada continues being a shithead on the outside by repeatedly stomping Jumbo's head. The powerbomb tease is great but when he starts in with the shitty face kicks, Jumbo's had it and smacks him absolutely silly. Kawada survives the powerbomb but falls after two consecutive backdrops. A solid effort from Kawada, showing off the tenacity that makes him so lovable.
  13. superkix
    Minoru Suzuki’s rocking the pure white, a clear indication that he’s gone good, and I loved the teased confrontations, knowing that Suzuki is going to turn heel within the match at some point but initially, he’s wrestling clean with some reluctance. Then he locks on the jujigatame and refuses to let go, the bastard, and the referee nearly throws himself atop Suzuki to break it up. Having shown his true colors, Suzuki uses a hanging sleeper on the ropes and it’s sold like straight death by Akiyama – in fact, Suzuki grabs him, yells “wake up!” and slaps him in the face. He’s nasty with his boots and chokes, shoving the intervening referee out of the way, but Akiyama equally as nasty with his knees and likewise tosses the ref out of the ring! Akiyama’s weakness in the taped ribs is exploited in the dirtiest of fashions by Suzuki, and throughout, you get the impression that Akiyama is legitimately hurting here. I can’t recall ever seeing a top rope octopus hold but Suzuki pulls it off, cackling like a Batman villain before double stomping Akiyama. He tenderizes him with snug kicks before really working that octopus hold, digging the elbow in, stretching him on the mat, then toe punching the ribs. Really good selling from Akiyama as always and when Suzuki tries to sneak in with a sleeper hold, Akiyama quickly backdrops to set up a little run of offense. But again, Suzuki is able to exploit those ribs, ducking a running knee and blasting Jun with a knee to the midsection before spiking him with a delayed Gotch-style piledriver. Then the match shifts gears…and perhaps, that shift is a little too discordant for some, I hear you. But come on, they basically work in their version of the infamous Kobashi/Sasaki chop exchange…but with face slaps. They slap and slap and slap themselves silly, slapping to the point of exhaustion. Akiyama finally abandons the slaps for the knees, taking Suzuki down. Suzuki’s selling is terrific here as he crumbles to the canvas, screaming defiantly in Akiyama’s face when he Jun picks him up, only to get smacked and finished off with the wrist-clutch Exploder. This is probably a polarizing match for some as the first half of the match is hunked out the window in exchange for endless slap action but I loved Suzuki’s character work.
  14. superkix
    This definitely had its moments but the slower matwork was a little dry. But when they’re unloading on one another, swinging for the fences, it’s great! After a meandering start of love taps and trying to get something going on the mat, Funaki adds a lick of spicy mustard and smacks Sano in the face, knocking him down with a face kick. He stays on him, trying to finish him off with the same maneuver that won him their previous match – a German suplex into an armbar. Sano survives and they go back to the mat but Funaki’s quick hands land a few hard slaps in between. The finish was cool, as Sano hits the German suplex but the way Funaki lands on him, he’s able to snag an arm and submit him with the armbar.
  15. superkix
    I love a good suplex and the Steiners know how to toss a few. This was about 80% Steiner domination over poor Hase with shitty matwork but you ain’t paying the Steiners to paint the canvas – no way, baby, you get tiger drivers, suplexes, superplexes, and superduperplexes. When Hase hits the uranages on both Steiners, the crowd loses their collective shit for the Kensuke hot tag! They work a little magic, with Sasaki superplexing Hase onto Rick and Hase delivering the Northern Lights suplex hold. But alas, our heroes fall to the best meatheads after a double team bulldog and the Scott Frankensteiner.
  16. superkix
    He had killer title matches last year against guys like Okabayashi but most of his matches are five minute squashes. He does, however, squash with the best of them.
  17. superkix
    My other favorite match of the first six months of 1993 RINGS, and hey, it's my favorite match-up of 1992 RINGS! Volk is much more strike-focused and aggressive in 1993 then he has been, and here, he immediately punches Vrij in the face, kicks him down, and goes after the arm, trying to pin him down with the submission attempt. Vrij is vulnerable on the mat but he doesn't struggle often and Han made him squirm. Han is willing to absorb Vrij's big kicks and knees in order to get close enough for a takedown, knowing full well that he's not going to outstrike Vrij...although he'll try with his spinning backhands. There were times in the match where Vrij looked legitimately frightened of Volk. Han also busts out a shoot Russian legsweeip into the submission, which ruled. But the dynamic between these two -- the cyborg striker vs. the cool submission specialist -- is awesome, and like their first match, it comes down to the final point after Vrij keeps knocking down Han with kicks and knees, and Han keeps sending Vrij to the ropes. In the end, Vrij unloads on him with some really nasty knees in the ropes and then delivers a combo of strikes that ends in a palm thrust for the TKO victory over Han. Terrific match
  18. superkix
    A good exhibition for the debuting Zouev, who showed off what he can do with his swanky takedowns and reversals, stretching Todorov all over the mat, working in holds like the double chickenwing and full nelson hold. His kicks were decent and he had some neat throws. He keeps slipping out of Todorov’s submission attempts to turn the hold against him ala Volk Han. Todorov got in a throw here and there, and at one point, catches Zouev’s kick and hits a big knee to the ribs. But eventually Zouev rolls him up into a wacky split-legged hold for the submission win.
  19. superkix
    A half hour of mat warfare. If that's your shit, welcome. There weren’t many knockdowns – this was mostly them scrambling around, trying to grab chokes, leglocks, armbars. Anything. Ishikawa keeps taking Naruse off his feet with double leg takedowns but at one point, he grabs Naruse's leg and Naruse pops him in the face with a nasty knee strike for a knockdown. Nothing blow away but a lot of fun to see Ishikawa in this environment.
  20. superkix
    Vrij was uber-dominant and aggressive against Kopylov, not giving him an inch. He’s laying into him with big kicks, kicks him in the nuts at one point, and whenever Andrei gets him on the mat, Vrij is quick to grab the rope so Kopylov never really has an opportunity to keep him on the ground long enough for a submission. Kopylov finally catches him with some body blows and knees but that’s about it -- Vrij just keeps knocking him down with his mean flurries and finally pops him with a palm thrust for the KO.
  21. superkix
    Baby Huey is such a loveable hangry mess here and old man Misawa bumps like crazy for him, making the clobberin’ slop look like absolute barbarism. When Misawa pops him in the schnozz with an elbow, Morishima snaps, lobbing elbows and rocking him with back-to-back-to-back lariats. Look, finesse isn’t a part of Morishima’s repertoire but that’s part of the charm, as he’s vicious with his clubbing forearms in the corner and flattens Misawa with a nasty lariat on the outside, just dominating the legend. Misawa gets a little reprieve with some snug elbows and a big tope suicida through the ropes but the big baby takes over again on offense, powerbombing Misawa. Knowing Misawa’s fate, this is a cringeworthy match for sure, considering the amount of physical abuse both guys endure, and at times, it’s hard to watch Morishima continually fold him up with backdrops and a gnarly uranage. And of course, Misawa tiger driving Morishima’s big ass off the fucking ring apron. Morishima’s nose is a bloody mess but that doesn’t deter Misawa from elbowing the shit out of him in the corner and on the ground, the ref hopelessly trying to intervene only to get shoved back. At one point, Morishima challenges Misawa to fire off more elbows, which isn’t the smartest idea, and after running and rolling and more grounded elbows, Misawa puts him away with one final lunging elbow shot. Brutal warfare.
  22. superkix
    Funaki working in a shoot-style environment is just about as awkward as you’d expect it to be. While he’s not quite the striker, he does manage some decent takedowns and works the mat well enough. But he’s mostly a punching bag for Ikeda and Usuda here, which is fine, too. Usuda snaps off kicks and throws out some nasty open hands, while Ikeda’s a little more gritty with his stomps and kidney punches. Poor Funaki gets dumped with a German suplex and that’s the last we see of him before Ikeda and Ishikawa shut it down like you’d expect. Plenty of snug shots and grunty matwork, with Ikeda wrenching at his face and choking him out for the win. Fun tag.
  23. superkix
    This little doozy of a match-up truly embodies what a gratuitous bomb-fest should be. You've got Takwai, one of the best no selling shitkickers out there, and Kanemaru, who proves he can scramble brains with the best of them. Within the first five seconds of the match, Takaiwa turns Kanemaru's world upside down with a big boy lariat. They're both being really shitty, with Takaiwa throwing the ref out of the way and Kanemaru using that to his advantage and low blowing Takaiwa. They choke each other with tape before opening up the arsenal and dropping just about every bomb they have in reserve. Brainbusters, Death Valley Bombs, including the best spot where Takaiwa catches Kanemaru off the apron and plants him on the floor, lariats, Takaiwa Drivers -- even one of my favorite video game finishers, the double powerbomb INTO the Death Valley Bomb. They steal each others moves, executing them to brutal perfection, and of course, Takaiwa being Takaiwa pops up after taking three consecutive brainbusters like it's nothing and spikes Kanemaru with the Takaiwa Driver. What a prick. But sometimes you just have to sit back, shut off your thinking capabilities, and enjoy a brainless (maybe literally) but awesome bombs away match.
  24. superkix
    The heat between Kawada and Taue is sizzlin'. The match cuts in with Taue delivering one hell of a shoulderblock to Kikuchi before we get to the bloodshed. Once again, Taue with his fresh haircut, is being nastier than usually, busting open Kawada or tossing Kikuchi out of the ring onto Kawada. The fans are way into Kawada's general pissy-ness as he and Taue just slap each other silly heading into the finishing run, and they bite onto most of the nearfalls before Kawada finally puts Ogawa away with the powerbomb.
  25. superkix
    Although these early All Japan six-mans can become a little hard to distinguish from one another, the formula works so well and the characters play their roles engagingly. Once again, the seasoned dad wrestler Jumbo showed terrific resilience against that fiery shitkicker Kawada, who pesters him throughout. I mean, the opening exchange sees Kawada bump like hell off a kitchen sink knee -- Jumbo hits him so hard he hurts himself. At one point, Kawada keeps peppering Jumbo with his shitty face kicks and Jumbo snaps, unloading a barrage of big daddy elbows on him and continuing the punishment on the floor with chairshots. Fuchi's the prematurely old dick head, Misawa the young hero, Kikuchi the underdog, and Taue does what Taue can to ensure his team comes away victorious, getting shit from the fans for breaking up puns but ultimately scoring the pinfall with the powerbomb.
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