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Makai Club #1

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  1. Makai Club #1
    An awesome lead into the Triple Crown title match. Williams looked like a badass and incredibly strong with Misawa struggling against him and showing great chemistry with Johnny Ace in the process. Misawa and Kobashi looked solid and cohesive as a unit as well. Johnny Ace proved his worth in the match as well. Not just a cog in the wheel. This followed wonderfully too. Everything got some shine and climaxed it well. ****
  2. Makai Club #1
    That finishing stretch was pretty amazing. So definitive as well. It’s just a seemingly endless barrage of the hardest kicks and jumping knees you’ll see. Fujiawara had no answer for it. He would only take the kicks and try and push through only to get a kick in the jaw for his troubles. I had no real idea of what the “death” match rules would mean in this case but this finish defined it. The rest of the match was a classic struggle of Tiger trying to defend against Fujiwara’s relentless grappling. Laser focused attack on the arm with endless supply of great holds and counters from Fujiwara. ****3/4
  3. Makai Club #1
    Oh what I would give to be in that crowd. Even just watching it on my laptop, you could feel the nerve racking tension of the result - it was so palpable. The crowd’s uncertainty of who was walking away the winner is so infectious that you can’t help but get sucked in even 26 years later, you can feel that. And Misawa and Kawada were able to present that story in their in-ring work. The ride matched everything else perfectly. Misawa vs Kawada is a lot of people’s greatest match of all time, it’s a true contender for that for me as well (It currently ranks in my Top 5 personally). There are so many moments in the match that are just of the highest of quality. And not just the finishing stretch either, but throughout the match too. There is a litany of great things that compound together to make this the all time great match that it well deservedly is heralded as. The use of strikes in this match is outstanding and most likely the best use of them you’re going to get out of the style that uses frequent high-risk bomb throwing. Misawa was relentless with elbows towards the end but Misawa also kicked the heck out of Kawada’s need to limit the effectiveness of Kawada’s knee which proved successful for a large chunk of the match. Kawada continued firing off his kicks to soften Misawa up, focusing on Misawa’s bleeding ear and injured neck. The work on the neck was critical to the building of the first powerbomb, and it paid off in a spectacular way with one of the hottest nearfall of all time. But the match doesn’t give up there. Misawa’s journey to making a comeback was equally as compelling as Kawada struggling against it. The aforementioned barrage of elbow strikes (add in a few uppercuts in there too) with Kawada refusing to fall down, the powerbomb nearfalls, Kawada throwing game changing Kappo kicks but being unable to follow up on them, the struggle for the german suplex and finally, the neck crunching Tiger Driver to finish off the match. Such a bombastic finishing stretch to match an epic build. *****
  4. Makai Club #1
    This was the perfect New Japan wrestler defending the honor of the company against the rough, rugged outsider who doesn’t care about your history style of match. Tenryu is willing to kick you in the eyes while you’re on the ground, attack you in the ropes. They start by carefully making deliberate moves. Hashimoto works the arm but Tenryu defends well so Hashimoto peppers him up with low kicks to the legs before ripping at the arm once again. Tenryu fired off some brutal chops to the throat but he kept on getting outdone by Hashimoto’s continuing attack on the arm. Tenryu sells the arm really well too. And not just for the arm, every offence Hashimoto threw at him looked dangerous. Hashimoto is able to project so much into his offence both emotionally and physically that it comes off so big. The finishing stretch was superbly done. There was a ton of “Hits a move. Rest”but it works in their favour adding to the significance of the moves being dished out and what will come next. The struggle to the final pin is a big one. The nearfalls are nail biting as well. Eventually Tenryu puts Big Hash away with three powerbombs but Hashimoto’s stock is raised big time. ****1/4
  5. Makai Club #1
    Any reason why they don't bring Rip Rogers in for training? Perhaps is a Rip decision to run do his own form of training. Anyway I echo the praise for McAfee. His background leans into the athletic side of wrestling and he showed that in spades.
  6. Makai Club #1
    The final, the end, the grand finale of the G1 Climax. A ton of the matches aren’t available in the way needed but what is available in full is quality matches. And Hase’s been at the front of all of that. Can he take that final step of beating The Dragon himself? Hashimoto went down. Chono went down. Fujinami is next. I loved the initial flurry where Fujinami and Hase battle each other with some light grappling before Fujinami plants Hase on his neck with a german suplex. He didn’t follow it up and it cost him as Hase regained footing and nailed a uranage on the floor. The match moved up a tempo once Fujinami attacked the leg after Hase left it open. Fujinami kept going back to the figure four to soften up the leg to great success. Hase in return kept throwing hard suplexes to great applause. They built Hase’s barrage of german/dragon suplexes up so well as a match winner throughout the tournament so when Hase got into a groove, the crowd bit on that as the finish. Fujinami just surviving it with a suplex of his own was pretty great. And the recurring leg work by Fujinami eventually paid off when Fujinami locked on the Scorpion Deathlock to get the win. It was not the best G1 Finals you’ll ever see but I dug it a ton. It followed a lot of the similar notes that the Chono v Hase match had but with less flair to it. Fujinami’s selling wasn’t great as far as the back goes either. But this was a borderline great match I thought. ***3/4
  7. Makai Club #1
    You must have watched the Stardom world version which is handheld camera shots with no commentary opposed to the Samurai TV version which is filmed in the traditional way.
  8. Makai Club #1
    These two had an awesome little gem at the backend of 1992 that ended with Hase beating Chono with a constant assault on the recently injured neck. Hase continues with that strategy in this match too. His cerebral-like targeting of the neck was brilliant. He throws some hard elbows shots to the neck and wicked variations of the stunner with extra torque. Just wearing Chono down with laser focused offence. Hase even indulged in some heelish tactics as well by slamming Chono throat-first onto the ropes. Chono’s selling is fantastic in the process. If anyone is able to sell neck pain, it’s Chono. But I love what he brings offensively to the match as well. I loved the work he did on the ankle and shins of Hase. Just grind, grind, grind in order to regain the advantage. The match is rich with high level drama and submission work. The best matches are when critical submissions are the high spots of the match. And Chono’s STF brings that in spades. Hase’s figure four is just as important for the match too as it transitions into the final third of the match. The back and forth flow between these two was so compelling. The struggle in the momentum, the figure four rolling spots to the outside, the immense selling from both wrestlers. Just incredible. Hase’s barrage of uranages and northern light suplexes matched against Chono’s Yakuza kicks was the perfect note to end the match on. But instead they keep going and perhaps get the even better finish of Hase getting the submission win with Chono’s own STF. Brilliant. Just brilliant. I don’t know. Everything about this match thrilled me. It’s made me all giddy. Incredible selling throughout the match. Great pacing that was able to get the best out of both wrestlers' styles and add all the little details to go with that overarching story. Outstanding match. ****3/4
  9. Makai Club #1
    On initial viewing, I wasn’t into the grappling portion of the match that most of the match is built around. Hashimoto has never really stood out as a great mat-worker to me and it didn’t fully click as a whole. On second viewing though, it came out a bit better. I loved seeing the struggle between two wrestlers who essentially have the same strategy: attacking the leg. Hase switching up the way he did the figure four, pushing the leg with his soles rather than the back of the leg, was clever. Hashimoto trapping Hase’s arm while trying to lock the other in an armbar was a nifty transition into a potential submission. I really dug how things escalated from pure 70s style grappling to more strikes being thrown to the legs, by both Hase and Hashimoto. Hashimoto would throw sweeping kicks, taking Hase out from under him while Hase would use dropkicks and stomping knees. Hashimoto utilized his kicks in brilliant ways. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kick to the leg being used as a defence to someone (Hase in this case) coming off the top rope. Eventually Hashimoto takes full control of the match and Hase looks in total danger. Hase’s selling is really strong for this final stretch of the match, being able to make the most of Hashimoto’s offence. Hashimoto looked like a killer when he was throwing vicious head kicks to a kneeling Hase. The finish is perhaps too sudden with Hase just sneaking the win after being pummeled for a good while though. The crowd and Hase go nuts at the surprise win though. A match I’m glad I revisited. ****1/4
  10. Makai Club #1
    Of course I left it late to even join in with this project, so my top 100 is a very rough draft that I put together yesterday. I'm confident in it though.
  11. Makai Club #1
    This was another incredible WAR vs New Japan match. The outcome was never really in doubt but they still put on a big show. The crowd was super hot for the New Japan boys - Chono in particular was the hot commodity of the match. The WAR Crew were outright vicious with her hard strikes and snug lariats focused towards Chono. The potshots they’d throw towards Fujinami was great. He’d get riled up and come in and kick ass. Chono is able to channel the crowd heat to maximise her performance. His quick comeback is a bit sudden but it further puts the STF over as a strong move. ****
  12. Makai Club #1
    This is probably more in tune with what I want from a tag team match than their matches. Non-stop drama in the nearfalls with an exhausting build but with a thrilling climax. But I think it's still just shy of their second (and best) of the series. The little callbacks to the first match where Kansai booted Toyota in the throat while she was in the boston crab was brilliant. Yamada threw all she had in the kicks back. I love that the camera didn’t even catch the first kick but you could hear the THUD of the contact. Toyota was incredible towards the last five minutes. Her missile dropkick to the floor was gorgeous. And I loved the crafty clutch pin she used on Ozaki. Brilliant match all around. Just one long stretch of nearfalls. ****1/2
  13. Makai Club #1
    That stardown before the bell. Aja Kong was like “Fuck your flowers!”. Incredible. 5 Stars? Oh I need to watch the match first. Okay. The match definitely lives up to its billing. Dynamite Kansai made herself a total threat and a worthy adversary for Aja Kong. Hitting brutal kicks to the face is one thing but being able to withstand a few urakens is what really proves her worth. The Splash Mountain Near fall was insane. I love the KO tease Kong has as well. Just a total badass moment. Incredible match. ****3/4
  14. Makai Club #1
    This was excellent. Io Shirai is newly turned heel and is uber arrogant towards the one she turned on. But Mayu sees that as an opportunity and unleashes a totally blitz of dangerous and forceful offence. Io mounts a comeback though and eventually goes through a barrage of suplexes. Mayu is a brilliant seller in the way she rag dolls herself on them too. She also has an uncanny ability to milk every nearfall for all its worth. Mayu has never been so close to the title but it was just out of her reach still. Brilliant match. ****1/2
  15. Makai Club #1
    Same pairing, same stipulation, totally different layout though. Team JWP bunrush the AJW side and put them away for the quick first fall in 12 seconds. Amazing. So the match is different immediately. And this time around, Toyota was less vulnerable to the smooth teamwork by Ozaki and Kansai, more aware of the tricks and relatively stays out of danger. And when she is in trouble, she is crafty enough to get out of it fairly quick. The dropkick to Ozaki while in mid-strike from a Kansai irishwhip was awesome but what was truly immense was Toyota, again, in mid-stride being able to balance herself on the ropes and hit a twisting crossbody taking Kansai out. That was brilliance which shows you why Toyota is widely considered the GOAT womens wrestler. That stuff right there is untouchable. But the body of the match was focused around Kansai and Yamada. And their exchanges produce excellent results. I loved how they still kept the underdog/big boss dynamic in their portion of the match. Yamada could easily knock anyone out with her wild kicks but Kansai is a machine and outmatches her in every way. So there is still a mountain to climb. It was so compelling. Ozaki adding in her lucha offence and some great heel characteristics is always a treat among the rest. She is the perfect tag wrestler, honestly. The match was paced rather long and you could feel the length but I can’t say there was a time where I was bored. Is it better than their first match? Hard to tell. I'll say yes. ****1/2
  16. Makai Club #1
    This was so, so good. The first fall was incredible. The FIP work by Toyota was top notch in this fall, although it'd wane in the 3rd fall and the double team work by Ozaki and Kansai was immensely good. The Camel Clutch setting up Kansai's brutal kicks to the throat was sadistically awesome. Kansai produced magic whenever she was involved. Especially when matched up with Yamada. The 2nd fall was short but still good and got a big pop. The 3rd fall is where the match falls short of being a classic though. The length of the fall wasn't exactly a problem but it felt long. Toyota was again the FIP but her work wasn't as compelling as the 1st fall. But it wasn't a terrible fall by any means. Ozaki showed some great character work on the apron when she stamped on Toyota's outreaching hand near the ropes. Awesome match. ****1/4
  17. Makai Club #1
    This progressed really well from a slow, drawn out technical battle to with Funk attacking the neck and then cranking on a headlock on Orton Jr before Orton fires back and is able to apply a tight bearhug of his own into a more scrappy fight with hard punches. I love how the heel and face roles switch constantly. Funk is disrespectful and violent early on but later Orton is willing to lay in some big punches to Funk while he’s on apron, not caring for the rules at all. Funk’s selling is tremendous. The classic wide eyed facial expressions, the staggering response to Orton’s punches. He puts Bob Orton over huge. Funk’s work on the leg is brilliantly worked into the match also. Funk out of nowhere, just drops a knee onto Orton’s leg and attacks it, setting up the spinning toe hold. Orton’s selling is good in return. The final stretch of the match where both are throwing caution to the wind to get the win - Funk at one point hits a low blow - to get the win before the time limit expires. ****1/4
  18. Makai Club #1
    I have never watched this before except maybe once when I was six and my Dad was watching a Ric Flair documentary that had this match. But it’s time to have some actual critical eyes on this. The entrance from Flair is legendary and pretty spectacular. The very definition of styling and profiling. This was terrific as it seemed to be on paper. Flair was a nasty, vicious heel working over the nose of one of the best, sympathetic baby faces in wrestling history. The brawling was very rough and heavy. You could feel the punches and the slams into the cage. It’s even cringe-worthy when Flair grates Morton’s injured face into the fence. Morton’s hope spots are really good and it’s always entertaining to see Flair get his ass kicked. The only downside is that even without clear hindsight and wrestling knowledge, Flair was always going over in this match. Excellent title defence for Flair. ****1/4
  19. Makai Club #1
    To say that I've grown jaded on endless strike exchanges could be an understatement. I tend to check out whenever that happens by this point since it's usually mindless and boring but this match will always capture me like no other match despite being the very example of endless strike exchanges. Only with chops being the case rather than elbows. Sasaki and Kobashi is one of the most enthralling, spectacular matches of its kind. It's in the Tokyo Dome, it's the big showdown between the two titans, the enormously hot crowd that eats everything they do up. It's an experience to witness. This is my favourite match of all time so naturally I think it's Kobashi's best which is quite funny considering that when I was the last few matches of the Kobashi GHC title reign, I noticed that he was slowing down a bit. His matches began to suffer from not many new or interesting ideas and just being not up-to usual standard. But here, he works perfectly to his capabilities to match the nature of the match and has an absolute classic, just after his peak has ended. Sasaki, on the other hand, is coming in after freelancing all around Japan so he has something to prove against Kobashi. So when Kobashi throws the first chops, Sasaki fires back. And over 200 chops later, the crowd is still begging for more and more. They eventually move on to an epic bombs away finishing stretch which included a few awesome no-sell pop ups that never fail to get the juices flowing. Just a classic. *****
  20. Makai Club #1
    What a day 16/04/1994 was. Not only did you have the finals of the Champion Carnival, a pivotal moment in All Japan’s yearly plans involving the elevation of Williams and Kawada. You have the Super J Cup taking place 3 miles down the road at Ryogoku, the launching pad for Junior Heavyweight wrestling of its generation. Just to follow up on the All Japan side. While Kawada wins this match, setting up the next Misawa vs Kawada title match, getting to the Finals solidifies Williams as the top gaijin of All Japan now. This is the second match between these two of the Carnival themselves, previously going 30 minutes earlier in the tournament. And this is a brilliant follow up from that. Kawada is on the counter defensive, actively avoiding Williams’ biggest moves (Oklahoma Stampede, Backdrop Driver) while looking to get his stiff strikes in to knock Williams loopy. Kawada hung onto the ropes for dear life when Willaims first went for the Stampede. Fantastic work by Kawada who made everything Williams was trying to do that much more dangerous by his sheer desperation to get out of those signatures. Williams worked the back with hard slams and kicks to the back early on which Kawada sold wonderfully with his screams of agony. It’s not often you hear Kawada audibly sell but he went that route in this case. Williams brought out a few out of the box offensive moves, such as the Tiger Suplex which got a close two count and some awesome punches to the jaw. Kawada had some brilliant combo strikes near the finish, hitting a spinning backfist and then a rolling kappou kick which was the turning point for Kawada’s eventual win. The mach excelled at milking the drama for all it’s worth in the near falls and submission holds. Williams did his best to make Kawada earn that finish and it made the win much more satisfying. Now give Kawada the Triple Crown, Baba! ****1/2
  21. Makai Club #1
    Minoru Tanaka vs. Shunma Katsumata A brilliant match built around Minoru Tanaka attacking the leg of Shunma and working it over the whole match. Tanaka was superb I thought. His initial assault on the leg and the following kicks to the knee joint were great. There were tons of extra snap in his dropkicks and his submissions were pretty snug. Shunma proved his versatility once again by working really well on defence. His Brock Lock submissions were great hope spots and allowed Shunma time to make a comeback. I loved the selling of the leg as well. Shunma is very audible in his screams and the intimate atmosphere increases it tenfold. The finish to the match was an excellent way to end the match. Not only was the drama in the figure four milked for all its worth but Tanaka following it up with heavy kicks to the left knee and then transitioning into the rolling knee bar was so ruthless. Tanaka is a Fujiwara student at heart, and it showed. Credit to Shunma for an excellent performance from beneath. ***3/4
  22. Makai Club #1
    The first fall was decent. There was some good lucha mat-work, with the headstand slap exchange sequence to boot. The second fall wasn't great but it set up some good elements like Villano showing more rudo tendencies with Villano III Jr injuring his leg seemingly but it turning out that he was faking it and then captalized on that when Aereo was distracted. And the blood being drawn with Villano III Jr hitting a tope that nailed Aereo in the face. Both looked to have drawn blood from it. And I'm not comparing it to Atlantis vs Villano III as a whole match but that spot was pretty much the same - now that's a good way to emulate a great match. Villano III Jr didn't take long to finish the fall after that. The third fall was good in parts. Villano throwing Aereo in the crowd ruled. He did it so recklessly too. And with the camera being fixed to a certain point, we only saw him being thrown and if he landed on anyone which was probably for the best. This big tin thing was thrown at both guys heads. The brawling was pretty violent and honestly chaotic in ways most brawls aren't. Villano took a nutty bump onto some chairs which transitioned into a crazy dive Aereo took from the light structure. But I oddly felt uninvested in the nearfalls and the big final struggle for the win. The key for the apuestas matches is their high level drama and maybe it's just not really being into either luchador but this didn't have that. And that gave the entire match a ceiling for how much I enjoy the match overall. And that finish. I'm unsure if it was a shoot but that was a lame duck of a finish. A count out? What a way to lose your mask. Ah. This had me and then it didn't by the end. Good match that probably needs revisiting but right now, it's good to a point but not great like you'd expect. ***1/2
  23. Makai Club #1
    This was a much needed improvement from anything else Kerry has done this year. Jumbo is the hometown hero and Kerry worked well as the foreign champion, putting Jumbo over with his selling. The whole first fall is him getting outclassed by Jumbo and the second is Kerry getting his ass beaten with strikes and slams. Jumbo unloaded with stiff punches, cutting Kerry open heavily making it very likely that a Jumbo will get a second straight fall but Kerry survives the big onslaught to hit a discus punch and then lock on a claw to regain some footing by winning the second fall. Kerry heels it up big time by keeping hold of the Iron Claw after winning, getting an unfair advantage. And then he does an awesome cocky dance before hitting a few punches and then Jumbo blocks the Claw attempt and then works it over, making him pay for that piece of arrogance. Jumbo can be a bit of a dud personality wise (I love Jumbo too) but he brought tons of fire and intensity in the 3rd fall. Jumbo’s face of fury before slamming Kerry’s hand into the turnbuckle was amazing. His whole performance is what gave the match the dramatic oomph it needed. The finish, if you’re familiar with NWA title matches, was a fairly typical finish. A double count out to protect the home town ace. Super good match. ****
  24. Makai Club #1
    I'm struggling to even put something to words because the match itself was super good. Suzuki's performance in particular was top quality, Kobashi's performance lacked any big spark and quality throughout the match. It hurt the match a ton despite Suzuki's best efforts. Suzuki made Kobashi earn anything he could by dodging and ducking any backfist attempt he could, trying to squirm his way out of the corner while Kobashi was hitting his machine gun chops, forcing Kobashi to work his pace and his match. Suzuki tightly locked on a headlock and forced Kobashi to try and fight his way out. Suzuki attacked the arm with his kicks and various submissions. Suzuki is quick on his feet so he has no trouble in applying the holds. Kobashi could only try and withstand it. Suzuki's heel mannerisms were so good as well. Who doesn't love it when Suzuki teases and dicks off his opponent? Like I said Suzuki was great. But I think it came at the cost of Kobashi because Kobashi didn't offer a lot on his own. His best moments in the match was Suzuki in control and Kobashi having to work with him. The aforementioned headlock spot, for example. But I wasn't feeling it during Kobashi's run on offence towards the latter stages of the match. And neither were the crowd near enough. It's a rare sight to have Kobashi hit lariats to little reaction but that was the case here. His selling wasn't particularly noteworthy either. Suzuki kept up his end of the match with his brilliant selling of Kobashi's backfist and lariat strikes. ***1/2
  25. Makai Club #1
    Koslowski had a legit background in Greco-Roman wrestling, wrestling in the Seoul 88 and Barcelona 92 Olympics getting the Bronze and Silver Medals respectively. There was a nice game plan from Kozlowski. Any time Kakihara was overwhelming him with strikes, Koslowski would smother him in the corner. Kakihara’s only grace was kicks and he hit a pin-point Koppou Kick but Koslowski was able to catch him and locked him in a crab hold for the tap. ***
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