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Makai Club #1

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  1. Makai Club #1
    This was only 2 minutes longer than the semi main event to this show but boy this felt much, much longer. Baba and Hansen winning means Kobashi and Misawa are crowned World Tag Team Champions! I thought this was good in parts but awkwardly paced. The bits with Baba weren’t very good at all. Kawada seemed scared to even touch him, throwing kicks that clearly don’t touch him by a mile. The difference between Hansen in the match and Baba in the match was staggering. Thankfully Kawada redeems himself with Hansen. ***
  2. Makai Club #1
    They had Budokan Hall rocking for this match. And the way they laid the match out, that’s no surprise. There was very little downtime with the match going at a very hot fast tempo. All while putting Misawa and Kobashi in the vulnerable position. Ace and Williams were the dominant team for the whole match, working over Misawa for such a long time which set up the eventual comeback climb perfectly. And then the dramatic closing stretch with a ton nail-biting nearfalls for both sides. This was just a superbly worked tag team match. ****
  3. Makai Club #1
    With these two, you know what exact match you’re getting and this was definitely that but somehow a tad more vicious and violent this time around. There were a ton of forearm strikes and headbutt shots but I think the charm of the match was watching Suzuki clearly overtake Ishii in that regard and Ishii selling the results of that. I’m pretty sure Ishii was getting some serious swelling on his face thanks to Suzuki’s slaps. Ishii pulling out of the Air Raid was awesome as well. Very good G1 match. ***1/2
  4. Makai Club #1
    So naturally I was excited to witness this. The match doesn’t have a great reputation as the Misawa or Kobashi match, mostly because Doc’s strengths lie in his signature high-impact offence which also is All Japan’s bread and butter. This feels a more stripped down, methodical match that I can see coming off as dull and not as captivating to some as it was to me. It went a bit too long in parts and they could’ve gone home earlier but I enjoyed the ride they took us. I thought they did a tremendous job in teasing and building up their biggest hits that the match exploded when they finally went for them. Whether it was Kawada going for the kill shots at the end or Williams hitting the Stampede, Doctor Bomb and the Dangerous Backdrop for many great false finishes. Kawada’s strikes were timed perfectly as well. I don’t remember him hitting as many spinning backfists before to such great effect. They were the turning point for his eventual win. And I must point out how great Williams’s selling was towards the end. Even when he was blocking the kick attempts, he was staggering around, clearly out of his feet. Just great stuff. There were a few people in the front row crying when Kawada won the title. I felt that. Loved this wholeheartedly. ****1/4
  5. Makai Club #1
    The main event was fine imo. Some iffy execution and pacing issues aside, it was a good match, just not a flat out great match. Okada looked more motivated in the match and looked good according to the story they were telling.
  6. Makai Club #1
    The match worried me a bit with the really boring grappling portions of the match. It wasn’t the usual Muto lazy stuff, they were fairly snug and clearly tried to give the match a grand feeling and a big build. But it just failed to be interesting until they moved out of that. But the latter stages of the match more than made up for it with its drama and epic sequences with Muto invading Hashimoto’s dangerous kicks and strikes. The crowd once they woke up were rabid for this. It’s clear what they were going for but it only half worked. ***1/4
  7. Makai Club #1
    Isn’t this something? WCW, if they weren’t totally incompetent, could’ve looked back in their histroy at this for being a historically important match. A generational passing between the older guard to the next generation. How they didn’t build the next five years around Austin and Pilman, I do not know (Actually, I do. Thanks, Hogan). But alas this is still a really great match to have in your archive. This is Ric Flair’s first match back in WCW thanks to his contract with WWF stopping him from wrestling for the first few months. And the match is booked to accommodate Flair and Arn. The Blondes are excellent as chickenshit heels that get the snot kicked out of them so it works really well. The two straight falls is a bit too much and just a poor booking choice to go with though. As mentioned before, the Blondes are great in their role. Not only do they bump and selling superbly for the Horsemen, they do a fantastic job in control, cutting Flair off from Anderson with their great teamwork and individual skills. Austin had some great schtick. During one sequence in the match, Anderson moved out of the way of an Austin move in the ropes but Austin rode the momentum, landed on his feet and did the Hollywood Blondes “rolling” taunt. It led nicely into Anderson hitting a DDT but I thought that was a standout Austin moment even if it didn’t work out for him in the match. Anderson’s performance was excellent. His selling was outstanding and showcased why he’s touted as a great wrestler. Pilman’s clip of the leg just before the 2nd fall is really brushed off in the moment for a Flair hot tag but Anderson still sells the leg and threads it along into the 2nd fall and the rest of the match. Flair takes advantage of this being a Pro-Horsemen crowd and goes nuts. He is filled with fire and energy. Flair is visibly excited to be back in WCW and it’s infectious. I thought this was a great match, just incomplete with an odd finish and somewhat poor booking throughout the match. ****1/4
  8. Makai Club #1
    I watched this the other day while the NXT Iron man match was happening, just to see the comparison, and I actually hated it. I put it on being really tired (it was 1-2 am at the time for me) so it didn't think much of it. But upon reflection, the flaws stick out just as much. There are some great aspects of the match that I like. Brock's peformance is magnificant from bell-to-bell. He combines great wrestling with great character work throughout the match. When he's sneaky, he does that excellently - facials, mannerisms, actions, everything. When he's dastardly, he's just that. If there is one reason to watch the match, it's Brock. I liked how some of the falls were played out. The early DQ to get the advantage in the long run is played out in 2020 but not in 2003 and the execution of it is great. Again thanks to Brock's selling of it. But I found myself getting more and more fustrated by all the rest that this match had to offer. Kurt Angle is essentially a robot. Nothing he does inspires sympathy to capitalize on what Brock does. His wrestling is so unengaging and uninteresting. The endless suplexes are repetitive and benal. Angle's selling is very basic and doesn't inspire anything from me. How am I supposed to care for a 60 minute match when one of the wrestlers is so off the pace? I previously mentioned how some of the falls were very good but there were a few falls that came out of nowhere. No struggle, no build, no real tension in Angle's comeback. The match is very disjointed in quality. Some parts are good, most parts are bad. And I'm left with a terrible taste in my mouth. Godbless Brock Lesnar but there is far too much that I hate to about this match. **1/4
  9. Makai Club #1
    This may just be the Chono mark in me but I love his finishing stretches. The constant barrage of Yakuza kicks either climaxes with an emphatic finish or a great transition. It works every time for me and when Muto caught that dropkick on the Kick attempt, the match felt over instantly. The rest of the match was brilliant. Muto and Hase worked great as a team both in the match and in general. Muto was always ready to make the save while Hase was in danger but Hase’s selling gave the match some epic drama. Hashimoto was great when matched with Hase. He beat the heck out of Hase with kicks and knees but he took some ridiculous bumps like the Shawn Michaels-esc bump over the top rope for a missed spin kick. Great match. ****1/4
  10. Makai Club #1
    The match took awhile to invest me fully into the match, if I’m being honest with my criticism. That’s not usually something I need to deal with but there was just something that wasn’t sticking for a bit. Then the match hooked me suddenly, and from that point forth, the match was great. Naturally with two of the most stiff wrestlers of the era, this was super snug and stiff with the strikes and submissions being displayed. Hansen would throw downward slaps that looked so brutal and he hit a killer dive that had so much force behind it. It was awesome just watching the two beat the heck out of each other. Kawada himself brought the heavy strikes with the big slaps he threw and Gamengiris. Kawada’s selling at the big moments was huge. Loved the lariat that was hit with so much speed that Hansen fell out of the ring, saving Kawada a few more minutes. Great match barring a few moments of indifference. ****1/4
  11. Makai Club #1
    This struggled to connect with me. I’m not sure if it was Muto not being the most interesting of guys on the roster as far as I’m concerned or Hase’s work on the leg but I found this kinda boring. Hase’s work on the leg was decent and consistent throughout. I dug Hase’s different version of the Muta Lock with the arm hooks. Muto, to his credit, was able to milk the drama and create a great atmosphere to work off. I liked his brief comebacks, including a wicked judo throw but his selling of the leg was missing. There is a ton to like but I wasn’t fully into it. **1/2
  12. Makai Club #1
    Hase continues his strong form from the Summer against his fellow contender for WOTY, Genichiro Tenryu. These two have a truly great match together apart from the finish which came off weird with Tenryu hitting a bunch of enziguris which Hase sells by staggering followed up by a powerbomb. Another day, this would’ve come off very dramatic but it was flat in this instance. The rest of the match brought it though. Hase’s timing and selling was excellent as well as his fire which Tenryu matched of course. This was violent with hard strikes and great submission attempts. ****
  13. Makai Club #1
    The first meeting of the two as fully formed wrestlers and it was tremendous. The atmosphere alone gave me goose bumps. A bit of a slaw start with the tag partners trying to feel each other but Kawada than starts to get the better of Misawa, pissing Misawa off. Kawada working on the arm and head of Misawa, before trying to put him away. Misawa than gets the crowd on hsis side and the match picks up the pace and the all japan bomb fest begins. They lay into each other with their biggest moves and brutal strikes. The finish was good, even if it wasn't clean. ****1/2
  14. Makai Club #1
    B Block is good but I don't see much magic there besides Juice and Tanahashi. A Block looks tremendous. It has the worst two guys in the G1 but the top matches have the potential to be outstanding, blow-away matches.
  15. Makai Club #1
    The first main event of Mutoh Era All Japan Pro Wrestling. But that's not really the hook of the match. Tenryu maliciously going after Kojima and Hayashi is the real charm of the match. He outright hates Hayashi, pumping him with some of his more violent strikes. Tenryu tries to past Hayashi's face by flinging a chair at him but thankfully it misses the first time but gets him later. Compare Tenryu to Hirai, and its no contest. Hirai's strikes are more standard in their intent. Hayashi is very stubborn though and tries to fight back in the way he can. Kojima gets his fair share of asskicking too but he fairs better and eventually scores the win over Hirai. ***1/2
  16. Makai Club #1
    Voodoo Murders (Minoru, Rene Dupree, TARU & Toshizo) vs. F4 (Hiroshi Yamato, KAI, Satoshi Kojima & Zodiac) - AJPW Excite Series 2010 - Day 2 07/02/2010 What a gem this was. I love parachuting in to a promotion, not knowing what’s happening and finding magic. And Mutoh Era All Japan is perfect for that. This is a Losing Stable Disbands match between F4 and Voodoo Murders. I believe this is Captain Falls rules so if either TARU or Kojima are pinned, it’s over immediately. Nice idea in theory but it was always going to end up with Kojima and TARU at the end. And that was actually pretty great. TARU was really good the entire match. I’m not sure if TARU is actually good - TARU is definitely the popular guy in the match - or just well protected for this match but everything he did seemed to gel really well with everything else in the match. Whether it was being the subtle chickenshit being on the sidelines while his boys did most of the work or taking it to Kojima at the end who was a supergod the whole match. But everything before that was really good wrestling too. Voodoo Murders were a blend of cheating heels and faces depending on the moment in the match while F4 were the clean faces but it all combined together to make a compelling match. F4 were on the backfoot the whole match which allowed Hiroshi Yamato and KAI to shine as sympathetic faces. Yamato more so than KAI though, thanks to his fiery comebacks and his selling. Minoru was great on the VM side as well. His technical offence and team work with TARU at the end was pretty awesome. Everyone played their role superbly in the match. Well worth seeking out. ****1/4
  17. Makai Club #1
    This was a brilliant match and a brilliant Dr Death performance to conclude Misawa’s first Triple Crown Title reign. Almost everything Williams did in this match looked great. So much fire and prowess in his offence whether it be strikes, slams or mat-work. It’s definitely a great example of his growth as a wrestler over the past two years, previously being one of the more boring wrestlers on the roster and now being very exciting. He was excellent on offence as well. Everything Williams pulled out was to target the neck of Misawa, which was injured throughout the year, and was used to maximise his signature moves even further. Misawa can sometimes get overshadowed in his matches, for whatever reason, but he delivers an immense performance complimenting Williams perfectly with his selling and how his comebacks feed into Williams regaining control and eventually the win. The struggle and fight for the Backdrop Driver was gripping for everyone. Misawa is trying his best to get out of any attempts, at one point even thwarting the momentum of Williams mid-flight using the ropes, hitting many close elbows but Williams continued to ride through them all to hit the Backdrop Driver. Loved the finish with Williams yanking Misawa’s arm into the Backdrop Driver position while Misawa was throwing elbows as well. Misawa was using the elbows to defend the whole match but it failed to work in the end. ****1/4
  18. 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. ****
  19. 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
  20. 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. *****
  21. 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
  22. 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.
  23. 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
  24. 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.
  25. 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
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