El-P

Liger's eternal quest to make some indy schmuck look like a King, new episode. And does he succeed again. Crab Boy jumps Liger from the start. Fuck that Crab. I'm glad Liger won't let him do his crab spot successfully. I'm even more glad that Liger makes fun of that stupid crab walk. But does Naniwa looks good here. Is it the Liger effect or had it that much potential. I remember him being nothing a few years later. Didn't he die pretty young too ? That was pretty much his most glorious night. Liger was that great, I had kinda forgotten.

Finally, Ohtani gets his chance to shine. Ok, so he was already awesome by then. Crisp matwork and counters. Amazing execution and fire. And spunk. The road to "great match" was all there, until they… no-sell a tombstone piledriver. Twice. In the most casual way. Ugh. Then they get back to work, but it took some time to put me back in after this puzzling affair. Ultimo kicking young Ohtani around was good, but he wasn't as fierce as he would be a bit later in his career. And he overshots the last spot. Badly. That was classic Ultimo from that time right there, always having to blow something important. Well, still an excellent match because the before and after that no-sell nonsense. It could have been great.

Round 2 Jushin Liger vs Gran Naniwa Liger's eternal quest to make some indy schmuck look like a King, new episode. And does he succeed again. Crab Boy jumps Liger from the start. Fuck that Crab. I'm glad Liger won't let him do his crab spot successfully. I'm even more glad that Liger makes fun of that stupid crab walk. But does Naniwa looks good here. Is it the Liger effect or had it that much potential. I remember him being nothing a few years later. Didn't he die pretty young too ? That was pretty much his most glorious night. Liger was that great, I had kinda forgotten. Wild Pegasus vs Lionheart Is this a Canadian version of Saint Seya now ? "Come on motherfucker !" Wow. That's no Gold Saint talk, Jericho. Mechanically not as slick and swift as that match with that non-Saint Tiger fellow, but the whole story of Jericho wanting to upstage Benoit and show off some amazing offensive move and getting frustrated in the process makes it better to me. More dynamic. And I admit I "Come on baby !" Jericho cracks me up. Benoit, well, is a machine. Very good match in a formative way. Oh, and of course, at the end, Seya wins. Shinjiro Ohtani vs Ultimo Dragon Finally, Ohtani gets his chance to shine. Ok, so he was already awesome by then. Crisp matwork and counters. Amazing execution and fire. And spunk. The road to "great match" was all there, until they… no-sell a tombstone piledriver. Twice. In the most casual way. Ugh. Then they get back to work, but it took some time to put me back in after this puzzling affair. Ultimo kicking young Ohtani around was good, but he wasn't as fierce as he would be a bit later in his career. And he overshots the last spot. Badly. That was classic Ultimo from that time right there, always having to blow something important. Well, still an excellent match because the before and after that no-sell nonsense. It could have been great. Gedo vs Dos Caras Caras is playing Twister with Gedo. This is torture. Gotta love Gedo not playing to the homecrowd and still being a sneaky bastard, trying to unmask Caras. And eventually doing it at a crucial moment, which sends Caras into a frenzy. That was cool. One-sided, but this is freaking Gedo vs legend Dos Caras, and they worked it really smart. Gedo litteraly sneaks is way into a major upset after getting his ass stretch to no tomorrow for most of the match. Very good stuff. Was Caras always that good ? Ok, there's no Sammy vs Sasuke, although Dragon vs Ohtani comes close at one point before derailing, but Liger vs Naniwa >> Liger vs Fuji, Gedo vs Dos Caras >> Gedo vs Delphin and although it's a most subjective choice I prefer Benoit vs Jericho to the Tiger match. Overall, that second round was better than the 1st J Cup too. Interesting. The Gedo story is good as it leads to the return match against Pegasus and Ultimo is booked like Sasuke so the question remains for the semi-final, will the upset happen again ? Was Liger booking this again despite being hosted by WAR ?

Indeed. If true, it's downright perverted and sadistic.

So, following year, WAR puts on a J Cup on its own. More indy feel. Less people in the Kokugikan. Those classic mid-90's graphics and library music on the com tape. Yeah, COMMERCIAL TAPE. Damian vs Gran Naniwa FMW/AAA representative Damian does a cosplay of popular wrestlers : Choshu, Tenryu, Megumi (Kudo), Muta. Gran Naniwa does a shitty version of a comedic wrestler. This could be Damian vs a broom, really. Some lucha looking spots. Ok, Damian is funny, and judging by his AAA work at the same time, he was also quite the worker. I remember that story about 19 year old dick Naniwa refusing to job, thus preventing Damian to work a match with his idol Liger. No idea if any of this was true. I remembered this match well. Uniqueness does that I guess. Shinjiro Ohtani vs Masaaki Mochizuki Ohtani does great, brutal leg work and Mochizuki isn't selling shit as soon as he's on his feet throwing kicks. Wait ? Is this a rib on Ohtani ? Same shit that the first J-Cup ? Mochizuki learned from the best. Koji Kitao. Who's backstage. How does it feel being back from where you got fired as a rikishi ? Intense exchanges, Ohtani looks awesome. But Mochizuki isn't quite there, being green as grass. The famous "good for what it was" match. Ultimo Dragon vs Shoichi Funaki Pre-Mpro, pre Kaientai Funaki. So it's not as good as it could have been. And people rag about Takada's leglock. Look at this too laying around holding their legs. Well, Ultimo does kick Funaki in the face to prevent him from falling alseep. Going nowhere fast. Going to a horribly blown spot actually, so Dragon kicks into highgear of spots to the quick finish. That wasn't good. Dragon had better matches against cruiser jobbers in WCW. Funaki looked bland as hell. He probably did the best decision of his life when he bought that ranch in Texas. Gedo vs Masayoshi Motegi Motegi is wearing a dark version of Gedo's outfit. Love fashion trolling. Motegi also beats on Gedo pretty well. And badmouths him. And badmouths the audience. He's making the in house heel a babyface, and does a solid job working the arm, flying around and being a dick. Wait, when Motegi did get good like this ? Gedo had slighty better hair that time around. Still way removed from the slick body he had from his FMW days. Don't run too fast Motegi, that's not for you, but this match is actually the best thus far. Good, solid pro-wrestling match, with heat and purpose. Color me satisfied. Dos Caras vs El Samurai And now I picture a guy looking like Alberto under the mask. Kinda hurts the myth. Oh, yeah, this is Dos Caras tying knots with Sammy's body. I thought this is what lucha lire was all about. Then I saw average lucha libre and… well. This is what was called "a sprint" back then. And a damn good one, with Caras' funky submission holds (although that first one where he slips Sammy's leg from behind was very, very awkward) vs Sammy's inelegant but efficient offensive strikes and spots. I can't think of two more opposite style, yet it geled. I guess because Sammy was a great worker, he does that brutal dropkick in the corner. Sammy was all about hurting. Very good. Hanzo Nakajima vs Lionheart Nakajima, the MPro ninja, a forgotten really good worker. Jericho is fun to watch at this stage. He's all "Come on baby ! Allright !" and shit. Makes the audience claps for his opponent on the outside. Busts out those typical Jericho flying spots that you really didn't see back then. The star potential was already there. That guy was getting himself over doing some "japanese shit", as Corny so eloquently said once. Another sprint, these Japanese indy guys weren't about killing time with matwork, NJ style. Another really good one. Despite no star making match like Liger vs Hayabusa, this first round was actually more fun that the previous J Cup's. More diversity (Damian's comedy, Caras matwork, Mochizuki's kickfest), no really bad match and Motegi actually bringing it and more than redeeming himself. Typical WAR randomness in the pairing too. With Liger & Benoit (…) thrown in, I would guess the next stage won't disapoint, although from memory, there's no classic in this card (wait, Ohtani vs Dragon maybe, or am I mistaking it with the same match from another card ?)

I think "big fat guy" doesn't get in their current scheme at all in term of presentation. Kevin Owens is actually a rather decent looking guy with hipster beard and who does tons of cool shit. Samoa Joe is FAT! as Scott Steiner would say, but not that kind of fat. Braun is just a a poor version of Kurrgan. But when I see Bad Luck Fale in the G1, well, yes, there are still big fat guys who can work in today's wrestling landscape. And yes, it should never go away. Pro-wrestling needs his OMG, Tenta, Bundy's and such.

A Block B Block ****+ as they say Elgin vs. Naito Quite excellent SANADA vs. Tanahashi Nakajima vs. Shibata Okada vs. Marufuji SANADA vs. Okada Damn fine Tenzan vs. Ishii Nagata vs. Naito Fale vs. Goto Shibata vs. Honma Ishii vs. Goto YOSHI-HASHI vs. Honma Fale vs. Marufuji Omega vs. Yano Good it is indeed Omega vs. YOSHI-HASHI Elgin vs. EVIL Unoffensive Makabe vs. Tanahashi Yano vs. Nakajima EVIL vs. Nagata Not good Makabe vs. Tonga Tenzan vs Tonga

DAY 4. B Block YOSHI-HASHI vs. Honma I don't get YOSHI-HASHI. At all. Please, NJ regular fans, explain YH to me. I don't get the random capitalization of his first name. I don't get the giant cheerleader baton. He's with CHAOS,so I guess he's a... popular heel ? He's got average ability, average body. He's average ugly. He's like a WAR midcarder. Still, this gets really good, because, as grotesque as he is, Honma is actually that good, even if he's a dick. Interesting how even against ugly, lumpy, average YH, Honma manages to get sympathy for himself. EVIL vs. Nagata EVIL is quite the generic name. Only in Japan. He's wearing purple though, my favourite color. Nice follow-up attack on Nagata's injured knee. Nagata sells, Nagata feeds and EVIL goes onto other things. EVIL is all over the place here. Nagata still delivers. No, really, EVIL's work is going in every direction. Decent little match. I like old Nagata, he's still way good. Omega vs. Yano So, what is Yano all about ? I have no clue. He's got great timing though, which is essential for comedy. Omega made an interesting career choice. He told to himself : DDP-circa-95. On-coke. That's what I want to be. They manage to do some really funny goofy shit. Yano is clearly knowing what he's doing. Omega is more than willing to play along. And they still work a match around the ga-ga. I laughed. It worked. Really good actually. Nakajima vs. Shibata Kickpads that actually mean something. Nakajima looks stoic in classic All Japan style, then has some kind of shit eating grin when he fucks up Shibata. Nice. Shibata is a bit of a machismo show-off though. No-selling here, no-selling there. Hey, Shibata, you can register a bit more than this at times. Intensity and stiff kicks, harite & busting a shoulder. Some of this is excellent. Some would need some pondering. Still very, very, good. Elgin vs. Naito Love legit strenght feats, so Elgin is my guy. Wonderful hipster beard too. Naito's laid back style leads to slow build, with excellent and focused work on the knee. Which will play a part in the finishing stretch. Good selling by the big guy. Yeah, Naito does blow one spot, and so ? Shit happens. This builds and builds. This is a great match. False finish ! A true false finish, not just a stupid finisher kick-out. Oh yeah, this is a legit great pro-wrestling match. I love Naito's character. I love Elgin's modern agile power man's work. This ruled. First great match of the tournament. And yes, I enjoy comedy.

Futagami used to be really good before she went all GAMI and comedic. I haven't watch any of her match in ages, but her first year of so in ARSION is pretty damn good from memory. But yeah, I used to really enjoy GAMI too.

Well, that too. This is a stain that will never go away as far as her being seen as despicable (in a non kayfabe way I mean). Recently the whole mother hen shit is another one. She sure is really good at coopting the work of other people, in this case, other women who didn't wait for her benevolence to make a so-called "diva revolution" and worked their asses off to capture the crowd, have terrific matches and get over as fuck. They are the ones who deserve 100% of the credit.

DAY 3. A Block Tenzan vs. Tonga The one thing I thought watching Tonga : Dollar Bill Y'all ! Dollar Bill Y'all ! So, ok, he's a jobber and dresses like one. Seems to be somewhat of a Randy Orton fan too, which is a no-no with me, especially when using that stupid DDT where the other guy has to pretend he can't do anything while hanging on the ropes. Tenzan's old underdog story is nice and all, but this is a nothing match. Never believed that Tonga could beat Tenzan, never cared that Tenzan would beat Tama. Ishii vs. Goto I wonder if those slugfest Goto match ever get old. They sure don't with me yet. Hit me ! Hit me again ! No, you hit me ! Again ! This is the inheritance of Kobashi vs Sasaki I guess, for better of worse. Ishii is also quick and smooth working fast counter sequences toward the end. This never cease to be brutal. I like Goto's warrior like aura. Really, really good, if you're into two guys really laying it in and asking for more. Fale vs. Marufuji Simple story, executed perfectly. Bad Luck Fale warms my heart of tall & fat monster who know how to finally drop down. Marufuji works both around (geometricaly) and with (as a craftman) big Fale and it's quite fun to see him try to take the big tree down. Stinging like an annoying mosquito. Classic stuff. I sure did not expect that ending either. Very good match, the kind that seems so easy and basic but when done well and with reasonable creativity (those kicks from everywhere) produces the most enjoyable experience. SANADA vs. Okada Damn, that SANADA looks good. He knows when to throw away the T-shirt too. He's got star written on his forehead. And he can work like a mofo. Okada's style is going back to some very basic stuff, like making a dropkick seems big time. Transition wise, a bit on the shaky time early on. Finishing stretch is godlike though, tons of great counters and major offense. Best match of the G1 so far ? Makabe vs. Tanahashi "Makabe" sounds exactly like a french word which means "dead body". Fitting as Makabe looks like he couldn't give less of a fuck for a while. And those punches through the air, ouh, ugly, King Kong Man. Eventually turns into a decent match with heated ending stretch, after a whole lot of nothin'. Not kicking out of a Spider Twist suplex + flying knee = me happy. A bit late to amount to much of anything but hard to sink Tanahashi. So, Tama Tonga looks like the stinker of the G1 already. Don't tell his father I just said that.

Last time I enjoyed Stephy was during the Daniel Bryan feud leading to Mania, and the Mania match in which she did her best Woman tribute, and she was actually really good at it. And like her husband, for once (that applies to both of them), she wasn't afraid to show some ass. It made all the difference in the world too.

No. Sorry. Since I was called a "weirdo" and "mysoginic" when I made that remark, I have to reiterate. No. It's not there at all when I'm taking about it. It says a lot about how standards have dropped off a cliff concerning "promo ability", although we're not talking about that here, really, when Stephy is considered any good. The issue is that we're not talking about promos anymore, we're talking about terrible sitcom sub-porn acting. Look at Dario Cueto in Lucha Underground. He's playing straight telenovela evil (and is great at it), and he looks like Leo DiCaprio compared to anyone on WWE TV.

Maybe another time. Because if I did, then the title of my thread would be wrong, and we can't have that, right ? Plus it's fitting to go through all J Cups now it seems. Plus I really don't have the J-Crown anywhere near me. Old tape probably. But then again, should I be using a VCR in 2016 ? But it's an idea, it was quite the iconic card too (to a lesser degree).

Sammy's got a baby blue mask, totally color uncoordinated with his outfit. He's the most inelegant greatest wrestler ever. Sasuke, it's been a long while. Working the mat, and making it a struggle. Damn, Sammy was great, and Sasuke is up for it. See Delphin, your boss is selling the leg, shaking it off walking at ringside. Turning into one of the best finishing stretch I've seen in a long time. I forgot. This is great. Short, but damn great. How could Sammy be at the same time so awkard looking, so ugly and yet so swift and on the point ? This guy needs reevaluation. Sasuke does look like a major star and super worker. Liger really was all about making these indy guys shine.

Same story as Benoit vs Gedo, basically, expect for the happy ending. Liger brutalize Sasuke so he gets the crowd behind him. Sasuke is a terrific babyface underdog and Liger is wonderfully dickish. Tortuous matwork, punishing arm attack, Liger was about fucking up Sasuke, who's selling is perfect to make him the ultimate crowd favourite. Never know when he hangs his head if he's simply selling or just got another concussion though. Then the flying as a comeback. This is truly a classic match, nothing ages here because there's purpose in every move. And the greatest botch including Liger's perfect on the fly improvisation, which makes it legendary and maybe the symbol or Yamada's brillance. And he managed to make the finish even better than way. MOTYC and one of the best junior match ever. Believe the hype.

Not easy to follow the Liger match. It shows during the early minutes. As it goes along, I think, this is very good, excellent even, but not better. Something too stern about Benoit's work, too much of a machine. Then it starts to make sense when the balance cracks up and Sasuke can't keep up. Sasuke's body language tells stories too. Crowd is fucking hot for this junior match. Sasuke's coming back and he's insane, I forgot how much he was. Some of this spots, no wonder no one does them anymore (that flying kick to the outside !). Escalation and exhaustion and it passes over the "greatness" line. But not brillant like the Liger match. Still MOTYC level probably at the end. Quite eerie to see the celebration for Benoit, him hugging Eddie just like at Mania 20, ten years later (only a month apart). Funny detail though, Malenko making fun of his missing teeth.

Final Wild Pegasus vs Great Sasuke Not easy to follow the Liger match. It shows during the early minutes. As it goes along, I think, this is very good, excellent even, but not better. Something too stern about Benoit's work, too much of a machine. Then it starts to make sense when the balance cracks up and Sasuke can't keep up. Sasuke's body language tells stories too. Crowd is fucking hot for this junior match. Sasuke's coming back and he's insane, I forgot how much he was. Some of this spots, no wonder no one does them anymore (that flying kick to the outside !). Escalation and exhaustion and it passes over the "greatness" line. But not brillant like the Liger match. Still MOTYC level probably at the end. Quite eerie to see the celebration for Benoit, him hugging Eddie just like at Mania 20, ten years later (only a month apart). Funny detail though, Malenko making fun of his missing teeth. Well, yes, the second half of this show was quite awesome with three legit great matches including an all-time classic (Liger vs Sasuke). If you pile up all the goodness around, it makes for quite a card indeed. Forgot how hot the crowd was for this whole thing. The celebration at the end was big time, with Fujinami giving away trophies and other NJ execs lining up. #juniorrevolution. Sorry, sign 'o the times. Clearly a major booking and working accomplishement by Yamada, who proceeded to make two stars out of two indy guys in one night, Hayabusa and Sasuke. Benoit looked like the hardest junior in the world. Sammy reminded everyone why he should be considered a great worker ar his peak. Gedo had a nice run. Only Delphin looked like crap, really, as even Ricky Fuji had his little moment. Well, Motegi looked like Motegi, but he was Motegi after all. Next step, same place, different production. WAR. Expect some randomness.

Semi-finals Wild Pegasus vs Gedo Benoit is beating Gedo into oblivion and three minutes into the match, the New Japan crowd chants for outsider/heel Gedo. This is reverse interpromotional psychology. Again, Gedo's solid work and the match dynamic with poor little red minion getting beat up mercifully makes for a more enjoyable experience than the basic bomb throwing of the Tiger match. There is intent here. But too short and a bit squashing to amount to more than "really good short match". Jushin Liger vs Great Sasuke Same story here, Liger brutalize Sasuke so he gets the crowd behind him. Sasuke is a terrific babyface underdog and Liger is wonderfully dickish. Tortuous matwork, punishing arm attack, Liger was about fucking up Sasuke, who's selling is perfect to make him the ultimate crowd favourite. Never know when he hangs his head if he's simply selling or just got another concussion though. Then the flying as a comeback. This is truly a classic match, nothing ages here because there's purpose in every move. And the greatest botch including Liger's perfect on the fly improvisation, which makes it legendary and maybe the symbol or Yamada's brillance. And he managed to make the finish even better than way. MOTYC and one of the best junior match ever. Believe the hype. At this point, after an underwhelming first round, it becomes obvious again why this show was so revered. Already two great matches involving Sasuke, and Liger being an absolute master all night long, making Hayabusa a star, carrying crappy but sympathetic FMW undercarder Fuji and having a masterpiece with Sasuke, again making an indy guy a star on a major stage. Gedo has been solid all night long. Benoit was involved in two very good matches. This is beginning to pile up, indeed.

No. She's just an awful character and terrible performer. And keep the insults to yourself, you don't know what you're talking about.

Indeed. No needless twisting around, and amazing to watch. Round 2 Gedo vs Super Delphin Well maybe the fact that Ohtani match wasn't that good as less to do with crappy selling and more to do with the fact Delphin simply wasn't very good. Gedo is solid and has another solid match. Much less aesthetically pleasing than Malenko's but with more heat. Delphin has some character, does some comedy and flies around a bit, but nothing impressive. Don't make him sell too much too. Poor Gedo, Delphin kicks out of the pinfall too. So he's a dick too apparently. Black Tiger vs Wild Pegasus Oh. That pairing. This is before Eddie found personnality, so the mask helps. Two machines throwing bombs and trying to damage the other. These two ain't joking around. Crispness is one thing, but they put everything into each spot, Benoit especially. After a while, figue four headlock, a la Choshu. No limn work, no matwork, just throwing bombs and see what happens. It is impressive. It is also a little sterile in how everything seems only physical. Kinda lifeless (no, not saying that because those two are dead). Still, very good match. El Samurai vs Great Sasuke Sammy's got a baby blue mask, totally color uncoordinated with his outfit. He's the most inelegant greatest wrestler ever. Sasuke, it's been a long while. Working the mat, and making it a struggle. Damn, Sammy was great, and Sasuke is up for it. See Delphin, your boss is selling the leg, shaking it off walking at ringside. Turning into one of the best finishing stretch I've seen in a long time. I forgot. This is great. Short, but damn great. How could Sammy be at the same time so awkard looking, so ugly and yet so swift and on the point ? This guy needs reevaluation. Sasuke does look like a major star and super worker. Liger really was all about making these indy guys shine. Speaking of which... Jushin Liger vs Ricky Fuji I'm pretty sure Fuji must have been marking out. Liger's insane, he's making Fuji look like he's never looked before. Fuji is all chubby and full of tassles and for a moment, he hangs on with Jushin Thunder Liger. Outside powerbomb ? Liger will make him pay later, payback being a bitch. Ok, Ricky can't really sell any way compelling, look at his face, he's just having a match, but that's his best match ever. Liger's covering up for spot-blowing. Liger showing crazy respect during the post match. Oh yeah, Ricky's actually marking out. Good stuff. But why wasn't Casas able or willing to do that ? Things are heating up, with one legit great match and one very good match already. Pro-wrestling relativism pretends that "carrying" is a silly notion, well think again. This card is full of carry-job. It's right there. Liger does it twice with the two FMW boys. Spots ? Yeah, Sasuke's flying is still impressive because of the way he works. Those juniors were a lot less about doing a lot of flipping around, they were about little bomb throwing and fucking up their opponents. Now, onto the final stretch. More Benoit. Well, that will have to do.

Sometimes, you have to go back to your past. In 1998, I bought my first batch of japanese pro-wrestling tapes. The IWA King of the Deathmatch, of course (well, thanks for nothing WWF, for putting extracts during those Mankind interviews), an interpromotionnal women's card (we didn't say "joshi" as a generic term yet back then) and of course, both Super J Cups, the "greatest cards of pro-wrestling history" (this side of Dreamslams & Super Egg). I must have bought these 20$ a piece + postage. Well, it took more time and money than to download an MP4 file from a torrent site. I have no idea what I actually thought about them back then, except I was supposed to love them. Which I probably did. When you buy a tape 20$ + 5$ postage and wait for like six weeks to get them, you better cherish whatever's on them. I was 22, never had a glass of alcohol, more or less a virgin and knew jackshit about life. I'm 40, happily semi-alcoholic (just joking, although I can tell lots of stories about alcohol abuse), not that long ago had a gorgeous woman swal… well, 'nough said that I'm 40 and still know jackshit about life. Well, I know a lot about it, but it makes even less sense than before the more I go and learn about it. So, seems like a good time to go back and rewatch those Super J Cups (and more, as you'll see) with a totally fresh mind. What the fuck was that all about anyway ? Damn. Juniors drew back in 1994. And that was damn hot crowd, who made noise. 1rst round : Gedo vs Dean Malenko I wonder if Gedo, chubby in his Fuyuki-gun minion outfit with ridiculous mongolian haircut, was thinking : "One day, this company will be mine, all mine, and Dave Meltzer will worship me." Probably not. Malenko was working pretty much like he was doing at the time, smooth, quick, aesthetically pleasing and in a vacuum. Gedo was always underrated. This is a pretty good Nitro match. I'm pretty sure these two actually had a Nitro or a Saturday Night match. Nothing special either, but nice. With Malenko kicking out of the finish. Vanilla midget bitch that he is. That's Liger's doing BTW, not Kevin Nash. Gedo had more potential anyway. Shinjiro Ohtani vs Super Delphin Damn. Ohtani was great. Like, freaky great. Crisp as fuck, showing tons of charisma. His leg work is on point and brutal. And that Michinoku Pro dick just won't sell it one second. Like, not even shaking his leg. Ohtani is rightfully fucking his leg up, and Delphin won't sell shit. Wow. I have no idea what to say about this. If you disregard that complete lack of selling, I guess it's good, but the only thing I see is Ohtani's great work being shit on by that goofball Delphin, who wins with an awful pinning combination. Yikes. Black Tiger vs TAKA Michinoku TAKA was probably a virgin too. Well, he'll have his Sunny days later (old rumour references, for those living during the pre-Attitude Era). And he's wearing red tights ! Black Tiger Guerrero looks buffed. And he worked crisp and hard on poor young TAKA. Greeness aside, this is pretty damn good, as Tiger is killing TAKA until he pulls all the stops, uses his quickness and amazing flying ability to try and win this one over the monster (yeah, Guerrero looed liked a monster here). That springboard plancha still looks amazing almost 20 years after. TAKA had incredible potential and could have been WWF's Rey Jr. in 97. Instead. Oh, well. So, this is very good and told a simple but effective story. More on this later. Masayoshi Motegi vs El Samurai Ah, Motegi. You had to live through the late 90s to understand. SPWF representative. He must have been part of some yakuza union of something. I don't see any other reason why he was even included in all those Juniors supercards. SPWF, what the hell was that anyway ? In a time Japanese indies actually mattered. And he was crappy too. Oh boy, was he. At one point, Sammy is almost trying to have a match by himself, like this old and great Monty Python routine. Samurai, the forgotten and ugliest greatest wrestler ever. Motegi blowing spots left and right made for half-funny comedy. Worst match yet, but more to come. Ricky Fuji vs Negro Casas You only get to make one good first impression. Maybe I never got into lucha because the legend and great worker (from all lucha fans educated opinions) Negro Casas was first seen in this nothing match against FMW cult undercard crappy worker Ricky Fuji, coming out to classic violin-based folk/country library music (because of the com tape syndrom of covering themes they didn't had clearance to, which were basically most of them), sporting a great "Canada" leather jacket. Don't ask. Casas shows a little bits of brillance here and there, but he's basically squashed. Damn, Onita had some pull. Bad match. I would guess one of the worst of Casas' career on a major show, no ? Jushin Liger vs Hayabusa If I'm not mistaken, this is Ezaki's debut in the gimmick that made him a cult hero. Liger must have had crazy respect for him, and this match totally made him a star in losing. Kinda the same thing as TAKA vs Tiger, although Hayabusa gets to show more stuff and works less in a "young green guy" mode, of course. He does blows a spot or two, but still, resisting to Liger's bomb throwing and doing some crazy flying shit (that tope con hilo in the whole costume was pretty iconic) just made him look like a star. Liger is obviously still at his peak here. Very good match. So. That first round was not that great at all. Two very good matches which were surprisingly worked in the same dynamic, with an established guy killing a youngin' who's trying to fly around and use quickness and spunk to win. One pretty good but generic match, one puzzling performance which ruined what should have been the best match of the first round and two, well, let's say it, bad matches. Of course, two of the best workers in the tournament were still to appear at this point. So, will this turn into that exceptionnal card or not after all ? I have no idea, tired that I was of Benoit vs Liger classic matches by 2001. I don't think I've seen a Sasuke match since the turn of the new millenium either. "Holding up" is really not the question here. The question is, what do I get from this stuff today, because only today matters.

Thus far. A Block B Block Quite excellent SANADA vs. Tanahashi Okada vs. Marufuji Damn fine Tenzan vs. Ishii Nagata vs. Naito Bad Luck Fale vs. Goto Shibata vs. Honma Good it is indeed Omega vs. YOSHI-HASHI Elgin vs. EVIL Unoffensive Yano vs. Nakajima Not good Makabe vs. Tonga

B Block. Session 1. Yano vs. Nakajima Still have no idea what the hell is Yano supposed to be. Movie producer ? Evil spirit ? Ace tight though. Nakajima, the adopted lovechild of Sasake & Hokuto ? I'm digging the comedy and sneaky work by Yano. I'm digging the stern kicks. Totally decent for what it is. Yano never gets boring. Omega vs. YOSHI-HASHI Ah, Omega, the DDP-on-coke meta worker. They sure know how to do shit gracefully, although Omega overdoes pretty much everything. Nice trashing YH on the barricades to the horror of some lonely japanese housewifes. Then, stopfest. Spot-spot-spot-spot-spotspotspotspot-spot-spot-spot-spotspotspots. Spots. Stop ! Nice spotfest though. YH is over like a mofo with the Korakuen crowd. Good spotfest. But just that. Elgin vs. EVIL So, Elgin is NJ's Matanza or something ? Bomb throwing hoss match, which I like. Starts kinda slow and not engaging, but eventually kicks into high, powerful, stiff, gear. Kicking out of many bombs. Too many maybe ? STO should not be a finish after this barrage, but what the hell, EVIL is wearing purple, my favourite color. Good power vs power match. Nagata vs. Naito Instead of trying to follow Tanahashi's path in becoming the best Muto ever, Naito became a troll heel. Smart. Classy white tuxedo. Old veteran Nagata, from "try to save NJ from Inoki's insanity fame", always a pleasure, always goofy. Naito's attitude is pretty awesome, laid-back motherfucker and tricky as hell. Yeah, Nagata doesn't sell the leg like Tanahashi & Tanahashi sold the arm, but Nagata never sold that well. He still kicks great and knows how to make for an exciting match. How old he is now ? Damn, these old fucks from the 00's do deliver. Very good match. Shibata vs. Honma Machismo shit and virility contest. Beat. The. Shit. Out. Of. Each. Other. Homna is even more grotesque looking with the balding on the front. Too many failed headbutts I guess. Macho contest = no-selling big spots and "hit me again Johnny". Why not. They do it well, very well. Kinda epic but not too much. Hot finish, Honma is over like crazy too with that Korakuen crowd. Very good indeed, if one likes the testosterone overload. (what the fuck happened to Homna's voice ? Health issues ? Operation ? It gives "raspy" a new meaning)

Watching G1. Japanese puroresu so fresh. Sweet memories of autumn 99. Tenzan vs. Ishii Tenzan, the most cursed of the cursed generation. Old and broken down, his offense looking as crappy as ever. Still love the hissing of the crowd. Ishii I remember from WAR. How in the hell did he get so far ? How in the hell did this match got so good after such a lame beginning ? I forgot that it was always Tenzan's game. Never think it's gonna get anywhere, yet, after some point, it often did. Very good indeed. Liking the touch of Kojima at ringside clapping for his old mate. Makabe vs. Tonga The son of Haku. Way to make me feel either old or wise. Never was a big fan of King Kong Makabe. How old is he by now ? Was part of that gordfosaken mid-00's NJPW before Tanahashi & Co got it back on the tracks of wrestling greatness. Tonga's got some nice phantom running around spots. Match doesn't get good. Tama's got nice make-up, he looks like the bass player for a Trve Polynesian Black Metal band. Make it happen. Bad Luck Fale vs. Goto I remember Hirooki. He looks like a short samurai. Hey ! This is good ! Simple dynamic, well worked. Fale is mix between Abby, Viscera & Fatu. Angry Samoan I would guess, he's good at his role, like they say. Favourite match thus far, minus the epicness of the last minutes of Bulldog vs Bull earlier on. I want more Fale, he's big, fat, ugly and tatooed and works super well with Goto. SANADA vs. Tanahashi Last time I saw SANADA, he was an All Japan Rookie in the Playboy tournament, coming out to Saint Seya theme. What happened ? Tanahashi still looks like one of the best wrestler in the world apparently. Maybe he is. Arm selling, beautiful. Leg selling, not so much, but Tanahashi didn't work on it for too long either. Damn, Hiroshi makes this guy look like a star. Excellent match. Interesting result too. Okada vs. Marufuji The two favourite wrestlers on this board. Marufuji still looks creepy. Okada still looks like an effeminate and sexy version of Christopher Walken in To Live and Let Die. Brutal arm work. Marufuji is ruling it. Yeah, I know why people hate him, but don't count on me. He's sudden, it's a rare breed. Okada is selling his arm with every shot, that's really good. Excellent match again. Apart from Makabe vs Tama, all winners here, with two very strong matches. A Block, nice.