[1996-09-23-NJPW-G1 Climax] Masa Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I think this is my favorite NJ tag of the year thus far. Nice mixture of wrestling and brawling, with great build from beginning to end. Chono and Tenzan are great at heeling it up, and Tenzan in particular hits everything really well. Chono is really good, but in a different way, as I like Chono more for being so sinister than I do for what he does in the ring, although he's definitely not bad. Low blowing Iizuka and getting a hot nearfall off ot it was awesome. Nice to see Iizuka as something other than a punching bag for the Steiners. Yamazaki is always reliable for some great kicks, and there's a fun spot where he and Iizuka double grapevine Chono. This could potentially creep up on some of the low end MOTYCs on this set. It doesn't touch the All Japan tags for me, but it's really good in its own right.

[Ditch]

Since you enjoyed Yamazaki & Iizuka a couple times, I'll recommend you check out them vs Tenryu & Araya in WAR from November '96. It's the match I most regret not having suggested for this...

[Tim Evans]

I tried watching this twice but couldn't get into it. Yamazaki and Chono were good but Tenzan just bored me.

[PeteF3]

Pretty good, but hampered by a slow start in front of a crowd that remained comatose. To their credit, the audience was pretty rocking towards the end and Iizuka's fiery comeback was terrific.

[soup23]

Chono has peaked in all of the years I am following and turns in a good performance here being the leader of the group. Tenzan is enthusiastic but really has to rely on chono for help and the way to victory. Yamazaki and Iizuka are kind of unassuming partners but do their role well and it makes for an exciting match down the stretch. ***3/4

[tim]

I always appreciate a match where the end peaks at a considerably higher point than the rest of the match, and this was that. The rest of the match was definitely good and entertaining throughout, but the match really jumps off at the end with Iizuka and Chono having a really dramatic exchange in the ring as Yamazaki and Tenzan struggle on the outside. For most of the match Yamazaki is the star, and he's really one of my favorite wrestlers of this year.