[1993-04-02-WAR] Shiro Koshinaka & Kengo Kimura & Michiyoshi Ohara & Akitoshi Saito vs Super Strong Machine & Ricky Fuyuki & Ashura Hara & Koki Kitahara

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

B-teamers in the NJ vs WAR feud loses a little something for me, but not much, as this is still very heated and has some great action, specifically from Koshinaka, who it's good to see make a cameo on this set. Very good match.

[Phil Schneider]

THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE. THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE, THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE IS WAR!! Eight lumpy dudes potato shotting each other, crazy crowd heat, great pace, lots of violence. This is what makes WAR great. The crowd seemed really behind the Heisei Ishingun team, which was weird for invaders. I imagine lots of NJ fans showed up. The WAR team was a total murders row of WARish dudes, Hara is great with his pedo mustache and awkward crowbar clotheslines, fat Fuyuki has a ton of charisma and great timing, we all know how great SSM can be from New Japan Set, and Kitahara is one of the great mulleted face kickers in Puroresu history. Akitoshi Saito is pre-mullet, but those two just go off on each other and their match ups are the highlight of a match with lots of highlights. There are no lulls like in the juniors tag, this thing is pretty much a semi-riot from the first bell, until Kitihara gets a chair chucked at him while he is going to the top, falls off and gets planted by a Koshinaka power bomb.

[Kevin Ridge]

Saito must have not got the memo about what ring gear he was suppose to wear like rest of teammates. Head butt battle! I was confused why the War guys were getting booed by the fans. Ohara seems pissed off by Hoshinaka’s hip attacks and clobbers him for it.

[PeteF3]

For the record, that's Kuniaki Kobayashi in there for Raging Staff, not Ohara.

 

Anyway, this isn't at the level of the best NJPW/WAR matches but it's another fun as hell war among the mid-carders. Super Strong Machine has apparently defected to Team WAR and Raging Staff makes him pay for it, big time. Crowd is totally behind NJPW despite this being a WAR card, which I suppose isn't much of a sign for WAR's long term future. Saito always seems to end up in there with Hara, so two stiff fuckers can freely beat the shit out of each other. A well-timed thrown chair at Kitahara knocks him off the turnbuckle and allows Koshinaka to pick up the win (even if he seems to let go of the power bomb at 2). This continues to be the Feud of the Year, and maybe the most fun pro wrestling you'll ever see.

[WingedEagle]

The brawling here starts before the bell even begins. This may be on WAR's turf, but the crowd is definitely pro-NJPW. Kosh & Ohara are ripping at Machine's mask early on because these guys hate at each other and aren't here to work holds. Saito, who's in a gi for some reason, is surprisingly enough the standout here as he's just on fire when he tags in and the crowd picks up on it right away. Hara chopping the hell out of Saito. Kosh & Hara trading headbutts before a butt bump. Kitahara is tossed outside where he eats a sliding kick from Kosh and follows up with chairshots, a posting and DDT. VIOLENCE! Fuyuki is piledrived on a table. Saito in with kicks to Hara and rips his own gi off. Kitahara kicks the hell out of Kobayashi and hits a German on Kosh for a near fall. Kitahara climbs the rope but in absolutely fitting fashion a chair is thrown at him which sets him up for a Kosh powerbomb for the win. This didn't feature the feud's aces, but slots in nicely to the story of this feud because of it. Not everything on a card can be a main event. I feel like I'm saying it at at every turn, but probably my favorite feud ever.

 

***1/2

[soup23]

Can't add much more to this other than it was a big batch of fun stuff and really neat to see the unheralded guys in the feud get a chance to shine. SSM was my highlight and has this moments throughout his career where he is completely great. Him being all pissed and entitled on the outside was an amazing moment to watch. This feud is tremendous. ***1/2

[garretta]

I had trouble telling the New Japan gius apart here. Not only did they wear identical ring gear except for Saito's gi, but there were no ring announcements. When I don;t get ring announcements in a non-English speaking match, I'm in trouble.

 

There wasn't anything fancy about this at all, just wight guys beating the living stew out of each other. Does anyone know why the NJPW guys were cheered so heavily here despite supposedly being the enemy?

 

I loved the clothesline train on Kosh (I think) toward the end. It was one of the few moves in this match which you could call even remotely artistic or athletic.

 

New Japan gets two big wins on the same card. While I don't agree with most of you that this is the best feud in wrestling at this time (it's not even the best feud in Japan; that beloings to Misawa's Army against Taue's group in AJPW), it's still superb, and I can't wait to see where it goes from here now that WAR is the side on the defensive.