1997 Recommendations

[Ditch]

Definitely keep pumping Dan for info. I'd like to see that Kawada/Taue vs FMW tag in full! I'm 99% sure those shows got skipped on Samurai.

[shawmic]

Definitely keep pumping Dan for info. I'd like to see that Kawada/Taue vs FMW tag in full! I'm 99% sure those shows got skipped on Samurai.

I actually have that episode from Dan. It aired in full. As luck would have it, I have it ripped on my computer too

[shawmic]

Definitely keep pumping Dan for info. I'd like to see that Kawada/Taue vs FMW tag in full! I'm 99% sure those shows got skipped on Samurai.

I actually have that episode from Dan. It aired in full. As luck would have it, I have it ripped on my computer too

[JazeUSA]

sorry if i posted any duplicates, i read thru all 3 pages of the threads, lots of matches to try & remember,

 

10/5/97 – Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels WWF (first ever hell in a cell)

 

Austin/Hart WM13

 

10/26/97 – Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Misterio Jr. WCW Halloween Havoc (imo the BEST wcw cruiserweight match EVER, one of my all-time top 10 favorites of any company)

 

Starrcade 97 - Washington DC - MCI Center - December 28, 1997

Eddie Guerrero vs Dean Malenko

 

Bash at the Beach 97 - Daytona Beach, FL - Ocean Center - July 13, 1997

Career Match: Chris Benoit vs Kevin Sullivan

 

Summer Slam 97 "Hart & Soul" - East Rutherford, NJ, August 3, 1997

WWF World Champion the Undertaker vs Bret Hart

 

Royal Rumble 97 - San Antonio, TX - AlamoDome - January 19, 1997

WWF World Champion Psycho Sid vs Shawn Michaels

[BBscout]

There's a tight tag match with Rey/Juventud vs. Psicosis/LA Parka from Nitro 12-15-97 that I've always loved.

 

Would think it's one of those matches that happened all the time but don't believe that was the case.

 

Nice in-stereo tope con hilos from Rey and Juvi.

[BBscout]

One of my favorite forgotten moments when I was going through 95-98 TV was on RAW in August where there's a Canadian Stampede 10-Man Tag rematch tease that felt big time with a hot Texas crowd.

 

The Harts were in the ring and Austin is on the ramp with his music blaring the entire time as one-by-one comes out Shamrock, Patriot making his debut, Sid making his first appearance in a month and what would ultimately be his last time on TV in WWF, and lastly Michaels who had also been out since just after King of the Ring.

[JazeUSA]

''Where can I find listings of OMEGA stuff with dates?''

 

you can find dates & listings for the few shows still offered on rf video & highspots websites, rf has more, most of the shows they had are out there everywhere but listings wise you can find them there

[smkelly]

Stuff that looks cool on paper:

 

WWF STOCKTON, CA 1/4/97 "MANKIND" Bret Hart vs Vader, Steve Austin vs Shawn Michaels

WWF ANAHEIM, CA 1/11/97 HBK vs Mankind

3/16/97* msg EX EX (Undertaker vs Vader casket match)

WWF SAN JOSE CA 5/30/97 Steve Austin/Undertaker vs Owen/Bulldog

WWF MONTREAL, CANADA 6/13/97 Owen Hart vs Goldust, Undertaker vs Bulldog

WWF ANAHEIM 6/28/97 Vader vs Goldust, Austin vs Hart vs Undertaker (3 way dance for World Title)

WWF ANAHEIM CA 10/11/97 Dude Love vs Owen Hart (No Holds Barred match)

WWF BINGHAMPTON 11/2/97 HHH & HBK Int - HBK Shoots on crowd tells them he doesn't work the small shows

WWF MSG 11/15/97 WWF Champion and European Champion Shawn Michaels vs. Brooklyn Brawler

[Loss]

After going through the Satellite TV and Samurai TV, these appear to be the complete matches from the Carny and RWTL that weren't on NTV or the commercial releases. The Satellite TV was largely throwaway matches.

 

Carny:

 

03/30/97

Hansen vs Ace (Samurai TV 05/16/97)

Taue vs Albright (Samurai TV 05/23/97)

 

04/02/97

Misawa vs Williams (Samurai TV 05/09/97)

 

None of those scream must-have to me.

 

Tag League:

 

11/15/97

Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Ace (Samurai TV 01/16/98)

 

11/23/97

Kawada & Taue vs Hayabusa & Shinzaki (Samurai TV 01/23/98) COMPLETE

 

11/28/97*

Misawa & Akiyama vs Kawada & Taue (Samurai TV 01/31/98)

 

I couldn't figure out if this was the final or the 11/28 match. The lighting is pretty dark and I think it's the 11/28 but I can't confirm for sure.

 

There are other matches that were rated highly in the WON that are complete on Samurai TV. I'm just not sure if they were complete on NTV or not.

 

Satellite TV is mostly undercard stuff and big matches that were released commercially. Nothing to get too excited about.

[Ditch]

The Misawa/Akiyama vs Kawada/Taue was indeed 11/28 and should be on. Kawada/Taue vs Team FMW should also be on. Kawada/Taue vs Kobashi/Ace 11/15 I can't recall offhand; probably good but those teams never produced a true MOTYC.

 

I'm pretty sure I've seen that Misawa vs Williams match and was bored by it.

[jdw]

After going through the Satellite TV and Samurai TV, these appear to be the complete matches from the Carny and RWTL that weren't on NTV or the commercial releases. The Satellite TV was largely throwaway matches.

 

Carny:

 

03/30/97

Hansen vs Ace (Samurai TV 05/16/97)

Taue vs Albright (Samurai TV 05/23/97)

 

04/02/97

Misawa vs Williams (Samurai TV 05/09/97)

 

None of those scream must-have to me.

 

Dan has those listed as AJ on NTV, which is NTV Satellite rather than Sammy.

 

Here's what he has listed:

 

AJ on NTV

5/16/97 (t. 3/30)

Hansen vs. Ace

Kobashi vs. Akiyama

 

AJ on NTV

5/23/97 (t. 4/2)

Taue vs. Allbright

Misawa vs. Kawada

 

AJ on NTV

6/13/97 (t. 4/19)

Misawa vs. Kobashi

Kawada vs. Misawa

Kawada vs. Kobashi

 

Tag League:

 

These are much more likely to be Complete on NTV Satellite than on NTV network, specifically the main events on the 3/30 and 4/2 cards. Don't recall if those came out in commercial version.

 

The mini-round robin Final is on commercial I think. That would be the best way to get it since even this is likely JIP on the Misawa-Kobashi since there would be time issues otherwise. The NTV network version is JIP.

 

11/15/97

Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Ace (Samurai TV 01/16/98)

That one would be NTV Sat is well.

 

11/23/97

Kawada & Taue vs Hayabusa & Shinzaki (Samurai TV 01/23/98) COMPLETE

This is interesting since it wasn't on Dan's 1997 release. The match aired on NTV network, JIP I believe... I think Ditch and I talked about it earlier in the thread. The air date is kind of odd as well since Dan has Sammy shows for 1/10, 1/17, 1/25 (either wrong or pre-empted to later in the week) and 1/31. So 1/23 doesn't fit in.

 

Are you sure that's complete?

 

There are other matches that were rated highly in the WON that are complete on Samurai TV. I'm just not sure if they were complete on NTV or not.

Pretty much nothing is complete in NTV network due to the 20 minute time slot which means 22-24 minutes of wrestling time.

 

Satellite TV is mostly undercard stuff and big matches that were released commercially. Nothing to get too excited about.

Actually, Sat was the Sammy before Sammy. They didn't get on Sammy until January 1998, which covered the Tag League. So all the complete stuff earlier in the year that might be called "Sammy" is really NTV Satellite. I think most people only understood that when Dan released the 1996 and 1997 sets... I sure as heck never paid attention.

 

John

[Bix]

That makes sense, I always wondered why the 1996 Kawada vs Kobashi draw had a different logo.

[Ditch]

Someone, I forget who, gave me a DVD rip of Kawada/Taue vs Hayabusa/Shinzaki, complete; it's on my website now. So it's out there.

[Loss]

Ok now I'm really confused about what we should be using as the source for each All Japan match. What I will do soon is just list every AJ match currently planned for the set and then ask for guidance on which source should be used.

 

I know New Japan had presence on Samurai TV (and I think DirecTV) as well. Classics stops at '96. Are we going to run into the same clipping issues with New Japan TV in '97, where the matches are complete elsewhere?

 

And John, I'm just going by how the discs are labeled and the matches that are there.

[Loss]

The All Japan matches being considered. What are the best sources for these? Also, are all of these dates right? And can any of them be cut?

 

Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (01/17/97)

Jun Akiyama vs Akira Taue (01/20/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (01/20/97)

Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama (03/30/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (03/30/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (04/19/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (04/19/97)

Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (04/19/97)

Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Takao Omori vs Kenta Kobashi, Johnny Ace & The Patriot (05/18/97)

Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (05/27/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama (05/27/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Kentaro Shiga vs Steve Williams, Richard Slinger & The Lacrosse (05/31/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (06/06/97)

Steve Williams & Gary Albright vs Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (07/25/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue (07/25/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Steve Williams & Gary Albright (08/26/97)

Kenta Kobashi vs Hiroshi Hase (08/26/97)

Kenta Kobashi & Kentaro Shiga vs Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki (09/06/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama (09/06/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Hiroshi Hase vs Akira Taue, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (09/15/97)

Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (10/11/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Steve Williams (10/11/97)

Toshiaki Kawada vs Yoshihiro Takayama (10/21/97)

Akira Taue vs Johnny Ace (10/21/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (10/21/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (11/15/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Johnny Smith & Wolf Hawkfield (11/16/97)

Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki (11/23/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki (11/27/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (11/28/97)

Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (11/28/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (12/05/97)

[soup23]

It has been a few years since I have watched it but Misawa vs. Williams from 10/11 that was tacked on the end of the commercial tape always felt like epitome of Misawa dogging it match. Just really dull and plodding. With 32 matches and 1997 being a pretty varied year with a lot of promotions being represented, I believe the 30 minutes could definitely be better used elsewhere.

[FLIK]

Kenta Kobashi & Kentaro Shiga vs Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki (09/06/97)

Thought this was pretty average thanks to Shiga, an easy cut i'd say.

[Ditch]

Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (01/17/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Kentaro Shiga vs Steve Williams, Richard Slinger & The Lacrosse (05/31/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Hiroshi Hase vs Akira Taue, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (09/15/97)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Steve Williams (10/11/97)

I'd suggest cutting these, or at the very least just showing the finish.

 

As for the 'best source'... oof I don't have time right now but I wish I did.

[jdw]

One of the Misawa-Williams TC matches should make it, and more than just the finish. Either 3/1 or 10/11. This is a series of matches going back to 1993 that tracked Doc's growth. They don't have a TC rematch after the Title Change until 3/1/97, and their 1996 Carny match doesn't exist. Really need to have one of them on.

 

I'd say 3/1. Gets it right out of the way early in 1997 that Doc isn't in his prime anymore. It's also Misawa's first defense, and gives a baseline to comp with the "run the table" post-Carny defenses against Kawada, Taue, Jun and Kobashi.

 

The 1/17/97 Kawada & Taue vs Williams & Ace title change was surprisingly mediocre at the time, and probably the first sign that all was not right in the Doc & Ace team, after their 1996 reunion campaign saw them working pretty well at the level of the native teams. One worries about JIP'ing the match as it might make it look better than it is... but maybe find a spot in the last 4-5 minutes to join it and show the title change. From a Yearbook standpoint, it does explain this question:

 

"Wait... when we last left the World Tag Title in the 1996 Yearbook, Doc & Ace lifted it from Misawa & Akiyama and then retained against Kobashi & Patriot. Why are Kawada & Taue defending against Albright & Takayama on the March Budokan?"

 

John

[jdw]

Someone, I forget who, gave me a DVD rip of Kawada/Taue vs Hayabusa/Shinzaki, complete; it's on my website now. So it's out there.

Ditch: what's the logo on it? Sammy? The one used on NTV Select?

 

I'll go back to Will and Loss:

 

Where are you sourcing this match from? It wasn't on Dan's recent 1997 Set. So if it's complete (which Ditch confirms), you guys seem to have a show that Dan doesn't... and potentially other things from 1997 that aren't out there.

 

I took a quick look to see if it aired in one of the specials in current run of classics on G+ or the NTV's Select... and don't see it.

 

John

[Loss]

I got it from Dan. He sent me all the Samurai TV and Satellite TV he sent me for 1997. He does have it.

 

I don't have any NTV 30.

[jdw]

That's strange. He just released his set, which is here:

 

http://www.crazymax.org/index.php?showtopic=53387

 

Only appears here:

 

DVD #13

AJ TV 12/7/97 '97 Real World Tag Team League Final

taped 12/5 Tokyo Nippon Budokan Hall

Taue & Kawada vs Misawa & Akiyama. ****3/4

 

All Japan on Nippon Tv 12/14/97

(taped 12/5 Tokyo)

Shoehi Baba/Rusher Kimura/Mitsuo Momoto vs Masa Fuchi/Haruka Eigen/T.Kikuchi

Johnny Smith/Wolf/Kimala II vs Kenta Kobashi/Johnny Ace/Maunakea Mossman

 

AJ Pro Wrestling 30 12/21/97 '97 Real World Tag Team League

taped 12/5 Tokyo Nippon Budokan &11/23 Sendai Miyagi-ken Sports Center

Williams & Albright & Windham vs Hansen & Duncum Jr. & Omori (12/5). Highlights.

League Bout: Williams & Albright vs Windham & Bradshaw (11/23). Highlights.

League Bout: Taue & Kawada vs Hayabusa & Shinzaki (11/23). ****1/2

 

Which given the time slot and the other matches on the show meant it was JIP.

 

Here's the AJ 30 version:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LepzQjv93e4

 

And here would be the full version, in pretty good shape:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSZMaRJsmvE

 

So am I overlooking it on the 1997 Sets?

 

John

[Loss]

I didn't get the set from him that he just released. I contacted him months ago and asked him to send me all of his Samurai/Satellite stuff for '97. That's what I got. I just went through it. What I have is not this set.

[jdw]

One other to keep an eye on:

 

RWTL 97 Misawa Akiyama vs Hayabusa Shinzaki

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcQ6SMf95Bk

 

This appears to be from the 18 hour Misawa special on G+ channel back in 2008:

 

http://www.crazymax.org/index.php?showtopic=14498

 

This appears to be on:

 

New Misawa box set coming in June [2009]

http://www.crazymax.org/index.php?showtopic=37516

 

Dan should have both.

 

The AJ 30 version was JIP, and the version on Dan's Sammy/Sat set was also cut down quite a bit:

 

DVD #23

AJ on NTV

January 98 (t. 11-12/97)

97 RWTL 12/5

Kawada/Taue vs. Ace/Kobashi (t. 11/27) 5:36 of 30:00

Misawa/Akiyama vs. Shinzaki/Hayabusa (t. 11/27) 6:30 of 12:34

 

So you might want to check the one you have, Loss & Will. It's a 21:34 match as Dan just transposed the first two numbers. If you've got either the AJ 30 or NTV Sat versions, you'll want to get the complete versions from Dan.

 

John

[jdw]

I didn't get the set from him that he just released. I contacted him months ago and asked him to send me all of his Samurai/Satellite stuff for '97. That's what I got. I just went through it. What I have is not this set.

What other non-commercial release things from 1997 do you have that aren't on the list? I'm trying to track down all the pre-Split stuff. I have the 1997 sets, so I'd want to be able to zero in on any additional shows I need to get from Dan.

 

John