Loss Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 Talk about it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 I suspect that chronologically, this will be the earliest Kanemoto match to make a yearbook. Liger is obviously leading Kanemoto, not in a heavy-handed way, but calling the match and setting up a few synchronized spots. The pace picks up noticeably when Liger does tag in, which shows how green Kanemoto was at this point, even if he did show some promise. He was in there with three other guys at the top of their game. He does a great dive over the railing to the floor on both Benoit and Samurai. He was fairly new to wrestling, so it's not a criticism to point out how much he's being carried and made to look good by the other three, just an observation. Admittedly, there are a few calls that are long and complicated, so Kanemoto looking lost a few times isn't THAT terrible. On other subjects, I like seeing Liger in a match with his two biggest rivals of the year side by side. As far as wrestling style, Benoit and Liger gelled better because both were so dynamic. As far as personas interacting, Liger and Samurai are way better. Kanemoto eats the submission loss to Samurai. After the match, we get Samurai mic work and some interplay with Liger, presumably to set up Sammy's match with Liger later this month. Decent match, more interesting as a snapshot in time than a really good match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted August 31, 2011 Report Share Posted August 31, 2011 I enjoyed this for what is was. The stooge spot with Samurai and Benoit that lead to that huge dive from TM3 over the guard rail was big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Ridge Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 Thought they hit the dives pretty early in the match. Tiger Mask's dive off the top rope to the outside on both opponents was impressive. Liked the finish where both Liger and Tiger go for stereo dives to the outside with Liger connecting but Tiger missing his. The suplex attempt exchanges seemed a bit off. Thought they got lost for a second before Samurai pulls out the win with a submission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 Language barriers sometimes make it difficult to follow feuds in Japan, but cool to see Liger against Samurai in the wake of their awesome singles matches (and Pegasus) in another context here and a continuation of their feud post-match. TM3 may be young, but Liger carries him through this like a champ as they gel pretty well given their experience levels. Benoit takes out Liger with a jumping tombstone and Samurai finishes TM with a Russian legsweep and submission. Fun and different. *** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Kanemoto didn't look too comfortable here at all. Some good dives and sequences but I didn't think much of the match itself, especially considering the talent involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCampbell Posted August 28, 2013 Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 I don't understand the reasoning of putting Kanemoto under the mask. He wasn't anywhere near as athletic as Sayama, or as overall good as Misawa was when he got the mask. So, he's basically doomed to fail. Putting him in with three longtime vets is a good learning experience, but he doesn't have a prayer of measuring up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenjo Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 You just can't get rid of that damned mask can you? I've been going through the 1992 Yearbook threads and filling in some reviews I missed out first time around. This match shows why that's a useful thing to do. After reading the other comments I thought there was a good chance I'd overated it, and a rewatch confirmed my suspicions. Kanemoto was the third, and least successful incarnation of Tiger Mask. The gimmick sucked for Misawa as well. Koji wasn't bad here but clearly lacked experience. He got to square off against the next Dynamite Kid-o. Reasonable action but several spots weren't executed very well. Samurai was off his game. The other two made sure it was solid enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garretta Posted February 28, 2016 Report Share Posted February 28, 2016 This was interesting to me because of Liger facing off against Benoit and Samurai in the same match. There was nothing earth-shattering here; it's basically a training match for the new Tiger Mask, and he hits the spots he's supposed to. His most spectacular spot, though, is the one he misses, the synchronized dive with Liger where Samurai moves out of the way while Liger connects. This sets up Samurai's submission victory, which he wastes no time letting Mask (and, by extension, Liger) know about afterward. Even though he didn't score a direct win over Liger, this match serves as a great way to build momentum for Samurai going into their third match (at least on the Yearbook). Will it be enough for him to score another victory? We'll all find out soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawho5 Posted April 26, 2020 Report Share Posted April 26, 2020 Clearly a match to give a green Tiger Kanemoto some experience against guys who knew their trade. The one dive was HUGE for sure, but I'm not into Kanemoto as TM yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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