Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

[1992-06-02-NJPW-Super Heavy Crush] Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask III vs Wild Pegasus & El Samurai


Loss

Recommended Posts

  • 1 month later...

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

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.

 

***

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • 5 weeks later...

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

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!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • GSR changed the title to [1992-06-02-NJPW-Super Heavy Crush] Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask III vs Wild Pegasus & El Samurai
  • 1 year later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...