[1992-11-23-NJPW-Wrestling Scramble Tour] Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa & Koki Kitahara vs Shiro Koshinaka & Kengo Kimura & Masaji Aoyagi

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I just watched everything from 1993 a few months ago, and already it seems like a distant memory. As the first chronological WAR vs NJ match on a yearbook, this reminds me of how awesome the whole feud was. Koshinaka seems more heavily involved in the early stages than he would be as the feud progressed and he and Tenryu have great chemistry, so that's a shame. The crowd pops huge for everything. This isn't as elite as the best matches from the series, but the hot crowd and specifically Tenryu/Kosh interplay makes it a very good match. Tenryu puts away Kimura with a powerbomb to secure the win for his team. Post-match, Tenryu grabs the mic and calls out Choshu and we get an awesome staredown. Bring it on!

[Robert S]

I am surprised that the Tenryu & Kitahara vs. Koshinaka & Kimura tag from October did not make this set as I remember it as being pretty great.

[El-P]

From the few matches I've seen from the NJ vs WAR feud, it was just a heat pit. Just a classic interpromotional feud. If you go into it not expecting AJ classics, and if you like NJ heavy style match, this is pure gold. Koki Kitahara is one of the lost wrestler of the 90's, he was so much fun. Brings me back to the very early DVDVR reviews by Dean.

[jdw]

I am surprised that the Tenryu & Kitahara vs. Koshinaka & Kimura tag from October did not make this set as I remember it as being pretty great.

Ugh... that might be worth blaming on me. In the 1992 thread, I mentioned the old Tenryu Comp thread as having the keeper early Tenryu vs NJPW matches. I didn't link to the thread... and it frankly would have been easier just to drag over the three that I thought were keepers: this, Tenryu-Kosh and the October match. Bad mistake by me, since the October match was fab.

 

John

[Tim Evans]

Good match from a hot feud. Really liked Tenyru vs Koshinaka. The other guys were ok but weren't as good as those two. Crowd helps this alot.

[shoe]

The atmosphere here is awesome. We get a really strong 6 man where you get the feeling these guys don't like one another. Almost like a Freebird/Von Erich vibe at points. Also the finishing stretch with Tenyru was tremendous.

[Zenjo]

New Japan meets Wrestle and Romance. There was a good atmosphere, though not as ravenous as the October meeting. The rivalry was carried over. There wasn't enough Tenryu vs Koshinaka this time as they had the upcoming singles. Koki got his face worked over. Aoyagi was a strange inclusion as he looked like an outsider on the NJ team. Had it's moments but ultimately there was too much ring time for undercard workers.

[PeteF3]

This seems like the #2 NJPW Match of the Year to me. I'll have go to back through when I do my Awards post and check, but right now the only thing jumping out as being definitively better is Liger/Samurai. The atmosphere is incredible, with a crowd that REALLY hates the WAR undercarders and isn't all that fond of Tenryu either. The work isn't always pristine but there are some terrific transitions and cool spots. Tenryu gets on the mic and calls out Riki Choshu--so cool to see a feud cross promotions like this. Antonio Inoki makes an appearance so you KNOW some heavy shit's going to go down. Great stuff all around and I can't wait to see more of this feud.

[PeteF3]

Checked out the October tag (thanks, Ditch!) and it's almost as good, and maybe an even better spectacle. Great contrast as it's a pro-WAR crowd this time and Koshinaka and Kimura are having way too much fun heeling it up. With the grittier setting and rampant brawling and interference (Masa Saito even gets involved from his commentary desk) it feels like a classic Mid-South or Crockett event rather than '90s Japan. Tenryu is absolutely spectacular--maybe the best he's looked since '89 even notwithstanding the Flair bout. At one point he clobbers one of Team NJPW with a lariat so explosive that he flies over the top rope to the floor. Kosh and Kimura open up cuts on both of Team WAR's heads and go to work on them before Tenryu makes a huge comeback--hot near falls and then he puts Kosh away with a power bomb. But Tenryu isn't content with that and gives Koshinaka two more after the match, and Masa Saito leaps into the ring to make the save! Tenryu and Saito jaw at each other over the microphone and have to be separated. Definitely the #2 Japan indy match of the year behind Tenryu/Flair, with an excellent post-match angle. Fuck, Tenryu vs. Saito sounds so awesome, regardless of whether or not Saito has lost a step by this point.

[WingedEagle]

WAR! The crowd is absolutely on fire here beginning at the intros and continuing all the way through the post-match angle. The heat for the WAR guys is off the charts and helps makes for one of the best spectacles and atmospheres on the entire set. Everyone's key spots, antics and even little things -- like Kosh throwing a ruckus on the apron waiting to get tagged in -- only further amp the intensity. This feels more heated than just about anything else in the world this year. Its stiff, well paced and would probably excite anyone with even minimal knowledge of the stars / promotions. Superb finishing sequence with them teasing Tenryu taking the fall before he finally wins it. Afterwards Tenryu and and his Jackson 5 hair call call out Choshu as the building goes goes nuts. There's your Tokyo Dome main event, as he also calls Inoki into the ring.

 

****1/2

 

Maybe I overrated this having only seen a few highlights of the feud from '93, but man did I love this more than anything I'd watched on the set in a while. I'll have to go check out the other matches that didn't make the yearbook mentioned above.

[garretta]

I liked this one fine, but it would have been easier to care about if there had been more star power. Tenryu's a huge name for the WAR side, and Kosh simply isn't on his level for New Japan. That situation seems like it's changing in short order, though, as Choshu has made a verbal agreement to take on Tenryu at the next Tokyo Dome spectacular. That's more like it! The only thing that would have made it even better would have been Inoki getting physically involved somehow when he came to the ring afterward.

 

The crowd seemed to be into this fairly well, even when the midcarders for both sides are in. Come to think of it, putting Kimura in with that group isn't fair, as he was a pretty big name in the eighties for NJPW who no doubt helped to sell at least a few tickets.

 

Did Aoyagi have a karate gimmick of some kind? There has to be a reason why he wrestled the first half of this match in a gi.

 

The match itself wasn't too bad, but it wasn't anything particularly memorable either. It was more of a preview of coming attractions, and it served its purpose well. Can't wait to see more of this feud in '93!