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[1991-07-24-NJPW-Summer Crush] Tatsumi Fujinami & Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto & Keiji Muto & Masa Chono vs Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow & Wild Samoan & Great Kokina & TNT (2/3 falls)


Loss

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  • 3 months later...

New Japan has had better elimination matches, but this was a ton of fun, with lots of agile superheavyweights doing their thing with the top NJ natives of the time. Yoko moved around the ring and cut a quick pace in a way that was pretty awesome for a guy of his size. I was also pleasantly surprised at how good Vega looked as TNT.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had never seen this and couldn't wait when I spotted it in the set listings. You take your biggest native stars and throw them against a quintet of freaks and monsters -- that's pretty much the essence of pro wrestling right there. Keep things moving quickly and fill it with broad gestures and big shots. How can you go wrong? Well, the actual match mostly met expectations. I agree with Loss that Yoko and Savio Vega were the standouts on the invaders team. I wish that Yoko, especially, had gotten a longer run in New Japan when he still had his mobility. They didn't build to any of the falls particularly well, with the last one coming quite abruptly. So yeah, I couldn't place it near the top of my beloved New Japan 10-mans. Still a neat thing to have on the set.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Oh man, if the rest of the match had lived up to that first fall, this would be a serious MOTYC. The first fall was the world's greatest Survivor Series showcase of monsters and freakshows, but in a New Japan setting with the workrate to match and an insane crowd. Big fat guys moving around quickly--what I love about pro wrestling and what thrives in these multi-man environments. Unfortunately we get diminishing returns with each subsequent fall, with Hash sort of anticlimactically kicking Samu and a dogpile cover for the victory--a finish that belongs in the middle of an All-Japan battle royal more than a big multi-man tag. All the foreigners pulled their weight and Muto was probably the standout guy for the natives here, working some really long and complicated sequences.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I like these NJPW five on five matches. Some big heavyweights on Vader’s team including Yokozuna! Savio Vega involved too. TNT felt more Kwang than Vega though. Thought Chono was eliminated early but he continues to wrestle. Looks like this is two out of three falls and not an elimination match. The big guys were bumping all over the place. It was good but not being the full elimination match was a tad disappointing. This had potential to be much more.

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  • 1 month later...

Yoko could actually move pre-WWF. Plenty of beef on the foreigners team, they must have re-enforced the ring. They were such a random collection of individuals and the match was fresh and unique. Vega looked impressive with his artistic kicks. Fast paced action in the opening fall. They couldn't keep up that level so it's a good idea they cut it short whilst it was still fun overall.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 1 year later...

I have trouble thinking in terms of good or bad with matches like this, because that's almost beside the point, which is for the fans to see as many different wrestler combinations as possible in one match. It was a trip to see Yoko before he was Yoko, and I wonder if Kokina Maximus might not have gotten over just as well for Vince. Samu looked good, and it was neat to see Savio/Kwang with face paint. It was also nice to see Choshu again; he must have been primarily a booker by now, because he hasn't been on this Yearbook very much. Everyone else we've seen recently, and they were all very much themselves.

 

The first two falls were very good, but they must have been in a hurry to wrap things up, because not only was there a dogpile pin, but they started to shill the next card during an ongoing bout, which you seldom see in either major Japanese federation. At least the natives won to send everyone home happy.

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  • 2 years later...
  • 5 months later...

I'd agree this was a lot of fun. Super fast paced and all action with weird matchups you never expected to see. The TNT/Hashimoto matchup was a lot of fun I thought. Everybody had their time to shine in this and while I wouldn't say it was a ***** classic, I'd say it was damn worth the 20 minutes watching it. That felt maybe like ten.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1991-07-24-NJPW-Summer Crush] Tatsumi Fujinami & Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto & Keiji Muto & Masa Chono vs Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow & Wild Samoan & Great Kokina & TNT (2/3 falls)

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