[1997-07-21-WAR] Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoji Anjo

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Glad to see this feud picking up where they left off in 1996. These two are tailor made for each other, especially since Anjo is such a douchebag prick. Shooters who take cheapshots are heat magnets in Japan, and Anjo is no exception to that. I also love the pop that the sleeper hold and reverse Fujiwara armbar (if that's what it is -- I'm not sure) gets. Awesomely short and to the point.

[Kevin Ridge]

You want to see Anjo get his and Tenryu seems like the perfect guy to deliver. Anjo reverses the powerbomb into a sleeper. Anjo with the reverse figure four! Tenryu just clocks Anjo with a right hand. Close call on that submission attempt by Anjo. Yay. The wrestling guy wins.

[Childs]

I love this match-up because Anjo always tried to out-prick Tenryu, who is not a man to be out-pricked. Anjo was a shootstylist who could've worked in just about any setting, because he was such a naturally smarmy dickhead. A smirk seemed to be his natural expression, and I loved the dirty little shit he did, like standing on Tenryu's hand to prevent him from getting up after a rope break. Tenryu, of course, answered with his usual brew of closed-hand punches and reckless lariats. The match featured a great finish, with Anjo hooking a flash submission after eating a nearfall off Tenryu's power bomb. Tenryu then decimated him with a lariat for his insolence and finished it with a second powerbomb. Yoji, asshole to the last, tried to kick Tenryu during the post-match handshake. Love it!

[soup23]

This match was almost the same length as the one preceeding it but it felt like a more contained full story. Anjo is a good prick to go up against Tenryu and dare I say make Tenryu seem a little sympathetic.

[ohtani's jacket]

Can somebody confirm whether this is actually a different match from their 7/21/96 bout? I tried downloading this off Ditch's site and it was the same match as the '96 link. I can't find a record for it on the catchmatch site or a match listing for it on Lorefice's site and the match Childs described above is the same as the '96 bout. Plus July 21st was a Monday that year which is an odd time to run a show.

[PeteF3]

I'm not sure OJ isn't correct here--I definitely recall them doing practically the same finish before, with Anjo countering Tenryu's power bomb into a reverse jujigatame for a hot false finish before going down right after. Hell, no matter, I never mind seeing these two beat the shit out of each other, and with these two you kind of know what you're getting regardless of the year.

[Zenjo]

OJ is definitely correct. This is the match from 7/21/96, which is on the 1996 Yearbook. It is worth watching twice however.

[Superstar Sleeze]

For the record there is no 97 match to watch between these two? Disappointing.

[KB8]

I always thought there were two matches as I remembered the '96 match had Tenryu grabbing the mic and calling out Takada afterwards. I don't remember that with the '97 match (unless the file simply cut out before then). Then again, I can't find anything on cagematch for the date I had for the '97 match (2/21/97) and don't even recall how I got it (possibly from Ditch). Both matches had more or less the same finish as well...