[2000-02-12-Toryumon] CIMA & Judo Suwa & Sumo Fuji vs Genki Horiguchi & Magnum Tokyo & SAITO

[soup23]

This is my peak Crazy Max team. They do all the great stuff that I hope. I thought Genki looked a little shaky at points here and it is clear that him and Saito are really young and just kind of finding themselves. Tokyo whiffs on a back spin kick but otherwise looks pretty damn good and his sequences with CIMA were the highlight from a technical standpoint. Fuji continues to maybe be my absolute favorite wrestler in 2000 so far or at least in contention. The comedy stuff he mixes in works and doesn't overstay its welcome and his move set and execution is spot on. I am thinking he might land on my GWE list in 2026. This didn't reach the tip top form of the other Toryumon multi mans but still made me craving more from the competitors. ***3/4

[Loss]

I think this was my favorite Toryumon match so far. It started out the most all-action of any of the matches we've seen from Toryumon before spilling outside the ring with everyone brawling into the crowd. Finally, the match settled back into the ring with SAITO as FIP while Crazy Max just destroyed him before the finishing stretch. This is a match where they really stylistically ran the gamut in terms of high flying, brawling and working a Southern tag where in previous matches they have been more likely to make one choice and stick to it. So in that sense, it was pretty cool. CM continues their heel antics after the match and while I'm really enjoying them, I am also thinking it's about time to start seeing some payback. ****1/4

[Laney]

Toryumon has been so much fun to watch in 2000. I agree that this is probably the best Crazy Max team combination. Not being too familiar with this period of Toryumon, I was expecting SAITO to be today's Ryo Saito. That is not the case, this is the guy that becomes Super Shisa. SAITO and Horiguchi look like they need more polishing, but they do a good job of being the guys to take punishment from Crazy Max. The Crazy Max team is very impressive in this one and do an excellent job of playing the heels.

 

****

[Mattsdmf]

These Toryumon matches have been some of my favorites since I started watching these 2000 matches. This one may be my favorite so far. This has a little bit of everything and the match never gets boring. Sumo Fuyuki is my favorite of the bunch and he continues being awesome in this just like CIMA.

[Moonsault Marvin]

This one seemed like more of the same instead of moving forward. They repeated the same spots from previous matches, and there was less variation in pace. Average match.

[ohtani's jacket]

This was another solid Toryumon match. I enjoyed the exchanges between Sumo Fuji and SAITO. That felt like a real lucha match-up in the middle of all that lucharesu. But again there were no standout performances. Crazy Max works well as a team but I wish one of them would take the lead. I guess you could argue that CIMA took the lead here but it wasn't clearly defined. If you think of vintage Infernales -- Satanico, MS-1 & Pirata Morgan -- they could each take the lead on any given night. Sawa and Fuji probably don't have the personalities to do that so hopefully CIMA starts calling the shots more. Or even better, from my perspective, Sumo Fuji in the El Signo role leading his Misioneros!

[Edwin]

This was pretty awesome. A lot more diverse of a multi man match than the 2 from the previous month as it featured a crowd brawling segment and a little less outside interference than the aforementioned matches.

 

At this point it's pretty clear CIMA and TOKYO are the two guys they want to feature the most along with Mochizuki.

Fuji reminds me of a Jr. heavyweight, less grumpier, more comedic Tenryu. Out of the all the Toryumon guys we have seen this far, he comes across as the most polished.

 

This is out first glimpse of the year of SUWA in the ring who eventually turned out to be one of the better workers Toryumon produced in the long run.

 

There were some awesome flashy exchanges between SAITO and Fuji which are pretty great. Unfortunately these segments aren't longer than they were. I really dug SAITO's handstand sub attempts and cradles.

 

CIMA just standing and walking away while Genki attempts a flashy moonsault off the second rope was awesome. Reminded me of Jr.'s going for crossbodys on Samoa Joe and him just walking away while they crash landed on their faces. CIMA also hits a nasty slap on Genki when he's on the floor before he mocks him by surfboarding on him.

 

The finish was perfect. It ended at just the right time without them going into excessive stretches. The post match between on SAITO was pretty great as usual.

 

****