[1989-08-08-NJPW] Jushin Liger & AKIRA Nogami vs. Naoki Sano & Kantaro Hoshino

[Superstar Sleeze]

Jushin Liger & AKIRA Nogami vs. Naoki Sano & Kantaro Hoshino - NJPW 8/8/89

A crucial match to watch before the Liger vs Sano IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship classic two days later as this kickass tag team match sets up the arm injury. This is also three days after a very heated Hoshino vs Liger match. It was a great week for the Junior Heavyweights.

Liger comes out both barrels blazing! Nail big, electric baseball slide dropkicks on both opponents, but he gets greedy trying to suplex Sano from the ring to the floor. He leaves himself vulnerable and eats a dropkick from Hoshino. Sano follows up with a wicked suicide dive. With the advantage cemented they zero in on the arm. The arm injury is a major selling point of the Junior Heavyweight Title Match and all gets set up here. Awesome selling from Liger as these two just punish the arm inside and outside the ring. When it was outside the ring, AKIRA did try to help, but to no avail. Liger slides through the legs and tags in AKIRA. AKIRA tries become an inferno but is quickly quenched by an amazing BODY PUNCH combination by Hoshino. Hoshino lights AKIRA up! This is two matches in a row where Hoshino's punch combination are amazing. AKIRA gets an advantage and tries to dive on Sano but Sano moves and AKIRA FUCKING EATS STEEL! The camera angle was from behind so it may have looked gnarlier than it was but it was very gnarly-looking. They beat AKIRA to a bloody pulp on the outside. I dont know when AKIRA started bleeding but it was definitely on the outside. Great offense again from Sano and Hoshino who would have a killer heel tag team in the South. I loved the Irish Whip into the Missile Dropkick someone should steal spot. AKIRA got a hope spot from the top, but no hot tag.. Hoshino hits one of the most unsafe piledrivers you would ever see. Sano hits a Dragon Suplex but cant properly apply the bridge so he stomps AKIRA s'more and pins him. 

That is two things I have never seen, NO Hot Tag and a big move followed by some stomps and still successfully getting the pin. This put Sano & Hoshino over huge! They take out Liger's arm and bloody AKIRA. Besides the short shine from Liger at the outset, this was a mugging, definitely a unique, memorable layout. ***1/2