Ashura Hara, Jinsei Shinzaki & John Tenta vs Jado, Gedo
& Hiromichi Fuyuki
This was pretty fun. The Jado/Gedo/Fuyuki team attack at the
bell and isolate Hara, with a nice triple team seeing Jado and Gedo elevating
him for a top rope seated senton by Fuyuki. This is followed by a triple team
powerbomb before we clip. We return to Tenta doing some awesome wobbling
selling as the opposition try to down him, before he catches Gedo on a
crossbody and hits the splash for 3.
Koji Ishinriki, Koki Kitahara & Takashi Ishikawa vs Akio
Kobayashi, Koji Kitao & Masaaki Mochizuki
This is pretty much all clipped out. Kitao looks slow and
lumbering on offence, which contrasts with Mochizuki, who blitzes Ishinriki
with a flurry of kicks before Kitahara rolls him up for the win.
Arashi, Kendo Nagasaki & Masashi Aoyagi vs Animal
Hamaguchi, Nobukazu Hirai & Shoichi Funaki
Bit of a mess this one. I did enjoy Nagasaki tying Funaki up
in knots on the mat, and I liked how fired up Hamaguchi was when he finally
tagged in, but this dragged even with clipping. Hirai gets a nearfall by German
suplexing Aoyagi, but eats a kick to the head to be eliminated.
Atushi Onita, Bam Bam Bigelow & Genichiro Tenryu vs The
Warlord, Chris Jericho & Vampiro
Really enjoyed this. There were some nice little touches,
like Jericho controlling Tenryu, only to get felled by one vicious chop. Also
loved the Warlord posing, only for Bigelow to interrupt it with an enzuigiri to
the head. Vampiro is isolated and beaten before we clip, returning with Warlord
catching an apron dive by Tenryu, slamming him onto a table. Jericho goes too
short on a Lionsault, hitting Onita in the face with his knee. Tenryu and Onita
hit a botched double team powerbomb on him, and as it all breaks down , Onita
nails another powerbomb on Jericho for the win
Jinsei Shinzaki, John Tenta & Ashura Hara vs Koji
Ishinriki, Koki Kitahara & Takashi Ishikawa
Matches are all full from this point on. Loved the
Hara/Ishikawa section at the start, just two stocky bulls going at each other.
The Ishinriki/Kitahara/Ishikawa squad looked more impressive here than in the
first round, with Kitahara planting Shinzaki with a massive German suplex. He
also punishes Shinzaki with kicks, which seem to bust him open from the mouth.
The end sees Hara and Ishikawa resume hostilities, with Ishikawa levelling Hara
with a big clothesline, only for Hara to hit one of his own for the win.
Bam Bam Bigelow, Genichiro Tenryu & Atushi Onita vs
Arashi, Kendo Nagasaki & Masahi Aoyagi
This one breaks down early, with Onita leading a big fight
on the outside in the crowd. He ends up on the losing side of his fight with
Nagasaki, who belts him with the ring bell and absolutely buries him with
chairs. It’s a really fun scene. Back inside, Tenryu gets punished and
isolated, loved him selling Aoyagi’s kicks to the chest with big bursts of
spit. His team mates lure all the opposing team into the ring for a fight,
which buys Tenryu some time to recover. By the time the ref has settled things
down, Tenryu is sufficiently healthy to hit an enzuigiri on Arashi and tag Bam
Bam. Bigelow blitzes Arashi and moonsaults him for the win. Really good bout.
Ultimo Dragon vs The Great Sasuke
This is for Dragon’s UWA middleweight title. This is a whole
heap of fun, really felt like two guys going all out. They work a decent
acrobatic series to start, but things heat up some more when Sasuke sends
Dragon outside and nails a big Asai moonsault, landing in the crowd. Love the
spot back inside where Dragon can’t superplex Sasuke, so instead dropkick’s him
to the outside and nails his own massive Asai moonsault. Beautiful Tiger suplex
by Dragon gets two. High spot of the night sees Sasuke send Dragon to the
outside, and nail this nutty dive from the top turnbuckle to the floor, landing
precisely between two guard rails. There’s an odd transition back to Dragon
offence, as he gets fired into the ropes, and just runs at Sasuke and clubs his
back. Bit out of nowhere. Ultimo nails a dropkick as Sasuke attempts a
quebrada, and hits a corkscrew moonsault for the victory. Great match.
Bam Bam Bigelow, Genichiro Tenryu & Atushi Onita vs Jinsei
Shinzaki, John Tenta & Ashura Hara
Loved the start of this, where Bigelow and Earthquake
squared off. Fun big man stuff, with Bigelow failing to slam Quake, but somehow
succeeding with a suplex, weakening him enough for a second slam to work.
Really liked Tenryu and Hara facing off, just two stodgy guys exchanging blows.
There’s fun little bits scattered throughout, like Onita failing with a DDT on
Quake, who is too big to send down. Also loved the massive belly-to-belly
suplex Tenta hits. Hara gets back in, and just gets worn down by Tenryu, who hacks
away with some chops. A nasty pair to the throat see Hara in real trouble, and
he gets isolated and worn down for the rest of the bout. He eats finishers
from Bigelow and Onita, and only survives because of team-mates making the
save. He kicks out of an Onita powerbomb, but foolishly doesn’t tag out when he
has the chance. Bigelow interferes, drawing the partners into the ring, but
this means Hara now has no-one to save him. A Tenryu powerbomb only gets 2, but
an enzuigiri and another powerbomb win the match for Tenryu’s team. Probably
the best match of the tournament.
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