WCW Great American Bash 1992

Deciding to take on so many different projects in the past year has meant that I've slacked on writing up my favourite year in wrestling history: 1992 WCW. Even more criminal when you consider that I've taken too long to get to this show - arguably this is the best PPV of all time. Seven matches, and the worst match is merely "decent". 

Jushin Liger & Brian Pillman vs Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff

Really fun match, worked really evenly with momentum shifting quickly between the two teams. It’s worked really nicely though, as both teams use quick tags to justify the momentum switches, and I like little touches like Liger sprinting for his corner first chance he gets when he’s been in trouble. Really fun to see Steamboat working big against two light heavyweights. He blasts Pillman with a big clothesline, nails a string of backbreakers on Liger before planting him with a big powerslam. Some really nice offensive runs here too, at one point Liger hits Steamboat with a perfect moonsault, a tombstone and a flip senton, getting a close two off each move. The end sees Steamboat roll through a Pillman crossbody to win.

Hiroshi Hase & Shinya Hashimoto vs the Freebirds

A bit of a styles clash, but an interesting one. This feels a bit like a battle of the interesting strikes, as Hashimoto nails a lot of nasty looking kicks, Hayes nails a load of fun punches and Hase has a range of chops. Loved the gutbuster Hase hits. Hayes hits a pair of beautiful left hands to make the hot tag, but Garvin gets caught with a sneaky Hashimoto behind the ref’s back, and Hase hits the Northern Lights to win.

Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes vs Steve Austin & Rick Rude

This is such a great match. What you really have here is four guys absolutely on top of their game putting on a classic tag match, including a really great heat section. All four guys put in some really solid looking blows, but it’s not just the execution that makes them so good, but the timing. They all pick the exact right time to hit each other for maximum effect. Early on, Windham belts Austin across the face, leading to a terrific sell as Austin throws himself out of the ring. You know a match is fun when Austin and Rhodes manage to work a fun little section based around an abdominal stretch. The heat is worked on Windham, including an unlikely Rude missile dropkick. Loved how close Windham got to making the tag on multiple occasions, and when he falls back and finally makes the tag, both the crowd and Dustin just explode. Things break down and Dustin hits a massive top rope lariat on Austin to win. This was a belter.

Steve Williams & Terry Gordy vs Nikita Koloff & Ricky Steamboat

This was really neat, loved the opening stages with all four guys going to the mat, especially as Steamboat and Koloff equit themselves admirably. MVC have the advantage of having not wrestled previously this show, and they both have a power advantage over Steamboat which starts to slowly manifest. Though they match up evenly, gradually the power moves wear Steamboat down, and a running charge into the corner damages his ribs, giving a focal point for Williams to hit with a huge backbreaker. When Steamboat makes the tag to Nikita, he’s not even able to stand on the apron, and when Koloff misses a shoulderblock, you know they’re in big trouble. More heat is worked on Koloff, who gets to tag in Steamboat only for Williams to catch him from the top rope and hit an Oklahoma Stampede version of a spinebuster for the win.

Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham vs Hiroshi Hase & Shinya Hashimoto

Another match that started with really nice matwork, it’s really neat watching guys like Dustinand Windham showing what they can do. Loved how a lot of the reversals felt natural, all stemming from shifts in body position and leverage. Rhodes becomes the face in peril, gradually getting worn down by Hashimoto kicks until you realise too late that he’s in trouble. Hase and Hashimoto work a fun heat on him until Hase misses a top rope knee drop for the hot tag. Lovely ending sees Hase lose attention of who the legal man is, and get blasted with a Windham lariat as he runs the ropes with Rhodes. Very good stuff.

Big Van Vader vs Sting

This was a great example of a champion putting over his challenger in an absolutely dominating fashion, whilst still keeping himself strong. Vader is allowed to totally dominate Sting in large sections of the match, blasting him in the corner at the start, no-selling a clothesline and a crossbody, whilst later in the match he even puts Sting in his own finisher, the Scorpion Deathlock. Loved how he applied it too, hooking up one of Sting’s legs, then grabbing the other as Sting used it to bat him away. Yet despite this, Sting is still able to look strong in defeat. His offensive flurries look great, full of energy, and he gets to show off remarkable strength. Nice suplex, big back suplex and an impressive Samoan Drop all look great, and Sting sells the exhaustion nicely each time. Even though Vader is dominant, Sting looks to have it won twice: a German suplex only gets two due to a ref bump, whilst it’s when Sting is in control that he loses it by accident. A Stinger Splash hits Vader, but Sting hits his head on the ringpost. From here, Sting is out on his feet and a powerbomb gives Vader the win. Really terrific bout.

Steve Williams & Terry Gordy vs Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

This is the third 20-odd minute match for Windham and Rhodes on this show, and it’s to their credit that they don’t look exhausted throughout here. The opening is pretty even and they don’t show obvious signs of fatigue. The giveaway is how it gets easier and easier for Williams and Gordy to take control of whichever opponent is in the ring. This is a bout with three face-in-peril sections, yet as with the Sting/Vader match, you still feel like the faces could win the match. Loved how fired up Windham was when he makes his hot tag, hitting a lovely lariat on Gordy and a beautiful floatover suplex on Williams. It’s also worth noting how both teams make use of ring positioning to their advantages and in totally natural ways. Gordy makes a tag by flinging his arms backward whilst in a sleeper, letting Williams attack an unsuspecting Dustin unawares, whilst Rhodes later makes a hot tag by stretching his long frame when taken down with a drop toehold. Towards the end, Dustin takes the hot tag and is put in peril in mere seconds, showing the control Williams and Gordy have on the match. There’s a great nearfall as Barry dropkicks Rhodes on top of Williams during a Stampede attempt, but Williams soon turns Dustin 360 degrees with a clothesline for the win. Superb stuff.

HUSTLE 07/03/04

Kaz Hayashi & Spanky vs Low Ki & Homicide

This is a fun deal, though sadly clipped, which means that it doesn’t get the chance to reach it’s full potential. There was a fun mat exchange between Low Ki and Hayashi, before we clip to Spanky as face-in-peril. This was a good idea, Ki and Homicide looked good as two stiff surly dudes beating up the pretty-boy face. Even when Spanky tags Hayashi in, he’s not safe, as during a melee he gets caught on a flip dive by both guys and powerbombed onto the apron. Hayashi takes both opponents out right after with a dive. Hayashi then gets a nearfall by no-selling the Ki Krusher and hitting Emerald Frosion for 2. Ki has been a bit of a dick in this match, and it ultimately costs his team. Homicide has Spanky in the STF, and Ki stands on the apron to kick at Spanky’s hands as he reaches for the ropes. This lures in Kaz, who takes out Ki then hits an enzuigiri from the apron on Homicide. This not only leaves Homicide prone for a frogsplash, but also means Ki is in no position to make the save, resulting in victory for Kaz and Spanky. Good opener 

Steve Corino vs CW Anderson

This was pretty goofy in places, but was still enjoyable. We get some brawling to start, followed by a comedy bit as Corino tries, and fails, to set up a chair on the ring apron to send Anderson into. Anderson decides to focus on the arm of Corino, ramming it into the ringpost then whacking it with the chair. We clip, and when we return, Corino is still selling the arm. Good lad. Anderson hits him with a lovely looking punch, which the ref reacts to with a standing ten count for Corino. He gets up on 9. Anderson yells for an STO, which ends up being hit on him by Corino. Corino then warms up the band for Sweet Chin Music, which Anderson then amusingly hits on him. Anderson gets a really close two count by reversing a lariat to a spinebuster on a chair, but Corino picks up the win with a suplex. Pretty good fun, Corino in particular was really good at playing up to the crowd, which helped create a fun atmosphere. 

Shinjiro Otani & Satoshi Kojima vs Dusty Rhodes & Dustin Rhodes

As Dusty isn’t exactly in his prime here, Dustin works the majority of this match, which is never a bad thing. He spends a lot of the early stages here getting beaten down, as Kojima and Otani lock him into a double Boston crab. I did enjoy Dustin outsmarting Kojima on a strike exchange, letting Kojima rear up for a blow, then droptoeholding him into the ropes. Dustin slingshots Kojima into a Bionic Elbow, before the Rhodes’ lock in stereo figure-fours. Neither Dustin nor Dusty seem that over here, which kinda hurts some spots as Dusty has to really work to get a reaction. Dustin nails a bulldog on Kojima for two, but gets hit with a Koji Cutter which allows the tag to Otani. Otani gets the bootscrapes on Dustin, but gets hit with the Curtain Call for two. Kojima and Dusty brawl outside, and Kojima is able to recover quickest to get back in and level Dustin in the back of the head with a lariat. Otani rolls him up for the win.  

Riki Choshu & Tomohiro Ishii vs Zebra Man & Naohiro Hoshikawa

On the first Hustle show, Zebra Man got a bit of a decent push, beating Ikuto Hidaka in a pretty swift fashion, so it’s surprising that this is a bit of a squash. Not in his favour. Choshu lariats Hoshikawa right at the start, who never really recovers. Ishii hits a big back suplex and Choshu locks in the sharpshooter. Zebra Man is tagged in to a sizable pop, but his offence is pretty milky. Not an accusation you could level at Ishii, who decks him with a lariat and a brain buster. Shrugging off some more questionable offence, Ishii hits another brainbuster and Choshu hits the lariat on Zebra Man for an easy three. 

Sabu, Justin Credible & Mike Awesome vs Kintaro Kanemura, Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda

You’d be hard pressed to call this a good match, but it’s pretty fun while it lasts. Awesome looks great early doors throwing big old Kanemura about. There is no tag format in place at the start of the match, with pairings of guys taking it in turn to compete in the ring, whilst the others brawl outside the ring. An Awesome Bomb from the ring apron through a table puts Kanemura out for a while, whilst Sabu puts Tanaka through a table with a big legdrop. This leaves Kuroda alone, and they suddenly go into a proper tag format, purely to build some heat on Kuroda. Awesome breaks a chair over Kuroda’s head. Of course, as soon as Kuroda makes the hot tag to Tanaka, all structure vanishes again and we got back to some big spots. The end sees Credible and Tanaka battle over a tombstone, before Kanemura hits Justin with a kendo stick and Tanaka nails the roaring elbow for the win. Goofy structure aside, this was enjoyable nonsense.

The Predator vs Dan Bobish

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Predator, and he looks in good shape here. Bobish is a big guy, like former WCW jobber Al Greene inflated with helium. Not a particularly good wrestler though, and this match is pretty dull. Bobish chokes Predator on the ropes, then plays up to the crowd, so I’ve no idea if he’s supposed to be face or heel. I did like the big delayed back suplex Predator hit on Bobish, and he gets good height on a leg drop, but there is too much sluggish brawling on display here. Predator gets the win with a top rope kneedrop. 

Mark Coleman & Kevin Randleman vs Shinya Hashimoto & Toshiaki Kawada

Two MMA fighters vs two of the elite guys in Japan. I really want to like Randleman, who has great movement and energy, but a little too much of his offence feels flat, and his opening section with Hashimoto is a little awkward. Coleman doesn’t even have the energy going for him, though his section with Kawada is a little less laboured. Hashimoto has his shoulder heavily taped, and Randleman starts to focus on it, hitting some nasty headbutts to the taped area. Kawada doesn’t have an obviously weak area, so he’s able to look more dominant in the ring, and his Yakuza kick in the corner on Coleman looks great. The match never feels like it’s building to anything though, and the end comes as Randleman hits repeated knees to Hashimoto’s shoulder, forcing the ref to call it off. Not Hashimoto or Kawada’s best day. 

Naoya Ogawa vs Matt Ghaffari, Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, Dustin Rhodes, Giant Silva & Dan Bobish

This is a handicap match, and there is a crooked ref to further stack the decks against Ogawa. He fares well at first, hitting STO’s on everyone. Bobish is able to put up a little more resisitance before falling to an STO. The heel ref gets “distracted” by events outside the ring, so everyone bar Ghaffari comes in and clobbers away on Ogawa. Silva hits a chokeslam and Ghaffari finally steps in to hit a big splash for the win. Not the best main event I’ve ever seen.

NJPW 09/10/2000

Shinya Hashimoto vs Tatsumi Fujinami
I’ve never seen Fujinami wrestle before, but a little research shows he was about 46 here, in which case he was in fantastic shape. It also means I’ve got no point of reference for how good he is, but this match is pretty uninspiring. There’s fleeting moments of excitement, but a bit too much going through the motions. Both guys jockey for position to start, with both hesitant to attack and expose themselves, until Hash decides to unload with some strikes, which lasts until Fujinami catches his leg on a kick and takes him to the mat. Back up, and Fujinami tries some strikes of his own, but gets taken down by a Hashimoto legsweep. Hash follows with a big senton. Hash then hits an Indian Deathlock. This heat up again with another strike exchange, this time with Fujinami taking some kicks flush to the face. It takes four of them to put him down. Fujinami is dead weight and Hash struggles to get him to his feet. However, Fujinami blocks a Hash brainbuster, but falls prey to a DDT, before Hash locks in a keylock for the tapout. Really anticlimactic.

Jushin Liger vs Super Delfin
JIP, which is a shame as it’s a match I’d like to see in full. We join as Delfin hits a tornado DDT on Liger, and locks in a Delfin Clutch for two. Delfin hits Liger with a palmstrike and the Osaka Cutter, before locking in a camel clutch. Liger breaks free and hits a palmstrike for a one count. A second gets a two count. A third is followed by a Fisherman Buster for the Liger win. Really want more of this.

Takashi Iizuka vs Don Frye
JIP again, though we get a bit more of this match. We join with Frye holding a leglock on Iizuka, who makes the ropes. Frye then holds a keylock on, before Iizuka makes the ropes again. Frye tries a judo throw, but is caught in a rear naked choke in a nice little sequence. Frye makes the ropes, but Iizuka hits two exploders before locking in another rear naked choke. Frye manages to break it again and nails a big belly-to-back suplex. Frye breaks from a front facelock and locks in a rear naked choke of his own for the win.

Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Koji Kanemoto
JIP, with Koji getting knees on a moonsault attempt, but it seems that Kanemoto has been working over Takaiwa’s legs, as it’s him selling the impact the most. KK goes after the injured legs, locking in a figure-four before hitting a Frankensteiner and transitioning straight into a anklelock. Takaiwa inflicts damage of his own, getting two after turning a top rope rana into a powerbomb, but Kanemoto goes back to the leg again. However, it’s all for naught, as Takaiwa powerbombs him (barely) into the corner and hits a DVD for the win. Seemed pretty good.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
Our final JIP match sees the TenKoji team dominating Nakanishi. A Tenzan Driver is followed by a top rope headbutt for two. Kojima hits a Koji Cutter from second rope, but poses too long and gets nailed by 3 spears from Nakanishi. Nakanishi goes for the Argentine backbreaker, but Tenzan breaks and TenKoji hit a doubleteam powerbomb. Nakanishi goes for a claw on Kojima, who breaks free and instead nails a lariat for the win.

Steve Williams vs Scott Norton
This is a battle of the gaijins, AJPW vs NJPW. Both guys are positioned as evenly matched, as a battle of shoulderblocks and clotheslines yields no winner. However, Doc hits a dropkick to Norton’s arm and begins to focus his assault on the limb. I love the fact that Williams, just before he wraps Norton’s arm around the ringpost, finds time to dish out a pair of headbutts to Norton. In a nice sequence, Williams fights to lock a cross-armbreaker on Norton, who keeps trying to power out to a good reaction, before he manages to re-link his fingers. Norton hits a shoulderblock with his bad shoulder, which means that Doc can recover and hit a sort-of suicide dive. Williams continues to work the arm, but decides to go to the top rope and is caught by a top tope powerslam. Doc rallies back and tries a backdrop driver, but Norton falls on top for a two count. What I really like is the way both guys really have to struggle on their powermoves. It may result in the move not looking totally clean, but it adds to the realism and makes it feel like a proper fight: Doc shouldn’t be able to easily lift a guy as big as Scott Norton for a gutwrench powerbomb. When he does, it clearly takes a massive effort to get Norton up. Williams hits a backdrop driver on Norton, the effort of which keeps both men down. Doc hits a second, but Norton gets straight back to his feet. However, a third (where Norton lands on top of Doc, clearly winding him) gets the win. Fun heavyweight collision.

Masanobu Fuchi & Shiro Koshinaka vs Masa Chono & Mr T
Mr T is Tatsutoshi Goto under a mask. This is a battle of the veterans, and another AJPW vs NJPW clash. In line with this, Fuchi is more than happy to fight dirty, attacking the NJPW duo from the bell and standing on the face of Chono. Mr T comes in an offers some blows to Fuchi’s stomach, but Fuchi takes it to the mat and works over his legs, locking in an STF followed by an Indian Deathlock. However, as good as Fuchi is on the mat, he falls prey to the team of Chono and T, who hit him with a neato spike piledriver. Whilst Chono continues to beat up Fuchi, however, Koshinaka piledrives Goto on the ramp to the ring, which allows the heel team to make the most of their man advantage. Koshinaka hits a top rope butt-butt and a powerbomb for two. Mr T comes back and holds Koshinaka in place for Chono, but Chono is still on the mat and, when he does get up, his Yakuza kick attempt is ducked, hitting T in the face. This doesn’t hinder the face team for long, as they throw Fuchi from the ring and Goto nails Koshinaka with a lariat for the win. Watchable, but not amazing.

Toshiaki Kawada vs Kensuke Sasaki
This, on the other hand, is absolutely awesome. It’s our final AJPW vs NJPW encounter, with two company aces going head to head. Ergo, we’ve got a real big-match atmosphere. An opening strike exchange is pretty even, but ends with Kawada outside the ring regaining his bearings. Back in, Kawada tries taking control on the mat, but Sasaki breaks free and nails a big lariat. This prompts a chop exchange that ends with Sasaki on one knee, allowing Kawada to down him with an enzuigiri. Kawada takes this as a cue to just kick the shit out of Sasaki, constantly wearing him down. After taking a belly-to-back suplex, Sasaki starts to come back, blocking a powerbomb attempt and hitting two big lariats for a two count. Sasaki locks in a sharpshooter, which gets broken by Kawada making the ropes. Sasaki tries to lariat him down again, but his lariats have no effect on Kawada. This leads to both men exchanging lariats, which Sasaki eventually wins, only for Kawada to get straight back up and level him with a Yakuza kick! This is terrific. A double lariat puts both men down. Sasaki gets up, but tries another lariat and runs into an enzuigiri from Kawada, which hits him on the lariat arm! Kawada hits another three enzuigiri’s, but a fourth is blocked. Sasaki tries another lariat, but runs directly into another Kawada enzuigiri, which is enough to get the win in a colossal war. Just an fantastic match, with both guys getting to look near invincible as they trade bombs in an attempt to finally put the other away. Strongly recommended.

HUSTLE 04/01/2004

This was the very first HUSTLE show, an attempt to launch a Sports Entertainment style company in Japan. The line-up of this show, including Dusty Rhodes, Goldberg and Mil Mascaras, sounded so wonderfully random I couldn't resist

Low Ki vs MIKAMI vs Jun Kasai vs King Adamo
Interesting choice of opener, with three junior heavyweights and one large savage. Within 20 seconds of the match starting, MIKAMI hits a dive on Adamo, which is totally missed by the cameras. The match soon settles into a vague structure of generally only having two guys in the ring at any one time, working a nice series of high-flying spots. Despite primarily being involved in comedy elements here, Adamo shows he can go, with a nice Stinger splash in the corner and a general willingness to let the smaller men look good. MIKAMI was the only guy I'd not seen before and he was impressive, hitting a nice looking Swanton from a ladder and taking a huge bump to the floor from the top rope following a Low Ki kick to the head. It ends following a Ki Krusher on Kasai to give Low Ki the win in a fun opener.

Zebra Man vs Ikuto Hidaka
Zebra Man seems to be a spin off from a movie, though I don't know who is under the mask. This is essentially a competitive squash to let the larger Zebra Man look good, with Hidaka getting in flashes of swanky offence and trying to weaken the bigger guy with kicks to the head. Zebra Man looks decent and hit some nice offence, with a wheelbarrow facebuster looking particularly devastating. The end result is never in any doubt, Zebra Man winning following a torture rack into a powerbomb for the three.

Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi vs El Solar & Dos Caras Jr
Jr is the wrestler now known as Alberto Del Rio, but you, you already know that (I'm so sorry, couldn't resist). Neither team really works heel in this match, which makes it feel a little disjointed, but the in-ring action is still pretty solid. Solar works an early mat exchange with Hayashi, before Caras Jr tags in. Jr lands on his feet on a missed moonsault attempt, but walks right into a sharp looking Hayashi superkick. It feels odd at first to equate Jr to Del Rio, until he hits that familiar step-up enzuigiri on Kojima, and suddenly it falls into place. A series of dives ends with a tope from Kaz. Back in the ring, Solar goes back to the mat with Hayashi, locking in a Mexican surfboard, which he rolls around the ring for added effect, before tying Kaz up in another submission hold. Dos Jr hits a nice press slam into a German suplex for 2 on Hayashi, but Kojima getting tagged in changes the complection of the match, as he can't be pushed around as easily, forcing the Mexican team to wear him down with a series of well-executed double team moves. Hayashi interjects to help his partner, allowing Kojima to hit the Koji Cutter and the lariat on El Solar for the win.

Shinjiro Otani & Mastato Tanaka vs The Predator & Kevin Randleman
With two American's with MMA experience (Randleman being a former UFC champion) in the ring with the hard-hitting Emblem team, it'll comes as no surprise to learn this is a pretty stiff encounter, as neither team is afraid to lay in the moves. The overall effect of this is that it feels like the two teams are trying to just wear the opposition out. Randleman is pretty surprising here: not only has he great presence and in-ring charisma, he also is quite impressive in the ring, albeit lacking a bit of polish. During the match he hits a nice springboard moonsault and a decent rana. Tanaka and Otani are predictably good working together, whilst the real difference maker in the match is the Predator, who dominates proceedings so much that you wonder why the WWE made him into the infinitely less interesting Sylvester Terkay. His size and power mean that Otani and Tanaka can take control when they use their speed, but when the Predator catches them, they're in trouble. This is their downfall: after not tagging out, Tanaka gets levelled by the Predator and a monster top rope kneedrop looks like it caves his face in. One huge musclebuster later and the Predator picks up the win. Good, hard-hitting action.

Giant Silva vs Kohei Sato & Katsuhisa Fujii
Handicap squash match. Not much to report here, Silva isn't very good and Sato is far too good to be wasted in this manner. Silva wins after chokeslams to both men.

Shinya Hashimoto vs Vader
Vader pretends to be about to throw his mask into the crowd, but drops it to the mat instead for some easy heat. Things are pretty even to start, until Vader starts badmouthing Hash before levelling him and nailing a splash for two. Hashimoto has one shoulder heavily taped, which Vader works on to remove his striking threat, though this just means that Hash starts to kick the crap out of him instead. Hashimoto gets a cross-armbreaker before both guys head to the outside. Vader misses a chairshot which allows Hash to hit a DDT on the floor for a (heavily booed) countout win. Too short to be any good, but I quite enjoyed the strike exchanges while they lasted. I suspect, not being a puro expert, that these two will have had many better matches when both (especially Vader) were younger and fitter.

Steve Corino, Tom Howard & Dusty Rhodes vs Mil Mascaras, Dos Caras & Sicodelico Jr
Mascaras has a reputation for working his own style of match and not being overly willing to take bumps. This match will do nothing to damage that reputation, as Corino finds himself working for two during their exchanges, stooging like a madman for the older masked man. In fact Corino is a heat machine throughout, tagging himself in to steal the spotlight when the audience anticipate some Rhodes/Mascaras action and yelling the names of other wrestlers on the show before stealing their signature moves, with both Hashimoto's DDT and Ogawa's STO getting used. On the luchador team, both Caras and Sicodelico equip themselves well, Sicodelico looking especially good with an attempted spinning elbow, while Caras also looks good against Howard (who, in fairness, does everything in his power to make Caras look good). Mascaras, meanwhile, seems content to hit Corino with flying forearms, before hitting Corino with a top rope crossbody for three. It's not unfair to say the best parts of this match were the bits without Mascaras. His partners both looked good and, while Big Dust was used sparingly, Corino and Howard worked hard to give the match some heat. The only real complaint is teasing Dusty vs Mascaras and not delivering, but it was perfectly watchable nonetheless

Mark Coleman vs Toshiaki Kawada
Sadly, this is one of those wrestling/MMA hybrid matches that are mainly worked on the mat, without being terribly interestlng. There are some good bits, including Coleman powering Kawada up from the mat to counter a choke attempt, but this is a whole lot of nothing. It's also very short, Kawada getting an anklelock about 5 minutes in, which prompts the referee to call for the bell, without Coleman winning in an ending that benefits noone.

Bill Goldberg vs Naoya Ogawa
I recall not liking Ogawa in the Zero-One match I reviewed back in September, so my hopes weren't high for this. However, I really quite enjoyed this, largely due to the performance of Goldberg. For a guy who wasn't required to sell much in his WCW days, he made Ogawa look immense here. Ogawa at one point locks in a leglock for several minutes, and what keeps it interesting is the selljob from Goldberg, punching the mat to try and block out the pain and slapping Ogawa to get him to break the hold. It's a shame then that the ending is so disappointing. The ref gets bumped during an Ogawa sleeper, meaning no-one counts following a Goldberg spear. Ogawa hits an STO, then another, which gives me flashbacks to that wretched Tom Howard match where Ogawa hit seven STO's in a row. Thankfully, Giant Silva intervenes, hitting Ogawa, allowing Goldberg to nail another spear and the Jackhammer for the win. Screwiness aside, this was a fine main event.

Zero-One Truth Century Creation 2003

Right, straight off the bat I'm going to be honest: I've never really got into Puroresu. Actually, that is a slight lie. After all, I loved watching NJPW on Eurosport 15 years ago, but that had English commentary which really helped my 13yr old self understand it, and it was a long time ago. There are some Japanese wrestlers I love- Lyger, Hayabusa, Onryo etc, so I know I should give it a proper go. I've ordered a few DVD's for $3 a pop which I'm looking forward to arriving, but in the interim, I'm going to give a proper go to some of the Puro tapes I bought years back and never properly watched. Bare with me if I show undue ignorance to styles and to wrestlers, I'm learning.

Ikuto Hidaka vs Pentagon
A good starting point here, I've seen Hidaka wrestling in MLW so i know who he is and what to expect. Pentagon I assume is somehow related to Octagon, due to the name and his near identical costume. I liked the way they tested each other out on the mat before Hidaka went into another gear and started properly assaulting the knee of Pentagon. I didn't like the way Pentagon no-sold it seconds later by backflipping from the top rope onto his feet, especially as it comes into play in the ending. Hidaka reminds me of an angry small child, which I love. Hidaka hits a swank tornado DDT off the ropes and Pentagon brings some goods himself with a colossal splash mountain. Hidaka gets a rolling heel hook for the immediate tapout, which may have felt less anti-climactic if Pentagon has sold his leg earlier in the match.

Don Arakawa & Jun Kasai vs Fuyuki Takahashi & Shinsuke Z Yamagasa
Kasai seems to be working a chimp gimmick, which I only pray he always uses. Arakawa provides instructions from the apron. Don tags in and goes woozy after dishing out a series of headbutts to Takahashi and I realise we may be in comedy match territory, which I admittedly should have spotted when a man came out acting like a chimp. Kasai slips on his own bananas just to hammer the point home. Takahashi and Yamagasa both seem to have some decent offence but you spend their time on attack waiting for Kasai to start acting the fool again. Don hits a succession of eye-pokes on a downed Takahashi but gets caught in the ropes attempting to leap on Yamagasa. Kasai is the star of the match- not only does he nail the comedy with a straight face, he also has some nice crisp offence and finishes the match with a sharp series of kicks.

Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Vansack Acid vs Low-Ki & Paul London
Another dose of guys I know to help ease me into this. Both team have similar looks, with each having a floppy-haired pretty boy and a balding grump. Takaiwa wins me over pretty quickly by taking a nasty bump to the outside. A series of dives from the apron ends with London hitting a running shooting star press that launches him like a missile. London puts forth a great showing in this match, not only with some perfectly executed moves (his rolling Northern Lights suplex is outstanding), but also the little things like kicking Acid's hand to stop him blocking a stomp to the shoulder from Ki. The two Americans dominate Acid who doesn't really offer much offence aside from a few kicks. Takaiwa fares better, working a nice exchange with Ki over an octopus stretch and possessing a good, painful-looking lariat. Towards the end London gets to hit London Calling, which I still think looks better than Evan Bourne's SSP, but Takaiwa hits him with a double powerbomb into a DVD which is enough for 3. Not mind-blowing, but a pretty enjoyable match.

Kendo Kashin, Kaz Hayashi & Ryuji Hijikata vs Naohiro Hoshikawa, Kazhiko Ogasawara & Yoshihito Sasaki
My WCW fandom ensures I know Kaz and I'm familiar with Kashin from the few other Puro tapes I've seen. He seems like a dick, which I appreciate. As if to prove this, he barges past his teammates during their pre-match interview. A little research informed me that Hoshikawa suffered a brain injury in 2004 and fell into a coma, which is horrible news, though apparently he's in far better shape now than he was for the first few years following. This is AJPW vs Zero-One and starts with a massive brawl before the announcer can identify people, forcing me to Google Image Search the 3 Zero-One guys to find out who is who. The overriding story in this match is that Kashin is an ever bigger dickhead than I thought. Hoshikawa wins me over almost straight away, proving to be a stiff fucker with a lethal arsenal of kicks. Ogasawara is less impressive, barely getting up for two Hayashi backbreakers or a Hijikata judo throw. Kashin's dickery starts early and gets worse, biting the hands of Hoshikawa to break a headlock and pulling the ropes in an attempt to stop Sasaki reaching the ropes to break a submission. I like the fact that Kendo's glory-hunting nearly backfires- Kashin pulls his own partner Hayashi off of Sasaki to try and get the pin himself, only to nearly get pinned following a spear. However, Kashin rallies and gets a cross-armbreaker to get the win for himself, and his team, in a master display of knobbishness.

Tengu Kaiser vs Akio Kobayashi
I've never seen either of these chaps, so this is a new one for me. Kaiser has a sort of Hayabusa look going on, though the mask features a curious looking ski jump nose. The match is pretty bloody poor, all due to Kobayashi, who offered nothing more than a few kicks and was happy to plod about in between them. Kaiser slipped while attempting a springboard move, but was a lot crisper with his kicking and selling, and hit a dazzling Phoenix splash-esque move to win. I got the impression Kaiser could have a good match with a better opponent. This was four minutes but felt much longer.

Masato Tanaka & Kohei Sato vs Daisuke Ikeda & Takashi Sugiura
This is another interpromotional match, this time Z1 vs NOAH, and all four men go at it from the opening bell. Tanaka ends up getting involved in slugfests with both Ikeda and Sugiura, and end up winning both of them. Sato looks like a gangly kid compared to the others and it's no surprise that he ends up as face-in-peril, taking a spike piledriver on the floor. This leads to a fun spot where Ikeda and Sugiura keep picking Sato up from the mat, only to club him back down Demolition-style. The tag sees Tanaka come in like there is Hell to pay, but soon he too is getting beaten by the NOAH team. The second hot tag of the match leads to an exciting ending sprint where all four men are in and out of the ring, all hitting moves that could conceivably finish it: Sato hits a huge German suplex on Ikeda, Tanaka hits a Superfly splash also on Ikeda, who blocks his second attempt with a musclebuster that also only gets two. The finishing sequence sees Sugiura dominating Tanaka, including dumping over his shoulder him onto his neck, only to get hit with a Roaring Elbow for the flash pin. Unlike Kaiser/Kobayashi which felt twice as long as it was, this felt much shorter than it actually was with all four men looking impressive.

Matt Ghaffari, Steve Corino & King Adamo vs Yoshiaka Fujiwara, Wataru Sakata & Katsuhisa Fujii
Corino's team are an odd bunch, Adamo being a tubby grass-skirt wearing savage and Ghaffari being a massive former Olympian. The opening moments see Corino stooging like an old pro for the Japanese team, working a fun headlock spot with the veteran Fujiwara, then exchanging (and losing) strikes with Fujii, who seemed to be working a striker gimmick. Adamo plays the part of a simpleton well (imagine Eugene in Umaga's body), even if he manages to almost botch a stinkface by missing Fujiwara's head. The story behind the match is that the Japanese team are almost powerless against Ghaffari, due to both his size and his Olympic wrestling background, though his moveset consists almost entirely of shoddy looking throws. There is a fun spot where Ghaffari is about to finish off Sakata, only for the simple-minded Adamo to blind tag himself in, to the rage of Ghaffari. However, Ghaffari does pick up the win later with a splash (on which he gets no air) on Sakata. The story and comedy took priority over the ringwork here, but it was at least entertaining.

Yoshihiro Takayama & Hirotaka Yokoi vs The Predator & Jimmy Snuka Jr
Oh great, it's Deuce. We get a pre-match interview from the Predator where he essentially threatens to beat Takayama to a pulp. In the ring, we get to see the full extent of their animosity as they start off with...a test of strength. Then another one, and what promised to be a violent brawl ends up coming off as a damp squib. Against all odds, it's Snuka who impresses most, dominating the smaller Yokoi and hitting a decent slingshot legdrop, before tying Yokoi up in the ropes with a headscissors. Even when he messes up by slipping on an attempted springboard move, he doesn't retry the spot, but opts instead to simply run at his opponent and hurl himself at him. The match follows a basic formula which sees Predator always dominate Yokoi and Takayama always dominate Snuka, but they're pretty much evenly balanced against each other. Takayama gets the win with a big German suplex on Snuka, but Predator takes exception to this and brawls into the crowd with Takayama, sadly showing more aggression and gumption than at any point during the match.

Naoya Ogawa vs Tom Howard
Howard is representing UPW from California, and looks like the guy you'd get to play Guile in a straight-to-DVD Streetfighter II movie. After Howard opens the match by blowing smoke in Ogawa's face (a nice dick move), they work a quick exchange where Ogawa counters all Howard's moves, but Howard takes over with a nice thrustkick to the jaw. Howard puts Ogawa in a leglock which seems to last for hours, as Ogawa S-L-O-W-L-Y inches towards the ropes, but makes absolutely no effort to sell any pain in his leg. Howard then locks in a sleeper, which nearly puts Ogawa away, only for Ogawa to power up and hit Howard with 6 (6!) consecutive STO's to prompt cornerman Steve Corino to throw in the towel. An absolute waste of my time, Howard looked decent in parts, but Ogawa brought nothing to the match.

Shinya Hashimoto & Shinjiro Otani vs Keiji Mutoh & Arashi
Main event time, and it has a definite big match feel, the crowd are noticeably buzzing. Hashimoto and Mutoh start, which only heightens the anticipation, as they gingerly feel each other out, before both tagging out. Likewise, Arashi and Otani, though being more attacking than their partners, don't commit themselves too much, until the Mutoh/Arashi team get an advantage on Otani, at which point their offence really kicks off with a Mutoh Power Elbow. They then work over the leg of Otani, with Mutoh hitting some vicious looking dropkicks to the knee followed by a figure four. Hashimoto is brought in on a hot tag, and successfully blocks a Shining Wizard attempt by Mutoh, but gets caught with a Dragon Screw which puts him in peril. A returning Otani works over Arashi in the corner with some NASTY bootscrapes and a facewash, and the match really starts to heat up. All four men end up in the ring and all four men up on the mat following a series of dropkicks. Arashi works over Hashimoto to allow him to hit a powerbomb on the big man, and Mutoh leaps over the pinfall attempt to hit a huge Shining Wizard on Otani, who was trying to stop the pin, though Arashi only gets two. Mutoh hits another Wizard on Hashimoto then, in a nice touch, ties up Otani with a figure four, leaving Arashi free to hit a top rope splash on Hashi for two. This leads to the ending sequence where Hashimoto gets Arashi in a triangle choke, while Otani has Mutoh in a chickenwing next to them. In a really nice touch, Mutoh keeps fighting, not to escape the hold he's in, but to get an arm over to break the choke on Arashi, really selling how much trouble he knows his partner is in, which is emphasized when Arashi submits moments later. Really enjoyable main event match with really big match atmosphere AND a satisfying conclusion.