Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask
by me
As near as I can tell from doing some actual (gasp) research, this match is from the 4/21/83 show at Kuramae Kokugikan for the NWA Jr. Title.
The SetupEver since the Dynamite Kid entered the British indy circuit in 1975, he had revolutionized the Jr. Heavyweight scene. "Revolutionized" is a word that sometimes gets thrown around a little too much and it loses it's meaning, but if ANYONE deserved to have the word applied to him and his legacy, it is Dynamite. Bret Hart, Chris Benoit, Owen Hart, the list goes on and on of the number of future stars he influenced. Satoru Sayama debuted under the Tiger Mask gimmick on 1/1/82 against the Dynamite Kid, and his subsequent win over the Kid immediately elevated the gimmick from child's cartoon hero into a wrestling sensation, with a legitimacy that might not have been accomplished any other way. Kid and Tiger went on to have a series of matches that completely changed the wrestling world, not only in the Jr. Heavyweight Scene, but the Heavyweight scene as well. On 8/30/82, they had a ***** match at Madison Square Garden which totally rocked the house. 4/1/83, Tiger was injured participating in a tag match against Dynamite Kid and about six months later he was gone from the business, save for one return match in 1984. But, before he left, Dynamite and Tiger gave us this gem to drool over, one of the best masterpieces you'll ever see. And I know it might be hard for some of you to find this match, so if you can't find it, I strongly urge you to watch Benoit and Sasuke from Super J 1994. The parallels are just uncanny, and except for Benoit/Sasuke pulling out a couple more difficult moves, the spirit of the match is the same. So, without delay, let's get to YOUR match.......
The Match
Part 1---The Warm-up
DK walks away from a handshake to start, drawing oohs right away. Lockup and armbar by DK while TM tries various reversals with no success. He finally gets the Owen escape, but DK lands on his feet anyway. Sweet. Side headlock by DK, forearms, snapmare, and chinlock. TM again tries various reversals but DK holds on. Knees in the corner by DK, snapmare, and a cover gets about .001268. Shoulderblock by TM, and DK tries a back body drop, but TM lands on his feet and absolutely unloads with a spinning heel kick that sends DK outside. TM then turns up the holy shit quotient by hitting a gorgeous tope suicida, and both guys are down. DK beats the 20 count back to the ring, but TM is right there to greet him with a suplex inside. TM heads upstairs, but DK Flair tosses him off. DK heads upstairs now, and nails a beautiful missile dropkick. Headscissors now, and it bears mentioning that this isn't your resthold headscissors, kids. They both work it the whole time, which is absolutely vital to hold the crowd's attention. TM counters with Tiger Flipout '82, and if you've seen a Dynamite/Tiger match before, you know exactly what I'm talking about. TM goes right to some holy righteous ass kicking.....think Tajiri except that TM doesn't just kick him in the head.....legs, shoulders, stomach, he hits them all. TM heads up top and an elbow hits. Bow and arrow by TM, but DK somehow escapes. TM continues working the legs with a reverse figure 4 which makes me mark out.....I mean, you just don't see that anymore. DK manages to slip out, but instead of bothering with any offense he tries to steal the mask. I don't think the whole crowd saw this attempt at the mask.....you'll understand what I mean later. Whip by TM, but DK just casually steps out of the way of TM's crossbody attempt. Charge by DK, but TM back body drops him outside, gets readu for tope suicida, and then he skins the cat back in as DK moved again.
DK stalls for a bit, then quickly gets the Dynamite Figure 4 back inside. The best way to explain it is a figure four from the side.....the only reference I can give you that helps out is that Owen puts the same move on Bret at Wrestlemania X, so if you have the show, watch til Bret hurts his knee, then shortly after Owen goes to work on his leg and puts the move on. Owen did it other times, but that's the biggest show that comes to mind.....anyway, DK works it, then TM caps him right in the face to break. TM crushes DK with a clothesline, standing senton, and elbow drop....for only 1. Chinlock by TM, but DK somehow, magically I think, reverses into a camel clutch. DK then goes right for the mask again, and this time the crowd EXPLODES as DK almost succeeds. Holy shit.....I mean, I've seen some lucha and I know masks are high status symbols in Mexico and Japan, but I have NEVER seen a crowd react so loudly as this one did....just awesome. I think this just served to fire up DK and TM even more, because DK quickly gets a snap suplex, knee, and elbow drop for 1. Gutwrench suplex gets 2. Notice, not only in this particular match but in every Dynamite/Tiger match, early pin attempts barely get one counts, and close 2 counts only come after a suitable beating. I think that kind of psychology has always been sorely missing in North America, where every count is 2 count. DK goes to the headscissors, but TM slips out quickly and counters to maybe the most gorgeous surfboard I've ever seen.....which only gets DK super-pissed. DK escapes and immediately goes for the tombstone as the crowd goes absolutely apeshit with screams of horror before TM slips out at the last moment. Whew....the crowd breathes a sigh of relief at that one, and so am I. Standing dropkick by DK, but TM monkey flips DK outside and follows up with a splash that sends both guys into the railing......which apparently ends the first fall via DQ and/or countout in favor of DK. I don't speak Japanese so I havent the first damn clue what the official decision was, but I could tell that DK won the fall.
Part 2---Kickin Ass
I hope everyone got the joke in the first part....Warming Up. I think you'll all agree that is one helluva warmup. Anyway.....everyone is apparently trying to sort out what exactly is happening, and DK is calling for one more fall and bitching everyone out. TM gets back in the ring and I guess we're going again, but before we can officially get started again with the bell, DK runs over and PLANTS TM with the tombstone, goes up top for the flying headbutt, but TM smartly rolls outside before DK even gets to the top.....but now TM is PISSED!!! Even through the mask you can tell he's glaring lazer beams at DK. Wow. THEN, DK proves he has the largest set of balls on the planet by cutting a promo that intensifies an already fired up crowd even more. I swear, if some of the indy guys who I've seen work watched this, then channeled even 1/100th of the spirit of this shit, they would see immediate results.Some more confusion with officials, and the second fall FINALLY officially starts, and DK IMMEDIATELY nails TM with the tombstone and flying headbutt......but heel that he is, he picks him up. TM promptly says "fuck you" and suplexes him into next week, then plants him with a tombstone of his own. DK smartly bails, and TM's follow up pescado misses. TM floats over a suplex attempt to the inside, and then a super-fast series of blocks, counters, and reversals ensue until both guys end up outside. One word.....damn. DK puts TM into the railing, then suplexes him on the concrete. DK tries to post TM, but it's reversed and DK eats the post. TM then whips DK so hard into the railing that the whole length of it on that side of the ring falls over and DK lands on some lady's lap in the first row. TM climbs back inside, and DK glares murder at him before grabbing a bottle from under the ring and trying to attack. Have I mentioned how fuckin jacked this crowd is? It's just insane. The ref then shows he's the biggest moron on the planet by trying to grab the bottle.....so DK headbutts him. Served him right, damn it. I mean honestly......this is Dynamite F'N Kid, and you're gonna try to take a bottle off him when he's intent on killing the first person he comes into contact with? The headbutt draws the DQ in favor of TM, so both guys won a fall by DQ.....but they BOTH want another fall now......
3rd fall now, and DK just beats the holy living hell outta TM and tries to take the mask AGAIN. DK has just completely lost it here....you know, that's the difference between true greatness and mediocrity. Ken Shamrock would "snap", but he had a whole ritual scream and everything and made a big show out of it.....Dynamite never has to do any of that, all you have to do is look at the body and facial mannerisms to see it. It's so subtle, yet so much more effective. DK gets the mask 3/4 off, drawing indescribable combinations of screams from the crowd, a mix of horror, shock, fascination, and anguish rolled into one. TM finally fights him off, but DK still snap suplexes him for 2, and they roll outside. Some chops by both, and they take turns planting each other with the tombstone ON THE F'N CONCRETE, drawing a double DQ and/or double countout, I couldn't tell which. The match ends in a draw. *****
Final Thoughts---I know some people will disagree on rating, pointing out that two DQ finishes and a double DQ in the deciding fall necessitates dropping it down a notch. I can't entirely disagree with that and those people are probably right. But I don't care if I AM wrong, this match is ***** all the way for me. Yes, definately, I would have liked to seen a clean pinfall finish to decide the match. Still, I don't know if I've ever seen brutality and punishment handed out so simplistically in a match. There were no chairs, tables, ladders, or any other weapons or props used. They just beat the living hell out of each other, using the most flawless transitions that a wrestling fan could ever hope to see in a match, and psychology and crowd involvement so deep that the Marianis Trench couldn't hold it all.
Yes, the "non-finish" should most likely make this match ****1/2 or ****3/4. But whatever that non-finish supposedly takes away from the match, the fact that they could go out and put on the exact match today, without any changes, and get the same oohs and aahs and screams of horror and joy from the crowd more than makes up for it.
This was wrestling in it's purest form.....this is the elusive level that the business strived to achieve, and on rare moments, has accomplished. The TLC matches, tables matches, etc are spectacular, but THIS is what wrestling truly should be, once was in the past, and damn it, it can be again. And long after the TLC matches, other gimmick matches, and scantily clad women, the people will always come back to the wrestling.
This was just one match in a series of matches on my Dynamite Kid tape, and all the matches with Tiger Mask are excellent. I wasn't old enough to remember them, and only years later have I had the privilege of seeing them. Thank God for VCR and video tapes. But I CAN remember matches I saw the first time around, live, and how great they were and how I felt about them.....and still feel. And I think about what I just typed about the pureness of wrestling, without having to rely on gimmick matches to pop the crowd, and letting the match tell the story. Shit, those are all the reasons I'm a Bret mark, and this match reminds me how much I miss watching both Owen and Bret. And it's a shame I'm ending this review on a sad note......
Take care everyone.
I decided that to cut off any emails, I would explain my definition of Tiger Flipout '82, which BTW is a complete made up move name by yours truly, so no emails about that name either. Basically, DK has TM in a headscissors and TM tries to find an escape.....he finally does one of two things, (1) does a headstand, then changes into a handstand to push himself out, or (2) does a headstand, uses bounces his feet to each side a few times, then uses that momentum to do a complete front flip and land on his feet. This always leaves Dynamite pissed off to no end. And then when the situation is reversed, Dynamite tries to copy Tiger and do the Flipout, but Tiger always blocks it. It cracks me up every time I see it and think about it. So there you go.