Running Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
1/3/95
1) Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Mitsuo Momota
vs Masa Fuchi, Mighty Inoue & Haruka Eigen
This was the usual crappy comedy match from these
guys. They did the Eigen spit spot with the ringside fans holding up newspapers
to protect themselves. Eigen and Momota actually did some brief semi-serious
work for a time. Inoue gained a near fall on Momota with a senton. Fuchi
gained a near fall on Momota with an enzuguiri. Baba pinned Eigen at 20:05
after a Russian legsweep (7:30 aired). A bad match that must have been
worse unedited. –1/2*
2) All Japan Annual Battle Royal
Entrants included Dan Kroffat, Bobby Fulton, Tommy
Rogers, Yoshinari Ogawa, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Takao Omori, Kentaro Shiga,
Mighty Inoue & a few others. They did a chain spot where everyone held
someone in a headlock and Shiga dropkicked one guy, knocking down the entire
chain. Everyone then piled up on top of Shiga and pinned him. Many of the
pinfall eliminations involved such pileups. Fuchi eliminated Rogers with
a sunset flip, but Rogers reversed the pin attempt and eliminated Fuchi.
Kikuchi and Kroffat fought as Fulton and Ogawa cheered them on. Kroffat
pinned Fulton with a tiger driver. Kikuchi gave Kroffat a top rope superplex
and pinned him. Ogawa back suplexed Kikuchi and pinned him at 10:45 to
win the battle royal (9:14 aired). A nothing match until the end. *
3) Steve Williams & Johnny Ace vs Stan Hansen
& Johnny Smith
Hansen and Smith dominated Ace for a time and
Smith worked on his arm. Hansen also attacked Ace’s arm, including hitting
it with the ring bell. Ace gave Hansen several headbutts but Hansen maintained
the advantage. Ace fought back by suplexing Smith. Williams lit into Hansen
late and powerslammed Smith. Williams gained a couple near falls on Smith
but Hansen came in and DDTd Williams. Williams pinned Smith at 15:33 with
a doctor bomb (7:48 aired). Given what aired, this appeared to be a really
lackluster match until the end. *3/4
4) Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Tamon
Honda vs Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Masao Inoue
Kobashi and Kawada traded offense early, including
Kobashi using a lariat and a powerbomb. Kobashi gave Kawada a slew of chops
to the neck and chest. Kobashi ran into a Kawada boot but maintained the
advantage until Taue tagged in. Taue gave Kobashi a high kick and a lariat
for a near fall. Misawa and Taue traded blows and Misawa scored with a
flying lariat. Misawa dominated the lower ranked Inoue as one would expect.
Honda gave Inoue a ton of headbutts to his stomach. Taue and Inoue dominated
Honda in and out of the ring. Kobashi stiffed Honda with two chops and
a kick. Honda finally fought back against Inoue at 11:30 and tagged Kobashi.
Misawa and company dominated Inoue with decent but unspectacular work.
Kobashi gained a near fall on Inoue with a back suplex. Kobashi and Kawada
had a heated exchange of stiff blows that was won by Kobashi. Kobashi got
the better of Taue and tagged in Misawa. Misawa hit his twist tope on Taue
and Honda slammed Taue neck first on the barricade. Taue and company then
got the better of Misawa until Misawa back suplexed Kawada. Taue gave Honda
a nodowa but Misawa prevented the pin. Inoue gained a near fall on Kobashi
with a northern lights suplex and another near fall with a back suplex.
Honda gained a near fall on Inoue with a top rope headbutt. Inoue superplexed
Honda for a near fall. Honda then powerbombed Inoue for a near fall. Honda
gave Inoue a released German suplex and pinned him at 25:22 (21:49 aired).
Not great, but a good match that served 3 purposes: (1) giving Kobashi
and Kawada heat going into their triple crown title match on 1/19/95, (2)
education-style domination of youngsters Honda and Inoue, & (3) Giving
Honda and Inoue the spotlight at the end. ***1/4
1/15/95
5) Kenta Kobashi, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Kentaro
Shiga vs Jun Akiyama, Takao Omori & Masao Inoue
Akiyama dominated Shiga early on although fans
were into Shiga. Shiga held his own against Akiyama for a minute. Kobashi
and Akiyama had an exchange of blows, after which Akiyama hit Kobashi with
a jumping knee. Kobashi got the better of Omori, as did Kikuchi. Omori
pounded Shiga but Shiga held his own against Inoue. Inoue pounded Shiga
with a ton of knee strikes in the corner. Shiga looked good in taking the
fight to Omori. Akiyama and company dominated Shiga in and out of the ring,
including Inoue twice slamming him on the floor. Kikuchi and Omori brawled
on the floor as Akiyama continued to dominate Shiga. Kobashi intervened
by giving Omori a stiff chop in the neck but Omori and company continued
to tear Shiga apart. Shiga then looked good simply by kicking out of several
pin attempts. Akiyama gave Shiga a backdrop driver. All 6 fought around
the 15 minute mark. Akiyama gained a near fall on Shiga with an elbow strike
off the top rope. Shiga finally tagged in Kikuchi, who looked strong until
Akiyama gave him a jumping knee. Omori gained a near fall on Kikuchi with
a powerslam. Kobashi then powerslammed Omori for a near fall. Omori missed
a top rope elbow and Kobashi gave him a barrage of chops. Omori gained
a near fall on Kobashi with a huracanrana. Shiga hit a springboard somersault
dive on Inoue for a near fall. Shiga lit into Inoue but Inoue gave him
a nodowa-otoshi. Kobashi gained a near fall on Inoue with a blue thunder
powerbomb. Kobashi gave Inoue a lariat but Inoue fought back with a northern
lighs suplex for a near fall. Kobashi launched Shiga with a flying splash
on Inoue and Shiga scored the pin at 23:04 for a pop. A good match that
was simple, but Shiga took such a great beating that it never got boring.
***1/4
6) Steve Williams & Johnny Ace vs Mitsuharu
Misawa & Satoru Asako
Williams overpowered Misawa early on with moves
such as a press slam and a brainbuster. Williams gained a near fall on
Misawa with a belly to belly suplex and another with a spinebuster. Misawa
fought back with a roaring elbow on Williams. Asako hit a top rope dropkick
on Williams and a somersault dive on Ace for a near fall. Misawa gave Ace
a tiger driver for a near fall. Asako gained a near fall on Ace after a
top rope splash. Ace gained a near fall on Asako with a DDT and another
with an Ace crusher. Ace gave Asako a second rope powerslam for a near
fall. Williams gave Misawa a doctor bomb. Ace pinned Asako at 18:58 after
a doubleteam powerbomb (9:12 aired). This looked like a really good match.
***1/4
7) Stan Hansen, Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Tamon Honda
Honda and Furnas traded offense early. Kroffat
dominated Honda and applied a figure four leglock. Kawada gave Hansen a
series of stiff kicks for an early near fall. Hansen fought back against
Honda and Honda was dominated by his opponents for a stretch. Furnas hit
a perfect standing dropkick on Honda for a near fall and gained another
with a belly to belly suplex. Honda finally tagged Kawada, who lit into
Hansen. Hansen suplexed an powerbombed Kawada. Furnas gained a near fall
on Kawada with a huracanrana and another after he and Kroffat gave Kawada
a double impact. Taue booted Kroffat and gave him a nodowa. Hansen intervened
and back suplexed Taue. Hansen took the fight to Taue but Taue fought back
with a DDT. Honda gained a near fall on Hansen with a top rope kneedrop.
Kawada and Taue gave Hansen a back suplex/nodowa combo and Honda gave Hansen
a top rope headbutt for a near fall. Hansen pinned Honda at 17:13 after
a lariat (12:29 aired). A good match, but Hansen and Honda were lackluster
and Taue didn’t work often enough. **3/4
1/28/95
8) Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Izumida
Izumida attacked Kobashi at the bell and powerslammed
him for an early near fall. Izumida dominated the first two minutes until
Kobashi fought back with stiff chops. Kobashi dominated Izumida on the
mat as the pace slowed. Izumida held his own but Kobashi won an exchange
of strikes. Kobashi legdropped Izumida for a near fall. Izumida gained
a couple near falls but Kobashi again assaulted him in the corner with
a series of brutal chops. They had several exchanges of strikes with Izumida
holding hid own but Kobashi winning every time. Izumida hit a superkick
but Kobashi responded with a lariat and a back suplex for a near fall.
Izumida fought back with a lariat. Kobashi gave Izumida a lariat and pinned
him at 13:54 after a second lariat. A decent “education” style match due
to Kobashi but Izumida was nothing special. **1/2
9) Mitsuharu Misawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Takao
Omori & Jun Akiyama
Omori and Kikuchi had a decent exchange of offense
early on. Akiyama attacked Misawa with a series of elbows and dominated
him early. Kikuchi got the better of Akiyama and gained a couple near falls.
Akiyama gave Misawa a jumping knee for an early near fall. Misawa scored
with a series of elbows but Akiyama then gave him a jumping knee off the
second rope. Akiyama gave Misawa a northern lights suplex and Omori gained
a near fall with a top rope elbow. Kikuchi hit a couple flying leg lariats
on Omori but missed a top rope headbutt and Omori gained a near fall. Omori
gave Kikuchi a lariat and Akiyama gave him a blue thunder powerbomb. Kikuchi
gave Akiyama a tornado DDT and tagged Misawa. Misawa looked strong until
Akiyama gave him an exploder for a near fall. Misawa gave Akiyama an elbow
and a tiger driver for a near fall. Misawa pinned Akiyama at 13:54 after
a roaring elbow (11:01 aired). A good match as expected but with disappointing
heat. ***
10) Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Stan Hansen
& Johnny Smith
Kawada gave Smith a series of chops and a spinning
side kick early on. Kawada lit into Hansen with good intensity. Kawada
and Taue dominated Smith with solid but unspectacular offense. Smith suplexed
Kawada but Kawada quickly regained the advantage. Taue whipped Smith into
the barricade and brawled with Hansen at ringside. Taue dropped Smith neck-first
on the top rope for a near fall. Hansen interfered but Kawada maintained
the advantage and gave Smith a lariat for a near fall. Hansen suplexed
Kawada for a near fall. Kawada went for a spin kick but Hansen ran right
through him. Hansen missed two elbows and Taue got the better of him. Hansen
DDTd Taue for a near fall. Smith hit a top rope dropkick on Taue and German
suplexed Kawada for a near fall. Kawada fought back with an enzuguiri and
applied a stretch plum on Smith. Kawada gained a near fall on Smith with
a lariat. Kawada pinned Smith at 13:43 with a powerbomb as Hansen and Taue
fought (8:51 aired). An okay match but it lacked good offense from Hansen.
Smith and Taue were not as useful so Kawada carried things. **1/4
For match quality this is not a bad tape by any means. However, I would not recommend it except for to the most hardcore of All Japan fans. There are many tapes put out by All Japan with better and more memorable matches. Also, wrestling fans who are not avid fans of the AJ product might be bored even during the “good” matches as the work is often methodical and not very flashy.