THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA

ARTICLE #28
FEBRUARY 25, 2002

El Samurai: Underrated Excellence

Top Of The Super Junior 1992 Tournament Final: Jushin Liger vs El Samurai 4/30/92

Samurai spat at Liger before the bell. He slapped Liger around and immediately started to rip at his mask. Samurai took the fight to the floor and hit Liger with a water bottle repeatedly. Samurai then tombstoned Liger on the floor. He gave Liger another tombstone in the ring and ripped his mask again. Samurai applied a camel clutch of sorts. He dominated Liger in heelish fashion, including choking him against the ropes. Samurai kicked Liger and applied a surfboard, then applied an armbar. He gave Liger a jawbreaker and ripped at Liger�s mask again. Samurai applied what started as a Romero special but then he bent Liger back with a rear chinlock. Samurai gave Liger a running elbow in the corner and several forearms. Liger fought back with a killer shoda and suplexed Samurai out of the ring to the floor. Liger powerbombed Samurai on the exposed concrete floor. Back in the ring Liger gave Samurai another shoda and a koppo kick. He then ripped Samurai�s mask completely open, exposing his face. Liger slammed Samurai on the floor and gave him a great top rope somersault senton on the floor. Back in the ring Liger powerbombed Samurai and hit a top rope dropkick. Liger gave Samurai a top rope kneedrop and applied a sleeper. Liger gave Samurai a released German suplex and a koppo kick in the corner. Liger gave Samurai a bunch of shodas in the corner and knocked him out of the ring with another koppo kick. Liger hit an Orihara moonsault on Samurai for a pop. Liger gave Samurai a rolling armbar into almost a Nagata lock. Liger then applied a cross armbreaker on Samurai. Liger missed a lariat and Samurai fought back with an elbow strike. Samurai gave Liger a top rope dropkick and knocked him out of the ring with an elbow. Samurai hit a somersault plancha and gave Liger a neckbreaker. Samurai gave Liger an inverted DDT for a near fall and a Russian legsweep into a submission hold where he bent Liger�s neck and arms. Samurai applied a sleeper on Liger. He attempted a superplex but Liger knocked him to the mat. Liger hit a top rope splash for a near fall. He gave Samurai a tombstone, missed a top rope senton but bounced right back up, but then Samurai sidestepped a dropkick. Samurai went for a huracanrana but Liger countered with a powerbomb for a heated near fall. Liger elevated Samurai on his shoulders and superplexed him for a near fall. Samurai did somewhat of a Toyota roll into a huracanrana on Liger for a great near fall and German suplexed Liger for another near fall. Liger sidestepped a Samurai flying bodypress. He gave Samurai a second rope DDT and a back superplex. Liger then gave Samurai a top rope huracanrana and pinned him at 21:15 to win the tournament. One of the best juniors matches ever, and actually somewhat of a standard-setter at the time it took place. ****3/4

Top Of The Super Junior 1993 Tournament Final: El Samurai vs Chris Benoit 6/14/93

This was a match that started slowly, but built well and got better and better as it progressed, reaching a crescendo in the final minutes. By the time it was over, both wrestlers had put together a classic match. They started out with the usual fast, smooth exchanges before going to the mat. The two traded camel clutches and then Benoit worked on Samurai's left arm for a brief period. Benoit fought back with headbutts and a back suplex for an early near fall. Benoit focused on Samurai's legs, using a sharpshooter followed by a half crab. Samurai floored Benoit with a stiff forearm smash. Benoit then dominated Samurai in and out of the ring and gained a near fall with a German suplex. Benoit gained another near fall with a powerbomb as crowd heat picked up. Benoit gave Samurai a second rope legdrop for a near fall but Samurai then gained a near fall with a tombstone piledriver. Samurai hit a Russian legsweep and applied an armlock submission on Benoit. Benoit escaped, but Samurai reapplied the hold. Samurai missed a top rope headbutt but Benoit then missed a diving headbutt of his own. Samurai belly to belly suplexed Benoit and followed up with a springboard plancha. Benoit knocked Samurai out of the ring and gave him a plancha. Back in the ring Samurai gained a near fall with a German suplex. Benoit retalliated by giving Samurai a dragon suplex for a near fall. Benoit gained another near fall with a northern lights suplex but Samurai then rolled him up for a dramatic near fall. Samurai gained a near fall with a top rope huracanrana. After powerbombing Benoit, Samurai hit a back superplex for a great near fall. Samurai went for a superplex, Benoit blocked it, and then gave Samurai a top rope powerbomb. Benoit then scored the pin at 19:14 to win the tournament. Super closing stretch and a memorable finish. ****1/2

Super J Cup 1st Stage Quarterfinal: El Samurai vs Great Sasuke 4/16/94

Sasuke actually got the better of Samurai on the mat early and attacked his legs. Sasuke went for a half crab but Samurai reached the ropes. Sasuke gave Samurai a lucha-like snapmare and applied a leglock. Samurai countered with an armbar and briefly maneuvered Sasuke into a pinning position. Samurai dropkicked Sasuke�s left leg and applied a toehold. Samurai then applied a leglock and somewhat of a double chicken wing bending Sasuke�s arms back. Samurai slammed Sasuke�s knee to the mat and Sasuke bailed out. Samurai slammed Sasuke and applied another different leglock. Samurai back suplexed Sasuke for a near fall and gave him a modifies Russian legsweep into a submission hold like in the above match, although this time he really bent Sasuke. They exchanged blows after which Sasuke knocked Samurai out of the ring with a handspring elbow. Sasuke then hit a space flying tiger press on Samurai for a pop. Sasuke went to suplex Samurai back in to the ring, Samurai flipped over Sasuke, but Sasuke gave him a spin kick for a near fall. Samurai fought back with a lariat and dropkicked Sasuke out of the ring. Samurai then hit a somersault plancha on Sasuke. After a couple counters Samurai German suplexed Samurai for a near fall. Samurai hit a top rope headbutt for a heated near fall. Samurai attempted a powerbomb but Sasuke countered with a huracanrana for a near fall. Sasuke went to the top rope but Samurai caught him there. He went for a superplex but Sasuke countered with a sunset flip for a great near fall. Sasuke missed a spin kick and Samurai powerbombed him for a heated near fall. Samurai gave Sasuke a huracanrana but Sasuke reversed the momentum and pinned Samurai at 12:15. Just an awesome match. Sasuke was not nearly as polished a worker as he would be in another year or two, but you couldn�t tell as Samurai did a great job carrying him. ****1/4

J-Crown Tournament Semifinal: El Samurai vs Great Sasuke 8/4/96

Samurai dropkicked Sasuke out of the ring and hit a tope suicida early. Back in the ring Samurai piledrove Sasuke and applied a sleeper. Sasuke countered with a hammerlock and an armbar. Sasuke continued to dominate Samurai on the mat as he rode Samurai with a chinlock. Samurai countered an armbar with a headscissors but Sasuke reached the ropes. Sasuke applied a chinlock and again went for an armbar but Samurai countered. Samurai gave Sasuke somewhat of a hiptoss and dropkicked his knees. Samurai briefly applied a half crab, twice slammed Sasuke�s knee into the mat and reapplied the half crab. Samurai hung Sasuke upside down in the corner and bent his knee over the top rope. He then went back to the half crab on Sasuke. Samurai continued to attack Sasuke�s right knee and applied a leglock. Samurai attempted a powerbomb but Sasuke countered with a backdrop. Sasuke attempted a cross armbreaker but Samurai blocked the hold and attacked Sasuke�s knee again. Samurai missed a lariat and Sasuke missed a spin kick. Sasuke gave Samurai a cartwheel into a cross bodyblock for a near fall. Samurai caught Sasuke and gave him a top rope huracanrana for a near fall. Samurai German suplexed Sasuke for a near fall. He then gave Sasuke a released German suplex but Sasuke knocked him out of the ring with one of the sharpest spinning superkicks you�ll ever see as he hit Samurai right in the face. Sasuke then hit an Asai moonsault and flew over the barricade as usual. Sasuke gave Samurai a ryder kick to the floor (top turnbuckle, more or less one legged dropkick). Back in the ring Samurai sidestepped a quebrada attempt and gave Sasuke an inverted DDT. Sasuke countered a German suplex but Samurai gave him another inverted DDT. Samurai missed a top rope headbutt but countered a suplex with an inverted DDT on Sasuke. He powerbombed Sasuke for a near fall. Sasuke caught Samurai on the top rope with a dropkick and gave him a top rope superplex for a near fall. Sasuke missed a swanton but bounced up onto his feet and gave Samurai a huracanrana. Samurai rolled through and gained a near fall on Sasuke. Sasuke German suplexed Samurai and powerbombed him for the pin at 16:25. An excellent match, just as great as their 1994 match. Perhaps their 1994 match was a little more exciting because it was shorter and with tighter pacing. ****1/4

Best of The Super Junior 1997 Tournament Final: El Samurai vs Koji Kanemoto 6/5/97

Kanemoto attacked Samurai�s knee and kicked him as footage began. Kanemoto dominated Samurai in heelish fashion in the corner. He kicked Samurai�s knee but Samurai fought back and hung Kanemoto upside down in the corner. He then hit two baseball slide kicks to Kanemoto�s head. However, Kanemoto grabbed Samurai�s leg and applied an ankle lock. Kanemoto landed a few stiff kicks but Samurai fought back. Samurai gave Kanemoto a baseball slide kick in the ring and scored with a kick for a near fall. Kanemoto gave Samurai an overhead belly to belly suplex and applied a leglock. Kanemoto gave Samurai another kick. He missed a moonsault but landed on his feet. Samurai gave Kanemoto an elbow and knocked him for a loop with a lariat but continued to sell his injured knee. Samurai suplexed Kanemoto out of the ring to the floor and hit a tope suicida. Back in the ring Kanemoto fought back with an overhead belly to belly suplex and applied a leg grapevine/ankle lock on Samurai�s left leg as heat mounted. Samurai reached the ropes but Kanemoto then applied a figure 4 leglock in the middle of the ring. Kanemoto tied up Samurai in the ropes and repeatedly kicked his left knee. He even pushed the ref and also gave Samurai an ax kick. Kanemoto scored with a roundhouse kick but Samurai fought back with an elbow strike. Kanemoto countered a powerbomb attempt and applied an ankle lock but Samurai reached the ropes. Kanemoto missed a second rope corkscrew senton and Samurai DDTd him. Samurai then hit a second DDT that looked sharp as Kanemoto was dropped straight down. Samurai gave Kanemoto a top rope headbutt for a near fall. Samurai threw Kanemoto out of the ring. He gave Kanemoto a barrage of strikes but Kanemoto fought back with a ton of slaps and a spinning savate kick. Kanemoto hit a second rope corkscrew senton and ripped Samurai�s mask open. Kanemoto gave Samurai a great top rope frankentoyota as Samurai went down head first (but rolled through on the bump). Kanemoto went for a moonsault but landed on Samurai�s outstretched knees. Samurai powerbombed Kanemoto twice and applied a cross armbreaker as heat reached a fever pitch. Kanemoto caught Samurai on the top rope and gave him a top rope powerslam. Kanemoto moonsaulted Samurai and gave him a tiger suplex for a heated near fall. Samurai fought back and gave Kanemoto a top rope inverted DDT. Samurai gave Kanemoto somewhat of a tilt-a-whirl slam and then a second inverted DDT for the pin at 23:51 to win the tournament for the first time (15:16 aired). A super match that was in many ways different than Samurai�s first junior tournament final, but just as great. ****3/4

Next Issue: Out of Gas A Look Back At Diesel�s WWF Title Reign

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