THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA

ARTICLE #32
APRIL 1, 2002

Sayama: The Original Aerial Standard-Setter

Although his shelf life as a top star was relatively short, from his debut as Tiger Mask in April 1981 through August 1983, Satoru Sayama revolutionized the pro wrestling product as the original Tiger Mask. He combined aerial moves that were innovative and standard-setting by early 1980s standards with unprecedented quickness, especially foot speed the likes of which have still yet to be duplicated since. Although Sayama had great matches with a variety of wrestlers, not just in the lighter weight classes, his matches against Dynamite Kid were his best and remain among the most legendary matches from the 1980s. This article not just takes a look at some of Sayama�s best matches, but also showcases some of Sayama�s opponents that shaped the New Japan juniors division in its early years.

11/5/81: Tiger Mask vs Gran Hamada

Hamada hammerlocked and armdragged Tiger early. He took down Tiger but Tiger countered with an armbreaker. Hamada worked on Tiger�s left leg by bending it over his own neck but Tiger then countered with an armscissors of some sort. Tiger applied a surfboard but Hamada escaped with a dropkick. Hamada scored with a tilt-a-whirl slam but Tiger kicked him away. Tiger went for a backdrop, Hamada landed on his feet, and they dropkicked each other to end a good criss cross exchange. Tiger snapmared Hamada and used holds such as a sleeper and a surfboard. Hamada fought back by gripping Tiger�s right leg and applying a leglock. Hamada pulled on Tiger�s arm and pushed his knee into Tiger�s side. Tiger escaped with one of his signature corkscrew kicks. Hamada dropkicked Tiger, landed a couple elbows, snapmared him and applied a headscissors. Tiger countered and gave Hamada somewhat of an upside down over-the-knee surfboard. Tiger landed a couple kicks and scored with a spinning kick. Tiger applied an argentine backbreaker but Hamada sunset flipped him for a near fall. Hamada backdropped Tiger and back suplexed him for a near fall. Hamada applied an abdominal stretch on the mat. Tiger escaped and German suplexed Hamada for a near fall. Tiger gave Hamada a roundhouse kick to the head and an elbowsmash. Tiger applied some crazy hold in which he gripped Hamada�s leg with his leg and Hamada�s arm and maneuvered him into a pin position. Hamada fought back, crossed Tiger�s legs and bent them back before applying an STF. The pace picked up as Tiger backdropped Hamada but missed a somersault senton. Hamada elbowsmashed Tiger but Tiger dove off the second rope with a cross bodyblock for a near fall. Hamada charged towards Tiger, Tiger went for a handspring elbow, but they turned different ways and crashed to the canvas (like they crossed each other up as opposed to screwed up). Hamada landed some blows but Tiger kicked him and applied a figure 4 leglock. Tiger slammed Hamada and went for a second slam but Hamada gave him a victory roll for a near fall. Hamada double arm suplexed Tiger for a near fall and applied a Boston crab. Tiger escaped, Hamada rolled him up but they reached the ropes. Hamada won a slugfest, snapmared Tiger and applied a chinlock. Tiger escaped and applied a hammerlock on Hamada�s left arm. Tiger then applied a camel clutch. Hamada fought back but missed an elbowsmash. Tiger gave Hamada a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a near fall. Tiger backdropped Hamada and tried a second but Hamada landed on his feet and dropkicked Tiger twice. Hamada then hit a tope suicida on Tiger. Hamada dropkicked Tiger off the apron and went for a plancha but Tiger moved. Tiger won via countout at 16:59 and Hamada appeared to injure himself. A great match, though not quite a match of the year candidate at the time. Tiger was great, though not as spectacular as when he fought Dynamite Kid. Hamada was also very good with his matwork and spots since he was at his physical peak at the time. Considering this took place in 1981, this was a very enjoyable match and definitely ****+ at its time.

1/28/82: Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid

They had a quick exchange to start in which Tiger showcased his speed and agility as he flipped Kid around a couple times with his kicks. Tiger attacked Kid�s leg but Kid fought back with an enzuguiri. Kid headbutted Tiger and whipped him into the barricade at ringside. Kid attacked Tiger as he stood on the apron. Kid snapmared Tiger and applied a chinlock. Tiger applied an armringer, Kid did a couple flips, applied an armringer, Tiger flipped and applied one of his own, but Kid countered and backdropped Tiger, who landed on his feet. Kid took Tiger down and worked on his legs. He also tried to unmask Tiger while maintaining a hold on the mat. Tiger won a criss cross exchange with a monkey flip. He whipped Kid into the corner and gave him a spectacular monkey flip. Tiger whipped Kid and Kid took a flip bump into the corner. Tiger gut wrench suplexed Kid for an early near fall and landed a kneedrop. Tiger attacked Kid�s left arm and applied a cross armbreaker. Kid countered and kneedropped Tiger. Kid threw Tiger out of the ring. Back in the ring Kid double arm suplexed Tiger for a near fall and applied a chinlock. Kid then applied a headscissors but, in one fluid move Tiger turned Kid over, escaped and floated over right into a sharpshooter on Kid in one of the few spots that could get a bigger pop today than it did in 1982. Tiger continued to attack Kid�s left leg and applied a figure 4 leglock. Kid fought back and gave Tiger a kneelift. Kid gut wrench suplexed Tiger for a near fall. He landed a couple European uppercuts but Tiger fought back with a spinning savate kick. Tiger then hit a standing somersault senton for a near fall. Tiger double arm suplexed Kid for a near fall and briefly applied an armbar. Tiger then applied a headscissors. Kid tried to escape by doing a headstand but Tiger kept driving his head into the mat. Kid escaped and gave Tiger a backbreaker for a near fall. Tiger fought back but Kid gave him a tombstone for a near fall. Kid whipped Tiger into the corner and lifted him up like a powerbomb or backbreaker but Tiger escaped his grip. Kid missed a top rope headbutt and Tiger gave him an implant DDT. Tiger attempted a top rope headbutt of his own but missed. Tiger armdragged Kid and tackled him out of the ring. Tiger then hit a tope through the ropes. Tiger attempted to suplex Kid back into the ring, Kid landed on his feet and went for a German suplex but Tiger countered and German suplexed Kid for the pin at 12:39. This was a sensational match, and amazingly not one of their very best. Both men were as spectacular as usual against each other and everything they did had such a sharpness to it in terms of execution. Better than Tiger�s match against Hamada, but not an all-time classic.

7/23/82: Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid (w/Bret Hart)

Tiger got the better of Kid early with his quickness and worked on his legs. Kid fought back and snapmared and elbowsmashed Tiger. Tiger scored with a spinning savate kick, a legsweep, a backdrop and a dropkick in quick succession. Kid took Tiger down and worked on his legs. Tiger sunset flipped Kid, Kid grabbed Tiger�s legs, Tiger gave him a headscissors but Kid did a cartwheel and landed on his feet. Tiger attacked Kid�s left leg but Kid countered with a leglock of his own before they reached the ropes. Kid slammed Tiger and gave him a kneedrop. He double arm suplexed Tiger for a near fall. Tiger fought back with a spinning savate kick and a standing somersault senton. Tiger legdropped Kid for a near fall and applied a sleeper. Kid escaped and applied a wristlock but Tiger flipped out of it. The had an exchange, Kid went for a backdrop but Tiger landed on his feet, and Kid hit a monkey flip but Tiger landed on his feet. Tiger dropkicked Kid against the ropes and kicked him out of the ring. Tiger faked a tope for a pop. Kid fought back and applied a chinlock on Tiger followed by a headscissors. Tiger escaped the headscissors but Kid gave him to backbreakers for a near fall. Kid gut wrench suplexed Tiger for a near fall. He legdropped Tiger and applied a chinlock. Tiger tried to fight back but Kid threw him out of the ring. Tiger fought back, slammed Kid and hit a second rope elbowsmash for a near fall. Tiger applied a headscissors and gave Kid a flying headbutt. Tiger suplexed Kid but missed a top rope elbow. After numerous counters Kid gave Tiger basically a backdrop driver as he dropped Tiger on his head. Kid missed a top rope kneedrop and Tiger gave him several kicks to his leg. Tiger applied a figure 4 leglock and Bret interfered to break the hold. Tiger whipped Kid into Bret and knocked Bret off the apron. Tiger dropkicked Kid over the top rope to the floor and hit his space flying tiger press for a pop. However, Kid caught him and tombstoned him on the floor. Kid whipped Tiger into the barricade and ran towards him but Tiger backdropped him into the crowd for an apparent DQ at 13:53. A cheap ending to a spectacular match. Kid was as great as usual, but this was perhaps the most spectacular I�ve ever seen Tiger. A match of the year candidate at its time, but amazingly they would have a much better epic two weeks later. Probably at least ****1/2 at the time.

7/30/82: Tiger Mask vs Bret Hart (w/Dynamite Kid)

Bret attempted a snapmare but Tiger flipped and landed on his feet. Tiger won a criss cross exchange with a dropkick. Bret kicked Tiger but Tiger whipped him into the corner and scored with a spinning savate kick. Tiger took Bret down and worked on his left leg. Bret fought back with a kneelift. Bret went for a kick but Tiger grabbed it and gave him a legsweep. Tiger hit a second rope cross bodyblock for an early near fall. Tiger worked on Bret�s left arm but Bret fought back and applied a chinlock and then a nerve hold. Tiger landed a bunch of quick kicks. He attempted a sleeper but Bret countered. Bret gave Tiger a backbreaker for a near fall and threw him out of the ring. Bret whipped Tiger into the barricade. Tiger tried to reenter the ring but Bret kept kneeing him and knocked him back to the floor. Bret charged but Tiger flipped over his path and Bret crashed out of the ring. Tiger then faked a tope. Bret grabbed a headlock and suplexed Tiger for a near fall. Bret piledrove Tiger for a near fall. He gave Tiger two legdrops and a European uppercut. Bret attempted a piledriver but Tiger countered, lifted Bret, and rammed him into the corner leaving him upside down in the corner. Tiger then gave Bret a bunch of kicks while Bret was still tied up. Tiger gave Bret a flying headbutt and went for a double arm suplex but Bret backed him into the ropes. Bret grabbed Tiger�s head and applied an over-the-back neckbreaker. Tiger escaped and scored with another savate kick. Tiger whipped Bret hard into the corner. Bret went for a rollup but Tiger countered and gained a near fall. Bret fought back on the mat and attacked Tiger�s left arm. Bret landed a European uppercut but Tiger gave him a backslide for a near fall. Tiger legdropped Bret and applied an armbar. Tiger then applied a surfboard, Bret countered with a surfboard of his own, Tiger went to counter but Bret applied a chinlock. Bret whipped Tiger into opposite corners. He slammed Tiger and elbowsmashed him for a near fall. Bret gut wrench suplexed Tiger for a near fall. He dropkicked Tiger and double arm suplexed him for a near fall. Bret whipped Tiger into the corner but Tiger then responded in kind and backdropped Bret. Bret clotheslined Tiger and dropped him neck first on the top rope. Tiger fought back and hit a tope through the ropes on Bret. Tiger suplexed Bret back into the ring and dropkicked Kid off the apron as well. Kid entered the ring but Bret ran into him. Tiger German suplexed Bret and pinned him at 17:02. Not Tiger�s most spectacular match, but overall very good with some great moments. Bret was solid and already showed hints of his future greatness and style (such as his whip into the corner). Tiger was impressive with his speed and agility as usual. Probably at or near **** in 1982.

10/26/82: Tiger Mask vs Kuniaki Kobayashi

Tiger took down Kobayashi but Kobayashi held his own on the mat. Kobayashi landed a couple forearm shots. Tiger flipped Kobayashi and applied a wristlock. Kobayashi countered and gave Tiger a float-over armdrag. Tiger applied an armbar on Kobayashi but Kobayashi countered and applied a headscissors. Kobayashi maintained the advantage with a headlock. Tiger landed a kick but Kobayashi won a criss cross exchange with a hiptoss. Kobayashi went for a backdrop, Tiger landed on his feet but Kobayashi then scored with an enzuguiri. Kobayashi took down Tiger by his arm and applied a headscissors. Tiger escaped and applied a headlock. Kobayashi scored with a spinning kick and a bunch of other kicks. Kobayashi attacked Tiger�s left leg and applied a half crab. Tiger fought back with one of his cool corkscrew dropkicks. Tiger hiptossed Kobayashi and gave him a headscissors takedown. Before Kobayashi could escape the headscissors Tiger picked him up and DDTd him. Tiger attempted a double arm suplex but Kobayashi countered and fought back. Kobayashi backdropped Tiger for a near fall, applied a sleeper and then applied a headscissors for a lengthy period of time. Tiger finally escaped, slammed Kobayashi and gave him a couple elbowsmashed and a standing somersault senton for a near fall. Tiger then applied a modified cross armbreaker. Kobayashi countered by turning Tiger over, hooking his legs and applying a surfboard of sorts. Kobayashi gave Tiger a savate kick to the gut and slammed him. Tiger fought back with a dropkick but missed a second one. Kobayashi hit a spin kick but Tiger fought back with a back suplex. Tiger hit a top rope headbutt for a near fall. Tiger went up for a moonsault but Kobayashi got up and pushed Tiger off the top rope to the floor. Kobayashi then hit a tope. He rammed Tiger into the ringpost. Kobayashi hung Tiger upside down in the corner and repeatedly kicked him. The ref tried to make Kobayashi break contact since Tiger was in the ropes but Kobayashi pushed him away. The ref called for the DQ at 16:57 on Kobayashi and several wrestlers had to restrain Kobayashi from attacking Tiger. This was a very good match, but not great. Kobayashi was very solid in his work, but sometimes applied holds for too long and occasionally didn�t generate much excitement. Not as good as their match two months later.

1/6/83: Tiger Mask vs Kuniaki Kobayashi

They got into a fight before the ring announcer introduced them. Tiger applied a Fujiwara armbar to start but Kobayashi countered. Tiger attacked Kobayashi�s legs but Kobayashi countered with a cross armbreaker. Tiger took down Kobayashi and applied an armbar followed by a hammerlock. Kobayashi took Tiger down and applied an armbar of his own. Kobayashi applied a hammerlock and then a crossface chicken wing. Tiger grabbed a headlock, then Kobayashi sat him on the top rope and armdragged him to the mat. Tiger ran into a spin kick from Kobayashi and Kobayashi gave him several kicks to the legs. Kobayashi gave Tiger a modified suplex for a near fall (almost a cross between a suplex and small package). Kobayashi applied a headscissors on Tiger and an armbar as well. Tiger fought back and spin kicked Kobayashi out of the ring. Kobayashi went for a backdrop but Tiger landed on his feet and gave Kobayashi a great backflip dropkick. Kobayashi quickly fought back and applied a half crab. Tiger landed a spinning savate kick but Kobayashi knocked him out of the ring with a spin kick of his own. Kobayashi headbutted Tiger and went for a slam but Tiger rolled him up for a near fall. Tiger then applied a cross armbreaker on Kobayashi as heat mounted. Kobayashi finally turned Tiger over after more than a minute and they reached the ropes. Kobayashi kicked and stomped Tiger repeatedly and tied up his leg in the corner. Kobayashi slammed Tiger for a near fall and applied a chinlock. Kobayashi applied a headscissors but Tiger turned him over and applied an over-the-knees surfboard. Kobayashi attempted a backdrop, Tiger landed on his feet again, but this time Kobayashi dropkicked Tiger. Kobayashi missed a spinning kick and Tiger took him down. Tiger gained a near fall and his and Kobayashi�s legs were locked. Kobayashi turned Tiger over and gained a near fall. Tiger escaped the leglock, exchanged blows with Kobayashi and gave him a spinning savate kick. Kobayashi caught Tiger and double arm suplexed him for a near fall. Kobayashi dropkicked Tiger for a near fall but missed a second dropkick. Tiger elbowsmashed Kobayashi and applied an abdominal stretch. Kobayashi fought back and gave Tiger a backslide for a near fall. Tiger sunset flipped Kobayashi for a near fall and then applied a leglock. Tiger then applied an armscissors of sorts while attacking Kobayashi�s right elbow. Kobayashi escaped by picking up Tiger and tossing him back to the mat. Kobayashi gave Tiger a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a near fall but Tiger fought back with a backdrop driver. Tiger gave Kobayashi a spinning kick to the back of his head and knocked him out of the ring with another spinning kick. Tiger then hit a great running tope over the top rope. Back in the ring Tiger tombstoned Kobayashi but missed a moonsault. Kobayashi spin kicked Tiger and hit a tope of his own. Kobayashi went to whip Tiger into the barricade but Tiger reversed the whip and Kobayashi crashed into the barricade. Kobayashi suplexed Tiger on the floor and Tiger just barely beat the count back into the ring. Kobayashi gave Tiger a savate kick and a cradle suplex for a heated near fall. Kobayashi attempted a cross bodyblock but Tiger caught him and they both sailed over the top rope to the floor. Tiger whipped Kobayashi into the ringpost and German suplexed him on the floor. Tiger then beat he count back into the ring and won via countout at 23:11. In many ways this was different and not as spectacular as Tiger-Kid matches, but this might have been better than the other matches in this article. The wresting was great, Kobayashi in particular, and they did a very good job getting across their intensity and dislike for each other. The countout finish worked great in this case since it was a psychological victory in that Kobayashi had tried and failed to get Tiger counted out a couple minutes earlier. Whereas the Tiger-Kid matches were early predecessors to something like Great Sasuke vs Chris Benoit, this was more like an early version of Jushin Liger vs El Samurai. In other words, it seemed like a truly classic match at the time.

4/21/83: Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid

Kid applied a wristlock early and Tiger did all kinds of flips to escape his grip. Kid snapmared Tiger and applied a chinlock. Tiger flipped Kid over but Kid maintained the hold. Tiger fought back, Dynamite attempted a backdrop but Tiger landed on his feet, and Tiger knocked Kid out of the ring with a spinning savate kick. Tiger then hit a tope through the ropes for a pop. Back in the ring Tiger suplexed Kid but Kid caught Tiger on the top rope and slammed him to the mat. Kid hit a top rope dropkick, snapmared Tiger and went back to a chinlock. Kid then applied a headscissors but Tiger escaped by flipping out of the hold. Tiger landed a bunch of kicks and gave Kid a flying headbutt. Tiger came off the top rope with an elbow on Kid and attempted an over-the-knees surfboard but Kid reached the ropes. Tiger crossed Kid�s legs and applied a leglock, which Kid escaped by trying to rip Tiger�s mask. Tiger missed a flying headbutt but backdropped a charging Kid over the top rope. Tiger then faked a tope. Kid reentered the ring and took Tiger down and applied somewhat of an inverted figure 4 leglock. Tiger escaped and clotheslined Kid. Tiger hit a standing somersault senton and a power elbow for a near fall before applying a chinlock. Kid countered and tried to unmask Tiger again. Kid suplexed Tiger for a near fall and hit an elbowsmash and kneedrop for another near fall. Kid gut wrench suplexed Tiger for a near fall and applied a chinlock followed by a headscissors. Tiger turned Kid over and applied a Romero special. Kid fought back and attempted a tombstone but Tiger countered. Kid dropkicked Tiger but Tiger then monkey flipped him over the top rope. Tiger then gave Kid a flying bodypress off the apron and both men crashed over the barricade into the crowd, which caused the bell to be rung at 12:00, presumably a DQ on Tiger. Back in the ring Kid tombstoned Tiger and the bell rang again at 13:36. Kid attacked Tiger and tried to tombstone him but the ref stopped him. The ref spoke on the mic and announced the match would continue, so the bell rang again at 16:05. Kid immediately tombstoned Tiger and hit a top rope headbutt amidst great heat. Kid grabbed a headlock but Tiger back suplexed him for a pop. Tiger then gave Kid a tombstone of his own and Kid fell out of the ring. Tiger went for a top but missed. Kid attempted to suplex Tiger back into the ring but Tiger landed on his feet. After a bunch of German suplex attempts and counters both men sailed out of the ring to the floor. Kid whipped Tiger into the barricade and suplexed him on the floor. Tiger rammed Kid into the ringpost and then whipped him hard into the barricade. Kid returned to the ring with a water bottle, the ref tried to restrain him but Kid headbutted the ref. Kid went to hit Tiger with a water bottle but was restrained again. The bell had rung at 19:00 but the match continued. Kid attacked Tiger and tried to unmask him again. Kid suplexed Tiger for a near fall and threw him out of the ring. Kid chopped Tiger but Tiger fought back and tombstoned him on the floor. However, Kid then gave Tiger a tombstone of his own on the floor. Both men were then counted out after about 23 minutes total. I thought this wasn�t as great a match as some have claimed. The work itself was very comparable to past Kid-Tiger classics, but the restarts and heelish activity with Kid headbutting the ref and such took the match down a bit. Had they gone the same length of time without the restarts and chaos, it could have been a ***** match considering the first 12 minutes and the fan heat. However this was still a super match and worth viewing.

Next Issue: Lost In The Business Decline: WWF Classics In 2001

BACK TO THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA MENU
HOME