THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA

ARTICLE # 38
MAY 13, 2002

WAR Games: A Look Back At The WAR Juniors Scene

During the mid-1990s, in part due to interpromotional ties and matches, WAR actually produced a fairly decent juniors division. Besides its cornerstone and one of the most underrated juniors of the 1990s, Ultimo Dragon, WAR boasted one of the top rising stars in the ring in Chris Jericho, the very talented Lance Storm and a bland but athletic and underrated worker in Yuji Yasuaroka. They also had Gedo, who wasn�t a good worker on his own but could easily be carried to great matches by the right opposition. Combine them with regular visits from outsiders such as Rey Misterio Jr. and Jushin Liger, and what resulted was a number of memorable and enjoyable matches. The matches in this article aren�t the 7 best matches in WAR juniors history, but represent a broader picture of the juniors scene, including the memorable, the routine and the matches involving outsiders.

Chris Jericho vs Ultimo Dragon 3/26/95

They started with a criss cross exchange and Dragon scored with a huracanrana for a near fall. Jericho caught Dragon and gave him an ocean cyclone suplex for a very near fall of his own. Jericho press slammed Dragon clear out of the ring and hit a second rope quebrada from inside the ring. Jericho slammed Dragon and gave him a top rope headbutt for a near fall. Jericho gave Dragon a tiger driver for a near fall. Jericho went to climb the top rope but Dragon knocked him off the apron to the floor with a dropkick. Dragon then hit his Asai moonsault on Jericho. Jericho pulled Dragon off the apron. Jericho tried to suplex Dragon back into the ring but Dragon flipped over him. Dragon botched a spectacular sunset flip attempt but still rolled up Jericho for a near fall. Dragon gave Jericho a running lariat in the corner and a top rope huracanrana for a near fall. Dragon missed an in-ring quebrada, tried to land on his feet but came down hard on his left knee. Jericho then applied a figure 4 leglock on Dragon as heat mounted. Dragon did a great job of selling the damage before he finally reached the ropes over a minute after the leglock had been applied. Jericho kicked Dragon and went for a top rope superplex but Dragon countered by slamming him face first to the mat. Dragon then quickly gave Jericho la magistral for a heated near fall. Dragon missed a clothesline and Jericho DDTd him for a near fall. Jericho gave Dragon a tiger suplex for a near fall. Dragon recovered and went for a top rope huracanrana but Jericho countered and powerbombed him to the mat for a near fall. Jericho attempted a powerbomb but Dragon countered with a huracanrana for a near fall. Jericho slammed Dragon and went for a lionsault but Dragon recovered and dropkicked him in mid-air. Dragon slammed Jericho and went for a moonsault but Jericho caught him on the top rope. Jericho lifted Dragon on his shoulders and went for a superplex but Dragon countered with a great sunset flip for a heated near fall. Dragon attempted a dragon suplex but Jericho rolled him up and pinned him at 11:19 (8:13 aired). Definitely a fun match with all the spots you could expect from both men. However, there was little real psychology and the pacing of moves wasn�t very coherent. There were also some moments of sloppiness. However, they hit enough moves well and had some heated near falls towards the end. As a result, they had a very good match. However, they clearly did not reach their potential, as their 7/7/95 match would illustrate. ***1/4

Chris Jericho vs Gedo 3/26/95

This was the final of a one-night juniors tournament that WAR presented. They exchanged slaps early. Gedo and Jericho had a fast exchange ending when Jericho rolled up Gedo for an early near fall. Gedo armdragged Jericho but Jericho responded in kind. Both men then dropkicked each other and fans popped. Gedo got the better of Jericho but Jericho won an exchange of headbutts. Gedo German suplexed Jericho for a near fall. He slammed Jericho and hit a top rope headbutt for a near fall. After a couple reversals Jericho gave Gedo a backslide for a near fall. After a couple German suplex attempts and counters, Jericho gave Gedo a cross arm German suplex for a near fall as heat picked up. Jericho missed a clothesline but hit a spin kick and Gedo tumbled out of the ring. Jericho jumped to the top rope and hit a plancha on Gedo for a pop. Jericho slammed Gedo but then almost completely missed him on a tornillo splash attempt. Jericho applied a modified octopus on Gedo while maintaining an armbar. Gedo fought back and DDTd Jericho. Gedo gave Jericho a very sloppy tornado DDT but then applied the WAR special. Fans popped when Jericho finally reached the ropes. Gedo attempted a powerbomb but Jericho countered and gave him almost a whiplash slam for a near fall. Jericho slapped Gedo but Gedo fought back with a couple kicks. Jericho went to backdrop Gedo out of the ring to the floor but Gedo landed feet first on the apron. Both men then clotheslined each other, and Gedo fell off the apron to the floor. Jericho went for a tope but Gedo dropkicked him in mid-air. Both men returned to the ring at the same time. They exchanged slaps and fell to the mat after tackling each other. After another exchange of slaps Jericho attempted a German suplex but Gedo flipped to his feet. Gedo gave Jericho a huracanrana for a near fall but Jericho then flipped him around and gained a near fall of his own. Gedo reversed the hold for another near fall. He powerbombed Jericho and went to the top rope but Jericho caught up to him. Jericho then gave Gedo an impressive top rope powerslam for a heated one count. Jericho caught Gedo and placed him on the top rope. Jericho attempted a top rope huracanrana but Gedo shoved him to the mat. Gedo hit a flying bodypress but Jericho rolled through and gained a dramatic near fall. Jericho attempted a press slam, Gedo tried to counter with a rollup, but Jericho caught Gedo in mid-roll and cradled him for a near fall. Gedo caught Jericho on the top rope. He attempted a top rope superplex but Jericho countered. Jericho went for a top rope powerbomb but Gedo countered with a huracanrana in mid-air for the pin. I think the match lasted about 14 minutes, of which 11:27 aired. This was so close to being a great match, but a couple ill-advised and consequently botched spots took it down. This showed that neither man was really a polished singles wrestler at this point. They made up for that though in intensity and workrate. Like most WAR juniors matches, this was about the spots, and they sure did enough of them. Some of the counters were great, especially a couple that came off completely unexpected and spontaneous. Another factor working in the match�s favor was the crowd heat. Maybe they weren�t the smartest fans, but WAR fans would pop for just about everything they thought could lead to a finish, even if it didn�t look good. Not great, but definitely a very good match and a worthy tournament final given the setting. ***1/4

Ultimo Dragon vs Chris Jericho 7/7/95

They started with a cool exchange where they kept landing on their feet on backdrop or monkey flip attempts. They exchanged armdrags and dropkicked each other. Dragon landed a bunch of chops in the corner but Jericho hit a top rope moonsault bodyblock in the opposite corner for a near fall. Jericho spin kicked Dragon out of the ring and hit a great plancha from inside the ring. Jericho gave Dragon somewhat of a modified jackhammer into the ring for a near fall. Jericho hit a top rope splash for a near fall and gained another near fall with a slingshot backdrop driver (not as crazy as it sounds). He applied a sleeper on Dragon. Dragon attempted a backdrop but Jericho kicked him and gave him a tiger driver for a near fall. Jericho dumped Dragon over the top rope to the apron and went for a second rope dive to the outside but Dragon ducked and Jericho crashed onto the floor. Dragon faked a tope and hit a slingshot modified 450 splash on Jericho on the floor. Jericho fought back and piledrove Dragon on the floor. Jericho showboated on the apron and Dagon knocked him to the floor with a great second rope dropkick. Dragon then hit a cool somersault plancha from the second rope, over the top rope onto Jericho. Dragon brought Jericho back into the ring with a brainbuster for a near fall. Dragon hit an in-ring quebrada for a near fall and gained another near fall with a fisherman buster. Dragon applied a sharpshooter briefly. He attempted a top rope huracanrana, Jericho pushed him off but Dragon landed on his feet, only to be hit with a top rope dropkick by Jericho for a near fall. Jericho attempted a lionsault but Dragon tripped him and gave him la magistral for a great near fall. After a series of counters Jericho rolled up Dragon for a near fall but Dragon reversed the rollup for a near fall of his own. Dragon gave Jericho a dragon suplex for a near fall. Dragon attempted a top rope huracanrana but Jericho shoved him off the top rope to the floor and hit a plancha. Back in the ring Jericho hit a lionsault and rolled up Dragon for a heated near fall. Jericho attempted a tiger driver but Dragon countered with a huracanrana for a near fall. Dragon hit a huracanrana for a near fall. Jericho gave Dragon a tiger suplex for a near fall. He attempted a superplex but Dragon fell on top of him for a near fall. Dragon went for a powerbomb, Jericho countered with a huracanrana but Dragon rolled through and gained a heated near fall. Dragon DDTd Jericho but Jericho caught him on the top rope and gave him a top rope powerslam for a near fall. Jericho missed a moonsault but Dragon then missed a twisting moonsault of his own. Jericho then hit a top rope double arm superplex and pinned Dragon at 19:59 (13:16 aired). This is one of those underrated, rarely-mentioned gems. Actually this is perhaps one of the top 5 matches of Jericho�s career and perhaps the match that made him a star. Dragon did a great job carrying the then-unpolished Jericho, and amazingly did it in Jericho�s own style. This was primarily a spotfest without much deep psychology. However, the execution of everything ranged from decent to outstanding, the match was reasonably well-paced in that the crowd was hot for most of it, and some of the counters and reversals were great. This might have also been Dragon�s best singles match to date. ****1/2

Ultimo Dragon & Yuji Yasuaroka vs Chris Jericho & Damien 4/19/96

Jericho and Dragon had a really fast criss cross exchange as footage began. Dragon elbowed Jericho and tagged Yuji. Yuji and Dragon elbowed Jericho and Yuji gained a near fall. Yuji hiptossed Jericho and applied an armbar. Jericho slammed Yuji and Damien gave him a Choshu lariat. Damien then applied a sharpshooter on Yuji. Damien gave Yuji several Tenryu chops in the corner and several kneelifts. Damien snapmared Yuji. Damien charged the corner, Yuji dumped him over the top rope, Damien landed on the apron and flipped over Yuji to reenter the ring. He then grabbed Yuji�s arm and did the Shinzaki ropewalk spot into an armdrag. Damien teased a tope. Yuji kicked Jericho and charged at him but Jericho dumped him over the top rope. Yuji landed on the apron but Jericho brought his neck down on the top rope. Jericho then knocked Yuji to the floor with a top rope dropkick. Damien hit a tope suicida on Yuji. In a funny spot, Damien repeatedly teased throwing Yuji into ringside chairs at different locations, but then simply threw him back into the ring. Yuji hit Damien with some roundhouse kicks but Damien fought back. Damien and Jericho briefly double teamed Yuji. Jericho took Yuji down by the hair and gave him a flying kneedrop to the back. Jericho slammed Yuji and Damien gave him an Arabian facebuster with a chair in a funny Sabu tribute. Jericho went for an inverted flying bodypress but Yuji dropkicked him in mid-air. Dragon gave Jericho a sharp huracanrana and Damien a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Dragon went for a cross bodyblock but Jericho caught him and powerslammed him for a near fall. Jericho charged Dragon in the corner but ran into a kick. Jericho recovered and caught a charging Dragon with a powerslam for a near fall. Dragon gave Damien a huracanrana for a near fall. Damien ran across the ring but fell into the ropes when Dragon kicked his legs from under him. Dragon sunset flipped Damien for a near fall and gave him a barrage of kicks ending with an enzuguiri. Yuji tagged in but Damien gave him a lariat. Damien went to the top rope but Yuji knocked him to the floor with a dropkick and hit a tope. Jericho superkicked Dragon but Dragon backdropped him out of the ring and Jericho ended up flying onto Damien at ringside. Dragon faked a tope and then hit an Asai moonsault on both opponents for a pop. Yuji threw Jericho into a sea of chairs at ringside. Back in the ring Jericho attempted a backdrop but Dragon landed on his feet. After back and forth German suplex counters Jericho rolled up Dragon for a near fall but Dragon then reversed the rollup for a near fall of his own. Jericho German suplexed Dragon for a near fall. He slammed Dragon but missed a lionsault. Dragon gave Jericho la magistral for a near fall. Dragon applied a sharpshooter on Jericho as Damien brawled with Yuji at ringside and in the crowd. Dragon snap suplexed Jericho but Damien caught Dragon on the top rope. Jericho lifted Dragon on his shoulders and Damien went to the top rope but Yuji shook the ropes and crotched him. Dragon rolled up Jericho for a near fall. Dragon telegraphed a backdrop and Jericho kicked him. Jericho gave Dragon a tiger driver for a near fall. Damien went for a lariat but Dragon moved and Damien struck Jericho. Yuji kicked Jericho out of the ring. Dragon gave Damien an in-ring quebrada as Yuji hit a plancha on Jericho. Dragon gave Damien la magistral and pinned him at 15:43 (9:33 aired). Definitely a good match, but I don�t think it was anything more. There was just not enough spot to spot momentum and it seemed like they were meandering aimlessly at times. That said, the spots they used were executed well and all four contributed. Dragon was the standout as his offense was really sharp as usual. Another drawback was the weird lack of heat. This was not a traditional WAR crowd as they rarely popped for much until near the end of the match. A fine effort and definitely watchable for those wanting to get a realistic look at the WAR juniors scene. **3/4

Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis 4/19/96

Psicosis charged Misterio at the bell but crashed into the ropes when Misterio moved. They did a criss cross and Misterio gave Psicosis a tilt-a-whirl into a huracanrana. Psicosis bailed out of the ring but Misterio jumped off the apron and gave him a spinning huracanrana for a pop. Misterio snapmared Psicosis on the floor and hit a moonsault off a chair on the floor. Back in the ring Misterio landed a couple chops. Misterio charged at Psicosis but Psicosis moved and Misterio hit the corner. Psicosis then gave him a lariat on the apron and a split legged moonsault for a one count. Misterio gave Psicosis a Misteriorana and Psicosis slid to the floor. Misterio then hit a somersault plancha for a pop. Misterio attempted a springboard huracanrana but Psicosis countered with a powerbomb for a near fall. Psicosis kneed Misterio. Misterio dropkicked Psicosis�s leg and DDTd him. Misterio hit a slingshot moonsault for a near fall. He snapmared Psicosis and hit a standing moonsault for a near fall. Misterio knocked Psicosis out of the ring with a spin kick. Misterio hit Psicosis with a chair at ringside and sat Psicosis on the chair. Misterio went for a tope but crashed onto the chair when Psicosis moved out of harm�s way. Damien, Psicosis�s second, placed Misterio on the chair and Psicosis knocked Misterio back with a tope suicida. Misterio fought back after they returned to the ring but missed what looked like a poetry in motion in the corner. Psicosis slammed Misterio and went to the top rope but Misterio recovered and knocked him clear off the top rope to the floor with a dropkick. Misterio then hit a corkscrew quebrada on Psicosis for a pop. Back in the ring Misterio snapmared Psicosis and hit a lionsault for a near fall amidst little heat. Psicosis whipped Misterio into the corner but missed a flying body attack. Misterio literally kicked Psicosis up to the top rope. He went for a top rope huracanrana but Psicosis stood his ground. Psicosis crotched Misterio on the top rope. He attempted a splash mountain off the second rope but Misterio countered with a huracanrana in mid-air and pinned him in 7:44. This was more like a Nitro sprint than a scaled back version of their 12/13/95 classic. The crowd heat was again lacking as this seemed like a really tough crowd to connect with, although they did pop for most of the spots. A couple spots had shoddy execution, but for the most part the offense was well-executed. Some of the out-of-ring brawling also left some to be desired and it took the match down a bit. Both men worked really hard and presented an enjoyable match, though. It just won�t go down as being memorable given the fact that they�ve had many better singles matches against each other. ***

Jushin Liger, Juventud Guerrera, Chris Jericho & Gedo vs Rey Misterio Jr., Ultimo Dragon, Lance Storm & Yuji Yasuaroka 1996

Liger and Dragon started against each other with a quick exchange that popped the crowd. Misterio then faced off against Liger for the very first time ever. Liger kicked Misterio and chopped him. Misterio went for a springboard huracanrana but Liger caught him and powerbombed him hard. Guerrera chopped Misterio and elbowed him during a criss cross. Misterio gave Guerrera one of his crazy tilt-a-whirl headscissors. He then gave Guerrera a spinning huracanrana off the apron to the floor. Back in the ring (and clipped ahead), Gedo powerslammed Dragon. Gedo ran into a kick from Dragon in the corner but gave him another powerslam for a near fall. Dragon gave Gedo a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Misterio kicked Gedo but Gedo bullied him into his team�s corner. Liger tied up Misterio in the corner and gave him a koppo kick. Jericho gave Misterio a couple chops but Misterio fought back with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Misterio hit Jericho with a springboard missile dropkick. Jericho fought back and gave Misterio a great press slam in which he jumped off the top rope to the canvas. Liger got the better of Storm and all members of his team �clubbered� Storm in their corner (how�s that for a Dusty Rhodes tribute?). Jericho went for a slingshot back suplex but Storm countered. Storm lifted Jericho on his shoulders and Misterio came off the top rope with a flying bodypress on Jericho for a near fall. Storm and co. then all stomped Jericho in their corner. Yuji then gained a near fall on Jericho. Yuji dropkicked Jericho, whipped him into the corner and gave him a Rob Van Dam-like spinning kick to the face. Yuji suplexed Jericho for a near fall. He attempted a Herman suplex but Jericho gave him a low mule kick. Guerrera slammed Yuji and gave him a springboard top rope legdrop for a near fall. Liger gave Yuji a brainbuster for a near fall. Guerrera gave Yuji a top rope dropkick and a top rope somersault legdrop for a near fall. Guerrera then gave Yuji a top rope Misteriorana for a near fall. Guerrera went to the top rope but Yuji caught him with a kick and superplexed him. Jericho knocked Storm off the apron with a top rope dropkick, Misterio hit an over-the-ringpost somersault plancha on Gedo, and Jericho hit a plancha on I think Storm in quick succession. Guerrera missed a flying body attack in the corner and Yuji German suplexed him. Dragon knocked Liger out of the ring with a handspring elbow, faked a tope but then hit Liger with a tope suicida. Gedo and Jericho stomped Yuji repeatedly. They went to throw Yuji out of the ring but he held his ground and Jericho and Gedo crashed to the floor. Guerrera scored with a springboard spin kick on Yuji for a near fall. Dragon catapulted Guerrera head first into the top turnbuckle and then launched Misterio into the air, and Misterio gave Guerrera a top rope huracanrana after which Yuji gained a heated near fall. Storm powerbombed Guerrera and Yuji German suplexed him for the pin at 17:35 (10:26 aired). This was pretty much a perfect match if you wanted to be introduced to the WAR juniors scene, complete with some of the outsiders who joined them on occasion. Not much psychology, but fairly coherent and logical pacing, with the hot moves saved for late and some good near falls at the end. The match never dragged from what aired, although it was clipped in several instances. From what aired, everyone had a chance to at least give you an idea of what their style was like as well as their work. Misterio was the star of the match, while Liger was strong in an anchor-like role for his team. Gedo was fired up when he was in as matches like this were perfect for him back in the mid-90s. Guerrera also looked really good at times. None of the others really stood out, although they worked hard and kept the match interesting. I�ll call it an excellent match, probably better than most juniors matches in WAR. ****

NEXT ISSUE: Muta The Enigma

BACK TO THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA MENU
HOME