THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA

ARTICLE #47
JULY 29, 2002

Toryumon: The Early Classics

1/31/99: Elimination Match: Magnum Tokyo, Dragon Kid & Yoshiuki Saito vs Shima Nobunaga, Judo Suwa & Sumo Fuji

Suwa hammerlocked Tokyo as footage began but Tokyo countered. Suwa applied a wristlock and took Tokyo down. Tokyo did some flips and dropkicked Suwa. Suwa snapmared Tokyo and applied a sleeper, and also raked Tokyo's face in the process. Tokyo elbowed Suwa, snapmared him and kicked him hard in the back. Tokyo kicked Suwa out of the ring. Fuji slapped Saito. Saito headlocked Fuji but Fuji backed him into a corner and gave him some punches. Fuji elbowed and kicked Saito, then worked on his left arm. Saito took Fuji down really quickly and bent his legs back. Saito did a headstand and kept kicking Fuji's head whenever he'd look up. Saito applied a modified surfboard bending Fuji's arms back. Fuji tried to counter but Saito was so quick on the mat and maneuvered Fuji into a pinning position for a near fall. Fuji punched Saito and hammerlocked him. Saito countered with a snapmare and Fuji bailed out of the ring. Dragon and Shima had this quick exchange and Shima hiptossed Dragon. Shima kicked and punched Dragon. He gave Dragon an armringer and wristlock, which Dragon countered by flipping out of the hold. Dragon knocked Shima for a loop with a dropkick. Shima snapmared Dragon and hit a slingshot somersault senton. Shima applied a hammerlock, blocked an attempted snapmare but Dragon then gave him a headscissors takedown. Shima whipped Dragon into the corner but ran into a boot. Dragon appeared to botch an attempted tilt-a-whirl headscissors or armdrag with Shima although it appeared Shima might have fallen back to counter. Either way it didn't look right. Dragon dropkicked Shima out of the ring. Suwa gave Saito a flying elbow, atomic drop and a headbutt to the crotch. Suwa stomped Saito and slammed him. Suwa catapulted Saito into the ropes and pounced on him in the ropes. Suwa rammed Saito into the corner and chopped him twice. Suwa missed a corner splash and Saito backdropped him. Saito chopped Suwa and dropkicked him in the corner, knocking him out of the ring. Fuji missed a lariat and Tokyo gave him a bunch of roundhouse kicks that weren't that stiff, but were ultra quick. They did a nice criss cross and Tokyo armdragged Fuji. Tokyo kinda hit an in-ring quebrada but Fuji was almost too close for the move to work. Tokyo whipped Fuji into the corner and charged but Fuji dumped him over the ropes. Tokyo landed on the apron and gave Fuji a stunner across the top rope. Shima kicked Dragon and chopped him. Dragon gave Shima a great tilt-a-whirl headscissors and a Misteriorana. Dragon faked a tope and hit an Orihara moonsault of sorts from inside the ring on Shima. Fuji hit a tope on Dragon and Saito hit a sharp springboard plancha on Fuji. Suwa and Shima hit stereo tope suicidas on Dragon and Saito, then Tokyo took everyone out with a superquebrada. Back in the ring Dragon snapmared and kneedropped Shima. Fuji hit Dragon from behind and Shima dropkicked his head. Shima legdropped Dragon and Dragon was triple teamed. Fuji lifted Dragon and Suwa gave him a lariat. Fuji slammed Dragon and Suwa hit a slingshot elbowsmash. Suwa and Fuji held Dragon upside down and Shima hit a sliding dropkick to his head. Fuji pounded Saito and kicked him. Saito was given a unique triple team slam. Fuji and Shima slammed Saito face first into the top turnbuckle and Suwa gave him an inverted DDT. Fuji headbutted Saito. Shima tripped Saito, rammed him into the apron and gave him an enzuguiri off the apron in a cool spot. Shima lifted Tokyo across the top rope and Suwa pounced on him as did Fuji. Shima then pounced on Tokyo from the top rope. Shima legdropped Tokyo and hung him upside down in the corner. All three heels hit sliding kicks to Tokyo's head in the corner. Suwa kicked Dragon's legs and Fuji pounded him. Shima rammed Dragon's neck across the top rope and Suwa gave him a downward spiral (Edge's old finisher circa 1998). Suwa and Fuji held Dragon while Shima stood on his back. Suwa went for a superbomb but Dragon countered with a huracanrana. Fuji gave Shima a lariat when Dragon moved and Dragon spin kicked Fuji. Tokyo gave Suwa a dragon screw and a top rope huracanrana. Tokyo gave Suwa a neat drop toehold as Suwa fell face first onto the bottom turnbuckle. Tokyo gave Suwa a 360 tornado DDT and Suwa left the ring. Tokyo jumped through the ropes with a headscissors takedown on Suwa on the floor. Saito gave Shima a springboard dropkick and dropkicked Fuji out of the ring. Dragon elbowed Suwa but Suwa fought back with an F-5 (seriously!). Suwa gave Dragon a flapjack slam for a near fall and a powerbomb for another near fall. Suwa slammed Dragon but missed a top rope headbutt. Dragon gave Suwa a great springboard huracanrana and then hit his incredible Dragonrana for a pin to eliminate Suwa. Fuji attacked Saito but missed a corner splash and Saito gave him this weird headstand small package for a near fall. After some German suplex counters Fuji gave Saito a low mule kick and a bulldog. Fuji chopped Saito and powerslammed him for a near fall. Fuji attempted a nodowa but Saito countered with a victory roll into a cross armbreaker in a super spot. Shima shook the top rope and Saito crotched himself on the rope. Shima punched Saito and gave him an iconoclasm. Fuji low-blowed Saito and gave him a second rope nodowa for a pin to eliminate him. Tokyo suplexed Fuji for a near fall but Fuji fought back and gave him a lariat. Fuji gave Tokyo a nodowa for a near fall. Tokyo reversed a whip into the corner and jumped off the second rope with a bulldog on Fuji. Dragon gave Fuji a top rope dropkick and a spinning mule kick in the corner. Fuji punched Dragon and raked his eyes. Shima dropkicked Dragon in the corner and vertical suplexed him for a near fall. Shima slammed Dragon but missed a springboard corkscrew splash. The heel manager hit Dragon in the crotch with is cane and knocked him to the mat. Shima slammed Dragon and went for a mad splash but Tokyo kicked him in the crotch and Shima crotched himself on the top rope. Tokyo gave Shima some chops and launched Dragon into a top rope huracanrana on Shima. Fuji caught Dragon and gave him a back suplex. Fuji side slammed Dragon for a near fall and gave him a nodowa for another near fall. Dragon countered a second nodowa with a huracanrana on Fuji and pinned him for the next elimination. Shima gave Dragon some kicks but Dragon fought back. Tokyo tombstoned Shima and and Dragon hit a phoenix splash for a near fall. Dragon then hit a 450 splash on Shima, but elbowed him in the mouth and caused him to bleed. Dragon gained a near fall on Shima and rammed him into the corner. Tokyo took Shima down and basically hogtied him while applying a figure 4 leglock in yet another hold I've never seen before. Dragon went for a handspring and flip into a Misteriorana but Shima caught him and gave him a modified spinebuster for a near fall. Shima missed a corner splash. Dragon went for a spinning huracanrana but Shima blocked it and just slammed him for a near fall. Dragon caught Shima with a knee and gave him a sloppy DDT. Shima threw Dragon over him in the corner, but Dragon landed on the middle rope and jumped back with a huracanrana for a near fall. Dragon gave Shima a Dragonrana but the heel manager distracted the ref. Suwa interfered and gave Dragon a Rock bottom. Shima gave Dragon a mad splash and pinned him. Tokyo knocked the manager off the apron and double arm suplexed Shima for a near fall. Shima gave Tokyo a drop toehold into a rollup, then punched him in the crotch in another new sequence. Shima whipped Tokyo into the corner, and Shima's partners tripped Tokyo and held him down in the corner. Shima then hit a flying kick to Tokyo's face. Fuji and Suwa attacked Tokyo at ringside. Shima did this somersault into a spin kick on Tokyo and hit a great somersault/corkscrew plancha on Tokyo. Shima tried to suplex Tokyo back into the ring but Tokyo countered and gave Shima an Ace crusher. Tokyo went to the top rope but the manager interfered again and held him there. Shima kicked Tokyo off the top rope as a brawl erupted at ringside. Tokyo tripped Shima and gave him la migistral but Shima countered and gained a near fall. After numerous counters back and forth Shima rolled up Tokyo for a near fall. Tokyo went for a viagra driver but Shima countered with what looked like a flatliner but ended up more like a jawbreaker. Shima punched Tokyo and hit an iconoclasm. Tokyo caught Shima on the top rope but Shima blocked a superplex attempt. Tokyo kicked Shima and gave him a top rope Misteriorana. Tokyo gave Shima a viagra driver and a shooting star press in which he kneed Shima in te face (by accident) for the pin at 45:04 (42:09 aired). Almost the entire match aired on television, and it was truly something to behold. Noone with more than 2 years experience, and at least one rookie in Dragon Kid, who was only 18 when this took place. He looked like another Rey Misterio Jr. because while he was sloppy at times, he could do so many variations of the huracanrana and do the move out of so many different positions. Tokyo and Shima were sensational in terms of their combination of innovative moves, creative use of old moves, and charisma. Suwa was really solid as a worker, nearly as good as the aforementioned three overall, but not nearly as spectacular. Saito looked like a great worker with great flying ability along with some realy unique matwork and crisp movements on the mat. Fuji looked out of place on offense, but his work was entirely solid and he worked best as a base for the oponents' flying moves. Overall, there were several sloppy moves and a couple botched spots, which hurt the match a bit. However, they also hit so many spectacular moves well that it was one of those matches where the sloppiness was almost a non-issue by the end. In between spots there were some boring segments, but they weren't long and the crowd was more patient than usual (meaning less quiet than usual) for these segments because the participants poured out so much talent and charisma. This is really a match for any juniors fan to track down. I know not everyone will like the match as a whole due to the flaws, but you can't deny that this was amazing match, especially given everyone's experience level. Yeah the match would've benefitted from being 10-20 minutes shorter, but would it have been as remarkable. Any crew of this experience level that can hold my attention for that long as got to be pretty amazing. ****

Shima Nobunaga vs Magnum Tokyo 2/5/99

Shima snapmared and dropkicked Tokyo early. Tokyo fought back and gave Shima a kick, and a sliding kick. Tokyo dropkicked Shima out of the ring and hit a second rope somersault plancha from inside the ring ropes. Back in the ring Tokyo did a neat roll-through into an STF (kinda like Storm would roll underneath someone and apply a half crab). Shima fought back with the help of his cronies at ringside and hit a jumping dropkick to a flattened Tokyo in the corner. Shima gave Tokyo a slingshot somersault senton and a spin kick for an early near fall. Shima gained another near fall after a flatliner and some legdrops. Shima gave Tokyo a face front suplex but missed a second rope splash which looked like a sloppy double axel or something from skating. Tokyo threw a bunch of kicks at Shima and hit a running lariat in the corner. Tokyo gained a near fall after a top rope huracanrana and gave Shima a stunner dropping him neck first on the top rope. Tokyo was assaulted by Judo Suwa and other Shima loyalists at ringside. Shima hit a tope suicida in the corner and rammed Tokyo into the ringpost. Tokyo sunset flipped Shima for a near fall but Shima then gained a near fall with a rollup. Tokyo hit a victory roll but Shima reversed it for a near fall. Shima rolled up Tokyo for a near fall, stood up, and punched Tokyo in the crotch in a spot that looks cooler than it sounds. Tokyo hit a spinning kick but Shima aborted his comeback. Shima kicked Tokyo out of the ring and hit a 360 twist tope. After a series of counters, Shima gave Tokyo a Russian legsweep. Tokyo caught Shima on the top rope and hit a top rope huracanrana but Shima rolled through and gained a near fall. Tokyo German suplexed Shima for a near fall. Tokyo gave Shima his viagra driver and a shooting star press and went for a pin but the ref was distracted by Shima�s manager. Tokyo gained a near fall with la magistral. Shima attempted la magistral but Tokyo countered with one of his own for a near fall. Tokyo gave Shima a second viagra driver (pumphandle into sort of a Michinoku driver) and went to the top rope but Shima�s manager/teammate hit him with something. Shima gave Tokyo his flip slam off the top rope for a near fall. Shima gave Tokyo what amounted to a unique jumping jawbreaker. Shima gave Tokyo a flip powerbomb in which he flipped Tokyo onto his front upon impact for a near fall in yet another neat spot. Shima went for a superplex, Tokyo countered but Shima gave him his jumping punch. Shima came off the top rope with another flip slam and pinned Tokyo at 17:52 after a sharp frog splash. So many great spots or familiar spots with a unique twist. A couple spots were sloppy, but the execution was outstanding given their limited experience and difficulty level. They also paced the match reasonably well. Also, while some people would say they lacked transitions, they are not smooth mat wrestlers, so they just stuck to what they could do in between high spots and thus kept the crowd into the match. If you want to see what the Toryumon buzz is all about, check out this match. ****1/2

King of Dragon Tournament Final: Great Sasuke vs Magnum Tokyo 2/18/99

Sasuke dominated Tokyo early on with matwork. Tokyo briefly worked on Sasuke�s leg but Sasuke continued to be dominant on the mat. Tokyo regained the advantage with a couple different kicks. Both men traded more offense on the mat. Nothing spectacular, but they were proficient and focused. Sasuke hit a version of the Michinoku driver for an early near fall and then applied a leglock. Tokyo countered with a leglock of his own. Sasuke fought back and applied a camel clutch. Sasuke also held an abdominal stretch on Tokyo for a lengthy period of time. The pace picked up at 12:00 and Tokyo hit a tope suicida. Tokyo then executed one of the highest and most spectacular superquebradas ever on Sasuke landing in the crowd. Sasuke fought back and brawled with Tokyo at ringside. He suplexed Tokyo from inside the ring onto a table on the floor. Sasuke placed Tokyo on the table and hit a crazy tope con hilo. As Tokyo stood on the table Sasuke jumped to the top rope and dropkicked him, nearly killing both men in the process. Back in the ring Sasuke hit a quebrada for a near fall and rolled up Tokyo for another near fall. Tokyo gave Sasuke a diamond cutter for a near fall. Tokyo gained a near fall after a second rope moonsault and another with la magistral. Tokyo gave Sasuke a top rope huracanrana for a heated near fall. Sasuke German suplexed Tokyo for a near fall. Tokyo hit a released dragon suplex and gave Sasuke a viagra driver. Tokyo then hit a shooting star press but hurt himself and could not attempt a pin. Sasuke gave Tokyo a swanton bomb to his injured back for a great near fall. Sasuke powerbombed Tokyo and pinned him at 21:51 to win the tournament. Very good mat wrestling in the first half and all the great moves you would expect down the stretch. ****1/2

4/22/99: Shima Nobunaga, Judo Suwa & Sumo Fuji (w/Taru) vs Magnum Tokyo, Dragon Kid & Kenichiro Arai

Shima chopped Dragon as footage began but Dragon gave him a Misteriorana. Dragon ducked a lariat and gave Shima a great tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Shima bailed out of the ring and Dragon faked a tope. Tokyo mule kicked Suwa and they did a criss cross. Suwa gave Tokyo a lariat and knocked Dragon and Arai off the apron. Suwa gave Tokyo an armringer and wristlock but Tokyo countered with some kicks to the leg. Tokyo slipped on the ropes but recovered and armdragged Suwa. Tokyo ducked a lariat and gave Suwa an Ace crusher/stunner. Tokyo hit a baseball slide kick on Suwa and followed with an Asai moonsault. Arai went to shake Fuji's hand and Fuji punched him. Fuji choked Arai with tape from his wrist and kicked him. Arai fought back and raked Fuji's face. Arai slammed Fuji and hit a standing moonsault for a near fall. Arai stomped Fuji but Taru tripped him. Fuji and Shima stomped Arai. Fuji and Suwa held Arai upside down and Shima hit a sliding kick to his head. Crazy Max (Shima and co.) triple teamed Dragon as the ref was distracted. Shima snapmared Dragon and hit a slingshot somersault senton. Fuji slammed Dragon and Suwa hit a slingshot elbowsmash. Fuji and Shima lifted Dragon above their heads and slammed him. Shima slammed Dragon and hit a power legdrop. Shima legdropped Dragon and dropkicked him in the corner. Fuji elbowed Dragon and slammed him. He elbowsmashed Dragon for a near fall and hung him upside down in the corner. Taru held Dragon in place as Crazy Max hit simultaneous kicks to Dragon's head in the corner. Shima threw Dragon out of the ring. The heels got the better of Tokyo. Fuji lifted Tokyo and Suwa gave him a springboard lariat. Shima mocked Tokyo and then draped him across the top rope. Suwa pounced on Tokyo, held him up, then Fuji pounced on Tokyo, Fuji and Taru held him and Shima pounced on him off the top rope. Fuji and Shima slammed Tokyo head first into the top turnbuckle and Suwa gave him an inverted DDT. Suwa gave Dragon an armringer and an armdrag, then a hiptoss and an atomic drop. Suwa punched Dragon and held him as Shima and Fuji brought his neck down across the top rope. Suwa held onto Dragon and gave him a downward spiral for a near fall. Fuji chopped Dragon but missed a lariat and knocked Taru off the apron with a lariat when Dragon moved. Dragon spin kicked Fuji and gave Suwa a huracanrana. Shima went to the top rope but Tokyo dropkicked him. Tokyo chopped Shima and launched Dragon into a top rope huracanrana on Shima. Arai chopped all three opponents and headbutted them as well. Arai gave Shima and Suwa a double headbutt and Dragon knocked Shima out of the ring with a top rope missile dropkick. Tokyo dropkicked Suwa out of the ring. Dragon hit an Orihara moonsault on Suwa from inside the ring in one corner while Tokyo gave Shima a second rope somersault plancha from inside the ring on the other side in a white-hot sequence. Arai gave Fuji a jawbreajer in the ring and headbutted him. Arai gave Fuji a springboard top rope headbutt for a near fall. Fuji countered a German suplex with a low mule kick on Arai, whipped him into the corner and gave him a side slam for a near fall. Fuji went for a nodowa but Arai countered. Fuji tried to counter a German suplex with a low mule kick but missed and Arai gave him a low blow. Arai gave Fuji a high kick and a clothesline for a near fall. Arai slammed Fuji and hit a 450 splash for a near fall. Arai hit a top rope headbutt on Fuji for a near fall. Arai got the better of Shima when he came in but Shima caught him with a modified flatliner. Suwa threw Shima up and Shima gave Arai a tornado DDT for a near fall. Shima slammed Arai and went to the top rope but Tokyo crotched him there and gave him a top rope huracanrana for a near fall. Tokyo went for a Misteriorana but Shima countered and powerbombed him. Shima missed a springboard corkscrew splash and Tokyo gave him a mule kick. Tokyo clotheslined Shima in the corner but Shima blocked a tornado DDT and Tokyo crashed to the mat. Shima gave Tokyo some kicks but Tokyo grabbed his leg. Tokyo ducked an enzuguiri and applied an STF while bending Shima's arms back as well. Suwa stomped Tokyo to break the hold and dumped him out of the ring. Dragon gave Suwa a springboard huracanrana but Suwa fought back with a modified Rock bottom. Suwa ripped at Dragon's mask and punched him. Suwa attempted a powerbomb but Dragon countered with a huracanrana. Dragon went for a Misteriorana but Suwa blocked it and slammed Dragon to the mat for a near fall. Suwa landed a couple punches and gave Dragon an F-5 for a near fall. Suwa missed a flying body attack and crashed into the ropes. Dragon gave Suwa a modified victory roll for a near fall. Suwa caught a charging Dragon and tossed him overhead but Dragon landed on the second rope and jumped back with a huracanrana. Dragon gave Suwa a Dragonrana for a near fall. Dragon went to the top rope but one of the heels crotched him there. Shima punched Dragon and gave him an iconoclasm. Shima gave Dragon a Michinoku driver, but added a new twist by crossing Dragon's legs before he lifted him up. Shima hit a mad splash on Dragon for a near fall when Arai intervened. Arai gave Shima over a dozen headbutts but Shima punched him. Shima hit a great corkscrew flip plancha on Arai. Tokyo gave Fuji a couple chops. He tripped Fuji and gave him la magistral but Fuji reversed it for a near fall. Fuji countered a viagra driver but Tokyo countered a nodowa with an X-factor and gained a near fall with la magistral. After both men countered suplexed Tokyo DDTd Fuji for a near fall. Tokyo gave Fuji a viagra driver and went for a 450 splash but Suwa and Shima grabbed his legs. Tokyo broke their grip and gave Fuji a shooting star press for a near fall. Shima attacked Tokyo with slaps and Suwa gave Tokyo a superbomb. Shima threw Dragon in to a bunch of chairs at ringside as a brawl broke out. Fuji gave Tokyo a lariat for a near fall but missed a second and Tokyo gave him a modified version of la magistral for a near fall. Fuji elbowed Tokyo and gave him a nodowa but Dragon and Arai prevented a pin. Fuji gave Tokyo an enzu-lariat and a sharp lariat for the pin at 33:17 (24:56 aired). Very close to being a classic. A better match than their 1/99 effort in many ways. This was a shorter match, and thus had tighter pacing. The structure of this match was alsi laid out much better than their debut match, with a much hotter and better defined closing segment. Not as many off-the-charts moves as their 1/31/99 match, but also much fewer sloppy spots, and actually very few. Lots of great dives and flying spots that hit perfectly this time. Pretty much the same story in terms of who was the most and least spectacular, while Tokyo was much better in his execution overall this time. Many similar sequences in this match to 1/99, but this time they have more of a set routine and laid out those sequences better. As a result, the heat was more consistent with some quiet periods but not many and more heated near falls in this match. One of the best matches you'll see from 6 wrestlers of their experience level. ****1/4 (very close to being ****1/2)

4/25/99 NWA Welterweight Title: Dragon Kid (c) vs Judo Suwa

Suwa gave Dragon a side slam as footage began for a near fall. Suwa legdropped Dragon and stomped him. Suwa slammed Dragon and hit a slingshot elbowsmash. Suwa slammed Dragon and catapulted him neck first into the top rope. Suwa pounced on Dragon in the ropes and legdropped him. Suwa raked Dragon's face across the top rope. He placed Dragon on the top rope and knocked him to the mat with a lariat. Suwa punched Dragon and charged but Dragon dumped him to the apron. Suwa suplexed Dragon out of the ring to the floor, although Suwa himself remained standing on the apron. Suwa hit a tope suicida and stomped Dragon at ringside. Suwa twisted Dragon's arm and drove it down to the mat with an elbow. Suwa gave Dragon a pumphandle across the top rope. Suwa stomped and punched Dragon, then hung him upside down in the corner. Suwa gave Dragon a sliding kick to the head and stomped him in the corner. Suwa missed a second sliding kick and crashed crotch first into the ringpost when Dragon lifted himself up. Dragon gave Suwa a huracanrana from the apron over the top rope back into the ring for a pop. Suwa kicked Dragon and went for a powerbomb but Dragon countered with a DDT. Dragon snapmared Suwa and hit a double springboard moonsault for a near fall. Dragon charged but Suwa caught him and tossed him overhead, and Dragon landed on the second rope, jumped back and gave Suwa a huracanrana. Dragon gave Suwa a great Dragonrana for a near fall. Dragon went for a springboard huracanrana but Suwa countered. Suwa went for a powerbomb but, and this all happened in a millisecond, Dragon countered with a huracanrana but Suwa rolled through and pinned Dragon at 12:29 (8:47 aired) to win the title. Not excellent but a very good match with a fantastic last couple minutes. Both men, Kid in particular, were exposed a bit having to work a lengthy singles match but they did pretty well. Lots of hot moves as you would expect with Dragon continuing to amaze with his array of huracanranas. Very good match to see where both men's work stood early in their careers. ***1/2

Next Issue: Full Circle III: Bret Hart's Tumultuous WWF Tenure 1995-1997

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