NEW JAPAN 1998 G-1 CLIMAX TOURNAMENT PART 2

Running Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

1. Quarterfinal: Satoshi Kojima vs Tadao Yasuda

Yasuda applied a headlock but Kojima pushed him off. Yasuda tackled Kojima. Yasuda gave Kojima a kneelift and lifted him in a chokehold but Kojima fought back. Kojima pounded Yasuda and suplexed him. Kojima hit a flip senton but Yasuda bounced back up and tackled him. Yasuda slammed Kojima and hit his own funky flip senton for a pop. Yasuda gave Kojima a kneelift and pounded him. He snapmared Kojima and applied a chinlock. Kojima kicked and chopped Yasuda but Yasuda responded with a chop of his own. Yasuda kicked Kojima and gave him a high kick. Yasuda applied an abdominal stretch but Kojima escaped with a hiptoss. Yasuda gave Kojima a kneelift but Kojima grabbed his leg and took him down. Kojima attacked Yasuda's left leg and elbowsmashed it. Kojima applied a leglock but Yasuda reached the ropes. Kojima missed an elbowsmash and Yasuda gave him his own elbowsmash for a near fall. Yasuda snapmared Kojima and applied a chinlock. Kojima escaped and hit Yasuda with a forearm. Kojima punched Yasuda and landed a couple chops. Yasuda fired back and won an exchange of chops. Yasuda slammed Kojima but missed an elbowsmash. Kojima punched and kicked Yasuda. He whipped Yasuda into the corner and gave him a running lariat. Yasuda whipped Kojima into the opposite corner but missed a corner splash and Kojima gave him a Kojima cutter. Yasuda caught Kojima on the top rope and slammed him to the mat. Yasuda landed his barrage of sumo strikes, whipped Kojima into the corner and gave him a corner splash. Yasuda double arm suplexed Kojima for a fairly heated near fall. Kojima blocked a high kick but Yasuda blocked a German suplex. Kojima pounded Yasuda and German suplexed him. Kojima chopped Yasuda, whipped him into the corner and scored with a running elbow. Kojima hit a top rope elbowsmash for a near fall and a top rope dropkick for another near fall. Kojima went for a lariat but ran into what looked like a sumo strike of some sort from Yasuda. Yasuda gave Kojima a lariat for a heated near fall. Kojima blocked a double arm suplex so Yasuda pounded him. Yasuda tackled Kojima but Kojima fired back with a series of elbows. Kojima went for a lariat but ran into a dropkick from Yasuda. Fans popped for that spot, which was impressive and unexpected from then 300lb+ Yasuda. Yasuda gave Kojima a tiger driver for a great near fall. Yasuda slammed Kojima but Kojima caught him on the top rope and superplexed him. Kojima jumped off the top rope with a flip dive on Yasuda in the ring for a near fall. Kojima hit a top rope elbowsmash for a near fall and gave Yasuda a lariat for the pin at 13:37. If you've only seen recent Yasuda, this is a must see match. Here he was much heavier than he is now, yet he was a much better worker. By no means was he "good", but he was more than carryable, and Kojima carried him well here. Kojima was just starting to hit his stride as a worker in mid-1998, and this was one of his best performances yet. He's just so much fun to watch because of his facials and enthusiasm, and you can tell he enjoys what he does. Not much psychology, just very solid back and forth action with a great final few minutes with the near falls. Yasuda busted out some moves he didn't normally use and worked harder than usual. Combine that with Kojima's excellence and you get probably the best singles match of Yasuda's career. ****

2. Quarterfinal: Kazuo Yamazaki vs Kensuke Sasaki

Yamazaki attacked Sasaki before the bell with several kicks to his leg. Sasaki landed some forearm shots as Yamazaki grabbed his leg, and gave Yamazaki a series of kneelifts. Sasaki landed a roundhouse kick but Yamazaki caught his leg attempting a second one and gave him a dragon screw. Yamazaki went for a figure 4 leglock but Sasaki kicked him away. Yamazaki went after Sasaki's arm but Sasaki shoved him off. Yamazaki landed a couple kicks to Sasaki's head and applied a leglock but Sasaki quickly reached the ropes. Sasaki landed a hard chop but Yamazaki responded with several kicks to his leg. Sasaki landed some hard slaps but Yamazaki responded with more kicks to Sasaki's weakened left leg. Sasaki blocked a roundhouse kick but Yamazaki gave him an enzuguiri with his free leg. Sasaki blocked a spin kick, caught Yamazaki in mid-air and gave him a suplex of sorts. Sasaki hit a lariat for a near fall. Yamazaki worked on Sasaki's leg as Sasaki tried to counter with a facelock. Yamazaki bent Sasaki's leg and ankle under his own leg. Yamazaki landed more kicks to Sasaki's leg but Sasaki fought back with a series of kneelifts. Yamazaki landed more kicks to Sasaki's leg but Sasaki powerslammed him. Sasaki applied his stranglehold but had to break the hold because his left leg gave out. Yamazaki landed more kicks to Sasaki's leg but Sasaki scored with a hard slap. Sasaki went for a lariat but ran into a kick to his knee and Yamazaki gave him a dragon screw. Yamazaki applied a leglock I think the announcers called a key lock for the submission win at 6:42. This was a perfect match for its length. Very simple, with Sasaki's limited moveset and Yamazaki using mainly kicks and leg submissions, but the simplicity worked. Sasaki's limitations weren't exposed while Yamazaki looked like a million bucks in this type of match. Lots of drama as they wasted no time using their big moves (Sasaki) and attacking the main storyline of the match (Yamazaki attacking Sasaki's leg). The only slight flaw was Sasaki using his bad leg for his kneelift series late in the match, but even then he sold the damage a bit. I could not have imagined these two having a better match. ***1/4

3. Quarterfinal: Shiro Koshinaka vs Masa Chono

Keiji Muto gave someone a dragon screw in an unusual pre-match fight. Chono attacked Koshinaka before the bell but ran into a hip attack. Koshinaka gave Chono another hip attack and Chono rolled out of the ring. Koshinaka snapmared Chono and gave him some knees to the head (kinda like kicks with the side of his leg actually). Koshinaka kicked Chono and gave him a couple headbutts. Koshinaka chopped Chono and punched him. Chono responded with a kick and a forearm to the back. Chono gave Koshinaka a neckbreaker and a yakuza kick. They did a knucklelock, but Chono then took down Koshinaka and bent his leg back. Chono applied a front toehold/leglock. Koshinaka countered with some kicks to break the hold but Chono grabbed his leg and took him down again. Chono continued to attack Koshinaka's ankle and leg on the mat. Koshinaka countered and applied a chinlock on Chono. Koshinaka turned it into a dragon sleeper but Chono countered with a kick to his head. Chono kicked Koshinaka and threw him out of the ring. Chono rammed Koshinaka into the ringpost and bent his leg over the barricade. Chono gave Koshinaka's leg, which was trapped in the barricade, a yakuza kick. Back in the ring Chono attacked Koshinaka's leg with elbows and forearms but Koshinaka kept responding with punches. Koshinaka scored with an enzuguiri. Chono blocked a back suplex and punched Koshinaka. Koshinaka countered a suplex but Chono blocked a German suplex and landed some elbows. Chono ran into a hip attack (oh yeah, this is the butt-butt in case you were wondering) from Koshinaka. Koshinaka went for another hip attack but Chono clipped his leg in mid-move. Chono gave Koshinaka a Russian legsweep and applied a weird kneeling figure 4 leglock. Koshinaka escaped but Chono went for a teo lock. Koshinaka fought his way to the ropes before Chono could fully apply the hold. Chono gave Koshinaka a top rope shouldertackle and applied an STF as heat mounted. Koshinaka reached the ropes after a struggle. In a funny spot, Chono went to the top rope, Koshinaka pushed the ref into the ropes, and caused Chono to crotch himself on the top rope as a result. Chono tried to block it but Koshinaka gave Chono a pretty spectacular German suplex with Chono taking a flip bump to avoid hitting straight on his head for a near fall. Koshinaka powerbombed Chono and gave him a top rope hip attack. Koshinaka gave Chono a second powerbomb for a heated near fall. Koshinaka gave Chono a third powerbomb and applied a Texas cloverleaf. Chono reached the ropes, Koshinaka reapplied the Texas cloverleaf, but Chono quickly reached the ropes this time. Koshinaka attempted a dragon suplex but Chono countered with a low mule kick. Koshinaka maneuvered Chono into a backslide for a near fall. Koshinaka ran into a yakuza kick but absorbed it, then ran into a spin kick from Chono. Chono applied the teo lock on Koshinaka but Koshinaka reached the ropes. Chono kneedropped Koshinaka in the crotch as Hiroyoshi Tenzan distracted the ref. Chono reapplied the teo lock and Koshinaka submitted at 16:03. Chono was such a cool heel around this time, especially when he cared to work hard. His low-blow moves are so natural and come across as not being forced upon the viewer, like so many American crotch spots are. Chono had his working shoes on, and the German superplex bump was pretty scary given the neck injury that forced him to alter his style in 1992. Koshinaka continued to cement his rep as one of the most underrated workers of his generation, kinda like a heavyweight version of El Samurai in terms of greatness. Good start to remind fans of their rivalry. After that the pace slowed, and it seemed like the competition overshadowed their rivalry in that the body was very solid, but not spectacular. The last 5 minutes were great, with Koshinaka's comeback being the highlight. Several of the near falls he gained on Chono had great heat. Not quite as fantastic as I remembered it, but this was an excellent match. On a par with Kojima-Yasuda; more technically solid, but not as memorable. ****

4. Quarterfinal: Shinya Hashimoto vs Genichiro Tenryu

Hashimoto gave Tenryu a legsweep to take him down. Hashimoto fired some roundhouse kicks in the corner but Tenryu punched him in response. The ref admonished him but Tenryu shoved him aside. Tenryu and Hashimoto had a brutal, dramatic exchange of chops which contained great selling. Tenryu finally won the exchange knocking down Hashimoto after a minute of exchanging blows. Hashimoto fought back with a series of chops, and knocked Tenryu down after a spinning chop. Tenryu landed some punches and more chops but Hashimoto stunned him with a sharp chop of his own. Hashimoto landed a roundhouse kick but Tenryu responded with some punches. Tenryu gave Hashimoto an enzuguiri and more chops. Hashimoto responded with a headbutt, more stiff chops and this spectacular fat man spin kick for a big pop and a near fall. They exchanged chops while on their knees with Hashimoto winning the exchange. Hashimoto elbowsmashed Tenryu and applied an armbar/headscissors combo (not quite a cross armbreaker). Hashimoto chopped Tenryu but Tenryu responded with several chops of his own. They traded chops and both slumped down against the ropes. Tenryu landed some punches but Hashimoto backed Tenryu into a corner with several chops to the neck. Tenryu scored with a series of chops, whipped Hashimoto into the corner and gave him a running lariat. Tenryu gave Hashimoto an enzuguiri from the apron and more chops. Hashimoto fought back with a barrage of stiff chops to Tenryu's neck. After trading chops, slaps and punches Hashimoto caught Tenryu and DDTd him. They traded chops again and Tenryu gave Hashimoto a koppo kick. Tenryu gave Hashimoto an enzuguiri and more chops. Tenryu powerbombed Hashimoto for a near fall. He slammed Hashimoto and gave him a top rope elbowsmash for a near fall. Tenryu landed more chops and punches and jumped off the top rope but Hashimoto caught him with a spin kick in mid-air. Hashimoto made his spectacular comeback with a series of sharp roundhouse kicks on Tenryu in the corner. Hashimoto gave Tenryu a second rope DDT for a near fall. After another great exchange of chops Hashimoto went for a DDT but Tenryu blocked it. Hashimoto landed some kneelifts, kicked Tenryu and DDTd him for the pin at 13:13. When I gave this ****3/4 after first seeing it, I overrated this match. I'm still probably gonna overrate this, but I don't care, because I found this match every bit as stiff, dramatic and just plain memorable as I did when I first saw it. I don't think enough credit has been given to both men's selling, because that's the element that made this match so dramatic. You had the aging redwood that just wouldn't fall down against a block of granite that could absorb almost anything that struck it. Both men played their roles to perfection, in particular Tenryu combining heelish charisma with intensity to perfection. Tenryu has a tendency to sell well, but not show a wide range of emotion or expressions. Some of that showed up, but his expressions were much more animated and varied than usual here. Hashimoto was one of the best heavyweight workers back in 1998, while Tenryu was easily the comeback worker of the year with this being one of many memorable matches from him after several years of mediocrity in WAR. This embodied the concept of the epic heavyweight FIGHT, and one of the best matches centered around trading bombs I've ever seen. ****1/2

5. Semifinal: Kazuo Yamazaki vs Masa Chono

Wild opening in which Chono attacked Yamazaki before the bell and threw him out of the ring. Chono rammed Yamazaki hard into the barricade and the ringpost. Chono suplexed Yamazaki and gave him a top rope shouldertackle. Chono went for a yakuza kick but Yamazaki met him with a kick. Yamazaki scored with some kneelifts and a roundhouse kick but Chono gave him a low blow. Chono went for a suplex but Yamazaki caught him in a Fujiwara armbar in such a cool spot because it was so sudden. They had a knucklelock and Yamazaki kicked Chono, and just missed a kick to his arm. Chono countered a waistlock, snapmared Yamazaki and applied a modified chinlock. Chono then applied a headscissors on the mat. Yamazaki escaped and applied a half crab but Chono reached the ropes before Yamazaki could maximize his leverage. Chono pounded Yamazaki and piledrove him. Chono ran into a savate kick. Yamazaki applied a bodyscissors from a guard position and applied an armbar with Chono still on his feet. Chono quickly countered and applied an STF on Yamazaki. Chono went for an abdominal stretch (maybe an octopus/cobra twist?) but Yamazaki countered. Chono went for a low mule kick but missed. Yamazaki then took Chono down and applied his own STF for a big pop. Yamazaki then turned and applied a cross armbreaker but Chono still made it to the ropes. Chono pulled Yamazaki out of the ring but Yamazaki gave him a roundhouse kick from the apron. Yamazaki landed a couple roundhouse kicks but Chono blocked a third, took Yamazaki down and kneedropped him in the crotch. Chono applied a teo lock amidst great heat, and Yamazaki reached the ropes after a struggle. Chono went for a yakuza kick but ran into a roundhouse kick to the head and Yamazaki gained a near fall. Chono caught a charging Yamazaki with a yakuza kick for a near fall. Both men hit simultaneous kicks. Chono hit a couple yakuza kicks for a near fall. Yamazaki blocked a third and applied an ankle lock for a submission win in a cool sudden finish at 9:43. Fans popped huge for the upset. A great match for its length, with both men showing their strengths. This lacked the build segment of Chono-Koshinaka, and in a way benefited from the shorter length. Yamazaki was great in doing his matwork and submissions in that his movements were so sudden and so natural. Chono sold his work well. Good idea to tease the yakuza kick until the end. A possible point of debate could be Yamazaki getting a quick win after the yakuza kicks late, but the idea was that they didn't have the impact they would've had earlier before Chono had been worn down. I'm probably being generous, but like Yamazaki-Sasaki I couldn't imagine this match being any better. ***1/2

6. Semifinal: Shinya Hashimoto vs Satoshi Kojima

Kojima applied a headlock that Hashimoto broke rather easily. Hashimoto chopped Kojima but Kojima responded in kind. They had a spirited exchange of chops. Hashimoto applied a headlock and knocked Kojima for a loop when he tackled him. Kojima fought back with kicks and chops and slammed Hashimoto. Kojima hit a flip senton but Hashimoto popped right back up and flattened Kojima with a roundhouse kick. Hashimoto landed more chops and gave Kojima some brutal roundhouse kicks in the corner. Hashimoto backed away but Kojima fired back with a lariat. Kojima elbowsmashed Hashimoto and applied a chinlock. Hashimoto countered and applied an armbar. Kojima grabbed Hashimoto's leg and took him down. Kojima elbowsmashed Hashimoto's left leg twice and stomped it. Kojima landed some slaps and dared Hashimoto to hit him. Hashimoto then flattened Kojima with one slap. Hashimoto scored with four great roundhouse kicks and some hard chops to Kojima's neck. Hashimoto landed a roundhouse kick, a chop to the neck and a spinning chop to Kojima's neck. Hashimoto gave Kojima a foot stomp and more chops to his neck. Hashimoto landed two more chops to the neck but Kojima blocked a third and hooked Hashimoto's arm. Hashimoto pounded Kojima but Kojima gave him a Kojima cutter (more like a neckbreaker with Hashimoto taking the bump wrongly on his back). Kojima landed a couple chops, whipped Hashimoto into the corner and gave him a running elbow. Kojima gave Hashimoto a top rope elbowsmash for a near fall and then hit a top rope elbowsmash to his leg for a near fall. Kojima applied a legbar submission hold but Hashimoto reached the ropes. Kojima then applied a figure 4 leglock. Hashimoto reached the ropes after a pretty dramatic struggle. Kojima scored with a sharp lariat for a heated near fall as fans sensed a potential upset. Hashimoto absorbed two lariats and Kojima went for a third but Hashimoto met his arm with a chop in a cool spot. Kojima hit a lariat with his weakened right arm and sold the damage. Hashimoto then hit a roundhouse kick that connected with Kojima's right arm. Hashimoto absorbed two more lariats and then attacked Kojima's right arm with several chops before collapsing himself. Hashimoto gave Kojima a roundhouse kick and a cool fat man dropkick for a pop. Hashimoto gave Kojima a chop to the neck, a roundhouse kick and a DDT for a near fall. Hashimoto absorbed another lariat and gave Kojima a cool spike DDT for a near fall. Hashimoto went for a third DDT but Kojima countered and hit an enzu-lariat. Hashimoto responded with a brutal roundhouse kick and gave Kojima's right arm a pumphandle. Hashimoto DDTd Kojima and applied a cross armbreaker for the submission win at 13:51. Since I'm a bigger fan of spotfests and bombfests (trading brutal kicks, strikes etc) than psychology-driven work, I tend to miss psychological flaws that most puroresu fans of my knowledge level would often notice. Not this time, because of a flaw so obvious it almost made me punch the TV. What does Kojima do after Hashimoto chops his arm brutally? Throw more lariats like nothing happened! Hashimoto covered for this well when he gave Kojima a barrage of chops to the arm in response, but how does Kojima respond? MORE LARIATS!! I don't think his left arm was injured, maybe it was a brain fart or something, and he greatly hindered what could have been a really dramatic close. Maybe I'm so angry about this flaw because I loved the heck out of everything else in this match. Really ideal opponents for each other, as Kojima was something like a Kobashi in terms of being a rising star with great facials and fighting spirit, and an ability to take a beating. Of course few men could dish out a more brutal beating than Hashimoto, and he was more than willing to contribute to the cause here. Very good first half, with an excellent run with the near falls. When Hashimoto first chopped Kojima's arm in countering a lariat, I thought, we could have easily the second best match of the tournament, if not the best. Then it went downhill with the brain fart in Kojima�s selling. The close wasn�t too bad, really, because even with the flaw they didn�t lose the momentum they had gained over the first 11-12 minutes. Still an excellent match, and it�s too bad because the arm sell mishap lowered the rating by as much as 1/2*. ****

7. 1998 G-1 Climax Tournament Final: Shinya Hashimoto vs Kazuo Yamazaki

Tentative start with both men weary of each others kicks. Hashimoto scored first with a chop to Yamazaki�s neck. Hashimoto gave Yamazaki an armringer and applied a front chancery but Yamazaki escaped. Yamazaki went for a Fujiwara armbar but Hashimoto blocked it and rolled out of the ring. Hashimoto pounded Yamazaki but Yamazaki fought back with some kicks to his leg. Yamazaki went for a kick but Hashimoto scored with his own kick first. Hashimoto stiffed Yamazaki with his series of roundhouse kicks and a spinning chop to the neck. Hashimoto gave Yamazaki a legsweep and clipped his knee in the process. Hashimoto landed a roundhouse kick but seemed to hurt his leg in the process. Yamazaki caught on and gave Hashimoto a dropkick to his knee. Yamazaki gave Hashimoto a roundhouse kick to the leg, but still sold the damage to his own leg. Hashimoto landed some chops to the neck but Yamazaki clipped his knee. Yamazaki gave Hashimoto a spinning kick (almost like a legsweep) to his knee and a roundhouse kick to the leg as well. Yamazaki landed more roundhouse kicks to the leg but Hashimoto fired back with a chop to Yamazaki�s neck and a more conventional chop. Yamazaki clipped Hashimoto�s leg again. They had a great exchange with Yamazaki throwing roundhouse kicks to the leg and Hashimoto throwing chops to the neck. Hashimoto won the exchange and landed a roundhouse kick but sold the damage to his leg. Hashimoto landed roundhouse kicks with each leg and gave Yamazaki a spike DDT. Hashimoto landed a roundhouse kick and a chop but Yamazaki responded with a roundhouse kick to the leg. Hashimoto fired another roundhouse kick but Yamazaki gave him two more kicks to the leg. In a cool spot because it made sense, Yamazaki absorbed two roundhouse kicks from Hashimoto (using his BAD leg) and responded with a dropkick to his knee, which Hashimoto sold huge. Yamazaki landed some brutal kicks to Hashimoto�s leg and gave him a dragon screw. Hashimoto rolled out of the ring but Yamazaki hit a tope in a rare spot for the ex-UWFI standout. Yamazaki landed more kicks to Hashimoto�s leg at ringside and elbowed his leg against the ringpost. Yamazaki met Hashimoto in the ring with another kick to the leg and a dragon screw. Yamazaki applied a legbar as heat mounted and Hashimoto reached the ropes after a struggle. Yamazaki went for a figure 4 leglock but Hashimoto kicked him away. Yamazaki kicked Hashimoto�s leg but Hashimoto fired back with chops to the neck. Hashimoto elbowsmashed Yamazaki but Yamazaki countered a DDT and applied a sleeper. Yamazaki trapped Hashimoto in a bodyscissors for added leverage. Yamazaki landed some roundhouse kicks to the body, but Hashimoto absorbed them and chopped Yamazaki�s neck. They traded roundhouse kicks. Yamazaki caught Hashimoto�s leg attempting a kick and applied an ankle lock. Yamazaki gave Hashimoto two roundhouse kicks to the body but Hashimoto responded with an enzuguiri. Hashimoto gave Yamazaki an inverted DDT and a top rope elbowsmash for a heated near fall. Hashimoto landed more chops to the neck and a roundhouse kick. Hashimoto rebounded off the ropes with another roundhouse kick and gave Yamazaki a brainbuster for the pin at 15:34. Now this is how psychology is executed, and Kojima would have benefited at the time from watching this match. Hashimoto�s selling of Yamazaki�s kicks was near-perfect. While he continued to throw kicks after his leg had been weakened, Hashimoto took the time to sell the damage each time, and sold Yamazaki�s leg clips and dropkicks to his knee with a great sense of urgency. Hashimoto�s no-selling of Yamazaki�s kicks to the body made sense late, as Yamazaki was �tired� and Hashimoto�s legs had taken a much worse beating than his body, which looks like it�s designed to be able to absorb lots of punishment. Fairly simple work, but very smart work from both men. Despite a super effort vs Kojima earlier that night, Hashimoto was every bit as fired up here, with his strikes having so much zing behind them. Yamazaki was cool because he fought with a sense of urgency, going after Hashimoto�s leg like a shark sensing blood. He even busted out a tope, which had to be rare for someone who worked the UWFI mat/submission style most of his career. A fitting final and probably the second best match of the tournament. A true display of strong style excellence. ****1/4

If you haven�t made up your mind yet, this is a must-see tape if you don�t have it and you�re a fan of puroresu at all. A few of New Japan�s juniors tapes are better, but for heavyweight matches this is by far the best New Japan tape I�ve seen, and probably one of the best they�ve put out. Every match was at least very good, with 5 of the 7 matches on this tape getting **** or better from me. Ratings aside, if there�s a better New Japan heavyweight tape (and if so it�s probably one of the other G-1 Climax tournaments), I�ve got to see it. I give this tape a very strong recommendation.

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