NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING SKYDIVING J 6/17/96
Running Time: 2 hours
Following two hugely successful Super J-Cup events, the juniors scene needed something different to maintain its momentum. Jushin Liger and co. came up with Skydiving J, an 8-match show in which a juniors title was up for grabs in every match. As with previous J-Cups, wrestlers from several promotions participated, including New Japan, Michinoku Pro, and WAR. What resulted was a somewhat eclectic mix of styles and work quality, but ended up with great results as expected.
1. WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Lance Storm & Yuji Yasuaroka (c) vs El Samurai & Norio Honaga
Yuji and Samurai began with a basic exchange of armringers and wristlocks. Samurai worked on Yuji's left arm but Yuji countered with an armdrag into an armbar. Samurai armdragged Yuji and took him down, then applied a toehold. Samurai applied a leglock on Yuji and added a front chancery while maintaining the leglock. Honaga snapmared Yuji. Yuji chopped Honaga and landed some roundhouse kicks. Honaga took Yuji down and worked on his left leg. Yuji countered and went after Honaga's arm. Storm gave Honaga an armringer and an armbar but Honaga took Storm down with a fireman's carry and applied an armbar of his own. Storm snapmared Honaga and applied a chinlock. Storm slammed Honaga and Yuji added a slingshot senton. Yuji kneed Honaga in the gut and gained a near fall. Yuji gave Honaga a gut buster. Storm gave Honaga a rolling fireman's carry slam for a near fall. Storm missed a corner splash and Samurai gave him a neckbreaker for a near fall. Samurai vertical suplexed Storm for a near fall and back suplexed him for another near fall. Samurai worked on Storm's leg and applied a half crab. Yuji rammed Samurai into the corner and gave him a running elbow in the opposite corner. Yuji went for a corner splash but Samurai dumped him to the apron. Yuji kinda botched a springboard headscissors takedown or something like that but then hit a really cool springboard plancha on Samurai to make up for it. Yuji hiptossed Samurai and went for a cross armbreaker but Samurai countered. Samurai kneelifted Yuji. Both men countered German suplex attempts but Samurai then gave Yuji an inverted DDT. Samurai dropkicked Yuji out of the ring and hit a tope suicida. Samurai rammed Yuji into the corner. He and Honaga slingshot Yuji onto the top rope and Honaga applied a stomach claw. Honaga stomped Yuji. Yuji countered a suplex and went for a German suplex but Honaga countered with a low mule kick. Honaga and Samurai gave Yuji a somewhat sloppy double-team powerbomb and Honaga clotheslined Storm. Honaga piledrove Storm on the floor. Samurai slammed Yuji. Yuji caught Honaga on the top rope but Honaga kinda gave him a Thesz press. Honaga slammed Yuji and he and Samurai gave Yuji a double top rope dropkick for a Samurai near fall. Honaga threw Storm out of the ring and went for a piledriver but Storm backdropped him on the floor. Samurai powerbombed Yuji for a near fall amidst decent heat. Honaga slammed Yuji but Yuji caught him on the top rope with a kick and superplexed him for a near fall. Storm powerbombed Honaga and Yuji subsequently German suplexed him. Storm did a handspring into a lariat on Honaga in the corner. Honaga fought back with a kneelift and some forearms. Storm ran into a boot but blocked a lariat and gave Honaga a northern lights suplex for a near fall. Storm did his roll-through into a Boston crab on Honaga (long before ECW) but Samurai intervened with a kick. Storm went for a powerbomb, Honaga countered with a huracanrana but Storm rolled through and pinned Honaga at 13:30 to retain the title. Nothing extraordinary, but a fine opener. Storm and Yuji weren't their most spectacular, partially since they worked with unfamiliar opponents, and also because their opponents seemed to dictate the difficulty level of most of the work. For the sake of smoothness, that was a good thing. Still, some noticeably sloppy spots, but most didn't hurt the flow. They had some good near falls late and fans responded a bit more than I expected given the sloppiness near the middle. Not great, but definitely a "good" match. **3/4
2. NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title: Masayoshi Motegi (c) vs Shiryu
They started with a criss cross exchange and Motegi hiptossed Shiryu. Motegi gave Shiryu a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Motegi charged but Shiryu dumped him to the apron. Shiryu faked a dive. He won an exchange of blows at ringside and rammed Motegi into the ringpost. Shiryu kicked Motegi, snapmared him and went for a chinlock but Motegi countered and applied a hammerlock. Motegi kneedropped Shiryu's arm and applied an armbar. Motegi applied a chinlock with Shiryu facing upward. They had an exchange of armringers, which Shiryu won. Shiryu wasn't able to better Motegi in a grappling exchange and bailed out of the ring. Motegi punched Shiryu, whipped him into the corner and kneelifted him. Motegi bulldogged Shiryu and applied an abdominal stretch, adding punches but Shiryu countered with a hiptoss. Shiryu applied a Boston crab and grabbed Motegi's arms as well, briefly lifting him off the mat. Shiryu applied a crossface of sorts, which turned into a simple chinlock. Shiryu gave Motegi a neckbreaker and elbowed him on the apron. Shiryu shoved Motegi face first from the apron to the floor. Shiryu gave Motegi a Takako panic of sorts from the apron to the floor. Shiryu applied a sleeper on Motegi and then a dragon sleeper. He gave Motegi an inverted DDT for a near fall and choked him. Shiryu tied up Motegi in the ropes and punched him. After a lengthy and rather sloppy struggle on the apron Motegi back suplexed Shiryu to the floor. Motegi rammed Shiryu into a ringside table and hit him with the title belt. Motegi stomped Shiryu and gave him a lariat. Motegi dropkicked Shiryu out of the ring and hit a tope suicida. Motegi tried to suplex Shiryu back into the ring but Shiryu flipped over him. Shiryu countered a German suplex, landed on his feet and dropkicked Motegi out of the ring. Shiryu hit a great somersault tope suicida on Motegi. Shiryu gave Motegi a savate kick and a fisherman buster for a near fall. Motegi countered a back suplex but Shiryu kicked him and tombstoned him. Shiryu moonsaulted Motegi for a near fall. Motegi caught Shiryu and gave him a weird, sloppy looking urunage for a near fall. Motegi gave Shiryu a kneelift and powerbombed him for a near fall. Motegi gave Shiryu a brainbuster for a near fall and tombstoned him. Motegi missed a top rope headbutt. Motegi caught Shiryu on the top rope and gave him a sloppy top rope gut wrench suplex or doctor bomb for the pin at 11:52 to retain the title. Pretty disappointing for the most part, even with the lackluster Motegi in there. He seemed to really limit what Shiryu could do in the first half and Shiryu wasn't half as spectacular as he usually is on offense. Motegi has had some really good performances, but this wasn't one of them and probably his weakest outing out of the interpromotional junior tournaments I've seen him in. *1/2
3. NWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Title: Gran Hamada (c) vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa
Hamada dropkicked Takaiwa early. They had a test of strength. Hamada took down Takaiwa and crossed his legs, then bent them back. Hamada drove his knee into Takaiwa's back for added pressure. Takaiwa gave Hamada an armringer into a hammerlock on the mat. Takaiwa kicked Hamada and snapmared him before applying a chinlock. Takaiwa elbowed and stomped Hamada's face, then rained down some punches. Takaiwa slammed Hamada and went to stomp him but Hamada grabbed his leg. Hamada gave Takaiwa an enzuguiri and punched him. They exchanged chops and Hamada headbutted Takaiwa. Hamada applied a chinlock, snapmared Takaiwa and applied another chinlock. Takaiwa chopped Hamada. They had a criss cross ending when Takaiwa caught and powerslammed Hamada for a near fall. Takaiwa rammed Hamada into the corner and choked him. Takaiwa whipped Hamada into the opposite corner but Hamada gave him a moonsault bodyblock for a near fall. Hamada gave Takaiwa a lariat and an elbow for a near fall. Hamada gave Takaiwa a short lariat and went for a cross armbreaker but Takaiwa blocked it. Takaiwa hooked Hamada's legs in a figure 4 position. They exchanged punches. Takaiwa slammed Hamada and kneedropped him for a near fall before applying a chinlock. Takaiwa wrapped his legs around Hamada for leverage. Hamada countered and went after Takaiwa's legs but Takaiwa reached the ropes. Hamada punched Takaiwa twice and elbowed him. Hamada kneed Takaiwa. Takaiwa went for a backdrop but Hamada landed on his feet and dropkicked Takaiwa out of the ring. Hamada hit a tope on Takaiwa and then a plancha over the ringpost. Hamada gave Takaiwa a lariat and a top rope huracanrana for a near fall. Hamada went for a huracanrana but Takaiwa countered with a sitout powerbomb for a near fall. Takaiwa slammed Hamada and hit a top rope elbowsmash for a near fall. Takaiwa gave Hamada a Death Valley driver and a cross-arm German suplex for a near fall. Takaiwa gave Hamada what looked like a sloppy top rope facedrop for a near fall. Hamada caught Takaiwa on the top rope and gave him a Trish Stratus-style (God forbid that comparison; Hamada's was far better) headscissors takedown. Hamada gave Takaiwa a tornado DDT for the pin at 12:05 to retain the title. Solid work up and down, leading to a very strong final 4 minutes that could compare to most great matches. Hamada was his usual damn good self, while this was one of the first times where Takaiwa showed some of the flashes of brilliance that he would show beginning in 1997 but especially over the past couple years. Except for the one sloppy spot near the finish, a very good match. ***1/4
4. UWA World Light Heavyweight Title: Shinjiro Otani (c) vs Kazushi Sakuraba
Sakuraba landed a roundhouse kick and gave Otani a great released German suplex, after which Otani rolled out of the ring. Sakuraba took Otani down and applied an armlock. Sakuraba went for a cross armbreaker but Otani countered. Sakuraba kicked Otani in the corner. Sakuraba went for a front facelock and then took Otani down. He went after Otani's leg and applied a legbar but Otani countered and went after Sakuraba's ankle. Otani took down Sakuraba and applied an ankle lock, pulling Sakuraba away from the ropes when he tried to escape. Sakuraba reached the ropes to break the hold. He took Otani down by his leg and applied a leglock and then a front armlock. Sakuraba turned it into a hammerlock and blocked Otani from reaching the ropes. Sakuraba went for a Boston crab but Otani countered by grabbing his ankle. Sakuraba countered an ankle lock with a leglock of his own but Otani maintained his hold. Sakuraba reached the ropes to break again. Sakuraba applied a sleeper and applied a bodyscissors for added leverage. Sakuraba went for a cross armbreaker but Otani countered. Otani gave Sakuraba a savate kick. Sakuraba blocked an Irish whip and Otani kneed him in the gut. Otani dropped Sakuraba on his head with a German/back suplex. Otani missed a swan dive dropkick and Sakuraba applied a sharpshooter. Sakuraba pulled Otani towards the center of the ring while maintaining the hold. Sakuraba landed a sharp roundhouse kick to Otani's face in the corner. Otani won an exchange of strikes with a shoda and hit his usual sharp springboard missile dropkick to the back of Sakuraba's head. Otani gave Sakuraba a released German suplex and made him submit with a crossface chicken wing at 8:15. A brilliant match. Far from Otani's best of 1996, but this might have been the one match that showed him to be one of the top 5 workers in wrestling. He blended seamlessly with Sakuraba's UWFI shoot style, letting Sakuraba dictate the style of the match for the most part while still mixing in some of his trademark spots. Great, near-perfect chemistry with no signs of sloppiness or miscommunication. The brevity worked perfectly given the shoot context, and for the style they worked this was a perfect match with great heat. ****
5. CMLL World Welterweight Title: Super Delfin (c) vs Taka Michinoku
Taka attacked Delfin at the bell but Delfin dumped him over the top rope and Taka took a big bump to the floor. Delfin missed a tope and Taka then hit his springboard superquebrada, which is still one of the most awesome spots I've ever seen. Taka stomped Delfin and rammed him into the corner. He whipped Delfin into the opposite corner and gave him a running elbow strike. Taka snapmared and dropkicked Delfin, then applied a half crab. Taka kneedropped Delfin and gave him a backbreaker. Taka applied a modified half crab with Delfin on his side, and pressed his knee into Delfin's side for added impact. Taka bent and twisted Delfin's left leg. Taka won a mat exchange and applied a front facelock. Delfin countered and applied a wristlock. Taka gave Delfin an armringer and wristlock but Delfin countered and armdragged him and Taka rolled out of the ring. Taka continued to attack Delfin's legs, picking him up by his arms and legs in what looked like a rocking cradle surfboard. Taka applied a camel clutch but Delfin escaped. Delfin snapmared Taka and punted his back but Taka stood right up. Taka snapmared Delfin and punted his back, then taunted Delfin. Taka stomped and elbowsmashed Delfin, then applied a crossface. Taka dropkicked Delfin out of the ring and faked a springboard plancha. Taka kicked Delfin but Delfin punched him. Delfin landed some chops, armdragged Taka and dropkicked him after a criss cross. Delfin gave Taka a tilt-a-whirl headscissors and started to go for a dive but Taka walked away. Delfin snapmared and kneedropped Taka, then applied a chinlock. Delfin slammed Taka and applied a half crab, then also placed his boot on Taka's head. Delfin landed some punches but Taka floored him with an elbow. Taka belly to belly suplexed Delfin. They traded German suplex counters and Taka rolled through into a legbar on Delfin. Delfin reached the ropes and rolled out of the ring. Taka dropkicked Delfin's knee as he reentered the ring and reapplied the legbar. Taka gave Delfin a kneebreaker and applied a figure 4 leglock. Taka won an exchange of blows and knocked Delfin out of the ring with an elbow. Taka went for a springboard plancha but Delfin moved to another side of the ring. Taka then jumped from one side of the top rope to another around the corner and hit his springboard plancha on Delfin. Maybe not quite as crazy as it reads, but truly a spectacular and neat spot. Taka kicked Delfin and rammed him into the corner. Taka whipped Delfin into the opposite corner, hit a running knee to the head and went for a springboard move but Delfin knocked him to the floor I think with a low blow. Delfin hit a plancha but Taka fought back and they barely beat the count back into the ring. Delfin back suplexed Taka for a near fall. He slammed Taka and gave him a flying bodypress for a near fall. Delfin gave Taka a cool delayed brainbuster for a near fall. Taka caught Delfin going for a tornado DDT and threw him down. Taka ran into a boot and Delfin gave him a tornado DDT. Delfin went for the Delfin catch but Taka rolled him up for a quick near fall that drew strong heat. Taka gave Delfin la magistral for a heated near fall. He hit a top rope knee to the head on a crouched over Delfin (not quite a Takako panic, but close). Delfin fought back and German suplexed Taka for a near fall. Delfin botched a sunset flip move of some sort. Delfin then gave Taka a somewhat sloppy Misteriorana for a near fall but Taka reversed the rollup for a near fall of his own. Taka hit a great springboard missile dropkick for a near fall and a Michinoku driver for a heated near fall. Taka went for a Michinoku driver but Delfin countered with a tornado DDT in such a cool spot I had to see it twice to realize what it was for a near fall. Delfin German suplexed Taka and rolled into a tiger suplex for the pin on Taka at 16:10 to retain the title. A pretty amazing match, and if you're fans if vintage Michinoku Pro you must see this match. They've been in many better tag team matches, but this was possibly the best singles match from both of them. Taka showed why he was one of the coolest workers in wrestling around 96-97, while Delfin, aside from the botched spot late, looked as good as any singles match I've seen. Lots of creative spots by 1996 standards, including the double springboard plancha and the Michinoku driver countered into a tornado DDT, which was such a smooth spot that I never saw coming until it already happened. Well-paced, with a hot opening to get fans into it before they slowed things down. The body, with the matwork and submissions, never dragged, since most of it was focused and contained good selling. The last 6:00 or so contained some incredible spots, but it wasn't like they were going nuts with spots until very late, which worked here. Whether this was the best match of the show or not depends on your taste. Not as focused or flawless as Liger-Togo, but more spectacular and definitely the match of the night for highspots. ****1/2
6. International Junior Heavyweight Title: Ultimo Dragon (c) vs Gran Naniwa
Naniwa attacked Dragon before the bell, dropkicked him and clotheslined him. Naniwa gave Dragon a top rope huracanrana but Dragon rolled to his feet and clotheslined Naniwa. Naniwa went for a backdrop, Dragon landed on his feet, and they had a fast exchange. Dragon tripped Naniwa, snapmared him and went for a pin but Naniwa countered. Naniwa applied a hammerlock but Dragon snapmared him and Naniwa rolled out of the ring. Dragon gave Naniwa some roundhouse kicks and a tilt-a-whirl slam. Dragon applied a half crab, then hooked Naniwa's legs and bridged back with a Mutolock. Dragon initially went for a Romero special but then also applied a dragon sleeper while maintaining the other hold. Dragon threw Naniwa out of the ring, went for a dive but stopped himself when Naniwa walked away from the ring. Dragon kicked Naniwa, then slapped and punched him in the corner. Naniwa fought back with a running lariat in the opposite corner and DDTd Dragon for a near fall. Naniwa went for the Mutolock but botched it (intentionally I think). Dragon chopped Naniwa and went for a German suplex but Naniwa kicked him low. Naniwa applied a figure 4 leglock on Dragon. Dragon turned the hold over but they ended up in the ropes. Naniwa elbowsmashed Dragon's leg and worked on the leg but Dragon countered by going after Naniwa's arm. Naniwa countered and slammed Dragon. Naniwa went for his second rope elbow spot but fell head first onto Dragon's boots. Naniwa charged but Dragon dumped him to the apron. Dragon then knocked Naniwa off the apron with a top rope dropkick. Dragon did a bunch of fakes and teases, including the future 619, before giving Naniwa his Asai moonsault. Dragon gave Naniwa a brainbuster for a near fall and a backdrop driver for another near fall. Dragon applied a sharpshooter on Naniwa. He gave Naniwa a snap suplex but Naniwa knocked him off the apron with a second rope clothesline. Naniwa then hit a flip dive off the apron onto Dragon and followed that with a plancha over the ringpost. Naniwa gave Dragon a doctor bomb for a near fall and a very sloppy DDT out of the corner for another near fall. Naniwa applied the WAR special on Dragon and turned it into a tiger suplex for a near fall in a nice spot. Naniwa snapmared Dragon and applied a WAR special again but Dragon countered with a kick to his head. Dragon gave Naniwa a spinning savate kick and snapmared him. Dragon moonsaulted Naniwa for a near fall. Dragon gave Naniwa a double arm suplex but Naniwa recovered and caught Dragon on the top rope. Naniwa went for a top rope huracanrana to the floor but Dragon pushed Naniwa overhead and Naniwa fell to the floor in a pretty spectacular spot. Dragon hit a somersault plancha over the ringpost (or the Sasuke crunch if you prefer). Dragon gave Naniwa a running Liger bomb for a heated near fall. Naniwa countered a powerbomb with a huracanrana for a near fall. Dragon stomped Naniwa and gave him a very sloppy top rope huracanrana. Dragon hit an in-ring quebrada and gave Naniwa la magistral for the pin at 13:58 to retain the title. Disappointing match, because you knew they could have done better. Many sloppy and tentative spots, with Dragon having an off-night characteristic of his earlier big event letdowns (not his worst though). Also, they seemed to lack chemistry in that they knew what each other was thinking generally, but couldn't get a feel for each other's movements and timing on occasion. That said, this was still very good, because neither wrestler held back in going for all their key spots, and Naniwa had developed into a very good worker by this point with a strong moveset. Given what they did and tried, had they worked smoothly together this could have been as much as a full star better. ***1/4
7. British Junior Title: Dick Togo (c) vs Jushin Liger
Togo kneed Liger in the gut. Togo went for a wristlock and took Liger down. Liger got the better of Togo on the mat but Togo held his own. Liger applied a modified surfboard but Togo countered by going after his arm. Togo gave Liger an armdrag and a huracanrana, then hit a tope suicida for a fairly hot start. Togo removed a ringside mat and DDTd Liger on the concrete. Back in the ring Togo gave Liger a kneelift and slammed him. Togo hit a second rope foot stomp and slingshot him onto the top rope. Togo stood on Liger near the ropes. He slammed Liger and hit a senton for a near fall. Togo punched Liger. Liger whipped Togo into the corner and gave him a monkey flip. Liger hit a koppo kick. Togo missed a lariat and Liger launched him with a spectacular released German suplex. Liger powerbombed Togo for a near fall. He gave Togo a couple pumphandles on his arm and applied a top hammerlock but Togo reached the ropes. Liger stomped Togo's arm repeatedly and slammed him. Liger hit a top rope kneedrop to Togo's arm and Togo rolled out of the ring selling the damage. Liger applied a hammerlock and rammed Togo into the corner. He stomped Togo's arm and stepped on his hand. Liger tied up Togo in the corner shattered dreams style, only he gave Togo a koppo kick. Liger applied a cross armbreaker but Togo quickly reached the ropes. Liger gave Togo a shoda and applied an armbar. Togo landed a couple kicks to the head and escaped but Liger kicked his arm. Liger landed a couple chops but Togo whipped him into the corner. Togo charged but Liger dumped him over the ropes to the apron. Liger caught Togo on the top rope and knocked him to the floor with a shoda, and Togo took a fantastic, effective bump to the floor like he had been stunned. Liger hit a plancha. Liger gave Togo a brainbuster for a near fall and applied a hammerlock but Togo reached the ropes quickly. They traded German suplex counters. Liger charged but Togo dumped him to the floor. Togo hit a kick through the ropes and a great somersault tope to the floor on a prone Liger (tope atomico?). Togo went for a huracanrana off the apron but Liger just dumped him with a hard powerbomb on the floor. Liger then gave Togo a powerbomb on the exposed concrete floor. Liger strutted in the ring as Togo struggled to get up. Liger threw Togo back into the ring and hit a top rope kneedrop to the back of his head. Liger applied another armlock but Togo reached the ropes. Liger went for a German suplex but Togo countered with a low mule kick. Togo gave Liger a powerbomb and hit his top rope senton for a heated near fall. Togo hit a second top rope senton for a near fall. Togo missed a third senton and Liger, as Togo grabbed the rope in getting to his feet, gave Togo a top rope dropkick to his extended arm. Super cool spot. Liger applied a cross armbreaker but Togo quickly reached the bottom rope with his foot. Liger went for a top rope move but Togo headbutted him to the mat. Togo went for a tornado DDT but Liger blocked it and threw Togo to the mat. Liger went for a shoda but Togo gave him a drop toehold and la magistral for a near fall. Liger kicked Togo and gave him a fisherman buster for a near fall. Liger then gave Togo a top rope fisherman buster and a shoda for the pin at 15:51 to win the title. Sensational match from start to finish that worked well in a variety of ways. Liger's work on Togo's arm was focused and often creative, especially the top rope dropkick as Togo held onto the rope getting up. Togo's selling was pretty sharp as well. Liger's selling and expressions were absolutely perfect for this match. Often heelish, but usually in a subtle way, displaying a kind of aggressiveness that could make Togo the sympathetic face even though Togo had hit his stride as a heel. Their offense was sharp, especially Togo, who busted out some of the highspots characteristic of his years as SATO while blending them with his heelish Togo character. Great pacing, with both men knowing how to mix the highspots and submission work to create a strong sense of flow. Fan heat wasn't always as strong as it should have been, but they clearly dug the match. I was kinda bouncing back and forth between ****1/4 and ****1/2 for a rating, but since they did so many things well and really hit their potential as a whole I'll call this a borderline classic. ****1/2
8. IWGP Junior Title: Great Sasuke (c) vs Black Tiger (Eddy Guerrero)
Sasuke went for a drop toehold but Tiger stood his ground. They exchanged waistlocks and Tiger took down Sasuke with a headscissors. Sasuke bridged up to counter and applied a headlock but Tiger countered with a headscissors. Sasuke escaped. Tiger gave Sasuke an armringer but Sasuke responded with a wristlock. Sasuke applied a modified surfboard while standing over one of Tiger's arms. Sasuke went to a front facelock, took down Tiger and bended his leg back. Tiger went for a cross armbreaker but Sasuke blocked it. Tiger applied the cross armbreaker after a struggle but the heat was still weak. Sasuke reached the ropes and left the ring. Tiger attacked Sasuke at ringside and threw him back in the ring. Tiger applied a modified hammerlock until Sasuke reached the ropes again. Sasuke missed a spinning kick but backed Tiger into a corner. Tiger gave Sasuke a Saito suplex and went back to an armbar. Tiger gave Sasuke a shoulderbreaker and hit a slingshot somersault senton onto his injured arm. Tiger applied an armbar but Sasuke reached the ropes. Sasuke kicked Tiger and applied a sleeper. VERY lackluster match so far, I'm not enjoying this at all. Both men rolled into the ropes. Sasuke kicked Tiger and reapplied the sleeper, wrapping his legs around Tiger for leverage. Tiger went for a brainbuster but Sasuke countered and applied another sleeper. Sasuke then applied a rear headscissors/armbar combo on Tiger before going back to the sleeper. Tiger elbowed Sasuke and back suplexed him to escape. Sasuke missed a lariat, Tiger slid through and Tiger dropkicked Sasuke's knee. Tiger applied a leglock on Sasuke. Tiger gave Sasuke a leg lariat and applied a legbar. Sasuke reached the ropes after a struggle and left the ring. Sasuke missed a kick. Tiger caught Sasuke's leg attempting a kick and took him down. Tiger applied an ankle lock but Sasuke quickly reached the ropes. Sasuke whipped Tiger into the corner and charged but Tiger dumped him over the ropes. Sasuke held on but Tiger basically dropped him on his head with a loose version of a powerbomb (not sloppy, just different). Tiger went for a tornado DDT but Sasuke blocked it. Tiger gave Sasuke a tilt-a-whirl slam for a near fall. Tiger went for a brainbuster but Sasuke flipped over him. Tiger countered a German suplex with an elbow. Sasuke gave Tiger a knee to the head and suplexed him over the top rope to the floor. Sasuke hit a ryder kick over the ringpost to the floor as things picked up. Sasuke stomped Tiger and hit an in-ring quebrada for a near fall. Sasuke went for a powerbomb but Tiger countered. Sasuke did a handspring into a cross bodyblock but Tiger sloppily "caught" him and belly to belly suplexed him. Tiger applied a cross armbreaker on Sasuke and Sasuke reached the ropes after a generic struggle (it felt that way). Tiger landed some kneelifts and gave Sasuke a brainbuster. Tiger went for a top rope brainbuster but they both fell to the mat. Sasuke went for a top rope huracanrana it looked like but Tiger just countered with a powerbomb for a near fall in a crisp spot. Tiger applied an STF and the crowd DIED, again. Tiger gave Sasuke a BT bomb for a somewhat heated near fall as fans woke up. Tiger went for a second rope BT bomb but Sasuke countered with a huracanrana in mid-air for the pin at 16:58 to retain the title. A disappointing match, almost to a shocking extent. Can't blame it on a language barrier, or either man being injured (as far as I know), but they just had NO chemistry against each other. The first several minutes looked like they had no clue how to work together as their work was basic and boring. Too many submissions, and most of this content was glaringly unfocused. Tiger just couldn't decide whether to go after Sasuke's leg or his arm. Also, just when he started to gather momentum focusing on one part he'd switch to the other or throw in a random highspot. The last few minutes had a number of good spots, but they just couldn't put the spots and submissions together in such a way to sustain heat. Just no sense of flow at all. A couple very sloppy spots, including at least one botched spot, but it wasn't even like the execution was an issue. I've seen MUCH sloppier matches execution-wise that were 10 times as enjoyable as this match. There was no real reason why they couldn't approach the **** plateau, or exceed it, but they barely approached ***, which is the most common rating for this match among reviews I've seen. I tend to overrate matches, but I can't even give this ***. And my rating might still be a tad generous. **3/4
Overall, you can't go wrong by getting this tape. Three ****+ matches, and not too far from being one of the 10 best shows I've ever seen. Most matches lived up to expectations, except for a couple "good" but notable disappointments. In particular, Sasuke-Tiger could leave a real bad taste in someone hoping for a memorable finish to such a strong show. But then you had Otani-Sakuraba and Liger-Togo, both of which exceeded expectations, as well as Delfin and Taka both having the best singles match of their career. The early matches were nothing special, and Shiryu-Motegi wasn't good, but were fine for what they offered. Hamada-Takaiwa was better than Sasuke-Tiger, imagine that! Great show, must have for most juniors fans.
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