NEW JAPAN 1995 BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIOR TOUR COMMERCIAL TAPE

Running Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

As the title indicates, this tape focuses on the annual juniors tournament put on by New Japan. Matches in the round robin portion of the tournament are edited, while the semifinals and final match are shown in their entirety. While the editing and presentation of the matches are fine, perhaps the only drawback is that some of the better tournament matches were either edited or entirely left off the tape completely. The selection of matches does capture the full excitement and first-rate work of the tournament, though. While the first two thirds of the tape that focused on this tournament were fantastic, the last 40 minutes left me scratching my head. They chose to air three non-tournament, heavyweight matches, none of which were particularly memorable. In fact, the idiots at New Japan practically ruined some of the tape’s appeal by ending it with the Keiji Muto-Hawk IWGP title match that took place the same night as the super junior final, and by airing the lackluster match in its entirety. If you can get past that match and the equally lackluster IWGP tag team title match that precedes it, this is a video that’s worth watching if you enjoy the New Japan juniors product.

-Super Junior Tournament Round Robin Matches-

1) Brian Pillman vs Alex Wright
Pillman dominated Wright as taped footage began. Wright gained a near fall with a sunset flip. Wright countered a superplex attempt and hit a top rope dropkick for a near fall. Wright hit a running tope on Pillman. Pillman fought back but Wright German suplexed him for the pin (3:19 aired). It looked decent but the crowd was dead.

2) Shinjiro Otani vs Chris Benoit
Otani dominated Benoit on the mat early with solid matwork. Benoit gained a near fall after a snap suplex. Otani fought back with a mule kick and a springboard missile dropkick. Otani hit a springboard plancha on Benoit. Benoit attempted a powerbomb, Otani countered with a sunset flip, but Benoit escaped and gave Otani a lariat. Benoit gained a near fall after a top rope headbutt. Otani and Benoit each attempted dragon suplexes and Otani hit one for a near fall. Benoit gave Otani a released German suplex. He gained a near fall on Otani with a high angle powerbomb and pinned Otani after a second high-impact powerbomb (6:40 aired). This appeared to be a very good match.

3) Koji Kanemoto vs Black Tiger (Eddy Guerrero)
Kanemoto hit a plancha as footage began. He went for a tope but Tiger sidestepped it. Tiger hit a plancha over the ringpost into the crowd. Kanemoto suplexed Tiger out of the ring to the floor. He gave Tiger a top rope superplex for a near fall. Kanemoto gained another near fall with a reverse rollup. Tiger gained a near fall with a brainbuster. Kanemoto gained a near fall with a German suplex. Kanemoto hit (barely) a second rope corkscrew senton, missed a moonsault but landed on his feet and superkicked Tiger. Kanemoto gained a near fall with a top rope huracanrana. Tiger blocked a sunset flip attempt by Kanemoto for a near fall of his own. Tiger gained a near fall with a brainbuster and a heated near fall with his BT bomb. Tiger hit a top rope brainbuster and pinned Kanemoto (6:02 aired). A very good match but the heat was spotty.

4) Dean Malenko vs Black Tiger
Tiger gave Malenko a brainbuster but met Malenko’s knees on a frog splash attempt. Malenko rolled up Tiger for a near fall. Malenko back suplexed Tiger but Tiger caught him and gave him a top rope huracanrana for a near fall. Tiger applied a Gori special. They exchanged rollups for near falls similar to their 4/15/95 ECW classic. Malenko powerbombed Tiger and applied a Texas cloverleaf to gain the submission win (3:44 aired). This looked like a very good match but not quite as great as their ECW matches.

5) Chris Benoit vs El Samurai
Benoit whipped Samurai into the barricade and slingshot him stomach-first onto the barricade. Benoit slingshot Samurai onto the top rope at 15:00. Benoit hit a top rope back superplex for a heated near fall. Benoit went for a second back superplex but Samurai fell on top of him for a near fall. Samurai gained a near fall with a top rope huracanrana. Benoit tombstoned Samurai but missed a top rope headbutt. Samurai gained a near fall with la magistral and another with a back suplex. Benoit and Samurai exchanged near falls at 25:20. Samurai gained a near fall with a huracanrana. Benoit gained a near fall with a German suplex and another with a double arm suplex. Samurai DDTd Benoit for a near fall. Benoit gained a near fall with a belly to belly superplex. Samurai suplexed Benoit out of the ring to the floor and hit a tope. Samurai powerbombed Benoit for a heated near fall. Benoit gained a near fall with a hard powerbomb. Samurai German suplexed Benoit for a near fall. Benoit rolled up Samurai for a near fall and time expired at 30:00 (10:13 aired). An excellent match, but not a classic and not their best match against each other. ****

-Semifinals-

6) Black Tiger vs Chris Benoit
Tiger got the better of Benoit early on the mat. Benoit fought back and applied a surfboard. Tiger regained control with moves such as a camel clutch and his Gori special. Tiger spun Benoit around and dropped him for a near fall. Tiger gained a near fall with a powerbomb. Tiger hit a pumphandle slam and a slingshot somersault senton for a near fall. Tiger gave Benoit a second rope flying headscissors but Benoit fought back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Benoit gained a near fall with a back suplex and continued to dominate Tiger on the mat. Tiger went for a spinning headscissors but Benoit dropped him. Tiger suplexed Benoit out of the ring to the floor and hit a plancha at 9:31. Tiger powerslammed Benoit and hit a frog splash for a near fall. Tiger suplexed Benoit out of the ring but Benoit held on and took Tiger with him as they both crashed to the floor. Benoit hit a tope suicida. Tiger gave Benoit a spinning huracanrana off the top rope for a near fall. Tiger gave Benoit a backdrop driver and then hit a BT bomb for a heated near fall. Benoit gave Tiger a brutal powerbomb for a near fall. Benoit gained another near fall with a back suplex. Tiger rolled up Benoit for a near fall and gained another near fall after a brainbuster. Tiger attempted a second rope BT bomb, Benoit escaped it, but Tiger then hit a second rope flying tornado DDT for a great near fall. Tiger attempted a top rope huracanrana but Benoit countered and gave Tiger a second rope tombstone for the pin at 16:39. A super final six minutes, but the first several minutes didn’t have enough meaning or excitement to make this a classic. ****1/4

7) Koji Kanemoto vs Shinjiro Otani
They dropkicked each other, ending an early fiery exchange. They traded offense on the mat with neither man holding a lengthy sustained advantage. Kanemoto worked on Otani’s leg and fought in heelish fashion. Otani no-sold some slaps from Kanemoto. Otani got the better of Kanemoto on the mat with moves such as a half crab. Kanemoto countered with a leglock of his own and an ankle lock. Kanemoto aborted an Otani comeback with a series of stiff kicks. Kanemoto continued to dominate Otani until Otani caught him attempting a kick and briefly applied an ankle lock. Otani did apply a leglock with the main pressure applied to Kanemoto’s left ankle. Otani attempted a superplex but Kanemoto blocked it and slapped him to the mat. Kanemoto went for a top rope dropkick but Otani dropkicked him in mid-air. Kanemoto recovered and gave Otani a top rope huracanrana. Kanemoto whipped Otani into the corner but Otani responded with a spin kick. Otani hit a top rope huracanrana and a great springboard missile dropkick. He then hit a springboard plancha on Kanemoto. Otani came off the top rope with an inverted flying bodypress but Kanemoto dropkicked him in mid-air. Kanemoto gave Otani a tope con hilo, nearly crashing head-first on the floor in the process. Kanemoto tombstoned Otani and moonsaulted him for a near fall. Kanemoto hit a second rope corkscrew senton. Otani moved out of the way of a Kanemoto moonsault attempt, but Kanemoto landed on his feet. Otani dragon suplexed Kanemoto and pinned him at 15:22. Great match, but the mat portion was a bit long for a 15 minute match and the closing stretch could have had a few more near falls. ***3/4

-Final-

8) Chris Benoit vs Shinjiro Otani
There was simple matwork early with both men trading the advantage. Pretty even early on, although Benoit clearly overpowered Otani on strength moves. Otani missed a spin kick, Benoit attempted a powerbomb but Otani countered with an armdrag. Otani gave Benoit a huracanrana and a springboard plancha. Otani maintained the advantage on the mat for a time. Benoit back suplexed Otani and snap suplexed him for an early near fall. Benoit applied a headscissors as the pace slowed but Otani escaped and locked on Kyoko Inoue’s version of the camel clutch. Otani then applied a regular camel clutch and an armbar. Benoit countered and applied a camel clutch of his own. Otani fought back with a released German suplex for a near fall. Otani went back to the headscissors/armlock combo. Benoit fought back with a series of chops and powerbombed Otani for a near fall. Otani countered a second Benoit powerbomb with a sunset flip for a near fall. Benoit missed a top rope headbutt. Otani gained a near fall with a German suplex. Otani spin kicked Benoit and hit a springboard huracanrana for a near fall. Otani scored with a great springboard missile dropkick and a dragon suplex for a heated near fall. Benoit rolled up Otani for a near fall and gained another near fall with a dragon suplex. Otani hit a top rope dropkick but Benoit caught him on the top rope. Benoit hit a second rope tombstone piledriver and pinned Otani at 19:15 to win the tournament. The other tournament entrants came in to congradulate Benoit and to pose for a photo shoot/presentation. A very good match, but a disappointing final given those who were involved. There was just not enough intensity or hot moves during the first 15 minutes and the closing segment with the big moves and near falls was not long enough to compliment the long buildup portion. ***3/4

-Non-tournament Matches-

9) Riki Choshu, Kensuke Sasaki & Yuji Nagata vs Shiro Koshinaka, Akitoshi Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto
They had a wild brawl beforehand and early on all over the place. Choshu clotheslined Koshinaka into the crowd and hit him with a chair. Koshinaka was briefly dominated. Saito and Nagata had a nice exchange. Choshu gave Koshinaka a lariat and a sharpshooter. Sasaki superplexed Koshinaka for a near fall and gave him a lariat. Nagata hit Koshinaka with a series of kicks but Koshinaka fought back with a hip attack. Saito and Sasaki brawled at ringside. Goto back suplexed Nagata for a near fall. Goto pinned Nagata after a second back suplex (5:28 aired). A good, heated, intense match in the *** range.

10) IWGP Tag Team Title: Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata (c) vs Scott Norton & Mike Enos
Enos and Hirata traded simple offense for the first couple minutes. Norton got the better of Hashimoto but Hashimoto fought back and superkicked Norton out of the ring. Hashimoto scored on Enos with several chops and a spin kick. Enos gave Hirata a fallaway slam. Hirata knocked Norton down with three lariats but Norton quickly fought back with a lariat of his own. Enos and Hirata traded holds on the mat. Norton gained a near fall on Hashimoto after a lariat. Hashimoto superkicked Norton and tagged Hirata, who was ineffective against Norton. Enos gained a near fall on Hirata with a short lariat and applied a cross armbreaker. Norton gained a near fall on Hirata with a powerbomb and another with a Samoan drop. Hashimoto attacked both opponents with a variety of kicks. Enos gained a near fall on Hashimoto with a belly to belly suplex. Hirata hit a top rope headbutt on Enos. Enos gained a near fall on Hirata with a powerslam and another with a cradle suplex. Norton clotheslines Enos by accident as Hirata escaped Enos’s grip. Norton belly to belly superplexed Hashimoto for a near fall. Hashimoto gave Enos a brainbuster and pinned him at 16:46. A pretty flat match, though not bad, with only Hashimoto really adding to it. *3/4

11) IWGP Title: Keiji Muto (c) vs Hawk
Muto got the better of Hawk early. Muto hit a back suplex but Hawk no-sold it. Hawk won a test of strength and briefly dominated Muto. Muto hit a couple dropkicks but Hawk soon regained the advantage. Hawk actually used a sharpshooter on Muto. He dominated Muto for the next couple minutes with unspectacular offense until he missed a top rope splash at 8:34. Muto worked on Hawk’s left leg and hit it with a power elbow. Muto then applied a figure 4 leglock. Muto attempted a handspring elbow at ringside but Hawk moved and Muto crashed into the barricade. Hawk suplexed Muto back into the ring for a near fall. Hawk gained a near fall with a top rope lariat and another with a powerbomb. Hawk gained another near fall with a second powerbomb. Muto moonsaulted Hawk for a near fall. Muto hit a top rope missile dropkick and a moonsault for the pin at 13:42. A flat title match, but Muto did a good job carrying things. **

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