MICHINOKU PRO WRESTLING CHAMP FORUM SPECIAL: “THESE DAYS”
Taped October 10, 1996
Running Time: 2 hours
1. Johnny Saint vs Naohiro Hoshikawa
This match was fought in five 3-minute rounds. Saint applied an octopus. Saint pinned Hoshikawa 2:03 into round 4 after a suplex. Only round 4 aired, and this looked like a really lame, bad match.
2. PWA Jr. Title: Wellington Wilkens Jr. (c) vs Lenny Lane
Wilkens gained a near fall with a top rope superplex. Lane countered a powerbomb attempt and sunset flipped Wilkens for a near fall. Lane gained a near fall with a lariat. Wilkens hit a backdrop driver for a near fall. He gained a near fall on Lane with a lariat and another with a belly to belly superplex. Wilkens powerbombed Lane and made him submit with a leglock at 10:06 (2:20 aired). Looked like a decent match with spotty heat.
3. Battlearts Match: Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs Daisuke Ikeda & Satoshi Yoneyama
Yoneyama landed some solid kicks on Otsuka early as did Ikeda. Otsuka caught Ikeda attempting a kick and gave him a captured overhead suplex. Ikeda looked impressive against Ishikawa with his quick kicks and strikes. Yoneyama went for a cross armbreaker on Ikeda but Ikeda countered. Ishikawa got the better of Yoneyama. Otsuka dropped Ikeda on his head with an impressive back suplex and applied an armlock but Ikeda escaped. Otsuka went for a leglock on Ishikawa as well as on Yoneyama. Ikeda hit a lariat on Ishikawa and nearly scored a KO win. Ishikawa slammed Ikeda and went for an armlock. A four way fight briefly broke out. Yoneyama threw a kick but Otsuka caught his leg and went for an ankle lock. Yoneyama nearly scored a KO win on Otsuka. Otsuka gave Yoneyama a giant swing into a half crab. Ikeda punched Ishikawa and landed several kicks for a near-KO. Ishikawa gave Ikeda a dragon screw. Yoneyama threw a bunch of kicks at Ishikawa. Ikeda and Yoneyama gave Otsuka a double team powerbomb. Ikeda hit Otsuka with a roundhouse kick and nearly scored a knockout. Ikeda gave Otsuka a lariat and a savate kick. Ishikawa threw a series of punches at Ikeda and applied a leglock but Ikeda escaped. Yoneyama hit Ishikawa with a koppo kick. Ishikawa applied a leglock on Yoneyama as Otsuka back suplexed Ikeda. Ishikawa made Yoneyama submit at 16:32 with a cross armbreaker. A great match with a unique style combining shoot wrestling and submissions with puroresu and suplexes in particular. ***1/2
4. Dos Caras, Dynamite Kid & Kuniaki Kobayashi vs Great Sasuke, Tiger Mask (Sayama) & Mil Mascaras
Mascaras and Caras squared off with Mascaras doing his trademark flying headbutt. Dynamite Kid snap suplexed Sasuke on the floor. Caras hit Sasuke with a flying headbutt and a tope. Sayama did some of his spots on Kid such as his kicks and a DDT. Sasuke hit a tope con hilo on Caras. Mascaras hit a plancha on Caras for a huge pop. Kid tombstoned Sasuke and Caras pinned Sasuke at 15:30 after a powerbomb (3:24 aired). This looked like a terrible match with Kid being especially pathetic given his conditioning as he looked like he was a cancer patient.
5. Super Delfin, Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa, Tiger Mask IV & Masato Yakushiji vs Dick Togo, Men's Teioh, Taka Michinoku, Shiryu & Shoichi Funaki
This is the greatest cruiserweight style match I have ever seen. Not much in the way of sophisticated psychology, but a well laid-out, well paced match with the timing of most spots making sense. The great thing about this long match is that everyone had so many spots that the match never grew dull. Wrestlers mainly paired off against one another in the opening minutes. The heels were really entertaining in their double-team, triple-team, and even "quintuple-team" offense. Yakushiji went for a baseball slide at Teioh, but instead locked his head in his legs, and spun around for a spinning headscissors takedown on the floor. Hamada was amazingly athletic for a 46 year old, taking a backdrop attempt, spinning in the air in spectacular fashion, and landing on his feet. Much of the first 18 minutes was a spotfest, but a really entertaining one at that. Also, nearly every move in the match had flawless execution. The tempo turned up when Togo, Teioh & Shiryu hit a triple suicide dive through the ropes. Funaki followed with a springboard plancha, and Taka then executed this absolutely beyond-breathtaking springboard super-quebrada, flying over ten feet above the floor and landing about eight feet from the ring. Most of the faces did dives as well. The last seven minutes saw lots of near falls, including a Delfin top rope elbow and a Hamada top rope huracanrana. Dick Togo won the match for his team when he pinned Delfin in 32:07 after a top rope senton. This match was so great that it could have been my all time best match if there had been some All Japan-like psychology mixed in. *****
6. Hayabusa vs Jinsei Shinzaki
Shinzaki scored early with a superkick and gained a near fall with a Vader bomb. Hayabusa knocked Shinzaki out of the ring with a spinning mule kick. Hayabusa hit a tope con hilo on Shinzaki. Shinzaki did his rope walk and a chop on Hayabusa. Hayabusa hit a springboard spin kick for a near fall. He applied a cross armbreaker on Shinaki and gained a near fall with a top rope splash. Hayabusa hit a standing legdrop and a few kicks. He hit a springboard Orihara moonsault on Shinzaki. Hayabusa did a springboard somersault senton and a standing moonsault for a near fall. Hayabusa gave Shinzaki a fisherman buster and a firebird splash for a near fall. Hayabusa gained a near fall with a powerbomb and another with a tiger driver. He hit a falcon arrow but missed a phoenix splash on Shinzaki. Hayabusa went for a springboard huracanrana but Shinzaki dropped him with a powerbomb. Shinaki gained a near fall with a top rope tackle and another with a prayer powerbomb. Shinzaki hit another powerbomb and a top rope headbutt. Shinaki hit two more top rope headbutts. He pinned Hayabusa at 15:16 with a splash mountain. A disappointing match although the work was decent and the match well plotted. The fans were quiet to an almost scary degree and the pace was too slow, with not enough intensity shown. **1/4
BACK TO MY TV REVIEWS MENU
HOME