Akifumi Saito vs Nobuyuki Kurashima [1/2*]
Witchfinder on CAGEMATCH sums up my sentiments on Kurashima perfectly, "Wow! Taro Kurashima has 16 years of ring experience and has done absolutely nothing." There was a point where Kurashima kicks Saito runs to the corner only to run back and cover Saito without performing another offensive maneuver. It was an extreme waste of motion in the least, and certainly looked awkward. Saito ends this with a German Suplex Hold.
AKIRA & Gran Hamada vs Hiro Saito & Masashi Aoyagi [1/2*]
Someone needs to make a game like Darkness with Gran Hamada as Death. He certainly looks like he could play the part based on the prematch graphic. Poor guy is a legend and still able to get in the ring and mix it up. Sadly there really isn't much here, mainly Gran Hamada getting squashed by a fat Saito senton. This match is pushing it even for hardcore fans, good thing it is short.
Alexander Otsuka & Katsumi Usuda vs Super Tiger & Tiger Shark [**]
I see that Otsuka gets great reviews on CAGEMATCH but I am not blown away by his effort here. That isn't to say it was outright bad but nothing popped as amazing. Usuda had a fun kick exchange with Super Tiger and Tiger Shark delivers a fantastic moonsault. The match was competent enough but nothing to go out of your way for.
Akitoshi Saito & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Tomohiro Ishii [****]
This match is why I took on this project. Everyone knows about the MOTYC's but finding these little diamonds in the roughs are what makes this fun. This match is completely out of left field for me but is what happens when two freight trains collide. It is so much fun to see these four test each others strength and will with shoulder blocks, chops, forearms, and clotheslines. This is not a strong style match where suplexes are a dime a dozen but they become the highspots in a match based on striking. I almost popped huge for Sekimoto's Chaos Theory but sadly it was broken up. He did get the win with a German Suplex Hold. Also I am not sure of the genesis of the heat between Sekimoto and Ishii but their feuding tag partners story adds another dimension to the match. Just a steller effort from all four...go see this now!!
Bear Fukuda & Mitsuya Nagai vs Ikodu Hidaka & Shinjiro Otani [**1/2]
Who doesn't love some Otani. He is a big crowd favorite and they always chant along with his face wash spot. Near the end of the match he throws a killer top rope drop kick for a man entering his 40's. This match didn't win me over as the last one did. Otani gets the win with the cobra clutch.
Atsushi Onita & Ichiro Yaguchi vs First Tiger Mask & Kuniaki Kobayashi [**1/4]
First let me say that the video package on the history these four men have with each other is amazing. Onita and Yaguchi are aparently known as the Barbed Wire Bad Outlaws, which is yet another awesome Japanese tag team name. Onita attacked Tiger Mask with a barbed wire baseball bat and Yaguchi spit red mist in the face of 57 year old Kobayashi. BWBO train by hitting a poor guy in the crotch with a barbed wire baseball bat while the face team performs a double brainbuster on a training partner. I wish the match was as good as this video package, but sadly it was not. It is an odd combination of a good story surrounding a pedestrian match. One big problem I have is that Kobayashi gets beat and even double teamed with a barbed wire bat while his partner Sayama stands on the apron watching. He should at least try to get in the ring and do something. Sadly getting in the ring and doing stuff is not First Tiger Mask's strong suit. Kobayashi literally wrestles the entire match. The heels offense was okay. Yaguchi incorporates a barbed wire bat into every single maneuver he attempted. Tiger Mask & Kobayashi get the win with their double brainbuster, which Kobayashi holds onto as a fishermans buster for the win out of nowhere. I like the story, but do not think much of the match. The heels attack the faces after the match which means there will be a rematch down the road.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger & Masahiro Chono vs Riki Choshu, Tatsumi Fujinami & Yokio Sakaguchi [***]
There is a major issue between Liger and Sakaguchi. They were at each others throats before the opening bell and after the final bell. This was a solid wrestling match and nothing more. The ending looked to be screwed up. Tenzan hit Choshu with a moonsault and Choshu never had his shoulders on the mat and seemed to kick out before three, but the ref made the count anyway. Odd occurrence for seasoned vets in the main event.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: This card is very much hit or miss. The hit (Saito/Takaigawa vs Sekimoto/Ishii) is a major hit that is well worth going out of your way for. The rest really depends on your taste in wresting. The Onita tag is a slight nod to FMW, while the main event is a solid six man in the mold of 80's New Japan.
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