Quebrada #25

by Mike Lorefice (M.L.Liger@juno.com)

6/10/97

http://www.geocites.com/Colosseum/Track/9727

Top of the Super Juniors Tournament

As predicted, El Samurai won the Top of the Super Juniors Tournament for the first time, defeating Koji Kanemoto in the finals on 6/5 at Tokyo Budokan Hall. Samurai scored the pinfall at 23:51 after hitting his new reverse brainbuster finisher. This was said to be the best match on the show. The win sets Samurai up as the next challenger for Jushin "Thunder" Liger's J Crown on 7/6 in Makomania.

Aside from my continued stupidity with Gran Naniwa, things in both blocks went almost exactly as I said they would. In Block B, Jericho, who was leading with 4 points, was upset by Rob Brookside when Brookside backslided him at 13:41. This was the expected lone win of the tournament for Brookside. On the same 5/29 show, Otani stayed in contention by defeating Scorpio Jr. with a German suplex at 7:55. Samurai tied Jericho for first on 5/31 be defeating Hanzo Nakajima with a powerbomb at 14:30. Otani then scored the win over Jericho with his swandive spin kick at 15:21, so there was a 3 way tie after 6/1. This loss eliminated Jericho because he had no more matches left and Otani and Samurai's last match was against each other, so one of them had to win. On 6/3, Samurai broke the tie and advanced to the finals when he pinned Otani at 18:35 with his reverse brainbuster.

In Block A action, Liger scored the obvious win over Wagner Jr. on 5/30 with a rolling cradle at 12:59 to put him in a three way tie for first place with Kanemoto & Takaiwa. This allowed there to be two very meaningfull matches on 6/1, which was the last night of Block A matches. Naniwa got to play spoiler on 6/1 (I think this was the onty thing I said about him that was right) pinning young Tatsuhito Takaiwa at 15:41 with a roll up to put Takaiwa out of the finals. This set up Liger vs. Kanemoto with the winner going to the finals. For the first time when he participated (1995 he wasn't in due to his broken ankle) and was able to finish the tournament (1993 Scorpio broke his ankle during the tourney so he had to forfeit the rest of his matches) Jushin Liger didn't advance to the finals. Kanemoto pinned Liger with his moonsault at 23:58 to advance to the finals, thus ensuring that a first-time champion would be crowned this year.

Full Results of 5/29-6/3 tournament matches

5/29

Rob Brookside [1pt] over Chris Jericho [3 pts]

Shinjiro Otani [3 pts] over Scorpio Jr. [1 pts]

5/30

Chavo Guerrero Jr [1 pt] over Gran Naniwa [2 pts]

Jushin "Thunder" Liger [4 pts] over Dr. Wagner Jr. [1 pt]

5/31

Yoshihiro Tajiri [3 pts] over Rob Brookside [1 pt]

El Samurai [4 pts] over Hanzo Nakajima [2 pts]

Shinjiro Otani [4 pts] over Chris Jericho [4 pt]

6/1

Koji Kanemoto [5 pts] over Jushin "Thunder" Liger [4 pts]

Gran Naniwa [3 pts] over Tatsuhito Takaiwa [4 pts]

Hanzo Nakajima [3 pts] over Yoshihiro Tajiri [3 pts]

6/3

Dr. Wagner Jr. [2 pts] over Ian "Doc" Dean [2 pts]

El Samurai [5 pts] over Shinjiro Otani [4 pts]

Block A Final Standings

Wins	Losses	Points

Koji Kanemoto	5	1	5

Tatushito Takaiwa	4	2	4

Jushin "Thunder" Liger	4	2	4

Gran Naniwa	3	3	3

Ian "Doc" Dean	2	4	2

Dr. Wagner Jr.	2	4	2

Chavo Guerrero Jr.	1	5	1

Block B Final Standings

Wins	Losses	Points

El Samurai	5	1	5

Chris Jericho	4	2	4

Shinjiro Otani	4	2	4

Yoshihiro Tajiri	3	3	3

Hanzo Nakajima	3	3	3

Scorpio Jr.	1	5	1

Rob Brookside	1	5	1

All Japan

As expected, Mitsuharu Misawa retained his Triple Crown by defeating Toshiaki Kawada before a packed house in the main event of All Japan's 6/6 Tokyo Budokan Hall show. Early on, Kawada worked on Misawa's elbow arm for over 5 minutes. He did the armbreaker, juji gatamae, knee drop to the arm, and so on. It wasn't said to be a total attack on the elbow arm, like in the Kobashi match with Kenta's lariat arm, rather it was done to weaken or "neutralize" the arm. Of course, Misawa would use his elbow several times during the match, but many times when he used it, both would sell the move because Misawa's elbow was "injured." Misawa tried a Tiger Driver fairly early in the match, but Kawada would have no part of it. Kawada tried for his powerbomb, but Misawa turned it into a huracanrana. Kawada popped right up after this, a no-sell, and kneed Misawa in the face. Kawada tried for his powerbomb again, but was still unsuccessful. The next key spot was Kawada ducking Misawa's elbow and planting him on his head with a dangerous backdrop. Misawa rolled to the floor to sell this, but Kawada pressed the action by going out after him and powerbombing Misawa on the floor. Kawada brought Misawa back into the ring, and tried to powerbomb him, but Misawa blocked it. Misawa regained the offensive and was able to get a near fall with his Tiger Driver. Misawa then went for his diving neckbreaker drop, but Kawada jumping high kicked him in midair. Kawada sold a foot injury from the impact of the blow, so he was unable to cover Misawa. Misawa then rushed Kawada, but Kawada connected with another jumping high kick, after which both workers sold (Kawada sold the foot again). Kawada delivered 2 dangerous backdrops then applied his stretch plum. Kawada tried to put Misawa away with his powerbomb twice, but Misawa resisted. Kawada did another dangerous backdrop, but Misawa no-sold it and elbowed him. Misawa and Kawada tried discus elbows and a jumping high kick respectively, but they were blocked. Misawa got a near fall with his Tiger suplex. After 2 German suplexes, Misawa rushed Kawada, but Kawada connected once again with his jumping high kick. Misawa hit his discus elbow and another Tiger suplex. Misawa tried for another Tiger suplex, but Kawada resisted it. Misawa German suplexed Kawada for a near fall. Misawa tried to finish with his Tiger Driver, but Kawada blocked it. Misawa knocked Kawada down with his elbow. When Kawada got up, Misawa knocked him out with his elbow and covered. Kawada never moved and on tv you couldn't see him kick out, but referee Kyohei Wada indicated that he did indeed escape just a fraction before the 3 count. The fans at the arena thought the elbow had won the match for Misawa, which isn't surprising since Misawa always has to resort to knocking Kawada out in order to beat him, so they rushed to ringside. Misawa dragged Kawada up and German suplexed him for the win at 31:32. Even though Misawa won with a German suplex, it was still another case where Misawa had to KO Kawada to beat him. The German suplex was just the icing on the cake so to speak. This is the first notable match that Misawa has won with a regular German suplex. Said to be an awesome match. One report said that it was better than the 1/20 Misawa vs. Kawada match and that it was the best match thusfar in 1997.

The story was said to be excellent, even better than the story of the 1/20 match. I'll know more when I actually get to view it myself, but there seem to be several key things at work here. The points said to be key to the story are as follows: Kawada weakening the elbow arm, Kawada trying at all costs to avoid being knocked out by Misawa's mighty elbow, Kawada "injuring" his foot doing his jumping high kick, Kawada trying to block Misawa's Tiger driver at all costs, Misawa continually blocking Kawada's powerbomb which was the move Kawada won with in his only career win over Misawa, and Kawada switching to his dangerous backdrop (a move Steve Williams has had success with against Misawa in the past) when he was unable to get his powerbomb off (he did 5 dangerous backdrops in this match which is a ridiculously high number). It should be noted that the dangerous backdrop is the move Kawada's had the most success in knocking Misawa out with, as in tag matches they often do the spot where Misawa is KO'd by it and his partner has to carry the load for several minutes while he "regains consciousness."

Kenta Kobashi will no longer be teaming with Mitsuhara Misawa. Kobashi has formed his own group called G.E.T (Global Energisch (similar to energetic or energize) Tough) with Johnny Ace & The Patriot and they have had immediate success. The idea of the group is two-fold. The first is to get Kobashi completely out of the shadow of Misawa and completely establish him as a major star who can carry a team to a win over anyone in the promotion at any time. It made no sense to have Kobashi still be on Misawa's side, especially since Jun Akiyama has proven to be a great #2 for Misawa. Kobashi was established enough two years ago that he could have been a #1, but obviously it couldn't happen since he was with Misawa. This gives Kobashi the opportunity to step up and carve his own niche. At 30, he can't play the young babyface anymore. The second purpose is to give Johnny Ace & The Patriot a key position and a push. AJ can't afford to lose any quality foreign talent as there isn't really anyone out there to replace these two if they were to sign with an American organization. Patriot was supposed to be leaving for the WWF, but he went on the last AJ tour. It looks like he will be staying in AJ for the moment, but his future with the promotion is still uncertain. His push has actually been reduced by being a part of this group. Coming out of the Real World Tag League, Patriot had established himself as a legitimate #2 on Kobashi's team. Now that Ace is with Kobashi, and that duo holds the Double Tag titles, Patriot has been relegated to a #3.

On the 6/6 Budokan show, G.E.T. defeated Steve Williams, LaCrosse, & Gary Albright. The main thing here is that Ace scored his first career pinfall on Williams. I actually think that it would have made more sense for Ace to have taken over as the #1 on his team then to be moved to the Kobashi team and be elevated to Williams level in this manner. Williams needs someone like Ace to carry the load for his side as his stamina isn't much these days. LaCrosse or Albright aren't capable of doing that.

Kobashi mentioned that other workers such as Hayabusa or Daisuke Ikeda are welcome to join his group if they understand the groups goals. If either of those two joined, it wouldn't be on a regular basis as they have commitments to their regular leagues (FMW and Battlarts respectively). Ikeda joining Kobashi's group doesn't make much sense. Based on his realistic style, if he's going to be on someone's team, it should be Kawada's.

All Japan Women

AJW finally woke up from their deep sleep and realized that they needed to get back to having some heels and grudge matches to get people to attend the shows and get heat from those in attendance. Mima Shimoda, along with now once again full-time parter Etsuko Mita, has finally officially been turned heel. The duo's first real match as heels was the 5/26 WWWA tag title match against champions Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa. In the match, Shimoda also came off the top with the guard rail onto Watanabe. Shimoda slammed Watanabe onto the guard rail. The ref called for the DQ. Mita & Shimoda then attacked the ref and Mita actually whipped the ref into the steel post. Maekawa bled in this match, which may have been necessary to get Mita & Shimoda over as heels or may not have even been intentional. In any case, blood only has effect when used on limited occassions. This seems like a logical time for it, but I hope blood doesn't become a pattern in Mita & Shimoda matches now that they are heels. Mita & Shimoda get a rematch with Watanabe & Maekawa in the main event of the 6/18 show at Sapporo Nakajima Sports Center. This has the makings of a title change because Mita & Shimoda need the belts to help them get over as heels. Further evidence that it may be a title change is that Maekawa, who hasn't been used much in singles since losing the AJ singles title to Rie Tamada last November, is getting a shot at the All-Pacific Title on 7/4. One would think that Maekawa isn't a big enough star to warrant a singles title shot while she's in the midst of her tag title run, but then again not much in AJW has made sense in the recent months.

Takako Inoue, who was All-Pacific champion prior to the title being combined into the Triple Crown, will face Toshiyo Yamada on 6/18 in a decision match for the vacant All-Pacific Title. I would have Takako win this match. Yamada hasn't really had a singles push or even really any major singles matches in a long time. She hasn't really shown any fire since she won the All-Pacific title in a great triangle match with Takako & Reggie Bennett on 3/26/95. Moreover, Yamada has reformed her at one time unbelievable team with Manami Toyota. That duo will face the winner of the 6/18 Watanabe & Maekawa vs. Mita & Shimoda WWWA tag title match on 7/11. It's very questionable that Yamada would come into that tag match as a singles champion. Takako's got more of a singles push. She's a better worker right now. She's also a better draw. It makes sense for her to win. The only problem is that if Takako wins and Kyoko wins, then AJW is right back where they were before they decided to have the Triple Crown. That really wouldn't make a lot of sense. It's possible that Yamada gets a renewed singles push and wins this match. She needs a major victory to become a commodity in AJW again. In that case, I don't think she would have a long reign, but would more likely wind up elevating a lower ranked worker by losing the title to her.

Rie Tamada is getting a shot at Mariko Yoshida's CMLL world title on 6/17 at Sapporo Nakajima Sports Center. If it were up to me, I would give Tamada the title here. The CMLL title is a minor title, however, it's a clear step above Tamada's AJ singles title. The AJ singles title is basically a title for youngsters. It's a title that suggests the promotion thinks you will be good in the future, but you aren't ready for anything major yet. At 24, Tamada's window of opportunity when it comes to making it as a star in the promotion is closing. The CMLL belt really means nothing on Yoshida because she's been an established star for years. Tamada isn't as good a worker as Yoshida, but she's certainly a capable worker. After drawing a miserable 1,200 (worst attendance there in years) to their last Korakuen Hall show, it's clearly time for change. This change could at worst help establish Tamada as a star, so it makes sense to me. The only thing that worries me about all this is that if Tamada wins the CMLL title, then she may drop the AJ singles title (that would be a good move) to Genki Misae (not a good successor) on 6/27. If Genki wins the AJ singles title, I think I'll be ready to pledge my allegence to JWP.

Chaparita ASARI has vacated her WWWA superlightweight title. ASARI, who's been out of action almost the entire year after breaking her hip then being rushed back in less than a month only to reinjure it, is supposed to be out until Autumn. The super lightweight title was a title AJW created to ger her over as a star. ASARI, who won the belt on 5/18/96, is the only women to ever hold the title. To my knowledge, no decision has been made as to who will challenge for the vacant title.

JWP

JWP drew roughly 4,000 people to Yokohama Bunka Gym on 6/8 for the Devil Masami 20th year anniversary show. The 5 match show was said to be a good to very good show with two good undercard matches, a very good semifinal, and a great main event. JWP's April 1996 show in the same venue headlined by Takako Inoue & Dynamite Kansai defeated Kyoko Inoue & Mayumi Ozaki was said to be a better show. The awesome one Glenn attended the show and was lucky enough to get to shake the hand of the minkiest and coolest wrestler on the planet, Mayumi Ozaki, prior to the shows start.

Chigusa Nagayo (Gaea), Devil Masami, Meiko Satomura (Gaea), & Tomoko Miyaguchi defeated the Oz Academy team of Mayumi Ozaki, Sugar Sato (Gaea), Chikayo Nagashima (Gaea), & Reiko Amano in the main event elimination match. Chikayo Nagashima continued her rough times of late by being the first eliminated when Miyaguchi Death Valley bombed her at 10:04. Chikayo (and everyone else that was pinned for that matter) stayed at ringside and actually wound up playing more of a part in the match after she was eliminated. Sato evened the sides at 3 a piece when she used her reverse elbow off the top rope to put Miyaguchi away at 15:05. Sato was the next to go as Devil put her away after a somersault senton off the top rope at 22:02. I don't envy Sugar for having to take that bump from the very large Devil. Devil Tiger Drivered Amano for the pin. This left Ozaki to face Devil, Chigusa, and Satomura. Ozaki wouldn't be easily defeated though. Oz took Satomura out at 32:27 with a powerbomb. Devil & Chigusa took control once again, but outside interference from the Oz Academy shifted the tide in the minky one's favor. Oz tried her Tequila Sunrise, but Devil stopped it. Oz pinned Devil at the 36:00 mark when she countered her powerbomb with an arm drag and got the flash pin (same finish as the Kansai street fight I reviewed last week). I'm very surprised that Devil was pinned in this match since the show was built around honoring her. This left Ozaki vs. Chigusa. Oz Tequila Sunrised Chigusa for a near fall. Oz kicked out of a regular running three and one that was spiked by Devil. Chigusa also got a near fall with a nasty looking Death Valley bomb. Chigusa finally put Oz away at 38:56 with her superfreak. So Oz put up a great fight, taking a ton of abuse, before eventually being pinning. This allowed her to come out of the match looking strong, even though she did a job. Said to be a very good match. Great heat from start to finish, good work and execution, nice high spots, hot finishers, great timing on false finishes, and a good build to a very hot conclusion where Oz kicks out of 3 legit finishers before falling pray to the superfreak. Satomura was said to do a good job carrying a large part of the load for her team. She was made to look strong, while allowing Devil and Chigusa to pace themselves a bit. Due to this, Chigusa was able to be fresh for the hot finish. Glenn said this was the best match tag match he's seen the Oz Academy in and compared it in match quality to the recent Sekigun vs. Kaientai DX tag matches (that's very high praise). Koji said he's seen the Oz Academy and Satomura do much better.

Hikari Fukuoka defended her open weight singles title pinning Tomoko Kuzumi in the semi- final. This match was very fast-paced with great high spots from both competitors. Hikari tried her moonsault fairly early in the match, but Kuzumi dropkicked her. I have to rescind the comment I made about Kuzumi not being able to do an unassisted Toyota/Taka style springboard as she did that style springboard plancha in this match. Fukuoka did an Orihara moonsault, but it didn't work right and she barely connected with her feet. Fukuoka somewhat overshadowed Kuzumi's unassisted springboard plancha by doing a plancha over the guard rail. So you have two of the rarest and most exciting high spots in wrestling in the same match. Fukuoka got a near fall with her moonsault. Tomoko used a series of swandive dropkicks. Then came the main flaw of the match which was Kuzumi trying a victory roll off the top, which just didn't work. Kuzumi continued to challenge Fukuoka, hitting a series of nice high spots. The finish saw Fukuoka powerslam Kuzumi off the top. After hitting 2 missile dropkicks, Fukuoka used her Tiger Driver for the pin at 18:22. Said to be a very good match. Work was said to be good other than the one glaring blown spot by Kuzumi. Kuzumi got over by giving Fukuoka a run for her money before the obvious finish of her losing came. Kuzumi is said to be very much improved and looks to be someone that will be having **** matches in the not to distant future.

Dynamite Kansai defeated the (unfortunately) soon to be retired Candy Okutsu. There is a huge size difference here as Candy is a junior and Dynamite is one of the biggest women in wrestling. This means there is a credibility problem if Dynamite sells too much. However, more important than any such credibility problem is that Okutsu has a bad back. Kansai had to dominate her as it would look bad if she couldn't beat up on an injured up wrestler. Early on, Dynamite dragged Candy to each corner of the ring and practically kicked her lungs out for each section of the audience. The sound just echoed in the arena after the kicks. Candy eventually came back hitting 3 of her fast German suplexes out of the ring. Even though Kansai obviously helped Candy out a lot by going up for the suplex, it's still a pretty impressive feat due to the size difference. Candy escaped Kansai's first attempt at her Splash Mountain finisher. Candy then went on offense hitting her missile dropkicks and German suplexes. Kansai gave Candy 3 consecutive vicious backdrops that may have knocked Candy silly legit as the ref stopped Kansai from going to the next spot and gave Candy a 10 count. Kansai then put Candy away with her Splash Mountain at 17:15. Candy wasn't allowed much offense and it wasn't too competitive. This hurt the quality of the match, especially since everyone knew Kansai was going over. It was said that Kansai wasn't showing any signs of her illness, which is among the best news I've heard in months. After the match, Kansai got on the house mic and said something to the effect of "Can you hear the fans voices? Everyone wants to see you and cheer you as many times as possible. You'll have to run until the end." Then Kansai picked Candy up, and walks around

the ring so Candy could hear the crowd cheer her. Candy started crying. Kansai put Candy on her back and carried her to the dressing room. As an aside, JWP has announced Candy's major matches before she retires. Candy will have matches against Devil, Fukuoka, Maekawa, and Aja. My feeling is that she'll lose at least 3 of the 4, as the only one they may let her beat is Maekawa. The Fukuoka match should be very good, but nothing else is very exciting. Devil and Aja are too big for her even if she's healthy, so being that she's not healthy, she'll get destroyed by them just like she was dominated by Kansai.

The beauty idol team of Cuty Suzuki, Kanako Motoya, & Yumi Fukawa (AJW) defeated Plum Mariko, Commando Boirshoi, & the pale one Emi Motokawa (IWA). Cuty's team gave Boirshoi double boot stomps off the top rope. Plum fisherman suplexed Cuty. Emi quebradora'd Yumi. Cuty gave Boirshoi a top rope back superplex, then a Tiger suplex. Emi delivered a well-executed backdrop driver on Yumi. Plum did a Frankensteiner off the top on Yumi. Yumi used her fisherman suplex on Plum. Motoya gave Plum her senton off the top. The finish came when Cuty Destiny Hammered Plum then Motoya La Magistralled Plum for the win at 17:02. I'm surprised that Plum was the one that was pinned as she's the veteran leader of her team. Emi worked well in this match and Motoya and Fukawa were able to answer her. Motoya is said to have talent, but is inexperienced, so she lacks polish. This was said to be a good fast-paced match.

The opener saw Tanny Mouse (AJW) defeat Sari Osumi. This was the only bad match on the show. Said to be not much better than a dud. These two, especially Sari, are very inexperienced. Tanny got the pin at 9:10 after a diving headbutt off the 2nd. Contained some comedy spots and some bad wrestling. Osumi is a rookie, so you can't expect too much from her.

Michinoku Pro

The promotions founder, president, and top star the Great Sasuke has signed a 6-month deal with the WWF. Sasuke is supposed to be the top star of the WWF's new junior heavyweight division. Other Michinoku Pro workers are also supposed to be used by WWF, but not exclusively. They will probably just be jobbers that Sasuke can have good matches with rather than major players though. TAKA Michinoku, who's been on tour with EMLL, was supposed to be Sasuke's opponent in his WWF debut on 6/30, but he is refusing the match. This is probably and angle, but I'm not sure yet.

I really have no interest in talking about the WWF in this column. All I'll say is that if WWF handles Sasuke right, they have a major talent who can produce great matches, make them $, and get them tv ratings. However, if they do promos during his matches, have Sunny come out and demonstrate her Japanese, give no background on him, and just say "great move" 50 times a match because they are too lazy to learn the names of his high spots, then they are just shooting themselves in the foot and they may as well have just stuck to wasting Pena's Luchadores.

As for Michinoku Pro, it's a pretty big blow for a small company to lose their top draw for that length of time. Sasuke said that during the 6 months with WWF, the only Michinoku Pro show he will work is their major show of the year, which is on 10/10/97 at Tokyo Sumo Hall show. Michinoku Pro, which is located in not so densily populated northeastern part of Japan, generally runs small venues with a capacity of less than 1,000. Since they have a cult following, their attendance may not be hurt too much, or at least that is probably what Sasuke is banking on. I would say that if attendance stays about the same as it is now, which is possible, then Sasuke will really only work that one date. However, if attendance becomes a problem, which is quite possible, then Sasuke will have to start working Michinoku shows again as even though he isn't hurting for money, his company should take precedent over his goal of headlining MSG by the year 2000. Of course, this is just my own opinion.

One thing to consider with Sasuke is that he is constantly looking to promote himself and his promotion thought media attention. The press will give his stint in the WWF a ton of coverage and they'll really play it up when he wins the lightweight title in the WWF. If Sasuke has the expected success in the WWF, then the losses his promotion might take when he's gone, will be more than made up for when he returns since he'll be seen as a much bigger star. This perception will elevate his drawing power.

On the other hand, Sasuke may have lost his New Japan connection by working with WWF rather than NJ's allies WCW. This was hinted in the press conference, but it's not definite yet. Liger and Sasuke and good friends and Liger wants to continue to work with Sasuke, but Liger may have to succumb to the pressure of the higher ups. Liger's booking has been a major factor is Sasuke's success. Liger made him the hottest junior in the world by allowing him to really showcase his great skills at the Super J Cup 1st stage. Sasuke defeating Liger (major upset at the time) and went to the finals where he had one of the greatest matches of all-time with Wild Pegasus (Benoit). Liger also booked Sasuke for a run with the IWGP Jr. title and allowed him to be the first ever J Crown champion. Granted this is all in the past and Sasuke has already established himself. The thing about losing New Japan is that you lose big Tokyo Dome payoffs. Not only that, but the world's greatest fued that was set up with Liger's boys & Sasuke's Sekigun vs. Kanemoto's punks & Togo's DX will be killed off before it gets a chance to go anywhere. Without New Japan and the companies they are aligned with, the pool of quality Japanese juniors that Sasuke and co. could work interpromotional matches with is severly limited. They'll have to rely heavily on Luchadores from Mexico as the out of league talent. Sasuke and Liger can get along without each other, but their working agreement makes both companies stronger.

Super Delfin is demanding a match against Dick Togo on 6/22 in Namie City, which is the last night that Sasuke will be working with the promotion before leaving for WWF. The match was supposed to be Naniwa facing Togo. Delfin and Hamada are the ones that will be counted on to carry the face side in Sasuke's absence. Due to this, I think that Delfin should go over here. Basically it would establish that the former #2 face (has to be #1 in Sasuke's absense) in the Sekigun (Delfin) is on the level of the #1 heel in the DX (Togo). It would provide the proper realignment of the Sekigun that the promotion will need if they expect Delfin to be seen as someone who can carry the side in Sasuke's absence.

Women's Junior All-Star Show

The full lineup for the Junior All-Star show was announced. The Oz Academy team of Reiko Amano (JWP), Sugar Sato (Gaea), & Chikayo Nagashima (Gaea) face Kanako Motoya (JWP), Yuka Shiina (AJW), & Yuko Kosugi (Jd'). This match could be the best on the show. All the Oz Academy workers in this match are good. Their opponents here are all improving. It might get kind of sloppy or out of control, but if it isn't then it should be quality. As a side note, Kosugi was hospitalized after being powerbombed by Lioness Asuka on the last Jd' show at Korakuen Hall, but her injury is said to not be serious.

Sumie Sakai (Jd') will face Momoe Nakanishi for Momoe's AJ junior title unless Nanae Takahashi wins the title from Momoe on 7/8. Momoe is the better of those two, so it's better if she retains and I think she probably will. I've only seen Sakai in clips, but she showed potential. This probably won't be very good to watch as it will be very basic.

The other notable match is Tomoko Kuzumi (JWP) vs. Chiharu Ono (SPWF). Chiharu hasn't even made her official debut yet. She's wrestled in "exhibition matches" on SPWF shows, but that's it. Chiharu is set to make her official debut on 7/14, which is just 5 days before this show. Kuzumi is probably the best worker appearing on this show, but giving her an opponent with basically no experience is putting an awful lot of pressure on her. JWP seems to already think (and maybe rightfully so) that she is someone who can have good matches with pretty much any opponent. Giving Kuzumi this opponent seems kind of odd unless JWP is interested in seeing what Chiharu can do. SPWF doesn't run enough shows or have enough women, so JWP may be interested in giving Chiharu work on their shows if she can show them that she's good enough. AJW's booking the show, so maybe their plan is to not have Kuzumi show their workers up.

Champ Forum Gaea 5/3/97 taped 4/29 Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Sonoko Kato & Meiko Satomura vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Chigusa Nagayo. Chigusa worked against her protege Satomura for the second tv show in a row. Yamada has declined from being one of the best workers in the world 5 years ago, to barely being on of the best in AJW. Yamada seems better in Gaea as she seems more fired up working in a match with her idol Chigusa than she does working in AJW. Yamada, not surprisingly, did most of the selling for the youngsters. Chigusa didn't sell much and gave them the young punk treatment. Yamada gave Satomura her single underhook snap suplex. Chigusa backdropped Kato, but Satomura made the save. Satomura & Kato applied simultaneous scorpions on Yamada & Chigusa respectively. Chigusa no-sold Satomura's forearms, then put Satomura down with a high kick. Yamada backdropped Satomura, but Kato saved. Yamada tried her reverse Gori especial bomb on Satomura, but Kato saved by bulldogging Yamada. Satomura bulldogged Yamada. Satomura then hit a diving shoulderblock for a near fall. Satomura armbreakered Yamada, then applied her juji gatamae, but Chigusa made the save. Yamada assisted Chigusa with a spike piledriver on Satomura. Satomura tried to German suplex Yamada, but Chigusa leg lariated Satomura. Yamada then hit her reverse Gori especial bomb on Satomura for the win. Not bad, but nothing special. It served it's purpose, which was for Satomura and Kato to gain experience working against the veterans. 12:36. **

Mayumi Ozaki & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Akira Hokuto & Maiko Matsumoto. Since Ozaki's young punks lost to Hokuto & Matsumoto on last weeks show, Oz joined Nagashima and made things more even. The match was good, but it was mainly a backdrop for the post match angle. Some of the spots were identical from the previous weeks match, which you could expect since 3 of the 4 workers were the same. Hokuto wanted a test of strength with Oz, but Oz is so much shorter that she had little chance of winning. Seeing this, Chikayo got down on all fours and Oz stood on her back to "even things out." Matsumoto got down on all fours to give Hokuto the advantage again, but Hokuto just slapped her. Nagashima did her Frankensteiner from the corner to Matsumoto. Hokuto hit her spin kick on Chikayo and covered, but pulled her up. Hokuto put Nagashima in la tapatia and Matsumoto came in and threw axes to Nagashima's stomach. Ozaki gave Hokuto a jumping neckbreaker drop. Oz gave Hokuto her somersault block off the top for a near fall. Nagashima tried a monkey flip, but Matsumoto turned it into an atomic drop. Oz gave Matsumoto a diving lariat. Chikayo did her spot where she fakes a monkey flip then jumps off her opponents body and performs a move. Usually she does a dropkick, but this time she gave Matsumoto a huracanrana. Matsumoto tried to whip Nagashima into the corner so Hokuto could missile dropkick, but Nagashima stopped the spot by forearming Matsumoto. Meanwhile, Oz ran to the corner and held Hokuto on the top rope. Chikayo then monkey flipped Hokuto off the top. Nagashima tried a huracanrana, but Hokuto powerbombed her. Oz tried a powerbomb, but Hokuto landed on her feet. Oz gave Hokuto a released German suplex. Oz held Hokuto so Chikayo could missle dropkick, but Hokuto moved and Oz took the impact. Hokuto fisherman bustered Oz. Oz tried her Tequila Sunrise on Hokuto, but Matsumoto broke it up. Hokuto Doctor bombed Oz for a near fall. Oz used her huracan on Hokuto. Oz assisted Chikayo on a somersault senton off the top for a near fall on Matsumoto. Oz & Chikayo did simultaneous double boot stomps to Hokuto and Matsumoto respectively for a near fall. Oz and Chikayo then combined for a double boot stomp off the top on Matsumoto. Oz and Chikayo tried a double lariat on Matsumoto, but Matsumoto ducked and the duo ran into a Hokuto missile dropkick. Hokuto plancha'd Chikayo. Oz huracaned Matsumoto. Oz powerbombed Matsumoto, but Hokuto made the save. Oz did her rolling senton block off the 2nd out of the ring to Hokuto. The Oz Academy members who were watching outside the ring jumped Hokuto and took her out of the picture. With Hokuto incapable of making the save, Oz used her Tequila Sunrise on Matsumoto for the win. After the match, Hokuto used a chair on the Academy members who caused her team to lose the match. Chigusa Nagayo, in her stupid Japanese warplane gimmick as Zero, arrived on the scene. Oz tried to jump Zero, but Zero caught her with 2 backdrops. With Oz down in the ring selling the backdrops, Hokuto came in to check on her condition. For some reason, Zero pushed Hokuto down. Devil Masami arrived on the scene. Devil, Hokuto, & Oz sat in a circle and talked. The angle would probably make more sense if I understood the language. Good match with solid work and execution. Oz & Hokuto didn't put on a show, but they weren't supposed to. Chikayo got to flash a good amount of offense. The main thing was for people to remember the post match angle. 14:14. ***

Megumi Kudo Anthology Commercial Tape

This tape was released by FMW just before Kudo's retirement match as her final tribute. The tape wasn't what I had initially expected. I was under the impression that it was going to have several complete matches. It had one complete match, Kudo vs. Kandori from 3/14/97, but the rest of the footage was in highlight form. In many ways, this was superior to showing complete matches because you can obviously do a better job of covering Kudo's career in 2 hours by showing clips of a lot of matches then you can by showing a few of her best matches in unedited form.

In terms of what matches they selected, I feel they did a pretty good job. They showed highlights of 30 different matches on the tape. I pretty much covered all of the matches shown in my tribute to Kudo. The one match I was surprised they left out was Kudo & Combat vs. Mita & Shimoda from Dreamslam II. That wasn't a major match on the show like Kudo's Dreamslam I match, but this was the match Kudo's team won. An interpromotional win over Mita & Shimoda certainly gives you some credibility. The problem for me with the footage was what they didn't show that I haven't seen. The tape only showed 1 match from AJW. They didn't show enough of her early FMW career, showing clips of only 3 matches from 1990, 3 from 1991, and 1 from 1992. The footage was definitely too Mad Dog Military intensive, especially since that's the period most Kudo fans don't want her to be remembered for.

The non-highlight reel footage of the tape had Kudo talking with Jaguar Yokoto, Reibun Amada, Combat Toyoda, & Atsushi Onita. The tape started with Kudo and Jaguar and they went over Kudo's early career in AJW. I'm assuming Jaguar was one of the people who trained Kudo, but obviously I can't understand what they are saying to confirm that. Jaguar was very serious, which I guess isn't very surprising. Kudo wasn't too impressive in her early career based on the little bit of footage that they showed. They pretty much showed her doing hip attacks. The funniest clip was a young, skinnier pre-Aja Erika Shishedo bodyslamming Kudo. Kudo's conditioning wasn't anything close to what it is now and she also wasn't nearly as attractive either. She improved in both of those categories every year.

The next section saw Kudo hang out with her former AJW classmates Reibun Amada & Combat Toyoda. These were the only good working opponents Kudo ever had in FMW. Those two along with Kaori Nakayama, who developed into a good teammate for Kudo, where also the only good teammates she ever had. Kudo seemed to have a really good time in this section. Combat looked so "normal" as she was dressed in regular attire rather than having the crazy colored hair and face paint she was known for when she wrestled. Reibun still looks good. It's unfortunate that she retired at such a young age. All 3 women were constantly cracking jokes and laughing. Reibun especially got a good laugh out of the old footage where she slaps Kudo for not engaging in the post- match haircutting. Unfortunately, they only showed highlights of 2 matches involving Reibun. This made little sense considering they picked her (and rightfully so) to contribute to Kudo's final tribute.

Next was the Onita section. Onita seemed pretty into it and had a lot to say. They showed clips from the two 1991 matches Kudo had with the Russian judo star Svetlana Gundarenko. Gundarenko appeared to be a terrible worker, to the point where she really didn't seem to have any business being in the ring. Kudo almost killed herself doing a plancha because Gundarenko, who was hunched over, didn't have the sense to stand up straight. Luckily Gundarenko is so huge that Kudo landed on her back rather than flying right over her and landing on the arena floor. After displaying Gundarenko's poor work in 1991, the next highlights weren't until 9/19/92. This was the match where Kudo teams with Combat vs. Hokuto & Bull. The footage on this tape, since the 1991 stuff consisted of bad matches vs. Gundarenko and nothing earlier from 1992 was shown, still leaves the question of when Kudo became a good worker unanswered. Kudo was definitely a good worker by the time this match occured, but how long she was good before this I may never know. The other notable thing about the highlights in this section is that the ref bump wasn't part of the footage shown from the 12/6/93 WWWA title match with Aja. Not showing the ref bump makes little sense because the whole point of it was to give Kudo an out for doing the job. This section generally consisted of the best Kudo stuff, not because this was the time period when she was as good a worker as she would ever be as that wasn't the case, but this was the time period where she worked the most interpromotional matches. Highlights included the 2 Kudo & Combat vs. Toyota & Yamada matches, the very good match vs. Aja, Kudo beating both Takako & Hotta in singles, and Kudo & Fukuoka beating Takako & Cuty at the Tokyo Dome. Unfortunately after the beauty idol match at the Dome, they switched to the hardcore stuff involving Shark's useless Mad Dog Military group. This is where the bleeding and gimmick matches kick in and where quality opponents are few and far between.

The next section had Kudo and Combat sitting in the seats at Kawasaki Stadium (site of Combat's retirement match). This briefly covered the end of Combat's career and all the not too notable post Combat stuff up to February of 1997.

They went back to Kudo and Onita talking between highlights. This section contained the Kandori footage. It had clips of the 1/5/97 LLPW match I still haven't seen in complete form. Kudo used Kandori's wakigatamae on her in that match. The finish was different as Kandori wrapped Kudo in a chain and held her over the Korakuen Hall balcony until the ref stopped the match. After this they showed the last Kudo vs. Kandori match in its entirety (reviewed later in the column). The tape ended with Jaguar, Reibun, Combat, & Onita each giving their final words on Kudo.

It's pretty hard to judge this tape. For someone who can understand what was being said, it may have been a great tape or it may not have been. There's no way for me to tell if Jaguar, Reibun, Combat, & Onita had valuable or interesting things to say. So the talking is basically a waste to those of us who can't understand what's being said. Of course, I could think of a million and one worse things than staring at Kudo during these conversations with her cohorts. The highlights on the tape were good. The match vs. Kandori was a good match. The opening video where they made a highlight video to Kudo's theme song was good. I was initially disappointed with the way the tape was done, but I quickly got over it. I definately enjoyed watching the tape. It's something I will (already have) watch more than once, which means I had to like it a lot.

All Japan TV 4/27/97 taped 4/19 Tokyo Budokan Hall

(with help from John D. Williams)

Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada. This was the third part of the triangular Champion Carnival final. A key factor is that these two had both already worked a match with Misawa, so they were "tired and injured" from that match. Given who was involved and what was at stake, it was a given that this was going to rule. The lariat arm was the key to the match. Kobashi's wants to win with his finishing hold the lariat. Knowing this, Kawada's strategy is to attack the lariat arm. He doesn't just want to "nullify it" or to avoid losing to it, he wants to force Kobashi to submit. His main offense in the match is all directed at the lariat arm. Both no-sold each other's stiff chops. Kawada threw roundhouse kicks, until Kobashi caught one and did the dragon screw. Kawada got right up and high kicked Kobashi. Kobashi ducked a lariat and tried for a German suplex, but Kawada took him down by the arm. Kawada did a short knee drop to Kobashi's lariat arm. Kawada then tried for a regular knee drop to Kobashi's lariat arm, but Kobashi moved. Kobashi applied a ½ crab to the knee Kawada had just landed on when he missed the knee drop. Kobashi then worked the same knee over by using a kneebreaker and kneecap dropkick. Kobashi tried two of his discus chops, but Kawada ducked both. Kobashi chopped Kawada then put him down with an enzui discus chop. Kawada wakigatamae'd Kobashi's lariat arm. Kawada tried to wakigatmae the lariat arm again, but Kobashi rolled through. Kawada seized the opportunity and hooked in the juji gatame (cross arm breaker) to the lariat arm. Kobashi was able to make it to the ropes, but Kawada didn't break the hold very quickly. Kawada is now able to hit the knee drop to the lariat arm. Kawada then arm breakered the lariat arm. Kawada threw round house kicks to the lariat arm, but Kobashi no-sold them and came back with kicks and shoulderblocks. Kobashi lariated Kawada, since Kawada has spent so much time attacking the lariat arm Kobashi sells the arm. Kobashi hit a released German suplex. Kobashi tried his lariat, but ran into a Kawada high kick instead. Kobashi tried the lariat again, but Kawada ipponzei'd (judo take down) him. Kobashi tried the lariat again, but ran into a Kawada enzuiguri. Kobashi finally hit the lariat. Kobashi his injured arm for a long time in the ring while Kawada sold even longer out of the ring. Kobashi tried to suplex Kawada back into the ring, but Kawada armbreakered him. Kawada then jumped off the apron, using the top rope to armbreaker Kobashi's lariat arm. Kawada tried for the juji gatamae, but Kobashi blocked it. Kobashi blocked Kawada's jumping high kick, but it hurt his lariat arm as well. Kawada tried for the juji gatamae again, but Kobashi was still able to block it. Kawada kicked Kobashi and tried for the juji gatamae again, but he's still unable to straighten Kobashi's arm. Kobashi hit 2 DDT's. Kobashi tried his powerbomb, but he couldn't get Kawada up, so he gave Kawada an enzui guillotine leg drop. Kobashi was then able to perform his powerbomb and jackknife combination for a near fall. Kobashi went for his moonsault, but Kawada got up, so Kobashi kicked him and did a diving guillotine leg drop for a near fall. Kawada ducked a lariat, so Kobashi enzui lariated Kawada with the non worked over arm. Kobashi tried a lariat, but Kawada hit his enzuiguri. Kawada hit his deadly Dangerous backdrop. Kawada then enzuiguried Kobashi for a near fall. Kawada tried a powerbomb, but Kobashi blocked it. Kawada then straightened Kobashi's "injured" arm out. Kobashi had to roll forward to stop the pain, but this allowed Kawada to try for the juji gatamae once again. Kawada got the positioning, but couldn't straighten Kobashi's arm out, so he opted to leave the arm for his trusty stretch plum. Kawada covered, but Kobashi kicked out at 2 3/4. Kobashi tried to comeback with weak chops, but Kawada laid him out with a high kick. Kobashi did more weak chops, so Kawada enzui lariated him. Kawada then staggered Kobashi with an enzuiguri. Kobashi tried his lariat, but Kawada got hold of his arm and tried to wakigatamae. Kobashi rolled through to escape the wakigatamae, so Kawada gave him a short clothesline for a 2 3/4 count. The crowd was really into the match at this point. Kobashi's "fighting spirit" had allowed him to escape all of Kawada's attempts at submission. Due to this, it was time for Kawada to change his game plan. In All Japan, when the stakes are high and all else fails, you are forced to go for the knockout. This was Kawada's chance to win the Carny, he had to go for the kill, to go for the KO. Kawada hit his powerbomb for a near fall on Kobashi. Kawada hit his jumping high kick. Kobashi chopped Kawada, so Kawada chopped back. Kawada gave Kobashi a koppo kick. Kawada koppo kicked Kobashi again. Kawada hit his jumping high kick for the win. Great match. Superbly laid out with a logical flow and everything having meaning. The match had the usual stiffness, although neither were as stiff with each other as they were with Misawa. The execution was excellent. It's kind of hard to rate this match because you have to consider that it came after each had worked a match with Misawa. The pacing wasn't going to be as fast and the workers were somewhat tired although it's hard to really measure how tired they really were. I mean, the selling in AJ can be so good that even though you know they are working you, you may find yourself wondering if they really aren't injured from taking a killer suplex on their head. So there were signs of the workers being tired, but given AJ psychology, they are going to act tired because the logic says that you should be tired if you've been in the ring that long. I don't really think them both being and acting tired detracted from the match. The main thing that kept this from being a match of the year contender was the length. A 21-minute main event in AJ generally won't be as good as the 30-60 minute matches because they won't do as much in the storyline and building departments. If you count the triangle match as a whole then I think it's match of the year quality even with the quite disappointing (in several ways) Misawa vs. Kawada match. However, in Japan, they count them as 3 single matches, so that's what we should be considering. As a single match it's slightly below what I would consider match of the year level, but still something that you need to see. 21:27. ****1/2

Champ Forum Gaea 4/26/97 taped 4/21 Osaka

Toshie Uematsu vs. Yuka Shiina for Uematsu's WCW Women's Cruiserweight Title. Uematsu's a pretty diverse wrestler. She could be quite good if she could take the various styles that she can work and combine them into one distinct style that's open enough so she can work with a lot of people, but closed enough so she can do it without giving up her identity. In this match she basically scrapped her Lucha style, which is her strongest, to work the more realistic style that AJW's Shiina can do better in. Both threw hard slaps early. Uematsu mounted Shiina and threw punches. Uematsu did a wakigatamae where she jerked (I assume accidentally) Shiina's arm back dangerously far. Uematsu tried a body slam, but Shiina turned it into a victory roll. Uematsu tried her Northern Lights suplex, but Shiina turned it into a small package. Shiina then tried a splash off the top, but Uematsu got her legs up. Uematsu then went to the top and tried a cross body, but Shiina dropkicked her. Shiina set Uematsu up for a superplex-like manuever, but Uematsu sunset flip powerbombed her. Uematsu hit her splash off the top for a near fall. Uematsu then used her Northern Lights suplex for the win. Shiina has improved, but is still nothing special. Uematsu did far less high spots than normal. Fairly simple match. 11:19. **

Akira Hokuto & Maiko Matsumoto vs. Chikayo Nagashima & Reiko Amano. Oz brought out a chair and sat at ringside to watch her young Oz Academy punks and talk on the house mic with Hokuto. Pretty basic set up here. Hokuto is the best of the bunch and she's the veteran. The Oz Academy is going to have to double team her and she's still not going to sell too much. The Academy had basically no chance of pinning Hokuto here, while she could put either one out at any time if she gets a finisher on. Matsumoto's the worst and least experienced of the bunch, so she's the bump girl. She's the one the Oz Academy has a chance of pinning. Nagashima & Amano double dropkicked Matsumoto then attacked Hokuto, who was on the ring apron, but Hokuto didn't sell. Hokuto piledrove Nagashima and covered her, but pulled her up. Hokuto put Nagashima in la tapatia and Matsumoto came in and used repeated axes to Chikayo's stomach. Nagashima whipped Matsumoto into the corner then monkey flipped her. Chikayo tried another monkey flip, but this time Maiko turned it into an atomic drop. Matsumoto used her gutwrench suplex on Nagashima and covered, but Amano saved. Amano ducked Hokuto's spinning high kick then hit a kneecap dropkick. Amano then hit a clothesline off the top. Amano went for another clothesline off the top, but this time Hokuto avoided it. Hokuto tried a German suplex, but Amano took Hokuto's leg out and applied a kneebar. Amano did her bridging single underhook snap suplex for a near fall on Hokuto. Amano slammed then Nagashima came off the top with a double boot stomp. Hokuto slapped Nagashima. Hokuto then KO'd Nagashima with a slap. Hokuto stood with one foot on Nagashima for a while. Hokuto asked Ozaki what she should do and Oz gave the sign to put Chikayo away with a deadly suplex. Hokuto then dragged Chikayo's limp body up and did her deadly henkei (means version of the) backdrop for the win. Not as good as you would expect. The main thrust of the match was to set up the main event of the 4/29 Korakuen Hall show that I reviewed earlier in the column. 9:48. *3/4

Devil Masami & Meiko Satomura vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Sonoko Kato. This match was seemingly the start of what would lead to the main event of the JWP show on 6/8 where Chigusa & Devil team up. Unfortunately, I have no idea what Devil & Chigusa were talking about after the match. Satomura, who's style is reminiscent of the old Chigusa style, usually teams with Chigusa. This was one of those "friendly" matches between members of the same faction that's designed to give the youngsters experience working their veteran "leaders." Satomura got the wakigatamae on Chigusa, but Chigusa got the ropes. Satomura then slammed Chigusa and Devil came off the top rope with a double boot stomp. Chigusa countered a suplex by landing on her feet and went right into a Japansese leg roll crotch hold, but rather than try for a pin, she went right to a knee bar. Devil charged at Chigusa, but Chigusa side stepped and Devil went over the top rope to the floor. Kato gave Devil a Thesz press off the apron. Chigusa then tried to cross body Devil off the apron, but Devil moved, so Kato took the cross body. Devil used her powerbomb on Kato for a near fall. Satomura then splashed Kato off the top for a near fall. Satomura weakened Kato's arm with an armbreaker. Kato tried a lariat, but with a nice transition, Satomura turned in into a wakigatamae. Kato used her bulldog on Satomura. Chigusa backdropped Satomura and covered, but then pulled Chigusa up. Chigusa did a Devil style powerbomb to Satomura, but Devil made the save. Chigusa high kicked Devil. Chigusa tried to Thunder Fire powerbomb Devil, but Devil landed on her feet. Devil used her powerbomb on Chigusa. Devil tried her powerbomb on Chigusa again, but Kato broke it up by dropkicking her. Chigusa used her leg lariat on Devil. Chigusa then ducked a lariat and tried her leg lariat, but Devil ducked. Devil assisted Satomura in doing a standing moonsault double boot stomp. Devil then Liger bombed Kato, but Chigusa made the save. Devil did her finishing powerbomb where she whipes the mat with her opponents body to Kato. Devil never released Kato after the powerbomb. Instead, she dragged her back up for another powerbomb, but Chigusa swept Devil's leg causing Kato to fall on top of Devil. Chigusa tried to drag Kato into their corner so Kato could tag, but Satomura came from behind and choke sleepered Chigusa. With Chigusa being choke sleepered by Satomura, Devil Tiger Drivered Kato for the win. Good work. Execution and psychology were good. Nothing spectacular, but real solid. 15:24. ***

FMW Women on Samurai Tv taped 3/14, 3/15, & 3/21/97

3/14 Sapporo Nakajima Sports Center

Rie & Yoko Ikeda vs. Crusher Maedomari & Miss Mongol. This is what we have to not look forward to from the post-Kudo FMW women's division. Ikeda is 18 and has no move set. I'm not really sure how much potential she has, but I'm unimpressed so far. She's got one of the most unenviable jobs in wrestling as she's the face bump girl in FMW. Mongol, 20, is better than the other large heels in the promotion, but that's faint praise at best. Rie & Crusher are horrible. Rie pulled the same garbage she did on 12/11 when the teamed with the Goddess Shiratori. Basically, she tags in every once in a while and works a minute or two then tags right out and lets her partner get squashed by the heels. Mongol did one of the lamest high cross bodies ever. Crusher no-sold Ikeda's offense. Crusher gave Ikeda a pancake suplex. Crusher splashed Ikeda, but Rie made the save. Crusher held Ikeda so Mongol could do a flying move, but Ikeda moved so Crusher took the impact. After taking 20 seconds to set up the move, Rie rolling cradled Mongol. They tried the spot where Mongol tries a sky high lariat, but Ikeda victory rolls Crusher just before Mongol hits Ikeda causing Mongol to miss. The spot was really blown as Mongol missed the lariat without Ikeda even ducking. A bit after that, Ikeda finally executed the victory roll with Crusher taking a horrible bump for her. Ikeda & Rie double facecrushered Crusher. Ikeda held Crusher so Rie could missile dropkick, but Crusher moved and Ikeda got hit. Mongol got a near fall on Ikeda with a diving shoulderblock. Mongol gave Ikeda a splash off the 2nd, Rie made the save. Crusher Michinoku Driver II Ikeda, Rie saved. Crusher nodowa'd Ikeda for the win. The offense in this match was pitiful. The selling was bad. Spots were blown. The work simply wasn't good, or even close to good for that matter. It seemed twice as long as it was. 10:10. 1/2*

Kaori Nakayama vs. Shark Tsuchiya. Kaori is the only FMW woman other than Kudo that can work. She's got an exciting move set, but no one to take the bumps for her. If she wasn't in FMW, she might become quite good, but in FMW she probably won't improve much. Nakayama dropkicked Shark twice before Shark got in the ring. Nakayama quebrada'd Shark out of the ring. Nakayama whipped Shark into the corner and gave her with a jumping chair shot. Shark used the sickle to slice Nakayama's head causing Nakayama to bleed heavily. There was no crowd heat at all for Shark slicing Nakayama up. Shark used the sickle more on Kaori, but still got no heat. Shark tried to use the sickle again, but Nakayama elbowed out and dropkicked her. Nakayama's comeback was short lived as Shark kicked her in the stomach and back dropped her. Shark got no reaction for choking Nakayama with a chain. Shark tried to hang Nakayama, but Nakayama elbowed out. Nakayama then jumped from the corner and turned it into a swinging DDT ala Gran Hamada for a near fall. Nakayama counted a Shark back body drop with a swinging DDT. Nakayama overshot on her moonsault, but still got a near fall. Nakayama went for a moonsault, but Shark slammed her off the 2nd then lariated her. Shark set Nakayama up for a powerbomb, but turned it into an overhead throw. Shark got a near fall with her back suplex. Shark piledrove Nakayama on a chair. Nakayama landed on her feet for a powerbomb and rolled up Shark for a near fall. Shark lariated Nakayama. Shark did a stiff Tsuciya bomb (jackknife) for the win. After the match, Shark kicked Nakayama in the head. Considering Shark was involved, this was pretty good. Nakayama was good here and made the match interesting. Shark can't work a lick. She's refuses to sell and can't sell and take bumps on the occasions that she attempts to, so this was about as much as Nakayama could get out of her. 11:49. **

Megumi Kudo vs. Shinobu Kandori in a no rope barbed wire death match. This was the third and final meeting between the two. It had two things that are uncommon to death matches, as it was both compelling and had psychology. As usual, given a capable opponent our "poster woman" Kudo had a good match. Kandori was good here once again, as she was actually in the mood to sell. Kandori wrestled in a button up shirt and tie, while Kudo wrestled in her pink and white Megumi bathing suit. They immediately teased the barbed wire spots. Kudo tried to push Kandori's face into the barbed wire, but Kandori countered by turning it into her wakigatamae. Kandori ducked a running lariat and Kudo was just able to stop in time to avoid going into the barbed wire. Kudo reversed an Irish whip, but Kandori slid so she wouldn't go into the barbed wire. Kandori hit Kudo with a strand of barbed wire three times. Kandori then pushed Kudo's face into the barbed wire causing Kudo to bleed. Kandori DDT'd Kudo. Kandori backdropped Kudo. Kandori tried her powerbomb, but Kudo landed on her feet. Kudo tried her hip attack, but Kandori side stepped it and Kudo landed in the barbed wire. Kandori did a swinging sleeper hold then covered Kudo for a near fall. Kandori wrapped a strand of barbed wire around her hand and lariated Kudo with it. Kandori tried to apply her choke sleeper, but Kudo countered with a jawbreaker. Kudo then tried a sleeper, but Kandori elbowed out. Kandori missed a lariat and hit the barbed wire. Kudo tried to dropkick Kandori against the barbed wire, but she screwed up the spot. Kudo back suplexed Kandori. Kudo used a strand of barbed wire to bloody Kandori's head. Kudo pushed Kandori's head into the barbed wire, causing Kandori to bleed heavily. Kudo pushed Kandori's face into the barbed wire again. Kudo wrapped the barbed wire around her arm and threw some weak elbows with it. Kudo applied her sleeper. Kudo toped Kandori over the barbed wire, which was quite cool. Kudo fisherman suplexed Kandori for a near fall. Kudo followed with a Northern Lights suplex for a near fall. Kudo then tried a Tiger suplex, but Kandori blocked it. Kudo did a Russian leg sweep into her Kudome clutch (Octagon special), but couldn't put Kandori away. Kandori lariated Kudo into the barbed wire. Kandori then Liger bombed Kudo for a near fall. Kandori went to her powerbomb again, but Kudo shifted her weight and landed on top of Kandori for a near fall. Kandori applied a heel hold. Kandori tried a kneebreaker, but Kudo once again shifted her weight and landed on top for a near fall. Kudo ducked a lariat and hit her Kudome Drivered (Tiger Driver) for a near fall. Kudo did a real sloppy fisherman buster for a near fall. Kudo tried her spinning Kudo Driver (reverse Gori especial bomb), but Kandori blocked it. Kudo hip attacked Kandori into the barbed wire. Kudo was now able to hit her spinning Kudo Driver. Kudo then hit Kandori with a running elbow for the win. Kandori surprisingly shook hands with Kudo after the match. A good wrestling match given the limitations of the stipulations. The set up was very good. It build well. Kudo was a bit sloppy. Kandori bled more than Kudo, which was surprising. The crowd was much more into this match than the 12/11 match. 16:25. ***1/4

3/15 Chitose

Rie & Kaori Nakayama vs. Miwa Sato & Shark Tsuchiya. Typical poor non-Kudo FMW women's match. Sharks's selling was awful and her comebacks were too quick. Miwa made it watchable as she was willing to sell for the faces. Nakayama used her handspring elbow on Miwa. Miwa whipped Nakayama with a flag that had a foreign object in it. Miwa gave Nakayama a somersault block off the top. Nakayama hit a floating DDT on Shark. Shark used her back suplex on Rie. Miwa then missile dropkicked Rie and covered, but Nakayama saved. Nakayama whipped Miwa into the corner and elbowed her. Nakayama immediately facecrushered Miwa and covered, but Shark saved. Nakayama hit a cross body off the top for a near fall on Miwa. Rie used her Northern Lights suples for a near fall on Miwa. Miwa fisherman superplexed Rie and covered, but Nakayama saved. Nakayama jumped from the corner and did her swinging DDT, but it was sloppy. Nakayama went to the top for her moonsault, but Miwa came in and saved Shark by pulling Nakayama off the top. Miwa German suplexed Nakayama for a near fall. Shark tried to lariat Nakayama, but Kaori ducked and Miwa got hit. Rie used the Destiny Hammer on Miwa. Rie then slammed Miwa and Nakayama gave Miwa her moonsault for the win. Match was bad when Shark was in, but fair when Miwa was in because Miwa did a lot of selling. Rie & Shark sucked. Nakayama was pretty good. Miwa was ok, which is good for her. Some well worked spots, but many not so well worked spots. 11:46. *1/4

Megumi Kudo vs. Miss Mongol. Kudo got a chance to work with a young punk here and basically took it easy as there was no reason for her to have to put Mongol over too much. Mongol has a very limited move set and doesn't bring much to the table, but she is a pretty good athlete for a woman of her size. Kudo was actually no-selling a few of Mongol's spots. This isn't surprising since it was a veteran vs. young punk match, but it is uncharacteristic of Kudo. Kudo hit a jumping neckbreaker drop and followed with her hip attack. Kudo then did a diving elbow that didn't hit very well for a near fall. Mongol countered Kudo's powerbomb and used some lame Mongolian chops. Mongol used her Mongolian chop off the second for a near fall. Mongol got a near fall with a diving shoulderblock. Kudo ducked a lariat and German suplexed Mongol for a near fall. Kudo hit a released German suplex for a near fall. Kudo then fisherman suplexed Mongol for another near fall. Kudo piledrove Mongol for a near fall. Kudo then tried her spinning Kudo Driver, but Mongol turned it into a back slide. Mongol missed a leg drop off the 2nd. When Mongol got up, Kudo caught her with a lariat. Kudo then Kudome Drivered Mongol for the win. Average match. Kudo carried the match, mainly dominating the young punk. 9:47. **

3/21 Sendai

Megumi Kudo vs. Shark for Kudo's WWA & Independent women's titles. Basically this was the same crap that Shark always does with Kudo. Due to Shark, the match was clearly below the standards of women's world title matches in Japan. Kudo gave a good effort and did a good job of making it halfway decent, which is all you can hope for if Shark is involved. Kudo ducked a lariat and used her hip attack on Shark. Kudo toped Shark. Shark and Kudo swung chairs at each other, with the chairs colliding, until Shark finally knocked the chair out of Kudo's hands. Kudo ducked a chair shot and dropkicked Shark. Kudo countered a quebradora (tilt-a-whirl backbreaker) by landing on her feet. Shark then tried to lariat Kudo, but Kudo ducked it and applied her choke sleeper. Kudo used her hip attack. Kudo got a near fall with a bodyscissor victory roll. Kudo got another near fall with a diving neckbreaker drop. Kudo then went to the top, but Shark slammed her off. Shark chaired Kudo. Kudo facecrushered Shark on a chair. Kudo tried her Kudome Driver (Tiger Driver), but Shark back body dropped her. Shark tried to hit Kudo with her barbed wire rod, but Kudo ducked and slid under the various attempts. Kudo tried a lariat, but Shark back suplexed her. Shark was even more terrible than normal on this spot as she took forever to execute the suplex, so the whole point of the fast transition through a counter was shot. That's the kind of spot that the big women who can work like Kansai & Kong excel at, but unfortunately even on their best day, FMW's large Mad Dog Military women can't claim to be a hundredth as good as either of those two. Shark choked Kudo with a chain. Shark tried to hang Kudo with the chain. Shark sat on the top rope and choked Kudo with the chain. Shark used the chain to tie Kudo up in the corner. Shark carved Kudo's head up with her sickle. This, of course, caused Kudo to bleed. There was no heat in this match for any of Shark's heel tactics. Everyone has come to expect that Kudo will get carved up in her matches against Shark, so its become passe. It's more of a sick ritual than what iy should be, which is a spot that pisses people off and causes them to react negatively toward Shark. The same thing happened in the Onita vs. Pogo matches toward the end, but due to his charisman and impending retirement, people still payed to see Onita anyway. The ref finally untied Kudo. Kudo tried to come back with a lariat, but Shark back suplexed her. Shark screwed this spot up again and this time her transition was even slower than before. Kudo landed on her feet for a powerbomb then applied her Northern Lights suplex. Kudo Northern Lights suplexed Shark again. Shark tried a back body drop, but Kudo DDT'd her for a near fall. Kudo tried her Kudome Driver, but Shark blocked it and tried to backdrop Kudo. Kudo landed on her feet for the back drop then hit a jumping neckbreaker drop. Kudo turned Shark's lariat into her Kudome Driver for a near fall. Kudo put Shark on a table and went to the top, but Victor Quinones stiffed Kudo with his kendo stick. Shark did a vicious Tsuchiya bombed (Thunder Fire powerbomb) onto the table. Shark screwed the spot up as Kudo's head, rather than her back, landed flush on the table. Shark Tsuchiya bombed Kudo on the table, causing the table to bend. Shark covered, but pulled Kudo up. Shark made a pile of chairs in the ring and piledrove Kudo on them. Shark once again went for the pin, but pulled Kudo up. Shark piledrove Kudo on the chairs again and once again pulled Kudo up. Shark Tsuchiya bombed Kudo for the win. Shark captured the WWA & Independent women's titles. Shark not only got no heat for her gimmick spots, but also got no heat for pulling Kudo up at the end of the match when she had Kudo beat. The work was pretty hit and miss. Shark controlled an awful lot of the match considering she was not only going over, but winning the titles in the process. 16:24. **

FMW Cluster Battle '97 on Samurai! TV taped 2/18 & 2/19/97 Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Hayabusa & Ricky Fuji vs. Hisakatsu Oya & Mr. Gannosuke from 2/18. Unfortunately, it appears that Oya is regressing as a worker. He wasn't impressive in any of the stuff I saw from February or March. Gannosuke is really out of shape these days. Hayabusa is garbage in a singles match as his several liabilities are very apparent. However, he can be effective in a tag match when he does the tag in, do his best spots, and tag out routine like he did here. Fuji worked hard here, carrying the bulk of the match for his side. Fuji immediately threw Oya to the floor and toped him. Hayabusa gave Gannosuke his tope con hilo. Gannosuke piledrove Hayabusa for a near fall. Hayabusa ducked a lariat and tried one of his own, but Gannosuke avoided it and went right into an outside cradle for a near fall. Gannosuke hit a lariat and an enzui lariat. Gannosuke then tried another lariat, but Hayabusa Frankensteinered him and tagged in Fuji. Fuji got near falls on Gannosuke with a lariat and his crucifix roll. Fuji thrust kicked Gannosuke then Hayabusa did his springboard spin kick. Hayabusa then used a standing moonsault for a near fall on Gannosuke. Hayabusa fisherman bustered Gannosuke then Scorpio splashed him for a near fall. Hayabusa quebrada'd Oya while Fuji used his Tiger Driver on Gannosuke for a near fall. Fuji brainbustered Gannosuke for a near fall. Fuji ran off the ropes, but Oya supposedly chaired him. Oya used a swinging neckbreaker followed by a DDT for a near fall. Gannosuke spine bombed Fuji for a near fall. Gannosuke tried to powerbomb Fuji. Seeing this, Hayabusa tried to save with his swandive spin kick, but Oya threw a chair which hit Hayabusa and caused him to get tied in the ropes. Gannosuke lariated Fuji then Oya backdropped him for a near fall. Gannosuke jackknifed Fuji. With Hayabusa still tied in the ropes, Gannosuke delivered his Northern Lights suplex to Fuji for the win. Basically what you would expect as far as being good in high spots, but not particularly good in anything else. The 1st half really went nowhere, but the 2nd half was good with a lot of near falls. **1/2.

Hayabusa & Fuji & New Mr. Pogo (Gosaku Goshogowara) vs. Mr. Gannosuke, Gladiator, & Crypt Keeper from 2/19. New Mr. Pogo is pretty bad. He has no heat on him at all. I don't think he's striking fear into anyone's hearts. Basically, he's a jobber and bump boy. Crypt Keeper is as useless and as lousy as pretty much anyone you can think of. There are worse, such as Shark, but he's clearly bottom rung and only pushed because he's a Quinones cronie. Fuji toped Keeper. Gannosuke did a diving chair where he broke the chair over New Pogo's head. Gannosuke piledrove Pogo for a near fall. Hayabusa quebrada'd Gannosuke out of the ring. Hayabusa reentered by swandive spin kicking Gannosuke. Fuji then used his crucifix roll & Tiger Driver on Gannosuke for near falls. Pogo came in and tried a suplex, but Gannosuke immediately came back (why?) by turning it into a DDT. Gladiator ducked a lariat and German suplexed Pogo. Gladiator used his Liger bomb on Pogo, but Hayabusa made the save. Gladiator did a splash off the top for a near fall on Pogo. Gladiator tried powerbombs on Pogo, but his teammated broke them up. Pogo used a jumping high kick on Gladiator. Gannosuke used his powerbomb on Pogo for a near fall. Gannosuke delivered his Northern Lights suplex to Pogo for the win. Pretty boring until the finish, which should tell you something since excitement is supposed to make up for lack of skill in these matches. The comebacks were way too quick. 14:47. *1/4

W*ING Kanemura & Dragon Winger & Hideki Hosaka vs. The Head Hunters & Hisakatsu Oya in a street fight from 2/18. Head Hunters are regressing by the minute. They are real slow on their spots, which they also take forever to set up. Hosaka tried to tope B, but B hit him with a chair. Kanemura hit A with a Liger dive. B used a chain to bloody Hosaka. Keeper Frankensteinered Dragon off the top for a near fall. A superplexed Hosaka then B gave him a diving headbutt, but Dragon made the save. Kanemura bled. B splashed Kanemura off the top for a near fall. A broke a chair over Hosaka's head. Hosaka spinebombed Keeper for a near fall. The W*ING team did a spike powerbomb to Keeper for a near fall. Dragon quebrada'd B. Keeper chaired Kanemura and went for a German suplex, but Kanemura low blowed him. Kanemura than used La Magistral for the win. Keeper & The Hunters beat up the W*ING team after the match. Selling was bad. Execution wasn't crisp. It was a brawl with some flying that really went nowhere. 11:03. *1/2

W*ING Kanemura & Hideki Hosaka & Dragon Winger vs. Hiromuchi Fuyuki & Jado & Gedo from 2/19. Jado & Gedo's workrate has plummeted over the past two years. Jado is now almost as chubby as Gedo. Kanemura toped Jado. Jado hiptossed Kanemura onto chairs. Jado did a series of headbutts where he pulled Dragon into his head by Dragon's mask. While doing this, Jado pulled Dragon's mask off. Fuyuki did his lariat to Kanemura, who took a nice flip bump. Fuyuki stretch plummed (I think this is called Fuyuki special, when he does it but I can't remember) Kanemura, but Hosaka saved. Kanemura bled. Gedo tried a flying splash, but Kanemura stepped back and Gedo landed on his knee. Dragon quebrada'd Gedo out of the ring. Dragon Northern Lights suplexed Gedo. Dragon draped Gedo over the top rope then W*ING came off the top rope and leg dropped him. Jado fisherman bustered Hosaka for a near fall. Jado tried to lariat Hosaka, but Hosaka ducked then Frankensteinered Fuyuki. Fuyuki took a really sad looking bump on that spot. Kanemura La Magistralled Jado for a near fall. Dragon German suplexed Jado for a near fall. Gedo used his moonsault off the 2nd on Dragon for a near fall. Fuyuki-gun gave Dragon consecutive lariats in the corner. Fuyuki powerbombed Dragon off the 2nd, with Jado & Gedo spiking it. Fuyuki put Dragon in his stretch plum. Hido came in and broke the submission by chairing Fuyuki in the back. Fuyuki then used his lariat on Dragon for the win. Finish was heated and pretty good, but the match as a whole wasn't much. The highlight of the match was that Kudo was hanging around outside the ring. 10:26. *3/4.

Masato Tanaka vs. The Gladiator for Gladiator's World Brass Knucks & Independent world heavyweight title from 2/18. This was the only legitimately good match on the 4 hours I saw from February & March (the March stuff isn't even worthy of a review). "US representative for FMW" Zach Arnold, who sent me the tape, said that I am highly overrating this match. He said it was horrific and that there wasn't even one *** match in the 4 hours he sent me. I thought this was the only match that was well booked (Quinones must not have scripted this one). It contained one nice sequence after another and the spots were actually set up, so one move was logically following the next. The psychology of the match (it actually had some) centered around Gladiator continually trying to put Tanaka away with his different powerbombs. Tanaka is the best worker in the company and he is the real deal. Gladiator was having a good night, but still not in the mood to sell much. Tanaka ducked a lariat then lariated Gladiator. Tanaka shoulderblocked Gladiator to the floor then followed with an elbow suicida. Tanaka whipped Gladiator into the turnbuckle and gave him a jumping elbow. Tanaka tried his swinging DDT off the 2nd, but Gladiator threw him off then lariated him to the floor. Gladiator did his dive where he leaps over the top rope and gives you a cross body. Gladiator came off the top with a table. Tanaka was now bloody. Gladiator got a near fall after a lariat off the top. Gladiator tried to Thunder Fire powerbomb Tanaka over the top rope through a table, but Tanaka slipped out and knocked Gladiator onto the ring apron with an elbow. Tanaka then ran at Gladiator, but Gladiator reentered the ring with a slingshot shoulderblock. Gladiator was now able to Thunder Fire powerbomb Tanaka over the top rope through a table on the floor. That's a really hellacious bump, which Tanaka sold very well. Gladiator gave Tanaka a stiff chair shot. Gladiator hit Tanaka repeatedly with a piece of broken table. Gladiator tried a lariat, but Tanaka slid under his legs. Tanaka then picked up a piece of the broken table and broke it over Gladiator's head. Gladiator no- sold this (makes little sense) and lariated Tanaka. Gladiator did a belly-to-belly superplex. Gladiator got a near fall with his flying splash. Gladiator rammed Tanaka's head into the broken table. Gladiator ducked a lariat and tried to suplex Tanaka on his head, but Tanaka rolled through and lariated Gladiator. Tanaka then used a jumping elbow. Tanaka hit his swandive missile kick followed by his swinging DDT. Tanaka then got a near fall with a frog splash. Tanaka tried a powerbomb, but Gladiator sidewalk slammed him for a near fall. Gladiator placed Tanaka on the top rope then released German suplexed him for a near fall. Gladiator used his Liger bomb on Tanaka for a near fall. Gladiator hit his running Thunder Fire powerbomb for a near fall. Gladiator tried his Kamikaze bomb (powerbomb off the top rope), but Tanaka superplexed him. Tanaka got a near fall with a sloppy Thunder Fire powerbomb. Tanaka hit a discus elbow for a near fall. Tanaka tried a running discus elbow, but Gladiator lariated him. Gladiator used his Liger bomb again for a near fall. Gladiator Liger bombed Tanaka for the win. Very good match with one nice sequence after another. Tons of high spots. Built well.

Tanaka did a great job here taking Gladiator's bumbs and selling them well. The main drawback is that there was little matwork. The matwork would especially made sense if it was done by Tanaka, as Gladiator's got a well established bad knee. 19:25. ***1/2

Head Hunters & Hisakatsu Oya vs. Tanaka, Koji Nakagawa, & Tetsuhiro Kuroda for the former's world 6-man street fight tag titles from 2/19. Tanaka was easily the bright spot in this match. Tanaka's left shoulder was bandaged up. B splashed Kuroda off the apron. Hunters spike powerbombed Tanaka off the 2nd through a table. Hunters used weapons to bloody their opposition. B hung Tanaka over the top rope with a chain. Tanaka superplexed B then Kuroda came off the top with an elbow for a near fall. Tanaka gave A his swinging DDT off the 2nd. Tanaka tried a lariat, but Oya went into a backdrop, however, Tanaka shifted his weight and landed on top. Oya ducked Tanaka's discus elbow and backdropped him. A got Nakagawa in powerbomb position and B lariated him off the top, but Kuroda made the save. A gave Kuroda an elbow off the top, but Tanaka saved. A powerbombed Tanaka for a near fall. A slammed Tanaka then B tried to come off the top rope with a splash, but Tanaka rolled out of the way. Tanaka discus elbowed B for a near fall. Nakagawa tried a German, but Oya low blowed him then DDT'd him for a near fall. Oya backdropped Nakagawa. Oya dragon screwed Nakagawa and tried for the figure 4, but Nakagawa small packaged him. Oya high kicked Nakagawa then figure 4'd him for the win. Tanaka was destroyed by American FMW after the match. Hunters are very slow now and there execution isn't too hot. Ok match. 14:12. **

Special thanks to Glenn Tsunekawa, Koji Yamamoto, & John D. Williams for their considerable help with this column.