Sting is in a worked shoot tournament. No, this isn't a pre-emptive April Fools Day joke, Sting is in a worked shoot tournament. Apparently Antonio Inoki decided to host a 4-man kickboxing tournament and one of the guys he chose for this was Sting, because when you're Antonio Inoki you can just do stuff like that. When I saw that this was one of the main attractions of a January 4th show, I knew I had to check this show out. Is it as wacky and weird as it sounds?




The two wrestle around on the mat but because Otani is a technical wizard he gets the upperhand and starts working the leg. Eventually Samurai breaks out and starts kicking Otani which he no-sells. Slam, and Samurai works the wrist . Samurai transitions into an arm bar, but Otani wriggles out and goes back to working the leg. When Samurai starts to wiggle out, Otani breaks the hold, kicks the leg, and puts the hold back in. After rope assisted leg stomps, Samurai gets the ropes on a figure four. After releasing it, Otani simply puts the hold back on, resulting in a faster five count and Samurai screaming in pain. Samurai rolls out of the ring. Otani jumps on Samurai a and locks in a chin lock as soon as he gets back in. Jaw jacker to break it pretty much immediately. I like this because Otani has only worked Samurai's legs, so why would anything else immobilize him Otani blocks a piledriver by falling to his knees but Samurai muscles him through anyway. Otani blocks a backdrop by again falling to his knees, but Samurai muscles through anyway. I don't know if the Sumo Hall (where Super J Cup 1994 was) has a different audience base than the much larger Tokyo Dome, but I feel like if this show was at the Sumo Hall these are the kind of spots that would get pops, but they're just not. Neckbreaker by Samurai. Surfboard dragon sleeper by Samurai. Samurai locks in a Liontamer. The way Otani's head is positioned it kinda looks like it would hurt his neck so props to him. Otani gets the "fighting spirit crawl to the ropes spot in" which is strange because I would've thought Otani would be the heel. Otani barely makes it to the ropes, and Samurai hits a side walk slam for a two. Otani dodges a dropkick and hits one of his own. Otani does a running flip senton that gets no pop from the crowd and a two count . Otani locks a chin lock in, but transitions it into a headscissors. Otani transitions it into an eye rake STF. and locks it on several times each time the referee calls for a break. Samurai goes lower on the face, fish-hooking Otani. This is legal. Otani gets a rope break. Samurai hits a superplex for a two. Otani misses a spinning wheel kick and gets hit with a running dropkick. Samurai hits a horrible sounding suicide dive which nearly sends Otani into the time keeper's area backwards. Samurai drags in Otani for a sidewalk slam, followed by a Diving Headbutt which nets a two. The crowd is perking up now. German Suplex for two. Tombstone Piledriver for two. Otani hits a crazy springboard crossbody to the outside after a kick sends Samurai out. Samurai kicks out of a missile dropkick to the back of the head. Otani hits a clunky looking Super Frankensteiner, but that works out for the better when they tease a sunset flip counter for a two. Death Drop by Samurai Now Samurai does the Super Frankensteiner for a two when Otani finds the ropes. Shoulder powerbomb. Another powerbomb gets a two. Chain wrestling ends in a Dragon Suplex for the three, Otani retains.

This match got off to a good start, but I feel like they decided to abandon psychology mid match for dives and big power moves to get the crowd back, which they did, but it just felt like two different matches, plus an out of nowhere finish didn't really help matters.
6.5/10



Weirdly enough, Norio Honaga's Wikipedia doesn't mention him winning the title for this reign, even though he beat Wild Pegasus in a tournament for it. He also beat Liger in a Junior league for it years earlier, so this dude's apparently pretty prolific.

Something I like about this already is that both Norio and Sasuke are flanked by seconds, which makes this look like a real martial arts fight. It sounds like Sasuke gets a louder pop than Norio Sasuke starts working the leg, but Norio scoots to the bottom rope and causes a break. Standoff and chain wrestling, this time Sasuke applies a standing leg lock so Norio can't get to the ropes. Norio gets to his feet and locks in a bow and arrow. Sasuke gets out of it and gets stomped. Sasuke flees to the ropes after an arm lock and gets his arm racked across the ropes by Norio. Now Norio is stomping the leg. Norio goes back to working the arm. Norio racks Sasuke's arm in the ropes. Stomps to the arm. It's weird to see a guy drop to the ground and leave the ring after an arm lock but it works here. Norio rams Sasuke's shoulder into the ring post. Norio does a tombstone shoulder breaker and more offense to the arm. Damn, headbutt to a locked wrist in the ropes was cool. I've never seen a front suplex into the ropes used as offense to the arm, but it makes sense. I like that Norio tried for a pin in the ropes, made it feel more desperate and real. A kick to the arm on a running Sasuke was pretty cool. Norio locks in a step over wrist hold which causes Sasuke to scream in pain, he drags him away from the ropes but the ref demands a rope break anyway because rules are important. Sasuke eventually breaks out of wrist lock doing that crazy snapmare that only he can do. Tiger Feint Flip is met with a lariat. Sasuke hits a spinning wheel kick though and falls into the pin still selling his wrist. Sasuke locks in a chin lock. Now Sasuke locks in an armbar. Norio finds the ropes. Sasuke breaks and drags Norio to the center of the ring and puts it on again. At least Sasuke is a law abiding citizen who will break pressure on a hold in a rope break situation. Norio powers out and works the leg because you just grab anything you can when you're trading submissions. Norio breaks and stomps Sasuke's head, causing him to fire up and do a drop toehold. Sasuke grabs hair in a leg lock and when admonished simply locks in a Bow and Arrow. Norio gets out of it and gets a pin, which Sasuke gets out of and immediately locks in a chancery. Sasuke fighting for submissions isn't something you would normally see out of him but he's very good at it. Norio grabs the arm. and locks in an arm lock. He works the arms with knees. Norio crotches Sasuke on the ropes which gets a gasp from the crowd. This gets a two. Sasuke counters out of a suplex into a waist lock but gets low blowed and lariated. Sasuke gets a handspring elbow out of nowhere. Tope Con Hilo by Sasuke. Sasuke hits a springboard moonsault on the outside, which is super impressive because you're given almost no vertical room between you and your opponent. Sasuke is selling his arm and I bet these suicide dives do untold crap to your limbs that we don't even understand. German suplex for a two, pin into a bridge for two. Norio blocks a spin kick and hits a lariat for two. Now Norio is desperate. Kick and a superplex cuts off Norio's planned top rope offense. Sasuke marches Norio around the ring in the tombstone position and hits it. Weird thing to do if a guy's been working your arm for 15 minutes. Norio gets his knees up on a dive that genuinely looks like it jacked Sasuke's jaw. A crucifix pin and Norio retains, Literally the only two things separating this from a perfect 10 is the march around the ring tombstone spot, and the fact that, while this is probably the most acceptable finish besides an armbar or something, the finish really should've been a final arm hold.

9.5/10



JJ Jacks might be the best tag team name of all time, but they don't tell us who is who of the duo, only Kido is identified by himself on their team. When I tried to rectify my ignorance on this I realized that my match listing either misidentifies Akira Nogami as "Kogami" or there was a guy named Kogami in JJJ that was not listed in Wikipedia. That, and I'm only marginally sure Iizuka is the guy in the black trunks (can't recognize him without a dog collar) so in the spirit of that, the guy with the mullet is Mullet Guy and the guy with black trunks is Black Trunks. Mullet Guy and Kobayashi start. Kobayashi is immediately a scary man, grunting loudly like a stereotypical samurai from a movie before they even lock up. Mullet Guy immediately dropkicks Kobayashi out of the ring and slams him Irish Whip and dropkick on the ramp. Satio makes the save, and the two have the most ginger takedown brawl spot of all time. At least from the punches you can determine this is a heated feud. Saito gets tagged in and knees the shit out of Mullet Guy with a snapmare. Sick kick and scream from Saito. Mullet Guy blocks a kick, mutiple running elbows. Black Trunks gets tagged in hits various slams and starts working the leg. Saito flourishes out but get hits with stiff strikes almost immediately after. Kido gets in, and you can tell this is what the crowd want because they pop . Now Kido works Saito's leg. Saito counters and gets to work Kido's leg, but Mullet Guy gets tagged in, and he and Saito slap each other's chests. A stiff kick, and now Kabuki gets tagged in. Stiff sounding chops by Kabuki. Kabuki and Kido share the ring now which really pop the crowd. They get a standoff and test of strength. Kido does a cool European rolling flourish back into the test of strength. Black Trunks gets tagged in and works Kabuki's arm. Kobashi does a running elbow and a face grinding move to get Black Trunks to roll away. Kobayashi kicks Black Trunks out of the ring and hits him with a suplex on the ramp. Kobayashi sounds like he's doing VO for a fighting game he's so loud. He locks in a Liontamer on Black Trunks. Kobayashi and Saito gets some stomps in, and then Black Trunks gets a running punch to the stomach. Saito and Black Trunks slap each other's chest in a terrifyingly intense way. Mullet Guy and Kido do a double shoulder block. Mullet Guy hits a brainbuster for a two. Mullet Guy immediately locks in a Boston Crab. Mullet Guy slams Saito while Kido hits a knee drop. Kido goes ham with kicks. Neckbreaker for a two. Saito fights back with kicks. Black Trunks beats the shit out of Saito with kicks. Black Trunks locks in a half crab but Kobayashi gets a throat thrust in two break it up. Mullet Guy counters a kick into a Northern Lights Suplex that takes entirely too long to set up. More kicks by Saito who takes in Kabuki. Kabuki makes stiff contact on a lariat and gets a two. JJ Jacks fight for control and get a double clothesline. Kabuki and Kobayashi try a double clothesline but it gets ducked, but when Black Trunks tries for a dropkick they just spread out. They attempt a double back toss but Black Trunks fights out. Kido locks in a Fujiwara armbar on Kabuki which Saito has to break up, now Kobayashi gets a Fujiwara which Saito has to break up. Mullet Guy gets a missile dropkick on Kobayashi, but kicked by Saito. More kicks by Saito, Saito gets turned around doing a kick and gets backdropped for it. Mullet Guy gets a suplex . Mullet Guy completely misses a kick on Kabuki which he has to sell. JJ Jacks do a wacky Irish Whip fakeout into a facecrusher into a top rope splash, which gets broken up. Kabuki gets a lariat on Mullet Guy while the other two clear the ring for the win. Why did Kabuki, who did the least, have to get the pin? Beyond that, what was an above average strong style contest gets ruined by a clunky last three minutes which all lead to a wet fart of a finish
4.5/10



Yuji looks weird without all blue gear. They shake hands as the bell rings. This isn't advertised as a shoot but they're striking and going for takedowns like it is. Yuji looks like the more competent strikerr wth Koji throwing hand strikes when he can. Another submission flourish and standoff. Koji finally hits a kick that reams Yuji and knocks him down. Rib breaker by Koji. Koji hits a top rope moonsault two minutes into the match for a two. Koji gets kicks in now, but a blocked one turns into a capture suplex for Yuji. Yuji's hitting kicks now, including one to the back of Koji's head. Yuji works the arm and then gets a stepover hold. Yuji locks it into an armbar, Now they have each other in a leglock. Real neat closeup on Koji as he's being kicked in the face by Yuji to break free. Koji just breaks the hold and starts destroying Yuji's back with kicks. Now Koji is hitting stomps and punches. For some reason Koji hits a big kick and just stands down, which allows Yuji and to come and a waylay Koji with knees and terrifying kicks. Nagata locks in a sleeper and sits Koji down for a chin lock. This is a fight, Koji is grabbing legs, anything he can to get out of this chin lock, Koji finally locks in a chancery but Yuji manages to work it around for a triangle armbar. They have each other's legs locked but Yuji gets the upperhand. When Koji locks it in for himself Yuji forces a rope break. Yuji now has an arm lock on Koji which transitions into a full arm bar. Now Yuji is attempting to tie Koji in a pretzel. They are working each others legs again. They roll around to force a rope break. More leg work by Yuji, Koji is just looking out classed now. Koji has dominant guard now and is working the arm. Koji gets an arm bar but it's for naught because Yuji Nagata apparently just kicks life's annoyances to death. Koji gets a wrist lock after kicking out of a Nagata German. This causes Yuji to scream in pain. Yuji gets a rope and the people clap. Yuji locks in a Fujiwara himself now and transitions into a crossface for a rope break. Yuji beckons for Kojj to get up, and when he does, kick, kick, German. Yuji gets a two. Koji breaks the rope after a chickenwing. Belly to Belly followed by a Rear Naked Choke. Koj breaks out of it, hits a running drop kick, followed by a chop which Yuji no sells, and a kick that knocks him down. Spinning wheel kick off the top rope. Brainbuster and Koji goes up top for a shooting star press in which he under rotates but lands on his shoulders somehow for the three. This was a lovely MMA match bookended by some genuinely surprising pro wrestling. My only complaint is that Koji spent entirely too much time on defense,

9.5/10




This match is all Tenzan at first. Nakanishi gets a body slam and some elbows off but Tenzan no sells that and kicks him back down. Brutal kicks to head by Tenzan . Nakanishi fires back but again Tenzan no-sells. Spinning wheel kick by Tenzan and Nakanishi is no selling now. Tenzan locks in a standing leg lock because reasons. Nakanishi fights out and hits Tenzan with elbows and chops. But then Tenzan hits one chop and knocks Nakanishi down He locks in a chin lock which Nakanishi fights out of, locking in his own, and hitting Tenzan with clubbing forearms. and a headcrank. Tenzan stands up Nakanishi Nakanshi does a big swing with Tenzan still in the sleeper. More swinging and then stomps. Slaps, slam and an elbow for two. Nakanishi locks in a death lock. Tenzan powers out and stomps a downed Nakanishi. Tenzan hits a disgusting powerbomb and then a senton. Tenzan hits a diving headbutt for a two. Tombstone piledriver now. Tenzan hits a moonsault and breaks his own pin. Tenzan hits his clapping chops, and then a janky powerslam for a two. This was a stereotypical Strong Style match that was basically an extended squash for Tenzan
4/10



Since my rip of this show edited out entrances, we cut to the Singh's beating the crap out of their opponents on the ramp, hitting them with the blunt end of rapiers for some reason. It looks like one Ohara gets poked in the throat at one point. Instead of just DQing Tiger Jr for choking Ohara, the ref pulls Tiger Jr off. They isolate Ohara. Ohara no sells an enzuguri but gets dropkicked down. Koshinaka gets spat on for trying to get in the ring, the match breaks down into a four way. The Singh's are not following tag rules, and now they just are and Onara and Koshinaka are double teaming Jeet Sr. Jeet Sr goes for a low blow but ends up punching Koshinaka in the knee, so they have to do it again. Ohara gets a lariat for a two, and spits in Junior's face. Junior audibly yells "FUCK YOU" which was hilarious. Jeet Jr gets tagged in, super noticiably whispering spots as he whips Ohara off for a Spinning Wheel kick. More spitting and profanity. Ohara fights back when Sr. gets tagged in and tags in Koshinaka. Koshinaka hits a messy butt attack where he lands on his ass after contact. Ohara tags in and immediately Sr takes control. Sr tags in Jr. Sr has a razorblade for Jr to whip Ohara into but the whip is reversed . Ohara grabs the blade and hits him with it. Koshinaka has an umbrella and hits Jr. with it outside the ring. Sr no sells a butt attack and pins Ohara with a choke (?) for the win (???). This match was super out of control. Tiger Jeet Jr did nothing, but at least when everyone was in the ring with no weapons the action was servicable, saving it from a dud
1/10





Tony Palmore is a chubby black guy in a t-shirt red sweats and boxing gloves. Sting is in his wrestling gear, including face paint. Tony looks like he's throwing punches and kicks at the air as opposed for punches and kicks for Sting to dodge if that makes any sense. They get in the corner, they get in the ropes. Sting gets in the ropes again and Tony throws some super weak jabs before it's broken up by the ref. Sting blocks a punch and gets a hip toss. Chin lock (which, in fairness Tony sells like it's a choke) gets a rope break. Tony hits and axe kick and punches for a rope break . Tony kicks Sting in the gut and lands some punches, another axe kick. The ref counts Sting down, and Tony shoves Sting down. This gets boos. Sting gets up at 7. Sting slips around a kick and takes Tony down. Tony then gets up and proceeds to hit Sting with several punches and kicks. Sting blocks a kick and LOCKS IN THE SCORPION DEATHLOCK IN A WORKED SHOOT FIGHT FOR THE WIN! WHAT??? This the most absurd thing I've ever seen. I love this so much.


7/10




The crowd gasps when Antonio gets kicked in the shin by Gerard, another kick to the shin. We're two and a half minutes in and the only thing new that's happened is more kicks to the leg. Gerard sweeps the leg and knocks Antonio down, the crowd again gasp. Gerard actually gets Antonio down but they end up in the turnbuckle. Teases at kicks until Inoki reverses a guard and Gerard has to go for a rope break. Antonio blocks some punches/kicks, attempts to go down for a hold but Gerard blocks it. Antonio reverses another guard and Gerard lunges for a rope break. Gerard nails a punch which genuinely seems to rock Inoki. Gerard hits more punches until Antonio locks in a choke sleeper, Gerard tries to throw him off but Inoki stays with it and gets the tap out victory. This is a much better shoot fight. Gerard looked like a threat, and Antonio looked like a grappler so good at it most fighters would fear him.

7/10



Yatsu and Choshu do a secret handshake looking thing which popped me. Choshu is grunting, snarling and basically looking scary. Chosu and Goto take turns kicking each other in the stomach and Choshu wins that exchange with a running kick.. Choshu hits more kicks, but Yatsu does a low blow which doesn't look right but looks better than Tiger Jeet's earlier. Choshu no sells a running elbow, teases a death lock, but kicks Goto in the dick instead. More kicks. Choshu tags Yatsu in for a club to the back/axe handle combo that I've never seen before, especially with one of the double teamers backed up in the corner. Yatsu hits moves. Goto picks the leg and tags in Kimura. Kimura and Yatsu get a stand off Kengo works the arm but Yatsu gets a slam, which Kengo somehow counters with an armbar, which he transitions into a headscissors. Yatsu counters out with a stomp, and we reset. Kengo works Yatsu into his own corner for some reason, allowing Choshu to tag in Choshu and Kengo stand off. These resets are really adding to the drama. A tie up into the corner allows Kengo to get some stomps in. Kengo tags in Goto, and the two get double team stomps in. Yatsu tags in, and Goto no sells headbutts whiel Yatsu whiffs an Enzuguri. Goto no sells a chop and a slap with lots of chops, tagging in Kengo. They wail on Yatsu in the corner with forearms. Yatsu fires back with a headbutt on his knees, but Kengo responds by biting the forehead for a second. A headlock by Kengo gets a rope break, to which Kengo responds with knees. More biting. Kengo holds Yatsu in the ropes for stomps. Goto's in now with chops and thrusts. Goto pitches Yatsu out of the ring. They test of strength when Yatsu gets back in, and Goto wins it with a headbutt to the chest. Goto headbutts Yatsu a bunch but Yatsu hulks up, but they're in the heel corner, so Kengo can hold Yatsu in place to punch while antagonizing Choshu on the other side. Kengo tags in and gets some stomp to the guts, but Yatsu counters into a back drop. Yatsu makes the hot tag, and they hit a Spike Piledriver together. Choshu hits some stomps and Kengo is prone unmoving on the mat. Choshu crosses the leg for the Death Lock but also crosses the hands to avoid a rope break. Eventually Yatsu turns him over, but looks back to see if Kengo will make the ropes. When he realizes this will happen, he tags in Yatsu, and he holds him in position for a flying elbow. Yatsu hits a powerslam for a two. Kengo fires back with what I can only describe as a spinning wheel elbow. Kengo tags in Goto and holds Yatsu in place for a Goto lariat. Backdrop and a pin gets a two. Kengo gets tagged in and he hits a much better looking spinning wheel kick. Yatsu tries for a lariat running up the ramp but hits Kengo instead. Yatsu lariats Goto now and tags in Choshu, Choshu hits a lariat on Kengo. Choshu locks in the Death Lock and Goto waddles over and breaks it up with a head lock. What was the point of this entire sequence then? The referee applies a 5 count to Goto, but the ref just stops the count. Kengo gets some kicks and a knocks Choshu down. He tags in Goto. Goto holds Choshu in place for a leg lariat. Choshu hits a backdrop and tags in Yatsu who's standing on the top rope, which I didn't know was something you could do. He hits Kengo with a powerslam. Two runnning bulldogs for Kengo now. Now the heels hit a high low which Goto makes no contact on. Choshu breaks up a spike piledriver by Superplexing Goto while Yatsu hits a powerslam Yatsu tags Choshu who simply walks back to his corner. Choshu hits a pair of lariats on Kengo for the win. While this was a much better example of strong style than say Tenzan v. Nakanishi, there were a ton of things that bugged me (rule breaking, going about double the length it should have, and the wet fart of a finish)

6.5/10



Chono and Sabu might be the most random tag team of all time. Anyway, this match starts out in a brawl Chono taking Fujinami and Sabu taking Harata. Sabu busts out a flying crossbody off a folded chair on the ramp immediately. Sabu busts out his flying kick/splash thing in the turnbuckle off the chair, and immediately the other team takes control, Fujinami throwing out Sabu while Harata waffles Chono with a chair, he then jabs Sabu with it when he tries to get on the apron. Fujinami throws Sabu in. Harata works over Sabu's neck until Chono gets blind tagged. He goes after Fujinami which allows Harata to work him over briefly. Strong style strike exchange Lockup into the corner, Sabu tags in, flips off Harata's back and hits a kick. Fujinami gets tagged and wrestles Sabu down into a pin which he kicks out of at two. Sabu chokes Fujinami while Chono tags himself in. Fujinami works Chono's leg and Harata joins him for a wishbone split. Harata locks in the STF which gets a gasp from the crowd. Sabu breaks it up though, which allows Chono to lock in a half crab which he transitions into an STF. The ref decides Chono is choking Harata and demands a break. Chono does the thing where you break a hold but then lock it back in immediately after, so I guess him and Sabu are the heels? Sabu tags in and hits the Arabian facebuster for a two. Sabu locks in a chin lock which Harata breaks out of. Fujjinami tags in only to go for a suplex, nearly lose his footing and end up in the enemy corner. Chono tags in and they work him over only to throw him into his own corner, at which point Chono demands Harata be tagged in. He does. Chono slams Harada and hits a top rope shoulder block. Chono mouths off, and goes for something off the top rope but Harata meets him up there for a superplex. Harata running Lariat's Chono into the corner and hits him with chops, Chono pulls the turnbuckle padding down for Harada to run into on a turnbuckle splash. Sabu tags in and just starts attacking both opponents but eventually focuses on Harata. Sabu holds Harata in place for a running kick. and Sabu hits a Springboard Leg Drop. Chono hits a running kick on Harata which pisses off Tatsumi enough to get in the ring but he gets double teamed despite fighting valiantly, getting hit with a running kick and stomped out of the ring by Sabu. Sabu grabs a table while Chono grabs a chair. Everything gets thrown in the ring and Harata gets waffled with a chair. The scuffle between Fujnami and Chono jostles the camera which is a nice touch. Sabu unfolds a chair on top of another chair while Harada lays prone on the table. The table doesn't break and I'm not sure if Harada moved out of the way or not but it looks like Sabu about busts his collarbone. Fujinami takes Sabu while Harata hits a lariat, powerbomb, and then goes up top for a diving headbutt. Chono no sells a lariat, and when Harata goes for another one Sabu hits him as he bounces off, allowing for Chono to hit the Yakuza Kick for the three count. I liked this a lot, it had a fun mix of hardcore and story, and had a very American finish with the heels cheating to beat the fired up babyfaces, which was refreshing on this show.
7.5/10



Animal trips Norton and Hawk hits a flying clothesline. Beyond that, if there was a Mendoza Line (a line from which to measure perfectly average) for pro wrestling, this would be it. Too big beefy men in garish oufits slamming into each other

5/10




Sting looks visibly exhausted during intros, whereas Antonio Inoki looks like he could shoot fight everyone in the building, win, and then murder everyone else on the island with the daggers he's staring at Sting. Sting goes for a crab but converts it into an STF that makes John Cena's look like Masa Chono. Eventually he just abandons any kind of neck pressure and we're in this half STF for seemingly forever. Sting has a neckhold on but you wouldn't have known that considering the camera man was zoomed in on Antonio grimacing for the entire transition. Sting looks like he's too tired to crank holds. About another minute of this hold and Antonio finally gets a break. Sting hits a stiff sounding kick on Inoki, and Inoki gets to the position he used to troll Muhammad Ali in their infamous fight. Sting grabs a leg and audibly shouts "YES!" when he's able to turn him over. Antonio turns it over and sting resets, while Antonio goes back to laying on his back. Sting goes for a suplex and gets a two. A two. A pinfall in a shoot fight? This tournament is more confusing than Fight for the Right. Back to the STF for Sting which looks somehow worse than the last. Back to the Antonio Inoki Grimace Cam (tm) Antonio goes on his side but Sting keeps a waistlock which necessitates a rope break. Sting starts clubbing Antonio in the back of the head and I immediately got flashbacks to the evisceration of The Great Antonio. Sting gets shin kicks in and locks in The Scorpion Death Lock. The crowd is vocal about this, because I guess if you tapped a kickboxer out in the last round, you can tap out Inoki. Sting knocks Inoki down after the rope break and gets a jumping elbow, for a two. Just to remind everyone, this tournament is meant to be a shoot. Antonio is sitting on the ground clutching at his leg so naturally Sting locks in a Figure Four leg lock. British Bulldog style powerslam nets a two. Sting tries again but gets put in a choke. The ref calls for a stop.

We get a flash forward (presumably after bringing Sting back from the great beyond), and the two shake hands. Inoki is then given a sash and trophy because he is the coolest and the strongest.

I can't de-rate this for being the world's most transparently fake shoot fight, because that shark got jumped already, and fake MMA will always bring me joy. If you take the absurdity out of it, this had some cool moments. Some subtle call backs to Inoki's younger days, and some pretty solid story telling once Sting was more in his wheelhouse . Unfortunately, a ton of this match was an exhausted Sting trying to be a shooter, and we became too intimately aware of what Antonio Inoki looks like when he's taking a tough shit.
6/10



I'm gonna peel back the curtain a little bit here. The reason why I do move for move recaps of the more obscure shows is because not all of this is easily accessible (and yes, I'm aware New Japan World exists and that this is a Tokyo Dome show, and thusly probably on there. But let's be honest with ourselves New Japan World is probably the most cumbersome wrestling streaming service to use). My goal in writing this obscure retro reviews is so that people can decide if they too want to go down the rabbit hole and watch these shows.

But the for the "move for move" style is an exception here. These guys go for nearly 30 minutes, and if I wrote everything that happened here I'd be writing this for a year I'm just going to try to tell the story I as best I can

The two teams go hod for hold for about 10 minutes, which is insanely impressive (even as far as both getting kisses from women in the audience, for Hase and Rick) You can tell this is a babyface vs babyface match because the only reason Hase holds Scott in place is so Mutoh can get in the ring. Hase gets the advantage on Scott when he starts striking. Mutoh and Hase work Scott's leg Rick tags in and Scott just no sells everything that was just done to him once he tags in. The Steiners work over Hase, it's now made apparent the woman that kissed Hase earlier is his wife. The Mutoh gets worked over after fighting back, then Hase gets worked over. Mutoh gets worked over again, and Hase is the one who comes in like a house of fire. It breaks down into a four way. Mutoh flips out of a German Suplex which allows Hase to hit a Northern Lights for the three. This was a bit of a wild one, and devolved into "just moves" but the tag psychology was wild in the end.

8/10



Hashimoto is decidedly the more powerful striker, so it shocks the crowd when Kensuke breaks through and starts striking. Hashimoto shuts that up with an Enzuguri though and the physics of that are mind boggling. Kensuke uses some admonishment by the referee to hit a lariat on an unsuspecting Hashimoto. Kensuke takes control and we reset because this is a shoot fight? Kensuke works a rear naked choke into a wrestling choke. Kensuke throws punches when Hashimoto tries to grab the arm which fires up Shinya. Shinya blocks a lariat by punching Sasuke in the joint of the arm before contact which I've never seen before Shinya works the arm. It's all Shinya forever until Kensuke fights back, and teases the Strangle Hold, but there's a rope break. Another tease at the Strangle Hold. I like the idea that Kensuke is so powerful just a few moves shake the armor of Shinya. At some point Shinya got his nose broken and is bleeding. Third attempt at the Strangle Hold Power Slam, and he locks in the Strangle Hold. Shinya gets out and suplexes Kensuke. He goes for more but Kensuke counters with a suplex of his own for a double down. STRANGLE HOLD....but Kensuke collapses. Kensuke hits an arm drag that looks more like a DDT for 2 1/2. Shinya gets his karate on but it's not enough to put away Kensuke. Fisherman's Buster finally nets Shinya the pinfall to retain. Shinya was on offense for too long at the beginnng, but it made Kensuke's comeback and the conclusion of the match all the more exciting.

8.5/10



I gave Inoki-ism a try and I don't think I'm about it. The storytelling and match quality varied so wildly that it was hard not to feel drained after a few matches. That said, more of this show did come close to best of all time than didn't, so I would say watch the individual matches on New Japan World and skip the fluff (except for Sting shooting, you have to see that!)