WAR The First Anniversary of Revolution
This was a co-promoted show with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Show starts with a video compilation from the Tenryu vs Hashimoto feud, very intense
At first they were showing off Black Cat as the powerful threat of the match, but everytime Yasuraoka was in the ring with him, Yasuraoka would get the upper hand. Really stiff match with good wrestling, there was no babyface in peril stuff, just an even match. Black Cat and Nishimura were the faces, they won with a double submission spot.
This was a 5 minute brawl where Aoyagi had 90% of the offense, but Ishikawa won with one offensive flurry. Aoyagi also jumped Ishikawa before the match. Neither man is a good wrestler, but they made up for it with stiffness.
Machine/Goto/Ito are the heels and working on Kimura who was the babyface in peril for what seemed like most of the match. Babyface team were all super over, each one on their own way. Super Strong Machine seemed a lot better than usual.
The Tenryu/Hashimoto match that everyone has been waiting for, and surely it delivered and gave the fans the conclusion they wanted to see. Hashimoto worked Tenryu's legs throughout the match, so the first half of the match saw a lot of leglocks and kicks, eventually Tenryu did his comeback, slowly building it with small flurrys of offense, until Tenryu and Hashimoto started to trade big moves between each other. Crowd was super hot for the match and completely on Tenryu's side.
Post-Match Tenryu Interview - Tenryu is interviewed in the back while being tended by his young boys, it's all in Japanese so I can only assume he was asked all the questions about the match and what is next for him. There were constant photographs being taken and that made it feel like a big deal.
Beginning of Part II - This whole show was divided into two parts.
Ultimo Dragon came out with a weird headpiece and Mexican music; Honaga in the other hand, didn't get an entrance. This was 100% a Super Juniors match, pretty one sided, I don't think that any of the Honaga offense was at all a danger for Dragon, it was just a showcase for Dragon, but long enough and enough offense from Honaga to call it a squash.
Hase super over, with his glorious mullet flowing throught the sky as he jumps from the top turnbuckle. This was a speed/technical Hiroshi Hase vs a power/brawler guy in Fuyuki, so as long as Hase could get Fuyuki on the mat, he had the upper hand, but as soon as Fuyuki stood up, he would take control of the match. Neither guy is a heel here, so you may as well just cheer for the style you like most, crowd was definitely super hot for both guys. Match was somewhat fast paced, working more on Hase's pace, Fuyuki really not working all his usual antics. Finish sequence was great.
Tony Halme aka Ludvig Borga. First thing that happened in the match was Haku doing a piledriver on Halme on the concrete floor and busting him open bad, like crimson mask and crimson shirt bad. There are some weird video cuts in this match, so i'm not sure how much was edited out. Everything with Haku and BArbarian was great, and Tenta dominating was great too, the bad parts were definitely all Halme's, but mainly because he was bleeding so much he couldn't even stand up anymore. Finished sucked. I think this could had been a lot better, but at least they made the effort not to have a WWF match.
If you don't know who Kitahara is, that is understandable, because he never really became a star, which was quite unfortunate because he had all the necessary aspects to be one, expect the height, in this match Chono is towering over him and Chono was never known for being a monster in the ring. Kitahara was kinda like Hashimoto, but he was trying to make it in the wrong division, in the wrong company. Because of this, the crowd was dead, no one expected Chono to lose here, and he didn't. Wrestling wise, this was probably the second best match of the night, quite technical and stiff, this was an example of what Japanese Strong Style became years later. Finish kinda came out of nowhere and was lackluster.
Ughh, more unnecessary blading from the top of the match. It was all going nice and steady inside the ring until Muta busted Hara open using the ringbell. From that point on, what was playing out like a nice brawl became a one sided beat up, Muta pretty much dominated the rest of the match and Hara had no chance. It was nice seeing Muta work to his full physical abilities, but Hara was definitely too old too out for him to have a good match. People were mostly quiet for the match until the end when they got behind Ashura because he was getting his ass kicked.
This was a one match trip, I came here for Tenryu vs Hashimoto and to enjoy some Wrestling and Romance, and surely by the end, that was all that I got, this was worse than any other WAR (by themselves) shows that I've seen. Unless you're the biggest Tenryu or Hashimoto fan, skip this show.
Show starts with a video compilation from the Tenryu vs Hashimoto feud, very intense
Black Cat & Osamu Nishimura vs Nobukazu Hirai & Yuji Yasuraoka - 4.5/10
At first they were showing off Black Cat as the powerful threat of the match, but everytime Yasuraoka was in the ring with him, Yasuraoka would get the upper hand. Really stiff match with good wrestling, there was no babyface in peril stuff, just an even match. Black Cat and Nishimura were the faces, they won with a double submission spot.
Takashi Ishikawa vs Masashi Aoyagi - 3/10
This was a 5 minute brawl where Aoyagi had 90% of the offense, but Ishikawa won with one offensive flurry. Aoyagi also jumped Ishikawa before the match. Neither man is a good wrestler, but they made up for it with stiffness.
Super Strong Machine, Tatsutoshi Goto, and Yoshihiro Ito vs Kengo Kimura, Shiro Koshinaka, and The Great Kabuki - 6/10
Machine/Goto/Ito are the heels and working on Kimura who was the babyface in peril for what seemed like most of the match. Babyface team were all super over, each one on their own way. Super Strong Machine seemed a lot better than usual.
Genichiro Tenryu vs Shinya Hashimoto - 8.5/10
The Tenryu/Hashimoto match that everyone has been waiting for, and surely it delivered and gave the fans the conclusion they wanted to see. Hashimoto worked Tenryu's legs throughout the match, so the first half of the match saw a lot of leglocks and kicks, eventually Tenryu did his comeback, slowly building it with small flurrys of offense, until Tenryu and Hashimoto started to trade big moves between each other. Crowd was super hot for the match and completely on Tenryu's side.
Post-Match Tenryu Interview - Tenryu is interviewed in the back while being tended by his young boys, it's all in Japanese so I can only assume he was asked all the questions about the match and what is next for him. There were constant photographs being taken and that made it feel like a big deal.
Beginning of Part II - This whole show was divided into two parts.
Norio Honaga vs Ultimo Dragon - 5.5/10
Ultimo Dragon came out with a weird headpiece and Mexican music; Honaga in the other hand, didn't get an entrance. This was 100% a Super Juniors match, pretty one sided, I don't think that any of the Honaga offense was at all a danger for Dragon, it was just a showcase for Dragon, but long enough and enough offense from Honaga to call it a squash.
Kodo Fuyuki vs. Hiroshi Hase - 6.5/10
Hase super over, with his glorious mullet flowing throught the sky as he jumps from the top turnbuckle. This was a speed/technical Hiroshi Hase vs a power/brawler guy in Fuyuki, so as long as Hase could get Fuyuki on the mat, he had the upper hand, but as soon as Fuyuki stood up, he would take control of the match. Neither guy is a heel here, so you may as well just cheer for the style you like most, crowd was definitely super hot for both guys. Match was somewhat fast paced, working more on Hase's pace, Fuyuki really not working all his usual antics. Finish sequence was great.
John Tenta & King Haku vs. Tony Halme & The Barbarian - 4/10
Tony Halme aka Ludvig Borga. First thing that happened in the match was Haku doing a piledriver on Halme on the concrete floor and busting him open bad, like crimson mask and crimson shirt bad. There are some weird video cuts in this match, so i'm not sure how much was edited out. Everything with Haku and BArbarian was great, and Tenta dominating was great too, the bad parts were definitely all Halme's, but mainly because he was bleeding so much he couldn't even stand up anymore. Finished sucked. I think this could had been a lot better, but at least they made the effort not to have a WWF match.
Koki Kitahara vs Masahiro Chono - 7/10
If you don't know who Kitahara is, that is understandable, because he never really became a star, which was quite unfortunate because he had all the necessary aspects to be one, expect the height, in this match Chono is towering over him and Chono was never known for being a monster in the ring. Kitahara was kinda like Hashimoto, but he was trying to make it in the wrong division, in the wrong company. Because of this, the crowd was dead, no one expected Chono to lose here, and he didn't. Wrestling wise, this was probably the second best match of the night, quite technical and stiff, this was an example of what Japanese Strong Style became years later. Finish kinda came out of nowhere and was lackluster.
Ashura Hara vs. The Great Muta - 6/10
Ughh, more unnecessary blading from the top of the match. It was all going nice and steady inside the ring until Muta busted Hara open using the ringbell. From that point on, what was playing out like a nice brawl became a one sided beat up, Muta pretty much dominated the rest of the match and Hara had no chance. It was nice seeing Muta work to his full physical abilities, but Hara was definitely too old too out for him to have a good match. People were mostly quiet for the match until the end when they got behind Ashura because he was getting his ass kicked.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
This was a one match trip, I came here for Tenryu vs Hashimoto and to enjoy some Wrestling and Romance, and surely by the end, that was all that I got, this was worse than any other WAR (by themselves) shows that I've seen. Unless you're the biggest Tenryu or Hashimoto fan, skip this show.