AJPW/NJPW/WWF Wrestling Summit 1990
Editor's Note: The following are either dark matches or omitted from the broadcast due New Japan not wanting their talent to appear on All Japan TV These matches were
Six Man Tag Team Match
Dan Kroffat, Doug Furnas & Joe Malenko defeat Samson Fuyuki, Tatsumi Kitahara & Toshiaki Kawada (11:56)
Singles Match
Jushin Thunder Liger defeats Akira Nogami (8:37)
IWGP Tag Team Title Match
Masa Saito & Shinya Hashimoto (c) defeat Masahiro Chono & Riki Choshu (13:00)
The show
Hulk Hogan promo: Bad. Hogan lndicates that we are in fact in the Egg Dome tonight and butchers the Japanese language. Especially upsetting because, of the two "promos" we get tonight this is the best one.
We immediately start the show with a mindfuck, as Kenta Kobashi, who would go on to be one of the most prolific stars in puroresu, does the jobber jog to the ring with longtime partner Fuchi as "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins plays.. Even weirder is that Shane McMahon is the referee. Tito and Kenta start out, and Tito is working cowardly heel. Snuka starts yelling at the ref, which prompts Fuchi to get in the ring, which prompts Snuka to get in the ring. Finally after some exchanges in which moves from both guys get pops. Tito asserts who the heel team is supposed to be by throwing Kenta to the outside and shouting "Ariba!" on the top rope. More heel work by the gaijins.. The crowd pops huge when Kenta regains control with a diving crossbody and tags to Fuchi who throws punches. Snuka distracts the ref while Fuchi hits Tito with some mounted punches. Tito does some amazing selling for Fuchi, some kicks and some double teaming by the AJPW guys gets the crowd back into it. Snuka does the, "accidentally drop an elbow on my pinned tag partner" spot. Snuka does a crappy bump for a missle dropkick. but it allows Tito to take momentum back and tag Snuka. Snuka immediately does his "chop a running opponent" move. Snuka getting hit by a pair of Diving Crossbodies makes him look like a fool considering that was as much apart of his offense as the Superfly Splash and he should know how to reverse it. Also the fact that we basically get two diving crossbody spots in a row betrays the fact that Snuka didn't want to bump which is attrocious.. Fuchi tags in, and gets a bit more of Snuka than Kenta did. Fuchi fucks up a jump over Snuka who is laying down but is professional enough to trip into the ropes and sell his knee. Another running chop by Snuka, followed bu a missed headbutt. Fuchi hits Snuka with a back body drop, which he takes a bigger bump for/sells longer than Snuka. The crowd boos. Tito tags in and immediately starts dropkicking his ass off, which gets the crowd back into it. Tito back body drops Fuchi, and Fuchi takes a huge bump for it as if to show Snuka how to do it. Flying forearm/Superfly Splash combo nets the win for Team WWF. As a side note, Tito throws the best Flying Forearm I've ever seen him throw while blocking Kenta from interfering. Very disappointing match with at least 50 percent of the stuff not performed by Kenta or Santana botched.
3/10
The match starts with Bret begging off, leaving the ring to give his glasses to a ringside attendant. The commentator for the match acknowledges the fans booing by using the word "booing" which I've never heard before in Japanese commentary before. Some quick exchanges to start. Tiger Mask works Bret's arm. Really cool reversal where Tiger Mask counters into an armlock mid scoop slam. More quick exchanges,. Bret bumps to the outside for a dropkick. Suicide dive fake out by Tiger Mask, which prompts Bret to put his hands on his hips with an annoyed glance at the camera as if to say, "Can you believe this crap?" which got a chuckle out of me. More quick exchanges and arm holds. Bret stands up and backs Tiger Mask into the corner, whips him out and gets a diving crossbody, only for Bret to roll through. Bret immediately slaps on a chin lock. Tiger Mask starts to stand up but Bret puts on a headlock. Tiger Mask punches out of it and hits a headlock of his own, but Bret very quickly whips him out of it. Tiger Mask telegraphs a dropkick, so the story now is that Tiger Mask's forte is striking while Hart's is submissions. Catapult into the corner by Tiger Mask and some rough sounding stomps in the corner. Another armlock by Tiger Mask. Bret gains control and whips Tiger Mask to the ropes. Tiger Mask goes for the second crucifix pin of the match with Bret counters into a Samoan Drop. More headlocks by Bret. Tiger Mask whips Bret away and hits him with a spin kick on the way back.. Sliding dropkick by Tiger Mask sends Bret out of the ring. Plancha by Tiger Mask pops the crowd and the commentary team who pop huge for it. Tiger Mask stomps Bret as he gets into the ring and applies a cross armbreaker and ah, suddenly all the arm holds make sense. Bret gets in the ropes, but the ref doesn't see it for some reason. Only until we get the birds eye view cam and Bret puts his entire body into the ropes does the ref see it. Both guys get back to their feet and we're resetting for some reason. Arm lock by Tiger Mask. Bret plays possum after selling that he messed up his knee on a telegraphed leap frog. Bret hits what looks like a shoulder block on Tiger Mask, even though the man on commentary calls it a lariat but it's unclear due to the camera angle. The crowd boos Bret for this. Bret hits his backbreaker for a two. Bret stands up Tiger Mask and starts hitting forearms. Tiger Mask counters the third forearm into a backslide for two which was a cool spot. Bret takes control with a few strikes before blatantly stealing Tito's bit from the previous match where he throws his opponent out of the ring and poses. Stiff forearm to the back outside the ring by Bret. Bret brings Tiger Mask inside the ring for a Russian Legsweep for a two. . More restholds by Bret. In a completely out of character moment Bret yells "C'MON, ASK HIM", which I'm sure caused a young Chris Jericho to furiously take notes.. Tiger Mask stands up but Bret irish whips Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask flips out of whatever Bret was trying to do and hits a brutal looking scoop slam. Tiger Mask goes to stand bac kup but Bret hits what basically looks like the same move physics wise as a backbreaker except Tiger Mask's ass lands squarely on Bret Hart's knee which looked brutal. Beautiful suplex by Bret garners a two. Another chin lock by Bret except this time they do the "arm raise to check for a KO" bit which is odd because Tiger Mask doesn't sell like he's out. Tiger Mask clearly raises his arm but the ref still tries to do the arm raise spot. Tiger Mask blatantly grabs the ref shirt as if to get him oriented. Tiger mask tries to punch Bret's arm to release the hold which i wish I saw more in wrestling. Now Tiger Mask is actually selling being out, and for some reason Bret breaks the hold to punch him in the back of the head and lock in an abdominal stretch. Tiger Mask counters into an Abdominal Stretch of his own. Bret counters out with a throw that causes both men to fall down. Bret counters a running attack in the corner with a boot. Bret goes up top for an elbow and misses. Now it's Tiger Mask's turn to go up, Diving Crossbody nets a two. We get a few more exchanges before the time expires and it's announced a draw.
I've heard this match called "Misawa's only two star match" which is bull crap. Go see this match immediately.
9/10
In our second "weird entrance music" entry of the night. Greg comes out to "She's got the Look" by Roxette. Also because this is a few weeks after WM6, he's in full Rhythm n' Blues Elvis gear. There's something depressing about a man coming out to an 80s rock song dressed as Elvis and looking disappointed in himself. He then gets in the ring, and just as I think. "He'd better not do a dance" , he tilts to one side, does a belly dance for half a second, and then pops back into place like a malfunctioning Chuck E Cheese robot. I don't normally do this but I've included a video to the match here because it's truly one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen.
Kabuki comes out and does all the things you'd expect Kabuki to do. Nunchucks, mist, etc. This is the loudest the crowd has popped all night.. Lots of stiff strikes. The commentator breaks (WWF) kayfabe and mentions Johnny Valentine, no doubt mentioning the familial connection. He also laughs when Valentine does a Flair flop. Greg takes control with a knee and some suplexes. Rest holds. Kabuki takes control with some strikes but gets hung up in the tree of woe during a running attack. More dancing from Greg except this looks closer to the Honky Tonk Man dance. It still elicits a horrified "UGH" from one of the commentators. Stomps happen, but eventually referee Shane McMahon frees Kabuki, who sells his knee. Valentine headbutts Kabuki in the nads. instead of going for the figure four which confused me. More dancing, except this time he looks like Disco Inferno and is visibly amused by the crowd's disgust. Meanwhile every Valentine dance has made me hate this match more and more. Valentine works the leg, and goes for the figure four, but sells a kick from Kabuki like he's out on his feet, and falls into the school boy for a two. Kabuki fires up now and starts punching the shit out of Valentine, locking in a Boston Crab. Valentine begs off and punch's Kabuki in the stomach. More working the knee. Valentine does his regular lasso taunt, and then dances more, this dance I would define as angry seizure. Even more dancing, and the crowd actually sounds annoyed now. Kabuki does the world's ugliest looking small package for the three count. had flashes of a good match but Valentine constantly dancing and the wet fart of a finish puts this match deep in the ground
2/10
The crowd is super into both guys on their entrances. A lockup, shove and "come hither" gesture from Bossman pops the crowd. An arm wringer exchange, a punch counter out of it, and another "come hither" gesture by Bossman. An early counter sees Bossman block the DDT by falling to his knees and rolling out of the ring. Arm wringer by Bossman results in an elbow to the face by Jake, which Bossman takes a big bump out of the ring for. This, again, pops the crowd. You can really tell by the bumps A. Who's worked Japan before, and B. Who realizes how important this show is. Bossman bellows "WHAT CHU WANT ASSHOLE" to someone in the crowd as he stands on the apron. His stalling gets his arm wrung by Jake.. Jake and Bossman do the "can't knock me down" spot, which pops the crowd. Bossman hits a spinebuster on a running Jake. Bossman works the back with hard hitting offense. Jake plays a great babyface in peril, collapsing after a hard Irish whip into one of the buckles. Bossman intimidates the ref after a two count which really gets the crowd into it. The crowd HATE Big Bossman, to the point where we're actually getting crowd shots of people chanting against him. Bossman sneering at the crowd gets the biggest boos so far. At one point Bossman prevents a bearhug reversal by throwing Jake to the ground, which was awesome. More sneering at the crowd by Bossman, which gets them more riled up the more he does it. A lariat, and more sneering. Normally I hate repeated spots/stalling, but the fact that it hasn't lost the crowd yet keeps me invested. Chinlock into a sleeper hold, which Bossman, to his credit, wrenches the shit out of. Bossman stands up Jake and hits a running clubbing axe handle to the back. Bossman goes for a top rope splash, which Jake dodges. Bossman takes the bump on his knees, but roles to the clear opposite side of the ring. I love this logic because if you've had all two moves done to you, why would it be believable to sell a move regularly and then feed into a comeback? Jake follows Bossman to the outside, wrings his arm in the corner, rolls him back in, does some theatrical punches, and a short arm clothesline which Bossman takes about half of the classic Rikishi bump for, still looked cool as hell. Jake whips Bossman into the corner, and goes for a running knee lift, but somehow Jake fucks up and ends up taking his own bump. Bossman, being the professional he is, sells none of this. He picks Jake up only to get hit with a DDT out of nowhere which yields the three. How Bossman was not immediately made Triple Crown Champion after this I don't understand. Jake grabs the snake by the throat to put it on Bossman and I got horrifying flashbacks to Heroes of Wrestling. Regardless this pops the crowd with people leaning in closer to get pictures. I would put this match in the "Go find this" category.
9/10 one of Big Bossman's best matches
For some reason, Macho gets a graphic during his entrance that has several stats, including age, which says he is 37. We'll talk about how accurate those numbers are later. Tenryu makes his entrance, throwing his shirt at Macho, who throws it right back. Sherri making a fuss out of leaving the ring and demanding to disrobe Macho gets huge heat. Macho poses with the crown briefly for more heat. Macho gets in Tenryu's face, and Tenryu shoves Macho for a big pop. Macho gets some punches in, but gets whipped to the ropes, and slides out of the ring. The crowd let out a disappointed "OHHHH" Macho stalls, gets on the top rope, and poses for MORE boos. Macho gets on the apron, stretches, gets into the ring and poses more. Macho pantomimes throwing a punch. Now Tenryu is stalling, which hilariously causes Sherri to shriek "YOU COWARD" at him. cut to Sherri, who throws an "Up Your's" gesture at the crowd, which gets more heat. I'd like to point out that no wrestling moves beyond a lockup have happened yet and this is the most involved the crowd has been so far. Finally we get some action. Macho reverses a Tenryu suplex, but Tenryu simply turns around and chops the shit out of Macho into the corner, the final one knocking him down. The crowd pops as if Japan has just taken home the gold in every Olympic sport . Sherri distracts Tenryu which allows Macho to attack from behind. Macho chokes and punches Tenryu. Tenryu hits a lariat. Macho takes a fantastic flip bump out of the ring off of a Tenryu Back Body Drop. Apron Crossbody onto Macho from Tenryu. The crowd pops huge.. Now Sherri attacks Tenryu from behind, which allows Macho to attack from behind. Tenryu gets thrown over the commentary desk. Sherri starts screaming at one of the commentators, Kazuo Tokumitsu, a Nippon TV news anchor who genuinely looks like he's about to hulk up. The crowd pops huge, they want to see this tiny Asian man beat the shit out of Sherri. Macho throws Tenryu back in the ring. and punches him. Tenryu counters a running attack in the corner with a boot and hits an Enzuguri, which Macho sells like he's being shot by a Tommy Gun in a gangster movie, convulsing on his feet and then collapsing. Macho hits a surprise clothesline which warrants a two count. More chokes and punches. The referee tells him that this is against the rules. Macho responds by shoving the ref,flat on his butt, which caused the crowd to gasp in shock. I'm guessing the referee doesn't call for the bell here because he realizes Macho and Sherri would beat the shit out of him if he did. Two count for Macho. More chokes, a shoulder block, and a two count by Macho. Tenryu blocks rebouding in the ropes, which Macho responds to by clotheslining Tenryu hard. More choking by Macho. Sherri slaps Tenryu, and while this not only gets the most venomous boos all match, causes Tenryu to fall out of the ring setting up Macho Man's axe handle. Macho rolls back in the ring, which distracts the ref and allows Sherri to hit Tenryu with a running axe handle of her own, which Tenryu bumps for. by falling over the guard rail. Macho throws Tenryu back over and gets in the ring. Tenryu goes to get in but gets waffled in the back of the head by one of Sherri's shoes. Tenryu kicking out of the subsequent axe handle gets a huge pop Macho hits a huge the elbow, which he way over shot, but looks like a super brutal knee drop so it works. Tenryu kicks out of the elbow. Eye rake, and a flying Axe Handle is countered. The crowd pops huge for a teased Powerbomb which Macho counters out of. Macho hits a Diving Crossbody, and in a moment of amazing storytelling, he tweaks his knee because it's not something he normally does. This allows Tenryu to hit an Enzuguri and a Powerbomb for the win.
I give this match a PERFECT 10/10. This should serve as a how-to video for every facet of the business.
Jumbo gets a crazy elaborate light show for his entrance. Meanwhile Perfect is announced as "Mr Perfect" Curt Hennig. The heels jump the babyfaces right away, knocking Jumbo out of the ring, hitting Haku with a double dropkick, and then hitting Jumbo with a double clothesline upon re-entry. Jumbo and Perfect start us out. Chops, punches, and then a knee lift by Perfecf. Jumbo counters a running attack out of the corner, and hits a jumping knee to perfect before knocking Martel off the apron. Jumbo tags out which dampens the crowd a bit. Perfect bumps like a mad man for simple leg kicks by Haku. Haku hits more moves and tags Jumbo back in. Perfect again bumps like a mad man for a double clothesline by the babyfaces. For some reason during an abdominal stretch we get a close up of Mr.Perfect's erect penis. FoMartel comes in to punch Jumbo in the stomach, which breaks the hold. We get some chops to a kneeling Jumbo by Perfect. More chops by Perfect. Even Martel heeling out and holding Jumbo in the corner barely pops the crowd. We get the neck snap by Perfect, Perfect being a dick and punching Haku in the corner wakes the crowd up, as does Jumbo firing up and posing. Jumbo tags out again to Haku. Some of Haku's unique offense interests the crowd. Perfect tags into Martel, who basically just hits slams and elbow drops. Hurricanrana by Martel at one point. He also pulls out a Springboard Splash. throws out of the corner Martel, followed by another Hurricanrana attempt by Martel, except this time it's counter into a facebuster into the top rope. Martel tags in Perfect who jumps right on Haku, puts like 3 moves in and then tagged Martel back in, and the two hit a unique double scoop slam, which smartly leads to a Boston Crab with Haku facing away from the ropes. Jumbo comes in to break it up which allows the heels to switch out illegally. Jumbo again goes into break up another submission, another illegal switch. Haku tries to fight back but gets his eyes raked in the corner by Martel. Tag in to Martel who does a top rope splash after a back breaker, but Haku gets his knees up. Hot tag to Jumbo, Jumbo fires up, is momentarily overwhelmed by both heels, until Haku runs in to save the day. The babyfaces work over the heels in opposite corners and then whip them into each other. Haku whips Perfect out of the ring while Jumbo whips Martel into a jumping knee and Backdrop for the win. Perfect also takes a crazy bump while trying to make the save.
6/10. Unlike the opening tag, everyone put their best foot forward, and I consider this a classic example of how to do tag team wrestling.
Ultimate Warrior "promo": Bad. He growls and roars at a small Japanese interviewer like a werewolf, which scares him. Warrior paces around the room and tries to scare the man again, but this time he barely sells it. This leads to.
We get the status graphics that include the age. It indicates that Ted Dibiase is 39 and Ultimate Warrior is 28 This is when I called bullshit on the numbers Did some simple math and determined Warrior had just turned 31 at the time of this show, so not SUPER inaccurate it's just particularly glaring with the significantly younger Warrior.
Warrior is jumped by Dibiase during his entrance. Ted is nice enough to get the belt off Warrior, but in order to protect kayfabe he whips him across the stomach HARD with it. Hard chops by Dibiase but Warrior immediately takes control with various slams and a big clothesline out of the ring. Dibiase stalls while Warrior poses up top. The crowd loves Warrior. Warrior shoves his way out of a lockup and Dibiase backs up into the corner, which pops the crowd. Another shove out of a lockup except this time Dibiase falls on his ass. Warrior can do no wrong in the eyes of this crowd. Warrior throws Dibiase after picking him up into the backdrop position. Dibiase slows the match down, fires back with punches, and a headlock. Somehow, punches= a better headlock as Warrior can't fight his way out. Criss cross, drop down, and huge shoulder tackle by Warrior. Dibiase steps out of the way of Warrior's flying shoulder tackle. Stomps, chops and punches by Dibiase. The crowd really want Warrior to go through his comeback because they get disappointed whenever Dibiase knocks him down. Powerful kickout by Warrior, Warrior makes a breif comeback before Dibiase slows the match down. Snapemare, fist drop, and suplex warrants another powerful kickout by Warrior. A piledriver an a kickout, and Warrior starts Warrior-ing up. Warrior hits his comeback for the win.
5/10
We get a "promo" before Andre and Baba's entrance, but I can't give it it's own subheading because Baba says about 11 words between 4 questions. Smash starts by punching Baba, which gets boos as this is clearly a cardinal sin in Japan. Baba quickly reverses around, and Smash begins selling like a boss for Baba, and then Andre when he accidentally flops into his corner and gets punched for his efforts. Smash gets put in a headlock against the ropes, which gets released. Smash goes to punch Baba but Baba traps the arm in an armlock. Smash gets a bearhug against the ropes, goes for a dirty break, but gets punched in return by Baba along with an elbow strike. Smash counters back with punches but Baba locks in a headlock, tagging in Andre. The crowd pops as Andre headbutts Smash. He stands on Smash, stands him up, and punches him down again. Smash avoids an Andre elbow drop, and tags in Ax. The two rapid tag one another exchanging duties in punching the downed Giant. They repeat a sequence in which one of the members of Demolition would tag in, choke Andre, get punched, and tag back in. not making Andre have to work harder to get the momentum back. Brilliant. Finally Andre manages to crawl out of the corner. Ax hits an elbow drop, but Andre grabs a headlock before he can stand back up. Andre gator rolls to his partner and tags in Baba. Baba river stomps Ax, and chokes him when he crawls to one of the neutral corners. Smash punches Baba from the apron, allowing Demolition to tag in and out, with one stomping and punching Baba while the other one holds him open. Baba fights out of the corner and hits a neckbreaker on Smash. Baba drags Smash back to his corner and tags in Andre. Smash gets cute and tries to potato Andre, which causes Andre to reel back and punch Smash as hard as he can, to which Smash takes about half a flip bump and immediately tags in Ax. Andre chokes Ax, throws him into the turnbuckle and chokes him some more Smash comes in to break it up. Baba comes in to even the odds and works over Ax. Ax tags to Smash who continues to beat on Andre. Baba comes in and starts beating up Smash, and Ax when he tries to interfere. The Giants whip Demolition into each other.and while Ax takes a powder, Smash gets Baba's big kick. and Andre's elbow for three count
6/10
We replay the Hogan promo from earlier, we even get a special "Special Dream Match" graphic. Stan comes out whipping random people in the crowd and the cameraman with his bullrope. He bodychecks the ring announcer mid intro. Armlock by Hogan is countered with some aggressive shoves by Hogan. Hogan hits a drop toehold but Hansen counters into a headlock on the way down. Hogan quickly counters out of it to a headlock of his own. Hansen backs Hogan into a corner and provides some resistance about a break. Hansen gets Hogan in arm wringer and smacks Hogan in the shoulder. Hogan finds the ropes and gets another smack to the arm for his trouble. The two separate and lock up again. Another drop toehold into a mother (censored) STF by Hogan. Hansen tries to squirm out but Hogan locks his fingers around Hansen's neck. and tries to work his way into a pin, which Hansen counters into a rollup. The two scramble out and we once again reset. Hogan grabs a headlock but Hansen pushes him into the ropes for a rope break. The two exchange single punches and stare down, which pop the crowd. Apprehensive test of strength., which Hogan finally accepts, only to get kicked in the stomach and put in an arm wringer. Back and forth strikes, which eventually lead to outside the ring. Hogan blocks being rammed into the corner post and rams Hansen into it instead. More outside brawling after Hogan restarts the count. Hansen gets thrown into the time keepers area which allows him to do the most miniscule of blade jobs, but once Hogan rolls Hansen and they notice, they pop. Hogan punches a downed Hansen to open up the cut after a backdrop. Headlock and punch by Hogan. More punches by Hogan. Hansen bails out, but Hogan still stomps on him Hansen finally falls down and Hogan retreives him. Hansen tries to fight back but Hogan gets the upper hand. Abdominal Stretch by Hogan, which Hansen counters out of, but Hogan immediately gets the momentum back, with punches, and Hansen bails out again. Hogan punches Hansen over the guard rail and scoop slams him for an ugly table bump. Hogan hot dogs while Hansen crawls over the guard rail. Hogan rams Hansen head first into the corner post, rolls him back in the ring and gets a two. Hogan whips Hansen into the corner, clotheslines him, and stomps him. Hansen sells this all like he is knocked out, causing the fans to boo Hogan. Another Irish whip by Hogan, and Hansen counters a running attack, hitting a shoulder block which is on par with Warrior's from earlier. Hansen is the first one up and gets a two. Hogan bails to the outside. Now it's Hogan's turn to go over the guard rail. Hansen shoves an announcer out of his seat and grabs his chair leading to a horrific sounding unprotected chair shot. Hansen throws the chair away almost reaming referee Earl Hebner with it. Hansen knees Hogan as he tries to crawl over the guard rail and gets back in the ring. to restart the count. Big Boot by Hansen. Hansen stands on the guard rail and hits a beautifully sloppy looking double axe handle onto Hogan. Hansen tells the crowd to move back by punching someone in the face. Hansen rolls Hogan back into the ring and hits a double Axe Handle for a two. Fist drop onto Hogan for a two. Hogan is bleeding buckets. Elbow drop by Hansen for a two. Hogan stands up and gets punched by Hansen several times for a two count. Hogan rolls out, and when Hansen goes to follow, Hogan tries to choke him with his bull rope. Hansen gets it back and whips Hogan HARD with the rope. Hansen throws Hogan in. and punches him to make him bleed further. Brutal looking rope assisted knee to the throat by Hansen. Another one. The camera pans down to show Hansen's knees convered in Hogan's blood as he chokes a bloody Hogan with the knee. The Larait gets teased, but Hogan hits Polish Power instead for huge boos. Hogan misses the leg drop (not a good couple weeks for him with that eh?) Hansen gets a two. Another lariat tease, but Hogan hits a crossbody (!!!) for a two. Hogan stops some sort of rear grapple with the ropes. Hansen goes in for another Lariat, but Hogan hits a boot and a lariat of his own for the three count. Hansen completely no sells this finish and just walks to the back while Hogan hot dogs
7/10. Would've been an 8 if not for the finish.
Final Thoughts
An absolutely must see show for any wrestling fan overall
Six Man Tag Team Match
Dan Kroffat, Doug Furnas & Joe Malenko defeat Samson Fuyuki, Tatsumi Kitahara & Toshiaki Kawada (11:56)
Singles Match
Jushin Thunder Liger defeats Akira Nogami (8:37)
IWGP Tag Team Title Match
Masa Saito & Shinya Hashimoto (c) defeat Masahiro Chono & Riki Choshu (13:00)
The show
Hulk Hogan promo: Bad. Hogan lndicates that we are in fact in the Egg Dome tonight and butchers the Japanese language. Especially upsetting because, of the two "promos" we get tonight this is the best one.
Jimmy Snuka and Tito Santana (WWF) vs Kenta Kobashi and Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW)
We immediately start the show with a mindfuck, as Kenta Kobashi, who would go on to be one of the most prolific stars in puroresu, does the jobber jog to the ring with longtime partner Fuchi as "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins plays.. Even weirder is that Shane McMahon is the referee. Tito and Kenta start out, and Tito is working cowardly heel. Snuka starts yelling at the ref, which prompts Fuchi to get in the ring, which prompts Snuka to get in the ring. Finally after some exchanges in which moves from both guys get pops. Tito asserts who the heel team is supposed to be by throwing Kenta to the outside and shouting "Ariba!" on the top rope. More heel work by the gaijins.. The crowd pops huge when Kenta regains control with a diving crossbody and tags to Fuchi who throws punches. Snuka distracts the ref while Fuchi hits Tito with some mounted punches. Tito does some amazing selling for Fuchi, some kicks and some double teaming by the AJPW guys gets the crowd back into it. Snuka does the, "accidentally drop an elbow on my pinned tag partner" spot. Snuka does a crappy bump for a missle dropkick. but it allows Tito to take momentum back and tag Snuka. Snuka immediately does his "chop a running opponent" move. Snuka getting hit by a pair of Diving Crossbodies makes him look like a fool considering that was as much apart of his offense as the Superfly Splash and he should know how to reverse it. Also the fact that we basically get two diving crossbody spots in a row betrays the fact that Snuka didn't want to bump which is attrocious.. Fuchi tags in, and gets a bit more of Snuka than Kenta did. Fuchi fucks up a jump over Snuka who is laying down but is professional enough to trip into the ropes and sell his knee. Another running chop by Snuka, followed bu a missed headbutt. Fuchi hits Snuka with a back body drop, which he takes a bigger bump for/sells longer than Snuka. The crowd boos. Tito tags in and immediately starts dropkicking his ass off, which gets the crowd back into it. Tito back body drops Fuchi, and Fuchi takes a huge bump for it as if to show Snuka how to do it. Flying forearm/Superfly Splash combo nets the win for Team WWF. As a side note, Tito throws the best Flying Forearm I've ever seen him throw while blocking Kenta from interfering. Very disappointing match with at least 50 percent of the stuff not performed by Kenta or Santana botched.
3/10
Bret Hart (WWF) vs Tiger Mask (AJPW)
The match starts with Bret begging off, leaving the ring to give his glasses to a ringside attendant. The commentator for the match acknowledges the fans booing by using the word "booing" which I've never heard before in Japanese commentary before. Some quick exchanges to start. Tiger Mask works Bret's arm. Really cool reversal where Tiger Mask counters into an armlock mid scoop slam. More quick exchanges,. Bret bumps to the outside for a dropkick. Suicide dive fake out by Tiger Mask, which prompts Bret to put his hands on his hips with an annoyed glance at the camera as if to say, "Can you believe this crap?" which got a chuckle out of me. More quick exchanges and arm holds. Bret stands up and backs Tiger Mask into the corner, whips him out and gets a diving crossbody, only for Bret to roll through. Bret immediately slaps on a chin lock. Tiger Mask starts to stand up but Bret puts on a headlock. Tiger Mask punches out of it and hits a headlock of his own, but Bret very quickly whips him out of it. Tiger Mask telegraphs a dropkick, so the story now is that Tiger Mask's forte is striking while Hart's is submissions. Catapult into the corner by Tiger Mask and some rough sounding stomps in the corner. Another armlock by Tiger Mask. Bret gains control and whips Tiger Mask to the ropes. Tiger Mask goes for the second crucifix pin of the match with Bret counters into a Samoan Drop. More headlocks by Bret. Tiger Mask whips Bret away and hits him with a spin kick on the way back.. Sliding dropkick by Tiger Mask sends Bret out of the ring. Plancha by Tiger Mask pops the crowd and the commentary team who pop huge for it. Tiger Mask stomps Bret as he gets into the ring and applies a cross armbreaker and ah, suddenly all the arm holds make sense. Bret gets in the ropes, but the ref doesn't see it for some reason. Only until we get the birds eye view cam and Bret puts his entire body into the ropes does the ref see it. Both guys get back to their feet and we're resetting for some reason. Arm lock by Tiger Mask. Bret plays possum after selling that he messed up his knee on a telegraphed leap frog. Bret hits what looks like a shoulder block on Tiger Mask, even though the man on commentary calls it a lariat but it's unclear due to the camera angle. The crowd boos Bret for this. Bret hits his backbreaker for a two. Bret stands up Tiger Mask and starts hitting forearms. Tiger Mask counters the third forearm into a backslide for two which was a cool spot. Bret takes control with a few strikes before blatantly stealing Tito's bit from the previous match where he throws his opponent out of the ring and poses. Stiff forearm to the back outside the ring by Bret. Bret brings Tiger Mask inside the ring for a Russian Legsweep for a two. . More restholds by Bret. In a completely out of character moment Bret yells "C'MON, ASK HIM", which I'm sure caused a young Chris Jericho to furiously take notes.. Tiger Mask stands up but Bret irish whips Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask flips out of whatever Bret was trying to do and hits a brutal looking scoop slam. Tiger Mask goes to stand bac kup but Bret hits what basically looks like the same move physics wise as a backbreaker except Tiger Mask's ass lands squarely on Bret Hart's knee which looked brutal. Beautiful suplex by Bret garners a two. Another chin lock by Bret except this time they do the "arm raise to check for a KO" bit which is odd because Tiger Mask doesn't sell like he's out. Tiger Mask clearly raises his arm but the ref still tries to do the arm raise spot. Tiger Mask blatantly grabs the ref shirt as if to get him oriented. Tiger mask tries to punch Bret's arm to release the hold which i wish I saw more in wrestling. Now Tiger Mask is actually selling being out, and for some reason Bret breaks the hold to punch him in the back of the head and lock in an abdominal stretch. Tiger Mask counters into an Abdominal Stretch of his own. Bret counters out with a throw that causes both men to fall down. Bret counters a running attack in the corner with a boot. Bret goes up top for an elbow and misses. Now it's Tiger Mask's turn to go up, Diving Crossbody nets a two. We get a few more exchanges before the time expires and it's announced a draw.
I've heard this match called "Misawa's only two star match" which is bull crap. Go see this match immediately.
9/10
Greg Valentine (WWF) vs Great Kabuki (AJPW)
In our second "weird entrance music" entry of the night. Greg comes out to "She's got the Look" by Roxette. Also because this is a few weeks after WM6, he's in full Rhythm n' Blues Elvis gear. There's something depressing about a man coming out to an 80s rock song dressed as Elvis and looking disappointed in himself. He then gets in the ring, and just as I think. "He'd better not do a dance" , he tilts to one side, does a belly dance for half a second, and then pops back into place like a malfunctioning Chuck E Cheese robot. I don't normally do this but I've included a video to the match here because it's truly one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen.
Kabuki comes out and does all the things you'd expect Kabuki to do. Nunchucks, mist, etc. This is the loudest the crowd has popped all night.. Lots of stiff strikes. The commentator breaks (WWF) kayfabe and mentions Johnny Valentine, no doubt mentioning the familial connection. He also laughs when Valentine does a Flair flop. Greg takes control with a knee and some suplexes. Rest holds. Kabuki takes control with some strikes but gets hung up in the tree of woe during a running attack. More dancing from Greg except this looks closer to the Honky Tonk Man dance. It still elicits a horrified "UGH" from one of the commentators. Stomps happen, but eventually referee Shane McMahon frees Kabuki, who sells his knee. Valentine headbutts Kabuki in the nads. instead of going for the figure four which confused me. More dancing, except this time he looks like Disco Inferno and is visibly amused by the crowd's disgust. Meanwhile every Valentine dance has made me hate this match more and more. Valentine works the leg, and goes for the figure four, but sells a kick from Kabuki like he's out on his feet, and falls into the school boy for a two. Kabuki fires up now and starts punching the shit out of Valentine, locking in a Boston Crab. Valentine begs off and punch's Kabuki in the stomach. More working the knee. Valentine does his regular lasso taunt, and then dances more, this dance I would define as angry seizure. Even more dancing, and the crowd actually sounds annoyed now. Kabuki does the world's ugliest looking small package for the three count. had flashes of a good match but Valentine constantly dancing and the wet fart of a finish puts this match deep in the ground
2/10
Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs The Big Bossman
The crowd is super into both guys on their entrances. A lockup, shove and "come hither" gesture from Bossman pops the crowd. An arm wringer exchange, a punch counter out of it, and another "come hither" gesture by Bossman. An early counter sees Bossman block the DDT by falling to his knees and rolling out of the ring. Arm wringer by Bossman results in an elbow to the face by Jake, which Bossman takes a big bump out of the ring for. This, again, pops the crowd. You can really tell by the bumps A. Who's worked Japan before, and B. Who realizes how important this show is. Bossman bellows "WHAT CHU WANT ASSHOLE" to someone in the crowd as he stands on the apron. His stalling gets his arm wrung by Jake.. Jake and Bossman do the "can't knock me down" spot, which pops the crowd. Bossman hits a spinebuster on a running Jake. Bossman works the back with hard hitting offense. Jake plays a great babyface in peril, collapsing after a hard Irish whip into one of the buckles. Bossman intimidates the ref after a two count which really gets the crowd into it. The crowd HATE Big Bossman, to the point where we're actually getting crowd shots of people chanting against him. Bossman sneering at the crowd gets the biggest boos so far. At one point Bossman prevents a bearhug reversal by throwing Jake to the ground, which was awesome. More sneering at the crowd by Bossman, which gets them more riled up the more he does it. A lariat, and more sneering. Normally I hate repeated spots/stalling, but the fact that it hasn't lost the crowd yet keeps me invested. Chinlock into a sleeper hold, which Bossman, to his credit, wrenches the shit out of. Bossman stands up Jake and hits a running clubbing axe handle to the back. Bossman goes for a top rope splash, which Jake dodges. Bossman takes the bump on his knees, but roles to the clear opposite side of the ring. I love this logic because if you've had all two moves done to you, why would it be believable to sell a move regularly and then feed into a comeback? Jake follows Bossman to the outside, wrings his arm in the corner, rolls him back in, does some theatrical punches, and a short arm clothesline which Bossman takes about half of the classic Rikishi bump for, still looked cool as hell. Jake whips Bossman into the corner, and goes for a running knee lift, but somehow Jake fucks up and ends up taking his own bump. Bossman, being the professional he is, sells none of this. He picks Jake up only to get hit with a DDT out of nowhere which yields the three. How Bossman was not immediately made Triple Crown Champion after this I don't understand. Jake grabs the snake by the throat to put it on Bossman and I got horrifying flashbacks to Heroes of Wrestling. Regardless this pops the crowd with people leaning in closer to get pictures. I would put this match in the "Go find this" category.
9/10 one of Big Bossman's best matches
"Macho King" Randy Savage w/ Queen Sherri (WWF) vs Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW)
For some reason, Macho gets a graphic during his entrance that has several stats, including age, which says he is 37. We'll talk about how accurate those numbers are later. Tenryu makes his entrance, throwing his shirt at Macho, who throws it right back. Sherri making a fuss out of leaving the ring and demanding to disrobe Macho gets huge heat. Macho poses with the crown briefly for more heat. Macho gets in Tenryu's face, and Tenryu shoves Macho for a big pop. Macho gets some punches in, but gets whipped to the ropes, and slides out of the ring. The crowd let out a disappointed "OHHHH" Macho stalls, gets on the top rope, and poses for MORE boos. Macho gets on the apron, stretches, gets into the ring and poses more. Macho pantomimes throwing a punch. Now Tenryu is stalling, which hilariously causes Sherri to shriek "YOU COWARD" at him. cut to Sherri, who throws an "Up Your's" gesture at the crowd, which gets more heat. I'd like to point out that no wrestling moves beyond a lockup have happened yet and this is the most involved the crowd has been so far. Finally we get some action. Macho reverses a Tenryu suplex, but Tenryu simply turns around and chops the shit out of Macho into the corner, the final one knocking him down. The crowd pops as if Japan has just taken home the gold in every Olympic sport . Sherri distracts Tenryu which allows Macho to attack from behind. Macho chokes and punches Tenryu. Tenryu hits a lariat. Macho takes a fantastic flip bump out of the ring off of a Tenryu Back Body Drop. Apron Crossbody onto Macho from Tenryu. The crowd pops huge.. Now Sherri attacks Tenryu from behind, which allows Macho to attack from behind. Tenryu gets thrown over the commentary desk. Sherri starts screaming at one of the commentators, Kazuo Tokumitsu, a Nippon TV news anchor who genuinely looks like he's about to hulk up. The crowd pops huge, they want to see this tiny Asian man beat the shit out of Sherri. Macho throws Tenryu back in the ring. and punches him. Tenryu counters a running attack in the corner with a boot and hits an Enzuguri, which Macho sells like he's being shot by a Tommy Gun in a gangster movie, convulsing on his feet and then collapsing. Macho hits a surprise clothesline which warrants a two count. More chokes and punches. The referee tells him that this is against the rules. Macho responds by shoving the ref,flat on his butt, which caused the crowd to gasp in shock. I'm guessing the referee doesn't call for the bell here because he realizes Macho and Sherri would beat the shit out of him if he did. Two count for Macho. More chokes, a shoulder block, and a two count by Macho. Tenryu blocks rebouding in the ropes, which Macho responds to by clotheslining Tenryu hard. More choking by Macho. Sherri slaps Tenryu, and while this not only gets the most venomous boos all match, causes Tenryu to fall out of the ring setting up Macho Man's axe handle. Macho rolls back in the ring, which distracts the ref and allows Sherri to hit Tenryu with a running axe handle of her own, which Tenryu bumps for. by falling over the guard rail. Macho throws Tenryu back over and gets in the ring. Tenryu goes to get in but gets waffled in the back of the head by one of Sherri's shoes. Tenryu kicking out of the subsequent axe handle gets a huge pop Macho hits a huge the elbow, which he way over shot, but looks like a super brutal knee drop so it works. Tenryu kicks out of the elbow. Eye rake, and a flying Axe Handle is countered. The crowd pops huge for a teased Powerbomb which Macho counters out of. Macho hits a Diving Crossbody, and in a moment of amazing storytelling, he tweaks his knee because it's not something he normally does. This allows Tenryu to hit an Enzuguri and a Powerbomb for the win.
I give this match a PERFECT 10/10. This should serve as a how-to video for every facet of the business.
Jumbo Tsuruta and King Haku (AJPW) vs Mr.Perfect and Rick Martel (WWF)
Jumbo gets a crazy elaborate light show for his entrance. Meanwhile Perfect is announced as "Mr Perfect" Curt Hennig. The heels jump the babyfaces right away, knocking Jumbo out of the ring, hitting Haku with a double dropkick, and then hitting Jumbo with a double clothesline upon re-entry. Jumbo and Perfect start us out. Chops, punches, and then a knee lift by Perfecf. Jumbo counters a running attack out of the corner, and hits a jumping knee to perfect before knocking Martel off the apron. Jumbo tags out which dampens the crowd a bit. Perfect bumps like a mad man for simple leg kicks by Haku. Haku hits more moves and tags Jumbo back in. Perfect again bumps like a mad man for a double clothesline by the babyfaces. For some reason during an abdominal stretch we get a close up of Mr.Perfect's erect penis. FoMartel comes in to punch Jumbo in the stomach, which breaks the hold. We get some chops to a kneeling Jumbo by Perfect. More chops by Perfect. Even Martel heeling out and holding Jumbo in the corner barely pops the crowd. We get the neck snap by Perfect, Perfect being a dick and punching Haku in the corner wakes the crowd up, as does Jumbo firing up and posing. Jumbo tags out again to Haku. Some of Haku's unique offense interests the crowd. Perfect tags into Martel, who basically just hits slams and elbow drops. Hurricanrana by Martel at one point. He also pulls out a Springboard Splash. throws out of the corner Martel, followed by another Hurricanrana attempt by Martel, except this time it's counter into a facebuster into the top rope. Martel tags in Perfect who jumps right on Haku, puts like 3 moves in and then tagged Martel back in, and the two hit a unique double scoop slam, which smartly leads to a Boston Crab with Haku facing away from the ropes. Jumbo comes in to break it up which allows the heels to switch out illegally. Jumbo again goes into break up another submission, another illegal switch. Haku tries to fight back but gets his eyes raked in the corner by Martel. Tag in to Martel who does a top rope splash after a back breaker, but Haku gets his knees up. Hot tag to Jumbo, Jumbo fires up, is momentarily overwhelmed by both heels, until Haku runs in to save the day. The babyfaces work over the heels in opposite corners and then whip them into each other. Haku whips Perfect out of the ring while Jumbo whips Martel into a jumping knee and Backdrop for the win. Perfect also takes a crazy bump while trying to make the save.
6/10. Unlike the opening tag, everyone put their best foot forward, and I consider this a classic example of how to do tag team wrestling.
Ultimate Warrior "promo": Bad. He growls and roars at a small Japanese interviewer like a werewolf, which scares him. Warrior paces around the room and tries to scare the man again, but this time he barely sells it. This leads to.
Ultimate Warrior (c) vs Ted Dibiase for the WWF Championship
We get the status graphics that include the age. It indicates that Ted Dibiase is 39 and Ultimate Warrior is 28 This is when I called bullshit on the numbers Did some simple math and determined Warrior had just turned 31 at the time of this show, so not SUPER inaccurate it's just particularly glaring with the significantly younger Warrior.
Warrior is jumped by Dibiase during his entrance. Ted is nice enough to get the belt off Warrior, but in order to protect kayfabe he whips him across the stomach HARD with it. Hard chops by Dibiase but Warrior immediately takes control with various slams and a big clothesline out of the ring. Dibiase stalls while Warrior poses up top. The crowd loves Warrior. Warrior shoves his way out of a lockup and Dibiase backs up into the corner, which pops the crowd. Another shove out of a lockup except this time Dibiase falls on his ass. Warrior can do no wrong in the eyes of this crowd. Warrior throws Dibiase after picking him up into the backdrop position. Dibiase slows the match down, fires back with punches, and a headlock. Somehow, punches= a better headlock as Warrior can't fight his way out. Criss cross, drop down, and huge shoulder tackle by Warrior. Dibiase steps out of the way of Warrior's flying shoulder tackle. Stomps, chops and punches by Dibiase. The crowd really want Warrior to go through his comeback because they get disappointed whenever Dibiase knocks him down. Powerful kickout by Warrior, Warrior makes a breif comeback before Dibiase slows the match down. Snapemare, fist drop, and suplex warrants another powerful kickout by Warrior. A piledriver an a kickout, and Warrior starts Warrior-ing up. Warrior hits his comeback for the win.
5/10
Demolition (WWF) vs Andre the Giant and Giant Baba (AJPW)
We get a "promo" before Andre and Baba's entrance, but I can't give it it's own subheading because Baba says about 11 words between 4 questions. Smash starts by punching Baba, which gets boos as this is clearly a cardinal sin in Japan. Baba quickly reverses around, and Smash begins selling like a boss for Baba, and then Andre when he accidentally flops into his corner and gets punched for his efforts. Smash gets put in a headlock against the ropes, which gets released. Smash goes to punch Baba but Baba traps the arm in an armlock. Smash gets a bearhug against the ropes, goes for a dirty break, but gets punched in return by Baba along with an elbow strike. Smash counters back with punches but Baba locks in a headlock, tagging in Andre. The crowd pops as Andre headbutts Smash. He stands on Smash, stands him up, and punches him down again. Smash avoids an Andre elbow drop, and tags in Ax. The two rapid tag one another exchanging duties in punching the downed Giant. They repeat a sequence in which one of the members of Demolition would tag in, choke Andre, get punched, and tag back in. not making Andre have to work harder to get the momentum back. Brilliant. Finally Andre manages to crawl out of the corner. Ax hits an elbow drop, but Andre grabs a headlock before he can stand back up. Andre gator rolls to his partner and tags in Baba. Baba river stomps Ax, and chokes him when he crawls to one of the neutral corners. Smash punches Baba from the apron, allowing Demolition to tag in and out, with one stomping and punching Baba while the other one holds him open. Baba fights out of the corner and hits a neckbreaker on Smash. Baba drags Smash back to his corner and tags in Andre. Smash gets cute and tries to potato Andre, which causes Andre to reel back and punch Smash as hard as he can, to which Smash takes about half a flip bump and immediately tags in Ax. Andre chokes Ax, throws him into the turnbuckle and chokes him some more Smash comes in to break it up. Baba comes in to even the odds and works over Ax. Ax tags to Smash who continues to beat on Andre. Baba comes in and starts beating up Smash, and Ax when he tries to interfere. The Giants whip Demolition into each other.and while Ax takes a powder, Smash gets Baba's big kick. and Andre's elbow for three count
6/10
Hulk Hogan (WWF) vs Stan Hansen (AJPW)
We replay the Hogan promo from earlier, we even get a special "Special Dream Match" graphic. Stan comes out whipping random people in the crowd and the cameraman with his bullrope. He bodychecks the ring announcer mid intro. Armlock by Hogan is countered with some aggressive shoves by Hogan. Hogan hits a drop toehold but Hansen counters into a headlock on the way down. Hogan quickly counters out of it to a headlock of his own. Hansen backs Hogan into a corner and provides some resistance about a break. Hansen gets Hogan in arm wringer and smacks Hogan in the shoulder. Hogan finds the ropes and gets another smack to the arm for his trouble. The two separate and lock up again. Another drop toehold into a mother (censored) STF by Hogan. Hansen tries to squirm out but Hogan locks his fingers around Hansen's neck. and tries to work his way into a pin, which Hansen counters into a rollup. The two scramble out and we once again reset. Hogan grabs a headlock but Hansen pushes him into the ropes for a rope break. The two exchange single punches and stare down, which pop the crowd. Apprehensive test of strength., which Hogan finally accepts, only to get kicked in the stomach and put in an arm wringer. Back and forth strikes, which eventually lead to outside the ring. Hogan blocks being rammed into the corner post and rams Hansen into it instead. More outside brawling after Hogan restarts the count. Hansen gets thrown into the time keepers area which allows him to do the most miniscule of blade jobs, but once Hogan rolls Hansen and they notice, they pop. Hogan punches a downed Hansen to open up the cut after a backdrop. Headlock and punch by Hogan. More punches by Hogan. Hansen bails out, but Hogan still stomps on him Hansen finally falls down and Hogan retreives him. Hansen tries to fight back but Hogan gets the upper hand. Abdominal Stretch by Hogan, which Hansen counters out of, but Hogan immediately gets the momentum back, with punches, and Hansen bails out again. Hogan punches Hansen over the guard rail and scoop slams him for an ugly table bump. Hogan hot dogs while Hansen crawls over the guard rail. Hogan rams Hansen head first into the corner post, rolls him back in the ring and gets a two. Hogan whips Hansen into the corner, clotheslines him, and stomps him. Hansen sells this all like he is knocked out, causing the fans to boo Hogan. Another Irish whip by Hogan, and Hansen counters a running attack, hitting a shoulder block which is on par with Warrior's from earlier. Hansen is the first one up and gets a two. Hogan bails to the outside. Now it's Hogan's turn to go over the guard rail. Hansen shoves an announcer out of his seat and grabs his chair leading to a horrific sounding unprotected chair shot. Hansen throws the chair away almost reaming referee Earl Hebner with it. Hansen knees Hogan as he tries to crawl over the guard rail and gets back in the ring. to restart the count. Big Boot by Hansen. Hansen stands on the guard rail and hits a beautifully sloppy looking double axe handle onto Hogan. Hansen tells the crowd to move back by punching someone in the face. Hansen rolls Hogan back into the ring and hits a double Axe Handle for a two. Fist drop onto Hogan for a two. Hogan is bleeding buckets. Elbow drop by Hansen for a two. Hogan stands up and gets punched by Hansen several times for a two count. Hogan rolls out, and when Hansen goes to follow, Hogan tries to choke him with his bull rope. Hansen gets it back and whips Hogan HARD with the rope. Hansen throws Hogan in. and punches him to make him bleed further. Brutal looking rope assisted knee to the throat by Hansen. Another one. The camera pans down to show Hansen's knees convered in Hogan's blood as he chokes a bloody Hogan with the knee. The Larait gets teased, but Hogan hits Polish Power instead for huge boos. Hogan misses the leg drop (not a good couple weeks for him with that eh?) Hansen gets a two. Another lariat tease, but Hogan hits a crossbody (!!!) for a two. Hogan stops some sort of rear grapple with the ropes. Hansen goes in for another Lariat, but Hogan hits a boot and a lariat of his own for the three count. Hansen completely no sells this finish and just walks to the back while Hogan hot dogs
7/10. Would've been an 8 if not for the finish.
Final Thoughts
An absolutely must see show for any wrestling fan overall