Ryan Navigates '90 - #23 - (WWF/AJPW/NJPW Wrestling Summit)

Forbidden Door '90!

Good day!

We are just under two weeks removed from WrestleMania VI, but we already have another single-show special. On Friday, April 13th, 1990, three of the biggest superpowers in wrestling converged at the Tokyo Dome for a night of (mostly) interpromotional action.

Today, we present the WWF/AJPW/NJPW Wrestling Summit!

WWF/AJPW/NJPW Wrestling Summit

As we detailed in Tugboat Tribunes of the past, All-Japan and New Japan came together to promote a Tokyo Dome show in February in a display of unity against the Newborn UWF, who had been breaking records and capturing tremendous fan interest. The resulting show, Super Fight in Tokyo Dome, set a new live gate record.

However, that’s not all that they had cooking. On January 27th, a couple of weeks before Super Fight, Vince McMahon had shown up at an AJPW show in Korakuen Hall. He shook hands with AJPW chief Giant Baba, and a joint show between the WWF, AJPW, and NJPW for the Big Egg was announced in a press conference afterward.

This marks the first (and, so far, only) time the three promotions have come together for a single show. This was some true Forbidden Door shit.

Well, mostly.

In all honesty, New Japan came off as the odd man out in this arrangement. You see, while there were several interpromotional matches between the WWF and All-Japan, the NJPW wrestlers only faced each other, and they just had two matches to do so. The reason for this is to allow Nippon TV, the broadcast home of AJPW, to easily cut those matches out of the television showings. Only the live audience and nerds who traded handheld camera footage saw what New Japan contributed to the event.

Depending on who you asked, this either pissed off the New Japan wrestlers to the point where they went out there with the intention of outperforming everyone else on the show, or New Japan, wanting nothing to do with an increasingly dictatorial Vince McMahon, actually opted for this arrangement.

As the WWF was in the thick of their WrestleMania VI build, this show never really got any mention on their television. They filmed an angle with André the Giant and Giant Baba at a TV taping, but it was intended only for Japanese television. However, the WWF title match and the main event were included as part of the “WWF World Tour 1990” and “Hulkamania 6” Coliseum Video releases, respectively.

Alright, enough preamble. On with the show!

• The Can-Am Express (Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas) & Joe Malenko defeated Revolution (Samson Fuyuki, Tatsumi Kitahara, & Toshiaki Kawada) after Kroffat pinned Kitahara with a tiger driver.

  • This was a pre-show dark match, and the only non-televised contest not featuring NJPW wrestlers.

  • Per Wrestling Observer readers who were at the show, the match ranked between three and four stars.

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Akira Nogami

This was one of the two NJPW matches that were excised from the television broadcast. It also resulted in this rather insane image:

Unlike the other non-televised matches, I was able to find some super-shaky fan-cam footage of this one. Liger was apparently a last-minute substitution for Naoki Sano, which is a hell of a backup plan.

We start with some fast-paced mat wrestling and counters, with Nogami paying special attention to Liger’s lower half with a modified Romero Special and a half-crab. They blast each other with chops until Nogami fells Liger and opts for a high-angle Boston Crab this time, then reverts back to the half-crab. Nogami hits a flying knee in the corner, but Liger comes back with a dropkick in the corner. Liger gets his own Romero Special as the fan-cam goes berserk.

Liger transitions to a camel clutch, then to a pendulum before converting that into some grounded pin attempts. Back up, Nogami misses a mule kick but lands a dropkick, then he counters a dragon suplex with a front roll-up for a near-fall. Nogami escapes a suplex and gets a victory roll for another two, then sends Liger out with a dropkick and follows with a sweet plancha!

Back in, Nogami hits a German suplex for two, but Liger intercepts a crossbody with a dropkick, then hits a somersault dive onto the floor! Back in, Nogami evades a spinning heel kick but can’t dodge a powerslam for two. Moonsault press gets the three for Liger!

***1/4 - A fast-paced, compact Juniors match as they eight and a half minutes to cook with. Liger and Nogami have had some bangers, and this is another solid showing as we got some fun matwork, graceful high-flying, and an exciting finishing sequence.

I know handheld camcorder footage can get rather quivery at times, but this one was especially egregious. It was like watching The Blair Witch Project, except this was actually worth sitting through.

Come for the wrestling, stay for the spicy movie takes.

Masanobu Fuchi & Kenta Kobashi vs. “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka & Tito Santana

The broadcast proper starts here with the Japanese contingent coming out to *Sterling Archer voice* “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins. We’re starting off with a bang, folks.

I’ve mostly known Fuchi as a grumpy-ass old man, but he’s four years younger than me here. PAIN. At 70 years old in December 2024, he’s STILL wrestling for All-Japan.

Kobashi and Santana kick things off with some grappling, with neither guy getting a decided advantage. And, yes, that is a 20-year-old Shane McMahon working as referee under the name “Shane Stevens”.

Tito finally shows some aggression with some punches and a hard shoulderblock, then gets a lariat on Kobashi for two. Santana then tosses Kobashi and shouts “ARRIBA!” to a chorus of boos. Seeing Tito working heel and completely dominating a young Kobashi is tripping me out.

Tito slingshots Kenta for more abuse, then hurls him out the other side for a cheap shot from Snuka. Kobashi makes a quick comeback with a springboard crossbody before tagging Fuchi for a nice pop. He rains punches down on Tito, then plasters him with kicks and more fists. Fuchi hits an enzuigiri and tags Kobashi in for a missile dropkick that gets two.

Kobashi goes at Snuka, then holds him in place for a Fuchi missile dropkick to send him to the floor (eventually). Santana hits a suplex and tags in Superfly, who lands a chop…but Kobashi gets a rebound crossbody for two. He heads up and hits a top rope crossbody for another near fall, then Fuchi tags in. Snuka regains the advantage by tripping him up during a drop-down sequence, but he misses a headbutt to allow Fuchi a back suplex for two.

Snuka messes up a back body drop spot and tags out to Santana, who hits the AJPW reps with dropkicks aplenty! Tito hits the flying forearm, then Snuka tags in and lands the Superfly Splash on Fuchi for three.

*1/2 - Not terrible or anything, thanks to everyone but Snuka. Tito showed some good fire and bumped well, Kobashi worked well as an underdog with fun hope spots, and Fuchi was solid as the veteran presence. Plus, how often do you see Tito work HEEL?

Snuka, though? Abysmal. He mistimed routine moves and seemed to be on a completely different planet than the other three. He nearly undoes the hard work of everyone else entirely by himself.

It was rumored that Snuka actually got a bit pissy during the match because he thought everyone else was trying to show him up. I mean, given Snuka’s performance, that wouldn’t have been much of an ask.

Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. Tiger Mask II

We have Mel Phillips doing the ring announcing for some of the matches tonight. Hope you’re ceaselessly miserable in hell, you piece of garbage.

Yes, I know, the prospect of Bret Hart vs. Mitsuharu Misawa is tantalizing. However, you’ll want to keep those expectations firmly in check.

After some initial lock-up work, TMII gets the early advantage after some armdrags. Tiger continues working over the arm, even holding onto an armbar after a bodyslam attempt from the Hitman. Moments later, Tiger dropkicks Bret out and teases a dive, then Bret runs back in and falls victim to more armbarring.

After Bret fights out, Misawa gets a crucifix for two, then it’s more barring of the arm. Bret escapes with some right hands, then he rolls through a crossbody for a near-fall before clamping on a chinlock. We transition to a side headlock until TMII escapes and dodges a Bret dropkick, then (barely) slingshots him into the corner. After some stomps, Tiger Mask goes back to the arm, but Bret blocks a crucifix with a Samoan drop and soon goes back to the chinlock.

Tiger fights out and hits a spinkick, dropkicks Hart out, then hits a running plancha! Hart crawls back in for some stomps and a jujigatame from Tiger, which Bret escapes via the ropes. Bret appears to bugger his knee during a leapfrog…but it was a ROOS!

No, sorry, a RUSE! Bret was being a fibber. He catches Misawa with a clothesline and a kick to the lower abdominal area, then hits a backbreaker for two. Bret lands some uppercuts, but Tiger counters one with a backslide for two. Hart hits a back elbow to regain control, then tosses Tiger out and soaks in the boos from the crowd.

Back in, a Russian legsweep gets two for the Hitman, and it’s back to the chinlock. Misawa fights out and hits a bodyslam, but Hart catches him with a brutal inverted atomic drop. Vertical suplex gets two, then it’s back to ye olde chinlocke for a while. Bret finally releases it and ratchets things up with…an abdominal stretch. However, Tiger counters in one of his own.

Bret escapes with a hiptoss, then counters a blind charge with boots. However, Bret misses an elbowdrop, damaging his already-compromised arm, allowing Tiger to hit a top rope crossbody for two! Bret takes his usual turnbuckle bump for another near fall, then we slug it out for a bit…until the bell rings to signify that we’ve hit the 20-minute time limit. We have a draw, though Tiger hits a crossbody after the bell rings.

Despite the result, Bret’s music plays for some reason.

**1/2 - Honestly, while the match is largely considered a disappointment given the general awesomeness of the participants, it really wasn’t bad. However, it was pretty dull with 20 minutes of not much happening, and there was some awkwardness here and there due to miscommunication. Jetlag apparently played a role here, but sometimes even all-time great wrestlers don’t mesh. It just happens.

There were good parts, though, like Bret faking the knee injury, and Misawa did show some variety when it came to the arm work. There were also some sequences where the pace picked up, but it just felt like the match was mostly in first gear. Even if they didn’t have a great showing here, I would have loved to have seen these guys go at it in 1993-94 when they were more complete performers.

Normally in Japan, they’d announce the amount of time remaining in regular intervals, so the bell just ringing out of nowhere here likely caught the fans (and possibly the wrestlers themselves) off-guard. The finish fell flat as a result, lacking in urgency and tension.

This match was included on WWE’s “Bret Hitman Hart: The Dungeon Collection” DVD/Blu-Ray set, so if you have that kicking around and feel the urge to watch Bret and Misawa underdeliver, there you go.

The Great Kabuki vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine

Valentine enters the ring to, I shit you not, Roxette’s “The Look”. That’s a sensational choice. I’d like to imagine that someone listened to the first two lines (“Walking like a man/Hitting like a hammer”) and said “Oh, this music is PERFECT! Get out there, Greggers!”.

You can almost feel the misery in Greg’s heart oozing off the screen. Despite the absurdity of the choice, I think it’s time for a MUSIC BREAK!

The Hammer gets a quick shoulderblock, then some clubbing blows and chops to take the early advantage. Valentine then directs Kabuki to the corner for further clubbering, but Kabuki dodges a blind charge and hits some throat thrusts to turn the tide. Valentine counters a back body drop with a kick and hits a butterfly suplex for a near-fall, then we go back to the corner for more chops. Vertical suplex gets two for the Hammer, then it’s chinlock time!

Kabuki fights out with some corner chops, but he misses a dropkick into the corner and lands in the Tree of Woe. Hammer gets some stomps and threatens to clobber referee Shane-O-Mac, who soon frees Kabuki from his predicament. Headbutt to the lower abdomen garners heat from the fans, so Greg hits them with an Elvis taunt! Greg works the knee and attempts a figure four, but Kabuki rolls him up for two. Kabuki gets some thrusts and locks in a Boston crab, but Valentine escapes via the ropes.

Valentine lays in some more chops and some elbows, then counters a headlock with a kneebreaker. Greg does the Elvis taunt a few more times, and his utter disdain is hilarious. However, Kabuki gets an inside cradle out of a figure four attempt for three!

*1/4 - Not much to this, but it’s fairly inoffensive. A rather basic structure, though the stiff chops help elevate this one a bit.

Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. The Big Boss Man

Despite his recent face turn and alliance with Jake, Boss Man is working heel here. He had actually worked a tour of AJPW in 1988 when he was Big Bubba.

Boss Man overpowers Jake to start until an elbowdrop misses, but he slithers to the outside when Jake attempts a DDT out of nowhere. Back in, BBM works the arm (and grabs some hair in the process), but a Jake back elbow sends Boss Man tumbling to the floor. Roberts snaps his arm against the top rope and starts to work the limb…until Boss Man hits a spinebuster to regain the upper hand.

The Boss spends the next few minutes working over the Snake’s back and throwing some punches between playing to the hostile crowd. Boss Man hits a backbreaker and holds on for added pain while the Americans in the crowd chant “BOSS MAN SUCKS!”.

Boss Man continues working Jake over with an avalanche and a bearhug. Some more choking and a clothesline lead to a two-count, then we hit the chinlock.

Boss Man releases and SPITS on Jake. Unsanitary, dude! He hits a clubbing blow to Roberts’ beleaguered back, but a top rope splash misses! Jake rams Boss Man’s arm into the ringpost, then he peppers him with rights! Short-arm clothesline from Jake, but Boss Man counters a kneelift by sending Jake into the corner. Boss Man goes for a slam, but Jake escapes, drills him with the DDT, and gets the three!

Post-match, Jake unbags Damien and does the snake gimmick. Apparently, the Japanese fans weren’t too fond of this due to the overly cartoony nature, while the American servicemen in attendance loved it.

**1/4 - Another match that was fairly entertaining, though Boss Man’s heat segment was fairly lethargic and dragged this down. Shave a few minutes off of that, and you’d have a much better overall package. The fun finishing sequence and Jake’s selling were rather good, though, and the Boss Man did generate decent heat.

• In another NJPW match cut from television, Masa Saito & Shinya Hashimoto retained the IWGP Tag Team Championship over Riki Choshu & Masahiro Chono after Saito pinned Chono following a Saito Suplex.

  • I tried to find a handheld version of this for review, but I came up empty.

  • According to readers of the Wrestling Observer who were there for the show, the match was around ****1/2.

Jumbo Tsuruta & King Haku vs. Mr. Perfect & “The Model” Rick Martel

Despite no longer being regal in WWF canon, Haku would often use the King Haku moniker when wrestling internationally. Hell, he even used that name when he joined the Bullet Club during the 2010s. He’s subbing in for Tsuruta’s initial partner, Yoshiaki Yatsu, who sustained a last-minute injury.

The WWF heels attack both guys to start, putting Haku down with a double dropkick and Jumbo with a double clothesline. However, Perfect runs into a big boot in the corner and bumps huge for a jumping knee. The announcer excitedly screaming “JUMPING KNEE IN THE TOKYO DOOOOOOOME!” is incredible. If you’ve been holding off on diving into Japanese wrestling because of the language barrier, please reconsider. The pure emotion and excitement really come through and can make the greatest matches even more memorable.

Haku tags in and kicks Hennig’s leg out from under him, leading to some more wild bumping. Shoulderbreaker gets two as Martel breaks up the pin, then Haku follows up with a pretty nice dropkick before tagging Jumbo back in. Perfect takes another exaggerated bump from a double clothesline, then Jumbo ensnares him in the abdominal stretch.

Martel breaks it up, then Perfect clobbers away at Jumbo, with The Model taking cheap shots from the corner. Hennig gets the Perfect necksnap, but Tsuruta blocks a punch and hits a slam before Haku checks in with a thrust kick. Haku continues pounding away at Perfect until a somersault senton misses. Martel tags in and soon catches Haku with a hurricanrana (!) for two before tagging Perfect back in.

Perfect comes off the top with a double axehandle and continues slugging away at Haku, then Martel flies in with a slingshot splash for two. Martel is pulling all kinds of crazy stuff out of his ass for this one. The Model tries another hurricanrana, but Haku dumps him face-first on the turnbuckle instead. Hennig quickly tags back in and works over Haku, hitting a big dropkick for two. The heels hit a double bodyslam, and Martel gets the Boston crab in their corner.

Tsuruta comes in to break it up, so Hennig applies a cobra twist before Martel returns for a vertical suplex and a kneedrop for two. Hennig comes in and continues working away, but Haku fights back…until Martel goes to the eyes from the corner. Martel comes in and hits a backbreaker, but a second-rope splash misses, and it’s HOT TAG JUMBO!

He goes to town on Martel and Perfect with slams aplenty, then it’s a four-way fracas until the heels are flung into each other. Haku thrust kicks Perfect out, then Jumbo hits Martel with a flying knee and a backdrop driver for three!

*** - This was standard tag formula but worked very well. Despite being one of the toughest human beings on the planet, Haku actually did well as the face in peril, and Jumbo was a fantastic hot tag, with the Tokyo Dome fans loving every second he was in there.

Perfect customarily bumped like a madman, but Martel REALLY showed off here, displaying more fire than 99.9% of his entire “Model” run. A very impressive showing.

“Macho King” Randy Savage vs. Genichiro Tenryu

As we’ll get into later, Tenryu was set to face Hulk Hogan in the main event, but the political miasma surrounding this show resulted in that not happening. Tenryu wrestles the Macho King here, instead.

There’s a definite manic energy about this one, with the guys tossing Tenryu’s ring jacket back and forth at each other before the match began, and Sensational Queen Sherri in general being unhinged. Both guys shove each other to start, then Savage takes over with elbows and punches. Tenryu looks for a chop, but Savage rapidly bails, earning unmitigated vitriol from the fans.

Savage heads back in, and they battle over a vertical suplex. Savage escapes, but Tenryu absolutely BLISTERS him with chops! The crowd is going apeshit! Hell, *I’m* going apeshit watching this at home! After Sherri distracts Tenryu, Savage clobbers him from behind to take over. However, Tenryu comes back with a quick lariat for two, then Savage takes a trademark HUGE bump to the floor. Tenryu follows with a crossbody from the apron, but Sherri goes after Tenryu, allowing Savage to again take him out from behind. Tenryu gets hurled onto the announce table and beaten from pillar to post.

Savage throws Tenryu back in and takes in the jeers from the Tokyo Dome audience. Savage runs into a boot from a blind charge, then Tenryu blasts him with an enzuigiri, giving us an awesome punch-drunk sell from the Macho King. However, Savage comes back with a clothesline for two, then he shoves the ref down when working over his opponent.

Tenryu eats another clothesline for a near-fall, then a little miscommunication results in another clothesline near the ropes. Sherri gets some offense in, then Savage hits an axehandle to the floor! Savage distracts the ref, allowing Sherri to club Tenryu with her shoe!

We brawl a bit more on the floor, with Sherri kicking Tenryu with her bare foot before Savage hits an axehandle inside the ring for two. While that was happening, Sherri puts her shoe back on and gives a playful wave and a wink to the referee. That’s awesome.

Macho King drops a knee for two, then hits the BIG ELBOW…but Tenryu kicks out!

Macho heads upstairs for an axehandle, but Tenryu punches him in the gut and goes for a powerbomb…but Macho backdrops out! Savage gets a crossbody, but he hurts his knee. Tenryu hits an enzuigiri and the powerbomb for the three and a HUGE pop!

***3/4 - Best match of the night so far. Both guys were game for beating the hell out of each other, they told a great story, and the heat was TREMENDOUS. The fans lived and died with Tenryu here, and he adapted well to a more American-style match.

Unlike some of the other WWFers, Savage got over with the Japanese audience without needing to change one iota of his character or in-ring style. He was pure, unadulterated Macho King, and the fans bought into it. It helps when you have stellar presentation, buckets of charisma, and can get it done from bell to bell.

The Sherri antics were incredibly fun and added to the overall feel here. The only knock is that it’s over too soon, clocking in at just under 11 minutes. I could have used another few minutes of these guys going at it.

Post-match, Sherri comforts Savage, then screams like a banshee at Tenryu as if he murdered the Macho King in cold blood. Seriously, Luffy was more dignified when Ace died in Marineford. Sherri was the best.

WWF Championship: The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase

This was originally set to be for the Intercontinental title, but Warrior’s win at WrestleMania VI upgraded this to a WWF Championship match instead. DiBiase has an extensive history working in Japan, most notably in a tag team with Stan Hansen. It’s likely that nobody was confident in Warrior working with a Japanese talent, so Ted’s a wise choice for opponent.

During DiBiase’s entrance, we get footage of Warrior terrorizing the interviewer by circling around and grunting like a coked-up caveman.

DiBiase attacks Warrior while he’s doing his entrance, but WARYAH comes back with some garden-variety offense before clotheslining Teddy out of the ring. The fans are NOT buying what Warrior is selling here, hardly reacting to anything he does. DiBiase heads back in and gets overpowered by the champion until he fires off some chops. We hit the criss-cross sequence that ends with Warrior shoulderblocking DiBiase down. However, DiBiase sidesteps another shoulderblock, slamming his opponent into the canvas to fully take over.

With every blow DiBiase lands, the fans pop, but in a “we’re doing this to amuse ourselves during this shitty match” way. It’s kind of surreal to hear a Japanese crowd be so hostile (in their own way). DiBiase gets a clothesline for a one-count, then he gets in some chops while fighting off any potential comeback attempts (with the fans “roaring” for everything either guy does). DiBiase gets his awesome fistdrop, then dumps Warrior with a piledriver for two.

Warrior FIRES UP and fights back with some clotheslines as the fans continue shitting on the match.

Warrior hits a flying clothesline and a splash to retain.

3/4* - These fans were very much not into Warrior here, as they saw him for the limited wrestler he was. Even at around six minutes, Warrior got exposed as not having much in the locker. The respect DiBiase earned in Japan over the years probably took a hit, too, as he had to really dumb down and work a super-basic match so Warrior didn’t get lost.

The funny thing with the reactions is that when Meltzer explained in the Observer that the fans were basically popping themselves, a WWF representative wrote to inform him that, no, the fans were cheering because they were SO into the Ultimate Warrior.

It was absolutely worth trying, but we’re getting some early signs that Warrior was not him.

Demolition (Ax & Smash) vs They Might Be Giants (André the Giant & Giant Baba)

I might have made up that last team name. The Demos’ newly won WWF tag titles are not on the line here.

YEAH, WE GET THE DEMOLITION THEME IN THE TOKYO DOME! Fuck it, time for another MUSIC BREAK!

The fans are AMPED for the big men. To say that these guys are legends in Japan is an understatement.

Poor André can barely even get into the ring, so Baba wisely starts with Smash, quickly downing him with a chop. Smash ends up in the corner and gets screamed at by André. Him chopping Smash, then grabbing the tag rope when he gets admonished by the ref is pretty funny.

After some tie-up action, Smash gets pounded with chops by Baba. André tags in for a headbutt, then stands on Smash for a bit.

André misses an elbow, allowing Ax to tag in for some clubbing blows. Demolition quickly tag in and out to clobber and choke the Eighth Wonder of the World. Ax drops an elbow, but André catches him, grapples on the mat for a bit, and tags in Baba. He stomps on Ax like he’s rolling a log, but the Demos soon regain the advantage with some punching and clubberin’. Baba fights back with slaps and boots, then gets a swinging neckbreaker on Smash. André tags back in and no-sells some blows from Smash. André rears back and punches Smash’s lights out, then Ax comes in to get immediately choked out by the giant.

The Demos double-team André to take control, but Baba intercepts any further blows. The Giants whip Demolition into each other, then Baba grazes Smash with a big boot.

André follows with an elbowdrop for the pin.

1/4* - The wrestling itself was ugly, sluggish, soft, and loose, but the action wasn’t the point here. It was all about the novelty of the legendary Giants teaming up, and the fans ate up everything they did. It was mercifully brief, though André had a REALLY hard time moving around out there.

Despite being the WWF tag champs, Ax and Smash were little more than fodder to bounce around like pinballs for their larger, older opponents.

This one finished fifth for Worst Match of the Year in the Wrestling Observer poll. While I won’t exactly dispute the match being bad, I’ve definitely seen much worse.

Hulk Hogan vs. Stan Hansen

There was much ado about Hogan’s opponent here. It was initially set to be Genichiro Tenryu, but Vince McMahon allegedly wanted Hogan in there with an American in case the Japanese decided to try something nefarious, which is kind of insane. Vince’s paranoia was working overtime with that one.

Terry Gordy was the next option, but Gordy eventually declined because he didn’t want to diminish his stock in Japan by losing, especially now that Hogan was no longer WWF Champion. Vince wanted Dusty Rhodes at one point, but everyone eventually decided on Stan Hansen.

Hansen and Hogan had actually faced each other before in 1981 during NJPW’s MSG League tour, the tournament that would evolve into the modern-day G1 Climax. Hansen won that meeting by countout. They also teamed up a few times during that same tour.

Stan completely bowls over Mel Phillips during his ring entrance. Good, fuck that guy.

We get some aggressive tie-up action to start, then some rugged grappling that results in Hansen attacking the arm. Hogan hits a drop toehold takedown into a three-quarter nelson pinning combo, then we start to exchange punches, kicks, and eyerakes! There we go! Hansen tosses Hogan to the floor, but the Hulkster rams Stan into the ringpost to bust him open! Hogan continues brawling, then tosses Hansen back in for a back suplex for two. He doggedly continues working over the cut, kicking and punching Hansen in and out of the ring before locking in the cobra twist.

Stan fights out, but Hogan pursues him into the corner and lays in some chops. We head back to the floor where Hogan slams Hansen on the concrete. The crowd is coming alive as Hulk again sends Hansen into the post. Back in, Hogan gets a two-count, then clobbers Hansen in the corner with a lariat, boots, and some chops. However, Hogan runs into a boot and Hansen rocks him with a shoulderblock for two. We hit the floor where Hansen makes Hogan PAY by kicking his ass near the announce desk, culminating in Hansen walloping Hulk with a chair.

Hogan is now bleeding as Hansen continues to work him over in the ring. Big Stan drops an elbow for two, then continues pounding away at the Hulkster with fists and kicks to the laceration. On the outside, Hansen goes at Hulk with his bullrope, then continues the attack between the ropes. Hansen goes for a lariat, but Hogan blocks it with a forearm! Hogan goes for a legdrop, which misses!

Hogan comes back with a crossbody (!) for two, then Hansen blocks a roll-up. However, he runs into a boot, then Hogan hits the AXE BOMBER (a clothesline that Hogan used as a finisher in Japan) and BARELY gets the three!

***1/2 - When the Hulkster is forced outside of the typical Hogan formula, it tends to be pretty fun. Hogan and Hansen brawled, bled, and bludgeoned each other, and it was a blast. The early mat wrestling was rough and ugly, but it should be with these guys, and I like that they pretty much said ‘fuck it’ and started hammering each other. I preferred the Savage/Tenryu match for the overall heat and energy, but this was a strong main event to close out the show.

The thing with Hulk is that he’s always been capable of working like this, but he rarely had to in the States because the basic Hogan formula always made him money while preserving his body. Fans bought tickets to see Hulk take out the dastardly villain, and they didn’t care if he had a 20+ minute technical clinic along the way. In Japan, where the fans have come to expect more action in their wrestling, Hogan would work with a little more gusto. Say what you want about the politicking orange racist (really, please do), but he was no idiot when it comes to how to approach wrestling.

The popular rumor is that Hansen himself actually got in Terry Gordy’s ear and convinced him to back out of the match in order to protect his reputation. Hansen then swooped in, took the match himself, and laid down for Hogan for a big fat main-event payday. If that’s true, Hansen is a real slyboots.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

After some bleak early numbers, the show ended up with an official attendance of 53,742, with around 43,000 paid. It ended up grossing around $2.1 million, which would be great in most respects, but it was still considered disappointing. The Japanese economy wasn’t exactly doing well at this point, resulting in a weaker yen.

Backstage, it was a complete mess as everybody fought over every detail. There were several accounts as to the source of the conflict, depending on who you’re hearing it from.

Some said the WWF didn’t exactly endear themselves to the other two companies by insisting they do things Vince’s way. The WWF would disallow access to Japanese media, conduct press conferences entirely in kayfabe (with wrestlers who had previously worked in Japan pretending it’s their first time), and even fight with Baba on the placement of the ring on the field.

Baba wanted the ring on second base so that all the fans in the arena had a half-decent view of the action, but Vince wanted the ring on home plate so that the stadium would appear full on television. The WWF won out, resulting in several fans having an obstructed view of the ring, which sounds like nearly every WrestleMania of the last 20 years or so. As detailed earlier, it’s rumored that Vince’s tyrannical handling of the show caused New Japan to reduce their involvement as much as possible.

On the opposite end, others have claimed that Vince was the bastion of maturity while Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki clashed over everything. Maybe it’s a combination of Vince being a control freak AND Baba and Inoki not getting along. I am shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you, that putting all those big personalities with differing philosophies on one project would result in such conflict.

After this, the WWF would work with Super World of Sports (SWS), headed up by the soon-to-be-former AJPW star Genichiro Tenryu. I’ll get more into SWS’ formation later in the project. The Fed’s relationship with Tenryu would last through the end of SWS and into his later Wrestle and Romance (WAR) promotion, resulting in joint shows, talent exchanges, and Royal Rumble and WrestleMania appearances for Tenryu and some of his talent.

New Japan, despite feeling slighted by Ric Flair skipping an NWA title defense against Great Muta at Super Fight in Tokyo Dome, would eventually partner with WCW for collaborative shows and talent exchanges.

The Wrestling Summit would actually be voted Best Major Show of the Year in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards, and I can see why. There are some lousy and disappointing matches, but it’s a tremendous historical curiosity and a generally fun show. Plus, you do get some very good matches, notably Liger/Nogami, the Jumbo tag, Savage/Tenryu, and Hogan/Hansen.

Best of all, Greg Valentine comes out to the ring to ROXETTE. That alone should have it high in the balloting.

Personally, I thought Super Fight in Tokyo Dome had the stronger matches, but I definitely recommend checking this one out, especially if you’re new to Japanese wrestling. You’ll get a lot of the big players like Tsuruta, Hansen, Tenryu, Baba, Kobashi, Misawa, etc., mixed in with the more familiar WWF names, so this would make a great entry point.

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