Ryan's Dive into '95: Detour - The Bridge of Dreams ~ Dome Spring Full Bloom
A BIG ASS Tokyo Dome show featuring thirteen matches from thirteen different promotions!
How ya now?
Welcome to the first edition of Ryan's Dive into ‘95: Detour, where I stray from the Goodhelmet Yearbook and review an entire show that isn’t represented on the compilation. The show in this case is the Bridge of Dreams ~ Dome Spring Full Bloom, or less fantastically, the Weekly Pro Wrestling Tokyo Dome Show, which took place on April 2nd, 1995. Yes, that is the same day as WrestleMania XI. Put together by major wrestling publication Weekly Pro Wrestling, this a massive event celebrating the then-current pro wrestling scene in Japan. It's kind of insane to think about the fact that a magazine got all of these major (and minor) promotions to come together for a single show. The Bridge of Dreams was attended by 50,000 strong and also won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Award for Best Major Show. You’ll see why as we go on.
This was originally slated to only feature around eight promotions, but the event generated so much interest that 13 promotions ended up contributing a match to the card. The only company of note not represented was Genichiro Tenryu's WAR promotion. They had their own show booked at Korakuen Hall that same day that was remarkably well-attended (around 2,200) given the scope of the other show happening nearby. That’s a dedicated fanbase right there, though the show also featured an appearance by NJPW mainstay Riki Choshu, so that could have moved a few tickets. Depending on who you believe, the WAR show being booked for the same date was purely coincidental, or Tenryu, given the bad blood he had with Weekly Pro Wrestling over their negative coverage of his SWS promotion, wasn't exactly super-into the idea of participating in a show they were promoting. Because of the latter, the WAR show (Battle Angel Night 7) was sometimes referred to as the “Anti-Bridge of Dreams”.
Despite the very nature of the show being a license to print money, it never received any kind of official home video release. We’ll get into the reasons for that later, believe me. However, there's a couple of unofficial recordings floating around out there. The one we have today is a multi-camera, pre-edited recording with no commentary. The video quality is not bad, but not something I’d consider “pristine”. Because of this, any pictures I put in this article may be even worse than usual. There are also audio issues that come up from time to time (most notably during one match in particular), so keep that in mind.
Well, PITTER PATTER.
We start off with some opening ceremonies featuring representatives of each of the thirteen promotions we will see tonight. We hear some speeches as flowers are presented to the representatives, including a young Minoru Suzuki. Even then, he could probably find 500 ways to kill a man with that bouquet.
This is a six-hour show, so we’re gonna be here a while. This will probably take a while to review, so you’re likely reading this LONG after I first started writing this.
Candy Okutsu, Dynamite Kansai, Fusayo Nochi & Hikari Fukuoka vs. Cutie Suzuki, Devil Masami, Hiromi Yagi & Mayumi Ozaki - Well, this is going to be a hell of a way to kick things off. Dynamite's team comes out to a song so awesome (“Night Danger” by Pretty Maids) that I had to SoundHound it. That song fucks, man.
Both teams adhere to the Code of Honor, and we start with Yagi and Okutsu. After a flying kick, Nochi tags in and, after a fun cross-body sequence, falls prey to a Yagi jawbreaker. Suzuki checks in and nails a flying knee. Ozaki comes in and hits a cannonball dive for two. Nochi continues to endure punishment as a bridging vertical suplex gets another two. Devil comes in and immediately rams Nochi into her corner’s turnbuckle. Kansai comes in and shit is ON. They fight over a vertical suplex, with neither gaining an advantage. Kansai misses a wheelkick, and Suzuki comes off the top with a clothesline. Her other three teammates come in for a QUADRUPLE big boot on Kansai!
Yagi comes in and tries to assert her will, but NOPE. Kansai COLLECTS HER SOUL with a lariat. Fukuoka comes in and gets a dropkick, a release back suplex, and a Boston crab. Yagi's teammates take turns kicking Fukuoka in the head to break it up, which finally succeeds after multiple kickings. Boston crab from Kansai. Ozaki kicks HER in the face repeatedly, but the hold stays on, only released so Kansai can take her out with a lariat.
Giant swing from Okutsu for fifteen full rotations at high speed, and Okutsu stumbles into a pin attempt! Nochi comes back in, but Yagi gets a crossbody and a tag to Masami, who gets HER own giant swing! She holds on for EIGHTEEN full rotations and doesn't look any worse for wear. She shoots a glare at Okutsu as if to say:
Powerbomb from Ozaki, but the pin is broken up. Kansai checks back in and eats some boots from Ozaki. Kansai dodges a kick and attempts a lariat, but Ozaki catches her with a Fujiwara armbar! Kansai makes the ropes, and Suzuki tags back in and hits a double-stomp on the arm! Kansai comes back with a MONSTER backdrop driver!
Fukuoka tags back in and slips on a cross-body attempt, but dodges Yagi's dropkick, accidentally hitting Suzuki instead! Big Popeye wind-up and punch sends Yagi flying! Rolling cradle on Suzuki! Suzuki escapes the pin and a powerbomb attempt, then counters a wind-up punch into a dragon suplex for two! Double-team DDT from Suzuki and Ozaki gets two. Ozaki tags in for a cannonball Doomsday Device, but the pin is broken up! Ozaki powerbomb, but THAT pin is broken up. Ozaki crossbody misses! Fukuoka goes for a moonsault that hits, but Masami breaks up the pin! Kansai comes in and KICKS SOME ASS. Powerbomb from Kansai is countered by Ozaki into an armdrag, and a half-and-half gets two! Ozaki powerbomb, but THAT pin is also broken up.
Masami goes for a guillotine legdrop, which misses, and Kansai fucking kicks her on the damn FACE! Masami escapes a powerbomb but can’t escape an Okutsu German suplex! Northern Lights suplex gets two! Missile dropkick from Nochi, but Masami rolls through it! Kansai and Masami clear the other competitors from the apron, and they lariat each other at the same time! Masami tags in Yagi and overhead powerbombs HER onto Kansai! Powerbomb from Masami and a Yagi splash, but Kansai kicks out! GIGANTIC backdrop driver from Kansai!
Okutsu tags back in and it's a DONNYBROOK! FOUR WAY DIVES BY OZAKI'S TEAM! Back in, splash from Okutsu, but Yagi bridges out! Yagi gets an ankle lock out of nowhere, but Okutsu makes the ropes! Big boot from Okutsu gets two! Yagi goes up, but Okutsu intercepts and hits an avalanche Northern Lights suplex, but Suzuki breaks up the pin! Rolling Germans from Okutsu, but Suzuki comes in and hits a dragon suplex! Masami pulls Yagi into her corner and tags in…only for Kansai to kick her lights out from the apron. Masami’s dead-eyed sell is awesome. They lariat each other again, but Masami hits a DDT. Suzuki and Ozaki hit a quadruple stomp off the top, and Masami hits an inverted face crusher off the second rope! That pin is broken up! Masami goes to the top, and Okutsu tries to intercept, but Masami coldly throws her to the floor in a nasty bump! However, in all the madness, Kansai hits Masami with a top rope Splash Mountain bomb for three! We get to hear “Night Danger” again!
****3/4 - As expected, this was a batshit insane opener and set one HELL of a standard for the other promotions to try to meet. This has to be up there with the best matches to ever open a major show. I will never not pop for Kansai kicking the shit out of people or hitting smaller opponents with those enormous backdrop drivers. Masami also really stood out, being an absolute menace and popping me with her selling, especially of Kansai's offense. Everyone else really killed it, too. This was SO much fun; just balls-to-the-wall athletic action for nearly 20 minutes, with memorable spots and great storytelling throughout. As an advertisement for what people can expect when watching JWP, this couldn’t have been better.
Ultimate Fight Rules: Harley Saito vs. Shinobu Kandori - And on the other side of the “entertainers vs. shooters” divide that broke up the original Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling promotion, we have LLPW, who focused more on shoot-style realism in their product. I'm not familiar with Saito, and I haven't seen much of Kandori other than the match with Akira Hokuto from AJW Dreamslam. However, that was one of the greatest matches I've ever seen. Kandori does NOT look like somebody to fuck with.
Code of Honor is also upheld here, and we’re off! Saito gets a quick knockdown after some knees and a kick to the head, shocking the crowd. Kandori beats the count and manages a hiptoss on Saito, but Saito dodges a jujigatame. Kandori gets a triangle choke and rains down the punchings on Saito’s head…and it's over!
* - Not much to rate here as it went just over a minute, but it did the job in making Kandori look like a killer while briefly giving Saito some hope early on. It was very exciting despite the abbreviated length.
Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue vs. Blizzard Yuki & Manami Toyota - The ladies here actually had to win qualifying matches to represent AJW on this show. This is close to being the third iteration of Toyota/Hasegawa vs. Double Inoue we've seen so far in the review series, but they changed the dynamic COMPLETELY by teaming Kyoko with Aja Kong instead of Takako Inoue. Aja is looking for revenge against Toyota for taking her WWWA Championship. I suspect another hot match incoming.
Toyota hits a missile dropkick at the jump on Inoue, but Inoue and Kong immediately assert their dominance. They run partway up the long-ass ramp and clothesline both opponents back in! Love that spot! Back in, Kong repeatedly rams Toyota into different turnbuckle pads and lays in some chops. Kyoko enters and puts Toyota in a kind-of Muta Lock and DANCES while applying it to the encouragement of the crowd.
Catapult into a Kong lariat gets two, but Toyota hits a rebound crossbody and tags in Yuki! Rolling butterfly suplexes gets two! Double-team kicks put Inoue down, but she rolls through a Yuki suplex attempt and hits some Mongolian chops and a lariat. Kong checks back in and kicks the SHIT out of Blizzard. Kong continues to beat down Yuki for a bit to the delight of the crowd. Kyoko re-enters and attempts a giant swing, but Yuki rolls through for a two-count, then tags in Toyota! Rolling cradle gets two! Manami makes it rain missile dropkicks for two! Kyoko hits a rebound dropkick and tags Aja back in, who crushes Toyota with a sit-down splash during a sunset flip attempt! Aja catches a cross-body attempt with a slam, but Toyota comes back with a dropkick and tags Yuki back in…only to get immediately avalanched by Kong. NASTY piledriver gets two.
Big backdrop driver gets another two! Kyoko comes in and applies a Rita Romero Special, then Kong comes back in for a suplex attempt (that they kinda had to re-do) that Yuki escapes. Yuki hits some spinkicks for a one-count. Toyota comes back in and tries some kicks, but they don't faze Kong. Kyoko comes back in and applies a torture rack…then tosses Toyota across the ring! Camel clutch…then Kyoko leans to the back and CRANKS THAT THING. Kong checks back in and continues bending Toyota like a paperclip in various submissions, including a torture crab hold. After some double-teams, a Kong powerbomb gets two! Inoue hits her awesome flying elbow drop for two.
Manami roll gets two! Yuki tags in and immediately gets lariated down. A second, STIFFER lariat gets two! Toyota dives in with a crossbody to halt a powerbomb and goes for a double-team with Yuki, but Inoue takes them both out with a rebound double-elbow! After a bit, Yuki and Toyota both hit dives to the outside (both of which the cameras missed), then Toyota hits both with an Asai moonsault! Back in, doomsday missile dropkick gets two as Kong breaks up the pin!
Yuki goes upstairs, but Inoue intercepts and hits a top rope belly-to-belly for a close two! Yuki manages to hit high-angle suplexes on both Inoue and Kong, then hits a further series of them on Inoue, but Inoue BARELY kicks out at 2.9! Toyota comes in to hit the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex, but Inoue escapes and gets a German for two!
Kong re-enters and counters a Manami roll with a powerbomb for two! Toyota gets a sunset flip powerbomb for two! Moonsault…finds knees, and Kong and Inoue hit a nasty back elbow Doomsday Device, but Toyota bridges out! Uraken is countered with a Japanese Ocean Suplex (double hammerlock German suplex), but Toyota can't secure a pin. Toyota runs towards Kong, but Kong RELASES THE URAKEN…FOR 2.99999! Kong hits a top-rope slam (kinda like an Air Raid Crash) for three!
****1/2 - The usual awesome stuff from these ladies. Fast-paced, big moves, and crazy near-falls. They also had a great “big vs. little” dynamic as Kong and Inoue were quite dominant, but Yuki and Toyota had great comebacks. I liked the opener better, but it was another excellent effort from everyone involved. Kong, even more so than before, has legitimate claim to a rematch against Toyota.
Post-match, Akira Hokuto comes in and puts over what we just saw. Kong then takes the mic and intends to take her title back. I like that they’re planting seeds for a future program on what is essentially a collection of exhibition matches.
…and that's it for the joshi portion. The women likely had a chip on their shoulder because of the frankly sexist match placement, so they went out there and SHOWED THE FUCK OUT.
Before we get the next match, Lou “Motherfucking” Thesz comes out. He gives a speech thanking those who put the show together, then puts over Rikidozan who he wrestled 40 years prior. Thesz expresses his love for the art and athleticism that is professional wrestling. That was nice.
Alien Deathmatch: Ryuma Go vs. Uchu Majin Silver X - I love that THIS is the match to follow up Thesz's “pro wrestling is sophisticated athleticism” speech. Incredible.
This is the contribution from Go Gundan, a very, very small promotion that specialized in “indie sleaze”, which eschews high-quality graps for silliness and absurdity. Think of it like CHIKARA, but not as much fun (but hopefully with less problematic people in charge and on the payroll). Go Gundan started in 1993 and closed shop in 1996 and barely left more than a blip on the wrestling landscape. There's not a ton on this promotion out there on the interwebs. Shit, I couldn't even find a logo, so I painstakingly hand-crafted the one you see above. Graphic design is my passion.
I don't know much about Ryuma Go, but he had been wrestling since the early ‘70s and has been in a lot of notable promotions, like NJPW, AJPW, Stampede, and several independents. Uchu Majin Silver X appears to be an alien. An alien that spent his career mostly working smaller indie companies and is wearing a spraypainted Jason mask. He comes out with some other Uchu Majins, I guess? They SLOWLY march down the long rampway. Like, even Roman Reigns would be like “alright, pick it up, guys”.
Ryuma Go comes out to “Eye of the Tiger”, and the crowd seems to be into him, too. We get some rudimentary wrestling to start. Go gets a Fujiwara armbar before Uchu makes the ropes. Do you think Yoshiaki Fujiwara, who we'll see later, was watching backstage and did the Leo DiCaprio thing whenever someone applied his armbar?
The rest of the Uchu Majin family freely interfere and beat down Go, mostly abusing his leg. Back in, Jason the Silver continues working over the leg. Back outside, the other jerks keep battering the leg. Texas cloverleaf in the ring, but Go makes the ropes. Figure four, but Go reverses and makes the ropes. Go comes back with headbutts that the crowd seems to be into, then gets a crossface which is broken up by one of the other dorks.
Go gets a nice dropkick (though you can kiss all that leg work goodbye) and a swinging neckbreaker. Half-crab, but the other Majins eventually break it up. Clothesline, then back to the half-crab. Go thwarts a quadruple-team, grabs the weapon (a zucchini wrapped in foil? a dildo?), and goes to town on the Majins for a while. Silver X eventually regains control and applies another Texas Cloverleaf, but Go gets to the ropes. Top rope clothesline and diving forearm each net two-counts. Go comes back with lariats aplenty for everyone! Back suplex gets two, and Go gets a top-rope clothesline. Another clothesline ends it, THANK GOD (the deity, not the Guerillas of Destiny).
DUD - Dazzling, Utterly Dazzling. This is labeled as an “Alien Deathmatch”, but the closest thing to “death” this match has going for it is the possibility of me dying from sleep apnea after dozing off from boredom. This was, to quote the legendary Dominic DeNucci, “the absolute drizzling shit”. Repetitive as hell, super-dull, and had no business getting 15 minutes. Hell, Go didn't even sell the legwork that comprised 90% of the opposition's offense! The only reason this isn't going into the negative stars is because Go did show decent fire and the crowd was REALLY into him. I mean, though, what the hell could I expect from an “Alien Death Match”? A barbed-wire UFO? Fans Bring the Ray Guns?
Barbed Wire Board & Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Bunkhouse Death Match: Leatherface, Shoji Nakamaki & Terry Funk vs. The Headhunters & Cactus Jack - Ahh, now THIS is a deathmatch. Any match type with that many words in it should be a good time. Leatherface is the Rick Patterson version, not Corporal Kirchner, as he had been fired from IWA in December for taking SERIOUS liberties with Hiroshi Ono with a nail board. Shoji Nakamaki is primarily a deathmatch guy who also wrestled for W*ING and Big Japan, and is kind of insane. The Headhunters are a pair of 400lb+ Puerto Rican twins (dressed as Abdullah the Butcher) who were agile as HECK. They had an infamously brief run in the 1996 Royal Rumble as the Squat Team.
Cactus’ team comes out to “Symphony of Destruction” by Megadeth, which rules, and each guy is brandishing chairs.
Only Terry on his team has a chair. Barbed wire boards are strewn about, and the bat is in the center of the ring. Both teams start at the top of the ginormous entryway, and it's a race to the weaponry as the ring announcer counts down from ten. Jack sprints down the entry ramp as the others brawl, with Nakajima (the only one that honestly could keep up with Jack in a foot race) intercepting him. Funk and a Headhunter duel chairs as this is already absolute chaos, but it's FUN chaos! Jack heads to the ring to grab Lucille and decks Funk with it! Nakajima is naturally bleeding as a Headhunter offers him a high-level corporate position with full dental and 401K matching chokes him with a chain.
Funk snags the bat and returns fire on Cactus, but Jack dodges some home run swings. Leatherface is all like “fuck this” and places out as Jack and the Headhunters abuse Funk with the bat. As Jack Cactus clotheslines Funk over the rails, Nakamaki endures some bat-related pain. Funk and Nakamaki are bleeding like stuck pigs here as Jack goes after Funk with a chair while Funk is swinging at a young boy at ringside! Headhunter A (I'll assume) drops a 400lb leg off the top rope to Nakajima, who's laying on the ramp! YIKES! The absolute THUD that made!
Cactus Elbow to Terry as the other Headhunter splashes Nakamaki off the top! Jack goes nuts with a table as poor Nakamaki endures more abuse from the bat. Jack takes the ear-ripping rope spot as a Headhunter splashes Funk. Nakamaki comes back with a headbutt and a DDT for two. Jack goes after Nakamaki as Funk takes a tumble in the barbed wire! Huge top rope elbow from a Headhunter onto Nakamaki gets two as some barbed wire boards are brought into the ring. Nakamaki is then sandwiched between the boards!
A Headhunter hits a BIG ASS FUCKING MOONSAULT onto Nakamaki…but Leatherface returns! He packs a chainsaw! He'll skin your ass raw!
There're sparks flying out of it as he's boppin’ guys left and right on the head! Jack takes the “blade” on the arm! Leatherface hits his OWN moonsault (on a Headhunter's knees) for two! Leather misses a splash and gets barbed-wired for his troubles. Cactus punches Funk on the outside as Funk goads him on by calling him a motherfucker. Funk then nails some sturdy punches on Jack and sends him over the railing. One of the Headhunters superplexes Leatherface as Funk fights everyone off himself! Spinning toe hold in a Headhunter, but it is escaped. Jack tries lighting one of the boards on fire, but to no avail as Funk tosses chair after chair into the ring (AUTHOR’S NOTE: Good thing Jack didn’t succeed in lighting that board on fire, since the building officials would have shut the show down then and there. Imagine poor Mick Foley being responsible for THAT).
Nakamaki takes a superplex into a barbed wire board, and a piledriver from Cactus gets two! Somersault plancha from one Headhunter, but he mostly makes contact on the other one! Plancha from Leatherface! Cactus Clothesline takes Funk out, and Jack and Headhunter B (sure, why not?) hit a STEINER BULLDOG ON THE FUCKING FLOOR on Nakamaki! Holy hell!
Funk then throws Jack off the second rope to the floor! Good grief! Funk hits an Orihara moonsault! Nakamaki whips a Headhunter into a barbed wire board and scores a roll-up, barely getting three! Holy shit, Nakamaki picks up the win!
**** - This may seem high, but fuck it: this was a BLAST to watch. Big boy flying spots from the Headhunters and Leatherface, Nakamaki taking a shellacking but not giving up, and fun brutality from Funk and Cactus. Plus, I popped huge for the chainsaw. Even if some sequences didn't go as planned (the aborted fire spot), shit kept moving along and they were just busting out big spot after big spot. An entertainingly brutal car crash.
Christopher DeWeaver vs. Minoru Suzuki - Oh, shit, it's pre-Murder Grampa Minoru Suzuki! Pancrase (or “Pancreas”, if you ask Ken Shamrock) is a pioneering mixed-martial arts promotion founded by Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki in 1993 after they both left PWFG (who we’ll see next!). While there were a few worked outcomes that marred the promotion’s reputation, Pancrase mostly featured legit shootfights. DeWeaver is not much more than a warm body here, but he does come out to “If I Only Knew” by Tom Jones. Suzuki's song is also a decent bop.
Man, DeWeaver is a TALL drink of water.
Code of Honor is adhered to, and it's on! Kicks are exchanged for a bit, and they grapple on the mat a bit with Suzuki on top. Suzuki gets a legbar and DeWeaver gives it up in under 2 minutes.
N/A - This was pretty fun while it lasted with an impressive finish. I won't rate this because it was an actual fight. I'll rate the worked shoots like I did with the LLPW match.
Carl Greco & Don Arakawa vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Yuki Ishikawa - This is our contribution from Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (PWFG), a worked shoot-style promotion. That’s a pretty sick logo; I’d buy a beer with that on the label. Also, they had a show named “Stack of Arms”, which is fucking awesome. However, everyone on the roster not named Yoshiaki Fujiwara would end up leaving PWFG to form BattlArts in 1996.
Greco and Arakawa come out to “The Godfather Waltz” while Fujiwara traditionally comes out to “Ride of the Valkyries”. Fujiwara fashioned himself to be a ‘mob boss’ of this promotion, so maybe HE should have used the Godfather song.
Ishikawa and Greco start us off with some really primo grappling until Greco catches Ishikawa with a head kick and gets Ishikawa down with a butterfly submission. Ishikawa escapes, and they each trade legbars until Arakawa tags in and gets…an EYEPOKE?!? Ishikawa comes back with some kicks, but Fujiwara checks into the bout.
Arakawa tries for another eye poke and gets a monkey flip as this shit's already gone off the rails. Arakawa misses a charge and Fujiwara smacks him in the back of the head. Greco tags back in and gets a belly-to-belly, then Arakawa kicks Fujiwara in the penis while Greco goes for a side mount! Fujiwara wrestles out if it and goes for his own mount, but Arakawa again attacks the coinpurse.
Ishikawa and Greco check back in, and they grapple over some holds, with Ishikawa going for the arm, and Greco going for leglocks. Greco catches Ishikawa with a kick to the face, but Ishikawa gets up at 8. After a bit more grappling, Fujiwara tags back in and takes Greco down. Arakawa re-enters, only for Fujiwara to Beat the Bodhran.
Fujiwara runs him into the ringpost, resulting in a hilarious sell from Arakawa, as he lets out a loud “OOOOOWHOOAHHHHHHH”, flaps his arms like a damn bird, and hops off the apron!
Arakawa attempts to blocks another clubbing blow, but Fujiwara notices it and just smacks him in the head. Back in, Arakawa tries some headbutts, but to no effect, and Fujiwara puts him down with one of his own. Fujiwara avenges the previous crotchal transgressions by stomping on Arakawa’s yambag. Arakawa misses some diving headbutts and gets clubbed the chest again.
Ishikawa comes back, only to run into a backslide by Arakawa…but Arakawa hits his own head on the canvas! Yes, dude hurt himself doing a BACKSLIDE. Greco tags back in and we get more of that good technical shit. Greco wraps around Ishikawa like a jellyfish, but Ishikawa gets the ropes. Greco starts with the Muay Thai knees and gets a belly-to-belly. Ishikawa goes for the arm, but Arakawa comes in to put a stop to that.
Fujiwara and Arakawa check back in and they start kicking each other for a bit until Arakawa takes Fuje to the mat. Arakawa goes for the mouth while Fujiwara tries to take Arakawa's eye home with him like he was Haku!
Fujiwara grabs a front Facebook and takes his time breaking when Arakawa gets to the ropes. Ishikawa and Greco re-enter the fray, and Greco gets a knee that knocks down Ishikawa and scores a uranage. However, Ishikawa grabs a triangle choke for the tap!
**1/2 - What in the holy hell did I just watch? The stuff with Ishikawa and Greco was premium technical wrestling with some good, hard striking; the kind of stuff you'd want from a worked shoot. However, as much as I laughed at some of the stuff with Fujiwara and Arakawa (Arakawa especially), it just felt so stylistically divorced from the rest of the match. Aside from the comedy stuff, Fujiwara and Arakawa did a bunch of regular pro wrestling spots, which didn't exactly sell the illusion of realism that shoot style normally tries to portray. I love goofiness in my wrestling, but I wouldn't have done it here.
Gran Naniwa, Super Delfin & TAKA Michinoku vs. SATO, Shiryu & The Great Sasuke - This is the Michinoku Pro contribution and the first time in my review series that we're seeing their specialty: the multi-man tag. These things are always ridiculously fun. Smart match placement, too, using this to break up a rather big block of shoot-style stuff. Of course, SATO is the future Dick Togo, and Shiryu is the future Kaz Hayashi.
Naniwa's full crab regalia IS pro wrestling. Go argue with a wall.
Delfin brings Sakie Hasegawa, in full Delfin gear, out with him. Everybody poses!
Shiryu and Naniwa kick things off with Naniwa hamming it up with lazy Hulk Hogan poses and both guys doing some flippy shit and fun matwork. After a tidy little stalemate sequence, Sasuke and TAKA come in, with TAKA getting the upper hand after not breaking cleanly in the ropes. They trade legholds and kicks, then we get a CHOP BATTLE. TAKA gets a flying forearm to send Sasuke reeling on the outside. TAKA teases a dive, but backflips out of it.
SATO and Delfin check in to give us a rematch from March 4th. They have a lucha sequence that is markedly more aggressive than usual, ending with a quebradora by SATO. TAKA and Sasuke come back in, with TAKA coming out on top with a springboard knee to the head!
TAKA starts to work the arm, but Sasuke gets a spinning heel kick to send TAKA scurrying. Shiryu and Naniwa come back in, and Shiryu gets a rope-flip armdrag and a kitchen sink. Naniwa claims a knee in the dick, and even sells it after an Irish whip! Naniwa catches Shiryu with a powerbomb, and we get the CRAB WALK ELBOW…but Shiryu keeps rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ out of the way (that's the SECOND Limp Bizkit reference so far). Naniwa keeps on crab-walking…until Shiryu shakes the ropes and Naniwa falls off!
SATO and TAKA come in as the Caps Lock button gets in some reps. TAKA lays in some forearms and chops, but SATO tough through it and takes TAKA down with one chop. Press slam sends TAKA out, and Sasuke and Delfin come back in. HUGE quebradora puts Sasuke down, but, after some fast action, an enzuigiri puts Delfin out and another dive is teased. Shiryu and Naniwa re-enter, but TAKA and Delfin try triple-teaming Shiryu. This leads to TAKA accidentally getting chopped by his partners, then Shiryu keeps kipping up…then we get the Michinoku Pro DANCE SPOT.
Delfin's team is dispatched, and Delfin finds refuge in Sakie Hasegawa's embrace. Back in, Shiryu falls victim to a triple-team beatdown. He gets placed into the Tree of Woe, where both TAKA and Delfin stand on his poor nutbag. Delfin continues to abuse the testicles before grabbing a camel clutch. We then get the Michinoku Pro arm sequence where Delfin stands on the apron and his partners hand him his opponent's arm for repeated over-the-shoulder armbreakers as the crowd claps along.
As expected, he is tricked into abusing Naniwa's arm! The fickle hand of fate strikes again! Naniwa wants to leave, so Delfin kisses him as an apology. Back in, shit REALLY picks up with missed elbow drops resulting in Sasuke and Shiryu splashing all three opponents, simultaneously, then dive attempts by SATO and Sasuke are cut off. We then get a ridiculous FIVE-way submission spot that is broken up when Naniwa goes for a pin on his opponents!
Triple rana, then Shiryu hits a somersault plancha on TAKA. Naniwa follows up with a plancha, then a SATO suicide dive, then a Delfin plancha, then a HUGE Asai moonsault from Sasuke, then a MASSIVE springboard plancha from TAKA! That sequence was INSANE. Back in, big springboard dropkick from TAKA, but SATO comes back with a senton. Naniwa is then hit with a Sasuke Asai moonsault inside the ring for two! Naniwa counters a powerbomb into a ‘rana for two, but Sasuke hits a big tope con hilo to the outside! Delfin scores a tornado DDT on Shiryu, and the Delfin clutch gets three!
****1/4 - The usual incredibly fun multi-man from Michinoku Pro. Great pacing throughout with a lot of crisp lucha sequences and impeccably-timed spots, and the comedy felt far more appropriate here than with the prior match. One thing I like about these Michinoku Pro matches is that they routinely tease the big dives early on. This builds anticipation and allows the more batshit stuff at the end to have more of an impact. Everyone was on point here, but Naniwa stole the show with his antics. I've always loved that crab.
Akira Maeda vs. Chris Dolman - Fighting Network RINGS is yet another worked-shoot promotion, but this one ended up morphing into a legit MMA outfit later in the year and lasted until the popularity of PRIDE helped put it down for good in 2002. This was Maeda's third attempt at creating a promotion after the folding of his UWF and Newborn UWF companies. Maeda is a badass, but also seems to be kind of a dick. He has a rather contentious history in wrestling to say the least, most infamously refusing to lose to Andre the Giant, and kicking Riki Choshu full-force in the face (though the referee and Maeda state later on that it wasn't a shoot, but a mistimed spot).
Chris Dolman is a Dutch martial arts fella who is closing in on retirement. This would end up being one of his last matches. He comes out to what sounds vaguely like Kurtis Blow rapping over the menu screen music of a bad SNES basketball game.
Dolman seems to have an advantage at first, grappling Maeda to the mat and maintaining a waistlock. Maeda eventually wrestles out of it and gets a leglock, but Dolman gets his own. They stalemate and get back up, where Maeda goes for some kicks. Maeda goes for a takedown, but Dolman blocks it and attempts a rear crossface. Maeda grabs the rope to break. More grappling ensues with nobody getting a clear advantage. Maeda grabs a leglock, and Dolman grabs some ankle himself.
The ref breaks it up and both guys get back up. Dolman goes for a single-leg, but Maeda grabs his own leglock for the tap.
*1/2 - I wouldn't say this was truly awful or anything, but it felt pretty limp and uninspired. It wasn't nearly as fun or dynamic as the LLPW match or the Greco-Ishikawa portions of the PWFG match. Absolutely not representative of what RINGS is capable of.
Post-match, Maeda puts over tbe retiring Dolman and even gives him his entrance jacket. Awwww, that's nice. Dolman then receives a photograph and some trophies, including a big ass samurai. He thanks everyone for supporting RINGS.
Gary Albright, Gene Lydick & Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Billy Scott, Masahito Kakihara & Nobuhiko Takada - More worked shoot fun here from UWFi, itself a successor to the Newborn UWF promotion that closed in 1990. UWFi was famous for calling out bigger promotions for being GREAT BIG PHONIES and making grandstanding challenges. They would also engage in an invasion angle with New Japan that inspired the nWo in WCW. I've seen bits and pieces of some of these guys, but Gary Albright fucking rules. A murderous Kenny Powers. Albright's team come out to “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC.
Takada is such hot shit at this point that he had Yngwie Malmsteen do his theme music (“Power and Glory”), and it fucking rips, too. Absolute legend.
Yamazaki WANTS the hell out of Takada to start, but he gets Scott instead. They grapple and fight over leglocks for a bit as this is ALREADY more crisp than the RINGS match. Scott transitions from a mount to a keylock, but Yamazaki counters with a leglock, but Scott gets the ropes. Kakihara enters the fray and goes HAM with slaps, but Yamazaki counters a kick with a leglock, with Kakihara making the ropes. That was a slick sequence.
Lydick comes in and eats some stiff strikes from Kakihara, but he returns fire. They grapple on the mat with Lydick getting a rear choke, but it is broken up. Kakihara fucking pastes Lydick with a kick to the torso, and he does DOWN. Oh shit, Takada and Yamazaki come in and the crowd is hyped for that showdown. They trade kicks with Takada getting the advantage after catching a kick and sweeping the other leg. Takada gets in some more hard strikes, including a NASTY kick to the ribs.
Yamazaki gets back up and wrests Takada to the ground, where they fight over an anklelock. Seconds later, Yamazaki nails a German suplex and tags out to Gary Albright. Oh, shit, here we GO! Billy Scott tags back in and gets mauled by Albright for a while. DEADLIFT GERMAN, then Albright locks in a full nelson, broken up in the ropes. Takada checks back in and gets a hip throw on Albright, who rolls through to gain an advantage on the mat. Another full nelson, but Takada makes the ropes.
Takada manages a few kicks, but Gary suplexes the shit out of him and looks for an armbar. Takada escapes and gets a jujigatame for not even a second before Albright gets to the ropes. Lydick and Kakihara re-enter, and after weathering some strikes, Lydick gets a takedown and gets a leglock, which Kakihara reverses to one of his own in brutal manner. Lydick IMMEDIATELY grabs the ropes and takes more punishment before Takada tags back in. They grapple for a bit until Takada scores a nasty kick to the midsection/hip, knocking Lydick down. Seconds latter, Takada gets an armbar for the tap!
***1/2 - This was the best example of shoot style by FAR on this show. Brutal strikes, great technical stuff, and everything felt crisp and dynamic. I also really enjoyed how the disdain between Yamazaki and Takada was portrayed here. This really could have used more Albright mauling fools like a grizzly, though.
We then move to a retirement ceremony for Kintaro Ohki, a South Korean wrestler trained by Rikidozan, and who was part of a rookie triumvirate with Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki. He mostly retired in the early 1980s, but never got any kind of ceremony until now. Lou Thesz pushes him out in a wheelchair, though he does manage to stand for most of the festivities.
Speeches are made, tears are shed, bells are rung, and trophies and photos are given. On a show filled with a ton of (then) today's wrestling, it's kind of nice they include stuff like this to pay tribute to those that came before. It really does make the show feel like a true celebration of pro wrestling. This would be Ohki's final public appearance before passing away in 2006.
No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match: Great Nita vs. Pogo Daioh - After all that shoot-style, we crank the nuttiness dial back up with another deathmatch, this time courtesy of FMW. The Great Nita is of course FMW top dog Atsushi Onita cosplaying as The Great Muta. Pogo Daioh is Mr. Pogo dressed as some sort of cyclops samurai thingy. Mr. Pogo isn’t exactly someone I’d consider good. We get more Yngwie Malmsteen on this night as Pogo comes out “Perpetual”, so Pogo Daioh at least has good entrance music going for him.
Great Nita comes out to a version of “Wild Thing” that incorporates traditional Japanese instruments. That's pretty awesome.
This is taking place in a separate ring with EXPLODING barbed wire in place of ropes. Onita takes a misting from Pogo to start the match. We get some customary teases of guys going into the barbed wire. This goes on for a while. Nita headbutts Pogo repeatedly until Nita charges at Pogo, who directs him into the barbed wire…and boom goes the dynamite. Pogo introduces the sickle into the fray, stabbing Nita in the back a few times and wriggling it around. Yikes.
He wraps the sickle around Nita's neck, then digs it into his MOUTH. Nita blocks another sickle shot and blasts Pogo with HIS own mist. Pogo then gets a taste of his own sickle, followed by a DDT. More sickle sickness follows, then Nita teases shoving Pogo face-first into the wire before throwing him back.
Lucille makes another appearance tonight as Pogo blocks the sickle and lays on some shots with the barbed wire bat. Nita gets blowed up in the wire again but kicks out at two. More assault and bat-tery follow, but Nita dodges a bat swing and Pogo is electrocuted by the barbed wire! Nita's got the bat and knocks Pogo into the barbed wire for more fireworks. They then repeatedly headbutt each other like it was Free CTE Day at the Tokyo Dome until they both tumble into the wire. Nita covers and wins.
*3/4 - I tend to enjoy this kind of stuff more than others, but this didn't work for me. It's kinda fun when stuff goes “boom”, but Pogo’s control segment was boring and uninspired, and the finish was kind of an anti-climax. I've had more fun with Onita matches. This peaked at the entrance music.
Post-match, Nita pours water in Pogo and himself, then yells, when wanders around the ring for a long time. “Wild Thing” plays for a long time like it's Anarchy in the Arena.
Akira Taue, Johnny Ace & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa & Stan Hansen - Look at that fucking line-up. BEAUTY! From what I read, All Japan wasn't initially going to participate in this show as they were in the thick of their big Champion Carnival tournament and didn't want to risk injury or exhaustion to any of their guys. However, as more and more promotions showed interest, they eventually caved in and sent pretty much ALL of their top guys.
Each guy gets individual entrances with Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart” ushering Johnny Ace to the ring.
Taue and Kobashi start us off and the crowd is PSYCHED. That's impressive considering the show is in its fifth hour. Taue gets the early advantage with a shoulderblock and a boot to the head as audio issues crop up. Kobashi comes back with his own shoulderblock and stalling vertical suplex. Kobashi lays in some chops that are presumably brutal (sadly, the sound still hasn't returned), but Taue fights back and tags in Kawada, who beats the tar out of Kobashi with chops and kicks. Kobashi gets his own spinning chop to break that up, and Misawa tags into the match. Misawa gets the best of their little match early on with elbows and a crossbody block. After a crossface, Misawa brings Hansen into the match for a double shoulderblock. The bump from Kawada is great, basically turning himself into a ‘Y’.
Hansen beats the crap out of Kawada some more, but Taue and Kawada eventually get their own double shoulderblock, then Ace checks in and lands a flying clothesline and a DDT. The audio comes back just in time to hear Ace grunt, then cuts back out. Hansen comes back and kicks Ace's ass (well, back) and tags Kobashi back in. Chops and forearms are exchanged until Ace gets a nice dropkick, resulting in a stalemate. Taue and Misawa re-enter, with Misawa landing some kicks before tagging in Hansen for some abuse. Kobashi tags back in for a double elbow with Hansen, but Taue comes back and brings in Kawada, who works a double wristlock for a bit. Kobashi reverses, but Kawada escapes and gets a nasty hook kick that knocks Kobashi stiff. Great sell from Kobashi here.
Ace comes in and works over Kobashi for a bit, but Kobashi hits a Saito suplex and tags Hansen in. He beats the turd out of Ace until Ace nails a lariat. Hansen retaliate with a DDT for two. Misawa comes in and beats in Ace for a bit, knocking his dick stiff with an elbow before tagging Kobashi back in. Kobashi nails Ace with some kitchen sinks, then lays in some chops and a Saito suplex for two. However, Ace gets a superplex and tags in Taue, who hits Snake Eyes on Kobashi, then kicks Kobashi’s damn head off!
Kawada comes back in and they do a MANLY chop exchange until Kawada lays in some brutal kicks. Ace re-enters and covers the still-loopy Kobashi for two. Guillotine legdrop gets another two as Kobashi's glass-eyed selling is incredible. Short-arm lariat gets two, then Taue comes in for a bit of abuse before Kawada runs down the ramp and nails a kick to Kobashi, who is still inside the ring! That gets two.
Kawada comes in and gets a scorpion deathlock, immediately broken up by Hansen. Ace re-enters and hits a pumphandle slam for two. Taue comes in to dish out more beatings. Samoan drop gets two, then Kawada comes in for a stalling vertical suplex for another two. STRETCH PLUM, BUT KOBASHI TAGS IN HANSEN! HANSEN NO-SELLS KAWADA'S KICKS! Release powerbomb by Hansen! THE AUDIO HAS FINALLY RETURNED! Yay! Ace comes in but EATS a shoulderblock, but Kawada nails Hansen with a kick before tagging in Taue. BIG dropkick knocks Hansen into his corner, and in comes MISAWA! Twisting clothesline! Taue escapes a Tiger Driver and hits a big boot, but Misawa comes back with the Tiger Driver for two! Double dropkick from Misawa and Kobashi sends Taue to the floor. Elbow suicida! Back in, triple DDT by Misawa's team! German from Kobashi gets a close two on Taue!
MOONSAULT LANDS…for two! Flying clothesline attempt sees a knee to the guts from Taue, then Ace comes back for corner clotheslines for two. ACE CRUSHER gets two!
Ace lands a Rocker Dropper and a MOONSAULT for a close two as the time limit approaches! Kobashi counters a top rope DDT and tags in STAN THE LARIAT. Back suplex and powerbomb each get two. LARIAT from Hansen, but Taue comes in and hits the Nodowa Otoshi, then Snake Eyes’ Misawa! Tauemania is running wild! Kawada comes in and, after a bit of back-and-forth, lariats Hansen! Hansen comes back with a dropkick and tags in Misawa! Him and Kawada each nail ganmengiris! Taue comes in and again hits Snake Eyes. Powerslam gets a close two! DYNAMIC BOMB, but Misawa kicks out!
Nodowa is countered, and Misawa counters a Dynamic Bomb into a ‘rana for two! Kobashi tags back in and nails a shoulderblock after dodging some Taue offense…but the bell rings. The 30 minute time limit has expired! WE HAVE A DRAW!
****3/4 - Yeah, this was awesome. These six guys who weren't originally going to be there could have easily phoned it in, and it would have been understandable, but NOPE. They went out and tore the house down with an incredibly exciting trios match. Everyone played their roles well and gave us BIG moves, hard hits, and intense drama. The sound issues were a bit of a bummer, but everything still came across well, and the work was compelling enough to overcome them. I'd probably give the nod to the opener for match of the night, but I would not argue against anyone who prefers this. The only issue with these matches is that it makes me say nice things about John Laurinaitis! I hate doing that!
Masahiro Chono vs. Shinya Hashimoto - And closing out the show, we have two of the Three Musketeers. The heroic (but, for tonight, not defending) IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shinya Hashimoto vs. super mega-dick Masahiro Chono. From what I remember, New Japan was going to send talent much lower on the totem pole to this show, but when they saw the AJPW contribution, they decided to send these guys instead. This will end the show on a high note, right?
…RIGHT?
Chono comes out flanked by fellow Team Wolf-ers Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Hiro Saito, while Hash comes out by his lonesome.
Chono looks for a Yakuza kick as the bell rings, but Hashimoto SWEEPS THE LEG JOHNNY and kicks the shit out of him. Referee Tiger Hattori tries to calm down the raging Hashimoto, which Chono uses to spinkick Hash down. Chono takes over with kicks and headbutts, but Hash comes back with chops. Hash goes for an armbar on the taped shoulder, but Chono kicks Hash's leg out of his…uh, leg.
Test of strength goes on for a bit until Chono kicks the leg for a bit. Hash gets a couple of big kicks to the midsection, then we get the test of strength again. Hashimoto gets an armbar, but Chono goes after the eyeballs. Chono works over Hash for a while with Yakuza kicks. Hash tries to come back with a DDT, but Chono takes out the leg again. Chono works over the leg for a while in pedestrian fashion. This goes on for a long time. A really long time. Fun fact: when Billy Joel wrote “The Longest Time”, he was describing Chono working the leg in this match.
Saito tries to interfere, which draws big heat from the crowd. After an eternity, Hash tries to stage a comeback, but that is short-lived as Chono goes back to the leg. STF is applied, and that lasts a LONG while until Hash makes the ropes.
Chono kicks the leg for a bit, then tries to lift Hash into a fireman's carry, but Hashimoto shifts his weight, landing on top of Chono. Hashimoto comes back with chops and an armdrag off the ropes for two. Hash hits a couple of divorce courts for two, then continues working over the arm. They blow an over-the-shoulder armbreaker, then Chono gets many Yakuza kicks. Hash fights with an enzuigiri and a spinning wheel kick. Brainbuster gets the three.
Post-match, Tenzan challenges Hashimoto to a future title match, then Hash cuts a promo to take us home.
** - Well, that sucked. It started off promising with the fast, intense beginning portion, but they soon downshifted to neutral and never picked it back up. The bulk of the contest was a lazy, dull leg match that ultimately didn't amount to much, nor was there any real build to the climax. I normally like these guys, especially Hashimoto, but this was an embarrassing effort when you compare it to what else happened on this show.
So, yeah. The reason why this show never got any kind of official home release? The popular theory is that NJPW were humiliated from having their collective dick knocked firmly into the dirt by AJPW, the women, the UWFi, and the much smaller IWA Japan, so they blocked the home video release. Between this and the fact that New Japan's Riki Choshu made an appearance at the opposing WAR show, a sizeable schism formed between NJPW and WPW that led to WPW being banned from NJPW events. Fences were mended a couple of years later, but it's somewhat interesting how this big celebration of pro wrestling ended on kind of a contentious note.
Overall thoughts: Well, despite limping to the finish line with that main event, this was an INCREDIBLE show. We had FIVE matches hit four snowflakes and beyond, and a very good trios match from UWFi to boot. There were a few clunkers, but for a 13 match card with so many different styles of wrestling, it doesn't drag the show down too much.
What I loved about this is the sheer variety on display. You had a couple of killer joshi matches, an incredibly fun deathmatch, exciting shoot stuff, fast-paced action and levity with Michinoku Pro, a big AJPW main-event style match, and even horrendous schlock from Go Gundan. This show is a ridiculous sample platter of what was so great about Japan at the time. While things stateside were pretty dire (with the exception of ECW), Japan was eating GOOD in 1995.
Obviously, this show is highly recommended, and you can watch it on YouTube here. This version doesn't have the NJPW main event, likely due to copyright reasons, but the complete version is on Archive.org if you're up for watching Chono and Hash mail it in.
Stay tuned for Part Fourteen of Ryan's Dive into ‘95, coming (hopefully) soon! We cover key matches from WrestleMania XI, Champion Carnival, and ECW Three Way Dance, plus other stuff.
See you again!