Ryan's Dive into '95: Detour - WAR Super J-Cup 1995 ~2nd Stage~ (12/13/95)
The Night of a Thousand Fisherman's Busters.
How ya now?
We have made it to Super J-Cup 1995, one of the most famous events in wrestling lore and an incredibly hot item in the tape-trading scene. That was back when you had to buy tapes from strangers to see wrestling outside of what was on television. The previous year's event, Super J-Cup 1994, was a one-night, single-elimination tournament featuring junior-heavyweight competitors. It was originally conceived as a one-off show, but the New Japan-hosted tourney was a financial and critical success. As such, another one was set up, with Genichiro Tenryu's Wrestle Association R (WAR) promotion hosting the festivities this time. Like last year, this iteration comes to us hot from Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Also like last year, the 1995 J-Cup sees representation from several promotions. Aside from WAR and New Japan, Michinoku Pro, CMLL, Social Progress Wrestling Federation (SPWF), and Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) have competitors in the brackets.
Speaking of the brackets, here they are!
Wild Pegasus, last year's winner, and Jushin Liger received byes into the second round.
The 1994 version is still considered one of the greatest nights ever in wrestling from a pure quality standpoint, and 1995 is almost as well-regarded. We'll see how well she holds up.
The first 35-ish minutes of the tape/DVD/stream is pre-taped promos and the big photo-op of all the competitors.
FIRST ROUND
Damien 666 (FMW) vs. Gran Naniwa (Michinoku Pro) - Naniwa is always one of my favorites from Michinoku Pro. He’s such a delightful little crab boy. Damien may be familiar to some readers (well, fellow old people) as a member of WCW’s Latino World Order faction and as Galaxy. Despite looking rather spoopy, he plays a total comedy character here, aping moves of other wrestlers.
Damien goes from THAT look to Hogan poses, then bails when the fans chant for Naniwa. The fans then chant for Damien, so Naniwa threatens to leave! We then get a SUPER POSEDOWN before Damien goes full Choshu with a lariat and a scorpion deathlock. Damien unleashes Tenryu chops in the corner, followed by some hip attacks and a comedic parity sequence right out of Michinoku Pro.
A Jinsei Shinzaki-like ropewalk leads to a suicide dive, but Naniwa gets a sunset flip for two. After some hairpulling and lucha spots, Naniwa hits a top rope plancha to the floor. Damien fires back with Misawa elbows, but misses a Muta moonsault. Naniwa catches him with a hurricanrana for the three to advance!
**1/2 - Very entertaining little opener, with some amusing comedy from both guys carrying the load. The actual wrestling was fine, but nothing to write home about.
There was scuttlebutt of some politicking with the finish. Damien wanted to win here because he always aspired to wrestle Liger, who was set to face the winner in the next round, but Naniwa allegedly refused to do the job. I have my doubts that an 18-year old comedy wrestler from a small indie promotion would have that kind of “that’s not gonna work for me, BROTHER” power, but what do I know?
Masaaki Mochizuki (WAR) vs. Shinjiro Otani (NJPW) - I don’t see this one being light and fluffy like the opener. Mochizuki is STILL going strong these days as an grizzled veteran in Dragon Gate. At this point, he’s less than two years in the business, marking a rare occasion in this era where Otani is the veteran of the pairing despite being a couple years younger.
Mochizuki wastes no time, hitting a spinning wheel kick off the jump and pummeling Otani with knees. Mochizuki hits a legsweep and they wrestle over a legbar, then Otani kicks Mochi’s leg out from under him during a kick attempt! They hammer on each other with STIFF blows, then Otani works over the knee. Otani applies a legbar, but Mochizuki grabs the ropes. Mochizuki comes back with a BEAUTIFUL German suplex for two, then just kicks the absolute snot out of Otani.
Otani comes back with a Fujiwara armbar, but Mochizuki fires back with a glancing spinning kick, then a roundhouse kick off the top rope for two. Mochizuki hits an axe kick, but Otani rebounds with a vicious dropkick to the knee, then a springboard dropkick right to the leg! Otani locks in a legbar and Mochizuki gives it up!
*** - God DAMN, they packed a lot of brutality in just over four minutes. These guys beat the absolute piss out of each other and squeezed the most out of every second they were allotted. Except for the last couple of seconds, this was like something you’d see in UWFi or RINGS. Otani met a rare young grappler who was every bit the surly fuck he was.
Ultimo Dragon (WAR) vs. Shoichi Funaki (Michinoku Pro) - Smackdown’s #1 Announcer makes another appearance on The Dive! He spent his formative years working in shoot-style promotions like PWFG and BattlARTS, but Michinoku Pro was where he found his greatest fame as a member of Kai En Tai. As for Ultimo Dragon, he just rules. He's got some sweet pink gear to kick off the night.
Dragon gets the best of Funaki in the early going, though Funaki does get a victory roll into a legbar. After Dragon escapes, Funaki follows with a slingshot plancha to the floor, then goes to work on Ultimo’s leg before we get into a slapping match. They work the mat, with Fuanki coming out on top with a half-crab/legbar sequence. They bar each others’ legs simultaneously, but Funaki continues his assault.
Dragon escapes and hits a sloppy headscissors, but makes up for it with a sweet quebrada for two. Funaki rolls him up and applies another legbar, then hits a back suplex for two. Funaki nails a fisherman’s buster for two (the first of many on the night), then Dragon retaliates with one of his own, followed by a top-rope Frankensteiner for two. Dragon lands a DDT, a moonsault to the back, and La Majistral for three.
** - This was a wrestling match that certainly existed. Funaki’s a perfectly cromulent worker, but rather bland. Dragon didn’t do much in the way of selling the leg but did have some nice moves.
Gedo (WAR) vs. Masayoshi Motegi (SPWF) - Gedo is best known these days for being NJPW’s booker, for better or worse, but in these days, he was a junior heavyweight wrestler with a really bad look. The gear, the hair, everything was off-putting to me. I also didn’t really like him much as a worker because he has weak offense, but I don’t have the level of hatred for him that some did back in the day. I'd rather watch 5 hours of mid-90’s Gedo than 5 minutes of The Miz.
Despite Gedo's myriad shortcomings, the fans are very into him as a WAR representative and presumptive underdog.
Motegi, the then-NWA World Junior Heavyweight champion, is credited for the Rolling German Suplex and has floated around the Japanese indie scene for years. He’s a fairly regular presence on these juniors shows.
They both wear very similar gear here, as if they were Echo Fighters in Super Smash Brothers.
Motegi gets the initial advantage and hits a suicide dive, then smacks Gedo around with his title belt. Motegi works the arm, even using a nifty rolling short-arm scissors. Gedo escapes with some face-raking and mounts a comeback, but Motegi soon regains the advantage by attacking the arm.
Motegi lands a slingshot plancha and HIS SHIRT IS OFF. Missile dropkick gets two, as does a brainbuster. Gedo comes back with a second-rope dropkick, but misses the headbutt. ROLLING GERMANS from Motegi gets two. Tombstone is hit, but Motegi misses his own diving headbutt. Gedo locks in a double chicken-wing for the submission!
** - Not much to this one. The wrestling was mostly okay, but not exactly engaging. The plain rice cake of wrestling matches. I do like Motegi using rudo tactics to make Gedo more of a babyface here, but that’s about it.
Dos Caras (CMLL) vs. El Samurai (NJPW) - Caras is a hell of a technical wrestler from what I’ve seen. El Samurai is, as I’ve said before, a really underrated talent from this time period. Dos Caras is Spanish for “Two Faces”, while El Samurai is Spanish for “The Samurai”. Who says this series can't be educational?
Caras immediately shows off his mat prowess with smooth transitions and counters before hitting a leaping forearm for two. Caras traps Samurai in an insane stump puller variant before Samurai goes to the eyes and stomps the luchador. Caras then gets Samurai in a grounded rolling hammerlock headscissor thing before moving to a Romero Special, which Samurai breaks via the ropes. After Samurai collects himself, we get a lucha sequence that ends with another flying forearm and a tope suicida that sends Samurai over the table.
Caras then puts Samurai in another hold that would take paragraphs to describe, but Samurai escapes and hits a short piledriver for two. In Mexico, that would be a total stretcher job. Caras hits a backslide and a ludicrous pinning combination, each for two-counts, but Samurai hits a kneeling powerbomb for a nearfall. Samurai lands a top-rope Frankensteiner for two, but a diving headbutt misses. Caras ascends and hits a flying crossbody for three!
**1/2 - This definitely felt like something of an upset as I imagine people would have expected Samurai to go at least another round. I really had a blast watching Dos Caras here, as he’s a great blend of old-school lucha acrobatics and technical adroitness. Samurai wasn’t bad or anything, but other than a couple of near-falls, it felt like an ad for Dos Caras-brand pretzels.
Lionheart (WAR) vs. Hanzo Nakajima (Michinoku Pro) - Of course, Lionheart is current AEW heat siphon Chris Jericho. Nakajima spent a good chunk of his career in Michinoku Pro, even being a member of Kai En Tai at one point. He dresses like a violet Power Ranger.
We get some mat-wrestling to start before Jericho hits a “YEAH BABY” stalling suplex and a prototype of the COCKY PIN. Nakajima miraculously recovers from that career-ender and hits a spinning back kick before barring the leg. Nakajima soon lands a quebrada for two, then does a corner handstand headscissors before Lionheart takes back over.
Spinning back kick gets two for Lionheart, but Nakajima gets a hurricanrana and some kicks, with Jericho taking a ridiculous backflip bump to the floor on the last one. Nakajima hits a baseball slide dropkick and a suicide dive crossbody to the floor, but Jericho soon catches Nakajima upstairs and hits a dropkick while they’re both on the top rope! Jericho follows with a rebound crossbody to the floor, then mockingly leads a “Hanzo” chant. Hanzo comes back with a rolling prawn hold, but Jericho escapes. Lionheart rolls through a crossbody for two, then hits a fisherman’s buster (take a drink) and a Lionsault for the three!
**3/4 - This was another short one to cap off the first round, but this one was very competitive. Never really saw much of Hanzo outside of this, but he did well representing the Michinoku Pro style. Jericho was fun here, firmly in his “doing crazy shit to get a job” phase and meshing well with Hanzo.
QUARTERFINALS
Jushin “Thunder” Liger (NJPW) vs. Gran Naniwa - It’s friggin’ Jushin Liger vs. the silly crab boy. I can only see this going one way. Naniwa has a somber, almost apprehensive look on his face as he walks out. Maybe he has CLAWS for concern…
Liger’s killer “Ikari no Jushin” theme is sadly dubbed over during the entrance, but you can hear it when we get to his backstage promos. Small comforts.
Naniwa attacks Liger during his entrance and hits a top rope Frankensteiner and a top rope plancha right out the gate! Missile dropkick to the back of the head follows, then a gutwrench powerbomb for a close near-fall. Naniwa applies a standing version of the Stretch Plum, then we get the CRAB WALK! Liger rolls away, but Naniwa keeps on walkin’, but eventually misses the elbow! Naniwa soon gets a hurricanrana out of nowhere for two, but Liger counters another with a powerbomb and MOCKS THE CRAB WALK! Liger rules.
Liger hits a vicious release German suplex, then applies a Romero Special/dragon sleeper. “ASK HIM!". Naniwa escapes and gets a Romero Special of his own! Naniwa releases and grabs a double chicken-wing, but Liger escapes and applies a surfboard. Liger continues playing with his food, but Naniwa fires back with palmstrikes and a DDT for two. Liger controls again, but Naniwa again comes back, this time with a somersault senton off the apron. Naniwa heads up and hits a big splash for two! Naniwa hits another avalanche Frankensteiner for two, then a spinning Doctor Bomb for another near-fall.
Liger escapes another one and hits a couple of koppu kicks. Naniwa intercepts Liger on the top rope, so Liger palmstrikes him off and hits a big elbowdrop for two! Liger goes for a Ligerbomb, but Naniwa gets a Frankensteiner for a near-fall! Liger soon drills him with a fisherman’s buster (take a drink) for the three!
***3/4 - This was some exciting action with a GREAT story packed into just over nine minutes. Even though he went over, Liger selflessly gave the teenage goofball a TON here before putting him away. Naniwa did his part in playing the overmatched wrestler that took the more established competitor to the limit.
Post-match, they share a respectful crab walk.
Wild Pegasus (NJPW) vs. Lionheart - Back in my early internet days, this one had a lot of notoriety because of how beloved the Canadian Chrises were back then. THAT sentiment would certainly change over the years for both guys.
Jericho gets an armdrag and yells “C’MON, MOTHERFUCKER!”, so they get into a slapping match with Benoit coming out on top. The newest Horseman controls a knucklelock sequence, including an impressive upward bridge. Jericho escapes and hits the “LET’S GO BABY” stalling suplex for two. Jericho works on top for a bit, hitting a slingshot rounding splash for two. “C’MON MAN, THAT’S A THREE!”. Pegasus controls with suplexes and a harsh lariat, then applies the torture crab hold, the same one Jericho would adopt as the Liontamer.
Benoit misses a dropkick, so Jericho capitalizes with a senton for two, then a COCKY PIN. Running dropkick in the corner from Jericho, but Benoit hits a stiff clothesline and dodges a second rope moonsault. Pegasus pounds away at Lionheart on the apron, but Jericho fires back with some kicks and a rebound springboard dropkick to knock Benoit to the floor. Jericho follows with a rebound springboard moonsault press, but Pegasus reverses a top-rope back suplex for two.
Benoit unleashes the WILDBOMB for a VERY close near-fall. Pegasus hits a dragon suplex for another close two, but the diving headbutt misses. Lionheart lands a double-underhook powerbomb for two, but Pegasus suplexes Jericho to the floor and blasts him with a tope suicida. Jericho escapes another Wildbomb and hits a slightly sloppy tiger suplex for two. Jericho hits a fisherman’s buster (take a drink), lands on his feet after a Lionsault attempt, and ‘rana’s Benoit for two. Jericho hits a Lionsault to the back and applies a rolling prawn hold, but Pegasus kicks out! Benoit halts a superplex attempt and hits a top rope powerslam for the three!
***3/4 - This was a great, hard-hitting match, albeit a touch sloppy at times on the part of Lionheart. I honestly prefer the early 2000’s WWF matches between the two because Jericho was a much more well-rounded worker by then. Here, Jericho was mostly flash and loudmouth theatrics, but Benoit did well reigning in him while allowing him to hit some impressive moves. I’m not sure if they were going for a powerslam or if they wanted to do a second-rope Tombstone for the big finish, but it was still impactful.
Shinjiro Otani vs. Ultimo Dragon - Otani holds the ropes open for Dragon as he makes his entrance. What a respectful young lad. Dragon is rocking the green this round.
After the Code of Honor is upheld, we get a fast start with spinkick dodging and Ultimo getting nothing on a pescado. Otani hits a NASTY missile dropkick off the apron, then hits a beautiful slingshot plancha. Back in, Otani hits a brutal slingshot spinning heel kick, but Dragon lands a rebound dropkick and scores with an Asai moonsault to the floor! They exchange control with great matwork, using crisp reversals and submissions until Otani escapes a leglock and just stomps on Dragon. Otani hits a nice dropkick for two, then reassumes control with a crossface chicken wing. They work off of that until Dragon reverses and simply kicks Otani while he’s down. Ooohhh!
We continue the tremendous technical graps until Otani escapes a camel clutch and hits a snap suplex. He hits a spinning back kick, then we get an insane sequence of both guys no-selling tombstone piledrivers! Undertaker fans must have been SEETHING. Otani tries a rebound crossbody, but Dragon intercepts with a dropkick to the guts. Dragon hits a top rope Frankensteiner for two, but Otani gets a hurricanrana out of a powerbomb for his own near-fall.
Otani gets his own avalanche Frankensteiner, but Dragon reverses the pin attempt to one of his own for two. Dragon dodges a springboard dropkick and applies a La Majistral…for two! Otani catches Dragon with a back kick and lands a slingshot dropkick to the back of the head, then hits a BEAUTY of a dragon suplex…for two! Ultimo thwarts another one and hits a sitdown powerbomb for two! Fisherman’s buster (take a drink) gets two for Dragon, then they miss stereo spinning heel kicks. Dragon completely whiffs on a Sky Twister Press, but applies another La Majistral for three!
**** - That was some excellent juniors wrestling, I tell you hwat. A hot start, splendid matwork, and a great story carried the action well. The story was similar to the earlier Liger match, but kicked up a level due to Otani being a general badass. The tombstone sequence pissed a lot of people off, but it didn’t bother me that much because it's not exactly a protected move in Japan. It was still a bit odd, though. The big finish was botched, but at least Dragon used La Majistral to pin Otani instead of going for a standard pin after missing the move, so it wasn’t a complete mess.
Dos Caras vs. Gedo - I rag on Gedo's gear at lot, but I do like his robe.
We start off with some matwork, with Caras showing off some nice escapes to keep on top of Gedo. Caras then locks in a Romero Special/double chicken-wing combo, followed by a flying forearm and a double grapevine of the leg. Caras tortures Gedo with a standing Sharpshooter, then applies an inverted stump puller. Where does he come up with this stuff?
Gedo fires back with a dropkick to the leg, then goes after the mask! Caras fights back with a slingshot plancha, then hits a powerbomb in the ring for two. Double-underhook backbreaker gets another near-fall, then Caras hits a quebradora. Diving crossbody hits, but Gedo pulls off the mask to break the cover! Caras’ face is blurred on-screen in a nice touch. That infraction pisses Caras off as he blasts Gedo with strikes. He goes for corner punches, but Gedo uppercuts him in the penis! DDT and Gedo Clutch combo gets the three.
** - This was incredibly one-sided in favor of Caras, with most of Gedo’s offense before the finish being untying the mask and the low blow. A bit odd to present Gedo as a rootable dark horse, yet have him use so many rudo tactics here. Gedo doesn’t exactly cheat with the same level of charm as Eddy Guerrero or Toru Yano, so it doesn’t really do much for his story. Caras was again enjoyable to watch, though.
SEMIFINALS
Jushin Liger vs. Ultimo Dragon - No fancy pre-match graphic for this one. Just right to business. Dragon is rocking the white gear this time. I’m always a sucker for white gear. Ultimo’s like Randy Savage from WrestleMania IV in terms of costume changes.
Both guys fight over a knucklelock to start, with some great bridging from Dragon. We work through some primo mat-based grappling with Ultimo paying mind to Liger’s left leg and Liger working some clever holds. They trade tilt-a-whirl backbreakers before going back to the groundwork, then we get a ridiculously fast-paced sequence ending with some acrobatics and armdrags. Ultimo goes for a takedown, but Liger just boots him down, then gives him the WAGGING FINGER OF SHAME! Awesome.
Liger hones in on Dragon’s leg, hitting some precision dropkicks before unleashing a German suplex and locking in a figure four. Liger continues to punish the leg until Dragon wrestles his way into a half-crab, then a Muta lock. Dragon hits a nice handspring elbow, then hits an honest-to-God fisherman’s suplex (not a buster, so hold on to your drink) before locking in HIS own figure four. Liger breaks via the ropes as both guys are hobbling around. Dragon fakes Liger out with a plancha, but ends up hitting a suicide dive, followed by a somersault senton!
Dragon hits a powerbomb for two, then a tiger suplex for another near-fall. Liger soon catapults Dragon out and hits a running somersault off the apron, then hits a nice powerbomb back in for two. Liger drills Ultimo with a brainbuster for two, then hits a tombstone/diving headbutt combo for a very close two. Liger rolls through a victory roll attempt for another close call, but Dragon hits a Northern Lights suplex for his own near-fall. Koppu kick in the corner from Liger tops that rally, then Liger goes for a top-rope fisherman’s buster (!), but Ultimo blocks it and applies La Majistral…for a ridiculously close two! Good thing Liger didn’t hit that avalanche fisherman’s buster, or you'd have to finish your drink.
Asai moonsault hits, but a top rope moonsault doesn’t! Liger plants Ultimo with a Ligerbomb…BUT ULTIMO KICKS OUT! Ultimo goes for La Majistral, but Liger cuts back and keeps Ultimo down for the three! Liger punches his ticket to the finals!
****1/2 - And there’s your match of the night. Liger and Ultimo put on an absolute show with some blistering near-falls that got the crowd molten by the end, tidy offense, dexterous counters, and a marvelous pace. Both guys were absolutely on-point here, but Liger really stood out with his psychology, mannerisms, and selling. Liger also having a counter to the hold that Dragon used to defeat his first two opponents was a great capper.
Gedo vs. Wild Pegasus - Winner gets Liger in the finals. They’re stacking the deck against Gedo as he has to go through the previous J-Cup winner, someone who wrestled one fewer match, AND the guy who beat him in last year’s semifinals.
Pegasus pummels the hapless Gedo with VICIOUS chops. clotheslines, and suplexes. Benoit applies the torture crab hold, but Gedo makes the ropes. Benoit continues the assault with harsh chops and a surfboard, then hits a big German suplex for two. Pegasus lands a hard superplex for two, but Gedo manages his own German for two. Gedo applies the double-chicken wing that put away Motegi earlier, but Pegasus fights out. Shortly after, Gedo hits a hurricanrana off the top rope and lands a tope suicida that seemed to take more out of him than Pegasus.
Benoit suplexes Gedo onto a ringside table (nope, it doesn’t break), then hits a top-rope Frankensteiner for two. Pegasus hits rolling Germans, holding the pin each time for near-falls. Gedo reverses a Tombstone into a really crappy one of his own, but a splash hits knees. Benoit blasts Gedo with a lariat, but Gedo kicks out of the pin. Folding Wildbomb gets two, as does a dragon suplex. Benoit hits a brutal slam, but a diving headbutt misses! Gedo ‘ranas out of a Wildbomb for two, then hits a brainbuster on Pegasus, followed by a diving headbutt for the three! Gedo meets Liger in the finals!
*** - OK, that was far more enjoyable than I remember it being. This did a WAY better job at getting Gedo across as an underdog than the Dos Caras match. Gedo had effective hope spots (albeit with really lackluster execution on some of the moves), and Pegasus was especially intense and stiff here.
NON-TOURNAMENT
Rey Misterio, Jr. vs. Psicosis - To give the finalists (especially Gedo) a bit of a respite, we have an installment of Rey vs. Psicosis as a special attraction. As we’ve seen many times in The Dive, these guys have been taking this match around the world and pretty much killing it everywhere they go.
Both guys go at it on the mat, with Psicosis working a hammerlock early on and Rey going after the leg. That doesn’t last for long as Rey hits a quebradora, but Psicosis soon comes back with a flying teabag in the corner. We then get the usual amazing acrobatics, ending with Rey putting Psicosis out with a hurricanrana, followed by a springboard somersault senton to acclaim from the fans.
Back in, Rey hits a cartwheel into a hurricanrana, then they chop each other on the apron until Rey launches Psicosis face-first into the ringpost. Rey follows with a NICE leaping hurricanrana to the floor! Psicosis soon returns fire with a huge leaping headbutt over the top rope to the floor! They beat the count on the outside, but Rey hits a springboard dropkick to the back of Psicosis’ head to send him out the other side of the ring, then Rey hits a MASSIVE springboard somersault! Rey lands the West Coast Pop for two, then crossbodies them both to the floor. Misterio then hits a HUGE springboard moonsault! This is RIDICULOUS.
Back in, Psicosis hits a powerslam and a big powerbomb, then lands a guillotine legdrop for two. Psicosis gets another powerbomb, but a twisting moonsault misses! Rey hits a spinning heel kick, but Psicosis fights off a top rope Frankensteiner…but Rey springboards off the second rope and hits it anyway! Rey hits a standard Frankensteiner in the ring for the three!
***3/4 - This wasn’t really much more than an exhibition, but it was a DAMN good one. Rey was out-of-his-mind great here, nailing all kinds of crazy offense while Psicosis was the best base you could ask for. I preferred other matches I’ve seen from this pairing, but this did its job of winning over a new audience. They’d have more matches in Wrestle Association R after this.
FINALS
Jushin Liger vs. Gedo - I really would have rather Ultimo Dragon against Liger as the final instead of The Adoring Fan from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but I guess Dragon, who was helping with the booking, wanted the young star to get the “home promotion hero” rub against the highly-decorated veteran.
To mark this special occasion, Gedo dresses up like a bottle of mustard wrapped in a Crown Royal bag.
Liger, of course, looks boss.
Code of Honor is adhered to, then Liger goes right to demolishing the arm with a variety of nasty holds. Liger unloads a barrage of knees to the hammerlocked arm and continues trying to take the arm home with him as a trophy. Liger locks on a jujigatame and CRANKS THAT SOULJA BOY, but Gedo makes the ropes. Gedo finally gets Liger to relent via a mule kick to the junk.
Gedo fights back and hits a springboard moonsault on the outside, then gets a powerbomb and a diving headbutt for two. Double chicken-wing is applied, but Liger eventually makes the ropes. Liger comes back with a couple of corner koppu kicks, then goes for a plancha…but Gedo dropkicks him on the way down!
Back in, they clothesline each other for a double-down, then we get a pinfall reversal sequence before Liger hits a fisherman’s buster (take a drink) for two. Ligerbomb gets another near-fall, but Gedo (kind of) dodges a missile dropkick and lands a brainbuster. Gedo Clutch…gets two!
Liger DDTs out of another brainbuster for another close call, then he soon hits a TOP ROPE fisherman’s buster for the three and the Super J-Cup win!
***1/2 - Liger is an absolute master of his craft, carrying the load well and telling a compelling story throughout. His matwork is also awesome as he really did a number on Gedo’s arm. As much as I’ve ragged on him throughout this review, I have to give credit to Gedo here. The chubby little guy was on his fourth match of the night and still hanging in there with Liger by the end.
The big glaring issue was the complete blowing off of the arm work. Liger absolutely destroyed that thing for the first 5+ minutes, so Gedo should have sold it at least a little more than he did. That aside, this got REALLY heated and the closing stretch was rather exciting. A great way to cap off the evening.
Post-match, Liger gets the gold jacket, and trophies are handed out.
And everybody poses for a final photo.
Overall, this show still holds up quite well. It falls slightly short of 1994’s stronger, more consistent effort, but it’s still excellent. The first round had a lot of short matches, but honestly, most of them (save for maybe Otani vs. Mochizuki) lasted the right amount of time. Nobody needs 15 minutes of Gedo/Motegi. It also featured a diverse palate of styles. Once you get further in, the match quality significantly increases.
Ultimo Dragon had a couple of splendid bouts, but more than anything, this night showcases the brilliance of Jushin Liger. Not only did he have the scorcher with Ultimo, but in two separate matches, he took young guys who were far below him in skill, stature, and experience and brought them up to his level. Liger could have carried MY ass above DUD around this time.
The 1995 J-Cup one of the best shows of the year, though I’ll still put Bridge of Dreams on top. If you haven’t seen it yet, absolutely give it a watch. Just don't do an actual drinking game based on the number of fisherman’s busters, unless you want your liver to look like Yoshihiro Takayama after the Don Frye fight.