Ryan's Dive into '95 - Part Thirteen (3/26-4/1)
Misawa vs. Kobashi! Kong vs. Toyota! Lioness Asuka and Yumiko Hotta beat the crap out of each other! Work sumo Yokozuna tangles with shoot sumo Genichiro Tenryu! WrestleMania hype! And more!
If you haven’t read it already, please check out my introductory article that explains what this series is all about. As a reminder, footage is sourced from the Goodhelmet 1995 Yearbook, unless otherwise stated.
How ya now?
This week sees more Champion Carnival action, the final hype for WrestleMania XI, a Bret vs. Owen match, the debut of Wrestle and Romance featuring a former WWF Champion taking on owner Genichiro Tenryu, and a couple of choice cuts from AJW Wrestling Queendom Victory.
Well, PITTER PATTER.
MARCH 26th
AJPW Champion Carnival, Night Six - We kick off another busy week with Champion Carnival action!
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi - Well, HELLO! This should rule. Both men are currently at 4 points each.
Some locking up kicks things off, but Kobash lays in some chops in lieu of a clean break and goes for a quick pin off a falling clothesline. Moments later, Kobashi piles on more chops, resulting in Misawa collapsing to the mat. Kobashi maintains the advantage with a chinlock and Christian's old backbreaker. MORE CHOPS and a stalling suplex gets two as Kobashi continues to control the match.
Corner choppage, but Misawa finally halts Kobashi's momentum with a monkey flip. Misawa gains the advantage with stiff elbows and a surfboard. After that is broken up, Kobashi misses a plancha, and Misawa gets one of his own! Back in, twisting clothesline gets two. Kobashi fights back with kicks and chops, and they trade strikes until Kobashi lands a thrust kick to send Misawa reeling.
MACHINE GUN CHOPS, but Misawa fights back with elbows! Kobashi lands a rolling elbow of his own, rocking Misawa's shit. More chops, but Misawa is FIRED UP and tenderizes Kobashi with elbows! LARIATS FROM KOBASHI get a close two! BACKDROP DRIVER, but Misawa drapes his leg over the rope before three! GERMAN FROM KOBASHI FOR TWO! Attempts at powerbombs and Tiger Drivers are thwarted, and Misawa locks in the crossface, which earns a two!
Another one, but Kobashi makes the ropes! Misawa attempts a rebound elbow, but Kobashi catches him and turns Misawa inside out with a release German! Jackknife Hold Powerbomb for two! MOONSAULT LANDS...FOR TWO! Kobashi catches a Misawa kick and plants him with a Regal suplex for two! Misawa escapes a suplex and bashes Kobashi with elbows!
Both guys are back up and trading blows, with Misawa getting a tiger suplex for two! Frog splash for two! TIGER DRIVER…GETS TWO! More elbows from Misawa, then he unleashes the TIGER SUPLEX ‘85 to finally put Kobashi away!
****1/2 - Another killer match from AJPW here. This was very exciting and hard-hitting, and Kobashi especially worked with urgency as he wanted to get past his more established partner. Kobashi beat the hell out of Misawa, and Misawa gave it back to him, then unleashed a killer move to end things. I liked the story of the Taue/Kobashi match match better, but this was still excellent.
WAR Battle Angel, Night Two - Welcome to the Dive, Wrestle and Romance! This was while the company was still branded as “Wrestle and Romance”. They would change over to “Wrestle Association R” in July. They tended to use a lot of uncontracted/freelance talents, and they still had a relationship with the WWF that carried over from owner Genichiro Tenryu's prior SWS promotion. Speaking of Tenryu and the WWF…
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yokozuna - Shortly before Yokozuna returned to the WWF to capture the tag belts with Owen Hart at WrestleMania XI, he tangles with WAR's owner.
Yoko comes out with Mr. Toyota, who is future Kaientai manager Wally Yamaguchi in facepaint. Tenryu foolishly tries to slam Yoko a couple times, but, much like “G.F.Y.” as a catchphrase for Chris Jericho, it ain't happening. Yoko easily slams Tenryu in response. Then we stall as Yoko consults with his cornermen. Tenryu unleashes his trademark stiff chops, and an enzuigiri sends Yoko out of the ring!
Yoko milks the count and uses a chair to get himself back into the ring as he’s too big to simply roll under the ropes. Yoko backs Tenryu into the corner and avalanches him, causing Tenryu to bail. SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP FROM YOKOZUNA! OK, I made that up. Back in, Yoko gets a legdrop that Tenryu sells like death. Headbutt and another legdrop follows as Tenryu is BUSTED OPEN!?!?
Yoko locks in the dreaded nerve hold. After a bit, Tenryu comes back by slamming Yoko down to counter a back body drop, resulting in a decent bump from Yoko. Scorpion deathlock is attempted, but some guy comes into the ring and attacks Tenryu and the ref! Yoko knocks that guy out of the ring, then Yoko (kind of, but not really) gets his belly-to-belly suplex, but Tenryu kicks out. Another legdrop follows for two. Bonzai Drop (from the bottom rope)…MISSES! Lariat from Tenryu ends it!
** - This was much more of a curiosity than an actual good match. Yokozuna was a hell of a big guy worker in his early WWF days, but his weight had ballooned up since then. This significantly impacted some of his mobility and cardio. He also hadn’t worked since November, so this was going to be a challenge. He did take a couple of decent bumps here, though, and he was well-presented as a monster. You can hear the crowd gasping in terror when he hit Tenryu with the avalance and the legdrops. Tenryu gave it the old college try by selling like crazy to put over Yoko’s size and opening up the bag of booking tricks, like blood and interference, to smoke-and-mirror up the match to try to disguise Yoko’s limitations. Not a terrible match, but not exactly good, either.
AJW Wrestling Queendom Success - As promised in last week's review, we have some key matches from the second half of that year's Wrestling Queendom.
MMA Rules Last Woman Standing: Lioness Asuka vs. Yumiko Hotta - This is basically a worked shootfight-style match, something we'll see more of down the line from promotions that specialized in that style. Yumiko Hotta had one of nastiest matches I've seen against Aja Kong, so I think this may be a good time. Fun fact: WWE's Asuka took her name in tribute to Lioness Asuka, who is a legendary figure in her own right. They start punching each other just before the bell rings!
They trade guards and mount positions while punching the crap out of each other. Asuka lays in some stiff kicks and punches Hotta some more! Many punchings abound! Rear choke, but Hotta makes the ropes. Hotta, already with a bloody nose, comes back with punches, then absolutely PUNTS Asuka. Asuka goes for a takedown, but Yumiko makes it rain elbows until they fight over a legbar. Asuka gets the upper hand, but Hotta makes the ropes…but Asuka won't break as Hotta screams in agony. I guess there aren't any rope breaks for this one. Asuka keeps the hold locked in for a while as Hotta crawls to the floor in a desperate bid to escape it. After several moments, the hold is finally broken.
Back in, Hotta corners Asuka and knees the crap out of her, then they grapple over an armbar. Asuka punches out of it and grabs a sleeper. Hotta escapes and starts punching, elbowing, and kicking Asuka into pudding. Asuka gets an anklelock on the bad leg and holds onto it despite Hotta’s best efforts. Asuka finally relents just to kick the fuck out of Hotta, then back to the legbar. Hotta escapes and fights back with super-stiff punchings. Asuka catches a kick and gets another anklelock, but Hotta counters with an enzuigiri. Hotta counters a powerbomb attempt by shifting her weight, then rains down MORE PUNCHING! Tiger Driver, but pinfalls don't count!
They both punch each other simultaneously, knocking each other down! Asuka makes it up for the 8 count, and Hotta BARELY makes the count at 9! Spinkick from Asuka, but Hotta FIRES UP…only for Asuka to kick her right in the damn face! Hotta quickly rises…only to get kicked down again! Hotta, unliked the South, rises again at 7! Asuka lands a powerbomb, but Hotta gets up and starts pummeling Asuka with kicks! Asuka gets up at 8! CROSS-ARM POWERBOMB…but Asuka comes back with an uppercut that would make Little Mac proud. Hotta locks a spinkick and kicks Asuka RIGHT IN THE FACE. That's enough for the KO! Hotta wins!
****1/2 - Holy shit, this was a BATTLE. Both women went hell-bent for leather and just beat the ever-loving tar out of each other with ultra-stiff strikes. I would rate it even higher if the time spent working the leg amounted to anything beyond a brief limp. It was also a bit long for what it was at 22-ish minutes. I find that the sweet spot for these kinds of matches is around 15 minutes or so. Complaints aside, this was an awesomely BRUTAL fight and well-worth checking out.
WWWA World Title: Aja Kong (c) vs. Manami Toyota - Aja has held the title since November 26th, 1992, and has thwarted Toyota every time out, so the odds aren't exactly in Manami's favor. Toyota tries to uphold the Code of Honor, but Aja refuses.
Manami tries to start fast, but Kong answers with a quick backdrop driver! Toyota scores seconds later with a missile dropkick, but Kong answers by ramming Toyota torso-first into the turnbuckle and avalanching her. After a corner clothesline and pin attempt, Aja started kicking the crap out of Toyota, who screams in defiance! Kong finally slows things down a bit with a sleeper. Holy hell, that was a hectic start to the match. Kong transitions to a nasty camel clutch, kinda like Miro’s “Game Over”.
After a rope break, MORE KICKINGS from Aja. Stalling brainbuster, but Toyota bridges out of the pin. Toyota futilely tries to fight back, but a BIG piledriver gets two. Boston crab from Aja, which is then transitioned into a torture crab hold as Manami is bent into very unnatural angles. Slingshot into a backbreaker, and Kong holds onto it, then transitions to a half-crab, then a double-leg hold. Double stomps to the back! Back to the torture crab hold, really sinking it in. I'm getting “Bryan Danielson stretching the fuck out of Jack Evans at ROH Survival of the Fittest 2004” vibes here.
Manami doesn't give in, so Aja starts the CLUBBERIN’, then a couple of vicious powerbombs. Another huge piledriver gets two! PACKAGE PILEDRIVER gets two. Toyota gets a roll-up for two, but Kong comes back with a gourdbuster and a splash, but Toyota defiantly bridges out at two! Toyota attempts a crossbody, but Kong catches her and lands a powerslam for two!
Toyota manages a ROLLING CRADLE for two! Moonsault misses, but Toyota gets a German suplex for two! Another moonsault attempt, but Toyota impales herself on Kong's knees! Kong goes upstairs, but Toyota knocks her onto the floor, then follows up with the MISSILE DROPKICK to the floor! Toyota gets the table and places Kong on it! Splash…but Kong gets her feet up! Kong PILEDRIVES TOYOTA ONTO THE TABLE…AND IT BREAKS?!?! The James Hetfield meme stays in the folder for now.
Back in, a series of HUGE backdrop drivers get two-counts! Attempted splash from Kong, but Toyota gets the boots up! Manami blocks a uraken (spinning backfist) and hits a double-hammerlock German for two! Roll-up attempt is caught with a powerbomb for two! Rebound crossbody attempt from Toyota, but Kong isn't fazed! Manami can't complete a sunset flip powerbomb, so Aja crushes her with a BUTTSPLASH for two! Aja goes upstairs, but Manami answers with a Victory Star Drop (prawn hold off the top). However, she can’t get the pin quickly enough!
Kong NAILS the uraken…FOR TWO! Kong gets a top rope JACKHAMMER for two! Toyota attempts a victory roll, but Kong just falls back and gets a two. Toyota is placed on the top rope…URAKEN! Toyota escapes the ropes, intercepts Kong, and hits a TOP ROPE ELECTRIC CHAIR! JAPANESE OCEAN CYCLONE SUPLEX…FOR THREE! Manami Toyota is the new champion, ending Kong's 2+ year reign!
***** - Absolutely incredible David vs. Goliath story here. Toyota was absolutely fantastic as the underdog trying to survive long enough to wrest the title away from the dominant monster, and Kong is incredible fighting in top. Kong had absolutely killer offense here and Toyota sold it extremely well. Definitely got a lot of Sting vs. Vader vibes here with this one. I’ve seen people say that the match is sloppy, but I didn't really see it. If there were botches, they were covered up well, and any issues with execution fit well into the story of the match. Insane match; well-worth checking out.
WWF Action Zone - We join Men On a Mission in the ring. Mabel addresses their recent loss to the Smoking Gunns and calls them out to apologize for not being sportsmanlike in defeat.
Mabel sucks up to the Gunns big-time and asks for a handshake…but it was a RUSE! Of course, MoM beat the shit out of Daddy and Uncle Ass. Oscar takes exception, and Mo and Mabel attack HIM. Mabel hits him with the legdrop to send him out of the WWF.
Oscar apparently wasn't keen on the idea of the MoM heel turn because he was a staunch believer in the positive message associated with the babyface version of the team. Rather than stay with the team and play heel, he opted to leave the WWF. So, yeah, this was the segment that eventually ushered in the Summer of Mabel.
MARCH 27th
WWF Monday Night RAW - We join Jimothy Ross and Gorilla Monsoon at the commentation station, who throw it to Vince McMahon and Todd Pettingill who are here via satellite from the WWF Studios. This is the go-home RAW before WrestleMania XI, so we're into super-duper hard sell nitro turbo OVERDRIVE. Vince declares this to be the greatest WrestleMania of all!
We get a lengthy recap video for the events leading to Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel for the WWF Championship, broken up by a promo with Shawn and Pamela Anderson, who looks thrilled to be there.
Todd plugs the WWF chat room and a “virtual” Shawn/Diesel match on Prodigy. Good lord. I'm ancient, but I don't even remember THAT service. We take a break as RAW ROLLS ON.
WWF MONDAY NIGHT RAW IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA TWIX!
Also, Salt-N-Pepa will be at Mania to sing Lawrence Taylor to the ring! We now shift to Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor hype as we review all the events leading up to it. We also establish that the entire Million Dollar Corporation will be at ringside for Bam Bam, or, per the graphic, the “MILLION$ TEAM$”. Look at all this fucking MID.
To counteract this, LT has several football men in his corner: Rickey Jackson, Ken Norton, Jr., Steve “MOTHERFUCKING MONGO” McMichael, Carl Banks, Chris Spielman, and Reggie White. We hear from some of these football men, then cut to clips of Mongo and Kama going at it on RAW.
Back in the studio, Vince and Todd continue to yak about LT and Bam Bam and tell us how to order WrestleMania on PPV. You had to use a telephone and call to order it like a goddamned NEANDERTHAL. After a break, MORE Bam Bam vs. LT hype! We cut to the MILLION$ TEAM$ as Bammer launches threats towards LT. Just in case you weren't aware, WrestleMania is THIS SUNDAY NIGHT!
No Holds Barred: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart - This match was shown in between session of Vince and Todd sledgehammering LT vs. Bam Bam into our skulls. It's Bret and Owen, so my body is ready. This is yet another direction they could have gone for WrestleMania instead of the Backlund match. This feud had been going on since the 1994 Royal Rumble and this is, for all intents and purposes, the last match in their rivalry. It's weird to have something like this on the go-home RAW before Mania. I’m not super-into theoretical rebooking or fantasy booking, but I would have run Bret vs. Owen and Gunns vs. MoM (both come in as babyfaces, with the heel turn from Action Zone happening after the match) for Mania. It wouldn’t make a dent in the buyrate because they placed all their eggs in the Lawrence Taylor basket, but the quality of the show could have been better.
Owen starts fast by clubbering Bret as he makes his entrance, but Bret returns fire. After a DDT and a legdrop, BROTHER, Bret tosses Owen into the ringsteps, and they brawl down the aisle and near that CLASSIC WWF entryway.
Bret then slams Owen on the concrete! Back in, Bret continues the beatings until Owen rakes the eyes, allowing him to take over the match. Groinal headbutt and Manhattan drop, then Owen LOWERS THE STRAPS, so you know shit is serious. The Shawn-ender enzuigiri gets two. Owen then takes Bret out for some throws into the stairs and railing. We take a break as RAW ROLLS ON!
And we’re back with Owen working a chinlock, but Bret punches out and gets a crucifix for two. Owen clotheslines Bret down and places him in the Tree of Joey Lawrence (WHOA) for some stompings. Owen exposes the turnbuckle and tries to ram Bret into it, but the fickle hand of fate ensures that Owen eats the steel instead. Bret mounts his usual comeback and gets a couple of nearfalls. PILEDRIVER gets two.
Sharpshooter, but Owen goes for the eyes, then Bret takes his trademark turnbuckle bump into the exposed steel. Missile dropkick…but Bret moves and catapults Owen into the steel! Sharpshooter, and Owen gives it up! Bret keeps the hold on LONG after Owen submits, with multiple refs needing to break it up.
*** - This is definitely on the lower end of Bret/Owen matches, but it was still good. This was much tamer than what you would associate with these kinds of matches nowadays or what was happening in other promotions at the time. Hell, Bret and Diesel would do much more with this stipulation later on this year. This one was more about outside brawling, dirty tactics, and the exposed turnbuckle, but they still made it work.
MARCH 28th
ECW Hardcore TV - We start with a music video set to “Perfect Strangers” (the Deep Purple song, not the theme song for the ‘80s/’90s sitcom) that chronicles the events and participants in the upcoming three-way tag title match between Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko, Taz & Sabu, and The Public Enemy. It's clips of all three teams beating the crap out of each other over the last several months. And 911 chokeslams a ref!
You can tell somebody just got a new Video Toaster because this video runs through a bunch of flips and transitions.
We then cut to the end of Tommy Dreamer vs. Stevie Richards (which is the last match in a gauntlet Dreamer had to run that also featured Johnny Hotbody and Tony Stetson), as Dreamer piledrives Richards while Raven is handcuffed to the outside of the ring. Terry Funk comes out and cuts off the handcuffs (without Dreamer knowing). Dreamer gets a slick reversal into an enzuigiri (?!?) for the pin! As a result of this, Dreamer presumably gets some free shots on Raven, who tricks him into believing he's still handcuffed…but it was a RUSE!
Raven DDTs Dreamer on the floor, rolls him into the ring, and PINS HIM! After the bell Raven continues to beat Dreamer down, busting him WIDE open. Like, Dreamer flirts with the Muta scale with this one. Raven cuffs Dreamer's arms to the ropes and beats him down with a chair. Really clever angle there to continue the Dreamer/Raven feud.
APRIL 1st
USWA Championship Wrestling - We're joining Jerry “The King” Lawler in his Coke room. Unlike most wrestlers from this era, this refers to the soft drink.
Lawler starts by plugging future USWA shows in a car dealership parking lot and a casino, the latter featuring a CASINO BATTLE ROYAL. Sounds like a neat idea; I wonder if anyone else has used that name since. After the plugs, Lawler discusses Bill Dundee's upcoming title defense against Razor Ramon. Lawler still wants his rematch for the belt and tells Dundee to do what he can to prevent the title being won by a WWF superstar.
We kick it to Dave Brown who brings out USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion Bill “Superstar” Dundee. Bill says that Jerry Lawler hasn't been able to set a date for a USWA title match because Lawler's been too busy “kissing Vince's you-know-what” up north. He addresses Razor Ramon. He don't know what “Chico” means, but he pledges to take down the much bigger Razor and defend his backyard. Good, fired-up promo from Superstar here.
We then cut to Dave Brown introducing Wolfie D. Because of JC Ice's injury, Wolfie teases relinquishing the USWA tag belts, but it was a RUSE! Wolfie says to HIT THE MUSIC! “Here Comes the Hotstepper” is indeed hit, and JC Ice comes out! PG-13 ARE NOT QUITTERS, and will beat the turd out of Tommy Rich and Doug Gilbert THIS COMING MONDAY.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling - Smoky Mountain starts off this week with The Gangstas in a cemetery. New Jack hopes that doing this will help steel the Gangstas up for when they face The Undertaker at Bluegrass Brawl. They're scared shitless as this thing is shot in black and white with generic “baby's first Halloween” stock sound effects playing in the background.
After New Jack addresses Undertaker, Paul Bearer, Jim Cornette, Tracy Smothers, and the Armstrongs, D'Lo is freaked out by a noise, and the Gangstas all run away. “Don't Fear The Reaper” starts playing and the camera zooms in on a black cat. The ghost of Boots?
This was hilariously bad. Just throw some jack-o-lanterns and bats in there and call it “Boo! Haunted House!”.
THE REAPER IS COMING…and he’s bringing his Video Toaster with him because HOLY HELL, look at this bullshit:
We now kick it to Paul Bearer and The Undertaker. Paul plugs Bluegrass Brawl, then Undie puts over teaming with Bob Armstrong and Tracy Smothers and threatens JUSTICE against The Gangstas.
We then cut to Jim Ross and Jim Cornette, who calls the Gangstas names that make JR go “whoa, dude”, then promises that they will salute the Confederate flag.
We then join New Jack vs. Tracy Smothers in progress. Jack has Tracy in a chinlock, but Smothers comes back with a DDT. Heel kicks from Smothers! Corner punches and another heel kick to the back of the head. Flying back elbow, but the Gangstas distract Smothers…until Boo Bradley interrupts! That is short-lived as Killer Kyle takes him out. Behind the ref's back, Mustafa powerslams Smothers and New Jack hits the diving headbutt for the pin. Match didn’t seem like much, but Smothers has a really good comeback.
Afterwards, Corndog tries to intervene, but D'Lo beats his ass while the Gangstas beat down Smothers and Bradley.
Cornette is then buried under the ‘X’ flag as Bradley is busted open.
WCW Saturday Night - And we close out another week with a trip aboard The Mothership. We start with EXCITING WCW board meeting action with Nick Bockwinkel and a bunch of WCW “executives”.
Based on Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage's request to have Ric Flair reinstated into WCW, the board will now vote on whether to allow him back into WCW competition. Gary Juster of the US and Tatiana DePaz of Spain vote “no”. DIETER KRÄP of Germany and Kensuke Ishikawa (Sonny Onoo) of Japan vote “yes”.
Christine LeBlanc of France abstains, so the vote is tied. Ric Flair is NOT reinstated.
So I definitely know an alimony payment won't be shown.
We end things with a “paid” advertisement that extols Flair's virtues (“Ric Flair the Philanthropist”, “Ric Flair the Kind”) and basically campaigns for him to be reinstated. HIS GOOD NAME HAS BEEN WRONGFULLY AND UNJUSTLY SMEARED. He wishes that everyone “Be Fair to Flair”.
Flair and some confused girl named “Magenta” are then shown. Flair rants and raves for a while like an absolute lunatic and throws to various clips in order to build his case for reinstatement.
We then get a TOP TEN reasons why WCW should be FAIR TO FLAIR. The number one reason? “WOOOOOOO!”. Say what you will about Flair (really, please do), but this was actually pretty entertaining. He did what he could with what he was given around this period.
Well, this was a fun week. Any week that opens with Kobashi vs. Misawa is going to be beast, yet it wasn't even the best match! That Kong/Toyota match was an all-timer; well worth checking out. Check out Asuka/Hotta too if you're in the mood for a brutal potatofest. We also saw the heel turn that set the wheels in motion for Summerslam’s main event (“for better or worse; ‘worse’ is underlined”).
NEXT TIME: We are going to do something a little different for the next review. You see, WrestleMania XI took place on April 2nd, but there was another massive show held in Japan that same day. This was held in the Tokyo Dome show and featured 13 matches from 13 different promotions. There isn't any content in the Yearbook compilation from this event, and it's a show I've always wanted to watch, so what the hell? I'll review the whole thing!
Look for Ryan's Dive into ‘95 Detour: The Bridge of Dreams, coming soon(ish)! After that, the regular series will resume with Part Fourteen, featuring stuff from WrestleMania XI, AJPW Champion Carnival, and ECW Three Way Dance.
See you again soon!