By Justin Baisden

Here’s a review that I’ve given to opportunity to tweak just a little bit. You see, Don was originally going to do the reviews for the NJPW 10/09 show and the annual January 4th Tokyo Dome show as NJPW released them in a two tape set. However, with recent happenings on the site, he now had more than his hands full with stuff to do. The result is me posting my review for this show, which was originally just on my personal site. I’ll go through it to ensure no homosexual references are anywhere, lest the wrath of God come down upon me and I’m hit with the Shining Wizard by an angry reader.

The main focus of this show was a single elimination, six-person tournament to crown a new IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Kensuke Sasaki previously held the title until he lost a non-title match to Toshiaki Kawada (DAMN RIGHT) and elected to vacate the title out of disgrace (well… something akin to disgrace). A “lottery” was held at the 12/14 “2nd Judgement” PPV to determine the brackets for the tournament. Masahiro Chono got a buy because he’s got a bad neck and I doubt NJPW wanted him wrestling too long for one night. Toshiaki Kawada got the other buy because HEAVEN FORBID Kawada go over more than one NJPW wrestler in one night. I mean come on… THAT’S JUST CRAZY TALK!

IWGP TITLE TOURNAMENT QUARTER FINALS

SATOSHI KOJIMA vs KENSUKE SASAKI

I come down pretty hard on Sasaki mainly because he used to be pretty good back in the early nineties. I get the idea he only came off that way because he was teaming up with great talent like Keiji Mutoh and Hiroshi Hase. Of course then he started teaming up with Hawk and it all went downhill. Hmm… team with Hawk, talent fades away. IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW! Lately, my impression of him has changed to something slightly more favourable. Working matches with Kawada has helped just a bit. Start off quick with Kojima slapping on a headlock but Sasaki gets a backdrop. He goes for a lariat but Kojima ducks and Sasaki’s momentum takes him outside. Kojima hits a Tope Suicida but doesn’t get all of it and CRASHES into the guardrail. UGH… He’s bleeding hardway from the eye. Sasaki hits the chinlock but Kojima reverses into a jawbreaker and works over the arm. It’s all arm work for the better portion of the match. They’re trying to put over the psychology of taking out one of Sasaki’s primary weapons in the lariat. Juji Gatame, Arm Bars, wristlocks, knee drops on the arm, chops on the arm. IT’S ALL GOOD! Awesome spot as Kojima lays in some kicks but Sasaki manages to grab the leg and hit a capture bomb, however Kojima holds on and locks in another arm bar. SWEET! Cue the ending and Kojima hits a sit out Spinebuster for 2 and ½. He goes back to the arm but Sasaki gets tired of this crazy selling and hits a left-handed lariat. He goes for the Northern Lights Bomb but it’s blocked and Kojima hits a BRUTAL Michinoku Driver for 2 and ½. He hits a Kojima Cutter followed up with a BIG TIME lariat but that’s not enough. Kojima tries for a Wakigatame but that’s blocked so he switches up into an Impaler DDT. Kojima goes for a lariat but Sasaki reverses into the HEAD DROP IPPON SEIONAGE! EEWWW! You know that move just never seems to come off properly. You’d figure Sasaki would have a better way to execute it. He fires of a BIG TIME lariat, then the Northern Lights Bomb and then a Boston Crab for the victory. Rock solid match completely carried by the far more talented Kojima. ***

HIROYOSHI TENZAN vs YUGI NAGATA

These two, along with Satoshi Kojima should become the future of the NJPW heavyweight division just as Mutoh, Chono, and Hashimoto were ten years ago. The only difference this time around is the bookers won’t push these guys to the level they need to be at along with the fact that nobody on the higher tier wants to do the job. That’s some fine elevation they’ve got going on there. As for this match, Nagata is in complete control for the first five minutes with lots of stiff kicks and a bit of work on Tenzan’s left leg. Irish whip into the corner but Tenzan comes right back with a lariat followed up with a spin wheel kick for two. He goes for a swandive headbutt but gets cut off and hit with a Super Overhead Belly to Belly suplex. Nagata fires off a beautiful Northern Lights suplex for 2 and ½. Nagata continues the assault on the leg and then slaps on the Nagata Lock. Master of the Skunk Mullet reaches the ropes after a solid minute of agony. Nagata charges in but is met with a Mountain Bomb followed up with a DISGUSTING Tombstone and then a swandive headbutt for 2 and ¾. Tenzan goes for a Dragon Sleeper but gets kicked in the head. He goes for another Nagata Lock but takes a low blow. Tenzan goes for a DDT but Nagata returns the low blow and then fires off a nice Kido Clutch for 2 and ¾. They go back and forth with chops and then Tenzan hits a SIT OUT TOMBSTONE! HOLY SHIT! He follows up with a moonsault and that gets the victory. Really good match that would have come off a lot better with a better crowd. ***1/2

SHINYA MAKABE/TATSUHITO TAKAIWA vs MINORU TANAKA/KOJI KANEMOTO

Oh boy… it’s my good friend Mr. Clipping. Today he’s elected to show up smack dab in the middle of the only match that I truly cared about aside from the final. Thanks Video Pack Nippon, I really appreciate it. Doesn’t matter too much anyway as the match was pretty disappointing. Even though Makabe and Takaiwa were in control, It was all disjointed and it felt like nobody knew who was supposed to be calling the match. Jump to the end as Kanemoto reaffirms my faith in the fact he’s an asshole by laying in a knee to Makabe’s head in mid spear. OUCH! They get into a bitch slap fest and then Makabe goes for a German suplex but Kanemoto turns it into a leglock. Takaiwa tries to save but Tanaka stops that cold with a SWEET rolling leglock that I’ve never seen before. Makabe eventually makes the ropes. Makabe goes for another spear but Tanaka comes out of nowhere with a dropkick to the leg and then Kanemoto slaps on a nice Achilles hold for the tap out. Just like the last match, it was solid but suffering from a dead crowd. Oh yeah, CLIPPING SUCKS! **1/2

TAKASHI IIZUKA vs KENDO KA SHIN

YEAH! Nothing says “this tape rules” more than watching six minutes of shitty wrestling. If it wasn’t a talented wrestler like Iizuka in the ring, I’d be tempted to fast forward. Ka Shin controls with his usual arm attacks and some great technical wrestling in the form of blatant low blows. WELL GOLLY, ISN’T HE A GREAT WRESTLER! Maybe if his finisher was the Dickigatame, he’d be considered the best wrestler ever. Luckily Iizuka makes the comeback with his trademark Exploder and ends it with a Choke Sleeper. UGH… *

IWGP TITLE SEMI FINALS

KENSUKE SASAKI vs MASAHIRO CHONO

Wow… talk about giving away a money match. These two could have headlined a dome show but it’s thrown away in the semi finals of the tournament. Sasaki is the last guy I would want facing Chono considering his neck and back aren’t exactly in the best of shape. Ah well… HE… IS… CHONO! This match is like a continuation of the opener as Chono picks up where Kojima left off on the lariat arm. Chono charges in but he’s met with a powerslam. Sasaki heads to the top but Chono cuts him off and hits a superplex. Sasaki no sells (what a surprise) and hits THE LARIATOOOOOO! He goes for another but Chono hits a Yakuza Kick on the arm. He hits an Inverted Atomic Drop and then slaps on an STF! FINALLY THE CROWD WAKES UP! Sasaki eventually gets to the ropes. Chono charges in but he’s cut off with a SLOPPY Ippon Seionage. See? That’s why Chono shouldn’t be fighting this lumbering idiot! Sasaki slaps on his Strangle Hold Gamma but Chono manages to reverse into another STF! BREAK HIM CHONO, BREAAAAAK HIM! Damnation, Sasaki makes the ropes. Chono charges in for a Yakuza kick but meets a lariat. Sasaki follows up with THE LARIATOOOOOO for 2 and ¾. A Capture Bomb gets 2 and ¾. Sasaki goes back to the Strangle Hold Gamma for the submission victory. Hmm… this was a lot better than I was expecting. ***1/4

TOSHIAKI KAWADA vs HIROYOSHI TENZAN

Stiff city with chops and kicks all over the place. Tenzan puts an end to the insanity with one big headbutt. Kawada dropped like a ton of bricks. Tenzan fires off a spin wheel kick for a two count. Tenzan hits a NASTY Tombstone followed up with a swandive headbutt for two. A Super Mountain Bomb gets two. Tenzan tries in Irish whip but Kawada just crumbles. The crowd’s starting to warm up. I’d like to note that the crowd has SUCKED LARGE for the whole show so far. Tenzan fires off some more chops but they’re no sold and Kawada fires off a stiff right cross smack in the face! Ugh… I don’t think that’s allowed. Tenzan charges in but he’s met with a high kick. Tenzan falls back into the corner and Kawada DRILLS him with a running high kick. Kawada goes for another kick but gets caught and Tenzan fires off a dragon screw leg whip. Tenzan hits a slam and goes up for the moonsault but gets cut off and hit with a backdrop suplex for 2 and ¾. Kawada slaps the taste out of his mouth and hits two consecutive gamengiris for 2 and ¾. Kawada hits a running high kick and then fires off the high angle powerbomb for the three count. GOD… THIS CROWD IS HORRIBLE! Despite a rather poor crowd, these two put on a pretty good match. ***1/2

SHINJIRO OHTANI/KEIJI MUTOH vs MANABU NANANISHI/JUSHIN “THUNDER” LYGER

YES YES YES! THE RETURN OF THE BITCHMASTER! I’ve been suffering from Ohtani withdrawl symptoms for a while now. The match was a total mess, as Ohtani and Mutoh throw the rulebook out the window and destroy Lyger and Nakanishi. Ohtani fires off a DISGUSTING released German suplex on Lyger. Then he points to Nakanishi and slaps on THE TORTURE RACK! HA HA HA, GO SUCK BANANAS APE BOY! OHTANI’S IN TOWN! Mutoh gets the tag and goes to work on Lyger and tries for a Dragon screw but takes an enzugiri. Tag to Nakanishi but he has no luck as Mutoh fires off a dragon screw. Lyger tries to make the save but THE BITCHMASTER stops that cold. Can you tell I’m excited to have Ohtani back? Tag to Ohtani and he hits the boot scrape across the face spot. He goes for the running version but it’s THE GORE, GORILLA BOY WITH A GORE! Oh wait… Arangatang Man does A SPEAR! HE HITS THE SPEAR! Mutoh comes in but he takes A GORE! IT’S THE SPEAR! GORE… SPEAR… GORE… BUSH… SPEAR! The distraction gives Ohtani time to hit his trademark springboard dropkick. He follows up with a sloppy powerbomb. Hmm… that’s not like Ohtani. Obviously it was Monkey King of the Jungle’s fault. Ohtani charges in but King Kong ducks and hits a NASTY Released German Suplex. Chimpanzee makes the tag and Lyger fires off two Shotei’s and a Brainbuster but it’s NO SOLD! Ohtani fires off a snap German suplex but Nakanishi makes the save. Ohtani fires off the spinning sit out powerbomb but doesn’t want the pin? Why? HE’S THE BITCHMASTER! A pin isn’t good enough. Lyger’s got to tap. Ohtani slaps on the Cobra Twist and that gets the tap out. Match wasn't all that good but I could care less. OHTANI’S BACK! **1/2

RIKI CHOSYU vs SHINYA HASHIMOTO

This wasn’t really a match. It more resembled two kids who can’t control themselves as they fight over something they’ve already forgotten about. Chop, punch, kick, lariat, punch, kick, lariat, chop. See what I mean? Hey it’s fun watching these two dead weights beat each other up but I don’t know what to make of it. To top it off, Fujinami plays the dad who disciplines the two boys by stopping the match! Ooohhh! Now that’s wasn’t taken well at all. THE CROWD IS PISSED and rightfully so. Mega heat but that’s all I can give this match considering the cop out ending. *

KENSUKE SASAKI vs TOSHIAKI KAWADA (IWGP Tournament Finals)

You think Sasaki is going to do the job for Kawada twice in a row? ARE YOU CRAZY?! Well look at what we have here, the crowd is actually making noise. It only took a non-match with no finish to really wake them up. Sasaki charges in right off the bat but Kawada hits two gamengiris and follows up with the BAAAAAAACKDROPPAH! 1… 2… NO! Come on, that would be a cop out worse than the last match. Kawada goes for his powerbomb but takes a backdrop. Doesn’t matter as he fires off another gamengiri for a two count. Kawada hits a high kick but Sasaki no sells and hits a BIG TIME lariat. Hmm… no sold? Rinse and repeat the no sell festival three times until Kawada drops. Sasaki hits a powerbomb for two. He goes for a German suplex but it’s blocked and Kawada hits an enzugiri. He charges in but Sasaki catches him in a powerslam. Sasaki goes for a Northern Lights Bomb but it’s reversed into a NASTY Released German suplex followed up with a BIG TIME lariat. Kawada lays in some stiff kicks and hits two jumping knee drops for 2 and ½. A torture style stretch plum nets Kawada 2 and ½. This crowd is really heating up. Kawada hits the high angle powerbomb but it’s not enough. He goes for another but it’s countered into a spinebuster and then segued into a high angle Boston Crab. FEEL THE HEAT! Kawada makes the ropes. They both go for a lariat but Sasaki gets the better end of it. He hits a Released German suplex followed up with THE LARIATOOOOOOOO!!! 1… 2…. 2.99999! Sasaki hits the Northern Lights Bomb and that’s all she wrote. Pretty good match, but it was missing the epic feeling of the first one. ***3/4

FINAL ANALYSIS: This was a rock solid card from start to finish. Granted, there were a few blemishes here and there but I’m not going to bitch any more than I did when recapping the match itself.

LET US ALL PRAISE GOD FOR THE RETURN OF THE BITCHMASTER! Yes I’m a huge Ohtani mark, SUE ME!

You know it’s interesting, if Kawada and Sasaki used the variety of moves employed in the finals, combined with the super stiff, yet simple stuff from 10/09, the match probably would have come across as *****. 10/09 had such an epic feeling like you were truly watching something special. It was only hindered by a very basic moveset employed by both guys, as they were not familiar with each other. I don’t think these two will be able to pull off a better match than 10/09 because with each match, the heat diminishes as the novelty wares off. It’s a shame to be sure.

Just about everyone pulled their weight, delivering a rock solid show. Highly recommended.

Justin Baisden
http://rollinggermans.8m.com