MOTY: Animal Hamaguchi, Super Strong Machine Masanobu Kurisu & Blond Outlaws (Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto) vs. Sekigun (Riki Choshu, Kantaro Hoshino, Kensuke Sasaki, Kuniaki Kobayashi, & Shiro Koshinaka) - NJPW New Kokugikan Densetsu ~ New Japan Pro Wrestling Explosion ~ 26/06/1990
Wrestler Of The Year: Riki Choshu
Clear wrestler of the year. Great matches including the match of the year. Feud of the year with Animal Hamaguchi. Got the biggest accolades of the year. And was the star of the biggest show of the year
Feud Of The Year: Riki Choshu vs Animal Hamaguchi
Great build and great matches.
Tag Team Of The Year: Keiji Muto & Masahiro Chono
Kinda by default since they are the only team that I watched consistently. Good-great matches every time.
Most Disappointing Match Of The Year: Akira Nogami vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
Boring and dry.
Top Five Matches:
Animal Hamaguchi, Super Strong Machine Masanobu Kurisu & Blond Outlaws (Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto) vs. Sekigun (Riki Choshu, Kantaro Hoshino, Kensuke Sasaki, Kuniaki Kobayashi, & Shiro Koshinaka) - NJPW New Kokugikan Densetsu ~ New Japan Pro Wrestling Explosion ~ 26/06/1990
The energy and pacing was off the charts. Hoshino was fantastic in this match. By far the smallest on the roster but the spunk he brought to the match, the fiery punches he’d let off, everything he did was tremendous. His bumping for the heel team was great as well. Koshinaka was great as the face in peril, taking the brunt of the punishment and selling great. Him against Kurisu was particularly outstanding. His butt attacks were done to great effect. Hamaguchi was a rugged beast in this as well. Running down everyone he could see, except for Choshu who was a total star in this with his bursts of explosive offence. Everyone got tons of shine in some way. The pins are really well done with the added touch of everyone running in to either stop the pin or the other team from doing so. Tremendous match. ****1/2
Great Muta vs. Hiroshi Hase - NJPW Explosion Tour 1990 - Day 6 14/09/1990
Excellent stuff. The Great Muta gimmick can be hit and miss with me here but Muta was in full swing with his mannerisms, the difference in style and offence he did compared to his Keiji Muto matches. All was a big hit with me. Him kicking Hase’s ass, causing Hase to bleed heavily. Him throwing some great offence like his chops and back fists was great to see. Hase was a great contrast to Muta. Very straight laced, super babyface here - he great at rallying the crowd behind him, mounting fiery comebacks, along with the face soaked look he had half the match. Hase even was selling when on offence, occasionally stumbling around and upping the urgency of his offence to end the match. Muta getting DQ’d at the end was a perfectly fine finish as well. Protects both guys at this stage. ****1/2
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Naoki Sano (c) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger - NJPW New Spring Gold Series 1990 Day 17 31/01/1990
This was very heated. Liger opened up the match with a big slap followed by a flurry of strikes. Sano responded by ripping Liger’s mask. Liger bled heavily and Sano going for the cut on his exposed face was awesome. The crowd rallied behind Liger no problem, which made the parts when Liger was selling and struggle to get to his feet even better. Sano was brutal on top, totally zoning in on the head on Liger, laying in kicks, stomps and knees. When Liger shined signs of a comeback, the crowd came alive for him. The crowd even let out an audible gasp for his beautiful somersault plancha. Most of Liger’s offence was him doing something crazy but Sano showed he was just as athletic many times in the match. His high flying offence arguably had better form to it. His moonsault where he landed on his feet, for example. Loved the spot where Sano saw the rolling heel kick by Liger coming and hit the deck, avoiding the move. Liger really excelled as a guy who got his asskicked coming back. A bloody Liger suit is a great visual. ****1/2
IWGP Tag Team Title Match: Keiji Muto & Masahiro Chono (c) vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki - NJPW Dream Tour 1990 Day 4 01/11/1990
This was high octane stuff. There was some great mat wrestling exchanges between Chono and Hase early on with the two struggle for holds. Add Muto to the mix as well, even if he isn’t known as a particularly great mat wrestler, he was pretty good here. Sasaki was excellent as the rabid dog that got unleashed every time he got in the ring. Even when Chono would school him with the STF, he still brought that scrappiness to the match. The back stretch of the match was superb. Very heated. Tons of nearfalls that were impossible not to get sucked into. Loved the brief heel psychology in the match with Muto attacking Hase, while illegal, when he had a scorpion deathlock on. A total breezy ride. ****1/2
Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask vs. George Takano & Riki Choshu - NJPW Super Fight In Tokyo Dome 10/02/1990
The crowd is absolutely red hot for this match. Tenryu is a star as is Choshu in front of this crowd and the reception is huge. Every time Tenryu and Choshu are in the ring, they are red hot for each other, clearly still some hate from their All Japan feuds. There is so much snap in both guy’s offence that makes everything a bit more impactful. Takano and Tenryu have some good wrestling too. There was a great moment when Takano really hurt Tenryu with a shot so Tenryu began upping his already ultra stiff strikes before Takano actually got the better of him and took him down. Tenryu was a real dick to Choshu when he was on the ground. He was on the apron and racked his boot on Choshu’s face, tagged in and kept on doing so. Tiger Mask doesn’t do much but with the other three pulling their weight, he doesn’t need to. Loved the finish as well, even if it was a cop-out. Tenryu lethering Takano with a lariat to cause the count out was awesome. ****1/4
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