NJPW New Years Dash 1991
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Tatsumi Fujinami (c) vs. Big Van Vader - NJPW New Year Dash 1991 - Day 11 17/01/1991
Loved the start with Vader initially throwing a few slaps before Fujinami unloaded and florred Vader with a few of his own. Vader going for the recently healed back of Fujinami was great, Fujinami sold it great as well. As par the course with Vader matches in this period Fujinami goes for the eye but he does it with so much aggression and violence. Easily the best eye based attacks of the era. Vader bleeds heavily from it as well. Vader showing vulnerability was great but him kicking the doctor away was badass. The finish is sudden but effective. A great match. Who says Fujinami was done after 1989? ****
NJPW Super February 1991
Osamu Kido vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - NJPW Super February 1991 Day 4 06/02/1991
A fun 10 minute battle for holds. ***
WCW/New Japan Starrcade in Tokyo Dome
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs. AKIRA - WCW/New Japan Starrcade in Tokyo Dome 21/03/1991
AKIRA was wearing some head gear that looks pretty cool and Liger was wearing some green attire opposed to the usual white and red suit. The match started off with some mat based wrestling with Liger doing some of his usual stuff like the surfboard and the the headstand headscissors. They head to the outside where Liger caught AKIRA, who was jumping to the outside, with a nice drop kick but he hit his knee hard on the concrete. AKIRA then started to work the leg which suggest to me that it was suppose to happen. Liger sells it very well, limping around and hints of Liger trying not to show that it was hurt which was interesting to see. AKIRA continues to work on the leg and tries to hit a frog splash with Liger blocks with both of his feet. Then they exchange a few close pins which get the crowd into the match. It was a good match with some good selling from Liger. It took a while to get into the good, fast paced stuff but the mat based wrestling was never boring and kept me interested. ***1/2
IWGP Tag Team Title Match: Hiroshi Hase and Kensuke Sasaki (c) vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner) - WCW/New Japan Starrcade in Tokyo Dome 21/03/1991
The Steiners beat Hiroshi Hase and Kensuke Sasaki in a good match. It was very stiff with some great tag team wrestling. Hase was a great babyface here, selling really well and the crowd cheering him on all match. Sasaki didn’t really get involved much, being relegated to a small role (not that he could do much at this stage) but he took the pin so that makes up for it. ***3/4
Great Muta vs. Sting - WCW/New Japan Starrcade in Tokyo Dome 21/03/1991
Both men are extremely over. They keep a great pace for the entire match with Muta striking first, attacking Sting and hits a handspring back elbow into the corners, he lands on his feet after a missed moonsault and hits a spinning heel kick and an enziguri to Sting and hits a high cross body to the outside. Sting makes some great comebacks but Muta constantly cheats, including spitting the mist numerous times for the finish. This match was really, really good. Excellent reversals, very fast paced match up. Muta was just before his prime but he is still great here, as is Sting. ***3/4
IWGP Heavyweight Title / NWA World Heavyweight Title Match: Ric Flair (c) vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (c) - WCW/New Japan Starrcade in Tokyo Dome 21/03/1991
Okay, it’s title for title Flair is the NWA Champion and Fujinami is the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. The crowd is hot for this and so am I. This is a dream match, the top guy for New Japan, the top guy for NWA, wow. And Fonzie is the ref, the whilst guy from ECW. The start was good with Fujinami locks in a dragon sleeper but Flair gets to the rope quickly. The transition to Flair working on the leg was good with the two fire off strikes and Fujinami misses a drop kick and Flair drapes his leg on the ropes and jumps on it. The finishing stretch was good with tons of fire shown by Fujinami and Flair doing his usual routine. ***1/2
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