NJPW Battle Line Kyushu 1994 - 04/04/2020

NJPW Thanks Wrestling Day Brush Up

Special Non-Title Match: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW Thanks Wrestling Day Brush Up 24/02/1994

This was a super match. It single handedly sold out Budokan Hall on a weak fan appreciation card and it more than delivered on its promising potential. Liger gets so much offence against Hashimoto and he makes the most out of it. And best yet, Hashimoto sold everything Liger threw at him really well. Liger goes for the legs to take out the bigger Hashimoto’s main offence (kicks), using his amatuer wrestling background to put on hold after hold to wear Hashimoto down. The crowd rallied behind Liger’s efforts and Hashimoto fed into that by being the obstacle, throwing big strikes that cut off Liger’s momentum and then feeding into that to make more drama down the stretch. Hashimoto eventually gets the win but Liger came away extremely strong. ****1/4 

NJPW Hyper Battle 1994

IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Scott Norton - NJPW Hyper Battle 1994 - Day 14 21/03/1994

This was a good small time title match from a fresh new opponent, Scott Norton got a good showcase. He was trash talking, using his size to dominate Hashimoto at times and hit his array of power moves. Hashimoto struggled to get much impact on his kicks and had to slowly wear Norton down. Good match. ***

NJPW Battle Line Kyushu 1994 - 04/04/2020

Jushin Thunder Liger & Wild Pegasus vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner)

This was a cool match. This sounds like a cool match for some great matwork on paper but the Steiners don’t really work like that so it’s not. But this is still pretty good nevertheless with all the spots. The Steiner Screwdriver is a thing of beauty. ***

Keiji Muto & Masahiro Chono vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Riki Choshu

While not a great match, this was a collection of cool spectacle moments that only New Japan would do. The match starts off with Tenryu and Choshu rushing Muto and Chono, isolating Muto and beating him up. Tenryu then calls for Muta and Muto disappears into the back. Chono fights both Choshu and Tenryu alone for a bit, keeping them at bay before Muto returns with face paint and becomes Great Muta mid match. It’s amazing and I don’t like the character at all. He comes down and mists everyone in sight. Choshu and Tenryu stay on top, picking on Chono as their target but Muta doesn’t have it and goes nuts at any chance. The result goes to Tenryu and Choshu but Muta mists them after the match and even mists Inoki amidst all the madness. So it was like an angle in a match. Wrestling theater almost but in the best way. ***3/4

IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Tatsumi Fujinami

Fujinami isn’t what he is anymore. He is no longer the Dragon that blew people’s minds away in the 80s. He is slower and on his way down, or so it would seem. This is played off as an upset but Fujinami’s fantastic selling (as well as Hashimoto’s tremendous beatdown) and ability to gain the crowd’s sympathy made this work beautifully. Most of the match is Hashimoto dominating, even on the mat which is Fujinami’s bread and butter, but Fujinami does get flashes and bursts of offence and he always tries to make the most of it. There is a sense of urgency from Fujinami where he feels that he needs to finish Hashimoto there and then if he has a chance. And when he loses that control, Hashimoto pummels him with violent kicks, making that idea almost a  reality. Fujinami seems beaten to the point where a ref stoppage is totally viable. Hashimoto came across as murderous when standing over Fujinami with that glare in his eyes too. When Fujinami catches Hashimoto with a roll up pin, it does feel like an upset but it works. Fujinami won the title to a huge reaction. Hashimoto is pissed off and kicks him after the match while Fujinami is selling like death. What a moment. Incredible drama that sucks you in on a beatdown with a great upset win. ****1/2