AJPW Excite Series 1990

Miracle Violence Connection (Steve Williams & Terry Gordy) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Shunji Takano - AJPW Excite Series 1990 - Day 1 - 21/02/1990

The official debut of Miracle Violence Connection! I can't remember if these two have teamed together before but it's certainly been a while and this is Doc’s debut in All Japan, so this is the proper start to the duo. I've been pretty on/off with MVC once they settle into the company but I found this to be pretty exciting. The Korakuen Hall crowd was full of anticipation and so were Williams and Gordy. They looked very dominant in the match, even when Jumbo was involved with MVC targeting his leg, and the match was done at a brisk pace. Takano was mostly in there to take the pin, and does about as much as anyone can do in the position. Good debut to establish the two. ***

Akira Taue & The Great Kabuki vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen - AJPW Excite Series 1990 - Day 7 - 02/03/1990

Great Kabuki is pretty run down but he does some things really well like his uppercut that cause Hansen problems. Enough so that he has to throw Kabuki to the outside out of desperation because he couldn't peer through them like he did with Taue’s dropkick. Tenryu was the more vulnerable of the duo so Hansen had to bail him out several times, adding solid tag team wrestling to the mix rather than being four individuals. ***

Miracle Violence Connection (Steve Williams & Terry Gordy) vs. Olympians (Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu) - 02/03/1990

I thought this started off really well. It was lively and hard hitting with quick tags and exciting sequences but the match settled quickly after that and it lost its moment. This was an off night for Williams whose offence came off very sloppy and ugly. Gordy came off much more refined, even during the slow “work the leg”portions of the match. Yatsu has got a reputation for being a bit lethargic in this period but I think he has some bright moments in the match, such as him getting a close two count on a German suplex to Gordy but make no mistake about it, the match was best when Gordy and Jumbo were in the match. Disappointing considering the names. **3/4

Tiger Mask vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW Excite Series 1990 - Day 10 - 06/03/1990

I was close to calling this a terrible match before it was saved by the closing stretch. Most of the match was filled with sloppy, bland Junior Heavyweight style wrestling. Kobashi bumped too early for a neckbreaker and some of the counters weren't too smooth either. The crowd was relatively quiet before they began doing the spots that would be more refined later on and this got good quickly. One aspect of the match I thought was strong was the build to the Tiger Driver. The struggle of the whole spot was good. It's a shame the rest of the match is a bit of a mess. **1/4

Triple Crown Title Match: Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs. Barry Windham - AJPW Excite Series 1990 - Day 10 - 06/03/1990

Solid, but unremarkable ultimately. I think it's clipped slightly but what we do see was mostly basic Heavyweight action with Windham getting most of the shine before Jumbo puts him away. I thought it was interesting that this was sanctioned by the NWA since that relationship died in 89 as far as I remember. **1/2

AJPW World Tag Team Title Match: Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (c) vs. Miracle Violence Connection (Steve Williams & Terry Gordy) - AJPW Excite Series 1990 - Day 10 - 06/03/1990

The whole tour was building to this moment to solidify the Miracle Violence Connection as main event acts and who better to beat and establish that than two of the toughest on the roster. They were on the back foot for most of the match, with Tenryu and Hansen giving them a mighty tough challenge, slugging away and forcing Gordy and Williams to try to hit them back. Obviously this didn't work so MVC went back to targeting Tenryu’s leg to bigger success. Unlike the match against the Olympians, this was able to sustain its intensity throughout, even when MVC took over so this was a much, much better match. The finish is one of the lasting remains of the old formula of DQs and Count Outs to protect the wrestlers before it gets phased out in June - Hansen sees Tenryu is unable to get out of the Figure Four he was in so he whacked Williams with a chair, causing the DQ and costing Hansen and Tenryu the titles. It still came off as a big win for the team with Budokan reacting for the result with positivity. But the biggest reaction of the match came from the angle afterwards. Hansen suddenly attacked Tenryu, tying his leg up in the ropes and twisting his ankle. Then out comes Jumbo for the save, to a huge pop but Tenryu, who isn't willing to accept the help, attacks both Hansen and Jumbo. Wild, hot angle to close the tour. Great match as well. The first great match of the decade for All Japan. ****