NJPW Battle Formation In Tokyo Dome 1996 & Keiji Muto & Kensuke Sasaki vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono

NJPW Breaking Away Dream Battle - 05/04/1996

Keiji Muto & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Ookami Gundan (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono)

This was heated from even before the bell, Ookami Gundan made their way into the ring only to be attacked by Mutoh and Sasaki barely as the music changed. The youthful counterparts were the focus of the match. Sasaki was highlighted by the commentators over Mutoh given his history with Ten-Cho, and he seemed to be highlighted in the match as well, looking strong as the aggressor later in the match. Additionally, Masa Saito praised Tenzan for his hard work recently and claims he is rising the ranks in the promotion. Chono and Mutoh didn't have as strong of an exchange as you'd expect but the match hardly suffered for it. The action flowed between standard, civil tag team wrestling to chaotic brawling nicely and built to a hot closing stretch where Sasaki beat Chono with a running lariat following a Mutoh assist. ***1/2

NJPW Battle Formation In Tokyo Dome - 29/04/1996

Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Otani vs. Tokimitsu Ishizawa & Yuji Nagata

This seemed like a bit of a no contest with both Kanemoto and Otani being champions (Kanemoto being UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight champion and Otani being WCW Cruiserweight champion) while Nagata and Ishizawa still being rookies, only recently getting to the finals of the Young Lion Cup but boy was I wrong. Stylistically, they matched up wonderfully. Basic holds and strikes with not many high spots to speak off, especially since this is the opening bout. But the wrestling skill was generally very good. Ishizawa, specifically, had an awesome transition into an arm trapped sleeper from the back, for example. Let alone the rest who are all future greats in their own right. Kanemoto attempts a moonsault for the finish only for Nagata to catch him and pins him for the upset win. Good opener imo. ***

Heisei Ishingun (Akira Nogami, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Shiro Koshinaka & Tatsutoshi Goto) vs. Osamu Nishimura, Riki Choshu, Satoshi Kojima & Takashi Iizuka

Standard multi man match but ultimately nothing special. Choshu was the star of the match though, by far. Kojima got a lot of offence in the match and looked promising. Choshu got the win after a lariat to Nogami in 11:04. **1/4

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs. The Great Sasuke

Interpromotional warfare exists in the Junior division as well as the Heavyweight division. Liger and Sasuke have history going back to the Super J Cup in 1994 but this is the biggest stage this match has been on definitely. The stage (Tokyo Dome) hasn't been too friendly to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title but Sasuke starts it a bit different than most do, with a glorious combo of kicks and a tope con hilo before transitioning to a more technical bout. Sasuke is hardly renowned for his technical work, but I think he does a solid job before Liger, who is comfortable doing that, gains the advantage by working the leg of Sasuke with a standing Figure Four, a dropkick to the leg that always looks painful and an Indian deathlock submission. Liger is always very good technically but the crowd dies to the point where a singular person can be heard in the distance. Sasuke starts shining a bit once he does his famed aerial moves, including a fantastic asai moonsault where he unfortunately lands on the guard rail. The closing stretch builds to some good near falls but it's hardly balls out spectacular, which you'd expect from these two. However it was definitive with Sasuke beating Liger with a power bomb and tiger suplex combination which I like. Its good to see the smaller promotions get a legitimate spotlight but the match was disappointing and didn't highlight the eventual winner in the ways he excels. ***

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Randy Savage

I can see people hating this match. I don't think that highly of it but I can see the attempt. Savage does his share of trying to put Tenzan over allowing him to kick out of the elbow drop and take most of the match before ultimately winning. The finish is schizophrenic nonsense though. Two elbow drops only to pick Tenzan up for a small package? Bizarre. The match is hardly varied in terms of offence because Tenzan is all in on his heel persona and sticks to it. But I admire the consistency above anything else. The match is solid enough without getting much better. I think it would be unwise to expect Savage vs Tenryu. But it's better than the Observer rating would suggest. **1/2

Lex Luger vs. Masahiro Chono

Not even I could find a real positive out of this match. It was slow and clunky. Luger didn’t really know how to adapt to his setting and Chono didn’t know how to get the best out of Luger. He hit the notes and that’s all she wrote. Chono beats Luger to get the win back from Starrcade. **

Power Warrior & The Road Warriors (Animal Warrior & Hawk Warrior) vs. Scott Norton & The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner)

This was a real fun match. It's nothing meaningful but it's six big, beefy men stiffing one another and throwing each other around? What more can you want? The crowd was hot for the match as well which isn't the case for a lot of the matches that look better on paper. It's a rare sight to see Sasaki being manhandled like he did in this match, being hit with suplex after suplex with ease. The match ended with a super power slam by Hawk on Rick Steiner who was on Animals shoulders. ***1/2

Great Muta vs. Jinsei Shinzaki

I'm not a huge fan of Shinzaki as a wrestler, I think he has more DUDs than top quality matches but he's a charismatic wrestler with a cool gimmick. And when alongside Muta, who needs no explanation, it feels special. The match was certainly built around it being a spectacle with the gimmicks, methodical brawling style and blood. Omg, there was so much blood. Muta splitting Shinzaki’s head open, using Shinzaki’s stick that he broke, causing blood to go all other his white pants. Then came the spot of the match for me: Muta dipped his finger in Shinzaki’s blood and painted the kanji for DEATH on it before spiking Shinzaki with it. That alone is above and beyond the level most matches have the Great Muta gimmick, which often lack substance and are boring. I think this match in particular had a little more bite to it thanks to the interpromotional elements, the double edition of the two gimmicks and putting more effort into being dangerous rather than different. Where the match faltered was Shinzaki not really getting much momentum in the closing stretch. The moves he hit were spectacular but they were done in a robotic way that doesn't really excite me. It didn't flow nearly as well as it could've for a hot finish. Muta counters a power bomb attempt with the mist and wins with the moonsault shortly thereafter to end the match. Shame the last act fell short because the rest was truly compelling. I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. ****

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Tatsumi Fujinami

Out of all Tenryu's Tokyo Dome dream matches, this may be my favourite. There isn't a lot of meat on the bones but it's a simple match, made simply by the fact that Fujinami's nose explodes within minutes. Fujinami gets the better of Tenryu and starts launching topes that send Tenryu crashing into the barricade head first but he pushes his luck on the 3rd attempt as Tenryu is able to scout it out and blocks it with what I can only imagine is a wicked punch to the nose (photographer is in the way so we miss the punch but we do see the follow up punches that land right on the mark). This puts Fujinami into an immediate vulnerable position. It's fight or flight time and it's amazing. Tenryu works the nose the only way he can, brutal punches and kicks, while Fujinami desperately attacks Tenryu's leg to get the quick win before Tenryu inevitably punishes him for his earlier mistake. The drama is palpable with Fujinami struggling to see or breath fighting for his life. Fujinami is able to snag a Dragon Sleeper but that was his last chance before being put away with a running lariat to end this classic. ****1/2

IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Nobuhiko Takada (c) vs. Shinya Hashimoto

A huge match. One of the biggest of the decade and it may just be one of the best matches of all time on top of it. Rarely do those coincide and this is one of them. Nobuhiko Takada beat Keiji Mutoh for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on January 4th. UWFi lost the feud dramatically with only Takada keeping their heads held high with this title reign and it was time for New Japan to regain their belt. Interpromotional warfare had been New Japan’s strong suit and it never felt so palpable as here. The atmosphere is electric. The match had a big match feel. It’s a great clash of styles that are merged to create a fantastic match. The match started out with Hashimoto out strengthening Takada, forcing him to the ground via a roman knuckle lock before proceeding leg kick Takada, which hurt Takada badly. I loved the actual sell by Takada too; the way he sold being hurt was very subtle, letting the pain sink in a gradual and realistic way. Takada tries to shake it off but the pain gets too great and he shows his hand. Then everyone knew it was hurt, including Hashimoto who followed up with more kicks,  and the crowd went crazy for it. Takada showed his dangerous side too, flooring Hashimoto with great kicks to the stomach and head, adding more spice to the match outside of Takada having a submission advantage. And that led to one of the greatest counters later in the match where Takada was setting up for another headkick combination only for Hashimoto to sweep the leg. That was nothing but amazing. And most importantly, it felt real. It didn’t come across like an obvious spot in the match. It came across like a true fight, which is where the match excels. Hashimoto’s DDT is put over as dangerous throughout the match with Takada trying to avoid it at all costs despite Hashimoto’s several attempts. Only when Takada is hit with a few knees to the chest is Hashimoto able to hit a snap DDT that couldn’t be hit any second longer. And from there it was all over. A brainbuster follows and Hashimoto taps Takada out with a triangle choke, to prove a point to regain the IWGP Heavyweight title. A masterclass in how to build drama in a realistic way that doesn’t rely on a million near falls or big high spots. Tease and tease and tease before one big payoff is all you need. 12 minutes this was too. Just terrific *****