NJPW Super Grade Tag League VI
Great Muta vs. Jushin Thunder Liger - NJPW Super Grade Tag League VI - Day 8 - 20/10/1996
The famous Kishin Liger match has finally arrived. And it’s against my arch nemesis, Great Muta. The match starts off pretty well with Liger holding his own against Muta, who is a bit of a freak under this gimmick (meaning, he dominates) but Muta doesn’t stray from his path and eventually catches Liger with a piledriver through a table on the outside. Muta takes more control from there, doing his ramp run gimmick and gets more vicious towards Liger, attacking him with a broomstick before ripping and taking off Liger’s mask, unleashing the beast. Kishin Liger comes out with a mist of his own. He whacks Muta with a chair and launches him in to the barricade. Liger tries to maim Muta with a sharp blade but Muta avoids and spikes Liger with it instead. Handspring Elbow and Moonsault followed as did the win to close the match. While the match was very good - great character work throughout alongside carnage wrestling - the booking of having Liger do a transformation to lose still is a bit poor. ***3/4
Shinjiro Otani & Yuji Nagata vs. El Samurai & Jushin Thunder Liger - NJPW Super Grade Tag League VI - Day 13 - 25/10/1996
This was pretty long winded. I was excited for this match but it was nothing to remember. I thought it was a solid match but nothing seemed to stand out like I know these wrestlers can achieve. Long and unremarkable doesn’t make a great match. **
Riki Choshu, Satoshi Kojima & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ookami Gundan (Hiro Saito, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono) - NJPW Super Grade Tag League VI -Day 19 - 01/11/1996
A very good contest built around individual pairings. Chono and Choshu had beef, Kojima and Tenzan had beef and Saito and Fujinami took whatever was left. A cool match that didn’t go that long but it was worth watching. ***
Super Grade Tag League VI Final Match: Keiji Muto & Rick Steiner vs. Scott Norton & Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW Super Grade Tag League VI -Day 19 - 01/11/1996
This was surprisingly strong. A little long and it took a while to get going but it had a nice wave of momentum that they were able to build on and carry until the finish. ***1/2
NJPW Battle Final 1996
Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Otani vs. El Samurai & Jushin Thunder Liger - NJPW Battle Final 1996 - Day 11 - 01/12/1996
I don’t necessarily think Kanemoto is an improvement on Nagata in 1996, maybe the opposite but this stood out a little more as a match. It was still not great and bland but Otani and Kanemoto are a solid unit and work very well in their subtle heel roles. ***
Junji Hirata & Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Riki Choshu - NJPW Battle Final 1996 - Day 11 - 01/12/1996
A cool match that didn’t go long but utilised everyone involved nicely. Kensuke Sasaki got a win over Hashimoto, it sets up the dome nicely and Hirata gets another shot to prove his worth. ***
IWGP Tag Team Title Match: Ookami Gundan (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono) (c) vs. Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka - NJPW Battle Final 1996 - Day 11 - 01/12/1996
This show from what I saw was disappointing but this match makes up for it thanks to the well oiled machine of Tenzan and Chono, as well as the great underdog dynamics of Yamazaki and Iizuka. Yamazaki is always positioned as capable but Iizuka is a punching bag and that’s a compelling story. One that is implemented throughout. And the nearfalls are great. It’s an easy, lazy way to build drama but it can work a ton. ****
Year End Awards
Match Of The Year: Shinya Hashimoto vs Nobuhiko Takada - NJPW 29/04/1996
Maybe not THE match but it’s just too good not to give it the spot. Something rarely captured in wrestling. The whole idea of wrestling is upheld while feeling so real. When Hashimoto sweeped the leg, the place exploded and it felt like Rocky making his final stand. An outstanding finale of the New Japan and UWFI feud.
Wrestler Of The Year: Shinya Hashimoto
An obvious choice with how he not only had one of the best matches of the year, on one of the biggest shows of the year, he had a strong showing in the G1 with his injury storyline. Has the peaks, the accomplishments and volume to back up this award. Maybe the easiest winner so far.
Feud Of The Year: UWFI vs New Japan
I didn’t choose it for last year but it does get the nod for 1996 because of the Tokyo Dome shows and great matches gained from it. Simple as that.
Most Disappointing Match of The Year: Ultimo Dragon vs Great Sasuke - NJPW 05/08/1996
Easily so. The finals of a big tournament, two of the more prolific wrestlers of the styles. And they produce a boring match.
Top 5 Matches:
1. Nobuhiko Takada vs Shinya Hashimoto - 29/04/1996
2. Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus - 11/6/1996
3. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - 29/04/1996
4. Masahiro Chono vs Keiji Muto - 6/8/1996
5. Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto - 2/8/1996
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