Matches listed in chronological order. This is the COMPLETE listing of hosted matches.

Sasuke vs Minoru Tanaka, NWA Middleweight title, Battlarts 4/26/99. I was skeptical about how these two would mesh, but the different styles/movesets provide a contrast rather than a clash. It's an effective title bout that really feels like it could go either way, despite Sasuke being a much bigger star.

Ishikawa & Carl Malenko vs Backlund & Yone, Battlarts 4/26/99. Japan loves Bob! Bob loves Japan! And I love when a crowd is so into a guy that they boo an opponent for countering his trademark spot.

Nagata vs Ishii, New Japan 11/12/11. I'm one of the few people who really enjoyed their 2010 bout. This one has the same strong points (strikes, Ishii-as-underdog) while cramming all the action into half the time. The result is a very complete match in under ten minutes that the crowd really gets behind.

Ikeda vs Otsuka, Battlarts 4/26/99. Aside from a couple awkward insertions of pro-style moves, this has everything you expect from the two of them: hard strikes, brutal suplexes, and snug submissions.

Tenryu, Suwama & Suzuki vs Sasaki, Kojima & Kea, Tenryu Project, 11/10/11. Suzuki is a jerk, and everyone else throws a ton of chops. Pretty much what you'd expect, though I was pleasantly surprised because so many 'dream' tags end up with guys going through the motions. Here we get a lot of color; not blood, but rather their pride and personalities. Suwama steps up as the strongman-in-his-prime member of his tandem, continuing a run of good showings. The big matchup is Tenryu trying to survive the bludgeoning of Sasaki; you might recall their interactions in a September 2009 NOAH 6-man. So anyway, this All Triple Crown match delivers.

Toyota & Yoshida vs Kansai & Akino, Oz Academy 1/10/05. The first half is decent action, but the second half is where things really get good. Akino was possibly the most gifted joshi wrestler to debut after the late 80s/early 90s crew, and she gets a chance to show that she belongs with the other three. (Repost)

Ishikawa vs Ikeda, Battlarts 11/5/11. I'm not entirely sure how to describe this. You know they're going to brutalize each other, especially since this is the Battlarts farewell. That is what happens. I'd prefer a different finish, but I'll take that rather than them having a dragged-out 35 minute affair for the sake of trying to be 'epic'.

Tenryu & Kitahara vs Koshinaka & Kengo Kimura, NJ 10/23/92. Aaaaahhhh this match! So much heat! So much hate! So much stiffness! The ringside factions threaten to send this into a full-scale war even though there's barely any room to move because of how packed Korakuen is. Team WAR are sort of the babyfaces in this for some reason, and Kimura is essentially in the role we associate with Tenryu, since Tenryu plays 'the heavy'. Finish is a lot 'bigger' than I expected and pushes this into MOTYC territory. The very end of the file is like a freaking movie scene. I Love the '90s. I love Korakuen Hall. I love pro wrestling.

Gannosuke vs Tanaka, FMW 8/20/99. Upgrade.

Hidaka & Minoru Tanaka vs Usuda & Yamamoto, Battlarts 11/5/11. Battlarts guys who left and broke out against Battlarts guys who didn't. Hidaka and Tanaka go back to their roots, and the result is a match with loads of tricked-out matwork and sharp striking. A match for shoot-style fans, but not ONLY for them.

Saito vs Orihara, NJ 10/23/92. The start of New Japan vs WAR. Even though this is a New Japan low-midcarder against a WAR young lion, the crowd is ON FREAKING FIRE. Possibly the most rabid Korakuen crowd ever, and that's saying something. Lots of WAR fans there, so it's the most hardcore parts of each fan base trying to shout over each other. The match itself has enough intensity and pacing to stoke the fire, though at times the execution could be better. It does make you want to see more of the feud, and more is exactly what we got.

Shingo vs Tozawa, Dragon Gate 7/17/11.

Sekimoto & Okabayashi vs Kobayashi & Takeda, tag league, BJPW 10/23/11. YOUR annual 'Abby Junior all-effort workrate extravaganza'. Takeda is good as well, but I'm all about the world's least probable sling blade. The dude is about 3% worse execution away from making the whole thing fall apart but he threads the needle in my opinion. Then again I can often tolerate '90s Baba. Oh and those Sekimoto and Okabayashi dudes are in this.

Puroresu Finish Collection 6. The endings of Hase vs Sasaki 7/8/92; Gannosuke vs Y. Sasaki 12/25/08; Nakamura vs Tenzan 8/5/11; Kobashi & Mutoh vs Yano & Iizuka 8/27/11.

Tamura vs Kohsaka, U-Style 2/4/04. Match-only bitrate upgrade.

Tamura vs Ito, U-Style 8/18/04. Match-only bitrate upgrade.

Choshu & Hashimoto vs Hase & Sasaki, New Japan Tag League '92 final, 10/21/92. It's good, though a lot simpler and 'smaller' than one might expect for a final. In some ways this is almost worked like an '80s US tag, with how the middle is controlled and how straightforward the finish is. Less about stiffness (though there is some of that), more about traditional tag structure.

Suwama vs Akiyama, Triple Crown, AJ 10/23/11, JIP. The initial chunk of the match was dry and dull. They manage to overcome that and deliver a closing run worthy of the championship's prestige. Suwama's presence has greatly improved, but can the All Japan phenom of the '00s handle the phenom of the '90s?

Sanada & M. Soya vs Sekimoto & Okabayashi, All Asia tag titles, AJ 10/23/11. The first four matches between the teams were split, 1-1-2. This is a rare rubber match that's the fifth rather than the third in a series. Lots of clubbering and action throughout, leading to a big finish.

Inoki vs Andre the Giant, New Japan 6/1/77. It occurs to me that Andre was big to Americans, but he must have been an absolute behemoth to the Japanese. The size disparity between Andre and Inoki is enough to create a David-and-Goliath effect that didn't come close to happening with the likes of Hansen and Brody. That effect wouldn't mean much if Andre was incompetent, but in fact at this point he was capable of being a giant WRESTLER as opposed to just a giant like most men his size and up. You don't even need to like old-style mat wrestling to be interested in how Inoki avoids being snapped like a twig. As with so many legends there just isn't nearly enough footage of prime Andre.

Hidaka & Minoru Fujita vs Spanky & Shelley, junior tag title decision match, Zero-One 3/27/05. Upgrade.

Mochizuki vs Tozawa, Dream Gate title, Dragon Gate 10/13/11. Tozawa showed a lot in beating Shingo at Kobe World Hall, but does he have what it takes to hang with (and/or beat) DG's resident badass? Answer: yes. Yes he does. Plenty of good action, better pacing and transitions than typical DG title bouts, and the seamless Gaora clipping leads to almost no downtime.

Hashimoto vs Yamazaki, NJ G-1 '98 final. Yet another match that most people like, but took several viewings for me to get into. Hashimoto looks to finally win the G-1 after failing to win it the first seven times; Yamazaki looks to win a 'big one' for the first time. This is arguably the biggest match of Yamazaki's career, and one of his last few notable ones. He beat Fujinami, Sasaki and Chono by submission, and did so in under 10 minutes apiece, AND with a different hold each time. Hashimoto's path, even with the Tenryu epic, was much easier. The match itself has lots of heat, tension and intensity. It's unpredictable, and because of Yamazaki's tapout streak there's a sense that he can end it at any time. It goes just the right length to be satisfying while avoiding significant downtime.

Suwama & Kai vs Akiyama & Marvin, All Japan 10/10/11. AJ's singles champions face NOAH stalwarts. There's something to enjoy about every matchup. Marvin is a bit more intense than usual; Akiyama is always good in interpromotional tags; Suwama has finally developed the presence of a Triple Crown champ. Let's hope for a lot more AJ vs NOAH.

KUDO & HARASHIMA vs Sanshiro Takagi & Sawa vs Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa vs Isami Kodaka & Ken Ohka, Campsite match, DDT 9/26/11. Another year, another hour of fun in the outdoors. Ibushi randomly runs in to lob fireworks at everyone and everything. There's a special indy sleaze guest star afterwards who brings a lot of heat. To say that a wrestling promotion wouldn't be able to do this in the US would be a wild understatement.

Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs Takaiwa & Yoshihito Sasaki, New Japan 10/8/05. Takaiwa in his first New Japan match in years would seem to be the story here, but no, the highlight is Yoshihito Sasaki being fiiiired up and showing what he's got at Tokyo Dome. Sasaki won Zero-One's junior tournament earlier in the year and beat Takaiwa in the semis, so he's no slouch. Kanemoto and Wataru are more experienced as a team however. Fast-paced, hard-hitting, chippy, and it makes you want to see Kanemoto vs Sasaki from two days later. (Repost)

Magnum Tokyo, Nakajima, Kness & Arai vs BB Hulk, Shisa, Asahi & Oishi, Dragon Gate 9/7/05. Oishi (whose name means 'delicious') and Asahi, a Kaientai Dojo tandem, are randomly inserted with stablemates Hulk and Shisa against a motley incarnation of M2K. I previously described this as a 'sprint', but that was incorrect, as even with 8 people that would be tough given the length. There's a running theme of Oishi/Asahi trying to prove themselves against Tokyo, and the last third is reasonably sprinty. (Repost)

Hidaka, Fujita & Nakajima vs Takaiwa, Murahama & Namiguchi, Zero-One 8/7/05. The highlight, of course, is the Nakajima vs Namuguchi content. But it's also interesting to see how they do with the veterans, especially Nakajima putting tough-guy Takaiwa on his butt and going against similarly-styled Murahama. A couple really big nearfalls in the last minute. (Repost)

Fujiwara vs Yamazaki, UWF 4/15/90. Shoot-style that's mat-focused and over 15 minutes is typically not my cup of tea. However, I make an exception for these two, since they deliver all kinds of nifty counters and cool submission setups. Plus, when they DO go to strikes, they aren't playing patty-cake.

Nakajima vs Namiguchi, Zero-One 7/31/05. The first match was good. This one has a faster pace, a hotter crowd, and a better finish; I think you can guess as to whether or not this is also good. Can Namiguchi secure the Dream Catch, or will he get his head kicked off? (Repost)

Mutoh & Liger vs Tenzan & Saito, New Japan 2/18/96. I wonder why they changed the entrance music for a commercial release. And why they clipped this so much when the VHS release wasn't that long. Oh well, some is better than none. Straightforward face/heel match that has a lot more intensity than we normally see from non-big-event New Japan. Liger's two runs of offense are really fun, Mutoh looks like an ineffectual idiot, Saito does some sentons, Tenzan shows his heel charisma, what more can you ask?

Sasaki, Ohtani & Kanemoto vs Yamazaki, Nagata & Ishizawa, New Japan 2/18/96. After enjoying one tag from the show more than I expected, I was ready for this to be polite technical wrestling. Bland but inoffensive. Instead we get effort on the mat (including a sweet armbar setup by SASAKI?!) and some bona fide hate involving Yamazaki. Frentic finishing run capped off by a unique submission rounds off another good outing.

Nakajima vs Namiguchi, Differ Cup 5/8/05. Ideally this would go 8-12 minutes and they'd be able to keep the pace up, but then if it was a huge sprint with a big finish they wouldn't have anything left for the rematches. They do pretty well considering that there's less than three years of experience between them. Nakajima, despite being a mere 17 years old, is the big favorite because of all the attention he's gotten. He controls most of the way, but Namiguchi's fighting spirit is roused for several intense minutes at the end. They're able to get heat at Differ Ariake for cryin' out loud! That's a frigging miracle for young lions. (Repost)

T. Sasaki & Miyamoto vs Sekimoto & Kobayashi, hardcore match, Big Japan 7/27/08, JIP. Coming in I had no idea who would win, and the finishing run is enough to keep you guessing. ABBY~

Y. Sasaki & K. Hashimoto vs Shinobu & M. Ohtani, Big Japan 8/20/11. Ohtani is the weak link in more ways than one but he does try, and the other three are spiteful enough to make it work. This initially looked like it might be the end of the Sasaki/Shinobu feud, but thankfully the hatred survived their decision to team up.

Hoshikawa vs Hidaka, Zero-One 5/23/02. A good reason for me to re-watch matches after a long time is to pick up on forgotten details. Yes, Hosh and Hidaka are skilled and put together a technically sound match that builds on themes introduced in their 2001 battle. If you liked that one you'll certainly like this! But we also get Korakuen Hall hilariously reacting to the white ref for reasons that are beyond my ken. K-Hall is still number one forever. (Repost)

Tanahashi vs Yano, New Japan G-1 Climax 2011. Let's see: I don't like most Tanahashi matches, and I dislike ALL Yano matches... and yet this one works. What could the difference be? Perhaps a little place called KORAKUEN HALL. Well, that, and Yano going all-out with every heel trick in the book plus a new finisher in the hopes of upsetting the champ. Tanahashi fans: trust me, Yano doesn't drag him down. Non-Tanahashi fans: trust me, this isn't his usual match.

AKIRA vs Makabe, NJ BOSJ 2001. Shinya Makabe: master of arm locks! And no, I'm not kidding, YOU will be yelling at AKIRA to tap out to Makabe arm submissions. New Japan's 'anyone can beat anyone else in a tournament' booking style really helps add drama; ten years earlier AKIRA benefitted from it, and now as a veteran he's vulnerable to it.

Kea & Smith vs Tenryu & Anjoh, tag titles, All Japan 7/14/01, JIP. Tenryu and Anjoh are both tremendous PRICKS and TREMENDOUS pricks. Any match where the legality of repeated punches to the face comes up is a good one, in my book. Please excuse the finish. (Repost)

Kojima vs Araya, All Japan 5/10/02, JIP. Given what happens in the first thirty seconds after the cut, one might think that Araya has nothing left and that Kojima will be able to casually move on from there to win. WRONG. Araya has more than enough in the tank to put Kojima down, and the crowd senses it as well because they get ALLLLL kinds of hot. (Repost)

Dick Togo vs Shinya Ishikawa, Big Japan 5/3/09. For some reason I kept skipping over this on the DVD, probably because the crowd isn't good. Togo, however, is very much good. He leads young Ishikawa to a rock-solid vet-versus-young-lion match while also adapting to the hard-hitting nature of 'Strong BJ'.

T. Sasaki vs Kawakami, Big Japan 5/3/09. Sasaki mostly does hardcore matches, and Kawakami is one of the lesser 'Strong BJ' members, but somehow they click as opponents. Takashi delivers a lot of punishment but Kawakami is able to fire back quite well himself. They improved on this a year later.

Nakamura vs Naito, New Japan G-1 Climax 2011 final, JIP. Naito, who had a couple big wins before this year's G-1 but not many, is a HUGE underdog against shoulda-won-the-tournament-years-ago Nakamura. Naito lost his first three matches and swept the rest, including a quick win over Tanahashi earlier in the night with a unique cradle. Nakamura, by contrast, lost the night before and barely survived Minoru Suzuki to reach the finals. A hot crowd cheers on Naito as he tries to pull off the big one, but watch out, the Bomba Ye lurks around every corner!

Tiger Mask 4 vs Ikuto Hidaka, Michinoku Pro 5/6/02. Tiger Mask won this when they faced off the year before, but Hidaka has done some growing up. They use a lot of the basic structure from that match and raise it up a notch. Two good athletes with lucha libre and shoot-style in their training give it their all! (Repost)

Tanahashi vs Makabe, NJ G-1 Climax 8/7/11, JIP. For the nth time, the start of the match is pointless limb work so I lopped it off. The closing run features effective teases of their top rope finishers mixed in with a bevy of suplexes to keep you guessing. This is one of the few Tanahashi matchups that isn't played out, which I think is a lot of what makes it interesting.

Manami Toyota & Hotta vs Ito & Momoe Nakanishi, NJ 5/2/02. New Japan gave a couple promotions a small spot on the Tokyo Dome card, so AJW sent its top stars... and the ring announcer! Momoe is SO EXCITED about the opportunity. The fast pace and effort are enough for the crowd to be responsive despite joshi having fallen from favor. Rather spotty but they sprint enough to mask that. (Repost)