An episode of a wrestling-centered TV drama starring Rikidozan. He contends with a young Antonio Inoki, who I can only guess wears lifts, portraying a evil Native American. Inoki refers to himself as "Razor Ramon". A boy learns to defend himself. I cannot fully express the content of this file.
Gotch vs Yoshimura, JWA 5/1/61, heavily clipped. Somewhat frustrating to watch because of the clips and how it's filmed, but there's still lots to appreciate. Gotch was clearly decades ahead of his time and Yoshimura was possibly the best in Japan at this point. I first heard about Yoshimura from Harley Race, who put him over despite not having wrestled him in over 35 years.
Rikidozan vs Pat O'Connor, JWA 4/24/63. O'Connor, recently NWA champ, was a hell of a talent. He busts out a pin/sumbission combo hold that someone really needs to steal today.
Rikidozan vs The Destroyer, JWA 12/2/63. Rikidozan, the father of puroresu, is hand-led by the ever-awesome Destroyer. This is exactly the sort of match that set the foundation for all things to come. This match drew the second-highest TV rating in puro history, and perhaps the largest in terms of number of viewers.
Destroyer vs Toyonobori, JWA 2/26/65, WWA title. Toyonobori is another major JWA star for Destroyer to guide to a great match; he wound up leaving JWA a month later and retired in '70. Destroyer is as good here as in any other match you'll see, just doing it all. 486 MB.
Baba vs Bruno Sammartino, JWA 3/7/67, NWA International title. I was apprehensive when I started watching this, since both are big guys and given the file size I knew it was a long match. However my fears were misplaced, as they manage to combine a 'clash of titans' feel with lots of sound old-school wrestling. Bruno's bearhug is the main recurring element; Baba seems to have it scouted and Bruno has to keep trying to secure it.
Baba vs Gene Kiniski, NWA International title, JWA 8/14/67. A well-regarded match in Japan, this features the NWA world champ *not* defending his title because of how much the JWA pushed the Int'l title. And this despite it being the first NWA champion visit to Japan in ten years! Kiniski is a bully who roughs up the larger but less-built Baba. Even though Kiniski did little in Japan after 1970, he was still considered one of Baba's greatest rivals.
Dory Funk Jr vs Inoki, JWA 12/2/69, NWA title. Not only does Dory lead the way through an old-school epic, but Papa Funk and Harley Race are on hand to lend a hand and rile the crowd up to the point where they're throwing stuff at the ring. Part 1, 450 MB.
Part 2.
1970's
Dory Funk Jr vs Inoki, JWA 8/2/70, NWA title. Another classic, and this time we get a young and very blonde Terry at ringside to get the crowd in a frenzy. 485 MB.
Inoki vs Destroyer, JWA 5/19/71. Semi-final of JWA's annual 'World League'. Aaaaaaand it's a Destroyer match so you should get it.
Inoki vs Brisco, NWA UN title, JWA 8/5/71. Two of the best legit athletes in the '70s scene go at it.
2000
Kawada vs Fuchi, All Japan 7/1/00. The two veteran loyalists do battle in the wake of the split. Fuchi takes quite a beating but shows that he's ready for the responsibility waiting for him in the coming months. Differ Ariake once again brings the non-heat.
Kawada & Tenryu vs Hansen & Kea, All Japan 7/23/00. Tenryu's return! The biggest match of Kea's career to date by far! All Japan's attempt to keep its fans loyal in the first post-split Budokan show, and it's a heck of a main event. Boatloads of punishment, big bumps, and a breakthrough for Kea.
Chono vs Fuchi, All Japan 9/2/00. New Japan's top heel invades! Nippon Budokan backs Fuchi to the hilt! Fuchi has added a deadly facelock to his arsenal, but is it enough for him to get what would be by far the biggest win of his life?
Kawada, Koshinaka & Fuchi vs Chono, Tenzan & Saito, AJ 10/21/00. Team 2000 invades! Koshinaka, All Japan dojo grad and Chono nemesis, follows! A fun follow-up to Chono vs Fuchi.
Tenryu vs Kawada, Triple Crown decision match, All Japan 10/28/00. Just the kind of slugfest you hope for in a match between them.
Kawada & Fuchi vs Tenryu & Araya, AJ Tag League 2000. It takes a while for things to get going, and the crowd is kinda bad, which doesn't help. I mean, how is Fuchi measuring and delivering punches to Araya's face NOT the sort of thing you react to? Having Tenryu barely in for the first 2/3rds of the match isn't a good idea, and there isn't much urgency to how Araya gets worked over. However there is some payoff in the last third as Tenryu tells Araya to man up. The finishing run is hot (or else I wouldn't have liked it enough to host). Araya eats a *mean* backdrop driver.
Kawada & Fuchi vs Barton & Steele, AJ Tag League 2000 semi-final, JIP. The crowd reaction is night-and-day better than it was three nights earlier. Fuchi has such good selling and mannerisms, like flailing while on the verge of taking a suplex. It really is something to see how much better Barton and Steele were as a team than before (and there wasn't really an 'after'). They have ring sense; notice how Barton reacts when Kawada shows some vulnerability. Dig that finish! Shame it got clipped by a third.
2001
Marufuji vs Hoshikawa, Zero-One 3/2/01. Not only the first match for the promotion, but also a huge coming-out party for Marufuji.
Hashimoto & Nagata vs Misawa & Akiyama, Zero-One 3/2/01. Main event of the Z-1 debut. A dream match that delivers, with tons of hate and stiffness and then some more hate.
Kawada vs Nagai, All Japan 3/3/01. A match that can be summed up thusly: stiff. Ungodly stiff.
Tenzan & Kojima vs Steve Williams & George Hines, All Japan 4/14/01. Here's an interesting match: the gaijins are huge babyfaces because they're taking on a New Japan team. TenKoji was reliably good and the crowd heat really seems to give everyone a boost.
Kawada vs Mutoh, All Japan 4/14/01. Not only is it a dream match, but it's also the breakout match for Mutoh's "Shining Wizard" persona. Kawada sells great to put over Mutoh's strategery. - UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Otsuka vs Sugiura, Zero-One 4/18/01. Two guys with a ton of legit ability go at it in a short bout with a super-intense finish. Sugiura looks awesome for a 4 month pro.
Takaiwa vs Marufuji, Zero-One 4/18/01. Ah, Takaiwa butchering Marufuji. A timeless classic.
Misawa & Rikio vs Naoya Ogawa & Murakami, Zero-One 4/18/01. Super-hot, lots of interpromotional hate, Murakami takes huge bumps, this isn't one to skip either.
Fujiwara & Fuchi vs Nagai & Kakihara, All Japan 5/20/01, some clipping. Fujiwara and Fuchi rule SO HARD that I'm actually happy they clipped out most of the younger team's offense. So much ruling.
Nagai & Kakihara vs Nagata & Makabe, AJ 6/8/01. For the vacant All Asia tag titles, this is during the 'Makabe in good matches is a shock' days and the 'Nagai, Kakihara and Nagata in the same match equals good' days.
Kawada vs Tenzan, AJ 6/8/01. Kawada's all, "sell my offense dammit" and Tenzan's all "I don't wanna" and Kawada's all "fine" and he dumps Tenzan directly onto his neck. I love Kawada.
Tenryu vs Mutoh, All Japan 6/8/01, Triple Crown. The two of them had locked horns three times in the last three years, with Tenryu winning two and taking the IWGP title in the last iteration. This is much more important than the others. Not only is it at the largest venue (a sold out Nippon Budokan), but it's one of the highlights of the New Japan vs All Japan feud. 'Shining Wizard' Mutoh and 'grumpy old man' Tenryu were both peaking, and the end result is a bout that has plenty of charm and a big-match feel. One of the best matches of 2001.
Kawada & Araya vs Tenryu & Fuchi, AJ 6/30/01. I'm an Araya mark, I'm not ashamed to admit it. He's not the greatest athlete, he's fat, he's dumpy, but he TRIES HARD and he'll take a beating like a man. Speaking of man-sized beatings, Tenryu/Fuchi is a pairing of magnificent bastards who will beat the snot out of you from bell-to-bell. Kawada delivers the stiffness and selling that make him an all-time great. Korakuen Hall delivers the heat that makes it my favorite venue. An '01 hidden gem.
Hoshikawa vs Hidaka, Zero-One 7/12/01. It's appropriate that these two mesh, since they both went through MPro and Battlarts. Hoshikawa has over 3 years more experience (almost twice as much at this point), but he took longer to really get going so they're similarly ranked. They had two rematches that go along similar lines to this: Hoshikawa has kick-based offense and Hidaka is good at doing damage to the legs. There's a specific way Hoshikawa sells the leg that's my favorite thing he does.
Ohtani vs Masato Tanaka, Zero-One 7/13/01. Tanaka's first big match in Z-1, while Ohtani is still looking for his first pinfall in Z-1. They went at it several other times over the years but this is my favorite.
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.
Mutoh vs Williams, Triple Crown, All Japan 7/14/01, some clipping. Williams' last big match. Fun in some unexpected ways.
Tenryu , Arashi & Kitahara vs Araya, Okumura & Miyamoto, All Japan 8/26/01. Lopsided teams, but there's enough HATE to go around and make it interesting.
Takaiwa vs Hoshikawa, Zero-One 9/1/01. These two were the first juniors under Zero-One contract, and other featured juniors over the first couple years of the company tended to be from other promotions or countries. Takaiwa was a considerably bigger star, having won the IWGP junior singles and tag titles, along with the last year's Best of Super Juniors. Hoshikawa did okay for himself on the indies but still just that, *on the indies*. His ability to go toe-to-toe with rough-and-ready Takaiwa both in strikes and finishers showed that he was capable of helping to establish the Z-1 juniors division.
Ohtani vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Zero-One Fire Festival '01. This was a HUGE opportunity for two year pro Sekimoto, who didn't get back in the tournament for five years after this. This is a fascinating snapshot in time. Ohtani, who eventually became the face of the company, gets a mixed reaction and still has his heelish aura. Sekimoto has standard musculature instead of the incredible mass he was later known for. Ohtani is so so good as a cocky veteran, and Sekimoto is so so good as an up-and-comer. Hard-hitting, plenty of heart, and (as usual) Korakuen reacts as it should.
Takaiwa vs Hoshikawa, Zero-One 9/8/01, JIP. Rematch that builds on the previous finish. It started a bit slow with a lot of limbwork that didn't go anywhere, so I clipped that part out per my recent M.O. Hoshikawa shows even more toughness than the first match, which is saying something.
Takaiwa & Hoshikawa vs Shiga & Kanemaru, Zero-One 9/15/01. NOAH invades! Hard to go wrong with interpromotional hate. Now, I know what you might be thinking: Takaiwa does the same stuff every match, Shiga and Kanemaru aren't hate-y, everyone is a junior. But you need to trust in the power of HATRED. I peg this as a top ten match from Japan for 2001. While I'm alone in that assessment, I didn't come to that come opinion without good reasons.
Hashimoto & Fujiwara vs Ikeda & Sugiura, Zero-One 9/15/01. NOAH invades parte dos! Certainly Ikeda can handle himself with the veteran stiff-meisers. But Sugiura? He's a friggin' rookie! He has no business in the ring with the likes of Hash and Fujiwara. Well, maybe I speak too soon...
Tenryu vs Kea, All Japan 10/27/01. Their 4th meeting of the year, and the best Kea managed was a draw. He's really fired up and for the first time has a real shot of winning.
Ohtani & Sekimoto vs Tanaka & Sato, Samurai TV 12/28/01, slight clipping. This is the main event of a show with a lot of promotions, done to promote Samurai's offerings. These four deliver a lot of fire and hate. It doesn't take that much to make for a happy Ditch and they cleared the bar.
2002
Kikuchi vs Hoshikawa, Zero-One 1/6/02. An odd match as Kikuchi is 1000% grumpy and sells almost nothing while demanding that Hoshikawa hit harder. Hoshikawa isn't someone you normally want to tell that to, and indeed he obliges Kikuchi with some nasty shots. No lead-in or follow-up despite the amount of tension they show.
Tenryu vs Kojima, All Japan 2/24/02. Kojima's first big match after jumping ship. It's hard to express how important this was. Kojima was solidly in the midcard on the deeper All Japan roster and needed to come across as being on Tenryu's level. Not only does Kojima hang with Tenryu in terms of offense, he also matches Tenryu in the clash of big personalities. Good heavyweight action throughout and a fine 'Budokan semi-main' level finishing run.
Mutoh vs Kawada, Triple Crown, All Japan 2/24/02, JIP. Kawada must no-sell Mutoh's cheap knee dropkicks and sloppy shining wizards... for Baba! Also, gansobomb #2.
Takaiwa vs KENTA, Zero-One 3/2/02. Takaiwa makes young KENTA learn his place the hard way. The hard way happens to be the fun way, for us.
Marufuji vs Hoshikawa, Zero-One 3/2/02. A year earlier Marufuji had his big breakout match, at Hoshikawa's expense. Now Marufuji is NOAH's junior champ and Hoshikawa can redeem himself big-time with a win.
Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka, Zero-One 3/2/02. When I first watched this, it was on a file that was of low audio quality. This file has much better video and the audio is clear enough for you to hear the ultra-stiff beating Hashimoto lays on Tanaka. Oh so very stiff. 123 MB.
Tenryu vs Araya, All Japan Champions Carnival 2002. Someone needs to come up with a formula that deals with how, up to a certain point, more fat on a Japanese wrestler equals more stiffness. Some sort of puroresu Laffer curve.
Tenryu vs Mutoh, All Japan Champions Carnival 2002. A big start leads to a match with sustained intensity, certainly more than usual for Mutoh. In fact I would put this ahead of every Mutoh singles match after their 2001 battle.
Arashi & Araya vs Nagai & Okamura, All Asia tag titles, All Japan 4/13/02. Four midcarders go all-out, leading to some really choice nearfalls down the stretch.
Ohtani vs Ishikawa, Zero-One 4/27/02. When I decided to start doing reposts this is one of the matches that first came to mind. My "they're doin' stuff" description could not be less helpful. What does "stuff" consist of? One might expect them to be pricks to one another, but this feels like a blood feud. That despite there being absolutely no history between them as far as I can tell. They hit hard, do a couple hard suplexes, and afterwards Ohtani wants to decapitate Mr. Battlarts for reasons we will never know. NO OHTANI! MURDER IS PROHIBITED!
My Three Mutohs vs Kojima, Honma & Yang, All Japan 4/27/02. It's baldness and shining wizards as far as the eye can see.
Tenryu & Araya vs Kea & Miyamoto, All Japan 4/27/02. This one rocks right here. Tenryu and Kea stiff each other, Tenryu and Araya absolutely MAUL young Miyamoto, hardway blood, hatred... get on it.
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.
Fujiwara vs Y. Sasaki, Zero-One 5/23/02. This isn't a long match to begin with, and they even decided to clip THAT. What we do get is good, but man, c'mon Z-1!
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.
Ohtani & Tanaka vs Kanemura & Kuroda, Int'l tag titles, Zero-One 6/29/02. I'd say this was a really good 'big match' FMW tag, but after watching a lot of those it's clear that this is BETTER.
Hoshikawa vs Hidaka, Zero-One 7/7/02. Rubber match in their trilogy.
Tenryu vs Kojima, Triple Crown, All Japan 7/17/02. Stiffness, head drops and no-selling: it's a quinessential modern-day heavyweight match.
Kokushi Mutoh vs Kaz Hayashi, All Japan 7/20/02. Kaz does a very nice tribute to the Mutoh of yesteryear, and thus carries the Mutoh of today.
Tenryu vs Kea, All Japan 7/20/02. In the same vein as Tenryu vs Kojima, only more compact. Coming into this match Tenryu is 3-0 vs Kea, but Kea has yet to unleash his big gun against the old man.
Samoa Joe vs Kanemura, Zero-One Fire Festival '02. Short, and for one of them none too sweet.
Ohtani vs Taka Michinoku, Zero-One Fire Festival '02. A few years ago, this would have been a juniors dream match. Now it's speed versus power.
Ohtani & Sekimoto vs Sato & Sai, Zero-One 7/30/02. Sato and Sai take a beating but show a lot of guts in coming back. Sekimoto looks really good for a younger wrestler as he helps Ohtani control things. This one really took me by surprise, give it a shot!
Tanaka vs Kanemura, Zero-One Fire Festival '02. An FMW-style match, and I actually like it more than their FMW battles.
Ohtani vs Masato Tanaka, Zero-One Fire Festival '02. I recall getting excited as a young puro fan when this was announced. They go all-out from bell to bell.
Masato Tanaka vs Taka Michinoku, Zero-One Fire Festival '02. On the short side but with enough action to make up for it.
Mochizuki, Yang & Dragon Kid vs Magnum TOKYO, Yokosuka & K-ness, All Japan 8/31/02. Toryumon shows their stuff at Nippon Budokan, and Yang meshes quite well.
Kojima vs Araya, All Japan 8/31/02. Araya was in numerous good tags in the early '00s, but in singles he was either given too little or too much time. This one is just right and I think it's by far his best singles match from the period: good energy and pace, a 'big match' level finish, and hardly any downtime. Kojima in 2002 was no slouch, either.
Don Arakawa vs Fugofugo Yumeji, Zero-One 9/12/02. FUGO MF FUGO. DON MF ARAKAWA.
Kanemura & Kuroda vs Togo & Hidaka, Zero-One 9/12/02. Kanemura and Kuroda have the big edge in size and power, but they excel in hardcore matches. Can they topple the more-skilled FEC team in a straight match?
Spanky & Hoshikawa vs Low Ki & Y. Sasaki, Zero-One 9/12/02. Low Ki's debut in Japan, and he's insta-over in a way hardly any gaijins manage.
Hashimoto & Ogawa vs Jones & Corino, Zero-One 9/12/02. OH-Gun versus the Aussie powerhouse and the tricky King of Old School.
Anjoh & Nagai vs Kea & Fuchi, All Japan 9/16/02. A match which, thankfully, is centered on the charisma of Anjoh and Fuchi.
Mutoh, Kojima, Hase & Shinzaki vs Tenryu, Arashi, Araya & Hirai, All Japan 9/16/02. Team WAR has more weak links but also is a more coherent unit... except that Mutoh's quartet has been together twice on the tour already and beat WAR both times. Neither of those WAR squads had Tenryu, and without Tenryu it's hardly WAR at all. So... um... either team can win. Also, breaking news: Tenryu > you.
Tenryu & Hirai vs Kojima & Kaz Hayashi, AJ 10/6/02. Oh the hate. The sweet, sweet hate. And the action! But mostly hate.
Kojima & Kea vs Tenryu & Araya, All Japan 10/12/02. Hard-hitting heavyweights, homeboy.
Masato Tanaka & Takaiwa vs Low Ki & Frankie Kazarian, Zero-One 12/15/02. For an undercard match, Tanaka lets the indy gaijin look real good. Some huge nearfalls.
2003
Arashi & Araya vs Tenryu & Fuchi, All Asia tag titles, AJ 1/3/03. Fuchi has never held the All Asia belts! So naturally he's the focus of the bout. It goes a bit long considering the participants, but if you like most of them you'll like the match. Araya sure wasn't afraid to get dumped by a backdrop, no sir.
Dick Togo & Hidaka vs Paul London & CW Anderson, Zero-One 1/5/03. London makes for a great Ricky Morton and the crowd gets behind him. Classic tag formula works every time! Also I have a feeling this is the best thing CW was ever in.
Low Ki vs AJ Styles, Zero-One 1/5/03. If the prospect of this matchup excites you, you'll love it. If the words 'AJ Styles' send you into fits, don't watch. If you're in-between, give it a shot.
Hashimoto & Ogasawara vs Kojima & Kashin, All Japan 1/13/03. The Hash vs Kojima sections make up for how awful the other two are. 170 MB.
KENTA & Low Ki vs Takaiwa & Yoshihito Sasaki, Zero-One 2/2/03. This one turns out pretty nicely, if I do say so myself.
Tenryu vs Araya, All Japan 2/8/03. First match in a Tenryu vs Young Lions series that was part of Tenryu's farewell to being full-time All Japan. Yeah, going to World Japan was a great move there Tenryu. Anyway they keep it short and it's chunky WAR spirit. I'd like to know how Araya can take so many Tenryu chops without even flinching.
Tenryu vs Miyamoto, All Japan 2/16/03. You should know what to expect here.
Kojima, Arashi, Araya & Kashin vs Ohtani, Tanaka, Sai & Ogasawara, All Japan 2/23/03. Just a ridiculous amount of interpromotional hate here. Hate, hate and more hate. Haaaaaaate.
Mutoh & Hayashi vs Kojima & Yang, AJ 3/22/03. Kojima gets picked apart. I'm someone who's rather cynical about Mutoh but he does a brilliant job here.
Tenryu, Arashi & Araya vs Kojima, Hines & Hayashi, AJ 4/4/03. Not quite as much Tenryu content as one would like, but they make up for it with plasma. Arashi just lost to Kojima in the Carnival final, but he's still going to get a Triple Crown match at the end of the tour, so he's looking for revenge and momentum.
Ohtani & Tanaka vs Hosaka & Okumura, All Japan 4/12/03. Emblem in All Japan is such goodness, and the match is compact and fun.
Low Ki vs Takaiwa, junior title, Zero-One 5/2/03. I generally can't stand Takaiwa in singles matches during the 2000s, and I generally can't stand a juniors match with leg work, but somehow I enjoy a match with both. I'm guessing it's because of how much I enjoy Ki.
Kawada & Fuchi vs Kojima & Kashin, AJ 5/23/03. Oh look, Kawada and Fuchi in a tag match and it's good. The shock is overwhelming.
Kawada, Araya & Fuchi vs Mutoh, Kojima & Yang, AJ 6/1/03. There's a lot of talent in this, but I think it's the crowd that makes it. Yup, good ol' fired-up... Kobe Sambo Hall?! Will wonders never cease? I'll add that the guy who on paper is the fall guy DOESN'T take the loss.
Tenryu vs Ishikari, AJ 6/8/03. I don't know for a fact that Tenryu has kids. That said, the only explanation I can think of for this match is that he has a daughter and caught Ishikari with her. Because... ow.
Hashimoto, Sato & Yokoi vs Kojima, Araya & Okumura, AJ 6/11/03. The teams are rather lopsided, meaning that if Kojima wants to win and get momentum heading into his title bout with Hashimoto, he needs to take the champ out of the picture. And he does a darn good job of that! Plus: Araya sells a punch to the face like it's a punch to the face. Araya <3
Tenryu vs Kono, AJ 6/13/03. Ho-hum, Tenryu beats up a young lion. Couple chops, some trademark moves, and... Kono kicks out? Well that was generous, but that's all he has in the tank and... Kono kicks out AGAIN?! Yup, Kono was a big-time prospect and Tenryu makes him look like a million yen. Make that a hundred million yen.
Kawada, Araya & Okumura vs Ohtani, Tanaka & Hosaka, All Japan 6/13/03. Emblem in All Japan, plus Kawada and Araya. Yeah there was really no way I wouldn't like this. Hopefully you'll like it too! Like iiiiiiitttttt *shakes fist*
Kawada & Hijikata vs Kojima & Hayashi, All Japan 7/6/03. Hijikata has a junior title shot upcoming, and Kawada is en route to a #1 contenders match. However, Koji-Kaz has more experience as a unit, and Hayashi is an 'uncrowned champ' in the juniors division due to a baffling lack of title shots. Korakuen Hall: still the best.
Kawada, Araya & Fuchi vs Mutoh, Arashi & Hayashi, All Japan 7/10/03. I wasn't sure if I could enjoy a 2000s AJ 6-man without Kojima or Tenryu in it, but hey, this works out nicely. And it even sets up...
Arashi vs Araya, All Japan 7/13/03. Heated and short. I can't imagine a more enjoyable Arashi match.
Kawada & Kojima vs Sasaki & Hase, All Japan 7/27/03. Most of a very long dream match. ADD viewers be warned!
Kojima vs Ohtani, Fire Festival '03 final, Zero-One 8/1/03. Kojima won the Champions Carnival; can Ohtani stand up to him and win for the third year in a row?
Kawada & Hijikata vs Kojima & Honma, All Japan 8/19/03. Kawada and Kojima, you know what to expect from them. Honma's fire is what puts this over the top.
Kojima vs Ohtani, AJ 9/6/03. Winner goes to the main event for a chance to become Triple Crown champion. They took each other to the limit a month earlier in the Fire Festival final, and now the rematch has more at stake in a bigger venue.
Kawada vs Ohtani, Triple Crown decision match, All Japan 9/6/03. Hashimoto vacated the title due to injury, leading to a tournament. Kawada beat Mike Awesome and Ohtani beat Kojima to get here. Not a flawless match, but at the same time it's still Kawada vs Ohtani 175 MB.
Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka, Zero-One 11/7/03. Not *as* stiff as their first bout, but still quite the war.
Kawada & Kashin vs Hashimoto & Sakata, AJ 12/5/03. It might have been bad business to have this as a Budokan main event, but it's still quality stuff whenever Kawada is in. Kawada/Hashimoto couldn't not be good, and Kawada/Sakata is the best I've seen from Sakata.
Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa, Zero-One 12/14/03. Kawada carries a wrestler to the best match of his career, again.
Hashimoto vs Ohtani, Zero-One 12/24/03. Hashimoto's last big singles match in the company he founded. 157 MB.
Takaiwa & Hoshikawa vs Togo & Hidaka, junior tag title tournament final, Zero-One 12/26/03. The company saw how well-received NOAH's junior tag titles were and said "us too!". And it's a good thing because we got a couple very good matches as a result, starting with this. The psychology of the match is a nice follow-through on the Hoshikawa vs Hidaka singles rivalry, with Togo helping Hidaka's strategy. Takaiwa is effective as a wrecking ball and takes the nastiest bump of his life. Very strong finishing run. Go for it!
2004
Takaiwa, Yoshihito Sasaki & Osamu Namiguchi vs Ishii, Uwano & Nakajima, Zero-One 2/19/04. Choshu's short-lived promotion World Japan invades Z-1 and boy-oh-boy does everyone HATE each other with the fire of a thousand suns. Namiguchi and Nakajima are rookies but they know how to mix it up just fine. Real 'hidden gem' right here.
Kawada vs Hashimoto, Triple Crown, AJ 2/22/04. Hashimoto vacated the title the previous summer due to injury, so this will prove who the rightful champ is. This is the main event of All Japan's (so far) final show at Nippon Budokan. And, despite what you might expect, it's Hashimoto who makes this worthwhile. Hashimoto's last big match features one of his most compelling performances.
Kawada vs Jamal, Triple Crown, AJ 6/12/04. The future Umaga is very game here, taking some big bumps and walking the fine line between being a monster and giving Kawada his shots.
Tanahashi vs Honma, All Japan 7/22/04. Ohhhh boy, this match. Tanahashi is New Japan's top young gun, and is a huge favorite. Honma at this point has become an All Japan loyalist and the crowd is solidly behind him, leading to a ton of heat. Tanahashi takes it a step further by heeling it up. Hugely enjoyable. 188 MB.
Kojima vs Yokoi, Zero-One Fire Festival '04. Final day, both need to win to have any chance of advancing. Yokoi recently had his first shoot loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, but in doing so he learned a deadly 'spinning' guillotine choke. Z-1 crowd is behind him all the way, especially since he can eliminate last year's winner. 142 MB.
Ohtani, Omori & Kanemura vs Choshu, Takaiwa & Ishii, Z1 8/15/04. Kanemura and Ishii HATE each other, and I'm not sure why but I will never say no to good hatred. Kanemura delivers the nastiest senton of his career, and while it probably wasn't intentional, I also will never say no to a nasty fat-boy senton.
Ohtani & Omori vs Tanaka & Sakata, Zero-One 10/3/04. Good match that leads to one of the more unique finishes ever. No, really, it's worth watching just for the end.
Kawada vs Tenzan 12/5/04 pre-match.
Kawada vs Tenzan, Triple Crown, All Japan 12/5/04. Kawada won their first two matches and is on the biggest roll of his career. Tenzan is coming off his win in the G-1 and is far ahead of where he was three years ago, and even then he came close to pulling off a win over Dangerous K. Mega.
2005
Spanky vs Alex Shelley, Zero-One 3/25/05. Super-duper fast.
Hidaka & Minoru Fujita vs Spanky & Shelley, Zero-One 3/27/05. The Hidaka/Shelley matchup is AMAZING here.
Nakajima vs Namiguchi, Differ Cup 5/8/05. Start of a beautiful rivalry.
Ohtani, Tanaka & Sakoda vs Sato, Yokoi & Y. Sasaki, Zero-One 6/17/05. Veterans versus young guns. Fast pace, big moves, intergenerational grudge, this is pretty good!
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?
Hidaka vs Shelley, Int'l junior title, Z-1 7/31/05. These two fit hand-in-glove. Silky smooth matwork and sequences, topped off with rich creamery butter. I mean a good finish. And some alfredo sauce.
Sasaki, Nakajima & Fudo vs Ohtani, Takaiwa & Y. Sasaki, Zero-One 8/2/05. Good pace, good action, and it ends when it should. My only real beef is two no-sell spots, but it isn't enough to spoil the match.
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.
Hidaka, Fujita & KENTA vs Sakata, Takaiwa & Tiger Emperor (Kotaro Suzuki), Zero-One 9/19/05. Good clean juniors fun, with some hate mixed in.
Ohtani vs Namiguchi, Zero-One 9/29/05. Namiguchi is Ohtani's boy. Which means Ohtani is legally obligated to destroy him.
Kanemoto vs Y. Sasaki, Z-1 10/10/05. Two days after they matched up in a tag at the Dome, they do battle in Korakuen. Kanemoto hates Yoshihito and Zero-One SO MUCH that he has a hard time expressing it. But he does his best.
Kojima vs Giant Bernard, Triple Crown, All Japan 10/18/05. Prince Albert in a Triple Crown match? Not only that but he's better than Kojima?!
Ohtani & Tanaka vs Hidaka & Fujita, Zero-One 11/23/05. Emblem has been the top team since the end of OH Gun. Hidaka and Fujita have been tearing it up, and since they're big-time underdogs the crowd is behind them 100%.
Ishimori, Namiguchi & Kota vs Takaiwa, Kotaro Suzuki & Ricky Marvin, Zero-One 12/23/05. Plenty to enjoy.
2006
Sasaki & Kobashi vs Tenryu & Nakajima, Kensuke Office 2/11/06. Chopping! Hardway blood! A ridiculous lariat finish! Did I mention chopping! All this and more.
Sasaki & Nakajima vs Mutoh & Yoshie, All Japan 3/5/06. It's a pink invasion! Can the Kensuke Office team handle this rather large test?
Sasaki & Brute Issei vs Yoshie & Arashi, All Japan 3/10/06. Lot of beef in this one.
Colt Cabana vs Kamikaze, Zero-One 3/21/06. A fun, British-influenced technical/comedy match. Kamikaze is one of a very, very small number of Japanese wrestlers with the ability to do it.
Ohtani, Tanaka & Takaiwa vs Sekimoto, Sato & Y. Sasaki, Zero-One 3/28/06. Intergenerational warfare! Big moves! Additional big moves!
Sekimoto vs Kamikaze, Zero-One 4/13/06. Sekimoto is a 'straight' Big Japan wrestler starting to make a mark in Zero-One, while Kamikaze was formerly the top 'straight' wrestler in Big Japan, so that's an interesting contrast. More interesting is Kamikaze busting out really great counter-wrestling to balance out Sekimoto's brute strength. 100 MB.
Minoru Suzuki vs Nakajima, 4/15/06. Suzuki is known for 'teaching' young lions by stretching and smacking them. Has Nakajima progressed beyond such treatment?
Hidaka & Manami Toyota vs Minoru Fujita & Maemura, Zero-One 4/27/06. A concept show based on intergender teams from the same locality. What makes this match is the way Manami is 100% credible as a peer to Hidaka and Fujita despite being significantly outweighed.
Kea vs Kawada, Triple Crown, All Japan 8/27/06. Kea has been somewhat of a disappointment, but he manages to get a really good performance out of Kawada. My favorite TC match since Kawada/Hashimoto.
Kojima vs Kondo, All Japan 9/17/06. Kondo, the junior powerhouse, is arguably the top junior in the country. Kojima is coming off a killer run during the G-1 Climax. How far will Kondo's strength take him?
2007
Takayama, Sato & Yokoi vs Omori, Ohtani & Murakami, Zero-One 1/19/07. No Fear re-explodes! Hardway blood! Punches to the face! Takayama brings the fire and it forces everyone else to try and match him.
Takayama & Sato vs Omori & Ohtani, Zero-One 2/18/07. Bloody and violent. Takayama loses his mind and destroys everything. EVERYTHING.
Kikuchi & Taniguchi vs Namiguchi & Takanishi, Zero-One 4/7/07. Kikuchi hates your skull. Yes, YOUR skull. He hates it. He must break it.
Masato Tanaka vs Yoshihito Sasaki, Zero-One 5/27/07. Tanaka returns from a shoulder injury and has gotten ripped, but in the process he also dropped a lot of muscle mass. Will his lean physique be enough to compensate for ring rust and a loss of brute force? Can Sasaki take advantage and get the win of a lifetime? 87 MB.
Yoshie vs Sai, Fire Festival, Zero-One 7/16/07. The psychology of the match: Yoshie is fat.
Takayama & Sato vs Omori & Sekimoto, Zero-One 8/24/07. Warning: not suitable for those with allergies to the German suplex.
Ohtani & Nagata vs Masato Tanaka & Sai, Zero-One 11/13/07. Ohtani's 15th anniversary celebration, and his NJ Dojo classmate Nagata mixes it up with Tanaka.
2008
Sasaki, Tenryu, Takayma & Suzuki vs Kawada, Ohtani, Yoshie & Saito, Kensuke Office 2/11/08. A metric ton of star power, enough hard hits and bombs and tension to keep you interested. 239 MB.
Sekimoto & Y. Sasaki vs Mashimo & Madoka, BJPW tag titles, Z1 3/2/08. Not quite as good as the title matches before and after this one, in part because the Zero1 crowd isn't as hot as a Big Japan crowd would be. Still, it's good, especially the finishing run.
Yoshikawa vs Ueda, Zero-One 8/29/08. A pair of young lions beat the tar out of each other.
Sawa vs Obata, Z-1 8/29/08. A match largely based on smacks to the face.
Ohtani vs Ueda, Zero-One 11/28/08. Ueda takes a beating like a man.
2009
Suzuki & Kea vs Suwama & Kondo, tag titles, All Japan 3/14/09. Suzuki and Kea are the MASTERS of teamwork. Suwama and Kondo have more flashy offense. Lots of nifty stuff in here, but be warned that the crowd is horrible.
Kobashi, Kikuchi & Ito vs Kojima, Kai & Yamato, All Japan 8/30/09. Chopping plus a very surly Kikuchi equals fun. Um... divided by pi.
Kanemura vs Namiguchi, Namiguchi Z-1 retirement match, Zero-One 10/24/09. If Nami's going out, dammit he's going out with a FIGHT!
Sekimoto & Sai vs Ohtani & Kakinuma, Zero-One 10/24/09. The debut of Kakinuma, who looks like a fine young prospect as he takes the traditional Japanese initiation.
Tanaka vs Kawada, Zero-One title, Zero-One 10/24/09, JIP. Pared down to the hot second half. Can Tanaka get the biggest win of his career? Can Kawada win a singles title for the first time in six years?
TV Block for All Japan 12/13/09. Features:
-Hayashi vs Hama, bullrope match. Done as a comedy match... and it works?! Hama's facial expressions post-match are great.
-Nishimura vs Fuchi vs Kondo, winner gets a date. Match Game meets a comedy 3-way. It's all about Fuchi.
-Suwama & Soya vs Kono & Sanada, a hard-hitting affair with four young stars. Goes a bit longer than it needs to but that's the way of the world in 2009.
2010
Kawada vs Sekimoto, Z-1 title, Z-1 1/1/10. The crowd is not up to the usual Korakuen standards, which hurts. The thing I like about this match is the distinctly Kings Road flavor of strike exchanges and transitions.
Tanaka & Mochizuki vs Hidaka & Sawa, Z-1 3/2/10. Lots o' ACTION and HITTING.
Hidaka vs Sawa, Z-1 juniors tournament, 9/19/10. Battlarts in Zero-One! Hard shots a-plenty, and Hidaka does some nasty work to the body.
2011
Soya & Sanada vs Sekimoto & Okabayashi, All Japan 2/6/11. Big Japan invades, resulting in the kind of intensity and action that I think has been sorely lacking from AJ since Kawada left. Soya and Sanada are the All Asia tag champs, and even if it's non-title they don't want to go down!
Hidaka vs Takafumi Ito, Int'l junior title, Zero1 3/6/11. A few years back, Ito beat Hidaka in a shoot. He transitions quite effectively to pro-style and busts out some great shooty counters.
Chono vs Daichi Hashimoto, Zero1 3/6/11. Huge heat for Daichi's entrance. He's still a teenager and thus can't hope to match his father's aura yet, but he does very well for a debut match.
Nagata vs Hama, All Japan Champions Carnival 2011. Hama might be morbidly obese, but he's got heavy hands and a willingness to throw his considerable weight around. The night before, Nagata got KOed and Hama tapped to a leg submission. Thus it makes sense that both of them have the most effect along the same lines.
Akiyama & Hashi vs Soya & Fuchi, All Japan 4/13/11. Fuchi is STILL GOING at 57 years old! God bless him. He's endlessly sympathetic in his role as the overmatched old man. I was also interested in how the Hashi vs Soya matchup would go, since Hashi is a freelancer and thus 'unprotected' but isn't going to be any sort of pushover after his wars in Futen. Ah, but the real question is whether Soya can hang with Akiyama...
Ohtani & Daichi Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka & Kakinuma, Z1 4/16/11. Zero-One's top wrestlers pair up with its top prospects, and each matchup brings something to the table. I hope Kakinuma continues to get the spotlight alongside Daichi, because he's got a lot of promise.
Okabayashi & Kawakami vs Hama & Nakanoue, All Japan 7/18/11. Hama vs Oka continues to be a really good pairing, and Nakanoue is effective as the young lion doing his best against the hated Big Japan invaders. Okabayashi has a huge upside if one of the big promotions decides to snatch him up. I like the use of Kawakami because it means either team can win, but Kawakami isn't such a scrub that he's out of place.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Sekimoto & Okabayashi vs Suwama & T. Soya, RWTL '11, All Japan 11/19/11. There's so much here that's tailor-made for me. Korakuen Hall, check. Interpromotional, check. Everyone has a clearly-defined role, check. One of those roles is an underdog, check. Lots of strike exchanges, check. Good structure, check. Hot ending run and a satisfying finish, check. Soya debuted earlier in the year against his brother and was injured in the debut, causing him to miss some time. So he's got well under a year of experience, yet has no trouble holding up his end of things. Suwama continues a great autumn, and Team Big Japan continues to show that they were deservedly dubbed the Japanese team of the year.
2012
Suwama vs Sekimoto, All Japan 1/2/12. Simple moves, good pace, strong finish, and it goes just the right length. These two bring out the best in one another.
Sekimoto & Okabayashi vs Akebono & Hama, All Asia titles, All Japan 1/3/12. The ne-plus-ultra of "irresistable force versus immovable object" matches. These teams met twice in '11, with the ex-sumos taking both. Sekimoto and Okabayashi barely survived against Hama & Manabu Soya; how can they possibly down roughly half a ton of humanity? Perhaps the answer is "they can't".
Sai, Ueda & Daichi Hashimoto vs Sekimoto, K. Hashimoto & M. Ohtani, Z1 2/1/12. Zero1 gets into the Big Japan action/invasion market, and business is good. 'Other Ohtani' is still green and might never get good but he can absorb stuff. Sai and Sekimoto are effective as the big men on campus. Both of the young Hashimotos shine and are the reason this rises to the level of YOUR attention.
Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs Kono & Minoru Tanaka, All Japan 2/3/12. Kono and Tanaka joined Masa Funaki to create the oddly-named 'Stack Of Arms' stable. At NJ's Dome show, Funaki and Nagata went to war after the end of a tag. That Nagata vs SoA heat translates in a really intense bout here, most notably between Nagata and Minoru. All Japan recently started being booked by Shuji Kondo and I must say I approve of his interpromotional focus. Certainly didn't get matches like this from 2004-2009.
Mutoh, Akebono & Hama vs Sekimoto, Okabayashi & Y. Sasaki, All Japan 2/3/12. This is as much 'interesting' as 'good'. Mutoh doesn't get put in the ring much with bruisers, and no he doesn't show any fire, but it's still really fascinating to watch him get pasted by a Yoshihito Sasaki lariat. When Mutoh isn't in, you get the Size vs Power matchup that has worked since before my parents met at the Royal Palm bar in Ithaca, NY.