Hey yo, what’s up wrestling fans, this is Brian Cole back after a year hiatus
from the Internet. For those of you who are unfamiliar with my work let me take
you on a quick review of my Internet Wrestling "career". I got my first big
"breaks" on the net reporting for the old PWI website and as one of the original
writers on KayfabeMemories.com before it became "famous". I took on the job of
the International News Reporter & Video Reviewer over at 411wrestling for a
couple years, hoping to some day land the job of the Ask411 guy. After the
demise of Craig Letawsky (who I owe the job to) as well as the frustrations of
Scott Keith (who ultimately and luckily for me also quit the column), I was
given the job of Ask411 and feel I did a great job with it. Unfortunately early
last January some personal family situations caused me to turn off the TV and
the net for a while as I handled them. Everything isn’t necessarily "better" but
it is tolerable and I thank Widro for welcoming me back with open arms to Inside
Pulse. I will be writing a column very soon here on the Pulse (as soon as Widro
or I can come up with an idea), I also hope to help with the Ask Pulse Board. In
the mean time I plan to be shelling out some video reviews to get you familiar
with my reviews again.
I was told to pick a good show to debut my Wrestling Fever Video Review
column. With the ultimately popular WWF/WWE culture that oversees the majority
of the wrestling community at first I thought "I better do a WWF show", but then
realized that Scott Keith amongst 80 other people have been there and done that.
I mean who really wants to see a 472nd version of the WrestleMania 3 Video
Review? Then I turned my attention to the old territory stuff but feared the
fans of today would give a rats ass about it. So finally I tried to come up with
something to satisfy almost everyone. A huge card straight out of Japan
featuring both the Japanese & American superstars we have come to know & love.
This event has it all, from mat wrestling to high flying, to smash mouth slobber
knockers. Not only does the event feature Japanese names like Misawa, Kobashi,
Kawada & Akiyama but we also get to see tons of stars we are familiar with from
right here in the states including Vader, Road Warriors, Dr. Death, Stan Hansen
& Hakushi.
The show I chose to debut my Video Column is the All Japan Giant Baba
Memorial Show from the Tokyo Dome in Japan held back on May 2, 1999. Baba was
the owner of All Japan from it’s creation until his death and was one of the
major stars there. Baba was very well known as a former NWA World Heavyweight
Champion back in the 1970’s as well. This event was to pay tribute to Shohei
"Giant" Baba, and he would have been very pleased with the outcome.
Match #1: Road Warriors & Johnny Ace vs. Kenta Kobashi, Jun Akiyama &
Hakushi (Jinsei Shinzaki)
This should be interesting considering Kobashi & Akiyama are two of the
hardest hitting workers in Japan and the LOD don’t like to sell. The Warriors
may not have a choice. Kobashi & RW Animal test each others strength to start,
Animal wins with little complication. Akiyama & Ace are tagged in. Jun nails a
German Suplex on Ace to start, followed by a high knee to Johnny and to Animal.
Akiyama dropkicks Hawk out of the ring and gets a northern lights on Ace for a
two count. Ace wisely works his way over and tags in Hawk. RW Hawk comes in with
a press slam on Akiyama. The LOD work over Akiyama and tag in Ace who allows Jun
to tag in Hakushi. Ace mocks Hakushi’s prayer stance and gives him the finger.
Hakushi ends up dropping Ace and gets a Vader Bomb for two. Both men tag out and
in comes Kobashi with a powerslam on Hawk, which Hawk no sells as the crowd "ooooohs".
Kobashi gets in a VERY delayed vertical suplex for two before both men tag out.
We end up with Hakushi & Hawk in the ring. Hakushi does the rope walk prayer
around half of the ring and nails Hawk but the Road Warrior barely sells it.
Hawk sends Hakushi onto a table to the floor. Back inside Hakushi tries a
huracan rana on Animal but old Joe catches it and delivers a powerbomb. The
Gaijin (American Wrestlers) get heat on Hakushi for a bit until Shinzaki gets in
a inzugiri which Animal again NO SELLS. Hakushi makes a tag out to Kobashi who
will FORCE people to sell. Kenta gets a series of rapid fire chops in on Animal
and a spinning back chop sends Ace to the floor. Kobashi & Akiyama get a back
suplex/powerbomb combo on Animal and Hakushi delivers a diving headbutt for two.
Kobashi delivers his moonsault for the cover but Ace breaks up the count.
Kobashi runs at Johnny but gets the Ace Cutter, Johnny runs at Akiyama but gets
the T-Bone suplex, Akiyama then in turn runs into Hawk’s flying shoulderblock.
Animal & Kobashi are down for the count but get hot tags to Hawk & Hakushi.
Shinzaki gets in the soccer bicycle back flip kick but Hawk barely sells it
(WHAT AN ASS!). Hakushi goes for the praying powerbomb but Ace & Animal
clothesline him out of it. The LOD throw Hakushi into an Ace Cutter for two. The
Warriors try for the Doomsday Device but Hakushi ducks Hawk’s clothesline.
Animal drops Shinzaki and the LOD try for another Doomsday Device, this time it
hits and Hawk covers for the win at 17:32.
Winners: Road Warriors & Johnny Ace
Notes: Kobashi & Akiyama are so much better than this, this was like a night off
for them. On regular standards this would easily get over ***’s or so, but in
Japanese standards would be a little disappointing.
Match #2: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroshi Hase
American Fans may remember Hase as part of New Japan in the early 90’s. Hase
worked quite a bit for Stu Hart’s Canadian Stampede Wrestling in the late 80’s &
had appeared on WCW a few times during 1991 in tag matches against the Steiners.
Kawada is one of the all time greats of AJPW. So much for feeling out, these two
start off the match literally slapping and booting the shit out of each other.
Hase delivers a Uranage Suplex onto Kawada’s head. The two again boot the shit
out of each others skulls, AMAZING! Hase wisely decides to take it to the mat
and works over Kawada’s leg. Hase applies various submission holds that look to
be very PAINFUL. Hiroshi goes into the sharpshooter but Kawada gets to the
ropes. Toshiaki gets to his feet and begins nailing Hase with some stiff kicks
to the head, you can literally hear them smack against Hase’s face & skull.
Kawada gets his powerbomb for two. Kawada tries a second powerbomb but Hase gets
out of it and boots Kawada in the head, only Toshiaki no sells and clothesline
Hase out of his boots. Kawada tries another clothesline but clutches his already
injured forearm. This allows Hiroshi to get in his patented GIANT SWING
which he gets an unbelievable 21 revolutions on. Hase gets a German Suplex for
two then hits a DISGUSTING looking T-Bone that sees Kawada land on top of his
head. That was so nasty I rewound it and watched it again, HOLY SHIT! Hiroshi
gets a Northern Lights for two. Hase tries another T-Bone but Kawada repeatedly
blocks the attempts, I DON’T BLAME HIM! Toshiaki comes back with a series of the
hardest looking inzugiri kicks I’ve ever seen but Hase won’t go down. Kawada
nails a powerbomb but clutches his arm and fails to cover. Kawada nails a
brainbuster and it’s all over at 20:52.
Winner: Toshiaki Kawada
Notes: Unbelievably Amazing Bout. They beat the hell out of each other and kept
getting up. Awesome match ****
Match #3: Stan Hansen, Akira Taue & "Dr. Death" Steve Williams
vs. Gary Albright, Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama:
You know Williams & Hansen, Taue was one of AJ’s finest at the time.
Albright worked in Stampede before Japan, Omori made a brief appearance during
the 1996 WWF Royal Rumble and Takayama is a great worker and frequent partner of
Omori. Hansen’s team pounds on Takayama to start. Takayama finally tags out to
Omori & Hansen’s team then works over Takao. Omori tags out to Albright who
takes over on Taue. A lot of back & forth action goes on which eventually leads
to Hansen’s team again working over Omori. Takao finally lays into Taue after
several minutes of taking the heat. Omori tags in Albright who gets a belly to
belly & a cross arm breaker on Taue, but Hansen breaks it up. We somehow ends up
with Dr. Death & Takayama in the ring. Takayama works over Williams for a moment
but Death comes back with a DOCTOR BOMB for two. Williams tries for a backdrop
driver on Takayama but Omori breaks it up with a missile dropkick. It’s breaking
down in Tulsa…errrr…Tokyo. Takayama accidentally boots his own partner
Albright out of the ring which allows Taue to nail a boot and Stan to hit the
Lariat for the win at 16:09.
Winners: Hansen, Williams & Taue
Notes: Not as exciting as the last two bouts, then again this Commercial Tape
has the matches going backwards for the most part. Average, could have been
more, definitely not bad however.
Match #4: Johnny Smith, Tamon Honda & Masa Fuchi vs. Gedo, Nakagawa &
Yoshihiro Kanemura
Fuchi & Gedo start. Fuchi locks Gedo in a Boston Crab early but releases
to tag in Honda. All 3 "heels" attack Honda but Tamon clears the ring. Gedo’s
team take control of Smith shortly but Fuchi is tagged in and works over
Nakagawa. Smith is tagged in and Nakagawa works his way over to tag in Gedo.
Gedo’s team take control of Smith at this point. Kanemura gets a top rope sentan
for two. Johnny finally gets in some offense reversing a suplex an hitting a
tombstone piledriver for two. Johnny Smith clothesline Kanemura for a loop and
tags in Fuchi. Masa Fuchi hits a pair of nasty back suplexes and tries for a 3rd
but Kanemura blocks. Fuchi hits a big boot then drapes Kanemura across the top
rope and steps on his throat…NICE & innovative! Honda is in but gets cut off
with a Kanemura back suplex. Gedo is tagged in & hits a top rope splash for two
on Honda. Gedo tries a huracan rana but Tamon caches it and hits a sit out
powerbomb for the win at 14:40
Winners: Smith, Honda & Fuchi
Notes: Average under card match, a lot better than I expected considering a few
of the workers.
Match #5: Kentaro Shiga & Yoshinobu Kanemura vs. Takashi Morishima &
Satoru Asako
Nice opening sequence by all 4 men. We get 10 minutes of back & forth
action, your basic wrestling holds, a plancha, a nice pinning sequence,
Morishima eventually hits a tope rope shoulderblock onto Shiga. Morishima goes
back up but misses a missile dropkick. Kanemura & Asako are tagged back in.
Kanemura hits a cross body but Asako uses the momentum to carry him over for a
two count. Shiga gets a spinning DDT on Asako & Kanemura hits a Tumbleweed
sentan for a near fall. Asako hot shots Kanemura and hits a back suplex. Asako
gets a top rope huracan rana on Kanemura but Shiga breaks the count. Asako with
a la magistral cradle on Kanemura for another close win. Asako finally nails a
Rikishi Driver (for lack of a better term) on Kanemura for a win at 13:32.
Winners: Asako & Morishima
Notes: This was one of the opening bouts on the card with some of the younger
junior heavyweights. Very nice, basic but entertaining.
Match #6: Triple Crown Champion- Vader vs. Mitsuharu Misawa
Vader has held more World Title on separate continents than any other man in the
business. Misawa was the second Tiger Mask and evolved into one of the VERY BEST
Puro workers ever. Vader rides Misawa to the mat to start & works Mitsu over in
the corner. Misawa tries a comeback after a Vader avalanche but the big man
sends Misawa to the floor instead. Vader drops Misawa across the guardrail and
powerbombs Mitsu on the FLOOR!!! Vader then leaps off the apron and splashes
Misawa on the floor to add a exclamation point. Inside the ring Vader works over
Misawa and hits a splash for two. Vader applies a sloppy looking STF and Misawa
gets out. Mitsu is on the offense and hits a running forearm for the face which
sends Vader to the floor. Misawa nails a tope on Vader and works him over on the
floor. With Vader back inside Misawa lands a missile dropkick & a crazy German
suplex for two. Vader takes an inzugiri to the face but retorts by German
suplexing Misawa. Vader hits a second German and Misawa spikes his head into the
mat like a nail. Vader hits a TIGER BOMB for a near fall. Vader climbs to the
top but misses his moonsault. Vader tries for a top rope splash but Misawa
counters with a superplex. Misawa with the frog splash for two. Mitsu hits a
superplex/DDT kinda thing that Vader didn’t bump to well on. Misawa lays in some
Nasty forearm & elbow shots on Vader for a two count. Misawa back to his feet
lays in even more violent elbow shots to Vader’s jaw. Mitsu hits a running elbow
to the face and this ones over at 18:04.
Winner: New Triple Crown Champ Misawa
Notes: Very Good match by both men. Right up there with the Kawada Match ***3/4
– Giant Baba Memorial Ceremony: Includes the likes of James Blears,
Bruno Sammartino, Gene Kiniski, Destroyer, Joe Higuchi & his wife Motoka Baba
paying homage to the late Shohei Baba. It’s a nice ceremony, though rather
short.
Match #7: Great Sasuke, Tiger Mask IV & Hayabusa vs. Masahito Kakihara,
Yoshinori Ogawa & Maneukea Mossman
If you’re not familiar with the work of Sasuke, Tiger Mask or Hayabusa,
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Definitely 3 of the best Jr. heavyweight ever. Ogawa is a
frequent partner of Misawa’s and a great worker in his own right, Mossman is the
current day Taiyo Kea & Kakihara is a solid worker with some violent looking
kicks. I can not do this match justice. For nearly 20 minutes all 6 men tag in &
out and give it all they got. This all culminates when Sasuke hits Mossman with
a Space Flying Tiger Drop to the floor. Back inside Hayabusa hits a springboard
spin kick to Mossman then a fisherman’s buster on Ogawa for two. Tiger Mask
nails a diving headbutt and Hayabusa follows it up with a moonsault on Ogawa for
another near fall. Kakihara & Tiger Mask are back in and Tiger hits a diving
headbutt and a German suplex for a two count. Kakihara goes into a kneebar but
Hayabusa breaks it up. Mossman & Sasuke are tagged in. Moments later FOLLOW ME
HEAR IT GETS CRAZY!!! Ogawa hits a pair of Saito suplexes and a piledriver on
Hayabusa for a near win. Tiger Mask then nails a tope on Mossman while Hayabusa
slams Ogawa in the ring and hits the firebird 450 splash for the OH SO CLOSE
win. Kakihara applies a leg grapevine on Sasuke on the floor. Still in the ring
Hayabusa delivers a tiger bomb on Ogawa for another close fall. Mossman hits the
Hawaiian Crush (Fireman’s Carry into a Stunner) onto Hayabusa to allow Ogawa
time to recuperate. Mossman back in and Hayabusa hits a Falcon Arrow on Mossman.
We got action all over the place. Mossman tries for a suplex but Hayabusa
counters with an inside cradle as the time expires. An Amazing 30:00 Time Limit
DRAW.
Notes: Not as spotty as Michinoku Pro or Toryumon, but definitely a GREAT
JUNIORS MATCH.
Match #8: Rusher Kimura, Mitsuo Momota & Masao Inoue vs. Giant Kamala
II, Jun Izumida & Haruka Eigan:
Kamala II is Uganda from ECW, Izumida was his frequent partner at this
moment. Eigan even joins in the fun here and paints himself up. Kimura had a
legendary feud with Baba back in the 70’s/early 80’s, Momota & Inoue are older
All Japan stars as well. This match is pretty much back & forth the entire time.
Eigan gets in a giant swing, Kamala hits the rolling blubber sentan on Inoue and
things get as crazy as it can get with a bunch if old guys and for the most
part, immobile middle-agers. Kamala climbs to the top rope and hits Inoue with a
flying chop, clothesline or something or another for the win at 14:00.
Winners: Izumida, Kamala & Eigan
Notes: Thus far the only bad match on the show, still not horrible compared to
an undercard match in the States. Considering a lot of these guys were well past
their prime, it was more like a legends match with some gimmick mixed in.
Match #9: Gran Naniwa & Makoto Hashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Tsuyoshi
Kikuchi
Strange that the opener is the closer on this commercial tape. The match
isn’t bad actually, just your basic opener. Naniwa misses his Crab walk elbow
drop. Kikuchi hits a trio of rolling snap suplexes on Hashi. Kikuchi & Marafuji
then hit Poetry in Motion on Hashi as a follow up. Kikuchi uses Naniwa as a
battering ram against Hashi and gets a two count. Hashi finally tags in Naniwa
but Marafuji gets a frog splash on Naniwa for two. Marufuji goes up yet again
and nails a shooting star press this time around for another close fall. Naniwa
hits the spinning doctor bomb and tag in Hashi. Hashi gets Marufuji with the old
KWANG kick in the corner and follows up with a bulldog for a near fall. Kikuchi
comes in and hits a head & arm superplex on Hashi but ties himself up in a tree
of woe in the process. Naniwa goes after Marufuji while Kikuchi hits Hashi with
a Blue Thunder Driver for the pin at 15:18.
Winners: Kikuchi & Marufuji
Notes: Good Opener, which the show had been in the correct order, it would have
had more of an impact on me.
WOW WHAT A SHOW!!!! From top to bottom a solid card. Only one match was the
doldrums, and given the older stars in the match you kind of understand. Great
Show you need to check out!!!
Top 5 Reasons to Watch the Giant Baba 1999 Memorial Show…
5. LOD/Ace vs. Kobashi/Akiyama/Hakushi
4. 6-Man 30:00 Draw
3. Misawa vs. Vader
2. Kawada vs. Hase
1. TWO GIANT SWINGS IN ONE SHOW!!!
Well that wraps up the Debut Edition of the Wrestling Fever Video Review here
on Inside Pulse I hope you enjoyed. Be sure to hit me up in an email and let me
know what you’d like me to review in the coming weeks. I shall return soon, but
until then this is Brian Cole saying I’ll see ya.
