And the march of legenday matches continues, specifically legendary matches rated fives stars by Dave Meltzer. This is quite the batch of ten matches. The first lucha match of the list appears along with another classic AJPW six-man. There are another two matches that suffer from lack of footage including one from AJPW and one from SMW. But overall this is a list full of joshi. We get two amazing singles matches, two amazing tag matches and an eight-woman tag that is also amazing. But one of the singles matches stakes a claim as the second greatest match I have ever seen only to be toppled from that post near the end of the list by a match not surprisingly from AJPW. This is the most fun I have had doing any of these lists yet.
Check out Dave’s past work on this project: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four
41) 1/29/1993 Rey Mysterio Jr., Super Calo and Winners vs. Psicosis, Heavy Metal, El Picudo AAA
Dave referred to this at the time as the greatest lucha match he’d ever seen and indeed it is the first one to make this list. Everyone starts criss-crossing and then brawling to start which is interspersed with introductions. The dust settles somewhat and Psicosis, Metal and Picudo hit a triple team high dropkick on Winners followed by three sentons for the first pin of the first fall. Picudo holds Mysterio on the floor and Psicosis whips Metal into a tope suicida that hits Picudo when eighteen-year-old Rey-Rey gets out of the way. Mysterio then gets back in the ring and Psicosis pops him up for a powerbomb but Mysterio floats over into a sunset flip for the second pin. Metal then attacks Mysterio who armdrags him and does a springboard hurracanrana for the pin that wins the first fall for the technicos. If by chance you are reading this and are unfamiliar with lucha rules, please watch AAA/WCW When Worlds Collide from 1994.
The second fall starts with Metal and Calo criss-crossing and flipping until Calo kicks Metal out of the ring. Psicosis and Picudo start arguing but Metal does some mediation between his partners. Calo then takes a dropkick from Picudo in the ring and gets whipped into the corner. Picudo whips him into the opposite corner but Calo jumps to the top rope and hits a plancha. They trade pin attempts and Calo gives Picudo two tilt-a-whirl backbreakers and Picudo rolls outside. Mysterio and Psicosis are in and Mysterio sends Psicosis flying with a kick. Mysterio gives him a springboard hurracanrana and then a flying headscissors off the top rope. Mysterio does another flying headscissors that sends Psicosis outside where he hides in the front row. Metal is in the ring and press slams Mysterio. Picudo and Metal double-team Mysterio. Psicosis is back in and works over Mysterio while Picudo backdrops Calo and drops an elbow on him. The rudos then triple-team Mysterio and faceplant him on the mat. They whip him into the corner where he bumps Bret Hart-style. Psicosis bodyslams Mysterio. Metal ties up Mysterio in a leglock and bridges back into a pin that wins the fall so it would seem that Mysterio is the captain for his team.
Psicosis gives Calo a big pop-up powerbomb between falls. Picudo is also working over Winners but gets pulled off by a referee. Psicosis holds Mysterio on the floor and Picudo whips Metal into a sliding dropkick that hits Rey. Picudo hits Mysterio with a knee-strike to start the third fall and Psicosis runs Calo into the ringpost on the apron. Psicosis and Picudo hold Mysterio while Metal kicks him. The rudos then do a triple-team dropkick on Calo and Psicosis splashes him in the corner. Metal and Picudo then hold Calo while Psicosis stands on his back to celebrate but Mysterio and Calo dropkick the rudos. Calo runs Psicosis’ head into the turnbuckle and follows up with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Mysterio comes off the ropes and tosses Metal by his awesome long hair. Psicosis then comes in and avalanches Mysterio in the corner. Mysterio charges Psicosis in the corner but Psicosis moves sending Mysterio flying through the ropes to the floor. Psicosis goes to the top rope and hits Mysterio with a plancha. Calo then goes to the top and does a plancha landing in a bodypress on Psicosis into the guardrail. Picudo then does a plancha into a sit-down splash on Calo. Winners then goes to the top and does a forward flipping plancha onto Psicosis. Metal then goes up top and does a moonsault to the floor. Mysterio is in the ring and takes a shoulder-block from Metal. Mysterio kicks him into the ropes. Mysterio goes to the top rope and moonsaults into Metal who catches him and slams him. Metal then does a bridging fall-away slam on Mysterio to get the pinfall win on the captain. In a modern context I would rate this **** stars as there has been plenty of lucha that had lots of flips since this time in which the match was tighter as well. But as a style of which footage was burgeoning at the time I can definitely see this blowing you away in 1993 and honestly a lot of it blows me away now. So in context I think it would get close to five stars depending on how much lucha you had already seen.
42) 4/2/1993 Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori AJW
I did watch this years ago in 2005 but did without context so I was not aware of Hokuto as anything other than someone who came to WCW before retiring and that she was married to Kensuke Sasaki. Now I know how sad that is and that she is legendary in joshi for wrestling past a serious history of injuries. This match is from DreamSlam I and is one of two matches from that show on this list. Hokuto and Kandori taunt each other to start and Hokuto knocks her down with a slap to the face and then screams on the microphone. Kandori hits back with a slap of her own and a clothesline and then grabs a crazy armbar at what looked to be a very painful angle. Hokuto rolls to the floor and is being attended to while clutching her arm. Hokuto returns to the ring and Kandori starts stomping on the arm and shoulder with Hokuto rolling to the floor and clutching it again. Hokuto returns to the ring and Kandori starts punching her hockey-fight-style. Hokuto fires back with forearms and a knee-strike. Kandori goes after her leg but they get tied up in the ropes. Kandori goes after the arm again but Hokuto fights back with kicks. Kandori rolls outside and Hokuto goes for a quebrada but gets knocked into the ring. Kandori comes inside and bodyslams Hokuto and goes after an armbar again but Hokuto fends her off. Kandori starts kicking her in the face and goes for a kimura that Hokuto fights off. Hokuto then grabs an armbreaker but Kandori gets the ropes. They spill outside and Hokuto rams Kandori’s head into the announce table. Hokuto goes for a tombstone but Kandori reverses and tombstones Hokuto on the announce table with a sickening thud. This is enhanced by a close-up of the hole that was dented into the table. Kandori returns to the ring as Hokuto is busted wide open on the floor. Hokuto staggers back to the ring and Kandori punches and kicks her in the head. Hokuto blocks a kick and drags Kandori to the floor and through the crowd. Hokuto rams her head into a chair in the stands, drags her up the stairs and rams her head into the guardrail. Kandori is now bleeding as well but it is nothing compared to Hokuto. They make their way back to the ring where Hokuto stomps on Kandori and boots her in the face three times. Hokuto goes for a leg lariat but Kandori repels her and lays in some strikes. Kandori picks her up for a brainbuster but releases her over the top rope and hits a pescado. Kandori returns to the ring with Hokuto eventually getting there and taking a back suplex. Kandori goes after the armbar again and works into a crossface chicken wing that is stopped with a rope break. Hokuto sits up and slaps her in the face and then gives her a snap piledriver. Hokuto hits a big leg lariat then goes for another one but Kandori grabs her leg. They get tied up in the ropes again and Kandori fires back with punches. Kandori DDT’s Hokuto for a near-fall. Kandori then applies a headscissors but Hokuto reverses into a single leg crab which Kandori reverses into her own single leg crab. Hokuto gets the ropes again and they start trading punches. Hokuto gives Kandori a brainbuster and bodyslams her. Hokuto goes up top and nails a big splash. Hokuto does a second top rope splash but Kandori gets her knees up. Kandori gives Hokuto a folding powerbomb for a near-fall. Kandori goes up top for a dive but Hokuto avoids her and drives her face into the mat. Hokuto gives her a bridging dragon suplex. Hokuto goes to the second rope but Kandori pulls her down and gives her a swinging sleeper. Kandori continues the sleeper on the mat and transitions into a kata ha jime only for Hokuto to get another rope break. The referee starts slapping Hokuto on the back to see if she is awake. Kandori goes for a powerbomb but Hokuto reverses into a hurracanrana. Hokuto reverses an Irish whip and hits a knee to Kandori’s back followed by a folding powerbomb. Hokuto knocks Kandori to the floor with a leg lariat and then springboards into a tope con giro. One of the girls at ringside then holds Kandori and Hokuto hits a missile dropkick from the top rope to the floor. They return to the ring and Hokuto goes for a brainbuster only to get caught in another ambreaker attempt. Kandori does get the cross armbreaker but Hokuto gets to the ropes. They break but Kandori goes right back after an armbar and transitions into a sit-out tiger driver. Kandori clotheslines Hokuto in the back of the head and then slaps her to the mat. Hokuto blocks another clothesline attempt and then hits a bridging back suplex. Hokuto then gives Kandori a brainbuster for a near-fall. Hokuto goes for another one but Kandori reverses into her own brainbuster. Hokuto swings at Kandori and hits a big punch and Kandori returns the favor. They knock each other down with stereo forearm smashes and Hokuto crawls over and covers Kandori for the three-count. This was beyond epic and is one of the best matches I have ever seen. It was a complete all-out war with both women showing incredible guts, intensity and amazing storytelling. I can put this second only to Flair-Steamboat 4/2/1989 and see why this era in which Hokuto was known as The Dangerous Queen is seen as one of the best runs in history. Kandori is also an amazing wrestler and I could rave about this match forever. Dave’s original review rated this ****3/4 but I believe he later referred to it as five stars and it is included in most lists you’ll find. Of course I more than agree with a five-star rating for this. If you are unfamiliar with this match, change your circumstances.
43) 4/2/1993 Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue vs. Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki AJW
This is the aforementioned second five-star match from DreamSlam I. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve seen with the Inoue’s and expect the same here. Takako and Ozaki start and lock up twice and start slapping each other. Takako hits an armdrag and Ozaki knees her in the back. Ozaki whips her into the ropes but Takako grabs the ropes. Ozaki hits three dropkicks but Takako kicks her in the head and then gives her a hip attack. Kyoko tags in and hits a dropkick. Suzuki tags and Kyoko knocks her down and gives her a long giant swing for over 39 rotations. Kyoko gets the fans behind her and picks up Cutie in a torture rack and throws her. Takako comes in and hangs Suzuki in the tree of woe and works her knee. Takako snapmares Suzuki who rolls with it. Takako whips Suzuki into the ropes and Cutie gives her a German suplex. Ozaki tags in, stomps on Takako and gives her a DDT. Ozaki gives her a facebuster and then applies a dragon sleeper. Ozaki gets up and snapmares Takako and applies the dragon sleeper again before doing so tangled up in the ropes. Suzuki tags in and dropkicks Takako and applies a dragon sleeper as well. Ozaki tags in and hits a big lariat on Takako who comes back and does a wristlock off the ropes. Kyoko tags in and faces Ozaki, kicking her in the stomach only to get caught in a roll-up. Kyoko lays in some strikes and swings her in a surfboard. Takako tags in and puts Ozaki in a Boston Crab. Ozaki tries to power out but Takako sinks it in deeper. Ozaki finally gets the rope break and they clothesline each other. Suzuki tags in and hits Takako with a bodypress. Suzuki hits an awesome suplex similar to a bridging fall-away slam. Ozaki tags in and she and Suzuki hit a double suplex. Takako takes Suzuki to the top and gives her an arm capture superplex. Suzuki bridges out of a pin attempt. Takako picks her up but Suzuki gets a roll-up. Takako then hits a dangerous backdrop suplex. Kyoko tags in and goes for a suplex but Suzuki floats over. Ozaki tags in and Kyoko jumps off the second rope with a double back elbow. Kyoko bodyslams Suzuki and goes to the top rope where Ozaki knocks her to the floor. Ozaki and Suzuki then hit planchas onto the Inoue’s from the apron. Suzuki kicks Kyoko around the floor then takes her inside. Suzuki gives Kyoko a northern lights suplex assisted by a kick from Ozaki. Suzuki bodyslams Kyoko and then goes up top for a double stomp. Ozaki and Suzuki then take turns hitting double stomps off the top for a total of five times. Takako breaks up Ozaki’s pin attempt. Takako saves Kyoko from a suplex attempt but Ozaki then gets assistance from Suzuki for another backdrop suplex. Ozaki then hits a moonsault variation off the top rope. Ozaki then goes for either a Manami roll or hurracanrana but Kyoko catches her in a powerbomb. Takako comes in and gives Ozaki a bridging back suplex and then goes after the leg. Kyoko cuts off Suzuki while Ozaki gets a rope break. Takako goes for another back suplex but Ozaki gets out and hits a dragon suplex. Kyoko breaks up the pin attempt. Takako rolls up Ozaki and then tags in Kyoko who bodyslams Ozaki. Kyoko does a top rope back elbow-drop. Kyoko goes for a powerbomb but gets dropkicked by Suzuki. Takako grabs Suzuki and Kyoko goes for the powerbomb with Ozaki floating over in a Manami Roll. Kyoko goes for the powerbomb again but Ozaki armdrags her. Ozaki counters another powerbomb with a hurracanrana. Ozaki whips Kyoko into the ropes and Kyoko jumps off the second rope with a dropkick. Kyoko then hits a sit-out powerbomb with Suzuki breaking up the pin. The Inoue’s go for a double-team but Suzuki takes Kyoko to the opposite corner. Ozaki goes up top with Takako who hits her with a neckbreaker. Kyoko breaks up the pin then hits an elbow strike on Suzuki. Kyoko then picks up Ozaki in a backbreaker into a powerbomb assisted by Takako who gets the pinfall. I watched this a second time as my first viewing was disjointed by having to pause and rewind so much to recap all the moves. I wasn’t sure what that would mean on second viewing but this is a fantastic workrate tag team sprint that I have no problem dropping five stars on. Some might prefer it was longer but given the pace I think it was just right. Ozaki and Kyoko are both wrestlers worth going out of your way to see and Takako and Suzuki were great here as well. Dave called it the best match on the show which I obviously disagree with but it would be the best match on most other shows.
44) 4/11/1993 Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada AJW
As a precursor to watching this I checked out the 11/26/1992 match between the same two teams. It is a match that people who I respect have called the greatest match of all time. I wouldn’t put it there but it belongs on this list. Dave did mention it in the 1/4/1993 WON and said that while it wasn’t the best match of 1992 it did have to be seen. No star rating was provided and I can’t find any record of it being rated any lower than five stars. I thought about reviewing it here but instead after this project is completed I would like to review other matches that I and others rate five stars.
Anyways, watching 11/26/1992 provides great set-up for checking out this 2/3 falls rematch fom AJW DreamSlam II. Kansai headkicks Yamada to start while Ozaki takes Toyota to the corner. Kansai immediately gives Yamada a Niagara bomb and pins her to win the first fall within the first seconds of the match. What a hot way to start for the challengers.
Yamada takes some time to get to her feet and when she does Kansai elbows her in the head, hits a kick to the chest and bodyslams her before missing a second rope back elbowdrop. Toyota tags in and hits Kansai with six dropkicks followed by a missile dropkick. Toyota bodyslams Kansai and then misses a top rope moonsault. Yamada comes in and bodyslams Kansai allowing Toyota to hit the moonsault. Ozaki breaks up the pin and Toyota ties up Kansai in a cool submission that is like a double underhook armlock in a Manami roll position. It doesn’t seem to have a name so I will call it the Manami stretch. Kansai sweeps the leg and then kicks Toyota in the head. Ozaki tags in and DDT’s Toyota. Ozaki applies a dragon sleeper and then gives Toyota a facebuster. Ozaki puts Toyota in a camel clutch and Kansai comes in and kicks her in the chest. Ozaki continues with the camel clutch and then does a vertical suplex after tagging her partner. Kansai drops an elbow then applies a crossface chicken wing followed by a facebuster. Kansai then holds Toyota for a top rope rolling senton by Ozaki. Toyota fights back with a dropkick and then she and Yamada hit a double clothesline and Yamada kicks Ozaki in the chest. Yamada does a dropkick, a snap suplex and a spin-kick. Yamada delivers another kick and Kansai tags in. They trade several kicks with Kansai getting the advantage and stomping her down in the corner. Kansai soccer kicks Yamada in the face. Yamada struggles to her feet and eats two kicks before beating Kansai to the mat with numerous headkicks. Yamada hits a superkick and applies a single leg crab that is broken up by Ozaki. Yamada hits a spinkick and tags in Toyota who gives Kansai a flying headbutt. Ozaki is in and starts hitting Toyota with flying clotheslines and then applies a single leg crab into a leglock/dragon sleeper combination. Ozaki hits two clotheslines but Toyota fights back with forearms. Toyota does a bridging vertical suplex. Yamada is in and applies a stretch muffler that is broken up by Kansai. Ozaki tags in Kansai who gives Yamada a piledriver. Kansai puts Yamada in the scorpion deathlock and Yamada slowly gets to the ropes. Ozaki tags in and clotheslines Yamada. Ozaki gives her a bridging cradle suplex. Yamada fights back and gives Ozaki a back suplex. Toyota tags in and ties up Ozaki in the aforementioned Manami Stretch. Ozaki gets out and Toyota misses a charge in the corner where Kansai hits her with a clothesline. Ozaki gives Yamada a back suplex and they go to the floor. Kansai hits a tope suicida on Toyota and Ozaki hits a plancha on Yamada. Kansai takes Toyota inside and bodyslams her and Kansai and Ozaki hit the double diving headbutt. Kansai whips Toyota into the corner where she dropkicks Toyota. Yamada takes out Kansai while Toyota does a quebrada onto Ozaki on the floor. Toyota and Yamada then give Ozaki a double sideslam. Kansai knocks Yamada out of the ring and Ozaki gives Toyota a bridging German suplex. Toyota then catches Kansai in a bridging German suplex followed by Kansai doing the same to Yamada. Kansai and Ozaki attempt to double-steam Yamada who escapes and gives Kansai a bridging German suplex. Toyota and Yamada give Kansai a double powerbomb followed by Toyota doing a Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex for the pin and the second fall.
Toyota charges Kansai to start the second fall and gives her a bridging German suplex. Yamada gives Kansai a leg lariat and several kicks and enzuiguri’s. Yamada goes to the top and hits a flying elbow. Ozaki breaks up the pin and then Yamada applies the stretch muffler then lifts her and swings her in it. Toyota tags in and gives Kansai two missile dropkicks. Ozaki cuts off Toyota’s attempt at a third and runs her into the guardrail while Kansai does the same to Yamada. Kansai takes Toyota to the top rope back inside and superplexes her. Toyota bridges out of a pin attempt. Ozaki then does her moonsault variation on Toyota. Ozaki clotheslines her in the corner and Toyota comes back with a springboard bodypress. Toyota puts Ozaki in the octopus and then rolls her up. Yamada comes off the top with a punch and then gives Ozaki a sideslam. Ozaki grabs Yamada in a victory roll but Yamada gets her back. Kansai tags in and starts kicking Yamada in the head. Kansai gives Yamada a backdrop suplex. Kansai whips her into the corner and clotheslines her then does a northern lights suplex. Ozaki tags in and puts Yamada in an STF. Yamada goes for the ropes but Kansai tries to kick her hand away. Ozaki applies a leglock but Yamada gets the ropes. Ozaki gives Yamada a face-first piledriver and Kansai tags in and gives Yamada a brainbuster. Kansai applies a dragon sleeper but Yamada rolls through and gets a rope break. Kansai snapmares her and kicks her in the head. Ozaki tags in but Yamada boots her in the face. Yamada knocks Kansai off the apron then clotheslines and kicks Ozaki in the corner and gives her two ridiculously fast snap suplexes. Toyota tags in and dropkicks Ozaki and gives her two flying bodypresses. Toyota gives Ozaki a northern lights suplex followed by a suplex attempt into a roll-up. Ozaki gets her arm and then Kansai comes in and powerbombs Toyota and applies a Boston Crab. Kansai whips Toyota into the corner but Toyota jumps off and DDT’s her. Toyota ducks a Kansai clothesline that hits Ozaki. Yamada gives Kansai a back suplex and Toyota hits a quebrada on Kansai. Yamada hits three enzuiguri’s on Kansai. Toyota dropkicks Kansai and Yamada gives her a German suplex. Yamada then flies off the top with an enzuiguri. Yamada goes for the reverse Gory bomb twice but gets cut off. Ozaki starts dropkicking Yamada and takes her down by the leg. Ozaki then powerbombs Yamada and misses a tumbleweed. Yamada goes for the reverse Gory bomb again but Ozaki gets a victory roll. Toyota dropkicks Kansai off the apron and then Toyota and Yamada give Ozaki a double atomic drop on the mat. Yamada bodyslams Ozaki and then Toyota and Yamada hit the double diving headbutt. Toyota then whips Ozaki into the corner and she and Yamada put her on the top rope. Kansai makes the save and Ozaki does a rolling senton that hits Kansai. Toyota and Yamada then take Ozaki to the top and deliver a double float-over German superplex. Toyota gives Ozaki an arm capture suplex and Kansai makes the save. Toyota then gets Ozaki in the rolling cradle and Kansai whips Yamada into the guardrail on the floor. Yamada keeps Kansai from saving Ozaki from a Japanese Ocean Suplex by Toyota. Kansai stomps down Yamada on the floor and clotheslines Toyota as she is going for another JOS. Kansai gives Toyota a Niagara bomb and then lariats both Yamada and Toyota. Kansai picks up Toyota on her shoulders and Ozaki hits a doomsday device. Kansai then picks up Toyota and Ozaki comes off the top for a Niagara bomb/doomsday device combination to score the winning pinfall. This was a tremendous five-star epic match. I actually have a lot of trouble picking between this and the 11/26/92 match but love both teams. Ozaki is an absolute wrestling genius and everyone else is up there with her. These four were born to have these tag matches.
45) 4/14/1993 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi AJPW
The only footage that seems to be available of this match is approximately ten minutes long out of a twenty-six minute match. I don’t know if the footage that Dave based his rating on was in full. The footage starts with Kawada kicking Kobashi in the face. Kobashi blocks a kick and then charges in the corner but gets shoved to the mat. Kawada elbows him in the corner and they trade slaps. Kawada climbs the ropes and kicks Kobashi in the face but gets shoved to the mat. Kobashi DDT’s Kawada and bodyslams him. Kobashi goes up top for a moonsault but Kawada kicks him to the floor. Kawada pulls him to the apron and tries to suplex him but Kobashi floats over and gives Kawada a rolling cradle. Kobashi gives Kawada a back suplex. Kobashi bodyslams him and goes for the moonsault again but Kawada kicks his leg. Kawada clotheslines Kobashi in the ring and goes for a powerbomb but Kobashi backdrops him. Kawada kicks Kobashi and puts him in an abdominal stretch. Kawada elbows him and then applies a dragon sleeper. Kawada goes for a powerbomb but Kobashi floats into a sit-down splash. They get to their feet and Kawada hits an elbow but Kobashi fights back with a big boot and a clothesline. Kobashi gives Kawada a pumphandle slam. Kobashi comes off the top rope but Kawada hits him with a headkick. Kawada goes for a powerbomb again and finally gets it. Kobashi hits a superkick and a dropkick to the knee and applies a single leg crab. Kawada kicks his way out but Kobashi works his knee and applies the single leg crab again. Kawada crawls to the ropes for the break. Kobashi pulls him to the middle and applies a Texas cloverleaf but Kawada gets the ropes again. Kobashi stomps on Kawada’s ankle repeatedly. Kawada catches him and clotheslines him. Kawada misses a clothesline and Kobashi dropkicks him and gives him a German suplex. Kobashi powerbombs Kawada and floats over into a pin attempt. Kobashi powerslams Kawada and then misses a moonsault. They get to their feet and Kobashi chops Kawada who knocks him down with a forearm. Kawada goes for another powerbomb and hits it after a struggle. Kawada goes for it again and Kobashi hits a back-kick. Kawada kicks Kobashi in the head and gives him a folding powerbomb to get the three-count. This was all-out action and both guys were at the top of their game. What I saw was in the ****1/2 to ***** range but it is too hard to tell without seeing complete footage. That being said, if all you want is great action this is highly recommended. Dave compared these two to Flair and Steamboat in this match which is a tough comparison. But in all honesty, just as much as people always want a new Flair-Steamboat rivalry having a new four pillars is as or more valuable to a company.
46) 4/18/1993 Bull Nakano vs Devil Masami JWP
Nakano kicks Masami in the stomach and clotheslines her to start. They hit double clotheslines twice. Masami bodyslams Nakano and runs her head into the turnbuckle. Nakano then runs Masami’s head into the turnbuckle but she no-sells this as well as a headbutt. Nakano starts kicking her in the head. Masami knocks Nakano down with a headbutt and applies a sleeper. Masami switches into a cross armbreaker that Nakano turns into a roll-up. Nakano fights out with headkicks and applies a cross armbreaker. Masami gets out and applies a single leg crab and then puts Nakano in a Romero Special. Masami keeps on Nakano with strikes and a knee and then stands on her chest. Masami goes for a vertical suplex but Nakano counters into one of her own. Nakano puts Masami in the combination scorpion deathlock/armlock and moves into an armbar. Nakano gives her an atomic drop on the mat and goes into a chinlock. Nakano moves into a crossface but Masami bights her. Nakano goes back to the armbar and then does a legdrop on Masami’s ribs. Nakano applies a hammerlock and works the arm. Masami starts kicking Nakano’s leg and does running kicks to her head. Nakano whips Masami into the ropes and clotheslines her in the back of the head. Nakano clotheslines Masami outside where Masami slams her to the floor and gives her a powerbomb. Masami goes for another powerbomb on the floor but Nakano turns it into a sit-down splash. Nakano bodyslams Masami on the floor and gives her a double stomp from the apron. Masami whips Nakano into the guardrail and clotheslines her into the crowd. Masami brings her back inside and powerbombs her. Masami grabs Nakano in a dragon sleeper but Nakano fights out with headkicks. Masami elbows her in the head and then clotheslines the back of her head. Masami takes Nakano to the top rope and superplexes her. Masami follows up with a splash for a two-count. Masami keeps on her with kicks but Nakano gets Masami in a northern lights suplex. Nakano whips Masami into the ropes and goes up top where Masami grabs her in a back suplex. Masami goes up top and gives Nakano a missile dropkick. Masami puts Nakano in the camel clutch. Masami then takes Nakano outside and whips her into the guardrail. Nakano struggles to get back inside where she and Masami do a test of strength. Nakano trips her and grabs her nunchuks. She puts them back but Masami hands them to her. Nakano starts hitting Masami with the nunchuks and then bodyslams her and gives her a moonsault. Masami bridges out. Nakano applies a reverse Indian deathlock and transitions into a leglock with Masami getting a rope break. Nakano applies a scorpion deathlock and moves into a modified stretch muffler. Nakano continues with kicks to Masami and takes her outside and runs her into the ringpost. Masami grabs a chair and starts hitting Nakano in the head with it. Nakano runs her into the guardrail and then hits her with a chair to the head. They tie up inside and Masami gives Nakano an arm throw followed by a piledriver. Masami goes for a second piledriver but gets backdropped. Masami clotheslines Nakano then misses a rolling senton from the top rope. Masami hits a clothesline but Nakano fires back with an enzuiguri and a powerbomb. Nakano goes up top and hits a legdrop. Nakano goes for an enzuiguri off the ropes but Masami catches her and applies an STF/armbar combination. Masami moves into a dragon sleeper but Nakano gets the ropes. Masami kicks her outside and then does a plancha from the top rope. Masami tries to whip Nakano into the guardrail but Nakano reverses it and throws her into the crowd. Nakano goes in the ring and hits a tope suicida. Nakano brings Masami inside and bodyslams her but misses the top rope dropkick. Masami gives her a bridging German suplex and then a top rope legdrop. Masami clotheslines her in the back of the head but misses a missile dropkick. Nakano hits two lariats. Nakano powerbombs Masami for a two-count. Nakano gives her another powerbomb but Masami rolls over into a pin attempt. Masami hits a lariat and a powerbomb but Nakano kicks out. Masami does a sit-out powerbomb but Nakano counters into a pin attempt. Masami puts Nakano on the top rope and superplexes her but Nakano lands on top of Masami for a pin attempt. Nakano does a top rope legdrop. Nakano then does a rolling guillotine legdrop for the pinfall to win what is now my second favorite joshi match. This is easily five stars for me as Nakano is one of my favorites and I have come to really appreciate Masami. There is nothing I would change with this match.
47) 5/9/1993 Rock N Roll Express, Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden and Brian Lee vs. Tazmaniac, Tom Prichard, Stan Lane, Killer Kyle and Kevin Sullivan – Rage In A Cage SMW
Les Thatcher and Lance Russell explain the rules and this is basically War Games except with one ring and that it can end by submission or by handcuffing all of the opposing team to the cage. The footage is joined in progress and Robert Fuller, Robert Gibson, Jimmy Golden and Tazmaniac are all handcuffed to the cage. We get a one-minute countdown and Brian Lee enters and goes wild on everyone. Lee throws Prichard and Sullivan into the cage. Killer Kyle works on Morton, Gibson and Golden who are still handcuffed. Lee loses the advantage and Kyle lawndarts him into the cage. Morton starts to fire up and punches Sullivan and tries to handcuff him. Lee tries to handcuff Kyle and succeeds. Prichard and Lane attempt to handcuff Lee and they succeed. Lane and Prichard double-team Morton while their partners try to free Tazmaniac and Kyle. Morton gets thrown into the cage by Lane and Prichard. Lane starts punching Robert Gibson but gets kicked in the leg. Prichard holds Morton and Lane charges but ends up punching Prichard when Morton escapes. Morton then puts Lane in the figure four and Lane submits to give Morton’s team the win. It’s worth noting that Bob Armstrong was the referee here and he gets beat up by Jim Cornette’s heel team of Lane, Prichard, Tazmaniac, Kyle and Sullivan after the match. It goes on for quite a while and Tracy Smothers and Tim Horner run in but are kept outside the cage. Armstrong gets handcuffed to the cage and Cornette slaps him and starts hitting him with his tennis racket a crazy amount of times. Smothers and Horner eventually get in the ring for the save. The total time of this match was apparently 23:56 and only a few minutes of the actual match was shown. The psychology with the handcuffing to the cage and the submission win by Morton was great stuff. However, the footage of the actual match is not long enough to give *****. Based on what I saw I would go ***1/2. I don’t know that full footage of the match has ever been released as what I watched was from TV. Dave referred to this as a five-star bloodbath that went 30:00. That might be based on a report from someone in attendance but that’s just a guess. Certainly the angle after the match was really well-done as people apparently went to the hospital to check on Armstrong.
48) 7/2/1993 Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama AJPW
This is a change from the previous AJPW six-man wars we’ve seen in this list as Kawada is across from Misawa and Kobashi now and allied with Taue. Akiyama and Ogawa start and go back-and-forth until Akiyama hits a dropkick and bodyslam. He goes for a sleeper but Ogawa escapes. Akiyama ducks a clothesline and they come to a stalemate. They trade punches and chops and Akiyama hits a charging elbow in the corner. Kobashi tags in and bodyslams Ogawa followed by a legdrop. They trade chops and kicks and Ogawa hits a knee-lift. Taue tags in and takes some chops before throwing Kobashi to the mat. Taue hits some overhand chops and a clothesline. Kawada and Misawa tag in and Kawada kicks him in the chest and hits an elbow. They trade kicks and Misawa knocks Kawada to the floor with an elbow. Misawa hits a dropkick and goes for a dive but Kawada gets out of the way. Misawa does hit a flying elbow on the floor. Kobashi goes up top but Taue slams him. Akiyama hits Kawada with a plancha from the top. Misawa brings Kawada inside and gives him a bodyslam and a senton. Akiyama tags in and dropkicks Kawada who fights back with kicks to the chest. Taue tags in and knee-lifts Akiyama and hits a jumping knee. Taue bodyslams Akiyama and puts him in a Boston Crab that is broken up by Kobashi with kicks and a bulldog. Ogawa tags in and knee-lifts Akiyama and knees him in the gut and stomps on his gut. Akiyama gets a sunset flip. Ogawa runs his head into the turnbuckle and Kawada tags in and starts chopping him. Akiyama fires back but Kawada knocks him down with kicks and puts him in a Boston Crab. Akiyama gets the rope break. Taue tags in and gives Akiyama a release vertical suplex. Taue puts him in an abdominal stretch. Ogawa tags in and gives Akiyama a chinbreaker. Akiyama gives Ogawa a vertical suplex. Misawa tags in and hits an elbow and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. They trade elbows and Misawa gives him a high monkey flip. Kobashi tags in and gives Ogawa a brainbuster. Kobashi gives him a neckbreaker and applies a single leg crab. Ogawa gets the ropes and Misawa tags in and backdrops him. Misawa applies a camel clutch. Misawa takes Ogawa to the top but Ogawa hits a missile dropkick. Kawada tags in and lays in Kawada kicks to Misawa who fights back with his own kicks. Kawada hits a spin-kick and they’re both down. Kawada gets up and gives Misawa a brainbuster. Taue tags in and drops Misawa face-first on the top turnbuckle. Taue goes for a vertical suplex but Misawa floats over and kicks him. Kobashi tags in and gives Taue a shoulder-block then chops him in the corner. Kobashi hits another shoulder-block in the corner and tries a suplex but Taue DDT’s him. Ogawa tags in and rams Kobashi’s face into the mat and punches away at him. Kawada tags in and Kobashi starts hitting him with knee-lifts. Kawada responds with Kawada kicks and they go back and forth. Kawada gets him in a chinlock that is broken up by kicks from Misawa. Kawada attacks Misawa and they trade elbows. The referee is getting Misawa out of the ring when Kawada gives him an enzuiguri. Kawada whips Kobashi into a Taue clothesline and they hit a double-team powerbomb. Kawada and Misawa trade a ton of elbows and Kawada gets knocked to the floor. Ogawa gives Akiyama a vertical suplex on the floor and throws Kobashi inside. Taue slaps Kobashi and attempts a pin. Ogawa tags in and whips Kobashi into a Taue enzuiguri. Ogawa gives Kobashi a back suplex. Kawada tags in and chops and kicks Kobashi. Kawada gives him a back suplex. Taue comes in and whips Kobashi into a Kawada lariat. Kawada whips Kobashi into Taue who Kobashi hits with a dropkick. Taue gives Kobashi a boot to the face and a chokeslam. Taue goes for another chokeslam but Kobashi gives him a side Russian legsweep. They hit each other with a double clothesline. Misawa and Kawada tag in and trade elbows. Kawada avoids a Misawa charge and hits two lariats. Kawada goes for a powerbomb but Misawa escapes and hits a bridging German suplex. Akiyama tags in and elbows Kawada who blocks a suplex attempt with a headkick. Kawada hits another headkick and tags in Ogawa who gives Akiyama a back suplex. Ogawa goes for a second but Akiyama floats over into a pin. Ogawa rams Akiyama’s head into the turnbuckle. Ogawa avoids a charge in the corner. Taue tags in and drops Akiyama throat-first on the ropes then slams him to the mat. Taue goes for a powerbomb but Akiyama turns it into a sit-down splash. Kobashi tags in and hits a flying shoulder-tackle from the top on Taue. Kobashi chops Taue in the corner but Taue fights back and dropkicks him. Taue drops Kobashi face-first on the top turnbuckle. Ogawa tags in and gives Kobashi a swinging neckbreaker and a fisherman suplex. Ogawa hits a boot in the corner but Kobashi gives him a lariat and a rolling cradle. Kobashi gives Ogawa a pumphandle slam and Taue breaks up the pin. Akiyama knocks Taue to the outside. Kobashi bodyslams Ogawa and goes for a moonsault but Taue cuts him off. Ogawa goes after a suplex on Kobashi but Misawa gives him a back suplex. Kobashi comes off the ropes with a shoulder-tackle. Kobashi bodyslams Ogawa and moonsaults him for the pinfall. I watched this a second time to make sure of my view on it. It is a fantastic match that some cite as the greatest six-man of all time. I don’t feel it lives up to the status of the 1990 and 1991 matches reviewed in Part Three of this series but that is a high standard and I would put it above the 1992 six-man. I do feel it is a five-star match. It was great to have the new dynamic of Taue and Kawada teaming and most importantly Misawa vs Kawada. There is plenty more to come from those two. Kobashi was tremendous in this match and there is more to come of that as well. I agree with a five-star rating for this match.
49) 7/29/1993 Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi AJPW
I feel like I risk losing a lot of credibility in this project by admitting that I’ve never watched this match before. But I didn’t start the project to show how much I’d already watched but rather to examine how great all of these matches are or are not. I expect this one to be great. Hansen starts stomping on someone trying to clean up streamers at the beginning and Kobashi rushes him with a kick to the face. Kobashi kicks him outside and follows him ringside with slaps to the face and a DDT on the floor. Kobashi gives Hansen a shoulder-block off the apron. Kobashi tries to take him inside but Hansen starts slapping him in the face. Kobashi chops and slaps Hansen and runs his head into the ringpost. Kobashi takes him inside and they trade punches on the mat. Kobashi kicks Hansen on the mat and gives him an armbreaker. Hansen headbutts Kobashi twice but Kobashi fights back with a lariat and a legdrop. Kobashi puts him in a facelock and then punches him on the mat and goes back to the facelock. Kobashi grabs a headlock and holds onto it even after a back suplex. Hansen rolls outside where Kobashi kicks him twice in the head. Kobashi takes Hansen inside, kicks him in the back and delivers a brainbuster. Kobashi returns to the facelock. Hansen rolls outside with his head on the ropes and Kobashi legdrops him twice. Kobashi does a sliding dropkick, rolls to the floor and kicks and chops Hansen. They return inside where Kobashi backdrops Hansen and applies a headlock. Hansen fights out with punches but Kobashi punches him and gives him a bulldog. Kobashi stomps and chops Hansen against the ropes and knocks him down in the corner. Kobashi charges but takes a boot to the face and rolls outside where Hansen splashes him from the apron. Hansen gives him a knee-lift and then powerbombs him on the floor. Hansen rolls inside and then elbow-drops Kobashi on the floor. Hansen takes him inside for a pin attempt. Hansen drops a knee to Kobashi’s head and then knees, stomps and elbows his head. Hansen chops him and kicks him down after a strike back by Kobashi. They start trading chops and Kobashi kicks him in the face. Kobashi goes up top and misses a missile dropkick. Hansen gets a near-fall and then splashes Kobashi from the second rope. Hansen continues with a punch and a knee but Kobashi fires back with kicks and a dropkick. Kobashi hits running knees in the corner and starts chopping Hansen who throws him to the mat. They trade strikes and Hansen throws him down again. Kobashi gets right back up and takes two headbutts before clotheslining Hansen. Kobashi DDT’s Hansen and applies a sleeper. Hansen gets out and Kobashi knees him in the back of the head. Kobashi kicks off the ropes with a headlock but Hansen gives him a back suplex. Hansen shoulder-blocks him and Kobashi gives him a drop toehold and some legdrops. Kobashi goes up top and does a big legdrop. Kobashi bodyslams Hansen and does another legdrop followed by a moonsault. Hansen knees him in the gut and hits an elbow and an enzuiguri. Kobashi struggles to the corner and hits a kick to the gut and a neckbreaker. Kobashi does several roll-ups and then hits a lariat. Kobashi bodyslams him and goes for a moonsault but Hansen stops him. Kobashi rams his head into the turnbuckle but Hansen hits several headbutts. Kobashi throws some elbows but Hansen gives him some chops and a lariat to knock him off the top turnbuckle and get the pinfall. This was such an all-out battle that was a physical sprint comprised of tons of forward motion and intensity. It is one of the best examples I can think of in which an all-time great took the next all-time great and got him over even in defeat. I don’t want to use this line too much in this series but this is definitely one of the best matches I have ever seen. I rated Hokuto vs Kandori as the second best match of this series as well as the second best match I’ve seen but just seven matches later it has been supplanted by this greatness.
50) 7/31/1993 Dynamite Kansai & Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki & Hikari Fukuoka vs. Aja Kong & Sakie Hasegawa & Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue JWP
This is the Thunder Queen interpromotional JWP vs AJW match. Thanks to information at this awesome link I was able to understand that we have twenty minutes of four individual matches here followed by four-on-four for the last forty minutes. It has rules similar to an ironman match with falls coming at any time and the team with the most falls at the end wins. The match starts with Hasegawa and Fukuoka slaps and knees her. Fukuoka misses a dropkick and Hasegawa fights back with slaps and works the leg. Hasegawa grabs a single leg crab. Hasegawa whips her into the corner and takes a boot to the face but Hasegawa hits a spinkick and a suplex. Fukuoka grabs her in a roll-up and Team JWP is up by one. Fukuoka keeps on her with a legscissors. Hasegawa gets out and applies a bodyscissors. They get to their feet and Hasegawa lays in chest-kicks and hits a dropkick. They both miss on a double dropkick spot. Hasegawa goes for a roll-up but Fukuoka gets out and applies a knee-bar. Hasegawa kicks her way out and Ozaki and Kyoko tag in for the second period.
Ozaki immediately does a hurracanrana. Ozaki continues with a clothesline, a DDT and a legdrop. Kyoko throws her and hits a dropkick. Kyoko puts Ozaki in a torture rack and throws her. Kyoko puts Ozaki in a Boston Crab with Ozaki getting a rope break. Kyoko puts Ozaki in the Romero Special. Kyoko goes for a suplex but Ozaki floats over and gets a victory roll. Ozaki does a cradle suplex. Kyoko throws Ozaki from the top rope. Ozaki gets the advantage briefly but Kyoko hits a springboard back elbow. Kyoko gives Ozaki a giant swing.
The second period is over and Suzuki and Takako tag in and shake hands. Suzuki hits a German suplex and some kicks to the head. Suzuki gives Takako a back suplex and puts her in a camel clutch. Takako gives Suzuki a release butterfly suplex and two tombstones. Takako applies a chinlock but Suzuki fights back with a knee-lift. Takako gives her a fisherman suplex and picks her up for an electric chair but Suzuki does a victory roll. Suzuki does a missile dropkick but Takako swats her away. Suzuki does two German suplexes and then three double stomps. Suzuki goes for a full nelson but they go into a series of roll-ups. Takako applies a facelock and does a back suplex to end the third fall.
Kong and Kansai tag in with Kansai missing a headkick and eating a spinning backfist. The referee counts her out to ten for the second fall to tie it up 1-1. Kong keeps on Kansai with back-kicks and a backdrop suplex. Kansai knocks her down and after a struggle rolls her over for a Boston crab but goes into an STF. Kong headbutts Kansai and they trade strikes. Kong applies a chinlock and kicks her in the back. Kansai applies an octopus and Kong throws her to the apron. Kong gives Kansai two piledrivers and a backdrop suplex. Kansai hits two enzuiguris and kicks Kong in the chest. Kansai gives her a back suplex for a pin attempt. Kong delivers several headbutts and takes Kansai to the top as the fourth period ends and everyone enters the ring.
It is now pure chaos with everyone brawling on the outside. Kong bodyslams Kansai in the ring and misses a top rope back elbow. Suzuki does a bodypress and Kong catches her. Suzuki dropkicks them back but Hasegawa hits a top rope splash on Suzuki. Kong does the top rope elbow and gets the pinfall to put AJW up 2-1.
Kong gives Suzuki a vertical suplex and tags in Kyoko who gives Suzuki some strikes and then throws her from a torture rack. Kyoko tags in Hasegawa who does a missile dropkick that hits her partner Kyoko. Fukuoka tags in and Hasegawa hits her with a spin-kick. Takako is in and Fukuoka cartwheels out of the way of a clothesline and dropkicks Takako. Kansai is in and lays into Takako with kicks. Kansai gives her a vertical suplex and tags in Ozaki who hits a rolling senton on Takako from the top rope. Ozaki peppers her with punches and does a DDT. Ozaki applies a dragon sleeper and then tags in Fukuoka who applies a sleeper. Kansai tags in and picks up Takako in a backbreaker that is broken up by Kyoko. Hasegawa tags in and takes chest-kicks from Kansai who then gives her a piledriver. Kansai elbows the top of her head and tags in Ozaki. Hasegawa gives Ozaki a kick to the gut and a facebuster. Kyoko tags in and Ozaki clotheslines her twice. She misses on a third attempt and then eats a dropkick. Kong tags in and kicks Ozaki on the mat. Kong puts her up in a backbreaker and runs her into the corner. Kong then whips all of her partners into Ozaki and hits an avalanche of her own. Kong picks her up in a delayed vertical suplex then gives her a package piledriver. Kong applies a dragon sleeper that gets broken up after interference from Suzuki, Kansai and Fukuoka. Kyoko tags in and gives Ozaki a swinging neckbreaker followed by a camel clutch. Kong comes in and kicks Ozaki who gets out and tags Kansai who does a massive kick exchange with Kyoko. Kansai gives her a back suplex and applies a scorpion deathlock. Suzuki tags in and gives Kyoko a double stomp from the top rope. Suzuki keeps on her with kicks but Kyoko knocks her down with a forearm. Hasegawa tags in and hits a double clothesline with Kong. Hasegawa then gives Suzuki several rolling butterfly suplexes and slingshots her into a clothesline by Kong. Takako tags in and applies a camel clutch with Kong again coming in with a kick. Kyoko tags in but Suzuki attempts a suplex and then gets a victory roll. Kansai tags in and Suzuki puts Kyoko in a camel clutch allowing Kansai to kick her. Fukuoka also puts her in the camel clutch for a Kansai kick. Kansai gives Kyoko a northern lights suplex. Ozaki tags in and hits a diving headbutt. Hasegawa tags in and Ozaki clotheslines her and gives her a cradle suplex. Fukuoka tags in and gives Hasegawa a missile dropkick. Kong tags in and nails Fukuoka with a flurry of punches, two standing avalanches and a back suplex. Fukuoka tries to fight back with strikes but takes a headbutt. Takako tags in and stomps Fukuoka down in the corner and gives her a butterfly suplex. Kong tags in and gives Fukuoka three piledrivers and a splash but the pinfall is broken up. Kyoko tags in and gets rolled up. Ozaki tags in and powerbombs Kyoko twice. Kansai and Takako tag in and trade strikes including a number of chops by Kansai. Takako gives her a bridging German suplex. Hasegawa tags in and trades strikes with Kansai. Kansai gives her a piledriver. Suzuki tags in and gives Hasegawa a bridging vertical suplex and then applies a dragon sleeper. Suzuki has her in a bodyscissors and Fukuoka and Kyoko tag in with Fukuoka doing a flying headscissors. All of team JWP is in and charges Kyoko in the corner. Fukuoka gives Kyoko a lengthy rolling cradle. Ozaki bodyslams Kyoko and all of Tem JWP hit moves off the top including a moonsault by Fukuoka for a near-fall that is broken up by Team AJW. Kyoko hits a springboard back elbow on Fukuoka and Suzuki. Kyoko bodyslams Ozaki then goes to the top and hits a plancha to the outside. Hasegawa does a top rope splash on Ozaki. Fukuoka and Ozaki dropkick Kong to the floor. Fukuoka hits her with a plancha. Ozaki takes a double-kick from Takako and Kyoko. Takako misses a tope suicida. Kansai gives Kong a vertical suplex on the floor. Kyoko gives Ozaki a bridging German suplex in the ring and Ozaki gives her a backslide. Hasegawa tags in and takes a cradle suplex from Ozaki who then bodyslams her and misses a moonsault. Ozaki does a bridging suplex and tags in Kansai who hits Hasegawa with two back suplex. Kansai picks her up in a backbreaker but Takako knocks them down. Fukuoka gives Hasegawa a German suplex and a DDT. Fukuoka then powerslams Hasegawa from the top rope but the pin attempt is broken up. Fukuoka bodyslams Hasegawa and does a moonsault but Hasegawa gets her knees up. Hasegawa gives her an exploder suplex. Kyoko tags in and goes for a backbreaker twice but gets cut off both times. Kansai tags in and lays into Kyoko with kicks. Kyoko hits a springboard dropkick. They both go for powerbombs but get cut off by opponents. Hasegawa hits Kansai with a clothesline. Kyoko goes for a powerbomb but gets a headkick from Kansai. Kansai whips her into the corner for a clothesline and then hits a sit-out powerbomb for the pin to tie it at 2-2.
Kansai and Kyoko continue the next period with Kansai nailing her with kicks. Kong comes in and clotheslines Kansai. Suzuki tags in and kicks Kyoko around. Ozaki tags in and dropkicks Kyoko and powerbombs her. Fukuoka tags in and DDT’s Kyoko twice. Suzuki tags in and gives Kyoko a dragon suplex. Hasegawa tags in and hits spin-kicks on Suzuki. Ozaki is in and gives Hasegawa a fisherman suplex. Ozaki has Hasegawa’s back but Hasegawa falls back on her. Takako tags in and she and Kong double-clothesline Ozaki. Takako gives Ozaki a butterfly suplex. Kong tags in and she and Kyoko hit Ozaki with a double shoulder-tackle. Kong gives Ozaki a backdrop suplex, a chokeslam and a superplex. Kong gives Ozaki a belly-to-back superplex but the pin is broken up. Kong then gives Ozaki a powerslam off the top rope. Ozaki goes for a sunset flip but Kong gives her a sit-down splash. Kansai tags in and clubbers away at Kong. Kansai hits her with three clotheslines. Kong fires back with a spinning backfist. Hasegawa is in and gives Kansai a head-and-arm suplex followed by four spin-kicks. Takako is in and gives Kansai a German suplex. Hasegawa is in and charges Kansai who kicks her in the face. Fukuoka comes in and gives Hasegawa a German suplex. Suzuki is in and misses a dropkick on Hasegawa. Kyoko tags in and bodyslams Suzuki and misses a second rope back elbow. Suzuki gives Kyoko two dragon suplexes. Kyoko gives Suzuki a wheelbarrow slam. Kong tags in and gives Suzuki a German suplex. Takako is in for a cradle suplex on Suzuki. Ozaki tags and takes a back suplex from Takako. Ozaki takes another one but then Ozaki grabs her in a bridging dragon suplex to score the final fall and win the match for JWP pretty much right at the sixty-minute mark.
This is a match that some might pick apart for having too many spots and for the rules being confusing. But once you understand the rules and just think about how crazy this must have been to put together it is brilliant. Ozaki and Kyoko are largely the stars here but everyone made great contributions. For composition and execution it couldn’t have gone any better and is definitely a five-star match for me.
Overall ratings:
1)4/2/1989 Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat
2)7/29/1993 Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi AJPW
3) 4/2/1993 Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori AJW
4) 6/8/1990 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta
5) 5/7/1989 Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat
6) 6/5/1989 Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu AJPW
7) 12/16/1988 Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy AJPW
8) 5/25/1992 Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi AJPW
9) 1/28/1986 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichrio Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu AJPW
10) 4/20/1991 Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue & Masanobu Fuchi
11) 4/18/1993 Bull Nakano vs Devil Masami JWP
12) 2/14/1986 Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham (NWA Battle of the Belts 2) CWF
13) 2/20/1989 Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat
14) 4/11/1993 Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada AJW
15) 2/24/1991 Ric Flair, Larry Zbyszko, Barry Windham, & Sid Vicious vs.Sting, Brian Pillman, Rick Steiner, & Scott Steiner WarGames
16) 7/31/1993 Dynamite Kansai & Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki & Hikari Fukuoka vs. Aja Kong & Sakie Hasegawa & Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue JWP
17) 8/22/1985 Lioness Asuka vs. Jaguar Yokota AJW
18) 4/2/1993 Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue vs. Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki AJW
19) 7/31/1987 Road Warriors, Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff and Paul Ellering vs. Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger and War Machine War Games JCP
20) 10/19/1990 Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi
21) 11/15/1989 Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (“I Quit” Match, NWA Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knockout) NWA
22) 8/15/1992 Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada AJW
23) 7/2/1993 Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama AJPW
24) 2/26/1987 Chigusa Nagayo vs. Lioness Asuka AJW
25) 1/20/1987 Ric Flair vs Barry Windham
26) 3/18/1989 Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat
27) 4/24/1992 Manami Toyota vs Kyoko Inoue AJW
28) 1/23/1991 Bull Nakano vs Yumiko Hotta
29) 1/31/1990 Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano
30) 1/4/1991 Bull Nakano vs Akira Hokuto
31) 12/5/1984 Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Nobuhiko Takada UWF
32) 1l28/1989 Genichrio Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Samson Fuyuki vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Yoshiaki Yatsu/Masanobu Fuchi AJPW
33) 4/11/1987 Ric Flair vs Barry Windham JCP
34) 3/9/1985 Tiger Mask II vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi AJPW
35) 4/14/1993 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi
36) 4/21/1983 Tiger Mask I vs. The Dynamite Kid NJPW
37) 4/30/1992 Jushin Liger vs El Samurai
38) 1/29/1993 Rey Mysterio Jr., Super Calo and Winners vs. Psicosis, Heavy Metal, El Picudo AAA
39) 7/5/1992 Masanobu Fuchi & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kenta Kobashi &Tsuyoshi Kikuchi AJPW
40) 3/20/1987 Keiji Mutoh & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada NJPW
41) 9/30/1990 Mitsuhara Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada vs Jumbo Tsuruta and Akira Taue
42) 3/7/1992 Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada vs. Yumiko Hotta and Suzuka Minami AJW
43) 5/17/1992 Sting, Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, & Dustin Rhodes vs. Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, & Larry Zbyszko
44) 5/22/1992 Jumbo Tsuruta & Masanobu Fuchi & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi & Toshiaki Kawada AJPW
45) 8/3/1991 Cactus Jack vs. Eddie Gilbert (TWA)
46) 4/19/1986 Sheepherders vs. Fantastics (Bobby Fulton/Tommy Rogers) JCP
47) 12/8/1984 Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk & Terry Funk
48) 5/16/92 El Hijo del Santo, Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto vs. Negro Casas, Horace Boulder and Tim Patterson FMW USA
49) 5/9/1993 Rock N Roll Express, Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden and Brian Lee vs. Tazmaniac, Tom Prichard, Stan Lane, Killer Kyle and Kevin Sullivan Rage In A Cage SMW
50) 12/6/1987 Lioness Asuka/Mika Komatsu/Kazue Nagahori/Mitsuko Nishiwaki/Etsuko Mita/Sachiko Nakamura vs. Chigusa Nagayo/Yumiko Hotta/Mika Takahashi/Mika Suzuki/Yachiyo Hirata/Yumi Ogura AJW
