Best Of Super Juniors 1997

TOP OF SUPER JUNIORS 1997

The participants are Jushin “Thunder” Lyger, El Samurai, Koji Kanemoto, Shinjiro Ohtani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Doc Dean, Chavo Guerrero Jr, and Yoshihiro Tajiri. As a note, you probably shouldn’t really care about the last three guys because they’re only featured in one match and weren’t real factors in how this tournament played out.

JUSHIN “THUNDER” LYGER vs CHAVO GUERRERO JR.

Oh come on, does anyone really believe that Chavo is going over here? The match is clipped early on. Chavo works over the arm for a while. Lyger then assumes control with a camel clutch. Lyger releases the hold and hits him with his Koppo kick. Lyger goes for a second one but Lyger goes to the top and backflips off. Chavo hits him with uh… some kind of butt attack. Sorry but I don’t know what else to call them. Lyger to the outside and Chavo goes to the top and hits him with a Plancha. Back in the ring and Chavo hits a Moonsault bodyblock for two. Chavo goes for a splash but Lyger gets the knees up. Lyger hits a brainbuster and then hits his swandive headbutt for two. Irish whip and Lyger goes for a backdrop but Chavo flips out of it. Chavo with a rana for two. Drop toehold and La Majistral Cradle gets two. Chavo charges at Lyger but he’s met with the stupid palm strike. I really hate that move. Lyger ends it with a Jumping Lyger Bomb. See? That’s a kick ass move. **

YOSHIHIRO TAJIRI vs SHINJIRO OHTANI

I would KILL to see this match today. Tajiri has matured into an absolute asshole of a wrestler and it would go great against The Bitchmaster Ohtani. They’d be even better as a tag team. Heyman should hire Ohtani while he’s on the outs with NJPW. Anyway onto this match as Ohtani beat the crap out of Tajiri. Hilarious spot as Ohtani beats on Tajiri in the corner and then stands on his head while CLAPPING TO THE CROWD! HA HA, I LOVE THIS GUY! Ironic spot as Ohtani puts Tajiri in the tree of woe and then hits him with a baseball slide. This is squash city for about ten minutes. Then Tajiri gets in some offense. Tajiri hits a Lyger Bomb and then segues that into the Kiwi (Rolling Sunset Flips). Back up and Ohtani tries to slap Tajiri in the face but he ducks and hits the Dragon Suplex for THREE? WHAT THE HELL!?!? This was a MAJOR upset and Ohtani is in complete disbelief. Match was around **1/2

KOJI KANEMOTO vs TATSUHITO TAKAIWA

There’s something about Takaiwa that really bugs me. I know he’s a junior but he fights like a heavyweight, which kind of slows everything down. I find the juniors more or less take his power moves but carry him through the rest. The match starts out with Kanemoto laying in some stiff kicks but Takaiwa no sells. Takaiwa lays in some rough shots to the head and hits Kanemoto with a belly to back suplex. Nice spot as Kanemoto slaps on a leg bar and kicks Takaiwa in the head with the free leg. Damn Kanemoto is a cocky bastard. Back to vertical base and Kanemoto Irish whips Takaiwa into the corner but its reversed and Takaiwa hits a nice flying forearm. Suplex attempt is reversed and Kanemoto gets in a drop toehold and works over the leg some more. Fast-forward about ten minutes where Takaiwa hits a delayed brainbuster from the apron to the inside. NICE!!! He goes for a flying elbow drop but it misses. Kanemoto kicks Takaiwa around for a while. Kanemoto hits the bodyslam – senton combo and adds a second senton just because he can. Arrogant cover gets 1 and Ѕ. Kanemoto hits the front slam and goes for the Moonsault but lands on his feet. Kick to the midsection and Takaiwa hits the Death Valley Driver. Back up and Kanemoto manages to get in a Straight Jacket suplex for 2 and Ѕ. Takaiwa goes for a powerbomb but it’s reversed for 2 and Ѕ. Takaiwa hits a front slam and goes for a Moonsault (no that’s not a mistake on my part). Kanemoto knocks him down and hits a poisoned rana. Kanemoto hits the front slam and goes for the Moonsault but he’s met with knees. Takaiwa hits a TRIPLE POWERBOMB INTO DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! There’s no way that he’s kicking out of that. The match started out slow but progressed very nicely and gets ***1/2

JUSHIN “THUNDER” LYGER vs El GRAN NANIWA

This is horrendously clipped. It’s a damn shame too because this looked pretty good. Lyger wins. No rating

JUSHIN “THUNDER” LYGER VS TATSUHITO TAKAIWA

They start out with the Grecko roman test of strength. Takaiwa works over the leg for a LONG time. Lyger eventually ends the pain with the crappy palm strike. Did I mention I hate that move? Yes? Oh good… Lyger hits a powerbomb and rolls him up for two. Lyger with a Fisherman’s Buster for 2 and Ѕ. Lyger misses by more than a mile with the swandive headbutt. Takaiwa with the DVD and a German Suplex for 2 and Ѕ. Takaiwa goes for another German suplex but it’s reversed into a released German suplex. Lyger goes for the idiotic palm strike but it’s ducked and Takaiwa hits a really sloppy straight jacket suplex. Takaiwa puts Lyger on the top and hits a SUPER DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! Wow… now that was impressive. Takaiwa goes for the triple powerbomb but on the third one, Lyger reverses into a sunset flip for the three count. Eh… this match wasn’t that good. It had some great spots including the super DVD but it looked like everything was moving just a bit slower than normal. **1/2

KOJI KANEMOTO vs DOC DEAN

You know I had to consult my match list before watching this match. Otherwise I wouldn’t have known who Doc Dean was. When I was watching this with a buddy I only referred to him as “the white boy jobber.” MASS IVE clipping, Kanemoto wins (like there was any doubt). No rating

SEMI FINALS

KOJI KANEMOTO vs JUSHIN “THUNDER” LYGER

They start out with a lot of mat stuff. Lyger elects to work over the arm where as Kanemoto tries his luck with the leg. It shows great continuity here as Lyger’s leg has been attacked all throughout this tournament. Break out the “fireworks” as Kanemoto goes for the bodyslam into Moonsault really early but Lyger moves and Kanemoto lands on his feet. Lyger lays in some jackass inspired palm strikes, which Kanemoto actually SELLS. You see this makes me sick; Kanemoto is renowned for not selling the best that guys have to offer and then he sells that asinine palm strike? COME ON MAN… Lyger puts Kanemoto on the top and hits a Super Fisherman’s Buster for 2 and Ѕ. Back to the top and Lyger hits a top rope Frankensteiner. He follows up with a Swandive Headbutt for 2 and Ѕ. Lyger tries to hit Kanemoto with a Koppo kick but it’s reversed into an anklelock submission. Lyger is a LOOOOONG way from the ropes. The crowd is just going nuts here as Lyger scrapes and claws to the ropes. Kanemoto slaps on a figure four leg lock and Lyger is DYING here. Lyger “reverses the pressure” on the figure four leg lock and Kanemoto reaches the ropes. Lyger charges at him but is met with the snap overhead belly to belly suplex. Kanemoto slaps on a cross leg bar. Lyger is WRITHING in pain here. He’s actually pulling at the referee and if I understood Japanese, I’d bet that Lyger’s pleading for some kind of drugs or maybe a ritual suicide. This is just crazy legwork here. Lyger eventually reaches the ropes so Kanemoto hits him with the slam – senton combo. He goes to the top for a top rope corkscrew senton but that misses. Lyger hulks up and he hits a running, jumping Lyger Bomb for 2 and 9/10. Lyger hits a top rope brainbuster but he’s so dead so they just lie there. Lyger eventually makes the pin but it only gets 2 and ѕ. Lyger hits a front slam and he’s going for the Shooting Star Press. WOW… I’ve never seen that move done by Lyger before. And I never will because Kanemoto cuts him off. DAMN IT!!! Lyger settles for a Missile Dropkick but it misses anyway. Kanemoto sets up for the Tiger Suplex but Lyger reverses and hits a DISGUSTING Released German Suplex. We’re talking Misawa head bump here. Lyger tries the Shooting Star Press again but Kanemoto cuts him off and he hits a SUPER POWERSLAM! Wow… I’ve never seen that before. Kanemoto hits his Moonsault for the three count. This match was pretty damn good and gets ****

SEMI FINALS

SHINJIRO OHTANI vs EL SAMURAI

Ohtani attacks before the bell. Funny spot as each guy slaps each other in the face at the same time for a bit. Ohtani beats on Samurai for a while. He puts him on the top and dropkicks him off the top and then hits his Springboard Swandive Plancha. Back in the ring and Ohtani hits his Springboard Spinning Leg Lariat for 2 and Ѕ. Ohtani is in outright disbelief as that move is a match ender. He actually shoves the referee away in disgust. YEAH… IDIOT REF! The Bitchmaster is PISSED! Ohtani goes for a suplex but Samurai reverses into snap German suplex for 2 and Ѕ. Samurai hits a reverse DDT and hits a LONG Swandive headbutt. He had to have covered ѕ of the ring on that one and I’m not joking here. Samurai goes for a German Suplex but Ohtani reverses into a released German Suplex. Ohtani steps on Samurai while walking to the other side of the ring. I LOVE THIS GUY! He hits the Springboard Dropkick to the back of the neck. Ohtani attempts the Dragon suplex but Samurai blocks. Ohtani settles for a snap German suplex for 2 and Ѕ. Ohtani hits a SWEET Huracanrana for 2 and Ѕ. He tries another but we all know the same move doesn’t work twice in a row and as a result, Samurai reverses into a Powerbomb. Samurai hits The Thunderfire Powerbomb for 2 and ѕ. Samurai goes for it a second time. What did I just say? Ohtani slips out of it and hits a spinning leg lariat. Ohtani goes for the Dragon Suplex but Samurai reverses and goes for the Implant Reverse DDT but Ohtani reverses out of that and hits the Dragon Suplex for 2 and 9/10. This is just killer stuff here. Ohtani goes for the springboard dropkick but misses (SACRILEDGE) and Samurai slaps on La Majistral Cradle. Everyone is going nuts but the ref notices Ohtani’s foot on the rope at 2 and 9/10. The heat meter is off the scale here. Ohtani places Samurai on the top and goes for a superplex but Samurai reverses into a top rope facebuster. OUCH!!! Samurai hits the Implant Reverse DDT for three. Interesting note as the time of this match was 18:54 but there was only about twelve minutes shown. WHO CARES!?!? This clipped match was amazing and gets ****1/4

FINALS

KOJI KANEMOTO vs EL SAMURAI

Kanemoto works over the leg to start. Now that that is established, Kanemoto lays in some stiff kicks. He beats on Samurai in the corner and stands on his head while working the crowd. I like that spot but Ohtani does it just that much better because he claps while standing. ANYWAY… Samurai rolls out for a while but when he comes back in he takes control. Samurai puts Kanemoto in the tree of woe and hits two baseball slides to the face. On the second one he holds the foot on Kanemoto’s throat. Now that’s innovation right there. WICKED spot as Kanemoto falls out of the three of woe while being choked and reverses into an ankle lock submission. This is just amazing stuff. Kanemoto lays in some more stiff kicks. Samurai retaliates with some stiff forearm shots to the face one of which I think caught Kanemoto in the eye because he’s hurting pretty bad. Samurai kicks him in the face THREE times. God damn, Kanemoto is in pain. Samurai dropkicks Kanemoto in the face to add just that much more insult to injury. THIS IS GREAT! Side headlock by Samurai, Irish whip in, leapfrog and snap belly to belly suplex. Kanemoto goes back to the ankle lock submission. He’s WRENCHING on that move. Samurai in screaming in pain. Samurai gets to the ropes and Kanemoto goes for the slam – Moonsault combo. He lands on his feet but is met with a killer lariat. Samurai hits Kanemoto with a hardcore suplex and then follows up with a nice Tope Suicida. Back in the ring and Samurai charges at Kanemoto but is met with a snap overhead belly to belly suplex. Kanemoto slaps on a cross leg bar and the crowd is going nuts here. This is some crazy heat in this match. Kanemoto puts Samurai in a figure four leg lock and the crowd is just going BONKERS! I can’t describe the amount of heat in this match. Kanemoto ties up Samurai a la Andre The Giant and is laying in some brutal kicks to the leg. This is just brilliant stuff from Kanemoto. The crowd is booing the hell out of Kanemoto. Meanwhile Samurai wishes he didn’t have legs by this point in time. Kanemoto slaps Samurai twice and Irish whips him in but Samurai comes back with a flying forearm. Samurai goes for The Thunderfire Powerbomb but Kanemoto rolls through and slaps on an ANKLE LOCK SUBMISSION! OH MY GOD!!! Crowd is going nuts, I’m going nuts, this is NUTS! Samurai reaches the ropes and Kanemoto goes for the slam – senton combo but misses the senton. Samurai hits a brutal DDT. Then he hits another DDT just to make sure Kanemoto felt the first one. Samurai hits the Swandive headbutt for 2 and ѕ. Both men are on their knees and slapping each other. Kanemoto takes control with a spinning heel kick and then goes for the slam – senton combo. It hits and Kanemoto is RIPPING SAMURAI’S MASK OFF! The Crowd is LIVID! This is the most heel heat I’ve ever heard in my life. Kanemoto puts Samurai on the top and hits the POISONED FRANKENSTEINER! Oh my god, Samurai landed right on his head. That is just the most disgusting move I’ve ever seen. THIS MATCH ROCKS THE HOUSE! Samurai is just dead. He’s limp and Kanemoto doesn’t care. He kicks him in the head a few times. He goes for the slam – Moonsault combo but Samurai gets the knees up. Samurai hits two powerbombs and then slaps on a Juji Gatime Cross Arm Scissors. The crowd is jumping out of the chairs. Kanemoto reaches the ropes but Samurai won’t let go of the hold. The Referee has to pull him off. Samurai slams Kanemoto and goes to the top for a splash but Kanemoto cuts him off and hits the super powerslam. Kanemoto hits the Moonsault from about Ѕ way across the ring. No cover though? Kanemoto elects to end it with a Tiger Suplex but Samurai KICKS OUT! Holy crap everyone is just climbing the walls, the heat is just sickening. Kanemoto goes for a top rope corkscrew senton but it misses. Samurai puts Kanemoto on the top and hits SUPER REVSERSE DDT! WOW!!! Samurai hits a reverse suplex. Samurai hits a High Angle Implant Reverse DDT for three. THIS MATCH WAS INCREDIBLE! *****

Post match has Lyger and Chris Jericho (where was he on this tape?) attending to the limp El Samurai. Lyger calls for another mask even though everyone has seen Samurai’s face by this point in time. Samurai celebrates and raises his hands in victory.

Final Analysis: This is one of the best BOSJ tapes that you’re going to find. The semis are great and I’d rank the final match as one of the top five junior matches of all time. The final match is probably the last ***** match that has come out of New Japan. Get this tape at all costs and make sure that if you do, you get the complete match. Remember I put in “Kanemoto works over the leg to start.” at the beginning of this match? That’s because the Samurai TV version (the more common version) of this match doesn’t have that part of the match and a lot of people don’t understand why all the leg work gets so much heat. Highest recommendation.

Justin Baisden

Rolling Germans Wrestling