This was an inter-promotional, single elimination tournament to determine a champion to the vacated NWA World Heavyweight Title. I can only assume this tournament was a result of Ric Flair’s departure for the WWF and subsequent selling back the title to the NWA. Ah well... I’m a sucker for tournaments so it all works out in the end... for me at least.
This is a twelve-man tournament. The participants are a mix of WCW and New Japan stars: Barry Windham, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Scott Norton, Bam Bam Bigelow, Rick Rude, Tony Halme, Terry Taylor, Masahiro Chono, Keiji Mutoh, Shinya Hashimoto, and Kensuke Sasaki.
TONY HALME vs MASAHIRO CHONO
For those of you who don’t know, Tony Halme is otherwise known as "Ludvig Borga." Halme destroys Chono for the majority of the match. Halme puts Chono against the post and goes for a lariat but misses. Back in the ring and Chono works over the arm, he slaps on the STF and then switches into a Juji Gatime for the tap out. Ugh... boring match but I wasn’t expecting much from Halme to begin with. *1/2
KEIJI MUTOH vs BARRY WINDHAM
Interesting watching this match knowing that Windham would take the title from Mutoh only four months later at Superbrawl III. This starts out very mat based. Mutoh eventually gets in the snapmare – power drive elbow. Mutoh goes for a side headlock but Windham reverses into a belly to back suplex. Windham with a floatover suplex for 2 and ½. Windham slaps on a rear chinlock but Mutoh escapes. Irish whip into the corner but Mutoh misses the handspring elbow. Irish whip is reversed but Mutoh puts his head down and Windham capitalizes with a nice DDT. Windham with a bodyslam, heads to the second turnbuckle on the inside (god bless you Gorilla) but misses the elbowdrop. Mutoh to the top and he hits the missile dropkick. Irish whip into the corner and this time Mutoh hits the handspring elbow. Windham falls into a perfect position for the moonsault and that ends it. Better than Superbrawl III but not by much. **1/2
SCOTT NORTON vs BAM BAM BIGELOW
Norton has gained quite a bit of weight since the 1991 G-1 Tournament. His ribs are heavily taped as well. Bigelow goes right after the ribs. Punch, punch, kick, kick. Norton decides to no sell after a while and lays in his usual offense including many lariats and shoulder blocks. Ugh… this is a horrible match. The best part is Norton bleeding and I don’t even know why he’s bleeding. Whatever… here comes the ending as Norton misses the lariat but gets the powerslam for the three count. SLOOOOW!!! BORING!!! *
STEVE AUSTIN vs ARN ANDERSON
Some nice mat work to start. Watching Austin against Benoit a while back gives me hope that "Stone Cold" can still wrestle like "Stunning." Irish whip by Austin and he gets a reverse elbow. Anderson rolls outside to get his head straight. He climbs to the apron and Austin goes for a punch but Anderson blocks, nails Austin, and heads to the top. Anderson comes off with a double ax handle but Austin meets him with a BIG TIME lariat. Austin puts Anderson against the turnbuckle and goes for a shoulder block to the ribs but Anderson moves. Hmm... That looked like it hurt. Anderson with some arm work but Austin escapes and lays in another lariat. Irish whip and Austin puts his head down letting Anderson go for the DDT but Austin’s too smart for that and holds onto the top rope. Irish whip and Austin gets THE STUN GUN! That gets the three count. These guys could have done a lot better. **1/4
(Non – Tournament) KANEMOTO/NISHIMURA VS YAMAMOTO/KOJIMA
I only recognize Kanemoto and Kojima. It’s very hard watching a match where you have no clue who anyone is. You have no idea what to look for when it comes to big moves and what not. Oh well... bare with me please. There are two distinct portions of this match. When Nishimura is in the ring he gets beat on. When Kanemoto is in, his team rules. Jump to the end where Kanemoto hits a beautiful dropkick. He hits a German suplex on Kojima and Nishimura follows up with a missile dropkick to the back of the head for the three count. Well... even if I knew everyone involved I wouldn’t rate it very well. Nothing seemed to click very well. *1/2
(Non – Tournament) WILD PEGASUS vs JUSHIN "THUNDER" LYGER
OH BABY! HERE WE GO! Flip floppy stuff to start. Pegasus with a slam and a leg drop for two. Benoit DECAPITATES Lyger with a lariat. Benoit with a nice belly to back suplex for 2 and ½. Irish whip and Lyger gets in a dropkick. Benoit rolls outside and Lyger stays on the attack with a baseball slide. Back in the ring and Lyger applies a triangle lock but Pegasus manages to get to his feet while Lyger is on his shoulders and drops back down. Benoit hits a German suplex for 2 and ½. Benoit with his patented snap suplex for two. Benoit goes for a press slam but Lyger slips out and goes for a rolling reverse cradle, however Benoit holds onto the ropes and comes right back with a BIG TIME lariat. Irish whip into the corner and Lyger tires to come back with a headscissors but Benoit has none of that and slams Lyger face first to the mat. Benoit heads up top for what looks to be a moonsault but Lyger knocks him down. Irish whip and Lyger gets a tilt a whirl back breaker for 2 and ½. Lyger hits a spin wheel kick, which sends Benoit to the outside. Lyger follows up with a BEAUTIFUL somersault plancha. Lyger gets back in the ring and Benoit gets to the apron. He shoulder blocks Lyger and heads to the top but Lyger cuts him off and hits a super arm drag. Lyger heads to the top for a swandive headbutt but it misses. Benoit capitalizes with a German suplex for 2 and ½. Benoit executes THE DRAGON SUPLEX! 1... 2... 2 and 99/100! Benoit goes for a tombstone but Lyger reverses into a jumping tombstone for 2 and ¾. Irish whip and Lyger goes for a tilt a whirl but Pegasus slips out. He charges in, Lyger goes for a lariat but Pegasus ducks and gets a backslide for 2 and ¾. Benoit charges in but is met with a Koppo kick, which gets 2 and ¾. Oh man... near falls, near falls. Lyger puts Benoit on the top and goes for a superplex but Benoit blocks, cinches Lyger up and hits a SUPERBOMB! You damn right that gets the three count. Great match, but did you honestly expect anything less from these two? ****
TERRY TAYLOR vs KENSUKE SASAKI
Lots of ground stuff to start. Sasaki eventually take over with a side headlock but Taylor counters with a waistlock suplex. Taylor goes to the chinlock but Sasaki manages to counter into a belly to back suplex. Taylor keeps on the attack with a bodyslam followed up with an elbow for two. Taylor goes for a suplex but Sasaki reverses into a cradle for two. Taylor with a bodyslam and goes for a second rope pump splash but Sasaki gets the knees up. Irish whip and Sasaki hits a big back body drop followed up with a dropkick. Taylor goes to the eyes, BOOOO! He applies a side headlock but didn’t learn from the last time and ends up on the wrong side of a belly to back suplex. Irish whip and Sasaki puts his head down. Taylor capitalizes with a doctor bomb for 2 and ¾. Irish whip but it’s reversed and Sasaki gets a powerslam. Irish whip and Sasaki gets in the judo head drop (someone please tell me the proper name for the move) for the three count. This was solid. ***
SHINYA HASHIMOTO vs RICK RUDE
Ugh… why oh why was Rude allowed in the tournament? WCW could have sent Vader, Sting, Steamboat, or Dr. Death to fill out the roster but NOOOOO, we get Rude. Whatever… here’s to hoping Hash literally kicks the crap out of him. CHEERS! Hashimoto works over the back with stiff kicks! Rude goes to the eyes. Ugh… Rude goes for a bodyslam but his back gives out because Hashimoto is just TOO DAMN FAT! Hash with a BIG TIME lariat for two. Irish whip into the corner but Hash misses the spin wheel kick. Rude slaps on a camel clutch for a LOOONG time! Rude lets go so he can work the crowd but his back hurts too much to wiggle the hips. HA HA! Rude to the top and hits a jumping knee drop for 2 and ½. Rude lays in a couple of shots but it’s no sold and Hash responds with stiff kicks. Ugh… this is going nowhere. Fast forward to a point where it’s actually fun to watch. Hashimoto fires off the spin wheel kick. He goes for another but Madusa grabs his foot. DAMN IT! The distracted Hashimoto eats mat courtesy of a DDT. Rude heads to the top for a… moonsault? I don’t think so. Hashimoto stops that crazy thought with a second rope belly to back suplex. Hashimoto executes the jumping DDT but Rude gets his foot on the rope at 2 and ¾. Hashimoto heads to the top but Rude cuts him off and hits a SUPER DDT! He goes to the top and fires off a flying fistdrop for three. FUCKING HELL! Rude has no place in this tournament, nevermind going over someone like Hash. This was carried completely by Hashimoto and the Super DDT was a nice touch at the end. **3/4
QUARTER FINAL MATCH - STEVE AUSTIN vs KEIJI MUTOH
We get a bit of mat work to start until Austin nails Mutoh with a short clothesline off of a wristlock. Irish whip into the corner but its reversed and Mutoh hits a spin wheel kick. Mutoh hits the snapmare – power drive elbow combo. Irish whip and Austin goes for a lariat but Mutoh tumbles underneath, charges in but is met with the STUN GUN! 1… 2… NO! Irish whip and Mutoh goes for a dropkick but Austin holds onto the ropes. Irish whip into the corner and Austin goes for a somersault shoulder tackle but Mutoh moves and Austin drives himself into the post. DAMN! That was ugly! Irish whip into the corner and Mutoh hits the handspring elbow. Austin rolls outside and Mutoh follows with a pescado. Mutoh throws Austin into the guardrail and goes for another handspring elbow but only hits steel. Back in the ring and Austin gets a rib breaker for 2 and ½. Austin puts Mutoh in a Canadian backbreaker but Mutoh springs off the top rope into a cradle for two. Mutoh to the top but he misses an elbowdrop. Austin covers and it gets 2 and 9/10. Austin heads to the top but misses a splash. Mutoh tries to capitalize with a moonsault but slips off the top and falls to the floor. WHOA! You never see that from a pro like Mutoh. Once Mutoh gets back into the ring, Austin goes for a piledriver but gets backdropped. Mutoh hits the rib breaker and this time executes the moonsault for the victory. This was a solid match. ***1/4
QUARTER FINAL MATCH SCOTT NORTON vs MASAHIRO CHONO
First Chono fights Halme. Now he gets Norton. COME ON… GIVE HIM SOMETHING TO WORK WITH! At least Norton isn’t three hundred pounds of shit molded to look like a human being like Halme. The beginning is all Norton with power stuff. Shoulder blocks, slams, kicks, punches, YEAH! Chono finally gets in a shot with a Yakuza kick but it’s no sold (what a surprise). Norton goes for a lariat but Chono ducks and gets in a hiplock. Chono with two more Yakuza kicks and goes for the STF but Norton quickly gets to the ropes. Chono with a side headlock but it’s countered with a BRUTAL belly to back suplex. Norton with a bear hug but the taped up ribs are hurting him and he can’t hold Chono. Hey… I’m impressed with that bit of selling. Chono works over the legs in order to soften him up for the STF. Chono goes for the STF but Norton escapes. Norton executes a waistlock for 2 and ¾. Norton with a gutwrench for 2 and ¾. Norton with a flying shoulderblock for 2 and ¾. Irish whip but Chono holds the ropes and then fires off a Yakuza kick. Chono goes for another but he’s met with a lariat. Irish whip and Norton gets his big powerslam but the ribs hurt too much for him to cover. He finally crawls over but Chono kicks out at 2 and 9/10. Chono gets in an abdominal stretch and then turns it into a cradle for three. Well… it was better than I thought it would be but there was little to no crowd heat to make it seem better. **1/2
(Non-Tournament) THE STEINER BROTHERS vs KEIJI MUTOH/KENSUKE SASAKI
Pre-crappy Steiner brothers rule the planet. These guys could really go back in the early nineties. Then Scott became more roid than man and Rick was left with no one to take him for daily walks so his co-ordination went to hell. Mutoh and Scott start out with a Grecko roman test of strength. It goes nowhere. They tag in their respective partners. Rick hits Sasaki with a forearm shot. Mutoh comes in but Scott cuts him off and the Steiners hit stereo belly to belly suplexes. Mutoh and Sasaki bail and the Steiners work the crowd with the dog house pose. Back in the ring and Scott gets an exploder suplex on Mutoh. Irish whip and Scott goes for a Steinerline but Mutoh ducks and hits a spin wheel kick. Rick comes in but Sasaki cuts him off. Mutoh and Sasaki hit stereo dropkicks. The Steiners roll outside the ring and in a nice bit of turnabout, Sasaki and Mutoh do the doghouse bit. HUGE POP! The Steiners are PISSED! Scott whips Mutoh into the ropes and goes for The Frankensteiner but Mutoh holds the ropes and then follows up with the power drive elbow. Scott plays face in peril for a good while. Sasaki slaps on a Sasurigatime and has the balls to wave to Rick while holding his brother. HA HA! Sasaki lets go and tags in Mutoh. Steiner is waiting for him though and hits a waistlock suplex. Mutoh no sells and tags Sasaki but it’s too late and Rick is tagged in. Rick puts Sasaki in a Boston crap and then makes kissy faces to Mutoh. Wow… Everyone’s playing dickhead tonight. Rick tags in Scott who hits Sasaki with a pumphandle slam. Tag to Rick who goes for a Steinerline but it’s ducked. Sasaki keeps on running and Rick tries to leapfrog but Sasaki catches him in a powerslam. Tag to Mutoh who whips Steiner into the corner and goes for the handspring elbow but gets caught in a waistlock. Rick goes for a German suplex but gets elbowed and Mutoh hits a high cross body, but Rick rolls through for 2 and ½. The Steiners go for a Doomsday Device but Sasaki cuts that off. Pier six breaks open as Mutoh gets a German suplex for 2 and ½. Mutoh hits the moonsault but Scott makes the save at 2 and ¾. Irish whip by Mutoh but it’s reversed by Scott and he hits The Frankensteiner. Mutoh is out cold. Sasaki tries to help but gets smoked out by a Steinerline. Rick puts Mutoh on his shoulders and Scott hits him with a SUPER DDT! HOT DIGGITY DAMN! GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME! ***3/4
(Non – Tournament) KOSHINAKA/KIMURA vs HASHIMOTO/KIDO
Oh boy… Butt boy and a jobber vs Fat boy and a jobber. To top that off, there are two guys on the outside I don’t recognize that keep interfering in the match. Fast forward to the end where the two guys outside attack Hashimoto and Kido gets the butt attack from Koshinaka followed up with a flying knee from Kimura for the pin. This was just terrible. I’m sure there was some kind of feud between these teams because the crowd was hot but the interference and horribly disorganized match don’t help at all. *
SEMI FINAL MATCH - RICK RUDE vs KENSUKE SASAKI
Watching Sasaki hurts sometimes. This guy used to be a great wrestler. Then he realized that no selling puts you over (what’s with that?) and the rest is history. I’m glad Dangerous K beat the shit out of him in the Tokyo Dome a while back. Ugh… another Rude match. KILL ME PLEASE! Sasaki manhandles Rude to start. Madusa destroys any respect this match could have had by getting up on the apron and fixing Rude’s hair. Ever wonder why puro marks and most Japanese fans don’t like North American wrestling? There’s a prime reason right there. Sasaki hits an atomic drop and Rude sells it as only he can. Sasaki hits a crisp snap suplex and follows up with a back breaker. Sasaki slaps on a Sasurigatime and Rude tries to power out but no dice. He slowly gets to the ropes. Sasaki pulls Rude back into the ring and slaps on a Boston crab. At least the psychology is sound. Irish whip is reversed by Rude and he hits the kitchen sink. Rude with a headlock but Sasaki reverses into a waistlock suplex. Irish whip into the corner but Sasaki eats boots. Rude hits a missile dropkick for 2 and ½. Irish whip, reversed by Sasaki who hits an inverted atomic drop. Rude looks like he could use some cortisone. Sasaki with a waistlock suplex for 2 and ½. Sasaki hits the powerslam for 2 and ½. Sasaki to the top but gets cut off and hit with a superplex. Rude heads to the top and hits two consecutive flying knee drops for the three count. Once again, Rude is carried to **3/4
SEMI FINAL MATCH - KEIJI MUTOH vs MASAHIRO CHONO
WOW! THIS CROWD IS HOT! Everyone is firmly behind Chono! Now if I recall correctly, this was post neck injury for Chono. He was injured in a match with Steve Austin if memory serves me right. If I’m wrong, don’t rip my head off; just tell me when the injury occurred. Great mat work from both guys. I guess that’s what you get after working with each other for the past five years. Sweet spot as they go into a test of strength but Chono manages to roll through into a sunset flip and they go into different pinning variations until Chono gets to the ropes. Mutoh hits the snapmare – Power Drive Elbow. Mutoh hits a jumping piledriver for 2 and ½. Mutoh goes for the Handspring elbow but Chono moves out of the way. However Mutoh was ready for it and flows right into a high cross bodyblock for 2 and ½. Chono to the outside and Mutoh goes for a 360 plancha "CIMA style" but Chono moves. EEEWWW! That wasn’t pretty at all. Chono is in seriously bad shape. It’s like he’s been selling an injury since the tournament started. He’s been good but not "early nineties Chono good." Chono rolls back into the ring and Mutoh fires off a missile dropkick. Mutoh waits for Chono to get up and hits a facebuster for 2 and ¾. Mutoh hits a cradle piledriver for 2 and ¾. Mutoh hits a German suplex for 2 and 9/10. Mutoh applies a KILLER Octopus hold but Chono reverses into an abdominal stretch, which he then segues into a cradle for 2 and ½. Chono heads to the top and goes for a cross body block but Mutoh dropkicks him in mid air. Mutoh with a side headlock but Chono responds with a SWEET Backdrop suplex. Chono charges in but Mutoh catches him with a dropkick. Mutoh hits a snapmare and goes for the moonsault but it MISSES! Uh oh… Chono slaps on the STF! THE CROWD ERUPTS! Chono is WRENCHING on the move. Mutoh is inching and crawling to the ropes and eventually makes it. WOW… talk about a wake up call to a rather lukewarm crowd. Chono hits the Yakuza kick but Mutoh no sells and hits a dropkick. Rinse and repeat SIX TIMES! Mutoh goes for the dropkick on the seventh one but Chono finally learns and Mutoh hits nothing. Chono slaps on the STF and this time there’s no where to go and Mutoh taps out. This was a very methodical match. Don’t’ mistake methodical for slow. It was constructed very well. I’ve got to admit that Mutoh carried it for the mostpart though. It’s a testament to how well both guys know each other when you can pull out a great match with only ½ the team working to their fullest. ****
FINALS - MASAHIRO CHONO vs RICK RUDE
I was very scared going into this match. Hash and Sasaki had carried Rude to half way decent matches. Chono had the shit beat out of him by Halme and Norton. Then he barely got a win from Mutoh. It should have proven to be a pretty crappy final. I would be sorely mistaken. This crowd is 110% behind Chono. Big staredown and Rude slaps Chono in the face. Oh Rick, now look what you’ve done. Chono unleashes THE FURY OF HELL on Rude with all sorts of stiff chops and kicks. Irish whip and a big back body drop. Chono hits three consecutive lariats. He goes for a fourth but Rude falls face first "flair style." Chono takes the time to do a little hip swivelling of his own. OOHHH! HUGE POP for that one. Rude tries to get in some forearm shots but Chono is having none of it. Mr. Rude, meet Mr. Yakuza Kick. HUGE POP! Geez… this crowd will pop for Chono tying his laces if need be. We go into the mat work, which is pretty much dominated by Chono so it’s not too boring to watch. Chono starts softening Rude up with lots of leg work including stiff kicks, knee bars, anklelocks and a figure four leg lock. Chono switches up into a Fujiwara arm bar. Ugh… there’s a mistake. Rude overpowers him, lays in a shot to the gut and executes a picture perfect piledriver for a two count. Rude to the top and comes off with a flying forearm, followed up with a lariat. Rude shakes the hips and is the crowd is PISSED! Mega heel heat flowing through the building. Rude slaps on a LOOONG camel clutch. Chono manages to power out of it and drop Rude. Chono to the top for a shoulderblock but Rude moves out of the way. Rude heads to the top and hits a missile dropkick for 2 and ¾. Rude hits a jumping DDT for 2 and 9/10. What the hell? Rude and Jumping DDT just don’t go together. Rude hits a swinging neckbreaker for 2 and 9/10. Rude heads to the top but gets cut off and hit with a superplex for 2 and 9/10. The crowd is really starting to heat up. Chono heads to the top but now he’s cut off and hit with a superplex for and 2 and 9/10. THIS CROWD IS CRAZY! "CHONO! CHONO! CHONO!" Rude goes for a tombstone but Chono reverses into one of his own for 2 and 99/100. OY… that was close! Both guys look spent! The crowd wants Chono to end it. The chant of "STF! STF! STF!" is resounding through the arena. Irish whip by Chono, it’s reversed by Rude who slaps on a sleeper. It doesn’t last long as Chono springs off of the top rope and pins Rude for 2 and ¾. Chono fires off a Yakuza kick and SLAPS ON THE STF! OH MY GOD!!! The crowd is going BONKERS! Rude eventually reaches the ropes. Rude gets a shot to the gut and fires off a gorgeous piledriver. He heads to the top but Chono manages to kick out. "CHONO, CHONO, CHONO!" Madusa is the only Rick Rude fan in the whole building. Irish whip is reversed by Chono and he hits a back body drop. Rude’s in the middle of the ring, the crowd can sense it, I can sense it! S….T….F! CHONO SLAPS IT ON! The crowd is literally on their feet! Chono is WRENCHING on it! Rude is inching, scraping, and clawing, to the ropes and eventually makes it. Chono fires off a jumping head kick "Kawada style" for 2 and 9/10. Chono slaps on an abdominal stretch into a cradle for 2 and ¾. Chono heads to the top and nails Rude with a flying shoulderblock! ONE… TWO… COUNTOTHREEEEEE!!! If this had no crowd heat, it would have been very good. However, the crowd heat made A TON of difference in how this match came off. This was easily the best match I’ve ever seen Rick Rude in. This match shows just how incredibly over Chono was with the NJPW fans during this period. ****1/2
The "Three Musketeers" celebrate in the middle of the ring as the crowd jumps for joy. This was a truly great moment. Chono and Mutoh would very slowly start to deteriorate into the states they are in today mainly to injuries. Hashimoto still had many a good years ahead of him, as the injury bud never did bite him (as far as I know).
Final Analysis: Well lets see… Three ****+ matches with one great match at ***3/4. There were some portions of this tape that I could have done without, especially Borga and the stupid tag match with all the interference. However, there’s far too much really good stuff outweighing the bad stuff. Not too many people can appreciate NJPW strong style. However, if you can watch and understand what makes NJPW heavies so good, then pick this tape up, you won’t be disappointed.
