G-1 Climax 1996 - Part 1
Posted by Justin Baisden on 08.04.1996
Rock solid wrestling from the NJPW heavyweights.
G-1 CLIMAX 1996 – PART 1
Every so often, I go through these phases where I “have to” get (fill in blank set of tapes here). Sometimes is passes rather quickly but there are other times when I MUST have everything in a set. A quick comment by a person in Stuart’s #Puroresu chat along the lines of “is there any Dome show you haven’t seen?” prompted me to think for a minute and realized that I had seen almost all of the New Japan dome shows, with only a few (Battle Formation 1996, Four Heaven In Osaka Dome 1997, Final Battle Hall in The Fukuoka Dome 1997, Rising Generation in the Osaka Dome 1998) still out of my grasp. This same “quest” to get every show in a set rings true for the G-1 Climax tournament as well. I used to hate New Japan heavies because I just didn’t “get it.” I had spent so much time with the juniors that the heavies just seemed slow and a waste of my time. However, the NJPW heavyweight division is a lot better than people give it credit for. I figured the best way to sample the NJPW heavies over the course of the last decade was to pick up all of the G-1 Climax tournaments. I’m pretty close to making that a reality. I’m missing 1994, 1997 and 1999. From what I hear, I’m not missing much with those years anyway. If I ever have an inkling to “cheat” and sort of watch them, I’ve got the “Hyper History of G-1 Climax” tape set to get me through (I’ll review it someday, it’s just a mega clip job covering all the tournaments).
My acquisition of this particular tape set was interesting. Nine months back I was looking for the G-1 tournaments and elected to bug the hell out of the guys in the DVDVR chat room for information. The 1996 tournament is very hard to find for some odd reason but I figured someone in that place must have a lead for me. So after some probing and being ignored for a while, I was given a site of a guy that was selling off his collection. By some disturbing miracle, he had both the 1993 and 1996 tournaments. Better yet, the guy lived 30 minutes from my house. WHAT ARE THE FRIGGIN ODDS?! So one car ride to a neutral location later, and I got his copies (no dubs, his stuff… or at least that’s what I’ve fooled myself into thinking) of the tournaments. No paying US funds, no waiting for mail, just walk up, pick up, and walk away. I need to find more people within driving distance. Anyway, let us get to reviewing.
SATOSHI KOJIMA vs MASAHIRO CHONO
Kojima is the young punk that’s going to wow everyone with his fighting spirit but won’t be able to pull it out. He’ll eventually get an upset win over one of the veterans as a means of elevation. You might think I brought this point up because Chono was gracious enough to do the job, but you’d be wrong. THIS IS MOTHER FUCKING CHONO! I demand each and every one of you get his kick ass theme music entitled “Crash” as soon as you finish reading this sentence. Back? Good music right? What do you mean “fuck off, I’ll get it later.” Whatever… Kojima comes right out of the blocks with a lariat and controls the first portion of the match working over the left leg and mixing in some high impact stuff like another lariat and a backdrop suplex. Irish whip but Kojima eats a dropkick off his charge. Chono charges in but he’s met with a split legged Spinebuster for 2 and ½. Let me break away for a second. Are “Split Legged Spinebuster” and “Rydeen Bomb” the same move? I always figured you had to get the arms under the victims armpits and lift into the split legged powerbomb. However, Kojima doesn’t use that variation, yet people still call his move a Rydeen Bomb. Just curious if anyone else thinks on the same level of “wrestling geek who thinks about stupid stuff” as me. Anyway, back to the match where Kojima hits a superplex followed with a diving elbow for 2 and ¾. Kojima charges for the lariat but Chono hits his trademark Inverted Atomic Drop for 2 and ¾. Kojima needs the Honky Tonk Man and/or Rick Rude sell job to really put that move over. Chono hits the Yakuza kick but Kojima no qells. He goes for another but Kojima throws him off and hits THE LARIATOOOOOO for 2 and 9/10. He heads up but the Moonsault misses. Chono looks for a slam but that’s reversed into an Inside Cradle for 2 and 9/10. Kojima charges but Chono gets in the drop toe hold and it’s THE STF! Chono is WRENCHING on this one. THIS CROWD IS JACKED! “KO JI MA! KO JI MA!” He actually makes the ropes, which shocked the hell out of me to be honest. Chono is relentless though as he pulls Kojima back into the middle of the ring and goes right back to the STF. He inches and crawls but it’s just not enough and the young gun taps out. Damn, this was pretty good. Chono gave Kojima a hell of a lot of offense, which was the smart way to go because 1996 Chono wasn’t exactly the king of elaborate movesets. Good work, good heat, no complaints. ***1/4
HIROYOSHI TENZAN vs KENSUKE SASAKI
NJPW net guru Stuart over at Strong Style Spirit and I have been discussing Tenzan as of late. He’s under the impression that Tenzan is underrated in the eyes of net fans. I say he should stick to tag matches because his singles work has rarely impressed me. Stuart was gracious enough to prop me listings of good Tenzan matches so I think I’ll blow some cash and watch him apparently carry Nakanishi to something good. That should prove interesting. On to this match as Tenzan controls the first part with his usual chops and forearm shots. Sasaki comes back with a KO right cross. YIKES! Tenzan sells it like he’s a certain Mr. Rahman defending his unified titles. HA! Just had to get a boxing jab in there. Punch, chop, elbow, chop, punch, chop. BOOOOORING! Tenzan makes the comeback (THANK GOD) with some Mongolian Chops and the Mountain Bomb for a near fall. Swandive headbutt gets a two count. The slam – Moonsault gets 2 and ½. Um… Tenzan is kind of out of finishing moves and Sasaki hasn’t really respected the moves much with his “I’m not really hurt” quick kickouts. Tenzan telegraphs a Mountain Bomb and Sasaki counters with the Strangle Hold Gamma but Tenzan makes the ropes. The Powerslam gets 2 and ½. The lariat is countered into a German suplex for 2 and ¾. A snap suplex is botched horribly and Sasaki is not pleased with that at all. SHOOT SHOOT (kidding). He no sells the lariat and hits the Ippon Seionage followed up with another Strangle Hold Gamma. He’s got that locked in real tight, a little “too” tight some might say. Tenzan tries to hold on but eventually has to tap out. Bah… I didn’t expect much going into this one and well… I didn’t get too much. *3/4
KAZUO YAMAZAKI vs KEIJI MUTOH
I don’t know what the exact injury was, but Yamazaki’s right hand is heavily taped. Damned if Mutoh (and everyone else over the course of the tournament) doesn’t try to further injure that hand. They play the ground game for the first part of the match. Some pretty innovative stuff as Mutoh slaps on the Indian Deathlock but instead of a regular bridge, he actually bridges while putting Yamazaki in a fingerlock as well. Just SIC stuff there. Mutoh lets it go and looks for the ever dangerous Dragon Screw but it’s blocked and Yamazaki comes back with his usual stiff kicks. Yamazaki hits an axe kick and looks for a Juji Gatame but Mutoh escapes and gets DIRTY as he stands on Yamazaki’s hand with one foot and stomps on the fingers with the other. HA HA! Mutoh looks a German suplex but that’s blocked so he looks for the Dragon suplex only to have that countered into a Wakigatame but that’s blocked and Mutoh hits the Dragon Screw. NICE! Yamazaki puts the move over huge walking like he’s already crippled. I can’t credit New Japan and its workers enough for putting Mutoh’s Dragon Screw over like it’s instant death. Mutoh hits a gorgeous Moonsault and segues into the figure four leg lock. “YAM ZA KI” YAM ZA KI” The crowd heat is insane here. Yamazaki is SCREAMING in pain! He tries to roll over but Mutoh denies him. It doesn’t look good for poor Kazuo but just when you think he’s done, he makes the ropes. Mutoh goes right back to the Dragon Screw but Yamazaki counters into a Rolling Juji Gatame! WHOA! Mutoh’s flailing all over the place. The crowd is off the wall. Yamazaki adjusts perfectly to Mutoh’s movements to the ropes as he cuts him off very well and eventually gets the tap out. This was a really good match. Yamazaki sold the hand work like the world was ending. I would have hoped for more near taps and near falls with Yamazaki in control but this way puts the Juji Gatame over as a big finisher, as it should be. ***
SHINYA HASHIMOTO vs RIKI CHOSYU
This was about two guys beating the high holy hell out of each other. Chosyu starts off in control and beats the shit out of Hash with forearm shots in the corner. These are full on “I’m going to kill you” forearm shots. Hash comes back with some HEFTY chops and sends Chosyu reeling. Jesus this is so stiff. This isn’t a match, IT’S A FIGHT! Hashimoto actually STANDS ON CHOSYU’S FACE! Now we get the big knee shots out of the front facelock into a DDT for 2 and ½. More beatings as Hash KILLS Chosyu with kicks. These are the kind of shots that make you rub your chest just to make sure you’re not sharing the pain. Absolutely SICKENING kicks. “CHO SYU! CHO SYU!” This is beyond fight, THIS IS A WAR! Chosyu is hurting badly. He yells something along the line of ‘FUCK YOU FAT BOY! YOU AIN’T SHIT!” but takes another BRUTAL kick to the chest for his trouble. Every time Chosyu gets up, Hashimoto knocks him back down. Chosyu rolls out the ring and Hash tries for a spin wheel kick but Chosyu axe handles the leg, sending Hash down to the cement. Chosyu rolls back in the ring and you can feel the momentum of the match make a dramatic turn like a huge tidal wave coming in. Hash gets back in the ring and it’s a RIKI LARIATOOOOOO! Hashimoto won’t drop though. RIKI LARIATOOOOOO! Hash refuses to drop. These aren’t some pussy foot lariats. These things are hitting flush on the chest. You can see the flesh ripple and the sweat fly with each brutal contact. Hash’s lack of falling isn’t about no selling, IT’S ABOUT HATRED! He goes for another lariat but Hash chops the arm down. Chosyu stays on the attack with another shot to the leg and then takes this match into some kind of crazy land as he actually SUPERPLEXES Hashimoto. Ho… ly… shit! RIKI LARIATOOOOO! NO! RIKI LARIATOOOOOO! NO! RIKI LARIATOOOOOO! ONE KNEE! Hash is yelling at him to bring it on. RIKI LARIATOOOOOO! 1… 2… 3! I LOVE THIS MATCH! Super stiff action. Mega drama. Mega heat. You can feel the hate between these guys. Very simple, hard hitting action, which still managed to tell a great story. This is one of the best, if not the best Chosyu singles match I have ever seen. You’ve got to see this one. ****
DAN SEVEN vs YOSHIAKI FUJIWARA (Non G-1 Tournament Match)
Oy… why is it New Japan always finds a way to take you from the penthouse to the outhouse on these commercial tapes? You can probably guess how this match goes. It’s all about mat work and submissions. Severn eventually puts it away after five consecutive fallaway slams (that’s a bit much). *1/4
08/03/1996
JUNJI HIRATA (0 points) vs KENSUKE SASAKI (2 points)
They club away at each other and no sell everything. Sasaki runs through his usual spots and charges in for a lariat but Hirata catches him in a powerslam. He also blows out his knee in the process. The ref calls an end to the match and Hirata is out of the tournament. DUD
SATOSHI KOJIMA (0 points) vs KEIJI MUTOH (0 points)
Here comes house of fire Kojima taking it to Mutoh right off the bat just like he did to Chono. He drills Mutoh with a flying forearm and follows up with a HUGE lariat and a Moonsault for 2 and ½. WHOA! That looked like upset city for a second. Mutoh reels back but dodges another forearm shot. Irish whip and he hits the handspring elbow – face smasher combo. Now Mutoh hits a backbreaker and his Moonsault for 2 and ½. Mutoh settles it down with arm work for quite a while but Kojima has none of it as he escapes and hits a slam – senton combo. Kojima completely ignores all of the arm work. What a waste of time that was. He hits a slam but misses a Moonsault and Mutoh capitalizes with a couple of Springboard Dropkicks and a Top Rope Frankensteiner for 2 and ¾. He tries for a Dragon Screw but eats a lariat. Another lariat gets 2 and ½. He goes for another but Mutoh catches him with a dropkick and hits three Dragon Screws. OOOHHH! There goes the knee. Mutoh hits the Moonsault and segues into the figure four leg lock. Kojima… Yamazaki you are not. It is indeed time to tap out. The match was solid but Kojima sold nothing until the very end. Of course if he didn’t sell the Dragon Screw, they’d probably banish him from the fed or something. **1/2
HIROYOSHI TENZAN (0 points) vs RIKI CHOSYU (2 points)
Chosyu’s leg is heavily taped up. Tenzan opens up with his usual chop chop offense. He goes for the leg but Chosyu has none of it and stiffs the hell out of him. Chosyu lays in some more basic stuff, Tenzan no sells and comes back with some basic crap of his own. COME ON! GET IT GOING! Tenzan hits a couple of piledrivers and hits consecutive swandive headbutts but he’s stupid enough to start jaw jacking with the crowd and Chosyu STEAMROLLS him with a Riki Lariat. He waits for Tenzan to slowly get up and CREAMS him with another Riki Lariat. So much for this one. Too short, selling went right out the window and the offense sucked large. *
KAZUO YAMAZAKI (2 points) vs SHIRO KOSHINAKA (0 points)
RIGHT ON! It’s about time we got a dose of ASS POWER! They go back and forth until Yamazaki stops it cold with a SIC roundhouse kick to the face. They play the ground game working over each other’s legs for a while. It’s broken open as Koshinaka blocks a dropkick. He goes for SUPER ASS POWER but that’s blocked. Yamazaki looks for a German suplex but Koshinaka goes to the hand. Uh oh… this is not going to be pretty. He hits ASS POWER and stomps away on the injured hand. I tell ya, that injured hand is an instant heat seeker. Koshinaka looks for a German suplex but Yamazaki actually armbars out of the pin. NICE! Yamazaki looks for a Ganmengiri but it misses and Koshinaka hits a powerbomb for 2 and ½. Koshinaka follows up with a really nice backdrop suplex and another powerbomb for the victory. Very good match. I was surprised to see how well Koshinaka was able to keep up with Yamazaki on the ground. Sporadic work on the injured hand always keeps the heat turned up high and solid ring work does the rest. ***
08/04/1996
HIROYOSHI TENZAN (0 points) vs SHINYA HASHIMOTO (0 points)
Tenzan works the leg for a bit. Hash comes back with chops and kicks. Fine selling as Hashimoto keels over after a while as his leg gives out. Tenzan capitalizes with a swandive headbutt on the leg and a leg bar. Hash comes back with stiff kicks and in another fine bit of selling, actually reels back from using the right striking leg and uses his left leg for kicks instead. The little things make all the difference. Tenzan is relentless as he continues to assault the leg. He switches up with a spin wheel kick but Hash chops him down and hits a jumping elbow for 2 and ½. A big DDT gets 2 and ¾. Hash looks for the Vertical Drop DDT but his leg gives out (I’m loving this selling). Tenzan continues the assault with consecutive swandive headbutts on the leg, netting 2 and ¾. The crowd is starting to heat up as Tenzan slaps on a figure four. The crowd is rallying behind Hashimoto but this doesn’t look good at all. He makes the ropes but Tenzan pulls Hash back into the middle of the ring and slaps on another figure four. “HASH MO TO! HASH MO TO!” Hash is in all sorts of trouble and you can see the end is near. Tenzan lets go of the hold, confident in the fact Hash isn’t going anywhere in his condition and puts it away with another swandive headbutt to the leg. Spectacular selling from Hashimoto. Props to Tenzan for holding it together as he carried the bulk of the match. **3/4
KAZUO YAMAZAKI (2 points) vs SATOSHI KOJIMA (0 points)
Hey… want to guess how this one starts off? FOX EXCLUSIVE: WHEN KOJIMA ATTACKS! He hits a huge lariat and destroys Yamazaki’s hand (what a surprise). Yamazaki makes the comeback with stiff kicks and goes into an armbar but Kojima BITES HIS HAND! HA HA! Hmm… that’s something Ohtani would do. What? You thought I could go a whole NJPW review without mentioning THE BITCHMASTER? Kojima controls pretty much the entire match until he misses the Moonsault and Yamazaki gets in the Juji Gatame for the tap out. Bah… pretty pedestrian stuff from both guys. *3/4
SHIRO KOSHINAKA (2 points) vs MASAHIRO CHONO (2 points)
THEY CLIPPED IT! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! They go two full hours without a single clip job and they elect to JIP this match? Anyway, Koshinaka hits a Missile Dropkick for 2 and ½. He goes for a powerbomb but takes a backdrop. Irish whip and Chono slaps on the sleeper – Dragon sleeper combo. The spirit of Fujinami flows through Chono tonight. Koshinaka makes the ropes but Chono goes back on the attack with the STF! “KOSH NA KA! KOSH NA KA!” He makes the ropes but Chono is not to be denied as he pulls him back and slaps on a Cobra Hold but Koshinaka hip tosses him. Chono charges but Koshinaka gets in a Cobra Hold of his own segued into a Cobra Cradle for 2 and ¾. Chono charges but Koshinaka hits an INVERTED ATOMIC DROP! HA HA! Nothing pops a crowd like outright stealing your opponents’ signature spots. Koshinaka looks for the Dragon suplex but Chono’s trick knee starts acting up and Koshinaka crumples over in a heap. Chono goes right back to the STF and THIS CROWD IS ON FIRE! “KOSH NA KA! KOSH NA KA!” He inches and crawls to the ropes but Chono switches up into a Juji Gatame. That’s brilliant stuff as Yamazaki had already established that move as a viable finisher within the tournament. Koshinaka still manages to get a rope break. Chono looks for a hip toss (WTF?) but Koshinaka reverses into a Backslide for 2 and 9/10. Chono charges but it’s ASS POWER stopping him cold and a HUGE powerbomb puts it away. AWESOME! Lord only knows why this match was clipped. Great work from what was shown. I’d probably rate it higher if I saw the complete match. ***1/4
Halftime Report: This tape is all about rock solid wrestling. There are eleven matches covering the first three days of the tournaments. Out of the ten tournament matches, four ranked ***+ and one was a **** kick ass match ranking way up there on the brutal scale. Unless the second tape bombs, this is looking like a high recommendation.
