Rolling Germans Retro Rant: Champions Carnival 1995 - Part 2
Posted by Justin Baisden on 04.11.1995
It's all good...
CHAMPIONS CARNIVAL 1995 – PART 2
It’s part two of a set that is starting to grow for some reason. It was suggested that I pick up the "fourth" installment to the Champions Carnival 1995, that being the stellar final match in the tournament. Lucky for me I already took the opportunity to pick up the finals from the God of tape trading that is Jeff Lynch. Now the interesting part came about when AJ/NJ guru John Williams brought up the fact there is a FIFTH part to the Champions Carnival. At this point my poor VISA begged me to stop the madness with this tape set and move on. Stupid credit card, you don’t know anything. So if anyone knows where I can get a copy of the CC 1995 commercial release (through a site that accepts credit cards) that has the Kobashi vs Kawada 30 minute draw on it, please drop me an email. It would be greatly appreciated.
I’m writing this on my first day off from work in God knows how long. My head is pounding after being introduced to the licorice death that is "Zambuka" (sp?) last night and I’m unwilling to move anywhere for the next little while until I hit the gym to sweat out whatever unholy contaminants the licorice death left behind. Nothing says getting over a hangover like a tape review. What do you mean that makes no sense?
TSERUTA/KIMURA/MOMOTA vs FUCHI/EIGEN/IZUMIDA
It almost pained me to watch the late great Jumbo Tseruta working in a comedy six man tag. If you’re just getting into AJPW and want to know where to start, try to get some mid – late eighties AJPW when Jumbo was main eventing. Believe it or not, AJPW wasn’t always about head dropping. Guys like Jumbo Tseruta and Genichiro Tenryu were tearing the house down by actually you know… constructing a great match without killing themselves. Tseruta had his official retirement in September of 1999 and went on to teach at the University level afterwards. Unfortunately he passed away in May of 2000 after complications from liver surgery. He was one of the true great wrestlers of All Japan and I definitely recommend getting as much material with him as possible, save for this match. First off the match was clip city (a definite no no in my book) and it was a comedy match to boot (I never developed a taste for comedy matches). Jumbo goes over Izumida with his trademark Backdrop suplex. Too much clipping, I can’t rate it.
JUN AKIYAMA vs DOUG FURNAS
Basic stuff to start as they fight over a standing surfboard. Akiyama breaks things open with a dropkick. To the outside we go as Akiyama misses a pescado and takes a lariat. Furnas whips him into the guardrail and makes Akiyama’s lower back his focus for the next little while. Furnas gives up on the back and hits a BIG TIME lariat for 2 and ½. Furnas eats boot off a blind charge and Akiyama follows up with a second rope knee smash and a Northern Lights suplex for 2 and ½. The Exploder is thrown off and Furnas hits a powerslam. A German suplex is blocked so Furnas settles for Uncle Slam, netting him 2 and ¾. Irish whip and a gorgeous Frankensteiner gets 2 and 9/10. Furnas goes for a German suplex but Akiyama elbows out and falls back into the corner. Furnas charges in but Akiyama pulls out a surprise sunset flip for the victory. This was solid. **
KAWADA/TAUE/OGAWA vs BABA/HANSEN/OMORI
Matches like this tend to annoy for me one reason; you know exactly who is going to job. It’s almost like you can take the roster of any fed, rank the wrestlers, and then throw out any combination you want. The wrestler ranked at the bottom gets to do the job. Don… Scott… come on down, we’re going to play AJPW FEUD! We asked 100 people in our survey, who do you think is going to job in this six man.
Scott buzzes in first: Who cares? I hate that fed, it’s full of wacked out psychology and no selling.
Justin: Judges can we accept that answer? BZZZZZ! Hmm… sorry Scott, we can’t accept that. Don, would you like to steal?
Don, you win the GRAND PRIZE! $50,000! A disclaimer runs across the bottom of the screen "cheques will not be honoured, Justin is already in debt due to excessive spending on Puroresu tapes!"
So you think to yourself, what about the match? Well like the first six man, it was a total clip job, which means I won’t rate it. That aside, the match was solid but I would expect nothing less from the six guys involved. However, with the jobber never in doubt, where’s the drama?
MITSUHARU MISAWA vs KENTA KOBASHI
OK… HERE WE GO! Monster heat right from the get go. I’ve always found matches remembered to be truly "special" tend to have "ending sequence crowd heat" right from the start. Match starts out like any other between these two; lots of chops vs lots of elbows. Of course everything is stiff as all hell so it never gets tired. Kobashi takes control and proves once again that Canadian wrestlers from Ontario steal from AJPW moveset. Why do I say this? Well in this match Kobashi pulls out Christian’s reverse backbreaker. Well then… so much for my belief that Christian invented that one. Kobashi works over the neck for a while but loses control off an Irish whip reversal into a Monkey Flip. They go into a test of strength spot and I love it. These two pull out this same test of strength, holding onto all the little nuances, in every match. It’s little bits that add to the psychology in later years why I enjoy the Kobashi vs Misawa matches so much. It’s also why I (along with numerous others) will tell you to pick up earlier AJPW from the get go as later matches come off all the better. Back to the match as Kobashi blocks the fearsome rolling elbow and in an interesting spot; hits a rolling elbow of his own. Kobashi hits the machine gun chops but Misawa responds with a barrage of elbows and now connects with the rolling elbow for 2 and ¾. Irish whip into the corner is blocked and Misawa hits another elbow only to have it no sold and Kobashi hits a BIG TIME lariat. He waits… waits… and hits THE LARIATOOOOOO for 2 and 9/10. Kobashi pulls out a Backdrop Driver but Misawa gets the foot on the rope at 2 and 9/10. This crowd is JACKED! Another Backdrop Driver is blocked so Kobashi hits a nice German suplex for 2 and 9/10. "MI SA WA, MI SA WA!" Kobashi goes for another lariat but that’s turned into a Tiger Driver only to have Misawa backdropped but he lands on his feet and slaps on the trademark crossface headlock. Absolutely insane sequence and the crowd is eating it up with a spoon as the heat in the building is rising like mad. Misawa goes for a springboard elbow but Kobashi grabs him and hits a BRUTAL unprotected German suplex followed up with the JACKKNIFE! 1… 2… 2.99999! Kobashi hits the slam and THE MOONSAULT! THIS IS IT! 1… 2… 2.999999! THIS IS NUTS! Kobashi goes for the Orange Crush but Misawa slips out and hits the rolling elbow. Elbow… chop… elbow… chop… elbow… LARIAT NO… TIGER SUPLEX! 1… 2… 2.999999! TIGER DRIVER! 1… 2… 2.99999! "KO BA SHI, KO BA SHI" No chants will save him this day as Kobashi is walking on spaghetti legs. The rolling elbow comes down and just to ensure the victory, Misawa pulls out a trump card in Tiger Suplex ’85! ROCK ON GOOD! ****1/2
CAN AM EXPRESS vs KOBASHI/KIKUCHI
This is not the super great match that everyone goes on about. That match was back in 1992. A question for AJPW fans; was that match ever released in totally complete format on TV or commercial release? I’ve got a slightly clipped version that I’ve been told is the most I’m going to find. I’m a fanatic when it comes to finding complete versions of great matches. This match is clipped ¾ in and only has the hot ending. Awesome stuff as Kobashi and Kikuchi hit a Rocket Launcher on Kroffat for 2 and 9/10. Kikuchi hits an interesting variation on the Blue Thunder for 2 and 9/10. Miscommunication leads to Kobashi hitting Kikuchi with a lariat and Kroffat hitting a Tiger Driver for 2 and 9/10. The Can Am’s pull out what is now my second favourite double team (first is the Guillotine Rana) as they hit what I can only call an Ocean Cyclone Doomsday Device! AWESOME! Kroffat goes for another Tiger Driver but Kobashi stops that cold and now they hit a suplex – cross body combo for 2 and 9/10. Kikuchi goes for a rolling elbow but it’s ducked and Kroffat hits a reverse DDT. Kroffat pulls out even more awesome stuff as he hits a SUPER REVERSE SUPLEX! HO… LY… SHIT! 1… 2… Kobashi makes the save. On a side note, I seem to recall Phil Lafon using that move in the WWF, does anyone know what match that was? Back to the match as Furnas pulls out Kobashi and there’s no one to make the save this time as Kroffat hits the Tiger Driver for the victory. Loads of innovative double teaming and some frantic near falls made this a load of fun to watch. If the first ¾ were as good as the last ¼, who knows how good a rating I’d give it. Unfortunately, you can’t rate a hot ending.
STAN HANSEN vs DANNY SPIVEY
Oh come on… it’s the Triple Crown champion vs the lowest ranked gaijin in the tournament. Who do you think is going to win? The match wasn’t even good anyway. Punch, kick, punch, slam, punch, Western Lariat! Done! ½*
MITSUHARU MISAWA vs JUN AKIYAMA
This match was a lot like the Akiyama vs Kawada match from the last tape. Akiyama comes out a house of fire to start. The veteran takes his lumps from the young gun but eventually settles things down and dictates the pace of the match. The big difference in this one (at least from what I saw) was that Misawa didn’t respect Akiyama’s bigger moveset the way Kawada did. As the match progressed and Akiyama pulled out the big guns like Blue Thunder and the Exploder suplex, they would only garner 2 and ½ or 2 and ¾ counts. To me, that says Misawa won’t give Akiyama and his moveset the respect it deserves. Of course when Misawa takes over after the trademark crossface headlock, his big moveset gets all the respect. Stuff like the rolling elbow, the frog splash and the Tiger Driver all get really close near falls. To top it all off, Misawa puts the match away with the figure four neck crank he used to finish off Doug Furnas on the last tape. It came off like Akiyama wasn’t good enough to be put away with one of the bigger moves. The match isn’t even close to any of their later matches and doesn’t touch their TC match from 01/98 or the Carny Finals from 04/98. Ah well… I guess you can attribute that to Akiyama’s growth over the years. Despite the negative spin I have placed on this match, it was still pretty good and I give it ***1/2.
TOSHIAKI KAWADA vs AKIRA TAUE
When I think of the best tag teams in the world, the top two that pop in my mind have always been The Burning and The Holy Demon Army. Each side represents the best aspects of the face and heel personas respectively (at least in my opinion). The interesting part is when the partners collide for a given reason, the match tends to come off all the better. Take a look at this match; Kawada and Taue used to be rivals back when the Jumbo & Co. vs Misawa & Co. feud was going on. After that feud ended, Baba brought these two together after their draw during the Champions Carnival 1993. To say they have been successful as a tag team would be a great understatement. But this match was an interesting bump in the road. Taue was getting a mega push during the tournament. Kawada was the #2 native in the promotion. So who’s going over? What I can’t emphasize enough during this match is how stiff and brutal it really was. After the initial feel out stuff at the beginning to assert the obvious fact these guys know each other inside out, it was sheer brutality. The chops these two let loose on each other could honestly make you cringe. But on top of that, there are the kicks. The kicks aren’t just stiff, they’re like a hammers ringing across a bell. After the initial beating, the heel aspects of each wrestler’s personality come out. There’s a spectacular spot where Kawada takes Taue down with a single crab but lifts it much higher, giving him the room to stand on Taue’s head while still punishing him with the hold. After that, in a spot that I have never seen so brutally done, Kawada segues the crab into a standing Wishbone submission. The move has to be seen to be believed. Kawada lets that go and the kicking onslaught continues. Taue gets to the outside and now it’s his turn to play dirty as he no sells a guardrail shot with a lariat and then rolls Snake Eyes on the railing. Back in the ring and Taue rolls Snake Eyes yet again. Now it’s interesting; in the match with Kobashi, Taue could do no wrong, whether he was fighting neutrally or working a more heel style. However, when faced against #2 man Kawada, Taue is able to draw monster heel heat for the exact same moves. Now the real fun begins as these guys lay it all out there. Taue goes for a lariat, ducked by Kawada, who hits a brutal unprotected German suplex for 2 and ¾. Kawada fires off some machine gun chops and DRILLS Taue with a running high kick. These shots are sickening to watch. Kawada slaps on the stretch plum but Taue manages to make the ropes. Kawada is not to be denied as he pulls Taue back into the middle and is MAULING him. I can’t recall the last time I saw the Stretch Plum employed to this degree of brutality. Kawada finally lets it go and gets 2 and 9/10. Kawada goes for his powerbomb but he’s denied and now Taue returns the brutality with loads of stiff shots. They end up outside and Taue hits a DDT on the floor. Back in the ring and the Nodowa Otoshi gets 2 and 9/10. Here comes the mega moveset as Taue hits the Dynamic Kick followed up with a HUGE powerbomb! 1… 2… 2.999999! The heat is off the charts. Taue goes for the Dynamic Bomb but gets backdropped. It’s back to a vertical base and these chops would make just about any other man cry for his mother. Kawada stops that cold with the Gamengiri. This heat is almost at the boiling point as Kawada pulls out the HIGH ANGLE POWERBOMB! 1… 2… 2.999999! The crowd is climbing the walls! Taue rolls to the apron but Kawada won’t stop as he fires off kick after kick to the head. He goes for another running high kick but Taue blocks and hits the NODOWA OTOSHI FROM THE APRON TO THE FLOOR! Kawada is rolled in! 1… 2… 2.999999! Kawada is running on borrowed time here. Taue continues the assault as he puts Kawada on the top and hits a SUPER NODOWA OTOSHI! Kawada is a complete mess! It’s almost as if he’s become the sympathetic face. Too bad there’s no heroic comeback as Taue puts it away with the Dynamic Bomb. I’ve seen these two face each other in singles matches before but nothing, I repeat NOTHING those two have done prior to or after this match can come close to this. ****3/4
Final Analysis: The big four once again prove why they are/were the best heavyweights in professional wrestling. Misawa vs Kobashi was another chapter for me in their long running history. Interestingly enough, my first match watching these guys was the 06/99 Triple Crown match. I worked my way backwards from that point. After watching their match on this tape, I think I’ve covered every "major" singles match between the two. I’d say this was the second "worst" (odd to use that word in this context) of the bunch with their CC 1993 match coming last. That’s not to say any of the matches were bad, it’s only to say that their later matches were just that much better.
As for Kawada and Taue, I don’t think I can say much more than I already did in the match review. The match was simply stellar and I consider it an absolute must see. The brutality these two friends/partners unleashed on each other was just amazing. I can’t praise that match enough.
As for the rest, it doesn’t really matter. They could have put the two "big matches" along with Misawa vs Akiyama and maybe the full Can Am vs Kobashi/Kikuchi match and I would have been a very happy camper. As is, nothing on the tape detracts from it. You buy this tape for the two matches I’ve highlighted and you’ll come away happy with the purchase, trust me on that one.
Champions Carnival 1995 – Part 2 is highly recommended.
