Rolling Germans Retro Rant: Champions Carnival 1995 - Part 3
Posted by Justin Baisden on 04.12.1995
It's all good...
CHAMPIONS CARNIVAL 1995 – PART 3
I’m forced to wonder if I shouldn’t have just put all the parts together. It would have made for an easier time when looking up the tape set. Hmm… maybe I’ll combine the reviews after this one has been posted. Of course this single review idea would also have killed nine hours of my life in one sitting and probably resulted in insanity or me falling asleep. I don’t care how good a wrestling tape is, eight hours is way too much. I think the only time I’ve endured wrestling for that length of time was for Wrestlemania 2000 with that eight hour pre-show plus the four hour PPV. My head hurt after that one, let me tell ya.
Anyway, let us get to the final installment in the Champions Carnival 1995 commercial tape set. I WAS going to include the ***** finals between Misawa and Taue but I figured I would just hit that in a single match review. I tend to get good feedback on the single match stuff when I’m not being accused of stealing the review from other people (long story, aggravation, etc…).
This review is brought to you by Miss Vickies Herb and Garlic Old Style potato chips (I’m eating them as I watch the tape). They’re pretty good but Jalepeno has it all over this flavour. ANYWAY…
Omori’s Quest: Part 1
Omori: Hey Orange Crush!
Kobashi: Look, I told you already, only my mom can call me that.
Omori: O… K. Sorry Kenta. Anyway, we’ve got a big match tonight.
Kobashi: Um… yeah. Big match, I’m sure it’ll be a real highlight in my career.
Omori: So… buddy… pal… think I could go over in this one?
Kobashi: Is that supposed to be funny?
Omori: Um… no… I could use a win in this thing.
Kobashi: No really, you’re joking right?
Omori: Yeah, it’s all a big joke to you. We’ll see who’s joking when I’m Axe Bombing your ass in a few years!
Kobashi: Axe… Bomb?
Omori: SHUT UP, SHUT UP! I’ll be beating you around the ring! Understand that ORANGE CRUSH!
Kobashi: YOU’RE NOT MY MOM! YOU’RE GONNA DIE!
KENTA KOBASHI vs TAKAO OMORI
Omori works the left arm for the first half. Kobashi makes the comeback with his Machine Gun chops and a Backdrop suplex. He charges in but Omori hits a Hart Attack clothesline. A missile dropkick and a lariat net a near fall. Omori hits a nice German suplex for 2 and ¾. A flying elbowdrop gets 2 and 9/10. He charges in but Kobashi fires off a powerslam. Kobashi pulls out his "you’re not Misawa/Kawada/Taue/Akiyama" offense as he hits a spin wheel kick, a Rocker Dropper and a powerbomb but that’s not enough to keep this kid down. Of course a Dragon suplex does keep him down and that’s all she wrote. It’s matches like this why I’m not overly big on the round robin concept. You know Omori isn’t going to win. Now I’m all for building a guy up but if he doesn’t get a single win in the whole tournament (as was the case with Omori) what’s the point of throwing him out there? You can’t fault Omori’s skills or enthusiasm as he did give it his all throughout the tournament. **1/2
AKIRA TAUE vs JUN AKIYAMA
Akiyama works the arm to start with lots of fun submissions. Taue gets sick of it as he hits an enzugiri off a wristlock. Taue goes to work with a nice abdominal stretch, making sure to push down hard on Akiyama’s neck. Irish whip but a high kick is missed and Akiyama hits a flying forearm. Akiyama fires off another followed up with a Northern Lights suplex for a two count. Taue charges in but Akiyama fires off a BIEL! Whoa, how often do you see that move? Akiyama goes for an Exploder suplex but Taue elbows out and hits a DDT. Taue fires off a short clothesline and a powerbomb for 2 and ¾. Akiyama reels back into the corner and Taue hits a running high kick and ends it with a Super Nodowa Otoshi. BAH… I was expecting a hell of a lot more out of these guys. **
EAGLE/DAN KROFFAT/JOHNNY ACE vs YOSHINARI OGAWA/STAN HANSEN/GIANT BABA
BOOOOOORING! Something did strike me as I watched this match though. I’ve come across this so many times and I figured I would throw this question out to you. What makes Giant Baba so over with the crowd? Now I’ll be the first one to tell you that I don’t own any seventies Puro and I have very limited footage of eighties Puro. I can only go on what I’ve seen and what I’ve seen is a tall man with an extremely limited moveset, and a slow pace (obviously considering his age). Now considering the style that AJPW fans are accustomed to, why do you think that Baba not only was as over with the fans but also; how did he manage to sustain popularity as the years went by? Granted, Baba was a legend but you look at legends in North American wrestling and they tend to lose their popularity as the years go by. They’re revered for their past accomplishments but more often than not, their fans don’t want to watch them wrestle anymore. The bottom line is the "Baba phenomenon" is an enigma to me and I’d be interested in some insight from others on the subject.
TOSHIAKI KAWADA vs MITSUHARU MISAWA
Let us all celebrate as two of the greatest heavyweight wrestlers in the world lock horns yet again. It’s a testament to how good these wrestlers and their matches are that fans never grew tired of them. It may be best to set the stage right now. Kawada fires off a running high kick and (no work here) breaks Misawa’s left orbital bone. Well then… this should prove interesting. They take a good two minutes to assess the damage and let Misawa recover. We finally get back to it and you just know this will be stiff. How good a motivator is "you broke my face!" Misawa brings the pain with elbow strikes sending Kawada to the outside where Misawa hits a Pescado. Back in the ring and Misawa slaps on a sleeper only to have Kawada respond with a Dangerous Backdrop. UGH… pretty early in the match for something of that magnitude. Kawada works over the neck/trapesius area but Misawa makes the comeback with stiff kicks. Misawa charges in for an elbow strike but he takes a kick to the gut sending him outside. Add another page to the "Big Book of Shocking Kawada Moves" as he pulls out a variation on the twisting pescado. He goes for a lariat but Misawa manages to reverse into a TIGER DRIVER ON THE FLOOR! Back in the ring and Misawa gets a 2 and ¾ count. Things get really dirty as they get back in the ring and exchange stiff elbow strikes. Now under most circumstances this wouldn’t be a big deal but you’ve got to remember that the bone around Misawa’s eye has already been broken. The crowd is starting to get into this. Kawada goes on the attack with a Ganmengiri and attempts a German suplex only to have Misawa get in a standing switch but Kawada manages to recover with an Enzugiri. Misawa reels back and Kawada DRILLS him with a running high kick. THIS IS SICK! Hello? Broken face here? Anybody care? This match has a totally different feeling to it, as everything is pretty much… real. I wish I could put it in better terms but there’s no working a broken bone. Kawada goes for the stretch plum but gets thrown off by Misawa who goes for his crossface but that’s thrown off and Kawada hits A LARIATOOOOOOO for 2 and ¾. Kawada goes back to the stretch plum. I guess Misawa can take solace in the fact that Kawada clamped it on from the right side of his face, otherwise this would be outright overkill. He lets it go and gets 2 and 9/10. "MI SA WA, MI SA WA!" Kawada charges in for a lariat but Misawa manages to block and hit the rolling elbow for 2 and ¾. The frog splash gets 2 and 9/10. Here comes a diving elbow but Kawada counters with a Ganmengiri. OUCH! The crowd is eating this up with two spoons. Finally on his third attempt Kawada hits the big powerbomb! 1… 2… 2.999999! More elbows, a roundhouse kick is blocked only to have Misawa counter with an Enzugiri. And here comes… THE TIGER DRIVER! 1… 2… 2.999999! THIS CROWD IS NUTS! TWO MINUTES LEFT! TIGER SUPLEX! 1… 2… 2.999999! HO… LY… SHIT! "KA WA DA, KA WA DA!" Running elbow… NO SOLD! GANMENGIRI! 1… 2… 2.999999! ONE MINUTE LEFT! DANGEROUS BRAINBUSTER! 1… 2… 2.999999! HIGH ANGLE POWERBOMB! 1… 2… 2.999999! THIRTY SECONDS! BAAAAAAACKDROPP… NO! Misawa blocks and fires off some elbow strikes, Kawada comes right back and goes for the Dangerous Backdrop but it’s blocked and the time runs out. Awesome match made all the better by the fact that Misawa had to wrestle a good twenty eight minutes with a broken bone in his face. There were a few moments where I was cringing, especially off the running high kick in the corner. Brutally stiff work from both guys but would you expect anything less? ****1/2
ACE/EAGLE/KROFFAT vs SHIGA/AKIYAMA/KOBASHI
Lots of six man fun as they do a pretty good job of making the much smaller Shiga into the sympathetic wrestler that the crowd is more than happy to rally behind. Jump to the hot stuff as Kobashi fires Shiga off in a Rocket Launcher for 2 and 9/10. Eagle gains a control off a tilt a whirl slam and goes for the big splash but Kobashi actually covers Shiga and absorbs the blow. Great stuff as they make Shiga the huge underdog but not in a fashion that makes him look weak as a competitor. Shiga crawls over and makes the hot tag to Akiyama to a HUGE pop! Akiyama fires off a running forearm and hits the Northern Lights suplex for 2 and 9/10. EXPLOIDAAAAAAH! Of course it’s over. Lots of fun to watch and a solid story with Shiga to boot. **3/4
Omori’s Quest Part 2
Omori: Hey Tosh, great match with Misawa.
Kawada: I broke his face real good.
Omori: Uh… yeah, that was um… cool.
Kawada: Want me to show you how? It’s not that hard. Here, you stand still and I’ll get a running start and…
Omori: NO NO NO! That won’t be necessary. Um… how about you show me some other time. I’ve got a favour to ask you.
Kawada: What’d you have in mind?
Omori: I really need a win in this tournament. What say you do the job for me this time around?
Kawada: You mean I go over and make you look good?
Omori: No no, I mean I go over. Like what happened with Taue a couple of days ago.
Kawada: You’re going to… pin… me?
Omori: Look Tosh, I’m really desperate here. I NEED a win in this tournament.
Kawada: And?
Omori: Well you’re a good guy and you don’t have much of a problem jobbing so what do you say?
Kawada: Hmm… my shoe is untied.
Omori: Oh, so now you’re a funny man too? We’ll see who’s funny when you’re missing some more teeth after taking my big Axe Bomber.
Kawada: Axe… Bomb?
Omori: SHUT UP, SHUT UP! I bet you job to some punk gaijin who’s only move is a stiff left jab in a couple of years.
Kawada: (Stops tying his laces)
Omori: You’re going to hurt me aren’t you?
Kawada: (looks up, thinks about it, and nods his head)
TAKAO OMORI vs TOSHIAKI KAWADA
Typical story as Omori tries his hardest but he’s just not good enough. Lots of near falls but the audience and the viewer are never fooled. It’s just a matter of time before Kawada won’t take any more offense. Of course Kawada eventually takes control off a Dangerous Backdrop and then hits a BRUTAL Released German suplex. The Stretch Plum wears him down and the pin is academic. Bah… this was a real disappointment. *1/2
DOUG FURNAS vs STAN HANSEN
Six minutes… squash… Western Lariat. DUD
MITSUHARU MISAWA vs AKIRA TAUE
Please note; this is not the finals. I had been looking forward to the round robin match for a while. Misawa was the obvious choice as one of the participants in the finals but Taue was getting the mega push throughout the tournament. Misawa going over would have made Taue the underdog going into the finals. Taue going over would have guaranteed Misawa would win the finals. What to do? We’ll soon find out as Taue works over Misawa’s left arm. The arm work in itself is of no relevance; it’s the psych that goes into it that makes all the difference. For you see with each variation on the arm bar, Taue is sure to take a shot at Misawa’s injured eye. A standing armbar has a foot in the face. A kneeling arm bar has a knee grinding across the face. I love little touches like that. They make all the difference in the way the story of the match is told. Despite his heel characteristics, the crowd is still decidedly behind Taue. That’s a testament to how successful his push was throughout this tournament. Back to a vertical base and Misawa hits a dropkick sending Taue outside where Misawa follows up with an Elbow Suicida. Back in the ring and a Diving Elbow gets 2 and ½. The Rolling Elbow gets 2 and ¾. The Tiger Driver gets 2 and ¾ but the kickout is what really matters as Taue claps on Misawa’s head with his legs, going back to the injured orbital bone. The subtlety in Taue’s work is awesome. Misawa stays in control with a side headlock but it’s reversed into a Backdrop Suplex for 2 and ½. Subtlety goes out the window as Taue blatantly grinds his elbow across the left side of Misawa’s face and then clamps his foot across his face. The crowd is torn on how to react. They’re booing the awesome heel work but they’re still cheering for Taue as a wrestler. Misawa rolls out to catch a breather but Taue stays on the attack with a huge lariat. I can’t get over Taue’s dominance in relation to the crowd response. It’s so rare to hear a crowd root for the man in control. Back in the ring and Taue rolls Snake Eyes. More eye/orbital work. You don’t even think about it after a while. Taue goes for an Atomic Slam but Misawa rolls out and hits a spin kick followed up with an Axe Kick. SPINEROOO… kidding! Misawa goes for the Tiger Driver but Taue backdrops him only to have Misawa land on his feet and hit a German suplex for 2 and 9/10. "TA UE" CLAP CLAP CLAP "TA UE" CLAP CLAP CLAP! Misawa goes for a springboard elbow but Taue swats him away and hits a Face Buster! I LOVE THIS STUFF! THE CROWD IS SMOKIN! Taue hits a powerbomb for 2 and ½, reversed into a sunset flip for 2 and ¾. Locomotion Lariats gets 2 and 9/10. The Nodowa Otoshi is reversed into a NASTY DDT and Misawa follows up with the Frog Splash for 2 and 9/10. TWO MINUTES LEFT! Taue manages to block the Diving Elbow and hits the NODOWA OTOSHI! 1… 2… 2.999999! To the outside we go and it’s a NODOWA OTOSHI ON THE FLOOR! He rolls Misawa in! ONE MINUTE LEFT! 1… 2… 2.999999! Taue pulls the trump card with THE KOBASHI/KAWADA KILLING DYNAMIC BOMB! 1… 2… 2.999999! You’ve got to be kidding me. THIRTY SECONDS! Here comes the Misawa comeback with a flurry of elbow strikes. TIGER DRIVER! 1… 2… 2.999999! TEN SECONDS! Another lateral press! 1… 2… 2.99999! And of course the time runs out. Obviously this was the only way to go if you wanted to make the finals as unpredictable as possible. It also served a bigger purpose in that it showed Misawa could go toe to toe with Misawa and in fact dominate the #1 man in the fed. ****1/2
Final Analysis: As with the previous tapes, there was some solid stuff and then at least two awesome ****+ matches. Considering this tape is two hours long and the two awesome matches were both thirty minute draws, you’re looking at ½ an awesome tape and ½ a solid tape. How can you complain about something like that?
Champions Carnival 1995 – Part 3 gets a high recommendation.
