May 1994

Antonio Inoki vs The Great Muta - NJPW 5/1/84 Fukuoka Dome To me this was the whole point of over one year long Great Muta IWGP Title Reign was to set up this match for Inoki's Final Countdown! Think about it Chono never gets this match. Hashimoto never gets this match. Keiji Mutoh does not get this match. The Great Muta gets this match. The Great Muta is the last great character of the Inoki era. Inoki vs Muta main events the Fukuoka Dome drawing 53000+ showing that Muta is a worthy challenger. One of things I like about Inoki is clearly likes the theatre elements of pro wrestling. Even though he is a strait-laced shooter and loves shooting, he also loves wildmen cha…

Sting defends the WCW International World Heavyweight Title. Talk about it here.

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Your typical Albright suplex affair coupled with Anjo's shitty antics? Yeah, okay, I can get behind this. Anjo's trying to get him on mat, where his best shot of winning lies, but Gary is just too Gary to let that happen. It isn't long before we get to the belly-to-bellies, but then Anjo counters the full nelsonw the wakigatame. I thought Anjo's bulldog-style takedown into the rear choke was very cool. But you get the feeling Albright wants to murder this guy, and he does...with the dragon suplex.

For a sub-five minute tag match, this had its moments. I liked the feisty opening exchange between Scott and Kanehara, and the rough-and-tumble stuff between Takayama and Severn. Takayama lays into Severn with just about everything he has and Severn's just trying to swoop in for a suplex, which he does...several times. At one point, he hits a capture sidewalk slam, which was pretty cool. And of course, a major highlight is Takayama kicking Severn in the butt when he's under the ropes. The tags are super quick, and Kanehara's strikes are on point. The high kick to Scott's head, the running high knee to Severn's face, and his mule kick counter, which led to the KO finish.

This ramped toward the end but the slow start hurts it. Business picked up when Nakano dumped Yamazaki with the dragon suplex, and again, best snap suplex in the business that leads to a rear choke. Yamazaki's kicks get real snappy during the finish stretch and I loved his legsweep into the kneebar to set up the finish. Not a great match but some cool moments.

Fuck yeah, Burton's back in the house, how we've missed him. And what a dick he was in this match. Saku smokes him on the mat - really good stuff with him blocking the single leg crab attempts. But after Burton folds him in half with a big release German, Saku seems out of it. He faceplants on a scary back body drop, and then when he doesn't take the double arm suplex, Burton MURDERS him with a high knee for the KO. A bizarre watch for sure but worth checking out.

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A vanilla King Takada match but at least Lydick manages a few good takedowns. But he can't do much against the boss so he sells extra big for the final few kicks. Meh.

This was more in line with the Tamura match, with Kakihara trying to utilize his speed in a kick-and-run offense until Vader corners him and pummels him down. Kakihara connects with a terrific spinning heel kick that busts Vader's nose and then he goes to town with the slaps and kicks on Vader, trying for the armbar before Vader snags the ropes. That sure pisses Vader off, who clobbers him silly and then chokeslams him. But that's not enough...he KOs Kaki with a wheelbarrel facebuster. Another fun squash from SUPER VADER.

Another fun Zagiev exhibition. You watch Gary Albright for the suplex showcase, and Victor Zangiev provides all the catch-as-catch-can highlights. Everything from the airplane spin and bow and arrow hold, to the swanky escapes, slick trips, and cool transitions. He even cranks Miyato with a big German suplex because it's UWFi. Why not?

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