August 1997

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The tournament final and boy, does Kanehara want to win that million yen. He is super aggressive throughout, kicking, kneeing, punching, elbowing, throwing spinning backhands. Sano just wants it to stop and keeps trying to take him down. The stuff on the ground is okay with Sano going back to the ankle that won him the match against Sakuraba. But Kanehara just wants to throw down, and yes, they throw down. Eventually, Sano catches him with a punch, destroys him with a German and taps him with the armbar. Another quick finish but Kanehara looked very strong and gave Sano a beating.

Sakuraba rolling around on the mat is always a treat, the way he grabs and holds onto a rear waistlock, or maneuvers around a leg. Very slick. Sano is okay on the ground and uses more of a smothering approach, which works well against slippery Sakuraba. But watching Sakuraba counter his way out of Sano’s holds is a lot of fun. The stuff around the arm is great and Sakuraba's fireman’s carry escape was cool. The finish comes out of nowhere when Sano cranks the ankle but it's five minutes well worth your time.

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All Japan World Tag Team Champions Steve Williams & Gary Albright vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - AJPW 8/26/97 If you love lean, mean power wrestling, watch this, clocking in at under 10 minutes yes thats right an All Japan title match in under ten minutes, this will hit the spot. In 1997, Johnny Ace turned face because he is the beloved gaijin since Terry Funk because he is so awesome and became Kobashi's regular tag team partner. Dr. Death formed the Triangle of Power with Lacrosse (for some reason I think is a badass wrestling name, best known as Jungle Jim Steele) and Gary Albright. If you are a casual fan of 90s All Japan, you've probably been led to…

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