Loss

Added this match: 01/30/94 Misawa & Kobashi & Akiyama vs. Kawada & Taue & Omori Seem to have already had the rest.

Summerslam build: Rey vs Cena main event. Rey defending the belt in his hometown. Punk starts Tweeting that there's no way this match takes place, that they can wrestle all they want, but no way does Rey defend a paper title. Punk shows up on Raw and buys a ticket at ringside, grabs a mic and gets in a few words that he'll be at Summerslam to make sure there is no defense of the title. Cena and Rey say to try them. There's your Summerslam build, with Punk still in the thick of things without killing the angle. That took me two minutes to think of. From there, you have two future PPV main events: Punk vs Rey and Punk vs Cena. Rey is used as a buffer feud and they hold off Punk/Cena II to the Rumble. You also have an opening to debut Hero, Cabana, Claudio or whoever by coming to Punk's aid if Rey and Cena outnumber him and try to get revenge. Even if you don't go that route, the point is that Punk is still heavily involved, still a hot character, but they aren't blowing a big match way before the temperature is right.

You could get the "We Want Punk" stuff to a fever pitch if you stretch it out. Wrestling fans in 2011 never want for anything, because they never have to wait for it. It's a missing element. I picked Survivor Series, but the point is that the fans would tell them when they had stretched it out too long and the time was right to bring him back. Hell, they could do the same on another B-show if you're worried about him being overshadowed by Rock. Even if you wait until September, the point is that bringing him back after one week was way too soon, *especially* when he has entrance music played by WWE production and comes out through the official entrance ramp. But it's impossible to create a new star overnight who will be seen on the level of Austin or Undertaker, which is why there are no new stars at the level of Austin or Undertaker.

He doesn't draw at Summerslam obviously, but he draws huge with his first match back at Survivor Series, not appearing on TV until October, but running stuff off TV and buying time on TV in the meantime.

The angle isn't necessarily destroyed. But it's something different now and I'm way less interested. Punk was the first guy since I don't know when that was not just being put in a headline position, but was being put in a position to draw money and actively challenge the status quo. Most of the guys in a headline role I wouldn't honestly say have been put in a position to draw. Punk was put in a position to draw (which he may have done, we still don't know the MITB buyrate). He may still end up a star when this is over, but this seems to be headed toward making him more an Edge-type headliner than an Austin-type headliner. This had legs until Wrestlemania had they played it right, but probably will be forgotten by Survivor Series at the latest.

Same here. Anyone know where I can find star ratings for New Japan in '99? This and '98 are the only two years I can't locate, either due to jdw's list or the classic Observers.

I can't seem to find Dave's star ratings for New Japan in '98 anywhere online. Does anyone have access to them?

Thanks, and fixed. All the matches are April.

Rey winning the title, Rey/Cena and Punk returning is potentially three months of TV. They got two hours out of it. Also, I didn't see the show, but did I read correctly that Punk came to the ring via the main entrance ramp just like everyone else? So ... we're back where we were before this whole thing started, I guess.

The story is that until the afternoon of the show, Bret didn't know the finish. He had a mutual friend ask Dave if he knew the finish.

Was Kingdom worked?

Current Muto list of singles matches, just as a point of reference: Keiji Muto vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 05/03/95) Keiji Muto vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJPW 06/08/95) Keiji Muto vs Road Warrior Hawk (NJPW 07/13/95) (Finish only) Keiji Muto vs Shiro Koshinaka (NJPW 08/11/95) Keiji Muto vs Masa Chono (NJPW 08/12/95) Keiji Muto vs Ric Flair (NJPW 08/13/95) Keiji Muto vs Scott Norton (NJPW 08/14/95) Keiji Muto vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 08/15/95) Keiji Muto vs Sting (NJPW 09/23/95) Keiji Muto vs Junji Hirata (NJPW 09/25/95) Keiji Muto vs Nobuhiko Takada (NJPW vs UWFI 10/09/95) Keiji Muto vs Shiro Koshinaka (NJPW 12/11/95)

John, I'm going to send the full '95 AJ list to you tonight. I'll list the match and also what we're planning on using as the source. If there are any incorrect dates or better sources, please let me know.

So let's talk New Japan. From Dave's star ratings, what I can ascertain was the story of the year was Muto. Tons of ****+ matches. I plan on including some of the ***1/2-range stuff too, but I suppose he has a strong WOTY case. What matches cover Muto's story? In the juniors division, you have a lot going on also. Seems to be the emergence of Kanemoto and Otani. Benoit also had a strong year. What is the overarching narrative of the year? Edited: Changed Samurai to Otani. Samurai on the brain.

Do you know when this re-aired? What is the best place to find more recent AJ Classics listings?

I don't want this to veer off topic, but I have to ask: Do you have plans on picking these up at some point? I really would like the company.

I wouldn't say this is "closed", but this is definitely the thread with the highest urgency for recommendations, as it will likely be the next set. I have some questions. Because so many of these matches repeat throughout the year, could you confirm the dates for these to make sure I get the right ones? In May? Everything else you mentioned I already have listed.

Where can I find listings of OMEGA stuff with dates? Do you have a date for this? Lynch's Samurai TV listings for '97 really are a mess. Do you have dates for the tag league?

What is this a response to?

You guys are breaking my heart. I don't know what you want from this match that it doesn't give you. I'm not sure how anyone can watch this and say Samurai looks green, considering that he stepped up his game to the point that his charisma rivaled Liger's, which is no small task. The spitting in the face, slapping, beating up with a beer bottle, tombstoning both in and out of the ring, doing Liger's own dives against him to the floor ... for at least one night, he looked like a peer. Liger did destroy Samurai, but if you watch the opening minutes, it was set up well for that to happen. They built the heat to a point where Liger finally had enough and snapped. I don't want to create a strawman argument, but there seems to be a point of view that this match is a bit one-sided, which I don't get at all since Samurai was so dominant early on, and even got a comeback later in the match. Liger was the unquestioned better man when it was over, but I see that as a good thing.

Disappointing match. Hansen wins the Carnival. I like how this match progresses from the last one though, as Hansen is pushed farther than ever and it's obvious Misawa has his number. It's just a matter of when.

I could have sworn it was jdw, but when I looked back through the pimping posts, he said no such thing. But I swear I have read that somewhere. What jdw said was that this was a one-man show with Samurai along for the ride, which I totally disagree with. The carrying seems to be what Dave also said at the time: I think the one-man show stuff ignores the strong heel work and violent nature of the match and makes this all about the highspots. I didn't even really think this was that special from that point of view. I was more hooked on the story of Liger being pissed off.

And it is "that good". Here's the thing. If you look at matches Liger had during this time, or just matches that were taking place in the division with anyone for that matter, you weren't seeing anything like this really at all. The closest thing is Liger's feud with Sano in 1990, but it wasn't often that they got personal like this. Liger had faced some tough opponents before that had pushed him pretty far, but this match is totally made by the disrespect. Liger is a great wrestler, but Liger is usually a sportsman. Even when some punk wrestler would get cocky and try things with him, he kept his cool and kinda laughed it off, usually because the guy wasn't a huge threat. Samurai was the closest thing he had to a peer at this point. He had beaten him two weeks before this and would eventually do it again. He took the match to a pretty violent place and Liger responded in kind. I always saw this as the match that shows that you don't fuck with Liger. In addition to being a great athlete and wrestler, he's also super tough and if you provoke him, he does have a temper. Was that known before this match? Had Liger ever lost his temper like this? As I said, maybe in the Sano feud, but that was two years before this, and I always saw this match as the Sano match on steroids. (Figuratively ...) I don't know what down time is being referred to, and I don't understand the criticisms that this is disjointed. There is a consistent narrative, and all the stuff they're doing plays into that. Samurai ambushes Liger early --> Liger loses his cool and comes back --> Samurai shows it's not going to be that easy to fend him off --> Final back and forth stretch with each guy getting desperate --> Liger gets the win. I'd also add that with the mask ripping and Samurai's general rudo tendencies, this has some lucha undercurrents. Trav also mentioned the bottle being used being reminiscent of Tiger Mask/Dynamite Kid.

You have some of the sets, right? It would be fun if you watched/commented too.

I see the point, smkelly, and I think we can all agree that there were tons of talented juniors during this time period. But honestly, if we're talking about the early 90s, I don't think Eddy Guerrero really hit his potential in New Japan until 1996. He was awesome in other places, but his New Japan tours felt flat to me for a long time. I agree that Samurai was never the guy people bought tapes to see. As I said, he was a utility player. But my point is that he's worth a revisit and hasn't gotten the praise he has deserved.