Posted August 11, 201015 yr comment_5454332 DVD #18 8/21/88 (taped 8/20/88 ) Tom Zenk/Johnny Ace vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu/Takashi Ishikawa (5:27 of 7:49 aired) - The shock here was that Ace got the flash pin off a neckbreaker. Genichiro Tenryu/Ashura Hara vs. Tiger Mask/Shunji Takano (14:21 complete) - Takano apparently looked too happy to be alive during the intros, because Tenryu and Hara immediately commenced to taking some years off his clock with brutal lariats, chops and spine kicks. Great burst of offense from Misawa off the hot tag. I loved the spot where he faked the dive, let Takano whip Hara into the guardrail and then ran down the apron to hit a tope con hilo. Misawa's growing stature was apparent from the way Tenryu and Hara sold for him. I also liked that Takano got in some receipt shots on Tenryu and Hara before they inevitably put him away. This was similar in structure to a lot of the Tenryu/Hara matches vs. lower ranked teams, but it was a standout version. Low end nomination. Jumbo Tsuruta/Hiroshi Wajima vs. Abby/Jimmy Snuka (11:24 complete) - Reviewed on Classics. 8/28/88 (taped 8/25/88 ) Tiger Mask/Akira Taue vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Ashura Hara (13:32 of 17:27 aired) - Misawa actually seized tha advantage this time around with his kicks and fast-paced stuff. That seemed to piss off Tenryu, who ended up ripping half his mask off. But the match really lost steam once the focus shifted to Taue absorbing punishment. He arbitrarily fell to a Hara lariat, and the crowd hardly made a peep. Abby/Jimmy Snuka vs. Hiroshi Wajima/Takashi Ishikawa (9:19 complete) - This was mostly about Abby and Snuka acting crazy in tribute to Brody. Jumbo Tsuruta/Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Stan Hansen/Johnny Ace (10:49 complete) - Solid tag that ended randomly with Hansen busting in to attack Jumbo and Yatsu with his bullrope. This felt like hard-hitting filler, little more.
