Talk about it here.

Chono puts on a great performance here, as most of the match is Tenryu and Hara punishing him while Fujinami comes in, looks strong and gets out. In some ways, this feels like a condensed version of an All Japan tag, structured almost entirely around selling, specific roles being a big part of the match, dramatic saves from Fujinami and a super awesome tope to the floor from Fujinami on Tenryu. Chono ends up securing an out of nowhere submission win for his team. Tremendous match that feels like it could have used five more minutes, as the final stretch was cut short.

Holy shit, this was amazing. This might be the most pissed off and grumpy I've seen Tenryu in this feud, and that covers a whole lot of ground. He walks up to Chono before the bell and cuffs him on the side of the head, and there's a point later where Hara is in full control but Tenryu comes in anyway just so he can full force boot Chono in the face. His riling up of Fujinami is spectacular, spitting on him and flicking sweat at him while Fujinami is standing on the apron minding his own business. Team WAR are such a great pair of cheapshotting bullies. Chono is a good whipping boy and everything, but it could've been anybody in there and it would've been worth it for Hara mauling them with headbutts and Tenryu's nasty short punts right to the eye socket. Really, this was just loaded with moments that I loved -- Hara throwing coconut headbutts, Fujinami's tope, everything Tenryu did, the set up to the finish with Fujinami flying off the top rope with a knee to Hara's head...great stuff.

 

Not my MOTY, but I don't think there's been another match so far that I've flat out enjoyed as much as this one.

I've noticed in these tag matches where the WAR guys lose, Tenryu is nowhere to be seen at the end. Agreed that Chono looked good. NJPW had a lot of guys to send out there against Tenryu in these matches. Cool finish with Hara avoiding a Yakuza kick but getting nailed from behind with a flying knee by Fujinami who came out of nowhere. Chono then locks on the STF for the win.

Four grumpy bastards beating the shit out of each other--everything I love out of this feud. Not that I'm tired of it or anything, but one has to admit that the heat and the action had slowed a bit from its awesome origins at the end of '92, so Chono is indeed a breath of fresh air. This is the best Fujinami has looked since the '80s ended, and his hail mary tope to take out Tenryu was one of the highlights of the match, as was clobbering an unsuspecting Hara with the knee as he backed away from a Yakuza kick. Great finish and finishing stretch all around.

Another great match in this feud. Tenryu as a grumpy bastard. Chono gives an inspired performance and takes the fight to him. Fujinami looks better here than at most points of the 1990's. This feud continues to impress and every entry in it with Tenryu and Co. vs. all of the big guns of New Japan has delivered. ****1/4

Looks like I'm the outlier - I wasn't super impressed with Chono here. This didn't feel nearly as intense as the tags with Choshu and/or Hashimoto. Maybe it was the crowd? Anyway, Tenryu was grumpy as hell, flicking sweat onto Fujinami, stomping Chono through the ropes. And Fujinami looked great too, busting out a sweet tope to take out Tenryu for the finish. Love love love this feud.

Great fun. Hara is at his best tagging with Tenryu, but so are a lot of guys I suppose. They make a good team even if their double teams are off a lot. Hara actually sells pretty well, as does everyone. Fujinami gives glimpses of the worker he used to be. Tenryu wiping his sweat off in the direction of Fujinami is so awesomely disrespectfu. Loved this match. Offhand it seems like the second or third best tag of the year.

I liked this more than some others of you, it seems.

 

Tenryu and Hara are the classic heel team, but they still wrestle instead of just cheating. I really liked Hara in particular; he may be limited to headbutts and clotheslines, but he knows exactly which to do when, which is more than half the battle. As for Tenryu, is there no one on the NJPW roster whom he hasn't pissed off? He started the match with Fujinami as his main rival, than antagonized Chono within the first few seconds to the point that Chono wanted to cripple him. I can't think of an American heel at this point who can get heat quite as easily as this, then work as hard as Tenryu does to back it up.

 

Hara was going to take the fall since he's both the old guy and the second banana; my problem was that Chono seemed fully recovered from the beating he'd taken, not even selling the effects of Tenryu and Hara beating the stew out of him for almost fifteen minutes. They should have had Chono take out Tenryu while Fujinami put Hara out with the dragon sleeper, regardless of who Tenryu's issue was supposed to be with. Sometimes bookers are so concerned with telling their set story that they refuse to let common sense take over, and that was definitely the case here. Tenryu could have easily confronted Fujinami after the match was over to set up their feud again.

This was another incredible WAR vs New Japan match. The outcome was never really in doubt but they still put on a big show. The crowd was super hot for the New Japan boys - Chono in particular was the hot commodity of the match. The WAR Crew were outright vicious with her hard strikes and snug lariats focused towards Chono. The potshots they’d throw towards Fujinami was great. He’d get riled up and come in and kick ass. Chono is able to channel the crowd heat to maximise her performance. His quick comeback is a bit sudden but it further puts the STF over as a strong move. ****