Talk about it here.

Takaiwa looks a little green in this match, but he would improve pretty rapidly throughout 1997 if my memory serves me correctly. Benoit looks absolutely phenomenal here in terms of execution and body language. I know people don't really care for playing that up much, but it's pretty unavoidable. Anyway, Dave's ****1/2 rating based on the 10 minutes of the 15:30 that aired may have been a little high, but this was a very good tag match.

This featured some great fucking offense, with Takaiwa sticking out as the one guy who couldn't really deliver. Liger-Otani continued to be gold. Benoit was in his prime. The star rating is kind of silly, but this delivered a dose of sugar.

New Japan juniors are a blast this year. This was a sprint to the finish but was an offensive flurry where everything looked great. Taikawa was the weakest but still delivered a beefy death valley driver and he took all of Liger's offense in the closing section really well. Otani doesn't take the pin which makes me happy and it did feel unique to see Benoit in this setting and he made the most of it by delivering a great performance.

Ohtani has both knees wrapped up. More powerbombs that mean nothing. Benoit is full of intensity and straight forward kicking some ass. Takaiwa with a full set of hair. Liger with a wicked top rope clothesline to set up the running Liger Bomb. Good match. I feel like Ohtani has one of the worst win/loss records on yearbooks so far.

Sort of a spotfest, but when the spots are this crisp and well-executed, who cares? Takaiwa's the weak link but in theory I always liked his "junior who wrestles like a powerhouse heavy" style. I can see why Dave was so gaga for this as it's right up his alley, but it's more of an enjoyable match than a great one.

I don't think I have ever seen this match. Does anyone have a link for it? I can't find it online right now