Posted March 31, 200817 yr comment_5430271 All Japan Samurai Classics #10: Riki Choshu Riki Choshu/Masa Saito vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu (2/5/85) - I was watching some of the Idol Choshu Invasion set and even though I am not a huge fan of Choshu, he really breathed some life into the promotion when he came in. This match had the big time atmosphere with no one really gaining an advantage but with Choshu trying to soften up the opponents to apply the Sharpshooter. Both teams go back and forth but the only one not taking any real damage is Choshu. Hell, when Choshu is in with Tenryu, he just punts the hell out of him. Jumbo and Tenryu take turns getting beat up and escaping after blocking moves. Finally, Jumbo starts abusing Saito and they eventually battle outside and get counted out. This match felt like it was just getting warmed up. This was a spirited match that probably deserves a low-level nomination but not something I will go to the wall for. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu - International Tag Team Titles (1/28/86) - I Love this match. Choshu has the bandaged ribs so Tenryu and Jumbo smell blood and just kick the shit out of him. Seriously, Jumbo puts Choshu in the abdominal stretch and when Choshu is outside, Tenryu gets a chair and smashes him with it two different times during the match. I love how Choshu gets his damaged ribs taped up while Yatsu is being abused inside the ring. Choshu shows the fighting spirit and hits Jumbo with a dropkick but selling the damage he does to his ribs. Great, great stuff. After Choshu applies a sharpshooter to Jumbo, this allows Yatsu to come in and take control. He ends up busting Jumbo open along the way and I wish Yatsu would have exploited the cut more. However, after basically fighting a 1 on 2 match, Tenryu powerbombs Yatsu and gets the three. Man, this is Top Five material so far. I have never really watched this match in depth but there was some great stuff mixed in. I imagine it might be even better once I hit the TV seasons and get the full year’s worth of battles. Slam dunk nomination. Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu (4/5/86) - Part of me really liked this match and the other part was frustrated. I like the limb work and the attempts to disable each other’s lariat. However, in between the pin attempts out of the armbar or Hansen’s painful looking arm work, there was a lot of dead space. Sometimes it felt they were laying around in holds even thought you could tell what story they were going for. Nothing huge happens until Hansen takes a big bump outside. Then, he attempts a lariat but misses and rams into the ringpost so Choshu starts working on the arm. Since the beginning, you knew this was a story about who would hit the lariat first. Choshu finally hits it but it sends Hansen flying out of the ring. I think Stan came back on offense way too soon and hits the lariat but Choshu recovers as quick as Stan did. Eventually, Dibiase jumps in for the DQ and the whole thing is thrown out. I know some matches are nominated that have average first halves but great 2nd halves. This had great segments but nothing that could carry the match past the crap finish. No vote. Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86) - I want to watch the 1986 TV to see what happened where Khan is no longer on Choshu’s side since I just saw him fight Dibiase in the last match. I can’t decide if this one is my favorite Khan match or if the Gordy World Class one takes the nod. I thought it was the Gordy one but this really stood out with the stiff strikes and Khan’s insane blade job off a ring-post bump. Khan’s knee drops looked especially nasty. The big lariats at the end had the crowd going nuts and this is a definite nomination. I know it will make the final cut but I want to see the final listing before I predict how high it will go on my list. Riki Choshu vs. Genichiro Tenryu (9/3/86) - Early on, Tenryu escapes from a head scissors and turns it into a nice bow and arrow. Later on, when Choshu tries to gain control, Tenryu nails him in the “bruised ribs” and takes over. Like clockwork, he works on the lariat arm as is required in every Choshu match. I actually don’t mind the strategy because it shows respect and puts the finisher over. Good thing because it plays a part in a really hot sequence where Tenryu gives Choshu an enziguiri to knock him off the top rope. As Choshu climbs on the apron, he dodges a Tenryu lariat and then the two men lariat each other in a double knockout spot. I LOVE how Tenryu just knees Choshu in the ribs anytime he gets the momentum. His kicks are just vicious. Choshu catches on and twice in the match, he grabs Tenryu’s leg and hooks on the Sharpshooter. The end stretch after Tenryu dives into the ringpost was pretty awesome with Tenryu busted open and getting nailed with a hard lariat. However, we get another shitty finsh similar to the Hansen match. However, this match was much better from throughout and is a strong nomination. - They really did justice with this release as 4 of the 5 matches are well worth a nomination and the Hansen match might have been nominated without the shitty finish. This makes up for the bad AJ classics show I watched before this.
