Posted September 3, 200817 yr comment_5434374 New Japan Pro Wrestling TV (October 28th & November 4th 1983) - Last three amtches also on Classics 153. 1. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Riki Choshu vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Osamu Kido - Long, sensibly worked tag match. Yatsu and Choshu isolated Kido. Fujinami and Kido isolated Yatsu. Choshu and Fujinami teased confrontations but never really engaged. It had a false ending with Choshu and Yatsu flipping out over a three count that wasn't. I generally like restarts but this one ended not in greater drama but with another controversial count. This lacked a certain something to push it past "good TV match" status. Crowd engagement? Intensity? I can't put my finger on it, but I know I'd have no great desire to see it again. 2. Antonio Inoki & Akira Maeda vs Killer Khan & Animal Hamaguchi (3/11) - By the numbers Ishin Gundan vs. Seiki Gundan tag match. You had a bunch of Maeda in peril, some fired up Inoki and the inevitable brawl into a double countout. Khan and Hamaguchi did get to pound on Inoki a bit, with Maeda getting the hot tag for once. But I think I might be tiring of the formula. 3. Riki Choshu d. Akira Maeda (3/11) - Video cut out during the TV version so we'll want to use the Classics one. Maeda attacked to start, forcing Choshu to slow the pace and grind him down on the mat. Maeda did a nice job of selling his desperation to get out of Choshu's holds. And he did an even better job selling the devastation of his lariat. It's evident from these matches why Maeda became a huge star. He knew how to connect with crowds. I'll second the nomination on this one. 4. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Killer Khan (3/11) - This turned out a hell of a lot better than I would have expected. Khan used his size to maul Fujinami. I thought his awkwardness worked well in this case because it added to my sense of him as a big bear, enveloping a smaller, more graceful animal. Fujinami did well by using his quickness to evade the bear and chop away at his legs. They were disciplined enough about the big-small dynamic that when Khan ascended for the knee drop and Fujinami countered with a superplex, it felt really dramatic. I even liked the ringside brawl that led to the countout. Nomination. 5. Antonio Inoki d. Yoshiaki Yatsu (3/11) - As 10-minute Inoki singles wins went, this wasn't bad. Yatsu laid in some pretty fierce knees and seemed convincing controlling Inoki on the mat. He inspired a fiercer than usual reprisal from Inoki, who leveled him with a bunch of punches and two stiff enziguiris. Not quite enough here to earn a nomination, but I enjoyed it.
