Posted September 13, 200817 yr comment_5434543 Disc 6 February 24th & March 02nd 1984: First three matches also on Classics 160 1. The Cobra vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi - I'm now convinced that Kobayashi was the best junior worker in New Japan from '82-'84. Cobra against anyone else was a mess at this point but not here. Kobayashi started out trying to rip the mask off in this one and generally grounded Cobra with his holds and nasty little kicks (he threw one nice spin kick to the spine.) Cobra was still sloppy. He did this horrible somersault plancha that required Kobayashi to wait with his finger up his ass and then sell a blow that never really landed. But Kobayashi made sure that the transitions worked and that his plan of attack was clear. Anyway, they went to a double countout, with Kobayashi beating Cobra viciously post-match. I think it falls short of a nomination because it was more of a feud builder than a great match on its own. But kudos to Kobayashi for his performance. 2. Rusher Kimura vs. Hulk Hogan - Hogan fought dirty here, with lots of face rakes, eye pokes and chokes using the turnbuckle rope. I guess he was fighting fire with fire. They had trouble creating movement, and the brawling wasn't violent enough to transcend the lack of interesting work. 3. Antonio Inoki/Akira Maeda/Fujiwara vs. Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Animal Hamaguchi - I had been looking forward to this since I saw it in the match listing and it sure didn't disappoint. Fujiwara and Choshu both showed up with head bandages, so you knew the blood would flow. The crowd was hot and the action never slowed from bell to bell. Ishin Gundan started out by pounding the shit out of Fujiwara. Actually they did a nice job of controlling the match using their patented teamwork in the corner. Maeda and Inoki had their moments but this was really a Fujiwara story. When he came back in, Hamaguchi focused on his forehead and got the blood gushing. They worked the cut for about five minutes, with Fujiwara fighting desperately to tag out and selling like a champ. The only bummer came when the ref called a DQ because they wouldn't stop ganging up on him. Inoki then played avenging angel in the post-match brawl. I can't overstate how pleased I am to see Fujiwara introduced to the Ishin Gundan-Seiki Gundan feud. Easy nomination here. 4. Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara - Fujiwara came out fast here, seeking vengeance. Choshu cut him off fairly quickly with his back suplex, and they worked a nice sequence in which Fujiwara fought to avoid the scorpion. He ultimately slapped his way out. But Choshu caught him with two straight lariats a few moments later, and Fujiwara had to roll outside. He returned with some kind of stabbing implement in hand. Choshu's boys jumped him before he could use it and the whole thing ended in a brawl. Too short for a nomination but it was a great feud warmer and could make a good extra. 5. Yoshiaki Yatsu/Animal Hamaguchi vs. Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdoch - No deep story here ... just four guys who could really work going hard for 15 minutes. I'm not sure it'll stand out enough to make the set, but I'll throw it on the block for discussion. 6. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Afa - Afa played the wild power wrestler, and Kimura stuck and moved his way to a fairly quick win. 7. Antonio Inoki/Kengo Kimura vs. Ed Leslie/Bobby Duncum - Leslie and Duncum weren't terrible as generic gaijin power heels. This was fine if unremarkable, but the ending wasn't shown.
