Posted October 25, 200816 yr comment_5435369 DVD 4 2/6/86: Matches also on NJ Classics 226 and 227 Kengo Kimura vs. Kevin Von Erich - Intense continuation of the feud. Kevin got Kimura in the tree of woe and locked a stomach claw on him. He wouldn't let go and got DQed, leading to a Fujinami run-in and brawl. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kerry Von Erich - This match flowed right out of the brawl and Kerry wasted no time applying the claw. Fujinami battled back with his own claw. They couldn't stay in the ring and ended up brawling to a countout, with Kimura and Kevin re-entering the fight. Again, this would have made great prologue to a blowoff, but I don't think the blowoff is coming. Antonio Inoki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara - Super match. Inoki could be excellent at intense, mat-based showdowns if paired with the right guy. They executed the ending superbly. A possible low blow by Inoki turned the tide in his favor, but the wounded Fujiwara was still dangerous and lured Inoki in for a sudden, violent series of head butts. Inoki managed to catch him with a punch just as he delivered a third butt, however, and he used the opening to choke Fujiwara out. The postmatch brawl sent it out on the right note. Another easy nomination. 2/12/86: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title decision match: The Cobra vs. Shiro Koshinaka - JIP. Koshinaka grounded Cobra early. But Cobra escaped and moved into a highspot sequence. He missed badly on a somersault plancha to the outside (not on purpose) but they worked past it. They built to the finish with a nice sequence of near-fall roll-ups. Cobra went to the top for a splash, but Koshinaka lifted his knees in time and then hit a German suplex into a bridge for the title win. I have to watch the full version on Classics, but my instinct is to leave it off, because it was a sloppy performance by Cobra and because there are so many good juniors matches to choose from. Kengo Kimura & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Osamu Kido - The UWF guys put an unholy beating on the lower-ranked NJ guys at the end of this one. Fujiwara might have busted Hoshino hardway as he head butted him over and over to draw the DQ. The body of the match was too slow for it to pull a nomination, but it worked as a feud builder. Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, & The Cobra vs. Kevin Von Erich, Johnny Mantell, & Black Tiger - Fun clusterfuck in which everyone had a moment to shine. But it felt like a pretty minor match.
