Posted November 6, 200816 yr comment_5435586 DVD 23 12/3/86: Antonio Inoki & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Nobuhiko Takada & Shiro Koshinaka - Really just part of a highlights package from earlier tag league matches. 12/11/86: Matches also appear on Classics 254 Akira Maeda & Osamu Kido vs. Dick Murdoch & The Masked Superstar - So-so match. Murdoch wasn't at the top of his game on this tour. Antonio Inoki & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Akira Maeda & Osamu Kido - Wildly disappointing match. I enjoyed the opening matwork section between Fujiwara and Kido, but the match stayed largely on the mat, and much of the work was uninspired. I expect electricity from the Maeda/Fujiwara and Maeda/Inoki match-ups but felt very little here. And on top of all that, it lasted less than 15 minutes -- really lackluster for a year-ending match that could have touched on so many stories. No vote from me. 12/10/86: Matches also appear on Classics 252 and 253 IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Shiro Koshinaka © vs. Kazuo Yamazaki - The last five minutes were good, with Yamazaki unloading his entire arsenal and Koshinaka fending him off not by trading shots but through resourcefullness. But this went more than 20 minutes and the body of it really dragged. Yamazaki did not have the same chemistry with Koshinaka that Takada did, and his kicks and submissions didn't come off as terribly threatening. Fine match but not one that has to be on the set. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kengo Kimura - Well wrestled but a little too respectful. I couldn't figure out why the match needed to happen. Antonio Inoki & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Akira Maeda & Osamu Kido - A better match than the final the next day. I liked the very heated ground-and-pound section between Inoki and Maeda, and the enziguiri to the post was a nice way to end it. It should move forward.
