Posted November 9, 200816 yr comment_5435638 DVD #3 February 5th: Ryogoku IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship／Shiro Koshinaka vs Nobuhiko Takada - Classic match that's famous for Koshinaka's work on Takada's fingers. It was great all-around as it felt like the two best juniors in the world trying anything and everything to beat the other guy. And it felt more ragged and violent than the great junior showcases of the '90s. This has to go on the set and is a strong candidate for the Top 10. Keiji Mutoh & Tatsumi Fujinami vs Yosiaki Fujiwara & Akira Maeda - This didn't evolve into a top-tier NJ tag match, but it offered 13 minutes of straight action from four all-time greats, which ain't bad. There was a funny moment early when Mutoh tried a high kick on Maeda and Maeda just looked at him like "Really?" Fujiwara and Fujinami again made me regret that they never had a big-time singles match. And the UWF guys seemed to relish kicking the shit out of Mutoh. Enough fun stuff went on here that I'll throw it on the block. Antonio Inoki vs Bam Bam Bigelow - Bigelow press-slammed Inoki onto his acolytes at ringside to start the match. They carted Inoki off to boos from the crowd but of course, he re-emerged. As seen on the Memphis set, early Bigelow was a truly menacing big man with his combination of power and agility. And Inoki always played a good battered hero because of his connection with the crowd. I liked his attempt to hook an armbar even as Bigelow was tossing him around. I was on the fence about nominating this as I thought the DQ ending came a little too soon. But I'll throw it out for discussion. Maybe their April match will be more decisively excellent. February 23rd: Isesaki IWGPTag throne decisive league game／Shiro Koshinaka & Keiji Mutoh vs Nobuhiko Takada & Akira Maeda - More excellent tag action from this period. This featured lots more UWF abuse of Mutoh, and Koshinaka went back to Takada's fingers, playing off their great singles match. This is low-end because it degenerated into a brawl before reaching its third act. But worth a look from you guys. George Takano & Tatsumi Fujinami & Antonio Inoki vs Mr. Pogo & Kendo Nagasaki & Steve Williams - This match never found a focus.
