Posted February 14, 200916 yr comment_5437228 DVD #15 ---------------------------------------------------- November 17th: The Fukui city gymnasium Tatsumi Fujinami vs Buzz Sawyer - Terrific verbal selling early from Sawyer, who howled in anguish as Fujinami worked his arm. Buzz transitioned to offense with that awesome catch powerslam of his. He worked Fujinami's back with some nice suplex variations. This was mostly solid, technical Buzz as opposed to psychotic Buzz and he had no trouble hanging with Fujinami in this kind of match. I wouldn't put this among the top tier of Fujinami matches from 1988 but it was really good and a nomination. Kantaro Hoshino, Riki Choshu, Antonio Inoki vs Scott Hall, Bob Orton, Dick Murdoch - Best elimination trios yet. It started with some awesome underdog work by Hoshino against Hall. Murdoch, as you might expect, excelled at crafting near-elimination scenarios. It's a shame we never got to see him in War Games, because he would've been every bit as masterful as Arn Anderson. Orton did some fantastic heel work from the apron. He had superb chemistry with Choshu. Murdoch and Inoki tossed in a long, great one-on-one battle. The match ended in a surprising, smart fashion that paid off the story of the match. This was just great all the way around and a slam dunk choice. December 5th: Aichi prefecture gymnasium Shinya Hashimoto, Masa Chono vs Von Erichs - This didn't go long but was pretty great while it lasted. Kerry and Kevin ate Hash's brutal shots as well as anyone I've seen. And they fired back with stiffer stuff than most gaijin. I'm not sure this makes it in the end, but I know we have Kerry/Kevin fans on the panel, so it's worth watching. PNW Heavyweight Championship / Fujinami vs The Grappler - Solid match here. Grappler threw forearms with bad intentions and worked holds pretty snugly. With so many great matches around it, this just didn't stand out enough. Japan cup league match / Kantaro Hoshino, Riki Choshu, Antonio Inoki vs Goto, Masa Saito, Seiji Sakaguchi - I know I sound like a broken record but this was another awesome elimination match from the tournament. Hoshino was great with his spunk and sneaky elimination attempts. Goto and Inoki had some excellent interactions. The match turned on a shocking elimination. And then you had a ferocious showdown between best buddies Choshu and Saito. Just great, great stuff and a slam dunk nomination.
