Posted July 1, 200916 yr comment_5441377 Taped 11/1/89: Hiro Hase/Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Tarzan Goto/Hiro Saito Wild start here as Goto and Saito jumped Hase and Kobayashi and set off a brawl through the crowd. The whole match rippled with animosity. Goto and Saito kept Hase in their corner a lot and really laid in the shots. They worked as a classic heel team, using low blows and distractions to cut off rallies. Kobayashi did a great job as the guy who desperately wanted a hot tag, and Honaga shied as an interfering hand at ringside. It all added up to a highly entertaining mid-card feud builder. Solid nomination. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kokina If we're going to squeeze a Yokozuna match on the set, this might be it. He already did a good job at playing the immovable object but then bumping when it was time. His offense was simple but looked like it hurt. It was fun to watch Hash work as a physical underdog for once. There was a great moment near the end when he briefly tried a slam but then paused and decided, "Fuck it. I'm just going to knock him out." This would definitely be a low-end choice, but I like the concept of a solid Yokozuna-Hash match enough to push it forward. Jushin Liger/Masa Chono/Riki Choshu vs. Big Van Vader/Tony St. Clair/Tom Pritchard Another really fun match. Liger was great in this, kicking Vader's head gear like a punk and then nailing the monster with a sliding kick. He later bumped aroud like a human atom when it was time for Vader's revenge. Vader was great too, tossing Liger around, bumping for Chono and Choshu. St. Clair and Pritchard looked good in their smaller parts. Another one that might fall off but that deserves a look from everyone. Taped 11/29/89: Hiro Hase/Shiro Koshinaka/Kengo Kimura vs. Norio Honaga/Tatsutoshi Gotoh/Hiro Saito This started off great with another ringside brawl and a sick blade job from Hase. But I thought the heels controlled a little too much of the offense and didn't do quite enough with it. A match that started so hot shouldn't have had me checking the time five minutes in. The chaotic ending redeemed it some but given the level of competition, no vote. Salman Hashimikov vs. George Takano Strange match-up on the surface but fuck, they made it work. It was like they were so alien to one another, that neither could defend the other guy's offense. Hashimikov threw some gnarly uppercuts and generally dominated whenever he could get a grip on Takano. But when Takano used his quickness and pro-style, flashy offense, he couldn't miss. Probably not quite enough here for a nomination but damn, Hashimikov does it for me every time.
July 13, 200916 yr comment_5441862 Hiro Hase/Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Tarzan Goto/Hiro Saito This wasn't Tarzan Goto it was Tatsutoshi Goto. Fun little brawl with lots of nasty suplexes by Hase. I liked the crowd brawling too, still I would have liked to see some blood. Lets move this on. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kokina I loved this, you don't normally see Hashimoto work as a smaller underdog, and he was pretty great at it (I remember him doing this well in Zero One too) Kokina was pretty damn mobile for such a huge dude and I loved all the near falls and the finish. I think I am giving this a bigger thumbs up then Childs. Jushin Liger/Masa Chono/Riki Choshu vs. Big Van Vader/Tony St. Clair/Tom Pritchard Vader is so much fun in 1989, I need to watch some of the other nominated Vader tags to see which was the best, but I loved this. Vader v. Liger is such a cool match up and they really worked well together, Liger kicking the helmet ruled, as did the awkward superplex thingy to the floor. Also you really can't have a New Japan set without Dr. Tom Pritchard. Hiro Hase/Shiro Koshinaka/Kengo Kimura vs. Norio Honaga/Tatsutoshi Gotoh/Hiro Saito Sort of a similar feeling to Childs in this one, it felt like if the blood in this match was added to the first match we would have a slam dunk, but this doesn't cut it. Salman Hashimikov vs. George Takano I also like Hashimikov a ton, it is too bad he didn't have a longer career. I dug the styles clash here too, but there are better sub 10 minute Hashimikov matches out there.
