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NJPW, 9/17/02 (SXW) (Buy)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,831 Fans - Super No Vacancy
1. Yutaka Yoshie & Toru Yano beat Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto (8:04) when Yoshie used a back blow on Goto.
9/17 SXW was from the mecca of pro wrestling, Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Korakuen shows always tend to be eventful and this was no exception. Half of the handcuffs from the Chono and Laurer fiasco the day before were still attached to the ropes, and they showed Chono with a fan, sporting the other half around his wrist, because he needed a specialist to get it off. The opener saw Yoshie & Yano take on HIRO! and GOTO!, in the usual Death For Toru fun. The difference this time is that SUPER STRONG Yutaka Yoshie was with Yano, and made a difference. He quickly put away Goto after being tagged the final time, blocking a backdrop suplex and rocking Mr. BAAAAACKDROP with a back blow. This was the first time Yano had ever been on a winning team, but his first personal victory still eluded him. Match number two was the best New Japan vs. Team 2000 junior six man tag in ages. Again, the focal point was Tiger vs. Kanemoto, and they had some of their best exchanges yet, and also brawled wildly at ringside. This was more see-saw than a lot of these matches, so was rarely slow and very heated. The fans were in love with Wataru especially, lots of "WATARU! WATARU! WATARU!" calls. Tiger vs. Koji caught the imagination again too, because Tiger is like Liger, he carries himself with such grace and dignity, while Kanemoto is the ultimate punk, so they clash well as opposites. The finish had Korakuen on it's feet, as after a blooper between Jado and Gedo, Wataru locked Jado up in the Triangle Lancer. Kanemoto kicked at Wataru's chest repeatedly to break, but the young lion wouldn't let go! Tiger charged Koji out of the way, and Jado TAPPED to a huge response! Everyone loves Wataru. The SXW special segment was CLASSIC. They aired footage from Nagata's wedding reception, and the focus was on Kenzo, Shibata and Yano, who were drunk out of their mind and creating havoc. Yano was dressed in drag and got on the main stage with two girls, singing. The humble rookie Yano and the wild party animal Yano are like two different people. Kenzo and Shibata didn't want to be left out, so started KISSING each other and fellow young lions such as Taguchi on the lips! Shibata and Yano got naked... well, almost. They had shirts and underwear on, and started slapping each other hard. Kenzo and Shibata turned their attention to amaresu star and Yuji's brother, Katsuhiko, slapping him playfully and making him drink wine. Katsuhiko is still a member of New Japan, but has yet to debut because of his amaresu participation. Tanahashi was also there, but seemed less eager to get involved in the theatrics, and just shouted along and what not. Wataru was also very quiet and didn't involve himself in the mayhem. Things got more serious when the attention turned away from the 3 Stooges, and we heard words from people in attendance. Hase, Hashimoto, Kojima, Otani, Takaiwa and others were all there. It was weird seeing rival companies partying and shouting together, but just shows that these men are friends beyond all the stuff that goes on. Many of Japan's top wrestling names were there, with Muto and Inoki two notable absentees. It was a super-fun segment both for the young lions making fools of themselves, and also for the novelty of seeing the likes of Kojima back home. Nishimura vs. Wolf was fairly basic, but enjoyable nonetheless. Wolf was surprisingly dominant, overpowering Mr. Muga and coming close to winning. Nishimura was able to escape the Mongol slam twice though, before hooking Wolf in a backslide for the win. Wolf continues his fast ascent, and really pushed Nishimura for the 8 1/2 minutes this lasted. My favourite indy met my favourite overall promotion, as Osaka Pro returned to New Japan for a tag match. It was Samurai & Naruse vs. Murahama & Ebessan, and was total fun, as you'd expect. Ebessan didn't do nearly as many of his comedy antics as in Osaka Pro, but Korakuen was in LOVE with him anyway. They also liked Murahama, perhaps remembering his 2001 best bout (in my opinion) with Tanaka that happened in the mecca too, but Ebessan's popularity was surprising, and they were cheering him before he did anything. Like on 8/29 at Budokan, Naruse vs. Murahama was AWESOME, lots of smooth technical wrestling on the mat, and hard kicks too. Sammy did his thing, but didn't fit in as well as I had expected, and normally Liger would have been a better partner for Naruse, but Samurai and Naruse had to warm up for their IWGP Jr. Tag Title challenge in NOAH on 9/23. Ebessan almost upset Sammy with some cradles at the end, but got reverse DDT'd, and the grumpy veteran put Ebessan away with a chickenwing armlock. We need more Osaka Pro in New Japan, I can't wait for Tsubasa & Black Buffalo's invasion, if they come through on their promise. Kenzo vs. Tanahashi was the last of the twelve G1 Special matches on "G1 WORLD 2002", and pitted two of New Japan's great young hopes against each other. Although these two are good friends, they're also big rivals, and Tanahashi wanted to avenge his One Night Young Lion Tournament final loss on 3/2 to Kenzo. To say I was amazed by this would be an understatement. This was MUCH better than their March match, and an excellent near-16 minute traditional Strong Style match. Tanahashi is incredible, he just keeps getting better and better, and Kenzo is following his path. He has the power and size, while Tanahashi has the technique and speed, and this was very even all the way. The crowd was really into it, always getting behind whoever was on defense, and it was an exciting match, never too slow. My favourite part of the match is when Kenzo was on the outside, in trouble; Tanahashi charged across the blue mats at him, but Kenzo was playing possum and hit a big spear at ringside. He folded Tanahashi up with a backdrop suplex in the ring, then levelled his good friend with his Shining Wizard variation, which again looked beautiful, for the win. So Kenzo is still slightly ahead of Tanahashi, but it's very close. These two give me great hope for the future of New Japan. Check this one out. The next bout was one of the main features of the show, as it saw Chono and Laurer's first match against each other, in six man... uhh, person tag form. This was a billion times better than I expected, with McCully continuing to prove himself as a good UWF-style wrestler, and Shane can really move too. The opposition team was very good, especially the juniors. Chono, still wearing half of the handcuffs, attacked Laurer as soon as he got in the ring, and things never slowed down after that. Laurer was the weak point of her team, but again looked better than I ever dreamed of her being. Watching her and Liger mat wrestle was pretty surreal, but again, her strikes look weak and need major work. Chono handed McCully his only loss of the tour when tying him up in an STF for the tap out. Chono charged at Laurer post-match, but got hiptossed and put in a cross armbreaker. Backstage, Laurer said, "Happy birthday Chono. Next time I'll break both your arms". The main event was all about the MAYHEM again, as the Makai Club owned Korakuen. They mounted a 4-on-3 attack against Nagata, Tenzan & Nakanishi, so Yoshie ran to the ring and an impromptu eight man tag was started. Like on the other tour shows, the fans were incredibly loud for this situation, screaming in delight whenever a New Japan wrestler was on the attack, and booing like crazy when the Makai Club took control. When Makai #1 went for a Makai/Devil Windmill suplex hold, Korakuen sort of hushed to a buzz, as if the realization of a traitor in the ranks was setting in. Later, Makai #1 did an ever-so-familiar corner charge lariat/DDT combination, which prompted LOUD "Hirata! Hirata! Hirata!" calls from the rabid crowd. This was an entertaining match that kept moving, even when Tenzan was isolated for a while. The crowd response really added 50% to this match, as well as the other New Japan vs. Makai ones I've seen, and everyone in attendance seemed to be having a good time cheering their heroes and jeering their enemies. Yoshie had Yasuda down at the end, but Yanagisawa clobbered him with a brutal kick to the neck, and you could hear the impact. Yoshie slumped forward, looking totally KO'd, and Yasuda rolled him over for the win. There was more madness after the match, with Hoshino forcing the out-of-it Yoshie to wear a Makai mask, before the club was run off. The New Japan team, sans Yoshie, went over to Kotetsu Yamamoto in the commentary booth, and seemed to want his advice for how to counter these new guys, who were clearly outmatched from a pure ability standpoint, but had a refined method of brawling and cheating down to effectively defeat New Japan. The Makai rampage continued... Overall, one of the most entertaining and hottest shows in a while. Korakuen is odd for New Japan, sometimes it's quiet, sometimes really loud. This was the latter, with heat for almost everything, especially the last match, which was again molten hot. The undercard was chock full of nice matches, with Kenzo vs. Tanahashi standing out for me, and while the last two didn't continue that standard, they were still fast paced and fun, not going long enough to get boring. With everyone banding together against the outside threat, and the fans going nuts for it, New Japan felt more ALIVE than it had for ages.
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& Ebessan 