Happy Wednesday Everyone!
Seeing as Wrestling Dontaku normally takes place in May, I decided to head onto New Japan World to see what matches they had uploaded from past Dontaku events. They actually had two matches with special English commentary, so I decided to review them plus one additional match as well. We’ll be looking at one match from 1993, one from 1994 and finally one from 1995.
Wrestling Dontaku 1993 – 3rd May
IWGP Heavyweight Champ The Great Muta Vs WWF Champ Hulk Hogan w/ Jimmy Hart
This match has English commentary from Kevin Kelly. This match caused some controversy at the time as Hogan cut a very negative promo about the WWF Title once it was over, saying that he thought it was on par with a Christmas ornament and the belt he really wanted was the IWGP Heavyweight Title. As you can imagine, Hogan and the WWF weren’t on the best of terms at the time and Hogan was eventually squished by Yokozuna a month later before disappearing from the WWF from 9 years.
Hogan would actually try and wrestle when he came to Japan as he knew the Japanese fans expected more than the standard Hogan formula bout, something he shows early on by doing some nice stuff on the mat. Hogan sells quite a bit for Muta as well, taking some nice bumps for him off some dropkicks and just generally treating him like a physical threat. Muta really plays up to his crazed Heel persona, even crawling under the ring at one stage in an effort to throw Hogan off his game. The crowd heat isn’t as great for the match as you would expect though, even though both men had the sort of mainstream appeal that you’d think the casual fans in the Fukuoka Dome would appreciate.
There’s quite a bit of brawling outside the ring, with it even spilling into the crowd itself at one stage, which leads to Muta taking the bell hammer from the timekeepers desk and clocking Hogan with it a couple of times. Muta at least made some effort to not do it in full view of the ref by getting his body in the way somewhat so that the ref didn’t look too silly for not calling for a DQ. We head out to the ramp as well at one stage, where Muta gets a suplex and then runs all the way down the ramp with a big clothesline to pop the crowd. Muta launching himself down the ramp to deliver that move would go on to become an iconic image in the history of New Japan.
Hogan gets riled up by this though and goes to the eyes back inside, drawing audible boos from the crowd who clearly want Muta to win here even though he’s been wrestling more like a Heel. Muta manages to fight back though and heads up with a Moonsault for two, which draws some more boos from the Muta fans in the audience who wanted him to win. Muta continues to do some crazy stuff, such as swinging on some kind of rope that was there for the technicians to use into a flying kick on Hogan. Muta tries to bring a chair into the ring following that but the ref takes it from him and that allows Hogan to get the Axe Bomber Lariat. Hogan tries to use the chair as well following that, but Muta gets the mist to save himself. Most of the mist caught Hogan in the chest though and that means he is able to dodge a follow up Muta attack and get another Axe Bomber for the clean three count.
WINNER: HULK HOGAN
RATING: **1/2
I’m probably lower than most on this one. I actually thought the wrestling was decent, but the crowd reactions left it feeling flat and I struggled to get into it as a result.
The WWF Champ coming in and beating the IWGP Champ clean was certainly a choice, but Hogan wasn’t going to look at the lights and Hashimoto would end the year as IWGP Champ anyway. Muta got enough offence in that I didn’t think he looked weak at least and Hogan mostly treated him as an equal throughout the bout.
Wrestling Dontaku 1994 – 1st May
The Great Muta Vs Antonio Inoki
This match was the first in a countdown of Inoki’s final matches on route to his retirement in 1998. Inoki actually wasn’t being shown on the New Japan TV show at the time as he was embroiled in a political scandal and the TV Networks didn’t want him on in case it damaged their image. As a result this match was originally a home video exclusive until both New Japan and the TV companies mellowed enough on Inoki that they finally started showing his matches again when the 1995 January Tokyo Dome show took place.
Muta actually meets Inoki in the aisle during Inoki’s entrance, which leads to both men removing their entrance attire and squaring off, which the crowd is into. Muta actually backs off though and then holds the ropes open for Inoki so that Inoki can get into the ring. That was a really intense moment there and both men sold it perfectly. I like how even Great Muta the insane dangerous Heel still has respect for Inoki.
This is one of those matches where the actual wrestling isn’t great but the crowd are really invested so it keeps things entertaining. Honestly these days I think I’d rather watch a so-so match with great heat than a great match in front of a crowd that doesn’t really care. It’s probably why I’m a fan of Junkyard Dog even though his wrestling was never great because he could usually get the crowd interested in his matches and it’s just fun to watch people getting into a match.
The match is mostly on the mat early going, with Muta also stalling a bit to get his wacked out Heel character over. Inoki looks really good from a physique perspective here but by this stage he was starting to show his age a bit facially. I would imagine the stress of the scandal probably didn’t help him in that regard. Inoki is actually on the defensive quite a bit in this one, with Muta working holds and Inoki not really having much of an answer for him. This happened quite a bit during this period actually, as Inoki’s matches usually saw him get worked over and then catch his opponent with a hold OUTTA NOWHERE to win.
Muta heads outside to mess around with the rope ladder that he swung around on against Hogan in 1993, as this match really doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere at this stage. It feels like they’re kind of just filling time, which is weird because usually in Inoki matches they would tend to get to the point pretty quickly, with the idea being that Inoki’s matches were more “real” and could thus end at any time, so a sub 10 minute match was not surprising. Inoki starts selling that Muta is frustrating him at one stage, so there is a storyline reason for all of this wasted time I guess as it’s supposed to be mind games from Muta in order to throw Inoki off his game.
When Muta finally stops stalling it leads to him spitting green mist in Inoki’s face for what amounts to the cut off, leading to both men heading out to the ramp for a suplex from Muta and the running clothesline from all the way down the entrance way. The year distance between the first and second time Muta did that spot did little to diminish it’s coolness. Muta works some heat back inside the ring following that, with Inoki selling and bumping for it well whilst Muta does some good Heel character work, including a piledriver on a table outside the ring.
Inoki comes up bleeding following that, meaning his face is now a mixture of crimson and green. I wonder if green mist stings if it gets into a cut. Thankfully that’s a question I’ll never personally know the answer to because I’m never going to do it. Inoki finally manages to hit a desperation enziguri at one stage, getting some great facial expressions showing how angry he’s getting at Muta’s dirty tactics, and then starts firing back with some big right hands back inside the ring. Say what you want about Inoki, but the dude certainly threw a good punch. Along with Bret Hart I think he’s one of the more under rated punch throwers in wrestling, with most usually mentioning the likes of Jerry Lawler and leaving those two out when the topic comes up.
Inoki applies what looks like a sleeper at one stage but the referee judges it to be a choke and forces Inoki to release it, which allows Muta to spray yet MORE mist (where the heck is he getting all this stuff from?!) and then head up for a Moonsault, which leads to Inoki kicking out in his usual manner of just barely raising up his shoulder in an almost relaxed manner. Muta delivers yet another Moonsault but Inoki once again kicks out, as the crowd are losing their minds now and the match has really picked up after a slow and awkward first three quarters. Inoki manages to dodge a handspring back elbow though and puts on a quick sleeper before pinning a momentarily stunned Muta for three.
WINNER: ANTONIO INOKI
RATING: **
This one took a while to get going but the closing exchanges were entertaining. I think Inoki needed to apply the hold a bit longer before making the pin as Muta probably wasn’t in it long enough for him to believably knocked out so much.
Inoki does his usual post-match promo work and the crowd is into him. I can’t tell what he’s saying but the crowd is invested in it and his delivery is very good
Wrestling Dontaku 1995 – 3rd May
IWGP Heavyweight Title
Champ: Shinya Hashimoto Vs Keiji Muto
Hashimoto had been a very dominant IWGP Champ in the build-up to this one, with Muto going through quite the story arc where he had lost matches against the likes of Scott Norton and Hiroyoshi Tenzan in order to delay his eventual Title shot. It took going up to a Buddhist temple and growing a swank beard for Muto to finally get his head right so that he could step up to challenge for the Title here in Fukuoka. Unlike the previous two matches, this one doesn’t have any English commentary. It also doesn’t have entrances either, which is something New Japan World really needs to get sorted when it comes to these classic matches. They need to arrange some sort of deal for the music rights as it really hampers the enjoyment of these classic matches sometimes.
The early exchanges feature a lot of patient mat wrestling as both men attempt to out wrestle the other. It’s solidly executed technical wrestling and both men sell it all well, but I could see some finding it to be a bit slow. They’re going for nearly 20 minutes so they are clearly trying to gradually build the match by patiently starting it out on the mat before upping the pace as the bout progresses. It’s like a classic World Title bout in that regard, and the match has a realistic feel of an actual contest between two wrestlers who are trying to out grapple the other, so fans of that sort of realism in wrestling will appreciate it.
Hashimoto eventually decides that he’s had enough of this technical wrestling nonsense and starts throwing some stiff kicks, and they reverberate throughout The Dome. Hashimoto is very much one of those guys who I grew to appreciate more over time, because he didn’t have a good look and his offence mostly looked like it killed people in the wrong sort of way, but when I got to grips with the idea that his whole in-ring style was based around creating a realistic vibe to his matches then I started to dig him a bit more. I still think he might be a tad too stiff sometimes, but aside from that I feel I understand him more as a performer these days and that’s led to me appreciating him a bit more as well.
There’s no real period of the match where one man dominates for a prolonged period of time, with the momentum ebbing and flowing as it progresses, which keeps the feeling of the match being a real contest between two men who are trying to get the better of the other. The crowd gets increasingly more into the match as it progresses as well, highlighting how good a job both men have done of building the match from the beginning as they’ve clearly hooked the crowds attention and now they are starting to up the ante so that they get into the big moves and near falls. They throw in submission teases as well, with Muto going to a cross arm breaker at one stage, which would carry more significance later in the year when New Japan started feuding with UWFi.
The crowd is really into things once they enter into the final 10 minutes of the match, with both wrestlers hitting their big moves and the crowd biting on all of the big near falls. The finish is really well done as well, as Muto quickly catches Hashimoto with a DDT when Hashimoto tries a Brain Buster and they take it home almost straight after with Muto heading up with two quick fire Moonsaults to pick up the three count. Sadly New Japan are too cheap to spring for “Hold Out” so we have to watch the amassed crowd go nuts in silence, which takes away from the moment somewhat.
WINNER AND NEW CHAMPION: KEIJI MUTO
RATING: ****
I can see some finding this one to be a bit too slow and thus struggling to get into it, but I think others will really appreciate the gradual build and the strong near fall game in the second half of the match. I really enjoyed the match and liked the way it built, with the wrestling always being solid and the crowd really getting into the match as it progressed. Muto had a very good year in 1995 when it came to match quality and this was a good example of that
Hashimoto and Muto are both great selling the result, with Muto almost unbelieving of it at first before finally bringing himself to celebrate, whilst Hashimoto is visibly dejected that his long Title reign has come to an end. They’d even give Muto another big win over Hashimoto in the G1 Climax Final in August 1995, so Muto conclusively won this feud. Ironically though he would then lose the IWGP Title to the UWFi and the responsibility would fall on Hashimoto to win it back for New Japan
In Conclusion
Issues with the music and slow buffering aside (seriously, the buffering on these classic videos on New Japan World really is terrible. They still have a long way to go with optimising that website) every match here had something worthwhile in it, even if only one of the matches was in the **** range by my own personal watch.
We’ll stick with classic New Japan content next week as I might as well justify my World sub, so we’ll return with a special tournament from 1995 that features a particularly notorious bout.