WAR Wrestle And Romance – Super Revolution In Osaka 01/05/94
By Maffew Gregg on 3 December 2023
Wrestle And Romance
Osaka, Japan
Osaka Furitsu Taiikukaikan
Attendance: 4,100
Eh, a slow start to 1994 as January begins with…Tenryu beating Inoki in the main event of the NJPW Jan 4th Show????
Apparently the story behind the story was that Inoki wanted to win, but New Japan didn’t want it to happen. So they created the angle two weeks before the match where Inoki and Tenryu couldn’t agree on whether it would be martial arts (knockout or submission, but no pins) rules or pro wrestling rules. Both refused to sign the contract at that point, but a few days later it was announced it would be under pro wrestling rules. This match had the most heat of the card and they did all their spots fans were familiar with so everything was over. They actually stalled for several minutes early. The key point was Inoki getting Tenryu in the sleeper but Tenryu getting to the ropes. Tenryu sold it big, acting as if he was asleep, but since he was under the ropes, the match couldn’t end. All the WAR wrestlers at ringside kept screaming “Wake up, wake up” but Tenryu wouldn’t move for 30 seconds. At that point, Choshu slapped him hard in the face and Tenryu woke up, which was a spot so Inoki could look like a winner. Tenryu came back to win the match with a power bomb.
After the match they did another spot for Inoki to come out looking good. Tenryu said it was a great match and asked for a rematch on the next big show if Inoki’s busy schedule allowed him the time to free for wrestling, but Inoki said he was so busy with things that are far more important than pro wrestling that he didn’t think he’d have the time, so it was Inoki’s way at the end of when he lost making sure everyone knew that even though he had lost this match, that he had much more important things going on than pro wrestling matches, that he had graduated to more important things and thus losing this wasn’t really that big a deal.
Still, at the end, they tried to play this up big that Tenryu was the only wrestler in history ever to pin both Baba and Inoki. Stan Hansen had beaten them both, but Hansen’s win over Inoki was via count out.
So you’d think after Tenryu had beaten every top star NJPW had thrown at him for an entire year that the greatest interpromotional feud to ever happen would end with the biggest star in the history of the company having to return to save the day and send the bad guys packing but…no.
Inoki during this time was embroiled in yet another legal scandal, to the point where the match wasn’t broadcast on TV-Asahi because of the politics involved. It seems that Inoki wanted to win (and in fairness to Him With The Chin, it’s the decision that makes the most sense) but it was absolutely not the time for Inokimania to be running wild so Tenryu becomes not only the last person to ever beat Inoki in a singles match but also the only wrestler to beat Inoki and Baba. The previous person to beat Inoki was Shota Chochishvili (who?) in 1989, so this is a big, big, big, big fucking deal.
Let’s see if WAR’s first show of 1994 (held the day after) can add to that!
UWA World Middleweight Title Match
Ultimo Dragon vs. Ishinriki
Oh here we fucking go. Ishinriki was supposed to be feuding with Orihara but he’s such a bitch he makes Roddy Strong look like The Dynamite Kid so they’ve shoved him into the title match with Ultimo instead. Good.
We clip ahead because even the video editor can’t wait for this one to start, and start it does with Ultimo locking Ishinriki’s ankles as I notice both men are wearing very photogenic light blue gear. It’s almost baby blue which explains why neither man gets an entrance. Ishin gets his own ankle lock and Ultimo “nopes” out of them and spin-kicks him in the face and viciously dumps him with a backdrop suplex. Ishinriki shrugs off another kick to the face and gets his sumo charging lariat. Some harsh low kicks to a downed Ultimo only spurs the mad un to land a lariat with a really rubbish delayed sell from Ishinriki. And if any of this sounds interesting and fun then you’re not in this crowd who are not even breathing loudly. Tombstone gets two but it’s the crowd that needs one. Handspring into the corner vicariously sets up Ishinriki getting sent outside and eating a through-the-ropes suicide dive. Crowd doesn’t even pop for that. Contractually Obligated Mexican Surfboard gets a mild pop but Ishinriki’s springboard crossbody gets a bigger one. Ishinriki sloppily brings Ultimo back inside before splitting him in half with a backdrop suplex of his own for two. Top rope leg drop completely crushes Dragon’s face but only gets two. Dragon assures us he is alive with a German Suplex but Ishin rolls up for two. Dragon drops him with multiple Germans and roll-ups but nothing works until Ishinriki gets Dragon’s own rolling bridge to pin Dragon for the win and the title at 18:25.
This is one of those matches that looked much, much better on paper. It was a solid contest but Ishinriki clearly didn’t know the lucha style that well and second-guessed himself a bunch of times before winning really unconvincingly in a match that didn’t put the moves together well at all. For once, I’m with the dead crowd, who uses a rolling bridge as a finisher?
Mil Mascaras vs. Pierroth Jr.
Mil can’t get through the ropes with his sombrero, which is a shame as him wrestling with it on would have been more interesting than his usual showcase of three moves. Anyone else have dumb things they know off by heart that isn’t helpful in the slightest? Thanks to South Park I know O Canada better than God Save The King. Test of strength, Flying Cross Chop and Top Rope Crossbody, SKY HIGH AGAAAAIN, suck in gut, pin at 11:36. Crowd absolutely loves Mil and I can’t hold that against them.
Yuji Yasuroka vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa
The next four matches are somehow related, I think they’re try-out matches now we don’t have NJPW guys to fill up the cards. Yasuraoka flies around with wild enthusiasm, diving to the outside and springboarding around like a mad un. Takaiwa lands a fall-away slam pin which is funky. Yasuroka is taped up around his waist like DDP but it doesn’t matter as this is all about busting out cool moves like top rope splashes, with a German Suplex ending it at 9:28. Yasuroka was running on 200% enthusiasm here so of course he’d be done as a wrestler by 1998.
Masanobu Kurisu vs. Keigo Kurahara
Kurahara must be a friend of Aoyagi’s because he’s wearing a gi and he’s never seen again. Keigo throws a load of snappy kicks but Kurisu is both a) old and b) Japanese and if the Yakuza games have told us anything it’s that that nothing is harder than that. So Kurisu absorbs everything thrown his way before using a chair in a round-based match (to a huge pop which probably explains why this match is heavily clipped) before winning with a single crab. Well that was a waste of time.
Norman Smiley vs. Masao Orihara
It must be 1066 because Norman’s showing up to rule. Orihara hurts himself taking down Norman (because he’s a little bitch), so Norman takes him down and wrists his lock. Orihara’s chest is already bright red after a minute. Smiley locks in the future finisher Crossface Chickenwing but he’s not wrestling the KISS Demon so it doesn’t end things yet. Orihara finally escapes and manages to walk up Norman in the corner like he’s a wall before getting taken down and played around with some more. Norman eventually gets sent outside and in a horrible, horrible moment Orihara decides to moonsault without checking where Norman is on the outside aaaaand completely eats shit.
Orihara looks embarrassed and thankfully connects with the MELTZER MOVE MOST LIKELY TO WIN AN AWARD BUT ALSO SHOULDN’T DO BECAUSE IT’S DANGEROUS MOONSAULT 1991 that I’m not going to GIF because I feel bad for him. Orihara rolls back in and very nearly gets the win with La Mahistral and crowd are suddenly liking the idea of him winning a match. Even falling off the top rope because his leg hurts gets genuine support. Orihara can barely jump up for Norman’s German Suplexes because he really has hurt himself so Norman lands several of them to make up for it and then it’s over at 13:49.
This was lovely Norman-based mat action until Masao yelled IT’S ORIHARA TIME and Orihara-ed everywhere. Make like his moonsault and miss this one.
The Great Kabuki vs. Nobukazu Hirai
We’re thankfully JIP. Amazingly, Kabuki sells a lot for Hirai and actually runs around for him in order for Hirai to get all his stuff in, even helping him do the rolling pin thing around the mat. He even starts doing moves, including some powerbombs! Which Hirai kicks out of! A lariat puts away Hirai and I can’t believe Kabuki is the one who made his opponent look the most credible in this four-match series, fuck this tape.
Ashura Hara & Hiromichi Fuyuki vs. Shiro Koshinaka & Tatsutoshi Goto
Oh this match looks potentially dangerous. Hara and Shiro trade headbutts to zero reaction because this crowd stinks. Fuyuki tags in to go at it with Shiro yet again, with Shiro fearing the Wario yelling and tagging out to the strangely popular Goto. Oh I see why the crowd’s been quiet, they’re all NJPW fans who couldn’t get tickets to the dome. Hara comes in for some lariats as it’s the only non-headbutt move he knows. Shiro lands THE ASS, leading to Goto getting more shots in on Fuyuki to cheers because the guy just can’t win. Goto messes up a slam (HOW?) so Shiro can double stomp Fuyuki off the top and that has to suck. Shiro is not a small man. Fuyuki signals he’s making a comeback by making a noise like a puppy gnawing at a tennis ball before Hara tags in for more lariats. Once he pretends to be hurt for a bit, he makes a comeback and in the highlight of the night he shrugs off Goto’s headbutts in the corner and comes back with his own, leading to Shiro attempting a headbutt from the apron to the back of Hara. Crowd loved that, Hara barely noticed. Fuyuki tags in and bangs Shiro’s head off of Hara’s on the apron with neither reacting. Both men collide like Newton’s Cradle until Hara tries to double lariat both men who stare at him briefly before clobbering him. OK now this has turned into a comedy match the crowd are enjoying themselves. Shiro’s insanely brutal TOP ROPE ASS only half-kills Hara so he’s able to kick out. Everyone starts making like the B-17 and start throwing bombs around, leading to Hara taking a Backdrop Suplex on the damn floor and Fuyuki taking a powerbomb, but still kicking out. Fuyuki will not be pinned and this causes the crowd to cheer him because they like when he gets attacked, before taking a final powerbomb to end it at 15:00 clean.
Started off with more stodge than a chip butty with mushy peas but really got going in the second half with everyone making up for their limitations with stiffness and comedy.
Genichiro Tenryu & Koki Kitahara vs. Keiji Muto & El Samurai
Tenryu’s got an unlimited Super Meter right now so he’s coming for the last NJPW fish he’s yet to catch: Muto. Weird partner choice in Samurai but I imagine the rest of NJPW ran out the room when they heard Tenryu’s name mentioned. At least Tenryu’s brought in Koki to pretend this is going to be a fair fight.
This is somehow only Muto and Tenryu’s second ever match together and they start off with Muto showing he has a snap in everything he does to show the good version of him has shown up tonight. Tenryu chops Muto and he does not like that, grabbing Mr. Wrestling and suplexing him on the concrete. Tenryu makes a desperate tag to Koki so Muto tags in Samurai before…running over and kicking Tenryu on the apron like a bastard. Crowd doesn’t care about Koki vs. Samurai until Muto tags in, gets one stomp on Koki before mauling Tenryu on the apron again. One enziguri puts Muto down so Samurai comes in to get decapitated now that Tenryu is awake. Crowd has no interest in Koki and his zero expression boring offence so they light up like fireworks when Tenryu destroys Samurai with a chop and mouths off at Muto. Samurai lands a tope to the outside so Muto can snap that sweet elbow of his to Koki. So Tenryu tries to save the day before taking more shots from the pair of them, even selling a Samurai Sunset Flip by immediately tagging out to Koki, letting him knock down Samurai and then tagging in for sweet revenge. Muto doesn’t like that and Handspring Elbows Tenryu in the corner but misses the moonsault. Tenryu Powerbombs Muto and locks in the WAR Special with Samurai making the save, which leads to him running directly into a Tenryu lariat. Koki tags in to take a rolling senton from Samurai but he recovers to deliver a Dragon Suplex, with Tenryu defending his partner and Muto hesitating to fuck with Tenryu and hoping Samurai will kick out…only for him not to do so at 15:28 and causing Tenryu to mock Muto.
You can make the argument that the finish was sloppy, I however loved the naturalness of it with both men’s reactions adding to it. HA I WON YOU IDIOT. Match was grand thanks to the efforts of Muto and Tenryu (yeah big surprise there) with Samurai getting a chance to sign. Koki continues to be exposed in big matches however, which is a shame but wrestling is cruel like that sometimes.
Overall: Felt like the awkward clean-up after the giant party the day before. Crowd was silent and the undercard was far below par, but the last two matches were worth a watch if you’re running out of 1992 WWF Superstars to browse.
And that…is the end of the NJPW vs. WAR feud, at least on WAR’s end. Tenryu has defeated all the Musketeers as well as Fujinami, Choshu and now even Inoki. Tenryu’s not just beaten the game, he’s unlocked all the achievements so it’s time to trade NJPW at the local CEX and feud with something else.
We’ll see what that is next week but for now, here’s Meltzer to sum up why the WAR feud was so important to NJPW:
New Japan from a business standpoint was easily the promotion of the year. From selling out the Tokyo Dome in January, to drawing 55,000 at the Fukuoka Dome in May, to drawing night-after-night of megagates in August and September, this group did more major shows than ever before, and did them as successfully as any promotion has in years. However, New Japan got stale as the year went on. The tag team tournament series in October through early November was largely a flop, and the late November/early December tour only had an average amount of interest in what is traditionally the hottest period for wrestling in Japan. Television ratings also started to decline, particularly after the disappointing in-ring Fukuoka Dome show.
The promotion was largely built around the influx of Genichiro Tenryu, a long-time superstar for All Japan who had been with SWS and WAR for the past several years. Tenryu, who at one-time was the most popular wrestler in Japan, saw his popularity fade badly being involved with two promotions with little appeal. However, when put in the New Japan rings, it created a series of prospective dream matches with Riki Choshu, Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiji Muto, Masa Chono, Shinya Hashimoto and Antonio Inoki. Tenryu was used carefully throughout the year and not exploited. He split two singles matches with Riki Choshu, winning the first as he needed to for long-term credibility as a serious challenger in 1993 to all the top stars rather than being a 1980s wrestler. He then won two major singles matches with Hashimoto and another with Chono, and another against Hiroshi Hase, to make up for a first time loss to Fujinami (which set up his beating Fujinami). The first match with Inoki was held off until the Tokyo Dome, and singles matches with Muto are still to come. Tenryu, like Choshu and Fujinami, are nowhere near the wrestlers they were six or seven years ago, but they are big names well-known to the general public, and when carefully booked in well promoted singles matches with logical booking, it spelled New Japan’s most successful year to date.
