WAR Wrestle And Romance – Battle Angel In Korakuen Hall 04/02/95
By Maffew Gregg on 31 March 2024
Wrestle And Romance
Korakuen Hall
Attendance: 2,200
This show somehow sold out despite taking place on the same night as Weekly Pro Wrestling’s Bridge Of Dreams.
The Tokyo Dome show sellout, while expected because of the unbelievable depth of the line-up and the idea of 13 promotions all sending their top stars to one show, was even more bizarre when it came to media coverage. The media has so much more power over pro wrestling in Japan that no major company wanted to offend the largest circulation weekly by turning down their invitation to be a part of the show while all the smaller groups jumped at the chance to get their wrestlers to perform before such a huge crowd. When the smaller groups announced their matches first, with several going all out with their hottest in ring matches in attempts to get over in front of the big crowd, the bigger promotions were left with having to save face at the show by not being shown up and putting on much more attractive matches than even those at Weekly Pro when this idea was hatched figured they’d be able to get.
The exception was WAR, which has always had shaky relations with Weekly Pro dating back to its previous form as SWS when it, after negative articles, banned Weekly Pro from its shows and Weekly Pro countered by almost totally ignoring the existence of SWS. This brought Weekly Gong, a Pro Wrestling Illustrated-type weekly (as opposed to Weekly Pro which as far as the manner of coverage attempts to be Observer like but falls short because of the nature of Japanese culture to avoid confrontational situations), which is Weekly Pro’s main competition, into heavily pushing SWS and maintaining a strong relationship with Genichiro Tenryu’s new company. WAR had already had a show booked on 4/2 at Korakuen Hall, a stone’s throw away from the Tokyo Dome, and Gong got involved as co-promoters. New Japan, trying to play both ends, sent its top singles match to the Dome, but also sent its most famous active wrestler, Riki Choshu, along with several from its satellite Heisei Ishingun office to the Gong show.
The Korakuen Hall show also sold out and with standing room packed a reported 2,200 fans into the 1,850-seat Hall. A closed circuit site, which also sold out, was added to the grounds to handle the overflow. Ironically, it wasn’t until 8:45 p.m., minutes after the six hour and 45 minute-long Dome show had ended, but before the WAR main matches had gone into the ring, that the closed-circuit theater showing was packed since right after Shinya Hashimoto pinned Masa Chono to end the Dome show, an estimated 480 fans rushed to the theater to catch two more matches.
Craving more wrestling after a nearly seven hour show is insane. Or more accurately: sounds like being in town for Wrestlemania weekend.
Fray Tormenta & Fray Tormenta Jr. vs. ??? & Chakar Boy
That’s what it says on cagematch. Fray lands a few headscissors before the crowd laughs at him slipping. Jr. backflips a few times off the top rope before connecting with the ORIHARA MOONSAULT to the outside. Then Jr. gets a roll-up at 2:22 with the crowd sounding stunned by what they’d just witnessed WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS.
Oh a quick google reveals Fray Tormenta is the Lucha Priest that inspired Nacho Libre.
After reading his wikipedia page I give this match ******1/2
Michiko Omukai, Mikiko Futagami & Rumi Kazama vs. Carol Midori, Jen Yukari & Noriyo Tateno
LLPW had representation at Bridge Of Dream but were kind enough to send some rookies because of the existing Wrestle And Gorgeous relationship between the two companies.
Some wonderfully colourful and crazy 90s Joshi outfits here but I’m not going to even pretend to know who is who. Where’s Jabroniville when you need him? Everyone runs into chairs on the outside while watching out for creepy fans. The smallest, thinnest wrestler (Michiko) gets isolated and destroyed before Rumi saves but then she gets isolated and destroyed. It’s all well put together but crowd doesn’t care. Even when the German Suplexes get deployed there’s only polite applause. Cameras miss an attack by Michiko that gets a “ooooah” pop. Pins get kicked out of before Rumi lands a sit-out slam at 13:05. They worked hard and fast but this crowd was only tolerating rather than enjoying it.
Yone Genjin & Missing Link vs. Wellington Wilkins Jr. & Naohiro Hoshikawa
Willie has a snake that he dumps on The Missing Link and then uses to chase Yone into the crowd as the fans look absolutely terrified.
After Willie’s snake bothers some female fans (stop that), he slaps Yone the face-painted caveman around. Crowd don’t sound impressed with Yone’s antics but they like when Willie hurts him. Link tags in and lands some daft running headbutts as the crowd laughs it up. Yone and Link pose together and crowd really likes that. Always good when you get louder pops for not wrestling. Willie lands a jumping Tombstone and powerbomb but Link breaks it up with his head. Hoshikawa lands a really fast dive to the outside on poor Link, with Willie landing an even faster one off the top. Poor idiot. We clip ahead as crowd is finally laughing at dumb Yone as he wins with a back senton at 7:27. Harmless bollocks.
Ultimo Dragon & Yuji Yasuraoka vs. Masao Orihara & Ultimate Dragon
The OTHER meeting between Ultimate and Ultimo. Yuji and his mullet get isolated so Yuji can spike him through the mat with a Spider German, which Ultimo uses to attack Orihara while he’s still upside down. I like when wrestlers time their attacks like that. Ultimate is decent at grinding down Yuji but it’s hard to tell how good he actually is when he’s tagging with Orihara who is nuttier than squirrel poo. Ultimo and Orihara go at it with a very fast sequence, with the larger Orihara able to take a Frankensteiner Pin with ease. Ultimate tags in but Ultimo sees him as no threat and bounces him around like Steve McQueen’s ball until Orihara distracts Ultimo. Ultimate takes a lovely double-jump back kick from Yuji but that’s all he’s got going for him so Orihara kicks him from behind to reset the balance. Orihara then lands all the moves on Ultimo, looking motivated as hell. Ultimo absorbs a moonsault (must be that chest-plate) to cockily kick Orihara directly in the mush a few times. Yuji gets a flurry of offence and looks like he might be able to hang with the big boys before immediately flopping off the top rope.
Orihara wastes no time rolling Yuji up but does so directly into the ropes and even an AEW ref wouldn’t count that. Yuji REPEATS THE SPOT but it generates laughter from the crowd even when doing it properly. Oooof. Yuji attempts an Axe Handle to the outside but Ultimate walks away so Yuji eats shit twice in two minutes. No wonder this guy left wrestling quickly because immediately afterwards Ultimate busts out his insane SHOOTING STAR PRESS TO THE OUTSIDE.
Ultimate lands an in-ring version but Ultimo breaks the pin attempt to Superplex Ultimate to set up a no-selling Yuji top rope splash. Orihara breaks that up to take several Frankensteiners to give Ultimate the time to recover and moonsault Ultimo for two. Ultimate can jump up to the top rope but he’s so small that there’s barely any noise when he lands. He could moonsault an egg without cracking it. Orihara helps double team Ultimo but he’s not having any of it, leading to Yuji to tag in and clean house as this match is going long. Cameras miss Ultimo’s dive to the outside because the good cameramen went to the Dome. Yuji cruelly wins after a mediocre performance with a German Suplex on Ultimate at 19:13.
Like I’m going to give a match featuring a SSP to a downed opponent on the outside anything other than a “hell yeah” rating. Even Yuji, the Lance Von Erich of WAR’s Light Heavyweight Division couldn’t weigh this down. Orihara would come-and-go with his cruiserweight style but he brought it here to annoy Ultimo.
Osamu Tachihikari vs. Kim Duk
No. Just no. Osamu is as threatening as the lad from Oliver who asks for more gruel. I forget his name. Kim is so insulted by the quality of Osamu’s chops that he SMACKS him across the face, causing visible discomfort.
I’m not saying it’s right to beat up clueless newbies but it’s all Osamu has going for him. Duk pins him with a Tombstone after 4:02 and that’s with clipping. Felt like Jeff Hardy vs. Sting but at least that had a reason to be like that.
Hiroshi Itakura & Masanobu Kurisu vs. Death Mask & Isao Takagi
We’re clipped to Bradshaw-doing-Undertaker lariating Itakura. Isao tags in for mega slow action as Bradshaw takes notes for his ring style in ten years. Itakura sails with a Quebrada but everyone refuses to leave first gear. Hell, Isao is wrestling like he hasn’t left his house yet. Bradshaw sticks to his lariats and ends with a powerbomb at 11:03. Nothing here apart from JBL outshining the dullest wrestlers alive.
Nobukazu Hirai & Koji Kanemoto vs. Gedo & Lion Heart Chris Jericho
Kanemoto is the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion which isn’t a problem for Gedo who assumes he’s at that level. He ain’t, so Jericho is required to come in and save him. Jericho’s kicks generate nothing more than blank amusement from Koji who knows he’s above this sort of thing and tags in Hirai. Hirai is still rubbish but thanks to Fuyuki-Gun’s antics he at least has residual heat. Kanemoto locks in a missionary ankle lock and laughs as Gedo attempts to scrape his foot across his face, daring him to try it. Jericho has to help his lumpy mate and Kanemoto is nice enough to make it look like Jericho’s hurting him with an ankle lock before making his own comeback. Hirai and Gedo trade WAR Specials. Or should I say “making WAR less special?” HOW BOUT IT. Jericho does his best with Hirai but after taking a Tornado DDT awkwardly he realises he needs to be on offence and rocks him with a Reverse Suplex. Then Koji comes in for SLAPS and CHOKES and ANKLE LOCKS on poor Fuyuki-Gun as Koji is wrestling like he’s on the Kip Frey MOTN bonus system. Jericho drops Koji on his head with a DDT-suplex to temporarily stun him so Gedo can try a dive outside and land on nothing.
Jericho follows with his own jump off the top rope to set up the hot ending sequence that sadly involves Hirai kicking out of everything that Jericho throws at him, with Gedo’s WAR Special still not being able to put him away as this match is never-ending. Then Hirai makes a comeback which gets mild pops before Kanemoto dropkicks both men at once to kick start a hot sequence of double-teams with both lads landing top rope splashes and Frankensteiner Pins. Fuyuki-Gun decide to start kicking out of everything they’re doing as it’s only fair as this is suddenly approaching exciting as NOW everyone’s acting with urgency. Gedo starts taking out Kanemoto when Jericho busts out the finishers on Hirai, but Hirai keeps kicking out. Kanemoto brutally dumps Jericho on his head from an aborted Frankensteiner off the top but Lion Heart kicks out of Hirai’s initial pin attempt before finally taking a Tiger Suplex to end it at 23:14.
Ungodly long for what it was going for, which was “put over Hirai and Kanemoto” but it did pick up in the last few minutes when it started being competitive. I wonder if they went deliberately long to help the stragglers get from the Dome to the Hall for the main events. Jericho worked hard but Kanemoto was only focused on Kanemoto.
Hiromichi Fuyuki vs. Koki Kitahara
This is the semi-main? Yeesh. Koki’s ribs are taped up DDP style which doesn’t prevent Gedo from busting him open with a chair at ringside. Headbutts are exchanged and much yelling is made. It’s all cumbersome and perfunctory until Koki lobs chairs at Fuyuki. Fuyuki is best when he has someone to bounce his heat off, but Koki has no heat so he’s forced to bounce off himself. Fuyuki-Gun remove a ring rope in order to spruce this up. Doesn’t work. Koki chokes Fuyuki and lands a Liger Bomb but Fuyuki spray his eyes with Lynx Africa to help Fuyuki land a lariat and back front suplex at 14:10. Even with the gimmicks and weapons this was still by-the-numbers. Go away Koki.
Genichiro Tenryu & Riki Choshu & Animal Hamaguchi vs. Shiro Koshinaka & Tatsutoshi Goto & Michiyoshi Ohara
Crowd are thrilled to see the good guys and they waste no time by brawling at ringside, with Shiro split open in less than a minute.
And it’s a beautiful paint job, looking like Carrie’s date in no time. Animal gets massive cheers as he busts out his flying clothesline but it’s nothing compared to Tenryu’s tag and chops. YEAH SCREW YOU WEEKLY PRO. Choshu helps Animal land another clothesline and Animal’s arm has suddenly becomes a bloody sleeve due to the amount of claret on Shiro. Hell yeah. Goto thinks it’s time for Animal to take offence but Animal disagrees and tags in Choshu who seems reluctant. Shiro twats him with a chair as Riki’s mates watch on because yeah, someone needs to take a bit of offence (and it ain’t going to be them). Tenryu eventually decides to save him by wiping his feet all over Ohara who frantically tags in Shiro who is fully energised now he’s fully bloody. All the baddies land their trademarks but Tenryu kicks out of a Liger Bomb from Shiro, with dumb Goto lariating Tenryu into Riki’s tag setting up a comeback lariat. Shiro demands more and sticks Riki with a Spike Piledriver onto a chair but this is Choshu we’re talking about so he shrugs it off quickly enough. Tenryu’s the one who sells the idea of the possibility of a win, Choshu’s the one who murders people. Goto attempts to backdrop suplex Riki so Tenryu Enziguris him as he leaves his back exposed. Tenryu tries to end it with a Dirty Powerbomb but Shiro backs his arse into the attempt, before Animal and Riki take out everyone, leaving Goto free to take two more Dirty Powerbombs for the victory at 12:10.
Wasn’t sophisticated, wasn’t smooth but it was a blast to watch with the crowd loving every second of the good guy’s offence. Shiro was also particularly motivated against the staggering odds, presumably so he wasn’t made to look a complete bum knowing the good guys were going to eat him up if he so much as blinked. Feel good main event.
Overall: A weird odds ‘n’ sods show containing whatever wasn’t good enough for the Biggest Show Of All Time happening down the road. Ultimo and Tenryu’s matches were worth watching, everything else was a curiosity at best (like WAR in general).
The media situation surrounding the Weekly Pro Tokyo Dome show continued to ridiculous proportions and both magazines came out of the week with a major loss of credibility . This past week’s issue of Weekly Gong, not only never even acknowledged the Tokyo Dome show’s existence, but began with 25 color pages on its own show at Korakuen Hall emphasizing the fact it not only sold out small Korakuen Hall but also a closed-circuit site and then ran an additional four more news pages on the show inside. Despite magazine wars that have become like the worst of U.S. style promotional wars, when a show has virtually every leading name that works in the country all on the same card and draws 60,000 fans, it is huge news. When a show draws an all-time record gate and it’s ignored, it is worse than even the magazine journalism we have in the U.S. Even at the height of the problems between the wrestling mags in the states and the WWF in the late 80s when the Apter-mags were politically aligned with Jim Crockett, they never ignored a Wrestlemania or pretended Hulk Hogan’s popularity didn’t exist. Since I don’t read Japanese, I have to assume it was never mentioned that the closed-circuit sellout game with 80 to 90% of the people arriving at 8:45 p.m. after leaving the Tokyo Dome show.
Weekly Pro also had nothing on the Dome show, instead put out a special issue that came out on Tuesday devoted entirely to the show. But that magazine had nothing on the Korakuen show, which wasn’t as big a deal as not covering a Tokyo Dome, but it was a significant show that deserved some coverage. Fans, particularly in Japan, are smart enough to see through the politics and poor journalistic ethics when magazines are in their own war so they don’t cover shows promoted by a rival magazine, especially when it’s so blatantly obvious and both magazines in this case had to come out of it in the eyes of their readers with a black eye.
