(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: NJPW Super J-Cup 1994 – 30th Anniversary Edition

Thirty years ago New Japan Pro-Wrestling put on one of the most interesting and exciting shows in modern wrestling history. Not only was it entertaining but it changed the wrestling landscape in general. This show proved that smaller, quicker wrestlers could draw big houses and have high-caliber matches just as well as the heavyweights that usually closed the shows.

Much has changed in the wrestling business since then, but one thing that remains the same is that smaller wrestlers do usually steal the show. Guys like Bryan Danielson, Will Ospreay, AJ Styles, and Rey Mysterio are all hailed as some of the best to ever do it. But none of them would’ve ever gotten a chance to showcase their talents had it not been for this show, which was put together by this man.

By 1994 Jushin Liger was the unquestioned centerpiece of New Japan’s junior heavyweight division and one of the company’s most popular wrestlers. Wanting to extend that popularity to other wrestlers his size, and to shine a greater spotlight on other “juniors”, Liger convinced NJPW to give him complete creative control to book a one-night single-elimination tournament composed of junior heavyweights from both New Japan and elsewhere.

The tournament brought fourteen wrestlers from six different promotions together to see who the best would be. Some of these wrestlers were going to wrestle multiple matches in one night with little to no preparation against people with differing styles. This gave some of the matches more of an on-the-fly nature as the people involved had to do what was best in the moment rather than follow some pre-prepared outline. But that also made it more of a test: how would these wrestlers do under the added pressure of having less time to put their matches together?

NJPW Presents Super J-Cup: 1st Stage
April 16, 1994
Sumo Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 11,500

The Participants

Representing New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW): Black Tiger II, Dean Malenko, El Samurai, Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger, Shinjiro Otani, and Wild Pegasus

Representing Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW): Super Delfin, TAKA Michinoku, and The Great Sasuke

Representing Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW): Ricky Fuji and Hayabusa

Representing Wrestling Association R (WAR): Gedo

Representing Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL): Negro Casas

Representing Social Progress Wrestling Federation (SPWF): Masayoshi Motegi

Super J-Cup – Round 1

Match #1: Dean Malenko (NJPW) vs. Gedo (WAR)

Malenko lands some dropkicks that send Gedo out of the ring. Gedo returns and they have a little technical exchange that ends with Malenko working Gedo’s leg. Gedo transitions into a cross armbreaker attempt but Malenko fights it. They have another nice exchange that leads to some great reversals. Malenko counters an armbar into a headscissors leading to a standoff. Gedo goes back to working the leg but Malenko transitions into his own cross armbreaker. Gedo resists and bridges into a pin for two. Gedo tries to out-wrestle Malenko but fails as Malenko counters him into another grounded hold. After another standoff, Gedo takes control with kicks and chops. Malenko fights back with forearms and a running head-butt for a two-count. Malenko tries different head-and-neck-based submission holds until he lands a quick dragon sleeper for two. Gedo escapes by raking Malenko’s eyes but Malenko fights back. He rams Gedo into a corner and lands a delayed vertical suplex for another two-count, then applies a figure-4 neck lock. Gedo escapes and transitions into a type of STF but Malenko reaches the ropes. They brawl and then land double clotheslines on each other. Both men go down.

Malenko goes for a Tombstone but Gedo counters into one of his own. Malenko avoids a diving head-butt and clotheslines Gedo for two. Gedo reverses an Irish whip and sends Malenko into the corner. Gedo charges but Malenko dodges and lands a top-rope diving crossbody for another close two-count. Gedo reverses an Irish whip on Malenko but he answers with a kick. Malenko charges but walks into a powerslam from Gedo that gets him the three-count at 8:04.

Winner and advancing to the next round: Gedo (WAR)

Review: **3/4 Great for the amount of time given. Malenko and Gedo packed tons of action into their match without it ever feeling like overkill. Malenko used his mat game to try and beat Gedo but Gedo was just a bit too clever for Malenko. Everything was crisp and smooth. Nothing bad at all. Off to a good start here.

Match #2: Shinjiro Otani (NJPW) vs. Super Delfin (MPW)

Otani takes Delfin down before the bell and starts kicking his leg. He continues with one leg submission hold after another, destroying Delfin’s ability to move around. Delfin tries to escape by raking Otani’s eyes but Otani doesn’t waver. Delfin does manage to reach the ropes but Otani resumes his leg-based assault less than a second later. Otani applies a single leg crab but Delfin reaches the ropes. Delfin Irish whips Otani but Otani takes him down with a shoulder tackle. Otani continues running and somehow Delfin manages to leapfrog and lands a dropkick on Otani. Delfin lands one tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but gets too close to the ropes for a pin. He goes for another but Otani counters into a spinkick, followed by a wheel kick. Delfin escapes the ring and Otani dares him to come back, and even holds the ropes open for him. Delfin returns and Otani immediately attacks the same leg as before. Delfin escapes another leg hold so Otani pushes his knees into Delfin’s face. Otani applies another leg lock but Delfin rolls over to rake Otani’s eyes and reach the ropes.

Delfin stomps on Otani and lands a backdrop suplex for a two-count. Brainbuster by Delfin for two. Delfin tries another suplex but Otani escapes and dropkicks him out of the ring. Springboard body press by Otani. Otani tosses Delfin back into the ring and lands a springboard dropkick for two. He dropkicks Delfin’s knee and applies a kneebar. Delfin reaches the ropes, so Otani lets go, pulls him away from the ropes, and reapplies the same hold. Delfin crawls to the ropes once again. Otani whips Delfin into a corner and Delfin gets his boot up to stop a charging Otani. Otani tries to punch Delfin off the top turnbuckle but Delfin blocks and lands a Tornado DDT. He follows that with a cradle pin for the win at 8:06.

Winner and advancing to the next round: Super Delfin (MPW)

Review: *** This was good but hamstrung by Delfin’s lack of selling. Otani spent most of the match attacking Delfin’s legs but Delfin acted like that never happened. Otani was still relatively new to wrestling having debuted less than two years earlier. But he looked good here as a Japanese version of Dean Malenko that focused on pure grappling and hard kicks. I think if Delfin sold the leg more and showed he was trying to overcome some sort of pain, then this would have been one of the better matches on the card.

Match #3: Black Tiger II (NJPW) vs. TAKA Michinoku (MPW)

Black Tiger II (Eddy hereafter) is Eddy Guerrero under a mask. They shake hands and the bell rings. They have a nice technical exchange and Eddy rubs his boot in TAKA’s face. Scoop slam and Senton atomico by Eddy and then TAKA kicks out of a Folding Powerbomb. Eddy lands a running kick and a neckbreaker for another two-count. He applies an abdominal stretch and then applies a quick sharpshooter. Both men go down on a shoulder tackle exchange and TAKA gains the upper hand with some quick shots. But his control is short-lived as Eddy drops him with a running clothesline. Eddy whips TAKA, TAKA ducks a clothesline and lands a to-rope springboard moonsault over Eddy’s head. Eddy leapfrogs but walks into a headscissor takedown that sends him flying out of the ring. TAKA shows off with another springboard flip that pops the crowd. After recovering ringside, Eddy clotheslines TAKA in the corner. He tries a second one but TAKA flips over him again and lands a snap belly-to-belly suplex.

A dropkick sends Eddy out of the ring and TAKA lands another springboard body press. TAKA gets to the ring first and tries to suplex Eddy over the rope. But Eddy lands on his feet and goes for a German suplex, only for TAKA to counter into a German of his own for two. Standing Frankensteiner by TAKA for another two-count. Eddy counters an Irish whip into a pop-up powerbomb for a close two-count of his own. A frog splash by Eddy gets another two-count. Eddy goes for a slam but TAKA counters into an awesome sunset flip variation for another two-count. Thunder Fire Powerbomb. Eddy kicks out. Snap Moonsault. Eddy kicks out again. TAKA goes for a second moonsault. Eddy gets his knees up and hits a Brainbuster for yet another close two-count. Eddy follows with a tornado DDT that nets him the three-count after 6:47.

Winner and advancing to the next round: Black Tiger II (Eddy Guerrero) [NJPW]

Review: ***1/4 This is about as close to the ‘modern indy cruiserweight match’ as it gets. They packed an incredible amount of action into less than seven minutes, yet the match had the right pacing. It wasn’t a carefully-structured masterpiece with deep psychology; instead, they just threw bombs at each other to gradually wear each other down until one guy could catch the other off guard long enough to score a big finisher. TAKA got to shine as the smaller wrestler and Eddy showed that he could do a mix of things from flying to power moves.

Match #4: El Samurai (NJPW) vs. Masayoshi Motegi (SPWF)

Motegi lands some dropkicks that send Samurai out of the ring. Motegi follows up with a suicide dive through the ropes. He goes for a dive off the top rope but loses his balance and falls back into the ring. Samurai returns to the ring and gets an armlock in. Motegi tries to escape but Samurai wrestles into a leglock, and then into a chinlock. They brawl for a bit and Samurai lands a piledriver for two, followed by a back suplex for another two-count. Samurai applies a Boston Crab but Motegi counters and they trade covers. Samurai gets some quick pin attempts off a ground headlock counter and then grounds Motegi with a neck scissor hold. Samurai lands a Tombstone piledriver for two and the two of them brawl again. Samurai counters a clothesline into a Reverse Bloody Sunday of sorts for yet another two-count.

Samurai Irish whips Motegi again but this time Motegi holds onto the ropes. He dropkicks Samurai against the ropes and charges but Samurai ducks and tosses him out of the ring. Samurai follows with a dive of his own through the ropes. Samurai suplexes Motegi over the rope and into the ring. Diving shotgun dropkick gets two. Samurai goes for a Frankensteiner but Motegi counters into a powerbomb for a near-fall. Motegi applies a rolling Romero Special, and then transitions into the Romero dragon sleeper. They Irish whip each other and Motegi lands an awkward-looking running press that looks like a botched attempt at a tilt-a-whirl. Motegi goes for the triple German suplexes, but on the third one Samurai counters into a victory roll for two. Motegi whips Samurai but Samurai ducks under him. They trade rear waistlocks until Samurai lands a bridging German suplex for two. Thunder Fire Powerbomb by Samurai. That’s enough for the pin and the win after 7:40.

Winner and advancing to the next round: El Samurai (NJPW)

Review: **1/4 Disappointing match based on the high bar set by what preceded it. Motegi was a few steps behind Samurai here and it showed. He botched a few key moves and didn’t look that impressive. Samurai basically carried him throughout the match. It wasn’t anything too special, save for Samurai hitting some of the most unique moves seen so far.

Match #5: Ricky Fuji (FMW) vs. Negro Casas (CMLL)

Casas lands a dropkick but Fuji tries taking control with an armlock. Casas counters into a headlock but Fuji counters that into a leg scissor headlock. Casas managed to wrestle into a chinlock, but Fuji crawls to the ropes before Casas can apply his bow-and-arrow hold. Casas grapples his way into a head scissor hold this time but Fuji manages to escape into a headlock. Casas counters into another scissor hold but Fuji gets to his feet, so Casa kicks him hard. Casas lands a clothesline for two but Fuji catches his leg and starts working it over. Casas counters into a dragon sleeper and lands a standing senton for another two-count. He dropkicks Fuji out of the ring and lands a quick dive from the top rope onto Fuji at ringside.

Fuji gets in first and lands a single knee backbreaker and a scoop slam. Fuji climbs the top rope and lands a diving double ax handle for two, along with a snap suplex for another two-count. Fuji goes for a second one but Casas lands behind him and amateur drops him and goes for a Magistral pin but Fuji escapes quickly. Casas lands a second-rope senton for two but Fuji dodges a second one. Fuji lands some running clotheslines and standing stomach kicks, and follows with a Tigerbomb for the pin and the win at 5:53.

Winner and advancing to the next round: Ricky Fuji (FMW)

Review: **1/4 Whereas the last match was a bit botchy this one was simply bland an uninspiring by comparison. The action was pedestrian but inoffensive, almost like the polar opposite of the Eddy/TAKA match that was packed with action and went a similar length. Neither guy really stood out, but otherwise this was a passable ‘mid’ match to bring the crowd down for what was about to come.

Match #6: Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger (NJPW) vs. Hayabusa (FMW)

This oughta be good.

This is the debut of the Hayabusa character in Japan following Eiji Ezaki’s foreign excursion. As soon as Liger takes his cape off, Hayabusa dropkicks him and then spinkicks him out of the ring. Hayabusa charges and does a suicide dive over the rope and onto Liger with his coat still on. Awesome.

He tosses Liger into the ring and lands a diving dropkick to the back of Liger’s head. Hayabusa applies a double-arm stretch and goes for a pin but Liger’s already got his shoulders up in anticipation. Hayabusa slams him and lands a jumping leg drop for two. Hayabusa applies a leglock and lands one jumping knee to Liger’s shin, but Liger rolls to safety before the second one. Liger whips Hayabusa, kicks his leg from underneath him and applies a Figure-4 leglock. Hayabusa reaches the ropes so Liger picks him up and drops him with a flurry of palm thrusts. Liger lands a release powerbomb for two and applies a leglock of his own but Hayabusa escapes. Liger follows with a clothesline for two and gets in another leglock but Hayabusa escapes quickly once again. Hayabusa applies a headlock but Liger counters into a backdrop suplex and lands a rolling kick into the corner. Liger lands a superplex for two and hits some hard strikes as Hayabusa staggers. Liger whips him into a corner but Hayabusa flips out, ducks a clothesline, and lands a big spinkick and a dropkick for a two-count. Hayabusa lands a spinkick and a flipping senton for two, followed by a top-rope spinkick for another two-count.

A moonsault gets Hayabusa another two-count, as does a top-rope headscissor takedown. Hayabusa lands a rib breaker and flies through the air with a shooting star press, but flies too far and misses Liger almost completely. Liger takes advantage with a Ligerbomb that only gets a two-count. Liger places Hayabusa on the top turnbuckle but Hayabusa fights out. Hayabusa dives for a dropkick but Liger powerbombs him in midair. Awesome counter. A Fisherman Buster gets Liger the pin after 10:23.

Winner and advancing to the next round: Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger (NJPW)

Review: ***1/2 This is one of the most iconic matches of the entire Super J Cup tournament. Even though he lost, Hayabusa came off as a star. He held his own with Liger and did some crazy daredevil maneuvers. It was fun seeing Hayabusa act as this unchained flying machine facing off against a more controlled and relatively subdued, Liger. And while Hayabusa did botch a few things (notably that SSP that went too far) he definitely turned some heads and have FMW a much-needed shot in the arm. Match of the night so far.

Super J-Cup – Quarter-Final Round

Match #7: Gedo (WAR) vs. Super Delfin (MPW)

Delfin lands an armlock early on but Gedo escapes. Delfin takes him down again and applies a half crab while standing on Gedo’s head. Gedo escapes and returns the favor with the exact same move but Delfin escapes with an enzuigiri. Delfin applies a chinlock and lands some stiff shots but Gedo no-sells and they start brawling. Gedo wins the exchange but Delfin lands a hard shot to either the midsection. Delfin stomps on Gedo using the ropes for leverage and knocks him down with a shoulder tackle. They crisscross and Delfin takes Gedo down with a running headscissor takedown. Gedo reverses an Irish whip into a standing kick but then Delfin does the same to Gedo and lands a standing dropkick. Gedo escapes the ring so Delfin poses which pops the crowd. Delfin rushes Gedo as he returns and lands corner punches. But Gedo grabs him and lands a Manhattan drop and lands multiple kicks to Delfin’s back. Gedo applies a double-arm stretch but Delfin escapes by rushing into a corner and driving Gedo’s face into it. A snap suplex gets Delfin a two-count, as does a falling neckbreaker.

They trade chops for a bit and Delfin lands a running dropkick, followed by a diving plancha off the top rope onto Gedo at ringside. Back in the ring, Delfin whips Gedo into a corner but Gedo kicks him as he charges and lands a lariat for two. He goes for a slam but Delfin counters into a victory roll for a very close two-count. Gedo whips Delfin and lands a powerslam for a near-fall. Gedo slams him and lands a second-rope moonsault for another two-count. He whips Delfin and goes for a clothesline but Delfin counters into a crucifix pin for another close two-count. Bridging backdrop suplex by Delfin. Gedo kicks out at 2.9. Delfin slams him and lands a diving elbow drop for two. Delfin gets whipped into a corner but kicks a charging Gedo. Just like in the earlier match, Delfin blocks some attacks on the top rope and lands the tornado DDT. He goes for the same cradle, but Gedo counters it into a cradle pin of his own, which gets him the three-count at 8:20.

Winner and advancing to the semi-finals: Gedo (WAR)

Review: **1/2 I think the wrong guy won here. Delfin actually put on a solid performance while Gedo was nothing more than an opportunist looking for an easy path to victory. The match was 80% Delfin and Gedo scored a surprise counter. While that made him a bit of a wild card going into the later rounds, it never created a point whereby Gedo looked credible enough to win. Delfin advancing would’ve made much more sense. Otherwise it was completely fine.

Match #8: Wild Pegasus (NJPW) vs. Black Tiger II (NJPW)

Wild Pegasus is Chris Benoit, who got a bye into the quarter-final round. Here he’s facing Eddy so you know this’ll be good.

They get in each other’s faces as they’re getting announced to the fans. Eddy wrestles his way into an early armlock but Benoit grapples into a leglock. Both men end up in simultaneous leglocks until Eddy takes control with a stronger leglock. He rubs his boot in Benoit’s face, lands his scoop slam/senton atomico combo, and then double foot stomps Benoit’s stomach. Eddy lands a backdrop suplex for two and applies a figure-4 neck lock until Benoit reaches the ropes. Eddy trips him and goes for a suplex, but Benoit lands behind him and lands an inverted suplex instead. Eddy counters Benoit’s Irish whip and goes for a tilt-a-whirl but Benoit counters and drops him with a clothesline.

Benoit tries to suplex Eddy over the rope and out of the ring, but Eddy counters, only for Benoit to land behind him. Eddy avoids a German suplex and charges but Benoit lifts him up and Eddy free-falls face-first to the mat. Running knee lift by Benoit followed by some chops and a slingshot suplex into the ropes. He lands a Bridging German suplex for two and then lands a brutal Snap powerbomb for another two-count.

Benoit lands a snap suplex but Eddy gets his foot on the rope. Benoit follows with a figure-4 neck lock but Eddy crawls to the ropes again. He whips him once more and goes for the kneelift, but this time Eddy counters into a roll-up for two. Benoit reverses his Irish whip and goes for a pop-up powerbomb but Eddy counters into a headscissor takedown. Now it’s Eddy’s turn for a bridging German suplex for a two-count. Eddy with a camel clutch and a fallaway slam. Benoit avoids a diving dropkick and lands a back suplex for two. He tries to maintain pins through wrist control but Eddy wrestles out. Eddy takes control and lands a springboard headscisssor takedown for two. A Super Frankensteiner gets Eddy a two-count so he follows with a vertical suplex. He goes for the Tornado DDT but Benoit fights out. Benoit goes for a top-rope move but Eddy fights out. Eddy dives from the top rope but Benoit counters into a last-second powerslam which gets him the pin and the win after 10:23.

Winner and advancing to the semi-finals: Wild Pegasus/Chris Benoit (NJPW)

Review: ***1/2 This was great for a ten-minute match. Both guys had flawless chemistry here and they put on an intense back-and-forth contest. They showed plenty of creativity and their efforts made for an unpredictable sprint of a match. And once again, it didn’t feel rushed nor did it come across as excessive. The only issue here was that there was some inconsistent selling or follow-through with submission holds, which has been a common theme throughout the show so far.

Match #9: El Samurai (NJPW) vs. The Great Sasuke (MPW)

Sasuke was the second wrestler to get a bye into the quarter-final round. They shake hands and the match begins. Samurai dodges a kick from Sasuke as the crowd is firmly in Sasuke’s corner. They lock up and after some brief exchanges, Sasuke takes Samurai down by the leg. He starts working Samurai’s left leg but Samurai reaches the ropes before Sasuke can apply anymore holds. Samurai gets a hammerlock but Sasuke does an awesome flip takeover reversal and goes back to the leg. Samurai tries to counter into a cross armbreaker but Sasuke fights on and applies more pressure to the leg. Samurai manages to get a quick counter into a pin but Sasuke escapes just as quickly.

Samurai kicks Sasuke’s leg and lands multiple hard strikes to it before applying a type of ankle lock. Sasuke tries to fight out but Samurai takes complete control with a prison lock, trapping both Sasuke’s arms and legs. Samurai lands a knee smasher which forces Sasuke to escape to ringside to recover.

Sasuke returns to the ring but gets scoop slammed for a one-count. Samurai applies a strange head-and-leg lock that traps Sasuke in the middle of the ring, but Sasuke escapes by bending Samurai’s ankle over his knee. But Samurai quickly retakes control with a leglock. That is, until Sasuke applies his own and it becomes a race to see which wrestler reaches the ropes first (it ends up being Samurai). After recovering ringside again, Sasuke gets clubbed by Samurai and eats a back suplex for two. Samurai lands a Russian leg sweep and transitions to some head/arm/neck submission hold that looks extremely painful. Sasuke manages to escape and the two of them trade strikes for a bit until Sasuke drops Samurai with a handspring elbow. Sasuke special! He handsprings and flips over the rope, out of the ring and onto Samurai. The crowd goes absolutely nuts.

Sasuke reaches the ring first and goes to suplex Samurai over the rope, but Samurai lands on his feet and charges, only to walk into a wheel kick. Sasuke pins but gets two. Samurai leaps over Sasuke on an Irish whip and drops him with a clothesline and a dropkick, and then lands a huge suicide senton out of the ring. It takes a while for Sasuke to return to the ring but when he does he and Samurai trade waistlocks until Samurai lands a bridging German suplex for two. Diving head-butt. Sasuke kicks out. Samurai goes for a powerbomb. Sasuke counters into a Frankensteiner. Samurai barely kicks out. Sasuke slams Samurai and goes for a dive. Samurai gets up and gets Sasuke in the electric chair position. Sasuke reverses into a sunset flip powerbomb for two. Samurai ducks a wheel kick and lands a Thunder Fire Powerbomb for another near-fall. Samurai lands a running Frankensteiner but Sasuke rolls through into his own cover. One, two, three. Sasuke wins after 11:40.

Winner and advancing to the semi-finals: The Great Sasuke (MPW)

Review: ***3/4 The match started off slow, but boy did it get intense in the second half. These two had great chemistry and put on come compelling back-and-forth action. But the crowd was clearly behind Sasuke. Like the earlier Liger/Hayabusa match, this is what the Super J Cup was all about: showcasing junior heavyweight wrestlers and their daredevil capabilities. This match absolutely delivered the goods for an under-twelve-minute match.

Match #10: Ricky Fuji (FMW) vs. Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger (NJPW)

They shake hands and the match begins. An amazing technical exchange leads to a stalemate. They do the Greco-Roman knuckle lock strength spot and Liger seems to win, until Fuji flips him into a quick pin for a quick one-count. Liger escapes and lands a headlock takeover. Fuji escapes, ducks Liger and dropkicks him out of the ring, and then lands a plancha onto Liger at ringside. Fuji follows this with a powerbomb on the ringside mats that doesn’t look too painful because Fuji barely gets any height on it.

Back in the ring, Fuji lands a running uppercut for a one-count, followed by a snap suplex. He ascends the top rope and dives, but Liger lands a last-second shotei in midair. Liger gets up first and lands a bulldog that sends Fuji out of the ring. Liger slams Fuji onto the mat and then climbs to the top turnbuckle. Diving double foot stomp from the top rope to the floor.

Fuji gets back to the ring and Liger koppu kicks him for a one-count as Fuji gets his foot on the rope. A release powerbomb gets Liger a two-count, as does a release German suplex. Liger lands a dropkick in the corner and lands a superplex, but Fuji floats over to pin Liger first. Liger kicks out almost right away, so Fuji places him on the top turnbuckle, climbs up, and dropkicks him out of the ring. Fuji follows with a baseball slide dropkick and a backdrop suplex in the ring, but Liger kicks out. Fuji goes for another top-rope move but Liger fights out and lands a diving hurricanrana into a pin for the win at 7:50.

Winner and advancing to the semi-final round: Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger (NJPW)

Review: **3/4 This was okay, but way beneath the previous two matches. Fuji did some decent technical wrestling early on, but never did he appear to be anywhere near Liger’s level. That said, he managed to land some interesting moves like the dropkick off the top turnbuckle and the diving foot stomp. Even though it was clear that Liger was going to win, Fuji didn’t do enough to make it remotely convincing he could beat Liger, which made this predictable and therefore underwhelming.

Super J-Cup – Semi-Final Round

Match #11: Gedo (WAR) vs. Wild Pegasus/Chris Benoit (NJPW)

They lock up and Gedo lands a shoulder tackle to start things off. Gedo holds onto the ropes in anticipation for Benoit’s monkey flip, so Benoit kips up instead. They trade slaps and Benoit clotheslines Gedo down. He lands a neckbreaker and a diving leg drop for a two-count. The crowd cheers for Gedo as Benoit chops him hard. Gedo holds onto the ropes again to avoid a dropkick and applies a double chickenwing hold but Benoit quickly reaches the ropes. Gedo applies the same hold a second time and this time it takes much longer for Benoit to reach the ropes. A piledriver gets Gedo a two-count and he applies a headlock, and then rakes Benoit’s eyes.

Both men get up and trade chops until Gedo whips Benoit and dropkicks him out of the ring. Top-rope moonsault to the floor from Gedo. The crowd chants Gedo’s name as he whips Benoit and lands his powerslam for a close two-count. A bridging northern lights suplex gets Gedo a two-count, so he climbs the top rope. He goes for a diving head-butt, but doesn’t land anywhere close to Benoit. Benoit tries a backdrop suplex but Gedo counters into a pin in mid-air. Benoit kicks out and whips Gedo into a corner but Gedo ducks his clothesline. Benoit ducks his and they trade waistlocks and control. Benoit manages to regain control and lands a powerbomb for two. Benoit lands another powerbomb and a top-rope falling head-butt for the win after 6:18.

Winner and advancing to the finals: Wild Pegasus/Chris Benoit

Review: **1/2 Gedo must’ve bribed Liger with some ultra-rare Godzilla figurines to get this far in the tournament and be able to get that much offense on Benoit. Point blank, Gedo did nothing to deserve getting this far beyond steal some pins and look weird while doing so. The only good things with this match were that it was short and Benoit chopped the hell out of Gedo’s chest and made him look like a chump.

Match #12: Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger (NJPW) vs. The Great Sasuke (MPW)

They shake hands and it’s on. They trade waistlocks to begin until Sasuke takes Liger down by the leg. That leads to a chain grappling exchange that in turn ends in a stalemate and loud applause. Liger takes Sasuke down quickly with the Greco-Roman knuckle lock, but Sasuke counters by pressing himself on top of Liger. Sasuke applies pressure to both Liger’s thighs and then tries different submission holds. Liger tries to escape but Sasuke takes him down while controlling his arm. Liger tries to counter into a leglock and they go back and forth trading control and dominating submission holds. Liger wrestles his way into a surfboard-type hold and then applies the full Romero special. And then, he transitions into a camel-clutch-style Romero special, just to add more pressure to Sasuke’s back and neck, followed by a dragon sleeper for good measure.

A tilt-a-whirl backbreakers gets Liger a two-count, so Liger targets Sasuke’s back with a camel clutch. Liger follows with an elbow to the back and a rolling koppu kick. The referee makes Liger back off and checks to see if Sasuke can continue. The fans rally behind Sasuke as he slowly gets up. Liger drops Sasuke with a stiff forearm and again the ref asks him if he wants to continue, and he does. Liger lands a tombstone piledriver and applies a crossface chickenwing that just wrecks Sasuke’s neck and arm. Liger follows with two standing armbreakers and then rolls into a kimura lock all on that same arm. He wrenches it as much as possible and then rolls into a cross armbreaker, which goes on for a bit until Liger releases the hold and stomps on Sasuke’s arm. Liger goes for another standing armbreaker, but then switches to a back suplex. Liger attempts a diving dropkick from the top rope but suddenly Sasuke gets up and dropkicks him in midair.

Both men fall and Liger escapes from the ring. Sasuke lands on the apron, kicks Liger, and lands a gorgeous quebrada onto Liger. Sasuke goes to the ring to recover, clutching his left arm all the while. As Liger reaches the apron, Sasuke cuts him off and goes for a suplex over the rope. Liger resists, so Sasuke smashes him face-first into the turnbuckle. Liger falls to ringside, and Sasuke charges. Top-rope senton bomb to the floor. Damn, Sasuke is one crazy bastard.

Sasuke gets to the ring first and lands some kneedrops on Liger’s chest. A spinning wheel lick gets him a one-count and a piledriver gets him a two-count. Another Thunder Fire Powerbomb. Liger barely kicks out. Liger does the seizure sell for the TFP. Sasuke drops a leg on his neck and lands a Tombstone. Sasuke dives for a senton bomb but Liger dodges, so Sasuke charges but Liger ducks him and then drops him with a shotei palm thrust for two. Ligerbomb gets two. Super Frankensteiner. Sasuke kicks out again and rolls into his own pin. Liger kicks out. Release German suplex. Sasuke kicks out yet again. Liger whips Sasuke and lands a Fisherman Buster but Sasuke survives. Liger grabs Sasuke and suplexes him over the rope and onto the floor. Sasuke gets up slowly and Liger lands a top rope plancha.

Sasuke reaches the apron but Liger koppu kicks him. Liger signals the end, but Sasuke prepares for a springboard move. He jumps…and loses his footing. Sasuke faceplants into the mat. But instead of ignoring it, Liger mocks Sasuke and does his signature taunt. But those two seconds give Sasuke the time he needs to recover. Sasuke jumps and lands a picture-perfect Frankensteiner into surprise pin to win the match after 18:09!

Winner and advancing to the finals: The Great Sasuke (MPW)

Review: ****3/4 Not only was this match of the night by a wide margin but it’s one of the best wrestling matches I’ve ever seen. It was simply outstanding from start to finish. It had pretty much everything: great technical grappling, an underdog story with Sasuke trying to survive Liger’s different tactics and big moves, intense cruiserweight action, unpredictable twists and turns, and lots of crazy near-falls. And when the referee had to check to see if Sasuke could continue, it gave further credibility to Liger’s offense and Sasuke’s toughness. And bit by bit, Sasuke’s struggle evolved as not only did he survive one Liger big move after another, but he also had to overcome his own exhaustion and limitations as he needed to rely on riskier moves as the match wore on.

But the best part of this match was the finish because it highlights how improvising on something can work better than expected. Instead of covering awkwardly for Sasuke’s slip-up Liger worked that into the match’s story completely on the fly. And in doing so he actually improved on whatever they had planned. Sasuke’s botch gave Liger a flash of cockiness, only for his arrogance to blow up in his face seconds later. This is a bit of a lost art in wrestling: having the quick thinking to take an undeniable mistake and spin it into a positive. Liger did this perfectly without compromising the finish and without either Sasuke or himself losing credibility. All of this on top of an exciting match that still holds up after thirty years.

The only thing stopping this match from being a perfect 5-star match is the inconsistent selling. Liger targeted Sasuke’s neck, back and arm, and Sasuke’s selling was a bit spotty. Liger was the same, selling a sick neck bump off the Thunder Fire Powerbomb like he was in serious trouble one moment and running at full speed moments later. It was a bit too unrealistic and made some of those earlier moves come across as meaningless, especially as both guys made full use of their arms and legs without looking like they had been damaged all that much at all.

Match #13: Super J-Cup – Finals: Wild Pegasus/Chris Benoit (NJPW) vs. The Great Sasuke (MPW)

A full nelson and some quick transitions start things off. Benoit reverses an armlock into a front neck lock and goes for a snapmare but Sasuke lands on his feet. Benoit catches Sasuke’s leg on a kick but Sasuke answers with a backflip. Sasuke lands a quick takedown and kips up Shawn Michaels-style, leading to a standoff.

Benoit gets another armlock in then hits some stiff corner strikes. Sasuke reverses his whip into a corner and does the Tiger Mask kick flip. He leaps over a charging Benoit and blocks a Boston crab by kicking Benoit away. Sasuke spinkicks Benoit so hard he goes out of the ring. Sasuke charges for a dive but Benoit moves away as the crowd applauds.

Back in the ring, Benoit applies a figure-4 neck lock, which Sasuke reverses first into a surfboard/Romero stretch, and then into a bow-and-arrow hold. Sasuke follows with a seated double-arm submission hold. Benoit gets to his feet so Sasuke lands another arm drag to cause another stalemate.

Sasuke kicks Pegasus in the gut somersaults over a Benoit only to walk into a clothesline. A bridging German suplex gets Benoit a two-count. Sasuke ducks a clothesline and lands a spinkick. Sasuke lands a second one followed by a slam and a Hogan leg drop for another two-count. Sasuke applies a kimura-type submission hold then transitions into a cross armbreaker. Benoit fights to his feet and tries a powerbomb but Sasuke counters into an arm drag. Sasuke tries to out-speed Benoit but eats another big clothesline for his efforts.

Benoit suplexes Sasuke into the ropes then starts hitting him with big forearms. He dives over the rope sending both of them ringside. The fans start chant for Sasuke as Benoit waits in the ring. As soon as Sasuke returns, Benoit lands a bridging dragon suplex for a 2.5-count. A diving head-butt gets Benoit a two-count, as does a Folding Powerbomb. Benoit applies a sharpshooter for a bit and then adds more pressure onto Sasuke’s back by landing a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for another two-count.

Benoit whips Sasuke for a dropkick but Sasuke holds onto the ropes. Sasuke tries the tilt-a-whirl on Benoit but he lands on his feet. Sasuke does the big standing leap and this time he lands a clothesline on Benoit instead of the other way around.

Sasuke charges for a clothesline but Benoit ducks and lands a bridging German suplex for a near-fall. Benoit tries another dragon suplex but Sasuke tries to escape into a victory roll. Benoit reverses that on him and covers for another close two-count. He whips Sasuke into the corner, but Sasuke counters into a flying crossbody press. A kick sends Benoit out of the ring and Sasuke follows with a huge Sasuke Special to the floor.

Back in the ring, Sasuke lands a bridging German for yet another two-count. He follows with a Perfectplex for another two-count and goes for a diving shotgun dropkick but Benoit avoids it. Sasuke tries to escape the ring but Benoit chases him and they brawl by the ropes. Benoit tries to suplex Sasuke back into the ring, but Sasuke reverses it and suplexes him to the floor. Benoit returns to the ring at the ref’s count of fourteen but Sasuke kicks him back out and lands a huge missile dropkick onto Benoit on the floor below.

Sasuke looks like he’s genuinely hurt but both he and Benoit return to the ring as the crowd cheers wildly. He fires up, slams Benoit, and lands a diving corkscrew press for a close two-count. Sasuke goes to the top rope again but Benoit cuts him off. He teases an avalanche back suplex but Sasuke elbows him away. Sasuke signals the end but Benoit cuts him off a second time. Avalanche gutwrench suplex. The referee counts one, two, three! Chris Benoit wins the match and the tournament after 18:46!

Winner of the 1994 Super J-Cup Tournament: Wild Pegasus/Chris Benoit

Review: ****1/4 This was another fantastic match on an already fantastic show. The action was smooth, there were some great near-falls, and the crowd was completely immersed in the match. They were behind Sasuke who was an underdog both because he was from a smaller fed fighting against the ‘big boys’ of New Japan and because he had just fought Liger and barely made it out alive. But for all it contained it was still inferior to the prior match because that one had everything this match had and then some. The Sasuke-Liger match was better in every category especially in terms of story and replay value. This one just comes across as an impressive albeit somewhat generic technical juniors match but with a wilder crowd and a bit more historic value to it.

Needless to say this show is still great, though it’s not worthy of the title of ‘best single night of wrestling ever’ anymore. Out of thirteen matches, just over half (seven) are at the 3-star level or higher and only two hit four stars or higher. But those two final matches were fantastic and the Liger-Sasuke match is a must-see for any wrestling fan as it’s one of the most complete wrestling matches of any kind that you’ll ever see.

Most of the matches had at least one positive thing about them. Hayabusa’s lone match left a lasting impression despite it being a loss for him. TAKA Michinoku’s match with Eddy was a short but exciting sprint. Benoit was a workhorse who had great chemistry with Eddy on the undercard and pulled teeth to get something good out of Gedo. Speaking of Gedo, he was one of the weaker points of the show: unless he was intentially holding back or acting all cheap to serve as spoiler then he didn’t deserve to reach the semi-final round. Maybe he and either Hayabusa or El Samurai should’ve gotten that rub so that there would be more than three possible contenders for the crown at the end. Lastly, Motegi was the other notable weak point here as he was clearly out of his depth and looked awkward against Samurai in their match.

All of that said, this is still a solid show worth going out of your way to see.

Now, this is usually the part where I would recommend subscribing to New Japan World to watch the matches but I’m not going to in this case because NJPW changed providers or something and most of their archive was purged. Last year you could go back to the 1990s and even into the 1980s and find some classics; now there’s very little available in general. Most of what you’ll find there now falls into one of three categories: trivial multi-man matches, the odd recent big singles match, and some random matches from random points in the past. In other words, if I were you I’d avoid subbing to NJWorld until later this year when they claim they’ll have the archive completed.

Thanks for reading.