WAR Wrestle Association-R – All-Star Dream Tournament 07/20/96
By Maffew Gregg on 15 September 2024
Wrestle Association-R
Sumo Hall
Attendance: 11,000 (sell-out)
Nobukazu Hirai & Ultimo Dragon vs. Big Titan & Lion Heart Chris Jericho
Only the last minute is shown, with Jericho and Dragon working beautifully as always. Dragon kicks out of a top rope powerbomb to win with an awesome looking running Liger Bomb. Cruel to tease us with only a minute of Dragon/Jericho.
SUPER BATTLE 6 MEN ’96 1st Round
Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka & Osamu Kido vs. Fuyuki-Gun (Kodo Fuyuki & Jado & Gedo)
Fuyuki starts with Yamazaki as the fat man is over tonight. The Gooners attempt their trademark triple teaming but Iizuka is like “absolutely not” and threatens to snap Jado’s legs off. The Gun keep on interfering so Iizuka drags Gedo into his corner so Kido can come in easier. The crowd LOVE the Sapporo Man and go nuts for his face-wash. Yamazaki armbars Gedo down as the technical lads stare daggers at The Gun. Iizuka gets too close so Fuyuki smashes him into the announce table. I always enjoy Fuyuki-Gun’s matches and their emphasis on strategy as they’re always placed as the underdogs when it’s 1-on-1 but always the superior when it’s 3-on-3. They’d have won the Combiner Wars easily. Iizuka takes the triple train in the corner until Kido picks the ankle of Jado. Team NJPW decide to apply holds on all of Jado’s limbs causing The Gun to run in to save him, leading to Fuyuki taking the armbar to another giant pop. He’s not legal though, so in the confusion Gedo is able to tag in and take a VERY high angle Uranage as well as a neck-first German Suplex. Sing it with me: EVERYONE HATES GEDO. Kido takes a low blow so Gedo can sadly live another day, with Fuyuki lariating Kido for the surprisingly easy win over the established guy at 11:53 while the rest of The Gun are removing their opponents from the apron.
Decent start to the night with Fuyuki-Gun able to out-smart the limb-workers. Not much else to talk about except Kido’s hair looked fake.
Riki Choshu & Satoshi Kojima & Osamu Nishimura vs. Golden Cups (Yoji Anjo & Yoshihiro Takayama) & 200% Machine
Choshu and Takayama start off and the crowd is full of fire. Choshu takes the big man down easily with a headlock but Takayama easily rolls out of whatever Choshu had planned. Takayama is sadly no-one in 1996 so this reads like a bigger deal than it is. Osamu tags in with a real miserable look on his face, not helped when Takayama blocks him and Choshu has to assist with a kick to the face. Anjo is taken down by young Kojima who resembles Tatanka at this point in his life. After a running rolling senton, Anjo gets isolated with attempted holds, which is a bad idea because that’s Anjo’s bread & butter. Anjo smoothly escapes an ankle pick and manages to counter it before Takayama tags in to also work Osamu. Kojima is full of piss & vinegar so he bravely strikes down Takayama to get him ready for Choshu’s lariat…which Takayama ducks causing a brief awesome shoot-style hold-trade between the pair. Takayama makes it clear he is not about to let Riki dog him.
200% Machine comes in to cool things down. He’s thankfully not the same guy as 100% Machine but that doesn’t mean he’s twice as good. His German Suplexes are nice. Kojima takes some isolated strikes from the UWF-i lads as I see why Takayama isn’t regarded during this time, he’s fine when dealing with angry veterans who still think it’s 1981 but he’s bog standard doing anything else. Kojima makes his own comeback to lariat the life out of Takayama leading to everyone piling on 200% Machine who takes a Northern Lights from Choshu at 10:23. Machine literally did one German Suplex and then got pinned. Easy money if you can get it.
Threatened to be interesting but it turned out to be an empty threat. Not bad but the star power involved would make you think it’d be a lot better. Fun seeing Riki getting annoyed at Takayama but then failing to get the better on him on the mat.
Koji Kitao & Masaaki Mochizuki & Koki Kitahara vs. John Tenta & Arashi & Osamu Tachihikari
Here it is, the rematches no-one talks about. In the pre-match interview Tenta wonders if Kitao will quit wrestling again after he loses. Ha! I mean I’m sure he’s thinking about it after losing his slot in the main event of the Rikidōzan Memorial Show after losing so badly in UFC.
The two giants start off with Tenta looking really old compared to his previous appearances where he only looked old. Kitao and Tenta trade strikes until both men hustle on the mat, with the ref trying to break them up but he gets shoved out the ring in the process. They do a decent job of making it look like they’re about to explode but crowd isn’t THAT into it. Probably because Kitao’s star power has greatly decreased after his Vale Tudo loss.
After much staring and both lad’s seconds trying to interrupt, Masaaki tags in to take a pounding from The Shark. Arashi and Osamu get involved. Their inclusion on this show is in to make Kitao look like Gunther. When the match doesn’t involve Kitao or Tenta the crowd doesn’t care. When both eventually tag in, the crowd laughs at Kitao’s strikes. Kitao then either accidentally or un-accidentally kicks Tenta in the groin but it doesn’t bother Tenta that much. Whether that’s a compliment to Tenta’s balls or a criticism of Kitao’s kicks is up to you. Kitao locks in a STF and the crowd gasp at the sight of the big fool applying a hold correctly. Koki and his 80s workout gear tag in to punch Osamu in the face, followed by Masaaki missing a spinning wheel kick on a stationary Osamu. This is awful. Tenta forces Kitao to tag in by slamming Masaaki directly in front of him, with Tenta landing a pretty nice dropkick in the corner. Kitao sadly ruins it by trying to throw a flurry of kicks in Tenta’s direction, but they’re so ungodly slow that Tenta struggles to sell them convincingly so he instead dances awkwardly like Big Daddy Yum Yum. Crowd laughs some more before Tenta finishes Masaaki with the Stomp at 11:46.
Watership Down isn’t this depressing. Tired Tenta doing his best to get something out of the now-irrelevant Kitao with no help from anybody else. The only interest this match had was on the idea that the match could have broken down at any point, but the crowd realised that both men were already broken down and didn’t react.
WAR would sadly book another match between these two and it would go even worse. The only shooting that should have been occurring were bullets aimed at the booker.
Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutaku Araya & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Nobuhiko Takada & Masahito Kakihara & Naoki Sano
The WAR vs. UWF-i feud heats up with the first meeting between Tenryu and Takada. Tenryu had already travelled to UWF-i land to defeat 200% Machine, Takayama and Yuhi Sano, so it’s only natural the big boss would get involved.
The WAR feud is UWF-i’s last lifeline so Takada’s mates are very motivated to make their opponents look credible. Kakihara for example throws his high kicks at Araya to show how hard he is but has no issues getting taken down and lumped like Grandma’s mashed potatoes seconds later. Tenryu tags in and contrasts Sano’s constantly bobbing around by standing perfectly still before slapping Sano half-way across the ring. Sano’s attempt at a leglock goes nowhere so he sensibly tags in Takada to deal with Fujinami. Except the old dragon absorbs his low kicks so he can grab him and Dragon Screw him to the floor so Tenryu can tag in with an advantage. But Tenryu’s so cool he allows Takada to stand up and the crowd is jumping through the roof.
Takada kicks Tenryu and mocks him with a clean break in the corner, causing a grumpy Mr. Wrestling to tag in Araya instead. Ah, it’s a ruse because as soon as Takada applies an ankle lock, Tenryu re-enters to Mundial Ronaldinho Soccer 64 kick a defenceless Takada in the back. Fujinami thinks he’s weak so goes for an Indian Deathlock, with Fujinami effortlessly transitioning into an armbar. Tenryu tags in to save but gets decimated by Takada’s kicks to every part of his body, necessitating Fujinami into dragging Tenryu into his corner so he can tag in. When Tenryu sells, he sells for JAPAN. Sano out-grapples Fujinami and dribbles Araya around so Takada can take a breather.
Once he’s rested, Takada plays with Araya’s arm on the mat while the camera makes sure to capture Tenryu’s makes-Greg-Valentine-look-cheery face. Tenryu tags in to save Araya from all this violence, but makes the mistake of leaving himself open while stretching Kakihara, leading to Takada kicking Tenryu in revenge for earlier. Tenryu has to tag out leading to The Fuj taking over with Dragon Screws. Takada saves his mate in the same way, angering Tenryu into Dirty Powerbombing Sano. Kakihara makes the save leading to Araya getting worked over so Takada can tag in and instantly go for the Fujiwara Armbar. However, Tenryu immediately interferes to break that up and the match breaks down with everyone brawling on the outside. In the confusion and with Tenryu being held back, Takada armbars Araya for the loud victory at 16:40.
This was a very enjoyable amuse-bouche for the Tenryu/Takada feud. Everyone played their role well and everyone got a chance to excel with the UWF-i’s technical style simply outsmarting Tenryu’s anger and passion. Lovely stuff here with the crowd helping push it that much further.
International Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match
Yuji Yasuraoka & Lance Storm vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai
Yuji in the ring with these lads is the definition of that “dude thinks he’s on the team” meme. Lance and his rat-tail start off with Samurai and we get a perfectly cromulent feeling out process. Liger and his wig instantly stretches Yuji on the mat, with the multi-coloured mullet man trading wristlock takedowns for a much more interesting use of everyone’s time. Samurai comes in and doesn’t seem interested in being interesting in the first half of the match. Liger at least makes the wristlocks interesting to look at and spends his time moving his opponent around, Samurai spends his time looking like he’s planning his meal when he gets home. Lance thankfully dropkicks the fake luchadore to take over but Yuji tags in to miss a jumping corner kick so Samurai decides it’s better to be boring than bad. No it isn’t. Shut up you idiot. Liger brainbusters Yuji to light this sucker up, with Yuji taking a baseball slide for good measure too. While Samurai bores Yuji on the outside, Liger has the sense to taunt Lance so he focuses on him. This is why he’s the best. Yuji takes the wicked Kappo Kick while he has his legs and arms wrapped around the turnbuckles so it’s nothing but bone and muscle to the face.
Liger launches Yuji with such force into a German Suplex that the commentators yelp at the indignity of it all. Yuji tries a desperate double dropkick but both NJPW lads side-step with ease. A double splash misses to give Lance the hot-ish tag and the Handspring Splash In The Corner to Samurai. Lance forces El to be un-dull by staying on offence, meaning Samurai has to think. Sadly that means a complete mess of a Victory Roll and judging by the crowd’s reaction, a weak powerbomb/dropkick combo from Yuji. Yuji takes out Liger on the outside with a dangerously high crossbody. However Yuji sells it longer than Liger who instantly heads in to save Samurai from the Single Crab. Liger and Samurai land three separate dives off the top but rat-tail somehow kicks out. A tombstone allows Yuji to tag in but Liger’s having none of his silliness and kicks out at one on all his moves. Even a dirty German can’t convince him, but a lariat from Lance puts him down. Samurai gets taken out by Lance’s high crossbody on the outside, leading to Liger PALM STRIKE Yuji before landing a Powerbomb and Fisherman’s Buster amazingly doesn’t end Yuji. A second PALM STRIKE misses before Yuji runs directly into a third. Attaboy. Samurai connects with a plancha that sends Lance over the commentary table, leading to a pissy Liger finally pinning Yuji with a Top Rope Fisherman’s Buster to take the titles at 15:45
Decent match that improved when it became one-sided. Which is harsh but when your opponents are so much better than you (when they can be arsed), they might as well lean into it. Liger did what he could but Samurai was only good when he was awake.
SUPER BATTLE 6 MEN ’96 Semifinals:
Kodo Fuyuki & Jado & Gedo vs. Riki Choshu & Satoshi Kojima & Osamu Nishimura
Jado gets obliterated by Choshu to start this off, with Kojima showing what he thinks of Fuyuki by spanking his arse. The Gun wipe the floor with Osamu in response, giving us Riki vs. Fuyuki which the crowd enjoys. Riki actually sells for Fuyuki which is impressive. As soon as Jado tags in he stops but that’s to be expected. Jado gets creamed once more while Kojima mocks Fuyuki again. Kojima is a good partner for Choshu as he adds some spice to Riki’s stoic meat. Gedo & Jado can’t get a damn thing in as Kojima piles on the pressure, so Fuyuki has to run-in with a lariat to make any difference. Eventually tagging in and dropping Kojima with the Top Rope Butt Drop can only stop him for a while, with Choshu tagging in to lariat everything. Then Osamu cleans house with dropkicks. Now Martin’s scoring off Fuyuki-Gun? Oh that’s it. The Gun start their triple team shenanigans with Osamu having the nerve to kick out of a Superbomb. Gedo & Jado take the NJPW lads out the ring as Fuyuki Stretches Osamu’s Plumb but Kojima is able to plough through and save him as the crowd are getting heated now. But then Jado & Gedo immediately take Choshu & Kojima out the ring again so Fuyuki can lariat Osamu to advance at 11:23.
Like the rest of the night, this only meant something when the stars (Choshu & Fuyuki) were going at it with the rest being window dressing. It got heated near the end and I enjoyed Fuyuki-Gun using their smarts to beat the legend but it was still only decent, even with Kojima’s fire.
Nobuhiko Takada & Masahito Kakihara & Naoki Sano vs. John Tenta & Arashi & Osamu Tachihikari
Kakihara tries to kick Tenta down but the big man simply picks him up and places him on the top rope while be flexes. That’s so out of place on a show like this that I laughed out loud. Kakihara decides to take Tenta to the mat but he’s too big to do anything so he gives up. Tenta gives him a break by tagging in Arashi who knows what’s coming and looks miserable. Sure enough, Takada tags in to play with him like a dog with a tennis ball. Hard kicks follow and every attempt at stopping them resulting in armbars. Osamu tags in with Sano, who has a “really?” expression as the untrained wonder tries to slap him around. Takada runs in to kick Osamu for fun so Tenta chases him off as best he can. Tenta slowly dominates Sano who has no issues making Quake look Qool by overselling everything. Tenta busts out the classics like the disrespectful walk over his opponent, but the crowd aren’t reacting for him. Tenta realises this and demands Takada tag in, giving the crowd what they want to see. Takada’s kicks have no effect on Tenta to begin with, but Takada no-sells an Avalanche and follows with an effortless scoop slam to show Tenta where the power lies now. Sano takes over on a weakened Tenta but Quake makes the mistake of tagging in Osamu who Kakihara makes sure to embarrass by having him stumble in the corner to the crowd’s delight. The big baby tries to lariat Kakihara who easily wraps him in an ankle lock for the tap-out advancement at 11:22.
This had way more structure than Tenta’s previous bout and wasn’t bad despite the very slow pace in the middle. The crowd not being into Tenta hurt it though because the crowd knew it was Takada Time.
WWA World Welterweight Title
Juventud Guerrera vs. Rey Misterio Jr.
Juvi’s debut! His mask sucks.
Rey wastes no time and headscissors him out the ring and then planchas over the guard-rail in the first thirty seconds. Springboard Frankensteiner gets two and a lot of murmuring. Juvi replies with a springboard swanton double kick, or whatever you’d call it. Looked pretty. Juvi isn’t as smooth but makes up by making sure to rotate on everything. Juvi brings some psychology to the match that Psicosis didn’t by working on Rey’s legs. Splash Mountain gets two (with Juvi counting along with the ref) but a second one gets turned into a Frankensteiner with Juvi being sent outside. He tries to springboard back in but Rey dropkicks him back outside and sends Juvi crashing to the outside with a phenomenal Frankensteiner off the top rope to the apron. Juvi recovers quicker because he’s on the Juvi Juice, crushing Rey’s face with a Somersault Legdrop as the commentators talk about WCW. Juvi steals Rey’s spin-on-the-shoulders-to-do-a-Frankensteiner off the top rope as the crowd continue to lose their minds. Rey counters a superplex by front suplexing Juvi to the outside and swantoning off, making it look as easy as a snapmare. And Rey follows that with a Springboard Moonsault. Juvi spikes Rey with a lovely Dragon Suplex for two. Rey finally ends it by pinning Juvi with a springboard Frankensteiner off the top at 8:36 to claim the title.
Typing out all the moves doesn’t do this version of Rey justice. Making the craziest of spots appear effortless as he wrestles a man he’s already spent half his life wrestling. Amazing spotfest, all of Rey’s WAR run is worth perusing.
SUPER BATTLE 6 MEN ’96 Final
Nobuhiko Takada & Masahito Kakihara & Naoki Sano vs. Kodo Fuyuki & Jado & Gedo
UWF-i lads oblige western critic’s wishes and set about turning Gedo into a toothpick. Jado tries to save so he gets it too. Sano wasn’t able to show off his mat-work last time so he tries it here, which brings in Fuyuki with the timekeeper’s hammer to save his mate. Sano gets isolated but there’s little heat because everyone just wants to see Takada kick people. No-one cares about Sano choking Jado or Kakihara kicking Jado. Fuyuki gets into it with Kakihara and there’s only polite applause. Finally Takada tags in and starts dominating Gedo, but does it too well and causes Fuyuki to run in to stop it. Takada waits for him to leave before carrying on and then tagging out. As exciting as it sounds.
Gedo takes even more abuse, causing his little belly to flop out which always made me laugh because he chose to dress like one of Jabba The Hutt’s girls for the big matches. Takada kicks away at Gedo some more so the other two run-in at once to somehow extract Takada into taking a Superbomb while the ref keeps the UWF-i guys out. Fuyuki applies an ankle lock while Jado/Gedo keep the lads occupied but no-one believes Fuyuki of all people is going to tap out God Warrior Takada. Everything breaks down with the crowd finally going wild, as everyone brawls on the outside with The Guns tactics backfire on them as they’re too busy outside to stop Takada armbarring Gedo for the tournament win at 12:35.
You’d think a tournament final with the big draw would be able to get more heat but it simply wasn’t there. Crowd knows only Muto is able to tap out Takada now. Still, Fuyuki’s constant annoyance was able to make this enjoyable if not essential.
Overall: On paper, this show looked amazing but the tournament ended up being “The Star And His Two Mates Wrestle Another Star And Two Mates But The Two Stars Barely Wrestle Each Other” over and over again to middling degrees of success. As a set-up show for later matches (like the WAR show tomorrow and the upcoming UWF-i stadium show) it was effective but as a standalone it wasn’t all that.
Tenryu/Takada is worth a watch, as is young Rey but you’ll get bored of the formula of the tournament pretty quickly if you watch this in one sitting.
