IGF Toukon Bom-Ba-Ye PPV 06.29.07

Sumo Hall
Attendance 8,426

Alright it’s mid-2007 and Inoki has left NJPW to set up his own company. Let’s see if Inoki Genome Federation impresses anyone but him.

The poster/DVD cover for the show is pretty sweet.

I’ve got no other details on the build to this show so here’s Inoki building momentum by taking a photo with Brooke Hogan:

Antonio Inoki Recommendation Match
Munenori Sawa vs. Yuki Ishikawa

Both men come out swinging before Yuki ankle picks Sawa to the mat where he escapes by applying his own. Sawa scores a knockdown with a head kick but-oh wait we’re not doing standing counts even though these guys are wrestling like they are. They go very quick and very promising for the rest of the night with Sawa trying to match Yuki’s technique until he gives him a giant headbutt on the mat. Oh Sawa gets a standing count after taking an enziguri but he stands up to apply a side chinlock to Yuki on the mat while slapping him silly. Yuki blocks a takedown and locks in a STF in about 0.5 seconds in a tremendous moment. That speed was scary.

Sawa wriggles out of it but leaves himself wide open for shots to the chest. Sawa responds by kicking Yuki out the ring like he’s dribbling him into the back of the net. Both lads go shot-for-shot which is unwise for Sawa as Yuki backdrops him for two. Sawa escapes a suplex to attempt a sleeper but that just makes Yuki mad so he kicks him right in his face. That doesn’t end it as Sawa bravely stands up only to get taken to the mat with an Octopus Stretch. This somehow doesn’t end so Sawa lands a flurry of kicks so Yuki can pretend he might lose until Sawa delivers two more full-on kicks to the face to fell Yuki like a big tree. Bloody hell those were beautiful. Sawa lands a German Suplex for two and then inexplicably follows with a Shining Wizard. What? In this shoot-style match? Sawa ends it by throwing a Martin Johnson-esque punt to Yuki’s face to put him down at 7:06.

A lot of spirited action and very stiff strikes here to get us all warmed up. More of a taster plate for what’s to come later which explains the Shining Wizard but I’m not going to quibble with those kicks to the face. Good stuff!

Antonio Inoki Recommendation Match
El Blazer vs. Rocky Romero

Romero is here to presumably to join another faction. Blazer is in full-on lucha gear, mask and all. Romero must have mistaken him for Del Rio as he throws a running high kick as soon as the bell rings. Blazer uses his lucha skills to outwit Rocky (who throws his strikes on the non-lucha side) and land a high-arse dropkick. Rocky cuts off a handspring with a well-timed kick to the mid-section and the crowd are loving this. Rocky rightfully soaks up the adulation with a shit-eating grin. Rocky works on Blazer’s left arm which may or may not be the correct arm but it’s good enough for an Inoki-pleasing Octopus Hold. Blazer recovers to land a springboard dropkick followed by a top-rope in-ring 619. Crowd are ooooing all over this as Blazer lands a running-the-ropes dropkick too!

West Coast Pop is blocked by Rocky and turned into a running powerbomb into the corner. Rocky manages a Superplex but Rocky turns into a roll-up for two. I love that spot. A Dragon Suplex gets kicked out of so Rocky uses the kick-out to turn it into a Fujiwara Armbar for the victory at 6:09.

High-spirited affair that ignored the emphasis on shoot-style and did it’s own thing with lucha and hard kicks. And hookers and blackjack. Good way to start the show so far.

We then get the overly-dramatic video package and Tony Khan Inoki catchphrase to start off.

Alexander Otsuka vs. Kevin Randleman

Both lads are known for their shock upsets in PRIDE: Otsuka for his shock-upset over a hepatis-filled Marco Ruas at #4, and Randleman for KO’ing Cro Cop at Total Elimination 2004.

Randleman is all jumps and bounces, likely due to all the chemicals attempting to jump out of his blood. Otsuka charges to stuff Kev in the corner so he can land headbutts. Kev ignores it and both men grapple standing up for a while. They take it to the mat with Randleman blocking a Kimura with a rolling headlock for a reset. Crowd politely applaud but are anticipating better. Otsuka lands some loud uppers before countering a headlock into an Angle Slam. Randleman attempts a single leg with Otsuka smoothly turning it into a headscissors. Randleman attempts to Rampage Jackson his way out but Otsuka rolls out. A meaty headlock threatens to end it until Randleman German Suplexes Otsuka for a close two. That was a high one too. Otsuka tries a keylock so Randleman does the Backlund Grab to dump Otsuka on his bounce for the three-count at 5:26.

Weird match. The amateur wrestling was pleasant but there was no seque into the pro wrestling so the suspension of disbelief was obliterated when Otsuka was clearly positioning Randleman for the next spot. Randleman’s still cool even if this match wasn’t.

Taka Kuno vs. Michiyoshi Ohara

Ohara makes his way out to Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men. I’m not including a link. Crowd aren’t enamoured with either guy and I don’t think it’s the song’s fault.

Taka kicks Ohara on the break which results in a mad Ohara landing the safest headbutts this side of Andre The Giant. Taka manages an ankle lock out of accident but impresses with a spinning flying armbar.

Taka threatens a DQ by ignoring the ref’s instructions so while he’s being admonished, Ohara charges with a headbutt that sends Taka across the ring. Crowd loved that. Ohara slaps him around before managing a wild flailing powerbomb. Ohara charges with another headbutt and finishes with a Tombstone at 6:05.

This was maddeningly dull in the first half but the crowd’s love of the charging headbutts and crazy shoot-style powerbomb warmed me up to it. I never want to watch it again though.

U-STYLE Tag Match
Kiyoshi Tamura & Ryuki Ueyama vs. Hidehisa Matsuda & Yuki Kotake

Timura’s a UWF guy and Ueyama’s a UWF-i guy hence the U-Style point system and you-can’t-sue-me-if-the-company-is-dead match. This is also Matsuda’s penultimate match ever.

Brutal low kicks start off with Kotake and Tamura doing their best to remove each other’s shins. The noise of the impact is enough to make me flinch as the shots get higher until Kotake takes one to the mid-section and buckles. Only to pop back up and resume kicking until his brain catches up with him and wisely tags out. Matsuda and Ueyama grapple instead and the escapes out of the leg locks are wonderful on the eyes. OK these are four guys who know exactly how to work a match without having to hold someone’s hand. Neither man can get an advantage as they melt around one another’s attempt at a hold with one of their own. Matsuda lands a small German Suplex to set up the next hold which is another cool thing you only get in these style matches. Ueyama tries a high knee but Matsuda blocks it by getting so close that it doesn’t do anything, which is enough for Tamura to tag in.

Tamura’s attempts at escaping an armbar are blocked by Matsuda which gets a “oh OK, that’s what you want to do?” reaction. He doesn’t follow up with anything though and the camera shows a disappointed Fujiwara at ringside. Kotake tags in to kick the fuck out of Tamura for making Fujiwara sadder than usual so Ueyama tags in to match his flurry with a giant knee to the chin.

Kotake recovers and tries his own knockdown blow but Ueyama blocks them all. Kotake rolls into an armbar instead and his limbs are saved by the rope break. Kotake again throws hard-shots at the face and mid-section but they’re absorbed again with Ueyama throwing a slap out of nowhere to send him on his arse again. Crowd are annoyingly silent for all this, the best action we’ll probably see all night. Ueyama’s frantic slaps are denied by Kotake scissoring his arms together.

Tamura tags in and does his best to rip Kotake’s frigging leg off with a single crab. Kotake escapes then wishes he didn’t cos Tamura launches him to the mat with a kick to the mid-section. Ueyama attacks Matsuda some more cos he’s taking nothing from no-one right now. Tamura takes advantage of his hard work by leg locking Kotake’s limb out of it’s socket for the tap out at 15:47.

This was all fan-fucking-tastic by the standards of the rest of the evnt but it was still merely OK by proper UWF standards, wasted on an apathetic crowd wanting freak show matches. Might as well have held this at Hog Wild.

Josh Barnett vs. Tadao Yasuda

The least deserving IWGP Champ vs. the least deserving UFC Champ. I never rated Barnette when he was properly active but the more Bloodsport I watch he wins me over, especially as he heads out to the theme from Fist Of The North Star.

Yasuda knows his role and pushes Barnett into the ropes for a cheap shot as the crowd boos. Barnett takes him down and alpha males him by keeping him down with just his knees while he has his arms to the side. Rope break causes a stand-up so Yasuda tries to keep Josh in place with a double-arm but it results in Josh taking Yasuda down anyway. Multiple rope breaks (how small is this ring?) prevent Josh from capitalising so Yasuda takes a breather outside as the camera zooms in on his grey hairs. Yasuda scores a kinda takedown so Barnett throws strikes before attempting a guillotine that Yasuda nearly strangles himself with by leaping forwards. Not sure what the thought process was there and the crowd are amused by it. Barnett realises this is a dump match so he deadlifts Yasuda to drop him Russian style on his side to an impressed crowd reaction. Barnett DDTs Yasuda, throws some incredibly loose elbows before locking Yasuda in a headscissors which transitions into the Fujiwara Armbar for some reason to end it via tap out at 4:17.

Rubbish. Barnett was trying his best but Yasuda was very trying.

Fujiwara (the man, not the hold) runs in afterwards to slap Yasuda for losing before giving him a hug. Tough love is better than no love, which is what Yasuda deserved.

Naoya Ogawa vs. Mark Coleman

Two PRIDE stars! Well referring to Ogawa as a “star” is debatable, he had more softballs thrown at him than Sid.

Coleman makes his entrance wearing a shirt that says THE WHOLE FUCKIN SHOW and yells “Let’s Fuckin!” as he jumps in the ring. Coleman’s theme music totally doesn’t fit him but it is amazing:

He’s so hyped he charges Ogawa as the ref is checking him for weapons, smothering him in the corner with strikes and shoving the ref to the mat when he tries to stop him. Ogawa reverses positions and does the same with much less convincing strikes as the crowd laugh at this Laurel & Hardy comedy spot. Ogawa chokes Coleman with his boot so the ref drags him off, leading to Coleman charging him as the ref has him held. Ogawa is being protected more than PRIDE match-making.

Coleman holds his opponent on the mat until he gets his foot on the rope, causing him to release the hold before immediately re-applying it. Coleman starts suplexing Ogawa around to make the crowd make panicked squeaking noises. Coleman is being a good heel here, it’s a shame Ogawa isn’t able to work better with him. So far he’s only been cheered because of his rep rather than anything he’s done. Coleman attempts a standing guillotine but Ogawa blocks it with the STO to a nice pop before waiting for Coleman to stand up to deliver another one. Ogawa jumps on Coleman’s back like a big dog happy to see his owner to lock in a heatless sleeper to win via tap-out at 6:44.

Coleman was able to keep this simple but effective with his antics but Ogawa delivered less than a postman with no legs. Even then it was still two proper fighters pretending to wrestle so this could only be so good anyway. Crowd only made noise when the match ended which summed it up.

IWGP Third Belt Title vs. TNA World Heavyweight Title
Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle

Oh God, the IWGP Third Belt. Here’s a refresher:

Lesnar won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on October 5th 2005 in a rare three-way match for NJPW. Lesnar defended it regularly until either VISA issues or out-right refusal to defend it due to alleged money issues saw NJPW strip him of the title on July 15th 2006.

Hiroshi Tanahashi would defeat Giant Bernard in a tournament to win the vacant title but Inoki being Inoki claimed Lesnar hadn’t been defeated and still had physical possession of the title hence the clumsy “Third Belt Title” name.

Meanwhile Angle had only just won the TNA World Heavyweight Title a week ago in a King Of The Mountain match at Slammiversary 2007.

There is controversy regarding the belt because New Japan, which is no longer affiliated in any way with Inoki, didn’t want them referring to the belt as anything even remotely similar to the “IWGP Title”, and Inoki ended up calling it the IWGP 3rd Generation Title. I guess his claim is that he helped form New Japan in 1972 and wasn’t recognizing their stripping of the belt from Brock after he left the company.

Hilariously, Meltzer was so numb to Inoki’s bull-shitting that he didn’t believe this match was happening:

However, earlier in the day, Antonio Inoki announced they had signed Angle to appear on 6/29 at Sumo Hall and Inoki claimed they were trying to do an Angle vs. Brock Lesnar main event. Inoki is so full of crap it’s not funny and Lesnar has no interest in doing pro wrestling at this time. Lesnar this past week said he felt Angle had given his life, heart, mind and soul to pro wrestling, but he would face him in an MMA match. “Everything is pure speculation at this point, but if somebody wants to set it up, I’m all for it.” Inoki said that Simon Inoki is talking with TNA and WWE to get talent for both promotions for the debut show. Like that’s going to happen.

This is the last Angle vs. Lesnar match with their previous encounter being a six-man tag in February 2004.

Angle charges Brock at the bell and German Suplexes him out the corner to the sound of impressed fans. Lesnar rolls outside but Angle bounces him around with European Uppers.

Angle allows Brock to roll into the ring first which leads Kurt running into him with neither moving, so Lesnar overheads him in response. Crowd are buzzing. They must have noticed Lesnar’s teeny goatee. I forgot he had that. Lesnar’s giant shoulder charges in the corner impress the crowd leading to Brock attempt The Verdict (F5). Angle grabs the ropes so Brock delivers the move to the outside instead. That was nice but Lesnar doesn’t keep on the offence so Angle recovers with more uppers until Brock shuts him up with another overhead for two. Brock locks in a Guillotine until the crowd start worrying it’ll end the match and give Kurt the confidence to power out via Northern Lights. There’s a faint “LET’S GO ANGLE” chants from the cheap seats, which is nice. Sadly the fans quiet down so much you can hear Angle call for a Powerbomb, which Lesnar sets up just so Kurt can wriggle out and apply the ankle lock! Which Brock easily shoves out of. Angle delivers two German Suplexes (cos Brock’s too full of Coors Light to deliver three) but Brock powers up to attempt the Verdict…but Angle counters into a sloppy DDT for two. They never really got the smoothness they were aiming for with that spot did they?

Angle yells something about dicks before applying the ankle lock with no-one buying it as a finish. Brock rolls out and German Suplexes Angle onto his chest. Crowd appreciates Kurt’s assisted moonsault. Lesnar misses a Patera Charge so Kurt kinda lands the Angle Slam for two. Kurt applies the Ankle Lock yet again in the middle of the ring but Lesnar rolls him up for two. Brock calls for the F5 and sure enough delivers it for two before locking in the Ankle Lock on Kurt. Kurt teases tapping out before rolling into his own version and grape-vining for the tap-out at 10:36.

This was pretty decent as a curiosity although I’m sure the reaction was much more negative at the time given the situation and short length. I’m not a size queen and after years of seeing horribly-deteriorated Angle, I have grown to appreciate the healthiness of 2007 Kurt. Having said that, outside of the crowd reactions there wasn’t much here as it was only a greatest hits of their previous epics with none of the heat or anything in between the spots. The equivalent of seeing Hogan and Flair go at in 1999: past their prime but still good enough to be OK.

Angle would defend the IWGP Third Belt Title at TNA Hard Justice’s main event Winner Takes Every Title In The Company match against Samoa Joe, and then against Yuji Nagata at the 2008 NJPW Jan 4th Show. Which was surprising, considering technically NJPW could have just taken their property back considering there had been talks of lawsuits but I guess puro companies aren’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Or maybe it was a big con and both companies had been working together since the start.

Either way, Kurt would eventually lose the title to IWGP Champ Shinsuke Nakamura on February 17th 2008 to merge the titles and to smother a pillow over this period of history.

This would be Lesnar’s last wrestling match until re-joining WWE in 2012. He’d only wrestle again in Japan one more time at The Beast In The East 2015, annihilating Kofi Kingston quickly so he could get out of the country before the Yakuza friends of NJPW could get their hands on him.

Overall: Oh man, I was going to start watching these shows as the next wacky Puro company to be interested in but I was absolutely DONE with this thing by the time we’d had the 4th “shoot guys doing bad wrestling” match. The best matches were (amazingly enough) the guys who knew how to wrestle this style and knew what they were doing, so you’re better off finding old UWF or something. If you haven’t seen the main event, don’t worry about it. Make like 2007 Lesnar and move on with your life.

I’ve been Maffew.