WAR Chronicle Heavenly Chapter 1992-1994
By Maffew Gregg on 11 January 2026
WAR released a giant DVD set years after the company died with a few exclusive matches thrown in that look interesting on paper so I thought I’d plug the holes in my collection because I hate loose ends.
This seems like a sweet deal as there’s five fat discs with modern interviews from people involved with the company in between. Sadly every match is trimmed (more so than the original VHS versions) but the video and audio quality is obviously much improved. Consider it WAR’s version of those WWE Unreleased Matches sets, even if most of the matches are just just the finishes.
I’ll be linking to my previous reviews on this site if you’re somehow demanding more wore(war).
WAR Grand Opening Weekend 07/15/92
Nobukazu Hirai vs. Yuji Yasuuraoka
The debut show aired in an edited form on TV so we get this unaired opener. Lucky me, it features the forever-mid Hirai. Hirai misses an elbow which leads to Yuji getting in some licks before Hirai’s rolling cradle ends it. Pointless, but I’d rather be able to see it than bitch about not being able to see it. And then bitch about it being lame.
WAR Revolution Ignition In Yokohama Arena 09/15/92
Nothing new here but thankfully the NJPW matches are included so that’s nice given that they had to be released on a separate VHS originally.
WAR Puroresu Revolution Ignition In Final 10/21/92
Javier Cruz vs. Nobukazu Hirai
Hooray more Hirai. Cruz gets applause and boos for yelling “Mexico!” Missile dropkick and a running back senton end it quick. Crowd gasped at the finish and not in a good way.
Pierroth Jr vs. Yuji Yasuraoka
Pierroth’s armbar kills two minutes before a powerslam ends it, just like that. Crowd again exploded in disbelief at the finish. I can see why some of these didn’t make air.
Takashi Ishikawa vs. Yoshiro Ito
Ishikawa lariats a charging Ito and submits him with the Sharpshooter. Crowd are respectful for the round lad. I don’t remember anything about Ito and had to check if I’d watched him before and sadly for him I had.
King Haku vs. Koko B. Ware
Koko lands a missile dropkick for a near-fall. He ends up on the end of a pump kick from Haku but is able to recover just enough to run into a giant arse powerbomb for a Haku win. Koko was deceptively big.
Ultimo Dragon vs. Owen Hart
OH HERE WE GO.
Ultimo flies out the gates with a spinning kick into the air to let Owen know what he can do. Owen whips Ultimo into the turnbuckles but Ultimo reverses into a crossbody. There’s still a sizable size difference so Ultimo has to struggle to chinlock Owen afterwards. Ultimo sticks to him like shit on a blanket until Owen front-flips out of an armbar, with Ultimo responding with his own. Polite applause for that. I wish Owen wasn’t wearing his High Energy gear, the crowd would have probably responded better to him if he wasn’t dressed like the Saved By The Bell intro. Ultimo takes Owen down with an armbar. Owen breaks out of it but can’t sink Ultimo to the mat when he puts all his weight on him. Good calves. Test of strength is won by Ultimo who also tries to put his weight on Owen. It’s not the same mate. Owen busts out The Owen sequence of bouncing off the ropes to escape a wristlock to deliver an armdrag and the crowd love that.
We clip ahead to Ultimo landing Mil Mascaras’ Polish Hammer and then clip even further ahead to Owen attempting to superplex Ultimo but ends up taking it into a crossbody, like when HBK beat Bulldog. Further editing sees Owen ending up outside the ring, but he annoys the fans by suplexing Ultimo outside and delivering his own dive.
Clipping ahead to Owen locking in Mexican Surfboard on Ultimo (BLASPHEMY) resulting in Ultimo knocking him off the top rope so Ultimo can land a wild splat to the outside.
Sharpshooter on Owen doesn’t end it despite the unintended irony. Double-down is won by Ultimo who lands a German Suplex pin for a very close two, leading to Owen try his own for another near-fall. This leads to both lads trading very closer near-falls courtesy of Tombstones and Lionsaults. That was a great minute. Owen misses a dive off the top and gets pinned via La Mahistral 19:35.
The trimming and editing killed this as a match you could properly enjoy but the spots we got were very pleasant on the eyes and it was cool to see this in whatever form it was presented.
WAR Great History Revolution Beating 02/14/93
King Iaukea Jr vs. Yuji Yasuraoka
I’m not familiar with King Jr.’s work but he can’t be worse than TAFKAPI. Cobra Clutch can’t put Yuji away but then it does.
Masao Orihara vs. Chavo Guerrero
I can see why this show didn’t air in full, it’s a one camera set-up with the ring viewed at an angle so it resembles Fire Pro Wrestling. Chavo’s delayed German suplex is lovely but Orihara comes back with a rolling bridge to put away Chavo in a spot that complimented Orihara but didn’t work as a logical finish. So it was definitely an Orihara finish.
Masashi Aoyagi vs. Nobukazu Hirai
Come on Aoyagi, do us a favour and twat him. Aoyagi’s kicks are pleasantly loud which is good as he throws loads of them around. And then a running one squishes Hirai. Crowd loved it and so did I.
WAR Revolution Destiny 03/03/93
Yoshiro Ito vs. Hiroshi Inomata
Ito is amazingly jacked-fat. Airplane spin isn’t enough for the big lad so he pulls up Inomata so he can splat him with a slam. Beefy squash.
Masashi Aoyagi vs. Yuji Yasuraoka
Hooray more Aoyagi kicking people really hard. Yuji ducks a spinning kick but then stands up to take it because Aoyagi is his senior. Ha! Spinning kick ends it.
WAR Winning War In Bay Area 09/12/93
Yuji Yasuraoka vs. Nobukazu Hirai
Grand, even more of these two numbskulls. Yuji wins with kinda-La Mahistral but not really. Even he is shocked when it ends the match.
Super Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. John Tenta & King Haku
Strong Machine whips Haku into the corner but pauses to yell at Goto, leading to him absorbing a lariat. Goto begrudgingly tags in so he can get slammed by Tenta. Tenta and Haku avalanche Goto in the corner but it only powers him up so he backdrop suplexes Haku onto his neck. Tenta tries to help but accidentally elbows Haku, which sets up a crap German Suplex for the win for Machine. I think Haku’s feet were still on the mat during the pin, oof. This looked a step below Tenta & Haku’s usual quality.
WAR Wrestle And Romance ~ WAR-ISM Dragon Spirit~
10/01/93 Sapporo
Nobukazu Hirai vs. Satoshi Kojima
Wow, rookie Kojima! Hirai drops an elbow off the top while jaw jacking which powers up Kojima to land LARI- oh flying forearms. He yells a lot throwing them so you’d think they were lariats. We get the three minutes announcement, with both lads doing their best to use their Level 1 offence to get the fall. Crowd are into it so there’s tension and excitement so well done Hirai. Match ends with no victor leading to polite applause.
Stan Lane vs. Yuji Yasuraoka
What the hell? Stan’s nearing his last run in the business and looks a lot like 1998 Billy Gunn. Stan sticks to basic stuff and then a Russian Leg Sweep gets the pin to silence. Wasn’t even worth mentioning.
John Tenta vs. Hiromichi Fuyuki
And we join this pre-recorded match just as Fuyuki fucks up a sunset flip leading to Tenta nonchalantly landing on him for the hell of it. Beautiful, glad they kept that in. Fuyuki kicks out of a splash and wakes up a wild flailing comeback but Tenta dropkicks him impressively before the Earthquake Stomp ends it. Weird this wasn’t shown originally considering how hard both men were pushed.
Great Kabuki vs. Black Cat
Cat runs into a Kabuki boot so Kabuki runs into a Cat forearm. It’s only polite. Backslide nearly ends it for Kabuki but a roll-up does, even with Cat complaining he grabbed the ropes. He didn’t. Crowd were not into this and they usually love Kabuki’s crap arse.
10/11/93 Fukui
Black Cat vs. Yuji Yasuraoka
Suplex doesn’t instantly pin Yuji and crowd applaud the kickout. Wow. Crowd are loudly into Yuji and his mullet as he backdrops Cat. Tope rope splash doesn’t end it as Cat comes to his senses and locks in a tremendous looking Cat’s Cradle. Fun while it lasted.
Great Kabuki vs. Nobukazu Hirai
Oh no. Hirai’s Frankensteiner can’t end Kabuki and neither can his rubbish crossbody. Kabuki drops the loser with a powerbomb and lariat combo. Crowd again weren’t raving over Kabuki.
WAR Revolution In Ryogoku Kokugikan 12/15/93
Nobukazu Hirai & Yuji Yasuraoka vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Yuji Nagata
Yuji is wrapped up DDP-style but it doesn’t prevent him from landing his double jump crossbody to the outside. Hirai prevents interference as well as he wins matches but Yuji is getting a push so he wins anyway with a bridging German.
Oh this is an all-new show!
Sparring Match
Animal Hamaguchi vs. Nobukazu Hirai
This is Animal’s first match in three years as he starts the winding down of his career. Both lads trade armbars until Hirai takes over on offence and the crowd hate that. More so than usual. Hirai lands one of the worst Frankensteiners in recorded history that Animal sadly commits to before he realised how bad it was. Animal makes a firey comeback with the ecstatic crowd cheering as he puts away Hirai with a Samoan drop.
Rounds Match
Koki Kitahara vs. Arashi
Oh no, it’s the first Arashi. I’m glad Koki’s usual bullying and stiff strikes are taking place across this idiot’s face. Koki nearly unmasks Arashi before applying a version of a stump puller (camera made it hard to figure out) for the draw. Very telling that was all they dared to air.
Great Sasuke vs. Yuji Yasuraoka
Brand new Sasuke matches? Yes please. Yuji is still taped up but still attempts a top rope splash because he’s young and dumb. Sasuke nails the springboard Lionsault as smooth as he always does, with a follow-up Tombstone setting up a missile dropkick. A wild high-angled powerbomb ends it for Sasuke. That’s mean teasing us with Sasuke matches and only giving us the closing minute.
Fuyuki-Gun (Hiromichi Fuyuki & Jado & Gedo) vs. Ashura Hara & Super Strong Machine & Yamato
The good guys take turns avalanching Jado in the corner but Hara runs into an outstretched chair like he’s Elmer Fudd. Hara takes a beating as the crowd boos the Gunners while he’s taking Germans. Hara won’t give up while his foes give him every move they know, including the raised up Butt Drop…that Fuyuki fucks up and misses. Hara is powered by the laughter proving that Patch Adams was right and tags in Machine for lariats. Yamato manages one kick before The Guns just-about manage the Triple Superbomb on him. That was scary. Gedo takes out Hara with a tope, leading to Yamato to submit to the Stretch Plumb. Pleasing highlight reel for Gun even with the flubs.
Nobukazu Hirai vs. Yuji Yasuraoka
This show was only released via massively edited TV broadcast which meant we get more unreleased Hirai. Yuji is STILL taped up, no wonder he left the business early. Hirai at least has learned enough to kick out of La Mahistral to roll out and win via Double Hold instead.
WAR All Star Tag Wars 07/17/94
Masanobu Kurisu vs. Yuji Yasuraoka
Yuji’s taped ribs are now part of his normal gear. Yuji lands the double-jump crossbody that Kurisu is reluctant to catch. Back inside the old prick backdrops his foe until deciding to throw a chair into his forever-bad ribs. Octopus Stretch ends it. Not enough abuse for my liking.
WAR Revolutionary Ignition ’94 08/26/94
Another new show!
Ultimo Dragon vs. Yuji Yasuraoka
Tapey McTapeFace shoves Ultimo off the top rope before making the mistake of trying to lock him in with La Mahistral. That’s just rude. Yuji then slips trying to land his springboard kick which Ultimo mocks. Tombstone sets up a Sky Twister Press to end it with, with Ultimo nearly getting up before the pin had occurred which I’m guessing is a way of expressing disgust politely.
Koki Kitahara & King Iaukea Jr. vs. Arashi & Yamato
Koki lands his “still bitching about no-one treating him like a big deal” kicks to Yamato’s face, busting him open like the dick he is. Arashi breaks up a pin so Koki shoves him out the ring and onto his large arse. Koki lands a Northern Lights Suplex onto Arashi to end it mercifully. Koki’s a dick, film at eleven.
Animal Hamiguchi vs. Ichiro Yaguchi
This is four on four via singles matches with the four WAR wrestlers facing off against the four…New Fighting Wrestling guys? Even I’ve never heard of NFW and it turns out they only lasted from February to November 1994. WAR feuded with everybody, even the insignificant.
This is my first time seeing Yaguchi when he’s not hanging out of Onita’s arse. He manages a modified STF but walks into Animal’s forearms. Yaguchi looks spent so Animal splats him with a Samoan Drop before tapping him out.
Masao Orihara vs. Hideo Takayama
Hideo is the future Hido from FMW. Orihara meanwhile is his usual understated self.
Hido kicks out of a German Suplex and lands a…something that was supposed to be a lariat but Orihara ducked for some reason. Orihara then SLAPS THE SHIT out of Hido’s face as if it was his fault. Hido retaliates with a ballshot. Good. Hido grandstands until Orihara spinkicks the poor guy right in the kisser and finishes with a powerbomb. How did Orihara not get shot?
Masanobu Kurisu vs. Toyonari Fujita
Fujita is the future Magnitude Kishiwada. Doesn’t matter what he will be, all that matters is what he is here: dead meat as Kurisu bends a chair over his skull. Kurisu casually applies a Single Crab but whenever Fujita makes the ropes, he drags him into the middle of the ring and applies it again until he taps. These NFW guys are getting turned into glue.
Nobukazu Hirai vs. Hiroshi Itakura
Itakura is fairly hench and looks more like a wrestler than Hirai, which means it’s WAR’s turn for their guy to take punishment. Hirai overcomes powerbombs and a half-and-half to…oh, get pinned. How about that. Itakura becomes the only winner in the NFW team so naturally he’d be the one with the least amount of success after this.
Nowhere near as fun as some of the other versions of this match they’d do on the main show but being the FMW nerd that I am, I appreciated seeing young Yaguchi & Hido. No wonder they didn’t include this originally, the company probably died before the tape could be released.
Aka Oni & Kendo Nagasaki vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa
Aka Oni is Don Muraco under a mask. I don’t know why.
Hey this looks like a full match for a change as we get introductions as well as Tenryu and Kendo kicking and arguing before the bell. Kendo immediately drags Ishikawa outside for chair shots. Well that’s his trademark spot out the way. Kendo heads back in but makes the mistake of going near Tenryu’s corner, so he pays the favour and dumps a load of connected chairs on top of Kendo. Tenryu forces a tag so he chop Kendo and bust his face open with kicks to the face. Ishikawa gets his revenge by chair shotting Kendo too. So far Don has stood on the apron looking confused.
Tenryu lands a lariat and Don finally helps his partner by preventing a WAR Special. Don pants a lot before managing a Russian Leg Sweep and swinging neckbreaker. Kendo senses this is lagging so he drags Tenryu outside for more rows of chairs being launched on top of Mr. Wrestling. Don loudly calls spots so Tenryu tags in to absorb a Mongolian Chop of all things. Don locks in a bearhug so he can catch his breath. Kendo tags in to give Don a break, which allows Tenryu and Kendo to trade strikes in the stiffest kind of way. Don stretches Ishikawa some more and it’s hilarious that his panting is louder than the crowd. Was that why he was wearing the mask? So he didn’t suck up the front row?
Hot tag to Tenryu who warms up his hands before chopping Kendo. Nice touch. Blind elbow gets two as Don slams Tenryu and everything breaks down. Don dares to apply the WAR Special which earns him a kick to the face. Kendo keeps trying to powerbomb Ishikawa but Tenryu keeps breaking it up until Don takes Tenryu outside because he wants to sit on the chairs. Everyone joins in with the great chair brawl occurring outside until Tenryu is buried underneath so many chairs that they’d need to get Thunderbird 2 to dig him out.
Kendo wins the match with a piledriver at 14:47.
Basic WAR style tag match but I’ve missed Tenryu’s offence and intensity. Kendo was one-note but that was one note more than Don had in him.
WAR Six-Man Tag Titles
Fuyuki-Gun (Gedo & Hiromichi Fuyuki & Jado) vs. Bob Backlund & Scott Putski & Warlord
Yes, it’s the most WAR team to ever WAR! Backlund offers a handshake to Jado who slaps it away so Fuyuki offers it to the others on the apron. He isn’t happy when they decline so he shakes his partners hands then goes outside to shake the fans’ hands. The fans fucking love BOB-U. Jado armdrags him with Bob yelling “woah woah woah” so the fans join in. Jado rolls Bob into an anklelock with more “woahs” which Bob has decided he’s going to continue doing because the crowd like it. Warlord tags in with Gedo very reluctant to start. Warlord easily bounces a waist lock takedown attempt away before no-selling everything, leading to Jado & Gedo double teaming him out the ring. Fuyuki tags in to massive boos to trade chops with Warlord but that doesn’t go anywhere so it’s time to brawl in the crowd. Putski superplexes Jado and busts out every power move he can think of without tearing anything.
The Guns wear him down until he leapfrogs Fuyuki without his thighs exploding. This earns him a lariat. Putski fights off Gedo so Fuyuki has to come in and let him know he’s the guy they’re going to get heat on so he’d better start selling. The Guns get their beatdown on the Nepo Baby with Fuyuki throwing a table in his face for good measure. Putski has a train ran on him in the corner and he takes the Triple Superbomb while Bob yells at the ref for the blatant chicanery going on. Putski gets locked in the Stretch Plumb but Bob saves his jacked arse. Putski gets a quick slam on Gedo to allow him to tag in Warlord who press slams Jado & Gedo but sadly not Fuyuki. Aw.
Warlord somehow takes a German suplex from Fuyuki but gets sent into Bob’s corner for the tag. Bob runs in and immediately gets taken out in a hilarious moment. Yeah cheers mate. He recovers enough to land the delayed Atomic Drop across the ring as the crowd goes wild. Bob gets distracted by Fuyuki on the apron to nearly get pinned with an O’Connor Roll but a few “woah woahs” help him kick out. Gedo splashes Bob’s knees which allows him to butterfly release suplex Jado half way across the ring. Jumping piledriver (and a beaut to boot) only gets two before Fuyuki runs in to break it all down. Bob applies the Crossface Chickenwing on Jado while Putski holds Fuyuki back for the tap-out and new Greatest WAR Six Man Tag Team Champions Ever.
This was a lot of fun! While Fuyuki-Gun were their usual dominant jerk selves, Bob was happy being wacky, Putski looked decent and Warlord appreciated being cheered by the crowd who even chanted “USA” for him. And the match was in full!
WAR Revolutionary Ignition ’94 09/01/94
Aka Oni vs. Masanobu Kurisu
More new show stuff and oh my word, what a weird match to start with. Back to being JIP with Kurisu whipping Don around with strikes and very easy looking scoop slams and suplexes. Kurisu calls Don a “sonofabeetch” before landing a backdrop suplex so gentle it wouldn’t have cracked a hard boiled egg. Crowd laugh at that as we get the announcement of ten minutes passing which Don takes as his cue to leave by landing a gentle tombstone for the pin with Kurisu making sure to kick out at 3.1 because he did NOT look happy being in there with Don. I’m so glad we’re getting more snippets of this horrible Muraco run.
Koki Kitahara vs. Nobukazu Hirai
Hirai attempts a rolling pin but goes directly into the ropes to the crowd’s laughter. Hirai’s superplex is denied, with Kitahara mule kicking him in the shoulder (Hirai wisely moving his head out the way) for a head-drop German Suplex. Kitahara isn’t content with that so he puts his whole ass into a far more brutal one because (as already established) he’s a dick.
Takashi Ishikawa vs. Yamato
Tenyru had a type, which was former sumos who were a bit rubbish. Ishikawa actually attempts a chokeslam here even though he’s not able to get the larger guy more than an inch off the mat before finishing with the sharpshooter-NO WAIT he dropped one of the legs while moving Yamato over to his stomach so he changes it to a STF instead for the finish. Crowd boo-laughs and I’m staggered they’d include this. I’m also very appreciative.
Ultimo Dragon vs. Masao Orihara
Surprisingly this is their only televised singles match. Orihara nearly pins Ultimo with a powerbomb before attempting a diving headbutt off the top with crazily lands on Ultimo’s stood-up feet. That could have ended badly. Top rope Frankensteiner doesn’t finish because Ultimo tries pinning by sitting on Orihara’s chest like a baby bear, leading to a Sunset Flip reversal into another reversal for Ultimo to pin. What we got looked lovely but you can never tell with Orihara.
Animal Hamaguchi & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Arashi & Kendo Nagasaki
Kendo and Tenryu wrestled each other a lot, huh. Animal and Kendo start off and you can tell Kendo respects him because he doesn’t go outside for chairs for two minutes. Tenryu tags in for some wonderful chops before Arashi tags in to grind this one to a screeching halt. In fairness, the legends oversell for his tackles and basicness until Animal starts armbarring people. Kendo saves and takes over on Tenryu but I can see why he was often going outside for brawls, his offence is as basic as Arashi’s. After Tenryu absorbs an avalanche in the corner and hearing no crowd noise at all, Tenryu SLAPS THE SHIT out of Arashi. I always appreciate Tenryu’s ability to sense when something’s not working.
Arashi cuts him off with a belly-to-belly but luckily Animal tags in to land diving elbows and headbutts and get the crowd back into this. Arashi takes his trademark Samoan drop and flying clothesline leading to Tenryu tagging in to land an enziguri. Arashi rolls outside before…rolling back inside. Oh man. Tenryu viciously kicks him in the face repeatedly to rev him up but instead he tags in Kendo. I was ready for Animal’s sequence to end this. Tenryu chops the hell out of Kendo who reacts by lobbing him outside where some minions attack Tenryu. Didn’t get a good look at them. A worn-out Tenryu is saved by Animal, who takes out Kendo to leave Tenryu alone with Arashi. Oh no. Tenryu ignores Arashi’s sumo strikes to roll the lump up at 12:28.
Well below Tenryu’s usual effort and Kendo didn’t seem that arsed either. Weirdly quiet crowd too, but they did cheer when it was over. Tenryu matches shouldn’t be skippable.
WAR 6-Man Tag Titles
Bob Backlund & Scott Putski & Warlord vs. Fuyuki-Gun (Gedo & Hiromichi Fuyuki & Jado)
Hell yeah, we get the rematch too! Warlord is pounding away on Gedo and no selling everything because he’s American. Gedo dives off the top to the outside with a crossbody, that is caught and dumped easily. We’re cutting ahead as this is highlights only to Bob taking multiple AWA Specials. Bob’s groin gets stretched around the ring post but luckily Putski is here! To get beat up by Fuyuki-Gun and get saved by Warlord’s press slams. I can see why this is digested, it’s way too similar to the earlier match. The Gun land the Triple Bomb on Backlund, who loudly asks “where am I going? I don’t know where I’m going?” as he’s put into position. With Backlund out, The Gun focus their attention on Putski who taps out to the Stretch Plumb for new champs at 16:34.
Too edited to care about and the crowd sucked.
10/03/94 Nagasaki
Arashi vs. Nobukazu Hirai
No fucking way they booked this. Hirai’s moonsault can’t put lumpy away so he tries a Frankensteiner that turns into a powerbomb. Diving lariat sends Hirai loopy before two chokeslams ends this undramatically. Eh, was OK.
Vampiro Casanova vs. Top Gun
We start with Vampiro flying off the top rope while yelling “Frog Splash!” No mate that’s a crossbody. I love how untrained Vampiro is. Vampiro gets mad that his Kimura takedown doesn’t get a pin from the ref. His arm is behind his back, propping him up! I love him so much. Vampiro counters a lariat by taking it and not moving before doing something else. Vampiro finishes with a Victory Roll and he looks pissed at himself. I was pissing myself AT him, amazingly terrible.
Kendo Nagasaki vs. Dick Murdoch
Dick is covered in blood and the quality is so good you can see the volcano hole it’s spouting out of. Crowd are solidly behind Dick while Kendo is pounding away. Dick turns a lariat into an armbar (the spot Vamp tried twice) leading to a punchy comeback from Murdoch and even a dropkick. Crowd love that. Dick heads outside to punch Kendo close to the fans who are very happy to see it. Dick tries his falling bulldog but Kendo’s second interferes so Dick ends up in a Boston Crab while yelling “ah you motherfucker, loosen up!” Dick tries to suplex Kendo but the second grabs his foot and they kinda do the Warrior/Rude finish but Dick kicks out. Good, that looked rough. Kendo ends it with a piledriver. I wanted to see more of this as though the action was limited, the response to it was grand.
10/11/94 Sapporo
Masanobu Kurisu vs. Nobukazu Hirai
Young un vs. Kurisu matches are always fun & brutal. Hirai misses a top rope splash and then an Octopus Stretch submits Hirai. OK I guess they’re not always fun.
Dick Murdoch vs. Masao Orihara
That is some batshit match-making. Orihara throws dropkicks and slams like Murdoch is thirty years younger, with a moonsault getting two. Orihara lands a tope which is caught unenthusiastically by Dick. Dick climbs to the apron to drop an elbow while telling the ref “this is a receipt, right now!” The follow-up elbows all look safe so maybe Dick is too tired and floppy for real receipts. Oklahoma Stampede sets up the falling bulldog which only gets 2.9 so a delayed Brainbuster ends it. OK, not the car crash it looked like on paper as Orihara got his stuff in and then let Dick do his thing.
WAR WAR-ISM 1994 Night 1 10/29/94
Ultimo Dragon vs. Masanobu Kurisu
Kurisu is wearing a Mil Mascaras mask and argues with the ref for not releasing his blatant chokehold. Ultimo’s handspring only gets one as Kurisu is the only person who can get away with one counts like that. Figure Four Leglock is applied with Kurisu yelling comedy things. Both guys spit at one another for more joking. Oh it’s a comedy bout? Kurisu goes for a chair as Ultimo begs off dramatically. Kurisu hits him a few times then puts it on top of the ref. Hard chops set up a dangerous backdrop suplex for two. Jesus, don’t hurt Ultimo in a comedy match. Kurisu goes up top and nails a crossbody to the crowd’s disbelief. Ultimo lands a Frankensteiner then does a sexy dance before landing a moonsault with Kurisu kicking out at 3.1 to end a weird mix of comedy and violence that kinda worked.
Koki Kitahara vs. Gedo
Kitahara is taped up here as Gedo turns a lariat into a crucifix for a huge pop. Oh wow did the crowd love that. Kitahara delivers three powerbombs to end it, with the crowd liking that too. What a great crowd.
Kendo Nagasaki & Hiroshi Itakura vs. Animal Hamaguchi & Masao Orihara
Kendo discombobulates Orihara with a wicked powerbomb for two, with Animal charging in with a flying clothesline. Kendo’s sidewalk slam can’t end it (and why would it) but a jumping piledriver does. Hot two minutes shown here.
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Gedo & Hiromichi Fuyuki
Hara’s farewell match. I assumed his match with Tenryu was the last hoorah but apparently that was his last match in his hometown. Ah, gotcha.
Him and Fuyuki trade headbutts for old time’s sake. And then the bell rings! Tenryu immediately cuts off Gedo’s pony-tail with a pair of scissors to really annoy him. I saw Tenryu charging with scissors and feared the worst. Gedo tries to sumo chop Tenryu but Mr. Wrestling responds by tearing his shirt open to chop him some more. Wow. Hara tags in to no-sell backdrop suplexes for the last time and to chop the soul of Gedo’s body. Fuyuki waddles in to very loud boos. They beat the hell out of no-one out of respect before Gedo tries the same but Tenryu chops his chest through his arse. Gedo tries to stop Hara’s onslaught but it’s his retirement match so he even no-sells a German Suplex onto the noggin. Fuyuki doesn’t care about no damn retirements and lariats Tenryu.
Gedo gets a bit of offence on Tenryu until he realises who he’s dealing with and grabs him by the scruff of the neck and marches him to the ropes to one-shot him with a slap to the face. Oh that was awesome. Gedo starts absorbing chop after chop but won’t stay down. Crowd are actively cheering for the li’l bastard now, unaware he deserves everything he gets. A fluke roll-up won’t end Tenryu so Fuyuki runs in while Jado on the outside takes out Hara. Tenryu holds Fuyuki’s wrist while he chops him but a Gedo chair shot ends that as Tenryu is stuck in the Stretch Plumb. Hara saves so Fuyuki lands lariat after lariat to try and his career on a downer as the crowd eat into it and beg him to stop getting hit. Gedo removes some of Tenryu’s hair to get revenge, leading to a brawl outside. Hara superplexes Fuyuki for a close fall as the crowd are non-stop noise now. Tenryu throws chairs on the outside to Gedo, leading to Hara getting rolled up by Fuyuki to end it and to completely piss off the crowd.
Wow. Great match with crazy heat and cruel prodding from the Guns.
Ten Man Royal Rumble
It’s a battle royal with staggered entrances and pins/submissions. Ichiro Yaguchi (I think? CageMatch is not accurate with regards to this match) starts off by armbarring Gedo to prove he’s the only one in the company who can wear red pyjamas. Gedo responds by raking the eyes. Ultimo is next out and wonderfully dodges both lad’s attacks by running up the ropes and mocking the pair of them. Then they start attacking one another so Ultimo casually stretches on the middle rope while enjoying the action. He’s so cool. Gedo puts away Ichiro after a top-rope headbutt.
Hara waddles out, still sweating after the previous match. The sweat help propels him to lariat Gedo so hard he Jannetty sells across the ring for the elimination.
Hara and Ultimo go at it, with Hara unimpressed with the dropkicks that are thrown his way. Hara responds like most people and chops Ultimo’s chest-plate. Why did everyone just do that and pretend it was normal. Anyway Hiroshi Itakura heads out next with Ultimo and Hara immediately stopping what they’re doing to double team the poor guy. Animal Hamaguchi is next and also pleases the crowd by beating up Hiroshi with running elbows before his Samoan Drop eliminates Hiroshi.
Animal wants Ultimo but as soon as he is taken down, he requests Hara assist so he gives him a headbutt. Jado is out next with a chair, delivering shots to everyone but nothing is sold leading to another three-on-one beatdown. Crowd is loving this feel-good comedy after the previous match. Jado gets sent over the top rope via handspring and…then Ultimo pulls a Macho Man in 1992 and eliminates himself by diving over the ropes onto Jado? Oof. Fuyuki is out next while the rest of The Gun attack Ultimo at ringside so I’m guessing he’s out in the dumbest way possible.
No, I’m wrong it’s not over-the-top elimination rules battle royal so Ultimo shakes off The Gun to head back in to Frankensteiner Fuyuki. That was impressive but he immediately turns around and Butt Drops Ultimo with everyone in the match helping to pin Dragon.
Kendo wanders out next, looking bored until he starts trading chops with Fuyuki. God this crowd is loud. They just want to see legends beating up any member of The Gun. Tenryu also wants to hurt Fuyuki but Kendo whacks everyone with a chair to send Animal home early.
Tenryu and Kendo brawl outside and use a fire extinguisher for the hell of it. Koki shows up to a big pop as the crowd knows it means The Gun are going to get kicked really fucking hard. Hara and Tenryu put away Kendo with a powerbomb/neckbreaker, with the crowd gushing as it’s maybe the last time they’ll see that.
Fuyuki-Gun double-team Koki on the outside and then the inside and eliminate him with little issue. Huh.
Kendo re-emerges from the back to piledrive Tenryu on the outside, which allows Hara to put away Jado with a lariat.
Fuyuki slaps Hara around as the crowd plead with him to not lose again. Tenryu helps Hara put away Fuyuki which leaves just Tenryu and Hara.
Tenryu wastes no time throwing lariats at his mate as the crowd sound like they’re on the verge of tears. Hara refuses to fall down from the stiff lines being thrown his way. Hara can barely finish a superplex on Tenryu in a scary moment. Tenryu is able to recover on account of Hara being completely done, takes three lariats but refuses to stay down. He’s cut his tongue which can’t be fun, but still insists on not staying down and kicks out of a powerbomb. Tenryu keeps landing lariats with the ref checking on him to make sure he wants to continue. I’m surprised he can hear Hara’s response over the crowd squealing. Hara kicks out of a backdrop and another powerbomb, having to spit out the blood in his mouth while doing so. Tenryu REALLY throws some lariats now but even these serious sausages can’t put Hara away. A third powerbomb that sees Hara land awkwardly and yell in pain as he lands is finally enough to retire Hara at 29:09.
A lot of simple fun here with Hara saying goodbye by putting his poor body through the wringer for the final time, along with a bunch of comedy to make the medicine go down easier.
Post-match, Hara’s family poses in the ring with him before he is carried out by the roster. Aw. Again, unsure why this wasn’t released before now given it’s significance.
WAR WAR-ISM 1994 Night 7 11/08/94
Masanobu Kurisu vs. Yuji Yasuraoka
No time for emotion, we’re back to Kurisu stretching people and just the finishes being featured. STF ends it.
Masao Orihara vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
Orihara lands a bunch of suplexes before a ropey roll-up ends it. Orihara isn’t happy after the pin, but when is he ever really happy?
NWA World Middleweight & UWA World Middleweight Title
Ultimo Dragon vs. Lion Heart Chris Jericho
Wahoo! Jericho kicks out of a Sunset Flip, only to absorb a top rope Frankensteiner for two. We get an on-screen apology for the quality of the video which appears to be having transmission issues. Jericho takes advantage of the satellite blues to lock in a Figure Four. Jericho attempts a superplex but Ultimo turns it onto a sit-out front suplex with Jericho somehow kicking out of La Magistral. That’s impossible! Dragon Suplex to Ultimo can’t put him away, and neither can striking his chest-plate. A wild top rope bulldog (more like Jarrett’s stroke) sets up The Lionsault! For two. Miscommunication results in Jericho spiking Ultimo on what was supposed to be a Frankensteiner reversal from a top rope powerbomb, though thankfully Dragon kicks out and carries on. Ultimo mostly lands a Sky Twister Press to win the NWA World Middleweight and hopefully also some Deep Heat. Even with that horrible moment and the video issues, this still looked like the usual smooth goodness from these two.
In case you’re wondering where this title ranks in terms of importance, wikipedia says “Ultimo Dragon stopped defending the title around 1997” and there wouldn’t be a new champion until 1999.
Aka Oni & Kendo Nagasaki vs. Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson
Woah. We’re JIP to Ricky selling until he rolls out of a Kendo piledriver so he can hot tag Robert. Both lads work rings around their foes but it’s Kendo and Fucked Don so they should be. Robert misses a splash in the corner and takes a piledriver from Kendo to end something I was just getting into.
WAR Six-Man Tag Titles
Gedo & Jado & Hiromichi Fuyuki vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Koki Kitahara & Animal Hamaguchi
More Fuyuki-Gun six-man tag action? Don’t mind if I do. We get the introductions and then immediately clip ahead to Koki bleeding buckets. He’s still able to slam a charging Jado and tag in Tenryu who blasts him with a chair. So now Jado is bleeding badly, with Animal joining in with the chair shots. Jado takes such a beating that half the crowd starts cheering for him because he looks close to death. Not to worry though as Gedo tags in to take a hideous lariat.
So Jado tags in back in because he’s the least dead. Tenryu won’t persist in pounding the poor guy, even when he gets his foot up on a charge Tenryu simply ignores it and chops him. Koki’s German Suplex can’t put away Jado as this is turning into a shit-kicking for the ages. Fuyuki finally saves his guy (but only after he took a Tenryu powerbomb) leading to him getting cocky so Tenryu kapo kicks him. Animal tags in to take stiff moves before placing himself safely down because he’s eighty three. Koki goes back to trying to send Gedo’s skull through the canvas with his fast German Suplexes. Tenryu’s Crew manage a Superbomb but that’s Fuyuki’s move so he buggers in with a chair to break this one down again. God this is going on for a while.
After another brawl outside, The Guns Triple Superbomb Tenryu…for two. That move never wins matches but it should. Tenryu gets stretched but chops Fuyuki off the top rope in a loud moment. The Gun resume their beat-down on Tenryu so everyone can then run into more chops. Koki and his brain-mashing kicks accidentally strike the ref, which renders him unable to count the pins. Fuyuki scoops up the ref only to slap him down in a great moment. Animal tags in and we’re about three days into this match so it’s time for him to get worked over and busted open too. Are they going for a time limit draw?
We skip ahead due to transmission issues to Koki taking a backdrop pin from Fuyuki and Tenryu attempting to break up the pin but failing miserably for the pin at 42:56 (!). And that’s the finish which leads to a confused, dull reaction as it looked more like Tenryu was assisting Fuyuki with the pin by holding on to Koki for him. All that for that? The beatdowns and bleeding were impressive but there was no need to go that long, even edited this felt like a slog. Not without merits but still.
WAR Mega Power In Ryogoku 12/04/94
Masanobu Kurisu vs. Yuji Yasuraoka
Time for one last match as this article is longer than my last relationship. Kurisu suplexes Yuji around as he’s still heavily taped and should probably see a doctor once he recovers from the German Suplex pin. And that’s it!
Overall: The target audience for this is nerds with issues so that’s who ended up watching it. Ultimo vs. Owen was interesting, and the Backlund Six-Man win was fun but they left the best stuff on the original tapes. This wasn’t exactly like listening to unreleased Bob Dylan tracks but we got to see Don Muraco during his worst so it wasn’t a total waste of time.
I’ve been Maffew