FINAL POWER HALL IN FUKUOKA DOME

November 2, 1997

Riki Chosyu’s retirement countdown continues at the Fukuoka Dome, and there’s a lot more! More Different Style Fights! More New Japan vs. nWo Japan! More junior goodness!

Keiji Mutoh . . . looks like he actually brought his work boots to the arena with him.

Riki Chosyu . . . looks like he either really needs to retire, or really wants everyone to want him to retire.

Kendo Ka Shin . . . looks halfway decent and doesn’t make me hate him with a passion.

SCOTT NORTON/MICHIYOSHI OHARA/HIROYOSHI TENZAN vs. SATOSHI KOJIMA/MANABU NAKANISHI/TADAO YASUDA

Yikes. This is far from the ideal way to start off a big show. Not surprisingly, Tenzan and Kojima are the best ones there, but they’re still far from perfect. Kojima gets really silly very early on, selling a reverse atomic drop from Ohara like death, but then no selling headbutts, and then returning the favor with the atomic drop. Considering that Tenzan had headlined the previous dome show and was a G1 finalist, he seems to be underutilized here. Taking the most punishment on his team, he does the best selling of any of the six, but looking at the field around him, that’s not really saying very much. Norton and Nakanishi actually work together sort of decently too, due to their mutual understanding of power moves and no-selling. Thankfully, this is kept short, and Norton hurting his knee seems to rush the ending a bit, when the nWo team clears out the NJPW team, and Norton finishes off Yasuda. I’d complain more, but it could have been a lot worse, all things considered.

JYUSHIN “THUNDER” LYGER/TIGER KING vs. TATSUHITO TAKAIWA/KOJI KANEMOTO

When Sayama was involved doing his trademark spots and soaking up the crowd pops, I found myself wondering what a match between Sayama and Minoru Suzuki would look like. Sayama isn’t bad by any stretch, but due to his age and conditioning (and he looked in far better shape here than he did in his All Japan matches in 2003) he was a few steps behind the others. Due to the match being more of a showcase for Sayama, and for New Japan to give the fans their dream team of Lyger and Sayama, there isn’t much in the way of real storytelling. There are a few nice bits, like Kanemoto going after Lyger’s leg early (and Lyger doing a great sell job) to play of their last dome show match, but it’s nothing substantial.

The gist of things is that Kanemoto and Takaiwa can smack around Lyger with ease, but Sayama gives them all sorts of trouble. Which is a total 180 from how things should go, judging from the work here. Kanemoto and Takaiwa bring plenty of nastiness to their sequences with Lyger, and Lyger puts everything over beautifully. Lyger doesn’t even do a whole lot of his offense either. The only Lygerbomb done in the match is courtesy of Takaiwa and his Triple Powerbomb. Lyger does score the win, pinning Takaiwa after a super brainbuster, but the set up to the move was Lyger countering a super powerbomb with a rana. Kanemoto and Takaiwa have their flying shoes on for Sayama to do his signature spots, but Sayama doesn’t always hit everything as clean as he should, and he doesn’t seem to fully follow through. After Lyger spikes Takaiwa with the brainbuster for the win, Sayama intercepts Kanemoto with a flying tackle, but he doesn’t make great contact, and Kanemoto basically has to oversell it in order to not save Takaiwa. Maybe if the match had a preceding video package featuring Lyger always getting beaten up by them two on one or something, it’d have come off better, but judging from the performances here, Lyger should be the one with “king” in his name.

KEIJI MUTOH/MASAHIRO CHONO vs. TATSUMI FUJINAMI/GENICHIRO TENRYU

When Fujinami and Mutoh were taking it to each other on the mat, this was a fun little match. It’s not often that you see Mutoh actually trading holds on the mat with someone and looking good doing it. The really cool part is when Mutoh winds up catching Fujinami in a juji-gatame, and Mutoh even gives Fujinami the ultimate slap in the face when he uses an abdominal stretch and cradles him for two. It’s either a tribute to Fujinami’s carrying ability or a sign of what kind of worker Keiji Mutoh really used to be. There’s a short segment where Chono and Mutoh work over Fujinami’s arm, but it’s quickly forgotten. Other than the fun stuff with Fujinami and Mutoh, the rest of the match is just a dull, and slow paced affair. Chono and Tenryu don’t have a ton of offense as it is, and it’s shown rather quickly when they’re in the ring together. There’s nothing substantive as far as a story goes, all four of them (Tenryu and Chono being the biggest offenders) just start to rattle off moves, there’s one nice part where Tenryu plants Mutoh with his powerbomb, and then picks him up for a second one, and Mutoh reverses into a rana. Toward the end of the match Chono keeps trying to apply the STF and getting cut off, or having it broken soon after, but the nWo Japan members on the floor beat on Tenryu, and Fujinami has to give it up. It’s nice to see Mutoh when he could actually go, but the fact that he was one of the better workers is due more to process of elimination, than to his actual ability.

RIKI CHOSYU vs. KENSUKE SASAKI

Chosyu’s road to retirement continues against the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and one of Chosyu’s proteges and tag team partners. Under those circumstances, there’s a reason this match needed to happen. As far as putting on a good match, this never needed to happen. Like the last match, there’s precious little story being told, in favor of the go-go-go style of just throwing things out, and judging from Chosyu’s pace here, he didn’t have much left in the tank as it was. Things get way out of hand when Kensuke does (in sequence no less) a Northern Lights Bomb and then another NLB off the top, and Chosyu climbs to his feet to level him with the Riki Lariat. Kensuke and Chosyu spend give or take the rest of the match trading lariats. Until finally, Chosyu stays down for three. When the camera shows Kojima in the corner watching the match, I started to wonder if he started thinking that the key to success was to throw tons of lariats, which should give an idea of how captivating the work here was.

TAKASHI IIZUKA/KAZUYUKI FUJITA vs. EL SAMURAI/KENDO KA SHIN

Good lord, what happened to Kendo Ka Shin? First his fun singles match with Fujita at the previous dome show, and a fun performance here. Exactly when and how did he turn into such a joke? Fujita and Ka Shin work a couple of mat exchanges that look more suited for UWFI, including one amusing exchange where Fujita is trying to use his power and take Ka Shin over with a suplex, but Ka Shin lands on his feet and suplexes Fujita, who lands on his feet, and so forth. Ka Shin and Iizuka also work together pretty well, when it’s on the mat. As always, Ka Shin centers his offense around his juji-gatame, but the difference here is that rather than just grab his opponent and apply the hold, he’s getting it on from various openings that he’s given. Samurai isn’t in the match very much, and he’s all right, but doesn’t work as well with the opposition. He gets a few of his trademark stuff in like the dropkick, and a nice doomsday device cross body press with Ka Shin. It’s not enough though and Iizuka plants him with a couple of nasty looking uranages and pins him after the Blizzard suplex. The Ka Shin parts were enjoyable and the match was good enough for what it was, which was something for the crowd to watch before the big matches took place.

AKIRA NOGAMI/KENGO KIMURA vs. HIRO SAITO/TATSUTOSHI GOTO

Besides a decent finish, and a couple of brutal bumps that Nogami takes, there isn’t anything here worth seeing. Goto and Hiro spend the majority of the match torturing Nogami in the least interesting ways possible. The bumps Nogami takes off Goto’s backdrop, Hiro’s senton (on the ramp), and a running lariat is all that there is to see here. At least Nogami gets to pick up the win, after taking all that, pinning Goto with a German suplex after Kimura gives him an assist with his running knee.

SHINJIRO OHTANI © vs. WILD PEGASUS (J* Crown)

Considering the participants here, this is a bit on the disappointing side, but it’s still Benoit vs. Ohtani, so it’s a keeper. The most disappointing aspect is the limb work, or rather the lack of overall impact that the limb work had. It’s nothing unique for New Japan junior matches, but it’s all the more frustrating here, because they’re two of the best when it comes to attacking and selling a body part. In this case it’s Benoit’s knee, and they’re both up to the task. When Ohtani has Benoit locked in any leg hold, even a simple leg grapevine, he’s always cranking on it, and Benoit reciprocates with beautiful selling, including when he goes on offense. At one point Benoit plants Ohtani with a release German, and does it while standing on one knee.

Aside from doing a great job at selling his knee, Benoit is even more great when it comes to bringing offense. He’s got enough intensity for three people, and he’s not afraid to let it all out. He doesn’t have a ‘goal’ the way Ohtani did by going after his knee, he just unloads a beating on him, and in the process gives Ohtani credibility as champion with his survival and subsequent victory. What makes it work so well is that Benoit’s moves aren’t disrespected by Ohtani kicking out, because he’s not doing any silly ‘fighting spirit’ Hulk-ups, he simply takes the beating because he’s got no other choice. The downside is that Benoit winds up using a lot of big moves in the process. Benoit’s reaction to Ohtani’s kicking out isn’t to show desperation or frustration. He just turns up the volume a bit more. Benoit outsmarts himself at one point when he connects the diving headbutt (after his initial attempt missed) and instead of going for the kill, he slaps Ohtani around and puts the bad mouth on him.

Where Benoit winds up going wrong though is that he winds up thinking too much about which big move he can unload next, and not about any other possible way he could be able to win. For instance, Ohtani shockingly survives two Rolling Germans, and a Dragon suplex. Instead of keeping the pressure on Ohtani with a submission hold, Benoit opts to attempt a second rope tombstone, and Ohtani manages to escape it. Ohtani doesn’t get far because he didn’t really *do* anything to Benoit, but after Benoit levels him with a lariat, he doesn’t learn from the mistake and puts him on the top rope for his super backdrop, and Ohtani rolls over and lands on top of Benoit, leaving him to take the big fall. And nobody looks more shocked at the turn of events than Ohtani himself. Ohtani quickly his bearings together and finishes off Benoit with a springboard spin kick and Dragon suplex. Although it’s a bit of a step down from their previous matches with each other, it’s still Benoit vs. Ohtani when both were at their peaks as workers, and it’s more than worthy of being an initiation of sorts to Ohtani as champion (Benoit being his first challenger to really give him a challenge), as well as a sort of farewell (or welcome back) match for Benoit. ***3/4

DON FRYE vs. KAZUO YAMAZAKI (Different Style Fight)

I can’t say I’m a big consumer of all things Don Frye, but based upon what I have seen, I’d wager this as being one of his better matches from early in his career. Of course most of that is thanks to Yamazaki rather than him. There’s no question that Frye knows how to get the NJPW fans riled up. He has an attitude problem, thinking he’s too good for New Japan. When Yamazaki gets the ropes, he won’t break the hold, and he’s not above doing something truly sick like biting Yamazaki’s ear. But essentially, that’s all Frye can bring to the table. When he takes down Yamazaki and gets a mount, he freezes up, like he’s not quite sure what he’s supposed to do next. Frye’s attempts at selling are okay at times, there is one nice moment when Yamazaki levels Frye with a kick and he goes reeling back into the corner.

What Frye is lacking in, is something Yamazaki is great at, which is getting the fans excited about seeing what they’re hoping to see, Yamazaki beating Frye and shutting his mouth. When Yamazaki is caught in an armbar or choke, he’s great for going for the ropes, but not quite making it the first time, giving the fans a scare that he’s trapped, before he finally does get there. Yamazaki makes the most of the couple openings that he gets to unload headbutts and palm strikes on Frye, and he catches Frye is a couple of holds of his own, but Frye’s not nearly as good about making a show out of going for the ropes, the way Yamazaki is. Even though he’s the babyface of the situation, Yamazaki also brings much more intensity and nastiness to the match than Frye does. Yamazaki doesn’t get many opportunities for his offense, but he makes the most of what he does, not just in what he does, but the intensity behind it, and when Frye is in the corner, Yamazaki returns the favor by refusing to break clean. Frye only shows that kind of intensity in the final moments, when he throws Yamazaki down, unloads some ground n’ pound, and chokes him out. It doesn’t really say a lot for Yamazaki though. It’d be one thing if Frye got from Point A to Point B with a quick reversal or a counter, but instead it just comes off like Frye was taking it easy until he wanted to end it.

NAOYA OGAWA vs. ERWIN VREEKER (Different Style Fight)

This is basically three minutes of nothing. Vreeker looks totally out of his element. Ogawa takes him down a couple of times, and basically gives him a free pass. Finally Ogawa puts me out of my misery by taking him down yet again and putting on a juji-gatame. If New Japan insists on these stupid worked fights, then the workers should at least have the decency to actually *work* during the fight.

SHINYA HASHIMOTO vs. HUMBERT NUMRICK (Different Style Fight)

It’s fitting that Yamazaki is seconding Hashimoto here, given their intense feud the year before, and that this has a UWFI sort of feel to it. There’s more action here in the first five seconds, than there was in the whole last match. Hashimoto and Numrick both go right at one another and neither have any qualms about taking two shots in order to get in one of their own, and after the boredom of the previous two fights due to hesitation, I applaud both of them. I also applaud them for actually telling a bit of a story, despite the relatively short length, the round system, and the fact that these sorts of matches don’t always lend themselves well to storytelling. One thing that’s rare to see is Hashimoto being vulnerable, but he is in this environment. He knows he can’t take the fight to Numrick the same way he would Chono or Muta, because Numrick can actually outmatch him at his greatest skill which is striking. Indeed, anytime that Hashimoto and Numrick go toe to toe trading shots, it’s Hashimoto who winds up on the losing side.

Hashimoto knows what he needs to do, which is get Numrick off his feet and make him tap, but he doesn’t know how to actually go about it. When he goes right in and tries to take him down the way Frye did to Yamazaki with ease, he’s blocked, kicked in the arm, and sent to the mat. He figures out what he needs to do, a bit too late in the first round, when he misses the dropkick, but manages to trip Numrick and apply a heel hook. Numrick is too close to the ropes and the round ends soon after. Once he knows what to do though (and also likely from Yamazaki giving him a couple of tips during the interim) Hashimoto is back to being the juggernaut. He quickly takes Numrick down and puts another heel hook on, and when they get back to their feet Hashimoto shoots in with a Seionage and a grounded armlock for the win. It seems odd that Hashimoto smokes both Frye and Ogawa, both of whom have legit fighting experience, but it’s just one more reason why Hashimoto is a legend, while Frye and Ogawa are both footnotes.

Conclusion: The good stuff comes from the usual suspects, and a couple of surprises, but there’s way more mediocre and outright bad than there is good. Recommendation to avoid this one.