Archive Dive: G1 2006/ Wrestle Kingdom 1

No one tells you how unstable it is trying to review wrestling...or reviewing anything, probably.

There's a lot of lows, with time crunches to be the first one to talk about a show, being able to see exactly how many people aren't reading your reviews, and I still don't think I've recovered from last summer when I tried to watch all of the G1 and it shut my brain down for a week. But there's highs. Seeing the people that are reading some of the reviews of a relatively nobody never-done is astounding and it's been nice to share my thoughts on wrestling with the world at large. So how do I work around the parts of doing a wrestling blog I don't like while still doing it? New Japan World and ROH's Honorclub have huge libraries that, while not complete, have a lot of matches that people probably don't know about. Combine that with my want to get as much of my money's worth out of the subscriptions as possible, and I was struck with inspiration.

An Epiphany.

No time limits, no pressure. Most of Falcon Arrow Emporium is going to be focused around diving into these backlogs, wading through them like Zhang Liao in a Dynasty Warriors game, and finding what's good, what's great, and what's worth $10 a month for. There'll still probably be reviews of modern stuff scattered around (NOAH, ZERO-1, Anything else that might really interest me) and I still want to do a monthly Top TV match list. But as for New Japan and ROH? I'll get to modern stuff when I get to it.

Doing my research for this project (Read: After watching New Japan's CHAOS history video), originally I was going to start with dissolution of Great Bash Heel in April of 2009. But then I started digging a little father (Read: going to the GBH Wikipedia article), I found out the roots of Great Bash start coincidentally a few months before the original Wrestle Kingdom. Review every Wrestle Kingdom? Sounds fucking mad right? Well I'm that kind of fucking mad, so let's do this. ROH will come along when we get to it in the timeline as set by Honorclubs limits (2011). so let's go back in time, to August of 2006. The G1 was two blocks of 5. Liger was in one of the blocks (it did not go well for him, 1-4) and the stage is set for the finals. Satoshi Kojima, who at the time was part of All Japan Pro Wrestling's roster, taking on New Japan's Hiroyoshi Tenzan. The 3rd Generation explodes!...for the 3rd time since Kojima left New Japan.

8.13.2006
G1 Finals
Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Tenzan looks incredibly trim here, which is either due to him gaining bulk over the years or black being a truly slimming color. This little under half hour match was something interesting to watch 13 years later. the biggest profile match I've seen out of either man here came from their NEVER Title shots against Shibata in 2016. The two were very evenly matched throughout the contest, with Kojima occasionally taking advantage using underhanded means. nothing as glaring as a low blow,  small things like taking a little longer to break when Tenzan reached the ropes, or "accidentally" raking his opponents eyes in an attempt to escape a hold. Tenzan made up for what his opponent was doing by using his sheer power advantage over him. He would win most of the strike exchanges, and capitalized with moves off the top rope more than Kojima did. Satoshi tried to take a count out victory by first DDTing Tenzan on the apron, then Lariating him over the ropes as he got back in the first time. As the match goes on, it's fun to spot the wrestlers surrounding the ring, like Makabe and his clearly fried yellow hair or the sphere that is Nakanishi. As the match picked up, Tenzan started busting out bigger and harder moves, leading to the anaconda Vice from him for the first time in the match. Kojima had applied it earlier but both times the Vicee reached the ropes to escape. Kojima hits a Koji Cutter out of a blocked Lariat, which is a new one for me, before going for another Lariat and being caught for a slam leading to the Anaconda Vice, which everyone thought would be the end. Kojima raked eyes out of it, before leading into two flesh crashing Lariats that should have been it for New Japan's chances. But, after kicking out, tenzan decided something needed to be done about all this, and proceeded to chop the ever loving piss out of Kojima's arm. After he nearly took his opponents arm off like a Buzz Lightyear action figure, Tenzan executed a pair of perfect Big Man Moonsaults, and two Tenzan Tombstone Drivers for the pin.
***1/2

1.4.2007
3, Koraku 1-chrome, Bunkyo, Tokyo Japan
The Home of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Yomiuri Giants
42,000 seats
The Big Egg
The Motherfucking Dome.

I just wanted another excuse to do that intro. Let's get into the undercard.

El Samurai, Masanobu Fuchi, and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Akira Raijin, Kikutaro, and Nobutaka Araya
Ryusuke Taguchi looks like he wishes he were literally anywhere other than this match. Kikutro was Back Suplexed, DDT's, and Dodon'd to be pinned at the end of this short, bizarre match.
*, only because of Taguchi's bitchin' pants

Gedo and Jado vs. MAZADA and NOSAWA Rongai (Tokyo Gurentai)
An okay contest. Jado and Gedo are really good asa tag team and it showed here. Going to be honest when I say that I had no idea who NOSAWA and MAZADA were before this match and I probably wouldn't go out of my way to see them again in the future. Superbomb from the top rope followed by a frog splash by Gedo for the pin.
**

Buchanan, D-Lo Brown and Travis Tomko vs. Togi Makabe, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (Great Bash Heels)
THE ATTITUDE ERA IS INVADING.
AND THEY BROUGHT A HIRED GUN FROM TNA WITH THEM.

D'lo Brown and Tomohiro Ishii were in the ring at the same time here, which is something right out of a custom Fire Pro Wrestling Promotion. Entertained by the time capsule that is the GBH team, knowing what directions Ishii and Yano will take in the future, and how uninspired they really were in the ring here. Match ends when Buchanan is hit in the back with a chair and Lariated by Makabe. Only seek out as a curiosity, not if you're looking for a good match
* 1/2

Suwama, TARU (Voodoo Murders), Giant Bernard, and RO'Z  vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Naofumi Yamamoto, Riki Choshu and Takashi Iizuka
The Chosu coalition was winning early, until they decided to tag Naofumi (now YoshiTatsu) in, who was promptly and immediately taken advantage of. During the beatdown of Yamamoto, we got a shot of the commentators, including my new favorite picture of the week; Yoshihiro Takayama in a Hawaiin shirt, looking as unimpressed as anyone who's ever been on commentary.

I feel you, man. This undercard has been a slog.

I thought this would be another match on the pile of skippables until Nakanishi tagged in and started going nuts. I get why this man was IWGP Heavyweight Champion now. He out the Rack on TARU, and when Suwama tried to save his friend, Manabu chucked the Fuck from his shoulders ONTO THE CHARGING SUWAMA. All this before Racking (Read: Olympic Slammed) RO'Z, who I want to remind you was about 300 pounds. A fucking Monster, was Monster Morning here. Unfortunately, someone decided to tag Yamamoto back in, who Suwama killed with a Bridging Backdrop Driver. Catch the last five minutes of this one.
**1/4

Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru, Milano Collection AT (CTU), Shuji Kondo and YASSHI (Voodoo Murders) vs. Kaz Hayashi, Koji Kanemoto, TAKA Michinoku, Tiger Mask and Wataru Inoue
Fuck's Sake. No.
i'm sorry if this comes off as unprofessional, but I'm a Lab Technician not Dave Meltzer, so excuse me if this one isnt as deep as it could be. But I knew a grand total of three of the men who started this match. Two of them wear masks, and TAKA is an ageless demi-god who hasn't changed since 1997. I know many of these men, just by name, were staples of Junior Heavyweight action in their times, but their times were not my times. You want to send me Minoru or Wataru Inoue matches, be my guest. But here, it was just "Liger and four bodies" against "Tiger Mask, TAKA, and three bodies". Tiger Mask won by Tiger Suplexing a man who I think was YASSHI.

Oh wait, I figured out Milano Collection based on the Paradise Lock. So...Yeah, thanks for that SANADA.
**

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Toshiaki Kawada
Okay, Undercard over. Let's get serious with a fucking serious match.

There was a definite feel in the air between these two men. Shinsuke came in looking like he had something to prove, Kawada had another body to put in the ground. This was the greatest story in wrestling of the young upstart and the confident veteran.

Fuck. Yes.






Kawada was definitely easily the more powerful man in the ring this night, but Shinsuke was willing to cut whatever corners he could to win this match. Holding on after rope breaks, taking every shot that was open to him, nothing was held back. And then, Shinsuke slapped Kawada, and Kawada proceeded to beat the fuck out of this young man. At that moment, not 5 minutes in, the future multi time IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion was on the fast track to losing this match. Despite his best efforts, trying hard to power through being dumped on his head, and cinching in armbars multiple times, it was all for naught by the end. A sick powerbomb from Kawada got a one count. A Brainbuster got a two. Shinsuke, going for what I could only assume was the only thing he could think to try, went for Kawada's legs and cracked himself against his foe's knee. Twice, somehow, it wasn't his best night. That put Nakamura out for the three. Not the greatest match on the show, or either man's best, but it was still very good.
***1/4

Triple Crown Championship [2nd Defense]
Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Yuji Nagata
I never thought I'd enjoy watching Uncle Murder and Uncle Justice fighting each other, or at least as much as I did here. I just see them as two completely different entities who, in todays New Japan, just wouldn't meet in a full blown contest. But not even two minutes in they decide to slap the piss into each other, and it's on from that point. Suzuki took over early, taking Nagata outside and busting him open with a chair against the post. Unfortunately, this only managed, once Yuji busted Minoru up himself, to invigorate the challenger. For maybe the third time in my watching history, Suzuki is on the ropes and getting kicked down at every step for the better part of the match. He'd start a comeback here and there, including a sweet reversal from an exploder and hitting the Gotch piledriver at one point in the match, but Nagata seemed to have his number the whole time. Yuji had the title won, Suzuki was dead to rights, wasn't coming back. But he got the cover, the ref counts 1, counts 2, and New Japan's challenger lifted the champions shoulder up. Because it was apparently time to go to school. That one opportunity, like any time in a Minoru Suzuki match, was all it took to doom Nagata. Minoru fired up with strikes after this insult, stopped a backdrop, and locked in a Rear Naked Choke for the win. Hopefully I haven't understressed how awesome this match was. Definitely paired well with the previous match.
***1/2

IWGP Heavyweight Championship [3rd Defense]
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Taiyo Kea

Look at that fucking beauty of a belt.

Having never seen Taiyo before, I was very impressed by his athleticism. I almost was admiring how good he was, until he NAILED TANAHASHI WITH A LANDSLIDE ON EXPOSED CONCRETRE. HOW DARE YOU USE A COUSIN OF THE FALCON ARROW IN SUCH A TERRIFYING WAY. I'd Gif it, but I don't want New Japan taking my blog down before it even gets too far off the ground. Taiyo took over most of the match from here, just annihilating Tanahashi in the ring. Using a great combination of strength and athleticism to take apart the defending champion. Tana showed some bursts of life, but each time he tried to capitalize on a mistake, he was shut down and the beating continued. Kea hoisted Tanahashi into the Fireman's position to finish him off, when Hiroshi slipped behind him and started to fire back. With this renewed energy, the fight became very back and forth, each man gaining advantage when he could and trying to end the match. Taiyo's last big moves came in the form of a Saito suplex and a Sleeper slam that dumped the champion right on his head. Yeowch. A normal man would be defeated by this, but even 12 years ago Tanahashi was not a normal man. He fought long enough to catch Kea with a Strait Jacket German, a Dragon Suplex, and finally putting Taiyo away with the High Fly Flow. A great match.
***3/4

Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima vs. Keiji Muto and Masahiro Chono
Mutoh immediately cleaned house with Shining wizards.

This Month on The Online, January 2019

Wrestling in America right now is fucking awesome.

I know that that seems kind of moronic to say, but to me it's true. I've been so buried in New Japan for the past few years, I haven't really been paying attention to the American companies. I knew Impact was not only still alive, but doing good, that ROH was recently signing like a dozen new, major stars, and that a company named Major League Wrestling vaguely existed. well, with a new year came a new interest in getting away from New Japan. At least in terms of being my entire focus. I've wanted to do articles like this ever since I started Falcon Arrow Emporium, and I'm glad I finally got to do it starting in 2019. A few things to have in mind as you read my Top 10.

1) I'm new to this format, so if I seem jumbled and disjointed in my recaps, that's why. I'm much more used to reviewing full shows. Hopefully I'll get better as I continue this.
2) I'm only watching ROH, Impact, and MLW right now, because those are easy for me to watch and easy for me to get into with the familiar faces and convenient methods of watching. I might watch more companies in the future, but for now these are the only groups I'll be watching.
3) This is my opinion, the way every wrestling fan has an opinion. My taste isn't yours or the next readers. I'm just letting people know what matches I recommend from the given month, this isn't me trying to make a definite list of final quality.

Got it? Cool, let's get going.

10) Rich Swann vs. El Hijo de Vikingo
Impact Wrestling, 1.25.19
Taking the lowest spot this month is a match featuring a wrestler who was instantly made in my eyes. Before watching this episode of Impact, I had no idea who El Hijo de Vikingo (SON OF THE FUCKING VIKING) was. After this match I think I need to find more of him. He was pretty good here and he has a look that speaks to me on a styles clashing level. This was also the first match of the Impacts that took place in Mexico, and this crowd was just alive. Rich Swann was dominant for most of it, breaking down with Vikingo trying everything he had in the end, before Rich 450'd him from the middle rope, which was like 4 feet in the air.

9) Moose vs. Brian Cage
Impact Wrestling, 1.18.19
If you like Hoss Fights, this was your big match of the month. Moose probably shattered his hand chopping the ring post outside at some point, based on the noise it made. It effected him through the whole match, but he was still able to hold control for most of it. But Cage is, in fact, a fucking Machine, and he was able to come back and nail Moose (who is 6'5" and almost 300 lbs.) with a Drill Claw (Which is the Steiner Screwdriver, so Jesus Christ). Low on the list but I still heavily enjoyed it.

8) The Rascalz vs. The Lucha Bros.
Impact Wrestling, 1.11.19
I didn't really know who the Rascalz were before I started watching wrestling this month, but they've really started impressing me, despite the Rufio/Lost Boys thing they do all the damn time. Not much to talk about here, just a wild, 800 moves at 70 miles an hour. Lucha Bros. are awesome, and I hope they get those fat AEW checks for a long time.

7) Dragon Lee vs. Rich Swann
Major League Wrestling, 1.12.19
Major League wrestling breaks Impact's hold on this month's top ten with a real great opener from a few weeks ago. What starts as an even contest of sportsmanship is turned quickly by Swann as he takes the liberties he saws fit to steal. Dragon Lee came back from it though, and eventually pinned his opponent after a Suplex into a powerbomb that has a name I don't trust myself to type properly. Fun match, places higher than 8 by the virtue of Swann taking over for most and Dragon making a good show of coming back.

6)Sami Callihan vs. Willie Mack
Impact Wrestling, 1.11.19
A rematch from the Pay-Per-View the previous Sunday. Sami and Willie fought for a series of roll ups towards the end, before Sami went for a Piledriver that Mack countered for a roll-up pinfall. Better than the match from the previous night in my mind, both of these men could step up and be contenders for the Heavyweight title in Impact, or any other company, whenever they really wanted to. Not as Hoss a Hoss fight as Number 9, but a better match than Moose and Cage by virtue of the final minutes in the ring.

5) Low Ki vs. Fred Yehi for the MLW Heavyweight Championship
Major League Wrestling, 1.12.19
The first MLW match on the list and the first title match. Low Ki is some kind of next level when it comes to presentation, if this past month of MLW has shown me anything. This title defense came on the same show as Tommy Dreamer and Brian Pillman caning each other (more on that later) and kind of came out of nowhere to me. It was a great, tense match that had the definite air of a heavyweight title match. Unfortunately, Fred Yehi was definitely not as ready for Low Ki as he needed to be to even survive. Despite being kicked around for a good part of the match, Fred managed to try and take it to the champion, but it proved futile a lot of the time. Low Ki seemed 2 steps ahead of him at most points. Ki caught Fred on the top rope, threw him down, and Double Foot Stomped him. Would have liked to see it go longer, but what we got was still good.

4) Tracey Williams vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
Ring of Honor, 1.11.19
I fucking love technical wrestling, and I'm going to be very bias at times on these lists. But I believe even beyond my bias this was a fantastic match. I really can't go into detail with a match like this because I'd just be going " And then Zack put him in a hold, then Tracey escaped and put him in a hold, then Zack tried escaping and-" yeah you get it. Match ends with Zack locking in...
Hold on, lemme find the proper name...

"Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than the Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness"

...Wait, all these wacky submissions have names?


3) Brian Pillman, Jr. vs Tommy Dreamer, Singapore Cane Match
Major League Wrestling, 1.12.19
Told you this one was coming back.
 Let me make it public right now. I love Brian Pillman, Jr. I love him as much as a heterosexual man can love another heterosexual pro wrestler he may never actually meet. I wasn't a wrestling fan while his father was still alive, but I'm a fan for this glorious fucker. I'm not one for no-DQ style matches, especially halfway through a feud, but this one was great. All you needed was both men's promos before the match to grasp the general feel of the match. Brian came out in like 4 layers of clothing that were ceremoniously stripped as the match went on. I didn't think I'd be a hyped for the match as a whole as I ended up being, I've been weary of Tommy for a while now. But I'm glad I was proven wrong. Pillman won with a Strait Jacket Neckbreaker after going back and forth with Tommy with the canes and various other plunder. This match is on Youtube for free,GWN or Honorclub needed. Go fucking watch it.

2) Johnny Impact vs. Killer Kross, Street Fight
Impact Wrestling, 1.11.19

Taking the silver medal this month is not, in fact, the Impact Heavyweight title match from the end of the month. Rather, its Johnny Impact and Killer Kross' Street Fight from a few weeks prior. If there's one wrestler I'm really hot on since watching Impact again, it's Kross. I demand a Low Ki and Killer Kross match with UWFi rules. We need this on the next Jericho Cruise. This fight was great in showcasing Johnny as the big dog in house (even though he fucked Cage over at Homecoming) and Kross came out as a dominant force that could take the title, really at any time he wanted to. They fought outside for a long time, they had a lot of good exchanges in the ring, copious plunder was introduced, and none of it really felt out of place. Impact almost had Kross, before Moose of #9 fame ran in to distract the champion long enough to give Kross the time to hook in a Rear Naked Choke. I loved this match, and I almost put it as number one. But, after watching this match and the eventual number one, I couldn't make that choice.

1) So Cal Uncensored vs. The Briscoes for the ROH Tag team Championships
Ring of Honor, 1.11.19

When I first watched this match, I kind of knew that this wouldn't be topped. All action, all hype, completely ROH Tag title style. The fans ate it up the entire way through. It started hot and heavy with SCU giving no fucks throwing chairs in the ring. Briscoes, not liking to take any kind of shit without throwing some themselves, responded in kind with weapons. SCU tried everything to get their tag titles back within the scope of the rules, and several times it looked like they were going to get their belts back. But the Briscoes persisted, as they do, eliminating Scorpio Sky from the equation with a Jay Driller, leaving Frankie alone to fight off the champions. He put a great fight, getting up when most people really would've chosen to stay down, but was finally planted with a Powerbomb/Neckbreaker combination for the pin. It wasn't the biggest technical showcase, or maybe the match with the biggest personal issue, or involving my favorite wrestlers, but this match had the air of a war, and the crowd was insane and fueled on bloodshed and violence the whole way.


Thanks for reading! I'm glad that I can turn my passion for wrestling into something that so many people enjoy. If you want to get regular updates on when I release more reviews, or want to read me randomly yell about wrestling as I watch it, you can follow me at Twitter at @LSWayne21. And if you're still looking for your fix on wrestling, check out Enuffa.com, where I got my start in reviewing and still contribute from time to time.
All of Impact Wrestling's shows are archived on Global Wrestling Network 
All of Major Leage Wrestling's shows are archived on Youtube 
All of Ring of Honor's shows are archived on ROH's website.