Pro Wrestling Chronicle

With the Nitro Diaries wrapping up this week (I’ve got MFP watching the top thirty with me and reshuffling the ballot), I wanted to take the time to tell you that my next Diaries series on the site will be another Death Valley Driver Message baord set, The New Japan ’80s. So coming soon will be the NJ Diaries, and to kick that off I had to post my review of one of the most compelling matches I’ve seen so far. It will show up as match # 61 when I ge tto it, but it’s here now as a preview of what to expect. This will all make some much more sense when you see how the set unfolds, but for now just know that Choshu’s Army rules. Check the review after the jump.

Match # 61: 5-on-5 Gauntlet (4/19/84)

Said to be the quintessential match of the Choshu’s Army versus Inoki/Fujinami and friends feud. This one is a five-on-five gauntlet where two men start for a team, and the winner goes on to the next round. I’m in love with the Army and the feud. I’m so ready for this to blow me away.

Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi

A lot of Kobayashi’s initial offense when he engages are flashy kicks, so after taking some Fujinami attempts to ground and wear down Kobayashi with holds. Kobayashi switches to working Fujinami’s arm/wrist, going to the ground with him. The crowd is hot for this, chanting for Fujinami. It’s essentially worked as a juniors match, and the quicker pace and small story is exciting. Fujinami wins with a German suplex after a good exchange. Great way to start the gauntlet.

Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Isamu Teranishi

I think we saw this as a juniors match earlier on the set. If we did it had little effect on me, because I only slightly remember Teranishi. They make the decision to continue with fast and furious work, and the crowd is on a high. Teranishi continues working over the arm/wrist of Fujinami, as Kobayashi had started. There seems to be tape on the wrist on a close up shot, so maybe it was pre-existing in storyline. There’s a great moment where Fujinami mounts a comeback via his legs that ends with a dropkick, and as he lands he falls on the bad wrist and sells it. Fujinami’s struggle, even on offense, and the internal logic of this stretch, is great. Teranishi eats a drop kick, no sells it, and hits one of his own in an odd moment, but 90% of the focus of the match is Fujinami’s wrist – and that’s good. The tease with Fujinami hope spots is dramatic, and the crowd (and I) is with the story all the way.

Teranishi misses a knee drop from the top rope at the apex of his control, and Fujinami jumps right on his knee, putting him in a stiff Scorpion Death Lock submission. Teranishi struggles, but gives up after not being able to make the ropes. This plays into the whole Choshu/Fujinami feud, and now the Fujinami team is up 2-0 in the gauntlet.

Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu

This is Fujinami’s third straight match – assume these matches were all in a row live – and his wrist has taken a lot of damage. Yatsu is a fresh guy, and from watching the Choshu six man matches, I know he’s a very capable performer in a group. I’m hopeful he lives up to Teranishi, who wasn’t mind-blowing, but picked a story (wrist) and made it awesome. On the first exchange Yatsu went right for the wrist, and continued it, so Fujinami smartly tries to end it quick with the Scorpion. Very smart. Yatsu appears overmatched/overwhelmed when it goes to the outside, and just as I’m about to write him off, he destroys Fujinami’s wrist with brawling and sending that wrist against the steel post. Fujinami ends up with is foot stuck in the ropes, dangling, on the outside, and apparently he’s counted out. What a crap way to go out, but good in story as the warrior isn’t beaten. Yatsu looks so smug for having done so little. Fujinami is pissed. I guess we get no Choshu/Fujinami match-up, which makes sense if Inoki is the star of the team.

Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Nobuhiko Takada

Yatsu has a thinner, younger Cactus Jack feeling to him. They take this one to the ground to start, amateur style looking for throws and positions, and then grabbing holds. Takada is Yatsu’s match early, and starts raining down hammer fists to the chest and a leg drop, so Yatsu says, “the hell with it”, and back drop drives the kid. He beats him down, but Takada makes a comeback starting with a belly-to-belly suplex. Takada definitely displays his team’s spirit. The crowd is with this all the way. The way they move from one guy in control to the other is compelling and smooth. At no other time would a Takada/Yatsu match be so over with every move and turn.

Takada catches a Yatsu kick and goes to work on the leg. There’s a great moment, maybe the apex of the match, where Takada catches Yatsu and Hercs him up for a tombstone pile driver. He struggles, then hits it, and comes off the top for a diving head butt. For some reason Yatsu kicks out at one, causing an audible “ohhhh” from the crowd. Yatsu gets the jump on Takada, going for too much off the top, and a moment later plants him with a sick suplex. Another near fall. This feels like if they want to peak it it should end soon. Yatsu is a prick, as he keeps kicking out of great near falls early. The near falls are great though, and they come with a surprise, as Yatsu catches Takada off the ropes and powerslams him. Cover. 1-2-3! The cagy Yatsu shocks the young Takada. The crowd can’t believe it. Yatsu catches his breath on the outside and has a drink while Takada yells at him from the ring, probably angry with himself more than anything. In some ways that may have been the best match in the gauntlet so far. It ended at the right time. It didn’t have the internal story of Fujinami-Teranishi, but it had a good story. Each team is now 2-2, with three guys even going forward.

Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Kengo Kimura

Kimura, who looks a lot bigger than his junior heavyweight days, shows his power advantage over Yatsu. Yatsu uses rough tactics to gain his advantages, but Kimura is presented as the fresher and more dominant force. It seems like only a matter of time before Kimura bulldozes Yatsu, and Yatsu is frustrated enough to roll outside. Kimura begins to focus on Yatsu’s leg. That pisses off Yatsu, and he keeps uses cheap tactics to stay relevant in the match. A top rope suplex and running kick later, Kimura takes the clean pinfall victory. That was possibly the “worst” of the match-ups so far, and it was still good. The Inoki-led team is up a man again.

Kengo Kimura vs. Animal Hamaguchi

This is a good match up because Kimura is powerful, but Hamaguchi is a beast: stiff on his feet and a strong ground wrestler. These guys posture before this even begins, with Hamaguchi complaining of closed fists as Kimura approaches. That’s a nice little element that continues as Hamaguchi keeps leaving the ring, avoiding Kimura and stalling. This gains heat, and both guys milk their respective positions. Oddly, they open with a pile driver, but that move is just not as scary in this era of New Japan as I’d like it to be.

Hamaguchi continues to try to take it to the ground, roughing up Kimura with head butts, while Kimura wants to fight him standing straight up. Hamaguchi is quickly becoming my personal favorite middler find of this set. He’s a great right hand man in Choshu’s faction, and he even had a great singles match with Fujinami earlier in the set.

There are moments where these guys look tired, but the match stays focused, and it has a good drama to it. Hamaguchi wins with a clothesline off the top rope, with Kimura kicking out a second to late. Both teams have lost three guys now, so it’s two men each remaining in the contest.

Animal Hamaguchi vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara

Fujiwara comes out firing on Hamaguchi, punches and kicks, injecting new life into this long contest. Hamaguchi is wise to bail, as Fujiwara has great determined facial expressions. Good moment as Hamaguchi takes some shots at Fujiwara in the corner, waves Fujiwara out to the middle of the ring, and when he sees Fujiwara come out ready to fight, he leaves the ring. Fujiwara is sporting a bandage on his forehead so we might see some blood here. Fujiwara brings his barrage of big head butts, and the crowd reacts to each one. Hamaguchi rips the bandage off, claws and bites at the forehead, while the crowd loudly roots Fujiwara on.

Fujiwara gets a nearfall off a pile driver, and he’s so sure he won that Hamaguchi is able to take advantage. Hamaguchi’s Samoan drop is my favorite of his moves. Fujiwara won’t stay down. He’s back with headbutts. There’s a great finish for this format, as Fujiwara takes Hamaguchi to the outside, holds him back by his hair at times, not allowing him to make the ref’s count. Fujiwara sacrifices himself to get Hamaguchi out of the way for his team, and bring the gauntlet down to a one-on-one where Inoki will only have to beat Choshu to win. I love Fujiwara’s smile at the end of this, as well as Hamaguchi’s face of frustration and disbelief. Fujiwara being as willing as Choshu’s Army to be underhanded was a great touch.

Antonio Inoki vs. Riki Choshu

It all comes down to this match. The atmosphere is electric in the building. These two have the presence to pull this off. This is a slower pace, both as they engage, and because they work holds for dramatic effect, but that does not make it bad. In this case, it makes it appropriate. Inoki tends to stalk Choshu with confidence, but Choshu is a great counter-wrestler in style (maybe not in the mat technical sense), so it increases the match quality. They go back and forth on the mat, each escaping and transitioning. The arm submissions and escapes seem the most compelling. Everything is subtle and tactical, but aware enough that the crowd can follow from the stands. The crowd is hot for all of this, and I would be if I had sat through this whole gauntlet too. This is the feast that comes with months and months of a feud that had compelling characters and competitive matches without concrete finishes.

They flow – almost blast – into second and then third gear with a Choshu back drop driver, big lariat, and Scorpion Death Lock. Three of his signatures right on a row, done effectively, and Choshu was the master at turning the tide of a match for emotional impact if this set is any indication. The Struggle for the Sharpshooter/Scorpion submission is palpable. You feel the war. I’ve never been high on Inoki, but this is a good performance. He gets how to worm out of holds and into his own.

These guys are wrestling a low form heavyweight main event as opposed to the earlier matches in the gauntlet, which were quicker because of the format. This was a good decision in my eyes, and something you’d see rarely today if the format was repeated. Choshu tries to impose his will through much of this, and Inoki’s fiery come backs (though not pretty) are visceral. As a fan you can put yourself in his place. You’d want to do it like that too. Inoki gets the Octopus on, but it’s not in well enough. He takes a second go at it, and Choshu looks like he won’t make it out. The ref is talking to someone at ringside, and while Choshu never verbally gives up, they stop the match. Choshu is in a heap, alone on the mat. Inoki’s arm is raised victoriously. It’s a great moment, yet it feels like the story was really in th body of the gauntlet. It’s almost like I, and the fans in attendance, didn’t pop as big for the finish as much as we loved the journey. The experience. And that’s okay.

A part of me feels it’s unfair to ranking this as just one match. How is that possible. We had over an hour in the ring and eight matches. Singularly none of these would be above how I felt about some of the Andre matches, or the Choshu/Fujinami singles matches, but as a group this is tough to beat. This is what to New Japan 80s committee decided, and I can see their logic. I feel bad for the other single serving matches, having to live up to what this match was/is. 4 ½ and 9/10.