Hey yo Stud Muffins and Foxy Ladies,
Toryumon, the predecessor to Dragon Gate, doubled as a wrestling school and promotion for the students of Ultimo Dragon. Ultimo Dragon spent his formative years in Mexico having been told he was too small to wrestle in Japan even though he was trained in New Japan dojo by notable lucharesu wrestler Gran Hamada. In fact the first lucharesu promotion in Japan was run by Gran Hamada known as the UWF (not to be confused with the shoot-style promotion in Japan, Bill Watts' UWF or Herb Abrams UWF). Long story short dont name your promotion UWF unless you want to go out of business in two years. Lucharesu is just as it sounds the combination of lucha libre and puroresu usually practiced in Japan by the junior heavyweight wrestlers.
The next lucharesu promotion was Great Sasuke's Michinoku Pro, which gained a cult following in the US in the mid-90s especially when they were featured on the ECW first PPV Barely Legal and Sasuke and Taka Michinoku were featured on WWF's Canadian Stampede. The Kaientai stable that some fans may recognize from WWF Attitude Era were all wrestlers from M-Pro. Dragon Gate would eventually become the M-Pro of the mid-00s gaining a cult following among indy wrestling fans as they showcased their styles for the ROH crowds in similar vein as the M-Pro wrestlers did for the ECW crowds. This actually led to the formation of Dragon Gate USA promoted by ROH's former booker Gabe Spalosky and is the first serious Japanese led promotion in America that comes to mind. It allows American fans to see the Japanese stars live and in vivid technicolor against each other and some of the best of the American indy wrestling scene. Before all this, Dragon Gate was just Toryumon, the wrestling school for the students of Ultimo Dragon.
Ultimo Dragon, well-versed in lucha libre and puroresu, had become a major star throughout world as a junior heavyweight including one of the big three stars in WCW's hot crusierweight division of the late 90s. Dragon decided to open a school and a foster a culture of learning similar to his own upbringing in puroresu and lucha libre. WCW fans may remember one of his students, Magnum Tokyo getting actual airtime as a member of the Dancing Fools, Alex Wright and Disco Inferno. Growing up as a kid, I was a total mark for dancing gimmicks and loved Alex Wright and Disco Inferno. To this day, the Alex Wright is over like rover at the dance club. I would like to personally thank Das Wunderkid for the bitchin' Saturday I just enjoyed. ;)
Toryumon is known for its impressive multi-man matches filled with comedy and high-flying acrobatics. I am not a total curmudgeon, but this is not exactly up as alley as I prefer violent street fights or well-worked ground warfare. What I love about pro wrestling is how there are some many styles and there is a little bit of everything. There is definitely a place of wild, million miles an hour spotfests. Toryumon is exactly the type of wrestling I would show non-fans because anybody could appreciate the athleticisim on display. I would not go far as to say that Toryumon openly mock pro wrestling as a work or it is too self-aware as some promotions *cough* Chikara *cough*, but they wink and nudge at the audience and it is clear from the comedy that it is to be treated more like a violent form of Cirque Du Soliel. I am not saying that everyone who sees Toryumon will love it, but I think of all the styles of wrestling it is friendliest towards non-fans.
Besides the comedy and the high-flying, I really loved how when it came time to get down to business for the finish of the match it really started to feel like a contest. I loved Don Fuji taking on 9 men in a chop war, but thats for shits and giggles. However, in the last 5 minutes of a Toryumon match, it was always on! I thought the matches definitely improved once the hair-thinning Genki Horguchi gets involved. Horiguchi's gimmick is that he gets upset when fans and wrestlers mock his receding hair line. This leads to hilarious SCALP PSYCOLOGY~! in his matches. It gives the Toryumon wrestlers a really strong tool in their arsenal to pop a crowd and he is just a great heel. He clowns to make the faces look good, but can be violent when it is time to get heat. I highly recommend the 4-team trios match from 2003 with a ton of comedy, high flying and a crazy finish run.
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1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00
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| THANK YOU ALEX! THANK YOU ALEX! THANK YOU ALEX! |
Toryumon, the predecessor to Dragon Gate, doubled as a wrestling school and promotion for the students of Ultimo Dragon. Ultimo Dragon spent his formative years in Mexico having been told he was too small to wrestle in Japan even though he was trained in New Japan dojo by notable lucharesu wrestler Gran Hamada. In fact the first lucharesu promotion in Japan was run by Gran Hamada known as the UWF (not to be confused with the shoot-style promotion in Japan, Bill Watts' UWF or Herb Abrams UWF). Long story short dont name your promotion UWF unless you want to go out of business in two years. Lucharesu is just as it sounds the combination of lucha libre and puroresu usually practiced in Japan by the junior heavyweight wrestlers.
The next lucharesu promotion was Great Sasuke's Michinoku Pro, which gained a cult following in the US in the mid-90s especially when they were featured on the ECW first PPV Barely Legal and Sasuke and Taka Michinoku were featured on WWF's Canadian Stampede. The Kaientai stable that some fans may recognize from WWF Attitude Era were all wrestlers from M-Pro. Dragon Gate would eventually become the M-Pro of the mid-00s gaining a cult following among indy wrestling fans as they showcased their styles for the ROH crowds in similar vein as the M-Pro wrestlers did for the ECW crowds. This actually led to the formation of Dragon Gate USA promoted by ROH's former booker Gabe Spalosky and is the first serious Japanese led promotion in America that comes to mind. It allows American fans to see the Japanese stars live and in vivid technicolor against each other and some of the best of the American indy wrestling scene. Before all this, Dragon Gate was just Toryumon, the wrestling school for the students of Ultimo Dragon.
Ultimo Dragon, well-versed in lucha libre and puroresu, had become a major star throughout world as a junior heavyweight including one of the big three stars in WCW's hot crusierweight division of the late 90s. Dragon decided to open a school and a foster a culture of learning similar to his own upbringing in puroresu and lucha libre. WCW fans may remember one of his students, Magnum Tokyo getting actual airtime as a member of the Dancing Fools, Alex Wright and Disco Inferno. Growing up as a kid, I was a total mark for dancing gimmicks and loved Alex Wright and Disco Inferno. To this day, the Alex Wright is over like rover at the dance club. I would like to personally thank Das Wunderkid for the bitchin' Saturday I just enjoyed. ;)
Toryumon is known for its impressive multi-man matches filled with comedy and high-flying acrobatics. I am not a total curmudgeon, but this is not exactly up as alley as I prefer violent street fights or well-worked ground warfare. What I love about pro wrestling is how there are some many styles and there is a little bit of everything. There is definitely a place of wild, million miles an hour spotfests. Toryumon is exactly the type of wrestling I would show non-fans because anybody could appreciate the athleticisim on display. I would not go far as to say that Toryumon openly mock pro wrestling as a work or it is too self-aware as some promotions *cough* Chikara *cough*, but they wink and nudge at the audience and it is clear from the comedy that it is to be treated more like a violent form of Cirque Du Soliel. I am not saying that everyone who sees Toryumon will love it, but I think of all the styles of wrestling it is friendliest towards non-fans.
Besides the comedy and the high-flying, I really loved how when it came time to get down to business for the finish of the match it really started to feel like a contest. I loved Don Fuji taking on 9 men in a chop war, but thats for shits and giggles. However, in the last 5 minutes of a Toryumon match, it was always on! I thought the matches definitely improved once the hair-thinning Genki Horguchi gets involved. Horiguchi's gimmick is that he gets upset when fans and wrestlers mock his receding hair line. This leads to hilarious SCALP PSYCOLOGY~! in his matches. It gives the Toryumon wrestlers a really strong tool in their arsenal to pop a crowd and he is just a great heel. He clowns to make the faces look good, but can be violent when it is time to get heat. I highly recommend the 4-team trios match from 2003 with a ton of comedy, high flying and a crazy finish run.
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| HAGE~! |
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1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00
2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03
3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04
4. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00
5. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01
6. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00
7. Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05
8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04
9. GHC Tag Team Champions Misawa & Ogawa vs KENTAFuji Budokan 04/25/04
10. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03
11. GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 01/22/06
11. GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 01/22/06
12. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00
13. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW 6/25/00
14. IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title
15. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Togi Makabe - NJPW 07/06/07
16. Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 04/01
17. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue - NOAH 09/10/04
18. Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa - Zero-One 12/14/03
19. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH 11/5/05
20. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01
21. Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murkami - Tokyo Dome 01/04/00
22. Toryumon Trios Four-Way - Toryumon 08/30/03
23. KENTAFuji vs Jushin Liger & Murahama - GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Final 07/16/03
24. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13/03
25. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Jun Akiyama & Genichiro Tenryu - Budokan 4/24/2005
26. Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya - AJPW 6/30/01
27. Kenta Kobashi vs Takao Omori - Champions Carnival Final '00
28. Akira Taue vs Yuji Nagata - NOAH 6/6/03
29. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 12/10/06
30. AJPW Triple Crown Champion Toshiaki Kawada vs Shinya Hashimoto - AJPW 02/22/04
31. GHC Tag Team Champions Sterness (Akiyama & Saito) vs Burning (Kobashi & Honda) - Budokan 6/6/03
32. GHC Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 07/27/01
33. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - Tokyo Dome 7/18/05
34. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yuji Nagata - Budokan 9/12/03
35. New Japan (Liger & Minoru ) vs. NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 4/7/02
36. GHC Tag Champions Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Shiga - NOAH 10/19/02
37. Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - Budokan 07/23/00
38. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki - 01/04/00
39. Genichiro Tenryu vs Toshiaki Kawada - Vacant All Japan Triple Crown 10/28/00
40. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Hiroyuki Ito - U-Style 08/18/04
41. KENTA vs Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 06/27/04
42. Yuji Nagata vs Koji Kanemoto - NJPW G-1 Climax 08/12/06
43. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki - Budokan 01/08/05
44. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax '04
45. Kenta Kobashi vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 4/23/06
46. Low Ki vs AJ Styles - Z1 01/05/03
47. KENTAFuji vs Wild II (Morishima & Rikio) - Budokan 7/16/06
47. KENTAFuji vs Wild II (Morishima & Rikio) - Budokan 7/16/06
48. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival '00
49. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - NOAH #2 08/06/00
50. Genichiro Tenryu vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan - Vacant IWGP Championship 02/15/04
51. GHC Champion Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa - Budokan 09/23/02
52. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Vacant GHC Title 04/15/01
53. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 07/07/02
54. Akira Taue vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 3/6/04
55. M2K vs. Do Fixer - Toryumon 6/29/03
56. Kenta Kobashi vs Kensuke Sasaki - Tokyo Dome 7/18/05
57. Yuji Nagata vs Giant Bernard - New Japan Cup Finals 04/30/06
58. U-30 Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuyuki Fujita - Vacant IWGP Championship 6/5/04
59. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takeshi Morishima - Budokan 3/5/06
60. IWGP Champion Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - Tokyo Dome 05/02
61. Kiyoshi Tamura vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - U-Style 02/04/04
62. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Vader vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 2/27/00
63. All Japan Triple Crown Champ Toshiaki Kawada vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW 11/03/04 Non-Title
64. IWGP Jr Tag Champions Kanemoto & Minoru vs Liger & Makabe - NJPW 9/12/00
65. KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 11/13/04
66. Keiji Mutoh vs Yuji Nagata - Sumo Hall 08/12/01 G-1 Climax Final
67. Jun Akiyama vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - G-1 Climax Finals 08/17/03
68. Takaiwa & Hoshikawa vs Dick Togo & Hidaka - Z-1 12/26/03
69. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Champions Carnival '00
70. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Budokan 02/17/02
71. Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama - NOAH #1 08/05/00
72. Kenta Kobashi/Kensuke Sasaki vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Katsuhiko Nakajima - KO 2/11/06
73. New Japan (Liger & Inoue) vs NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 2/17/02
74. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Liger & Minoru vs. Kikuchi & Kanemaru - NJPW 8/29/02
75. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Giant Bernard - NJPW 06/18/06 Vacant IWGP Championship
76. Sterness vs. Burning 8-Man Tag - NOAH 08/03
77. Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 01/17/00
77. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 02/24/02
79. Yoshihiro Takayma vs Osamu Nishimura - G-1 Climax Semifinals
80. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax Round Robin
81. Toryumon Trios Three-Way - Toryumon 7/7/02
82. SUWA vs Dragon Kid - Toryumon 08/24/00 Hair Vs Mask
83. GHC Tag Champs Misawa & Ogawa vs Saito & Inoue - NOAH 9/10/04
84. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Shinya Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka - Zero-One 3/02/02
85. Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Tokyo Dome 10/08/01
86. NJPW(Liger, Minoru , Makabe) vs Osaka Pro(Delfin, Murhama, Tsubasa)-NJPW 12/14/00
87. Toryumon Trios Three-Way - Toryumon 08/14/01
88. Toshiaki Kawada vs Vader - AJPW 2/17/00
89. Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Zero-One 3/2/01
90. GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Champs KENTAFuji vs Kanemaru & Hashi Budokan 9/12/03
91. U-30 Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - Tokyo Dome 01/04/05
92. Toshiaki Kawada vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 06/06/01
93. Naoki Sano vs Minoru Tanaka - Battlarts 01/30/2000
94. Dick Togo vs Tiger Mask IV - M-Pro 08/25/02
95. GHC Tag Team Champions Wild II vs Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito - Budokan 9/23/02
96. GHC Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA - Budokan 10/29/06
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SUWA vs Dragon Kid - Toryumon 08/24/00 Hair Vs Mask
This was different thats for sure. It was like someone took ECW/Lucha/Japanese Juniors put in a blender and out came this oddly fun match. There was a lot leaving me scratching my head. Was it 2 out of 3 Falls or did Ultimo Dragon just restart the match? Maybe if I spoke Japanese that confusion could have been avoided but that was 2000 WCW at its worst there. Still maybe it is because I grew up in the late 90s, but there is something about gratuitous interference that does not bother me as much as other wrestling fans. It is entertaining its own way. Actually most of my problem with this match was with Dragon Kid. His offense was so Indy-riffic and pointless. I thought Kojima was bad with Ace Crusher variations, Dragon Kid was killing me with all these setup spots for his stunners. Then add that he will get his ass kicked and just pop up. You are the tiniest dude on the roster you can butter your bread selling. Like for instance SUWA makes a big deal that he is going to elbow Dragon Kid in the balls and he does. Immediately Dragon Kid avoids his next move and does a somersault off the top rope onto the floor. It was a ball shot, dude. Given the two other reviews I read for this match I agree that SUWA was very good and could have been something more if he ended up in a different promotion. Though my disagreement with the previous reviewers is I liked the first/fake fall (?) more. Dragon Kid leaping out onto SUWA during his entrance. Then SUWA as his only defense chucked a chair at Dragon Kid when he tried coming off the apron. I loved SUWA throwing him into the chair and punching young boys. Even though he is bigger than Dragon Kid he still rakes the eyes as a cut off and then goes and rips the mask. At that point, I was just thinking this maybe a fun lucha brawl. I was not buying Dragon Kid's hope spots at all. I was glad SUWA pinned him with a powerbomb, but I think Ultimo Dragon restarted the match because his feet were on the ropes. Dragon Kid tries the only strategy he seems to know and that is bullrushing, but SUWA just uses his momentum against him. I actually dug the dropkick spot where SUWA dropkicked him and Dragon Kid went halfway across the ring. It is worth checking out. Kid hits a rana off a splash mountain attempt. Ref bump. Melee ensues with what seems like the entire roster in the ring. I was digging the chaotic feel of this. I thought the ending was the weakest part, but others seemed to like it. Dragon Kid should stick with hurricanranas because he hits those a lot more wickedly than those awful Stunner variations in his comeback. They hit this convoluted powerbomb that looked like it should be an gymnastics routine where basically does a 360 front flip. I will say the Dragonrana was pretty fuckin bitchin'. Evil Dragon Kid beats up Dragon Kid, but Dragon kid still has the wherewithal to shave SUWA's head. SUWA extends the hand in respect. The audience applauds and then SUWA kicks a field goal right through the uprights. He fuckin destroys a chair around this young boy's head. SUWA is pretty awesome. I didn't hate this. I actually found it a breezy, entertaining 25 minutes. I would not want all wrestling like this but SUWA gave a pretty good heel performance and Dragon Kid was not too cumbersome a piece of luggage. ***1/4
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| You have not even seen SUWA's performance against KENTA, yet! Get a grip, lady! |
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UWA World Trios Champion Crazy Max (CIMA, SUWA, Big Fuji) vs. Sekigun (Magnum Tokyo, Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito) vs. M2K (Maasaki Mochizuki, Kanda, Darkness Dragon) - Toryumon 08/14/01
Nothing like jumping feet first into Toryumon with their first three-way trios match. Dragon Gate is always something I read about, but never really took the time to watch. Who has time for Dragon Gate when they are watching 90s All Japan for the first time? I don't know if it would help or hurt this match if I understood the backstory better. From my understanding, M2K (leader, Mochizuki) and Crazy Max (leader, CIMA) are both heel stables, but M2K is more heelish. Sekigun (leader Magnum Tokyo), meaning home army, was comprised of two of Toryumon's biggest babyface stars, Magnum Tokyo and Dragon Kid, both of who I remember appearing in WCW in 1998. I was really into dancing gimmicks as a child and I have very fond memories of Alex Wright, Disco Inferno and Magnum Tokyo stable. My perception of Ryo Saito was that he was any up and coming babyface and the general whipping Boy. Darkness Dragon is the evil mirror universe Little Dragon. Kanda, Mochizuki and SUWA are you standard heel Japanese characters. Fuji is notable for being bigger than the average Toryumon competitor (Magnum Tokyo is also pretty big). CIMA is a lot more fliptastic than your standard heel.
All that being said, I don't always turn my nose up at spotfests especially when the out and out intention is just have a fun spotfest, but this did have long stretches where not a lot seemed to be happening. I liked the tentative beginning between the three leaders and their knucklelock, before a weak melee broke up. I enjoyed little spots like messing ultra-heel Mochizuki by knocking out all his tag partners out and doing a dive train on him in the corner. Fuji turning on Saito with a lariat was fun, but set up a boring heat segment. Dragon Kid was much better in this setting than in the singles match with SUWA with all his flips. I liked Darkness Dragon dropkicking Dragon Kid while he was in a Giant Swing. Also the double huge bump off SUWA dropkick was cute. SUWA hits a super bomb for two on Dragon Kid. In a melee, CIMA takes a slam and La Magistral cradle (yep its Ultimo Dragon's promotion) by Darkness Dragon eliminates Crazy Max. Surprisingly, the finish run is pretty boring. Dont get me wrong a Shooting Star Press is always a badass grand finale, but the run-up was pretty dull. This was pretty underwhelming by normal spotfest standards. ***
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UWA World Trios Champions Crazy Max (CIMA, Don Fuji, TARU) vs Sekigun (Maasaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito) vs.
M2K (Magnum Tokyo, Darkness Dragon, Genki Horiguchi) - Toryumon 7/7/02
Crazy Max comes into the annual Trios Squared match with the titles again, but will they retain them. CIMA has dumped SUWA for another Caps Lock fiend, TARU, who is a scary looking muthafucka. Big Fuji is no longer Big. Instead he is a Don with the slick black hair, which I dig. The other change-up is that Mochizuki and Tokyo have switched sides, which I think better suit their personalities. Mochizuki was too bland to be a heel, but as a babyface he fits right in with Dragon Kid and Saito. The cocky Tokyo can use his flash to really draw the ire of the fans. I have decided that it is is the nine men that really ruin the flow of the match. Whenever, two teams are building some sort of rhythm all of sudden you have another team getting into the fray and it is jarring rather than chaotic. Most of the heat was between Dragon Kid and M2K, but Crazy Max would keep ruining the flow. Really I felt like Crazy Max did not have much to offer in this match in terms of the storytelling of the match.
The 2002 incarnation of this match was much more action packed the 2001 match and for that reason I enjoyed more. I liked spots like Horiguchi playing up his surfer past by riding the "waves" on the back of two opponents. My favorite spot was when sworn enemies Darkness Dragon and Dragon Kid team up on TARU. Only for Darkness Dragon to turn on Dragon Kid. The Fuji chopfest where his six opponents chopped him and he chopped each one of them was also cute. All the suplex stuff was not as fun. I liked Tokyo fucking around with Dragon Kid and wish that it was just M2K vs Sekigun because I think that would be a badass match. Dragon Kid spikes someone with a hurricanrana, but Darkness Dragon swipes his mask and in the shock he is pinned. Great first elimination and sets up the mask vs mask blowoff. Again, I didn't think the finish run was all that strong, but then again the heat was not really between Crazy Max and M2K. CIMA wins with one of his slams (Schwein, maybe)
I am still waiting for Toryumon to really knock my socks off. ***1/4
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| I wish that was Dragon Kid holding a picture of himself holding a picture holding a picture of himself holding a picture of himself |
UWA World Trios Champion M2K (Genki Horiguchi, Ryo Saito and Susumu Yokosuka) vs.
Do Fixer (Maasaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, Kenichiro Arai) - Toryumon 6/29/03
A year later and once again the complexion of the Toryumon landscape has greatly changed. Plucky upstart Ryo Saito has been seduced by the Dark Side and now rides with M2K. Genki Horiguchi has parlayed his LeBron-esque hairline into a huge heel gimmick as he is quite annoyed the Japanese fans keep heckling him with "Hage" (Bald). In addition, he has developed a new weapon that all have fallen prey to: The Backslide From Heaven. Even though I have not seen Susumu Yokosuka yet, he is quite important as he is a original founder of M2K. In fact, his original last name was Mochizuki, no relation I believe. When Mochizuki turned face, they feuded over the surname ala Booker T and Big T with Mochizuki winning the name and forcing Yokosuka to change his name. Kenichiro Arai is just a longstanding Toryumon babyface. Do Fixer is a babyface stable that was born out of the conclusion of the Dragon Kid/Darkness Dragon feud with Dragon Kid winning Darkness Dragon mask and his respect. The three formed Do Fixer the first permanent babyface faction to my knowledge in Toryumon.
Sometimes less is actually more because these six guys rocked it in a way that past nine have not achieved. It was not just telling a more coherent story that helped because it did break down into a spotfest, but there was more rhythm to the spots. It is hard to explain but everything seemed more natural. The beginning was actually some pretty good fundamental wrestling. It did get boring at times, but there was plenty of quality. I really liked them playing up Horiguchi's receding hairline by him selling them yanking his hair so well and begging off. The Arai hand heat segment was really well done. It actually did play a part in the rest of the match. I liked that a simple elbow kicked it off, but if your hand was taped and elbow you would be hurting too. Lots of stomping, taunting, biting and chair slamming always equals great work. Then they ratcheted everything up. I love Mochizuki's axe kick. They did some great work eliminating by attacking his knee. Dragon Kid was really good in this with a spring hurricarana to the floor and his spike one with a nice break up by dropkicking him in the head. Horiguchi was so great at being a heel, violent on offense (especially attacking Arai's hand) and a chump on defense. BACKSLIDE FROM HEAVEN~! Kick out at 2!!!! WHAT!?!??!! Arai is getting his ass kicked. Arai able to get the Double Chickenwing but all focus on the blue briefcase and dropkick by Horiguchi. Mochizuki blasts Horiguchi with blue briefcase and a Arai Tiger Suplex wins the titles!
I loved that the whipping boy of the match was able to get the big win over the main heel. Dragon Kid was great as a spot monkey. Arai was awesome as the face in peril. Mochizuki has a strong leadership quality to him. Ryo Saito was awfully quiet and thought he would deliver more. Susumu did not show much either. Horiguchi was definitely the star of this match and I look forward to more of his matches. ***3/4
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UWA World Trios Champions Do Fixer ( Maasaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, Kenichiro Arai) vs M2K (Genki Horiguchi, Magnum Tokyo, Susumu Yokosuka) vs Crazy Max (CIMA, SUWA, Don Fuji) vs Italian Connection (Milano Collection AT, Condotti Suji, YOSSINO) -
Toryumon 08/30/03
This is the Three Stooges if the the Three Stooges were twelve wicked athletic Japanese guys, three of whom think they are Italian. The first half of this match is some of the best comedy wrestling you will ever watch. I loved the thread that was woven throughout this whole match was gang up on M2K. When Dragon Kid and Arai turned on Horiguchi and worked over his scalp that was hilarious. I thought the testicular psychology of Liger/Minoru vs Kanemaru/Kikuchi was bitchin, but the SCALP PSYCHOLOGY~! of Horiguchi matches has been so funny. I am not going to ruin this match with some recap of the spots. Go and watch these dudes rip it up in the ring. Also a midget in a Gorilla costume gets involved. This match has everything. What is great when it comes to time to hit the finish, they get more serious, but still keep it fun. Everybody has a chance to shine. I had always heard of the Italian Connection and on paper is sounded tremendous and they did not disappoint. I highly recommend watching the other Toryumon matches first even though they are not as good because it gives you a feel for the style and an appreciation for how bitchin this is when it all comes together. ****1/4
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We got the Best of the Junior Heavyweights in 2005-2006, the Best All Japan in 2005-2009 and the Best of BattlArts in 2005-2009! WOOHOOOO!!!
