The Legend of Tiger Mask Disk 1: Sayama
May 23, 2016 21:05:43 GMT -5
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Post by Shatter Machine on May 23, 2016 21:05:43 GMT -5
So I was looking for something fun to watch and I got sucked into looking through Puro comps on eBay, and I found this one: five discs featuring highlights of all four incarnations of the legendary Tiger Mask. It’s also got a who’s who of everyone who passed through Japan in the eighties and nineties (with some notable omissions). Satoru Sayama was an undercard guy who was really small, so he wasn't going to be able to work with the heavyweights, so he went on some excursions to Mexico and England, where he learned a different Junior Heavyweight style. When he came back, they gave him a superhero gimmick with a hood, and called him Tiger Mask, and the matches were groundbreaking. It’s going to take literally a month to watch all of this, so I’m going to take it one disc at a time. Here’s the first one:
1981.05.01
Tiger Mask
Vs
Dynamite Kid
This is literally the first Tiger Mask match ever, and therefore the first Tiger Mask-Dynamite Kid match ever. Mask starts with a leg sweep and a dropkick, and Kid heels it up by running away. Dynamite grabs and arm wringer, and they just move so fast it’s impossible to keep up with. Dynamite grabs a headlock, but Mask flips over on an armdrag and gets a wrist roll. They trade holds and reverses, and Dynamite hits a chop on the ropes, and snap mares him over into a chin lock. Mask reverses, and hits an elbow to the bridge of the nose. Kid with a butt to the gut, but Mask gets an uppercut and a kick. He grabs a headlock and takes him down with a spinning leg sweep. Mask grabs a knee bar, but Kid grabs the mask to force the break. Back up, and Dynamite gets a headbutt. Mask hits a super fast series of chops, then a spin kick. Sunset by Dynamite for 2. Dynamite gets a single-leg, then works the knee. He keeps going for the mask, but the ref won’t allow it. Mask breaks it, and they go back to standing. They blow something, but Mask flips over on him in the corner. Backdrop, and they reset again. Kid is begging off in the corner, and complaining that his back is injured. He suckers Mask in, then hits him in the gut and tosses him to the floor. He runs him to the rail, and they both go back in. Big power slam and an elbow, but kid misses the swan dive headbutt from the top and Mask dropkicks him to the floor. (I use the term loosely, as Mask barely touched him.) Mask kicks the SHIT out of him on the floor, but kid fires back. He goes back in and sets for a suplex in, but Mask floats over and hits the most beautiful German suplex I’ve EVER SEEN for the pin at 9:29. That was really good. It was fast-paced, for the most part, with a few slow points, and only a couple of glaring missed spots. For their first time together, it was amazing. And there’s two more matches between the two on this disk alone. *** ¾
1982.02.05
WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship
Tiger Mask (Champion)
Vs
Bret Hart
This is during a Hart brothers tour of NJPW in the winter of 1982, when Stampede was probably closed down for a while. (They did this on occasion due to a weak Canadian dollar or because of particularly bad winters, or so I recall. I would guess that Bret probably needed some seasoning, as well.) JIP, as Bret shoves him to the ropes. Bret punches him down, but Mask fires right back with kicks. Mask grabs a sleeper on the mat, and Bret powers right up. I’d say Bret was probably about 230-ish here, which is about 25 pounds heavier than Mask. Mask gets a nice armdrag and a suplex for 2. Bret fires back with forearms, working a very North American style against Mask. Bret sends him to the buckle, then knees him in the gut, dropping an elbow for 2. Mask fires back now, and drops a knee. Bret starts working the knee, but the ref backs him off. They fight over a suplex. Bret continues to bully, and Mask hits the spinning legsweep takedown, and Bret has NO IDEA how to take it. Mask gets a bow and arrow, then a headscissor. I hear the Japanese announcers talking about Stu Hart, so they’re putting that over for the folks at home. Bret escapes and grabs a headlock. Bret mows him down with a shoulder, but Mask hits a dropkick, then a spin kick, then a piledriver. Bret buries a knee to the gut, then a dropkick. Kick to the stomach, but when he sends him off, Mask catches it, and sweeps the leg out. He gets a ¾ Nelson, then turns it into a hammerlock. He transitions THAT into a keylock, and Bret slides to the ropes. Mask gets about three near-falls in a row, but Bret dumps him to the floor, where Mask sends him to the railing. Back in, Mask sweeps the knee, and grabs a figure-four. Bret reverses quickly, but Mask reverses again, and Bret grabs the ropes to break it. Mask goes for the spinning toe-hold, but Bret rolls him into the ropes. Bret hits a piledriver for a long 2, then drops a couple of elbows for 2. Mask hits a leaping forearm, but misses a somersault from the second rope. Bret hits a backbreaker for 2. Suplex gets 2. Shoulderblock, but Mask hits a spin kick, then dropkicks Bret to the floor. He misses a plancha, and Bret goes back in. Bret goes off the ropes but Mask hits a springboard missile dropkick, and a vertical suplex finishes Bret at 17:31. This was not as great as I thought it would be, as Bret was a good worker here, but not yet “Bret Hart”. He worked way too much of a brawling North American style, as opposed to a more technical Japanese style. ** ½
1982.05.25
NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship
Les Thornton (Champion)
Vs
Tiger Mask
This is for the NWA title, as Tiger Mask had lost the WWF title on 1982.05.06 to the original Black Tiger. Mask gets an arm-wringer, and he works that for a bit. Thornton is a guy I’ve heard of, but never really seen a lot of. Old-timers and fans of 70’s puro talk about him, but this would be the second match of his that I’ve seen. Mask takes him down and grabs a half-crab, and Thornton gets to the ropes. Thornton works a very mat-based style, controlling Mask with a head-scissors. They repeat the armdrag – armbar- headscissor spot a couple of times, and that gives me a chance to read up on Thornton. He was a 5-time NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion, and was about 48 here. He looks really good, but when he went back to the states in the mid-80’s, he wound up as a job guy in the WWF. This is a really, really boring old school match, as Thornton totally grounds Mask, using his Brit style to get several near-falls. They do an amazing monkey-flip spot, but they go right back to the goddamn armdrag – headscissors spot again. Mask gets a cross arm-breaker. Thornton escapes, and hits a series of forearms. Thumb to the throat, but Mask fires back with a spin kick. He drops a couple of knees for 2. Mask grabs a sleeper, but Thornton fights out. Thornton with a knee to the gut, and both guys are down. Mask hits a dropkick, then a second rope crossbody for 2. He botches a crossbody, and that gets 2, and a tombstone piledriver gets the pin and the NWA Junior Heavyweight Title for Tiger Mask at 13:41. Really, really boring. Their styles just DID NOT mesh. **
1982.05.26
WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship
Black Tiger (champion)
Vs
Tiger Mask (NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion)
Well, best to just unify them right off the bat, I guess. Black Tiger had won the title about three weeks earlier, and this is just the continuation of that program. Black Tiger grabs an armbar, and Mask flips out of it and reverses. They trade moves and counters, and Black Tiger takes him down and grabs a chinlock. This is truly a sight to behold, as it’s literally wall-to-wall action. Black Tiger grabs a double underhook, but misses an elbow drop. Black Tiger gets a hammerlock, then rolls it over into a cradle. He dumps him to the floor, but Tiger Mask flips back in. Black Tiger charges, but Tiger Mask ducks, and Black Tiger falls to the floor. When he tries to come back in, Mask slams him off. Mask gets an abdominal stretch, but that is countered into a crucifix for 2. They do some bridging spots, and Mask hits a double wrist clutch monkey flip. Mask does the charging backflip in the corner, then hits the spin kick. Black Tiger takes a powder, but comes back in and works the arm. There’s -zero- psychology in this match. It’s a ton of spots and that’s it. Black Tiger front suplexes Tiger Mask onto the top rope, and Mask is hurt. Slam gets 2. Knee misses, and Tiger Mask goes after it. Black Tiger shrugs it off and grabs a rear chinlock. I can totally see where the stuff that the Young Bucks do came from. It was TOTALLY these guys. Black Tiger with a knee for 2. They do a front face-lock, and Black Tiger gets a hangman, which gets reversed into a monkey flip. Black Tiger gets a sleeper, and Mask is down. Not, for long, though, as he reverses with an arm wringer and takes him down. Black Tiger with an underhook suplex for 2. Tiger Mask winds up on the floor, and they brawl there. Back in, and Black Tiger ties him in the ropes and dropkicks him. Tiger Mask escapes, and they go all strong style. Mask misses a plancha, and Black Tiger thinks it’s over. Big suplex in gets 2. Mask floats over, but Black Tiger’s trick knee acts up and he gets a piledriver. Top rope back elbow misses, and Tiger Mask hits a tombstone then a FUCKING MOONSAULT! In 1982! That gets the pin and the title at 14:16. This whole match was fucking amazing. **** ½
1982.08.05
WWF World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Tiger Mask (Champion)
Vs
Dynamite Kid
More insanity from theses two, as they bounce around the ring like greased lightening. Mask with a slam, and Dynamite grabs a wristlock. They go a little bit, and Dynamite hits a headbutt. Knee to the gut, and Dynamite goes to a chinlock. Tiger Mask reverses into a hammerlock, and Dynamite cheap shots him on the break. Nice back leg sweep, and they keep countering each other, to prove that they know the other too well. Ankle lock by Mask, and hey! There’s Antonio Inoki on commentary! They roll around a lot, and Dynamite grabs the rope to break. He tosses Mask to the floor, and suplexes him there. Back in, and Dynamite with a gut-wrench suplex. He goes to a headscissor, but Mask flips out of it. Mask hits a kick to his back, then suplexes him OVER THE TOP ROPE! He sends Dynamite to the rail, then brings him back in and hits a DDT for 2. Headscissors, but when Dynamite tries to bridge out, Mask turns it into a piledriver. Jumping piledriver gets 2. Dynamite fires back with a hiptoss and a dropkick, but Mask backdrops him out of the ring. Back in, and Dynamite gets control. He grabs a chinlock, then a headscissor. Mask rolls it over and turns it into a nasty-looking Indian Deathlock, then a bow and arrow. He grabs a crossface, but they roll to the ropes. Dynamite dodges the leg sweep, and then gets tackled into the ropes. Mask grabs a half-crab, then a spinning toe-hold. He turns it into a complicated submission, and Dynamite grabs the ropes. Dynamite goes for a piledriver, but Mask backdrops out and hits a flip and a legdrop for 2. Mask misses the leaping double forearm, and Dynamite PLANTS him with the tombstone. Swan Dive headbutt gets only 2! Mask backdrops him over the top and hits an AMAZING plancha. Going back in, and Mask gets a gut wrench, but turns it into a piledriver mid-move. Jesus. Mask hits the Moonsault for the pin at 15:58. That was better than the first one. ****
1982.09.17
Tiger Mask (NWA & WWF World Junior Heavyweight Champion)
Vs
Chris Adams
This is after Adams left the UK, but before he debuted in Dallas, so I would assume that he was working for the LaBell’s in Los Angeles here. I don’t really think that Adams is much of a junior here, but he was never huge. They do the usual mat stuff with counters and reverses to start. Mask takes him down and gets a leg lock. Adams fights to the ropes for the break, drawing applause. He misses a charge into the corner, and Mask grabs a double underhook and turns it into a submission on the mat. That gets turned into a crucifix for 2, then a headscissor. Adams pops out, but Mask gets a nice high kick. Adams snaps him over, and pounds the back. He dumps Mask to the floor, and I pick up a little from the announcers about Adams being a legit judoka. He whips Mask into the corner and hits a superkick. Vertical suplex for 2. Mask grabs a headlock, and they struggle over that, going to the ropes for a break. Mask hits a series of kicks, and Adams bails out. Back in, and Mask gets a spin kick and takes him down again into the leg lock. He turns it into a sort of STF, then a surfboard. Adams gets a kick to escape, then pounds the head. Crucifix gets 2. Snap mare, and Adams grabs a chinlock, signaling to me that they’re about to go home. Adams hits the superkick, then another, and Mask is dead. If this were WCCW a year later, this would be over. Big slam by Adams, then a leg drop. He misses the diving headbutt, and the announcer is going apeshit. Mask hits a dropkick, knocking Adams to the floor and then he NAILS A HANDS FREE PLANCHA! Jesus Christ! He suplexes Adams back in and hits the moonsault for the pin at 10:38. Adams was good here, but kind of out of his element. ***
1983.01.06
Tiger Mask (NWA & WWF World Junior Heavyweight Champion)
Vs
Kuniaki Kobayashi
This is a title defense, I think. Kobayashi was known, thanks in part to this program, as the “Tiger Hunter”. The graphics lead me to believe that this is only an NWA title defense. Mask takes him down with an armbar, and they do some jostling. Test of strength, and Mask takes him down. Kobayashi grabs a headscissors, but modifies it into a cross arm-breaker. They go to the ropes for a break. More feeling out, and Mask takes him down into an armbar. This is really mat-based to start, with Kobayashi reversing and getting a 2-count. He turns it into a hammerlock. Kobayashi breaks it, and they start with a couple of high spots, with Kobayashi spin-kicking Mask down for 2. He goes back to the hammerlock, then into a headscissors. Mask escapes and hits a sick back kick to the neck, and Kobayashi bails. Mask teases a plancha, but Kobayashi runs. They do a great sequence where Mask winds up flipping off the top rope backwards after running up, then he hits a backflip dropkick. Kobayashi grabs a half-crab, and this slows right back down. So totally old-school: grab a hold, work some spots, go back to a hold. Mask escapes and hits a kick, but Kobayashi is having none of it and kicks him out of the ring. Back in, and Mask gets an inside cradle for 2. He gets the cross arm-breaker, but Kobayashi won’t give it up. Kobayashi seems to be bleeding hardway from the mouth, and eventually, they roll to the ropes for the break. Kobayashi with kicks and stomps, and he starts working the knee in the corner. Slam for 2, and Kobayashi goes to a sleeper. He gets a figure-four headlock, but Mask escapes and turns it into a bow and arrow. He has to release it, but mows Kobayashi down with a shoulder, then ducks a kick and mauls him on the mat. They get into a leglock battle, and bridge up and start slapping each other. This is the most interesting thing I’ve seen in a while. Seems that Kobayashi is bleeding from the nose, and they just start stiffing each other with shots to the head. Big kick, but Kobayashi hits a double underhook suplex for 2. Dropkick for 2, but Mask is in the ropes. Kobayashi misses a dropkick when Mask holds on, then Mask grabs an abdominal stretch. They go to the ropes for the break. Kobayashi gets a backslide for 1, Mask with a sunset flip for 2. Mask gets a keylock, but Kobayashi escape. He hits a spinning backbreaker, but Mask nails a backdropper. Mask knocks him to the floor, then goes for the Plancha, but he JUMPS TOO HIGH AND JUMPS OVER KOBAYASHI! They go back in, and Mask hits a tombstone, which looks to finish, but Kobayashi moves on the Moonsault. Kobayashi with a spinning back kick to knock Mask to the floor. Plancha! They brawl on the floor, and Kobayashi hits a suplex there. Mask barely beats the count. Kobayashi hits his finisher, the Fisherman’s Suplex, but it only gets 2. They tumble to the floor on a cross-body, and Mask sends him to the post and hits a backdropper on the floor. Good lord. Mask crawls under the bottom rope to beat the count and wins by countout at 23:21 to retain. It was slow at the start, but built and built to a crescendo, all it needed was a clean finish. ****
1983.04.21
For the Vacant NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Tiger Mask
Vs
Dynamite Kid
It’s funny to see Dynamite getting bigger and bigger as time goes on. He was truly amazing in his youth. I wish I had been able to see more of him before he became so broken down later on during his run in the WWF. (I only seriously started watching after the Harts had beaten the British Bulldogs for the titles). They do some basic stuff, as usual. At this point, they’d become so familiar with each other, I’m wondering if they even needed to call spots. Mask catches Dynamite with a crescent kick and sends him to the floor, then hits a tope suicida (dive through the ropes). Suplex in, but Dynamite slams him off. Missile dropkick by Dynamite, and he grabs a chinlock. He moves to headscissors. Mask escapes, then hits the leaping forearm. He comes off the top with an elbow to a standing Dynamite, and they fight over a bow and arrow. Dynamite charges at him after an exchange, and Mask backdrops him to the floor, and Dynamite takes a MAN-SIZED bump. They tease more plancha stuff, but Dynamite winds up with a leglock on in the middle of the ring. Mask escapes and hits a clothesline, then a senton and an elbow for 2. Mask goes into a chinlock. Dynamite keeps going for the mask, but Mask fights him off. Snap suplex gets 2 for Dynamite. Gut wrench for 2. Dynamite works a headscissors, but Mask turns it into a crossbow, but Dynamite escapes. Dynamite teases a tombstone, but Mask wriggles free. Dynamite goes for a charge, but Mask ducks, and Dynamite tumbles to the floor. Mask teases a plancha, then Dynamite moves, so Mask hits a crossbody off the apron, and they tumble to the crowd, and the bell rings at 11:21 for the no contest. Dynamite continues to attack him, so I don’t know if the match is over, and then the bell rings again, so I guess it is. Tiger Mask comes back in, and they beg for a restart. The ref confers with officials, and it seems that they’re going to restart it. The ref makes an announcement, and it seems that we are going to continue. The bell rings at 15:20, and Dynamite KILLS HIM DEAD with a tombstone! Diving headbutt, but Mask hits the backdropper, and they’re both down. Mask hits a tombstone of his own, then Dynamite falls to the floor. Mask misses a slingshot plancha, and Dynamite goes back in. Dynamite tries a suplex in, but Mask counters into a rear waistlock, and they tease the German suplex finish from the first match. They tumble to the floor, and Dynamite hits a suplex. They take turns going to the railing, and Dynamite gets sent to the post. Mask goes back in, and Dynamite BREAKS A BOTTLE ON THE RING POST to go after Tiger Mask with. He headbutts the ref, but they don’t stop it. They take forever to clean up, but Dynamite is on his own schedule and he starts attacking. He goes for the mask, but they’re in the ropes. Dynamite elbows the ref down, then hits Mask with a suplex for 2. He dumps Mask to the floor, and Mask just tombstones him there. Dynamite no-sells, and tombstones Mask on the floor, and the bell rings again at 22:25. It doesn’t seem to be over, and they won’t let it be, so the brawl continues. I guess it’s a no-contest? Dynamite grabs the house mic and starts yelling about how the belt is his. That was hot as shit, but it was a total mess. ** ½
The Bottom Line: Really excellent introduction to the faster pace of Japanese junior heavyweights that would reach its’ apex with Super J Cup in 1994, and NJPW’s annual junior tournaments. Sayama was excellent, but he hated the politics backstage in New Japan, and would quit in August of 1983. All-Japan would buy the gimmick from them and give it to a relatively unknown underneath wrestler named Mitsuharu Misawa. But that’s all on disc two. This one is amazing, truly. And it’s not just Sayama, there’s Dynamite Kid at the peak of his abilities, Bret Hart as a pudgy kid, Chris Adams before he really made a name for himself, and there’s one of the best, most underrated wrestlers of his era, Les Thornton. This disc alone makes this set worth the $20 plus shipping I paid for it. And there’s four more to go. Thumbs way up.
1981.05.01
Tiger Mask
Vs
Dynamite Kid
This is literally the first Tiger Mask match ever, and therefore the first Tiger Mask-Dynamite Kid match ever. Mask starts with a leg sweep and a dropkick, and Kid heels it up by running away. Dynamite grabs and arm wringer, and they just move so fast it’s impossible to keep up with. Dynamite grabs a headlock, but Mask flips over on an armdrag and gets a wrist roll. They trade holds and reverses, and Dynamite hits a chop on the ropes, and snap mares him over into a chin lock. Mask reverses, and hits an elbow to the bridge of the nose. Kid with a butt to the gut, but Mask gets an uppercut and a kick. He grabs a headlock and takes him down with a spinning leg sweep. Mask grabs a knee bar, but Kid grabs the mask to force the break. Back up, and Dynamite gets a headbutt. Mask hits a super fast series of chops, then a spin kick. Sunset by Dynamite for 2. Dynamite gets a single-leg, then works the knee. He keeps going for the mask, but the ref won’t allow it. Mask breaks it, and they go back to standing. They blow something, but Mask flips over on him in the corner. Backdrop, and they reset again. Kid is begging off in the corner, and complaining that his back is injured. He suckers Mask in, then hits him in the gut and tosses him to the floor. He runs him to the rail, and they both go back in. Big power slam and an elbow, but kid misses the swan dive headbutt from the top and Mask dropkicks him to the floor. (I use the term loosely, as Mask barely touched him.) Mask kicks the SHIT out of him on the floor, but kid fires back. He goes back in and sets for a suplex in, but Mask floats over and hits the most beautiful German suplex I’ve EVER SEEN for the pin at 9:29. That was really good. It was fast-paced, for the most part, with a few slow points, and only a couple of glaring missed spots. For their first time together, it was amazing. And there’s two more matches between the two on this disk alone. *** ¾
1982.02.05
WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship
Tiger Mask (Champion)
Vs
Bret Hart
This is during a Hart brothers tour of NJPW in the winter of 1982, when Stampede was probably closed down for a while. (They did this on occasion due to a weak Canadian dollar or because of particularly bad winters, or so I recall. I would guess that Bret probably needed some seasoning, as well.) JIP, as Bret shoves him to the ropes. Bret punches him down, but Mask fires right back with kicks. Mask grabs a sleeper on the mat, and Bret powers right up. I’d say Bret was probably about 230-ish here, which is about 25 pounds heavier than Mask. Mask gets a nice armdrag and a suplex for 2. Bret fires back with forearms, working a very North American style against Mask. Bret sends him to the buckle, then knees him in the gut, dropping an elbow for 2. Mask fires back now, and drops a knee. Bret starts working the knee, but the ref backs him off. They fight over a suplex. Bret continues to bully, and Mask hits the spinning legsweep takedown, and Bret has NO IDEA how to take it. Mask gets a bow and arrow, then a headscissor. I hear the Japanese announcers talking about Stu Hart, so they’re putting that over for the folks at home. Bret escapes and grabs a headlock. Bret mows him down with a shoulder, but Mask hits a dropkick, then a spin kick, then a piledriver. Bret buries a knee to the gut, then a dropkick. Kick to the stomach, but when he sends him off, Mask catches it, and sweeps the leg out. He gets a ¾ Nelson, then turns it into a hammerlock. He transitions THAT into a keylock, and Bret slides to the ropes. Mask gets about three near-falls in a row, but Bret dumps him to the floor, where Mask sends him to the railing. Back in, Mask sweeps the knee, and grabs a figure-four. Bret reverses quickly, but Mask reverses again, and Bret grabs the ropes to break it. Mask goes for the spinning toe-hold, but Bret rolls him into the ropes. Bret hits a piledriver for a long 2, then drops a couple of elbows for 2. Mask hits a leaping forearm, but misses a somersault from the second rope. Bret hits a backbreaker for 2. Suplex gets 2. Shoulderblock, but Mask hits a spin kick, then dropkicks Bret to the floor. He misses a plancha, and Bret goes back in. Bret goes off the ropes but Mask hits a springboard missile dropkick, and a vertical suplex finishes Bret at 17:31. This was not as great as I thought it would be, as Bret was a good worker here, but not yet “Bret Hart”. He worked way too much of a brawling North American style, as opposed to a more technical Japanese style. ** ½
1982.05.25
NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship
Les Thornton (Champion)
Vs
Tiger Mask
This is for the NWA title, as Tiger Mask had lost the WWF title on 1982.05.06 to the original Black Tiger. Mask gets an arm-wringer, and he works that for a bit. Thornton is a guy I’ve heard of, but never really seen a lot of. Old-timers and fans of 70’s puro talk about him, but this would be the second match of his that I’ve seen. Mask takes him down and grabs a half-crab, and Thornton gets to the ropes. Thornton works a very mat-based style, controlling Mask with a head-scissors. They repeat the armdrag – armbar- headscissor spot a couple of times, and that gives me a chance to read up on Thornton. He was a 5-time NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion, and was about 48 here. He looks really good, but when he went back to the states in the mid-80’s, he wound up as a job guy in the WWF. This is a really, really boring old school match, as Thornton totally grounds Mask, using his Brit style to get several near-falls. They do an amazing monkey-flip spot, but they go right back to the goddamn armdrag – headscissors spot again. Mask gets a cross arm-breaker. Thornton escapes, and hits a series of forearms. Thumb to the throat, but Mask fires back with a spin kick. He drops a couple of knees for 2. Mask grabs a sleeper, but Thornton fights out. Thornton with a knee to the gut, and both guys are down. Mask hits a dropkick, then a second rope crossbody for 2. He botches a crossbody, and that gets 2, and a tombstone piledriver gets the pin and the NWA Junior Heavyweight Title for Tiger Mask at 13:41. Really, really boring. Their styles just DID NOT mesh. **
1982.05.26
WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship
Black Tiger (champion)
Vs
Tiger Mask (NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion)
Well, best to just unify them right off the bat, I guess. Black Tiger had won the title about three weeks earlier, and this is just the continuation of that program. Black Tiger grabs an armbar, and Mask flips out of it and reverses. They trade moves and counters, and Black Tiger takes him down and grabs a chinlock. This is truly a sight to behold, as it’s literally wall-to-wall action. Black Tiger grabs a double underhook, but misses an elbow drop. Black Tiger gets a hammerlock, then rolls it over into a cradle. He dumps him to the floor, but Tiger Mask flips back in. Black Tiger charges, but Tiger Mask ducks, and Black Tiger falls to the floor. When he tries to come back in, Mask slams him off. Mask gets an abdominal stretch, but that is countered into a crucifix for 2. They do some bridging spots, and Mask hits a double wrist clutch monkey flip. Mask does the charging backflip in the corner, then hits the spin kick. Black Tiger takes a powder, but comes back in and works the arm. There’s -zero- psychology in this match. It’s a ton of spots and that’s it. Black Tiger front suplexes Tiger Mask onto the top rope, and Mask is hurt. Slam gets 2. Knee misses, and Tiger Mask goes after it. Black Tiger shrugs it off and grabs a rear chinlock. I can totally see where the stuff that the Young Bucks do came from. It was TOTALLY these guys. Black Tiger with a knee for 2. They do a front face-lock, and Black Tiger gets a hangman, which gets reversed into a monkey flip. Black Tiger gets a sleeper, and Mask is down. Not, for long, though, as he reverses with an arm wringer and takes him down. Black Tiger with an underhook suplex for 2. Tiger Mask winds up on the floor, and they brawl there. Back in, and Black Tiger ties him in the ropes and dropkicks him. Tiger Mask escapes, and they go all strong style. Mask misses a plancha, and Black Tiger thinks it’s over. Big suplex in gets 2. Mask floats over, but Black Tiger’s trick knee acts up and he gets a piledriver. Top rope back elbow misses, and Tiger Mask hits a tombstone then a FUCKING MOONSAULT! In 1982! That gets the pin and the title at 14:16. This whole match was fucking amazing. **** ½
1982.08.05
WWF World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Tiger Mask (Champion)
Vs
Dynamite Kid
More insanity from theses two, as they bounce around the ring like greased lightening. Mask with a slam, and Dynamite grabs a wristlock. They go a little bit, and Dynamite hits a headbutt. Knee to the gut, and Dynamite goes to a chinlock. Tiger Mask reverses into a hammerlock, and Dynamite cheap shots him on the break. Nice back leg sweep, and they keep countering each other, to prove that they know the other too well. Ankle lock by Mask, and hey! There’s Antonio Inoki on commentary! They roll around a lot, and Dynamite grabs the rope to break. He tosses Mask to the floor, and suplexes him there. Back in, and Dynamite with a gut-wrench suplex. He goes to a headscissor, but Mask flips out of it. Mask hits a kick to his back, then suplexes him OVER THE TOP ROPE! He sends Dynamite to the rail, then brings him back in and hits a DDT for 2. Headscissors, but when Dynamite tries to bridge out, Mask turns it into a piledriver. Jumping piledriver gets 2. Dynamite fires back with a hiptoss and a dropkick, but Mask backdrops him out of the ring. Back in, and Dynamite gets control. He grabs a chinlock, then a headscissor. Mask rolls it over and turns it into a nasty-looking Indian Deathlock, then a bow and arrow. He grabs a crossface, but they roll to the ropes. Dynamite dodges the leg sweep, and then gets tackled into the ropes. Mask grabs a half-crab, then a spinning toe-hold. He turns it into a complicated submission, and Dynamite grabs the ropes. Dynamite goes for a piledriver, but Mask backdrops out and hits a flip and a legdrop for 2. Mask misses the leaping double forearm, and Dynamite PLANTS him with the tombstone. Swan Dive headbutt gets only 2! Mask backdrops him over the top and hits an AMAZING plancha. Going back in, and Mask gets a gut wrench, but turns it into a piledriver mid-move. Jesus. Mask hits the Moonsault for the pin at 15:58. That was better than the first one. ****
1982.09.17
Tiger Mask (NWA & WWF World Junior Heavyweight Champion)
Vs
Chris Adams
This is after Adams left the UK, but before he debuted in Dallas, so I would assume that he was working for the LaBell’s in Los Angeles here. I don’t really think that Adams is much of a junior here, but he was never huge. They do the usual mat stuff with counters and reverses to start. Mask takes him down and gets a leg lock. Adams fights to the ropes for the break, drawing applause. He misses a charge into the corner, and Mask grabs a double underhook and turns it into a submission on the mat. That gets turned into a crucifix for 2, then a headscissor. Adams pops out, but Mask gets a nice high kick. Adams snaps him over, and pounds the back. He dumps Mask to the floor, and I pick up a little from the announcers about Adams being a legit judoka. He whips Mask into the corner and hits a superkick. Vertical suplex for 2. Mask grabs a headlock, and they struggle over that, going to the ropes for a break. Mask hits a series of kicks, and Adams bails out. Back in, and Mask gets a spin kick and takes him down again into the leg lock. He turns it into a sort of STF, then a surfboard. Adams gets a kick to escape, then pounds the head. Crucifix gets 2. Snap mare, and Adams grabs a chinlock, signaling to me that they’re about to go home. Adams hits the superkick, then another, and Mask is dead. If this were WCCW a year later, this would be over. Big slam by Adams, then a leg drop. He misses the diving headbutt, and the announcer is going apeshit. Mask hits a dropkick, knocking Adams to the floor and then he NAILS A HANDS FREE PLANCHA! Jesus Christ! He suplexes Adams back in and hits the moonsault for the pin at 10:38. Adams was good here, but kind of out of his element. ***
1983.01.06
Tiger Mask (NWA & WWF World Junior Heavyweight Champion)
Vs
Kuniaki Kobayashi
This is a title defense, I think. Kobayashi was known, thanks in part to this program, as the “Tiger Hunter”. The graphics lead me to believe that this is only an NWA title defense. Mask takes him down with an armbar, and they do some jostling. Test of strength, and Mask takes him down. Kobayashi grabs a headscissors, but modifies it into a cross arm-breaker. They go to the ropes for a break. More feeling out, and Mask takes him down into an armbar. This is really mat-based to start, with Kobayashi reversing and getting a 2-count. He turns it into a hammerlock. Kobayashi breaks it, and they start with a couple of high spots, with Kobayashi spin-kicking Mask down for 2. He goes back to the hammerlock, then into a headscissors. Mask escapes and hits a sick back kick to the neck, and Kobayashi bails. Mask teases a plancha, but Kobayashi runs. They do a great sequence where Mask winds up flipping off the top rope backwards after running up, then he hits a backflip dropkick. Kobayashi grabs a half-crab, and this slows right back down. So totally old-school: grab a hold, work some spots, go back to a hold. Mask escapes and hits a kick, but Kobayashi is having none of it and kicks him out of the ring. Back in, and Mask gets an inside cradle for 2. He gets the cross arm-breaker, but Kobayashi won’t give it up. Kobayashi seems to be bleeding hardway from the mouth, and eventually, they roll to the ropes for the break. Kobayashi with kicks and stomps, and he starts working the knee in the corner. Slam for 2, and Kobayashi goes to a sleeper. He gets a figure-four headlock, but Mask escapes and turns it into a bow and arrow. He has to release it, but mows Kobayashi down with a shoulder, then ducks a kick and mauls him on the mat. They get into a leglock battle, and bridge up and start slapping each other. This is the most interesting thing I’ve seen in a while. Seems that Kobayashi is bleeding from the nose, and they just start stiffing each other with shots to the head. Big kick, but Kobayashi hits a double underhook suplex for 2. Dropkick for 2, but Mask is in the ropes. Kobayashi misses a dropkick when Mask holds on, then Mask grabs an abdominal stretch. They go to the ropes for the break. Kobayashi gets a backslide for 1, Mask with a sunset flip for 2. Mask gets a keylock, but Kobayashi escape. He hits a spinning backbreaker, but Mask nails a backdropper. Mask knocks him to the floor, then goes for the Plancha, but he JUMPS TOO HIGH AND JUMPS OVER KOBAYASHI! They go back in, and Mask hits a tombstone, which looks to finish, but Kobayashi moves on the Moonsault. Kobayashi with a spinning back kick to knock Mask to the floor. Plancha! They brawl on the floor, and Kobayashi hits a suplex there. Mask barely beats the count. Kobayashi hits his finisher, the Fisherman’s Suplex, but it only gets 2. They tumble to the floor on a cross-body, and Mask sends him to the post and hits a backdropper on the floor. Good lord. Mask crawls under the bottom rope to beat the count and wins by countout at 23:21 to retain. It was slow at the start, but built and built to a crescendo, all it needed was a clean finish. ****
1983.04.21
For the Vacant NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Tiger Mask
Vs
Dynamite Kid
It’s funny to see Dynamite getting bigger and bigger as time goes on. He was truly amazing in his youth. I wish I had been able to see more of him before he became so broken down later on during his run in the WWF. (I only seriously started watching after the Harts had beaten the British Bulldogs for the titles). They do some basic stuff, as usual. At this point, they’d become so familiar with each other, I’m wondering if they even needed to call spots. Mask catches Dynamite with a crescent kick and sends him to the floor, then hits a tope suicida (dive through the ropes). Suplex in, but Dynamite slams him off. Missile dropkick by Dynamite, and he grabs a chinlock. He moves to headscissors. Mask escapes, then hits the leaping forearm. He comes off the top with an elbow to a standing Dynamite, and they fight over a bow and arrow. Dynamite charges at him after an exchange, and Mask backdrops him to the floor, and Dynamite takes a MAN-SIZED bump. They tease more plancha stuff, but Dynamite winds up with a leglock on in the middle of the ring. Mask escapes and hits a clothesline, then a senton and an elbow for 2. Mask goes into a chinlock. Dynamite keeps going for the mask, but Mask fights him off. Snap suplex gets 2 for Dynamite. Gut wrench for 2. Dynamite works a headscissors, but Mask turns it into a crossbow, but Dynamite escapes. Dynamite teases a tombstone, but Mask wriggles free. Dynamite goes for a charge, but Mask ducks, and Dynamite tumbles to the floor. Mask teases a plancha, then Dynamite moves, so Mask hits a crossbody off the apron, and they tumble to the crowd, and the bell rings at 11:21 for the no contest. Dynamite continues to attack him, so I don’t know if the match is over, and then the bell rings again, so I guess it is. Tiger Mask comes back in, and they beg for a restart. The ref confers with officials, and it seems that they’re going to restart it. The ref makes an announcement, and it seems that we are going to continue. The bell rings at 15:20, and Dynamite KILLS HIM DEAD with a tombstone! Diving headbutt, but Mask hits the backdropper, and they’re both down. Mask hits a tombstone of his own, then Dynamite falls to the floor. Mask misses a slingshot plancha, and Dynamite goes back in. Dynamite tries a suplex in, but Mask counters into a rear waistlock, and they tease the German suplex finish from the first match. They tumble to the floor, and Dynamite hits a suplex. They take turns going to the railing, and Dynamite gets sent to the post. Mask goes back in, and Dynamite BREAKS A BOTTLE ON THE RING POST to go after Tiger Mask with. He headbutts the ref, but they don’t stop it. They take forever to clean up, but Dynamite is on his own schedule and he starts attacking. He goes for the mask, but they’re in the ropes. Dynamite elbows the ref down, then hits Mask with a suplex for 2. He dumps Mask to the floor, and Mask just tombstones him there. Dynamite no-sells, and tombstones Mask on the floor, and the bell rings again at 22:25. It doesn’t seem to be over, and they won’t let it be, so the brawl continues. I guess it’s a no-contest? Dynamite grabs the house mic and starts yelling about how the belt is his. That was hot as shit, but it was a total mess. ** ½
The Bottom Line: Really excellent introduction to the faster pace of Japanese junior heavyweights that would reach its’ apex with Super J Cup in 1994, and NJPW’s annual junior tournaments. Sayama was excellent, but he hated the politics backstage in New Japan, and would quit in August of 1983. All-Japan would buy the gimmick from them and give it to a relatively unknown underneath wrestler named Mitsuharu Misawa. But that’s all on disc two. This one is amazing, truly. And it’s not just Sayama, there’s Dynamite Kid at the peak of his abilities, Bret Hart as a pudgy kid, Chris Adams before he really made a name for himself, and there’s one of the best, most underrated wrestlers of his era, Les Thornton. This disc alone makes this set worth the $20 plus shipping I paid for it. And there’s four more to go. Thumbs way up.
