[1992-05-01-NJPW-Explosion Tour] Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow vs Keiji Muto & Hiroshi Hase

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Hase is spectacular! This may be the performance of his life. I may have said that before about other Hase matches, so maybe he was just really good at stepping up. He's a bloody mess for most of this, taking a crazy beating from Vader and Bigelow before coming back. Highlights include Vader's always tremendous corner punches and Bigelow biting Hase's cut. That's trust, Bam Bam. The spot toward the end where Bigelow reversed the double vertical suplex attempt by nailing both Muto and Hase was great. Muto ended up just beating the 10 count after that, and then it's a bit of a free-for-all These guys set out to do a great match and that's what they did.

[Tim Evans]

The Vader/Hase punch fest was just really awesome. Good match and better than the match earlier on the set.

[shoe]

This was an excellent match. I like when we combine Japan style with the psychology of a southern tag. So here I was in heaven. Hase was great here. Actually all 4 looked great, though Hase's FIP work was pretty awesome. I also dug how some of the hope spots were submissions. Hase using the Northern Lights on Vader was awe inducing.

[jasch]

Going into this set, I thought my favorite tag stuff would involve the various Dangerous Alliance combos, but this match was incredible and is my favorite match on the set so far.

[Kevin Ridge]

I actually found Hase somewhat annoying in this match. First he is kicking out of Vader's power bombs. Okay, I presume that move hasn't been established in Japan as his finish. He takes a pretty good beating. I'll give him that but he makes no attempt to tag out! He's all bloody and tries to headbutt Bam Bam. Not smart.

 

But anyways after taking his beating, he finally gets the upper hand against Vader and doesn't make the tag to Muto. Match spills to the outside with all guys involved. Finally, with Hase in control he makes the tag to Mutoh who hits a moonsault. Hase then tags back in! How about taking a few moments to recover from the beating and the blood loss? Bigelow and Vader eventually gain back control and squish Hase. I was actually rooting for Vader when he chokeslammed Hase which shouldn't have been my reaction. Again, Hase takes a great beating but him making the tag was not done at the appropriate time.

[Zenjo]

You had the size and strength of the Americans against the speed and explosiveness of the Japanese team. Hase showed great toukon as his existing head wound was unsurprisingly targetted. Him vs Vader was the primary focus. Action packed and a good quality level throughout. There was a long tornado stretch that was unwieldy at times.

[WingedEagle]

Most of the NJ heavyweight stuff on the set thus far has been perfectly acceptable. Nothing remotely bad or offensive, but at the same time nothing that stood out as anything more than good or memorable. That's exactly how this match started out, with Vader selling well for Hase's strikes and a suplex and bumping for Muto. Fun stuff, but nothing special.

 

Then Bigelow rips off Hase's bandage, the blood starts flowing and we get some kind of awesome. I may not be an authority on Hase's career but this is easily the best I've seen from him. He eats all sorts of power moves from Vader & Bigelow, who also go hard after his cut including Bigelow gnawing at it. His comeback gets the kind of sustained response from the crowd it deserves. Just a great match and fun to see how quickly it turned from run of the mill to something special.

 

****

[MikeCampbell]

This was pretty awesome on pretty much every level. Bammer and Vader were great as the monster heels, but still bumped and sold well enough to show that Mutoh and Hase were definitely good enough to be able to beat them.

[PeteF3]

The closing stretch did meander into a bit of a mess at times, which is the only thing holding this back from MOTYC-dom in its own right. It's still a hell of a match with three terrific performances and Keiji Muto...well, he had a great '91. This is really the Hase and Bam Bam Show, however. Hase has had a number of standout performances so it's hard for me to say this is his best, but it's definitely the best Bigelow performance I think I've ever seen. Hase slugging it out with Vader brought to mind the great Vader/Dustin opening at the Clash, and Hase hitting the Northern Lights on him was a markout moment. Really great closing moments, as Muto is cut off from a pin save but Hase kicks out anyway, and then Muto is held up inches away from a second pin save, just like Kevin Dyson at the goal line in the Super Bowl, as Hase goes down.

[garretta]

I agree that Hase's performance after the bandage was ripped off was excellent, but I'm still not comfortable with guys throwing Vader around, or Bam Bam either for that matter. As I said in an earlier thread, I'm a proponent of the Vince McMahon School of Superheavyweight Booking. It should take at least three or four strikes to stun a guy over four hundred pounds and five or six to knock him down, and slams/suplexes should be limited to one a match. Any more than two and it's not a special spot like it should be. By that standard, Vader and Bammer way oversold here, and if that's the way Vader chooses to work, he should lose about a hundred and fifty pounds at least.

 

All that said, I liked the cohesion between both sides, and if you manage to put the size difference out of your mind, this was a great back-and-forth match. I didn't much care for Hase's insistence on going outside to doubleteam Bam Bam with Muto, and it was that very move that cost them the match, as Bam Bam hit the double DDT on the floor which knocked them both silly. It was only a matter of time after that, though I liked Muto straining to save Hase after Vader hit the winning splash and just barely missing. I don't think I've ever see a pin cutoff fail in quite that way before.

 

This is the Bam Bam the Apter mags went wild over: size, agility, and toughness. It's good to see him finally put it all together, and while I have some problems with the way he and Vader were presented here, their actual work is tremendous. Maybe Vince booked his big guys the way he did because they couldn't move and work like these two can and I'm just slow to appreciate the difference. It's definitely possible. At any rate, I wish Bammer would have accompanied Vader to the States; even if he and Vader couldn't have been partners due to Vader's issue with Sting, he would have been an excellent addition to an already loaded WCW roster. By the way, the shots of him with Hase's blood all over his face were awesome in the literal sense of the word.

 

Is there any special reason why Vader went without his mask? Was this usual for him by now in NJPW?

[JKWebb]

#366 - placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-400-351/2/

 

As soon as Vader and Bam Bam start bouncing off the ropes... I wonder... where has this Tag Team been all of my life? I want to watch this tag team forever. Bam Bam looks so quick and agile showing off his athletics right off the bat. He is so entertaining at the start with some great bumping and dramatic selling. Vader looks like a monster and gives Hase some of his trademark blows, but Hase fires right back some nasty looking slaps to the face and Vader bumps huge for his Lariat. It looked great, and that speaks to Vader's effort to put it over. Bam Bam comes in and lets Hase give it to him too. I wasn't expecting this match to go this way in the beginning stages, but I like that they are establishing a chance for Hase and Muto. Muto gets some HUGE offense in on Vader with a back drop. Vader eventually gets back on top and starts bringing the devastation on to the head of Hase. He tags Bam in for the fun. They get him pinned in their corner and start to go to work. Hase had a bandage on that was removed during this and he's bleeding out. Vader NAILS Hase with Lariat, and a splash, and they are demolishing him now. Hase sells the damage really well, and somehow kicks out of a powerbomb. Vader sets him up for diving headbutt from Bam Bam, then tags BB back in. BB is biting the cut, and he now has blood on his face as he pummels Hase. They really look like they are going to damage this guy for life. Then Hase gets HOT. FIRED UP! Muto comes in and calls for a double suplex spot that I thought sort of impacted Hase's momentum negatively. They then start double teaming to gain the advantage. I loved when BB made the save after the moonsault from Muto. I love the finish. Vader and BB throw everything they have at Hase, and it looks awesome. Bam Bam has to hold onto the leg of Muto for Vader to get the pin. This was a blast! I have to find more Vader/BB tags. I think I remember hearing it did not happen too often, or for a long period. ****1/4

[BruiserBrody]

Really fun match. Hase surviving multiple powerbombs, severe blood loss and both BIG FAT HEELS splashing him back to back was a bit much though. That's Hogan early Nitro-like Superman powers.

[Jetlag]

Okay this was just a blast. First of all Bigelow rules as a giant pinball and hitting swank flying kicks and powermoves. Then Hase looks just great here trying to take the big guys down. His interactions with Vader made me think a singles match would be up there with the Sting matches. He basically used a combination of technique and just rattling opponents with massive slaps and kicks and that totally works for me. Of course, Hase has a bandage which ends up coming off and he ends up taking a massive beating while bleeding and getting punched in the face. Of course nobody delivers a mauling like Vader who at one point was decking him with straight rights and Bigelow goes from giant doofus to blood sucking freak quite well. Gigantic, fun finishing run with everyone busting out crazy stuff, some big bumps, Vader just killing dudes etc. A working boots match that totally works in every way.

[dawho5]

I was unhappy with both Bigelow and Vader for letting themselves get suplexed around early.  I agree that stuff should be special.  I am always struck by how uniquely Mutoh even moves from one place to another.  Such a ubiquitous wrestler.  I found myself wondering early if we'd see a giant swing.  Hase's slaps and lariat were really awesome.  Once Hase's cut is exposed the match goes all southern tag, which is awesome because Vader and Bam Bam are both great.  Vader not succumbing to Mutoh's half-hearted stomps when he is pinning Hase is great and I think that kind of stuff should happen more often.  I thought we'd get a hot tag, but instead we get Hase staying in and a bunch of double teaming to take out the big guys.  As surprising developments go, not the best but they make it work mostly.  Hase is put over huge in this match for his toughness and spirit, and I would agree that there are 3 world-class performances here.

I wouldn't quite say it was a MOTYC either, if they get the finish a little better and the big guys act like big guys early instead of shining up the babyfaces it might be.