Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

Japan Wrestling Association February 1986


gordi

Recommended Posts

Announcement of upcoming cards:

 

February 4th, 1986 in Fukuoka:

 

The Board of Governors of the Japan Wrestling Association, after reviewing tape of the JWA Trio Tournament Semi-Finals, have ordered the following re-match: Baba, Jumbo, and Misawa vs Tenryu, Hara, and Kawada

 

Special AWA Challenge match: Chris Adams, Dave Taylor, and Marty Jones vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Nobuhiko Takada, and Masakatsu Funaki

 

No-DQ Blood Elimination Match: Yoshiaki Yatsu, Cactus jack, Nord the Barbarian, and Hiro Hase vs Rusher Kimura, Phil Hickerson, Umanosuke Ueda, and Tatsutoshi Goto

 

***BREAK***

 

Senpai and Kohei Tag Grudge Match: Choshu and Kensuke vs Fujinami and Chono

 

Super Strong Machine vs Anoaro Atisanoe

 

Dos Caras and Shiro Koshinaka vs Masa Fuchi and Samson Fuyuki

 

Keiji Mutoh and Thunder Yamada vs Kuniaki Kobayashi and Black Tiger (for the right to face The Fantastics on February 14th)

 

 

 

February 14th, in Yokohama, airing live on Asahi TV:

 

The Fantastics vs (The winner of Keiji Mutoh and Thunder Yamada vs Kuniaki Kobayashi and Black Tiger) (if the Fantastics win, they get a shot at Riki Choshu and Rusher Kimura for the JWA Tag Titles in Tokyo on the 24th).

 

Inspired by the success of similar events in the WWF and UWF recently, JWA is proud to present the first ever JWA Rumble Match.

 

Participants will include:

Giant Baba

Jumbo Tsuruta

Genichiro Tenryu

Ashura Hara

Riki Choshu

Rusher Kimura

Tatsumi Fujinami

Yoshiaki Fujiwara

El Canek

Super Strong Machine

And 20 other wrestlers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow! Those are some stacked cards! I'm loving these Rumble matches. A No DQ Blood elimination match! Ok I'm sold.

 

The no DQ match is a big one for us. If it goes over well, maybe Baba will allow more matches like that in JWA moving forward. That would give us a greater degree of flexibility in working with guest wrestlers from overseas.

 

Whoever wins that opener in Fukuoka on February 4th, The Fantastics will have their hands full!

 

Yep. If they want a title shot in JWA, they will have to earn it.

 

That 6-man AWA challenge match looks like a lot of fun. A Japanese Rumble is an interesting idea. I wonder how the fans there would receive something like that.

 

I like the idea of British Catch style vs Gotch-influenced UWF style. I hope I can do that mach justice when I write it up.

 

I enjoyed reading Kevin and LowBlow's Rumble matches too much. I had to give it a try myself. Again, hopefully I can do it justice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JWA Live in Fukuoka: February 4th, 1986

 

Keiji Mutoh and “Thunder” Yamada vs Kuniaki Kobayashi and Black Tiger

Both teams fought hard to earn the honour of facing the Fantastics on the JWA Rumble show. Mutoh and Yamada used speed, athleticism, and technical wrestling. Kobayashi and Black Tiger countered with hard strikes and blatant cheating. Yamada had a very nice “Face in Peril” segment and the hot tag to Mutoh drew a good pop from the crowd. Unfortunately, Mutoh’s revenge got cut off when Kobayashi poked him in the eyes, setting up a tag to Rocco and a Black Tiger Bomb for the finish.

 

Dos Caras and Shiro Koshinaka vs Masa Fuchi and Samson Fuyuki

Fuchi and Fuyuki tried to use similar cheating tactics to win their match, but the superior experience and ring savvy of Dos Caras and Koshinaka allowed them to turn the tables. This enraged Masa Fuchi, and in his anger he made a crucial mistake, getting trapped in the Baba Corporation team’s corner. A series of hip attacks from Koshinaka set up a Flying Cross Body from Dos Caras that pinned Fuchi to end the match.

 

Super Strong Machine vs Anoaro Atisanoe

Atisanoe and Hirata fought a hard-hitting, clean, back and forth battle that saw several momentum changes and a couple of close near-falls. Umanosuke Ueda and Tatsutoshi Goto came out to ringside to tip the odds in Atisanoe’s favour, but an ironic “Malfunction at the Junction” spot gave Super Strong Machine the advantage instead. After Atisanoe crashed into Goto, he fell victim to a Machine DDT as Sumo Machine and Very Tall Machine rushed to ringside to prevent Ueda and Goto from interfering to prevent the pinfall. Atisanoe didn’t look very happy, but he walked to the back with his teammates without incident.

 

Senpai and Kohei Grudge Match: Choshu and Kensuke vs Fujinami and Chono

The younger wrestlers started out and they went back and forth, but Choshu interfered every time Chono gained the slightest advantage. A few minutes of watching this was enough to set Fujinami off, and he went after Choshu with fury in his eyes. As the ref was struggling to break that up, Masa Fuchi ran down to ringside. Apparently still angry after losing his match, he charged into the ring shoved Kensuke aside, and nailed Chono with a pair of Backdrop Suplexes behind the referee’s back. Fuchi rolled out of the ring and charged off into the crowd. The referee, having managed to separate Fujinami and Choshu turned around just in time to see Kensuke roll Chono up for the pin.

 

***BREAK***

 

No-DQ Blood Elimination Match: Yoshiaki Yatsu, Cactus Jack, Nord the Barbarian, and Hiro Hase vs Rusher Kimura, Phil Hickerson, Umanosuke Ueda, and Tatsutoshi Goto

The rules of the match are fairly simple: If the ref catches you bleeding, you are out of the match.

Eliminated wrestlers were allowed to remain at ringside. Referee Verne Siebert was inside the ring and was the main official when it came to making calls on elimination. Kyohei Wada was tasked with maintaining order outside the ring.

The first elimination came quickly, as Hiro Hase got caught in the Choshu’s Army corner and Umanosuke Ueda carved up his forehead with a foreign object. Eliminated, but still at ringside, Hase grabbed a spike from under the ring and used it to bloody the first member of the opposing team to be tossed outside. That turned out to be Tatsutoshi Goto. Ueda then went after Yatsu and there was a long struggle while Yatsu defended himself from the foreign object attack. A brawl erupted, and Big John Nord managed to grab the object out of Ueda’s hands. Nord went after Rusher Kimura and managed to open a small cut, but Phil Hickerson wiped the blood away with a towel before the ref could see it. Things spilled out of the ring, with Yatsu and Hase going after Ueda while Goto and Kimura went after Nord. Inside the ring, Cactus Jack and Phil Hickerson went toe to toe, exchanging hard punches to the head. Cactus busted Hickerson open, but the quick-thinking Tennessean wiped the blood from his own forehead onto Foley’s face, and Verne Siebert called both men eliminated. Nord and Ueda both fell victim to the double team attacks outside and also got eliminated. That left Rusher Kimura and Yoshiaki Yatsu as the last men standing. Yatsu threw a nasty elbow at Rusher’s forehead, and his cut from earlier in the match opened right up. However, Kimura “accidentally” ran into referee Verne Siebert and knocked him out of the ring. As soon as Kyoei Wada came into the ring to check on things, Kimura rolled outside. Once again, Hickerson tried to wipe the blood away with a towel. Nord the Barbarian put a stop to that by hurling his body into both men, knocking them over. Cactus Jack then climbed up on the ring apron and ran off at full speed, dropping a huge elbow on Rusher. Finally, Hase picked Kimura up and threw him back into the ring. Wada saw the blood, and eliminated Kimura. There was a stare-down in the ring after the match, but Siebert and Kyohei somehow managed to maintain order.

 

Special AWA Challenge match: Chris Adams, Dave Taylor, and Marty Jones vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Nobuhiko Takada, and Masakatsu Funaki

In contrast to the wild brawling of the previous match, this was a battle of two highly technical styles: The British Catch Wrestling style exemplified by Adams, Taylor, and particularly Jones (who was trained by Billy Robinson, and who was in turn William Regal’s trainer), and the Japanese UWF style, exemplified by the JWA team. Fujiwara trained under the legendary Karl Gotch, and Takada and Funaki were both trained by Fujiwara.

The bout started out cleanly, but after a while it became apparent that the Japanese team had a clear advantage in the striking department, and the British Bullies started to cut corners in an attempt to re-gain the momentum. This set off the notoriously grumpy Fujiwara, who absolutely clobbered Adams and Taylor with vicious head-butts, busting both men open the hard way and knocking them dizzy. He then allowed Taylor to get back to his corner, and tagged his protégé Funaki into the ring to face Marty Jones. The much younger Funaki gained an early advantage and earned a close near-fall with a Roundhouse Kick, and almost forced the English fighter to tap out to an Ankle Lock, but Jones fought back bravely and eventually caught Funaki in a Cross-Face Chicken Wing. Fujiwara made no move to break up the hold, and indicated with his eyes that Takada shouldn’t interfere either. Adams and Taylor also stayed in their corners, recovering.

Funaki managed to escape, but Jones stayed on top of him and managed to hit a Belly-to-Belly Piledriver. Once again, Funaki’s partners made no move to break up the pin, and this time it cost them the match. Fujiwara, however, didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed rather pleased that Funaki had fought well against a tough veteran like Marty Jones.

 

JWA Trio Tournament Semi-Finals Re-match: Baba, Jumbo, and Misawa vs Tenryu, Hara, and Kawada

 

KVvUodv.jpg

 

So, the film revealed that Jumbo had, in fact, illegally pulled on Tenryu’s tights to secure the pin in their match on January 24th. As a result, the JWA Board of Governors decided that there should be a re-match, with the winner facing off against The Machines to determine the Tournament winner and new JWA Trios Champions on February 24th.

All of the wrestlers were pretty poker-faced as this one started out. Nobody seemed particularly angry or embarrassed. Jumbo, however, was clearly pushing as the match went on, apparently eager to make up for his faux pas by winning the match by himself. Of course, that led to some mistakes and Jumbo ate a couple of near-falls before finally gaining control with a huge Lariat on Hara around the 20-minute mark. Jumbo then tagged in Misawa and instructed him to hold Hara up for a double-team move. Tsuruta ran full speed into the ropes and came flying at Hara with an attempted Knee Pat. However, Hara moved at the last second, throwing Misawa into the path of danger. Tsuruta’s knee hit Misawa right on the chin, knocking him flat. Hara quickly tossed Jumbo out of the ring and covered Misawa for the one…two…THREE!!

After the match, Tsuruta was inconsolable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very exciting card. The blood elimination match was lots of fun even if it's out of place in this setting. :) Heels winning the opener makes a lot of sense. I really dug the AWA challenge match, and Jumbo blowing it for his team by pushing too hard was really good as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the way you set up Japan with the graphics and such. It is a great way to present the product with some notable US wrestlers and the influx of awesome Japanese talent. I personally don't know if it would work to have some death match stuff but I don't think that shows up till the 90s right? I always loved the explosion matches.

 

Regardless Japan continues to make waves. Once WrestleMania concludes we should talk about some WWF talent coming over to get some more exposure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The blood elimination match was lots of fun even if it's out of place in this setting. :)

 

 

I personally don't know if it would work to have some death match stuff but I don't think that shows up till the 90s right? I always loved the explosion matches.

 

 

 

Well... it's true that Onita didn't start up FMW until 1989... but...

 

No offense to you fine gentlemen or to anyone who might have agreed with you, but thinking that hardcore wrestling didn't come to Japan until '89 is a little like believing that Stephanie McMahon invented women's wrestling or that nobody ever slammed Andre the Giant until Hulk Hogan did it at WMIII. :lol:

 

The story of Pro Wrestling in Japan begins as the story of Rikidozan. Among the key matches that made Rikidozan into an icon, the matches that made Puroresu a true phenomenon in Japan, were a pair of blood-baths fought way back in 1962, vs Freddie Blassie. One in America, where Rikidozan beat Blassie for the WWA Title in the Olympic Auditorium, and a rematch in Japan (in the actual JWA) a month later. Blassie used to file his teeth into points and draw blood by biting his opponents. He was known and feared in japan as a wrestling vampire. The legend is that three people had heart attacks and died while watching the Rikidozan vs Blassie match on a TV that had been set up in a public space in Tokyo.

 

b2279fa85d2519d34778c38c074c15ac.jpg

 

From Rikidozan vs Blassie in the 60s, through the legendary Funks vs Sheik and Abdullah series in the 1970s, through that unforgettable Dump vs Chigusa Hair match in '85, blood-bath matches have a long and honorable tradition at the top of the cards and among the greatest matches in puroresu history.

 

11-111201-abdullahtfunk.jpg

 

 

image-205.jpeg

 

 

And it wasn't just an occasional Main Event Spectacle, either. Umanosuke Ueda (who is a member of "my" JWA roster) had a long-running tag team with Tiger Jeet Singh They carried (respectively) a kendo stick and a sword to the ring, and brutalized opponents. From the late 70s throught he mid-80s they rarely lost except by DQ. Though they are pretty much neglected by western Puroresu fans, the team were a a major factor in the roster-raiding wars between New Japan and All Japan, and the first team to win tag team titles in both New Japan Pro-Wrestling (the NWA North American Tag Team Championship) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (the NWA International Tag Team Championship).

 

va4ROZR.jpg

 

Ueda's whole deal was weapons and blood. The pic is from an '85 singles match vs. Killer Khan.

 

And this one is from an '85 singles match between Singh and Choshu:

 

DgUjRBv.jpg

 

So from the top of the card on down, and including several guys on my kayfabe JWA roster, there is a long and undeniable tradition of hardcore/bloodbath type matches in Japan from the 60s right up until our kayfabe timeline of 1986....

 

So, why might the No DQ First Blood Elimination match understandably feel out of place in our kayfabe JWA???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, why might the No DQ First Blood Elimination match understandably feel out of place in our kayfabe JWA???

 

Well, it could be because Giant Baba is the Kayfabe Owner and President of the Revived JWA... and a lot of us mainly know Baba from his sublime booking and promoting of AJPW in the late 80s and early 1990s. Not exactly a ton of bloody gimmick matches in that legendary run.

 

Plus, we generally think of Baba as wrestling slow-paced technical classics with good mat work against guys like Billy Robinson or The Destroyer... or as the smiling, slighty goofy and awkward mid-card comedy wrestler of his later career.

 

BUT:

 

dS1FH1s.jpg

 

Baba could (and often did) flat-out brawl with the best of them. From his beginning with the actual JWA in the early 60s until He started phasing imself out of the main event scene in the eraly 1980s, Baba regularly wore the crimson mask in matches with guys like Blassie, Abdullah, and The Sheik...

 

In kayfabe-breaking terms, I want to add a few more bloody brawls and gimmick matches to my cards, from time to time, in order to give myself a broader range of story-telling tools (since I'm telling almost all of my stories in the ring, without promos, skits, or commentary); and I want to allow for the widest variety of visiting gaijin workers.

 

In real world terms, I'm 100 per cent confident in saying that violent, bloody brawls were absolutely a part of the Japanese Pro Wrestling Scene in 1986, and as for the Armchair Booking version of JWA specifically, in purely kayfabe terms :

 

1) Baba was in fact capable of being a flat-out bloody brawler himself. Guys like Ueda were primarily brawlers, and even respected technicians like Fujinami could bleed a gusher from time to time. My roster is loaded with guys who can work this kind of match and work it well.

 

2) As mentioned above, Onita didn't start up FMW until 1989... but probably what inspired him to go in that direction after recovering from his injury was his participation in the insane 1981 version of the Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl, which was fought between Ricky Morton & Eddie Gilbert and Atsushi Onita and...

 

...

 

...MASA FUCHI!!!

 

(Masa Fuchi is a member of the kayfabe JWA roster).

 

In his excellent post in the General Chatter thread, dawho5 said:

 

gordi

You have a great grasp of the Japanese scene at the time. I like how you put Tenryu above Jumbo. It shows you are willing to upset the apple cart as it were and rebuild it a different way. I also like how you use that idea in the kind of matches you present. As JWA it makes sense that you can do these things. No major competition. :) Your detailed show write-ups really capture the way a match goes without killing any enjoyment, which is a hard thing to do. I look at your booking as something like Abby becoming best buddies with Baba and getting in his ear about the kind of matches he ran. :)

...and that was precisely my thought process when I decided to go with a bloody brawl while Cactus Jack was in town. Except... not so much Abby getting in Baba's ear, but Fuchi :lol:

dawho5 made another excellent point when he mentioned JWA has no major competition. I think that gives "us" freedom to take risks, and also maybe gives us more power where negotiating with the TV networks is concerned. .

I think part of the reason we see a lot less blood in AJPW and NJPW from the late 80s onward might have been the need to appease the TV networks. I know that Tokyo Broadcasting Systems banned Cage Matches from TV in the 70s after some of Rusher Kimura's fights became too violent. Who knows, though... worst case scenario, I just keep the bloodbatchs as arena-only matches and don't show them on TV.

dawho also mentions being willing to upset the apple cart as it were and rebuild it a different way. This is absolutely essential to me. If I wanna read about what actually happened in AJPW and NJPW in 1986, i totally can. Armchair booking is way, way more fun for me if I can move away from that (while respecting certain aspects of it, like hierarchical booking and the slow advancement of rookies an so on).

Anyway, no offense intended to anyone who disagrees. I love getting feedback, whether positive or negative and everyone absolutely has the right to disagree with what I am doing and to tell me about it.

But I feel like I have ample justification in both kayfabe and real world terms for using more blood and more gimmick matches (Cage matches and Texas Death matches and the like... not exploding barbed wire or cactus and scorpion type stuff) and I wanted to let everyone know that I actually put a fair bit of thought into booking that match.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

... I really dug the AWA challenge match, and Jumbo blowing it for his team by pushing too hard was really good as well.

 

That AWA match is something I would love to have seen in real life. One of the best things about his project is being able to write stuff like that up and also read what everyone else comes up with along those lines (Like Hogan vs Hansen)

 

Once WrestleMania concludes we should talk about some WWF talent coming over to get some more exposure.

 

Absolutely! I am totally looking forward to having some of your guys to come over here. It's inspiring to try to come up with the right match for the right gaijin visitor.

 

In the little that I have seen, Japan always seemed so creative to me with their in ring stuff and you do a great job of that. The No DQ Blood Elimination Match is a great example of that. Keep up all the hard work.

 

Thanks! In those two long posts above I go into a lot of detail about my thinking on that exact subject :)

 

Agreed on everything. The main event was awesome.

 

Thanks! The Jumbo Saga is my first real attempt at long-term Japan-type in-ring storytelling. There is lots more still to come.

 

The No DQ Blood elimination match was insane! Love Hickerson and his towel spots LOL. Really liked the AWA Challenge match. Very technical and hard hitting The main event was great! Poor Jumbo just cant catch a break. Your matches are so realistic, great job!

 

I love writing for Hickerson. He's a big, tough guy who can really work and who can get away with being a bit goofy, too... kind of like Foley, perhaps.

 

Amazing card from top to bottom! Loving the angle with Jumbo!

 

I'm really happy so many people mention the Jumbo stuff. His story is my big project this year.

 

Good history lesson! I knew about the Abby/Sheik stuff, but did not realize that Tiger Jeet Singh was such a big deal. Had all but forgotten the Dump/Chiggy bloodbaths.

 

In my opinion, Tiger Jeet Singh was no great shakes as a worker, but there is no denying he got his gimmick over in Japan in a big way.

 

I'm pretty convinced that bloody brawls were a very important part of the history of Puroresu, but it seems like from the late 80s on, that kind of match moved over to indies like FMW and AJPW and NJPW moved away from that.

 

tl/dr on my long posts above: I wanna experiment with the idea of "What if: Mainstream 80s Japanese Wrestling had kept a bit of a hardcore element here and there?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, what a history lesson about puroresu in its early stages! I had absolutely no clue about that tidbit of Freddie Blassie during that time.

 

And now, I feel all rejuvenated and happy even though I learned today that the RealHero Archive is being taken down. At least, the All Japan archive will still be available so there'll be that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It makes a lot of sense to try it due to yeah, you being the only major show in town. You're probably right in your reasoning that the competition between AJPW and NJPW had a lot to do with it. Neither Baba nor Inoki wanted to lose the TV network support because they were trying anything they didn't need.

 

This makes me think of something Dylan brought up involving pro wrestling being an American export to Japan. It looks to me like it was brought over almost 100% intact and the changes happened due to pressure of competition forcing the promoter's hand based on how you put it. And if you really look at things carefully, what happened when national cable got ahold of the WWF and WCW? Or even ESPN with AWA or the Texas branch of USWA. So in a way that change truly predicted the change in American wrestling. Not the first time Japan was a few years ahead of America on changes to wrestling either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, what a history lesson about puroresu in its early stages! I had absolutely no clue about that tidbit of Freddie Blassie during that time.

 

And now, I feel all rejuvenated and happy even though I learned today that the RealHero Archive is being taken down. At least, the All Japan archive will still be available so there'll be that.

 

Not my beloved Osaka Pro archive :o :( That is heartbreaking news.

 

The early history of Puroresu is absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend the episode of the (David Lee) Roth Show where, astonishingly, the Van Halen front man goes on for over 20 fascinating minutes about that very topic:

 

http://www.vhnd.com/2013/01/22/trs9/

 

It makes a lot of sense to try it due to yeah, you being the only major show in town. You're probably right in your reasoning that the competition between AJPW and NJPW had a lot to do with it. Neither Baba nor Inoki wanted to lose the TV network support because they were trying anything they didn't need.

 

This makes me think of something Dylan brought up involving pro wrestling being an American export to Japan. It looks to me like it was brought over almost 100% intact and the changes happened due to pressure of competition forcing the promoter's hand based on how you put it. And if you really look at things carefully, what happened when national cable got ahold of the WWF and WCW? Or even ESPN with AWA or the Texas branch of USWA. So in a way that change truly predicted the change in American wrestling. Not the first time Japan was a few years ahead of America on changes to wrestling either.

 

Yeah, for sure. It's not just the early history of wrestling in Japan that's fascinating to think about. It's mind-boggling to ponder how we ended up where we are now, with so many wrestling styles and promotions. I think it was Jerry Seinfeld who once asked "If Pro Wrestling didn't exist, could you invent it?" :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That was a great history lesson. Thanks for the time you put into that. Great to see Tiger Jeet Singh's name mentioned. You hit it right on. Not a great technical worker but man his gimmick was way over in Japan. And you're right about the hardcore stuff. I think he was knocking people over with his sword in the late 70s. So yea you're right, Japan was doing some crazy things years prior. That was a really cool read, thanks again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love the whole card but the post-break is brain melting. Going from the crazy brawl to the technical showdown to the main event that told a great story is how you cap off a big show. Cactus vs. Hickerson is a pairing I would love to see again. So glad the Bullies got a chance to show their talents on a big stage. The main event was truly epic. More juniors!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JWA Rumble 1986Presented live on Asahi TV by World Pro Wrestling


The Fantastics vs Kuniaki Kobayashi and Black Tiger (if The Fantastics win, they earn a title shot vs Power Rush in Tokyo on the 24th)


yk4os32.jpg


The Fantastics entered to the sound of “Sharp Dressed Man” and got a pretty decent crowd reaction. The Choshu’s Army team entered to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, accompanied by Phil Hickerson and an even larger man with long black hair, a bushy black beard, and a red one-shoulder singlet.


The match was an all-out brawl from the opening bell, and every time Tommy or Bobby got the advantage Hickerson or his friend would do something to take it away. Every time Tommy or Bobby got tossed outside the ring, they’d get roughed up a little before getting thrown back in. Kobayashi and Rocco spent almost as much time distracting the referee as they did fighting. Eventually, these tactics wore The Fantastics down and Fulton got trapped in the heel corner, taking a beating. When Rodgers tried to break it up, the ref got distracted yet again and Hickerson and the other man got involved in the beat-down, choking and hitting Fulton from outside of the ring.


This brought Toshiaki Kawada and Samson Fuyuki out from the back. Footloose charged the ring and attacked Hickerson and the other big man, driving them away from the action. Seizing the moment, Fulton made a hot tag to his partner. Tommy Rogers came in fired up, knocked Black Tiger out of the ring with a Dropkick, planted Kobayashi in the middle of the ring with an Inverted Underhook Facebuster, then tagged Fulton back in to finish things off with a Rocket Launcher.


The JWA Rumble


First in were JWA Japanese Champion Tastumi Fujinami and the 330-pound Western Samoan Anoaro Atisanoe. Fujinami was able to use his speed and ring savvy to counter Atisanoe’s superior size and power, but…


In at #3 was Atisanoe’s frequent tag team partner Siva Afi. Fujinami was in deep trouble as the two men were able to cut off the ring and corner the Japanese Champion and he was taking a tremendous beating as the countdown began for…


#4: Atisanoe and Afi’s Choshu’s Army stable-mate, the rookie Kensuke. That was a whole lot of muscle and power ganging up on Fujinami and he had to fight like a maniac to hold on until…


The cavalry finally arrived at #5 as Fujinami’s friend and tag partner Kengo Kimura came sprinting into the ring to make a last-second save. Three on two is better odds than three on one, and Kengo Kimura was fired up, but the Choshu’s Army Trio fought back hard as…


The crowd popped for entrant #6, Jumbo Tsuruta! However, the cheers died out quickly when Jumbo tossed Kimura from the ring and went after Fujinami as Atisanoe, Afi, and Kensuke looked on in surprise. Soon all four men were ganged up on Fujinami and he was once again fighting like mad to stay in the ring…


And the crowd heated right up, when #7 turned out to be JWA Champion Tenryu! The champ charged into the ring and made short work of Afi and Kensuke, tossing both men out of the ring. Atisanoe proved to be tougher to eliminate, though, and the two sumo stylists ended up throwing big forearms at each other while Jumbo and Fujinami continued battling, and…


#8 was Shinya Hashimoto and he immediately came to the aid of Fujinami, saving him from elimination yet again. The two stable-mates teamed up against Jumbo and seemed close to tossing him but…


Jumbo’s stable-mate and friend Yoshiaki Yatsu came charging into the ring at #9. He went straight after Hashimoto and tossed him over the top rope, and then he and Jumbo teamed up to eliminate Tatsumi Fujinami, much to the crowd’s displeasure. The two men then tried to push Tenryu and Atisanoe out of the ring, but the big sumo fighters held on and came brawling back as…


Baba’s Corporation member “Carpenter” Teranishi came in at #10 and with, his help Jumbo and Yatsu were able to eliminate Atisanoe, but not Tenryu. And then…


Keiji Mutoh was entrant #11 and, perhaps angry that Jumbo and Yatsu had tossed Kimura, Hashimoto and Fujinami he went after the Baba’s Corporation group…


And he got more help at #12 as Masa Chono ran to the ring. The Fujinami’s Family young lions fought hard, but ended up getting tossed out by Jumbo and Yatsu as Teranishi fought tooth and nail with Tenryu. And…


In at #13 was the blonde heel Umanosuke Ueda. He blindsided Tenryu and Teranishi, knocking hte latter out of the ring, and then he went after Yatsu while Tenryu and Tsuruta locked up, popping the crowd…


And at #14, Tenryu protégé Toshiaki Kawada came running to the ring and he and Tenryu teamed up to eliminate Ueda and Yatsu. Kawada and Tenryu then faced off with Jumbo as the crowd went crazy…


And the pop only intensified as Mitsuharu Misawa joined the fray at #15. Jumbo, Misawa, Tenryu, and Kawada fought, as only they can…


Then Tenryu’s Gang gained the advantage as Masa Fuchi was the 16th man to enter the Rumble. Tenryu battled fiercely with Jumbo as Kawada and Fuchi teamed up to almost eliminate Misawa. But…


As #17 El Canek ran down to the ring, Jumbo broke free from Tenryu and nailed Fuchi with a vicious Jumping Knee, knocking him out of the ring. Then…


Jumbo, Canek, and Misawa got some extra support as Shiro Koshinaka came in at #18. Together, the Baba’s Corporation members managed to eliminate Kawada and came very close to eliminating Tenryu as well, but…


The 19th entrant was Tenryu team-mate Super Strong Machine, and he made the last-second save. Tenryu and Hirata fought bravely against two to one odds, until…


JWA’s top heel, Riki Choshu, stormed to the ring at #20 and went absolutely crazy, tossing Tenryu, Misawa, and Koshinaka before getting dumped by Jumbo and Canek as…


#21, Very Tall Machine, ran to the ring making it a showdown between Jumbo & Canek and the two Machines. Clubbering ensued.


At #22, Phil Hickerson joined the party…


And at #23, Rusher Kimura charged the ring and the brawl intensified…


By the time #24, Masakatsu Funaki, hit the ring, things were absolutely out of control and Funaki got tossed just as…


#25 Nobuhiko Takada ran to the ring, and in turn he got eliminated just as…


#26 Mighty Inoue entered the fray, only to get dumped over the top rope…


And at #27 Sumo Machine came down and he teamed up with Super Strong Machine and Very Tall Machine in a concerted effort to toss out Phil Hickerson …


At #28, there was a SURPRISE ENTRANT and the crowd popped hard as the tough little veteran Kantaro Hoshino bounced around the ring, throwing rights and lefts. However, Jumbo and Canek teamed up to dump Sumo Machine, Very Tall Machine, and Phil Hickerson over the ropes, and then picked up Kantaro and tossed him out on top of the pile of big men on the outside. As Jumbo and Canek were laughing, Super Strong Machine caught Canek by surprise and tossed him…


Yoshiaki Fujiwara was entrant #29 and he and Super Strong Machine put a major beating on Jumbo, busting him wide open…


Giant Baba was the final entrant, and he quickly tossed Super Strong Machine from the ring. Baba and Fujiwara then battled ferociously as Jumbo struggled to his feet. Blood streaming down his face (and perhaps obscuring his vision) Jumbo charged into Baba and Fujiwara, who were fighting close to the ropes, and knocked both men to the outside.


Baba made his way back into the ring and raised Jumbo’s hand in victory. On the outside, Fujiwara was furious, yelling threats and challenges at Baba and Jumbo.



Ashura Hara vs ??? (TV Time Remaining)


NlRxUSf.jpg


After the ring was cleared, Ashura Hara came out to ringside and grabbed the house mic. He explained that he had stepped aside to let Kantaro Hoshino enter the Rumble, but he still wanted to fight someone. He then dropped the mic and entered the ring. Within seconds, a tall and very powerful-looking American wrestler wearing bright blue tights and white boots ran into the ring and went straight at the big former rugby player.


The two tough men exchanged punches, chops, forearms, and big shoulder blocks but neither would back up or give even an inch of ground. Eventually, the big American (Ron Simmons) bounced off of the ropes and came back at Hara with a Flying Shoulder Tackle but Hara also launched himself straight at Simmons and they collided forehead to forehead at full speed. The sound of the collision was sickening, and both men collapsed to the mat. They staggered back to their feet, and Hara threw a big punch at Simmons, busting open his badly swollen forehead. As blood poured down his face, Simmons roared with laughter and threw a huge right hand of his own. The two men went toe to toe and blow for blow for two full minutes, until the bell rang to signal the end of TV time remaining.


Hara grabbed Simmons by the wrist and… raised his arm. He took him to each side of the ring so the crowd could show appreciation for the big American’s fighting spirit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...