Rick & Scott Steiner vs Keiji Muto & Hiroshi Hase, NJPW Tokyo Dome 01/04/94 Options

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

LOVED this one. Of all the 1/4 Tokyo Dome matches on any yearbook, this is the best one I've seen. The opening minutes between Scott and Hase really put the in-ring gap that existed at this point between the U.S. and Japan in perspective. I loved Sting/Austin and thought it was pretty high-end for U.S. matwork at the time, but the mat exchanges between Scott and Hase just completely outclass it in every way, and I don't expect this to finish in the top 30 for the year (although it just might).

I typically hate Muto's running dome show clothesline, but Hase deciding to try it because it looked so fun amused me. Rick holds his own. Muto does his trademark spots and gets them over. Hase is really good. But Scott Steiner is the star here. In this match, he looks like someone who should have been a singles star in New Japan, and I wish he hadn't even wasted time with U.S. runs after seeing this.

This is also *possibly* the debut of the screwdriver, which got an amazing pop. I question it only because the announcers had a name ready for it.

This was exactly what you want a Dome show match in the "wrestling spot" to be -- stiff with really good ebb and flow, good wrestling between the highspots, and really top-notch highspots to pop the crowd. Great match.

[shoe]

This was awesome. Just a hair below MOTY contender status and on a rewatch it could make that level. The work was pretty awesome with Muto/Hase and Scotty looking just awesome. Rick was good but was really the weakest link here not that he was bad. From the mat wrestling, power moves, story telling, the running dome show clotheslines and a hot finish really makes it stand out as an awesome bout. One of the best Steiner Bros matches ever. Plus I love how they really get the Dome rockin. Just an easy 4 1/4 * bout.

[Kevin Ridge]

First time seeing this and thought it was great. Agreed that Steiner looked like a star. Love the Screwdriver move. Rewinded twice after the match to watch the move again. Probably want to try pin your opponent after delivering one of those though. Was WWF pretty much done with the Steiners at this point?

Got a good laugh at the end of this match with Mutoh comes off the top rope to try break up the pin fall but takes Hase hooked leg to the face.

[Childs]

I wasn't as enamored with this as the rest of you guys. It was about what I expected from these teams in the dome, and the finishing stretch was exciting. But I felt I could have wandered away for five minutes at any time during the body of the match and missed very little. Not thatthe work was bad, but one moment didn't build to the next in any meaningful way. That's usually how I feel about the Steiners at this point in my life. I can still see why I loved them as a kid, but they don't much suck me in anymore.

As for ranking this against other 1/4 matches, I'd put it well behind Vader/Inoki from '96 and Choshu/Tenryu from '93 and probably behind the Hash matches from '95 and '96.

[Exposer]

This was a tremendous match. Scott and Hase had excellent chemistry. The screwdriver was nuts and Hase sold it like he was near death. Scott came across HUGE to the Japanese. Hase's selling was superb throughout. Rick was perfectly fine in this. Muto did his usual stuff and the crowd loved it including the running Dome clothesline. The pace and structure was all there and this ruled because of it.

[soup23]

I agree with Childs on this match. The opening mat work meandered to much for me. I really hated Rick's opening dog exchange with Muto that fell really flat. Watching a match from the Dome in a yearbook setting can really hurt also because we just saw a really hot crowd for a typical WCWSN main event and here it really took the Screwdriver to wake the crowd up fully. Finishing stretch was very well done but the finish looked a little awkward. Overall, definitely a good match but a match with many flaws in my opinion.

[Cross Face Chick...]

At first it bugged me that Scott didn't go for a pin after hitting the screwdriver, then I realized it's Scott Steiner. Of course he's going to run to the ropes and yell at everyone instead of trying to actually win the match.

First time seeing this and once it got rolling, it was great. Not sure the Japanese fans quite caught on to Rick's barking, though.