Best of Dragon Kid: Volume One
review by Suicidal Youth

Dragon Kid vs. Dr. Cerebro
JIP. Dragon whips out a Flying Hurricanrana, and a Tilt-a-Whirl Headscissors. Dr. to the floor, where he's met with the Bermuda Triangle. Another clip to Cerebro diving onto Kid. Double countout, but the match is restarted. La Majistral gets two for Kid. Doc responds with a Spinebuster to floor the kid. Flying Splash gets two. Kid doges a Senton Atomico, and lands the Ultra Hurricanrana. Cerebro locks on the Cerebro Lock, but Kid makes the ropes. Dragon Ray gets a two count. Kid goes up top, and lands the Dragonrana for the pin. No rating.

Dragon Kid vs. SUWA
This is back when SUWA was still wrestling as Judo Suwa. Suwa unloads on Kid right away. Suwa counters a Headscissors with a Sideslam. Kid somersaults over Suwa off of an Irish Whip attempt, and lands another Headscissors, sending Suwa to the floor, where Kid nails the Bermuda Triangle. Suwa's manager trips Kid up, and Suwa takes advantage. Suwa with a Marufuji-esque Slingshot Elbow. Suwa isn't quite the asshole that he is today, but he's making his way toward that landmark, as he goes low on Dragon twice, and works him over in the ropes as his manager again interferes. More interference on Suwa's behalf, which gets the crowd pissed(in a good way). Double team Superbomb attempt ends with Kid sending Suwa into the mat with a Hurricanrana. Mysterio Rana sends Suwa to the floor, where he's sent into the seats with another Hurricanrana. Back inside, an Ultra Hurricanrana gets a nearfall, and Kid heads up top, and is knocked down by Suwa's manager. Superplex by Suwa gets two. Kid slips on a Springboard attempt. He recovers, hit the Dragon Ray, and scores with the Dragonrana for the victory. Rather sloppy in places, but an overall good match. **3/4

Dragon Kid vs. SUWA
Things start out fast, with Kid sending Suwa to the floor with an Armdrag, and nailing the Bermuda Triangle. Suwa takes his sweet time getting back in the ring. Kid doesn't give him any break when he finally gets back in. However, Suwa overpowers Kid, and works him over on the ground, using some underhanded tactics while he's at it. Kid battles back, and locks in an Armdrag, and works over the arm immediately after. He hits the ropes, and lands a Quebrada Headscissors, followed by a Tilt-a-Whirl Headscissors. Suwa catches him with a Tilt-a-Whirl Backbreaker, and Kid is down. Suwa chops Kid in the corner before landing the Slingshot Elbow for a nearfall. Slingshot into the ropes by Suwa leads to another two count. Suwa puts Kid on top, and starts ripping his mask. He pulls into a Tree of Woe, and nails a vicious Dropkick. SUWA is in complete control. He goes for a Superbomb, and takes a Hurricanrana instead. Kid nails the Ultra Hurricanrana into the turnbuckles. Victory Roll gets a two count, as does a Schoolboy Rollup. Second Victory Roll gets the same result. Springboard Arabian Press gets a two count, and a big pop from the crowd. Flying Lariat from Suwa floors both wrestlers. BIG Flapjack gets a two, and Dragon seems to be favoring his knee. Suwa is uncaring, and plants Kid with an Electric Chair Drop. Suwa goes for the FFF, but Kid counters with a Hurricanrana, followed by a Jumping Ace Crusher. He heads up top, and nails the Dragonrana, but Suwa's entourage pulls the ref out. Kid is pissed, and ends up sending the ref to the floor. Suwa takes advantage, and kicks Kid low. Kid tries to counter a Powerbomb with a Hurricanrana, but Suwa debuts the Sweeter Bomb, and wins the match. A good match with some nice heelwork. ***

Dragon Kid & Jinsei Shinzaki vs. SUWA and TARU
JIP. Shinzaki lands the Praying Shoulder Block off the top. He catches Suwa on top, and launches Kid onto Suwa for the Hurricanrana, allowing him to nail TARU with the Bermuda Triangle. Praying Powerbomb by Shinzaki, and TARU saves Suwa. Jumping Ace Crusher gets two on TARU. Kid gets kicked in mid-air, and TARU nails a Rydeen Bomb. Moonsault by the big guy gets two. He goes for the TARU Driller, and Shinzaki breaks it up. Shinzaki is double teamed. Kid comes in for the save, and gets two with a Dragonrana on TARU. Kid handles Suwa on the floor, and Shinzaki gets a submission for the win. No rating.

Dragon Kid vs. Suwa - Mask vs. Hair
Kid doesn't even allow Suwa to get into the ring, as he lands a Tope right away. He sends Suwa into the seats, and it's obvious these two don't like each other at all. Suwa uses a chair on an air-born Kid, and it's Kid's turn to go flying through the seats. They brawl all over ringside, with Suwa dominated most of the action. The finally enter the ring, and Suwa continues his domination over the Kid. He puts Kid on top, and rips his mask up a bit. Suwa lands a Tree of Woe Dropkick, and Kid is in trouble. Kid manages to catch a break, and takes Suwa down, and works him over in the corner. He goes for a Headscissors, but gets crotched, and kicks in the groin, and to the floor we go, where Suwa goes to work with a chair. Back inside, Suwa is in complete control, and slams Kid to the mat several times. Kid takes whatever he can, but just can't get much going against Suwa. Another Tree of Woe, but this time Kid avoids the Dropkick, and uses the ringpost as a catapult, flying onto Suwa with a Somersault Plancha. Kid is on fire now, as he's all over the place. He goes for the Dragon Ray, but Suwa catches him with a Powerbomb, and uses the ropes for a cheap win. HOWEVER, Ultimo Dragon seems to think different, and restarts the match, much to the chagrin of Suwa's entourage. Kid charges, and is thrown into the corner. Suwa debuts the John Woo, sending Kid flying across the ring. Suwa taunts the crowd before dropping an Elbow in the groin of Kid, and follows with the Slingshot Elbow. Suwa uses the ropes to his advantage, choking Kid with them. He goes for a Black Tiger Bomb, but Kid lands a Hurricanrana out of it instead. Bermuda Triangle is hit, as well as a Springboard Diamond Dust, and the Springboard Arabian Press. Kid accidentally takes out the ref, and works over Suwa with a Jumping Ace Crusher. CIMA knocks Kid off the top, and lands the Iconoclasm, but Kid kicks out! CIMA up again, but Kid's entourage steps in, and it's a Pier 6 o the floor. Suwa continues to work over Kid with high impact slams, but Kid keeps fighting. Kid fires off the Mysterio Rana, but can't cover. Kid up top, but Suwa dodges the Dragonrana, and flattens Kid with a Lariat. Suwa nails the Sweeter Bomb, but only gets two!! Kid dodges a top rope Lariat, and goes up top, but Suwa catches him again. Kid counters the Superplex with an Avalanche Ace Crusher, and lands the Dragonrana for the win. Post-match, Darkness Dragon shows up, and plants Kid with the Darkness Buster. The best match so far. Maybe a bit long, but it told a fantastic story. ***1/4

Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi vs. Judo Fuji & Suwa
JIP. Suwa had Kid on his head, and Fuji nails repeated Sumo Palm Strikes to his groin (I don't think he's having any little dragons soon). HOLY SHIT GENKI HAS LONG HAIR!!! HAGE HAS LONG HAIR!!! WHAT THE FUCK??? It's not helping him much at the moment though, as he's being double teamed. Don't think Genki was exempt from the groin kicking, as Suwa kicks for the uprights. Kid gets back in, and is worked over in the heel corner, and they nail a Hart Attack, and Fuji locks on a Boston Crab. Kid is in bad shape, but catches a break, and he and Genki take the advantage. Genki goes for the Beach Break, and Fuji makes him pay with a Powerbomb. Genki escapes the Chokeslam, but takes a Powerslam. Genki with an Inverted DDT out of a Powerslam position, and Suwa saves. Kid comes back in, and Suwa plants him with a Facebuster and a Flapjack. Kid misses the Dragonrana, but does land a Jumping Ace Crusher. Fuji plants him with a Chokeslam. Suwa goes for the pin, and Genki saves. Backslide from Heaven is escaped, and Suwa plants him with the FFF for the win. No rating.

Dragon Kid & Magnum Tokyo vs. Judo Fuji & Judo Suwa
JIP again. Kid is being double teams by the heels, and Fuji gets a nearfall with a Sideslam. At this point, Tokyo is nowhere to be found, and Kid is at the mercy of the heels. Finally, Tokyo makes it back to the apron, and Kid tags him in. Suwa nails a DDT on Tokyo as Kid and Fuji are on the floor. Tokyo responds with a Superplex for a two count. He sets up for the Egoist Driver, but Fuji breaks it up. Kid doesn't have much like with Fuji either. He manages to counter a Lariat with a Jumping Ace Crusher before nailing the Springboard Arabian Press. Tokyo is back in, and nails the Dancing Rana on Fuji. Double Powerbomb gets two when Suwa saves. Kid jumps right into a Chokeslam, but Ranas his way out of it, ,but can't do the same for a Powerbomb. HUGE Chokeslam gets the win. No rating.

Dragon Kid vs. Darkness Dragon
JIP AGAIN!! Kid lands a Hurricanrana early, and nails the Springboard Arabian Press for a nearfall. Damn, this is rather clipped, too. Darkness goes for a weapon of some sort, but Kid knocks it out of his hands. Darkness scrambles Kid's brain with an Enzugiri. Kid is up, but Darkness floors him with a Diving Knee Drop with aforementioned weapon in his boot to the back of the head. Darkness Bottom gets two, and Darkness uses the kickout to his advantage, and locks on a Crossface Hold. Kid counters a Suplex, and lands the Springboard Diamond Dust for two. Darkness goes for the Darkness Buster twice, and has it countered both times, so he nails a Brainbuster instead for two. He goes for an Avalanche Darkness Buster, but Kid escapes, and lands the Avalanche Ace Crusher. They teases a Superplex to the floor, and Darkness simply drops Kid to the apron. Into the chairs we go again. Scratch that, we're going all over the arena. Match ends in a double countout. No rating.

Dragon Kid & Yoshiyuki Sato vs. Yasoshi Kanda & Darkness Dragon
JIP Once again. This is getting a bit tiresome. Sato is worked over in the heel corner where we pick up. Darkness is absolutely ruthless, choking, eye gouging, and so on. Kanda also gets in on the heel work. A variation of the
Dream Sequence by the heels, although Kanda's Dropkick is weak, so Darkness shows him how it's done. Hell miscommunication leads to Dragon Kid landing the Bermuda Triangle. Darkness and Sato head back in the ring, where Darkness is rolled up several times. Kid comes in, but Kanda nails a SICK Uranage for a nearfall. Kid nails the Springboard Diamond Dust, but takes a Lariat and Enzugiri from Darkness Dragon. STIFF Brainbuster gets two for Darkness. He goes for his weapon, but misses. The blue box makes its debut. Darkness Buster is countered with an Ace Crusher. Ultra Hurricanrana gets an insanely close two count. Dragonrana is blocked by a shot with the blue box, and the match is thrown out due to interference. Again, no rating.

Dragon Kid & Azteca vs. Susumu Mochizuki & Darkness Dragon
JIP AGAIN!! I'm assuming this will be the theme of the rest of the tape. Kid and Darkness are in the ring, and Kid is being worked over like usual. Kid fights out, and takes Darkness over with a Tilt-a-Whirl Headscissors, and nails Mochizuki with the Bermuda Triangle. Ultra Hurricanrana is dodged, and Mochizuki counters a Rana with a Michinoku Driver II. Kid lands the Springboard Diamond Dust, but Darkness takes him down. Diving Kneedrop with the weapon leads to the Darkness Bottom for two, and the Crossface is locked on. Azteca floors Susumu with an Enzugiri, and nails a HUGE Brainbuster for two. Fireball Bomb gets two. German Suplex is blocked, and Kid and Darkness do battle once again, with Kid landing the Springboard Diamond Dust and the Springboard Arabian Press. Darkness misses the Darkness Buster, but lands the D3. Dominator/Diving Knee Drop gets two for the heels. Azteca lands an Ace Crusher, allowing Kid to nail the Hurricanrana for a nearfall. The blue box comes into play, and leads to another DQ finish. Again, no rating.

Dragon Kid vs. Susumu Mochizuki
JIP. We're now in the land of El Numero Uno. Kid fires off the first Deja Vu of the tape, as well as a Flying Hurricanrana, and a Bermuda Triangle. This time, he sees the blue box in time, but still gets hit with it on the ground, leading to a Dominator and a Yokosuka Cutter for the victory. No rating.

Dragon Kid vs. Suwa
JIP as usual. Dragon takes Suwa to the floor with the Tilt-a-Whirl Headscissors, and he nails the Bermuda Triangle. Clip as Suwa launches Kid air-born in the corner, and sticks his leg out, catching Kid in the groin as he comes down. John Woo floors Kid. Suwa is now wearing the skeleton pants and is bald. Flying Lariat gets two for Suwa. Kid mounts a comeback, nailing the Springboard Diamond Dust and the Springboard Arabian Press. Suwa comes back with a DDT and a Flapjack. Mysterio Rana is countered into a Half Crab. FFF is countered. Suwa goes for a Powerbomb, but takes a Rocker Dropper. Ultra Hurricanrana gets two. Avalanche Ace Crusher plants Suwa, but only gets a two count. Dragonrana is dodged, as is the John Woo. Electric Chair Drop connects, as does the FFF, and Suwa wins. No rating.

Dragon Kid vs. Magnum Tokyo vs. CIMA vs. Darkness Dragon vs. Susumu Mochizuki - Golden Net Elimination Cage Match
FINALLY A FULL MATCH!!! Fuck this is going to be hell to follow, much less review. Kid and Darkness battle it out, while CIMA, Tokyo, and Mochizuki go at it. Everyone goes after everyone early on. Kid and Tokyo work together early on as well. Alliances are broken just as quickly as they're formed. Kid nails the Deja Vu, and everyone is now working over Darkness. CIMA and Tokyo go after each other, and CIMA's head is sent into the cage. As I said, this is a bitch to follow, so please bear with me. CIMA and Darkness are doing battle while Kid and Tokyo take on Mochizuki. Nice Corkscrew Elbow by Tokyo. Kid and Mochizuki go at it, and Tokyo and Darkness are again facing off. Dragon Kid goes after CIMA, and locks on a Headscissors, and Mochizuki does the same to Kid before Darkness breaks it up. Tokyo tries to escape, but Darkness' allies keep the door shut. CIMA takes out both Mochizuki and Tokyo briefly. However, he's repaid by Mochizuki quickly. Things break down, with CIMA Superkicking Mochizuki's face into oblivion. Everyone takes a shot at Mochizuki as the timer runs down, and everyone tries to escape. However, they're all pulled back. And now it's Darkness' turn to be worked over by everyone, and Mochizuki tries to escape. Kid and Tokyo climb up, but are stopped by Darkness. Shining Apprentice by Darkness. Double Powerbomb on Kid by Darkness and Mochizuki. Mochizuku holds Kid as Darkness heads to the top rope, but Darkness climbs out instead!! CIMA with the Iconoclasm on Susumu. Mistiming by Kid and Tokyo results in Kid taking a Lariat, and the two exchange punches. CIMA is now favoring his leg. Tokyo with the Erect Smash on Susumu, and Kid nails the Jumping Ace Crusher on Magnum. CIMA then ties Kid's gauntlet to the bottom rope, and he manages to escape in a spectacular fashion. We're down to three. Kid and Tokyo team up again. Gyrating Rana sets up the Dragonrana, but Mochizuki dodges it. Hurricanrana is dodged, and Kid is Powerbombed into the side of the cage. Vaulting Rana is blocked, and Kid escapes after Tokyo plants Mochizuki with an Avalanche Backdrop. Kid tries to help Tokyo, but Mochizuki blocks his escape. Tokyo holds his own against Susumu, landing some aerial offense. He goes for the escape, but it cut off. Tokyo goes for a Springboard Rana, but is knocked into the cage. Tokyo with the Egoist Driver, He tries to escape, and Darkness Dragon prevents it. The blue box sends Tokyo back to the ring. Backflip Giri allow Tokyo to go for the Egoist Driver again, but it's countered, and Mochizuki unloads on Magnum. Susumu then escapes, leaving Tokyo to lose his hair. Fantastic match, action packed, if not a bit hard to follow in places. Still, a great match with a great story told once again. ***1/2

Dragon Kid & Magnum Tokyo vs. Darkness Dragon & Susumu Mochizuki
FULL MATCH AGAIN!! Hell yeah!! This one breaks down right away, as there's plenty of bad blood between these four. Kid and Darkness do battle on the floor, with Kid flying into the bleachers. Kid is singled out back in the ring, and the heels work him over. He makes the tag to Tokyo, who goes right after Darkness. Very fast paced. Kid and Mochizuki do battle as well, with both men scoring with some offensive moves. Deja Vu sends Susumu to the floor. Darkness tries to ambush, but gets caught, and the faces work him over. Darkness isn't faring too well as all, as Kid Snapmares him over into a Dropkick. Mochizuki bails him out, and takes over the match. Kid's now in a bad way, and Darkness rips at his mask. Tokyo intervenes before the mask can be removed, but he pays for it as the heels work over him. LONG Stalling Vertical Suplex by Mochizuki. Darkness locks on a variant of the Nagata Lock II, but Kid won't submit. Kid counters a Superbomb with a Hurricanrana, and lands the Bermuda Triangle on Mochizuki as Tokyo works over Darkness in the ring. Tope by Tokyo. Back inside, Kid lands the Jumping Ace Crusher on Darkness. Darkness comes back with the Shining Apprentice and a STIFF Brainbuster for two. The Christo makes its first appearance on the tape, and Mochizuki makes the save. Tokyo and Mochizuki battle, with Mochizuki planting Tokyo on his head with a Lariat. Kid attempts to help with a Missile Dropkick, but takes out Magnum on accident. Dominator/Diving Knee Drop gets two for the heels. Awesome Double Team Powerbomb gets the same result. Spiral Bomb gets two for Mochizuki. Beautiful Springboard Rana by Tokyo, followed by a Backflip Giri, and a Satellite DDT by Kid. Ultra Hurricanrana gets the win for Dragon Kid and Magnum Tokyo. A good match to finish the tape. Fast paced action, and some hinting as possible problems between Kid and Tokyo.

Overall: It's a tough call. The Suwa series is plenty of fun, but after that, there's a ton of JIP matches, which are hard to digest sometimes. The cage match is excellent, but it's sort of hard to recommend the tape for just that. If you can find this and Volume Two together for a good price, pick it up, as Volume Two is pretty good. Look for a review of that in the near future.


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