Puroresu Central

Rikidozan Memorial Show 2000

Date: March 7th, 2000
Location: Yokohama, Japan
Attendance: 9,000 announced

One of the most random line-ups in the history of puroresu (which says a lot), the second Rikidozan Memorial Show was held in honor of Rikidozan. Rikidozan was the father of puroresu and is still a beloved person in Japan even 40 years after his murder at the hands of the Yakuza. Almost all the promotions in Japan had a hand in the card (with exception of All Japan, who is absent) and this led to a wide variety of match styles and strange pairings that you would only expect to see in WAR. This won't be good, but it might be fun. If you don't know who some of these wrestlers are, don't worry, I will explain as we go along. Here is the full card:

- Magnum Tokyo and Gran Hamada vs. Sumo Fuji and CIMA
- Naoki Sano vs. Yuki Ishikawa
- Kan Tenjun vs. Yuki Kondo
- Kansai, Kuragaki, and Azumi Hyuga vs. Yoshiko Tamura, Yuka Nakamura, and Kyoko Inoue
- Satoru Sayama vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara
- Junji Hirata and Ryuma Go vs. Tadao Yasuda and Osamu Kido
- Naoki Yamazaki and H vs. Ryuji Yamikawa and Tomoaki Honma
- Tarzan Goto vs. Yoji Anjo
- Genichiro Tenryu and BB Jones vs. Shinya Hashimoto and Naoya Ogawa

Before the event, we are shown a video of Hashimoto getting beaten up by Murakami as he is arriving to the show. Hashimoto is busted open in the process.

Magnum Tokyo and Gran Hamada vs. Sumo Fuji and CIMA
CIMA and Fuji attack Tokyo and Hamada as the bell rings and they take the fight outside the ring. Back in the ring, elbow by Fuji on Hamada and he clubs Hamada in the chest. Fuji tags in CIMA, Irish whip by CIMA to the corner and he hits a jumping knee with Fuji following with a lariat. Cover by CIMA but it gets a two count. Snapmare by CIMA and he hits a slingshot senton from the apron. CIMA picks up Hamada, Irish whip, he goes for a back bodydrop but Hamada lands on his feet. Enzigieri by CIMA, Irish whip, reversed, and Hamada hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Both wrestlers tag out, Tokyo and Fuji trade strikes and Tokyo hits a body slam followed by an elbow drop for a two count. Dropkick by Tokyo, cover, but it gets a two count. Snapmare by Tokyo and he kicks Fuji in the back before dropkicking him in the head. Fuji fights back however and makes the tag to CIMA. CIMA picks up Tokyo, double Irish whip and they hit a drop toehold/dropkick combination for at two count cover. Scoop slam by CIMA on Tokyo and he hits a quick leg drop followed by a second one for another two count. CIMA tags in Fuji, scoop slam by Fuji and he hits an elbow drop. Cover by Fuji but it gets a two count. CIMA hangs Tokyo over the top rope and Fuji hits a splash. Fuji then holds Tokyo for CIMA and CIMA clubs Tokyo in the back. Irish whip by Fuji, reversed, CIMA holds Tokyo for Fuji but when Fuji charges in Tokyo moves and Fuji accidentally hits CIMA. Tokyo tags in Hamada but Fuji catches him with a powerslam for a two count. Headbutt by Fuji into the corner, Irish whip, but Hamada kicks him when he charges in and hits a tornado DDT. CIMA runs in but Hamada gives him a backdrop suplex. Hamada puts Fuji onto the top turnbuckle and hits a Frankensteiner, cover, but it gets a two count. Hamada tags in Tokyo, who hits a suplex onto Fuji. Tokyo goes off the ropes but he is tripped from the outside. CIMA comes in and headscissors Tokyo into the corner, Fuji puts him up top turnbuckle and CIMA hits the Venus followed by the Iconoclasm. CIMA then dives out onto Hamada outside the ring with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Irish whip by Fuji, reversed, and Tokyo hits a lariat. Tokyo puts Fuji onto the top turnbuckle and hits the Gyrating Frankensteiner for a two count cover. Lariat and kick combination by Tokyo, he nails the Viagra Driver and picks up the three count! Your winners: Magnum Tokyo and Gran Hamada

Match Thoughts: This was pretty heavily clipped (about a third of it was shown), which probably hurt the match as there was obviously no real structure to it the way it was shown. Really the action was pretty lackluster, which surprised me as I was expecting a bit more. I was looking forward to CIMA/Tokyo interactions but there really weren't any of note and the match seemed to just suddenly end (probably due to clipping) with little build-up. I don't rate matches where under half are shown, but this was disappointing. Score: N/A

Naoki Sano vs. Yuki Ishikawa
They circle each other to start, waistlock by Ishikawa, reversed by Sano but Ishikawa hits a snapmare. They jockey for position on the mat, wristlock by Ishikawa but Sano rolls out of it and reverses the hold. Leg lock by Ishikawa but he releases the hold and both men are back on their feet. Test of strength, waistlock by Ishikawa but Sano reverses it into a leg lock. Indian Deathlock by Ishikawa into a reverse chinlock, but Sano reverses it with a wristlock. Reverse chinlock by Sano but Ishikawa gets a foot on the bottom rope. They trade kicks to the leg, kick by Sano and he hits a vertical suplex. Triangle choke by Sano but Ishikawa gets out of it and applies a sleeper. Sano gets a foot on the ropes however and Ishikawa breaks the hold. Kick to the chest by Ishikawa and he applies a front facelock. Snapmare by Ishikawa and he headbutts Sano in the back of the head. He goes for the cross armbreaker but Sano rolls out of it and applies a stretch hold. Ishikawa reverses it with an armlock, but Sano gets out of it and goes for a cross armbreaker. Headscissors by Ishikawa and he applies a hammerlock, but Sano gets out of it and both men are back on their feet. Side headlock by Ishikawa, Sano Irish whips out of it and hits a savate kick followed by a dropkick. Ishikawa falls out of the ring, Sano gets a running start and sails out onto him with a tope suicida. Sano then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a tope con hilo. Sano gets back in the ring first and Ishikawa slowly follows, Sano grabs Ishikawa when he gets on the apron and goes for a suplex, but Ishikawa lands on his feet and applies an abdominal stretch. Sano gets to the ropes however to break the hold, elbow by Ishikawa but Sano returns fire. DDT by Sano, cover, but it only gets a two count. Sano picks up Ishikawa and delivers a piledriver, cover, but again it gets a two count. Cross armbreaker by Sano but Ishikawa gets a foot on the bottom rope. Sleeper by Sano but Ishikawa reverses it into the cross-face chicken wing. Sano gets to the ropes, Ishikawa picks him up and hits a butterfly suplex. Back up they trade strikes, enzigieri by Ishikawa and he hits a backdrop suplex. Cover, but Sano kicks out at two. Cross armbreaker by Ishikawa but Sano rolls to the ropes to break the hold. Ishikawa picks up Sano and goes for a vertical suplex, but Sano lands on his feet. Sano goes for a Victory Roll but Ishikawa reverses it into a roll-up for a two count. Crab hold by Ishikawa but Sano reverses it into a roll-up and picks up the three count! Your winner: Naoki Sano

Match Thoughts: This was a decent match, but really oddly laid out. They start out with (average) shoot-style mat work, but they immediately transition into big dives and pro-wrestling tactics (for example the Irish whip and delayed piledriver). After that they seem to go back to a more shoot-style feel before ending the match with a sudden roll-up from a crab hold. So I don't know what they were going for here but it seemed as if they were doing many different types of matches all at the same time. The action was fairly crisp but the structure was all over the place and it made the match seem thrown together. Score: 4.5

Kan Tenjun vs. Yuki Kondo
They trade blows to start the match before going to the mat, with Kondo in the top position but with Tenjun with a headlock. Kondo gets out of it however and from the mount position rains down punches while Tenjun tries to cover up. Kondo applies a choke hold and Tenjun taps out! Your winner: Yuki Kondo

Match Thoughts: Not sure why we had a 40 second shoot-style match on a card to honor Rikidozan, but it is what it is. Score: N/A

Kansai, Kuragaki, and Azumi Hyuga vs. Yoshiko Tamura, Yuka Nakamura, and Kyoko Inoue
They brawl to start the match, with Inoue's team getting the better of it. Clip, as Inoue is getting double teamed by Hyuga and Kuragaki. Inoue knocks them both down with a lariat however and then lariats Hyuga again while she is against the ropes. Inoue picks up Hyuga, but Hyuga lands on her feet when Inoue goes for a suplex and delivers a release German suplex of her own. Irish whip by Hyuga but Inoue hits a lariat and tags in Tamura. Tamura picks up Hyuga but Hyuga hits a DDT. Cutter by Tamura, Irish whip to the corner but Hyuga jumps onto the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Hyuga then goes up to the top turnbuckle but Tamura joins her and suplexes her down to the mat. Northern Lights Suplex by Tamura but Kuragaki breaks it up. Tamura goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kansai kicks her from the apron. This gives Hyuga time to recover, she climbs up the turnbuckle as well and drops Tamura on her head with a spider German suplex. Jumping knee to the back of the head by Hyuga, cover, but it gets a two count. Hyuga tags in Kuragaki, Kuragaki goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving headbutt. Kuragaki goes off the ropes several times, kicking Tamura in the head. Inoue grabs Kuragaki from the apron but when Tamura charges in she accidentally hits Inoue. Kansai joins them outside and Kuragaki comes off the top turnbuckle with a plancha. Hyuga then goes up top and she hits a tope con hilo down onto all three of her opponents. Kuragaki rolls Tamura back into the ring, Kuragaki puts Tamura onto her shoulders and Hyuga hits a seated senton from the top turnbuckle. Kansai then goes up top and hits a double stomp, cover, but it gets a two count. Kuragaki picks up Tamura and puts her onto the top turnbuckle, she joins her, but Inoue hits her from behind and puts Kuragaki on her shoulders. Tamura then comes off the top turnbuckle with a missile dropkick, cover, but Kansai breaks it up. Hyuga comes off the top turnbuckle with a missile dropkick onto Tamura, Kuragaki holds Tamura for Kansai but Tamura ducks and Kansai accidentally hits Kuragaki with a lariat. Tamura picks up Kuragaki and delivers a Northern Lights Suplex, but it only gets a two count. Backdrop suplex hold by Tamura, and this time she gets the three count pinfall! Your winners: Yoshiko Tamura, Yuka Nakamura, and Kyoko Inoue

Match Thoughts: This was pretty heavily clipped (from 16 minutes to about five minutes), but it was pretty entertaining. Joshi matches tend to be more fast paced and intense and this match was no different. There were a few little miscommunications here and there but generally the action was solid. The beatdown on Tamura was pretty good and I wish that I could have gotten a chance to see the whole match. Nakamura never even got in the ring in the clipped version and Kansai never wrestled as well. But what they showed was entertaining, which is more then I can say for most of the card so far. Score: N/A

Satoru Sayama vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Sayama is wearing an over-sized gi with a T-shirt underneath, which is just weird looking and will probably distract me throughout. They circle each other to start and Sayama misses a trio of kicks. They jockey for position, Sayama gets Fujiwara in a reverse mount position but Fujiwara rolls him over. Side headlock by Fujiwara on the mat but Sayama gets a foot on the bottom rope. Kick attempt by Sayama, Fujiwara catches his leg but Sayama kicks him with the other one to get out of it. Fujiwara gets Sayama by the arm and applies an armbar, but Sayama quickly gets to the ropes. Sayama finally (kinda) connects with a kick to send Fujiwara to the mat and he pounces on him, but Fujiwara manages to regain the advantage and drives Sayama into the corner. They trade strikes while tied up in the corner until Fujiwara finally gives a break. Sayama backs Fujiwara into the corner but Fujiwara grabs him and takes Sayama to the mat. Sayama reaches the ropes before Fujiwara can get anything locked in and Fujiwara lets Sayama get back to his feet. Fujiwara avoids a high kick and applies a cross knee lock in the middle of the ring, but Sayama manages to roll to the ropes to force a break. Back up, Fujiwara catches another Sayama kick attempt and goes back to the cross kneelock, but again Sayama gets to the ropes. Kicks by Sayama, but again Fujiwara catches one and re-applies the knee lock, and this time Sayama has no choice but to submit! Your winner: Yoshiaki Fujiwara

Match Thoughts: As a disclaimer, my thoughts on this match do not reflect my opinion of these two wrestlers in terms of their normal body of work. This match sucked. It was a bit clipped, so I hope that they clipped all of Sayama's offense as a joke because otherwise this was just a glorified squash. They also made Sayama look like the dumbest man on Earth, as you'd think after the third time that Fujiwara catches your kick that you wouldn't keep trying for the same kick again. Since they opted to go mat-based, none of Sayama's high flying ability was shown, which is fun to watch at his current size (and yes, in 2000 the old fat man could still move). There were really no redeeming traits here as in appearance and wrestling Sayama was made to look like a dope, and the crowd was never into it for they were rooting for Sayama to do something and he never did before submitting. Score: 3.0

Junji Hirata and Ryuma Go vs. Tadao Yasuda and Osamu Kido
Kido and Hirata start things off. Tie-up, Hirata gets Kido into the ropes but he gives a clean break. Wristlock by Kido and he gets Hirata to the mat, Hirata struggles back to his feet but Kido gets him back down. They trade wristlocks but Kido kicks Hirata off and both men are back on their feet. Tie-up, drop toehold by Kido and he applies a crossface hold. Armdrag by Hirata and he applies a side headlock, Kido Irish whips out of it but Hirata shoulderblocks him down. Kido pushes Hirata back into the corner and he makes the tag to Yasuda. Kicks by Yasuda and he throws Hirata in the corner so he can tag in Ryuma Go. Clubs to the back by Yasuda and he hits a scoop slam. Ryuma Go fires back with punches and goes off the ropes, but the lariat has no effect. The second one doesn't work either but the third finally gets Yasuda off his feet. Hirata then runs in and hits a senton, they pick up Yasuda and hit a double vertical suplex. Yasuda tags in Kido, Irish whip by Kido onto Ryuma Go and he delivers a chop. Snapmare by Kido and he stomps Ryuma Go in the back. Kido stomps Ryuma Go in the face and Ryuma Go rolls out of the ring to recover. Ryuma Go slowly gets back in the ring, takedown by Kido and he makes the tag to Yasuda. They make a wish with Ryuma Go's legs, Yasuda goes for a crab hold but Ryuma Go tags in Hirata. Hirata throws Yasuda into the corner, Irish whip, and Hirata hits a lariat followed by another one in the opposite corner. Hirata goes off the ropes but Yasuda catches him with a lariat and tags in Kido. Kido picks up Hirata and kicks him three times in the chest. Leg lock by Kido, he picks up Hirata and kicks him again before hitting a swinging neckbreaker. Fujiwara Armbar by Kido but Ryuma Go breaks it up. Kido tags in Yasuda and he hits a dropkick in the corner. Butterfly suplex by Yasuda, cover, but it gets a two count. Yasuda picks up Hirata, Irish whip to the corner by Yasuda but Hirata avoids the charge and hits a release German suplex. Cover, but Kido breaks it up. Ryuma Go runs in and takes Kido to the outside of the ring, while in the ring Hirata ducks a Yasuda lariat and applies the small package for the three count pinfall! Your winners: Junji Hirata and Ryuma Go

Match Thoughts: This wasn't offensively bad, it was just kinda... there. There was no real excitement or memorable moments (maybe the German suplex to Yasuda) and it just ended with little build-up. The action in general was sluggish and there was no real structure to what was going on. They kept it simple, which considering some of the wrestlers that was probably a good idea. Not unwatchable, but certainly nothing special. Score: 4.0

Naoki Yamazaki and H vs. Ryuji Yamikawa and Tomoaki Honma
Honma and H start things off. Kicks to the stomach by Honma and they trade strikes, Honma goes off the ropes and hits a jumping elbow, but H avoids the second and hits a pair of armdrags. Wristlock by H and he tags in Yamazaki. Arm wringer by Yamazaki and he applies a hammerlock on the mat. Back up, elbows by Honma and he kicks Yamazaki in the head. Honma goes off the ropes and pushes Yamazaki to the mat before tagging in Yamikawa. Scoop slam by Yamikawa and he hits a quick leg drop. Two more leg drops by Yamikawa and he applies a reverse chinlock. Yamazaki struggles to his feet and Irish whips out of it, but Yamikawa shoulderblocks him down. Yamikawa goes off the ropes but Yamazaki hits an armdrag. Scoop slam by Yamazaki and he tag in H. H comes in the ring with a springboard kick to the head and he hits a half-hatch suplex. Armbar by H but Yamikawa gets a foot on the bottom rope. H picks up Yamikawa, slams him to the mat and applies an armlock. H tags in Yamazaki, wristlock by Yamazaki and he goes for the cross armbreaker, but Yamikawa reverses it. Yamikawa goes for the bow and arrow but Yamazaki quickly gets to the ropes. Headbutts by Yamazaki and a jumping one finally gets Yamikawa to his knees. Back up they trade slaps, front facelock by Yamikawa and he hits a vertical suplex. Yamikawa makes the tag to Honma, Honma knocks H off the apron, throws Yamazaki into the corner, Irish whip, and he hits a jumping forearm. Cover, but it gets a two count. Backdrop suplex by Honma, another cover, but again it gets two. Scoop slam by Honma, he goes off the ropes and hits a forearm drop onto Yamazaki.

Honma hits a delayed vertical suplex, cover, but again he only gets two. Honma tags in Yamikawa, who comes in the ring with a top rope heel kick for a two count cover. Yamikawa picks up Yamazaki, Irish whip, but Yamazaki ducks the lariat and hits a jumping lariat of his own. A second one by Yamazaki and he makes the tag to H. H hits a diving elbow off the top turnbuckle, Irish whip to Yamikawa and he kicks him in the stomach before hitting a knee lift. H goes for a quebrada off the side ropes but Yamikawa rolls out of the way. Yamikawa charges H but H kicks him back, he goes off the ropes but Honma catches him from the apron with a kick. This allows Yamikawa to hit a lariat and he makes the tag to Honma. Honma picks up H and hits a delayed vertical suplex, cover, but he gets a two count. Back up, Honma goes for a powerbomb but H reverses it with a hurricanrana into the corner. Honma fires back with a lariat however, cover, but it gets a two count. Honma goes off the ropes but H hits another hurricanrana, this one sending Honma out of the ring. Yamazaki runs into the ring, goes over to the ropes and hits a pescado down onto Honma. H then goes out to the apron but from in the ring Yamikawa knocks him to the outside. Honma gets in the ring with Yamikawa and both men sail out onto H and Yamazaki with tope con hilos. Honma tries to throw H back in the ring but H hits a pair of high kicks. H then gets on the apron and hits both Yamikawa and Honma with an Asai Moonsault. H slides Honma back into the ring and hits a springboard legdrop for a two count cover. H picks up Honma and hits the Fisherman Buster, cover, but again it gets two. Sloppy Tiger Driver by H and he tags in Yamazaki, who quickly hits a dropkick on Honma. Yamikawa comes in but Yamazaki punches him down in the corner, Yamazaki puts Honma in a different corner, Irish whip, reversed, but Yamazaki hits a moonsault out of the corner for a two count.

Yamazaki picks up Honma and hits a snap suplex followed by two more snap suplexes. Cover, but Honma kicks out. Yamazaki tags in H, mid-kicks by H but Honma catches one and hits an enzigieri. Honma tags in Yamikawa, Yamikawa ducks an H kick and hits a release German suplex. Yamikawa picks up H, double Irish whip from the corner and Honma hits an elbow followed by a Yamikawa lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Yamikawa picks up H and hits a sit-down powerbomb, but H kicks out at two. Lariat by Yamikawa, he holds H for Honma but H kicks Honma back and hits an overhead kick onto Yamikawa. Yamazaki kicks Honma out of the ring while H hits the Falcon Arrow onto Yamikawa for a two count cover. H picks up Yamikawa and hits a Tiger Driver, but the cover is broken up by Honma. Yamazaki dropkicks Honma out of the ring while H slams Yamikawa in front of the corner and hits a Firebird Splash. Cover, but Yamikawa barely kicks out. H tags in Yamazaki, who comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving headbutt. Cover, but again it gets a two count. Yamazaki picks up Yamikawa and hits a German suplex, but he still can't get the three count. Yamikawa goes up top once again but Honma comes in the ring to help Yamikawa hit an assisted superplex. Cover, but H breaks it up. Honma throws H out of the ring and hits a missile dropkick from the top turnbuckle to the floor. Meanwhile in the ring Yamikawa hits Yamazaki with a stiff lariat. Reverse Tiger Driver by Yamikawa, cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winners: Ryuji Yamikawa and Tomoaki Honma

Match Thoughts: Big Japan vs. FMW. H is, of course, Hayabusa sans mask. This was a fun match and without much doubt the best match on the card. It does seem odd that the best match came from "garbage" wrestlers, but they put on a good show. The match had its problems as there were a few miscommunications, some pointless limb work and little structure, but compared to the other matches on the card it appeared to be better then it actually was. Yamazaki seemed to go down a little too easy after all the punishment that Yamikawa, but Yamikawa was ranked higher at the time so it didn't come across too badly. Overall it was far from perfect but was still a pretty entertaining match. Score: 6.0

Tarzan Goto vs. Yoji Anjo
Headbutts by Goto to start the match and he throws Anjo out of the ring. Goto jumps out as well but Anjo quickly jumps back in. Anjo goes off the ropes and goes for a baseball slide, but Goto moves and pulls Anjo out of the ring. Goto throws Anjo into the front row of chairs before getting back into the ring. Anjo eventually gets back in the ring, Goto pushes him against the ropes, Irish whip, and he hits a powerslam for a two count. Goto goes for a lariat but Anjo reverses it with a drop toehold. Anjo knees Goto while he is against the ropes, but Goto gets back to his feet and hits a headbutt. Another headbutt by Goto but Anjo breaks free of him. Anjo goes for a scoop slam, Goto blocks it, but Anjo takes him down and punches him in the belly before letting him up. Tie-up and Goto hits a headbutt, wristlock by Anjo but Goto reverses it and applies an armbar on the mat. Elbows by Anjo and he applies a wristlock but Goto headbutts out of it. Anjo goes for a drop toehold but Goto holds onto the ropes and falls onto Anjo, applying a sleeper. Anjo gets out of it and drives a knee into Goto's face, but Goto fires back and they trade blows. Goto gets Anjo into the corner and grabs a chair before hitting Anjo in the head with it. The referee fusses at Goto before going out to check on Anjo (who fell out of the ring), but Anjo appears to be ok so the match continues. Anjo gets back in the ring after Goto drops the chair, Anjo dives for it but Goto grabs it and hits Anjo with it again. Anjo bails to ringside but the chair is finally gone so Anjo gets back in. Back kicks by Anjo, he goes off the ropes and hits a Yakuza Kick. Irish whip by Anjo to the corner and he hits an elbow, but Goto grabs him and hits a chokeslam. Goto picks up Anjo and hits a stiff brainbuster, cover, but Anjo barely gets a shoulder up. Goto picks up Anjo again and hits a landing piledriver, cover, but again it gets a two count. Irish whip by Goto and he hits a lariat, cover, but Anjo kicks out. Back up, Goto punches Anjo against the ropes but he blocks the Irish whip, finally Goto gets him going but Anjo slides out of the ring. As Anjo gets back on the apron Goto grabs him and goes for a vertical suplex, but Anjo lands on his feet and connects with a series of kicks. Knee drops by Anjo and he hits a snapmare before applying a headscissors. After a moment Anjo picks up Goto and hits a backdrop suplex before applying a cross knee lock. Back up, Irish whip by Anjo from the corner but Goto fires out of the corner with a lariat. Goto (who is bleeding for whatever reason) gets a chain and hits Anjo in the head with it. Another chain shot by Goto and he wraps it around his neck to choke him. Punches by Goto while he is choking Anjo, he gets a fork out of his boot and stabs Anjo repeatedly in the head with it. By now Anjo is bleeding and the referee has finally seen enough, disqualifying Goto after Goto pushes him to the mat twice. Your winner by DQ: Yoji Anjo

Match Thoughts: This might sound crazy, but if this match was cut by five minutes I would have enjoyed it. True, Goto is useless at this point in his career (well, more useless then he was in the past) and Anjo is average at best in terms of in-ring skill, but really they were the perfect two for this type of match. No one in wrestling gives the cocky asshole vibe better then Anjo, he just has great facial expressions that make you want to punch him in the face. Goto on the other hand does a good angry reaction and enjoys using his toys to extract pain. His offense is boring and he is slow as hell, but he is effective. So if it was a five minute Anjo pisses off Goto/Goto destroys him I would have liked it, but some of the middle really dragged with meaningless submission holds and stalling. Its actually watchable mostly thanks to Anjo's smug facial expressions, but it was a little too slow to be good. Score: 5.0

Genichiro Tenryu and BB Jones vs. Shinya Hashimoto and Naoya Ogawa
Hashimoto's head is wrapped up and still bleeding from the attack before the show started. Jones attacks Hashimoto before the bell rings, knocking him out of the ring. Jones beats on Hashimoto outside the ring while Ogawa and Tenryu start things off inside of it. Ogawa and Tenryu trade strike attempts, front facelock by Ogawa and he takes Tenryu to the mat. Keylock by Ogawa and he backs off after kicking Tenryu in the side. Tenryu gets back to his feet, and Ogawa pulls an Inoki as he gets on his back and dares Tenryu to come at him. Tenryu backs off however and Ogawa gets up, Ogawa gets Tenryu to his knees and slaps him in the back of the head. Ogawa begins acting cocky but Tenryu catches him with a jab to the face. More strikes by Tenryu send Ogawa reeling but Ogawa doesn't go down as he escapes the brunt of the attack. Leg hook backdrop suplex by Ogawa but Tenryu slowly gets back to his feet. Sumo strikes by Tenryu back into the corner and he chops Ogawa to the mat before hitting an enzigieri. Kicks to the face by Tenryu but Ogawa stumbles back to his feet. Modified STO by Ogawa and he tells Hashimoto to get in the ring, but Hashimoto promptly beats the crap out of Ogawa, knocking him out of the ring. Hashimoto and Tenryu get into a chop battle, with Tenryu getting the better of it. More chops by Tenryu and Hashimoto finally goes to the mat. More chops and punches by Tenryu but Hashimoto fires back with a mid-kick. Both wrestlers are slow to get up, Hashimoto picks up Tenryu but Tenryu hits an enzigieri to his arm and hits a series of kicks before tagging in Jones. Jones picks up Hashimoto and clubs him in his injured arm. Armbreaker by Jones and he hits a second one. Jones picks up Hashimoto and hits a hammerlock scoop slam, he goes off the ropes and hits an elbow drop to the arm. Jones goes off the ropes again and hits a delayed jumping elbow drop (which the crowd laughs at), cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winners: Genichiro Tenryu and BB Jones

Match Thoughts: BB Jones might be better known to some of you as Ron Reis, who also played the part of The Yeti in WCW. What a way to end the show... gotta love Hashimoto getting pinned by a debuting wrestler with an elbow drop. Yes I know that Hashimoto was already busted open and he hated his partner, but Reis could have given him a powerbomb or something. Reis was a bust in Japan as far as I know and for the main event of a "big" show it was a big letdown. I have no idea why Hashimoto and Ogawa were teaming since they were enemies, but they never got along in the match. There really wasn't much here to get excited about, the crowd laughed at it and that is exactly what the match deserved. Score: 3.0

Final Thoughts:

What a show. I don't really know what to say... there was really nothing positive about it unless you enjoy watching below average matches with random wrestlers in them. I am not a wrestling elitist by any means but this card was a disgrace to the memory of Rikidozan, which is probably why this was the last Rikidozan Memorial. The main event had three major players that could have put on a great match, but instead they use it to get over a wrestler thats biggest claim to fame was humping Hulk Hogan. The only good match was the Big Japan vs. FMW match, but they have had much better matches in their respective promotions so there is no reason to get the event just for that match. So I can't recommend this was a clear conscience, but if you collect weird puroresu shows then this would be the perfect event for your collection.

event reviewed on 9/2/07