This disk features a lot of awesome stuff. First, we get a lot of (clipped) matches from the first ever Top of the Super Jr. Tournament. We also get the second matchup between Antonio Inoki vs. Vader. For many years people mistakenly thought this was Vader's debut, which actually had taken place in December of 1987. We also get a good dose of gaijins as Buzz Sawyer, Owen Hart, and Steve Williams join them on the tour. Here is the full lineup:

January 4th at Korakuen Hall:
- Antonio Inoki vs. Big Van Vader
- 1988 Top of the Super Jr. League: Shiro Koshinaka vs. Tatsutoshi Goto
- 1988 Top of the Super Jr. League: Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Nobuhiko Takada
- 1988 Top of the Super Jr. League: Hiroshi Hase vs. Owen Hart
- Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Masa Saito

January 5th at Korakuen Hall:
- Hiroshi Hase and Riki Choshu vs. Shiro Koshinaka and Antonio Inoki

January 11th at Kumatani City Gymnasium:
- 1988 Top of the Super Jr. League: Keiichi Yamada vs. Masakatsu Funaki
- 1988 Top of the Super Jr. League: Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Shiro Koshinaka
- Big Van Vader and Masa Saito vs. Kengo Kimura and Tatsumi Fujinami
- Buzz Sawyer vs. Riki Choshu
- Nobuhiko Takada and Antonio Inoki vs. Owen Hart and Steve Williams

As I have mentioned, since this is a two hour event obviously some of these matches will be clipped, and some severely. I will make note if their was a lot cut from the match.

January 4th at Korakuen Hall:

Antonio Inoki vs. Big Van Vader
Inoki throws his red towel at Vader as the bell rings, but Vader catches it and throws it out of the ring. They circle each other, Vader backs Inoki into the corner but Inoki gets back to the middle of the ring. Wristlock by Vader and he gets Inoki to the mat, Inoki slowly gets back to his feet, Irish whip by Vader and he delivers the Vader Attack. Inoki rolls out of the ring but returns after a moment, tie-up, full nelson by Inoki but Vader muscles out of it. Punches by Inoki but Vader absorbs the blows. Punches to the stomach by Vader but Inoki hits a drop toehold and he hops onto Vader, but Vader gets back to his feet and pushes Inoki off of him. Tie-up, and Vader hits a headbutt as he knocks Inoki into the corner. Vader throws Inoki into the opposite corner and delivers a Vader Attack. Clubbing blows by Vader but Inoki grabs his arm and applies an armbar, but Vader makes it to the ropes. Wristlock by Vader, but Inoki reverses it and applies the armbar again, this time on the mat. Vader slowly wiggles to the ropes and forces the break, and both wrestlers return to their feet. Headbutts by Vader and he clubs Inoki in the head. Military Press by Vader and he hangs Inoki in the Tree of Woe. Vader then back off and hits a shoulder tackle to the upside down Inoki. He goes for a second one but Inoki frees himself and Vader goes shoulder-first into the turnbuckles. Enziguiri by Inoki and he delivers a second one, knocking Vader out of the ring. Vader returns, kick to the leg by Inoki and he applies the Octopus Hold! Vader muscles out of it however and hiptosses out of the move. Punches by Vader and he hits a scoop slam, but when he does so he accidentally knocks out the referee with Inoki's legs. Vader picks up Inoki and hits a body slam, he picks him up again and delivers the falling body slam, cover, but the referee is still out. Vader gets up looking pissed, he picks up Inoki again and puts him in the Tree of Woe. Kicks by Vader and he chokes Inoki in the corner, but Choshu comes in the ring and floors Vader with a lariat. Masa Saito chases off Choshu as Vader gets back up and Inoki rolls out of the ring. Saito assures Vader that he is his friend as the bell rings, the match ending due to general carnage.

Vader goes out and grabs Inoki, throwing him back into the ring. Irish whip by Vader and he hits another Vader Attack. The New Japan wrestlers get Vader back as they tend to their fallen leader, but Vader runs in and kicks him again. Vader starts choking Inoki while everyone tries to pull him off, and finally Vader leaves the ring. Inoki has recovered however and charges after Vader, leading to a quick scuffle in the aisle until Inoki is pulled back and he leaves via a different aisle.

Match Thoughts: I love Vader. The crowd still wasn't completely buying him, which is understandable as Inoki was Inoki and Vader was completely unknown. Watching someone beat around Inoki was hard to believe, fans today don't realize just how invincible Inoki was, he very rarely dropped a pinfall in the 1980s. Here Vader had him beat if it wasn't for the referee being knocked out, and Vader had beaten Inoki the month before even though Inoki had just wrestled a match. This match continued the storyline of Vader being better then Inoki, but I really liked Choshu running in and knocking down Vader with a lariat, which opened up a new rivalry possibility and showed the monster wasn't completely immune to offensive strikes. Solid match with a necessary inconclusive ending, you couldn't have Inoki lose again nor could Vader lose his second match after beating Inoki in his first. Score: 6.0

Shiro Koshinaka vs. Tatsutoshi Goto
This match is part of the Top of the Super Jr. League. JIP, as Goto sends Koshinaka on an Irish whip and delivers a jumping lariat. Clipped, as Goto delivers a diving body press but he only gets a two count. Irish whip by Goto, but Koshinaka ducks the lariat and hits the Dragon Suplex Hold for a three count. Your winner: Shiro Koshinaka

Match Thoughts: Obviously clipped, only a few big moves were shown. I guess this is better then showing nothing at all though, as at least we got to see the finish. Score: N/A

Nobuhiko Takada vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi
This match is part of the Top of the Super Jr. League. JIP, as Kobayashi picks up Takada and hits a fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Takada is up first and kicks Kobayashi in the back before delivering a heel kick for a two count. Kobayashi goes for a quick small package, but Takada reverses it into a pin attempt of his own and picks up the three count. Your winner: Nobuhiko Takada

Match Thoughts: Clearly, clipped, and only showing the fans how the results were reached. Score: N/A

Hiroshi Hase vs. Owen Hart
This match is part of the Top of the Super Jr. League. JIP as they jockey for position on the mat, but Hart pushes Hase into the ropes. Back in the middle of the ring, Hart pushes down Hase and applies a leg lock, but Hase reverses positions with him and applies a side headlock. Back up, Irish whip by Hart but Hase shoulderblocks him down. Scoop slam by Hase, he goes up to the second turnbuckle and delivers an elbow drop for a two count cover. Hart returns to his feet, waistlock by Hart and he drops Hase to the mat. Crucifix hold by Hart but Hase gets out of it and they are back up. Hart goes for a single leg takedown but Hase hits a leg sweep and applies a leg lock. Mounted punches by Hase and they roll into the ropes, so the referee forces a break. Hart punches and chops Hase into the corner but Hase returns fire. Double leg takedown by Hase but Hart lands in the ropes. Elbows to the back of the head by Hart but Hase catches a kick and punches Hart to the mat. Hase goes for the cross armbreaker but Hart stomps his way out of it. Stomp to the chest by Hart, he picks up Hase, scoop slam, he goes up to the second turnbuckle but Hase has recovered and dropkicks Hart as Hart is going for a missile dropkick. Hart is up first, he picks up Hase and delivers a vertical suplex. Knee drop by Hart and Hase rolls out of the ring. Hase returns after a moment, tie-up, hammerlock by Hase, reversed by Hart but Hase delivers a quick kick. Hart quickly gets to his feet with a kip-up, they trade waistlocks and Hase hits the School Boy for a two count. Reverse chinlock by Hase into the sleeper hold, Hart returns to his feet but Hase slams him back to the mat for a two count cover. Hase applies a keylock to Hart but Hart reverses it with a headscissors. Hase gets out of the headscissors with a kip-up, and they trade slaps. Hart gets the better of it at first with some uppercuts, but Hase delivers a belly to belly suplex. Dropkick by Hart, he picks up Hase, Irish whip, and Hart knees Hase in the stomach. Hart picks up Hase and hits a gutbuster, cover, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Hart, he goes for another knee but Hase rolls him up for a two count. Knee to the back by Hart, he picks up Hase and hits an uppercut. Hart chops Hase into the corner, Irish whip, but Hase hits a back kick as Hart charges in. Irish whip by Hase, Hart ducks the heel kick and both wrestlers hit a lariat on each other. Backdrop suplex by Hase, he goes for a second one but Hart reverses it with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch Hold for a two count. Waistlock by Hase but Hart shakes him off, Hase goes off the ropes but Hart hits an overhead belly to belly suplex for a two count. Hart picks up Hase and delivers a backbreaker, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hase is up and dropkicks him off the top turnbuckle to the apron. Hase pulls Hart back into the ring and gets him on his shoulder, but Hart gets out of it. Backslide by Hase, but Hart kicks out at two. Waistlock by Hase, but Hart reverses it and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Irish whip by Hart, reversed, and Hase connects with a tilt-a-whirl slam. Hase goes off the ropes and nails a lariat, he picks up Hart and delivers the Northern Lights Suplex for the three count! Your winner: Hiroshi Hase

Match Thoughts: A very good match between these two, they seemed to have been on the same page and matched up nicely. Its hard to believe that they were so good so young, at this point both Hart and Hase had been wrestling for less then two years. The fact that Hase was the Jr. Heavyweight Champion just shows how good he was, as normally New Japan waits a lot longer before giving their new stars a major championship. Anyway, the match was very heated and they did a great job of keeping things interesting as there never seemed to be any slow points. My only knock on the match was that the selling was beyond atrocious, but they were going for a Jr. Heavyweight Sprint which means very little downtime, which means very little selling. The worst was probably after Hase hit the second turnbuckle elbow drop and Hart actually returned to his feet before Hase did. But besides the poor selling being a bit of a distraction, it was a good sprint with solid tit-for-tat mat wrestling. Score: 7.0

Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Masa Saito
Tie-up to start, armdrag by Fujinami and he applies a wristlock. Saito gets out of it with an armdrag of his own however, tie-up, waistlock by Fujinami but Saito applies an armbar. Fujinami gets out of it, hiptoss by Fujinami and he goes back to the arm. Fujinami pushes Saito into the ropes but he gives a clean break. They jockey for position on the mat, Saito goes for the arm but Fujinami quickly gets out of it. Fujinami goes for the leg but Saito elbows him in the head to get Fujinami to let go. Back up, headbutts by Saito, scoop slam, he picks up Fujinami and goes for a suplex but Fujinami blocks it. Saito pushes Fujinami back into the ropes and punches him, but Fujinami punches Saito back. Kicks to the stomach by Saito but Fujinami catches one and hits a dragon screw leg whip. Fujinami goes for a crab hold but Saito is too close to the ropes and forces a break. Side headlock by Saito and he punches Fujinami in the face before throwing him out of the ring. Saito throws Fujinami into the ring post and then slams him into the guard rail. Again into the guard rail goes Fujinami, and Saito returns to the ring. Fujinami slowly follows but Saito catches him as Fujinami gets on the apron and clubs him in the chest. Saito then slams Fujinami into the ring post repeatedly, causing Fujinami to roll back out of the ring. Saito loosens the turnbuckle in the corner as Fujinami gets back on the apron, but Saito grabs him and pulls him into the ring. Saito rams Fujinami into the exposed steel in the corner and delivers a headbutt. Headbutt by Saito and he throws Fujinami back into the corner. Fujinami fights him off with a few chops, but Saito rakes him in the eyes. Vertical suplex by Saito, cover, but it gets a two count. Saito picks up Fujinami and tries to throw him into the corner, but Fujinami blocks it. Irish whip by Fujinami and he delivers a dropkick followed by a vertical suplex for a two count. Fujinami pushes Saito into the corner, Irish whip, but Saito nails a lariat. Saito picks up Fujinami and hits a backdrop suplex, and he applies the Prison Lock. Fujinami slowly scoots himself to the ropes and he manages to break the hold. Saito pulls him out and rams Fujinami's knee into the mat, he tries to re-apply the hold but Fujinami punches his way out of it. Saito goes for a vertical suplex but Fujinami lands on top of him. Fujinami manages to hold down Saito's shoulders long enough to pick up the three count! Your winner: Tatsumi Fujinami

Match Thoughts: A little short but not bad, it wasn't the main event so even though they were two of the promotion's big stars it wasn't expected to steal the show. I liked the dynamic of Fujinami just trying to survive Saito, as Saito dominated the match but couldn't put Fujinami away. The sudden ending worked well, as Saito wasn't acting hurt, he just got caught. Him getting up quickly and hitting Fujinami after the match showed he was still in good condition, as he should have been considering Fujinami got in limited offense. Not spectacular but perfectly acceptable for what they were going for. Score: 5.5

January 5th at Korakuen Hall:

Hiroshi Hase and Riki Choshu vs. Shiro Koshinaka and Antonio Inoki
JIP, as Hase and Koshinaka trade chops. Clip, as Inoki throws Hase out of the ring and rams him into the ring post. This makes Hase really bloody, as we get a clip and they are back in the ring. Inoki punches Hase repeatedly in the head, then we get another clip as Hase is out of the ring. Hase throws a chair at Inoki, but when Hase gets on the apron Inoki rams him into the ring post. Choshu comes up from behind and hits a lariat onto Inoki, but then the tape ends.

Match Thoughts: The end result might have been a No Contest due to general carnage, but it wasn't shown. Nice seeing a bloody Hase, but obviously it was very severely clipped. Score: N/A

January 11th at Kumatani City Gymnasium:

Keiichi Yamada vs. Masakatsu Funaki
This match is part of the Top of the Super Jr. League. JIP as Yamada ducks an Funaki spin kick, Irish whip by Funaki but Yamada avoids the dropkick and both wrestlers try to dropkick each other. Clip, as Funaki goes for a tombstone piledriver but Yamada reverses it and delivers a tombstone piledriver of his own. Yamada goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the Shooting Star Press, cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winner: Keiichi Yamada

Match Thoughts: Yamada is, of course, Jushin Thunder Liger before he donned the mask. An early Shooting Star Press sighting! That is about all of note since only 20 seconds of the match was shown. Score: N/A

Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Shiro Koshinaka
This match is part of the Top of the Super Jr. League. JIP, as Koshinaka hits a backbreaker. Crab hold by Koshinaka, clip, and Yamazaki is kicking Koshinaka repeatedly. Another clip as Koshinaka delivers a dropkick, scoop slam, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Yamazaki moves out of the way of the diving knee drop. Yamazaki charges Koshinaka but Koshinaka sneaks in the inside cradle for a three count! Your winner: Shiro Koshinaka

Match Thoughts: Again, they are just showing 30 seconds or less of most of these Super Jr. League matches as these are just league matches. Once we get near the end they will show more. Score: N/A

Big Van Vader and Masa Saito vs. Kengo Kimura and Tatsumi Fujinami
Saito and Fujinami start things off. Tie-up, Saito pushes Fujinami back into the corner but Fujinami escapes. Again Fujinami gets away when Saito tries to push him back into his corner, side headlock takedown by Fujinami, reversed into a headscissors by Saito but Fujinami gets out of it. Tie-up, takedown by Saito and he grabs Fujinami's leg, but Fujinami makes it to the ropes and Saito lets go. Back up, tie-up, waistlock by Fujinami but Saito goes for an arm submission. Fujinami easily gets out of it but Saito sends Fujinami back to the mat and applies a cobra clutch. Fujinami struggles to his feet, hammerlock by Saito, reversed by Fujinami but Saito reverses it back. Single leg takedown by Fujinami but Saito makes the tag to Vader. Fujinami and Vader circle each other, Fujinami goes off the ropes but he can't knock Vader down. Fujinami goes off the ropes again but Vader floors him with a Vader Attack. Fujinami gets back up, tie-up, but Vader pushes Fujinami back. Tie-up again, but Vader shoves Fujinami to the mat. Fujinami gets back up, tie-up, Vader pushes Fujinami into the ropes and clubs him in the chest. Irish whip by Vader and he levels Fujinami with a lariat. Vader picks up Fujinami, Irish whip from the corner but Fujinami avoids him when he charges in. Enziguiri by Fujinami and Vader falls out of the ring. Vader grabs a table from ringside and tosses it around in anger before returning to the ring. Fujinami has tagged in Kimura who greets Vader with punches, but Vader knocks him down with one hard punch. Irish whip by Vader and he just nails a Vader Attack. Kimura rolls out to the apron but Vader grabs him by the side of the head and brings him back into the ring. Front facelock by Vader and he applies a standing armbar before tagging in Saito. Scoop slam by Saito, he picks up Kimura and hits a second scoop slam. Scorpion Deathlock by Saito but Kimura makes it to the ropes. Back up, kick to the stomach by Saito and he hits the backdrop suplex. Saito applies the Prison Lock but Kimura manages to tag in Fujinami. Kicks by Fujinami to Saito, Irish whip, and he delivers a dropkick. Fujinami picks up Saito and hits a vertical suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Side headlock by Fujinami but Saito hits a side Russian leg sweep. Saito picks up Fujinami and makes the tag to Vader. Vader and Fujinami circle each other, tie-up, and Vader clubs Fujinami in the chest. Fujinami returns fire with blows of his own but Vader rakes him in the eyes. Fujinami tags in Kimura, wristlock by Vader to Kimura and he picks up Kimura in a press slam before dropping him to the mat. Elbow drop by Vader, he picks up Kimura and Kimura goes for a body slam, but instead he hits a drop toehold. Vader makes it to the ropes, but Kimura pulls him back and tags in Fujinami. Kicks to the leg by Fujinami and he goes for the Scorpion Deathlock but Vader gets in the ropes. Vader pushes Fujinami back to his corner and clubs him in the chest before tagging in Saito. Irish whip by Saito and he hits a back bodydrop. Fujinami kicks Saito back however, Irish whip from the corner but Saito fires back with a lariat. Irish whip by Saito, Fujinami goes for a sunset flip but Saito punches him in the face. Fujinami trips up Saito however and applies the figure four leg lock, but Vader breaks it up. Fujinami tags in Kimura, dropkick by Kimura to Saito and he hits the Inazuma Leg Lariat. Saito falls near his corner and tags in Vader, Irish whip by Vader to Kimura and he levels Kimura with a Vader Attack. Irish whip by Vader to the corner and he splashes Kimura. Vader picks up Kimura and delivers the running power slam, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Big Van Vader and Masa Saito

Match Thoughts: Vader Crush! Watching Vader is so much fun, if this keeps up I am going to love 1988 New Japan. Vader is wearing a different outfit then he wore before, making it the third different attire he has had in his three New Japan appearances. This was mostly about showing off Vader, and he did a great job hitting his moves convincingly and looking like a monster. While sometimes promotions bring in big wrestlers to be the monster but their skills slow them down, Vader has shown that he is fairly quick for a big man and still strong enough to do all the power moves to decimate the fan favorites. I found it very entertaining as I enjoy Vader in his prime more then any other wrestler, and while he was better later in his career, here is still healthy and able to impress the crowd with his presence and killer moves. Score: 6.5

Buzz Sawyer vs. Riki Choshu
Sawyer tackles Choshu to start the match, but Choshu gets away and Sawyer gets into the ropes. He returns to his feet, tie-up, hammerlock by Choshu, Sawyer hits a drop toehold and applies a waistlock but Choshu reverses it. Sawyer gets out of it and applies an armbar, but Choshu reverses it with a headscissors. Sawyer gets out of that however and both wrestlers are back on their feet. Tie-up, Irish whip by Sawyer, leapfrog by Sawyer and he kicks Choshu in the stomach. Sawyer picks up Choshu but Choshu applies a quick inside cradle for a two count. Sawyer rolls out of the ring to re-group but returns after a moment, tie-up, side headlock by Choshu and he takes Sawyer to the mat. Sawyer slowly gets to his feet and hits a backdrop suplex to get out of the hold, cover, but it gets two. Sawyer picks up Choshu but Choshu delivers a vertical suplex. Irish whip by Choshu and both wrestlers collide, sending them both to the mat. Choshu is up first, he picks up Sawyer, snapmare, and he applies a headscissors. Sawyer bites Choshu's leg to get out of the hold, and he throws Choshu out of the ring. Sawyer joins him, he picks up Choshu and drops him onto the guard rail before throwing him into the floor. Sawyer returns to the ring with Choshu slowly following, side headlock by Sawyer, Choshu Irish whips out of it and shoulderblocks Sawyer to the mat. Choshu goes off the ropes but Sawyer catches him with a powerslam for a two count cover. Choshu rolls out of the ring but Sawyer goes out with him, and Sawyer throws Choshu into the guard rail. Sawyer gets back into the ring and Choshu gets up on the apron, but Sawyer grabs him and hits a vertical suplex back into the ring. Cover, but it gets two. Sawyer picks up Choshu but Choshu delivers a backdrop suplex. Choshu goes off the ropes and levels Sawyer with a lariat, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Riki Choshu

Match Thoughts: Oddly enough I haven't seen much of Sawyer. What strikes me here is Sawyer having such solid mat work. Wrestlers from the 1980s were all trained on the mat first and generally all are capable of looking smart on the mat, even wrestlers like Hogan that didn't use it too much. The crowd was into Sawyer's antics, which I think says a lot for him, as he has a very unorthodox style. Sawyer actually dominated the match but the outcome was never in doubt, and it helped put over Choshu's lariat as a move that can end a match any time. Fun little match. Score: 6.0

Nobuhiko Takada and Antonio Inoki vs. Owen Hart and Steve Williams
Takada and Hart start things off. They tie-up, finger lock by Hart and he stomp Takada in the arm. Hart applies a wrist-lock but Takada monkey flips out of it. Armbar by Takada but Williams breaks it up. Back up, snapmare by Hart and he knees Takada in the face. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hart picks up Takada and delivers an uppercut, Irish whip by Takada but Takada flips out of the way when Takada charges in and hits a belly to belly suplex for a two count. Bodyslam by Hart, cover, but Takada gets a shoulder up. Hart applies a reverse chinlock, Takada slowly gets to his feet and hits a backdrop suplex. Takada tags in Inoki, so Hart makes the tag to Williams. Williams gets down on all fours, allowing Inoki to jump on top of him and apply an abdominal stretch, but Williams gets into the ropes. Williams stomps on Inoki and hits a snap belly to belly suplex for a two count. Williams picks up Inoki and rams him back into the corner before catapulting him to the mat. Leg drop by Williams, cover, but Takada breaks it up. Williams picks up Inoki and nails a piledriver, cover, but Takada breaks it up again. Williams goes after Takada, clubbing him out of the ring, but this gives Inoki time to hit a pair of enziguiris. Kick to the leg by Inoki and he tags in Takada. Takada kicks Williams in the head before delivering a rolling heel kick, he goes for a second one but Williams catches him and slams him to the mat. Williams tags in Hart, who hits a second turnbuckle knee drop for a two count. Hart picks up Takada but Takada hits a single leg takedown. Figure four leg lock by Takada, but Williams breaks it up. Takada tags in Inoki, Irish whip by Inoki and he hits a drop toehold before applying a leg submission. Inoki and Takada do a blind tag, Takada kicks Hart but Hart returns fire. Shoulderblock by Hart and he goes off the ropes, but Takada kicks him in the head. Scoop slam by Takada, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick. Takada picks up Hart but Hart rolls down his back and rolls him up for a two count. Hart picks up Takada and delivers a German suplex hold, but Takada gets a shoulder up. Another scoop slam, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving headbutt. Cover, but again it gets a two.

Hart picks up Takada, Irish whip, and Hart hits a dropkick. Takada rolls out of the ring, where Williams is waiting. Williams rams Takada into the guard rail twice until Inoki comes over to protect his partner. Takada returns to the ring, but Hart grabs him as he gets on the apron and clubs him in the chest. Hart suplexes Takada back in the ring, cover, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Hart but Takada kicks him when he goes for a back bodydrop and delivers a heel kick. This gives him time to tag in Inoki, Inoki goes off the ropes and shoulderblocks Hart to the mat. Scoop slam by Inoki, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and deliver a diving knee drop. Cover, but it gets two. Snapmare by Inoki and he tags in Takada, who drops Hart with a snap belly to belly suplex for a two count. Takada applies the cross armbreaker (clearly before it was a death move) but Hart rolls out of it and stomps Takada in the head. Back up, high kicks by Takada, he picks up Hart but Hart drives Takada back and tags in Williams. Stomps by Williams in the corner and he applies a crab hold, he then lets go and applies a stretch hold instead. Cover by Williams but it gets a two count. Williams picks up Takada and kicks him in the chest and back before hitting a slingshot suplex. Cover, but Inoki breaks it up. Williams throws Takada out of the ring, where Hart picks him up and throws him back into the guard rail. Inoki comes over to help Takada, and Takada returns to the ring via a Williams suplex from the apron. Cover, but Inoki breaks it up. Williams drags back Takada before he can tag in Inoki and makes the tag to Hart. Hart goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick, but Takada comes back with a dropkick of his own. Takada goes for a dragon suplex hold and nails it, but Williams breaks it up. Hart picks up Takada and hits a tombstone piledriver, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving elbow drop. Cover, but.... the show ends.

Match Thoughts: *shakes fist at New Japan* The match was coming along well and was entertaining, but really nothing is worse then not seeing the end of a match. Other then that it was a fine match, I haven't seen a lot of Williams in New Japan and it was fun watching him in a different environment. I had to laugh at Hart's flippy selling of Takada's kicks, I am used to wrestlers selling his high kicks like death, not doing a front flip to the mat after one like it was a cartoon. But that is just a difference in styles, I am sure Takada was shaking his head on the inside. Good match, but I'd have liked to have seen the ending. Score: N/A

Final Thoughts:

Best Match: Hiroshi Hase vs. Owen Hart. Two wrestlers that would go on to have very solid careers, but even when they were just starting they were already great wrestlers. Less then two years of experience and they had the best match shown on this TV show, which should tell you something. The word "natural" fits both of these men.

Worst Match: Nobuhiko Takada and Antonio Inoki vs. Owen Hart and Steve Williams. Only because I didn't get to see the ending and it was a big match. I hate that.

Most Notable: A newly acquired Vader just goes crazy beating the mess out of people, and some of the young stars of tomorrow show that even with limited experience they were already more then capable of entertaining.

Back to 1988 New Japan Year in Review

review completed on 12/20/08