Japan TV 1-1-88 Hansen vs Fujinami, title vs title!
Jan 6, 2022 18:52:38 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Jan 6, 2022 18:52:38 GMT
World Wrestling Kingdom; Lou Thesz, Chairman
Airs on Saturday, January 1, 1988 on:
Taped: December 27 at Osaka-Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan
Announcers: Kenji Wakabayashi and Takashi Yamada; Wakabayashi also performs ring announcer duties
Referees: Tiger Hattori, Joe Higuchi, and Kyohei Wada
The following clip plays over the opening credits:
Saito tags Tenryu in, and Genichiro spends the next minute or two working over Tatsumi’s leg, before tagging in Choshu, who picks up where Tenryu left off. Choshu looks to soften Fujinami up, then applies the Scorpion lock! Fujnami is able to reach the ropes to force a break. Tenryu, Choshu and Saito then tag in and out, keeping Fujinami in their half of the ring, working him over.
Fujinami eventually fights back, hitting a Lariat of his own on Choshu, and making the tag to Tiger Mask II. The masked man goes to work on Choshu, but when he hits the Tiger Suplex, Tenryu comes in and puts the boots to him, breaking up the pin. Choshu and Fujinami double-team Tiger Mask until the referee is able to get Choshu out of the ring, leaving Tenryu with the man that will challenge him for the All Asia title next week.
Tenryu wears Tiger Mask down, but when he sets TM up for the Powerbomb, Tiger Mask reverses it into a Huracanrana! Tiger Mask then hooks both of Tenryu’s legs, and gets the 1, 2, 3!
KENJI WAKABAYASHI and TAKASHI YAMADA open the show.
They welcome us to this special New Years edition of World Wrestling Kingdom!
We have some big matches this week!
Last week, Tiger Mask II pinned Genichiro Tenryu in the finals of the World 6-man tag team title tournament. This week, they’ll go one on one for Tenryu’s All Asia Heavyweight title!
Antonion Inoki, Yoshiaki Yatsu and Mighty Inoue will meet Riki Choshu, Masa Saito and Ashura Hara in a 6-man tag team match!
Plus, a HUGE main event, World Heavyweight champion Stan Hansen and International Heavyweight champion Tatsumi Fujinami will meet in a Title vs Title match! Both titles will be on the line!
BAD NEWS ALLEN & THE POWER WARRIORS: THE BARBARIAN & THE WARLORD beat KEIJI MUTOH & MASAHIRO CHONO & SHINYA HASHIMOTO. The young trio of Mutoh, Chono and Hashimoto have been very impressive lately, making it to the semi finals of the World 6-man tag team title tournament. However, here they can’t match the power and violence of Allen and the Power Warriors. In the end, the Warlord holds Chono in a backbreaker across his knee, while the Barbarian delivers a kneedrop from the top rope to the throat of Chono, leading to the 1, 2, 3!
ANTONIO INOKI & YOSHIAKI YATSU & MIGHTY INOUE beats RIKI CHOSHU & MASA SAITO & ASHURA HARA. Inoki gets the win for his team when he forces Hara to submit to the Octopus Hold.
An ad airs for the upcoming “New Year All Star Wars!” tour, which will start tomorrow, January 2, and run until February 7! Live WWK action can be seen in the following cities as part of the tour:
January 2, 1988 the tour kicks off with a TV taping at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall!
January 3, 1988 we’re back at Korakuen Hall for another TV taping!
January 7, 1988 in Osaka at the Prefectural Gymnasium!
January 9, 1988 in Otawara, Tochigi at the City Gymnasium!
January 10, 1988 in Toi, Shizuoka at the Town General Hall!
January 11, 1988 in Kumagaya, Saitama at the Civic Gymnasium for a TV taping!
January 13, 1988 in Takamatsu, Kagawa at the Civic Cultural Center!
January 14, 1988 in Mitoyo, Kagawa at the Prefectural Gymnasium!
January 16, 1988 in Himeji, Hyogo at the City Welfare Center!
January 18, 1988 in Tokuyama, Yamaguchi at the City Gymnasium for a TV taping!
January 19, 1988 in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka at the West Japan Exhibition Center!
January 20, 1988 in Nobeoka, Miyazaki at the Civic Gymnasium!
January 21, 1988 in Nakatsu, Oita at the Workers' Physical Education Center!
ALL ASIA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP:
GENICHIRO TENRYU (champion, 1st defence) beats TIGER MASK II. We saw two title matches on last week’s show, and that continues on this special New Year’s Day edition. First up is Tiger Mask II getting his shot at Genichiro Tenryu and the All Asia title. Tiger Mask beat each of the other members of the Revolution Army in singles matches to earn this title shot.
First up are the prematch ceremonies, as WWK Chairman Lou Thesz proclaims the match an official title match, and shows the title belt. Both Tenryu and Tiger Mask are presented with a bouquet of flowers.
Then the bell sounds and we’re in business! They start off trading holds and counters, Tenryu focuses on the arm of the masked man, but Tiger Mask II shows his quickness, flipping over, and then armdragging Tenryu to the mat. TM2 then spends the next few minutes with Tenryu on the mat, working on the arm and shoulder of the All Asia champion. Tenryu manages to fight his way to a standing position, though, and is able to break free of TM’s grasp, flipping the masked man to the mat.
Tenryu looks to end the match early, and he sets Tiger Mask up for his Folding Powerbomb! However, as he gets Tiger Mask up, the masked man slips out of Tenryu’s grasp, and turns it into a sunset flip for a nearfall! Tenryu goes back on the advantage though, as both men get back to their feet, Genichiro nails Tiger Mask with a some vicious forearm shots, putting TM2 back down on the mat. Tenryu then goes back to work on the arm of the challenger.
Tenryu repeatedly drives Tiger Mask into the turnbuckles shoulder-first, but when he sends Tiger Mask across the ring and into the opposite corner, as Tenryu charges, Tiger Mask hops up on the middle rope, and delivers a bodypress for a nearfall! As Tenryu gets back to his feet, TM nails him with some vicious kicks, including a jumping spin kick right to the jaw that sends the champion tumbling through the ropes and to the floor!
Tenryu takes a walk around ringside, shaking off the cobwebs, while Tiger Mask paces inside the ring. TM decides he’s had enough of Tenryu’s stalling, and launches himself over the top rope with a bodypress onto Tenryu on the floor! Tiger Mask then rolls Tenryu back inside, but the champion is back up, and stuns Tiger Mask with some vicious chops, before hitting an Enziguri that puts the masked man flat on the mat! Tenryu delivers a jumping kneedrop, and goes for the cover, but only gets 2.
Tenryu spends the next couple of minutes with TM2 on the mat, going back to the same arm and shoulder that he was working on earlier. After Tiger Mask fights his way back to his feet, we get an exchange of chops that leave welts on the chests of both men! Tiger Mask starts to get the upper hand here, but Tenryu grabs him and delivers a backdrop suplex to put the masked man back down on the mat again.
Tenryu continues to control the match, but when he goes to whip Tiger Mask II into the ropes, the masked man reverses it, then connects with a standing dropkick as Tenryu rebounds off the ropes. That turns the momentum of the match to Tiger Mask’s favour, and he goes to work on Tenryu, wearing him down on the mat. Moments later, with both men back on their feet, Tiger Mask nails Tenryu with some more kicks, including a spin kick to the chest, but this time when Tenryu tries to roll out of the ring, Tiger Mask grabs him and pulls him back in. Tiger Mask then hits a standing dropkick, and then goes for a cover, getting a close 2-count!
Tenryu is slow getting to his feet, and as he does, Tiger Mask goes to the top rope and connects with a top-rope bodypress! This gives TM2 another close nearfall!
Tiger Mask then hits a belly to belly suplex, with Tenryu landing more on the back of his head than his back! Tenryu is stunned, and Tiger Mask quickly covers him, but again only gets a 2-count!
Tiger Mask again heads to the top rope, and goes for another bodypress, but this time, Tenryu sidesteps him, and connects with a kick to the head as Tiger Mask crashes to the mat! As Tiger Mask slowly staggers back up to his feet, Tenryu hits the Enziguri, but only gets a 2-count.
Tiger Mask tries to fight back, throwing some chops, but there isn’t enough force behind them to do much damage, and Tenryu is able to shake them off. Tenryu then boots Tiger Mask in the stomach, and sets him up for the Folding Powerbomb! Tenryu drives Tiger Mask into the mat with the Powerbomb and gets the 1, 2, 3!
Genichiro Tenryu has pinned Tiger Mask II, retaining his All Asia Heavyweight title in his first defence!
After Tenryu leaves the ring with the All Asia belt, Tiger Mask II asks for the mic from the ring announcer. He says that he gave it his all here today, and even though Tenryu got the better of him this time, he’s going to keep working, and improving, and one day, he’ll beat Tenryu for that All Asia title!
TM then says that as he goes forward, he wants to build a name and a legacy for himself . . . but not as Tiger Mask.
He then undoes the mask and pulls it off!!!!!
He says that he wants to build his legacy as Mitsuharu Misawa!!!!!
Now it’s main event time, as both the World Heavyweight AND International Heavyweight titles are on the line!!!!
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE VS INTERNATIONAL HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
STAN HANSEN (World champion, 2nd defence) battles TATSUMI FUJINAMI (Intl champion, 1st defence) to a Double Count-Out.
We cut to Fujinami backstage, he looks laser-focused. The camera follows him as he makes his way through the curtain and down the aisle to the ring. Then we cut to Hansen, who’s pacing like a caged animal, and follow him from the backstage waiting area as well.
There’s a buzz in the building, as the fans anxiously await the start of this title vs title match! Lou Thesz once again makes the introduction, saying that both titles are on the line, then Hansen and Fujinami are presented with flowers.
Once the bell sounds, Hansen immediately pounces on Fujinami, and pummels him! Hansen whips Fuji into the corner, but when he charges, Tatsumi gets a boot up, connecting with Hansen’s jaw! The big cowboy stumbles backwards, and Fujinami connects with a dropkick, putting the World champion on the mat! Hansen immediately rolls out of the ring, to the floor, to take a breather.
Back inside, he nails Fujinami with some clubbing forearm shots, knocking Fujinami to the mat. Hansen then applies a rear chinlock, driving his knee into the back of Fujinami, while pulling his head back. Hansen again clobbers Fuji with forearms while holding him in the chinlock. Hansen pulls Fujinami to his feet, but Fuji surprises Hansen by grabbing him around the midsection, and delivering a backdrop suplex for a 2-count! Fujinami then targets Hansen’s legs, delivering some vicious kicks that leave Hansen limping. Fuji then dropkicks Hansen to the mat, and slaps on a Figure-4 Leglock! Hansen howls in pain, but is able to reach the ropes, forcing a break.
Hansen is still limping afterwards, and Fujinami immediately looks to apply the Figure-4 again, but this time, Hansen kicks him off, with enough force that it sends Fujinami into the turnbuckles. Hansen then goes on the offensive, using his power advantage, and pummeling Fujinami! Fujinami shows his fighting spirit, as he continues to fight, eventually stunning Hansen with an Enziguri, then locking on his version of Inoki’s Octopus Hold! Hansen is able to reach the ropes, forcing a break, but a dropkick from Fujinami sends Hansen through the ropes and to the floor!
Fujinami goes out after Hansen. He whips Hansen into the ringpost, then follows that up by slamming Hansen on the floor! As Hansen gets back to his feet, and leans against the steel guardrail, Fujinami gets up on the apron, then climbs to the top turnbuckle! Fujinami leaps off, with a bodypress, the force from the impact sends both Hansen and Fujinami tumbling over the guardrail and into the first rows of seats!
The fans scatter as the two men brawl among the seats. Hansen grabs a chair, and bashes Fujinami over the head with it!
While this is going on, referee Tiger Hattori is counting inside the ring, and when he reaches 20, he calls for the bell, counting both men out!
Hansen and Fujinami don’t even seem to notice, they continue to brawl, climbing back over the guardrail, and brawling around ringside. Fujinami gets the upper hand, and slams Hansen head-first into the ringpost. They continue to brawl down the aisle and to the locker room!
Wakabayashi and Yamada wrap things up, and hype next week’s show, where we’ll see a big 15-man New Years Battle Royal! Plus, youngster Shinya Hashimoto begins a 5-match series, to test himself against some of the best in the World Wrestling Kingdom!
Credits Roll
© 1988, World Wrestling Kingdom
Working on it now.