Japan TV 1-8-88 15-man New Year Battle Royal!
Jan 16, 2022 21:01:06 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Jan 16, 2022 21:01:06 GMT
World Wrestling Kingdom; Lou Thesz, Chairman
Airs on Saturday, January 8, 1988 on:
Taped: January 2 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, 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:
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!!!!!
KENJI WAKABAYASHI and TAKASHI YAMADA open the show.
They welcome us to this week’s edition of World Wrestling Kingdom!
This week, Shinya Hashimoto begins his 5-match trial series, as he meets Mitsuharu Misawa!
We’ll see 6-man tag team action, as Bad News Allen, Jim Neidhart and Brad Armstrong meet the trio of Keiji Mutoh, Shunji Takano and Akio Sato!
British Junior Heavyweights Dynamite Kid and Fit Finlay will be in tag team action against Shiro Koshinaka and possibly the greatest Jr Heavyweight wrestler in the history of pro wrestling in Japan, Super Tiger!
Tatsumi Fujinami, Antonio Inoki and Yoshiaki Yatsu will face the Revolution Army of Genichiro Tenryu, Riki Choshu and Masa Saito!
And, the feature bout will see a 15-man Battle Royal, with $10,000,000 yen on the line!
SHINYA HASHIMOTO 5-MATCH TRIAL SERIES:
MATCH #1:
MITSUHARU MISAWA beats SHINYA HASHIMOTO. Misawa moves away from the more high-risk style he wrestled as Tiger Mask II, and instead focuses more on striking here. That suits Hashimoto just fine, and the two proceed to beat the hell out of each other! Misawa takes over as the match progresses, and eventually hits his Tiger Suplex ’85 for the pinfall!
After the decision is announced, Misawa takes the house mic and says that Hashimoto gave him a battle here today, he can sense the fighting spirit inside of Hash, and tells him to keep improving and keep getting stronger!
BAD NEWS ALLEN & JIM NEIDHART & BRAD ARMSTRONG beat KEIJI MUTOH & SHUNJI TAKANO & AKIO SATO. We get a variety of styles here, as Allen, Neidhart and Takano brawl when they’re in the ring, while Armstrong, Mutoh and Sato wrestle a fast, mat-based style. In the end, the gaijin trio gets the win when Jim Neidhart delivers an Oklahoma Stampede powerslam on Sato for the 1, 2, 3!
An ad airs for the “New Year All Star Wars!” tour, going on now, and running until January 28! Live WWK action can be seen in the following cities as part of the tour:
Tonight, January 8, 1988 in Osaka at the Prefectural Gymnasium!
January 11, 1988 in Toyohashi, Aichi at the City Gymnasium for a TV taping!
January 14, 1988 in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall for a TV taping!
January 15, 1988 a second night at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo!
January 17, 1988 in Mooka, Tochigi at the City Gymnasium!
January 18, 1988 in Honjo, Saitama at the City Gymnasium!
January 19, 1988 in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka at the West Japan Exhibition Center!
January 20, 1988 in Ueda, Nagano at the Citizen Gymnasium for a TV taping!
January 21, 1988 in Nagano at the Citizen Gymnasium!
Dynamite and Koshinaka trade holds and counterholds at a quick pace. As Dynamite gains the upper hand, he and Finlay tag in and out regularly, and in the end, after some double-teaming on Koshinaka, Finlay and Dynamite get the win at around the 12-minute mark, when Finlay delivers a Brainbuster Suplex on Koshinaka for the pinfall.
THE REVOLUTION ARMY: GENICHIRO TENRYU & RIKI CHOSHU & MASA SAITO beat TATSUMI FUJINAMI & ANTONIO INOKI & YOSHIAKI YATSU. The Revolution Army is looking for some payback after Fujinami, Inoki and Mitsuharu Misawa beat them in the finals of the World 6-man tag team title tournament two weeks ago. We’re in for a treat here, as these six men are among the very best wrestlers in the world today!
Early on, we see plenty of back and forth action, with neither team really getting a clear advantage. As the match progresses, Fujinami and his team gain the upper hand, but the tables turn when the Revolution Army get Yatsu in their corner. They work him over, tagging in and out, to keep the fresh man in the ring. After wearing Yatsu down, Tenryu drives him into the mat with his Folding Powerbomb for the 1, 2, 3!
15-MAN 10,000,000 YEN BATTLE ROYAL:.
The participants are: Bad News Allen, Dynamite Kid, Tatsumi Fujinami, Genichiro Tenryu, Giant Baba, Hiroshi Wajima, Jim Neidhart, Mitsuharu Misawa, Fit Finlay, Brad Armstrong, Dory Funk Jr, Shunji Takano, Dino Bravo, Antonio Inoki and Yoshiaki Yatsu.
As soon as the bell rings, the other wrestlers all immediately gang up on Giant Baba! They wear him down, and moments later, several of them shove him over the top rope!
With 14 wrestlers remaining, they start pairing off around the ring. Jim Neidhart makes short work of Hiroshi Wajima and Shunji Takano, sending both over the top rope, one after the other! Neidhart however is then eliminated by Antonio Inoki!
The Italian strongman Dino Bravo eliminates Brad Armstrong when the force of a clothesline sends Armstrong tumbling over the top rope!
Dory Funk Jr and Bad News Allen battle along the ropes, but both men are shoved over the top by Antonio Inoki and Yoshiaki Yatsu! Inoki then hits Yatsu with an Enziguri, and a dazed Yatsu falls over the top rope and to the floor!
We’re down to 7 wrestlers remaining.
Mitsuharu Misawa gets his first elimination, as he throws Dino Bravo over the top and to the floor. A moment later, Genichiro Tenryu throws Fit Finlay out!
Dynamite Kid is the next to go, as Tenryu pummels him in the corner, then shoves him over the top and to the floor!
We’re down to the final four: Tatsumi Fujinami, Antonio Inoki, Mitsuharu Misawa and Genichiro Tenryu!
Antonio Inoki is eliminated next, as Mitsuharu Misawa hits him with a dropkick, the force of it sending Inoki tumbling right over the top!
A moment later, Fujinami eliminates Tenryu, and we’re down to the final two, Tatsumi Fujinami and Mitsuharu Misawa!
With only two remaining, pinfall or submission can now be used to win, along with sending your opponent over the top rope.
Fujinami and Misawa trade holds and counters, with Fujinami eventually getting the upper hand. But when he sets Misawa up for a suplex, Misawa reverses it, and rolls Fujinami up in a small package!
The International champion is caught completely by surprise, and can’t kick out! Mitsuharu Misawa has pinned Tatsumi Fujinami to win this Battle Royal, and 10 million yen!
Wakabayashi and Yamada wrap things up, and hype next week’s show.
Credits Roll
© 1988, World Wrestling Kingdom
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DARK MATCHES:
KEIICHI YAMADA pins KENTA KOBASHI after a Moonsault.
DINO BRAVO forces KENSUKE SASAKI to submit to a Backbreaker.
EL HIJO DEL SANTO & BLUE DEMON JR beat MIGHTY INOUE & WILD PEGASUS when Hijo del Santo pins Inoue with a Sunset Flip.
GIANT BABA & DORY FUNK JR & MITSUO MOMOTA defeat HIROSHI HASE & HARUKA EIGEN & MOTOSHI OKUMA when Baba pinned Okuma after a Big Boot to the jaw.
Working on it now.