Japan TV 3-19-88 Fuji/Inoki/Misawa vs Tenryu/Choshu/Saito!
Mar 23, 2022 18:56:56 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Mar 23, 2022 18:56:56 GMT
World Wrestling Kingdom; Lord James Blears, Chairman
Airs on Saturday, March 19, 1988 on:
Taped: March 9 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announcers: Kenji Wakabayashi and Kotetsu Yamamoto
Ring Announcer: Takashi Yamada
Referees: Tiger Hattori, Joe Higuchi, and Kyohei Wada
The opening credits roll over the following clip, from last week’s show:
The match is non-stop action, as these two teams tear into each other as soon as the bell sounds, and don’t let up at all. Choshu and Tenryu’s strategy becomes clear early on, they go after Hansen’s arm, looking to take away his most feared weapon, the Lariat! Hansen and Brody’s strategy seems to be to simply steamroll their opponents, as they pummel them mercilessly!
In the end, all four men brawl on the outside, leading referee Tiger Hattori to count both teams out!
Hansen and Tenryu continue to brawl around ringside, before making their way back into the ring, where they continue to battle, as the show comes to an end!
KENJI WAKABAYASHI and KOTETSU YAMAMOTO open the show.
They welcome us to this week’s edition of World Wrestling Kingdom!
On today’s program, we’ll see Shiro Koshinaka and former Olympian Yoshiaki Yatsu team up to face the French Canadian brothers, Jacques and Raymond Rougeau!
Shinya Hashimoto has a tough test ahead of him, as he faces veteran Rocky Johnson!
Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody will face two former NWA World heavyweight champions in Giant Baba and Dory Funk Jr!
And, our huge feature bout, a rivalry that has been on-going since the WWK’s debut show has reached it’s breaking point, as Tatsumi Fujinami, Antonio Inoki and Mitsuharu Misawa face the Revolution Army of Genichiro Tenryu, Riki Choshu and Masa Saito!
Tenryu has said that if Fujinami, Inoki and Misawa can beat them, he’ll shake their hands, and admit to everyone watching across the country on television that they are the better men!
SHIRO KOSHINAKA & YOSHIAKI YATSU defeat JACQUES & RAYMOND ROUGEAU. In the end, the Rougeaus go for their big double-team move, where Raymond locks an opponent in a Boston Crab, and Jacques delivers a kneedrop off the top to the back of the opponent’s head. However, this time, as Raymond locks Koshinaka in the Boston Crab, Yatsu comes in, grabs Jacques on the top rope and tosses him to the mat! Raymond releases the Boston Crab, and Koshinaka, the legal man, quickly rolls him up for the 1, 2, 3!
An ad airs for the “Wrestle Kingdom!” series, which will kick off on March 26 and run until April 22! Live WWK action can be seen in the following cities as part of that tour:
March 26, 1988 at the City Gymnasium in Koga, Ibaraki prefecture for a TV taping!
March 27, 1988 at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo! All three titles will be in on the line, including Bruiser Brody challenging Tatsumi Fujinami for the biggest prize in wrestling, the International heavyweight title!
March 28, 1988 in Nagaoka, Niigata prefecture at the Welfare Hall!
March 29, 1988 at the City Welfare Hall in Sanjo, Niigata prefecture!
March 30, 1988 in Joetsu, Niigata prefecture at the Region Plaza!
March 31, 1988 in Uozu, Toyama prefecture at the General Gymnasium!
Wakabayashi and Yamamoto talk about the wrestlers that will appear on the “Wrestle Kingdom” series, including Blackjack Mulligan, Bruiser Brody, WWK champion Stan Hansen, and this man . . .
ABDULLAH THE BUTCHER, THE MADMAN FROM THE SUDAN, MAKES HIS RETURN TO JAPAN!!!!
SHINYA HASHIMOTO defeats ROCKY JOHNSON. Hashimoto gets the win after a hard-fought match, when he drives Rocky into the mat with a jumping DDT for the 1, 2, 3!
We go to comments from the Revolution Army: Genichiro Tenryu, Riki Choshu and Masa Saito, in the backstage area.
Tenryu says that he believes the three of them are the very best in the world today, and that’s why he said that if they lose, he would shake Fujinami, Inoki and Misawa’s hands, and admit that they are the better men. Anyone who knows him knows he’d rather die than admit that, so for them, losing is simply not an option!
Choshu says that he and Fujinami have had many battles over the years. He says that Fujinami has always received special treatment from promoters, despite Choshu being the superior wrestler! He says that he’s won more of those battles than he’s lost, and today, the three of them are going to prove once and for all that they are superior!
Saito says that things have been rocky for them lately against Fujinami, Inoki and Misawa, but today, that changes! He says that they will win in dominant fashion, and prove that they are the best of the best in Japan today!
STAN HANSEN & BRUISER BRODY defeat DORY FUNK JR & GIANT BABA. Funk and Baba are considered legends in the sport, and for good reason. But Hansen and Brody simply steamroll right over them here! The match lasts a little over 6-minutes, as Hansen and Brody pummel their opponents from bell to bell! In the end, Hansen hits Funk with the Lariat for the 1, 2, 3!
We go to comments from Tatsumi Fujinami, Antonio Inoki and Mitsuharu Misawa, in the dressing room.
Fujinami says Genichiro Tenryu has been a thorn in their side since the very first WWK show! He says that Tenryu has no respect for anyone, he attacked their friend Giant Baba after that tag team match on the first show, and he spit on Baba’s legacy! He says that today is the day when this ends, today is the day when the three of them beat Tenryu, Choshu and Saito one more time, and shut the Revolution Army up once and for all!
Inoki is fired up! He agrees with Fujinami, and says that Tenryu stands for everything that is bad in this sport, he has no respect, no honour, he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to hurt in order to get to the top. He says that Choshu and Saito are no better! He says that Choshu has a habit of making enemies everywhere he goes, and Saito is nothing more than a thug, here to do Tenryu and Choshu’s bidding! He says that they will end this right here today in Korakuen Hall, and prove that good men will always win out in the end!
Misawa is a bit more subdued, and just says that he’s going to go out there and do his best today, and hopefully they will be victorious!
TATSUMI FUJINAMI & ANTONIO INOKI & MITSUHARU MISAWA defeat REVOLUTION ARMY: GENICHIRO TENRYU & RIKI CHOSHU & MASA SAITO. Emotions run high in this one, as both teams want to win, and prove their superiority over their opponents! Misawa, the least experienced man in the match, finds himself taking a beating from the Revolution Army, and several times in the match, he has to rely on Fuji and Inoki to make the save. Because of that, it looks like the Revolution Army might be on their way to victory, as they try to keep Misawa in their half of the ring, and away from his partners.
However, Misawa backdrops his way out of a Powerbomb attempt from Tenryu, and makes the hot tag to Fujinami! Fujinami, the International champion, and Tenryu, the Al Asia champion, tear into each other, but in the end, Fujinami connects with the Dragon Suplex for the 1, 2, 3!
Afterwards, Tenryu gets on the house mic. He says that he may be a lot of things, but above all, he’s a man of his word. He walks up to Fujinami, Inoki and Misawa, and though it seems to pain him greatly to do it . . . he shakes the hand of all three men!
While this is going on, Choshu shakes his head in disbelief, and he and Saito leave the ring!
Tenryu says that he hates to say it, but Fujinami, Inoki and Misawa proved here today that they are the better team! He thanks them for going all out and giving him a great match!
He shakes their hands again as the show comes to a close.
Wakabayashi and Yamamoto wrap things up, and hype next week’s show.
Credits Roll
© 1988, World Wrestling Kingdom
Working on it now.