WWK TV 8-20-88 Tsuruta/Kobashi vs Tenryu/Ogawa!
Aug 29, 2022 13:32:36 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Aug 29, 2022 13:32:36 GMT
World Wrestling Kingdom, Lord James Blears; Chairman
Airs across Japan on Saturday, August 20, 1988 on:
Taped on August 19, 1988 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announcers: Kenji Wakabayashi, Kotetsu Yamamoto and Giant Baba
Ring Announcer: Takashi Yamada
Referees: Tiger Hattori, Joe Higuchi, Kyohei Wada
KENJI WAKABAYASHI, KOTETSU YAMAMOTO and GIANT BABA open the show.
They welcome us to this week’s episode of the World Wrestling Kingdom!
We have five big matches on the schedule today!
Shane Douglas, one half of the Young Gunns, meets Shunji Takano!
The Can-Am Connection face Shinya Hashimoto and Toshiaki Kawada in a non-title match!
Abdullah the Butcher is back in the World Wrestling Kingdom, and he’ll face the other half of the Young Gunns, Johnny Gunn!
Tatsumi Fujinami and Yoshiaki Yatsu square off with the gaijin duo of Dick Slater and Matt Borne!
And, in the main event, we’ll see a tag team match featuring veteran and rookie pairings, as Jumbo Tsuruta teams up with “super rookie” Kenta Kobashi to square off with King’s Crown holder Genichiro Tenryu and rookie Yoshinari Ogawa!
SHANE DOUGLAS beats SHUNJI TAKANO. Douglas gets the win after hitting Takano with the Belly to Belly Suplex for the 1, 2, 3!
Wakabayashi, Yamamoto and Baba direct our attention to the podium near the ring, where Genichiro Tenryu sits on his throne, the King’s Crown on his head. Around him are the rest of his Ishin-gundan stable: Masa Saito, Toshiaki Kawada, Shinya Hashimoto and Stan Hansen.
Someone dressed up as a court jester is apparently entertaining the group, as they’re all laughing and enjoying themselves!
Baba notes that Tenryu seems to be taking this whole King’s Crown thing a little too literally!
Hashimoto and Kawada then make their way to the ring for the next match.
NON-TITLE MATCH:
THE CAN-AM CONNECTION: DAN KROFFAT & DOUG FURNAS battle SHINYA HASHIMOTO & TOSHIAKI KAWADA to a 20-minute Time Limit DRAW. We’re treated to an action-packed contest here. Hash and Kawada make good use of their strikes here, pummeling the Can-Ams with kicks, chops and elbow strikes. The Can-Ams hold their own though, and use their scientific expertise to wear down their opponents.
In the end, neither team can get the decision before the 20-minute time limit expires, although just as the bell rang, Kawada had delivered a vicious roundhouse kick to the head of Furnas, and was in the process of covering him when the match ended.
ABDULLAH THE BUTCHER (w/ Tiger Jeet Singh) beats JOHNNY GUNN. Gunn’s tag team partner Shane Douglas was victorious in his match, but unfortunately for Gunn, he can’t replicate his partner’s success. This match lasts about 2 minutes, as Abby just destroys Gunn, attacking him with chops and a karate thrust to the throat as soon as the bell sounds!
Abdullah delivers the Butcher’s Axe running elbowdrop for the pinfall victory!
After the decision is announced, Abdullah continues to assault Gunn, with Tiger Jeet Singh joining in as well. When Tiger is about to use his sword on Gunn, a group of wrestlers and officials arrive on the scene and put a stop to that!
VTR: Last Week on World Wrestling Kingdom TV
There’s no love lost between these two sides, the People’s Army and Ishin-gundan! They tear into each other as soon as the bell sounds, and it becomes obvious right from the start that referee Joe Higuchi is going to have his hands full! We even see some scuffles on the floor between Misawa and Kobashi and the Ishin-gundan team of Hashimoto and Kawada!
After a wild, hard-hitting battle, the People’s Army are the ones to get their hands raised, when Jumbo Tsuruta drives Masa Saito into the mat with the Backdrop Suplex for the 1, 2, 3!
After the decision is announced, Jumbo Tsuruta takes the house mic from the ring announcer, and tells Genichiro Tenryu that he’s coming for the King’s Crown!
END VTR
Wakabayashi says that this war between the People’s Army and Tenryu’s Ishin-gundan is raging on with no end in sight, and says that it’s captured the attention of the entire wrestling world! He says that while this rivalry has been punishing for the participants, the fans have reaped the rewards, as they’re treated to some outstanding wrestling!
TATSUMI “THE DRAGON” FUJINAMI & YOSHIAKI YATSU (w/ Mitsuharu Misawa) defeat “DIRTY” DICK SLATER & “MANIAC” MATT BORNE. Slater and Borne are as rough and rugged as they come, and they give Yatsu and the Dragon a tough match. Slater and Borne are more than capable of matching Fuji and Yatsu on the mat, but they seem much more interested in brawling.
However, it’s the scientific wrestling of Yatsu and Fujinami that win out in the end, as Yatsu locks Borne in the Prison Lock for the submission victory.
JUMBO TSURUTA & KENTA KOBASHI (w/ Mitsuharu Misawa) defeat GENICHIRO TENRYU & YOSHINARI OGAWA. Tsuruta and Tenryu play the “big brother” role here for their rookie partners. Kobashi and Ogawa match up pretty evenly against each other, but when one of them is in the ring with the veteran on the other team, they find themselves in trouble.
Tsuruta has to come in and help Kobashi several times as Tenryu pummels the “super rookie”, and Tenryu does the same when Ogawa is in the ring with Tsuruta.
After a wild match, Ogawa is in the ring with Tsuruta, and is in a bad way. Tsuruta hoists the rookie up, and drives him into the mat with the Backdrop Suplex!
As Tsuruta covers Ogawa, Tenryu tries to come in and make the save, but he’s cut off by Kobashi, who sends Tenryu to the floor with a dropkick!
Tsuruta covers Ogawa and gets the 1, 2, 3 to give the People’s Army this win in this battle!
Wakabayashi, Yamamoto and Baba wrap things up, and hype next week’s show.
Credits Roll
© 1988, World Wrestling Kingdom
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