All Japan TV 1-14-93 Genichiro Tenryu returns to AJPW!
Jan 24, 2023 16:07:27 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Jan 24, 2023 16:07:27 GMT
Sanctioned by the Pacific Wrestling Federation; Lord James Blears, chairman
Airs across Japan on Saturday, January 14, 1993 on:
Taped on January 8, 1993 at the Takamatsu City Gymnasium in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan
Announcers: Kenji Wakabayashi and Kosuke Takeuchi
Ring Announcer: Takashi Yamada
Referees: Red Shoes Unno, Tiger Hattori and Kyohei Wada
KENJI WAKABAYASHI and KOSUKE TAKEUCHI open the show.
They welcome us to this week’s episode of “All Japan Pro Wrestling”!
The Jr Heavyweight Top Contender League continues this week with three more matches! Ultimo Dragon meets Mighty Inoue! Dr Wagner Jr faces fellow luchador Atlantis! And Jushin Thunder Liger faces Tiger Mask III!
Plus, Jun Akiyama’s 5-match trial series continues! Last week, he lost to Steve Williams, this week he’ll face Williams’ tag team partner Terry Gordy!
And the rivalry between Tsuruta-Gun and the Super Generation Army continues to rage on. Jumbo Tsuruta has some health issues, and will be out of action for the foreseeable future. However, Genichiro Tenryu has returned to All Japan, and he’ll take Jumbo’s spot until Tsuruta is well enough to return to the ring!
Tonight, we’ll see Tenryu in his first match back, teaming with another man making his return tonight, Yoshiaki Yatsu, and Akira Taue. They’ll face Triple Crown champion Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi in our main event!
JR HEAVYWEIGHT TOP CONTENDER LEAGUE:
ULTIMO DRAGON [8] defeats MIGHTY INOUE [0]. Ultimo Dragon has been on a roll so far in this league, and that continues here. He controls most of the match, though Inoue does get some offense in. The end comes when Dragon delivers the Asai Moonsault for the 1, 2, 3!
JR HEAVYWEIGHT TOP CONTENDER LEAGUE:
DR WAGNER JR [4] defeats ATLANTIS [4]. These two men are two of Mexico’s top luchadores, and they are very familiar with each other. That familiarity shows early on, as each man seems to have a counter to everything the other tries. The momentum goes back and forth, until Wagner gains the upper hand, and eventually connects with a Senton off the top rope for the 1, 2, 3!
We go to pre-recorded comments from rookie Jun Akiyama, sitting in the locker room. Akiyama says that he gave everything he had in his match last week with Steve Williams, but it just wasn’t enough. He says that he has a lot to learn, but he will continue to improve until he can go toe to toe with anyone in AJPW! He hopes the fans will continue to support him!
JR HEAVYWEIGHT TOP CONTENDER LEAGUE:
JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER [6] defeats TIGER MASK III [6]. These two men wrestle the entire match at a lightning-quick pace, going move for move for almost 15 minutes. In the end, Liger connects with the Liger Bomb for the 1, 2, 3!
After the match, Liger helps TMIII up, and offers his hand. Tiger Mask, clearly frustrated with himself for losing, just slaps Liger’s hand away and leaves the ring.
JUN AKIYAMA 5-MATCH TRIAL SERIES, MATCH #2:
TERRY “BAMM BAMM” GORDY defeats JUN AKIYAMA. Akiyama gave a valiant effort in his loss to Steve Williams last week, and he does so again here. We can see the improvement in Akiyama from one match to the next, and the commentators say that there’s no doubt he’ll be a superstar in the future!
Unfortunately for Akiyama, despite lasting for more than 12 minutes with the bigger, stronger Gordy, in the end Akiyama falls to Gordy’s Powerbomb for the 1, 2, 3!
A video package airs, highlighting the Tsuruta-Gun and Super Generation Army rivalry that has gone on for the last two years. The video starts with the final moments of Misawa’s historic win over Jumbo on June 8, 1990. From there, some clips of Jumbo getting some payback, pinning Misawa on September 1, 1990 in a match to determine the top contender to Stan Hansen’s Triple Crown. On the final card of 1990, at Nippon Budokan, Misawa and Kawada beat Jumbo and Akira Taue in a Real World Tag League match.
When Tsuruta wins the Triple Crown in 1991, we see clips of his first title defence, a hard-fought victory over Misawa.
From there, several clips are shown of tag team and 6-man tag team matches involving the two groups throughout 1991 and 1992.
Wakabayashi and Takeuchi talk about this rivalry, and everyone thought it might be over when Jumbo Tsuruta took time off to heal some lingering injuries and for health reasons. However, Jumbo’s old friend / rival Genichiro Tenryu has returned, along with Jumbo’s long-time tag team partner Yoshiaki Yatsu, and they have joined up with Akira Taue and veterans like Mighty Inoue and Masanobu Fuchi, to continue the war with the Super Generation Army!
GENICHIRO TENRYU & YOSHIAKI YATSU & AKIRA TAUE defeat MITSUHARU MISAWA & KENTA KOBASHI & TSUYOSHI KIKUCHI. The match goes for more than 30 minutes, though it’s edited down for television. We’re treated to a wild, hard-hitting affair, full of great wrestling and brawling, both inside and outside the ring!
Tenryu and Yatsu both look sharp in their first match back in AJPW in almost three years. They, along with Taue, give the Super Generation Army all they can handle throughout the course of the match.
In the end, as Misawa and Kobashi are tied up with Yatsu and Taue on the floor, Tenryu hits Kikuchi with an enziguri, which stuns Kikuchi, but he’s still on his feet. Tenryu then runs the ropes and nearly takes Kikuchi’s head off with a vicious Lariat. That’s all she wrote for Kikuchi, and Tenryu covers him for the 1, 2, 3!
Wakabayashi and Takeuchi wrap things up, and hype next week’s show.
Credits Roll
© 1993, All Japan Pro Wrestling
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