All Japan TV 3-11-93 World tag titles are on the line!

[Chitohausen]

Sanctioned by the Pacific Wrestling Federation; Lord James Blears, chairman


Airs across Japan on Saturday, March 11, 1993 on:




Taped on March 1, 1993 at the City Gymnasium in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, 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”!

We’ve got two huge matches on tap today!

The Miracle Violence Connection defend the World tag team titles against Scott Norton and Dan Spivey!

And, in 6-man tag team action, Triple Crown champion Mitsuharu Misawa teams with Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama to face New Japan’s trio of Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan!

Last week, Misawa, along with Toshiaki Kawada and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, lost to Choshu, Chono and Hiroshi Hase.

Misawa/Kawada/Kikuchi vs Choshu/Hase/Chono, 3-4-93, JIP:
The match starts off slowly, with a feeling out process, both teams looking for weaknesses in the other. Things pick up quickly though, and we’re treated to a fast-paced, hard-hitting match that sees plenty of offense from both teams!

In the end, it’s the youngster Kikuchi that goes down in defeat, after Riki Choshu nearly takes his head off with a vicious Lariat! While the other four men brawl outside the ring, Choshu covers Kikuchi for the 1, 2, 3.

Afterwards, Misawa and Kawada have to help Kikuchi to the back, while the New Japan wrestlers celebrate in the ring!
END VTR

We’ll see if Misawa fares any better today, with Kobashi and Akiyama as his partners.


AJPW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
THE MIRACLE VIOLENCE CONNECTION: STEVE WILLIAMS & TERRY GORDY (champs) (1st defence) defeat SCOTT NORTON & DAN SPIVEY. Williams and Spivey start off, each looking for a way to gain the upper hand on the other. Neither man can really get the advantage, but when Spivey tags Norton in, Norton tears into Williams, surprising the fans in attendance by throwing Dr Death around like a ragdoll! However, after being whipped into the corner, Williams explodes out of the corner with a big clothesline that drops Norton! Williams hammers Norton with clubbing forearms, and drops him with a football tackle for 2!

Norton tags Spivey in, and Dan takes control of the match, but Williams is able to make the tag, and Terry Gordy comes in, tearing into Spivey! He kicks Spivey in the gut, then drops him with a vicious clothesline. Gordy tries to slam Spivey’s head into the turnbuckle, but Spivey blocks it, sending Gordy’s head into the pad instead! However, Steve Williams rushes over from his corner, and stuns Spivey with some stiff punches! Gordy takes control, and after pummeling Spivey, he rolls him up, but only gets 2!

Gordy tags Doc back in, and Williams spends the next few minutes working over Spivey, until Spivey manages to get to his corner and tag Norton in. Norton throws some forearm shots, but Doc is fired up, he shrugs off the shots, and then hits a running tackle that sends Norton tumbling through the ropes and out to the floor! As he gets to his feet on the floor, Terry Gordy comes up and delivers a chop with enough force, it sends Norton backwards over the guardrail!

As he gets back to his feet, Norton grabs a chair, and when Gordy goes to attack again, Norton bashes him over the head with the chair!

Norton rolls back in, but Dr Death is waiting for him, and he continues to pummel Norton! He gets Norton up in the Oklahoma Stampede, but when he covers Norton, Spivey jumps into the ring and kicks Doc in the head, breaking up the pin. Gordy rushes in, and he and Williams double-team Spivey until Norton gets back to his feet, and then we’ve got all four men brawling in the ring!

Norton and Spivey get the upper hand in this brawl, and after throwing Williams out of the ring, they take turns dropping elbows on the fallen Gordy. The referee finally manages to get Spivey out of the ring, but the damage has been done, and Norton pummels Gordy for the next few minutes, keeping him isolated in the challengers’ half of the ring. Several times Norton or Spivey go for a pinfall, and Williams has to rush in and break it up!

Spivey drives Gordy head-first into the mat with the Spivey Spike DDT, but Williams manages to break up the cover at the very last second, saving the World tag titles! Norton comes over and he and Doc trade bombs, knocking each other senseless!

Spivey hits a second DDT, but instead of actually covering Gordy, he tries to pin Terry by just putting a foot on his chest! Gordy kicks out, and Spivey tags Norton in. Gordy takes some vicious shots from Norton, but somehow finds a way to fight back! When Norton whips Gordy into the corner, then charges in after him, Gordy gets a boot up, catching Norton right on the chin! Gordy then comes out of the corner with a full head of steam, and drops Norton with a Lariat!

Gordy goes for the Powerbomb, but in his weakened state, he struggles to get Norton up. This gives Spivey a chance to rush in and nearly take Gordy’s head off with a vicious Lariat! Gordy and Norton are both down and out on the mat, with their partners yelling for them to get up.

Slowly, both Gordy and Norton get to their feet, and each tags their partner. Doc and Spivey come in and tear into each other, but Williams quickly gets the better of the exchange! When a sluggish Norton tries to come back in to help, he eats a dropkick from Williams that sends him through the ropes and to the floor!

Doc hits Spivey with a dropkick as well, for a 2-count, then connects with the running football tackle for another 2-count! Doc hoists Spivey up for the Oklahoma Stampede, but Norton comes back in and kicks Williams, causing him to fall backwards, with Spivey coming down on top of him! Williams manages to kick out at the very last possible second! While that’s going on, Terry Gordy comes in and throws Norton out of the ring. Spivey now has the upper hand on Williams, and he throws everything he has at Williams, but just can’t put Doc away!

Norton and Spivey give Doc a spike Piledriver, but even that won’t keep Williams down, and he kicks out at 2! Spivey tags Norton in legally, but when Norton sets Doc up for a Powerbomb, Williams blocks it, then stands up, bringing Norton up with him! Doc still has Norton’s legs around his head, with Norton’s body hanging down Doc’s back. Williams then jumps backwards, driving Norton into the mat, with all of Doc’s weight coming down on top of him.

Williams then covers Norton, and as Gordy keeps Spivey from getting involved, Williams picks up the 1, 2, 3 on Scott Norton!

The Miracle Violence Connection have retained the World tag team titles in a very hard-fought battle!


ALL JAPAN VS NEW JAPAN:
MITSUHARU MISAWA & KENTA KOBASHI & JUN AKIYAMA (AJPW) defeat RIKI CHOSHU & MASAHIRO CHONO & HIROYOSHI TENZAN (NJPW). After coming up short last week against Choshu, Chono and Hiroshi Hase, Mitsuharu Misawa teams up with Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama.

Akiyama and Tenzan, as the youngest members of their respective teams, find themselves as the whipping boys in this match. Akiyama and Tenzan start the match off against each other, and both show up their technical wrestling ability! They trade holds and counters for the first few minutes, with Tenzan getting the first advantage, and he works on Akiyama’s arm, but Jun soon turns things around and takes Tenzan to the mat, where he works on his leg.

Akiyama tags Kobashi in, but as when Kobashi pulls Tenzan to his feet, Hiroyoshi quickly rakes Kenta’s eyes, drawing boos from the fans, and then he hurries to his corner, and tags in Masahiro Chono. Chono comes in, and he and Kobashi go back and forth. Kenta stuns Chono with some shots, but Chono responds with several vicious chops, then hits a dropkick that puts Kobashi flat on the mat!

Chono tags in Riki Choshu, and he immediately goes to work on Kobashi, putting the boots to him! Kobashi fights his way to his feet, and stuns Choshu with some stiff elbow shots, but Choshu recovers quickly, and drops Kobashi with a Lariat! He covers him, but Kobashi kicks out at 2. Choshu goes for the Scorpion Lock, but Kobashi quickly pulls himself to the ropes, forcing the break before Choshu can even get the hold fully applied.

Kobashi tags out to Mitsuharu Misawa, and now we’ve got the top star in NJPW in the ring with the Ace of All Japan! Choshu and Misawa tear into each other, with neither man really getting much of an advantage. Choshu hits Misawa with chops and forearm shots, with Misawa firing back with chops and several kicks. We get a flashback to Misawa’s days as Tiger Mask II, when he delivers a jumping spin kick to the stomach of Choshu, dropping Riki to his knees!

Misawa wears Choshu down, before tagging in the rookie Jun Akiyama. Akiyama goes right after the veteran, chopping him, then delivering a picture-perfect standing dropkick! Akiyama attempts a suplex, and Choshu blocks it at first, but finally Akiyama is able to get him up, and hits the suplex. Akiyama tags Kobashi in, and Kenta locks Choshu in a sleeperhold! Choshu quickly pulls himself to the ropes, to force a break. Kenta fires off several hard chops in rapid succession, then sends Choshu across the ring with an Irish whip. He goes for a clothesline, but Choshu ducks it, then bounces off the opposite ropes and nearly takes Kobashi’s head off with one of his signature Lariats!

Choshu tags in the youngster Tenzan. Tenzan goes after Kobashi, with clubbing forearm smashes, but Kobashi quickly turns the tables, and chops Tenzan several times, before tagging in Misawa. Misawa pummels Tenzan, before tagging Kobashi back in. Kobashi picks up right where he left off, as he wears Tenzan down. Kobashi connects with a diving shoulder block for a 2-count, then hoists Tenzan up in a suplex, holding him up for what seems like forever, before hitting the move. That gets another 2-count, though Tenzan’s kick out was less energetic this time. It’s clear that the beating he’s taken is sapping his strength.

Akiyama tags in, and hits several different suplex variations on Tenzan. Jun tags Kenta Kobashi back in, and he chops Tenzan into next week, but when he sends Tenzan into the corner, and charges in after him, Tenzan moves out of the way and Kenta goes shoulder-first into the turnbuckle. Tenzan takes the opportunity to tag Masahiro Chono in, and Chono immediately targets Kobashi’s shoulder!

Chono drops Kobashi on his head with a DDT, but Misawa breaks up the cover. Chono continues to punish Kobashi, keeping Kenta cut off from his team’s corner. Finally Kobashi is able to get to his corner, and make the hot tag to Misawa! The Triple Crown champ comes in and stuns Chono with a flurry of kicks, including a roundhouse kick that puts Masahiro flat on his back!

Misawa then tags in the rookie Jun Akiyama, and Akiyama continues the onslaught, putting the boots to Chono. Akiyama makes a mistake though, he whips Chono into the ropes and goes for a dropkick, but he jumped too early, giving Chono a chance to avoid the kick, and Akiyama crashes to the mat. The New Japan team then proceeds to work over Akiyama in their corner, tagging in and out quickly, giving all three a chance to pummel the rookie!

Akiyama takes a horrendous beating, but he shows his fighting spirit by continuing to get back to his feet, and continuing to fight on! Choshu locks on the Scorpion Lock, but somehow, Akiyama manages to pull himself close enough to grab the bottom rope and force the break. Choshu responds by repeatedly kicking Akiyama in the head! This brings in Misawa and Kobashi to brawl with Choshu! Tenzan and Chono come in as well, and a big brawl errupts!

After the referee gets order restored, Tenzan tags in and pummels Akiyama, but when he locks on an Abdominal Stretch, Akiyama is able to flip him over, but Masahiro Chono comes in and stops Akiyama from being able to tag one of his partners! However, Akiyama runs the ropes, then delivers a diving forearm smash that knocks Chono loopy, and Akiyama tags in Misawa!

Misawa pummels Chono, hitting a diving clothesline off the ropes for a 2-count. Chono delivers an Atomic Drop, but Misawa responds immediately with a vicious elbow strike! He drops Chono with a dropkick, with Chono rolling to his corner, and tagging Riki Choshu! Choshu charges Misawa, and nearly takes his head off with a Lariat, but it only gets him a 2-count!

Misawa tags Kobashi in, and he and Choshu go toe to toe in the middle of the ring, trading thundering chops! Kobashi tries a big boot to the face of Choshu, but Riki blocks it, then backs off a few steps, and delivers a devastating Lariat! Kobashi manages to kick out at the last second, and Choshu tags in Masahiro Chono. Chono and Kobashi tear into each other, with Kobashi getting the upper hand, and Chono tagging in Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Tenzan attempts a suplex, but Kobashi punches him in the head, causing Tenzan to lose his grip on Kobashi.

Kobashi takes the fight to Tenzan, and after hitting him with some high-impact moves, Kobashi delivers a Moonsault! As he covers Tenzan, Riki Choshu rushes in and breaks up the count! Kobashi hits Choshu with a dropkick with enough force to propel Choshu right up and over the top rope and to the floor! Kobashi then tags in Mitsuharu Misawa, and the Triple Crown champion hits Tenzan with the Tiger Suplex for the 1, 2, 3!

Misawa and company have picked up a measure of revenge, as they beat the New Japan team here today!


Wakabayashi and Takeuchi wrap things up, and hype next week’s show. Next week, we’ll be in Nippon Budokan, and on that show, Misawa will defend the Triple Crown title against Riki Choshu! Plus, we’ll have a memorial ceremony for one of the biggest foreign stars ever in Japan, the late, great Andre the Giant!


Credits Roll



© 1993, All Japan Pro Wrestling