All Japan TV 4-15-93 Misawa vs Fujinami in the main event!
Apr 16, 2023 17:49:18 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Apr 16, 2023 17:49:18 GMT
Sanctioned by the Pacific Wrestling Federation; Lord James Blears, chairman
Airs across Japan on Saturday, April 15, 1993 on:
Taped on March 30, 1993 at the City Gymnasium in Toyama, 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”!
This week, the Champion Carnival continues!
Three Carnival matches will take place this week . . .
Terry “Bamm Bamm” Gordy meets Doug Furnas, the powerhouse of the Can-Am Connection!
Akira Taue faces Johnny Ace!
And, the main event, the Ace of NJPW Tatsumi Fujinami squares off with All Japan Ace, and Triple Crown champion, Mitsuharu Misawa!
Before the first match, we see clips from earlier in the day, a non-televised Champion Carnival match between Bobby Fulton and Big Bubba Rogers. Fulton gives away a lot of size and strength to Bubba, and as a result, most see Fulton as the underdog here. However, Fulton pulls out a victory, catching Bubba with a Sunset Flip from the top rope at around the 10-minute mark for the 1, 2, 3!
CHAMPION CARNIVAL MATCH:
TERRY GORDY [13] (w/ Steve Williams) beats DOUG FURNAS [0] (w/ Dan Kroffat). Furnas is a power wrestler, who can match the strength and power of the Freebird. They go toe to toe, and hold for hold for almost 15 minutes, before Gordy gains the upper hand, and after several attempts, he’s able to drive Furnas into the mat with a Powerbomb for the 1, 2, 3!
This brings Gordy up to 13 points in the Champion Carnival, while Furnas still has yet to get his first points.
VTR: Last Week On All Japan Pro Wrestling:
Misawa misses a diving clothesline, and Kawada tears into him with more vicious chops and forearm strikes. Misawa hits a spinning heel kick, but then eats one from Kawada in return! Kawada hits a brutal looking Backdrop Driver, but Misawa somehow kicks out at the last possible second!
They go on trading bombs for the next two or three minutes, before Misawa just obliterates Kawada with an elbow shot, knocking Kawada senseless!
That’s all she wrote, and Misawa picks up the 3-count and two more points in the Champion Carnival, bringing his total to 10!
END VTR
The commentators discuss how different last week’s match was, compared to their Triple Crown match back in October of 1992. Fans and wrestling insiders alike were shocked at the level of brutality shown between these two friends and tag team partners.
CHAMPION CARNIVAL MATCH:
AKIRA TAUE [12] beats JOHNNY ACE [6]. Taue picks up 2 more points in this hard-hitting, back and forth affair. Ace has the upper hand late in the match, but Taue turns things around, and connects with the Nodowa Otoshi for the pinfall victory!
A promo video airs for SUPER BATTLE IN TOKYO DOME!
In just a couple of weeks, All Japan will be in the Tokyo Dome for the biggest card in the company’s history!
Scheduled matches include:
Jushin Liger vs Tiger Mask III! Liger has won the first two matches between them, but Tiger Mask has continued to improve, and he feels this is his time to finally beat Liger!
The Miracle Violence Connection defend the World tag team titles against Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue!
WWF superstar Sting will return to Japan, as he faces Riki Choshu! Both men use the Scorpion Lock as one of their signature moves, and on May 3 we’ll find out who’s is better!
In a battle of four of the biggest names in Japan in the last 20 years, Giant Baba teams up with Genichiro Tenryu to face Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami!
And, the main event, a dream match for the Triple Crown, Mitsuharu Misawa defends the belts against the Great Muta!
We hear comments from some of the wrestlers that will be involved:
Tiger Mask III says that he lost his first two matches to Jushin Thunder Liger, but he’s been training harder than ever, and he feels that May 3 will be his night to finally defeat Liger and prove that he belongs at the top of the junior heavyweight division!
Sting can’t wait to return to Japan! He’s wrestled in the Big Egg before, and says there’s no experience quite like it! He has a lot of respect for Riki Choshu, and he’s looking forward to facing him on May 3!
Giant Baba & Genichiro Tenryu talk about their tag team match against Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami. Baba says that he and Inoki were once a great tag team, but their careers took different paths, and they never had the big match against each other that both men so badly wanted. Baba says that on May 3, he finally has the chance to prove himself against Inoki! Tenryu says that Tatsumi Fujinami came into AJPW with the others from New Japan, and disrespected the entire roster here in All Japan. He says he just can’t let that go, and he’ll put Fujinami in his place on May 3!
Mitsuharu Misawa says that, previously, he said he didn’t always feel as though he deserved to be wearing these belts. Now, on May 3, he has the opportunity to defend them against one of the biggest names ever, the Great Muta! He says that this will be the test that he needs, and if he can defeat Muta at the Tokyo Dome, he will have finally proven to all these fans, and to himself, that he is worthy of being called the Triple Crown champion!
Last Week On All Japan Pro Wrestling:
Back inside, Williams is groggy from going headfirst into the steel ringpost. Fujinami takes advantage, and hits a dropkick that sends Williams through the ropes and right back out to the floor! Doc is pissed off now, and he slides back into the ring and charges at Fujinami, but again the Dragon takes him down to the mat. Williams fights back, and goes back after Fujinami’s arm. He throws Fuji out of the ring, then attacks him on the floor and repeatedly wraps the Dragon’s arm around the ringpost!
Doc spends the next few minutes working on the arm of the Dragon. As we near the 20-minute mark of the match, Fujinami turns the tables, but his arm is in bad shape, and when he attempts the Dragon Suplex, he can’t pull it off with the bad arm. Williams responds by bashing Fujinami with several stiff elbow strikes, then hoists him up and delivers the Oklahoma Stampede!
Williams covers Fujinami, but the Dragon somehow manages to get a shoulder up at the last second! Williams decides to try a different approach, he sets Fujinami up, and hits the DOCTOR BOMB!!!!
This time Fujinami is down for the count, and Williams gets the 3-count and 2 more points in the Champion Carnival!
END VTR
Wakabayashi and Takeuchi discuss last week’s match between Tatsumi Fujinami and Steve Williams. As we just saw, Williams came away with a very hard-fought victory in that one, we’ll see if Fujinami can rebound here this week against the Triple Crown champion Misawa.
CHAMPION CARNIVAL MATCH:
“THE DRAGON” TATSUMI FUJINAMI [10] beats MITSUHARU MISAWA [12]. The longtime Ace of New Japan, Fujinami, squares off with the current Ace of All Japan, and reigning Triple Crown champion, Mitsuharu Misawa!
The is slow to start, as we get a feeling out process, both men looking for weaknesses to exploit in the other. Fujinami is the veteran, and he tries to goad Misawa into making a mistake, but the champion doesn’t fall for it. Misawa stuns Fujinami with some extremely stiff elbow strikes, but Fuji quickly clears the cobwebs, and takes Misawa to the mat, where he starts working on the arm and shoulder of Misawa, looking to take away the force behind Misawa’s elbows.
The next several minutes see Fujinami in control. Misawa gets some shots in, but it’s not enough to turn the tide in the match. Fujinami continues his assault on Misawa’s arm, and it pays off. Later in the match, Misawa manages to take control, catching Fujinami with a dropkick, but when he goes for the Rolling Elbow, but he can’t get much force behind it, and seems to hurt himself more than he hurts the Dragon!
Fujinami moves in for the kill, taking Misawa down again, working on the arm, and then slapping on a Fujiwara Armbar right in the middle of the ring!
Misawa can’t escape, and gives up, not wanting to risk further injury to the arm and shoulder!
Tatsumi Fujinami has defeated Triple Crown champ Misawa to earn 2 more points in the Champion Carnival!
A graphic appears on the screen, showing the standings in the Champion Carnival:
1. Steve Williams [15]
2. Terry Gordy [13]
3. Akira Taue [12]
4. Mitsuharu Misawa [12]
5. Kenta Kobashi [12]
6. Tatsumi Fujinami [10]
7. Toshiaki Kawada [7]
8. Johnny Ace [6]
9. Bobby Fulton [5]
10. Big Bubba Rogers [4]
11. Dan Kroffat [2]
12. Doug Furnas [0]
13. Jun Akiyama [0]
Wakabayashi and Takeuchi wrap things up, and hype next week’s show. Next week, we’ll be in Osaka-jō Hall, and we’ll see tag team partners square off, as Terry Gordy faces Steve Williams, Toshiaki Kawada meets Akira Taue, and Mitsuharu Misawa squares off with Kenta Kobashi!
Credits Roll
© 1993, All Japan Pro Wrestling
Working on it now.