New Japan TV 1-20-94 Liger vs Tiger Mask!

[Chitohausen]

Sanctioned by International Wrestling Grand Prix; Seiji Sakaguchi, president


Airs across Japan on Saturday, January 20, 1994 on:


TV Asahi


Taped on January 4, 1994 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan



Announcers: Kenji Wakabayashi and Kotetsu Yamamoto
Ring Announcer: Hidekazu Tanaka
Referees: Red Shoes Unno, Tiger Hattori and Kyohei Wada



KENJI WAKABAYASHI and KOTETSU YAMAMOTO open the show.

We’re back in the world-famous Tokyo Dome for this week’s episode of Asahi TV’s “World Pro-Wrestling”!

Three big matches are scheduled for today’s show . . .

Shiro Koshinaka and Masashi Aoyagi of Heisei Ishingun face the J-J-Jacks, Akira Nogami and Takayuki Iizuka!

We’ll see a battle between two gaijin teams, as Stan Hansen and Dan Spivey face one of the top teams in the world, Rick and Scott Steiner!

And the feature bout, Jushin Thunder Liger meets Tiger Mask! A rivalry has developed between these two over the past year, they’ve met a handful of times, and both men hold victories over the other. Both men are looking to move into contention for a shot at IWGP Jr heavyweight champ Ultimo Dragon, and the winner of today’s match would definitely be deserving of a title match.


We go to pre-recorded comments from RIKI CHOSHU. Choshu is the locker room after his victory over Genichiro Tenryu on last week’s show.

Choshu says that the New Japan team beat All Japan recently in the 5-on-5 Elimination match, and then he pinned Genichiro Tenryu, the veteran of the All-Japan group. He says that New Japan has begun to move ahead, and show that the superior wrestlers are here in NJPW!

Choshu says that any other All Japan wrestlers that want to step in the ring with him, he would be happy to beat them too!


J-J-JACKS: AKIRA NOGAMI & TAKAYUKI IIZUKA defeat HEISEI ISHINGUN: SHIRO KOSHINAKA & MASASHI AOYAGI. Aoyagi starts off with a flurry of kicks to soften Nogami up, then he tags in Shiro, who takes Nogami down to the mat and works him over. The J-J-Jacks use technical wrestling to match the karate-inspired offense of the Heisei Ishingun team.

Late in the match, with Nogami in the ropes, Aoyagi takes some cheap shots, kicking him and connecting with an elbow strike to the back of the head! This angers Nogami, who fires back with some strikes of his own. The two men trade strikes, but Aoyagi gets the better of the exchange. Tags are made for both teams, with Iizuka and Koshinaka coming in. Shiro comes in first, and catches Iizuka with some vicious knee strikes as Iizuka is entering the ring. Aoyagi comes back in, and Shiro holds Iizuka while Aoyagi hits a spinning kick that puts Iizuka flat on the mat. Koshinaka covers him for a 2-count. Koshinaka goes for an Irish whip, but Iizuka reverses it, sending Shiro into the ropes, and then hits a dropkick for a 2-count. Iizuka connects with an uranage, and tags in Nogami, who immediately heads to the top rope and hits Shiro with a bodypress for 2! Koshinaka tags in Aoyagi. Aoyagi goes for a kick, but Nogami blocks it, and drives Aoyagi into the mat with a Dragon suplex for the 1, 2, 3!


RICK & SCOTT STEINER defeat STAN HANSEN & DAN SPIVEY. The Steiner Brothers are successful in their return to Japan, against the monster duo of Hansen and Spivey! This match is what you would expect, the two teams simply try to overpower their opponents, and hit their usual spots.

In the end, Scott Steiner hits Spivey with the Frankensteiner, then hoists Spivey up on his shoulders, with Rick Steiner then coming off the top rope with a Bulldog on Spivey! Rick stops Stan Hansen from getting involved, and Scott covers Spivey for the 1, 2, 3!


JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER defeats TIGER MASK III. Both men hold victories over the other, and both are looking to move into contention for a shot at the IWGP Jr heavyweight title. Tempers flare early, Tiger Mask gets Liger in the ropes, and delivers a forearm smash instead of a clean break, causing Liger to stun Tiger Mask with several elbow strikes! Liger takes TM to the mat, and targets his leg, but Tiger Mask is able to get to the ropes, then delivers some vicious kicks to Liger!

TM locks Liger in a headscissors, but Liger does a handstand to get out of the hold, then slaps on a headscissors of his own! Tiger Mask also does a headstand to get out of it, but Liger immediately applies it again! Tiger eventually gets out of the hold, then kicks Liger right in the face. Tiger Mask puts the boots to Liger, he’s wrestling a more aggressive style than we usually see from Tiger Mask.

At this point, Shinjiro Ohtani makes his way to ringside, and starts cheering on Tiger Mask. TM drives Liger into the mat with a Backdrop Suplex, but only gets a 2-count. Liger reverses an Irish whip, and hits TM with a Tilt-a-whirl Backbreaker. Liger applies a Romero Special, and pulls on TM’s head for added leverage, however that leaves TM’s arm free, and he rakes Liger’s eyes to break the hold. Once he’s free, TM repeatedly stomps Liger’s head!

Liger battles back, and connects with three Rolling Koppou Kicks, putting TM on the mat. Liger heads to the top rope as Tiger Mask gets back to his feet. Liger attempts a top-rope dropkick, but Tiger Mask goes for a dropkick of his own, and both men crash to the mat.

Tiger Mask goes for a more grounded approach, he tries to apply a cross armbreaker, but Liger fights free. TM hits Liger with a series of chops, then TM takes Liger back to the mat, and this time he goes to work on Liger’s leg. Liger hits another Rolling Koppou Kick, and as TM gets back to his feet, Liger dropkicks him out of the ring. Liger goes for a baseball slide, but TM moves out of the way, and he and Liger brawl on the floor.

Back inside the ring, TM is on the offensive, and after battering Liger, he heads to the top rope and hits a twisting bodypress. TM covers Liger, but shockingly, pulls Liger up just before the 3-count! Tiger Mask says that he’s not finished yet, he wants to humiliate Liger! Tiger Mask pulls Liger to his feet, and goes for the Tiger Suplex, but Liger fights out of it, and hits a Lariat, followed up by a Powerbomb! Liger isn’t finished, he sets Tiger Mask up on the top turnbuckle . . . TOP-ROPE FRANKENSTEINER!!!

That has to be it! Liger covers Tiger Mask . . . but TM gets a shoulder up at the last second!!!! Liger is shocked!!! Liger slams Tiger Mask hard near the corner, and heads to the top turnbuckle again . . . SHOOTING STAR PRESS!!!!!

Liger connects with the Shooting Star Press, and this time, he gets the 1, 2, 3!

After the decision is announced, Liger offers his hand . . . but Tiger Mask drops him with a clothesline!

At this point, Shinjiro Ohtani joins Tiger Mask in the ring. He stomps Liger, then throws him out of the ring!

Tiger Mask says that the promotion offered him a lot of money to become the new Tiger Mask. He says that he never wanted to wrestle under a mask . . . AND THEN TIGER MASK PULLS THE MASK OFF!!!

Koji Kanemoto says that he’s done with the mask, he’s sick and tired of wrestling as an old manga character, and says that this is the reason people don’t take wrestling seriously!

He says that from now on, men like himself and Shinjiro Ohtani are going to make it their mission to rid professional wrestling of these masked cartoon characters, and they’re going to return puroresu to the respectable sport it used to be!


Wakabayashi and Yamamoto are shocked by what we just witnessed! Wakabayashi says that Ohtani and the now-unmasked Koji Kanemoto have made their intentions clear, they want to rid puroresu of what they consider to be “cartoon characters”.

They hype next week’s show, which will see the next match in Antonio Inoki’s Retirement Countdown Series, against the American star Sting! And, the battle of the new generation in puroresu, as Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono face the two top young stars of All Japan Pro Wrestling, Toshiaki Kawada and the reigning IWGP champ Mitsuharu Misawa!


Credits Roll



© 1994, New Japan Pro Wrestling