wrestling / Video Reviews
Furious Flashbacks: Wrestle-1 Keiji Muto 30th Anniversary
Loading...Wrestle-1 Keiji Muto 30th Anniversary – Hold Out
1st November 2014 (Aired 9th November on Nippon TV).
We’re in Tokyo, Japan and this is a very big show for Wrestle-1. They’ve booked the Ryugoku for it and have blown their booking wad in the process. Having spent over a year building to the concept of a champion and creating an evil heel stable, Desperado, to get the title on Masayuki Kono, his first title defence is against Keiji Muto on Muto’s 30th Anniversary celebration show. Gee, I wonder who’ll win that? Seeing as Muto is the owner, booker and guy being celebrated on this show it should be a betting no-brainer. Is it the right thing to do? Hell, no. But then I was never a big fan of Muto when he was young and mobile so I’m probably not the person to ask regarding his career. Still, he is a draw at least and 7,200 showed up for this show, making it a resounding success story for a promotion lacking in those.
Incidentally I was challenged, on Twitter no less, as to why I watched and reviewed Wrestle-1 when I blatantly didn’t like the product and my answer was a simple one. What if they suddenly got good? I might miss something stunning. And if they don’t get good, I like to keep an eye on various talents anyway. For Wrestle-1 it’d be guys like Yoshioka, Nakanoue, Doi, Wu, Sai, Team 246 and Seiya Sanada. Even though I don’t like the promotion, there are still a host of talented guys working there that I dig (like how I didn’t dig WCW all that much but they had the likes of Jericho, Malenko and Eddy working there). There are probably too many Japanese promotions, leaving talent spread thin across them but I aim to keep an eye on everything to get a good overview. Otherwise how do I know New Japan are still the best promotion? Plus I find it hard to just cover one promotion and Japan gives me the opportunity to watch a lot of different wrestling.
Novus (Jiro Kuroshio, Koji Doi, Rionne Fujiwara & Yusuke Kodama) vs. Daiki Inaba, Seiki Yoshioka, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Hiroki Murase
This is billed as Novus vs. Wrestle-1 and Novus kinda remind me of an unambitious Generation Next. Kodama used to work for Tajiri in WNC but when WNC was absorbed into Wrestle-1 he found his way into Novus. Strange they didn’t just run a WNC stable. It’s almost as if they bought that promotion to pad out their roster. Kuroshio, irritating douchebag that he is, sports a blazer to the ring adorned with strawberries (possibly hearts) and a fluorescent lime green inlay. He wrestles with that on. Because there are 8 guys out there they keep it entertaining with frequent energetic tags and Novus work noticeably heel. Kuroshio seems to think it’s better to show off his lime green inlay and dance rather than sell stuff. He is insufferable. Luckily the match doesn’t revolve around him and everyone gets a look in. Again it’s Doi that impresses for me as he’s silky smooth and Yoshioka looks terrific too. He throws himself into spots with reckless abandon. When they work each other….HOLY SHIT, we’ve got two potential superstars on our hands. Nakanoue ends up grabbing the win by battering Rionne with a lariat but the potential Wrestle-1 have with these guys is limitless. Clearly they’re seen as a hot opener at the moment but hopefully there’s room to advance up the card.
Final Rating: ***1/4
Hiroshi Yamato vs. LEONA
Urgh, what a comedown this is after a hot start. Yamato is ok but LEONA? He’s only here because he’s Fujinami’s boy. He really isn’t ready for the big leagues and needs a lot of seasoning if he’s ever to advance beyond being another David Sammartino (or David Flair). His opponent here, Yamato, is one of the most chiselled Japanese workers you’ll ever see. He’s rocking a six-pack and values definition above all else. You don’t see many Japanese wrestlers going for that American look. LEONA is brutally green and, perhaps more worryingly, shows little aptitude for wrestling. He can run the ropes but that’s about it. He’s worse than the likes of Kumano or Nomura who are working their way into the business. He has a pretty cool looking dragon screw, probably learned from the old man, but everything else is brutal from stomps to elbows to dropkicks. He looks like a trainee. He has no transitions. He can’t strike. He can’t take a bump properly. It’s embarrassing. It’s weird that he seems to have mastered stuff like the leg roll clutch though. What is with kids these days? Someone should get Jayson Mayson to teach these juniors some wrestling basics. Obviously Yamato wins. Nepotism will only get you so far before you require some actual talent too.
Final Rating: ¼*
Tangent: The title belt that Yamato was waving around here belongs to EWP (European Pro Wrestling) and has been held by the likes of Robbie Brookside, Doug Williams and Kendo Kashin. As if Japan needed more title belts!
Yoshihiro Takayama, MAZADA & NOSAWA Rongai vs. Ryota Hama, El Hijo del Pantera & Andy Wu
This is not the most promising of contests either. Andy Wu is ok, the rest I could live without. Takayama used to be a magnificent son of a bitch but Father Time has changed that. It’s gotten to the point where NOAH don’t want to use him and they don’t have a lot of replacement options available. Given the lack of thrills to be had with Tak, they opt for having Tokyo Gurentai do a lot of lucha spots with EHDP and Wu. It’s ok but the crowd get really revved up for 7000lbs blubberbutt Hama going toe to toe, well belly to belly, with Tak. My first thought process is that I bet Akiyama could book these guys in a match that didn’t suck. EHDP and Wu double team Tak out of the ring and Hama splashes both Tokyo Gurentai for the win. At least he didn’t do it to anyone I cared about. This was pathetic.
Final Rating: ½*
AKIRA & Manabu Soya vs. Desperado (Rjoji Sai & KAZMA SAKAMOTO)
Not content with Soya having a wacky tag team with AKIRA, Wrestle-1 show footage of Soya beating the shit out of AKIRA in a wacky training sequence. They throw any pretence of this being a wrestling match out of the window in the opening exchanges; a weapons heavy crowd brawl. SAKAMOTO really is worthless. He’s like Taichi, minus any wrestling ability. I don’t truly understand why Ryoji Sai is being subjected to being his tag team partner and working in this match when you consider he won the Zero1 Fire Festival. That was only 3 months ago! SAKAMOTO’s biggest crime in this one is insisting on back bumping an Enziguri, thus defying the laws of physics. Something has struck me from behind, knocking me backwards…oh, wait. Soya overcomes him and Desperado are condemned to defeat as tonight is all about Wrestle-1 triumphing in every single angle. It is a nice piece of redemption for Soya, whose career has hit the skids during 2014, but the match it took place in was largely garbage. Doesn’t that make it three in a row?
Final Rating: ½*
KAI vs. Masato Tanaka
KAI looked like he was being built up as Wrestle-1’s big babyface superstar only for Muto to get cold feet at the last hurdle and put the title on Kono instead. Seeing as his talent level is around the midcard, it’s not the worst thing that could have happened to him. In an attempt to rebuild his fortunes he’s challenged Zero1’s Masato Tanaka. KAI finds himself naturally disadvantaged, pummelled by elbows in the early going, but is able to adapt and impressively drops down while selling only to turn it into an International with a dropkick. KAI is determined to stand up to Tanaka and it’s great to see him trying to fight fire with fire and coming up short because he’s not that guy. It all makes good psychological sense. In attempting to prove himself, he’s guaranteeing himself a gutsy loss. Sometimes in wrestling losing is better than winning. Every time KAI stands up to Tanaka you can sense his persona growing. You’d think it’d be important for him to rebound from losing to Kono with a win but this is all about performance. KAI seems to have learned from his mistakes. He doesn’t look clunky here at all and seems to focus on his best moves. It’s a match that shows the promise Wrestle-1 have seen in KAI since day one. He even gets me going by dumping Tanaka on his head and then hitting a lariat and a powerbomb after Tanaka pops up no-selling. Things just get crazier from there with ridiculous spots and heavy lumber. It’s fantastic. It’s on the short side, at under 12 minutes, but the effort levels are high throughout and it’s a thrill ride. Tanaka gets it done with Sliding D but KAI proved himself worthy here. It could be the most important match of his career. If he can press on from this and keep wrestling smart matches Wrestle-1 might have the star they always hoped they had.
Final Rating: ****
Team 246 (Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo) & Minoru Tanaka vs. BroMans (Jessie Godderz & Robbie E) & DJ Z
This is billed as Wrestle-1 vs. TNA and Team 246 is out for revenge against the BroMans for the PPV loss earlier in the year. DJ Z used to be Zema Ion. He switched gimmicks back in April to join forces with TNA’s in house douchebag team; the BroMans. I’m amazed they’ve lasted this long. A quick look on Cagematch reveals the BroMans haven’t worked in TNA for 2 months. Luckily the Wrestle-1 guys in this match are all really talented and the BroMans bring their bumping boots. Kondo is my favourite guy in this and his reaction to Godderz muscle poses is hilarious. He just smirks a bit and shakes it off. As if to say, ‘yeah, you’re muscular but you’re not very good’. While they’re posing Kondo mows everyone down. The match is clearly intended to be fun, rather than one for the workrate freaks as they get over with posing, mockery and comedy spots. If you can have that match and do it well, then go for it. The heat segment on Tanaka is a bit disappointing because the TNA group are better off taking a beating and bumping around the ring than administering a beating themselves. That said the sequences with Kondo and DJ Z are very impressive, with Kondo using his power and Z breaking out speedy counters. It’s genuinely good. Kondo hits the Farewell Powerslam and finishes with a lariat, which DJ Z backflips. This was a lot better than I was expecting, heat segment aside.
Final Rating: ***
Seiya Sanada vs. Matt Hardy vs. Tajiri
This is billed as Wrestle-1 vs. TNA vs. Desperado. Seeing as Wrestle-1 have won every single match tonight (KAI-Tanaka aside, which wasn’t billed as Wrestle-1 vs.), the smart money is on Sanada. Matt rather surprises me by using his WWE music. Law suit on the way, Muto-san! Matt should probably consider a run in Japan as his physique is less likely to come in for stick there and his style isn’t a millions miles off something acceptable. Given his age and psychology he could develop into a Jake Roberts-style wrestler. Like most triple threat matches this one has issues. They try and get around them by having Hardy & Tajiri team up on Sanada. This leads to a series of treacherous turns while keeping Sanada squeaky clean. They have a few fun three-way spots including Tajiri rolling up both guys with Hardy stuck in an abdominal stretch. They do the standard bit of hitting finishers and the 3rd guy saving and it’s interesting that Matt’s Twist of Fate gets NO reaction at all. Tajiri’s kicks are a huge highlight. He seems to have a knack of landing them at the perfect time, breaking up other sequences. Some triple threat favourites show up, like the powerbomb/superplex. Sanada ends up pinning Tajiri after ducking the Green Mist. Tidy match but felt at least ten years out of date. I generally dislike triple threat matches because there’s only so much you can do with them and TNA had a stint of doing them flawlessly (circa 2005). You can’t live up to that.
Final Rating: ***
Alberto El Patron vs. Masakatsu Funaki
Being fired by the WWE might be the best thing to happen to Alberto Del Rio in quite some time. He was clearly floundering there and being released allows him to walk into semi-main events anywhere in the world. However whether he stays there will depend on his performance level. El Patron also uses his WWE music. Muto is playing with fire! El Patron basically works heel as some of the more rabid fans get a “Funaki” chant going. El Patron is suitably vicious, even if he works that WWE style. It takes a while to shake it. The result is a match of vague indifference. Not even the wrestlers seem that into it and it’s reminiscent of several other guest outings in Japan; especially the ones in Hustle (Goldberg springs to mind). Funaki throws in moments that pull me back in, usually when he’s striking Alberto and showing him how to work puroresu strongstyle. El Patron ends up winning with a fucking ROLL UP with a handful of tights. Whatever motherfucker, leave that shit in New York.
Final Rating: *
Wrestle-1 Championship:
Masayuji Kono (c) vs. Keiji Muto
Considering he’s in his 50s and struggles to walk to the ring, Muto is surprisingly spry once he gets going. Not that the match has any kind of pace to it and most of it is divided between Muto rest holds and Kono cheating. This leads to a gang of Wrestle-1 grapplers offsetting the Desperado presence at ringside. The story is about Muto overcoming the odds so they add in a bad leg to make the story even more extreme, as Kono tries to get a submission by working over Muto’s already messed up knees. Kono’s path to victory seems clear cut. He busts up Muto’s knees and then hits the King Kong Kneedrop only for Muto to kick out so he goes back to working the knee over. It’s smart work as it allows Muto to work an 18 minute match without doing anything for the majority of it. Muto comes firing back with a load of Shining Wizard’s, which appear to do nothing as Kono just pops back up. I never understood the Shining Wizard. Why would Muto use his already broken knee as an offensive weapon? He stopped using moonsaults because his knees suck, so why use the knee as a finish? When I say a “load” of Shining Wizard’s I mean it too. He just keeps hitting that fucking thing, over and over and over and over again. Muto’s psychology is so spectacularly dumb he even hits a backbreaker. Why would you hit a backbreaker using your bad knees? Moonsault doesn’t finish so Muto hits some dragon screws and finishes with the Figure Four. This match summed up everything that I hate about Muto. Everything I’ve always hated about Muto. The psychology that makes no sense, the attempts at tension, the overuse of the same moves when it makes no sense, the failure to build anything and his own personal refusal to move to one side. How is anyone in Wrestle-1 ever going to get over with booking like this? The match was shit and now the owner is the champion. I’m beginning to suspect this whole thing is just a vanity project so Muto can book himself another big run that he doesn’t need or deserve.
Final Rating: DUD
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