NJPW Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome

Legacy Review

NJPW Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome

January 4, 1998 from the Tokyo Dome

New Japan eschewed the "Wrestling World" name they'd used for the past couple of Jan. 4 shows (and would use again for a few years after this) for a very special reason- this is Riki Choshu's retirement show. He's going out in style, in a 5 match gauntlet called through translation the "Riki Road Final Message Five". This is also the first 1/4 show where New Japan isn't engaged in a cross-promotional battle. What is happening tonight however is the presence of NWO Japan, who had become a major force in NJPW after forming just after the '97 1/4 show following the success of the original NWO in New Japan's US partner WCW.

As usual this is from the New Japan World archives so Japanese commentary only.

Kendo Kashin def Koji Kanemoto in 12:01- We open things up with what would now be called a special singles match with two risers in the junior division. Kanemoto had already had a taste of IWGP Junior gold during Liger's long injury a couple of years prior, while Kashin was about 6 months back from excursion and was flying up the ranks thanks to a devastating cross armbreaker submission hold. Kanemoto offers a handshake. Kashin attacks him! They do a cool little sequence of a bunch of snap mare reversals, ending with Kashin hitting a reverse DDT. Kashin starts some leg work. He puts on a surfboard and transitions into an armbar. He goes for the armbreaker early. Kanemoto grabs his leg to escape. Stalemate and reset. More mat exchanges. Kanemoto blocks the armbreaker again and hooks on a leg scissors. He chops Kashin down with kicks. More leg hold tradeoffs and more Kanemoto kicks. He hits a spinning back kick to Kashin's jaw. Boston crab from Kanemoto. Kashin gets to the ropes. Kanemoto hits a corkscrew senton from the second rope. He goes up top and goes for a moonsault. Kashin gets his knees up. He gets the armbreaker on. Kanemoto just gets a foot on the rope. Kashin lifts Kanemoto in a suplex and drops him on the top rope. Big European uppercuts from Kashin on the floor. More uppercuts knock Kanemoto off the apron. He goes to suplex Kanemoto back in. Kanamoto lands on his feet, but Kashin saw the counter coming and counters the counter with a quick reverse kick to the gut. Diving lariato. Kashin pulls Kanemoto's kneepad off and rips off some of the tape he had on his knee. Kanemoto gets put in the tree of woe with more knee shots. Kashin diving lariato off the top rope for 2. He hits the ropes but Kanemoto gives him a snap belly to belly suplex. He sets Kashin up top and powerslams him off, then hops up the opposite corner and hits a moonsault. Kanemoto goes for a tiger suplex. Kashin quickly reverses and hooks the armbreaker in again! Kanemoto JUST stretches his leg long enough to get a foot on the rope as the crowd really starts to get into it. Kashin sets Kanemoto on top and flips him off back into the armbreaker! Again Kanemoto just gets a foot on the rope. Kashin tries to pick the arm apart some more. German suplex. Kanemoto rolls through it! He hooks and hits the tiger suplex! Kashin kicks out! More kicks. Kashin grabs one and hits a dragon screw! The armbreaker is on again! Kanemoto's luck has run out and he has no choice but to tap out. Nice little opener. ***

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Shinjiro Otani (c) def Ultimo Dragon in 17:06- Since the last 1/4 show the J-Crown has come and gone. Part of the reason was WWF wanted their Light Heavyweight belt back to try their own junior style division (and the first champion was young Japanese star Taka Michinoku). Otani was the last J-Crown champion and kept the IWGP Junior title when all the other belts were returned. This is the first junior title match on a 1/4 show to not involve a healthy Jushin Liger. He has other plans tonight. Otani offers a handshake. Dragon says nah. Nice mat wrestling stalemate to start. Dragon does a headstand in the corner and hits a flurry of kicks. A Dragon Japanese armdrag leads to a mat roll around trying to get leverage. Dragon manages to hang onto the arm. He puts Otani in a stump puller! There's a hold that doesn't get enough love. Otani works into a headscissors. Both guys try for leg holds, mostly at the same time. Rope break reset. Otani gets the edge with some kicks. He does some boot chokes and boot scrapes in the corner. After a running boot scrape he slides to the floor and brags. Dragon gives him a double kick in the back! He skins the cat back in, charges, does a 619 spin and tries for a dive but Otani grabs his boot and pulls him down into the apron. Chop exchange on the floor. Apron suplex stalemate. Dragon blocks a powerbomb. Otani finally lifts him up but drops Dragon onto the ropes and he falls to the floor. I'm fairly certain that was planned but it looked slightly ugly. More Otani kicks. Dragon gets a gut punch, jab to the jaw and kick to get out of the corner. Slam and Dragon goes up top. Otani pops up and joins him. He goes for a hurricanrana but Dragon pushes him onto the top rope, crotching Otani and he falls to the floor. Dragon moonsault to the floor! Back in Dragon does a corner whip and handsprings across. Otani casually strolls out of the target area. Dragon lands on the second rope, turns and hits a hurricanrana for 2! Otani ducks a lariato and hits a German suplex. Springboard missile dropkick! Springboard spinning heel kick! Cover for 2. Otani dragon suplex! Dragon kicks out! Of the dragon suplex. I'm sure Vince would have put the kibosh on having dragon suplexes in a match with a wrestler named Dragon. "The fans would get confused". Dragon's hurt and collapses on a whip attempt. Otani telegraphs a backdrop. Dragon counters and hits a scissors kick. He goes for a magistral cradle, one of his specialties, but Otani blocks it and gets up wagging his finger "no no no". Dragon blocks a dragon suplex. Magistral cradle! Otani kicks out! The crowd bit hard on that near fall. Dragon hits a tombstone. He goes up top but Ohtani cuts him off. Otani tries for a dragon superplex but it's blocked. Dragon hits a sunset bomb for 2! Running powerbomb! Another 2 count! Dragon sets Otani up top. Otani fights him off and hits an avalanche DDT! Dragon dodges a springboard dropkick! Another magistral! Another kick out! The crowd REALLY bit on that one. Another top rope setup. Dragon hurricanrana! Otani kicks out again! Dragon running headscissors! Another magistral. Otani rolls through it! Dragon suplex! A second dragon suplex! 3 count! Fantastic match. The juniors nearly always deliver. Otani would lose the title to Liger in February, kicking off Liger's ninth run with the belt and another reign that would last over a year. ****1/4

 

Yuji Nagata def Hiroyoshi Tenzan in 11:33- Two future New Japan legends are getting an early singles bout here. Nagata was still on his excursion to WCW but came home for one night for the big show. Tenzan is our first NWO Japan member to wrestle tonight. Tenzan kills Nagata with a lariato before the bell. Open hand slap exchange. Tenzan hits headbutts. Nagata tries an armbreaker and Tenzan gets to the ropes. Kicks from Nagata and Tenzan rolls out to regroup. Back in Tenzan hits throat chops. Arm wringer exchange. Nagata gets the edge on the mat. Russian leg sweep from Nagata. Tenzan reverses a corner whip, Nagata dodges the charge and rolls Tenzan up for 2. More kicks piss Tenzan off. Nagata switches to head kicks to get him down again. Slugfest. Tenzan hits his signature Mongolian chop. Nagata crossbody for 2. Tenzan lays in the eye rakes and hits more headbutts. Nagata fights off a Boston crab and Tenzan gives him a shot a bit south of, er.....*double checks map* Kagoshima. Southernmost city on mainland Japan. Nagata tries headbutts and against Tenzan that doesn't go very well. Tenzan goes up top. Nagata pops up and joins him. Nagata belly to belly superplex! More kicks and Nagata German suplex for 2. Tenzan pops out of the corner with a lariato. Spinning heel kick for 2. Nagata small package for 2. He tries for a modified figure four. Tenzan gets to the ropes. Tenzan blocks a northern lights suplex and turns it into a DDT. Powerbomb. Nagata dodges a headbutt off the top rope. Kicks and Nagata enzuguri! Release northern lights suplex for 2. Snap belly to belly. He hooks on the modified figure four! Tenzan submits! Solid stuff from two guys that were still learning but clearly on the upswing. There was also a lot of western style in there as befit both these guys' excursions. The fact that Nagata is already getting major show singles wins despite still officially being on excursion shows New Japan knew they had something special in him, and rightly so. **1/2

 

Osamu Nishimura and Tatsumi Fujinami def Bull Powers in 12:39- Bull Powers was a short lived team of Third Generation stars (well, still young kids at this point) Satoshi Kojima and Manabu Nakanishi. Nishimura was a protege of Fujinami's that's just come back to Japan after spending most of the decade wrestling in various promotions in the US, this is his return match. He's a former GWF Light Heavyweight champion, in fact he was the last one before GWF closed, which I mention only because I can never resist the chance to get a GWF reference in. Nishimura takes his robe off and he's wearing an NWO shirt! The crowd gasps and commentary goes nuts. I honestly don't know what that's about, he's not listed on any official list of NWO Japan members, and Fujinami doesn't seem bothered by it despite the fact he's as anti-NWO as you could get. Wish I could understand commentary. Oh well. Nishimura and Nakanishi start with some basic feeling out mat wrestling. Test of strength. Nishimura does a nice neck bridge. Nakanishi gets on top of him but Nishimura doesn't budge. Nishimura hits a suplex and both sides tag. Fujinami wins a more headlock/shoulderblock style basic exchange. Kojima hits a suplex. Both Bull Powers guys run in and are all fired up. Someone ate their bread today. Bread Club 4 Life. Nakanishi teases another test of strength with Nishimura but uses it to pound him into the corner. Nishimura responds by flooring him with a forearm. Nakanishi backbreakers out of a chinlock. Bull Powers double shoulderblock. Kojima senton and Saito suplex. Nakanishi hits a fallaway backdrop and legdrop. Back suplex double team. Kojima spinebuster for 2. After some corner lariatos Nishimura rolls out for a breather. When he gets back in he's trapped in the Bull Powers corner again. A flurry of Nishimura rights floors Nakanishi. Nishimura double underhook suplex. He gets caught in the wrong part of town again. Nakanishi slam and big elbow drop for 2. Nishimura hits a rolling kick and gets the tag. Nakanishi gets Fujinami up in the torture rack. Nishimura breaks it up though it took a ton of kicks to do it. Kojima pummels Fujinami with lariatos and forearms. Elbow off the top for 2. He goes knock Nishimura off the apron, and Fujinami uses the distraction to give him a dragon screw leg whip! Dragon sleeper! Nakanishi breaks it up. Dragon screw for him! Nishimura tags in and hits Kojima with a corner dropkick. Kojima dodges another dropkick and hits a lariato for 2. Front/back double lariato from Bull Powers. Kojicutter off the top rope! Fujinami breaks up the pin. Nishimura ducks a lariato and hits a German suplex. Fujinami kneedrop off the top rope. Nishimura hits a missile dropkick and covers but Kojima gets a foot on the bottom rope. After a couple more reversals and some donnybrooking Nishimura hits a northern lights suplex to get the pin. Meh. The last 5 minutes or so were pretty good but everything before that was fairly dull. Like Tenzan and Nagata, Nakanishi and Kojima were still learning. **

 

Riki Road Final Message Five- All five guys that Choshu will be wrestling are gathered in the ring and are introduced together. They all hang out at ringside waiting their turn to come in. Huge pop for Choshu when he's introduced. Most of the guys he's wrestling are younger guys just getting started.

MATCH ONE: vs. Kazuyuki Fujita- Rough lockup. Fujita pounds Choshu down in the corner. Choshu leverages out of a headlock. Long fight for leverage on the mat. Fujita hooks on a sleeper. More Fujita corner beatdown. He hits a deadlift suplex. Choshu responds with a Saito suplex! Choshu lariato! Fujita is done.

MATCH TWO: vs. Yutaka Yoshie- Yoshie slaps Choshu after the lockup. Not sure how smart that is. Choshu hits a flurry of palm strikes. Yoshie downs Choshu with forearms and kicks and tries for a Boston crab. Not happening. Running forearm from Yoshie. He runs into a Choshu lariato! Good night Yoshie.

MATCH THREE: vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa- Clearly the group strategery is to hit Choshu hard early and often to try to wear him down. Takaiwa comes out of the gate with chops and a lariato. Slam and kneedrop. Choshu backdrops out of a pilledriver or power bomb attempt. Lariato! For some variety Choshu decides to hook on the Scorpion Death Lock. Takaiwa submits.

MATCH FOUR: vs. Takashi Iizuka- Again Iizuka takes it straight to Choshu. Uranage! Choshu blocks second one. Shoulderblock. Lariato! He hooks on the Scorpion again. Iizuka reverses it into a leg scissors! Choshu fights, but after a minute he submits! Iizuka gets a win over Choshu!

MATCH FIVE: vs. Jushin Thunder Liger- Easily the most experienced guy Choshu is facing tonight, but he's also a junior taking on a heavyweight. Liger charges at the bell with a rolling kick! He stomps away on Choshu in the corner. Brain buster from Liger. Choshu hits another Saito. Chops from Liger. He sets Choshu up top. Superplex! Cover for 2. Choshu tosses Liger out to the floor. CHOSHU WITH A PLANCHA! He missed by a mile (Liger still sold it) but damn, I'm not criticizing a guy like Choshu doing that at his age. He barely got off his feet in his prime. Liger slips out of a suplex. Dragon screw! Liger figure four! Choshu reverses it. He bridges deep and Liger either won't or can't break it. Finally they both roll to the ropes. Choshu lariato. Liger kicks out! Another lariato! That finishes Liger off and Choshu goes out with a win. After the match Antonio Inoki, who will have his own retirement match exactly three months after this, hosts a small celebration for Choshu. The gauntlet match was a good idea in theory but not as much in execution. Most of the matches came off feeling the same and most of them didn't have enough time to really get any meat on the bone. *1/2

 

But of course wrestling being wrestling retirement didn't stick for Choshu. He'd come back to New Japan part time in 2000. He left as part of the small exodus from New Japan in 2002, starting his own promotion, but came back to New Japan in 2007 and continued to wrestle matches for them while promoting his own shows at the same time, kind of like what Taka Michinoku or CIMA are doing today.

For some reason the next match on the card isn't available on New Japan World. It's an MMA style match between Don Frye and Naoya Ogawa. Given those types of matches' track record it's not a huge loss, but it hurts me in my completionist heart. Frye would be Inoki's opponent in his retirement match in April.

 

Different Style Fight: Shinya Hashimoto def Dennis Lane in 1:34- This is another MMA style match. Lane is wearing boxing gloves but Hashimoto is in his regular wrestling gear. Hashimoto is coming off the longest IWGP Heavyweight title run to date, as well as being the dominant champion in New Japan over the past 4-5 years. Lots of jockeying around looking for an opening. Hashimoto goes for a takedown but they end up in the ropes. After that Hashimoto does get a takedown. Lane gets his gloves in the white out of bounds. He can't stand due to a leg injury and the ref stops the match. Watching the replay it looks like he could have legit hurt his knee, but I'm not sure if it was a real injury or not and can't find anything online that says one way or the other. NR

 

Masahiro Chono def Shiro Koshinaka in 15:05- Chono is the co-founder (along with Tenzan) and leader of NWO Japan. Before starting his own branch he was the first Japanese wrestler to join the original NWO when he was in the US for a WCW tour in late '96. He's also one half of the current IWGP Tag Team champs. Meanwhile Koshinaka was the leader of Heisei Ishingun, the big heel stable in New Japan before the NWO invasion, making this a natural feud, especially after NWO Japan picked off some HI members. Chono attacks at the bell and hits the first Yakuza kick. Koshinaka dodges another and hits his signature hip attacks. Chono drop toe holds out of a headlock and puts on a headscissors. Hammerlock exchange. Chono takes a rope break and we get some more arm work. Corner beatdown from Chono with a lot of jawing at Koshinaka. Chono goes up top. Koshinaka meets him and hits a superplex. Chono pops right back up! Another Yakuza kick. He tries to suplex Koshinaka onto the ramp but it's blocked. Koshinaka blocks another Yakuza kick. Standing switches. Chono tries a low blow but Koshinaka dodges. Cobra twist cradle for 2. Powerbomb for 2. More Koshinaka powerbombs. Chono kicks out again. There's weird spot where another Koshinaka powerbomb drops Chono softly on his head, but Koshinaka rolls over like Chono countered it. Not sure what that was. Koshinaka tries for a dragon suplex and Chono gets the low blow this time. Yakuza kick for 2. Koshinaka rolls through a Samoan drop attempt into a roll up for 2. One of the NWO guys ringside trips Koshinaka. STF! Koshinaka gets to the ropes. Saito suplex from Koshinaka. Chono gets the STF on again and Koshinaka fights to the ropes again. Chono powerbomb for 2. Huge Koshinaka powerbomb for 2. Chono neckbreaker counter. Piledriver. Yakuza kick for 2. Koshinaka small package for 2. He runs into another Yakuza kick and that gets the pin. Pretty underwhelming. *1/4

 

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kensuke Sasaki (c) def Keiji Mutoh in 25:18- These same two wrestled each other at the last 1/4 show as their alter egos (Power Warrior and The Great Muta) in what was a very American style match kitchen sink match with lots of crazy spots and broken tables. I expect a much different style match for this one. Sasaki had a year for the ages in '97. In fact, he had an August '97 for the ages. Within the space of the same month he won the IWGP Tag Team titles (with Kazuo Yamazaki), his first G1 Climax, and on the last day of the month took down Hashimoto to end his then-record 489 day reign and win his first IWGP Heavyweight title. Mutoh is NWO Japan, having turned to them after a sting of losses in high profile matches, and is half of the current tag champs with Chono. Mutoh's got a full beard going. He's also bulked up a ton and is as big as Sasaki now. Long lockup followed by extended headlock exchanges. Mutoh rolls under a lariato and hits a dropkick. More mat hold counters. Sasaki hits a powerslam. Stalemate and reset. Test of strength. Mutoh armdrags out of it and hooks on an arm scissors. Sasaki hits a German suplex. He slams Mutoh by the arm and tries to stretch out an armbreaker. Mutoh works out of it and goes for a Scorpion Death Lock. Sasaki fights it off. Another long mat exchange with both guys trying for leg holds. A Mutoh punch ends the extended mat wrestling just as the match hits the halfway point. Handspring elbow! Mutoh gives Chono at ringside a too sweet, springs up to the top rope and hits a missile dropkick. He sets Sasaki up top. Hurricanrana! Dragon screw and Mutoh hooks on a figure four. Sasaki gets to the ropes, then hits a pair of DVD-like slams for 2. Lariato. Mutoh absorbs the impact and doesn't go down. Another lariato puts him down. Mutoh hits a basement dropkick to Sasaki's knee. Sasaki blocks another dragon screw. Mutoh blocks another lariato. Dragon screw! Mutoh goes through a long sequence of alternating basement dropkicks and dragon screws to really pick apart Sasaki's knee. He hooks on another figure four! Sasaki fights, crawls and gets to the ropes. Another figure four and another crawl to the ropes. Mutoh changes gears and goes back to his old faithful. Backbreaker. The moonsault hits! Sasaki kicks out! Another missile dropkick. Mutoh goes for another hurricanrana off the top. Sasaki turns it into a powerbomb! Mutoh fights off a brain buster. Sasaki goes for it again and it hits! A second one! That gets the pin! Acceptable but not blowaway Tokyo Dome main event. ***1/2

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- Not great, not awful. On the whole it's a Dome show that exists, but worth checking out for Choshu's temporary retirement or if you're watching the history of NWO Japan.

OVERALL SHOW GRADE: C