AJPW '92 - King's Road Global

AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs. Stan Hansen

AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championships
Steve Williams & Terry Gordy [Miracle Violence Connection] vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas [The Can-Am Express]

AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Masanobu Fuchi (c) vs. Richard Slinger

Akira Taue & Motoshi Okuma & Yoshinari Ogawa [Tsuruta-gun] vs. Kenta Kobashi & Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi [Super Generation Army]

Bobby Fulton & Mitsuharu Misawa & Tommy Rogers vs. Dan Spivey & Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk

Special Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Debut Match
??? & ??? vs. ??? & ???
(Gaijin & Former Tag Team Champion vs. Two masked wrestlers)

Billy Black & Giant Kimala & Joel Deaton vs. Chris Youngblood & Johnny Ace & Mark Youngblood

Al Perez & Giant Warrior vs. Johnny Smith & Masayoshi Motegi

Complete Results – AJPW New Year’s Clash 1992:

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AJPW Full Show Recap - AJPW New Year’s Clash 1992:

»» Giant Baba opened what he called «the new era of All Japan Pro-Wrestling.» And to open it, of course, he had some big news regarding… a new singles championship! The fans were excited and they got even more excited when they noticed the name of the championship didn’t reference AJPW, but… AWWA. «The new AWWA Global Open Championship will be awarded right now, in a Battle Royale!» The meaning of AWWA? All-World Wrestling Alliance.


AWWA Global Open Championship - 20-Man Battle Royale
Match #1: 20 different competitors
20 wrestlers not competing in another championship match tonight made their way to the ring with the goal to be crowned the first ever Global Open Champion. Halfway into the match, the big fish were left in the pond: Akira Taue, Dan Spivey, Johnny Smith, Johnny Ace, Kenta Kobashi, Terry Funk, Toshiaki Kawada and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi.
Smith and Ace were both eliminated as both did battle on the apron. Taue then eliminated Kikuchi and stuck it to their former Super Generation Army colleagues. It became somewhat of a 3v2, as Taue, Spivey and Funk joined forces to battle Kobashi and Kawada. But both Funk and Spivey were thrown out by Kobashi and Kawada respectively.
Near the end, Akira Taue eliminated former tag team partner Toshiaki Kawada and Kenta Kobashi was the underdog in the finale. After a tough contested fight, Taue effectively won, throwing Kobashi over the rope after a Nodowa Otoshi.
Result: Akira Taue wins, last eliminating Kenta Kobashi --- New champion! --- 15 min.

»» After the match, Giant Baba came back to the ring to finally reveal the whole concept of the new championship. The title is going to be defended in some new special events and it will only be contested between members of the All-World Wrestling Alliance. Said alliance is composed of All Japan Pro-Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation! That means every title match will be AJPW vs. WWF.


Match #2: Al Perez & Giant Warrior vs. Johnny Smith & Masayoshi Motegi
The new heavyweight signee Masayoshi Motegi teamed up with Johnny Smith to face Al Perez and Giant Warrior. And it was enough to get him his first win. It was Smith who scored the pin, after a British Fall on Perez, but Motegi kept Warrior busy in the final stages of the bout.
Result: Johnny Smith over Al Perez --- 9 min.


Match #3: Giant Kimala & Wild Bunch vs. Johnny Ace & The Youngbloods
Wild Bunch started off strong, backed by an imposing partner, and the match was very contested until the ending phase. Johnny Ace ended up being the lock-pick in the bout, neutralizing Kimala with an Ace Crusher from the lower rope for additional leverage. After that, another one on Billy Black, while The Youngbloods prevented Deaton from breaking the pin, sealed the deal.
Result: Johnny Ace over Billy Black --- 11 min.


Special Debut Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Match
Match #4: Dean Malenko & Kazuo Yamazaki vs. The Great Sasuke & Ultimo Dragon
The first real big match of the night, apart from the Battle Royale. What the fans in Nagoya witnessed was the materialization of the start of a bet in the Jr. Heavyweight division. Dean Malenko (effectively a return), brother of Joe, former champion in AJPW (and now in NJPW), teamed up with NJPW-trained shooter Kazuo Yamazaki. Against them, the masked prospects of Great Sasuke and Ultimo Dragon, who preferred a more high-flying style.
In the end, Sasuke was not on the same page as Ultimo, as he didn’t want to tag in when Dragon wanted it to happen. That created a timing issue, leading to Malenko dodging an Asai Moonsault and tagging in with Yamazaki, who hit the Roundhouse Kick back in the ring to win the match.
Result: Kazuo Yamazaki over Ultimo Dragon --- 16 min.


Match #5: Dan Spivey & The Funk Brothers vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & The Fantastics
Misawa was the only truly fresh wrestler in the match, as the other five had been in the opener. In the beginning, that didn’t seem to matter, as Spivey was a particular threat to The Fantastics. During the second half, Spivey and Misawa began to do battle with each other, mostly, leaving the tag teams to face each other too.
In the end, that changed again, as Mitsuharu Misawa and Terry Funk traded potatoes in the middle of the ring, with Misawa topping it out with a Double Underhook Suplex, rolling Terry to ringside. The Fantastics then avenged themselves, with a huge Rocket Launcher to Spivey on the outside, leaving room for Misawa to hit a Belly to Back Suplex, followed by the Tiger Driver on Dory Jr. for the win.
Result: Mitsuharu Misawa over Dory Funk Jr. --- 16 min.


Match #6: Akira Taue & Motoshi Okuma & Yoshinari Ogawa [Tsuruta-gun] vs. Kenta Kobashi & Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi [Super Generation Army]
If it was undeniable that Tsuruta-gun and Super Generation Army had beef, it became more apparent during this match. It started slow but soon became an intense clash, with the illegal members of Tsuruta-gun breaking pin attempts, prompting SGA to do the same.
Near the end, Akira Taue and Kenta Kobashi revived their battle from the opener and with Kikuchi and Okuma legal, a Rolling German Suplex by the SGA junior led to a pin that was, again, broken by Ogawa. The consequence of his action: a big Rolling Wheel Kick by Kawada! Then, Kikuchi climbed the top rope for a definitive Diving Headbutt to pick up the win.
Result: Tsuyoshi Kikuchi over Motoshi Ogawa --- 16 min.

»» After the bout, hell broke lose, as Yoshinari Ogawa jumped on Tsuyoshi Kikuchi when he was celebrating, with Akira Taue violently throwing Kenta Kobashi out of the ring again. Taue and Toshiaki Kawada then brawled for a bit as Ogawa was just beating Kikuchi down.
A familiar music hit… and Naoki Sano, the Super World of Sport Light Heavyweight Champion (no belt) made his AJPW debut, saving Kikuchi and finishing Ogawa with a Tiger Suplex. Taue, sensing trouble, pulled his partners out of the ring and Tsuruta-gun backed down, with Super Generation Army and Naoki Sano standing tall over the more villainous than ever Tsuruta-gun.


AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship – V10
Match #7: Masanobu Fuchi © vs. Richard Slinger
Nobody expected Richard Slinger to end Masanobu Fuchi’s 2-year plus reign. But he didn’t go down without a fight, as he offered the champion’s submission attempts as much resistance as he could. His biggest hope came in the form of a Thrust Kick, followed by a Bridging German Suplex, but Fuchi kicked out.
At the end, the young gaijin tried to resist the STF, but further wrench work gave Fuchi the win and his tenth(!) successful defense.
Result: Masanobu Fuchi over Richard Slinger --- Still champion! --- 14 min.

»» The champion’s problems are not over, though, as he ended up meeting his next challenger. Kazuo Yamazaki, who got the pin in his debut earlier, came to the ring and pointed at the World Jr. Heavyweight belt, making Masanobu Fuchi know he wants to be next in line.


AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship
Match #8: Miracle Violence Connection © vs. The Can-Am Express ©
Big match feel in the longest match of the night: the battle of two very consistent teams, different in styles, to unify the two Tag Team Championships in AJPW. The heavier and stiffer duo of Steve Williams and Terry Gordy started strong but realized Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas would not go down easily, as not even with a nasty Piledriver by Gordy did Kroffat stay laid for the three count.
On other hand, the Can-Am Express’ best shot until the end came with a Frankensteiner by Doug Furnas on Steve Williams. After that, both teams began clashing heavily, in and out of the ring. The All-Asia Tag Team Champions began feeling the effect of M.V.C.’s hard shots and definitely had an hard time trying to compete with their stiffness.
At ringside, Terry Gordy and Dan Kroffat brawled, with Gordy even shoving Kroffat to release the Cobra Clutch applied before hitting a big Lariat. In the ring, the legal pair battled, with Steve Williams catching Furnas’ leg and spinning up to hit his Backdrop Driver. Spiked against the mat, Furnas was out. 1…2…3! And Miracle Violence Connection are un-dis-puted!
Result: Steve Williams over Doug Furnas --- New undisputed champions! --- 21 min.

»» Miracle Violence Connection’s celebration was respected, but as the duo was leaving the ring, they were met by two hungry challengers: The Fantastics, who won five of their six matches in 1992, pointed at the belts. The smiles in Williams and Gordy’s faces disappeared, as both held their gold and shoved it on the faces of Fulton and Rogers. But The Fantastics didn’t back down, leading the champions to nod their heads, kind of making it official.


AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship – V4
Match #9: Jumbo Tsuruta © vs. Stan Hansen
The crowd in Nagoya was tired after the last match trying to be an epic one, but they surely could handle one more, right? That was the bet. And there was certainly expectation for the bout, as both men could very well win it, according to predictions.
The two big men began with an intense chop battle and it became clear that the match was going to be heavy and that Stan Hansen didn’t want to be list as another successful defense of the Triple Crown Championship. He won the starting striking battle and the next one too.
After that, he was close to win his third Triple Crown with a big DDT. But Jumbo didn’t stay down long enough. After more back-and-forth action from the veterans, a Belly to Back Suplex by Tsuruta was close to do it. But didn’t.
In the end, Tsuruta tried to hit his Powerbomb, but the challenger countered with a Back Body Drop. When the champion got up, he avoided a Lariat, but couldn’t prevent a Texas Piledriver from Hansen! And after that… Western Lariat. 1…2…3. Stan Hansen is the champion going into the new era.
Result: Stan Hansen over Jumbo Tsuruta --- New champion! --- 18 min.

»» Stan Hansen grabbed a mic during his celebration and the crowd listened. In his promo he acknowledged said new era, saying: «In All Japan, new eras are temporary, but I’m not. It’s a new era, with the same old Stan Hansen ruling!»
After dropping the mic, Mitsuharu Misawa made his way to the ring! The leader of the new generation of AJPW wrestlers grabbed the mic himself and noticed Hansen that he wants to be his first challenger. ‘The Lariat’ accepted and actually shook his hand to seal the deal, but kept his intimidating stare.

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Prediction Contest - Results:
1. Asaemon - 8/8
2. marc91 - 7/8
3. irongraham - 4/8