AJPW '93 - King's Road Global

AJPW Starting Series Day 5 – Aug. 11th 1992 (Attendance: 1,800 – Kyushu, JP)

Results:
- Match #1: Al Perez & Giant Warrior def. Masayoshi Motegi & Mitsuo Momota --- Warrior > Motegi (Running Big Boot) --- 6 min. [48];

- Match #2: Richard Slinger & Wild Bunch def. Fire Cat & The Youngbloods --- Deaton > Cat (Aided Splash) --- 10 min. [56];

- Match #3: Johnny Smith & Naoki Sano def. Giant Kimala & The Great Sasuke --- Sano > Sasuke (Running Sole Kick) --- 12 min. [61];

- Match #4: Atsushi Onita & Dean Malenko def. Masanobu Fuchi & Yoshinari Ogawa [Tsuruta-gun] --- Onita > Ogawa (Thunder Fire Powerbomb) – 17 min. [66];

- Match #5 – 8-Man All-USA Battle Royal (Inter-Nations Cup Qualifier): Stan Hansen wins, last eliminating The Gladiator --- 14 min. [72];

- Match #6: Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada & Can-Am Express def. Akira Taue & Jumbo Tsuruta & Terry Funk & Miracle Violence Connection --- Furnas > Gordy (Cradle Pin) --- 21 min. [72].

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Highlights:
»» Both Naoki Sano and Dean Malenko won their matches. However, after the latter’s match, Satoru Asako hit him from behind and then Masanobu Fuchi and Yoshinari Ogawa seemed ready to join the attack. Thankfully, Sano reached the ring quickly enough to help Malenko, alongside Atsushi Onita himself. Tsuruta-gun retreated.

»» 8-Man All-USA Battle Royal – order of eliminations:
1. Dory Funk Jr. – by Johnny Ace;
2. Tommy Rogers – by Jackie Fulton;
3. Jackie Fulton – by The Gladiator;
4. Bobby Fulton – by Eddie Gilbert;
5. & 6. Eddie Gilbert and Johnny Ace – by The Gladiator and Stan Hansen;
7. The Gladiator – by Stan Hansen.

»» The American Inter-Nations Cup Qualifier was fun, seeing Jackie Fulton eliminating his friend and brother’s tag team partner early onto the match. Reaching the final stages, Eddie Gilbert and Johnny Ace were eliminated simultaneously while battling on the apron. The two were the victims of The Gladiator’s and Stan Hansen’s Lariats respectively.
The two big man then fought in the ring for some minutes before Hansen managed to lower the top rope, causing a dashing Gladiator to drop to ringside. Stan Hansen is in the cup!

»» In the huge 10-Man Tag Team main event, Doug Furnas got the win to his star-studded team. The victim was Terry Gordy, after a Cradle Pin, and again, ‘Bam Bam’ had troubles dealing with the loss, as he Powerbombed the man who pinned him at ringside. Dan Kroffat rushed in to check on his partner.
In the midst of the action, Terry Funk managed to strike Toshiaki Kawada with the cowbell and was then confronted by… Atsushi Onita. His protégé who wants to team up with him let Funk know he wasn’t happy with Funk’s attitude.
However, they will really team up on Saturday, as Giant Baba announced Atsushi Onita & Terry Funk vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada.

Show Rating: 71

Results:
- Match #1: Mighty Inoue & Rusher Kimura & Minoru Tanaka def. Dory Funk Jr. & Haruka Eigen & Jun Izumida --- Inoue > Izumida (Sunset Flip Pin) --- 8 min. [47];

- Match #2: Dean Malenko & Fire Cat def. Naoki Sano & Richard Slinger --- Malenko > Slinger (Texas Cloverleaf) --- 13 min. [63];

- Match #3: Terry Gordy & Wild Bunch def. Jackie Fulton & The Fantastics --- Gordy > Jackie (Powerbomb) --- 12 min. [58];

- Match #4: Eddie Gilbert & Stan Hansen & Steve Williams def. Dan Kroffat & Johnny Ace & Johnny Smith --- Williams > Ace (Doctor Bomb) --- 17 min. [82];

- Match #5 – 8-Man All-Japan Battle Royal (Inter-Nations Cup Qualifier): Kenta Kobashi wins, last eliminating Jumbo Tsuruta --- 16 min. [72];

- Match #6: Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada def. Atsushi Onita & Terry Funk --- Kawada > Funk (Dangerous Kick) --- 19 min. [80].

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Highlights:
»» The mutual respect between Dean Malenko and Naoki Sano will surely be carried to Hiroshima when they collide for the World Jr. Heavyweight Championship. Malenko won the tag team battle in the go-home show, but both shook hands.

»» After the Powerbomb at ringside by Terry Gordy, Doug Furnas missed out on the last show before Starting Point. What can that mean for Can-Am Express’ title contention?

»» Stan Hansen looked impressed with Eddie Gilbert during their 6-man tag team bout, even patting him on the back after the match.

»» 8-Man All-Japan Battle Royal – order of eliminations:
1. Yoshinari Ogawa – by Ultimo Dragon;
2. Ultimo Dragon – by Akira Taue;
3. The Great Sasuke – by Jumbo Tsuruta;
4. Masanobu Fuchi – by Kazuo Yamazaki;
5. Kazuo Yamazaki – by Akira Taue;
6. Akira Taue – by Kenta Kobashi;
7. Jumbo Tsuruta – by Kenta Kobashi.

»» Kenta Kobashi will represent Japan in the Inter-Nations Cup, as he managed to outlast seven other competitors in the All-Japan Battle Royal. At times, it seemed more like a eight-man over the ropes tag match between Tsuruta-gun and the rest, as even The Great Sasuke was thrown out by the Tsuruta-gun leader.
Kazuo Yamazaki put on a nice performance before being eliminated, leaving Kenta Kobashi alone with both Akira Taue and Jumbo Tsuruta. Surprisingly, the ‘Orange Crush’ got rid of Akira Taue before dropkicking Tsuruta over the top rope too.

»» The dream tag team main event was all that. Atsushi Onita teamed up with his hero despite not condoning some of his actions, but that didn’t affect the match at all. In the end, Toshiaki Kawada hit Terry Funk with a Dangerous Kick for the win. Will that happen at Starting Point?
After the bout, Onita shook Mitsuharu Misawa’s hand, promising him a fair battle for the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.

Show Rating: 78