AJPW '93 - King's Road Global

AJPW Royal Road Day 1 – Nov. 10th 1992 (Attendance: 1,000 – Shikoku, JP)

Results:
- Match #1: Billy Black & Joel Deaton & Dean Malenko & Masayoshi Motegi def. Isamu Teranishi & Fire Cat & Jun Akiyama & Satoshi Kojima --- Deaton > Akiyama (Aided Texas Piledriver) --- 9 min. [54];

- Match #2 – Royal Road Cup 1st Round: Giant Kimala def. Mitsuo Momota --- (Running Big Splash) --- 8 min. [39];

- Match #3 – Royal Road Cup 1st Round: Tommy Rogers def. Mighty Inoue --- (Tommyknocker) --- 11 min. [58];

- Match #4 – Royal Road Cup 1st Round: Naoki Sano def. Bobby Fulton --- (Running Sole Kick) --- 16 min. [59];

- Match #5: Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas & Mitsuharu Misawa def. Akira Taue & Jumbo Tsuruta & Masanobu Fuchi [Tsuruta-gun] --- Kroffat > Fuchi (Diving Senton) --- 17 min. [77];

- Match #6 – Royal Road Cup 1st Round: Steve Williams def. Johnny Smith --- (Doctor Bomb) --- 20 min. [76].

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Highlights:
»» There wasn’t any room for surprises in the Day 1 of the Royal Road Cup. Giant Kimala, Tommy Rogers and Steve Williams, all heavy favorites, all advanced. ‘Dr. Death’ had the most competitive match, due to a great performance by Johnny Smith, who avoided a loss for 20 minutes in the main event.
In the most divisive match of the tournament so far, Jr. Heavyweight Naoki Sano eliminated Bobby Fulton.

»» Finally, we got to know why is Masanobu Fuchi so grumpy. He thinks he’s being disrespected by not being given an invitation to the Royal Road Cup, since he was a World Jr. Heavyweight Champion for three years recently.
And then… their team lost, with Dan Kroffat pinning him to get the win. Afterwards, Can-Am Express challenged Akira Taue and Jumbo Tsuruta for a rubber match whenever possible, in a rematch for the Unified World Tag Team Championship.

Show Rating: 74

Results:
- Match #1: Chris Youngblood & Giant Baba & Mark Youngblood & Minoru Tanaka def. Al Perez & Giant Warrior & The Great Sasuke & Jun Izumida --- Mark > Izumida (Diving Tomahawk) --- 11 min. [54];

- Match #2 – Royal Road Cup 1st Round: Johnny Ace def. Haruka Eigen --- (Ace Crusher) --- 9 min. [41];

- Match #3 – Royal Road Cup 1st Round: Toshiaki Kawada def. Rusher Kimura --- (Folding Powerbomb) --- 7 min. [55];

- Match #4 – Royal Road Cup 1st Round: The Gladiator def. Jackie Fulton --- (Gladiator Bomb) --- 16 min. [62];

- Match #5: Kenta Kobashi & Stan Hansen & Kazuo Yamazaki & Ultimo Dragon def. Eddie Gilbert & Terry Gordy & Satoru Asako & Yoshinari Ogawa --- Dragon > Asako (Asai DDT) --- 16 min. [73];

- Match #6 – Royal Road Cup 1st Round: Terry Funk def. Dory Funk Jr. --- (Funkin’ Moonsault) --- 22 min. [68].

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Highlights:
»» Another day with no room for surprises ending the 1st Round of the Royal Road Cup. Johnny Ace, Toshiaki Kawada and The Gladiator all advanced. Ace’s match was… ugh! Gladiator faced Jackie Fulton in a fun 15+ min. match, with Fulton’s resiliency on focus.
In the main event, the two brothers: Terry and Dory Funk Jr. battled for a spot in the 2nd Round. Terry won, but after Dory had kicked out of a Texas Piledriver, he had to resort to a Funkin’ Moonsault.
After the match, Terry Gordy, Funk’s next round nemesis, guess what… tried to attack him. But Dory Jr. was there to avoid it, as well as two other members of The Outlaw Stable: Billy Black and Joel Deaton, who watched their mentors do battle from ringside.

»» In the non-tournament matches: Giant Baba made a special appearance in the filler opener. In the pre-main event, Ultimo Dragon conquered the win for his team over Satoru Asako. Eddie Gilbert was thrown to the wolves, having to team up with Terry Gordy and the two Tsuruta-gun juniors, while Stan Hansen and Kenta Kobashi… teamed up (?).
Following the match, Eddie Gilbert told Stan Hansen once again he’s proving him wrong on November 28th.

Show Rating: 68

AJPW Royal Road Day 3 – Nov. 13th 1992 (Attendance: 1,700 – Hokkaido, JP)

Results:
- Match #1: Mighty Inoue & Mitsuo Momota & Jun Akiyama def. Isamu Teranishi & Masayoshi Motegi & Satoshi Kojima --- Inoue > Kojima (Sunset Flip) --- 9 min. [29];

- Match #2 – Royal Road Cup 2nd Round: Jumbo Tsuruta def. Giant Kimala --- (Backdrop Driver) --- 8 min. [70];

- Match #3 – Royal Road Cup 2nd Round: Akira Taue def. Tommy Rogers --- (Chichibu Cement) --- 13 min. [68];

- Match #4 – Royal Road Cup 2nd Round: Naoki Sano def. Dan Kroffat --- (Running Sole Kick) --- 20 min. [68];

- Match #5: Bobby Fulton & Johnny Smith & Mitsuharu Misawa & Dean Malenko def. Billy Black & Joel Deaton & Masanobu Fuchi & Yoshinari Ogawa --- Fulton > Ogawa (Missile Dropkick) --- 14 min. [70];

- Match #6 – Royal Road Cup 2nd Round: Steve Williams def. Doug Furnas --- (Doctor Bomb) --- 17 min. [81].

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Highlights:
»» The first Quarter Finals match we got to know is very interesting: Akira Taue vs. Jumbo Tsuruta… the two Tsuruta-gun Heavyweights will collide, and as Taue won his match, his leader got to the ring and slapped him, almost like he was toughening him up. With a smile, Jumbo then asked Taue to slap him back, which he did, promptly. The heated climate then got a breeze when both men shook hands and left together.

»» In the pre-main event, Bobby Fulton conquered the win for his team as Wild Bunch had to team up with the Tsuruta-gun Juniors in the losing side. Then, Masanobu Fuchi pulled Yoshinari Ogawa out of the ring and rushed him to the back, looking unhappy as usual.

»» The main event was a great one: ‘Dr. Death’ Steve Williams defeated one of his rivals of the year, Doug Furnas. In a great match, Furnas seemed he may have had a chance until halfway through. From then on, he grasped as best as he could, but ultimately Williams’ Doctor Bomb made sure Furnas was just another patient.
After the match, Naoki Sano, who defeated another Heavyweight (Dan Kroffat) in a nice bout too, came to the ring to come face-to-face with ‘Dr. Death’. The former Jr. Heavyweight Champion was never a bigger underdog than now, and Williams recognizes that. In respect, he shook Sano’s hand before being left alone in the ring.

Show Rating: 76

Results:
- Match #1: Chris Youngblood & Mark Youngblood & Rusher Kimura & Fire Cat & Minoru Tanaka def. Al Perez & Giant Warrior & Haruka Eigen & Jun Izumida & Satoru Asako --- Cat > Asako (Superkick) --- 10 min. [51];

- Match #2 – Royal Road Cup 2nd Round: Stan Hansen def. Johnny Ace --- (Western Lariat) --- 16 min. [80];

- Match #3 – Royal Road Cup 2nd Round: Toshiaki Kawada def. Ultimo Dragon --- (Dangerous Kick) --- 18 min. [74];

- Match #4 – Royal Road Cup 2nd Round: The Gladiator def. Kenta Kobashi --- (Gladiator Bomb) --- 17 min. [77];

- Match #5: Eddie Gilbert & The Great Sasuke def. Jackie Fulton & Kazuo Yamazaki --- Gilbert > Fulton (Hot Shot DDT) --- 13 min. [61];

- Match #6 – Royal Road Cup 2nd Round: Terry Gordy def. Terry Funk --- (Powerbomb x3) [Stoppage] --- 13 min. [74].

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Highlights:
»» The best Cup day so far, with all the matches being great. Stan Hansen defeated Johnny Ace in another match showcasing Ace’s fortitude until his loss. Then, Toshiaki Kawada sent the World Jr. Heavyweight Champion Ultimo Dragon crashing in a clash of styles in what was the longest bout of all night. And then… the highlights, from a story point of view…

»» Kenta Kobashi may have found his next two challengers for the AJPW National Openweight Championship. The Gladiator is still undefeated after beating Kobashi, shocking most of the crowd that expected the ‘Orange Crush’ to hand Gladiator his first-ever AJPW loss.
And then, out of nowhere, came Masanobu Fuchi. Still pissed off for not being in the Royal Road Cup, the Jr. Heavyweight legend grabbed Kobashi’s belt and threw it to him before getting on the champion’s face, slapping an already hurt man before managing to trap him in an STF. Toshiaki Kawada ran Fuchi off, but there’s now a possibility that we’ll see Kobashi vs. Fuchi in a near future for the Openweight title.

»» In a non-tournament match, finally, Eddie Gilbert did his job, getting the win for his team with a devastating Hot Shot DDT. There’s much to improve before facing Mitsuharu Misawa for the main title, but that’s something.

»» The main event made us feel like we were in Texas in the mid 1980s. Both Terries, Funk and Gordy, beat each other up badly in and out of the ring. For a portion of the match, the two would only get to the ring to break-up the count. Funk’s resiliency did him more harm than good, as he kicked out of a Backdrop Driver and then got three straight Powerbombs by Gordy, hitting his head on the canvas and getting knocked out cold for the ref’s stoppage.
After the match, Terrry Gordy called out his next opponent in the Cup: Stan Hansen. And oh, boy! Hansen didn’t like having Gordy say he’ll end another washed up veteran’s chances. The show ended with both men being separated after a brawl erupted.

Show Rating: 74