AJPW Puro Spirit TV #9
March 5th 1993
Attendance: 11,000 – Hiroshima, Chugoku, JP
TV Rating: 1.62 [tv Asahi – JP] + 0.14 [ITV – UK] + 0.06 [Fox Sports Networks – US]
Championships and holders» AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship: Mitsuharu Misawa
» AJPW National Openweight Championship: Toshiaki Kawada
» AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship: Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas [Can-Am Express]
» AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Ultimo Dragon
Pre-Show0. Dark Match: Al Perez & Giant Warrior & Haruka Eigen & Jun Izumida vs. Mark Youngblood & Mitsuo Momota & The Great Sasuke & Minoru Tanaka
- Perez > Tanaka (Sleeper Hold) --- 11:33
- Rating: 60
Full-Show Recap
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AJPW National Openweight Championship – V1 – Inter-Nations Tournament First Round
1. Toshiaki Kawada [JPN] © vs. Sabu [SAU]A few months ago, no one thought we’d see a title match taking place in the opener. That was the case here and it made up for a very strong start between two of the toughest in the business. Kawada was easily the favorite, but it’s not true to say Sabu didn’t represent danger to the champion.
Fearlessly he threw himself, using the ropes and ringside to his advantage, but ultimately, it was the ringside to cost Sabu the match, as he head face first onto the guardrail. Donning a crimson mask for half the bout, he survived Kawada’s pinning attempts until a Dangerous Kick defeated him.
After the match, Kawada recognized the wild Jr. Heavyweight’s effort and shook Sabu’s hand. The challenger accepted the handshake but was visibly pissed off, throwing chairs to the floor on his way to the back.
- Kawada > Sabu (Dangerous Kick) --- 11:17
- Rating: 79
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Inter-Nations Tournament First Round
2. Dan Kroffat [CAN] vs. Miguel Perez Jr. [PUE]A true clash of styles in this year’s Inter-Nation Tournament’s second match: Kroffat and Perez Jr. mixed the technical aspect with hard-hitting offense in a decent bout that actually saw the Unified World Tag Team Champion play by the Puerto Rican’s playbook sometimes.
In the end, however, he got back to his game and wore Perez down with submissions and catch wrestling before hitting a nice Sitout Powerbomb to advance to the semi-finals.
- Kroffat > Perez Jr. (Sitout Powerbomb) --- 12:42
- Rating: 70
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Inter-Nations Tournament First Round
3. Dean Malenko [USA] vs. Larry Zbyszko [POL](Seriously, I hate the Technical Masterclass match aim…) Malenko and Zbyszko fought for USA and… Poland. Two masters of the technical aspect of professional wrestling squared off in one of the most anticipated match-ups. In America, quite probably, Zbyszko was seen as the one likely to advance, due to his size advantage.
However, soon he realized that men can’t be measured by a ruler, and when the match was taken to the ground, he struggled, even having to resource to some cheaper tactics to try to gain momentum. In the end, however, justice was made, as Malenko, faster, managed to surprise Zbyszko with a lucha-influenced Crucifix Pin to get the upset win!
- Malenko > Zbyszko (Crucifix Pin) --- 17:24
- Rating: 61»» After the match, Larry Zbyszko was shocked and ended up denying Dean Malenko a handshake. However, when the gaijin Jr. Heavyweight was preparing to leave the ring, he was met by Dan Kroffat, who joined to congratulate him and wish him good luck for Sunday, when the two will collide.
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Inter-Nations Tournament First Round
4. El Hijo del Santo [MEX] def. Johnny Smith [UK]Lucha vs. catch also melt in the technical wrestling pot and when the two styles meet, they tend to create a beautiful thing. That’s what happens when you get two of the best in each style in the very same ring.
El Hijo del Santo, the 1992 Wrestler of the Year, was the heavy favorite heading to the match, but everyone expected class from the cocky Fantastic Bruiser too, and he wasn’t shy of showing off when in control. He almost pinned Hijo del Santo with a Death Valley Driver, but, ultimately, the Mexican luchadore had another life to live. He began to control the match with a mix of aerial offense and surgeon’s work and got to submit Smith with La de A Caballo (Camel Clutch – literal translation: «The one [submission] riding the horse»).
- Santo > Smith (La de A Caballo) --- 16:52
- Rating: 73»» With the win, El Hijo del Santo will be the next wrestler to challenge Toshiaki Kawada for the AJPW National Openweight Championship, and he will do so in the Semi-Final of the Inter-Nations Tournament, on Sunday. And that’s why Kawada got to the ring. He lift the belt close to El Hijo del Santo’s face, but then he showed sportsmanship, shaking his and. Both bowed, showing a lot of mutual respect for one another.
5. Billy Black & Joel Deaton (Wild Bunch/The Outlaw Stable) & Kenta Kobashi & Steve Williams & Gran Hamada vs. Giant Kimala & Haku (Savage International) & Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshinari Ogawa (Tsuruta-gun) & The GladiatorAfter four singles matches, two 10-man tag matches followed. The first one was heated, with Tsuruta still sour with Kobashi after his win over him a few weeks ago and the conflict between ‘Dr. Death’ and The Gladiator rising as Savage International and The Outlaw Stable’s younger duo also had some tension.
The match progressed with Williams and Gladiator punching each other anywhere, again, while legal or not. And Tsuruta was able to restore his honor, Powerbombing Kobashi, leaving him off the match. In the end, Gladiator came back to the ring, made himself legal, and with a Gladiator Bomb finished Billy Black to get a win.
- Gladiator > Black (Gladiator Bomb) --- 14:47
- Rating: 77»» After the match, The Gladiator provoked Steve Williams and challenged him for a fight, but the slightly cooler head of ‘Dr. Death’ prevailed and they didn’t get physical. Then, Jumbo Tsuruta grabbed a microphone and challenged Kenta Kobashi for Battle Ready: not for a singles match, but for a tag team one, daring Kobashi to find a partner to battle Tsuruta and Yoshinari Ogawa.
In a graphic, a 10-man tag match was also announced: Doug Furnas & Jackie Fulton & Steve Williams & The Funks vs. The Gladiator & Fantastic Bruisers & Savage International.
6. Akira Taue & Masanobu Fuchi (Tsuruta-gun) & Cactus Jack & Terry Gordy & Naoki Sano vs. Eddie Gilbert & Stan Hansen (The Outlaw Stable) & Mitsuharu Misawa & Kazuo Yamazaki & Ultimo DragonThe main event was a long one, a proper go-home main event, featuring the main feuds in AJPW. Heated, as expected, physical interactions between the ones who’ll face each other in two days were limited.
However, we saw Eddie Gilbert hit Cactus Jack with a Back Body Drop on the outside in a highlight, Taue hitting Misawa with an Ore Ga Taue (both were illegal) and Sano putting Yamazaki out of the match with a Running Sole Kick. However, Sano had screwed up some moments before that, cheap-shooting Stan Hansen.
In the end, the former Jr. Heavyweight Champion didn’t see Misawa tagging in, and Hansen got to his face while the Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion entered the ring too, from Sano’s back. Misawa grabbed Sano and Hansen almost decapitated him with a Western Lariat, followed by Misawa’s Bridging German Suplex. 1…2…3! Obviously, how could one escape that?
- Misawa > Sano (Western Lariat + Bridging German Suplex Combo) --- 21:03
- Rating: 82»» Ending the show, once again, Mitsuharu Misawa complimented Akira Taue on another great performance and told the Tsuruta-gun heir he wants to fight him at Battle Ready in a match full of sportsmanship. On paper, it seems great, but the challenger doesn’t agree. Once again, Taue refused a handshake. Sunday, the main event will be a heated one.
Show Rating: 79
Weekly Recap»»
WCW – February 28th: SuperBrawl III took place ending the month of February. While not a top tier show, it was a pretty solid one. In the main event, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship was retained by Rick Rude, in a Cage Match against Lex Luger.
The pre-main event and best match in the card saw Arn Anderson defeat former Horsemen stablemate Barry Windham. Interestingly, we also saw Big Van Vader and Ricky Steamboat taking on and beating the latter’s protégé Dustin Rhodes and Bobby Eaton is one of the highlights.
Final Match Card - March 7th 1993:
(Feel free to drop your predictions)AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship - V4Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs. Akira Taue
AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship - V3Ultimo Dragon (c) vs. Masanobu Fuchi
AJPW National Openweight Championship - V? - Inter-Nations Tournament FinaleWinner of Semi-Final A vs. Winner of Semi-Final B
AJPW National Openweight Championship - V2 - Inter-Nations Tournament Semi-Final AToshiaki Kawada [Japan] (c) vs. El Hijo del Santo [Mexico]
Inter-Nations Tournament Semi-Final BDan Kroffat [Canada] vs. Dean Malenko [USA]
Special Singles MatchKazuo Yamazaki vs. Naoki Sano
Special Tag Team MatchCactus Jack and Terry Gordy vs. Eddie Gilbert and Stan Hansen [The Outlaw Stable]
Special Tag Team MatchJumbo Tsuruta and Yoshinari Ogawa [Tsuruta-gun] vs. Kenta Kobashi and Gran Hamada
10-Man Tag Team MatchDory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk (The Funks), Doug Furnas, Jackie Fulton, Steve Williams vs. Giant Kimala and Haku (Savage International), Johnny Smith and Tommy Rogers (Fantastic Bruisers), The Gladiator
