Post by Moore on Sept 24, 2023 13:09:39 GMT 1
AJPW Puro Spirit TV #10
March 12th 1993
Attendance: 10,000 – Asahikawa, Hokkaido, JP
TV Rating: 1.67 [tv Asahi – JP] + 0.15 [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-Show
0. Dark Match: Fire Cat & Octagon & Jun Akiyama vs. Richard Slinger & Yoshinari Ogawa & Masayoshi Motegi
- Octagon > Motegi (Quebradora con Giro - Pin) --- 9:54
- Rating: 59
Full-Show Recap
Team Carnival Series: A Bracket Semi-Final
1. Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk [The Funks/The Outlaw Stable] vs. Mark Youngblood & Mitsuo Momota
An easy to predict match started off Puro Spirit #10 and this year’s Team Carnival Series. The Funks beat their opponents, with Dory submitting veteran Momota with a Spinning Toe Hold.
- Dory Jr. > Momota (Spinning Toe Hold - Submission) --- 7:21
- Rating: 63
Team Carnival Series: A Bracket Semi-Final
2. Al Perez & Giant Warrior vs. Billy Black & Joel Deaton [Wild Bunch/The Outlaw Stable]
In the same bracket, Wild Bunch looked to advance to the finals, where they’d face their mentors. They had a tougher challenge, facing Perez and Warrior, two motivated men, but they won nonetheless, with The Funks’ move, the Aided Texas Piledriver.
- Black > Perez (Aided Texas Piledriver - Pin) --- 11:32
- Rating: 59
Team Carnival Series: B Bracket Semi-Final
3. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas [Can-Am Express] vs. Giant Kimala & Haku [Savage International]
Probably the most even bout of the Semi-Finals: Unified World Tag Team Champions, Kroffat and Furnas met two much larger nemesis. And for a good part, Kimala and Haku dominated the match, throwing the champions and crushing them with ease, before they could fight back.
In the end, Savage International had the match seemingly controlled once again, but Furnas countered Haku’s Powerbomb attempt with a Head Scissors, sending the Tongan towards Kroffat’s Cradle Pin. Surprisingly, the champions advanced!
- Kroffat > Haku (Cradle Pin - Pin) --- 12:12
- Rating: 69
»» The temper took control of Giant Kimala and Haku. The two big men didn’t give Can-Am Express a chance, jumping them and beating them down in the ring. When some Projects came to rescue, they jumped the young wrestlers too. Will Can-Am Express be able to wrestle in the Final later on?
Team Carnival Series: B Bracket Semi-Final
4. Johnny Smith & Tommy Rogers [The Fantastic Bruisers] vs. Mighty Inoue & Rusher Kimura
Two veterans were separating the despicable Fantastic Bruisers and the Final against, supposedly, the battered Can-Am Express. Inoue and Kimura put on a fight in the early stages, but, ultimately, Smith and Rogers’ prowess became too much. Rogers pinned Inoue after a Rocket Launcher.
- Rogers > Inoue (Rocket Launcher - Pin) --- 8:48
- Rating: 57
Team Carnival Series: A Bracket Final
5. Billy Black & Joel Deaton [Wild Bunch/The Outlaw Stable] vs. Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk [The Funks/The Outlaw Stable]
Mentors vs. Students: the younger duo had the will to advance to Champion Carnival, which would be the first to both. But they had an immense challenge. More methodical at first, the two teams’ clash descended into a rough Texan brawl, as Stan Hansen and Eddie Gilbert joined ringside midway through.
In the end, despite Black and Deaton’s best efforts, The Funks won with the original Aided Texas Piledriver. Dory Jr. and Terry are back in the Carnival!
- Terry > Black (Aided Texas Piledriver - Pin) --- 13:18
- Rating: 75
»» After the match, Wild Bunch were disappointed. How could they not be? However, they were actually the ones extending their hands to The Funks, who shook them, recognizing their protégés’ effort. Stan Hansen and Eddie Gilbert joined in with some beers, and all of The Outlaw Stable shared an appreciation moment.
»» Then, Giant Baba came to the entrance way. Baba informed the Asahikawa crowd that the match between Can-Am Express and The Fantastic Bruisers would have to take place later in the night, instead of being the next match, due to Kroffat and Furnas’ condition. There will be one more match until the B Bracket Final.
The Fantastic Bruisers angrily confronted Giant Baba, but there was nothing to change Baba’s decision.
6. Akira Taue & Cactus Jack & Jumbo Tsuruta & Terry Gordy & The Gladiator vs. Eddie Gilbert & Jackie Fulton & Kenta Kobashi & Stan Hansen & Steve Williams
A deluxe filler featuring nine wrestlers we can assume will be in Champion Carnival plus Jumbo Tsuruta. The match was pretty good, but with Carnival coming in a week, some of the guys were more self-aware, preferring not to give 100%, but in a way it didn’t compromise the team.
Tags were frequent and the biggest exception to the “no-100%” rule was Cactus Jack, who brawled in his usual rhythm. After a while and some near-falls, Terry Gordy won the match for his team, following a big Backdrop Driver on poor Jackie Fulton.
- Gordy > Fulton (Backdrop Driver - Pin) --- 17:44
- Rating: 77
Team Carnival Series: B Bracket Final
7. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas [Can-Am Express] vs. Johnny Smith & Tommy Rogers [The Fantastic Bruisers]
Can-Am Express were ready. Not in their best shape, but ready. And The Fantastic Bruisers explored their opponents’ injuries, as they obviously should have. The match started out in a very technical way, but progressed to a more aggressive contest as the Tag Team Champions escaped some pinning attempts.
Kroffat and Furnas could never be in full control. Either the momentum was shared or Smith and Rogers were on top. But the exact same move that ended the Semi-Final clash with Savage International could have worked at the 15th minute mark. Smith kicked out, however. And from then on, it was all-Bruisers. Can-Am Express didn’t fall with the Rocket Launcher, but when Furnas was victim of the new move of the Fantastic Bruisers, it was all done. A British Fall by Smith into a Reverse Cutter by Rogers gave The Bruisers a ticket to the Carnival, ending a memorable match.
- Smith > Furnas (Edge Cutter - Pin) --- 17:51
- Rating: 87
»» After the match, the fans in Asahikawa got to see, first-hand, the lineup for the 1993 Champion Carnival A and B Blocks. More on that very soon!
Show Rating: 82
Weekly Recap
»» Bankruptcies – March 9th and 10th: the wrestling world lost two more independents. In Mexico, WWA Mexico filed in for an expected bankruptcy. In the United States, it was West Four Wrestling Alliance to cease operations.
