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Guest Black Tiger

Review: WCW Rumble in the Rising Sun

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Guest Black Tiger

Justin did a nice review of the complete New Japan version of this show but WCW aired an incomplete version of this show on PPV about a month after it happened.

 

Hosted by Tony and JR.

 

Match 1. Pillman. Horner, and Z Man VS Koshinaka, Iizuka, and Kobyashi.

 

JR notes that Iizuka is trained in Sambo style and likes submission moves. Pillman and Kobyashi start off. Nice flying sequence by Pillman. Pillman and Z Man do their finisher to Koshinaka (I don't know what it is, Tony notes that they used it for much of 1990). JR notes that there is a long way between Tokyo and Tennesee. Iizuka pins Horner with a dragon plex. This sucked in so many different ways. **

 

Match 2: IWGP Jr Heavyweight title Jushin Liger (Champ) VS Akira Nogami.

 

Tony pisses me off to start by calling the champ Jushin (rhymes with pushin) Thunder Ligger. JR lies that a year ago Akira lost the title to Liger and hasn't wrestled in Japan since. Justin was nice to enough to tell me that Naoki Sano was who JR was refering to. Nogami wouldn't hold the title till about six months after this show. Nice brawl to start before Liger tries to go All Japan heavy on Akira's ass with brainbusters and powerbombs. Liger does a few Liger bombs and Akira kicks out. Liger hits a top rope DDT for the pin. Nice little match. I know it's not much to read but it's hard to recap it. ***1/4

 

Match 3: AA and Barry Windham VS Masa Chono and Masa Saito.

 

The horsemen have the Dynamic Dudes old music and the music that would be used for the Hellraisers when they first hooked up. AA and Chono start. Chono uses a mat seqence and tries the STF. Windham gets in and he doesn't fair much better. Chono looks weird in white tights after seeing him for so long in his nWo and Team 2000 outfit. Saito comes in and does a few suplexes. JR calls him a Japanese Ric Steiner. Saito hits the "Saito Suplex" on both AA and Windham. But as he tries to get AA in another one Windham lariat's him for a pinfall. Nothing really great. But I'm a Windham fan **3/4

 

Match 5: Big Cat VS El Gigante.

 

I guess the Japanse add a "O" to your name if it's only one syllable. Big Cat is called the Big Cato and JR and Tony amuse themselvs by repeating it. The announcer hits El Gigante perfectly pronounced and JR says "Not bad". Big Cat tries to brawl. Gignate replies with a suplex to pop the crowd and finishs with a claw. This was pointless. DUD Muta VS Gigante was WAY better.

 

Match 6: Title VS Title IWGP Champs Hiroshi Hase and Kensuke Sasaki VS WCW Champs Ric and Scott Steiner.

 

Hase and Scott start off with wrestling to start. They trade suplexes and mat holds. The fans are dead silent to start. JR noted that this is an art form in Japan. Ric comes in and they start to brawl and the crowd is geting hot. JR notes this is the first time the fans are not so much cheering against the Steiners as they are for their opponents.  Hase is a nice side rock bottom. Ric and Scott hit Sasaki with the Buff Breaker Bulldog. Hase saves. Scott hits the Frankensteiner and pins Sasaki. WOW This was excellent. The Steiners when they didn't suck ****1/4

 

Match 7: Grudge match: Sting VS Great Muta.

 

Muta and Sting both get nice pops. Muta goes for the moonsault about 30 seconds in. Sting gets up and they begin to trade punches. Sting takes control and Muta keeps trying to avoid the Scorpian. Sting shoots Muta in for the Stinger Splash and Muta mists him. Muta with a cross body block and that's all she wrote. JR notes that the fans don't like the way Muta won. I guess all the crowd cheering is making JR go deaf and making him think the crowd is silent. Sting and Muta have done much better, this was no dream match ***1/4

 

Main Event: Title VS Title Ric Flair (WCW) VS Tatsumi Funjimani (IWGP)

 

Wrestling sequence to start. Flair wants to work the leg for the figure four and Fujinami wants to work the neck for the Dragon Sleeper. Flair does the Flair flop and all his usual offense like the knee breaker, the suplex. Fujiami replies with the Dragon Sleeper to pop the crowd. Fujinami is chopping the hell outa Flair. The referee Bill Alfonzo goes down and Flair is thrown over the top rope. Back in and Tiger Hatori counts a pin for Fujinami. However Fonzie saw Flair go over the top JR says in the begining that this is is the only match where over the top rope is a DQ. The show ends with Flair and Fujinami aruging over who won. **3/4 The Dusty finish knock it down 1/2 *

 

Conclusion: Well the opener sucks and Big Cat's match is of no use but other than that this show is pretty damn good. Liger VS Nogami was great. The Tag match was a show saver. Pick it up if you get the chance.

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Guest Scotsman

I liked it.  It was different from a lot of recaps I read....your two main things were talking about some facts/tidbits, and what the commentators were saying.  Quite good.

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