It has arrived

[EL DANDY~! 0]

The lineup for Best of Japan 2002, and just by looking at some of these matches...they look like DOOZIES. I think I'm in, but what about you? Take a looksie:

 

Volume One

 

1. Naomichi Marufuji vs. GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Tatsuhito Takaiwa (NOAH - December 9, 2001)

2. Vader vs. GHC Heavyweight Champion Jun Akiyama (NOAH - December 9, 2001)

3. CIMA vs. Masaaki Mochizuki in a Hair vs. Hair Match (Toryumon - December 2001)

4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan + Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata + Manabu Nakanishi - G-1 Tag League Semi-Finals (New Japan - December 11, 2001)

5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan + Satoshi Kojima vs. Mike Barton + Jim Steele - G-1 Tag League Finals (New Japan - December 11, 2001)

6. Toshiaki Kawada + Mitsuya Nagai vs. Keiji Mutoh + Taiyo Kea - RWTL Finals (All Japan - December 2001)

7. Jushin Lyger, Great Sasuke + Tiger Mask IV vs. Dick Togo, Gedo + Jado (New Japan - January 4, 2002)

8. Yuji Nagata vs. GHC Heavyweight Champion Jun Akiyama (New Japan - January 4, 2002)

9. Super Shisa, Kennichiro Arai + Ryo Saito vs. Susumu Mochizuki, Genki Horiguchi + Darkness Dragon (Rainbow Promotions - January 20, 2002)

10. Milano Collection A.T., Steve Tsujimoto + Masato Yoshino vs. Ryo Saito, Takayuki Yagi + Anthony W. Mori (Toryumon 2000 Project - January 23, 2002)

11. Jushin Lyger, Minoru Tanaka + Masahito Kakihara vs. Koji Kanemoto, Gedo + Jado (New Japan - January 25, 2002)

12. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Osamu Nishimura (New Japan - February 16, 2002)

13. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi + Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jushin Lyger + Wataru Inoue (NOAH - February 17, 2002)

14. Juventud Guerra vs. GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji(NOAH - February 17, 2002)

 

Volume Two

 

1. Mitsuharu Misawa + Kenta Kobashi vs. Yuji Nagata + Jun Akiyama (NOAH - February 17, 2002)

2. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Satoshi Kojima (All Japan - February 24, 2002)

3. Toshiaki Kawada vs. AJPW Triple Crown Champion Keiji Mutoh (All Japan - February 24, 2002)

4. Naohiro Hoshikawa vs. Naomichi Marufuji (Zero-One - March 2, 2002)

5. Jushin Lyger, Minoru Tanaka, El Samurai, Masayuki Naruse + Masahito Kakihara vs. Koji Kanemoto, Black Tiger, Eddie Guerrero, Gedo + Jado - 2/3 Falls Match (New Japan - March 14, 2002)

6. Yuji Nagata + Manabu Nakanishi vs. Masahiro Chono + Hiroyoshi Tenzan - IWGP Tag Team Title Tournament Final Match (New Japan - March 24, 2002)

7. Yuji Nagata vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tadao Yasuda (New Japan - April 5, 2002)

8. Jushin Lyger + Minoru Tanaka vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi + Yoshinobu Kanemaru (NOAH - April 7, 2002)

9. Keiji Mutoh vs. Satoshi Kojima - Champions Carnival Semi-Finals (All Japan - April 10, 2002)

10. Mitsuya Nagai + Shigeo Okamura vs. Arashi + Nobutaka Araya - AJPW All-Asian Tag Team Title Decision Match (All Japan - April 13, 2002)

11. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Keiju Mutoh - AJPW Triple Crown Decision Match (All Japan - April 13, 2002)

12. Jushin Lyger, Minoru Tanaka, Masayuki Naruse + Masahito Kakihara vs. Koji Kanemoto, Black Tiger, Jado + Gedo - Elimination Match (New Japan - April 16, 2002)

13. Manabu Nakanishi + Osamu Nishimura vs. IWGP Tag Team Champions Masahiro Chono + Hiroyoshi Tenzan - Non-Title Match (New Japan - April 26, 2002)

14. Yoshihiro Takayama vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata (New Japan - May 2, 2002)

 

Volume Three

 

1. Masahiro Chono vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (New Japan - May 2, 2002)

2. Tiger Mask IV vs. Ikuto Hidaka (Michinoku Pro - May 6, 2002)

3. Keiji Mutoh, Kaz Hayashi + George Hines vs. Taiyo Kea, Mitsuya Nagai + Shigeo Okamura - Giant Baba Memorial Cup Semi-Final Match (All Japan - May 15, 2002)

4. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. KENTA - GHC Junior Heavyweight Title Tournament Final Match (NOAH - May 26, 2002)

5. Jushin Lyger vs. Koji Kanemoto - BOSJ Match (New Japan - May 28, 2002)

6. Minoru Tanaka vs. El Samurai - BOSJ Match (New Japan - June 2, 2002)

7. Manabu Nakanishi + Osamu Nishimura vs. IWGP Tag Team Champions Masahiro Chono + Hiroyoshi Tenzan (New Japan - June 5, 2002)

8. Koji Kanemoto vs. Minoru Tanaka - Best of Super Juniors Final Match (New Japan - June 5, 2002)

9. Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Manabu Nakanishi (New Japan - June 7, 2002)

10. Kensuke Sasaki vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata (New Japan - June 7, 2002)

11. Ryo Saito vs. Genki Horiguchi (Toryumon - June 2002)

12. Magnum Tokyo vs. Masaaki Mochizuki - El Numero Uno Finals (Toryumon - June 2002)

13. Minoru Tanaka + Tiger Mask IV vs. Koji Kanemoto + AKIRA (New Japan - June 20, 2002)

14. AKIRA vs. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka (New Japan - June 21, 2002)

15. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Osamu Nishimura + Yutaka Yoshie vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Kenzo Suzuki, Hiroshi Tanahashi + Blue Wolf (New Japan - June 21, 2002)

 

Volume Four

 

1. Masaaki Mochizuki, Ryo Saito + Dragon Kid vs. Magnum Tokyo, Darkness Dragon + Genki Horiguchi vs. UWA Six-Man Trios Tag Team Champions CIMA, Don Fuji + Yoshikazu Taru in a 3-Way Dance (Toryumon - July 7, 2002)

2. Yuji Nagata + Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan + Hiroshi Tanahashi (New Japan - July 8, 2002)

3. G-1 Climax 10-Man Royal Rumble (New Japan - July 10, 2002)

4. Satoshi Kojima vs. AJPW Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu (All Japan - July 17, 2002)

5. Masahiro Chono + Osamu Nishimura vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan + Yoshihiro Takayama (New Japan - July 21, 2002)

6. Tiger Mask IV vs. Dick Togo - Tohoku Junior Tournament (Michnoku Pro - July 21, 2002)

7. Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Taka Michinoku - Fire Festival Tournament (Zero-One - July 28, 2002)

8. Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Masato Tanaka - Fire Festival Tournament (Zero-One - July 31, 2002)

9. Manabu Nakanishi vs. Osamu Nishimura - G-1 Climax Tournament (New Japan - August 3, 2002)

10. Kensuke Sasaki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - G-1 Climax Tournament (New Japan - August 3, 2002)

11. Osamu Nishimura vs. Masahiro Chono - G-1 Climax Tournament (New Japan - August 4, 2002)

12. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - G-1 Climax Tournament (New Japan - August 4, 2002)

13. Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Tetsuhiro Kuroda - Zero-One Fire Festival Tournament Finals (Zero-One - August 4, 2002)

14. Yuji Nagata vs. Manabu Nakanishi - G-1 Climax Tournament (New Japan - August 7, 2002)

15. Kensuke Sasaki vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - G-1 Climax Tournament (New Japan - August 8, 2002)

 

Volume Five

 

1. Yuji Nagata vs. Osamu Nishimura - G-1 Climax Tournament (New Japan - August 8, 2002)

2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Masahiro Chono - G-1 Climax Semi-Finals (New Japan - August 10, 2002)

3. Osamu Nishimura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - G-1 Climax Semi-Finals (New Japan - August 10, 2002)

4. Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Masahiro Chono - G-1 Climax Finals (New Japan - August 11, 2002)

5. Dick Togo vs. Great Sasuke - Tohoku Junior Tournament (Michinoku Pro - August 15, 2002)

6. Dick Togo vs. Tiger Mask IV - Tohoku Junior Tournament Finals (Michinoku Pro - August 25, 2002)

7. Masayuki Naruse vs. Takehiro Murahama (New Japan - August 29, 2002)

8. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi + Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Minoru Tanaka + Jushin Lyger (New Japan - August 29, 2002)

9. Kaz Hayashi vs. Jimmy Yang (All Japan - August 30, 2002)

10. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Hiroshi Hase (All Japan - August 30, 2002)

11. Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid + Jimmy Yang vs. Magnum Tokyo, Susumu Yokosuka + Darkness Dragon (All Japan - August 31, 2002)

12. Kenta Kobashi, Kentaro Shiga, KENTA + Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito, Makoto Hashi + Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a Captain's Fall Elimination Match (Pro Wrestling NOAH - September 5, 2002)

13. Yoshihiro Takayama vs. GHC Heavyweight Champion Yoshinari Ogawa (Pro Wrestling NOAH - September 6, 2002)

14. YOSSINO, Brother YASSINI + Milano Collection A.T. vs. UWA Trios Tag Team Champions CIMA, Don Fuji + Yoshikazu Taru (Toryumon - September 8, 2002)

15. Darkness Dragon vs. Dragon Kid in a 2/3 Falls Mask vs. Mask Match (Toryumon - September 8, 2002)

16. Tiger Mask IV vs. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Koji Kanemoto (New Japan - September 22, 2002)

 

Volume Six

 

1. Masayuki Naruse + El Samurai vs. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Tsuyoshi Kikuchi + Yoshinobu Kanemaru (NOAH - September 23, 2002)

2. Jun Akiyama + Akitoshi Saito vs. GHC Tag Team Champions Takeshi Morishima + Takeshi Rikioh (NOAH - September 23, 2002)

3. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. GHC Heavyweight Champion Yoshihiro Takayama (NOAH - September 23, 2002)

4. Takashi Iizuka vs. Osamu Nishimura (New Japan - October 6, 2002)

5. Bob Sapp vs. Manabu Nakanishi (New Japan - October 14, 2002)

6. Kazuyuki Fujita vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata (New Japan - October 14, 2002)

7. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru (NOAH - October 19, 2002)

8. Kenta Kobashi + Kentaro Shiga vs. GHC Tag Team Champions Jun Akiyama + Akitoshi Saito (NOAH - October 19, 2002)

9. Bas Rutten vs. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Koji Kanemoto (New Japan - October 26, 2002)

10. Masahiro Chono vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata (New Japan - October 26, 2002)

11. Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroshi Hase (All Japan - October 27, 2002)

12. Great Muta vs. AJPW Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu (All Japan - October 27, 2002)

13. Jushin Lyger, Tiger Mask IV + HEAT vs. Koji Kanemoto, Gedo + Jado - Junior Triathalon Survivor Final Match (New Japan - November 4, 2002)

14. Great Sasuke, Jinsei Shinzaki + Dick Togo vs. Taka Michinoku, Gran Naniwa + Kaz Hayashi (Michinoku Pro 10th Anniversary - November 8, 2002)

[Guest NoSelfWorth]

I was thinking of getting that, but i've been put off by hearing some dodgy things about GoldenboyTapes. Plus, I emailed them almost two weeks ago, enquring about this tape set, and haven't heard anything back from them. Hell, I emailed them a question back in August and still haven't heard anything on that one either.

 

I was eyeing this tape set instead:

 

Volume 1

 

Yuji Nagata vs. GHC Heavyweight Champion Jun Akiyama (19:58; 1/4/02) ***3/4

Darkness Dragon/Genki Horiguchi/Susumu Mochizuki vs. Kennichiro Arai/Super Shisa/Ryo Saito (16:24; 1/20/02) ***1/2

Mitsuharu Misawa/Yoshinari Ogawa/Takuma Sano/Naomichi Marufuji vs. Jun Akiyama/Akitoshi Saito/Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makoto Hashi in an elimination match (27:14; 1/20/02) ***1/2

Ryo Saito/Takayuki Yagi/Anthony W. Mori vs. Milano Collection AT/Stevie Tsujimoto/Masato Yoshino in a best 2 out of 3 falls match (17:23; 1/23/02) ****

Koji Kanemoto/Gedo/Jado vs. Jushin Liger/Minoru Tanaka/Masahito Kakihara (32:51; 1/25/02) ***3/4

Wataru Inoue & Jushin Liger vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (17:38; 2/17/02) ****

 

Volume 2

 

Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Yuji Nagata & Jun Akiyama (Kobashi's dramatic return to the ring!, 26:49; 2/17/02) ****

Rumi Kazama/Eagle Sawai/Takako Inoue vs. Kayo Noumi/Nanae Takahashi/Tomoko Watanabe (21:08; 2/24/02) ***3/4

Momoe Nakanishi vs. Kumiko Maekawa for the vacant All Pacific Title (42:34; 2/24/02) ***1/2

WWWA Singles Title Kaoru Ito vs. Manami Toyota (Toyota wins title, 27:03; 2/24/02) ****

Satoshi Kojima vs. Genichiro Tenryu (17:51; 2/24/02) ***1/2

 

Volume 3

 

Toshiaki Kawada vs. Triple Crown Champion Keiji Muto (Kawada wins title, 27:37; 2/24/02) ***3/4

KENTA vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa (18:50; 3/2/02) ***1/2

Naohiro Hoshikawa vs. Naomichi Marufuji (17:02; 3/2/02) ***1/2

Jushin Liger/Minoru Tanaka/El Samurai/Masahito Kakihara/Masayuki Naruse vs. Koji Kanemoto/Eddy Guerrero/Black Tiger 3/Jado/Gedo in a best 2 out of 3 falls match (27:56; 3/14/02) ***1/2

Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. IWGP Tag Team Champions Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi (Chono & Tenzan win titles, 23:16; 3/24/02) ***3/4

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Keiji Muto for the vacant Triple Crown Title (Tenryu wins title, 19:38; 4/13/02) ***1/2

 

Volume 4

 

Koji Kanemoto/Eddie Guerrero/Black Tiger/Jado/Gedo vs. Jushin Liger/Minoru Tanaka/El Samurai/Masayuki Naruse/Masahito Kakihara in a Team Gaunlet Elimination Match (45:40, 3/24/02) ****

Yuji Nagata vs. IWGP Champion Tadao Yasuda (Nagata wins title, 15:01, 4/5/02) ***1/2

Minoru Tanaka & Jushin Liger vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemura (16:35, 4/7/02) ****1/4

Nobutaka Araya & Arashi vs. Shigeo Okumura & Mitsuya Nagai for the vacant All Asian Tag Team Titles (23:27, 4/13/02) *** 1/2

Taiyo Kea vs. Satoshi Kojima for the #1 Contendership to the Triple Crown (17:13, 4/13/02) ***1/2

Yoshihiro Takayama vs. IWGP Champion Yuji Nagata (15:30, 5/2/02) ****1/2

 

Volume 5

 

Jado/Gedo/Black Tiger/Koji Kanemoto vs. Jushin Liger/Minoru Tanaka/Masahito Kakihara/Masayuki Naruse in an elimination match (35:37, 4/16/02) ***1/2

Mikami vs. Onryo (clipped, 15:15 of 18:54 aired, 5/3/02) ***1/2

Yoshinobu Kanemura vs. KENTA for the vacant GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title (16:01, 5/26/02)

Momoe Nakanishi vs. Kaoru Ito (clipped, Japan Grand Prix 2002 tournament match, 18:02 of 28:48 aired, 5/26/02) ***3/4

Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (Best of the Super Jr. tournament match, 17:17, 5/28/02) ***3/4

Minoru Tanaka vs. El Samurai (Best of the Super Jr. tournament match, 13:01, 6/2/02) ***1/2

Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemura vs. Takao Omori & Takashi Sugiura (6/2/02, 21:08) ***1/2

 

Volume 6

 

IWGP Tag Team Champions Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Osamu Nishimura & Manabu Nakanishi (clipped, 37:14 of 60:00 aired, 6/5/02) ****1/2

IWGP Champion Yuji Nagata vs. Kensuke Sasaki (22:44, 6/7/02) ***1/2

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Jushin Liger & Minoru Tanaka vs. Akira & Koji Kanemoto (22:42, 7/4/02) ***3/4

WWWA Champion Manami Toyota vs. Kaoru Ito (Ito wins title and Toyota's final AJW match, 7/6/02) ***3/4

WWWA Tag Team Champions Nanae & Momoe vs. Rumi Kazama & Takako Inoue in a best two out of three falls match (7/6/02) ***3/4

 

Volume 7

 

Noki-A vs. Mariko Yoshida (16:20, ARS 2002 Tournament Round One, 4/29/02) ***3/4

All Pacific Champion Momoe Nakanishi vs. Akino [Noki-A] (28:20, 5/11/02) ****

Super Delfin & Super Demekin vs. Daio Quallt & Big Boss Ma-G-Ma (Osaka Pro Tag Festival Finals, 17:39, 5/26/02) ***3/4

Chikayo Nagashima vs. AAAW Heavyweight Champion Meiko Satomura (clipped, Nagashima wins title, 15:03 of 19:23 aired, 6/2/02) ***1/2

Yossino/Brother Yassini/Condotti Shuji vs. Ryo Saito/Anthony W. Mori/Second Doi (17:34, 6/6/02) ***3/4

Minoru Tanaka & Tiger Mask 4 vs. Koji Kanemoto & AKIRA (clipped, 13:24 of 20:00 aired, 6/20/02) ***1/2

Yuji Nagata/Manabu Nakanishi/Osamu Nishimura/Yutaka Yoshie vs. Kensuke Sasaki/Kenzo Suzuki/Hiroshi Tanahashi/Blue Wolf (clipped, 19:35 of 24:22 aired, 6/21/02) ***1/2

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs. Akira (18:51, 6/21/02) ***3/4

 

Volume 8

 

NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Champions Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka vs. Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda (clipped, 13:24 of 20:05 aired, 6/29/02) ***1/2

Naohiro Hoshikawa vs. Ikuto Hidaka (15:41, 7/7/02) ***3/4

Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiroshi Tanahashi (30:00, 7/8/02) ***1/2

10 Man G-1 Climax Rumble with Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shiro Koshinaka, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kenzo Suzuki, Yuji Nagata, Masahiro Chono, Kensuke Sasaki, Manabu Nakanishi, Osamu Nishimura, & Yutaka Yoshie (30:35, 7/10/02) ***1/2

Queen of ARSION Champion Michiko Ohmukai vs. Noki-A in a Lumberjack rules match (22:24, 7/13/02) ***3/4

Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs. Satoshi Kojima (28:55, 7/17/02) ****1/2

 

Volume 9

 

Masahiro Chono & Osamu Nishimura vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yoshihiro Takayama (28:40, 7/20/02) ***3/4

Taiyo Kea vs. Genichiro Tenryu (15:15, 7/20/02) ***3/4

Takuma Sano & Kenta vs. Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki (16:52, 7/26/02) ***1/2

Shinjiro Otani vs. Taka Michinoku (Fire Festival Tournament match, 15:11, 7/28/02) ***1/2

Masato Tanaka vs. Shinjiro Otani (Fire Festival Tournament match, 14:06, 7/31/02) ****

Manabu Nakanishi vs. Osamu Nishimura (clipped, G1 Climax Tournament match, 8:52 of 30:00 aired, 8/3/02) ***1/2

Shinjiro Otani vs. Tetsuhiro Kuroda (Fire Festival finals, 17:53, 8/4/02) ***3/4

Osamu Nishimura vs. Masahiro Chono (clipped, G1 Climax Tournament match, 20:45 of 30:00 aired, 8/4/02) ***1/2

 

Volume 10

 

Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (G1 Climax Tournament match, 13:18, 8/4/02) ***1/2

Manabu Nakanishi vs. Yuji Nagata (G1 Climax Tournament match, 17:21, 8/7/02) ***3/4

Yuji Nagata vs. Osamu Nishimura (G-1 Climax Tournament match, 30:00, 8/8/02) ****

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kensuke Sasaki (G-1 Climax Tournament match, 15:52, 8/8/02) ***1/2

Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Osamu Nishimura (G1 Climax Semifinals, 22:38, 8/10/02) ***3/4

Masahiro Chono vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (G1 Climax Finals, 20:23, 8/11/02) ***3/4

Koji Kanemoto vs. Makoto Hashi (15:41, 8/29/02) ***1/2

 

Volume 11

 

Masayuki Naruse vs. Takehiro Murahama (20:00, 8/29/02) ***1/2

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Jushin Liger & Minoru Tanaka vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (Kanemaru & Kikuchi win titles, 22:16, 8/29/02) ****

Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, & Jimmy Yang vs. Magnum Tokyo, Susumu Yokosuka, & Darkness Dragon (13:39, 8/31/02) ***3/4

Kenta Kobashi & Kenta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kotaro Suzuki (19:44, 9/1/02) ***3/4

Dragon Kid vs. Darkness Dragon in a best two out of three falls mask vs. mask match (18:41, 9/8/02) ***1/2

Yuji Nagata vs. Yutaka Yoshie (15:00, 9/13/02) ***1/2

Osamu Nishimura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (19:04, 9/16/02) ***3/4

Kenzo Suzuki vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (clipped, 14:34 of 15:45 aired, 9/17/02) ***1/2

 

Volume 12

 

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Koji Kanemoto vs. Tiger Mask 4 (17:40, 9/22/02) ***3/4

Kenta vs. Kotaro Suzuki (12:07, 9/23/02) ***1/2

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. El Samurai & Masayuki Naruse (14:33, 9/23/02) ****

GHC Tag Team Champions Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio vs. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito (Akiyama & Saito win titles, 22:47, 9/23/02) ****

GHC Heavyweight Champion Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (Misawa wins title, 23:50, 9/23/02) ****

Dragon Kid & Darkness Dragon vs. Magnum Tokyo & Susumu Yokosuka (clipped, 8:59 of 10:50 aired, 9/30/02) ***1/2

Yuji Nagata & Minoru Tanaka vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Masayuki Naruse (15:10, 10/6/02) ***1/2

Takashi Iizuka vs. Osamu Nishimura (24:14, 10/6/02) ****1/4

 

Volume 13

 

UWA 6-man Tag Team Champions Cima, Don Fuji, & Yoshikazu Taru vs. Magnum Tokyo, Darkness Dragon, & Genki Horiguchi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, & Ryo Saito (19:55, 7/7/02) ***3/4

Aja Kong & Manami Toyota vs. Meiko Satomura & Ayako Hamada (clipped, 19:13 of of 22:27 aired, 8/30/02) ****1/4

AAAW Champion Chikayo Nagashima vs. Manami Toyota (21:29, 10/20/02) ****

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs. Masahiro Chono (60:00, 10/26/02) ****1/2

Genki Horiguchi, K-ness, & Susumu Yokosuka vs. Anthony W. Mori, Ryo Saito, & Masaaki Mochizuki (clipped, 11:55 of 14:35 aired, 11/27/02) ***1/2

Satoshi Kojima vs. Shinjiro Otani (16:34, 12/15/02) ***1/2

 

It's from Highspots. It's pricier than the the Goldenboy one at $99.99, but you do get a cool Japanese A-Z type book thrown in for free, which looks good. Plus this one is taped in SP, rather than LP, so the VQ may be better.

[Guest Jubuki]

That's so stupid. You could probably narrow that bunch of stuff down to two or three tapes at best and be set. Any set of comps that has Kojima/Tenryu and Mutoh/Kawada on it for its "Best of" is a joke.

[Guest NoSelfWorth]

Why do you say that ? Both matches have gotten good reviews from just about everyone.

[Guest Tim Cooke]

Good reviews from who?

 

Know your sources or get it yourself to see. I haven't heard anything good about Tenyru/Kojima and I experienced Mutoh/Kawada painfully myself.

 

Tim

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Who's "everyone?"

 

I haven't read a single possitive review of Mutoh/Kawada, but maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places. If you have heard from someone that it's one of the best matches of the year, I would personally recomend that you stop listening to anything they say.

 

The same people who touted the second Tenryu/Kojima match as a MOTYC were the ones who pimped the first one just as much. I saw the first one and wasn't too thrilled, so I haven't bothered to check around for reviews of the second meeting. I read Chris's review, but by then I was already aware of what to expect from him. He pretty much confirmed my expectations of what the match would be like, too.

[Guest NoSelfWorth]

I've seen the Muto v Kawada match, and I really liked it.

[Guest Tim Cooke]

Did you like the no selling by Mutoh which lead to Kawada having to no sell to keep himself looking strong?

 

Did you like the unfocused build that was nothing more than a waste of time?

 

There isn't much to like in that match.

 

There is plenty of GREAT Kawada out there. Probably in the 100's+ matches range easily. Hell, there is even plenty good Mutoh out there if you look for it. This match isn't it.

 

Tim

[Guest NoSelfWorth]

I just watched it to enoy it. And I did enjoy it. Quite a bit.

[Guest wolverine]

Fuck 2002, especially the All Japan stuff. AJ 1993 TV is your friend.

[Guest shlidgn90]

one thing i dont get, is when guys who havent seen a match, dismisses it for no reason other than they watched previous matches. i seen the second tenryu/kojima match and it ten times better than the first match in feburary. by the way, i have not seen a bad review of that match on any major wrestling site or reviewer yet.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

one thing i dont get, is when guys who havent seen a match, dismisses it for no reason other than they watched previous matches. i seen the second tenryu/kojima match and it ten times better than the first match in feburary. by the way, i have not seen a bad review of that match on any major wrestling site or reviewer yet.

Well, for one thing, watching the 2/24/02 pay per view was enough turn me off to 2002 AJPW as a whole. I was promised two high end matches and got Kawada channeling Road Warior Animal and Tenryu hamming it up against Kojima.

 

I read reviews from guys I feel are worth listening to. The people I do tend to listen to said that, if anything, Tenryu/Kojima from July was more annoying to watch than their February match. I don't have enough time or money to spend on matches I'm unlikely to enjoy watching, so I passed on seeing it myself. I'd rather pursue wrestling that has a high chance of pleasing me instead.

[Guest Black Tiger]

How did Takayama vs. Ogawa make it onto a Best of 2002 comp? That match is only about **1/2 at best.

[EL DANDY~! 0]

OK. If you HAD to buy a set, would you buy the first Best of Japan 2002 set that I posted or the 2nd one?

[Guest Jubuki]

I'd skip them both and get stuff worth watching.

[EL DANDY~! 0]

So nothing on that list is worth watching? whatever...

[Guest wolverine]

I also wouldn't get either, but if I had to, I'd obviously pick the one with the gals on it.

[Guest Jubuki]

Don't blame us if you toss a couple of bloated tape sets up here from one of the worst years in recent wrestling memory and we say, "You're a dumbass for buying them." Don't waste your money and you don't have to read it.

[Guest Doyo]

Good reviews from who?

Know your sources or get it yourself to see. I haven't heard anything good about Tenyru/Kojima and I experienced Mutoh/Kawada painfully myself.

Who's "everyone?"

 

Dave Meltzer, you know... the guy who has been writing the Wrestling

Observer Newsletter for over 20 years and who I believe came up

with the star rating system along with Jim Cornette, gave 2/24/02 Muto

vs. Kawada ****1/2

ichibanpuroresu.com gave it ***3/4

 

7/17/02 Tenryu vs. Kojima got ****3/4 from ichibanpuroresu.com,

read the review here, and I believe the same from Meltzer.

 

Here are the Wrestling Observer newsletter awards results for

best match. They are voted on by probably the most knowledgable

fans on the planet.

1. Benoit & Angle vs. Edge & Mysterio, No Mercy

-->2. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Satoshi Kojima

3. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H, SummerSlam

-->4. Keiji Muto vs. Toshiaki Kawada

5. American Dragon vs. Low Ki

6. Misawa & Kobashi vs. Akiyama & Nagata

7. Spanky vs. Low Ki vs. Daniels vs. Williams

8. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Tatsuhito Takiawa

9. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle, Unforgiven

10. Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge, Smackdown

[Guest Jubuki]

Because after all, what's popular must be right!

[Guest wolverine]

Please don't bring up Brandon Thurston anymore - the guy is a complete idiot. Didn't he give Kawada/Sasaki 10/9/00 ***** or some stupid shit like that?

 

And I've read Meltzer for many years, and it's obvious that his ratings standards have dropped as the years have gone by and match quality sunk.

[Guest BionicRedneck]

Although I personally wouldn't buy the tapes, there is some decent stuff on them.

 

I haven't seen Kojima/Tenryu so I cant comment, but Kawada/Mutoh is a steaming pile.

 

I wouldn't trust Meltzer these days either, as he rated Taker/Lesnar above ****, didn't he?

[Guest NoSelfWorth]

He gave it ****. It seems like people are making an awful lot of fuss over other people rating matches differently to them.

[Guest Tim Cooke]

Meltzer is number one by far for news for the US scene. But his ratings, especially for his favorites (Kobashi, Mutoh, Toyoda, Michaels), should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

Spend the money on the tapes and decide for yourself if you're not sure. But if you find they are crap, shame on you because you have been forewarned.

 

Tim, who just watched 1/24/93 Kobashi/Kikuchi v Akiyama/Ogawa for the first time. Akiyama, as a 5 month rookie, wrestles a better match than Kurt Angle has ever wrestled.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Dave Meltzer, you know... the guy who has been writing the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for over 20 years and who I believe came up with the star rating system along with Jim Cornette, gave 2/24/02 Muto

vs. Kawada ****1/2 ichibanpuroresu.com gave it ***3/4.

 

Believe it or not, Dave is a human being, and has short-comings just like the rest of us. I feel Dave's biggest short-coming is his attitude towards analizing ring-work and what makes a match great. Dave simply says "It's great" and rarely, if ever, says why.

 

Dave has indeed been watching wrestling for very long time and is a great authority on news and the current happenings of wrestling, but I don't really pay him any mind when it comes to reviewing matches. There are others who are more willing to discuss the work at a deeper levle and back up their opinions, as opposed to just pilling on the snow flakes like Dave and many others do. I don't mind that he favors Flair, Michaels, Kobashi, Toyota, ect. but I'm not one to accept someone's opinion "because they've seen a lot of wrestling." There are people who write reviews who've been following wrestling longer than Meltzer, as shocking as that may seem.

 

Here are the Wrestling Observer newsletter awards results for

best match. They are voted on by probably the most knowledgable

fans on the planet.

 

It's voted on by the WON readers. If reading the Observor automatically makes you part of one of "the most knowledgable wrestling fans on the planet" then reading Newsweek must be the key to world domination. No one becomes a "Supreme Online Authority on Wrestling" once they subscribe to the WON.

[Guest wolverine]

Everyone and their brother can dish out star ratings, but there are very few who are almost always reliable. Finding those people can be hard at first, but eventually you'll discover that they were right there in front of you all along.

 

-wolverine, who just saw Ito & Momoe wrestle at 100 mph during 10/20/02. While this wasn't at the level of their fabulous 2001 matches (particularly because the clipping hurt the flow), I continue to be amazed at how well they work with each other.

[Guest The Mighty Damaramu]

Well star ratings are subjective. How about this? You buy the tapes. Decide what you like on it and fuck what everyone else thinks.

[Guest wolverine]

Pretty horrible 'philosophy' there, TMD. Some of us try to give helpful advice here, in case you weren't aware....

[Guest RickyChosyu]

"Well star ratings are subjective."

 

Yes, that arguement doesn't need to be rolled out again.

 

"How about this? You buy the tapes. Decide what you like on it and fuck what everyone else thinks."

 

Kind of defeats the purpose of asking for a second opinion in the first place. If he wanted to buy the tape without any advice, I doubt he would make a thread like this.

[EL DANDY~! 0]

So basically, neither set is worth it from what I've heard...