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Jun Akiyama & Kentaro
Shiga vs. Johnny Ace & Bart Gunn From All Japan Hour #85 8/28/99 '99 Summer Action Series Taped 7/17 Tokyo Korakuen Hall (2,100 sellout) |
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A good short match. The reason it worked was that everyone but Gunn (who sucks no matter what) was fired up and had a role. The fans want to believe in their favorite underdog Shiga, and this match allowed them to. It got off to a hot start with Shiga and Akiyama throwing dropkicks at the bell, which took Gunn out, then double teaming Ace. Shiga did his swinging DDT for a near fall on Ace about 15 seconds into the match for a big pop. It wasn't that fans thought he'd win there, but him hitting his finisher on Ace this early and stunning him long enough to get a 2+ count was progress. Maybe later in the match when more damage had been done to the opposition, he would be able to beat Ace or Gunn with this move? Shiga soon got beat on, but they were double teaming him so it was okay. They laid him out, but it took a combination powerbomb and Ace crusher, plus Akiyama was laid out right after that when he was Ace crushered onto a chair. Ace was really wreaking havoc here with his Ace crushers. Still, he couldn't put Akiyama away with an Ace crusher even after Gunn did a diving elbow. Akiyama made the hot tag, and the fans one again got behind Shiga, who used his athleticism to do some damage to Ace. Ace was countering the swinging DDT, so Akiyama came in and explodered him. This allowed Shiga to hit a tornado DDT for a semi credible near fall. Ace came back with a killer Dudley Death Drop looking version of the Ace crusher, but Akiyama saved Shiga. However, Ace gave him an Ace crusher to take him out then Gunn gave Shiga one of his lame body blows followed by a Bartbash (Outsider's edge) for the win. Gunn didn't help the match because he sucked, as always, but Ace flashed back to 1996 form and was so good, even though he pretty much did the same move over and over, that Gunn was closer to a non-factor. Everyone else looked really good doing their moves. Akiyama is the most consistent of the top stars in this league simply because he's younger so he isn't as broken down yet. After a disappointing 1998, Shiga is one of the most improved wrestlers of 1999, largely because he's been given the opportunity. Ace wasn't even goofy here. Shiga wound up losing as always, but he clearly gained in the minds of those who saw the match. For those who didn't see it, it looked like the same old AJ booking where the obvious guy does the job, in this case very quickly so he "couldn't have" gained anything.
9:09
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