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International Junior Heavykyu
Senshuken Jiai: Lion Heart (Chris Jericho) vs. Ultimo Dragon 7/7/95 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan (9,000) From WAR 3rd Anniversary Memorial Commercial Tape |
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Really a tremendous performance by Dragon because he got a "match of the year" out of a guy that was sloppy and wasn't smooth. Dragon has had matches that were better worked because Jericho wasn't on the level, but what made this special is they did one cool spot after another. The crowd was really reacting to the moves, so the match was dramatic even though there wasn't any great build or selling to make the moves meaningful. The first awesome spot looked like it was going to be a tope atomico, but Dragon did a 360 degree flip in the air and landed on top of Lion with a body press. Lion prevented Dragon from reentering the ring and piledrove him on the floor. Dragon's next dive was catapulting himself to the second rope then jumping over the top with a tope con hilo. The move wasn't as cool as it could have been because Dragon held onto the top rope, which killed much of his momentum. Dragon tried a nadare shiki no Frankensteiner, but Lion pushed him off the top. Ultimo backflipped in the air so he landed on his feet, but Lion missile kicked him off the 2nd. Another great spot saw Lion setting up his Lionsault, but Ultimo tripped him and went right into his la magistral for a near fall. Lion dumped Dragon over the top to the floor when he tried the nadare shiki no Frankensteiner again and tried a plancha, but Dragon used the guard rail he was leaning against to help him knee Lion. After a shoulderblock, Lion hit his Lionsault and went into a Japanese leg roll crotch hold for a near fall. Lion tried a Tigerdriver, but Dragon turned it into a huracanrana. This looked great because Jericho threw Ultimo up he had to turn himself over in the air to take the bump right, but instead he caught Jericho's head with his legs and quickly snapped him over. They went back and forth with hot near falls. At one point, Lion missed a moonsault and Dragon set up like he was going to try a moonsault of his own. Instead, he did an incredible screw forearm, but Lion avoided it. The wind was knocked out of Dragon from hitting the mat hard, so Lion did a nadare shiki no doublearm suplex to retain the title. This match probably would have come off better if they didn't chop
so much out. It had the spots and the aura, but it had an indy look
to it with so much being rolled out and not all of it being done properly.
Still, it's probably the best match Jericho had in Japan and was well
ahead of it's time when it came to the spectacular moves. This is the
kind of match you can show anyone because they don't need to know any
background and will almost surely be impressed by the tremendous display
of athleticism. 19:59 (10:36 shown)
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