Takeshi Ono & Ikuto Hidaka vs. Minoru Fujita & Ryuji Hijikata. Hidaka did a spectacular dive, and the announcers talked about how the fans yell "ECW" for those since he's appeared there. Good match due to Hidaka and Fujita, who are two of the most promising young wrestlers in the world. 5:50 shown
Masao Orihara vs. Katsumi Usuda. This sounds pretty good on paper, but turned out to be uneventful in actuality. 4:37 shown
Yuki Ishikawa & Mohammad Yone vs. Alexander Otsuka & Carl Malenko. Good, solid match. 8:52 shown
Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken: Naoki Sano vs. Minoru Tanaka 19:21. Better structured version of what they'd been doing together, starting slow and requiring some patients but building really well to the point the crowd was in a frenzy by the finishing sequence. One would think that the first half being on the mat would favor Tanaka, but it was traditional pro style matwork, and Sano controlled though this was totally a field position match where Sano had the ball longer but neither were doing much scoring. It was a bit odd that they went in this direction considering how much time Sano spent in PWFG & UWF-I, but the idea was his avoidal of the style Tanaka does better in favor of a junior style match with pro style matwork gave him the advantage. Tanaka struggled mostly unsuccessfully to make it a shoot style match, but was pretty much only able to counter into submissions, and it was Sano who caused a knee injury that he attacked down the stretch. The matwork wasn't nearly in the class with Tanaka's 10/17/99 match against TAKA Michinoku, but the succession of holds was more logical and the junior style sequences were really quick and smooth. Though some of the early portion was dull, the fact they were ultimately able to build up a match that eventually generated so much interest and intensity made that easy to forget. Read Review ****
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Mitsuya Nagai. Nagai dominated the match. He looked good here; you couldn't tell he's fairly new to pro style. I still have to get used to seeing him do moves like diving headbutts. As a whole, his offense is fairly limited though, mainly relying on kicks. This was one of the main reasons the match got king of tedious. The match was basically Nagai beating up on Ikeda with kicks and such, and Ikeda not doing much of a job of conveying that he'd been beaten on so much during his brief comebacks. Suddenly, Ikeda puts a run together doing his lariats, Death Valley bomb, and rolling kakato otoshi for the KO. Everything they did looked good, but the finish seemed ridiculous given everything else that had happened and that Nagai is a tough guy. **1/2
Takeshi Ono vs. Ryuji Hijikata. 4:25 shown.
Mohammad Yone vs. Katsumi Usuda. 5:07 shown.
Naoki Sano & Curry Man vs. Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita. Curry Man & Fujita worked really well together. Match was uneven with great sequences leading to lulls. At it's best it was awesome, but it had no real build and lacked direction. The talent to have a **** match was clearly there, but this was a confused match. Also, Curry Man pulled his groin, so he wasn't able to do much in the second half of the match. ***
2/11/99 Kanagawa Club Citta Kawasaki Eirenbou Junior Heavykyu Senshuken: Curry Man vs. Tsubo Genjin. Curry Man did what he could, but it's not possible to have a decent match with Genjin. 3:44 shown.
Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken: Minoru Tanaka vs. Hiroyoshi Kotsubo. Muga style. Not bad technically, but the slow paced submission style was kind of dull. *1/2
Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs. Daisuke Ikeda & Mitsuya Nagai. This match was mainly to put Nagai over. He looked good again with powerful kicks. It was stiff, but I expected more from Ishikawa & Otsuka. They mainly just got their ass kicked. **3/4
King & Queen Tournament Ikkaisen
Yuki Ishikawa & Candy Okutsu & Ai Fujita vs. Takeshi Ono & Etsuko Mita & KAW*KAW. Even with the men, Mita was still the tallest wrestler in the match. Mostly sex spots, as Ishikawa was even more perverted than usual. After bodyslamming Mita, he smelled the arm that was just in her crotch, so she slapped him, tied him in the corner, and drove her boot into his nuts. This was the worst match of the show because it focused on sex so much that they didn't even bother putting effort in when the men were wrestling the men and the women were wrestling the women.
Alexander Otsuka & Mariko Yoshida & Yumi Fukawa vs. Mohammed Yone & Mari Apache & Fabi Apache. This was the best match because the women were mainly serious and Yone just went along with whatever the others were doing. Yoshida was, of course, the best of the bunch. The only real downside was that Otsuka appeared to be afraid to hurt the women, so he did everything at less than 1/2 impact.
JJC 1st round and semifinal highlights
JJC Tournament Kesshosen: Katsumi Usuda vs. Ikuto Hidaka. Beginning was dull, but the second half was very good because Hidaka did all his nice moves. Usuda's offense is done properly, but one move doesn't really lead to the other. It's like if he's standing then he kicks and if he's on the mat then he does a submission. He was pretty stiff and Hidaka was pretty glamorous, but the comebacks were goofy, they didn't really sell, and the finish pretty much came out of nowhere. **1/4
King & Queen Tournament Kesshosen: Yuki Ishikawa & Candy Okutsu & Ai Fujita vs. Alexander Otsuka & Mariko Yoshida & Yumi Fukawa. Fujita gave Otsuka the infamous testicular claw. Ishikawa was the first wrestler eliminated, but there was still too much sex in the second half. He did come back when Candy had Fukawa spread and threatened to kiss Yumi, so she just submitted rather than giving him the pleasure. Prior to this, there was a triple team spot where two wrestlers would take Candy's arms out with udehishigigyakujujigatames and the other would sit on her face. However, when it came time for Otsuka to sit on Candy's face, she bit his ass. Later, Candy sold a low blow. At least her selling wasn't cartoonish like Otsuka. Hardly a great match, but definitely better than the Ishikawa teams 1st round match.
Mohammad Yone vs. Ryuji Yamakawa
Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshukenjiai: Minoru Tanaka vs. Ikuto Hidaka
Man & Woman Mixed Match: Shinobu Kandori & Mach Junji vs. Takesho Ono & KAW*KAW
Yuki Ishikawa & Naoki Sano vs. Alexander Otsuka & Kazunari Murakami
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Katsumi Usuda
P*MIX Grand Prix 2000 Tournament
Ikuto Hidaka & AKINO vs. Minoru Fujita & Ai Fujita 3:39
Tsubo Genjin & Gami Metal vs. Relay Shonen & Saya Genjin 7:11
Digest: Urban Ken vs. Ryuji Hijikata
5/20 Saitama Toda Kyotei Ba Rainbow Hall show highlights
Mohammed Yone & Takeshi Ono vs. Mach Junji & Tony Jones 4:15
Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken: Minoru Tanaka vs. Katsumi Usuda
Alexander Otsuka vs. Naoyuki Taira
Mitsuya Nagai vs. Yuki Ishikawa
Takashi Hijikata vs. Urban Ken
Hiroyoshi Kotsubo vs. Daisuke Sekimoto
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Takeshi Ono
Urban Ken vs. Ryuji Hijikata. Digest
6/10/00 Saitama Tokorozawa Kusunoki Hall
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Ryuji Hijikata 1:40
Minoru Tanaka & Alexander Otsuka vs. Mitsuya Nagai & Ikuto Hidaka. Digest
Minoru Tanaka & Mohammed Yone vs. Alexander Otsuka & Ikuto Hidaka
Highlights from 5/11 Korauken Hall - Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken: Katsumi Usuda vs. Minoru Tanaka, Taira vs. Otsuka
Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken: Katsumi Usuda vs. Naoyuki Taira
P*Mix Tournament Highlights
First round highlights
Tournament Nikaisen ARSION 6/7/00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Minoru Tanaka & Yumi Fukawa vs. Alexander Otsuka & Mariko Yoshida. Tanaka was really impressive. It was quite good when he was in with Otsuka, but Otsuka really hurt the match by going so easy on Fukawa that it was bad comedy. Yoshida and Tanaka worked together fine, but the match was definitely better when it was man vs. man and woman vs. woman. Good technical match, with quality mat wrestling from Tanaka, Yoshida, & Fukawa. Fukawa finally got that win over Yoshida, but another year of bad booking has forced everyone to give up on her, so it didn't even get a reaction. ***
Yuki Ishikawa & Aja Kong vs. Tsubo Genjin & Gami Metal. Tsubo did more posing than Hogan. Almost as soon as he finally locked up, Ishikawa made him submit. DUD
Gran Hamada & Ayako Hamada vs. Ikuto Hidaka & AKINO. The match was kind of slow and tame for the first five minutes, but once it picked up they did all the big moves. AKINO vs. Ayako was the best combination. Hidaka vs. Hamada wasn't as good as it sounds on paper. The last two statements are probably both due to the familiarity factor. **1/2
Tournament Nikaisen Michinoku Puroresu 6/24 Miyagi Naruko Cho Sports Center
Tiger Mask & Hiromi Yagi vs. The Great Sasuke & Chaparrita ASARI. Yagi was excellent, and mainly responsible for the high quality. ASARI was stagnant for years, but it's no coincidence that she started getting better at the point she began working with Yagi regularly. Their stuff was so good that Tiger vs. Sasuke almost seemed slow and boring. Sasuke & Yagi worked together better than any other man and women in this tournament did. I don't think they've even wrestled each other before, but you couldn't tell that by the way they worked with each other. Real good execution here. ***1/2
Battlarts 6/29 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Tournament Junkessho: Gran Hamada & Ayako Hamada vs. Tiger Mask & Hiromi Yagi. Ayako was exposed here. She looks really good when she's doing a bunch of spots with someone she wrestles regularly, but out of that setting even Yagi couldn't make her look good. This match never really got going, and only Hamada & Tiger worked well together. A major disappointment. **
Tournament Kesshosen: Minoru Tanaka & Yumi Fukawa vs. Gran Hamada & Ayako Hamada. This was a bit sloppy, with Ayako screwing up in seconds the first time she worked with Tanaka. Tanaka was the best in the match. Gran is more effective at this age when he's only wrestling once per night and again this wasn't Ayako's style, so both Hamada's were disappointing. Ayako gave Tanaka a Hama-chan cutter, and a little later the Hamada's gave him a double Hama-chan cutter for the win. During the belt presentation, Xochilt Hamada's future husband Pentagon attacked Gran Hamada.
Candy Okutsu & Ai Fujita sing a song
Day Show
Ikuto Hidaka vs. SAITO
Katsumi Usuda vs. Takeshi Ono
Yuki Ishikawa & Mohammed Yone vs. Mitsuya Nagai & Ryuji Hijikata
Minoru Tanaka vs. Rigira
Hakata Light Heavyweight Title Match: Azteca vs. Junji.com
Independent World Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Naoyuki Taira vs. Carl Malenko
Night Show
Young Generation Battle League Match: Mitsuya Nagai vs. junji.com
Young Generation Battle League Match: Rastaman vs. Mohammed Yone
Young Generation Battle League Match: Katsumi Usuda vs. Yuki Ishikawa
Rastaman vs. Ryuji Hijikata
Mick Tierney vs junji.com
SAITO vs. Takeshi Ono
Young Generation Battle League Match: Katsumi Usuda vs. Carl Malenko
Naoki Sano & Ikuto Hidaka vs. Alexander Otsuka & Minoru Tanaka
Young Generation Battle League Match: Mitsuya Nagai vs. Mohammad Yone
Takeshi Ono & Ryuji Hijikata vs. junji.com & Urban Ken. Seemed to go on forever. Actually had some good moments, but they were overshadowed by the shaky execution and the dull and lethargic nature. Too much of the brand of brawling oriented striking you get from NJ's HI. Ken's spear was really laughable. He ran at the opponent and they'd flop on "impact". 14:55 of 16:35. *
Minoru Tanaka vs. Ikuto Hidaka. Nice showcase of athleticism and ability to chain together and counter with impressive speed. The work was really smooth, but as expected the match was held down by Hidaka being so outranked. 10:38 of 10:50. ***1/4
Yuki Ishikawa & Carl Malenko vs. Kazunari Murakami & Naoyuki Taira. Malenko put on a nice show with Taira, as they were slick going from hold to hold. Malenko was using submissions you don't usually see, while Taira impressed me with his atheticism and flexibility. Unfortunately, as usual Murakami spent most of his ring time menacing. When he tried to go on the mat it was so painfully obvious that he was out of his depth, but other than stare and scowl he mainly punched. Ishikawa did fine with Taira, though Malenko was better because he's quicker and more fluid, but the garbage with Murakami had nothing to do with the rest of the match. 16:46. **3/4
Highlights of 7/20-8/27 Young Generation Battle league matches
Young Generation Battle 2000 Junkessho: Mitsuya Nagai vs. Katsumi Usuda. I expected a lot more from this match. It lacked pace and flow, and was slow and deliberate. The best thing it had going for it was pretty hard kicks, but they were performed rather mechanically. 13:39. *3/4
Young Generation Battle 2000 Junkessho: Alexander Otsuka vs. Mohammad Yone. Plodded along with no sequences and nothing out of the ordinary. They hit their moves fine and did a few near finishes, but they didn't work together at all, just switched off. 12:06. **
Young Generation Battle 2000 Kesshosen: Alexander Otsuka vs. Mitsuya Nagai. This match didn't seem to have a lot of life, looking more like an undercard match on a house show than the final of a tournament designed to create a new "star". It was adequate of course, but again kinda short and just nothing special. 8:24. *3/4
junji.com vs. Takeshi Ono 8:45
Tsubo Genjin vs. Osamu Tachihikari 4:22
Naoki Sano & Naoyuki Taira vs. Katsumi Usuda & Urban Ken 22:10
Kazunari Murakami & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Carl Malenko 11:20
Animal Warrior & Rastaman Warrior vs. Alexander Otsuka & Mohammad Yone 6:16
Takeshi Ono & Mick Tierney vs. Katsumi Usuda & Rastaman
Tiger Mask vs. junji.com
MMA & Kickboxing matches
Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs. Mohammed Yone & Hiroyoshi Kotsubo
Vale Tudo rules: Carl Malenko vs. Urban Ken
Carl Malenko vs. Rastaman
junji.com vs. Ryuji Hijikata
Tachihikari vs. Takeshi Ono
Daijiro Matsui vs. Urban Ken
Tiger Mask IV vs. Naoki Sano
Independent Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Naoyuki Taira vs. Katsumi Usuda
Mitsuya Nagai vs. Mohammed Yone
Alexander Otsuka vs. Giant Ochiai
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Kazunari Murakami
Takeshi Ono vs. SAITO
Yoshiko Tamura vs. Tanny Mouse
Alexander Otsuka vs. Urban Ken
Muhammad Yone vs. junji.com
Tag Battle 2000 Yushoketteisen: Katsumi Usuda & Carl Malenko vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Ryuji Hijikata