The Ultimo Dragon Gym Champion would reign over Toryumon. Toryumon was the precursor to Dragon Gate. The company was born from Ultimo Dragon’s wrestling school. This independent wrestling promotion focused on junior wrestlers, graduated from the first four Ultimo Dragon Gym classes. Four years after the company’s debut they crowned their first champion. This happened at the third annual El Numero Uno tournament in 2003. In one night CIMA defeated Susumu Yokosuka of Do Fixer & YOSSINO of the Italian Connection to get to the finals. That came as no surprise to anyone. What did surprise people was the run made by Genki Horiguchi, who defeated his Do Fixer stablemate Magnum TOKYO & Masaaki Mochizuki of Shin M2K. By the end of the evening Horiguchi had completely captured the imagination of the Toryumon fans, but was still a hopeless underdog.

CIMA VS. Genki Horiguchi [Tournament Final/Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship Match – El Numero Uno 4/22/03]
Horiguchi is insanely over. He hits a dropkick to start. CIMA comes back with a back of back suplexes and a superkick. Horiguchi gets a roll up for 2. He gets a backslide for 2. CIMA puts on a chinlock. He slams Horiguchi’s leg to the mat. He does it again, this time driving his elbow into the back of the knee as well. He puts on a leglock. He hits a facebuster for 2. He works over the knee against the ropes. He puts on a modified cloverleaf but the crowd rallies behind Horiguchi. Horiguchi gets to the ropes. CIMA dropkicks his knee. He puts on a figure 4 leglock. Horiguchi rolls over but CIMA gets his leverage back. Horiguchi gets to the ropes. CIMA goes for a knee kick in the corner but Horiguchi dodges it and CIMA falls to the floor. Do Fixer attack CIMA but Crazy MAX fight them off. CIMA kicks Horiguchi’s head. He goes for a head scissors takedown but Susumu Yokosuka hits him with some kind of container to keep that from happening. Horiguchi dropkicks the back of CIMA’s head for 2. He puts on a guillotine choke but CIMA gets to the ropes. Horiguchi puts on the GH Lock but CIMA counters the hold. He releases to get a jackknife pin for 2. They trade pin attempts. Horiguchi hits a low blow. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. A moonsault misses its mark. CIMA hits the Perfect Driver for 2. He hits it again for 2. He hits the double knee kick, the Venus and the Iconoclasm. He climbs the ropes but the Mad Splash hits knees. CIMA hits a superkick but Ryo Saito throws powder in his eyes. Horiguchi hits him with the Beach Break for 2. He goes for another but has to settle simply for dropping CIMA on his face for 2. He hits a huge DDT. CIMA blocks the Beach Break and hits the Schwein. He rips the protective tape off of his back and sets Horiguchi up top. He hits the Venus three times. He hits the Iconoclasm and the Mad Splash for the win at 19:07. The heat for this match was incredible. Any time Horiguchi was in trouble the crowd got super hot for him. I’ve never been a huge fan of Horiguchi’s singles work but the energy here drove him to put on a hell of a show. After the match both men are tended to by their stables. Magnum TOKYO drags an unconscious Horiguchi to the back while the crowd loudly chants H-A-G-E the entire time. In the ring CIMA gets teary as he is awarded the Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship belt.
Rating: ***¾

CIMA wasted no time in lining up challengers, as only two weeks later he met the challenge of his trainer and the owner of Toryumon. Ultimo Dragon was getting ready to leave for a stint with WWE. Before going he was driven to win his gym’s top prize from his top student.

CIMA VS. Ultimo Dragon [Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship Match – El Numero Uno 5/6/03]
This match aired on Toryumon’s TV show Vamanos Amigos. The theme song for the show is some ska music that sounds great over Toryumon footage. Is that some Millencolin I hear during a Naruki Doi promo? They lock up and Dragon grabs a wristlock. He hits an armdrag. He puts on a headlock and hits a shoulder tackle. He misses an elbowdrop. CIMA gets a roll up for 2. He misses a senton. Dragon puts on a dragon sleeper but CIMA gets to the ropes. CIMA gets a takedown and works over Dragon’s side. They lock legs and slap each other upside down. Dragon puts on a headlock and hits right hands to the face. CIMA dropkicks his back. Dragon dodges a knee kick and CIMA falls to the floor. Dragon follows him out with the Asai moonsault. Back in the ring CIMA dodges a kick and hits an armbreaker. He puts on a top wristlock and then a cross armbreaker. Dragon gets to the ropes. He hits a crossbody. CIMA catches him with the Venus. He hits an armbreaker over the top turnbuckle. He hits Venus twice but a third attempt is countered to the dragon sleeper. The referee calls for the break being that Dragon is perched in the top turnbuckle. CIMA hits a superkick and the Schwein for 2. He puts on the Turkey but Dragon gets to the ropes. CIMA hits a double knee kick and the Iconoclasm. Dragon pops up and catches CIMA with a second rope hurricanrana for 2. CIMA gets a roll up for 2. They trade roll ups for a bit. CIMA hits a spinebuster. Dragon blocks the Schwein and hits a back heel kick to the face. He hits the Schwein on CIMA for 2. He hits a tombstone piledriver. He climbs the ropes but CIMA cuts him off and hits the Iconoclasm. He hits the Mad Splash for 1. Dragon unleashes a flurry of kicks. He hits a clothesline. CIMA hits a superkick. He hits an armbreaker. He goes for another but Dragon counters to a sleeper. Dragon hits a German suplex. He puts on the dragon sleeper but CIMA powers out. Dragon goes for the hold again but CIMA counters to the Perfect Driver. He hits the Schwein and the Mad Splash for the win at 12:12 shown of 20:04. Fun match but nothing groundbreaking, perhaps it was more powerful unclipped. I know it’s his company but Dragon’s no-selling was annoying.
Rating: ***

After the match Dragon wraps the title around CIMA’s waist and raises his arm in victory. Under the leadership of Magnum TOKYO Do Fixer comes out and celebrates Dragon’s farewell with him. It all culminates in everyone doing the Magnum TOKYO dance. Speaking of TOKYO and Do Fixer, on the following tour Do Fixer (who partied with Ultimo Dragon before he set out for America) sent Magnum TOKYO after the belt, in what would prove to be a challenge that CIMA could not overcome.

CIMA VS. Magnum TOKYO [Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship – El Camino Pera Aniversario]
The crowd falls silent as the match begins. They fight on the mat. They trade headlock takedowns. TOKYO hits a shoulder tackle. They trade armdrags and go for dropkicks. TOKYO hits a low blow. He bites CIMA’s face and crotches him on the middle rope. He hits a bodyslam and a standing corkscrew back flip legdrop. He hits a dropkick for 2. He puts on a seated abdominal stretch. CIMA dropkicks his knee. He slams the knee to the mat, dropping an elbow on it at the same time. He puts on his modified cloverleaf but TOKYO gets to the ropes. CIMA stays on the leg. He hits a double knee kick in the corner. He sets TOKYO up top and knocks him to the floor with the Venus. CIMA follows him out with a tope, taking out most of Do Fixer in the process. Back in the ring CIMA hits a facebuster for 2. TOKYO comes back with the Pelé kick. CIMA blocks the Gyrating Frankensteiner but not a dropkick to the face. TOKYO hits a clothesline and a bulldog. They fight over a suplex until TOKKO puts on a dragon sleeper. TOKYO hits a facebuster and the Zetsuen Kick. CIMA rolls to the floor so TOKYO follows him out with a springboard moonsault press. He drags CIMA up the ramp but gets hit with the Perfect Driver. Both men run back into the ring to beat the count at 19. CIMA gets a sunset flip for 2. TOKYO gets a victory roll for 2. He hits a lariat and the Erect Smasher for 2. He hits a bulldog and climbs the ropes. CIMA cuts him off with the Venus. He hits the Iconoclasm. He climbs the ropes but TOKYO hits the Venus and the Iconoclasm. He hits an enziguiri. He hits the Egoist Driver for 2. CIMA gets a roll up for 2. He hits an enziguiri and the Egoist Driver for 2. He hits the Perfect Driver for 2. He puts on the Turkey but TOKYO gets to the ropes. CIMA hits a back suplex. He climbs the ropes but TOKYO cuts him off and hits a superplex for 2. He hits the Egoist Driver for 2. CIMA returns the favor with the Egoist Driver. He hits the Schwein for 2. He sets TOKYO up top and hits the Venus three times. He hits the Iconoclasm but the Mad Splash hits knees. TOKYO hits a superkick and the Schwein for 2. He hits an implant DDT. He climbs the ropes and hits the AV Star Press for the win and the title at 27:25. This turned into an all finishers all the time match. Matches of that nature are fun to watch when they’re happening live but in hindsight they lack depth. They played up the finish to the CIMA/Horiguchi match, but I don’t think anyone thought that TOKYO wasn’t a superior challenge than Horiguchi was going into this.
Rating: ***½

It didn’t take long for Crazy MAX to respond to TOKYO’s title win by sending another member of their team to take the belt.

Magnum TOKYO VS. Don Fujii [Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship – Verano Peligroso]
TOKYO’s dancing entrance is simply amazing, and I’m shocked that the big ensemble dance hasn’t been lifted by one of the ROH factions. Sweet N’ Sour Inc I’m looking at you. Fujii hits a clothesline to start. TOKYO comes back with a knee kick but Fujii quickly puts him on the floor with a powerslam. He dives out after TOKYO and beats him with a chair. Back in the ring Fujii hits a bodyslam. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. TOKYO comes back with a clothesline and a bulldog. He hits a missile dropkick. He shoves Fujii to the floor and whips him into the crowd. He hits a chair shot to the back. Back in the ring he works over Fujii’s leg. He puts on a butterfly hold but Fujii gets to the ropes. They trade strikes and fall to their knees. Fujii hits a dropkick to the face. TOKYO dropkicks the knee. He hits a springboard dropkick to the knee. He puts on a figure 4 leglock until they roll to the floor. Fujii tries to get back into the ring so TOKYO pulls him to the floor, dropping his face on the edge of a table in the process. They fight to the stage where TOKYO piles chairs. He hits a dragon screw onto the pile. He hits Fujii’s knee with a chair. Fujii beats the count at 19. He hits a dropkick and TOKYO bails. Fujii follows him by falling onto him from the top rope. Back in the ring TOKYO gets a roll up for 2. He hits a back flip kick. He sets Fujii up top but Fujii fights him off and hits a kneedrop. He hits a clothesline to the back and a lariat to the chest for 2. He hits a powerbomb for 2. He hits a chokeslam for 2. He can’t hit a German suplex because of his bad knee. TOKYO kicks the knee and puts on a dragon sleeper. He hits the Erect Smasher for 2. He puts on the Rings of Saturn but Fujii gets to the ropes. TOKYO hits a clothesline and a forearm. Fujii hits a clothesline. He hits a DDT. He hits a German suplex for 2. He hits a clothesline for 2. He goes for another chokeslam but TOKYO blocks it and hits a knee kick and a right hand. He hits the Egiost Driver for 2. He strikes Fujii down for 2. They trade headbutts and lariats. TOKYO climbs the ropes and hits the AV Star Press for the win at 20:20. I was not expecting the full match to be shown on TV but hey, I’m not complaining. The finish felt tacked on but the rest of the match was full of good back-and-forth action.
Rating: ***¼

Next up on TOKYO’s plate was M2K’s Kenichiro Arai. Arai had gotten involved in a tag match that TOKYO was participating in on the previous tour, for those of you who are interested in some kind of back story.

Magnum TOKYO VS. Kenichiro Arai [Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship – Battalla de Otono II]
Arai grabs a headlock to start. They trade shoulder tackles until TOKYO hits the mat. Arai hits a hiptoss and a headbutt to the gut. TOKYO bails so Arai hits a suicide dive. Back in the ring he twists TOKYO’s leg over the top rope. He ties TOKYO in the ropes and sledges the knee. He puts on a figure 4 leglock. TOKYO gets to the ropes. He hits a hurricanrana. Arai misses a charge and hits the post. He falls to the floor so TOKYO dives out onto him. Back in the ring he hits a bulldog for 2. He sets Arai up top and hits the Gyrating Frankensteiner. He hits a lariat for 2. He hits a knee kick and the Erect Smasher for 2. He goes for the Egoist Driver but his knee gives out. Arai hits a top rope chinbreaker for 2. He hits a double jump moonsault and a springboard headbutt for 2. Milano looks on as Arai misses a diving headbutt. He puts on the anklelock with the other leg locked up. TOKYO gets to the ropes. Arai slaps him across the face. TOKYO hits a kick to the face. He hits the Egoist Driver for 2. He climbs the ropes but Arai brings him down with a nasty chinbreaker. He hits a tiger suplex for 2. TOKYO comes back with la magistral for the win at 10:40 of 21:39. That’s just shy (10 seconds actually) of my standard for giving a rating to a clipped match, but I will say that what was there enjoyable. TOKYO’s selling was top notch.

Milano Collection AT, the leader of the Italian Collection, was up next and had the honor of being TOKYO’s first challenger on Pay Per View. The two had been teaming until Milano challenged for the title and turned on TOKYO.

Magnum TOKYO VS. Milano Collection AT [Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship – La Ultima Caida 2003]
I have to reiterate that the choreography in TOKYO’s entrance is astonishing. They fight to a stalemate to start. Things speed up until TOKYO hits a head scissors takedown. He puts on the octopus stretch but Milano gets to the ropes. TOKYO puts on a chinlock. Milano gets to the ropes. TOKYO rakes his eyes on the top rope. He hits a bodyslam but misses the corkscrew legdrop. Milano slaps him across the face and hits a dropkick. TOKYO bails. Milano suplexes him back into the ring. He hits a senton and a standing moonsault for 2. He puts on a top wristlock but TOKYO gets to the ropes. Milano stays on the arm. He puts on a wristlock and slams the arm to the mat. He yanks the arm until TOKYO gets to the ropes. They chain wrestle until TOKYO puts on the Sharpshooter. Milano gets to the ropes. TOKYO stays on the leg. He kicks Milano around the ring. He kicks Milano’s leg until he can’t stand. He puts on a leglock but Milano gets to the ropes. He sets Milano up top but the Gyrating Frankensteiner is blocked. He catches Milano with a dropkick on his way down. Milano puts on an octopus stretch in the ropes. He dives onto TOKYO on the floor. Back in the ring he hits a handspring elbow. He hits a stunner for 2. TOKYO hits a clothesline and a bulldog. He climbs the ropes and hits a missile dropkick for 2. Milano puts on a sleeper hold in the ropes. He hits a back suplex. He hits the Emporio Armani Shoe. TOKYO kicks him around but Milano repeatedly blocks the Egoist Driver and hits an enziguiri. He hits the Victoria Milanese. He puts on the Italian Stretch. Do Fixer comes out to support TOKYO. TOKYO gets to the ropes. He hits the Erect Smasher for 2. He hits a pumphandle suplex but his arm is too messed up to capitalize. He climbs the ropes but Milano cuts him off and hits a super Ace Crusher for 2. He climbs the ropes and catches TOKYO with an armbreaker. He hits the Emporio Armani Shoe for 2. He puts on the AT Lock but TOKYO escapes. Milano hits another armbreaker. He hits the Armani Shoe Exchange for 2. TOKYO gets a roll up for 2. He kicks Milano’s chest for 2. He hits a lariat for 2. He hits it again for 2. He hits the Zetsuen Kick and climbs the ropes. He hits the AV Star Press for the win at 25:20. They had me believing Milano could win at the end there, but TOKYO was superman. It took a while to get going but they created an epic atmosphere by the end. After the match all of Do Fixer dances, but nobody quite as well as Genki. TOKYO sells his injuries from the match too.
Rating: ***¾

TOKYO was looking rather unstoppable when things took a bad turn. CIMA’s Crazy MAX sent one more challenger to the man who took the title from them. The always evil SUWA would finally get his shot at the top UDG prize.

Magnum TOKYO VS. SUWA [Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship – El Mes el Amor y la Amistad]
They lock up and SUWA forces TOKYO to the ropes. He slaps TOKYO across the face. TOKYO comes back with a kick to the face. He hits a bodyslam and kicks the back. SUWA blows snot at him. TOKYO goes to the eyes and kicks SUWA around. SUWA slugs him but runs into a big boot. He hits a clothesline and TOKYO bails. SUWA goes for a suicide dive so TOKYO catches him with a chair. TOKYO throws SUWA into the crowd through rows and rows of chairs. He goes to the eyes again. He hits a Manhattan drop and kicks SUWA in a chair. They both beat the count at 16. TOKYO stomps SUWA. He hits a bulldog and climbs the ropes. He hits a missile dropkick. He kicks SUWA’s chest. SUWA blocks a basement dropkick and hits one of his own. TOKYO hits the Zetsuen Kick. SUWA looks to be out but he responds by the time the referee gets to 6. TOKYO hits a flying kick. He goes after the leg. SUWA gets to the ropes. SUWA hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He climbs the ropes and hits a flying clothesline. He hits a flapjack for 2. He hits the John Woo Special. They block each other’s finishers and SUWA goes to the eyes. TOKYO blocks the FFF with a backdrop. He climbs the ropes but TOKYO crotches him by sending the referee into the ropes. He brings SUWA down with a springboard hurricanrana. He hits a lariat for 2. They trade strikes until SUWA falls to the enziguiri. TOKYO hits the Egoist Driver for 2. He hits buzzsaw kicks and an axe kick to the face for 2. He climbs the ropes but SUWA brings him down with a big facebuster for 2. He hits the John Woo Special and the FFF. TOKYO staggers so SUWA hits the FFF again for the win and the title at 21:45. This was very punchy-kicky, but it’s what I expected from SUWA around this time period. Solid stuff, but not quite what TOKYO had been doing in other big match situations.
Rating: ***

Shortly after winning the title SUWA was injured and the title was vacated. A four-man one-night tournament was organized to crown a new champion. CIMA defeated YOSSINO and Shuji Kondo defeated Dragon Kid to make their way to the championship match. This would be the final match Toryumon match, as Ultimo Dragon had pulled out of the company and was taking his trademarks with him.

CIMA VS. Shuji Kondo [Tournament Finals/Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship – Vo Aniversario]
They lock up and Kondo powers CIMA to the ropes. They circle each other for a while before knuckling up. CIMA hits a northern lights suplex. Kondo gets a takedown. He hits a clothesline in the corner. CIMA dropkicks him to the floor. He follows Kondo out with a crazy plancha. Aagan Iisou brawls with CrazyMAX. Back in the ring CIMA hits an armbreaker. He hits a slingshot senton. He stands on Kondo’s hand. He punches the hand. Kondo goes to the eyes. He shoots CIMA to the floor where Aagan Iisou attacks. Back in the ring Kondo puts the boots to CIMA. He puts on a chinlock. With the referee distracted Kondo’s team tries to attack again but Touru Owashi keeps that from happening. Kondo hits a bodyslam for 2. He chokes CIMA with a chain. CIMA puts pressure on Kondo’s ankle to escape. Kondo blocks the Iconoclasm and puts on a knuckle lock. He puts on a Boston crab. CIMA powers out. Kondo puts on a head and arm lock. He hits a German suplex for 2. He tries to hit CIMA with a red box but CIMA blocks and hits a low blow. He somersaults intoa red box shot to Kondo’s head. Brother YASSHI goes for a chair shot but Don Fujii makes the save. CIMA dives off the chair onto Kondo and hits the Perfect Driver for 2. He hits it again for 2. Kondo picks up a chair. Owashi takes it from him but ends up hitting CIMA with it. He and Kondo both attack CIMA. That official who’s name I don’t know makes the save. Kondo hits the Original. He hits a big boot. CIMA comes back with a double knee kick. Kondo and YASSHI hit a powerbomb/Blockbuster combo for 2. Kondo puts on the Gorilla Clutch but CIMA escapes. Kondo blocks the coast to coast dropkick with a spear. He hits a brainbuster for 2. CIMA ducks the lariat and gets a roll up for 2. Kondo hits the Lanzarse. He hits the King Kong Lariat for 2. CIMA counters the lariat to the Nakayubi. He hits a superkick and the Schwein for 2. Kondo hits a lariat. CIMA blocks a lariat but takes damage to his arm. Kondo hits the King Kong Lariat. CIMA counters the Lanzarse to another Nakayubi. He hits the Tokarev for 2. He hits the Schwein and the Mad Splash for the win and the title at 22:04. I’m not going to pretend I know the storyline that lead to all the interference in the middle of the match. That part of the match was lost on me. However they were able to generate plenty of drama in the second half of the match, and the counter wrestling was fantastic.
Rating: ***½

After the match the entire roster, with the exception of Aagan Iisou come to the ring. CIMA addresses them one by one, thanking them for their work in Toyumon. He starts getting misty when addressing Susumu Yokosuka, loses it when talking to Kenichiro Arai, and then struggles through his messages to Masaaki Mochizuki and a weeping Ryo Saito. Saito tries to cover up by starting an H-A-G-E chant. TOKYO gives a little speech, confetti shoots across the ring and everyone hugs it out. I think they really missed an opportunity by not finishing up with everyone doing the Go Go TOKYO dance.

It was interesting to watch this as a precursor to Dragon Gate. The UDG title is hardly a proper microcosm of Toryumon as a whole, but even still the ride through it’s lineage was entertaining.

All matches occur between May 30th and June 6th, 2004

The episode starts with ten minutes of discussion over who will be entered into the tournament to crown a new UDG Champion now that SUWA has vacated the title due to injury.

CIMA {CM} & Don Fujii {CM} vs. Dragon Kid & Second Doi
Fujii chops Doi to the mat to start. Doi hits a dropkick. CIMA hits a dropkick. Kid hits a dropkick. He hits a head scissor takedown. CIMA hits a crossbody and puts on a headlock. He and Fujii double-team Doi for 2. They sit on Doi for 2. Doi hits a dropkick. Fujii swats away Kid’s leg lariat. Kid hits CIMA with a hurricanrana. He and Doi hit stereo suicide dives. They hit a double missile dropkick on CIMA. Fujii hits Kid with a powerslam for 2. Kid comes back with the Christo. CIMA saves with a kneedrop. Doi avoids the Venus and hits a missile dropkick. Kid hits a leg lariat and Doi puts on the pendulum. Fujii makes the save. CIMA hits the Tokarev. Kid knocks CIMA off the top rope and he lands on top of his head! Doi catches Fujii with the V9 Clutch for the win at 5:40 shown of 10:39. CIMA’s fall was pretty scary. The rest of the match was average Toryumon action.
Rating: **½

Dragon Kid ©, Kenichiro Arai © & Second Doi © vs. “brother” YASSHI {AI}, Masaaki Mochizuki {AI} & Takuya Sugawara {AI} [UWA Trios Championship Match]
The story going into this match is that Mochizuki and Shuji Kondo are having problems with each other. Kid and company seem to have Kondo’s number, so Mochizuki is taking his spot here. Everyone brawls to start. Sugawara gouges Doi’s eyes. YASSHI misses a headbutt on Kid. Kid hits a head scissor takedown. Mochizuki hits Arai with a back kick. He kicks Arai’s head, which is dumb. Doi and Arai hit a double back elbow. Kid comes in for a triple dropkick. Arai puts on a leglock but Mochizuki goes to the eyes to escape. Doi hits a dropkick for 2. Mochizuki hits Kid with a chest kick. YASSHI hits an elbowdrop. Mochizuki hits a back kick and a chest kick for 2. He decimates Doi with kicks. YASSHI puts on a headlock. Doi hits a backdrop to escape. He tries to dropkick Mochizuki and Sugawara but they stand through it. Kid tags in and hits Mochizuki with a dropkick. He hits Sugawara with the Déjà Vu. Doi and Arai hit stereo suicide dives. Kid hits a head scissor takedown on the floor. Arai headbutts Mochizuki’s foot. Mochizuki hits the Sankakugeri. Arai hits a diving headbutt. Doi puts YASSHI in the pendulum. Sugawara makes the save. He hits Kid with a DDT. He hits a sit-out powerbomb for 2. Kid hits Mochizuki with a super hurricanrana. His crew gangs up on Sugawara in the corner. Kid hits a hurricanrana for 2. YASSHI hits Doi with the Bad Boy. Arai hits a back suplex. Sugawara hits a side slam. He hits Kid with a fall away slam. YASSHI hits the Flying Big Head. Sugawara hits Doi with an Ace Crusher for 2. Mochizuki kicks the crap out of Doi. He hits the Sankakugeri for 2. He hits the Twister for 2. He hits the SicK Kick. Kondo hits an errant blue box attack on Mochizuki. Kid hits a Torbellino (I think he was going for the Messiah and flubbed it) and Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick for the win at 13:26. The last few minutes were a lot of fun, even if the early part of the match was nothing more than fodder for my ADD.
Rating: ***

Mochizuki and Kondo argue backstage after the match.

Shuji Kondo {AI} vs. Masaaki Mochizuki {AI}
Winner of this match gets to be Aagan Iisou’s representative in the UDG Championship tournament. A pre-match video shows all the friendly fire that has gone off between the two recently. The rest of Aagan Iisou watches on from the stands. Mochizuki and Kondo lock up to start. Mochizuki slaps Kondo across the face. He foolishly goes for a shoulder tackle before smartening up and hitting kicks. He takes Kondo to the floor where the kicks continue. He rams Kondo’s arm against the post. Back in the ring Kondo puts on a choke hold. Mochizuki counters to a crossface chicken wing. Kondo gets to the ropes. Mochizuki puts on an armbar but Kondo gets to the ropes. Kondo gets fired up as he absorbs Mochizuki’s kicks. He hits a back elbow. He starts working the leg. Mochizuki gets to the ropes. Kondo hangs him in the Tree of Woe and works the leg with a chain. He chokes Mochizuki with the chain. Mochizuki stomps on his foot to regain control. He wraps the chain around his fist and slugs Kondo. He hits an ax kick to the arm. He puts on a cross armbreaker. Kondo powers out. He hits a lariat. This is some cerebral heel vs. heel stuff here. Mochizuki whips Kondo into the post. Kondo attacks Mochizuki’s leg with the blue box. He sets the blue box up in the corner and baits Mochizuki into ramming his leg into it. He hits a King Kong Lariat to the leg. He puts on the Gorilla Clutch. Mochizuki rolls forward, sending Kondo into the blue box. He hits the Sankakugeri and the SicK Kick for 2. Kondo hits the Lanzarse. He hits his own version of the Twister for 2. He rams Mochizuki into the turnbuckle. Mochizuki gets a victory roll for the win at 10:20 shown of 14:10. The finish really came out of nowhere, but the rest of the match was amazing given the heel vs. heel dynamic. Kondo really shined here. He and Mochizuki shake hands and make nice after the match.
Rating: ***¾

Masaaki Mochizuki {AI} vs. Naoki Tanisaki
Tanisaki hits a dropkick before the bell. Mochizuki regains control by stopping the surfer dude rope walk. He hits a back kick. He hits a bodyslam. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. He puts on a half crab. Tanisaki gets to the ropes. Mochizuki hits a back heel kick. Tanisaki dropkicks the knee. He hits the DH. Mochizuki hits the Sankakugeri. He hits the SicK Kick. He hits the Twister for the win at 3:09. Squash city.
Rating: *

After the match the rest of Aagan Iisou joins Mochizuki in the ring. Mochizuki gets on the microphone, but before he can really say anything Kondo hits him with the Lanzarse and the King Kong Lariat. YASSHI lays Mochizuki out with the red box and Owashi hits the Superfly Splash. They kick Mochizuki out of the stable and appoint his Aagan Iisou tournament spot to Kondo.

Dragon Kid ©, Kenichiro Arai © & Second Doi © vs. Milano Collection AT {IC}, YOSSINO {IC} & Anthony W. Mori {IC} [UWA Trios Championship Match]
Doi and AT start. AT hits a leg kick and zeroes in. He puts on the Paradise Lock but Arai makes the save. YOSSINO hits Arai with a supercharged dropkick. Kid hits Mori with an armdrag. AT catches him in the Judas. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. He and YOSSINO make a wish on Doi. YOSSINO dropkicks the knee. Mori puts on a leglock. AT dropkicks the knee. He puts on a leglock. Kid makes the save. AT ties Kid in the ropes and hits a dropkick. He tugs away at Kid’s arm. Kid gets to the ropes. YOSSINO hits a double stomp to the arm. He hits a legdrop and AT hits a senton for 2. AT dropkicks Doi’s knee again. Doi goes for a dropkick but there’s nothing behind it. AT rams his knee against the apron. He drags him to the floor by his leg and attacks. YOSSINO hits Kid with a snap suplex for 2. Kid hits a back heel kick on AT. AT puts on Italian Stretch #8. Arai makes the save with a diving headbutt. Kid hits a head scissor takedown. Doi dropkicks YOSSINO but then collapses. Kid hits YOSSINO with a head scissor takedown on the floor. Mori hits Arai with a DDT for 2. He goes for a dropkick but Arai redirects it to his hard head. He throws Mori across the ring. Mori comes back with a plancha. Kid hits YOSSINO with the Diamond Dust. YOSSINO hits the Sling Blade. Arai blocks the Torbellino and hits a sit-out powerbomb. He misses a diving headbutt. Mori hangs Arai’s arm over the top rope. YOSSINO hits the Torbellino. Kid saves Arai from the Sol Naciente and puts YOSSINO in the Christo. AT makes the save. Kid hits the Messiah. AT hits an enziguiri. YOSSINO hits the shotgun dropkick. AT hits the elevated Ace Crusher for 2. He hits the Emporio Armani Shoe for 2. He hits an armbreaker and puts on the AT Lock. Doi makes the save. AT hits Doi with a dragon screw and puts on a heel hook. Doi gets to the ropes. Mori goes for a Figure 4 but Doi counters to a small package for 2. Arai hits a diving headbutt for 2. Mori and Arai trade roll ups. Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick. Arai hits the Hanshin Tiger Suplex for 2 when Aagan Iisou attacks both teams en masse. The whole match gets thrown out at 15:55 shown of 17:08. It took a few minutes to get going, but once it did it was one of the craziest spot-fests you’ll ever see. Milano Collection AT was at the top of his game here, really taking my breath away.
Rating: ****

The Aagan Iisou attack goes on for a while. Kondo rips off Dragon Kid’s mask. Magnum TOKYO comes out to take Kid to the back. Mochizuki runs out but the numbers overwhelm him. Susumu Yokosuka runs out and manages to chase Aagan Iisou to the floor. The crowd is going insane for all of this. Everyone takes a turn on the microphone until a handicap match between Mochizuki and Kondo & Owashi is made.

The show begins to wind down with clips of SUWA’s UDG Championship win over Magnum TOKYO. TOKYO took the loss as a chance to do some soul searching. He met with Genichiro Tenryu and was humbled. He also bummed around temples with Jinsei Shinzaki.

The show ends with a rundown of the upcoming PPV:
-Mochizuki vs. Kondo & Owashi
-CIMA & Don Fujii vs. Milano Collection AT & YOSSINO

They also promote the big Kobe PPV that will air only two weeks later. It would be the final Toryumon Japan show ever. And with that Vamanos Amigos was no more. Only the two PPVs stood between Ultimo Dragon’s boys and the Dragon Gate. If you ask me, the biggest loss has always been the Millencolin songs that graced Toryumon video packages.

March 26, 2008 – Yokohama, Japan

Michael Iwasa {FB} & Daniel Mishima {FB} vs. Stalker Ichikawa [Handicap Match]
Iwasa starts by putting Ichikawa in a wristlock. Ichikawa escapes with an armdrag. He puts Mishima in a headlock. Mishima hits a shoulder tackle. The Floridas drop toehold Ichikawa onto each other’s feet. They hit a double big boot, a double back elbow and a double elbowdrop. They choke Ichikawa in the corner. Why are they having a real match? Ichikawa comes back with a back bodydrop and an eye poke. He walks the ropes and hits a dropkick. He hits the 619 and a topé suicida. He hits Mishima with a low blow. He hits the Kancho and the 619. He gets la magistral for 2 when Iwasa distracts the referee. Ichikawa won’t use his pitchfork so Iwasa fakes like he was impaled through the head with it and wins the match by disqualification at 5:25. I can’t figure out for the life of me why they went the serious route until the finish, but it wasn’t terrible.
Rating: **

Henry III Sugawara had been courted by Aagan Iisou earlier in the year. Recently a clown had been attacking CIMA with Sugawara’s finisher the Buckingham Drop. CIMA unmasked the clown as “brother” YASSHI. Anthony W. Mori attacked YASSHI for besmirching his partner’s good name. Still, the two are scheduled for an El Numero Uno match against each other, so they must fight regardless.

Anthony W. Mori {RB} vs. Henry III Sugawara {RB} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
The Aagan Iisou clowns run out during Sugawara’s entrance and attack Mori en masse. They all unmask, and one of them is Sugawara!!! Mori fires at him with a forearm. Sugawara comes back with the Buckingham Drop for the win in 31 seconds. That’s a fun heel turn if ever there was one. I loved the visual of Sugawara appearing among the masses of evil clowns, giving it a more brainwashed feel than all the Dr. Muscle turns we get nowadays (the latest of which was, oddly, Sugawara returning to Dragon Gate). All points for the effectiveness of the heel turn.
Rating: *

Sugawara runs down Mori on the microphone after the match and then cuts off his own ponytail to show Mori just how finished with the Royal Brothers he is. He also cuts off Mori’s royal shirt. Mori is too miserable to fight back, so Ryo Saito runs out to make the save. He tries to snap Mori out of it but has no luck.

Susumu Yokosuka {DF} vs. Touru Owashi {AI} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
Aagan Iisou leader Masaaki Mochizuki defeated Yokosuka on PPV back in February and then assaulted him after the match, so to say Yokosuka has problems with Aagan Iisou is an understatement. Owashi and Yokosuka lock up to start. Owashi hits a shoulder tackle. He sends Yokosuka into the crowd where Aagan Iisou attacks him. The Italian Connection comes out to get Yokosuka’s back. Owashi hits a vertical suplex for 2. He hits Yokosuka with a chair. He puts on a chinlock. Sugawara scrambles to escape so Owashi puts on a double chicken wing. Yokosuka gets to the ropes. He avoids a charge and dropkicks Owashi’s knee. He hits the Ashi Yokosuka. He hits a diving kneedrop on the knee. He puts on a figure 4 leglock. Aagan Iisou takes out the referee and beats on Yokosuka. Owashi hits an avalanche. He and Shuji Kondo double-team Yokosuka. He hits a chokeslam for 2. A new referee comes in but Owashi takes him out. The Italian Conneciton and Do Fixer run in to beat on Owashi. Yokosuka hits an exploder. He hits a plancha. Owashi stands through the Jumbo no Kachi. A second one puts Owashi against the ropes and a third puts him on the mat for 2. Owashi blocks a miracle piledriver and hits a backdrop. He hits a big boot for 2. Yokosuka counters a powerbomb to a hurricanrana for 2. Owashi hits the running chokeslam and the Superfly Splash for the win at 8:04 shown of 11:03. The crowd was insane for this match. All the gaga in the middle of the match was pretty unnecessary, as Yokosuka does a great job of playing the underdog without all that stuff. Owashi got to look like quite the monster here.
Rating: **¾

Two days later Owashi gave YOSSINO much of the same treatment, beating him in an El Numero Uno match. CIMA took on Masaaki Mochizuki that night in what looked like an amazing match. They beat the crap out of each other until neither could stand and the match was a draw. I wish that had aired in full. SUWA battled Dragon Kid and picked up the win with the FFF. That gives us the following standings:
A Block
CIMA: 3
Masaaki Mochizuki: 5
Genki Horiguchi: 4
Shuji Kondo: 4
Anthony W. Mori: 0
Takuya Sugawara: 4
B Block
SUWA: 6
Milano Collection AT: 2
Dragon Kid: 2
Ryo Saito: 3
Second Doi: 4
“brother” YASSHI: 0
C Block
Don Fujii: 0
TARU: 2
Kenichiro Arai: 0
Susumu Yokosuka: 0
YOSSINO: 4
Touru Owashi: 8

But, but SUWA and Saito were hurt during the tournament, changing the field quite a bit in the B Block. SUWA forfeited his remaining matches and Naoki Tanisaki took Saito’s place and got his points.

April 4, 2004 – Sendai, Japan

CIMA {CM} vs. Takuya Sugawara {AI} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
Mori accompanies Sugawara to the ring, brainwashed by his evil former friend. Sugawara attacks before the bell. He sends CIMA’s shoulder into the post. He gets some help from his Aagan Iisou allies. They trade strikes in an exchange that CIMA wins. CIMA hits a dropkick. He tries to get Mori to attack Sugawara but Mori won’t do it. CIMA kicks Sugawara’s face on the apron. He hits a knee kick in the ring. He hits a piledriver for 2. He hits a side suplex. He hits four more but won’t go for the pin. A sixth side suplex and Mori is freaking out. CIMA puts on a chinlock. Saito tries to keep Mori under control. Sugawara comes back with a backbreaker. CIMA hits a superkick. Aagan Iisou gangs up on CIMA in the corner. Crazy Max does the same to Sugawara. CIMA hits the Venus and Iconoclasm. Mori distracts and attacks CIMA. Sugawara hits a lariat. He hits the Shiisanpuuta (his new name for the Buckingham Drop) for the win at 7:57. The match wasn’t much, just a CIMA beating, but the finish helped move the storyline along and gave Sugawara a big upset win. After the match Sugawara beats on Mori.
Rating: **¼

Don Fujii {CM} vs. Susumu Yokosuka {DF} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
Fujii hits a lariat. Yokosuka hits an exploder for 1. He hits the Yokosuka Cutter for 2. Fujii powers through the Jumbo no Kachi and hits a lariat. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi to the back and another to the front. He hits the Jumbo no Kachigatame for the win at 1:00 shown of 12:30.

Masaaki Mochizuki {AI}, Shuji Kondo {AI}, Touru Owashi {AI} & “brother” YASSHI {AI} vs. Milano Collection AT {IC}, YOSSINO {IC}, Genki Horiguchi {DF} & Naoki Tanisaki
This match came about when the Italian Connection saved Do Fixer from an Aagan Iisou beating after the Mochizuki vs. Yokosuka PPV match in February. Everyone brawls to start. Kondo and YASSHI hold Tanisaki for a big boot from Mochizuki. YOSSINO sends Owashi to the floor. Kondo hits AT with a shoulder tackle. AT puts on a bow and arrow after a brilliant exchange. YASSHI hits Tanisaki with a shoulder tackle. Tanisaki works the arm. He and Horiguchi go for a tandem surfing attack but Tanisaki doesn’t hold up his end. They get things together with a double dropkick. AT mocks YASSHI and hits a dropkick. Horiguchi hits an elbowdrop for 2. Kondo chokes Horiguchi with a chain. Owashi hits a vertical suplex and a legdrop on Tanisaki. YASSHI talks trash. Mochizuki hits chest kicks on the apron. Kondo hits lariats in the corner. He throws YASSHI into Tanisaki. They hit the Babylon for 2. Mochizuki puts on a half crab. Tanisaki gets to the ropes. He tries to dropkick Mochizuki and Kondo but they stand strong. Horiguchi hits Kondo with a missile dropkick. AT puts the Italian Stretch #8 on Owashi. YOSSINO puts from Jungle on YASSHI. Horiguchi can’t get the Backslide from Heaven and Aagan Iisou regains control. Mochizuki hits Horiguchi with the SicK Kick for 2. Horiguchi hits a dropkick. He hits the topé con hilo. AT hits Owashi with an enziguiri. He hits a miracle back suplex. YOSSINO hits Kondo with the Sling Blade. Kondo hits the Hurricane Mixer for 2. YOSSINO jumps over the Lanzarse. Tanisaki hits a diving knee kick. YASSHI hits a low blow. Tanisaki hits a running elbow for 2. The good guys gang up on YASSHI in the corner. AT hits the Emporio Armani Shoe for 2. YOSSINO hits the Torbellino. He puts on the Sol Naciente but Kondo makes the save. Kondo and Owashi double-team Horiguchi. Owashi hits a chokeslam for 2. Kondo and YASSHI hit the Big Boy for 2. Horiguchi and Tanisaki get stereo backslides for 2. Mochizuki kicks the crap out of Tanisaki for 1. He hits the Sankakugeri. Kondo hits an insane Lanzarse. He hits the King Kong Lariat. Owashi hits the Superfly Splash and YASSHI pins Tanisaki with one knee for the win at 13:03 shown of 16:05. This was so much fun. Our heroes had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands with their amusing offense and Aagan Iisou got to look unstoppable again. The finish was perfect too.
Rating: ***¾

After the match YASSHI talks trash so Horiguchi attacks him. Horiguchi gets the Backslide from Heaven and the Italian Connection count 3 for him.

In other El Numero Uno news SUWA defeated “brother” YASSHI by forfeit after SUWA abused YASSHI with a chair when they fought back on the opening night of the tour (March 6th). Can YASSHI do better against the leader of the Italian Connection?

April 15, 2004 – Kobe Japan

Milano Collection AT {IC} vs. “brother” YASSHI {AI} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
AT is flanked by Do Fixer and YOSSINO. He attacks at the bell. He goes after the arm but YASSHI gets to the ropes. YASSHI misses a headbutt. AT goes back to the arm. YASSHI gets to the ropes. On the floor YASSHI gains control. Aagan Iisou gets their shots in. AT hits YASSHI with a low blow. He hits another for good measure. He hits an enziguiri. AT grabs the bell so that YASSHI can’t forfeit. YASSHI talks trash so AT hits another enziguiri. He hits the Armani Shoe Exchange. He puts on the AT Lock and YASSHI taps out but the referee is distracted with Aagan Iisou. If I were YASSHI I’d be pretty upset at my buddies about that. Aagan Iisou and the heroes at ringside brawl. AT and YASSHI get thrown into the mix. The brawl goes on so long that both guys get counted out at 5:25 shown of 7:19. The finish was trash, but the story leading up to it was fun enough.
Rating: **

Kenichiro Arai vs. Susumu Yokosuka {DF} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
Arai goes after the arm to start. Yokosuka gets to the ropes. Arai rams Yokosuka’s arm into the post. He puts on a cross armbreaker. Yokosuka gets to the ropes. He attacks Arai’s knee. He hits a diving kneedrop on the knee. He puts on a half crab. Arai blocks the Ashi Yokosuka and gets a crucifix pin for 2. He goes back to the cross armbreaker. Yokosuka gets to the ropes. Arai ducks lariat and hits a diving headbutt for 2. Yokosuka hits the exploder for 2. Arai hits the Stroke with his hard head against Yokosuka’s arm. He puts on an armbar. Yokosuka gets to the ropes. Arai goes for an avalanche version of the headbutt Stroke but Yokosuka blocks it. Arai goes for a super chinbreaker but Yokosuka blocks that and hits an avalanche Ashi Yokosuka. Awesome exchange there. The move gets 2. Yokosuka puts on a figure 4 leglock. Arai gets to the ropes. He hits a chinbreaker from the apron to the floor. Both guys beat the count at 19. They trade strikes until Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. Arai puts on a sleeper hold. Yokosuka blocks the tiger suplex. Arai kicks the arm but gets caught with a German suplex. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi but his arm has nothing behind it. He hits another with slightly better results. A third continues the good trend. Arai stops him dead in his tracks with a tiger suplex. It gets 2. Arai hits a backbreaker. He misses a diving headbutt but blocks the Jumbo no Kachi with a big boot. He hits a back suplex. Yokosuka hits the Yokosuka Cutter. Arai’s head-bouncing sell of the move is brilliant. Arai comes back with a headbutt to the arm but Yokosuka rebounds with the Jumbo no Kachi. He hits it again for the win at 15:35 shown of 28:20. This took quite a while to get going, but once it did all the foundational work they did early on paid off. I’d never heard anything about this match, but it was fantastic and totally deserving of a lot of praise. Check this one out if you can as Arai was at the peak of his singles career here.
Rating: ****

CIMA {CM} vs. Shuji Kondo {AI} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
CIMA hits Kondo with a superkick to start. He hits a low blow. Kondo hits the King Kong Lariat for 2. Crazy Max and Aagan Iisou pull Kondo and CIMA from the ring and beat on them. Back in the ring Kondo is in control. He hits lariats in the corner. CIMA gets a clutch for 2. He hits the double knee kick, the Venus and the Iconoclasm. YASSHI stops him from hitting the Mad Splash and helps Kondo hit the Big Boy. Fujii runs in and hits YASSHI with a lariat. Owashi runs in to help Kondo double-team CIMA and hit a chokeslam. TARU sends Owashi to the floor but gets taken out by Kondo. CIMA counters the Lanzarse to the Nakayubi. He hits the Schwein for the win at 3:15. There was way too much interference for such a short match, but it was good to see CIMA finally get a win over Aagan Iisou. The crowd ate it up too.
Rating: *

February 21, 2004 – Osaka, Japan

CIMA, Heat & KENTA vs. Jushin Liger, Jinsei Shinzaki & Super Delfin
The mononomial whippersnappers attack before the bell. Delfin hits CIMA with a shoulder tackle. He hits a lariat. CIMA shoves him off the top to the floor. Liger hits KENTA with a shoulder tackle. KENTA returns the favor. He hits a head kick. Liger hits a palm strike. Shinzaki hits Heat with a shoulder tackle. Heat hits a chest kick. KENTA hits a double stomp on Shinzaki’s arm. Heat hits Delfin with a vertical suplex and a kneedrop. KENTA kicks him around for 2. He puts on a camel clutch and Heat hits a dropkick for 2. Heat hits dropkicks in the corner. Delfin hits a snap suplex and tags to Liger. Liger hits a backbreaker. He puts on a Mexican surfboard. CIMA won’t quit so he lets go. Shinzaki and Delfin help him hit a triple dropkick for 2. Shinzaki hits a splash for 2. He puts on a chinlock. Delfin puts on an abdominal stretch. Liger hits a frog splash for 2. He hits a powerbomb. Delfin hits a flying elbowdrop for 2. Shinzaki hits a springboard dropkick. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. CIMA dropkicks Liger’s knee. KENTA tags in and hits a Yakuza kick. He chokes Liger on the top rope and hits a springboard dropkick. He hits a plancha. CIMA hits a suicide dive. Heat hits a topé con hilo. Back in the ring CIMA acts cocky until he realizes his partners are still on the floor. Shinzaki puts CIMA and KENTA in wristlocks and walks the ropes. He hits Heat with a thrust kick. He hits CIMA and KENTA with chokeslams. KENTA hits a big boot. Heat hits a dropkick. He hits an enziguiri. He puts on the Minoru Special. Shinzaki hits a dragon screw. He hits a diving shoulder tackle for 2. He puts on the Heavenly Lock but CIMA makes the save with a crossbody. Liger hits KENTA with a palm strike. KENTA hits a hurricanrana. He hits the Shining Wizard for 2. Liger hits a brainbuster. He hits the Koppo kick for 2. Delfin hits a crossbody. He hits the Osaka Stunner for 2. CIMA hits a diving headbutt. Delfin hits a backdrop driver. Everyone hits CIMA with palm strikes for 2. CIMA misses the Venus and Delfin hits a swinging DDT. KENTA hits the Busaiku Knee Kick. CIMA hits a superkick and the Schwein for the win at 16:53. I watched this match six years after the fact and was still shocked CIMA got the win there. He played face-in-peril the entire match (very well I might add) and given I thought for sure the veterans would win, the Schwein caught me off guard. Well done guys.
Rating: ***½

February 8, 2004 – Fukuoka, Japan

On the last PPV Masaaki Mochizuki betrayed his Toryumon Sekigun cronies and joined up with Hagure Gundam while helping them regain the UWA World Trios Championships. He renames the heel group Aagan Iisou, the name you’re probably more familiar with. More on that later…

Daniel Mishima {FB} & Michael Iwasa {FB} vs. Kensuke Sasaki {NJ} [Handicap Match]
Sasaki was a mystery opponent brought in by Genki Horiguchi. He overpowers both opponents to start. They go to the eyes. Sasaki hits them with lariats. He chops the crap out of Iwasa while Mishima cowers on the floor. He hits both opponents with a double side slam. He puts Iwasa in a half crab but Mishima uses a towel to help him get to the ropes. After some shenanigans the Florida Brothers trick Sasaki into posing as though he hit Iwasa with a chair, getting him disqualified at 5:35. Iwasa has the good sense to sell his injuries after the match, and Sasaki joins them in their reverence of the Star Spangled Banner. They think he’s on their side until he lays them out with lariats.
Rating: *

Milano Collection AT {IC}, YOSSINO {IC} & Anthony W. Mori {RB} vs. Kenichiro Arai, Dragon Kid & Super Shisa
Shisa and YOSSINO start. They trade armdrags. AT comes in and helps YOSSINO put Shisa on the mat. AT ties Shisa up in the ropes and hits a dropkick. Mori and YOSSINO collide so Shisa ties them both in an abdominal stretch. AT makes the save. Arai spits in AT’s face. Kid hits the Déjà Vu. Arai hits a suicide dive. Kid hits a head scissor takedown. Shisa follows suit. Mori and the Italian Connection come back with submission holds. Shisa hits a butterfly suplex for 2. He hits a second rope armdrag for 2. YOSSINO hits the Torbellino. Shisa escapes the Sol Naciente and hits a dropkick. Kid hits Mori with the Messiah. Arai hits a diving headbutt for 2. Shisa gets a sunset flip for 2. YOSSINO hits the Sling Blade. AT hits a handspring elbow. YOSSINO hits the shotgun dropkick. AT hits the elevated neckbreaker for 2. He hits the Emporio Armani Shoe for 2. Mori gets a victory roll for 2. Shisa cuts back and gets a jackknife pin for the win at 6:00 shown of 12:30. Really fun match that accomplished what it set out to do; make Shisa look unstoppable.
Rating: ***

CIMA {CM}, TARU {CM} & Don Fujii {CM} vs. Dotti Shuji {AI}, “brother” YASSHI {AI} & Touru Owashi {AI}
Everyone brawls to start. Crazy Max gangs up on YASSHI in the corner. TARU hits the Kakato Otoshi to the crotch. Shuji hits a back elbow. TARU hits a chest kick. CIMA tries to bodyslam Owashi and ends up on his back. He hits a dropkick. Owashi hits a shoulder tackle. Fujii hits YASSHI with an elbowdrop. He works the arm. CIMA keeps up the pressure. YASSHI gets to the ropes. He hits a running elbow. Owashi hits Fujii with a vertical suplex. He hits a legdrop for 2. Shuji goes to the eyes. TARU gets the tag but the referee doesn’t see it. Owashi keeps Fujii on the mat with chops. He puts on a chinlock. Fujii gets to the ropes. Shuji hits lariats in the corner. He throws YASSHI into Fujii. They hit the Babylon for 2. Fujii sends YASSHI to the floor and hits Shuji with a lariat. CIMA tags in and hits Owashi with a miracle suplex. He hits YASSHI with a dropkick and a suicide dive. TARU hits Owashi with the Kakato Otoshi. He hits a back suplex for 2. Owashi hits a big boot for 2. CIMA hits a crossbody. He hits Shuji with a flying headbutt. Shuji hits the Lanzarse for 2. CIMA hits a piledriver. Fujii helps him hit a DDT. He hits YASSHI with a powerslam for 2. YASSHI hits the Bad Boy. Shogo Takagi comes in and accidentally hits YASSHI with a chain-assisted haymaker. Fujii hits the Nice German but Aagan Iisou is holding the referee. Shuji and Owashi double-team Fujii. YASSHI comes in to hit the Big Boy for 2. Shuji puts on the Gorilla Clutch but CIMA makes the save with a kneedrop. Owashi hits Fujii with the Superfly Splash. YASSHI hits the Flying Big Head for the win at 15:03 shown of 16:54. Owashi’s boring control segment aside this was excellent stuff that made Aagan Iisou look incredibly dangerous.
Rating: ***¼

After the match YASSHI runs his mouth a little too long and gets badly attacked by Crazy Max. The next night Aagan Iisou challenged Crazy Max to a match for the UWA Trios Championship on February 22nd.

Susumu Yokosuka {DF}, Genki Horiguchi {DF} & Ryo Saito {DF} vs. Masaaki Mochizuki {AI} “brother” YASSHI {AI} & Dotti Shuji {AI}
This match actually took place the following night. Aagan Iisou attacks before the bell. Yokosuka hits Mochizuki with a back elbow. He goes to the eyes and hits a shoulder tackle. YASSHI misses a headbutt and Saito hits a facebuster. Horiguchi hits Shuji with an armdrag. Shuji press slams him onto the ropes. Horiguchi hits a head scissor takedown. Yokosuka hits YASSHI with a kneedrop for 2. Horiguchi hits a facebuster for 2. He hits a moonsault for 2. Saito hits a double stomp. Mochizuki hits chest kicks. He whips Horiguchi hard into the turnbuckle. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Shuji hits a back elbow. YASSHI tags in and talks trash. That’s all. Mochizuki unloads some kicks for 2. YASSHI puts on a front facelock. Horiguchi hits a northern lights suplex to escape. He tries to dropkick the other two opponents but that doesn’t go well for him. He has better luck dropkicking Mochizuki’s knee. Saito hits Shuji with an overhead suplex. Horiguchi hits the topé con hilo. Yokosuka hits YASSHI with a backbreaker. He hits Mochizuki with a low blow when the Jumbo no Kachi doesn’t work. Shuji hits Saito with a powerslam for 2. Saito hits a hurricanrana for 2. YASSHI saves Shuji from the Dancing Yahoo. He hits Horiguchi with the Bad Boy for 2. Horiguchi hits a swinging DDT. He hits a missile dropkick. Saito hits the Shrimp for 2. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. Shuji hits the Lanzarse for 2. Owashi runs in to get hit a few cheap shots. Shuji and YASSHI hit the Big Boy for 2. YASSHI hits the Flying Big Head for 2. Mochizuki hits the Sankakugeri. Shuji hits the Lanzarse. He hits the King Kong Lariat for the win at 11:21 shown of 12:40. Another standard six-man tag from Toryumon, which is to say it was a blast to watch and will be forgotten in no time. Mochizuki was barely a factor.
Rating: ***

Magnum TOKYO © {DF} vs. SUWA {CM} [Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship Match]
And we’re back to Fukuoka. They lock up and SUWA forces TOKYO to the ropes. He slaps TOKYO across the face. TOKYO comes back with a kick to the face. He hits a bodyslam and kicks the back. SUWA blows snot at him. TOKYO goes to the eyes and kicks SUWA around. SUWA slugs him but runs into a big boot. He hits a clothesline and TOKYO bails. SUWA goes for a suicide dive so TOKYO catches him with a chair. TOKYO throws SUWA into the crowd through rows and rows of chairs. He goes to the eyes again. He hits a Manhattan drop and kicks SUWA in a chair. They both beat the count at 16. TOKYO stomps SUWA. He hits a bulldog and climbs the ropes. He hits a missile dropkick. He kicks SUWA’s chest. SUWA blocks a basement dropkick and hits one of his own. TOKYO hits the Zetsuen Kick. SUWA looks to be out but he responds by the time the referee gets to 6. TOKYO hits a flying kick. He goes after the leg. SUWA gets to the ropes. SUWA hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He climbs the ropes and hits a flying clothesline. He hits a flapjack for 2. He hits the John Woo Special. They block each other’s finishers and SUWA goes to the eyes. TOKYO blocks the FFF with a backdrop. He climbs the ropes but TOKYO crotches him by sending the referee into the ropes. He brings SUWA down with a springboard hurricanrana. He hits a lariat for 2. They trade strikes until SUWA falls to the enziguiri. TOKYO hits the Egoist Driver for 2. He hits buzzsaw kicks and an axe kick to the face for 2. He climbs the ropes but SUWA brings him down with a big facebuster for 2. He hits the John Woo Special and the FFF. TOKYO staggers so SUWA hits the FFF again for the win and the title at 21:45. This was very punchy-kicky, but it’s what I expected from SUWA around this time period. Solid stuff, but not quite what TOKYO had been doing in other big match situations.
Rating: ***

January 25, 2004 – Tokyo, Japan

Mini CIMA {MM}, SUWAcito {MM} & SUWA {CM} vs. Henry III Sugawara {RB}, Anthony W. Mori {RB} & Manabu Murakami
SUWAcito is now KAGETORA and Mini CIMA is now Little Dragon/El Blazer/Catfish Man/Sugi. SUWAcito and Sugawara trade holds on the mat to start. Sugawara takes control with a fireman’s carry. SUWA smacks Mini CIMA around, making sure he gets tagged in when he wants to. Murakami is afraid of SUWA. I’m afraid of his thong. Murakami gets a takedown and beats on SUWA. SUWA smacks the crap out of him. Murakami hits a butt butt. CIMA hits Sugawara with an armdrag. He hits a satellite head scissor takedown. He hits a dropkick. SUWAcito hits Mori with a shoulder tackle. He hits the leaping lariat. Mori hits a hurricanrana. TARUcito trips Mori. SUWAcito hits a dropkick. CIMA hits a senton. SUWAcito hits an elbowdrop. SUWA hits an elbowdrop for 2. TARU and TARUcito hold Mori so SUWA can jump on his back. SUWAcito and CIMA get in on the fun. SUWA hits an elbowdrop to the crotch. CIMA dropkicks Murakami. CIMA hits Sugawara with a DDT for 2. SUWAcito puts on a chinlock. Sugawara hits a backbreaker. CIMA hits a dropkick. Mini Max gangs up on Sugawara in the corner. SUWA puts on a Boston crab. Sugawara gets to the ropes. He hits an enziguiri and a DDT. Murakami cleans house with butt butts. He hits a plancha. Sugawara goes for the Buckingham Drop on CIMA but TARUcito stops that from happening. Sugawara hits a side slam for 2. He hits a twisting suplex for 2. SUWAcito hits Mori with a big facebuster for 2. Mori hits a DDT for 2. SUWA hits a flying clothesline. He hits a flapjack for 2. Murakami hits a springboard butt butt. Mori dropkicks SUWAcito. He hits a northern lights suplex for 2. He and Sugawara hit a double Ace Crusher. Mori levels Sugawara by mistake. He hits SUWAcito with a back suplex. CIMA hits Mori with the Venus and Iconoclasm. He hits a superkick. SUWAcito hits the Jon Woo. SUWA hits the FFF and CIMA hits the Mad Splash for the win at 15:09. The last minute was fun in a weird “it’s cool to see guys do other guys’ moves,” sort of way, but aside from that this was dull as hell and way too long.
Rating: **¼

Michael Iwasa {FB} & Daniel Mishima {FB} vs. Murcielago & Lambo Miura
Iwasa and Miura start. They trade holds on the mat. Miura takes control with an armdrag. Murcielago hits Mishima with a dropkick. He hits an armdrag. He hits a hurricanrana. Mishima drop toeholds Murcielago into Iwasa’s boots. The Florida Brothers hit Miura with a double back elbow and a double elbowdrop for 2. They hit a double big boot for 2. Iwasa hits a bodyslam. He hits a hiptoss for 2. Mishima hits a bodyslam and puts on a half crab. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Murcielago forces Iwasa to dropkick Mishima. He rams Mishima into Iwasa. He and Miura put on leglocks while holding their steering wheels. The Florida Brothers get to the ropes. Murcielago hits Mishima with a DDT for 2. Miura hits Iwasa with an armbreaker. Murcielago hits a missile dropkick for 2. Iwasa smacks Murcielago with his steering wheel. He throws the wheel into Murcielago’s hands and feigns injury for the disqualification wiin at 8:27. Exactly the crap you’d expect from these two teams, for five minutes longer than you’d welcome it.
Rating: *½

Genki Horiguchi {DF} vs. Naoki Tanisaki
Horiguchi and Tanisaki had a confrontation on the first X show, because Tanisaki’s gimmick is basically a rip-off of Horiguchi’s original gimmick. They lock up to start. Horiguchi smacks Tanisaki. Tanisaki hits an armdrag. He puts on a headlock. They play a bit of mind games with each other. Tanisaki hits another armdrag. Horiguchi blocks his rope walk thing. He dumps Tanisaki to the floor. He whips Tanisaki into the crowd. He smacks chairs against Tanisaki’s knee. Back in the ring Horiguchi dropkicks the knee. He dropkicks it again in the corner. Tanisaki starts to fire back but Horiguchi hits a dragon screw. He puts on the Figure 4. Tanisaki gets to the ropes. His leg is too damaged to run. Horiguchi hits a missile dropkick to the back for 2. Tanisaki hits an enziguiri and the Beach Break (he hadn’t officially stolen the move as his own yet). He hits a topé con hilo. Back in the ring he hits a facebuster. Horiguchi crotches Tanisaki by shoving the referee into the ropes. He misses a moonsault. He gets the Backslide from Heaven for 2. Tanisaki gets the backslide for 2. He hits the FH. Horiguchi blocks the DH and hits the Beach Break for the win at 11:52 shown of 13:25. While it was interesting to see a very raw Tanisaki in action, it didn’t do much to entertain me.
Rating: **

Next up they show clips of the Sailor Boys singing in a studio. This was pretty fruity, even by Dragon System standards. They really went all out though, as you could actually buy a Sailor Boys album.

Kenichiro Arai & Koichiro Arai vs. Don Fujii {CM} & Small Dandy Fujii {MM}
Why did Toryumon X fail you ask? For one thing, most of the roster was made up of second-rate versions of more entertaining and established wrestlers. Dandy and Koichiro start. They do typical lucha stuff because they probably don’t know much else. Dandy goes to the eyes. He hits a shoulder tackle. Kenichiro and Don trade chops. Don hits the sumo palm strikes. He sits on Kenichiro’s face. The Arais hit headbutts, and lots of them. They hit Dandy with a double back elbow. They headbutt each other for fun. Kenichiro hits Dandy with a big boot for 2. He puts on a half crab. Dandy gets to the ropes. Don slams Koichiro. Mini Max runs in and puts the boots to Koichiro. Dandy and Koichiro slug it out in an exchange that Dandy wins. Don hits a Stun Gun. He hits a bodyslam for 2. He hits an elbowdrop. He stomps a mud hole in Koichiro, so violently that Dandy tries to get him to stop. Dandy puts on a chinlock. Koichiro headbutts Dandy’s arm. He hits another headbutt and tags out. Kenichiro cleans house. He hits a suicide dive on Don. Koichiro hits a topé con hilo on Dandy. Don hits him with a powerslam for 2. Kenichiro saves Koichiro from a chokeslam. Dandy dropkicks Kenichiro. He hits a legsweep. Kenichiro slams him. Dandy hits a lariat. Don hits a lariat. He hits the chokeslam for 2. Koichiro takes a lariat sandwich for his big brother. He fights off Dandy and hits a super chinbreaker. He and Kenichiro hit a double diving headbutt for 2. Kenichiro dropkicks the Fujii’s low. He headbutts the referee’s groin by mistake. The Fujii’s hit stereo Nice Germans but the referee is out. Dandy hits a powerbomb for 2. Don hits the chokeslam for 2. Don clotheslines Dandy by mistake. Kenichiro spits water at Don and Koichiro rolls him up for the win at 10:54 shown of 15:13. This picked up a bit down the stretch, but it was largely too chaotic to get invested in, and not worthwhile outside of the cuteness of the mini concept. The minis continue to fight after the match.
Rating: **½

Mango Fukuda {LS}, Takeshi Minamino {LS} & Pineapple Hanai {LS} vs. Taiji Ishimori {SB}, Shu Sato {SB} & Kei Sato {SB}
Los Salseros attack before the bell. Everyone brawls for a while. Minamino boots Ishimori to the floor. Fukuda slams Shu. Minamino kicks his face and hits a fistdrop. Hanai hits an elbowdrop. Fukuda hits a splash for 2. He hits an avalanche. Hanai and Minamino choke Shu. Fukuda hits an elbowdrop for 2. He puts on a bear hug and hits a side slam for 2. He hits another avalanche. Minamino hits a neckbreaker for 2. Shu hits Hanai with a neckbreaker. He hits Minamino with an enziguiri. Ishimori tags in and hits the handspring double back elbow. He hits Minamino with a reverse 619. He hits a springboard dropkick. Kei hits Fukuda with a Rocker Dropper. The Satos double-team Fukuda for 2. Minamino hits a DDT. He hits a senton atomico for 2. He blocks Ishimori’s hurricanrana. Ishimori fights back and hits a weird hurricanrana for 2. Minamino hits a powerbomb for 2. Ishimori hits Hanai with a bulldog and Minamino with a dropkick. He hits Hanai with a springboard dropkick for 2. Hanai hits a spinebuster for 2. Ishimori hits the X-Factor. Fukuda hits a splash to the back. Kei hits a chinbrekaer and Shu hits the Code Red for 2. He hits a topé for 2. Fukuda hits a lariat for 2. He hits a low blow and a bodyslam. He hits the corner splash for the win at 13:05. This was a decent enough main event. One of the Satos mucked up his timing a more than once, but aside from that these guys did a good job keeping the pace quick and the action on-point.
Rating: ***

After the match the two teams brawl. Ishimori sends the fans home happy by hitting Minamino with the Superstar Elbow. Then the Sailor Boys sing and dance. Minamino and Ishimori will wrestle in singles competition on Toryumon X-3. The show ends with a little bit of Rancid’s Fall Back Down. I really miss the music of Toryumon.

October 15, 2003 – Fukuoka, Japan

In all likelihood I’ll be reviewing the matches on this show again more in full, as I have a feeling they’re shown more intact on an episode of Vamanos Amigos.

The show starts by talking a bit about the Rey de Parejas tournament. They show a bunch of quick clips of a few of the matches. We get to see a few of them more in full than the others.

Second Doi {SM} & Masaaki Mochizuki {SM} vs. K-ness {DF} & Susumu Yokosuka {DF} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
The match is joined in progress. Do Fixer is in control of Doi, but Mochizuki regains control for his team with a dropkick. He and Doi keep the pressure up with dropkicks. Doi hits a suicide dive on K-ness. Mochizuki hits Yokosuka with an ax kick. He hits a sick German suplex for 2. K-ness hits Doi with an enziguiri. He hits a brainbuster for 2. Doi hits Yokosuka with a hurricanrana. He hits the Doi 555 for 2. Mochizuki hits the Sankakugeri and Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. Doi puts K-ness in the pendulum but Yokosuka makes the save. The bad guys hit the SukaDora Knee for 2. Mochizuki dropkicks Doi by mistake. Mochizuki tries to take control with kicks but K-neSuka come back with their signature strikes. Yokosuka hits the Cutter for 2. He hits the Jumbo no Kachi twice. K-ness hits an enziguiri and Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachigatame for the win at 5:05 shown of 13:27. Decent stuff, though Mochizuki was uncharacteristically sloppy here.
Rating: **¼

Kenichiro Arai {SM} & Dragon Kid {SM} vs. Karaoke Machine #1 & Karaoke Machine #2 [Round Robin Tournament Match]
Anyone else ever notice the Karaoke Machines’ intro music starts almost exactly the same way as the intro music to MegaMan III? Sorry, RockMan III. Don Fujii’s Machine starts with Arai. They fight to a stalemate. Kid puts Fujii in the Christo. Arai hits Machine #2 with a headbutt to the crotch. Fujii hits his buddy with a pan by mistake. Kid rolls him up for the win at 2:00 shown of 9:06.

“brother” YASSHI {AI} & Shuji Kondo {AI} vs. Anthony W. Mori {IC} & YOSSINO {IC} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
Everyone brawls to start. YOSSINO and Mori nail stereo dropkicks. They hit stereo dives as well. We skip ahead to Kondo beating Mori with clotheslines. He rams YASSHI’s head into Mori. They hit the Babylon for 2. Kondo hits a powerslam for 2. Mori hits a hurricanrana and puts on a triangle choke. Kondo hits a powerbomb to escape. Mori blocks the King Kong Lariat and puts on an armbar but YASSHI makes the save. YOSSINO hits YASSHI with the Sling Blade for 2. YASSHI hits a dropkick. He hits the Bad Boy for 2. He hits a brainbuster for 2. Kondo hits the Lanzarse for 2. YASSHI misses the Flying Big Head. Mori hits a dropkick off the top. He hits a northern lights suplex for 2. YOSSINO hits the Torbellino. He puts on the Sol Naciente but Kondo makes the save with the Lanzarse. Kondo suplexes Mori. He and YASSHI hit the Big Boy for 2. YASSHI hits the Flying Big Head for 2. Mori hits Kondo with an enziguiri. Kondo clotheslines his leg and puts on the Gorilla Clutch. Mori counters to a roll up for 2. Kondo clotheslines the blue box into Mori. He hits the King Kong Lariat for the win at 7:14 shown of 14:04. Mori’s career continues to confound me, as even as far back as seven years ago he was doing amazing stuff with the bigger guys on the roster and never got much of a push. This ruled by the way, as you don’t typically see this much action jammed into such a short match (even clipped).
Rating: ***½

CIMA {CM} & JUN {CM} vs. Magnum TOKYO {DF} & Milano Collection AT {IC} [Round Robin Tournament Match]
I wonder what would have happened to Shingo Takagi if JUN had never been injured and had stuck it out with Dragon Gate. For those who don’t know, JUN is here what Takagi would become at the tail end of Crazy Max’s run. The match is joined in progress with JUN elbowing TOKYO. He hits a suplex. CIMA tags in and hits a crossbody. He dropkicks TOKYO’s knee. CIMA hits AT with a dropkick. He hits a plancha on both opponents. Back in the ring CIMA hits TOKYO with his X-Factor for 2. TOKYO hits the overhead kick. He clotheslines CIMA off the apron. He dropkicks JUN in the face. TOKYO hits a brainbuster for 2. JUN hits the X-Factor for 2. AT saves TOKYO from the Onifuusha. TOKYO hits an elevated Ace Crusher for 2. AT puts on the Paradise Lock. He gracefully ducks CIMA’s crossbody, sending CIMA to the floor where TOKYO hits him with a plancha. JUN rolls AT up for 2. He hits the uranage. TOKYO hits a missile dropkick. He hits the Gyrating Frankensteiner for 2. He puts on the Regal Stretch. AT puts CIMA in a stepover toehold full nelson. JUN and CIMA get to the ropes. CIMA hits AT with a back suplex. TOKYO hits the Erect Smash. JUN hits a sick back heel kick. AT hits an enziguiri. Everyone is down. CIMA and JUN hit a Doomsday Crossbody on AT. They hit a double vertical suplex on TOKYO. Time is starting to run out. CIMA hits AT with the Venus. AT hits an enziguiri. CIMA blocks the Emporio Armani Shoe with his knees. He hits the Perfect Driver for 2. He hits the Venus and Iconoclasm. AT blocks the Mad Splash and puts on the Suenyo. CIMA gets to the ropes. He hits a superkick and the Schwein. TOKYO blocks him from pinning AT, so by the time he gets there it only gets 2. AT puts on the AT Lock but JUN makes the save. TOKYO hits JUN with the enziguiri and a superplex. He hits a lariat for 2. He hits another enziguiri and the Egoist Driver for 2. AT hits the Armani Shoe Exchange and puts on the AT Lock. He keeps him in it for a while, but before JUN can tap the time limit expires at 13:00 shown of 30:00. From the little things like partners delaying their opponents from pinning their partners to the big things like all four guys showing absurd intensity, this ruled every second it was on my screen. Now I understand why people miss JUN. I’m very curious to know now if more of this match was shown on Vamanos Amigos.
Rating: ****¼

June 29, 2003 – Kobe Japan

Milano Collection AT {IC}, “brother” YASSINI {IC} & Pescatoré Yagi {IC} vs. SUWA {CM}, TARU {CM} & Don Fujii {CM}
Fujii and AT start. They trade cops in an exchange that predictably goes Fujii’s way. AT goes for the Paradise Lock but Fujii escapes and hits a shoulder tackle. Fujii goes for a plancha but Yagi shakes the ropes. Yagi hits TARU with a chinbreaker. TARU comes back with a stiff kick. YASSINI hits SUWA with a dropkick. SUWA hits a shoulder tackle. Fujii slugs Yagi to the mat. He and TARU hit a double shoulder tackle. SUWA hits a slingshot elbow. Fujii throws YASSINI across the ring. YASSINI comes back with a dropkick. AT hits a dropkick for 2. Yagi chokes Fujii with some wrist tape. He and YASSINI hit a double headbutt for 2. AT hits a senton and a standing moonsault for 2. Fujii clotheslines AT’s back to block a handspring elbow. He hits a dropkick on the other two opponents. SUWA hits a leaping lariat and a backbreaker. YASSINI hits a leg lariat. TARU hits an ax kick. He hits the Kakato Otoshi. Fujii hits a plancha. TARU follows suit. SUWA goes for a suicide dive but AT cuts him off. AT puts on an octopus stretch. YASSINI and Yagi join in the submission fun. Yagi hits TARU with a fisherman suplex for 2. TARU hits the T-Crush for 2. YASSINI hits the Bad Boy for 2. Fujii hits a lariat for 2. YASSINI hits a low blow. He hits the Whisper in the Wind. Yagi hits a diving headbutt. YASSINI misses the Flying Big Head. SUWA hits a flying lariat. He hits the John Woo. Fujii hits the Nice German for 2. AT hits an enziguiri and puts SUWA in the Suenyo. TARU makes the save with a legdrop. Fujii hits a chokeslam for 2. Yagi hits Fujii with a baguette. AT hits an enziguiri and the Emporio Armani Shoe for 2. He puts on the AT Lock for the win at 14:17. This took a while to get going but once it did it set the crowd on fire. I never understood why AT was used so sparingly in these older six-man tags when he was so obviously better than everyone else out of T2P. Maybe they didn’t want to burn him out. Ever the sore losers SUWA and TARU attack the Italian Connection after the match.
Rating: ***

Takamichi Iwasa & Anthony W. Mori {RB} vs. Raimu Mishima {SM} & Second Doi {SM}
Mishima and Mori trade holds to start. Mori goes after the leg. He puts on a bow and arrow but Mishima rolls over for 1. Doi hits Iwasa with a dropkick. Iwasa comes back with an elbowdrop. He hits a bodyslam for 2. Doi hits Mori with a missile dropkick. He and Mishima hit a double back elbow for 2. Mishima hits a bodyslam for 2. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. He puts on a crossface. Mori gets to the ropes. He hits a hurricanrana and puts on a triangle choke. Iwasa ties Doi in an abdominal stretch. He forces Doi to attack Mishima’s leg. Iwasa hits Mishima with an elbow. He hits a cutthroat DDT for 2. Mishima puts on an octopus stretch. Mori makes the save. He hits Doi with an enziguiri and a northern lights suplex for 2. Doi dodges a dropkick and hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick for 2. He hits the Doi 555 for 2. Mishima hits a back suplex. Doi puts on the Chicago crab. Iwasa makes the save. He hits Mishima with a DDT. Mori goes after the arm. Iwasa hits a dragon screw and puts on a wacky submission. Doi makes the save. He hits a dropkick and a baseball slide. Mishima hits a leg lariat. Mori gets a roll up for 2. Mishima gets a roll up for 2. He hits the high knee twice, but Mori counters a third attempt to a flapjack. Mori dropkicks the knee. He puts on the Escargot for the win at 12:04. Another very solid match. All four guys showed a lot here; on the mat, trading strikes and even flying a little. They look completely integrated into Toryumon Japan six months after the big absorption.
Rating: ***

Condotti Shuji {IC} vs. JUN {CM} vs. Touru Owashi
Shuji was fresh off winning the British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship, but the belt is not on the line here. YASSINI tries to give Shuji some advice but Owashi chases him away. JUN and Shuji try to take Owashi down with a shoulder tackle. Owashi hits a big boot on JUN for 2. JUN hits Shuji with a spinebuster and Owashi hits an elbowdrop and a legdrop. JUN asks Owashi for a handshake, but ends up attacking him. Owashi hits a big knife edge chop. JUN sweeps the leg and kicks the back. Shuji tries to get back in the ring but Owashi whips JUN into him on the apron. Owashi hits a vertical suplex on JUN for 2. Shuji runs in and hits JUN with the King Kong Lariat for 2. Shuji uses Owashi to block the referee’s line of sight while he uses Yagi and YASSINI as weapons against JUN. JUN fights back, hitting an elbow. He hits Owashi with a miracle back suplex. He hits Shuji with the uranage. Shuji clotheslines the leg and puts on the Stretch Muffler. Owashi hits a big boot to break that up. Shuji sneaks in the Lanzarse on JUN for 2. Owashi hits Shuji with the running chokeslam for 2. Owashi shoves the referee to the floor. He brings a table into the ring. Shuji hits him with the Lanzarse into the table in the corner. JUN hits Shuji with the Onifuusha for 2. Shuji clotheslines JUN to the floor. Owashi pulls Shuji to the floor and beats the crap out of him. Everyone takes too much time on the floor and it’s a triple count-out at 11:25. I liked the way Shuji tries to work around Owashi to get to JUN, rather than fight the big man. Aside from that this was a rather standard one-man-out-two-men-in triple threat match, and the finish was crappy.
Rating: **¾

After the match Shuji and Owashi continue to beat on JUN. Shuji seemingly lobbies for Owashi to get some Italian Connection membership attention.

The Great Sasuke {MP} vs. Stalker Ichikawa
They circle the ring for a while to start. A long while. Ichikawa puts on a headlock. Sasuke hits armdrags. He gets a lateral press for 2. Ichikawa tries to walk the ropes but Sasuke won’t have any of it. Ichikawa tries to bribe Sasuke into helping him walk the ropes but Sasuke says no. Ichikawa bribes the referee into helping him. He goes for a head scissors takedown but Sasuke easily blocks it. Sasuke hits a vertical suplex for 2 when the bribed referee counts slow. He gets a sunset flip for 2 under the same conditions. Ichikawa hits the Kancho. He goes after the mask. He screws up the Space Flying Tiger Drop and Sasuke runs in and gets the pin at 5:09. The bribery was cute, but the rest was typical Stalker time-wasting.
Rating: ½*

At intermission we get a look back at a few singles matches between CIMA and Magnum TOKYO.

Katsumasa Kuroki vs. Nobuhiko Oshima [May 11, 1997]
This would be their debut under their real names in Mexico, and was actually the first Toryumon match of any kind, ever. Don Fujii and SUWA also debuted on this night. We’re joined in progressing with Oshima hitting a dropkick. He kicks Kuroki in the corner. Kuroki comes back with a dropkick. He hits a swinging DDT for 2. He gets a victory roll for 2. Oshima gets a roll up for 2. CIMA hits a few chest kicks. He misses one and TOKYO gets la magistral for the win at 2:27 shown of 8:16. Not bad for their first match.

Shiima Nobunaga {CM} © vs. Magnum TOKYO [IWRG Intercontinental Welterweight Championship Match - February 5, 1999]
Name #2 for CIMA here. This was during Toryumon Japan’s first tour. We’re joined in progress with TARU crotching TOKYO up top. Nobunaga hits the Iconoclasm for 2. He hits a facebuster. He hits the X-Factor for 2. He hits two Venuses and an Iconoclasm off the first rope. He hits the Mad Splash for the win at 2:24 shown of 17:52. Nice to see the Mad Splash actually connected at one point in CIMA’s career.

CIMA {CM} vs. Magnum TOKYO [Premium Live match vol 5 – 12/18/1999]
Finally, their current names. We’re joined in progress with TOKYO hitting the Egoist Driver for 2. CIMA gets a backslide for 2. He hits a facebuster for 2. He hits the Venus and Goriconoclasm. He goes for the Mad Splash but TOKYO blocks it with his knees. TOKYO gets la magistral for 2. He hits a lariat for 2. CIMA puts on a cross face but the time limit expires at 2:33 shown of 15:00. Not much different than the previous match, but the two are tied at 1-1-1.

CIMA {CM} vs. Magnum TOKYO [July 9, 2001]
We’re joined in progress with both guys on their knees. CIMA hits the Perfect Driver. TOKYO hits a lariat. CIMA hits a superkick. TOKYO hits a back heel kick. They both go for a dropkick. CIMA hits five Venuses and the Goriconoclasm. He hits the Mad Splash for 2. He hits another Perfect Driver and another Mad Splash for the win at 2:08 shown of 25:06. So CIMA is up on TOKYO 2-1-1.

YOSSINO © {IC} vs. K-ness {DF} [NWA Welterweight Championship Match]
K-ness still has Venezia. They fight it out on the mat to start. K-ness hits an armdrag. Shuji trips K-ness, with which YOSSINO (and the crowd) has a problem. Shuji and YASSINI try again to give YOSSINO an advantage but he shoos them away, getting the crowd’s support. YASSINI interferes again, but this time Venezia takes him out with a hurricanrana and a suicide dive. K-ness works YOSSINO’s arm. He hits a flying kneedrop to the arm. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. He puts on an armbar. YOSSINO gets to the ropes. He puts on the Coumori. A botched armdrag is ignored and YOSSINO hits the Sling Blade for 2. He puts on the From Jungle. K-ness escapes and kicks the arm. He hits a brainbuster for 2. He hits the Darkness Driver for 2. The Italian Connection interferes en masse, attacking K-ness in the corner. Shuji and YASSINI go for the Big Boy but AT puts a stop to it and YOSSINO kicks them off the apron. AT drags the rest of the Italian Connection to the back. K-ness puts YOSSINO in the Judah. YOSSINO comes back with the Torbellino. He puts on the Sol Naciente but K-ness gets to the ropes. YOSSINO gets a sunset flip for 2. He gets a crucifix pin for 2. He gets another for 2. K-ness hits the Shouryuukyaku. He hits the Darkness Buster but can’t cover because his arm is all messed up. Eventually he gets 2. YOSSINO kicks the crap out of the arm. K-ness hits the Ashi Yokosuka and kicks YOSSINO’s arm. He hits a super armbreaker but is too exhausted to capitalize. YOSSINO hits a swinging DDT. He puts on the Byukuya for the win at 14:44. The finish was great and the majority of the match ruled it. The interference worked within the storyline and set up a very big move, but it simply took up too much of the match. They could have cut the interference in half. After the match K-ness shows YOSSINO respect and gives him back Venezia.
Rating: ***½

Genki Horiguchi © {DF}, Ryo Saito © {DF} & Susumu Yokosuka © {DF} vs. Masaaki Mochizuki {SM}, Kenichiro Arai {SM} & Dragon Kid {SM} [UWA Six Person Tag Team Championship Match]
Yokosuka is still wearing an M2K shirt, which confuses the hell out of me. Saito and Arai start. They trade holds on the mat. Horiguchi hits Arai with an elbow. Kid hits Yokosuka with a head scissors takedown. Mochizuki hits Saito with a back kick and a chest kick. He throws Horiguchi across the ring by his hair. Kid hits a dropkick for 2. He puts on an Indian deathlock, but pulls the hair rather than work the neck. Horiguchi gets the ropes after the crowd gets behind him. He hits a back elbow. Everyone brawls through the crowd. Back in the ring Do Fixer triple-teams Kid. Horiguchi attacks Arai’s injured hand. Saito bites the hand. Yokosuka stands on the hand. Saito hits a double stomp on the hand. Yokosuka hits a kneedrop onto a chair on the hand for 2. Arai starts to fight back but runs into Yokosuka’s lariat. That gets 2. Yokosuka puts on a cross armbreaker. Arai gets to the ropes. Horiguchi and Saito go for a moonsault on Arai and a splash on Kid, respectively, but both attacks hit knees. Mochizuki cleans house with kicks. Kid hits the Déjà Vu. Arai hits a suicide dive. Kid hits the Bermuda Triangle. Saito dropkicks Mochizuki’s leg. Yokosuka hits it with the blue box. Horiguchi hits the topé con hilo. Saito and Yokosuka hit Kid with a double vertical suplex for 2. Saito puts on the Dancing Yahoo. Kid gets to the ropes. He hits a springboard dropkick. He puts on the Christo. Yokosuka makes the save. Do Fixer gangs up on Kid in the corner. Yokosuka hits an exploder and Saito hits a splash for 2. Yokosuka hits the Last Ride for 2. He goes for a superbomb version but Kid counters to a hurricanrana. He hits Saito with a dropkick. Mochizuki beats Yokosuka in a lariat exchange for 2. He hits a roundhouse kick. Kid hits the Ultra Hurricanrana for 2 when Horiguchi makes the save with a missile dropkick. Horiguchi hits Arai with the Beach Break. Arai barely gets to his feet before the ten count. Mochizuki hits Horiguchi with the Sankakugeri for 2. Horiguchi gets the backslide for 2. Mochizuki hits the Sick Kick. Saito hits an overhead suplex. Kid hits a DDT. Yokosuka hits a backbreaker. He hits Arai with the Jumbo no Kachi. Saito hits a German suplex for 2. President Okamura kicks the blue box into Saito’s gut and powders Horiguchi. Horiguchi hits Arai with a missile dropkick. Arai headbutts the blue box into Yokosuka and Kid hits a hurricanrana on the floor. Mochizuki blue box attacks Horiguchi and Arai hits the tiger suplex for the win and the titles at 21:20. Just your everyday, normal, balls to the wall, can’t-believe-how-fast-they-move six man tag from Ultimo Dragon’s boys. Seriously, the match flew by in what felt like no time, and Do Fixer getting their comeuppance felt great, regardless of the fact that I watched this match outside of its proper context.
Rating: ****¼

CIMA © {CM} vs. Magnum TOKYO {DF} [Ultimo Dragon Gym Championship Match]
The crowd falls silent as the match begins. CIMA and TOKYO fight on the mat. They trade headlock takedowns. TOKYO hits a shoulder tackle. They trade armdrags and go for dropkicks. TOKYO hits a low blow. He bites CIMA’s face and crotches him on the middle rope. He hits a bodyslam and a standing corkscrew back flip legdrop. He hits a dropkick for 2. He puts on a seated abdominal stretch. CIMA dropkicks his knee. He slams the knee to the mat, dropping an elbow on it at the same time. He puts on his modified cloverleaf but TOKYO gets to the ropes. CIMA stays on the leg. He hits a double knee kick in the corner. He sets TOKYO up top and knocks him to the floor with the Venus. CIMA follows him out with a tope, taking out most of Do Fixer in the process. Back in the ring CIMA hits a facebuster for 2. TOKYO comes back with the Pelé kick. CIMA blocks the Gyrating Frankensteiner but not a dropkick to the face. TOKYO hits a clothesline and a bulldog. They fight over a suplex until TOKKO puts on a dragon sleeper. TOKYO hits a facebuster and the Zetsuen Kick. CIMA rolls to the floor so TOKYO follows him out with a springboard moonsault press. He drags CIMA up the ramp but gets hit with the Perfect Driver. Both men run back into the ring to beat the count at 19. CIMA gets a sunset flip for 2. TOKYO gets a victory roll for 2. He hits a lariat and the Erect Smasher for 2. He hits a bulldog and climbs the ropes. CIMA cuts him off with the Venus. He hits the Iconoclasm. He climbs the ropes but TOKYO hits the Venus and the Iconoclasm. He hits an enziguiri. He hits the Egoist Driver for 2. CIMA gets a roll up for 2. He hits an enziguiri and the Egoist Driver for 2. He hits the Perfect Driver for 2. He puts on the Turkey but TOKYO gets to the ropes. CIMA hits a back suplex. He climbs the ropes but TOKYO cuts him off and hits a superplex for 2. He hits the Egoist Driver for 2. CIMA returns the favor with the Egoist Driver. He hits the Schwein for 2. He sets TOKYO up top and hits the Venus three times. He hits the Iconoclasm but the Mad Splash hits knees. TOKYO hits a superkick and the Schwein for 2. He hits an implant DDT. He climbs the ropes and hits the AV Star Press for the win and the title at 27:25. This turned into an all finishers all the time match. Matches of that nature are fun to watch when they’re happening live but in hindsight they lack depth. They played up the finish to the CIMA/Horiguchi match, but I don’t think anyone thought that TOKYO wasn’t a superior challenge than Horiguchi was going into this.
Rating: ***½

After the match TOKYO shows CIMA respect and challenges Genichiro Tenryu to a match for the title in July.

April 22, 2003 – Tokyo, Japan

Before I even start reviewing the show, I should point out that the opening video does an excellent job making me feel like everyone involved in Toryumon is having a great time doing their jobs.

[Dragon Scramble Battle Royal]
Winner gets into the quarterfinals of the tournament. Dragon Kid and Susumu Yokosuka start. Kid hits a hurricanrana for 2. Yokosuka hits a backbreaker. Kid hits a head scissors takedown. Yokosuka hits a knee to the gut. He puts on a chinlock. Ryo Saito and Anthony W. Mori are out next. Saito tries to ignore Mori’s posturing, but falls victim to his armdrags. Saito teams up with Mori, only to betray him and try to throw him over the top rope. He and Yokosuka hit a double exploder. Condotti Shuji and “brother” YASSINI are out next. They hit Mori with the Big Boy to eliminate him. Shuji dumps Kid over the top rope to eliminate him. Genki Horiguchi and Kenichiro Arai are out next. Arai spits water in Horiguchi’s face and gets a roll up for 2. Saito and Yokosuka hit a double back elbow on Arai. YASSINI hits Arai with the Bad Boy. Arai works Horiguchi’s hairline. TARU and Don Fujii are out next. They double-team Shuji. SUWA saves Fujii from elimination. TARU kicks Shuji to the floor to eliminate him. Everyone chops Fujii, including TARU, and he chops them all back. Second Doi and Touru Owashi are out next. They fight in the crowd. Owashi tees off with a chair. Doi is unable to continue so he’s eliminated. Owashi hits YASSINI with a big boot and tosses him over the top rope. Arai tries to chop Owashi, which distracts him long enough for everyone else to hold him down and pin him. TARU and Fujii hit Saito and Yokosuka with stereo back suplexes. Everyone holds Saito and TARU down, so they’re both out. Fujii wants Owashi to team with him since they’re both big dudes. They take on Do Fixer’s Horiguchi and Yokosuka for a bit. Owashi clotheslines Fujii by mistake. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi to eliminate Fujii. Horiguchi hits Owashi with a missile dropkick. Owashi shoulder tackles both opponents. He hits Horiguchi with an avalanche and Yokosuka with a running chokeslam. Horiguchi saves his partner from elimination. He hits a low blow and Yokosuka hits the blue box attack. Together they shove Owashi to the floor. The commentators announce them as dual winners at 17:01. The Do Fixer vs. sumos stuff at the end was fun, as was the Italian Connection’s contributions to the match. The rest was typical battle royal stuff.
Rating: **¾

After the match Horiguchi draws Magnum TOKYO and Yokosuka draws CIMA in the tournament. Both guys are in for a rough night.

YOSSINO {IC} vs. SUWA {CM} [Quarterfinal Match]
SUWA hits a shoulder tackle to start. He beats the crap out of YOSSINO in the corner. YOSSINO comes back with the Coumori. He misses an elbow and SUWA hits a backbreaker for 2. YOSSINO dodges the John Woo once, but SUWA catches him on the second try. YOSSINO blocks the FFF and puts on From Jungle. SUWA hits a flapjack for 2. YASSINI distracts the referee and Shuji rushes in to hit he Lanzarse. SUWA fights him off, but the distraction is enough for YOSSINO to hit an ugly Torbellino. He puts on the Sol Naciente for the win at 3:31. I didn’t get the feeling YOSSINO was the better man from this battle, as SUWA basically dismantled him the entire time before the Italian Connection messed things up for him.
Rating: *½

CIMA {CM} vs. Susumu Yokosuka {DF} [Quarterfinal Match]
They lock up and CIMA immediately starts favoring his heavily bandaged neck. Yokosuka zeroes in on the weakness. CIMA goes to the ropes. He puts on a headlock. Yokosuka attacks the neck to escape. He goes to the eyes. CIMA hits a satellite head scissors takedown. TARU ices his neck. You’ve gotta love Yokosuka wearing an original M2K shirt while in Do Fixer. He forces CIMA’s head to snap back, hurting his neck. He hits a back bodydrop for 2. He hits a neckbreaker. He hits another and puts on a full nelson. CIMA gets to the ropes. He ducks the Jumbo no Kachi and sends Yokosuka’s head into the corner. He hits the double knee kick. Yokosuka dodges the Venus and hits the exploder for 2. CIMA hits a backdrop. He gets a roll up for 2. Yokosuka hits the Jumbo no Kachi for 2. He hits another to the back. CIMA hits a superkick but Yokosuka rebounds with the Jumbo no Kachigatame for 2. CIMA avoids the Yokosuka Cutter and hits the Schwein out of nowhere for the win at 7:46. That’s just about the most cerebral you’ll ever see Yokosuka get. CIMA’s comeback in this was great. This really deserved another 10 minutes.
Rating: ***

Masaaki Mochizuki {SM} vs. Milano Collection AT {IC} [Quarterfinal Match]
AT ducks a leg lariat to start. He ties Mochizuki up on the mat. He hits an armdrag. Mochizuki hits a back kick. AT puts on the Suenyo. Mochizuki gets to the ropes. AT ties Mochizuki around the bottom rope and hits a dropkick. He hits an armbreaker. Mochizuki hits an ax kick to the back. AT misses an enziguiri and Mochizuki connects with one. He hits chest kicks. AT powers up to Mochizuki kicks him down for 2. AT goes after the arm again. Mochizuki gets to the ropes. AT hits the Ace Crusher. He hits the Emporio Armani Shoe for 2. Mochizuki rolls through the Paradise Lock and kicks AT’s head. AT goes after the arm but Mochizuki catches him with a German suplex for 2. AT puts on the AT Lock. He goes for a wacky full nelson but Mochizuki gets to the ropes. The fight spills to the floor where Shuji hits a cheap shot on Mochizuki. Mochizuki kicks the post by mistake but AT eats the post as well. Shuji accidentally hits AT with the blue box. Mochizuki rolls into the ring and AT gets counted out at 8:29. Crappy finish aside this was a great back-and-forth match. I get that AT and Mochizuki are both supposed to be pillars of Toryumon, but in a tournament like this it’s sometimes best to just put people over clean. I guess give what would happen to Mochizuki later in the tournament it wasn’t worth it.
Rating: **¾

Magnum TOKYO {DF} vs. Genki Horiguchi {DF} [Quarterfinal Match]
Horiguchi lays down for TOKYO to start, but then surprises him with a small package for 2. TOKYO was all too happy to take the pin, so Horiguchi chokes him in the corner. TOKYO comes back with a back flip kick. Horiguchi hits a swinging DDT for 2. TOKYO swats away a missile dropkick and goes for the STF but Horiguchi gets to the ropes. TOKYO hits a dropkick. He puts on a chinlock. The crowd is 100% behind Horiguchi. TOKYO hits a clothesline and a bulldog. He hits a missile dropkick for 2. He hits a brainbuster for 2. He hits a supercharged lariat for 2. Horiguchi blocks the Erect Smash. TOKYO hits an enziguiri. Horiguchi avoids the Egoist Driver and gets the Backslide from Heaven for the surprise win at 3:41. The crowd is too surprised to go insane, but they show Horiguchi a proper amount of love for the win. This was exactly what it needed to be; TOKYO dominating but slightly off his game because of the trick played by Horiguchi early on.
Rating: **½

The Great Sasuke comes out to apologize for missing tonight’s match against Último Dragón due to injury. Dragón comes out and teases him for wearing the mask as a senator. Sasuke says he’ll never take off his mask for anything. This sets up a match in Michinoku Pro. Sucks to be a Toryumon fan.

Stalker Ichikawa vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
Takayama is rocking their NWF Heavyweight Championship belt. Ichikawa goes after the belt but Takayama easily stops him from stealing it. Ichikawa tries to avoid Takayama’s kicks. Takayama asks for a test of strength, but Ichikawa can’t reach. Takayama gets down on his knees so Ichikawa goes to the eyes. Ichikawa goes for an armdrag but Takayama stands still to block it. He pins Ichikawa with one foot for 2. Ichikawa avoids hits kicks and hits the Kancho. Takayama clubs him in the corner. He hits a press slam. He sets up for his big German suplex but Ichikawa’s corner man throws in the towel before the move can be hit, ending the match at 2:15. This was kind of funny, if only because I like watching Takayama beat bitches up.
Rating: *
2:15

CIMA {CM} vs. YOSSINO {IC} [Semifinal Match]
YOSSINO hits an armdrag to start. CIMA catches him in a pinning predicament for 2. YOSSINO hits a head scissors takedown. CIMA hits an electric chair drop. He hits a back suplex for 2. He hits a lariat and puts on the Manriki. YOSSINO puts on From Jungle. He gets a sunset flip for 2. He hits the Sling Blade for 2. He hits an insane DDT. CIMA hits a superkick. YOSSINO blocks a Schwein and hits a DDT. He hits the Torbellino and puts on the Sol Naciente but CIMA rolls forward for 2. CIMA blocks a Torbellino attack and hits the Schwein for the win at 3:55. Another amazing match under five minutes. These guys have these sprints down to a science.
Rating: **½

Masaaki Mochizuki {SM} vs. Genki Horiguchi {DF} [Semifinal Match]
Horiguchi hits Mochizuki with the topé con hilo during his entrance. He hits a missile dropkick in the ring. He hits another but Mochizuki won’t go down. He hits a third and Mochizuki falls. He hits a moonsault for 2. Mochizuki blocks the Beach Break. Horiguchi smacks him. Mochizuki smacks back. He hits chest kicks. He hits an ax kick. Yokosuka trips him from the floor. Mochizuki hits Yokosuka with the Sankakugeri. He hits it on Horiguchi for 2. Horiguchi counters a Twister to a small package for 2. Mochizuki hits the Sick Kick. Horiguchi counters a dragon suplex to the Backslide from Heaven for the win at 2:52. I think the Yokosuka stuff was unnecessary and the crowd didn’t react as well to Horiguchi here as they did in his quarterfinal match, probably because of the interference.
Rating: **

Dragon Kid {SM}, Kenichiro Arai {SM}, Second Doi {SM}, Anthony W. Mori {RB} & Último Dragón vs. “brother” YASSINI {IC}, Condotti Shuji {IC}, Ryo Saito {DF}, Don Fujii {CM} & TARU {CM}
Everyone brawls to start. Doi hits an armdrag on YASSINI. YASSINI misses a charge and hits the post. TARU kicks Arai to the mat. He hits a headbutt. Shuji hits Kid with a shoulder tackle. Kid hits an armdrag. Shuji hits a sleeper swing. Mori hits a dropkick. Saito trips Mori. Mori hits a dropkick. Venezia comes in and hits a hurricanrana and a topé con hilo. Dragón works on Fujii’s arm. Fujii returns the favor. He pokes Dragón’s eyes and hits a shoulder tackle. He hits a clothesline in the corner. He and TARU hit YASSINI and Shuji by mistake. Saito plays peacemaker between the two duos. Dragón hits Fujii with a handspring elbow. YASSINI hits Kid with an awesome facebuster for 2. He hits the Bad Boy. Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick. Fujii hits a lariat. Arai hits a headbutt. Saito hits an overhead suplex. Mori hits a dropkick. TARU hits the T-Crush. Shuji clotheslines him by mistake. Kid hits the Déjà Vu. Arai misses a headbutt. YASSINI low blows Shuji by mistake. Doi puts the pendulum on Shuji but YASSINI makes the save. Doi hits Shuji with a baseball slide. YASSINI hits a suicide dive. Mori hits a plancha out of the corner. Saito follows suit. Arai hits a suicide dive. TARU comes off the top rope onto everyone. Kid hits a head scissors takedown on the floor. Fujii hits a plancha. Dragón hits the Asai moonsault. Everyone gangs up on Fujii in the corner. The bad guys do the same to Dragón. Dragón hits Saito with a lariat and rolls him up for 2. He hits a back heel kick for 2. Saito dropkicks his leg. Dragón blocks the Dancing Yahoo and gets a takedown. Saito hits the Fisherman Express. Dragón puts on the dragon sleeper for the win at 10:46. The finish came out of nowhere and made Dragón look all too dominant over his students, but he was on his way to WWE and was about to make a big challenge before his departure.
Rating: ***

CIMA {CM} vs. Genki Horiguchi {DF} [Tournament Finals/Último Dragón Gym Championship Match]
Horiguchi is insanely over. He hits a dropkick to start. CIMA comes back with a back of back suplexes and a superkick. Horiguchi gets a roll up for 2. He gets a backslide for 2. CIMA puts on a chinlock. He slams Horiguchi’s leg to the mat. He does it again, this time driving his elbow into the back of the knee as well. He puts on a leglock. He hits a facebuster for 2. He works over the knee against the ropes. He puts on a modified cloverleaf but the crowd rallies behind Horiguchi. Horiguchi gets to the ropes. CIMA dropkicks his knee. He puts on a figure 4 leglock. Horiguchi rolls over but CIMA gets his leverage back. Horiguchi gets to the ropes. CIMA goes for a knee kick in the corner but Horiguchi dodges it and CIMA falls to the floor. Do Fixer attack CIMA but Crazy MAX fight them off. CIMA kicks Horiguchi’s head. He goes for a head scissors takedown but Susumu Yokosuka hits him with some kind of container to keep that from happening. Horiguchi dropkicks the back of CIMA’s head for 2. He puts on a guillotine choke but CIMA gets to the ropes. Horiguchi puts on the GH Lock but CIMA counters the hold. He releases to get a jackknife pin for 2. They trade pin attempts. Horiguchi hits a low blow. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. A moonsault misses its mark. CIMA hits the Perfect Driver for 2. He hits it again for 2. He hits the double knee kick, the Venus and the Iconoclasm. He climbs the ropes but the Mad Splash hits knees. CIMA hits a superkick but Ryo Saito throws powder in his eyes. Horiguchi hits him with the Beach Break for 2. He goes for another but has to settle simply for dropping CIMA on his face for 2. He hits a huge DDT. CIMA blocks the Beach Break and hits the Schwein. He rips the protective tape off of his back and sets Horiguchi up top. He hits the Venus three times. He hits the Iconoclasm and the Mad Splash for the win at 19:07. The heat for this match was incredible. Any time Horiguchi was in trouble the crowd got super hot for him. I’ve never been a huge fan of Horiguchi’s singles work but the energy here drove him to put on a hell of a show.
Rating: ***¾

After the match both men are tended to by their stables. Magnum TOKYO drags an unconscious Horiguchi to the back while the crowd loudly chants H-A-G-E the entire time. In the ring CIMA gets teary as he is awarded the Último Dragón Gym Championship belt by Dragón. Dragón challenges CIMA to a match for the title on May 6th, one night after his own match against Sasuke in M-Pro. CIMA cuts a promo and we’re out.

February 9, 2003 – Tokyo, Japan

Último Dragón & YOSSINO vs. Yoshihito Sasaki & Tatsuhiko Takaiwa [Tournament Finals]
Dragón ann Takaiwa start. Takaiwa hits a shoulder tackle. Dragón puts on the dragon sleeper but Takaiwa quickly escapes. They trade chops on the floor. Sasaki tags in and puts on a surfboard stretch. Dragón hits a dropkick. Sasaki hits a hiptoss on YOSSINO. YOSSINO comes back with the Coumori. Takaiwa hits a vertical suplex. He drops YOSSINO on the top rope. He hits a bodyslam and puts on a Boston crab. YOSSINO gets to the ropes. He and Dragón double-team Sasaki. Dragón puts on a camel clutch. Takaiwa puts on a chinlock. YOSSINO tags in and puts on a leglock. Takaiwa comes back with a lariat. Sasaki hits a bodyslam and puts on a chinlock. Takaiwa hits a delayed brainbuster for 2. YOSSINO hits a dropkick on Sasaki. Dragón hits a handspring elbow. Takaiwa clotheslines him off the apron. Back in the ring Takaiwa and Sasaki hit Tree of Woe strikes. Takaiwa hits a double powerbomb but Dragón remains composed and hits a head scissors takedown. YOSSINO tags in and foolishly trades strikes with Takaiwa. Sasaki chops the crap out of him. Takaiwa hits a superplex. He hits a flying elbowdrop for 2. He hits a lariat for 2. YOSSINO comes back with a hurricanrana. He gets the Speed Star for 2. Takaiwa hits another lariat. YOSSINO puts Sasaki in the From Jungle. Sasaki gets to the ropes. He comes back with a spear. He hits a running DVD for 2. Dragón hits a crossbody. Takaiwa hits a lariat. YOSSINO hits the Sling Blade. Sasaki hits a missile dropkick. Takaiwa clotheslines Sasaki by mistake. YOSSINO rolls Sasaki up for 2. Dragón tags in and hits an elbow. He kicks the crap out of Sasaki. He puts on the dragon sleeper. Takaiwa makes the save and hits the DVD. YOSSINO follows him up top and hits a hurricanrana. Sasaki hits Dragón with a German suplex. He puts on the Torture Rack. Dragón counters to the dragon sleeper for the win at 20:27. Takaiwa was a beast here, hitting more lariats than Nigel McGuinness. The match as a whole wasn’t mind-blowing for a tournament final, but it was nice to see the dragon sleeper attempts finally pay off for the finish.
Rating: ***½