El Numero Uno 2003

Who will be the first UDG Champion?

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.