Professional wrestling is popular all over the world. Many different countries around the globe have their own wrestling promotions, usually more than one. However, while the basic concept of wrestling is the same everywhere, each country has their own different variations of the sport. In Mexico, athleticism and acrobatics are prized above everything else, while in Canada, technical skill is the order of the day. The United States puts an emphasis on showmanship, hyping up the entertainment side of wrestling over the physical one. Nowhere is wresting more varied than in Japan.
No matter what kind of wrestling you enjoy, there is a promotion in Japan that offers it. From high flying Lucha Libra style, to hardcore death matches, to strong style wrestling, everything is represented in Japan. The major promotions there tend to focus on a hard hitting, stiffer, more realistic style of wrestling than we are accustomed to in America. The martial arts and hand to hand combat are a much larger part of Japan’s culture than they are here and as a result, their audience is more easily won over by stiff hits and hard suplexes. It is a style that really brings out the drama that can be acted out through the art of ring psychology, where fans are on the edge of their seats not because of crazy story lines or imaginative booking, but because of a hard fought battle between combatants that give everything they have, both physically and mentally, to win.
There is another thing about professional wrestling in japan that is a normal part of their take on the sport that is very rare here in the USA, one that American promoters should try to embrace. In Japan, it is very common for wrestlers from one promotion to appear as wrestlers on a card by a rival promotion. These cross promotion matches are a great way to add something special to a show, as fans are treated to dream matches that they couldn’t otherwise ever see. One of these matches took place at the Tokyo Dome Show on May 14, 2005.
Dubbed the “Super Dream Tag Match,” New Japan Pro Wrestling booked a match between four of the all-time great wrestlers. The heel team of Masahiro Chono and Jushin Thunder Liger did battle with Tatsumi Fujinami and Mitsuharu Misawa. Masa Chono and Jushin Liger were both part of the “CTU” faction at the time and were no strangers to each other. Chono had been a top wrestler for New Japan for many years, while Jushin Liger ruled the Jr. Heavyweight ranks for NJPW for close to 20 years at this point. Just the two of them as a team was a bit of a dream partnership. Their opponents were an even bigger deal as a team. Misawa had been a huge star for rival All Japan Pro Wrestling throughout the 90s, before leaving to form Pro Wrestling NOAH. At this time, Misawa was considered to be among the very best wrestlers on the planet and the argument can easily be made that he is the best in-ring performer the world of wrestling has ever seen. For him to appear on a New Japan show was a huge event. His tag team partner, Tatsumi Fujinami, was a beloved wrestler who had been a huge star for New Japan for over 30 years. When wrestling historians look back in the future, all four of these men will be considered legends in the world of wrestling. For them to do battle at the historic Tokyo Dome was a once in a lifetime opportunity for fans.
The match itself is not the greatest match of all time, though it is a solid, entertaining contest. Chono and Liger have their moments of offense, the highlight of which is Liger hitting his signature running Liger Bomb on Misawa. But Misawa and Fujinami, the best wrestler of the current period and one of the best wrestlers of the past, were too much for Chono and Liger to contend with. Misawa showed why he was one of the most successful wrestlers of all time, taking Liger and Chono’s best shots and getting up for more, before dishing out some punishment of his own. However, it was Fujinami who was the star of this match.
At 51 years of age at the time, the man known as “The Dragon” clearly had his best days behind him as an in-ring competitor. But on this one, magical night, Fujinami was able to turn back the hands of time and show that even at his age, he belonged in the ring with the biggest names of the current era. His offense looked crisp and effective, as he went hold for hold with Liger several times in the match. He even took a lot of moves from both men, but they couldn’t keep him down, as the beloved wrestler kept fighting back, showing it was his heart as much as his physical prowess that made him a legend.
The match ended the only way it could have, with Fujinami pinning Liger to get his team the victory after fifteen minutes of action. The crowd in attendance didn’t see a match that was an all-time great. however, they did see a match that was fought by four men who can make the claim to being all-time greats in a one of a kind match that only happened once. It was a historic match and there is a sense that something special was happening on that night. It’s a feeling that is rarely achieved in WWE, because almost every match that is booked on their shows has either been booked before in the past or will be booked again in the future. If American wrestling promotions had a spirit of cooperation to go along with their competition, this atmosphere could be achieved more often. Until it happens here, fans will have to settle for viewing these “dream matches” on shows from another country.
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Run Time: 3:25
* Osamu Nishimura/Yutaka Yoshie vs. Togi Makabe/Toru Yano
* Minoru Suzuki vs. Alexander Otsuka
* IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Koji Kanemoto/Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru/Hirooki Goto
* IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger
* Yuji Nagata vs. Tsuyoshi Kosaka
* Keiji Muto vs. Ron Waterman
* IWGP Tag Team Title: Shinsuke Nakamura/Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Manabu Nakanishi/Kendo Kashin
* Super Dream Tag Match: Tatsumi Fujinami/Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Masahiro Chono/Jushin Thunder Liger
* IWGP Heavyweight Title: Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
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