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Post by elliott on Dec 22, 2017 0:54:50 GMT -5
Tatsumi Fujinami, Keichii Yamada, Shiro Koshinaka, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura vs Hiroshi Saito, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Super Strong Machine, Masa Saito & Riki Choshu (Elimination Match - NJPW - 9/12/1988)
Yet another classic 80s New Japan 10 man tag. This one finished 3rd overall in the DVDVR 80s New Japan Set voting. So, this is fucking awesome. Total lock to make my list. Everyone is excellent in this, but Masa Saito is really the star of this match. Yamada & Fujiwara are great in the early-middle portions of this. Fujinami and Choshu are there at the end. But Masa Saito is really the best guy start to bloody finish. He hits one of the more gruesome blade jobs you'll see towards the end. I really think I'll end up ranking all of these 80s NJPW 10 mans. They're all that great.
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Post by exposer on Jan 7, 2018 6:06:17 GMT -5
Seconded.
#1 candidate. Saito really is incredible in this & that blade job is one of the most memorable visuals in wrestling history. Spectacular match with great performances from everyone.
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Post by childs on Jan 9, 2018 14:23:22 GMT -5
This was my favorite discovery from combing through footage for the DVDVR project. It hadn't received as much hype as some of the other 10-man eliminations, but it was awesome to see how it blew people away during the voting process. I haven't watched it in a long time, but I recall Saito and Fujinami delivering memorable performances. I imagine I'll end up voting for it, because as Elliott said, NJ 10-mans are about the best thing.
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Post by stunninggrover on Feb 15, 2018 12:06:29 GMT -5
Masa Saito & Riki Choshu & Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito & Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Tatsumi Fujinami & Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura & Keiichi Yamada & Shiro Koshinaka. This was an elimination match that lasted nearly 40 minutes. The dramatic finish with Masa Saito and Fujinami was great. The turnbuckle padding was removed, and Masa Saito’s head hit the exposed turnbuckle. Masa Saito juiced. It's one of the best New Japan elimination matches (and that says a lot).
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Post by wrestlingfan on Jan 26, 2019 16:22:10 GMT -5
It's an awesome match, thrilling from the beginning to the end. The end with Fujinami, Choshu and Saito is really great. A must see. It's currently on my list. ****3/4
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2021 22:53:30 GMT -5
Gun to my head if there was only one type of rasslin match I could watch for the rest of my life it would be NJPW 10 man tags. Not sure if this is my favourite one but it's right up there.
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Post by elliott on Jan 18, 2021 1:21:27 GMT -5
I think the only New Japan match I like more is Andre vs Hansen
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Post by tetsujin on Jan 18, 2021 5:35:12 GMT -5
I'm interested in the context behind this match before watching it for the first time. Was there any big storyline? Another Choshu invasion or something? I'm a bit lost in late-80s and early-90s NJPW, sadly.
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Post by bossrock on Jan 18, 2021 17:37:09 GMT -5
Not my favorite elimination match from the 80's (that would be the '86 NJPW vs. UWF match), but still very good. Saito's stand at the end is pretty awesome.
I have to say, NJPW had elimination matches down to a science. Fast-paced action that never lets up coupled with frequent tags so nothing drags.
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Post by elliott on Jan 23, 2021 12:35:04 GMT -5
I think the only New Japan match I like more is Andre vs Hansen Having rewatched this for the first time in over a year I would amend this statement. I think this is an awesome match but I came away a little disappointed with the match they had vs the match I remembered. I still think Masa Saito is awesome in this, especially at the end. But I found myself kinda drifting away at times during the beginning and middle and there are some eliminations I wasn't crazy about. Great match, absolutely worth your time. But probably not the best NJPW elimination match.
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Post by tetsujin on Jan 25, 2021 5:23:36 GMT -5
Well I'm dumb. Didn't realize getting out of the ring was an elimination until Choshu went out. I was confused as fuck for seeing Fujinami alone when just ten minutes earlier his team had the clear advantage hahaha.
Anyway, this was a cool multitag but not as great as I expected it to be. Yamada looked wonderful here, he was the mvp of the match for me and I can't believe how good Liger was this early on his career. I also liked Kobayashi as the lucky prick of his team, and obviously Fujinami in his final battle against a bloody Saito, it was very poetic seeing him forcing another guy to be in the "Fujinami role" this time. Then he got eliminated in a... kinda dumb way? Also, Saito's selling was great most of the times but I think that last part was a bit too long. Fujiwara was also great when he did something, which wasn't very often. Everyone else were there, and nobody looked bad or out of place, but they didn't stood out either. So yeah, pretty cool match, I'd definitely recommend it to anybody, but is not something I consider a classic. I've seen better NJPW multitags.
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Post by Cap on Jan 31, 2021 10:22:15 GMT -5
Really enjoyed this, but I especially enjoyed the home stretch with Fujinami and Saito.
I think they do wonderful job at pushing the pace such that the multi-man element never led to any aimlessness or clunkiness. Everything moved at sort of a breakneck speed but because they could cycle folks in it made sense held together well. I only got fully invested when they were at the end though. I thought that is when they elevated the drama in just the right way.
Great stuff.
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Post by nintendologic on Jan 31, 2021 10:35:19 GMT -5
Count me among those who've soured somewhat on this match. This made my ballot the past two years, but I doubt it will in the future. The main thing that stood out to me in a negative way this time around was the lack of any real tag team strategy. Neither side made much of an attempt to isolate and cut off a member of the other team, and there were far too many instances of someone easily tagging out after the momentum of a move knocked him into his corner. Combined with the length, that resulted in extended stretches where it felt like they were just treading water until an elimination came out of nowhere. The thing about gimmick matches in general is that they tend to be moment-driven rather than story-driven. When you have this many talented workers in a match and give them 40 minutes to do their thing, there are bound to be some standout moments. I just don't think there were enough to justify the length. On the plus side, Fujiwara looked awesome whenever he was in, and I loved Fujinami's rampage at the end even though the Choshu elimination was botched and the beatdown on Masa Saito probably went on a bit too long. It's the only time I can ever really remember him looking like a dangerous man who can fuck you up rather than just a skilled wrestler.
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Post by Cap on Jan 31, 2021 16:04:12 GMT -5
I think I agree with NL's criticism for the most part (again, aside from maybe the long beat down at the end, which I enjoyed), which is why even though I think this is great it isn't going to come close to my list. I have said it elsewhere... there are just too many things that can go wrong with this many people, which is why I am generally low on matches with more than 4 people. The degree of difficulty to strike and maintain all of the things I look for is just crazy high. That is all crazy nit-picky because I still really enjoyed this a lot.
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Post by [Darren] on Jun 4, 2023 20:47:23 GMT -5
I’m trying to make my way through these 80s NJPW multiman matches and make sense of them. This one quickly became a lock for my list. Saito getting bloodied like that was a hell of a visual. 40-min well spent.
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