IWA Japan Opening Stage Battle States, 1994.05.23

I’m not usually a deathmatch fan, but there is something about scrolling through IWA Japan cards that is fascinating. It’s filled with horror movie gimmicks and wrestlers from all over the world and gender spectrum. Plus the ridiculous gimmick matches. I’ve always wanted to dive in, even though I’ve only seen the famous “King of the Deathmatch” show and a handful of other matches. Let’s give their debut show a try.

They drew over 2,000 people at Korakuen Hall which is great for a debut show!

Johnny Gomez vs Hiroshi Ono

Ono I think is a deathmatch dude, but Gomez I never heard of before. Research says it’s Joe Gomez, but boy did he progress a lot in 2 years. He cuts one of the worst promos I have ever heard in my life, so very nervous with baby uttered every sentence like a tick. They should had given him another take. Ono also seems nervous, but I have no idea what he said.

We get a ceremony with all the wrestlers wearing sashes before one, that is nice.

The match is an okay opener actually. It’s not good or anything, but it’s not super boring or really botched. Although Gomez gave one of the weirdest DDTs I have ever seen. The finish kind of rules where Gomez is going for a missile dropkick, I think, but instead just kind of does a standing double foot stomp to Ono’s chest which drives him into the mat. They played “Too Legit to Quit” as Gomez celebrates. This show is something already now.

Miguel Perez Jr. & The Winger vs Crash the Terminator & El Oriental

Miguel Perez Jr. is a Los Boricua from the WWF and from Puerto Rico, The Winger is a deathmatch Japan dude doing a lucha gimmick, Crash the Terminator is Hugh Morrus, and El Oriental is a Mexican luchador. What an odd collection of people.

More promos, and they are not ideal.

After a few seconds of lucha, Tiger Jeet Singh appeared in the crowd. IWA Japan did this gimmick years before NXT existed.

This was way too long for what it was, but nothing was bad. The luchadores against each other were okay and anytime Miguel was in there he was damn good. He kicked off a dive train with a pretty Asai moonsault before he destroyed Oriental for the win.

After skipping the next match we get to the first deathmatch situation.

Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Match
Yukihiro Kanemaru vs Shoji Nakamaki

Before the match starts Tiger Jeet Singh wants at Kanemaru, but his friend keeps trying to stop him. Kanemaru is in the ring with the bat and Nakamaki has to enter to face him. What a ridiculously unfair beginning.

Soon the bat is abandoned and they brawl backstage with fans chanting and chasing after, which was a cool visual. From there we get some really fun crowd brawl and some okay inside the ring brawling. I think they used chairs more than the bat. The finish was a piledriver by Kanemaru onto the guardrail, no baseball bat in sight. It was a fun match though.

The post match was some chaotic fun. Kanemaru tries to murder Nakamaki with a chair, then he destroys the referee plus some jobbers who tried to stop him. “The Danger Zone” plays over the speakers and then paused as he cuts a 15 second promo, before resuming! In that time Nakamaki has recovered and him and Winger fight off Kanemaru, which brings out Miguel to help Kanemaru. A fun angle.

Silver King vs El Texano

These two luchadores who have travelled the world together as a team collide here! It turned out pretty good. They work a solid lucha match. Nothing you need to go out of your way to see, but you shouldn’t skip it either.

Misterioso & Nobutaka Araya vs. The Headhunters

Main event time and this is a lineup. Misterioso is another luchador, Araya is a Tenryu trainee or something and The Headhunters RULE!

Araya had a few cool spots, but smartly stayed out of the way the rest of the match which turned into a super fun spot fest. Misterioso had some amazing dives and worked really well with the Headhunters! The Headhunters were feeling it too, including one of them hitting a cannonball topé and also hitting a moonsault. If you don’t know The Headhunters are short and like 400 pounds! This match I recommend, 7/10.

fake dive, lariat to back of head

misterioso’s action, flipped onto headhunters

headhunter cannonball dive!

headhunter tried to roll away but was too large and still gets moonsaulted

MOONSUALT, 7/10

Araya closes the show out with a promo.

Final Thoughts

When I think of IWA Japan I do not think of a show like this, but it was a start. The mix of a lot of lucha and Puerto Rico does really help the promotion. I may continue on or check out W*NG or something in the future.