Japanese Odds & Sods One-offs, get-togethers & falling-aparts

Kaientai Dojo First Anniversary Show May 10th 2003 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
This is Taka Michinoku's fledgling promotion. The undercard showcases the young whelps from Taka's dojo, while the man himself stars in a 25-minute main event. Action is similar to Toryumon, Michinoku and Osaka Pro - only with events apparently held inside a shoebox. Which makes it exclusive and trendy, I must add. Undercard is clipped, but the four main matches are complete. Joe Aoyama vs Sambo Oishi… Quiet Storm vs Mike Lee Jr… Mr. X #3 vs Silver Wolf… Mr. X & Mr. X #2 vs Miyawaki & Daigoro Kashiwa (UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Title Match)… Dai Moriyama vs Kengo Mashimo… Ryota Chikuzen vs Yoshiya… Mr. X #5 & DNA vs Shiori Asahi & Apple Miyuki… DJ Nira, Shiori Asahi, Apple Miyuki & Hardcore Kid Kojiro vs Ofune, Psycho, Mr. X #5 & Tsubo Genjin… Kunio Toshima & Teppei Ishizaka vs Hi69 & Yaz Urano… Taka Michinoku vs Minoru Fujita

WEW Kodo Fuyuki Farewell Show May 5th 2003 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
When balloony loony Kodo Fuyuki booked this Kawasaki Baseball Stadium card, he planned to wrestle Kintaro Kanemura in the exploding barbed wire main event - despite the fact that Fuyuki was suffering from terminal cancer. He died weeks before the show, which was then transformed into a tribute to his memory. In a final act of madness, Fuyuki's ashes found their way into the main event. Steve Corino vs Shinjuku Same… Mitsuhiro Matsunaga & Jun Kasai vs Hido & Gosaku Goshogawara (death match)… Naohiro Hoshikawa, Yoshito Sasaki & Susumu Yamagasa vs Masao Orihara, Macho Pimp & UZ (clip)… Kyoko Inoue & Yuki Miyazaki vs Lioness Asuka & Mima Shimoda (clip)… Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Chocoball Mukai… Taka Michinoku vs Shinjiro Ohtani… Gedo & Jado vs Dick Togo & Ikuto Hidaka… Mitsuhara Misawa, Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs Akira Taue, Daisuke Ikeda & Naomichi Marufuji… Masato Tanaka vs Tetsuhiro Kuroda… Shinya Hashimoto vs Kintaro Kanemura (no rope, exploding barbed wire death match)

WRESTLE-1 Yokohama Arena PPV November 17th 2002 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
The 'sports entertainment spectacular' comes to Japan - an excuse for Keiji Muto to spend All Japan's entire annual income on pyrotechnics and stars from K1, PRIDE, Mexico and the US. Masa Chono performs a one-man invasion. Abdullah the Butcher vs Masaaki Satake… Kendo Ka Shin & Apeman Nigo vs La Parka & Super Parka… Sam Greco & Dos Caras Jr. vs Kaz Hayashi & Taiyo Kea… Satoshi Kojima & Hiro Hase vs Mark Coleman & Kevin Randleman… Shinya Hashimoto vs Josh Dempsey… Bill Goldberg vs Rick Steiner… Bob Sapp vs The Great Muta (non-title)

Mayfield's Japan Video Diary 1999 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
This tape documents a group of westerners visiting Japan in early 1999. From kabuki theatre at the airport to footage of a really jokey Big Japan house show, meeting assorted wrestlers and going merchandise shopping along the way, this is interesting stuff. Mayfield produces these tapes on a regular basis (he's something of a travel agent), and each one has something different to offer. More economical and less time-consuming than experiencing it for yourself, too.

Rikidozan Memorial Show June 30th 1996 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
New Japan, All Japan, Big Japan, WAR, FMW, IWA, Michinoku Pro, PWFG, UWFI, Kitao Dojo, Japan Pro Shooting, Samurai Project, LLPW, GAEA, JWP and several groups I've never even heard of all pay their respects to the father of puroresu. Ryuma Go & Takeshi Miyamoto vs Samurai Max & Fumio Akiyama… Goro Tsurumi vs The Mummy… The Gladiator & Hisakatsu Oya vs Koji Nakayama & Masato Tanaka… Tarzan Goto vs Takashi Okano… Ryuji Yamakawa & Kendo Nagasaki vs Yuichi Taniguchi & Shoji Nakamaki… Shinobu Kandori & Michiko Omukai vs Eagle Sawai & Michiko Nagashima… Chigusa Nagayo, Hiromi Yagi, & Hikari Fukuoka vs Dynamite Kansai, Bomber Hikari & Toshie Uematsu… Mitsuo Momota vs Masao Inoue… Jado & Kodo Fuyuki vs Koji Kitao & Masaaki Mochizuki… Satoru Sayama vs Tiger Mask IV (30-minute draw)… Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Yoji Anjoh… Keiji Muto & Kensuke Sasaki vs Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata… Genichiro Tenryu & Tatsumi Fujinami vs Koki Kitihara & Riki Choshu

Heisei Ishingun January 27th 1995 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
Rare card from Japan's oldest 'rebel faction', which was formed when Riki Choshu's army jumped from New Japan to All Japan in 1985 and never really went away. Features an unlikely Japanese appearance by Taz, and an enjoyable main event. Michiyoshi Ohara vs Yoshiaki Yatsu… Isayo Takagi vs Kengo Kimura… The Great Kabuki vs Taz… Gedo & Kodo Fuyuki vs Kuniaki Kobayashi & Hiro Saito… Sabu & Masa Chono vs Shiro Koshinaka & Tarzan Goto

IWE Reunion Show October 16th 1994 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
One-off get-together from the stars of the International Wrestling Enterprise, one of Japan's biggest promotions in the late 70's/early 80's. The good-humoured doddering includes Ryuma Go vs White Mummy and an IWE Legends Battle Royal, featuring everyone from Animal Hamaguchi to Rusher Kimura. They didn't dig up Andre, though. As a bonus, this tape includes PWFG in Korakuen Hall, June 18th 1995. All the undercard matches plus a Bart Vale vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara main event.

PWC Shunji Takano vs Cosmic Powers January 27th - February 17th 1994 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
Commercial tape from Pro Wrestling Crusaders. Shunji Takano & Nobutaka Araya vs Cosmic Powers I & II (spike nails barricade death match)… Shunji Takano & Nobutaka Araya vs Cosmic Powers I & II (barbed wire match)… Shunji Takano, Yukihiro Kanemura & Kazuhiko Matsuzaki vs Cosmic Powers I, II & III (best of three falls streetfight)

AJPW/NJPW/WWF Summit at the Tokyo Dome April 13th 1990 £7 vhs / £8 dvd
Unrepeatable dream card, highlighted by two remarkably good WWF vs All Japan matches - in which Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan step up to the plate against Genichiro Tenryu and Stan Hansen. Picture is a bit grainy (it adds to the historic feeling), but it's certainly watchable. Jumbo Tsuruta & Haku vs Mr. Perfect & Rick Martel… Randy Savage vs Genichiro Tenryu… Ted DiBiase vs The Ultimate Warrior (WWF World Heavyweight Title Match)… Giant Baba & Andre the Giant vs Demolition… Kenta Kobashi & Masa Fuchi vs Jimmy Snuka & Tito Santana… The Great Kabuki vs Greg Valentine... Hulk Hogan vs Stan Hansen