Wrestle Association R Est. 1992

WAR Seventh Anniversary Show June 20th 1999 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
Features Genichiro Tenryu on double duty, guests from Toryumon and Osaka Pro, and the twin retirement matches of Yuji Yasuraoka. Yuji, one of the great footnotes in wrestling history, was forced into early retirement by a serious back injury - but doesn't let it show in either effort. Masao Orihara vs Tomohiro Ishii… Kohki Kitahara vs Nii Hao… Ryuma Go vs Thunder Warrior Alpha… Genichiro Tenryu & Magnum Tokyo vs Nobutaka Araya & Sumo Fuji… Osamu Tachihikari & Arashi vs Daikokubo Benkei & Ichiro Yaguchi… Super Delfin & Naohiro Hoshikawa vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Yuji Yasuraoka… Masaaki Mochizuki vs Yuji Yasuraoka… Yuji Yasuraoka's retirement… Genichiro Tenryu, Nobutaka Araya & Shoji Nakamaki vs Atsushi Onita, Sambo Asako & Takashi Okamura (streetfight)

WAR J-1 Tournament Finals Night January 14th 1998 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
The J-1 title is Japan's original championship belt, passed to Genichiro Tenryu from the father of all things puroresu, Rikidozan. The eight-man tournament boiled down to this card at Korakuen Hall. Tomohiro Ishii vs Yoshikazu Taru… Battle Ranger vs Shigeo Okamura… Osamu Tachikari & Jun Kikuchi vs Lance Storm & Shoichi Ichinomiya… Abdullah the Butcher & Nobukazu Hirai vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Koji Kitao… Kohki Kitahara & Masao Orihara vs Yuji Yasuraoka & Arashi… Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobutaka Araya (J-1 Title Tournament Final). This tape also includes FMW Battle Station, January 6th 1998. For all the gory details, see the FMW list.

WAR Crush Night '96 October 11th 1996 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
Cracking commercial tape. The wild main event precipitated the feud that would revitalise the careers of Genichiro Tenryu and Keiji Muto in years to come. Jun Kikuchi vs Shigeo Okamura… Osamu Tachihikari vs Kamikaze… Kohki Kitahara & Yuji Yasuraoka vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Arashi… Psicosis vs Rey Misterio Jr… Gedo & Jado vs Nobutaka Araya & Nobukazu Hirai… Ultimo Dragon vs The Great Sasuke (J*Crown Title Change)… Yoji Anjoh, Bam Bam Bigelow & Kodo Fuyuki vs Nobuhiko Takada, Naoki Sano & Masahito Kakihara (WAR Six Man Tag Team Title Change)… Genichiro Tenryu vs The Great Muta

WAR Super Summer Wars II July 21st 1996 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
Second night of the Sumo Hall double-header, featuring an awesome eight-man tag that puts Jericho, Liger, Misterio, Dragon, Guerrera and more (yes, 'and more' means Gedo) in the same ring, at the same time, for 20 classic minutes. There's also a five match WAR vs UWFI series, in which lowly, pyjama-wearing junior heavyweight Jado cleanly pins future IWGP, GHC and NWF heavyweight champion Yoshihiro Takayama. Highly recommended. Nobukazu Hirai & Osamu Taitoko vs Naoki Sano & Kazushi Sakuraba … Masao Orihara vs Nobutaku Araya… Arashi vs John Tenta… Yuji Yasuraoka, Ultimo Dragon, Lance Storm & Rey Misterio Jr. vs Jushin Liger, Gedo, Juventud Guerrera & Chris Jericho… Yoshihiro Takayama vs Jado… Riki Choshu & Satoshi Kojima vs Ricky Fuyuki & Big Titan… Shiro Koshinaka & Tatsumi Fujinami vs Nobuhiko Takada & Hiromitsu Kanehara… Kohki Kitahara vs Masahito Kakihara… Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoji Anjoh

WAR Super Summer Wars I July 20th 1996 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
First night of a Sumo Hall double-header, celebrating four years of WAR. Night one has a six-man tag tournament harking back to Super Battle of the Six Men (only much better, thanks in particular to Takada's UWFI team) and a show-stealing tag match, in which New Japan's Jushin Liger and El Samurai play bastard invader heels against the home team of Lance Storm and Yuji Yasuraoka. Ultimo Dragon & Nobukazu Hirai vs Chris Jericho & Big Titan… Gedo, Jado & Ricky Fuyuki vs Kazuo Yamazaki, Osamu Kido & Takayuka Iizuka… Riki Choshu, Satoshi Kojima & Osamu Nishimura vs Yoji Anjoh, Yoshihiro Takayama & 200% Machine… John Tenta, Arashi & Osamu Taitoko vs Koji Kitao, Kohki Kitahara & Maasaki Mochizuki… Naoki Sano, Nobuhiko Takada & Masahito Kakihara vs Genichiro Tenryu, Tatsumi Fujinami & Nobutaku Araya… Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs Lance Storm & Yuji Yasuraoka (WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Change)… Gedo, Jado & Ricky Fuyuki vs Riki Choshu, Satoshi Kojima & Osamu Nishimura... Nobuhiko Takada, Kohki Kitahara & Naoki Sano vs John Tenta, Arashi & Osamu Taitoko… Rey Misterio Jr. vs Juventud Guerrera (WWA Welterweight Title Change)… Nobuhiko Takada, Kohki Kitahara & Naoki Sano vs Gedo, Jado & Ricky Fuyuki (WAR Six Man Tag Team Title Tournament Final)

WAR Banana Panic April 19th 1996 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
Includes a Pogo-Tenryu match with the worst finish in WAR history; the only consolation was that it meant the match had ended. The junior heavyweights save Tenryu's bacon again. Battle Ranger vs Taioko (highlights)… Chris Jericho & Damian vs Ultimo Dragon & Yuji Yasuraoka… Nobutaka Araya vs Big Titan… Kohki Kitahara & Arashi vs Masayoshi Motegi & Shinichi Nakano… Mr. Pogo vs Genichiro Tenryu… Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis… Gedo, Jado & Ricky Fuyuki vs Masa Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiro Saito

WAR Super Heavy War December 8th £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
One-night tag team tournament, featuring a rare singles bout between old partners Lance Storm and Chris Jericho. Nobutaka Araya & Nobukazu Hirai vs Osamu Tachihikari & Arashi… Gedo & Jado vs Kohki Kitahara & Masaaki Mochizuki… Typhoon & The Great Shinja vs Koji Kitao & El Gigante… Genichiru Tenryu & Ultimo Dragon vs Hiromichi Fuyuki & Shinobu Kandori… Gedo & Jado vs Nobutaka Araya & Nobukazu Hirai… Genichiru Tenryu & Ultimo Dragon vs Typhoon & The Great Shinja… Chris Jericho vs Lance Storm… Genichiru Tenryu & Ultimo Dragon vs Gedo & Jado (Super Heavy War Tournament Final)

WAR Super J Cup II (Volume 1) December 13th 1995 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
Maintaining the standard of the most-lauded event of the decade not only proved possible with Super J Cup II, it also proved to be a huge amount of fun. Following up New Japan's first all-star junior tournament, WAR delivered its own contender for greatest card of all time. The first tape includes a perfect curtain-raiser and a bone-busting, Canadian-style match between Benoit and Jericho. Gran Naniwa vs Damian… Shinjiro Ohtani vs Masaaki Mochizuki… Ultimo Dragon vs Shoichi Funaki… Gedo vs Masayoshi Motegi… Dos Caras vs El Samurai… Chris Jericho vs Hanzo Nakajima (all First Round)… Jushin Liger vs Gran Naniwa... Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho (both Quarter-finals)

WAR Super J Cup II (Volume 2) December 13th 1995 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
Concluding part of the best card of 1995. Ultimo Dragon is absolutely spectacular here, delivering two Match of the Year candidates on the trot (a feat last seen at the first Super J Cup - ask the Great Sasuke about it), while Benoit and Liger maintain their own sky-high standards thoughout. Unfortunately, the sight of pot-bellied windbag Gedo in the final ends the card on a mildly flat note. Ultimo Dragon vs Shinjiro Ohtani… Gedo vs Dos Caras (both Quarter-finals)… Jushin Liger vs Ultimo Dragon… Gedo vs Chris Benoit (both Semi-finals)… Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis… Jushin Liger vs Gedo (Final)

WAR Battle Angel: International Junior Heavyweight Title Tournament March 26th 1995 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
If this tape had any another name, it would be 'Essence of WAR'. The divide between excellent junior heavyweight matches and piss-poor heavyweight efforts, which characterised many early WAR shows, really hits a peak here. Jericho, Dragon and Sean '123 Kid' Waltman all look terrific here. Gedo vs Yuji Yasuraoka… Negro Casas vs 123 Kid… Chris Jericho vs Masao Orihara... Ultimo Dragon vs Ultimate Dragon (all highlights of Quarter-finals)… Gedo vs 123 Kid… Chris Jericho vs Ultimo Dragon (both Semi-finals)… Osamu Tachihikari, Hiroshi Itakura & The Missing Link vs Ryuma Go, Nobukazu Hirai & Masanobu Kurisu… Jado vs Arashi… Kohki Kitahara vs Death Mask (Bradshaw)… Chris Jericho vs Gedo (Final)… Riki Choshu & Animal Hamaguchi vs Tatsutoshi Goto & Michiyoshi Ohara… Yokozuna vs Genichiro Tenryu… Masa Chono & Hiromichi Fuyuki vs Shiro Koshinaka & Kengo Kimura (mass brawl)

WAR Super Battle of the Six Men July 17th 1994 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
The first of WAR's eclectic six-man tag team tournaments, in which teams frequently appear to have been chosen by roulette (in some cases, of the Russian variety). Chris Jericho, Vampiro and the Warlord, anyone? Oddball booking aside, the highlight here is a non-stop spotfest between The Great Sasuke and Ultimo Dragon. Jinsei Shinzaki, Ashura Hara & Earthquake vs Hiromichi Fuyuki, Gedo & Jado… Kohki Kitahara, Takashi Ishikawa & Koji Ishinriki vs Koji Kitao, Akio Kobayashi & Masaaki Mochizuki… Kendo Nagasaki, Masa Aoyagi & Arashi vs Animal Hamaguchi, Nobukazu Hirai & Shoichi Funaki… Chris Jericho, Vampiro & The Warlord vs Genichiru Tenryu, Atsushi Onita & Bam Bam Bigelow… Kohki Kitahara, Takashi Ishikawa & Koji Ishinriki vs Jinsei Shinzaki, Ashura Hara & Earthquake… Genichiru Tenryu, Atsushi Onita & Bam Bam Bigelow vs Kendo Nagasaki, Masashi Aoyagi & Arashi… Ultimo Dragon vs The Great Sasuke (UWA World Middleweight Title Match)… Genichiro Tenryu, Atsushi Onita & Bam Bam Bigelow vs Jinsei Shinzaki, Ashura Hara & Earthquake (WAR Six Man Tag Team Title Tournament Final)

WAR Revolution '94 March 2nd 1994 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
The high points here are two sizzling interpromotional tag matches, pitting the WAR juniors against Sasuke and Sato (of MPW) and the WAR heavies against Onita and Goto (of FMW). Tracking lines are visible throughout the tape, but there's a bonus at the end. TV versions of the Revolution tag matches also available on Best of Japan TV July 1994, with perfect picture quality. Gedo & Jado vs Nobukazu Hirai & Masanobu Kurisu… Kohki Kitahara vs Kim Duk… Hiromichi Fuyuki vs Arashi… Ultimo Dragon & Masao Orihara vs The Great Sasuke & Sato… Super Strong Machine vs Chris Jericho (clips)… King Haku vs Mr. Hughes… Koji Kitao vs Koji Ishinriki … Genichiru Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto. The bonus is W*ING Danger Zone; for the nitty-gritty, see the W*ING list.

WAR vs NJPW Osaka Dream May 24th 1993 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
One of the best episodes of the WAR/NJPW feud. Dragon vs Samurai is a remarkably dramatic, hard-hitting opener, and from there onwards the card really flies. Even the Fuyuki match is fun. A word of warning, though: Muta-Kabuki includes close-ups of blood jetting nearly 12 inches into the air - from Kabuki's head! Ultimo Dragon vs El Samurai… Super Strong Machine & Kohki Kitahara vs Akitoshi Saito & Kuniaki Kobayashi… Masao Orihara vs Masaji Aoyagi… Earthquake & Haku vs Ventura & Yoshihiro Ito… Shiro Koshinaka vs Hiromichi Fuyuki… Kengo Kimura vs Ashura Hara… The Great Muta vs The Great Kabuki… Tatsumi Fujinami & Shinya Hashimoto vs Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa. The final match cuts out just before the finish, but there are terrific bonus matches at the end.

WAR vs NJPW Great History February 14th 1993 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
Jushin Liger & Ultimo Dragon vs El Samurai & Bestia Salvage… The Great Kabuki vs Tatsutoshi Goto… Shiro Koshinaka & Kengo Kimura vs Kohki Kitahara & Hiromichi Fuyuki… Earthquake vs Haku… Riki Choshu vs Ashura Hara… Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa vs Hiro Hase & Yoshiaki Fujiwara (sound cuts out during main event)

WAR vs WWF World Revolution September 15th 1992 £7 vhs/ £8 dvd
First major event from Genichiro Tenryu's second new promotion in as many years, presented in conjunction with the WWF; the main event is the final match of the Flair-Tenryu feud, which dominated the dying days of SWS. This is the raw version, with complete matches and no commentary - much to the benefit of those oft-edited junior heavyweight matches. Yuji Yasuraoka vs Koji Inumata… Paul Diamond & Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs Nobukazu Hirai & Yoshihiro Ito… Masao Orihara vs Masaji Aoyagi… Ultimo Dragon vs Negro Casas… Kohki Kitahara & Kodo Fuyuki vs Shiro Koshinaka & Kengo Kimura… Great Kabuki vs Yuki Ishikawa… Animal & Crush vs The Beverly Brothers… Haku vs The Undertaker… Ric Flair vs Genichiro Tenryu (best of three falls match)