#56: Ricky Steamboat vs. Tiger Mask II, AJPW Excite Series (3/8/1989).
Hello, reader! This week, I chose a theme centered around interpromotional showdowns. These are matches featuring stars from two, sometimes more, different promotions facing off in matches that would almost never happen under normal circumstances. These rare bouts feel special, regardless of quality, simply because of the people involved. And I am a huge fan of these kinds of interactions between people who aren't in the same promotion.
First up is a true gem: Ricky Steamboat, fresh off his NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship victory over Ric Flair at Chi-Town Rumble, defends the Big Gold Belt in an All Japan Pro Wrestling ring, against the exciting Tiger Mask II, aka the future Ace of All Japan, Mitsuharu Misawa.
Just the idea of these two bonafide legends sharing the ring together for a singles match is enough to salve the soul! Let's see how their chemistry works out.
Steamboat looks like he wants a lockup before the intros are over, which I found to be hilarious. This is in Nippon Budokan, which is wild to me. They shake hands at the bell. TM takes the side headlock and hits a shoulder tackle and a dropkick right away. Small package gets a 2 count. Powerslam from TM also gets 2. Side headlock takedown to Ricky follows. Ricky tries a back suplex to escape, but TM rolls back into the side headlock.
Ricky escapes finally, but TM brings him down with a standing splash. He arm drags Ricky down, who counters with a leg scissors to the head. Ricky transitions to a chin lock. Big chop against the ropes to TM. The challenger responds with a running knee that gets a 2 count. Another side headlock takedown follows. Ricky tries to fight out of it, but TM is tenacious. He's almost using textbook Steamboat strategy against him!
TM with a kick to the face and a chop get Ricky down for 2. Snap mare, and TM gets Ricky in a chinlock of his own. TM cranks away at Ricky's head. He releases the headlock and absolutely drops Ricky with a standing dropkick for 2. Big chop by Ricky out of the corner. A double punch to the sternum? Ricky drops the knee to the head, and follows with a diving fist. TM fights back with chops of his own. Ricky with an atomic drop. A delayed powerslam follows, and that gets him 2.
Hard right hands from Ricky. TM fights back with a back body drop and a spin kick to the chest. TM sends Ricky to the outside with a dropkick, followed by a baseball slide. TM with a piledriver on the ringside mat! Nice chop exchange from the two. Ricky jumps in from the top rope with a chop to the head. TM with a back suplex. He goes to the top, and hits a frog splash for a close 2. TM with a German Suplex into a bridge for 2.
Back elbow by TM, and Ricky is right back up with a chop. Ricky comes off the middle rope with a crossbody, and TM rolls out of it into a close nearfall. Ricky tries for a piledriver and TM rolls into it for a nearfall. Ricky reverses into a sunset flip roll up for the win. This was a nice little match! Not an all time classic or anything, but for a one time only singles meeting, it does the job!
I have to applaud Ricky Steamboat here. He's coming off a huge win over Ric Flair - the first of the amazing 1989 trilogy that immortalized both men in wrestling legend. He could've easily come in to All Japan and squashed Tiger Mask II, and be done with it. Instead, he was completely selfless and gave Tiger Mask II so much to work with here, and as it turns out, Steamboat gave some shine to the future Mitsuharu Misawa, and gave wrestling fans everywhere a small taste of what the Emerald Warrior was going to do in the 1990s.