Nerd Watch Wednesday: Super J Cup 1995

Mar 17, 202018 min read

Updated: Jun 3, 2020

We hope this article finds you safe and healthy in testing times...

This week our favourite long haired wordsmith Matt Brummitt was in charge of the Nerd Watch Wednesday selection and he went for a truly God tier level event - the Super J Cup of 1995.

With competitors ranging from Jushin Liger and Chris Jericho to Alberto Del Rio's dad, this 16 man tournament is available to view in full on YouTube and we highly recommend you check it out.

We will be skipping the first round for concentration reasons... so let's get to it!

QUARTER FINAL: JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER vs GRAN NANIWA

By Ross Casey

After closing the PPV last week, I'm jerking the curtain this weekend. How very 2004 Randy Orton. I have a great looking match to watch though, with Jushin Liger and Gran Naniwa in a quarter-final match.

I must admit I had only seen Naniwa in ECW before watching this match, but he won me over here. The first image I saw of him was what I can only describe as a sad crab man whilst some upbeat but naff gameshow style music played over the top. How could I not? I bloody love Japan.

There is a pretty decent Liger cosplay dude in the crowd before his entrance and I am fooled that it really is him, until he starts dancing like Disco Inferno to aforementioned terrible music.

The match starts red hot with Naniwa (now sadly not sporting comedy claw arms) dropkicks Liger off the turnbuckle, gives him a hurricanrana and then planchas onto him on the outside. Mental.

It's at this point, seconds into the match, that I realise I am going to really struggle with play-by-play, so I just sit back and enjoy the match. It's wonderful. So many high octane moves and sequences with small little parts to also really put the icing on the cake.

A highlight for me was when Liger did a crab walk taunt across the ring and then gave Naniwa the universal fuck you sign. The crowd loved it. Straight afterwards Liger gives Naniwa a release German that damn near kills the bloke. Maybe he hates crabs as much as Phil Pearce?

They exchange submissions but they keep saying no, when asked GIVE UP? It's fun hearing masked Japanese wrestlers in 1995 screaming at the ref ASK HIM in English.

There is a real niggle between the two and you feel the hatred. The strikes are snug as hell - even a rolling senton to the outside is performed at a velocity that shows little regard for their opponents safety. Completely captivating.

The crowd are absolutely along for the ride and buy two near-falls in the closing stretch, as do I 25 years later. Shortly after, Liger lands a topical Fisherman Brainbuster on his crab like opponent and picks up the win to advance to the semi-finals.

SUMMARY: This was an absolute fucking blast. I do my research after the match and see that Naniwa was only 18 years old here. I now gather that Liger was probably giving him the Young Boy treatment. Fair play to Naniwa, he brought the ruckus too. Sadly, he passed aged just 33 from a heart attack. Give this a watch in his memory.

WINNER - JUSHIN LIGER BY FISHERMAN BRAINBUSTER

QUARTER FINAL: WILD PEGASUS vs LIONHEART

By RJF

So here we are, Lionheart making his way to the ring first, seems very serious. Now here comes Wild Pegasus. Both men seem very serious going into this one. Introductions over, no handshake and here we go.

Lionheart winding up the crowd before a quick paced exchange of slaps leading to Pegasus getting the upper hand. Lots of stretching and joint manipulation on Lionheart who eventually escapes.

The reprieve does not last long as Pegasus keeps the momentum in his favour. Finally Lionheart is able to hit a suplex drawing applause from the crowd. Now it’s his turn to wear down Pegasus.

This time, Pegasus gets back into it with a suplex. Very technical stuff from both men as Pegasus locks in the walls of Jericho on Lionheart but can’t hold on. Slow and steady is going to win this one, methodical approach by both men.

Pegasus is in control again, driving his knee into the gut of Lionheart before a counter from Lionheart gets him back into things as they spill to the outside. A huge lionsault from inside to the outside onto Pegasus, but I’m pretty sure Lionheart landed on his neck.

This allows Pegasus some time to recharge and get both men into the ring, a huge slams leads to a near fall before the men exchange covers. A snap dragon from Pegasus leads to another near fall.

The crowd are getting into it now, Pegasus heads up top, but Lionheart avoids the splash. Pegasus dumps Lionheart to the outside then drills him with the dive. Lionheart breaks the count at 17 leading to another exchange of near falls.

The crowd are really into this now as the tempo increases. Lionheart hits the rana for another 2 count. We are building to the finish now. Lionheart sets up the superplex but Pegasus counters and hits the power slam from the top rope. 1, 2, 3! This one is over. Good match, seen better between these two but still enjoyed it. Lovely stuff.

WINNER - WILD PEGASUS BY TOP ROPE POWERSLAM

QUARTER FINAL: SHINJIRO OTANI vs ULTIMO DRAGON

By Matt Connolly

So for this week NWW I am reviewing two dudes who I know by name but have barely seen. The first of those is Shinjiro Otani. I've seen him beating the crap out of a few dudes in ZERO One and he was part of Liger's retirement so I know he can still go in 2020. He is also in a good match in the Super J cup 1994.

Ultimo Dragon I know has a massively illustrious history and is usually seen posing with 37 world titles when people show a picture of him but my only exposure is his underwhelming WWE run. Looking forward to seeing this though as I haven't seen any of this tournament and the 1994 J Cup is bananas.

First out is Otani. No frills here. Black pants and a vacant kind of look. He's already fought once tonight so tiredness may be playing a role here. Dragon out next and there is a little more urgency to him. I wouldn't say he looks impressive but he looks like he has tried. Crowd dig it anyway.

Otani plays the mind games early by opening the ropes and inviting Dragon in. Handshakes out the way (which I hate) and bell rings to start this one. Action is fast paced early on. Now in a modern day juniors encounter this might invovle loads of duck down jump overs, some missed strikes and a kip up but here every miss is treated as a opportunity to strike an opponent whether that be aerially or just face to face.

Modern day wrestling can be more athletic for sure but personally, I prefer this approach. It's looking like an anything you can do, I can do better type of fight.

Match settles down into a submission contest and it's both men locked together in moves trying to take control. Otani especially impresses me here as he consistently tries to manoeuvre his body in front of Dragon so he can't reach a rope. Eventually Dragon breaks out and snaps. He starts striking boots into Otani but it's possum play and on the fourth strikes he takes Dragon down by the ankle and continues the submissions. Smart transitioning. This match is really taking shape.

Dragon showed early he was king of the skies but he got complacent and has allowed Otani to take control with his wrestling acumen. After looking second best on the mat, Dragon is trying to compensate and show he can match him in whatever department. But is he being sucked into Otani's plan?

We then hit a spot I don't know what to think of. Both men no sell tombstones from each other. Thats right. Not one tombstone but two tombstones. Taker probably nearly booked a flight to tell these dweebs to stop no selling his shit. It does continue telling the story of evenly matched foes but maybe it's too much?

Dragon hits a top rope rana. 2 count. Otani hits a normal roll up rana. 2 count. Again these guys can't be separated. Otani says I'll do a top rope version. 2 count. Crowds are acting like every roll up pin could be the finish and have got hotter as this one has gone on. Otani manages to get control and hits a perfect looking butterfly suplex with a bridge pin for 2. In desperation he tries another but after a few failed attempts Dragon turns the tide and hits a sit down powerbomb for 2. Both thsoe falls are super close to 3.

Post this we enter into the finishing stretch and jelly legs are apparent from both men. Tandem spinning heel kicks are missed but Dragon has a little more fight left in him. He bodyslams Otani, goes up top and hits a corkscrew splash that is a real sight. Package pin applied to make sure and it's Ultimo Dragon going into the Semi's.

I did enjoy this match and the story is there but it sometimes deviated away so they could pop the crowd. Nothing wrong with that though, especially in a tournament. They did loads with their time and I'd love to see more of them and that was the point. Good stuff.

WINNER - ULTIMO DRAGON BY CORKSCREW SPLASH

QUARTER FINAL: DOS CARAS vs GEDO

By Nick Cook

Hey YO !!

So hi, I'm Cookie and I know some of the guys in the group through Mr JCH himself, and to be quite honest other than recent years I've never really watched any wrestling outside of WWE (or old WCW), so to review a Japanese match from 1995 is well outside my normal wheelhouse.

So, what do I know about these 2 before we kick things off without the aid of Google?

1) Gedo is current head booker at NJPW

2) End of list

We get started with Gedo making his way to the ring in a ghastly ring walk coat, only to be trumped by his actual in ring "shirt" (Note, i think he looks a bit like Canello Alvarez). Next comes Dos Caras, and to no-ones surprise he looks the most generic Lucha Libre wrestler you could imagine, but don't most of them anyway?

The action gets started with the usual feeling out process, and immediately you notice the silence of the crowd, but i do know thats a good thing in Japanese culture as it means they are paying attention. Exchange of light submission moves with them both giving out very unusual groans to emphasise the pain.

Pinning attempt from Dos Caras, exchange of chops, and then what I can only describe as a head-butt crossbody from DC, don't see that very often! More submission work from DC again, which somehow turns into a weird Sharpshooter, and Gedo seems to forget for a while you can use your arms to reach the bottom rope despite been only 2 feet away.

Next up is yet another submission attempt by DC, and im sure only the Kama Sutra has a name for this position they are now both in. Once Gedo has inevitably escaped, low dropkick chops DC down, and now Gedo has him tied up while he begins to try and untie the mask (snore).

Drop kick by DC and now Gedo is on the outside, and an over the top rope cross body by DC is the 1st bit of aerial work, and honestly by now i thought I would have written hurricanrana 7 times! Back in the ring, DC immediately hits a great stack powerbomb and a good late kick out by Gedo follows.

Double underhook backbreaker next out the bag by DC (old skool Y2J), a little back & forth then a beautiful tilt a whirl backbreaker leaves Gedo stricken once again. DC is feeling it and finally goes to the top rope and hits a cross body, but on the pin attempt Gedo partially removes his mask causing the break.

Once DC has his mask sorted, the ref tries to split the pair up in the corner but gets a stray finger in the eye, allowing Gedo to hit a quick low blow and follow up DDT for the victory. All in all a solid match with some unique holds i hadn't seen - but if I was Uncle Dave I'd be giving this 5 stars right ?

WINNER - GEDO BY LOW BLOW AND DDT

SEMI FINAL: JUSHIN LIGER vs ULTIMO DRAGON

By Pete Hitchcock

The crowd is hot! There's this weird revolving wall of noise you get with hot Japanese crowds that's never the case in the west. It feels totally unique and gives an amazing big fight feel.

Liger out first followed by Dragon in quick succession and this should be a banger. Straight down to business, this is a tournament and we don't have time for fucking about. Test of strength starts us off and some nice mat work, when you watch Liger from his prime hitting everything he was still hitting in the final year of his career it really puts into perspective just what a fucking legend he is. The greatest ever. Ultimo Dragon's a legend too, to be sure, but Liger is on a different level to everyone.

The mat work continues being smooth as Liger goes for one of his trademark surfboards but Dragon is able to get out and hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker which is quickly followed up by one of Liger's own!

The crowd have quieted down to the more recognisable "quietly observing the match" stage with intermittent shouts for Liger, despite Liger being on offence. Liger settles in working the head and arm for a little while and I get the feeling that on his third match of the evening that Ultimo Dragon might have been tired but as the crowd seems to tire they do pick up the pace with a nice exchange of arm drags and escapes, each trying to gain the upper hand.

Liger however is able to clip Dragon's knee coming out of this and you get the feeling for the story of the match as Liger begins to hyper focus in, almost in a heelish manner on Dragon's knee, eventually locking in a Figure Four! Dragon does a nice job of selling, especially after Liger drags him back towards the centre.

Dragon makes the ropes but Liger locks in a new leg lock, and Dragon's attempt at a cradle just leads to Liger getting an attempt at a kimura. However Liger's need to readjust allows Dragon to reverse into a crab and then a Muta Lock but his leg is mashed up and he can't do much with it. Nice touch.

The gratuitous backflip elbow after, not so nice. Dragon goes for his own Figure Four after and you remember what a great seller Liger is, even through the mask. You would have to be, to pull what he did off.

Liger is able to make the ropes somehow and immediately comes out favouring the leg so Dragon decides to sell his leg for about 2 seconds and then starts cartwheeling and moonsaulting off the ropes into the ring to pose like he's Ricochet or Ospreay before drilling Liger with a flipping senton bomb from the post to the outside. Very cool, if flagrantly shitting on Liger's leg work.

Liger escapes a bridging suplex attempt and the crowd is starting to wake up. Another exchange leads to Dragon getting catapulted to the outside and Liger hitting his own flipping senton from the apron to the floor. Brainbuster follows and the crowd wakes up, he'll pin people with that in time, maybe he already has, diving headbutt onto Dragon only gets 2 though. 15 minute call leads to a great roll through on a rollup attempt into a rollup and Liger swings wildly with the shotei, but misses and Dragon hits a bridging belly to belly for 2!

This has definitely picked up. Irish whip by Liger and the Koppo Kick into the corner follows before Liger sets him up top for an avalanche fisherman buster attempt but Dragon counters into La Magistral! He's pinned two people tonight with that if I'm correct and countless others as well, but it's only 2!

Moonsault misses and Liger snatches the Liger Bomb but that's only 2 as well and the crowd are molten again. A second La Magistral follows but Liger counters mid roll through and presses down on top, trapping Dragon for the three in a great finish.

This match was pretty good with a great last few minutes but Dragon's utter disregard for the knee work was a bit blatant. Liger could have been better but he was a lot more sly about it and didn't do a whole bunch of leg based offence to really give the game away. Loved that finish though.

WINNER - JUSHIN LIGER BY LA MAGISTRAL ROLL THROUGH

SEMI FINAL: GEDO v WILD PEGASUS

By JCH

Who’s this guy? Oh hang on, its Gedo. Jay White’s mate. I did not expect him to look like that. I know who that is. Chris Benoit. I can’t say I’ve watched a lot of Benoit since the incident. I know some people can separate the athlete from the actions. I find it difficult.

Anyway - to the match. Its a short, snappy match full of action. I like that almost every move results in a pinfall attempt. Its a one day tournament so it makes sense to try and finish as quickly as possible.

Benoit is on top at the start, chops, slams, submissions .A bridging German brings a near fall. Gedo finally gets in some offence with a suplex and then locks in a sort of arm hug submission. Benoit counters out of this with a jawbreaker. Really nice.

Gedo hits a dive but catches his feet on the top rope so Benoit gets up first and suplexes him onto a table. He throws Gedo back in a and we have a series of moves that results in near falls. Top rope Frankensteiner, then back to back rolling Germans where Benoit waited for the 2 count before continuing to the next. Another really nice touch. He is very good.

Gedo reverses a tombstone attempt into one of his own then goes up top but Benoit gets the knees up. Benoit the hits a massive clothesline. So strong. Powerbomb for another near fall. Then a dragon suplex for 2.

Benoit continuing to utilise moves with pins. Scoop slam diving headbutt by Benoit but Gedo has moved. Benoit attempts another powerbomb. This time Gedo with the nice reversal into a reverse Rana. Gedo goes up top and hits the diving headbutt for 3.

It’s over. Nice quick match. I reckon it must have been about 7 or 8 minutes. Full of action and I liked the logic behind constantly going for pinfalls.

WINNER - GEDO BY DIVING HEADBUTT

SINGLES MATCH: REY MISTERIO JR. vs PSICOSIS

By Shafi

Rey Mysterio is the most underrated wrestler ever and is one of the best to ever step into the ring. If you instantly recoiled reading that statement then you proved my point. When the conversation for wrestling Mount Rushmore or GOAT is had then Rey is never mentioned. Why is that?

My theory is that 90% of fans have only seen Rey with no knees in WWE. Even then he has had a Hall of Fame career filled with great matches and connecting with crowds in his own unique way. Yet around 1994/95 Rey was in serious consideration for the best wrestler in the world, that Meltzer was advocating for him over the likes of Flair and HBK should indicate just how awesome he was.

Every great wrestler needs a capable dance partner and around this time there was arguably no better opponent for Rey than Psicosis The two wrested over 500 times in their careers! These two were so good together that they would face off in AAA. ECW, WAR and WCW in the space of less than 2 years. They literally elevated each other to higher and higher levels of success.

Being invited to Japan for an exhibition match on this card was a huge honour and they responded by stealing the show. The crowd were SO hot for this match. Rey and Psi were doing things that have never been seen before and the fans became unglued.

Think about all of the high spots and stunts that have happened in wrestling in the last 25 years. All the flips, all the falls from huge heights, the death matches. In 2020 we are desensitised to everything. We have flipping piledrivers as transition moves for fuck sake. Even the 50 year old son of the WWE's owner can do a shooting star press despite not being a wrestler and being unable to walk to the ring without sweating profusely.

And yet despite this desensitisation this match still stands out as being great. We have solid technical wrestling, classic lucha and high spots. 12 days after this match WCW held their biggest PPV of the year, Starrcade. If you want to get a sense of how far ahead of it's time this match was I suggest watching the main event of Starrcade between two absolute legends, Randy Savage and Ric Flair, and then watching this match afterwards. Rey and PSi were so ahead of their time you could put this match on PPV in 2020 and it would still be one of the best on the card.

Rey hits a suicide rolling senton from the ring to the outside. He goes to the top rope and jumps on Psicosis who is stood outside the ring and hits a hurricanrana that brings everyone in the crowd to their feet. The crowd are invested throughout and the impressive dives are bookmarked by hard hitting moves and strikes. Rey springboard dropkicks Psicosis out of the ring and you can FEEL the crowds anticipation noticeably rising to a crescendo as they don't know what is coming next but know it is going to be awesome.

They are not wrong as Rey hits a springboard front flip somersault from the top rope to the outside as the crowds' brains' melt. The fact that I was watching wrestling dentists and dustbin men during this period is not lost on me. I feel like I would have exploded with excitement if I was watching this instead (not like that).

Rey hits an amazing top rope dragonrana that gets a close two count as well as a beautiful springboard Asai moonsault from the top rope to the floor. As the bigger man, Psicosis is capable of power moves and hits two brutal powerbombs and a top rope leg drop that also got a 2 count. Psicosis then misses a Stardust Press 20 years before Naito made a career out of it.

These two really have the crowd in the palm of their hands. The finish comes when Rey sits Psicosis on the top rope and hits a hurricanrana off it to the ring and then follows up with a standing hurricanrana to get the winners share of the purse.

I have run out of superlatives to describe this match. Meltzer gave it it 4.75 stars for anyone that's interested and I think that is a very fair rating. I can't think of any match I've done for NWW that has come close. Rey Mysterio, greatest of all time?

WINNER - REY MISTERIO JR. BY HURRICANRANA FRENZY

SUPER J CUP FINAL: GEDO vs JUSHIN LIGER

By Brum

It was my pick this week, so I decided to be selfish and grab the final for myself. The final gives us the King of the Super Juniors himself, Jushin Thunder Liger against a fresh faced Gedo.

Gedo is known these days as being the NJPW booker extraordinaire and a nefarious heel manager, and usually his in-ring exploits are reduced to his tag work with Jado. However, his early singles run was great. He was a key part of the classic 1994 Super J Cup, beating legends Dean Malenko and Super Delfin before being bested by eventual winner "Wild Pegasus" Chris Benoit in the semis.

If you've not seen the 1994 J Cup, please do. It's perhaps the most famous instalment ever, with the Benoit Sasuke final still influencing wrestling to this day. I personally prefer the edition we're reviewing tonight as I think the average match quality is higher but it's all a matter of taste.

I should probably write something here about Liger but my words can't do his career justice. I do think I've timed the review well though with his WWE HOF induction being announced this week. The Hall of Fame isn't really for people like me but glad more people will be introduced to the work of a genius.

The start of this match is Liger waging a vicious war on Gedo's arm. Arm bar, double knees to the arm, chicken wing, rinse, repeat. Gedo eventually decides his future would be better with both arms and kicks Liger in the balls behind the ref's back (he hasn't changed).

We then get a nice Gedo flurry with a superkick, a flying forearm, and a moonsault from the middle turnbuckle to the outside! Back in the ring, a powerbomb and diving headbutt gets him a 2 count.

What I've always loved about Japanese wrestling is the camerawork. The camera cuts are sparse and it creates an emotional connection with the action. This is 25 years old but few seem to have learned from this. Another nice touch about this match is the majority of the tournament competitors are surrounding the ring, giving it a big match feel.

Back to the action, Liger hits a couple of rolling heel kicks but when he tries a top rope attack to the outside, Gedo catches him midair with a dropkick! This takes it out of both guys but they both make it back to the ring.

Despite coming out of the wrong end of the last move, Liger is back working the arm. Not for too long though as both men collide when each try a clothesline at the same time. Both down again and the crowd are really getting into this.

Liger up first and goes for a German but Gedo lands on his feet! We then get a pin battle until Liger hits a fisherman buster. 2 count. I really regret falling into a play-by-play review. If they don't slow down soon, I'll have to change rhythm.

A sick sit out powerbomb from Liger gets another 2. He then misses a missile drop kick and gets brain bustered for his troubles. Why do Japanese wrestlers hate necks? Liger doesn't listen to me and hits a top rope brainbuster!! That must be it. It is.

Summary: Cracking match to end a cracking tournament. The whole tournament is on YouTube so go watch it. That video also includes all the first round matches that we didn't review so you'll get to see other top lads such as El Samurai, WCW's Damien, and Sho "INDEED" Funaki.

WINNER - JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER WITH TOP ROPE NECK SURGERY