March 3, 2002 – Tokyo, Japan
This show chronicles the finals of the T2P Strongest League, which was used to decide the first NWA International Light Heavyweight Champion. The belt would essentially be T2P’s top singles title, despite not being a recognized National Wrestling Alliance championship. The tournament was separated into four blocks. Block C’s finalist could not be decided because there was a three way tie, so a triple-threat match will decide who would get the semifinal shot against Masato Yoshino.
Anthony W. Mori {RB} vs. Stevie “brother” Tsujimoto vs. Takayuki Yagi [Block C Finals]
Everyone trades holds on the mat to start. It all looks very cool, but like the referee I sometimes have a hard time figuring out who is the victim of the hold and who is applying it. Everyone goes for pin falls but nobody gets more than 2. Mori and Yagi go after Tsujimoto. They both hit superkicks. They hit a double back suplex, but fight over who will get the pin. Yagi ducks a leap frog and tries to pin Tsujimoto, but only gets 1. Tsujimoto hits a low blow and the Bad Boy for 2. Yagi puts on a stranglehold but Mori makes the save. Mori hits a hurricanrana and puts both opponents in a triangle choke. They get to the ropes. Mori forces Yagi to spear Tsujimoto. Yagi puts on a butterfly hold but Tsujimoto gets to the ropes. Tsujimoto hits Mori with a German suplex for 2. He hits a brainbuster for 2. Yagi hits Mori with a hammerlock inverted DDT. Tsujimoto hits Yagi with the Bad Boy for 2. He hits a pumphandle suplex. Mori hits him with a dropkick. He hits Yagi with an enziguiri. He puts on the Escargot for the win at 9:25. This was pretty choppy, featuring too many dead spots for a match with three guys less than ten minutes long. On the other hand all three had a good handle on the mat-based T2P style, so the parts of the match that featured action were all entertaining. Tsujimoto hits Mori with a low blow after the match.
Rating: **½
Block B also saw a tie, so Shuji Kondo and Touru Owashi fought for that spot.
Shuji Kondo vs. Touru Owashi [Block B Finals]
Owashi attacks Kondo from behind before the bell. He hits a back kick. He brings Kondo to the floor and whips him into the crowd. Back in the ring Owashi hits a shoulder tackle. Kondo comes back with a sleeper hold. Owashi gets to the ropes. He hits a clothesline but Owashi stays on his feet. He hits another but Owashi only goes down to a knee. He goes for a third but Owashi blocks and hits the STO for 2. Owashi hits an elbowdrop. He punts Kondo’s ribs and hits another elbowdrop and a legdrop for 2. Kondo rolls Owashi around on the mat before putting on a crossface chicken wing. Owashi stands up so Kondo puts on the sleeper. Owashi comes back with a big boot. He hits two chokeslams for 2. Kondo counters a third to an armdrag. He hits the Lanzarse. He puts on the Cat’s Cradle but Owashi grabs the ropes. Kondo hits a clothesline to the back. Owashi hits a low blow and gets a yellow card. He hits an enziguiri. He throws the referee to the mat. He hits the Shattered Dreams and gets another yellow card. He rips up the yellow card and beats up the referee, drawing a disqualification at 7:57. After the match he gives Kondo another chokeslam. This was fine for what it was; an inexperienced strongman wrestling a fat dude.
Rating: **¼
Masato Yoshino vs. Anthony W. Mori [Semifinal Match]
Mori attacks Yoshino before the bell. He hits a superkick and an enziguiri. He puts on the Escargot. Yoshino gets to the ropes. He comes back with the Sling Blade. He hits a facebuster. They both go for dropkicks and miss. They trade elbows on the mat. Yoshino hits a DDT. He puts on the From Jungle. Mori gets to the ropes. Yoshino puts on a sick STF. Mori gets to the ropes. Yoshino goes to the eyes. Mori hangs his arm over the top rope. He puts on a triangle choke but Yoshino gets to the ropes. Mori hits two back suplexes. He hits a dropkick to the back for 2. He puts on a bow and arrow but Yoshino goes to the eyes to escape. Mori goes back to the triangle choke but Yoshino quickly escapes and splashes the back. He slams Mori. He hits the Torbellino and puts on the Sol Naciente for the win at 8:31. Yoshino was surprisingly sloppy in the first few minutes, but he pulled it together down the stretch. Still, nothing much special going on here.
Rating: **¼
Milano Collection AT vs. Shuji Kondo [Semifinal Match]
AT immediately locks in the Italian Stretch #8. Kondo gets to the ropes. Kondo shoves away AT’s handspring attempt. AT hits an enziguiri. He hits the Armani Shoe Exchange and puts on the Paradise Lock to pick up the win 59 seconds into the match. I’d have liked to see that go at least five more minutes. It’s so weird to see Kondo as such a jobber back in 2002.
Rating: ¼*
Raimu Mishima & Noriaki Kawabata vs. Syachihoko Machine #1 & Syachihoko Machine #2
The Machines are accompanied by Mini Machines, and their entrance goes on forever. All of the Machines claim to be #1, and none wants to own up to being #2. Mishima hits one with a back heel kick, knocking another into the ropes. He knees the crap out of one, and hits both with a double noggin knocker. The Machines start wrestling each other. Mishima and Kawabata hit stereo kicks for 2. Kawabata hits a back kick on one. He and Mishima take turns kicking that Machine for 2. The Machines double-team Mishima. They hit Kawabata with a 619 for 2. Kawabata comes back with a suplex for 2. Mishima hits a gutwrench suplex for 2. He hits a butterfly suplex for 2. The Mini Machines distract Kawabata, but Mishima still hits a back suplex on one of the Machines for 2. A Machine comes back with a bulldog on Mishima. They hit a double spinebuster on Kawabata. They roll Mishima up with the Syachihoko Clutch for the win at 6:48. This was crap.
Rating: DUD
TARU {CM} & TARUcito {MM} vs. Ryo Saito & Kinya Oyanegei
Oyanegei takes off his glasses, but has difficulty seeing. He starts the match with TARU regardless. TARU hits a back kick. Oyanegei returns the favor. TARU sticks to his game plan and remains in control. Oyanegei looks in his playbook, but when the kicks don’t work he hits a low blow. He comes off the top with an armdrag. He ties TARU in a knot and goes back to the book. TARU powers out of the hold. Saito tags in and gets smacked. TARUcito tags in and hits a back kick. Saito is unfazed. He no-sells all of TARUcito’s kicks. He hits a bodyslam. Oyanegei tags in and they take turns abusing TARUcito. TARUcito comes back with a head scissors takedown. TARU tags in and destroys Oyanegei with kicks. TARUcito holds him in the Tree of Woe while TARU hits an axe kick to the groin. TARU holds Saito so TARUcito can ax kick Saito’s groin. The TARUs control until Oyanegei comes back with a rolling elbow. Saito tags in and hits a missile dropkick. He follows TARU to the floor with a plancha. TARUcito beats Saito with a club. Oyanegei hits TARU with a head scissors takedown on the floor. In the ring he and Saito double-team TARUcito. The TARUs retake control. TARUcito hits Saito with a very cool head scissors takedown. Oyanegei slams TARU’s knee to the mat. He hits an elbowdrop. He hits a splash off the first two ropes. He goes for one off the third but TARU puts his knees up. Oyanegei spots it and puts on an abdominal stretch. TARUcito makes the save. He hits Saito with a legdrop for 2. That’s the first pin attempt over ten minutes into the match. Saito put son a Boston crab but TARU makes the save. Saito hits a fisherman suplex for 2. Oyanegei hits a flying elbowdrop for 2. TARUcito blocks the Dancing Yahoo with a low blow. He gets a roll up for 2. The TARUs hit a double TARU Driller for 2. TARUcito hits a moonsault for 2. TARU hits one for 2. He hits Onayegei with the T-Crush for 2. Oyanegei hits a stunner. TARU hits a facebuster. He hits the TARU Driller for the win at 17:11. The TARU teamwork was fun. The rest of the match was boring and long. I can’t think of any reason why this had to go as long as it did.
Rating: **
Before the main event a man in a ski mask runs out to the ramp. He attacks AT, chokeslams him on the ramp and kidnaps AT’s invisible dog.
Milano Collection AT vs. Masato Yoshino [Tournament Finals/ NWA International Light Heavyweight Championship Match]
AT is a little groggy from the attack when the match begins. Yoshino controls with strikes. He hits a legdrop. He puts on the From Jungle. AT gets to the ropes. Yoshino puts on the STF. AT grabs the referee, earning himself a yellow card. Yoshino hits the straight jacket slam. He hits the Sling Blade. He hits the Torbellino and puts on the Sol Naciente. AT gets to the ropes. He comes back with a roll up for 2. He hits an enziguiri. He hits another and Yoshino collapses. AT puts on the Paradise Lock but his arm is too hurt to keep it applied. Luckily Yoshino remains tied in a knot while he recovers. AT hits the Emporio Armani Shoe and the Armani Shoe Exchange. He puts on the AT Lock for the win at 5:35. Too short to impress, and disappointing that this was the main event of the show, as well as a title decision match.
Rating: *¾
After the match AT is dressed in his belt. The masked man reemerges with the invisible dog. Ryo Saito unmasks him, revealing Don Fujii. Fujii tells AT if he wants his dog back he’ll have to come to Toryumon Japan. AT must have taken it to heart, because he takes that opportunity to unveil his new project. Yoshino, Tsujimoto, Kondo, Doi, Mori and Yagi come down to the ring. Yagi attacks Mori and Kondo attacks Doi. AT says that this group of five will now be known as the Italian Connection. He gives them all Italian names. Kondo will now be Condotti Shuji. Yagi will now be Pescatoré Yagi. Tsujimoto will now be YASSINI. Tsujimoto doesn’t like it and asks for something else. AT gives him “brother” YASSINI, and he is pleased. Yoshino loses his first name, but his last name is respelled YOSSINO. The five celebrate to close the show.
If it wasn’t for the historic significance of this being the birthplace of the Italian Connection this would have been about the biggest stinker I’ve watched in a long time. It got some positive reviews when it happened back in 2002, but for the life of me I can’t see where they came from if it’s being watched from an action standpoint.
