In this series, Austin Skinner takes a look back at some of Japanese Puroresu’s most niche, commercial VHS tape offerings… those of the deathmatch (AKA ‘Garbage’) promotion known as W*ING (Wrestling International New Generations). This time, he is covering Sky High Again, a tape featuring footage from a W*ING event dated 12/10/1991.
PREFACE:
I have really started to look forward to these watches, as W*ING just offers something so different from anything else I’ve watched. The charm of these small, independant shows featuring some of the most unique collection of talents assembled on single cards is off the charts. That said, I think the thing I’ve become most disappointed with is the amount of clipped footage on these commercial tapes. With space on the discs, I’m just confused why we’re not getting to see the full matches. Nonetheless, I was again looking forward to watching my next tape. With a good idea what to expect from W*ING at this point, I’m excited to see what heads this one up.
Back to a single show here, so let’s see what W*ING has in store for us this time…
This event took place inside Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, in front of roughly 1,500 fans. Our VHS tape opened with the MIRACLE and W*ING logos, respectively. Then ‘The Legend’ was typed out before flashing still photos of Mil Mascaras alongside words like ‘Dreams’, ‘Love’, ‘Hope’, ‘Justice’, ‘Tenderness’, ‘Brave’, ‘The Hero’… and lastly, ‘The Legend Is Back’. We then cut to slow motion footage of Mascaras making his way through the loving crowd inside the arena with a Mexican flag overlay on the screen. Highlights of Mascaras’ match later tonight only further hyped the legend having returned to Japan.
It was then interview time, as first up, Mil Mascaras stood alongside The Iceman backstage. Mascaras put over Japan, calling it a wonderful country, one that takes great care of him when he visits, and that its people are very kind. He said that he loves being here, he has promised to be here, and promises to also return! Then gave some more answers in Spanish before we cut to the exterior of Korakuen Hall. Lights were strung up around Tokyo Dome City, being so close to the holidays. Then we cut back into the arena, well before bell time to catch some of the W*ING roster working out in the ring together. Clips of fans entering, buying merch and masks, and lining up for concessions were then played.
To kick the show off, several members of the roster were in the ring to address the crowd. They passed the microphone around before taking bows and then we were ready to join our first match in progress!
Hiroshi Shimada vs. Hirofumi Miura:
- Obviously, entrances were cut here as we joined this match in progress. A time limit of fifteen minutes was shown, singles match, one fall to a finish. This one was going to be clipped to ribbons, no doubt. A gutwrench suplex put us into the first match of the evening. I didn’t recognize either of these guys, but Shimada hit a really nice spinning wheel kick that sent Miura halfway across the ring! He followed this up with a DDT and a fisherman’s suplex into a bridge to win the match! That was that… After the bell, Shimada shook hands with his opponent, pulled Miura to his feet, and both took a bow.
- Well, I can’t really give a rating to a match we literally saw three moves from. That said, I am bummed this one was clipped, as these guys probably beat the tar out of each other. Half a star from me, as we were barely shown anything at all here.
Ryo Miyake vs. Masayoshi Motegi:
- We also joined this match already in progress and I was starting to think the only full matches we were probably going to see on this tape are the last one or two… Anyway, this match was scheduled for one fall to a finish, twenty minutes for a time limit. Miyake hit a nice Flashing Elbow drop on Motegi for a near fall. A weak looking hammer lock was then applied, into a seated chinlock by Miyake that sent Motegi diving for the bottom rope. We then got a transition that brought us to Motegi planting Miyake with a German Suplex into a bridge for a near fall! As both men got back to their feet, they changed chops and slaps across the face. A clothesline to the back of Motegi’s head put him to the mat enough for Miyake to put on a single leg crab. A rope break broke the hold and then it was time for a scoop slam and a double leg crab to be applied! Miyake cranked it back and almost immediately forced Motegi to tap out in brutal fashion! Fans applauded both of their efforts as they shook hands.
- Again, we just simply didn’t see enough of this one to really rate it that highly. Another shame, as both of these guys are young, good workers that would later go on to bigger and better things. For this one here, just because we were shown a little more than the last one and what I saw, I liked, I’m giving it a full star. Gotta’ love these W*ING clip tapes!
Yumihiko Hotta & Shizuka Minami vs. Manami Toyota & Etsuko Mita:
- Up next was our special All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling tag team match, featuring four of their best and brightest. This one was being given thirty minutes, one fall to a finish. A handshake between all four women kicked us off and the action was fast as lightning. Minami dropped Toyota damn-near on her neck with a sort of botched powerbomb. A running back elbow, followed by a hard scoop slam put Toyota down again. Hotta was then tagged in to punish Toyota momentarily before she tagged out to Mita. Stiff kicks had Mita on defense and then it was Minami back in to hit a series of dropkicks and another hard slam for a near fall. A surfboard-like stretch had Mita in a bad way, but she was able to get a tag to Toyota who kept wrist control on Minami long enough to come off the top rope with and arm drag. Another dazzling springboard armdrag took Minami down again and Toyota celebrated briefly. A nasty side armbar had Minami in trouble as we transitioned to later in the match when Toyota caught Minami in a octopus-like standing abdominal stretch that turned into a rolling cradle pin for a near fall. A messy springboard moonsault landed but it wasn’t enough to put Minami away. She tagged in Hotta and they hit a double team on Toyota off the top rope. Suddenly all four ladies were in the ring doing battle, with Toyota and Mita hitting stereo german suplexes for a near fall. The match further broke down when Toyota hit a suicide dive out on Hotta on the floor while Mita dove off the top rope with a plancha down onto Minami. Toyota then took Hotta to the top rope, but was front suplexed off the top rope for her trouble! Mita tagged in but ate an enziguri quickly. Minami was then planted with a Northern Lights Suplex into a bridging pin but Hotta was in to break up the pin! She then fired up and hit a Tiger Suplex on Mita for another near fall, with the pin having to be broken up by Toyota who dived in at the last second. Some miscommunication then occurred as Hotta came off the top rope with a spinning wheel kick that crashed into her partner mistakenly, as Mita had dropped out of the way. Turnabout would end up being fair play though, as Toyota tagged in and came off the top rope with a moonsault into her partner, due to Minami pulling Mita in the way! Minami then hit a huge falling powerbomb pinning combo on Mita for a three count! Minami and Hotta celebrated before exiting.
- Honestly, the action was so quick for this one, I missed stuff in my review. For my money, the first half of the 1990’s was absolutely OWNED by AJWP. Nobody, and I mean nobody, was doing it quite like these ladies. Highlight reel of a match from top to bottom, clipped or not. It is never a mystery why Toyota is considered one of the absolute greats. From what we saw, this was a four star match all day long… and if you haven’t ever seen an AJWP, go find something, ANYTHING right now!
Scotty The Body vs. Masaru Toi:
- Our next match was schedule for thirty minutes, one fall to a finish. How Scotty got booked by W*ING randomly here, I’ll never know! After our introductions, we transitioned into Scotty being in control of Toi’s wrist. Tackle, dropdown, arm drag, and some stuttering then played out. Scotty hit a nice back suplex and went back to work on the arm and wrist of Toi. It kind of seemed like Scott didn’t know where to go here, so he laid down with an arm bar. A clothesline put Toi down for a near fall. Toi then fired up and hit a running back elbow on Scotty in the corner. Toi then met the corner pad head-first and was sent to the floor by Scotty. More basic stuff in the ring with arm work by Scotty. A set of running clotheslines kept Scotty down for a two count. A turning crossbody off the second rope got Toi another two count on his opponent. The action then spilled to the outside, as Scotty grabbed a chair and bashed the injured arm with it! Back in the ring, it looked as though Scotty was trying to dislocate Toi’s elbow as he wrenched on it and lifted him up by it twice! An arm submission ultimately did Toi in, as he just couldn’t take it anymore. Scotty smirked his way around the ring after the bell, but eventually shook Toi’s hand before exiting.
- Nothing really special here, as Scotty’s style stuck out like a sore thumb here. Toi hasn’t really set the world on fire for me yet during the watch through of these tapes yet, either. So, maybe just a bad combo of guys… especially coming out of that firecracker of a women’s match prior. One star from me…
Gypsy Joe & Dragon Master vs. The Texas Hangmen:
- The Texas Hangmen got an entrance here, which made me feel like they were going over right out of the gate here! Then it was Gypsy Joe and Dragon Master out next and I think Dragon Master has the goofiest-looking entrance mask I’ve ever seen… it was a giant, rubber dragon head with hair. He obviously couldn’t see anything as Joe had to lead him to the ring with his shoulder. I had to look this dude up, as he seemed like he was legitimately seven-foot-tall. Apparently, Dragon Master here was being played by a guy named Gary Rich, who wrestled for the USWA briefly. Anyway, all four men were ready here and this one was going to get forty-five minutes! We kicked things off with Joe chopping away at one of the Hangmen here. The action immediately went to the floor as both men exchanged messy chair shots. Dragon Master even got in on the action, taking out the other Hangman with a chair at ringside. A transition led us into Dragon Master being tagged in to take on a Hangman. The two traded strikes before Master hit a big scoop suplex followed by a double knee to the face. The big goofy dude was then worked over in the Hangmen corner momentarily. Another transition led us to Joe dodging a standing elbow drop and again tagging in his huge partner. Master hit a back elbow and another scoop slam, followed by a clothesline off the second rope! Master was then double-teamed for a bit, but was able to fight off both guys with a few boots to the face. We then transitioned into one of the Hangmen hitting a big senton splash off the top rope for a near fall. Gypsy Joe was then tagged in and he went right to work with a slam followed by a splash off the top rope. His pin attempt was broken up, so then he came off the top with a knee drop that put the Hangman in the ring away for a three count while Dragon Master took care of the guy on the other side of the ring. Dragon Master and Joe embraced on the outside as they exited.
- This was a dumpster fire… run-of-the-mill for Gypsy Joe. I can’t get over this Dragon Master dude, though. Skinny as a rail and tall as a tree, wearing a cheap halloween mask to the ring and while he wrestled. The quicker we get away from this one, the better. DUD.
We then cut to footage in the locker room where Mr. Pogo, Víctor Quiñones, and Miguel Perez Jr. were seen with chairs assaulting Gypsy Joe! They beat Joe down good while cameras clicked around them and we returned to the ring.
Yukihiro Kanemura vs. Mitsuteru Tokuda:
- I was looking forward to this singles match, as I have liked both of these guys so far in our W*ING VHS viewing. They were set to go with a forty-five minute time limit, one fall to a finish. To kick us off, Kanemura faked a handshake and instead dropped Tokuda with a kick! He continued to kick and stomp away on Tokuda before being caught with a twisting knee bar on the mat. Back up, a judo-like throw cooled Kanemura off, followed by a stiff dropkick that sent Kanemura into the ropes. These guys were beating the shit out of each other! A snap suplex put Kanemura down briefly and then he returned the favor with one of his own for a two count over Tokuda. Another great spinning wheel kick landed on Tokuda, another two count for Kanemura. We then transitioned into an arm submission on Kanemura that was broken as both men rolled under the bottom rope. Out on the floor, Tokuda was suplexed, followed by a flipping senton off the apron by Kanemura that sent them both flying into the crowd at ringside. Tokuda fired up and used a chair on Kanemura before rolling him back into the ring. A set of side suplexes landed hard, but instead of going for a pin, Tokuda picked up his opponent and gave him a third! A powerbomb followed by another judo-like throw put Kanemura down, but Tokuda wasn’t looking for a pin. Instead, he slapped on a double leg crab and immediately got the submission victory! After the bell, he grabbed a house microphone and shared some words with the crowd in attendance. He passed the mic to Kanemura who had some words of his own and they hugged and then shook hands.
- Again, from what we saw, this seemed like it was probably a hard-fought match and victory for Tokuda here. It was the best we have seen up to this point, besides the ladies match earlier on. As I said, I like both of these guys and think they work well together. Their willingness to show their shoot wrestling skills lends a lot of credibility to what they do, especially Tokuda. Two important guys in W*ING history get two and a half stars from me!
Prior to their bout, Mr. Pogo, Víctor Quiñones, and Miguel Perez Jr. were backstage to cut a pre-match promo. Quiñones spoke in Spanish and threatened to take off Mascaras’ mask and reveal his true identity to the whole world! Pogo then snatched the mic and had words of his own for the legendary Mil Mascaras!
Next, it was Mil Mascaras and The Iceman to speak in a pre-match promo backstage. The Iceman addressed both opponents and said that if they think, for one second, that’ll just walk in and take anybody’s mask off… they’re sadly mistaken! Both guys will be headed for the stretcher. Mil Mascaras agreed and guaranteed the heels a beating they wouldn’t soon forget tonight!
Mr. Pogo & Miguel Perez Jr. vs. Mil Mascaras & The Iceman:
- The heels were out first, as Pogo threw chairs all around ringside and made the first few rows scatter. The Iceman then entered, followed by Mil Mascaras who got his own entrance to much fanfare. This one was set for one fall to a finish, our main event, with a sixty minute time limit. The crowd ooh’ed as the bell rang for this one and Iceman and Perez kicked things off. Perez backed Iceman into a corner but broken cleanly as the two re-circled. A test of strength was up next, with Iceman coming out on top. Some kicks staggered Perez as Mascaras tagged in. A hammerlock then turned into a double hammerlock when Pogo came in to help Perez. Mascaras took advantage and rolled up and through the hold, sending both heels flipping over to their backs! Pogo then ate a signature running flying headbutt from Mascaras that popped the crowd. Mascaras nearly dove to the floor onto Pogo, but Perez jumped back up onto the apron and stopped him. Back in the ring, Mascaras worked over a modified prison lock on Perez until he got to the ropes to break the hold. Pogo then tagged in and ended up in a grapevine headscissors hold momentarily. The heels hit a double clothesline on Mascaras that sent him to the floor. He recovered quickly, landed a dropkick on Perez to send him to the floor, and then tagged in Iceman. Perez reversed a hip toss and threw a clothesline that staggered The Iceman. On the outside, Pogo ran Iceman into the post. Mascaras came to Iceman’s aide as all four men threw punches on the outside. Iceman was launched into the chairs and Mascaras was caught with a chair over the head a few times. Perez ended up into the post on the outside next as the wild action continued. Pogo then took Mascaras up through the grandstand of the bleachers as a table was supplied by Víctor Quiñones at ringside and Iceman was sent face-first into it. The masked man ended up busted open and back in the ring with Perez before Mascaras appeared again in his rightful corner. Iceman tried to rally back with a spinning back elbow but he took a hard powerbomb into a pin that Mascaras had to break up! A surprise backslide pin almost got Perez, but he was able to kick out at a count of two. Both men crawled back to their feet, with Perez hitting a nice back suplex into a pin that Mascaras again had to break up. Iceman was in a bad way here as Perez continued to attack. Iceman was running on fumes as he made the hot tag to Mascaras. Perez begged off but ran into a running flying headbutt and so did Pogo when he rushed in. All four men were again in the ring, but a mistimed running high knee from Iceman inadvertently hit Mascaras and sent him out to the floor! The heels then found themselves mixed up, as Iceman ducked a spin kick from Pogo that ended up flooring Perez. Back up and on the top rope, Mascaras came down with a body splash on Perez to get the three count victory!
- This was exactly what the live crowd wanted. Plenty of brawling around the ring from Pogo, with some classic lucha stuff mixed in by Mil Mascaras. At first, this seemed like a pretty odd pairing of styles, but I think it ended up working just fine and even helped Mil cover up his aging athleticism a bit. Well done by all four guys here, with Perez getting plenty of spotlight and Iceman getting most (if not all) the sympathy for his team from the crowd. Three stars!
After the match, Mil Mascaras was shown backstage near a row of lockers for some post-match comments. He said that no matter what, he’d be ready to take on anybody, as he keeps himself in top shape! The interviewer then asked his current weight, for some reason? That seemed to catch Mascaras off guard as he gave a loud, ‘huh’? The interviewer repeated his question and Mascaras gave him a weight of 105 Kg. The interviewer then asked if it had ever changed, to which Mascaras replied no and said that keeping it the same had never been difficult for him. The interviewer insisted that it had to be difficult, to which Mascaras laughed off and concluded the interview. What an odd, odd segment.
We then got a view of what was going on in the heel locker room, as Víctor Quiñones was birating Mr. Pogo… he then shockingly slapped Pogo hard across the face twice! Víctor Quiñones pushed Pogo back into his chair as his focus shifted and he shouted at all the cameramen in the room to get out!
In what seemed like a post-show press conference with Mil Mascaras, questions and answers were as follows:
- Q: How are you feeling?
- A: Mascaras reiterated how happy he was to be back in Japan and that he will do his best to come back.
- Q: What are his plans for next time in Japan?
- A: Humans need both to rest and to fight… he believes he will skillfully maintain that balance. He explained further that he feels he can fight for a long time still in this type of condition and he believes the Japanese fans want him to do it! He’d be happy to return to Japan anytime, whenever possible.
- Q: How did you feel about the audience’s reaction?
- A: Mascaras thanked the fans for welcoming him just as warmly as they always had before. He continued by saying, speaking of which, a lot of things happened. He was surprised to hear that the W*ING promotion had nearly disappeared… he said that if a lot of fans came to see him tonight, that’s just more fans that came to see W*ING, too!
Mil Mascaras then said that that was all he had and thanked the people in the room again. He bowed his head before we faded out.
We then got a quick cut of some highlights of the nights matches, including scrolling information about the finish times, with some uplifting music. A still of Mil Mascaras and the MIRACLE logo flashed and we got the same closing message from our last tape: “This videotape is sold for private viewing in the general household only. Therefore, unauthorized reproduction, broadcasting, cable broadcasting, and/or use for public screening are prohibited by law. © 1991 MIRACLE
POSTFACE:
I’d say as the focus of this show was Mil Mascaras’ return to Japan, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the last two tapes I covered. We were missing several, main W*ING talents, too! Guys like Akitoshi Saito, Hideki Hosaka, Koichiro Kimura, TNT, and The Headhunters were nowhere to be found here… which was a bummer for sure! I’d say the talent pool for this event was a lot more shallow than we’ve seen previously. Also, I was confused to hear Mascaras say that W*ING almost disappeared already!? We’re not even six months into the promotion’s run! Sad to hear of such struggles already. Nonetheless, tonight’s main event definitely delivered with a perfect blend of brawling and lucha action. Plus, that ladies match in the middle of the card absolutely tore the house down. More shoutouts go to Tokuda, Kanemura, and The Iceman for having solid showings tonight, as well.
Hopefully, we see a proper return for form for the next VHS tape, BE DREAMERS!
See you guys then.