The Single File #24
Posted: 12/02/01

Silver King (1) and Doctor Wagner are on the short list of wrestlers who split their time between two major wrestling companies. If you're lucky you can see King (wrestling as Black Tiger) and Wagner Tuesdays on Galavision, likely wrestling in a trios match. But they've also been known to work tours for New Japan, which is far more (what we would consider) traditional style of wrestling than the beast that is Lucha.

Both men (especially King) are doing great work in CMLL, so I thought today we'd take a look at a match from across the Pacific.

Minoru Tanaka/Koji Kanemoto [c] vs. Silver King/Dr. Wagner Jr. (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Title Match)
When: 2/3/01
Where: Nakajima Sports Center, Sapporo, Japan

Backstory: Uh, Minoru and Koji are the champs, and Wagner and King want the belts. That's about it. Tanaka and Kanemoto did win the belts on 6/25/00 and this is their third defense. Koji, who you've probably heard of, is one of those guys that's been in New Japan forever. Tanaka, however, was snapped up from Battlarts about a year ago and is legit one of the top five workers on the planet. So it's a pretty sure bet we're going to get something great here.

The Match: My tape doesn't have the entrances, but I will point out that King and Wagner are wearing matching outfits with the colors of the Mexican flag. Wagner and Kanemoto start us off. Tie up, and Wagner manages to maneuver Koji into the corner. Wagner makes a fist, but decides to break clean and does a backwards somersault. Koji is unimpressed

Another tie up, and this time Kanemoto manages a drop toehold and wraps up the legs. Silver King comes in, but the ref cuts him off before he can interfere. Koji then grabs Wagner's leg and drops a knee on it, then applies a leglock. Wagner manages to grab Koji in a headlock to escape the move, then grabs Kanemoto's hands and tries to pin his shoulders down. But Koji manages to bridge up, then gets to his feet and hits a nice standing monkey flip that sends Wagner sailing. 

Wagner pauses for a second, then attempts another tie up, but Koji quickly nails him with some hard kicks to the thigh. Kanemoto follows up with a kick to the chest, but Doc no-sells it and screams "Come on Koji!" Another kick, same result. A third, ditto. On the forth try Wagner catches the leg and hits a Dragon Screw Leg Whip. Tag to Silver King, who stomps the leg while Doc holds it. King picks up Koji and hits a hard chop, sends Kanemoto to the ropes, hits a drop toehold, then segues to a quick headlock. King picks up Koji, applies a wristlock, and makes the tag to Wagner. 

King sends Koji into the ropes, Wagner hits a drop toehold, and King follows up with a running seated dropkick to Koji's head. King leaves the ring, only to immediately get tagged back in. Wagner sends Koji into the ropes, double leapfrog from the Mexicans, followed by a double Gorilla Press into a nasty looking Hotshot. Wagner then drapes Kanemoto on the top rope and picks up his legs, and Silver King gets some steam, leapfrogs his brother and lands butt-first on Koji. Wagner then gets a running start and clotheslines Koji over the top rope and onto the rampway. Doc then grabs Silver King's foot and assists him in a moonsault over the top rope onto Koji. Silver King poses to the crowd on the rampway, and they respond with a round of applause (as well they should). 

Back in the ring, King slaps on an Abdominal Stretch until Tanaka comes in and kicks him hard in the chest. King is sent reeling into his corner where he tags in Wagner. Doc comes in and immediately prevents Koji from making the tag. Wagner slaps on a Romero Special, and then King comes off the top rope with a chop on the helpless Kanemoto. Doc releases the hold and Koji splats face first on the mat. Wagner lays in a chop and then applies a Suspended Surfboard (2), then suddenly dumps him and lays in a kick. 

Tag to King, who comes in and kicks Koji in the gut, but Kanemoto manages to counter with a big jumping spin kick. He snapmares King over and finally manages to tag in Tanaka. Minoru comes in with a kick, then sends King into the ropes and hits a nice dropkick. Tanaka springs to his feet, but gets nailed with a Silver King superkick. Tag to Wagner, and Tanaka gets sent to the ropes and nailed with a double drop toehold. King holds up Tanaka's face while Wagner runs across the ring like the Ultimate Warrior, somersaults, and then hits a seated dropkick right the head. King then follows up with a dropkick that sends Koji sailing to the floor. Wagner rolls outside and holds Minoru, allowing King to get a running start and hit the perpendicular plancha (3). 

Wagner picks up what's left of Tanaka and sends him HARD into the steel guardrail. King then rips the mats on the floor away, gets Tanaka in a piledriver position, and Silver King comes off the apron to finish the Spike Piledriver on the cement. Wagner dumps Tanaka back into the ring and slams him to the mat. Doc heads to the apron and hits a slingshot somersault senton, and Silver King follows with one of his own, which earns the Mexicans another round of applause. Tag to King, who comes in and tries to send Tanaka into the ropes, only to have the attempt blocked. King fires some punches and kicks, but Tanaka manages to respond with a jumping spin kick. Tag to Kanemoto, who takes turns with Minoru kicking King in the spine. King gets up and screams "Come one," so Koji starts laying in some chops. Still no effect, so King lays in a chop of his own that sends Koji crumpling to the mat. Silver King's a little woozy himself, but he picks up Koji and tries a suplex-into-a-top-rope-gutdrop, but misses and sends Koji splatting on the mat. Kanemoto appears to be okay, so King locks in a figure four. Wagner comes in and knocks Tanaka off the mat, and then locks in a cross armbreaker on Koji while he's still in the figure four. Tanaka does manage to get back into the ring and breaks up the holds with a kick to Wagner and a kneedrop to Silver King. King and Koji are left in the ring, and King hits a seated dropkick to Koji's chest. With both men on their knees they engage in a slap fight, won by Kanemoto.

Koji smapmares King over and applies a chinlock. Wagner comes in, but gets ushered out by the ref. Koji snapmares Silver King over again and lays in an elbow. Kanemoto sends King over to his corner, nails a high knee, and tags in Tanaka. Minoru comes in and snapmares King over, kicks him in the spine, and hits a jumping kneedrop. Cover, but King escapes at one. Tanaka tries to apply a chinlock, but King escapes and applies a leglock of his own. Kanemoto comes in and lays in some stomps to King, but he manages to hold onto the hold and roll over to his corner and make the tag. 

Wagner comes in and he and Tanaka get into a slap fight. Tanaka tries a spin kick, but Wagner no sells. Another spin kick, same result, so Tanaka drop toeholds Wagner and hits the kneedrop to the back of Doc's head. Cover, but King breaks up the pin at one. Doc manages to apply an armbar/headscissor combo, but then decides that's not weird enough, so he opts for a freaky Lucha submission not unlike an Octagon Special (4). Tanaka does finally manage to reach the ropes. Wagner then applies a front chancery and takes in Silver King, who comes in and wallops Tanaka with a double ax-handle. Tanaka does manage to fire back a punch and slaps on a headlock, but King manages to shove him into the ropes. Tanaka comes off with a shoulderblock that sends King to the mat, and then hits the ropes again. Silver King manages to drop down and leapfrog the charging Tanaka, but gets reversed when he tries to send Minoru into the ropes again. King, however, manages to stop by spinning on the ropes and hitting a spinning heel kick. 

Silver King gets a waistlock, but Tanaka reverses, but King escapes with some well-placed elbows. King hits the ropes, but stops himself when he sees Tanaka try a jumping spin kick. But Tanaka manages to hit a dropkick on a surprised King and tag in Kanemoto. Koji comes in with some kicks that send King into the corner, where he makes the tag to Wagner. Doc lets out a war cry and charges into the ring, only to be hit with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Koji slams Doc and hits his second rope twisting somersault senton, but Doc no-sells and plants Koji with a DDT, followed by a great looking Tiger Driver that gets broken up by Tanaka at 2. Doc follows with a slam on Koji and pauses to spit at Tanaka (as much as you can while wearing a mask). Wagner then heads up top and hits a really nice splash from the top. He covers, but Tanaka again breaks up the pin at 2. Wagner grabs Koji, and King tries to come off the top with a front dropkick, but ends up hitting his brother. Wagner's pretty pissed at his bro, but they make up and nail Koji with a double chop. Wagner then follows up by planting Kanemoto with a Wagner Driver (5). 

Tanaka tries to get in the ring, but Wagner cuts him off and dumps him outside. Silver King follows him outside and chops the hell out of him, then motions for Wagner to come out. Doc hits the floor and they double whip Tanaka into the steel guardrail again. A piece of guardrail gets ripped out and set up in the aisle, and King whips Tanaka into it again. Wagner then grabs a piece of the rail and belts Tanaka with it. King moos at the crowd, then yells "New Champions" and makes the "belt around my waist motion," this justifying my love for this match. Wagner belts Tanaka with the guardrail again as we see that Kanemoto is still dead in the ring. 

Wagner gets back in the ring and puts Kanemoto backwards on the top rope (so he's facing the crowd). With a little help from King, Wagner sets up and hits a top rope crucifix powerbomb! Wagner covers, but Tanaka streaks into the ring and breaks up the pin. Silver King dumps Tanaka back outside, then makes the "I'm-going-to-do-a-Wagner-Drive" pose that could be mistaken for a new dance or perhaps a perverse pantomime. King grabs Koji in a full nelson and Doc slaps the bejeezus out of him. Doc then hits the ropes, but Koji elbows out of King's grasp and nails Doc with a Hurrancanrana into a pin, but King breaks it up at 2. Koji gets up, but walks right into a Wagner clothesline. Doc makes the high sign and tries the Wagner Driver again, but Kanemoto reverses into a rolling leglock. Tanaka comes in and tries a kick on Silver King, but SK catches the foot, so Tanaka reverses that into a rolling leglock of his own. Silver King taps like mad, but he ain't the legal man so it don't matter. Wagner manages to hold out and eventually reaches the ropes.

Koji grabs Wagner and holds him, while Tanaka comes off the top with a dropkick, but Doc no sells it. He hits the ropes, only to be hit with a double dropkick from the champs. Koji hits a Tiger Suplex on Doc while Tanaka tries to cut off Silver King, but King breaks loose and breaks up the pin at 2. King and Tanaka return to the apron where they receive the tags from their respective partners. Tanaka tries a spinning heel kick, misses, but lands on his feet and hits a dropkick. Tanaka tries a cross corner whip on King, only to have it reversed. King charges but gets met with a boot, then a second rope dropkick from Tanaka. Tanaka covers and gets two, then immediately slaps on a cross armbreaker. Wagner immediately comes in and breaks up the hold, then dumps Koji to the floor. Doc gets on the apron and hits a nice somersault bodyblock on Koji that wipes out both men.

Back in the ring, Tanaka tries a clothesline, but King blocks it and reverses into this indescribable pinning move that gets 2. Wagner comes back into the ring, and after sending Tanaka into a corner he charges (with some help from King) and nails Minoru with a clothesline. Tanaka stumbles into Silver King, who hits a sidewalk slam. Kanemoto tries to come into the ring, but Wagner cuts him off. Meanwhile, Silver King hits a standing moonsault, then a first rope moonsault, finishing with a second rope moonsault on Tanaka. Cover, but Koji breaks it up at 2. While Wagner deals with Kanemoto, King stomps on Tanaka and hits the ropes, but gets met with a kick to the gut. Tanaka then maneuvers King into a cross armbreaker, but Wagner breaks it up. 

Tanaka tags out. Kanemoto comes in and tries a cross corner whip, but Silver King reverses. King tries a Stinger Splash, but misses and lands on the top rope. Kanemoto climbs up behind him and hits an inverted top rope 'rana (6)! King gets to his feet, but gets nailed with a whiplash-inducing springboard dropkick from Tanaka. Wagner tries to come into the ring, but gets nailed with a kick from Tanaka. Wagner slumps outside, and gets nailed with a Tanaka pescado. Meanwhile, Kanemoto slams King and heads up top, and hits the moonsault! Cover, hook of the leg, 1-2-3 (19:55).

Koji celebrates and my tape cuts out.

Match was a lot of fun. The only real flaw was the Mexicans' (especially Wagner) no-selling. The only explanation I can think of is that they were going to lose, so Wagner and King got to look as good as possible. They did dominate the match, tagging much more frequently and hitting big double-teams. 

King and Wagner were really aces at working the New Japan style with the occasional flourish of Lucha. I wish I could see them in New Japan more often, 'cause they rock the house there. But such are the dreams of fools such as I.

Fallout: Tanaka and Kanemoto lost their belts to Jushin Liger and El Samurai on 3/6/01. Tanaka and Kanemoto are still in NJPW, and King and Wagner put in some time there as well (7).

Single File #25 will take a little longer because it'll be an extra-sized edition (not because of any anniversary reasons, just because the match is really long). A Vengeance preview will be up next week, so I'll try to have it done by year's end. If not, see you in '02.

Joe Gagne
bwo@infi.net

Endnotes: 
(1) You may remember King from his WCW days-he's the luchadore Mike Tenay always described as "deceptively stocky."
(2) From the Big Book of Wrestling Moves: "The victim is on their stomach on the mat, the attacker stands over them. The attacker tucks the victim's legs around their waist and grabs both their arms pulling them back, lifting the victim off the ground (if they are tall enough) and suspending the victim in the air."
(3) It's the move where you run, jump on the ropes like you were attempting a Lionsault, but instead vault over the top rope on your left/right.
(4) Also from the Big Book: The victim and attacker are side by side on the mat on their backs. The attacker has their leg which is closest to the victim wrapped around the victim's near leg. The attacker reaches their far leg across the their body and locks it behind the victim's neck, forcing the victim's head into their chest. This hold is often set up with a side Russian leg sweep. The attacker grabs the victim's near arm and applies pressure to it.
(5) Michinoku Driver to you and me.
(6) Fortunately Koji doesn't spike Silver King on his head like he did to El Samurai at the Best of the Super Juniors '97 final.
(7) King has even brought over the Black Tiger gimmick from CMLL.

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