Dates: Various
Location: Various
Attendance:  Various

On September 4th, 2005, All Japan aired a special show that showcased a few of the better matches from the first half of 2005.  Six matches were shown, ranging from February 13th to April 10th.  The card for the compilation show was:

Since this is a TV show, it has all the funny All Japan graphics and the cheesy All Japan music between the matches.  Now I love All Japan, but am I the only one that thinks their TV shows come off as somewhat indytastic?  But the matches are good and that is all the really matters anyway.

Taiyo Kea and Jamal vs. Tomoaki Honma and Kohei Suwama
This match is from February 13th, 2005.  The match is JIP, as Jamal sends Honma for an Irish whip and hits an elbow.  Cover, but Honma kicks out.  Jamal picks up Honma and headbutts him back to the mat.  Again Jamal drags Honma to his feet and hits a series of strikes to Honma's arm and shoulder.  Kea comes in, Irish whip, and he kicks Honma in the chest with Jamal following up with a spinning heel kick.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  With Honma in the corner, Kea holds Honma down while Jamal gets a running start and delivers the running butt smash.  Jamal sits on Honma for the cover, but Honma barely kicks out.  Back up, Irish whip by Jamal, Honma goes for a kick, Jamal catches his leg, but Honma hits an enzigieri and tags in Suwama.  Suwama punches Jamal against the ropes, Irish whip, reversed, but Jamal misses a crossbody and Suwama delivers a jumping knee strike.  Knee to the gut by Suwama, cover, but it only gets a two count.  Suwama gets Jamal in a waistlock and goes for the German, but Jamal fights out of it.  Jamal charges Suwama, but Suwama catches him and nails a release belly to belly suplex.  Cover, but it gets two.  On their feet again, Jamal manages to hit a chokeslam and tags in Kea.  Irish whip by Kea from the corner and he hits a clothesline.  Kea comes off the top, but Suwama catches him and hits a belly to belly suplex.  This gives him time to tag in Honma, Irish whip by Honma and he hits a flying forearm.  Kea slowly gets to his feet, and Honma hits a forearm in the corner followed by a bulldog.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  Suwama comes in the ring, double Irish whip from the corner, and both wrestlers hit clotheslines.  They put Kea on the top turnbuckle and they nail a powerbomb/neck breaker combination move.  Cover by Honma , but Kea barely kicks out of it.  Another double Irish whip to the corner, Kea comes stumbling back out, and Suwama knocks him down with a clothesline.  Splash from the top by Honma, cover, but Jamal breaks it up.  Jamal delivers clotheslines to Honma and Suwama, and Kea hits a kick combination to Honma followed by a powerbomb by Jamal.  Cover, but it gets another two count.  Double powerbomb by Jamal and Kea, cover, but Suwama breaks it up.  Jamal throws Suwama from the ring, Honma gets a quick roll-up pin attempt, but it only gets two.  Kea then snaps off a hurricanrana, but that only gets a two count as well.  Kea picks up Honma, delivers the TKO, and gets the three count pinfall.  Your winners:  Taiyo Kea and Jamal

Match Thoughts:  About half the match was cut, but what we saw was perfectly fine.  Suwama is an up-and-comer, and while I don't think that he is on the level of many of the New Japan Young Lions, he does show potential.  Jamal and Kea have been one of the strongest tag teams in All Japan this year as part of RO&D and they showed good team work here to hit a variety of combo moves.  Of course I would have liked to have seen the build-up and not just the middle and end, but what they showed was entertaining enough.  Score:  5.5

Satoshi Kojima and Akira Raijin vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Taichi Ishikari
This match is from February 13th, 2005.  Kojima and Ishikari start things off.  Tie-up, Ishikari pushes Kojima into the corner and gives a clean break after one club to the chest.  Tie-up, waistlock by Kojima and he takes Ishikari down to the mat.  Reverse chinlock by Kojima, Ishikari struggles to his feet, but Kojima pushes him back down.  Again Ishikari gets to his feet, he Irish whips out of it, but Kojima shoulderblocks him down.  Scoop slam by Kojima, and he delivers another one.  Kojima picks up Ishikari and nails a backdrop suplex.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  Single leg crab by Kojima, but he releases the hold and tags in Raijin.  Kick to the back by Raijin and he applies a single leg crab of his own.  Ishikari breaks out of it, but Raijin continues pounding him and hits a scoop slam.  Kojima is tagged back in and he delivers a vertical suplex.  Cover by Kojima, but Ishikari kicks out.  Quick DDT by Kojima, another cover, but another two count.  Kojima picks up Ishikari and drives him to the mat with a powerbomb.  He tags in Raijin, who stomps Ishikari in the back.  Forearm shot by Raijin, Irish whip, and he headbutts Ishikari in the gut.  Jawbreaker by Raijin followed by two falling headbutts, cover, but it gets a two count.  Raijin goes of the ropes, but Ishikari catches him with a kick and dropkicks him in the head.  Ishikari throws Raijin out of the ring, puts him up on the apron, and Kawada hits a running boot to the face, sending him flying into the guardrail.  On the outside, Ishikari slams Raijin into the guardrail again and tosses him back in to Kawada.  Scoop slam by Kawada and he kicks Raijin in the back.  Cover by Kawada, but it gets a two count.  Kawada applies a single leg crab, but releases it and tags in Ishikari.  Ishikari kicks on Raijin and hits a side slam.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  Ishikari applies the camel clutch, but Kojima breaks it up.  Snap vertical suplex by Ishikari, then he hits three more of them.   Cover, but again it gets two.  Irish whip by Ishikari to the corner and he tags in Kawada.  Kick by Kawada and he chops Raijin in the corner.  Raijin tries to fight back, but Kawada hits a roundhouse kick to the head and tags in Ishikari.  Ishikari covers Raijin, but it gets a two count.  They trade forearm shots, Ishikari goes off the ropes, but Raijin catches him with a powerslam and tags in Kojima. 

Kojima throws Ishikari into the corner and hits a series of chops.  Irish whip by Kojima, he hits a forearm in the corner, flings Ishikari to the mat, and drops an elbow.  Another elbow drop by Kojima, he goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the elbow smash.  Cover, but Ishikari kicks out at two.  Back up, the two trade blows, and Kojima hits a sit-down spinebuster for another two count.  Irish whip by Kojima from the corner, reversed, and Ishikari hits a flip kick in the corner.  Ishikari then grabs Kojima and goes for a tornado DDT, but Kojima tosses him off.  Ishikari goes back to the attack and hits an enzigieri, but when he bounces off the ropes he is killed by Kojima's lariat.  Kojima throws Ishikari into the corner so that Kawada will tag in (the two had a Triple Crown match in a few weeks after this match).  Kawada and Kojima trade blows, with Kawada winning the battle when Kojima collapses to the mat.  Kicks to the face by Kawada and he hits a back kick to the gut.  Vertical suplex by Kawada, he kicks Kojima in the back and applies the Stretch Plum.  Raijin comes in to break it up, but he just pisses Kawada off and Kawada forearms him to the mat.  Kojima is back up by now, and he avoids Kawada's clothesline.  Kawada gets his boot up when Kojima goes for a lariat, but Kojima nails the Koji Cutter instead.  Kojima applies a submission hold, but Ishikari crawls in the ring and punches Kojima until he releases the hold.  Kojima throws Ishikari out of the ring and tags in Raijin.  Kick by Raijin, but Kawada kicks him hard in the chest and tags in Ishikari.  Ishikari goes off the ropes and delivers a running hurricanrana.  Irish whip by Ishikari, reversed, but Ishikari kicks Raijin in the stomach and nails a Tornado DDT from the top turnbuckle.  Cover but Ishikari, but Raijin kicks out in time.  Ishikari drags up Raijin and goes for a German, but Raijin elbows out of it.  Raijin goes off the ropes, but Ishikari catches him with a boot to the face and finally is able to hit the German suplex for a two count.  Ishikari picks up Raijin, Irish whip, but Raijin headbutts him in the stomach when he charges and hits a neckbreaker. Raijin tags in Kojima, and Kojima slaps Ishikari to the mat.  Kojima nails the CCD, cover, and he gets the three count pinfall.  Your winners:  Satoshi Kojima and Akira Raijin

Match Thoughts:  Not a bad match, although there were elements that I did not like.  I don't think that either team transitioned well when the momentum changed in the match, as many times the wrestler (usually Ishikari) would go from hurt to perfectly fine in only one move.  Raijin also did not impress me much, although this is the only match I have seen with him and I wouldn't pass judgment on him after seeing only one of his matches.  I also don't know where Kawada was at the end to break up the pin attempt, since he had not been in the ring for several minutes and in theory should have been in position to do so.  Complaining aside, Ishikari looked good when he was remembering what "ring psychology" was and Kojima (who I usually complain about) hit a nice variety of moves for a change and I enjoyed seeing him end a match with something other then the lariat.  The more "legitimate" moves a wrestler has the better.  Kawada didn't do much, but was his usual grumpy self, which is always fun.  Overall it was fairly entertaining, I just don't think it was laid out extremely well.  Score:  6.0

Keiji Mutoh, Kensuke Sasaki, and Kaz Hayashi vs. TAKA Michinoku, Buchanan, and Rico
This match is from February 13th, 2005.  TAKA does some entertaining mic work before the match, he is gold on the mic if you have never heard him.  These teams seemed mismatched as hell, but we will see how it works out.  Wild melee to start, Sasaki is isolated in the ring by Buchanan and Rico, but he clotheslines them both down.  After Sasaki clotheslines Buchanan out of the ring, Mutoh and Hayashi hit simultaneous dragon screw leg whips on Rico and TAKA.  They then pose in the corner and the crowd cheers their awesomeness while TAKA and company regroup on the outside.  TAKA and Hayashi finally get things started, TAKA asks for a test of strength, but kicks Hayashi instead.  The two trade slaps, but TAKA hits a jumping kick to the head, knocking Hayashi down.  Irish whip by TAKA, Hayashi does a handstand in the corner off the second rope, and TAKA is too scared to approach him.  Finally he does, he pushes off the first two attempts at a headscissors, but Hayashi eventually manages to hit it.  Hayashi dropkicks TAKA out of the ring and follows him out with a pescado.  Hayashi goes back in, and it appears we get an obvious *clip* as now it is Sasaki and Rico in the ring.  Irish whip by Sasaki, and he shoulderblocks Rico to the mat.  Scoop slam by Sasaki, cover, but it only gets a two count.  Snapmare by Sasaki and he applies a rear chinlock.  Sasaki tags in Mutoh, Irish whip, but Rico kicks Mutoh and clotheslines him down.  Rico tags in Buchanan, who punches Mutoh in the stomach.  Clubbing blows by Buchanan follow and he knees Mutoh to the mat.  Buchanan picks up Mutoh, Irish whip, and he elbows Mutoh down.  Buchanan goes for an elbow drop, but Mutoh avoids it, knocks down Buchanan, and nails the Flash Elbow.  Mutoh tags in Hayashi, who begins working on Buchanan's leg.  Hayashi applies a leg submission, but releases it so he can kick Buchanan in the leg while he is in the corner.  Slap by Hayashi, but Buchanan absorbs the blows and chops Hayashi.  They trade chops, which Buchanan wins and he tags in TAKA.  TAKA throws Hayashi in the corner and tells Sasaki to tag in.  TAKA asks for a test of strength, but kicks Sasaki instead.  Irish whip by Sasaki, he goes for a shoulderblock, but TAKA doesn't go down.  Again TAKA goes off the ropes with the same result, but the third time TAKA is knocked to the mat.  TAKA goes for a scoop slam, but Sasaki blocks it and delivers a vertical suplex.  Sasaki tackles TAKA hard into the corner, cover, but it only gets a two count.  Scoop slam by Sasaki and he tags in Mutoh.  Mutoh gingerly comes in the ring, Irish whip, and he applies the sleeper hold.  Mutoh changes the hold to the Dragon Sleeper, but Rico comes in to break it up.  Mutoh tags Sasaki back in, Irish whip by Sasaki, but TAKA ducks the clothesline.  This doesn't help TAKA much however, as Sasaki proceeds to pummel him with lariats (while alternating front to back) until TAKA falls to the mat.  Cover, but TAKA somehow kicks out.  Sasaki picks up TAKA, Irish whip, and he knees TAKA hard in the stomach.  Hayashi is tagged in, scoop slam by Hayashi, and he hits a slingshot senton from the apron.  Cover, but it only gets a two count. 

Hayashi applies the Octopus Hold to TAKA, but Buchanan comes in and breaks it up.  Hayashi tags in Mutoh and Mutoh kicks TAKA in the chest.  Irish whip, but TAKA catches Mutoh with a superkick and tags in Buchanan.  Buchanan picks up Mutoh and clubs him repeatedly in the arm.  After picking Mutoh up, he grabs his arm, goes to the top turnbuckle, and does a little Old School before dropping down and applying The Claw on Mutoh's shoulder.  After keeping the hold on for a minute or so, Mutoh finally fights out of it, but Buchanan tags in Rico.  Rico wraps Mutoh's arm around the top rope and works it over with strikes.  An arm bar is applied by Rico, but Mutoh makes it to the ropes and Rico tags in TAKA.  Arm breaker by TAKA, and Mutoh rolls out of the ring.  He is met outside by Buchanan and Rico, who throw him shoulder-first into the ring post.  Buchanan continues attacking Mutoh on the ramp before throwing him back in the ring.  TAKA hits another armbreaker and applies an armbar on the mat.  After jumping on Mutoh's arm, TAKA tags in Buchanan.  Buchanan strikes Mutoh in the arm and re-applies The Claw.  Irish whip by Buchanan, but Mutoh rolls out of the way and hits a dropkick.  This allows Mutoh to tag in Sasaki, who chops/clotheslines Buchanan in the corner.  Irish whip by Sasaki and he nails the bulldog.  Buchanan fights back, Irish whip by Buchanan, reversed, and Sasaki knees him in the stomach and follows that with a quick Ipponzei (shoulder throw).  Sasaki goes off the ropes, hits a lariat, cover, but Buchanan barely kicks out.  Sasaki applies the Strangle Hold Gamma, but Rico quickly breaks it up.  Sasaki goes off the ropes, but Buchanan catches him with a powerslam and tags in Rico.  Irish whip by Rico in the corner and he hits a clothesline.  Rico kicks Sasaki in the corner, cover, but it only gets a two count.  Rico picks up Sasaki, Irish whip, reversed, but Rico hits a series of kicks, ending with a stiff kick to Sasaki's face.  Cover by Rico, but again it only gets a two count.  Back up, Rico goes off the ropes, but Sasaki catches him with a powerslam and tags in Hayashi.  Hayashi goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving hurricanrana.  He goes for the W4, but Rico fights him off.  Hayashi hits a spinebuster followed by a Lionsault, cover, but it gets a two count.  Hayashi picks up Rico, but Rico fights him off and delivers a neck breaker.  Rico tags in TAKA, Irish whip from the corner by TAKA, reversed, but Hayashi misses a splash.  TAKA quickly follows up with a trio of kicks, ending with a superkick that floors Hayashi.  Cover, but it only gets a two count.  TAKA goes to the top turnbuckle, but Hayashi catches him with a dropkick when he jumps off.  TAKA stops Hayashi from tagging out, Irish whip by TAKA, but Hayashi does a handstand springboard spinning heel kick, knocking TAKA to the mat.  Hayashi tags in Mutoh, who promptly dropkicks TAKA twice in the knee and hits a dragon screw leg whip.  Mutoh applies the figure four, but Rico and Buchanan both break it up.  Rico and Buchanan then run over and knock Sasaki and Hayashi off the apron, leaving Mutoh alone in the ring.  Irish whip by Rico to the corner, he hits a clothesline, TAKA kicks Mutoh twice in the head, and Buchanan ends it with a scissors kick.  Cover, but Mutoh barely kicks out.  Buchanan picks up Mutoh and holds him for TAKA, but Mutoh ducks and TAKA hits Buchanan by accident.  Sasaki is back and lariats Rico, while Mutoh hits a dragon screw leg whip on TAKA followed by the Shining Wizard.  Cover by Mutoh, and he gets the three count pinfall!  Your winners:  Keiji Mutoh, Kensuke Sasaki, and Kaz Hayashi

Match Thoughts:  A good match, although generally without substance.  The cards were stacked against RO&D, but they held their own against a superior team.  3 vs. 3 matches tend to lack flow and smart ring psychology, but this one wasn't too bad with Mutoh winning the role of Ricky Morton when I was expecting Hayashi to be the one tossed around.  TAKA looked great (I don't really understand the criticism he gets from some fans for being lazy), but Rico seemed a step behind on more then one occasion and I think it was a good idea to have him in the ring the least of the three.  At the time he was still getting used to the Japanese style, so it is understandable that he would still be adjusting.  The end was hot if not predictable, and while it won't go down in history as a classic there was more good then bad here.  Score:  6.0

Satoshi Kojima and Kaz Hayashi vs. Kensuke Sasaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima
This match is from March 20th, 2005.  Nakajima and Hayashi start things off.  Tie-up, Nakajima pushes Hayashi into the ropes and he gives a clean break.  Hayashi goes for a single-leg and takes Nakajima to the mat, Nakajima reverses it with a headscissors, Hayashi gets out of it, and both men are back on their feet.  Nakajima hits a pair of kicks to the chest and chops Hayashi against the ropes.  They trade slaps to the chest, and a forearm by Hayashi knocks Nakajima down.  Nakajima gets back to his feet quickly though and after more exchanged blows he knocks Hayashi out of the ring with a kick.  Both wrestlers tag out, and it is now Sasaki against Kojima.  Tie-up, Sasaki pushes Kojima into the ropes, they jockey for position, and Kojima gives a clean break.  Tie-up again, Sasaki applies a side headlock, Kojima Irish whips out of it, and the two collide with neither budging.  Three more times they collide with no result, so the two begin exchanging chops.  Sasaki is clearly a better chopper, and Kojima eventually is knocked to the mat and he rolls out of the ring.  After a moment he returns, tie-up, Sasaki pushes Kojima into his corner and Kojima tags in Hayashi.  Sasaki asks for a test of strength, Hayashi accepts, but Sasaki picks up Hayashi and throws him in the corner.  Sasaki tags in Nakajima, who kicks Hayashi while he is still slouched in the corner.  Arm wringer by Nakajima and he hits a series of kicks to Hayashi's chest.  Hayashi eventually catches a kick, pushes Nakajima to the mat, and hits a flurry of mounted slaps.  Nakajima quickly throws Hayashi off however, and the two trade blows.  Hayashi gets the better of things with a kick to the gut and he applies a reverse chinlock.  Nakajima rolls out of the hold however, and he tags Sasaki back in.  Hayashi slaps Sasaki, but Sasaki takes the shots and chops Hayashi down.  Hayashi fires back with more slaps, but Sasaki stiffly slaps him in the face, knocking him down again.  Cover by Sasaki, but Hayashi has a foot under the ropes.  Sasaki picks up Hayashi and tosses him out of the ring.  After joining him on the outside, Sasaki Irish whips Hayashi into the guardrail and chops him over.  After bringing him back, he tosses Hayashi into the ring post and slides him back into the ring.  Cover by Sasaki, but it only gets a two count.  Sasaki nails a vertical suplex, cover, but again it gets a two count.  Sasaki tags in Nakajima, who kicks Hayashi while he is still on the mat.  After picking up Hayashi, he hits a series of kicks, Irish whip, and he delivers a dropkick.  Cover, but it only gets two.  Nakajima slaps Hayashi, but Hayashi returns fire.  Headbutt by Hayashi, and he knocks down Nakajima with a spinning heel kick.  Hayashi tags in Kojima, who chops Nakajima against the ropes.  DDT by Kojima, cover, but Nakajima kicks out.  Kojima then hits a backdrop suplex, cover, but again it gets two.  After chopping Nakajima to the mat, he grabs his leg and applies a single leg crab.  Sasaki calmly gets in the ring and breaks the hold up.  Kojima drags Nakajima to his corner and makes the tag to Hayashi.  Hayashi stomps on Nakajima, Irish whip, and he hits a hip toss.  Hayashi applies the Crippler Crossface to Nakajima, but Nakajima gets a foot on the ropes and Hayashi has to break the hold.  Hayashi hits an armbreaker on Nakajima and tags in Kojima. 

Stomps by Kojima to the shoulder of Nakajima, he goes for an armbar, but Nakajima is too close to the ropes.  Kojima continues kicking Nakajima in his injured shoulder and applies a standing armbar.  He finally manages to ground Nakajima with the hold and he sits down on Nakajima's back for extra leverage.  Nakajima makes it to the ropes, and Kojima tags in Hayashi.  Brainbuster by Hayashi, he goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving splash.  Cover, but Sasaki comes in to break it up.  Nakajima tags in Kojima, and they simultaneously hit a slingshot elbow drop (Kojima) and a springboard elbow drop (Hayashi).  Hayashi runs over to knock Sasaki off the apron while Kojima picks up Nakajima.  Chop by Kojima, and he chops Nakajima again in the corner.  Kojima picks up Nakajima and delivers more chops.  Irish whip by Kojima, Hayashi goes for a splash, but Nakajima avoids it and knocks down Kojima with a forearm shot.  After dropkicking Hayashi, Nakajima rolls to his corner and tags in Sasaki.  Chops by Sasaki on Kojima, but Hayashi catches him from behind.  Double Irish whip, but Sasaki hits a double lariat on Hayashi and Kojima.  Sasaki hits his chops/lariats in the corner, Irish whip, and he delivers the bulldog.  Hayashi comes in the ring and hits a dropkick, but Sasaki chops him and spears Hayashi into the corner.  Kojima is back by now and he exchanges chops with Sasaki.  Kojima goes off the ropes, but Sasaki knees him in the stomach and nails the Ipponzei.  Sasaki goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, but Kojima does not go down.  Sasaki goes off the ropes again, but Kojima avoids the lariat and hits the Koji Cutter.  Kojima tags in Hayashi, who tries to forearm Sasaki down, but Sasaki knocks him back with a chop.  The same thing happens again, but when Hayashi charges Sasaki a third time he ducks the blow and goes for the W4.  He can't get Sasaki up though, Irish whip by Sasaki, but Hayashi counters with a handstand springboard spinning heel kick.  Hayashi goes back to Sasaki and this time he nails the W4.  Cover, but Sasaki barely kicks out.  Hayashi goes off the ropes, but Sasaki catches him with a powerslam and tags in Nakajima.  Nakajima comes off the top with a missile dropkick, Irish whip from the corner, and he hits a jumping forearm shot.  Vertical suplex by Nakajima, cover, but it only gets a two count.  Irish whip by Nakajima, but Hayashi slides through his legs and hits a spinning heel kick.  Kojima is tagged in, Kojima throws Nakajima in the corner and hits rapid fire chops.  Irish whip to the corner, Kojima hits a jumping forearm shot, flings Nakajima to the mat, and drops the elbow.  Another elbow drop by Kojima, he goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the elbow smash.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Kojima drags Nakajima to his feet, Nakajima fights back with kicks, but Kojima catches one and hits a dragon screw leg whip.  Brainbuster by Kojima, cover, but again it gets a two count.  Kojima goes off the ropes, but Sasaki catches him with a clothesline from the apron and Nakajima nails a dropkick.  Sasaki then comes in the ring, Nakajima goes off the ropes, and Sasaki tosses Nakajima so he can hit a kick to the head of Kojima.  R-15 by Nakajima, cover, but Kojima manages to kick out.  Nakajima goes for German suplex, can't get him over, but he gets a little help from a Sasaki lariat and nails it the second time for a two count.  Sasaki goes outside to take care of Hayashi, but when Nakajima goes off the ropes his head is taken off by Kojima's lariat and Kojima quickly covers him for the three count victory.  Your winners:  Satoshi Kojima and Kaz Hayashi

Match Thoughts:  Besides the match ending way too quickly, this was a very good match with four entertaining workers.  In the last year, Sasaki has really turned it on, and this is a good example of him controlling a match.  Even though Kojima had the belts when this match took place, Sasaki still acted like the leader and there was little doubt who was in control.  Also, Sasaki allowing Hayashi to do his W4 finisher on him shows that he is willing to give smaller wrestlers a rub by taking their moves.  I know I am a little late, but after seeing four of his matches from 2005 I am officially on the Nakajima bandwagon.  He is so crisp in the ring, and while he still needs to expand his moveset a little, at the time of the match he was only 17 years old.  My main complaint about the match was how abruptly it ended.  After Nakajima hits his two finishing moves on Kojima, less then 15 seconds later Kojima gets the pinfall on him.  Now I didn't expect Nakajima to pin Kojima, of course, but Kojima could have sold the moves a little bit longer instead of quickly rebounding in a matter of seconds.  Other then that it was a solid match with four of the best wrestlers that All Japan uses.  Score:  7.0

(c) Taiyo Kea and Jamal vs. Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli
This match is from March 20th, 2005 and is for the All Japan World Tag Team Championship.  This is RO&D against the Voodoo Murderers, and both stables come to the ring with their teams (only TAKA comes out with Jamal and Kea, while Palumbo and Stamboli have a small army).  Both stables though are locked on the other side of the guardrail before the bell rings.  Kea and Stamboli start things off.  Tie-up, but they break cleanly.  Tie-up again, and Kea gets Stamboli down with a hammerlock.  Stamboli reverses it with an arm wringer, but Kea manages to get Stamboli to the mat and applies an armbar.  Stamboli struggles to his feet, but Kea keeps the hold on.  Finally, Kea pushes Stamboli into the corner and he gives a clean break.  Tie-up, Kea knees Stamboli, but Stamboli catches his leg and goes for a powerbomb.  Kea slides down his back however and goes for a sunset flip, Stamboli rolls through, but Kea kicks him in the stomach and snapmares him to the mat.  Stamboli bridges up, but Kea returns the favor and applies a waistlock.  Stamboli elbows out of it and goes off the ropes, but Kea catches him with a hiptoss.  Armbar by Kea, reversed into a headscissors by Stamboli, but Kea quickly gets out of it and both men are back on their feet again.  After discussing strategy with their respective partners, they face each other again in the middle of the ring.  Jamal suddenly charges across the ring though and knocks Palumbo off the apron while Kea dropkicks Stamboli to the mat.  Irish whip by Kea, he kicks Stamboli in the chest, and Jamal hits a spinning heel kick.  Stamboli rolls out of the ring, and he talks to Palumbo on the outside.  He gets back in, but is greeted by kicks from Kea.  Stamboli punches back, and the two trade blows.  Stamboli drives Kea back into his corner and tags in Palumbo.  Palumbo and Stamboli stomp Kea in the corner, but Jamal runs in to help.  Headbutt by Jamal on Palumbo, but Palumbo avoids the running smash in the corner and the poor referee gets crunched instead.  Jamal still manages to kick Palumbo down, goes to the top turnbuckle, but Palumbo gets a chair slid to him and he holds it up when Jamal jumps off.  Jamal blatantly blades (I guess Japanese cameramen aren't used to wrestlers blading in the ring), while Palumbo knocks Kea off the apron.  Stamboli brings the chair inside the ring and positions it over Jamal's head before stomping repeatedly on it.  A different referee comes in, but Palumbo tosses him out of the ring.  He gets up quick though, but can't stop Palumbo from hitting Jamal twice more with the chair.  Kea is back, but he is double teamed and kicked out of the ring.  Stamboli follows him out with the chair, puts it around his neck, and throws him into the ring post.  He does the same thing to a different ring post before sliding Kea back in the ring.  TAKA tries to help as well, but he is knocked back by Stamboli.  Double Irish whip, and they slam Kea to the mat.  Palumbo grabs Jamal outside, holds a chair up to his head, and Stamboli hits a superkick into it.  Stamboli goes back in, covers Kea (original referee is back up), but only gets a two count.  Stamboli tags in Palumbo, throws Kea in the corner, and Palumbo boots him in the face.  Irish whip by Palumbo, and Kea collapses when he hits the corner.  Kea quickly gets back to his feet and chops on Palumbo, but Palumbo nails a superkick.  Cover, but it gets a two count. 

Palumbo picks up Kea and forearms him hard in the back.  He does the same thing again, tries a third time, but this time Kea sees it coming and hits a series of chops before knocking down Palumbo with a kick.  He tags in Jamal, who clotheslines Palumbo down.  Stamboli also eats a clothesline, suplex for Palumbo and Jamal hits a side suplex on Stamboli.  Punches by Jamal on Stamboli in the corner, but Palumbo hits him from behind.  Irish whip by Palumbo to the corner, but Jamal gets his boot up when Palumbo charges.  Jamal clotheslines down Palumbo, then keeps running and smashes Stamboli who was still slouched in the opposite corner.  Jamal picks up Stamboli, and the two trade punches and chops.  Jamal gets the upperhand, but Palumbo sends him to his knees with a discus punch.  Palumbo hits a Samoan Drop, cover, but Jamal quickly kicks out.  Palumbo goes off the ropes, but Jamal catches him with a back bodydrop.  Again Palumbo goes off the ropes, he connects with a boot, but Jamal hits a savate kick.  He goes to tag in Kea, but Stamboli runs in and knocks Kea off the apron.  Stamboli punches Jamal in the corner and charges him, but all he gets is an elbow to the face.  Palumbo has better luck though and hits Jamal with a clothesline in the corner followed by another clothesline when Jamal stumbles out to the middle of the ring.  Palumbo goes for a superkick, but Jamal ducks and Palumbo accidentally kicks Stamboli.  Rock Bottom by Jamal on Palumbo, cover, but Palumbo kicks out.  Jamal goes up top for the Flying Sausage, but he is grabbed on the outside by TARU which gives Palumbo time to recover.  Palumbo climbs to the top with Jamal and delivers the Superplex.  Stamboli runs in to knock Kea off the apron and nails a twisting leg drop from the turnbuckle on Jamal.  Cover by Palumbo, but again it gets a two count.  Palumbo tags in Stamboli, but Kea comes in and hits a jumping heel kick on Palumbo.  Stamboli gets a jumping heel kick as well, then Kea goes back to the apron so that Jamal can tag him in.  He does, and Kea quickly begins to work on Stamboli.  Irish whip by Kea to the corner and he hits a running jumping forearm.  Kea Irish whips Stamboli to the side ropes, it is reversed, but Kea nails a DDT.  Cover by Kea, but it only gets a two count.  Chop by Kea in the corner, he puts Stamboli up on the turnbuckle and delivers a Frankensteiner.  Cover, but again it gets two.  Kea picks up Stamboli, but Stamboli fights back.  He goes for the Hawaiian Smasher, but Stamboli fights him off, puts Kea on his shoulder, and hits a backbreaker.  Scoop slam by Stamboli and he hits a twisting leg drop off the top turnbuckle.  Cover, but Kea kicks out at two.  Stamboli picks up Kea and goes for a slam, but Kea slides down his back and nails the surfing suplex.  This gives him time to tag in Jamal, who kicks Stamboli in the head.  Irish whip by Jamal and he hits a spinning heel kick.  Cover, but it only gets two.  Jamal drags up Stamboli and drives him down with a powerbomb.  Cover, but Palumbo breaks it up.  Kea runs in to get Palumbo and delivers the TKO.  Palumbo recovers pretty quickly though and plants Kea with the 187.  Palumbo goes off the ropes, but Jamal hits him with the Samoan Drop.  Stamboli goes for a clothesline on Jamal, but he gets a Samoan Drop as well.  Jamal goes up top, but again TARU grabs his leg.  This time TAKA runs in to tackle TARU, Jamal dives off the top with the Flying Sausage, and he gets the three count pinfall!  Your winners and still champions:  Taiyo Kea and Jamal

Match Thoughts:  This is a tough match to really get a grasp of.  On the one hand, they obviously had a storyline planned and stuck to it, and there wasn't any confusion/sloppiness at all in the match.  On the other hand, the match was a little long, there was more random no-selling then I would like, and the best part of the match (the post-match debut of Great Bernard) is not shown on the DVD.  There was also a whole lot of cheating, which I can tolerate to a degree, but the referee was not doing anything about it, which was frustrating.  I thought the general flow of the match was logical, however, with the Voodoo Murders cheating so much that eventually Kea and Jamal got tired of it and started cheating as well towards the end.  Jamal was the only one here that really stuck out, and I think that if they shaved five minutes off the match it would have made it much better.  Overall, for it being a title match and the main event of the show it was a little disappointing, as I tend to expect to see more if the match is supposed to mean more.  Certainly not the best RO&D/Voodoo Murderers match available, and it really is a shame that Bernard's debut didn't make the cut.  Score:  4.5

Satoshi Kojima vs. Shuji Kondo
This match is from April 10th, 2005, and was part of the All Japan Champions Carnival.  Tie-up, waistlock by Kojima, reversed by Kondo, but Kojima reverses it into an arm wringer.  Kondo reverses the arm wringer into one of his own, but Kojima reverses it back.  Kojima takes Kondo to the mat and applies an armbar.  Kondo rolls back to his feet and gets to the ropes, forcing a break.  Tie-up, Kondo pushes Kojima against the ropes and chops Kojima in the chest before backing off.  Tie-up, side headlock by Kojima, Kondo Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither man budging.  Kondo goes off the ropes, but again he can't knock Kojima down.  He tries again with no result, but the fourth time he knocks Kojima to the mat.  Kondo goes for a press slam, but Kojima knees him in the stomach.  Chop by Kojima into the corner and he applies a front facelock.  DDT by Kojima and he applies a side headlock while on the mat.  He reverts the side headlock into a crossface submission, but Kondo gets a foot on the ropes and Kojima breaks the hold.  Kojima chops Kondo against the ropes and hits a forearm, but Kondo forearms him back.  The two trade shots, with Kondo getting the better of it and knocking Kojima to the mat.  Kondo throws Kojima into the corner and hits a series of chops.  Kojima fights back though and reverses positions with Kondo, hitting a few chops of his own.  Irish whip by Kojima and he hits an elbow strike in the corner.  Another chop by Kojima, Irish whip, but this time Kondo gets a foot up when he charges.  Kojima misses a clothesline, and Kondo floors him with the Lanzarse (spear).  Irish whip by Kondo, he tosses Kojima up onto his shoulder and slams him hard to the mat.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Kondo knocks down Kojima with a shoulderblock, Kojima falls out of the ring, but Kondo follows him out and stomps him while he lays on the ground.  Kondo slams Kojima's head into the announcer's table, goes for an Irish whip, but Kojima reverses it and Kondo goes into the guardrail.  Kojima goes for a vertical suplex on the outside, but Kondo reverses it into a snap suplex of his own. 

Kojima eventually rolls back in the ring on his own power, but Kondo greets him with a club to the back.  Kondo picks up Kojima and hits the Jackhammer, cover, but it only gets a two count.  Punches by Kondo once they are back on their feet, he goes off the ropes, but Kojima catches him with a sit-down spinebuster for a two count.  Kondo rolls to the corner to help himself up, but Kojima catches him with a series of chops.  Irish whip by Kojima, he hits a jumping elbow strike, flings him to the mat, and hits his trio of elbow drops with the last coming from the top turnbuckle.  Cover, but Kondo kicks out.  Kojima hits a brainbuster on Kondo, cover, but again it gets a two count.  Waistlock by Kojima, but Kondo blocks the German, drags Kojima over his head and slams him to the mat.  Kondo picks up Kojima, lifts him in a gorilla press, and drops him stomach first onto his knee.  Dropkick to the knee by Kondo and he applies the Gorilla Clutch Hold.  After struggling for a moment, Kojima makes it to the ropes and Kondo has to break the hold.  Irish whip by Kondo, but Kojima slams on the breaks and hits a flurry of forearm shots.  Koji Cutter by Kojima, he bounces off the ropes, but Kondo reverses the lariat attempt and nails a Hurricane Mixer.  Cover, but Kojima barely kicks out in time.  Kondo calls for the King Kong Lariat, goes off the ropes, and nails it on Kojima.  Cover, again Kojima barely kicks out.  Kondo slowly gets up while the referee checks on Kojima and starts a ten count at Kondo's request.  Kojima is up at 8, Kondo goes off the ropes and hits another King Kong Lariat.  Cover, but once again the champion will not stay down.  Kondo tries another cover, but it gets another two count.  Kondo goes for a Jackhammer, but Kojima blocks it and hits the CCD.  Cover, but Kondo kicks out at two.  Kojima calls for the lariat, delivers, cover, and Kojima gets the three count pinfall.  Your winner:  Satoshi Kojima

Match Thoughts:  At first I was confused on why this match made it since it was one of the first matches of the Champions Carnival and not really important in the grade scheme of things, but now I understand.  If All Japan plans on pushing Kondo in the future, this was the perfect match to show.  Kojima gives him so much offense in this match, and Kondo even wins almost every one of the power battles (shoulderblocks, forearm shots, reverses suplex on the outside, reverses German suplex, etc.) against the champion.  Just from watching this match you would have thought the two were on the same tier, even though Kondo is usually only a mid-carder.  Even Kondo kicking out of the CCD is noteworthy since that usually finishes off Kojima's opponents unless it is a title match.  For it not being a critical match at the time, it really shows Kondo's ability and that he can be a threat even without outside interference (he is part of the Voodoo Murderers, who are known for cheating).  While the match was not without it's flaws (Kojima frequently transitioning with chops in the corner and the one minute leg attack by Kondo being forgotten), it was still a very entertaining match and hopefully a sign of what is to come down the road in All Japan.  Score:  7.5

Final Thoughts:

A somewhat odd collection for a "Best Bouts" (I am guessing the big singles matches were left off to encourage people to buy those events and this was more of the "other" big bouts from the lesser shows), but certainly entertaining.  I really wish the Tag Team Championship match had been better, for it was the only match that fell flat for the event.  The final made up for it though, with a better match then I could have ever expected.  Kojima is starting to grow on me and he seems to have improved since being given the ball last spring.  With only six matches on the event (with one JIP), it's hard to give this a high recommendation even though I do feel that it is worth watching.  And for only 3.99, it is not a bad purchase if you want to watch one of the biggest matches of Kondo's career (especially since it made the Best Bout series on Japanese TV) and see some of the fun RO&D vs. Voodoo Murderers interaction that has dominated 2005.

Mildly Recommended

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