Big Japan Hardcore Summer Series 2006
review by Kevin Wilson

The Date:  August 18th, 2006
Location:  Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Claimed Attendance:  2,200

Even though it is hard to find DVDs of complete unclipped Big Japan wrestling cards, this was a big enough show that the last four matches are shown (mostly) in full. One of the main selling points of this event was the inclusion of Kenzo Suzuki as he tries a hardcore match for the first time. Many of you will remember Kenzo Suzuki as a wrestler on Smackdown! a few years ago. Ito, Kanemura, and Kobayashi are also on the card of course, as since this was a big show for Big Japan all the major players are here for our enjoyment. Here are the matches on the DVD:

- Kintaro Kanemura and Asian Cougar vs. JC Bailey and MASADA
- Kenzo Suzuki and Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Madman Pondo and 2 Tuff Tony
- Daisuke Sekimoto and Katsumasa Inoue vs. Mammoth Sasaki and Tetsuhiro Kuroda
- Fluorescent Lighttubes Death Match: Ryuji Ito and Kasai vs. Takashi Sasaki and Jaki Numazawa

This will naturally be a shorter review then usual, but since I am crunched for time anyway at least it won't take me a week to complete it (Editor's note: It took me three weeks to complete it).

Kintaro Kanemura and Asian Cougar vs. JC Bailey and MASADA
Kanemura and and Bailey start things off. Irish whip by Kanemura, Kanemura gets Bailey onto his shoulders and throws him to the mat. Kanemura goes for a Lionsault, but Bailey moves out of the way and hits a diving hurricanrana from the top turnbuckle. Kanemura slides out of the ring but Bailey goes off the far ropes and hits a tope suicida. MASADA and Cougar come in the ring, Irish whip by MASADA, waistlock, but Cougar reverses it and hits a release German suplex. Cougar goes out of the ring and finds a chair, and then returns to the ring with it as Kanemura sets up a table outside the ring against the ring post. Cougar puts the chair in the corner and Irish whips MASADA into it. Irish whip by Cougar, but MASADA hits an overhead suplex. MASADA grabs the chair, breaks off the seat portion, and hits Cougar in the head with it. Cougar back bodydrops MASADA to the apron, MASADA lands on his feet, but Cougar knocks him down and hits a slingshot legdrop from the inside of the ring while MASADA's head is hanging over the apron. Meanwhile, Kanemura takes a table up into the bleachers and sets it up in the ramp way at the top. He goes to get Bailey, he slams him onto the table and goes over the ramp way before diving off with a splash through the table. Kanemura then tears off part of the table and brings it back with him, while MASADA lays Cougar onto two chairs outside the ring and hits an elbow drop off a nearby stage.

Kanemura piles chair into the ring while all this is going on as Bailey slowly makes his way back to the ring. Kanemura drags him in and scoop slams Bailey onto the chairs, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Bailey is up and joins Kanemura up top. Superplex by Bailey onto the pile of chairs, cover, but Kanemura kicks out. Meanwhile, MASADA tries to powerbomb Cougar off the stage I mentioned earlier, but Cougar gets out of it and monkey flips MASADA off the stage and onto two chairs set up on the floor. Back in the ring, Bailey back bodydrops Kanemura onto a few chairs, but Kanemura grabs a chair and hits Bailey with it before throwing him back outside the ring. Kanemura tries to Irish whip Bailey into a row of chairs but Bailey reverses it and Kanemura goes into the chairs instead. Now MASADA and Cougar are in the ring, Cougar blocks a MASADA chair shot attempt, lays a chair onto MASADA and hits a slingshot leg drop from the apron. Now all four mean are outside the ring, and Kanemura piles chairs onto Bailey and MASADA. Cougar then hits a somersault pescado from inside the ring, landing on both MASADA and Bailey. Back in the ring, Bailey hits Kanemura with a piece of table, puts it onto Kanemura and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Kanemura avoids the leg drop. Powerbomb by Kanemura on Bailey onto the piece of table, cover, but it gets a two count. Kanemura puts Bailey onto his shoulders and Cougar hits a bulldog from the second turnbuckle. Double cover, but MASADA breaks it up. MASADA and Cougar go outside the ring while Kanemura goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the Blast YAMA Special onto Bailey for the three count pinfall. Your winners: Kintaro Kanemura and Asian Cougar

Match Thoughts: I really don't know what to say about this match. Even by BJW standards the selling was horrific.... for example, Bailey is hit with a somersault pescado with chairs piled on top of him but literally 10 seconds later he is hitting Kanemura with a table before quickly going to the top turnbuckle to hit a big move. The balcony dive spot is great, but it has become nothing more then a throw-away transition spot at this point as it meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. They mixed it up and didn't over-do any one spot, which was nice as that happens in Big Japan sometimes, but the carnage was too random and too substance-less for my tastes. I don't expect matches with these guys to be wrestling clinics by any means but some semblance of a story would be appreciated to help me get into the match. The action itself was fine, it was just the direction and overall execution that was lacking. Score: 4.5

Kenzo Suzuki and Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Madman Pondo and 2 Tuff Tony
This is Kenzo Suzuki's first (and one of his last) death matches. He gets booed during the intro since the fans don't really buy him as a death match wrestler, which is understandable. Pondo jumps Sasaki before the bell even rings and knocks him out of the ring. Tony throws Sasaki into a row of chairs, but Sasaki fights back while somewhere else in the arena Pondo stabs Kobayashi in the head with his knife. More stabbing by Pondo while Tony has regained the advantage on Sasaki as he hits him in the head with a chair. Pondo and Kobayashi return to ringside and he stabs Kobayashi while Tony rakes Sasaki's head into the nail bat. Needless to say, both men are bleeding at this point. Kobayashi fights back against Pondo but Pondo knocks him back down. Sasaki and Tony get into the ring, Irish whip by Sasaki and he hits a jumping knee of some sort. Sasaki chokes Tony with his knee while Pondo gets a barbed wire board and slides it into the ring. Irish whip by Sasaki and he delivers a lariat. Jumping knee drop by Sasaki, cover, but it gets a two count. Sasaki tags in Kobayashi, and they both give Tony a headbutt. Chop by Kobayashi, Tony returns fire, and the two trade blows. They then headbutt each other before both men fall to the mat. Kobayashi gets up first, he picks up Tony, Tony blocks his strike attempts but Kobayashi hits him low and tags in Sasaki. Sasaki throws Tony near the barbed wire board, Irish whip by Sasaki to the corner and he hits a running lariat. Sasaki grabs the board and puts it in the corner, he punches Tony in the opposite corner, Irish whip, but Tony slams on the breaks. Sasaki charges Tony, but Tony moves and Kobayashi goes running into the barbed wire board. Tony tags in Pondo, who takes his knife and stabs Sasaki in the head facing the crowd on one side. The crowd enjoys it so much that Pondo takes Sasaki around the ring, stabbing him in the head (or raking the knife across his head) for each side. Irish whip by Pondo and he hits Sasaki with the knife before tagging in Tony. Tony grabs the nail bat, waits for Sasaki to get up and bops him in the head with it. Kobayashi runs in, but Tony hits him in the chest with the bat. Cover by Tony on Sasaki, but it gets a two count.

Poor Kenzo....

Sasaki fights back, but Tony tags in Pondo. Pondo grabs the staple gun and proceeds to staple a sheet of paper to Sasaki's arm. Pondo grabs another piece of paper and this time he staples it to Sasaki's head. Not done, Pondo ribs off the piece of paper and staples another one to his cheek. He then goes to staple one to his nose, Kobayashi tries to save him, but Pondo staples him low. Irish whip by Pondo on Sasaki and he hits him in the head with the stop sign. Cover, but it gets a two count. The crowd is finally getting behind Sasaki as he tries to fight off Pondo and Tony, but Tony hits a somersault leg drop onto Sasaki while Sasaki has a chair on his back. Cover by Tony, but it gets a two count. Pondo and Tony take Sasaki outside the ring and they put him onto a barbed wire board which is sitting on a table. Tony then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a corkscrew body splash, sending Sasaki crashing to the floor through the barbed wire table. Tony slides Sasaki back in the ring and brings the rest of the board with him, he puts it up in the corner, Pondo tries to Irish whip Sasaki into it but Sasaki reverses it and Pondo eats the barbed wire. Sasaki gives both men a big boot and makes the tag to Kobayashi. Kobayashi cleans house with a series of throat thrusts and hits an elbow drop on both men. Kobayashi slams Pondo into the barbed wire board before chopping Tony in the corner. Reverse splash by Kobayashi, cover, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Kobayashi and both he and Sasaki hit thrusts to the throat of Tony. Vertical suplex by Sasaki to Tony onto the barbed wire board and he follows that with a knee drop. Cover, but Pondo breaks it up. Kobayashi gets a chair and puts it onto Tony, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers an elbow drop. Cover, but Tony barely kicks out. Sasaki goes to the top turnbuckle, but Tony steps out of the way of the kick attempt. Tony goes off the ropes, but Sasaki ducks the lariat and nails the Claw STO onto the barbed wire board for the three count pinfall! Your winners: Kenzo Suzuki and Abdullah Kobayashi

Post match: Pondo puts over Suzuki on the mic, as the crowd cheers him. His hot wife comes down, looking a little horrified, but otherwise happy that Suzuki is in one piece.

Match Thoughts: Not really a good match in terms of in-ring action, but they made up for it by beating the living hell out of Suzuki. If the main goal of this match was to swing the crowd from hating Suzuki to respecting him, then they did a good job at accomplishing just that. I'll admit I did get some pleasure in watching Suzuki get stabbed with a knife and having paper stapled to his face, but you have to get some kind of newfound respect for a (somewhat) mainstream star that is willing to put himself through that. Even though it was a deathmatch this was clearly the Kenzo show, and even though I think he won a little too easy at the end I have to give him props for doing all the crazy spots without hesitation. A fun spectacle, but its all about emotion here, don't expect much in terms of innovation or crisp in-ring work. Score: 5.5

Daisuke Sekimoto and Katsumasa Inoue vs. Mammoth Sasaki and Tetsuhiro Kuroda
This is just going to be a straight-up tag match... which is fine with me, a little variety is always nice. Sekimoto and Sasaki start things off. Tie-up, Sasaki pushes Sekimoto back and they go into a test of strength. Sasaki gets the better of it, but Sekimoto pushes himself back up. Side headlock by Sasaki, Sekimoto Irish whips out of it and the two collide with no result. Sekimoto goes off the ropes and the same thing happens. Side headlock by Sasaki, Sekimoto Irish whips out of it but Sasaki shoulderblocks him down. Sasaki goes off the ropes but Sekimoto catches him with a powerslam. Sekimoto tags in Inoue, Sasaki tells Inoue he can hit him, so he does so. Sasaki returns fire and the two trade blows, punches by Sasaki but Inoue gives him a headbutt. Another headbutt by Inoue and he goes for a bodyslam, but Sasaki reverses it into a slam of his own. Sasaki tags in Kuroda, kick to the stomach by Kuroda and the two trade chops to the chest. Headbutt by Inoue and he tags in Sekimoto. Scoop slam by Sekimoto and he stomps Kuroda in the chest before throwing him into the corner. Sekimoto tags in Inoue, snapmare by Inoue and he applies a single leg crab hold. Kuroda eventually makes it to the ropes and Inoue tags Sekimoto back in. Club to the back by Sekimoto and he hits a vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. A crab hold is applied by Sekimoto, but Sasaki breaks it up. Sekimoto tags in Inoue, who knees Kuroda repeatedly in the back. Clubs by Inoue, but Kuroda fights back and dropkicks Inoue in the knee. Kuroda tags in Sasaki before throwing Inoue out of the ring, where Sasaki is waiting. Sasaki takes Inoue up into the bleachers as Kuroda joins them, and Kuroda runs across the aisle to hit a lariat onto Inoue. He then does it to Inoue again when Sekimoto's save attempt fails, and they start making their way back to ringside. Kuroda slides Inoue into the ring and applies the figure four leglock, but Inoue makes it to the ropes. Kuroda drags Inoue back and applies a crab hold, but Sekimoto breaks it up with chops to the chest. Kuroda knocks Sekimoto down however before tagging in Sasaki. Sasaki applies an elevated crab hold, but Inoue quickly crawls to the ropes to force the break. Back up, Irish whip by Sasaki and he hits a neck-hanging chokeslam. Cover, but Sekimoto breaks it up. Sasaki charges Inoue, but Inoue hits a hiptoss and tags in Sekimoto. Sekimoto knocks down Kuroda, Sasaki grabs Sekimoto and tries to throw him out of the ring, but Sekimoto skins the cat.

As Sasaki turns back around, Sekimoto grabs him and KILLS him with a release German suplex. Sekimoto then dives out onto Kuroda with a tope suicida before sliding back in the ring to face off with Sasaki. Sasaki and Sekimoto trade lariat attempts, Sasaki ducks one and applies a waistlock, but Sekimoto breaks the hold and hits a jumping kick. Sekimoto tags in Inoue, who comes in the ring with a missile dropkick. Inoue gives Kuroda a clothesline, cover, but it gets a two count. Inoue picks up Kuroda and hits a fisherman's buster, but it gets a two count as well. Irish whip by Inoue to the corner, but Kuroda kicks him as he charges in. Kuroda goes to the top turnbuckle, but Inoue joins him up top. Kuroda grabs Inoue by the neck however and jumps out of the ring, guillotining Inoue onto the top rope. Kuroda gets back in the ring, but Inoue headbutts him in the stomach as he charges him. Scoop slam by Inoue, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and connects with the diving headbutt. Cover, but it gets a two count. Inoue tags in Sekimoto, who nails a deadlift German suplex on Kuroda. Kuroda gets up quickly, but he is hit with a brainbuster for a two count cover. Argentine Backbreaker by Sekimoto, but Sasaki breaks it up. Sekimoto goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a frog splash onto Kuroda, cover, but it gets a two. Sekimoto tags in Inoue, Inoue goes for a lariat but Kuroda ducks it and hits one of his own. Kuroda tags in Sasaki, who drops Inoue on his head with a powerbomb. Cover, but Sekimoto breaks it up by nailing Sasaki with a German suplex. Kuroda knocks down Sekimoto, but Inoue kicks Kuroda to the mat. Sasaki is up first (somehow), he goes for a lariat on Inoue, Inoue reverses it with an attempted backslide, but Sasaki shrugs him off. Sasaki goes for the lariat again, but Inoue ducks it and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Headbutts by Inoue, he goes off the ropes, but Sasaki catches him with a lariat. Sasaki picks up Inoue and nails a sit-down powerbomb, cover, but Sekimoto breaks it up. Kuroda holds Sekimoto in the corner while Sasaki waits for Inoue to get up. He goes for a lariat, Inoue ducks it, but Sasaki flings him to the mat and hits a lariat anyway. Cocky cover, but Inoue kicks out. 29-Years-Old by Sasaki, cover, and this time he picks up the three count. Your winners: Mammoth Sasaki and Tetsuhiro Kuroda

Match Thoughts: I am not sure if a bandwagon has officially formed for him yet, but Sekimoto is freakin' awesome. This was actually a very solid bout, it was a nice change of pace and they were able to keep the crowd into it even though it was a different style then the other big matches on the card. Head drops are fun (I know that sounds sadistic of me, but this is a Big Japan event I am reviewing), and Sekimoto is someone you can always count on to drop someone on their head. Sasaki was solid here as well and Inoue played a very good rag doll as he was able to maintain the crowd's sympathy as he was destroyed. Selling was a bit suspect in a few places but generally they did a solid job and most of the big moves had the count interrupted instead of having everyone kick out of their opponent's finishers. Overall it was a fun match and the action held my attention from bell to bell. Score: 7.0

Ryuji Ito and Jun Kasai vs. Takashi Sasaki and "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa
This is a Fluorescent Lighttubes Death Match. Ito and Sasaki start things off. Tie-up, but they break cleanly. Tie-up again, and the two trade chops to the chest. Irish whip attempt by Sasaki but Ito goes to his knees to avoid the light tubes. Ito then does the same to Sasaki, both men grab light tubes, Ito hits Sasaki with one in the head but Sasaki promptly returns with a shot of his own. Ito grabs another light tube and hits Sasaki with it, and Sasaki hits Ito with one as well. Backdrop suplex by Ito and both wrestlers kick each other at the same time. Ito tags in Kasai while Sasaki tags in Numazawa. After playing to the crowd they start a chop battle, side headlock by Kasai but Sasaki Irish whips out of it and Kasai goes into the light tubes. Numazawa goes off the ropes (and into a light tube) to hit a weak shoulderblock, then both wrestlers go off the ropes (hitting light tubes) and collide in the middle of the ring. They trade chops again, Irish whip by Kasai to the corner, Numazawa back bodydrops him when he charges in but Kasai lands on the apron. Kasai goes up to the top turnbuckle but Numazawa kicks him when he charges in and hits Kasai in the head with a light tube. Numazawa clears the ropes so that he can do a dive onto Kasai, but he forgets about the tubes on the far side and runs into them when he bounces off the ropes, causing him to fall meekly out of the ring without hitting anybody. Ito gets in the ring while Kasai holding their opponents and he hits a springboard Dragon Splash. Kasai removes the mat at ringside while Ito punches Numazawa around the ring before throwing him into a row of chairs. Ito hits Numazawa in the back with a chair while Kasai starts stacking chairs where he removed the mat. Back in the ring, Ito puts a few light tubes against Numazawa's back and kicks them into him. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kasai continues making a contraption at ringside, scoop slam by Ito on Numazawa and he hits an elbow drop. Cover, but again it gets a two. Snap suplex by Ito and he tags in Kasai (who is finally finished). Knees by Kasai, scoop slam, he grabs a few light tubes and kicks them into Numazawa's midsection.

Back up, they trade slaps, but Kasai hits Numazawa in the head with a light tube to win the exchange. Cover by Kasai but it gets a two count. Kasai goes for a suplex but Sasaki hits Kasai from the apron with a light tube and Numazawa delivers a death valley driver. Numazawa tags in Sasaki, Irish whip by Sasaki and he hits a heel kick. Kicks to the chest by Sasaki, he picks up Kasai, Irish whip to the corner and he hits an elbow. Light-tube assisted kick to the chest by Sasaki and he puts Kasai into the tree of woe. He then grabs a few light tubes and kicks them into Kasai's midsection. Snapmare by Sasaki and he kicks a row of light tubes into Kasai's chest for a two count pinfall. Sasaki tags in Numazawa, Numazawa grabs two light tubes and slowly breaks them onto Kasai's head. He then takes the end of the light tube and jabs it into Kasai's head. Sasaki gets a table from ringside and slides it into the ring while Numazawa continues stabbing Kasai with the light tube shard. Sasaki slides another table into the ring and sets them both up in the corner. Numazawa puts a bundle of light tubes on the mat, throws Kasai up onto the table and goes for his Death Valley Driver, but Kasai reverses it and hits a Falcon Arrow off the tables into the light tube bundle. Kasai tags in Ito, who kicks down both Sasaki and Numazawa. Light-tube assisted scissors kick by Ito onto Numazawa, cover, but it gets a two count. Northern Lights Suplex by Ito, but it gets a two count as well. Scoop slam by Ito, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers the moonsault. Cover, but Numazawa barely kicks out. Ito tags in Kasai, Kasai goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but it knocks Numazawa back into his corner and he tags in Sasaki. Irish whip by Kasai on Sasaki, but Sasaki kicks him back and hits a tornado DDT. Boot to the face by Sasaki, cover, but it gets a two count. Sasaki goes off the ropes but Kasai kicks him as he charges in and hits an enzigieri. German suplex hold by Kasai, but Numazawa breaks it up. Reverse Tiger Driver by Kasai, cover, but Sasaki kicks out in time.

Kasai hits a scoop slam, goes up to the top turnbuckle and goes for the Pearl Harbor Splash, but Sasaki gets his knees up. Ito comes in the ring and hits Sasaki with a heel kick, Numazawa comes in after him but Ito knocks him out of the ring. Kasai gets a ladder for Ito and he hits Sasaki with it when he gets to his feet. Ito sets up the ladder near the corner, scoop slam by Ito, he goes up to the top of the ladder but Numazawa hits him in the head with the thumb-tack filled light tube bundle. Numazawa then pouts the rest of the tacks on the mat, Sasaki grabs Sasaki from the other side and they hit a top rope lariat/powerbomb combination into the thumb tacks. Cover, but it gets a two count. Lariat by Sasaki on Ito, cover, but again it gets two. Sasaki grabs a bundle of light tubes and slams Ito into them, cover, but Kasai breaks it up. Sasaki leans another bundle against Ito's head and kicks them into him, cover, but again Kasai breaks it up. Kasai hits a DDT on Numazawa and a pair of German suplexes followed by a running kick to the head to Sasaki as Ito recovers. Numazawa hits a lariat on Kasai, he goes to hit Ito with a light tube but Ito ducks and kicks the light tubes into Numazawa. Ito then connects with a kick on Sasaki and delivers a Shining Wizard. Cover, but Numazawa breaks it up. German suplex hold by Ito, but Sasaki kicks out. Scoop slam by Kasai on Sasaki, he goes up top and hits the Pearl Harbor Splash. He then lays a bundle of light tubes on him as Ito goes to the top of the ladder and delivers the Dragon Splash. Cover, but Numazawa breaks it up with a headbutt. Kasai holds Numazawa for Ito, but Numazawa moves and Ito kicks Kasai on accident. Numazawa hits a fisherman buster and side slam on Ito, cover by Sasaki but it gets a two count. Numazawa puts the ladder on top of the tables still set up in the corner, he starts climbing up, but Kasai has returned and climbs up the other side. Sasaki then goes halfway up behind Kasai, but Ito powerbombs Sasaki off the ladder as all four men fall to the mat. Low blow on Numazawa on Sasaki, another low blow, but Kasai hits a German suplex hold from behind for a two count. Ito and Kasai both dropkick Sasaki out of the ring and then hit duel enzigieris on Numazawa. Double cover, but it gets a two count. Kasai hits a Reverse Tiger Driver on Numazawa as Ito climbs to the top of the ladder, Sasaki goes to intercept, but Kasai suplexes Sasaki off the ladder through the pile of chairs that he had set up 10 minutes earlier. This allows Ito to hit the Dragon Splash from the top of the ladder, cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winners: Ryuji Ito and Jun Kasai

Match Thoughts: A fairly entertaining death match. The first half of the match coasted along, but I did like that Kasai took the time to make his chair contraption when he wasn't the legal man so that the match didn't stop for a minute while he made it. The spot that used the chairs was probably the sickest of the match, unfortunately there wasn't a great camera angle of it (only the wide view). Some of the spots were a bit sloppy towards the end (such as the tower suplex spot), but in general they kept things together pretty well. The crowd was really into the match, which always helps, and the action kept up at a face pace which helped keep the crowd into it. Overall it was entertaining, although not the best Big Japan death match I saw in 2006 as they were a bit sloppy at times and there were not many new innovative spots to set the match apart from other light tube death matches. Score: 7.0

Final Thoughts:

The only real knock on this event is that it only has four matches on it, as all the matches were watchable and most were fairly entertaining. I liked the straight up tag match that best (which isn't terribly surprising), but the final match was fun as well. If you haven't seen any 2006 Big Japan this might be a good one to pick up, as it has a few very good "milder" matches if the bloody final isn't your cup of tea. Of course, if you love (or hate) Kenzo Suzuki then I'd recommend the show, as he really tries hard to be accepted by the crowd. Current Big Japan has quite a few solid wrestlers that can do a lot more then just death matches (such as Ito, Sasaki, and Sekimoto), so the wrestling itself doesn't come across as just filler between big planned spots. A mild recommendation due to the number of matches, but at least they were shown in full and it is a good representation of what Big Japan has to offer.

Mildly Recommended

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review completed 3/24/07