Date: January 1st, 2004
Location: Saitama Super Arena
Announced Attendance: 23,727

Some puroresu fans always talk about how awesome Hustle is and I get emails asking why the promotion doesn't have a section on this website, but to be honest I have just never been able to get into it. Hustle throws in a lot of "sports entertainment" and comedy bits, meaning that there is more talking and a necessity to actually understand what the wrestlers/announcers are saying to follow along. Since I don't understand Japanese and WWE pretty much fulfills my need for sports entertainment, I never bothered to put in the necessary effort to read recaps and translations to understand what the hell is going on. Now, just to make it clear I am not saying that the current Hustle product isn't entertaining, it just isn't something that I actively watch.

So to help solve the problem of not knowing the storylines, I am going to review the very first Hustle. Way back in 2004, Hustle was more wrestling-oriented then it is today. There were still "entertainment" aspects, but there was no Yinling or HG and a lot of the sillier storylines (Abdullah coming out of a magic lamp, Nobuhiko Takada popping out of an egg, etc.) wouldn't start until a little bit later. That is not to say the show was "traditional" puroresu, for it was not at all... in a lot of ways it reminds me of the Wrestle-1 shows as the matches just seem incredibly random in an awesome way. Goldberg vs. Ogawa? Giant Silva? Mil Mascaras? Dusty Rhodes? Should be interesting if nothing else. Here is the full card:

- Jun Kasai vs. King Adamo vs. Low Ki vs. MIKAMI
- Ikuto Hidaka vs. Zebra Man
- El Solar and Dos Caras Jr. vs. Satoshi Kojima and Kaz Hayashi
- Shinjiro Otani and Masato Tanaka vs. The Predator and Kevin Randleman
- Giant Silva vs. Kohei Sato and Katsuhisa Fujii
- PRIDE GM Takada Nomination Match: Shinya Hashimoto vs. Vader
- Mil Mascaras, Dos Caras, and Sicodelico Jr. vs. Tom Howard, Steve Corino, and Dusty Rhodes
- PRIDE GM Takada Nomination Match: Mark Coleman vs. Toshiaki Kawada
- PRIDE GM Takada Nomination Match: Bill Goldberg vs. Naoya Ogawa

As you can see, we have a full card so lets get right to it.

Jun Kasai vs. King Adamo vs. Low Ki vs. MIKAMI
They brawl to start, Adamo goes for a double clothesline on Low Ki and Kasai but they avoid it and dropkick him out of the ring. MIKAMI then flies out onto Adamo while Kasai and Low Ki circle each other in the ring. Clubs to the back by Kasai, Irish whip, but Low Ki grabs the ropes and back bodydrops Kasai out of the ring when he charges in. Low Ki goes to do a dive, but MIKAMI kicks him in the stomach before he can make it to the ropes. Snapmare by MIKAMI, he goes off the ropes and goes for a Tiger Feint Kick, but Low Ki moves out of the way and kicks MIKAMI out of the ring. Finally with the ring cleared, Low Ki goes off the ropes and sails out onto Kasai with a Space Flying Tiger Drop! Ki was quite the flier back in the day. Adamo and MIKAMI are in the ring now, kicks by MIKAMI and he goes for a slam, but Adamo blocks it it and picks up MIKAMI. MIKAMI slides down Adamo's back and applies a waist lock, but Adamo gets out of it and hits a splash in the corner. Brief Stinkface by Adamo, Irish whip, and he throws MIKAMI in the air before slamming him to the mat. Cover, but Kasai breaks it up. Club to the back by Kasai, Irish whip, reversed, Kasai goes for a sunset flip, Adamo doesn't go down and tries to sit on Kasai, but Kasai moves out of the way. Kasai goes off the ropes and dropkicks Adamo in the head, cover, but it gets a one count. Kasai goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Adamo is up in time and joins him on the top turnbuckle. Low Ki and MIKAMI are back in the ring however and they powerbomb Adamo while Adamo hits a superplex onto Kasai. Both men are covered, but both covers only get a two count.

Snapmare by Low Ki on Kasai and he goes up to the top turnbuckle to go for a Phoenix Splash, but Kasai moves out of the way. Low Ki rolls as he lands to keep his momentum however and drops the flash elbow onto Adamo. Snapmare on MIKAMI to Low Ki, MIKAMI goes off the ropes and he hits the Tiger Feint Kick. MIKAMI brings in his ladder, slams Low Ki in front of it and goes up top, but Kasai knocks him off and he falls to the floor. Now Kasai goes to the top of the ladder, but Adamo shakes it and he falls off, straddling the top rope before rolling out of the ring. Next Adamo climbs the ladder, but Low Ki catches him from behind and throws him to the mat. MIKAMI has recovered, he goes to the top of the ladder and nails the Volcanic Bomb onto Adamo! Cover, but Kasai breaks it up. Scoop slam by Kasai on MIKAMI, he puts the ladder in the corner and throws MIKAMI into it, but MIKAMI rebounds off the ladder with a quebrada. Roll-up by MIKAMI onto Kasai but Low Ki breaks it up. Low Ki picks up MIKAMI in the Ki Krusher position, but instead of hitting the move he rams MIKAMI into Adamo. Kasai goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick onto Adamo, but Low Ki hits the Black Magic onto Kasai for a two count cover. Backslide by Kasai, but it gets a two count. Kasai goes off the ropes but Low Ki nails him with a Rolling Koppou Kick. MIKAMI goes to the top turnbuckle, but Low Ki sees him and knocks him off with the Tidal Krush, sending him out of the ring and onto Adamo. Ki Krusher by Low Ki on Kasai and he picks up the three count! Your winner: Low Ki

Match Thoughts: King Adamo is better known in the States as Skulu, which is the name he used in UPW. This was a fun little spotty match and you could tell that for some of the spots they actually took the time to plan them in advance, which tends to make matches like this go smoother. I had forgotten how Low Ki's offense used to be more high-flying then it is now, I can't remember the last time he did a Space Flying Tiger Drop or a Phoenix Splash. But centering his offense on stiff kicks rather then crazy dives will probably make his career longer, which I am sure he has considered. The wrestlers performed in their rolls well (Adamo as the big lug, MIKAMI has only wanting to do crazy moves, and Kasai trying to sneak in a win whenever he got the chance via backslides and sunset flips), and while it won't go down as a classic it was a perfectly fine opening match to get the crowd excited for the show. Score: 6.0

Ikuto Hidaka vs. Zebra Man
Single leg takedown by Zebra Man to start, but Hidaka gets out of it and returns to his feet. A cross-armed submission is applied by Zebra Man into a side headlock, Hidaka gets out of it and applies a front facelock, but Zebra Man reverses it with an arm wringer. Hidaka flips out of it and after trading one falls both men are back up again. Tie-up, side headlock by Hidaka, Zebra Man Irish whips out of it and they collide with no result. Another collision, Hidaka goes off the ropes but Zebra Man hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker before clotheslining him out of the ring. Zebra Man fakes a dive, Hidaka moves, so Zebra Man rolls himself back in the ring and hits a baseball slide. Zebra Man gets out of the ring and slams Hidaka onto the mat before connecting with a series of chops. Hidaka rolls himself back in the ring and Zebra Man follows, Irish whip by Zebra Man but Hidaka ducks the lariat and applies a waistlock. Zebra Man reverses the waistlock but Hidaka hits a low blow when the referee is distracted and follows that with a dropkick. Hidaka goes for Zebra Man's mask but after a moment he gives up and chops Zebra Man into the corner. Punches by Hidaka, Irish whip, but Zebra Man reverses it and drop toeholds Hidaka into the turnbuckle. Running knee to the face by Zebra Man, he puts Hidaka onto his shoulders and hits a rolling fireman's carry slam. Second turnbuckle leg drop by Zebra Man but it only gets a two count. Zebra Man picks up Hidaka but Hidaka slides down his back when he goes for a suplex and applies a waistlock. Zebra Man shakes Hidaka off and goes for a sunset flip, but Hidaka rolls through and dropkicks Zebra Man in the face. Hidaka goes off the ropes but Zebra Man catches him with an elbow. Hidaka falls out of the ring, but he grabs the second rope to pull himself in and hits a heel kick. Cover by Hidaka but it gets a two count. Hidaka goes off the ropes but Zebra Man catches him and hits a belly to back wheelbarrow facebuster. Zebra Man goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hidaka gets up quickly and powerbombs him off for a two count cover. With Zebra Man in the corner Hidaka goes for a cartwheel elbow strike, but Zebra Man catches him and drops him onto the apron before hitting a lariat. With Hidaka on the elevated ramp, Zebra Man goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving lariat. Zebra Man picks up Hidaka and press slams him back into the ring. Up to the top turnbuckle again and he hits a flying cross body, he then picks up Hidaka and nails the Zebra Bomb for the three count cover! Your winner: Zebra Man

Match Thoughts: Impressive finisher. I have no idea who Zebra Man is, as originally I thought it was Kazuhiko Ogasawara, but they don't really look the same and then I read that Ogasawara took over the gimmick in February of 2004. So if you know, feel free to shoot me a line. This was a perfectly acceptable match which in theory introduced a new wrestler by making him look good against a competent foe. There really wasn't anything resembling a structure to this match but there weren't any obvious miscues and it was smooth from start to finish. A solid debut for Zebra Man, even though it seems that it wasn't followed up on. Score: 5.5

El Solar and Dos Caras Jr. vs. Satoshi Kojima and Kaz Hayashi
El Solar and Hayashi start things off. Tie-up, waistlock by Hayashi, reversed by El Solar and he tosses Hayashi to the mat. Single-leg takedown by Hayashi, reversed by El Solar, Hayashi applies a front facelock but El Solar reverses it with an arm wringer. Hayashi reverses that with a leg lock into a head scissors, but El Solar applies the bow and arrow submission hold. Hayashi gets out of it and applies a front facelock, but El Solar hits a fireman's carry takeover. Wristlock by El Solar and he goes for the Fujiwara armbar into a crossface, but Hayashi gets a hand on the ropes. Back up, kick to the chest by El Solar and he tags in Caras Jr.. Kick to the leg by Caras Jr., Irish whip and he hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Bodyslam by Caras Jr., he goes up to the top turnbuckle, Hayashi rolls out of the way of the moonsault but Caras Jr. lands on his feet. Superkick by Hayashi and he tags in Kojima. Kicks to the chest by Kojima and he hits a scoop slam followed by a somersault senton. Kojima picks up Caras Jr. and applies a side headlock, Caras Jr. Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither man going down. Another failed collision, Caras Jr. goes off the ropes and this time he knocks down Kojima with a shoulderblock. Irish whip by Caras Jr. and he hits a double chop to the chest. Enzigieri by Caras Jr., Irish whip from the corner, reversed, but Caras Jr. avoids Kojima's charge. Top rope dropkick by Caras Jr. and he hits a snap trapped suplex for a two count. Caras Jr. tags in El Solar, who delivers a dropkick to Kojima. Arm drag by El Solar and he sits down on Kojima's arm. El Solar continues working on the arm but Kojima grabs his leg and hits a dragon screw leg whip. Another dragon screw leg whip by Kojima and he tags in Hayashi. Hayashi goes off the ropes but El Solar catches him with an arm drag.

El Solar goes over the ropes and shoulder blocks Hayashi, Irish whip by El Solar but Hayashi hits a heel kick. Irish whip by Hayashi, reversed, and El Solar hits a backbreaker. Dropkick by El Solar, Hayashi falls out of the ring, and El Solar follows him out with a pescado. Kojima then hits a pescado of his own onto El Solar, and then Caras Jr. goes onto the top turnbuckle and hits a plancha on Kojima. Hayashi has recovered by now and he sails out onto everyone with a tope suicida. Hayashi slides El Solar into the ring, Irish whip by Hayashi, reversed, and El Solar kicks Hayashi to the mat. Mexican Surfboard by El Solar into a pin, but it gets a two count. El Solar wraps up Hayashi into a submission hold before tagging in Caras Jr.. Double Irish whip to Hayashi and El Solar hits a backbreaker followed by a Caras Jr. dropkick. Stomps by Caras Jr., Irish whip, and he delivers a superkick. Roll-up by Caras Jr. but it gets a two count. Caras Jr. hits a powerbomb, another cover, but again it gets two. Caras Jr. kicks Kojima off the apron before picking up Hayashi into a press slam and dropping him in front so he could hit a German suplex hold for a two count. Irish whip by Caras Jr. on Hayashi but Hayashi rebounds off the ropes with a handstand and kicks Caras Jr. in the stomach. Hayashi tags in Kojima, Kojima picks up Caras Jr. and throws him into the corner.

Chops by Kojima, Irish whip, and he hits the jumping elbow/snapmare/top rope elbow drop for a two count cover. Kojima picks up Caras Jr. and hits a brainbuster, cover, but again it gets a two count. He goes for another brainbuster, but Caras Jr. slides down his back and hits a German suplex. Caras Jr. tags in El Solar, double Irish whip to Kojima and both men hit strikes in the corner. They then give Kojima a double vertical suplex before dropping elbows onto his chest. Cover by El Solar but it gets a two count. Irish whip by El Solar and he delivers a spinebuster. El Solar applies a crab hold but Hayashi breaks it up with a kick to the head. Chops by El Solar to Kojima in the corner, Irish whip, reversed, El Solar flips himself out to the apron before getting back in the ring and hitting a leg sweep onto Kojima for a two count. El Solar applies a submission hold to Kojima, Hayashi tries to break it up but Caras Jr. slaps a cross armbreaker on him. Caras Jr. tries to powerbomb Hayashi but Hayashi gets out of it and breaks up El Solar's hold. Kojima rolls out of the ring as Hayashi slams El Solar. Double elbow drop to El Solar and Kojima hits him with the Koji Cutter. Kojima goes for the lariat but El Solar reverses it with a drop toehold and rolls him up for a two count cover. Kojima takes off the elbow pad and nails a lariat onto El Solar for the three count pinfall! Your winners: Satoshi Kojima and Kaz Hayashi

Match Thoughts: A pretty average match all the way around, as there was nothing noticeably bad about it but there was also nothing that really pulled you into the match. In general the action was crisp, but the hot tags weren't really hot and both teams were wrestling like faces (which they were, I guess, but it made the match somewhat bland). The ending came rather suddenly, as El Solar was not really weakened much when he was taken down by the lariat. Nothing offensive, but I was expecting better. Score: 5.5

Shinjiro Otani and Masato Tanaka vs. The Predator and Kevin Randleman
Otani and Randleman start things off. They jockey for position, takedown by Randleman and he hits a series of mounted punches. He goes for the cross armbreaker, but Otani is too close to the ropes and he gets a break. Back up, Otani gets Randleman into the corner and he slaps him in the face before backing off. Forearms by Otani and he hits a snapmare before tagging in Tanaka. Arm wringer by Tanaka but Randleman punches him in the stomach. Randleman applies a front facelock and makes the tag to Predator. Spinning back kick by Predator in the corner and he knees Tanaka in the chest. Tanaka goes for a scoop slam, but Predator reverses it into a slam of his own. Predator picks up Tanaka, Irish whip from the corner but Tanaka avoids his charge. Irish whip by Tanaka and he hits a diving elbow in the corner. Tanaka throws Predator into Otani's boot before tagging him in, and Otani connects with a running boot in the corner. Chops by Otani, but Predator absorbs the blows and punches Otani to the mat. Knee lift by Predator and he kicks Otani in the corner before tagging in Randleman. Randleman lets Otani get to his feet, but Otani clubs Randleman to the mat. Snapmare by Otani and he applies a neck crank. Otani tags in Tanaka, scoop slam by Tanaka and he hits an elbow drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Tanaka picks up Randleman, snapmare, and he applies a reverse chinlock. Randleman bites Tanaka's leg to get out of it and covers him for a one count. Tanaka returns the favor by biting Randleman's finger, Tanaka tags in Otani who bites the other hand. Double Irish whip to Randleman, and they hit a drop toehold/elbow drop/dropkick to the face combination.

Otani stays in the ring as the legal man and throws Randleman into the corner before kicking him to a seated position. Boot scrapes by Otani, Tanaka comes in the ring, double Irish whip to the opposite corner, but Randleman avoids Otani's charge and leap frogs over Tanaka when he charges in as well. Randleman then ducks the double clothesline attempt and rebounds out of the corner with a cross body on both men. Randleman tags in Predator, who boots down Tanaka and dropkicks Otani. Scoop slams for both wrestlers, Predator goes off the ropes and drops the leg onto Otani. Cover, but it gets a two count. Schwein by Predator, cover, but again it gets a two count. Predator goes up to the second turnbuckle but Otani rolls out of the way of the knee drop. Otani goes for a scoop slam but Predator blocks it. Backdrop suplex by Otani onto Predator and he tags in Tanaka. Tanaka goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Tanaka sets up Predator against the ropes and hits a jumping elbow strike followed by a trio of lariats which finally knocks Predator off his feet. Tanaka picks up Predator, Irish whip, reversed, Tanaka applies a front chancery and when Randleman runs in he gives them a DDT/Stunner combination.

Tanaka goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a body press on Predator, cover, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Tanaka, reversed, and Predator levels him with a lariat. Predator tags in Randleman and they hit the Decapitation off the second turnbuckle. Tanaka recovers but Randleman catches him with a hurricanrana. Randleman tags in Predator and Predator throws Randleman down onto Tanaka. Cover by Randleman but it gets a two count. Randleman tags in Predator and they both take their opponents to opposite corners. They try to Irish whip them into each other but it is reversed, causing Randleman and Predator to collide. Tanaka hits a backdrop suplex onto Randleman and then dropkicks Predator to help Otani hit a backdrop suplex of his own. Otani kicks Randleman out of the ring while in the ring Tanaka gets a crucifix pin for a two count. Elbow smash by Tanaka, cover, but it gets a two count. Tanaka goes off the ropes but Predator catches him with a heel kick. Predator picks up Tanaka, slams him to the mat, and Randleman comes off the top turnbuckle with an elbow drop. Predator then hits a top turnbuckle knee drop, cover, but Otani barely breaks it up in time. Hercules Cutter by Predator on Tanaka but it only gets a two count. Predator drives Tanaka into the corner, puts him up on top and delivers the Muscle Buster. Cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winners: The Predator and Kevin Randleman

Match Thoughts: The Predator was formally known in WWE as Sylvester Terkay. Better then the last match as The Predator was fun to watch, but I didn't really like the ending.... I might be partly biased since I love Tanaka, but The Predator just kinda squashed him at the end without even giving a hint of a Tanaka comeback. Randleman was still a little rough around the edges as far as professional wrestling goes though and there were a few noticeable miscommunications and even some really loudly yelled spots during the match. It wasn't great, but it was better then anything else on the card so far as Tanaka and Otani are generally game and The Predator held his own while keeping the crowd into it most of the time. Score: 6.5

Giant Silva vs. Kohei Sato and Katsuhisa Fujii
Both wrestlers attack Giant Silva as the bell rings but Giant Silva clubs them away. Giant Silva picks up Fujii, Irish whip and he delivers a big boot. Elbows by Sato but Giant Silva absorbs the blows, Irish whip, Sato ducks the big boot though and dropkicks Giant Silva in the leg. Another dropkick, they go for a double suplex but Giant Silva reverses it into a double front facelock until they make it to the ropes. Giant Silva eventually breaks the hold after getting punched a few times, kicks by Sato and Fujii but Giant Silva clubs both of them to the mat. Giant Silva picks up Fujii and hits a chokeslam, he then picks up Sato and gives him a chokeslam as well. One foot cover on Sato and Giant Silva picks up the three count. Your winner: Giant Silva

Match Thoughts: I generally rate squash matches by how the crowd reacts, and since the crowd really didn't care about this then I see no reason why I should. It's just a freak manhandling two much smaller wrestlers, and while I understand that they were trying to get Silva over as a monster (which was probably accomplished) it doesn't make it an entertaining match. If the crowd was going nuts then I'd excuse it, but since they apparently cared about as much as I did I can't say this match was particularly good. At least Silva would become a Hustle mainstay, making the squash match at least slightly meaningful if nothing else. Score: 3.0

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Vader
They shove each other to start the match, punches by Vader but Hashimoto hits a chop to the neck. Tie-up, Hashimoto grabs Vader's wrist and takes him down to the mat with an armbar. He releases the hold after a minute and they get back to their feet, Vader gets Hashimoto into the corner and hits a series of punches. Hashimoto fires back with chops but Vader gets the better of it. Vader Crush by Vader, but Hashimoto is in the ropes so he can't go for the cover. Vader lets Hashimoto up, Hashimoto goes off the ropes but he can't knock Vader down. Now Vader goes off the ropes and he hits a Vader Attack, sending Hashimoto to the mat. Vader picks up Hashimoto, Irish whip, and he knocks Hashimoto back down. Elbow drop by Vader, cover, but Hashimoto gets a foot on the ropes. Vader drags Hashimoto to his feet and sends him back to the mat with a lariat. Punches by Vader and he applies an armbar, cover, but it gets a two count. Back up, Hashimoto blocks a Vader punch and connects with a chop. Kicks by Hashimoto to the leg of Vader and he takes Vader to the mat with a side headlock takeover. Cover, but it barely gets a two. Hashimoto applies the cross armbreaker, but after a minute Vader rolls out of it. Punches by Vader while Hashimoto is against the ropes, Hashimoto grabs him and applies a side headlock, Irish whip by Vader but Hashimoto ducks the lariat and delivers the DDT. Hashimoto goes off the ropes and delivers a dropkick, sending Vader out of the ring. Hashimoto joins him and applies a reverse chinlock on the outside, but Vader connects with a few punches and puts him against the ring post. Vader gets a chair and hits Hashimoto with it in the ribs, but Hashimoto ducks the next shot and moves the mat at ringside. DDT by Hashimoto onto the floor and he rolls back in the ring as the referee is at 18. Vader naturally doesn't get back in time and is counted out. Your winner: Shinya Hashimoto

Match Thoughts: I wanted to like this match since I like both of these guys, but really the match was below average at best. The one minute arm submission by Vader was lame since the move clearly didn't hurt and Vader isn't really known for going for the arm... I know he was probably winded but I think they could have done better then waste so much time with one move. Same thing happened with the cross armbreaker, as those two moves along were 20% of the match, and neither had any impact on the end of the match whatsoever. The crowd also hated the ending, as they wanted to get into the match but booed it pretty heavily for a Japanese crowd. The ending did make sense, but if the crowd hates it then it didn't really work. Both wrestlers' striking looked great and the emotion was there, but unfortunately by this point Vader wasn't in the condition to have a long singles match and the structure didn't really help matters any. Score: 4.0

Mil Mascaras, Dos Caras, and Sicodelico Jr. vs. Tom Howard, Steve Corino, and Dusty Rhodes
Mascaras and Dusty tease starting, but Corino comes in the ring and insists on going first. They circle each other, tie-up, waistlock by Mascaras, reversed by Corino, Mascaras applies a hammerlock and throws Corino to the mat. Headscissors takedown by Mascaras and he keeps the hold applied, spinning Corino to the mat each time he gets to his feet. Corino gets a foot on the ropes after a moment and both wrestlers get back to their feet. They go into a Test of Strength and Mascaras monkey flips Corino down. Mascaras gets Corino into the corner but he gives a clean break. Drop toehold by Mascaras and he applies a stretch submission hold. Irish whip by Mascaras and he delivers the flying double chest chop. Dos Caras comes in the ring and with Mascaras he hits a double flying double chest chop. Feeling left out, Sicodelico Jr. comes in the ring and hits a spinning heel kick onto Corino. Sicodelico Jr. stays in as the legal man but Corino rakes him in the eyes and tags in Dusty. Dusty punches Sicodelico Jr. into the corner but Sicodelico Jr. chops him back. Elbow to the head by Dusty and he tags in Corino. Kick to the stomach by Corino and he applies a wristlock, but Sicodelico Jr. gets out of it and shoulderblocks him down. Back up, spinning heel kick by Sicodelico Jr. and he hits a Falcon Arrow. Sicodelico Jr. goes for a twisting reverse splash by Corino moves out of the way and hits a superkick. Corino goes for a scoop slam but Sicodelico Jr. gets out of it and hits a superkick of his own. Sicodelico Jr. tags in Dos Caras while Corino tags in Howard. Tie-up, side headlock by Howard, Dos Caras Irish whips out of it but Howard shoulderblocks him down. Howard goes off the ropes but Dos Caras hits a flying double chest chop followed by a dropkick. Drop toehold by Howard but Howard scurries out of the ring. Dos Caras follows him out with a pescado however and gets back in the ring to tag in Mascaras.

Howard teases tagging in Dusty and does so, but Corino tags himself in to massive boos. Tie-up, side headlock by Mascaras, Corino Irish whips out of it but Mascaras shoulderblocks him down. Mascaras goes off the ropes and hits a hiptoss, side headlock by Mascaras, Howard comes in the ring to try to help but Mascaras flips them both to the mat. He then hits a side headlock takeover/headscissors combination on both men before delivering a flying double chest chop to Corino for a two count cover. Stretch hold by Mascaras but Howard breaks it up, sending Mascaras out of the ring. Dos Caras comes in to replace him as Dusty is tagged in, and Dusty chops him into the corner. Elbows by Dusty and he tags in Howard. Dos Caras tries to tag in Sicodelico Jr. but Howard pulls him back and tags in Corino. Double Irish whip to Dos Caras from the corner, lariat by Corino and Howard follows with a Poetry in Motion. DDT by Corino followed by an STO. Irish whip by Corino, reversed and Dos Caras hits a flying chop to the chest. Dos Caras applies a stretch hold that I really can't even describe before releasing it and tagging in Sicodelico Jr.. DDT by Sicodelico Jr., he picks up Corino, Irish whip, and he delivers a dropkick. Sicodelico Jr. tags in Mascaras, Irish whip by Mascaras and he hits a flying double chest chop. Double underhook lock by Mascaras but Howard breaks it up. Sicodelico Jr. comes in to replace Mascaras as Howard comes in as well, Irish whip by Howard and he hits a jumping heel kick in the corner. Howard picks up Sicodelico Jr., Irish whip from the corner but Sicodelico Jr. avoids his charge and rolls him up for a two count. Sicodelico Jr. dropkicks Howard out of the ring and then sails out onto him with a corkscrew pescado. Dos Caras and Dusty come in as the legal men and Dusty elbows Dos Caras into the corner. Dos Caras tags in Mascaras and holds Dusty for him as Mascaras goes to the top turnbuckle, but Corino pushes them out of the way and Mascaras hits him with a flying crossbody. Cover by Mascaras and he picks up the three count! Your winners: Mil Mascaras, Dos Caras, and Sicodelico Jr.

Match Thoughts: Steve Corino said it best himself in his commentary right after the show: "Without getting into the inner workings of the match I was pretty much in the ring for about 95% of the 14 minute match getting my ass handed to me by a 68 year old man. The quality of the match was what you would expect out of it but for the nostalgia of it, it was fun." That pretty much sums it up, but the only other thing I'd add is it was disappointing that after teasing Dusty/Mascaras that they never actually did it... I know they wanted Corino to get heel heat, which worked very well, but they should have given the crowd a little taste so that they would be satisfied. About what you'd expect from a legends match, Mick Foley didn't like wrestling Mascaras back in the early 90s because he wouldn't bump, you can imagine how it was in 2004. Corino did a good job at making his offense look good however and both Caras and Sicodelico Jr. were very solid. Score: 4.5

Mark Coleman vs. Toshiaki Kawada
They trade strikes to start the match but neither can connect cleanly. Coleman gets Kawada into the corner and knees him in the stomach, but Kawada comes back with slaps and a high kick. Coleman comes back with a double leg takedown, but Kawada maintains his balance. Finally Coleman manages to get Kawada to the mat and he hits a series of mounted punches. Kawada tries to apply a choke but Coleman slams him down to break the hold. After a moment Kawada gets out and goes for a cross armbreaker, but Coleman keeps his arms locked until he can make it to the ropes. Back up, Coleman nails Kawada with a punch to the face but Kawada comes back with a kick to the head. Belly to belly suplex by Coleman but Kawada gets back to his feet and hits a boot to the face. Another suplex by Coleman, this time Kawada doesn't get up quickly, but when he does he eats another suplex. Punches by Coleman and he applies a modified side headlock, but after a minute Kawada gets to the ropes. Kicks to the leg by Kawada and they trade strikes, waistlock by Kawada, reversed by Coleman but Kawada takes down Coleman with an ankle lock. Coleman slowly rolls in the general direction of the ropes but can't get there and the referee calls for the bell even though Coleman never submitted. Your winner by referee stoppage: Toshiaki Kawada

Match Thoughts: I am not a huge fan of MMA vs. professional wrestling matches as MMA fighters generally take awhile to adjust, but really this match wasn't bad until the bizarre ending. The strikes looked pretty good, all things considered, and the crowd popped at the right times (such as Coleman's first belly to belly suplex). But for the referee to call for the bell even though Coleman never submitted is just political BS as in neither MMA nor professional wrestling is the bell supposed to be rung when a conscious wrestler isn't submitting. So that put a damper on things, but really the rest of it was very watchable. Score: 5.0

Bill Goldberg vs. Naoya Ogawa
Goldberg headbutts Ogawa as the bell rings, Ogawa gets Goldberg into the corner and slaps him before backing off. Lariat by Goldberg, Irish whip, he grabs Ogawa by the throat and picks him up in a military press before slamming him to the mat. Goldberg kicks Ogawa out of the ring and Ogawa takes his time returning but eventually does so. Tie-up, knees to the midsection by Goldberg and he applies an ankle submission hold. Ogawa reverses it into an ankle lock of his own but Goldberg makes it to the ropes. Stomps by Ogawa and he chokes Goldberg with his boot. Back up, side headlock takedown by Ogawa and he delivers a hiptoss. Ogawa goes for the cross armbreaker but Goldberg blocks it, so Ogawa goes back to the ankle. They trade slaps while Goldberg is still in the hold and Goldberg manages to reverse it into a single leg crab hold. Ogawa inches to the ropes however and he forces the break. Back up, kicks to the chest by Ogawa, he goes for an Irish whip by Goldberg pushes him back. Ogawa recovers quickly however and hits a series of forearms before delivering the monkey flip. Ogawa picks up Goldberg but Goldberg knees Ogawa in the midsection and hits a butterfly suplex. Goldberg pushes Ogawa into the corner and chokes him before slapping him and backing off. Goldberg goes for a backdrop suplex but Ogawa reverses it and hits a backdrop suplex of his own. Ogawa picks up Goldberg, Irish whip, and he applies the sleeper hold. Goldberg drives Ogawa into the corner to get out of it, Ogawa doesn't break it and he knocks down the referee when the referee tries to intervene. The referee recovers and tries again, but this time Goldberg pushes him to the mat (and knocking him out, apparently). Goldberg finally frees himself of Ogawa's hold and nails him with a spear. Cover by Goldberg but the referee is still down. Goldberg goes to try to recover the referee, he waits for Ogawa to get up and goes for another spear but Ogawa rolls out of the way and hits the STO. Another STO by Ogawa and he goes over to try to wake up the referee. Having no luck, he picks up Goldberg, but Goldberg falls back to the mat. He picks him up again, goes off the ropes, but Giant Silva grabs his leg. Silva gets on the apron and swats at Ogawa, which gives Goldberg time to recover. Spear by Goldberg, he picks up Ogawa and finishes him with the Jackhammer. The referee wakes up, cover by Goldberg and he picks up the three count! Your winner: Bill Goldberg

Match Thoughts: Again we have a match that would have been pretty entertaining if not for the questionable ending. The referee being out for two minutes isn't a new concept in wrestling, but really it should be more then a one armed push from Goldberg to do it. No man, woman, or child should be knocked out by being gently pushed to the mat. Even though there were a few disjointed parts the match was generally entertaining... Goldberg might not have the passion for the business that some do but he doesn't show it in the ring at all. His selling in this match was exceptional, perhaps better then anyone else on this card. The minute-long ankle locks were meaningless, but other then that I have no complaints aside from the ridiculous referee bump. The crowd was pretty into it as well, so bonus points for that. Score: 5.5

Final Thoughts:

Well what an odd little show. Not good, really, but debut shows are hard to pull off as most of the matches have storylines that are just starting which can have an adverse effect on crowd reaction and emotion. The main event was very watchable but there weren't any matches that came close to "must see" unless you like bizarre pairings or are on a nostalgia kick. When Shinjiro Otani and Masato Tanaka vs. The Predator and Kevin Randleman is the best match on the card you know you have a problem, and while I enjoyed seeing some of the legends that really isn't a good enough reason to purchase this. It wasn't utter trash as some of the matches were entertaining and others were so bizarre that they were fun to watch, but overall I wouldn't recommend it.

Not Recommended

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review completed 5/24/07