Post by keith on Apr 4, 2007 2:25:52 GMT -5
Keith_h's History of the Big Japan Deathmatch Revolution (1998-2000)
The Big Japan Deathmatch revolution began in late 1998 when the young wrestlers in Big Japan (WX, Honma, Yamakawa, Winger) started to change the style of the company. Gone was the " I cut you, you cut me, and we push each others heads into sharp objects and and bleed" style of Pogo, Nakamaki, and Matsunaga where wrestlers could get away with having no athletic talent and just cut each other up. Instead the matches began to feature psychology, actual wrestling, and unbelievable bumps. Over the next two years (till CZW ruined everything in early 2000) Big Japan would go on to flourish as they created this new style of deathmatches. This set contains 28 of the best matches from the deathmatch revolution, including what many believe are the greatest deathmatches of all time in the two Honma/Yamakawa matches, and the greatest tag deathmatch of all time in Honma/Yamakawa vs. Winger/WX. This is one of my favorite time periods of any wrestling promotion ever, and I urge anyone who's never seen it to check it out.
All of the matches on this set are VG-EX video quality (mostly EX), most of the footage came from Jeff Lynch, so it’s the best quality you’re likely to find.
It's $20.00 for the 5 discs. This includes shipping in the US and Canada. Europe please add $2.00 for Air Mail. Paypal is preferred, but money orders work too. PM me if you're interested. THE SET IS NOT FOR TRADE. Thanks!
All DVDs have full menus (scroll down for menu art), and the BJW theme music playing in the background; DVDs were authored w/ TMPGE DVD Author 2.0
Match listings:
DISC 1:
1. Shadow WX vs. Tomoaki Honma (Barbwire Board Deathmatch, BJW KOTDM 1998, 07/26/98 ) – The start of the Deathmatch revolution in my opinion, as Honma and WX go out and have a match that blows away anything else from BJW in 98. Sick bumps, great spots, actual good wrestling and Honma bleeding a 1.5 on the Muta scale = a classic deathmatch.
2. DM Title Match: Shadow WX vs. Matsunaga © (Light tube and barbwire board, Crocodile Deathmatch, 09/23/98 ) – WX becomes the first of the new generation to win the deathmatch title, and he does so in decisive fashion. Afterwards Matsunaga must wrestle a crocodile.
3. Highlights: Shadow WX © vs. Tomoaki Honma (Barbwire Board Deathmatch, 10/31/98 ) – Only highlights of this match exist, but CRAZY highlights they are. Honma again bumps like a FREAK and cuts another spraying blade job, literally painting trails on the ground.
4. DM Title Match: Shadow WX © vs. Ryuji Yamakawa (Light Tube, Coffin, Fire Deathmatch, 05/30/99) – Yamakawa challenges for the deathmatch title in a crazy fire match. Watch for the light tube thrown by WX that gets stuck three inches deep in Yamakawa’s back.
5. Tomoaki Honma vs. Minoru Fujita (06/17/99) – Not a deathmatch, just a really fun Battlarts style match. Honma bleeds from a side headlock!!! This match shows how good Honma was in a none deathmatch environment, something we would see later in All Japan.
DISC 2:
6. DM Title Match: Ryuji Yamakawa © vs. Tomoaki Honma (Light tube, bed of nails, Barbwire Board Deathmatch, 06/20/99) – My favorite deathmatch of all time. Super classic deathmatch that holds up great even today. They actually wrestle a really good match and the deathmatch stipulations are a bonus, not a crutch. The tombstone off the apron through the tubes is out of this world nuts. I think I watched this match 3 times the first day I got it back in 1999.
7. Shadow WX and Tomoaki Honma vs. Ryuji Yamakawa and Mike Samples (7/25/99) - With WX, Honma, and Yamakawa in the same ring, not even Samples can drag it down. Fun match.
8. DM Title Match: Ryuji Yamakawa © vs. Shadow WX (Light Tube, barbwire, fire Death Match 08/10/99) – Rematch for their 5/99 match. Crazy fire bumps and tons of tubes. I love these old outdoor BJW shows.
9. Tomoaki Honma vs. the Winger (#1 Contender Match, Barbed Wire Board Deathmatch, 10/03/99) – Awesome match here, the best these two ever had against each other. Winger’s senton off the truck is a thing of beauty.
10. Mitsuhiro Matsunaga and Ryuji Yamakawa vs. The Winger and Jun Kasai (10/17/99) – The first time Kasai gets to play with the big guys, and man does he die: Suplex out of the ring through tables, powerbomb from the apron to the floor, crazy diving head butt to the outside. Kasai showed his willingness to die very early.
DISC 3:
11. DM Title Match: Shadow WX © vs. Tomoaki Honma (Barbed Wire Board, Light Tube Deathmatch, 10/17/99) – Great match here, as both guys pull out all the stops. Honma hits his sickest blade job yet, spraying blood the entire match, were talking Eddie at Judgment day 2004 level here. Great bumps, wrestling and drama.
12. Kamikaze and Matsuzaki vs. Mike Samples and Jun Kasai (JIP, Barbwire Board Deathmatch, 10/18/99) – Kasai dies here... oh does he die.
13. Tomoaki Honma and Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Mike Samples and Jun Kasai (JIP, Barbwire Board Deathmatch, 10/30/99) – Honma and Yamakawa try to murder Kasai. Samples sucks as usual, but Kasai makes up for his suckage.
14. Tomoaki Honma and Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Kamikaze and Matsuzaki (JIP, Barbwire Boards Deathmatch, 11/2/99) – To bad this is clipped as it looks awesome. What remains is still great.
15. Jun Kasai and Mike Samples vs. the Winger and Shadow WX (JIP, Barbwire Boards Deathmatch, 11/6/99) – Winger and WX now find it their duty to murder Kasai. They do a good job, and shockingly even Samples takes a bump into the barbwire.
16. Tomoaki Honma and Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Shadow WX and The Winger (Tag League Finals, Light tubes and Barbed Wire Board Deathmatch, 11/14/99) – Many call this the greatest tag deathmatch of all time, and I’m gonna have to agree. Tons of great actual wrestling, build to the spots, and then all out nuttiness to the finish. Features the one and only FLAMMING SENTON by Winger. Quiet possibly the best looking spot ever in a BJW match.
17. Tomoaki Honma vs. Abdullah the Butcher (Street fight, 12/04/99) - Not a great match, but the best Abby match in forever, and Honma gets the huge upset win. A big deal cause Abby never jobs in Japan.
DISC 4:
18. DM Title Match: Shadow WX © vs. Ryuji Yamakawa (Light Tubes and Barbed Wire Board Deathmatch, 12/04/99) – This match is just non-stop craziness. WX lights himself of fire and splashes Yamakawa through a table, Yamakawa takes an insane Powerbomb off the apron through a light tube board, that and tons more.
19. DM Title Match: Ryuji Yamakawa © vs. Tomoaki Honma (Barbwire Board, Bed of Nails Deathmatch, 01/02/00) – Many call this the best deathmatch ever. While I merely think it’s second or third, it’s still an amazing match, featuring great wrestling, tons of drama and a super hot finish. Honma/Yamakawa meshed so well.
20. Kintaro Kanemura vs. Ryuji Yamakawa (WEW Hardcore Match, 02/22/00) – Awesome match here, both guys just try and kill each other, with Yamakawa taking some especially psycho bumps.
21. Shadow WX vs. Mike Samples (Extreme Cup Finals, 02/22/00) - Not a good match, but memorable for WX almost burning to death as he catches fire for a good 30 seconds.
DISC 5:
22. DM Title Match: Tomoaki Honma © vs. Abdullah Kobayashi (Ladder, Barbwire Board Deathmatch, 02/22/00) – Awesome deathmatch here, Honma takes a psychology based approach and works to an arm submission finish. Kobayashi steps up for the first time in his career and does so in a great way.
23. Jun Kasai vs. Tomoaki Honma (WEC 2000, 03/26/00) – Kasai’s first big singles match and he steps up big time. Not a deathmatch, just a super fun, well wrestled, intense match.
24. Shadow WX vs. Tomoaki Honma (Light Tubes and Barbwire Boards Deathmatch, 04/29/00) – These guys always have a great match and this is no exception. One of the last big singles matches for BJW before the CZW feud took center stage. Honma takes a crazy Powerbomb off a balcony.
25. Mitsuhiro Matsunaga vs. Jun Kasai (Barefoot, Light Tubes and Barbed Wire Board Death Match, 04/30/00) – Kasai and Matsunaga, no shoes, and tons of glass and barbwire. To say this match is full of painful stuff is an understatement.
26. Mitsuhiro Matsunaga vs. Jun Kasai (No-Rope Barbwire Fire Road Deathmatch, 05/10/00) – Kasai once again goes up against his mentor, and it’s another brutal match. Matsunaga’s sharpshooter with a flaming bat under Kasai’s stomach is a great visual.
27. BONUS: Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Jun Kasai (No-Rope Barbwire Fire Road Deathmatch, 7/30/00) – This match takes place after the DM revolution itself had ended, but it fits right in. Kasai scores a huge win here. Both guys take crazy bumps.
28. BONUS: Jun Kasai vs. Shadow WX (No-Rope Barbwire Fire Road Deathmatch, 8/26/00) – Also from a latter time period, but it fits in better here than with the CZW stuff. Kasai dies in this one. Watch for Kasai’s back after the powerbomb on tubes, for a second it doesn’t look that bad, then blood just POURS out of everywhere in a delayed effect. Great deathmatch too from a time when BJW wasn't producing many of them.
MENU ART:
The Big Japan Deathmatch revolution began in late 1998 when the young wrestlers in Big Japan (WX, Honma, Yamakawa, Winger) started to change the style of the company. Gone was the " I cut you, you cut me, and we push each others heads into sharp objects and and bleed" style of Pogo, Nakamaki, and Matsunaga where wrestlers could get away with having no athletic talent and just cut each other up. Instead the matches began to feature psychology, actual wrestling, and unbelievable bumps. Over the next two years (till CZW ruined everything in early 2000) Big Japan would go on to flourish as they created this new style of deathmatches. This set contains 28 of the best matches from the deathmatch revolution, including what many believe are the greatest deathmatches of all time in the two Honma/Yamakawa matches, and the greatest tag deathmatch of all time in Honma/Yamakawa vs. Winger/WX. This is one of my favorite time periods of any wrestling promotion ever, and I urge anyone who's never seen it to check it out.
All of the matches on this set are VG-EX video quality (mostly EX), most of the footage came from Jeff Lynch, so it’s the best quality you’re likely to find.
It's $20.00 for the 5 discs. This includes shipping in the US and Canada. Europe please add $2.00 for Air Mail. Paypal is preferred, but money orders work too. PM me if you're interested. THE SET IS NOT FOR TRADE. Thanks!
All DVDs have full menus (scroll down for menu art), and the BJW theme music playing in the background; DVDs were authored w/ TMPGE DVD Author 2.0
Match listings:
DISC 1:
1. Shadow WX vs. Tomoaki Honma (Barbwire Board Deathmatch, BJW KOTDM 1998, 07/26/98 ) – The start of the Deathmatch revolution in my opinion, as Honma and WX go out and have a match that blows away anything else from BJW in 98. Sick bumps, great spots, actual good wrestling and Honma bleeding a 1.5 on the Muta scale = a classic deathmatch.
2. DM Title Match: Shadow WX vs. Matsunaga © (Light tube and barbwire board, Crocodile Deathmatch, 09/23/98 ) – WX becomes the first of the new generation to win the deathmatch title, and he does so in decisive fashion. Afterwards Matsunaga must wrestle a crocodile.
3. Highlights: Shadow WX © vs. Tomoaki Honma (Barbwire Board Deathmatch, 10/31/98 ) – Only highlights of this match exist, but CRAZY highlights they are. Honma again bumps like a FREAK and cuts another spraying blade job, literally painting trails on the ground.
4. DM Title Match: Shadow WX © vs. Ryuji Yamakawa (Light Tube, Coffin, Fire Deathmatch, 05/30/99) – Yamakawa challenges for the deathmatch title in a crazy fire match. Watch for the light tube thrown by WX that gets stuck three inches deep in Yamakawa’s back.
5. Tomoaki Honma vs. Minoru Fujita (06/17/99) – Not a deathmatch, just a really fun Battlarts style match. Honma bleeds from a side headlock!!! This match shows how good Honma was in a none deathmatch environment, something we would see later in All Japan.
DISC 2:
6. DM Title Match: Ryuji Yamakawa © vs. Tomoaki Honma (Light tube, bed of nails, Barbwire Board Deathmatch, 06/20/99) – My favorite deathmatch of all time. Super classic deathmatch that holds up great even today. They actually wrestle a really good match and the deathmatch stipulations are a bonus, not a crutch. The tombstone off the apron through the tubes is out of this world nuts. I think I watched this match 3 times the first day I got it back in 1999.
7. Shadow WX and Tomoaki Honma vs. Ryuji Yamakawa and Mike Samples (7/25/99) - With WX, Honma, and Yamakawa in the same ring, not even Samples can drag it down. Fun match.
8. DM Title Match: Ryuji Yamakawa © vs. Shadow WX (Light Tube, barbwire, fire Death Match 08/10/99) – Rematch for their 5/99 match. Crazy fire bumps and tons of tubes. I love these old outdoor BJW shows.
9. Tomoaki Honma vs. the Winger (#1 Contender Match, Barbed Wire Board Deathmatch, 10/03/99) – Awesome match here, the best these two ever had against each other. Winger’s senton off the truck is a thing of beauty.
10. Mitsuhiro Matsunaga and Ryuji Yamakawa vs. The Winger and Jun Kasai (10/17/99) – The first time Kasai gets to play with the big guys, and man does he die: Suplex out of the ring through tables, powerbomb from the apron to the floor, crazy diving head butt to the outside. Kasai showed his willingness to die very early.
DISC 3:
11. DM Title Match: Shadow WX © vs. Tomoaki Honma (Barbed Wire Board, Light Tube Deathmatch, 10/17/99) – Great match here, as both guys pull out all the stops. Honma hits his sickest blade job yet, spraying blood the entire match, were talking Eddie at Judgment day 2004 level here. Great bumps, wrestling and drama.
12. Kamikaze and Matsuzaki vs. Mike Samples and Jun Kasai (JIP, Barbwire Board Deathmatch, 10/18/99) – Kasai dies here... oh does he die.
13. Tomoaki Honma and Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Mike Samples and Jun Kasai (JIP, Barbwire Board Deathmatch, 10/30/99) – Honma and Yamakawa try to murder Kasai. Samples sucks as usual, but Kasai makes up for his suckage.
14. Tomoaki Honma and Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Kamikaze and Matsuzaki (JIP, Barbwire Boards Deathmatch, 11/2/99) – To bad this is clipped as it looks awesome. What remains is still great.
15. Jun Kasai and Mike Samples vs. the Winger and Shadow WX (JIP, Barbwire Boards Deathmatch, 11/6/99) – Winger and WX now find it their duty to murder Kasai. They do a good job, and shockingly even Samples takes a bump into the barbwire.
16. Tomoaki Honma and Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Shadow WX and The Winger (Tag League Finals, Light tubes and Barbed Wire Board Deathmatch, 11/14/99) – Many call this the greatest tag deathmatch of all time, and I’m gonna have to agree. Tons of great actual wrestling, build to the spots, and then all out nuttiness to the finish. Features the one and only FLAMMING SENTON by Winger. Quiet possibly the best looking spot ever in a BJW match.
17. Tomoaki Honma vs. Abdullah the Butcher (Street fight, 12/04/99) - Not a great match, but the best Abby match in forever, and Honma gets the huge upset win. A big deal cause Abby never jobs in Japan.
DISC 4:
18. DM Title Match: Shadow WX © vs. Ryuji Yamakawa (Light Tubes and Barbed Wire Board Deathmatch, 12/04/99) – This match is just non-stop craziness. WX lights himself of fire and splashes Yamakawa through a table, Yamakawa takes an insane Powerbomb off the apron through a light tube board, that and tons more.
19. DM Title Match: Ryuji Yamakawa © vs. Tomoaki Honma (Barbwire Board, Bed of Nails Deathmatch, 01/02/00) – Many call this the best deathmatch ever. While I merely think it’s second or third, it’s still an amazing match, featuring great wrestling, tons of drama and a super hot finish. Honma/Yamakawa meshed so well.
20. Kintaro Kanemura vs. Ryuji Yamakawa (WEW Hardcore Match, 02/22/00) – Awesome match here, both guys just try and kill each other, with Yamakawa taking some especially psycho bumps.
21. Shadow WX vs. Mike Samples (Extreme Cup Finals, 02/22/00) - Not a good match, but memorable for WX almost burning to death as he catches fire for a good 30 seconds.
DISC 5:
22. DM Title Match: Tomoaki Honma © vs. Abdullah Kobayashi (Ladder, Barbwire Board Deathmatch, 02/22/00) – Awesome deathmatch here, Honma takes a psychology based approach and works to an arm submission finish. Kobayashi steps up for the first time in his career and does so in a great way.
23. Jun Kasai vs. Tomoaki Honma (WEC 2000, 03/26/00) – Kasai’s first big singles match and he steps up big time. Not a deathmatch, just a super fun, well wrestled, intense match.
24. Shadow WX vs. Tomoaki Honma (Light Tubes and Barbwire Boards Deathmatch, 04/29/00) – These guys always have a great match and this is no exception. One of the last big singles matches for BJW before the CZW feud took center stage. Honma takes a crazy Powerbomb off a balcony.
25. Mitsuhiro Matsunaga vs. Jun Kasai (Barefoot, Light Tubes and Barbed Wire Board Death Match, 04/30/00) – Kasai and Matsunaga, no shoes, and tons of glass and barbwire. To say this match is full of painful stuff is an understatement.
26. Mitsuhiro Matsunaga vs. Jun Kasai (No-Rope Barbwire Fire Road Deathmatch, 05/10/00) – Kasai once again goes up against his mentor, and it’s another brutal match. Matsunaga’s sharpshooter with a flaming bat under Kasai’s stomach is a great visual.
27. BONUS: Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Jun Kasai (No-Rope Barbwire Fire Road Deathmatch, 7/30/00) – This match takes place after the DM revolution itself had ended, but it fits right in. Kasai scores a huge win here. Both guys take crazy bumps.
28. BONUS: Jun Kasai vs. Shadow WX (No-Rope Barbwire Fire Road Deathmatch, 8/26/00) – Also from a latter time period, but it fits in better here than with the CZW stuff. Kasai dies in this one. Watch for Kasai’s back after the powerbomb on tubes, for a second it doesn’t look that bad, then blood just POURS out of everywhere in a delayed effect. Great deathmatch too from a time when BJW wasn't producing many of them.
MENU ART:
