There's been a great deal of quality wrestling so far this year, and to sift through to find the top match out of the accumulation of quality encounters might seem to be a difficulty. Yet one match seems to me to stick out head and shoulders above all others this year to date in conceptualizing wrestling as a storytelling medium and a forum for the presentation of human drama, and then carrying through with a compelling and forceful tale. That is what I consider to be the chief virtue to which a wrestling match may aspire. Of which match do I speak? Answers below....

After the dissolution of All Japan Pro Wrestling as it had been known, and the defection of all the native workers (and Vader) to the Noah promotion created by Misuharu Misawa, All Japan owner Motoko Baba (widow of the late legend Giant Baba) was faced with the difficult problem of how to maintain her now crippled company. The plan eventually put into practice involved a copromotional deal with New Japan, the Japanese equivalent to WCW and WWF working together (back when this wasn't a forgone conclusion, mind you =)). In October at the "Do Judge!" New Japan dome show, Toshiaki Kawada, the ace of AJ, had defeated cleanly the then-reigning IWGP champion, Kensuke Sasaki, clean in the middle with a high kick to the head in a non-title match. New Japan ran an angle following that match, in which Sasaki considered himself to be an unworthy champion as a result of his loss and vacated the IWGP title, which was to be put up for grabs in a tournament at the 1/4 NJ Tokyo Dome show, "Wrestling World 2001", traditionally New Japan's biggest show of the year. But before the top wrestlers in New Japan and All Japan could make it to that show, they first had this Pay Per view to fill; pay per view is still in its infancy in Japan, and thus the major events are usually the Dome shows shown of free television rather than the pay per views. The result is a show here low on major developments, but high on wrestling quality.

We kick off with a highlights package of the birth of the AJ-NJ feud, followed by the drawing of slots for the "Wrestling World 2001" singles title tournament. Included are a variety of interviews with participants, but given that I don't speak Japanese, let's move on. This is all basically Heat in Japanese.

MASA CHONO/T-2000 MACHINE VS. KENSUKE SASAKI/STRONG MACHINE

Apologies now that I don't know who the machines (the masked guys) are. Both are essentially generic and inoffensive, so it's hardly a burning question, yes? Sasaki is essentially a moderately descent worker know to rise to the occasion, though he's nothing special. He's essentially a roided power wrestler from the Riki Chosyu school: lots 'o lariats and a sharpshooter as a finisher (along with the Northern Lights Bomb- think Al Snow's snowplow). Chono is the coolest man on earth. Really, the black shades and Time Lord ring gear just rule everything to a ridiculous degree. Sadly his work has never been the same after a massive neck injury (ironically, at the hands of Steve Austin) which essentially rendered him into the Stone Cold of Japan: a veteran who compensates for iffy physical condition through guile and careful match planning.

The match is essentially what you'd expect, a standard New Japan style heavy weight match with the emphasis on simple psychology and hard striking. Chono and Sasaki start and Sasaki dominates with the unstoppable power of 20 pounds of injectible muscle, hitting a shoulderblock and driving Chono to the mat. Chono gets a chinlock off a knuckle lock and they grapple on the ground, Sasaki hitting a scoop slam to break. More knucklelocking, and Sasaki hits the powerslam off the Irish (Japanese?) whip. Sasaki works the knee on the ground with a leg lock. Chono breaks and the Machines get into it on the outside. They tag in and...things...start...to...suck. Chopping. Headbutting. A DDT. Resthold surfboard. Mask ripping. This is like bad lucha. Sasaki and Chono back in, they trade a bunch of ground based nothing focusing on Sasaki's knee. We hit the brawling on the outside, and no one here's Bruiser Brody. Back in for more mask ripping on Strong Machine, who makes a comeback with the double lariat. Saski comes in actually selling the knee, and now it's a big brawl. Superplex on Chono and a lariat, but a low blow and a Yakuza kick give Chono the STF (his finisher) on Strong Machine. Rope break. Sasaki clears the ring of Chono with a lariat, takes down T-2000 machine with the same, and a Strong machine diving headbutt finishes at 14:55. *1/2. Inoffensive and unessential, it was just sort of there to fill space on the card. Nothing bad, nothing really especially good. An utterly generic New Japan heavyweight tag match.

HIROYOSHI "Astro Mullet" TENZAN VS. YUTAKA "What the Hell is THAT!?" YOSHIE

The nicknames are mine =). Tenzan has the grand uncle of all mullets, a two foot long whopper with the top flat toped and the edges all around died blond. The sides are shaved. Yoshie has this indescribable...thing...on his head that's virtually worth the price of the tape itself just to see. It's as if his head were in the grip of a fuzzy albino starfish. This is truly the match up of the strangest hair in wrestling.

Basic story of the match is that Yoshie sucks horrifically, and Tenzan's actually good, hence the match evens out at around "passable". It's standard New Japan heavy style, hard strikes like Tenzan's Mongolian chop mixing with basic holds and quick-start pacing. Headlocks-and-shoulderblocks start punctuated with Tenzan's trademark headbutts and Mongolian chop. Both guys do the many warrior spirit no-sell thing, and Yoshie takes over with his horrid girth-based offense. Fat Legdrop! Chinlock! Think Rikishi with even more ridiculous hair and a bit less flab. Tenzan gets back on top with headbutts, including one to the groin. What's Japanese for "Whazzaaapppp?". Stomps. Kicks. Boredom. Chops. Yoshie takes over off the last of those but is felled by a nefarious low blow. Tenzan headbutt gets a two count. Tenzan gets the best of an exchange of Mongolian chops, but falls victim to a suplex reversal. Spinning heel kick for Tenzan. Not much happening here. After a year Tenzan misses the flying headbutt and Yoshie takes over, getting his inverted figure-four finisher. Tenzan rope breaks and kicks out of a nifty followup spinebuster. Yoshie responds with a truly hideous German suplex, dropping Tenzan right on his head. Oi, that'll kill brain cells. It gets 2 2/3. Yoshie hits an inverted powerslam and transitions to the inverted figure-four, which Tenzan rope breaks. Tenzan breaks Yoshie's momentum with the Mountain Bomb and takes over, hitting a diving headbutt for 2 and _. Tenzansault misses, and Yoshie hits an obese Thez press, than a German suplex for 2 _. He locks in the inverted figure-four for the third time and gets the tap at 13:87. Front part was dull and meaningless, back end was good but lacked flow and build to the leg submission, and the most interesting thing about the match was the hair. **

MICHIYOSHI OHARA VS. KENDO KA SHIN

Behold the wreckage which is the career of Kendo Ka Shin. His gimmick of shoot-style junior went down the tubes after Ryan Gracie mauled him in PRIDE, killing his offense and thus his career deader than a doornail. This lasts all of 3:08 as Ohara hits the chokeslam for the win. Blah. DUD. Next.

SATOSHI KOJIMA VS. KENZO SUZUKI

Kojima is, along with Nagata, Tenzan, and Ilzuka, one of the best young New Japan heavyweights. Suzuki is apparently a rugby star signed by New Japan, and Kojima has been deputized to make him look not bad. Good may be a reach. Kojima's in the Orange, Suzuki in the blue. Suzuki plays midget Goldberg to start, getting a quick 2 _ off a spear. You'll be reading that again. Kojima bails to the outside and regroups. Back in and Suzuki controls with really basic stuff- slam, stomp, armdrag, headlock. They do the chop trade and Kojima wins- chinlock. More basic stuff from Kojima, keeping it simple for the kid. Suzuki chinlockery into a headscissors, and I'm having no trouble typing while I watch, and I am by no means a touch typist. Kojima headlock give him control, and he hits a blind charge/flying elbow for 2.Suzuki gets the ab stretch, countered with an Ace crusher, countered with a spear. Another spear. Backdrop. Get the sense Suzuki is limited? DDT, no cover, front chancery, DDT, and Suzuki misses the kneedrop. Kojima goes after the knee with a drop kick, dragon screw, and a figure four. Lot of holds in this match to kill time given Suzuki's limited offense. Figure four is broken and Kojima talks trash, and takes another spear. That's four. Kojima counters with an evil lariat for the win though at 9:40. Nothing bad, but Suzuki is greener than you can imagine, and Kojima really had to dumb down his offense for the kid. He has the athletic talent though, and he didn't blow anything. A modicum of psychology, decent work, nothing offensive, **3/4.

LIGER/MAKEBE/TANAKA VS. DELPHIN/TSUBASA/MURAHAMA

My first ever tape review and I get to do play-by play for this. Bad call, Brendan. Liger, of course, is the God of juniors, one of the best of all time. He's been slowed by injuries (broken leg, brain tumor, etc.) but can still hang with the best. He's also got the OMNI-AWESOME alternate all-black with silver trim outfit here, putting him within reach of Chono on coolness quotient. Minoru Tanaka (fluorescent green trunks) may be the best junior in the world today, able to hang in a Battlarts style pseudoshoot or a highflying spectacular. Makebe's young, and his chief virtue is the fact that he doesn't suck. Team Osaka pro is shepherded to ringside by the strangest costumed wrestlers I've ever seen. Delphin is still fish-boy, though despite his goofiness he's quite the worker. Tsubasa (in the mask) is decent, while Murahama is a revelation here to me, since I never watch Delphin's Osaka pro outfit from which his team originates. Murahama is like a miniaturized Tanaka, adept in all phases of the game and damn fun to watch.

Both teams mix it up before the bell. Tanaka and Murahama start, going shootstyle with the leg kicks and takedowns, mount position and attempted cross-armbreakers and knee bars. Murahama gets a stiff leg kick and they reset. Tanaka takes control with a suplex and a kneedrop for 2. Delphin in with Makebe. Criss-cross sequence ends with Delphin in control after a dropkick, but Makebe hits a spear to break it up. Tsubasa in, and team NJ holds him outside for a Liger baseball slide dropkick to the face. Liger controls on Tsubasa, working stiff with hard chops and elbows. Tsubasa hits the headscissors and teases a highspot before pulling back. Makebe in, than Tanaka, controlling Tsubasa. He breaks for the corner and tags Delphin who hits a Tsubasa-boosted Tanaka with a dropkick. Murahama with a dropkick to the face of Tanaka in Delphin's camel clutch. Tsubasa in with the Eddie G. senton. Tree of woe dropkick on Tanaka by Murahama. Quick change double team offense by team Oasaka pro, until Tanaka breaks with a second rope dropkick on Murahama and tags Liger. Liger cleans house with shotei's (palm thrusts) and backbreakers, but takes an Owenzuigiri from Murahama. Complicated sequence in which team Osaka pro tricks Makebe into shotei-ing Tanaka, than tricks them both into a Tsubasa flying body press. Triple dropkick on Liger, and Delphin hits a body press to the outside. Next comes Murahama with a Sasuke-style somersault plancha, which is the point at which I realized he kicked much, much ass. Tsubasa with the crash and burn moonsault press to the outside. Inside Murahama gets 2 _ on Liger, and follows up with stiff kicks and an over-shoulder arm breaker. This is *really* good stuff. Murahama gets a key-lock on Liger, and team Osaka pro storm the ring to prevent the save, but Liger makes the ropes. Liger hits a shock powerbomb for a breather, and tags Makebe, who powerslams Delphin for 2. Rolling Germans for 2 _. He misses the dropkick and gets DDT'd and backdropped for 2. Delphin hits the tornado DDT and charges a shotei, which hits for 2 before the save. Tanaka in to whoop on Tsubasa, but the save is made off a knee bar and Tsubasa hits a super hurracanrana and the Eddy G. face rake, followed by the ugliest...thing...off the top I've seen in a while. Pier-6 to the outside, leaving Tanaka and Tsubasa inside, and Tanaka hits a brutal missile dropkick and a northern lights suplex for 2 _. A rolling northern lights into a cross armbreaker finishes at 16:88, and team New Japan gets the duke. Stupendous match, with nifty selling of submissions, high-energy work, awesome highspots, stiff shots, good psychology relating to working of bodyparts/wearing down of a particular opponent, and a little story told about Tsubasa being the weak point of his team. An interesting mix of shoot-style submission maneuvers and lucha-inflected highflying, which somehow hangs together logically. The only downside was Tsubasa's occasionally iffy work. It's all good here: ****1/4.

MANABU NAKANISHI VS. OSAMU NISHIMURA

Penthouse, meet outhouse. Here we have the absolute worst of the New Japan heavyweights on display, as worthless Ape-man Nakanishi and pointless Nishimura square off in a match over nothing. Trust me: steroid abuse and a torture rack are not all Nakanishi shares with Lex Luger; he's just as bad a worker. The world ages as this seems to go on forever, despite the fast foreward, and I see an endless blur of restholds and crappy strikes. Rome rose and fell in the time it took Nakanishi to finally rack Nishimura for the tap, or perhaps it just felt that way. DUD, and don't stop the tape other than to check out Nakanishi's gorilla impression. What do you mean he always looks like that?