They all could be finishers today they just aren’t protected how they used to and actually used as a finished instead of 30 times in a match or on the card
It was hilarious to me how most of the worst moves were from the Americans. Except fuckin' George Hines, hot damn, never heard of him but he looked like a beast somehow
I really appreciate how the guys getting pinned are regularly twitching their legs like they're trying and failing to kick out instead of just lying there. Gives the impression that the moves are real. They weren't knocked completely comatose, but they got their bell rung and the wind knocked out of them to pin them for three seconds.
There are numerous times in this video where I wince. There are two occasions on here, though, where the guy either got a concussion or was unconscious for a short period of time. That is some stiff ass wrestling, holy crap.
@@taleoftwowolves74 is it? Is that what the "Japan" means in "All Japan Pro Wrestling"? All this time I thought it meant "Jabberwocky". I guess you learn a new thing everyday. Thanks!
@@williammcdermott8692 I think he only used the burning hammer (and some variants) a total of 6 times in his televised career. Better people than me can probably give you the exact details on it, though. I might be repeating some baseless rumour I heard back in the day.
Is there a particular announcer that's the one always flipping out? I don't know Japanese, but it's still entertaining to hear THREE! THREEEE!! DRIVERRR!!! SUPLUXU!!! LARIAOTO!!!!
AJPW wrestlers having 3+ finishers really adds to the tension in the matches. You never know what move might finish a match and makes everything seem dangerous.
My memory sucks...but that's what i was thinking. They would have a primary finisher, then a secondary and a third. And as i recall the Tiger Driver '91 (ganso bomb) and Burning Hammer finishers were both rarely used...like maybe 5 or so times at most.
@@BoxingMMAFan1 now a days it's more common for a wrestler to have multiple finishers, but back then it wasn't. Plus, their finishers had levels...a primary finisher....secondary finisher and sometimes a third finisher that was rarely used...such as Mitsuharu Misawa's Tiger Driver '91 (kneeling double underhook Ganso bomb), Kenta Kobashi's Burning Hammer (inverted Death Valley Driver) and Toshiaki Kawada's Ganso bomb. Particularly because of how dangerous those moves were.
I adore that half the roster used a Michinoku driver as a finisher and called it a different name each time. Hope Taka-San got his royalties for those.
Oh man, the Spinning Toe Hold was crazy over! I love the concept of tiered finishers. With the most powerful being used only rarely. But I understand the complications that arise from losing to someone's "weakest" finish. It's a concept that's bound to fade as time goes on, & the industry develops.
I remember thinking that Kairi Sane's Insane Elbow would have made a top-tier finisher and she could have developed a "lesser" finisher to use in less serious matches, partially because of how devastating and unique the Insane Elbow looked, but also because it seemed like it would take its toll on her. So with moves that get that kind of reception, I think it could work. Besides that, someone like The Undertaker can have 3+ finishers due to his combination of size, strength, skill, character work, and veteran status. I guess the flipside is if the Undertaker uses chokeslams to put mid-carders away in a believable fashion, it waters down the chokeslam as a finisher for other wrestlers. Not everyone should need a completely unique finisher, but I assume most companies wouldn't want the backdrop suplex inflation made apparent by this video.
@@mcid111 Yeah, considering how it'd play out over a whole career as well as the acceleration of the spor towards more competitive matches more often, I think the better way to go is to need to develop new finishers as time goes by. Like Jericho with the Lionsault, to the Liontamer, to the Walls, to the Codebreaker to the Judas Effect. Putting personal opinions about his career completely to the side, a wrestler being forced to develop & elevate their technique to rise up & stay on top, seems the better way to go, psychologically. Holding a trump card in reserve is still an interesting way to go too, but again the progression of the move us more likely to be devalued, or at least to work in contrast the direction that the industry is going in.
@@twig8523 Yeah, Jericho is a fantastic example because it's understandable he would do the Lionsault less and less as he's reaching the twilight of his career. So when he does do it, it's self-evident he's pulling out all the stops. A more downplayed example that just came to mind is the rare occasions that Stone Cold would bust out the Million Dollar Dream. Although maybe that's less about tiered finishers and more about resorting to phased out moves both to reference the character history and signal the wrestler's desperation in wanting to defeat his opponent.
I wish Braun would use his "weaker" finishers like reverse chokeslam, elevated triangle choke or jackknife powerbomb instead of goddamn basic powerslam. Right now tho, Charlotte has submission and normal finisher, Becky also does... guys tho? Well, Roman has guillotine.
It's so cool for the top guys all to have a super unique special move only brought out for the highest, most meaningful moments, or special modifiers like the wrist clutch to make finishers even more powerful. This is why it really pisses me off when some self-congratulatory indy dude does those special moves, like Dan Maff using the burning hammer in like every match and Eddie Kingston (yes even King) when he does his super ugly stretch plum or uraken or whatever move he saw on a tape that morning.
I completely agree. Dr Death's backdrop driver is insane. The only prominent person outside of Japan that uses it as far as I know is Jordan Devlin. Please correct me if I'm wrong
@@petervanheerden2133 Based on his controversy, I don't like giving him credit, but he's very safe with it. It's closer to a Saito Suplex because he uses a twist that's around 90 degrees to make it less "head/neck drop death"
I love how US wrestlers always step up when wrestling in Japan. Has Ted DiBiase ever use the Cobra Clutch slam in the US? I know his son used a version of it when he was wrestling.
RIP Giant Baba, Gary Albright, Bruiser Brody, Jack Brisco, Mitsuhara Misawa, Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, Steve Williams, Terry Gordy, Hayabusa, Hawk & Animal. Thank all of you for making Wrestling Awesome!
For my money, AJPW is the best wrestling ever was, ever is, and ever will be. Especially in the 90’s. Lots of people complain about a lack of story, but that’s what makes it wonderful. The good guys aren’t good because they have to overcome odds, but because that’s who they are. The bad guys aren’t bad because they want to win the title, or kidnap someone’s daughter, or injure someone, but because that’s who they are. Real people in a real fight like to fight first and talk later, and it makes it so much more real when they fight first.
The lowkey stars of this video are the announcers. "POWAAABOMB!" "POWAAAAABOOOMB!" GAAAMON SUUPLEX!" "PIYADRIVAAA!" "TIIIGAAR DRIIIVEEEEERRR!!" They make every move and pin sound exciting. They sound like they are losing their gotdamn minds and i love it.
Yes! This was probably my favorite era of puroresu. Kobashi, Misawa and Kawada were gods to me! Especially Misawa, he was to me the first japanese wrestler that was a hybrid of multiple wrestling styles and you just didn't know what he would do. Imagine Bret Hart in Japan at this time!! 🤯
The single best company & period in pro wrestling history. Mid 2000’s ROH & NOAH comes close, and AJW was really good in the 90’s too, but AJPW really was in a special league of their own. It’s peak pro wrestling to me.
Yes! And you notice how wrestling was a lot 'simpler' back then? I wish modern day wrestling started to go back to their roots and stopped making spots that look like taken from action movies
@@alicod7160 attitude era was great for entertainment but not for wrestling yeah you had some mat tacticians but you had a lot of matches being ran in on a lot of screwy finishes and it worked for the time but nowadays that style is boring
@@gravitykat714 the companies mentioned did not draw like the attitude era.f wrestling. I mean just wrestling.current njpw sucks because they don't have larger than life characters like the golden era and the attitude era
So many of these are just called "backdrop suplex," and after seeing Baba's I thought it was pretty basic. Nah, these are Saito suplexes. I keep clutching at my neck just watching them.
I’m starting to appreciate the back body drop after watching this. Simple move performed like a actual finisher. The way they perform it looks devastating.
Time stamps, everyone. Also, I would like to point out some finishers the author has missed, but that won't change the quality of the video. Great job!!!! 00:00 - Abdullah The Butcher 00:11 - Akira Taue 00:40 - Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow (he also used a Falling Headbutt) 00:48 - British Bulldogs 01:05 - Bruiser Brody 01:16 - Dory Funk Jr. 01:26 - Gary Albright (he also used a Dragon Suplex and Sleeper Hold) 01:38 - Jado & Gedo 01:49 - Genichiro Tenryu 02:27 - George Hines 02:38 - Giant Baba 03:15 - Giant Kimala #2 (he also used a Diving Neckbreaker Drop) 03:24 - Hayabusa 03:33 - Headhunter A 03:43 - Hiroshi Wajima 03:51 - Jack Brisco 04:15 - Jinsei Shinzaki (he also used the diving Headbutt) 04:42 - Johnny Ace (he also used the Ace Crusher and the Johnny Spike) 04:52 - Johnny Smith (he also used the Running Powerslam) 05:14 - Jumbo Tsuruta 05:36 - Jun Akiyama (he also used the Wrist Clutch Exploder) 06:09 - Kenta Kobashi 07:19 - Kentaro Shiga (he also used the Tornado DDT) 07:29 - Kim Duk 07:38 - Kuniaki Kobayashi 07:48 - Masahito Kakihara 08:01 - Masanobu Fuchi 08:16 - Masao Inoue 08:27 - Maunakea Mossman 08:36 - Mitsuharu Misawa (he also used the Arm Trapped Facelock) 09:22 - Ric Flair 09:36 - Riki Choshu (he also used The Sasori Gatame/Sharpshooter) 09:46 - Road Warriors 10:00 - Satoru Asako 10:12 - Stan Hansen 10:34 - Steve Williams 10:53 - Takao Omori (he also used the Axe Bomber) 11:05 - Tamon Honda (he also used the Dead End and Tamon Powerbomb) 11:22 - Ted DiBiase 11:34 - Terry Gordy 11:43 - Tiger Jeet Singh 11:54 - Tiger Mask (he also used the German Suplex) 12:23 - Toshiaki Kawada (he also used the Dragon Suplex) 13:05 - Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (he also used the Hinotama Bomb) 13:16 - Vader (he also used the Vadersault) 13:47 - Yoshiaki Yatsu (he also used the Prison Lock) 14:06 - Yoshihiro Takayama (he also used the Cross Armbreaker) 14:17 - Yoshinari Ogawa 14:24 - Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Nobody is kicking out of that Tiger driver 91, burning hammer, or the hawaiian smasher. Love the energy of the crowd and how insanely over most of these guys were, esp. Guys like Giant Baba and Misawa
Kobashi could literally put you away with any move in his Arsenal. He only chose not to if he wanted a good match out of you. And by God did he have many.
Baba was one of the founders of wrestling in Japan along with Inoki and Rikidozan. He was a legend highly regarded around the world as much as Andre the Giant during his prime. Founding the second most important japanese company also helped a lot ofc.
Gunther in a nutshell, love the simplest of moves are finishers, none of this spamming of finishers and kickouts like we see today in American promotions
Man this one of the coolest wrestling videos I have ever seen. Japanese commentators are amazing. I love the way they scream the finishers. The crowds are far more alive too. These stand out WAY more than American Wrestling. Sad to see so many legendary wrestlers aren't with us anymore but their legacies will live on forever. The wrestling looks exceptional. I really should look at Japanese Wrestling. I think we can all agree the finishers look so brutal and satisfying.
I think it was New Japan, but I recently watched a trios match between Andre and Big John Studd etc., vs. Antonio Inoki and his team. And my god, Inoki was more over than pretty much any wrestler today in the early 80s, whenever that took place. It was insane. The crowd hung on every move, even the simplest ones, and there were SO many kids chanting "I-NO-KI!" I was honestly surprised by just how into it the audience was.
@@yurinoworry I agree it’s kinda sad because I this style of wrestling would work great in America because when you get wrestlers who actually trained in this style to work in America, the crowds love it and get behind them.
@@Theodiorr that’s true. maybe someone who respects pro wrestling like this could come out with something that’s more equivalent to this old school style of wrestling. if they’re out there you got 1 guy already ready to work learn and work hard. LOL.
It's also interesting to note that you had AJPW on one side, developing pure puroresu, and NJPW on the other side, doing more "shoot" style which directly led to the birth of MMA in Japan. And it's still the same thing fundamentally, just look how well shooty guys like Nagai and Kakihara fit into AJPW.
"If you choose to see it as a worked sport." That is exactly what wrestling has completely lost and what it was all about. Shit today looks like acrobatics with no sense for what makes sense and what doesn't. And all the guys look like average Joes or Abercombie and Fitch models. Wrestling fans of today's style live in a walled garden that is shkringing by the year and has been doing so for a long time. There simply is no cross appeal to a wider audience anymore. Look how casual many fans looked, when wrestling was really popular (be it in the US or in Japan). Now, wrestling has been hijacked by an exclusive, geeky fan culture, who think that spot fests without any sense of pacing and psychology are somehow an evolution of wrestling ..... while the rest of the world increasingly forgets about wrestling.
@@stevonwhite8933 But I have eyes to see the shifts around it and how the audience has become more exclusive ... and smaller. I also can see, how the presentation, vibe and feel of the product changed. Dude, no one can deny with a straight face, that the cross appeal (as in: reaching a wider audience) of wrestling has significantly lost steam. By now, the WWE is banging it's chest when it gets the kind of TV ratings, that even fall short of what it made in the mid 90's (it's darkest commercial period). And that is not because of a decline of TV in general. Because other sports still do the same numbers (give or take), they did 15, 20, 25 years ago.
@@MightyJabroni The audience got smaller (In America), because there was a purposeful monopoly made which killed interest. But, that doesn’t speak for other countries. Lucha Libre, is as popular as it always was for example. Other countries fanbase a if wrestling, have only grown with time. Your POV would be correct, if you focused solely on America.
Wajima and Taue using "nodowa otoshi" is a super cool reference to their sumo background.You'l often hear the term "nodowa" when you watch sumo, which just means grabbing your opponent by the throat (that's legal in sumo btw), and it's like they pro-wrestlingified the move by adding the slam part.
Thanks for this. I learnt a lot. I hadn't realised The Headshrinkers has been in All Japan and had never before heard of George Hines. Needless to say he got my attention.
This is the 90s ajpw style and finishers that got me hook to japanese wrestling,their hard hitting and methodical pin from referee,back then there was no youtube and the only way to get these shows was buy tapes from overseas.I watch tons of wwf and wcw shows and i still hungry for puroresu.Thanks for this video.
Something about seeing Giant Baba lifting a dude in the air for a back suplex is scary. The lack of body muscle probably helped him be mobile but man it's frightening.
Yeah, made more dangerous by the fact that Stan Hansen had bad eyesight and pretty much threw it full force without knowing exactly where the opponent was (apparently) lol. Wrestling was so much more fun back then
Dude these videos are awesome and these compilations are some of my favorite wrestling videos going right now. I’d like to request early NOAH finishers if you can, thank you for the content.
Where's Johnny ace's ace crusher? Jun akiyama's execution of northern lights suplex is just perfection kinda reminds me of the wild pegasus Benoit's. And Jesus misawa bumping his neck like that , he could've lay flat but no he had to break his fall with his neck.
Just watching Bruiser Brody here, I realised he was the wrestler Sledge Hammer was based on for Wrestle War on the Sega Mega Drive! The knee drop is exact!
I love how the moves are either "wow that could never be a finisher today" or "holy shit they let people do that?!?"
and then there's Hayabusa...
And Kobashi's Burning Hammer
They all could be finishers today they just aren’t protected how they used to and actually used as a finished instead of 30 times in a match or on the card
@@thaboyshawn5911 Like the DDT or the Dropkick
@@thaboyshawn5911 So you're saying they couldn't be finishers then. Lmao
It was hilarious to me how most of the worst moves were from the Americans. Except fuckin' George Hines, hot damn, never heard of him but he looked like a beast somehow
I really appreciate how the guys getting pinned are regularly twitching their legs like they're trying and failing to kick out instead of just lying there. Gives the impression that the moves are real. They weren't knocked completely comatose, but they got their bell rung and the wind knocked out of them to pin them for three seconds.
Yep, good call!
There are numerous times in this video where I wince. There are two occasions on here, though, where the guy either got a concussion or was unconscious for a short period of time. That is some stiff ass wrestling, holy crap.
@@timfitz2043 Thats Japan
@@taleoftwowolves74 is it? Is that what the "Japan" means in "All Japan Pro Wrestling"? All this time I thought it meant "Jabberwocky". I guess you learn a new thing everyday. Thanks!
@@timfitz2043 I meant 'thats Japan' as in 'Yeah I know right, Japan are stiff as fuck and its awesome'
I love how it was like 20 dudes using basic suplexes and rest holds and 6 guys that genuinely tried to kill people with their finishers.
And one guy, Stan Hansen, who was legally blind and wrecking people unintentionally!
The thing is the big sweaty beating that went before the finisher
Just look kenta kobayashi what the burning hammer
@@williammcdermott8692 I think he only used the burning hammer (and some variants) a total of 6 times in his televised career. Better people than me can probably give you the exact details on it, though. I might be repeating some baseless rumour I heard back in the day.
@@Gigas0101 Seven times. All to Misawa - the only one crazy enough to take that dangerous-ass move
I'll never get tired of hearing the announcer scream in terror when Kobashi hits the Burning Hammer
It is kinda dubbed like MXC lol.
Is there a particular announcer that's the one always flipping out? I don't know Japanese, but it's still entertaining to hear THREE! THREEEE!! DRIVERRR!!! SUPLUXU!!! LARIAOTO!!!!
@@williamzebub3252 I wish I knew
@@williamzebub3252 im pretty sure his name is Akira Fukuzawa
Exactly
AJPW wrestlers having 3+ finishers really adds to the tension in the matches. You never know what move might finish a match and makes everything seem dangerous.
My memory sucks...but that's what i was thinking. They would have a primary finisher, then a secondary and a third. And as i recall the Tiger Driver '91 (ganso bomb) and Burning Hammer finishers were both rarely used...like maybe 5 or so times at most.
Isn't this normal for most Main event level wrestlers? I don't know much about wrestling outside of WWE so I am curious
@@BoxingMMAFan1 now a days it's more common for a wrestler to have multiple finishers, but back then it wasn't. Plus, their finishers had levels...a primary finisher....secondary finisher and sometimes a third finisher that was rarely used...such as Mitsuharu Misawa's Tiger Driver '91 (kneeling double underhook Ganso bomb), Kenta Kobashi's Burning Hammer (inverted Death Valley Driver) and Toshiaki Kawada's Ganso bomb. Particularly because of how dangerous those moves were.
@@Dave-rf1zj Protected Superfinishers
@@kieranbarnes20 true...but those 3 moves i mentioned were also dangerous and rarely used.
RIP all the wrestlers from this company who passed away giant baba bruiser Brody Vader mitsauru bam bam and others may theirs souls Rest In Peace
Seeing George Hines, a guy I've legit never heard of before today, giving his finisher to friggin' Kamala of all people was a surprise.
He was a Fulton in Smoky Mountain apparently, which I think rings a bell from some Jim Cornette rant or another
He didn't do it to the real Kamala (R.I.P.) that we all know. But it was a SUPER nice finisher no doubt. Michinoku Driver BEFORE Taka
That was Kamala II, he wresting ECW as Uganda
Exact same
The crowd, the energy, the excitement in commentators voice ! Sometimes I'm just proud I'm a pro wrestling fan it's such an art.
I adore that half the roster used a Michinoku driver as a finisher and called it a different name each time. Hope Taka-San got his royalties for those.
Honestly, this was just like watching WWF No Mercy finishers performed irl. Brutal and awesome.
This is where they came from
😂😂😂 yo I’m dying Laughing reading this. I was like I’m watching wcw vs the world in real life. Every last finisher in that game is in this video.
Oh man, the Spinning Toe Hold was crazy over!
I love the concept of tiered finishers. With the most powerful being used only rarely. But I understand the complications that arise from losing to someone's "weakest" finish. It's a concept that's bound to fade as time goes on, & the industry develops.
I remember thinking that Kairi Sane's Insane Elbow would have made a top-tier finisher and she could have developed a "lesser" finisher to use in less serious matches, partially because of how devastating and unique the Insane Elbow looked, but also because it seemed like it would take its toll on her. So with moves that get that kind of reception, I think it could work.
Besides that, someone like The Undertaker can have 3+ finishers due to his combination of size, strength, skill, character work, and veteran status. I guess the flipside is if the Undertaker uses chokeslams to put mid-carders away in a believable fashion, it waters down the chokeslam as a finisher for other wrestlers. Not everyone should need a completely unique finisher, but I assume most companies wouldn't want the backdrop suplex inflation made apparent by this video.
@@mcid111 Yeah, considering how it'd play out over a whole career as well as the acceleration of the spor towards more competitive matches more often, I think the better way to go is to need to develop new finishers as time goes by. Like Jericho with the Lionsault, to the Liontamer, to the Walls, to the Codebreaker to the Judas Effect. Putting personal opinions about his career completely to the side, a wrestler being forced to develop & elevate their technique to rise up & stay on top, seems the better way to go, psychologically. Holding a trump card in reserve is still an interesting way to go too, but again the progression of the move us more likely to be devalued, or at least to work in contrast the direction that the industry is going in.
@@twig8523 Yeah, Jericho is a fantastic example because it's understandable he would do the Lionsault less and less as he's reaching the twilight of his career. So when he does do it, it's self-evident he's pulling out all the stops.
A more downplayed example that just came to mind is the rare occasions that Stone Cold would bust out the Million Dollar Dream. Although maybe that's less about tiered finishers and more about resorting to phased out moves both to reference the character history and signal the wrestler's desperation in wanting to defeat his opponent.
I wish Braun would use his "weaker" finishers like reverse chokeslam, elevated triangle choke or jackknife powerbomb instead of goddamn basic powerslam. Right now tho, Charlotte has submission and normal finisher, Becky also does... guys tho? Well, Roman has guillotine.
It's so cool for the top guys all to have a super unique special move only brought out for the highest, most meaningful moments, or special modifiers like the wrist clutch to make finishers even more powerful. This is why it really pisses me off when some self-congratulatory indy dude does those special moves, like Dan Maff using the burning hammer in like every match and Eddie Kingston (yes even King) when he does his super ugly stretch plum or uraken or whatever move he saw on a tape that morning.
I love the backdrop suplex. I wish more Americans used it. This was one of your best compilations. Another old school would be great.
I wish I could recommend Old school NJPW but because of copyrights issue I don't think its possible.
Unfortunately the original variation of the backdrop suplex is WAYYY too dangerous. In Japan now they're not AS common likely for that reason
I completely agree. Dr Death's backdrop driver is insane. The only prominent person outside of Japan that uses it as far as I know is Jordan Devlin. Please correct me if I'm wrong
Jumbo Tsuruta's and Takeshi Morshima's backdrop drivers are hella dangerous too
@@petervanheerden2133
Based on his controversy, I don't like giving him credit, but he's very safe with it. It's closer to a Saito Suplex because he uses a twist that's around 90 degrees to make it less "head/neck drop death"
8:57 ......HOLY CRAP
I love how US wrestlers always step up when wrestling in Japan. Has Ted DiBiase ever use the Cobra Clutch slam in the US? I know his son used a version of it when he was wrestling.
I don’t believe he did.
He actually did the Cobra Clutch leg sweep in a few recent indy appearances. You can find clips on CZcams.
That's actually a pertty brilliant move. Million Dollar Dream but then do a legsweep instead.
Back when Vader and Bigelow were the most dangerous gaijins on the company.
You missed bruiser brody in that short list
Don’t forget Dr. Death
And Stan Hansen
@@TrazanFrmCG shit Dr. Death earned his nickname, he was unsafe worldwide.
Don't forget Stan Hansen
RIP Giant Baba, Gary Albright, Bruiser Brody, Jack Brisco, Mitsuhara Misawa, Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, Steve Williams, Terry Gordy, Hayabusa, Hawk & Animal. Thank all of you for making Wrestling Awesome!
Kenta kobashi and misawa loved their entire move set brutal and just the look alone that burning hammer the emerald flowsion awesome finishers
The two G.O.A.Ts in my opinion
I was hyped that they gave King the Emerald Flowsion as his Rage Art in Tekken 7 .
@@pheenmachine same 🔥
Innovators of their finishers
He likes a Armor King.
For my money, AJPW is the best wrestling ever was, ever is, and ever will be. Especially in the 90’s. Lots of people complain about a lack of story, but that’s what makes it wonderful. The good guys aren’t good because they have to overcome odds, but because that’s who they are. The bad guys aren’t bad because they want to win the title, or kidnap someone’s daughter, or injure someone, but because that’s who they are. Real people in a real fight like to fight first and talk later, and it makes it so much more real when they fight first.
The lowkey stars of this video are the announcers. "POWAAABOMB!" "POWAAAAABOOOMB!" GAAAMON SUUPLEX!" "PIYADRIVAAA!" "TIIIGAAR DRIIIVEEEEERRR!!"
They make every move and pin sound exciting. They sound like they are losing their gotdamn minds and i love it.
Don't forget LARRRIIAAAATTTOOOOOOOOO
ELLLBOOOOOOOOOW!!!
BURNING HAMMMAAAAAARRR!!
DEE DEE TEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
COUNTO THREEEEEE
That Tiger Driver 91 and Hawaiian Smasher are damn brutal!!!!
Ahhh back when AJPW have some of the best talents around the world and the pillars are still there.
Posting to show love for the Spinning Toe Hold. I still legit love that finisher.
Giant Baba's neckbreaker drop looked awesome
I know right
Yes! This was probably my favorite era of puroresu. Kobashi, Misawa and Kawada were gods to me! Especially Misawa, he was to me the first japanese wrestler that was a hybrid of multiple wrestling styles and you just didn't know what he would do. Imagine Bret Hart in Japan at this time!! 🤯
He fought in FMW.
I'm a Kawada guy personally, but really all three of those guys are like the holy trinity of amazing Japanese wrestling
All of these old school finishers are timeless.
The single best company & period in pro wrestling history.
Mid 2000’s ROH & NOAH comes close, and AJW was really good in the 90’s too, but AJPW really was in a special league of their own. It’s peak pro wrestling to me.
Yes! And you notice how wrestling was a lot 'simpler' back then? I wish modern day wrestling started to go back to their roots and stopped making spots that look like taken from action movies
@@oscarestrada8477 attitude era?
@@alicod7160 attitude era was great for entertainment but not for wrestling yeah you had some mat tacticians but you had a lot of matches being ran in on a lot of screwy finishes and it worked for the time but nowadays that style is boring
@@gravitykat714 the companies mentioned did not draw like the attitude era.f wrestling. I mean just wrestling.current njpw sucks because they don't have larger than life characters like the golden era and the attitude era
@@gravitykat714 moreover Kenta and okada were never eee.ever gonna be as popular as cena Austin Hogan etc
6:09 Now that's a thing of beauty
So many of these are just called "backdrop suplex," and after seeing Baba's I thought it was pretty basic.
Nah, these are Saito suplexes. I keep clutching at my neck just watching them.
I’m starting to appreciate the back body drop after watching this. Simple move performed like a actual finisher. The way they perform it looks devastating.
The Tiger Driver 91 gives me chills everytime I see it.
These backdrop suplexes look so God Damn brutal. I love it. Big fan of that reverse Gotch style pile-driver.
Ted Dibiase definitely should’ve used that finish more often after locking in the clutch for some time, looks realistic as hell
Right? Well at least his son used it for a while
Time stamps, everyone. Also, I would like to point out some finishers the author has missed, but that won't change the quality of the video. Great job!!!!
00:00 - Abdullah The Butcher
00:11 - Akira Taue
00:40 - Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow (he also used a Falling Headbutt)
00:48 - British Bulldogs
01:05 - Bruiser Brody
01:16 - Dory Funk Jr.
01:26 - Gary Albright (he also used a Dragon Suplex and Sleeper Hold)
01:38 - Jado & Gedo
01:49 - Genichiro Tenryu
02:27 - George Hines
02:38 - Giant Baba
03:15 - Giant Kimala #2 (he also used a Diving Neckbreaker Drop)
03:24 - Hayabusa
03:33 - Headhunter A
03:43 - Hiroshi Wajima
03:51 - Jack Brisco
04:15 - Jinsei Shinzaki (he also used the diving Headbutt)
04:42 - Johnny Ace (he also used the Ace Crusher and the Johnny Spike)
04:52 - Johnny Smith (he also used the Running Powerslam)
05:14 - Jumbo Tsuruta
05:36 - Jun Akiyama (he also used the Wrist Clutch Exploder)
06:09 - Kenta Kobashi
07:19 - Kentaro Shiga (he also used the Tornado DDT)
07:29 - Kim Duk
07:38 - Kuniaki Kobayashi
07:48 - Masahito Kakihara
08:01 - Masanobu Fuchi
08:16 - Masao Inoue
08:27 - Maunakea Mossman
08:36 - Mitsuharu Misawa (he also used the Arm Trapped Facelock)
09:22 - Ric Flair
09:36 - Riki Choshu (he also used The Sasori Gatame/Sharpshooter)
09:46 - Road Warriors
10:00 - Satoru Asako
10:12 - Stan Hansen
10:34 - Steve Williams
10:53 - Takao Omori (he also used the Axe Bomber)
11:05 - Tamon Honda (he also used the Dead End and Tamon Powerbomb)
11:22 - Ted DiBiase
11:34 - Terry Gordy
11:43 - Tiger Jeet Singh
11:54 - Tiger Mask (he also used the German Suplex)
12:23 - Toshiaki Kawada (he also used the Dragon Suplex)
13:05 - Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (he also used the Hinotama Bomb)
13:16 - Vader (he also used the Vadersault)
13:47 - Yoshiaki Yatsu (he also used the Prison Lock)
14:06 - Yoshihiro Takayama (he also used the Cross Armbreaker)
14:17 - Yoshinari Ogawa
14:24 - Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Thank you
Jam, each of these finisher videos are equivalent to watching a Star Wars trailer...epic and thoroughly enjoyable.
Thank you!
Nobody is kicking out of that Tiger driver 91, burning hammer, or the hawaiian smasher.
Love the energy of the crowd and how insanely over most of these guys were, esp. Guys like Giant Baba and Misawa
Kobashi could literally put you away with any move in his Arsenal. He only chose not to if he wanted a good match out of you. And by God did he have many.
Burning hammer land wrong dead man
8:28
Jesus, a Fireman's Carry Stunner
That impact looked brutal
Was not expecting that pop for Baba. It's his company of course but still was pleasantly surprised.
Baba was one of the founders of wrestling in Japan along with Inoki and Rikidozan. He was a legend highly regarded around the world as much as Andre the Giant during his prime. Founding the second most important japanese company also helped a lot ofc.
butcher's axe is called “dokubari-elbow” in Japan. Dokubari means poison-needle.
Interesting!
Thank you for the insight 🤘
AJPW was so savage. I miss the good old days.
This is why AJPW was so fun, everyone had a lot of finishers. Also, Fuchi is really underrated
The simplicity of ajpw is growing on me
To think a simple back drop suplex is all it took to finish someone back in the day
Man back drop suplex’s were like super kicks in AJPW, everybody had them
That Firebird Splash is a killer finisher!!
That Burning Hammer made MY neck hurt, brutal!!
The 80s and 90s era of Pro wrestling NOAH, AJPW and All Japan women's wrestling is in my opinion the greatest era in wrestling
NOAH started in 2000.
@@duckmercy11 Probably meant NJPW
6:43 Best finisher ever
I liked Kobashi’s Kentucky Bomb too, albeit having family living there does sway my opinion of the move lol
@@aztn19 i love the announcers scream at the point of impact!
But he only used that move 6 times in his career
Ted Dibiase using Dream Street long before his son even wrestled 👍
Gunther in a nutshell, love the simplest of moves are finishers, none of this spamming of finishers and kickouts like we see today in American promotions
Powerbomb never gets old
I never thought I'd see a backdrop suplex be SO over. Like damn 5 guys used it as a finisher.
Love the screaming during the burning hammer, you would think a man died lmaoo
Man this one of the coolest wrestling videos I have ever seen. Japanese commentators are amazing. I love the way they scream the finishers. The crowds are far more alive too. These stand out WAY more than American Wrestling. Sad to see so many legendary wrestlers aren't with us anymore but their legacies will live on forever. The wrestling looks exceptional. I really should look at Japanese Wrestling. I think we can all agree the finishers look so brutal and satisfying.
I think it was New Japan, but I recently watched a trios match between Andre and Big John Studd etc., vs. Antonio Inoki and his team. And my god, Inoki was more over than pretty much any wrestler today in the early 80s, whenever that took place. It was insane. The crowd hung on every move, even the simplest ones, and there were SO many kids chanting "I-NO-KI!" I was honestly surprised by just how into it the audience was.
That Burning Hammer, Tiger Suplex '91, Dangerous Backdrop & the lariats...whoof Never would I EVER!
I love how they sold the moves and twitched their legs when they took the pin, those subtle details make it look like a legit competition
This is the kind of pro wrestling I want to learn to do.
Me too. Gotta make a trip to Japan
@@Theodiorr yeah unfortunately. the US has moved away from this style of wrestling and it makes me really sad to see.
@@yurinoworry I agree it’s kinda sad because I this style of wrestling would work great in America because when you get wrestlers who actually trained in this style to work in America, the crowds love it and get behind them.
@@Theodiorr that’s true. maybe someone who respects pro wrestling like this could come out with something that’s more equivalent to this old school style of wrestling. if they’re out there you got 1 guy already ready to work learn and work hard. LOL.
Good luck
6:08 小橋秋山戦の「友よ、静かに、瞑れ」の実況がカッコ良かったのを覚えてる。
That Hawaiin smasher , and that tiger suplex 91 is sooooooo deadly 😳
To me, this is as good as wrestling has ever been. If you choose to see it as a worked sport, 1990's All Japan was the peak of the art form.
It's also interesting to note that you had AJPW on one side, developing pure puroresu, and NJPW on the other side, doing more "shoot" style which directly led to the birth of MMA in Japan. And it's still the same thing fundamentally, just look how well shooty guys like Nagai and Kakihara fit into AJPW.
"If you choose to see it as a worked sport."
That is exactly what wrestling has completely lost and what it was all about. Shit today looks like acrobatics with no sense for what makes sense and what doesn't. And all the guys look like average Joes or Abercombie and Fitch models. Wrestling fans of today's style live in a walled garden that is shkringing by the year and has been doing so for a long time. There simply is no cross appeal to a wider audience anymore.
Look how casual many fans looked, when wrestling was really popular (be it in the US or in Japan). Now, wrestling has been hijacked by an exclusive, geeky fan culture, who think that spot fests without any sense of pacing and psychology are somehow an evolution of wrestling ..... while the rest of the world increasingly forgets about wrestling.
@@MightyJabroni Buddy, you don’t know all fans nor do you speak for all new fans or interests.
@@stevonwhite8933 But I have eyes to see the shifts around it and how the audience has become more exclusive ... and smaller. I also can see, how the presentation, vibe and feel of the product changed.
Dude, no one can deny with a straight face, that the cross appeal (as in: reaching a wider audience) of wrestling has significantly lost steam.
By now, the WWE is banging it's chest when it gets the kind of TV ratings, that even fall short of what it made in the mid 90's (it's darkest commercial period). And that is not because of a decline of TV in general. Because other sports still do the same numbers (give or take), they did 15, 20, 25 years ago.
@@MightyJabroni The audience got smaller (In America), because there was a purposeful monopoly made which killed interest.
But, that doesn’t speak for other countries. Lucha Libre, is as popular as it always was for example. Other countries fanbase a if wrestling, have only grown with time.
Your POV would be correct, if you focused solely on America.
Wajima and Taue using "nodowa otoshi" is a super cool reference to their sumo background.You'l often hear the term "nodowa" when you watch sumo, which just means grabbing your opponent by the throat (that's legal in sumo btw), and it's like they pro-wrestlingified the move by adding the slam part.
It’s crazy that AKIYAMA is still wrestling.
Kanemaru too, over 2500 matches in his career overall
The good old days
I love the call in EMERALD FLOWSIOOOOOOOONNN 😁
That was the best 450 splash I ever witnessed it was FLAWLESS
i was saying the same thing that shit was so smooth and clean fucking beautiful
@@sunkid02 It was just so on spot
Thanks for this. I learnt a lot. I hadn't realised The Headshrinkers has been in All Japan and had never before heard of George Hines. Needless to say he got my attention.
That Gotch piledriver looked nasty. Seemed like the opponent landed full force on top of his head.
That was legit dangerous as hell. I can't believe the guy taking the move didn't get seriously hurt.
2:20 the ref was trying to get an early wrestling career start with that sleeper hold
That Hawaiian Smasher tho 🔥🔥👀
This is the 90s ajpw style and finishers that got me hook to japanese wrestling,their hard hitting and methodical pin from referee,back then there was no youtube and the only way to get these shows was buy tapes from overseas.I watch tons of wwf and wcw shows and i still hungry for puroresu.Thanks for this video.
I love japanese wrestling, from the old days to the present days, their style is fantastic.
Back when finishers were simple yet effective
And believable
Something about seeing Giant Baba lifting a dude in the air for a back suplex is scary. The lack of body muscle probably helped him be mobile but man it's frightening.
Nothing has or will ever come close to the Golden Era of AJPW!
Amazing work Jam!!! Massive thanks for making this video!! :)
6:42 Burning Hammer was the finisher i used on wwf no mercy on Nintendo 64, holy **** i'm old.
The velocity and conviction of the moves are so brutal
Might be a typical suplex but it's done with force
So now I know why the crowd goes crazy for a back suplex whenever I watch old Japanese matches.
stan hansen's lariat was so deadly
Yeah, made more dangerous by the fact that Stan Hansen had bad eyesight and pretty much threw it full force without knowing exactly where the opponent was (apparently) lol. Wrestling was so much more fun back then
That massive black dude is awesome. He can backflip off the ropes, and sell the other slams well because he's very agile for his size.
i love how the announcer just nuts to the Emerald Flowsion
Still the finisher that blows my mind how safe it was for the opponent is the Steiner Screwdriver!
I love how simple the moves are and yet look stiff and devastating
It felt like I broke my neck watching this video.
Kanemaru has been sooo good for sooo long.
That Kenta Kobashi moonsault was nice. Looked like he was moving in slow motion.
When I saw Kobashi's moonsault in the hall, it looked really slow and graceful. It is many times more beautiful than what you see on TV.
My favourite will always be the great muta and the nihon commentary going "Shai-nee Weezarro!! Shai-nee Weezarrou!!"
Best commentary ever -- Good ol JR had to have learned from these boys in New Japan
That cobra clutch suplex from Johnny ace was woeful.
Always felt All Japan was about wearing them down than the actual finisher.
i know im really late, but thanks for using my idea! AJPW was some of the best wrestling ever during the 90s
Dude these videos are awesome and these compilations are some of my favorite wrestling videos going right now. I’d like to request early NOAH finishers if you can, thank you for the content.
The emerald flowsion would definitely be one of my finishers
Thank You And I Appreciate This I’ve Seen All Of Wrestling From 1980-Now What A Life
Where's Johnny ace's ace crusher?
Jun akiyama's execution of northern lights suplex is just perfection kinda reminds me of the wild pegasus Benoit's.
And Jesus misawa bumping his neck like that , he could've lay flat but no he had to break his fall with his neck.
Back when wrestling was serious business.
Damn these old school finishers actually look painful, especially the head drop moves like the pile driver!
I love watching stan hansen just destroy people with his lariat
It's amazing how many people had the back drop suplex as their finisher.
Just watching Bruiser Brody here, I realised he was the wrestler Sledge Hammer was based on for Wrestle War on the Sega Mega Drive! The knee drop is exact!