PWTORCH NEWSLETTER COVER STORY
PWTorch Newsletter #334
By Wade Keller, Torch editor

- HEADLINE: Two crowds over 50,000 top week in Japan
- SUBHEADLINE: Flair beats Hase, Muta wins IWGP Title, Sabu captures Jr. Title; Onita retires, say it's for good

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For the third week in a row, major events in Japan have stolen the headlines from the U.S. promotions. After last week's back to back events that drew over 150,000 fans in North Korea, two other major events drew crowds over 50,000 in Japan.

On Mar. 3 at the Fukuoka Dome, with an announced crowd of 52,000 (possibly slightly exaggerated), Ric Flair beat Hiroshi Hase with the figure-four leglock at 22:52 in the eighth match on the card. A ringside report says the match was good and showed Japan fans Flair is still one of the top wrestlers in the world. Hase, rated no. 4 in the world in the Pro Wrestling Torch 1994 Yearbook, had never faced Flair before.

The bout began with amateur style moves but moved into highspots afterward. The match got tremendous heat when Hase put the figure-four leglock on Flair. Flair escaped from the hold. Hase executed his identifiable move, the 20 rotation swing, where he grabs his opponent by the legs and swings him around 20 times, a spectacular looking move (and probably the longest in duration in wrestling) that does a great deal to throw off Hase's equilibrium, not just his opponent's. Flair came back, though, working over Hase's leg and eventually locking on the figure-four for a clean win.

The match was good, but not the classic it would have been if Hase, who is in his prime, had met Flair during Flair's prime. Even so, it was a good match and resolidified Flair's strong reputation in Japan.

The main event saw Keiji Muto defeat Shinya Hashimoto to capture the IWGP Hvt. Title at 21:13. His first title defense will be against Paul Orndorff in the United States at Slamboree.

In another title change, Sabu pinned Koji Kanemoto with the Arabian press with the chair at 16:39 to capture the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title. After the match, Kanemoto accused Sabu of being a dirty wrestler since he used the chair and asked for a rematch. Sabu said he wasn't concerned about the title anyway since he's a heavyweight, not a junior heavyweight. Then he threw the belt down and destroyed the trophy.

Also on the card, Yuji Nagata beat Manabu Nakanishi, El Samurai & Takayuki Iizuka beat Norio Honaga & Akira Nogami, Wild Pegasus (Chris Benoit) pinned Too Cold Scorpio, Junji Hirata pinned Hiro Saito, Rick & Scott Steiner beat Hawk Warrior & Scott Norton, Shiro Koshinaka & Terry Funk beat Hiromichi Fuyuki & Masa Chono, Koji Kitao & Antonio Inoki beat Genichiro Tenryu & Riki Choshu, and Kensuke Sasaki beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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