Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (NJPW, 1/31/90)

Whether it's bashing fools with rudo chaisrshots or lapping up the babyface sympathy juice, Jushin Liger knows how to elicit emotion from the fans. Here, having only a crimson mask of blood to hide his face, Liger not only puts in one of the best performances of his career, selling Sano's asswhippin' like he's about an inch away from heaven, but he still manages to maintain that same aura and mystique that's synonymous with Jushin "Thunder" Liger. The way he's able to remain hidden from the cameras behind the tatters of his mask is some real deal in-ring awareness. If there's anything to nitpick, perhaps that it's Liger's selling, or lack thereof, when he's on the comeback, going full-speed with dives and headscissors, and ultimately, making quick work of Sano after having been beaten down for roughly 80% of the match. Sano's able to deliver about every suplex variation in the book, including his game-ending tiger suplex hold, which Liger's barely able to break with a foot on the ropes.

I mean, Liger asked for this ya'll....he said "fuck your handshake" before the bell and bitchslapped Sano across the face. Visually, this is an awesome but frightening match - for example, there's a moment where Sano throws Liger almost lifelessly into the corner pad, leaving a smear of Liger's blood on the white padding. Each time Liger begins to build momentum and speed, Sano's able to cut him off. After taking out Sano on the outside with a beautiful tope con hilo, Liger hits the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to set up the Romero Special but in a terrific counter, Sano rakes the exposed eyes of Liger to escape the hold. Later on, Liger's able to take Sano down with a headscissors but when he tries to follow up the attack, Sano back bodydrops clear over the ropes to the outside! Liger can't catch a break until literally the last two minutes of the match, when he sneaks in a flurry of offense, including a German suplex hold, a Liger Bomb, and a sweet tombstone piledriver, finally pinning Sano with the move he innovated pre-Liger, the Shooting Star Press. This is right up there with Liger's all-time great arm selling performance from the 8/10/89 Sano match. An awesome match.