Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW, 10/9/00)

I kinda hate the term "banger of a match" but when it fits, it fits. Kensuke Sasaki isn't interesting when he's trying to find his way out of a paper bag on the mat but when he's clobbering and chopping and throwin' bombs, he's pretty great. Toshiaki Kawada is trying to work a side headlock and Kensuke bam-bams his way out of it, blocking the gamengiri and straight punching Kawada in the face. They chop it out, with Kawada really selling Sasaki's hands, they slap it out, and when Sasaki starts to get the better of him, Kawada socks him in the face! Big heart. Kawada unloads on him with nasty kicks in the corner, more chops, folds him in two with a backdrop, and then STRETCH PLUM! I mean, Sasaki sells it like it's kryptonite but then kicks out at one. I didn't have a problem with that because it was almost like a knee-jerk reaction to the ref's hand hitting the canvas. Sasaki steamrolls through with a couple of lariats and the sasori-gatame, Kawada fires back with his own lariats, then they collapse following DUELING lariats -- lots of lariats. I liked the finish, with Kawada landing these enziguris that won't take Kensuke off his feet and Kensuke's finally able to lariat an attempt down, only to run into the biggest enziguri kick of them all to end his reign. A pissed off Kawada lobbing stiff shots is hard to top.

Kensuke Sasaki vs. Satoshi Kojima (NJPW, 3/19/00)

Although it's missing six or seven minutes of action, this is such a great match with a concise and engaging story, good selling from both guys, and an exceptional performance from Satoshi Kojima. It opens with Kojima hitting a diving elbow drop onto Sasaki, slickly countering a lariat attempt with a Koji Cutter, and then hammering on Sasaki's knee with some grunty legwork, which includes these awesome diving chopblocks. After he delivers an awkward Koji Cutter off the apron, Kojima hangs Sasaki in the tree of woe and lariats the fuck out of his knee. Then he hits a top rope Koji Cutter -- I mean, they're coming from every angle. My favorite moment of the match comes after Sasaki withstands Kojima's lariat and straight up punches him in the face. Chono and crew jump the apron like "What the fuck, ref?!" but Sasaki doesn't care and punches Kojima again. He starts to build some momentum, hitting a frankensteiner and locking on the sasori-gatame but he can't maintain it due to the knee damage. They ragdoll each other with back-and-forth German suplexes and one count lariats. Kojima's able to counter the Northern Lights Bomb with an armbar takedown but when he tries to go back to the leg, he just collapses in exhaustion. So good. He then tries for his own Northern Lights Bomb but can't do it, so Sasaki shows him how it's done and then polishes him off with the short-arm lariat. Recommend!

Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW, 5/31/91)

This was a STEINER BROTHERS tag team match, with little finesse but lots of discomfort for the opposition. To open, they’ve got Kensuke Sasaki on the rocks, slamming and suplexing and clobbering away, slanging their meathooks in between fresh tags. When Kensuke’s finally able to turn it around, does he make the hot tag? Hell nah, dude, he puts Scott in the Scorpion Deathlock! And then he gets dropped with a tiger driver and one of Rick’s ugly slams. But when Hase does get that hot tag, oh baby, he runs straight into a tilt-a-whirl slam and a Samoan drop off the top rope.  He’s able to deliver a uranage and the Northern Lights suplex hold but Rick breaks it up and it’s all downhill from there, as Scotty hits a Doomsday DDT and botches a frankensteiner for the win.

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW, 1/4/00)

Can’t beat watching these two big boys lobbing knuckles at each other. When Tenryu tries backing Sasaki into a corner, Sasaki straight up pops him with a couple of shots, knocking him on his ass. The referee’s like “what the fuck did you do, Kens-kay?” and Tenryu tries firing back with his old man jabs but Sasaki pops him again. He stays on him with punches in the ropes, throwing in a couple of chops, but Tenryu finally jabs and chops Kensuke down before collapsing himself. Tenryu puts him back in the corner and goes to town on his chest with more chops before it’s bombs away -- a spider German suplex, a powerbomb, a snap brainbuster. Tenryu even tries to get fancy with a frankensteiner but Sasaki slams him down and delivers a frankensteiner of his own. When they’re throwing bombs, they’re smacking each other around in these ugly bar fight exchanges but Kensuke proves in the end that his bombs are a little bit bigger, as he drops Tenryu with not one but two Northern Lights Bombs to win the title.

Rick & Scott Steiner vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW/WCW Supershow, 3/21/91)

STEINERZZZZZAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!!! Hey, I love a good suplex and the Steiners know how to toss a few. This was about 80% Steiner domination over poor Hiroshi Hase with shitty matwork but you ain’t paying the Steiners to paint the canvas – no way, baby, you get tiger drivers, suplexes, superplexes, and superduperplexes. When Hase hits the uranages on both Steiners, the crowd loses their collective shit for the Kensuke Sasaki hot tag! They work a little magic, with Sasaki superplexing Hase onto Rick and Hase executing that beautiful Northern Lights suplex of his. But alas, our heroes fall to the best meatheads after a double team bulldog and the Scott Frankensteiner.

Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Shiro Koshinaka & Takashi Iizuka (NJPW, 12/13/90)

A hot blast of tag team action featuring power babies Iizuka and Sasaki, Koshinaka’s booty-based offense, and Hase swanking the place up -- loved his early mat exchange with Koshinaka. He’s such a dick here, it’s fantastic. After a fairly pedestrian start, with Iizuka established as the underdog, he and Koshinaka try working over Hase’s leg but Hase escapes Iizuka’s shitty leglock with some well-placed boots and flattens him with an awesome rolling heel kick. The fans aren’t happy about Iizuka getting bullied but Hase doesn’t care and sits back all cool-like with a killer crab hold. When Koshinaka gets the big tag, he hip attacks his way to a brutal powerbomb on Hase. Izuka’s able to hit the BLIZZARD SUPLEX HOLD, his greatest contribution to the game, but Hase comes in and nonchalantly kicks out his leg on the bridge. Fuck yes. The finishing stretch becomes quite the suplex party, with Koshinaka scoring a nearfall off a dragon suplex hold and Hase countering Iizuka’s lariat with the uranage. In the end, however, it’s baby Kensuke that comes away with the win after a judo throw on Iizuka.

Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW, 11/1/90)

This was a pretty fun tag match that really heats up in the back half. Kensuke Sasaki was a fan-favorite here and whenever he got the tag in, he'd bulldog Mutoh and Chono around while Hase brought the finesse. I thought Mutoh was especially good here, building off his rivalry with Hase. They work so well together. Loved him kicking out Hase's leg during the bridge, which nobody does. Hase gets isolated, then Chono, and the midsection sort of meanders into the final few minutes of the match. After a sweet ura-nage, Hase puts the sasorigatame on Chono, Mutoh breaks it up, then Sasaki comes in, superplexes Chono, and puts the sasorigatame back on. Gotta get it. When Mutoh tries to break it up, he and Sasaki get into it with slaps until Hase dumps Mutoh to the outside, allowing Sasaki to hit a German suplex hold on Chono. In the end, Mutoh's able to hit a dragon suplex hold and the moonsault press on Hase for a crazy nearfall, but after Sasaki cleans house, Hase pins Mutoh with the Northern Lights suplex hold for the big win.