Some new items are now available over at Highspots, including New Japan toy figures, which rock. But I'll just talk about the tape in today's shill for my hosts. Firstly, one of NOAH's better looking shows lately, and a Samurai! TV taping that took place earlier in the month. Matches #4 to #8 are shown, ALL complete. The broadcast begins with one of Kenta Kobashi's best-looking return matches, as he teams with sworn friend Kikuchi against two talented gaijin wrestlers. Vader and Bison Smith have a rematch from 4/7, with similar results. The next match was somewhat of an upset, as Ikeda & Yone, who had a run of form on the tour (which ended abruptly), downing Team PRIDE, Takayama & Sugiura. The semi final definitely looks good for workrate, as STERNNESS's Akiyama & Kanemaru (one of my favourite juniors today) against Taue & KENTA (another great prospect who is already having excellent matches). The main event was the longest NOAH six man in company history, with WAVE defeating the Takeshis & Hashi.

NOAH, 7/14/02 (Samurai! TV) (Buy)
Niigata City Gymnasium
3,400 Fans

1. Superstar Steve beat Kotaro Suzuki (10:34) with a moonsault press.
2. Rusher Kimura & Mitsuo Momota beat Haruka Eigen & Masashi Aoyagi (10:56) when Momota used an inside cradle on Eigen.
3. Michael Modest & Donovan Morgan beat Masao Inoue & Kishin Kawabata (13:56) when Morgan used a Capture-style inside cradle on Kawabata.
4. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi beat Scorpio & Richard Slinger (20:36) when Kobashi used a lariat on Slinger.
5. Vader beat Bison Smith (4:59) with a reverse splash.
6. Daisuke Ikeda & Mohammed Yone beat Yoshihiro Takayama & Takashi Sugiura (16:12) when Ikeda used a Dai-Chan Bomber on Sugiura.
7. Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat Akira Taue & KENTA (18:22) when Kanemaru used a brainbuster on KENTA.
8. Yoshinari Ogawa, Mitsuharu Misawa & Takuma Sano beat Takeshi Rikio, Takeshi Morishima & Makoto Hashi (28:44) when Sano used a Northern Lights Bomb on Hashi.

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Tracking back a couple of months to the May tour opener. Matches #8, #4, #5, #6, #7 and #9 (in that order) are aired, including Shiga vs. Yone, a very promising match, as Shiga is one of the unheralded wrestlers of today. The main event saw Wild II's rampage continue, as they defeated STERNNESS' leaders, Akiyama & Saito, Morishima using a lariat to pin Saito, who broke his sternum during the match and is still recovering now.

NOAH, 5/6/02 (NTV) (Buy)
Miyagi Sports Center
3,200 Fans

1. Haruka Eigen & Jun Izumida beat Rusher Kimura & Mitsuo Momota (9:36) when Izumida used a Meteorite punch on Momota.
2. Masao Inoue beat Kishin Kawabata (10:49) with an Argentine backbreaker.
3. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & KENTA beat Donovan Morgan & Ray Gordy (14:49) when KENTA used a Falcon Arrow on Gordy.
4. Kentaro Shiga beat Mohammed Yone (9:37) with a cross armbreaker.
5. Vader & Scorpio beat Michael Modest & Bull Schmidt (6:36) when Vader used the Big Van Crush on Schmidt.
6. Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama beat Daisuke Ikeda & Takashi Sugiura (12:37) when Omori used an Axe Bomber on Sugiura.
7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title Tournament - Round 1: Tsuyoshi Kikuchi beat Richard Slinger (10:48) with an armlock.
8. Yoshinari Ogawa, Mitsuharu Misawa & Takuma Sano beat Akira Taue, Tamon Honda & Makoto Hashi (21:12) when Ogawa used an inside cradle on Taue.
9. GHC Tag Team Title: Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio (c) beat Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito (22:35) when Morishima used a lariat on Saito (3rd defense).

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Big Japan's July tour climax was definitely one of the better looking shows from the struggling company lately. Matches #5 to #8 are aired on this broadcast, all complete, and they're the feature matches. Sekimoto returns from the injury he picked up just before his appearance on New Japan's 5/2 Tokyo Dome show, facing former FMW star, Hisakatsu Oya. Abdullah Kobayashi and Biomonster DNA (Gosaku Goshogawara) fight it out for a place in the World Extreme Cup semi finals. The main event is a real treat for diehard indy fans, as two of the best from former FMW, Kanemura and Kuroda, face two of the best from BJW, Yamakawa and WX.

BJW, 7/7/02 (Buy)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,600 Fans

1. Shunme Matsuzaki beat Katsumasa Inoue (4:46) with a camel clutch.
2. Hiromi Yagi & Kaori Yoneyama beat Tsubasa Kuragaki & Nana Fujimura (10:36) when Yagi used a Shawn Capture on Fujimura.
3. MEN's Teioh & Daisaku Shimoda beat Daikokubo Benkei & Dark Angel Numazawa (9:55) when Shimoda used a Dragon suplex hold on Numazawa.
4. Mad Man Pondo beat Yuichi Taniguchi (4:54) with a chair dive to the face.
5. Bad Boy Hido beat Ryuji Ito (4:10) with a piledriver on a chair.
6. Daisuke Sekimoto Return & Homework Match: Daisuke Sekimoto beat Hisakatsu Oya (6:37) with a lariat.
7. World Extreme Cup - Block D: Abdullah Kobayashi [6] beat Biomonster DNA [2] (6:34) in a Barbed Wire Board Death Match with the Cobado Driver.
8. Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda beat Ryuji Yamakawa & Shadow WX (15:47) when Kanemura pinned Yamakawa after a union powerbomb.
--- As a result of his direct loss, Yamakawa was forced to change his first name back to Seiji.

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Kaientai Dojo's fourth broadcast on GAORA TV covered the two shows below, so there is a lot of clipping. The one to look out for is TAKA against probably his best student, Hi69, in a technical-based match.

Kaientai Dojo, 6/23/02 (Buy)
Chiba Blue Field
205 Fans (Sell Out)

1. Hi69, PABLO & Ryoko beat Silver Wolf, Mike Lee Jr. & DJ Nira (4:51) when Hi69 used the Super Dance on Nira.
2. YOSHIYA beat Mr. X, Mr. X2 & Mr. X3 (5:34) in a Handicap Match with big boots and a triple pinfall.
3. Club-K Super Take Tournament - Semi Final: Minoru Fujita beat MIYAWAKI (9:12) with an elbow smash.
4. Club-K Super Take Tournament - Semi Final: Daigoro Kashiwa beat TAKA Michinoku (4:27) with a running neckbreaker drop.
5. Ryoutai Chikuzen, Yasu Urano & Kunio Toshima beat Joe Aoyama, Teppei Ishizaka & Sambo Oishi (7:06) when Urano used a backdrop suplex on Aoyama.
6. Yu Yamagata beat Ofune (6:27) with a facebuster.
7. Club-K Super Take Tournament - Final: Minoru Fujita beat Daigoro Kashiwa (3:49) with the Fujita Driver II.
8. Minoru Fujita, MIYAWAKI, Daigoro Kashiwa & Silver Wolf beat TAKA Michinoku, Hi69, PABLO & YOSHIYA (7:19) when Kashiwa used a diving headbutt on Hi69.

Kaientai Dojo, 6/22/02 (Buy)
Chiba Blue Field
210 Fans (Sell Out)

1. Mr. X, Mr. X2 & Mr. X3 beat YOSHIYA, PSYCHO & Ofune (4:23) when X used an X Hammer on PSYCHO.
2. Club-K Super Take Tournament - Round 1: Daigoro Kashiwa beat Joe Aoyama (6:33) with the Shinnitsu.
3. Club-K Super Take Tournament - Round 1: MIYAWAKI beat Ryoutai Chikuzen (8:12) with the Death Penalty.
4. Teppei Ishizaka & Sambo Oishi beat Yasu Urano & Kunio Toshima (6:09) when Oishi used a cross knee scissors hold on Toshima.
5. Yu Yamagata beat DJ Nira (2:25) with a facebuster.
6. Silver Wolf & Mike Lee Jr. beat PABLO & Ryoko (2:53) when Wolf used a hurricanrana on PABLO.
7. Club-K Super Take Tournament - Round 1: Minoru Fujita beat Kengo Mashimo (9:42) with the Fujita Driver II.
8. Club-K Super Take Tournament - Round 1: TAKA Michinoku beat Hi69 (14:28) with the Super K II.

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PRIDE's recent Differ show is already available, having aired soon after it took place.

PRIDE "THE BEST II", 7/20/02 (Samurai! TV) (Buy)
Tokyo Differ Ariake

1. Jukei Nakajima beat Joe Son (R1 0:54) by TKO.
2. Daisuke Nakamura beat Shannon Ritch (R1 4:28) with a cross armbreaker.
3. Fatih Kocamis beat Anglo-Saxon Oba (R2) by decision.
4. Jon Alessio beat Eiji Mitsuoka (R2 3:13) by doctor stop.
5. Giant Ochiai beat Tomohiko Hashimoto (R1 2:10) by KO.
6. Alistair Overeem beat Yusuke Imamura (R1 0:44) by TKO.
7. Nino Schembri beat Daiju Takase (R2) by decision.
8. Sokun Koh beat Bob Schrijber (R2) by decision.