One of wrestling’s greatest legends retired this week, the masked innovator known as Jushin Thunder Liger. After losing his two retirement matches at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 14 event, the company paid tribute to Liger‘s career with a ceremony the next night at New Year’s Dash. Leading up to this however, New Japan polled 5000+ fans on the subject of his best-ever wrestling matches. It didn’t turn out like some were expecting, as his recent encounter with Minoru Suzuki topped the poll. While there’s no denying it was a really fun match, it’s an easy list to nitpick because so many classics were completely absent from the top 20.
While I’m not going to rank them, I like to think the following is a better representation of the quality matches Jushin Liger worked in his prime. It can be argued that two matches against The Great Sasuke (& others) should be included, but I wanted us to have different opponents for each entry. I’ve also arranged it in chronological order, so if you do watch each video in order you’ll get to witness the evolution of Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger’s performances. Credit to By Beyond Gorilla for the display image.
#1: vs. Naoki Sano – NJPW New Spring Gold Series 1990
We open with Liger’s first big rival. Naoki Sano is credited for helping to get Liger over, and was thus given the honor of being the only man involved in both retirement matches at Wrestle Kingdom 14. Before the match could start, Liger showed blatant disrespect as he refused a handshake and slapped Sano in the face. There’s serious heat here! As it becomes more of a fight than a wrestling match. Sano retaliates with some brutal piledrivers and rips a big hole in Liger’s mask to the point you can sometimes see his face. As the crowd looks on in anticipation, Sano dominates Liger to the point he doesn’t look like he can make a comeback.
Liger’s selling is on another level, as the crowd shows their support by willing him on. Due to him always wearing a mask it’s rare to see him bleed, but this is one of those occasions. And then he makes a comeback! A beautiful somersault plancha over the top wows the audience. He keeps it going with a surfboard stretch, but Sano rakes his bloodied forehead to escape. Sano further targets the head as the mask is pretty much hanging by a thread. There’s some brutal suplex variations which Liger somehow finds a way to survive. Liger escapes an avalanche brainbuster and turns it into a near-fall! Sano really should’ve found a way to put him away by now. I’ll leave the ending for you to witness, as it really was ahead of its time.
#2: vs. Brian Pillman – WCW SuperBrawl II 1992
For English-speaking fans, the first time we likely had the pleasure of seeing Liger’s work was during his rivalry with ‘Flyin’ Brian Pillman over the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship; Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura provide commentary. Speaking of which, Ventura sounds delighted to be calling a Liger match for the first time. This is seriously as good as any cruiserweight match we saw last decade. The crowd pops as these athletes show their pace. Pillman tries to slow things down, but Liger wants it quicker and targets Brian’s left leg. A figure four leg lock puts Pillman in a heap of trouble. The crowd pops as they pick it up again and Liger somersaults off the turnbuckle on to Pillman.
What’s special about this match is it helped to establish WCW’s light heavyweight division. Granted that it was short-lived, but this could have been the start of something special had the powers in charge had any clue of how to manage it. Pillman fires back with some explosive offense. I like how they both cancel each other out with dropkicks to show how competitive and like-minded they are; JR calls this as an aerial war.
I think the only annoying thing about this are the fans chanting “USA!”. Ventura comments on it by saying they are not disrespecting Liger as they’re only chanting it due to their patriotism. Pillman will not quit despite taking a mean superplex. Liger misses a diving headbutt and Pillman uses an innovative pin to get the win and claim the Light Heavyweight title for a second time! Sadly, this was the peak of this championship as it was deactivated four months later.
#3: vs. El Samurai – NJPW Sumo Hall Show (Apr ’92)
Am not sure why this match is so hard to find, but I did manage to come across it on a Chinese website here: Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai. It’s the only encounter in this list which was rated 5 stars by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. While some may not understand why the encounter was rated so highly, I may be able to explain why. Firstly, this was the final of the Top of the Super Juniors tournament which also included Norio Honaga, Negro Casas, Pegasus Kid (Benoit), Eddie Guerrero, David Finlay, 2 Cold Scorpio and Koji Kanemoto. Secondly, Liger would make history if he won due to also being the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Having topped the standings, El Samurai wanted to prove he was the best junior heavyweight in New Japan. He was vicious from-the-off, as he went after Liger’s mask and struck him with objects.
Samurai conjured good heel heat as he grounded the champion; going as far to steal Liger’s trademark surfboard stretch. We have to remember this is happening in 1992, so many of these techniques to elicit heat were fresh and creative. What brought this to life was the comeback from Liger, which was mercilessly hard-hitting. His desire to get revenge was so fraught that it blurred the lines of face vs. heel, and some say they almost double turned; you could almost feel sorry for Samurai as his mask gets completely torn off. What this match does is send a message to all of Liger’s rivals; if you want to mess around, expect as much back and more. Does it deserve to be rated so highly? I’ll let you be the judge.
#4: vs. The Pegasus Kid – NJPW G1 Climax ’92 – Day 4
Having battled Jushin Liger several times since 1990 and losing his mask along the way, Pegasus Kid wanted to stop the rot by getting one over Japan’s beloved superstar on the last day of the G1 Climax event. I don’t want to big this up too much as it should be able to speak for itself as arguably their best encounter. If you can stand to watch any matches involving Chris Benoit, then this should do the job of showing Jushin Liger’s ability to work a great match with a range of opponents.
#5: vs. Shinya Hashimoto – NJPW Thanks Wrestling Day Brush Up 1994
While it wasn’t rated highly by Wrestling Observer, fan ratings and others who have reviewed it often praise it as a classic between the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions of the time. Although there’s nothing on the line other than pride, Hashimoto and Liger tear it up on this fan appreciation day. I found a really sweet (& recent) review on gansobomb.com which is a highly recommended read: Random Rewind
The video provided has cut out parts of the match to give us highlights, but the image and sound quality is better than others I looked at. This is a true David vs. Goliath matchup which holds up pretty well, although I can’t get over Liger’s choice of attire. Hashimoto went on to become the longest reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion with an impressive 1,052 days over three reigns; til he was eventually usurped by The Great Muta in 2008, and of course the more recent champions Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada.
#6: vs. The Great Sasuke – NJPW Super J-Cup ’94
This is up there as one of the highest rated matches of Jushin Liger’s career. While some may say it doesn’t hold up to modern standards, I think it’s unfair to judge a match based on what wrestling has become. Compare this to any other match in 1994, and you’ll find it difficult to say anything was better. This was a semi-final bout in the first-ever Super J-Cup tournament to decide who would face Wild Pegasus (Benoit) in the final. There’s much anticipation as two of the most exciting junior heavyweights bulls looked set to lock horns.
While watching this, I particularly enjoyed Liger dominating much of it. This is in stark contrast to some of his earlier matches where he’d sell half the time before making an epic comeback. He works the arm hard like he did against El Samurai. It really speaks to the overall package that is Jushin Liger, as he’s able to switch from being a brawler, to a submission specialist, to a high-flyer when it suits the situation. Sasuke is the quicker of the two, so Liger tries to ground him but he won’t be contained forever. We take much of this offense for granted nowadays, as so many have copied others.. who copied others.. who copied guys like Jushin Liger and Great Sasuke. How many near falls! This is crazy.
Some might rate this down slightly for the botch at the end, but I think it made the result more shocking. How Sasuke pulled that off I do not know… and Liger’s understandably irate. This is why he’s such a legend though, he wasn’t one for playing politics and understood that his star power could get guys over if done the right way.
#7: vs. Ultimo Dragon – WAR Super J-Cup ’95
I remember seeing Ultimo Dragon in WWE and always looked forward to seeing him wrestle. It was bitterly disappointing when WWE let him go, because I felt he was a bigger star than they thought. So as I write this, Jushin Liger makes his way to the ring… but I’m more looking forward to seeing Ultimo. Much like the last match, this is a semi-final in the Super J-Cup. For those who don’t know, Ultimo Dragon is the innovator of the Asai Moonsault.
The opening exchanges see them working on the mat, and it’s rare you see anything like it these days. Liger ups the pace and nails his vintage tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, before going back to working Ultimo over on the mat with submissions. He’s definitely controlling the pace, and Ultimo’s having a tough time getting in any offense. I feel like the crowd isn’t as excitable because it’s in the WAR promotion and not New Japan; where they perhaps would’ve been more vocal. Oh my god the arm drag exchange… awe-inspiring. Liger dropkicks his knee and Ultimo screams in agony. This is a master class by Liger, who came in to this with a very clear game plan.
Ultimo finally musters something with a single leg crab into a bridging double chickenwing. For two of the best high-flyers in the world they sure are working the mat a lot, which I like! Ultimo picks up the pace after seeing Liger selling the work on his leg with some dives. The urgency picks up considerably in the latter minutes. Liger is in disbelief as he struggles to put Ultimo away. I’ll let you enjoy the final few minutes of this stunning encounter between two greats.
#8: vs. The Great Muta – NJPW Kobe Show (Oct ’96)
Some describe this as an anomaly for good reason, there’s so much going on here that it transcends the traditional wrestling match. Not only are these two of the biggest characters in Japanese wrestling history, but they meet for what seems to be a dream match thrown together for the sake of it. The result? Complete carnage. Muta appears to threaten Liger early by showing he can do the mist anytime he wants; and proceeds to taunt the crowd menacingly after they chant for Liger. There’s an unpredictable feel with a slow pace, but it makes sense given the occasion. The crowd respectfully watches in silence in the opening exchange, at least til Liger gets the better of Muta; who shows his frustration on the outside.
I don’t want to detail this too much as I know there’s gonna’ be so many big events to point out. There’s a pretty brutal piledriver spot through a table ten minutes in. Muta decides to take that broken table and throw it at Liger’s head… wow, he’s totally unhinged. And yeah, Muta completely no-sells one of Liger’s piledrivers. If there’s anyone crazy enough to take Liger off his game? It’s Muta. He’s clearly stronger and no one knows what he’s going to do. Liger finds an opening and uses his high-flying to take the advantage… yet Muta disappears under the ring! A cameraman and Liger go under the ring to find him, but Muta comes out the other side with a broom. He rips Liger’s mask clean off, then grabs a steel chair.
Kishin Liger Is Born
Kishin Liger is revealed and Muta hesitates! Liger spits the mist at him! He rips his attire off and lets out a battle cry. The crowd doesn’t know what to make of him stabbing Muta in the head. Wow, stiff chair shot. This got really nasty quickly after Muta took off the mask. Despite the onslaught, Muta manages to hit the red mist on Kishin. He goes in to overdriver and finishes Liger off with the moonsault. 1-2-3. What a crazy, brutal match. Muta doesn’t hang around long to celebrate.
#9: vs. Shinjiro Otani – NJPW Fighting Spirit 1997 – Tag 11
This is a technical master class which may take some getting into, but when you do you’re rewarded with an astounding last quarter. This is one of the longest matches to be featured here (27 minutes), so I’m not going to blame anyone for passing it up if they’ve already watched the other eight. You can imagine a few of the current generation of wrestlers studying this for pointers to improve their own work. Some fans compare Liger vs. Otani to All Japan’s style; especially in the matches between Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi (which is huge praise).
As Liger’s style wasn’t fresh anymore, they had to work in a way which played to Otani’s strengths. Many say that the finishing sequence is one of the greatest of Liger’s career, but you’re not going to understand the entire picture without getting through the ground work set earlier on. Nevertheless, Otani will go down as one of Liger’s biggest rivals. I was originally planning to include a different Otani match, but settled on this in the end.
#10: vs. Koji Kanemoto – NJPW Fighting Spirit 1997 – Tag 16
You can say this was a meeting of two of the greatest IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions in their primes. In terms of rivalry though, it was always one-sided in Liger’s favor. This is probably the best match they ever had together, and while not much can be said about it, the wrestling observer did give it 4 3/4 stars. With Otani at ringside, it feels like a continuation of the previous match but with a different challenger. Kanemoto giving Liger a middle finger salute while in a submission was a nice touch; and is telling of his popularity compared to the other junior heavyweights.
After twelve minutes of dominance from Kanemoto, the crowd pops as Liger springs to life with some explosive offense. The match really comes to life after this, but Kanemoto isn’t going down easy and always looks a threat. The urgency doesn’t let up for a second, and after a bunch of suplex and sitdown powerbombs, Liger finally finishes things with his trademark brainbuster from the top. It wouldn’t be the last time they would meet, but it likely never got as competitive as this again.
Conclusion
It took a while to watch all these and appreciate them individually, but I feel better for doing so. Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger is a unique talent with a moveset which innovated the junior heavyweight/cruiserweight style we’ve all come to know and enjoy. Incredibly professional and unselfish, Liger’s popularity gave him the ability to work all over the world with a plethora of talent all the way up to his retirement. He’s respected enough to cross boundaries and be included on any wrestling card. I won’t lie and say I’m the biggest Liger fan in the world, but I do remember hearing about him sixteen years ago. In the UK we used to have something called The Wrestling Channel, which was a short-lived, yet awesome(!) channel which had short promos of guys like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Meiko Satomura and Jushin Liger.
His look and moves intrigued me, so after finally acquiring a computer with the internet (in my college days), he was the first Japanese wrestler I had the pleasure of googling. And I’m still doing it today… sixteen years later I’m paying tribute to a man who broadened my horizons beyond what was happening in America. At the very least, I hope I’ve done this justice and you’ve managed to enjoy a few of the matches. Congratulations to Jushin Liger on a legendary career! And a big thanks to you for being here. Peace.
