Back in Japan, Big Boss Man

Big Boss Man vs. Mighty Inoue AJPW 7/2/93 - FUN

ER: This was Boss Man's first match back in Japan after many years in WWF, and we got a short, simple match, a first night of the tour showcase for him. It's fun seeing Boss Man doing his thing, but even more fun seeing Inoue's brief burst of offense before he got put down. Inoue flubbed the timing on Boss Man's big slide out of the ring-big boot-uppercut combo, rushing in too quickly, so he ran right past Boss Man's boot (though he hit knee so it wasn't bad) and then kind of stood there awkwardly waiting to take the windup uppercut. But Boss Man didn't flinch at the timing injustice and the crowd was into his enthusiasm. Weirdly I think my favorite part of that spot is the missed clothesline that sends him into the corner. He always cuts it super fast, something that would really murder someone if they weren't careful. 

Inoue was not a guy winning singles matches at this point (unless he was up against Eigen or Momota) but it was a great moment when he hit that flying headbutt on the Boss, then another. Boss Man staggered around really great for it, going down briefly to a knee and wobbling before going down hard for the second. Inoue's fast rolling senton is one of the prettiest and coolest moves in wrestling, and I'm not sure anyone did one better than him (including hundreds of luchadors). It's a cool little World of Sport injection into King's Road. It was a nice little run for Inoue that Boss Man both sold well, and also appropriately, when he easily bench pressed Inoue off at 2. The win was never in doubt. This was a "hey we got Boss Man back in All Japan" opening tour match, but it was fun as hell.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE BOSS MAN IN JAPAN