Customer Reviews

Tna: Global Impact Japan

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Global iMPACT Japan is a joint production between TNA and New Japan Wrestling. This event was hosted at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan in January 2008. This event hosted 3 IWGP Championship Matches featuring superstars of the TNA and New Japan Wrestling rosters.

Christian Cage, AJ Styles, & Petey Williams Vs. Milano Collection AT, Minoru, & Prince Devitt - Awesome match. This was a very enjoyable and entertaining match. Everybody in this match had a chance to shine and they all delivered a good showing. Lots of cool spots in this match including Petey Williams hitting a huricanrana over the top rope and AJ Styles scoring with the Flosberry Flop. In the end, AJ Syles hits the Styles Clash to get the win for TNA. Fantastic match. 5/5

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

Wataru Inoue Vs. Christopher Daniels - Another good match here. This was before Daniels put on the "Curryman" gimmick so you just knew you was going to get something good from Daniels' "Fallen Angel" character. Inoue also has a good showing and he showed outstanding heart in this match. Both Daniels and Inoue deliver a good and exciting match. Just a great competitive match. This was the second most competitive match of the night. 5/5

Manabu Nekanishi Vs. Abyss - This match was advertised as America's "Monster" Abyss taking on Japan's "Monster" Manabu Nekanishi. The match started out very intense with both men taking the match to the outside where Abyss introduces the thousands of thumb tacks. From there Nekanishi takes control of the match after driving Abyss' face and arm into the tacks in the aisle way. The ending was a bit too weak with Nekanishi hitting Abyss with a German suplex for the win. Overall, this was an enjoyable match. 3.5/5

Hardcore Match

Team 3D Vs. Tohgi Makabe & Toru Yano - This match isn't as good as Team 3D's other Hardcore Matches in America but this match is still fairly good in its own right. Both teams provided good tag team action and this was another pretty good match. A couple of good hardcore spots that includes Yano using a hammer on Bubba Ray, Makabe hitting a spike piledriver to D-Von on the concrete floor, Bubba taking out everybody with a ladder, and Bubba powerbombing Yano through a table. It ends when D-Von and Bubba Ray hits the 3D on Makabe for the win. 4/5

IWGP Tag Team Championship

The Steiner Brothers Vs. Tomko & Giant Bernard (A-Train) - This was a solid Tag Team Title Match. The Steiners always put on a good showing whenever they are in the Orient and that is no exception here. Tomko and Bernard brought a good power game while the Steiner Brothers brought a good tag team game to the match. Jeff Jarrett has a special appearence in the match as he gives Toru Yano a guitar shot to the cranium. Overall, this was a very good tag team match. 4.5/5

IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Kurt Angle Vs. Yuji Nagata - What a classic match this is. The match went very back and forth with Angle and Nagata countering nearly every move they apply to each other. This match is just a technical masterpiece. Nagata and Angle delivered one heck of a Heavyweight Title Match and they delivered an outstanding performance. The determination to not to lose from Angle and Nagata was unreal. Just a classic match. This match was without a shadow of a doubt one the best competitive matches ever and by far the best match of the night. Spectacular match between two great in-ring generals. 5/5

This is a great DVD to pick up. Solid and entertaining matches from start to finish. Awesome DVD. I HIGHLY recommend this purchase.

Back in Jan. 2008, TNA & New Japan Pro Wrestling joined together for a supercard called "Wrestle Kingdom II" in the Toyko Dome in Japan and this resulted in the one of the best showcasing of TNA's talent during that time...even down to the commentary as Mike Tenay went back to his "Professor" routes that we saw from him in WCW while this was probably the best Don West ever has been. Now that the original one hour documentry special is not on here and this DVD is split into 5 different parts: The Kurt Angle vs. Yugi Nagata match, the rest of the TNA vs. New Japan matches, various TNA talents exploring the Japanese culture, the post match press conferences, and pre-match interviews including Jeff Jarrett talking about the infamous incident between him & Hulk Hogan years earlier, Kurt Angle discussing the controversy behind his I.W.G.P. Championship, and additional comments from Christian Cage & Petey Williams & Brother Devon & Christopher Daniels.

Here are the matches in which you get a nice highlight package (in Japanese) before the match:

Christian Cage, A.J. Styles, Petey Williams vs. Milano Collection AT, Minori, Prince Devitt - This match was very fast paced where everyone got their highlight moments including Milano pulling out a few moves that we would normally see from Chris Sabin while A.J. Styles was his "Phenomenal" self & not the goofy character he normally portrayed at this time. Look out for Petey's Canadian Destroyer as that was probably one of the sickest looking ones I've seen.

I.W.G.P. Junior Heavyweight Champion Wataru Inoue vs. Christopher Daniels - The equivelent to TNA's X Division Championship was on the line here and the commentators played off the "Feast Or Fired" storyline here in that this was Daniels' last opportunity in TNA. This was a very solid match up and the best showcase of Daniels in close to a year before & after this match.

Abyss vs. Manabu Nakanishi - As Tenay pointed out before the match, Nakanishi is the former wrestler Kurasawa from WCW back in '95 & man has he beefed up since then. This was the "Monster" vs. the "Japanese Hercules" that had both men pulling off some power moves on each other like the Torture Rack & Chokeslam along with brawling on the outside and as usual with Abyss at this time, thumbtacks came into play at one point. The only downfall here was the weak ending after all that punishment each other throughout the match.

Team 3D vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano - This was a battle of hardcore tag teams here to the point where Yano even wore a chair to the ring. This had your typical plunder (thanks Dusty) of trash cans, a ladder, a hammer at one point, tables and even Bubba giving one hell of a stiff chair shot to Yano. This wasn't as high quality as other hardcore matches we've seen from 3D but this was still a good one.

I.W.G.P. Tag Team Champions Tomko & Giant Bernard vs. Steiner Brothers - This was the more unique match on the card concidering the fact that Tomko is representing New Japan yet was also one half the TNA Tag Team Champions with A.J. Styles...and for those who don't already know, Bernard is the former "Albert/A-Train" from WWE with tattoo ink replacing all of his body hair. Jeff Jarrett was at ringside for this match as it was ironic that before the match, you got some nice old school footage of the Steiners in Japan from back in the early '90s because this was the closest we've seen the Steiner Brothers perform like how they did in their prime since they're reunion months earlier. Both teams hit power moves against each other with solid wrestling here. The ending got a little crazy with interference from Jarrett along with Makabe & Yano from the previous match but it was still a solid tag team match as again, the Steiner's best showing since reuniting while those who only remember Bernard for his WWE run would be heavily impressed with his improvement since then. One move to look out for those was the botched suplex from Scott Steiner to Bernard that was a serious "crash & burn."

As a side note, Makabe & Yayo's interference here got them a match against Tomko & Bernard which resulted in them winning the I.W.G.P. Tag Team Titles...only to lose them one year later at the "Wrestle Kingdom III" event in a rematch against Team 3D in a match taped for the yet to be released "TNA Global Impact II." Funny how all of that came together.

"I.W.G.P." Champion Kurt Angle vs. Yuji Nagata - Kurt showcased that he was a natural at adapting to the "stong" japanese style (similar to a MMA/wrestling mix) as both men were very intense & heavily working over various bodyparts such as Kurt on Nagata's leg & Yuji on Kurt's arm to the point where an applied armbar Yuji did with the look on his face...you would think he was trying to yank it out of his socket. One of Kurt's most unique & best performances in not just TNA but his career. The only negative I can say here is that is the T.V. version so the match is edited.

(Also available on "Kurt Angle: Champion")

There are two hidden extras here involving Christian Cage showing his hotel room & being taught a dance step backstage by Christopher Daniels that I swear I've seen a "hot & spicy" character do in TNA in Daniels' absence. In the end, this is a DVD that any TNA fan should have in their collection as their "hot & cold/on & off/hit & miss" storylines & characters took a backseat here & showcased their talent's strength which is their in-ring performance. This should be one of the top TNA DVD's to have your collection period, I recommend, and am awaiting on "Global Impact II" from this earlier this year.

On January 4, 2008, the stars of TNA went overseas to the land of the rising sun to battle the stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling that lead to this event being one of the best TNA quality cards as they stuck to what they did best & that was showcase strong wrestling matches from start to finish. This DVD is split into 5 different parts: The Kurt Angle vs. Yugi Nagata match, the rest of the TNA vs New Japan matches, various TNA talents exploring the Japanese culture, the post match press conferences, and pre-match interviews including Jeff Jarrett talking about the infamous incident between him & Hulk Hogan years earlier, Kurt Angle discussing the controversy behind his I.W.G.P. Championship, and additional comments from Christian Cage, Petey Williams, Brother D-Von & Christopher Daniels.

Christian Cage, AJ Styles & Petey Williams vs Milano Collection AT, Minoru & Prince Devitt. Awesome opener as everyone here put on a great performance with great wrestling in the ring & each man doing high-risk moves at one point that lead to everyone doing so in one sequence. One moment to look out for would be Williams hitting a sick Canadian Destroyer that really seemed stiff on impact.

I.W.G.P. Junior Heavyweight Champion Wataru Inoue vs Christopher Daniels. This match did a great job in following the opener as Daniels was able to showcase his true ability here in what was a very good back & forth match with the story being that Daniels was one step ahead throughout the entire match before making one single mistake that cost him the match.

Abyss vs Manabu Nakanishi. A good powerhouse match between two big men with a sick spot where Abyss lands head & hand first on the thumbtacks but pay close attention to the finish that actually got a negative reaction from the fans.

Hardcore Match: Team 3D vs Togi Makabe & Toru Yano. Two teams here that wanted to prove who is the more hardcore out of the two This wasn't as wild or crazy as Team 3D's matches in the WWE or even ECW but it was still a good hardcore match with weapons like chairs, a table, trash cans & even the ringbell with the hammer being used at times.

I.W.G.P. Tag Team Champions Tomko & Giant Bernard vs The Steiner Brothers. For those that don't know, Giant Bernard is the former WWE "A-Train" but by watching this match, you would be impressed as this was a good tag team match that not only showcased the improvement of Bernard & Tomko in the ring but this was the best performance that I have seen from Scott & Rick Steiner at this point in their careers. The ending got a little crazy with appearance from Makabe, Yano & Jeff Jarrett but it didn't ruin the match at all.

I.W.G.P. Champion Kurt Angle vs Yuji Nagata. Kurt showed here why he is one of the best wrestlers in the world as he adapted to the Japanese style which is actually a bit stiff & stronger than the American version. Both men put on a great wrestling match with Angle working on Nagata's leg at times while Nagata worked on Angle's arm to the point where he did an armbar where it looked like he was going to break the arm in the half. A unique match but one of both men's best matches in their career.

Overall, this event ranks up with the 2007 edition of Bound For Glory as my favorite TNA event as like I mentioned, this event played to their strengths in which they showcased great wrestling so I would go out of my way to get this rare event.

tna global impact japan is an outstanding dvd. not only do you get to see some of tna top stars but some of new japan top stars. the matches i felt were pretty solid. with the highlight being kurt angle's main event. in the end if you're a true wrestling fan you will enjoy it.