01/25/2003 WWF

World Heavyweight Title Match: Triple H (C) def. Tajiri in 23:14

WWE Vault released this match from a house show during a few dates in Japan in 2003. In the States, the Evolution era was starting, and that may have been Hunter at his most hateable as a performer. Not “boo” heat, but “fuck this guy” heat as he seemed to run through the roster without impunity. Because of that, Flair was out there. All of that being said, Hunter was fucking awesome here. Not so much how he did things (because some of it was clumsy for certain), but he tried to give the crowd a classic Japanese world heavyweight title match, and treated Tajiri as an equal. They did some chain wrestling at the beginning that wasn’t the smoothest, but Hunter tried to adapt to both Tajiri and the Japanese crowd. He did a cool spot where he clotheslines Tajiri in the back of the head when Tajiri went for the handspring elbow. The loudest pops in the match were when Tajiri applied the tarantula, and eventually kicked out of the fucking pedigree. Jesus, I know it’s a house show, and Trips assumed no one, but the live audience, would see it, but I’m still surprised. I’m not sure if Tajiri was off, if Hinter was worried about getting hit, or a little of both, but it seemed like some of Tajiri’s kicks missed the mark. Other than that and some clumsiness with the chain, I still felt they made a very good match. It ended with a second pedigree. ***1/4

The Video