Casas v Tarzan Boy (in trios)!

Negro Casas, Atlantis & Mr Niebla v Tarzan Boy, Dr Wagner Jr. & Rey Bucanero (CMLL, 8/30/02)

This was a red hot two falls. Normally you'd be disappointed at it not going three, but when everyone's as fired up as they were here it's hard to feel short-changed. It certainly never felt like we missed a payoff. I've seen bits of the Casas/Tarzan Boy feud before, but never the hair match and maybe I should change that at some point? Tarzan Boy was a really fun jacked up moron here and he and the rest of the rudos went right for the throat before the bell even rang. Bucanero and Wagner held Casas in place as Tarzan Boy made a show of flexing the bicep before taking a free swing at him. I guess Wagner and Atlantis were still tearing strips off each other in 2002 because they were both at the mask-ripping and throwing the other into objects that have no give. At a few different points the match spilled to the floor and someone was getting chucked into rows of spectators or nearly off the ramp, and into the segunda a ring girl nearly got caught in the crossfire as well. There was a great close-up shot of Casas, practically draped over three fans, with this look of "why am I still doing this in my 40s?" The tecnico comeback was sensational and the rudos leaned into every bit of payback that came their way. Bucanero was a nutjob and took one monkey flip over the top where he cleared the fucking top rope by a foot and a half, then he took another one over the post and how he never snapped an ankle or knee or both is a miracle. In the end it comes down to Casas and Tarzan Boy, mano a mano with no bells or whistles, and that feels fitting. Maybe I really should watch the hair match. 

The World is Different Since He's Seen it Last. Out of Jail, Been Seven Years and Tenryu's Happy that He's Free at Last

Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta v Kevin & David Von Erich (All Japan, 6/10/81) - FUN

Tenryu with the rainbow boots! Kevin wearing any boots! This was pretty damn okay, although maybe 10 minutes rather than 17 or whatever would've made for an easier ride. Tenryu looks as lean as I've ever seen him, damn near ripped, yolked, PEELED even. I mean Kevin was only marginally more so. This was not the lumpy Tenryu who was ready to go to war against the world, clearly. The Von Erichs were determined to lock in that stomach claw and that was the thread running through this. Tenryu and Jumbo would avoid it early, but the claw was inevitable and before long they made it stick. Even with boots on Kevin has the SPRING on his dropkick and big height on his crossbody, enough that the crowd were evidently impressed. That springiness was perhaps a curse in the end though because he flew into a forearm that knocked his brother off the apron, long enough for Jumbo to capitalise. 

Genichiro Tenryu v Mammoth Sasaki (WMF, 12/27/03) - GREAT

Tenryu coming into some indie beefboy's house and showing them how to REALLY throw some weight around is just about can't fail as a prospect. Mammoth Sasaki was a bit of a favourite of mine back around 2008, when I was watching and following a bunch of Japanese wrestling in real time, but before this I probably hadn't watched him since...well 2008, I guess. It didn't take long for him to try and assert some dominance. Tenryu released clean on a rope break, then when it was Sasaki's turn he didn't do the same. Tenryu sold it with genuine surprise, like he actually thought one of these laddies would know better for a change. Or that Sasaki would at least wait until Tenryu did it first. Then Sasaki did it again and Tenryu punched him square in the face. One of my favourite things about early-2000s Tenryu is that he would often show his displeasure by picking things up and throwing them at people. Sometimes he would just hit those unfortunate people over the head with those things. Sasaki was an FMW guy in a previous life so he decided to take this to the floor and turn it into a brawl. Tenryu was happy to oblige and you knew Sasaki made a mistake when Tenryu went looking for something to throw or use as a weapon. When he picked up a bottle and fucking smashed it over Sasaki's head I nearly fell out the bed. From there on out Tenryu was in full misanthrope mode and some of the kicks to Sasaki's face were vile. Sasaki would crawl around and try to fight back, blood dripping from a cut in his shoulder (probably the smashed bottle that did it), but there are only so many times you can get dropped awkwardly on your neck before your time's up. 

Complete & Accurate Tenryu