Whiskey & Wrestling

Stay Hard, Stay Hungry, Stay Alive if You Can, and Meet Me In a Dream of This Mid-South Land

2012-02-09T15:22:00.007Z

Terry Gordy v Hacksaw Duggan (8/3/86)

Kind of in the same vein as Gordy/Doc -- just two big surly motherfuckers charging at each other to see who budges first. Ross is in full hyperactive FRUITY DELICIOUS FRUITY FRUITY SKITTLES mode on commentary, which some will hate and some will love. I'm still a fan of ol' JR though, so I thought his call of the whole thing was pretty great. I'm trying to think if there are any regular 1-on-1 Duggan matches I like more than this. The DiBiase series is amazing, but their matches on this set all have stips. The Sawyer barfights are incredible, but I have a hard time calling them "regular 1-on-1" matches, even if they don't necessarily have a stip (well, there's the dog collar match, but I'm pretty sure the November '85 match is stip-less). Did he have anything in the WWF that's even close to being this good? Whatever; point is this fucking rules. I really liked how it was structured, especially. Gordy never quite "takes over" and has a real control segment. He kind of works on top for a large stretch, but Duggan is constantly fighting back through sheer fucking willpower and refuses to stay down for any length of time. It's pretty back-and-forth, but it doesn't feel like they're working "my turn/your turn". It leads to Gordy using the sleeper and the oriental spike just to ware him down, and Duggan is all cock-eyed and stamping his feet while trying to get to the ropes or break the hold some other way. TV time limit finish is annoying, but I'm used to shitty 80s finishes at this stage in my wrestling fandom.

Terry Taylor v John Tatum (8/17/84)

"Tatum...he gets the darndest looks in his face." I remembered nothing about this, but the Tatum stuff on the Texas set and the Fantastics six-man I watched last week had me geared for some more Tatum, and I wasn't disappointed. He just stooges to the fucking moon here. He pouts and makes AMAZING whiney faces early, then when he takes over it looks like he's about to start crying after ever pin that doesn't keep Terry down. He's like a kid that REALLY wants that video game, but his parents won't buy him something with such an abundance of titties and curse words, no matter how much he begs. Shit, he actually kind of looks like Ohtani when he used to do the whole crying after ever nearfall thing, except Ohtani wasn't out and out TRYING to make people want to punch him in the nose. They have an awesome exchange towards the end where Taylor is lighting him up with punches and Tatum is practically dead on his feet, basically swinging out of instinct before finally falling flat on his face. Taylor hotshotting himself on the top rope off a missed cross body looked nasty, and his flying forearm looked great, but this was pretty much a Tatum show.

Hacksaw Duggan, Terry Taylor & Bill Watts v The Fabulous Freebirds (8/17/86)

Oh man, the pre-match of this totally rules. Watts is out with a baseball bat and calls it his "wing clipper". Hayes is irate and wants no part of this shit, calling Watts a maniac and refusing to compete. Watts says they have no guts and that he'll show them where Badstreet really is and Gordy is losing his shit. Hayes and Gordy are up on the stage where Ross is doing his announcing and Watts says he doesn't care where he has to fight them, whether it's in the ring or up there. Jim is all "Oh I don't like this situation one bit." Watts heads up to the stage with a ball bat and Ross is caught in the middle of it all so he just JUMPS off the fucking stage to get away. Eventually Buddy Roberts comes out (I think this was supposed to be Watts & Taylor v Gordy & Hayes initially) and then the locker room half empties to try and talk Watts out of murdering someone with a baseball bat. Eventually Duggan talks him down and the match becomes a six-man tag, which is then a shit ton of fun on top of the awesome pre-match stuff. Hayes is such a great scuzzy shithead, mocking Duggan's puffed out chest with hands on hips pose and bolting out of dodge when Duggan gets in the ring. Taylor is no Ricky Morton, but the Freebirds do a fine job playing your Midnight Express and constantly running distractions and double teams. Watts coming in off the hot tag and blasting Gordy with a right had was fucking great. Out of control DQ finish was unsurprising, but otherwise this was a blast. They also play Born in the USA for like 3 minutes while showing a bunch of crowd shots of people with no teeth or shoes. That was awesome.

Ted DiBiase & Dr. Death v Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts (Lumberjack Match) (8/31/86)

After coming out of the Texas set thinking Michael Hayes was the king of the ten minute out of control brawl I was pretty psyched for this. Maybe my expectations were too high, but it never really did anything for me. I mean, on paper this shit is way up my alley, but I thought it was "just okay." They do some cool lumberjack spots where Hayes and Buddy try to bail only to be tossed right back into the thick of it, and Hayes trying to lynch DiBiase looked super nasty and awesome, but I'd forgotten most of the rest of it 10 minutes after watching it. Which is strange since ten minute out of control Michael Hayes matches don't tend to fall into that category (at least not after the Texas set).

Mid-South Project

Driving Down to Mid-South County, Me & Wayne On the Fourth of July

2012-02-08T11:57:00.008Z

Rock 'n' Roll Express & Hacksaw Duggan v Midnight Express & Ernie Ladd (7/2/84)

Not quite as great as their first match, but this was really good stuff as well. The clip job at points is annoying, but them's the breaks. Layout is pretty much the same as the Houston match, only this time Robert Gibson actually gets to do something. He takes Morton's place at the beginning by running the heels in circles, then he tags in Hacksaw and they eventually run the same short Hacksaw in peril segment before the longer beatdown on Morton. Duggan matching up with all of the heels is super fun. He and Ladd have a cool exchange, then the Midnights try and just pile on top of him only for Duggan to keep throwing them off, eventually leading to them both trying to pin him and getting tossed at the same time (Duggan standing chest puffed out with his hands on his hips afterwards always gets the crowd amped up big time). He also fucking nukes Bobby Eaton with a clothesline and Eaton takes a crazy flip bump that looked like it cracked his collarbone (and gives him a seizure). The heat segment on Morton isn't as great this time around (lacked the MX almost causing a riot), but it's still the best face in peril in wrestling history playing face in peril in front of a rabid crowd, so it's still really fucking good. And besides, the beating these guys put on him in the Houston match was about as good a beating you're likely to see in a southern tag, so it's not a bar that'll be reached all that often. Ladd does crush him with his giant legdrops though, and I love how he just picks Morton up by the ears and holds him in the air. Finish isn't as hectic this time either, although that's not really a complaint. Without the clipping this likely would've been even better.

The Fantastics v Chavo & Hector Guerrero (10/12/84)

Man, 1984 Hector and 1994 Eddie are pretty much identical. Same hair, same moustache, same facial expressions...just dead ringers. They're also both fucking great pro-wrestlers. As is Chavo, who totally blew me away when I first watched all of this stuff. Thing that separates the Guerreros from most US heel teams (and babyface teams for that matter) of the era is that they just have a truckload of great offence. They bust out a stack of it here; bunch of suplex variations, Hector's tricked out running splash, and Chavo's amazing dive at the end. They don't whip the crowd into a rabid frenzy the way the Midnights do with the constant cheapshotting and double teaming (although it doesn't hurt having Cornette there to help out), but they have the killer offence, and it's not like they don't bump and stooge and cheat with the best of them. Match starts out with them playing "anything you can do, I can do better". Chavo will take Fulton over with an armdrag so Fulton will come right back and do the same. Chavo will string together a couple snapmares so Fulton will come back and string together a couple of his own. Chavo and Hector are pissed, naturally. Then the Fans grab hold of Chavo's arm and go to town on it with armwringers and armbars. Chavo climbs over the top rope to get away, but Rogers just yanks him back in and goes right back to the armbar. Hector's mannerisms and reactions to this are Eddie through and through (well, I guess Eddie is Hector through and through, but I saw Eddie before Hector so the latter reminds me of the former...or...whatever). Eventually the Guerreros isolate Rogers when he airballs on a dropkick, and that's when they bust out the big guns. Watts is on commentary and he's talking about how he's never seen half of this shit before (like the slingshot suplex). Rogers is on the floor at one point and Fulton comes around to help out, so Chavo starts shit talking him to draw him away so Hector can mangle him over the guardrail. Rogers doing a double sunset flip sounds like a goofy spot (because it's a spot that usually always is goofy), but even that looks good and this match pretty much fucking rules. Finish is awesome. Rogers has made the hot tag and the Fans are clearing house, and Fulton wipes out Hector with a cross body. Ref' is putting Rogers out, and while he's doing that Chavo jumps halfway across the ring and sort of somersault headbutts Fulton right in the kidneys (Watts is great at putting it over, talking about how even that would fell Andre the Giant), laying Hector over him for the dirty victory. The Guerreros/Rock 'n' Rolls match on one of the later discs is one of my favourite matches ever, and I'm stoked about going back and re-watching it soon. This was boss as fuck.

Butch Reed & Ernie Ladd v Brickhouse Brown & Master Gee (10/21/84)

This was boss as fuck, too. Wouldn't necessarily go as far as to say it's a TOTAL Butch Reed show, but he's really kingsized here and it's him that puts an otherwise good match way over the top. He asks Brickhouse for a test of strength, and when Brickhouse obliges Reed just muscles him around, hammerlocks him with one arm and sort of chokes him with the other, then he grabs hold of the other arm and turns it into a surfboard. At that point he starts the shit talking. "COME ON, BOY! WHAT'S IT GON' BE, SUCKA? WHAT'S IT GON' BE?" There's an amazing spot where Brickhouse is still in the surfboard and manages to walk his way over to his corner, but as he gets close enough to make the tag Reed just yolks him back and completely folds him with a back suplex. Brickhouse takes it right on his neck and it looked super nasty. Ladd is gangly and awkward as all get out, but he does what he does well and his legdrops look about as great on Brickhouse as they do on Ricky Morton. Brickhouse is really solid and plays a good face in peril, plus he has a cool "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" shuffle and an awesome dropkick. Master Gee is pretty crappy and doesn't really bring anything of note, though. His flying headscissors looks cool, he hits a nice enough dropkick, and the Fuller leglock at the end was nifty, but other than that...yeah, not much. Still, this was another really good tag on a set LOADED with really good tags. I can only imagine how much better it would've been if you swapped out Master Gee for someone like Koko Ware. Actually that would've been fucking incredible. Butch Reed v Koko Ware? THAT is my motherfucking DREAM match right there.

Mid-South Project

Sly Says There's a RIOT Goin' On (In Mid-South)

2012-02-07T16:51:00.008Z

Rock 'n' Roll Express & Hacksaw Duggan v Midnight Express & Ernie Ladd (6/8/84)

Well talk about a party. This was fucking awesome the first time I saw it and it's just as fucking awesome this time around. Everybody brings it huge here. Sure, Gibson is in the ring for all of about 20 seconds over the course of the entire match, but he at least runs along the apron and, like, does that well, and then he gets stomped like a cheap cigar in the post-match, so I can't criticise him, even if he was only the 6th best guy in the match (or 7th of you count Cornette). First spell is all about Ricky Morton v the entire heel team. He runs the gauntlet against Condrey and Eaton and comes out on top every time. They do the bit where Condrey gets caught in the babyface corner and they all lay into him while Eaton comes creeping up behind Morton. Morton turns around before Eaton can blindside him, so Bobby quickly turns and struts back to his own corner because he dodged a bullet. Then he turns back around and Morton is waiting right behind him to pop him in the chin. Then we get Ladd matching up with Morton, and their cat-and-mouse routine might be the best part of the whole match. Morton tries to shoulder tackle him and winds up getting bounced halfway across the ring. Ladd was a fucking defensive tackle and Morton weights a buck forty, so you know how that goes. He tries it again -- same outcome. Then he tries it again, but at the last second he slides under Ladd's legs and catches him with a dropkick while the big guy is left scrambling. Ladd really bumps and stooges like crazy here considering he's in his mid-forties and banged up to Hell; "whipping" himself over on armdrags and throwing himself around after eating dropkicks. His legdrop is also probably the best standing legdrop in history. He comes crashing down with both legs and it looks like it'd only be slightly worse than having your head shut in a car door. They briefly tease Morton going FIP, but he quickly tags in Duggan and then it's his turn to clean house for a few minutes. There's a great spot where Ladd keeps trying to ram his head into the turnbuckle only for Duggan to block it every time and ram Ladd's head into it instead. Condrey runs along the apron to help out, but Duggan blocks that as well. Condrey initially backs away like "Fuck it, I want none of this shit," but changes his mind and comes back for a second go. This time Duggan just grabs both guys' heads and gives them the double noggin knocker. It's going on 3 years since I last saw this, and I completely forgot about Duggan playing face in peril here. But shit, that's what he does, and he plays a HELL of a Ricky Morton for a guy that's on the same team as the actual Ricky Morton. Before watching the Mid-South set my memory of Duggan was that he was a borderline-retard that swung a plank of wood and chanted USA, so seeing him play such a great face in peril probably would've blown my mind on first watch. Ladd goes into his trunks and pulls out a titanium thumb guard or some shit, then he jabs Duggan in the throat and Duggan is just amazing at selling this. He's rolling around clutching his throat like his larynx is crushed and Cornette and the MX keep running distractions so Ladd can continue to thumb him in the throat. When he manages to make the tag, Gibson comes in for his 20 second cameo, throws some punches, maybe a dropkick or two, maybe even a slam, then tags Morton back in. If they had gone to the finish after the first hot tag this would've been a really good match. Instead, Cornette gets up on the apron to bitch about something and gives Condrey the chance to just launch Morton over the top to the concrete. At this point the match shifts into a different gear entirely. Eaton comes over and whacks Morton in the head with a chair (Hacksaw coming around with a chair of his own and swinging it like a wild man was awesome), and now we get Ricky Morton being Ricky fucking Morton. The MX/Ladd beatdown here is just spectacular. Ladd is crushing Morton with those legdrops and there is an audible reaction of terror from the crowd every time he does it. These crowds'll go batshit insane for Morton no matter what, but you get the sense they are genuinely frightened for his well being whenever Ladd does that legdrop. And, well, you can see why, because they look lethal. This also has to be one of the best performances Condrey and Eaton ever had together as a team. They're just relentless here, constantly dragging the ref' out of position (whether it's by running distractions themselves, having Cornette do it for them, or by goading Duggan or Gibson into the ring so the ref' has to spend time getting them back out) and taking Morton to the fucking cleaners behind his back. So many cheapshots and illegal double teams. It sounds like the crowd is about to legitimately riot and Cornette just antagonises them over and over by poking Morton in the throat with a tennis racket or choking him with the ring ropes. And Jeeeesus Christ is Dennis Condrey a vicious motherfucker. There's one spot where Morton is lying on the ropes all bloodied and motionless like a homicide victim and Condrey completely motherfucking WASTES him with stomps and knees. He's right up there with a guy like Arn Anderson when it comes to shifting between comedy stooge and calculated hitman seamlessly. Finish is pretty crazy and all over the place. Morton is finally able to make the tag, but the ref' is pulled out of position AGAIN and misses it, so he won't allow it. Duggan and Gibson have had enough and come in anyway, and it breaks down into a free-for-all. Somehow the ref' winds up stuck in the corner trying to break up a Duggan/Ladd fistfight and Cornette sneaks in the ring with a rag and a can of ether. Crowd is fucking NUCLEAR because Cornette is going to date rape Ricky Morton. Cornette shits himself when Morton turns around and catches him red handed, dropping the can of ether and running away. Ref' is still caught in between Duggan and Ladd, so Morton picks up the can and starts spraying it all over Bobby Eaton. The ref' gives up on trying to split up Duggan and Ladd just in time to see Morton roll up Eaton for the win. Crowd comes fucking UNGLUED, but then Cornette comes back in and this time manages to smother Morton with the ether covered rag. It's 4 on 2 now so you know how that goes...and I am astounded nobody tried to jump the rail and murder one of these guys. I mean, they are just hurling debris at the ring while Cornette and crew stroll around putting the boots to Duggan and the RnRs. Pritchard gets on the house mic and tells people to stop throwing shit, but nobody gives a fuck about Tom Pritchard and continue to launch buckets of popcorn and cups and all sorts at the ring. The ring wasn't quite filled with trash ala Bash at the Beach '96, but it was on its way. If the Mid-South stories Cornette has told are anything to go by, I'm assuming they needed a police escort to get out of the building that night. Really, this is just a great match. I could see people being annoyed by the finish since it was pretty much a clusterfuck, but I kind of liked how it added to the insanity of everything. Or maybe that started the insanity, who knows? My recollection was that it was one of the best US tags ever. There might be 10 straight up 2-on-2 tags I'd put ahead of it, but it's almost certainly the best US 6-man I've ever seen. Who predicts a riot?

Mid-South Project

Daniel Bryan v Big Show (Smackdown!, 1/7/12)

2012-02-05T20:54:00.004Z

This was pretty damn great. I've barely seen any of the Henry run from the last year or so (which I should do something about), so I wasn't expecting him to be so awesome on commentary here, but he really was. The way he just shut Cole's stupidity down time after time was outstanding. "Michael Cole, you say one more word I'mma slap the taste out your mouth." He also threatens bodily harm on someone in the crowd and it was as great as Butch Reed calling people "honky." Actual match going on in the ring rocked too, of course. All of the stuff with Bryan trying to dodge and run from Show was like watching a game of whack-a-mole. He'd pop up and disappear and pop up somewhere else, but Big Show is the size of a bus, and when you're playing whack-a-mole with a guy the size of a bus it's only a matter of time before you get bonked. Show lifting him clean up off the ground by his head and then headbutting him was fucking awesome. Bryan moving from the guillotine straight into the Labell Lock looked super smooth as well, and when he realises he's up shit creek without a paddle he manages to find an out by pissing off the one person he knows will bite. And the post-match celebration...man, that was the greatest. I don't remember him ever reaching such a high level of douchebaggery when he was in ROH. Just awesome.

Senorita, Spanish rose, Wipes Her Eyes and Blows Her Nose, Uptown in Mid-South She Throws a Rose to Some Lucky Young Matador

2012-02-03T14:34:00.000Z

Hacksaw Duggan & Dusty Rhodes v Butch Reed & Hercules Hernandez (8/19/84)

You can probably go ahead and chalk this up to the Butch Reed man crush, but I thought this was just a shit load of fun. First five minutes are basically all about Dusty and Reed. Dusty just boots Reed in the balls and elbows him in the head and Reed takes his awesome bump where he winds up doing a headstand up against the ropes. Dusty pops and locks and his titties jiggle all over the place and Reed stands there like a rabbit caught in the headlights that are Dusty's man breasts. Then Dusty throws another combo that ends with him mule kicking Reed in the balls. This is all happening right in front of the ref' and everybody's out wearing street clothes so I can only assume it's no DQ. If this set accomplished one thing, it was highlighting Butch Reed as an awesome bump machine. You see that in this match. Shit, you see it in practically every Reed match on the set. I hadn't forgotten any of that after watching it through the first time. What I apparently had forgotten is that Hercules Hernandez could bump like a fucking trooper as well. I don't get the sense that if I watched a bunch of Hercules matches from around this time I'd come away from them thinking he was a Butch Reed level bump machine, but he takes a few hiptosses here and he gets stupid elevation on them for a guy as jacked up as he is. When Reed and Herc take over they just go total barfight on the faces; choking them with belts, isolating Dusty and stomping a hole in him while Duggan is sprawled out on the floor, and the ref' can't do a thing about it. Great spot where Dusty fires back on both Reed and Herc and lays them out with bionic elbows, but Duggan is too slow in crawling back to the corner to make the tag. Finish is pretty fucking lame (a STOMP? REALLY?), but Cornette does hurl about 4 kilos of powder in Duggan's face, so at least there's that.

Killer Khan v Chris Adams (9/9/84)

I love Killer Khan. I was neither here nor there on him when I first watched this about 4 years ago, but since then I've watched a bunch of Killer Khan matches on these 80s sets that have either been awesome matches (Khan/Gordy, Khan/Andre, Khan-Choshu/Jumbo/Tenryu, Khan/Choshu) or merely good matches with awesome Khan performances within them (Khan-Gordy/Adams-Iceman). This isn't fucking with Khan/Andre or Khan/Gordy, but it has all the great Khanisms you'd want from a Killer Khan match. Guy has some of the BEST facial expressions. He shoves Adams at the start, so Adams shoves him back and Khan is all bug-eyed and exasperated. "You SHOVED me?!" Adams is out on the floor at one point and Khan grabs his head from inside the ring and gives him the oriental spike. Crowd is going apeshit and Khan is shrieking like a lunatic right in front of the camera. He also has the best flying knee drop in history. I've mentioned Dennis Condrey's amazing knee drops, but those are from a standing position where he jabs the point of the knee right into the kidneys or ribs. Khan is about 300 pounds and when he comes off that top rope (or middle rope if we're playing by the 'coming off the top rope is illegal' rule) it looks like he legit crushes the guy's throat and sternum. Adams is good here too (hits two great superkicks on Khan and a corker on Akbar), but he felt more like a good foil for Khan doing his thing.

Butch Reed v Skip Young (9/23/84)

Pretty much your textbook "established star v underdog with no chance of winning, except underdog puts up Hell of a fight and pushes established star to the wire" match. Sort of the Mid-South equiv of Jumbo Tsuruta v Higo Hamaguchi (in terms of each guy's placement on the card rather than match layout of whatever...although I don't even know if the card placement part is true, either...whaaaatevah). Reed calls some guy in the crowd a honky before the match starts, which has nothing to do with the actual quality of the match, but I felt like I should mention it. He does that in a bunch of matches and I will likely continue to mention it. Reed doesn't seem to be taking Skip very seriously at the start. I mean, he complains about some shit that never actually happened, but he's basically fucking around and even does something that makes Fergie crack a smile while he's getting on Reed's case about something. Then Skip shows him he's no bitch, and the next time Reed goes to the ropes for a breather he looks genuinely flustered. Skip basically works the headlock and frustrates Reed until he's caught with a big back suplex (which is a transition spot I remember from a couple Reed matches...maybe it was a spot he liked to bust out regularly). Reed just stomping on Skip's fingers like a total d-bag as he's trying to get back in the ring was AWESOME...his chinlock was much less so. It did its job in getting heat and let him put his feet on the ropes and cheat, but he basically had Skip lying flat on his back and sort of, like, squeezed the side of his head with his forearms or something. Just ugly. But then Skip Young fights back and hits a motherfucking Skip Young dropkick and I'm RIGHT with them again. Skip's dropkick is the greatest, man. It doesn't look as pretty as Kevin Von Erich's or Doug Furnas's (watching the All Japan set you realise Doug Furnas has a fucking boss dropkick), but he gets SO much height on it. He could dropkick El Gigante in the nose, no problem. Reed's final run of offence is really great, as he catches Young going for a cross body and hotshots him across the top rope, hits a gorilla press slam and rounds it out with an awesome looking guillotine legdrop from the middle rope. Match structure is as simple as can be, but it's how they fill the time and go from point A to B to C that's great. I dug the shit out of this the first time I saw it, and I dug the shit out of it this time.

The Fantastics v Midnight Express (No DQ) (9/28/84)

I thought this was a mixed bag. Everything leading up to Fulton going face in peril was great. It's no DQ, and the Fans just go straight for the jugular right off the bat. Rogers and Fulton are pretty unimpeachable here as a pair of pretty boys trying to murder their opponents. It all feels really hectic and the crowd is insane, and this is what a no DQ match should be. I mean, it's not DiBiase/Duggan levels of hatred and violence, but if you're expecting that out of every no DQ match then you'll be disappointed about 90% of the time. Then Condrey catches Fulton with a cheapshot and we basically settle into a regular formula tag from that point on. Which is fine, because I can totally get behind these guys working regular southern style tags. The fact they don't really work it like a no DQ at all after this doesn't even bother me that much, either. If there's one thing I've learned from watching a bunch of 80s footage, it's that there'll be plenty of times where a no DQ match isn't really worked any differently from a standard match. There's points where you'll be reminded that they have a little more leeway to do things they'd usually be tossed for (like throwing someone over the top rope right in front of the ref', for example), but on the whole the referee tends to try and "enforce the rules" like he normally would. I'm used to all that now. The dip in quality isn't necessarily a result of the shift from "crazy out of control brawl" to "regular tag match," but rather the fact the "regular tag match" part just isn't doing a whole lot for me. I've said before that I don't mind Bobby Fulton. I really don't. But it's gotten to the point where I'd say Tommy Rogers pretty much smokes him at the pro-wrestling, and Fulton as FIP isn't all that compelling here. At some point Rogers decides he's had enough and comes in without the tag, and from there they brawl around the place and we get a ref' bump in a no DQ match. Rogers winds up posted on the floor and the Midnights put Fulton away with a double team. I don't think these teams are even capable of having a match I actively dislike, but on the MX/Fans scale, this was pretty low.

Chris Adams v Adrian Street (10/10/84)

This was really short, but it was a pretty cool Adrian Street showcase. Like the Khan match, Adams is good here. Throws a fucker of a superkick and brings what he usually brings, which is clearly a good thing. But Street is doing forward rolls out of hiptosses and gleaming with self-satisfaction and he applies an armbar where he pulls Adams' thumb back so far it's almost touching his own wrist. He may dress like a transvestite and prance around, but he is one mean bastard. And he also eats that fucker of a superkick square in the face. I'm not even sure what the finish to this is. Terry Taylor hits the scene and plants the lips on Street's woman, and I guess that's enough for Fergie to DQ Street? Maybe? I'll just assume I missed the actual reason due to being distracted by Street making Miss Linda an IPV victim. That was borderline unsettling. I'd definitely be interested in seeing a longer match between these two, because this was good for what it was.

Mid-South Project

I Know a Pretty Little Place in Southern Oklahoma Down Mid-South Way, There's a Little Cafe Where They Play Guitars All Night and All Day

2012-02-01T13:32:00.003Z

Ted DiBiase v Magnum TA (7/6/84)

I'm pretty sure this was my least favourite of the three Ted/Magnum matches when I went through the set the first time. If we're ranking matches where the ring breaks I probably liked it less than Gordy/Williams. That's not really a knock on this -- the first two Ted/Magnum matches were fucking awesome and Gordy/Williams is 10 minutes of two burly sumbitches throwing each other all over the place. This time around I liked it more, probably only behind their 5/27/84 match from Tulsa (their second one that day). This is longer than their first two matches and doesn't really have the nuclear heat and seething hatred that those ones had. Instead, they take a little more time building from the ground up, but it still has a lot of the same characteristics that made their other matches so great. One of them being Magnum getting the shit beat out of him. I don't recall too many people pimping Magnum TA before the Mid-South set, so I don't think anybody spent a great deal of time talking about how he fucking LEANS into getting his head rammed into shit. But man, he fucking LEANS into getting his head rammed into shit. DiBiase bonks his head off the turnbuckle at one point, and having your head bonked off the turnbuckle is a standard spot that hardly ever looks all that violent. Magnum just leans right into it and doesn't put his hands up for any protection at all and it looks super nasty. He gets thrown head first into the ring post and he LEANS into it. He gets thrown head first into the barricade and he LEANS into it. The way he leans into having his head smacked off the ring apron was really MS-1/Sangre Chicana-ish. The fact he's gushing from his forehead during all of this makes it look even more nutty. When he makes his comeback he's like a lion that's about to tear apart a zebra, all roaring with the mane-like hair. The turnbuckle breaking off even leads to a great moment where Ted tries to pick it up and use it as a weapon only for Magnum to take it from him and whack DiBiase instead. This is Mid-South; even the fuck ups are awesome.

The Fantastics & Jim Duggan v Midnight Express & Jim Cornette (7/20/84)

Different day, same...ring? I mean, it breaks...again...so probably. First half of this basically your MX comedy road-show. Cornette is all pasty and shit and looks ridiculous in ring gear. He wants no part of the actual wrestling unless he can get in there, take a few shots and jump right back out. He just wildly swings his arms in the direction of an opponent and drops an elbow or two before making a bee-line back to the corner and tagging in Bobby or Dennis. Bobby almost pops him in the jaw by accident, but they hug and make up. The babyfaces grab Eaton or Condrey by the arm and try and force the tag to Cornette, but he keeps avoiding it until Condrey is whispering something in his ear and doesn't see Hacksaw using Eaton's arm to tag him in. All the while the crowd are itching for Duggan or the Fans to get a hold of him. This is basically how they kill the first ten minutes, and it's a ton of fun. When the Midnights eventually take over and start beating on Fulton I lose some interest. It's not "bad" or anything. You still get Eaton and Condrey beating on some pretty boy, but this felt like a lesser version of an MX beatdown and Fulton doesn't take a grade A shitkicking the way Rogers does, so I'm left wanting. I did love Cornette putting his knee up for Eaton to ram Fulton's head into it and then selling his own leg afterwards, though. That was an awesome little touch. DQ finish with the run in sets up the Hercules stuff later and doesn't really bother me. Cornette gets his shortly, anyway. Something I'd call "comfortably good", but nothing that is likely to stick out on a set full of shit this good.

The Fantastics v Midnight Express (8/9/84)

After the 3 matches these teams had on the Texas set I was really stoked about going back and re-watching the Mid-South series. The Midnights/RnRs feud is still the pinnacle of southern tag wrestling for me, but fuck if this isn't a match-up I couldn't watch again and again. The first stretch isn't too different from anything you've seen these guys do against each before. The Fans like to do the switcheroo behind the referee's back shtick, and I'm a fan of switcheroo shtick, but I wish Rogers and Fulton weren't so in your face about it. At least clap so it SOUNDS like you made the tag, fer fucks. Still, all this blatant chicanery deserves a receipt, and holy fuck do the Midnights give them a receipt. Condrey has AMAZING knee drops and just fucking obliterates Rogers with the fucking BEST knee drops right to the ribs. Rogers keeps trying to crawl back in the ring and Condrey just slide tackles him right in the chest every time. And God damn is this crowd going APE shit for all of it. Best part of it all is the Midnights working Rogers' THROAT. Condrey jumps off the middle rope and chops him in the throat (Rogers' bump is GREAT), Eaton chokes him over the middle rope, Cornette jabs him in the throat with the tennis racket...Fulton is scrambling around trying to stop this gang rape and the Express just brutalise Rogers while the ref' tries to calm his partner down and restore order. I don't mind Fulton, but compare Rogers in peril here to Fulton in peril in the previous match and the gulf in quality is astounding. Rogers should be FIP every match and Fulton should stick to playing cheerleader. Pop for the hot tag is everything it should be and I dug the finish a lot. Just an awesome match.

Mid-South Project

DVDVR Memphis Set, Top 60; #49

2012-01-31T15:28:00.002Z

Bill Dundee v Tommy Rich (8/23/80)

More from 'King of the Studio Match' Bill Dundee. This was something like the fifth match on the entire set, and by that point you're already coming to the conclusion Dundee is the motherfucking biscuits, but this is the first match where he gets to stretch out against a guy that's fairly close to his level. I mean, I like Larry Latham just fine and the Boyles tag is really good, but none of those guys are hanging around "great" level. Rich is.

A lot of this feels like a stalemate. Most of it is worked on the mat, and I really dug a lot of the tricked out matwork. I guess it's a 'your mileage may vary' deal on how much of it comes off like it's a struggle, but I definitely got the sense that's what it was. The spot where Dundee bridges out of an armbar and scoots over to the ropes on his head is a spot I love. I had no recollection of him busting it out in this match, but he does it in one of the '89 tags on the Texas set and it's stuck with me since then.

As things progress and nobody is able to score any real advantage, it all starts to get a little more hectic. In the first few minutes both guys were matching each other hold for hold and you'd get a spot with them breaking with a handshake. Towards the end they're both rolling out of the way of flying elbows and Dundee almost monkey flips Rich on his head.

Finish is really awesome and leads to the post-match angle/Rich heel turn. He shoots Dundee into the ropes and ducks down for a backdrop, and as Dundee is leapfrogging over him Rich lifts his head and basically headbutts Dundee in the nads. Rich seems unsure what to do initially, but after a few seconds he just rolls Dundee up for the win, which nets him a shot at the Southern Heavyweight Title. Probably the best 'unintentional low blow' spot I've ever seen.

Tommy's post-match promo is really good, too. He eventually directs his piss and vinegar at an injured Lawler, shoving him on his ass to cement the heel turn. The next match on the disc is from March '81 and has Dundee defending the tag belts in a handicap match (which is fucking great and probably the best competitive handicap match in history) because Rich is unable to be there with him, so I'm assuming Tommy turns babyface again at some point in the following 7 months, but for now, Rich is out to get what's his and fuck anybody standing in his way.

Well Lately I've Been Standing Out in the Freezing Rain, Reading Them Wand Ads Out on Mid-South Road

2012-01-29T19:05:00.003Z

Hacksaw Duggan, Terry Taylor & Bill Watts v The Fabulous Freebirds (7/20/86)

Someone in the crowd has a 'Michael Hayes -- All Talk, No Cock' sign. This is pretty fun, but it's sort of all over the place as well. It's elimination rules and you can be eliminated by going over the top rope, but Gordy gets hurled over the top early and it doesn't seem to matter. Then he gets hurled over the top at the end and it does matter. Watts and Hayes get eliminated early on, although I'm not sure how/why. I don't remember how Watts gets tossed, but Hayes seems to get eliminated by being kicked in the stones by Watts. No pinfall, just...gets carted away with an injured scrotum. Who knows? Turns into a straight tag after that and Taylor headbutts Buddy in the dick as Buddy's trying to leapfrog him or something. Taylor is a fine FIP, but the whole thing isn't going to set your world on fire. I actually kind of liked the finish, though. Would've rather Buddy and Gordy got to beat on Hacksaw for a bit before it, but whatevs.

The Fantastics & Missing Link v Eddie Gilbert, John Tatum & Sting (8/3/86)

Total blast. Sting is really green and pretty terrible here, struggling to do even the simplest of things, but everybody else brings it big time. Link basically stands on the apron the whole time so Fulton or Rodgers can ram someone into his head, but he's pretty great at standing on the apron so his partners can ram folk into his head. Gilbert is a total bump/stooge machine and bumps and stooges like you'd imagine a total bump/stooge machine would. Tatum has the most ridiculous facial expressions ever. He takes a bump over the barricade that looked like it broke his shoulder, then he makes pouty faces and you want to punch him in the grill. The Missy/Dark Journey stuff only adds to the chaos. Just a truckload of fun.

Mid-South Project

Her Brains They Rattle and Her Bones They Shake, Whoah She's an Angel From the Mid-South Lake

2012-01-26T15:29:00.005Z

Terry Gordy v Terry Taylor (6/13/86)

This is JIP, although if it starts out the same as the rematch (which is in "full" minus a commercial break) we aren't missing a hugely compelling Taylor in control segment at the beginning. This was perfectly solid stuff. We get about 10 minutes shown and the majority of it is Gordy controlling with the sleeper. Taylor looks like he's going out but the hand doesn't drop for the third time, he fight back to his feet, breaks free and tries to mount a comeback, Gordy reels him back in and goes right back to the sleeper, rinse and repeat. Then Taylor tries to take an upside down Flair bump in the corner and winds up piledriving himself. Right on his his head.

Terry Gordy v Terry Taylor (6/17/86)

I liked this a bit more. Taylor frustrating Gordy early isn't spectacular or anything, but actually getting to see it gives you a better sense of the overall picture (which you didn't get with the first match). It's mostly headlock takeover stuff with Gordy trying to shake him and Taylor being persistent. Then we go to commercial, and when we come back Gordy is on offence. It's more of the same, really -- Gordy works the sleeper, Taylor teases comebacks, Gordy grabs hold of him and throws it back on. Both guys take an upside down bump in the corner this time. Gordy is a guy that liked to do that a lot anyway, but I only ever remember Taylor doing it in the two matches opposite Gordy. He manages to not almost break his neck this time. Gordy strutting around the ring while Taylor lies half dead on the floor was great.

Terry Gordy v Dr. Death (6/22/86)

Well this is pretty great. I don't remember much about this feud in the way of specifics, but my general feeling was that the matches were all at least good with one that I really dug standing out from the pack. I don't remember which match that was, but it wouldn't surprise me if it winds up being this one. Match is basically two big surly motherfuckers beating on each other in front or a rabid crowd, and well, that is my kind of wrestling. I mean, shit, the fucking turnbuckle breaks because they're two monster trucks and Hayes is on commentary saying shit like "They'll have to put the whole ring back together again by the time this is over" and I'm like "FFFFFUCK YES. I WISH THAT HAPPENED." Gordy taking an upside down bump in the corner after the turnbuckle had already broken once seemed totally crazy. Although not as crazy as Tommy Gilbert's ref' bump. He gets caught behind Gordy as Williams shoulder tackles him and he just hurls himself head first out onto the concrete. Looked like something from a Jackass movie (think Johnny Knoxville being speared by a bull). The finish with Watts coming in to count the fall maybe seems a little goofy, but fuck it, the crowd is going bonkers and it means we get to see Bill Watts punch a scuzzy shithead right in the face, so is it worth complaining about? I say no. I still want to come up with a top 50 after going through the whole set (again), and this feels like it'll be there for sure.

Mid-South Project

To Be The Man...

2012-01-21T15:05:00.003Z

I pretty much closed my eyes and plucked out a DVD 'lucky dip' style. The one I came up with had this on it. It also had an Atlantis v Blue Panther match from '97 (I've got a ton of discs in a drawer with a shitload of random matches that I put on them and no listings for any of them) that I wanted to talk about ages ago. I might get around to that some time next week. Although I probably won't. I'm still trying to work my way through a ton of WCW stuff, and this is a Hell of a match so I might as well make use of this thing and talk about it.

Ric Flair v Lex Luger (NWA Starrcade, 12/26/88)

I haven't seen the Great American Bash match from earlier in the year in a loooong ass time, but I always remembered this as the first Luger performance that showed he could definitely go on and be great without having to work with a guy like Flair to hand lead him. I mean, he went on and became exactly that the next year, but whether this or the Bash match or some other match was the first sign, I'm not entirely sure. Two thirds of this are still largely Flair laying things out, though (you can pretty much see him calling stuff and Luger almost waiting for cues at points). Starts out with Flair faking out on collar and elbow tie-ups and strutting and wooing in Luger's face. Ross and Caudle are talking about how this is Flair playing mind games and how Luger needs to keep his cool and not get caught up in all that bullshit. Eventually he gets fed up and just clotheslines Flair over the top. Flair comes back and tries to throw some punches to the ribs and chop Luger in the corner, but Luger is in full on impervious to pain mode and just bowls Flair over. He busts out the gorilla press slam (the first of roughly fifteen), the powerslam, the vertical suplex...the Flair/Luger staples. I liked the fact they did the 'Flair shoulderblock, Luger drops down and catches Flair coming back off the ropes with a clothesline' sequence twice in the match, with Flair ducking the initial clothesline only to get caught with a follow up the second time they ran through it. Luger seems to "officially" take over by going to the arm and just launching Flair shoulder first into the turnbuckles. The arm work is all solid stuff; working a hammerlock, armar, taking him outside so he can wrap it around the barricade, and Flair always takes cool running bumps into the turnbuckles. You know it's basically filler, but it's fine filler. I mean, shit, I'd rather see Luger doing this for a few minutes than Muta and Chono doing middling matwork for an hour and a half. About 15 minutes in they transition to Flair on top when Luger misses a big elbow drop. Flair goes after him pretty viciously, dragging him out to the floor and ramming him face first into the barricade, unloading with body shots, really pushing the boundaries of Tommy Young's patience. Luger's hope spots get some huge heat, especially the sleeper hold. He basically fights his way back into things by dropping bombs whenever he gets the chance, like a superplex and one of his many gorilla press slams, and he sort of gets a visual pinfall off a top rope cross body while Tommy Young recovers from a knock (isn't an obvious visual pin like, say, Savage on Steamboat; more Sting on Vader where you're not sure if it would've been enough anyway, but with that extra couple seconds there's always a chance). The heat for him putting Flair in the figure four is off the charts, too. Final third of this is where Luger really comes into his own. He holds up his end with no problems for the first 20 or so minutes, but he's really "guy working off of Flair." Then JJ runs distraction and Flair blasts Luger in the knee with a chair, and Luger is pretty much exceptional at selling the leg for the remainder of the match. Flair goes after it and it's what you expect from Flair working the leg; the knee drops, draping the leg over the bottom rope and dropping his whole weight on top of it, the kneebreaker, the chop blocks, and eventually the figure four. Luger sells all of it like a king. Even when he's shrugging off chops he's still shaking the leg and slapping some feeling into it, and when he makes comebacks he's always at least hobbling slightly, never letting you forget he's got a bad wheel. I watched the Flair/Hogan match from Bash at the Beach '94 a couple nights ago and Hogan would go from selling the leg really well to completely blowing it off about thirty seconds later. When Luger is moving forward and refusing to be slowed down by what Flair is throwing at him (there's a great spot where Flair hits a running forearm and bounces off of Luger like he just flew into a garage door), he manages to walk the line between "fighting through the pain" and outright blowing off limb work perfectly. The finish with Luger getting Flair in the torture rack only for the leg to buckle and Flair to fall on top of him (near the ropes so Flair can get that extra bit of leverage) is really great, and it's about as close to a "pay off" to Ric Flair Leg Work as you're likely to get. Standard criticism of Flair matches is that Flair's supposed to be the master of the figure four, but the amount of matches he's won with the hold can probably be counted on one hand (although, in fairness, I think WWE treated it as a legit match ender). He didn't win this with the figure four, but that and the rest of the leg work took enough of a toll that it was ultimately what beat Luger. If he had two good legs to stand on, Flair never would've gotten out of the torture rack. Just a terrific match, and if it's not THE breakout Luger performance, it's certainly a step on his way to having a great run.

Straight Outta Bucksnort, Crazy Motherfucker Named Bunkhouse

2012-01-11T16:22:00.002Z

So I'm trying to work my way through a shit ton of WCW over the next month or so in order to be able to get a top 100 WCW matches list together. I start my journey in Bucksnort, Tennessee.

Dustin Rhodes v Bunkhouse Buck (Bunkhouse Match - WCW Spring Stampede, 4/17/94)

So this is just a truckload of great. Starts out with Dustin running down the ramp, hurling himself over the top rope and hitting Buck with a flying lariat, which is one of the best uses of the old WCW ramp I can remember seeing. Match is pretty much wild the whole way through. Not wild in the sense they're throwing each other off of stuff and whacking each other with trash cans and aping concessions stand brawls like the Foley/Payne v Nasty Boys match earlier in the show. Wild in the sense they eschew the ECW shtick and just punch each other and whip each other with belts and blast each other with cowboy boots. This isn't something plucked out of the ECW arena and stuck in a WCW ring. This is something plucked out of 1980s Mid-South. Buck cracks Dustin square in the head with a 1x2 and Dustin bleeds and bleeds. Buck is lashing him across the back with his belt and he has this constant look on his face that makes you think he's truly out of his mind. Fuller is on the outside hamming it up and getting under everybody's skin. And then Dustin fights back and wraps the belt around his hand so he can punch Buck in the face. And well, this match pretty much rules. Someone also gets punted in the balls at some point. Match of the century.

Dustin Rhodes v Bunkhouse Buck (Bullrope Match - WCW Slamboree, 5/22/94)

More of the same, thank you. The Bunkhouse match started out with Dustin charging the ring and throwing himself right at Buck. This starts out with Dustin already in the ring swinging the bullrope over his head, so Buck just lowers his head and tries to ram him so he can close the distance before getting smacked with a flying cowbell. First stretch of this is all about Dustin in control, working the leg and stomping Buck in the dick. He wraps the bullrope around Buck's neck and tries to lynch him, and when Buck tries to get free he winds up practically giving himself a rope burn straight across his face. When Buck takes over (to take control in the first place he pulls Dustin's t-shirt up over his head, and while Dustin's face is covered Buck starts whipping him with his belt...which was really fucking great) he does this great spot where he basically ties Dustin to the ring post by weaving himself around the post, and then he starts unloading punches while Dustin is caught in a straitjacket. Dustin fights back by punting him in the nuts and Buck's dazed sell of it is just tremendous. Philly crowd start a huge "we want blood" chant. They don't get it, but Dustin starts blasting Buck in the ribs with a cowbell, and that made me happy at least. The ref' bump was really cool here. Dustin uses the bullrope to sort of irish whip Buck towards him, but Patrick is caught in the crossfire and gets sandwiched between them both. Fuller jumps in at this point and wants to smash Dustin with the cowbell, hamming it up to shit and acting like an asshole. Naturally, it backfires and Dustin swings the cowbell right of Buck's head for the win. Post-match, Terry Funk runs down to the ring with a towel over his head and nails Dustin with a running branding iron shot that looked totally nasty. Dustin bleeds all over the place and we get a huge "TERRY! TERRY!" chant from the ECDubbers in attendance. Not quite match of the century, but still a Hell of a fight.

HANSEN! And ANOTHER GUY!

2011-12-21T16:38:00.003Z

So I obviously haven't written anything in a few months. I HAVE been watching quite a bit, though. My motivation to write about it has basically been non-existent, but I figure if anything is going to get me back into the swing of things, it's Hansen.

Stan Hansen v Kenta Kobashi (All Japan Pro Wrestling, 7/29/93)

Well at this point I'm pretty much convinced Stan Hansen is the best wrestler that's ever lived. I literally don't remember ever reading anything that wasn't praise for this, and I'd assume it's still generally considered the best match of Stan's career. These days I'd rather watch him and Kawada beat the ever loving shit out of each other or see him play borderline-underdog babyface to Andre the Giant, but this is still a Hell of a fight that's better than 90% of anything in the history of pro-wrestling. Hansen is so great here. He gives Kobashi more of the match than I had remembered, but Kobashi is really good in his own right at filling the time. He goes Hell on wheels practically from the jump, and Hansen is almost left fighting an uphill battle the entire match. Match doesn't really tell the same story as Jumbo/Misawa from 9/1/90, but I got the same vibe from Hansen that I did from Jumbo at a few points -- he's a man that's been at the top of the food chain for a long ass time, and here comes this young guy trying to knock him off his perch. He had already come close earlier in the year, and he's coming close again. This is Hansen trying to hang on to his place in the world. Everything Hansen does looks like it's just about the stiffest version of it possible. For his first big transition/breakthrough he catches Kobashi coming into the corner with a boot to the face, and within minutes Kobashi's cheekbone is swollen and bruised. Then after the boot he goes and powerbombs him on the fucking concrete. His splash off the middle rope looks like it would obliterate your ribcage. Then there's the lariat, which might've been the nastiest lariat in the history of forever. Still, this is Hansen mostly fighting from the bottom, and for a guy that is maybe the best pure shitkicker in wrestling history, it's a tremendous performance and something you don't get to see from him all that often.

Where did all the Good BASTION BOOGER Matches Go???

2011-09-17T18:31:00.003+01:00

Bam Bam Bigelow & Bastion Booger v The Smoking Gunns (RAW, 1/3/94)

This was the "main" match of the show. As in, this was the match that got the most time. I was legit looking forward to this. Bam Bam is looking like one of the best guys in the company in '94 and I remember being hugely disappointed as a kid when Booger pulled out of the Royal Rumble at the last minute. No IDEA why I wanted a Bastion Booger appearance back then, but there you have it. I think Virgil was his replacement. Fuck Virgil. But yeah, Booger is utterly grotesque. This kind of sucked, unfortunately. Billy and Bart were pretty crappy here, Booger moves a mile a century, and Bam Bam, try as he may, isn't able to pick up the slack and drag this into "not sucky" territory. Did I mention Bastion Booger is utterly grotesque? They run some angle at the end where Luna (Bigelows' MAIN SQUEEZE at the time...how awesome is THAT?) starts rubbing the hump on Booger's neck, and Booger sees this as her coming onto him so he starts trying to molest her or some shit. I am not making this up. Bigelow eventually notices and tries to pull him off, they start brawling (or "clutching") and the Gunns win by count-out. Bastion, you dog, you.

The Quebecers v Marty Jannetty & 123 Kid (RAW, 1/10/94)

This was really fucking good, maybe a top 5 TV match of the year. Gets plenty of time (about 20 minutes) and everybody brings it. Marty and Kid have a bunch of neat double teams and the Quebecers keep having to stall and regroup. They tease Marty going FIP when Jacques (I think) pulls the rope down from the apron as Marty's running in, and Marty takes a really cool bump over the top. When he lands it looks like he splats his nose on the floor. When Kid comes in after this he strings off a couple great highspots. Vince's call of the somersault plancha off the top is amazing. It sounds like he swallows his tongue because his brain is overloading trying to think of a way to describe it. "GBLUGH. DID YOU SEE THAT?!" Quebecers eventually take over when Kid is up top ready to go for the kill and Pierre shoves him off. I don't recall seeing more than 5 Quebecers matches in my life, but I was shocked at how good their heat segment was here. They don't really work it in a way that allows for good hope spots, which admittedly sounds pretty counter-productive, but instead they just murder Kid with a bunch of great looking shit. Pierre's assisted top rope somersault senton looked brutal (that's one thing about them I do recall) and they absolutely kill Waltman with this Total Elimination variant where Pierre hits a running lariat as Jacques casually sweeps his legs away. I would've liked them to build to the finish a wee bit better, but that's neither here nor there. Pop for the title change is a POP and Savage hitting the ring and celebrating is why I love that crazy bastard.

Bam Bam Bigelow v Bastion Booger (RAW, 1/10/94)

This was...not good. Only got about 2 minutes. Bigelow tries to slam Booger at one point and almost falls and gets squashed underneath him. He's all "Nah, fuck that shit" and just picks him up and does it again (this time properly). Booger gets his head rammed into the steps and the way he just lays over them after it like a harpooned whale was hilarious. Imagine Rosie O'Donnell trying to seduce a prostitute. THAT was what this was. I hope to uncover at least one good Bastion Booger match for this project. This wasn't it.

1994 WWF Project

King of the Ring 1994

2011-09-11T17:42:00.006+01:00

It's rare that I'll sit and watch an entire wrestling show in one sitting these days, and while I didn't watch THIS show in one sitting, I DID watch the whole thing (in two sittings, which I guess is the next best thing), shitty IRS matches and all.

Razor Ramon v Bam Bam Bigelow (King of the Ring 1st Round Match)

This wasn't a great match or anything, but Bigelow looked pretty damn good as this big bear with flames tattooed on his dome. They do an extended torture rack spot here that was pretty weird. Bigelow hoists him up and Razor just kind of lays across his shoulders for like 3 whole minutes. It's an interesting choice for a resthold since standing still with a 250 pound lump of dead weight on your back is hardly the best way to get your wind back, and by the time Bigelow drops him he looks suitably fucked. A good old chinlock probably would've done the trick just fine. Bigelow's bump for the finish looked pretty gnarly, though.

IRS v Mabel (King of the Ring 1st Round Match)

Rotunda's promo pre-match is great in a totally "this is crap, but it's funny crap" way. He points at Mabel and starts talking about Tatanka and how after he's done with Mabel Tatanka will never have to face IRS again. Uh, what? He also stammers over lines and it was no Antichristo promo. "I AM TAX MAN! MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" probably would've made me legitimately piss myself. Match itself is a tad shitty. Mabel hits a pretty looking northern lights suplex for a morbidly obese guy, but it's strange seeing him dance around like DJ Casper to "whoomp, there it's is" chants. I guess I just conditioned myself to look at him as the guy that sexually harassed Lillian Garcia before turning into the monstrous (in the BEST way) Big Daddy V. Finish was a really lame "grabbing the ropes for leverage" spot. Mabel goes to splash IRS from the middle rope, but Irwin pops up and shakes the ropes to cause Mabel to fall off (and he does hit the mat hard). He quickly scoots over and, without putting any pressure on Mabel's shoulders at all, hooks the leg, puts his hand on the bottom rope and just kind of sits there while the ref' counts to three and Mabel tries to make it look like he's actually struggling to break free without lifting his shoulder off the mat. In the end he just looked like an overweight walrus. I'm a fan of cheating spots like that when it looks like the guy is ACTUALLY using the ropes for leverage. This wasn't one of those times.

Owen Hart v Tatanka (King of the Ring 1st Round Match)

This starts out a little weird, with Tatanka - the babyface - jumping Owen - the heel - before the bell and laying into him briefly before slowing it down with a headlock. And he stands there and doesn't do anything with it. I can't say I've watched a ton of Tatanka matches recently, but surely he has some better stuff to kill time with than THAT (cool spot where Owen throws him high over the top and he lands on his feet, though)? Owen eventually takes over and things become a little more interesting. Owen's a guy that I've basically been apathetic towards my entire time as a wrestling fan. I can see that he's good and he does lots of things well and he's involved in a bunch of matches I like/really like...but I've never had much of an opinion either way. Fuck if I know why, but this solid-if-totally-unspectacular match sort of got me excited about watching a stack of Owen Hart matches for this project. I mean, this isn't a match anybody needs to go out of their way to see, and it's not even an Owen performance that stands out from the million performances I've seen from him, but for some reason, for the first time ever, I actually feel like I give a shit about Owen Hart. At some point Tatanka does his warpath Hulk-Up thing and I dig how he throws these overhand tomahawk strikes rather than regular punches. He also plants Owen right on his head with a DDT that had Art Donovan marking out. Ultimately forgettable match, but if it winds up making me an honest to goodness Owen Hart fan then...then I'll still not be sure why.

123 Kid v Jeff Jarrett (King of the Ring 1st Round Match)

Man, Waltman might be the second best guy in the company in '94 (I wouldn't call myself a huge Bret Hart fan, but I'd say he was pretty unfuckwithable as the best guy in the company in '94 and I can't see me changing my mind on that any time soon). He isn't quite fucking with a Rey Mysterio, but his timing is great, has awesome and varied hope spots, takes monster bumps, has a ton of great looking kicks, and generally comes across as a dude you want to root for. People often point to the Owen match later in the show as an example of a great sub-5 minute match, but this was pretty fucking choice in its own right. Kid comes out at the start in a karate stance so Jarrett bails and ends up dragging him out to the floor. From there he wails on him while Kid peppers in his hope spots. Jarrett hits a slingshot suplex, Kid replies with a victory roll. Most of Kid's openings actually come from Jarrett missing something of his own and he's really good at trying to "seize the opportunity." Awesome spot where Kid charges into the corner and Jarrett kicks him in the back of the leg so Kid takes a fucking Psicosis corner bump and lands right on his neck. Finish is also cool, as Jarrett spots his opening (with Kid selling the leg) and goes for the figure-four, but takes his sweet time and gets rolled up for three. Post-match he hits 3 piledrivers and storms off, and I wish these guys wrestled in Memphis because that would RULE.

Bret Hart v Diesel (WWF Title Match)

So I really like the Royal Rumble '95 match between these two. I really dislike the Survivor Series match from later that year. Diesel was good in the former and sucked for large parts of the latter. I hadn't seen this, which I think is their first televised match together, in years, but it's definitely closer to the Rumble match than the Survivor Series one. Diesel is capable enough here and brings enough to the table that I'd say he was "fine" (although he starts to gas pretty noticeably towards the end), but this is a total Bret show/Bret formula and I thought it turned out to be a Hell of a match. They use the first few minutes to establish the roles you'll have seen in a hundred Bret v huge guy matches. Diesel's inexperienced but he's HUGE and already gave Bret a monster Jackknife on a previous episode of RAW, so Bret wants to avoid that happening again. Bret needs to stick and move until he can create an opening; he's the technician and he doesn't intend to go toe to toe with the big guy (okay, so the backstory's different, but it's the same "Bret v Big Guy Psychology" in the end). When he eventually takes over he goes to the leg, and it's all pretty much Bret101. Not a knock, it just is what it is. They do a slow transition into Diesel's control segment, first by having Shawn catch Bret with a GREAT cheapshot (Shawn is awesome as Diesel's douchebag second in this). That leads to Anvil chasing him all around the ring in a cool cat-and-mouse segment, culminating with Diesel dismissively sidestepping an attempted plancha to take over. Nash is fine in control, working bearhug spots, leaving Bret open for more Michaels cheapshots...it's pretty standard stuff, but it's effective enough. Still, the whole stretch run is what puts this over the top. Maybe it's just because I haven't watched any WWF (or Bret Hart) main events from around this time in ages and I'm struggling to remember if most of them were built like this, but it was a really fucking good finishing run..."epic", even. Bret being up in a Canadian backbreaker and slowly wriggling free, turning himself around and throwing on a sleeper, all while practically scaling Diesel's body, was a great catalyst for a comeback. The heat for everything is through the roof, Bret's still getting nearfalls off of most of his signature comeback stuff, he takes his crazy turnbuckle bump (dude is one of the best turnbuckle bumpers ever. Slaughter's signature bump is still the gold standard, but Bret running full speed into the corner and crashing chest-first into the buckle is right up there with any other signature corner bump ever), and Michaels just HURLS himself into a ridiculous guardrail bump off a punch (he's up on the apron acting like a jackass again). Finish is whatever, but if you took the best parts of this, the best parts of the Rumble match and the best parts of the Survivor Series match (an actual finish being one of them) and stick them all together, you've got some really great shit. Definitely the best match I've watched so far.

Razor Ramon v IRS (King of the Ring Semi-Final Match)

Well this wasn't very good. I like a bunch of Scott Hall/Razor Ramon matches and Rotunda has generally always been one of those "solid hand" type guys, but this was basically 7 minutes of nothing with a few worthwhile spots thrown in and then a finish that just kinda happened. At least Irwin does a "feet on the ropes for leverage" spot that could plausibly give you leverage this time. I don't know if I could go as far as to say this was disappointing, because I wasn't expecting anything all that great anyway, but both guys had better first round matches and it's not like those were blowaway or anything, either.

Owen Hart v 123 Kid (King of the Ring Semi-Final Match)

Totally great sprint. You tend to find a lot of the people championing Owen as a superworker pointing to this match as "evidence" (even if it's only about 4 minutes long). I always kind of brushed it off as hyperbole, but it really is a cracking little match. Don't think it provides any more evidence for Owen as a superworker than it does for Waltman, but that's beside the point. Owen's baseball slide as Kid is about to get in the ring looked CRAZY. It wasn't quite on the level of that one Nogami took on the New Japan 80s set, but it was ridiculous all the same. They manage to cram a ton of shit into this and they're moving through it all pretty quickly, but I was surprised at how everything they did still came across as being as big as it aught to. The spot where Kid tries a spinning wheel kick and Owen catches him and PLANTS him with a German was especially fucking awesome. Owen just yanks him out the air and Kid's feet barely touch the floor as Owen is setting it up, so it looked like a really impressive strength spot. NASTY powerbomb straight into the Sharpshooter for the finish looked boss, too. I think I had this in the bottom spot on my Greatest WWF/E Match Ever ballot for the Smarkschoice poll. I didn't really remember much about it going into the re-watch, but I can see why I stuck it on there when I did.

The Headshrinkers v Yokozuna & Crush (WWF Tag Team Titles Match)

Man, how about THIS for a fuckin' Yokozuna bump highlight reel? He seriously takes like 5 awesome obese guy bumps in this one match. He does his through the middle rope bump THREE fucking times and every one was GREAT. He also misses an avalanche in the corner and staggers out before falling flat on his face. I love how they start this out. Spots built around Samoan wrestlers having heads made of granite are the bomb and they do this bit where Crush and Yoko pair off with a Headshrinker and each give them a headbutt. Obviously neither guy is fazed, so each Headshrinker fires back with a headbutt of their own. Strangely, Yoko and Crush also seem to have rock hard noggins (Yoko actually IS Samoan, Crush is from Hawaii...do Hawaiian wrestlers have hard heads as well?), so Fatu and Samu just headbutt them in the cheek bone instead (which is where Yoko takes his first bump to the floor. He staggers around all dizzy and shit after it as well which totally ruled). Back in and Yoko whips Samu into the corner, charges in and winds up getting drilled right under the chin with a superkick. Then Fatu compresses Crush's spine with a FUCKER of a piledriver. I mean God damn, Jerry Lawler must have stood and applauded if he was watching backstage. Crush and Yoko take over when Crush brings Fatu down with a drop toe-hold and Yoko murders him with an AWESOME twelve hundred pound leg drop. Do people ever talk about Yoko's leg drop? His middle rope bump gets praise - and rightfully so, because it's fucking ace - but I can't remember anybody talking up his leg drop. They should, though, because that's also fucking ace. Loved the spot after the hot tag where Samu is about to splash Crush off the top, but Fatu pushes Yoko into the ring post and it causes Samu to lose his balance and crotch himself on the turnbuckle. Gorilla on commentary says the ring moved four feet or some ridiculous Gorilla Monsoon shit like that. It obviously wasn't four feet, but Yoko has 78" thighs and weighs as much as a forklift, so you could buy him crashing into the post and actually causing the whole ring to shake (and he hit the post Samu was climbing next to, anyway). Like an elephant knocking a cat out of a tree. They run some Luger distraction bit at the end, but it leads to a cool finish where Samu, who's the legal man, gets clotheslined over the top by Crush, and as Crush starts jawing with Luger, Fatu sneaks in and cracks him with a superkick while Samu stops Yoko from making the save. I thought this was a blast. Gets about 12 minutes to flesh out, has a great shine segment with the Headshrinkers doing their thing and Yoko bumping like a loon, a great transition spot, a solid FIP section, and a fairly hot finishing run with one really sweet spot and a fine finish. Not a sleeper MOTYC or anything, but the kind of thing that makes a project like this totally worthwhile.

Owen Hart v Razor Ramon (King of the Ring Final)

Disappointing final. Razor hits a big back suplex off the top that looked pretty nasty and he busted out a sweet chokeslam, but other than that I'm only remembering a headlock segment before Owen takes over and works an abdominal stretch (where he's too busy jawing with the crowd while grabbing the top rope to notice the ref' looking right at him. Then the ref' just seems to ignore it so they can milk the cheating some more...made him look pretty stupid). Razor goes for the Razor's Edge and gets backdropped to the floor, at which point Anvil hits the scene and helps him up. And then clotheslines him and rolls him back in. Owen finishing it off with a nice top rope elbow while Savage is disgusted on commentary was a cool finish, at least.

Jerry Lawler v Roddy Piper

Piper's promo earlier in the show was spectacular. He just goes off on one and makes no sense at all. It was seriously fucking great. Lawler comes out to the ring staring at people with complete disdain. There's this one lady with a sign that says "Piper for President" and Lawler notices it, bursts out laughing, then shoots her a look of pure disgust. If this match happened ten years earlier it probably would've been tremendous. By '94 that ship had sailed, but it's not because either guy sucks (shit, Lawler is STILL awesome in 2011, never mind 1994). Lawler is my personal pick for greatest puncher in pro-wrestling history, and it's unsurprising that he throws a bunch of GREAT looking punches. Piper's punches aren't nearly as good, but what he has is a GREAT eye poke. He casually pokes Lawler in the eye after a flurry of punches and I honestly rewound it about 4 times. Best moment of the match (which is as good as any moment on the entire show) is Lawler peppering Piper with first class punches while Piper is propped up against the ropes. Piper is belligerent to the end, telling him to bring it, spitting on him, using the ropes to drag himself back to his feet. When he throws a big haymaker, Lawler goes down like a ton of bricks and the arena pops like it should. Not a great match, but it's something a fan of either guy can enjoy.

1994 WWF Project

Is ADAM BOMB The Lost Great Worker of Forever?

2011-09-10T17:34:00.003+01:00

Probably not, but I'll always have the memories.

Adam Bomb & Rick Martel v The Smoking Gunns (Superstars, 1/22/94 [taped 12/14/93])

One thing I'm looking forward to with this project is watching some Adam Bomb matches. I was an inexplicably huge mark for the guy back then and when I heard he teamed with Martel for a brief spell I got pretty excited. They're the perfect Battlebowl team. Hell, Inoki should book them for his next IGF show. Toss them in there with Mil Mascaras and Bastion Booger (wait...is he even still alive) and we're good to go. This only went about 6 minutes but it was pretty great for the time it got. I haven't watched any mid-late 90s Martel in ages, but he still looked real good here, doing a cool spot where he leapfrogs Billy who's just made a blind tag, stops short of running into Bart like "Hey, it's cool man, I got no beef", before getting blindside dropkicked into a big powerslam. My excitement for an Adam Bomb/Rick Martel team seems justified as they do a great double clothesline spot where Martel is still on the apron and Bomb is in the ring. Adam also hits a big clothesline on the floor that looked nasty and pulls the top rope down as Billy runs into them as the transition into Billy playing FIP, and well that's an awesome spot that I'll never tire of. Finish is kinda crappy, but I'm glad I took 6 minutes to watch this. It gets the "Happy Camper" stamp.

Adam Bomb v 123 Kid (Superstars, 5/28/94)

This is a King of the Ring qualifier and a super cool big v small match that I seriously dug. Doesn't get a ton of time (like, 5-6 minutes), but they cram in a bunch of great looking shit. Bomb has some real nice power spots that Kid bumps huge off of. He launches him halfway across the ring with a hiptoss, drapes him over the top rope and yanks the rope back to send Kid flying, catches an attempted plancha and slams him on the floor, and cuts him off by KILLING him with a knee that hurls Kid about 5 feet in the air. Looked totally Yoshihiro Takayama-like. He also takes a spinning wheel kick right in the grill once Kid makes his comeback. Finish is some Kwang suckiness where Wippleman distracts the ref' for three years, but everything else ruled. This will be a totally worthwhile project if there's a bunch of Waltman Superstar matches like this scattered over the course of the year.

1994 WWF Project

1994 WWF Project

2011-09-10T17:12:00.007+01:00

Yeah, time for another one.

I'm not really sure where the urge to pick this year from this company as a dorktastic project piece came from, but there it is. There's plenty of really good stuff from '94 WWF, though, like Bret's run, some really fun Shawn stuff, some good-very good stuff from the 123 Kid, etc. I just bought a bunch of footage from my crack dealer so hopefully I'll turn up some hidden gems (or whatever your metaphor of choice is) in addition to the things that have already been pimped and talked about in the past.

Same deal as the '92 WCW project (which I still plan on updating from time to time -- there always seems to be more interesting stuff turning up), although I doubt there'll be as many matches worth sticking on a "best of" list, so hopefully it'll be a bit easier to manage over time. I'm also gonna go by air dates rather than the dates on which stuff was taped and just update as I watch (so I'll leave off the no-brainers until I've seen them again).

2011 Needs More FAT Guys

2011-09-08T18:25:00.000+01:00

Dick Togo v HARASHIMA (DDT, 2/27/11)

Thought this was pretty badass, even if it did have its problems. Dick Togo was not one of those problems, however. Dick Togo is king and this was another really good Togo show. HARASHIMA winds up kicking the ring post early on and Dick goes to work on the leg, and I was surprised at how much I dug HARASHIMA's selling of it. He jumps over the top rope onto the apron to do a springboard, but as he lands on the apron he grabs the knee like it's still bothering him, and there's another spot where he whips Togo into the corner and does some corner running junior heavyweight stock spot, but he makes sure to slow the "run" down and at least sell the idea that the leg is giving him bother. He doesn't run a million miles an hour like there's nothing wrong and then start clutching his leg like he's just been shot directly afterwards. I hate it when guys do that. He gets his spots in, but he's at least selling the leg fairly well while doing it. But then he does some thing where he knees Togo in the head with the bad knee and that's pretty much the end of him winning me over with the selling. They eventually move past the leg work (which I don't really mind, because Togo working it over in the first place felt like a "seizing the opportunity" thing rather than blatant time-killing) and build towards the finish. There's some really nifty shit down the stretch, like Togo snatching HARASHIMA straight out the air into the crossface. Togo is really awesome at constantly going back to the crossface; he's like a Doberman that refuses to let go of a piece of steak, and the spinning headscissors directly into the crossface spot was fucking SWANK. HARASHIMA's "choked out" face at the end got him back on my good side, too (since I'm sure he was bothered about being on some drunken idiot's shit list). Not on the level of the Honda match, but it's another really good Togo performance (and match).

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi v Ryoto Hama & Manabu Soya (BJW, 4/28/11)

Well shit, I was SHOCKED at how much I liked this. I mean, I had seen enough guys whose opinions I actually take seriously pimping it, so I expected to enjoy it going in...but not as much as I did. HAMA! God damn he was awesome in this. Dude must weigh about 900 pounds and he looks like Taylor Wiley (aka Teila Tuli of "Gerard Gordeau punted my face through my head at UFC 1" fame) if Taylor Wily had a diet consisting entirely of gravy-coated livermush. He is FAT. He's also an All Japan invader so he's booed mercilessly, and he just soaks it up and continues to use his ginormous girth to crush livers and punch people in the head. If a morbidly obese guy walking around flattening a couple of roid heads and glowing with self-satisfaction while a crowd boo him silly isn't your thing, you can go eat sandpaper because we will never be friends. He does a rolling senton, sits on Sekimoto's chest to counter a sunset flip (which looked as chest-crushing as that spot should when a fat guy is doing it), busts out a Vader Bomb that I totally bit on as the finish, throws big Vader-like soup bones in the corner, and best of all stands and laughs when someone tries to shoulderblock him. There's a great spot where Okabayashi comes in off the hot tag and Hama just creams him in 2 seconds flat. If there's a better Ryoto Hama performance out there then I really need to see it. Everybody else was good too, though. Sekimoto has bulked up even more since I last saw him and almost has no neck. His deadlift German suplex still looks kind of slow (although it's an impressive power spot, no doubt) and he has one strike exchange with Soya at the start that was goofy and stupid and pointless, but otherwise I thought he was pretty great. The initial strike exchange was suitably erased from my memory thanks to the fat guy and a later strike exchange that was waaaay better, anyway. Soya probably could've assholed it up a bit more, but he was good too, and Okabayashi was right there with Sekimoto from the home team. His top rope splash looked AWESOME, there's a great spot where he comes out of nowhere to spear Soya and allow Sekimoto to powerbomb Hama from the middle rope (which was as cool as it sounds), and his exchanges with the fat guy were always a ton of fun (he tries to put him in a torture rack at one point!). Finishing stretch was loaded with nearfalls, but I don't think they overdone it thanks to how well they paced everything. Just a Hell of a match that I honestly fucking loved.

MORE 2011 Wrestling?!?!

2011-09-07T22:15:00.001+01:00

I might even be able to scrape together a top 20 now...maybe.

The Miz v John Morrison (WWE RAW, 1/3/11)

The stuff pre-commercial break was fine, even if it didn't do a great deal for me. Morrison's dive off the big 'W' sign was pretty cool and I liked Riley constantly trying to stick his nose in, but I thought Morrison's expression of ANGER and DISTASTE after he takes Riley out was pretty hilarious, as was Miz's scaredy face. Morrison is a ladyboy that jumps off of stuff onto other stuff; you're not scared of that and you're fooling nobody. Still, things picked up post-commercial and got real good. Miz hitting a string of big moves and saying "What do I have to do...what do I have to do" after every Morrison kickout felt really goofy to me, but it did make for a nice in-match story. Morrison's bump off the missed Starship Pain through the table was fucking crazy. I was surprised he managed to even DO the move from where he was standing, let alone take the bump. I wasn't sure what to expect from this since I don't really care for either guy (although Miz has definitely grown on me), but it was good stuff and probably one of the better WWE TV matches of the year.

Koji Kanemoto v Hayato Jr. Fujita (New Japan, 5/26/11)

This has turned into one of the most reliable match-ups in wrestling over the last couple years. I like their '09 J-Cup and BOSJ match from last year more, but this was still what you want out of these guys. Follows the same pattern as their other matches -- they're pissed off at this stinking world and they take it out on the other guy by kicking them real hard. Fujita's apron running punt to the guy on the floor spot always looks brutal, and it did again here, but I thought it was even better this time because he started clutching his foot like he'd just kicked a door. I know this for a fact, because I'm a guy that broke his foot two days ago because he kicked a door (like a fucking idiot). There's a couple really amazing counters in this as well. Hayato throws a side kick and Kanemoto catches his leg, so Hayato goes to enziguiri him, but Kanemoto grabs that leg as well and instantly turns it into a dragon screw while Hayato is still in mid-air. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before and it looked bossy as Hell. Kanemoto breaking a guillotine choke by deadlifting Hayato and grabbing an ankle lock was pretty great, too. These are also two guys that can bust out a tired and generally shitty trope of current day wrestling like the super stiff strike exchange and actually make it good. I mean, shit, if that isn't worthy of multiple snowflakes then what is?

FINALLY...I get my Hands on Some 2011 Finlay

2011-09-06T16:08:00.003+01:00

Fit Finlay v Sami Callihan (EVOLVE, 7/26/11)

This. Was fucking great. I had really high expectations for it and it totally lived up to them. God damn Finlay is the fucking best. His WWE revival is one of my favourite runs in wrestling history, and I honestly thought this was fucking with the best stuff from his incredible 2006. Story of the match is basically Callihan trying to step up to the plate and prove he's capable of hanging with The Man. In the end, Finlay respects him for it and gives him his props, but he sure as shit makes him earn it first, stretching him all over the place (some of the leg submissions looked super nasty) and generally beating the tar out of him. The very first spot of the match might have been the best of the whole match, as Callihan tries to come out like a whippet and Finlay just shuts him down by DRILLING him in the face with a forearm. "Do you know who the fuck I am?" There were points of this where it felt like a pro-wrestler showing up to a bar fight. Don't bring a knife to a gun fight, don't bring a death valley driver to a bar fight. Wield the knife properly and you'll do some damage, but in the end, the shotgun always wins. Callihan's chops are nasty and a few of them land right on the throat (Finlay's post-match raspy voice putting them over was awesome), but knife-edge chops are pro-wrestling. Headbutting someone on the bridge of the nose is a bar fight move. Guess who comes out worse? Finlay puts a stop to a flurry of chops by just picking Callihan up, sitting him on the top rope and shoving him out to the floor. Callihan wants to go strike for strike "like men", but Finlay responds by shouting "How can we fight like men when I'm the only man here?" (he actually said that word for word, and yes, it was as great as you'd think) and kicks him right in the kneecap. Callihan tries to hit a baseball slide at a couple points. But that's pro-wrestling and this is a bar fight, so Finlay just catches him and chucks him into the guardrail. Callihan goes for a tope, but Finlay casually sidesteps it and Callihan careens into the guardrail throat-first. "Tope suidica? In a BAR fight? Does not compute." Finish is awesome, too. Callihan is on his last legs, but he's defiant to the end and refuses to stay down after a Celtic Cross. Finlay gives him another, but Callihan is still breathing. He knows he's fucked, but he won't go quietly and flips him the bird, so Finlay picks him up and plants him with a tombstone. Just a tremendous match.

Callihan gets a ton of hate in some places, but I'm honestly not seeing why. His facial expressions are pretty hammy, sure (although this is a guy who wrestles on the same indy circuit as Davey Richards), and this IS probably a career match, so it's not fair to expect something as good every time out, but he was still great in it. Take Finlay out and stick someone else in and you don't get something nearly as special (Dave seriously looked like one of the best in the world here), but Sami is clearly holding up his end perfectly well, eats a HUGE ass stomping, fires back with plenty of nasty looking shit, and best of all punches Finlay directly in the fucking teeth (THAT spot was tremendous). Feel like I should watch some more of the guy and it's just the hardcore indy nuts spewing bullshit. Anyways, strong MOTYC and I need to get my hands on more Finlay ASAP. What a fucking king.

So I Actually Watched Some Wrestling From 2011

2011-09-05T16:31:00.002+01:00

Virus v Guerrero Maya Jr. (CMLL, 6/7/11)

I'll probably only watch another 10 non-WWE matches this year, but I see this and get the sense I could watch a hundred and not find anything better than it. This was terrific. Virus used to wrestle in the minis division as Damiancito El Guerrero and he had that match with Cicloncito Ramirez that's the best fucking match ever. That was 14 years ago. And he STILL rules it like an absolute king. The first caida matwork isn't quite up there with the best IWRG grappling, but it was all good-really good stuff. Third caida is what propels this into the stratosphere, though. Just tonnes of great moments and the finishing stretch is as dramatic as any lucha finishing stretch I've seen in the last 10 years. There's one woman who looks to be in her 20s in the front row completely losing her shit. At one point the camera pans to her and it looks like she just had a heart attack. Not sure what my favourite part was. Virus' dive was truly spectacular in a totally chest-crushing sort of way and served as the *perfect* catalyst for his comeback, but the chop exchange that ends with Virus "winding up" his right arm for a big chop only to CRACK Maya right in the grill with his left fist was TOO fucking great. And I have no idea what you'd even call that finish, but it looked amazing.

Dick Togo v Antonio Honda (DDT, 1/30/11)

This was seriously fantastic, and if I actually bother to watch any more matches from Japan this year I'll be shocked if anything manages to top it. Togo is 6 months shy of retirement here and he is totally the Edwin van der Sar of wrestling. Van der Sar retired from football/soccer at the age of 40, and he went out as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, arguably as good as he had ever been. Togo goes out at the age of 42, at a time where he looks like an honest to goodness best in the world candidate. I can't say I've ever seen Antonio Honda before, but a quick check tells me he's normally a comedy wrestler. Well fuck that because on this night he tosses that shit out the window and punches Dick Togo right in the fucking face. Togo is the star here, but Honda absolutely holds his own and looked great in the process (although for all I know he could be good in general). Honda comes out the blocks and zeroes in on Togo's arm, cranking on a hammerlock, yanking him down to the mat, refusing to let him get any breathing space. Togo's selling, especially the way he screams in pain any time Honda torques on a hold, is really awesome. He tries to go for the Pedigree early on and can't hook it with the bad arm, so Honda reverses it. He does that spot three times over the course of the match before eventually succeeding (and that's not until we're about 20 minutes in). At the ten minute mark Honda goes for a tope and winds up getting his forehead cut open, so Togo rams his head into the post and starts stomping on the cut. Honda's comeback is AMAZING. Togo's repeatedly blasting his head off the turnbuckle and Honda goes one hundred fucking percent Jerry Lawler on him, dropping the strap and unloading with a huge flurry of punches. Over the course of the second half of the match I lost count of the number of straight up AWESOME punches. I mean my God this was some Lawler/Dundee shit right. Phil Schneider talked about this a few months back and already made a "Mid South Coliseum main event" comparison, so I feel pretty cheap busting out the Lawler/Dundee line, but really, it might be the closest thing to a classic Memphis brawl that I've ever seen in Japan and if YOU'VE seen something like Lawler/Dundee or Lawler/Dutch, YOU will instantly be giddified at the similarities. The double knock down spot is just out of this world great. How does a match that's happening in non-FUTEN finisher overkill current Japanese wrestling manage to get a fucking PUNCH over as a legit nearfall? Togo is the fucking greatest. I would give this twelve stars.

Takayama v KENTA x 2! FACE PUNCHING x ONE MILLION!!!

2011-09-01T16:49:00.003+01:00

Yoshihiro Takayama v KENTA (NOAH, 6/27/04)

This was spectacularly violent. Takayama offers up a handshake at the start and KENTA slaps his hand away like a little prick, so Tak just fucking KILLS him. It's not a Tenryu-like hurricane of rage and brutality with the pissed off facial expressions; Takayama doesn't look any more pissed off than he usually does, in fact he seems perfectly calm, but that "fuck a handshake" bullshit is straight up mockery and he's having none of it. He knees him clean in the face, kicks him ridiculously hard in the solar plexus, punches him in the jaw, and best of all he just hoists him above his head and throws him out to the floor (and KENTA's head really smacks the guardrail when he lands). KENTA is a guy I don't really care for at this point, but as a piss and vinegar junior punching above his weight against the big lumpy dudes, he's pretty unimpeachable. He lands a bunch of super nasty looking shots in this, almost from a clinching position, and will full throttle punt someone in a body part. Not having to sell (then shrug off, then sell again, then shrug off again, rinse repeat) a leg injury and only worry about getting cracked in the teeth also works wonders for him. Takayama's selling in return is some GREAT shit. He eats an elbow to the face early on and immediately responds by caving KENTA's head in, but as the match goes on, the more shots he gets hit with the slower he is to respond in kind. It might seem redundant to say something like "he sells each strike like it actually hurts", since that's kind of the point of pro-wrestling in the first place, but there's so much crappy no-selling of stiff strikes in current day puro that it's honestly worth mentioning when someone actually sells it WELL. And sweet Jesus does that final knee look horrific. This is a match dynamic that can be awesome when it's done right. THIS was done right.

Yoshihiro Takayama v KENTA (NOAH, 1/15/11)

This was fucking crazy, too. It's just as stiff, but it might be even more harrowing since Takayama's an honest to goodness stroke victim. His face is pretty much a wreck at this point in his career; it honestly looks like someone stuck their hands in putty and made random shapes around two eyes, a nose and a mouth. Then gave him it and told him to wear it as his face. He eats a bunch of sick strikes and takes a double stomp from the top rope to the floor that looked totally ribcage-shattering. There's points where he sort of stumbles around with this "Why am I even doing this? I should've retired and opened a fucking restaurant as soon as Don Frye punched me in the nose" look on his face and I'm thinking "Aw man, someone do the F.A.S.T Test, quick." On offence he is what you expect -- just a mean motherfucker that'll maul you if he has an opening. He winds up bleeding hardway after cracking KENTA with a total bar fight headbutt, and there's a spot later on where it looks like he's set to throw another one only to bring KENTA's head down and obliterate him with a knee. Then they top it off by shoot punching each other DEAD in the fuggin' face. Definitely my favourite match from Japan this year. The dynamic is the same as the '04 match, but KENTA takes more of this while Tak spends some time trying not to keel over and die. There's a couple parts where Tak has to stand waiting on KENTA doing a springboard or some corner running spot, but everything leads to something brutal and I guess I can buy a guy with 3 braincells standing around looking confused for a few seconds. I'll honestly be surprised if he retires in one piece, though.

I Met Finlay and he Hipped me to Some Life Game, to Stimulate Then Activate the Left and Right Brain

2011-08-29T17:47:00.003+01:00

Finlay, JBL & Randy Orton v Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit & Bobby Lashley (Smackdown!, 2/24/06)

This was a lot of fun. Everybody got a chance to do their thing here; Rey took a beating as FIP and peppered in his hope spots like he does, Lashley got to throw dudes around with his powerhouse spots, JBL got to cheat and act like a prick, Benoit got to come in as a house o' fire and suplex everybody to oblivion, Orton got to bully Mysterio (Orton/Rey is a seriously GREAT match-up in general), and Finlay got to be a nasty bastard and beat the shit out of people. With all of that said, I did not expect to come out of this thinking the best parts were the headlocks. But shit, Finlay and Orton fucking WORK the headlock. You know what to expect from Finlay -- even when he pins a guy it looks like it hurts. When he slaps a headlock on Rey he just cranks and twists at his neck, squeezes his head and pulls upwards like he's trying to rip it off, whacks him in the nose with his free hand, jabs him in the trapezius with the point of his elbow...I'm sure I've already said Finlay's a guy that always does the meanest, nastiest variation of a move or hold possible, and this was a mean, nasty headlock. Then Orton gets in and maaan, his headlock might actually have topped it. Orton's always been great at working a headlock, and it looks like he's about to pop Rey's head like a balloon here. Finish felt a little anti-climactic, but you could make a decent case that two thirds of the participants in this were having a career year, and you can't really go wrong with them getting almost 20 minutes to stretch out and do their thing. Smackdown! was quite the gold mine in 2006.

Finlay Project

Finlay, Disguised as Robin Hood, with his Memories in a Trunk, Passed this way an Hour ago with his Friend, a Jealous Monk

2011-08-26T18:49:00.002+01:00

Finlay v Mike Knox (Superstars, 1/7/10)

So a friend of mine told me to watch this aaages ago, and I'm glad I finally did because it's a totally bossy way to spend 7 minutes. Finlay is a guy that always works really snug when he's dishing out a beating, and that's something one tends to pick up on when you watch a bunch of Finlay (because how can you not pick up on that?), but he is also not afraid to eat a nasty beatdown in return (the Benoit and Regal matches were sort of stiff). He takes a powerslam on the floor here that looked super hurty and he leans WAY into a big boot from Knox. I mean this was forehead-denting. I've watched hardly any WWE over the last couple years, so I never got a chance to see much Mike Knox, but he's a guy plenty of people started banging the drum for and it's clear to see why. He looks like Boris the Blade mated with Baloo from The Jungle Book and had an angry baby. He also has a few great cut-offs (the powerslam on the floor being a highlight) and does a big cross body spot called the Flying Bear. Finish is pretty cool, as Knox rips the middle turnbuckle pad off and forgets to throw away the evidence, so as the ref' tosses the padding Finlay sneaks in a shillelagh shot for the win. How many times did Finlay make TV over the last two years? Couldn't have been many, which is a crying shame...

Finlay Project

DVDVR All Japan Set, Disc 11

2011-08-22T18:03:00.003+01:00

This was another tremendous disc and I wouldn't be surprised at all if the closer wound up being the overall #1 at the end. It's probably one of those "universal" matches that'll land top 10 on every ballot (I would be stunned if it didn't land top 5 on my own).

Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada v Tiger Mask & Isao Takagi (7/16/88)
- This was kind of a mixed bag. Not in a “some good, some bad” way, but rather a “some decent, some REALLY good” way. Tenryu provides much of the “really good” by being a total cunt to Takagi and generally being a guy that hates the world and everybody in it. We may have the best break up of a pinfall on the entire set here as Tenryu punts Takagi directly in the eye and then stomps him in the head. He actually stomps him in the head a bunch of times throughout the match and it ruled. Punts him in the kidneys, chops him in the throat...The Blind Boys of Alabama should write an uplifting gospel number about Takagi’s fight for survival and how he throws amazing shoulder tackles. Then Alanis Morissette should write the follow-up about how the world is a cold place and Takagi gets dumped on his neck.

Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki v Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
- Man, Fuyuki has been totally awesome in all this ’88 stuff and he rules the world as your Japanese Ricky Morton again here. He transitions into his FIP spell by eating a NASTY gutbuster thing after attempting a cross body off the middle rope, and a little later he eats a fucking HYYYUGE boot to the face from Takano. I dug Nakano a whole lot here, too. He’s a big tall dude that doesn’t really do a ton of big tall dude things, but the things he does do can often look real good because of the big tall dude factor. The big boot that I mentioned is one of them, but he also does a King Kong kneedrop and a huge running legdrop and both looked pretty killer. Finishing stretch is really hectic and they’re going Hell on wheels with a bunch of nearfalls and saves. Between this and the 90s WAR stuff, Fuyuki looks to be a dude in need of a serious re-evaluation.

Genichiro Tenryu v Stan Hansen (7/27/88)
- I prefer their 3/27 match by a little, but this was still fucking great and currently sitting in my top 15. Tenryu’s a guy that has taken the blade to his head a few times already, but it’s always produced a mere trickle of blood that’s wound up being hidden by his fringe. Hansen jumps him in the aisle here and Tenryu BLEEDS like a faucet, and not even Cousin Itt’s fringe could hide this. From that point on the story of the match is basically Tenryu fighting an uphill battle against this freight train of violence. Hansen just paints a bulls-eye on the cut like you’d expect, at one point throwing a couple back elbows that looked brutal as all get out, and Tenryu is great at eating all of this and stumbling around like he’s half dead. Hansen eventually goes for the kill, but Tenryu manages to catch him in the ribs with a knee as he’s charging in for the lariat, and that opens a window of opportunity. I don’t know if Tenryu going after Hansen’s ribs was supposed to play off their last match, but it was some cool continuity regardless. Tenryu goes for the elbow off the top to cap off a run of offence, but Hansen moves and just bowls him out to the floor with these nasty shoulderblocks before blasting him with a chair. Still, Tenryu keeps plugging away until Hansen manages to hit the lariat, and Tenryu takes a great bump by flying halfway up the aisle for the count out. Both guys were aces here and this rocked something fierce.

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/29/88)
- The first half of this felt a little time-kill-y, but these four are generally good at killing time and there’s still the kind of hate that you want from the feud, so it’s better than a lot of “time-killing segments” on the set. About halfway through Tenryu and Hara zero in on Jumbo’s knee for the first real heat segment of note. Jumbo is really good at selling it and at one point he hits a high knee that almost loses his team the advantage (because the knee’s FUCKED). Then he hits another three dozen and keeps selling the damage to his own leg, and well, if my knee was giving me bother because I kept kneeing people in the skull, I personally would stop kneeing people in the skull. But that’s just me. Tenryu kind of powerbombs Yatsu on the floor and that leaves Jumbo on his own for a little while, and the whole finishing run is just really choice in general. Match finishing with a roll-up was pretty boss, too. Feels like an upper half match.

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/30/88)
- I liked this better than the previous night’s match, and right now it’s sitting in my top 30. Both matches go about the same length of time, but I thought the first half of this, leading up to the first real heat segment, was way better and I never got the same sort of “killing time” vibe that I got from the other match. Tenryu and Yatsu trade slaps in the corner and Tenryu turns around and just LEVELS Jumbo with a slap out of nowhere. It was the greatest. They do another Jumbo in peril segment where Tenryu and Hara work over the leg, but Jumbo doesn’t persist on throwing fifty running knees this time, and Tenryu smacks him in the knee with a table at one point so it was pretty awesome. They go into an extended Hara in peril segment after Jumbo fucking drills him with a lariat, and Hara might have the best lariat bump of any beefy guy in wrestling history. He totally leans into it like a pro and lands like a sack of potatoes. I thought they started to lose a little momentum/direction after Hara makes the tag, but they reel me back in again when Jumbo completely loses his mind and tries to murder Tenryu. Tenryu tries to get in the ring and Jumbo just waffles him with these super nasty looking clubbing blows right to the face, then he throws him over the barricade and starts beating the shit out of him with this big metal box thing while everybody in the vicinity scatters. This was like some “Hansen swinging a cowbell” shit; people just running for their lives, not wanting to get caught in the firestorm. The finishing stretch was pretty fucking great here, but there’s one nearfall that was blown pretty badly (not sure whether it was the ref’s fault, Yatsu and Hara’s fault, or all three’s). Tenryu eating three nasty backdrops and Hara trying to save him by covering him with his body was a cool touch, as was Jumbo going ahead and just pinning both of them. Hell of a match.

Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki v Tatsuo Nakano & Shunji Takano (9/15/88)
- I liked how this was structured, basically a bunch of short, strong control segments with a bunch of great segues and spots interspersed. I liked Takano here about as much as I did in the first match (so a lot) and he does this crazy escape of a dragon sleeper where he almost deadlifts Kawada from his knees while his body is own bent backwards. He also boots Fuyuki right in the teeth. Kawada hits this running flying lariat/right hook to Nakano’s face early on and GOD DAMN did it look nasty as fuuuuck. Fuyuki continues to be a star and he’s probably gonna come out of this set as the All Japan equiv of Kantaro Hoshino. “Hit me with a chair, I’ll burst your kidneys.” Fuck yeah.

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (9/15/88)
- Fuck me, the opening stretch of this was loaded with some nasty, nasty looking shit. Tenryu and Yatsu just SHRED each other with chops and Yatsu starts cracking Tenryu in the head with horrendously unpulled forearms. He wasn’t throwing them like pro-wrestling forearms; he was bringing his arm down full force in a kind of downward stabbing motion. Jumbo completely nukes Tenryu’s face with a running dropkick as well. I thought his nose was going to be spread across his forehead. This didn’t have the layout of the 8/30 match, but of all the outings this math-up has on the set, I’d probably put this one third. Finish was pretty crappy, though. Tenryu and Hara walking away like it ain’t ‘bout shit was pretty bossy, but still, walking away from a title match after that finish like it ain’t ‘bout shit might not be the best thing.

Stan Hansen & Dan Kroffat v Rock N Roll Express (10/26/88)
- What the fuck did Morton do to Hansen? Did he and Gibson pull that rib Jericho mentions in his book where they get you to close your eyes and touch a part of the wall with your finger, only what you end up touching is Gibson’s asshole (I don’t remember if that was the rib exactly, but it involved Robert Gibson’s asshole, anyway)? Did they pull that shit with Hansen? Because Hansen seems to want to murder Morton here for discernible reason, jumping in the ring unprovoked and dragging him out to the floor so he can beat on him, stomping him in the head, and there’s an awesome shot of him cackling like a lunatic when Kroffat grabs Morton’s hair and flings him into the air. Kroffat actually had a ton of awesome looking stuff here, the best of which is a teased Fuerza bump to the floor only to skin the cat back in before getting dumped back out when he turns around. And I know it doesn’t need repeating at this point, but holy fuck is Morton the greatest. His peril segment here has an awkward spot near its conclusion, but other than that I don’t think there’s much in wrestling history that I rather see than Stan Hansen cutting off Ricky Morton in a southern style tag. I wish Morton went on and made the hot tag to Gibson in order to REALLY launch it into my heart, but you take what you can get. I still prefer the ’86 Tag League final as far as total southern style tags on the set, but this’ll probably land in my top 50 as well.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)
- This was pretty excellent. I slightly prefer the 8/31/87 match, but both are sitting in my top 10 right now. Only real complaint I have is that I thought it could’ve done with being trimmed by 5 minutes or so, because they started getting into “downtime” territory in the body of it. I didn’t love the finish either, but I can’t really bring myself to complain a great deal about Tenryu hauling off and punting someone in the balls before punching him into oblivion. I mean a good DQ is a good DQ, I guess. Finishing stretch – the match in general, actually – really managed to capture a sense of “epic” and both guys were totally selling the shit out of the exhaustion factor the longer it went on. Still, my favourite spot of the match might have happened in the first couple minutes. Tenryu launches Jumbo into the guardrail and tries to get back in the ring, but Jumbo jumps on him and tries to mount some offence. Tenryu is almost dismissive of this and just throws him back into the guardrail, but it only pisses Jumbo off as he responds by running after him and punching him in the kidneys. 6/5/89 is looming on the horizon and I’m eager to see how it holds up, because this has been a great series so far.

Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy v Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (12/16/88)
- Pretty much a classic. Story is simple enough – Hara is gone and Kawada is stepping into his shoes as Tenryu’s partner, but he’s clearly not at the “#2” level yet. Hansen and Gordy are two of the greatest ass-kickers of all time (and at this point I’m convinced Hansen is the greatest wrestler ever, period) and will FUCKING KILL YOU. Tenryu is Tenryu. Kawada doesn’t have the firepower to hang and bang with the likes of Hansen and Gordy, but he’ll try all the same. For about ten minutes he gets the job done (and nukes Gordy’s chin with a wheel kick). Then Hansen kicks him in the knee to break a pin attempt and it all goes downhill from there. Hansen and Gordy just destroy him and leave him out on the floor with one good leg to stand on, and Tenryu is left all alone against THOSE two. Kawada actually runs all the way around the ring to pick a fight with Hansen and God damn does Stan fucking eat him alive for his shit. There’s a couple amazing moments where Kawada will desperately try to help his partner, like when Gordy powerbombs Tenryu in the middle of the ring and you just see Kawada leaping into the frame to break the pin. Of course Hansen is annoyed and cooks him. GREAT spot where Tenryu busts out a desperation kneebar on Hansen while Gordy is brutalising Kawada on the floor and you see him sprint into the ring to make the save. Hansen’s expression at the end is perfect, like he had to dish out more punishment than even Stan fucking Hansen could ever imagine. Tenryu made him do this. He should’ve just stayed down. Seriously, this is as good as any tag match that happened during the decade and I’m going back and forth on whether or not to put it at #1 ahead of the 1/28/86 tag.

Cocaine & Wrestling! The Jerry Estrada Show!

2011-08-19T17:40:00.003+01:00

Jerry Estrada v Javier Cruz (CMLL, 11/5/89)

How the fuck is Jerry Estrada not dead? This might be my favourite match ever and I've probably seen it 10 times over the last couple years, yet I'm always amazed at the fact he didn't wind up killing himself – or anybody else – here. He is lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. I've seen plenty of matches where guys are loaded. I watched a ton of Shawn Michaels matches for a WWF/E poll last year and there are times where he is pretty clearly wasted. I watched some of the Texas set last night with a bunch of friends and Kerry Von Erich looked about as zonked as my buddy who passed out on the floor. I've seen Juventud Guerrera live and that pretty much speaks for itself. None of those guys were ever as well and truly puggled as Jerry Estrada in this match. He can barely run the ropes, walks around like a plastered zombie (which is really awesome when he starts bleeding, although a guy in that state taking a blade to his forehead is a scary thought), tries to climb the turnbuckle and almost falls off, etc. At one point he walks across the ring apron and winds up falling face first into the turnbuckle. I've only ever seen Estrada and Terry Funk do that spot but it's one of my favourite spots in wrestling. I get the sense Funk did it as a semi-comedy spot, but I'm assuming it was unintentional on Jerry's part and he fell asleep standing up or something. I love Estrada, but Cruz deserves a shit ton of credit for holding this match together. Estrada is as reckless as you'd imagine a guy in his condition would be and I would not have been surprised if Cruz had just thrown his hands up on the whole deal and refused to work with this lunatic. He tries a victory roll at one point, and as he's rolling forward Estrada just throws him off his shoulders. I still don't know how he didn't land right on his head. For the finish to the second fall Estrada does a top rope senton, and it's possibly the most reckless senton in history. He just flies off the top rope, curls himself into a ball and plummets right into Cruz's chest like a ball of coked-up stupidity. Third fall is awesome with both guys bleeding buckets (Estrada somehow manages to bleed in a straight line all the way down his body, like someone's painted a red stripe from his forehead to his dick) and Estrada flying five rows deep into the fixed seats after eating a tope. Cruz also does this crazy missile dropkick thing from the top rope out to the floor that catches Estrada right in the stones. The post-match shaving (this is a hair match) goes on forever because Estrada keeps trying to start fights. Cruz is trying to take this humiliation while retaining some of his dignity and Estrada is slapping him in his half-bald head, talking shit, throwing stuff at him, just generally being a belligerent drunken/tweaked out douchebag. He's like the hammered guy at the bar who throws shot glasses at people for drinking water and calls the barmaid a "filthy scutter". Whenever we get to the DVDVR Lucha set I will be shocked if this doesn't wind up being my number one.

WAR!!! AND NEW JAPAN!!! AT WAR!!! STILL!!!

2011-08-18T20:37:00.002+01:00

Jushin Liger & El Samurai v Ultimo Dragon & Norio Honaga (New Japan, 4/6/93)

I was pretty surprised at how much I liked this. It's WAR v New Japan so I shouldn't be, but other than Liger and occasionally Sammy, this isn't a group of guys that I'd see on a match list and find myself getting excited about. That said, Ultimo's actually been fine on the '93 yearbook so far. The Casas match from 3/19 came out of nowhere and was excellent, although I'd be surprised if anybody thought Ultimo's performance was what made it. The Samurai match from 3/7 is good. The Liger match from the 1/4 Dome show has been my least favourite match on the set though, and the only one so far that I thought actively sucked. But this started out with Ultimo dropkicking Liger off the apron and Liger wanting a piece, so we get off on the right foot. Does kind of meander for a little while after the opening, and it isn't bad or anything, but it's WAR v New Japan and there isn't enough violence or guys acting like dickheads. But then Norio Honaga breaks a camel clutch by biting Samurai's fingers and things start to get much better. This is where you'd want it to be JIP'd for TV. Honaga grabs Sammy's hand and drags the webbing between the fingers along the rope and it was awesome. And then Ultimo gets the tag and throws on a figure-four, which signals the end of obscure body part work, but they head into a pretty choice finishing run after that. Honaga was my favourite guy in this, bringing lots of cheapshots, constantly being a thorn in Liger's side, and above all else he looks like a seedy Japanese meth dealer. He breaks up two or three Liger pin attempts in a row towards the end and Liger gets visibly more and more pissed each time. Finish was sort of unexpected as well. We've already seen Ultimo v Sammy, is there a Liger v Honaga match out there somewhere (preferably from '93, because that match happening outside of this feud does not interest me nearly as much)?

Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa v Shinya Hashimoto & Tatsumi Fujinami (WAR, 5/24/93)

Somebody needs to make a comp of this entire feud because it is honestly just about the fucking best thing ever. This doesn't have the same level of violence as the Hashimoto/Ohara v Hara/Fuyuki tag from 3/7 or the Hashimoto/Choshu v Tenryu/Ishikawa tag from 4/2, but the sub-story of Fujinami's arm being injured is a neat addition to the formula. Of course this IS motherfucking WAR, so there's still plenty of violence to sink your teeth into. The Tenryu/Hashimoto exchanges in this are just amazing. They start the match out and you can feel the hatred, from the simple stare-downs to the portions where they're leathering each other with kicks and chops. I love how they'll stop throwing strikes for a few seconds to shit talk each other. Hash backs Tenryu into the ropes and repeatedly headbutts him so Tenryu throws a huge chop just to create some distance, and he has this incredulous look on his face like someone would even try and fuck with him like that. Then he shouts something in Japanese and Hash kicks him in the leg. A little later on Hash is beating on Ishikawa, and when he hits the ropes Tenryu blasts him in the back of the head from the apron. That leads to a short Hashimoto in peril segment before he tags in Fujinami, who comes in and immediately slaps a dragon sleeper on Tenryu. Ishikawa jumps off the top to break it and that segues directly into an extended beatdown on Fujinami. For the next while team WAR go to work on him with the focus being the arm, and God damn does Tenryu rifle off some STIFF kicks to the shoulder. They sound like the ones a million dudes with kick pads throw, except there's no kick pads there to make that sound. This is just leather meeting skin in horrendous fashion. Fujinami takes exception and catches Tenryu's foot and Tenryu has this great "Aw shit" expression before being dragon screwed. Hashimoto is a total whirlwind of piss and vinegar when he gets the hot tag and there's an awesome moment where Tenryu breaks a pin attempt by kicking him in the eye, so Hash follows him back to the corner and beheads him with an enziguiri. Tenryu's KO sell of it is flat out amazing, going dead weight and hitting every turnbuckle on the way down. Finishing run is great, and for a change the violence wasn't my favourite thing about it (although that rocked as well). Ishikawa puts Fujinami in a Scorpion Deathlock, basically as a 'fuck you' to the New Japan team, so Hashimoto comes in like he's ready to cook a fool. Tenryu is having none of that and runs over and lariats him so hard he throws himself out the ring. Hash follows him out and they just start chucking chairs at each other and shit, while back in the ring Fujinami is back on top and locks in the dragon sleeper. Ishikawa breaks it by punching him in the bad shoulder (which was AAAAWESOME), so Fujinami regroups and goes back to it with the *other* arm, leaving Ishikawa no choice but to submit. And then post-match Tenryu and Hashimoto have another pull apart and I am ridiculously excited for the singles matches later in the year. I'm gonna try and come up with a top 50 or so matches of '93 when I get done with the yearbook, and I could absolutely see about 10 WAR v NJ matches in the top 20.

DVDVR All Japan Set, Disc 10

2011-08-17T19:14:00.002+01:00

What a great disc. The '88 and '89 stuff was what I was most looking forward to out of everything on the set, and the '88 stuff on this disc did not disappoint.

Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada v Yoshiaki Yatsu & Tiger Mask (1/23/88)
- ’88 starts off with a BANG! I dug the SHIT out of this! TENRYU! There’s a lot to like here, but the palpable hatred between Tenryu and Yatsu is what really pushed this into my top 15. Tenryu is grumpy and agitated right out the gate, but he ends up going one step too far and Yatsu just fucking WASTES him with one of the stiffest slaps I’ve ever seen. Tenryu either sells it spectacularly – which wouldn’t surprise me one bit – or Yatsu rung his bell for real – which also wouldn’t surprise me – but whatever the case he swiftly tags out and tries to shake off the effects. You can see him brooding on the apron, itching to get in there so he can hurt someone, and from time to time he’ll just waltz in and take a swing or kick a guy in the teeth. There have been better matches involving Tenryu on the set, but this might be my favourite Tenryu *performance* for the fact it most closely resembles the 90s Tenryu that made me a huge fan of the guy in the first place. It’s almost surreal seeing Kawada and Misawa on opposite sides and *not* being the clear top dog of their team, but both guys are good as the “underlings” here. Kawada takes a pretty hefty beating after Tenryu goes down following that slap, then Yatsu and Misawa isolate him again a little later for another pounding. Misawa wiping out Tenryu towards the end with a dive off the apron taking them both over the guardrail was a great spot. Tenryu powerbombing Misawa on a table for his bullshit was a greater spot. I didn’t have any problem with the finish here, either. I mean Tenryu and Kawada mugging a guy with a chair is as good an excuse for a DQ as any. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the ’88 and ’89 stuff since the match list for the set came out, and this was a great way to kick if off.

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima (1/24/88)
- Tenryu’s ring jacket says “CATCH US IF YOU CAN!” He starts this out by jumping Jumbo at the bell, but it backfires and he ends up being the recipient of a beatdown with a busted forehead. Wajima looks pretty decrepit here but he headbutts Tenryu about ninety times upon introduction to the match and that kind of ruled. I actually thought he was fine in general as the old geezer that was out of his league, especially with his willingness to get the shit stomped out of him. He isn’t all that interesting offensively, but there’s one sequence with Tenryu that culminates with him hitting a big backdrop that looked pretty swank. The Tenryu/Jumbo stuff ruled again and Tenryu appears to be REALLY putting it all together at this point. I’m probably overrating this by putting it just outside the top 20, but structurally it was way more up my alley than most of the tags before it and didn’t suffer from being too long. Kept up a good pace, had a good layout, plenty of hate and ill will, stayed focused...yeah, this was good.

Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki v Takashi Ishikawa & Great Kabuki (2/20/88)
- I really liked the dynamic of this. Fuyuki is outmatched against Ishikawa and Kabuki, but he’s teaming with motherfucking Tenryu and doesn’t much care as long as he gets to fight with people. Tenryu is of course Tenryu and a Hell of a guy to have watching your back. Ishikawa and Kabuki do the smart thing and isolate Fuyuki, which leaves Tenryu to basically feed off scraps, coming in from time to time so he can thump someone. Kabuki was awesome here, throwing his great looking uppercuts and working super stiff, and Ishikawa is starting to look like the surly little shitkicker he would become in WAR. When Tenryu gets the hot tag he comes in and does a Tito Santana-esque flying forearm right to Ishikawa’s head, and then he repeatedly elbows him above the eye until he splits him open. Tenryu selling his own elbow after bludgeoning Ishikawa was fucking tremendous. The beatdown on Ishikawa is pretty short, but I can’t really complain when it leads to Kabuki coming in and stiffing dudes. There’s a great cut off later where Ishikawa lowers his head and Tenryu just pops him with the point of the elbow on the cut. I initially thought the finish was a bit of a downer, but it was timed well and Kabuki’s superkick looked suitably nasty, so I’m not too bothered. This was really good stuff.

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v John Tenta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/29/88)
- The commentator constantly referring to Tenta as “Big John Tenta” tickles me for some reason. This wasn’t blowaway great or anything, but it’s four big lumpy dudes throwing nasty shots and generally wrestling like they don’t much care for their opponents. My first thought was that it was a sort of WAR midcard/Nitro style hybrid with guys that just give off that “WAR vibe.” It’s mostly back and forth, but they don’t bog it down by going long and cramming it with filler. I liked Tenta as a big brick wall here and there’s a few nifty spots involving him. Tenryu chops him at one point so Tenta responds with a big clubber to the chest that lands Tenryu on his ass, and Tenryu’s “Well...maybe I shouldn’t have done that” look was great. Loved him dragging Tenta out to the floor and hurling him into the barricade as a receipt. Tenryu suplexing Tenta is an impressive looking spot, but as a finish it isn’t all that great. Still, this was fun and will probably land somewhere in the middle third.

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (3/5/88)
- “NOBODY POTATOES ME!” So this isn’t a great match, but it may have the best “end” to any match on the set. Not necessarily best as in fitting or conclusive, but...well, I’ll get to it in a second. The actual match leading up to it is more or less entirely controlled by Hansen and Gordy. At times it feels a little *too* one-sided, though, which is weird to say considering I can’t think of much I’d rather watch than Stan Hansen cutting guys off and beating them up. Tenryu or Hara will start to fire back, Hansen or Gordy will shut them down within seconds, rinse and repeat. We’re still talking about Hansen and Gordy here, so it’s not like watching those guys beat somebody up is going to be much of a chore to sit through, but I would’ve liked for them to give the natives a little more offence. And then Tenryu and Hara hit Stan with a double enziguiri and Hansen goes dead weight and sells it like he’s legit KO’d. When he wakes up he goes absolutely BALLISTIC, flinging chairs, breaking tables, swinging his bullrope, stiffing the daylights out of Tenryu and Hara (there’s one shot to Tenryu that looked fucking disgusting), running through the crowd while fans part like the red sea, punching Higuchi in the head, etc. I mean you know he’s going crazy when fucking GORDY is trying to talk him down. The match itself feels like a bottom half affair, but the Hansen insanity at the end will hurl it up the ballot some. The close-up camera shot of his face when he gets up and dives out of the ring to get at someone is seriously one of the greatest images in wrestling history.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Tiger Mask (3/9/88)
- Other than the early portion with Misawa working a headlock maybe going a touch too long, this was a fucking great match. I like Misawa going to the headlock because he knows he can’t hang and bang with the big cat, but the match goes 15 minutes and the headlock stuff eats up practically half of it. Still, they work in and out of it well and they do some interesting things when they come up for air, like Misawa’s awesome leaping headbutt out the corner, so it’s honestly a minor complaint. Jumbo getting fed up with the bullshit and just whipping out a backdrop was a really great sudden transition. He really snapped into it and yanked him over quick as you like. Misawa rolls out some of his own bombs in response and hits an awesome looking plancha, but Jumbo’s hotshot cut-off spot topped it. Misawa takes it with his arms at his side and literally goes throat first across the rope; it looked like some brutal shit. I figured it was over for sure at a couple points down the stretch, but Misawa kicks out and sneaks in a roll up for a Hell of a nearfall that actually had me biting. Jumbo hitting another backdrop and hooking every limb possible seals it in the end, but Misawa got to look great here by kicking out of a bunch of Jumbo’s bigger moves and came out looking like a gutsy son of a bitch even in defeat. I could honestly see this landing in my top 20.

Genichiro Tenryu v Stan Hansen (3/9/88)
- Definitely my favourite Hansen/Tenryu match so far, and currently just inside my top 20. Starts out with both guys swinging wildly and Tenryu going right for the enziguiri, so Hansen just bowls him out to the floor with a shoulder block and beats him up. He works Tenryu’s back from here on out and everything he does looks gloriously hurty. Hansen’s kneedrops are the greatest, the way he jabs the knee right into the spine, and from time to time he’ll just start punting Tenryu in the kidneys, which also ruled. Really liked the finish here too – Tenryu goes for a fisherman suplex and can’t lift Hansen because his back is hurt, so he regroups and tries to hit a German suplex only for that to fail as well. Stan has Tenryu where he wants him and goes for the kill, but he lowers his head and Tenryu seizes the opportunity. He may not be able to lift him up for the big bombs, but he can still perform a small package. Post-match Hansen goes nuts, wrapping the bullrope around his arm and hitting the lariat on Tenryu, tearing up the ringside area, chasing after fans, etc. He goes back to Tenryu and Hara jumps in the way so he just cracks him with a cowbell and punts Higuchi in the liver. Then he leaves. Some guy tries to get an interview out of Tenryu and Tenryu’s all “Dude...seriously, just fuck off.” I eagerly await the rematch.

Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa v Ashura Hara, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (3/11/88)
- Well fuck my face. This sounded really interesting on paper, but I never expected it to wind up being one of my favourite things on the whole set. Ricky Fuyuki was totally awesome in this. He has no qualms punching above his weight and will throw down with anyone. His exchanges with Jumbo are outstanding and probably my favourite thing about this. Jumbo’s an amazing grumpy prick and really lays it in, especially down the stretch when he fucking NUKES Fuyuki with a couple high knees. Everything they do together feels like an earlier version of Jumbo/Kikuchi, which is some real high praise. Actually Fuyuki basically IS Kikuchi here because he gets pounded on during a great FIP section and really excels in that role. Kabuki unloads with a NASTY combo of punches at one point and there’s this awesome cut off spot later on where Fuyuki hits a flash cross body only to get up and walk right into a chin-rattling superkick. Hara was also pretty ace as agitated leader of his team, channelling Tenryu at times by walking in and picking a fight with someone because his boy is being assaulted. There’s a couple moments where he and Jumbo forget about everything else and just start brawling with each other. Kawada is pretty quiet and isn’t involved for very long, but he cracks Ishikawa to break up a submission, and then tries it again later on only for Ishikawa to spot him and put him back in his place. Wasn’t really feeling the finish, but it was at least clean and it’s not like it sucked and hurt the match to any degree. Seriously, this ruled.

Genichiro Tenryu v Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
- Man, with a better finish this might have been fucking with my top 5. Someone picking their opponent’s shoulders up off the mat during a pin attempt is a spot I don’t like at the best of times, but when you’re Stan Hansen and you’ve just drilled a guy with a Western Lariat (dead in the middle of the ring, which is pretty much a guaranteed victory) only to pick him up and then get DQ’d twenty seconds later, I tend to throw my hands up. The fact he tries to maim Tenryu afterwards is small salvation, but this was a total fucking slaughterhouse of a match that ended with the most deflating DQ finish on the set for me personally. Luckily what comes before it is as awesome as the finish is crappy. These guys seriously knock lumps out of each other, especially Hansen who is as violent as I’ve ever seen him. He looks like a rabid animal during the intros, pacing back and forth, itching to take a bite out of anyone that gets close enough. Tenryu charges him at the bell and gets a couple licks in, but Hansen sneaks in a big forearm and levels him with a punch right to the eye, and from that point on Tenryu is fighting an uphill battle. Hansen is just ridiculously vicious, focusing his entire attack on the cut above Tenryu’s eye. There’s a couple punts that would make the FUTEN boys grimace and there’s a great spot where he blocks a powerbomb attempt by dragging Tenryu to the mat and nailing him with one of the nastiest kneedrops you’ll see. This is worked more evenly than their last match. That had Hansen controlling the majority of it by working the back with Tenryu fighting back in spurts. Tenryu ramps up the violence this time out (he’d be dead if he didn’t) and is willing to give just as good as he gets. Hansen starts punching him dead in the face, so he just grabs Hansen’s fist to block it and uncorks with a huge left hand of his own before following up with a monster lariat. He also gears most of the nastiness towards Hansen’s ribs, at one point running all the way across the ring and punting him so hard that he ends up flinging himself out the ring. Really, I know what I like in my pro-wrestling and THIS is it. I am super stoked for the next instalment on disc 11.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Bruiser Brody (3/27/88)
- For starters this had the unenviable task of following the shitstorm that was Hansen v Tenryu, but even watching it in isolation I doubt I’d like it all that much. I mean they do some interesting enough things. Brody throws this really stiff chop in the corner and Jumbo’s sell of it was great, like he’d just had all the wind knocked out of him. And there’s a clean finish, at least. Still, most of it felt really dry and listless. Brody’s sell of the triple enziguiris was pretty hilarious, although not in the same “good way” as his sell of the backdrop after the second Jumbo/Tenryu match. Can’t see this breaking out of the bottom 20.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima v Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (4/21/88)
- So Wajima is OLD and pretty rubbish at this point (although he was OLD and pretty rubbish the first time he showed up), but if you can handle copious amounts of “OLD rubbish guy getting his clock cleaned” then you shouldn’t have a terribly hard time enjoying parts of this. I enjoyed the whole thing, but I get the sense I’ll be a high-voter on it. Wajima takes three separate turns at getting beat down for an extended period of time, and while he’s not nearly as compelling as Jumbo at eating a shitkicking, Tenryu and Hara still dish one out all the same. Tenryu looks like one of the best in the world at this point and everything he does has this contemptuous vibe to it. It’s like everybody in the company decided to step up huge at the turn of ’88 (even the guys that were already great) and Tenryu looks to have turned his shit WAY up. Hara is throwing some fucking brutal looking punts here as well; I expected old man Wajima’s liver to fly out through his ribcage. Jumbo is really great as the pissed off ace that is simmering on the apron while being forced to watch his decrepit partner get beat from pillar to post. Any time he comes in he’s a total house o’ fire, throwing the stiffest knees and lariats imaginable. He catches Tenryu with a running knee that looked absolutely nuts and Tenryu must’ve been high to lean into it like he did. Count out finish is a count out finish, but Wajima wiping Hara out with a tope was a fine enough setup. Jumbo no-selling a Tenryu powerbomb was far more annoying than one more count out finish, anyway.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu v Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (6/4/88)
- Totally different dynamic from the last match in that it’s Jumbo who’s the one getting beat down most of the time. It starts early when Tenryu and Hara go after the leg, and while the leg work never truly pays off (that I can remember, anyway), it remains a focus for a large part of the match. There’s a particularly great spot where Jumbo comes in and fucking wastes Tenryu with a high knee and sells the shit out of his own leg afterwards. He also obliterates Hara with a lariat and Jumbo is another guy that has seriously ramped it up since the turn of the year, just mowing guys down and taking zero shit from anyone. Moment of the match might have been Yatsu going for a bulldog only to be rammed into a knee in the corner. Totally came out of nowhere and looked great. I actually liked this a little less than the last match, but this was such a great disc that it’s not out of the realms of possibility that every match on it, other than Jumbo/Brody, could finish in my top half.

DVDVR All Japan Set, Disc 9

2011-08-16T16:54:00.002+01:00

Unfortunately this was one of the more disappointing discs on the set. '87 in general was a disappointing year, actually. There's a lot of shit that looks great on paper, but more often than not it fails to live up to the potential. The first Jumbo/Tenryu match fucking ruled, though.

Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase v Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (7/11/87)
- Pretty forgettable match. As in, other than Hansen killing Misawa with a lariat at the end, I’ve forgotten basically everything about it. Where the New Japan set had a bunch of tags that were structurally pretty scatterbrained, thus giving me a hard time getting into them, this set has had a bunch of tags that have ultimately been largely forgettable. I’m not sure which is better/worse.

Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase v Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (7/17/87)
- This was much better, and I’d call it legitimately great if they had worked towards the finish for a few more minutes at the end. Finish is a double-edged sword in that Hansen pulling a lariat out of nowhere and mowing someone down is always an awesome spot, but that awesome spot just came TOO out of nowhere this time around and wound up deflating me. A few more minutes to build drama beforehand would’ve cured that, but that’s getting into “judging a match on what it isn’t rather than what it is” territory, so I’ll leave it there. Body of the match is all about Yatsu and Nakano going to town on DiBiase’s leg. They’re so outmatched on paper that it’s almost comical, but if one half of the champs is hobbling on one leg then they *might* have a chance. Hansen is spectacular working the apron and getting progressively frustrated, constantly shouting obscenities that don’t even sound like actual words half the time. Then he gets the tag and they run an awesome spot where Ted is holding Yatsu in front of the post so Hansen can drill him with a running knee, only for Nakano to come out of nowhere and save Yatsu while Hansen winds up kneeing the ring post. From there they go into Hansen in peril as Yatsu and Nakano work over his leg, so it becomes a case of the champs having two good legs between them while the clear underdogs mean to take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way. And then it ends.

Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase v Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (7/23/87)
- Another great performance from Ted here, selling the ribs rather than the knee this time, but selling like a total champ either way. Tenryu and Hara don’t reel off a ton of “high end offense”, but Ted’s selling is always terrific and makes something as simple as Hara stomping him in the gut seem vicious (well, it’s Hara, so it’s vicious to begin with, but still). When Hansen gets the tag DiBiase is more or less useless from that point on, so Stan has to go it alone. Tenryu running around and throwing Ted into the barricade from time to time, just to make sure he won’t be making a recovery, is always great. Thought the finish worked fine here as well, like Stan knew he was on his own against two bruisers and would happily take a double count out if he had the chance. Tenryu accidentally hitting his own partner with a lariat was that chance.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Genichiro Tenryu (8/31/87)
- Hell of a way to kick off the Jumbo/Tenryu series. This feels like the closest thing to King’s Road yet, from the early blocking of strikes to the general layout. I really liked how they started it out, with both guys clearly wary of getting too close to each other for fear of getting popped in the mouth. They know how each other ticks as a tag partner, but as a singles opponent it’s a different ballgame and you can’t be too careful. First great spot comes when Jumbo cracks Tenryu with a few nasty back elbows in the corner, so Tenryu responds by RIFLING off a slap right to Jumbo’s ear and the look of utter contempt that Jumbo shoots him in return is glorious. I though Jumbo was really great here as the big man on campus, busting out a few of Tenryu’s own signature moves and generally ramping up the violence because he refuses to give up his spot to the guy that used to play second fiddle to him. The first real stretch of offence comes when Jumbo tries to hit a lariat which Tenryu partially blocks, but the force still has him reeling enough that he staggers into the corner. Jumbo rolls down the knee pad and follows up with a high knee, and while Tenryu’s blade job isn’t the craziest thing you’ll see, Jumbo goes to work on the cut anyway. They kind of tease a finishing stretch after Tenryu hits a German suplex, but Jumbo’s still too fresh and keeps up the assault. That leads to him going for another high knee in the corner, but Tenryu knows it’s coming and counters by ducking and ripping the turnbuckle pad away in the process so Jumbo winds up kneeing steel. That was a fucking awesome transition spot that I don’t remember ever seeing before. Jumbo’s comeback with the HUGE backdrop was fucking great as well. I don’t dislike the fact they went with a count out for the finish, but I wish they hasn’t made it so painfully obvious. Still, all of the bombs and shots they were throwing down the stretch ruled and this is currently sitting in my #4 spot.

Genichiro Tenryu v Stan Hansen (9/20/87)
- Hansen flipping his lid and throwing chairs and chasing people around ringside for no apparent reason whatsoever was AMAZING. That was at the intros. When he calms down and they start the match for real Tenryu just goes right for him and winds up dropping him with a big palm strike to the ear. Unfortunately they slow it way down after that and, other than Hansen repeatedly shouting “ASK HIM”, it never hit the level the opening few minutes promised. I mean they both work the arm and it’s all solid enough stuff, but this is Hansen and Tenryu and this isn’t the kind of bar fight you want out of them. Hansen going postal post-match was a nice return to form, but this was one of the more disappointing matches on the set.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Genichiro Tenryu (10/10/87)
- Thought this was also really good, but not on the level of the first match. It still has the great moments where one guy will slap the shit out of the other and there are some hugely dramatic “peaks”, but there are also some pretty awkward parts and it isn’t as focused as the August match. I thought Tenryu’s early headlock was great here, the way he’d hold on like a vice no matter how Jumbo tried to shake him. Only letting go because Jumbo had backed him into the ropes and the ref’ called for the break felt like a cool little “Fine, I’ll let go...but only because *I* choose to” moment. There’s a terrific stretch after Tenryu counters a Thesz Press with a hotshot where he’s rolling out a ton of big bombs in an effort to put Jumbo away, getting progressively frustrated at not being able to get the job done while the crowd loses its shit. Jumbo’s backslide hope spot looked pretty shitty, though, and while the two whiffed powerbomb attempts from Tenryu didn’t bother me that much (I actively liked the first one), they still felt out of place and awkward. Finishing stretch was fine and still very heated, but I was far more engaged in the final run in the first match (even after the cross body spot that took both guys to the floor, which initially took me out of the match). Brody’s sell of the backdrop post-match is either awesome or goofy as shit. Probably a bit of both.

Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy v Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka (11/22/87)
- Crowd is totally amped at the beginning here and want a Hansen/Brody exchange to start things out. Both guys approaching the exchange by running a cross-cross and ducking a few big hits from the other was a great way to go, I though. Crowd losing its shit helped, of course. I certainly wouldn’t call this a great match, but it was better than I expected. Snuka and Brody have that awesome tag against the Funks from ’81 (that’s still in my top 10), but 1987 Jimmy Snuka is a prospect I don’t look too forward to and, despite the fact I’ve had no issues with him on the set (at times enjoying him quite a bit), Brody showing up again after the multi-disc absence didn’t do a whole lot to get me excited. Still, Hansen might be the best ever and late ‘80s Gordy is awesome, so that’s generally enough to offset the Brody/Snuka-ism. Snuka’s isolation period was pretty pedestrian, but I liked more of this than I disliked and it’ll get bonus points for being in the “I was shocked at how much I dug this” category.

Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy v Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/26/87)
- I thought this was really disappointing. There’s some stuff that would’ve been really awesome if they hadn’t detracted from it with something silly or unneeded. Like the spot where Yatsu puts the figure-four on Hansen (even if it looked pretty crummy) and Hansen is selling it so well that I’m legitimately buying him possibly giving up. Then Jumbo and Gordy start trading bombs in the middle of the ring while this is going on and I can’t understand why Gordy won’t just break the hold when he has the chance. The finish is another “double-edged sword” in that we get the awesome out of nowhere lariat that leads to a super goofy count out. The lariat itself looked SUPREME and the commentator’s reaction made it even better (Baba is mid-sentence and all you hear is “AAAHHHHHHH!”). Yatsu struggling to get back in the ring and succeeding a second too late would’ve been a fine count out, but Jumbo comes across with about 7 seconds left and starts “willing” Yatsu to his feet, shouting at him to get back up. The ref’ is at 9 there, Jumbo. JUST THROW HIM IN THE FUCKING RING, ALREADY. ’87 has churned out a couple corkers that seem destined for the top 30, but on the flipside it’s produced an awful lot of middling matches that really should be better.

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/5/87)
- As far as telegraphed half hour draws go, I liked this a good deal better than any of the Jumbo/Tenryu v Choshu/Yatsu matches. I mean I figured they were working to the bell eventually, but it didn’t seem as obvious here and I definitely preferred the things these guys were doing to kill time. Jumbo and Tenryu playing mind games in the first half was really cool and I thought it built to Tenryu’s big time cheapshot well. You knew it was only a matter of time before one guy REALLY let loose because they weren’t satisfied with just throwing a slap or a chop here and there, and Tenryu pulling open the ropes while Jumbo was running into them was a great spot. Jumbo getting massively pissed off was also great. Lots of “burly dudes throwing down” stuff throughout, possibly culminating with Jumbo pasting Hara with a lariat. Tenryu in peril towards the end while Jumbo and Yatsu go to work on his cut forehead might have been my favourite spell of the match, and Hara mowing people down after the hot tag was pretty boss. I *might* have this in my top 40.

Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy v Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (12/11/87)
- This wasn’t “bad” or anything, but...well, I’m reeeealy glad I’m moving onto the ’88 stuff after this, because ’87 just seems to be a year that has a ton of ‘on paper’ great stuff that ends up disappointing. There are stretches here that have some good shit going on, but they don’t really GO anywhere and ultimately feel like time killing. Still, everything after Hansen breaking an abdominal stretch by nailing Tenryu in the head with a cowbell was good shit and made for a dramatic closing stretch.

DVDVR All Japan Set, Disc 8

2011-08-14T15:07:00.002+01:00

This had some more great shit on it, including the best Jumbo/Hansen match I've seen, an AWESOME sub-ten minute Hansen tag, and another two Jumbo/Tenryu v Choshu/Yatsu matches that ruled. Tenryu also breaks away from Jumbo on this disc, and while I don't think he TRULY hits his absolute grumpy best until '88, there's a good deal of pissed off Tenryu to sink your teeth into.

Genichiro Tenryu v Riki Choshu (9/3/86)
- I dug the shit out of their ’85 match so I was looking forward to this, and it didn’t disappoint. The early matwork feels pretty gritty and manages to capture a sense of struggle, and well, this whole match basically feels like one big struggle. What they’re doing on the mat isn’t amazing or anything, but it’s fought for and they even bust out some things I don’t recall seeing from them before (Tenryu’s bow and arrow, for a start). Once they hit the ten minute mark they switch gears with an awesome double lariat spot. They both wind up on the floor, and that leads to Choshu hitting a backdrop on the apron that looked suitably kidney-crushing. Tenryu beats the count so Choshu goes for the kill, but Tenryu manages to counter the lariat by just booting him in the ribs as he’s rushing in. Tenryu working the ribs is the focus for the next few minutes, and Tenryu punting people up in down is something I can always get behind. Finish being the exact same as their first match was kind of a downer, though. Feels like a top 50 match.

Stan Hansen v Jumbo Tsuruta (7/31/86)
- Well this was excellent. Their first match was disappointing and felt like it fell way short of what they were capable of, and while the rematch came much closer to giving me what I wanted, this one REALLY hits the spot. Everything they do just seems meaner and nastier than before, from the strike exchanges to the far less subtle “bleeding all over the fucking place”. When they spill out to the floor around the 17 minute mark I’m thinking there’s a good chance they’re going to a double count out. Then Jumbo tries to hit a high knee and Hansen moves out of the way so he winds up crashing into the ring post, and instead of taking it home like I thought they might, they head back in the ring and move on to a blood-soaked Hansen going to town on Jumbo’s leg. Felt like a bonus track on an already stellar album. This really was everything I wanted it to be. It’s been a while since I saw any of their matches from the 90s, but right now I’m not sure I’d put any of those above this one. My working #10 and should be a lock for the top third.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu v Giant Baba & Tiger Mask (11/28/86)
- I thought this was a lot of fun the last time I watched it, and my thoughts haven’t changed much after this go around. I loved pretty much everything involving Baba, from booting Jumbo from the apron as he’s running the ropes to the way he reacts to Tenryu and Jumbo cheapshotting him while he’s minding his own business. Tiger Mask Misawa doesn’t really set the world on fire, but I kind of dug him as the guy that would provide the flash and athleticism for his team (because Baba sure as shit won’t) even though he’s still the most likely target of a beatdown. Him flying around is all well and good when it’s working, but if he misses then Jumbo and Tenryu won’t hesitate to pounce. Tenryu mocking Baba at the end was great.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/6/86)
- I probably would’ve liked this less if I didn’t already have a pretty good idea that it was going to a draw beforehand, because it becomes pretty clear early on that these guys are killing time. It’s worked almost 50/50 right down the middle in terms of how much each team take on offense and it’s basically your turn/my turn the whole way through. Really, it’s these four “doing stuff” for half an hour. Not really a match dynamic I tend to get much out of, but these guys have a ton of shit to fill time with and the general level of hatred and intensity is always high. Basically, I liked what they were actually bringing to the table, if not the way they went about bringing it. Or setting said table. Whatever; the SICK strike exchange between Tenryu and Choshu is reason enough to watch this.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu v Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (12/12/86)
- I fucking LOVED this! When it ended I initially thought it felt like the first half of a match that would’ve likely been my #1 had there been a second half as good as the first. But there wasn’t a second half, so I settled on it being a terrific match for what it was and probably one of my favourite sub-ten minute matches ever. It’s seriously getting to the point now where I find myself saying “that might be the best opening to any match on the set” whenever Hansen shows up. His opening charge at an unsuspecting Tenryu was truly epic and the following beating he and DiBiase dished out was great, with awesome cut-offs and nasty looking offense. This is about the closest thing on the set to a “traditional southern style” tag that I’ve come across, and well, southern tag style with Stan Hansen and Genichiro Tenryu is pretty much an instant hit with me. I thought Tenryu was making the tag for sure at a couple points, but then Hansen would run in and knee him in the face while he’s crawling towards Jumbo and I’d legitimately mark out. When the hot tag does come, Jumbo is a fucking king sized house o’ fire. He lariats DiBiase right in the chin and Ted takes a couple monster bumps just to make me fall in love with this match even more. Hansen trying to lariat Tenryu on the floor only for Tenryu to duck and Hansen to blast DiBiase instead was a great spot to lead to the finish. This isn’t the best match on the set, but I don’t know if I’ve enjoyed anything else as much as I enjoyed this and I’m gonna try and find a spot for it in my top 25.

Riki Choshu v Rick Martel (12/29/86)
- I liked their first match more, but this was still a super neat little match. I was digging the matwork and most of it looked pretty snug. Martel especially was good going after Choshu’s leg, and I liked how Choshu would respond by going after Martel’s when he got the chance. Clean finish is another plus. I could see the first match sneaking into the top third...this won’t go that high, but it might land somewhere around the middle of the pack.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
- Man, when this match-up is clicking it is fucking CLICKING. This was awesome and, to me, felt like the real coming out party for Tenryu on the set. He’s been in some good matches and some great matches (and one that reaches “transcendent” level), and he’s had some good performances and some great performances, but this is the one where it seemed like he was well and truly Jumbo’s equal. Before he still felt like “Jumbo’s partner” to me. A Hell of a partner, no doubt, but I was still waiting for him to truly break through and hit that level that I’ve seen him hit so often. The Jumbo/Tenryu feud kicks off shortly, and after this I’m definitely buying Tenryu stepping up to “1a” from “number 2”. The Tenryu love aside, all four guys rocked here. There is an amazing sequence where Tenryu runs full speed at Choshu and swings for the lariat, Choshu ducks it and comes back with an attempt of his own, Tenryu ROLLS under that, Choshu comes back with another attempt, Tenryu blocks that one, and finally takes Choshu down with a Russian leg sweep, moving right into a cross armbreaker. At this point you also start to pick up on the spots they like to roll out each time, like Jumbo putting Yatsu in a prison lock and repeatedly slapping him in the face or Jumbo and Choshu doing a double lariat KO spot. The new stuff they’re busting out is great (like the aforementioned Tenryu/Choshu sequence), but the “signature” stuff rules just as much. Finish is a little weird, but I liked it if for no reason other than the fact it made Jumbo voluntarily pulling Choshu’s shoulders off the mat during a pin attempt a tolerable spot. Not on the level of the 1/28/86 match, but of all the Jumbo/Tenryu v Choshu/Yatsu matches, this is my second favourite and currently in my top 10.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)
- Another excellent match, and a fitting way to end the series. By this point I don’t really have a whole lot more to say about this match-up. There’s the hate that you want; there’s the heat that you want, and they’re constantly adding new touches to an already winning formula. I’ve got this behind two of their other matches, but it’s still sitting in my working top 20 and should comfortably place in the top third at the end (unless the ’88-’89 run exceeds my already high expectations).

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu v Road Warriors (3/12/87)
- I liked this a good deal. The Roadies hit their stuff and it all looks nasty, and Jumbo and Tenryu are willing to eat it all and make them look like a couple of dudes that ought not to be fucked with. Animal has a super cool looking flying shoulder tackle, Hawk’s gorilla press slam on Jumbo was impressive as Hell, the Doomsday Device looked sweet, and there’s a great spot where Tenryu whips Hawk into the ropes only for Animal to scoop Hawk up and launch him right back at Tenryu. There’s a chinlock segment that kind of drags, but they do the “fake tag behind the referee’s back” shtick and I always dig that. I’ll probably be a high voter on this.

Masa Fuchi v Pete Roberts (5/5/87)
- This sort of felt like the “Tatsumi Fujinami v Johnny Londos” match of the All Japan set. It’s not as good as the Fujinami/Londos match on New Japan, but there was plenty of neat WoS style matwork. I thought Fuchi clasping his fingers together behind his back to keep Roberts from really cranking on a hammerlock was cool. It’s been a few days since I watched this so I don’t have a whole lot to say about it, but I’ll take pretty much any Fuchi I can get a hold of and this was an environment I had never seen him in before.

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Takashi Ishikawa & Hiroshi Wajima (6/8/87)
- Man, Hara just about looks like the greatest “enforcer” in wrestling history. Legs like tree trunks, barrel-chested, scowl that could make children cry...does a Hara v Masa Saito match exist? Because I feel like I need to see that. He’s been awesome in all of the ‘93 WAR stuff I’ve watched, but he’s 6 years younger here and a fair bit sprier as a result. He takes a monster bump of a lariat at one point that I rewound about 8 times. Tenryu and Wajima not being the best of friends is the story here and Tenryu screwing around with him in the early stages was great. He’ll goad him into the ring then he’ll tag Hara because Wajima is unworthy. Ishikawa is right there with Hara in all of the WAR stuff, but he’s not quite as burly and bullish at this point. He’s already learned how to eat a mean lariat, though. Really, this wasn’t a great match, but all of the nigliness and moments of guys losing their tempers will launch it up past a good amount of the earlier stuff that didn’t have a whole lot of content that sticks out to me, even if some of those matches are “better” as a whole.

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (6/9/87)
- Hara breaking up a Yatsu bridge attempt by headbutting him in the gut was the Hara Moment of the Match and really warrants several stars on its own. This was probably better than the last match even though this lacked Tenryu fucking with some dude because he feels like it. One of the “little things” I did love about this was the way Tenryu dodged a missile dropkick from Nakano, like he was legitimately surprised to see Nakano flying at him and just barely jumped out of the way before getting thumped. Tenryu and Yatsu hating each other never gets old.

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (6/11/87)
- This was pretty great and definitely my favourite of the three Tenryu/Hara tags to round out the disc. I’m not sure if this is the first match post-Tenryu turning heel that he and Jumbo were on opposing sides of, but it did a Hell of a job setting up what would no doubt be quite an explosion at some point down the line. They don’t go all out or anything, but you know they eventually will and you absolutely want to see it. There’s a spot where Tenryu slaps Jumbo right in the mouth to break an abdominal stretch and Jumbo’s “Motherfucker I will KILL you” look was amazing. This is also the best Misawa has looked under the hood so far, by a pretty big margin at that. He ramped up the stiffness with his strikes, blasted Tenryu in the face with a baseball slide (which Tenryu took an insane back bump into the barricade off of) and later wiped him out with a crazy plancha. Finish will probably annoy some folks, but I thought it was fine. I mean as far as DQ finishes go, this wasn’t close to being the worst or most deflating on the set. Top third is unlikely, but top half seems possible.

DVDVR All Japan Set, Disc 7

2011-08-13T13:54:00.001+01:00

This was a great disc, with a few matches I could see as outright #1 candidates. The 1/28/86 tag might be an all-time top 20 match for me.

Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85)
- I wasn’t really in the mood to watch this when I noticed how long the chapter on the DVD was, but I powered through it and actually came out the other end thinking it was one of the more pleasant surprises on the set so far. It’s 30 minutes and at times it feels like they’re losing direction or struggling to come up with ways to kill time, but I thought they did a MUCH better job at not straying into “we’re going to a time limit” territory than the previous match. Everybody gets isolated for at least a little while in this and Yatsu was probably the star in that regard. Hansen having his arm torn up felt like a more memorable segment, but Yatsu sells like a clear underdog and Hansen and Ted respond by giving him a whooping. Stan continues to rule the world and there’s a great moment where Yatsu is working over Ted in the ring, but veers to close to the wrong corner and Hansen just yolks him in and pounds on him. A little later Choshu does the same thing to DiBiase, which I thought was a pretty cool receipt of sorts. Finishing stretch felt really dramatic as well, and Hansen breaking the Scorpion Deathlock by staggering into the ring like he’s blotto and blasting Choshu with a lariat was a Hell of a spot. This should do really well on my list.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)
- Tremendous match, as good a candidate for the overall #1 as any. Not only did I come away from this thinking it was the best match so far, but I thought it was the best performance from every guy involved so far as well. The early “feeling out” segment is great as the “simmer” leading to the inevitable “boil”. It sets the table really well. It starts out with Jumbo and Yatsu and they establish the fact Yatsu will slap you right in the fucking face and that Jumbo will have none of it. When Yatsu slaps him Jumbo ‘s expression barely changes, but you can tell he’s going to repay in kind, and when he does he’s satisfied enough with that to toss Yatsu into his corner like a piece of garbage and demand that Choshu get in instead. Choshu comes in and subtly sells the bandaged ribs (that were busted up from a Jumbo and Tenryu attack not long before this) and that injury eventually becomes a big focus of the whole match. Tenryu’s first appearance is awesome, circling Choshu and winding up within striking distance of Yatsu, so he casually chops him just for the Hell of it. They move into a Choshu in peril segment after a sweet double lariat spot and Jumbo and Tenryu are just great at working him over. Tenryu punts him in the ribs; Jumbo tears off his bandages and puts him in an abdominal stretch; while he’s got him in the abdominal stretch he starts punching him in the ribs, etc. There’s this great moment where Yatsu tries to come in to do something about the mugging, and while the ref’ is trying to get him back out Tenryu just casually strolls over and slaps him in the face. Eventually Yatsu can’t take any more and nails Jumbo with a double axe handle off the top, and that buys Choshu enough time to make the tag. I love how Choshu just lies face down on the apron after making the tag. I love Tenryu running around to throw him into barricades and blast him in the ribs with a chair even more. Tenryu’s constant assault on Choshu is actually a really awesome little sub-plot all the way through this. There’s times where he’ll start laying into him for seemingly no reason other than the fact he hates him, and when things break down and all four guys are brawling he’ll always zero in on Choshu. Choshu’s sell job is probably the best of his career as well. There’s an especially cool spot late on where he manages to get the Scorpion on Jumbo but has to release it because the strain is too much. He isn’t really a guy that springs to mind when thinking of folks that add neat subtle touches to selling, but he even rules on that level here as well, at one point hitting a dropkick and selling the ribs because he landed on the side that’s hurt. He and Yatsu finally manage to score an advantage by posting Jumbo. Jumbo bleeds and Tenryu tries to murder Choshu again, and this match pretty much fucking rocks. Jumbo gets worked over for a spell until Tenryu decides enough is enough, and JESUS does he go about shutting Yatsu down in the greatest way possible. Yatsu has Jumbo in the Scorpion and Tenryu is so pissed off that he forgets how to run the fuggin ropes properly. But he runs them anyway and just fucking nukes Yatsu with a lariat. That spot is right up there with Hansen and DiBiase trying to cut off the circulation to Terry’s brain with a bullrope. Yatsu’s response by German suplexing him right on his motherfucking head was AMAZING and might be the best nearfall on the set. It had been so long since I had seen this that I had forgotten who even won, and that spot totally had me. Finishing run being capped off by one of the few clean and decisive finishes (up to this point) doesn’t exactly hurt, either. I watched this twice over the last couple days and after the first watch I pegged it as a good shout for the top 10. After the re-watch I’d be surprised if it drops out of the top 5.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
- This starts out with Yatsu telling Tenryu to be a real man and get in the ring while Choshu shit talks Jumbo from the apron, and when Jumbo’s attention is focused on Choshu, Yatsu dropkicks him to the floor where he and Choshu plant him with a spike piledriver. And well, that’s a Hell of a way to kick off a rematch. It’s not as good as the 1/28 match, but that might be a top 20 match of all time so it’d probably be unfair to expect something on that level. What it is, though, is a really fucking good match between two teams that are prone to having really fucking good matches. The opening mugging leads to a fairly lengthy Jumbo in peril segment. It’s not as heated as any of the previous week’s isolation segments, but Choshu is still nursing the bandaged ribs and there’s a great moment where he locks in the Scorpion but still struggles to keep hold of it, so he tags in Yatsu who picks up the slack and puts Jumbo right back in the hold. Yatsu and Tenryu really hate each other. When Tenryu gets the hot tag he and Yatsu start a really potatoey exchange of slaps that practically devolves into them both repeatedly punching each other in the face. Neither guy backs down an inch (they just keep hitting each other) so it’s left to Jumbo to actually come in and calm his own partner down. Choshu is pretty great at selling the injured ribs again here. He gets worked over for a spell much like in the last match, and Jumbo and Tenryu really zero in on them. One thing this does have over 1/28 is the finish. This has an AWESOME finish. Tenryu tries to behead Yatsu with a lariat and Yatsu manages to duck it and grab a waist lock. He’s trying to get him over for a German suplex and Tenryu is clinging onto the ropes for dear life, so Choshu runs along the apron and blasts him with a lariat. Tenryu’s grip is broken and Yatsu spikes him with the German while Jumbo flies out the ring in a fit of rage to get at Choshu, seemingly oblivious to the fact his partner just got dumped on his head. Won’t finish nearly as high as the 1/28 match, but I’d peg it as likely finishing in the top 50 all the same.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Higo Hamaguchi (3/13/86)
- ‘Grumpy Top Dog v Take-no-Shit Mid-Carder in way over his Head’ is a great match dynamic. Honestly, I was a little disappointed with this, but it was still a ton of fun and should safely land in the top half. The pre-feud-with-Choshu Jumbo generally didn’t do a great deal for me, but this is the Jumbo I fell in love with. He gives Hamaguchi a lot of time to beat on him, but he will also dish it out with a degree of almost dismissive contempt when he wants to. There’s a couple times where he’ll pick Hamaguchi’s shoulders off the mat to break a pin because he’s not done hurting him just yet. I usually hate that spot in matches because more often than not it makes no fucking sense, but it works in a situation like this. Dug the spot where he hoists him up for a piledriver and circles around the ring before finally dropping him on his dome, too. Was there ever a Jumbo/Kikuchi singles match? If not, WHY?

Genichiro Tenryu v Ole Anderson (4/5/86)
- This is pretty much the definition of “short and to the point”. It goes about 5 minutes and has Ole pounding on Tenryu’s arm before Tenryu decides enough is enough and kills him dead with a powerbomb. I liked how Ole would go about targeting the arm; punching him in the shoulder, throwing him into the post, waffling him with a chair, etc. He busts out quite a lot of stuff considering how little time they get. I won’t have this terribly low, because I dug it for what it was, but I can’t see it cracking the top half, either.

Masa Fuchi v Kuniaki Kobayashi (4/6/86)
- Oh man, FUCHI! This fucking ruled. Kobayashi starts this out like he did the Tiger Mask match by jumping Fuchi before the bell. Difference between this match and the Tiger Mask match, however, is that this Kobayashi pre-match ambush WAKES THE DRAGON! I mean Fuchi just turns around and fucking murders him. He beats on him with chairs, throws him into the post, and Kobayashi apparently takes an Irish whip into the barricade as good as he gives one because he totally SAILS into one here. He’s bleeding all over the place and Fuchi keeps on torturing him. He cocks his fist and looks to the crowd like he’s about to punch Kobayashi in his bleeding head. Then he punches Kobayashi in his bleeding head. This is the Fuchi you know and love. Underdog babyface Fuchi from the Chavo match was a cool novelty, but contemptuous dickhead Fuchi is the greatest and this is contemptuous dickhead Fuchi. I actually think it was Kobayashi that was working heel at the bell but he’s effectively turned babyface after Fuchi tries to slaughter him. Kobayashi seems to feed off of Fuchi’s recklessness and his comeback felt pretty vicious in its own right. He gets his revenge with the chair, but Fuchi is having none of that shit and piledrives him on the same chair. Finish is what it is, but if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times – if you’re going to do a DQ finish, you might as well do it with one guy trying to maim the other guy. And well Fuchi tries to maim the other guy and KICKS THE REFEREE IN THE UTERUS because he gets in the way. God damn I loved this.

Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask v Super Strong Machine, Shunji Takano & Hiro Saito (4/6/86)
- Hiro Saito has to be one of the scuzziest motherfuckers in wrestling history. I really don’t remember much of anything about this now, but Tenryu plays FIP for a while and scumbag Saito beats him up. Given the fact the Tenryu/Tarzan Goto match that was one of the Schneider Comps totally ruled, I can only imagine a Tenryu/Hiro Saito match being similarly bossy. I’m gonna have to toss this on the re-watch pile because I seriously remember so little about it that I don’t even know where to rank it.

Stan Hansen v Jumbo Tsuruta (4/19/86)
- This was fine, I guess. Still, it’s probably my least favourite Hansen match so far. It’s Jumbo who shoots out the gates here and attacks Hansen before the bell, which has to be the first time Hansen hasn’t gotten the jump on someone on the whole set, but it settles into a long-ish section with Jumbo controlling that I wasn’t really feeling. There’s some decent struggling over a headlock and it isn’t bad or anything, but not all that compelling, either. Second half picks up with Hansen going after Jumbo’s arm, wrapping it around the post, slamming it off chairs, etc. I love Hansen twisting the arm over the top rope and using his head to gain some extra leverage by pushing it into Jumbo’s shoulder. Then there’s a double count out. Feels like they have a much better match in them, and this won’t do particularly well.

Masa Fuchi v Hiro Saito (6/12/86)
- FUCHI!!! AGAIN!!! IS AWESOME!!! This was another really great performance from him, although completely different from his performance in the Kobayashi match. In the Kobayashi match he was a surly motherfucker that abused an opponent that dared jump him at the bell. Here, he’s wrestling a scumbag that manages to jump him at the bell and actually stay on top for an extended period of time from that point forward. He works the majority of this from the bottom as a result, but he’s equally great getting his ass kicked as he is kicking someone else’s ass. He bleeds from the ear all Terry Funk-like and the way he’ll sell his equilibrium being out of whack when he’s trying to mount a comeback is amazing. He staggers, throws a punch, staggers again, falls to one knee, struggles to regain his balance, slaps his ear to try and shake out the cobwebs...just great stuff. Finishing stretch is really good as well. The ref’ takes a spill and gives Saito a chance to cheat, and I was buying the nearfall it set up as being the actual finish. The fact Saito went on and won anyway was another cool twist. Saito wearing a t-shirt with a Canadian flag on the back gives this bonus points and Fuchi is the motherfucking greatest.

Genichiro Tenryu v Stan Hansen (7/26/86)
- My thoughts of “I’m thinking they have a better match in them” at the end of Jumbo/Hansen mirrored my thoughts at the end of this, but the difference here was that I thought this was still pretty fucking choice in its own right. Hansen is back to his old ways and rushes Tenryu at the bell, which means we’re already off to a good start. First half wasn’t spectacular (although we get a great close-up of a NASTY Hansen kneedrop), but once Tenryu takes over and goes to work on Hansen’s arm things pick up in a big way. I especially dug Tenryu kicking at the arm to shut down any momentum. Eventually Stan gets busted open, and the way he staggers around outside the ring is immaculate. I think Hansen is my favourite ever when it comes to selling exhaustion, stumbling around sucking wind with his mouth open wide enough to catch a seagull. He’s awesome at selling blood loss here as well. Finish is whatever, but the desperation lariat was a GREAT spot to set it up, as was the way Hansen wound up hurling himself out the ring after hitting it. Looked like he threw absolutely everything he had left into it. I’m really looking forward to seeing their matches from ’88, but as a sort of “toned down” version of Hansen v Tenryu (at least toned down from what I have in my head), I was happy enough with what I got.

Riki Choshu v Killer Khan (7/31/86)
- Christ, when Khan shows up to work he REALLY shows up. The Andre match from the New Japan set was terrific, the Gordy match from the Texas set was a bloody masterpiece, and this is another excellent match/performance. Choshu was really good in his own right, but I thought this was made by Khan’s facial expressions and general awesomeness. I love how he screams like a big maniac whenever he throws those Mongolian chops or stomps some dude in the head. And God damn are his kneedrops the best ever. He hits the big kneedrop off the top and it looks fucking spectacular, and a little later he hits a standing kneedrop to Choshu’s neck that looked pretty deadly as well. His missed kneedrop from the second rope to the floor was also an absolutely ludicrous bump for a guy that size. He spends the second half of this a bloody mess and does a Hell of a job selling the blood loss. My favourite moment of the match comes after the nearfall off the top rope kneedrop. He’s adamant it was a three count and can’t seem to get his head around the idea it was only two. Think the Ultimate Warrior talking to the Gods after Savage kicks out of the splash, only Khan is running around ringside covered in blood shouting “THREE!” at people in the front row. Most people that have been participating in the 80s project and picking up/watching the sets will probably have started to come around to the idea that Khan could be fucking awesome, and this only adds to his case. I’m not sure how he’d come across in a match to match basis, because I just haven’t seen enough, but the top tier Khan performances are legitimately fantastic.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Stan Hansen (7/31/86)
- Definitely preferred this to the first match, and honestly, if this turned out to be the best Jumbo/Hansen match on the set (although having watched the October match I can safely say it’s not) I wouldn’t have been too disappointed. They sort of hint at building this around duelling arm work, but Jumbo gets the knees up to block a Hansen splash (which was basically a Vader Bomb, which was basically awesome) and Hansen sells the shit out of the ribs, so we get lots of Jumbo offense targeting the ribs while Hansen tries to fight back by going to the arm. Jumbo slaps on an abdominal claw at one point and Hansen appears to be trying to shake him by going for an arm wringer at the same time, although that might not actually have been the case and I just bought into it because the idea sounded cool in my head. Have to mention Stan’s selling as well, because it was king sized the whole way through. Finish looked a little flubbed, but it was clean and Jumbo sold the arm in a way that suggested it was a result of the injury. I can’t see this landing top third, but top half is very likely.

Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/25/86)
- Fuyuki’s trunks are truly spectacular. They’re like the ones Austin would wear in the early 90s only more hideous. This had a decent enough first half, but it’s the spot where Choshu lariats Fuyuki off the top rope leading to a CRAZY Fuyuki blade job that shoots it up the ballot. I mean Choshu hits him with another lariat later and you can literally see the coat of blood on his face explode on impact. The whole second half is basically Fuyuki getting his ass handed to him while Tenryu assumes the role of chief ass kicker teaming with a much lower ranked partner who is out of his depth against Choshu and Yatsu (and being bloodied to shit doesn’t help, either). There’s a great spot where Yatsu tries to bulldog Fuyuki only for Tenryu to come in and put a stop to it with a lariat. As far as “decent first half, much better second half” matches on the set go, this wasn’t as good as the Jumbo/Tenryu v Hansen/DiBiase match from 8/31/85, but I still thought it was at least solid enough to land around mid-table.

DVDVR All Japan Set, Disc 6

2011-08-12T18:22:00.002+01:00

So Choshu's finally arrived and there was some real good stuff on this disc. You can see the shift towards the Choshu inspired style right from the moment he first appears, although the real top shit from the Choshu's Army v Jumbo/Tenryu feud is still to come.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Terry Gordy (10/29/84)
- Talk about a match of two halves. The first half didn’t do much for me at all, but Jumbo winds up getting posted and starts bleeding and from there things pick up quite a bit. The layout is pretty weird, especially when they’re going to a slow duelling figure-four spot after the stretch run appeared to have kicked off, but there’s a revenge posting and Gordy hits a bastard of a powerbomb so there’s always that. Crowd seemed strangely flat, though. These guys are rolling out some of the better spots I’ve seen so far and the heat for them is just not where it deserves to be. Finish is truly awful, but the second half was good enough to probably keep it floating somewhere around mid-range.

Genichiro Tenryu, Takashi Ishikawa & Mighty Inoue v Riki Choshu, Animal Hamaguchi & Isamu Teranishi (1/10/85)
- So Choshu and his army have arrived and the difference in style between this and a large chunk of the 50+ matches on the set up to this point is pretty clear (it’s the first all-native match as well). This is paced a lot faster and there’s a general sense of potential chaos that only the Hansen matches have really been able to capture (only with Hansen it’s not “potential”). In some ways it’s a taste of what’s to come, but it still stands up as a pretty great match in its own right. It’s also the first sign of grumpy Tenryu as he and Choshu are the marquee match-up. He’s not quite storming the ring to punt people in the eye yet, but he cheapshots Choshu while he’s standing on the apron and the cocoon of nice guy babyface is beginning to crack. Lots of great moments, like the Teranishi/Inoue slap battle while Inoue has him in some leglock...thing, Choshu (who was probably my favourite guy in this) creaming Ishikawa with a lariat because he dares to rip off the Scorpion Deathlock, Ishikawa responding by breaking Choshu’s own attempt at the hold by running him over with a shoulder tackle, and Tenryu chopping Hamaguchi in the throat as a partner save. I would’ve liked a longer FIP spell at some point to really sink my teeth into, and the finish is whatever, but this was a great intro to the feud and right now it’s sitting in my top 10.

Tiger Mask v Kuniaki Kobayashi (6/21/85)
- Kobayashi generally doesn’t do much for me and his juniors stuff on the New Japan set didn’t really do anything to change that, but he starts this out by spin kicking Misawa in the face and throwing him into the barricade so hard that it collapses, so that’s as good a way as any to turn me around on him. Unfortunately they hit the mat after that, and my interest doesn’t exactly plummet, but it certainly wanes. I mean this was not Fujinami/Kimura levels of juniors matwork. Eventually they put the foot down and the stretch run, while short, has another Misawa tope con giro that looked fuuucking sick. I think he had managed to injure his knee on a flubbed spot (must be the mask) not long before it which makes it even nuttier. And then we get the finish and that’s that. Didn’t hate this (the first minute and Misawa’s dive saved it from the absolute dregs of the ballot no matter what), but I can’t imagine it moving out of the bottom fifth.

Genichiro Tenryu v Riki Choshu (6/22/85)
- I really love this match-up. Almost everything they do together seems really uncooperative in a way that I dig the shit out of, and even when they mess up a spot here or there it adds to my enjoyment rather than detracts from it. The first half this is paced much slower than the two ’93 matches I watched recently, but I actually liked it a lot. Tenryu is really good at milking the Scorpion teases while working on Choshu’s lariat arm. There isn’t the same sense that they could get up and start cracking each other in the face at any moment that the ’93 matches have, but it’s a slow build that feels like it’s leading to a big climax. And that’s what we get when Tenryu drops Choshu right on his neck with a powerbomb. Momentum shifts when he hits a running bulldog out of the corner before trying another one only for Choshu to put the brakes on and plant him with a backdrop. There’s this great moment where Choshu hits a lariat with the bad arm and “winds up” for another, but the first one has taken more out of him than expected and he’s left buckled over in pain, like “Oh shit, that hurt me more than I thought it would.” Eventually Tenryu gets busted open and Choshu zeroes in on the cut like a shark smelling blood. When the ref’ tries to check the cut and Choshu starts manhandling him you know what’s coming, but Tenryu’s selling is pretty incredible and one guy stomping another guy into oblivion resulting in a DQ is a DQ finish I can always live with.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu v Riki Choshu & Killer Khan (8/2/85)
- Oh yeah, this was fucking GREAT. In some ways it felt like a precursor to the awesome WAR tags of the 90s, just full of piss and vinegar and palpable hatred. It starts out relatively civilised, but Khan and Jumbo slap the TASTE out of each other’s mouths and the civility is soon tossed out the window. This is the Jumbo that had me thinking he was the best ever a few years ago. In the beginning he’s content to try and grind it out with a headlock, but once Khan pisses him off with that slap he wants blood. Except he’s the one who ends up bleeding all over the place. First he hits an awkward looking lariat with his bandaged arm and sells it like he’s hurt himself, so Choshu and Khan go right to work on it. Then he gets posted and the blood FLOWS, so you’ve got Khan biting him in the head while twisting and pulling at his elbow. Tenryu’s hot tag leads to the greatest slap flurry of ALL TIME. You can literally see the sweat flying off of Khan entire face as Tenryu slaps the shit out of him. I thought Jumbo got tagged back in way too quickly considering he was covered in blood and had his face bitten off by a bald psycho and Tenryu had only been house o’ fire for about a minute, but it probably made the finish seem more dramatic. Tenryu running in to save his partner and Choshu completely obliterating him with a lariat was an amazing cut-off. I’ll be shocked if this leaves my top 40.

Stan Hansen v Terry Funk (8/23/85)
- This is just about the perfect pro-wrestling match-up; Funk might be the best ever at taking a shit kicking and Hansen might be the best ever at dishing one out. Terry’s let his hair and beard grow during his retirement and kind of looks like that homeless guy from The Simpsons that created Itchy and Scratchy. He wrestles this like Rambo if Rambo was a wino, all punch drunk and crazy yet dangerous. He could whip out a cleaver and gut you at any second. Hansen is your iron-fisted sheriff that will rid the town of vermin that live in bins and sleep with newspapers in their socks. Terry showed Hansen’s high school buddy’s nephew how to roll a joint out of A4 paper with a straw for a roach. Hansen is all “Don’t worry God dammit, I’ll take care of it.” Ted DiBiase is Hansen’s old high school buddy and Hansen wants to give him the satisfaction of ending this piece of shit. “He’s the reason Bobby’s clothes smell of dope. Kill him.” “Well hold on now, Stan...I didn’t mean for you to kill the guy. Can’t you just throw him in jail?” “Fuck that, we need to make an EXAMPLE. Won’t nobody miss him. Look at him fer chrissakes.” “Uh, I dunno Stan. I don’t feel entirely comfortable with this.” “Fine. Then let’s do it together.” And so they each grab an end of bullrope, wrap it around Terry’s neck and pull so hard it looks like his head’s about to pop off. Then Terry’s homeless brother hits the scene looking like Red Foreman – also rocking the hobo beard – and all Hell breaks loose. “God dammit, Stan, I thought you said nobody would miss him!” “Fuck it, we’ll kill him too.” “Aw Hell...” Not as good as the ’83 iteration as a match, but it might just be the greatest story ever told.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu v Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (8/31/85)
- Fresh off their slaughter of Terry the Hobo with a Shotgun, Hansen and DiBiase team up against the two top dog natives. Thought this chugged along nicely for about two thirds, then Jumbo posts Hansen on the floor and DiBiase gets briefly isolated, and from there it gets awesome. Jumbo reels off a string of big bombs on Ted and Ted just tries to survive long enough for Hansen to recover, and when he does they drag Jumbo out to the floor and paint a bullseye on his lariat arm. They basically do whatever they can to break his arm while keeping Tenryu as far away as possible. Great moment where Tenryu comes in to try and break up a double team only for Hansen to murder him with a lariat that Tenryu takes an amazing, almost Rock-taking-a-Stunner, bump off of. When he’s recovered a little later he gets back up on the apron and Hansen just pops him in the teeth with a punch that leaves him dead for a while longer. Finish was great, and unexpected to boot. This probably would’ve landed around mid-ballot if the last third was as “solid” as the first two thirds. But it goes from “solid” to “great” and that should keep it floating around the top 60.

Riki Choshu v Rick Martel (10/19/85)
- Aside from the strangeness of a World Title match having a 15 minute time limit, this was really damn good. Felt more “US than Japan” in the way it was structured, which was a nice change of pace. Choshu controls early by going after the arm and Martel is great at working around it, coming up to quicken the pace at the right moments, finding neat ways to get dragged back down, etc. I’m assuming this must be the first time Martel’s seen the Scorpion Deathlock because he sells the initial application (Choshu stepping his leg through, crossing Martel’s over) as if it’s a submission hold on its own, rather than just the struggle before “turning over”. Choshu letting go of the hold when Martel has nowhere to go seems like a pretty goofy thing to do, though. He does it twice here and I think he did it in the Tenryu match as well. Stretch run is really heated and the crowd are awesome and this was just a ton of fun.

Ric Flair v Rick Martel (10/21/85)
- In some ways this is my favourite Flair match on the set. Like Choshu/Martel, it was structured more like it would’ve been had it happened in America, and well I usually much prefer US Flair to Japan Flair. Martel was really fucking good yet again and I’m looking forward to seeing some more of him on Portland and AWA. Starts out with both guys working “clean”, Martel controlling most of it and coming out on top of exchanges. Flair is getting more and more frustrated and eventually takes over with an inverted atomic drop out of the corner, and this is definitely the most animated he’s been on the set. This is “You shut your mouth” Flair, which is awesome because I can’t imagine whoever he’s shouting at understanding a word of it. Thought the “opponent puts Flair in the figure-four” stuff was great here. Martel sells the leg like a champ when Flair’s working it over, and there’s a GREAT moment (after Martel’s had Flair in the hold) where Flair jumps on Martel’s leg and then crumples in a heap holding his own knee. Finish is pretty much a foregone conclusion, although it’s funny to see how much the crowd at the time were expecting it as well. Any time they spill out to the floor it’s like they sense it coming, and when someone gets back in there’s a huge pop because it means it’s continuing. Flair’s ’85 might be my favourite year for any wrestler ever, and this only adds to his “best in the world” (at the time) case.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/30/85)
- This was really good in parts (Tenryu as FIP, Jumbo/Choshu exchanges, Yatsu’s German suplex, etc.), but I thought it also had a fair bit of downtime that made it kind of obvious where they were going with it. I honestly don’t think I’ve seen any of the Choshu/Jumbo matches, but the build that goes into a singles match between the two was great here. Tenryu is a bad motherfucker and Yatsu is tough as nails, but at some point Jumbo and Choshu are going to get a hold of one another and that’s what it’s all about (at least that’s what it felt like they were building to). Using Hansen/Ted v Jumbo/Tenryu as a comparison, the first two thirds of that was a better level of “solid” than the first two thirds of this, and the final third of that was “great” while the final third of this was “really good”. That’ll go top half, but I don’t think this will.

DVDVR All Japan Set, Disc 5

2011-08-11T17:53:00.002+01:00

This was a really good disc, especially when Hansen showed up. Also thought this was the first disc where Jumbo *really* stepped up.

Chavo Guerrero v Mighty Inoue (2/26/84)
- Didn’t think this was as good as the Chavo/Fuchi match, but Chavo Classic is the man and I’ve liked all the 70s Inoue that I’ve seen. This isn’t 70s Inoue and wasn’t doing as much for me, but Chavo was working all pissed off again and busting out some neat stretches. Actually dug most of what they were doing on the mat, period, although it wasn’t fucking with Bock/Billy or anything. Flash finish looked really good, too. There isn’t nearly as much juniors stuff on this set as there was on New Japan, but there’s something about the idea of Chavo Classic being this set’s Gran Hamada or early 80s Fujinami that just tickles me. Actually Chavo was ON the New Japan set, wasn’t he? Mighty Inoue was not. Or was he?

Giant Baba v Stan Hansen (3/24/84)
- Hansen has to have one of the best entrances in history. His music sounds like something you’d hear when Clint Eastwood is chasing a posse of bank robbers, and he comes out swinging his bullrope at everybody like a maniac. He’s even wearing a cow hide here and seriously looks like the baddest motherfucker on the planet. He also totally RULES in this match. He launches his title belt at Baba during the introductions and starts laying into him in the corner while people are still chucking streamers into the ring. It might have been the best start to any match so far. Before long he gets caught with a big chop and stumbles out onto the floor, and he does this great dizzy sell where he falls over the railing. Match goes less than 10 minutes, but it’s mostly built around Baba working Stan’s lariat arm of mass destruction. Stan is really awesome at selling all of this (much like he does in the Andre match on the New Japan set) and trying to fight back in un-Hansen-like ways. You know, as opposed to punching a fucker dead in the face. As good as Hansen is, though, Baba is every bit as responsible for this being as good as it is. I get all of the Giant Baba criticisms. He’s lanky and has arms like Mr. Tickle and most of his offense looks awkward and goofy. But the guy is about as good at working smartly, within his physical limitations, as anybody I’ve seen. And really, big lanky dudes with Mr. Tickle arms tomahawking people in the forehead IS the pro-wrestling. Still, this is a Baba performance that even those who are down on him could appreciate, especially from an offensive point of view. His Baba chops are still Baba chops, but he’s busting out a bunch of great shit to work the arm (and he chops the arm a lot so it’s a neat way to further the story if nothing else). He rolls out a shoulderbreaker thing (not the one where you scoop the guy up into a tombstone position and drop his shoulder across your knee...I have no idea what this one is called, but it looks like it could mess your shoulder up so I’m running with shoulderbreaker), does a Russian leg sweep straight into a cross arm breaker that looked FUUUCKING boss, and there’s an amazing spot where Hansen is about to throw a desperation lariat and Baba counters with a drop toehold into a Fujiwara armbar. He also takes this crazy bump late on where Hansen just boots him in the throat and he falls backwards like an oak tree landing with his neck getting whipped across the bottom rope. It looked super nasty and I thought he was dead. They spill out to the floor at the end to tease the double count out, and we get a great ‘Hansen lariats the ring post’ spot. I watched this twice and the finish really deflated me the first time, not because I hated the idea of Baba saying fuck it and trying to break Hansen’s arm (because that is an idea I can get behind. THOSE chops were annoyingly shitty, however), but because I was loving what they were doing and didn’t want it to end so soon. Second time around I knew it was coming and it didn’t bother me much at all (although the chops don’t look any better – and I’m a guy that’s rambled a few times about how I don’t mind Baba’s strikes), and there’s no way this isn’t jumping into my top 10. The coolest thing might be that it’s an 8 minute match built around body part work yet it still feels like a street riot. This match-up is one of the best finds of the whole set for me and at this point I’d say Hansen is far and away Baba’s best opponent. He just seems to GET how to work with the big lug. Their first match from ’82 is also in my top 20 (working #11) and I’m really stoked that there’s another match to come.

Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody v Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (4/28/84)
- I also watched this twice, but I couldn’t really get into it either time. There’s some good stuff here, like Jumbo playing FIP and having his arm torn up, Hansen and Brody being surly bastards (I actively liked Brody a fair bit), and some nice back and forth down the stretch. For the most part it felt pretty directionless, though. I mean what they were doing was fine, but it never seemed to be leading anywhere. And I mentioned I liked Brody, but there’s a stupid spot where he gets whipped into the ropes and he just kind of throws himself out to the floor because he’s gearing up for a juicing and wants someone to post him. Someone obliges, but he doesn’t have the blade ready yet, so after he’s thrown into the post he sort of shrugs it off, because if you can’t cut yourself then who cares, right? You see him fidgeting around with his wrist tape, and when he’s ready he has someone post him again. Then you see him cut himself. Would you need more than one hand to count the number of Brody matches where he DOESN’T bleed? His dropkick at the end looked really sweet though, as did Tenryu’s head-first tumble off the apron. Feels like I might be missing something, but if I’m not sold after two sittings then I doubt I’ll bother going for a third.

Ric Flair v Harley Race (5/22/84)
- I wasn’t all that excited about the prospect of this, but I thought it turned out to be pretty damn good. You really pick up on a lot of similarities between the two here, from some of their offense (the kneedrop obviously comes to mind) to the way they both like to bump in big ways (both like to take the slam off the top, Flair has the Flair Flop while Harley has that spot where he stands on the apron and lands flat on his face when he gets brought back in, etc.), to the way they like to structure things. When I think ‘Touring World Champ’ I think Flair, and by extension I think of the Flair Formula. I’m sure there’s a ‘Harley Formula’ there if one watched enough Harley title defences, but the goal was generally the same (touring champ comes in to make challenger from whatever territory look like a threat). This kind of felt like Touring World Champ v Touring World Champ, which is a dynamic I found to be really cool. They do a bunch of shit that I thought was pretty great. Flair gets slammed off the top early and returns the favour late on. The early spot where Flair goes for an elbow and Harley rolls out of the way only for Flair to spot it, walk forward a few steps and hit it anyway is a spot I always like a lot. Flair catching a Harley kneedrop and immediately going into the figure-four was a great escalation spot down the stretch. Best part of the match is Harley whipping Flair into the corner and Flair taking his upside down bump, Harley picking him up and whipping him into the opposite corner where Flair goes upside down again and Harley celebrating, not noticing that Flair’s momentum carried him out onto the apron where he runs across to the next corner, scoots up top and catches Harley with a flying cross body as he’s turning around. Seriously, that was a fucking awesome spot that I marked out for. Clean finish was also a pleasant surprise. I shouldn’t be shocked at the fact I came away from a Flair match thinking it was really good, but still, I liked this more than I expected to and it’s my highest rated Harley match on the set.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Kerry Von Erich (5/22/84)
- I’ve been pretty apathetic towards Jumbo so far, but this held up like I hoped it would and Jumbo really felt like The Man here. I could also absolutely see someone pegging this as the best Kerry match ever (although I still like the Flair match from Hawaii and the ’88 Badstreet match on the TX set was the fucking business) and he totally held up his end as well. First fall didn’t actually do a ton for me after it was over, but if anything I think that’s because it works way better as a “part” of the whole story rather than a standalone fall (unlike the third fall, which works as a great payoff to the first two as well as being awesome on its own). Although I guess that’d be the whole point of an opening fall in a two out of three falls match? Whatever. Jumbo’s clearly the aggressor early and he starts rolling out the big bombs while Kerry is still trying to settle in to things. Kerry works an armbar for a little while and tries to build from the ground up, but Jumbo’s in no mood for a slow burn and wants the title NOW. He came close the year before against Flair only to run out of clock. That won’t happen again. To break an armbar early, Jumbo just hoists Kerry up on his shoulders and casually sits him on the top rope. Kerry gets more and more frustrated as the fall goes on, and when he gets the chance to sit Jumbo on the turnbuckle later he gives him a shove, clearly annoyed at not being able to do much of anything so far. The claw tease that leads to Jumbo blocking and Kerry throwing it on the stomach was a nice taster of things to come, and Jumbo winning the first fall with a big string of offense was a good way to further the idea that he’s definitely the more aggressive of the two. If Joe Rogan was doing commentary he’d tear Kerry a new one. Second fall starts out with Jumbo picking right up where he left off and soon enough Kerry winds up bleeding. Jumbo doesn’t slow down one bit and if anything the blood spurs him on, at one point laying into Kerry in the corner so much I thought for a second Higuchi might DQ him. Kerry going to the sleeper as a means of somehow slowing things down was really good. Thought the finish to the second fall was great with Kerry locking in the claw, Jumbo doing a nice tease of an escape, and Kerry refusing to let go of it after he’s evened things up. Felt like the moment where he realised he’d HAVE to up the aggression or else he wouldn’t leave with the belt. Joe Rogan would have far kinder words for Kerry at the end of this round. Third fall is really awesome and would probably have jumped into my top 20 on its own. The fact it builds on the first two falls and serves as a pay off (or as close to one as the non-finish permits) launches it into the top 10. Jumbo is great at responding to going down in the second by zoning right in on Kerry’s claw hand, stomping on it, wrapping it around the ropes, smashing it into the ring bolt, just going to town on it. Kerry does a fine job selling it all, throwing a punch at one point – half out of habit, half out of desperation – and instantly recoiling in pain. When he switches it up and throws a forearm instead, Jumbo grabs hold of the arm and goes to a cross armbreaker, basically going from working the hand to the elbow. I thought that was great and one of the best “little touches” of the match. Double count-out finish is still a double count-out finish, but the backdrop/claw combo on the floor that led to it was a good spot. I honestly have no clue where this’ll end up at the end, but it’s a great match and *should* stay in my top 30.

Ric Flair v Kerry Von Erich (5/22/84)
- Well this was pretty dull. First fall did nothing for me at all, and the crowd sitting on their hands never helped matters. They were doing things that would’ve gotten huge reactions in Texas (fuck, they were doing things that DID get huge reactions in Texas), but this crowd never seemed interested at all. The crowds have generally been hot ever since Hansen showed up, but this was not hot. Second fall is much shorter, but other than Flair scoring a fall via figure-four I don’t remember anything about it. Picks up quite nicely in the third, though, and they do some neat stuff, like working a sort of ‘figure-four versus the claw’ story which leads to the always-cool spot where Kerry locks on the claw while Flair has him in the figure-four. Still, this might be the weakest iteration of this match-up that I’ve seen. The handful on the Texas set were good to great; the Mid-South matches were really good; I remember the St. Louis match from January ’85 being great, and the Hawaii match from the same year is a MOTDC. They work *extremely* well together. This fell way short of my expectations of a Flair/Kerry match. Bottom 10 right now, probably won’t go much higher.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Rick Martel (7/31/84)
- Martel is a guy I’m really looking forward to seeing more of when the AWA set rolls around, and I got a good taster here because this was a great match. The early parts felt similar to the early parts of Jumbo/Kerry, with Jumbo not caring for any sort of tentative approach and throwing bombs right from the jump. Martel’s approach is different, opting to go after the leg briefly before settling into working the arm. Difference between this and the Kerry match is that Martel gets more time to work the body part (Jumbo was on top most of the match versus Kerry) and he’s really good at it, keeping things engaging, moving it along nicely, always managing to convey a sense of struggle. Eventually it progresses past that and the last 10 minutes feels like an awesome extended finishing stretch. Martel is really terrific here in ways that I can’t really explain. It’s just something about the way he moves and takes/sells everything. Couple huge nearfalls including a cross body off the top, and Martel down the stretch is as good as any of the touring world champs that have shown up so far. This is my third highest ranked Jumbo match at this point and currently in my top 10, although the late 80s stuff to come leaves me with no clue as to where it’ll finish.

Stan Hansen v Giant Baba (7/31/84)
- Honestly, this might be my favourite series on the set so far. I’ve got three of their matches in my top 15 with one of them being my working #7. I liked this a little less than their third match, but this has a good clean finish and it’s not like the rest of it is a huge step down. They’re both similar in that Baba works the lariat arm again, and I thought it was all really good stuff. Hansen also continues to be a king at taking and selling all of Baba’s offense. The idea that Hansen was just a dude that was stiff as Hell and good in a crazy uncontrollable brawling setting is a talking point I’ve seen a few times, and I can’t for the life of me understand how someone could come to that conclusion if they had watched stuff like this. I mean he is a dude that’s stiff as Hell, and he’s pretty much the God of crazy uncontrollable brawling, but he’s been amazing working opposite Baba every time out and it’s not like those matches are the only examples of him *not* working crazy uncontrollable brawling and still ruling it. There’s still the element of chaos, but that’s because it’s HANSEN and there’s ALWAYS going to be that kind of aura with him. The point is, this isn’t something you normally see people point to as a “Hansen match”, but here he is being fucking great just because. And the lariat kick-out spot is the best nearfall on the set. This was the bomb.

Tiger Mask v La Fiera (8/26/84)
- This was actually one of the first matches I watched on the set and I came away from it thinking La Fiera was fucking awesome. Watching it again, I get the same impression. Misawa doesn’t seem completely comfortable in the Tiger Mask gimmick, but this was a WAAAY better intro to this set’s Tiger Mask than the New Japan set’s. He hits a spectacular tope con giro that leaves a bunch of shit around the ring, including Fiera, looking like it was just hit by a car. Fiera’s bumps are great, the highlight being his bump off a monkey flip that racked up some serious air miles. He’s also kind of Zbyszko-esque in his constant “OOH”ing which I always get a kick out of. This set hasn’t had as many matches that just sort of breeze by with the “fun factor” as New Japan did, but this was definitely fun and I doubt it’ll fall out of my top half.

Chavo & Hector Guerrero v Gran Hamada & Mighty Inoue (9/12/84)
- Oh shit, I must’ve missed this when I skimmed through the match list because I had no idea there was any HAMADA on the set. Dude looks the same here as he did on an M-Pro match from 10 years later that I watched a couple months back. He is ageless and the fucking greatest. Hector looks so much like Eddy circa 1996 that it’s crazy. Still, this was all about Hamada and his awesome armdrags. He actually flubs a spot at one point that I think might legitimately be the only thing I’ve *ever* seen that guy mess up. This is another match that’s a nice change of pace from some of the heavyweight stuff. The New Japan set burned me out at points, but there was far more variety in styles over the first handful of discs than there is here, so something like this and the Fiera match really hit the spot in terms of just sitting back and watching guys go out and breeze through a “fun match”. I doubt I’ll have it top 50 or anything at the end, but it’s in the top half right now. And the Guerreros post-match RULE.

Ric Flair v Genichiro Tenryu (9/12/84)
- This was really disappointing. The first fall in particular just felt flat and I’d probably have enjoyed it more if it happened ten years later. They would’ve at least chopped the shit out of each other in ’94. I’ve actually liked all of the early Tenryu stuff a good deal despite the fact it’s been nothing like the grumpy Tenryu I’m used to (Grumpy Tenryu is probably tied with Eddie Guerrero as my all-time favourite wrestler), but I found myself missing that Tenryu here. Flair snapping and trying to break Tenryu’s leg was a fine DQ finish, but I really wanted more from this.

That Time I Got Drunk With Tenryu #9

2011-08-10T17:43:00.002+01:00

I've watched a good amount of awesome shit since I last did one of these, mostly thanks to the 1993 yearbook that people really need to pick up if they haven't already (because it fucking rules). That and the All Japan 80s set has me leaning towards the idea that Stan Hansen is the fucking best wrestler ever. And I know I've said it before, but the WAR v New Japan feud is ridiculously great.

Stan Hansen v Andre the Giant (New Japan, 9/23/81)

"Like watching plate tectonics with humans." "Watching them is more like getting to eavesdrop on warring storm gods." "Looks like a Jack Kirby splash page." "Real-life Godzilla battle." -- I don't know if there's ever been a match that inspires so many extravagant metaphors or similes. I had this #2 on my New Japan ballot, and if I had to come up with a "10 matches you'd take to a desert island" list, this would probably be on it. It's also the match that made me think of Andre as one of the all-time great big men in wrestling history. Hansen is as great as Stan Hansen always is, but other than him working almost as an underdog babyface - which I guess is pretty extraordinary in its own right - he doesn't do a whole lot here that I hadn't seen him do before. I mean Hansen being Hansen is something you always want to see. It's not like he's merely "going through the motions" or is just "along for the ride" -- he's most definitely not. He's great. He's HANSEN. But it's Andre that steals the show. I've seen this about 5 times now and he is flat out amazing every single time. He boots Stan in the face while he's *stepping over the ropes* and just rules it so hard from there on out. He works Hansen over with a bearhug initially until Stan reels back and cracks him with a lariat-esque clubber of a forearm, so he switches strategy and starts working the lariat arm. Hansen sells of this like a king and Andre is SO great picking him apart, headbutting him in the elbow (and selling his own head afterwards like he just headbutted a coconut), twisting the arm around the ring ropes, cranking and pulling at it, etc. Hansen has this great hope spot where he punches Andre in the leg, and Andre wails like a grizzly bear that's just been shot in the thigh. There's another awesome moment where Andre is about to hit a falling headbutt and Stan rolls out of the way, but Andre spots it just before he's left his feet and laughs at Hansen's futility. Eventually Hansen takes over by slamming Andre (which is a fucking great transition spot) and not long after this they wind up spilling out to the floor where the match eventually gets thrown out for either a double DQ or a double count out...the insanity makes it difficult to tell, which is exactly how it should be. And well this would've been a terrific match had it ended right then and there, but neither guy wants that shit and the ref' decides to restart it, and the crowd reaction to this is just out-of-this-world spectacular. They get right back to killing each other and it culminates with Hansen hitting a fucking BLISTERING lariat. Andre's bump to the floor is perfect, like he's just been hit by a fire engine. The pop for this is amazing. Whole match has been building to it and when it comes it gets the reaction it deserves. Andre's response to just having his chest caved in is to slip on his own elbow pad, much like the one Hansen wears on his lariat arm, and there is a stir of panic through the crowd because...well what the fuck does THIS mean? Is it loaded? Was it doused in sobriety? For surely that would be the end of Stan Hansen! Stan is obviously pissed and wants it removed. Andre doesn't care and wants to keep it on. The ref' talks too much so Andre just throws him into the ropes and lariats him in two. That might be the best DQ finish ever. And we're off to the races again with a bunch of ring boys getting mowed down while the Thunder Gods try to END each other. Spectacular match and one I don't think I'll ever stop enjoying.

Hiroshi Hase v Nobuhiko Takada (New Japan, 3/11/88)

I had this #15 on my New Japan ballot. After watching it again, without thinking too hard about it, I'd probably bump it up about 10 places. This is a really terrific match, maybe the best of either guy's career and I’m struggling to think of a better Takada performance. I'm not much of a fan of his, but I thought he was pretty spectacular here, especially in the first half. Going through the New Japan set I actively dreaded watching him in singles matches. I lost count of the number of times he'd hit the mat and I'd be itching to lean on fast forward. There's none of that here as Hase jumps him at the bell with a lariat and tries to choke him out, and while Hase is good at beating on him, it's Takada's selling that really puts it over the top. When he finally manages to mount a comeback he's still selling grogginess and I loved how he transitioned into offence by slowly gaining momentum (after the first big strike), always "shaking the cobwebs". Once he's in control he busts out every submission move in his arsenal to put Hase away, and at this point it's Hase's turn to sell like a king. The way he eats Takada's big kicks and teases the knockout is fucking awesome, all jelly legged and shit. The stretch run is SHOCKINGLY good as they're rolling out a boatload of spots and bombs without veering into overkill territory and even the ref' bump doesn't push it over the edge. Takada's dragon suplex looked SUPER nasty, too. Honestly, I was surprised this held up as well as it did when I watched it going through the New Japan set, but I legitimately loved it this go around and unless any of the late-80s Fuchi stuff on the All Japan set pips it, this is my pick for the best juniors match of the decade.

Stan Hansen v Toshiaki Kawada (All Japan, 2/28/93)

Well fuck my face. This is everything you want it to be. No, fuck you, I DO mean everything. These guys are two of the greatest asskickers of all time, and sure enough they spend twenty minutes just trying to kill each other in a total shitstorm of nuclear violence. I honestly lost count of the number of instances of molten savagery after about five minutes. I mean Kawada tries to full force punt Hansen's spleen into the third row. Hansen is all "I take umbrage" and just fucking drops his entire body weight onto Kawada's head with a knee drop. They stand in the middle of the ring and rifle off kicks on each other's kneecaps. It was like watching two guys try to imitate the fight they had on Mortal Kombat that afternoon except Hansen can't physically do that thing that Scorpion does with the little monster shooting out of his hand so instead he MURDERS Kawada with the absolute motherfuckingest fatality of a lariat. He hits him so hard he winds up launching his OWN ass out the ring. And I almost forgot about him doing an Austin Aries bullet tope where he jumps between the middle and bottom ropes and knocks Kawada back with so much force he almost breaks the guardrail with his head. But you can watch a month's worth of Japanese wrestling from 2011 and you're pretty much guaranteed to see a metric ton of stiff strikes. The clear difference between this and the large majority of current Japanese wrestling is that THESE guys are selling the absolute shit out of it. The brutality only works as well as it does because the selling is off the charts. Tell me somebody in 2011 has sold something as well as Kawada sells the finish of this and I'll call you a crummy liar. I love their match from the previous year. That was some seriously hot shit, but this is, like, third degree burns or something. Something hotter, maybe. I wish I had a decent Mortal Kombat reference at hand.

Mitsuharu Misaswa v Toshiaki Kawada (All Japan, 3/27/93)

Hell of a match. I'm a third of the way through the '93 yearbook and right now Kawada is looking like a good candidate for the best wrestler in the world (although Tenryu is starting to run away with that prize). He's a machine in this, absolutely unloading on his at-the-time tag partner (which is quite the appetizer for what would happen when they split the next month). Misawa is really great fighting mostly from underneath as The Man, and probably has as good a shout for being the best in the world at the time as Kawada, but I'm more inclined to lean towards the guys that'll just haul off and punt you in the nose, and well Kawada is pretty much guaranteed to haul off and punt you in the nose at least twice a match. I obviously have the benefit of having seen a ton of 90s All Japan already, so I know Kawada splits from the Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi group and goes on to feud with Misawa for the next hundred years and they have a bunch of matches that have been talked about to death a million times by a million people. So there's a good chance that's colouring me perceptions of Kawada's performance here...but the way he just goes for the jugular right from word one is a pretty good indication that, even without the benefit of hindsight, this partnership might not be long for the world. He throws a couple kicks in particular that look ridiculously nasty, especially the one down the stretch that leaves Misawa with a cut just below the eye. Misawa of course sells all of this like you expect him to and I actually bit on a couple of the nearfalls even though I was 99% sure of the outcome. I could see someone being iffy on the finish, but I thought it was pretty great and as soon as it happened I figured it was game over. It's been about 4 years since I watched any of the Misawa/Kawada matches other than the '92 Triple Crown match, so I don’t know where I'd put this amongst everything else, but as a "launch pad" (although I guess their match later in the year after the split would be a better "launch pad") this was awesome and worthy of multiple stars and Easter eggs.

Shiro Koshinaka, Kengo Kimura, Akitoshi Saito & Kuniaki Kobayashi v Ashura Hara, Koki Kitahara, Ricky Fuyuki & Super Strong Machine (WAR, 4/2/93)

This WAR v New Japan feud is one of my favourite things in wrestling history. Practically every single time there's a WAR guy against a New Japan guy something spectacularly violent happens. This is just wild and crazy and loaded with palpable hatred. Team WAR might be the best team of lumpy thugs ever. The NJ team has its share of dudes that will smack you directly in the nose as well, but they carry themselves with a little more class. They're a hit squad that demands a moderately high price. The WAR guys look like pig farmers that will blow up a KFC because McDonalds offered them 2 Happy Meals. EACH. Fuyuki is a total scumbag. Hara is sort of loveable in a total scumbag sort of way. Kitahara is a scumbag that I find myself loving. SSM is a scumbag in a mask. Pro-wrestling is nothing without its scumbags and Team WAR is the pro-wrestling. Kitahara was especially awesome in this, rifling off a shit load of hellish kicks, punting Saito in the eye with the toe of his boot – you can tell he's learning from the boss. Koshinaka is way, way more fun to me in this feud than he was practically any time he showed up on the New Japan 80s set. He might have been my favourite New Japan guy here, primarily because he punched people in the nose and carried himself like a guy that was above his opponents, which he would display by assaulting them. Saito also needs some love because that guy was seriously THROWING the kicks. Almost any time his right leg left the ground I got the sense someone's chest might get caved in. And then he winds up eating an extended beatdown and holy shit does he get kicked square in the beak like a man. This fucking ruled.

Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa v Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto (WAR, 4/2/93)

Yet another WAR v New Japan tag, yet another violent masterpiece. I'm convinced Tenryu is the absolute best "Fuck you for I despise you" wrestler ever. I've seen a truckload of pissed off Tenryu performances where he just oozes contempt. Tenryu working as violent bastard with contempt for his opponent is one of my favourite things in wrestling. This is as rampantly pissed off as I can recall seeing him and my God is it a spectacular performance you want every second of. I mean it's not like he’s carrying this on his back or anything, because all four guys seriously bring it here. Ishikawa is amazing at hurling cheapshots from the apron, running into the ring so he can plaster someone, refusing to be outdone by the three Rottweilers he's wound up in a match with. Choshu and Hashimoto are two all-time great ass-kickers and they're working a Tenryu fed so there is nothing to stop them from completely uncorking with all sorts of nasty shit. Really, there isn't much more you can ask for from those three. But Tenryu just takes it one step further. It's like being at a party with Keith Richards. You can snort all the cocaine you can find, but Keith will do all that, fuck a mountain goat and eat his weight in plasticine. You cannot out-debauch Keith Richards. Can't be done. You cannot out-violent Tenryu. Can't be done. The opening exchange with Hashimoto – the Tenryu/Hashimoto match-up is the main "storyline" of this in a lot of ways – feels like an honest to goodness fight, like two bikers rolling around on the piss-stained floor of a nightclub. When Choshu tags in, Tenryu never takes his eyes off Hashimoto and points to him like "You'll get yours, prick." When they next wind up back in the ring together they have a truly epic staredown and proceed to just thump the holy shit out of each other. Like the 3/7 tag where Ohara got bloodied and brutalised, things hit that next level up when Choshu gets cut open and Team WAR go to town on him. Tenryu is just ridiculously great at going right after him. It's like the shackles well and truly come off and he won't be content until his boot is covered in Choshu’s blood, repeatedly punting him in the eye and shoving the ref' on his ass when he tries to stop him. The crowd even starts booing him and you get the sense they're genuinely concerned that he might actually blind Choshu. Eventually Hash gets the hot tag (although Choshu making sure to blast Ishikawa with a lariat before tagging out was an awesome spot) and holy shit is this a hot tag. Tenryu tries to get in the ring to cut him off and Hash boots him clean in the jaw as he's stepping through the ropes. Tenryu also has this great "heavyweight boxer on the ropes" sell that he does for Hashimoto's kick flurries and there is an amazing visual of him eating a shot to the temple and making this face like he's about to throw up. Then Ishikawa says fuck it and starts throwing crazy cheapshots, and that leads to Hashimoto in peril. And this match goes up ANOTHER level. I'm not sure which shot did it, but before long Hash has a bloody nose and looks half dead. Hashimoto is a great seller, but can you imagine how much you'd need to thoroughly lay it in in order to make it plausible that a snowplough of violence like Hashimoto is in serious danger? A lot, that's how much. Finish is great and might feature the best Tenryu "blinded by rage" moment of the whole match as he just bull rushes Choshu in the corner and punches him senseless (Choshu wasn't the legal man and I'm not even sure he did anything that'd normally necessitate such a mugging), oblivious to the fact Hashimoto just planted his partner on his head with a DDT. Of course Tenryu isn't satisfied and instantly starts another fight, which leads to a huge pull-apart that these WAR v New Japan matches pull off spectacularly well. And then Tenryu gets on the mic and calls Hashimoto a punk bitch and Choshu a punk bitch and hurls the microphone at Choshu's face. And I'm pretty sure he tries to kick someone in the head just for standing near the ring. This was really terrific stuff.

DVDVR All Japan Set, Disc 4

2011-08-09T18:14:00.002+01:00

My internet conked out for a while there, but I've been blowing through this set even if I haven't bothered talking about it (or haven't been able to, rather). I'll catch up at some point, though.

Ric Flair v Jumbo Tsuruta (6/8/83)
- This is really, really good stuff, but it didn’t strike me as the absolute slam dunk that I remembered and figured it’d hold up as. I expected it to be a top 15 lock going in, and while I can’t see it falling out of the top 40, I’d be surprised if it stays in my top 20 (so I’m still fairly sure I’ll be a low voter on it). Hour long matches generally aren’t my cup of tea anymore – at this stage I’d rather see Funk and Hansen try to hang, draw and quarter each other for 15 minutes – and I don’t particularly love a great deal of Flair’s stuff in Japan, anyway. First fall is a strong slow-burner, and there’s some good stuff in it. Thought Jumbo was far more interesting on the mat here than he was in their first two matches, and everything felt like more of a struggle as a result. Flair is a guy I always like working basic holds, but I tend to get more out of it when he’s working stateside. Jumbo’s all over him for most of the first half hour and Flair is never able to sustain any sort of advantage. Jumbo’s flurry at the end of the fall is really good and capped off by a great looking backdrop. Second fall has Flair come out as if he knows he has to change his approach and lets loose with the strikes, including his awesome punches to the armpit. Final 20 minute spell is what I always remembered as being the stretch that pushed this into the top level, and it still held up as being terrific. Flair getting cut open is really when things kick up a few gears and they don’t slow down from that point on. Great spot where Flair is hanging upside down in the corner while Jumbo lays into his blood-blond head. Felt like a scene from a Jason movie with Flair as your Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan or some other walking STD being strung up in an abattoir. Last ten minutes are basically built around Flair continually going back to the figure-four while Jumbo refuses to quit, and it’s pretty remarkable how much drama they get out of it considering the hold is applied for minutes at a time. Flair knows the score and just trash talks and shouts at Higuchi to count Jumbo out, and as much of a gutsy motherfucker Jumbo comes across as for not quitting, Flair equally comes across as a guy that, despite how often it might seem like he’s escaping by the skin of his teeth, will fight tooth and nail to keep his title whenever it’s in jeopardy. This is in my top 6 right now, but I think the fact it won’t stay up in the very top tier is a sign of how my tastes have shifted pretty considerably since the last time I watched it (about 4 years ago now) rather than there being anything “wrong” with it.

Terry Funk v Nick Bockwinkel (7/12/83)
- Oh man, this was GREAT. It’s unfortunately JIP, but I don’t think we miss much. I thought the matwork during the first 15 or so minutes was far more interesting than anything in the first fall of the Flair/Jumbo match above. Lots of great touches, like Terry trying to break Bock’s grip on a headlock by grinding his forearm back and forth across his ear so Bock starts cranking and trying to give him some mean cauliflower ears, and there’s another moment where Terry is twisting Bock’s ankle at the joint and Bock tries to peel his grip, so Terry just backhands him right in the jaw. Eventually Bock takes over and starts working Terry’s knee, and Terry is just spectacular at selling the damage from then on out. Dude seriously looks like the best in the world here, standing up only to collapse under the strain, stumbling around on one leg, picking Bock up for a suplex and almost losing the match because he can’t stay upright (leads to Bock falling on top of him for a cool nearfall), shouting “COME ON, GODDAMMIT!” while trying to reverse a figure-four, generally selling the FUCK out of said figure-four, etc. Bock is also really good at working him over and captures a real sense of urgency. He’s the World Champion, but Terry is a Funk and a total maniac with more guts than brains, so when you create an opening you need to capitalise on it. Eventually Funk decides to fight fire with fire and goes after Bock’s leg, and that of course leads to the spinning toe hold spot where Bock is trying like crazy to shake him. Even their mini-brawl on the ring apron leading to the finish was choice. I might be overrating this, but I’ve got it as my working #5, one spot ahead of the Flair/Jumbo broadway. For a guy who I’m not much of a fan of, Bockwinkel has been in two really awesome matches so far, both of which are in my top 5. Funk continues to rule the fucking earth.

Chavo Guerrero v Masa Fuchi (8/31/83)
- It is almost surreal seeing Fuchi play total underdog babyface against a surlier opponent. When I think of surly, I think of Fuchi. But here he is, hitting top rope dropkicks and refusing to be stretched to the point of submission. When I think of guys stretching other guys, I think of Fuchi torturing Kikuchi. I can honestly say I’ve never seen Fuchi in this role, but fuck it, he’s Fuchi and rules it either way. This was way more “fun” than “great”, but they do a ton of really cool things and I really enjoyed it. Chavo blows a Romero Special and is visibly annoyed, and from that point on he ups the nastiness. Crowd is 100% behind Fuchi and he makes a bunch of fired up underdog babyface expressions that I’m not used to seeing. Chavo’s rolling Boston Crab is boss. So is his plancha, all piss and vinegary. His riling up of Onita post-match is pretty tremendous as well.

Terry & Dory Funk v Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)
- Yeah, this was spectacular, from the pre-match to the match itself through to the post-match. Terry and Hansen just despise each other and everything they do together is AMAZING. Actually everything they do is amazing, period, but when they’re in (or out) there together it reaches another level. This is Terry’s retirement match (his first one, anyway) and the crowd is insanely pro-Funk (goes for both Funks, but especially Terry). At the intros he and Hansen start trash talking and it devolves into a brawl out on the floor amongst the streamers and fans. Back in the ring Hansen whips Terry into the ropes and goes for the lariat, and the pop for Terry grabbing hold of the ropes while Stan swings at mid-air is mind blowing. Terry is really the star here, but Hansen is a close second and it’s not like Gordy and Dory are mailing it in, either. This is one of the more inspired Dory performances on the set, and while his FIP spell isn’t as strong as Terry’s (probably because Terry is better than him in practically every single facet...although Terry’s better than most wrestlers in every single facet so whatever), the crowd are good and rabid for it. He does unload with a flurry of dropkicks down the stretch that had the crowd going NUTS. I mean they aren’t Kevin Von Erich or Skip Young level dropkicks, but it feels like “big match” Dory offence, and well, this was big match Dory (at least when it comes to 80s Dory). Gordy is rompin’ and stompin’ and totally brings it here as well; huge bumps, great punches, lays in a nasty beating – pretty much exactly what you want out of him in this situation. And holy FUCK does his entrance gear kick ass. But yeah, Hansen and Terry. Terry is just itching to get a hold of Hansen and he is a total king working the apron as guy that desperately wants to get the tag. Any time Hansen comes near him Terry takes a swing and a bunch of times he almost lands himself head-first in the ring he’s swinging so hard. Marty Jannetty loved to do that spot and I can totally see him lying stoned on his couch watching a bunch of Terry Funk tapes and eating stale Corn Flakes. The pop for the hot tag is ridiculous and the fist fight that ensues between him and Hansen is just about the best moment on the entire set so far. Hansen punches Terry and Terry stares at him in complete and utter contemptuous defiance. Hansen punches him again. And again. Last punch sends Terry spinning almost in a pirouette, and when he rotates all the way around he just cracks Hansen right in the sternum and unloads with a follow up flurry on the button. When Hansen goes down...man, you just do not get stuff like that in wrestling anymore. Terry’s FIP spell is awesome as well, from the blade job to the incredible sell job of the leg; everything. He really looks like the best ever here. And the post-match is really something words don’t do any justice to. This is my working #2, but I could just as easily stick it on top of the pile.

Genichiro Tenryu v Ted DiBiase (10/23/83)
- So I’ve watched a pretty hefty chunk of 90s Tenryu over the last 6 months or so. This is not 90s Tenryu. There is no seething hatred in this match. He doesn’t kick DiBiase in the face or kidneys ONCE. This was a totally different kind of Tenryu. He doesn’t even sneer in a way that SUGGESTS he’s going to punch someone in the throat. But I’ll be damned if this match isn’t the fucking biscuits. I was actually really shocked at how slick Tenryu looked on the mat in the Mil Mascaras match a couple discs back, because when I think of Tenryu I think of the punting and stiffness and contempt, not the slick matwork. That match was obviously not a fluke because here he is again working the mat in a bunch of really interesting ways. He spends a decent amount of time in particular working Ted’s arm, and as good as Tenryu is and as much of a Tenryu fan as I am, I was surprised at just *how* much I was digging all of it. I mean what he was doing isn’t quite on the level of what Bock and Robinson or even Bock and Funk were doing in those two singles matches elsewhere on the set, but for someone that was always considered a step or two below Jumbo right up until they started feuding (and even then you’d probably find more leaning in favour of Jumbo), Tenryu struck me as being *way* more compelling working holds and doing basic things than Jumbo has at any point so far. You won’t find him doing a bunch of shit that Volk Han will end up cribbing, but he keeps things moving along really nicely and has lots of neat ways to “work holds”. And I guess I’ll take this time to mention that Ted does a really nice job selling the arm. After a while they start rolling out a ton of big offense and we hit another gear. Ted busts out a great looking powerslam, Tenryu splats him with a tope, there’s nearfalls aplenty...and as much as I really should not be, I find myself being surprised at just how fucking boss this match is. Finish is kind of a letdown, I guess, but at the same time it’s something one probably has to expect. Tenryu is the greatest and this should do well.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Harley Race (10/26/83)
- This had its share of highlights, but it suffered from some real downtime and probably would’ve benefited from being about 10 minutes shorter. First ten minutes or so were fine again, but I’m struggling to remember anything about them, which has been the story with a lot of the Jumbo singles matches. Once they shift gears it gets real good, though. Crowd is rocking for a bunch of nearfalls and there were a couple in particular that I thought might have actually been the finish. Then, for whatever reason, Race decides to slow it way back down just as the crowd heat peaks and slaps on a headlock. Finish was pretty creative if a little shitty looking, but this isn’t really a match-up that does much for me, especially when it’s going over half an hour. I was surprised by how much I wound up liking their 8/1/82 match, but even that won’t land sky high and this seems destined for the bottom half.

Genichiro Tenryu v Ricky Steamboat (2/23/84)
- Sort of a dream match – arguably the best Japanese wrestler ever against arguably the best American wrestler ever. I would rather have seen the match-up take place ten years later, but I’ve always been a fan of this. Like the last match it goes longer than it probably needs to, but I was way more interested in what these guys were doing the whole time than I was in what Jumbo and Harley were doing (again, you can credit the Tenryu love. And I like Steamboat way more than Race, too). Steamboat blocking an enziguiri with his “karate” early on was cool as shit. Made the spot later on when Tenryu manages to hit it successfully even better (and it’s a great spot besides, thanks in part to the camera angle and Steamboat’s awesome KO sell of it). The “peaks” in this probably aren’t as high as the “peaks” in Jumbo/Race, and I can totally see someone thinking this dragged more in the early parts as well, but I find these sets far easier to rank based on pure enjoyment and I enjoyed this quite a bit. So there. Probably won’t be top third, but top half is likely.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Nick Bockwinkel (2/23/84)
- Terry Funk is the special referee here and holy shit is he ROCKING the best referee outfit ever. He just beats out Sandy Barr as the best dressed ref’ in history. As far as special referees go he’s also WAAAY better than Fargo was on the Memphis set. He’s actually pretty great in that role, always trying to keep things in line but never being so over the top as to distract from the guys actually wrestling. Seriously, is there ANYTHING this guy does not fucking rule at? This is the third match in a row on disc 4 that’s gone around half an hour (think this goes a little over that), but the early stuff with Bockwinkel working the arm is really good and as an opening section it’s better than the early stages of Jumbo/Race and Steamboat/God. Thought it went a little longer than needed before Jumbo got a foothold, but everything looked rough and nasty and they never stopped to lie around. I think I’m starting to turn a corner on Bock. I wouldn’t call myself a big Bockwinkel fan just yet, but coming into this set he was pretty much on a level with Harley Race on my list of guys that don’t do a whole lot for me despite generally being pimped fairly heavily. At this stage I have no more desire to watch a bunch of Harley, but I’d be totally fine with a Bockwinkel-heavy AWA set being the next one to drop. Finish to this might be my favourite finish of the set so far (does Hansen trying to hang Funk with a bullrope count as a finish? I mean I guess it meant “the end” for all intents and purposes, but Dory running out like a school teacher and running Hansen off felt more like the “finish” than Hansen’s attempt on Terry’s life...which probably sounds ass-backwards since how much more of a finish can you get than murder?). First Terry takes the best ref’ bump on the set – no wait, screw that, he takes a TERRY FUNK bump while moonlighting as a referee – and flies out of the ring and lands on his head and winds up dangling over the barricade. Bock tries to suplex Jumbo from the ring apron back into the ring, but Jumbo slides down the back and hits the backdrop, just in time for Terry to recover and scoot back in to count the 3. Crowd comes UNGLUED and we have a new World Champ. The backdrop felt sort of like that spot on the New Japan set where Fujinami finally hits the Dragon Suplex and pins Inoki clean as a whistle. I knew Jumbo won this already, so it didn’t feel as “out of nowhere” as the Fujinami match, but it was still an awesome moment.

DVDVR All Japan Set, Disc 3

2011-07-01T22:00:00.003+01:00

The first couple discs had their moments, but looking at the listing for the entire set I get the sense they'll be two of the "weaker" discs. Disc 3, however, was great and TERRY FUNK and STAN HANSEN are THE PRO-WRESTLING, MOTHERFUCKER. The top end of my ballot changed pretty regularly going through this disc, too.

Ric Flair v Jumbo Tsuruta (6/8/82)
- Liked this better than the first match and is currently my #4. Jumbo is rocking the plain black trunks like he would for the rest of his career and generally seemed like a guy ready to step up and win the belt, which isn't really the vibe I got in the '81 match (although it isn't something I can really explain). Thought the first 15 minutes were decent enough, but more middling than anything else and I was about ready to be disappointed with this match (it's the only Flair/Jumbo match I hadn't seen before). Then things pick up huge and the second half is pretty fucking great. Flair's figure-four spot in this gets CRAZY heat with the "TSU-RU-TA" chants. Jumbo's rolling out a bucket load of stuff to put him away and the crowd are biting on pretty much all of it. They do a piledriver on the floor spot that was pretty unnecessary in that it was basically blown off straight afterwards, but it does lead to a great double count out tease that I thought for sure was going to be the finish. Really strong second half makes up for a first half that I thought was kind of disappointing, and I'm assuming that'll be enough to keep it in the upper third.

Mil Mascaras v Jumbo Tsuruta (7/30/82)
- Well this wasn't what I was expecting. It did start out like I figured it would with them working the mat, and I was kind of digging that part. Mil refusing to be put in a Boston crab was cool as shit and what they were doing was keeping me interested enough (this is the most I've enjoyed Jumbo's matwork so far -- I haven't really found him to be compelling at all in that respect before now). Then their inability to create any sort of advantage gets the better of them and they start slapping each other around, and that leads to them spilling to the floor and trying to gouge each others' eyes out and shit. Jumbo bleeds big time, there's MASK RIPPING, and a bunch of trainees (including Misawa) try to separate them both while Jumbo keeps bleeding everywhere. Match gets thrown out at this point but they eventually manage to talk the ref' into letting them restart it, and as soon as he does they just start punching each other in the face some more and Jumbo's getting everything all covered in blood. Everything before the riot breaking out was fine, but the restart is what shoots this up a bunch of spots.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Harley Race (8/1/82)
- I enjoyed this quite a bit more than I expected to. I watched it late last night when I was pretty tired, and I figured I'd go to sleep right after it...if I didn't fall asleep half way through. The first half or so was fine enough, but then Jumbo gigs himself and Harley starts headbutting the open wound, and well that gave me a second wind that carried me through half of the disc! Match from the point of Jumbo's blade job on is really good stuff. I'm not much of a Harley fan and Jumbo hasn't really set my world on fire up to this point, but I thought this was the strongest Race performance so far and the last few Jumbo matches have started hitting the sweet spot. Finish is sort of weak, but it's at least clean and did catch me off guard. Jumbo's running lariat takedown thing was fucking awesome looking in this, btw. Harley takes a killer bump off of it as well.

Terry Funk v Stan Hansen (9/11/82)
- Well this was really good stuff, naturally. Out of control, lots of great punches, stiff as shit, ring girls getting wiped out because YOU CAN'T TAME THE WILD ANIMALS, Hansen absolutely killing a substitute referee with a lariat, so on and so on. These All Japan crowds are just nuts every time Terry shows up on this set. Actually they're nuts any time Stan shows up as well, but Terry is getting extraordinary babyface heat that the top natives have been unable to match. Only instance (up to this point) of Jumbo getting the kind of reaction Terry gets is down the stretch of the second Flair match. Baba/Hansen was nuclear but that was as much Hansen as Baba. No other babyface is getting these kinds of reactions. Terry launching a chair over his head (while facing the crowd) and Stan catching it and hurling it back while Terry is looking for another chair to fling is enough to propel this into the top 10. Everything else keeps it there.

Harley Race v Giant Baba (10/26/82)
- Maybe I just caught this at a reeeealy good time, but shit, I thought it was shockingly enjoyable. I mean Baba/Race is not a match-up I'm a fan of. Their second match on this set is (or was, rather) my favourite of all their matches and that's probably gonna be in my bottom fifth at the end. Basically, I was not looking forward to watching this. And well, I wouldn't call it a great match by any stretch of the imagination, but the early stuff never made me want to lean on fast forward, and I'll be damned but I totally dug Harley in this. He eats Baba's big boot like a king, does this falling headbutt off the apron to the floor that looks like a plunge into oblivion (thanks in part to the camera angle), takes another great bump off a running lariat takedown thing (I don't actually know the name of it), eats a totally unprotected ringpost bump head-first, and his diving headbutt at the end is just about the craziest diving headbutt I've ever seen. It's like he's piledriving himself from the top rope onto Baba's face. I've got this at #7 (!!) right now and I'd be utterly shocked if I don't wind up liking it WAY more than... I don't know, everybody?

Terry Funk v Bruiser Brody (12/7/82)
- I was really interested in seeing how this would hold up, because it's always been my favourite Brody match and at one point I probably would've had it in my top 10 favourite matches, period. I don't think I'd still have it *that* high, but I did still love it and can't imagine ever finding a Brody match I like more (and despite the fact I really don't care for Brody, there's a few matches involving him that I do like a lot). I'd *maybe* go to bat for his performance in this being the best he's ever given, but that'd require more thought than I'm bothered about giving and...well fuck all that because this is still all about Terry Funk being a fuggin' BOSS. Brody doesn't seem as bothered about taking a great deal of the match and actually bumps around and sells quite a bit more than usual (his sell job of Terry's low blow is probably the best piece of selling I've ever seen from him), but he works on top for roughly the first half and it's Terry's performance working form the bottom that's really spectacular. Brody just goes around kicking him in the ear and Terry stabs himself in the eardrum or something because he bleeds like a fucking freak. He convulses and sells the shit out of this and he is just covered in blood. Then comes the low blow and eventually he takes over by grabbing Brody's head and, after building up about 20 feet worth of speed, rams his head into the post, breaks a table over his back and starts jabbing him in the chin. Crowd is going crazy at this point and when Hansen hits the scene there's a clear "oh man, shit is about to go down" reaction. What's great is that he doesn't get involved right away, so Brody and Funk get another few minutes to go at it. Eventually he does step in, which was always going to happen anyway, and then Dory shows up and it's time for another riot. Terry hurling chairs in the ring like a psycho is a top 3 moment of the set. So is Brody getting Dory to stop punching him by pulling his t-shirt over his head and Dory continuing to swing wildly even though he can't see anything. Fuck it, this is my new #1.

Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody v Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (12/9/82)
- This had a hot crowd and there's a GREAT moment where Jumbo does something to piss off Hansen and Hansen stares at him with complete contempt, but it didn't do a whole lot for me otherwise. They did a bunch of stuff and I guess the pace never really lulled, but it felt choppy and never had much structure or discernible story to it. Hansen is God, though.

Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta v Harley Race & Dick Slater (12/13/82)
- Slater is a guy that I generally find pretty disappointing, but I had seen this before and remember thinking it was one of the more enjoyable performances I had seen from him. I wasn't really digging the stuff early on (which is something I've always kind of had a problem with when watching early 80s AJ), but things soon pick up and Baba starts playing FIP (!), and this shoots up a bunch of spots on my list. Really liked Harley and Slater unloading with a stack of offense, and Baba makes everything look nastier just for the fact he's so lanky and...well, you know how he is -- he's a big awkward dude with a square body and if you lay into him enough it'll start to look like he might be in serious danger of actually dying. The miscommunication spot between Harley and Dick leading to the finish looked pretty telegraphed, but at least the finish is clean. Mileage may vary depending on how much enjoyment you can get out of Baba.

Genichiro Tenryu v Kerry Von Erich (4/7/83)
- Tenryu working Kerry's claw hand was boss (more Von Erich opponents on the TX set should've worked the claw hand). Would've liked Kerry to have sold it as a bigger deal, although him just yanking Tenryu into a headlock and stretching out the fingers as some respite from Tenryu repeatedly stomping on his hand was a cool piece of selling. There's nothing about this that I thought was bad, and unlike some matches I'll probably put above it, it actually held my attention the whole way through (I suspect Tenryu's presence had something - or a lot - to do with that), but for the most part it was all pretty basic and inoffensive stuff that doesn't catch fire other than a few instances. Basic is fine. I like basic. But I know what's to come on this set and "basic and inoffensive" won't cut it.

Terry Funk v Stan Hansen (4/14/83)
- This was really tremendous stuff and the first match that feels like it could land in my top 20 at the end. I mean Jesus Christ these two are just MADE to wrestle each other. This starts out slower than their last match in that they're both clearly tentative, whereas before they just went peddle to the floor and tried to kill each other right from the jump. They circle each other, Terry throwing little jabs as if to dare Hansen to get in close while not wanting to make the first move himself. Of course Hansen picks his spot and manages to sneak in a slap, and Terry's look of "motherfucker...I swear to God" while Hansen has this cocky grin on his face was TOO glorious. Hansen controls most of this, generally by beating the ever loving shit out of Terry, while Terry fires back with brief flurries of offense. Crowd loses its absolute mind ALL THE TIME. It's a perfect dynamic. Hansen is an out of control freight train of violence and hatred. THIS bastard cannot be killed. Terry is insane and does not give two fucks. He's too proud, and probably too stupid, to stop fighting even though what he's fighting cannot plausibly be fought. Stan Hansen will have to kill Terry Funk before Terry Funk stops fighting. Terry Funk has no problems dying as long as he takes Stan Hansen with him. THIS IS THE BEST PRO-WRESTLING EVER. Match is already through the roof, but when Terry starts going for the spinning toe hold things shoot up to eleven. Hansen is doing everything in his power to keep Terry away from his leg, but Terry just keeps coming and coming and will not be denied. Hansen breaks the first attempt by punching Terry directly in the eye and that leads to a punch drunk Terry bleeding all over Stan every time he goes back to the leg. Stan is covered in Terry's blood by the end. Terry could not care less and is DETERMINED to break Hansen's leg. He's a Funk and he WILL spinning toe hold the shit out of you no matter how often you crack him in the face. Doesn't matter if it's a smart move or not, it's just what he does. Would a shark stop trying to eat your limbs if you kept kicking it in the face? Well I've never been attacked by a shark so I don't know for sure, but I'd assume the answer is 'no'. Great moment where Hansen shoots him in for the lariat only for Terry to drop down at the last second and go right back to the spinning toe hold. Then Higuchi gets bumped to the floor and MORE Hell breaks loose. First Hansen picks Terry up and drops him nuts-first on the top rope, and Terry's sell of this is just otherworldly, running into the crowd like a rhino that's...I donno, like a rhino that's just been hit in the balls. Hansen then grabs the bull rope, wraps it around Terry's neck and literally starts dragging him around the floor before hanging him over the top rope. I have never seen anybody sell this spot like Terry does. I mean this is just morbidly amazing. It honestly comes across less like two pro-wrestlers carrying out a pro-wrestling angle and more like one man legitimately trying to inflict death upon another man. At this point Dory hits the scene dressed like Waylon Smithers and actually manages to clear Hansen off, and if the match hadn't been thrown out already then I guess this served as the "end". Post-match Terry is stumbling around half dead covered in blood, and there really are no words. Number one and Hansen might wind up being my favourite wrestler ever after all of this.

Terry & Dory Funk v Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (4/20/83)
- God damn Terry is great in this. Dory plays FIP for a spell and it's fine and everything, but Terry getting the hot tag and everything from then on out is where it's at. As soon as the tag is made he goes right to town on Brody's leg, and there's a great moment where he batters the knee with Brody's own boot. Terry winds up blindsided not long after this and that leads to him playing FIP for a while, and Terry is just so much more compelling in that role than Dory. I thought the non-finish was pretty deflating here, more so than just about any other up to this point. The fact it's a non-finish doesn't bother me, because I was expecting that anyway; it was the timing of it that bothered me. Felt like it was really starting to get good when it ended. That said, Terry saving Dory from being lariated out of his boots by diving at Hansen's legs and spilling out to the floor was a great spot. Both guys rolling around on the floor, covered in streamers and punching each other in the face was so awesome. Disc 3 has been by far my favourite disc so far, and there's a lot of stuff in this (Terry Funk) that'll push it up past some of the earlier stuff.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Bruiser Brody (5/26/83)
- Brody "working holds" for 20 minutes is not the Brody I want to see. I mean I generally don't want to see much Brody anyway, but I've actually had very few problems with him on the set so far. Not surprising that this and the second Dory match are my two least favourite Brody matches on the set, since both have long spells of shitty-at-worst, pedestrian-at-best matwork. This kind of environment is way too civilized for Brody to be interesting. Well it's civilized until the end when they both bleed and Jumbo starts choking him with a chain, but the blood wasn't flowing like a hideous river and thus didn't appeal to my vampiric nature like the second Brody/Dory match did. Both matches were pretty fucking dull, but I'm ranking them on a bloodletting scale and this is a distant second. Which means it's going low, brother.

Well Finlay Bought a Chevy '40 Coupe Deluxe, Chrome Wheels, Shtick Shaft, Give Her Gas, Pop the Clutch

2011-06-29T16:50:00.004+01:00

Finlay v Chris Benoit (Smackdown!, 5/5/06)

This is one of my favourite match-ups in wrestling history and this go around might be in my top 3 Finlay/Benoit matches. In some ways it sort of feels like a test run for the Judgment Day match (which I've watched a bunch of times and probably will again pretty soon). It has the intense sense of struggle, the mean strikes, and generally feels gritty as all Hell. The opening section on the mat has Taz marking out on commentary and really does come across as being super rugged and uncooperative. 2006 is my favourite year of Finlay's career, and the more I think about it the more I'm leaning towards it being my favourite year of Benoit's as well. Felt like he was able to really stretch out with guys like Finlay, Regal and Orton and focus less on hitting all of his signature stuff (which is a "WWE Style" issue). Of course Finlay and Regal were more than happy to work this kind of match, and Orton's willingness to do the same actually surprised me when I checked those matches out, so working with them for a nice chunk of the year probably helps. Anyways, Benoit gets to work the mat like he didn't normally get the chance to, and Finlay is Finlay and fucking rocks on the mat, so all of the early stuff is great and leads to both guys getting pissed off and ready to punch someone in the ear. At some point Benoit starts bleeding from the top of his head and Finlay winds up with a bruised eye, and I have no idea how either happened. The causes could've been from a million different things, and that's usually when you know you're watching a Fit Finlay v Chris Benoit match. Also love how Finlay always manages to get across the idea that Benoit's chops are lethal and something you really want to avoid. He ducks the first one Benoit throws and nods a finger and the crowd is all "ooohhh" like "he's lucky he dodged that one." Benoit threw roughly six billion chops in his WWE career and it was something you just expected from him. Chris Benoit was a knife edge chop guy just like Ric Flair was a knife edge chop guy just like Kenta Kobashi was(is?) a knife edge chop guy. They were always over and treated as being something that'd hurt like crazy. But there weren't too many guys that managed to make them seem "special" and actually build to them like Finlay did. Benoit was really good in '06, but Finlay was the fucking man and this is up there towards the top of a best Finlay matches of 2006 list.

Finlay Project

Sting & Vader! And a Midget! At the WHITE CASTLE!!!

2011-06-28T22:27:00.002+01:00

Vader v Sting (Strap Match - WCW SuperBrawl III, 2/21/93)

The build up video packages to this are truly too spectacular to describe. Totally ridiculous and hilarious and there's Cheatum the Evil Midget. The build up as a whole was legitimately really good (the video packages are awful, but in the best way possible). Vader kills a jobber on an episode of Saturday Night, smears face pain over him and starts whipping him with a strap. There's a tag match from late January where Race holds Sting down and Vader whips him across the back. A week later Sting has a match with Barry Windham (Vader's partner in the aforementioned tag) and he winds up trying to hang him with the strap. And there's Cheatum the Evil Midget and a tug of war over a burning dinner table.

Actual match has always been my favourite of the Sting/Vader matches, and I didn't change my mind this time around. Really feels like one of the definitive violent masterpieces in wrestling history. Vader just yanks Sting across the ring with the strap a couple times at the start, and you get the sense he's gonna enjoy fucking around with him like this. Sting is a strong dude, but can he do much of anything when he's literally attached to Vader? Dragging him around the ring so he can touch all four corners is akin to towing a horsebox up a hill with a BMX. And even if he can possibly overcome the GIRTH, there's still the fact Vader will punch your fucking face through the back of your head if you get close enough to him. And well, the strap means you can't really NOT get close to him. The early stages are all Vader and before long he's whipping Sting like a mule, using the strap to draw him in close so he can squash him, dropping big elbows (there's one where he blatantly elbow drops Sting in the nuts), splashing him, etc. Sting takes over by essentially using the strap to force Vader into punching himself in the balls, and he goes on a great run of offense. You can clearly see Harley taking the blade across Vader's back after Sting's whipped him a bunch of times, and the visual of Vader stumbling around with his back all cut up was always a crazy violent image that stuck with me from the first time I saw the match. Love the spot where Sting uses the strap to draw Vader face-first into the ring post, and Sting trying to touch all four posts *outside* the ring is something I've always thought was really cool. Sting torpedoing head-first into the barricade is another nasty spot in a match full of nasty spots.

Then we hit the final third and the brutality ramps way up. Vader's big paws open a cut in Sting's forehead and it's anybody's guess as to whether or not his stumbling around the ring is a sell job or not. Because Vader is really laying in the big paws. Feels like I've said that about Vader's punches a million times since I started this blog, but they're honestly as repulsive here as I've ever seen them. Sting's comeback is really tremendous. The German suplex is always a great spot in their matches, but the moment of the match for me is Sting's return onslaught in the corner. I don't think of Sting as a great puncher, but he threw some awesome punches earlier on when both guys were teeing off on each other (while they were on their knees. It fucking ruled), and the close up image of him rifling Vader with HUGE punches while Vader's crumpled like a lifeless sack in the corner was fucking amazing. He kind of collapses after he's punched himself out like a man who's just been pushed to commit horrific violence he never knew he had in him. And then he follows it up with one of the most impressive feats of strength I can recall seeing in wrestling when he carries Vader on his shoulders around the whole ring only to have Nick Patrick accidentally trip him up (after a really good ref' bump) six inches before touching the last turnbuckle, leaving Vader's entire dead weight to drop on top of him when he hits the mat. So close yet so far. Vader's back is all cut up, his ear is mutilated, he's covered in blood...he looks much worse off than Sting does. But Sting just towed a horsebox up a hill on a BMX before getting a freak puncture. Now he's got nothing left. Doesn't matter if he holds onto the ropes for dear life, doesn't matter if he tries to kick and claw and fight it. That stumble at the last hurdle has beaten him.

Just an epic piece of pro-wrestling.

DVDVR All Japan Set, Disc 2

2011-06-27T20:04:00.002+01:00

Starting to work my way through this a little quicker now, so here's hoping I can finish it before the deadline (which will still probably be a while, anyway). Hansen showing up and RULING IT will likely spur me on.

Ricky Steamboat & Chavo Guerrero v Mil Mascaras & Dos Caras (9/6/81)
- Thought this was pretty damn good, but by the time it got to the half hour mark I was kind of hoping it'd just hurry up and end already. First fall had some really nifty lucha matwork and managed to convey a nice sense of struggle, plus it had Chavo Guerrero and Ricky Steamboat as a tag team. That is a fucking dream tag team. Ricky Steamboat and Chavo Guerrero v Sgt. Slaughter and Dick Murdoch is now my dream match. God damn. Finish to the first fall was really good. Second and third falls both had some more neat stuff on the mat, and we even get a Dos Caras bullet tope as the cherry on top. Mil's outfit is truly splendiferous.

Terry & Dory Funk v Umanoseke Ueda & Buck Robley (10/6/81)
- Man, Ueda and Robley are just about the most random pairing ever. Although both guys look pretty fucking scuzzy so maybe it isn't random after all. Thought this was really good, and my favourite tag on the set up to this point. Robley and Ueda just keep tossing the Funks out to the floor any chance they get early on, and this seems to wind Terry and Dory up more and more every time it happens. Leads to some great "put your dukes up and fight like a FUCKING MAN" moments and Terry unloads with a couple amazing punch combos on both guys. Eventually Ueda and Robley get what they want - which is basically a riot on the floor - and at this point I figured we were heading to a double DQ or count out of whatever the non-finish of the day was that day. Except that doesn't happen and things get AWESOME when Terry blades his fuggin' ear and the scumbags start working it over. I love it when guys work a cut. I love it when guys target some obscure body part for a beatdown. This had both. And above all else it's Terry Funk selling the shit out of being stomped and rabbit punched in the EAR. Dory pretty much sucked the life out of the Funks tag on disc one, but his hot tag here is a trillion times better and he comes much closer to bringing the sort of piss and vinegar that you'd want from a guy whose brother's just had his ear cut to bits by a pair of ratty looking alcoholics. And then there's the post-match angle with Brody murdering some kid that I'm guessing is a Funk relative. This won't land top 50 or anything, but it's pretty much exactly what I wanted out of it.

Dory Funk Jr. v Bruiser Brody (10/9/81)
- I don't much like either of these guys, but this was a really good sub-ten minute back alley fight with all the blood and heat you'd want. Brody basically smacks the shit out of Dory for the first six minutes; cuts him open, throws him into ring posts, boots him in the face, etc. Crowd is totally nuts for Dory and they just blow their stack when Dory fires back with a single forearm. Then he dishes out as good as he got in the first place and this crowd wants blood. And of course it's Brody so not only do you get the blood, but you also get to see him taking the blade and creating the cut the blood will come from. Post-match is great again with Robley hitting the scene, Dory and Brody whipping each other with a chain, and finally Terry showing up in a plaid jacket and amazing cowboy boots. Riots ensue, fans scatter for their lives, ring boys get abused. I'm a happy camper.

Ric Flair v Jumbo Tsuruta (10/9/81)
- I was hungover like a cunt when I watched this and wasn't paying a great deal of attention, so I'll probably give it another spin before the deadline, but for the most part I thought it was good. First fall sort of lost me and felt a little dull at points. Jumbo controlling things early with the headlock wasn't really done in any sort of particularly compelling way, but his flurry of offense to end the fall was great and had the crowd amped. Flair taking the second fall and visibly becoming more and more cocky, "wooing" left and right, was really good. Third fall was... I dunno, maybe I passed out for a few minutes because I'm not remembering much about it other than the finish. Yeah, I'll toss this one of the re-watch pile.

Terry & Dory Funk v Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka (12/13/81)
- I've always loved this, and after another watch I still love it. Seems pretty silly to say something is better than it probably has any right to be when that something has Terry Funk in it, but still, I've always thought this was sort of a miracle match. Snuka is fucking aces in this. Dude has crazy hops (while I'm talking about guys jumping real high, Brody always gets huge height on his knee drop), busts out a bunch of sweet highspots, generally looks like a psycho, etc. There's a spot early on where he does this awesome double leap frog over Dory, then when he tries it again later on Dory catches him, hits a spinebuster and winds up the old spinning toe hold. This is also the Stan Hansen All Japan debut as he comes out to the ring with Brody and Snuka, and I guess this is a pretty famous match as a result. He nukes Terry with a lariat down the stretch, and that leaves Dory to fight the odds on his own. You really want Terry being the guy in that role, but Dory brings as much piss and vinegar as I think I've ever seen him bring before and I thought he was perfectly good. Crowd really explode for some of the nearfalls, too. Arguably a career match for three of the guys in this, and another great match for Terry's resume. Top of the pile so far, although I'm going back and forth between this and Bock/Billy.

Genichiro Tenryu v Mil Mascaras (2/4/82)
- Super nifty match. I love Tenryu and will pretty much enjoy anything he is in, but I didn't expect this to be as fun as it was. Tenryu isn't a guy I think of as being a great mat worker, but the stuff on the ground here was really cool and slick, and it built nicely to them throwing bombs at the end. Final few minutes are actually awesome with Tenryu hitting a tope and coming close to pulling out the upset. Finish isn't executed very well, but I liked the idea (and I was buying it being over after the cross body). Tenryu is the fucking greatest.

Stan Hansen v Giant Baba (2/4/82)
- Oh man, HANSEN is also the fucking greatest. I don't really have much of an opinion on Baba either way - he doesn't annoy me or anything and I can't hate big goofy pro-wrestlers whose nipples are level with their bellybutton - but this was just ridiculously fun. Jingus on PWO said this about Hansen that's really a perfect description and reason why this match worked as well as it did: "Hansen might've been Baba's best opponent. Stan sold Shohei's offense perfectly. And when I say that, I don't just mean "he pinball-bumped around the ring and screamed in pain for even the weakest strikes". I mean he had this way of selling the hell out of it while very much *not* looking like he was over-selling. Some guys would try too hard to make Baba's offense look good, and it ended up almost looking like a comedy match when they'd fling themselves around for those weak-ass chops and such. Hansen walked a tightrope and made it look like the stuff hurt without insulting your intelligence about it." He really sold everything here like a champ. Story here is basically Baba going Roman on Hansen's lariat arm while Stan tries to cut the big man down to size by going after the leg. Crowd is fucking nuclear as well. Baba also takes a real nasty bump off of the lariat at the end, falling backwards into the ropes and whipping his neck against the bottom rope. Looked like someone threw a tree into the side of a house. Finish is what it is, but I can deal. Might be my favourite Baba match ever.

Bruiser Brody v Dory Funk Jr. (4/21/82)
- Eh, first half was pretty shitty and featured some of the driest matwork I've ever seen (especially from a guy with a rep as a great "technical wrestler"), but then Brody thankfully gets fed up and starts assaulting Dory with a chair. Dory bleeds all over the ship then Brody winds up doing the same, and the second half doesn't exactly set my world on fire either, but there's tonnes of blood and the crowd pick up and there's no more shitty greco-roman knuckle locks. Not really good, though, and probably gonna finish somewhere towards the bottom.

Stan Hansen v Giant Baba (4/22/82)
- Liked their first match better, but this was different in that they eschewed the dueling body part work in favour of a bomb throwing sprint. Totally have a broner for Hansen right now. I mean I'm probably overrating this just based on the fact he's in it, but fuck it, everything he did in the two matches opposite the big man was great and this was as hectic and crazy as I wanted it to be. Hansen so much as whips Baba into the ropes and there's this sense of impending doom because there's the chance he's about to decapitate him with a lariat. How many people can make an Irish whip seem like the deadliest thing ever? Post-match he kills some guy in a tracksuit. I'm guessing I'll be a high voter for both Hansen/Baba matches so far.

Ric Flair v Ricky Steamboat (6/4/82)
- Might be their "weakest" match of the decade (that I've seen), but this is still one of the all-time best match-ups in pro-wrestling and I could probably enjoy it any time they wrestle each other. They run through a few spots that they'd bust out in their better matches and they both lay into each other with the chops like it's Flair v Steamboat. Dug the finish as well. I suspect I'll have this top half, although top 50 seems unlikely.

That Time I Got Drunk With Tenryu #8

2011-06-24T15:31:00.003+01:00

Haven't done one of these in a while, but I came across some thoughts on a couple RINGS matches from a few months ago that I thought I had already posted, and I've been tearing into Goodhelmet's '93 yearbook, so I figured now would be as good a time as any to get back on the horse. Here's hoping I actually manage to reach a #10.

Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada v Steve Williams & Terry Gordy (All Japan, 1/30/93)

Really good slow-burning tag, mostly built around Doc and Gordy being surly big motherfuckers. The "feeling out" at the start felt sort of listless to me, but it kicks into gear once Kawada starts eating an extended beating. The MVC don't exactly do anything fancy, but it all looks nasty and believable (it's Doc and Gordy...c'mon). Thing I got a kick out of most of all was probably how the crowd would just chew them out any time they'd hang onto holds a little longer than they should after a rope break. I mean they're already stretching the shit out of Kawada, but that extra three or four seconds of torture get the crowd riled up good and plenty. Kurt Angle loved (still loves?) to drag his opponent back into the middle of the ring whenever they'd reach the ropes to break the ankle lock, and at this point the concept of that being enough to constitute a break has more or less been destroyed (not implying Kurt Angle is the sole reason for that, btw), but this is 1993 and this crowd ain't having that shit. And neither is old man Higuchi. Hot tag is eventually made and Misawa makes a brief run, but Doc and Gordy just zero in on him and before long he's their new whipping boy. Kawada might be the best agitated apron worker ever. You don't get to REALLY see him shine in that role here, but every time I watch a tag match involving Kawada I get giddy at the prospect of him just throwing his hands up and illegally storming the ring so he can punt someone. I'm watching this on Goodhelmet's 1993 yearbook, so I eagerly anticipate the stuff deeper into the set when he's feuding with Misawa as opposed to teaming with him, because if my memory is worth half a shit then I know he only gets grumpier. Finishing run isn't as long or "epic" as a fair number of All Japan tags of the decade, but you should know what to expect from it either way. Doc's backdrop driver is one of the ultimate "okay, he's dead" moves in wrestling history, and he rolls out a corker in this.

Genichiro Tenryu, Takashi Ishikawa & Ashura Hara v Shinya Hashimoto, Keiji Mutoh & Akira Nogami (New Japan, 2/5/93)

Ridiculously entertaining match. In a lot of ways it feels like a taste of what's to come, especially between Tenryu and Hashimoto, but they do a Hell of a job making you want to see a singles match. They're the focal point of this and everything they do together rules. Hashimoto is staring him down before the bell with this look of sheer contempt while Tenryu has the faintest hint of a smile, like "Son...just don't." Probably not surprising, but Tenryu was my favourite part of this. He doesn't necessarily do a ton of stuff, but what he does do is just classic grumpy Tenryu. The initial Tenryu/Hash exchange that starts the match off is as heated as you'd like and Tenryu is amazing at selling all of Hashimoto's kicks like a heavyweight boxer on the ropes. All of the New Japan guys give him at least one cheapshot while he's standing on the apron, and you can see it all building up to him getting some form of revenge. Mutoh throws a forearm at him early and when Tenryu gets the opportunity to extract some revenge later on he rifles off some trademark short punts to the head. Nogami turns around and plants one on his chin and as he's hitting the ropes Tenryu slips in an enziguiri to the back of the head, and his mocking celebration of this small victory is just great. Nogami was probably my second favourite guy in this, actually. He was one of the finds of the New Japan 80s set for a lot of folks and he continues his quest into our hearts by taking a real shitkicking here. Hara abuses him with headbutts, Ishikawa tries to take his head off with lariats, Tenryu chops him in the throat, powerbombs him on his neck and mocks him afterwards; pretty much the perfect recipient of a beatdown from a trio of guys from fucking WAR. And don't even get me started on the post-match riot.

Genichiro Tenryu, Takashi Ishikawa, Ashura Hara, Koki Kitahara & Ricky Fuyuki v Riki Choshu, Tatsumi Fujinami, Hiroshi Hase, Osamu Kido & Takayuki Iizuka (New Japan, 2/16/93)

Epic match, chock full of hate and bad intentions and pretty much everything else you want out of something like this. It's 2/3 falls and goes 40 minutes, so everybody really gets a chance to strut their stuff and there's a million awesome moments as a result. First fall is pretty even Stevens, but we do get an extended beatdown on Fujinami where the WAR guys just tear into him and work over his KIDNEYS. Fuyuki cheapshots him from behind and team WAR paint a bulls-eye on the lower back; Kitahara rifles off a bunch of nasty kicks, Hara and Ishikawa are a couple of school bullies and they stomp him like a discarded cigarette, and Tenryu naturally punts him up and down place. Couple amazing Tenryu moments in the first fall. Hell, my favourite part of the whole match might be when Iizuki strolls up to him and, with NO FEAR, slaps him dead in the face...and FUUUUCK does Tenryu just fucking beat the motherfucking shit out of him. I mean this was straight up HARROWING. Finish to the first fall is great, with Ishikawa turning his attention away from Fujinami so he can beat up some other pussy boy (think it was Iizuka...was probably Iizuka) and winds up getting clipped by a pair of enziguiris. He manages to absorb them and stay on his feet, but Fujinami's already tagged out and Choshu's ready to steamroll somebody. Ishikawa ducks the first lariat, but Choshu keeps on truckin' and as Ishikawa turns around he gets fucking blitzed by a follow up lariat. I'm talking paraplegia-inducing. Second fall has just as much brutality, but you also get to see guys like Kido and Hara, who were quieter than some of their teammates in the first fall, really shine. Kido is just spectacular down the stretch, Hell bent on ripping someone's arm out the socket, and even though he doesn't score a decision, he winds up taking Tenryu out of the equation late on. That leads to an AWESOME moment where Choshu, like a fucking BOSS, just randomly decides to get in the ring and walk over to the WAR corner so he can stomp on Tenryu a bunch of times while he's in the process of having his arm bandaged up. Felt like a real "So I haven't hit anybody in a little while. Well fuck that" moment and it was why that guy is the best. A bunch of other great shit happens, but I'd be here all day if I tried to touch on all of it. Honestly feels like one of the best multi-man matches ever -- I thought it was fucking with pretty much all of the multi-man matches on the New Japan 80s set and I had two of those in my top 5 with another just outside it. The New Japan/WAR feud is the fucking pro-wrestling.

Kiyoshi Tamura v Volk Han (RINGS, 9/26/97)

Fitting end to their trilogy and really just a tremendous match. I'd probably say their second match is still their *best*, but I think this one might be my personal favourite. This one had a bit of everything. Han comes out much like he did in the first two matches, just grabbing hold of one of Tamura's arms and twisting and yanking it until Tamura is on the mat. He seems more aggressive on the whole, actually. You're guaranteed to see him pull ridiculous submissions out his ass in every one of these Han v native matches (actually you're guaranteed to see it in every Han match, period), but he does it with a lot more force here. There are times where you watch a Han match and get the vibe of a cat toying with a mouse before putting it out of its misery; it doesn't feel "exhibitiony" or like he's diddling around to kill time, but watch enough of him and you realize that twisting and tying people into knots comes easy to him. There isn't that vibe here. He's twisting and tying Tamura into knots, but he's not toying with him. He got the better of Tamura in their first two matches, but Tamura's more than capable of beating him and Han knows it. Thing I love most about Han/Tamura matches is that they almost play off stuff they did in their other matches. In their first match Tamura caught Han with a surprise front kick to the chest that had Han reeling. In their second match Tamura caught him with another one and left Han reeling again. Tamura starts throwing kicks because it's clearly working for him, but Han manages to use it to his advantage, catching a kick and eventually submitting Tamura with a kneebar. Finish to the first match was trademark Han, catching Tamura in a submission and leaving him with no escape. It was the definition of being "caught". He was stuck right in the middle of the ring and if he didn't submit he'd wind up with a snapped arm. Han's a guy that's great at busting out those "quicksand" submissions -- he'll hook something like a kimura, then he'll use his own legs to secure his opponent's, tie him up in the spot, and the more they struggle the quicker they sink. There's a few times in this where they hit on both "themes". Han will come close to trapping Tamura with nowhere to go, but he never manages to seal him up as tights as he needs to. Tamura is great at constantly coming up with escapes and ways to wriggle free, and Han is in a position where he's digging deep into his bag of tricks and nothing is getting the job done. The stand-up in this is the best in any of their matches, and that front kick comes into play again. Han gets knocked down a couple times, but both times are more a result of him losing his footing than Tamura scoring a clean hit, which you see when he instantly puts his hands up and waves a finger as if to say he's okay and shouldn't lose any points. When Tamura drops him with the front kick, he points to Han, who's sprawled out on the canvas, and tells the ref' NOW he can count. Han's return knockdown isn't too dissimilar to the spot in the first match where he unloads with a flurry of nasty palm strikes, but his reaction is different here, almost like he's celebrating. Finish really does leave the door open for a fourth match and a chance for Tamura to level the score, in turn possibly setting up a rubber match. It's a shame this was the last time they fought, but what we did get was more than satisfying and a Hell of a trilogy.

Kiyoshi Tamura v Hans Nyman (RINGS 10/25/97)

Nyman has "BULLDOG" written on his shorts and is pretty good as the big striker stalking down the much smaller technical wiz. You don't really get a sense of how good or bad he is on the mat from this, but he can sprawl and doesn't look shit scared the second Tamura might have so much as a slight chance of taking him to the ground, so he's better than the Dick Vrij's and Willie Peeters's of the world in that respect. Also got a big kick out of him acting like a douchebag when the ref' docks him a point for punching Tamura in the kidneys on the ground, taunting and egging the crowd on when they start a Tamura chant. It's like he's asking them to start a Nyman chant. "A kidney punch? What a girl. I am alpha male." Tamura taking exception to this and going right for the kill after the restart was awesome; just a total "fuck this shit" moment. Match is fought almost entirely on the feet, which isn't normally where you want Tamura fights to be, but this was still pretty great.

I Asked the Captain What His Name Was and How Come he Didn't Drive a Truck. He Said His Name Was Finlay...I Just Said Good Luck

2011-06-22T17:25:00.008+01:00

Finlay v Drew McIntyre (Dusseldorf, Germany, 11/7/09)

Well this was a blast. Gets plenty of time, has a super hot crowd, Fit Finlay, and a guy that's willing to throw down with Fit Finlay -- hidden gem stuff like this (thanks to the Segund Caida crew for turning it up) is why I started this project in the first place. Starts out with both guys interacting with the crowd; Finlay high-fiving people around ringside, Drew getting in their faces, and it's awesome to see a crowd just totally eat it all up. I don't remember a whole lot of Drew Mac pimping around this time, but he looked as good here as he would against Matt Hardy and Christian midway through last year. He hits everything with force and has some nice cutoffs, the best of which being a nasty looking big boot that knocks Finlay off the apron. He bumps around and eats all of Finlay's stuff well in return, and there's a great spot where he gets heaved over the top rope (dude gets massive air on it). I kind of stopped following WWE after Wrestlemania 24, only really watching stuff here and there, so I've more or less missed all of the Finlay face run from the last few years. He looked real good here though, laying in the shots like he's Fit Finlay, busting out his ring apron counter to a baseball slide, and at one point he just grabs hold of Drew's trapezius while stomping his calf to bring him down to one knee, which was a totally awesome Finlay thing to do. I'm not expecting to watch a ton of babyface Finlay and be blown away by it like I was 2006 heel Finlay, but that run's still a blind spot for me and I'm hoping there are some more nice gems to be turned up.

Finlay Project

Finlay's in the Basement Mixin' up the Medicine, I'm on the Pavement Thinkin' About the Government

2011-06-21T15:54:00.004+01:00

Finlay v William Regal (Smackdown!, 8/4/06)

It's not often you'll watch a Finlay match where it seems like he's the least cantankerous person in the match, but I'll be damned if this isn't a five minute slugfest with Regal upping the levels of surliness to loftier heights than I've seen in a while (and this is REGAL we're talking about, so you can imagine how surly that would have to be). He really lays it in here; brutal knees, forearms, elbows, the whole nine. There's this amazing moment where he has Finlay down on one knee and just SKELPS him across the ear with a slap, and Finlay reacts like he's almost surprised, like that was a shot beyond even the Finlay/Regal call of duty. Of course Finlay is still Finlay, so you get plenty instances of him being a nasty bastard, like stomping on Regal's fingers and grating his eyes with his forearm while he goes for a pin. Finish is whatever, but it leads to a great shillelagh mugging post-match. These two have had much better matches, but this is still a match-up I will never get tired of.

Finlay v Rey Mysterio (Smackdown!, 9/8/06)

This is another match-up that rarely fails to deliver. This go- around was more one-sided than usual, but it was a pretty awesome display of Finlay roughing up a little dude for just under 15 minutes. The previous week Vicki Guerrero had slapped Rey and sided with Chavo as part of the whole Eddie-sploitation nonsense, so Rey comes into this playing up the idea that his head isn't in the game. Finlay doesn't give two shits and just bullies him, and you get the sense that if he doesn't ditch the baggage then he's going to wake up the next morning with a couple nice bruises. He hits his hope spots and his timing is as impeccable as you'd expect, but this is really all about Finlay coming up with interesting ways to beat him up. He's like Carlos Santana fucking around with a guitar and making magic. Plus he's an amazing shit talker, slapping Rey in the corner; "Some'in the matter, Rey? Some'in the matter?" You never really hear Finlay being pimped as a great in-ring shit talker, but the guy is pretty spectacular at it. Finish is also choice with Rey attempting a springboard only to flub it (they play it up as his mind still being elsewhere enough times that I suspect it was deliberate), Finlay taking advantage and spiking him with the Celtic Cross. Mysterio's such a good opponent for Finlay, because he's not afraid to truly get his ass handed to him. Their matches don't have the same Finlay/Regal or Finlay/Benoit levels of stiffness, but Rey can take a beating like Benoit or Regal, or indeed most guys in wrestling history, can't. It makes for an awesome yet different dynamic, and like Finlay/Regal, it's a match-up I'll never get sick of.

Finlay Project

Finlay, He's Down by the Railroad Tracks, Sittin' Low in the Back Seat of his Cadillac

2011-06-16T16:13:00.003+01:00

Finlay v Matt Hardy (Smackdown!, 1/20/06)

Hell of a debut; pretty much the perfect taste of what's to come. Everything Finlay does in this just looks super nasty, even the regular stuff you'd see every week. Matt ducks his head at one point, presumably to hit a backdrop, but Finlay just straight punts him in the chest and it sounds like someone let off a firework. Finlay's permanent sneer is why pro-wrestling is the best. He does that standing Bombs Away spot, he does a sort of mini Rocker Dropper where he digs his knee into Hardy's neck before ramming his face into the mat, he counters a baseball slide by trapping Matt between the ring apron and the edge of the ring and just starts cracking him with forearms -- practically everything is the nastiest variation of that move or hold possible. This is also 2006 so Matt hasn't flipped his tree yet (at least not completely), and regardless of what he's like now (last time I saw him was mid-2010 so I genuinely don't know how good or bad he is at this stage), 2006 Matt Hardy was fucking great and he more than holds up his end. Match gets thrown out because Finlay won't stop blasting Matt in the face, but Finlay isn't even happy with the way he gets disqualified so he goes and stomps his head into the ring steps.

Finlay v Chris Benoit (Smackdown!, 2/3/06)

Too short to reach the level of their best matches, but if the Hardy match set the table for what Finlay would be like in the coming year then this set the table for what the matches between these two would be like. Only goes about five minutes, but they really lay into each other; punching each other in the ear, throwing crazy forearms, cringe-worthy chops...basically the kind of stuff you expect out of them. Gotta love Finlay squeezing Benoit's trapezius muscle to try and break his grip. As an abbreviated version of a Benoit/Finlay shitkicking, this was boss.

Finlay Project

MY NAME... IS FINLAY... AND I LOVE TO FIGHT!

2011-06-16T15:29:00.009+01:00

What's another dorktastic long term wrestling project?

Been wanting to do a Finlay project for a while now, and watching some Smackdown! stuff from 2006 last night motivated me to start it. I'm just gonna stick to his WWE run since that seems way more manageable and less daunting. The goal is to cover everything he's done in the WWE and have it all piled in here as a checklist of sorts. Because I'll obviously need something like that later in life.

Much like the Mid-South project I'm just gonna break it down into 4 tiers, with the best stuff being in the top tier and the "worst" stuff being in the bottom tier. Everything within each tier will be in chronological order as well, since ranking it all individually from best to worst - especially given the fact I'll go months without updating it - can get pretty confusing.

Finlay v Chris Benoit (Smackdown!, 5/5/06)

Finlay v Matt Hardy (Smakcdown!, 1/20/06)
Finlay, JBL & Randy Orton v Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit & Bobby Lashley (Smackdown!, 2/24/06)
Finlay v Rey Mysterio (Smackdown!, 9/8/06)

Finlay v Chris Benoit (Smackdown!, 2/3/06)
Finlay v William Regal (Smackdown!, 8/4/06)
Finlay v Drew McIntyre (Dusseldorf, Germany, 11/7/09)
Finlay v Mike Knox (Superstars, 1/7/10)

More Tag Team Wrestling That Fucking Ruled

2011-06-14T22:40:00.003+01:00

The Rockers v Los Conquistadors (MSG, 9/29/88)

I've watched a bunch of matches between these guys over the last couple years, and this is the best I've come across. I love guys in matching full body attire (well that's the gayest thing I've said this week) that do a bunch of switcheroo shtick, and there's some real good switcheroo shtick in this. The early torture rack switcheroo bit is especially great, and watching this match for the first time many moons ago might've been the first time I had seen it (although it probably wasn't). Shawn's FIP spell is really bossy, mostly because the dudes from somewhere in Latin America just choke and punch the shit out of him behind the ref's back. Seriously, 90% of their control segment consists of blatant cheating and illegally switching in and out so they can brutalise a pretty boy. Our ref' isn't all that great and spots most of the shenanigans because he's out of place or whatever, but Marty is always a great apron guy and does his best to keep looking frantic and giving the ref' a reason to scoot over and settle him down. Also gotta love how the Conquistadors are fully committed to legitimately keeping Michaels in *their* corner the whole time. Any time Shawn manages to slip away, somebody dressed as an Oscar will drag him back into the corner and start choking him with a tag rope or some shit. Crowd are plenty psyched for the hot tag and one of the Conquistadors takes a batshit Jerry Estrada bump off a backdrop that added several snowflakes to this whole affair. This is why tag team wrestling fucked rules (or ruled, IDK).

The Rockers v Demolition (MSG, 10/24/88)

I love this match. There's about 5 Rockers matches that are my go-to matches for getting me out of a wrestling slump, and this is one of them. It's been getting talked up quite a bit on PWO thanks to the whole Demolition discussion (part of the 'PG-13 vs. The World' thread that motivated me to watch some tag wrestling in the first place), and irrespective of whether or not one thinks Demolition are great, good, bad, shitty or whatever, this match seems to be one everybody can get behind as something good. And it waaaay is. Starts out with your simple brute force v speed/quickness dynamic. Demolition's offence/lack of offence has been one of the main issues that's been debated in the aforementioned thread. Some people don't think they bring enough offence/have enough good offence/whatever. Others are content with what they do bring because they make up for any shortcomings by excelling in other departments (structure/"storytelling"/whatever). I can't really comment either way because, other than this match, I don't think I've watched a Demolition match in about 3 years. Here they're mostly about the clubbering. But I'm easily enough pleased and I can get behind good clubbering, and well, the Demos have some fucking good clubbering. Ax is throwing some especially nasty looking shots and basically trying to manhandle Michaels. Shawn attempts a crossbody and Ax just catches him, struts around the ring with him in his arms, and drills him onto the mat hard. Then Shawn and Marty shift gears and the Demos are on the back foot, totally caught out by the speed and struggling to slow things down at all. Lots of quick tags, tonnes of arm wringers, ducking wild punches before throwing some peppering jabs; the Rockers are going a million miles an hour and the Demos can't keep up. Until Ax just cracks Jannetty in the face with a headbutt. You can run around like a 12 year old on speed all you want, but at some point you'll stop to catch a glimpse of that side boob and then the dude in the facepaint will fucking kill you. They work over Jannetty briefly, but Shawn's back in pretty soon and from there they head into Shawn in peril as he hits the ropes at a hundred miles an hour and completely hurls himself over the top as Smash pulls the rope down. Looked like the crazy fuck almost broke his back going over. The Demos slow things down to a crawl at this point. There's a great moment where Smash has Michaels in a Boston Crab and appears to be losing it, so he tags in Ax and Ax just calmly walks in and blast him in the spine with a big old clubber. Hot tag comes and Jannetty is house o' fired to the max, and there's an awesome nearfall off of a rocket launcher before Ax breaks it up. Crowd really buy into Shawn and Marty winning this, and you can tell by the way they just deflate when it doesn't happen. Finish is super nasty as Smash pick up Marty in a bearhug and walks him over to the corner, while Ax channels Stan Hansen and nukes him square in the face with a lariat. It's a shame this match-up didn't happen more often, because it's a great one.

Tag Team Wrestling Used to Fucking Rule

2011-06-13T15:45:00.002+01:00

Inspired by the 'PG-13 vs. The World' thread on PWO. Southern tag style is my favoutite kind of wrestling, and if anything is going to get me out of this rut, it'll be that. I'll probably ramble about a bunch of Rockers matches over the next few days, too. Two entries in two days?! FUCK OUTTA HERE!

Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas v Brian Pillman & Steve Austin (Clash of the Champions XXII, 1/13/93)

Well this was awesome. Ross points out at the start that this has a 30 minute time limit as opposed to the 60 minute time limit usually given to title matches, so we can probably expect a much faster paced match than we'd normally get. And well these guys just go peddle to the floor for almost 20 minutes. Was this peak Shane Douglas as a worker? I mean the stint where he was teaming with Steamboat? It's been a long time since I watched any ECW Douglas, and even then ECW is pretty much a total blind spot for me, but shit, early 90s babyface Douglas was a legitimately bossy tag worker. Sure, teaming with Steamboat isn't likely to turn you into a shitty wrestler, but still, every time I've seen the Douglas/Steamer team, Douglas has been working his ass off. All of the early stuff with Austin and Pillman on the back foot is GREAT, and it's mostly Douglas in there with them. The "Austin was a great technical wrestler before he broke his neck" talking point doesn't make (and has never made) much sense to me, but one thing that's pretty clear is the fact he was a total bump freak before the injury, and watching something like this before watching something from him in 1998 WWF, you can see how much he loved to really "snap" back on bumps. He just flings himself around like a nut for everything here and it's really awesome. Pillman is of course Pillman and he pinballs like a freak as well. His throat-first guardrail bump from the apron is complete lunacy and every time I've seen him do it the crowd totally loses its stack. Eventually Austin and Pillman take over and Steamboat plays FIP, which is one of the safest bets for producing something good in wrestling history. If pressed I'd still say Ricky Morton is *the* all-time face in peril, but there isn't much daylight between him and Steamboat. Couple great teases of the hot tag, and this crowd is fucking rocking by the time it actually comes around. Also thought the DQ finish was a Hell of a DQ finish. If you're gonna get DQ'ed, you might as well do it in style, right? Oh and that nearfall off the top rope elbow drop cheapshot was fucking ace. Great stuff.

DVDVR All Japan Set, Disc 1

2011-06-12T18:23:00.002+01:00

Figured it was time I dusted this off again. I've barely watched any wrestling at all over the last few months, but I finished disc 1 of the All Japan 80s set this morning and finally finished the first disc of the 1993 yearbook, so I might be getting back into the swing of things.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Dick Murdoch (2/23/80)
- Noice start to the set. Thought the first fall was a really good "laying the groundwork" fall that set up some interesting "plot points". Jumbo is like a gnat at a barbecue that just won't go away, and Murdoch has these great toothless grimaces and signs of frustration at not being able to do anything without Jumbo grabbing hold of his arm and yanking away at it. Mostly feels pretty "70s" with the matwork, but I dig 70s style matwork and there was some great instances of it here. Love Murdoch's mini-piledriver from a seated position when Jumbo tries to escape a headscissors. Second and third falls build on each other, but neither of them last more than 5 minutes, which doesn't really do the initial 17 minute fall justice by giving it the big payoff it deserved. More people need to take a page from Dick's book and just start punching people right in the fucking neck. Man Murdoch is the greatest. Finish is cool as well, and pretty unexpected to boot. I don't think I've ever seen that kind of submission/pinning combination before.

Dick Murdoch v Jumbo Tsuruta (3/5/80)
- Holy shit is Murdoch the fuggin' MAYNE. Tonnes of great Dickie moments in this, like CRANKING on this nasty looking armbar while punching Jumbo in the kidneys, begging off into the corner so he can kick Jumbo in the nuts (don't think you actually see the kick, but Jumbo sells being hit in the balls), the trademark "just got my teeth knocked out" selling, etc. Murdoch was a little more aggressive in the first fall here than in the first match, pretty much adopting Jumbo's strategy of going after the arm. I probably enjoyed the opening fall of the first match better, but I'm leaning towards this being the better match as a whole. Things felt way more niggly here -- they never flat out smacked each other in the face as much in the first one. Second and third falls are still fairly short, but I kind of felt like they were more "complete" as opposed to being left wanting a little more. They also play off some ideas from the first match, like the neck work and one guy maybe getting a little too aggressive in the second and third falls. Another really cool finish here as well. I'll wind up re-watching some stuff at the end when I'm trying to come up with a ballot I'm relatively happy with, but at this point I'm thinking I'll stick both Murdoch/Jumbo matches side by side, because I don't think there's much at all between them.

Jumbo Tsuruta v Dick Slater (5/1/80)
- This is definitely on the re-watch pile. I've tried to watch it five times in the last week and four of those attempts failed because I was either too tired (I usually watch this stuff at night before I go to sleep), or because of some distraction that took me out of the match completely. Last night I stuck it on again and then some other shit happened about half way through and naturally I got distracted. But I figured if I didn't finish it last night then I never would, because that's just how the world works. Besides, I was a big fan of this a few years back, so it probably deserves a proper watch. Plenty to like about it even if one is only half paying attention, though. Slater does lots of little Terry Funk-esque things (some of his facial expressions, some touches he adds to his selling) and really hurls himself into an over the top rope bump, which looked way crazy. He also comes into this with a big bandage over his eye, gets some big face heat, and there's a great moment where he's trying like an absolute motherfucker to make Jumbo submit to a spinning toe hold while Jumbo repeatedly boots him in his bloody eye just to shake him. I imagine I'll like this a good deal when I get around to giving it a proper watch.

Giant Baba v Harley Race (9/4/80)
- I thought this was fine enough, but not anything that'll finish high at the end. Race is your touring NWA Champ and is clearly working as NWA Champ coming into the "territory" to make the local guy look as good as possible. As a result he basically bumps around and eats a ton of Baba's offence for the duration. Some of it feels a little contrived, though, and it's really one-sided, especially given the finish/result. Still, I tend to kind of like Harley bumping around in general (not really a Race fan but if I can dig anything about him it's that), and he takes a few really nice ones here. Baba's chops look about as good as I've ever seen them in this too, and so do his big tomahawk things to the forehead (really looks like he's putting a lot of force behind them, jumping off his feet and coming down with a big swing of the arm). There's one moment where Harley just seems to toss out a piledriver as a transition which seemed sort of stupid and out of nowhere - and probably a decent example of why some folks aren't Harley fans in the first place - but for the most part this struck me as really solid-if-unspectacular stuff.

Giant Baba v Harley Race (9/9/80)
- Much better rematch; fairly short, plenty intense. Harley jumps Baba right at the bell this time around and his early flurry of offence lasts longer than basically the entirety of his offence in the first match. He still works most of this from the bottom, bumping around, bleeding, eating all of Baba's offence, but you get the sense this one's a little more even and that Race has a point to prove after losing the belt the last time out. Run to the finish is good here as well, with Baba busting out everything he did in the last match, except this time Race keeps managing to hold on. Finish seemed a little weird initially, but the more I think about it the more I kind of dig it. Thought this was bordering on really good stuff.

Ricky Steamboat v The Sheik (12/9/80)
- Pretty sure I've seen this before, probably on the Steamboat set. This is likely a bottom of the barrel shot for me, but I always get a kick out of Steamboat losing the rag and trying to stab someone. Whole match is more or less both guys trying to stab each other, actually. They bleed, they stab, they bleed some more, etc. Sheik doesn't look as menacing as an Abby or Brody, but it's pretty awesome to see him stumble around like a zombie trying to grab hold of a fan while everybody scatters. Him trying to bite the ref's face was also terrific. Match itself goes about 5 minutes, but then there's the post-match with Steamboat continually trying to maul The Sheik while Sheiky tries to climb up the balcony, either to get away from Steamboat or so he can scare some more people. He succeeds in both regardless, so I guess it's a win-win. I'm a fan of crazy out of control brawling. This was crazy out of control brawling 101. Not necessarily *awesome* crazy out of control brawling, but crazy out of control brawling nonetheless.

Billy Robinson v Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)
- Hell of a match; felt like a real struggle the whole way through, nothing necessarily tricked out in terms of matwork, but everything is fought for and some of it seems like an early 80s All Japan equivalent of Battlarts. There's an especially awesome fight over a figure-four towards the end where they're both twisting and cranking at each others' legs in order to create some kind of opening or reversal. Also gotta love Bock getting fed up being on the losing end of mat exchanges and just slapping the fucking taste out of Billy's mouth (even though it was technically Billy that "struck first"). Most impressive thing to me is probably the fact that it goes half an hour and there was never any point where I felt like they were getting "exhibitiony". They even do a stand-off spot that actually felt organic, which sort of blew my mind. And holy shit does Billy have an awesome, super-speedy little roll up in this. I was as surprised as Bock seemed to be when he pulled it off. Just great stuff all around and the first match (pending a re-watch of Jumbo/Slater, I guess) that struck me as a good shout for the overall top 40. Granted, this is the first disc and I've been way off on things like this more times than I could count, but still...this was the shit.

Terry & Dory Funk v Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (12/11/80)
- So I thought this had its moments, but I definitely didn't think it was anywhere near as good as I thought it was when I last watched it. Terry's pretty great the whole way through and has some really good exchanges with both Jumbo and Baba, but Dory just kind of floats along and rarely does anything I find myself taking notice of. I like how he'd casually sidestep a dropkick, like such shenanigans are beneath him, but there's never any point where it seems like he actually *cares*. About anything. His expression never changes, even when they run an in-match angle towards the end where Terry sacrifices himself to save Dory and Dory has to fend off both Jumbo and Baba. Terry is selling the motherfucking shit out of this by convulsing on the floor before fighting his way back onto the apron so he can make the hot tag, all fired up like a lunatic shouting for Dory to reach the corner ("I'M HERE FOR YOU, DORY!"), but as much effort Terry puts in to making it seem like a big deal...you just don't get the same from Dory. You don't really get the same from Baba and Jumbo either, which is a shame considering how hard Terry's trying to get this over, but Jumbo is at least good at getting pissed off and chippy. I've written in the past about how Dory getting this rep as a great "technical wrestler" that was better than Terry confused me, and this isn't about to change my mind. Honestly, I'd put Terry *so* far above Dory it isn't even funny. Match goes about 45 minutes and has some nice stretches with one team in control, but on the other hand there's an awful lot of stuff that just meanders and isn't very interesting at all. And the finish is kinda crap to boot. Probably bottom 10.

Ricky Steamboat v Jimmy Snuka (6/3/81)
- So by this point in my tenure as a wrestling supernerd I've watched a decent amount of early 80s footage involving Jimmy Snuka, yet I still find myself surprised at how juiced to the absolute motherfucking gills he seems to be. Like, all the time. Steamboat is all cut up like Rambo as well, but Snuka is on another level. I thought he was pretty entertaining in this, though. I had seen it before a couple years ago and remember coming away from it then thinking much the same, although I probably liked it as an actual match more the first time. And a lot of that entertainment came from Snuka doing something goofy and mildly unnecessary, so maybe it was entertaining for the wrong reasons? Who knows. He's got some awesome Randy Savage-esque facial expressions though, all zonked out and crazy like. There's a great moment where he starts biting Steamboat's forehead and comes up sneering with his teeth all covered in blood. He's quite the bump machine too, although some of the bumps were pretty silly -- he takes a running over the top rope bump post-match that was hilarious. His face plant off of a fucked up springboard was also spectacular. Steamboat is Steamboat and is always going to do something at least worthwhile, but for the most part it's Snuka that I find myself being most interested in here...for better or worse. Steamboat snapping at the end and trying to choke Snuka to death was pretty cool, but I don't recall anything happening beforehand to necessarily warrant him chopping Higuchi in the head. Bottom half, most likely.

Ricky Steamboat v Mil Mascaras (8/22/81)
- I was still half drunk when I watched this so I guess it could do with another go around at some point down the line, but I liked it either way. First fall was really nifty; lots of neat stuff on the mat and there wasn't any point where I thought it was too exhibitiony. Thought it was really cool that they never threw a single strike the whole time. Didn't think the second and third falls were as good as the first, and the finish is kind of cack, but this was totally inoffensive pro-graps that had some nice highs. Maybe it'll come off even better when I can see straight. I have the whiskey shakes right now too so I'm not writing anything else.

1992 WCW - The Year Of The King! Of CABLE!

2011-03-23T19:36:00.005Z

Vader v Sting (Starrcade, 12/28/92)

Did WCW ever bring back the King of Cable thing? This is the only time I remember seeing or hearing about it. They probably could've turned it into some kind of big-ish deal with the huge trophy and a bunch of certificates and McDonalds vouchers, kind of like all the bells and whistles that comes with the Triple Crown. This is an all-time great match-up, and this was a fucking great match. I especially like how it's laid out. Vader just tosses Sting around to begin with and laughs when Sting throws some punches, and Jesse has this great line about how in football this would be the time where you punt. You're third and long on your own 20 and Clay Matthews is RIGHT THERE looking like the Predator and shit. Punt that bitch and try something else next time around. When Sting eventually gets something going, it's with the same run of offence that got him the advantage in the Bash match earlier in the year. He really comes out of nowhere with this awesome looking koppo kick and then plants Vader with a big German suplex, and Vader is forced to actually take a powder. Of course Sting sees this and goes for the kill, but Vader dodges a cross body (or maybe it was a Stinger Splash) and Sting crushes his throat on the railing. And now he's fuckin' dead and Vader is gonna eat him. Big Leon really beats the shit out of him here. He'll slow it down and crank Sting's neck and it'll look real nasty, or he'll hook a chinlock and put his entire body weight on Sting's neck, but it's at its surliest when he's straight punching him dead in the face. Doesn't even need to be said that Vader has some mean punches, but man is he just PLASTERING Sting in this. He keeps swinging for the fences and Sting does this awesome sell where he'll try and cover up and block, but there's only so much protection you can get against Vader and there's a few amazing desperation moments where he hits the deck and just refuses to stay down, struggling back to his feet, stumbling around as Vader keeps blasting him. Feels like a combination of Ali/Foreman (which Jimbo references on commentary) with Vader punching himself out, and Tyson/Berbick with Sting getting dropped and willing himself to get back to his feet all spaghetti legged (difference here is that Sting actually succeeds). It gets to the point where Vader's blows are landing with 30% force, and that's when Sting knows he's weathered the storm. Final few minutes are all about whether Sting's will or Vader's girth will win out. It's your classic monster v underdog climax, and a fitting end to a Hell of a match. "IT'S TAHM FO WAWR!"

WCW 1992 Project

On A Mid-South Highway 40 Days And Nights. Ain't Complainin'; It's My Job And It Suits Me Right

2011-03-04T14:37:00.003Z

Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart v Mr. Wrestling II & Magnum TA (Cage Match) (12/25/83)

Yeah, this is fucking great. Everybody really brought it here. Neidhart isn't a guy often pimped as being a great worker, but I always enjoy him in tags and he and Reed are quite the pair of asshole thugs in this. Jim is especially good at directing traffic and running distractions so Reed can toss Magnum into the cage or take cheapshots. The first Reed match on the set was pretty much a showcase for his offence, but this has bump machine Reed where he's taking amazing head over heels bumps for II's kneelifts and soaring fifty feet in the air off back body drops. Match goes less than 20 minutes, but they manage to fit both babyfaces taking a spell at getting beat on. Magnum is up first and Reed and Neidhart just brutalise him, repeatedly throwing him into the cage, busting him open, tossing him out onto concrete (it's one of those cages that leaves a gap between it and the ring), etc. Magnum's one of many guys whose rep got boosted big time by the Mid-South set, and he's seriously great at taking a shitkicking here. II's FIP spell is the shorter of the two, but the transition into it is awesome. Also love the finish -- Reed gets cocky and picks II up from a couple pinfalls because he wants to deal more damage, then he tags in Neidhart who murders him with a Samoan drop and goes for the pin. Reed is now happy with the amount of damage dealt, but Jim isn't and decides he wants to take II's mask off first. Reed is going nuts on the apron telling Neidhart to finish it before they get bit in the ass, but Neidhart wants that fucking mask. He eventually gets it off, but II has another one underneath it. Jim doesn't realise this and starts jumping for joy, showing Reed the mask like a kid who just got that one video game for his birthday. Reed is still going nuts, telling him to turn around because II just tagged in Magnum. Magnum comes in, cleans house and hits Neidhart with the belly to belly while II cuts off Reed from making the save by jumping over Magnum and hitting Reed with this flying kneelift. Just great, great stuff.

Ted DiBiase v Magnum TA (No DQ, OKC) (5/27/84)

So these guys had two No DQ matches for the American Heavyweight Title on the same day. This is the first and a really awesome sub-ten minute scrap. Ted is the champ here and jumps Magnum at the start, taking him out to the floor and throwing him into tables while the entire front row loses its shit. Magnum fights back and slams Ted on the floor (which looked real nasty) and fuck man, Magnum is just aces as this fired to the GILLS take-no-shit asskicking Tom Selleck lookalike. Ted takes over again by loading the glove and blasting Magnum in the head, which is a fucking awesome transition, and Magnum goes ahead and taps an artery. For whatever reason, they cut from the crowd audio mid-match and switch to Jim Ross doing commentary with the crowd muted, and it's pretty disappointing given how ridiculously hot they were. Ted takes a nice over the top rope bump to lead into Magnum's burst of offence towards the finish, and I liked how he just unloaded a few big bombs one after the other to put DiBiase away. Might be a little too abrupt for some folks, but I dug it.

Ted DiBiase v Magnum TA (No DQ, Tulsa) (5/27/84)

Thought this was even better. Gets a few more minutes than the first match and there's no annoying audio bullshit at any point. Thing I like most about this is the way they almost play off some of the spots from the first match, which is pretty admirable in some kind of fucked up nerdy pro-wrestling kind of way. They're wrestling two matches in two different cities in the space of a few hours and just as easily could've worked the same match and got the same nuclear crowd heat. They could've had DiBiase jump Magnum at the bell again and people would've been just as rabid for it. Instead, Magnum catches on and this time it's him who starts out the stronger of the two. Ted takes over by throwing Magnum out to the floor, and that gusher from earlier gets re-opened thanks to what looked like a head-first spill into the ring steps. Ted is awesome here, ramming Magnum's head into tables, tearing at the cut right in front of a bunch of screaming Magnum TA fans, and there's an amazing sleeper hold spot where Magnum's blood ends up covering Ted's arm. The lighting and camera angle gives it a really gruesome feel, too. Also love how they play off the loaded glove spot. Ted used that in the first match to score the advantage; this time, after Magnum's already started making his comeback, he tries to shut him down by loading the glove and taking a swing at him. Magnum sees it coming though, ducks it, hits an atomic drop that sends Ted into the ropes, and catches him on the rebound with a belly to belly. Terrific match.

Mid-South Project

DVDVR Memphis Set, Top 60: #50

2011-03-03T18:17:00.002Z

Jerry Lawler v King Kong Bundy ($10, 000 Challenge, 7/16/84)

I'm a sucker for a good sub-ten minute match, and this was a fucking good sub-ten minute match. Lawler's a guy that showed he could get a ton of mileage out of doing practically nothing on the Texas set. The cage match against Kerry ended abruptly and stopped it from going ridiculously high on my ballot, but the first half of it was tremendous and it was almost entirely down to Lawler antics. He was a heel in that match. Here he's a babyface, so there's no working the crowd into a frenzy by cheating and making the referee look like a fool, but it's a match that goes 7 minutes and it takes us 6 of those minutes before Lawler so much as throws his first punch.

He spends the first couple minutes eating a man sized beating, though. Gimmick is that Lawler gets a grand of Jimmy Hart's money for every minute he can survive against Bundy, so Bundy just squashes him in the corner during the intros and we're off to the races. Bundy unloads a bunch of 400 pound offence and tries to make short work of the whole thing, and of course Lawler sells it like he's Lawler.

After a couple minutes of this he realises he's getting nowhere fast just bails to the floor. For the next 3 or 4 minutes, he basically stalls for time. And it rules. He milks the count, ducks in and out of the ring, plays cat and mouse with Bundy; Lance gets on the house mic after every minute passes and announces that Lawler's won another thousand dollars, and the crowd totally eat all of this up. Bundy and Hart are great at getting wound up (Lance: "Hart's having a hemorrhage"), and Lawler's just running down the clock and filling his pockets.

Eventually he gets caught between Bundy and a pole-wielding Jimmy Hart, and Bundy just goes to town on him some more while Hart's screaming like a maniac to put him away before he loses any more money. Of course you know where this is going, and when the strap comes down YOU smile because YOU know Lawler is about to throw some motherfucking amazing punches. His first combo that is capped off with a running straight right was BOSS as HELL and I rewound it about 7 times. Finish is what it is, but it sets up a couple awesome tags down the line so I guess I can't complain.

Just a bucket load of fun. I sent my Texas ballot in today and that set had a bunch of really great short matches on it. This has a totally different dynamic to the Von Erichs/Freebirds or Von Erichs/Duo matches where they're just fucking beating the fucking shit out of each other with leather straps and cowboy boots and cage doors, and I'll be honest, I wouldn't put this up there with the best car wrecks of that set, but if someone makes a comp of awesome sub-ten minute matches I can totally see this side-by-side with a bunch of Michael Hayes bar fights.

DVDVR Memphis Set, Top 60: #51

2011-03-02T19:18:00.002Z

Rock 'n' Roll Express v Ivan Koloff & Krusher Kruschev (9/30/85)

I had this about 30 spots higher on my Memphis ballot than it wound up finishing on the overall list. I watched the RnRs/Nightmares match that finished just outside the overall top 40 a little while ago and couldn't believe I had it ranked outside my own top 50 (I had it was down at #88!!!). I mean that match was just WAY up my alley and I totally underrated it the first time around. I half expected to come away from re-watching this match and thinking I undersold the Nightmares match while overrating this one. Turns out I liked this one even more than I did before. The Nightmares match is still better, but I do not regret ranking this just outside my top 50.

First half of this with Ricky and Robert in control is a blast. RnRs have a shit ton of stuff they can bust out in an opening shine segment and they roll out a few great spots here. My favourite is the spot where Ivan whips Morton into the corner, but Gibson runs along the apron and uses his own body to cover the turnbuckle and save Ricky. Ricky then makes to whip Ivan into the same corner so Krusher runs along the apron and does the same thing Gibson just did, except Morton spots it, keeps hold of Ivan and whips him into the opposite corner while Gibson runs along the apron to kick Krusher off the turnbuckle.

Russians eventually take over when Gibson hits the ropes during the course of a mid-match brawl and Nikita yanks the top rope down. Gibson's a fine FIP. He takes a nice beating and is good at firing back, and he's more than happy to get heaved around and tossed to the floor by the Russians. Russians do the phantom tag switcheroo shtick here and I always love when the guys doing that spot make sure to clap their hands so the ref' at least "hears" a tag, even if they can't see it. The Fantastics did the switcheroo spot a bunch on the Texas set, but they never clapped and gave the ref' any real reason to believe them when they said they made a legal tag (other than the screaming girls in the crowd backing them up). The Conquistadors or the Super Destroyers can get away with it because they're wearing identical full body attire and it whips the crowd into a frenzy. If you don't look alike you gotta clap your hands, man. Ivan and Krusher are both bald and I guess they kind of look alike, but not to the point where they're fooling anybody so they clap their hands and that gets a thumbs up from me.

I like the Dusty finish to this. Ref' is distracted and Kruschev gets the chain and blasts Gibson in the head, rolls Ivan out of the ring and covers Robert for the three. This is where bald wrestlers with same ring attire that don't necessarily look the same facially doing the switcheroo thing is great, because Kruschev makes sure to hide his face when he's covering Gibson so the ref' can't see it and assumes nothing fishy is up. Of course the Russians celebrate and Morton points out that Kruschev wasn't the legal man and that he used a chain. Match is restarted, Hell breaks loose, Morton scores a roll-up on Ivan (who's legal).

I love matches like this and I dug the shit out of this match.

DVDVR Memphis Set, Top 60: #52

2011-03-01T17:43:00.004Z

Randy Savage v Jerry Oski (5/7/85)

So this is the last 16 minutes of a 31 minute match and I'm pretty steamed that the first half is missing, because what we get is really fucking good. I imagine this'll do better than #52 when I re-watch everything ahead of it and revise the list, but more than that, if this is in full then it's probably a top 20 match.

We're JIP with Oski controlling Savage with some nice stuff focused on the arm. Only other time I can recall seeing Oski is on one of the extras on the Texas set where Abdullah the Butcher slaughters him. Actually that's not true, I remember there's an Oski/Lanny Poffo match that follows this one on the Memphis set, but I'm not remembering anything *about* it. That said, I actually had that match higher than this one. So either I liked it WAY more than everybody else that took part in the Memphis project or I was plastered when I watched it or I was in a terrific mood. Not sure yet, but the point is I haven't seen a ton of Jerry Oski. Actually that wasn't the point. That was more of a digressive point. The point I was in the process of trying to make is that Oski has some neat ways of working the arm here. Maybe he was always a guy that could work a body part with some nice low end stuff, I'm not sure. But here he does neat armdrags, legdrops the arm, bars it, lets Savage up so he can take him down with another neat armdrag, etc. Just simple stuff, but it's effective and it looks good.

Star of this match is Savage, though. Oski is fine at working from the top and controlling the arm, but Savage's selling is what makes it interesting. Not just in terms of selling pain, but in selling frustration, anger, the fact he's unhinged, etc.

He eventually takes over by tossing Oski over the top rope while Tux Newman runs distraction. Unlike Oski, Savage is a guy I have seen a million times before. Every wrestler in history has signature "stuff"; things they like to do in matches that they'll bust out pretty regularly. If you're a fan of that wrestler there'll be stuff you pop for and get a kick out of whenever they do it. If they do it enough you might even be able to tell when it's coming and get giddy in anticipation. Arn Anderson has a ton of stuff like this. Dick Murdoch has a ton of stuff like this. When Arn Anderson points to his head because he's too smart to be fooled I get giddy because I know what's coming. When Dick Murdoch puts his dukes up for a fist fight I get giddy because I know what's coming.

Randy Savage has a ton of stuff like this.

Savage comes across as total lunatic every time he shows up on this set. Doesn't matter if he's a heel or a babyface, he's nuts. Doesn't matter if he's cutting a promo or working a match, he's nuts. He has a bunch of stuff he likes to do when his opponent is on the floor and it goes a long way towards creating this aura. He takes control about 3 minutes in (3 minutes in to what we get on tape, anyway), and he spends roughly the next 10 continually tossing Oski onto the floor and working the crowd into a frenzy with his antics. He throws Oski out on the left side of the ring then exits himself on the right side, gets down on all fours and sneaks around to blindside him. He hits his big double axe handle from the top rope out to the floor. He throws him into the post. He'll distract the ref' so Tux can take shots at him with his cane. All the while he gives Oski enough to keep the crowd believing that there might be an upset on the cards. I can totally see someone thinking 'heel repeatedly throws babyface onto floor' as main offensive manoeuvre for 10 minutes kind of drags, and shit, maybe even I thought it dragged the first time around, but I was way into it this time and thought it was a blast.

Final few minutes really feel like the climax to a title match. Savage has had this guy much lower on the totem pole than him on the ropes for the last while and yet Oski won't stay down. In fact he keeps coming back and there's a few moments where he causes Savage a scare. I guess Oski pops up a little too quick after the elbow drop, but it really feels like a big moment and a satisfying upset when he scores the roll up.

Really wish the first half of this was available. I like what we get a lot, but JIP wrestling, especially when the entire first half is missing, drives me nuts. I suspect there'd be more neat Oski controlling stuff and epic Savage stalling too, and I'd be all for that.

I slightly prefer the Savage/Idol match, but I'd put this second best of the handful of stuff I've re-watched in my top 60 so far.

Well, They Blew Up The Chicken Man In Mid-South Last Night

2011-02-27T18:34:00.002Z

Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne v Junkyard Dog & Mr. Wrestling II (2/16/83)

This DiBiase's Rat Pack v JYD and his buddies feud was a really bossy little feud. The 10/82 LLT is the peak, but everything around it is always really nifty studio tag wrestling and this was no different. Total DiBiase/Borne bump-fest here as both guys just rule it taking a bunch of offence from JYD and II. They're especially great whenever II throws one of his awesome kneelifts -- Borne's spill off the apron is easy to miss, but it looked cool as shit, then DiBiase takes a great looking spill through the ropes a little later. There's a great spot where II monkey flips Borne from one end of the ring to the other and back again while he has DiBiase in an armbar. Ref' bump is also really good and doesn't look telegraphed at all. Post-match brawl with the locker room emptying and dudes swinging chairs and fists is a blast, and this whole thing was just a ton of fun.

Butch Reed v Iron Sheik (4/8/83)

So I can remember coming home smashed on Christmas Eve 2008 and watching this match for the first time. That's about all I remember from that night but there you go. At the time it was my first exposure to Reed on the set, but the whole "I was smashed" thing meant that I had a hard time remembering anything about it. Never went back to re-watch it and so my gigantic man crush on Reed never developed until later. Re-watching it now, DEEPLY a member of the Butch Reed fan club, I thought it was a lot of fun and an awesome showcase for old Butch. He looks fucking great in this. Kind of feels like a glorified squash at points, but Sheik is good as your Zbyszko-esque staller and he takes a few big bumps, and Reed has tonnes of stuff he can bust out on offence, anyway. His bridge into a backslide looked particularly swank, plus he's busting out multiple dropkicks and doing leapfrogs and all sorts of agile crap for a guy that's built like a brick shithouse. Reed also has a great looking shoulderblock, and his shoulderblock here looked boss. Gotta love Watts on commentary, too. This was taped in April '83 but never aired until a year later after Sheik had won the WWF title from Backlund, and Watts is in full on burial mode, taking shots at JYD, the WWF, etc. Match is smoked by a lot of the better Reed on the set, but this is a fine intro. Sort of wish I was sober the first time.

Dusty Rhodes v Nick Bockwinkel (5/20/83)

Wasn't a fan of this at all the first time I saw it, but, like everything else on disc 1, I liked it more this time around. I dug Dusty a lot here. I guess this sort of feels like a lesser Flair/Dusty match, but I enjoyed Dusty's answers to Bock's opening gambits in this more than I can remember enjoying the early stages of a lot of Dusty v Flair matches. Maybe it's because I've seen Flair v Dusty 8 million times by now, and Dusty strutting and throwing bionic elbows is hardly something new in and of itself, but this still felt "fresher". Still pretty apathetic towards Bockwinkel, though. The AWA set will probably change my overall perception of him, but for the time being he's a guy that does a lot of things mechanically that are good and not a lot of things that are outright bad, but he just doesn't do a whole lot for me.

Chavo Guerrero v Mr. Olympia (6/24/83)

Every one of the 80s sets tends to have at least one match that, when I've finished going through the entire thing, will end up in my top 10 favourite matches ever. The New Japan set had Fujiwara v Choshu from 6/9/87. The Memphis set had Eaton/Koko v Mantel/Cobra from 7/19/82. The Texas set, so far, has Flair/Adams from 2/3/84. Mid-South had this. I fucking love this match. Babyface Olympia might have been my MVP of the early Shreveport studio stuff, but he's a heel now and might be even better. Chavo comes into this looking for revenge after being taken out a couple months back and takes a large portion of the match on offence, but Olympia is awesome at bumping around and eating everything Chavo throws at him. And Chavo has some GREAT offence to throw at him. He busts out a pescado, a bunch of stretch variations (surfboard, some nutty abdominal stretch thing, something else I'm forgetting), an awesome flying forearm, a modified backbreaker, a German suplex, and in between all that he's just going to town on Olympia with strikes while the crowd completely lose it. Whenever Olympia takes over he'll grind Chavo down and Chavo has a few amazing hope spots and comebacks. Last couple minutes really put this over the top. First Olympia puts something on his boot and dropkicks Chavo, and Chavo takes this nasty as shit bump into the ropes and out to the floor. I had never heard a thing about this match when I first went through the set and I totally bit on that being the finish, so Chavo getting his foot on the ropes was an AWESOME nearfall. Olympia locking in the sleeper had me biting again and I figured it was only a matter of time. When Chavo breaks it... man that crowd is insane. Post-match gets it bonus points and this is just great, great stuff. Don't think this is the *best* match on the set, but I'd be surprised if it doesn't stay my favourite once I'm done with this project.

Ted DiBiase v Hacksaw Duggan (Street Fight) (7/29/83)

"A come as you are street fight means you're not going to go as you came" -- Paul Boesch. That's a pretty apt description because these guys sure as shit don't leave looking the same way they did when they came in. This was fucking awesome; chock full of hatred and AMAZING punches and choking and more hatred. There's one spot where Duggan blocks a combination of punches from Ted and then fires back with this tremendous combo of his own and it might have been my favourite moment of the whole first disc. Before long they're choking each other with t-shirts and whipping each other with belts then DiBiase wraps it around his fist and punches Duggan directly in the face. Then the heel of Duggan's cowboy boot falls off and DiBiase uses it to stab him in the head. DiBiase takes this crazy ring post shot here too where he barely protects himself. Thought it could've used some more blood what with them beating the ever loving shit out of each other the way they did and the chair shots and whatnot, but that's a small complaint. And this is the "weakest" of their three matches on the set.

Mid-South Project

That Time I Got Drunk With Tenryu #7

2011-02-26T16:54:00.002Z

Got the PWFG comp this week and started watching that. Mostly been watching Mid-South stuff and trying to finish the Texas set so I can get a ballot in before the deadline. Still holding out for the Tenryu set before I watch a bunch of Tenryu stuff, but the 1993 yearbook set should be here some time in the next couple weeks and there's tonnes of great looking shit on that.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Johnny Barrett (3/14/91)

This was a lot of fun. Fujiwara drills Barrett right in the jaw with a crazy headbutt at the start and, well, that's a Hell of a way to get me into a match from the get-go. This is the first time I've seen Barrett. He's shaped almost like the One Man Gang in that lumberjack match on the Mid-South set, which isn't something I was expecting. Fatboys in my shoot style is something I can totally get behind, though, and I dug how he took exception to the opening headbutt by forcing Fujiwara into the corner and peppering him with knees and palm strikes to the head. His size makes for a really cool dynamic as well. Fujiwara isn't exactly the Rey Mysterio to Barrett's Mark Henry, but the size difference is big enough that it gives off a sort of David v Goliath vibe, and there's times where Fujiwara seems like the piranha trying to figure out ways to take chunks out of the whale without being wiped out by it. Finish is nice, too. Barrett tries to lock in a cross armbreaker and winds up slipping and stumbling back, so Fujiwara seizes the opportunity and pounces. Fujiwara is just a master at flash finishes like that.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Wellington Wilkins Jr. (5/19/91)

Man Fujiwara was awesome in this. He busts out his trademark boston crab counter early and it looks like Wilkins gets caught in the eye socket with his heel (it's turned purple by the end of the match), so Wilkins starts getting rough, throwing palm strikes and nasty little headbutts at Fujiwara's temple. Fujiwara grins and I get giddy because I know what's coming. Match from that point out is really gritty and potatoey with both guys throwing some mean strikes. They aren't full on Ishikawa/Ikeda level strikes, though; they're more subtle, but the intent is clear and in a way it comes off a little more vicious. Fujiwara is awesome as this cocky dickhead; bouncing around taunting Wilkins, throwing this slick roundhouse kick and looking self-satisfied even though it barely connects, and my favourite spot of the match is him hooking on a kneebar and laying sprawled out with his head resting on his elbow (he has this amazing smile on his face too) while Wilkins struggles to break free. In the end I think he actually just smacks him in the face. Every match on this set is new to me and I'm pretty excited about what's to come. This was really good.

Wayne Shamrock v Naoki Sano (PWFG, 5/19/91)

Absolutely incredible match. Wayne and Ken Shamrock are one and the same and I had no idea he had something like this in him. I mean, I had heard enough praise for this match from people whose opinion on wrestling I trust, so I fully expected it to be good, but fuck man, I honestly thought this was as good as any match I've ever seen in the style. For almost half an hour it's just amazing exchanges on the mat punctuated by amazing exchanges on the feet where they're chucking flurries of palm strikes and knees. Shamrock really was a beast here; he had some awesome takedowns, so quick and sudden, and he was relentless on the ground at points. There's one spell where he's determined to get a hold of Sano's arm and lock in a submission. Doesn't matter what submission; he just wants that arm and Sano has to roll and counter and scramble to avoid constant submission attempts. Thing that impressed me most about this is the way they incorporated pro-style moves into the shoot-style setting without them looking out of place. Sano hits an amazing DDT at one point that had me leaning on rewind like a motherfucker, and a little later Shamrock responds by hitting one of his own. Neither came off like pro-style wrestling moves as opposed to shoot style throws, except these shoot style throws land your opponent flat on their head. Sano's STF looked awesome as well. I've seen him bust that spot out in two shoot style matches now and I've popped big for it both times. Still, my favourite spot of the match might have been Shamrock's German suplex. The match had been paced beforehand with both guys taking their time to set up big submission attempts, waiting for the opening and going for the kill. Sano winds up giving up his back and Shamrock looks like he's trying to find an arm or a leg to grab onto so he can go for the submission. He's biding his time and Sano ends up almost on all fours, so Shamrock just deadlifts him and spikes him with the suplex. The actual spot looked great, but the set-up really made it. Love the finish too -- both guys slow down some after the 20 minute mark and when they call it that 25 minutes have passed it seems likely that they're going to a time limit draw. Then they both start blasting each other in the face with strikes and Shamrock has Sano reeling with a number of clean knees and palm strikes. Sano looks like he's about to drop, but Shamrock leaves himself open and gets caught with a good shot that rocks him, so Sano makes his move and hits a fucking dragon suplex (!) before locking in the Fujiwara armbar. Tremendous, tremendous stuff.

Shinya Hashimoto v Scott Norton (New Japan 3/21/94)

Unless any of the other Hashimoto/Norton matches top it, this is probably the best Scott Norton match ever. I mean, Norton is a guy I generally quite like, but this was way better than "quite like". He's awesome as a giant oak tree that Hashimoto is trying to chop down, eating a ton of really nasty strikes and just refusing to topple. He pretty much brutalises Hash early on and laughs at a fool's attempt at a fight back, so Hashimoto has to change it up and try a different strategy. He picks an arm and a leg and just starts hurling kicks at both. It visibly takes its toll on big Scott, who does a fine job selling it all, and it's all really good "groundwork" stuff. Norton isn't as quick to throw lariats and bombs because of the arm, and if nothing else it at least buys Hashimoto time. Norton started out as this total juggernaut, but as things go on there's clear chinks in the armour. Simple story, and they tell it really well. Final few minutes are great with Hashimoto laying into Scott with enziguris while Norton does the whole out on his feet ready to collapse sell, and there's a great moment where it looks like he's one good strike away from dream street before rifling off a big desperation lariat. Hell of a match.

Kiyoshi Tamura v Nikolai Zouev (RINGS, 6/21/97)

This is the first time I've seen Zouev. I heard he was the real deal, and he certainly looks it. Isn't quite as spectacular as Han (based on first impressions, at least), but it looks like he's another one of those Eastern European guys that can just flat out go like crazy on the mat. Tamura is Tamura and some of the scrambles and counters on the ground in the opening 3 minutes are utterly spectacular; just exceptional grappling. Eventually Tamura catches Zouev with a good kick to the knee and Zouev is visibly hurt by it, so Tamura paints a bullseye on it and starts picking away at him with strikes. Zouev knows he can't keep eating leg kicks, and the finish is amazing. Seriously one of the most incredible armbars I've ever seen. Actually felt a lot like the finish to the first Tamura/Han match with Tamura having nowhere to go and needing to tap out before his arm's snapped. Same deal here, but the knot Zouev ties him up in looks even more ridiculous than the one in the Han match. RINGS is gradually becoming one of my favourite promotions of the 90s.

Through The Badlands Of Mid-South I Killed Everything In My Path

2011-02-24T13:11:00.002Z

Junkyard Dog & Mr. Olympia v Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne (Loser Leaves Town) (10/27/82)

Pretty much the perfect TV main event - great pre-match set up, great match, great angle, great post-match. I love how they bring Borne into this. Watts and Boesch do the pre-match interview where they explain that Duggan (or Doogan) is out of the picture right now and that he's probably in jail because he's a crazy bastard, so DiBiase has brought Matt Borne in from another territory as his stand-in partner. The loser leaves town stip only affects the person that takes the fall, so Borne is DiBiase's "sacrificial lamb"; he doesn't even work in Mid-South, so why should he care if he has to leave? They also put his Bombs Away finisher over huge, saying that Ted might have brought him in just to take someone out with it. It's an off the top rope move that would normally be illegal, but this is a no DQ match so it's fair game tonight. Match itself has tonnes of great shit in it. JYD is a good chief ass kicker, Olympia is a great face in peril, and DiBiase and Borne are awesome at both taking and dishing out a beating. I can't wait for the Portland set to see more Borne. He's a guy that I'll always make a point of watching now whenever I come across a match he's involved in, and this was the thing that really made me take notice in the first place. I got all round eyed and giddy when he popped up on the Texas set last night teaming with Buzz fucking Sawyer. The Bombs Away spot in this comes off as spectacular as it should, and JYD is great at reacting to it like he needs to get his partner out of there ASAP. Finish is just a tremendous swerve/angle. Duggan's involvement is so great, mainly because of the way Watts and Boesch handled the pre-match. Something like that would be hilariously telegraphed in most companies and you'd be able to see it coming a mile away. The one thing you probably could see coming a mile away - Borne being the fall guy - is then flipped right on its head and the actual fall guy winds up being the one you'd least expect. Just awesome booking, and a big example of why Watts was so good at it. Also gotta love the post-match interview. Watts is too disgusted to conduct it so Boesch takes over, and by the end he's walking away in disgust as well. DiBiase's spectacularly un-PC line on JYD is an absolute corker, too. This would probably be top 5 on my TX ballot.

Stagger Lee & Mr. Olympia v Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne (Loser Leaves Town) (12/18/82)

Neat enough match, but probably bottom of the pile from everything I've re-watched so far. Plenty heated and DiBiase and Borne are pretty kingsized in their bumping and stooging, but at 6 minutes long, it just won't stack up to some of the better stuff on a set that's full of amazing shit. Finish is good again, though. JYD comes back under a mask and is looking for revenge. No way he won't get it. Except his partner just took the fall and now he's gone for 2 months. How fucking great is that? These Irish Boy's Club matches all seem to have intricate and at least cool finishes. I wonder who was in the Patterson role.

Mid-South Project

Heading Out For The Mid-South, Lord Knows I've Paid Some Dues Gettin' Through

2011-02-22T19:04:00.003Z

Junkyard Dog v Nick Bockwinkel (6/11/82)

I thought this was bottom of the pack material when I watched it the first time going through the set. Didn't think it was bad, just totally forgettable for the most part. I've been digging much the early 80s Mid-South stuff more than I did the first run through though (took me until the Chavo/Olympia match to really get me into the swing of things), and this was no different. I'm pretty apathetic towards Bockwinkel in general, but his stooging here was a lot of fun. JYD throws great punches and the crowd are behind him, and I liked just about everything he did more on this watch than the first. I got the sense Bock was running through a bunch of stuff he could do in his sleep, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Wouldn't call it a Bockwinkel carry job, either. I probably would have when I first saw it (don't remember exactly), but I thought Dog more than held up his end this time. This is also the first time we get Paul Boesch on commentary on the set. I thought he ranged from "good" to "whatever" to "date rape" on the Houston footage, sometimes going off on hilarious tangents about random bullshit that could be really distracting, but I found him passable enough here. He does go off on one about JYD being the uncrowned king of wrestling until he got a crown and then he was the uncrowned king with a crown, but I thought his call of the flash pin was great. Heenan brings the bump-freakery post-match and this was just flat out better than I remembered.

Mr. Olympia v Bob Roop (7/15/82)

Another bossy sub-ten minute studio match; this is right there with the Roop/George match as my favourite Roop match on the set. There's some really great shit in this. Olympia's counter to a Roop kneedrop looked cool as Hell and is something I don't think I noticed the first time around, and Olympia's boss tope is my favourite spot on the set up to this point chronologically. The set up to it was really good -- Roop tries to take a powder, but Olympia's all over him. He tries to duck and dodge out of the way before running around the corner, but Olympia catches on, jumps back in the ring and wipes him out with a tope as Roop comes around the corner looking behind him to see where Olympia is. This is another example of "man with the plan" Roop and one thing I loved about the early Roop stuff was the nifty counters and counter-counters you'd always get in his matches. He counters an Olympia sleeper hold by hitting this nasty looking backbreaker/sidewalk slam thing, then he puts Olympia in a sleeper of his own. Olympia tries to counter that by running into the corner, ducking at the last second and ramming Roop's head into the turnbuckle, but Roop knows what's coming and just rams Olympia's own head in. Olympia eventually manages to counter by running up the turnbuckle and flipping behind Roop so he can apply his own sleeper hold. Roop then tries to counter with the backbreaker again, but Olympia won't fall for the same trick twice, and eventually Roop passes out in the middle of the ring. Just a super nifty little match.

Ted DiBiase & Hacksaw Duggan v Junkyard Dog & Mr. Olympia (8/18/82)

First taste of heel DiBiase and it was a good one. I really liked him wanting no part of JYD and being content to let Duggan do all the heavy lifting early, whether Dog was constantly getting the better of him or not. DiBiase chikenshitting it as soon as he realises he's in there with JYD and hurling himself into his own corner to make the tag was great. Duggan is a guy who's rep went up big time thanks to this set, and he looked fine in his first appearance (of the set). Watts is awesome at putting him over as this nutjob that'll put his own body on the line. Olympia continues to rule it, and re-watching the early Irish Boy's Club stuff I'm thinking he might be the MVP. I could probably watch early 80s Olympia studio matches all day and not get bored. Hectic finish to this one, too.

One Man Gang v Buck Robley (Lumberjack Match) (9/15/82)

Super fun little sprint. This is another one that sat around the bottom of the pile when I watched it a couple years back, but I dug it way more this time. Robley's t-shirt is immense, btw. He looks like a hobo with a broken arm and he's YOUR spunky underdog. Dick Murdoch also has an awesome t-shirt and hat. I like the idea of a lumberjack match in a Watts promotion more than anywhere else, because taking a bump on the concrete in a Watts promotion is treated like a big deal. Tossing your opponent out over the top to the concrete so the lumberjacks can toss him back in just so you can toss him back out to the concrete again, rinse and repeat, is a great concept. Also helps that, bar one awesome subtle little moment where Skandor Akbar gets his licks in, the lumberjacks actually do their job and throw the guys back in like they're supposed to. Doesn't give them time to rest, you don't have to go outside and bring them back in yourself; why would you NOT throw them out over the top? Also gotta love OMG bumping like a twelve hundred pound freak. He takes a crazy missed splash off the turnbuckle bump and an even crazier over the top rope bump off a dropkick.

Mid-South Project

We'll Dance Round Mid-South 'Til The Night Is All Done

2011-02-19T16:15:00.003Z

Bob Roop v Mike George (12/16/81)

I love a good sub-ten minute studio match, and this was a good sub-ten minute studio match. I first discovered Bob Roop a few years ago when I watched him and Backlund team up against Baba and Jumbo, but I never really got much of a handle on how good or bad he was from that one match. Then the Mid-South set came and I totally dug him on the small number of appearances he made on it. This is my favourite of the Roop appearances and he and George do a bunch of really nifty stuff in this. There's a cool full nelson spot, a nasty looking ring post spot, a spot where Roop rakes George's eyes across the top rope that looked pretty brutal, and the finish was good. Roop is a good "thinking man's wrestler" and this is a fine intro to him on the set.

Mr. Olympia v Paul Orndorff (2/3/82)

I had never seen Olympia before the Mid-South set, but he was pretty great whenever he popped up and his match with Chavo Guerrero on disc 1 is probably one of my ten favourite matches ever. This is another really solid sub-ten minute studio match. Olympia takes a nasty bump off a clothesline where he practically spikes himself on his neck. Orndorff looked good here, too; busting out a pretty hefty string of offence and doing a good job getting across frustration at not being able to put Olympia away. He also sells Olympia's sleeper like a king at the end. Roop/George is a nice intro to Roop, and this is a nice intro to Olympia...wish there was more house show footage from around this time because I'd like to see even more of them.

Bob Roop v Ted DiBiase (4/2/82)

More good Roop. I slightly prefer the Mike George match, but I thought Roop might've been better in this than he was in that (and he was good in that). Gotta give some love to Watts on commentary during the opening matwork; I didn't think anybody could make a hammerlock sound so cool. DiBiase is ALL FIRED UP post-match and Roop PAYS THE PRICE. We need more Bob Roop, man.

Bill Watts & Stagger Lee v Midnight Express (4/22/84)

This fucking ruled. First five minutes consist of Eaton and Condrey bumping around like absolute kings for Watts while Watts tapes his fist and punches them dead in the face. JYD is pretty much a non-factor here, but he doesn't need to do anything other than feed an MX member to Watts to he can punch him some more. And the crowd is totally molten. Condrey and Eaton are a couple guys that have a ton of neat ways to get punched in the face. Condrey and Eaton are a couple guys that have a ton of neat ways to sell getting punched in the face. Watts isn't quite Bill Dundee, but he has a decent sized bag of way to punch guys in the face. Whole opening spell was just spectacular because of this. Some of the ways Eaton takes and sells a punch are really too great to sit and try and explain, but my favourite spot of the segment is when Watts uppercuts him and Eaton flies onto the top turnbuckle, then Watts punches him again and Eaton takes a crazy bump off the top out to the floor. When the Midnights eventually take over, it's Watts they go to town on. Watts isn't a guy I had ever heard of as being a great face in peril, but he's good in the role here and the crowd are 100% behind him. Of course Eaton and Condrey just rule it with the beatdown, constantly running distractions, cheating, Cornette getting his licks in, etc. The Eaton/Condrey version of the MX are different from the Eaton/Lane version in that Eaton and Condrey don't bust out a bunch of double teams and HIGH-END OFFENCE~. They just beat you down, full steam ahead like a couple of nasty bullies. Condrey has some of the best kneedrops in wresting history, Eaton throws amazing punches...Watts at this point isn't the most mobile of dudes, so you really want him taking great looking punches and kneedrops and getting jabbed in the throat with a tennis racket rather than double backbreakers and Veg-O-Matics. Finish is all pretty hectic and of course the crowd is completely losing its stack. Your pop for the finish is a motherfucking POP, too. Post-match angle is awesome and man does Cornette sell the shit out of being put in a daiper. I probably liked this even more than the MX/II-TA match.

Midnight Express v Rock 'n' Roll Express (No DQ, Tag Titles vs. $50,000, 5/23/84)

The lead-in angle to this has Cornette putting up fifty grand against the RnRs tag titles. The contract signing is shown on the disc before the match itself, but the best part about it is the competition ad they run after it. It's called Superdate at the Superdome where two lucky ladies have a chance to win a date with the Rock 'n' Roll Express, two front row tickets to a show at the Superdome, t-shirts, bandanas and a signed photograph. Any women can enter, as long as they're over 18. And unmarried, naturally. To enter, send your best photograph and say, in 25 words or less, why you think you deserve to win a date with Ricky and Robert. I can only imagine how many ladies entered that. Match itself isn't one of the best MX/RnRs matches out there, but it's still an MX/RnRs match which pretty much means it's at least good by default. I'm a big fan of the finish to this. Watts' "something medical smelling" call of the ether was awesome. Cornette's post-match promo was fucking aces as well.

Mid-South Project

Mid-South All Around, Don't Know If I'm Coming Up Or Down

2011-02-18T21:51:00.002Z

I'm gonna be jumping around quite a bit with this. Definitely won't be going through the whole set again in chronological order. Figured I'd start with '84 since it was the '84-'85 period that cemented Mid-South as pro-wrestling's equivalent of crack.

Midnight Express v Mr. Wrestling II & Magnum TA (2/10/84)

This fucking rocks. Eaton and Condrey just stooge and bump around like total maniacs for everything II does. The first ten minutes are practically *all* II/TA and you watch this and get the sense II is just having the time of his life; throwing knee lifts, punch combinations, strutting, doing this little jig...it's hard not to watch it with a smile on your face. MX have a ton of shtick and II has a blast with all of it. Midnights eventually take over, and TA is a good FIP guy. Been a long ass time since I watched any of the Magnum TA stuff on this set, but I'm already remembering why I came away from it with a new appreciation for him. Wasn't too crazy about the finish, but the post-match with Eaton and Condrey stomping the daylights out of II and TA while the Houston crowd are about to riot is fucking awesome. Crowd heat is nuclear all the way through this, too. Hell, I'm struggling to think of one match from the '84-'85 arena footage that *didn't* have nuclear crowd heat. God damn that whole period was tremendous. I'd probably have this in my top 10 on the Texas ballot, and I'm not sure it's even top 30 for Mid-South. Don't think of that as a knock on Texas; more huge praise for Wattsville.

Rock 'n' Roll Express v Butch Reed & Buddy Landel (3/28/84)

Man, this was a fucking BOSS little sprint. Reed came out of this set as my all-time favourite wrestler second only to Eddie Guerrero, and I can already tell I'm gonna fall in love with him all over again going through it a second (some of it a third) time. He and Landel are a Hell of a combo and I had no memory of this being as good as it is. They rifle off a bunch of great double teams (Reed gorilla pressing Landel onto Morton was badass), work some great cut-offs, cheat, cheapshot, the whole nine. Morton is Morton and runs circles around them at the start before Reed just dropkicks him in the face, then Morton is Morton all over again and plays FIP like he's Morton. Gibson doesn't really do much, but Jim Cornette is out "taking notes", and when Gibson decides he's had enough of standing around on the apron while his partner gets assaulted, Cornette pulls the top rope down and Gibson takes a nasty tumble onto the concrete. Finish is a little sloppily executed, but I love guys milking the foreign object. I'd kill for an arena version of this match-up because there's no way it wouldn't have ruled hard with 20 minutes.

Midnight Express v Bill Dundee & Porkchop Cash (4/6/84)

Doesn't really need to be said at this point, but holy shit does Bill Dundee have amazing punches. Lawler is usually my knee jerk pick for "guy with best wrestling punches ever," but Dundee throws a couple corkers in this that makes me wonder if it's closer than I've been thinking. I mean, from word one I've loved Dundee's punches, but maybe not having seen any of them for months on end made me forget just how spectacular they could be. He's an absolute king in this. Midnights are equally kingsized in their bumping and stooging, but Dundee coming up with ways to play off of it all is a ton of fun. There's one spot where Eaton whips him into the corner and Dundee jumps up on the second turnbuckle, spins around, jumps over on onrushing Eaton, lands on the mat and catches Eaton coming back out with a monkey flip, all in one smooth, perfect motion. He used the same spot in one of the early studio matches on the Memphis set (maybe against Latham) and it looked awesome there, too. A lot of the time you'll see someone try that and the person following them in has to check their stride to allow time for the person on the turnbuckle to properly spin around. With Dundee you don't need to; he does it super quick and it looks really fluid. Dundee's also great as your FIP here. He's always firing back; not in a way that feels like he's halting the momentum of the heels' beatdown, but in a way that always keeps things interesting -- you buy him as a guy that's legitimately trying to get to his corner to make the tag. Porkchop is probably the "weakest" guy in the match, but that's down to the other three being so good as opposed to Porkchop being "bad". He has a few awesome looking hip attacks that get major air every time, and he does a great headbutt spot with Condrey. Porkchop, being black, obviously has a rock solid head, so Condrey throws a headbutt at one point, gives Eaton two thumbs up and then falls flat on his face while Porkchop looks at him like a tool. Finish felt a little too sudden after the hot tag, but it's a pretty small quibble. I thought this was a good match the first time I watched it, but I definitely liked it more this time around. I can tell I'm gonna have a blast going through all of this again.

Mid-South Project

Watts Love Got To Do With It? The Fuckin' Mid-South Project

2011-02-18T18:41:00.025Z

So last night I finished going through the DVDVR Mid-South set. I never picked up the set until it was too late to participate in the voting process (think I got it just as Memphis was starting up), but I've had it for a little over a couple years now anyway. Some of it I haven't seen in two years, some of it I haven't seen in two weeks. Either way, long before I had watched everything on the set, Mid-South had become my all-time favourite wrestling promotion. Naturally, there's a truckload of stuff that I want to go back and re-watch, so here we go again with another dorkfest wrestling project.

Pretty much gonna re-watch everything over time (most likely a long time) and eventually have it all ranked, similar to the 1992 WCW Project. Instead of ranking it from #1-#150, though, I'm thinking I'll just split everything into 5 "tiers" -- tier 1 being the really awesome stuff, tier 2 being a step down from that but still great-borderline top level stuff, tier 3 being the stuff that's a step down from that but still really good, tier 4 being the stuff that's fun-good, tier 5 being the stuff that ranges from decent to bottom of the barrel. Or something like that. I'll put everything within each tier in chronological order and then whenever I've gone through the whole set again, I'll whip up a top 50 or whatever. Ranking the top level stuff isn't too difficult; it's when you get to the stuff below that that things become tricky, especially when there *so* much good stuff (found that out with the 1992 WCW Project).

Anyways, I'll plug away at this like I did with 1992 WCW. Sometimes there'll be daily updates, sometimes there won't be anything for months. You know how it is.

-----

Junkyard Dog & Mr. Olympia v Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne (Loser Leaves Town) (10/27/82)
Chavo Guerrero v Mr. Olympia (6/24/83)
Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart v Mr. Wrestling II & Magnum TA (Cage Match) (12/25/83)
Ted DiBiase v Magnum TA (No DQ, Tulsa) (5/27/84)
Rock 'n' Roll Express & Hacksaw Duggan v Midnight Express & Ernie Ladd (6/8/84)

Ted DiBiase v Hacksaw Duggan (Street Fight) (7/29/83)
Midnight Express v Mr. Wrestling II & Magnum TA (2/10/84)
Midnight Express v Bill Watts & Stagger Lee (4/22/84)
Ted DiBiase v Magnum TA (No DQ, OKC) (5/27/84)
Ted DiBiase v Magnum TA (7/6/84)
The Fantastics v Midnight Express (8/9/84)
The Fantastics v Chavo & Hector Guerrero (10/12/84)
Terry Gordy v Dr. Death (6/22/86)
Terry Gordy v Hacksaw Duggan (8/3/86)

Rock 'n' Roll Express v Butch Reed & Buddy Landel (3/28/84)
Midnight Express v Bill Dundee & Porkchop Cash (4/6/84)
Rock 'n' Roll Express & Hacksaw Duggan v Midnight Express & Ernie Ladd (7/2/84)
Hacksaw Duggan & Dusty Rhodes v Butch Reed & Hercules Hernandez (8/19/84)
Butch Reed v Skip Young (9/23/84)
Butch Reed & Ernie Ladd v Brickhouse Brown & Master Gee (10/21/84)
Hacksaw Duggan, Terry Taylor & Bill Watts v The Fabulous Freebirds (8/17/86)

Bob Roop v Mike George (12/16/81)
Mr. Olympia v Paul Orndorff (2/3/82)
Bob Roop v Ted DiBiase (4/2/82)
Mr. Olympia v Bob Roop (7/15/82)
Junkyard Dog & Mr. Olympia v Ted DiBiase & Hacksaw Duggan (8/18/82)
Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne v Junkyard Dog & Mr. Wrestling II (2/16/83)
Midnight Express v Rock 'n' Roll Express (No DQ, Tag Titles vs. $50,000) (5/23/84)
Killer Khan v Chris Adams (9/9/84)
The Fantastics v Midnight Express (No DQ) (9/28/84)
The Fantastics & Jim Duggan v Midnight Express & Jim Cornette (7/20/86)
Terry Gordy v Terry Taylor (6/17/86)
Hacksaw Duggan, Terry Taylor & Bill Watts v The Fabulous Freebirds (7/20/86)
The Fantastics & Missing Link v Eddie Gilbert, John Tatum & Sting (8/3/86)
Terry Taylor v John Tatum (8/17/86)

Junkyard Dog v Nick Bockwinkel (6/11/82)
One Man Gang v Buck Robley (Lumberjack Match) (9/15/82)
Stagger Lee & Mr. Olympia v Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne (Loser Leaves Town) (12/18/82)
Butch Reed v Iron Sheik (4/8/83)
Dusty Rhodes v Nick Bockwinkel (5/20/83)
Chris Adams v Adrian Street (10/10/84)
Terry Gordy v Terry Taylor (6/13/86)
Ted DiBiase & Dr. Death v Michael Hayes & Buddy Roberts (Lumberjack Match) (8/31/86)

Kiyoshi Tamura x 4

2011-02-16T22:55:00.001Z

Kiyoshi Tamura v Volk Han (RINGS, 1/22/97)

These two were arguably the two best wrestlers in the world in '97 (although I'd still go to bat for Eddy), and this was the kind of phenomenal match you'd expect out of them at this stage. Feels more "even" than their first match, in that Tamura doesn't seem to be carving out openings through surprise as much as natural ability now. Loved how he took the initiative and started dominating on the feet, mostly with kicks, and the spot where he push kicks Han in the chest for a down like he did in the '96 match was awesome. Han getting wise to it and being able to ultimately use the disadvantage on the feet to score the win is just total Han. This is probably an all-time top 25 match for me.

Kiyoshi Tamura v Akira Maeda (RINGS 3/28/97)

Man this fucking ruled. It's not a great match, but Tamura is as fired up here as I've ever seen him and it really felt like he wanted to win this more than anything else in the world. His look of utter "fuck you" defiance when Maeda shoots in for the first time and tries to take his ankle is just amazing, and the crowd reaction at that moment is one of the best I've seen in a long time. Match is actually a bit spartan, but Maeda has an incredible aura and the charisma of both guys really makes it. I had also never seen this before and wasn't sure who won, so I was losing my shit at the end. I wanted Tamura to get to the ropes about as much as everybody else in that building did, and it's not often I get drawn into a match like that anymore. Has to count for something, right?

Kiyoshi Tamura v Christopher Haseman (RINGS, 4/4/97)

This was really bare-bones, but it was short enough for it not to drag and I enjoyed it. Haseman has really quick kicks and can rifle them off in a blink, but he seems reluctant to get too close to Tamura early. Tamura doesn't have the leg speed as Haseman, but whenever he lands anything, even if it's a leg kick that isn't likely to do any damage, the crowd pop pretty big. Largely feels like a cautious affair, like two fighters coming into a fight blind, not having any idea of how good or bad their opponent is. Final exchange here is pretty beautiful – Haseman shoots in to take Tamura's leg, but Tamura sprawls and winds up on top. He has side control initially, manages to secure the mount and then slowly works towards locking in the triangle, finally rolling onto his back so Haseman has nowhere to go. Nothing necessarily flashy about it, but a fitting finish to a match that was nothing flashy, period.

Kiyoshi Tamura v Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS, 4/22/97)

Their half hour draw a year later is pretty much a classic and something you can throw on a 'Definitive Shoot Style Matches' list. This isn’t as good as that, but it's half as long and works as a great "lead-in". I'm not entirely sure if this is their first match together or not, but it felt that way at points; both guys sizing each other up on the feet, not really going balls out on the mat like they would the following year. Couple great stand-up exchanges here, culminating with Tamura landing a palm strike to the body and then a right hook to the face, and Kohsaka's staggered sell of the blow was amazing (assuming it was "selling" at all); stumbling backwards trying to stay on his feet, but only managing to do so long enough for Tamura to close the gap and score the knockdown. A lot of this actually felt like a legit shoot, which is either a testament to both guys or my head's up my own ass for thinking it's a work. Either way it was bossy stuff.

Lesser Known Dudes BLEED & Get FUCKED UP In WAR!

2011-02-15T19:02:00.002Z

Two entries in one day? I'm on a roll of sorts. Or I have too much time on my hands.

Takashi Ishikawa v Ashura Hara (WAR, 2/10/93)

This was everything I wanted it to be -- two tough as nails bruisers that LEAN into everything being tough as nails and LEANING into everything. These guys are deeply in that Tenryu mold where everything they do just looks mean and nasty. This had them ramping the stiffness way up so it all looks even more potatoey. Hara has some brutal looking headbutts at the best of times, but here it looked and sounded like someone was dropping a bowling ball on Ishikawa's head. Ishikawa can throw a real bastard of a lariat, and there's a few here that look ridiculous. There's one towards the end that sounded like he just clotheslined a fridge, and the fact he sold it like that made it ten times more awesome. Also really enjoyed Hara working the headlock in the first half. He wound grind and twist it and I was getting that Butch Reed vibe where it's conceivable that a headlock from someone like that could result in anything from horrendous cauliflower ears to your entire head being popped off your shoulders. Also set up Ishikawa's first backdrop perfectly. I've loved all of the Hara I've been watching recently, but you can tell when he's setting himself up to take a backdrop. He'll grab a headlock that looks pretty out of place in amongst all the clubbing people in the face and trying to cave their skull in with headbutts, so it's obvious he's setting up a transition spot. Here, he continually goes to the headlock as a base in the opening stretch, so Ishikawa's backdrop comes out of nowhere and works as a great momentum shift. And of course it looks like it compressed Hara's spine. Final few minutes feel like both guys are just trying to survive, and they sell everything so well that it manages to come across like a legit war. Just a Hell of a match.

Shinya Hashimoto & Michiyoshi Ohara v Ashura Hara & Hiromichi Fuyuki (WAR, 3/7/93)

Holy shit. This is motherfucking WAR right here. Hara takes the violence of the last match and kicks it up ANOTHER few notches and, well, Hara will fuck you up. I'm pretty sure this is only the second time I've seen Fuyuki, but man has he made an impression. He hated Hashimoto in their singles match a few days before this and he hates him again here. And he hates Hashimoto's partner so he just tries to fucking murder him. He cheapshots Hashimoto before the bell with a lariat and it really sets the stage for the whole thing. Just so much heat and violence and seething fucking contempt. This actually reminded me of the Jumbo/Taue v Misawa/Kawada match from the '91 Tag League (only with the savagery and stiffness turned way up) in how it's laid out. The first half of that had Jumbo and Taue isolating Kawada and working him over. This is a shorter match and the early shifts in momentum are quicker (usually a result of someone getting cracked in the face) and seem more frantic, but they settle into an Ohara in peril segment similar to the Kawada in peril segment in the AJ match. Reason I used that particular match as a comparison is because I felt the same way I did after the initial Kawada beatdown as I did after the initial Ohara beatdown. If the match had ended there I would've been completely happy with what I saw. Except it doesn't end there and they eventually settle into another, longer FIP spell. The AJ match had Jumbo and Taue zeroing in on Misawa's broken face. This has Hara obliterating Ohara with a lariat, then Fuyuki rips the pressure bandage off Ohara's head and tosses it at Hashimoto. And then they just totally motherfucking just fucking MASSACRE him. Hara's face winds up coated in Ohara's blood because he just headbutts him to oblivion. Fuyuki almost rips his head off with lariats. They kick him directly in the face. They throw a fucking table at his head. Ohara is someone I can't remember ever seeing before, but he is fucking great as the lower ranked teammate of the chief ass-kicker that'll punch above his weight and fight like an absolute pitbull and then thoroughly get stomped into the ground by a pair of lumpy Shreks. It gets to the point where Hashimoto's seen enough and winds up coming in and hurling kicks every 30 seconds, and there is a great spot right before the hot tag where Hara is about to powerbomb Ohara, so Hashimoto comes in, measures him and just nukes him with a roundhouse kick to the neck. Hara's sell of it like he just got hit with a sledgehammer was amazing. Hashimoto is one of the all-time great hot tags and there is this sense of impending destruction as he gets tagged in and walks over to behead Hara. I do wish it went a little longer at the end so Hashimoto could run riot some more, but that's a small complaint. The AJ match I used as a comparison went from a match that was "really good" in the first half to flat out terrific by the end thanks to an incredible second half. This is much the same. I still prefer the All Japan tag, but this has a truckload of violence and hatred and I can't really ask for much more. This WAR v New Japan feud is fuggin' tremendous.

Genichiro Tenryu, Takashi Ishikawa & Masao Orihara v Shiro Koshinaka, Kengo Kimura & Great Kabuki (WAR, 3/7/93)

Not as violent as the Hashimoto tag, but still a perfectly good way to cap off a Hell of a WAR card. Could've done with more Tenryu, but everything could do with more Tenryu so it's not much of a criticism. Besides, the Tenryu we do get is as good as you'd expect. He has a few particularly awesome exchanges with Koshinaka and Kabuki. 1992 potato farmer Koshinaka is so much more my thing than the Koshinaka I had to sit through on the New Japan 80s set. 80s Koshinaka generally bored me to tears, but this Koshinaka just punches guys right in the nose and comes across like a hateful, grumpy bastard. Every time he and Tenryu match-up you can buy the idea that they have no problem at all teeing off on one another, and Tenryu's lariat towards the end was ridiculously nasty, full force right under the chin. Tenryu and Kabuki only lock horns a couple times, and it's always short, but man do they lay into each other. There's this great exchange where Tenryu's throwing chops and Kabuki's throwing his awesome uppercuts, neither guy backing down, so Tenryu just hauls off and chops him in the throat. Kabuki sells it like someone did him with a pocket knife and he never forgets for the rest of the match. His revenge suprkick down the stretch felt like a fucking revenge spot. Orihara takes a total shit-kicking here and works THREE extended isolation segments. I thought he was pretty great working as your defiant underdog that refuses to give the invaders the satisfaction of beating him, and of course that prompts the invaders to lay it in some more. The final Kimura running knee he takes was just disgusting.