Eddie Guerrero & Tajiri v Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (WWE Smackdown!, 5/22/03)
Well, if this match does one thing, it reinforces that Eddie Guerrero was fucking awesome. If it does another thing it...well, this is an outstanding TV tag, and probably one of my favourite tag matches ever. When I first watched it however long ago I remember being blown away by Eddie reversing a leg sweep into a headscissors, and every time I've seen it since it still blows me away. He hits another headscissors on Haas at one point while springboarding off the top rope and taking Benjamin over with an armdrag. At the same time. He really brings the offence early, then he plays FIP after a cool transition sequence (Benjamin giving the assist on a sunset flip by hitting a blockbuster off the second rope was badass), and he's even better at fighting from the bottom. Seriously, this is a hell of a heat segment. He tries to hit the frog splash and goes flying into Benjamin's knees, and from there he has his midsection worked over. There's a couple spots where he really tries to fling himself across the ring to make the tag. Haas manages to cut him off both times, the second time drilling him hard with a nasty spear/takedown. Sometimes guys will try spots like those and you can tell that the heel was supposed to make the cut off, but the first time Eddie tries it here it does not look like Haas was expecting it (so credit to him for reacting, I guess). Tajiri is killer coming in off the hot tag, blasting dudes in the face and back of the head with kicks, hitting handspring elbows and looking vicious. For such a small guy, he feels like one of the deadliest ass kickers in wrestling history. Eddie continues to fucking rule it by selling the midsection all the way until the end. Not enough guys continue to sell the workover after the hot tag. Eddie is not most guys. His hiptoss that takes both him and Haas over the top rope looked insane, too. Finish is one of the best "Eddie lies, cheats and steals" finishes ever -- maybe the best. I love everything about this match.
Eddie Guerrero & Tajiri v Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (WWE Smackdown!, 7/3/03)
Thought this was a step down from the previous match, but it's still pretty fuggin great in its own right. That match had Eddie as your offensive dynamo before playing underdog babyface; this has him as your hot tag/apron guy, and well...dude is a fucking awesome hot tag/apron guy as well. Some of his apron shtick is incredible. At one point he manages to extend the tag rope so he can stand square in the middle of the apron and shout stuff at Benjamin, and I have no idea what he did but I LOVE that spot. Hebnar turns around and tells him to keep hold of the tag rope, so Eddie shows him that he's already holding it, and Hebnar looks at him like "What the fuck..?" Crowd are 100% behind him the entire match are are itching for him to get in there, so they lose it whenever he comes in to make a save. Habnar has told him to stay on the apron about six times already and then he pulled that stunt with the tag rope, but what is he supposed to do, just stand there? Crowd know that he's getting more and more pissed and are waiting for him to let loose. He comes in, boots Haas in the head (or was it Benjamin? They look so much alike, you see. Which I'm assuming is why they persist on doing the switcheroo shtick behind the ref's back), sprints back onto the apron and holds the tag rope in the air for everybody to see. "Holding the tag rope! SEE?!" And the crowd come unglued and start a massive Eddie chant. Finish to this is actually clean, but it seemed a little mistimed and felt like half of an actual and finish and half of a set-up to the post-match angle, and I dug Eddie's horseshit for the finish in the first match more. How long did people boo Eddie for after this? A week? Two? Just give him the big belt already, shit.
I say shit like "if we were getting stuff like ________ today, I'd still be following current wrestling" a lot, but I know for a fact that if Eddie Guerrero was alive and wrestling in 2013, I'd still be following it right now.
They just don't make them like this any more.
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Monday, 22 April 2013
I was Raised in Mid-South, I Been Working in the Town. I Been in Trouble Ever Since I Set My Suitcase Down
Rock 'n' Roll Express v Dirty White Boys (4/15/85)
So there's two RnRs v DWB matches that made the set. One of them is fucking awesome. This is not that match. This was decent and everything, but it was kind of run of the mill and that is just not going to stand out on a set loaded with as much good stuff as the Mid-South set is. Anthony complains about Morton grabbing the hair to take him over and the ref' has these hilarious "Wait...DID YOU PULL THE HAIR?!" reactions. White Boys pull the switcheroo shtick and the ref' looks around like "WAIDDAMINUTE!" Everything he does is so over the top and hammy; you get the sense he really wanted to be an actor in silent films growing up. Robert Gibson was in the ring for all about 90 seconds in this. He blows a headlock takeover the first time he's in, then post-hot tag he comes in long enough to have a belt wrapped around his throat for the finish, which, to be fair, he did take a nice snap bump off of. The May '85 match is where it's at with these teams, but this is hardly offensive to your eyes and there's certainly worse ways to spend 14 minutes.
Mid-South Project
So there's two RnRs v DWB matches that made the set. One of them is fucking awesome. This is not that match. This was decent and everything, but it was kind of run of the mill and that is just not going to stand out on a set loaded with as much good stuff as the Mid-South set is. Anthony complains about Morton grabbing the hair to take him over and the ref' has these hilarious "Wait...DID YOU PULL THE HAIR?!" reactions. White Boys pull the switcheroo shtick and the ref' looks around like "WAIDDAMINUTE!" Everything he does is so over the top and hammy; you get the sense he really wanted to be an actor in silent films growing up. Robert Gibson was in the ring for all about 90 seconds in this. He blows a headlock takeover the first time he's in, then post-hot tag he comes in long enough to have a belt wrapped around his throat for the finish, which, to be fair, he did take a nice snap bump off of. The May '85 match is where it's at with these teams, but this is hardly offensive to your eyes and there's certainly worse ways to spend 14 minutes.
Mid-South Project
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Yeah, AWA Month
Buddy Rose v Marty Jannetty (10/18/86)
First half of this is basically all Buddy Rose horse shit. So naturally I pretty much loved it. He takes powders to the floor, milks the ten count, asks for a time out, wants a handshake, etc. Then he sort of cowers in the corner and covers his eyes, like if he can't see Jannetty then Jannetty can't see him. This of course is all bullshit to sucker Jannetty in, and when he bites Buddy just heels him in the balls to take over. Marty is a complete bump freak in this, at one point taking a kind of Slaughter bump in the corner and hurling himself out to the floor. He doesn't bleed like a lunatic like he did in the previous tag match, and in general this doesn't have nearly the same heat and hate and violence, but it left me with a smile on my face. For a guy that was "past it" in 1986, Buddy Rose sure does look like one of the best wrestlers on the planet.
First half of this is basically all Buddy Rose horse shit. So naturally I pretty much loved it. He takes powders to the floor, milks the ten count, asks for a time out, wants a handshake, etc. Then he sort of cowers in the corner and covers his eyes, like if he can't see Jannetty then Jannetty can't see him. This of course is all bullshit to sucker Jannetty in, and when he bites Buddy just heels him in the balls to take over. Marty is a complete bump freak in this, at one point taking a kind of Slaughter bump in the corner and hurling himself out to the floor. He doesn't bleed like a lunatic like he did in the previous tag match, and in general this doesn't have nearly the same heat and hate and violence, but it left me with a smile on my face. For a guy that was "past it" in 1986, Buddy Rose sure does look like one of the best wrestlers on the planet.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
AWA Month?
Midnight Rockers v Buddy Rose & Doug Somers (AWA, 8/30/86)
This felt like a mid-80s lucha hair match, complete with the technicos wearing white tights to accentuate the blood streaming out of their foreheads. And it was fucking incredible. After a brief opening spell where Michaels comes out ahead of Buddy on a few exchanges, Buddy distracts the referee so Somers can ram Michaels into the post, and from there on out things just get more violent and bloody and awesome. The heat section on Michaels is really amazing here. Shawn is bleeding everywhere and Rose and Somers are just punching and kicking and elbowing and biting him in the open wound. Michaels is staggering around selling the blood loss, and literally any time he throws so much as a punch the place comes unglued urging him on to make the tag. Jannetty is pacing up and down the apron like a caged tiger, and there's a great bit where Michaels is stumbling over with his hand out, but Somers grabs him as he's about a foot away and starts laughing at Jannetty before elbowing Shawn in the head. Michaels' punches look about as good as I've ever seen them in this, and he throws all of them with a sort of recklessness, like a bloody and beaten kid that is fighting for his life against two sleazy old pricks. He's half dead on the floor at one point so Buddy gets the ref' to put the count on him. Michaels manages to scoot back in the ring right before the 10 count, and Buddy has this amazing "oh what the FUCK?!" reaction. The hot tag to Jannetty is as good a hot tag as you'll ever see. Crowd goes absolutely fucking nuts and Jannetty comes in swinging like a maniac, launching Somers into the post a couple times to bust him open while Shawn crawls around on the floor selling his beatdown. Then Sherri gets up on the apron to distract Marty long enough for Rose to knee him in the kidneys, and that leads to the Jannetty in peril segment. He gigs himself and bleeds even more than Michaels and Somers, and he comes across as being even more wild and desperate than Shawn, throwing blind punches like he's just hoping to hit something, but ultimately connecting with nothing. At times he seems downright feral, lunging at Rose and biting him in the forehead. Jannetty makes the hot tag by basically being lucky enough to collapse in the direction of his own corner, and Michaels comes in STILL selling the beating from earlier. Every punch he throws looks like it's being thrown by a kid that's been to hell and back, but he's come too far to stop now. He'll keep going even if it kills him. Match breaks down when all four guys get in there and start (or refuse to stop) mauling each other. Ref' gets knocked down, then Jannetty takes a crash test dummy bump out to the floor and Rose drops him ribs-first across one of those non-folding chairs. Jannetty is rolling around like his spleen's been ruptured while Rose and Somers beat up referees and try to murder Michaels back in the ring. The match is obviously tossed at this point, so the babyface locker room hits the scene to run off Rose and Somers, but Michaels isn't done and takes another crazy leap onto Somers on the floor. Whole scene is complete chaos, and there's even some blood spatter on the camera lens. Just an exceptional match. And it's my new working #1.
This felt like a mid-80s lucha hair match, complete with the technicos wearing white tights to accentuate the blood streaming out of their foreheads. And it was fucking incredible. After a brief opening spell where Michaels comes out ahead of Buddy on a few exchanges, Buddy distracts the referee so Somers can ram Michaels into the post, and from there on out things just get more violent and bloody and awesome. The heat section on Michaels is really amazing here. Shawn is bleeding everywhere and Rose and Somers are just punching and kicking and elbowing and biting him in the open wound. Michaels is staggering around selling the blood loss, and literally any time he throws so much as a punch the place comes unglued urging him on to make the tag. Jannetty is pacing up and down the apron like a caged tiger, and there's a great bit where Michaels is stumbling over with his hand out, but Somers grabs him as he's about a foot away and starts laughing at Jannetty before elbowing Shawn in the head. Michaels' punches look about as good as I've ever seen them in this, and he throws all of them with a sort of recklessness, like a bloody and beaten kid that is fighting for his life against two sleazy old pricks. He's half dead on the floor at one point so Buddy gets the ref' to put the count on him. Michaels manages to scoot back in the ring right before the 10 count, and Buddy has this amazing "oh what the FUCK?!" reaction. The hot tag to Jannetty is as good a hot tag as you'll ever see. Crowd goes absolutely fucking nuts and Jannetty comes in swinging like a maniac, launching Somers into the post a couple times to bust him open while Shawn crawls around on the floor selling his beatdown. Then Sherri gets up on the apron to distract Marty long enough for Rose to knee him in the kidneys, and that leads to the Jannetty in peril segment. He gigs himself and bleeds even more than Michaels and Somers, and he comes across as being even more wild and desperate than Shawn, throwing blind punches like he's just hoping to hit something, but ultimately connecting with nothing. At times he seems downright feral, lunging at Rose and biting him in the forehead. Jannetty makes the hot tag by basically being lucky enough to collapse in the direction of his own corner, and Michaels comes in STILL selling the beating from earlier. Every punch he throws looks like it's being thrown by a kid that's been to hell and back, but he's come too far to stop now. He'll keep going even if it kills him. Match breaks down when all four guys get in there and start (or refuse to stop) mauling each other. Ref' gets knocked down, then Jannetty takes a crash test dummy bump out to the floor and Rose drops him ribs-first across one of those non-folding chairs. Jannetty is rolling around like his spleen's been ruptured while Rose and Somers beat up referees and try to murder Michaels back in the ring. The match is obviously tossed at this point, so the babyface locker room hits the scene to run off Rose and Somers, but Michaels isn't done and takes another crazy leap onto Somers on the floor. Whole scene is complete chaos, and there's even some blood spatter on the camera lens. Just an exceptional match. And it's my new working #1.
Monday, 15 April 2013
And More AWA
Stan Hansen v Crusher Blackwell (6/28/86)
This was what you wanted it to be -- two surly beefies plastering each other and bleeding everywhere, kind of like what I imagine a Clay v Bobby fight in Sons of Anarchy would be. Stan goes into the post early and does this great drunken stagger sell, wobbling around outside the ring before stumbling back in, right into Blackwell's fists. Blackwell is about as broken down as you might expect a morbidly obese man that bumped like he bumped would be, but he'll still throw some awesome body shots and let Hansen hit him in the face a bunch. Hansen takes off his boot and drills Jerry with it, too. Like, this was one of the nastier boot shots you'll see. Then a referee tries to get involved and take Hansen's boot away, so Stan fucking kills him. Why would you even try that? Hansen's post-match promo rules as well, and I'm sad that this is the last Hansen match on the set. Pretty fucking good way to go out, though.
Curt Hennig & Midnight Rockers v Buddy Rose, Doug Somers & Alexis Smirnoff (6/28/86)
Maaaaaan, these six-man tags from this era are so much fun. I could watch an entire set full of Buddy Rose six-mans all day long. I loved the Bockwinkel six-man, and I thought this was even better. Rose's antics early on are great again, milking taking the robe off and then flexing after slamming Hennig a couple times. He also does his first super fast rope running sequence of the match where he gets some serious height on a backdrop. It's pretty amazing how a guy that's built the way he's built can move around with that kind of speed. You watch Michaels do it in '96 and it's impressive, but not necessarily unexpected. Dude is all cut up and actually looks like an athlete. You see the Ultimo Dragon trainees running the ropes a trillion miles an hour and it's impressive, but they all look like athletes. Buddy Rose is not exactly the most athletic looking guy in wrestling, but god damn is he amazing at rope running sequences. And well, if you didn't get that from the Hennig sequence, then you'll get it from the Michaels sequence a bit later that ends with him careening straight into a superkick to the chest. They sort of tease both Marty and Shawn going face in peril, then Smirnoff catches Hennig with a MEAN big boot right under the chin. Hennig is really awesome as the FIP here, and he seriously looks like one of the very best wrestlers in the world at this point. He worked WAY stiffer in the AWA than he did in the WWF, and once again he's throwing some GREAT punches. There's a bit before the hot tag where he and Somers are just teeing off on each other in the corner. He'll also take a potatoing right back, and holy shit does Rose smash him in the guts with some brutal running knees. I don't think I'd ever seen Alexis Smirnoff before this, and he isn't great or anything, but he has a painful looking falling headbutt to the cheekbone and reels off a few corkers of big boots. All of the Blonds/Rockers interactions are clearly building to something big, and I am STOKED for the run of matches between them coming up. This just ruled.
This was what you wanted it to be -- two surly beefies plastering each other and bleeding everywhere, kind of like what I imagine a Clay v Bobby fight in Sons of Anarchy would be. Stan goes into the post early and does this great drunken stagger sell, wobbling around outside the ring before stumbling back in, right into Blackwell's fists. Blackwell is about as broken down as you might expect a morbidly obese man that bumped like he bumped would be, but he'll still throw some awesome body shots and let Hansen hit him in the face a bunch. Hansen takes off his boot and drills Jerry with it, too. Like, this was one of the nastier boot shots you'll see. Then a referee tries to get involved and take Hansen's boot away, so Stan fucking kills him. Why would you even try that? Hansen's post-match promo rules as well, and I'm sad that this is the last Hansen match on the set. Pretty fucking good way to go out, though.
Curt Hennig & Midnight Rockers v Buddy Rose, Doug Somers & Alexis Smirnoff (6/28/86)
Maaaaaan, these six-man tags from this era are so much fun. I could watch an entire set full of Buddy Rose six-mans all day long. I loved the Bockwinkel six-man, and I thought this was even better. Rose's antics early on are great again, milking taking the robe off and then flexing after slamming Hennig a couple times. He also does his first super fast rope running sequence of the match where he gets some serious height on a backdrop. It's pretty amazing how a guy that's built the way he's built can move around with that kind of speed. You watch Michaels do it in '96 and it's impressive, but not necessarily unexpected. Dude is all cut up and actually looks like an athlete. You see the Ultimo Dragon trainees running the ropes a trillion miles an hour and it's impressive, but they all look like athletes. Buddy Rose is not exactly the most athletic looking guy in wrestling, but god damn is he amazing at rope running sequences. And well, if you didn't get that from the Hennig sequence, then you'll get it from the Michaels sequence a bit later that ends with him careening straight into a superkick to the chest. They sort of tease both Marty and Shawn going face in peril, then Smirnoff catches Hennig with a MEAN big boot right under the chin. Hennig is really awesome as the FIP here, and he seriously looks like one of the very best wrestlers in the world at this point. He worked WAY stiffer in the AWA than he did in the WWF, and once again he's throwing some GREAT punches. There's a bit before the hot tag where he and Somers are just teeing off on each other in the corner. He'll also take a potatoing right back, and holy shit does Rose smash him in the guts with some brutal running knees. I don't think I'd ever seen Alexis Smirnoff before this, and he isn't great or anything, but he has a painful looking falling headbutt to the cheekbone and reels off a few corkers of big boots. All of the Blonds/Rockers interactions are clearly building to something big, and I am STOKED for the run of matches between them coming up. This just ruled.
Saturday, 13 April 2013
Yeah, More AWA
Stan Hansen v Curt Hennig (5/31/86)
Well this was fucking tremendous, and definitely one of the best 10 minute matches I've ever seen. Before the match starts we get the pre-match greatness with Hansen destroying an injured Jerry Blackwell, then Hennig comes out and from that point forward he and Hansen just stiff the daylights out of each other. Match feels really reckless and unstructured, but it's reckless and unstructured in the best way possible. They're not just throwing shit out there willy nilly; it feels like an actual fight, and an actual fight really has no structure. Hennig's strikes have never looked better than they do in this. His punches land square in the jaw and temple (there's a close-up of Hansen trying to shift his jaw around during one of the moments where they aren't brutalising each other), his forearms and elbows look like they could cut you open, and at one point he hits a fucking mule kick out of the corner (didn't look like it connected great, but it was an awesome spot even for the idea of it). Hansen is of course Stan Hansen and fires back with what you'd expect. He might have the nastiest kneedrop in wrestling history, and he pulls his kneepad down and drops the knee right across Hennig's throat. There's a bit where Hennig is trying to force his shoulders to the mat for pin attempts, so Hansen just headbutts him in the eye. Hennig will score a flash nearfall off a cross body, so Hansen will chuck him to the floor and slam him across a row of seats (THAT fucking ruled). Hennig will then come back and punch Stan in the eyeball, and it's all just brutal and beautiful. That is the story of this match. Hennig throws absolutely everything he has at Hansen and Stan keeps finding himself on the ropes. He probably wasn't expecting Hennig to come at him like this. He certainly wasn't expecting Hennig to be able to match him brutal step for brutal step. I mean...who can match Stan Hansen at that? And it rules. Last few minutes are about as good as I've ever seen in a TV time limit match in terms of building drama. They really capture the sense that both guys are going all out before the time is up, and not knowing the result beforehand I was super into it hoping Hennig could pull it off. I'll probably have this in my top 10.
Well this was fucking tremendous, and definitely one of the best 10 minute matches I've ever seen. Before the match starts we get the pre-match greatness with Hansen destroying an injured Jerry Blackwell, then Hennig comes out and from that point forward he and Hansen just stiff the daylights out of each other. Match feels really reckless and unstructured, but it's reckless and unstructured in the best way possible. They're not just throwing shit out there willy nilly; it feels like an actual fight, and an actual fight really has no structure. Hennig's strikes have never looked better than they do in this. His punches land square in the jaw and temple (there's a close-up of Hansen trying to shift his jaw around during one of the moments where they aren't brutalising each other), his forearms and elbows look like they could cut you open, and at one point he hits a fucking mule kick out of the corner (didn't look like it connected great, but it was an awesome spot even for the idea of it). Hansen is of course Stan Hansen and fires back with what you'd expect. He might have the nastiest kneedrop in wrestling history, and he pulls his kneepad down and drops the knee right across Hennig's throat. There's a bit where Hennig is trying to force his shoulders to the mat for pin attempts, so Hansen just headbutts him in the eye. Hennig will score a flash nearfall off a cross body, so Hansen will chuck him to the floor and slam him across a row of seats (THAT fucking ruled). Hennig will then come back and punch Stan in the eyeball, and it's all just brutal and beautiful. That is the story of this match. Hennig throws absolutely everything he has at Hansen and Stan keeps finding himself on the ropes. He probably wasn't expecting Hennig to come at him like this. He certainly wasn't expecting Hennig to be able to match him brutal step for brutal step. I mean...who can match Stan Hansen at that? And it rules. Last few minutes are about as good as I've ever seen in a TV time limit match in terms of building drama. They really capture the sense that both guys are going all out before the time is up, and not knowing the result beforehand I was super into it hoping Hennig could pull it off. I'll probably have this in my top 10.
Thursday, 11 April 2013
STILL on the AWA Kick
Mike Rotundo v Doug Somers (5/1/86)
This might be the best Mike Rotundo singles match committed to tape. It's not blow away great, but Rotundo doesn't have a ton of stand-out singles matches, anyway. The bar isn't THAT high. I mean, Rotundo's a guy that's a solid hand and does things mechanically well and is fine enough in the ring, but I just don't really...care. Like, my brother is in high school and I've been roped into going to a bunch of fundraising events over the last few years. Now and again they'll run some Pop Idol/Stars in Their Eyes talent show horse shit. You know how those things go. Some kid will come out and knock your socks off with a teenage rendition of 'Heard it Through the Grapevine' or 'Old Time Rock and Roll'. Something you weren't expecting. Rotundo is not that kid. Rotundo is the kid that sings Rihanna or Jessie J. Sings it fine and everything, but there's a million people doing Rihanna and Jessie J renditions. Most of them blend together. Some will stick out now and again, but for the most part, once you've seen one, you've seen them all. There's no real reason to care. Tonnes of people can "sing fine and everything," you know? I'd rather watch the white kid singing 'Boom! Shake the Room' or the group of dancers re-enacting the 'Thriller' video. Half the time most of them can't even dance, but that's what makes it good. They have no compunction about making a complete fool of themselves for a laugh. Few years ago I sang 'No Woman, No Cry' with a bald woman in some rathole karaoke bar. I can't sing for shit. But I have no problem making myself look like an idiot when I'm getting free beer out of it. Bunch of 15 year olds looking like numpties doing the 'Thriller' dance probably aren't even getting free beer for it (well, this is Scotland, so they might), so obviously I have a soft spot for that. If I had a say in who won a talent contest, I'd pick the goofiest act first. Then I'd pick the best. Then Rihanna would be last. This right here is Mike Rotundo's 'Heard it Through the Grapevine'. It's almost certainly the most fired up I've ever see him, and at points he manages to convey an honest to goodness sense of anger. He works the headlock early and he can normally work a headlock like your Rihanna and Jessie J impersonators can sing 'Umbrella' or 'Price Tag'. It's fine and everything, but plenty of guys work a headlock fine and everything. This time he really cranks the shit out of it, though. It's about the most hateful headlock you'll ever see Mike Rotundo put on someone. Doug Somers has been a lot of fun on the set so far. He's a guy that I've enjoyed any time I've seen him, but I haven't really seen that much of him. Every Doug Somers match I've seen has been a tag or six-man where Buddy Rose is his partner, and well, there's only a handful of guys in wrestling history that can team with Buddy Rose and not look like "the other guy" in that team. That's really not a knock on Somers; it's just that Buddy is Buddy...he's just that good. I'm pretty sure this is the first Somers singles match I've seen and he was fucking awesome in it. He tries to put a halt to Rotundo's headlockery by hitting him low with a forearm, but he does it in a really sneaky and nasty way so the camera can't catch it (to be fair, Rotundo sells it great). Then when he takes over for real he just beats the shit out of him. Everything he throws at Rotundo looks like it'd hurt like a bastard -- the punches, the stomps to the head, raking his eyes across the top rope, ramming his head into the apron, jabbing him in the throat...everything. Somewhere along the way Rotundo winds up with a gnarly gash above his eye, and it was one of those Finlay/Benoit/Regal things where it could've come from about 14 different things. Rotundo is trying to get back in the ring at one point and Somers just keeps booting him in the skull, so Rotundo grabs his legs from outside, drags him over to the corner and wraps BOTH legs around the ring post. That allows him to crawl back in the ring, but Doug cuts him off again by cracking him with a fucking AMAZING headbutt to the cut. The close-up of Rotundo afterwards is incredible, all bleeding and drooling with his face twisted up like someone threw water on an oil portrait. I've seen people walk out of bar fights in Motherwell in better shape. When Rotundo makes his big comeback you actually buy him being pissed and wanting to tear Somers apart, and good grief will Doug Somers HURL himself into a backdrop! Seriously, watch this set and tell me he doesn't have an amazing backdrop bump. Finish is really good as well, with Doug begging off and looking for a time out, cheapshotting Rotundo when his guard is down and throwing him to the floor, then trying the suplex from the apron back in only for Rotundo to shift his weight and score the quick pin. Shockingly good match that I had almost no expectations for whatsoever (which might've helped it in the end). People should've stiffed Rotundo into getting pissed off more often. Never in a million years did I think I'd write this much about a Mike Rotundo match.
Buddy Rose, Doug Somers & Col. DeBeers v Nick Bockwinkel, Brad Rheingans & Steve Pardee (5/31/86)
Yeah, I fucking loved this. Once again Buddy is just a master at getting people riled up and I really thought he was the star of this. He does all his usual great shtick pre-match, correcting the announcer on his weight (he's 217, not 271!), slowly taking off his robe to a chorus of jeers, asking Bock for a one-handed push up contest, etc. When Bock bends over and tells him to kiss his ass, Buddy takes a wild charge and swing and ends up getting tossed to the floor. They do a bit where DeBeers takes a slingshot into his own corner and squashes Buddy's hand against the turnbuckle, so Sherri kisses his hand and some guy in the front row chucks a whole cup of beer at Buddy. Buddy's look of "what a fucking prick" is just outstanding and for the next few minutes he actually milks having a cup of beer thrown at him (spitting as if some of it got in his mouth, wiping beer off himself, generally looking disgusted). I thought Bock was awesome in this, too. His babyface character is basically the same as babyface Ric Flair, where he'll cheat and make no bones about it, but he's still a scholar and a gentleman at the end of the day. He'll pull the hair, the ref' will ask him if he pulled the hair, and he'll straight up tell him yes. You won't see him wielding a barbed wire baseball bat shouting "I'll fucking kill you too, bitch!" at Melina. That would be uncouth, and certainly no way to treat a lady (how fucking psycho was Flair around that '06 hardcore run, btw?). You will see him poke someone in the eye if it'll gain him an advantage. That's all sport at the end of the day. There's a cool bit where he throws Somers into the babyface corner and goads Buddy and DeBeers into the ring so Brad and Pardee can double team Somers, but Brad and Pardee are a little hesitant to do anything. This is Bock's bread and butter, he's been doing it for years, but his partners weren't born on that side of the tracks; they're not exactly used to it. "Oh I dunno, Brad. We could get in trouble for this." It's like they're planning on stealing a Freddo (25p for a Freddo? Fuck off), but they're afraid the shopkeeper'll turn around RIGHT as they're about to put it in their pocket. I'd probably rather they went with one longer heat segment than two shorter ones to REALLY get the heat up there, but that's a pretty minor complaint. This was a blast. And someone tell me there's a Buddy v Bockwinkel singles match out there. Please God, make that exist.
This might be the best Mike Rotundo singles match committed to tape. It's not blow away great, but Rotundo doesn't have a ton of stand-out singles matches, anyway. The bar isn't THAT high. I mean, Rotundo's a guy that's a solid hand and does things mechanically well and is fine enough in the ring, but I just don't really...care. Like, my brother is in high school and I've been roped into going to a bunch of fundraising events over the last few years. Now and again they'll run some Pop Idol/Stars in Their Eyes talent show horse shit. You know how those things go. Some kid will come out and knock your socks off with a teenage rendition of 'Heard it Through the Grapevine' or 'Old Time Rock and Roll'. Something you weren't expecting. Rotundo is not that kid. Rotundo is the kid that sings Rihanna or Jessie J. Sings it fine and everything, but there's a million people doing Rihanna and Jessie J renditions. Most of them blend together. Some will stick out now and again, but for the most part, once you've seen one, you've seen them all. There's no real reason to care. Tonnes of people can "sing fine and everything," you know? I'd rather watch the white kid singing 'Boom! Shake the Room' or the group of dancers re-enacting the 'Thriller' video. Half the time most of them can't even dance, but that's what makes it good. They have no compunction about making a complete fool of themselves for a laugh. Few years ago I sang 'No Woman, No Cry' with a bald woman in some rathole karaoke bar. I can't sing for shit. But I have no problem making myself look like an idiot when I'm getting free beer out of it. Bunch of 15 year olds looking like numpties doing the 'Thriller' dance probably aren't even getting free beer for it (well, this is Scotland, so they might), so obviously I have a soft spot for that. If I had a say in who won a talent contest, I'd pick the goofiest act first. Then I'd pick the best. Then Rihanna would be last. This right here is Mike Rotundo's 'Heard it Through the Grapevine'. It's almost certainly the most fired up I've ever see him, and at points he manages to convey an honest to goodness sense of anger. He works the headlock early and he can normally work a headlock like your Rihanna and Jessie J impersonators can sing 'Umbrella' or 'Price Tag'. It's fine and everything, but plenty of guys work a headlock fine and everything. This time he really cranks the shit out of it, though. It's about the most hateful headlock you'll ever see Mike Rotundo put on someone. Doug Somers has been a lot of fun on the set so far. He's a guy that I've enjoyed any time I've seen him, but I haven't really seen that much of him. Every Doug Somers match I've seen has been a tag or six-man where Buddy Rose is his partner, and well, there's only a handful of guys in wrestling history that can team with Buddy Rose and not look like "the other guy" in that team. That's really not a knock on Somers; it's just that Buddy is Buddy...he's just that good. I'm pretty sure this is the first Somers singles match I've seen and he was fucking awesome in it. He tries to put a halt to Rotundo's headlockery by hitting him low with a forearm, but he does it in a really sneaky and nasty way so the camera can't catch it (to be fair, Rotundo sells it great). Then when he takes over for real he just beats the shit out of him. Everything he throws at Rotundo looks like it'd hurt like a bastard -- the punches, the stomps to the head, raking his eyes across the top rope, ramming his head into the apron, jabbing him in the throat...everything. Somewhere along the way Rotundo winds up with a gnarly gash above his eye, and it was one of those Finlay/Benoit/Regal things where it could've come from about 14 different things. Rotundo is trying to get back in the ring at one point and Somers just keeps booting him in the skull, so Rotundo grabs his legs from outside, drags him over to the corner and wraps BOTH legs around the ring post. That allows him to crawl back in the ring, but Doug cuts him off again by cracking him with a fucking AMAZING headbutt to the cut. The close-up of Rotundo afterwards is incredible, all bleeding and drooling with his face twisted up like someone threw water on an oil portrait. I've seen people walk out of bar fights in Motherwell in better shape. When Rotundo makes his big comeback you actually buy him being pissed and wanting to tear Somers apart, and good grief will Doug Somers HURL himself into a backdrop! Seriously, watch this set and tell me he doesn't have an amazing backdrop bump. Finish is really good as well, with Doug begging off and looking for a time out, cheapshotting Rotundo when his guard is down and throwing him to the floor, then trying the suplex from the apron back in only for Rotundo to shift his weight and score the quick pin. Shockingly good match that I had almost no expectations for whatsoever (which might've helped it in the end). People should've stiffed Rotundo into getting pissed off more often. Never in a million years did I think I'd write this much about a Mike Rotundo match.
Buddy Rose, Doug Somers & Col. DeBeers v Nick Bockwinkel, Brad Rheingans & Steve Pardee (5/31/86)
Yeah, I fucking loved this. Once again Buddy is just a master at getting people riled up and I really thought he was the star of this. He does all his usual great shtick pre-match, correcting the announcer on his weight (he's 217, not 271!), slowly taking off his robe to a chorus of jeers, asking Bock for a one-handed push up contest, etc. When Bock bends over and tells him to kiss his ass, Buddy takes a wild charge and swing and ends up getting tossed to the floor. They do a bit where DeBeers takes a slingshot into his own corner and squashes Buddy's hand against the turnbuckle, so Sherri kisses his hand and some guy in the front row chucks a whole cup of beer at Buddy. Buddy's look of "what a fucking prick" is just outstanding and for the next few minutes he actually milks having a cup of beer thrown at him (spitting as if some of it got in his mouth, wiping beer off himself, generally looking disgusted). I thought Bock was awesome in this, too. His babyface character is basically the same as babyface Ric Flair, where he'll cheat and make no bones about it, but he's still a scholar and a gentleman at the end of the day. He'll pull the hair, the ref' will ask him if he pulled the hair, and he'll straight up tell him yes. You won't see him wielding a barbed wire baseball bat shouting "I'll fucking kill you too, bitch!" at Melina. That would be uncouth, and certainly no way to treat a lady (how fucking psycho was Flair around that '06 hardcore run, btw?). You will see him poke someone in the eye if it'll gain him an advantage. That's all sport at the end of the day. There's a cool bit where he throws Somers into the babyface corner and goads Buddy and DeBeers into the ring so Brad and Pardee can double team Somers, but Brad and Pardee are a little hesitant to do anything. This is Bock's bread and butter, he's been doing it for years, but his partners weren't born on that side of the tracks; they're not exactly used to it. "Oh I dunno, Brad. We could get in trouble for this." It's like they're planning on stealing a Freddo (25p for a Freddo? Fuck off), but they're afraid the shopkeeper'll turn around RIGHT as they're about to put it in their pocket. I'd probably rather they went with one longer heat segment than two shorter ones to REALLY get the heat up there, but that's a pretty minor complaint. This was a blast. And someone tell me there's a Buddy v Bockwinkel singles match out there. Please God, make that exist.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Still Watching AWA
Midnight Rockers v Buddy Rose & Doug Somers (4/20/86)
Well this was just WAY up my alley. This set has had some really great tag wrestling on it, but this match has 3 of my favourite (and I'd argue that they're 3 of the best) tag wrestlers ever doing all the things I love in my tag wrestling. The heat segment on Michaels feels pretty abbreviated and kind of keeps this from being truly high end, but what we got felt like three quarters of a great match, and knowing what's still to come from this feud, I am perfectly fine with that. All the pre- and early-match bullshit fucking ruled here. Rose cuts off the announcer and tells him he weight 217 pounds, not 271, and Sherri tells him she's a manageress, not a valet. Then Buddy does the one-handed push ups and nip up and challenges Jannetty to do the same. Jannetty plays along and does both handily. Then Michaels gets in, does a backflip off the top rope, and challenges Buddy to do that. Buddy goes up top once, thinks about it and comes back down to psyche himself up. Then he goes back up top, but Shawn starts jumping on the ropes in the opposite corner and Buddy winds up getting crotched on the top rope. When they actually get to the wrestling Shawn and Marty control things by working the arm. Buddy Rose is not a slim individual, but holy shit can he run the ropes like nobody else. He does a rope running bit with Michaels and he's hitting each set of ropes like you'd see Shawn himself do later in his career, then he whips himself into an armdrag coming off the ropes at six hundred miles an hour! It looked fucking killer. Buddy and Doug take over after Buddy slingshots Shawn into the corner and Doug elbows him in the eye, and face in peril Shawn Michaels is definitely my favourite kind of Shawn Michaels. With more time to build we could've had ourselves a hell of a beatdown, but about 10 minutes in (to the match, which was only about 4 minutes into the beatdown) he makes the hot tag to Jannetty. Finish was perfect in that it had Buddy swiping Jannetty's legs while Jannetty was up top and Jannetty taking a nasty crotching (payback from earlier?), but not so perfect in that Shawn decided to jump Buddy on the apron rather than breaking up the pin right in front of him. But whatever, this was huge wads of fun and I cannot wait until these guys start hating each other to death and bleeding buckets.
Rick Martel v Harley Race (4/20/86)
I'm a bit conflicted. In some respects this kind of felt like two guys "doing stuff" for 15 minutes. But everything they did looked great, and if you're willing to accept it as a battle of two former world champions going right for the jugular, then this was a hell of a match. I mean, almost 15 minutes of guys going back and forth isn't my cup of tea, but they pace it really well and the transitions are good and it never quite gets into "your turn/my turn" territory...so I guess this is one of the better matches of its ilk that I've ever seen. Martel has been a total star on this set, but this was the Harley Race show. He throws some amazing headbutts here, including an awesome "fuck you" headbutt right to the nose off a clean break. He takes a couple huge bumps out to the floor. He busts out a bunch of great offence, like a shoulderbreaker (after Martel missed an elbow drop, which I thought was pretty cool) and a big back suplex. Harley is someone I'd been down on for a while a few years back, but I've enjoyed the majority of Race matches I've watched ever since the Texas set came out in 2011, so maybe it's time for a re-evaluation. Honestly, he's 43 here and isn't moving around like the guy he's in there with is 13 years his junior. Martel actually hitting his slingshot splash in a big match had me popping as well, because I don't think I've seen him do that once. There's a lot of "Martel was better than Steamboat" talk that's come out of this set. I'm not sold on that being the case (the gap is really not that big, though), but I do think he was the better offensive wrestler and better at working holds in interesting ways, so I guess a match loaded with big time offence like this is a fitting way to cap off his run on the set.
Buddy Rose & Doug Somers v Leon White & Jesse Hernandez (5/1/86)
Aw fuck this was great. Buddy is just ridiculously awesome here and I can't imagine someone watching this and not getting a kick out of his antics. Match is basically all about Buddy and Somers being run over by Leon while trying to come up with ways to take him down. They all fail. Buddy spits on him and tells him to kiss his ass, so Leon is pissed and wants a piece. Buddy charges him with a shoulder tackle and gets floored. Somers comes in, charges him with a shoulder tackle, same result. They both charge him with a shoulder tackle, both get floored. Crowd eat this up like you'd hope. Buddy goes a different route and tries to take him down with a top wristlock, but Leon is too strong and just chucks him off. Somers comes in, goes to the top wristlock, gets chucked off. BOTH go for a top wristlock, both get chucked off. Crowd eat this up like you'd hope. Then Buddy takes his nutty through the rope bump where he lands on the back of his head on the concrete, and the crowd eat this up like you'd hope. Whole opening spell with Rose and Somers stooging around is just awesome and pretty much a perfect example of how to get a crowd rocking. I don't think I've ever seen Jesse Hernandez before, but you, I and everybody else can tell he's enhancement talent based on his ring gear alone. When he gets tagged in Rose and Somers isolate him immediately, and this is exactly what they needed to crack the code. The key isn't to take Leon down, it's to go AROUND him. Go after the jobber, not the linebacker. Finish is fucking great. Buddy has been riling Leon up the entire match, so lil' Vader is like a caged bear now that he's stuck on the apron. Buddy and Somers will draw him in, then they'll double up on Hernandez while the ref' tries to get Leon back out. Buddy walks up and slaps Leon across the face, and that's all he can take, chasing Buddy around ringside while Buddy tries to throw furniture around as roadblocks. Back in the ring Hernandez has no one to save him, so Somers hits his suplex (which is his finisher...kind of a weak finisher, granted, but a finisher nonetheless) for the win, and to add the cherry to the cake Rose jumps back in and hits an elbow drop just because. Ton of fun.
Well this was just WAY up my alley. This set has had some really great tag wrestling on it, but this match has 3 of my favourite (and I'd argue that they're 3 of the best) tag wrestlers ever doing all the things I love in my tag wrestling. The heat segment on Michaels feels pretty abbreviated and kind of keeps this from being truly high end, but what we got felt like three quarters of a great match, and knowing what's still to come from this feud, I am perfectly fine with that. All the pre- and early-match bullshit fucking ruled here. Rose cuts off the announcer and tells him he weight 217 pounds, not 271, and Sherri tells him she's a manageress, not a valet. Then Buddy does the one-handed push ups and nip up and challenges Jannetty to do the same. Jannetty plays along and does both handily. Then Michaels gets in, does a backflip off the top rope, and challenges Buddy to do that. Buddy goes up top once, thinks about it and comes back down to psyche himself up. Then he goes back up top, but Shawn starts jumping on the ropes in the opposite corner and Buddy winds up getting crotched on the top rope. When they actually get to the wrestling Shawn and Marty control things by working the arm. Buddy Rose is not a slim individual, but holy shit can he run the ropes like nobody else. He does a rope running bit with Michaels and he's hitting each set of ropes like you'd see Shawn himself do later in his career, then he whips himself into an armdrag coming off the ropes at six hundred miles an hour! It looked fucking killer. Buddy and Doug take over after Buddy slingshots Shawn into the corner and Doug elbows him in the eye, and face in peril Shawn Michaels is definitely my favourite kind of Shawn Michaels. With more time to build we could've had ourselves a hell of a beatdown, but about 10 minutes in (to the match, which was only about 4 minutes into the beatdown) he makes the hot tag to Jannetty. Finish was perfect in that it had Buddy swiping Jannetty's legs while Jannetty was up top and Jannetty taking a nasty crotching (payback from earlier?), but not so perfect in that Shawn decided to jump Buddy on the apron rather than breaking up the pin right in front of him. But whatever, this was huge wads of fun and I cannot wait until these guys start hating each other to death and bleeding buckets.
Rick Martel v Harley Race (4/20/86)
I'm a bit conflicted. In some respects this kind of felt like two guys "doing stuff" for 15 minutes. But everything they did looked great, and if you're willing to accept it as a battle of two former world champions going right for the jugular, then this was a hell of a match. I mean, almost 15 minutes of guys going back and forth isn't my cup of tea, but they pace it really well and the transitions are good and it never quite gets into "your turn/my turn" territory...so I guess this is one of the better matches of its ilk that I've ever seen. Martel has been a total star on this set, but this was the Harley Race show. He throws some amazing headbutts here, including an awesome "fuck you" headbutt right to the nose off a clean break. He takes a couple huge bumps out to the floor. He busts out a bunch of great offence, like a shoulderbreaker (after Martel missed an elbow drop, which I thought was pretty cool) and a big back suplex. Harley is someone I'd been down on for a while a few years back, but I've enjoyed the majority of Race matches I've watched ever since the Texas set came out in 2011, so maybe it's time for a re-evaluation. Honestly, he's 43 here and isn't moving around like the guy he's in there with is 13 years his junior. Martel actually hitting his slingshot splash in a big match had me popping as well, because I don't think I've seen him do that once. There's a lot of "Martel was better than Steamboat" talk that's come out of this set. I'm not sold on that being the case (the gap is really not that big, though), but I do think he was the better offensive wrestler and better at working holds in interesting ways, so I guess a match loaded with big time offence like this is a fitting way to cap off his run on the set.
Buddy Rose & Doug Somers v Leon White & Jesse Hernandez (5/1/86)
Aw fuck this was great. Buddy is just ridiculously awesome here and I can't imagine someone watching this and not getting a kick out of his antics. Match is basically all about Buddy and Somers being run over by Leon while trying to come up with ways to take him down. They all fail. Buddy spits on him and tells him to kiss his ass, so Leon is pissed and wants a piece. Buddy charges him with a shoulder tackle and gets floored. Somers comes in, charges him with a shoulder tackle, same result. They both charge him with a shoulder tackle, both get floored. Crowd eat this up like you'd hope. Buddy goes a different route and tries to take him down with a top wristlock, but Leon is too strong and just chucks him off. Somers comes in, goes to the top wristlock, gets chucked off. BOTH go for a top wristlock, both get chucked off. Crowd eat this up like you'd hope. Then Buddy takes his nutty through the rope bump where he lands on the back of his head on the concrete, and the crowd eat this up like you'd hope. Whole opening spell with Rose and Somers stooging around is just awesome and pretty much a perfect example of how to get a crowd rocking. I don't think I've ever seen Jesse Hernandez before, but you, I and everybody else can tell he's enhancement talent based on his ring gear alone. When he gets tagged in Rose and Somers isolate him immediately, and this is exactly what they needed to crack the code. The key isn't to take Leon down, it's to go AROUND him. Go after the jobber, not the linebacker. Finish is fucking great. Buddy has been riling Leon up the entire match, so lil' Vader is like a caged bear now that he's stuck on the apron. Buddy and Somers will draw him in, then they'll double up on Hernandez while the ref' tries to get Leon back out. Buddy walks up and slaps Leon across the face, and that's all he can take, chasing Buddy around ringside while Buddy tries to throw furniture around as roadblocks. Back in the ring Hernandez has no one to save him, so Somers hits his suplex (which is his finisher...kind of a weak finisher, granted, but a finisher nonetheless) for the win, and to add the cherry to the cake Rose jumps back in and hits an elbow drop just because. Ton of fun.
Monday, 8 April 2013
Still AWA
Nick Bockwinkel v Larry Zbyszko (2/23/86)
As an overall "segment" this is only about 8 minutes long. Bell to bell I don't think it goes even 4 minutes. And it completely ruled. Zbyszko is amazing in the pre-match, complaining about the ref' and refusing to compete unless they get a different referee out there, then tossing the "up yours" when he gets his way. Crowd absolutely detests him and the match hasn't even started yet. Bock comes running out and jumps him, and for the next few minutes he just beats the living shit out of Larry while the crowd erupts. He chokes him with electrical chord, stiffs him with forearms, and Larry takes an insane bump out to the floor off a dropkick. In practically any other match ever that would be the craziest bump of the match, but a couple minutes later the ref' fucking DIES off the nuttiest ref' bump you've ever seen. I mean, this referee is tiny and he gets fucking hurled through the ropes and I don't know how he didn't break his neck, because he lands head first on the concrete. Larry winning by crotching Bock on the ropes with his one and only offensive move of the match gets riot level heat, and Bock is already looking as great as an ass-kicking babyface as he has as a heel.
Stan Hansen v Leon White (3/13/86)
Well shit. I figured this would be good, but I didn't expect to come out of it thinking it's a top 15 contender. And well, there's some great looking stuff still to come, but this was awesome and sitting in my top 10 right now. It's not quite as slugfest-y as one or two of the matches from Japan; Leon's eye doesn't get clubbed out its socket, but they still hit each other like they are who you think they are. This is built more around body part work though, and it's some great body part work, especially from Hansen. Leon controls early by working a headlock, and he really WORKS it. He even does a fucking step over into a cartwheel before dropping down and going back to the headlock at one point. He really cranks and squeezes it, and Hansen always looks like he's fighting to get out of it. He'll grind his forearm across the bridge of Leon's nose and just kind of try and grab bits of his face to rip at. When he takes over he grabs a nasty wristlock, then he starts bending Leon's fingers and that leads to the awesome FINGER WORK segment. Hansen is just a nasty bastard here, trying to rip Leon's fingers apart, stomping on his hand and smashing it into chairs and ring posts. Finish is the sort of unhinged brutality that a bunch of your classic Hansen matches have. Leon charges him in the corner, but Hansen moves and Leon flies into the turnbuckles, and as he's bouncing back out Hansen fucking drills him with an absolute crowbar lariat. It wasn't quite on the level of his lariat to Kobashi in '93, but it wasn't far off. This was excellent.
As an overall "segment" this is only about 8 minutes long. Bell to bell I don't think it goes even 4 minutes. And it completely ruled. Zbyszko is amazing in the pre-match, complaining about the ref' and refusing to compete unless they get a different referee out there, then tossing the "up yours" when he gets his way. Crowd absolutely detests him and the match hasn't even started yet. Bock comes running out and jumps him, and for the next few minutes he just beats the living shit out of Larry while the crowd erupts. He chokes him with electrical chord, stiffs him with forearms, and Larry takes an insane bump out to the floor off a dropkick. In practically any other match ever that would be the craziest bump of the match, but a couple minutes later the ref' fucking DIES off the nuttiest ref' bump you've ever seen. I mean, this referee is tiny and he gets fucking hurled through the ropes and I don't know how he didn't break his neck, because he lands head first on the concrete. Larry winning by crotching Bock on the ropes with his one and only offensive move of the match gets riot level heat, and Bock is already looking as great as an ass-kicking babyface as he has as a heel.
Stan Hansen v Leon White (3/13/86)
Well shit. I figured this would be good, but I didn't expect to come out of it thinking it's a top 15 contender. And well, there's some great looking stuff still to come, but this was awesome and sitting in my top 10 right now. It's not quite as slugfest-y as one or two of the matches from Japan; Leon's eye doesn't get clubbed out its socket, but they still hit each other like they are who you think they are. This is built more around body part work though, and it's some great body part work, especially from Hansen. Leon controls early by working a headlock, and he really WORKS it. He even does a fucking step over into a cartwheel before dropping down and going back to the headlock at one point. He really cranks and squeezes it, and Hansen always looks like he's fighting to get out of it. He'll grind his forearm across the bridge of Leon's nose and just kind of try and grab bits of his face to rip at. When he takes over he grabs a nasty wristlock, then he starts bending Leon's fingers and that leads to the awesome FINGER WORK segment. Hansen is just a nasty bastard here, trying to rip Leon's fingers apart, stomping on his hand and smashing it into chairs and ring posts. Finish is the sort of unhinged brutality that a bunch of your classic Hansen matches have. Leon charges him in the corner, but Hansen moves and Leon flies into the turnbuckles, and as he's bouncing back out Hansen fucking drills him with an absolute crowbar lariat. It wasn't quite on the level of his lariat to Kobashi in '93, but it wasn't far off. This was excellent.
Friday, 5 April 2013
More AWA
Rick Martel v Terry Gordy (August '85)
Ok, cards on the table, I must not have been paying a whole lot of attention during the intros, because I don't remember hearing that this was a TV time limit. Maybe if I did hear that then before long I'd have guessed they were working towards a 15 minute draw...but I didn't. With the benefit of hindsight I can see why people figured they were working to the time limit, but when it finished my first thought was that this was a great first 15 minutes of what would've been an awesome 20-25 minute match. Gordy is maybe on the back foot for a bit too much of it considering he's Terry fucking Gordy and just, like, punch him in the face already, but Martel's a guy that's great at varying and working holds while he's in control. Gordy eventually takes over with a big sidewalk slam, and he goes back to that three times as a way to cut Martel off. When he tries it the fourth time Martel flips all the way around and out of it, and from there he starts to make his comeback. Final minute or so is really heated, and I wish we got to see a no-time limit version of this, because it looks like a hell of a match-up. I dug this a lot.
Ok, cards on the table, I must not have been paying a whole lot of attention during the intros, because I don't remember hearing that this was a TV time limit. Maybe if I did hear that then before long I'd have guessed they were working towards a 15 minute draw...but I didn't. With the benefit of hindsight I can see why people figured they were working to the time limit, but when it finished my first thought was that this was a great first 15 minutes of what would've been an awesome 20-25 minute match. Gordy is maybe on the back foot for a bit too much of it considering he's Terry fucking Gordy and just, like, punch him in the face already, but Martel's a guy that's great at varying and working holds while he's in control. Gordy eventually takes over with a big sidewalk slam, and he goes back to that three times as a way to cut Martel off. When he tries it the fourth time Martel flips all the way around and out of it, and from there he starts to make his comeback. Final minute or so is really heated, and I wish we got to see a no-time limit version of this, because it looks like a hell of a match-up. I dug this a lot.
Thursday, 4 April 2013
More AWA Ramblings
Butch Reed & Larry Zbyszko v Bob Backlund & Brad Rheingans (4/21/85)
I really dug this a bunch. I've spoke about it before, but Butch Reed would be my favourite wrestler of all time if Eddie Guerrero never existed, so I'll pretty much enjoy anything he's involved in no matter what, but I honestly thought he and Zbyszko were a pretty awesome heel unit in this. There have been a lot of good regular tags on this set so far, and a few great ones, but I've never gotten the sense any of the heel teams have really tried to whip the crowd into a riot the way the some teams would in Mid-South or Memphis. There's been good heeling, no doubt, but nobody has seemed to really go rampant with the cheating or act like COMPLETE assholes (in the regular tags, anyway. Kaissey and Blackwell in those cage matches are a different story). One some level this might be about as close to a Midnight Express mugging to this point. Zbyszko busts out all kinds of great offence here, including a wicked swinging neckbreaker, a shoulderbreaker that Backlund sort of took on the top of his head (like a headbreaker, then...maybe?), nasty Dennis Condrey-esque kneedrops in the corner, and he and Reed roll out a swank double slam. There's a bit where the ref' is trying to get Rheingans back onto the apron and Reed and Zbyszko are choking and stomping and raining down knees on Backlund in the opposite corner. Felt like something you'd see Eaton and Condrey do to Ricky Morton; all that was missing was a Cornette. Reed works a couple cool bearhug spots with Backlund here. First time he puts it on, Backlund cocks his fist back like he's gonna pop him, but Reed squeezes tighter and Backlund drops the arm. Then you see Bob slowly trying to get his own arms inside Reed's to break the grip, eventually managing it and hoisting Reed up into a bearhug of his own. Reed gets out of it by just headbutting Bob in the nose, and when Reed goes back to the bearhug a bit later Bob finally breaks it by headbutting him right back. Backlund as face in peril is a role I'm not used to seeing him in, but he was really good here. His take of a Reed clothesline is goofy, but he always looks like he's trying to tag out and he's a guy that will never sit idly in holds, so things like the bearhug or a chinlock don't feel resthold-y. Rheingans isn't in there much, but he hits a nice gutwrench suplex on Zbyszko and really cranks a headlock early. I actually wish he got to do more once he got the hot tag, and Bob coming back in so soon after being beat on for 10 minutes was a bit of a letdown, but I've dug Rheingans any time he's shown up on the set. I'll probably be a/the high voter on this, but I'm a shameless Butch Reed mark and I liked this a ton. So fuck it.
Crusher Blackwell & Sgt. Slaughter v Sheik Adnan Kaissey, Masked Superstar & King Tonga (Cage Match) (4/21/85)
So going through this set, it's become pretty obvious that Jerry Blackwell is one of the all-time great "big men" in wrestling history. As far as morbidly obese bump machines go, I think there's an honest to goodness case that he's better than even Vader. He's also the motherfucking God of cage matches. This isn't quite as wild and insane as the two Blackwell cage matches that are my working #s 1 and 3 -- it's worked more like a standard tag/handicap match that happens to be in a cage. I like the out of control violence and carnage of the other two more, but the Reed/Neidhart v TA/II cage match from Mid-South was worked like a standard tag that happened to be in a cage, and that's practically a "desert island" match for me, so it's not like I'm completely opposed to the concept. And it's not as if they don't still use the cage well, anyway. Bill Eadie/Masked Superstar might actually have been my favourite guy in this. Like Backlund as face in peril, Eadie isn't a guy I think of as a stooge machine, but man was he fun as a bumping stooge here. Blackwell and Slaughter ping him around with punches in the babyface corner, and Eadie winds up almost doing half a Flair Flop into the cage, bouncing back off and splatting down on the mat. He and Blackwell had a singles match the previous month that ended after a double clothesline, and they play off that again with another awesome double clothesline spot. Tonga was pretty great in this as well, winging a few badass kicks right under the chin, biting open wounds, falling on Blackwell with an awesome headbutt, and at one point he takes a loony no-hands bump straight into a side of the cage. Both Slaughter and Blackwell take a turn being worked over, and I love how great Blackwell is in the role of face in peril considering how amazing he was as a heel a couple years before. He takes a face-first splat into the cage and pinballs all the way to the opposite side of the ring. A man that's built like he is should not be able to do the things he does. I mean, you don't get as many psychotic Blackwell bumps in this as you do in the previous cage matches. In a sense I guess that's taking away maybe his biggest asset, but the guy is a really good face in peril and fired up babyface, so it's cool to see him fight from underneath and start USA chants from the apron. Finish might be the best finish on the entire set, as Jerry Blackwell is a 400+ pound man and he absolutely KILLS Adnan with a fucking splash off the top rope. Seriously, that shit was insane, like a Volkswagen Beetle being dropped off a forklift on top of someone. Hell of a match. Feels like more of a top 30 match than top 10 to me, but I've enjoyed a lot of stuff on this set a TON, so that says more about the quality of things I prefer than anything negative about this match. And again...that finish. Good golly Miss Molly, that finish.
I really dug this a bunch. I've spoke about it before, but Butch Reed would be my favourite wrestler of all time if Eddie Guerrero never existed, so I'll pretty much enjoy anything he's involved in no matter what, but I honestly thought he and Zbyszko were a pretty awesome heel unit in this. There have been a lot of good regular tags on this set so far, and a few great ones, but I've never gotten the sense any of the heel teams have really tried to whip the crowd into a riot the way the some teams would in Mid-South or Memphis. There's been good heeling, no doubt, but nobody has seemed to really go rampant with the cheating or act like COMPLETE assholes (in the regular tags, anyway. Kaissey and Blackwell in those cage matches are a different story). One some level this might be about as close to a Midnight Express mugging to this point. Zbyszko busts out all kinds of great offence here, including a wicked swinging neckbreaker, a shoulderbreaker that Backlund sort of took on the top of his head (like a headbreaker, then...maybe?), nasty Dennis Condrey-esque kneedrops in the corner, and he and Reed roll out a swank double slam. There's a bit where the ref' is trying to get Rheingans back onto the apron and Reed and Zbyszko are choking and stomping and raining down knees on Backlund in the opposite corner. Felt like something you'd see Eaton and Condrey do to Ricky Morton; all that was missing was a Cornette. Reed works a couple cool bearhug spots with Backlund here. First time he puts it on, Backlund cocks his fist back like he's gonna pop him, but Reed squeezes tighter and Backlund drops the arm. Then you see Bob slowly trying to get his own arms inside Reed's to break the grip, eventually managing it and hoisting Reed up into a bearhug of his own. Reed gets out of it by just headbutting Bob in the nose, and when Reed goes back to the bearhug a bit later Bob finally breaks it by headbutting him right back. Backlund as face in peril is a role I'm not used to seeing him in, but he was really good here. His take of a Reed clothesline is goofy, but he always looks like he's trying to tag out and he's a guy that will never sit idly in holds, so things like the bearhug or a chinlock don't feel resthold-y. Rheingans isn't in there much, but he hits a nice gutwrench suplex on Zbyszko and really cranks a headlock early. I actually wish he got to do more once he got the hot tag, and Bob coming back in so soon after being beat on for 10 minutes was a bit of a letdown, but I've dug Rheingans any time he's shown up on the set. I'll probably be a/the high voter on this, but I'm a shameless Butch Reed mark and I liked this a ton. So fuck it.
Crusher Blackwell & Sgt. Slaughter v Sheik Adnan Kaissey, Masked Superstar & King Tonga (Cage Match) (4/21/85)
So going through this set, it's become pretty obvious that Jerry Blackwell is one of the all-time great "big men" in wrestling history. As far as morbidly obese bump machines go, I think there's an honest to goodness case that he's better than even Vader. He's also the motherfucking God of cage matches. This isn't quite as wild and insane as the two Blackwell cage matches that are my working #s 1 and 3 -- it's worked more like a standard tag/handicap match that happens to be in a cage. I like the out of control violence and carnage of the other two more, but the Reed/Neidhart v TA/II cage match from Mid-South was worked like a standard tag that happened to be in a cage, and that's practically a "desert island" match for me, so it's not like I'm completely opposed to the concept. And it's not as if they don't still use the cage well, anyway. Bill Eadie/Masked Superstar might actually have been my favourite guy in this. Like Backlund as face in peril, Eadie isn't a guy I think of as a stooge machine, but man was he fun as a bumping stooge here. Blackwell and Slaughter ping him around with punches in the babyface corner, and Eadie winds up almost doing half a Flair Flop into the cage, bouncing back off and splatting down on the mat. He and Blackwell had a singles match the previous month that ended after a double clothesline, and they play off that again with another awesome double clothesline spot. Tonga was pretty great in this as well, winging a few badass kicks right under the chin, biting open wounds, falling on Blackwell with an awesome headbutt, and at one point he takes a loony no-hands bump straight into a side of the cage. Both Slaughter and Blackwell take a turn being worked over, and I love how great Blackwell is in the role of face in peril considering how amazing he was as a heel a couple years before. He takes a face-first splat into the cage and pinballs all the way to the opposite side of the ring. A man that's built like he is should not be able to do the things he does. I mean, you don't get as many psychotic Blackwell bumps in this as you do in the previous cage matches. In a sense I guess that's taking away maybe his biggest asset, but the guy is a really good face in peril and fired up babyface, so it's cool to see him fight from underneath and start USA chants from the apron. Finish might be the best finish on the entire set, as Jerry Blackwell is a 400+ pound man and he absolutely KILLS Adnan with a fucking splash off the top rope. Seriously, that shit was insane, like a Volkswagen Beetle being dropped off a forklift on top of someone. Hell of a match. Feels like more of a top 30 match than top 10 to me, but I've enjoyed a lot of stuff on this set a TON, so that says more about the quality of things I prefer than anything negative about this match. And again...that finish. Good golly Miss Molly, that finish.
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
AWA Set Ramblings
I'm trying to get back into the swing of things with the AWA 80s set right now. I've been able to finish every other one in time to get a ballot in and I don't plan on stopping with this one! I'll probably talk about a bunch of this stuff in the next few days/weeks/whatever. Maybe.
Mr. Saito v Curt Hennig (3/28/85)
Okay, so, does Mr. Saito rule or what? I've been watching the Saito matches on the AWA set recently and he has been fucking great in everything, to the point where I want to dig out the New Japan 80s set and watch every Saito match on it again. He was totally kingsized in this, doing all sorts of stuff you see in a million pro-wrestling matches but only way better than most pro-wrestlers ever do them. He really snaps into armdrag bumps with amazing speed, which looks awesome considering he has 12 necks and is probably made of granite (seriously, what an absolute brick shithouse Mr. Saito is. And not some roided up HGH brick shithouse, either). He throws a couple great hiptosses in this, and it's not the first match where he's done that. Hiptosses tend to look like moves where the guy taking them is flinging himself around for the guy doing them, but Saito really tries to launch you when he does them, and because he throws you forward as opposed to upwards it looks like he's actually using momentum to carry it out. He starts out the match being schooled by Curt, so he pulls a Fuerza and offers up the handshake because he's really a nice guy and he can appreciate the ability of a young wrestler. And well, nobody is buying it and they know exactly what'll happen if Hennig accepts the handshake. But after every exchange Hennig wins, Saito congratulates him and offers a handshake, and once or twice he even bows in acknowledgement. Maybe he IS really a nice guy. Hennig finally accepts the handshake and it takes Saito approximately quarter of a second to boot him in the gut. Curt was pretty awesome here as well; he was probably as good in the match as Saito, it's just that I'm on a Saito high so I'm marking out for the stuff he's doing more than I am for the stuff Curt's doing. Your garden-variety nerve hold is something that can look SUPER crummy when neither the applicant or recipient is willing to work in it, and I'll be honest, if Saito didn't look like he could rip a phone book in two with his bare hands I wouldn't really be buying this on his end...but Hennig totally makes up for it by fighting out of it from the bottom. He screams like it actually HURTS, and when he manages to make it to his feet he stands up on his tiptoes to try and use his height advantage to alleviate the pressure. And then he punches Saito in the face to break it. Good grief the punches. This had fucking AWESOME punches. One of the common talking points about AWA Hennig going through this set is that he threw great punches and it sucked that he never did/got to do any of that in the WWF. And really, he threw great punches in the AWA. I'm a guy that doesn't really have any issue with over-the-top bumping in my pro-wrestling, but in the WWF Hennig would get a bit too cartoony with it even for me. Crazy bumper, but maybe a bit too goofy. It seems the goofiness might've been something he added when he got to the WWF as well, because he takes a fucking LUNATIC corner bump in this where he flies about 8 rows deep off a missed shoulderblock, and there was nothing cartoony about it. Final couple minutes rock, with Hennig rolling Saito up in two perfect sunset flips for nearfalls that I 100% bit on (thought for certain the one out of the corner was the finish), and Saito drilling Hennig with an absolute corker for a punch at the end (and then he puts his feet on the ropes just to be sure). I thought this was great, and it's just outside my current top 10 (54 matches in).
Mr. Saito v Curt Hennig (3/28/85)
Okay, so, does Mr. Saito rule or what? I've been watching the Saito matches on the AWA set recently and he has been fucking great in everything, to the point where I want to dig out the New Japan 80s set and watch every Saito match on it again. He was totally kingsized in this, doing all sorts of stuff you see in a million pro-wrestling matches but only way better than most pro-wrestlers ever do them. He really snaps into armdrag bumps with amazing speed, which looks awesome considering he has 12 necks and is probably made of granite (seriously, what an absolute brick shithouse Mr. Saito is. And not some roided up HGH brick shithouse, either). He throws a couple great hiptosses in this, and it's not the first match where he's done that. Hiptosses tend to look like moves where the guy taking them is flinging himself around for the guy doing them, but Saito really tries to launch you when he does them, and because he throws you forward as opposed to upwards it looks like he's actually using momentum to carry it out. He starts out the match being schooled by Curt, so he pulls a Fuerza and offers up the handshake because he's really a nice guy and he can appreciate the ability of a young wrestler. And well, nobody is buying it and they know exactly what'll happen if Hennig accepts the handshake. But after every exchange Hennig wins, Saito congratulates him and offers a handshake, and once or twice he even bows in acknowledgement. Maybe he IS really a nice guy. Hennig finally accepts the handshake and it takes Saito approximately quarter of a second to boot him in the gut. Curt was pretty awesome here as well; he was probably as good in the match as Saito, it's just that I'm on a Saito high so I'm marking out for the stuff he's doing more than I am for the stuff Curt's doing. Your garden-variety nerve hold is something that can look SUPER crummy when neither the applicant or recipient is willing to work in it, and I'll be honest, if Saito didn't look like he could rip a phone book in two with his bare hands I wouldn't really be buying this on his end...but Hennig totally makes up for it by fighting out of it from the bottom. He screams like it actually HURTS, and when he manages to make it to his feet he stands up on his tiptoes to try and use his height advantage to alleviate the pressure. And then he punches Saito in the face to break it. Good grief the punches. This had fucking AWESOME punches. One of the common talking points about AWA Hennig going through this set is that he threw great punches and it sucked that he never did/got to do any of that in the WWF. And really, he threw great punches in the AWA. I'm a guy that doesn't really have any issue with over-the-top bumping in my pro-wrestling, but in the WWF Hennig would get a bit too cartoony with it even for me. Crazy bumper, but maybe a bit too goofy. It seems the goofiness might've been something he added when he got to the WWF as well, because he takes a fucking LUNATIC corner bump in this where he flies about 8 rows deep off a missed shoulderblock, and there was nothing cartoony about it. Final couple minutes rock, with Hennig rolling Saito up in two perfect sunset flips for nearfalls that I 100% bit on (thought for certain the one out of the corner was the finish), and Saito drilling Hennig with an absolute corker for a punch at the end (and then he puts his feet on the ropes just to be sure). I thought this was great, and it's just outside my current top 10 (54 matches in).
Friday, 29 March 2013
Stan Hansen - STILL 'The Best to Ever Fucking do It'
Stan Hansen v Kenta Kobashi (All Japan, 4/10/94)
So, this isn't quite on the level of the 7/93 match...but fuck me is it an absolute corker of a wrestling match in its own right. I mean, God damn. I thought Hansen was the GOAT before this, and I'm even more convinced after it. Has there ever been a better "wounded animal" in wrestling history? Really, Kobashi is excellent here and it's far from a Hansen carry job, but Stan is just everything I want in a pro-wrestler. Match starts out with Kobashi being as fired up as he was the last time, throwing some great looking kicks that hit Stan right under the chin. Hansen is Hansen and can turn a match with a single strike (and fuck does he drill Kobashi with a couple forearms), but Kobashi is younger and hungrier and keeps on coming. His chops are landing harder, he's got more in the tank, and he's got the bit between his teeth. He came so close in '93; in '94 he's a year more experienced. He's a year better. Hansen is a year older and a bit more broken down. He struggled the previous year and he's struggling even more this year. So he ditches the straight shit and just cracks Kobashi in the face with the greatest "fuck you" bar room headbutt ever. He might be a year older, but that makes him a year SURLIER. And holy shit does Stan just take Kobashi to the cleaners for the next few minutes, Tenryu punting him in the face, chucking chairs at him, elbowing him in the teeth, smashing tables over him and powerbombing him on the exposed concrete (which is how he managed to turn the 7/93 match in his favour). There's a close up of Kobashi post-powerbomb and he has this amazing dead-eyed stare into space. For the rest of the match he never looks quite right, kind of crawling around at points like his spine's been mangled. Hansen then tries a shoulder tackle off the apron, but Kobashi moves and Stan goes flying into the barricade injuring his ribs. This is where wounded animal Hansen kicks in. For the rest of the match he sells the ribs like a fucking KING -- you can buy him having a punctured lung off a cracked rib, but you can never count him out, either. He's Stan Hansen and he's always flinging fists and boots. If there's one guy in wrestling that won't go down without a fight, it's Hansen. Kobashi has a bunch of cool ways to target the ribs as well, throwing these nasty looking body punches in close and sort of throwing himself shoulder-first into the ribs while Hansen is in the corner. There's an awesome moment towards the end when Hansen gets desperate and tries a splash off the top, but Kobashi gets the knees up and Hansen just full force lands unprotected across both knees (looked brutal, plus Hansen is a beefy dude, so a bump like that is kind of nuts when you think about it). The Western Lariat even feels like desperation here; he hits it from a standing position, but he can't really capitalise on it because of the injury (Kobashi still sells it like it knocked him loopy, though). Crowd come completely unglued for the moonsaults at the end, and the pop for Kobashi finally putting him away after the second one is amazing. Really felt like this was the biggest win of the guy's career to that point (and it was), and the massive Kobashi chant while he stands there in the middle of the ring afterwards was a hell of a cool moment. Killer match.
So, this isn't quite on the level of the 7/93 match...but fuck me is it an absolute corker of a wrestling match in its own right. I mean, God damn. I thought Hansen was the GOAT before this, and I'm even more convinced after it. Has there ever been a better "wounded animal" in wrestling history? Really, Kobashi is excellent here and it's far from a Hansen carry job, but Stan is just everything I want in a pro-wrestler. Match starts out with Kobashi being as fired up as he was the last time, throwing some great looking kicks that hit Stan right under the chin. Hansen is Hansen and can turn a match with a single strike (and fuck does he drill Kobashi with a couple forearms), but Kobashi is younger and hungrier and keeps on coming. His chops are landing harder, he's got more in the tank, and he's got the bit between his teeth. He came so close in '93; in '94 he's a year more experienced. He's a year better. Hansen is a year older and a bit more broken down. He struggled the previous year and he's struggling even more this year. So he ditches the straight shit and just cracks Kobashi in the face with the greatest "fuck you" bar room headbutt ever. He might be a year older, but that makes him a year SURLIER. And holy shit does Stan just take Kobashi to the cleaners for the next few minutes, Tenryu punting him in the face, chucking chairs at him, elbowing him in the teeth, smashing tables over him and powerbombing him on the exposed concrete (which is how he managed to turn the 7/93 match in his favour). There's a close up of Kobashi post-powerbomb and he has this amazing dead-eyed stare into space. For the rest of the match he never looks quite right, kind of crawling around at points like his spine's been mangled. Hansen then tries a shoulder tackle off the apron, but Kobashi moves and Stan goes flying into the barricade injuring his ribs. This is where wounded animal Hansen kicks in. For the rest of the match he sells the ribs like a fucking KING -- you can buy him having a punctured lung off a cracked rib, but you can never count him out, either. He's Stan Hansen and he's always flinging fists and boots. If there's one guy in wrestling that won't go down without a fight, it's Hansen. Kobashi has a bunch of cool ways to target the ribs as well, throwing these nasty looking body punches in close and sort of throwing himself shoulder-first into the ribs while Hansen is in the corner. There's an awesome moment towards the end when Hansen gets desperate and tries a splash off the top, but Kobashi gets the knees up and Hansen just full force lands unprotected across both knees (looked brutal, plus Hansen is a beefy dude, so a bump like that is kind of nuts when you think about it). The Western Lariat even feels like desperation here; he hits it from a standing position, but he can't really capitalise on it because of the injury (Kobashi still sells it like it knocked him loopy, though). Crowd come completely unglued for the moonsaults at the end, and the pop for Kobashi finally putting him away after the second one is amazing. Really felt like this was the biggest win of the guy's career to that point (and it was), and the massive Kobashi chant while he stands there in the middle of the ring afterwards was a hell of a cool moment. Killer match.
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Hey Yoji Anjoh, Play a Song for Me, I'm not Sleepy and There is no Place I'm Going To
Yoji Anjoh v Naoki Sano (UWFi, 8/13/93) - EPIC
From when I watched this 2+ years ago:
Man this was outstanding, probably the best UWFi match I've ever seen. I've been thinking for a while now that I really owe it to myself to watch more Yoji Anjoh, because everything I've seen him in has been at worst good. There's a bunch of Sano matches that I need to see as well, so I guess I could say the same for him, but he's a guy I came around to a long time ago and already knew how great he could be. Anjoh was someone I never paid much attention to in the first place, but there's no way I can ignore him anymore. He loses his tempter at a couple points here and it's awesome. They wind up in the ropes and the ref' calls for a break, but Anjoh's in the middle of sinking in a submission and isn't best pleased so he just stomps Sano in the gut. He takes Sano's back and Sano sort of clips him with a little elbow, so Anjoh calls over the ref' and points to his eyebrow like "Hey, fucker, look at that." Then he hauls off and starts elbowing Sano in the back of the head for his bullshit. This was worked mostly even the whole time and they were busting out some of the slickest takedowns and counters I've seen. I wish I could give some specific examples, but reading about it over the internet just doesn't do a lot of it justice. I could sit here and try and explain why Sano's chicken wing was spectacular, but I'd suck at it and it's something you're better off watching for yourself to appreciate. This whole match was fucking boss and feels like it's somewhere around the top 5 for the whole year.
On a re-watch it's just as awesome. Sano's chicken wing looks even better on repeat viewings and is just a ridiculously great finish, from the way he initially grabs the arm, to the takedown, to slowly shifting position...perfect. Anjoh losing his temper never gets old. Really, this was as great as I remembered and it might be the career match for both guys.
Yoji Anjoh v Victor Zangiev (UWFi, 4/13/94) - GREAT
Well this ruled. Match only goes about 5 and a half minutes, but they do a bunch of super neat stuff with the limited time they get. Zangiev wrestles every bit like the hairy beast he looks, chucking Anjoh around with awesome takedowns and absorbing all the knees Anjoh throws at his head and face. Anjoh nearly takes a full on Zbyszko powder at one point because Zangiev just keeps out-muscling and countering anything he throws at him (he fucking handsprings out of a borderline-triangle choke, fer fucks!). Zangiev takes Anjoh over with this NASTY judo throw where he almost had his arm in a kimura at the same time, then right after it he takes him down again with basically a shoot style Ricky Steamboat armdrag. Anjoh scoring the tap out by applying a sick armbar with his legs was an awesome finish, and Zangiev gets pissed because douchebag Anjoh kept the hold on a few extra seconds...you know, because he's Anjoh. For a guy that was only in wrestling about 5 years, Zangiev could sure as shit GO.
Complete & Accurate Anjoh
From when I watched this 2+ years ago:
Man this was outstanding, probably the best UWFi match I've ever seen. I've been thinking for a while now that I really owe it to myself to watch more Yoji Anjoh, because everything I've seen him in has been at worst good. There's a bunch of Sano matches that I need to see as well, so I guess I could say the same for him, but he's a guy I came around to a long time ago and already knew how great he could be. Anjoh was someone I never paid much attention to in the first place, but there's no way I can ignore him anymore. He loses his tempter at a couple points here and it's awesome. They wind up in the ropes and the ref' calls for a break, but Anjoh's in the middle of sinking in a submission and isn't best pleased so he just stomps Sano in the gut. He takes Sano's back and Sano sort of clips him with a little elbow, so Anjoh calls over the ref' and points to his eyebrow like "Hey, fucker, look at that." Then he hauls off and starts elbowing Sano in the back of the head for his bullshit. This was worked mostly even the whole time and they were busting out some of the slickest takedowns and counters I've seen. I wish I could give some specific examples, but reading about it over the internet just doesn't do a lot of it justice. I could sit here and try and explain why Sano's chicken wing was spectacular, but I'd suck at it and it's something you're better off watching for yourself to appreciate. This whole match was fucking boss and feels like it's somewhere around the top 5 for the whole year.
On a re-watch it's just as awesome. Sano's chicken wing looks even better on repeat viewings and is just a ridiculously great finish, from the way he initially grabs the arm, to the takedown, to slowly shifting position...perfect. Anjoh losing his temper never gets old. Really, this was as great as I remembered and it might be the career match for both guys.
Yoji Anjoh v Victor Zangiev (UWFi, 4/13/94) - GREAT
Well this ruled. Match only goes about 5 and a half minutes, but they do a bunch of super neat stuff with the limited time they get. Zangiev wrestles every bit like the hairy beast he looks, chucking Anjoh around with awesome takedowns and absorbing all the knees Anjoh throws at his head and face. Anjoh nearly takes a full on Zbyszko powder at one point because Zangiev just keeps out-muscling and countering anything he throws at him (he fucking handsprings out of a borderline-triangle choke, fer fucks!). Zangiev takes Anjoh over with this NASTY judo throw where he almost had his arm in a kimura at the same time, then right after it he takes him down again with basically a shoot style Ricky Steamboat armdrag. Anjoh scoring the tap out by applying a sick armbar with his legs was an awesome finish, and Zangiev gets pissed because douchebag Anjoh kept the hold on a few extra seconds...you know, because he's Anjoh. For a guy that was only in wrestling about 5 years, Zangiev could sure as shit GO.
Complete & Accurate Anjoh
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
A Man Might Befriend Tenryu, Even Break Tenryu, but no Man Could Truly TAME Tenryu
Genichiro Tenryu v Jumbo Tsuruta (All Japan, 4/20/89) - GOOD
Well this started out with all the hate and ill will you expected, and the first five minutes were just great. Tenryu throws meaty chops and a MEAN lariat and Jumbo responds by dropkicking him right in the face. Tenryu gives Jumbo a clean break in the corner and they have this amazing "I fucking hate you" staredown, then Tenryu slaps him clean across the face. Tenryu punting him in the kidneys after a rope break ruled as well and is reason #269 as to why Tenryu is the fucking man. Match takes a pretty big dip in the middle, unfortunately. They ditch the wailing on each other and Jumbo grabs a sleeper for like 2 hours, and neither guy seems all that interested in doing anything with it. They just kind of lie there. Then Jumbo tries to hit a backdrop and Tenryu blocks it and they sort of hug each other for a good 15 seconds. Then they take it back to THE MAT and oh it's another sleeper. Thankfully they pick things up again when Tenryu makes his comeback and hits an AWESOME beefy tope. Last few minutes have the stiffness and potato shots you want from a Tenryu/Jumbo match (Jumbo hits a few brutal big boots to the mush and Tenryu sells each one like it knocked out another molar), and you can tell they were gearing up for a big finish run before the botched powerbomb. I mean, it looks like it just about killed Tenryu, so for a makeshift finish it sure looks like it'd fucking finish someone, but it clearly cut the match's nuts off before they got where they wanted to go. Probably isn't even a top 5 singles match these guys had together, but the opening and closing stretches rocked while they lasted and definitely set the table for a bigger and better rematch (which we get aaaaaallllllllllll of a couple months later).
Genichiro Tenryu & Magnum Tokyo v Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima (Dragon Gate, 7/3/05) - FUN
I stuck this show on for the Triangle Gate Title match (yeah...I don't know, either) and had no idea this even happened. I watched it for the Tenryu, and wasn't disappointed. Isn't a great match or anything, but Tenryu does his thing and I'll enjoy that no matter what. The way he takes a blindside chop from Sasaki is spectacular. Always dig Tenryu/Nakajima interactions. Any young punk getting chippy with Tenryu is good times, especially when Tenryu gets so pissed off he'll start throwing shit at them. He picks up a chair and walks around the ring to the opposite corner just to chuck it at Nakajima. It's been ages since I watched any DG from this period (as in, going on 8 years), but IIRC this was part of a storyline where Magnum was trying to prove himself to the heavyweights. He tries to hold his own against Sasaki, but he really has no chance. Tenryu is GREAT on the apron firing him up. At one point he comes in and kicks his own partner in the head to wake him up, then when Magnum tries to make the hot tag Tenryu just slaps him across the face and tells him to go fight. Plenty fun, but not essential.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
Well this started out with all the hate and ill will you expected, and the first five minutes were just great. Tenryu throws meaty chops and a MEAN lariat and Jumbo responds by dropkicking him right in the face. Tenryu gives Jumbo a clean break in the corner and they have this amazing "I fucking hate you" staredown, then Tenryu slaps him clean across the face. Tenryu punting him in the kidneys after a rope break ruled as well and is reason #269 as to why Tenryu is the fucking man. Match takes a pretty big dip in the middle, unfortunately. They ditch the wailing on each other and Jumbo grabs a sleeper for like 2 hours, and neither guy seems all that interested in doing anything with it. They just kind of lie there. Then Jumbo tries to hit a backdrop and Tenryu blocks it and they sort of hug each other for a good 15 seconds. Then they take it back to THE MAT and oh it's another sleeper. Thankfully they pick things up again when Tenryu makes his comeback and hits an AWESOME beefy tope. Last few minutes have the stiffness and potato shots you want from a Tenryu/Jumbo match (Jumbo hits a few brutal big boots to the mush and Tenryu sells each one like it knocked out another molar), and you can tell they were gearing up for a big finish run before the botched powerbomb. I mean, it looks like it just about killed Tenryu, so for a makeshift finish it sure looks like it'd fucking finish someone, but it clearly cut the match's nuts off before they got where they wanted to go. Probably isn't even a top 5 singles match these guys had together, but the opening and closing stretches rocked while they lasted and definitely set the table for a bigger and better rematch (which we get aaaaaallllllllllll of a couple months later).
Genichiro Tenryu & Magnum Tokyo v Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima (Dragon Gate, 7/3/05) - FUN
I stuck this show on for the Triangle Gate Title match (yeah...I don't know, either) and had no idea this even happened. I watched it for the Tenryu, and wasn't disappointed. Isn't a great match or anything, but Tenryu does his thing and I'll enjoy that no matter what. The way he takes a blindside chop from Sasaki is spectacular. Always dig Tenryu/Nakajima interactions. Any young punk getting chippy with Tenryu is good times, especially when Tenryu gets so pissed off he'll start throwing shit at them. He picks up a chair and walks around the ring to the opposite corner just to chuck it at Nakajima. It's been ages since I watched any DG from this period (as in, going on 8 years), but IIRC this was part of a storyline where Magnum was trying to prove himself to the heavyweights. He tries to hold his own against Sasaki, but he really has no chance. Tenryu is GREAT on the apron firing him up. At one point he comes in and kicks his own partner in the head to wake him up, then when Magnum tries to make the hot tag Tenryu just slaps him across the face and tells him to go fight. Plenty fun, but not essential.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
Monday, 25 March 2013
When Yoji Anjoh Talks, the World Listens
Yoji Anjoh v Wayne Shamrock (UWF, 10/25/90) - GREAT
Apparently this is Shamrock's UWF début (I''ll take the YouTube uploader's word for it), and I can't imagine he would've been doing the old pro-wrestling all that long at this point. Still, he was shockingly good in the PWFG stuff from less than a year later, and he looked fine here as well. Anjoh is rocking the purple and yellow tights and they look boss. This started out solid and got better as it went on, and the last couple minutes are quality. Starts out fairly even, but Shamrock doesn't have great looking strikes and you get the sense Anjoh is going to win that battle the longer it goes. Shamrock covers up and Anjoh will try and throw knees to the head from the clinch, but nothing is getting past Shamrock's forearms. I guess at that point you want Anjoh to just start digging Shamrock with body shots, but they don't really come. Although the stand up sections are pretty brief and Shamrock at least tries to go back to the takedown with a sense of urgency, so it's not a huge problem. Longer the match goes the stronger Shamrock looks, like he's gaining confidence while Anjoh is starting to have doubts. His strikes even start looking halfway decent and he's able to use his strength to control things on the ground. Then Anjoh catches him with a flurry of knees and palm strikes and we get an awesome 9 count. Finish is pretty spectacular -- Shamrock hits a fucking dragon suplex, but Anjoh is able to shift to the side upon contact and hook an armbar, and I'm thinking Shamrock is going to tap, but Anjoh's back is exposed so Shamrock is able to sink in a choke for the win. Probably one of the best undercard matches UWF 2.0 ran, which isn't HUGE praise exactly, but this was still real good stuff.
Yoji Anjoh v Billy Scott (UWFi, 12/5/93) - GOOD
I'd never heard of Billy Scott before, but this is the third time these guys fought and Scott had won the first two, so Anjoh comes out quick and isn't in the mood for losing three straight. After about a minute Scott has a big red mark on his forehead, which I'd assume was a result of a knee or palm strike. Great Anjoh moment where Scott gets to the ropes and Anjoh has to break, but before Anjoh gives Scott room to get up he gives him a kick in the spine, probably half out of frustration and half out of just because. Little later Scott returns the favour and the crowd do not like that shit at all (Anjoh smirks like it's just another day at the office, though). Scott is solid on the ground and looks like he can hang pretty well. Anjoh isn't really able to stretch out the way he could against Yamazaki or Sano earlier in the year, but Scott is certainly capable. Neat little sub-story of Anjoh almost painting a bullseye on Scott's leg and trying to rip it off at the knee. Finish is cool as well, and I get the impressions Anjoh is a guy that's excellent at making you think he's cracked the code and a second away from scoring a tap out only to have it snatched away from him right at the death. This is also from a Eurosport broadcast and maaaan I wish I knew when Eurosport was showing this stuff back whenever, because the English speaking commentators are a pretty great Goldberg/Rogan tandem (especially Rogan). I'd totally have stuck early 90s UWFi repeats on the Sky+ planner.
Yoji Anjoh v Masahito Kakihara (Kingdom, 12/14/97) - SKIPPABLE
This had a nice finish (and Anjoh finally wins one!), but the match went about four minutes and had three exchanges, and well, Ikeda/One has pretty much ruined every other sub-five minute match in history and these guys never smashed the shit out of each other in any kind of horrifically brutal way for it to match up. Is there any Kingdom worth checking out? Like, in general? You'd think a promotion that had guys like Sano, Takayama and Anjoh would've ran at least something worth tracking down.
Complete & Accurate Anjoh
Apparently this is Shamrock's UWF début (I''ll take the YouTube uploader's word for it), and I can't imagine he would've been doing the old pro-wrestling all that long at this point. Still, he was shockingly good in the PWFG stuff from less than a year later, and he looked fine here as well. Anjoh is rocking the purple and yellow tights and they look boss. This started out solid and got better as it went on, and the last couple minutes are quality. Starts out fairly even, but Shamrock doesn't have great looking strikes and you get the sense Anjoh is going to win that battle the longer it goes. Shamrock covers up and Anjoh will try and throw knees to the head from the clinch, but nothing is getting past Shamrock's forearms. I guess at that point you want Anjoh to just start digging Shamrock with body shots, but they don't really come. Although the stand up sections are pretty brief and Shamrock at least tries to go back to the takedown with a sense of urgency, so it's not a huge problem. Longer the match goes the stronger Shamrock looks, like he's gaining confidence while Anjoh is starting to have doubts. His strikes even start looking halfway decent and he's able to use his strength to control things on the ground. Then Anjoh catches him with a flurry of knees and palm strikes and we get an awesome 9 count. Finish is pretty spectacular -- Shamrock hits a fucking dragon suplex, but Anjoh is able to shift to the side upon contact and hook an armbar, and I'm thinking Shamrock is going to tap, but Anjoh's back is exposed so Shamrock is able to sink in a choke for the win. Probably one of the best undercard matches UWF 2.0 ran, which isn't HUGE praise exactly, but this was still real good stuff.
Yoji Anjoh v Billy Scott (UWFi, 12/5/93) - GOOD
I'd never heard of Billy Scott before, but this is the third time these guys fought and Scott had won the first two, so Anjoh comes out quick and isn't in the mood for losing three straight. After about a minute Scott has a big red mark on his forehead, which I'd assume was a result of a knee or palm strike. Great Anjoh moment where Scott gets to the ropes and Anjoh has to break, but before Anjoh gives Scott room to get up he gives him a kick in the spine, probably half out of frustration and half out of just because. Little later Scott returns the favour and the crowd do not like that shit at all (Anjoh smirks like it's just another day at the office, though). Scott is solid on the ground and looks like he can hang pretty well. Anjoh isn't really able to stretch out the way he could against Yamazaki or Sano earlier in the year, but Scott is certainly capable. Neat little sub-story of Anjoh almost painting a bullseye on Scott's leg and trying to rip it off at the knee. Finish is cool as well, and I get the impressions Anjoh is a guy that's excellent at making you think he's cracked the code and a second away from scoring a tap out only to have it snatched away from him right at the death. This is also from a Eurosport broadcast and maaaan I wish I knew when Eurosport was showing this stuff back whenever, because the English speaking commentators are a pretty great Goldberg/Rogan tandem (especially Rogan). I'd totally have stuck early 90s UWFi repeats on the Sky+ planner.
Yoji Anjoh v Masahito Kakihara (Kingdom, 12/14/97) - SKIPPABLE
This had a nice finish (and Anjoh finally wins one!), but the match went about four minutes and had three exchanges, and well, Ikeda/One has pretty much ruined every other sub-five minute match in history and these guys never smashed the shit out of each other in any kind of horrifically brutal way for it to match up. Is there any Kingdom worth checking out? Like, in general? You'd think a promotion that had guys like Sano, Takayama and Anjoh would've ran at least something worth tracking down.
Complete & Accurate Anjoh
Sunday, 24 March 2013
I'm Running Out of "Interesting" Titles for These Project Posts. This One is About Yoji Anjoh, btw
Yoji Anjoh v Masa Chono (New Japan, 12/10/95) - FUN
More of the same from these two, except this time Anjoh is the invader so his shitheadedness gets even more heat. And man does Yoji Anjoh just revel in an environment like this. His smile when he gets in the ring to a chorus of boos tells you he pretty clearly loves this shit. This time out Chono jumps Anjoh at the bell (role reversal from the first match), and Anjoh yet again takes a great bump off the Yakuza Kick. This is even shorter than the UWFi match, but it sort of feels like more of a straight up scrap and doesn't really have the 'douchebags trying to out-douchebag each other' feel. Although it's still a scrap between two guys that are willing to get dirty, which means you get awesome shit like Anjoh lifting Chono's leg off the ground so he's got room to punch him in the dick (which was as good as the knee to the plums in the first match). Chono of course gets him back by heel kicking him low, but then Anjoh tosses in another ball shot towards the end, and holy shit does Yoji Anjoh have a bunch of ways to hit you in the manhood. Did he ever wrestle Tajiri? Because I'd watch that just for the ball shots (and the fact it'd probably be awesome).
Yoji Anjoh v Norman Smiley (UWF, 8/13/88) - GOOD
This was rock solid, but it was pretty unspectacular and kind of lulled in points. Screamin' Norman looked fine, but he's not on Anjoh's level as a mat worker and there were points where Anjoh was clearly holding back. When they kicked into gear it got real good though, especially the spell where they were countering and counter-countering and the crowd totally ate that up. Anjoh was pretty restrained here as well. He was rarely the same kind of dickhead working shoot style as he was working inter-promotional matches against Tenryu or Chono, but in almost every Anjoh match you'll get a moment where he loses his temper or does something to earn someone's ire. This time the closest we got to that was a few body shots before breaking when the ref' tells him to (and the ref' even says "I said BREAK" in English! Maybe), and the rest of the time he managed to behave himself. Good match, but it needed more of the counter-countering and probably could've done with Anjoh being a cunt.
Complete & Accurate Anjoh
More of the same from these two, except this time Anjoh is the invader so his shitheadedness gets even more heat. And man does Yoji Anjoh just revel in an environment like this. His smile when he gets in the ring to a chorus of boos tells you he pretty clearly loves this shit. This time out Chono jumps Anjoh at the bell (role reversal from the first match), and Anjoh yet again takes a great bump off the Yakuza Kick. This is even shorter than the UWFi match, but it sort of feels like more of a straight up scrap and doesn't really have the 'douchebags trying to out-douchebag each other' feel. Although it's still a scrap between two guys that are willing to get dirty, which means you get awesome shit like Anjoh lifting Chono's leg off the ground so he's got room to punch him in the dick (which was as good as the knee to the plums in the first match). Chono of course gets him back by heel kicking him low, but then Anjoh tosses in another ball shot towards the end, and holy shit does Yoji Anjoh have a bunch of ways to hit you in the manhood. Did he ever wrestle Tajiri? Because I'd watch that just for the ball shots (and the fact it'd probably be awesome).
Yoji Anjoh v Norman Smiley (UWF, 8/13/88) - GOOD
This was rock solid, but it was pretty unspectacular and kind of lulled in points. Screamin' Norman looked fine, but he's not on Anjoh's level as a mat worker and there were points where Anjoh was clearly holding back. When they kicked into gear it got real good though, especially the spell where they were countering and counter-countering and the crowd totally ate that up. Anjoh was pretty restrained here as well. He was rarely the same kind of dickhead working shoot style as he was working inter-promotional matches against Tenryu or Chono, but in almost every Anjoh match you'll get a moment where he loses his temper or does something to earn someone's ire. This time the closest we got to that was a few body shots before breaking when the ref' tells him to (and the ref' even says "I said BREAK" in English! Maybe), and the rest of the time he managed to behave himself. Good match, but it needed more of the counter-countering and probably could've done with Anjoh being a cunt.
Complete & Accurate Anjoh
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Walk This Way, the Way of Yoji Anjoh
Yoji Anjoh v Masa Chono (UWFi, 10/28/95) - GOOD
This was a ton of fun. Before the bell Anjoh drops Chono with a high kick to the dome, and from there it's more or less about two douchebags trying to out-douchebag each other. And they go about doing that in really nasty ways. Anjoh will force a rope break and slither out to the floor to take a breather and rile everybody up, so the next time Anjoh grabs a kneebar Chono forces him to break it by gouging at his eyes and fish hooking him. Chono hits Anjoh low to counter a go-behind, so Anjoh gets him back by catching a Yakuza kick and kneeing him right in the plums, which was a fucking AWESOME counter/payback spot. Anjoh's sell of an earlier Yakuza kick was great as well, really whipping his head around like it gave him whiplash. I'm a mark for post-match riots in these inter-promotional feuds, and we get a big post-match pull apart here. Anjoh waiting until Tenzan is just about out of the ring before running over and booting him in the head is total Anjoh douchebaggery.
Complete & Accurate Anjoh
This was a ton of fun. Before the bell Anjoh drops Chono with a high kick to the dome, and from there it's more or less about two douchebags trying to out-douchebag each other. And they go about doing that in really nasty ways. Anjoh will force a rope break and slither out to the floor to take a breather and rile everybody up, so the next time Anjoh grabs a kneebar Chono forces him to break it by gouging at his eyes and fish hooking him. Chono hits Anjoh low to counter a go-behind, so Anjoh gets him back by catching a Yakuza kick and kneeing him right in the plums, which was a fucking AWESOME counter/payback spot. Anjoh's sell of an earlier Yakuza kick was great as well, really whipping his head around like it gave him whiplash. I'm a mark for post-match riots in these inter-promotional feuds, and we get a big post-match pull apart here. Anjoh waiting until Tenzan is just about out of the ring before running over and booting him in the head is total Anjoh douchebaggery.
Complete & Accurate Anjoh
Complete & Accurate Yoji Anjoh
So a few days ago I kind of made an offhand comment that Yoji Anjoh would make a great Complete & Accurate candidate. I didn't really have any intention of starting a Complete & Accurate Anjoh, but well, fuck it, here I go again on my own, going down the only road I've ever known.
Anjoh wasn't really a guy I paid a huge deal of attention to until a couple years ago. He was involved in a lot of matches I liked and he was always someone I dug, but he wasn't someone I'd get excited about watching. Then a switch must've been flicked, because at this point he's maybe one of my ten favourite wrestlers of all time. Charisma out the wazoo, incredible douchebag, killer on the mat; Anjoh is just a hell of a pro-wrestler. I also feel like there's bound to be a ton of stuff out there that nobody talks about, and I'd be stunned if there wasn't a few dozen gems in amongst it all. So the goal is to watch it all and stick it down here (under EPIC, GREAT, GOOD, FUN and SKIPPABLE).
1987
Yoji Anjoh v Tatsuo Nakano (New Japan, 8/29/87) - GOOD
1988
Yoji Anjoh v Norman Smiley (UWF, 8/13/88) - GOOD
1989
Yoji Anjoh v Kiyoshi Tamura (UWF, 9/30/89) - GOOD
1990
Yoji Anjoh v Wayne Shamrock (UWF, 10/25/90) - GREAT
1991
Yoji Anjoh & Yuko Miyato v Kazuo Yamazaki & Tatsuo Nakano (UWFi, 5/10/91) - FUN
Yoji Anjoh v Tatsuo Nakano (UWFi, 6/6/91) - FUN
Yoji Anjoh v Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFi, 7/3/91) - EPIC
Yoji Anjoh & Jim Boss v Nobuhiko Takada & Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFi, 7/30/91) - GOOD
Yoji Anjoh v Gary Albright (UWFi, 8/24/91) - GOOD
Yoji Anjoh v Kazuo Yamazaki (UWFi, 9/26/91) - GREAT
1992
Yoji Anjoh & Kazuo Yamazaki v Gary Albright & Jim Boss (UWFi, 1/9/92) - EPIC
1993
Yoji Anjoh v Naoki Sano (UWFi, 8/13/93) - EPIC
Yoji Anjoh v Billy Scott (UWFi, 12/5/93) - GOOD
1994
Yoji Anjoh v Victor Zangiev (UWFi, 4/13/94) - GREAT
1995
Yoji Anjoh v Norman Smiley (UWF, 8/13/88) - GOOD
1989
Yoji Anjoh v Kiyoshi Tamura (UWF, 9/30/89) - GOOD
1990
Yoji Anjoh v Wayne Shamrock (UWF, 10/25/90) - GREAT
1991
Yoji Anjoh & Yuko Miyato v Kazuo Yamazaki & Tatsuo Nakano (UWFi, 5/10/91) - FUN
Yoji Anjoh v Tatsuo Nakano (UWFi, 6/6/91) - FUN
Yoji Anjoh v Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFi, 7/3/91) - EPIC
Yoji Anjoh & Jim Boss v Nobuhiko Takada & Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFi, 7/30/91) - GOOD
Yoji Anjoh v Gary Albright (UWFi, 8/24/91) - GOOD
Yoji Anjoh v Kazuo Yamazaki (UWFi, 9/26/91) - GREAT
1992
Yoji Anjoh & Kazuo Yamazaki v Gary Albright & Jim Boss (UWFi, 1/9/92) - EPIC
1993
Yoji Anjoh v Naoki Sano (UWFi, 8/13/93) - EPIC
Yoji Anjoh v Billy Scott (UWFi, 12/5/93) - GOOD
1994
Yoji Anjoh v Victor Zangiev (UWFi, 4/13/94) - GREAT
1995
Yoji Anjoh v Riki Choshu (New Japan, 10/9/95) - FUN
Yoji Anjoh v Masa Chono (UWFi, 10/28/95) - GOOD
Yoji Anjoh v Masa Chono (New Japan, 12/10/95) - FUN
1996
Yoji Anjoh v Masa Chono (UWFi, 10/28/95) - GOOD
Yoji Anjoh v Masa Chono (New Japan, 12/10/95) - FUN
1996
Yoji Anjoh & Yoshihiro Takayama v Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata (New Japan, 2/25/96) - GREAT
Yoji Anjoh & Yoshihiro Takayama v Hiromichi Fuyuki & Gedo (UWFi, 5/27/96) - FUN
Yoji Anjoh v Genichiro Tenryu (WAR, 7/21/96) - GREAT
1997
Yoji Anjoh v Masahito Kakihara (Kingdom, 12/14/97) - SKIPPABLE
2001
Yoji Anjoh & Genichiro Tenryu v Taiyo Kea & Johnny(???) Smith (All Japan, 7/14/01) - FUN
Yoji Anjoh & Yoshihiro Takayama v Hiromichi Fuyuki & Gedo (UWFi, 5/27/96) - FUN
Yoji Anjoh v Genichiro Tenryu (WAR, 7/21/96) - GREAT
1997
Yoji Anjoh v Masahito Kakihara (Kingdom, 12/14/97) - SKIPPABLE
2001
Yoji Anjoh & Genichiro Tenryu v Taiyo Kea & Johnny(???) Smith (All Japan, 7/14/01) - FUN
Friday, 22 March 2013
Laughter is Poison to Tenryu
Genichiro Tenryu & Ultimo Dragon v Samson Fuyuki & Shinobu Kandori (WAR, 12/8/95) - FUN
This is the first time I've seen Tenryu wrestle a woman, and all of his exchanges with Kandori were pretty fun. He won't hit her because he's a gentleman even though she's slapping him about the face and trying to take him over with judo throws (which he doesn't budge for). He shakes her hand at the start, then he points to Fuyuki like "you aren't as lucky," then he spits on his hands and rubs them together, then he does what he always does when he spits on his hands and rubs them together and mauls someone. This time that someone is Fuyuki. Fuyuki has to be one of the most vocal wrestlers ever. He squeals like a wild animal and kind of makes monkey noises before he cracks Ultimo in the kidneys with a chair. He's always grunting really loudly as well, and it felt like he was constantly shrieking in pain whenever he was in the ring with Tenryu (probably because Tenryu was kicking the shit out of him any time he was in the ring with Tenryu). Makes you think a Fuyuki/Larry Zbyszko tag team would be the loudest team in history, all "AAARGGG"s and "OOH"s. Ultimo was super solid in this. He and Kandori work fairly even and Kandori gets to look dangerous, and they more or less treat it like a straight up contest with no daft inter-genderness. There's a spot where he has Kandori's back so Kandori heel kicks him in the nads, then Ultimo tries it when Kandori has his back but naturally it doesn't work as well on vaginas. So one bit of inter-genderness. Not a great match, but it's a total WAR match, and that makes it charming if nothing else.
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Demolition (SWS, 9/17/91) - SKIPPABLE
This was probably one of the better Crush-era Demolition matches, but...well, it's not really something anybody needs to go out of their way to see. Crush and Smash are pretty fun shit talkers here, especially Crush who calls fans stupid idiots here and there. I'm not sure the Japanese crowd understood any of it, but they booed like they were supposed to, anyway. Had Crush wrestled Flair at any point before this? Because if he hadn't then I can't imagine anybody would have chopped him harder in his career than Tenryu. This probably would've been a fun match-up a few years earlier when Eadie was still fit to go.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
This is the first time I've seen Tenryu wrestle a woman, and all of his exchanges with Kandori were pretty fun. He won't hit her because he's a gentleman even though she's slapping him about the face and trying to take him over with judo throws (which he doesn't budge for). He shakes her hand at the start, then he points to Fuyuki like "you aren't as lucky," then he spits on his hands and rubs them together, then he does what he always does when he spits on his hands and rubs them together and mauls someone. This time that someone is Fuyuki. Fuyuki has to be one of the most vocal wrestlers ever. He squeals like a wild animal and kind of makes monkey noises before he cracks Ultimo in the kidneys with a chair. He's always grunting really loudly as well, and it felt like he was constantly shrieking in pain whenever he was in the ring with Tenryu (probably because Tenryu was kicking the shit out of him any time he was in the ring with Tenryu). Makes you think a Fuyuki/Larry Zbyszko tag team would be the loudest team in history, all "AAARGGG"s and "OOH"s. Ultimo was super solid in this. He and Kandori work fairly even and Kandori gets to look dangerous, and they more or less treat it like a straight up contest with no daft inter-genderness. There's a spot where he has Kandori's back so Kandori heel kicks him in the nads, then Ultimo tries it when Kandori has his back but naturally it doesn't work as well on vaginas. So one bit of inter-genderness. Not a great match, but it's a total WAR match, and that makes it charming if nothing else.
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Demolition (SWS, 9/17/91) - SKIPPABLE
This was probably one of the better Crush-era Demolition matches, but...well, it's not really something anybody needs to go out of their way to see. Crush and Smash are pretty fun shit talkers here, especially Crush who calls fans stupid idiots here and there. I'm not sure the Japanese crowd understood any of it, but they booed like they were supposed to, anyway. Had Crush wrestled Flair at any point before this? Because if he hadn't then I can't imagine anybody would have chopped him harder in his career than Tenryu. This probably would've been a fun match-up a few years earlier when Eadie was still fit to go.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Old Tenryu is More Cunning Than You Think, or He Would Never Have Lived to See His First Grey Hair
Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi v Nobutaka Araya & Arashi (All Japan, 1/3/03) - GOOD
Tenryu v Araya delivers again! I have no idea what Araya did to make Tenryu hate him so, but every single time they're on the opposite side of a wrestling match Tenryu just beats the stuffing out of him. Tenryu ALWAYS abuses him (Araya will have these great "fuck sake man, what did I ever DO to you?" expressions), and that's really what makes it such a great match-up. Tenryu doesn't kick too many people in the face like he does Araya, and this time it sounded like someone threw a grapefruit off Tarmac. Fuchi throws Araya out to the floor so Tenryu tosses tables at him and whips him into the side of one of the stands, and Araya almost crushes some skinny lady that doesn't get out of the way in time (Tenryu really whips him into it). Then Tenryu does a fucking cross body OFF the stand! I don't think I've ever seen him do that before. Amazing moment where Araya is brawling with Fuchi on the floor and Tenryu comes all the way around and chucks a chair at his head. Fuchi is fairly ancient here (like a hundred and six) and his biggest offensive move behind the backdrop is a small package, and well Fuchi rolling tubbies up in small packages left and right is why Fuchi is the greatest. Tubbies coming back and putting a beating on the old man is your PERIL segment, and there's an awesome receipt of the early Tenryu mugging when he tries to come in with a chair only for Araya to boot it straight back in his face. And really, he totally had that one coming. Arashi is looking a whole lot like a fatter Takashi Ishikawa which totally appeals to the WAR mark in me. He throws meaty strikes which also appeals to the WAR mark in me. He comes in to stop Tenryu laying into Araya at one point (there were many points of Tenryu laying into Araya) and Tenryu gives him this amazingly disdainful "just fuck off, will you?" slap before clobbering him with a lariat. Finish felt a little anticlimactic, but Araya's moonsault kind of landed across Fuchi's legs and Fuchi sold it like it broke both of his kneecaps (or what he had left of kneecaps). Not one of your more spectacular grumpy old man Tenryu tags, but it was a hell of a grumpy old man Tenryu performance. Someone tell me he and Araya had a decent length singles match. Please.
Genichiro Tenryu v Mil Mascaras (All Japan, 2/4/82) - GOOD
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.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
Tenryu v Araya delivers again! I have no idea what Araya did to make Tenryu hate him so, but every single time they're on the opposite side of a wrestling match Tenryu just beats the stuffing out of him. Tenryu ALWAYS abuses him (Araya will have these great "fuck sake man, what did I ever DO to you?" expressions), and that's really what makes it such a great match-up. Tenryu doesn't kick too many people in the face like he does Araya, and this time it sounded like someone threw a grapefruit off Tarmac. Fuchi throws Araya out to the floor so Tenryu tosses tables at him and whips him into the side of one of the stands, and Araya almost crushes some skinny lady that doesn't get out of the way in time (Tenryu really whips him into it). Then Tenryu does a fucking cross body OFF the stand! I don't think I've ever seen him do that before. Amazing moment where Araya is brawling with Fuchi on the floor and Tenryu comes all the way around and chucks a chair at his head. Fuchi is fairly ancient here (like a hundred and six) and his biggest offensive move behind the backdrop is a small package, and well Fuchi rolling tubbies up in small packages left and right is why Fuchi is the greatest. Tubbies coming back and putting a beating on the old man is your PERIL segment, and there's an awesome receipt of the early Tenryu mugging when he tries to come in with a chair only for Araya to boot it straight back in his face. And really, he totally had that one coming. Arashi is looking a whole lot like a fatter Takashi Ishikawa which totally appeals to the WAR mark in me. He throws meaty strikes which also appeals to the WAR mark in me. He comes in to stop Tenryu laying into Araya at one point (there were many points of Tenryu laying into Araya) and Tenryu gives him this amazingly disdainful "just fuck off, will you?" slap before clobbering him with a lariat. Finish felt a little anticlimactic, but Araya's moonsault kind of landed across Fuchi's legs and Fuchi sold it like it broke both of his kneecaps (or what he had left of kneecaps). Not one of your more spectacular grumpy old man Tenryu tags, but it was a hell of a grumpy old man Tenryu performance. Someone tell me he and Araya had a decent length singles match. Please.
Genichiro Tenryu v Mil Mascaras (All Japan, 2/4/82) - GOOD
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.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
When the Snows Fall and the White Winds Blow, the Lone Wolf Dies, but Tenryu Survives
Genichiro Tenryu v Yoji Anjoh (WAR, 7/21/97) - GREAT
If it wasn't already obvious, Tenryu is my favourite Japanese wrestler ever. Anjoh is probably like top 10, so this is basically a puro dream match for me, and for 11 minutes it was just an absolute truck load of fun. Anjoh is at his smug, douchy best here, grinning and pouting and acting like a shithead. He'll take a powder and stall and Tenryu's expression kind of goes from amusement the first time to annoyance the second time to disdain he third. And you just know he's going to let loose at some point. Then it looks like he's about to do just that, and Anjoh slides out for another powder...and Tenryu's glare would shrivel your testes. Tenryu has clearly had enough and tries to gouge Anjoh's eyes out. Then we get the face punching, which rules. God damn does Tenryu throw amazing punches, straight to the jaw and cheekbone. When Anjoh starts throwing them back Tenryu shoots the ref' a look like, "What the fuck is that all about?"Anjoh's strategy is basically to go for submission attempts and prevent Tenryu from punching and chopping him to ribbons, and the heat for each attempt just builds and build until you're thinking Tenryu is actually going to tap to a kneebar. Final minute or so is outstanding. Tenryu blocks a corner kick and fucking drills Anjoh in the teeth with a punch, a chop to the throat and a HUGE lariat. He hits the powerbomb, but Anjoh pops out of the cradle and grabs an armbar, and I'm right there with the crowd in genuinely buying Tenryu giving it up. He gets to the ropes and forces the break, and when he gets back up to his feet he decapitates Anjoh with another lariat right away. Seriously, this was Finger of God shit right here. Post-match rules as well, with Anjoh wanting a handshake and raising Tenryu's hand in victory before kicking him and making a break for it. Tenryu smiles like, "Oh I totally didn't expect that." I absolutely cannot wait to see their '96 match now (I'm about a month away on the '96 yearbook...although a month in yearbook time could take a year in Boozehound time). And Yoji Anjoh would make a hell of a Complete & Accurate candidate...
Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada v Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (All Japan, 12/16/88) - EPIC
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 [wound up finishing as my overall #3].
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v John Tenta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 2/29/88) - GOOD
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 & Jumbo Tsuruta v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 11/30/85) - FUN
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.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
If it wasn't already obvious, Tenryu is my favourite Japanese wrestler ever. Anjoh is probably like top 10, so this is basically a puro dream match for me, and for 11 minutes it was just an absolute truck load of fun. Anjoh is at his smug, douchy best here, grinning and pouting and acting like a shithead. He'll take a powder and stall and Tenryu's expression kind of goes from amusement the first time to annoyance the second time to disdain he third. And you just know he's going to let loose at some point. Then it looks like he's about to do just that, and Anjoh slides out for another powder...and Tenryu's glare would shrivel your testes. Tenryu has clearly had enough and tries to gouge Anjoh's eyes out. Then we get the face punching, which rules. God damn does Tenryu throw amazing punches, straight to the jaw and cheekbone. When Anjoh starts throwing them back Tenryu shoots the ref' a look like, "What the fuck is that all about?"Anjoh's strategy is basically to go for submission attempts and prevent Tenryu from punching and chopping him to ribbons, and the heat for each attempt just builds and build until you're thinking Tenryu is actually going to tap to a kneebar. Final minute or so is outstanding. Tenryu blocks a corner kick and fucking drills Anjoh in the teeth with a punch, a chop to the throat and a HUGE lariat. He hits the powerbomb, but Anjoh pops out of the cradle and grabs an armbar, and I'm right there with the crowd in genuinely buying Tenryu giving it up. He gets to the ropes and forces the break, and when he gets back up to his feet he decapitates Anjoh with another lariat right away. Seriously, this was Finger of God shit right here. Post-match rules as well, with Anjoh wanting a handshake and raising Tenryu's hand in victory before kicking him and making a break for it. Tenryu smiles like, "Oh I totally didn't expect that." I absolutely cannot wait to see their '96 match now (I'm about a month away on the '96 yearbook...although a month in yearbook time could take a year in Boozehound time). And Yoji Anjoh would make a hell of a Complete & Accurate candidate...
Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada v Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (All Japan, 12/16/88) - EPIC
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 [wound up finishing as my overall #3].
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v John Tenta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 2/29/88) - GOOD
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 & Jumbo Tsuruta v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 11/30/85) - FUN
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.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
It's One Thing to be Clever and Another to be Tenryu
Genichiro Tenryu, Jumbo Tsuruta & Terry Funk v The Destroyer, Jerry Blackwell & Ron Bass (All Japan, 9/14/82) - FUN
If nothing else, this match makes YOU want to see a Terry Funk v Jerry Blackwell match. Blackwell was pretty much awesome in this, and every time I see the guy the more convinced I am that he has an honest to goodness case for being the best obese wrestler ever (and yes, I'm including Vader in that). Terry, Jumbo and Tenryu all take turns grinding a headlock on him like they're trying to really cauliflower his ear, and when Blackwell finally manages to create some breathing space he does his weeble-wobble sell where he's standing with such a wide base for balance that he's almost doing the splits. He and Terry trade headbutts on all fours and it was probably the moment of the match. He also smashes Terry with GREAT elbow drops, right to the big old bandaged area of Terry's neck. He kind of comes down vertical on all of them, not from the side, and the point of the elbow goes straight into the collarbone. Terry is your FIP here and sure enough he's good in that role. The Blackwell interactions are the best, especially when Jerry will just jump through the ropes like a glorious fat man to stop Terry from crawling over to make the tag, but the exchanges with Destroyer don't make you think a Terry/Destroyer match would suck. Tenryu is more or less a bit part player in this -- in 1982 we had no super grump Genichiro Tenryu and he hadn't even started wearing the black trunks yet. Plus he looks lean and not chunky and doesn't have any sort of saggy cleavage. What he does do is eat a pasting for a bit and Jerry Blackwell CRUSHES him with the greatest Samoan Drop in history (is Jerry's Samoan Drop the best ever in general?). I totally dug the quasi-WAR-like randomness of this, which is appropriate given the fact one of the participants would be that company's founder and unquestioned cantankerous leader.
Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 1/28/86) - EPIC
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 [it wound up being my #1].
Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 2/5/86) - GOOD
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 [wound up as my #59, which says a whole lot about how great the '88-'89 run was...because there is a ton of matches from '88 and '89 in my top third].
Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 8/25/86) - FUN
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.
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 9/15/88) - GREAT
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 match-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.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
If nothing else, this match makes YOU want to see a Terry Funk v Jerry Blackwell match. Blackwell was pretty much awesome in this, and every time I see the guy the more convinced I am that he has an honest to goodness case for being the best obese wrestler ever (and yes, I'm including Vader in that). Terry, Jumbo and Tenryu all take turns grinding a headlock on him like they're trying to really cauliflower his ear, and when Blackwell finally manages to create some breathing space he does his weeble-wobble sell where he's standing with such a wide base for balance that he's almost doing the splits. He and Terry trade headbutts on all fours and it was probably the moment of the match. He also smashes Terry with GREAT elbow drops, right to the big old bandaged area of Terry's neck. He kind of comes down vertical on all of them, not from the side, and the point of the elbow goes straight into the collarbone. Terry is your FIP here and sure enough he's good in that role. The Blackwell interactions are the best, especially when Jerry will just jump through the ropes like a glorious fat man to stop Terry from crawling over to make the tag, but the exchanges with Destroyer don't make you think a Terry/Destroyer match would suck. Tenryu is more or less a bit part player in this -- in 1982 we had no super grump Genichiro Tenryu and he hadn't even started wearing the black trunks yet. Plus he looks lean and not chunky and doesn't have any sort of saggy cleavage. What he does do is eat a pasting for a bit and Jerry Blackwell CRUSHES him with the greatest Samoan Drop in history (is Jerry's Samoan Drop the best ever in general?). I totally dug the quasi-WAR-like randomness of this, which is appropriate given the fact one of the participants would be that company's founder and unquestioned cantankerous leader.
Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 1/28/86) - EPIC
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 [it wound up being my #1].
Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 2/5/86) - GOOD
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 [wound up as my #59, which says a whole lot about how great the '88-'89 run was...because there is a ton of matches from '88 and '89 in my top third].
Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki v Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 8/25/86) - FUN
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.
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 9/15/88) - GREAT
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 match-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.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
Monday, 18 March 2013
Just Sit Right There, I'll Tell You How Tenryu Became The Prince of a Town Called Bel Air
Genichiro Tenryu v Satoshi Kojima (All Japan, 2/24/02) - GREAT
So Kojima is fine and everything here. He hits a great tope, and from time to time will get fed up and start punching Tenryu in the face. But really, this was a Tenryu show. Story coming in is that Kojima has just recently jumped ship from New Japan, and this is him coming out to prove he belongs with the big boys in AJ. Tenryu gives zero fucks about what he's trying to prove and hates everybody no matter what. Kojima backs him into the ropes at the beginning and gives him a half-hearted overhand chop, just to let him know this'll be a fight. Tenryu looks at him with the faintest hint of a grin and does the "brush your shoulders off" bit. Then Tenryu backs Kojima into the corner and Kojima covers up expecting to be hit. Tenryu takes a step back and doesn't do anything, almost daring Kojima to make a move. During the first few exchanges Tenryu starts doing Mongolian Chops (aping Tenzan, Kojima's old partner in New Japan), and a little later he "winds up" for a chop the way Kojima does. Tenryu is basically in prick mode the entire match and it's fucking great. Bit where he blocks a Kojima lariat before punching him in the chin and crushing him with a brainbuster was killer. The crowd don't really seem to buy Kojima as a viable threat for a decent portion of this, which kind of takes the heat out of one or two nearfalls, but by the end they're rocking for him mowing Tenryu down with lariats. So I guess the match succeeded in its goal -- Kojima comes out of this looking like a guy that can hang, even in defeat. Tenryu also punches him in the face a bunch.
Genichiro Tenryu v Taiyo Kea (All Japan, 10/27/01) - GREAT
This is JIP which would normally annoy me, but we only miss the first couple minutes and when we actually join the match the first thing that happens is a Tenryu heel kick to the balls, so really, why would I complain about that? This was pretty much 10 minutes of two dudes that hit like hell, hitting like hell. It was plenty surly. Kea whips out a few crazy looking jumping axe kick-slash-enziguri looking things to the back of Tenryu's head, and I half expected Tenryu's eyeballs to pop out his skull. His sell of the first one is just spectacular -- he sort of does the thousand yard stare that we associate with Kawada, but he puts his arms out to the side and stumbles forward a bit like he's trying to grab onto something before falling on his face. The punch exchanges all looked super nasty as well, and after having seen these guys match up a few times now I'm convinced I could watch them smack each other around all day. Tenryu with the fucking red mist at the finish was just about the very last thing I expected to see, but damn if I didn't dig it. It's a low-end GREAT, but the face punching is enough to take it above GOOD level.
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Takashi Ishikawa & Samson Fuyuki (SWS, 1/6/92) - GREAT
Man, Tenryu and Hara are such a killer team of beefies. This was more or less Tenryu and Hara working 90% of the match from above while Ishikawa and Fuyuki try not to get dead. Ishikawa can hang relatively well, but take a look at Fuyuki's tights and tell me he's not going to get punted up and down. You can't, and he does. Really, Fuyuki eats a man-sized shitkicking. Tenryu throws him out to the floor, chucks him over the barricade (Fuyuki hurls himself about 6 rows deep and it's pretty clear this guy is way the fuck better than his rep - or lack thereof - suggests) and launches a table at him. Hara potatoes him with coconut headbutts. Tenryu kicks him in the liver and face. And all the while Fuyuki has these great "aw fuck here we go again" expressions. Plus he will try and fight back like a pitbull and he's pretty much everything I want in an underdog working against a Tenryu team in a Tenryu fed. Ishikawa comes in off the hot tag at one point and throws about five dropkicks in a row that hit Tenryu and Hara RIGHT in the mouth. I'm not certain, but I think Hara actually loses a tooth (he definitely bleeds from the mouth). Crowd is pretty dead and looks like it's a kick in the balls off a dying days PWFG crowd, so you don't get the reactions to someone being punted in the chin like you'd hope, but this was meaty and manly and motherfuck do you want one of those 'Light My Fire' hoodies.
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 12/5/87) - GREAT
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 [wound up with it at #39].
Genichiro Tenryu v Stan Hansen (All Japan, 9/20/87) - SKIPPABLE
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.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
So Kojima is fine and everything here. He hits a great tope, and from time to time will get fed up and start punching Tenryu in the face. But really, this was a Tenryu show. Story coming in is that Kojima has just recently jumped ship from New Japan, and this is him coming out to prove he belongs with the big boys in AJ. Tenryu gives zero fucks about what he's trying to prove and hates everybody no matter what. Kojima backs him into the ropes at the beginning and gives him a half-hearted overhand chop, just to let him know this'll be a fight. Tenryu looks at him with the faintest hint of a grin and does the "brush your shoulders off" bit. Then Tenryu backs Kojima into the corner and Kojima covers up expecting to be hit. Tenryu takes a step back and doesn't do anything, almost daring Kojima to make a move. During the first few exchanges Tenryu starts doing Mongolian Chops (aping Tenzan, Kojima's old partner in New Japan), and a little later he "winds up" for a chop the way Kojima does. Tenryu is basically in prick mode the entire match and it's fucking great. Bit where he blocks a Kojima lariat before punching him in the chin and crushing him with a brainbuster was killer. The crowd don't really seem to buy Kojima as a viable threat for a decent portion of this, which kind of takes the heat out of one or two nearfalls, but by the end they're rocking for him mowing Tenryu down with lariats. So I guess the match succeeded in its goal -- Kojima comes out of this looking like a guy that can hang, even in defeat. Tenryu also punches him in the face a bunch.
Genichiro Tenryu v Taiyo Kea (All Japan, 10/27/01) - GREAT
This is JIP which would normally annoy me, but we only miss the first couple minutes and when we actually join the match the first thing that happens is a Tenryu heel kick to the balls, so really, why would I complain about that? This was pretty much 10 minutes of two dudes that hit like hell, hitting like hell. It was plenty surly. Kea whips out a few crazy looking jumping axe kick-slash-enziguri looking things to the back of Tenryu's head, and I half expected Tenryu's eyeballs to pop out his skull. His sell of the first one is just spectacular -- he sort of does the thousand yard stare that we associate with Kawada, but he puts his arms out to the side and stumbles forward a bit like he's trying to grab onto something before falling on his face. The punch exchanges all looked super nasty as well, and after having seen these guys match up a few times now I'm convinced I could watch them smack each other around all day. Tenryu with the fucking red mist at the finish was just about the very last thing I expected to see, but damn if I didn't dig it. It's a low-end GREAT, but the face punching is enough to take it above GOOD level.
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Takashi Ishikawa & Samson Fuyuki (SWS, 1/6/92) - GREAT
Man, Tenryu and Hara are such a killer team of beefies. This was more or less Tenryu and Hara working 90% of the match from above while Ishikawa and Fuyuki try not to get dead. Ishikawa can hang relatively well, but take a look at Fuyuki's tights and tell me he's not going to get punted up and down. You can't, and he does. Really, Fuyuki eats a man-sized shitkicking. Tenryu throws him out to the floor, chucks him over the barricade (Fuyuki hurls himself about 6 rows deep and it's pretty clear this guy is way the fuck better than his rep - or lack thereof - suggests) and launches a table at him. Hara potatoes him with coconut headbutts. Tenryu kicks him in the liver and face. And all the while Fuyuki has these great "aw fuck here we go again" expressions. Plus he will try and fight back like a pitbull and he's pretty much everything I want in an underdog working against a Tenryu team in a Tenryu fed. Ishikawa comes in off the hot tag at one point and throws about five dropkicks in a row that hit Tenryu and Hara RIGHT in the mouth. I'm not certain, but I think Hara actually loses a tooth (he definitely bleeds from the mouth). Crowd is pretty dead and looks like it's a kick in the balls off a dying days PWFG crowd, so you don't get the reactions to someone being punted in the chin like you'd hope, but this was meaty and manly and motherfuck do you want one of those 'Light My Fire' hoodies.
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara v Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (All Japan, 12/5/87) - GREAT
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 [wound up with it at #39].
Genichiro Tenryu v Stan Hansen (All Japan, 9/20/87) - SKIPPABLE
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.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
Sunday, 17 March 2013
"There Must be Some Way Out of Here," Said the Joker to Tenryu
Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi v Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya (All Japan, 6/30/01) - EPIC
Well God damn. Totally spectacular Tenryu performance, totally spectacular Araya performance, Kawada and Fuchi being Kawada and Fuchi...yeah, this was great shit. Tenryu v Araya is your centrepiece here, and holy shit does it deliver in a huge way. Match starts out fairly civilised with Fuchi and Araya and then Fuchi and Kawada grappling and taking it to the mat. I don't think a single strike was thrown. Then Tenryu comes in and he and Kawada start knocking lumps out each other, and we're off to the races. When Araya comes in (after Kawada has to drag a dazed Tenryu up to his feet) he hits a corner lariat for a 2 count, and as soon as Tenryu kicks out he just stands right up and punches a hole in Araya's face. Araya starts bleeding instantly from a cut above the eye, so Tenryu does what you know he'll do and zeroes right in on it. Every exchange from then on out is about Araya refusing to take Tenryu's shit while Tenryu refuses to not be a cunt. At one point Tenryu just wastes him with a lariat (Araya winds up also bleeding from the mouth and I think it was that that did it) and follows it up by punting him in the head with maybe the nastiest Tenryu punt I've ever seen (and that covers a lot of ground). Sounded like someone threw a tennis ball off a wall. Araya is pretty much exceptional fighting from the bottom the whole time, throwing super stiff forearms in retaliation, and once or twice he even stoops to Tenryu's level and starts punching noses. Plus the facial expressions from both guys are amazing -- contempt, indignation, surprise, defiance; the whole nine. Fuchi is pushing 80 at this point and isn't really a viable threat to anybody, but he's fucking Fuchi and will point to someone's head like he's about to punch them in the head, then he'll punch them in the head. And really, you gotta love Fuchi. Kawada is fairly subdued and doesn't blast the shit out of folks the whole time, but you still get the Kawada moments where he'll eat a surprise enziguri and sell it all Kawada-like. Plus he squashes Fuchi's nose with an absolute motherfucker of a jumping kneedrop. The bit where he comes flying into camera shot and boots Fuchi in the head like a runaway truck was outrageous. This just ruled it all round.
Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta v Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (All Japan, 8/31/85) - GOOD
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.
Genichiro Tenryu v Ole Anderson (All Japan, 4/5/86) - FUN
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.
Genichiro Tenryu v Stan Hansen (All Japan, 7/26/86) - GOOD
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 of the ring after hitting it. Looked like he threw absolutely everything he had left into it. This isn't fucking with their matches from '88, but as a sort of "toned down" version of Hansen v Tenryu, I was happy enough with what I got.
Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa v Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto (WAR, 4/2/93) - EPIC
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.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
Well God damn. Totally spectacular Tenryu performance, totally spectacular Araya performance, Kawada and Fuchi being Kawada and Fuchi...yeah, this was great shit. Tenryu v Araya is your centrepiece here, and holy shit does it deliver in a huge way. Match starts out fairly civilised with Fuchi and Araya and then Fuchi and Kawada grappling and taking it to the mat. I don't think a single strike was thrown. Then Tenryu comes in and he and Kawada start knocking lumps out each other, and we're off to the races. When Araya comes in (after Kawada has to drag a dazed Tenryu up to his feet) he hits a corner lariat for a 2 count, and as soon as Tenryu kicks out he just stands right up and punches a hole in Araya's face. Araya starts bleeding instantly from a cut above the eye, so Tenryu does what you know he'll do and zeroes right in on it. Every exchange from then on out is about Araya refusing to take Tenryu's shit while Tenryu refuses to not be a cunt. At one point Tenryu just wastes him with a lariat (Araya winds up also bleeding from the mouth and I think it was that that did it) and follows it up by punting him in the head with maybe the nastiest Tenryu punt I've ever seen (and that covers a lot of ground). Sounded like someone threw a tennis ball off a wall. Araya is pretty much exceptional fighting from the bottom the whole time, throwing super stiff forearms in retaliation, and once or twice he even stoops to Tenryu's level and starts punching noses. Plus the facial expressions from both guys are amazing -- contempt, indignation, surprise, defiance; the whole nine. Fuchi is pushing 80 at this point and isn't really a viable threat to anybody, but he's fucking Fuchi and will point to someone's head like he's about to punch them in the head, then he'll punch them in the head. And really, you gotta love Fuchi. Kawada is fairly subdued and doesn't blast the shit out of folks the whole time, but you still get the Kawada moments where he'll eat a surprise enziguri and sell it all Kawada-like. Plus he squashes Fuchi's nose with an absolute motherfucker of a jumping kneedrop. The bit where he comes flying into camera shot and boots Fuchi in the head like a runaway truck was outrageous. This just ruled it all round.
Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta v Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (All Japan, 8/31/85) - GOOD
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.
Genichiro Tenryu v Ole Anderson (All Japan, 4/5/86) - FUN
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.
Genichiro Tenryu v Stan Hansen (All Japan, 7/26/86) - GOOD
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 of the ring after hitting it. Looked like he threw absolutely everything he had left into it. This isn't fucking with their matches from '88, but as a sort of "toned down" version of Hansen v Tenryu, I was happy enough with what I got.
Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa v Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto (WAR, 4/2/93) - EPIC
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.
Complete & Accurate Tenryu
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