Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs. Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi (All Japan 4/20/91) Whew ! Nearly 52 minutes of action! This was really just awesome stuff with Kawada really stepping into his character & Fuchi being the real-standout of his team. He was the real bone cruncher here & getting quite a few chants too. He deserved them too. Kobashi was getting beat on for a good portion & although this slowed the action down, it made the closing 5 minutes sheer joy. Awesome finish too. I can't w
This part is comprised more of single matches than tags & isn't as awesome as the first two but does an excellent job of showing just about every one of the main players going at it alone. There may be some spoilers ahead by the way.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue (All Japan 1/26/91) Misawa is such a dick here. He slaps Taue during a rope break & when they go to lock up he hits him with a stiff elbow shot. Taue gets his revenge though throwing up some mean boots, dumping a couple S
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (All Japan 9/1/90) ****1/2+ In this match-up Misawa tries to use his elbow strikes to go toe-to-toe with Jumbo. He finds out that he's no Tenryu and gets a beatdown. It's not that Jumbo isn't really messed up by this attack but it's not enough to transition into a serious pinning predicament. Still Misawa uses his quickness & flying but not in conjunction with much other than his strikes. So Jumbo does what he can to shift momentum and work Green Jeans over
This is one of my all time favorite feuds in puro. It probably won't get much attention nowadays but, that's time for ya! This isn't a definitive match list but, it covers most of the seminal puro program. These are my original reviews and star ratings when I was watching my DVDs as if the matches were weekly episodes. I've been in a wrestling rut lately so I hope this will get me out of it!
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask II (All Japan 3/9/88) ****1/2+ What an amazing little match. Misawa ma
Its been awhile so, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite matches. Not just my favorite Dory Funk Jr. matches...nope, these are some of my all time faves. I cannot promise a bunch of moves and stuff so, don't be mistaken. I like my action matches but, my friends, this is different.
vs Jack Brisco NWA World Title (01/24/74) This is possibly one of the top 5 greatest matches that I've seen. Excellent mat wrestling for an hour with each fall being a little bit different in style and in st
Let's take the way back machine to 2014!
Ring of Honor in Cincinnati (07/18/14)
reDRagon vs Rocky Romero & Tomasso Ciampa: Koslov is injured so Nigel says Rocky has a replacement in the Sicilian Psychopath - nice! DRagon is pissed and rightfully so as the slap dash team takes the early advantage. Fish and O'Reilly eventually get control and unleash the 2 Man Smash Machine ™. Nevertheless, they can quite seem to get a handle on Ciampa and neither can Romero! This was a very g
It is June and by gawd it's the half way point of the year!?? Really? It was snowflakes and salt stains just yesterday!
That being said, I want to do my Best Match Watched and other assorted superlatives for the first part of 2019. It helps you but, more importantly, it helps me!
Best Match Watched:
-Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk - Money In the Bank (2012): This not a classic match but, one of the handful of WWE matches that I've watched this year that I thought was great.
-Michael
I need some kind of format or guide to help me talk about this 'zine 'Wrestle Void.' A blog is in the same vein as a 'zine, right? Its me talking about things I find interesting. What interests me with Wrestle Void? So, I suppose that's my hook with this little publication, right?! Let us begin...
This is a really fun rag to read -Straight and simple! The letters from the editors/co-founders at the start of each issue are a reminder that we as fans are real people. Gravy's letters especiall
Many of these matches I have commented on in the Everything Else match archives or the Yearbooks, if you will. I wanted to make a record of them all in one place here on my blog though. If you have similar wrestling tastes or just like to read what I have to say, I thought I would make one entry of my recent wrestling habits. It's pretty 1970's and 80's heavy but, we dip our toes into the 60's and 90's as you'll read shortly. Let's start with a doozy!
Johnny Valentine vs Bull Curry (06/20/6
I exhumed a load of reviews from the grooveyard for this one. I'm psyched to do it though. Jun Akiyama is one of my favorites I hope you enjoy reading and you take the time to go back to good old days of 1990's AJPW!
OK let's get this started!
vs Al Perez, vs Ted DiBiase (1/15 & 10/23/93): Both of these are worth checking out for that fun house show type of match. Both opponents kept the action and pace going for a couple entertaining matches. Its especially cool to see DiBiase b
Its been over a month since my last blog post but, I've been watching plenty of wrestling. I'm revisiting Kurt Angle's awesome early years in TNA as well as bouncing around YouTube for classic match ups. My Wahoo McDaniel kick has been a blast by the way! In addition to that great stuff, I've been catching up on some Tajiri stuff that I've missed. Not his WWE stuff mind you but, some odds and ends after he went back to Japan as well as some Tajiri as ECW fan favorite era stuff. So here we go! Sp
Here's my take on some semi-recent NOAH stuff:
Doug Williams vs Yoshinari Ogawa (12/16/18): Gosh remember 2018? Man, where has the time gone? Seriously, I know a lot happened last year but, we're a quarter of the way thru 2019 and I'm still trying to get used to that, aren't you? In the same vein, Williams and Ogawa let you know that the past is present. This was like a 1988 AJPW Jr. title match with holds, counters, and good old fashion wrestling. Hey it might be slow for some but, damn th
Thank you for your patience! I'm going to conclude the singles portion of this project here so, read on!!
(6/10)
Yoshihashi vs Ryusuke Taguchi: This was OK. I liked the opening mat section but, this felt like a by-the-book junior match. I think there is some drama here as Yoshihashi was part of the NJ main crew but as in a Young Lion/Junior member capacity. I say that as I've seen him paired with Taguchi in some tag matches. So maybe there's something here along the lines of YH proving
Sorry for the delay! The weather has been a little bit better the past two weeks and I've been able to get some skating in. Plus I think I needed a little break from wrestling. Nevertheless, I'm ready to pick up where I left off and get back to NJPW's Junior scene circa 2010.
We're still watching the Best of the Super Jrs. round robin matches.
From June 2nd (06/02/10)
Tama Tonga vs Yoshihashi: I missed this one on the previous post but, no biggie. It was an OK match. Nothing fancy
This is a project that I've wanted to start for some time now but, I couldn't find the right way to get going. Here's how it starts:
Bryan Danielson vs Fujita "Jr." Hayato (UWAI 12/03/06): I have to be honest, I've never heard of UWAI but, the person hosting it on the 'tube is the same person who has all of the Big Mouth Loud shows for viewing. So, I have to assume that it's an 'offshoot' (using that term loosely) of BML. Anyhow, I really recommend this match to anyone who's only seen 'Dani
I have clearly been on a Ring of Honor kick lately. Having a grip of clearance DVDs will do that to a fellow!
Young Bucks vs reDRagon (05/17/14 - War of the Worlds 2014): These two teams work very well together and here is another damn fine example. MMA'er Tom Lawlor (Filthy to you!) is seconding Fish & O'Reilly. He adds credibility to the DRagons and plays a really fun role especially early on. The Bucks are their usual selves and never slow down more than they have to. It works very w
I think the best way to tackle this post is to review both nights of the Raising the Bar event(s) from March 7th & 8th 2014. I'm going to give the major take-away points rather than my somewhat longer reviews of the matches in most cases. These were fantastic shows put on by Ring of Honor that haven't gotten much hype.
Night #1 - Milwaukee, WI
Silas Young vs Jay Lethal: These guys are well suited to work with one another. The size and athleticism is compatible. The crowd was into
I wanted to give my opinion on the big topic of the new year: All Elite Wrestling. I'm not in the know in terms of facts and figures concerning the owners or the talent its centered around. I don't know what their income is or what they're worth or any of that financial stuff. Similarly, I don't have any scoop on which wrestlers or other performers are going to sign with the company. It doesn't seem worthwhile to post any of my opinions or suggestions in the AEW topic on the main forum. This is
...and we're back!
reDRagons vs Michael Elgin & Jay Lethal (10/05/13): Titles are on the line against the super team of Elgin & Lethal. This was a very good match but, not tremendous. It was a little goofy when Elgin does his 2 on 1 stuff but, the final bit was great per usual.
Champs vs All-Stars: Adam Cole, reDRagon & Matt Taven vs Michael Elgin, C & C WrestleFactory Jay Lethal (Glory by Honor XII 10/26/13): We get over an hour of wrestling action. It is very difficul
Here is my list of the best matches that I watched this year. Again, this isn't a MOTY list but, is more of a year in review for me AND a guide for folks looking for wresting to check out.
So first is my January to May list:
Inoki/Sakaguchi vs Thesz/Gotch (NJ 1973)
Strong BJW vs SUWAMA/T. Soya (AJ 11/26/11)
Onita/Tarzan Goto vs M. Kurisu/Dragon Master [Kendo Nagasaki] (FMW 04/01/90)
Jun Kasai vs Takeshi Iizuka (TAKA Prod. 01/28/18)
Roderick Strong vs Kyl
My apologies for anyone regularly following this little project. Work has been crazy as its the holiday shopping season and I haven't had the time to write up my next entry. But fuck it, I get one day off a week so, let's do this!
Bobby Fish vs Davey Richards (Reclamation-night 1 07/12/13): A very intense kick filled contest with very nice spots and holds. It was a good match that felt great at times. It just had a weird pace and I never felt like it kicked into overdrive. Perhaps I'm wrong
Texas and Ring of Honor don't necessarily go together on paper do they? I think of the Northeast and Midwest when thinking of ROH but, here they are in San Antonio, June 1st, 2013. The fans are enthusiastic and the wrestlers are game so, let's take a look.
Kyle O'Reilly vs Mike Sydal: Matt's younger brother vs one half of the tag champion reDRagon. This is a fine opener that makes Sydal look credible and make Kyle look like a rightful champ.
A local TV anchor comes out and talks a bit
Now we're back on track to the proper reDRagon retrospective. This would now be Chapter 3 in the ROH DVD set. It's the most substantial one. So, let's just jump in!
vs The Briscoes (11th Anniversary show): The tag straps is on the line boy! That's my Briscoe impersonation. You try now. It was fun right? That's something the Sandy Fork brothers have that most ROH wrestlers lack- a good character & gimmick. Everyone at this point in time is a "great" or "phenomenal" athlete but, shallow i
So, before I continue with the reDRagons set, I'd like to review this show from January of 2013. Now, in case you were wondering, this isn't some essential show to Fish and O'Reilly's story. It just so happens that I have a few ROH DVDs that I've been meaning to watch that fit in with this watch-project's chronology. This one has been on sale for awhile and has gotten recommendations. Plus once ROH dvds are gone, they're gone (I just can't do the streaming subscriptions, I learned from my WWE n
The next few entries are going to follow Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly's early days together as reDragon. I'm using the ROH compilation as my main guide but, also have a few show reviews as well. This introductory post covers Chapters 1 & 2 on disc one. It's chill but, things pick up next time. But, let's get started!
Fish vs Claudio Castagnoli (2007): This was an OK match. Fish's ROH debut.
OReilly vs Austin Aries (2010): A good match and Aries was the man at this time period. Don't t
