Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

Post #350 Spectacular!


G. Badger

180 views

I never thought that I would have done 350 blog posts when I had started this. Doing the blog has helped me keep up with my wrestling watching. There's been times where there's been burnouts or I just don't have the time/energy to get any watching in. This blog has motivated me to keep up with the hobby. But I think my biggest motivation is to share my views with everyone reading... and not because I think I've got the best reviews out there :) I want to help spread the word about wrestling from years past. I think many PWO members feel this way too whether they acknowledge it or not. I'm also motivated to post to maybe provide that one review that convinces someone to check out a match/promotion/wrestler that they might have skipped over. As someone who got into older wrestling by reading reviews & comparing/collecting best-of lists, I understand the importance of these things. I feel like the heyday of this era is in the past...the peak was probably the 1990's Yearbook project here at PWO.  Still I think it's important to keep this practice going for new fans and old fans looking to get interested in new things. Additionally, I try to provide my honest my opinion based in my enjoyment rather than hard metrics. I used to do all of the star ratings and even have ratings from different aspects of a match like intensity, pacing, etc. But it just zapped all of the fun out of watching wrestling. I was a judge at competition rather than a fan having a good time. So there might be folks out there that cruise reviews for stars but, I seldom do that. Hopefully I keep my reviews short and to the point for even the time-cramped reader. 

Speaking of which, I'm rambling. So thanks for reading this and posts past. Here I wanted to share an abridged collection of "best of" lists from the blog. These are some of my favorite projects from the blog. Anyone who is new or doesn't want to go back to the Best Match Watched posts should have most of the best stuff here. Rewatches, posts I made using old reviews but I thought were worth sharing aren't included. Also HM means honorable mention so if you're strapped for time you'd be forgiven if you skipped them :) But they are still really awesome so you've been warned :P Finally, my apologies for inconsistencies in the date/promotion format. There was a lot of copy/pasting, reorganizing and I just don't have the time to get these uniform. I think you'll be able to figure it out though.

Tiger Mask I is absolutely worth checking out especially beyond his matches with Dynamite Kid. I think the hindsight "bad reputation" Tiger has gotten is from just how hard those matches were hyped. And don't get me wrong those are amazing matches at first but I've probably watched them all 5 times each. Only their final encounter holds up after multiple viewings. Some of my favorites are:

Tiger Mask vs Gran Hamada (11/05/81)
Tiger Mask vs Steve Wright (04/01/82)
Tiger Mask vs Black Tiger (05/26/82)
Tiger Mask vs Bret Hart (07/30/82)
Tiger Mask & Tatsumi Fujinami vs Black Tiger & Pete Roberts (08/27/82 NJPW)
Tiger Mask vs Pete Roberts (09/10/82 NJPW)
Tiger Mask vs Gran Hamada (02/03/83 NJPW)
Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid (04/21/83 NJPW)
Tiger Mask vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (06/02/83 NJPW)
Tiger Mask vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (07/14/83 NJPW)

IMG_20211018_124915_kindlephoto-105378241.thumb.jpg.d597479bd7b43087881c32980ac51595.jpg

-----

Early-mid 80's AJPW is really awesome stuff. I think it's a fantastic way for someone to get into old school wrestling or Japanese wrestling. You've got lots of legends and it's got a even mix of U.S. & Japanese stars. Then when Terry "retires", Brody is in NJPW and Riki & co. join for a few years, it feels like a brand new organization. Similar to the early days of NOAH or when Akiyama & co. go to AJPW in 2013. Here's the best of what I saw:

Bruiser Brody vs Jumbo Tsuruta (10/14/83)
Dory Funk Jr. vs Stan Hansen (AJPW 11/28/83) 
Baba & Dory Jr. vs Hansen & Brody (AJPW 12/10/83)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs Kerry Von Erich (AJPW 05/22/84)
Brody & Hansen vs Baba & Dory Jr. (AJPW 08/26/84)
Tiger Mask II vs Pirata Morgan (AJPW 12/08/84)
Brody & Hansen vs Terry & Dory Funk Jr. (AJPW 12/08/84) 
Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 12/12/84) 
Kuniaki Kobayashi vs Tiger Mask (AJPW 06/21/85)
Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 06/21/85)
Kuniaki Kobayashi vs Tiger Mask (AJPW 08/31 aired 09/07/85)
Stan Hansen/Ted DiBiase vs Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 08/31 aired       
  09/07/85)HM 
Ric Flair v. Rick Martel (AJPW 10/21/85)
Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 11/30/85)
Shoehi Baba/Dory Funk Jr v. Jumbo Tsuruta/Tenyru (AJPW 12/12/85)
Stan Hansen/Ted DiBiase vs Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85 aired 12/14) only 1/2    
aired
Genichiro Tenryu vs Ashura Hara (04/12/86 AJPW)

IMG_20220813_101529_kindlephoto-16930365.thumb.jpg.af7765b76a766cb09c214ee0bb0d4197.jpg

-----

I think I'm most familiar with late 80's NJPW than an other New Japan time period. I took a look at '88 a few years back and it was a hoot! Tatsumi Fujinami is one of my favorites because of this year. I recommend watching these:

Akira Nogami, Tatsutoshi Goto, K. Yamada, K. Hoshino & S. Koshinaka vs Hiroshi Hase, K. Kobayashi, Kensuke Sasaki, N. Honaga & H. Saito (04/27/88)
Tatsumi Fujinami vs Big Van Vader (04/27/88)
Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu (05/27/88)
Shiro Koshinaka vs Owen Hart (06/24/88)
Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu (06/24/88)
Tatsumi Fujinami vs Big Van Vader (06/26/88)
Riki Choshu vs Antonio Inoki (07/22/88)
Shiro Koshinaka vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (8/08/88)
Antonio Inoki vs Tatsumi Fujinami (08/08/88)


I'm really glad that I've had the opportunity to dig into FMW. As an ECW fan in high school, FMW always seemed like the cooler cousin of ECW...if just for the Tanaka vs Awesome stuff. In my VHS days, I had BJW & IWA Japan stuff but not FMW. Eventually I got an Explosion Death Match comp tape. Then a few years later, I got the Highspots Hayabusa comp which was very good but not great as a taste of the true best of Hayabusa. So finally digging my teeth into the meat of FMW has been fulfilling. As garbage/hard core wrestling has fallen out of mainstream favor for a long while, I think the memory of ECW and FMW is fading. So I'm glad to keep the flame burning. I need to watch more but my absolute favorites so far are:

Onita/Tarzan Goto vs M. Kurisu/Dragon Master [Kendo Nagasaki] (FMW 04/01/90)
Tanaka, Kuroda & Koji Nakagawa vs Kanemura, Hido & Hosaka (FMW - Exploding Barbwire match - 09/01/96)
Masato Tanaka vs Mr. Gannosuke (01/06/98 FMW)
Hayabusa vs Masato Tanaka (03/13/98 FMW)
Hayabusa vs Mr. Gannosuke (04/30/98 FMW)
Jado & Gedo vs Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka (05/05/98 FMW) HM
Hayabusa & Tanaka vs W*ing Kanemura & Kodo Fuyuki (05/27/98 FMW) HM
Tetushiro Kuroda vs Masato Tanaka (06/19/98 FMW)
Hisakatsu Oya vs Tetsuhiro Kuroda (12/12/98 FMW)
Masato Tanaka vs. Tetsuhiro Kuroda (FMW 02/27/99)
Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki vs Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda (FMW 03/19/99)

IMG_20230214_184400_kindlephoto-10158957.thumb.jpg.0002832b23c47c5e32fd7ee3037354c9.jpg

-----

Joshi is something I'd loved but eventually moved away from... thinking I'd seen all that I had wanted to see. It took me long time to come back to it but the blog has definitely reconnected me. I know some folks are not as interested in it as much the men's stuff but, I think you're missing out. If you're looking for things outside of "the usual" joshi must see's, try the following:

Crush Gals vs. Jumping Bomb Angels (AJW 09/14/1987)
Miss A & Harley Saito vs. Shinobu Kandori & Rumi Kazama (JWP 10/10/90) HM
Eagle Sawai & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Shinobu Kandori & Harley Saito (JWP 04/26/91) HM
Mariko Yoshida vs. Manami Toyota (AJW 08/30/92)
Chigusa Nagayo vs. Mayumi Ozaki (JWP 05/22/94)
Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai (JWP 05/22/94)
Mayumi Ozaki & Devil Masami vs. Dynamite Kansai & Chigusa Nagayo (GAEA 04/15/95)
Akira Hokuto & Toshie Uematsu vs KAORU & Kiyoko Ichiki (GAEA 01/19/97) HM
Las Cachorras Orientales vs. Watanabe & Maekawa (AJW 06/18/97)
Meiko Satomura vs Sonoko Kato (GAEA 08/23/98)
Meiko Satomura & Sonoko Kato vs. Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki (GAEA 04/04/99)
LCO vs Hokuto and Ozaki (GAEA 09/15/99) HM
Sonoko Kato vs. Meiko Satomura (GAEA 10/11/99)
Ayako Hamada & AKINO vs. Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda (ARSION 12/11/1999) 
Aja Kong vs KAORU (GAEA 02/13/00)
Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi & Kaoru Ito vs. Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita &    
  Kumiko Maekawa (AJW 12/9/00 - Cage Match) 
Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi & Kaoru Ito & Tomoko Watanabe vs. Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita & Kumiko Maekawa - (AJW 2/28/01 - Elim. Match)
Yumiko Hotta, Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda vs. Kaoru Ito, Tomoko Watanabe & 
  Momoe Nakanishi (AJW 04/01/01)
Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura (03/11/01) GAEA - HM
Akira Hokuto vs Meiko Satomura (04/29/01) GAEA
Aja Kong & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Meiko Satomura & Toshie Uematsu (05/13/01) GAEA
Momoe Nakanishi vs Kaoru Ito (AJW 07/08/01)


Early 2000's Puroresu
I haven't seen it all but contrary to popular belief, early 2000's Japanese wrestling doesn't suck. Is it different than the greatest decade in modern wrestling (1990s) ? Yup but there's plenty of great wrestling to enjoy. I think the inter-promotional stuff is very interesting and although it would stay a part of puro, it was best when it was fresh & new. You might be familiar with a couple of these but there's a bunch that I think flew under the radar or have been forgotten about:

Curry Man, CIMA & Super Boy vs Minoru Fujita, Shiryu II & Jody Fleisch (M-Pro 12/21/99) A few days short of 2000 but I'm counting it!
Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama vs Takao Omori & Takashi Sugiura (06/16/01) NOAH
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama (07/27/01) NOAH
Jado & Gedo vs The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV (M-Pro 08/19/01) HM
Kentaro Shiga & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Naohiro Hoshikawa & Tatsuhito Takaiwa  (ZERO1  09/15/2001) HM
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Naohiro Hoshikawa  (ZERO1 03/02/2001) hm 
Shinya Hashimoto & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Daisuke Ikeda & Takashi Sugiura (ZERO1 09/15/2001) HM
Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH 12/09/01)
Vader vs. Jun Akiyama (12/09/01) NOAH - HM
Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori (02/17) NOAH
Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata vs Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa (02/17) NOAH - HM
Keiji Mutoh vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 02/24/2002)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Satoshi Kojima (AJPW 07/17/2002)
Jushin Liger/Minoru Tanaka vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi - (8/29) NOAH
Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio vs. Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama (09/23) NOAH
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama (09/23) NOAH 
Shinjiro Otani vs Masato Tanaka (Zero1 07/31/02)
Mitsuharu Misawa & Masahiro Chono vs Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue (01/10/03 NOAH) HM
Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka (01/10/03 NOAH)
Jushin Liger & Takehiro Murahama vs. Tsubasa & Black Buffalo (02/1/03 Osaka Pro)
Ikuto Hidaka & Masao Orihara vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Yoshihito Sasaki (Differ Cup 2003)   
 HM
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Takao Omori (AJPW 07/18/04) HM


I'm very glad that I've been able to find and enjoy early ROH. I wasn't quite sure of what I was in store for as I wasn't sure just how developed some of guys were. And you can definitely see some chinks in their armor on some of the lesser known matches but, on the big recommended matches below, they delivered. As you can tell, there's a handful of guys working at that high level but the matches never seem repetitive. I threw in a couple other matches from IWA-MS may as have been in a ROH ring. Planning on picking up with my final 2005 DVDs. The list below has some usual suspects but I bet there's a couple that you don't know:

American Dragon vs Low-Ki vs Christopher Daniels - Era of Honor Begins (2002)
American Dragon vs Christopher Daniels  - Round Robin Challenge (2002)
Daniels vs Low-Ki - Round Robin Challenge (2002)
American Dragon vs Low-Ki - Round Robin Challenge (2002)
Jerry Lynn vs AJ Styles -  Road to the Title (2002)
American Dragon vs AJ Styles -  All Star Extravaganza (2002)
Low Ki vs American Dragon vs Steve Corino vs Samoa Joe - Final Battle (2002)
Bryan Danielson vs Paul London  (ROH - Night of the Butcher 12/07/02)
Samoa Joe vs Homicide (ROH Do Or Die – May 2003)
Samoa Joe vs Christopher Daniels (ROH Glory by Honor II - September 2003)
Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles (ROH War of the Wire - November 2003)
AJ Styles vs Bryan Danielson (ROH Main Event Spectacles 2003)
CM Punk vs AJ Styles (Tradition Continues 2003 ROH)
Samoa Joe vs Homicide (ROH Death Before Dishonor 2, Night 1 07/23/04)
Bryan Danielson vs Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles (TPI 2004 Finals 09/18/04 IWA-MS)
Bryan Danielson vs Chris Hero (TPI 2005 09/24/2005 IWA-MS) HM
Low Ki & Homicide vs Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal (Punk: The Final Chapter 2005)

IMG_20230901_134753.thumb.jpg.b882db41305125f0d95fd2143517bfa8.jpg

-----

FIP
In it's original form as sister promotion to ROH, Full Impact Pro was actually pretty good wrestling. Things don't really pick up until 2006 in terms of great matches but once it does, it really feels like a companion to ROH rather than just another local indie (early matches were at a stripper bar and other depressing venues). I know that there's a few matches out there that I'd like to still see but these are the ones I'd recommend...if you're a Roderick Strong fan especially:

Roderick Strong vs Jack Evans FIP Strong vs Evans (2005)
Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Jimmy Rave & Shingo (FIP New Year's Classic 2007)
BxB Hulk and Yamato vs Roderick Strong and Jay Briscoe (FIP Third Year Anniversary 2007) HM
Tyler Black vs Roderick Strong (FIP Heatstroke '07 Night 1)
Roderick Strong vs Erick Stevens (Dangerous Intentions 2008 FIP)
Erick Stevens vs Go Shiozaki (Heatstroke 2008 FIP)
Go Shiozaki vs Roderick Strong (Fallout 2008 FIP)


In a similar vein, I had been curious about Dragon Gate USA, which was an obvious creative offshoot of what Gabe S. was doing in ROH and even FIP. Turns out it was pretty good stuff. I can't say each show was awesome but there's probably a handful that I would definitely recommend. Instead, it was a promotion that depended a lot on a couple crazy under card matches and then a top shelf main event. But that can probably be said for a lot (most) promotions. These are all in the mix for best match watched for 2024 (see previous post for the complete list):

Shingo vs Naruki Doi (Open the Historic Gate 2009) DGUSA - HM
Davey Richards vs. SHINGO (Open the Ultimate Gate 2009) DGUSA
Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. Real Hazard (Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito) (Open the Ultimate Gate 2009) DGUSA
Naruki Doi/Masato Yoshino vs Shingo/Dragon Kid (Open the Freedom Gate 2009) DGUSA - HM
CHIKARA Sekigun (Hallowicked, Jigsaw & Mike Quackenbush) & Masato Yoshino vs. KAMIKAZE USA (Akira Tozawa, Gran Akuma, Jon Moxley & YAMATO) (Enter the Dragon 2010) -DGUSA
Bryan Danielson vs. SHINGO (Enter the Dragon 2010) DGUSA
Bryan Danielson vs. YAMATO (Untouchable 2010) DGUSA
Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw vs Naruki Doi/Pac (Uprising 2010) DGUSA
Shingo/YAMATO vs CIMA/Dragon Kid (Uprising 2010) DGUSA - HM
BxB Hulk vs Masato Yoshino (Uprising 2010) DGUSA 
BxB Hulk vs Shingo (Bushido 2010) DGUSA
Austin Aries vs Akira Tozawa (United Philly 2011) DGUSA
Akira Tozawa vs BxB Hulk (United Finale 2011) DGUSA
YAMATO vs Austin Aries (Mercury Rising 2011) DGUSA
Masato Yoshino/Pac vs YAMATO/Akira Tozawa (Fearless 2011) DGUSA
Akira Tozawa vs. Ricochet (Open the Ultimate Gate 2013) DGUSA - HM
Akira Tozawa vs Shingo (Mercury Rising 2013) DGUSA - HM

IMG_20240317_155312_kindlephoto-242016323.thumb.jpg.0cd901244e266289f5419bba2e5fffda.jpg

-----


Big Japan Wrestling in the 2000's is definitely worth checking out. Big Japan was my first foray into Japanese death matches. It was good for the time but not outstanding. In just a few years, they really became worthwhile. That's something I can tell just from watching a few shows. It is something I'm going to be exploring more of. Zero One is another promotion that is one that I'll be watching more of. Here are my favorites so far:

Abdullah Kobayashi vs Daisuke Sekimoto (07/22/05 BJW)
Jun Kasai, Men's Teioh, Y. Miyamoto & Jaki Numazawa vs Abby Kobayashi, T. Sasaki, MASADA, Shadow WX (01/02/07 BJW)
Takashi Sasaki vs Yuko Miyamoto - Scaffold and Light tube (BJW 03/14/07)
Madoka & Kengo Mashimo vs Katsumasa Inoue & Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW 03/14/07) HM
Takashi Sasaki vs Ryuji Ito: 300 light tube death match (BJW 07/08/07) 
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Manabu Nakanishi (BJW 2007) Honorable Mention

Kentaro Shiga & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Naohiro Hoshikawa & Tatsuhito Takaiwa  (ZERO1 09/15/2001) HM
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Naohiro Hoshikawa  (ZERO1 03/02/2001) hm
Shinya Hashimoto & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Daisuke Ikeda & Takashi Sugiura (ZERO1 09/15/2001) HM
Shinjiro Otani vs Masato Tanaka (Z-1 07/31/02)
Masato Tanaka v Togi Makabe (Zero One 08/03/08)
Masato Tanaka vs Daisuke Sekimoto (Z-1 08/02/15)

IMG_20221215_224748_kindlephoto-178569199.thumb.jpg.10eb17ecab2e9d944cae9043d161896d.jpg

IMG_20220216_211028_kindlephoto-45865913.thumb.jpg.751e02fd87962041f8d13be2caeccbc9.jpg

-----

There's a wealth of free NJPW small show matches from the very early 2010's posted officially on YouTube. They actually seem to have matches from the late 2000's to the early 2010's. Although I watched a good deal of these, I still have more I want to see. There's been a few diamonds in the rough:

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Masato Tanaka (NJ 08/15/09 G1)
AKIRA vs Kenny Omega - NJPW Best of the Super Jrs. (2010): HM
Prince Devitt vs Gedo - NJPW Best of the Super Jrs. (2010)
Nakamura, M. Tanaka, Takahashi & Naito vs H. Tanahashi, Makabe, Nagata & W. Inoue (NJ 12/04/10)
Masato Tanaka vs Yuji Nagata (NJ 03/19/11)
Special note:
On Amazon Prime they are showing old (?) New Japan on AXS episodes from like 2015. A couple matches I have dug are:
Okada vs Goto - New Japan Cup Finals (03/23/13): This was a great showing from Goto. And I actually enjoyed Okada more than just "he took good bumps and was OK to get beat up." He felt right in this match and in the Korakuen Hall setting. I thought it was a great match.
Nakamura vs Tanahashi (01/04/14): This was a great match between the perennial rivals. I didn't think this went into high gear but damn it still was entertaining stuff. Good hard hits, neat moves and the entrances were the pros. The lack of substantial selling, kinda slow pacing and the Dome atmosphere were the cons. I think we could attribute the first two cons to this being in the Dome. Still great to see this in 2024 since so much has changed since then... Great match!


Early 2010's AJPW is a gold mine especially once Akiyama and pals come over. I wish some of those Muto loyal guys that left would have stayed. I really think AJPW could have made a comeback in a big way. This period is really something special if you're into Misawa era NOAH, 06-08 ROH, etc. I think it's an excellent alternative to 2010's NJPW which was all the rage at the time.
Sanada/Soya vs Yuji Okabayashi and Daisuke Sekimoto (03/21/11)
Strong BJW vs SUWAMA/T. Soya (AJ 11/26/11)
Strong BJW vs Get Wild (Omori & Manabu Soya) (AJPW 11/29/2011)
Strong BJW vs Suwama & Takumi Soya (03/20/12 AJPW)
Jun Akiyama, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Kotaro Suzuki vs Takao Omori, Manabu Soya & Kaz Hayashi (02/10/13) HM
Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka (c) vs Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (03/17/13)  
Suwama vs Go Shiozaki (04/18/13)
Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka vs Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (04/25/13)
Minoru Tanaka, Koji Kanemoto & Hiroshi Yamato vs Atsushi Aoki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Kotaro Suzuki (04/29/13)
Jun Akiyama vs KAI (04/29/13) HM
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Hiroshi Yamato (06/02/2013) hm
Jun Akiyama and Go Shiozaki vs. Joe Doering and Suwama  (06/02/2013)
Suwama & SUSHI vs Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki (07/21/13)  hm
Akiyama & Shiozaki vs Omori & Suwama (2/3 falls 07/28/13)
Go Shiozaki & Jun Akiyama vs. Suwama & Takao Omori (08/17/13)
Go Shiozaki vs Suwama (Triple Crown, 08/25/13) 
Kensuke Sasaki, Jun Akiyama & Go Shiozaki vs Suwama, Takao Omori & Kento Miyahara (08/31/13 Diamond Ring) hm I'm counting this one
Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori vs. Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara (10/27/13)
Joe Doering & Suwama vs. Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori (AJPW - 02/08/14) hm
Jun Akiyama vs. Takao Omori (Vacant Triple Crown Title - 06/15/14)
Joe Doering (c) vs. Go Shiozaki (10/29/14 -Triple Crown Title)
Burning Wild vs Xceed (11/29/14)
Doering/Shingo vs Hino/Miyahara (12/04/14 Fortune Dream) I'm counting this one too :)

ajpw2010s.jpg.51dc9e0ca36aa71f2f2c844d9fdfccb1.jpg

IMG_20220926_091039_kindlephoto-183448122.thumb.jpg.5027d22fca004a7fa8ae8565f9a30ad3.jpg

-----

I have kinda the same experience with early 2010's ROH that I've had with AJPW. I'm not saying every damn match & every damn show is awesome. I think cherry picking is definitely the way to go because I've been pleasantly surprised. In fixing the list up, I noticed I omitted a couple matches on my original list. So, I have added them here. This project is something I want to get back into this year with finishing up my 2015 DVDs.

reDRagon vs The Briscoes (ROH 05/11/13 11th Anniv. Show)
Eddie Edwards vs Matt Taven (ROH Honor in the Heart of Texas 06/01/13) HM
Roderick Strong vs Adam Cole (ROH Honor in the Heart of Texas 06/01/13) HM
Jay Briscoe vs Davey Richards (ROH Honor in the Heart of Texas 06/01/13)
Eddie Edwards vs Kyle O'Reilly (ROH  Reclamation - Night 1 07/12/13)
Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal, Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander vs Adam Cole, Matt Taven & reDRagon (ROH 10/26/13 Glory by Honor XII)
Kevin Steen & the Young Bucks vs Michael Elgin & the Briscoes (ROH 03/07/14 Raising the Bar Nt. 1) 
-Michael Elgin vs Roderick Strong (ROH Summer Heat Tour Cincinnati 2014)
Roderick Strong vs Kyle O'Reilly (ROH Winter Warriors Atlanta 02/21/15)
Briscoe Bros. vs Mike Bennett/Matt Taven (ROH Winter Warriors Atlanta 02/21/15)
Bennett & Taven vs Ciampa & Hanson (ROH Winter Warriors Dayton 2015) HM
Alberto El Patron vs Roderick Strong (ROH Winter Warriors Dayton 2015) HM
Roderick Strong vs Silas Young (ROH - Conquest Tour 2015 - Hopkins) HM
Briscoes vs War Machine (ROH - Conquest Tour 2015 - Hopkins) HM
AJ Styles vs Roderick Strong vs Kyle O'Reilly (Aftershock Hopkins 2015 ROH)


So that's it! Hopefully if you're a new reader, that gives you plenty to sink your teeth into. Go back and find the full reviews. Plus I left off all of the "great" and "very good" matches that really are the meat & potatoes for a wrestling fan. So go check those out too! If you're a regular or long time reader, thanks for your time & attention! I hope I've given you some laughs, ideas & inspiration. Hopefully I have kept some older stuff floating around in the collective community memory for a couple years longer.

0 Comments


Recommended Comments

There are no comments to display.

Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...