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Mid-South North American Champion Ted DiBiase vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan - Mid-South 3/8/85 No DQ Jim Duggan looks like Rihanna at the end of Bitch Better Have My Money. They beat the living fuck outta each other in this battle like they owe each other some cash money. DiBiase had returned to the territory from an extended stay in Georgia and All Japan. Hooking up with Dr. Death and Skandor Akbar to exact revenge against his former partner in crime and the man who banished him from Mid-South, Hacksaw Jim Duggan! DiBiase & Dr. Death had jumped Duggan to kickstart the feud on TV in the fall of 1984 and DiBiase defeated Brad Armstrong to win the North American Championship. It all came to a head in this No DQ Bloodbath. I loved the beginning with Ted making sure everything was legal only to immediately throw the powder in Hacksaw's face and once blinded he was easy pickins to busted open on the outside. The best part of this was Duggan's incredible performance throughout. He was always staggering and always swinging at DiBiase. DiBiase was kicking the shit out of him, but you always felt like Duggan had something left. When Duggan caught coming off the top (patented DiBiase somersault bump) and suplex, the crowd came unglued. You could feel DiBiase shit his pants as Duggan stomped around. The fists were flying and it looked awesome. Hacksaw got into this three point stance and hit his wedgebuster, which should have claimed his first North American title, but Skandor Akbar hit him with the cane. A shitty head collision followed which also wiped out the ref. Dr. Death handed Ted DiBiase the lethal loaded black glove and DiBiase had the presence of mind to sock Duggan. DiBiase was perfectly good on offense knowing how to work the cut and cheat his ass off, but this was Duggan through and through modulating his selling perfectly and really building to the match to crescendo. I have this under the first Buzz Sawyer brawl and the second Magnum/DiBiase bloodbath, but still a bitchin' match. ****1/4 Now if there was just some way Duggan got HIS hands on that coal miner glove and keep that infernal Skandor Akbar & Dr. Death out of the ring and come to think of it I just wished Duggan could banish DiBiase all over again and you know this fucking DiBiase thinks his shit don't stink, but if you are ugly on the inside like DiBiase then you are ugly on the outside so I know Duggan would look better in a tuxedo. If there was just a way to combine all these facets of the feud into one match....hmmmmmmmm....

It's the second installment of the ECW Unreleased Vol.1 DVD and we're looking at 1996. As before, I'm adding some things not on the DVD to flesh things out. Shane Douglas vs. Cactus Jack - ECW Cyberslam 1996: Absolute great match! There's a real grit and intensity to this match. There's no brawling in the stands or crazy table spots. Instead both guys look like they're really trying to hurt each other. This is American wrestling so we don't necessarily get a clean finish... I mean it's ECW so that's not uncommon either...we get a great match, great conclusion to a storyline and in brutal fashion from the mind of Mick. I think I like this match more as I get older. On YouTube Sandman & Scorpio vs Gangstas vs Headhunters (ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash - 03/09/96): This is a great ECW bedlam match. Cat fight, canes & chairs swinging, moves off the top & to the outside... something going on seemingly everywhere. So not a great match in the traditional sense but this was so much fun!! Great to see the Headhunters! The Gangstas vs The Eliminators (03/30/96): Not so much a match but two separate brawls from one night. Just absolutely fun stuff...New Jack's promo is great and kicks things off. Nothing fancy about this but the energy & hate is palpable. Tommy Dreamer & Dr. Death Steve Williams vs. Taz & Brian Lee (ECW - The Doctor is In 08/03/96): A super fun dream match of sorts. It gives you a little bit of everything that you'd want - Tommy takes a hellacious bump, we get Beulah vs Fonzie, Dr. Death man handling Fonzie in retribution, Taz vs Dr. Death... it's not a good match but it's more like a great TV segment. Back to the DVD Chris Jericho vs. Too Cold Scorpio - ECW The Doctor Is In - 08/03/96: Oh yeah this was cool! Scorpio comes out wearing his fancy Japan only pants. And don't you know it he & Jericho have a technical puro style bout. It's really good stuff too! It just looks hotter than hell in the ECW Arena and that does effect the pace a little bit. But they eventually pick up the pace, get their second wind, make moves they probably were too hot & tired to do and made this a very good 20 minute match. I didn't know this one happened but really glad it did & that I own it. ----- And finally back to da 'tube Eliminators vs The Gangstas - Cage match (ECW Natural Born Killaz - 08/24/96): Oh man! This is a great ECW tag match! Brawling, weapons, blood, jumps off the cage AND a real sense that these guys want to hurt each other. There's a good amount of Pro-Wrestling inside the cage as well. Saturn is the star here just going off the top a few times. This would get some love if it was in IWA Japan or BJW. It's not polished but is really exciting and chaotic. If you're an ECW fan or of the old sleazy Japanese promotions - go watch this! This was a lot of fun. I think most ECW guys excelled at tag matches because they didn't necessarily have to work smart and tell a story. They could do their spots and then switch out. Additionally, they could brawl on the outside and in the fans and it would generate excitement without actually doing anything too difficult. That's not knock but an observation and a smart way to work. Paul Heyman was smart to emphasize the importance of tag wrestling. Hang in there! Thanks for reading!

We're back with Part Four of my review of Muto's AJPW 2002. Thanks for waiting! There's a bunch of tag matches this post. Arashi, Dr. Death, Tenryu, Koki Kitahara, & Masao Orihara vs. Keiji Muto, Hiroshi Hase, Jinsei Shinzaki, George Hines & Kaz Hayashi (08/31): A very good elimination match that was best earlier on. In all fairness, this would have been great if it were a single fall match and kept the pace up. In this form, things dragged on too long with the younger/athletic guys like Hayashi, Hines and Orihara already eliminated. Shinzaki didn't seem motivated and well the WAR team were generally plodding except for Kitahara. All that said, this is still enjoyable but unfortunately with how they booked it, it over stayed it's welcome. It's a big show main event so I think it definitely delivered, if that makes sense. Watching it now, I would have booked it differently but I think it had a big time impact for the fans. Dragon Kid, Jimmy Yang & Masaaki Mochizuki vs. M2K (Darkness Dragon, Magnum TOKYO & Susumu Yokosuka) (08/31): Absolutely bananas in pajamas! Wow, this was super dialed in for 2002. The fans loved it as did I. And in all honesty, it's a chaotic spot fest that's more about "wows!" rather than "wows + story/drama" (which is something that these guys do improve on...). But yeah if you're itching for Dragon Gate action - check this out below. Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi vs Genichiro Tenryu & Nobukazu Hirai (10/06) Very good 16 minute match. Hirai was serviceable. Tenryu vs Kojima was excellent. Kaz of course was whipping boy but this wasn't overdone and he was able to go off with his explosive offense. And that's where Hirai was weakest...he just didn't sell. It was fast paced enough down the stretch to ignore this but I feel like he was no selling as a disservice to Kaz Hayashi. Arashi vs. Satoshi Kojima (10/14): Very, very good 10 minute match. This pairing works because they can just hit each other. Nothing fancy is required. There's only one gaff but it sorta worked in the match. Arashi and Kojima did a really interesting sleeper hold section that gave this more depth than just being a slobber knocker. Genichiro Tenryu vs Great Muta (10/27): When Muto gives a crap, he can still put on a great match. Heaven knows Tenryu can too. They do that here. Tenryu goes after Muta/o with his own medicine plus pulls out some older offense and different tricks. Great knee selling by the Great One which really makes the second half special. There was a lot different and enough surprises to keep me entertained and interested. GAORA has this for our viewing pleasure: Dr Death & Mike Rotunda vs. Kojima & Taiyo Kea (AJPW TV 11/23) : Good match with alot to like but I felt there was too much stomp & punch filler in here. Longer matches are not AJPW's strong suit with the older guys...this was 20 but would have been much tighter at 15 minutes. Mike Awesome & PJ Friedman vs Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka (11/25): Super fun 11 minute match! This could have relied upon Awesome vs Tanaka nostalgia but every one wrestled balls to the wall. Friedman was the weakest but was an excellent heel sidekick to Awesome so it worked well. Arashi & Nobutaka Araya vs. Mike Awesome & PJ Friedman (11/26): You're watching this for Mike Awesome... I'm not going to mince words. He is the reason why this is a fun house show RWTL match. Otani, Tanaka and Mike Awesome give the 2002 Real World Tag League some excitement. I'm looking forward to watching more of their matches next time. Next post will probably be my final post for AJPW 2002. Thanks for reading!

Here's the final post for AJPW 2002. This covers more of the Real World Tag League. Otani & Tanaka vs Dr. Death & Mike Rotunda (11/27): Half shown but no idea where the other half was clipped out. No matter this was great in this format... absolutely back on track with the quality here. We get tastes of Dr. Death vs Tanaka (Tanaka taking the first real Dangerous Backdrop in a few years for instance). I'm not sure this match would hold up in it's full form since the full match time was long but if you find this in it's shorter format then you will have a absolute blast! Arashi & Nobutaka Araya vs. John Tenta/Earthquake & Tenryu (11/27): 6 minutes shown but I have no idea where the other 5 minutes are (again!)...it didn't look like this was edited at all. No matter it was the perfect length for these guys. Tenryu beat the crap outta Araya...two insane lariats...Tenta did his thing perfectly... Arashi assisted but stayed out of the way and Araya did his big boy moonsault...yeah 6 minutes of absolute fun. Mike Awesome & PJ Friedman vs Kea & Kojima (11/28): Oh yeah, this is a super fun match! We get plenty of Awesome vs Kojima which is what I wanted. Yeah, all 3 dudes who you want to see put on a show and PJ keeps the energy up. Tenryu and Tenta vs Otani & Tanaka (11/28): I was going to skip this one and am glad that I didn't! Great match! Otani & Tanaka bump so well and make Tenta & Tenryu look more dynamic than they are. And the sumo team did a great job man handling Emblem and when the Zero One guys fought back, it was electric as a light socket!! We kinda get an 80's finish but it works. Actually shown in full as well. Arashi & Nobutaka Araya vs Kea & Kojima (12/02? 01?): Great match for what was shown 18 minutes but they said it was longer. Screw it...this is probably the only version available so let's just go with that! And that goes for any of these matches. Kojima vs Arashi is always good because Arashi brings his best stuff. Same goes here! Kea continues to kick ass in the early 2000's. Araya even stepped his game up. Yoji Anjo & Mitsuya Nagai vs Otani & Tanaka (12/03): Another one where the match shown doesn't match the time but this was really good stuff. Otani & Tanaka are such a charismatic team. Nagai & Anjo bring the shoot style offense and its a nice change of pace. I've become a fan of Yoji Anjo. I also have to recommend 12/06/02's Kojima & Taiyo Kea vs. Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka for the RWTL final. Unfortunately Kea gets injured. I reviewed it in an earlier post...here's a snippet: "I do think the closing portion was extremely badass. I mean Kojima vs Tanaka is worth your time and its only about 20 minutes long as Gaora shows a bunch of pre and post match fluff." I was gonna end things there but going for one more. Keiji Muto & Road Warrior Animal vs Genichiro Tenryu & John Tenta (12/06): This is here just for fun. I'm hoping everyone brings their "A game" since they are on a big show & facing familiar opponents. Muto & Animal were a RWTL team (this is probably the runners up match) but I felt they probably dogged many of the house show matches. But I'm going to give this a shot....and I am glad that I did! It is a lot of fun. Animal vs Tenta is a lot of this but its the unstoppable force vs the immovable object. Tenryu & Muto are in supporting roles. If you're an 80's- early 90's WWF adult, you'll enjoy this And that's a good way to end my look into 2002 AJPW. Much of my enjoyment is based on my love of the older wrestlers and seeing many of them giving it their very best, one last time. Then there's a part that sees them interacting with the stars of the 2000's like Kojima, Kea etc. It's been so long since I started that I can't do a proper summary of the year. I did miss Kawada though. WAR vs Muto AJPW was pretty cool but doesn't produce anything earth shattering. 2002 notably does feature the Tenryu vs Kojima matches (which really started pushing Kojima to the top). Kea vs Tenryu similarly. What else? Kawada vs Muto in February was a classic. 2002 AJPW is a lot of fun...it's not always the most ball crushingly brutal wrestling...but it's got it's fair share of very good & great matches. It's got some classics but what it has in abundance is good times. One could probably only get that from watching a bunch of the matches & having a fondness for the wrestlers. If you're a modern wrestling fan, this might not be something you want to start getting into. If you've been watching these guys for a fair portion of your life then, I think you'll be interested in seeing this. Sure some of the guys are long in the tooth but so are you now! I wanted to say, everything I've reviewed is online and on YouTube. The stuff without a Gaora link is part of a block of TV episodes. But search Steve Williams, Kojima, Arashi compilation and you should be able to find what you're looking for. Thanks for reading!

I have put a pause on my AJPW 2002 project for the time being. In the meantime, I thought I would share some "vintage" Dr. Death Steve Williams reviews. Early 2000's AJPW has renewed my interest & appreciation for him. He's certainly not at his prime but he brings something special to every match. So below is a collection of reviews of his peak era AJPW work. I'm going to remove any spoilers that I wrote and if you're looking for stars (*) in your reviews, this one has got 'em Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Terry Gordy & Steve Williams (07/24/91) Awesome fun stuff here with Miracle Violence Connection looking like the toughest tag team ever. They went after Misawa's face and then his leg which I'm sure both were legitimately injured. Tremendous selling from Misawa & is what made it very special. Kawada was a very good number two playing the part of being Robin to Misawa's Batman. Cool, cool stuff. **** or maybe ****1/4 Editor's note: 02/26 Gordy/Williams vs Misawa/Kawada & 12/06: Gordy/Williams vs Misawa/Kawada from 1991 are great matches as well. I don't have reviews written up for them but they are ****+ matches. Jumbo & Akira Taue & Ogawa vs. Williams & Gordy & Richard Slinger (05/25/92) ***3/4+ A solid match by all standards and was quite entertaining. Both teams brought a lot of intensity and that goes a long way for me. It probably could have been a little shorter as the pacing was a bit askew. It was a good match nonetheless with Ogawa, Slinger , and Gordy being the standouts & Joe was the referee (the fans counted faster than he did!) Steve Williams/Terry Gordy vs. Stan Hansen/Joel Deaton (06/03/93) ***1/4 Although it was only 6 minutes & 47 seconds this match was all action. It was rather one sided though, as Gordy ambushed Hansen and the Miracle Violence Connection double teamed the whole time like it was a Tornado Tag match (maybe it was). Deaton tried his best to save Hansen but he was no match for Gordy & Dr. Death. There was no pacing or a match just a display of violence and Hansen's toughness. Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (08/31/93) ***** Stiff AJPW brawling punctuated by 3 of the deadliest backdops ever! But the match is much more than the last 5 minutes it's that just those backdrops come out of nowhere and take your breath away. Rewatch: Wow! this is a fantastic, hard-hitting match. Each man gives it their all and the execution is brilliant and the timing is perfect. Kobashi would have loads of other classic singles bouts but to me this is Dr. Death's pinnacle! If one wants to know why Steve Williams is a legend, this match is all the evidence needed. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Steve Williams (09/03/93) **** Dr. Death held up his end of the deal with plenty of exciting moves and a palpable sense that he wanted to win the Triple Crown. Misawa did an excellent job selling but, the match lacked a real sense of direction and the finish was flat. I would place the blame on Misawa. I think his great matches come out of familiarity & rivalry...not top gaijin vs. second banana native like Kobashi. There was no real offense on his end that would warrant a comeback victory. Elbows are great especially from Misawa but, I felt they were kinda soft or maybe Williams oversold them. The one thing that was preserved was the great execution AJPW is known for but, it lacked the build that the company was known for as well. Everything can't be a classic..still a great match. The bar is really high in '93. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Steve Williams Champion Carnival Finals (04/16/94) I don't know but this one is a clear re-watch candidate. I didn't like the transition from Williams to Kawada other than he must have really messed Dr. Death up with the somersault kick. It was one of the best I've seen so, that may have done it...Williams was throwing Kawada around like a ragdoll though. It could have gone on a few more minutes or with a bit more back & forth before the finish. Anyhow, Williams was just so awesome here but, Kawada probably let him have too much offense for the type of finish they went for. I don't know if that was Doc or K's decision. I could have been Doc's since he's the senior worker (I think). As it stands: ****1/4+ Re-Watch: I watched a clipped version (maybe the first 6-7 minutes cut out) and it was still very good stuff. In fact, I'm comfortable putting it up a notch. Kawada was so damn stiff where the transition was that I'll warrant that he legit screwed Dr. Death up. There was a gaff by the TV crew as they showed both guys talking on the mat in between big moves & this seemed like an "uh-oh!" regarding kayfabe. I mean I probably could have done with out it. They weren't looking at each other & the camera was zoomed in tight on their faces so maybe they were talking to Wada the ref. It sorta killed the next spot though since you just saw them talking it out...possibly. Still damn good stuff & really good in putting over Kawada's big moves. People talk about K's performance but I thought he overdid the selling a couple times but other times I wasn't sure if he was really hurt or what so it balances out. Dr. Death I thought did very good as well but, his job as monstrous gaijin bruiser is much easier to portray. Still he does a damn good job! With a little more action at the end this could have been nibbling at 4.75 stars. Still if you want to see one match with Doc and/or Kawada this is not a bad one to go with...just a very nice example of AJ puroresu. ****1/2 Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi Triple Crown (09/03/94) I thought they gave Kobashi a bit too much time to get over as the budding super hero but, overall it was a pretty damn good match. Williams was really fun and dangerous, if that's possible. Kobashi really knew when to turn his offensive stuff up a couple notches. Still, he needs someone to take his suplexes in order to appear multi-faceted. Much of his early stuff was chops and leg drops. Although he did get a couple backdrops & a German on Williams, the only convincing near-fall slam was the REDACTED. I still probably would like their '93 match better but this one was a nice companion and a must own for Dr. Death fans like myself. ****1/4 Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada Triple Crown (10/22/94) I liked this more than the Kobashi match as it never had a big Kawada on offense section where Williams wasn't try to spoil it. It really helped that both guys sold the effects of the fight so well. To augment that, they really went after each other's weak spots and there were allusions to the Carnival match but, it went in a better, more believable direction. In fact, contrary to all other reviewers I liked this better than the 04/16/94 match although the score is ultimately equal. ****1/2 Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (03/04/95) ****1/2 The accumulation of little things brought this match-up to a 4.5 star rating. The beginning portion was rather messy as far as it's direction and Dr. Death was being rather soft and cartoonish. My feeling is: if you're not comfortable striking then don't strike. This rule really applies to Doc in this match. In they early portion, he was really a drain. Until he & Ace started working on Misawa's striking arm, this match was looking at a **1/2 rating. It was going nowhere but did have some cool moments/moves. Then the match worked up to boil. The moves had meaning and there was some urgency brought to each pinfall cover. Even then this match was only at a *** or ***1/2 (which compared to most other leagues is acceptable). At some point in time Misawa, Ace, & Kobashi got their shit together and took this match somewhere memorable. Doc, however, simply filled a role as the interloper...knocking people off aprons, ax-handling would be pinners, and the like. Although he must be commended for some of the most deadly moves of the match! Overall though, the only ones who brought intensity were Kobashi & Ace. Essentially it was a match between them with their respective partners as seconds.In regards to the length of the match at 36 min...let's say if they cut out the crap from the start and shaved of a few seconds worth of stalling this puppy could have been great. If they had condensed it to tag matches of old at 25 minutes or so, this would easily be ****3/4 stars, telling a story of native vs gaijin & one of equality but here it's a ****1/2 by a hair... Akira Taue vs. Steve Williams - Champion Carnival FINAL (04/20/96) This is quite physical in terms of slams and moves for two guys that don’t really take those big bumps. Every move wasn’t as crisply executed as hoped for. This was due to the men’s sizes. Still, it was quite amazing because they pulled them off in a believable manner; very much in the Tsuruta/Tenryu days. It was apparent that chemistry was not working on the same level as with the other 3 or 4 big natives. Kobashi would have been a great fit with either guy but, from a story perspective, I can understand. It is definitely something different and it must be commended for that. ****+ Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams/Johnny Ace (06/07/96) A pure 20+ minute spree of excitement and nearfalls. Ace has never looked better, and his chemistry with Akiyama is what made this match so great. Doc once out of the limelight really showed his strength as a brilliant tag wrestler (again). He and Ace were such a standout team because of this dynamic. Akiyama played his role brilliantly and Misawa was ace but also big brother (again). This was his role here and it was masterful as ever and touched an emotional nerve. The dynamic with Doc and Akiyama was rough in the early going but as it became more heated, one forgot this segment of the action. It was clear this match was for Ace and Akiyama to shine and they did not disappoint. ****1/2 If you have never checked out Dr. Death in AJPW, absolutely go watch these this week. If it's been a while since you've watched 90's AJPW then, pick a match or two to revisit. Thanks for reading!

Sorry for the delay! My family health issues are ongoing and I really haven't been in the mood to watch wrestling. I have chipped away at my list and finally got this week done. It wasn't a slog or anything at all. In fact, I've really enjoyed it. It's the diversion that I've needed. I'm just not in the head space to watch it on a regular basis right now. Arashi, Nobukazu Hirai & Nobutaka Araya vs. Dr. Death, Mike Rotunda & Yuto Aijima (07/17): A fun steak and egg kind of match. If this was a little crisper in a few places, this could actually have been quite good. Still I liked it Also from this show is the classic Genichiro Tenryu vs. Satoshi Kojima (07/17/2002) match. Gaora recently posted this so I'll share it here: Great Koji vs Great Muta (07/20): Muto wrestled 3 times this show. Once as Kokushi Muso (the monk) vs Hayashi, then another as Muto in 6 man legends match then this match. Gaora has it here: Tenryu vs Taiyo Kea (07/20): Ooohhh!!! This was great (and shown in full from TV)! 15 minutes of Kea & Tenryu beating the crap outta each other. The Kea vs Tenryu rivalry/angle is really slept on in my opinion. It's very much "younger" guy taking on the legend to prove himself. I think the angle really establishes Kea as a star that no other matchup could. See the 2001 matches & my reviews for context. This is the one to watch!! Arashi, Nobutaka Araya & Yuto Aijima vs. Yoji Anjo, Mitsuya Nagai & Shigeo Okumura (AJPW PPV 08 30 2002): This was OK. It had no real flow but there's a couple neat moments and I liked the finish. I definitely believe they could have done better BUT I think the purpose of the match was to put over Nagai's roundhouse kick. You're probably not going to watch it so I spoiled the ending. Steve Williams & Mike Rotundo & Gran Naniwa vs. Johnny Smith & George Hines & Gran Hamada (08/30): Fun match but nothing you couldn't see elsewhere. It was cool that the heavyweight guys really put over Naniwa & Hamada's moves. Naniwa was actually the standout of the whole thing to be honest. Dr. Death & Hines were good too. Thanks for reading! Take care of yourself...take your health seriously. Things don't always get better on their own. If you've got some health concerns and are nervous about seeing a doctor then, talk to a friend, family member or co-worker. They might be able to help in some way. See if there's tele-health available to you or maybe there's a YouTube video that can help with your symptoms. Anything proactive is better than ignoring it OR thinking you're fucked & giving up at the start. And once you gets started, keep momentum. Starting is the hardest part so long as you keep doing the work. It sucks to have to confront this stuff... regardless if it's your health or a loved ones. But to be honest, you'll have to confront it sooner or later. I'm telling you that sooner is better... it sucks BUT it sucks less because you'll be saving yourself or others a ton of hassle and grief. OK that's my PSA! Hopefully that helps someone out there in webland...just if you're going through something similar, you're not alone

We're back with more wrestling action! Let's take a look at AJPW 2002! Arashi & Koki Kitahara vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Yoji Anjo (01/14/02): Almost got this mixed up thinking it was 2001...anyhow fun match here. Tenryu basically gets to hit Arashi as hard as he wants. Kitahara is badass as is Anjo who pulls out the shoot style moves to keep things spicy. Kawada vs Hase (01/14/02): This is shown in full on the Gaora YT page below. Good to very good match. It wasn't fully developed though. Hase was only working part time so this felt more like a novelty rather than a challenge for Kawada. Don't get it twisted, this was really fun stuff - good mat wrestling at the start, nice strikes from both, suplexes. However, Hase wasn't really putting Dangerous K in trouble. In fact, it felt like he steam rolled the former Olympian in 13 minutes. Everything looked great though so if you're a fan of either guy then, you want to watch this! Keiji Mutoh vs. Toshiaki Kawada (02/24/2002) is one I highly recommend you watch. I know some people may not like it and I'm not a Muto devotee but I think it's a classic. Now we're on to the 2002 Champion Carnival! Kojima vs Mitsuya Nagai (03/23): 2nd half shown.. it was good but I think I missed the story aspects completely. Really dug Kojima's lariats! Muto vs Dr Death (03/24): Badass 15 minute Champion Carnival match! This was well paced & built. This match works because both guys are long in the tooth...down but not out at all. I don't have much else to add because this felt like a perfect TV episode main event match between two of AJ's biggest stars. It's got the build but it's not too long. It's got the moves but it's not all about them. Very good to great match. Gaora has shared this below. Stick around for the Dr. Death promo/interview at the end - RIP: Kea vs Rotunda (03/26): 1/2 shown which was about 30 minutes... and I thought this was a really good old school match. It could have taken place in 1984 in the best way. Don't know if this is available in full anywhere but what is shown was very enjoyable. George Hines vs Muto (03/26): Too damn short since it was a real quality headlock match. This could have went on a couple minutes more and I would have been happy. Kea vs George Hines (03/27): Another edited match but I have no idea where the cuts were. This has a lot more going on the the Muto one. Too short to call it very good but I really liked this one. Tenryu vs Dr. Death (03/27): Fun under 10 minute match! Mainly punches and chops. Of course they could have done more but I ain't gonna hate on it. Yoji Anjo vs Mitsuya Nagai (03/28): Only a third shown, it was rough around the edges but in a fun way. I'm not sure I want to see the full thing though But it sure was a battle. Muto vs Mike Rotunda (03/28): They said this was 13 minutes but this looked shown in full at around 8 minutes. Anyway, I liked this a bunch since 95% of it was wrestled like it was 1987 Over way too soon though but **spoiler** the Shining Wizard was the big move in wrestling. This is a very good start to the year. If nothing else the roster is really getting along well after 2001. More good stuff to come

Talk about it here.

The 2000 AJPW matches were very encouraging. I'm going to keep watching All Japan into 2001. Call me crazy but this is fun stuff! Again, tag team matches are going to be featured and they really are the bread and butter of this period of AJPW. Since there's a full years worth of wrestling, I'm going to do this in two parts. Taiyo Kea & Mohammed Yone vs. Masahito Kakihara & Mitsuya Nagai (01/02): This looked good on paper but I wasn't feeling it at all. It's kinda aimless and there's no inherent excitement. Plus they don't really generate any energy with a good story or neat moves. I think a Kakihara vs Kea match would have been good to very good. This was just OK. Hiroshi Hase vs. Masanobu Fuchi (01/02): A little bit of comedy but still some quality wrestling. Of course we only get a portion but I would have liked to see more of the early stuff. Glad to see Hase. It's been awhile! Masanobu Fuchi, Nobutaka Araya, Shigeo Okumura & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Masahito Kakihara, Mitsuya Nagai, Mohammed Yone & Taiyo Kea (01/10/01): That's a lot of 0's and 1's Anyway this is a really good elimination Tag endurance match. So it's a series of different tag matches with the man who gets pinned/submitted must leave and a new team member replaces him. Blah blah it's cool. The teams don't make a bunch of sense to me. But maybe Kea's team has something to do with the above tag match? What keeps this from being great is there's just not enough Kawada and too much Okumura (who isn't bad but isn't Dangerous K). Also there's probably not enough Kea vs Kawada either. You want to see your big star captains square off but it really doesn't happen. I don't think there's any meaning behind this bout other than a New Year novelty match. I saw the full version (40+ min) but there's a clipped version too. You would be OK watching the clipped one I think. Kakihara and Fuchi doing some shoot style stuff and Fuchi face punching Nagai were my favorite parts btw. Masanobu Fuchi & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Johnny Smith & Taiyo Kea (01/14): 24 minutes long and shown in full on the New Year Giant Series commercial tape. Very good tag match between AJ's's top old school teams. It didn't really seem to have a fourth gear but every one looked pretty good nonetheless. It was a very hard fought match. They are definitely giving Kea a push and I'm all for it Taiyo Kea & Johnny Smith vs. Steve Williams & Mike Rotundo (02/24) : We only get the the last third but it's quite enjoyable stuff. In this format, this would be a very good TV match in the States at about 7 minutes shown. Taiyo Kea vs Tenryu (03/03): Sadly only 8 of 20 minutes are shown. So I'm hesitant to say this is great but I really liked what was shown. Nice little touches from Tenryu and Kea. Kea definitely is showing he belongs in the upper echelon of AJPW. Quality strike exchange here where you can actually hear Tenryu's punches landing! Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuya Nagai (03/03): This is exactly what I was looking for. Nagai & Kawada do an excellent shoot-flavor match. The hit the crap outta each other. Nagai whiffs on a head kick and grazes Kawada on the next and wisely never does another. This is in the first minute and the recover wonderfully. Ultimately it's one of those younger guy showing he's got toughness by withstanding the vet's attacks. Since they work this like a MMA type match, Nagai is still getting shots in and is hurting Kawada without necessarily doing anything significantly damaging. I don't want to say it's great but yeah it's pretty damn close to being great. More singles matches like this please! Taiyo Kea vs Tenryu (04/11): 8 of 17 minutes shown. This was also really good stuff. It didn't have the great strike exchange but they have good chemistry. I think if we see the full thing we might have some added drama here but as it is Taiyo trying to take on the legend Tenryu yet again. Dr. Death & George Hines vs Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (04/14/01): A great keep it simple stupid match. About 15 minutes of action where the crowd was going nuts seeing the NJ team in an AJ ring plus taking on Dr. Death who was still pretty awesome. Having watched a good deal of NOAH stuff at this time...man it would have been sweet to see Dr. Death vs Akiyama in a title fight. George Hines is pretty good too...awesome drop kick and lariat...wouldn't mind seeing more of him. Also recommend Toshiaki Kawada vs. Keiji Muto (04/14/2001) as it's a great match. So on those two matches, A pretty good night of wrestling. Nobutaka Araya & Shigeo Okumura vs. Masato Tanaka & Hideki Hosaka (05/20): Holy crap! ECW/FMW era Tanaka was in AJPW! And they showed the full thing! I would have liked him up against a couple bigger status guys but Araya & Okumura step up and have an excellent showing. It's not ground breaking but it's great stuff... especially if you're a Masato Tanaka fan. This was a treat! Taiyo Kea & Hiroshi Hase vs. Tatsutoshi Goto & Michiyoshi Ohara (05/20): Sadly 5 of 18 shown...and I'm not sure we need 18 minutes of Goto & Ohara but this was very solid... brawling in the stands, good action...this felt like a late 70's-early 80's match in the best way but then again we get only 5 minutes. Glad to see more Hase Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuya Nagai & Masahito Kakihara (05/20): Another one that's pretty truncated but it was fun. I'm not sure I wanted to actually see this whole thing but at 5-6 minutes, it's neat. If they did more shoot flavored stuff then I think this could have been something. Should have Part 2 next week! Should have some Gaora footy too. Thanks for reading!

I'm not really sure why I watched these matches. This is a notoriously poorly rated year for AJPW. I don't think many people have thought highly of AJPW after the NOAH exodus. And as a result, I don't believe there's been a good consensus of if AJPW was ever any good post July of 2000. Sure there's been a handful of matches that have gotten some hype and even some wrestlers but I think Western fans have gone elsewhere. I've done some projects in the past looking at early 2010's AJPW (which when originally intended to be completed was actually timely). I found that not only was it good/watchable but it was pretty great. I'm never one to be completionist or do super deep dives...if you've read my blog you know that I watch the stuff that interests me. I favor matches that have wrestlers that I like. And ultimately all of that is what led me here. Post split AJPW has a bunch of Kawada, Tenryu, Masa Fuchi, Dr. Death Steve Williams and even Mike Rotunda. I'm willing to give these a shot. I know from others that there is some quality amongst the junk. The good thing about 2000 All Japan is that the junk is spray painted safety orange with big "do not watch" stickers tacked on the sides. They were booking anyone who would show up for the undercard. I am also favoring tag team matches as these feature the best looking matches. So per usual I am cherry picking and let's get started! Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu VS Stan Hansen & Maunakea Mossman (07/23/00): I am not sure if it's a great match but this is way better than it had any right to be. Mossman gets a big push out of necessity. Hansen can still do mean & stiff. Tenryu is doing his thing. I feel like Kawada is dejected (rightfully so)...like all of this is a step down for him and you can tell his heart isn't in it here...but he still gives a very good effort.. don't get me wrong. And the match is really good and I really dug the last few minutes. Genichiro Tenryu, Nobutaka Araya & Toshiaki Kawada v Johnny Smith, Mike Barton & Stan Hansen (08/20/00): Joined in progress with only the last third shown. It was good at times but also very random feeling with Barton/Bart Gunn especially since he pinned Kawada. Again, Kawada is almost getting punished for staying with AJPW... Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs Steve Williams & Toshiaki Kawada (09/02/00): This was actually pretty good especially when Tenryu was in. Hansen was done by this point... he was still pretty good a year earlier with Vader but at least here he no longer seems to have it. It's pretty crazy they wanted these guys to work a nearly 30 minute match. I only saw half so maybe he looks better earlier. Tenryu vs Kawada was great and definitely a prelude to their October classic. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Steve Williams (10/14/00): Half shown, good match but weird pacing as Williams' back or ribs were injured. For 2000 post split, it's worth a watch though. It's different but still good... Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (10/21): Stan is really done here...he's clearly in a ton of pain from the wrestling. It's a good match though because Tenryu works within Hansen's limits. Its mainly chops, punches and other things Stan can just stand or lay there for. Early on they are much more mobile but even at 11 minutes it's too much for the Lariat. He's fighting from underneath the whole match but Hansen is the best at that so this actually makes the match look competitive and real. Satoshi Kojima & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Steve Williams & Nobutaka Araya (10/21): This is cool...I didn't realize they started the AJ vs NJ stuff this soon. I know they tip toe into it at the end of the year. That's when we get the awesome Kawada vs Nagata tag match in December in NJ. The crowd is going crazy. It's only 11 minutes but man this is fun. Doc is much better than in the Kawada match and he vs Kojima is really good. They have a couple minutes where he looks like the Dr. Death of old. Goto and Araya do their part (Araya being more interesting) and we get a good little match. More Doc vs Kojima please! Masa Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiro Saito vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Shiro Koshinaka & Masa Fuchi (10/21): Very good 6 man match. The NJ team (Team 2000) was actually pretty dynamic and did quite a few moves compared to what the AJ team did. Kawada was the most exciting man for his team which you you wouldn't think since we're used to the bigger stars taking a back seat in these types of matches. In actuality, there was quite a bit of Kawada vs Chono and that is what I wanted. Of course it's only 17 minutes and the middle portion is your punch & stomp variety but it works. This really is preamble for bigger things to come so I was never expecting anything mind blowing. It definitely delivered upon expectations (AJ vs NJ skirmish) and went a little above by giving us some good Chono vs Kawada moments... which I'm not sure we got many more of those. Jinsei Shinzaki & Masahito Kakihara vs. Taiyo Kea & Mohammad Yone (10/28): Only half aired but I really liked what was shown. What's weird is about 6 of the 8 minutes shown was the first 6 minutes... and it was really good. They started working over Kea's taped up ribs and back...then it skipped to the last couple minutes and was over. Kinda a bummer since it was starting to get good. Toshiaki Kawada/Masanobu Fuchi vs Taiyo Kea/Johnny Smith (11/18/00): This is on the Gaora site so I'll share it below. Even they have it joined in progress...very much a theme with the TV as you can tell. But they have most of the match and thank goodness as this is really really good stuff. Kea vs Kawada is fantastic...their kick exchanges especially. Johnny Smith is also excellent... I think Dangerous K is out of his funk by now. I like having Fuchi as his partner because it protects everyone in a business sense. Like a few months ago Kawada & Taue would have eaten this team for breakfast but there's parity with Fuchi as his regular partner. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutaka Araya (12/06/00): Great 20+ minute tag match. This is almost like an alternate universe match if Tenryu didn't leave AJPW in '90. Because of the exodus, we get to view this match (as well as the Tenryu vs Kawada singles title fight). They are wrestled almost as if the Misawa era did not take place. It feels like you could draw a straight line from 1988-90 heavyweight AJPW to this. Since I am a big fan of that period, I dug the heck outta this. If you liked their singles match then this is a must see. Fuchi clearly was wasted during the later 90's as he is a face punching, bone grinding SOB still. He and Kawada continue to be an excellent team...again calling back to the early 90's. Tenryu has the young but burly Araya under his wing. There's an interesting balance struck based on size, experience, rank etc. This makes for a really great tag match...everyone had to be beat up by the end of it...like a Wahoo vs Valentine match. Taiyo Kea & Johnny Smith vs. Steve Williams & Mike Rotunda (12/09/00): Oh man other than that one flub in the beginning, this was a very good match. Keeping it simple, keeping the intensity up, yeah this was on its way to maybe being great but they had to keep it short since they're wrestling again this night. Williams/Rotunda are good...surprisingly good in '00. Genichiro Tenryu & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Mohammad Yone (12/09): This one almost was missed. It's a little bit shoot style, a little bit WAR...there's nothing to hate here. Maybe there's not the epic Tenryu vs Fujiwara elements you're looking for but Yone & Nagai truly make up for it. Yone doesn't get enough love past some BattlArts stuff and I seem to be the only person who actively is excited to see Mitsuya Nagai matches... which is a shame. Neat little stuff like this is why I comb through some of these long TV episode uploads Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Steve Williams & Mike Rotunda (12/09/00): RWTL final. A great tag match with Kawada trying to beat the Varsity Club all by himself. Eventually he's got to tag Fuchi in. But dammit Fuchi holds his own...again we missed out on Fuchi in the mid & late 90's. This is probably the top Doc performance of 2000 where he & Kawada seemed right at home together. Rotunda is someone who I wish we had in 90's AJPW. He's been an excellent addition to the 2000 AJ roster. He's not spectacular but is solid as a rock. This isn't going to make anyone's top RWTL list BUT it's a great improvement from where they were in July...not only that but AJ actually is pretty damn interesting & has a few quality tag teams. I think that's my big take away for this project. The tag team landscape is great... perhaps unspectacular compared with the NOAH guys but the matchups are fresh... nothing feels set in stone, no outcome seems predictable. It's definitely a company in flux. The tag scene (sans Steele & Barton who's absence you might have noticed) is really where AJPW is thriving post split. I would say the only singles match worth watching is that Kawada vs Tenryu classic from October. But there's plenty of tag stuff that has not gotten the love it deserves especially if you're into late 80's AJPW/SWS/WAR like I am. My favorites were: Satoshi Kojima & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Steve Williams & Nobutaka Araya (10/21) Masa Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiro Saito vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Shiro Koshinaka & Masa Fuchi (10/21) Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi vs Taiyo Kea & Johnny Smith (11/18) Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutaka Araya (12/06) Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Steve Williams & Mike Rotunda (12/09/00) I'm definitely going forward with this to look more at early Muto's AJPW in 2001. Thanks for reading!

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This is a bit of a treat to see a youngish Steve Williams go at it with Yatsu a few mere months before he leaves with Tenryu and co for SWS. In fact it's his last singles match in AJPW EVER, so big big deal. This started off hot as the two scrapped while Doc was doing his entrance and that scrappy pace never truly went away throughout the entire match. Yatsu is always on his ass with headbutts; even right after moves he's still getting up to do them and other strikes, the guy isn't selling much. Williams isn't quite the scary beast he'd be in a few years as well, so he can't just blast him away with his own shots for long: even after a big lariat he still manages to lose the advantage as Yatsu catches him out with headbutts. Doc doing stuff like Fujiwara armbars to counter shoulder charges, dropkicks and even a fucking middle-rope springboard axe-handle to the outside was wild to see in action, dude was just doing whatever he liked here and it was bizarre to see. The middle half is a bit slower as the two wrestle around a bit and exchange holds, namely Yatsu trying to apply the Prison Lock. Williams resists either with wrestling or by just slapping the guy or headbutts or all three sometimes. Williams in particular gets a bit miffed with a stiff one and throws a punch back with bloody lips, so yeah these two definitely weren't holding back much. He sells the leg post-leg work as Yatsu beats on it with whatever he can do before just ignoring it to go for a sick Enzuigiri, which I'm not complaining about because, well, it was sick. This doesn't stop Yatsu getting cosy with his legs though so Doc has to roll about to take Yatsu's legs instead for his own submission. Yatsu also spams suplexes and we get to see the two struggle to stop the other from doing anything major bar said suplexes. We get a bulldog out of Yatsu for a near fall, but a second is countered into a particularly mean Dangerous Backdrop by Williams, forcing his opponent to roll out to escape a pin: this apparently injured Yatsu enough for him to take a few months off afterwards. The finish is cool enough: Yatsu almost gets counted out, just manages to get back in and tries for a neat back headbutt + German suplex combo, but Williams keeps dropping elbows on his face and head so it's a bit tricky. He ends things with a corner lariat and a corner bump Stampede to boot. This was a fair bit of fun: seeing a early Williams do a lot that he normally doesn't alongside his usual mean attitude worked, and Yatsu was a relentless brawler who made things insanely back and forth with how everything was performed; it felt difficult, everything felt earned from transition to transition as they had to really bend and hurl weight around to do so, partly because Yatsu really wasn't giving much here at all so they had to really push and shove to get stuff applied. Helped that these two can do stiff striking well on top, which enhanced it a ton. Nothing great, but a solid enough brawl between two guys who could've probably had better with each other had the Tenryu exodus never happened.

You just know a match is gonna be good when it starts with Kobashi getting his plancha attempt to the outside countered into a nasty powerslam by Dr Death lol. Williams works his back over more by slamming him into the ring post, as well as slapping on a few working holds on top. Kikuchi tries to help out but Doc's more annoyed than actually threatened by the poor guy. Ace tries to continue the trend with some corner shots but Kobashi counters his second one into a big backdrop, which was a well timed spot and quite unexpected. This gives enough room for his partner to take charge, but eventually Kikuchi goes back to his natural role as the whipping boy of the Super Gen. Ace also does that unique bit where he has the guy in the Tree of Woe position, but then goes outside to choke him. It's nothing special, but I like the visual of it and Williams stomping the poor lad while this is happening just looks mean; it doesn't actually help their chances any, they just do it for the sake of bullying the guy. Ace isn't as perhaps explosive as his counterpart but his nasty stiff boots and kicks do get a lot of sympathy for Kikuchi's struggle as well. Eventually Kikuchi counters a suplex but gets grabbed for a Ace Crusher. Kobashi gets in the way, managing to stun him good enough for Kikuchi to land a flush calf kick out of it. Kobashi gets tagged in and has a awesome spot with Ace where he's trying to get his Machine Gun Chops started, but Ace keeps interrupting with his own, even doing a parody of them at one point to set the guy off. Kobashi later takes over with a loose lariat and a weird Dominator-lite move where he gets him in position for the move, but then just runs and then abruptly drops him on his back while there, basically like a Jackknife but instead of a powerbomb position it's a backbreaker instead. It's feels like a botch yet gets a big near fall, which makes me think this was Kobashi trying something new like his infamous "Diamond Head" attempt. Lead to finish has Williams and Kobashi go at it with chop exchanges and a brutal German by the former. He tries for a Oklahoma but Kikuchi dropkicks him mid-attempt. Kikuchi tries virtually everything to save the team, including taking Williams surprisingly close to his limits as well as getting near falls on Ace with a superplex and a big German, but both are kicked out of. He tries for a top rope move but gets reversed into a big Ace Crusher, which only just gets saved by Kobashi! Great timing on that sequence, it got the crowd really going. Kobashi's luck runs out as Kikuchi is pinned with a Doctor Bomb from Ace, being too slow to stop the pin on the outside. All in all, a solid outing and better than the Misawa 6-man. This has some great tension, Kikuchi gets a nice moment in the sun after a drop-off in recent years, being a great underdog and playing up his more agile style perfectly: this is probably his best match for....honestly a good few years, barring his singles with Kobashi or his mythical "lost" match he had with Ogawa in 2000; he doesn't get much big stages to shine after this. Kobashi and co put on expected performances all in all: as much as you'd expect from them at this point but for a beginning of year show there's a lot of just good old-fashioned intensity. Ace carries his share of the match well and steps up to the occasion, which was cool to see given he's a pretty good wrestler when not being insanely overshadowed most of the time.

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Taped on 9/21/92. Terry Gordy & Steve Williams defend the NWA/WCW Unified Tag Team titles. Talk about it here.

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