The Thread Killer

If my name was Kwak Kwang, I think I'd change it regardless of the circumstances. Then again, what sounds funny to us is common for them, and they might laugh at our names...who knows. That's the difference in culture. We eat Hot Dogs, which are full of who knows what kind of "meat." They eat actual dogs. Yikes.

Choshu changed his name when he moved to Japan to hide his Korean heritage. I read his real name in "The Top 100 Wrestlers of all Time" but I forget what it is. I know that it has always bothered me that the rumors are that Misawa and Kawada both "hate" Americans. I even read that Kawada refuses to shake hands with Americans, and the only non-native Japanese he ever has been seen publically shaking hands with are Lord James Blears and Stan Hansen. I also read that Kawada can actually speak half decent English, but that he refused to speak with any American wrestlers when they were planning matches. He reportedly always used Yoshinari Ogawa to translate for him when communicating with Americans. Then again, the source for this information was from second hand recaps of shoot interviews from guys like Steve Willams, so who knows. (Dr. Death and Kawada reportedly hated each other for ages, but Kawada worked that tribute show for Williams in the IWA last year, so maybe they're okay now...or Kawada felt sorry for Williams being so sick and losing his voice box to cancer.) I do think that one of the issues Misawa had with Mrs. Baba was that she had no qualms pushing Americans into the Main Event spots in AJPW, or seeing them with the Triple Crown. I think Misawa didn't mind having Americans on the roster, or even holding minor titles, but not the big one...which is why we've never see a major American star in NOAH...but guys like Steve Williams and Vader did hold the Triple Crown in AJPW. I would be interested to hear Mike Modest interviewed about Misawa, since he was bringing some of his IRON guys over for a while. Now that IRON is closed, Misawa is using Harley's Race's school and league, WLW. Now Modest and Morgan aren't even being booked in NOAH and are begging TNA for work. The only other real negative thing I read about Misawa was in an interview with Steve Corino. Corino claimed that he had always looked forward to working with Misawa because he thought he was a legend, but when he did work with him, he found Misawa to be lazy, stand offish and indifferent. I dismissed this, because DUH. He's Misawa. Corino is Corino. Why the HELL would Misawa get amped about working with CORINO? They ain't exactly on the same level. So that just goes to show that what you hear can be tainted by somebody's own odd perspective. (That's like Foley complaining to Meltzer about Jumbo not giving him enough offence in their match in 1991. Why the hell would Jumbo Freaking Tsuruta want to have a 50/50 match with the 1991 version of Cactus Jack? At that point he was a total nobody...Jumbo was right to allow him to get a few spots in, and then squash him.) When I look at my favorite Puro stars not liking Americans, I have to say that although it disappoints me that I hear these things, there are other factors to consider. Firstly, it's all second hand information on the internet, so it could be bullshit. Secondly, it's a sad fact that most of our heroes are different off camera than on. I remember how disappointed I was when I found out what guys like Brody and Onita were like backstage. You want to think that when somebody is fun to watch and plays an inspiring character, that they are somebody you will like if you met them, but so often it's not true. Finally, let's be honest. Although the U.S. was quite justified in dropping bombs on Japan, you can see where the Japanese people would bear a grudge. And look how America treats Japanese wrestlers for the most part. Sneaky heels who throw salt, sumo wrestlers, or guys who spray mist. When was a Japanese wrestler ever given a real high profile spot in an American fed? Muta in 89, is the biggest I can think of. I don't think it's wrong that Misawa would want NOAH to feature native stars, and that he would want Japanese fans to cheer Japanese wrestlers. That makes sense. But I would still hate to think he "hates" Americans. The way Kobashi was recieved in ROH, that is how I would like to see Puro legends treated. That's why I was okay with the fans chanting "this is awesome" three minutes into the match. If I had the chance to see one of my all time favorites live, I'd be pretty pumped up as well. And there you go, Kobashi is one of those Puro stars that you never hear a bad word about. He apparently speaks half decent english and is very polite and kind to all of the other wrestlers, regardless of their cultural background. Hell, even Dynamite Kid puts the guy over huge in his book. When Tom Billington likes you, that must mean something, since I have heard both Diana Smith and Bret Hart say that DK was the meanest person they ever met.

From some of the things I've heard this might not even have anything to do with TNA. Some people claim that Lethal's heel turn in ROH was flopping, and that he has been dogging it in the ring...so who knows.

Hogan had working boots?

Hey...Sabu has looked not too bad since coming back from that career threatening injury. The feud with Abyss in TNA was good...for what it was.

Are you serious?

The thing is, there were three trials. The first was the trial of Dr. George Zahorian, the doctor that the WWF used at their arena shows. This "doctor" would give the wrestlers their steroids and painkillers. Graham testified at that trial, and Zahorian got 3 years in jail. Graham told the truth at that trial. Then there was the Federal case against McMahon for pushing roids on his workers. Graham feels guilty about that because he wasn't actually subpoenaed to testify. He tricked Brian Blair (who WAS subpoenaed) into telling him when and where the trial was and then basically forced his way into the trial. He did this for the sole purpose of trying to extort money out of McMahon. He wanted McMahon and his lawyers to pay him to go away. Blair (and a lot of other wrestlers reportedly) are still pissed at Graham for doing that. As we all know, Vince got off in that trial. Then finally there was Graham's personal lawsuit against McMahon and the WWF for forcing him to take steroids to stay popular. Graham lied or distorted the facts at this trial. He didn't win a cent from McMahon. Graham feels no sympathy whatsoever for Dr. Zahorian, who he feels is a drug pusher. He DOES feel guilty for tricking Brian Blair into helping him find out the details of the federal case against McMahon, and then going to that trial to try and extort money from McMahon...and then for his lawsuit. McMahon's lawyer claims in Graham's book that he thinks that Graham should have sued all the pharmaceutical companies, because he would have won. Back when Graham started taking steroids...they were totally legal, and the drug companies knew or suspected the long term effects, but they didn't warn anybody about them. McMahon's lawyer claims that with his skills and Graham's ability to smooth talk on the stand, they would have won millions, but Graham was obsessed with getting even with Vince for firing him in 1989.

Actually Loss, I don't think that Punk is great all the time. From a storyline perspective I liked his ROH feud with Raven, but the matches were pretty awful and you can't blame all of that on Raven. It's just that Punk has had better matches than I've EVER seen Triple H have, at least since his quad injury. Yeah, I agree 100%. That was my point but you made it better than I. I wonder if it's true that one of the reasons Samoa Joe didn't sign with WWE is because he knew they'd have no idea how to book him, and end up making him into some sort of Kamala type character or something. You KNOW that there is no way they'd allow him to work the style he does in ROH and TNA. Not WWE style. Too stiff. Regardless of what people want to say about TNA, I daresay they can't argue with the way Joe has been booked. And with Danielson? FORGET IT. His promos are weak, and in my opinion, he needs longer matches to get in his best work. Both Joe and Danielson would never get over in the WWE. Hell, they had Danielson jobbing on Velocity, didn't they? Then again, for Punk TNA wasn't really an option. They had him and didn't do squat with him. He's a great promo guy and they had him saying "yes boss" to Raven for 3 months. I hear his best fight in TNA was with Teddy Hart in the parking lot.

I haven't seen his reality show, (we don't get VH1 here in Canada and even if we did I doubt I'd watch it) but I have heard that Hogan actually comes off as kind of sad in the show, like he is working the cameras constantly and is desperate for attention. Although that's just what I've heard, as I said I've not seen the show, so I don't know...but it sounds like him.

Yep, that was Mel Phillips. He used to do the ring annoucing on a bunch of WWF shows back in the day. Sad as it is to say, I can actually remember the show when Terry Funk beat him up for putting on the cowboy hat. If memory serves, it was during Funk's feud with JYD and I can only assume it was done to further the racial aspect of the feud. (As if the fact that Terry Funk wanted to BRAND JYD with white stamp from his branding iron was somehow too subtle for wrestling fans.)

No doubt, in teeny tiny small doses, the man is still bearable...and within very specific confines, he can even work an entertaining match. I actually liked his match with The Rock. Although the match was not to my taste, I thought Hogan worked a smart match against Michaels. I thought it was well laid out and executed. One of my guilty pleasures as a wrestling fan is...Abdullah The Butcher. Yes, really. When I was a kid he scared the hell out of me, and as I grew up I always liked seeing his all around the arena brawls with the likes of Terry Funk and Bruiser Brody. On 5/26/82 in New Japan Hogan fought Abby, and I actually really enjoy this match. The crowd was crazy hot, Hogan is one of the few guys who is bigger than Abby so doesn't look scared of him, and it was a fun popcorn brawl all over the place. I like it. So it's not that I think Hogan is totally useless, it's his constant BS that drives me nuts. If he would just tell the damn truth once in a while when he gave an interview, it would be so refreshing...but he really is the ultimate wrestling politician.

You know, I think Punk is a big mouth jackass a lot of the time, and if (or maybe I should say when) he gets buried by the WWE, it's not going to surprise me, or anybody, and it shouldn't even surprise him. Having said that, I still mark out for good wrestling. Having watched Joe vs. Punk I and II recently (still haven't gotten around to III) I have to laugh at the whole "doesn't know how to work" theory. Triple H should have to sit down and watch those two matches. I defy anybody who has seen Joe vs. Punk I and II to name any match that Triple H has been in since his comeback from the quad injury that are as good as those matches. I don't think any such Triple H matches exist.

The guy's name alone is pretty much synonymous with wrestling, and he's moved more merchandise than anybody but Austin...but here's the thing. We all know that if they do another documentary, it will be 99% of Hogan's dellusional bullshit. He'll claim that the 900 pound Andre who died shortly after WM3 (which had 100,000 people in attendance) only liked Hogan and agreed to lose to him because he saw Hogan defend himself in a shoot in New Japan that...uh...may have never actually happened. He might say that he didn't work a feud with Jake Roberts not because Jake was as over as Hogan himself was and that people WANTED to see Hogan get the DDT...no...because Hogan and Jake had "no chemistry" together. His whole post WM18 face run wasn't a total and utter rip off of Superstar Billy Graham. No, of couse not. Superstar who? I swear, every time the man's mouth opens nothing but bullshit comes flying out...and unlike with many wrestlers, Hogan's isn't even BELIEVEABLE bullshit. Now that we live in the era where fans are for the most part "smartened" up, sooner or later, if Hogan keeps talking all this nonsense, somebody is going to go back and look at other DVD's and videos, and call him on his shit. I think Hogan still thinks all fans are "marks" and clueless...if I was him and the WWE, I'd either use the documentary they shot for Hulk Still Rules, or the A&E Biography (although both of them are full of crap too.) Then there are his matches. Sooner or later, after watching two or three discs of his "work" even the most dense Hogan mark (except maybe Rudo) will figure out that he sucked most of the time, and EVERY MATCH HE HAD IN THE 80'S WAS THE EXACT SAME. I'm sure a new Hogan DVD will sell. I just think that the more he talks, and the more people go back and watch what he did in the ring...the more it exposes him. He's smart enough to know that people don't want to see him on TV every week. Hogan's stuff just doesn't stand up to the test of time very well...so I'm curious as to the market for this stuff. Look at his "book." I don't know if it ever went to #1. Wouldn't you think that a book by the most popular wrestler of all time would sell better than one by Mick Freaking Foley? But it didn't...because just like a lot of his ring work, it was phoned in and insincere...and just like his stories, it was full of shit. In short? Hogan needs to go away already, dammit. Then again...look at the buy rates for the last SummerSlam. Record setting...so what do I know. There must still be plenty of rubes out there wanting to get soaked...brother.

No, they didn't. What happened was this... When Vince still worked for his dad, he loved Superstar Billy Graham. He saw in Graham the same things he saw in Hulk Hogan, and thought his dad should put the belt on Graham, leave it there, and then build around him. Vince McMahon Sr. didn't see the same things in Graham that Vince Jr. did, so he put the belt on Backland instead. Vince Sr. didn't think that a musclebound, balding blond power wrestler could draw as a babyface...he would only do well as a heel. He didn't think Graham would get over and stay over as a face. The fans wanted somebody clean cut and respectable, like Bob "duck walk" Backlund, dammit! (This whole debate actually valdiates the whole "Vince could have done it with anybody in the 80's" argument. People have claimed that Vince would have done with Superstar Billy Graham what he did with Hogan, if his father would have let him.) So when Vince Jr. took over the WWF from his dad, and started to go national, one of the first things he did was hire Superstar Billy Graham back. Many of you will remember this brief run in 1986 or so. The only problem was that Graham was SO worn down from years of steroid abuse, his body was literally breaking down. Both his hips were going, and his liver was shot. (Keep in mind that Billy Graham didn't do the same kind of steroids that many of today's guys used...injectable ones...he sometimes took PILLS, which are uber-toxic and kill your liver. Dynamite mentions this in his book, that some old timers took that type of steroid, but he wouldn't. Also keep in mind that back then roids were perfectly legal, and nobody really knew or understood the long term side effects of doing them. In this way, sadly, Superstar was a pioneer.) Once Graham came back in 1986, he immeadiately hurt himself. He needed a hip replacement. Vince gave him the time off to get it, and paid for it. While Graham was off, a lot of Vince's flunkies got into Vince's ear, and claimed that Graham KNEW that he needed a hip replacement when he came into the WWF, but he signed the contract so that Vince would pay for it. Back then, as now, one of Vince's right hand men was Pat Patterson. The thing is, Pat Patterson and Graham used to be close friends, and Tag Team Partners in the LA territory. Graham came back, and tried to wrestle with the fake hip. He couldn't do it. So, Vince gave him a job as Don "The Rock" Muraco's manager. Graham still couldn't handle the walking around at ringside. Vince gave him a try on color commentary. His big try out was SummerSlam 88. He was AWFUL, which shocked Vince because Graham was one of the best talkers in the business. He actually chewed Graham out for saying "brother" too much...which was ironic to Graham considering Hulk Hogan's interviews. Anyhow, Vince couldn't come up with anything for Superstar Billy Graham to do, so he fired him. Graham claims that Vince had promised him a job for life. Vince denies ever saying this. Graham (who was already hooked on pain killers) went into an even worse downward spiral and sued McMahon. He also blamed his old friend Pat Patterson, feeling that Pat had helped convince Vince that Graham had used Vince to get the surgery, and that Pat could have gone to bat for him with Vince, but didn't. According to Graham, the straw that broke the camel's back was when Hulk Hogan went on Arsenio Hall, and claimed that he had never used steroids, except to heal injuries. He also stated in that interview (and quite a few times afterward) that Superstar Billy Graham might be a steroid abuser...but Hulk Hogan wasn't. That made Graham nuts...because aside from the fact that Hogan ripped off Graham's whole look and act (hell...with the tye dye and two color goatee now, if you squint you'd swear Hogan WAS Graham) but also that Graham actually had to TEACH Hogan how to cycle his roids, because before Graham showed him, Hogan thought you took them every day. On top of this, there are a couple of Hulk Hogan promos where he literally ripped off Superstar Billy Graham WORD FOR WORD. Billy Graham had no issue with Jesse The Body, because Jesse freely admits that he stole from Graham. Both Graham and Ventura think that Hogan stole their style and wants uninformed fans to think HE created it. Hogan being Vince's former lap dog, and slagging Graham made him go nuts, as I said. When the Federal Government brought charges against Vince for supposedly making his workers use steroids, Billy Graham actually contacted the prosecuter and ASKED to testify. He was flat broke, and was hoping that in order to avoid having Graham testify, Vince would buy him off. Vince didn't. When Graham testified, he used the fact that he was crippled and his liver was failing as PROOF that using steroids made you sick. That worked, but then under cross examination he had to admit that he started taking steroids LONG before he ever worked for the WWF, and that Vince had never asked him to, or even spoken to him about steroids. Right around this time, the ring boys scandal broke. Donahue decided to have Vince on his show, along with a panel of people who hated Vince, Bruno Sammartino, that female ref that claimed Vince forced himself on her, some announcer that got fired...and Billy Graham. Graham claims that at this point he was getting desperate for money, and to get even with Vince. So once he heard about the ringboys scandal, and the announcer claimed that Pat Patterson made a pass at him, Graham claimed that he had personally witnesed Pat Patterson molest a ringboy. As I said earlier, Mel Phillips and Terry Garvin were both fired for this scandal, but Vince stood by Pat Patterson because he believed that Patterson never did it. Superstar Billy Graham now claims that he thought that Vince would have to buy him off to shut him up about this...so he did every interview show he could with these allegations...A Current Affair, Hard Copy...whoever would talk to him. Vince wouldn't back down, because he felt that Pat Patterson was not guilty. Graham even claims his wife almost left him because he became so obsessed with getting even with Vince. Pat Patterson had been a friend of the family, but Graham lied about him just to get even with Vince. Graham's lawsuit against Vince finally got to court, and Vince won. Graham continued to spiral downward, he went totally broke, continued to be drug addicted, etc. Finally, he hit rock bottom and sobered up. He wrote Vince a letter and asked forgiveness for lying. He also has publically apologized to Pat Patterson many times, however Patterson refuses to speak to Graham, to this day. Vince and Graham never spoke, even after the lawsuit was over and Graham apologized. However, when Vince heard that Graham was about to die because his liver shut down, and there was no replacement, he did call Graham and forgive him. At the last minute, a transplant donor was found, and Graham's life was saved. Vince brought him back, and inducted him into the Hall of Fame. He signed him to a legends deal, and agreed to promote the book and DVD. He even asked the Triple H be the one to induct Graham into the WWE Hall of Fame, since Triple H is a family member, which indicated that all was forgiven. Jim Ross even states in the book that there is still a large segment of the current WWE roster who will not speak to Superstar Billy Graham, or even go near him when he is in the arena. This is out of loyalty to Pat Patterson. I think Vince McMahon is a total scumbag, and I have no sympathy for anybody who works for him...but in this case, I do actually believe that Billy Graham made up the Pat Patterson stories in an attempt to get money and revenge on Vince.

Actually, it turns out that Pat Patterson had nothing to do with that. Superstar Billy Graham totally made that up in an effort to extort money out of Vince McMahon. Former ring announcer Mel Phillips and WWF agent Terry Garvin were both guilty of sexually molesting ring boys. Both were fired and investigated by the police, but Patterson had nothing to do with it. I only know this because I just finished reading Graham's book, where he totally comes clean about the smear campaign. That's why Patterson wasn't fired and the other people named in the scandal were.

That's the thing...who even cares? If Eddie's widow does something disgusting or wrong, does that make Vince's actions any less wrong? Look at Martha Hart. One could easily say that she and even Bret attempted to capaitalize on Owen's death to further their own agendas (although that is debatable.) I hate to use a cliche here, but "two wrongs don't make a right." Rey has already proven that he's not beyond using his family to get over. Hell, Eddie himself used his wife and kids in that angle...which was in terrible taste...and irresponsible as parents...but at least they were all ALIVE. No matter what anybody does during or after this angle, it can't retroactively excuse it.

I can't imagine that anybody can actually play off or defend this crap. That just goes to show how de-sensitized WWE fans have become. The arguments "We all know Vince is scum" or "This is wrestling what do you expect" are excusing inexcusable behavior, empowering people like Vince McMahon and validating this kind of so-called "storytelling" (and I use that term in the loosest possible sense of the word.) There is this idiot over at The Pit who is trying to claim that since we don't know if there is a Heaven or Hell, and even if we did we can't know where Eddie is...that's it's no big deal. People keep missing the point. A man died. A man who was proud of his spiritual beliefs. That man's death, and his beliefs, are now being used to further a fictious wrestling story. There is NO excuse for that. I question the intelligence of people who are enterained by that type of wrestling. It does not take skill to exploit a tragedy for financial gain. It's wrong, and that's all there is to it. It's not an opinion, it's a fact. To exploit somebody else's personal loss for your own gain is morally wrong. Look at the actual definition of the word WRONG. Not required, intended, or wanted. Not fitting or suitable. Inappropriate or improper. Unacceptable or undesirable according to social convention. Something contrary to ethics or morality To discredit unjustly; malign. To treat dishonorably. To be unfaithful or disloyal. Is this required? MUST they do this? Do people WANT this? Is it fitting, considering this situation? Is it suitable? Is it appropriate or proper? According to social convention, is it acceptable? Is it ethical or moral? Does it discredit what Eddie did, and stood for? Does it malign him? Is it honorable? Is it faithful to his memory? Loyal to what he did for the WWE? No. It's wrong. That's it, that's all.

So I sat down and watched some NOAH tonight? Third Great Voyage ? From the Budokan 11/5/05 Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiosaki This was a rematch of sorts from the NOAH Dome show this past July, ?Destiny.? Sasaki and Kobashi had what was voted by Tokyo Sports and Nikkan Sports (and a lot of other people) as the Match of the Year for 2005. I wouldn?t agree with that, as it was mostly just two insanely popular guys stiffing the living hell out of each other in front of a super hot Tokyo Dome crowd?but it was a fun match. No technique, just a lot of this: However, hats off to NOAH because Sasaki had never competed for ?the ark? and he is consistently named as the first or second most popular wrestler in Japan, right there with Kobashi. They had never faced. This was definitely a dream match that the fans wanted to see, and NOAH gave it to them. This time around, it was the two most popular wrestlers in Japan against each other again in a long anticipated rematch?but each one brought a mentor along for the ride. Sasaki had his Sasaki Office prot?g? Nakajima, and Kobashi had the only student to graduate the NOAH dojo in 2004, Go Shiosaki. This match had the added element of the older and tougher guys pretty much torturing the kids, with the young stars showing lots of guts every time they battled back and threw everything they could at the superstars. I really liked this match a lot?in fact I enjoyed it more than I did the Sasaki/Kobashi match from the Tokyo Dome. This match had the same brutal intensity of the match from Destiny?but also had the added advantage of some good high flying stuff from Go Shiosaki, and some amazing kicks and footwork from Nakajima. I swear, Shiosaki can defy gravity. This was no technical masterpiece?you?re not going to get that from Kobashi at this stage in his career, and from Sasaki EVER, but it was a lot of fun to watch and the added element of the students along for the ride gave it a different dimension which was great. I highly recommend this match. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Genichiro Tenryu And then there was this. After seeing Misawa?s performance against Kawada in the Main Event at Destiny, I had hoped he might still have a couple of classics left in him. This sure wasn?t one of them?and I?m thinking if he does have anything left, Tenryu sure isn?t the guy he?s going to get it with. This match just made me sad. Tenryu has been over the hill since?I don?t even know when. I guess he had some okay matches when he came back to AJPW 5 years ago?but aside from that, I never liked his stuff in SWS, or WAR, and I never saw his NJPW run. His NOAH run has not been the disaster that I thought it would be, but I?m starting to see that was more as a result of safe booking than skill. He looked AWFUL here, as he botched a simple powerbomb and vertical suplex badly. Misawa? Ugh. He looks to be about 30 pounds too heavy and a couple of steps slower than he should be. He has lost a lot of zip off his famous forearm shots, and it?s painful to watch him run across the ring now at half speed, almost stumbling. In this match, Misawa looks to have legitimately injured his neck. Tenryu suplexed him on the ramp, and then Misawa just kind of laid there for a while. Actually, Misawa did a lot of laying around in this match, which wasn?t fun since Tenryu was not the guy to go after him. The few highlights of this match were Misawa?s reaction when Tenryu wanted to shake hands?Tenryu not taking no for an answer?and then Tenryu almost kicking Misawa?s head off his shoulders. Misawa finally got up after that, and we saw a lot more zip on those forearm smashes, let me tell you. There was also a half hearted knife-edge chop/forearm shot exchange, but all that did is remind me of when both guys were a lot younger and better. I?d avoid this match if you were ever a fan of either one. I hate to say it but I think Misawa needs to seriously think about hanging it up before his reputation takes a serious Flair-like beating. It makes me sad to see the man who I consider to be the best wrestler of all time stumbling his way through a farce like this in front of a mostly silent crowd. The man who took part in what I consider to be the greatest singles match and the greatest tag team match of all time deserves better?and so do his fans. GHC Tag Team Title: Mohammed Yone & Takeshi Morishima ? vs. KENTA & Shibata Now, from the ?Holy Crap I Wasn?t Expecting This To Be Good? file? Morishima & Yone are kind of a thrown together Tag Team Championship combo who I?d not seen since they beat Suzuki & Marifuji. I am NOT a fan of Yone. Sure, he makes me laugh and has the best look?more specifically hair in all of Japan hands down? but as a wrestler he drives me bonkers. He has presence and charisma to spare, but his offensive arsenal consists primarily of kicks that he misses about 25% of the time?and worse than that, he DOES NOT SELL for shit. It drives me up the wall to see some of the best talent in NOAH unload on him, and he either pops right back up or kind of grimaces a bit. Morishima I could always take or leave. At one point, I thought he was the more talented of ?Wild II? but it seemed to me that Rikio got serious about training and improving, and Morishima got serious about going back up to the buffet for seconds. Rikio went on to end the historic GHC reign of Kobashi?and Morishima went on to eat an entire turkey in one sitting. As a team, and the GHC Tag Champs, Morishima & Yone actually have a few things going for them, I'm surprised to say. They?re over big, which is a plus. Also, the weird mesh of Battlearts inspired kicking from Yone and standard NOAH Heavyweight Wrestling from Morishima is a strange but fun combination. It helps that Morishima is not in the greatest of shape, but in this tag team he gets to take breaks on the apron and catch his breath...maybe have a quick snack. This was my first look at one time NJPW up and comer, now freelancer Shibata who has formed a new team with KENTA called ?Takeover.? Surprisingly, they wrestle like heels, with a lot of quasi-cheating, showboating, and general disrespect for their opponents. This match was awesome, because it was laid out very well. Takeover took turns kicking the ever-loving hell out of Yone?which I enjoyed because he HAD to sell a lot of it?it was STIFF and it looked like it hurt like a sumbitch. Morishima played the partner who wants to tag in, but can?t seem to get anything going role very well, and Takeover added to this by constantly provoking him, kicking him off the apron and slapping him. This fight went a good 30 minutes, and was packed with near falls. As always KENTA looked awesome. Shibata isn?t as technical as I would have expected, but he throws a mean kick and did well for himself. As I said earlier?Yone and Morishima make a lot better team than I had expected, which might have been why I enjoyed this match so much. It was a pleasant surprise and if you see it, I think you?d quite enjoy it. GHC Heavyweight Title: Akira Taue vs. Takeshi Rikio ? This match was the reason I was watching this show. As many people know, Rikio is the man who ended Kobashi?s epic 13 defense and almost 2 year GHC reign, and since then had been having what could only be described as a lackluster reign. It wasn?t out of lack of effort on NOAH?s part to get him over, either. His first shot at Kobashi on 03/06/04 was actually a very good match, in my opinion and I can see why they finally picked him to be the guy who won the belt last March. He?s young, he?s strong, he?s in great shape, and he seems to know all of the basic power moves. His first defense against Saito was?man?I couldn?t even sit through it, it sucked so bad. Then again, I blamed that on Saito sucking, and the fact that nobody bought him as a legit threat. I know I didn?t. Also, it didn?t help that that match got upstaged by the start of the SUWA/KENTA feud, Suzuki & Marifuji fighting Misawa & Kotaro Suzuki in a hot match, and the outstanding Akiyama & Tenryu vs. Kobashi & Shiosaki match, which featured the infamous incident when Kobashi actually busted open Tenryu?s CHEST with repeated chops. That was a hard match to follow?and with Saito, you ain?t gonna do it. His second defense against Tanahashi (who many North American fans are now getting to know thanks to his recent matches in TNA) was actually a very good match?the problem is that it was totally overshadowed by the double Main Event on the Destiny Card at the Tokyo Dome of the aforementioned Sasaki/Kobashi Dream Match and Misawa vs. Kawada for the first time in 8 Years. I guess Misawa?s last attempt at putting Rikio over was when he literally did it himself on 09/18/05. I?ve not seen that match, but I?ve heard it?s pretty damn bad. Having seen Misawa on this show, I don?t doubt it?and I guess that Rikio was not enough for Misawa to work with and carry to a watchable match. Rumor had it that this match was the final nail in the coffin for the Rikio experiment. So here comes Taue! Anybody who loves the 90?s AJPW stuff like I do has to have at least a small soft spot for Taue. Anybody who took part in that many MOTDC?s is okay by me. In NOAH his stuff has been pretty bleh though. His team with Sano does nothing for me?mostly because Sano isn?t trying at all. The feud with the Dark Agents and Taue was moderately interesting, but I freaking hate all of the Dark Agents except Sugiura (and how HE got stuck with those lumps I?ll never know) so I haven?t seen much of out of Taue since NOAH?s first year. He?s basically your very loved and highly respected veteran who does not a lot of anything, mired in the midcard. I have rarely seen such a rabidly vocal crowd in NOAH as we saw for this match. They were chanting Taue?s name from the get go, and at one point they actually BOOED Rikio. I was booing myself, as he took some LAME bumps, dished out some really weak looking offense, and the worst thing was, he avoided all of Taue?s patented outside the ring moves, especially the Nodowa from the apron?which I (and all the fans in the Budokan) wanted to see pretty damn badly. I don?t know if it was the fact that Rikio looked like his heart wasn?t in this match, I don?t know if it?s because he looked sloppy and disorganized, or I don?t know if it?s because the whole Rikio reign was a scrub, but man the fans were not on his side. I should make it clear?this match is not a good match by any means. If you had to snowflake rate it, it might get 2 stars. What made this match special was the fact that the fans were so vocal, and dammit?you just had to feel good for Akira Taue getting the win when nobody would have predicted it a couple of months ago. You knew that he was just going to be a transitional champ, and you knew that he?s over the hill and more suited for Tag Team action now?but for this one night?it was like the fans, and NOAH were saying thank you to Akira Taue for all his years of hard work and so many classics?and it felt good?even if the match was lackluster. The response he got once he got the win has to be seen to be fully appreciated. I?m glad I saw this match. NOAH on NTV LIVE From The Budokan in Tokyo 1/22/06 I wanted to see this show for the much pimped KENTA vs. Marifuji GHC Jr. Title Match, and for the Taue vs. Akiyama GHC match?but the friend I was watching it with was tired from working all day, so he had to split. We?ll catch the two ?must see? matches next week, and if anybody actually cares, I?ll post a review of them like I did these ones. Meanwhile, I saw? Misawa, Sugiura & Mushiking Terry vs. Sasaki, Nakajima & Mushiking Joker See, now THIS is how Misawa should be wrestling. If he insists on staying active, this is the ideal role for him. He was only in the ring for brief bursts during this match, and because it was against Sasaki, the crowd was hyped for it. He didn?t blow any spots, his speed wasn?t a major problem, and he wasn?t in the ring long enough to show too much weakness. My understanding is that the whole ?Mushiking? deal is exactly like Tiger Mask in the 80?s and Jushin Thunder Liger in the 90?s?except rather than cartoons, the characters are based on a very popular children?s video game about characters who?eat bugs. Terry is so obviously Kotaro Suzuki that only a child couldn?t see it, and rumor has it that Joker (who?s mask covers much more) is Ricky Marvin. When they fight in these personas, they seem to use an overly theatrical lucha type style, but trust me?it?s over. When either Mushiking character tags in, you can actually hear little kids in the audience cheering, which is cute. It was cool to see Misawa and the first ever graduate of the NOAH dojo Sugiura mix it up with Sasaki and Nakajima. Much like the Kobashi match I wrote about earlier, it really adds to the whole outsider, Sasaki Office vs. NOAH angle. I would say that I?d like to have seen this as a straight up tag, but I don?t know if Misawa could have physically handled that, which may have been why this was booked this way. This match was basically a clusterfuck, but it was a harmless fun one. The segments with Misawa and Sasaki were fun. Nakajima looked very good and was very effective when he was in there. Surprisingly, Sugiura kind of phoned it in during this match, which is too bad. Then again, he?s a mat wrestler, and with Sasaki and the Mushikings in there, there isn?t going to be a whole lot of mat wrestling going on. Terry and Joker both looked very good for what they are doing with those characters, and have adjusted to the roles quite well it seems. I wouldn?t go so far as to recommend this match. It was one of those matches you really enjoy at the time, but then can?t remember anything remarkable about it afterward. It was like the wrestling equivalent of fast food. Rikio & Akebono vs. Kenta Kobashi & ?Junji? Izumida Okay?this match FUCKING SUCKED. Rikio is going to have to learn to rise above the match he is in, if he ever wants to get back to the top. You know what his problem is? If he?s in there with somebody who sucks, he lets them drag him down to their level. He looked plain old bored in this match, like he was going through the motions and wasn?t even trying to make it work?and when you?re teamed up with a 600 pound bag of shite, you have to work. As I said earlier, last year Rikio and Kobashi had one match that was excellent, and one match that was passable. There was no reason why he couldn?t have put in the effort when he was in there with Kobashi, but he didn?t. Meanwhile, Izu obviously wasn?t moved to put in any effort either, which is ridiculous. This was the most high profile match he has been booked in since I have been watching NOAH, and he stumbled around with his eyes half closed, delivering the fakest looking headbutts I have ever seen this side of the Junkyard Dog, and running slower than Misawa. They can change his name to ?Junji? but he still sucks?and I wish he had only tried more. This was his chance, and he fucked it up. He could have busted ass during this match to show that he wanted a push, but instead he sucked it up and killed the heat that this match had. Yes?this match had heat?for a while. That would have been because for whatever reason, Akebono is over. I guess because he?s a sumo. Well he?s also a fat tub, who can?t walk from one side of the ring to the other without gassing out. Seriously?he SUCKS. The worst part of it all were his stupid facial expressions, his attempts to look menacing, and his reaction to getting chopped by Kobashi. Kobashi had him in the corner for his patented repeated knife edge chopfest, and Akebono kinda winced, looked like he was going to cry, and half slumped down while half heartedly pushing Kobashi away. Kobashi is not totally guiltless, either. I love the guy. However, there are two types of Kobashi fans right now. The kind who think he hasn?t lost a step since the glory days in AJPW, that his match with Joe in ROH was a 5 Star Classic, and that he?s the greatest wrestler in the world today?and those who think he is broken down, and relying on the same old spots to pop the crowd. I think a bit of both is true. He is still in great shape, although it?s obvious his knees are still bothering him and they always will. He doesn?t go to the top rope anymore for the flying tackle or the moonsault. He doesn?t do the running legdrop or the Burning Hammer anymore. All Kobashi does now is CHOP and CLOTHESLINE, with the odd half-nelson suplex thrown in for good measure. (For example, the the animated picture of him and Sasaki above.) The thing is?that still makes for a half decent match. IF he?s in there against somebody good. Compared to the shit that WWE puts out, Kobashi still is one of the best around?but he?s not Kobashi of 1993, or even 1998. He can?t do what he used to, just like Misawa can?t, Kawada can?t, and Taue can?t. He?s aged. He?s probably still got a few years left in him, especially if all he does is lift weights, and throw chops. Here?s the problem. Now if he?s in there with somebody who can do the same, like Joe or Sasaki, he can have a half decent ?chopfest.? Maybe 3 snowflakes. (Which is all the match with Joe was?sorry to Meltzer and his parrot HTQ at TSM.) Put him in there with some load like Akebono, or ?don?t make me try? Rikio, and you get what this match was?SHIT. Akebono was leaning all over the place, panting and sweating. The man jiggles when he leans on the ropes, and is genuinely unpleasant to look at. Rikio is proving why he failed as GHC champ, and Izu is proving why he?ll never be a name in NOAH or get farther than he has. I assume this match got booked because Akebono is the current Bob Sapp in Japan. Over with the people, everybody wants him. It made business sense to use him, because he probably sold tickets?but man does he suck. If All Japan or New Japan wants him so bad?they can have him. All 600 freaking pounds. So anyhow, there is my NOAH night. Two very good tag matches, one fun six man, and a sentimental moment for Taue. Not bad and if you get a chance, tell me what you thought if you see these matches. - Dave

TNA could use another couple of Tag Teams. They have The Naturals, Team Canada, AMW, Team 3-D, The James Gang, and LAX...but since they actually seem to have an idea how to use Tag Teams, some more fresh blood in there is good. I would assume (and hope) that if these guys leave WWE they won't be able to use the same gimmick. They have experience as a team, so they can just find something new to do.

Remember back when Triple H had has famous angle with Booker T leading up to Booker T's World Title Shot at WM19? The one which a brilliant writer at 411 wrote about HERE? When that writer went batshit about the angle in that column, he got a zillion emails from WWE fanboys, explaining that the poor taste was okay...because Triple H was the "bad guy" and Booker T was the "good guy" and was going get his revenge in the end. I had one friend of mine explain to me as if I was an idiot, that the ONLY way that the WWE would do something this risky would be if the good guy won in the end. Otherwise, why would they have done it? Hell, read the quotes from the WWE moron in that 411 article. He as much as predicts that Booker would get some revenge. I wouldn't watch WM19 based on principle, due to this angle. I was told by a person who I trust and respect, that not only did Triple H win the match, he managed to make Booker T extra weak in the process, by hitting him with the pedigree and then waiting an unusually long time to finally cover him and get the pin. Booker's "revenge" never came. There are those pathetic fans now who claim that Rey will go on to win the World Championship and dedicate it to Eddie. Even if that happens, it will not excuse this angle. It won't make up for the damage done. It won't erase what was said. On top of that, as we saw from the end to the Triple H/Booker T feud...in cases like these the good guys don't get to win anyhow. There probably won't be any hollow meaningless storyline victory. If history is any indicator, Randy Orton will be rewarded for his disgusting speech by fighting Kurt Angle at WM for huge money, and Rey will end up fighting on the undercard. If that happens, at this point I'll be hard pressed to feel sorry for him. The only people I feel for at this point is Eddie's family.

Off topic for a second, but both Lance Storm and Test have posted on their sites saying they are disgusted by this Eddie angle, and according to SD spoilers, it continues this week. I am truly disgusted by this, I really am. How Eddie's family must be feeling, I can't even imagine. I won't go as far as saying this is the worst thing the WWE has ever done...I've been a wrestling fan for 27 years and that would be a tough call...but I can say that it will be a long fucking time, if ever...before they ever get another dime of my money. I can pay for TNA shows, like the one this Sunday, knowing that my money is supporting a struggling company which doesn't do stuff like this. The need for a real alternative to the WWE has never been bigger. And I agree that the chance this blog is a work is there. The only thing that makes me think it isn't, is that Foley reportedly has a creative control clause, and I can't see him willingly agree to something like this. He went on record as being against the Katie Vick storyline, and cancelled a Byte This appearance over it, and he also bad mouthed the Big Show's Father Dying of Cancer angle, until they turned it into an obvious comedy bit, when the Bossman crashed the funeral in the Blues Mobile. I do think Mick is a bit of a hypocrite on many levels. He has morals, but ignores them when there is yet another pay check in it for him. I think he could have done loads to help get TNA off the ground, and he pulled out of that deal so he could get Orton and Edge over? Feh. I'd like to think he's real about this blog, I would. If it turns out he isn't, then the little respect I have left for him goes out the window.

I used to love Mick Foley. I wasn't any bandwagon jumper either. I followed Foley during his first WCW run...when I saw Sting kick his ass during his infamous "sit down" strike. I loved his Tag Team with Max Pain, and actually paid real money for Spring Stampede 1994 to see the Street Fight with the Nasty Boys. Being a fan of both ECW and IWA/FMW I followed him after WCW. King of the Death Match was the first Japanese Tape I ever bought. I was thrilled when he came to the WWF as Mankind, loved the feud with Taker, and was there watching for his career peak in 1997-2000. I own an autographed first addition of "Have A Nice Day." I wasn't upset when he came out of retirement at WM2000 to be in the Main Event. I own "The Three Faces of Foley" "Hard Knocks and Cheap Pops" and "Greatest Hits and Misses." I've paid a great deal of money to see his DVD's and tapes, get his books, and see him live. Around the time "Foley is Good" came out, I started to get a little tired of Mick. His bitching about all sorts of things in that book, and the fact that it was half sermon defending Vince McMahon, and half attempt to make money from the people who bought Have A Nice Day bugged me. The fact that he constantly refers to his fans as losers who have no life and no girlfriend started to bug me. My wife is plenty hot, thanks Mick...and she liked you too. Then he started showing up everytime he had something to pimp. He wrote two or three new books, and there he was on WWE television pimping them. He came back to fight Randy Orton...somebody who I thought didn't deserve half the rub that Foley gave him. He started to look less and less like the Hardcore Legend and more and more like the cheap shill that he is. When he turned down a chance to help TNA, and went back to Vince, even though he was sick about the WWE direction, that sealed it for me. The man wasn't getting another dime from me. He's already a zillionaire, his constant greed was getting under my skin. I felt like he needed to shut the fuck up and go away. I felt he was turning into a bloated pimp who looked nothing like the man who won the King of the Death Match, cut the "Cane Dewey" promo, or even who fought Triple H at Madison Square Garden twice. I heard he was planning on fighting at WM this year, and for the first time as a one time Foley fan, I didn't give a shit. Then I read this on WWE.com... I reprinted this, because for all I know, the WWE will take it down once they see it. He might be a greedy pimp and a shill, but it's nice to know he still has morals and will stand up for them. Thanks again, Mick.

The problem is that I've never seen any Joshi, and my only major exposure to Lucha has been from Bob Barnett's AAA Classics Set. I have all 25 discs, but they only really cover the 90's. So I have seen the best of the seventies from Japan and North America, I have seen all of the best 80's and 90's stuff from Japan, North America and Canada (Stampede and Montreal.) Without having seen any pre or post 90's Lucha, and without having seen any Joshi, I wouldn't feel qualified to vote. From what I have heard and read, if I haven't seen the likes of Shinobu Kandori, Akira Hokuto, Manami Toyota, etc. etc. then I wouldn't be able to give an educated opinion. If it was the top 10 male wrestlers of the 90's or something...then I could probably be very confident in my picks, having seen the best of all over the world in that time period.

I wouldn't mind a couple of the matches with The Hollywood Blondes vs. Steamboat & Douglas from WCW. I wonder if they're going to have Stampede footage as well?