paul sosnowski

Hulk Hogan comes out to the ring wearing his famous collector's item gold cape, that Matt Morgan once stole from him in TNA. He is accompanied by Classy Freddie Blassie,who is also wearing shiny gold attire. Vince McMahon (Jr) is your ring announcer!!! Hogan and Andre both have a lot of hair! This is not their first meeting, they have had others in the past and there will be many more in the future. They wrestled two weeks ago in Philadelphia, and last week on August 2nd for Bill Watts's Mid-South at the Superdome in New Orleans. They will face each other again for International Wrestling in Montreal on August 25th. The two mighty behemoths start with a mighty mean guy staredown, much better than the one at WMIII. They lockup, Andre immediately shoves Hogan back into the corner. Hogan comes back, grabs a side headlock, Andre whips him into the ropes for a shoulder block, but neither man moves or is knocked down. Now Andre takes the headlock, shoulder block for the same result. Andre grabs both of Hogan's arms and pulls them behind him, then headbutts Hogan twice in the upper back. Then he lifts up his leg and drives his foot into Hogan's back. Hogan attempts to reverse it with a test of strength, but Andre holds on. Hogan backs Andre into the corner and nails him with a shot to the chest, Andre retaliates with a big chop. Andre charges at Hogan in the other corner, and hits another huge headbutt, Hogan follows up with a bearhug on the Giant. Andre finally breaks free with another big headbutt. Hogan rolls to the outside to consult with Freddie Blassie. Hogan climbs the steps to get back in the ring, but Andre picks him up for a suplex. Andre misses a big splash!!! Hogan kicks Andre, elbowsmashes his back and nails him with three big punches to the head, but Andre grabs Hogan's arm into a hammerlock. Hogan actually tries to pick up Andre with one arm for a slam. Instead, Andre scoops Hogan and bodyslams him, but the referee gets kicked in the head and goes down. Andre goes to check on the ref, Hogan charges at him with a running knee to the back, kicks Andre in the gut and slams the Giant for a pinfall attempt, but still no referee. Andre gets up, slams Hogan and suddenly there is a second referee in the ring. Andre hits a big splash and the ref counts one of the fastest three counts I have ever seen for the victory and the pinfall at 7:44. Seriously, Hogan kicked out at like one and a half. Freddie Blassie is pissed and jumps up on the apron, he meets Hogan in the corner and hands him a foreign object, Hogan loads up his elbow pad and goes after the Giant again. Hogan drives a double sledge fist into Andre's back, and whips him to the ropes and hits the AXE BOMBER, with a loaded elbow. Andre is busted open and bleeding heavily as Hogan and Blassie retreat to the dressing room. 2 and 3/4 *** .

Thirty Seven Years Ago Today------ Commentary is provided by Michael Cole and Mick Foley from WWE 24/7. I'm going to focus on the match and try to ignore them. They mention that the only way to escape is through the door, not over the top. There is a banner hanging over the rafters at Shea Stadium that says "WE WANT BLOOD, BRUNO". Bruno is accompanied by Arnold Skaaland. Larry charges at Bruno as he enters the cage, but Bruno meets him with a kick. He stomps on Larry and throws him into the cage, picks him up and throws him into the opposite side. Bruno is on fire, stomping Larry in the corner and stepping on his throat, before throwing him into the cage again. He kicks him, hits a big knee, and throws him into the cage a fourth time. Zbyszko gets near the door and asks for it to be opened, but Bruno grabs him and starts choking him on the ropes. He rakes Larry's face across the cage, but no blood yet. He runs at Larry and stomps him again, Zbyszko finally gets the advantage with a low blow. Bruno is down against the ropes, Larry kicks at him and drops a knee. Larry goes for the door, Bruno jumps at him and grabs his tights to keep him in the cage. Larry gets up first and throws Bruno into the cage, kicking and stomping at him now. He throws Bruno into the cage again and starts climbing the ropes to escape, but they said it was escape thru the door only... Bruno grabs the tights and pulls him down again. Zbyszko knocks Bruno down with three punches to the head, he challenges his mentor to get up, Zbyszko punches him again. Bruno spins Larry around and kicks him in the butt. Bruno starts choking Larry and picks him up by the throat. He throws Larry into the cage, (still no blood) and starts choking him in the corner, Zbyszko rakes the eyes and starts climbing the cage again, Bruno grabs him off the top rope and slams him down to the mat. Twice more he throws him into the cage, Bruno throws some knees at Zbyszko, trapping him in the corner. Bruno whips Larry across the ring into the turnbuckle, Zbyszko follows up with a kick to the midsection and sledgehammers some blows into Bruno's back. He stomps Bruno's head and kicks him in the gut some more. He pounds on Bruno's back and rams him hard into the turnbuckle. He rams Bruno's shoulder three more times into the corner, and there is blood trickling down his right arm. Zbyszko keeps punching the arm and you can see bruises forming. Larry stomps Bruno's chest and goes for the door, Bruno grabs the tights and pulls him in again. He stomps Bruno and punches the arm, goes for the door again, Bruno comes after him and runs him along the apron into the turnbuckle. Bruno rams Zbyszko's head again and throws him into the ringpost. ZBYSZKO IS BLEEDING!!! Bruno pummels Zbyszko and rams his head into the post again. Zbyszko is like a ragdoll now as Bruno throws him into the cage four times. Bruno's arm is bleeding heavily as he calls for the door and exits the cage at 14:10. But wait....Zbyszko makes his way out of the cage and goes face-to-face with Bruno, Bruno punches him twice in the head opening up the cut. Zbyszko grabs his mentor's arm and raises it in a show of sportsmanship, before skulking away. It was a decent spectacle, lots of punching and kicking..... Three Stars ***

I've seen a few mentions on the board that people have seen this match in full. Does anyone have it? Fantastics vs Sheepherders (4/19/86, New Orleans, La.) (I WAS AT THIS SHOW AND EVEN NOW, IT S ONE OF THE BEST LIVE MATCHES I VE EVER SEEN. ) - Watts' ex-wife claims to have this on video in full. I wish she would release this damn show.

I think for JCP you probably mean 7/5/86 for the Flair Morton cage match

Holy shit...one of the most violent matches I've ever seen is now available in perfect VQ, full uncensored glory on the Network. Don't miss WCCW Episode 153, 12/1/84

Hmm...I'm not sure, I'll have to do some research. Wrestlingdata also lists a 5/2/85 match against Taylor in Alexandria, no results given Actually they are from historyofwwe (JCP)

Do you know the history of the short lived WWF North American Heavyweight Title? Ted DiBiase came to the WWF on February 13, 1979 and was announced as the first champion. Pat Patterson won the title from him at a TV Taping in Allentown PA on June 19, 1979. They feuded over the belt a few times over the summer. Patterson also defended it against Bruno Sammartino and Ivan Putski. On September 1, 1979 Pat Patterson appeared on TV with the new WWF Intercontinental Title, that he unified at a fictitious tournament in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The North American title was not defended again, until this match in Hokkaido. Patterson comes to the ring with his blue and black glittery jacket. They play the national anthems of both countries before the match. Greg Valentine is in Patterson's corner for this one fall match. Patterson is yelling at his opponent, the referee and the fans. Patterson starts with a glancing kick to Sakaguchi's thigh, then they lockup and Sakaguchi grabs a headlock and tosses Patterson down to the mat. Sakaguchi hiptosses him and holds on to the left arm. Patterson back to his feet, two big kicks to Sakaguchi's left thigh, but Sakaguchi maintains control of the arm. Patterson kicks him again, Sakaguchi steps over the arm and stretches Pat on the mat with an extended armbar. Patterson gets to his knees and backs Sakaguchi into the corner with a single leg. Instead of a clean break, Patterson starts thrusting his knees into Sakaguchi's inner thighs, four times. Patterson takes him down and drives his knee five times into Sakaguchi's thigh and grinds down on it. Sakaguchi breaks free with three upkicks, Patterson rakes the eyes and pulls Sakaguchi down and wraps his leg around the post twice, punching at his thigh, and he starts tearing off the protective wrap on Saka's leg. Sakaguchi gets Patterson in the ring and starts hammering his back and slams Pat's face into the mat twice. Patterson gets another single leg takedown and continues tearing at the bandage. He drives an elbow into the thigh and clamps on the figure four leglock. Sakaguchi starts to reverse it, but Patterson grabs the ankle and rolls him over, Sakaguchi goes for the ropes twice, but the referee doesn't allow the break. He rolls all the way over and clutches the ropes on the opposite side until Patterson lets him go. Patterson reaches into his tights and pulls something out...brass knuckles. He blasts Sakaguchi in the face with them and goes for the cover, but one of the young Japanese prelim guys jumps on the apron to alert the referee. Valentine also jumps up. Patterson climbs to the top rope and misses the Bombs Away kneedrop!!! Sakaguchi applies the figure four and Patterson submits at 8:40. TITLE CHANGE. Sakaguchi straps on the prestigious WWF North American title and celebrates with the title. According to cagematch.de, Sakaguchi defended the title against Bad News Allen on 2/2 and 3/28/80, Larry Sharpe on 9/22/80 and The Enforcer (Guillotine Gordon) on 2/9/81. All of those defenses were in Japan, and I do not think they were televised. WWF abandoned the North American title in April of 1981, and that's about it. Weird. Nothing special about this match, they both looked good while it lasted. 2 1/2 **

This is 2 out of 3 falls, for the NWA North American Tag Team Titles, filmed exclusively for Japanese TV. Patterson and Powers suddenly appeared in Los Angeles a few weeks earlier and were awarded the belts as the Inaugural Champions. This match is from the famous Olympic Auditorium (RI9-5171). Former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Joe Louis is the special referee. Powers and Patterson are interviewed by the Japanese announcer at ringside, Powers ridicules him and the Japanese people, telling him to "Speak English" and saying "Regardless of how hard you strive, you're always gonna be second. Second in stature and second in the ring. It's gonna be all about fear". Johnny Powers is wearing a shiny gold vest, gold trunks and boots, that must be seen to believe. Patterson has on some funky striped rainbow trunks and a silver jacket. Patterson jumps Inoki before the bell, but then bails outside. Powers and Sakaguchi start the match, Powers take a side headlock, Sakaguchi grabs a hammerlock, Patterson immediately runs in to break the hold, punching Sakaguchi in the face. They choke Sakaguchi on the ropes, Patterson nails another great punch from the apron. Sakaguchi gets the hammerlock, Patterson runs in and kicks him, arguing with referee Joe Louis. Sakaguchi gets the advantage, takes Powers in the corner and chops him in the chest, whips him to the other corner and tags Inoki. Patterson grabs a side headlock, then shoulder tackles Inoki twice, before Inoki takes him down with an armdrag. Inoki really works the arm, lifting Patterson off the mat twice and flailing him around. Patterson gets to his feet, whips Inoki to the ropes, but Inoki shoulder tackles him. Patterson slams Inoki and then gets slammed in return, back down with an armdrag. Patterson gets up again and whips Inoki, who goes and tackles Powers down off the apron. Patterson gets up twice more and winds up armdragged again, before Inoki tags in Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi takes both of Patterson's arms, but gets too close to Johnny Powers who starts choking him from the apron before tagging in himself. Powers punches and kicks Sakaguchi, but loses control of his arm as well. Patterson runs in and starts arguing with Joe Louis, Powers low blows Sakaguchi with a knee behind the ref's back. Inoki tags in, takes Powers down with an armbar and chinlock, Patterson tags in and tosses Inoki through the middle ropes out to the floor. He follows him and rams Inoki's head into the ring apron. Patterson gets back in the ring and dares Inoki to hit him with a closed fist, but instead Inoki chops him and throws him into Sakaguchi who also chops his chest, Patterson takes a few crazy bumps and bails outside. Patterson gets Inoki in a full nelson and Powers sneaks in and comes off the top rope with a one legged mule kick to Inoki. He goes for it again, but Inoki moves and this time he kicks Patterson in the face. Inoki dropkicks Powers into Patterson and they both fall outside to the floor. Powers gets back in, but Inoki hits him with a big chop, Sakaguchi does the same to Patterson, before Inoki bodyslams him. Inoki brainbuster suplexes Patterson and gets the three count to win the first fall at 12:23. Second Fall--- Powers tries to start out, but is backed into the corner and intimidated by Joe Louis. Patterson is still down and begs off from Inoki, who kicks him in the gut three times. Patterson sends Inoki into the ropes, but both men collide mid-ring. Patterson rams Inoki's head into the mat and slams him, then goes to the top rope, but Inoki catches him with a punch and Patterson crotches himself. Inoki picks him up and starts to hook on the octopus submission, but Powers breaks it up right away. Powers tags in, punches and elbows Inoki,then hits an elbowdrop for a two count. Then he misses an elbow drop, and Sakaguchi comes in and hits an atomic drop, Sakaguchi goes for a boston crab, Patterson runs in. Sakaguchi gets Powers in a body scissors, Powers rakes the eyes and hits the elbow drop. Powers gets Sakaguchi in a full nelson and leads him over to Patterson who nails him with about six good shots from the apron. Patterson pulls Sakaguchi down and slams his leg into the ringpost four times while Powers distracts the referee. Powers goes out to the floor and works over the leg until Sakaguchi breaks free with some kicks to the head. Patterson drags Sakaguchi back to their corner and hits the Bombs Away kneedrop, Powers then comes off the second rope and stomps on it also. Sakaguchi keeps trying to get to his corner for the hot tag, but Powers and Patterson keep dragging him back to their side. Powers drops a big elbow on Sakaguchi's knee while Pat holds him down. Sakaguchi gets a body scissors on Powers and rolls towards Inoki, but Patterson jumps in and punches him in the head. Patterson tags in and hits a second Bombs Away, Sakaguchi kicks him off and makes the hot tag. Inoki chops Patterson in the corner four times and whips him across the ring, Patterson takes another crazy bump. Powers tries to save Patterson, but Inoki blasts him with a back elbow. Joe Louis warns Inoki about closed fist punches, but he rains down a few on Patterson anyway. Patterson is dazed and wildly swings at Inoki and at Joe. Sakaguchi nails Patterson with a punch. Patterson makes it back to his own corner, tags in Powers, who nails Inoki with a blatant low blow punch right in front of the referee. WTF? Powers stomps Inoki and kicks his leg, Patterson tries to sneak in, but Sakaguchi tags in and stops him. Sakaguchi grabs Powers and lifts him up by the throat, drops him and does the same to Patterson. Powers gets a double leg takedown on Sakaguchi, works over his leg for a few minutes and hooks on the figure four leglock. Inoki tries to make the save, Patterson punches him in the head, as Sakaguchi taps out at 15:28. Third Fall--- Powers comes at Sakaguchi, kicking and stomping at his leg and knocking him down. Sakaguchi gets Powers into his corner and tags Inoki. Inoki gets into a slugfest with Powers and chops him. Powers sweeps the leg and hooks on the figure four. They roll outside the ring, with the hold still locked on and land on the floor. Powers refuses to break the hold and is DQ'd at 2:02. Inoki and Sakaguchi win the match, but not the titles. Total matchtime 29:53. The third fall may have been clipped, but I'm not sure. Pat Patterson, Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi all looked pretty good in this match, but I don't get this Johnny Powers guy... Three and 1/4 ***

Posted by Jerry Von Kramer--- 2/24/15 The Microscope Ray Stevens & Nick Bockwinkel vs Rusher Kimura & Great Kusatsu (AWA vs IWA Tag Titles from Japan) (11/21/74) Incredible upgrade in video quality for this Japanese footage. Two out of three falls. Stevens with who I think is Kusatusu. Shoulder tackle. Kuatsu gets a wristlock synced in. He has a weird face and expression. Bock in. Shoulder block. Suplex by Kusatsu. Bulldog by Kimura!! Three count! Wow, that was some hot action! Kimura looks really good. Bock's selling exceptional. Stevens checks on Bock for the second fall. Heels on top. Double gullotine on the top rope. Ref bump gets a laugh from the crowd. Not sure what happened there, but Bock and Stevens take a quick second fall. I think this must be heavily clipped. Third fall and they dump Kimura to the outside. Bock with cheap offense on the outside as Stevens goes after Kimura. Double teaming now. Kusatsu comes in with a double noggin knocker. And we get the collision spot between Bock and Stevens again. They do the Bushwackers battering ram spot. Abdominal stretch on Stevens by Kusatsu. And that's a submission. I'm not rating this, too clipped despite excellent VQ. But the finishing sequence of the first fall was really good and Kimura looked great.

This is for the AWA and IWA tag team titles, both are on the line. Bockwinkel and Stevens have only just regained the AWA World Tag Titles from Billy Robinson and The Crusher about a month ago on October 24th. Kimura and Kusatsu have held the IWE tag team titles since May 14, 1973. It is a 2 out of 3 falls match. The footage is perfect and immaculate VQ. Bockwinkel and Stevens are wearing awesome purple ring jackets, with "California" written in gold on the backs. I was hoping for a match that lasted about 25 minutes....but that is not the case. It's only 6 1/2 minutes of CLIPS. Arrrrggghhh!!!! We start with Bockwinkel and Kimura facing off and locking up, Bockwinkel aggressively pulls away, and it's clipped. Kusatsu has Stevens down on the mat in a chinlock, Stevens gets to his feet, whip to the ropes, shoulder tackle. Kusatsu leapfrogs and monkey flips Stevens, grabs control of the arm with a standing wristlock. Bockwinkel is reaching for the tag, but can't get it. Stevens rakes Kusatsu's eyes with his boot and makes the tag. Bockwinkel charges in with a side headlock and shoulder tackle. Kusatsu picks him up for a high vertical suplex, tags in to Kimura, who hits two running bulldog headlocks and gets the pin and first fall at 14:22 (only 1:52 shown) Second Fall We see Bockwinkel rams Kimura headfirst into the post on the outside and rolls him back into the ring. Bockwinkel and Stevens pick him up and drop his throat on the top rope. Bockwinkel drops a knee on his chest and pins him at 7:19 (25 seconds shown) Third Fall Kimura is down in the wrong corner. Stevens is choking him from outside and Bockwinkel is stepping on his throat. Bockwinkel knees him in the back three times, Kusatsu comes running over to try and make the save. Stevens throws Kimura between the ropes to the floor, Bockwinkel jumps down and twice rams his head into the apron. Kusatsu brawls with Bockwinkel on the outside and gets his eyes raked. Stevens and Bock work over Kimura in their corner and hit him with a big double team kneelift. Kusatsu runs in again and bonks their heads together, he chops Stevens and Kimura chops Bockwinkel. Kimura and Kusatsu whip Bock and Stevens into each other. They grab them again and bulldog their heads together. Kusatsu whips Bockwinkel into the corner, but inadvertently sents him into the referee. The ref goes down! Kimura brawls in the corner with Bockwinkel, Kusatsu hooks an abdominal stretch on Stevens and thinks he has won the match. But the referee gets up and DQ's the Japanese team at 3:30. (1:58 shown). Both teams keep their respective titles. Total match time approximately 24:41. Goddamn, this footage was so great. This really could have been an excellent match if it was complete. I truly enjoyed everything that Bockwinkel and Stevens did, so many subtleties and heel maneuvers. Three stars *** based on what aired.

OMG, I have never seen young Choshu before. He's only 27 years old and about 3 1/2 years into his career. Tony Garea has a huge afro, his hair is huge!!! Backlund and Garea are accompanied by Arnold Skaaland. Backlund has the WWF World title belt, he will defend it against Antonio Inoki in two days. This match is 2 out of 3 falls. All four men shake hands before the bell. Backlund and Choshu start off. Choshu grabs a side headlock, Backlund lifts him up into an atomic drop. He tags Fujinami, who comes off the ropes with a shoulder tackle and a dropkick. He tries to slam Backlund, but gets rolled up into a small package for the pin and the first fall in 34 SECONDS. Commercial break. We come back for the second fall JIP at around the 3 minute mark. Garea and Fujinami are facing off, Fujinami grabs a hammerlock, hooks the leg and takes Garea down, front facelock, back up, tag to Choshu. Choshu comes in hits a fireman's carry slam and works Garea's arm. Garea leaps up for a standing headscissors, but Choshu slams him down again, still holding onto the right arm. Garea backs into the ropes, grabs a headlock, three quick headpunches and tags to Backlund. Choshu gets the quick advantage with an armwringer. Backlund trips up Choshu and escapes, lifting him up into a sweet-looking side Saito suplex. They lockup, Backlund scoops him and takes control of the arm, tags to Garea. Garea kicks him in the midsection and drops three knees down on Choshu's chest and left arm. Choshu backs him into the ropes, Garea nails some him with some punches to the stomach and tags Backlund. Backlund double sledges the arm and shoulder, wrenches it around a bit and immediately tags back to Garea. Backlund back in, yanks on the arm and tags Garea again. Choshu comes back with a few elbows to the face and picks up Garea for a backdrop suplex. He gets the hot tag to Fujinami, who comes in and hits a high backdrop, followed by a big dropkick, they exchange some elbows, Fujinami double legs Garea and rolls him back into a rolling clutch cradle for the pin and the second fall at 10:40 (7:18 shown) Fujinami and Garea start the third fall, Fujinami locks on a standing full nelson. Garea breaks it on the ropes, Fujinami takes him down with a side headlock, Garea rolls him up for a two count. Garea whips him into the ropes, Fujinami comes back with a shoulder tackle and grabs the headlock again, tags to Choshu. Choshu comes in, sends Garea reeling with a big kick and two elbows to the face and a bodyslam. Choshu grabs the leg for a hamstring pull and turns him over into a boston crab. Fujinami tags in, he stomps on the leg, then tags back Choshu who comes in and double team jumps on the leg. Choshu clamps him into the Sasori Gatame!!!! (Scorpion Deathlock/Sharpshooter). Garea makes it to the ropes, they exchange some huge punches and elbows, Garea gets the advantage and tags Backlund, who stuns Choshu with a shoulder tackle. Backlund hiptosses him and hammerlocks the arm, then trips him up with a double leg from the rear. Backlund and Choshu show their amateur skills with a takedown, reversal and a sitout, before Backlund locks on the abdominal stretch. Choshu reverses it, but Backlund hooks him in a double underhook suplex for the pin and final fall at 5:24. Choshu kicks out at three, but its too late. Garea bored me, the best thing about him was his hair. Young Fujinami and Choshu looked good, Fujinami was soooo skinny. Backlund helps Choshu and Fujinami to their feet and shakes hands again. Total match time 16:38. Three stars ***

Pat Patterson comes out to the ring in a fabulous glittery red white and blue striped jacket. This is a one-fall match for Inoki's NWF Heavyweight Title, which he has held since 6/26/75. Before the bell, Patterson starts yelling at Inoki, "I'm gonna break your leg tonight, you understand that? And I'm gonna get your belt, Boy, and take it back to stateside". Then he yells at the crowd "Aww, shaddup!!" Pat Patterson is 36 years old, Inoki is 34 Holy shit, this starts fast!!! They crisscross each other to the ropes, Patterson knees Inoki in the gut, Inoki misses a dropkick and Patterson hooks on the figure four leglock 20 seconds into the match. Not kidding! Inoki tries to get to the ropes, but both men roll out to the floor with the leglock still applied. Patterson gets back in the ring, yelling "Come on, Boy", as Inoki tries to walk it off on the outside. Inoki comes in and fires an MMA style kick to Patterson's left leg. Patterson comically tries to kick him back. Inoki takes Patterson down with a go-behind, into a stepover toehold. He spins down to the mat and turns it into a standing indian deathlock, dropping down to the mat twice,as Patterson screams in pain. Patterson finally gets to the ropes for a break, Inoki goes outside now, Patterson kicks and misses from the apron. They lockup in the ring, Patterson immediately hits an over the knee backbreaker. He scissors Inoki's head and holds him there with a figure four on the mat and yells "Cmon you Japanese Jerk, give up, haha. Give up, Champion, look at him now...hahaha". Patterson drapes Inoki's head on the ropes and jumps on his back, then scoops him up for a bodyslam, then he figure fours Inoki's head again on the mat, the verbal taunts continue. Patterson drops two knees and a big elbow on Inoki's chest, headscissors again... Two more big elbows from Patterson on Inoki's chest, another headscissors..then Patterson gets Inoki in the corner and drops two knees on his face, another knee to the chest, and back to the headscissors...this is getting to be a bit much. Inoki escapes, Patterson grabs a side headlock and takes him down, into a chinlock (that's a BIG chin..lol). Inoki gets to the ropes, Patterson drops two knees to his neck and back, then bodyslams him again. Right into another headscissors...Inoki escapes and applies the standing deathlock and drops back three times with it now. He reaches back and grabs the chin, Inoki starts blatantly choking him. Patterson bails to the outside, screaming and lashing out at the ringside fans. Patterson lures Inoki into the corner, nails him with a big kick to the abdomen, Inoki swats at his head and messes up Pat's perfect hair. Patterson moves the turnbuckle out of the way and rams Inoki's head twice into the metal. Inoki reverses and rams Patterson into it at full speed and knocks him down. They start swinging at each other, Patterson takes Inoki's leg and bashes it three times into the post on the outside. Patterson starts working the leg and won't break cleanly, the referee grabs his hair, and Pat yells at him, "You sonofabitch". Patterson hoists Inoki up and slams his knee into his own. Down on the mat, Inoki wraps up Patterson's leg and grabs an armbar. Inoki whips Patterson into the corner, Pat comes and him with a big knee, but misses and winds upside down tied up in the ropes. Inoki stomps on Pat's right leg and wraps it around the post to return the favor. Patterson walks it off as the referee counts up to 13. Inoki MMA kicks the leg, Patterson does a go-behind, but Inoki scissors Patterson's back...as they are joined in a very strange position. Patterson rolls him up and drops two hammer elbows on him, before hammerlocking the left arm. Inoki rolls him up for a one count, Patterson holds on and laughs at him again. Inoki picks Patterson up with one arm into the Gotch/Backlund lift, both men tumble over the top rope. Patterson gets in the ring first, meets Inoki with a knee and scoops him into a fireman's carry for an airplane spin, now they both tumble over the opposite rope. Patterson grabs a standing headlock, Inoki reverses and rams Pat's head into the post. No blood. Inoki brings him back in, hits two big dropkicks, backdrop, a bodyslam, Inoki goes to the top rope and hits a big kneedrop, then locks on the OCTOPUS Submission for the win at 24:01 There was some good stuff in this match, but the neverending headscissors kind of killed it for me. 3 and 1/4 ***

Yea, this is definitely the wrong date. Hogan never worked for the AWA until August 1981. Cagematch has a listing for a Chris Curtis match on AWA All Star Wrestling on September 20, 1981

This is another one of those random singles matches that takes place during the 1980 RWTL. It is a complete match. Jumbo has a funny little fro and is rocking his red white and blue gear, but doesn't necessarily appear to be happy and smiling. Steamboat has his thin 80's porn stache and longer wavy hair. I believe this is their only singles meeting. Steamboat and Jumbo cautiously circle around each other, they lockup and Jumbo gives him a hard shove. They lockup again and Steamboat returns the shove, maybe a little bit of an elbow too. Jumbo grabs a side headlock, Steamboat breaks free and whips him to the ropes. They run and crisscross towards each other, Steamboat bounces off the ropes and comes off hard and fast with a flying bodypress for a one count. Steamboat shoulder tackles Jumbo and tries to come off the ropes again with the bodypress, Jumbo drops down and Steamboat sails over the top rope to the floor. Jumbo meets him on the way in with two headbutts to the midsection, Steamboat sunset flips him for a two count. Jumbo takes Steamboat down to the mat with a standing hammerlock, Steamboat reverses it, up against the ropes for a clean break. Jumbo takes the side headlock, they leapfrog over each other, Steamboat comes off the ropes with a high Thesz press. Jumbo nails him with two uppercuts, then whips him into the ropes for a flying knee that sends Steamboat back out to the floor. Jumbo brings Steamboat back in with an armdrag and keeps him on the mat. Jumbo works the arm, goes for a double underhook, but Steamboat reverses into a backslide for a two count. Jumbo twists the arm some more, Steamboat is selling it great, Jumbo whips him down to the mat with the very style of fast armdrag that Steamboat is known for. Steamboat spins out and gets on Jumbo's back, rear chinlock like the camel clutch, but without hooking the arms. Jumbo grabs Steamboat's legs and flips him back down, taking the arm again and hits a knee to the back, half nelson on the mat for a two count. Steamboat gets back to his feet, elbows Jumbo in the face, shoulder tackle, but then he misses a dropkick. Jumbo takes the advantage again with the big whipping armdrag, Steamboat shakes his head and tells the referee, "No". Steamboat hooks Jumbo's leg and tries for a spinning toehold, Jumbo immediately kicks him off, Steamboat bounces off the ropes and misses an elbowdrop. Jumbo stomps his back and takes the arm again, Steamboat gets up, Jumbo tries for the double underhook, Steamboat sprawls and backs him into the ropes for a clean break. They lockup in a test of strength, but now Steamboat gets the fast advantage and takes Jumbo to the mat with a hammerlock. He works over Jumbo's left arm, bending it in unnatural positions and dropping a knee and an elbow on it. Jumbo does a kipup and gets to his feet, but Steamboat takes him right back down. Somehow, Jumbo gets Steamboat in a fireman's carry and simple brings him to the opposite corner, sits him on the turnbuckle and lets him go for a clean break. Jumbo takes down Steamboat with a go-behind, both men scramble around on the mat, reversing each other for control, Jumbo gets a one count. Steamboat gets a drop toehold and punishes Jumbo's arm, tying it up and dropping down backwards on it, rolling him for a pair of two counts. Jumbo scoops him up into an airplane spin and follows up with some smashing uppercuts and a knee to the midsection. Jumbo snaps Steamboat down and applies a sleeper while Steamboat sits on the mat, he gets frustrated and whips Steamboat into the ropes for a huge dropkick. He applies the sitdown sleeper again, Steamboat eventually struggles to his feet and carries Jumbo on his back, Jumbo takes him into the corner and rolls him for a two count, Steamboat reverses it for a two count of his own. Jumbo hammers Steamboat with an elbow, Steamer fires back with a big chop, Jumbo hammers Steamboat's back, double chop from Steamboat, Jumbo nails him with a punch to the face, Steamboat nails a karate style elbow thrust and knocks Jumbo down. Jumbo grabs both of Steamboat's arms and places a knee in his back, Steamboat falls to his knees. Steamboat reverses Jumbo with a test of strength and gains control of his arms again, grinding his knee into Jumbo's back now. Jumbo takes him to the ropes, but elbows Steamboat in the head, instead of a clean break. He whips him to the ropes and connects with the flying knee, and locks on an abdominal stretch. Steamboat tries to reverse it, but Jumbo flips him off and both men tumble over the top rope. Steamboat elbows Jumbo in the face, but gets answered with a piledriver on the floor!!! Jumbo gets back in the ring first, meets Steamboat on the ring apron and attempts to suplex him back in the ring, but Steamboat switches it up and falls on him mid-air for a two count. Steamboat goes for a bodyslam, but Jumbo shifts his weight and he winds up on top. Steamboat whips Jumbo into the corner, monkey flips him out, bodyslams him and climbs to the top rope. Steamboat hits a perfect high cross body block for a two count. Jumbo whips him to the ropes, both men collide mid-ring and fall back to the mat. Jumbo recovers first and goes for a pin, Steamboat small packages him, Jumbo rolls him over. Jumbo takes him down and hooks on a boston crab. Steamboat grabs his legs and rolls Jumbo up in the corner. Jumbo finally succeeds with the double underhook suplex, Steamboat gets his foot on the ropes. Jumbo hits a second one, Steamboat kicks out...the bell rings....THIRTY MINUTE DRAW. I would have liked to see both men lose their tempers a bit and fire up at each other. This was a great match, extremely scientific. 4 1/4 ****

This is a rematch from their match a week earlier on November 1st. Dusty Rhodes comes to the ring looking gloriously splendous in his famous furry white robe and big floppy white hat. Nikolai Volkoff accompanies him down the aisle, wearing his purple tracksuit again. No national anthems this time, especially not with the possibility of Nikolai singing. The crowd is taunting Dusty and he bails out of the ring before the bell and starts heading up the aisle. Mr Saito, Greg Valentine and Pedro Morales are also with Dusty at ringside again The bell rings, Inoki charges at Dusty, who then bails out of the ring. He gets back in, Inoki connects with a diving leg kick, he misses the second one, Dusty misses an elbowdrop and goes outside the ring again. Dusty tries for a bionic elbow in the corner, but misses, Inoki grabs a side headlock. Inoki trips him up and tries to get an STF, but Dusty grabs the rope for the quick break. Dusty grabs a standing wristlock and gets Inoki down to the mat. Inoki makes it to the ropes, but Dusty drops two big elbows down on Inoki's injured arm. Dusty gets the hammerlock on the mat again, but he is visibly flustered by the constant chants of "INOKI". They get to their feet, Inoki fires up, but gets hit with a shoulder tackle. He jumps up on Dusty's shoulders to attempt a flying headscissors, but both men tumble over the top rope. They quickly get back in the ring, Inoki is still selling his elbow an left arm, Dusty ties him arm up in the ropes and hits two big elbows on it. Dusty follows Inoki to the outside, lays Inoki's arm on the ringside table and drops an elbow on it, then he grabs a chair and slams that down on Inoki's arm. Inoki gets back in the ring, Dusty nails him with two sledgehammers to the back, and takes a standing armbar. Inoki escapes, gets a drop toehold and hooks an indian deathlock, dropping backwards against the mat to increase Dusty's pain. Inoki rolls Dusty up for a two count. Dusty gets back to his feet, stomps on Inoki's left leg and rakes his boots across Inoki's face. Then he suddenly picks Inoki up and piledrives him for a two count, Inoki gets his foot on the ropes. Dusty hits an over the knee backbreaker, Inoki bounces up and hits two dropkicks, whips Dusty into the ropes and hooks on the Octopus Submission. Eventually, Dusty hiptosses out of it and hits the bionic elbow. Dusty drops a knee on Inoki's face and gets another two count. Dusty whips Inoki to the ropes and fires a running elbow into his face for another two. Dusty dances around Inoki, like a boxer light on his feet and swings a few punches at him. Another big elbow to the head, another two count. Inoki comes back with five big MMA kicks to Dusty's thigh, a big headbutt takes Dusty off his feet. Inoki hits him with a big punch to the head and another headbutt. He kicks Dusty out of the ring and chases him and nails another big headbutt. Dusty comes up bleeding severely, Inoki headbutts him two more times, Dusty gets up and sends Inoki into the ringpost. They both get up on the apron, the referee is putting a count on them, Dusty backdrops Inoki into the ring, but then he falls to the floor and is counted out at 13:52. Inoki grabs Dusty and suplexes him into the ring and tries to cover him, but the bell is ringing and the match is over. He doesn't care and hits a brainbuster suplex on Dusty, he climbs to the top rope and hits the flying kneedrop. Inoki is bleeding now from the ringpost shot earlier, Morales, Volkoff and Saito get in the ring to protect Dusty from further harm. I really enjoyed this one also. 3 1/2***

Dusty comes to the ring in a tyedye tank top and a big floppy red hat. He actually looks kind of slim...oh wait...not really, lol. This is Dusty's first tour with New Japan, he had done one tour for All Japan in 1975. Hmm the online version of this match does not include the ring entrances. Greg Valentine, Pat Patterson and Mr Saito are in Dusty's corner. The crowd stands for the playing of the American and Japanese national anthems. They circle around each other to start the match, Dusty crisscrosses the ropes and hits a shoulder tackle and a bodyslam on Inoki. He whips Inoki to the corner and tries for a bionic elbow, but misses. He snapmares Inoki down to the mat but twice misses the elbowdrop. Dusty rolls to the outside and takes a stroll around the ring. They finally lockup and Inoki grabs a cravat style side headlock, he backs Dusty into the corner for a clean break. Dusty keeps trying for the elbow, but Inoki keeps blocking it. Dusty grabs an armbar and drops one on Inoki's back. Inoki takes Dusty down to the mat and grinds an elbow across his face. They stand up and Inoki tries for a front facelock, but Dusty backs him into the corner. No clean break this time, Inoki fires three elbows and Dusty, but Dusty finally nails the bionic elbow straight down on Inoki's head. Inoki is reeling as they lock up again, he cautiously applies a bear hug, which Dusty quickly breaks and hits another shoulder tackle. Inoki gets an armdrag, but Dusty is immediately back on his feet. He gets a single leg takedown and drops two elbowsmashes on Inoki's thigh. Dusty goes for the spinning toehold, but Inoki kicks up and both men get on their feet, but not for long, as Inoki takes Dusty down with a hammerlock and works on the left arm. Dusty tries to roll Inoki and grabs the tights, but Inoki thrashes him around with a rolling hammerlock and maintains control, until Dusty gets his foot on the ropes for a break. Dusty rams Inoki's head into the turnbuckle and tosses him thru the ropes to the outside. He follows him out and slams Inoki on a ringside table and drops three big elbows, the table does not break. Inoki falls to the floor, Dusty gets back in the ring and waits for him. He hits a bionic elbow as Inoki comes in and picks him up for a brainbuster suplex for a two count, Inoki's foot is on the ropes. He picks him up again for an over the knee backbreaker and Inoki gets his foot on the ropes at two. Inoki hits a dropkick, Dusty nails an elbow to his back and shoulder. Inoki scoops Dusty and suplexes him, but Dusty falls over the top rope, (DQ is not called). Inoki follows him and drops a knee and rams Dusty's head into the ringside table. Back in the ring, Inoki gets a drop toehold and tries to surfboard Dusty, but cannot hold him up. Dusty gets on top and fires some punches and elbows down on Inoki's head. They stand and brawl, each nailing big shots, before Dusty starts dancing around and taunting his opponent. Inoki unleashes with four big MMA style kicks to Dusty's thigh, but is met with another bionic elbow to the head. Inoki tries to pick Dusty up in a fireman's carry, but cannot hold him. Dusty drops two big knees to Inoki's midsection, they both get tied up in the ropes. The referee comes over and tries to pull Dusty off, but Dusty pushes him away. He whips Inoki to the ropes and nails an elbow, then runs and goes for a diving elbow, but Inoki moves out of the way again. Inoki hits a big dropkick that sends Rhodes out of the ring, Inoki chases after him and rams Dusty's head into the corner post, Dusty comes up bleeding heavily around his right eye. Pedro Morales is also at ringside and suddenly grabs Inoki and pulls him off. Nikolai Volkoff is also at ringside in a purple tracksuit...wtf??? Inoki goes back outside and hits two big headbutts to open Dusty's cut further. They get back in the ring, Inoki headbutts him again and whips him to the ropes into the Octopus Submission, abdominal stretch...and that's a lot of abdomen...lol. The ref checks Dusty's arm to see if he is going out...Dusty screams "Noooooo!!!!" and hiptosses Inoki to escape the hold. Inoki hits another big dropkick for a two count, he charges at Dusty in the corner, but is met with the bionic elbow, Dusty goes for a two count and puts his feet on the ropes for leverage. The ref catches him, but wait...Dusty thinks it was a three count and jumps up and grabs the title belt. Inoki charges at Dusty, who bumps into the referee as gently as I have ever seen, he barely touches the ref with a glancing elbow. Inoki rolls up Dusty for a visible three count, Inoki tries to wake up the referee, Dusty comes from behind with a big elbow and both men tumble to the floor. Dusty drops a big elbow on Inoki's chest, but the bell rings for the immediate DQ at 17:01. Dusty drops another elbow and rolls into the ring, but the match is over. Pedro Morales strangely comes in the ring and hands Dusty the belt and celebrates with him. The ref tries to snatch the belt away, but Dusty yells NO. Other wrestlers get in the ring, Valentine starts brawling with Tatsumi Fujinami. Mr Saito raises Dusty's hand. Dusty grabs the mic and starts chanting "Five more minutes". Inoki is pissed and gets in Dusty's face, but Dusty sashays away and leaves with his hands raised. Wait...Dusty gets back on the apron, Inoki grabs the mic and they yell at each other. Dusty has a huge gash on his head and is still bleeding heavily. They give Inoki the big trophy and strap the belt back around his waist. Three and a half stars **** BUT WAIT...there is a lesser known rematch held a week later!!!!

This is their 4th consecutive match at MSG. I believe it was the only time a heel was brought back four times in a row to challenge the champion. The crowd is already in a frenzy as both men start their way down the aisle. There is no referee inside the cage, no pinfalls. Only way to end the match is escape the cage, through the door or over the top. Pat Patterson enters the cage first, and tries to ambush Backlund on the way in. Backlund unleashes a flurry of punches and immediately rams Patterson headfirst into the cage. He grabs Patterson by the hair and throws him into it again. Backlund elbows Patterson and rams his head down to the mat and hits a legdrop. Backlund starts climbing the cage, Patterson grabs his ankle and pulls him down, Patterson nails Backlund with two big punches and tries to escape out the door. Patterson gets three quarters of the way out, but Backlund pulls him back in. He picks Patterson up by the hair and again rams his head into the cage, and hits a kneelift. Backlund tries to escape, Patterson grabs his head and rams it into the cage twice. Patterson goes for the door, Backlund lunges and grabs him by the leg, and stomps on his face, raking Pat's eyes with his boot. Backlund goes for the door, Patterson grabs him and starts punching his chest and starts choking Backlund. Patterson climbs to the top rope and tries to go over, he rakes Backlund's eyes twice and starts going over the top for the escape. He gets almost out of the cage, Backlund climbs up, punches him in the gut, elbows him in the head. They're battling on top of the cage, Patterson finally shakes Backlund off him with a big elbow, but winds up trapped upside down with one knee hanging over the cage. Patterson quickly uprights himself and climbs the cage again, Backlund follows him, grabbing the ankle. Backlund elbows him in the head and now Patterson falls over the top of the cage, with only one knee holding him up there. Somehow, Backlund locks up Pat's leg and pulls him back over with the tights. Backlund starts going over the top, Patterson hooks his legs and kicks him in the balls. Both men fall backwards to the mat. Patterson starts crawling towards the door, Backlund grabs his ankle and pulls him back in. He nails Backlund with a big right to the head and scrambles towards the door again. Backlund lunges at him and prevents the escape. Patterson hits another shot to Backlund's head and kicks and stomps him in the gut. Patterson goes to the opposite corner and starts climbing the ropes, Backlund grabs the ankle again, Patterson kicks Backlund in the head and stomps on his hand. Patterson goes over the top, Backlund catches him again, Patterson elbows Backlund twice in the head, and also undoes a piece of the metal turnbuckle from the top of the cage. Backlund falls to the mat, Patterson comes after him with the metal object and busts him open.. Patterson hits him with it again and goes for the door, Backlund grabs his leg and pulls him back to the center. Patterson unleashes eleven unanswered blows to the cut on Backlund's head making him bleed profusely. Patterson starts climbing, Backlund grabs the tights and pulls him down, but is met with two more shots to the head. Backlund starts a comeback, charges at Patterson, both men collide mid ring and are down. Backlund is up first and starts climbing the cage, while Patterson climbs up the other side, Patterson sees that Bob is almost out and has to get down and charge after him and pull him down. Backlund is a bloody mess and hits a headbutt and a big elbow to Patterson. Backlund hits a double leg takedown, scoops up Patterson and sends him flying headfirst into the cage. Patterson is bleeding now and has to crawl after Backlund to stop him from going out the door. Backlund nails him with two punches to the head and rams Patterson into the cage. He picks him up and rams him into the cage again, followed by a big two fistdrops from Backlund. Patterson gets up and starts climbing the cage, Backlund goes after him and hits a huge atomic drop in the center of the ring. Both men are stunned, but Backlund gets up and climbs again. Patterson pulls brass knucks out of his tights and now both men are battling it out on top of the cage. Patterson swings with the foreign object, but Backlund blocks it and hits three big elbows. They both crumble to the mat, Backlund crawls towards the door with Patterson hot on his heels. Backlund starts kicking Patterson, three big shots sending Patterson backwards, Backlund slides out of the door and tumbles down the stairs to escape the cage at 16:43 and retain the Championship. The crowd loses its mind screaming and cheering as Patterson flips out inside the cage. HOLY SHIT, this was FN great. 4 1/2****. Backlund and Patterson both had awesome punches throughout. Extremely dramatic once they both started bleeding. Loved it!!! Make sure you watch the complete version from the 2011 WWE Greatest Cage Matches of All Time DVD and not the shorter edited version from the 2003 Bloodbath DVD.

Ok, Boots, I am now convinced that you are trolling us with these reviews. I have already seen 3 reviews on 2 other websites(411 and VOW) that gave this match 2** and 2 1/4**. I will watch it today, but there is just no way in hell that Toru Yano had a four and a half star match, lasting less than 11 minutes....with Okada. NO WAY!!!

This is actually the third consecutive match between the two at MSG. The first match on July 2nd, was not recorded. Then they had a rematch on July 30th. This will build to a 4th match on 9/24/79 in a steel cage. Bob Backlund is accompanied by Arnold Skaaland Pat Patterson and his manager, the Grand Wizard storm off back to the dressing room before the ring introductions. Vince McMahon on commentary says "We may have for the first time ever here at Madison Square Garden, a forfeit". Patterson is the new Intercontinental Champion, but only the World Title is on the line in this match. Vince also tells us that both managers have been barred from ringside during the match. Patterson jumps Arnold Skaaland before the bell, leading Backlund to charge after him with a flurry of punches. The bell rings as he whips Patterson into the corner and kicks him over the top rope. Backlund waits in the ring as Patterson tries to get up off the floor, finally Patterson pulls Backlund outside, but Backlund rams Pat's head into the apron and bodyslams him on the outside. The referee tries to keep Backlund back as Patterson slowly gets back in the ring and begs off in the corner, but Backlund moves past the ref and starts kicking Patterson in the gut. Backlund tries to whip him to the opposite corner, but gets reversed and hits the turnbuckles hard. Patterson charges at him with a knee, but Backlund moves out of the way. Patterson falls to the mat in pain, but Backlund sees the vulnerability and attacks the leg with a hamstring pull and a legdrop to Patterson's ankle. Then he does it again. Patterson tries to get to the ropes, but Backlund grabs him by the leg and hits another hamstring pull in the middle of the ring. Backlund twists the ankle around twice and attempts the figure four, Patterson rakes his eyes and escapes. Patterson comes after Bob in the corner, but Backlund goes to the outside and bashes Pat's knee twice on the ringpost. Patterson continues to beg and plead with the referee, but Backlund is relentless. He grabs the leg and jumps down with both legs onto Patterson's knee and ankle. Patterson kicks Backlund, shouler first into the corner and unleashes some big punches to the head. Backlund counters with punches to Patterson's injured thigh, Patterson escapes to the outside, but Backlund throws him back in. He stretches both of Pat's hamstrings and drops a big elbow to the face. Backlund works the right leg some more and finally hooks on the figure four leglock. Patterson quickly gets to the ropes and breaks the hold. Backlund tosses Patterson back towards the middle, Patterson rakes his eyes again and throws him to the floor. Patterson eventually undoes one of the turnbuckle pads, and throws Backlund to the floor again. Patterson unleashes punches to Backlund's head when he gets back in the ring and tries to whip Backlund into the exposed buckle, but Backlund reverses it. Patterson is busted open and the sight of blood sends Backlund into a frenzy of punches. Patterson tries to escape the ring and is in bad shape now, Backlund brings him back in and hits an atomic drop, but wait...Patterson accidentally kicks the referee, and the ref goes down. Patterson pulls out brass knuckles, but Backlund gets them away from him and they brawl to the outside. Patterson grabs a chair and slams it on Backlund's back and rolls back in the ring to win by countout at 14:29. Backlund gets back in the ring and kicks and stomps Patterson in the corner. He still has on the brass knuckles and comes after him, but Patterson bails to the outside after being whipped into the corner. Backlund was really aggressive in this match, a little too much legwork for my taste. Three and 3/4 ****

Yea, there are actually two Flair vs Morton cage matches on tape. This is the more famous one from the Flair and 4 Horsemen DVD, 7/5/86 and is from Charlotte Memorial Stadium. There is a second one, exclusively filmed for Japanese TV, never aired in the US, on World Pro Wrestling, 7/11/86 and is from Roanoke VA, indoors at the Civic Center.

Holy shit...how did I miss this one? Well, I know it's a short match, but it is also JIP....argh. We start with Stan Hansen holding Nick Bockwinkel in a standing side headlock. Bock picks him up for a backdrop suplex for a one count. Bockwinkel tries for a front facelock, but Hansen hoists him up on his shoulders and carries him to his own corner and tags Brody. Hansen is still holding Bockwinkel, Brody goes to the top rope and hits a double axe handle. Brody slams Bockwinkel and drags him around, but too close to Harley Race in the corner. Race grabs Brody and holds him while Bock nails him with three hard elbows to the abdomen and a few shots to the head. Bock goes for a backdrop but Brody kicks him in the face and tags Hansen. Hansen charges at Bockwinkel, but Harley Race gets the tag and a brainbuster suplex for a one count. He punches Hansen in the head and attempts a piledriver, but Hansen backdrops him and comes at him with a big jumping elbowdrop. He tags Brody and they give Race a double boot to the face, Bockwinkel makes the save. Harley nails Brody with some elbows to the gut and a headbutt, he takes Brody into his corner and Bock meets him with a knee to the head and tags in. Bockwinkel punches Brody in the head four times, to minimal effect and whips him into the corner, but Brody boots him in the face. He whips Bock to the ropes, but Bockwinkel comes off with a Thesz press for a two count. Brody gets on top and drops a fist and a knee to Bock's head. Race tags in and whips Brody to the mat, and hits a standing diving headbutt. He grabs a chinlock, but Brody gets up, tags Hansen and both men hit Race with a football stance tackle. Bockwinkel makes the save and starts brawling with Hansen. Race flips Hansen with a tackle of his own and Hansen punches him and knees him in the face. Brody tags in and kicks Harley in the face as well. He launches Harley with a big chop and gets a two count. Race comes back with some great punches to the face and chest, but Brody bodyslams him, but then misses an elbow. Race whips Brody to the ropes, Brody leapfrogs over him and hits a dropkick!!! Bockwinkel suddenly grabs Brody's hair from the outside, Hansen sees him and launches after him with a big elbowsmash. Hansen slams Bock in the corner, Brody misses a kneedrop on Race and they all start brawling. Brody and Race tumble outside, Bockwinkel and Hansen follow, Race and Brody grab chairs and everyone is swinging. Bockwinkel jumps on Hansen and the bell rings for a double countout at 10:16 (7:30 shown). But wait...the brawl continues. Race slams a chair over Hansen's back, Brody whips a chair down the aisle at Bockwinkel. Hansen charges through the crowd and comes around from the other side of the ring. Now Brody comes back around and wraps a chair around Race's head. Bockwinkel hits Brody's back with a chairshot and punches and brawls with him. Race and Bockwinkel get the better of the battle as Brody and Race head to the back. Three and 1/4 ***. This was pretty damn fun and wild at the end

This is not the Real World finals or anything, just an ordinary match from Night 15. Race and Bockwinkel both come out in matching white jackets. Harley's says "USA" on the back and Nick's just says "Bockwinkel" Nick looks so happy coming down the aisle. Neither man was a World Champion at this point, but the fans love this team. All four men shake hands before the bell. Race and Ishikawa start the match, they lockup and Ishikawa immediately bodyslams Race. Race grabs a side headlock, shoulderblock and then returns the slam. He hits a nice looking side suplex and makes the tag to Bockwinkel. Bock slams Ishikawa and gets a one count. Bockwinkel applies a grinding side headlock down on the mat. Ishikawa gets up, Bockwinkel hits a shoulderblock, then he gets hiptossed by Ishikawa, who then tags in to Mighty Inoue. Inoue punches Bock in the gut, takes him down with a few headlocks, but he cannot hold him. Bockwinkel applies a head scissors on the mat, and tags Race. Race nails Inoue with two clotheslines and drops a knee for a two count. He scoops up Inoue and piledrives him!!! Ishikawa makes the save, but Race hits a swinging neckbreaker on Inoue. Inoue hits a flying shoulderblock and flips onto Race's stomach. Bockwinkel saves this time, he holds Inoue while Race headbutts him. Bockwinkel tags in, they hit him with a double sledge to the chest. Bockwinkel hits an excellenet dropkick, not bad for a guy who just turned 50, two days ago. Inoue hits a big back suplex and makes the tag. Ishikawa comes off the top rope with a swiping elbow chop, a bodyslam, and goes up to the top rope for a Bull Nakano style legdrop. Race makes the save with a kick to the head before Inoue tags back in. They hit Bockwinkel with a double atomic drop. Inoue punches Harley in the gut, chops him and jumps up into a flying headscissors. Ishikawa comes in and hits Harley with an elbow in the head, Race nails him back with a big punch, and goes to the top rope, but Ishikawa catches him and slams him down to the mat. Ishikawa applies the sharpshooter/scorpion deathlock, Bockwinkel runs in and nails Ishikawa four times before he breaks the hold. Harley knocks him silly with a headbutt and a piledriver. Bockwinkel comes in and hits a big punch to the gut and another piledriver. Bockwinkel picks him up and quickly tags Race, who comes off the second rope with the Road Warriors doomsday device lariat!!! Harley hits a brainbuster suplex for the pin at 7:42. This was really fun. 3 *** Doomsday Device???? Holy shit!!!

I'm not going to review the whole match yet. I just wanted to figure out what's going on with this footage. I heard something about TV Asahi lost the tape or it got damaged or something and a fan had a recording of the original TV airing. It has never aired on NJ Classics. We get the first 26:20 of the match complete. I can clearly hear the time calls, 10, 15, 20 ,25 minutes. Then it abruptly goes to a commercial and comes back and a graphic on the screen tells us on the screen that it is still the first fall and we are at about the 38 minute mark. Inoki wins by countout (2:32 after the commercial break) The second fall is supposed to go 20:58 to a 61 minute draw, i don't know why it isn't 60 minutes, but ok... Another commercial break and the graphic on the screen tells us that we are picking up the second fall at around the 13 minute mark. We get another 7:40 of action before the final bell tolls. Very good quality for 1978 VHS footage. In total there is almost 37 minutes of action. I am satisfied. I'll try to do a full review later in the week.