Loss
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May: #1 - Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Masa Fuchi (AJPW 05/26/90) ****1/4 #2 - Riki Choshu vs Keiji Muto (NJPW 05/24/90) **** #3 - El Dandy, El Satanico & Emilio Charles Jr. vs Atlantis, Javier Cruz & Angel Azteca (EMLL 05/11/90) **** #4 - Midnight Express vs Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (WCW Capital Combat 05/19/90) ***3/4 #5 - MS-1, Emilio Charles Jr. & Ulises vs Atlantis, El Dandy & El Satanico (EMLL 05/04/90) ***3/4 #6 - Kerry Von Erich vs Matt Borne (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 05/11/90) ***1/2 #7 - Ric Flair vs Lex Luger (WCW Capital Combat 05/19/90) ***1/2 #8 - Jeff Jarrett & Billy Joe Travis vs Dirty White Boy & John Tatum (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 05/11/90) ***1/4 #9 - Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami vs Yumiko Hotta & Mitsuko Nishiwaki (AJW 05/13/90) ***1/4 #10 - Rick & Scott Steiner vs Doom (WCW Capital Combat 05/19/90) ***1/4 #11 - Riki Choshu vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 05/28/90) ***1/4 #12 - Ric Flair vs Lex Luger (WCW Worldwide 05/05/90) *** #13 - Atlantis, Angel Azteca & Javier Cruz vs El Dandy, El Satanico & Emilio Charles Jr. (EMLL 05/18/90) *** #14 - Steve Austin vs Chris Adams (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 05/25/90) *** #15 - Kerry Von Erich vs Matt Borne (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 05/25/90) #16 - Tiger Mask & Toshiaki Kawada vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Ricky Fuyuki (AJPW 05/14/90) Overall thoughts: I was starting to lose faith in 1990, thinking 1990 EMLL had been overhyped, that the Japanese promotions weren't as good as they should be and that WCW was the only promotion in the world with consistently good matches, with even those having the tinge of bad booking. But toward the end of the month, my faith started getting restored. The kickoff to the Misawa & Co. vs Jumbo & Co. feud was terrific, and Choshu had a pair of matches with Muto and Hashimoto that give me hope for New Japan. The trios matches started improving and WCW kept the match quality going in spite of the bad booking. So I'm really looking forward to the second half of the year now.
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Pretty fascinating and very strangely produced. There's a lot worth saying about this, but I'll keep it simple. I don't think I had ever seen his wife Paula before.
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Not as good as the Muto match, surprisingly enough. These two usually have really good chemistry, and this is a good match, but I like their later matches much better. Hashimoto scores a win which I'm guessing was an upset.
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"If they gave you an IQ test, they would discover that your IQ is 1 point less than a banana."
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Flair found out that a match has been signed behind his back for everyone's "Black Hero". He said he doesn't like lots of people for professional reasons, but he doesn't like JYD for personal reasons. He says JYD will never high-five Michael Jackson or Mike Tyson, and he'll never sit on Arsenio Hall and say he's the first black world champion. He closes by saying that when Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul flirt with him, they don't even mention JYD. Crazy racist promo.
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Flair and Ole demand to be told right away what is going on. It's the WEEKEND OF RACISM in wrestling, as Flair says the Horsemen don't even talk to guys like Rocky King. We cut to the ring for a Cactus Jack vs Rocky King match. Flair and Ole are out before the match even starts to get in Rocky King's face about who the surprise is. Ole treats Cactus like a total jobber. Flair calls him "boy" and tells him he can't moonwalk with a broken leg. Woooowwww. Anyway, JYD comes through the crowd to a big pop from the crowd, but this feels like a big step backwards after Sting and Luger feuds. Flair treats this as almost laughable until JYD gets the best of him. JYD tells the Horsemen it ain't 1935 no more. This has great heat, and Flair is tremendous, but it's obvious Ole is out of touch. -
ROCKY KING! He tells Jim Ross the surprise will be his "main man" from "his side of town".
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We get an interview with Luger from before Capital Combat while on a hospital bed. This injury built in just handed them a great storyline on a silver platter and they did absolutely nothing with it.
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Ole Anderson's first weekend with the book. Of course, Mr. Wrestling II gets a name drop right away. Ole quickly points out that Luger will get more title shots. Jim Ross points out that there is a surprise for the Horsemen later in the program. Flair and Ole try bullying him into getting an answer.
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Lawler and Snowman end up in a studio brawl when Snowman smacks Lawler when he's talking. Eddie Marlin (who I should add is tremendous in all of this) tries to break it up, but finally security has to come out to escort Snowman out of the building. Another good segment.
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NINJA TURTLE! He would eventually be repackaged as Cowabunga. He'll be at Mid South Coliseum to talk to kids and have fun. Tremendous.
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We have a clip from Mid South Coliseum to start us off. As promised, Snowman is at ringside. Eddie Marlin is there to confront him and send him off, with Lawler also in the periphery. Snowman is in the studio today, and Eddie Marlin wants to give him the opportunity to speak. Snowman immediately throws out the accusations of racism, and Eddie Marlin said he thought he might go there, so he brought King Cobra out. Snowman points out that the only reason they have King Cobra around is because they know he's not good enough to keep the belt. Marlin asks Cobra if he has ever encountered any racism in his 15 years in Memphis. Cobra says not with the organization, but with people from time to time. The studio crowd nearly boos him out of the building. Snowman brings some black business owners to the podium, one of whom is Norvell Austin's brother. He cuts a pretty good little promo on Lawler and talks about racism in wrestling. Then we get a few words from "Bohemian Brother". They point out that he has defeated Ted DiBiase, Steve Williams, Junkyard Dog and Jake Roberts, so it makes no sense to have him start from the bottom. Lawler finally has enough of this and is out to confront the situation. Cobra walks away when Lawler shows up, which is an AWESOME bit of subtlety and continuity in the context of what Cobra said about encountering certain racist people. He challenges Snowman to a match Monday night at MSC, which makes Eddie Marlin put him in his place, telling him he doesn't have a match until Marlin says so. Lawler points out that Marlin is giving credibility to Snowman by denying him the title shot. He wants a fight with Snowman right then and there, but Marlin splits things up. Finally, Marlin agrees to the match, but says the company will not sanction it, and he hopes the two of them beat each other's brains out. GREAT segment, and a hot angle that doubled the typical house around this time IIRC.
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Watch how the normals run as they bleed! Let the poison flow. Let it become infectious with the disease. Rick Rude needs to feel the reasons why we breathe. He will take Rude from the battles of the Intercontinental world. Yes.
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Another good segment, but yeah, 2+ months of these is a little much.
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Hulk Hogan and Earthquake are both special guests of the Brother Love show. Hogan's bring-it-on acting really gave away that it would just be Jimmy Hart coming out. Jimmy Hart says Earthquake isn't here because of a 105-degree fever. It's all a distraction, as Earthquake lays Hogan out from behind with a chair and gives him some really terrible-looking splashes a few times in a row, which is enough to sideline Hogan for the summer to film Suburban Commando, and set up a big Hogan/Earthquake match at Summerslam.
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Koko B. Ware and Frankie sure love WWF Ice Cream Bars!
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It's very strange to hear Misawa's entrance music without the crowd chanting "MI-SA-WA" along with it. The first Misawa & Co vs Jumbo & Co six-man to be broadcast on TV. Taue is with Misawa and Kobashi, which is interesting. Misawa is still wrestling a lot like Tiger Mask, so while the crowd is drawn to him and he clearly looks like a guy about to be a superstar, he hasn't evolved very much yet. Early in the match, Jumbo lands punches at everyone on the opposing team's apron, and Misawa gets his payback later, which seems to catch Jumbo in a rough way, as he is laid out for a few minutes. Fuchi goes to tag him and seems surprised that he isn't there, so Kabuki ends up coming in. When Jumbo recovers, he's not interested in waiting for a tag. He's interested in going after Misawa. The two end up having a pull-apart brawl in the middle of the match that Jumbo seems to have gotten the worst of. Great stuff! When they're finally settled, Jumbo ends up lunging for him again and they have to be pulled apart once again! As a backdrop to all of this, Jumbo's team works over Kobashi's knee after Fuchi drops Kobashi knee first on a ringside table. And Misawa giving Jumbo a dose of his own medicine inspires the confidence in Kobashi to rise to the occasion as well. Jumbo nearly takes Kobashi's head off with a lariat, and he kicks out. The shock on Jumbo's face, which he seems to be trying to hide, totally makes that moment. A sea change is happening, and the crowd responds in kind. Excellent match that excited me to see Misawa vs Jumbo on June 8. The line has been drawn in the sand between Jumbo and Misawa, they each have their allies, and All Japan has been reborn! As much as I praised this, I barely covered the great things about this, both as a match and a moment.
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Some cool clips of street vendors selling food, lucha libre action figures, masks and other memorabilia.
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USWA officials are in the ring, supposedly to ensure that we don't have another chaotic event like happened the week before. This isn't long, but it's another great segment. They do some awesome brawling. Kerry bumps into Percy Pringle when the action spills outside. His jacket is torn and he takes exception, which distracts Kerry long enough for Borne to get a pinfall win.
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Last few minutes. The matches in this feud aren't particularly good. It's the storyline and the program that is the highlight. Great finish, as Tessa finally has enough and shakes the top rope as Tatum climbs to the top and costs him the match, kissing Dundee and leaving with him!
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Austin gets scratched multiple times just getting in and out of the ring. He has a nasty gash on his back before the match even starts, just from entering the ring. This is the first good match I think they've had. Great finish too, with Austin trying to drop Adams from a press slam position onto the wires and Adams countering for a pin. Post-match, Jeanne slips Adams a pair of brass knucks and Austin slugs him before injuring him with a chair, which Adams sells beautifully.
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Jim Cornette has been joined by Sugar Ray Long and Mean Mark. This was obviously taped before Capital Combat, as Long still has his hair. Long announces that he is selling Mean Mark's contract to Paul E. Dangerously. Cornette doesn't really seem thrilled to hear that name, and is even less pleased to actually see him. The two have some words, which is very entertaining. Cornette hopes Long gets cash for this deal, which is funny considering Heyman's future track record.
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I thought this was outstanding. Way better than I expected, with a nice story. Muto wants to brawl and wrestle a fast-paced match, and Choshu would rather school him on the mat. Muto is still wrestling like Muta here, which is something he would lose as the decade progressed. They do spend a lot of time on the mat, but the holds are really well-worked. Muto hits Choshu with a tremendous dive near the end of this, which is even more impressive considering that Muto was working on a bad knee. There's a lot of suspense in the closing minutes, first with Muto getting some really close nearfalls on Choshu, then with Choshu locking in the sharpshooter and teasing a Muto submission. The first Japanese match on the set that really feels like a 90s Japan match. Choshu turns him inside out with a lariat to win this at the end, but Muto pushed him to the limit. Great, great match!
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The injury stuff is not storyline. Luger was working hurt. He has a look on his face when he is walking to the ring like he just wants to get this match over with. The cage is absolutely huge - HIAC sized. There is some interesting pre-match stuff with Luger insisting that Woman be checked, and Flair disputing it. I'm not sure why she was in the cage to begin with. He finds "the proverbial international object", as Flair puts it and Flair tries to immediately change the subject and start the match. Luger gives a solid performance considering his health, and Flair works for two. Flair is a bloody mess and sells like crazy for Luger. Luger gives Flair a superplex and injures his knee on the way down, which creates an opening for Flair. The match is going really well actually until the Horsemen come out and attempt to get in the cage. Sting comes out to throw a few punches at all of the Horsemen. The Horsemen are triple-teaming Sting when El Gigante makes his debut and scares them away. This distracts Sting long enough for Ole to control the cage and raise it. Barry Windham runs in and goes after Luger and we get a really flat DQ finish. What a total bullshit ripoff. Luger never recovered from this feud, and no wonder. The Horsemen beat the hell out of him after the match for good measure. This reeks of NWO overkill. Sting tries to come into the cage and can't because Ole is controlling the switch. Post-match, Flair does an awesome fired up promo covered in blood and Sting finally gets his hands on Flair for the first time to a big pop. Good match, but at the end, I was more sympathetic to Luger than I was anxious for Flair/Sting. I sometimes wonder if that hurt Sting's run as much as anything - the idea that the promotion fucked Luger over and Sting was the anointed one.
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If anyone is keeping up with the drinking game, Jim Ross will have you completely plastered before this match is over. I usually defend the football talk, but this is WAY overboard. Verbatim quotes about Ron Simmons from coaches at Florida State? Really? Really fun power match. I don't think it's as well-constructed as the MX vs Pillman/Zenk match, but it's more heated, and they offset some of the gap with the big power moves and hitting each other really hard. Doom win the tag titles.