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That mystery monster 747 is just one man, but he does enough damage for an entire gang! After beating Martel, Dibiase is going to be more insufferable than ever! Will Martel respond to the actions of the Killer Bees with the same class and tact that he showed to Ole?

Yumi Ikeshita! Nice! Man, Black Pair vs Beauty Pair from the late 70s has to be one of the best possible examples of the stuff I feel is missing from a lot of recent pro wrestling. Pure heels vs pure babyfaces. Anyone can tell who is good and who is evil while watching this despite the culture and language and generational barriers: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ryvju @KawadaSmile: re: " content we get is usually great on the mechanical sense" I guess that increased technical quality at the expense of what you might want to call soul or heart or something is not just an issue in pro wrestling these days. Music, movies... the pendulum seems to be swinging back toward soul and heart when it comes to food, at least. And @Badlittlekitten: It's not just that we can like both... why can't we have both?

It's been like this for a while now surely? Wrestlers want to pop the crowd with quality matches. And modern crowds want exciting quality matches. That doesn't have to exclude character work, you still see it. It's just not prioritized like it once was. Things change. You are not wrong, but I would have imagined that a guy with BILL DUNDEE in his signature (and is that Jackie Sato as your avatar?) would agree with me that this particular change is very much a change for the worse. It's just odd comment/avatar synergy, like when Kawada Smile argues passionately in favour of Roman Reigns. I am curious (no judgement, you are entitled to your opinion): Do you, personally, think that my turn/your turn, you go/I go, back and forth, get all of our stuff in, and then one of us hits their finisher is what constitutes a "quality match'? I do not, but I am admittedly a fairly old man.

To me, I think this fits nicely into your new character thread. I think fans at the time were so ga ga for the spots/pace that they totally overlook the character a guy like Psicosis put into his work with his behavior and reactions. I read reviews from the time and it feels like they're only watching half the match. I hear you. I remember thinking at one time in my tape-trading days (very early 2000s, probably) that EMLL/CMLL sounded like the fed for stories and characters while AAA was more for the spectacle. Hence the massive blind spot, even though the handful of AAA matches I have seen were not just empty flash.

You raise a number of interesting points and I very much appreciate the thoughtful reply. I can't disagree with what you wrote... ...but I wanted to emphasize that last sentence. That's devastating to read, because I think there is some real truth in that. Maybe pro wrestling simply is no longer the domain of larger than life characters, wildmen, outlaws, outcasts, and bohemian nomads. Wrestlers these days are more athletic performers and businessmen building their personal brand, or increasingly as you say, just nerds... I think the nerds could still learn or be taught to use old-school psychology... I think it's entirely possible that the brand-builders are too hooked in to the 50-50, my turn-your turn style of both in-ring action and long-term storytelling because - maybe - working from underneath too much might be bad for t shirt sales or something?? Or - maybe - making sure everyone gets all of their fancy stuff in is good for t shirt sales? I am so glad I am not the only person who feels that way. And, absolutely, it does my heart good whenever I can find a more recent example of a wrestler who seems to "get it." It might be interesting to make a list of counter-examples (young workers who have mastered 80s-style character work and psychology, or recent matches that feature the same). For example, WALTER sounds like a big guy who works like a big guy. I'm almost afraid to seek out his matches, because I'll be heartbroken if it turns out not to be the case. At the moment, I feel like there are probably a lot more "Silas Youngs" than there are "Chuck Taylors" out there.

It should be a good learning experience for me, following along with this. AAA is almost a total blind spot in my case, other than totally obvious stuff like Rey vs Psicosis. Unfortunately, lack of knowledge also means I'll have nothing to contribute to the discussion. Looking forward to reading more, though.

I've got some thoughts on this match here, curious what you guys think: https://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/42172-expressing-character-through-in-ring-actions/&do=findComment&comment=5851590

I've got some thoughts on this match here, curious what you guys think: https://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/42172-expressing-character-through-in-ring-actions/&do=findComment&comment=5851590

This is the topic that has been obsessing me recently, when I think about Pro Wrestling. Thanks to my participation in the Armchair Booking 1983 Project, I have been watching a fair bit of mid-1980s wrestling footage from around the world. What really stands out to me in the bulk of that footage, and particularly when compared to the small amounts of recent wrestling I have watched, is this: Bad guys consistently do bad guy things in the ring. They preen and strut, they distract and lie to the ref, they gouge eyes, choke, pull hair, pull the tights, use the ropes illegally... Good guys consistently do good guy things in the ring: They play to the crowd, they smile, they do leap-frogs and throw drop-kicks, they fight bravely from underneath, they react to the crowd's support, they break clean and listen to the ref... In the 1980s, there was also, often, a tremendous symmetry and synergy involving the wrestlers' looks, character, and in-ring actions and style. A guy might be good looking (but not TOO good looking) and athletically built (but not overly ripped or muscular), with a boyish haircut, a humble personality, a nice smile, an energetic style, colorful but not flashy ring gear... and he'd work a scientific or high-flying ring style, exhibit good sportsmanship, check with the crowd before throwing a punch as payback... Or maybe he's a more down-to-earth, rugged and manly but friendly type, maybe sporting a beer belly or having a bad haircut, not a guy you'd be afraid might steal your girl... a guy you could imagine having a beer with... and his interviews and in-ring style would both be tough and no-nonsense, he could give it out and take it in equal measure, he'd fight fair but you could only push him so far... Think of a guy like Rick Rude. He's too handsome. His body is too good. He does not want to have a beer with a regular Joe like you, and he definitely wants to steal your girl. And that is clearly reflected in his TV interview style... but even more importantly you can see it in his ring work as well. His arrogant, prideful, and overtly sexual facial expressions and body language, the hip-swivel taunt... Think of how weaselly- or snaky-looking guys like Yoshinari Ogawa or Jake Roberts, when working heel, would be sneaky and duplicitous in the ring. Think of how an athletically-limited worker like Abdullah (or, say, Bundy) got himself over as an absolute monster because of the absolute synergy of his look and character, and how that perfectly played out in his in-ring actions. Think of how the athletic smaller heroes just bounced off of giant wrestlers in the 1980s and how giant heels took sadistic glee in physically dominating their opponents. I could go on forever... but I hope that my point is clear. In the 80s, most of the time, your look was your character and that all fed into how you behaved in the ring and what you did during a match. My question is: Where has that gone?? It was on my mind constantly as I watched newer stuff during the RumbleMania period. Wrestlers still kind of have characters and sometimes those characters are related to their look (unstoppable monster Braun, goofy fun-loving New Day...) and everyone has a huge and very flashy move-set these days... But so, so, so, so often there is an almost complete disconnect between the characters and the in-ring action. I think the reason Braun is so popular now is that he is one of the very rare guys whose look and character are accurately reflected by how he works. Except maybe when he teams up with a child... But he really does look like a guy who has no fear, wants to fight on his own, and who just runs over people... So often now, instead, you see little handsome athletic guys throwing big bombs, huge ugly guys flying around the ring, everyday-looking guys working too fancy... and you don't seem to see good guys doing good guy things in the ring and bad guys doing bad guy things. I guess maybe now wrestlers are supposed to establish character, ethics, morals, and alignment through scripted interviews, speeches, and sketches? I guess stories are told that way now, almost exclusively? I guess everyone is generally supposed to put on an exciting back-and-forth evenly-contested match regardless of their character or the story being told? I dunno, man. I think that a wrestler with a Chaotic Evil character (pre-turn Bray Wyatt, for example) should work like one, and that the work should be clearly different from a guy with a Lawful Good character (baby-face John Cena, for example). I don't really get that with the vast majority of newer stuff that I watch. Certainly not to the same extent that I get it when watching 80s All Japan or WWC footage. It isn't even close. And I think it is really hurting "the product." Allow me two simple examples (from recent ***1/2-type matches): Taiji Ishimori vs Will Ospreay (NJPW BOSJ 5/18/18): Best match from Day 1 of the BOSJ. Watched it, kind of enjoyed it... but.. going in, I had a rooting interest. I like Ishimori. He was very friendly and nice to me when we met. (This is often he case with jacked-up, strong, Japanese dudes. They don't engage in Alpha Male posturing with me. Instead, we tend to get along immediately as members of a similar subculture, like a couple of Battlestar Galactica fans or Craft Pilsner enthusiasts). At any rate, I like Ishmiori... and I dislike Ospreay for some inexplicable reason unrelated to disliking overly fancy-dan pro wresting. Ospreay may also be a great guy, for all I know, but something about him just bugs me. So, I should have been an easy mark for this match. Spoiler, just in case: But there was never a point in the entire match where I was, like, "Oh No! Ishimori is going to lose!" or, "Oh, baby, you've got him now, Ishimori!" or vice versa. The work itself was very high quality. Tremendous athleticism, including some stuff I don't think I have ever seen before. But, they just went back and forth. Ospreay sold his shoulder or trapezius (by grabbing it) several times in the latter part of the match, but I still didn't get the sense of any dynamic where one guy was working on top and the other underneath. It was all, as I said, back and forth, my turn - your turn (albeit at a very high level) until someone hits their finisher. I am not sure which one was supposed to be the good guy, and which the bad guy. I guess most likely an up-on-things fan of current New Japan would know all about the factions and alliances and the characters... but my "Old Man Yells at Cloud" take on Pro Wrestling is that it isn't hard to do something in the ring to let me know whom to cheer and whom to boo without any other prior knowledge. Have someone give out high fives on the way to the ring, or look to the crowd for approval before throwing a punch, or make a clean break against the ropes... Have a guy do an arrogant taunt, or pull a fast one behind he referee's back, or shout at a baby... Is that too much to ask? Maybe it is! (Yells at Cloud) It's a tournament, so I guess the drama comes from "We both wanna score some sweet, sweet, tournament points" here. Maybe they are both bad guys... or both good guys... Ishimori wears a skull to the ring, and Ospreay has scary-looking entrance gear as well... but both guys work an athletic crowd-pleasing style... I'm not trying to be funny. I really don't know if they are faces or heels or what. Just a little bit of that 80s ring psychology would have got me to love this match. Alas... But maybe it's my fault because I am not up on current NJPW. So: Big Cass vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe (WWE SmackDown 05/29/18): OK, this is a whole other kettle of fish. As wrestlers and characters I love Bryan, like Joe quite a lot, and absolutley don't care about Big Cass other than hoping he goes away. As a person, I can confirm the widely-held opinion that Bryan is a great guy. Sincerely, genuinely, every time I have been around him he has impressed me with his kindness, good will, and generosity of spirit. Not only am I an easy mark for this match, it would be almost impossible to take me out of it. There's a slight, kayfabe-breaking complication in that I don't wanna see Bryan risk his neck (literally) in the MITB match... but if Cass wins I riot and the best result would be Joe stealing the win by pinning Cass, so Cass doesn't win and Bryan doesn't lose... And in the WWE Universe right now, Bryan is the Babyface of all Babyfaces, so all we need is him working from underneath or overcoming some obstacle, all we need is for him to ask us for our support... But, nah... it's all back and forth, my turn - your turn - oh, now it's his turn so I'll go lie down over there... It's Bryan, and Joe... so the work is by no means bad... And we know their characters: The lovable under-dog, the borderline-unstoppable Suplex Machine/Submission Machine/Destroyer, and... uh... the tall guy with long hair. It should be so easy. But imagine if you came into this cold. Maybe you could intuit that the little fast guy is the underdog and so you should cheer for him... but until near the end of the match they don't do anything to specifically build on that! Everybody gets their stuff in and mostly it all looks good... but why oh why does Big Cass not have a giant's move-set or at least some giant-specific spots? What, other than wildly superior speed and execution, really distinguished what Bryan is doing in there from what Cass is doing? Why isn't Bryan playing to the crowd? He's so good at playing to the crowd!! Remember the subtle heel stuff he did in that tag match from Weekend of Thunder Night 2?? (Samoa Joe & Jushin Lyger vs. Low Ki & Brian Danielson w/Julius Smokes - how does that match have better crowd work than this one?) Remember the run up to WM XXX? That was Hulkamania levels of crowd love! Finally, near the end, Bryan has his Hulk-Up spots but even then it's like he's playing to the camera with the first one. I have to imagine the Richmond, Virginia crowd were just bursting to show their support. Why were they not given that chance until right at the end, just before... Cass is a giant and his character is apparently evil but he really does not look or work like a monster. He should work more like King Kong Bundy, and I mean that in all sincerity. I enjoy watching Samoa Joe, but once again I sincerely do not get if he is supposed to be a good guy or a bad guy. Honestly: Is he meant to be a "tweener"? Everyone loves Bryan and he is a master of working the crowd. Why not go all the way with that? Again, maybe the drama was all supposed to come from "who gets the opportunity" and we are already supposed to get the characters... presumably there was a skit setting this match up, earlier on the show... but why not play up the story and the characters in the ring instead of just everyone getting all of their stuff in?

I liked Owen and Candido as a team in the JWA Young Lions Cup (where they beat future-Liger and Future-Ultimo Dragon), and I am happy to see them working together again, here.

I agree with spaldoni, nice job re-loading after the big Memorial Day show. Honky gunning for King is one of those cool things we can get to see only in the world of this project.

Tremendous card in Winnipeg! Any of those last 4 matches could have been a main event anywhere in Canada and maybe anywhere on your circuit. Andre as the mystery partner is impossible to top. He is the best possible mystery partner and you can just imagine the look on the faces of the heels when he shows up. And then you cap it all off with that spectacular finish to the Steamboat match. Those fans will be talking about that one for a good long while. If only the AWA could have put something like that on TV "in real life."

OH! And, as for Onita. I cannot and will not disparage Mimolette... BUT: I was once invited to a "Where the Wild Things Are"-themed birthday party, and they served "Moss Balls" which were cream cheese rolled into balls with tons of spring onion, parsley, and green herbs. Absolutely delicious spread on crackers!! And, well... Onita... WIld Thing... Maybe as a back-up plan if the Mimolette is unavailable.

I would have given Ron Garven a more solid, basic, workingman's cheese, like Wisconsin Cheddar or something like that... but it's not difficult to agree with your choice of a hard, salty, consistent cheese that packs a punch. Giving Tanahashi and Toyota blue cheeses cracked me up, mostly because a lot of my Japanese friends ***hate*** blue cheese, even the adventurous eaters. Brie and Camembert are quite popular over here, relatively. In my experience, Japan is simply not cheese country... Anyway, I love the payoff in giving them blue cheeses because they are popular, but you don't like them I can't believe that there is a cheese called "Piper's Pyramid!" How perfect is that? It looks delicious, too. I was hoping that Monk's Head cheese would make your list!! Tete de Moine is one of my personal favourites. There is a lovely little pub in my hometown of Nara where they serve a nicely fruity Japanese craft ale called Yona Yona on tap (an old style pull tap, too) and they have a lovely large table made from a varnished section of a large old tree trunk, and you can sit and have a glass of Yona Yona accompanied by some nuts and dried fruits and little curly girolled slices of Monk's Head cheese. The owner's dad has been sick recently, so the pub has been closed while she takes care of him. That makes me appreciate all the more how lucky I am to have a place like that, within walking distance. Great match for Castignoli!

Phoney Karate Expert Larry Z is a really fun character. Adams vs Wellington is a good face vs face match-up. Pillman vs Leo Burke? Yes please! More, thank you! A great veteran worker and a young guy with loads of talent. Pillman can only improve by working more with Burke. Cobra Corps vs Playboy After Dark and Varsity Club vs Ex-Varsity Club continue to be hot feuds. Nice to see that Payne picked up some skills over here! Patera & Blackwell vs Martel & "X" --------> Shaddap and take my money!!

It is nice to see the Batten Twins in WWC. I seem to recall reading somewhere that they did, like, 15 or 16 scaffold matches in a row down there in the late 80s. To me, that makes it all the more remarkable that they didn't hang up their boots until 2005. Great heeling with los Mercanarios and Chicky joking about how they will still get paid even if they are suspended for deliberately injuring someone. Chilling foreshadowing, there. No rush on this, but I'd like to see what Tamba could do over in Japan. A big agile heel has a good chance of getting over with our fans. Keep it kayfabe... but if Barrabas hates to see American tag teams coming in to WWC, I have a feeling he is going to be livid pretty soon... It is hard for me to think about the fun-loving crowd-pleasing Owen Hart that I grew up watching in Stampede has fallen under the influence of Chicky Starr and Hangman Bobby... Ah, who am I kidding? I love it!

Hulk Hogan **is** American Singles, though. Bright Orange in hue... Popular to the point of being ubiquitous... Hated by the snobs... but actually more enjoyable, versatile, and satisfying than they generally get credit for... Very well suited to certain particular purposes... Highly profitable... A Good source of phosphorus... But, if you think that is as good as it (wrestling/cheese) gets, you are sadly mistaken and there is a whole world of better options out there for you to discover. I am really looking forward to the rest of this.

This is really bringing up an old thread with minimal reason... but I was going through Tarzan Goto match reviews on this site today and came across this and... It's very very likely that "Jun Kikuchi" is a/k/a Jun Kikuzawa, who was in a couple of Goto tag bouts that also got reviewed here. Kikuzawa's other aliases include: Kikutusu Jack, Ebedullah the Butcher, and Kiku-Kiku-Kiku... ...but he's perhaps best known as (the original) Ebessan, or as Kikutaro.

I've said it before and I'll probably say it again: I sometimes feel a bit sad when I'm done reading one of these big show write ups. I've been enjoying seeing these two huge Memorial Day cards come together, and looking forward to seeing what happens, for a while now. I guess there's The Parade of Champions to look froward to next. There's always something going on in this world... After surviving Steve “Dr. Death” Williams & the Barbarian and Abdullah the Butcher & Tiger Jeet Singh I think we can say that The Road Warriors are firmly established as the top dogs in the NWA tag scene. I also liked Valiant's "turn about is fair play" spot in the Taylor vs Oliver match. The $10,000 challenge continues to be a highlight of your shows. I agree with everything SirEd said: Orndorff will be a great champ; Ted Dibiase, Manny Fernandez & Rick Rude are a dangerous trio; and that Bullrope Match was great. Any of those last four matches could be a headliner anywhere. What a card!

Loves games like mortal kombat and stuff. Got 5 or so minutes to impress her with wrestling for the first time so need something good. I'm just guessing picking something with austin would be a good idea as he was super over with the crowd be it a part of a match or a angle. If she loves over the top violence (like MK), maybe go with the Undertaker vs Mankind HIAC match.

I'm looking forward to seeing the JWA guys fighting in Texas. Million Dollar Man putting a bounty on Dusty is perfect. Link seems like exactly the right guy to get the ball rolling on that one.

It makes me happy to see Iron Mike get a pin. Great use of the Steiners as an unpleasant surprise for the bad guys. Backlund gets the win... but at what cost? And that's kind of a theme tonight, as a few guys take a ton of punishment... Polynesian Power getting some sweet revenge is a great way to end the show.

...snack on danger and dine on death was my favourite pro wrestling quote of the 1980s. I'm happy to see it pop up here. Nice job on the lead-in show overall, building things up for the big card. Loved the last segment, with the stark contrast between the affable and down-to-earth Duggan and the stuck-up, superior attitude of Dibiase.

As you pointed out in the Dirt Sheets, the influence and impact of the Horsemen on WWF is really becoming clear now. For example, I don't know if we would have seen an intense 15-minute brawl between Honky and Perfect as the opening match during the Hulk Hogan era. An injury! It feels like it's been a while since we had one of those. Tully getting a bye adds some intrigue to the tourney. Was that Arn's intent? Love that picture of Flair and Hulk! ...and that has to be the perfect way to build up anticipation for Flair vs Hogan into a frenzy. What a show!

Just a reminder that the Nikita/Martel/Baba story has been building for a solid month. It started at the Johnny Rougeau Memorial Cup when Nikita assaulted Martel on Day 1, leading to Baba facing an injured Martel on Day 2, and continuing when Baba was assaulted by Nikita during the tournament finals match (with Inoki showing his class by choosing not to pin Baba after the assault)... plus we had Baba in Martel's corner during his championship match in Japan. So, it's not like Baba's involvement here is completely out of the blue. (although, to be honest it also wasn't planned out as a long-term story, it just kind of worked out that way). I see it as adding an element to Martel's story rather than taking away from it (I mean, of course that's how I see it. I'm 100 percent a Baba guy). Hopefully there will be more to come from Baba vs Nikita and Martel vs Nikita. I don't think this will be like when Terry Funk attacked Flair in '89 and that just put an end to the Flair/Steamboat story. It's interesting that both Baba and Nikita have beaten Martel... but in fact neither of them have beaten Martel at his best, when he was fully healthy.