gordi

Holy cow! The people of Cochenour get two huge title changes! I did not see that Kernodle victory coming. Wow.

He did also have one of the worst titles runs that a "major" wrestling promotion has produced this decade. Which one? The GHC Title run? I'm not trying to be funny, I really don't follow modern wrestling closely at all. (Hence, "from what little I've seen...") A lot of other highly pimped guys/matches in the last few years have really let me down when I get around to watching them. MiSu's pimped stuff that I have seen has not let me down. My other choice would be Dick Togo, again based on a very small sample size (mainly vs Billyken Kid and Antonio Honda which are two matches that I loved, and also stuff like him showing up in places like Bolivia and Vietnam and wrestling fun matches). He spent a lot of the decade retired, though... which is why I gave Suzuki the nod. Bryan is also obviously great, but he's spent a lot of time on the shelf as well. Kana/Asuka's matches haven't let me down often, either, come to think of it.

From what little I've seen, I'd go with MiSu. Legit MOTYCs this decade vs Tanahashi, Sugiura, Styles, Yano... best match on this year's Jan 4th card vs Goto... and I have heard good things about the Riddle match as well.

I'm wondering which classic wrestlers of the 50s 60s and 70s might have been considered handsome in their day.

Steamboat & Garvin is just a great main event babyface team. Both very likable guys, but tough enough that you could put them in there against anyone.

I'll bet Owen vs Benoit was exciting. I agree with spaldoni, I hope t sets up a future title match.

I think it's obvious who the Mighty Seminole Warrior is. We all know that there was a famous wrestler active in the 1980s who went to Florida State University. Of course I am referring to none other than Barry Horowitz! (pats self on back). (A surprising fact I uncovered when researching that "joke" is that Lana is also an FSU alum).

Oh, this was just f'n tremendous. Mixing some very entertaining Kobashi vs Kensuke chop battle and Dragon Gate corner attack elements into what is otherwise a straight up 80s style big hoss clubbering battle. Just big, strong, tough guys laying it in and knocking each other around. Every guy in here can both dish it out and take it. This was right up my alley. Maybe my favourite match of the year so far, I'm not kidding.

I'm just going to ignore it completely

Great idea for a thread! Tiger Mask - a lot of pro wrestling hipsters are still caught up in the backlash negative opinions of his work... but a lot of Japanese men of my generation consider him the greatest ever. Fujiwara - "mainstream" fans barely know who he is... but to the Segunda Caida crowd he is a shining golden god who can do no wrong. Taue - it's so unfair that people always rank him as clearly the worst of the Four Pillars.... but it's also insane that some hipsters try to act like he Is better than Kobashi or Misawa.

I love the sheer variety here: Biff vs Burke is a rookie vs veteran showcase. Blackman vs. Adams is a martial arts battle. Nord vs. Cowboy Bob is a slug-fest. Furnas vs. Sullivan and Zenk vs. Lafon were about furthering the storyline. Scorpio vs. Somers was presumably fast-paced and technical. ... and then four title matches that run the gamut from battle of wits to bloody brawl!

Talk about gilding the lily.

My wife's favourite is The Rock, and obviously that is one dude whose handsomeness transcends pro wrestling. There is no possible way to reasonably claim that he isn't Movie Star Handsome. In terms of real life, it was always fun to see the reaction that women had to Zeus when he was in Osaka Pro. He has an undeniable presence in person. There were more than a few drop dead gorgeous women who came to the shows just hoping for a chance to meet him. Bryan Danielson is small and pale and kind of puppy-dog goofy looking, but I have seen boisterous Indy crowds in Vancouver fall silent when he takes his shirt off. His body iwas truly beautiful up close, in person, in those days. I assume it still is. That he is a kind and genuine person only makes him more attractive. And, I know this will be a controversial opinion, but I think Tinieblas Jr has the best-looking mask in all of Pro Wrestling.

What an honour and a great surprise it is to have Giant Baba win the cup. I loved the booking of the final, the way Inoki decided not to take a dirty win reminded me of Bret vs Piper from WM VIII. Really good story-telling there. Hopefully Baba and Nikita will be able to work out their issues in the ring somewhere down the road. The visual of Martel landing on his feet and hitting the dropkick was just great. If a monster like Gordy can't take the belt from an already beat--up Martel... who will be able to dethrone the champ? That's how to book a guy to look strong!

Obviously, I am totally stoked to see Inoki in the finals and Baba in the semi-finals I marked out for both Baba victories, particularly the one over Piper. Fujinami and Fujiwara have been in the same stable for a while now, so it makes sense to see Fujinami using a Fujiwara Arm Bar... In fact, I think I'll add it to his repertoire in Japan now. Loved that match. I am looking forward to Baba vs Orndorff and the JWA Tag Title match, and Martel vs Gordy (not gordi)

Wait. What?! The match started out with: German Suplex, German Suplex, German Suplex, German Suplex, F5. How do you progress from that? The whole thing was pure dumb big move spamming and chair shots. "Progression" was a clear and obvious weakness of this match. It's the last thing I'd choose to praise about it.

The heels disingenuously bagging on Ricky Santana for his "turn about is fair play" spot has a kind of classic pro wrestling feel for me. Owen doing one thing but saying another seems like more effective heeling than if he just straight-up acted like a bad guy all the time. Chicky criticizing people when he himself does far worse things makes him so much more hate-able. Subtle character work, by pro wrestling standards. Good stuff.

Doering, Akiyama, & Hino vs Zeus, bodyguard, & Shingo sounds great to me!

So much going on here... as usual in the AWA. Adams getting a No Time Limit match... will this be the payoff to his story, or the start of a new chapter? Piper and Cactus are headed for a collision, and it's going to be crazy when it happens. Is Shane Douglas going to steal Chris Adams' gimmick ? Shocking heel turn by the Z-man!! Who is the masked man? PAD vs CC keeps heating up more and more.

I'm enjoying reading this project. Fujinami had such a long and diverse career.

Truly, the 2x4 is mightier than the sword.

Bubba passively-aggressively getting his revenge on Embry and Garvin is great stuff. The twists and turns of the Funks vs Von Erichs feud are also crazy entertaining. Lawyer vs Studd in a cage should be great.

Wow! Brody, Hansen, Terry Funk, Dusty, Kerry Von Erich, Magnum TA... all eliminated on day one! JRMC is always full of surprises. I hope Martel can make it to the ring to face Baba. I'm also looking forward to Jumbo vs Abby.

MCG = Melbourne Cricket Grounds?

Hmmm.... a gold mask with red tomahawks? Maybe a former Florida State Seminole?? I like how you used the tag match main event to build up for a future singles fight.