gordi

JWA Japanese Championship Tournament Round 2, Day 1 July 8, Kobe World Hall Koshinaka, Hamada, and Yamada vs Kobayashi, Inoue, and Hamaguchi A fast-paced, smooth, and exciting 6-man middleweight tag match to start things off. Their mandate was to do enough to get the crowd hyped up, but not to do so much that they burned the crowd out. They hit that target exactly. Kobayshi pinned Yamada with a Fisherman’s Suplex Hold. UWF Continental Heavyweight Champion Bam Bam Bigelow vs Blade Runner Sting A fast-paced power match with Sting coming very close to victory before falling victim to outside interference from Phil Hickerson and Adrian Adonis. Sting was awarded the victory by DQ, but he took quite a beating, and Bigelow retained his belt. JWA Tournament Match: Akira Maeda vs Osamu Kido Kido fought valiantly, but Maeda simply overpowered him. Much as he did with Funaki, Maeda caught Kido’s leg during an exchange of stiff kicks, and pinned him with a Bridging Capture Suplex. JWA Tournament Match: Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Rusher Kimura Kimura took it to Fujiwara early with brawling and power moves, but Fujiwara fought back with nasty head-butts and (as he almost always does) took over as soon as the action hit the ground. An Arm Bar earned the victory after twelve minutes of intense action. ***BREAK*** JWA Tournament Match: Bruiser Brody vs Seiji Sakaguchi The two big men went back and forth for almost twenty minutes, busting each other open and bleeding and sweating all over the ring and ringside area. Sakaguchi’s Stomach Claw had Brody in real trouble, but he used an Eye Poke to get free and then hit a Running Big Boot and a Kong Knee Drop to advance to the quarter-finals. JWA Tournament Match: Jumbo Tsuruta vs Shinya Hashimoto Once again Tsuruta proved himself to be one of the most generous competitors on the JWA roster. He took a dozen minutes of hellacious punishment from the tough young lion, and ate two very close near-falls before making his comeback. Once Jumbo took control, he wasted no time. Hashimoto ate a High Knee, a Lariat, and a Powerbomb before a Bridging Belly-to-Back Suplex gave Tsuruta the clean victory. JWA Tournament Match: Antonio Inoki vs Riki Choshu This was an absolutely epic Main Event. An announcement was made that anyone interfering in this match would be banned from competing in the rest of the JWA Tournament. This effectively kept Choshu’s Army members Akira Maeda and Adrian Adonis away from the ring… but Phil Hickerson and Umanosuke Ueda had already been eliminated in the first round. Eventually, inevitably, they made their way to ringside and got involved with the finish of the match. Before that, however, Inoki and Choshu went back and forth for almost twenty minutes with neither man able to gain a clear advantage. The momentum made a big swing in Choshu’s favour once his cohorts made their way to ringside… but Inoki’s long time tag partner Seiji Sakaguchi quickly charged in to even the odds a little. As the referee was trying to restore order, Rusher Kimura joined in the chaos and nailed Inoki with a Piledriver on the arena floor. Bloody and injured, Sakaguchi and Inoki continued to battle Choshu, Kimura, Ueda, and Hickerson, but the numbers game proved to be too much to overcome. A Riki Lariat ended things at the 29-minute mark. Giant Baba came down to ringside to help chase the Choshu’s Army members away… and then he offered Inoki and Sakaguchi the opportunity to fight for the JWA Tag Team Titles on the 11th in Osaka. Card for Osaka on July 11th: Koshinaka, Mutoh, and Yamada vs The Cobra, Kawada, and Ogawa Yoshiaki Yatsu and Nobuhiko Takada vs Phil Hickerson and Yoji Anjo JWA Tournament Match: Tiger Mask Sayama vs Samson Fuyuki JWA Tournament Match: Tatsumi Fujinami vs Siva Afi JWA Tournament Match: Adrian Adonis vs Ashura Hara JWA Middleweight Champion Dos Caras vs Black Tiger JWA Tag Champions The Giants vs Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi

I figure you used Bulldog Bob Brown's ring for the Richmond show and the Lutte ring in Duncan... so... probably nobody was taking side bumps at the Richmond show

Absolutely! The logistics work out. I have been on similar road trips.

Actual trivia: Duncan is the smallest city by area in all of Canada. It must have been nuts with all the wrestlers going across on the ferry.

Yep, it's important to me to give that match the attention it deserves. Hopefully the reason for it being booked so early in the tournament will become clear very soon. Yep. I generally try to start strong and finish stronger. There are a lot of very good, under-appreciated pro wrestlers to discover in Japan in the 1980s. I keep saying it, because it's true: Pushing me to diiscover and learn about this stuff is a huge side benefit of participating in this project. If I watch, say, a Mighty Inoue or Isamu Teranishi match now, I always get a feeling like, "That's MY guy!" Adonis' work in NJPW in the 80s is pretty mind-blowing. He was a very agile big man. Hickerson may be out of the tournament... but he still has a role to play Classic matches and MOTYCs are coming, later in the tournament... hopefully... You are exactly right that I'm booking these first round matches to "do what they need to do." As far as I can tell, Misawa and Brody never had a singles match in real life. They had four tags that I could find, all while Misawa was working as Tiger Mask. I love that I can give them a singles match here. He should be busy! He's one of the greatest of all time. I love being able to book Andre in Japan. I always have a blast with that.

I agree. So many nice twists and surprises on this card! I particularly liked: Tony Atlas scolding the PYTs, Bock's surprise opponent, and the huge twist with Bundy.

Really good Wrestling Challenge, telling the fans what they missed, then hyping up what's on TV tonight. Great use of your TV time. I liked how the Windham match on Challenge foreshadowed the match on SNME, but how you didn't just copy the ending. As always, I'm impressed by how you keep building to future events. That's something I want to improve in my own booking.

Oh, man! PIper as Orton's mystery partner. What a moment!

Perfect Main Event for Calgary on Canada Day.

Some big news out of Japan, where reportedly the Babas have been meeting regularly with Managing Director Hisashi Shinma and Booker "gordi" to discuss making a major change to their booking philosophy. Apparently, Shohei "Giant" Baba's original vision involved having three major titles (Heavyweight, Middleweight, and Tag Titles) which would each be defended about three times per month. The idea was to be able to produce "Big Event" type shows all over Japan, as opposed to Tokyo getting almost all of the big matches. The feeling was that, with almost every big name Japanese wrestler operating under the same umbrella, and with big name gaijin stars from all over the wrestling world eager to earn a fat Japanese paycheck, it would be feasible to run multiple title defenses every month without burning through contenders too quickly. This feeling has not changed. However, some on the booking committee have expressed a concern that, for example, with Tenryu defending the JWA title so often, title defenses do not always feel "special." Traditionally, Japanese singles champions tend to defend their titles about six times a year. Tenryu has already far exceeded that number, and he only won the belt back in April at the JWA Revival Debut show. Baba remains adamant that he wants to put on at least three "Big Event" type shows per month for the JWA fans all over Japan (and that he wants even the biggest names to work on even the smallest house shows between those event cards). One possible solution that has been put forward is to increase the number of titles in JWA, while reducing the number of defenses of each title per month. So, instead of having three titles that are defended three times per month, having perhaps five or six titles that are defended "only" once or twice per month. Also, rather than Tenryu defending his belt on almost every major card, the hope is that he could still provide a "Big Time" feel to events by tagging with other top names (like Jumbo and Baba) in matches on the upper card. Rumour is that the winner of this month's JWA Tournament will be given a belt to defend. Top contenders for the rumored JWA Japanese Title include Choshu, Inoki, Jumbo, Maeda, Fujinami, and Fujiwara. JWA's current belt-holders are JWA Champion Tenryu, Tag Champs Giant Baba & Andre the Giant, and Middleweight Champion Dos Caras. There is also a JWA Middleweight Tag Championship, currently held by The Dynamic Duo of Chris Adams & Gino Hernandez. Reportedly, the belt was created at least in part to help build up the Dynamic Duo's "Best in the World" story line. However, with the possible change in JWA's booking practices and the depth of Middleweight and Jr. Heavyweight talent on JWA's roster, it might make sense for the company to make good use of these belts in the future, if any team from JWA can manage to get them back from the Dynamic Duo. Finally, with Andre the Giant winning the NWA Canadian International Heavyweight Championship, and with possible story-lines being built around that this summer, it's likely that Andre and Baba will have to drop the Tag Straps soon. However, with almost all of JWA's big names involved in the Tournament, who will be available to take on The Giants?

NWA United States Tag Team Championship Match The Foreign Legion © {Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff} with manager Paul Jones against Bruiser Brody & Stan "The Lariat" Hansen No Disqualification Match Jerry Lawler vs Abdullah the Butcher NWA World Championship Match NWA World Champion (Currently "Nature Boy" Ric Flair) vs Lutte Internationale's Rick Martel

JWA Japanese Championship Tournament Round 1, Day 2 July 4, Nagaoka Welfare Hall Jumbo Tsuruta vs Toshiaki Kawada Maybe it’s just me, but I have a feeling that this could develop into an excellent match-up once Kawada gets a little more seasoning. Tsuruta gave the younger wrestler a ton of shine before putting him away with a Bridging Belly-to-Back Suplex. Shinya Hashimoto vs Tastustoshi Goto Goto went after Hashimoto’s eyes early in this one, which proved to be a mistake as it made the young Shogun very angry. Hashimoto kicked Goto’s sorry butt all around the ring and finished him off with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster. Akira Maeda vs Masakatsu Funaki This turned out to be an excellent match, as the young Fujiwara disciple refused to back down and kept bringing the fight to Maeda. The two men traded witheringly stiff strikes, exchanged painful-looking holds on the ground, and got back to their feet for another exchange of kicks. Maeda caught Funaki’s leg, and pinned him with a Bridging Capture Suplex. Osamu Kido vs Yoji Anjo This was not as slick as Funaki vs Maeda, but it was almost as nasty. They went back and forth for a solid twelve minutes before Kido caught Anjo with a Wakigatame Armbreaker. UWF Continental Heavyweight Champion Bam Bam Bigelow vs Hirokazu Hata A showcase for our young gaijin monster heel, as he defends the title he won during the festival of champions. Hata bounced around the ring for the big man, and Bigelow finished him off with a Powerslam followed by a Nuclear Splash. JWA Tag Champs The Giants vs Shunji Takano and Shinichi Nakano Essentially a seven-minute squash, this match gave the fans in Nagaoka a chance to enjoy seeing Andre the Giant in person. ***BREAK*** Bruiser Brody vs Tiger Mask Misawa This match was almost brutal, with Brody holding nothing back and Misawa bouncing around the ring but refusing to stay down… until Brody caught him with a Running Big Boot and followed that up with a Top Rope King Kong Knee Drop. Seiji Sakaguchi vs Keiji Mutoh The tall powerful judoka pretty much dominated the muscular and athletic youngster, but Sakaguchi gave Mutoh just enough to keep the crowd into it. Mutoh had a nice moment near the end where he caught Sakaguchi in the corner and used some flashy moves to dole out a little punishment… but Sakaguchi fought his way out of trouble with an Atomic Drop, then finished off the young lion with a Chokebomb. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Nobuhiko Takada Another excellent match pitting a seasoned Shoot Style veteran against a young master of the form. Takada won the striking battle, but once they hit the mat Fujiwara took charge. Takada fought like a future champion, but Fujiwara caught him in a Heel Hook in the middle of the ring and there was simply no way to escape. Kengo Kimura vs Rusher Kimura A nasty brawl. Kengo Kimura came into this match with his shoulder taped up, and Rusher went after it right from the opening bell, eventually tearing off the tape and choking Kengo with it while stable-mates Phil Hickerson and Adrian Adonis distracted the ref. With his arm out of commission, Kengo Kimura used a Jumping Leg Lariat and a series of stiff knees and kicks to make a comeback and pump up the crowd, but a little outside interference, a Rusher Lariat, and a big Double Arm Suplex finished things at the fifteen minute mark. Complete Second Round Match-Ups: Jumbo Tsuruta vs Shinya Hashimoto Akira Maeda vs Osamu Kido Bruiser Brody vs Seiji Sakaguchi Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Rusher Kimura Inoki vs Choshu Sayama vs Fuyuki Fujinami vs Afi Adonis vs Hara JWA is also pleased to announce the foreign participants in our Super Juniors Tournament: From MACW: Owen Hart From the USWA/UWF: Wild Pegasus From Mexico: El Hijo del Santo and El Dandy The Super Juniors Tournament will be held August 8 – 15th.

Thank you very much. I appreciate that. It's definitely an unexpected side benefit of participating in this project: I've been motivated to study 80s pro wrestling in Japan (nd elsewhere) and in turn that makes watching 80s wrestling much more enjoyable. That's a whole barrel of free sake, courtesy of Asian Cooger/Kuuga

LOVE the pic of Tamba the Flying Elephant assaulting the car.

Andre is also one half of the JWA Tag Team Champions (The very creatively named "Giants" with Giant Baba)... for a few more days, at least...

Drop it!

A lot of very nice, very 80s details. I am enjoying this so far.

My answer for the whole thing was Tamura 94-99. He was as good in U-Style in 03-04 too. Well, yeah, obviously if you compare their whole careers, Tamura takes it due to longevity (around 130 > around 75, lol)... but how about just looking at those three amazing years where they fought each other and Kohsaka... In both cases it's obviously an amazing three-year peak period... but which one is more impressive over those three years specifically? Personally, I'm inclined to give '96 - '98 to Volk Han (over anyone else during that time), though I may feel that way in part because I can turn around and say, "...but Tamura had the better career overall." That way everyone gets a trophy

I believe he was born in March, 1940.

Disgusting response. Yeah, to be sure. I don't even ... Get a grip. It wasn't meant to be taken seriously. I will, because of this post, never ever consider buying a single DVD from you. I assume I am not alone in this. I will encourage everyone I know who buys DVDs to stop buying from you. It may not cost you a single sale... but hopefully it might lead you to reconsider the balance between showing some class and trying to get a cheap laugh in the future. In my opinion you were way, way, way off this time. And, like El-P, I can't imagine ever enjoying a Breaks match again. I used to be able to enjoy watching pro wrestling and the NFL as a kind of pure innocent pleasure without ever giving a thought to the human damage being done. Those days are, sadly, long gone.

Here's a question: Volk Han '96-'98 or... Kiyoshi Tamura '96-'98?

Maybe now that he is a champion, he can afford to buy some false teeth.

You come out of The Royal Brawl, and *immediately* you are building toward SNME. Love it.

lol. Exactly.

JWA Japanese Championship Tournament Round 1, Day 1 July 1, Niigata City Gym Ashura Hara vs Phil Hickerson A hard-hitting heavyweight match to start off the tournament. Hickerson used every cheap trick in the book to try and gain the advantage, but that mainly just served to make Hara mad. The powerful former rugby star put the 300-pound American away with a Superplex that shook the Gymnasium. Umanosuke Ueda vs Samson Fuyuki A short but intense brawl that ended with Fuyuki winning by DQ. Fuyuki was wearing the blonde heel down with a Boston Crab when Choshu’s Army members Tatsutoshi Goto and Yoji Anjo rushed the ring to interfere. When Joe Higuchi ordered them to leave he ring, Goto and Anjo attacked the ref, costing their stable-mate the match. Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Siva Afi Another heavyweight slobber-knocker. Ueda remained at ringside for the match. He didn’t actually interfere, but his presence provided enough of a distraction to give Afi the advantage at a few key moments. Eventually, a distracted Yatsu got caught with a Diving Cross Body, and Afi advanced to the second round in a bit of an upset. Adrian Adonis vs Isamu “Carpenter” Teranishi Afi and Ueda stayed by the ring for this one, but their presence didn’t directly influence the outcome of the match. This was a fast-paced technical match with both wrestlers bumping and selling and flying around the ring. Teranishi got a near-fall off of a Waterwheel Drop, but Adonis kicked out and eventually took the match with a DDT followed up by a Flying Elbow Drop. Tiger Mask Sayama vs Kazuo Yamazaki Sayama and Yamazaki followed up that fine display of technical wrestling with an intense demonstration of the art of technical striking. I’m pretty sure that every kind of kick that has ever been invented got thrown at least once in this match. Yamazaki fought valiantly from underneath for most of the match, but when Sayama caught him in the temple with a Jumping Back Spin Kick, the match was over. ***BREAK*** JWA Tag Team Champions The Giants vs Mighty Animals A semi-comedy title match, as the 5’9” Mighty Inoue and 5’7” Animal Hamaguchi ran circles around Andre and Baba before finally getting caught and squashed. Riki Choshu vs Blade Runner Sting The young American powerhouse gave it all he had, but the experienced Choshu had an answer for everything Sting threw at him. A Reverse DDT earned Sting a solid 2-count, but that was as close as he got to victory. A Riki Lariat followed by a Sasorigatame Sharpshooter ended things at the 15 minute mark. Tatsumi Fujinami vs Anoaro Atisanoe Atisanoe used his size and power to gain an early advantage, but Fujinami was able to use his superior speed and athleticism to turn the tide. After that, it was mostly a matter of wearing the big man down before finishing him with a Dragon Sleeper in the middle of the ring. Antonio Inoki vs Shiro Koshinaka An exciting and athletic battle. Inoki gave Koshinaka a fair amount of shine before dominating the last five minutes of the match and taking the victory with a clean Bridging Fallaway Slam in the middle of the ring. Second Round Match-Ups: Inoki vs Choshu Sayama vs Fuyuki Fujinami vs Afi Adonis vs Hara