gordi

That's a really creative idea and I'm looking forward to seeing where you take it.

That would have been a fun series of tapings to attend, with all the long Flair title defenses.

Well, at least something good came out of that PPV. Serious question: which huge company treats its customer base with more contempt: WWE or EA sports? Admittedly, I rarely watch WWE these days... but reading about this PPV really made it seem like they are just flat out trolling their fans with so many aspects of their booking and presentation these days.

JWA Festival of Champions: End of the Tour. June 21st, Tokyo, Ryogoku Kokugikan - Seven Title Matches and Faction Wars II AWA Southern Champion “Playboy” Buddy Rose vs Mighty Inoue A battle between two kind-of-pudgy guys who are, despite their appearance, actually superb athletes. The story of the match was Rose and Inoue struggling to get dominant positioning behind their opponent. Inoue, in order to hit his Belly-to-Back Suplex, and Rose in order to hit his Belly-to-Back Backbreaker. They ran through over a dozen variations of “one wrestler tries to get behind the other, while the other tries to block or escape that predicament” without ever repeating themselves. It was Pro Wrestling as Art, and it was beautiful. In the end Rose won the struggle, and the match. JWA Heavyweight Champion Black Tiger vs Dos Caras Once again, the moment that Black Tiger’s opponent had a clear advantage on the middleweight champ, Riki Choshu made an appearance on the entrance ramp. This time, however, before Choshu could call out the reinforcements he was attacked out of nowhere by Dos Caras’ brother, Mil Mascaras! The crowd went crazy as Mascaras held off Choshu and his minions while Dos Caras took care of business in the ring. A couple of Flying Cross Chops and one Sitout Powerbomb later, and JWA had a new middleweight champion. Mil Mascaras posed proudly with his brother during the belt-awarding ceremony. AWA American Champion Lex Luger vs Yoshiaki Yatsu Luger came to the ring accompanied by Rusher Kimura, who translated as Luger bragged that no wrestler in the JWA is powerful enough to withstand his Backbreaker Hold. Kimura and Luger then strutted and flexed in the ring… until Ashura Hara and Yoshiaki Yatsu came charging down the aisle. All four men brawled in the ring, out of the ring, and around the ring. Hara and Kimura continued brawling on the outside while Luger and Yatsu beat the count back into the ring. Luger got to his feet first, and knocked Yatsu down with a forearm smash. He then hoisted the former Olympian into position for the Argentine Backbreaker, but Yatsu fought his way out with knees and elbows. Yatsu then got Luger in position for a Powerbomb… but Rusher Kimura clobbered Yatsu with a big Lariat before he could hit the move. The ref called for the bell, awarding the match to Yatsu by DQ, and all four men brawled to the back. Continental Heavyweight Champion Bruiser Brody vs Bam Bam Bigelow For ten solid minutes, Brody ran through his move-set while Bigelow bumped and sold for him. Right at the ten minute mark, the veteran Continental Heavyweight Champion hit the young challenger with a King Kong Knee Drop and the referee counted one… two… only for Brody to pull Bigelow up before the three-count and indicate to the crowd that he was going to dish out even more punishment. Brody whipped Bigelow into the corner and charged at him, but at the last second Bigelow dodged out of the way. Brody hit the turnbuckles full force, and Bigelow rolled him up with a handful of tights for a very close 2.9 count. This enraged Brody, who whipped Bam Bam into the ropes… only to get caught by surprise when Bigelow knocked him off his feet with a dropkick on the rebound. Bigelow then hit a Running Senton and went up to the top corner… but Brody knocked him off, and the two men brawled outside of the ring. Brody went into the crowd, scattering the fans, and came back out to ringside holding a folding chair. This brought Adrian Adonis and Phil Hickerson charging down the hanamichi to defend their stable-mate. As the referee tried to restore order Riki Choshu came out of the crowd with a chair of his own, and absolutely clobbered Brody. He then disappeared back into the crowd, while the ref managed to send Hickerson and Adonis back to the dressing room. Bigelow picked Brody up, tossed him back into the ring, went to the top turnbuckle, and flew onto Brody with a big Diving Splash. Three counts later and the crowd went crazy for Bigelow – despite his heel status – as he became the first JWA roster member to beat a visiting foreign champ in the JWA ring. Faction Wars II: Team Giant Baba vs Fujinami’s Family – Tsuruta, Hara, Sayama, Misawa, and Takada vs Fujinami, Kimura, Koshinaka, Sting, and Kido The first fifteen minutes of this match were dominated by Fujinami’s Family, with Hara, Misawa, and Takada doing most of the selling and Fujinami and Blade Runner Sting providing most of the offense. The turning point came when Takada made a hot tag to Tsuruta, who got a couple of quick near-falls on Sting. The young American managed to make it back to his corner, where he tagged Osamu Kido in to the match. Kido went straight at Jumbo, but quickly found himself isolated in Team Giant Baba’s corner. A series of quick tags led to Kido eating one big move after another: A Samoan Drop from Hara, a Wrist-Clutch Tiger Suplex from TMII, a Jumping Sole Kick from Esperanza, a Piledriver from Jumbo, and finally a Moonsault from Tiger Mask Sayama to finish things off. ***BREAK*** JWA Tag Team Champions The Giants vs Abdullah the Butcher and Umanosuke Ueda Still furious about what had happened in Kyoto, The Giants went straight at Ueda and The Butcher before the bell even rang. Within minutes, all four men were bleeding as they brawled around the ring. Andre mis-timed an out of control charge at Umanosuke Ueda and ended up spilling over the barricade into the front row seats. Ueda and Abdullah took advantage of this opportunity, tossing Baba back into the ring and working him over savagely with throat thrusts and foreign object attacks. Baba fought back valiantly, though and he managed to take back the momentum even before Andre made his way back to the ring apron. Abdullah was trapped in the ring ropes, and Andre punished him with hard chops before allowing the Butcher to tag his partner into the match. Ueda was reluctant to face Andre one-on-one, and with good reason. The 520-pound Giant tossed the blonde heel around the ring and knocked him silly with a huge Head-Butt before finishing him off with a Sitout Splash that looked like it crushed Ueda’s rib-cage. NWA United States Champion and NWA Canadian International Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk vs Bad News Allen While the Tag Title match was an out-of-control bloody brawl, this was more of an in-control technical brawl. Funk and Allen threw punches, kicks, knees, elbows, head-butts, and chops but the action mostly stayed in the ring and nobody used weapons or performed any manoeuvres more dirty than the occasional eye-poke or forehead bite. There weren’t a whole lot of holds or moves exchanged, this was just two tough men wearing each other down with vicious strikes for almost twenty minutes. This was a completely different match from the one Funk fought with Jumbo in Aichi, but he seemed completely in his element here as well. I guess that’s why so many consider him one of the greatest of all time. Allen more than held up his end and he almost took Funk’s belt after hitting an Enzuigiri… but in the end it was two consecutive Piledrivers that put Bad News down for the count. JWA Champion Tenryu vs Don Muraco This was almost a minimalist power match, as the two big men bulled each other around the ring, engaged in an epic Test of Strength spot, and traded heavy chops and forearm blows. Muraco proved himself to be one of the very few men who can match Tenryu’s power in the ring. The muscular Hawaiian got near-falls off of a Samoan Drop and a Shoulder-breaker. Tenryu got a near-fall of his own after a Leg-feed Enzuigiri, and Muraco responded to the change in momentum by going after Tenryu’s eyes. That only made the JWA champ angry, however, and he responded by kicking Muraco in the face, taking his head off with a vicious Lariat, and ending things with a Folding Powerbomb. After the matches Luger, Muraco, and Bad News were hanging out backstage when they were confronted by Baba, Tenryu, Kengo Kimura, Yatsu, and Hara. The Japanese wrestlers approached the American heels and… presented them with expensive bottles of sake while thanking them for their hard work and contributions to the promotion. For his part, Luger handed out scarlet, silver and white Memphis Showboats USFL jerseys. He even had a custom one in Baba’s size. We all wore them that night, at the end-of-tour party, where we ate and drank and traded stories until the sun came up.

Yeah, those Kyoto crowds are not quite as boisterous as, say, Osaka or Fukoaka crowds... but I am pretty sure they were into it. This is a bit of a unique situation, as all of the foreign visiting talent on this tour are champions defending their titles. It would be quite an upset if one of the JWA guys won and took the belt!

That sounds right to me. It makes sense that dojo graduates would start out in Japan. If I want to bring, say, Doug Furnas over for a tour or two, I can always negotiate with whoever drafts him. Likewise if any other promotions want to bring in Kensuke or Hase. Technically, Hase started out working for Colon in Puerto Rico (and then Stu Hart in Canada), so if Dexstar wants to bring him over for a run I am sure we can work that out. He also got a huge push right away after returning to Japan. Not sure if I'm going to copy that or not. Probably not.

I like how you used the Brody match to set up the main event. Nice booking.

I'm pleased that everyone seems to be giving it real consideration. It's the kind of thing I can't help but think about with this kind of project. I could accept the argument that a wrestler was maybe "fated" to pass on or get hurt or go to jail at a given time... but my personal philosophy is more that each choice we make can impact our future in unforseeable ways. Of course, I'm perfectly happy to roll with whatever is decided. It is interesting to think about, either way.

The postage to Japan is gonna kill me, but I have to order a Betamax of the Rocket City Rumble. Two huge tournaments... and who is under that Super Olympia hood? Lots of reasons to keep tuning in.

Isn't it at least possible to ague that their circumstances might be different in our world? Part of why they were out of commission for so long is that The judge and district attorney in Waukesha, WI were up for re-election and used the incident to further their careers at the expense of Patera and Saito's freedom. You can read more about it here: http://www.armpit-wrestling.com/ken-patera-masa-saito-vs-waukesha-police-department/

Thanks! Obviously, Terry Funk is welcome to come back to Japan any time he wants to. Thanks! I would have loved to have seen Tenryu vs Fujiwara in '85. I've only seen the one match, from WAR in '97 and it was good but not quite everything I hoped it would be, I love being able to book some of my own personal dream matches... and reading the ones everyone else comes up with, as well.

JWA Festival of Champions: June 18th, Kyoto Pref. Gym - Seven Title Matches and Faction Wars I JWA Middleweight champion Black Tiger vs Naoki Sano Almost an exact repeat of Black Tiger’s June 11th title defense. Sano came out swinging from the opening bell, but as soon as he had Black Tiger in real trouble (with a Bow and Arrow Stretch), Choshu sent two of his stablemates (Teranishi and Afi) down to ringside to help him keep the title. To his credit, Sano managed to take the Choshu’s Army members out with a Suicide Dive. However, Black Tiger caught him with a vicious kick to the head as he was getting back in the ring. He then crushed Sano with a Diving Knee Drop then finished him with a Black Tiger Bomb. Continental Tag Team Champions The Nightmares (Danny Davis and Ken Wayne) vs The Blonde Outlaws (Umanosuke Ueda and Tatsutoshi Goto) Black Tiger, “Carpenter” Teranishi, and Siva Afi stayed at ringside for this match. Thanks to the distraction and interference they provided The Blonde Outlaws gained an early advantage, and before five minutes had passed both Davis and Wayne were busted open courtesy of Umanosuke Ueda’s foreign object. After five more minutes of punishment, both Nightmares were wearing the crimson mask, and it looked like Choshu’s Army was going to add The Continental Tag Team Championships to their trophy case. Just when things were at their worst for the Americans, though, Inoki Federation members Naoki Sano, Masakatsu Funaki, and Kuniaki Kobaysahi charged to ringside to get a little revenge on Choshu’s Army. When Umanosuke Ueda left the ring to help take care of them, Goto found himself alone in the ring against both Nightmares. Not wasting a moment, Davis nailed Goto with a Tombstone Piledriver, and Wayne came off the top rope with a Diving Legdrop… and with the Inoki Federation members holding off Choshu’s Army, The Nightmares found themselves bloodied but victorious. AWA American Champion Lex Luger vs Ashura “Fighting” Hara A 276 pound former pro rugby player vs a 270 pound former pro football player. So obviously, this was a match of power vs power and the two big men bulled each other around the ring and traded Shoulder Blocks, Forearm Smashes, and Slams. Hara got close near-falls after an Enzuigiri, a Samoan Drop, and a Lariat. When the Japanese veteran tried to finish things with a second Lariat, however, Luger once again countered with a Running Forearm Smash, then hit a Piledriver and locked Hara in the Argentine Backbreaker to earn a second successful title defense in Japan. NWA World Tag Team Champions The Fabulous Rougeaus vs The Tiger Masks (Sayama and Misawa) A rematch from the first day of the 2nd Annual Johnny Rougeau Memorial Cup. Once again, the two teams matched each other move for move. Once again, the The Tiger Masks came within an eyelash of scoring the victory after a Tiger Mask 1 Tiger Suplex on Jacques. Once again Tiger Mask II missed a cross body block… and the Rougeaus almost put Tiger Mask II away with La Bombe Rougeau after 25 minutes, but this time Tiger Mask I made the save… Then the Rougeaus tried their Boston Crab/Jumping Knee Drop Combo… but Misawa managed to get his leg up on the ropes to break the three count. With time winding down, Tiger Mask II scrambled to his corner and made the hot tag to Tiger Mask Sayama, who went crazy on the Rougeaus with Spinning Kicks and various strike combinations. With seconds remaining and the Kyoto crowd going politely crazy, Tiger Mask I struggled with Raymond, trying to hit the Tiger Suplex… but the bell rang to signal that the 30 minute time limit had expired. Both teams shook hands, posed for pictures, and promised to fight again sometime in the future, in Japan or in Canada. Faction Wars I: Choshu’s Army vs Inoki Federation – Choshu, Maeda, Adonis, Atisanoe, and Hickerson vs Inoki, Fujiwara, Sakaguchi, The Cobra, and Kawada The crowd was split about 80-20 in favour of Inoki Federation, but Choshu’s Army had some very vocal fans. We’re keeping the Faction Wars simple for now: One fall, 20-minute time limit, 10-man tag matches. Early on, Hickerson bumped and sold for his team and young boy Kawada took lots of punishment for his. Around the 12-minute mark, things got out of hand and the match turned into an all-out brawl. Inoki and Adonis ended up in the ring while everyone else brawled on the outside. Adonis popped the crowd by bouncing around the ring and selling like crazy, and it looked like Inoki was going to end it with an Octopus Hold… but Maeda climbed back into the ring and knocked Inoki loopy with a stiff Head Kick. Kawada charged into the ring to save Inoki but soon found himself isolated against Maeda and Adonis while Choshu, Atisanoe, and Hickerson held off his stablemates on the outside. The two-on-one advantage proved to be too much for the tough youngster to overcome, and a Maeda Bridging Capture Suplex ended things at the 18-minute mark. ***BREAK*** JWA Champion Tenryu vs Rusher Kimura Kimura spent two months working for the USWA, where he managed to earn a reign as UWF World TV Champion. As a reward for his success, he was granted a shot at the JWA Title. And, for the first ten minutes of this match it looked like Kimura just might take that title. He went straight at Tenryu, chopping him right in the throat, blatantly pulling his hair, choking him with the ropes and breaking right at the referee’s five count… at the 9-minute mark he nailed the champ with a hard Lariat, and Tenryu barely managed to kick out in time. Rusher hit a second Lariat, and was picking Tenryu up off the mat in order to hit a third… but Tenryu summoned all of his remaining energy and punched Kimura straight in the jaw. He followed that up with a hard chop to Kimura’s chest, then another jab, then a chop, then a punch… the Champ beat the challenger all around the ring as the crowd chanted his name. With Rusher Kimura on rubber legs in the middle of the ring, Tenryu bounced off of the ropes and just about took his head off with one of the nastiest Lariats I have ever seen. Before Tenryu could make the cover, Don Muraco, Bad News Allen, and Umanosuke Ueda rushed the ring and attacked the champion. Things were looking bad for the champ, until three men came rushing from the back to make the save: Giant Baba, Andre the Giant …and Terry Funk! Tenryu brawled with Muraco, Funk and Bad News went at it, Baba threw chops at Ueda… and eventually Andre cleared the ring. JWA Tag Team Champions The Giants vs Don Muraco and Bad News Allen As soon as order was restored, the bell rung and this match got underway. Funk, Tenryu, Ueda, and Kimura all remained at ringside so it was only a matter of time before things got out of control again. It took less than ten minutes. All 8 men were brawling on the outside when the crowd erupted in horror as none other than Abdullah the Butcher made his way down to join the fray. He didn’t waste any time, going straight after Giant Baba and busting him open with his taped-up fork. This enraged Andre, who chased the Butcher into the crowd, leading to a count-out loss for the Tag champs. NWA United States Champion and NWA Canadian International Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk vs Jumbo Tsuruta After all of that violence, Funk and Tsuruta ended the evening with a respectful, clean-fought, highly technical display of top-level pro wrestling that didn’t really get nasty until the final five minutes. Jumbo started his pro career in Amarillo training under the Funk family. In the 70s some of Jumbo’s first great matches included teaming with Baba against Terry and Dory Jr, and a famous singles match with Terry from 1976. So, it’s not surprising that these two have great ring chemistry, timing, and execution in there together. Everything felt like a struggle in this match, from the most basic arm work to the biggest high spots. They made some lovely call-backs to the ’76 match, with Jumbo getting a near-fall off of a Sunset Flip, and Terry coming close after a Hotshot and an Abdominal Stretch into Rolling Cradle combo. At around the 20-minute mark the strikes started to get a little harder and the action a little rougher as desperation began to set in. Both men were showing signs of fatigue. As the “30 minutes gone” announcement was made, both men were standing on wobbly legs at center ring, exchanging chops for punches. Jumbo grabbed Funk and whipped him into the corner. He charged in for a Jumping High Knee, but Funk dodged and Jumbo fell to the mat, clutching his knee. Seizing the moment, Terry applied his famous Spinning Toe Hold. Jumbo had no choice but to submit. After the match, the teacher and his student showed their mutual respect by embracing in the middle of the ring.

Love the pay-off to the Foley story-line. Very nice work.

Battleground is going to be a whale of a show.

Great debut for the Midnight Rockers, and a very nice show of class from The Spoiler.

Barry Windham vs Bret Hart is one of those great feuds that never actually happened. I'm excited to see it developing here.

Excellent introduction for the Bulldogs. The ongoing Foley story continues to be compelling. I feel real sympathy for the guy. He just wants to belong somewhere.

Colon vs Starr has got to be just about the biggest match-up you can deliver right now. Looking forward to it.

Top to bottom, that is one really solid card.

JWA Festival of Champions: June 11th, Aichi Pref. Gym - Eight Title Matches JWA Middleweight champion Black Tiger vs Nobuhiko Takada Takada was fired up for this one, determined to win another belt for Team Giant Baba. He came at Black Tiger hard, throwing strike after strike and not giving him a moment to catch his breath. After five minutes of non-stop punishment, “Esperanza” locked the champ up with a Camel Clutch. As he was doing so, Riki Choshu appeared at the top of the entrance ramp with Army members Isamu Teranishi and Yoji Anjo. Black Tiger’s stablemates made their way down the ramp, and Takada broke his hold to confront them. With Takada’s back turned, Black Tiger got back to his feet and dropkicked Takada into the ropes where he was met with a nasty punch/chop combo from Teranishi and Anjo. He stumbled backward into a Tiger Suplex, and three counts later Black Tiger had “earned” another successful title defense. NWA Canadian International Tag Team Champions Rick Martel and Gino Brito vs Tatsumi Fujinami and Shiro Koshinaka Martel and Fujinami both insisted on starting the match for their teams, which popped the crowd. And the two men put on a show worthy of that pop, as they went back and forth chaining together moves and counters for a solid twelve minutes of technical action. When the tags were made, Brito and Koshinaka came in all fired up. In contrast to Martel and Fuinami’s exhibition of technical mastery, their partners flew around the ring taking risk after risk. Eventually, Koshinaka hit a huge Jumping Hip Attack for a 2.999 on Brito. As Brito made the tag, Fujinami yelled for Koshinaka to do the same. However, Koshinaka chose to rush at Martel instead. This proved to be a mistake, as Martel caught him in a Spinning Spinebuster, and then hit three consecutive Backbreakers before finishing things with a Boston Crab. North American Champion “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs Siva Afi This was short and intense. Hacksaw came out on fire and just levelled Afi with a series of Shoulder Blocks and Scoop Slams. Afi refused to stay down, though, and eventually gained control by leap-frogging over a charging Duggan and nailing him with a Dropkick on the rebound. Afi then punished Hacksaw with a series of Chops and Head-butts. With Duggan down on the mat, the muscular Samoan went to the top corner and flew off with a Diving Splash, but Duggan rolled out of harm’s way at the last possible moment. He then made his way to the corner and assumed the Three Point Stance. As Afi stumbled to his feet, Hacksaw took him down with a vicious charging Clothesline to end the match and defend his belt. AWA American Champion Lex Luger vs Kengo Kimura Luger dominated things early using his size and power, but Kimura took the momentum when he caught Luger with a Leg Lariat after being tossed into the ropes. The veteran wrestler then took the big American down to the mat, where he taught him a thing or two. After several minutes of torture on the ground, Kimura picked Luger up and threw him into the ropes, hoping to finish him with another Jumping Leg Lariat. Luger had other ideas, though, and caught Kimura with a nasty Running Forearm Smash. The young powerhouse then picked Kimura off the mat and pressed him high overhead before dropping him face-down onto the canvas. He followed that up with a series of Elbow Drops to Kimura’s lower back, and ended things by hoisting him into an Argentine Backbreaker Hold. UWF World Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors vs Ashura “Fighting” Hara and Yoshiaki Yatsu Hara and Yatsu were waiting in the ring while Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” began to play on the sound system. As the Road Warriors charged toward the ring, Hara and Yatsu made brief eye contact and ran at the charging Americans, diving through the ropes and taking the fight to them on the outside. The referee called for the bell and started to count all four men out. Before he could reach a count of 20, the wrestlers rolled back into the ring where they continued to brawl. Hara and Animal rolled out of the ring to the North of the ring, while Hawk and Yatsu went over the top rope and outside to the South. Animal slammed Hara onto the concrete floor, and Hawk tossed Yatsu over the barrier and into the crowd, scattering the fans. Animal pressed Hara over his head and threw him back into the ring. He then entered the ring himself and lifted Hara up in a Bear Hug. Hawk climbed to the top turnbuckle and flew off with a Clothesline that knocked Hara across the ring. As Hawk pulled Hara back to the center of the ring, Yatsu made a desperate attempt to break up the pin, but Animal tackled him back outside. Three counts later, it was all over. ***BREAK*** JWA Tag Team Champions The Giants vs Riki Choshu and Akira Maeda Choshu and Maeda came right at the champs. First they focussed their attack on Baba’s legs, then they trapped Andre in their corner and pounded him with elbows, kicks and stomps. Also, for the first twelve minutes or so, until the ref had enough and ordered them back to the dressing room, you had Phil Hickerson and Umanosuke Ueda running interference on the outside. This lead to the almost-unimaginable situation where Andre the Giant and Giant Baba were fighting back from underneath. The crowd got really hot for this, as The Giants’ hope spots kept getting cut off. The turning point didn’t come until over twenty minutes had passed. Choshu came charging at Baba to put him down with a Lariat, but the Giant got his foot up and took Riki’s head off with a Big Boot. The crowd went mental as Baba made the hot tag to Andre, who crushed Choshu with a running Elbow Drop followed by a Senton. That only got a 2.999, so Andre tossed Choshu into his corner and called Maeda into the ring. To his credit, Maeda did not back down. However, with Choshu out of breath and unable to interfere, the Shoot Style pioneer found that it wasn’t so easy to get the advantage on Andre in a one-on-one situation. In a classic “turnabout is fair play” spot, Maeda found himself trapped in The Giants’ corner where he took an insane amount of punishment before being pinned after an Andre Double Underhook Suplex. JWA Champion Tenryu vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara Fujiwara had earned a title shot back in April, by beating Jumbo Tsuruta with his signature Arm Bar. However, he had stepped aside to allow Tenryu to get revenge on Bad News Allen at the April End of Tour Show. As such, this match was worked with a ton of mutual respect being shown by both fighters. Fujiwara got to showcase his grappling, and Tenryu his explosiveness and power. About fifteen minutes in, Fujiwara got a close near-fall on Tenryu after hitting a Swinging Neckbreaker. Fujiwara kept the pressure up, and five minutes later he was close to locking in his feared and famous Arm Bar on the champ. However, Tenryu managed to power up to his feet, where he lifted Fujiwara up in the air and broke the Arm Bar by slamming him into the mat with a modified Power Bomb. Fujiwara made it back to his feet, only to get taken down by a powerful Lariat. Tenryu lifted his opponent off of the mat, dropped him again with a German Suplex, picked him up one final time, and ended the match with a Folding Powerbomb. Both men shook hands and bowed in a show of respect after the match. NWA World Champion Ric Flair vs Jumbo Tsuruta In sharp contrast to the respectful display of clean wrestling put on by Tenryu and Fujiwara, Jumbo and Naitch just tried to kill each other for twenty-five minutes. Flair in particular pulled out all of the stops, using every trick in the book to gain an advantage. As the match progressed, Tsuruta became angrier and angrier and eventually started cutting corners himself. Of course, what ended up happening was: Flair would pull of some kind of subtle cheat, such as pulling on Tsuruta’s hair or tights, then Jumbo would respond with a closed fist or something, only to be caught and warned by the ref. A furious Tsuruta ended up laying into Flair with a huge series of merciless chops, which led to Flair begging off on his knees. The ref tried to get Jumbo to let up, which led to an argument. Tsuruta made the mistake of turning his back on Flair, and the Nature Boy made him pay by hitting him with a blatant and vicious low blow. The referee caught him in the act, though, and threatened to disqualify Flair, but Tsuruta begged the ref to allow the match to continue. However, the moment the ref turned his back to signal the timekeeper, Flair hit Jumbo with a second low blow. Tsuruta collapsed to the mat in agony, and Flair locked in his famous Figure Four to secure the tainted victory.

Chekov's cake...

...but they did get to see the future Minotaur!

Whoa! Plastic bag angle!

Take your time, we'll be here waiting when you get back.

Gama Singh was the top heel in Calgary for many years and Ron Starr won championships in all kinds of territories. Both were really good, underrated workers. Both are guys I considered bringing over to Japan for a nice heel run. I love seeing them do well in your territory. Sadly, word is that Ron Starr has just passed away.