gordi

It was satisfying to read about Blackwell and Patera leaving the AWA and then see them show up here. I like how there was lots of brawling but you also mixed in some chain wrestling and power wrestling. Top to bottom, what a great show. I can imagine trading third-generation VHS copies of this through the mail with my wrestling friends back in the 80s.

That's a really well-booked TV show.

It's already a better WrestleMania card than the one we got "in real life"

Wow. Blackwell, Patera, and the Roadies all gone. It's cool reading so many shows one after the other. It gives a real sense of the flow of your longer-term story telling.

Very entertaining read. Thanks for doing this.

It can be two things.

Sort of ironically, I have had almost 50 more clicks but only one more comment since posting this It's cool though. I always appreciate feedback, but there are a couple of other things I enjoy so much about participating in this: - I get way more out of reading your guys' stuff as a *participant* than I did when I was just an occasional reader. I feel like part of this little world we've created. - I really don't want to come across as pretentious, but it's really gratifying to have little bursts of inspiration when I'm writing up a show or a match. Like for example coming up with little things to try and make all those tag matches at least a bit different from each other. It's a good feeling when an idea pops into my head when I'm on the bus or something. - To combine the two: I genuinely get a huge kick now when I read some of the cool ideas you guys come up with, like for example how LowBlow uses the sheets as kind of an unreliable narrator. That's a great idea! Just one of many.

NJPW Tag Festival Finals, Feb 27, Tokyo Ryōgoku Kokugikan Fishman vs David Morgan A back and forth grappling contest from the two experienced veterans. After ten minutes of holds and reversals, Fishman trapped Morgan in his La Cavernaria (Surfboard Hold) for the submission victory Mutoh, Yamada, and Funaki vs Sano, Kosugi, and Hata The first of two matches building p to next month’s Young Lions Cup. Everyone got to showcase their offense, even Hirokazu Hata… although of course it was Hata who ate the pinfall, after a Roundhouse Kick from Funaki. Hashimoto and Chono vs Goto and Nogami In our second Young Lions showcase bout, Hash and Goto threw bombs at each other and Chono and Nogami worked a more technical style. Chono had Nogami trapped in a Facelock, but Goto broke it up. Hashimoto charged into the ring and tackled Goto to the outside. Chono whipped Akira into the ropes and hit him with a Kenka Kick for the win. Strong Machines vs The Cobras and Kendo Nagasaki Straight up old fashioned good guys vs bad guys, power and teamwork vs violence and treachery, six man tag action. The Cobras got a near fall on Strong Machine #2 after some double team chicanery, but he escaped and tagged in Strong Machine #1 who clobbered Cobra 1 with a Lariat and finished Cobra 2 with a Machine DDT. Shiro Koshinaka and Don Arakawa vs Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts A crowd-pleasing comedy match where all four wrestlers took turns performing Michael Hayes’ swivel-hipped crowd taunts. A Double Bulldog on Arakawa eventually earned the victory for the American team. Afterward, they shook hands with their opponents in a classy gesture. *** BREAK *** The Hart Foundation and Kim Su Hong vs. The Rock n Roll Express and Junkyard Dog You don’t get any bonus points for guessing who ate the pin in this one. A nice showcase and farewell for two of the 21 (!) international tag teams that contributed their talents to our Festival. The Harts beat up on Ricky Morton for a while, and then the Rock n Rolls and JYD got to show their stuff, mostly at Kim Su Hong’s expense. A Double Drop Kick on the big veteran Korean wrestler was the satisfying, if predictable, end to this one. Antonio Inoki, Seiji Sakaguchi, and Kantaro Hoshino vs Umanosuke Ueda, Anoaro Atisanoe, and Jimmy Garvin Inoki and Sakaguchi dominated the first part of this match, but after about twelve minutes of that an interfering Ueda used a foreign object to bust Sakaguchi open. An enraged Inoki tore the weapon out of Ueda’s hands and chased him out of the arena. Atisanoe went after the bloodied Sakaguchi with a vengeance. After almost being pinned twice, the exhausted judo stylist managed to tag Hoshino in. More or less left on his own against Atisanoe and Garvin, Hoshino fell victim to the numbers game. He fought bravely for a few minutes but a Garvin Brainbuster put him down for the count. Hayes and Roberts came out to congratulate Garvin, but he just shouldered his way past them and walked to the back. NJPW International Festival of Tag Team Wrestling Final Bout, winner to be declared the inaugural IWGP Tag Team Champions: Canek and Dos Caras vs Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura After all of the build-up and anticipation, I hate to say it… but this match was kind of an anti-climax. I don’t know if they were feeling the pressure or if they were worn down from fighting so many tough bouts during the tournament, or what… but these four men did not put on the show that we were all hoping for. It may just have been that the crowd was a little burned out from the previous two matches, but this one lacked that special energy that you hope for from a fight with this kind of “historical importance.” Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t actively bad. It was good, solid pro wrestling. It just didn’t reach the MOTYC kind of level that these guys should be capable of at their best. They tried to start out fast and furious but there was some whiffed execution early on, and that seemed to throw everyone off their game a little bit. They took things to the mat for the bulk of the match after that, working Headlocks, Grapevines, counters and reversals. The finish was pretty hot. After a tag, Canek and Dos Caras hit KImura with a Double Clothesline. Dos Caras knocked Fujinami off of the ring apron and did a huge springboard dive onto him, outside the ring. Canek picked Kimura up off of the mat and hit a Gorilla Press Slam then locked him into the Bow and Arrow Hold for the submission victory. The hot finish and the impressive belt-awarding ceremony went a long way toward washing away the faint bad taste of the somewhat disappointing match. All of the good guy wrestlers came out to ringside to pay tribute to the first-ever IWGP Tag Team Champions: Canek and Dos Caras. Kayfabe-breaking note for SerEdger and anyone else who was expecting a really good match here:

Ha ha! Man, I had forgotten all about Maven. Nice one. Did Jerry Lawler ever fight the Brooklyn Brawler?

This is probably going to come across as me complaining, but I honestly do not mean it that way. I am legitimately wondering; How is it possible that a thread like my NJPW Tag Fest thread gets over 300 views in a little over three weeks but only three guys (SerEdger, kevin, and LowBlow - and thanks for it) leave comments on it? Are people clicking on it hoping to read about an actual tag fest from New Japan in 1985? Are dudes worried that we will try to rope them into taking over a promotion if they leave comments? Does it feel pointless and redundant to just say "Nice show"? Are people too considerate to say "This was boring and stupid"? Obviously, it's not just my threads. All of us get way way way more clicks than comments. I'm happy people are reading, regardless. I really enjoy writing up shows and tours as a process, so I think I'd keep doing it even with zero feedback. Certainly nobody has any obligation to comment on any thread. I'm just genuinely curious why so few people choose to do so.

Thanks, Man! And here is the card for NJPW Tag Festival Finals, Feb 27, in Tokyo, at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan Fishman vs David Morgan Mutoh, Yamada, Funaki vs Sano, Kosugi, and Hata Hashimoto and Chono vs Goto and Nogami Strong Machines vs The Cobras and Kendo Nagasaki Shiro Koshinaka and Don Arakawa vs Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts *** BREAK *** The Hart Foundation and Kim Su Hong vs. The Rock n Roll Express and Junkyard Dog Antonio Inoki, Seiji Sakaguchi, and Kantaro Hoshino vs Umanosuke Ueda, Anoaro Atisanoe, and Jimmy Garvin NJPW International Festival of Tag Team Wrestling Final Bout, winner to be declared the inaugural IWGP Tag Team Champions: Canek and Dos Caras vs Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura

NJPW Tag Festival Semi-Finals, Feb 25, Tokyo Civic Sports Center Fishman, Enrique Vera, and Black Cat vs Double Daves and Black Tiger Mexico vs England in a fairly fast-paced and exciting opener. Black Tiger takes the pin with a Piledriver on Black Cat. Strong Machine #1, Junkyard Dog, and Don Arakawa vs Siva Afi, Tatsutoshi Goto, and Kim Su Hong A semi-comedy-style match with JYD and Arakawa providing the shtick and Strong Machine #1 providing the power and hitting a Machine Suplex on Goto for the finish. Keiji Mutoh, Shinya Hashimoto, and Masa Chono vs The Freebirds The tension continues between Hayes and Garvin, as they refuse to tag each other and instead take turns tagging in Buddy Roberts. When Roberts is nearly pinned after a Hashimoto DDT, Hayes and Garvin get into a shoving match outside the ring and a fed-up Roberts storms off to the back, leaving our befuddled Young Lions to win by count-out. Shiro Koshinaka vs Shunji Kosugi A showcase for Koshinaka’s offense and Kosugi’s selling. A Samurai Driver '84 finishes things up at the 12-minute mark. *** BREAK *** The Rock n Roll Express (Memphis) vs Canek and Dos Caras (NJPW) There were three parts to this match: Part one was an exhibition of The Art of Running the Ropes. Leapfrogs, drop-downs, Sunset Flips, and Dropkicks galore! Part two was Ricky Morton in Peril as the Legends worked him over with Slams, Forearms, and Elbows. The Climax of part two was the hot tag to Gibson, which would have blown the roof off of the Mid-South Coliseum but here in Japan only drew polite applause. The final section consisted of Gibson’s fired-up comeback eventually being cut off, and a Sitout Powerbomb for the finish. The Hart Foundation (WWF) vs Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura (NJPW) This match was short and intense, with both teams going all-out the whole way. Kimura got trapped in the Hart’s corner where they worked over his legs to set up a Figure Four Leglock, but Kimura made it to the ropes. Then they hit him with the Hart Attack, but again he was close enough to he ropes to break the pin. As Neidhart argued with the ref, Kimura made a diving tag to Fujinami who came in hard, cleaned house, and destroyed Bret with three consecutive Dragon Backbreakers to put his team in the finals. Antonio Inoki, Seiji Sakaguchi, and Kantaro Hoshino vs The Cobra, Umanosuke Ueda, and Kendo Nagasaki A brawl, with Hoshino doing most of the selling, Ueda busting Sakaguchi open, and Inoki hitting an impressive-looking Bridging Fallaway Slam on Nagasaki for the pin.

I appreciate the promotion of the Young Lions Cup and the call-back to the Tag Fest. NIce continuity!

Thanks!

NJPW requests Mil Mascaras and Abdullah for June 21st

NJPW request Lawler, Hansen, Brody, and Abdulllah for May 29th

Very dramatic show, building up to the big event.

Looking forward to it.

Dang... Maybe Stan's letter to Dave got lost in the mail or something...

Yep, you and Kevin were both only off by one. Speaking of the final four: New Japan Pro Wrestling is proud to announce the semi-final match-ups for our International Festival of Tag Team Wrestling. The Semi-finals and Finals will be held on the 25th and 27th in Tokyo. The winner of the Tournament will be crowned the first-ever IWGP Tag Team Champions. The Hart Foundation (WWF) vs Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura (NJPW) The Rock n Roll Express (Memphis) vs Canek and Dos Caras (NJPW) ​We are also proud to announce the first-round match-ups for our Young Lions Cup, which will be held March 8th through 23rd at various locations throughout Japan. The finals will be held in Fukuoka on the 23rd of March. It will be a 16-man single-elimination tournament consisting of four rounds: The first round, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals. Keiichi Yamada vs 2 Cold Scorpio (MACW) Masa Chono vs Hirokazu Hata Keiji Mutoh vs Akira Nogami Shinya Hashimoto vs Anoaro Atisanoe Owen Hart (MACW) vs. Shunji Kosugi Steven Regal (AWA) vs Naoki Sano Rick Steiner (AWA) vs Masakatsu Funaki Sting (Lutte Int.) vs Tatsutoshi Goto The winner of the Young Lions Cup will be allowed to choose a tag team partner and challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Title in April. If you have any questions or comments about either of these events, please contact NJPW Head Booker “Gordi” by telephone, by fax, by pm, or by replying to this thread.

February 21, 1985, Sendai City: NJPW International Festival of Tag Team Wresting Quarter Finals Japan’s northern prefectures were hit with an unexpected cold snap this week, complete with a minor blizzard that shut down some roads and rail lines. Sendai is the main transportation hub for the entire region, and so the municipal and prefectural governments pulled out all the stops to clear the Tōhoku Expressway and to get all seven lines connecting to the JR East Sendai Station up and running. They also put in extra effort just for us, keeping the roads and parking areas near Sendai City Gymnasium clear and running extra bus and subway service before and after our show. Considering all of that, we wanted to put on the best show possible for the 7000 fans who braved the elements to make it out to our event. There was even a unifying theme to tonight’s matches: The importance of experience and team-work. It seemed appropriate, given the situation. Yamada, Funaki, and Nogami vs Sano, Kosugi, and Hata After running so many matches in diverse styles the past couple of weeks, it was nice to start off with a straight-up NJPW 80s Junior style match. I’ve been teaming Yamada and Funaki together since I took over as booker, often with Sano on the opposite side. Yamada works a flashier and more athletic style, while Funaki’s wrestling is on the stiffer and more realistic side. I think they complement each other well, and I think Sano works well opposite both of them. Nogami has shown flashes of real potential, and Kosugi and Hata are both skilled at making other wrestlers look good. Nogami got the win with an STF on Hata after 12 minutes of action. The Hart Foundation (WWF) vs The Cobras (NJPW) All four of these guys have been in the ring with each other before, in Calgary. As a result, they clicked pretty well in their only match together in this tournament. The Cobras are brothers, and the Harts are brothers-in-law, so good teamwork and communication are a given. Both teams were willing to bend the rules a little in this match, but it was apparent that the Harts have been doing that together for a lot longer than the Cobras have. Bret and Anvil were able to turn the tables on the Cobras more often than not and eventually the Takano brothers got their signals crossed up and collided in the middle of the ring. Then, Bret tossed Shunji outside, Neidhart lifted George up off the mat, and the Harts took the bout with their famous finisher. Aichi Blondes (NJPW) vs The Rock n Roll Express (Memphis) This bout was different from the previous one in that Ricky and Robert worked clean, but it was similar in that their greater experience let them stay one step ahead of their brawling, cheating rivals. Morton bumped around for a few minutes making Aichi Blondes look good, but once the hot tag was made to Gibson it was only a matter of minutes until the Rock n Rollers put Goto down for the count with a Double Drop Kick. Seiji Sakaguchi, Strong Machine #1, and Junkyard Dog vs Mutoh, Chono, and Hashimoto Another showcase for our young lions, building toward the Young Lions Cup next month. Mutoh, Chono, and Hash all “got their stuff in” before Chono got trapped in the veterans’ half of the ring. There, he was blasted with a Hammerlock DDT by SM#1, a Choke Bomb by Sakaguchi, and then a Powerslam from JYD for the 1,2,3. *** BREAK *** Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura (NJPW) vs Anoaro Atisanoe and Siva Afi (NJPW) Atisanoe and Afi, though tough and powerful, are a relatively young and inexperienced team. Fujinami and Kimura simply overwhelmed them with constant pressure in this match. It wasn’t quite a squash as the youngster kept fighting back and proved difficult to finish, but the outcome was never in doubt. After 12 minutes of pouring it on, Fujinami caught Afi in a Dragon Sleeper to advance his team into the semi-finals. The Freebirds (USWA) vs Canek and Dos Caras (NJPW) This was the one tournament match-up where neither team held a distinct experience advantage. What allowed Canek and Dos Caras to triumph was their superior game plan: Keep your cool, don’t get goaded into mistakes, stay out of their corner, take it to the mat, and go after their limbs. So when Garvin and Hayes taunted them, they didn’t react. When Garvin tried to start a wild goose chase, nobody followed him. Eventually the Freebirds started to get frustrated and then it was they who made foolish mistakes and ended up trapped in their opponents’ corner. This led to even greater frustration, and Hayes and Garvin got into a shoving match. A distracted Garvin got rolled up with a Dos Caras Clutch and he and Hayes argued all the way to the back as the Lucha Legends celebrated in the ring. Antonio Inoki vs. Dave Taylor A nice treat for the fans who came out in the snow: A straight-up grappling match between two masters of the form. Inoki and Taylor fought and struggled over every hold and reversal. After about 12 minutes of back and forth wrestling, Inoki surprised Taylor (and the crowd) by pulling a Flying Cross Armbreaker for the win.

I'm looking forward to this.

I appreciate Porkchop Cash shouting out "the greatest tag team tournament around" last week. I think you are using Hansen and Abby just right. I love the interplay between JR and Ladd.

Don't hold back too much. In fact: if you kinda hate it, why not take a flamethrower to it?

I have no problem saying that in my opinion Black Buffalo is a *Great* Pro Wrestler. I went to so very many Osaka Pro shows from the time I moved here in 2009 until things fell apart for the promotion in 2014. Black Buffalo just flat out brought the goods every time. He works great in all kinds of roles, from house afire face through chickenshit heel, and in all kinds of styles from comedy through hardcore brawling.. He's a guy who you could show s an example to someone who isn't sure what you mean when you say "He really does all the basic stuff so well." This particular match isn't exactly the ideal showcase of his abilities, but I am really hoping that an increased or renewed appreciation of Black Buffalo might be one of the things that comes out of this project. Asian Cooger and Tigers Mask, too... but if I had to choose I think I'd say that Black Buffalo was the best worker in Osaka Pro in the time I was watching them regularly, and among the very best I have seen in my 8 years in Japan.