gordi

Just heard back from Verne on this. He actually teamed with Bob Della Serra in Ontario. I also got confirmation that it is indeed Bob Della Serra working as Karl Steiner.

I like the idea of Sangre Chicana and Pirata Morgan main-eventing a show a good decade and a half before their Apuestas matches. You really seem to be having fun with this dream roster.

NJPW New Year Golden Series, Tour-ending show, January 26th, Osaka Furitsu Taiiku Kaikan Available soon on Laserdisc and Betamax with bonus tour highlight footage! Yamada and Funaki vs. Black Tiger and Sano These opening matches are quickly becoming big highlights for me. Funaki and Sano match up very well with their realistic martial-arts type style, and I think that Yamada and Sano might be capable of putting on some great matches a few years down the line. We’re building up Black Tiger Rocco for a probable Jr. Title run in the future so he once again takes the victory here, with a Black Tiger Bomb on Yamada. Rocco’s taken an active role in Yamada’s training and I’m sure that’s really going to help him develop. The Young Lions (Mutoh, Hashimoto, and Chono) vs. The Lucha Libre Legends (Canek, Dos Caras, and Fishman) Hopefully in a year or so we’ll be able to give this same match-up a lot more time. The main purpose of matches like this is to give our young lions the broadest possible experience base going into the future. We also want to give the young guys some shine, keep the LLL looking strong, entertain the fans, and tell a comprehensible story. That’s a lot to accomplish in 12 minutes, but with the Legends being so generous in the ring I think we were able to accomplish most of it. A Dos Caras Clutch on Chono ends things here. Kendo Nagasaki vs. Junkyard Dog Some real hate in this one. JYD just beat on Nagasaki in and out of the ring for ten minutes straight, before getting blasted with the green mist and pinned (with a handful of tights). Once he’d recovered from the blinding mist, the Dog received a huge appreciative ovation from the Osaka crowd. Fujinami, Kimura, and Koshinaka vs. Kim Su-Hong, Kim Duk, and Tatsutoshi Goto This was as close to a squash as you are going to see in a New Japan ring on my watch. Goto got a bit of shine, hitting a couple of nice backdrops, but otherwise this was a straight showcase for Fujinami and co. In an unusual twist, Koshinaka picked up the win for his team with a Samurai Driver '84 on Goto. SPECIAL CO-MAIN EVENT: Inoki, Sakaguchi, and Hoshino vs. The Barbarian, Haku, and Siva Afi To make time for the main event we’ve had to rush through the first half of the card fairly quickly… but these guys got a god 20 minutes to tell their story. The Pacific Islanders had been running wild through the New Japan roster. Now, they would have to face our top trio. It’s pretty classic Japanese booking, if I do say so myself. Hoshino worked two long FIP segments, hitting the hot tag to Sakaguchi after the first one and finally to Inoki after the second one. To most of the fans, Inoki came across as the star of the match when he cleaned house on the powerful foreigners. To those in the know, however, Hoshino is really the guy who carried this one and made it something special. Still… no big surprise to how this one ended. *** Break *** MAIN EVENT: Once-in-a-lifetime Mega Gauntlet match: Seven Machines: Strong Machine #1, Strong Machine #2, Strong Machine #3, Strong Machine #4, Big Machine, Hulk Machine, and Giant Machine versus The Fabulous Freebirds, The Cobras (George and Shunji Takano), Umanosuke Ueda, and Anoaro Atisanoe “Batting Order” Strong Machine #2 Buddy Roberts Strong Machine #3 Cobra #1 Big Machine Cobra #2 Strong Machine #4 Umanosuke Ueda Hulk Machine Jimmy Garvin Strong Machine #1 Michael Hayes Giant Machine Anoaro Atisanoe This was wrestled as a kind of combination gauntlet match and lumberjack match, with the 10 men not legally wrestling or up next in the batter’s box surrounding the ring and able to interfere if someone is tossed outside. Here are the rules: Tags can be made, but only in the batting order provided. So, at the start of the match SM #2 can only tag in SM#3and SM#3 can only tag in Big Machine. If SM#3 is eliminated and SM#2 is the legal man, he can only tag in whoever the next remaining wrestler is on the batting order (for example, Big Machine). The “next man up” in the batting order must stand on the ring apron holding the tag rope. A wrestler can be eliminated by pinfall, submission, count-out, disqualification, or referee’s decision. Outside of the ring, interference is permitted. Any in-ring interference whatsoever is grounds for disqualification. Eliminated wrestlers may remain at ringside but are removed from the batting order and may not be tagged back in to the match. The match is over when all seven members of one team have been eliminated, with the other team being declared the victor. In the case of the one hour time limit being reached, the team with the most remaining wrestlers will be declared the victor. Got it? The heels tagged out frequently and quickly, cycling through their complete batting order while the Machines had only made a single tag. They constantly tried to bait the Machines into making a foolish mistake, but the face team managed to keep their cool. You could see that some of them were getting pretty angry, though. The first fall came when Strong Machine #3 caught Buddy Roberts with a nasty looking brainbuster in the middle of the ring, putting the Machines up at 7-6. Cobra #1 flew into the ring as soon as the 3 had been counted and nailed #3 with a dropkick before #3 knew what was happening. Takano followed up with a series of knee strikes and then he and Roberts threw the Strong Machine out on the heel side of the ring before the ref could restore order. #3 took quite a beating, but his fellow Machines were able to make the save before he got counted out. However, The larger Cobra had been tagged in by that time, and he was waiting on the top turnbuckle as #3 made his way back into the ring. One Missle Dropcick later and the score was even at 6-6. As Big Machine was making his way into the ring, Cobra #2 tagged in Umanosuke Ueda. Once again, the heels double-teamed the Machine and tossed him into the danger zone before the ref could gain control of the situation. By using such tactics, and by forcing a few of the Machines to lose their cool and make mistakes, the heels managed to pick off Big Machine, Strong Machine #4 (who was counted out while trying to get revenge for the beating Big machine had taken) and Strong Machine #2. This left Hulk Machine, Strong Machine #1, and Giant Machine facing two to one odds as the score stood a 6-3. With Hulk Machine in the ring, though, the face team was far from losing hope. Sure enough, Hogan took out both Cobras by himself, #1 with an Axe Bomber and #2 with a Big Leg Drop. Hulk Machine tagged Giant Machine in and went to ringside for a well-deserved rest. However, when Ueda distracted the ref and all three Freebirds interfered by going after Giant Machine’s mask and eyes, Hulk Machine lost his cool and jumped into the ring to make the save. All three Freebirds bailed, and when the ref turned around and saw Hulk Machine in the ring going after Ueda he had no choice but to hit him with an instant DQ. Hulk Machine was livid, but the rules are the rules. Now Giant Machine and Strong Machine #1 were at a 2-4 disadvantage, with Ueda, Garvin, Hayes, and Atisanoe all remaining eligible for the heel team. The heels, however, had made the mistake of angering the Giant, and he went on a wild tear, eliminating Ueda and Garvin in quick succession. Unable to contain the Giant, Hayes decided to sacrifice himself. He went after Giant Machine’s eyes through the torn mask, enraging the big man even more. Hayes then bailed out of the ring and took the Giant on a goose chase, leading to both men being counted out. This left Strong Machine #1 and Anoaro Atisanoe as the last two remaining fighters. They locked up in the middle and bulled each other around the ring, trying to gain an advantage. There was a big struggle where both men tried to hit a Piledriver. When #1 won that struggle and the heels tried to interfere, the remaining Machines swarmed over to stop them. As the twelve eliminated men fought outside the ring, Strong Machine #1 picked Atisanoe up, put a Hammerlock on him, spun him into position, and snapped his head into the mat with a vicious Machine DDT. Three counts later, all seven Machines were posing and celebrating inside the ring as the angry heels limped to the back.

Some good people on that crew.

Nice topic! 50s - (champion) Lou Thesz vs. Verne Gagne 1/25/52 Chicago,World's Heavyweight Championship match - aired live on the DuMont Network 60s - (champion) Giant Baba vs The Destroyer 3/5/1969, Tokyo, International Heavyweight Championship match https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAoTEK7wNts 70s - Giant Baba vs. Billy Robinson 7/24/1976 80s - Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu 6/5/1989 90s - Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue 6/9/1995 00s - Atlantis vs. Villano III 3/17/2000 10s - Dick Togo vs Billyken Kid 11/2/2010

I keep forgetting he was born in Utah. He's lived in the Greater Vancouver Area since the early 60s. He was one of the first pro wrestlers I ever met in real life as a very little kid, so in my imagination he's always been a local guy (and a real-life Big Friendly Giant). When I was in the first or second grade he had a pair of matches against Andre that were a very big deal to us little kids who loved wrestling. Of course, none of us were actually able to see anything more than the hype on All Star Wrestling on BCTV (I think the actual "Match of the Century" rematch between them took place in Montreal) but we all talked like we'd seen it and acted it out in the playground. Out of curiosity, Ricky Jackson, do you know Verne Siebert?

One more guy I would add to the list: Don Leo Jonathan! In terms of "historical" importance, wrestling quality, and how much I personally enjoy their work, my top 5 would be: Bret Abdullah Kiniski Carpentier Don Leo If history is de-emphasized it might be a quite different list. Also: Please let's not derail this interesting thread with a Bret vs. Flair argument. PLEASE just let that go, or start a new thread for it.

Bret gets my vote, too, but I did give pretty serious consideration to Abdullah, Kiniski, and Martel. Here's a question: Does Eduardo Carpentier count as Canadian? He was born in France, but he became a Canadian citizen and he is the face of wrestling in Montreal in much the same way that Stu Hart is the face of wrestling in Calgary. I doubt he would get too any votes but he probably belongs in the conversation.

I wonder if Dick Togo was a fan of Super Porky, growing up.

The Grand Wizard. Led Fuji and Tanaka to two Tag Title reigns, Stan Staziak to the World Title, and then led Superstar Billy Graham to a nine and a half month reign as World Champion, which I believe still stands as the longest world title reign by a true heel in WWWF/WWF/WWE history. Helped Pat Patterson become the first-ever IC champ, then after Patterson left his stable, took on Ken Patera and led him to victory over Patterson and an IC Title reign. People associate Mr. Fuji with Don Muraco because of Fuji Vice... But can you guess who Muraco's manager was when he took the IC strap? If you guessed The Grand Wizard, you are right!

I don't know if he was the first, but George "The Cobra" Takano used a Tombstone variation as his finisher in the 80s.

Is that the "Abuse of power! You!" one? That was absolutely amazing.

Finally (for now): I couldn't find a clip of Terry Gordy slamming the cage door on Kerry von Erich's head... but I did find this: It's another pretty significant heel turn, starting around 5:50. Love this idea for a thread. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with.

Glad you appreciated that. It gave me chills back in the day. Gouldie was amazing on the stick. And... starting around the 2:15 mark here... I'd say the biggest heel turn in pro wrestling history. I can imagine someone arguing for Bash at he Beach or Mega-Powers Exploding or Andre tearing the cross off Hogan's chest on Piper's Pit or the Barbershop Window, but... nah. This is the cake-taker.

Specifically, the promo Archie Gouldie cuts from about 1:00 to about 5:22 in that video. Probably the best promo in the history of Stampede Wrestling, arguably one of the very best ever.

NJPW adds "Vicious" Verne Siebert

Pretty fascinating to think that Onita was forced to innovate the Death Match style because of a knee injury... then subsequently my man Kikutaro was forced to innovate the Comedy Puro style because the alternative was being a lower-rung death match worker. I never knew that Shodai Ebessan once held the Barbed Wire Street Fight Six Man Tag Title. My mind is blown. By the way, I think that Ichiro Yaguchi was the third guy on Nakamaki and Nagasaki's team.

Check out CIMA in this match! Check out CIMA building around limb work and long-term selling! Check out the confidence and star power of a 23-year old who hadn't yet been wrestling for three years! It's pretty damned impressive. MiFu's hyper-speed semi-hemi-demi shoot-style work is pretty good here, too. I liked his selling here: He didn't stop being able to use his leg... but every time he used it he sold it more and more so you could see the damage accumulating. That works for me. These guys had a 12-minute match some time in 1999 and it was one of those matches where it was exciting but they were obviously trying to cram too much stuff into a short match... but here they have enough room to breathe and they use it really well, building more logically and selling a lot more. The ending was fast, exciting, and full of big moves but (amazingly for a Japanese indie in the year 2000) they did not overdo the 2.99s! This match ended exactly when it should have. Loved the crowd buying into MiFu's near-falls. Seeing Ted Tanabe in there doing his usual stellar job as ref gave me all kinds of sad and nostalgic feelings.

It looks like this took place in the sub-arena at the beautiful Osaka Kadoma Sports Center. That's a place I'd like to go to again some day. This match was to crown the first-ever Osaka Pro Wrestling Champion. Togo and Delfin are the two best possible wrestlers for such a "historic" O-Pro match. In a lot of ways, this is the spiritual predecessor of the 2010 Dick Togo vs. Billyken Kid No DQ OPW Championship match, which is one of my favorite matches of all time and a real contender for the best, most exciting, and most memorable match I have ever seen live and in person. This match highlights three of the things I really love about Osaka Pro: 1 - Osaka Pro crowds are amazing. As good as it gets in Japan outside of Korakuen Hall. When good guys do good guy things, they cheer When bad guys do bad guy things, they boo. When good guys are caught in a hold and struggling to escape, they chant their support. They are serious and attentive during ceremonial moments, and they laugh out loud during the comedy matches. Also, you can almost always find someone to go drinking with after the matches (and often before the matches and during the matches, as well). 2 - Speaking of ceremonial elements: Event though they are the living definition of a local indie pro wrestling promotion, Osaka Pro definitely knows how to create an aura around an important match. The announcements, the presentations, the playing of the anthem... it really adds up to create that elusive "Big Match Feel" even before the bell has rung (and even in a smallish arena). 3 - Osaka Pro is so very very good at creating and maintaining a good guy vs. bad guy aesthetic. It just kills me whenever some know-it-all dim-wit breaks out the old "They don't have heels and faces in Japan" trope. I was a regular attendee at Osaka Pro events from the time I arrived in Japan in 2009 until things basically fell apart for the promotion in 2014, and heel vs. face dynamics (and face vs. face and occasionally heel vs. heel dynamics) were always central to everything that happened in an Osaka Pro ring. This match is a perfect example. To be fair and balanced: The finish was far too 2.99-y for my tastes... but, that's pro wrestling in the year 2000. You combine a hot crowd, a big match feel, and a strong and clear "bad guy vs. good guy for the title" story and it's hard to go wrong. You add Dick Togo to that mix and... of course I loved this.

NJPW New Year Golden Series, January 24th, Nagoya, Aichi-ken Taiikukan - Aired on tape delay Chono, Mutoh, and Shunji Kosugi vs. Black Tiger, Akira Nogami, and Enrique Vera What surprised me about this one was the performance of Akira Nogami. I’d pretty much slotted him in as a lower-card job boy who lacked the potential star power of guys like Yamada and Funaki. He was stellar here, though: bumping around like crazy for Chono and Mutoh, showing real fire when fighting back, and really taking it to Kosugi when he had the opportunity. Black Tiger got the victory with a flying knee drop on Kosugi, but in my book Akira was the real star of this match. Hashimoto and Funaki vs. Goto and Sano We’d hoped for this to be a hard-hitting showcase match for Hashimoto, but unfortunately he connected a little too squarely with his spinning heel kick early in the match, leaving Goto legitimately dazed. So, the burden of carrying the match fell on Funaki and Sano’s shoulders and once again they put on a semi-shoot-style clinic, just stiffing each other all over the ring. In the end, Hash hit a DDT on Sano and tagged in Funaki who finished thing off with a cross armbreaker. Sakaguchi, Strong Machine #4, and Big Machine vs. Canek, Fishman, and Black Cat The first of our Three Special Trios Matches was worked in a clean, strength and power vs. speed and technique style, with a lengthy test of strength/bridge-out segment between Sakaguchi and Canek being the big mid-match crowd-pleaser. The American Machines once again finished things with that nifty backbreaker hold/elbow drop combo (that they later told me they had first seen performed by the Moondogs). Black Cat ate the pinfall. The Strong Machines (nos. 1, 2, and 3) vs. The Freebirds The second trios match was pure old fashioned face vs. heel action. Just when it looked like The Machines were going to take the win Anoaro Atisanoe, Kendo Nagasaki, and Umanosuke Ueda made their way to ringside to create a distraction, drawing Strong Machine #4, and Big Machine out from the back… and once again in the chaos Hayes and Garvin hit a double DDT to get the pin, on Strong Machine #3. KImura, Koshinaka, and Hoshino vs. The Barbarian, Haku, and Siva Afi Another match-up of speed and technique vs. strength and power, as the Japanese team fought bravely against their larger opponents. They almost had it won when Kimura nailed Siva Afi with a leg lariat and sunk in the triangle scorpion lock… but Haku and the Barbarian interfered to break the hold. After that the Pacific Islanders trio dominated the remainder of the match, finishing Hoshino with a backdrop/power bomb combo. *** Break *** Special Tag Match: Andre the Giant and Keiichi Yamada vs. The Cobras We put a fair bit of effort into setting this one up on TV, having Yamada earn Andre’s respect and then having Andre save Yamada from a Cobras double team. The effort paid off as the live crowd was pretty hot for this match. Of course Yamada worked face in peril and Andre eventually got the hot tag. How else are you gonna book this one? Special Singles Match: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dos Caras This was a straight-up technical battle. They worked every single hold as a huge struggle, telling the story of two experienced grapplers trying to find holes in each other’s defenses. They stuck mainly to mat work and grappling throughout, throwing in a couple of dropkicks around the 24 minute mark and a few throws after that. About 28 minutes in, Fujinami caught Dos Caras in the figure four leg lock. After a huge struggle, Caras managed to reverse it… only for Fujinami to reverse it again and regain the advantage. In desperation Dos Caras rolled under the ropes and he and Fujinami flopped to the floor outside, still locked in the figure four. The two men took their time getting back in the ring and locked up once again… only for the bell to ring as the thirty minute time limit expired. The two competitors, exhausted, met in the middle of the ring and shook hands warmly. Main Event: Hulk Hogan, Antonio Inoki and Junkyard Dog vs. Anoaro Atisanoe, Kendo Nagasaki, and Umanosuke Ueda This was, unsurprisingly, worked face vs. heel style all the way. We got the outside interference stuff over with early in the match as the Freebirds and Cobras came out to cause trouble and the Machines ran in and drove them away from ringside. After that it was a lot of JYD working FIP. He took an incredible beating, culminating with Nagasaki blasting the Dog with his blinding Green Mist. However, rather than going down for the count, Dog became enraged, lashing out blindly and fighting his way around the ring until he miraculously managed to get a hot tag on Hogan. After that, Hogan and Inoki cleaned house, tossed Atisanoe and Ueda out of the ring, flattened Nagasaki, tagged in JYD and lifted him high above their heads… and slammed him down onto Nagasaki where JYD got the 1, 2… 3!

You might want to try contacting my good friend Vicious Verne Siebert at http://a1wrestlingvideos.tripod.com/ In real life he's close friends with Rocky Della Serra (Bob's brother) and if anyone would know how to find footage of Bob "UFO" Della Serra it would be Verne. I believe Bob also worked in Portland and New Japan as Karl Steiner.

I really like the booking of STEVE KEIRN VS BOBBY EATON. Classic "slip on a banana peel" finish.

Around the four-minute mark then again at the very end. Canek was, kind of, the Cesaro of the 80s

The Main Event and the one with the gringos does seem like the way to go, though I would also accept either the Brazos or the Villanos match.