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Zenjo

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Everything posted by Zenjo

  1. Zenjo
    Again this was average, inoffensive and fairly short. Both men were heeling it up as best they could. The finish came out of nowhere, which was both surprising and predictable.
  2. Zenjo
    Early on Yatsu hits a powerslam, the same move that he won with on day 1. It barely phases the legend. Undeterred Yosh continues to have most of the offence and has a few of the crowd believing that he can win. Unsurprisingly he doesn't as a few lariats and the sasori-gatame get the duke. If you're burned out on closing stretches you might be finding this tournament more enjoyable than me so far. Although Chono vs Mutoh going 27m in the following contest would drain any enthusiasm quickly. There were a couple of solid matches to end the day in Hash vs Iizuka and Sasaki vs Hash.
  3. Zenjo
    Slow paced matwork with Mutoh in economy mode ahead of the frantic schedule. There was a house show kind of vibe to it, despite on paper being a dream match. The finisher was the best part as the wily veteran countered a handspring elbow into the waki. This was as underwhelming an opening day of a G1 as you could not hope to see.
  4. Zenjo
    Some fun early on with the giant swing. Hash was laying in the kicks as hard as usual. Everything was going along nicely before it ended out of the blue. Came across as a total fluke victory. Whilst shorter matches are a vital part of the G1, I'd rather they didn't do it in what was potentially one of the best bouts of the tournament.
  5. Zenjo
    Your body is seriously fucked up if you can't go a few hours without having a shit dude.
  6. Zenjo
    The first wrestling that I can recall watching was from the dying days of World of Sport. Literally the only memory I have of it was Big Daddy belly butting people. That's it. Amazingly I wasn't hooked and would have to wait a few years for my fandom to begin.
  7. Zenjo
    I can't think about Who without cracking up. It's hilarious. Then again I find someone getting a custard pie in the face a constant source of amusement. Old sitcoms are the height of stuff that's funny because it's meant to be funny, but is actually tiresome, predictable and unfunny. Making it ironic comedy gold. Just try watching an old show and copying all the tinned laughter and reactions of the audience one time. Ideally when the only person in the house.
  8. Zenjo
    I highly doubt it'll ever make the air. Pro wrestling pokes fun at itself so much as it is. And WWE has employed Hollywood Screen Writers for years so it will just be the same jokes.
  9. Zenjo
    No relation. She took the name after training under the tutelage of the Malenko family. It was the same with Carl Malenko (also known as Carl Greco) who appears in BattleArts later in the 90's.
  10. Zenjo
    Is there anywhere where someone listed Terry Funk's say top 20 greatest matches in his All Japan career. I'm looking at the AJ 80's ballot that I submitted and there's 2 matches in the top 25 featuring Funk. (Jumbo 14, Tenryu 11, Hansen 6, Baba 4). Add in the 70's highlights and I still think you'd be struggling to go beyond a top 10. This is compared to a group of late 80's and 90's workers with the greatest match output in wrestling history. And this was a promotion more than any other that revolved around great matches. Based solely on his AJ career I can't see how Funk could rank top 6. I do agree with the top 10 however. I'd clearly have Jumbo, Tenryu, Hansen, Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi in the #1-#6 bracket. As to the order, I'd probably change my mind from month to month. Tenryu, Hansen and Kobashi all contributed to their legacy in other promotions as well. Jumbo and effectively Kawada had all their careers in AJ, and Misawa all his prime. From #6 to #10 there's Baba, Funk, Taue and Akiyama. From a standpoint of contributions to AJ then Baba is a clear #1 as it's his company. Also one of the smartest workers I've ever seen. Taue was the 4th corner. Funk and Akiyama, again I'm separating AJ from non-AJ output. 1) Misawa 2) Kawada 3) Tsuruta 4) Kobashi 5) Hansen 6) Tenryu 7) Taue 8) Baba 9) Funk 10) Akiyama Outside the top 10 I'd also have to mention Choshu. Not an AJ guy for much of his career, but incredible in the time he was there.
  11. Zenjo
    Having watched the 1999 Yearbook recently I'd say that from a good match perspective, 1999 is the worst year in company history. It wasn't until 2000 that there was any particular focus on producing good matches to satisfy the growing smark section of the fanbase. In the 80's and 90's the storylines were always first and foremost.
  12. Zenjo
    Jobbers are good. They should have them on every week. How can anyone cheer for Natalya? Even by women of WWE standards she comes across as such an awful person. Annoying as hell. Wooden actress as well. Useless on the mic. Serviceable in the ring, but that sure isn't the reason she's hung around so long. I know they're holding off Charlotte vs Sasha until one of them gets injured but the division is heading south in the meantime.
  13. Zenjo
    If nobody had mentioned Stevie Ray it's because of the first word in the topic title.
  14. Zenjo
    This was from amongst the weakest of the 225 events that AJW released on tape in 1993. Although it did have Akira Hokuto vs Numatchi on it. Greatest 7 second match in history I'm telling you. I can't recall another match from AJW in the time period that looked more choreographed than this. I guess they were experimenting. It didn't work. Added to this was the fact that nobody performed any better than average. We have the usual 'mid power moves are finishers in elimination matches'. Then at the end Power on the Dream injured Kyoko with their top rope double team, so she couldn't kick out. That made the ending a horrible mess. Ugh.
  15. Zenjo
    Best match of the night here. Consistent G-VG quality, well worked and the right length. Toyota looked like a superstar throughout and went over strong. Surprising how enjoyable the stretch was when Oz didn't get that close to winning. Ozaki also produced a good showing, but I think that putting the golden girl over was the main objective.
  16. Zenjo
    This was a dream match, and it lived up to expectations. The severe contrast between the two characters was a lot of fun. There was also a big difference in wrestling styles, although that was true of Kandori vs anyone. The build was good rather than great, with a few lulls. The second half was high level and got better the longer it went. My rating kept on rising. The LLPW ace kept attempting submissions with Kyoko escaping them all. Shinobu was also able to counter her opponents offense and avoid the Niagara Driver. They sold exhaustion superbly to make the match seem longer than its timespan, in a good way. In the end a sweet scissored armbar got the job done. I love that move. Hash used it from time to time as well. This card may not have had a MOTYC but was jam packed with awesome wrestling.
  17. Zenjo
    The law of diminishing returns was in full effect with this rivalry. Thankfully this was their final meeting. Lots of boring matwork, little action and an underwhelming finish. Lazy and poorly worked. After the victory Albright calls out Vader.
  18. Zenjo
    Black Man vs White Man
  19. Zenjo
    I liked the beginning best as they were sharply into the matwork. They went 50/50 for the most part with Hikari providing a stern test. Toyota then took over at the end and won with something to spare. She certainly wasn't in jeopardy. The level peaked early and went on a slight downhill gradient over time. Because of appearances and sharing a few of the same moves Fukuoka was seen as JWP's version of Toyota. In terms of experience and ability her equivalent wrestler was Sakie Hasegawa instead.
  20. Zenjo
    The booking is pretty much a case of putting four main eventers in random teams and seeing what they can do. 1993 AJW was the one year more than any other when throwaway matches on paper were anything but in reality. There weren't any prominent storylines, it was all about the workrate. It was noticeable how Yamada dominated the in-ring time for her team as Hokuto's knees must have been hurting. Not that there was a deterioration in her performance level mind you. Toyota's flexibility makes the early matwork segments more interesting. She had a reasonable day on offence. The two star performers today were the tuff girlz, who kicked the tar out of each other. They had a fun rivalry going throughout the first half of the 90's. The first 3/4 of the match was really high quality action. The final stages weren't bad, yet were not up to the standard of what had gone before. Afterwards Hokuto grabbed the mic and put Rumi Kazama and her LLPW buddies in their place.
  21. Zenjo
    Solid stuff here with some fun moments. I could list 55-60 better AJW matches from this year mind you. Some nice stiff work from Bat, who was an underrated worker in a tag environment. Of course Aja responded in kind. Kyoko was impressive as per usual. The problem was the snoozy Ito FIP segments. She doesn't have the charisma for the role. Had someone better replaced Pan then it would've gone up a level I'm sure.
  22. Zenjo
    Another fantastic match from Saito, who was taking full advantage of her JGP opportunities. Initially there was a feeling out process, but it wasn't long before the choking and the hating began. Takako was always excellent at rivalry psychology and Harley had the outsider role, which she portrayed well. About 11m in Davidson took a bump from the top rope and 'badly injured' her ribs. She had them taped up and after a lengthy break re-entered the ring to face the pain. Her selling was very good and she was also able to fight back by attacking the arm. It was a gruelling affair and at times the momentum drifted. The work was always good but I thought it was going to top out at that level. Instead they slowly built up to a terrific stretch. Exciting 2.9ers put the icing on the cake. A nicely planned and executed bout that made effective use of the time they were given. Very satisfying.
  23. Zenjo
    Not only did you have the Hokuto vs Kandori redux, Kandori vs Kong was an electrifying confrontation as well. It's a shame the singles never took place. Eagle is someone I'd rate higher than most Joshi fans. She held up her end superbly in the #4 role. Had she not performed at her peak it would've been a letdown when Shinobu wasn't in the ring. The former Judoist was on the receiving end early doors. SK's submissions skills gave her a wealth of counter-attacking avenues, and she was deadly when she gets the opponent on the deck. Hokuto had her head wound reopened, yet that was superficial compared to her shoulder being destroyed. The ref had to step in to save Akira from serious injury as she'd never save herself. Really good quality throughout, as strong as could realistically be hoped for as Eagle wasn't near the level of the other three. The issue was far from settled as Aja was furious afterwards. She gave her partner a run for her money in the 'awesome promo in a language I don't understand' competition.
  24. Zenjo
    I mentioned how strong Chigusa's comeback matches were. In JWP. The four years of ring rust was very apparent in this disappointing encounter. Slow paced and not in a good way. Weak finish too. Chiggy vs Devil from the previous show was a lot more fun than this.
  25. Zenjo
    I thought this was a great match the first time I saw it. I also think it's fair to say I've ascended to a higher level of comprehension since those fledgling days of Puro fandom. Some Bolshoi and Kyoko comedy capers to begin. It did have some fun moments like the 32 giant-o swings and 'punt the clown'. There were the usual problems with 20m six mans however and the work was never that hot anyway. Above average is the best I can offer. This was an excellent show overall, but the strength in depth is in no way comparable to the first Dreamslam. Then again, what is?
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