Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

Zenjo

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2204

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Zenjo

  1. Zenjo
    The Thunder Queen Battle featured a unique format, which to the best of my knowledge has never been exactly repeated since. JWP did have a 6 woman, 45m version in 2002. It's not like there was the slightest chance of ever matching the original, so why even try? All 8 participants delivered excellent performances. The quality of the wrestling over such a distance was so impressive. Countless different moves and sequences with four opponents they'd have shared minimal ring time with at best. Kong was particularly dominant early on with the shock early pin over Kansai. They did a good job of building up their WWWA title bout the following month. As the match progressed Oz and Kyoko took over the workrate. They paid the heaviest physical tolls for their efforts as Ozaki's eye was swollen shut and Kyoko's facepaint was replaced by blood. As people have pointed out the two sides were so well matched, so that any result seemed possible. The layout was superbly planned out with the number of falls being just right. They needed to have 1/2 falls in the singles to make the idea worthwhile. I dug the way that move effectiveness was reduced over time. Aja's second urakan was far less damaging than her first. Everyone was so energetic at the start, but around the 45m mark there was a great sweep of everybody hurting. The crowd was fantastic. The longer it went the more they got behind the home team. Aja and Takako brought some heelishness to help this along. Plus the JWP team had a camaraderie that their rivals didn't possess. The incredible ending was the thing that solidified this as an all time classic. It looked for all the world like a draw before Oz hits her finisher and grabs the win at a legit 59:55. Perfectly booked. Combine that with the superb action and the multi-layered story and you have the greatest match in the history of JWP.
  2. Zenjo
    After last years G1 classic this was a clear attempt to recreate the magic. Like most film sequels it failed badly. The disappointing thing is that it wasn't even a good match. The crowd were dying for something to cheer for, but the whole thing was slow paced and never really got going. Even at the end they were still laying around instead of doing big moves. At 26m long this made it rather boring.
  3. Zenjo
    This was rest hold city. Sasaki strung three together at one point. There was plenty of comedy but Rude really didn't look good out there. At this point in time Sasaki needed the protection of a tag team environment. They should've kept it short. It was a smart decision not to use the Rude Awakening as a finisher. Neckbreakers were never viewed as big moves in Puro. Any move off the top rope can always be a potential finisher anywhere in the world.
  4. Zenjo
    Whilst this was a bit of a styles clash it turned into quite an entertaining bout in the end. Rude didn't tone down his heel act at all for Japan which made it different and very heated. The Ravishing One certainly knew how to get a reaction, even if it was sometimes laughter. The American was able to sneak a victory because Hash was distracted by Madusa on the outside. The best part was actually on the comm afterwards. Sad music played in the background as Hash showed anger and disappointment at his failure. It was quite touching.
  5. Zenjo

    El Dandy

    Zenjo replied to Loss's topic in The Microscope

    In a way it's good to read 'articles' like that from time to time. Most of the wrestling related material that I read is from this site. It's like residing in a magnificent palace whilst being surrounded by a city of filthy streets and ramshackle buildings. Ignorance can be bliss, but not when it comes to El Dandy.
  6. Zenjo
    This was to set up the two big singles matches at Dreamrush. It was good quality without being memorable or standout. They weren't going quite full out as it was a B show and the previous contest had gone long. The bout started strongly before losing its way a bit in the middle. The finish was strong and they had an appreciative audience that I'm sure went home happy. With Bull and Kong around this time there was a changing dynamic with Aja about to replace Nakano as top dog. I loved the way Bull would subtly become less dominant over time without anything seeming untoward. She'd still kick ass and win most of the time, yet did it displaying more vulnerability than in 90-91.
  7. Zenjo
    Double Takada is an awesome show name. You'd never guess that the guy had an inflated ego. Sano had transitioned very well from his Junior days to shoot style as seen in the 7/26/91 MOTYC against Minoru Suzuki. This bout certainly wasn't near that level, although it was a good 'un. They started off slow and when business started picking up it seemed like they were going places. Rather than head to the finish they then slowed it down again and it ended out of nowhere. Hopefully there'll be a rematch as they could well produce better next time out.
  8. Zenjo
    The Russian did look like a smaller version of Dolph Lungren. Movie star looks. When he started out with some fancy suplay I had high hopes for this. It didn't live up to its initial promise, although it was a decent effort for an undercard bout. Nagai was one of those reliable career midcarders that are the lifeblood of every good promotion.
  9. Zenjo
    A reasonable setup match for the two planned singles matches at Starrcade. I don't mind that Rude vs Simmons never took place, but it sucks that the Ravishing one was never the same again. Ron only ever looked good in short bursts. Occasionally. After a slow start business picked up once Sting and Vader began squaring off.
  10. Zenjo
    Millions of women would cry themselves to sleep this night as the tache is gone. They did some straightforward body part work here which was reasonable enough. Unfortunately the move execution was a bit of a let down for the finish.
  11. Zenjo
    It's amazing that they used to have such lengthy bouts on TV. This would've lasted the best part of half an hour including the break. A gruelling battle for sure. Not always the most thrilling as it got bogged down at times. The workrate did remain high however and both teams were effective units. There weren't any weak links. I dug the upset finish and subsequent celebrations.
  12. Zenjo
    You just can't get rid of that damned mask can you? I've been going through the 1992 Yearbook threads and filling in some reviews I missed out first time around. This match shows why that's a useful thing to do. After reading the other comments I thought there was a good chance I'd overated it, and a rewatch confirmed my suspicions. Kanemoto was the third, and least successful incarnation of Tiger Mask. The gimmick sucked for Misawa as well. Koji wasn't bad here but clearly lacked experience. He got to square off against the next Dynamite Kid-o. Reasonable action but several spots weren't executed very well. Samurai was off his game. The other two made sure it was solid enough.
  13. Zenjo
    This was a good way to kick off the Clash, fulfilling its purpose. Steamboat came in with injured ribs so you knew that would be the focal point. It didn't start off all that hot and improved after that. I'd have liked to see an extra 5m.
  14. Zenjo
    Two years after his breakthrough Misawa becomes the ace and company leader. It would've occurred a bit later without Jumbo's illness. Baba certainly wasn't a progressive booker. It took a while to get going. Knowing that Misawa was coming off a shoulder injury was important. Hansen attacking the left shoulder wouldn't have made a whole lot of sense otherwise as Misawa does all his damage with the right arm. What this had in its favour were some brutal shots and a big match atmosphere. It felt important. In the end the elbow of death goes over and a new era begins. Good overall.
  15. Zenjo
    Dead crowd and Johnny Ace looked raw. Kobashi performed the best. AJ missed the Cam-Ams in 1990 as the Fantastics weren't a like for like substitute.
  16. Zenjo
    Chigusa makes her debut appearance for JWP, and even brought some schoolgirls along with her. She'd had a couple of matches at the Dreamslams, but this was the proper start of her comeback. Chiggy showed here that she still had it big time. The psychology between her and Devil was superb and they had the crowd in their proverbial palms. They were ably assisted by the two Lieutenants who factored into the equation perfectly. Since when was Plum this good? She was at the peak of her career at this point in time. I liked how even when the stars weren't in the ring they still felt involved in proceedings. I've seen many matches like this die a quick death when it's the two Junior partners squaring off, yet that didn't happen here. The pacing was a little on the loose side and there were minor errors in the execution. It never dragged though as they paced the big moves out and the rivalry always kept me intrigued. And Nagayo getting pinned for the finish was ideal after such a long battle. A JWP mini-classic.
  17. Zenjo
    The Royal Rumble usually has peaks and troughs. This year on the other hand was notable for its consistent watchability. There were hardly any jobbers amongst the participants. It's not that there were loads of headliners, but nearly everyone either had been or would be somebody. Midcarders who actually felt like they mattered. The match had a very organic structure. There were no set pieces or mass eliminations that felt contrived. I much prefer the early Rumbles for this reason. The ring remained full with an even flow of eliminations. The Hammer and the Model both put in notable shifts. The Hogan victory was obvious yet was the right way to go at the time. This was good Hogan all the way and I liked the final matchup opposing Earthquake. The highlight was the Bushwhacker Luke elimination, which was comedy gold. He marched in one side and marched straight out the other!
  18. Zenjo
    Perhaps I don't appreciate ECW because I have bad taste in music? Welcome to the board Matt.
  19. Zenjo
    Although it didn't hit the heights of their later matches there were plenty of positive signs of things to come. It's easy to forget how tall Sting was. That combined with a fairly powerful build made him look a credible adversary for the Maskadon. The face showed some early explosiveness before the Vader beatdown. They had a proper stretch plus the heel went over clean. They did have a ref bump so there was controversy. That always sucks and there was a couple of other nitpicks. Nothing they wouldn't iron out next time.
  20. Zenjo
    It was watchable, no more. Continual action, but not in a good way. Taue didn't look at all ready for this yet.
  21. Zenjo
    This is such a brilliant comment. I've been watching plenty of '93 AAA over the last month and this sums up how nearly all the trios have been. They'll have occasional quick bursts of action before going back to playing to the crowd. This will repeat for a while until either an unfocused rudo beatdown, lame mask ripping or some other BS. The structure will generally fall apart in the tercera if not before. It's just so lazy and house-showy. And Winners tilts the hell out of me. Bad wrestler, horrible outfit, pathetic dancing gimmick, terrible haircut. That guy has got a hell of a lot not going for him.
  22. Zenjo
    I like to see the occasional grueller with both guys sweating buckets. Immediately Rude had his ribs damaged as Steamboat controlled the early stages. But then he got cocked and soon found himself 3-1 down. The absence of a recovery period between falls had a big bearing compared with other multi-fall matches. Whilst I agree that there were too many falls overall, this aspect of the match made it come off as more realistic than it might have done. Rude was generally in control for 20m. Yet falls against the head so to speak, were a recurrent theme and Boat pulled it back to 3-3. It seemed like the Ravishing one was about to KO his rival, but he got flashed and couldn't then level the scores in an exciting final minute. It was a hard physical effort. Whilst pleasing to see, the quality of the action at times suffered because of it. Structurally they could've gone any number of ways. It was fairly good in that regard. The storytelling remained excellent and the rivalry was superb. A commendable effort.
  23. Zenjo
    February 1 concurs with the results from the Luchablog. Good spot Gregor. It's on the correct Yearbook, so no harm done.
  24. Zenjo
    This has been broken down so well by Loss I don't need to explain why I love it as much now as I did over two decades ago. When discussing the greatest WCW matches of all time this is never far away from the top of the pile. So rather than extol its many virtues I'm going to repost my contribution from the DVDR thread 'Vince Russo books old school storylines.' Here is how the Russofication of Wargames 92 might have played out in a terrifying alternate universe... Before the match begins Vince Russo comes out and announces that all WCW titles are vacated. The winning team will get every single title in WCW to split between them. The losing team will all be FIRED! When the bell rings Austin cuts a SHOOT promo, saying that his team havent been booked to win so he aint gonna wrestle tonight son. Windham stands in the ring by himself for 5 minutes. Rude is about to enter when Madusa grabs the mic and tells him that shes PREGNANT with his child! Rude tells her to go and get an abortion. Steamboat gets in the ring and just stands around with Windham for 2 minutes whilst Rude slaps Madusa around on the outside. Arn enters the ring and SWERVE! He's changed sides and high fives Windham and Steamboat. Rude gives Madusa the Rude Awakening. Dustin enters the ring and stands around with Windham, Steamboat and Arn. Paul E begs Rude not to hit Madusa in the stomach with a chair. Zbyszko falls to the ground outside the ring clutching his chest. The commentators scream that he's having a HEART ATTACK! EMTs carry him away on a stretcher. Sting enters the ring and stands there with Windham, Steamboat, Arn and Dustin. The arena goes dark and the voice of the Black Scorpion taunts the Stinger. When the lights come back on all 5 men in the ring have bladed and are layed out. Bobby Eaton tries to restrain Rude who has ripped off most of the unconscious Madusas clothes and is about to rape her. Paul E is now talking loudly into his phone conducting a business deal. Before Koloff can enter the match Russo comes out again and announces that the rules have changed. All the titles are brought out atop POLES and whoever grabs them first gets to keep the title. Anyone in the ENTIRE ARENA can grab them including ALL OF YOU FANS! A riot follows as fans jump over the barricades and start fighting each other to get the belts. The announcers scream that at WCW events the fans are the champions. End of show.
  25. Zenjo
    Despite the weirdness this did work out really well. The fans were wild for Santo. His interactions with Casas were typically golden. They didn't exactly work with the others so much as work around them as they brawled amongst themselves. There were a few awkward moments, yet this was mainly exciting and fun.
×
×
  • Create New...