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Zenjo

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  1. Zenjo
    I agree with 3 of Losses top 5 picks, which is a new record. It's been either 1 or 2 for the other years I've finished. I've got a few more attempts to score a 0 but am not very confident. It would be great if we had 10-15 people posting their favourite matches from every year. Even if it's only a top 20 or so. I used to view 1998 as being a bad year in terms of match output. That was in the days when I was first discovering Puroresu and had no idea how much things would start to suck in future years. If you're not directly comparing to 91-97 and judging the year on it's own merits then it's a much rosier picture. There's actually lots of really good stuff from 98, with plenty of promotions contributing noteworthy matches. In terms of the overall quality of my list I felt like it was a comparable year to 1990, which I might not have expected before viewing. I decided to go with a top 80 this year to make sure there's no filler. As usual anything not on the Yearbook is highlighted as well as a few matches that were featured on the set in incomplete form. And as always I bring to you the Joshi love with women's matches from no less than 8 different promotions.
  2. Zenjo
    Great list Chad. You have excellent taste in wrestling. As in I agree with the high end stuff and hopefully that means we don't both have bad taste. I'd have 7 of your top 10 matches in my top 10 from the Yearbook. That was slightly surprising to me as I thought there were lots of matches where we posted divergent opinions in the threads. Then I see your #11-#16 and the highest I have any of them is #71. That's a relief as I was getting worried about the PWO hive mind there. What would you say were the promotions you enjoyed watching most and least during the year? And which matches in the upper echelons of your list were the most surprisingly good?
  3. Zenjo
    You may want to avoid certain chapters of the 1990 Yearbook in that case. I think that every single Brother Love segment made the set. It was a wonderful moment when the Ultimate Warrior ended the show.
  4. Zenjo
    Hopefully you mean the board rather than just this topic. 13 posts of trolling in one thread within 4 hours.
  5. Zenjo
    When I first watched this a long time ago I didn't like it for whatever reason. Because there are other incredible matches from this series I never felt compelled to give it a second chance. With both this and 6/12 it's been quite the All Japan re-education for me during this Yearbook. Something I've pointed out at other times was how the fans would sit in silence through the build and then get involved later on. Here they were into it the whole time like they used to be. I dug the restraint in the opening half as they slowly but surely built up. Low power moves to medium to high. The second half was as full out and epic as you could ever hope for. Back and forth they battled. Kobashi unloaded a brutal array of head bumps, but crucially couldn't land the Burning Hammer. Misawa did the Tiger Driver off the apron where KK hit the floor so hard he bounced up in the air. Holy shit! Both survived so much damage and fought to the point of exhaustion. I was marking out so much that after the TD '91 I went down to the floor to dual count the pinfall. It was 2.9, so I had to watch the remainder and the postmatch from down there! Absolutely draining. There was a wonderful moment 40m+ into the match that summed up Misawa's character so well. His brains were scrambled, his body battered and his opponent would just not be pinned after a barrage that would've felled any other man. Yet there was no emotional reaction. Through the fog in his head you could see him trying to think logically about move selection, and what might finally get the job done. Under any type of pressure or distress he remained the consummate professional. You could argue certain things were overdone, but this was no time to hold back. A few moves may have been messed up, but that was only when they were deep in the 3/4 hour duration. It was the MOTY, and I'm so glad that I've come to realise that 16 years down the line. There are other outstanding matches during the year, yet this was the only one that blew me away.
  6. Zenjo
    A superb big match atmosphere with the fans firmly behind Mutoh. The first few minutes were scouting before Tenryu gained the advantage due to his superior strikes. As it progressed the quick, slow, quick tempo of Mutoh's offence caused lots of problems for his veteran opponent. Combined with the finish this made GenTen's victory look somewhat fortuitous. It was quite a long bout with lots of dramatic selling. Both men were physically well past their prime but knew how to work around any limitations. The heat, drama and importance combined to make this really good. The 80's finish brought it down a little.
  7. Zenjo
    There were plenty of gullible folks about in the mid 90's. And yeah, it doesn't look like too much has changed since then. It's kind of reassuring in a way.
  8. Zenjo
    This is neck and neck with the previous night as the NJ MOTY. On the commercial tape they showed clips of Hash's previous failures to win the G1 on seven prior occasions, despite being a top contender each year. The way this tournament unfolded was a perfect way to end his long journey. The crowd in a jam packed Ryogoku was molten hot. Nearly all of the offence was strikes. They kept laying into each other and the selling of the damage was superb. Hash had his injured knee targeted and it actually felt like he might tap when Yamazaki applied a series of submissions down the stretch. Yet this time Shinya would not be denied. Displaying great toukon he fought back for an emotional victory that resolved a seven year storyline. The finish was amazing as he unleashed an animalistic roar and downed his prey with a brutal Brainbuster. This was his moment, but give major props to Yamazaki too. He delivered an outstanding performance and this was one of the highlights of his fine career. Great tournament.
  9. Zenjo
    I called their match a week later a Clash of the Titans. It was only half as titanic as the G1 encounter. A relentless strikefest with brutal stiffness, sky high intensity and a superb rivalry. Neither man would yield an inch in this fierce battle. This is the tonic for anyone weary of passionless forearm exchanges. The selling of damage was really good and the action had sufficient variety. Tight pacing and I like how they didn't have to go through the usual series of near falls for a big main event. Everything was to the point. The fans were lapping it up and helped it feel special. One of the most memorable G1 non-finals.
  10. Zenjo
    I used to like this series of matches. They do nothing for me anymore and are quite annoying. If you like the Trashi style of one match then you'll probably enjoy them all. The hour draw might be a stretch, although it was clipped thankfully. I've rewatched the 1998 material in my collection from Jd'. The overall quality is quite reasonable but the promotion wasn't exactly setting the world alight. A couple of matches that I would recommend are: Jaguar Yokota & Yoko Kosugi vs Lioness Aska & The Bloody (Jd 2/2/98) Yoko Kosugi vs Sumie Sakai (Jd 12/29/98)
  11. Zenjo
    You got the three essential G1 '98 matches on the set. And then there's this. It was actually quite an achievement to quieten this crowd down. Mediocre for the most part before falling apart at the end. There were no end of low blows and Koshinaka's choice of move was terrible on numerous occasions. It was such stupid wrestling. Chono did have a surprisingly good match against Nakanishi in round 1. The semi final with Hash vs Kojima is also well worth checking out. It gives backstory to the knee injury in the final, and Hash carries a young Kozy expertly.
  12. Zenjo

    Where do we go from here?

    Zenjo replied to Loss's topic in 1999

    Hiroumi bugs the hell out of me as well. Then again I am totally anal about listings being in my preferred format. After every Yearbook is released I'll copy the listings onto a word file and for all complete matches I'll go about changing: Muto to Mutoh Otani to Ohtani Masa to Masahiro or Masanobu Jushin Liger to Jushin Thunder Liger Yammamoto to Yamamoto Removing all dots Change all show names into the promotions initials only Which you could argue is slightly nuts and a waste of time, and probably be right. On another topic I am envious of Pete who has had the self discipline to watch everything chronologically. It's definitely the best path to take, but I could never do it without jumping between years.
  13. Zenjo

    Where do we go from here?

    Zenjo replied to Loss's topic in 1999

    Amen to this. It was firstly watching the 80's AJ set that rekindled my dwindling passion for wrestling, before launching myself into Yearbook viewing in February 2012. Seeing Charles' top 100 lists for each year gave me the inspiration to do the same. Having this structure and a goal in mind has really enriched the experience for me. I subsequently decided that I'm going to dedicate a 5 year period to 'doing' the 90's if you weel. Find all my favourite matches that I can within that time and come up with a master list. I'm thinking of a top 900 at this time although it's a long way away and could change. There are other decades of wrestling I've been putting off whilst concentrating on the 90's. My Lucha viewing post 1998 is practically nothing. And I keep meaning to watch more 70's material from Japan and the UK. But the past isn't going anywhere and I'll get around to it eventually. I can't wait for the top 500 countdown and the e-book. Hopefully it will inspire more people to take the journey through the greatest decade of pro wrestling.
  14. Zenjo
    The gaijins were such a monsterous team and I was surprised by how good Hansen still looked at this late stage in his career. They unloaded all sorts of devastating offence, with the excited crowd marking out. It was fun to watch but the ending was a real rating killer for me. It went full length and one team was utterly dominant. It was so one sided it was almost a very extended squash. They Kobashi won it with literally one move, which didn't even connect properly. They really needed to go shorter to make this format work as the finish felt ludicrous.
  15. Zenjo
    From a fancam of a benefit show. Early on it had a house showy type of feel but they did go on to work hard. Had quite a generous duration also. There was some good action from four of the better WCW workers of the time. I'd say Jericho was the weakest technically although he made up for it with his charisma. Unfortunately it got bogged down in a long FIP segment. How I love 'THE' format. I'd say it was as good as you could expect to get from an untelevised show barring a miracle.
  16. Zenjo
    These two had numerous meetings and this was the undoubted highlight. Having more time than usual meant they were able to build properly and they went full out at the end. They had some nice action, a proper stretch and the fans were jakked. Juvy was really over and the star performer, Kidman carried his weight. It wasn't flawless yet I'd say this was as good as Billy's career ever got. His post match selling sucked but oh well. The title change was a genuine surprise as was the match quality.
  17. Zenjo
    Do other people do this? I'd never dream of taking notes during a match. How can you ever get fully immersed whilst multitasking? My philosophy is that if I can't remember something after viewing then it wasn't all that important. I'll write down my thoughts later that night or the following day. I know you like to write good and detailed reviews Dawho, so that might require additional viewings to flesh things out. One thing I do like to do that other fans would probably hate is to find out the approximate duration of matches in advance. It's obvious if you're watching a single bout online or if I'm watching a Yearbook I'll check how long the chapter lasts. Watching live I find it a lot harder to rate stuff consistently. If I know a match is going to last roughly 3m, 15m or 30m then I can analyse it in real time knowing what stage I'm at. The unknown doesn't interest me that much. Who is going to win, is it going long or short, is XXX going to be pushed next month etc? All will be revealed soon enough and it doesn't really matter that much anyway. I just enjoy watching good wrestling matches. Contemporary stuff has no more value to me than 30 year old material, which is why I don't watch much of it. The mystery of an unwritten future is nothing compared to a classic match.
  18. Zenjo
    I don't like the booking at all here. There was no time to build from the title match towards the blowoff to the feud in the mask match here. Short first two falls followed by a long tercera. They certainly overdid the 2.9ers, yet there were some nice dives and plenty of drama. The fans were marking out as they were firmly behind Olimpico. After the victory he celebrated with both his father (ex-wrestler) and son in the ring. Negro had a good rudo image and a bad mask, so losing it was the right thing to do. By no means a classic mascara contra mascara but it was a satisfying main event.
  19. Zenjo
    An electric world title atmosphere. Both guys came to the ring so jakked and full of intensity. Against the odds DDP had turned himself into a credible main eventer and felt like a threat to the streak. Went a little north of 10m and I just love Goldberg's moveset for a match of this length. Everything is so purposeful. Well constructed with Goldie hurting his shoulder and showing vulnerability. DDP hit the Diamond Cutter but couldn't make the cover in time. It ended a bit quickly after that. They could've taken it on although that would've been a risk. I thought this was really good and the best match of Goldberg's career.
  20. Zenjo
    I went in with high expectations, and in parts it was high end. Some outstanding matwork in the primera with smoothness and innovation. Santo was displaying all his skills and looked like such a boss. It lost a bit of momentum in the 2nd with some dodgy cat selling. Santo had his arm hurt which proved a focal point. Some minor heel ref annoyance early in the 3rd. The selling of the arm was excellent and they moved onto an escalating climax. Alas it had a horrible screwjob finish with the low blow to pin. It was held in Monterrey so I can't say that I wasn't warned. It made sense from the perspective of Felino defeating a higher tier competitor but ugh. These two could've potentially had a MOTYC so I'm looking forward to viewing their '97 battles. This was really good even with some flaws.
  21. Zenjo
    The opening stages were all a bit random. Picked up with a nice FIP segment and they should've gone to the finish right there. As it was they went back to the outside and it ended nowhere really. Much more memorable was the postmatch angle where Lioness Aska walks straight past her former partner and joins the heels. They would form a stable called SSU (Super Stars Unit) who would battle with GAEA loyalists over the next two years in hot group warfare.
  22. Zenjo
    Great matwork during the opening fall. There was impressive technique and counter holds, all done with a wonderful flow and rhythm. It was a joy to watch, and I don't really know who these guys are! That's part of the joy of discovering Lucha, you're never sure if unknowns are going to be good or not. For whatever reason the segunda caida was MIA. It was probably short, yet it was still damaging not to have the missing link. The 3rd was title bout Lucha dramatica all the way. It was VG in itself, although it felt like two really good matches spliced together. That made the whole less than the sum of its parts. Negro won with a foule which I wouldn't generally like. Here it was well worked in as opportunistic rudo activity. Halcon only obeyed the rules whilst the ref was looking and took advantage of an opening.
  23. Zenjo
    This was decent for a Nitro match, but nothing more. It does feel like DDP is getting a consolation prize for such a good performance the previous night. Given that most of the booking was done on Monday afternoons that could well have been the case.
  24. Zenjo
    Whilst you could argue it was technically a good match I did find it boring and at times a chore to sit through. The fans sat there in stony silence for the first 20m as they know there's no chance it's going to finish within that time. Everything about the match was stale and a worse version of how things used to be. Below par execution, move repetition, stiffness and big moves were nothing special. The selling was slightly annoying with Kobashi's goofiness, Kawada too stylised and Akiyama's delayed sells. AJ had more strong matches than anyone in 98, but I would absolutely not want to watch it in further depth.
  25. Zenjo
    This was the decision match to crown the inaugural Queen of Arsion. They had held two single night tournaments during the year in which these two ladies had each emerged victorious. Candy's appearance sure had altered a lot. What I really liked here was how their two opposing styles complemented each other. Yoshida was bossing it on the mat, never far away from a threatening submission. Candy was along for the ride when grounded, the aerial game was her forte. So when the pace picked up she held the advantage. Actually Mariko was an outstanding flyer as well in her Zenjo days, but was too modest to rule at everything simultaneously. They went just the right length. Sufficient to provide an exciting stretch without going overboard. It was a fitting way to round off a very enjoyable debut year from Arsion. The best is to come in 1999.
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