Superstar Sleeze

Skyscrapers vs Steiner Brothers - NWA Clash of the Champions IX I watched this yesterday so going off memory. I thought this was great craic. Honestly, it made me want to watch more Steiner Brothers. They are my kinda spot monkeys. They were just throwing these big lugs at will. The opening gambit of a Rick Steiner German Suplex and a Steinerline was awesome. Dan Spivey gets in on the action and almost paralyzes Rick Steiner with a crazy Tombstone. He did NOT look like he had Rick properly situated at all. The Scotty Steiner Frankensteiner and flip fallaway slam was also a ton of fun. According to Scott Keith it was that spot that injured Sid and put him out until June of the next year. There was a short heat segment, but it was not much until we were back to Steinerlines and Suplexes. Doom runs in which triggers Road Warriors to come out to set up the weird Starrcade 1989 round robin tournament. However, as I mentioned above Sid got injured in this match and Samoans took their place. Woman hits Rick Steiner with a high heel, but Rick Steiner does NOT have any brains so he is coming to get her, but Nitron (the future Sabretooth) debuts. I thought it might actually be Undertaker/Callous, but Scott Keith corrected me. Dave gave this *** 1/2 normally I would be annoyed with him overrating things, BUT FUCK YEAH GO BIG DAVE! This was a ton of fun, but I cant go over *** in good conscience.

NWA World Champion Sting vs Sid Vicious - NWA Halloween Havoc ‘90 Lots of interesting context…this is Sid’s first competitive televised singles match in the NWA. Period. Not just his first title shot. Not just his first PPV main event. His first competitive televised singles match of any kind. He had a long layoff from November 89 to June of 90 but that is unfathomable today. It was interesting watch that in mind and this also being Sting’s first PPV title defense since GAB. Besides the Wargames ‘91 I know very little about Sid version of the Horsemen. Due to Black Scorpion angle which dominated commentary, the second half of 1990 is not a period of NWA that I have pursued due to the poor reviews. Just had an interesting thought. How much better would it have been if Barry Windham was the Black Scorpion. Windham/Sid split off from Flair/AA because they were holding them back. Windham was trying all these ruses to get the title to him or Sid. Just a thought. The match was interesting after the domination of Flair in 88, 89 and early 90, we see the 90s may look like… Blond, Muscular and Big. Even someone like Hogan who paved the way for a Sting or a Sid was trained old school and had some general wrestling he could fall back on. Sting and Sid don’t have that. I am really interested to see how these guys less than 5 years into the biz would start this match left to their own devices True to form there is no lock up or test of strength. It is right into it. Sid turns to play to the crowd so Sting follows suit but it was a ruse and Sid clubs him. Sting tries to hurl his body at Sid but Sid catches which establishes Sid’s size and strength advantage. The uptempo beginning actually had me thinking this match might exceed expectations. Sting takes it outside and throws Sid into some hard metal objects. Then the match grinds to a halt and it grinds for a very long time. Sting nor Sid are two wrestlers who are very interesting working on top. Sting is terrible working holds. They are both kind of awkward and stilted in between spots. Sid’s loves the headlock, headscissor, Kip Up, Clubbing Forearm transition. Sid’s heat segment is pretty horrible outside the Sting hope spots. Missed Stinger splash. Sting top rope crossbody. Gone are all those cool power moves against the Roadies and Steiners and they have been replaced by nerve holds and clubbering. The two big Sting spots at the end are fine, running down the ramp and leaping over the top rope was cool would’ve been better if Sid was closer and the slingshot plancha was great. The finish with Barry Windham switching out with Sting so Sid could pin him and then Sting coming back with a Stinger Splash to pin Sid was so silly. I understand you have to protect Sid but there’s better ways to do that. Terrible finish aside, this is still a bad match by two relatively green wrestlers. It is really interesting to watch it play out and see what they do. The beginning shine so their aversion to wrestling. However, they don’t seem to know to innovate the control segments. They are NOT outside the box thinkers. They do the control segments how they were taught and how others do them. However that is neither wrestlers strength. If they came out throwing bombs and Sid tossed Sting around and Sting hurled his body at Sid like a missile, there’s a world where this is a great match but that’s just Sting/Vader or Sid/Shawn. Which tells me Vader and Shawn were the true brains behind the operation.

Skyscrapers vs Road Warriors - NWA Halloween Havoc 1989 This is more like it, daddy! Four big muthas hitting hard and tossing each other around. Story is simple who is the baddest on the block, Brutha. Roadies shine is simple and to the point. You think you’re big, well we are fucking bad. Clothesline and shouldertackles send Spivey & Sid powdering. I thought Sid again is more interesting eating the Roadies offense than Spivey. We get the customary Test of Strength. Sid takes Hawk down with a side headlock, headscisscors reversal into a BIG SID KIP UP! A stock Sid spot but when you think about it in context way ahead of his time. Sid blasts Hawk and picks him up and spins him around sends him fucking flying. It was a surprisingly easy transition into the heat segment. Sid snake eyes in Hawk on the railing is another good high spot. The hope spots get closer together. Hawk tag out. Animal goes King Kong and rattles off a great hot tag. Drop kick and shoulder tackle electrified me. Katie bar the door, there’s a pier six brawl a brewin’. Animal power slams Sid BUT Teddy Long nails him with the Key which I think has something to do with Norman. Hawk hits a top rope flying clothesline to get the key and send the Scrapers packing. One of those really old school power matches that doesn’t overstay its welcome. ***

Skyscrapers vs Dynamic Dudes - NWA Great American Bash ‘89 Oh boy, sorry Sid not the best match to kick off remembering your badass legacy. Although it is not Sid’s fault, as I would say Spivey takes the bulk of the match, probably 75%. Both my first Skyscraper and Dynamic Dudes match. Johnny Ace’s mullet is glorious. Didn’t know Sid was a chaps man. Teddy Long is pretty lame with his shitty Burger King crown and his lame kicks. The Skyscrapers won the Battle Royale at the beginning of the show. The push is on. There were a lot of issues with this match. Execution was a big problem. There was no urgency or sense of struggle. Sid who has the most charisma was on the apron the majority of the match. Spivey and Ace are midcard All Japan dudes for a reason. They are solid mechanics but they need someone to inspire the crowd. Even a bigger problem was the fundamental goal of the match which was to get the Skyscrapers, the new big bad monster heels ready for the Road Warriors. So that means there was NOT going to be a shine or a lot of bumping. It was establish the Skyscrapers as big and they can absorb the Dudes whimpy, white bread offense and they can dish it out. The high spots were few and far between. I liked the Dudes getting the tabletop crossbody and Spivey’s Crucifix Powerbomb. Sid really lit up the crowd getting in there. There is no one that strikes like Sid. That weird is it a punch, is it a clothesline, is it a forearm, shouldn’t work but it does. It looks like a tennis forehand volley. The way he drops down to one knee and calls to the crowd. What a stud. The finish run was the best part as there was some excitement and hope for the Dudes. Spivey missed a headbutt, the Skyscrapers clothesline each other. It gave the Dudes some openings. I liked the yank down on the head scissors by Sid a great way to take advantage of the mayhem. Spivey‘s power one was the worst one this side of Tenryu. He basically just flips Ace over. Terrible match. Spivey was clearly positioned as the worker of the team, the problem is he doesn’t have much going for him. You could feel Sid’s star power from jump. Don’t bother watching this match but excited for the journey.

NWF Heavyweight Champion Antonio Inoki vs Strong Kobayashi - NJPW 3/19/74 I am kinda surprised this match seems to be the more hyped between the two compared to the December match. I thought this match was great, but the intensity of the December was off the charts. Did a little digging in Kobayashi's history to give myself some context. This is his first match in New Japan, he was in IWE previously. He was the IWA Champion (IWE's top prize) as of February 1974 when he vacated I assumed because he took this match. Interestingly, he does not wrestle again in Japan until December 1974 against Inoki in the aforementioned kickass rematch. He wrestled the intervening months in America. He wrestled a lot in America actually which I found interesting. I am sure @KinchStalker has more to say on the background. As for the match itself, this is a terrific slow burn match where the intensity ramps up to a bloody fever pitch. It explains by the December match was so hot coming out of the gate because in this match the tempers had already boiled over. I would not call this traditional NWA/AJPW championship style wrestling to open. This is more of Amateur wrestling for I'd say the first 15 minutes. Really the story of the match is reactions and how each man overreacted throughout the match to small slights. Early it was Inoki showing up Kobayashi at will, he back heel tripped Kobayashi on what should have been a clean break. Kobayashi seemed flustered and that resulted in Inoki pretty much showing him up continuously until Kobayashi got a hammerlock about 10-15 minutes later. Inoki was taking down and reversing at will. After the Hammerlock, Kobayashi started building momentum. They got into a Greco-Roman style waistlock war which Kobayashi won with a Bearhug. Now the shoe was on the other foot. Inoki was overreaction and getting frustrated and leaving himself open to counterattacks like a Kobayashi Crucifix. Inoki goes back to what works which is wrestling. He gets a nice Butterfly and takesdown into a pinning combination. Kobayashi overreacts tries to turn it into a slugfest and Inoki TAGS him with a right. Kobayashi goes down like a sack of potatoes. What a moment! It is all because Kobayashi overreacted and left himself open to the counterpunch. Inoki clamps on a TIGHT Figure-4 around the head of Kobayashi, which Kobayashi claims is a choke and I see his point. He does a great job on the rope break, selling the choke. Kobayashi lights up Inoki on the ropes in classic Inoki fashion he does NOT sell as much as Kobayashi. Inoki goes for the Octopus. Things start to ramp up. In a second Octopus attempt, they tumble to the outside. Kobayashi bulldog headlock rams Inoki's head into the post and busts Inoki open! Wow! Kobayashi punches Inoki in the head right in the wound on the apron. Vertical suplex in, 1-2-NO! Great nearfall! Strong Kobayashi lives up to his name and tries for the Argentine Backbreaker, but Inoki reverses and back drops out. German Suplex! 1-2-3! Wow a clean finish! I loved the story of the match. It something that really rewards the viewer and also speaks to the pettiness of interpromotional rivalries. The technical work was really strong and tight. It was unique to Inoki who incorporates more amateur/shooty matwork into his matches than say a traditional NWA title match. I did think it was a little slow overall in the first 20 minutes but I think it is worth because of what it sets up at the end. The finish was red hot and very climatic. Great stuff. ****1/4

Giant Baba vs Fritz Von Erich - AJPW 7/25/75 Texas Death Fritz Von Erich, shitty human being, terrific pro wrestler. He feels like the type of pro wrestler that if we had more of him, he would be a Top 100 Wrestler Ever. The Fritz Punt is so badass I wish someone would crib that. These two had a 5 star classic in 1966 excited to see what they can do in 1975 under Texas Death rules (gotta win by a 10 count). I haven’t seen Baba in years what an alien looking dude. Fritz attacks right at the bell and we get an early punt that puts a smile on my face. He applies the Claw on the ref and throws him out of the ring. The brawling out of the ring is hard to make out but somehow Fritz get lacerated on the side of the head which creates a sick visual for the rest of the match. Baba gets a stream going from his forehead and we double juice early. Baba is Baba he is fighting back with chops. Fritz pelts him with some great punches. CLAW~! In the ring. Baba sells it so well. Baba of course uses the Chop to break the hold. We get some great hand psychology with Baba kicking the hand and Fritz missing the Claw a couple times driving his hand into the mat. Fritz starts going for Stomach Claw so that he won’t miss. It works well. They end up back outside. Fritz missed a wild right and Baba gets a classic slashing, slinging Baba chop that knocks Fritz for a loop. They play King of the Mountain. Baba with a Jumping Head Chop & Big Boot finally puts the Big Texan down for ten. Of course to get his heat back, Fritz puts the Stomach Claw back on him. Fritz was a maniacal psycho in this match, the visual of him bleeding from one side of the head and like horror movie villain constantly coming at you with the CLAW~! Was so sick. Baba is such a great babyface this weird looking, gangly, uncoordinated & enormous dude just throwing chops like his life depended on it. I thought it got a little long In the tooth but it was still a ton of fun. Not as good as their 1966 classic, but few matches are. This is still a killer match and something everyone should check out. ****1/4

PWF US Heavyweight Champion The Destroyer vs The Spirit - AJPW 7/25/75 The Spirit is none other than Killer Karl Kox. This is two old, lumpy, stodgy, cheating bastards in a battle of who could be nastier. First Fall: It looks like Kox spits something out and puts it in his trunks at the bell. Destroyer wastes no time crowding Kox on the ropes and popping him. Kox responds with a shot to the eye that sends Destroyer reeling to the floor. It looked suspect like it could have been a foreign object. Nobody is going to confuse the matwork with Destroyer/Mascaras BUT there’s a lot of struggle to it and it feels like both guys are fighting with everything they got. There’s nasty stuff like Destroyer putting his hand over Kox’s mouth on the mat. Kox starts in control with a hammerlock then Destroyer then they stand up into the ropes, It is back to popping each other with blows. Destroyer rips Kox down with a double wristlock and then puts his shin across his throat. This causes a break and now things really unravel. Kox gets the better of Destroyer with punches and a suspicious headbutt to bust Destroyer open and lead to winning the first fall. Kox of course attacks the wound during the break between falls. Awesome heel vs heel shit. Kox 1-0 Second Fall: Aahhh the old two can play that game fall. Kox starts out with a commanding lead biting the cut, punching it and Destroyer has to powder. Kox rams Destroyer’s head into the steel post, the ref checks Kox‘s mask and body for a foreign object but he has put “it” in his mouth. Destroyer comes back into the ring with a headbutt but not just any Headbutt a LOADED HEADBUTT! Great selling by Kox to put it over. Destroyer punches him with “it”. Back in the mouth as the ref is now suspicious of Destroyer. Loaded Headbutt finishes Kox in a quick but delightful fall. Even Jumbo gets in on the action as he distracts the ref so Destroyer can headbutt Kox in between falls, tied 1-1. Third Fall: Destroyer looks like he is cruise to retaining his title alternating between loaded headbutts and loaded punches to Kox’s head. However in a tie up Kox is able to blast him with a loaded punch and now Kox takes the lead in the battle of the old cheating bastards. Kox misses a knee drop. Everybody and their mother knows what this means…FIGURE 4~! Kox makes it to the ropes. Ref wants a break but Destroyer says he needs to be disentangled but the ref goes to do it and Destroyer keeps reapplying the hold. Good craic from the cheeky bastard. Destroyer works the knee and the Figure-4 s’more. Kox retaliates with one last Loaded Headbutt. Jumbo takes exception to this. Destroyer rolls up Kox on the distraction and with a handful of tights wins the match. Kox & Jumbo brawl on the outside in a match I’m not sure we get but I want now! This match is exactly as advertised two surly bastards that are not above cheating trying to figure out who is the King of the Cheating Bastards. Glorious. ****1/2

PWF US Heavyweight Champion The Destroyer vs Mil Mascaras - AJPW 7/25/74 2/3 Falls The rematch from 10 months prior. Destroyer won with a Figure-4 in the Second Fall and throwing Mascaras over the top on a flying crossbody headbutt for a countout. First Fall: These two have amazing chemistry. Very similar efforts as there first match. They are working straight holds for ~13 minutes and it is always compelling. There are some really nifty counters like a leg trip from Mascaras on a hammerlock or a neck bridge from Destroyer. Lots of great body weight and balance work. Really cool, organic entry into a Boston Crab off a Monkey Flip for Mascaras but it is an awkward position so it explains how Destroyer is able to topple him. One key difference from the 74 match compared to 73 match is Destroyer is looking for the Figure-4 the move that won him the day in 73, early and often. They repeat a 73 spot where Destroyer tries to get a Figure-4 out of a headscissors but no dice. Mascaras works his Full Nelson from 73. The one thing I thought made 73 standout a little more than 74, is the holds came a little easier in this bout. It felt a little more routine, more like a standard NWA Championship match less unique than the 73 match. It is still high end matwork just more normal. After not being able to negotiate Figure-4, Destroyer loses his patience and takes two cheapshots in the ropes against Mascaras. Mascaras is rightfully pissed and grabs headlock and pops Destroyer with the heel of his hand. Great stuff. Then the fireworks begin. Mascaras begins the onslaught of crossbody headbutts but keeps only getting one. He winds up for a final one but nails the turnbuckle! Amazing moment! Thought Destroyer had it there, but he needed the Bombs Away Kneedrop to put Mascaras away. The slam-bang portion of this one is pretty damn awesome and coupled with the matwork, this is on track to be another instant classic. Destroyer 1-0. Second Fall: I love how Destroyer immediately shifts his strategy to focus on the neck after what happened to Mascaras at the end of the first fall. This does NOT last long as Destroyer misses a dropkick and Mascaras applies one of those Lucha submissions that gives Destroyer a bad neck as well. Destroyer tries to turn this into a firefight into the corner, but Mascaras roars back. He rams Destroyer's head in a bulldoh headlock into the turnbuckle pads. It looks gnarly someone should crib that. Mascaras nails his bread & butter BUT goes for Destroyer's Figure-4, will that cost him the fall. No he rams the head into buckles again using a bulldog headlock and a flying crossbody picks up the fall for the Luchador in a tidy ~5minutes. Really fun psychology here. Third Fall: Mascaras says "if it aint broke dont fix it", he goes right back to the bulldog headlock ramming Destroyer's head into buckles. Pilderiver gets two. Things look bleak for the US Champion. He backdrops out of a second piledriver. He wants the Figure-4 badly and desperately going after the legs. He finally gets it. Holy Struggle! This is fantastic. They are both working this hold with everything they got. They end up on the apron where the attending wrestlers have to disentangle them. Tremendous. They lay it on thick for Mascaras. Destroyer takes two bad tumbles to the outside, first Mascaras kicks him off another figure-4 and the other is a criss cross where Destroyer catches nothing but air. Each time Mascaras brings him in the hardway but cant negotiate the pinfall. They knock heads on a crossbody headbutt that looks nasty. Another criss but this time Destroyer leads with his head and nutshots Mascaras who sells this for all its worth. The ref has no choice but to call the match. Destroyer ever the sportsman undoes Mascaras' drawstrings. I dont know if I woudl want the dude that just headbutted me in the balls to be touching my junk but I guess it is the thought that counts. Different than '73 match but also fantastic. I can see why people would like this more. It is a more conventional pro wrestling match. It has more slam-bang action and really strong psychology. There is just something unique about the 73 match or maybe it is just I watched it first. I can see it both ways I am going ****1/2 here, this is sublime wrestling.

Wifi on plane back from Tokyo is being weird. Ended up on my laptop. Will post my thoughts on the first fall later, they are on my phone. PWF US Heavyweight Champion The Destroyer vs Mil Mascaras - AJPW 10/9/73 Seemingly the first highly regarded match in the history of the All Japan (it is on the same show as Funks vs Baba/Jumbo). Never seen this before but heard about it plenty. I have been enjoying 70s Inoki and felt like mixing it up. Flying home to Boston today, Japan has been incredible. The PWF US Championship is not something I heard of before but it was basically Destroyer’s title similar to how PWF Title was Baba, the International title became Jumbo’s etc…. I love the dynamic of masked American vs masked Mexican in Japan. Mascaras has a cool skeleton mask. First Fall: God, this was terrific. This is one of the best examples of sporting pro wrestling. It is so competitive dripping with effort and struggled. I loved how much body weight positioning & shifting played a role in gaining advantage. I loved the neck bridging early from both just brilliant countering. I loved how they would splay and work to use balance to their advantage while destroying their opponents. Perhaps my favorite thing was if they didn’t sense they had an advantage they wouldn’t just jump headlong into something they would reset and reassess and see how they could put their opponent in a disadvantage. Brilliant stuff. Loved the proto-90s cradle reversal spot for levity. It looks like Destroyer is going to gain the advantage by crowding on the ropes and using shoulder tackles but Masacras roars back with an onslaught of flying crossbody headbutts for the first highspot and to take the first fall. I am very excited for the next two falls. Second Fall: Mascaras comes out hot hitting the crossbody headbutt that won him the first fall and then moving into a Lucha style surfboard that looks like the great stretch I need in my life right now. I thought they lost a little zip here, but they gained it right back when things got testy on the ropes. Destroyer got a cheapshot on in before a break. Mascaras responded with a taunting slap on the next one. Then there was a little firefight coming out the next one. Destroyer down a fall was thinking Figure-4. He could not get it coming out of a headscissors or a monkey flip (great use of the monkey flip to disorient your opponent to set up the kill). Mascaras' big move of the fall was a full nelson which led to a great firefight on their knees. They go into the criss-cross, dropkick and Destroyer applies the Figure-4. Holy shit! This is best sell and struggle I have ever seen of a Figure-4. I love how Mascaras is trying to stand up and Destroyer is struggling with all his might to keep him down. Everyone needs to study this. More Figure-4's like this please and thank you! Mascaras eventually succumbs and it is 1-1. Great fall. Third Fall: Destroyer pugnaciously going after the leg right at the bell and Mascaras responding with a desperation potato to the ear from his back is everything! I popped so hard for that. That is one of the best things I have ever seen. The whole fall is just a slam-bang, rollicking good time. The desperation from Mascaras, the way he sells the knee, the way he tries to buy time, the way he he is hurling his body at Destroyer with the crossbody headbutt is fabulous. On Destroyer's side first it is pugnacious aggression to get that leg, but Mascaras starts making more and more in-roads and Destroyer makes more and more mistakes like missing a kneedrop. It looks like Mascaras would win with a barrage of headbutts but Destroyer back drops him over the top rope to send careening to the floor for the countout win. I loved this match a lot. Everything I want in my pro wrestling. I am torn between 4.5 vs 4.75, but lets go ****3/4.

NWA North American Tag Team Champions Seiji Sakaguchi & Strong Kobayashi vs Tiger Jeet Singh & Umanosuke Ueda - NJPW 2/2/77 2/3 Falls A 70s New Japan match without Inoki! The NWA North American Tag Team Titles are sanctioned out of Los Angeles but primarily used in Japan, but Inoki & Sakaguchi did wrestle the Original Hollywood Blonds and some Nazis in the mid 70s. Sakaguchi & Kobayashi have been champs for about a year. Singh is the main heel of the promotion and Ueda is a Japanese heel with bleached hair, I have seen once or twice before. First Fall: Entertaining babyface shine all the usual trappings, hot babyface offense, double teams, heel miscommunication, heels looking like chickens running around with their heads cut off. The heels grind the match and the entertainment down to a halt with the choking and nerve holds on Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi bucks them off and tags in Kobayashi. Kobayashi looks way older here than in 1974. He is apprehensive to engage without a healthy Sakaguchi. Once Sakaguchi recovers it is balls to the wall. Sakaguchi hits a Jumping Knee. Kobayashi does some slam bang wrestling of his own. The action spills to the outside. Ahhhh yes! I forgot to mention. Kobayashi has a bandage on his elbow. Singh pointed this out before the bell. It seems like something Singh or Ueda did. They jab a chair into the injured elbow. Ueda gets the cross armbreaker but nothing doing. Some chair jabs to the elbow. Singh forces the submission with a short arm scissors. I liked the beginning and end of this fall a lot. The middle not so much. Singh/Ueda keep kicking at the arm in between falls. Singh/Ueda 1-0. Second & Third Falls: Shit gets confusing here. Singh is all over Kobayashi’s bad arm, double teaming in their corner, using the turnbuckle to wrench it. He gets the Short Arm Scissors but Kobayashi counters into a backslide for what I thought was 3 but Singh’s shoulder was not really down and they didn’t really stop the match. But Cagematch says Sakaguchi/Kobayashi won a fall so it had to be there. Singh goes back to work on the arm. Ripping off the turnbuckle pad and really wrenching the arm. He slings the ref down and I could’ve sworn this caused a DQ but apparently Singh & Ueda won. Both Cagematch & Wikipedia have Singh & Ueda winning the tag titles on this date. Singh & Ueda bloody Sakaguchi. Inoki comes out to make the save as Singh & Ueda walk out with the titles. This is a much better angle than a match. If your #2 & # 3 babyfaces are going to lose titles to your top heels this is how you do it. They destroyed Kobayashi’s arm and bloodied Sakaguchi. It was an epic destruction for the heels and really put some heat on them. Loved it as an angle as a match it was good. A little long in the tooth. ***1/4

NWF Heavyweight Champion Tiger Jeet Singh vs Antonio Inoki - NJPW 3/20/75 According to Cagematch, Singh defeated Inoki for the NWF title 7 days prior to this rematch. The announcers definitely say this is for the NWF Title but Singh does not come out with the Championship but I will take Cagematch at its word. Singh gets bombed with a milk bottle on the way in. I am on the Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo. I had the best Tempura of my life in Osaka and for dessert I had strawberries, condensed milk over shaved ice it was incredible. ICHIBAN~! This match was not. Singh is just not compelling at all on top. The head scissors, the chokes/chinlocks, all that didn’t do anything for me. Inoki comes out swinging with closed fists at the bell this makes sense given he lost the belt a week ago so he is pissed off. Singh does a great job selling these punches like a heel, really being a chump. I am surprised Singh is able to wrestle Inoki down without much cheating. Inoki in his hope spots are great especially the knuckle lock twist which Singh sells really effectively. When Inoki is on offense it is a pretty compelling, entertaining match. Inoki goes for the abdominal stretch but Singh makes the ropes. Singh gets desperate and gets a hold of an umbrella one of those old school with the point that he jabs Inoki with in the crowd. Singh gets a proto-Jackhammer for his near fall. He whips out the Sheik mysterious white pen like thingy. Inoki gets a hold of it and blasts him until he bleeds and he is seeing red and he is blasting everyone. Ref throws the match out as double countout. Inoki suplexes Singh back into the ring and pins Singh but the ref has already thrown out the match. Inoki is a wild man in the post-match just going bezerk blasting everything and everybody. The Inoki offense is wicked but Singh just lying in holds makes it hard to call this good.

Antonio Inoki vs Tiger Jeet Singh - NJPW 1/29/76 These two have seemingly bottomless amount of matches together. Singh is just not very good at the wild man brawler act. I thought this was better than the match from earlier in the month because it was more heated in the back half. Lots of stalling and grandstanding early. Sing h is fucking around with the sword & twitching. Inoki cuts a promo. First half of the match is worked clean. Inoki works a top wristlock into a short arm scissors. Butterfly Suplex by Inoki. Singh is complaining to ref in the corner so Inoki tags him a couple times. Singh bodyslams Inoki over the top rope to the floor and here we go. Chairshots and jabs. A lot of choking. Not a little bit. A lot bit. Singh draws blood first works the cut. Inoki starts firing off DROPKICKs, one blasts Singh off the apron. Inoki gets his measure if revenge making Singh bleed and working the cut. They both tumble to the outside on an Octopus Stretch. Singh drops Inoki balls first on the top rope twice. Second time the ref starts wailing on Singh which pops me! So Singh pops the ref. Let’s fucking go! Singh crowns the red with a chair oh shit! This is sick. Melee ensues and Sakaguchi sends Singh packing. Way better ending than the last one. I’m a sucker for red violence. ***1/4

WWF Martial Arts Champion Antonio Inoki vs Mr. X - NJPW 2/6/79 What a shitshow! In a quest to recapture the magic of Muhammad Ali has a bunch of terrible pro wrestler vs martial arts fights. This seems like a precursor to the Different Style Fights they use a Round system. Mr. X is a black man under a mask with a gi and boxing gloves. Mr. X is the shits. Terrible punches and is very uncoordinated. Inoki gives pretty much the whole first round to this chump more than he would give his peers lol. He does the sliding kicks like this guy is Ali or something lol. Eventually Inoki ends the farce with a straight right, Enziguiri and Octopus Stretch which of course gets fucked up because X can’t hold his balance. This goes to a third round. Inoki armdrag and cross armbreaker finishes with no fanfare. Terrible match. Do not watch this.

Antonio Inoki vs Tiger Jeet Singh - NJPW 1/9/76 What if I told you a match had double juice, one dude getting busted open by a sword, the other by a glass bottle or some sort of tank, punches to the cut, biting the cut, steel chairs, guard rails, choking. Sounds killer. These two I don’t know what it is but they just don’t have it together. I love Inoki so it seems like a Singh problem. Does Tiger Jeet ever wrestler anyone else? The What and Why are there but the How is just heatless and no vim or vigor. It is weird because a verbal description would sound badass but it was anything but. There would be glimpses of that could be great but nothing sustained. The biggest pop was a fan nailed Tiger Jeet with a paper ball. Inoki was brutalized for the first ten minutes, made his comeback, double countout and then sent Tiger packing by kicking his ass. Maybe if it was more back and forth. It is probably just everyone is right, Tiger Jeet just kinda sucks. After contemplating this s’more this is a pretty decent brawl it is just not what I wanted it to be but it is good. ***

Antonio Inoki vs Tony Rocco - NJPW 2/2/79 Tony Rocco is a name I have heard associated with British wrestling but never seen. This is a weird addition to the New Japan World Catalog as it is pretty much a nothing match that’s about 8 minutes long. They work It like they are going Broadway, it is three holes and then a finish. The holds are well-done. Rocco takes Inoki down with a double wristlock and scissors the head. The amount of effort it took for Inoki to escape the hold was refreshing. Then Rocco got him a fisherman cradle but the ref refused to count. Inoki barred the arm. From there Inoki threw a couple DROPKICKs, Rocco atomic dropped him on the ropes into a backslide to get his nearfall. Inoki won with a Saito Suplex. A total nothing burger not good or bad. Just no meat on the bone.

I am pretty sure Inoki won the match by countout after a top rope flying knee to the floor. Antonio Inoki vs Seiji Sakaguchi - NJPW 4/21/78 MSG Series The opening match in the MSG Series, successor to the World League and precursor to the IWGP & G1 Leagues. Don’t be fooled by New Japan World this is not the Final, the final pits Inoki vs Andre on 5/30. I have not seen too much of Sakaguchi. It is his size that leaps off the page but not much else. Perhaps as I watch more of him, I will grow to appreciate him more but he seems like a solid hand. The match started as a pretty good Ace vs Second Banana technical contest with tempers flaring but they progressively lost steam down the stretch so this settled into the good, not great territory. The opening 30 minutes was surprisingly very Sakaguchi heavy on offense. Inoki really could not get much started. Besides an open salvo Saito Suplex that caused Sakaguchi to powder and some leg work, Sakaguchi stymied Inoki at every turn using his size, technique and most importantly his willingness to bend the rules and roughhouse to his advantage. The holds and amateur style takedowns and defense are a wrestling Purist dream. There is a great back heel trip by Sakaguchi on a rope break. That’s what I mean by blending the purity of amateur style with the storytelling of the professional style showing gamesmanship. There’s early warning signs. Each man chokes the other a little bit ;) but the ref is on it. Sakaguchi romps and stomps. Inoki wants to pull Sakaguchi out to the floor but can’t pull the trigger. It is Sakaguchi who finally lets it rips with strikes and wiping Inoki out with two wedgie style piledrivers. The ref doesn’t not count the pin because used the tights illegally to execute the move. God bless 1978 Japan! Sakaguchi hits an Atomic Stomp and even grabs the Octopus Stretch as time expires at the 30 minute mark. I thought this was great. I do have some issues with Inoki’s selling. He was doing a lot of not selling which is different than no selling. He was NOT registering the pain of the previous move or hold. He was just living onto the next one. On the flip side, Sakaguchi registered the pain of the Saito Suplex powdered acknowledged Inoki almost got him, realized it was kill or be killed and came back stronger. That’s a proper register. Inoki was being dominated but he was not very compelling underneath. They restart the match and this 10 minute stretch is not very good. They lose all the steam and storyline thread of the previous 30 minutes. Predictably it is Inoki’s turn to get on top. He dominates with holds and a Bombs Away Knee. It feels really heatless. He does clock Sakaguchi with a sick mule kick. This ten minute overtime ends with an Inoki figure-4 as time limit expires. I am assuming since they finished with Sakaguchi applying Inoki’s hold in the first period that the figure-4 is Sakaguchi’s hold? Am I right? Third reset not surprisingly this is quick. Inoki does his famous sliding kicks to the big man as they go out the ring. Inoki shoved him into the post and hits a BOMBS AWAY KNEE DROP FROM THE TOP ROPE TO THE FLOOR! Sick finish. Normalize countout finishes again in pro wrestling. There is some good stuff no doubt but it is hard to call this more than good. The heat just isn’t there and there is a lack of progression. The Bombs Away Kneedrop At the end is sick but feels tacked on. They had not worked the match to a fever pitch yet. ***1/4

NWF Heavyweight Champion Antonio Inoki vs Kintaro Oki - NJPW 10/10/74 Jet lag is a bitch (no not that Jetlag, he’s a boss) I am in Japan lying awake after that bitchin’ Inoki/Kobayashi let’s do another. The other thing is I got a cold a couple days ago before I left and it has complicated things. My nose was like faucet on the plane today. Now I’m congested as fuck. Heard the name Oki, don’t think I have seen him wrestle. I knew he was Korean. I didn’t realize he was the same class as Inoki and Baba was basically their third wheel. I thought this was fantastic. Inoki fucking clocks Oki before the bell; dude still had his robe on. The real Jetlag pointed out Oki wouldn’t shake his hand, which I didn’t catch. I just thought Inoki was being a dick. Was this interpromotional? Was Oki IWE? The hate between these two is palpable. This is brutally uncooperative in the best way possible. They are just tussling but can’t land anything. Inoki is looking to end this early with two Octopus Stretch attempts both stymied by Oki.’When Inoki does take Oki down he just grinds his forearm into Oki’s jawbone. It is nasty shit like that. Each pops off a great Suplex into a pin. Then what makes the match unique Oki goes low into the breadbasket with a couple butts. Then he follows up with a headbutt that rocks Inoki. A curious thing happens…Inoki does not immediately go back on offense. He takes probably four or five more brutal headbutts before one of them knocks him Out of the ring to a BIG reaction and Oli celebrates like his victory is academic. Inoki is trying to fire himself up but Oki is pouring on the headbutts. For once Inoki looks in danger, Oki hits a headbutt for two. He winds up and cracks Inoki with a headbutt which busts Inoki open. INOKI FIRES THE FUCK UP!!! Huge punch, Saito Suplex for the win! Awesome match really unique and entertaining. I am wondering if they were trying to open Inoki up hard way because he kept checking himself for blood (it also looked he was trying to blade himself a couple times). I think it was too perfect on the windup headbutt that was the one that drew blood so it was probably a blade. Anyways killer finish! Definitely give this match a spin. ****

NWF Heavyweight Champion Antonio Inoki vs Strong Kobayashi - NJPW 12/12/74 Konnichiwa from Japan! Writing this from Hakone, jet lagged six ways from Sunday. I had Naito vs Tsuiji all teed up from Sakura Genesis and I was like is that what I really want to watch? Look I know that’s what I am going to get come next Monday but fuck it I fell in love with Japan because of shit like this. This matches rules. HARD~! Hot Take: Wrestlers nowadays sells way too much. They undercut the credibility of their comeback and can grind matches to a halt with their overselling. I went to WrestleMania last weekend and I thought Gunther vs Sami Zayn was a top match of the weekend on the back of a hot closing stretch but that beginning was pretty bad. Zayn was selling two minutes in like they were in minute twenty. There are levels to this, brutha. Watching this match was a breath of fresh air. It was all register, register, register. They would register to get the crowd hot and fire up. The heat was explosive in this match. Very fun Inokiist opening to start with Inoki nailing two Big DROPKICKs to start, 1-2-3! Just like that the match is over. No wait Kobayashi had his foot clearly over the bottom rope since like one but ref was locked in on the shoulders. Big brouhaha leads to the match restarting. From there, it is just brilliant 70s wrestling. Kobayashi is the roughhouser extraordinaire. Kobayashi is competent on the mat but would rather by romping and stomping. While Inoki is working holds with vim & vigor. Inoki starts throwing feigned closed fists. Kobayashi retaliates with a top wristlock takedown into stomps to Inoki’s head to force him to powder. Inoki doesn’t oversell. He sells it enough so you know what you watched was roughhousing. It was not illegal but it was not clean either. Inoki comes roaring back with a Butterfly Lock and a Cravate. The ref breaks up the Cravate because Kobayashi is claiming choke. Again the way Kobayashi collapses sells the choke. Inoki defends himself by putting the hold on the ref. I love it. Inoki goes to crowd Kobayashi in the corner but Kobayashi cheap shots him and again uses punches and stomps to force Inoki to powder. Inoki comes back again working holds like his signature Indian Deathlock weigh Back Bend which Kobayashi uses chokes to get out of. Inoki converts that into a Bow & Arrow but they are in the ropes. Kobayashi crowds in the crowd with shoulder tackles and in his best near fall hits a Billy Robinson Backbreaker for a two count. Here is my one criticism this is where Inoki did need to sell more and let Kobayashi pour it on to take this to the next level. Instead we have Inoki double legging and taking it back to a Boston Crab. I know this is what drives some people crazy about Inoki is that he does not sell enough. I can appreciate early in that he registers and fires back but I do wish there was a 2-5 minute stretch in the back end where he’d give more to his opponents. Anyways that’s a nitpick because the FINISH FUCKING RULES! Inoki just clocks Kobayashi with a punch. Kobayashi walks away and just punches the turnbuckles as if to say to the ref what fuck are you going to do about that when he realizes nothing they just slug it out in awesome fashion. This ain’t no 21st Century New Japan Strike Exchange this is an old school out and out brawl! It gets even better from there! Inoki goes for a flying head scissors but Kobayashi falls backwards into the ropes and they take a NASTY bump. Inoki slams Kobayashi’s head into post. Teasing the Countout win which I would have loved. Kobayashi is busted open comes back in the ring pissed off and ready to throw down. Inoki cleans his fucking clock with a right and two Octocpus Stretches later wins! What a fucking fight! This has everything you want: well-defined characters that act according to their traits, struggle, urgency, a shit ton of heat and memorable plot points that rage to a climax. Call me an old crotchey man, call me crazy but they don’t make pro wrestling matches like they used to BABY~! ****1/2

IWGP Heavyweight Champion SANADA vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 1/4/24 Wrestle Kingdom 18 The hunt for a halfway decent New Japan 2024 match continues. Granted, I am doing this with express purpose of watching wrestlers I will watch in Japan at Korakuen Hall on April 22nd so watching Danielson in New Japan does not do me much good. Plus I am super familiar with Danielson so I dont need to watch him to prep for him even if he was to wrestle on that night. Anyways, never have been a Naito guy and nothing has really changed for me. He does not have much in the way of charisma nor does he do anything unique. Destino may be the worst finish of all time. It is so clunky and ugly. SANADA is like the most almost athletic wrestler of all time. Watch him try to do Misawa Tiger Feint at the beginning or the Poisonrana at the end, he just barely accomplishes them and they are ugly as sin. There's enough wicked athletic wrestler in this day and age, it is a losing battle for him. He should focus on something else. Honestly, the finish run basically mindwiped me and I cant really remember what I wanted to say even though I finished this match about ten minutes ago. Opening: Weak chain wrestling. The feign some dives. The match opens up with Naito hitting some hard back elbows to the neck and a hiptoss where SANADA's neck lands on Naito's knee. SANADA sells this well, even going to one knee on some hope spot chops. He moves into position a little early on the Slop Drop into some Lucha submission. As I expected, this match had like 20 minutes left so SANADA clearly oversold here as what was to come. Second segment: SANADA all of sudden has a ton of energy and moves out of the way a charge. Dropkick to the knee. Does some leapfrogs, dropkick. Splash to the outside. This would have been a great shine. Or he could not sold so much at the beginning. SANADA drops down into a Dragon Sleeper. He goes for the Moonsault early. Lands on his feet. He scrambles for another move but Naito sweeps the leg, dropkicks him and then a Reverse Neckbreaker off the guardrail to the floor for an 18 count. That sequence from the missed Moonsault->Neckbreaker on the floor was TREMENDOUS! It was the best sequence of the match. It demonstrates they could wrestle a great match, but they could NOT put it together. Third Segment: Naito snaps off a Top Rope Frankensteiner. SANADA hits a dropkick and then they tussle and he hits a Magic Killer off the top rope. They pissed away a lot of good work in that sequence. I think this is where the Poisonrana comes in. Moonsault eats the knees. First Destino and we enter the Finish stretch Finish Stretch: This was dreadful. First it is JIP wrestling. You could just JIP right to the missed moonsault and you would have missed nothing. The first 15-18minutes of this match do NOT matter. It is just a bunch of my turn, your turn finishes. Oh they steal each other finishers! Naito hits a bajillion Destino's. SANADA has an inverted Sister Abigail he hits plus some Shining Wizards and Moonsaults. It is pretty much mindless shit. I think when I enter Korakuen Hall I will be so overwhelmed by emotion I wont care what is put on in front of me, but New Japan looks fucking washed from where I am sitting.

Yota Tsuji vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW 3/20/24 New Japan Cup Finals I am so excited to see pro wrestling in Korakuen Hall that New Japan could deliver a total shitburger that I will still be elated, but if I am to be objective, this has been very disappointing to see what is going in New Japan. I heard the Finals would be a lot better than Semifinals, but I am still not seeing it. Besides his big ass smile, I dont see what Tsuji has going for him. I am only two matches in so I will keep an open mind, but there is nothing about him that jumps off the page. He is just another dude that does the same things as everyone else nowadays. Goto is Goto. He is old stalwart. First highspot came about five minutes in, it was a suicide dive by Tsuji. The opening 5 minutes of customary New Japan feeling out was nothing to write home about. No fire in the lock ups or takedowns. Tsuji's control segment was pretty by the book. Bodyslam, body scissors. I found it funny Goto was doing these desperation chops and fall down to one knee after about 7 minutes of action, a suicide dive and a bodyslam. I mean credit for doing a traditional hope spot, a dying art, but dude how about you wait for Tsuji to do something actually devastating. Goto caught Tsuji with a lariat on criss-cross. He did his standard Goto spots. There was absolutely terrible criss-cross spot that was just so overly complicated and unnecessary. Pretty bad New Japan strike exchange. The finish run was not very good. Usually I expect the finish run to save this match and justify the lavish praise heaped upon these mediocre matches, but this was not even good by Cena/Owens standards of 2015. It was my turn, your turn dreck. Tsuji hits his one cool move that weird jumpy thing that leads to double stomp to Goto's head. Guess what next move Tsuji hoists Goto on his shoulders guess what Goto comes alive and puts Tsuji in a sleeper. Man, could they at least come u[ up with a better transition. The headbutt strike exchange was good. I think this may have been earlier after the terrible criss-cross, but there was a terrible moment where Tsuji just hopped up on Goto's shoulders to eat a move. The actual finish was decent. Goto went for some Rainmaker variation and Tsuji hit a spear which was cool. I am not thrilled with yet another wrestler using the Spear but Tsuji does his more look like a spear takedown. If you like today's style of wrestling, I am sure you will like this. I am not here to rain on anyone's parade. I just call em as I see em. It was a disappointing match.

So obviously we have to go to Ribera. I see there are two locations. Which one is better from a pro wrestling history & memorabilia perspective?

Yota Tsuji vs EVIL - NJPW 3/18/24 New Japan Cup Semis Same crowd as Sanada & Goto, a bit more energy for this match particularly Yota who I have never seen or heard of before. Is Yota a candidate to be the next Ace? He seems solid. Between him & Sanaa’s I don’t see a huge difference, Yota may be a bit more charismatic. Never EVIL before but heard of him. I liked this better than Sanada/Goto but it wasn’t without its faults. This one told a clear story: the dude named EVIL is well Evil. He pulls hair, he exposes turnbuckles, he ball shots, he has friends (is that Dick Togo? It is Dick Togo) beat up Tsuji. So Tsuji has to fight from underneath and overcome the odds and has his own friends help him out. The issue was with the execution. A lot of it felt heatless like they were just going through motions like it was a dress rehearsal. Both beatdowns at the beginning and the end were atrocious. I’d be ashamed to be apart of that. Both some oomph behind those stomps, sneer, do something. The crowd clearly liked Yota but the match did him little favors. Once the match was officially started after the first beat down. There was a buzz to Yota’s offense. EVIL stymied that with a HARD shove into the railing that toppled the ring announcer. I like the hair pulling and the exposed buckles but the way Yota was going into them was ginger. Yota got his hope spots in with a couple stomps. EVIL took back over don’t remember much and I just watched the match. EVIL took the Bret Bump into the exposed buckles which I LOVED! EVIL hit him hard. This should led to fiery comeback but they pissed around with a terrible strike exchange. Yota hit his big finish but nailed the ref with it. Here comes Evil’s boys and this beat down sucks too. They focus on Tsuji’s testicles but Evil can’t pin him. SHINGO I believe comes out cleans house and Yota wins. This could have been great all the pieces were there but it was so heatless in execution.

I was watching Beetlejuice for the first time on the plane back from Dublin. Noticed there was a pro wrestling match while the mom was sleeping, what match was on?

UPDATE: I bought tickets using BuySumoTickets and received confirmation they purchased tickets for me to go see New Japan in Korakuen Hall!!! I am so excited that I am getting to see pro wrestling in Korakuen! We are also going to Sumo too, which should be pretty cool. I watched a New Japan match from a week ago and noticed that 2/3rds-3/4ths of the crowd was in masks. Should I expect to wear a mask at all times in Japan or only when I am sick? Thank you everyone for the recommendations! I am so excited for this trip!

SANADA vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW 03/18/24 New Japan Cup 2024 Semis I leave for Japan on April 13th. Time to get my ass in gear! Hirooki Goto still wrestles?!? Wow! SANADA has a great look, not sure he has IT. I thought he was perfectly solid just didn’t jump off the page for me. I thought he’d be a lock to win since he was a recent champion & Goto is a vet but they went with the upset. It is still cold in Boston so this is going to be short. Pretty heatless match overall. Nothing bad per se but nothing great. Standard New Japan start with Mat wrestling which I appreciate. Looks like Goto is going to take control first with a clotheslining Samara over the top rope but very All Japan transition here with drop toe hole into the guardrail and then piledriver on the floor. That was the peak of the match. Lame Sanada control. Lame Goto transition on a lame cross cross. Stock Goto stuff. The criss cross stuff in this match was not good. SANADA who I believe is a Mutoh student at the very least he worked Wrestle-1 with Mutoh uses a lot of Mutoh moves such as the Shining Wizard & Moonsault. I did like the Dragon Sleeper with a body scissors. There was an especially bad New Japan strike exchange breakdown. The finish stretch was pretty standard New Japan does 90s All Japan style bomb throwing. This came off well and heated. The crowd finally got into it. I liked Sanada’s use if quick pins to discombobulate and set up offense but eventually he got caught by two big moves from Goto. I’m probably harsher sounding on it than I felt while watching. I didn’t think either guy really stood out and they didn’t tell a real story. It was not like one guy was fighting from underneath (SANADA was on top more I reckon), no limbo psychology, no tempo psychology. It was just hit your spots with weak transition and a standard finish run. Nothing bad, nothing great. It just was.