Superstar Sleeze

Flair was 32 when he won it in '81 and Bock was 30 in 64. Bock was a nine year pro at that time and and Flair was a nine year pro. If your point was we are missing a TON of Bock I agree, but if it was he was challenging early in his career, it is really no different for Flair. I really, really, REALLY want to see Thesz vs Bock now.

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Rick Martel vs Nick Bockwinkel - AWA Winnipeg 9/20/84 WOW! Until the finish, I think this was the best match I have seen so far as part of my 80s watching and is definitely neck and neck with Flair vs Kerry from August of 1982. It featured some of the best selling I have ever witnessed in pro wrestling. It was not just from Martel. It was from both Martel and Bockwinkel. It felt like a war of attrition between the two best wrestlers in the world. It was a game of inches and they were both so good that it was just going to be the details the decided the winner. The small detail was Bockwinkel's nasty little short jab to the ribs. It was his great equalizer. Martel was so focused on his kneework that he would leave himself exposed to these quick punches and that eventually took their toll on Martel physically. The story really became who could overcome their injuries Bockwinkel with his knee and Martel with his midsection. Bockwinkel wrestled most of the match on his knees and he proves why he is one of the all-time best by selling his pain and desperation throughout the match. In this match, Bockwinkel tries to start the match hot and heavy, but he gets overzealous and hits a high knee to the turnbuckle. Martel just pounces on this mistake like in the Lawler match with toeholds and strikes relentlessly. Bockwinkel sells the agony of the holds in such an engaging way that you never lose interest. Bock and Martel trade blows within the toehold and when that does not go well for Bock; he hits a quick jab to Martel's midsection, which forces him off his body. Bock with JYD heabutts to Martel's midsection. Oh shit, this is my kinda match! He pounds Martel's side as best he can with his good knee. This is just dripping with struggle and urgency. Bockwinkel collapses in the middle of the ring while Martel writhes in pain in the corner. Holy shit! Bock uses the wrong knee on a knee lift and can't capitalize soon enough. Martel hits a kneecrusher! Martel is back to work with seatdrops so Bockwinkel just grabs him by his hair and punches him in the head. He forces Martel out of the ring and is basically working a King of the Mountain from his ass and it is awesome! Martel picks the leg and wraps it around the post. Have I gone to Heaven? Bock saves his knee by trying to claw Martel's eyes out. This was no normal eye gouge, he was getting in there. He puts Martel in a stretch where he can constantly maneuver him to expose the ribs to his rabbit punches without the ref seeing. Martel punches to the knee to get out of it and kicks the leg out from under him. Yep, I died and have gone to Heaven. Martel rides high and Bock applies a body scissors, but his leg is so fucked up he can't hold him. They knock heads in the middle of the ring and it is time to hit the finish. Martel goes for the kill first, but misses the reverse cross body from the middle rope. Martel fires through Bock's offense and it looks like he has more gas in his tank. Slingshot splash EATS KNEES! THOSE RIBS! OW! The selling is tres magnifique. They work through a barrage of nearfalls with neither having enough to put the other way. However, the ref gets bumped, Mr. Saito is able to throw salt in the eyes of Martel who has Bockwinkel dead to rites in the Boston Crab. 1-2-3!?!?!?!?!? Bock wins??? After much deliberation, the belt is returned to Martel. I fucking hate that finish. I don't care if it is babyface or heel, it is just stupid bullshit. It is definitely worse when a babyface wins, you get the pop and then rob people. Still even letting the people see Martel get pinned and not lose only hurts the moment when he will actually loses the title. The finish is the only thing that keeps this from *****, but fuck if this is the tenth best match of the AWA in the 80s, I am in for quite treat! This was fucking tremendous. Small critique would be that they just had one or two more highspots down the stretch to take the drama level to the next level. I am thinking a Bockwinkel sleeper and maybe a piledriver or two. It does not have to be an AWA Jumbo match with a ton of highspots, but a couple more would have been enough to overcome my least favorite finish ever. Enough negativity because this is my favorite match so far. It is a master's class in selling and should be absolutely mandatory to be watched by all wrestlers young and old in the industry today. ****3/4

I wanted to wrap up my impromptu WCW late 90s project with a big Best Of List, which has been complete for weeks, but I am suffering from writer's fatigue to write a decent introduction for it that will put a nice bow on the whole thing, hopefully this Tuesday. In the interim, I have headed back to the greatest decade this world has ever seen, the 80s! I began in World Class looking at Flair vs the Von Erichs and in Memphis specifically at Jerry Lawler's quest to become World Champion and fighting off the outsiders from the AWA. Ric Flair vs The Von Erichs: NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich 8/15/82 ****3/4 NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs David Von Erich 10/11/82 ****1/2 NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich Christmas Star Wars 12/25/82 Steel Cage match, Michael Hayes Special Guest Referee ****1/2 NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kevin Von Erich - WCCW 4/1/83 ****1/4 NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich - Parade of Champions 5/6/84 **** NWA World Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich vs Ric Flair - WCCW 5/11/84 **** NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kevin Von Erich - Parade of Champions 5/5/85 ****1/2 http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2015/05/ric-flair-vs-von-erichs-wccw-1982-1985.html --------------------------------------------------- When the AWA Comes to Memphis: Jerry Lawler vs Crusher Blackwell - Mid-South Coliseum 5/4/81 ***1/2 NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Jerry Lawler - Memphis Wrestling 8/14/82 *** (Wicked fun angle and some of the best promos ever, watch this segment!) AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel vs Jerry Lawler Mid-South Coliseum 10/18/82 **** AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel vs Jerry Lawler Mid-South Coliseum 11/8/82 Title vs Hair No DQ match ****1/2 AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel vs Jerry Lawler Mid-South Coliseum 1/1/84 ***1/2 (One of the best comebacks ever!) AWA World Heavyweight Champion Rick Martel vs Jerry Lawler - Nashville 10/12/85 ****1/2 AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel vs Jeff Jarrett Mid-South Coliseum 5/4/87 ***3/4 http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2015/05/when-awa-comes-to-mempho-jerry-lawler.html ---------------------------------------------------

What I am really loving about Reigns right now is how he is constantly fighting back from underneath. He is fighting through the pain and taking it to the heel opponent. It is really different than all the other babyfaces on the roster right now, which either just do MOVEZ~! or sell throughout the heat segment and do not do much (Cena, Ziggler etc) I don't have a problem with the latter and I think Cena still is one of the best workers in the company. I like idea of a babyface that is not just going to get his ass kicked, but will be fighting back. It reminds me a lot of peak popularity Daniel Bryan, who was constant motion of fighting and struggling against the bigger opponents. I have loved his matches against Big Show both on TV and at Extreme Rules. The only person that can compete with Reigns this year so far has been Cena. At the PPVs this year, I have at two apiece. Cena wins the first two with the triple threat and the first Rusev match (I think Bryan/Reigns match is overrated and Cena/Rusev I is still a WWE MOTYC for me), but Reigns wins Wrestlemania and Extreme Rules. On TV, I have loved the Cena US Open Challenge especially Zayn and Neville, but Ambrose and Stardust matches sucked. Reigns had a couple good Big Show matches, but not watching Smackdown I might be missing a bit. I think it is too close to call right now.

North American Heavyweight Champion Magnum TA vs Ted DiBiase - Mid-South 7/6/84 You know you are over when the crowd is doing the sound effects for your punches. Magnum TA, you are over, brutha. Magnum had 80s babyface down pat. He had all the mannerisms with him shaking his fists, hands over head, raring to go. He is a way better seller than I was expecting. You hear he was going to Hulk Hogan of the NWA and I see where that comes from in terms of look and cool factor. While Hogan sold a lot especially in the late 80s, it was the over the top, comic book style selling as opposed to Magnum's gritty, bloody screams and his anguished countenance. This is much tamer version of their bloody brawls in late May (even though it did get bloody). It almost seemed like the matches were booked backwards chronologically. Though they seem to be in a different town so maybe they were starting the story fresh here. The beginning of the match was pretty common 80s beginning with Magnum besting DiBiase at every turn and DiBiase powdering to break his rhythm while Mags was energized. It was a fun beginning. Really hated the transition to the heel heat segment with DiBiase just hitting some shoulder tackles in the corner and then he just throws TA's back into the apron and post. I would have liked something more devious or a Magnum mistake to transition to the heat segment. It was just way too routine and not a real hook for the match. While the transition sucked, the heat segment proper was awesome because Mags' forte was selling and DiBiase seems like a strong offensive presence. It could have used more Magnum hope spots, but his selling was very good. TA bucked him off to the floor and then DiBiase takes his somersault bump in the follow-up. The crowd is red hot for the Magnum comeback until a collision (80s really liked that spot). DiBiase, out of desperation, sends Magnum head first into the post and busts him open. I liked DiBiase going from the back to the head because he was feeling the match slipped away from him. Mags feels blood on his face and just loses it. He whips DiBiase so hard into the ropes the turnbuckle breaks! I don't think it was a work, but maybe it was. Ted grabs hold of the turnbuckle and cracks him him, but it is only two. Mags bounces off the bottom two ropes with a ref drop down (hmmmmmmm maybe this was planned) and it is a hot shot by Teddy. DiBiase loads the glove, but misses the fist drop into the Belly to Belly! The finish stretch took this from a good match to a great match, but I didn't think it was as good as the bloody brawls from late May. These two are definitely made for each with DiBiase's offense and Mags' selling. The finish was memorable with the turnbuckle breaking and it was a feel good finish. ****

Macho Mandow might be the most amateur hour, bush league, Indy gimmick WWE has ever run. The fact Jay Lethal and TNA did this gimmick like 7 years ago and 100x better is all that needs to be said.

AWA World Tag Team Champions High Flyers vs Rick Martel & Tito Santana - AWA 8/29/82 The following review is from a couple years ago (WOW! How times flies) and the match was every bit as good. I stand by every world. These four guys go balls to wall for 15 minutes struggling to score a victory. It is two babyface vs babyface teams where neither team plays a subtle heel that you would often see in face vs face matches. It actually feels like puro in that way, it is a pure competition to see who is the best. The beginning of the match is very focused on Strike Force working over the High Flyers with headlock. I would say Martel is the better of the two in working the headlock. These are some really fast-paced headlock sequences. Martel/Gagne go through a wild headlock/headscissors exchange that would challenge anyone's cardio. You really get the feeling right out the gate that both teams are focused on picking up the victory. Santana, unlike Martel, is a little more content to sit in his headlock. Gagne tries working a crossface on Santana to break it up and feels really heated. Once Martel gets back in, he will run up the ropes and in order to do side headlock takeovers. Martel rules! They work some sequences in between these headlocks, but everything is very focused on the headlocks by Strike Force, which I like the concentration. At this point, we get a clip and now the High Flyers change the focus from headlocks to some really wicked leg work that is bitchin'. Gagne drops a knee on Tito Santana's knee and does his inverted deathlock (Gagnelock?), which looks pretty wicked given how he is applying it. Brunzell follows up with a figure-4 and then a spinning toe hold. Eventually, Santana kicks out and finally Martel gets in, but we find that Martel is selling his knee, which we must have missed in the clip. One last time for the Strike Force Fans, "IT'S RICKY MARTEL TIME, MUTHAFUCKAS!" but he is cut short because he hits a backbreaker, which hurts his own knee! Killer. Martel tags Tito and Gagne dodges this dropkick. This may sound weird. But I marked the fuck out for that. The force that Tito threw that dropkick and how quick Greg moved out of the way was incredible. (Past self, that is not weird because I totally forgot about that spot and I again popped huge for it. Told myself, if there one thing I need to add to my review was how bitchin' that spot was. But my past self beat me to it! Damn past self for being so on point! ) Gagne hits a shinbreaker on the ailing knee of Santana and then applies Spinning Toe Hold. Martel gets the tag and runs through some more offense punctuating with a backbreaker. Tito back in with a wicked cross-body and he rattles off a ton of moves, but Gagne grabs the GAGNE CHOKE (filthy cheater )! Santana snapmares out and hoists Gagne up, but unbeknowst to Tito, Gagne tags Brunzell. Then Brunzell hits the most HOLY SHIT dropkick on Tito. He dropkicks him right in the head for the win. That was the best damn dropkick. I think any match that can make you mark out for a missed dropkick and a dropkick is a pretty damn incredible match. The story of this best match to prove you were best tag team in the AWA. It was wrestled clean, but that does not mean they wrestled like nancy boys and were polite. They were out for the victory. The tenacity shown on the headlocks and leg works was enthralling. The home stretch was one of the best with Martel's knee going out, Flyers going back to the legs, Tito rattling off moves, before the Mother of All Dropkicks. I don't want to say this blows all WWF tag team matches out of the water, but it does makes most of them look second-rate. This is an excellent showcase on how to work a heated face vs face match without any subtle heel tactics. ****1/2

North American Heavyweight Champion Magnum TA vs Ted DiBiase - Mid-South Tulsa 5/27/84 I have to say I was a bit skeptical that on the exact same day albeit different arena they would be able to even match the awesomeness of the earlier OKC match, but boy was I wrong. Not only did they match it, they topped it with an even better blood-soaked brawl. The first match was a great bloody sprint, but this was a dramatic spectacle. They played to Magnum's greatest strength, his selling and it just ensnared you and never let you go. I got to say, I loved the beginning of this, where DiBiase went to pearl harbor Mags, but Magnum was wise to his games and beat him to the punch. Since they were working a different arena, I did not expect them to actually learn from match to match. So I was very impressed. Did they show these matches on TV and thus they needed to show inter-match progression? The early portion of the match is all Magnum, but DiBiase is making him earn it. The match really busts open (pun fully intended) when DiBiase sends Magnum crashing to the floor reopening the cut. DiBiase working the cut on the floor with Magnum's screams of agony and the fans enraged was a perfect confluence of pro wrestling. DiBiase clawing at the cut and Magnum just making you believe this is most painful thing is the difference between the last match being great and this being a classic. In the ring, Ted is on point it is all fist and elbow drops to the head. Magnum is peppering in hope spots, but can string anything together as Ted stymies him immediately. DiBiase applies the sleeper and just when it looks like we will have a new champion, Magnum in a last ditch effort sends DiBiase flying over the ropes. DiBiase tries to rebound with a piledriver, but Mags back drops out of it. He pulls himself by the ropes. I love it, Ted is modulating the strength of his punches with them getting progressively weaker as he is more exhausted! Magnum is coming alive! He sees the blood. Run Ted Run! The collide in the center of the ring. I have this to be a way more common spot in the 80s than in anytime since and it was definitely a clue the finish is coming. DiBiase wants to get this over with and loads the glove. Wild swing and Mags hits the atomic drop and Ted bounces off the ropes into a Belly 2 Belly! I loved that setup for the Belly 2 Belly. Best Mid-South match yet and just everything you want from bloody brawl. Ted was vicious during the heat segment and backpedaling on Magnum's offense. Magnum is a really, really good seller and knows how to connect with audience during a comeback. ****1/2

I am pretty sure I watched Demos vs Patera/Haynes and I know I watched Ax vs Patera (Matt D vs Dylan, BABY!) and was underwhelmed. Yep, we will rewatch. The best early Demolition match is with surprise, surprise the Islanders. Cutting Edge not in that it was better, but it was what wrestling was moving towards except the Bulldogs were a decade ahead of themselves. It felt really avant-garde for the time, No, the Bulldogs style did not hurt the tag team division because there was no follow up until Benoit/Guerrero/Malenko in mid-90s WCW. Once Dynamite gets injured, the tag scene resets to Demolition clubbering, Strike Force/Islanders working Southern-Style blood feud and the Rockers being friggin awesome. Bulldogs were not immediately influential and thus had little bearing on the state of the tag division. The tag division felt apart because Vince stopped caring. I pointed it out because just how incredible the WWF was in the late 80s in terms of all the styles they had. Bulldogs were basically a Japanese tag team wrestling against a hard-hitting, no-nonsense Mid-Atlantic stalwart and his useless WWF heel partner. It was just really cool the all-star nature of the promotion. I have actually only seen that Hart Foundation/Killer Bees match. I did want to watch some Bret Hart vs Jim Brunzell singles at some point.

For those interested in the Japanese Companion Piece to go with this. Here are my choices for best 100 matches from Japan in the 2000s based on what I watched for Ditch's project organized by year: Check out ridingspacemountain.blogpsot.com for reviews or in the 2000s folder. 2000 1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00 2. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00 3. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00 4. IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title 5. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki - 01/04/00 6. Hashimoto & Iizuka vs Ogawa & Murkami - Tokyo Dome 01/04/00 7. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW 6/25/00 8. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00 9. Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - Budokan 07/23/00 10. Genichiro Tenryu vs Toshiaki Kawada - Vacant All Japan Triple Crown 10/28/00 11. Kenta Kobashi vs Takao Omori - Champions Carnival Final '00 12. Yuki Ishikawa vs Kazunari Murakami - BattlArts 11/26/00 13. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival '00 14. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - NOAH #2 08/06/00 Match of the Year: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00 New Japan Match of the Year: Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00 Pre-Split All Japan Match of the Year: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00 Post-Split All Japan Match of the Year: Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - Budokan 07/23/00 Pro Wrestling NOAH Match of The Year: Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00 Juniors Match of The Year: IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW 6/25/00 Tag Team Match of The Year: Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00 2001 1. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01 2. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 4/15/01 GHC Title Finals 3. Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 04/01 4. GHC Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 07/27/01 5. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01 6. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue - Budokan 5/01 7. Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Zero-One 3/2/01 8. Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya - AJPW 6/30/01 9. Minoru Tanaka vs AKIRA - NJPW BOSJ 05/28/01 10. Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - IWGP Championship Tokyo Dome 01/04/01 11. Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama & Vader - NOAH 1/13/01 Match of the Year: All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01 New Japan Match of The Year: IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01 All Japan Match of the Year: All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01 Pro Wrestling NOAH Match of The Year: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 4/15/01 GHC Title Finals Juniors Match of The Year: IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01 Tag Team Match of the Year: Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Zero-One 3/2/01 2002 1. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Kazunari Murakami - NJPW 12/12/02 2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Yoshinari Ogawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 9/7/02 3. New Japan (Liger & Minoru ) vs. NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 4/7/02 4. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 07/07/02 5. New Japan (Liger & Inoue) vs NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 2/17/02 6. Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutaka Araya vs Taiyo Kea & Kazushi Miyamoto - AJPW 4/27/02 7. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Tokyo Dome 5/2/02 8. IWGP Jr Tag Champions Liger & Tanaka vs Kikuchi & Kanemaru - NJPW 8/29/02 9. GHC Tag Champions Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Shiga - NOAH 10/19/02 Match of the Year: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Kazunari Murakami - NJPW 12/12/02 New Japan Match of the Year: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Kazunari Murakami - NJPW 12/12/02 Pro Wrestling NOAH Match of the Year: GHC Heavyweight Champion Yoshinari Ogawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 9/7/02 Miscellaneous Promotion Match of The Year: Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutaka Araya vs Taiyo Kea & Kazushi Miyamoto - AJPW 4/27/02 Juniors Match of the Year: New Japan (Liger & Minoru ) vs. NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 4/7/02 Tag Team Match of The Year: New Japan (Liger & Minoru ) vs. NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 4/7/02 2003 1. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03 2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03 3. Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa - Zero-One 12/14/03 4. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13/03 5. Akira Taue vs Yuji Nagata - NOAH 6/6/03 6. KENTAFuji vs Jushin Liger & Murahama - GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Final 07/16/03 7. AJPW Triple Crown Champion Shinya Hashimoto vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 6/13/03 8. Toryumon Trios Four-Way - Toryumon 08/30/03 9. IWGP Jr. Tag Champions Kikuchi & Kanemaru vs Liger & Kanemoto - NOAH 1/26/03 10. GHC Tag Champions (Akiyama & Saito) vs (Kobashi & Honda) - Budokan 6/6/03 11. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takuma Sano - NOAH 6/6/03 12. Low Ki vs AJ Styles - Z1 01/05/03 Match of the Year: GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03 Best Pro Wrestling NOAH Match of the Year: GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03 Best Miscellaneous Promotion Match of the Year: Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa - Zero-One 12/14/03 Best Juniors Match of the Year: Toryumon Trios Four-Way - Toryumon 08/30/03 Best Tag Team Match of The Year: Toryumon Trios Four-Way - Toryumon 08/30/03 2004 1. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04 2. GHC Tag Team Champions Misawa & Ogawa vs KENTAFuji Budokan 04/25/04 3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue - NOAH 09/10/04 4. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04 5. AJPW Triple Crown Champion Toshiaki Kawada vs Shinya Hashimoto - AJPW 02/22/04 6. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Hiroyuki Ito - U-Style 08/18/04 7. KENTA vs Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 06/27/04 8. Kazuyuki Fujita vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 6/5/04 Vacant IWGP Championship 9. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax '04 10. Toshiaki Kawada vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW 11/03/04 Match of the Year: GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04 Best Pro Wrestling NOAH Match of the Year: GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04 Best Miscellaneous Promotion Match of the Year: AJPW Triple Crown Champion Toshiaki Kawada vs Shinya Hashimoto - AJPW 02/22/04 Best Juniors Match of the Year: N/A Best Tag Team Match of The Year: GHC Tag Team Champions Misawa & Ogawa vs KENTAFuji Budokan 04/25/04 2005 1. Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05 2. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion KENTA vs. SUWA - Budokan 9/18/05 3. Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda - FUTEN 4/24/05 4. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Jun Akiyama & Genichiro Tenryu - Budokan 4/24/2005 5. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH 11/5/05 6. Open The Triangle Champions Do Fixer vs. Blood Generation Dragon Gate 2005 7. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - Tokyo Dome 7/18/05 8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki - Budokan 01/08/05 9. GHC Champion Takeshi Rikio vs Akira Taue - Budokan 11/5/05 10. Jun Akiyama vs Katsuyori Shibata - Wrestle-1 08/05 Match of the Year: Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05 Best Pro Wrestling NOAH Match of the Year: Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05 Best Miscellaneous Promotion Match of the Year: Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda - FUTEN 4/24/05 Best Juniors Match of the Year: GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion KENTA vs. SUWA - Budokan 9/18/05 Best Tag Team Match of The Year:Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05 2006 1. GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 01/22/06 2. KENTA vs Bryan Danielson - NOAH 12/2/06 3. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 12/10/06 4. Osamu Nishimura vs Tatsumi Fujinami - MUGA 9/25/06 Two Out of three Falls 5. Osamu Nishimura vs Hiro Saito - MUGA 08/02/06 Match of the Year: GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 01/22/06 Best Pro Wrestling NOAH Match of the Year: GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 01/22/06 Best Miscellaneous Promotion Match of the Year: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 12/10/06 Best Juniors Match of the Year: KENTA vs Bryan Danielson - NOAH 12/2/06 Best Tag Team Match of The Year: N/A 2007 1. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yuji Nagata- NJPW 4/13/07 2. Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - 12/02/07 3. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Togi Makabe - NJPW 07/06/07 4. AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion Shuji Kondo vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - AJPW 2/17/07 5. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW 11/11/07 6. AJPW TRIPLE Crown Champion Minoru Suzuki vs Keiji Mutoh - AJPW 07/01/07 7. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs Naomichi Marufuji & Kota Ibushi - Budokan 7/15/07 8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takuma Sano - Budokan 4/28/07 Match of the Year: WGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yuji Nagata- NJPW 4/13/07 Best Pro Wrestling NOAH Match of the Year: Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - 12/02/07 Best New Japan Pro Wrestling Match of the Year: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yuji Nagata- NJPW 4/13/07 Best Miscellaneous Promotion Match of the Year: AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion Shuji Kondo vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - AJPW 2/17/07 Best Juniors Match of the Year: AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion Shuji Kondo vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - AJPW 2/17/07 Best Tag Team Match of The Year: Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - 12/02/07 2008 1. Yuki Ishikawa & Muneori Sawa vs Super Tiger II & Manabu Hara - BattlArts 11/16/08 2. Ishikawa, Otsuka, Sawa vs Ikeda, Super Tiger II, Usuda - BattlArts 7/26/08 3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima vs Kensuke Sasaki - Budokan 9/6/08 4. Kobashi/Honda/Taniguchi vs. Morishima/Marufuji/Sugiura - NOAH 2/21/08 5. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion Bryan Danielson vs KENTA - NOAH 10/13/08 6. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Suwama - AJPW Champions Carnival '08 7. Ikuto Hidaka & Muneori Sawa vs Yuki Ishikawa & Yuta Yoshikawa - BattlArts 8/31/08 8. Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion Yoshitune vs Fujita Jr Hayato - M-Pro 12/12/08 9. Yuki Ishikawa vs Carl Greco - BattlArts 06/01/08 Match of the Year: Yuki Ishikawa & Muneori Sawa vs Super Tiger II & Manabu Hara - BattlArts 11/16/08 Best Pro Wrestling NOAH Match of the Year:GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima vs Kensuke Sasaki - Budokan 9/6/08 Best Miscellaneous Promotion Match of the Year: Yuki Ishikawa & Muneori Sawa vs Super Tiger II & Manabu Hara - BattlArts 11/16/08 Best Juniors Match of the Year: GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion Bryan Danielson vs KENTA - NOAH 10/13/08 Best Tag Team Match of The Year: Yuki Ishikawa & Muneori Sawa vs Super Tiger II & Manabu Hara - BattlArts 11/16/08 2009 1. Fujita Jr. Hayato vs Koji Kanemoto - NJPW Super J Cup 12/02/09 2. Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion Fujita Jr Hayato vs Great Sasuke - M-Pro 6/19/09 3. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion KENTA vs Kotaro Suzuki - NOAH 1/25/09 4. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs Shinjiro Ohtani - NJPW 10/12/09 5. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama & KENTA - NOAH 10/03/09 6. Go Shiozaki & Sugiura vs Nakamura & Milano Collection AT - NOAH 3/01/09 7. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Manabu Nakanishi vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 6/20/09 8. GHC Champion Jun Akiyama vs KENTA - NOAH 5/17/09 9. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 2/15/09 10. AJPW TRIPLE Crown Champion Yoshihiro Takayama vs Suwama - 8/30/09 11. Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion Fujita Jr Hayato vs Ou Kobushi - M-Pro 9/5/09 12. GHC Jr. Champion KENTA vs Katushiko Nakajima - K-OFFICE 02/11/09 Match of the Year: Fujita Jr. Hayato vs Koji Kanemoto - NJPW Super J Cup 12/02/09 Best Pro Wrestling NOAH Match of the Year: GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion KENTA vs Kotaro Suzuki - NOAH 1/25/09 Best New Japan Pro Wrestling Match of the Year: Fujita Jr. Hayato vs Koji Kanemoto - NJPW Super J Cup 12/02/09 Best Miscellaneous Promotion Match of the Year: Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion Fujita Jr Hayato vs Great Sasuke - M-Pro 6/19/09 Best Juniors Match of the Year: Fujita Jr. Hayato vs Koji Kanemoto - NJPW Super J Cup 12/02/09 Best Tag Team Match of The Year: Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama & KENTA - NOAH 10/03/09

Contenders for Greatest Match of All Time (*****): WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana vs Greg "The Hammer" Valentine - MSG 6/16/84 Sgt Slaughter vs Iron Sheik - WWF, MSG 6/16/84 Ted DiBiase vs. Hacksaw Duggan (No DQ, Loser Leaves Town, Coal Miner's Glove on a Poll, Tuxedo, Cage match) - Mid-South 3/22/85 Hacksaw Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer - Mid-South 11/11/85 Blood in the Sand: AWA World Tag Team Champions Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs Midnight Rockers - AWA 8/30/86 Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - AJPW Budokan 02/27/00 All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - AJPW 05/26/00 Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJPW PPV 12/14/00 All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01 GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03 GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03 GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04 WWE Champion John Cena vs Umaga - WWE Royal Rumble 2007 Last Man Standing The Shield vs. Ryback & Team Hell No - WWE TLC 2012 TLC Match Daniel Bryan vs Triple H w/Stephanie McMahon - Wrestlemania XXX NJPW Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 4/6/14 Perpetual Bridesmaids (****3/4): NWA World Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk vs Jumbo Tsuruta 6/11/76 Two out of Three Falls Randy "Macho Man" Savage vs Ronnie Garvin - ICW 1982/1983 Steel Cage Match NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich - World Class Star Wars 8/15/82 World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Fabulous Freebirds vs Von Erich Brothers - WCCW 7/4/83 Kerry Von Erich vs Michael Hayes - WCCW 11/24/83 Steel Cage, Loser Leaves Town Match The Sheiks (Sheik Ayatollah Blackwell & Sheik Adnan Al-Kassie) vs Greg Gagne & Da Crusher - AWA 3/25/84 Steel Cage Match AWA World Heavyweight Champion Rick Martel vs Nick Bockwinkel - AWA Winnipeg 9/20/84 Mid-South North American Champion Dick Murdoch vs Butch Reed - Mid-South 9/22/85 Mid-South North American Champion Dick Murdoch vs Butch Reed - Mid-South 10/14/85 Jerry "The King" Lawler vs Bam Bam Bigelow - Memphis 9/7/86 Texas Death Match Brawl in St. Paul: AWA World Tag Team Champions Buddy Rose & Doug Somers vs Midnight Rockers - St. Paul 12/25/86 Steel Cage Match WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - WWF, Toronto 2/15/87 WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - Wrestlemania III Jerry "The King" Lawler vs Austin Idol - Memphis 4/27/87 Steel Cage Hair vs Hair Match WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting vs Vader - Great American Bash 1992 Sting vs Vader - Starrcade 1992 WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader vs Sting - SuperBrawl III WCW World Crusierweight Champion Eddy Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr. Halloween Havoc 1997 IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Vacant GHC Title 04/15/01 GHC Tag Team Champions Misawa & Ogawa vs KENTAFuji Budokan 04/25/04 World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit vs Shawn Micahaels - RAW 5/3/04 Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05 IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yuji Nagata- NJPW 4/13/07 Ishikawa, Otsuka, Sawa vs Ikeda, Super Tiger II, Usuda - BattlArts 7/26/08 Yuki Ishikawa & Muneori Sawa vs Super Tiger II & Manabu Hara - BattlArts 11/16/08 The Shield vs Wyatt Family - WWE Elimination Chamber 2014 IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki - G-1 Climax Day 7

Federer and Nadal are also a lot more fun to watch. Federer's forehand is so fucking gorgeous and he is so graceful. Nadal is so damn gritty and powerful out there. Nadal plays the most violent brand of tennis, well as violent as tennis gets. Djoker is more fun to watch Murray, but besides a really nice backhand, what is really eye-popping about him. He is just really excellent at everything. Throw in that Nadal is the earnest one and Federer is presented as class all the way, then you have Djoker who is labeled as a chump (retiring problems for a while) and a whiner. Hard not to have a letdown. Hey, as long as it is not Murray has always been my stance.

North American Heavyweight Champion Magnum TA vs Ted DiBiase - Mid-South OKC 5/27/84 Nice, fist throwing bloody sprint as I get my first look at Ted in Mid-South. Watching prime Ted DiBiase for the first time in Mid South is something that really intrigues me. Bockwinkel, Lawler and Von Erichs are known commodities to me, I know what to expect because I have watched a decent amount of footage going in for those wrestlers. DiBiase is someone who is well-known for excellent character work as the Million Dollar Man, but leaves me cold in the ring. In Mid-South, he has a blank slate to really impress me. This match was an excellent start. I thought he was vicious, focused and relentless. There was no jawing and no wasted time. He was in there to win and press his advantage to win that title. From the opening bell, when the wrestlers looked to return to their corners, he jumped Magnum from behind. It established his tone for the match and that was to attack, attack, attack. His strikes looked great as he took to the outside.The ref's admonishing distracted enough that Mags was able to bounce his head off the table. Holy shit, look at Magnum go with those awesome right punches that has DiBiase reeling. I love DiBiase begging off and taking some big bumps. Mags looks way better on offense here by sticking to strikes and brawling with Ted. DiBiase feeling like the match was slipping away and being overwhelmed loads up his glove and blasts Magnum busting him wide open. Around this, Jim Ross magically joins us on commentary and they mute the crowd. JR just calls the moves and does not add much in terms of story so I wish they kept the crowd noise. I loved the crowd visibly expressing to the ref that DiBiase loaded the glove. DiBiase was awesome in his heat segment. Every move was designed to hurt Magnum and take advantage of the cut, fist drops, ring post shots, and strikes. DiBiase hits a nice powerslam to set up the spinning toehold, but Magnums kicks him off. DiBiase goes up top and I have seen enough WWF DiBiase to know how this story ends. He eats the punch to the midsection and somersault flip to a nice visible reaction. Magnum roars and I wish I could hear the crowd. He hits his Belly to Belly to retain the title. It clocks in under 10 minutes, but this is a sprint. It is a just an action-packed brawl between two pros. Magnum is greta at selling and really has gotten firing up down now in a very short time since I last saw him. DiBiase really checks a lot of the boxes as a heel. Definitely looking forward to more! ****1/4

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Rick Martel vs Nick Bockwinkel - AWA 8/16/84 Martel versus Bockwinkel has all the makings of a classic championship series that has been overlooked due to AWA not being a sexy territory until a resurgence of interest from the AWA DVDVR project. I have watched a couple of their matches in the past, but I can't remember which ones so I am basically starting fresh. Six matches made the AWA set, but I will be starting with the three highest ranked ones and when I have more time, I will go back and watch the other three. The first match we see is the first match to make the set since Martel has won the title from Jumbo Tsuruta and is being contested in AWA hotbed, Winnipeg, which seems to be a popular place for where we get a lot of AWA footage from. At first watch, I was a bit underwhelmed by this match, but upon watching the rematch the next month also from Winnipeg, I realized this was intended to be a first match in a series match and in that context this is excellent. It whets your appetite, but leaves you very hungry for more. That's why I was underwhlemed, because I was left hungry and did not realize they would feeding me a heaping helping of double bitchiness with a side of fantastic selling in the rematch. The most important thing about this match is that it established Bockwinkel's most effective counterpunching strategy: the quick jab to the midsection. He uses this to great effectiveness in the rematch and it serves him well here. They start the match off with a bang with a wicked double cross body collision that Martel wins. Martel decides to focus on Bock's arm and Bock tries to cheat as best he can to turn the tide, but Martel is relentless. During one of his tries, Bock rams the bad shoulder into the turnbuckles, OW! When Martel goes for a kneedrop to the arm, Bock gets a quick fist to the ribs and throws him out. They are just teasing king of the mountain as Martel fires up. I love how he gets back in the ring by rolling around to avoid Bock and then nailing him. I love how they treat getting back into the ring as a disadvantage and Martel has to use his speed and intelligence to avoid being attacked upon re-entering. Again, Bock gets that short jab, but can't consolidate with the piledriver instead Martel gets his own. Bockwinkel goes back to the short jab to the ribs and this time it sets up his sleeper. He takes a header into the top turnbuckle. Martel looks to set up for his dive by working the back, Heenan gets up on the apron, but Bockwinkel ends up running into him. Martel tries to take advantage to hit slingshot bodypress, but eats knees. Bock immediately tries a pin, but only gets two. I love the idea! Bock hooks on his patented sleeper, but the Survivor Series 1996 finish does him in. As a standalone match this is very good, but as a place setter for the awesome rematch, this match is a great one. Martel looks awesome here using a combination of technique, speed and intelligence to get the best of Bockwinkel at every turn. Bockwinkel has to rely on cheating, experience and his short jab to set up his big bomb, the sleeper. It really made for a cool story that they really escalated to the next level in the September 1984 Winnipeg match. ****

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Jumbo Tsuruta vs Rick Martel - AWA 5/13/84 Thank God for the Japanese without them we would have such little footage. This is an AWA World Title defense taped for Japanese TV because Jumbo is the World Champion even though Jumbo will be dropping the belt in this bout. Basically, Jumbo was utilized like a gaijin would be in All Japan as a transitional champion to bridge between two major stars. Conventional American booking wisdom would have Martel take the title from the longstanding heel champion, Nick Bockwinkel,. but I liked the wrinkle of using Jumbo. I think it adds a little spice to the Bock/Martel series that Martel never beat Bock for the title and thus has to prove himself over the course of a series of matches. Of course, it helps Jumbo & All Japan shed the choker label in their home country where Flair and Bock kept coming in and escaping with the title. As expected this wrestled mostly as a straight face vs face championship match with subtle heel actions from Jumbo Tsuruta to make sure the pro-Martel crowd is really hot for his coronation. The story in the match seemed to be dueling limb work, but I will admit this match was a bit all over the place. It was very entertaining from action standpoint because there was always something going on, but it did feel like a hodgepodge of spots rather than a clear narrative. We started with Martel working the arm out of the initial chain wrestling and Jumbo in turn working the leg with Jumbo getting the best of it early with spinning toe holds and his trademark Boston Crab. Martel is clearly the better seller so the match tends to be better when Jumbo is on offense and Jumbo is a great offensive wrestler so that helps too. There is some nice storytelling early like Martel using movement (leapfrog, dropkick) to create opportunities, but with his bum wheel he can't follow up and Jumbo is afforded the time to regroup on the outside. Martel is able to get a drop toehold and transitions back to the arm. We get out first high spot with Martel hitting a reverse crossbody for two. At this point, they depart from the original limb work behind. I don't think you necessarily have to stay on the same body part, but it felt pretty random and it did not play into finish so it just rendered it all moot. Martel misses an elbow and then Jumbo starts working on Martel's arm. I like the spot when a wrestler rolls up on an armstretcher and we see that from Martel. Jumbo hits a kneecrusher out of a side headlock and wicked high knee. Now they go all New Japan Juniors on us and go into bomb throwing. European uppercuts by Jumbo sets up his piledriver, which only gets two and now we get his abdominal stretch (I know it is a standard Jumbo spot, but it reeked of getting your shit in). Martel switches the ab stretch and works the back to set up for his dive, but he eats knees. They collide in the middle of the ring to reset the match. Jumbo dropkicks Martel into the ref and hits a Back Drop Driver, but no ref to get his highway robbery finish to protect him for the Japanese TV audience. Jumbo is ripshit. He is emotionally compromised when he goes for the Thesz Press, which ends with a hotshot and cross body for Martel to win the championship. I feel like I was harsher than I should have been on that match, which I did enjoy. I thought the finish stretch was really excellent in a vacuum. The Jumbo falling prey to the hotshot is classic and Martel gets a really pure babyface win. I liked the dueling psychology early and don't understand why they deviated it in the middle only to go the bomb throwing route later. Both have better matches on their resume, but this is a fine Martel championship victory. ***3/4

Mid-South Tag Team Champions Mr. Wrestling II & Magnum TA vs Midnight Express - Mid-South 2/10/84 After exacting some revenge from Butch Reed by taking his tag team titles, fans and Magnum TA thought it would be a sweet honeymoon for the beloved teacher/student partnership. However, as Magnum star grew, the fans clamored for him to get a North American Championship shot and jealousy reared its ugly head. Let me say, green is not a good color on Mr. Wrestling II. In the meantime, a new heel tag team from Memphis burst on the scene and would go down as perhaps the greatest tag team in the history of wrestling, Jim Cornette's Midnight Express and this version is "Loverboy" Dennis Condrey and "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. Midnight Express matches should be played for those with clinical depression because if you don't smile after one of these then I don't know what could make you happy. The MX is just so awesome at stooging, bumping and generally making the babyfaces look like a million bucks. I think my favorite part of the early match was how every sequence ended with Mr. Wrestling II giving a knee lift to a Midnight Express membrane and then selling it dramatically and fantastically. This is where Mr. Wrestling II has a little Dusty in him with his booty shaking as the heels keep scurrying. After ten minutes of getting their asses kicked, Condrey is rightfully terrified of II's kneelift and backs up in the corner. Condrey is able to lure him into the corner and force II to make a tag, but he prematurely tags out to Eaton. Mags goes after Eaton's injured shoulder (rammed into the post earlier). Mags gets caught running as Eaton ducks and Condrey chops him in the neck. At this early point in his short career, TA is clearly better at selling and the MX go to town with a great revolving door attack on his arm even Corny gets his licks in with his racquet. Mags powers out and desperately gets to Mr. Wrestling II, who fights out of his corner to earn his way into the ring. II's Eaton-seeking knee lift is on target, but the ref is distracted and Condrey throws powder in his face. The ref throws out the match, but MX kicks the ever loving shit of Mr. Wrestling II and Magnum TA especially with a belt. There is some mega heat on MX and Watts is out to lay down the law as MX finally exits. This is a really fun match where MX were just on point working their match with ton of popcorn, fun spots early to feed to the babyfaces. Mr. Wrestling II looked huge in there. Magnum really does not have much in the way of offense and again he was out of place on multiple spots. He is really good at selling, but not much else. It will be interesting to see how he fares in singles matches with Ted DiBiase shortly. The match was mostly a backdrop for the hot angle to set up a tag team title match with the stip of belt lashes for the losers. Mr. Wrestling II completed his heel turn by walking out on Magnum costing them the tag titles and forcing Magnum to take all the belt lashes. Mr. Wrestling II would go to win the North American Championship to set up Magnum TA to get his revenge by beating him for the title. Setting up the major title match between the rising star Magnum TA and lead heel, Ted DiBiase. The match was a really fun Midnight Express match that got to show off their stuff and get in an excellent beatdown. ****

Mid-South Tag Team Champions Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart vs Mr. Wrestling II & Magnum TA - Mid-South 12/25/83 Steel Cage Mid-South is probably the territory I know the least about in terms of the American Power 6 of the 1980s (WWF, Crockett, AWA, WCCW, Mempho, and Mid-South). I have understood that is generally considered one of the best booked territories and has among the best episodic TV ever produced in pro wrestling all under the helm of Bill Watts. Of course, this presents a problem watching a "Best Of" comp without much context, but hey that's what Kayfabe Memories is for. In 1983, it seems Mid-South had transitioned to having Butch Reed be the co-lead heel of the territory. While DiBiase and Duggan were having a blood feud that carried the territory in terms of sheer hatred. Reed and the ever-popular Junkyard Dog feuded over the North American Championship. Magnum TA was plucked from relative obscurity (Florida mid-card scene, I believe) and was immediately pushed as Duggan's tag partner and tag champion, but with the need to focus Duggan (co-lead face) elsewhere veteran Mr. Wrestling II and all his booty-shaking glory was introduced as TA's mentor. The angle that led to this tag match was two-fold. Mags & Duggan lost the tag titles to Reed & Neidhart (Neidhart was a heel du jour) and they ran a hot TV angle as an off shoot of the JYD and Reed feud. Reed was supposed to defend the title against the Dog, but balked and instead gave the title shot to the young up and comer, Magnum TA, which he thinks would easy pickins. However, when JYD was made special guest ref, it became anything but that and Magnum TA became the North American Champion! A meteoric rise for the newcomer! Due to some technicalities, the title change was reversed and now Magnum TA who had tasted the gold only to have it ripped away from him wanted to prove he could do it again against the arrogant asshole, Butch Reed. Instead of coming after his North American Title, he was going to share his glory with mentor, Mr. Wrestling II. Butch Reed is really fucking good. I have heard it bandied around that he is the greatest black wrestler of all time and having watched a Flair match, I knew he was good, but seeing him here makes me excited to see more Butch Reed. He was a fantastic big bumper for the faces in the beginning. He did a nice Flair Flip and bumped huge for Mr. Wrestling II's famous kneelift. A couple things about presentation in this match, in my smattering of Mid-South watching, it seems most of the footage we have is shot from one hard camera in the corner and sans commentary. I ain't complaining as long as we get to see the action, I'm cool. The steel cage does not rest on the apron, but actually goes to the floor thus there is an area to powder and it makes taking cage bumps a little more difficult. Neidhart tries to slow TA down with an eyerake, but does not consolidate the advantage and TA overwhelms the heels. Reed finally stymies Mags by throwing him into the cage, which I said before is complicated as he goes over the top rope into the cage and then falls the floor in a nasty bump. Mags blades and the heels are content to send him into the cage, The camera zooms in and I think this is going to be the opposite of WCW where they zoom in on the blood, but instead we get a long close up of Mr. Wrestling II. TA uses shoulderblocks and rolls around to avoid Neidhart and tags out to II. II is a great hot tag and as a knee lift mark I think we are going to get along well. Neidhart trips him up. Pretty good heat segment ensues with some impressive power spots from the heels like a Neidhart Samoan Drop and Reed flying shoulderblock. II shows some good underneath fire. The heels get cocky and keep pulling up II. The Anvil goes after the mask and he yanks it off! He is very proud of himself, but II was wearing another mask. Reed is frantic trying to get Neidhart to turn around. II, unphased, tags in Mags, who unloads on the heels. Belly to Belly on the Anvil, cover, II leaps over the cover to hit Reed with a kneelift. WOW! Great finish. There were some parts where they were kind of out of sync and it seems Magnum's strong suit at this time is selling. It is ok because II makes up for it in spades with great offensive fire. Neidhart was a perfectly servicable heel and Reed was badass. I love the cage spots and thought the finish was fantastic. Still needed some more heat or a more interesting hook to take it to an all-time classic level, still a great match! ****

You can be on my team, any day, brutha!

This better have made tape. I hope with Rocky Raymond commentary.

Kevin Von Erich is fucking awesome. I don't know if he is better than Kerry per se (they are very different), but he is my favorite Von Erich. He is totally all fight, all the time. My favorite spot recently was Flair was about to do a backbreaker so he just punched him in the side of the head. He just has a "fuck it, let's brawl" attitude to him. I once heard him described as if no one smartened him up to the fact that business is a work the way he wrestles. It really fits to a tee (clearly he knew it was a work), but he did a great job wrestling like it was a shoot. I really wish he got a money babyface run in a different territory. He would have been a great WWF Champion for Vince Sr.

I'd be surprised if he doesn't go down this route. The names announced so far are encouraging, Moose in particular is a guy oozing with potential. Still, he could do with a centerpiece talent to build around. I was expecting AJ Styles to be that guy. Not sure who's out there that could realistically draw eyeballs to the product. What's Rey's contractual status in terms of AAA/Lucha Underground? With NJPW using the NWA titles, the idea of AJ as the NWA Champion touring in GFW, NJPW and AAA would just be so cool. Even if it doesn't come to that, AJ as the centerpiece is logical and would be awesome.

Rick Rude & Atomic Drop is the ultimate stooging spot. It is funny I had never heard of stooging before coming here, but I knew instantaneously what it meant. It is that old school heel selling for the babyface that eggs on the crowd and the wrestler. It is the type of selling that makes you want to see the heel get his ass kicked even more. It is played up for cheers and laughs but I don't think it undercuts the gravity of the match per se. Just a bit of lightheartedness that pops the crowd in a different way than a high spot or big bump. It definitely one thing you really don't see anymore, which sucks because it is an easy way to bring a smile to my face. Closest I saw recently was in Xavier Woods' great performance. Another form of stooging is being overly excited about small victories like Owen Hart 1994 and New Day. Again it is something so hammy that it makes you smile but also you want to see their smug smirks get wiped off the face.

Dylan, how do you reconcile the fact that Roddy Piper may be the worst wrestler on a national scale that can't blame being abnormally large in the history of pro wrestling from 1997-1999 in WCW? Nobody could torpedo an angle faster in WCW during that time period than fucking Piper and his shitty wrestling and even shittier catchphrases.

I will be shocked if she is not back in the front row for Summerslam. Not that I really care one or the other, but I agree with goc this definitely smacks of hyperbole, but it is not like it is some great loss WWE is not very good anyway. Mayweather is a despicable human being, but HHH praising Mayweather's performance should not be conflated with him glorifying Mayweather as a human being. You all have not disowned me or others for praising Benoit as a wrestler. Rewatching Benoit in the late 90s, I think he is the second best wrestler of 98-99 in America and I hope people are bright enough to realize I am not glorifying an evil, evil man. Her reaction to that tweet seemed to me, very extreme. As WWE & HHH, i would just ignore and move on, this would be a no-win situation.

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Jumbo Tsuruta vs Nick Bockwinkel - AJPW Osaka 2/26/84 This is the oft-forgotten about rematch from the same tour that Jumbo initially won the title. There is a reason it is forgotten, it turns out. I had every intention of rewatching Jumbo's title victory, which I really liked, but I just selected the Jumbo vs Bock match from February 1984 without paying much heed. In retrospect, the fact the match was in Osaka and it did not begin with a Jumbo cross-body should have told me I was watching the wrong match. In my defense, Terry Funk was also the special guest ref in this match, which added to the confusion. If you ever wanted to see how Bockwinkel did in a spotfest well now we know because this was just all over place. Now understanding this was the rematch does at least explain Bockwinkel's aggression from the outset. He had a challenger's mentality. I love that about 80s matches. It is not married to the babyface/heel dynamic, but instead lets the circumstances dictate people's strategies. The majority of Bockwinkel's matches you will see are him as champion. He is calm looking to execute his strategy, but he is not the aggressor. He is waiting for the opponent to make the mistake. As the challenger, he can't afford the same luxury and he needs to take it to Jumbo. Bock is content in the early part to control the head and whenever Jumbo looks to break he grabs some hair. He rams Jumbo's head into the turnbuckle twice, but Jumbo gets wise on the third attempt and shoves him off. To preserve his advantage, Bock hits a quick piledriver, but too close to the ropes and Jumbo powders. At this point, they seemingly just trade moves willy-nilly. It is all action so it is entertaining don't get me wrong, but does not leave a lasting impression. Jumbo hits his high knee, his Thesz Press and gets revenge with a piledriver of his own. Bock hits a sick drop toehold (Im such a mark for that move) and even puts Jumbo in his Boston Crab. We get a short King of the Mountain and Jumbo fires up (take that Jumbo haters!) and the crowd is rocking now. Jumbo puts him in the Boston Crab! Bock gets a quick uppercut to the balls. At this point, the match actually gets really good and is of the caliber that I have come to expect of their matches together. Bock chucks him out and then hits a brainbuster. Bock is finally showing some emotion and he is incensed. Throws him out again, now into the post, he beats him down on the apron, but Jumbo's leg gets caught in the ropes and he relentlessly stomps it and Funk has to pull him off multiple times. Bockwinkel applies the figure-4; Jumbo is fighting and they tumble to the outside. Bock won't let go and gets an Indian Deathlock. Bock tries to make it back in the ring and Jumbo pulls him down for the double countout. Really weird finish. It makes total sense when they pull that shit with Flair or Bock as the champ forcing the double countout. Jumbo as the babyface pulling that shit is just weird. Did they really need to protect Bock? Bock had been champion for years in Japan, I don't think a couple clean jobs would hurt him. Plus, Bock did not even get the belt back so there was no rematch to protect. The stretch run was really, really good, but the rest of the match was all over the place with each one not really taking time to sell (Jumbo was selling better than Bock). I have seen plenty Jumbo vs Bock and this is the least of their matches to me. ***