Superstar Sleeze

I didnt know I needed it but I really needed Rikidozan falling off a surfboard in Hawaii, picking up two chicks literally and hitting an inside the park home run! This definitely made me more excited to see Rikidozan and as El-P pointed out Thesz busting out a powerbomb in 1953 is pretty killer.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen - AJPW 12/6/89 Real World Tag Finals Watched this a week or two ago, I was amazed at how good it was. Yatsu's head injury performance gives this workrate-oriented All Japan tag match the hook it needed to keep you invested when sometimes the style/genre can be a little workrate dense/noisy. I didnt write a review at the time but had it at about ~****3/4 in my head and fun fact I dont remember who won! I have an excellent short term memory but the shits for a long-term memory which is why I write such detailed reviews. I am going to watch this back stream of consciousness style and am excited to fall in love all over again: Yatsu has the amateur wrestling headgear on with strap. If I recall correctly in the other Real World Tag I watched with Yatsu he had that on. I cant remember if I know what happened or not. Yatsu tries to get the crowd revved up. Surprised he is starting based on his injury. Tenryu stalls and Yatsu tags in Jumbo. Jumbo won back the Triple Crown from Tenryu in October. Tenryu says he wants Yatsu and Yastu obliges. Yatsu throws a much of headbutts using the padded helmet and then throws an explosive dropkick. Tenryu tries to fire up and meets more headbutts. He throws him to the Grizzly Hansen. Stan bashes him as Tenryu holds him and Tenryu is left holding his own head after all the headbutts. Yastu escapes to Jumbo. Jumbo and Hansen collide. Jumbo wins the second collision with a High Knee. Jumbo and Hansen get into a wrestling match with Jumbo trying work an armbar on the mat into a half-nelson cover for one. Some really nice selling early from Tenryu and like Yatsu tempting fate as there is a break in the action thought I'd throw in some commentary. They exchange slashing chops as Hansen throws Jumbo into into Tenryu. Tenryu blocks the High Knee as customary and is about to wrangle an inside cradle. Tenryu gets an Enziguiri, but must have been more of a grazing blow as Jumbo throws Tenryu into Yatsu. Yatsu clothesline and Harley Race style falling headbutt. Yatsu attempts a powerbomb. Hansen tags in. Frequent tagging a hallmark of the All Japan tag style. Yatsu gets an enziguiri in the slugfest but Hansen lunges with a shouldertackle and kneelift to the head and it looks like they have finally rattled the injured Yatsu. Spoke too soon as Yatsu evades a double shouldertackle and Tenryu goes ass over tea kettle on the top rope and then railing courtesy of a Jumbo Tsuruta Irish whip. Nice fakeout. Tag into Jumbo. Footloose Jumbo Death Lariat into Tenryu in the corner as Jumbo plays to the crowd and Tenryu slumps into the corner. First five minutes have been hot and mostly Jumbo/Yatsu. Jumbo bulldozes Tenryu with a Thesz Press for two. Tenryu looks to be in peril as they are building momentum on him which is a nice change of pace from the frenetic All Japan style. Knee Sandwich as called by the announcer. Tenryu closed fist stymies Yatsu on Dangerous Back Drop Drive attempt. Yatsu works hard and earns an overhead belly to belly suplex. Tenryu looks like shit. Hnasen has the wisdom to break it up. Jumbo High Knee and Dangerous Backdrop Driver on Tenryu as Hansen saves again. I forgot they did a compelling Tenryu in peril segment first which I really like. They are really built some momentum. Yatsu butterfly supleZ and kneedrop on Tenryu. Tenryu grapevine trips Yatsu on the belly to belly suplex. Yatsu fall back on his head and is left clutching it! HERE WE GO! Tenryu tags in Hansen and everything is a VICIOUS BLOW TO the head! It has begun! Hansen is stepping on The head. Jumbo makes the saves as Hansen is stepping on his head in the ropes. The ref breaks it up. Yatsu powders but to no avail as Hansen keeps stomping. HANSEN RIPS OFF THE HEAD GEAR! Another stiff short knee and another, another. It is a merciless onslaught. He tags in Tenryu. Tenyru kicks him in the head. I cant way for the classic Tenryu stomp to the head; no one is better at that. Tenryu follows Hansen's lead it is nothing but knees, fists and boots to the head. Hansen tosses Yatsu's carcass to the floor. He drives Yatsu's head into railing. Jumbo tries to save as Hansen has Yatsu. Hansen pops Jumbo with an elbow. It is a melee. Hansen is a rabid dog with a bone. He wont let go. Yatsu is too close to the ropes. Tenryu tags in and its an Enzgiuiri to the head. THERE IS IS! Tenryu's stomp to the head! This is brutal. Wicked chop from Tenryu the first time it has not been a blow to the head. Tenryu with repeated headbutts to the injured cranium of Yatsu. Brutal. Yatsu deadweights Hansen on the suplex. Hansen says not a bother, and plants him with a DDT. Tenryu blasts Yatsu with a Lariat and then slaps Jumbo off the apron for good measure. He throws a kick at the fallen Jumbo. Double suplex on Yatsu as he looks like he ripe for the pickin'. Yatsu kicks out on his own. I am ready for the hot tag. Hansen slashes Jumbo with a chop. Lets see if we get it. Yatsu trips Hansen but Hansen uses a waistlock to role Yatsu into Tenryu. Tenryu enziguiri. Tenryu bodyslam Reverse Top Rope Elbow MISSES! CMON YATSU! LETS GO! Hansen knedrop. We needed that hope spot. That has reinviogorated me. They trade chops, Hansen and Yatsu. Hansen duoble axehandle stops any Yatsu momentum dead in its tracks. Hansen holds Yatsu as Tenryu chops him. Tenryu wrist control and chops Yatsu and Yatsu ducks and a quick German gets two for Yatsu who can hold it. Yatsu makes the tag! HOT TAG! Jumbo ROARS! Jumbo slap barrage! Jumbo Big Boot! Jumbo pops him with an elbow. Jumbo Death Lariat! Hansen has to leapfrog Tenryu's fallen body as Jumbo pops him and then reigns down heavy blows on Tenryu. Hansen saves by crashing down on Jumbo. High Knee to Tenryu sends Tenryu into Hansen for the tag. Jumbo meets him at the pass. Jumbo dropkicks Hansen. Jumbo is a one man wrecking crew! Jumbo abdominal stretch is an interesting choice in what has otherwise been a red hot tag! Yatsu is still of apron as Jumbo gets two. Can Jumbo the Ace win this alone? Hansen is selling like a champ. His jelly leg sell on the Irish whip is amazing. It is like he is melting. It made Jumbo Thesz Press look more authentic. HEY! Thats Rat Boy Watching! Dangerous Back Drop Driver! Tenryu saves. Jumbo might have punched himself out as he is slowing down. Jumbo drags Tenryu in for a big boot. Jumbo leaves himself prone going for a German suplex. HANSEN LARIAT TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! Jumbo & Tenryu both collapse. Jumbo is left clutching him head. It doesnt look good for Olympians as Yatsu is getting his head/jaw taped up. Hansen is beating Jumbo up and Yatsu comes divining for the save. Lets Go Yatsu! Hansen tags in Tenryu as Jumbo is fucked. Hansen bodyslam and Hanse Rocket Launcher! HOW DID I FORGET THAT SPOT! That was insanely awesome! Jumbo kicks out. I remember Yatsu getting his taped how did I forget the rocket launcher. Tenryu blasts Yatsu off the apron. SPIKE PILEDRIVER ON JUMBO! Yatsu saves again! He wont let Jumbo die! Everybody looks like they have been through war. Hansen with these short nasty knees to Jumbo. Jumbo reverse and knees Hansen right in the mush. Hansen on the outside. YATSU BULLDOG ON THE EXPOSED FLOOR! I remember that spot! HELL YEAH! That fucking ruled! Jumbo inside cradle in the ring Tenryu races to save but Hansen kicks out on his own. Yatsu hot tag! GIVE EM HELL BRUTHA! Yatsu kicks Hansen in the head and then heabdutts the wound. Headbutt Tenryu down. Yatsu headbutts Hanse relentlessly. Fuck Yeah! Yatsu Bulldog! Tenryu saves and kicks Yatsu hard in the head. Jumbo has had enough and SNAPS~! He blizted Tenryu with a brutal elbow barrage. Hansen pummels Yatsu with everything he has. The is insane. Jumbo cuts Tenryu off and back drop off the top. Hansen keeps pummeling Yatsu. Tenryu Enziguiri Hansen when he was holding him. AWESOME MISCOMMUNICATION SPOT! You dont see that often in Japan. Yatsu only gets two! Cmon Yatsu! Jumbo top rope Jumping knee but Tenryu saves. Tenryu SUMO SLAPS Jumbo off. Tenryu ground & pound. That was one of those awesome, intricate All Japan finish runs. Tenryu holds Hansen to save him from getting Bulldog out of the corner. You can smell The Lariat from a mile away. They do a bunch of fake outs. The best is when Hansen tugs on the elbow pad, the crowd goes wild and Yatsu DROPKICKS him on the attempt. The crowd and me loses our collective shit! I wont do every detail but suffice to say Hansen CLOBBERS Yatsu with the Lariat to win the match and the vacant All Japan World Tag Team Titles. Helluva match which I liked even more the second time around. Loved both hot tags, really enjoyed Tenryu's heat segment because it lulls you into a false sense of security that everything is going to be alright for the Olympians. Everything once Yatsu gets bandaged up is pure pro wrestling gold. *****

Hhahaha I have seen this match before, but you get a whole new appreciation watching the TV surrounding it. I kinda felt like I had seen the Spike Piledriver like I was getting some Deja Vu, and it turns out I was justified. NWA World Champion Ric Flair vs Mid-South North American Champion Butch Reed - Mid-South 11/9/85 Non-Title They recreate the 1983 Crockett Bounty Angle with Ric Flair playing the role of Harley Race, Butch Reed playing the role of Ric Flair and Dick Slater playing well the role of Dick Slater! More things change the more they stay the same. Flair is hot at the beginning of the show because ol Tricky Dicky Slater has his $50k, but has not delivered on his promise of injuring Butchie. Slater said earlier in the night he was leaving Mid-South and gave the money back. It is too much trouble. This led to speculation that he did have the money but was afraid of both Flair and Reed. Later in the night, North American Champion Butch Reed won his Squash with a flying shouldertackle. Flair was scheduled to wrestle Al Perez, but Butch Reed comes out. Flair calls Reed, "a monkey", heavy sigh and they jaw. Eventually, they come to blows and we have an impromptu match! Very fun TV match. Reed overwhelms Flair early with heavy rights. Reed is one of my least favorite Flair opponents, I find their matches drag and Reed doesnt add much, but this was a sprint so more fun. Flair makes Reed earn his offense as Reed has to fight through a barrage of chops and Short Knees. An underrated element of Flair's game was the short knee and how he would throw to turn the tide of battle or as a heel hope spot the babyface would have to fight through. Once he stopped using it, it was to the detriment of his matches. Reed gets a backslide and Flair gets his toe on the rope, nice climax to the shine. Flair takes over using the Short Knee and Kneelift. Flair uses the double stomp! Always a mark for that. He throws Reed to the floor and plays King of the Mountain. Reed grabs a sleeper but Flair hits the Back Suplex which is usually the prelude to the Figure-4. Flair hollers "Now we go to school" as he hooks him up for the Suplex, but Butch wins the suplex struggle! Reed starts throwing those heavy hands. Reed has great, heavy punches! Flair Inverted Atomic Drop! Thats another move like the Short Knee is such an effective heel transition that makes 80s Flair so versatile that once he stopped using it, it really hurt his matches. Reed fights through that and Flair misses a chop, FLYING SHOULDERTACKLE! 1-2-3! Reed has pinned the World Champion! Dicky Slater hits the ring and beats him up as Watts is shocked & appalled. Flair & Slater Spike Piledrive Butch Reed! It was all a set up to injured Reed! Not as great of a match as the Harley vs Flair match that set up the similar bounty angle, but still really good. I liked the wrinkle of Reed winning so that you really feel robbed when Reed gets injured. You really feel that Butch is putting everything together and now Slater/Flair has really screwed him. All night they were saying Flair is wrestling tonight, but next week is when he defends the title. You know Reed would've gotten the shot but he has been screwed. So who will step up? Who? Who? Who? Terrific 80s stuff! ***1/2 match, *****angle.

Been raining cats & dogs up here in New England, stationary bike is getting a work out. Sticking with Mid-South because I want to see how Dicky Slater and Buzz Sawyer do. Mid-South November 1985 11/2/85 Distasteful Angles w/Dark Journey: I will buy "it was a different time" argument for certain things but not for this shit. Dark Journey is a black woman and Dick Slater is a white man. On screen, they are a heel couple in the South in the 1980s to get race-baiting heat. Hacksaw Duggan, a white man, who is a BABYFACE, calls Dark Journey "a thing" and "not a lady" is pretty bad. Would he said it about a heel, white woman? Maybe. Thats why, I am 50/50 on it. But Butch Reed, a BABYFACE, crossed the line. I am a white man and Butch Reed is a black man. I hesitate to say this, but this is a classic case of how a black man can be racist against himself & other black people. I say that with trepidation as a white man, but I believe in what I am about to say. Butch says he is a proud BLACK man and the problem with her is that she doesnt know who she is, referring to the fact that she is a black woman with a white man. She slaps him. This is when I couldnt believe what I was hearing. He said you know that a black man doesnt treat his women as a white man that if she does it again, he will knock her out. WHAT THE FUCK? In 1985, every single American knew you never hit a woman and that man on woman violence is reprehensible. For Butch Reed to physically threaten her and demean his own race and himself at the same time was dumbfounding. I dont have the words. That was one of the worst segments I have ever seen in pro wrestling. Main Angles (Dicky Slater & Buzz Sawyer Show): Separating out the abhorrent Dark Journey attacks, we have ACTUAL man on woman violence, but it is the kind I do accept in pro wrestling because heels should be heels and it made sense in the story. So last week on the program, Duggan and Slater get into an altercation. I discussed what Duggan said above. Duggan's girlfriend is in the ring. Slater's running buddy, Buzz Sawyer gets in the ring and it is going to be 2 on 1 on Duggan. Duggan's girlfriend hops on Sawyer's back and he rams backwards into the turnbuckles. Duggan slugs him and he drops the elbow on his girlfriend. Slater & Sawyer bloody Duggan. Duggan cuts a promo on Sawyer and says he is going to beat him to a bloody pulp for what he did to his girlfriend. This is the match that lit the powder keg that was one of the most awesome feuds of the 80s producing two amazing brawls on the Mid-South DVDVR set and recently covered on the Way of the Blade with @Phil Schneider and my good buddy & fellow metalhead @goodhelmet. They discussed the December Dog Collar match which is excellent but I prefer the bloody brawl from Nawlins which is bitchin' as fuck and I went a full *****. Sawyer won his squash with a powerslam. That's not all, folks! Apparently the Nature Boy, Ric Flair hired Dick Slater for $25,000 to put North American Champion Butch Reed out of action (Butch won the title from Dick Murdoch in October thus becoming the #1 contender, both of the Reed vs Murdoch matches are classics and must-see). Reed comes out and spews all his racist, misogynistic drivel. He wants Slater to come at him. Slater said he gave back the money and wants no part of them. There is no physicality and Slater wins his squash with a Samoan Drop. Butch Reed squashed poor Dutch Mantell in a North American Title Match. Dutch jumped him at the bell and hit his finish, a front suplex, but Reed kicked out. Reed suplexed him on the next attempt destroyed him with some punches and a leaping shouldertackle from the top rope. Time for Dutch to find a new territory, methinks. Match of the Night: Ted DiBiase & Dr. Death vs Mid-South Tag Team Champs Al Perez & Wendell Cooley by default everything else was a squash. I had high hopes for Butch vs Dutch but nothing doing. This is non-title. Loser has to wear long spandex and tennis shoes. I dont get it. I guess DiBiase was saying Perez & Cooley want to look like rock & rollers so they should dress like it. I guess he made a jab that they would look like aerobics instructors. It was 1985, brutha, this outfit was already commonplace in wrestling, they werent going to look weird. Oh in a weird moment, Ricky Gibson, Robert's brother was out, and Joel played an old video of the Rock N Roll Express who to my knowledge didnt come back to Mid-South so that was a waste. Anyways, the match was a totally fine Southern tag match. Usual shine, Doc & DiBiase seem to like the blind tag, dropdown, attack to kick off their heat. Cooley is a better wrestler than Perez and does most of the work. He is fine peppers in some hope spots. Doc got a good power spot in. They do the Pier-Six melee, Doc or DiBiase trips Cooley on a suplex so that the other falls on top for the win. So the babyfaces have to dress up like the Rock N Roll Express basically. Ok match, lame angle. Midcard Mania: KWANG~!'s push is over as he & a nobody jobbed to the Bruise Brothers which was Porkchop Cash & some other dude doing a Blues Brothers gimmick. Eddie Gilbert is going an angle where women can win a poster of him if they write in a letter and tell him all the things they love about him. I am a sucker for these angles. The part where Gilbert has increased the word limit to 50 words because too many women were stressing themeslves out and losing sleep with only 25 words to describe how hot he was or that they would only focus on one body part when there was so much more was hilarious. It did get a little long in the tooth but the beginning of the promo was gold. He won his squash with a hotshot. You can see the dividends that Slater & Sawyer are paying already. Nord & Lord, the losers are out and Slater & Sawyer are in and the show is much better for it. The racist, misogynistic attacks against Dark Journey notwithstanding, Duggan vs Sawyer is an all-time great feud and Reed vs Slater is gonna be great. Next week is the DiBiase vs Flair angle so Im pumped! Crazy that DiBiase is about to turn face when he is doing lame midcard heel shit in this episode. 11/9/86 JR got me he announced Flair for next week's show so naturally I thought it was the famous angle with DiBiase but that is actually next week. They got Flair for two weeks you see which makes sense since they tape two episodes at a time. Main Angle: They recreate the 1983 Crockett Bounty Angle with Ric Flair playing the role of Harley Race, Butch Reed playing the role of Ric Flair and Dick Slater playing well the role of Dick Slater! More things change the more they stay the same. Flair is hot at the beginning of the show because ol Tricky Dicky Slater has his $50k, but has not delivered on his promise of injuring Butchie. Slater said earlier in the night he was leaving Mid-South and gave the money back. It is too much trouble. This led to speculation that he did have the money but was afraid of both Flair and Reed. Later in the night, North American Champion Butch Reed won his Squash with a flying shouldertackle. Flair was scheduled to wrestle Al Perez, but Butch Reed comes out. Flair calls Reed, "a monkey", heavy sigh and they jaw. Eventually, they come to blows and we have an impromptu match! Very fun TV match. Reed overwhelms Flair early with heavy rights. Reed is one of my least favorite Flair opponents, I find their matches drag and Reed doesnt add much, but this was a sprint so more fun. Flair makes Reed earn his offense as Reed has to fight through a barrage of chops and Short Knees. An underrated element of Flair's game was the short knee and how he would throw to turn the tide of battle or as a heel hope spot the babyface would have to fight through. Once he stopped using it, it was to the detriment of his matches. Reed gets a backslide and Flair gets his toe on the rope, nice climax to the shine. Flair takes over using the Short Knee and Kneelift. Flair uses the double stomp! Always a mark for that. He throws Reed to the floor and plays King of the Mountain. Reed grabs a sleeper but Flair hits the Back Suplex which is usually the prelude to the Figure-4. Flair hollers "Now we go to school" as he hooks him up for the Suplex, but Butch wins the suplex struggle! Reed starts throwing those heavy hands. Reed has great, heavy punches! Flair Inverted Atomic Drop! Thats another move like the Short Knee is such an effective heel transition that makes 80s Flair so versatile that once he stopped using it, it really hurt his matches. Reed fights through that and Flair misses a chop, FLYING SHOULDERTACKLE! 1-2-3! Reed has pinned the World Champion! Dicky Slater hits the ring and beats him up as Watts is shocked & appalled. Flair & Slater Spike Piledrive Butch Reed! It was all a set up to injured Reed! Not as great of a match as the Harley vs Flair match that set up the similar bounty angle, but still really good. I liked the wrinkle of Reed winning so that you really feel robbed when Reed gets injured. You really feel that Butch is putting everything together and now Slater/Flair has really screwed him. All night they were saying Flair is wrestling tonight, but next week is when he defends the title. You know Reed would've gotten the shot but he has been screwed. So who will step up? Who? Who? Who? Terrific 80s stuff! ***1/2 match, *****angle. Jake's Surprise: It looks like Nord may be gone, but Lord is still here. Jake dropped Humongous with the DDT at a House Show which gave him enough time to finally DDT that loser Humperdink. Humongous did the Zombie Situp~! What the fuck is Jake to do?!? Jake has a bag before the Humongous squash or maybe it was before Nightmare & Eddie Gilbert's squash I dont recall. I will admit I was fooled I thought it was a Snake. He said it was asleep, it seemed logical, but during Jake's squash it was actually a BLUE goalie mask! Humongous wears a WHITE goalie mask! Holy Shit! Holy Shit! Holy Shit! I do like it. Watts was saying pro wrestling doesnt dictate what people can wear during the Humongous squash because it is WRESTLING BABY! It is up to the opponent to get creative. Watts pops a boner for this angle. This is CREATIVE BABY~! says Watts. Humongous does nothing for me. I like this angle advancement. This is what we need more of now in pro wrestling. Simple week to week progression like this. Midcard Mania: No Hacksaw Duggan on this episode. When Slater was crying scared at the beginning, Sawyer was with him and wanted to know why he was being fined $5000. Good stuff from Sawyer. Gilbert & Nightmare are back together. Nothing earth-shattering. Humperdink says he has smoothed things over and three of them are on the same page. Pretty lame reset booking. Gilbert is still doing the Poster contest. KWANG~! is the one was squashed by Jake The Snake. Watts informs us that Midnight Rider and Duggan rid Mid-South of Skandor Akbar and now KWANG~! is a jobber. Bruise Brother won a squash. Nothing from Murdoch, DiBiase, Doc, Perez & Cooley or the Fantastics. The Flair-Reed-Slater Angle was gold. Sawyer's promo was just enough to keep the Duggan feud hot, but you didnt much from there. The Humperdink stuff is pretty tepid midcard heel shit, but with such a hot angle on top, no reason to focus on any of your other top stars so good use of Jake vs Hump.

All Japan Triple Crown Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 4/19/90 Man I thought I conjured up the bitchin' angle of Stan Hansen jumping Tenryu in the aisleway, beating the shit out of him and Lariating him in a fever dream! I kept thinking I would run across it in one of these Jumbo vs Tenryu matches but I never did. I thought I just made it up! Here it is. That means the first Jumbo vs Tenryu match I ever watched was actually their last because that opening angle left a real mark on me. I really think thats one of the best angles ever and should be stolen done every 5 years or so by a promotion so cool. I checked Hansen & Tenryu dropped their tag titles back in March to the Miracle Violence Connection. Jumbo makes the save swinging the Championship belt. Hansen cuts a promo at ringside calling himself the #1 contender before storming off. Jumbo goes to help Tenryu up and Tenryu SLAPS him! IT IS ON~! This match is usually described as underwhelming but I thought this rocked! I loved the sprint beginning with Jumbo hitting the High Knee, blocking the rebound Lariat and going for the Dangerous Back Drop Driver only for Tenryu to shift his weight and instead Tenryu nails his finish, the Powerbomb for a three count. Starts like that will always be over with me. With the adrenaline levels lowering, Tenryu clamps on a headlock, Jumbo elbows out but sells the Powerbomb. I like the dynamic that Tenryu has absorbed a Lariat and Jumbo a powerbomb, it makes the match feel even. Jumbo hits the Death Lariat in the corner. Jumbo control segment with some Tenryu hope spots sprinkled in is very good. We get a Jumbo Death Bodyslam which I always love and the Jumbo flying knee. On second attempt, Tenryu nails an Enziguiri and Jumbo sells it like he was been KO'd. Tenryu attacks the leg with his legbar and a wicked Inverted Indian Deathlock but relinquishes due to his own pain. They kinda fuck up Jumbo getting Hotshotted on the Thesz Press and then they go into the big All Japan finish run. It becomes the Powerbomb vs The Dangerous Backdrop Driver. Tenryu absorbs one Back Drop Driver but cant hit his powerbomb and the second one polishes him off. Coming in at a brisk 12 minutes and change, with that kickass Hansen angle at the beginning, plus the hot sprint, and a great finish, this is easily an awesome match. It is too bad Tenryu left, I would have liked to seen more Hansen vs Tenryu match, but ultimately it was for the best, if Tenryu's doesnt leave than Four Corners would have never arisen! The only reason I can surmise why this is rated so low is due to the lofty expectations set by 6/5/89 because otherwise this was a ton of fun! ****1/4

Riki Choshu & George Takano vs Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask II - NJPW 2/10/90 This is apparently a New Japan promoted show with some talent from other promotions on it, but it has Tenryu pre-AJPW split and Tenryu vs Choshu always rules. Based on this one match, if you asked me who became a bigger star in the 90s, I would say, Takano. He was throwing himself into every move and bump. Misawa felt generic. We get Choshu vs Misawa for hot second, but Misawa knows where the bread is buttered and tags in Tenryu. Choshu attacks him at the pass and IT IS ON~! Awesome, badass skirmish that Choshu gets the better of. Takano tagged in and Tenryu bullies him into the corner. Takano and Misawa have a great sequence. Takano really gets up and meets Misawa on the dropkick and crossbody to make the moves look even better. Takano gets control and Choshu is threatening to put Misawa in the Scorpion Deathlock. Misawa gets free and HOLY SHIT TENRYU IS ON THE WARPATH~! Some of the best chops you will ever see in your life. That second exchange between the two was just ferocious. I kinda forget the sequence of things after that. I am pretty Choshu hits a Saito Suplex here to be able to tag out. Tenryu has a great sequence with Takano too which would end up being one of the first big SWS main events. Takano is able to take over on Misawa again, but this time Choshu gets too close to Tenryu and he just stomps his head through the ropes. Is there anyone better at stomping the head than Tenryu? Misawa tags out and Tenryu punishes Choshu's head. Choshu slugs him with a lariat. Choshu loses control again and melee breaks out. The finish run is hot & hectic. Takano saves with a crazy back suplex when Tenryu was going for the Top Rope Reverse Elbow. Misawa wipes Choshu out with a Spinning Heel Kick. Takano baseball slides Tenryu out but misses the killshot Enziguiri! Tenryu shifts weight on back rope driver. Misawa fucks up his knee on the bodypress and Choshu attacks it. Takano and Misawa have their time to shine. Takano hits an awesome dropkick and slingshot dive combo. Choshu CREAMS Misawa on the apron into a Takano Saito Suplex! That was wicked! Love Tenryu's response to suplex and just punch Choshu in the face. Misawa eats shit on his slingshot attempt. Lots of insanity! Takano wipes out Tenryu on a powerbomb attempt with a spinning heel kick but then misses the Kappou Kick in the corner. TENRYU CLOBBERS TAKANO ON THE APRON! SAITO SUPLEX BY CHOSHU! Scorpion Deathlock attempt on Tenryu but it doesnt matter they arent legal. Misawa beats the count and Takano is counted out. Tenryu vs Choshu ruled! Takano was pretty damn great into this too. Misawa needs to take off the mask. ***1/2

Pat O'Connor vs The Mighty Atlas - Chicago 5/16/52 Im a little burnt out on Japanese wrestling going to take a short break here and revisit some 50s American Wrestling. Jack Dempsey the famous American boxer is the special guest referee. Mighty Atlas does a half-strongman, half-stooging heel gimmick. Russ lets us know he is a real peacock at the beginning of the match. His stooging is not dissimilar from what you would see from a Gorgeous George or a 80s Southern heel. O'Connor at the time is a young star that Russ says has a bright future ahead of him, he would be vindicated. O'Connor is an impressive technical babyface. First Fall: Simple, but elegant. Atlas tries to cheat but to no avail as O'Connor is too good. Atlas preens too much and ends up eating two dropkicks right at the bell. I thought there was a chance for a quick fall. Atlas mostly goes for punches in the ropes. He misses one wildly that sends him sailing over the top rope. All Heeling 101 but very effective. O'Connor shows his combination of agility and technique varying his holds using a headscissors, headlock Full Nelson and a Inverted Indian Deathlock. Atlas breaking out of the Full Nelson was the only strongman spot thus far. He does have mighty big arms I must say. Where I left them O'Connor was hiptossing him out of headlock attempts nothing that will blow your mind, but the elementary elegance is refreshing. O'Connor goes for the Banana Split but comes up with an Inverted Indian Deathlock applies very well but too close to the ropes. Atlas builds the most momentum thus far with some European Uppercuts that rock O'Connor over the top rope to the floor and he plays a little King of the Mountain as Russ cries foul. O'Connor vaults over the top rope and lets Atlas have it. Airplane Spin FU! I wish instead of Cena going for the Super FU when the first FU didnt work he did the Airplane Spin FU :p That of course is the finish as it should be O'Connor 1-0. Second Fall: Per usual, a short fall but given the time left in the video I thought O'Connor might've had a good chance for the clean sweep. Very nice reverse back heel trip by Atlas to avoid the Full Nelson. Atlas lands some clubbing blows. I like how O'Connor registers and then ROARS back with a beautiful strike combination more of that in wrestling. They do a real Slam Bang finish which each man leaping for moves but missing only for Atlas to apply his finish, what else but a Full Nelson. He grabs the Fall to tie this up. Fun sprint fall. Third Fall: Hot finish with Atlas trying to win the match by applying a Full Nelson again immediately but O'Connor says if Im going down youre going down with me and he dove through the ropes and they both take a nasty tumble. I bit on the countout finish as means to protect Atlas but he gets back in only to eat a dropkick and fall back to the outside. He gets back in, dropkicked, ricochets off the ropes into an AIRPLAN SPIN FU for the win! Nothing to write home to your mother about, but solid wrestling nonetheless. I think much of Atlas, he was fine. O'Connor against the right opponent looks like he can put on a marvel. ***1/4

All Japan World Tag Team Champions Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs - AJPW 10/20/89 I watched the original title change back in July which didnt make the DVDVR set surprisingly but was bitchin' as hell! Tenryu dropped the Triple Crown a couple weeks prior. Does Jumbo retain all his gold or is Tenryu able to reclaim some glory? I didnt see the title switch back to Jumbo & Yatsu, which happened on 7/22. I might have to look that match up at some point. I am looking forward to his based on July! 1989 All Japan Tag means stream of consciousness: Tenryu & Yatsu to start! Tenryu makes sure to chop Jumbo while he is on the apron. Already this has way more heat than the 10/14 six-man! Jumbo tags in. Yatsu counsels him first. Tenryu slaps Jumbo and Jumbo headlock. Criss-cross, Jumbo shouldertackle and Jumbo death bodyslam. I love Jumbo's bodyslam Double Chop and they try for the knee sandwich but get the double chop instead. Yatsu knee to Tenryu. Hansen tags in. Hansen has a huge bandage on his back which I assume he has been awfully quiet thus far. Hansen does seem subdued. Yatsu backs him into a corner. Hansen fights out. Yatsu is sledging the back. Hansen bullies Yatsu into his corner. Hansen/Tenryu double shouldertackle. Tenryu with some vicious stomps to head. Slashing chops to Yatsu and bashes his head into the buckles. Snapmare into the figure-4 headlock. Yatsu frees himself goes for inverted figure-4 but Hansen comes crashing into him with an elbow break it up. Hansen in and he kicks at Yatsu and a dropkick by the big man. Hansen punches Yatsu in the ropes. Hansen cant prevent the tag to Jumbo. Jumbo shoulderblocks into the ropes and Jumbo double axehandle to Hansen injured back. Hansen flails in defense and wrestles Jumbo to his corner. Tenryu slashing chops! Jumbo big boot on Tenryu! Jumbo Big Boot Gain! Jumbo is revved up and raises arm to crowd. Jumbo elbow to Tenryu . Yatsu stomps Tenryu slumped in corner. Yatsu reverse elbow on Tenryu. Yatsu belly to belly suplex. Hansen interferes and Tenryu knee to Yatsu. Tenryu Enziguiri to kneeling Yatsu. Hansen tags in. Yatsu meets him at press and slugs away at back. Hansen fires back. He tugs at the Elbow Pad early to a big reaction! Hansen comes in red hot charging but goes ass over tea kettle over the top rope to the floor, careening into the railing injuring his already injured back. Tenryu checks in on him. Jumbo double axehandle off apron onto injured back and then whips Tenryu into railing. Very strong first five minutes. Stomp to the injured back. Great targeting of the injured back. It gives this tag a hook, which a lot of All Japan tags from this era sorely lack. Jumbo is relentless on the back and tears off the bandage. Tenryu attacks him from behind and Yatsu attacks Tenryu. Yatsu Bulldog on Tenryu on floor! Yatsu adds a sledge to the back of Hansen and then throws him back in. Jumbo finishes the job with a MASSIVE bodyslam! Jumbo tries to muscle Hansen over into a Boston Crab. Hansen makes it to the safety of the ropes. Yatsu continues to drub the back of Hansen like a drum. I loved wounded bear Stan Hansen the best. It is when he is at his most dangerous. Yatsu bodyslam and stomp. Yatsu is relentless attacking the back Jumbo tags in and goes up top but Hansen powders. Hansen creates space and throws wild strikes to try to keep Jumbo at bay but Jumbo just keeps coming. Hansen topples a Young Boy as he looks for quarter but Jumbo will give him none! Hansen is being out Hansne'd by Jumbo & Yastu. Hansen deadwieght to Jumbo. Hansen grabs the hair and throws a headbutt. Hansen punches Jumbos' side and based on the way Jumbo flinches he might have something. Jumbo wisely tags out to Yatsu double suplex gets two but Tenryu breaks it up. Yatsu camel clutch on Hansen. I never thought I'd write this sentence but this is great heat segment on Stan Hansen of all people. Hanse blasts Yatsu with an elbow on his knees. He is the best type of face in peril always fighting back. Another double suplex gets two as Jumbo is now in with him. Hansen keeps throwing kicks from his back. Jumbo fires back. Hansen lunging headbutt tp midsection. Jumbo pummels him down his attacks to back. Tenryu comes in and chops Jumbo. This is so different than I expected and I Love it. Yatsu double axehandle to Hansen's back from top. Single Leg Crab by Yatsu. Hansen does not look good. Yatsu applies the inverted Figure-4 but Hansen grabs Yatsu's hair and throw rapid fire headbutts but Yatsu tags out to Jumbo. Jumbo back to work on the back. Hansen starts his hulk up. Great shit! Jumbo ends the rally with an abdominal stretch boooooooo. Tenryu double axehandle crashing down on Jumbo. Enizguiri! Hansen stomps and hot tag! Tenyu slashing chop. TENRYU MACK TRUCK LARIAT! He toesses Jumbo to the floor. Hansen chops Jumbo on the floor. Hansen headbutts Yatsu. Back in ring, Tenryu BLASTS Jumbo with a Footlose Lariat in the corner. Sick Lariat. Hansen exposes his knee in exact sweet revenge kneeing Jumbo in the head. Hansen falls back under the weight of Hansen as Jumbo is left clutching his head. This is killer. Jumbo inside cradle! Tenryu reverse for two! Tenryu keeps attacking head and gets two count. Bodyslam by Tenryu. Hansen elbow drop for two. COWOY KICK! Wicked knee to head by Hansen. Jumbo no sells a double shouldertackle in a weird moment. DANGEROUS BACK DROP DRIVER BY JUMBO! Weird way to get to it, but i like the move as transition. Hot tag to Yatsu! Yatsu stomps away at Tenryu. Hansen comes in and gets promptly bodyslammed by Yatsu who will not be denied. Yatsu is a one man gang fending off everyone. GEATEST SPOT EVER! Hansen throws Yatsu off on a bulldog attempt and Tenryu TRUCKS HIM WITH A LARIAT! Yatsu dropkick gets him back in contention. Hansen comes charging across the screen and knocks Yatsu off the rope and takes a nasty tumble to the floor. Hansen beats him up on the floor and throws him in. Double suplex by Hansen and Tenryu. Hansen drives and grinds his knee into Yatsu for two. Yastu backdrops out of Spike Piledriver attempts and press slams Tenryu off the top. Hansen lunges and crashes down on Yatsu as Tenryu knocks the injured Jumbo off apron. They steal Jumbo & Yatsu's Spike Piledriver and do it in their corner! Add insult to injury. As Hansen Is pinning Yatsu, Jumbo and furiously slaps the shit out of Tenryu. Jumbo kicks Hansen into the head repeatedly is all revved up. Hansen fires back and it is on. Hansen throws Jumbo out. It leaves Tenryu and Yatsu alone. Hansen whips Jumbo into the railing. Tenryu & Hansen double team YATSU WITH THEIR DOUBLE POWER FINISH FOR TWO AS Jumbo saves! WESTERN LARIAT BLASTS JUMBO! Hansen misses Lariat on Yatsu and elbow and Tenryu misses the Enziguiri. We miss the Lariat that does Yatsu in, which is a shame. This fucking ruled! Take the awesome workrate you already know youre going to get from these four but then add in a Hansen back injury hook that carries the front half of the match and explains why Hansen is not his usual wrecking ball self. Then on top of that add a great heat segment on Jumbo where he has had his bell rung and he can never shake the cobwebs loose again which leaves Yatsu easy pickins for the Tenryu/Hansen superteam. Next time I watch this I want to see what caused the Jumbo head injury. The finish run was excellent, the shove off the Bulldog into a Monster Lariat could have been the finish. Stealing the Spike Piledriver. Jumbo pissed but not really able to do anything about it. The Double Powerbomb! The Monster Lariat to knock Jumbo out of contention once and for all. The only thing I wish was a little bigger was he actual finish finish but that might just be since we miss it on camera. Excellent match from a matchup that people should talk about more! ****1/2

Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Kenta Kobashi vs Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada, Ricky Fuyuki - AJPW 10/14/89 On paper, this looks like a pretty killer Jumbo's Army vs Revolution match! Looking forward to BABY KOBASHI~! vs Young Kawada! It is 1989 All Japan tag so stream of consciousness: Great Kabuki has Ultimate Warrior facepaint on! Kabuki just seems like a weird fit in ultra-serious All Japan. Inoki always liked the freaks more, seems like he'd be a better fit for New Japan. We start with the big guns right off the bat. Three days prior to the his Jumbo won the Triple Crown. Jumbo is able to nail his High Knee early and raise his fist to the crowd. Second one and Tenryu doesnt look good. Jumbo pulls him by the hair to his corner. Kobashi tags in and double teams with Jumbo. Dropkick to Tenryu sends him into Kawada. Kawada tags in. Kobashi heads him off at the pass. Another dropkick for Kawada. Kobashi has plucky white meat babyface offense. He wraps Kawada up in a front chancery. Kawada powers out and sits him up on a neutral corner and slaps the taste out of his mouth. Tags in Fuyuki with a reverse elbow and then a Boston Crab. Kobashi powers out, roll up sequence. Headlock/headscissors get again, face off applause, a harbinger of whats to come in the wrestling world. Kobashi applies a cross armbreaker to Fuyuki this being in 1989 not sold properly. Kobashi tags in. Kabuki has the best uppercuts! Nice meaty lariat from Kabuki. He looks weird but a great wrestler. Nice armbar takedown from Kabuuki as he works an armbar. Armwringers and another armbar takedown. It has been all Jumbo's Army for the most part. Kobashi double axehandle to Fuyuki's arm, drop toehold but Fuyuki affords a tag to Tenryu who tags over with back body drop and bodyslam. Kawada dropkick after he tags in. Nice bodyslam/Senton combo. Kawada looks great as always. Kawada moves to the Single Leg Crab, but no stepping on his head. Great stretch though but Kawada. VICIOUS CHOP BY Tenryu! Nice crossbody but Kobashi tags out to Kabuki. Kabuki throws some amazing uppercuts that ring Tenryu's bell, amazing Tenryu standing selling. Fuyuki chops to Kabuki who doesnt fight back. Bodyslam/legdrop combo. Kabuki superkick. Jumbo high knee! Jumbo chinlock on Fuyuki. Jumbo abdominal stretch. Kawada breaks it up. Kobashi missile dropkick as Jumbo holds. It blows him so far away Kawada tags in. Kobashi heads off at pass again and then vertical suplex back to front chancery. Kawada kicks in the corner. Kawada big vertical suplex. Kobashi spinning heel kick gets two. Kabuki great body punches to Kawada. Is Kabuki good in the US? Nobody ever talks about him. Kabuki drops down into a tight leglace. It actually looks good and I hate that hold. Kabuki drops the knee into the knee. Those body punches were great. Does Great Kabuki vs Fujiwara exist? Tenryu breaks it up and Kobashi tags in. Kobashi with an amazing Single Leg Crab. Kawada uses free leg to kick Kobashi in the mush. Jumbo sets too early and allows tag to Tenryu. Jumbo owns Tenryu again with High Knee for third time, but on the fourth time, Tenryu HOTSHOTS JUMBO! Cowboy kick! Tenryu tries for the Reverse Top Rope Elbow, but Kabuki interferes. Jumbo Death Lariat in th corner! Jumbo brings him over to Kobashi who fires away. Tenryu SMOKES Koabashi with a chop. Kobashi crashes and burns on a dropkick. Kobashi deadweights on a suplex attempt. Kobashi wins the suplex struggle. Kawada tags in and spinning heel kick for two. Kawada Frenetic Lariat! Tenryu tags in Footloose Lariat in corner as Tenryu looks contemptuously down at Kobashi. Tenryu chops to Kobashi. Tenryu bodyslam with authority on Kobashi and Cowboy Kick. Kobashi powerslam on Fuyuki wisely tags in the FIghting Machine that is Kabuki. Snap suplex and neckbreaker by Kabuki. Jumbo vs Tenryu! JUMBO DEATH LARIAT! 1-2-NO! Holy shit! He smoked him. Jumbo wants the Buttrerfly suplex. Tenryu back body drop. Kawada tags in and kicks Jumbo a bunch. Kawada gets low on Suplex attempt but Jumbo is well too Jumbo for Kawada. Jumbo tags in the workrate God Kabuki. Kabuki bodylam! Kabuki dropkick on Kawada. Kabuki tags in Kobashi. Kobashi chop on Kawada and crossbody. Tenryu a double axehandle helps Kawada get a suplex on Kobashi. Sandwich kick as as called by announcer as Footloose double team Kobashi for two. Kobashi Kappou Kick why he did stop doing that! Kawada missed the dropkick. Kobashi tags in Jumbo. Jumbo nearly takes Kawada's head off with High Knee. Kobashi back in. Kobashi Fisherman Suplex on Kawada. I am pretty sure Revoluton is going to win they are getting their asses kicked. Koabashi Kappou Kick and baseball slide as Kawada goes to outside. Kawada slams Kobashi onto railings and tags in Fuyuki. Fuyuki abdominal stretch. Kobashi hiptoss out. Tenryu Tenryu slashing chop on Kobashi. Back body drop and Cowboy Kicks! Tenryu suplex. Fuyuki back to the abdominal stretch NO ROLLING CRADLE! POPEPD ME! Even though crowd doesnt care. Kobashi tags in Jumbo. Jumbo High Knee to Fuyuki to surprise of no one. Good Jumbo vs Kawada fire fight ends with a Jumbo big boot. Kabuki back in, Hell Yeah! Kawada spinning heel kick, Kabuki evades and doesnt sell shit. He just throws sick uppercuts and thrust kicks. Fuyuki Thesz Press for to! Excellent Kabuki uppercut coming from Sweet Home Nobeoka! Kobashi reverse crossbody for two. Fuyuki kneelift and tags in Kawada. Kawada kicks at midsection. Kawada overzealous and they end up Spinning Heel Kicks simultaneously. Kobashi dropkicks Tenryu repeatedly, spinning Heel kicks. Tenryu Lariat! Kobashi Kicks Out! Tenryu Double Leg Takedown Finish but Kabuki uses sweet uppercut to break up the pin. Tenryu tries again but Kabuki shoves Kobashi on top for him for two! Kobashi crashes and burns coming off top but get inside cradle for two. Kobashi about to take a nap soon me thinks. Tenryu powerbombs as Footloose stands guard for the win. Callled it! This is a workrate-driven, action-packed tag that never drags but also really never crescendos or gets out of second gear. It is six kickass wrestlers so it is still very good. Kabuki and Kobashi raise this above good, but doesnt quite get to great. ***3/4

I love me some Dirty Daddy! I love the intensity & passion he brings to every match. He was definitely the #1 week to week highlight of me attending Beyond's Unchartered Territory. I love that he has been influenced by both All Japan & Shoot-Style which is a great combo. I have not seen him in any garbage/deathmatch but I bet his FMW love comes through there too. I think his biggest strength is not walking through these big bomb throwing matches, not doing my turn, your turn. He makes his opponent earn their offense and he comes up with smart transitions to his own bombs in the finish run. In 2021, he is a longshot, BUT in 2026 I am projecting him as a distinct possibility.

Kevin Von Erich seems to have deleted his Twitter account but he had replied or DM'd me after I sent him my blog praising his work in World Class. I had asked him how did he get that mentality he took in the ring. He just said his father told him to make it look like a shoot as much as possible and he took to the fucking extreme. I love Kevin Von Erich! I love uncooperative wrestling. I love that fought through everything. That shit to me is just electric. His matches with Flair and Race and tags against Freebirds and Adams/Gino are all-timers. This whole he needs to sell more stuff rings hollow for me. Variety is the spice of life. Do I want everyone to wrestle like Kevin Von Erich NO! But I dont want everyone to wrestle like Ricky Morton either! I would love a Kevin Von Erich in wrestling right now. Uniqueness is probably the most important thing to me. Can you have a match that no one else can have because of who you are? Kevin Von Erich checks that box because nobody wrestles like Kevin Von Erich! A lock for my Top 100!

Is there anything lamer than a super heavyweight with blue fucking flames tattooed to his head doing a cartwheel when he is announced by a ring announcer? Painful. Bigelow is pretty shitty in my opinion. I didnt realize how extensive his New Japan run was but he was trash in both the Inoki and Vader matches I watched. Just had no idea how to use his mass effectively. Bigelow always seemed to work too small in my opinion. The Lawler match is his best match and that is Lawler's masterpiece. He walked Bam Bam by the hand through that match. The Spike Dudley squash that Grimmas brought up, RULES! Greatest squash ever. The one match I think saw thrown out that I do want to emphasize is the Rob Van Dam match from April 4, 1998. That is the one match where I feel like Bam Bam finally wrestles like a monster. I am definitely going to try to watch more from his New Japan run. The WWF run happens with opponents I am not that interested in watching so it will be many years before I get to that. I will keep an open mind, but Bam Bam is far more likely to end up on a Top 100 Worst Wrestlers Ever for me.

I was the high voter on Stan Lane (see my bitchin' avatar) at #64. Shame on you, PWO, shame on you! I expect better from a Southern-fried board! He does suffer from being the second best person on both his main teams. I think the Eaton thing doesnt surprise anyone. I do think Keirn was the better brawler on the Fabs but because Lane has the Midnights run and reinvents himself as a Redneck Karate stooge that lifts him over Keirn. I was watching some footage from Crockett I had not seen before for the PTBN Greatest WCW Match Project and this match really leapt off the page for me so to speak. I tend watches for the intra-match narrative and how the performances serve the match and I rarely watch with how individual is doing outside the match if that makes sense. Ultimately this is why I prefer Greatest Match Projects to Greatest Wrestler Projects. I remember earmarking this in my mind to exhibit as an individual Stan Lane performance where he outshone both Ricky Morton and Bobby Eaton in a match which is a tall task. He will assuredly make my list again in 2026. Here is the match & review in question: NWA World Tag Team Champions Rock N Roll Express vs NWA US Tag Team Champions Midnight Express - NWA Worldwide 7/11/87 I am proud to be PWO's Official #1 Stan Lane fan tonight. Not only did he kill in the ring on this night, but he cuts a bitchin' promo on the outside. Corny gotten taken out the week prior by the RNRs I think to cover for a surgery or something related to the fall from the Scaffold. Lane calls Cornette a good Christian who gives 80% of his income to charities and co-wrote We Are The World. I popped for that! Terrific match! This is the type of pro wrestling I just live for. Stan Lane gives this feud a fresh new dynamic. He sells his ass off in this match. Whether, it was letting himself be kicked in the ass through the ropes or how he sold the leg work, the man put on a helluva performance. I liked how he would maneuver the ref so he could yank Morton down by the hair after Eaton had just been falsely complaining Gibson was pull his hair in the segment prior. Morton rockets him with punches. Dropkick. Lane pinballs for the Rock N Rolls in awesome fashion. The leg work by Rock N Rolls is so good, so tight. The key is Lane. He keeps it fun and entertaining. Heel in Peril at the beginning of 80s tag whether up North or down South is a tough thing to work. Lane the way he was verbally selling everything made it. I LOVED Eaton finally getting the tag ONLY to fall prey to a drop toehold and end up right back where his partner was. Finally Eaton crashes on Gibson with a knee from behind. Lane shows that mean streak. Snake Eyes on the railing and chokes with he cord. Strong heat segment. We dont see of those Beautiful Sweet Home Alabama rights but we get some real mean, nasty work from Lane. They work a spot where Morton keeps getting so incensed they are able to hurl Gibson over the top rope which is illegal. Gibson is good about selling, but not too much peppering in those pinning combinations to give the crowd hope. Eaton finally goes up for one of his highspots. He misses a gorgeous top rope elbow. Here comes Morton. He is full of piss & vinegar. Looks great. A meeting of the minds! Morton is directing traffic to set up DOUBLE DROPKICK on Eaton but he bumps the ref. Here comes Big Bubba Rogers who plants Morton with the Bossman Slam. He throws the ref back in. 1-2-3! New World Tag Champs?!? Wait?! I thought...huh...oh here's another ref to reverse the decision. Finish keeps it from my Top 3 MX vs RNRs matches but this will safely make my Top 100 JCP/WCW matches. Check out Stan Lane's performance not far behind is Gibson who is a great face in peril. Gibson will definitely make my Top 100 Wrestlers next time. The two unsung members of their tag team give standout performances in this banger. ****1/4

Lex Luger will make my Top 100 wrestlers. I am a big fan of power wrestling and hoss-style pro wrestling and I think Luger executes that style at a high level for a long time. In the next five years, I do want to watch Luger in Florida and Luger in WWF. I know @EricR is doing a project on the hunt for the best Luger in WWF match but it might have morphed into a Tony Halme/Ludvig Borga Complete & Accurate which also sounds accurate. I think the original Crocket run is strong enough along with the fact that he was actually pretty good in WCW from 96 to the end. I really enjoyed the Luger vs Savage pairing whenever that happened, that is an underrated combination. He has the Nitro win over Hogan. He was the biggest working babyface star in the biggest company in the world in 1997. I see him in the 75-100 portion. Awesome verbal seller. Explosive. Knew how to build matches on his own easiest example is the Pillman Halloween Havoc '89 match.

PWO how you have disappointed me so! One of the best compliments I have ever gotten at work is a dude coming up to me in the lab and saying "You are the realest muthafucka I have ever met". When I saw Nick Fuckin' Gage for the first, I said to myself, that's a real muthafucka. He has AUTHENTIC charisma out the yin yang. In a world of try-hards, he is just Nick Fuckin' Gage, ALL FUCKIN DAY! I live for it. I'll put it like this... This is what separates Kenta Kobashi from being #10 on my list to being in my top two. When he does the fist pump before the Moonsault, I am emotionally moved. His body posture, his facial expression, make me come alive! Sometimes I am pumping my fist and sometimes it brings literal tears to my eyes. Kobashi is 22 years older than me, speaks a language I dont speak and is from a culture I have never experienced, but in that moment we are completely and utterly connected. Nick Gage has the exact same effect on me live. When I shout "MDK ALL FUCKIN' DAY" it is not a pithy catchphrase, it is a way of life to be the Realest Muthafucka you can be. If you arent watching pro wrestling for the "vibes" what are you watching it for?

What is people’s major malfunction against people bumping on their side? It seems like such a weird aesthetic Hangup. People should bump how is comfortable to them. There are plenty of snap backs that look stupid as shit given a certain set of circumstances sometimes bumping differently would help. I was surprised my post was about heel DDP but good on me scummy heel midcard DDP ruled! His post-Lord of the Ring win was a great era. He was the last of the stooging heels. I think he was the Best Worker in 1998 & 1999. Every match dripped with effort, had a great hook and was a titanic struggle, Mortal lock for my Top 100 until the day I die!

It is really interesting to me that Malenko is living & dying on his 90s US run when he was already 33 in 1994. What was he is doing from 1986-1993? I saw him pop in All Japan, where else? I thought the discussion was pretty fair and I won’t rehash it but I did come across a new insight recently. It was only from one match and extrapolating from one match is very dangerous but I have zero desire to watch 90s Malenko to prove myself right or wrong. It was glaring how awful Dean was in the 1989 Fantastics match. He was doing these atrocious groggy stand on your feet sells that made it really difficult to transition to the next spot organically. He reminded me of a mini-Brody. He was trying to protect himself by not bumping and not really selling. It was NOT a badass no sell. It was just this lame groggy sell. He would drunken walk into the next spot and it looked terrible. Maybe somebody who has watched more Malenko recently can confirm or deny this. Is the problem with Malenko his Brody-Esque selling and consequently the shitty transitions that happen during his matches? Jetlag seemed to allude to this. Like I said it is dangerous to extrapolate from one match but I thought I’d toss this out here and see what people think.

Joe was way better than Dean in the Fantastics match on the All Japan set. I am shocked that being bereft of charisma was being levied at Joe based on the handful of matches I have seen him in. He not only does tricked out mat work better than Dean, he’s a better seller & bumper than Dean who looks like he is doing a mini-Brody gimmick. Joe did disappoint a little with Kobashi against the Can-Ams.

BOBBY FULTON IS INCREDIBLE! His selling in the Sheepherders match would make Ricky Morton green with envy. His punch is right up there with Bobby Eaton. Rogers was the athlete, workrate guy. Fulton was the heart & soul! Tons of charisma, passion, selling and a great right just how God intended Southern-Fried wrestling to be! Bobby Fulton has undoubtedly booty-shook his way into my Top 100!

Keirn vs Flair!!! How have I not seen this? Sign me the fuck up! Best toe kick to the gut in the history of Pro Wrestling! Fabulous Ones are one of the all-time greatest brawling tag teams in history, I could watch Fabs vs Moondogs for days. I was on the Titans Dylan mentions above and that Keirn vs Saito really stuck with me as special. Keirn vs Fujinami also excellent. Very snug, very technically sound. My kinda wrestler. Will most likely place but want to see more! it appears the Georgia Titans has been lost to time but thank you again @Ricky Jacksonfor having me on!

Continental is a rabbit hole I really want to go down. It being scattered and two territories (Knoxville vs Mobile) at once can be confusing, I am sure with a bit of effort it’d worth it. This is an excuse to post this blast from last Titans: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/Xp9m2uuwGnLLXdov9 I actually had to look up if I was on this one. Exit Jerry Stubbs, Enter Mr. Olympia and “I Gotta Talk To Tom” are iconic. I remember Kelly, Johnny and Pete talking so I couldn’t remember if I was on the line or if it was just a really bitchin’ experience listening in the car. I have vague memories of the footage that’s why I thought I was not it and I am! Thank you @Ricky Jackson for including me! Meant a lot then, means a lot now! Mr. Olympia vs Chavo from Mid-South is awesome! I can’t recall any one thing he does particularly well but someone from a territory I want to watch more of.

I was really excited to watch the Can-Ams in 1989 and they have mostly been a letdown. Kroffat has been the bigger miss. Furnas is a guy I liked at first sight but hasn’t really gotten back to the level. Him & Bam Bam Bigelow were a harbinger of the power wrestlers doing gymnastics spots. Bigelow’s cartwheel during his introduction is one of the lamest things I have ever seen. Furnas routinely did a back handspring into a shoulder tackle spot that looks like it belongs in 2021. Drives me nuts. A big bugbear I have had recently is intentionally running away from your opponent in order to create space for you to run at them (see Omega, Kenny). That’s just one spot not the entire match in fairness. I am a sucker for stocky power guys throwing people around but the Steiners do that gimmick better, I am going to keep an open mind but he isn’t there yet. I will end with a positive note: it is really hard to Military Press Slam a human. I don’t mean to pick on Bianca Belair but I am a huge Belair mark but on the surface Belair Military Pressing Sasha Banks should be easy but it was wicked hard and it was botched. That’s just the first example I could think of but there’s plenty of times big yoked up dude has trouble Military Pressing someone. Muthafuckin Doug Furnas Military Pressed stocky Toshiaki Kawada from a standing neutral position! INSANE! The trick is usual to press a dude that is in motion but he pressed Kawada straight off his feet! What a stud!

I can’t sleep and so I started with the dead last thread and am working my way forward until my tired. Besides the Liger singles match, I think I have only seen Hoshino tags, if you watch him only once, it is immediate why he is a DVDVR/PWO favorite. His punch combination are Memphis-level and that really stands out in Japan where closed fists are rare. He has a natural charisma to him. He figuratively leaps off the canvas. He was standing out in ten-man’s with people like Inoki, Fujiwara, Maeda and Fujinami! That’s insane! I cant vote for him in good conscience because I haven’t seen enough but guys like Hoshino are my favorite. They make immediate, lasting impression because they are a star. I am a sucker for stars.

All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 10/11/89 I disagree with the DVDVR voters and I think that this is the second best Jumbo vs Tenryu match not the inaugural 1987 match and I dont think it is very close to the 1988 match. I like the inaugural 1987 match as a #3 and then 1988 and the other 1987 are a gulf apart. Late 80s All Japan reminds me a lot of early 2000s Ring of Honor. It is very noisy wrestling. There is a lot of action, BUT it is definitely NOT a spotfest because there is so much struggle escalation, but at the same time there is not a hook or narrative that you can really sink your teeth into. I thought this match was more sticky than the others which is why I would rate it as #2. They started the match off with scouting similar to what they did in the famous 6/5/89. These spots would serve as the bedrock for the greatness of 90s All Japan which took inter-match storytelling to its highest level. Jumbo was very expressive at the beginning of the match. He was none too happy when Tenryu did not give him a clean break and gave him a shove and expressed his annoyance to the ref. Jumbo looked very confused when Tenryu evaded the first High Knee. The second High Knee Tenryu blocked and slashed Jumbo with a chop which he fired out of. Tenryu tried to set up his Enziguiri with an elbow but that didnt help much. As Jumbo avoided that. They went to working holds on the mat. The next flash point was Tenryu chopped Jumbo high. Jumbo is left gasping for breathe and is pissed. He shoves the ref down. Then murders Tenryu with a dropkick. That extension was just explosive. Baseball slide and slings him into the railing and cracks him with a chair. Back in the ring, Jumbo justifies everything to the ref by reminding him this was all caused because Tenryu was chopped in the throat. My favorite part of the match by far. Jumbo heat segment is solid here, good Big Boot, Butterfly Suplex and Boston Crab. Wisely they transition out to the second best part of the match, Tenryu's heat segment on Jumbo. Jumbo charges and eats a knee to the midsection. He crumples and writhes in pain. In most promotion, this is inconsequential, in All Japan they love their "side", "abdomen" psychology. Jumbo is squirming too much so Tenryu kinda fucks up the first kick, second kick, he has a clear mark and COWBOY KICK! The side injury allows Tenryu to hit his Enziguiri and his fancy new move, a Double Leg Takedown Lift (hes doesnt use underhooks, think of it like someone trying to powerbomb someone who was standing upright). I wouldnt think much of it but @Matt D told me it was a thing and definitely becomes a thing. They brawl on the outside. They fuck up a crossbody reversal spot. Jumbo comes out of it and hits a Belly to Belly Suplex to go on his second run. THESZ PRESS FOR TWO! It is bomb throwing time! Another mistiming this time on a bodyslam! You know what was NOT mistimed...THAT JUMBO DEATH LARIAT! He SMOKED HIM! The plume of sweat! That was awesome! Next thing I remember clearly is Tenryu used an Enziguiri to start a comeback and hit a more ordinary Back Suplex. Tenryu tries for the Powerbomb of course, but Jumbo back drops out and does a Tenryu style stomp to Tenryu exposed head. Hows that for a taste of your own medicine, asshole! Jumbo's Bomb Away Kneedrop as Tenryu has his head slightly lifted in the prone position was cool. Can I change my pick for my second favorite part of the match? Tenryu blasts Jumbo off the top with a Lariat and follows that up by running a table into Jumbo on the outside! Tenryu cannot negotiate the Poerbomb again try as he might. I love Powerbobm struggle spots. Tenryu just kinds dumps him on his head. Goddamn man! Jumbo goes for the Back Drop Driver! Tenryu shifts his weight shades of Martin's little brother! I always mark out for that spot! Jumbo DEATH LARIAT! He got all of that! Wow! DANGEROUS BACK DROP DRIVER! Too close to the ropes! Jumbo tries for a Powerbomb/Piledriver but cant negotiate it. Tenryu goes back to the Double Leg Takedown Lift and Jumbo does a Jumbo Hurricanarana for the win! In a move that inspired Misawa for decades to come! Loved Jumbo losing his shit! Enjoyed Tenryu working the side. I thought the finish stretch was a portent of things to come, Big Bombs that were timed perfectly, that felt earned and crescendo'd perfectly. ****3/4

Thanks Brutha! So fascinating!