Superstar Sleeze

NWA International Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba vs WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino - JWA 3/7/68 2 out of 3 Falls This is less than a week after their first match which was worked in a Clash of the Titans style. Bruno won the first fall with an excellent bearhug and Baba won the second fall in a rousing comeback using the big chop to the head. The third fall was a big melee as Bruno was dogged in try to use the bearhug and Baba was using the Big Chop to break free. First Fall: This is worked very much in the NWA Championship style but with two people who dont have much flair on the mat. I would say for the most part Baba has the upper hand working an assortment of armbars, wristlocks and hammerlocks. When Bruno does try things, he ends up getting bodyslammed, monkey flipped or bieled for his troubles. There is an amusing moment when they both try arm drags and they both fall down. Bruno finally starts to get something going with a Full Nelson and gets a cover. From there, he is able to take more control again with an assortment of armbars, wristlock and hammerlocks. Shortly before the 20 minute mark, Baba revs up and just kicks Bruno ass, whipping him into the ropes and throwing him around at will. Giant Chop and a kneedrop and Baba picks up a very pedestrian, run of the mill first fall. Baba 1-0. Second Fall: Much better than first fall. It revolves around Bruno working the arm of Baba tenaciously. This is much better because Baba has such skinny, little arms that it looks like Bruno could snap them at any moment. Plus Baba is much better working underneath and selling. His face told the story of anguish. He was really good. Lastly, they would work hope spots in the arm work that Baba would break free, come up short and FINALLY he would get the headlock. The first time the crowd and I popped huge. They worked the exact same sequence again to diminishing returns. Again they kick the wheels into motion. In some rope running, Bruno applies the dreaded Bearhug! GIANT CHOP TO HEAD! Baba bodyslams Bruno. He goes again, but Bruno leaps up and topples Baba with a crossbody for three. Much more entertaining fall. Tied 1-1. Third Fall: They sure made up for those first two languid falls, they WENT BALLS TO THE WALL HERE! It was twenty minutes of non-stop action. 2020s workrate has nothing on 60s workrate they fucking let it fly. If you JIP'd to the third fall, you'd be duped into this was a great match. The third fall was build around made their last third fall great the Bearhug vs The Giant Chop. What took to the next level was the tenacity of both men! Bruno was just lunging at every chance to apply the Bearhug. He would do it traditionally, he would do it from behind, he would do it from his knees, he would do it on the mat, he did it everywhere! If Baba let his guard down, Bruno was wrapping his arms around him. Nobody sells the Bearhug as well as Baba! When he was not using the Bearhug, he was throwing these awesome uppercut closed fists and WICKED knees! Baba was using the Giant Chop so well and then also mixing in kneelifts sometimes it looked precariously low and well-timed rope breaks. No will confuse these two for the deepest arsenals, they definitely repeated spots, they did double knockdown on the shouldertackle three times. They made it up for intensity. Baba was fighting from his back and knees, throwing chop and kicks to keep Bruno at bay. He would catch a Giant Chop or Big Boot but couldnt get the three count. Really enjoyable, not much in the way of psychology or narrative, but they made up for it in intensity and you totally bought in how bad each man wanted to win. I cant go higher than ***3/4 when the first two falls (35 minutes) were such a snorefest.

Not surprised you all on SC are pretty thorough. Glad people are aware. I will dig in after I finish 60s Japan.

Not pictured in the above picture, that Verne tag is a double feature, Thesz vs Bronko Nagurski is on the back end of that video.

Were people aware Chicago Film Archives after being dormant for years uploaded more footage in this past year...2 ladies' matches, a Thesz Match, a Hans Schmidt, and Verne Gagne match?

NWA International Champion Bobo Brazil vs Giant Baba - JWA 6/27/68 Somebody needs to do a documentary on Bobo Brazil! World Heavyweight Champion in Los Angeles when that mattered, Top Babyface Draw/Champion in Detroit at the peak of Detroit and Champion in Japan even if it was only for two days is a big deal. I would love to know more about him. First Fall: Very elementary. JIP to a bearhug. Bobo works a hold, Baba revs the crowd up with a comeback, Bobo goes back to a hold. Bobo's holds are bearhug, a leg lace and a sleeper/choke. Baba's best offensive work is going after Bobo's leg after the leg lace and just stomping it to smithereens. I loved Baba's selling. That really made the holds look a lot better especially on the choke. Three Coco Butts! That's all she wrote. Baba 1-0 This is not an indictment on them but something I have noticed in a lot of this 60s footage, are we sure long-term selling had been innovated yet? Like is it even a thing? If you follow pro wrestling to its logical conclusion which is to build a narrative then long term selling makes sense. If you think of pro wrestling as a simulation of combat then it does not, which is why in shoot-style there's very little long-term selling. Are we sure they were even thinking in the mindset of long-term selling & narrative-building? This applies to everything I have watched so far in the 60s. Second Fall: Baba comes out roaring and goes after that leg again. That's pretty funny after what I just wrote, but Brazil again sells it in the moment, but not ever again, which is a point favor of my assertion in fall one. Brazil works a hammerlock. Baba comes back with a ton of chops. Dropkick 1-2-NO! Is it 1968 or 1998? You can see Baba's propensity of nearfalls and repeating finishers in high stakes matches all the way back to 1968! Very cool. Two more dropkicks! The trio of dropkicks just like the trio of Coco Butts fells the giant. That's another thing I knew Bobo was big, but he is a giant! He is just as big as Baba. That's impressive! Tied 1-1. Third Fall: What a finish! Brazil hits a pair of bodyslams to open the fall, but cannot negotiate the pinfall. I love how the crowd pops for Baba reversal of a headlock into a hammerlock, simpler times! GIANT CHOP! Brazil catches air on the flat back! 1-2-NO! Big Boot! Brazil comes back with a pair shouldertackles. On third, Baba dropdown, tabletops him and Brazil goes careening into the ropes and GETS HIS HEAD CAUGHT IN THE ROPES! WOW! In 1968 couldnt believe it! Kinda silly finish as the ref counts Brazil out and awards the match & championship to Baba! Crowd is thrilled and throws their seat cushion into the ring as the physical manifestation of their joy & exuberance. I noticed this in a prior Baba match but forgot to mention it. I think this is a much more fun and not to mention safer way to express your joy than throwing chairs into the ring like in ECW. I liked the finish a lot. Its elementary, but everything made sense and the finish to each fall was awesome. ***1/2

NWA International Tag Team Champions Da Crusher & Dick The Bruiser vs Giant Baba & Antonio Inoki - JWA 8/13/69 Two Out Of Three Falls My boys are the fucking champs! They had won it two days prior to this. First Fall: We are JIP but it is like 30-60 seconds into the match based on the match times we have. The majority of the match is face in peril. The Bruiser is working over Inoki. It is really hard to tell Bruiser and Crusher apart especially from the back. Bruiser doesnt have as good of a body even though Crusher is three years older. Crusher would have been 43 at time, looks like a million bucks. Crusher was in his late 50s in the 80s, what the fuck! That's crazy, he is awesome in that tag w/Greg against the Sheiks in the Cage. Baba gets in and stands & bangs with Crusher. Crusher with a surprising single leg pickup into a stepover toehold. Bruiser comes in and works the same hold. Bruiser is slightly dirtier. He always takes the time to throw in that extra boot scrape or eye rake which I like. Baba breaks free. Inoki comes in, right back to face in peril. Bruiser looks like he is going to slam Inoki, but carries him over to Crusher who nails him with the knuckledusters from the Baba matches. He plays to the fans well, making very sure everyone sees him put in back in his tights. Plays off the ref well. It is wicked confusing what happens in the finish to the first fall. One of the times, I wish I understood Japanese. A melee breaks out on the floor and it looks like a double countout to me, but the ref awards the fall to Inoki & Baba. I agree with Crusher & Bruiser, that looked like home cooking to me. B-I Cannon 1-0 Second Fall: Another short fall. Begins with Crusher & Bruiser beating the tar out of Inoki. The hot tag to Baba does not really feel earned, just felt like Crusher stopped trying. Baba is in and raring to go. Crusher wallops him with the knuckledusters but Baba no sells and pries the knuckles out of his hand! Baba plays to the crowd and COLD COCKS CRUSHER! ALL THE STARS! That just paid off all the Baba/Crusher matches so well! I am so glad Baba finally got a hold of the knuckles and used them against Crusher! BABA DROPKICK! Which seems like his finish. Bruiser breaks that fall up and the next fall involving the Big Boot. Tag into the bloody Inoki from all the knuckles shot, Abdominal Stretch, but Bruiser breaks it up. B-I Cannon gets smart to this. Baba detains Bruiser and Inoki makes Crusher submit to the Abdominal stretch to win back the Tag Team Titles! Not quite dream match levels I had in my head, but fun and Baba getting the knuckledusters from Crusher after watching the last two matches made it worth it. ***1/2

NWA International Champion Giant Baba vs Da Crusher - JWA 1/3/68 Single Fall, No Holds Barred? The rematch from the excellent, dirty brawl from December. I was surprised this match was single fall and I am almost positive it is some sort of No Holds Barred, Death Match. I know the refs in Japan are extremely lenient but the one surefire trigger for DQ is when a wrestler attacks the ref and we see that here and Crusher is still not disqualified so I am like 99% positive it is no disqualification. I thought this match was even better than their previous effort and on par with the Dick The Bruiser match which happens about a month after this. This match is just as dirty and bloody as the previous match but I thought they built to a bigger crescendo in this one. I really liked the opening where Crusher is back into the ropes, does not give a clean break, lands a shot on Baba and Baba FIRES RIGHT BACK! Crusher complains to the ref he didnt get a clean break. Excellent heeling. Crusher goes for the eyes on the lock-up and Baba attacks the eyes on the next one! Crusher complains again! Awesome! Crusher goozles Baba and then steps on the throat so Baba retaliates with Chops to the ear. He literally yanks Crusher by the ear and then chops him in the ear repeatedly. Crusher sells this well. The action spills to outside, but we get a clip to a bearhug then Baba uses a knee to break. They spend most of the rest of the match brawling on the outside which is fine by me. Crusher tries to trap Baba's head in the apron skirt. Baba breaks free, does the same thing to Crusher and just punches him in the head. This match is the best payback match ever. Crusher gets the upper hand on the outside only for Baba to throw a seat cushion at him! Bitchin'! Crusher is pissed. He grabs some sort of rope/cord and chokes Baba with it! The ref is right there which is why I think this is No DQ. Baba then does the bulldog headlock into the ring post to bust Crusher open! Crusher goes into the tights and bloodies Baba with knuckledusters. Baba is bleeding profusely and so good at selling He keeps them on and just wallops Baba. The ref refuses to count and Crusher goes all '97 Macho Man on him, cold cocking him and ripping his shirt. I am a mark for ref abuse so I love this. Crusher KOs Baba but there's no ref! Baba tabletops Crusher who takes a huge bump to the floor. Bodyslam on the floor by bloody Baba, Atomic Stomp from the apron! BIG DROPKICK! Ref is back in! 1-2-3! Baba wins! Awesome babyface vs heel brawl, Baba fought fire with fire, never a dull moment, they ripped into each other, Crusher got meaner and more vicious as the match went on and Baba's selling and comeback were awesome! ****1/4

It is time for the FIFTH Season of Pro Wrestling Love and as always I think my guests are the biggest hook to listen as this time I have none other than @PeteF3 of right here on the PWO! Pete kicks ass in the Yearbook threads and throughout this board and I was so happy to talk to him for hours and hours about the Best Matches from the WWF between 1988-1997. The first episode looks at our #25-#21, but there is so much more! We are proof positive that there is hope that we can all get along as Pete is a Buckeye (Booooooo!) and I am a Wolverine (Lets Go Blue!) and we never came to blows! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-tzv3j-100c956

NWA International Champion Giant Baba vs Da Crusher - JWA 12/6/67 Two Out Of Three Falls My new favorite genre is Giant Baba vs. Midwestern blue collar, barroom brawlers. This was a total no holds barred, knock down, drag out fight. There are two holds in the whole match and maybe two moves, it is just asskicking, rip roaring brawling. I didnt think it was quite as heated and intense as Dick The Bruiser's match with Baba, but this was still pretty damn good. I see there is a Baba & Inoki vs Crusher/Bruiser match that Im hyped for and that this is building to a rematch. First Fall: On the first lockup, Crusher goes for the eyes and that sets the tone for the whole match. There are no takedowns. Crusher did a couple dirty headlocks where he wrenched, went for the eyes and throat as the only holds. This was dirty and filthy as it gets. Baba didnt take shit lying down. After a couple dirty lockups & dirty headlocks, Baba just started jabbing and thumbing the eyes right back. For people that like babyface fighting fire with fire this match is for you. Baba gets just as low-down and dirty as Crusher. They spill to the outside they brawl, a chair or a bench gets slammed. I loved the finish. Crusher PUNTS Baba in the balls in plain view of the ref, bodyslams him and Brusier-esque atomic knee/stomp for the first fall. So there was two more moves in that fall. Great stuff! Crusher 1-0. Second Fall: In the break, Crusher is hitting the double bicep flex, Crusher looks like million bucks and is stomping Baba in the break. Baba comes ROARING back! I love how heels when they realize they have done gone fucked up as Baba is just SMACKING them around. It spills to the outside. Baba really loves the Bulldog headlock ram into the post, I thought that was going to be the finish, but he aint done he comes back and chops the cut! Baba hits a big boot only gets two and it is a big time dropkick that gets three. This was awesome comeback fall. Baba is such a great come from behind wrestler. Tied 1-1 Third Fall: Baba continues the asskicking until he crashes and burns on the dropkick. Crusher, who is bleeding like a stuck pig now, reaches down into his tight pulls out a pair of knuckledusters and blows Baba away. DOUBLE JUICE! Both men end up STANDING & BANGING! Crusher punching up into the cut and Baba chopping down. They do a good countout tease where Crusher slams Baba's head into the announce table. Titles can change hands on countout in Japan so that had some heat to it. Baba's bowing up, bring it on gesture back in the ring made the crowd and me come alive! Crusher went back to the knux to get the advantage Baba sold great. Ref refuses to count. Crusher beats Baba to a bloody pulp. When the ref tries to intervene, Crusher rips his shirt and throws him out of the ring to trigger the DQ. Awesome third fall to set up the rematch. Double juice, stand up brawl with ballshots, chops to the head and brass knuckles what more do you want? ****

NWA International Champion Giant Baba vs Dick The Bruiser - JWA 2/28/68 Two Out Of Three Falls HOLY SHIT! This match fucking rocked! After watching basically 12 discs of Dick The Bruiser from St. Louis Wrestling at the Chase from 1978-1981 I can tell you there is a lot that is endearing about Dick The Bruiser but absolutely none of it is due to his wrestling. I asked Twitter if he was the first rulebreaker to be presented as a babyface, but Twitter came back and said it was most likely "Wild" Bill Longson. He is just this great blue collar everyman who takes no shit. I love his hoarse, gravel-gargled voice, it sounds like he exhales a pound of sawdust when he speaks. I desperately wanted to find that awesome Dick The Bruiser match but it just wasnt possible from the time period I was watching. I got really excited at the prospect of Bruiser vs Baba in 1968 and it delivered in spades. Baba rules and this has become so clearly evident. His selling in the 1960s is otherworldly on par with Steamboat and Morton. He totally snaps in this match and delivers an asskicking. Also this is the first match I have watched recently that I felt followed a more typical psychological layout. A lot of the JWA matches I was watching felt too workrate-y, noisy, just a lot of shit that was not really connected. This felt more what I was accustomed to while also being a chaotic brawl. First Fall: We are JIP about 4 minutes in because we hear the 5 minute time call about a minute later. Oh at the start of the video they show some sort of press conference where The Bruiser in a suit with a huge ass stoggie rips a poster of Baba. I love it! They are working beautiful dueling psychology. Baba is working an absolute clinic on the arm. Great arm wrenches and attacks. Baba's knee is bandaged. Bruiser goes to that whenever he gets into trouble. Bruiser has pitbull tenacity which I love. He hits the Atomic Stomp on the knee and then executes a Single Leg Crab. The ref is asking him to break which confuses me, but it is because Baba has submitted. Baba LOVES working underneath and he is so adept at it. DB Up 1-0! Second Fall: Bruiser is fucking with the top turnbuckle. It turns out he has the tag rope, but it looks like a steel cord. He plays hide the foreign object before choking Baba in the corner and then punching Baba with it. I am officially residing in MARKOUT CITY! BRUISER BITES THE BAD KNEE! HE GOES FULL MIKE TYSON! ALL THE STARS IN THE SKY ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR THIS MATCH! Baba selling the bad knee is so good needs to be seen to be believed. Baba just starts SMACKING BRUSIER AROUND! Giant smacks to the head. Fuck you KNIFE-EDGE CHOPS RIGHT TO THE FACE! I love how Brusier will not let go of the knee and drags him out. Brusier still has the foreign object and Baba just fucking has pry him off by hitting him really hard in the face! Baba bulldogs Brusier into the ring post. Bruiser blades on camera and loses by countout. Tied 1-1. This match rules. Third Fall: Brusier is pissed and grabs a chair! Baba tussles with him and is pissed at all this bullshit that Bruiser has been trying to pull. BABA SNAPS~! He chokes the shit out of Brusier with an electrical cord. RAUCOUS MAYHEM! The ref finally rings the bell for the third fall when they are both in the ring. BABA SEES RED AND JUST CHOKES THE SHIT OUT OF HIM WITH HIS BARE FUCKING HANDS WITH BLOOD STREAMING DOWN BRUISER'S FACE! BRUISER KICKS THE BAD KNEE! Bruiser bites the bad knee again! Baba will not be denied; chops, chops, chops! Brusier tries to go for the Single Leg Crab again, but ends up tumbling to the floor. They brawl at ringside and Baba throws him in the chairs. BABA SLAMS HIM HEAD FIRST INTO THE POST! GIANT CHOP~! 1-2-3! Greatly exceeded my expectations! We are missing the first four minutes of a 20 minute match...I dont think I can go higher than ****1/4 in good conscience, but this rocked so hard. The great Dick The Brusier match has been found! Baba combined an excellent selling performance with a badass, asskicking comeback!

NWA International Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba vs WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino - JWA 3/2/67 Two Out of Three Falls Cagematch says this was only for Baba's International Heavyweight Championship, but Bruno comes out strapped up so it is unclear to me. I am pretty excited to see Bruno in his prime. Two of the biggest stars in the history of pro wrestling! Clash of The Titans! Huge fight feel! Feels like a real worlds collide match! First Fall: Bruno can wrestle! He is aggressive to start. In the pre-match interview, a lot is made about Baba's size. It could be a case that a good offense is a good defense and Bruno would rather dictate the pace. You see Baba bodyslam or shove off in these holds. No one is gonna confuse Bruno with Dory or Jack but he is adequate. Baba likes to fight from underneath which is an interesting decision, but he makes it work. He is a great sympathetic babyface even with his size. I didnt think Bruno was too heelish in the first fall. They trade full nelsons at one point. Bruno uses his patented Bearhug which looked great especially how Baba sold it for the finish to the first fall. Bruno up 1-0. I was surprised Bruno won clean in the first fall. Second Fall: As customary, this is the shorter fall. We get some crowding in the corner and even some dirty boxing from Bruno. Baba is left clutching his back from the Bearhug. Bruno locks it in close to a corner and the ref forces the break. Here comes Baba! Big HEAVY Hands from The Giant! Love his chops. They are like half-Garvin, half-Liger, but from a Behemoth! There is a great overhead chop when Bruno is on his knees that the crowd pops huge for. I thought that would be the finish, but no Baba sends him for the ride and it is JUMPING CHOP TO THE HEAD FOR THE WIN! Tied 1-1! Third Fall: Is built around each man's respective finish and I loved that psychology. Bruno would keep locking in the Bearhug and Baba would keep crowning Bruno with a wicked big chop. It was so simple and so damn effective. It is only 4 minutes but is so BIG and Titantic befitting these two international superstars. Baba started off pressing his advantage. Crowding Bruno in the corner felling the powerhouse with chops and then repeatedly stomping him when he was down in the corner. Massive boot from Baba pops me huge! Bruno comes and drives his knee into Baba's head repeatedly. He steps on Baba's throat repeatedly really heeling it up now. Goes for the cover and gets two. Bruno drives the knee into Baba's back, kicks to the back, double axehandles to the injured back. Baba is such a great seller. BEARHUG! Great sell! BIG CHOP TO THE HEAD! Bearhug won the first fall for Bruno and the Chop to head won the second fall for Baba! Bodyslam by Bruno as he keeps pressing but only gets two. Great fight over the BEARHUG! Two times in a row Bruno tries for the Bearhug and each time Baba chops the head. Then Baba rolls to the apron. Bruno does the Bearhug through the ropes! I love the tenacity! Chop to the Head! Baba is selling like a million bucks. Baba collapses to the floor. It is a double countout finish to set up the big rematch in less than a week. Bruno gives a promo saying that Baba is not a real champion because he does not finish the match in the ring, he is weak and is coward, basically. That third fall took what I thought was a very good match and made it a great match! Baba's selling was next level and really drove the match for me. Bruno not to be outdone his tenacity was awesome! Looking forward to their one hour broadway! ****1/4

Running a little behind schedule...work was a bear last week and totally blanked on hyping my show...last week's Pro Wrestling Love was the Season Finale with @dawho5 thanks Mike for joining me! We are count down our Top 5 Best matches to take place in Japan between 2000-2009. Mike & I agree on the best match! Do you? Let us know! What did we miss? What did we have too high? Too low? Let us know! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-jh2h7-fd5d70

WWA World Heavyweight Champion Toyonobori vs The Destroyer - JWA 2/26/65 Two Out Of Three Falls There is a little title controversy here. This WWA Championship is the Los Angeles version of the World Championship not to be confused with Dick The Bruiser's Indianapolis promotion. On top of that, Toyonobori is the reigning & defending champion according to JWA but LA did not recognize this. This led to a weird split where Pedro Morales won the championship from The Destroyer and "Crazy" Luke Graham won it from Toyonobori then I guess Pedro defeated Graham to sync it back up. First Fall: I think a lot of how much you like the Destroyer is predicated on how much you like his schtick. I would posit that a lot of the novelty is that he is a masked man known for his technical abilities but he is out there hootin' & hollerin' talking a lot of trash in 1965. All those things combined make for a very novel act when viewing through 21st Century eyes. There are people that do trash talk well filed under Henry, Mark. As much as I love verbal selling, actual talking in coherent sentences is usually a turn off for me. It can come off as inorganic and forced. Doing it for the sake of doing it. My personal jury is out on that aspect of The Destroyer. Toyonobori I dont know much about and I should have done some research first. He is a stocky, bare-foot fellow. The first 15 minutes of the match is worked around an arm stretcher (or arm puller). Destroyer is complaining about mask pulls at the start. I liked that Toyonobori swept Destroyer's head on a bridge with his right foot. I am a mark for sweeps and I enjoyed that a lot. Basic premise is Destroyer almost gets out and gets pulled back down. When he does get free, Toyonobori uses an Oo-soto-gari for 3-4 occasions to bring him back down into the same hold. I would predict that we are moving out of the arm-stretcher now. The last escape was Destroyer made it to the ropes and was barking at the ref about counting to five and breaking the hold faster. This feels like a complete reset. That reminds me if you enjoy Destroyer trash talk probably the most memorable spot is when stands up in the arm-stretcher forcing Toyonobori's shoulders down and yells "Count 1-2-3!". Again this reminds me of 21st Century heeling as he did this in the Inoki match I watched. I am still forming my opinion. He is not a slam dunk, love at first sight wrestler like Dick Murdoch or Yoshiaki Fujiwara. They actually do go back to the arm-stretcher to both my surprise and chagrin (I have a lot of patience, but it was wearing thin). Destroyer is using more boot scrapes and seems to be angling for the Figure-4. As he was about to apply the Figure-4 while stepping on Toyonobori's head, Toyonobori pulls the mask of Destroyer to take him down. This leads to an amusing visual. Destroyer uses a combination of boot scrapes and eye pokes to gain the advantage. Then it is a flurry of knee lifts and the Tree of Woe that do Toyonobori in. Not the most climatic finish to the first fall. Toyonobori's camp and the referee accuse Destroyer of those knees being a little low. Destroyer's retort is "I have never hit a man below the belt, what do you think my name is Blassie?" popped me huge. Alright, Destroyer fans I think he has won me over. That was fucking awesome! Second Fall: Longer second fall than traditionally. Toyonobori gets a modicum of revenge in a firefight in the corner that leads to a biel by him. Destroyer goes to the Surfboard Test of Strength. The Puroresu fascination with Surfboard started early. I like tests of strength spots so I am all for it. Would like to see it make a comeback nowadays. Destroyer ends up on the losing end and goes to the ropes. Destroyer works a Short Arm Scissors next, which I love. Plenty of hootin' & hollerin' and shenanigans like the ol shin across the throat while barking at the ref. Toyonobori plucks at the mask. Toyonobori gets his foot on the ropes, but Destroyer is being purposefully obtuse asserting this his elbow to the side is not illegal, but the ref is really trying to break for the ropes. Destroyer sneaks in a knee. Toyonobori is finally pissed. Destroyer looks funny with his mask and doing the 'ol Timeout spot. Toyonobori asskicking levels dont get to where I want them to be. I want a Garvin or a Hashimoto that just tears through this asshole and we dont get that. Destroyer is outside complaining about something. What a blowhard! He wants the ref to raise his hand for some reason there was a sleeper/choke in the ropes, maybe thats it. Shut the fuck up and wrestle. A real slam, bang finish stretch. Bodyslam, backbody drop and Boston Crab dead center in the ring for the submission victory for Toyonobori. I think The Destroyer is entertaining but flirts with annoying. He definitely does not get to the intensity level I want in my pro wrestling. Needed to go to Mass, prayed for Destroyer & Toyonobori as they have both passed. Got me some Chipotle and I am ready to finish this bad boy. Third Fall: Destroyer is cowering in the corner. I checked Cagematch and it said the match is a 60 minute draw. We dont have the complete match then. I think we are missing 8-10 minutes of the third fall. Unless they are counting the breaks in between falls as a part of the time. Nice Greco-Roman takedown from the Destroyer out of a bearhug. Lots of leg grappling near the ropes. Toyonobori wrenches the Destroyer's leg across the apron. Destroyer takes two of the Ray Stevens/Ric Flair Flips in the corner which were highlights. The heat was off the charts when Toyonobori went for the Boston Crab at this point. I thought this was the climax of the fall. The wrestling kinda petered out after that. Destroyer bodyslams Toyonobori on the fall. Drops the knee from the apron. The countout tease was pretty good there. Toyonobori has the Full Nelson on Destroyer stomps his bare feet and the bell rings signaling time has expired. Definitely not the best one hour draw I have ever seen. There are amusing parts to it. I like camp in wrestling and I like clowning. Destroyer has not really done it for me yet besides that one quip about Blassie that popped me. Toyonobori didnt quite bring the fire like I wanted him to. He would slug him here and there and I would be excited, he's really going to rip into him, but never happens. Baba and Inoki have much more charisma than him. I did look up his Wiki and it is extremely interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyonobori I highly recommend it. He was basically the second banana after Rikidozan. When Rikidozan died, he took over as the top star. It sounds like there was a power play and Baba took over as the top star expelling him. Then Toyonobori became affiliated with the first rival promotion to JWA, IWA. He was also a Rikishi in Sumo, which I kinda figure since he was bare foot. Baba & Inoki are the more interesting wrestlers so not surprised he was supplanted even if sucked for him. It was an alright match which is fine to say after 20 minutes or so, but after an hour that is damning with faint praise. ***

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk Jr vs Giant Baba - JWA 12/3/69 Two Out of Three Falls Junior had been World Champion for almost a year at this point having defeated "Big Thunder" Gene Kiniski in Tampa, Fl. First Fall: Big Match Atmosphere. Dory Funk is 28 years old and Baba is 31 years old and they are in their prime. I think thats the weird thing about analyzing Dory & Baba is that if youre looking at the 80s footage only they are already in their 40s! They are really late 60s/70s wrestlers and need to be evaluated on that basis. It is cool we have this match. For Baba, it really makes a light year's difference watching this. You see Baba has the charisma and the psychology in the 80s, but he is a bit too gentle, awkward, and stilted for me. In the 60s, the dude was a rockstar, athletics and an amazing sympathetic babyface, which seems so counter-intuitive but it just works. Junior has someone in a Ten Gallon hat, I am assuming it is Terry but I cant get a good look at him. Baba works a seven-ten split standing Toehold. Baba lands a wicked overhand slap. This aint 80s Baba. Junior works out of it and they tussle in the corner. Dory bars the arm and then works a Short Arm Scissors, one of my favorite holds. Baba is so good selling and struggling in the hold. Baba goes back to the toehold and then morphs into a single leg crab. Dory comes out swinging. He can NOT negotiate the Butterfly Suplex twice and even the Spinning Toehold is too difficult to apply to Baba because he is do damn big. Baba kicks off forcefully and Junior powders. I get a good look at the man in the Ten Gallon hat. God it looks like Terry, but he looks older than Dory then it hits me IS THAT SENIOR?!?! I looked up Wiki, yep I am 99% sure it Dory Sr. based on pictures and the fact he didnt die until 1973. That must have a cool experience for father-son to get travel the world and get to watch his kid wrestle as the World Champion. I have never seen Senior before; I marked out. Baba comes out roaring with a Sleeper...Senior says that's his hold, fight it. Dory does fight it, but Baba is dogged and Baba lands his patented neckbreaker drop to win the first fall to a big pop! Baba 1-0. Apparently, there was a ten minute cut at some point, I didnt even notice. Second Fall: As is customary, this is a short fall. Baba builds off the momentum of the first fall. He is just slicing and dicing Junior. Chops, big boots, really doing him. Dory is throwing wild punches missing by a mile, great bump off the bottom rope came right back up and fed Baba. Baba goes for the chop, Dory puts on the breaks and heads for the hill. His Dad tries to coach him up. It works at Dory is tenacious going for the Spinning Toehold. After two failed attempts this fall, the third time is the charm and it takes about half a dozen rotations to get the Giant to submit. Effective, exciting fall that got the Spinning Toe hold over. I love that Dory Sr. on the break looks to check on Baba only to nonchalantly step on the bad leg. Great heeling and leads to some garbage flying. Third Fall: This would not look out of place at all in 2021. The more things change, the more they stay the same. It is total slam, bang, bombfest, light on selling/consequence/reaction just more workrate and there is even a table. There is a very obvious cut. Baba is on fire here with the Sleeper and Surfboard. Senior is barking not to give up, the time limit is almost up. I love Senior being held back but scoops up his son's leg to break up the surfboard. The ref I thought ejected Senior, but I see him later. The Cobra Clutch Baba used had the most heat of all "the nearfalls" I think thats when the crowd and myself believed Baba had the best chance to pull this off. Dory goes to the eyes. The first time was cool and felt desperate & cheap. Then he kept going back and it was weird that the ref didnt get involved. I forget this was before or after the Cobra Clutch but Dory somehow in the midst of a sleeper scoots over the top rope. I think this leads to the big brawl on the floor, which leads to them fighting over a chair. Then Junior throws a table in the ring! IN 1969! He ends up smashing the table into Baba's head. Baba basically no sells it to go to the next spot which I believe is a Big Chop nearfall. Nothing has changed, folks. There are some real good chops especially from Baba. They feel thunderous. I would have liked more of those bitchin' Junior European Uppercuts. I think these guys would be best just trading hands. They were trading nearfalls and bombs down the stretch. They are throwing hands down the stretch and it is a Baba backbreaker but Junior is saved by the bell. Total slam, bang action. I think we get 25 minutes of a 60 minute draw so not enough to rate it, but enough to tell that Senior was an all-timer as a manager and these two could do mat grappling, big bomb throwing or trade hands. Worth a watch probably in the **** vicinity,

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk Jr. vs Seiji Sakaguchi - JWA 12/9/71 Two out of Three Falls Very interested by this match as most JWA matches feature either Baba or Inoki, so this is a seemingly rare glimpse to see what Sakaguchi future New Japan lieutenant could do when left to his own devices. This NWA Championship belt is the generation before the Ten Pounds of Gold and Junior has Terry & Dicky Murdoch with him. First Half: Very enjoyable NWA Championship wrestling. I do not understand people that say Junior is dry or slow. His European Uppercuts look phenomena (the fired off a couple off at the beginning and even went for the Butterfly Suplex early, but surrendered) and he is always shooting for takedowns or working in and out of holds. No one would confuse Dory with Harley or Flair, but he does let Sakaguchi win most of the mini-battles in the beginning. Lots of great Fireman Carries and I loved Junior's drop toehold and seamless roll into short leg scissors (calf-slicer). Sakaguchi has a nice power out. They do the Benoit/Scorpio monkey flip/knucklelock sequence in 1971 and Dory ends up in a body scissors. I am sure other people aped it even before Benoit/Scorpio, but they were the first I ever saw do it and I remember my mind was blown. Junior expertly transitions this Body Scissors into a Boston Crab. Sakaguchi powers out again. Dory is maybe looking for an abdominal stretch but he executes a banana split roll-up. Sakaguchi proficiently transitions this into an Inverted Deathlock ala Jushin Liger and his leaves Dory hobbled. Sakaguchi is like a shark smelling blood and zeroes in on the leg. Dory escapes to the outside and Terry & Dicky massage the leg. This match has been sneaky. I was just vibing with the matwork and all of sudden we got serious drama on our hands. Sakaguchi tries for an abdominal stretch too close and Dory biels out. Sakaguchi executes a nice single leg pick up from his knee. I love the tenacity. In the spot of the match thus far, Junior applies a headscissors with his ankles instead of his knees and it looked painful as hell. He then snapped Sakaguchi off. Awesome spot. Enjoying this one and excited to see where it goes in the backhalf. Got hungry and was listening to Jericho's pod and found Headbanger's Ball was back so I needed to check that out. I am back now with the second half. Second Half: Dory comes out from firing from the headscissors as Sakaguchi attempted another single leg pick up. European Uppercuts then the Funk family tradition of crashing down on an opponent's neck & spine when they are sitting. It looks brutal. I love how Sakaguchi fights through Junior's offense and earn his comeback with stiff overhand chops. Crowd comes alive for the backbreaker but really loses it for the Atomic drop! 1-2-3! First fall to Sakaguchi. Terry & Murdoch look worried. Second fall goes longer than I expected. When it spilled to the outside, I thought Sakaguchi was going to drop the fall by countout. Dory gets pissed when he cant negotiate the Buttefly Suplex. Terry and Murdoch jump on the apron. Sakaguchi grabs a sleeper...Dory slips out tries ab stretch...Sakaguchi bucks him off...headlock...Dory back suplex 1-2-3! All knotted up. Dory reminds me of Flair when he was in a grueling contests, really selling overwhelmed. The Sakaguchi camp is claiming it was only two, but Sakaguchi looks rough. They came out all Slam Bang in the third fall. Both men looked beat up and exhausted, they were just going to throw it all out there. Dory hits that gnarly splash on the sitting opponent. I love that the finish is a Butterfly Suplex. I have seen enough Junior matches to know I like him a good bit, but this cements it for me that Junior is a fun, Slam Bang wrestler. Sakaguchi was fine, but he just does not have the presence of a Baba or Inoki. ****

Antonio Inoki vs The Destroyer - JWA 5/19/71 This is on the same show as the JWA World League Final pitting Giant Baba vs Abdullah The Butcher so a pretty stacked card. This is my first ever Destroyer match so I am pretty psyched! Is The Destroyer the Father of LOLWrestling (TM Johnny P)? He had the crowd snickering throughout. I can appreciate a good strut after escaping the headscissors, but landing on the ref and making a joke out of it and the small package spot made people laugh was a bit much, counting loudly 1-2-3 quickly when he had reversed a headscissors into pinning predicament sounds like something an annoying wrestling heel in 2021 would do. Maybe 21st century wrestling has ruined it for me, but his shenanigans didnt do much for me. I liked some of his more charismatic moment such as getting dumped over the top rope and jawing with the fans, the aforementioned strut and I liked the run up the ropes side headlock takedown. It didnt help that this match out of these moments is pretty dry. The only thing cool thus far are Inoki headscissor takedowns. The reason I like these so much is that Inoki is performing them while Destroyer is bent over making them look more organic. I especially liked the first one while Destroyer was running the ropes. Halfway through this has been more miss than hit. That being said, this is NOT one of the Destroyer's more heralded matches so if it ends up being a stinker thats fine, I have a couple more to get to so no one panic. :p I thought I was halfway through turns out there was like only five minutes left. One thing I liked in addition to Inoki's headscissors takedowns was how Destroyer was blocking the Abdominal Stretch. Loved how Inoki countered the Figure-4. The Destroyer missed a dropkick great crash & burn. Inoki goes in for the kill with the Abdominal Stretch but Destroyer reverses into the Figure-4. Good struggle, they end up tumbling to the outside for the double countout. The post-match puts the Figure-4 over huge. Recommendation to skip nothing to see here. The only strong positive was how Inoki was doing his headscissor takedowns. I will continue to watch The Destroyer with an open mind.

NWA International Tag Team Champions Giant Baba & Antonio Inoki vs Dory & Terry Funk - JWA 8/4/1970 Two Out of Three Falls Cagematch has Baba & Inoki listed as B-I Cannon which I dont know how I feel about, but a cool piece of trivia. We only get 12 minutes or so of a 32 minute match so no rating, but this has a lot going for it. Terry Funk with bright blond hair definitely stood out, took me a second to recognize him. The Funks worked as very American heels. Loved Terry taking the Ray Stevens bump into Dory Funk as Dory was hanging in the Tree of Woe. It is interesting that Baba was the one who liked to sell more and play that sympathetic role while Inoki brought the piss & vinegar on the hot tag. Baba did come roaring back. The Funks needed to double up all their moves on the Giant, double fists and double butterfly suplex. When Baba & Inoki look like they have things going their way, The Funk clobber the ref and throw him out. This triggers the DQ in the first fall. Missing 20 minutes of the first fall. The second fall is complete. It features a great Terry Funk bump to the floor and some badass Baba offense. He starts red-hot against Dory and then just dismantles Terry's bandaged knee. If we had the full thing, I bet this would go down as an all-time great tag team match!

NWA United National Champion Antonio Inoki vs Dick Murdoch - JWA 12/4/71 Two Out Of Three Falls After the Five Star Classic between Inoki & Jack Brisco on August 5th, I was salivating at the prospect of this match (ok, it has been two years since I watched Inoki/Brisco, work with me here). I am a big Dicky Murdoch mark and Inoki is someone I usually enjoy. I thought was very good, but did not quite hit the spot, but it was definitely solid and worth a watch. First Fall: Symmetry to start with leg dives and a handshake. Inoki gets an armbar, but Murdoch fireman carries out. Murdoch gets an armdrag out of a collar & elbow, but over-rotates into a headscissors. They work that for a while. Murdoch works hard to escape. He goes into a rope running spot and eats an armdrag. This leads to the story of the first half of the first fall. Murdoch starts to rush and pay for it. It is interesting in the 70s that the wrestler supplying the energy tends to be the one that comes out on the losing end. Murdoch is creating the motion, but in his impatience ends up eating the armdrag or ending up in the hold. This is far more realistic. I see this style along with the Flair style as a way for the "heel" to show he is overwhelmed, anxious at the prospect of losing and impatient. They start trying to use motion to create chaos and find an opening. They end up on the losing end. We see Murdoch ball up his fist in a top wristlock. Then he uses the trunks to shove Inoki off into the ropes. He is using more short cuts, his frustration and/or anxiety is rising. Inoki blows a headscissors takedown, but they cover for it organically and he hits minutes afterwards which is a much smarter way to cover a blown spot. I didn't love the transition to Murdoch's heat segment as I love big, epic transitions, but that is my personal, subjective tastes. Murdoch just kneelifts Inoki. I cant say I love Murdoch's reliance on the nervehold, but I did like how much he choked. I think it was the home stretch that Inoki did get the headscissors, which was a better place for the spot anyways. He nails a very nice uppercut dropkick. He misses the second time and on that crash & burn, Murdoch pounces and scoops him up into a Brainbuster (more like a vertical suplex). My favorite fall of the match. I really liked the beginning story and how they worked holds. Murdoch's heat segment was not as clinical in its proficiency & efficiency as I have seen in the past. I thought the finish run was big time. Murdoch 1-0. With New Japan ready to start in 3 months, I think Murdoch has a distinct shot of winning here, that I otherwise would not have. Second Fall: Per usual, the shortest fall of the three. We get some big bombs. Murdoch atomic drop & backbreaker. Inoki gets his big Abdominal Stretch. Murdoch hiptoses him over the top rope and they both go tumbling ass over tea kettle to the floor. Inoki bulldogs his head into the post was for the countout victory. Solid little bridge. Tied 1-1. Third Fall: Inoki is FIRED UP! Rips into Murdoch throws him face-first hard into the buckles and canvas. He quite literally knocks the snot out of him. We see that cool Murdoch sell of eating canvas. I liked Murdoch getting his elbows up on the lateral press dive. Murdoch goes back to choking. MURDOCH BRAINBUSTER 1-2-NO! Murdoch hooks him up again, but Inoki reverses into his own BRAINBUSTER FOR THREE! Is it 1971 or 2021? The whole big finish of the first fall not working in the third fall and then the finish steal left a bad taste in my mouth. I am more annoyed with the former. The first fall is worth it alone and the rest of matches has plenty of big bomb eye-candy to keep one engaged. ***3/4

Giant Baba vs Abdullah The Butcher - JWA 5/19/71 World League Final Abby looks positively svelte compared to the tub of goo that I saw in 1984. I always expect him to be taller. He is very mobile here too. This the penultimate World League as next year would be the final year of the World League as 1972 is when the split between All Japan and New Japan. I am always impressed how they could make Baba who is quite literally a Giant so sympathetic. They do it here with all the dastardly cheating from Abdullah. He starts with a throat thrusts and some headbutts. He forces Baba out of the ring and bounces him off the announce table. I thought it was Baba, who unleashed War Cry on his comeback, but I think it was a well-timed fan. Baba's chops and energy looked awesome here. He really gave Abdullah his receipt including bouncing his head off the table as payback. Abdullah reaches down into the tights; I was thinking it was the fork, but he may have not innovated yet. It looks like a hard piece of cylindrical plastic. He jabs and prods into Baba's head drawing blood. I love that Abby hides it under his armpit at one point. Baba is still about eye level even on one knee. Baba unleashes a FEROCIOUS chop on one knee. Terrific. He rips into Abby and bulldogs his head into the ringpost, which may have drawn blood hard to tell. Baba goes for the finish, big chop and then the big boot but only for two. Whips him in dropkick another two. Is it 1971 or 2021? Lol. Abby mount a comeback with headbutts, but misses a running elbow to eat the fall. The match was sub-ten minutes, but it was energetic. It could have built to more heat. I liked Baba's performance a lot especially when he was fighting off one knee. Abby was more mobile but still reliant on the foreign object. I would liked to seen him get more vicious. It really built to something. This is just plain solid, fundamental babyface vs heel brawling. Can never go wrong with that. ***1/4

The penultimate episode of the Top 25 Best of Japan 2000s with @dawho5 we break into Top Ten, #10-#6 of our lists on the Pro Wrestling Love! Lots of variety here, NOAH, New Japan, BattlArt and even MUGA! We start getting into the matches I think are ***** classics! I am really happy how my break down of the Tanahashi formula came out so take a listen. I really have grown to love Tanahashi and I came to play here. Mike gives plenty of love for early 2000s New Japan including an Inokiism classic, Hashimoto & Iizuka vs Ogawa & Murakami in an all-out fracas at the Dome. Plus lots of love for Kenta Kobashi! Check it out here and let us know what you think! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-h5t24-fd5d6c

Couple things I want to respond to: 1. Elliot "Cornette was adding a lot to those Midnight Express matches that got Bobby Eaton such a high ranking in 2016". This smacks me as bizarre. Bobby Eaton is voted on for being tremendously fun heel in babyface shine doing a bump 'n' run style with lots of stooging and clowning spots and for being a terrific offensive dynamo during heat segments where he executed with conviction whilst ensuring drama built to the hot tag. Are we not judging Bobby Eaton's individual performance in each match? I was proudly the high voter on "Sweet" Stan Lane at #64 (see my avatar) but I had Bobby Eaton in my top 30. I clearly valued certain things Eaton did more such as I prefer his Sweet Home Alabama Right Hand to Sweet Stan's white man karate. At least for me, Eaton made my list on his own merits that was immaterial to what Cornette did or did not do. That being said I do not underestimate their chemistry. Bobby knew when during the shine to crawl on his knees over to his corner or when to hug Cornette for maximum effect. To use a Matt D term Cornette is a "tool". Of course, I dont mean an idiot, but a living prop. I dont think Eaton makes the list simply because he was part of great matches. It is what he did in those matches to make them great. 2. A couple people coming on here making some bold ass claims that they prefer great pro wrestling with shitty builds to awesome promos/builds with shitty matches. If that was the case, everyone would be huge AJ Styles fans and huge Sheamus fans and yet here we are and nobody wants to watch TNA or recent WWE! :p I do believe you, El-P because you are a champion and a glutton for punishment. Grimmas I am sure you are telling the truth too. I just dont think that really extends to most people. I say this because I had relatively recent revelation about myself: I am a fan of pro wrestling matches, but I am not sure I am a fan of pro wrestling anymore. I totally was at one point and I dont know when it happened, but it did. That's why I watch RAW & Smackdown week in & week out and am generally a positive viewer. The WWE still puts on great matches even if their storytelling is either non-existent or piss-poor. I think the average WWE match is still better than the average AEW match. When I get into Twitter arguments, no one actually argues on the merits of the in-ring work, they argue on booking/promos/character & plot development. I do believe AEW has WWE beaten in spades on booking/promos/character & plot development. I think you can incorporate the out of ring aspects of people into their matches through crowd heat & in-ring charisma. A crowd will be hotter if the booking/promos are hotter in the lead-up. Watch Cena vs Punk before Money In The Bank 2011 compared to at Money In The Bank 2011. Punk and Cena should be credited for creating a bona fide hot program that translated into a hot match even though I do think that particular match is a tad bit overrated. My point is that we should not delude ourselves into thinking that we just love pro wrestling matches, other things do influence us. I will say this I think a very important aspect of watching matches is to understand a wrestler's character. In America, the character is a combination of promos/in-ring. What is sad in post-2001 America is that those two things dont always align. I think it is just as equally as important in Japan. Certain characters are apparent the minute you watch them Choshu, Fujiwara, Kobashi and Hashimoto. They exude charisma out of every pore. Once you have seen them once, you feel like you have known them your whole life. Fujiwara is a great example for me. Never watched a Fujiwara match before 2016. I watched one and I was hooked. I'll give you the opposite examples Misawa and Fujinami. Misawa I totally get now. At first, it is non-obvious who is Misawa? As you watch more, you understand he is Michael Jordan. When the chips are down, you know he is going to pull through and his extended comeback is the stuff of legend. I will use Fujinami in a different context. I still dont know who Fujinami is. That is one of my key goals is to understand Fujinami. I think that's the point of this project. You should be able to explain Who a wrestler is at the end of the project and make a case based on those merits. I have officiated two weddings for my friends and I always include this line that I heard in Mass one day "Dont love someone for what they do for you, love them for who they are.". I think that sums up GWE to me. It is not about what moves you do, if you have great matches, or any actions. It is about who you are and comparing based on that. EDIT: Was re-reading my post as I am notorious for missing small words when I type (I dont know how you all read my long-ass reviews with all those missing words and never call me out. You are all saints and thank you for that) and I realized an incongruity. I based my rationale on why Bobby Eaton is better than Stan Lane on something he did better (an action not a trait). I think what separates the top tier my list from the bottom is definable character. I dont think I really know who Stan Lane is. I enjoy the Fabulous Ones and Midnight Express. But who is Stan Lane? How can I vote for him at #64? I would say this and some way think this is a cop-out, but honestly, most pro wrestlers suffer from either amorphous or non-existent characters and that's why the bottom half or more would be filled with people I enjoy watching or think are really great at individual facets of wrestling instead of the whole thing. I think the very best will have well-defined characters. I think someone like a Bobby Eaton will finish about as high as you can without having a strong character because he is so good at the how, when and why of pro wrestling. I am still thinking this all through. Sorry for rambling.

October-November 1983 (7 Episodes)...Watched these last night. The last thing I ever watched on the Network was Paul Jones & Assassins cutting a promo on Dory Funk Jr. What a run we had! I will miss The Network. Babyfaces *Heels Ric Flair & Wahoo McDaniel Roddy Piper Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood Charlie Brown From Outta Town Rufus R. Jones & Bugsy McGraw Angelo Mosca Mark Youngblood Dick Slater &Bob Orton Greg Valentine Jack & Jerry Brisco Great Kabuki w/Gary Hart Assassins w/Paul Jones Sullivan & Lewin w/Gary Hart *Harley Race Travelling World Champion October 8, 1983 Greensboro: Singles Match Rufus R. Jones defeats Dory Funk Jr. Tag Team Match Bugsy McGraw & Mark Youngblood defeat The Assassins (Assassin #1 & Assassin #2) Tag Team Match Charlie Brown & Roddy Piper defeat Baron von Raschke & Gary Hart Tag Team Match Bob Orton Jr. & Dick Slater vs. Ric Flair & Wahoo McDaniel - Double DQ October 16th Six Man Tag Team Match Bugsy McGraw, Dory Funk Jr. & Mark Youngblood defeat Paul Jones & The Assassins (Assassin #1 & Assassin #2) Singles Match Wahoo McDaniel defeats Dick Slater by DQ Singles Match Ric Flair defeats Bob Orton Jr. Starrcade 1983: Tag Team Match The Assassins (Assassin #1 & Assassin #2) (w/Paul Jones) defeat Bugsy McGraw & Rufus R. Jones (8:12) Tag Team Match Kevin Sullivan & Mark Lewin (w/Gary Hart) defeat Johnny Weaver & Scott McGhee (6:42) Singles Match Abdullah The Butcher defeats Carlos Colon (4:29) Tag Team Match Bob Orton Jr. & Dick Slater defeat Mark Youngblood & Wahoo McDaniel (14:46) NWA Television Title Vs. Mask Match Charlie Brown defeats The Great Kabuki (w/Gary Hart) (c) (10:35) - TITLE CHANGE !!! Dog Collar Match Roddy Piper defeats Greg Valentine (16:08) NWA World Tag Team Title Match (Special Referee: Angelo Mosca) Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat defeat The Brisco Brothers (Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco) (c) (12:59) - TITLE CHANGE !!! NWA World Heavyweight Title Steel Cage Match (Special Referee: Gene Kiniski) Ric Flair defeats Harley Race (c) (23:49) - TITLE CHANGE !!! 1. Starrcade 1983 - When you watch week to week TV before Starrcade and then watch the build to Starrcade 1983. It is night and day. I had never seen such a singular purpose in their TV. Everything from the first week of October to the event was completely geared towards Starrcade. Correct me if I am wrong, but I dont think there was a show like this before. Every single match on the card (except Abby/Colon) had build from the TV. This was the birth of modern day pro wrestling TV with its singular focus on Starrcade. You could tell from the outset they planned on making this an annual tradition and were getting fans to think of it that way so that Starrcade could start to sell itself in the future. It is pretty amazing that Dusty & Crockett beat Vince to the punch in doing this style of booking. At one point, Dusty explains where the name comes from. We dont live in deCADES we live in a starrCADE. LOL! Only to the Dream would that make sense! They put as much effort into building Starrcade up as a brand as they do the show. That is genius! They have all the promoters bid on the Flair vs Race dream rematch and then Crockett names it Starrcade. Just like today cities actually bid on WrestleMania. They hype the specific date and location. Then each week they add a match to the card. Up until this point, you generally knew who was feuding, but you didnt know if it would be a tag team match in Greensboro and the blowoff in Charlotte, or vice versa, what permutation you would get in Norfolk or Greenville. This was the first time they really spelled who was going to face who and that this would be the blowoff to a lot of angles. I guess people say Final Conflict was the inspiration for Starrcade. Unfortunately, I didnt get to watch January/February 1983. I did watch March 1983. At least the night of the Final Conflict, there was not even a peep about Steamboat/Youngblood vs Sarge/Kernodle or any other matches. I am not saying Final Conflict was not absurdly successful. It was. The promotional level for Starrcade for on a whole another planet. 2. Dory Funk Jr turns on Paul Jones. Dory was the only big name not to appear on Starrcade 1983 and what makes it weirder is that he sticks around throughout 1984 so I am surprised him & Rufus did not take on the Assassins. Jake The Snake has left the territory poor timing, bud. Paul Jones has taken on the Assassins Rufus had beaten Dory for the Mid-Atlantic Championship which was part of the reason for the split. Rufus & Assassin I had a tremendous headbutting contest. Basically they took turns headbutting each other and the loser was the person that took a bump. Great weeble wobble selling and of course Assassin loads the mask up for the win. 3. Gary Hart continues to have his troubles with Charlie Brown from Outta Town. I love how he says Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown From Outta Town I love that name so much. He ends up wrestling the Great Kabuki at Starrcade in a title vs mask match even though Kabuki never appears on TV. Gary Hart hypes up Baron Von Raschke who appears on some house shows but never on TV. Kevin Sullivan and Mark Lewin do appear in TV. Mark Lewin is fucking stacked, brutha. Holy shit. Gary Hart and Kevin Sullivan are like oil & water. I sensed some legit heat there in the promos. Sullivan & Lewin spiked Angelo Mosca Jr in Florida and for some reason they took this feud on the road to the Carolinas. They showed the spiking footage and they were cutting promos against each other. 4. Briscos vs Steamboat & Youngblood was pretty boilerplate. They swapped the titles in October with Briscos going into Starrcade as the Champions. Jerry Brisco is a very entertaining promo. I cant put my finger on it. I loved him as a stooge Mr. MacMahon. I think it is the accent and that he talks on the slower side and he seems so mischievous. The Briscos say they are scheduled to defend the World Tag Team Belts against the High Flyers in KC on the night of Starrcade so sorry everyone, but no can do. Crockett bought out their contract and signs the match! 5. Piper vs Valentine - there was a pretty good Piper & Wahoo vs Valentine & Slater TV match that ended with the heels powdering for a countout loss. Wahoo wants Indian Strap matches and Piper wants the Dog Collar. Piper hands Bob Caudle a gift to give Valentine. Caudle is in his element with his "Aww shucks, Roddy is on the up & up" and the way he withstands the Hammer's grilling. I fucking love Bob Caudle. The present is of course a dog collar. Valentine has a glorious conniption fit. The drama is all about whether they can make it a dog collar match and Crockett makes it so for Starrcade but only because it is FUCKING STARRCADE! I love it. 6. We end on the Man. The false retirement speech was fine. Lets get to best thing I watched in all these episodes I saw, FUCKING UNHINGED, BAT-WIELDING, MANIAC, LUNATIC RIC FLAIR TRYING TO CAVE IN SLATER'S AND ORTON'S SKULLS! Flair's promo the first and second weeks of October is some of the best shit he has ever done. He was a VENGEFUL PSYCHOPATH and it was glorious. When they show the clip of Bob Orton holding David Flair promising to protect his Daddy from any harm from the bounty was awesome! Then Bob Orton saying he would have dumped the kid on his head too if it meant $25,000. HOLY SHIT! Honestly, I was way more excited at the prospect of Bob Orton vs Ric Flair than I was Harley Race. Race was a mediocre at best promo. Orton was a damn good promo and with the heat from the turn. If Flair was not a travelling world champion, December/January should have been nothing but title defenses against Orton. I got to see if we have any film of Flair vs Orton that shit would be good even if there was no angle attached. Flair delivered two of his best promos of all time. Orton damn good promo. I want to learn more about Slater. He definitely didnt wow me on the stick. Since it was Slater & Orton, Wahoo stepped up and tagged with Flair which was a good pairing. Wahoo is a pretty shitty promo. He never seems to know what to say and really just looks confused. The one other thing to catch is the Flair exhibition/workout against Scott McGhee, Dory Funk Jr and Angelo Mosca! There is some really, really good shit here. Flair/McGhee go on the mat and it looks fantastic. Dory works some rope-running/workrate spots that are awesome and there was one really unique spot someone should crib...Flair shouldertackled through a reverse elbow, great bump & sell by Dory. Looked like a million bucks. Then even the Angelo Mosca segment had a cool spot. Mosca hooks up for a suplex, but Flair not only blocks but sweeps the leg for a back heel trip right into the Figure-4! Lots of really good shit packed in there. Highly recommended! Ric Flair is The Man!

September 1983 - Watched this a couple days ago, but didnt have time to write it up. Only two real angles but they are doozies! Babyfaces *Heels Ric Flair Roddy Piper Wahoo McDaniel Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood Rufus R. Jones Charlie Brown From Outta Town Bugsy McGraw Mark Youngblood Dick Slater Greg Valentine (-Maybe-House of Hump) Bob Orton Jack & Jerry Brisco Dory Funk Jr. & Jake The Snake w/Paul Jones Great Kabuki w/Gary Hart Assassins *Harley Race Travelling World Champion September 18th Greensboro: Tag Team Match Bugsy McGraw & Charlie Brown defeat Dick Slater & The Great Kabuki Lumberjack Match Wahoo McDaniel defeats Greg Valentine NWA World Tag Team Title Match Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat defeat The Brisco Brothers (Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco) (c) by DQ 1. Ric Flair bounty angle. Harley put a $25,000 bounty on the head of the Nature Boy. They have the best Flair vs Harley match I have seen to this day on 8/31/83 only for Dicky Slater and that traitor Bob Orton to collect the bounty with a spike piledriver and neck crank. They devote an entire episode of TV to the match and the angle. I love how they get everyone's reactions after. Jimmy Crockett is fuming. He only fines them $5000. So they still have $20000. I love that Bob Orton's response to all this is that Flair now knows he is only worth $5000 to the Crocketts. Orton is great in these heel promos. Honestly, I feel like Slater & Orton have way more heat on them and they should be the Tag Champions going into Starrcade. They were crushing it as promos especially Bob Orton. 2. Charlie Brown From Outta Town maybe my favorite wrestling name of all time! The gist is as I understand him and Kabuki were feuding over the TV title in a Loser Leaves Town match. Gary Hart & The Briscos pulled some shenanigans with the tape that would have exposed a Kabuki loss but instead Valiant lost. Here comes Charlie Brown From Outta Town! This is the one angle I disagree with all wrestling fans about. These angles are so much fun! It is painfully obvious that is Valiant but that is the fucking point! You want to see the heels get frustrated and lose their cool. You point and laugh at the heels and you cheer their your hero who was wronged is still able to compete. It is pro fucking wrestling. Sometimes I think wrestling fans are just literal cranks.

August 1982 (3 episode) - Massive Month of Transition - Highly recommend checking this out as there a lot of major shift. Piper turns babyface! Wahoo/Sarge is Blown Off! Humperdink leadsthe heel side! Paul Jones turns heel! Flair vs Brisco on TV! All this and much, much more! Babyfaces *Heels Wahoo McDaniel Jack Brisco Jimmy Valiant Ricky Steamboat Roddy Piper Jay Youngblood Sgt. Slaughter Paul Jones Ivan Koloff/Jos LeDuc (House of Hump) Leroy Brown (House of Hump) Greg Valentine The Privates *Ric Flair Travelling World Champion August 7th Greensboro, NC: Tag Team Match Angelo Mosca & Gene Anderson defeat Jay Youngblood & Johnny Weaver Singles Match Ricky Steamboat defeats Leroy Brown by DQ NWA Television Title New York Street Fight Jimmy Valiant (c) defeats Ivan Koloff by DQ NWA World Heavyweight Title Best Two Out Of Three Falls Match Wahoo McDaniel defeats Ric Flair (c) by DQ [2:1] - McDaniel besiegt Flair (14:00) - Flair besiegt McDaniel (26:00) - Flair wird disqualifizert August 21st Greensboro: Six Man Tag Team Match Jerry Brisco, Mike Rotunda & Roddy Piper defeat Paul Jones, Ric Flair & Sir Oliver Humperdink Siberian Glove Match Jimmy Valiant defeats Ivan Koloff Non Title Lumberjack Match Wahoo McDaniel defeats Sgt. Slaughter 1. Lots of blowoffs in the first week of August. Jack Brisco defeats Piper for the Mid-Atlantic Championship and Valiant wins the TV Title from Ivan Koloff 2. Piper rips up a contract from Humperdink after Hump says he wouldnt lost if Hump was in his corner. Piper starts teaming with Valiant and Steamboat. I didnt know I needed "Boogie Woogie" Jimmy Valiant and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper as a tag team in my life, but I am sure better having born witness to it! Their promo after was sheer madness. Piper did have a good line "Leroy Brown, gets himself a earring, very becoming, becoming an idiot." I popped for that. We missed the August 14th episode but it wasnt the hottest angle ever, but Piper was ready to be babyface. Babyface side is stacked. Slaughter/Valentine are more than enough to keep the scales even. 3. There was another turn this month as Paul Jones jumped Jack Brisco at the behest of Hump and will win the Mid-Atlantic Championship the first week of September. Mike Rotundo chocks it up to all the self-improvement books Paul Jones had been reading. Popped me huge! Never did trust those books. 4. Sarge vs Wahoo was blown off in August. Sarge tore up the headdress and wants to "scalp" Wahoo in a Title vs Hair match. That's a big money stipulation they run it in Charlotte on August 22nd and Sarge drops the title and get suspended for 30 days for cutting chunks off of Wahoo's hair anyways. Sarge would be cycled into the tag division for the remainder of his run. While, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (member of the House of Hump) would take up is mantle and feud & win the US Title from Wahoo. 5. Jos LeDuc has debuted and he is fast becoming a favorite of mine. He is taking the Ivan Koloff role and will be feuding with the "Boogie Boogie Man" (LeDuc's words not mine). 6. Last but not least, the angle of the month was Ric Flair vs Jack Brisco! What a month Flair had in August of '82, the awesome Memphis angle with Jerry Lawler (he busts out Country Jive in both angles), the insanely awesome match with Kerry Von Erich and then this one. This made a Flair WWE DVD set so I have seen it before, but had never seen the angle. Flair is hootin' hollerin' about beating up Wahoo and he will never face him again and that Jimmy Crockett cant do anything about it. Flair is supposed to wrestle a jobber but says it aint happenin'. Wahoo/Steamboat come out and he says he will wrestle the guy in the ring, but the jobber has been replaced by Jack Brisco! Awesome! I have seen the match before and it is good stuff!

July 1982 (5 episodes) Excited for this month to see the red hot Piper & Brisco angle: Babyfaces *Heels Wahoo McDaniel Jack & Jerry Brisco Jimmy Valiant Ricky Steamboat Jay Youngblood Jake The Snake Roberts & Paul Jones Sgt. Slaughter Roddy Piper & Don Muraco Ivan Koloff (House of Hump) Leroy Brown (House of Hump The Great Kabuki/Ninja (House of Hump The Privates *Ric Flair Travelling World Champion July 3rd Greensboro: Tag Team Match Jake Roberts & Paul Jones defeat Gene Anderson & The Ninja NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title Match Jack Brisco (c) defeats Roddy Piper Non Title Steel Cage Match Ivan Koloff defeats Jimmy Valiant NWA World Heavyweight Title Match Ric Flair (c) defeats Wahoo McDaniel by DQ July 17th Greensboro: Singles Match Paul Jones defeats Angelo Mosca NWA United States Heavyweight Title Match Sgt. Slaughter (c) defeats Wahoo McDaniel by DQ Tag Team Match The Brisco Brothers (Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco) defeat Don Muraco & Roddy Piper 1. I detailed the Piper/Brisco angle in the Piper vs Brisco match thread, July 10, 1982. They started building to Piper/Muraco vs Brisco Brothers, with a returning Jerry after he was put out of action by Piper. Almost no Piper promos after July 17th. They said he was in Hawaii spending Brisco/Wahoo/Steamboat's money. I dont know how Piper is a babyface by September. No signs of a babyface turn yet. On July 31st, they announce the return of the Nature Boy to the territory to be Piper's tag partner against Jack Brisco & Wahoo McDaniel. That's a star-studded lineup! 2. Sarge vs Wahoo is the other big feud in the territory. You see Wahoo got a crack at Ric Flair in Greensboro. It is clear that he, Jack and Steamboat are carrying the babyface side. Sarge had a good match with Iceman Parsons. I loved him tackling Parsons out of the sky on a dropkick attempt and then a Beautiful Slaughter Cannon. They are building to stipulation matches like Indian strap matches. 3. My Boy, Greg Valentine has re-debuted. I watched him beat the piss out of Keith Larsen. Valentine is so damn good. He brings up beating Backlund for the WWF Championship, breaking Wahoo's leg and busting up Flair's nose. He vanishes in the second half of the month, but excited to have him on the show. 4. Humperdink debuts on TV as he was on none of the June episodes. He is managing Ninja and Ivan Koloff. Koloff's promos are quite humorous especially against the Boogey Man. They are going to have a Siberian Salt Miner's Glove on a pole match, there are spikes on the glove. They demonstrate how it can cut through newspaper. The big angle at the end of the month is that "Bad, Bad" Leroy Brown has joined the House of Hump. I like Leroy as a promo. He is going to be paired with Steamboat. 5. Jake The Snake is languishing in a midcard tag team with Paul Jones, time to head for greener pastures for better grazing, Snakeman!