Superstar Sleeze

I know, right? Outside Cena, Brock or Punk who is really that big of a deal?

Brock.

Hey! I was on WrestleLine when I was 9 years old, I will have you know! Also MoS sorry to pick on you brutha, read some of your posts after, you really enjoyed Tully/JJ and Onita, so youre cool, bro! Though you like Riho, which makes me unsure now.

Man I came in all jazzed up to talk about how awesome Dynamite was and how killer SHAQ VS CODY was, but man wrestling fans gonna be wrestling fans. For the rest of us, who remember what fun is, that opening tag match was killer! Cody bumping & feeding like a pro for Shaq! Shaq going all out, having fun and just being a big mutha trucker in there. His powerbomb was sick! You know what was so refreshing about this match. It was not a damn track meet. People actually took the time to milk the highspots and let the highspots breathe. They reacted to one another. Jade Cargill is gonna be a star. She is IT! Amazing look and effusive charisma. She gets that pro wrestling is about character work. She needs to work on her execution, but that will come with time. Cody just looked like a zillion bucks. The table spot was killer! Cody feels like a pro wrestler not some workrate mark hack. The rest of the show rocked too! Jericho/MJF had one of their better segments in a while. Bloodied Papa Buck last week esp. the blood smears came off great. Bucks prattled a little too long, but we got some retribution. Tully Blachard and JJ were awesome! I was marking out for the shoe and having Tony on the call! FTR vs JX is the best feud in wrestling! Ryo is awesome, she got a great match out of Nyla Rose of all people which I legitimately thought was impossible. Ryo was really, really good. More Ryo, less Riho, yes please! ONITA~! How badass was that! PAC & Fenix should wrestle that long all the time! That's literally all I want from them, just offensive exhibition. As soon as you ask them to sell or do anything remotely involving psychology or plot development, they suck. Keep it under 5 minutes I will be happy. I havent even finished Dynamite, but this was my favorite Dynamite of all time and one the best 2 hour wrestling shows in forever! Loved it!

Alright, brutha @soup23, but dont think Im bumping for you. I am a walking tall babyface :p What's going on, PWOites? It is @Cap & Marty Sleeze comin' at you live with Pro Wrestling Love on the dial. We bust out the Boss, our Hero, Yoshiaki Fujiwara as we heap loads of praise on him. We tackle two of the most polarizing shoot-style matches of all time, click the link to find out what they are...Chad has already gone on record for shaming me for not liking one of them. I am standing tall, baby! We even have a Bob Backlund sighting and it is not me who is gushing over Bob for a change! It is Pro Wrestling Love, give it a spin, let us know what you think. https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-3guva-f9d8e4

Your spoiler alert is pretty misleading...I expected bitter Ric Flair bashing them all, but thats why I clicked because Ric for all his flaws is not the bitter type. He was sad and mournful. He commended them on their individual careers and recommended them to be HOF members on their own and commended Arn on a job well-done. I think Ric has a point to be upset when your "best friend" Arn Anderson does not even reach out in the 8 zillion ways you can reach out nowadays. Personally I am very forgiving, merciful person, I would eventually let it go, but I think Ric is justified in holding this against Arn as it is very bizarre. It is just one side of the story. Ric could have done something that really pissed off Arn and Arn felt the bridge is burned. However, this is the typical petty feud. This is pretty damn legit and pretty damn sad. Open & honest communication is so important and always a good lesson to take from stories like this. Hope for the best for Ric & Arn. EDIT: @C.S. sorry read your later post and it seems like you agree that Flair was not wrong to begrudge them. I will keep the above post just because it is my thoughts on the matter.

@BigBadMick thanks for listening and the kind words. I am glad you enjoy it. I hope you take a chance on Shoot-Style, it can be very satisfying. So @soup23 what do you think should we hook it up Bill Watts-style sometime? Pro Wrestling Love is back & kicking ass for a shoot on this second installment of counting down the Top 25 Japanese Shoot-Style Matches according to me & @Cap. The Tom & Jerry of pro wrestling: Yuki Ishikawa & Daisuke Ikeda make their first appearance and so does the "Soviet Maestro" Volk Han and the badass Masakatsu Funaki. Click it, download and listen and let us know what you think! https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-rqedx-f9d8e1

Glad you got it to work, @BigBadMick ! How did you like it? We have put TNA & WCW to bed, so that means Pro Wrestling Love Volume #11 bring on a new guest @Cap aka Matt who is also an administrator for the Greatest Match Ever Project at gweproject.freeforums.net. We all submit ballots of our 100 Greatest Matches of All Time once a year, this year the voting will be at Summerslam 2021. We have voted in 2019 and 2020 so you can see the final lists at the website above. All are welcome to join the forum which promotes exploration, sharing and discussion around pro wrestling from anytime, any place and any genre. So please come and contribute if you are interested. Matt & I started our five-part journey on the Top 25 Matches in Japanese Shoot-Style History. Enjoy and let us know what you think! https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-6tt2u-f9d8e0

PWF World Tag Team Champions Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy - AJPW 3/5/88 Wow, it was crucial that Tenryu not only won the PWF Championship a couple nights after but stood up to Hansen a couple weeks later because and I dont say this lightly, Hansen made Tenryu his bitch in this match. There is one point Tenryu is trying to save Hara. Hansen just swarms Tenryu and totally overwhelms, punks his ass out. Tenryu has the wisdom to get back in the ring and stand with fists balled up. At least, he looked like a man because that was some shit. It is in the post-match that Hansen just owns Tenryu. He bulldozes Tenryu in the stand. You can see why this got nominated it was for the chaotic finish. Good Gog Almighty, it is amazing, no one was seriously hurt. With more mature eyes, Hansen's wild man performance takes calculated risks. He is dangerous without being too dangerous. This was legitimately scary. He was hurling chairs full force at fans, ringside photographers and attendants. He looked legitimately pissed off. He was tearing shit up. Then to add insult to injury along the ringside area, he just CRACKS Tenryu with a slap. Tenryu & Revolution run to the back like a pack of dogs with their tails tucked between their legs while Hansen is throwing TABLES over the ringpost and chairs at photographers. It was lunacy and mayhem. It was uncomfortable and intoxicating at the same time. He was a man possessed seeing red. Tenryu needed that singles win and to stand up to him. Hansen owned him here. As for the match it was a very alright, All Japan workrate tag team match. Hansen & Gordy gave their usual energetic performance. Given the finish, I was shocked the Champs were given so little. Hansen & Gordy gobbled them up. First it was Tenryu, Hansen bulldozed him and literally kicked him out of the ring. Gordy wrestled a terrible tag match from a kayfabe perspective constantly leaving the path of his opponent to his own corner unguarded. Put a body between your opponent and his partner, bro. It didnt matter because Tenryu or Hara would get these flurries but then Hansen & Gordy would immediately extinguish them. I pointed out that one save that Hansen owned Tenryu on. There were no real highspots. It was just great, physical, active full court press suffocation work from the American bully team. The finish was pretty good. Hansen missed some sort of charge, it looked like he was injured maybe his arm. Revolution starts to double team and they nail an Enziguiri sandwich. Hansen sells this as death. Hansen usually does wounded bear selling where he is actively fighting as he is selling. He sold he was KO'd very rare. It felt like a huge moment. Gordy wrestled king-sized. Throws both Hara and Tenryu out to ringside and fends both off. Hansen nearly kills himself on a Suicide Dive as his feet almost trip on middle rope. Then absolute insane brawl I described above happens. I have no idea why Hansen & Gordy were booked so strong in the body of the match and in the aftermath, but it was bizarre because Tenryu & Hara looked like chumps, which is very rare in Japan, usually both teams get over. Tenryu does win the Championship a couple nights later and then a couple weeks later stands up and punches the bully right in the mouth. Maybe the idea was to heap a truck load of heat onto Hansen to make Tenryu really look good. Body of the match is solid and the brawl after runs it a little extra love. ***1/2

PWF & United National Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen - AJPW 3/27/88 Forget everything I said in the previous review, this was a WAR~! Tenryu delivered; he matched Hasen's pugnacity and stiffness. I liked this even more than the Hansen/Jumbo match before it was red-hot, hate-filled from the start. Tenryu has a bandage over the fresh, raw cut on his eye that Hansen gave him about three weeks ago. You know that a bullseye for Hansen. There is some many good little details than I am going to watch this again live so I can capture them all: Tenryu charges at Hansen and they meet like two rams. One right punch square to the face from Hansne and ten two wicked pops from the left wing. It spills to the outside and Hansen keep firing away at the eye. Tenryu unlike on 3/9 keeps roaring back with chops. Hasnen fights through it. Tenryu tries for the bodyslam but keeps fighting. Enziguiri and Hansen immediately dives with an elbow drop on Tenryu. This is why I love Hansen. He is always moving forward. He is a fucking animal in there. I love the overhead elbow he throws smashing into the cut. Red-hot, hate-filled. Hansen is very literally out for blood and Tenryu needs to fight for survival. Hansen again with that elbow crashing down into the cut, rubbing the face into the ropes. Tenryu comes back with a Lariat but on the second he charges and eats buckles. Great facial expression as Hansen takes him over with a Back Suplex. Tenryu fights out of a tight smother and Russian Legsweep. I love that Tenryu is trying to press the issue and take control of his own destiny. Tenryu only gets one and immediately goes for the Powerbomb. Smart. In a fight for survival, go for your biggest bomb early. Hansen deadweights him. Tenryu moves with him into wrist control and trying to get an armbar. There's a great close-up of Tenryu at this point, you are so focused on how nasty the cut is and then BAM! all of sudden Hansen's left hand comes flying into the screen and pops him with precision into the cut. Great struggle over the armbreaker, but that moment was so damn badass. Hansen rolls to the topes. Hansen drags Tenryu outside like a bear to his lair. He rams him hard into the ringpost. Tenryu takes some time to regroup as Hansen looks great. Tenryu's eye looks all sorts of fucked up. Tenryu gets a half knucklelock and starts mercilessly and relentlessly kicking Hansen's left side and the crowd comes more and more alive with each rapid kick and this becomes Hansen's Achilles Heel, the monster's weak underbelly if you will that Tenryu can exploit later. Tenryu is overzealous with his running punt to the ribs and goes ass over tea kettle over the top rope. Typical Hansen fashion, he thrust kicks Tenryu from is back completely Tenryu's drop to the floor. Hansen is left clutching at his ribs and is having trouble standing. Tenryu fights from his back in the ring. Kicking at the injured ribs while Hansen is punching the cut. This is fucking badass. Tenryu toe kicks to the bad ribs. Hansen is selling so damn well. Resisting the Irish Whip so hard. Tenryu drives his shoulder into the injured ribs. Hansen collapses outside the ring ass first. In a rare moment, Hansen looks more battered compared to his opponent. Hansen rolls back in and is trying to protect his side. AWESOME! Toe kick and THEN BASHES WITH THE OVERHAND ELBOW! BRUTAL! Another one to sitting Tenryu this time. Hansen with these wicked short left jabs to Tenryu's cut. Hansen misses the running elbow eats turnbuckles and Tenryu toe kicks the injured side again. This is incredible. Tenryu is thinking Powerbomb so smart to attempt it now. Back to punting the ribs when he cant get him up. Hansen drags him down by the wrist. This is so Hansen just flailing with his kicks from his back and grabbing whatever bodypart he can get. Then driving the exposed bone on bone knee to the orbital bone of Tenryu. I love Hansen! Everything is a struggle with him. This is when we get a proper heat segment from Hansen after how hard fought the first ten minutes were for both men. Hansen seems to have weathered the storm and really rung Tenryu's bell with all these headshots. Hansen piledrives Tenryu! Tenryu gets a foot on the ropes. Nice gradualism on the sell. OH MY FUCKING GOD! Hansen rears back and just RIFLES Tenryu in the face with a kick. Not to be outdone, Tenryu FUCK YOU PUNCH FOLLOWED BY A FUCK YOU LARIAT! OH FUCK YEAH! Tenryu Enziguiri! POWERBOMB! 1-2-NO! Probably one of the best Tenryu powerbombs ever which is damning with faint praise. Hansen took it smartly. He went up in a traditional piledriver once steady, He did a sit-up and Tenryu dropped him. Everyone else in the world has a better powerbomb, but at least that one looked ok. Tenryu hits his Top Rope Reverse Back Elbow. That's his four big moves! Oh shit! Hansen lunges and pops him good with a left wing. WESTERN FUCKING LARIAT! HE DECAPITATED HIM! OH MY FUCKING GOD! Tenryu drapes the foot on the ropes at the last second. YES! YES! YES! Perect use of the ropes. Hansen Clobbers Him Again with the Western Lariat but pulls him up at two to start rapid fire punching Tenryu in the cut. He shoves the ref. Uh oh. Tenryu fires up and starts swinging wildly with headshots. Hansen tries to strangle Tenryu to death with his bullrope as he throws Higuchi and Hara around, Higuchi calls for the bell. Absolute chaos as Hansen should be tried for attempted murder! Fucking hell! This was a WAR~! Like I said it is ahead of the Jumbo match because it was kickass from smart. I imagine most people's issue with this if any is the finish. Not just because it is DQ but because he pulled him up. I agree that knocks it down from ***** for me, but not too much. The whole strangling with a bullrope is a perfect, chaotic DQ finish. Everything before that is manly, stiff, beefy, bloody, hated-filled wrestling. Hansen sees red from jump and is just merciless targeting the eye. Tenryu in order to fight fire with fire needs to create a weakness and attacks the ribs. You just get great dueling psychology, with great selling especially from Hansen and tremendous offense from both. When Hansen reared back kicked Tenryu hard as he could and Tenryu's response was to CLEAN HIS CLOCK WITH A FUCK YOU PUNCH AND LARIAT was so fucking epic! I am jacked to the Moon after watching this. Probably the best Hansen singles match between 1984 and 1992, killer. ****3/4

PWF World Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen vs NWA United National Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 3/9/88 I would say this is an important match rather than a great match thought it looks like most disagree with me, putting this at #36 for All Japan of the 80s, which seems very high to me. So it begins, we are officially on the road to the Triple Crown! Tenryu defeats Hansen in a shocking, sudden upset with an Inside Cradle and becomes the first man to my knowledge to hold two of the three most important singles titles in All Japan at once. I think it is very interesting that it is Tenryu not Jumbo that has this honor. You could even make the case that this leapfrogged Jumbo as he was now a Double Champion with the PWF Championship being higher than International and a clean, in the middle of the ring victory over Stan Hansen. It will be interested to watch Tenryu vs Jumbo from this year. As for the match, I felt this match was incomplete, a truncated version of a championship match because the finish was so out of nowhere. Tenryu was not bombarding Hansen with Enziguiris, Stiff Lariats, Top Rope Reverse Elbows and Powerbombs in fact it was quite the opposite. He was getting his ass kicked for most of the match. Right before the finish was struggling to get Hansen up, he collapsed on a bodyslam attempt, he failed on a Fisherman's Suplex and a German Suplex. It was a running Inside Cradle that won the day, but the match did not feel finished. This is definitely intentional as it was a way to protect Hansen and build to rematches. It made the viewer wanting more. Was this a fluke? Can he do it again? What would happen if Hansen blasted him with the Western Lariat? The post-match is very interesting as Hansen got his heat back so to speak as he roughed up Tenryu and the announcer and poor Joe Higuchi. It looked like he was going to disfigure Tenryu with his Cowbell when Hara leapt across and puts his body over Tenryu. Hansen robbed Tenryu of his moment in the sun and robbed him a chance to revel in his newfound glory. The rematch is all the hotter now. As for the match itself, if you love a Grade A, Choice-Cut Stan Hansen asskicking served piping hot than you will enjoy this match. They start off red hot just smacking through each other's offense. Tenryu nails an Enziguiri, Hansen kicks and LUNGES AND BOWLS TENRYU OVER TO THE OUTSIDE! From there, the rout is on. I went through and read the Tenryu's thread in the Greatest Wrestler Ever section and it was only reading through OJ's comments that I realized what is often missing from Tenryu, he is far too giving. He is content to sell and play ragdoll for Hansen. I would have loved to seen more struggle and really make Hansen earn this badass offense. Just like how Hansen forces his opponent to earn theirs. In fairness, this was not even Hansen gobbling him up. Hansen was giving him openings. Hansen was eating knees on charges, missing elbow drops and eating offense, BUT Tenryu was not match his intensity on offense. Tenryu was not bringing the goods that Hansen was. Hansen was positively ferocious in this. Wailing chair shots to the back, Boston Crab, Gutwrech and a zillion Cowboy Kicks. He was kicking 50 yd Field Goals across Tenryu's back. There's one in my mind, where he got a running start and really punted him. Like I said Hansen did start to feed Tenryu hope spots, I didnt think Tenryu was doing much with them. It was very alright, solid from him. Hansen was bringing the heat. I went over the finish. I think that covers everything. I really liked their 1986 bout, this pales in comparison to that. The title change is momentual. I dont see it as an all-time great match. ***1/2 for Hansen's performance.

Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa - AJPW 2/20/1988 With these midcard tags, it is fun to find that hook that got them nominated or made them perform really well. In this case, it is when Tenryu gets the hot tag and it is sort of your normal hot tag. He is not too terribly pissed to start. He is just laying his shit in. He just starts gradually building himself into a lather and next thing you now he is holding Ishikawa down and stiffing him elbows that slice open his forehead. Where the fuck did that come from? He just progressively got hotter and hotter. It is almost like what he started stiffing him, the floodgates exploded. The rest of the match is very good, but that is the clear reason why this stands out of the pack of the zillion midcard tags we have. Fuyuki was Kawada's partner in Footloose and I am excited to see more of them as the year wears on. This is another Tenryu & junior partner match. I am not sure if Kabuki & Ishikawa are Team Jumbo or are doing their own thing. I know they would end up being SWS/WAR guys in the 90s. The opening is pretty solid shit. Fuyuki is the junior partner. When Tenryu gets in, he wrecks fools. Kabuki & Ishikawa need to isolate Fuyuki if they have any hope of winning. Elementary, but elegant storyline. Fuyuki chops Ishikawa. Ishikawa STRIKES FUYUKI DOWN WHERE HE STANDS! Kabuki is stiffer than I expected some really good uppercut finger thrusts. Kneecrusher. Excellent knee work by the stodgy veterans. Kabuki with some really deep Spinning Toeholds while Ishikawa uses a Scorpion Deathlock and an Inverted Figure-4. The Fuyuki is kinda lame, just a spinwheel kick. Tenryu's hot tag is described in the first paragraph and Ishikawa is a bloody mess. Fuyuki holds his own and the climax is Tenryu hits a Top Rope Reverse Elbow for two. Kabuki is able to come in and actually hold his own with Tenryu. Ishikawa hits a Top Rope Leg Drop which is surprising. My memory is fuzzy, but Tenryu is able to tag out. Fuyuki gets an O'Connor Roll and German Suplex. Melee ensues. Fuyuki wants another German, but Kabuki kicks his head off and Ishikawa jackknifes him for the surprise, upset win. The Fuyuki heat segment and Tenryu bizarrely bashing Ishikawa brains in make this a hot watch. The finish stretch is decent, no great shakes, but the finish is legitimately shocking. ***1/2

Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Tiger Mask II - AJPW 1/23/88 It's BABY KAWADA! Looking about as uncool as possible in his fuchsia-animal-print pants, baby fat and poofy hair. But the brutha still runs the ropes like he is out of control and you are worried he is going to go through him! The novelty of this by far is to watch Kawada vs Misawa in 1988. Weird that in 6.5 years, they would have what many consider the Greatest Match of All Time. Never give up on your dreams kids even if your boss makes you dress in fuchsia or in a Tiger Mask. I have said in the past that Kawada is the Ultimate Choke Artist or best Loser ever. He is the Wile E. Coyote to Misawa's Roadrunner. He came off as the Ultimate Try-Hard in this match. It felt like he was trying to win Tenryu's approval so badly and probably more likely win Baba's approval as a shoot. Tenryu comes in and SMOKES Misawa! I mean I am not sure Misawa knew where the fuck he was after that. WOW! Yatsu CRACKS Tenryu back with a slap. Tenryu sells it like he got shot in the face and just goes down in heap. No fighting back just crawling over to Kawada. Kawada tries to smack Yastu, but misses and Yatsu CRACKS Kawada! This is good craic indeed. I love these fun midcard tags. They begin working Kawada. Kawada gets a nice legsweep, but instead of trying to tag out, he tries to impress and lands a Missile Dropkick, only to fall back into danger. He learns his lesson and tags out the next chance he gets. Tenryu TRUCKS Yatsu in retaliation. This does not last long as Kawada is back in and they end up working over Kawada's knee. Before that Kawada randomly does a cartwheel into a back handspring elbow that pops me huge just because it is so un-Kawada like. This is not 1993 primetime Kawada knee selling but he is pretty good. I always knew Misawa's 90s kicks were a holdover from his Tiger Mask days like his Elbow Suicida feint. Even though the kicks look good and land well, there is always something that has felt off about Misawa kicking especially that hop kick he does. Kawada lands a reverse crossbody which feels weird given his knee was being worked over, but I dont mind much. I am just enjoying this as Misawa & Kawada in 1988. The finish is fucking awesome. Misawa crossbodies Tenryu from apron, topples him over the railing onto the announce table. They brawl. I wish Tenryu threw him down with a Powerbomb on the table but we get a shitty Tenryu powerbomb. Yatsu attacks Tenryu and KAWADA WAILS ON YATSU WITH A CHAIR. IT WAS RELENTLESS! Tenryu continues the merciless beating until the ref tosses it out. I dont speak Japanese but I assume Yatsu said "That's all you got" Tenryu comes back TRUCKS him with a Lariat only for Jumbo to save. It is a New Year and Jumbo vs Tenryu is red-hot. I really enjoyed the work in this match. Yatsu and Tenryu were great stiff main eventers. Kawada & Misawa brought the action and it has that extra boost because it is Kawada & Misawa in the 80s doing some very un-Kawada, un-Misawa things. ***3/4

PWF World Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen vs NWA United National Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 9/20/87 I watched this last weekend, but was too tired to write a review. I really liked it at the time and wanted to do it justice. I rewatched it just now and thought this was tremendous especially with regard to Hansen. Hansen throws a classic Hansen fit at the outset of the match hurling chairs into the audience and all around ringside. He is a madman! This is full Bull in the China Shop Hansen in all his glory. They tear shit up. They blast each other to start with Tenryu getting the upper hand. The match spills to the outside and Hansen just wrecks shit. He sends Tenryu flying into the seats as fans flee the scene and he just beats the shit out of Tenryu as the fans look in horror. This is awesome shit. Back in, Tenryu uses a well-timed Enziguiri to try regain some semblance of control, but Hansen stiffs with wicked knees to the back of the head that send him to outside the ring where Hansen throws him into more hard metal. Hansen piledrives him and the rout looks to be on, only for Hansen to go charging into the turnbuckles and eat it. Tenryu works the arm. Hansen is awesome working underneath. He is so chippy. He is constantly fighting back, throwing short punches, grinding his knuckles into Tenryu, throwing elbows anything to get out of the holds or when out of the hold he just goes for it. These exchanges are wicked heated. Tenryu knows his only hope is to stay on the arm and he just keeps taking Hansen down into armbars & wristlocks. Hansen regains the advantage where he DROPS A TABLE ON TENRYU! I LOVE STAN HANSEN! Hansen ends up missing an elbow drop on the bad elbow and Tenryu goes back to work on the arm. Hansen ends up giving Tenryu a taste of his own medicine sending Tenryu shoulder first hard into the post. Tenryu tries to protect the now injured arm, but to no avail as Hansen has zeroed in on his target. Hansen gives a great arm torturing performance almost on the level of Dick Murdoch. He wrenches across the railing and announce table. He is great grinding on it, attacking with with strikes & headbutts, ramming it into things and tight holds. Hansen is tremendous in this. Tenryu kicks off to bump Joe Higuchi. Hansen goes full double windmill attacking Tenryu's injured arm. A desperation Enziguiri gives Tenryu the reprieve he so desperately needed as Hansen goes over the top which is the reason I think the ref was bump. Tenryu is great in his closing stretch offense, tons or urgency and a real sense of pressing. He hits a LONG DISTANCE Top Rope Reverse Elbow Drop. He lunges at Hansen as they both go tumbling to the outside. Everyone and their mother knows what this means. If you are going to do the double countout finish, do it this way! They tumble over the railing and spill into the front row and just brawl like mad. The ref calls for the bell, but Hansen dives across the aisle and WIPES Tenryu OUT! Pretty great post-match brawl! I loved, loved how physical Hansen was in this. Whether it was the shit on the outside, dropping tables on Tenryu and sending fans scurrying as he pummeled Tenryu in the seats, working from underneath doing everything he could to break free or working the arm, Hansen hit a home run in this. Tenryu gave his typical understated 80s performance. He matched the stiffness and focus when it was necessary, but this was the Hansen show through and through. It looks their matches in 1988 get even better, I already loved this so looking to see what 1988 has in store for us! ****1/2

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu - AJPW 12/5/87 Real World Tag League. Tenryu & Hara are the PWF World Tag Team Champions coming into this, but not on the line because of the tournament. Live watch: Jumbo & Hara start off not much of note. Hara tags out. Jumbo tags out as a sign of disrespect to Tenryu, who gives him a sideways glance. Tenryu bowls him over with a tackle and snapmare into a chinlock. Nice almost escape by Yatsu, but Tenryu is tenacious. Yatsu destabilized him enough to convert into a wristlock and tags out to Jumbo upon standing. Tenryu backs away and tags out to Hara. More mind games. Jumbo grabs a side headlock, Hara shoots him off and Jumbo shouldertackle. Hara comes in with leather and a headbutt. Jumbo wrestles into a wristlock on the mat. Very exaggerated armbar takedown by Jumbo as he maintains wrist control. No sparks yet. I am watching this as it is another chapter in the Jumbo vs Tenryu feud, but it only finished #98 on the AJPW match so I am expecting good not great. Jumbo with a cross armbreaker sold as a resthold. I try to enforce 21st century morality on them but God there is nothing irks me more than an undersold cross-armbreaker. Jumbo/Yatsu double team Hara. Nice brackbreaker by Yatsu. Hara bullies him into Tenryu corner tags out. Double shoulder tackle by Revolution. Meaty chops by Tenryu. Wicked stomp right to the face. Now we are talking. Tenryu drags him to the match with a front chancery. Booooo. Yatsu buries the knee. Dropkick. It was not long. Tenryu is wise to their double team and tags out tot Hara. Jumbo grabs a side headlock, shot off, tackle, goes to run ropes again, Tenryu opens ropes and Jumbo to outside. Jumbo mean mugs Tenryu. Hara bullies Jumbo into corner. Jumbo slaps Tenryu around, TWO BIG TIME HIGH KNEES! Tenryu will NOT go down! Tenryu Enziguiri and Jumbo collapses to outside. Interesting juxtaposition there. First heated exchange of the match. Tenryu cracks Jumbo with a slap! He is showing up the Ace. Jumbo charging Back Elbow and Bulldog out of the corner. Jumbo has been great in 1987. Very fiery since the Tenryu feud. Jumbo Cobra Clutch right in front of Hara. Sends Tenryu into Yatsu's knee. SPIKE PILDERIVER! I love that move! Awesome belly to belly by Yatsu. Does not stay on him and Tenryu tags out. Sloppy or lame transition depending if you are looking at this from a kayfabe lens or not. Hara back suplex on Yatsu, the junior partners together does not have the same heat. Hara tags out. Tenryu whips Hara HARD into Yatsu. Enziguiri. There is good action, but not enough narrative to make it sticky. Just lots of noise. Jumbo vs Tenryu is the only hook. Tenryu literally kicks Yatsu out of the ring who takes the time to regroup. Yatsu looks hurt and is grabbing his back. Lets see if they work it. Lots of Hara blows to the back. Yep it is a thing. Hara stomping and kicking the back. Boston Crab seals that this is definitely a thing. Tenryu kicking the shit out of Yatsu and then taking a shot at Jumbo on the apron is great. They double team Yatsu, the back suplex by Yatsu lets him get the tag to Jumbo. Too soon in my opinion. Jumbo's zeal for revenge almost costs as he makes a beeline for Tenryu which allows for Hara to attack from behind. Hara looks to have the uppehand until Jumbo TRUCKS him with a Death Lariat. Hara tags out after Jumbo does not press his advantage. Tenryu TRUCKS Jumbo with his own Mack Truck Lariat! Enziguiri and Back Suplex by Tenryu for two. Tenyu foolishly tags out to Hara and Jumbo is able to tag out to Yatsu. Yatsu chops and kneelift. Yatsu suplex. Hara kicks Yatsu and tags out to Tenryu after another lackluster exchange. Tenryu grabs Yatsu by the hair and hurls him to the outside. Tenryu throws him hard into the railing. At least that was something different, but it goes nowhere. Bodyslam, Top Rope Reverse Back Elbow misses. Yatsu tags out. Jumbo tries to get the crowd into it. They kinda are. HIGH KNEE INTO THE CORNER! Jumbo is trying his best, I will give him that. Workrate does not equal greatness. Jumbo hits him with a High Knee on the outside square in the head. Nice shot. Tenryu is busted open! Nice touch. Jumbo is working the cut, nice punch right to the open wound, another one. Jumbo selling his hand. Jumbo rapidly now, Jumbo seeing red. Jumbo shoves off the ref. Tags out to Yatsu. Nice bulldog by Yatsu, Tenryu really laid out for it. Yatsu drives the bloody Tenryu into the mat. Yatsu sends Tenryu into the boot of Jumbo. Abdominal Stretch by Jubo is an odd choice once you have bloodied your opponent. Hara breaks it up. Jumbo/Yatsu double team Tenryu and Yatsu nails wicked piledriver. Jumbo grinding his boot into the cut. It is surprising there was not more staph infections in the 80s. Amazing these cuts were not infected all the time. Hara boots Jumbo in the face on the chinlock. Yatsu continues pummeling Tenryu. The match is getting long in the tooth. Jumbo attacking the cut by scraping his bootlaces across it is, just great. Yatsu with a terrific bridging German that Hara breaks up. Inside cradle by Tenryu. Tenryu tags out in the most anti-climatic way. Hara Mack Truck Lariat on Jumbo. Hara is a pretty decent hot tag, headbutts abound, bodyslam on the Ace. Tenryu is on his knees woozy. Double High Knee Sandwich by Yatsu and Jumbo. Oklahoma Slam by Yatsu. Hara slugs him with a lariat. Tags out to worse for wear Tenryu. Double team on Yatsu. Yatsu blocks the buldlog with a back suplex. JUMBO DEATH LARIAT! Too close to Tenryu who stomps Jumbo through the ropes. Double Clothesline! Tenryu slugs Jumbo with a left Lariat. Big bridging German by Tenryu saved by Yatsu. Tenryu tags out, meaty lariats by Hara. Jumbo blocks third. Yatsu double axehandle off the top. 30 seconds left. Top rope elbow drop kick out. 15 seconds? Yatsu cover for two. German Suplex lands as time expires. Everyone and their mother knew this was going to a time limit draw, it is why I knew to do a stream of consciousness review because I knew it was going to be a lot of action and not much substance. The Jumbo/Tenryu exchanges were a highlight. Jumbo drawing blood and working the cut, but ultimately went nowhere as Tenryu just did a running inside cradle and then casually tagged out. There is a post-match brawl! Jumbo and Tenryu are great. Nobody lands shit, but it was hot and sets 1988 up well. Where was I? Yeah, I think the Tenryu bleeding and then tagging out was a microcosm of the whole match. There were great bits and pieces. They never really either built to them, fleshed them out or built upon them. The moments were very ephemeral and did not connet to each other. It does not matter what year, workrate is not enough for greatness. ***1/4

Rewatch: Like their first match I’m downgrading this a tick. It is definitely inferior to their first match. The strong positives of this match are a red Jumbo who is carrying out his aggression from the prior match and Tenryu getting a bigger stretch of offense in this one. There are more clunky sections in this and the finish is both confusing and lukewarm. Jumbo repeatedly smacking Tenryu around was impressive. Every attempt at offense by Tenryu was a grand insult to Jumbo who responded with fury. I liked how so much of Tenryu’s offense was created by happenstance like Jumbo charging into the post, the hotshot or kicking off the post on the Backdrop Driver. After the Hotshot was Tenryu’s moment, what a great string of offense, he slugged with that lariat. I thought Jumbo’s Back Drop Driver was extra hot. The more chaotic brawling elements were awesome like the High Knee into the Lariat but then devolved into mess with wrestlers prematurely declaring victory and a lukewarm DQ as Jumbo body slams the ref all of sudden Bruiser Brody saves Tenryu. I’m interested to get to 1988.

Rewatched echo most of my statements. As I mention in my review, things did Peter out after the tremendous Knee to the exposed turnbuckle. Everything about that spot is so hot. Jumbo signaling to the crowd he is about to crush the upstart, the excitement in him. Then the desperation of Tenryu who not only falls to avoid the move but rips the cover off the turnbuckle. This is a spot that should be stolen as it is genius. I thought Tenryu work immediately after was solid as were the Jumbo backdrop drivers. The body slam was lukewarm and the botched crossbody left a lot to be desired. I thought the brawling on the outside was lackluster. It is cool that Tenryu that got the countout victory instead of the double countout. If the match ends directly after the Knee to the turnbuckle I’d see this as a ****3/4-ish match. I really liked the body of the match. There’s an interesting point early where Jumbo does not give a clean break. Instead it is stiff back elbows to Tenryu. He is the first to do it. This is not in response to a dick thing Tenryu did in this match. Jumbo is the clear aggressor. I think that’s very interesting. I think Jumbo saw this match even happening as an affront to his seniority. I loved Tenryu meeting disrespect with disrespect by CRACKING Jumbo with a slap in the immediate aftermath. As I stress in my original this was a very Jumbo not only does he has the big run of bombs In the middle he is the more aggressive and more emotional of the two. I think this match was to prove Tenryu could take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. Tenryu proved his mettle surviving the cavalcade of offense and managing to hit his power bomb. Very strong opening salvo in the feud.

Hey sorry @BigBadMick didn’t mean to leave you hanging. Let me ask around. Did you get it to work? I have a lot of co-workers in Ireland and they’re telling me how rough it is. We have a manufacturing trial in Ireland this week and I’m supervising it remotely. I hope you & other Irish don’t mind me using “Craic” love the term! It is a Double Whammy! It’s Royal Rumble Sunday & My Mom’s Birthday! She was wearing the Becky Lynch Holiday sweater I got her that is emblazoned with “The Mom” on it! Popped me huge this morning. I think she’s more excited for the Royal Rumble than I am. Lol. We are rooting for the return of “The Man” Becky Lynch and a victory for Daniel Bryan. As you can see Pro Wrestling Love is a family affair and the latest episode of Pro Wrestling Love has dropped. This one sells itself...it is the Top Ten WCW Matches of All Time! What is the best of the best and Elite of the Elite? What is Number One? Click, Download, Enjoy and Spread the Pro Wrestling Love. Now that this series is over, it is time for the arguing to begin. What are too high on? Too low? What did we miss? Let us know!! https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-gehkb-f778bb

GOOD GAWD! It is the Pro Wrestling Love Show! @JKWebb & myself are breaking through into the TOP 25 WCW/JCP MATCHES OF ALL TIME! I absolutely love how Justin broke down the Piper vs Valentine July 1983, check that out on WWE Hidden Gems. I hope we dont lose that and some of the amazing stuff that cropped up to the Peacock merger. In the meantime, click, download and let us know what you think! https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-zjifv-f77834

Yeah, Mad Dog that would be a concern. Saving 50% of a year and adding Peacock content (hopefully some tennis action to boot) is a plus to me, but losing obscure things like Crockett Cup 1986 as an example would be a bummer during the transition. Fingers crossed for a smooth transition. (These things are never smooth).

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy - AJPW 12/11/87 Tenryu & Hara are the current PWF World Tag Team Champions but the titles are not on the line as this the Real World Tag League. I am going to do this stream of consciousness style to save some time as I want to get to bed before midnight: Hansen & Gordy won their match over Jumbo & Yatsu via countout after Hansen creamed Yatsu with a Lariat out of nowhere. I skipped Tenryu & Hara vs Jumbo & Yatsu for now because I am in a Hansen groove. Joe Higuchi in his powder blue referee outfit looking snazzy as fuck. Hansen and Hara to start. Hansen a little more subdued than usual. They jockey for position standing up. Hansen with the sledge on an unclean break. They trade overhand chops. Hansen and Hara two big uglies tussling and end up in the ropes. Hansen grabs a headlock, shot of wins the shoulder tackle battle and tags in Gordy. Hansen doesnt leave right away more intimidation. Gordy and Hara, Hara grabs headlock and pulls Gordy into his corner. Tenryu tags in. Hansen starts hollering, but Tenryu cant take advantage. Tenryu takes a swing at Hansen on the apron. Melee ensues as Hansen takes exception to that. Gordy restrains Tenryu and Hansen gets his licks in. Hansen terrorize s the outside. Gordy bowls Tenryu over with a shoulder tackle. I love how chippy that was. Hansen and Tenryu bring that edge to their interaction that Hansen and Jumbo are missing. Tenryu can be as much of a miserable son of a bitch as Hansen and I think that helps their dynamic. That scrap was the best thing so far. Hansen in and grabs a tight side headlock. I like how noisy Hansen is. He sounds like he is trying to pop Tenryu's head like a zip. Love him hollering at the ref. Tenryu shoots him off but Hansen wins the shouldertackle. Awkward moment on the criss cross with them staring off. Hansen tags out but not before yelling some more. God bless him! Gordy and Hara. Hara gets three overhand chops before Gordy starts firing back. So far a strong Hansen performance as expected and cool shoot-y brawl other than that not much. Gordy tags out after a nothing sequence with Hara. Hansen and Hara jockeying for wrist control. Hansen wins. Hansen wrenches the arm around the top rope and we have a focal point now. Hansen bringing the energy and the structure to the match. Gordy grabs and armbar and I go to correct my spelling mistakes. Hara gets up and throws Gordy off. Single leg and dumps Gordy on his ass. Classic Gordy bump. Tenryu tags in and mean Mack Truck Lariat. Shoots Hara in for a Lariat on Gordy. Hara loves to headbutt and we get some on Gordy. Hara brings Gordy over to Tenryu and then Tenryu figure-4s the head. Not a lot of effort from the others here. Where was the struggle on that Gordy? Gordy gets on his belly and converts the hold into a Scorpion Deathlock almost but Hara stops him. Hansen has had enough of this boring inaction and comes in and bodyslams Tenryu. Big Gordy jumping elbow. Hansen comes in all piss & vinegar hard bone on bone and then chinlock city. It looks fierce but this match needed more action less of this. Are they going to a 30 minute draw. Seems unlikely unless Jumbo/Yatsu are the ones that win the Real World Tag League but this kinda feels like a draw. Gordy Fireman's Carry but falls away with it. Nice move. Gordy takes his sweet time pulling Tenryu into abdominal stretch. Tenryu hiptosses out but Gordy charges and nails a Lariat in the corner and whips Tenryu hard into the buckles. Hansen tags back in. Double suplex on Tenryu. Big one. Nice. Surprised how much of a beating Tenryu is taking when Hara is right there. Hansen pitches him to the outside and pulls up the mat. PILEDRIVER ON THE EXPOSED FLOOR! Not much of a reaction. Hara pulls a Kobashi and throws his body on the fallen Tenryu! NICE! I dont have has much emotional investment in this match but I love that spot. The crowd is pretty dead for this. They have not given them much but that was a great sequence and I thought deserved a bigger reaction. Hansen stomps on Hara and then takes a wild swing at photographer or official that was crazy. Higuchi throws Hansen back in the ring. Gordy holds Tenryu for Hansen to take free shots. Those kicks were wicked! Right to the head! I would not want to have my head exposed to half-blind Hansen's kicks. Snapmare, exposed knee (a Hansen staple) by Hansen to the head and he throws up the Horns and Bellows! Hara saves. Hansen tags out. Gordy drives Tenryu's head hard into the buckles. Tenryu's head has taken a beating. Gordy does that weird dance/stomp thing he does. Tenryu has a trickle of blood coming down his head. This has been a beating. Hansen drags him to his lair. He lays Tenryu down on the table prone and just dribbles his head on the table like a basketball. Hara saves but the damage is done. I wonder if Hansen had seen the blood and wanted to open him up more because back in the ring. Hansen tees off. He pounds way on the cut and delivers a big over the top elbow right to the cut. Tenryu is taking a beating of a lifetime. Hansen covers for two. Gordy elbow to the head for two. Gordy back drop driver and Tenryu does a Gordy style sell of it, ass over tea kettle for two. Gordy talks some smack to Hara but takes his eye off the prize in a cool moment Hansen tries to intercept because he can see what will happen before anyone else. Tenryu throws an enziguiri and Hansen is a second too late as he shoves Tenryu midair but Tenryu lands the enziguiri. That was awesome. Tenryu is able to tag out. Hara comes in and TRUCKS Gordy with a lariat. Headbutts. Bowls him over. Again. 1-2-No. Tags Tenryu back in. Seems early. Double Shouldertackle sends Gordy careening to his corner and tag to Hansen. Poor tag team strategy there. Tenryu may have not tagged in as it is Hara and Hansen. Hara lays it into Hansen. Hansen charges and rams his shoulder into the buckles and goes over the top to the floor. Tenryu exacts his revenge throwing Hansen hard into metal objects. Hara gets two on Hansen. Hara big Back Drop Driver on Hansen for two. Tags out to Tenryu. Lariat Sandwich! That was the move that did Jumbo in over the Summer where the ref had to call the bell for excessive double teaming. Cowboy Kick by Tenryu on the Cowboy himself. Double suplex on the might Hansen. Hara gets two. Hansen looks worse for wear. Tenryu Enziguiri great punch drunk Hansen sell leading to the collapse. Tenryu drops multiple elbows. As this drags on, it looks more and more likely it is a draw finish. Tenryu Enziguiri for two. Octopus Stretch by Tenryu and Gordy break that up with stiff right. Tenryu tries again, Gordy be damned. Gordy does not come in this time. Hara blocks Gordy with a lariat as Tenryu settles for a more conventional abdominal stretch. I think the crowd is chanting for Hansen?!?!? I know the Japanese love an underdog but thats crazy. Hara blocks Gordy repeatedly but Gordy brings in the bullrope and Hansen SMASHES Tenryu with cowbell as the ref is focused on Gordy and Hara. Fuck you Japanese fans! Gordy crushes Hara and the American team looks in a good spot but Hansne desperately needs a tag. Hansne has to kick Tenryu away as their legs are still wrapped up. Gordy tags in. Gordy big crossboy for two! The crowd is on the Americans side it feels like. Big dropkick for two. Lariat for two! I guess being a native turncoat is worse than being a foreigner. Gordy is beside himself and Hansen looks fucked on the outside. Tenryu Enziguiri! Tenryu bodyslam...Reverse Top Rope Elbow misses to the delight of the crowd. Asiatic Spike!?!? No, piledriver but HARA SAVES AND BOWLS BOTH MEN OUT! Tenryu Octopus on the outside. Hansen was winding up for Lariat when Hara dives off apron Hansen is looking to Pull trigger but Tenryu ENZIGUIRI. Tenryu beats the count. Gordy suplexes Tenryu no, Tenryu gets the Abdominal Stretch. Hansen is in the background sitting, LOCK N LOAD; HANSEN EXPLODES WITH THE LARIAT TO BACK OF TENRYU'S HEAD! Hansne is spent. Double countout. I loved the shot of Tenryu's Abdominal Stretch with Hansen sitting down and signaling for the Lariat. Look straight out of a horror movie. At 28 minutes and change this match was way too long. Shave off ten minutes and you have a great match easy. It felt like it was going to go to draw but the pull up 1.5 minutes short with the double countout. Hansen is fucking awesome in this match. Hansen/ Tenryu scrap the beginning is great. The piledriver on the floor/Hara throws his body on Tenryu was awesome. Loved Hansen treating Tenryu's head like a basketball on the table and then just mercilessly attacking the cut. I like how Hansen gets his comeuppance after an errant shouldertackle to the buckles. Tenryu beats the shit out of him and the abdominal stretch was wicked hot. The cowbell was awesome, loved Gordy's finish run and then Hansen having one last round in his gun and finally firing it off. There was just too much fat and dead air in the beginning for this to be considered great, but when it was hot it was hot. ***1/2

Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu - AJPW 11/26/87 I did about an hour of work and then I was like it is fucking Sunday night, why am I doing work? I need to honor the Good Lord and watch some badass pro wrestling! Hansen has a new partner and it is Terry Gordy. Gordy is an upgrade over DiBiase in that he fits the bill a lot better as a roughhousing bully heel. That being said, I have always found Gordy to be very alright. He is an athletic big man, whose true strength is bumping which is not as valued in Japan as it is in America so I think he is always solid as Hansen's partner, but it is always the Hansen show. I have been watching a lot of Hansen in tags and why the matches are not always ***** classics, he always gives a performance that drips with effort. I don't feel like I have been calling that out. He is usually the MVP of any tag team match he is in. He is awesome on the apron barking out orders to his partner and especially the ref. I love Hansen giving the ref the business. I really enjoyed in the second Jumbo face in peril when Jumbo hiptosses him over on the abdominal stretch, he immediately scrambles and picks the ankle to stop the tag from happening. The way he ends his own heat segment wen Yatsu comes in with brutal headbutts and general bullying. His selling at the end is sublime. He is a terrific pro wrestler. The beginning is the usual chippy Hansen vs Jumbo. They focus on the left arm of Jumbo. Gordy misses a charge in the corner, this affords Jumbo the chance to tag out and wring out his arm. Besides a quick double team, Yatsu doesnt last too long as he misses a dropkick. Yatsu and Gordy trade a couple back suplexes. Jumbo and Yastu do an an entertaining double team where each man takes an arm and wring it out. This leads to Hansen in peril and Jumbo does most of the work on Hansen. I liked Yatsu coming and kicking Hansen's arm while in the double wristlock. Yatsu loses control in the aforementioned way. Yatsu holds his own with Gordy. Gordy the king of the suplex struggle loses to an inside cradle by Yatsu. Gordy wants a piledriver on Jumbo, nope. JUMBO TRUCKS GORDY! Gordy does a very American sell with his ass over tea kettle. This is when I notice how dead this crowd is. It was would remain dead the rest of the match even though Jumbo tries cheerleading so hard to get them into it. Hansen does the whole "beast yanks the victim back to his lair" that I love forcefully pulling Jumbo to the outside, kicking ass and swinging chair wildly and connecting with Jumbo. Even Hansen going into the crowd stealing a chair and swinging it like a madman does nothing for this crowd. I love how much of a pest Yastu was in this heat segment on Jumbo, constantly breaking things up. My favorite moment of the match is when Yatsu hits a top rope double axehandle on Hansen to break up a hold. It really pisses Hansen off. He tags out, but stays in the ring to take a swipe at Yatsu. Yatsu drops off the apron, Hansen lumbers off, Yatsu sneaks back in and bowls Gordy over to break up the Boston Crab. That was awesome. The Jumbo heat segment does enter the city limits of Chinlock City admittedly. There is a double countout tease that is ice cold and not set up very interestingly. Gordy misses an elbow drop and tag out to Yatsu. Gordy takes the big back body drop and a back suplex. Hansen tags in as Gordy runs the ropes. Great fight in the corner and ends up with Hansen charging and ramming his knee into the turnbuckles! Jumbo cheerleads on the apron as a big moment! The crowd is dead as a door nail as Dickens would say. Jumbo spends the rest of the match BEGGING the crowd for a reaction. He was doing everything to cheerleader. I actually like the finish a lot. There was a lot of drama in how Hansen was selling the knee and how hard Yatsu was working to put the Figure-4 on. Jumbo and Gordy were tussling in the background. It felt hotter to me than what the crowd was giving it. I did feel like crowd started to come alive when the Figure-4 was finally applied on Hansen. It was built so well I actually thought for a second Hansen would submit especially after Jumbo suplexed Gordy, but Hansen made the ropes. The ref breaks Yatsu as he moves back to attack Hansen AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SWINGING LARIAT! The announcer scream was awesome! The Lariat really did come out of nowhere and he FUCKING SMOKED YATSU! JBL cream in his pants Lariat indeed! Excellent finish to otherwise lukewarm match that I thought was better than the crowd gave them credit for. ***1/2

PWF World Tag Team Champions Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara - AJPW 7/23/87 If not the last, probably one of the last Japanese matches Ted would have until he returned in 1993. I thought this was a major step up from the Jumbo & Tiger Mask match from a couple weeks prior. Hansen & Tenryu start off hot with the chops blazing. Hansen seems very worried about DiBiase's health as he has his ribs taped. Hansen ends up being the first one worked over as his leg becomes a target. You got to watch how Hansen works these leg holds, he is always struggling against them, looking to grab any body part of his opponent and try to disrupt the hold. This is great shit and why he is an all-timer. He needs just lays there and take it. He is a very active participant even when the hold is applied to him. DiBiase is bailing him out of some tight jams. Hansen pitches Tenryu out after Tenryu almost had him in the figure-4. DiBiase slams Tenryu into the table. DiBiase tags in and nails a suplex. He looks poised to press the advantage but then they start in on the ribs. I really thought this ribs selling by DiBiase was incredible and some of the best of his career. It really took the match to the next level for me. Tenryu and Hara were merciless. Tenryu misses his patented reverse top rope elbow drop. Here comes HANSEN! He is in full Bull In the China Shop mode! Action spills to the outside. He is stealing chairs from fans and just waylaying Tenryu and Hara. Tenryu tabletops Hansen. SPIKE PILEDRIVER ON THE FLOOR! Hansen is bleeding! DiBiase gets whipped into the railing, ribs-first, and we never see or hear from him again! Hansen is a on his own and getting his ass whupped. The climax is a Tenryu Enziguiri/Hara Backdrop Driver that looks straight out of 90s All Japan. There was a wicked double enziguiri by these two before that. It was a great bomb-throwing finish. Hansen has to kick out because DiBiase isnt there to save. Action spills to the outside. Hara has Hansen restrained. Tenryu winds up, charges and NAILS HARA WITH THE LARIAT! HANSEN BULLDOZES TENRYU! It is a double countout. Everything from DiBiase selling the ribs, to Hansen bleeding on the floor and the big finish run is excellent. ****

PWF World Tag Team Champions Jumbo Tsuruta vs Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase - AJPW 7/11/87 Jumbo & Misawa won the Tag Titles a week prior it was the first time Stan Hansen had lost the titles since he & Brody were inaugural champions in 1984 (Ted DiBiase was Brody's replacement). Interesting, Stan & Ted win them back here as it had to be known by now that Ted was WWF-bound as I got to believe this was his last tour. Austin Idol replaces Ted, I have a morbid curiosity to watch Austin idol in All Japan. Very good meat & potatoes match. Nothing that will rock your world or cause you to a write a letter home to mom, but I would never complain if wrestling was usually this solid on the TV now. It starts with Jumbo slowly getting overwhelmed by Hansen & DiBiase. DiBiase did a lot of babyface moves here, which was weird, like winning the hiptoss exchange on the criss-cross and an armdrag. Hansen targets the left arm in brutal fashion. I love whenever Hansen drags an opponent out by the arm to the outside to do more damage. It looks like a beast dragging its prey back into its lair. DiBiase gets a nice Fireman's Carry on Jumbo. Jumbo hits the High Knee. The fact Misawa & DiBiase touched seemed so weird to me, but I just love how much the 80s were intermingled and cross-pollinated. Misawa dropkick and a nice gutwrench as the hot tag, but doesnt last long as Hansen comes in and bulldozes him. Eventually, DiBiase charges and rams his shoulder into the buckles and they work that over. Hansen regains control for his team. It is interesting that Hansen takes both a hiptoss and Sunset Flip from Misawa. Misawa is not small, but he is not big enough that it would be automatic that Hansen would give him those moves so I think that was a sign of respect and signal to the audience to expect big things from Misawa. They work on Hansen's back, Jumbo gets an abdominal stretch and Misawa tries a Boston Crab. DiBiase is saving. Jumbo rocket launches Misawa as the big nearfall for the native team. It is breaking down in Tulsa. DiBiase & Jumbo end up outside and in the fracas, BOOM LARIAT HANSEN TRUCKS MISAWA! 1-2-3! New Tag Champs. Very solid stuff. ***1/4

Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask II vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara - AJPW 6/11/87 Let the war begin! Probably my biggest blind spot is the late 80s Jumbo vs Tenryu that changed the game in All Japan. Jumbo vs Choshu was native vs native but there was still an outsider/invader element to it with Choshu being from New Japan. With Choshu returning to New Japan and the gaijin well drying up, Baba is forced to split up Jumbo & Tenryu and forever change the All Japan booking paradigm. I understand the backstage reasons why they were split up but what happened onscreen before this match because they looked pretty pissed at each other already. The crowd was red hot at the prospect of Jumbo and Tenryu! We start with Misawa and Hara. Jumbo & Tenryu was electric throughout this match and the real selling point, but Misawa was a close second. He doesnt have his 90s presence but he was an offensive dynamo in this match. Hara is the perfect heel lieutenant very Taue like. Hara bowls Misawa over, but Misawa reverses on mat and nails a nice spin heel kick. They jockey over wrist control. Misawa wins but Hara pushes him into Tenryu's corner. Tenryu looks to put Misawa away early Enziguiri I thought it was going to be a sloppy powerbomb but it was a shoulderbreaker instead, a nerve-racking moment. Tenryu figure-4's the head. Tenryu slashing with chops, Misawa responds with swift kicks. Tenryu facelocks him and tags out. Nice stiff double chop by Hara. Misawa back suplex and Jumbo in for first time. Jumbo bowls over Hara and goes over and chops Tenryu! Crowd OOOOOO and Aaaaahhsss! Very telling taht Tenryu didnt do that but Jumbo initiated. It felt like Jumbo wanted revenge for something. That something I dont know and would love if someone filled in the blank for me. Shortly thereafter, the crowd gets what they came for...Jumbo vs Tenryu in the ring! Tenryu & Hara double chop Jumbo and Tenryu suplexes Jumbo. Tenryu tags out to Hara. Nice little tease there. We didnt get the full blow-out yet. Jumbo fires up on Hara, High Knee and Jumbo yanks Hara over to their corner. Misawa nails a picture perfect dropkick great form and extension. Misawa hits the reverse crossbody headbutt that he would continue to do in his golden years. He does the classic Misawa feign over the ropes and dropkicks him hard. Hara takes a huge bump into the railing. Best moment thus far besides the Jumbo opening salvo on Tenryu. Misawa allows himself to close control and Hara tags out. Tenryu stiff slashing chops and Slingshot Suplex! Jumbo loses it not only saves Misawa but wont stop stomping Tenryu in the head. Hara distracts Jumbo on the outside as Tenryu makes Misawa carry his weight. Misawa uses the Baba Neckbreaker Drop, nice Misawa baseball slide. Another great highspot to follow up with the Top Rope Splash onto Tenryu on the floor! Misawa is on fire! Perfect so they dont blow the Jumbo vs Tenryu matchup yet and use Misawa here as substitute. Misawa Belly to Belly Suplex and then a Somersault Splash from the top rope. Misawa rocks! He tags out! Here we go... Jumbo is ROARING! HIGH KNEE! He is fired up! Another HIGH KNEE! He is rocking! Crowd is loving this. Tenryu snuffs this out with a Back Suplex and a quick tag. Hara hits another back suplex. I love how they are doing Jumbo & Tenryu in short bursts with Jumbo getting a little more offense each time. Hara wins control and Tenryu tags back in to hit to TRUCK him with a Lariat. Dick move/ Jumbo becomes a man possessed whenever he sees Tenryu and just FIRES THE FUCK UP! Jumbo starts throwing 'bows, Mack Truck Lariat! Jumbo ties him into a chinlock, which I dont think vibe with the psychology thus far. He holds Tenryu in place for Misawa missile dropkick. He dropkicks him so hard that Tenryu ends up in his corner and tags out to Hara. Not smart tag wrestling. Misawa rifles Hara with kicks! He looks great! Misawa suplex for two. Tags out to Jumbo with the Jumbo team firmly in control. Jumbo Dory-esque Euro Uppercuts. Abdominal Stretch. Tenryu casually walks in and SLAPS THE TASTES OUT OF JUMBO'S MOUTH! Oh shit it is on! Tenryu blocks the receipt! Tag out by Hara and Tenryu Enziguiri leads to a tight, tight sleeper, looks like a choke. Crowd firmly on Jumbo's side. Misawa saves, but Hara tags in and applies the sleeper to Jumbo. Jumbo seems to be fading. Misawa saves again. Hara wants the sleeper again, BUT Jumbo drops him on his head! HOLY SHIT! That Backdrop Driver would NOT have looked out of place in 1997. WOW! Misawa tags in and piledriver on Hara! Tenryu saves. Misawa Frogsplash! 1-2-NO! It is cool how many Misawa moves he is doing. Jumbo high knee as he tags back in, meaty chops on Hara. Jumbo misses high knee, Hara pops him and tags out to Tenryu. Tenryu gives him a wicked left hook lariat! JBL would have creamed himself on that one. Top Rope Reverse Elbow for two! Tenryu and Hara double team Jumbo this would become a theme as we approach the finish. They love the Lariat Sandwich as their double team and Tenryu hits a DDT but it is very Tenryu-y how he does it. Jumbo demolishes Hara in a lariat battle. Will he tag out? Yes! Misawa spinkick! Misawa German on Tenryu! But he is too close to the ropes! Misawa dropkick on Tenryu. Misawa tries for another Somersault Splash but Tenryu was supposed to catch him and Powerbomb him. A for Effort, they almost pull it off and still looks pretty good. Tenryu gets two as Jumbo saves and Hara BLASTS Jumbo with a lariat. Hara headbutts Misawa as he pwoders. That takes care of Misawa as Jumbo is left to fend for himself against these two stiff pricks. They Lariat Sandwich him to death that Joe Higuchi in an awesome green number has lost controland is forced to ring the bell for a disqualification ostensibly for too much double teaming. Jumbo lets the crowd know he won and he is still standing but is pissed about what happened I am assuming, I dont understand Japanese, but that seems to be what they would be portraying. Just to make sure I got the result right I checked Cagematch and they confirmed the DQ finish. Very action-based match! This reminds me a lot of the 80s Crockett and 80s All Japan work where there is so much movement, moves and action it is all a blur. It is all good stuff but there were times when I thought they could have let things breathe. Two things make this great in my mind and a cut above your standard 1980s workrate action-packed match. Misawa was on fire here and looked like a future star. He was crushing it. Easy to say with hindsight but he did not shy away from the bright lights. He let it rip it. Really what propels this match is the awesome Jumbo and Tenryu interactions. Jumbo was full of piss & vinegar. Tenryu was his usual prickly, contemptible self. It just made for a great mix. It was the perfect amount to whet your appetite but leaving you wanting more and thankfully there is so much more! ****