Superstar Sleeze

Jushin Thunder Liger vs Great Sasuke - Inoki World Peace Festival 6/1/96 Sasuke beat Liger for the IWGP JR heavyweight championship on 4/29 at the Tokyo Dome but this is non-title because Liger is winning and they didn’t want to do the title change. I am sure there was some kayfabe reason like it is in LA for this exhibition festival but let’s be honest they didn’t want to do a title change and they wanted Liger winning in America. Since the 1994 Super J Cup was so popular in America and Liger/Sasuke was the most popular match of that tournament it makes sense this is the match to bring to America. I liked the 4/29/96 better slightly higher stakes bigger crowd matched intensity more but this is still good. It is just an exhibition though. Opening chaining is done very well. Sasuke grabs a Camel Clutch. Liger shows a variety of attacks on leg, back and arm. We get Liger running through his standard offense after a Sasuke powder. Liger missed a top rope Headbutt but a Sasuke side sault eats knees. We trade some cool dives. Sasuke’s swan dive and karate kick off the Ring post look so cool. I love Liger’s Superman splash to the floor. Eddie was the GOAT at this. Ban Moonsaults to opponents on the outside bring back Superman Splash! So sick! Sasuke tries for his two finishers the Tiger Suplex and Crucifix Powerbomb but Liger stuffs him. Shotei! Ligerbomb win! It never drags it has some fun stuff in it but this is not their 1994 work. It is just pretty good. *** 1/4

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Jushin Thunder Liger vs Great Sasuke - NJPW 4/29/96 Disagree with the consensus I thought this was very good. Huge Dome match for the Juniors after the reset with Liger winning on 1/4. This was the biggest possible Junior Heavyweight match. I would say Liger, Sasuke and Dragon were the Big Three Natives. We get Liger/Sasuke here, then Sasuke/Dragon for J-Crown Final and again at a major WAR show and then we get the grand finale of Liger vs Dragon at 1/4. Thats strong main event booking. Liger was taking a major chance as neither of the other were New Japan guys so he was basically here’s our title, here’s the J-Crown let’s build to my win on 1/4/97. Gutsy booking. I have a soft spot for Sasuke and even though he egregiously blew off the leg selling I still think this was very good just kept it from being great. The opening was so hot, Liger misses Kappou Kick, Sasuke misses a Spinning Heel Kick. Sasuke Sawndive over the top rope onto Liger was FUCKING SICK! Total Wipeout! I thought Sasuke worked really well on top. I thought he was varying his holds well. Everything was tight and intense. Full court press; suffocating Liger. LIGER DRILLED HIS KNEE WITH A DROPKICK! He kicked through it. It is a shame Sasuke blew off the leg work because Liger was fantastic on top. Great holds love a Figure-4 and some more exotic ones. Great strikes to the leg. The Kneeceusher turned Ballcrusher on the guard rail was sick. Then after all that great work. Here comes the Asai Moonsault and Quebrada. Liger counters with a Fuck You Powerbomb. Kappou Kick. Nice Superman Splash to the floor! Up until this point I thought this match was killer. I thought it petered out as Liger ran through his Finish Run offense but nothing felt climatic. Then Sasuke hit a Frankensteiner and a Crucifix Powerbomb to win. I really enjoyed the first 3/4ths the ending was a bit anticlimatic but also an OH SHIT Sasuke won in the Dome on NJPW soil for the Title against Liger. I mean Thats some Holy Shit booking! Worth watching for such a historical moment. *** 1/2

Shinjiro Ohtani vs Wild Pegasus - NJPW 3/20/96 WCW Cruiserweight Championship The winner is to be crowned inaugural WCW Cruiserweight Champion. I know WCW/NJPW relations were really good at this point but weird the inaugural WCW Cruiserweight Championship match would be held in Japan and weirder that Japanese guy won it and flew to America just drop it to Malenko. Benoit was going back that way anyways lol. Also funny that Benoit would never be considered a Cruiserweight again in his career. I also thought this match and the Malenko matches were phantom title switches. I guess not. The match is fine but nothing spectacular. It wouldn’t look out of place on today’s TV which speaks to the influence of the 90s Juniors on Modern wrestling. Theres still more wrestling in this. Pretty standard perfunctory New Japan mat wrestling for 5 minutes nothing stands out. Ohtani gets the best of Benoit for the most part. Action picks up when Benoit dumps Ohtani over the top rope to the floor with a suplex drawing ooohs and aaaahs. Benoit dive. Some high impact moves. Benoit figure-4s the head. Ohtani escapes works a camel clutch. He telegraphs the dropkick. Benoit puts on brakes. Standard Benoit offense. Ohtani backdrops the charging Benoit over the top to the floor. Springboard Superman! Ohtani has entered the chat! Springboard spinning heel kick! Again Ohtani telegraphs and now we get the Benoit finish run. Rolling Germans! Is this the earliest occurrence? They looked great. Top Rope Superplex. Perfect top rope diving Headbutt. Benoit on fire. I disliked Ohtani getting a Dragon Suplex there. BENOIT MUTHA OF ALL POWERBOMBS! Benoit had such a sick Powerbomb! Benoit goes for a Blonde Bombshell! Ohtani throws him off the Classic Springboard Dropkick! Springboard DDT for the win. After losing to Liger three days prior for IWGP Jr title a big win over Pegasus who I would say was still the top Junior Gaijin and avenged his 1995 BOSJ Finals loss. So a big won! Everything before Ohtani’s springboard Superman was pedestrian but the finish stretch was fun. *** 1/4

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Great Sasuke vs Black Tiger - NJPW Skydiving J 6/17/96 This blew the Liger matches out of the water! Now this is what I am talking about. Eddie just felt so much confident in this match and looked like a Tiger prowling in the ring against the Indy-riffic Daredevil. Main Event of all Juniors show that drew 13k+ and winner not only wins the IWGP Jr Championship But also a spot in the J-Crown Tournament. Now it makes sense why Black Tiger won the BOSJ 5 days prior. It seems myopic to have him win a major tournament just to legitimize him main eventing one show 5 days later but it was admittedly a huge risk to run an all Juniors show at the Budokan so I don’t blame them and they probably didn’t know he wouldn’t be back that much. Right from jump you get the impression Eddie came to play. He is using his size and weight to thwart Great Sasuke at every turn. Sasuke maybe the Champion but he feels like the underdog. He is very cautious trying to lock up with Eddie. Eddie is feeling himself. He is in total control. Opening matwork ends with a cross arm breaker and Sasuke powders. Eddie hunts him down and smokes him on the outside. Throws him back in and goes Full Anderson on his ass. Sasuke takes a page out the match 6 days prior against Pegasus and just grabs Sleepers to stymie Tiger and sap his energy. Tiger throws him off and then targets the knee with a vicious dropkick. The way Eddie moves in the Ring this match is night and day compared to the Liger match. Watch that drop-down into the leg lariat. He is moving with intensity. I love it. Sasuke gets a desperation suplex over the top rope to the floor and we get our Sasuke dive for the match a sick Karate Kick from the Ring post to the floor. Eddie is still just ripping suplexes and kicking ass. I loved that he used a Belly 2 Belly twice to set up wristlocks. Drills a Brainbuster. Sasuke knocks him off the top. EDDIE CATCHES HIM INTO A POWERBOMB! This is Eddie’s night! Eddie hits a Sitout Crucifix Bomb. He goes for Splash Mountain…NO EDDIE NO…I have seen this before…Hurricanarana 1-2-3! Hahahah I love it! How is this match not a classic. Excellent Eddie offensive performance! He is so confident his offense executed with intensity. He was feeling himself. Good on Sasuke to let Eddie cook. The sleeper, the one Karate Dive and the Rana at the end is all he needed. He sold well throughout. Really enjoyed this match. Eddie wrestled King Size but Sasuke hung around…great character work led to a great story! ****

Jushin Thunder Liger vs Black Tiger - NJPW BOSJ 6/12/96 Another disappointing outing from these two. It is Liger vs Eddie so it is still good but they don’t really give you much to sink your teeth into this BOSJ Final. The Benoit/Eddie semifinal is a much better match. Opening matwork is solid and more interesting than February Title Match. They each dare the other to do a dive. I thought the match was going to pick up with an Eddie dropkick to the knee and a Figure-4 but promptly goes nowhere as Liger surfboards him and works his back. I thought the match was going to pick up where when Eddie Powerbombs and Eddie Splashes Liger Bur we end up in the Bundle of Leg Locks. Liger gets his first high spot with the Kappou Kick in the corner and a Shotei to knock Eddie off his perch. Liger dives to the outside but shitty camerawork we miss it. Liger hits a couple more bombs. Eddie reverses and he does his Superman Dive to the floor but knees up on the splash. He trade a couple fast paced near falls. Liger goes for the kill with the SHOTEI~! And a Ligerbomb! Not a good sign for Liger. Tiger throws Liger off on a Tornado DDT attempt and hits a Brainbuster. These transitions have been weak. Sitout Crucifix Bomb. It feels so heatless. Liger reverses his weight on a Top Rope Brainbuster and knee drops the arm and goes for a Cross Armbreaker this match is so weird. Tiger hits the Top Rope Brainbuster for the win which I was shocked by as Tiger/Eddie doesn’t really ever do anything of importance in Japan and seems like a wasted investment in Eddie But Liger probably did not know that at the time. The match as whole felt disjointed. There was no interesting character work or strategy. No hook. It was some mat based moved then some dives and then some bombs. These two are great so it was technically good Bur had no soul. *** 1/4

Shinjiro Ohtani vs Kazushi Sakaruba - NJPW Skydiving J UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship 1996 was the high water mark of Junior wrestling. The Skydiving J shoe drew 13,500 at the Budokan an impressive number for all-Juniors show. This is the lead up show to the famous J-Crown Tournament which still resonates with modern fans…Ultimo Mone anyone? Every match on this show is a championship match and thus essentially a qualifying match for the J-Crown tournament. This match was for the vacant UWA title winner qualifies for the J-Crown so the stakes are high. Sakuraba is famous for being the Gracie Hunter and probably the most successful puroresu wrestler in MMA history. However it looks like the Gracie Hunting didnt start until 1999 so he is a midcarder. Similar to Fujita, I don’t think either was famous or over before the MMA success. So Ohtani is a heavy favorite. I was thinking of a comp for Ohtani and I think Ken Griffey Jr is the best. Incredible 90s and a disappointing 2000s. But just watching this reminded me that when Ohtani burned he burned as bright as anyone just not for very long. Contender for one the best sub-ten minute matches of all time. The perfect match to watch on a Sunday morning before wifey wakes up. Juniors Shoot-Style is such an underperformed style but it bangs hard. Sakuraba comes out swinging and says “Muthafucka we are doing this my way”. It is uncooperative strikes and vicious submission and throws. He was going through Ohtani. He catches Ohtani with a German early and it rings Ohtani’s bell. He powders and Ohtani sells his bell being rung so well. He knows he is at risk of being eaten alive so he wrestling hard for Arm and leg submissions but he keeps clutching his head. He snaps off a suplex of his own which he thinks can set up for a pro style high spot his springboard dropkick but Sakaruba traps him in a Scorpion Deathlock! Fuck should I wake up my wife and make sweet love to her because these muthafuckas got me horny now! Excellent work. Sakaruba goes full Tasmanian Devil just overwhelms Ohtani with a maelstrom of strikes. Ohtani ROARS ALIVE AND RETALIATES WITH AN UNHOLY BARRAGE CLIMAXING WITH A HEADBUTT! The PERFECT SETUP FOR SPRINGBOARD DROPKICK! BANG~! DRAGON SUPLEX~! Rear Naked Choke! OHTANI-SAN WINS! The Heavens Opened And Snow Fell From the Sky **** 1/4

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Jushin Thunder Liger vs Black Tiger - NJPW 2/3/96 Me, My Wife and Two of my Friends played “Book It” a pro wrestling board game a couple weeks ago. As I always say wrestling fans make the worst promoters/bookers and I came in dead last. Most of the wrestlers were knock off of real wrestlers they had a wrestler named Justin Tiger Lightning with ridiculously low stats which popped me for some reason. Liger is so beloved like who be such hater to give Liger low stats. Anyways Liger is on his revenge tour as he was out for most 1995 due an ankle injury. He wins the Super J Cup at the end of 1995 and the IWGP Jr Hvywt Title in the Dome from Kanemoto. He is reasserting himself nationally in the division. Black Tiger aka Eddie Guerrero is a good first challenger. This is not a long match about 12-13 minutes. It is good not great. In my opinion, no style had a bigger impact on the American work rate style of the 21st Century than Japanese Juniors. So Japanese Juniors retrospectively can look pretty Indy-Riffic if they aren’t hitting on all cylinders. There’s a lot of that here. The transitions aren’t the smoothest. It is a lot of MOVEZ~! without a lot of rhyme or reason But they aren’t breath taking enough to get the work rate junkies to pimp this match either. The opening chaining feels Indy-riffic rather than a struggle. We do need more Snap Mares in wrestling. They do a take down tumbling sequence. The best part of the match Tiger takes Liger and rams him into the railing. Eddie splash. Then the match peters out. Couple high impact suplexes by Tiger in between some basic holds. Liger Kappou Kicks look cool But he doesn’t take it anywhere. Near fall exchange. Tiger hits his stock spots Brainbuster and Tornado DDT. Frogsplash knees up. They do a Lucha Arm Drag climb the ropes…like what? Liger polishes him off with a Superplex maybe it was supposed to be a Brainbuster. It is Liger and Eddie it is still good but nothing special ***

British Bulldogs vs Hart Foundation – Philly 4/27/85 This review is from 2013 But wanted to capture it here in case it inspires people to watch discuss. The very first Bulldogs/Hart Foundation featured a similar structure to the rest of the Bulldogs/Harts match, but it lacks of a lot of the usual spots (blind knee, Demolition Decapitation, Bret getting tangled in the ropes). It is structure that is not seen very often in WWF. It is a short shine with a double face in peril and I would hypothesize it is the influence of the AWA on Stampede Wrestling. I would also assert this is not a style that suits the offensive dynamos that are the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs excel where they can just kick ass and hit a ton of their crazy spots. When you have someone like a Hammer in there, to hit them in the mouth, you can get a really fun give and take. I really did not care much for 5/85 MSG match between these two and I would say this is a bit better than that, but was just an average match. As I said above, it was a short shine with the stock Bret Hart bump off the hammerlock and the Dynamite enziguiri. I really liked the organic feel of the knee lift collision between Bret and Dynamite that leads to a pretty boring Dynamite Kid heat segment. They do the Bret/Dynamite I can’t hit a backbreaker and Dynamite hits one. I forgot how fucking awesome Davey Boy dropkick is. Neidhart cuts him off from behind with a groin shot. Fuck man and an even more boring heat segment ensues. This is mechanical, cold Bret Hart at his worst as we a lot of shoulder rubs. Dick Graham mentions “SUPLEX CITY!” Davey Boy just stops selling and cuts Bret off on top and hits a monster missile dropkick! Dynamite whips Bret into Neidhart and now the Bret Bump! He is a house afire and we get an ab stretch??? Tombstone Piledriver! That’s better. Now Davey Boy powerslam! Dynamite starts wasting time going into the draw. Awfully cold finish. Better structure than the 5/85 tag, but Bret Hart is just working how you are supposed to rather than with your gut. Bret is a great ring general and brings a lot to the match, but when he was not feeling it then it would just leave you feeling cold. *** 1/4

Riki Choshu vs Masahiro Chono - NJPW G-1 Climax Finals 8/6/96 Riki is a Punk Rocker; Riki is a Punk Rocket; Riki is a Punk Rocker. When All Japan went progressive, Choshu & New Japan keeps it short, sweet and packing a punch. I have seen the famous CHOSHUUUUUU match many years ago which I love. Never really much hype for the Final but it is a great match but it only really works with Choshu the old gunslinger in one last shootout at the OK Corral. This is about as Hollywood Cinematic as wrestling gets and still works. Something magical about the 20th Century. Chono is NOT a favorite of mine. He is serviceable here. He plays the Heel well as he is a Wolf 4 Life here. This is all Choshu’s charisma and a lifetime of work elevating this match and this tournament. Chono bum rushes him to start even attempts to slap on the Scorpion on its maker. Reverse Atomic Drop. CHOSHU HAS BALLS OF STEEL!!! This match is all Testicles and I love it. He drops Chono on his head three times with Saito Suplexes before they take their toll. Choshu starts to clubber. Chono goes low and attacks the injured knee of Choshu. It is all Hollywood after that. Can the old timer be as good as he was once was one more time? STFs, piledrivers and slaps by old rival turned respectful peer Fujinami stoke anticipation of the crowd and me thirty years later to see a THUNDEROUS CHOSHU LARIAT! BANG~! I am popping the crowd is popping, youre popping ready this dont show this to my wife my baby might pop out and I am not ready yet! THUNDER STRIKES AGAIN! AGAIN! SCORPION DEATHLOCK! Old Gunslinger, the Punk Rocker does it again! Fuck yeah! ****

Keiji Mutoh Vs Kazuo Yamazaki - NJPW 8/2/96 G-1 Climax WWF 96 PPVs done for now it is onto something different. 96 was not an explosive year for our old pal Mutoh losing the title to Takada on 1/4 and ceding the title of Ace & Defender back to Hashimoto after holding it for most of 95. Mutoh’s two big matches were dream matches against Hakushi and Liger and the gnarly street fight against Tenryu which is a Top 100 match of all time in my opinion. So an interesting year for Mutoh. He goes up against UWFi #2 and now NJPW stalwart in G-1 Climax. I don’t know if I am in a good mood as work winds down and anticipation for my first child grows but I loved this match. The opening wrestling was so good. Great chaining lots of struggle. Mutoh wins out with the a Short Arm Scissors then works the leg. Yamazaki starts throwing kicks with reckless abandon. Some great shots. Mutoh goes for a single leg takedown but Yamazaki nails him in the head great Stuff. Mutoh says Fuck It and stomps the injured hand of Yamazaki. Yamazaki comes back with arm bar and cross arm breaker attempts. I love how Low-Fi this is. It is not about getting in all your high spots but taking what the match gives you. We get shades of 2001 Mutoh with Dragon Leg Screw and loved the Moonsault into the Figure-4. I thought he had it but we get a Yamazaki Flying Cross-Armbreaker for the win. Genius match with dueling psychologies and each man staying true to their strategy and characters. ****

Undertaker vs Mankind - WWF RAW 12/9/96 No Holds Barred Man I really enjoyed this match. I watched this maybe 6 years ago didnt seem to leave an impression But I liked this a lot. This was around the time period where they were putting hard hitting NO DQ matches on RAW all the time to compete against Nitro theres a killer Mankind versus Austin also from around this time. I really liked the hot start from Taker. Old School, Chokeslam and then looking for Tombstone. We are still building to Executioner match so we get some distraction from him. Then after that it is just killer hand vs leg psychology. So we saw the great hand psychology from Taker and again more of the same here. But this time we get some nice leg work from Mankind to counter it. Because it is no holds barred they are able to use all the fun stuff outside the Ring to attack the hand or leg depending who is on offense. Mankind shined In this match there were the usuals like Nestea Plunge and the Cactus Clothesline but the Cactus Elbow on the bad leg and the drop toehold to get out of a Chokeslam really popped me. We get the Mandible Claw as a counter to the Tombstone which was killer. Then Tombstone when Taker rallies to win. The Executioner attacks which is lame but man this was a great match. The best match was definitely the Buried Alive match which should have been the last match but these two matches after have been great. ****

Undertaker vs Mankind - WWF Survivor Series 1996 I always forget theirs a 4th match in this series and by the looks of it theres a 5th one on RAW. Of course epilogue April 97 Revenge of the Taker as well. I thought as a stand alone match it was great and second best of the series but it felt too normal after the Boiler Room Brawl and Buried Alive. This should have been the second match. The hand psychology was perfect to ward off the Mandible Claw and if this was fitted between KOTR and the Boiler Room Brawl it would have been perfect. But as the PPV series ended I can see why this is forgettable even if I loved it. Undertaker comes out with a new look looking like Gene Simmons with the top knot and Bat Wings as he descends from the Rafters. Lord of Darkness meets Leather Daddy. I am biased because I started watching in 1997 but this is his best look in my opinion. Taker uses a drop toe hold to the astonishment of Vince & JR but those in the know know he was using this on RAW back in 93-94. He also uses a Fireman’s Carry and I think he was going for a Short Arm Scissors before settling into a Cross Armbreaker. I appreciated the Deadman doing a little wrestling. I really liked he used these take downs and holds with a singular focus to attack and debilitate the Mandible Claw hand of Mankind. This is the constant thread of the match. Even when he loses control of the match when he gets back into control, he is biting the Claw Hand, he is slamming the Claw Hand into the steel steps. It is all about attacking the Claw Hand because they have invested so much into the Mandible Claw. He even loses control of the match initially because he is so focused on slamming the hand into post that Mankind ball shots him and somersaults onto him. I liked Mankind a lot here he was playing the role of 70s heel well a violent lunatic who is borderline animalistic so he had the fight or flight drive. I liked that he chose flight a couple times. I liked the cheating to take control the aforementioned ball shot and later Shiek object. He also used the Piledriver and the Mandible Claw effectively. The Nestea Plunge was well-timed mismatch to get match to even. I really liked the Chokeslam versus Mandible Claw struggle. That’s right up my alley. Mini-battles within the larger match. Love that. Love the Chokeslam. The Claw was put over strong the whole match. I liked the Tombstone coming out of the Foreign Object attacks but it felt a bit anti-climatic. I wish there was a way to hit Tombstone out of the Claw. Overall a great match with strong psychology. The Executioner saves Paul Bearer from getting his comeuppance because we gotta build to the next Taker PPV match which will be against The Executioner but since the Executioner doesn’t pan out it feels lame. Thats the end of my road with Taker 96 PPV matches as well a strong test for him. ****

lol I watched this match again! Shinya Hashimoto vs Kazuo Yamazaki - NJPW 1/4/96 Inoki vs Vader and Mutoh vs Takada take center stage but Hashimoto has to fight someone. Their 98 match is the classic but this is very good. Kickboxing to start. Yamasaki is the first to get in a head rocket and targets the arm. Lots of great struggle over arm wringers and armbar takedowns. Hashimoto is not giving an inch. He sells really well for Yamazaki. He powders. He uses the point of fingers to throat thrust which is illegal which puts over the desperation. Yamazaki stays on the Arm. Then moves to sleeper/choke to set up the cross Arm Breaker But nothing doing. Yamazaki head rocking kick but that just WAKES UP HASHIMOTO THE DESTROYER! RIGHT HAND OF HASHIMOTO! BIG KICK! BRAINBUSTER! Great badass Dome match! *** 1/2

The Undertaker vs Mankind - WWF Buried Alive THE UNDERTAKER IS ALIVE! HE WILL NOT REST IN PEACE! Great Vince call there. It is crazy to me that has been like 15 years since I watched this match as it was a staple of my teen years with the Taker DVD set from the mid-00s. I think this is my new pick for the best non-Shawn, non-Bret WWF Match from 93-97 but Cactus/HHH from RAW is close. This was a great high spot match disguised as a brawl which reminded me of the 2011 Taker/HHH Mania match. The high spots really hit and stick with you. From the first Nestea Plunge to the Chokeslam to the grave every big move hit and felt good. Usually I get on Foley’s case for not having enough offense but this played to this match’s strength. After the Bearer turn you just wanted to see Deadman Walking Tall and Foley bumping from pillar to post for him and that’s what you got. Foley worked this like a 70s heel. All the offensive breaks were through cheating and nefarious means. Bearer shaking the ropes on Old School, Bearer giving him the Sheik tool, Bearer distracting with the weak Urn shot only for Foley to dent a chair with Taker’s cranium. Through all this Undertaker Just Kept COMING! Like the Creature from the Black Lagoon he would just keep rising. It was perfect babyface wrestling. He threw everything back at Mankind the Sheik pen, the chair and it was glorious. It was DeadMan Walking Tall. Piledrivers looked great. Loved Taker’s finish sequence coming off driven backdrop into the steps and climaxing with the Tombstone. The Mandible Claw as the one last gasp at the Grave sit was great. The Chokeslam into Grave what a punctuation mark. I actually forgot Undertaker is the winner because the post-match angle is so iconic so I thought Mankind won. Terry Gordy as the Executioner attacks Taker with a shovel. The midcard heel brigade buried Undertaker alive only for Taker’s hand to shoot from the Grave in a great WWF Masterpiece Theatre moment. Awesome match holds up better than I remembered. I think I would have liked it more of it was a bit more uptempo and fiery but honestly it was awesome. They played to their characters well and the match really crescendoed to a great climax. **** 1/4

I was watching Sovereignty last week with my wife man when did Dennis Quaid and Vince McMahon become twins? I kept thinking I was watching Vince. It was uncanny and eerie.

The Undertaker vs Mankind - Summerslam 1996 Boiler Room Brawl Finally warm enough to do a review yesterday but the match/angle was so long didnt get a chance to do it. So now doing it on a cold day. Little lower on this than most. With post-2020 eyes, it is interesting because this match and Hollywood Backlot Brawl which Vince directly compares this match to, are spiritual ancestors to cinematic matches. I think that this is the true legacy of the match. Competition fuels innovation so kudos for WWF trying outside the box ideas. There is a lot of freedom In Pro wrestling but one restriction is needing to do stuff in front of live audience. I think this match would have been better served on TV than PPV. There was no TitanTron they literally had some big screen TVs on the apron for front row people but that was it. It was a swing but it was not sustainable. This also felt like an angle not a match. It was all to Serve the big heel turn and it was great. As match it didnt do much for me. It was a decent brawl but this was not Duggan vs Sawyer Battle of New Orleans. The pipe ballshot on Taker was good. The Two Cactus Elbows both the one that hit and missed was cool. I liked the brawl in the hallwaY. It wouldn’t be 1996 without hot coffee. I really liked action In front of the audience. Cactus Piledriver on Concrete looked great and was a good “near fall”. The way you win is retrieving the Urn from Paul Bearer which I liked as a stipulation. The Nestea Plunge was sick and perfect “near fall “ for Taker. Bearer doesn’t give him the Urn. Im waiting for him to crack him with it. But we get the Mandible Claw which puts the move over as a killer. Bearer slaps which is great work. As the beat down is complete we get the Urn headshot to cement the angle. I gotta admit how they did it was way more effective than a simple Urn shot. Really got Mankind and the Mandible Claw over as the monster and his weapon. Paul Bearer is the bitch heel for turning on Taker. Loved the angle but it could have been half as long and just as effective. ***

AJPW World Tag Team Champions Stan Hansen & Gary Albright vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue - AJPW 2/20/96 Been awhile since I did one of these Middle of the night Cant sleep reviews. All Japan 1996 is mostly known for the epic three-way tag team rivalry of Misawa/Akiyama, Kawada/Taue and Doc/Ace but before that we got a rivalry between the Holy Demon Army against the Texan Cowboy Stan Hansen & Nebraska Cornhusker Gary Albright. Hansen/Albright won the tag titles from the Holy Demon Army in January in a match I couldn’t find. This is the rematch and the title switch back. Wish the Hansen/Albright team got more play later on in the year. I enjoyed this match a lot we get 17:30 of a 21 minutes match and the clip is towards the beginning. I love how un-flashy this is theres isn’t a lot of high spots or MOVEZ But there is a lot of grit and struggle. You don’t get to see the Holy Demon Army play babyface very often But they do here. One of my favorite psychological angles in wrestling is when the heels wrestle to contain and the babyfaces wrestle to explode. We see that early on from Albright and Hansen how they work to contain Taue with headlocks and front chancery. Kawada comes in with piss & vinegar and rolls on the mat with Albright. Everything is close contact body on body. Hansen and Kawada is a war. Hansen trying to contain but Kawada getting wrist control and yanking Hansen to Taue to tag out. I love that struggle. Hansen taking back over with the bodyslam and Cowboy Kick. The clip is around here which if there was going to be a clip was a good time because they set the tone and we still get to see the most important part of the match but I would love to see this in full. Albright has Taue in a chinkock and a body scissors when we come back. Kawada breaks it up. Kawada explodes into SPINNING HEEL KICK! You finally feel like Kawada is finally going to rip the lid off. BUT Albright HURLS Kawada with German suplex which leads to one of the best heat segments I have seen in quite some time. Hansen and Albright work this heat segment as a full court press just suffocating Kawada. Kawada is able to sell in the holds and in the little gasps. I know this is sacrilegious but I prefer this to the really long stretches a Morton or a Steamboat would use to sell. There’s a time and a place for Morton-style Southern selling But I think it can be overdone. This is understated and to me more impactful. The heat segment starts as a consolidation. Hansen coming in and just going bone one bone…knees and elbows, Cowboy Kicks. Albright is the one who starts working holds that lead to progression. Albright is taking what Kawada gives him he sort of finds his way to STF. Then on his next tag follows up with the heel hook. I love how Hansen tags in and makes sure handoff of Kawada’s ankle is smooth like a baton pass in a relay race But he does not have the technical skills of Albright so his leg work is ugly and leaves him open to head kicks from Kawada but he comes back with a Single Leg Crab. All while this going on, Kawada selling pitch perfectly how much pain and agony he is in. Albright RIPS a great Belly to Belly. I loved how he went for a suplex pinning combo there keeps Kawada and the viewer off their feet. He hits a desperation enziguiri on Albright I believe. HOT TAG! Taue comes in with a Big Boot. Just when you think you’re going to get Taue House a Fire but Albright rips a suplex and goes for the cross arm breaker. Kawada can barely walk but crashes down on Albright with all his weight to break it up, Hansen and Albright start double teaming trucking Kawada. Hansen DDT and Powerbomb on Taue. It looks like it will be an easy win for the Americans. Hansen is loading up for the Lariat. Big Boot by Taue! Miss by Hansen! Kawada Kick to Albright! Hansen pinballs for Taue and Kawada…NODOWA~! FUCK YEAH! 1-2-3! HELL YEAH! Kawada & Taue as the babyfaces who are in a hole against Hansen and Albright finding a way to win even though they were overwhelmed excellent story. Hansen and Albright really complement each other well… the rough & tumble Cowboy and the Collegiate Wrestler. After Hansen and Albright guzzled them, just love short & sweet Hansen Pinball into the NODOWA~! Mid-90s All Japan still surprises and titillates after all these years. ****

Does this exist in full? I can’t seem to find it.

I can’t believe Hawk and Animal were not nominated in 2016 and that no one considered to throw them a vote. I wouldn’t vote for either but they are big names. Hawk always got the bigger singles opportunities than Animal. There’s a couple Flair vs Hawk singles matches but I can’t think of any Animal. Hawk got a title shot against Mutoh and has the run with Sasaki. I agree that Animal was the better in the Ring and had a good powerslam but Hawk had more presence and charisma.

Thanks so much for keeping me in the loop. How do I submit a ballot? Discord aint my thing so I appreciate you keeping me updated.

Vader vs Sid - WWF Buried Alive Maybe the shortest match line to write is Vader vs Sid. With the December PPV called It’s Time the smart money is on Vader. I love both these big mugs Vader is a Top 25 wrestler in my opinion but going with Sid was the right call he had way more heat and Survivor Series match is definitely better than the Summerslam match. Masters of Powerbomb explode and I love that video package is all about who the True Master of Powerbomb is! Starrcade 1993 main event final comes to us about three years later and the match and build feels very WCW. Sid playing the role of high flying plucky underdog is fun to watch. The match had a rep if exceeding expectations and this is definitely a Top Ten Sid match which is a feather in Vader’s cap. Sid doing and outside in Sunset Flip only for Vader to do the big butt splash and Sid coming off the top rope to get caught and slammed were two stand out moments. This also featured some of the best Sid striking as the early shine clothesline mowed down the Mastodon and he threw a couple great punches. I liked that early body slam attempt led to the heat segment with a racquet shot. I liked they paid that off later. It wasnt your classic Vader performance either where he just mauls his opponent very WWF in how it was paced which was a boon for Sid and a bust for Vader in the long run. The finish bummed me out. Vader splashes Sid a bunch but knees up on the Vaderbomb. Great! Sid teases the Powerbomb but first needs to crotch Cornette which is fun. Ok now Powerbomb the big Muthafucka. Then they do Vader can’t get Sid up for the Powerbomb. Ok nice touch. Now Powerbomb Vader. He chokeslams him for the win. It is still cool but the crowd was frothing at the mouth for the Powerbomb so it took some wind out the sail. Fun 8 minute super heavyweight clash definitely one of the best Sid matches I have ever seen and I love me some Sid! *** 1/2

Undertaker vs Mankind - WWF King of the Ring 1996 With Goldust feud put to bed it is time to start the iconic Mankind feud. This is actually a five match series if you include the RAW match I often forget about the Survivor Series match. Mankind is probably the first star Taker made. I thought this was a step up from the Goldust feud but still in the very good camp. I like Taker enjoy his offense and his selling and I have watched a lot of this month but something keeps all his matches stuck on second gear. The beginning felt a little off to me. They were working a uptempo shine but Mankind isn’t a bump & run cowering heel like Goldust so it wasn’t as effective. I thought the transition to heat was lame. Like all of sudden Mankind took over but didn’t really earn his commanding position and Taker was overselling given Mankind’s offense. Lots of Cactus based offense like the Cactus elbow and the Discus lariat on the foot catch. It is a crutch but the chair work definitely woke me up. The Big Boot to the chair and the chair to back added some heat. Again a Swinging neck breaker as transition back to heat just doesn’t do it for me nor does a long nerve hold. Back on the outside, Cactus Elbow on to the Chair and Taker waffling him with an unprotected chair shot was sick. Taker comeback But then there was a lot of fucking around with the Urn. The whole match was predicated on how the Mandible Claw put down the Undertaker three times including the previous month in the Goldust casket match. We finally get it on and in the tussle Bearer strikes Undertaker “inadvertently” with the Urn and the Mandible Claw puts him down for a HUGE win for Mankind. All the years of Taker vanquishing the heel monster of the season really made this win by Mankind feel huge like Mankind was someone who was here to stay in the main event scene. To me this was basically the same level as Taker/Goldust except the Chair stuff and the Bearer finish notch it up. Did Bearer hit Taker by accident we will have to tune into Summerslam to find out? *** 1/2

Undertaker vs Goldust - WWF Mind Games Pretty cold in Boston and hand already freezing so this will be quick. First Taker PPV Match since the Paul Bearer turn at Summerslam. This is a tie off a loose end from this side quest which Taker failed to beat Goldust in last two matches and to build to Buried Alive next month. Very similar to Beware of Dog casket match but this is a Final Curtain match…pin fall no DQ. Upbeat shine Deadman Walking Tall running through all of Goldust cut offs. Goldust glitter bombs Taker better heat segment focused on the eyes. Standard Taker comeback: punches in the corner big clothesline oooo the one wrinkle is SUPER NODOWA~! Tombstone. These are good matches but given who is in them they are disappointing. That’s a wrap on the trilogy and really Goldust as a main event heel. *** 1/4

So when is the deadline for voting? And how does one vote?

Undertaker vs Goldust - WWF International Incident Weird to go from a Casket Match to a regular match. Not much to this one but at 12 minutes it didnt drag as much as there wasn’t much meat on the bone. Goldust played it more like he normally does cowering behind the ref and the taunts. Taker took two losses in a row to Goldust and Mankind. This was Deadman Walking Tall. Taking no shit. Chokeslam on steps could have been cool but it was more tepid than what we are used to nowadays as Goldust took it on the ass. I liked Marlena throwing her body on Goldust to protect him from the steel steps. Rings were so much noisier in 1996 makes for a better presentation. To be honest I don’t think much happened until Goldust rammed Takers back into the exposed turnbuckle and rammed steps on his back. Goldust had no qualms. Goldust didnt really get to build any heat from there. Taker made a short comeback and nailed the Tombstone when MANKIND erupted from the Ring and sucked the Undertaker to HELL! Goldust wins by DQ But Taker rips the ring from the other side and sends Mankind packing. This is the Apex of the Goldust-Mankind alliance that I wish went on way longer as there were so many cool possibilities with them, step down from Beware of Dog but not horrible more of a backdrop for Mankind angle.