Superstar Sleeze

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue - AJPW Champions Carnival Final 4/15/95 There are two sleeper picks for best 90s All Japan matches of all time, this and the Doc/Misawa title change. In a world where the canon is so explicit: 7/29/93 (Kobashi/Hansen), 12/3/93, 5/21/94, 6/3/94, 6/9/95, 12/6/96 and 1/20/97, these two Misawa/Doc and Misawa/Taue stand in defiance as possible challengers to the throne. I know most people give this ***** and Loss ranking this as #14 in his best matches of the 90s is a huge win for the match. I don't know where I will rank it, but this is my favorite match of the bunch. 2012 Martin Take it Away! I am just going to get this out of the way. This is one of the greatest matches of all time and in top 10 of the greatest All Japan matches of all time. Full Stop. Don’t pass Go and collect $200, sit your ass down and watch this match. I was skeptical of the rep this match has because I did not think Taue as a singles competitor could deliver that time of performance. Who am I to doubt Akira Taue? (2020 Martin: Jeez dont have to get hot about it. I think most people think this match is awesome. Don't worry a lot of people underrate Taue at the beginning, as long as you have seen the light, all is forgiven.) The match begins with a series of counters to put over their familiarity with each other. Taue side-steps a Misawa flying lariat and drives him into the ground sending Misawa to the outside. (2020 Martin: The scouting here was really choice. Taue evading Elbows. Misawa catching himself on Snake eyes and armdragging out of NODOWA. Misawa takes more damage because he misses two flying moves and hits the mat hard. Also on the leaping lariat, Taue drove his face into the mat, it looked like it bothered Misawa's injured eye) All of sudden, we get Air Taue as he dives onto Misawa on the outside and Misawa chants begin in earnest. I loved this because it established that with both men so familiar with each other that they would have to wrestle outside their moveset to keep their opponent off-balance. (2020 Martin: Air Taue was a good way for Taue to get the first offensive move of the match) The hook of the match is Taue aggressively attacking the injured eye of Misawa (remember Misawa legitimately broke his orbital bone in match with Kawada earlier). Taue utilized this tactic to cut off Misawa offensive flurries and to setup his own offense. A good example of this is when Misawa slides over the back of Taue on a suplex attempt only to receive a stiff elbow to his eye. (2020 Martin: Lets break this down further, Misawa tries to trap Taue in a facelock shortly after Air Taue, but Taue grabs at the eyes and Mares him over. The attack on the eyes are the beginning was not overt but if you watch closely Misawa was wincing and touching his eye. We get Dragon Sleepers but they are not around the neck but around the eyes and nose. Taue had a game plan. As for the stiff back elbow that I did mention it is genius because it plays into the scouting aspect of the match. How many times have seen Misawa use the slide down the back on a suplex to start his Comeback, here Taue has it scouted and stiffs him right in teh injured eye. This is when Misawa really starts selling.) Misawa for his part puts on a offense clinic of his own. Against Kawada and Kobashi, Misawa is more than willing to let them have their spotlight, but against Taue Misawa has more free reign to take larger chunks of the match to himself. Misawa actually taking so much offense is indicator to the viewer that his normal rope-a-dope strategy would not work here because the injury is that much of liability. Thus Misawa is looking to end this match much earlier rather rely on his normal strategy of extending his opponent and then taking advantage. This gives a different feel from normal Misawa matches as he is much more aggressive and urgent with his offense. After a flurry of spin kicks, elbows, two elbows dives and a ROARING ELBOW~!, they actually tease Taue losing by countout. (2020 Martin: I never give credit to Misawa for his kicks but he has some nice kicks especially his spin kick. There is a great moment where he has started his comeback and has Taue stunned but he does not immediately follow it up because hie eye hurts...once he gathers himself he hits the Spin Kick and then Elbow Suicida) I have to mention the normally stoic Misawa seems a bit pissed that Taue was so willing to take advantage of his injury. (2020 Martin: That Roaring Elbow was fucking HUGE! I have to say it caught me off guard because it came so early in the match. I can buy that Misawa wanted to get out of this match sooner rather than later because of his injury). At around the 12:00 minute mark, all hell breaks loose as Taue claws Misawa’s eye repeatedly to stop his elbow flurries. This culminates with Taue stepping on Misawa injured eye. The Japanese crowd and announcers collectively lose their shit at the ruthlessness and audacity of Taue. I have watched a lot of Japanese wrestling and never remember a crowd actually booing a wrestler that is how heated this got. Seventeen years after the fact that spot is still fuckin sweet. (2020 Martin: I was waiting for this moment. This and when he claws at the end. I forgot how lusty those boos are. The Japanese crowd was pissed and the Japanese announcer could not believe at the shamelessness of Taue. Taue was a desperate man and desperate man do desperate things. This is the moment where Taue's strategy became overt; he was going to target the injured eye.) Taue tries to negotiate his kill shot: the Nodowa off the apron to the floor, but Misawa elbows his way out of it. (2020 Martin: Before that Misawa fought to regain control only to be picked up from behind and hit with a back suplex off the apron. Never turn your back on an opponent especially one as ruthless as Taue. The tease of the Nodowa off the apron is an excellent spot). Misawa in desperation runs through more of his arsenal: spinkick, senton, frogsplash, german suplex, Tiger Driver, but can not garner the victory. Then we arrive at the spot of the match and maybe my favorite sequence in all of pro wrestling. (2020 Martin: I was thinking the same thing! TWINNING!) Misawa floats over Taue back on a vertical suplex attempt and lands on the apron. UH OH! Taue immediately takes the edge of his hand and drives it into Misawa’s injured eye. (2020 Martin: I love how Taue holds his Chop Hand frozen to brazenly demonstrate to the world what he did. Was he proud or was he shocked? We will never know) Taue goozles him, but Misawa is clinging to the ropes for dear life, but Taue chops his hand to break his clasp. (2020 Martin: Shawn Michaels eat your heart out. This is how you do high drama!) NODOWA TO THE FLOOR!!!! (2020 Martin: The crowd, the announcer and me 25 years later collectively lose our shit). Now the entire ending is in doubt. Before, Misawa was the favorite even with eye injury because he was the ace and none of the Four Corners had beaten him. However, this is the move that killed Kobashi and Kawada dead. This is the move that signals the end is nigh! Either ending is totally satisfying to customer as Misawa will either overcome this adversity as before or Taue will prove to be the Misawa-Slayer. As a smart wrestling fan, I can predict 95% of the outcomes of all matches because I have just watched that much wrestling. Sometimes the journey is more fun than the ending. However, then there are matches like these when the irresistible force (Nodowa on the floor) and the immovable object (Misawa) meet and I don’t know who will win, but fuck it is going to be one helluva ride. (2020 Martin: I didnt think about it in this way, but it is true. If I was watching this for the first time and didnt know the outcome, I could buy into either finish. Great work!) Taue runs through his offense (German, DDT, Atomic Legdrop) and punctuates this run with a DYNAMIC BOMB~! MISAWA KICKS OUT!!!! O SHIT!!!! NUCLEAR NEARFALL! Built so well in this Carnival! That was the payoff to Taue pinning Kobashi and Kawada. What a payoff! The ending is a great illustration of why Misawa one of the best ever. John Cena would have hulked up and ran through his offense to get the win, but Misawa presents his twist on the babyface comeback. (2020 Martin: 2012 Martin is wrong. Cena became the Misawa of Comebacks in WWE. More apt would have been Hogan. I am sorry for my ignorance in 2012). Misawa strikes with his elbows, but with each elbow he is falling down or powdering. He is using these desperation elbows to create breathing room for himself to recover. (2020 Martin: You nailed it, 2012 Martin) You get the feeling as a fan that he just did not stop being injured or fatigued, but that he is fighting through it. Taue is both dazed by these vicious elbows and fatigued from running through most of his offense. Taue is still able to kick out of a german suplex and a Tiger Driver. Taue, sensing that the end is near, tries one last ditch effort by clawing at the eye and the crowd is molten with heat at this. (2020 Martin: Another iconic moment in an iconic match) Misawa elbows through the claw and TWO Tiger Suplexes finish it for Misawa! Misawa perseveres and overcomes! One of the greatest matches I have ever seen. (2020 Martin: Damn straight!) It is one of those matches where you feel like you reached a Pro Wrestling Nirvana as a pro wrestling fan. This is one of the best individual Misawa performances I have ever seen as he puts over Taue as a force to reckoned with and himself as a resilient wrestler that overcomes adversity with his heart and elbows. Taue stepped up his game huge throughout the Carnival and there was no brighter moment than this match where he ate Misawa’s offense well and was totally ruthless against the eye. This match represents what pro wrestling should be: the simulation of human struggle. Taue is struggling to step out from Misawa’s shadow and is willing to do anything to finally end his “Reign of Terror”. (2020 Martin: I think added element of this is Taue is plagued by self-doubt. He is driven to shameless, ruthless tactics because he does not believe he can best Misawa on his own merits. He needs to exploit a weakness with illegal tactics. Clawing the eyes is illegal regardless of health. This was not merely taking advantage of an injury, this was combining cheating with kicking a man while he is down. It is offensive and should be resoundingly condemned as unsportsmanlike conduct and savory. The beauty of this is the levels. Taue does not come out attacking the eye. It is only after he struck with a vicious Roaring Elbow. It is out of survival and lack of self-confidence to get the job done that he resorts to these blatantly disgusting tactics. He is desperate because he does not believe in himself. He is shameless because he values the victory over human decency. Desperation + Shamelessness = Ruthless. This is best type of heel work.) Misawa is struggling with overcoming his broken orbital bone and an opponent willing and able to exploit it. (2020 Martin: Misawa is the valiant hero overcoming two big obstacles and ultimately triumphant. It is not his offense but rather his selling that wins him the day. His decisions to pause and and take the time and let us know his pain allows to become a part of his journey. He let us in and in doing so made us all the more invested. Vulnerability humanizes and the humanization process creates empathy & understanding. Misawa tapped into that. If Taue's performance is the greatest heel performance, then Misawa's was the greatest babyface performance) When pro wrestling is done right, I do not think there is a greater medium of entertainment. On April 15, 1995, Mitsuharu Misawa and Akira Taue did pro wrestling right. The only question is this the Greatest Match of All Time? The answer is I dont know, but it is in the Top 10 of all time. *****

AJPW Triple Crown Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 1/19/95 It looks like it has been almost 8 years since I last watched this bad boy. My 2012 takes are trash, here's a fresh set: First 15 minutes: I think they do some interesting things to establish Kawada as the subtle heel champion who is slightly inferior to his challenger. They actually start out doing the typical All Japan workrate (lots of movement combined with stiff strikes). It is a stalemate and Kobashi stood toe to toe with the Champ and may have hit a little harder. We are left with a staredown and Kawada looks like a man who has realized that this is going to be a lot tougher than he originally thought. Kobashi's hand print is left on Kawada's chest for some time. I also like that this gives them a excuse to slow it down instead of telegraphing they are going long. Kawada doesnt think he will doing the King's Road style so he goes to Tests of Strength which does seem kinda dumb as it plays into Kobashi's wheelhouse, but Kawada had a trick up his sleeve. Both times he terminated the test of strength to hit offense, first time to take a swiping kick at Kobashi's leg, the second time to hit the first big head drop of the match, a German and then chop blocks the knee. Kawada does a great job working over the knee while Kobashi sells like a champ, but what I really liked about this is that they didnt go over board since they were going 60 minutes they had time. Kobashi used the chops to block a Single Leg Crab and the Kneecrusher. They can get those in later and also now Kobashi's selling doesnt have to be quite as intense. It also adds struggle and a sense of earning the offense to the match. As the first quarter of the match comes to a close, Kobashi is in control with lots of leg drops and I mean lots of leg drops from different angles. Kobashi needed a go to hold like Misawa had the Facelock and Kawada had the Stretch Plum. Second 15 minutes: Weird to see an offensive juggernaut like Kobashi resort to standard pummeling offense and holds around the head/neck. He did work a mean side headlock at one point. Kawada's selling was the best part. He does sell fatigue/attrition really well. Kobashi's sleeper (which he used against Hansen a lot but hadnt seen him use much outside of that series) causes Kawada to get his ass in hear. They start jockey for position. Kawada starts to NO-SELL some chops and hulk up. This is the most dominant Kawada has looked. Kobashi starts to hulk up in a similar fashion to Kawada's chops, but Kawada chops high and Kobashi sells this so well! Collapse, gasping for breathe. Kawada double stomps the hell out of him a couple times. Great stuff. I thought the Powerbomb came too quickly and too easily and they didnt get the pop they wanted. Everything in this match had dripped with struggle I think because they had 60 minutes they really took the extra time to make it worth it. There was a great suplex segment about five minutes before this that really felt earned. The Powerbomb came off feeling transitional. Kobashi sells it like death, but what's weird is he able to back drop out of the second one. Kobashi is overselling in my opinion. He is doing a lot of glassy-eyed selling at 30 minute mark. If you die now, it will undermine his comeback and the match. Kawada is selling fatigue much more tastefully. Kobashi hits rebound shoudlertackle but Kawada SMOKES him with a lariat on the apron. Kobashi uses a PUNCH to end this King of the Mountain nonsense but Kawada catches him with a kick as Kobashi comes off the top. Here's the kicker, the joke is Kawada as he injured his leg on the kick. Kobashi dropkicks the knee! To a surprisingly big pop! For most of my 93/94 rewatch, I feel like Kobashi has been the better wrestler, but in this match I have enjoyed Kawada more and I am excited to see where this knee work goes. Third 15 minutes: I need to say this at some point...Kobashi is over like rover! It has to make Baba smile knowing his #2 face is so damn over. The lge work was great while it lasted and it was too short, not that consequential. It was about 5 minutes I'd day. Kobashi wrecked that knee. Kneecrusher through the timekeeper's table. All the classic holds including a Single Leg Crab with a foot steeping on Kawada's head. Kawada resists one hold and swipes at Kobashi's bad wheel and this re-establishes Kawada for a bit. Kawada sells exhaustion well but he has given up on knee selling. I think that first Powerbomb was a mistake. It was an awkward Powerbomb like he didnt expected Kobashi to go up and when he did he just sort of had to throw him. Ever since then Kawada cant hit the powerbomb and Kobashi keeps reversing so they are building to the Kawada Powerbomb even though it has already been hit so it is weird. Kobashi uses a closed fist AGAIN to stymie Kawada. He hits his own Powerbomb. He THREW KAWADA DOWN! Dangerous Back Drop Driver by Kobashi! Kawada looks in rough shape. They are starting to lose me as they going into workrate and everything is starting to blur together. I dont think there is a Kawada comeback stretch. I think they go to a Kobashi moonsault sequence. First Kawada rolls away and Kobashi bodyslams him. Kawada rolls out and Kobashi crashes and burns on the moonsault attempt. This triggers the Kawada comeback. Kobashi PUNCHES again!?! Kawada responds with a Jumping High Kick and it is TIMMMMMBAAAAHHHHHH by Kobashi. Kawada gets a couple covers off this. Then it is back to struggling over the Powerbomb. I really think that first Powerbomb was a mistake. There are huge Kobashi chants at this point. This match is pretty all over the place. They badly need a hook, but with 15 minutes left, they are just going to do their standard 15 minute close, but yeah this is definitely not a classic, I am not sure it is even great. Last 15 minutes: I am surprised everyone including 2012 me hated the finish. I thought this was by far and away the best part of the match. They just worked their usual finish run and it was incredible. I think they psyched themselves out for the first 45 minutes and in the last 15 they just did what they do best, really well-thought out bomb throwing. Kawada gets big nearfall heat on the Powerbomb. There are diminishing returns on the Dangerous Back Drop Driver and Stretch Plum. He wants the Dragon Suplex, which would have been something new. Kobashi resists and busts out the Rolling Cradle to NUCLEAR heat! The crowd was rabid for Kobashi. They wanted him to win desperately. The Jackknife Powerbomb and Moonsault get huge heat. Now it is Kobashi that wants the Dragon Suplex. KOPPOU KICK~! (Nobody told me I was spelling it wrong for years!). Kawada unleashes another wicked Koppou Kick and it is he who hits the Dragon Suplex for two. Great nearfall. Kobashi nails a bridging German for huge heat. He goes again but Kawada hits his usual twisting kick to avoid that. Kawada sends Kobashi flying with a German Suplex. Kobashi does his flailing, discombobulated selling trying to avoid a loss while Kawada is scrambling to put him away before time expires and it does with Kawada trying to hoist Kobashi up for a powerbomb. Admirable effort, even though I dont think it is a great 60 minute match but it was not from lack of trying. I think it was more a meandering layout that tempered my enjoyment. There was no hook. It was just action and them trying to find their way before the ultra-hot finish. Kawada paced himself better. His selling was pitch perfect so many great facial expressions. He really sold fatigue and general attrition well. He built to his offense better like the Powerbomb and the Dragon Suplex. Even though Kobashi didnt build to his offense as well, the crowd was so rabid for him they bit on everything and every nearfall had HUGE HEAT! Kobashi also oversold a lot in his match. He was dying too much and should have scaled it back until the end when he needed that extra level in his selling. Like I said they needed a hook. It didnt have to be a body part psychology but maybe Kobashi working from underneath to build to those nuclear nearfalls or Kawada working from underneath with Kobashi getting close but the Champ is too strong. I just thought it was too even and they would do 5 minute spells of something new. I will defend the finish. Conventional wisdom is the challenger is scrambling to win before the time limit expires but this is Kawada's first defense and I think they wanted him to look strong. The 60 minute draw elevates Kobashi, but Kawada being the one who probably would have won with 5 more minutes protects him. It is very good match, but when you go 60 minutes it feels like a failure (it is not!), but I hope they can improve on this in October 1996. ***3/4

Surprised ya’ll liked this I thought this was a horrible Hogan match. He had a knee brace on his left leg and was visibly hobbling the whole match. He almost fell twice on his comeback. Hogan is usually a ball of energy even as late as early 99 against Flair. Did he have knee surgery? Crow Sting fucking sucked. He was pretty useless in this match. Sid & Rick Steiner as your top 2 heels is the clear problem. DDP needs to get pushed harder and you turn at least one of the top 4 babyfaces and you can’t do Hogan or Goldberg. I guess you might as well do Sting but Sting sucked so much during this time period.

I liked this song. My Dad and I found the chorus catchy. It is not as great as With My Baby Tonight but it’s the GOAT. The Rednecks are a perfect midcard heel stable. Easily identifiable gimmick.

Stizzing in the hizzouse...it does come off as your Dad trying to be cool BIT I’m going to cut him some slack because isn’t that part of how you speak Carny. The real question is how did Carny speak seep into Hip Hop Culture. Luger looks like has aged ten years between 1997 and 1999. Based on the Buff Bagwell interview on Austin’s podcast, Luger was on a pretty heavy Soma regimen at the time. Booze & drugs will do that to you. Back in 1999, I could see all this drawing ire but watching it in a vacuum it’s a great Luger promo. Is he being genuine or is he manipulating Sting? Will Hogan turn? Will Luger turn? Of course this being WCW Sting turned oh well. Compared to 2020 WWE booking this shit is high end drama. 2020 WWE booking there are no angles or hooks to matches. It’s just here’s another wrestling match! I guess the benefit to that is there is no continuity to fuck up because there’s no such thing as a story.

I’m a huge KISS fan, definitely one of the best live acts I’ve ever seen. It is impossible not to have a huge smile on your face while Paul Stanley does his schtick. The Network cut this from Nitro? The episode was already 2 hrs 7 minutes, did they go over? Does WWE not want to pay KISS royalties. The KISS Demon wrestler is very Gene Simmons.

People need to recognize that after three stellar performances that Johnny Ace was a great wrestler. He should have been a consistent challenger to the Triple Crown. AJPW World Tag Team Champions Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Dr. Death & Johnny Ace - AJPW 3/4/95 I really enjoyed their matches in 1994 especially Johnny Ace's performance lets see what we get. Kobashi and Ace start and Ace holds his own. Misawa tags in. Doc wants in bad. Pleading "Let me have him". I said it before and I will say it again the biggest difference in Doc is his confidence. He wants that spotlight and he wants to lead. Ace eats a dropkick and Doc will not take no for an answer. Ace tags in Doc. Misawa lands the most blows but Doc will not go down. They do a pull apart brawl with the Junior tag partners holding their senior compatriots back. The Budokan popped pretty big for this spot. Of course, Ace lets Doc go so he can club Misawa from behind, good cheapshot. It is back to Kobashi and Ace, but Doc is the difference maker as he lands a King-Sized Brainbuster on Kobashi and we go into heat. They throw Kobashi to the outside. Ace legdrops Kobashi on the ropes. They do a lot of neck cranks. In the first ten minutes, nothing super interesting besides how revved up Doc has been. Doc wants the Dangerous Backdrop Driver...Kobashi resists knowing that would spell doom for him...Ace interferes...ref breaks it up...allows Kobashi to get to his corner and tag in Misawa. That was a good example of heel interference backfiring and allowing the tag. Doc vs Misawa gets a big reaction. Misawa losing to Doc helped Doc's star power a lot. Did Misawa ever get his win back? They tussle, Doc starts using lopping jabs, Misawa goes for a punch of his own but misses and Doc sends him ass over tea kettle with a wicked over arm armdrag. They work Misawa's arm. It is solid top wristlock work. Again, the best part of this is Doc creaming his lungs out on the apron "Rip it off!". Ace gets a nice spin kick/DDT nearfall but it is just solid arm work. Misawa hits his own spin kick to tag Kobashi in. Solid Kobashi hot tag, but nothing too explosive. Halfway through this has not been as good as the 1994 matches, but it has been solid. Doc cheering "Ace! Ace!" complete with clap-a-long as if he was going to get the Japanese faithful to cheer on a Johnny Ace comeback. The best part of the Heel In Peril was the the Powerbomb/Crossbody combo. At around the 20 minute they really turned this on. Did Big Dave give this the fully monty? I feel like he would be bored by the first 20 minutes or so but the action has definitely picked up to Big Dave levels. Kobashi wants the moonsault and it does seem time. Ace fights back and Doc Helps out. Ace does the Kobashi Moonsault Fist Pump, but he does not snap it off like in December 1994. Doc helps him out and then he hits the moonsault. Doc throws Kobashi around with some vicious suplexes. They do a a Top Rope Belly 2 Belly spot that I am shocked didnt injure or kill one of them...totally out of control. I will say this again Barbarian in All Japan instead of Nitro would have been insane! Misawa bails out Kobashi with a Tiger Driver, but Misawa cannot cover because he is not legal! BOOOOOO! Big Kobashi chants ring out. The Budokan crowd has bit on this match and they are invested. Doc tags in Ace who steps on Kobashi and leaps onto Misawa in a great spot. Uncle Slam by Ace and then an Ace Crusher! Ace does the Doc Boomer Sooner Stomp! Ace goes for the Doctor Bomb but Kobashi reverses the weight and Ace falls backwards. Hot Tag to Misawa! Ace has really kicked into high gear down the stretch. Wicked big boot by Ace and Misawa says Fuck You with an Elbow and goes to Sleeper and then Facelock! Is it weird that I think the Gaijin have outworked the Japanese? Kobashi has seemed subdued. Misawa has been pretty good. Doc and Ace have been fired up for this. Misawa goes for a monkey flip out of the corner and Doc comes up from behind and sends him ass over tea kettle in the most insane spot of the match. Misawa landed squarely on his neck/shoulders that was wicked. They pay tribute to Ace's brother with a Doomsday Device! Misawa looks in rough shape all of sudden. Ace cant put him away. Doc, the illegal man, tried two different slams but each time Kobashi dropkicked the knee of Doc. Great selling by Doc who acted like his Knee had been blown out. They do a double team Tiger Driver, but Misawa was shot and he tags in Kobashi. I like how it was Kobashi who has to save Misawa as opposed to 12/3/93 when Misawa handed Kobashi the victory on a silver platter. The Kobashi moonsault only gets two, Ace was in the match for the last 10 minutes and looked great. If you remember he started on offense, but the last 8 minutes he took a great shitkicking. Fighting back to make Misawa & Kobashi earn but each time he got owned. Great Tiger Suplex by Kobashi. Doc would make saves but Misawa started to tackle Doc. I also really liked the tug of war over Ace with Doc and Misawa each pulling at a body part to try to drag Ace to their respective corner, nice spot. Misawa attacks Doc's knee after Doc lunged at Misawa. I dont think I have ever seen body part work on the illegal man and Misawa to pick up on that thread from Kobashi was genius. Doc has to watch Ace get Powerbombed to Hell by Kobashi. As soon as Doc breaks free, he attacks Kobashi but Misawa saves. Doc hits a MASSIVE PLANCHA on Misawa to the floor that takes himself out. Kobashi hits the top rope John Cena style leg drop for the win! Johnny Ace took a helluva beating but he ate it like a champ and made Kobashi look like a champ. Ace looked great in this with his charisma shining in the middle and then playing tackling dummy for Misawa/Kobashi, which is bit of an exaggeration because he did make them earn it. Doc also looked like a world-beater in this. He came off as dominant and confident. The only reason Misawa and Kobashi won is they kept Ace isolated for 10 straight minutes. I liked Misawa & Kobashi playing defense against Doc by going after the legs. The first 20 minutes was just solid, but last 15 minutes is pretty incredible. I still prefer the 1994 matches, but yeah this picked up and kicked ass. ****1/4

AJPW Triple Crown Champion Stan Hansen vs Mitsuharu Misawa - AJPW 3/4/92 Well guys, I pulled a Parv. In my defense, the video on DailyMotion was mislabelled. I intended to watch their 1995 Triple Crown Contest as was described on DailyMotion but the video is mislabelled and it is actually this match. I should have known based on the length of time and there was no clipping. I knew the match was 25 minutes long based on Cagematch and the video on Dailymotion was only 22 minutes. The best part was I thought right up until the end it was the '95 match so when Stan hit the second lariat...I said to myself "Wow Misawa is going to kick out of two lariats! That's insane!" and then was a three count...I have never been so shocked in my life! lol :p The first 12 minutes of this were pretty tepid. Misawa worked a terrible armbar at one point, but I liked his side headlock. Hansen was trying to get the Dragon Sleeper over. The crowd was very behind Misawa and booed Hansen whenever he did something to Misawa in the ropes. At about the 12 minute mark, Stan turned on a switch and said FUCK IT and just charged at Misawa and bowled him over and like that it was ON! Hansen kicked the shit out of him on the floor. Powerbomb! Insane Back Suplex...scary head drop angle. Misawa would keep on clutching the back of his neck...but I do NOT think he was selling, brutha. As soon as Hansen went to suplex him, I called the slip out the back door, elbow spot. I am getting pretty good at Kings Road. Great Misawa comeback! Another clue that I should have known something was up was that Misawa FACELOOOOOOCCCKKKKKK was wicked over. I even remarked to myself "I cant believe the Facelock is still over in 1995". The finish is the best part. They are just struggling and tussling so hard in the corner. You have no clue which way it is going to go and then BANG LARIAT! WOW! Misawa gets the foot on the ropes and Hansen is besides himself. Misawa gets a great nearfall for himself based on his Big Elbow. You can see the power of the Elbow growing. It is not quite the KO punch it would be in August but it is getting there. Hansen blocks the diving elbow. I like the escalation does not work on the ground, lets take it to the air. As Misawa gets back up, He cocks the Elbow and Charges and HANSEN DEMOLISHES HIM WITH THE LARIAT! It is a ***** ending but the first 12 minutes is such a chore. The Stock Hansen Heat Segment and Stock Misawa comeback get this to the good range, and the finish takes us to very good, but it was too little too late to be great. ***3/4

AJPW Triple Crown Champion Toshiaki Kawada vs Stan Hansen - AJPW 3/4/95 I have become very interested in these Triple Crown defenses with no hype. Are there hidden gems hiding in plain sight? I have watched the first ten minutes and I will say this is definitely entertaining and definitely has its moments of heat, but whats weird is the crowd is so dead even in spots I wouldnt expect. Hansen uses a closed fist to break up a nearfall and Kawada sells it like his jaw is broken and not a peep. There were two tackles by each men that felt heated to me, but whole lotta nuthin from the crowd. Hansen busted out a diving shouldertackle through the bottom rope within the first minute and an out of nowhere elbow drop as Kawada was on the outside that was great. There were some really damn good highspots. There was no heat. Besides what I mentioned I liked Kawada responses to two Cowboy Kicks was to hit a Spinning Heel Kick and rifle him with his own Cowboy Kick. Just as Hansen looked to be running away with it, Kawada dropkicked the knee. They worked on that for a few minutes and then Hansen uses the aforementioned punch to break up the pinfall. 90s Hansen was forced to grind in these matches because of the length. When you are a guy Hansen's size and age, you cant do your "Bull In A China Shop" routine for 30 minutes so there was more of a grind to his work. He picked his spots and he had two big highspots. I liked the shouldertackle on the floor. Yeah so far, so good. It is definitely not a 5 star classic, but I am enjoying it. I have some thoughts on 90s Hansen...much better at selling. When I watch these 90s Hansen matches, I find his wounded bear selling to be the most enjoyable part of his matches. His grinding offense is good but I know it be better if he was in a spirited barroom brawl so I like his selling. I will say before the arm psychology hook I thought he was overselling exhaustion around 12 minutes. He made it seem like the match was even based on his selling but he was dominating. I liked the off camera lunge into the picture wiping Kawada out and then he hit two powerbombs, but like I was saying even though he was dominating he was acting as if he was every bit as worse off as Kawada. He goes for a third but Kawada starts hitting Jumping High Kicks. I like the head hunting strategy. I like Hansen's instinct is to go for a desperation Lariat to end the rally but Kawada ducks and hits another one. Kawada starts charging big booting Hansen in the mush. Hansen is great at selling but also struggling piefacing Kawada at one point or dumping him on his ass. Kawada was thinking powerbomb but couldnt make it happen. Hansen really started firing off those closed fists to the face. All Japan is really into having the heel use a punch to get heat when they are desperate. This crowd is dead as a door nail and I have given up on them because this match is great. Hansen is thinking Lariat, but Kawada kicks the Lariat arm! Jumping High Kick connects with the Lariat arm! Hansen does his wounded bear selling on the outside. He comes back in to the ring and is greeted with a kick so hard that Kawada sells his own foot. Great shit! Yeah this match rocks! I really enjoyed Kawada's work on the arm. The Fujiwara Armbar Takedown and the Cross Armbreaker should have had nuclear heat. That was great. Hansen goes back to using the closed fists, but not as much pep behind them. Kawada desperately wants the Powerbomb but he just cant get the big man up. He goes for a suplex, but nope Hansen reverses I thought the end was night but they go back to Kawada who hits a top rope kneedrop. They loses me here. They just run out of steam and the crowd is so dead. Hansen guts through and hits his first Lariat but it doesnt have any swing to it. It is just a concrete wall. Kawada sells like death and then he hits the Swinging One and he sells like he broke his arm to do it and after like 30 seconds makes the cover for the win. Besides being totally bereft of crowd heat, I thought this match was great. Hansen was throwing his body around with reckless abandon and there were some great scraps at the beginning. I liked Kawada trying to kick Hansen's head off and then moving to targeting the arm. I have theory why there may have been no crowd heat. I think the crowd wanted to cheer for Hansen but the match was not designed in a way to make it easy for them to do it. Hansen had become Baba's tag partner and he was the senior guy on the roster. I think Baba assumed in a native vs gaijin match that Kawada would be cheered but I think Hansen had truly become one of them and add that Kawada is a heel native, I think the crowd wanted to cheer for Hansen, notice there are Hansen chants during the Fujiwara Armbar. Or it could be that this was heel vs heel which is the worst type of match because the crowd hates both men and does not cheer for anyone. I dont know but the crowd being dead is a reason I suspect this match is lauded. I did feel the finish was a bit flat and they did not crescendo into the Lariat. The first 28 minutes or so are great and that's worth something! ****

Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 4/13/95 2012 Martin take it away... In January, Kobashi extended Kawada to the limit in his only successful defense of the Triple Crown in a one hour draw. This is their first meeting since that match with both men eliminated from a spot in the finals these men will be battling for personal honor and the fact they plain just don’t like one another. Kawada immediately indulges Kobashi by engaging in a test of strength, which Kobashi wins. Kobashi delivers a Tiger Suplex out of it and some of his patented leg drops across stuff (guard rails and the middle rope). (2020 Martin: I really liked the traditional All Japan Surfboard test of strength leading to the first big bomb, a Tiger Suplex). Kobashi has a lot to prove remember because he is yet to garner a victory over any of the other members of the Four Corners of Heaven. At the same time, Kawada is looking for some positive momentum, but the early going indicates that Kobashi is the aggressor. Kawada fires off some kicks and then backs Kobashi into a corner before unleashing a barrage of vicious knees to the face. I’m sorry, Mr. Kawada for thinking you were not the aggressor. Kobashi is able to connect with a favorite All Japan spot the rebound lariat off the guardrail. Then we arrive at the hook of the match, Kobashi in his overzealousness high knees the guardrail. (2020 Martin: The first ten minutes are a blur of workrate. Misawa and Taue inherently bring structure to their singles matches that is a framework for these two workrate horses. Left to their own devices, it can just be whirlwind action, I like the addiiton of body part psychology to give this match some focus.) Kawada works it really strong. Kawada delivers a shinbreaker onto the neighboring timekeeper’s table another favorite All Japan spot. I approve, Kawada. Kawada works over the leg some more with a half-crab and Scorpion Deathlock. Of course when Kobashi makes him comeback, Kawada immediately cuts that off with a dropkick to the knee. God Bless Dangerous K! Kobashi dropkicks Kawada’s trick knee (hurt it back in 1993) and then delivers his own shinbreaker onto the announce table. I love the symmetry as now Kobashi utilizes a half crab and Texas Cloverleaf. (2020 Martin: Dueling Leg Psychology I am definitely down for this.) I am just excited about all this because it means Kawada gets to sell the knee. Kawada on jello legs and his fall across the ring after a Kobashi Irish whip is some of the best wrestling theatre ever. Lets take this bad boy home! Kawada manages a desperation DANGEROUS~! Backdrop Driver, but Kobashi blocks the stretch plum attempt. (2020 Martin: There was also a pair of Kobashi powerbombs) Kawada gets a 2 off one powerbomb, but his leg buckles on the second and Kobashi gets a 2 count just from landing on top of him. Kobashi sets up for the moonsault, but Kawada rolls away. Finally Kobashi connects with a moonsault and it only gets two. The expression of shock on Kobashi’s face says it all. Kobashi runs through the rest of his bag of tricks: the Burning Lariat, the Rolling Cradle and another moonsault, but he misses that time to give Kawada a near-fall. Kawada delivers another powerbomb and DANGEROUS~! Backdrop Driver for nearfalls, but Kobashi keeps crawling away as the time limit expires. (2020 Martin: It was a very workrate heavy last ten minutes that was underpinned by great selling by both men which did not let it become overwrought) All Japan was doing its damndest to prove these two men were exact equals with multiple draws in 1995 and 1996. Once again, Kawada was in control when the time limit expired, but did not have enough to put his opponent away. This match is a lot of fun because the symmetrical leg psychology, (2020 Martin: there is not enough of it) Kawada’s selling and the great finish run. I would place this behind Kobashi/Taue and Kawada/Taue (2020 Martin: I'd put this behind Misawa/Taue Carny round robin match too) because while it was heated, it did not have the emotion of the three Taue matches. (2020 Martin: 2012 Martin is right. This is workrate fireworks display, but I dont think it will stick with me in the long run). ****1/4

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue - AJPW 4/12/95 Unfortunately, no 2012 Martin for this one as I skipped during my re-watch and I have never seen this match before. I was getting used to having 2012 Martin around, it was saving me so much time. From babyface Taue standing up to that bully Kawada to shameless Taue being a prick working the injured eye, this Carnival is the many faces of Taue. The first 10 minutes or so they work this like a WWF House Show Time Limit Draw, everything is solid and snug, but not very exciting. The only exciting thing at the beginning is Taue takes Misawa down via an eyerake and puts his boot up against Misawa's eye. The ref admonishes him. Misawa begins his comeback through one of his favorite spots, he slips out the back door of a suplex and starts rocking & rolling with some elbows. He does some fancy Tiger Mask II bullshit to lure Taue in position for the Elbow Suicida! Tiger Driver gets two, which is a good nearfall. I like how when Taue claps his leg together to kick out Misawa clutches the eye. We have seen that style kick out a million times for sunset flip, I liked that wrinkle. Because they are going long Misawa works some more holds like a Figure-4 around the head. Taue his backdrop driver out of a headlock and then a leg drop. Now the match picks up. Elbow pressed against the bad eye and then a foot. Alright some fucking heat to finally warm me up. Misawa hope spot, but Taue side steps the middle rope dropkick and looks like it is all aboard the Taue express at the 15 minute mark. Taue was fucking over. I have never seen anything like this. Without a doubt, the MOST HATED move in Japan from 1993-94 was Taue's Snake Eyes. It was literally the only thing Japanese fans would consistently boo. In this match, Taue rolled Snake Eyes on Misawa and the crowd popped like no other. There were chants of "TAUE! TAUE!" ringing through the arena. That's the other thing is in native vs native matches even Kawada & Taue are ostensibly heels the Japanese crowd is usually pretty respectful akin to a tennis crowd and will cheer whoever is losing in order to get a better, longer match. They were actively cheering Taue when was on top kicking Misawa's ass. They didnt boo Misawa when he made his comebacks but they werent happy either. It was very weird. They should have had Taue drop the Powerbomb right after that Snake Eyes. The heat for that nearfall would have been nuclear. Instead, Misawa worked a comeback based around Spin Kicks to the back and ultimately led to a German Suplex. It was pretty weak. Misawa ends up missing a move from the top and Taue bulldog. Now we get the Powerbomb kickout and it is a hot nearfall but they definitely mistimed it. Misawa goes back on top. This is a tone deaf match. They clearly had a plan, but the crowd had a fever and the only cure was more Taue! Again it is not a very interesting Misawa comeback. Taue ends up hitting a NODOWA~! Another hot nearfall, Misawa rolls out, which is bad business in a 1995 Taue match because you know the Apron Spot is coming. They work the apron but Misawa avoids Doom, Death and Destruction by dropkicking Taue in the gut on the apron, but Taue rises and Sweeps The Leg with a clothesline. Rough Misawa Bump on the apron. NODOWA~! on the floor! Rolls back in but too much time has elapsed. Only a two count. DYNAMIC BOMB~! 1-2-NO! INSANE! There is about one minute to go in the time limit after this and surprisingly they work a Misawa comeback with a Tiger Driver nearfall at the bell to make Misawa stand tall at the end. Very weird if you are going to do the time limit draw why give away the Dynamic Bomb nearfall. Now that being said they did NOT give a way the NODOWA off the apron. I think that's the real key. In both the Kobashi & Kawada matches, it is the NODOWA off the apron that signals the end is night and the Dynamic Bomb just polishes them off. Misawa did not wrestle his best. It was a very lukewarm performance from him. Besides the middle of the match where he busted out that fancy Tiger Mask shit, he did not seem motivated, but that's probably due to being in tremendous his pain from his eye. Some people really liked this match, but I see a great Taue performance and a crowd really hot for Taue. ****

Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue - AJPW 4/8/95 It is very interesting in both tag partner vs tag partner they went into full bore with no reservations. THE HOLY DEMON ARMY EXPLODES~! Had to. Taue has a victory on Kobashi and Kawada has drawn Misawa thus for Kawada to advance to the Champions Carnival he needs a victory here and a victory over Kobashi and hope Taue does not beat Misawa. This match is wrestled with this idea in mind. Kawada needs the win more than Taue and thus goes out there and wrestles more aggressively than his partner. Taue, much like in the Kobashi, does his usual throwdown defense, but Kawada catches him early with a wicked, short spinning heel kick. (2020 Martin: I think I was underestimating Taue's will to win. Taue CRACKED him with a slap triggering a great Kawada stumble on his ass sell. There was a great throwdown Nodowa that Kawada sold the back of his head well on the outside. Honestly I thought Kawada was getting routed until the kick to the head in the corner and the aforementioned spinning hell kick) Kawada is on offense for the majority of the match and employs some wicked submissions, which is something that All Japan matches lacked. (2020 Martin: I am disappointed in myself for not making an auto-fellatio joke given how Kawada was stretching him at one point). This works twofold to put Kawada over a sadistic sum bitch who needs the win and Taue as a sympathetic underdog. (2020 Martin: I do agree that Taue became very sympathetic in this match). Taue times his hope spots well using a Tenryu-style enziguri and his snake eyes moves well, but Kawada remains in command. (2020 Martin: I am underrating the Taue clothesline on the outside and the Snake Eyes on the guardrail) Kawada relies heavily on his explosive kicks to stymie any Taue flurries. (2020 Martin: Kawada uses the Spinning Heel Kick and Cowboy Kick twice. Stretch Plum is used as a mid-match nearfall of sorts) The tension in the match is derived from Kawada’s urgency to win, but Taue is not letting it become a Kawada exhibition. (2020 Martin: Kinda right. I think the other part of the tension is we all know Taue has these huge bombs and hasnt hit them yet and when he does hit the series of NODOWAS around the 15 minute mark business picks up. The way they set it up with Kawada hitting Kawada kicks and Kawada knees and eventually Taue just gets so fed up that he shoves him on his ass popped the crowd huge. It was like the little kid finally standing up to the bully. It was a great moment!) Taue does deliver a DDT onto exposed concrete and a couple Nodowas. (2020 Martin: The Exposed Concrete DDT was a huge spot. Really cemented Taue's advantage) In the ultimate display of desperation in puroresu, Kawada uses a closed fist to quash this turn of events. (2020 Martin: I didnt see this. I rewound and everything I saw a Spinning Heel Kick turn the tide and then a Jumping High Kick cemented the advantage resulting in a hot nearfall of a Kawada powerbomb.) I never thought I would say so-so is the greatest wrestler at using apron, but Godamnit Taue is the greatest apron wrestler ever. The best sequence of the match is when Kawada Yakuza Kick (high kick to face) on Taue on the apron. Taue returns the closed fist from earlier to set up Taue’s big bomb: the Nodowa to the floor!!!! (2020 Martin: Terrific sequence! High drama as they walk the tight rope! Whoever wins that apron sequence wins the match...great stuff!) Kawada, similarly to Kobashi, sells it like death and the end is inevitable for Kawada as he falls to Super Nodowa (rolls away) and ultimately the DYNAMIC BOMB~! (2020 Martin: Terrific finish!) Best match of the Carnival so far, it does not blow away the competition, but I liked this match the most because of Taue coming from behind and besting Kawada in the upset. (2020 Martin: I disagree with myself. I liked the Taue vs Kobashi match better more urgency & energy, but I dont dispute my own point that come from behind victory for Taue was satisfying). As these two are partners, I think Kawada busting out new tricks was his way of keeping his partner off balance. However, Kawada was not able to wrangle Taue into his powerbomb or DANGEROUS~! Backdrop driver, which are his bread and butter. (2020 Martin: 2012 Martin is wrong, Kawada did hit his powerbomb after a Spinning Heel Kick & Jumping High Kick. It was a really strong nearfall because Kawada was the odds on favorite to win). Taue kept his offense very true to form and used his size advantage over his partner to connect with his moves. (2020 Martin: I wouldnt just say size, but all his tenacity. He would just get fed up and ROAR~!) It almost felt like some an act of hubris with Kawada willing to engage his junior partner on the apron knowing full well what happened to Kobashi. Taue with two victories is guaranteed a trip to the finals with this victory, who have thought Taue would be the one 2-0. Taue is definitely on fire in this tournament. ****1/2

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 4/6/95 The famous Kawada breaks Misawa's eye socket match and Misawa wrestles for another 29:30 minutes. This would lead to a great hook for the Carny Finals and the Misawa/Kawada 7/29/95 match. I would hate this to be the first Misawa/Kawada match anyone watches. It is such a classic rivalry and this match disappoints. It disappoints because about 30 seconds into the match Kawada breaks Misawa’s orbital bone legitimately. It is off a kick that does not even look all that bad. Misawa takes an extended break in the corner. The ref checks on him. Twice the young boys try to give him an ice pack for his eye. This obviously causes Misawa immense pain and it is a real tribute to his actual toughness that he continued on for the next 29:30 of the match. It did cause him to botch a couple moves of his routine and for the match to start a bit slower, but he did find his groove eventually. The spot of the match is Kawada actually busting out a dive onto the outside of his own, which made me go nuts. (2020 Martin: I thought the same thing. It was not very graceful but it was crazy!) Misawa blocks a piledriver on the floor delivers a Tiger Driver for the first big move of the match approximately 12 minutes into the match. (2020 Martin: Up until that point, they did seem to be buying time, the AJPW Surfboard spot and some holds. I am surprised I didnt mention how good Kawada's selling at some points. Misawa threw some fierce kicks to the core and Kawada did a great job doing doubled over selling.) Kawada still goes after the eye, which makes me cringe. (2020 Martin: Nothing has changed) As I mentioned earlier, Kawada had never pinned Misawa before. The injury forced their hand to structure a match where Kawada would be offense for a majority making it feel like Kawada would eventually get that victory. Kawada is really good at nuances like the struggle over a powerbomb. (2020 Martin: Three attempts, Misawa-rana and Misawa kicks to the head stymie the first two. I liked Misawa getting a brief run before Kawada turned to Double Stomps to earn that Powerbomb. He really launched him too. Not quite as much heat as 6/3/94 Powerbomb but this was top notch work). Kawada keeps going back to the stretch plum because of the pressure it puts on the eye. Misawa lands a spin kick and goes through his offensive arsenal and the Tiger Suplex gets a good pop as a false finish. (2020 Martin: The key to this is that once Kawada gets the powerbomb they move to Misawa on offense which is smart. They work it as Misawa trying to avoid a suplex by clutching the top rope and when he lets go his elbow recoils and snaps back to hit Kawada. Then they work Misawa finish run. They work it so convincingly that I thought Misawa was going to stand tall when the bell rang for the draw) My second favorite spot of the match is when Kawada is clutching the ropes for dear life fending off a sleeper suplex attempt (Misawa's new favorite move as it put away Kobashi) and then fires off this nasty chop to Misawa’s throat. (2020 Martin: I dont know what your favorite spot was but that was the spot of the match, dude. Same recoil spot as Misawa's elbow earlier.). It was a perfect confluence of desperation, fatigue and dickishness. (2020 Martin: The Jumping High Kick was crucial here after the recoil spinning back chop) Kawada lands a brainbuster and a powerbomb but time expires with him desperately trying to hit a Back Drop Driver. The general theme of Misawa/Kawada matches is Kawada getting closer and closer to pinning Misawa. In 1993, Kawada worked over Misawa’s arm to eliminate Misawa’s vaunted elbows. In 1994, Kawada worked over Misawa’s neck and was even more aggressive in his stance. In this match, he was in control of the match before time limit expiring looking that with just a minute more and a successful Back Drop Driver he would have secured his first victory over Misawa. This was a great effort from both men given the circumstances of Misawa’s unfortunate injury so early in the match. The first 15 minutes or so is pretty rough, but once Misawa finds his groove the back 15 minutes are really, really strong. It is an unfortunate injury but the silver lining is that the injury adds a ton of heat to Misawa's classic matches of '95. ****1/4

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 3/26/95 The following is a 2012 review from my re-watch of the 1995 Champions Carnival. It is important to note that Stan Hansen is the Triple Crown Champion at this point not Misawa. It is easy to forget as they were using Hansen as a transition champion from Kawada to Misawa. Kobashi just lost a hard fought battle to Taue. Kobashi will look to get himself back on track against his tag team partner while Misawa will be looking to prove he is the Undisputed Ace of All Japan. I was surprised at how vicious Kobashi was towards Misawa. (2020 Martin: Kobashi came to play. This was no exhibition. He wanted the "W" and was chopping Misawa hard). Even after Kawada left Misawa for Taue, Misawa always seemed to wrestle Kawada diplomatically. Going into this match, I expected Kobashi and Misawa grapple until it got to a boiling point and then they went balls to walls. Instead, Kobashi came out to prove a point and he made it loud and clear with his thunderous chops on Misawa’s chest. Misawa and Kobashi work well together because Kobashi wants to do a ton of shit and Misawa wants to take a lot of shit until he gets to make his extended comeback. (2020 Martin: I still agree with that assessment) Kobashi’s opening shine segment is fun with lots of good moves and plays to both men strengths. Cool spot at the beginning with Misawa doing a monkey flip out of the corner as a hope spot because I had not seen that before. Misawa, of course, goes to his trusty elbows when in doubt. There is this fuckin wild sequence out of a surfboard that just has to be seen to be fully appreciated. (2020 Martin: Nothing has changed. I was going to rave about that sequence but 2012 Martin beat me to it! Awesome stuff!) A great instance of Misawa selling is when Kobashi roundhouse kicks in him the gut and he begins to cough. (2020 Martin: I missed that! I know the kicks but I missed the cough.) This is a great exhibition for how stiff and violent the strikes in All Japan can be as Misawa delivers some great Fuck You Elbows and Kobashi with Burning Lariats. (2020 Martin: Those Lariats are not quite Burning yet, but those Elbows were wicked) Kobashi begins to pour it on with Backdrop Driver and German Suplex, powerbomb and moonsault triggering “Mi-Saw-wah” chants and a loud pop on the kickout from the moonsault. (2020 Martin: Misawa took a lot of head drops in this match. I have not been keeping count but I would say there were more here than in 93/94.) I was shocked to as I expected a foot on the ropes rather than a straight kickout. (2020 Martin: I agree. I think this shows the gap between Kobashi & Misawa. Kobashi hit Misawa with all his best moves and still couldnt put him away. However if he did hit the Moonsault against Taue you think he could have won. It is goo to have that doubt in the fans' minds.) Things are looking bleak for Misawa as he rolls out and trying to extend the match. ROARING ELBOW~! From Misawa regains control for Misawa. (2020 Martin: I would not use a Tilde Bang there. This match lacks the awesome Nodowa off the Apron spot. All Japan was so great at "Tide Turner" moment. There's none here. Misawa catches Kobashi with two elbows and a Tiger Suplex and then that's when the end becomes nigh. Not big enough in my opinion). Tiger suplex, frog splash get near falls and trigger “Ko-Bashi” chants. I do not know if it was a split crowd or if they just respected the hell out of both men. Kobashi does his dramatic crawl away but a Tiger Driver followed by a Sleeper Suplex finishes off Kobashi. (2020 Martin: Was this the debut of the move? I have watched 93/94 pretty extensively and never seen it. I know Misawa would settle on Emerald Flowsion as his ultimate finisher but was the Sleeper Suplex supposed to compete with the Dynamic Bomb?) This is a great match to get a feel for the All Japan style if you are a first timer. There is pretty of fantastic sequences full of heated strikes and big bombs. (2020 Martin: I agree with this is a very solid, typical All Japan match with stiffness that knocks you to your knees, big bombs, well-paced and a very dramatic home stretch.) Kobashi comes off once again as a wrestler on the cusp of making it big, but doesn’t have enough to put away one of the big guns. Misawa does a good job giving Kobashi a lot before making a typical great comeback although a bit shorter than his usual (2020 Martin: I noticed that too). I greatly preferred Kobashi/Taue for the interesting story and heated struggle. Some people really liked this, but to me this falls into the category typically great "fall out of bed All Japan" match. ****

Glad you liked it as much as I did!

Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW Champions Carnival 3/21/95 The 1995 edition of the Champions Carnival is my favorite Carnival of all time (even though 1994 has made a serious play for number one when I just watched it a month ago). To me this is when the Four Corners were all peaking together, Taue was a bit of a laggard, but in 1995 he took a big step forward and was every bit their peer and it all starts with this Carnival run. Dr. Death is to 1994 what Taue is to 1995. The most important thing to note is Kobashi has never beaten Taue, BUT he does hold a time limit draw against then Champion Kawada and several big Tag pins. If you were setting odds, this was a push 'em, but I'd say whoever does win this match was getting the big push for 1995. I reviewed all these matches in 2012 and actually wrote one of my very first blogs on the 1995 Carnival. I will throw in some editorial notes from 2020 as I watch the match. The first match is a contest between the two junior partners in their respective teams. It really feels like both these men are out there with something to prove (2020 Martin: Effort level is very high). This gives this match a real sense of struggle as both men are making each other work for their moves (2020 Martin: Damn straight). Everytime, Kobashi looks like he is putting something together, Taue will throw him down (2020 Martin: Noticed this theme of Taue being very reactionary. Kobashi was fire up and Taue would have to just defend himself from being overwhelmed). There is a theme among most Kobashi matches of his macho posturing costing him matches as he gets too involved in one up manship that he loses sight of winning the match. Taue, for his part, avoids getting sucked into this like Kawada sometimes will by avoiding the test of strength and going for shortcuts like eye-rakes and throwdowns. Taue is going his best to disrupt Kobashi’s offensive flow. For his part, Taue looked his best on offense that I has seen up to that point. His Jumbo high knee and enziguri combo looked fantastic. He delivered some stiff blows a particularly vicious lariat comes to mind. (2020 Martin: I know the exact lariat that I am talking about. I marked out for that again and I would add the Taue elbow drop from the top was a great highspot). 2020 Martin: I would add that there is a fist fight that breaks out mid-match that Kobashi actually starts when they scrap to the ground. Then Taue comes up swinging. You can tell how badly each man wants it. There is a desperation to win in this match unlike almost any other I have seen. It makes for very engaging viewing. Kobashi continues this theme of struggle by doing his best to cut off Taue during his offense. Kobashi comes off like a warrior with dogged determination to press on even in bleak circumstance. My favorite spot of the match is when Taue does a throwdown to stop a Kobashi flurry into the corner only for Kobashi to rebound off and lariat him to a great pop. (2020 Martin: I would no longer say thats my favorite spot of the match, but it is a great spot. Noticed how Kobashi needed a Spinning Back Hand Chop, this lariat, and a DDT to just level the playing field.) Eventually string together two pinning combinations off of a bridging german suplex and a powerbomb, but then misses his put-away: the moonsault. This gives the feeling that Kobashi was one move away from his getting his big victory. (2020 Martin: Always smart booking. I am an advocate for missing the finisher. The finisher-kick out is one of the most damaging trends in pro wrestling). As part two of my favorite spot of the match, Taue Irish whipped Kobashi into the guardrail and Kobashi went to do a rebound lariat only for Taue to catch him this time and throw him back into the guardrail. That was sweet! (2020 Martin: This is my favorite spot. 2012 Martin seems like a good dude. ) Taue follows this up with a HUGE Nodowa off the apron onto the floor! (2020 Martin: This would become a theme throughout the '95 Carnival and a signal that end is nigh. This being the first match we didnt know the pattern yet). Kobashi sells it like death. (2020 Martin: Kobashi's selling from here on is sublime). Taue has to bring him back in to get the pinfall, but Kobashi kicks out. Kobashi is working under the “lights are on, but no one is home” guise just trying to extend Taue to a 30 minute draw by rolling to outside. Taue obliges him by POWERBOMBING him on the floor. There is no safe haven! Taue is such a prick and the fans love it oddly enough as they cheer his name. Kobashi desperately trying to avoid the NODOWA~! EPIC! Taue polishes him off with the DYNAMIC BOMB~! This is Taue’s new and improved finisher to add a bomb to his arsenal. I liked (2020 Martin: I believe the word you are looking for is "LOVED") this match a whole lot as Taue really blew me away with his performance. He reigned Kobashi in and made sure that Kobashi never ate him alive with all his offense. Taue worked hard to impress and deliver some great offense. The match did a great job to put over two moves: the Nodowa off the apron and the Dynamic Bomb. In addition, it really Taue over as a scrappy, ruthless competitor that would never let a match get too far out of control. Kobashi was able to work his moves in a logical fashion and his facial expressions added to put over how much of a struggle this match was. His most important role was selling like he dead after the Nodowa to the floor and really putting Taue over as a threat. It felt like he was one moonsault away from winning, but at the day he went for one too many rebound lariats and got caught. That was turning point because it allowed Taue to set up the Nodowa to the floor. A fantastic start to the tournament and I think one that places the bar very high for all the matches to follow. (2020 Martin: Wants to add the effort level was extraordinarily high, I loved Kobashi's dogged determination to keep charging & Taue's equally dogged determination to keep throwing him on his ass. I came in thinking we going to start with a kickass match, but this could be the second best match of the tournament). ****3/4

Toshiaki Kawada vs Gary Albright - AJPW 10/25/95 I've this match a couple times and I thought it was great, but not necessarily a classic. They instantly blew my expectations out of the water with this kickass match. When I was watching this 10-15 years ago, I didnt get how big of a deal UWFi was. I watched Vader vs Takada and knew about the UWFi invasion of NJPW, but I didnt fully grasp. Now that I have I become more steeped in puroresu history and watched a lot of UWFi, I get it, but I also part of the novelty is that 90s All Japan did NOT do matches like this. It was the Four Corners and later Akiyama with the top gaijins of Hansen, Doc and Ace in a mix and match. So this was the closest thing All Japan did a big money interpromotional dream match in the 90s. I prefer Hashimoto vs Takada to this, but this blew Mutoh vs Takada out of the water. Huge Fight Feel! Budokan is rocking! It feels that Albright is instantly over as a monster. Holy shit! Listen to the reaction of him grabbing a reverse waistlock! You think he just hit the greatest highspot in the world! He just wrapped his arms around a person's body. That's when you know you are fucking over. I like how Albright evaded the typical Kawada kick to get out of the German Suplex. Then Alright just pounced and Kawada retaliated with a deep heel hook. Loved the urgency set the tone for the match. Kawada did a greta job playing by Albright's rules respecting his size advantage and his shoot credentials without looking overwhelmed. Kawada brought the fight to Albright early on. That enziguiri rocked him and that flurry of strikes was so over and I dont think Kawada looked better in the 90s. Then Albright finally got hold of him. The takedowns and suplexes took their toll. An early cross-armbreaker caused Kawada to powder. I liked Albright immediately going for the Fujiwara armbar. I liked how they built to the German Suplexes. He was hitting other suplexes but Kawada was avoiding that one. After a belly 2 belly and a powerslam, Albright hit the massive German. Kawada did one of his classic selljobs and collapsed to the outside. That was his only saving grace as by the time Alright rolled him back in, Kawada could kick out. With the German not winning him the match, Alright tried to up the ante to the Dragon Suplex but Kawada hoists him into the Back Drop Driver. STRETCH PLUM~! Watch the Stretch Plum, you can tell Kawada is having the time of his life. I think he is out to prove to Baba and everyone there's more to wrestling than just King's Road. Also he feels like a super duper star. He was first in the shadow of Misawa and then Kobashi, but in matches like this and against New Japan in 2000 that Kawada feels like a huge star instead of second fiddle. He was so over on this night. After the Stretch Plum, he goes for the Powerbomb, nothing doing and MACK TRUCK LARIAT! Albright does not bump. That was just man on man! Wow! Albright counters the next Lariat with a kneelift. They go to the ground, Albright gets a double wristlock and then rides a harmmerlock on the bad arm of Kawada. Albright wants the Dragon Suplex. Kawada breaks free, Spinning Back Chop, KAPPO KICK! Albright armdrag goes for a Cross Armbreaker but Kawada counters into his own for the flash win. I think the finish was a little too easy and quick. Albright had wrist control and almost the cross armbreaker applied it was too easy for Kawada to just stand up and apply his own. One thing I am forever grateful towards Shoot Style wrestling is how it forced pro wrestling to respect the cross armbreaker. So at least the hold was feared, sold well and used as a finisher in this match. Kawada going over was the right call but I thought Albright looked great in the loss and no reason why he couldnt be used the down the line. I am interested in Misawa's 96 title defense against Albright. Albright's size and suplex arsenal was on display but Kawada showed off his striking game and his ability to counter. A big feather in Kawada's cap proving he could classic matches outside of his Four Corners opponents and in a different style. Check out his match against Naoya Ogawa from Zero-One 2003. I'll be honest I had been enjoying the other three Corners a lot more when I was watching '93 and '94 back. I think the other three has such big personalities. Kawada just wasnt clicking with me. He really did here. I saw the fire in his eyes and pep in his step. He had been missing that in some matches. If you want to make the case for Kawada being the best of the Four Corners, it starts here and showing his versatility, urgency, passion and asskicking nature. ****1/2

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion Dan Kroffat vs Rob Van Dam - AJPW 6/9/95 Very famous match: potentially RVD's career match (I think I like the Bigelow match from ECW a hair more), the best non-Four Corners 90s All Japan (I need to rewatch a couple Hansen/Spivey vs Miracle Violence) and it is on the undercard of maybe the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever (no not Edge vs Orton...man that comment is not going to age well). Also what better way to transition from ECW to All Japan than this match, well maybe Tommy Dreamer vs Akira Taue...the ECW/AJPW loose affiliation could have led to some weird pairings. Kenta Kobashi vs Sandman in the ECW Arena would have been insane. Genius match laid out by Kroffat here as he made RVD look like a million bucks. Karate RVD > Carrot Top RVD. Basically, RVD is working a headlock, Kroffat does something dickish and RVD shows him up. Dont overthink babyface/heel psychology folks. The commentator I think keeps pointing out that the challenger, RVD, has a ponytail. Lo and behold, Kroffat keeps yanking on it. RVD flips him off and I am pretty sure the Japanese commentator says "Fuck you". RVD runs through some flashy offense and stylized kicks. It is good fun. Kroffat spits on him from outside the ring. In 2020, RVD would have destroyed him, here he just kicks him in the head. The point is Kroffat is a dick and RVD is making him pay. Kroffat snaps off a couple suplexes including one out onto the floor and then on the floor to establish the heat segment. Best spot of the match he pulls the ponytail hard in a surfboard and RVD sells it like a million bucks. Great shit. Kroffat hits a senton for two for the first nearfall. Then they work a really nice finish stretch with lots of good transitions and nice nearfalls. They built to RVD's split-legged moonsault well making him attempt it twice before he hit it. That was his big nearfall. He crashed and burned on the 450 Splash which I dont think Ive ever seen him do. This was Kroffat's opening. HE SMOKED HIM WITH THE LARIAT! I thought that was it and it really should have been. I liked how it was out of nowhere. Of course this is 90s All Japan so it draws on and it takes a Swanton Bomb (really nice), Tiger Driver (Jesus can anyone win with this move) and A Super Reverse Suplex to win. Really great face/heel layout that established heat in a match that easily could have been a bland workrate match. RVD showed up the dick champion which made you invest in RVD and thus when they went to heat you were looking for that comeback. Then finish stretch was All Japan magic sprinkling in some RVD acrobatics to give it a unique twist. I thought this was better than ECW Furnas which is just really violent but I kinda liked the Bigelow ECW with its David vs Goliath a little more but same rating. I am excited to get back into All Japan. ****1/4

Cactus Jack vs Mikey Whipwreck- ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash 1996 In a rare moment in 2020, I actually had to go to my WWE DVD collection to watch this match in full because the version on the Network is clipped. I am glad the investment is still paying off. In the lead-up to the match on the DVD, Cactus says this is his favorite moment in his ECW career of course in a very WWE move they edit out the ending which I guess is the best part, but this is a very good match. It has been advertised that this is Cactus's last match but there is not nary a "You Sold Out". It is all "Cactus!". Cactus lets Whipwreck know he can tell his kids that he had Cactus's last match but he wont be able to tell him he won. Mikey has a neckbreak on for reasons I dont know. Cactus goes right into the heat segment working on the neck. This is a great mid-tempo groove brawl with Cactus working the neck and Mikey takin' a lickin' keep on tickin'. Mikey has great hope spots and Cactus has great cutoffs. The best cutoff is when Mikey dumps Cactus over the railing but Cactus immediately responds with a Hangsman Neckbreaker on the railing. I liked Mikey's first hope spot being avoiding all those chair shots which could have been curtains for him with the bad neck. Even though he avoided the chairshots, he didnt get in any offense. His first offense was the Cactus Clothesline and then Cactus takes the Nestea Plunge. Cactus was working his Greatest Hits one last time. Cactus dumped Mikey on his ass to the floor. He back suplexes him hard on the table. CACTUS ELBOW! This is not just Cactus' Masochistic Theatre of Pain, he is dishing it out too. At one point, he does an early version of Mandible Claw which I think is the first of its kind. Double Arm DDT and a piledriver. Cactus looked good. Cactus does a Bottom Rope Spingboard Back Elbow for a really nasty Nestea Plunge into the railing. Mikey got a big time dive into a crowd to trigger the E-C-DUB chant. Mikey's big comeback is hitting about 5 wicked chairshots to the head and then some arena touring to the Eagle's Nest and Mikey leaps off it. Didnt look as good as the dive into the crowd. Once back in the ring, Cactus makes short work of Mikey with a piledriver on a chair. This is a great grinding brawl with lots of focus on Mikey's neck right up to the finish being a piledriver. I am surprised Cactus didnt go out on his back but Mikey is the type of babyface that can absorb a loss, but he did have a pretty mediocre 1996 after a stellar 1996. The Mikey hope spots were the most exciting parts. It was a very sound brawl, but missed that energy to really put it over the top. ***3/4

In fairness, Paul E was always very respectful of legends and the traditions of the business. He just hated what wrestling had become. In a lot of ways, ECW was what Paul E thought the natural progression of Southern Wrestling was supposed to be in the 90s. WWF/WCW had gone too commercial and sanitized. He was bringing 80s pro wrestling into the 90s by supping up the violence and the sex. It made for incredibly addictive TV. I have been watching for the past month or so random episodes of Hardcore TV and it is great. It feels must-see because it is episodic. It is not like today's RAW or Smackdown where nothing fucking happens ever. There a lot of angle some good, some bad, some just poorly planned but at least they are trying. I think I have seen it said before that ECW is just Memphis on crack and that sounds just about right to me.

What did people think of Louie Spicolli in 1997? I remember him in WCW as Hall's lackey in what early 98 during or around the time Dusty joined the NWO. I remember online there was a decent buzz around him as a good heat-seeking heel. Madonna's Boyfriend is such a great fucking name for a pro wrestler even if I have never seen any of that work. Ive never seen Rad Radford either. The reason I bring him up and I have been binging on a lot of ECW recently and he was going a really strong push against Dreamer. Injuring Beulah's neck with the Death Valley Driver and taking part in the big Wrestlepalooza 1997 angle. I dont remember reading about his ECW run at all. I imagine he went to WCW for the money. It is absolutely horrible what happened to him and that he died so young. Do people think he was going to be big a star? Was he Kliq-adjacent? I know there is the core 5 of the Kliq but it seems like certain people are a bit more friendly with the Kliq than others like the New Age Outlaws and Justin Credible. Was Spicolli one of those? I ask because the Dreamer feud starts because Spicolli is being a prick and asking Dreamer to "Too Sweet" him and Dreamer and breaks his fingers. Spicolli keeps throwing up the Kliq hand sign. The fact they align him with Hall pretty much immediately in WCW makes me wonder if he was legit boys with The Kliq? Long story short whats the PWO take on Louie Spicolli?

ECW World TV Champion Chris Jericho vs Shane Douglas vs 2 Cold Scorpio vs Pitbull #2 - ECW Heat Wave 1996 A pretty famous ECW match and generally considered one of their best. I have seen this before on a WWE Comp and thought it was really long and boring, lets see. I watched the first 15 minutes and the only person with any semblance of a character is Shane Douglas. He is playing the rat bastard opportunist that only tags in when another guy is beaten up. Pitbull #2 is the wrestler who beat him for the TV Title after after Douglas ran a gauntlet of jabronis a couple shows back. Douglas sneaks attacks him on Pitbull's entrance with a steel chair. For those keeping track at home Francine is still the Beastmaster. She is actually probably the most effective person at getting crowd heat during the match constantly leading the Mutants in cheering for Pitbull #2. We get every combination besides Douglas/Scorpio in the first 15 minute. Jericho is such a 90s workrate try hard. He does all the tropes from the stiff chopping, athletic sequences and big bombs. I wold have liked to seen what Douglas could have done with him one-on-one based on the Scorp match not much as Douglas is a legend only in his own mind. Scorp/Jericho is the best pairing of the bunch because of that 90s workrate style. Pitbull#2's heat segment drags even though Francine does her best. I ended my viewing with Jericho hitting a Standing Top Rope Frankensteiner which is still one of the most insane moves in history. I think he tried that against Benoit or Gedo in a couple months in WCW almost killed himself. Douglas tags himself in and tries to cover Scorpio for 2. Joey's righteous indignation actually makes sense here. It is slightly better than I remembered not much though. I see why I thought this was horrible. The middle 15 minutes is an absolute slog. I dont know if Jericho was selling fatigue or blowed up but he was lethargic and blowing spots left right and center. The "Tiger Suplex" was so pitiful. The best spot of this slog was Scorpio dropkicking Jericho mid-air in a Lionsault that was crazy. Jericho is definitely reckless but makes for great TV. Scorpio was easily the best wrestler in this. His punches especially on The Franchise looked great. The whole point of this match is Douglas vs Pitbull and they pissed it all away. Douglas tags in a fallen Scorpio when Pitbull has him covered. Why? Douglas has been a total coward. Why attack now when Pitbull is in a position of dominance? This is not even the Cardinal Sin. The Cardinal Sin is Pitbull gets up and very cooperatively lets Douglas Irish Whip him. FUCK THAT SHIT! You get up there and slug him in the eyes like a man. Aint nobody wanna see an Irish Whip. BRAWL! Fucking horseshit. Scorpio and Douglas use a pincer attack on Jericho trapping him and Douglas tags Jericho back in. Scorpio Tombstone and then Drops Da Bomb (it may be Tumbleweed I can never remember) to eliminate Jericho. Jericho was very over in WCW with his Lionheart gimmick he looked like someone ECW would hate a pretty boy with Sebastien Bach Hair in 1997 but it was probably the Japanese/Mexican/Hart Dungeon connection that got him over. The Mutants lapped that shit up with a spoon. He would not fare as well in WCW until he came up with the Crybaby/Conspiracy Victim gimmick which I still think is his best work ever. Douglas wants to create an alliance with Scorpio to take out Pitbull #2. Scorpio balks at this offer and unleashes a great series of right jabs. Scorpio's punch was on point in this and a couple weeks later his kicks looked great against Jericho. It is too bad Scorpio didnt get a signature run in WWF or WCW or just stay longer in ECW. I get it. You gotta get paid. Belly 2 Bell Suplex and then Scorpio hits a Sunset Flip Powerbomb, transition could have been better. Liked the finish on this elimination. Scorpio misses a moonsault that would have taken out both guys and he is out could. Douglas convinces Pitbull #2 to hit a Superbomb to eliminate Scorpio. Thats twice Douglas has used someone else to eliminate an opponent. Nice story. Scorpio was by and away the best wrestler in this match. I think we have another 7-10 minutes left in the match so things do not look promising. Well this was bad in a different way. I thought it was going to be boring bad. It was bad in a shitty booking way bad. If Francine was going to turn why fucking interrupt when Douglas has the cover on a Belly 2 Belly his finish? Because you need to SWERVE~! Lame. If Pitbull kicks out on his own, then Francine becomes worried and comes in the ring makes a lot more sense. Francine throws powder in the Pitbull's eyes, but it looks like they were running low on powder because it is not much. Douglas hits a tremendous ballshot. It is NOT the 90s if the turn is not punctuated with a wardrobe change. They raise the bar from a simple T-Shirt change to revealing that Francine is wearing Franchise bikini bottoms! OH SNAP! In probably the fastest comeuppance in the history of storytelling, the Pitbulls immediately Superbomb her through a table. What the fuck!?! The Mutants POP Huge! The Pitbull were fucking over for a good two years...what happened to them that they never made it to WCW or WWF? Douglas hits a Single Arm DDT on Pitbull #1 that takes him out. It takes a belt shot, table shot, brass knux, a chain, a missed Hashimoto spinning wheel kick and a Belly 2 Belly Suplex to put Pitbull #2 down. Hogan eat your heart out that's fucking protection. Gotta love that's the Belly 2 Belly that gets it done just like HHH who believes that it is all about the Pedigree. The whole thing is not terrible. It is long. Scorpio is the bright spot and all the Douglas storytelling stuff with him being a cowardly, mastermind heel works but it could have been done more efficiently and a little more thought down the stretch. I cant believe they already Superbombed her. ***

Raven vs Tommy Dreamer - ECW Wrestlepalooza 1997 If you’ve never seen this before, do yourself a favor and watch this. Don’t watch the edited WWE version like I did on a WWE DVD. Watch June 10, 1997 episode of Hardcore TV on the Network devoted to this entire piece of fluid awesome TV. Heyman have a brief return to the peak of his powers after they had been slowly diminishing since 1995. I have seen this before on a WWE DVD so I was familiar with Lupus and Chasity. They came out at the Buffalo Tag about a month prior with Richards vs Dreamer & Funk. Joey didn’t know their names. So it sounds like they didn’t have backstories. Their sole reason to exist was to replicate spots from the first Raven vs Dreamer match from over two years ago. Chasity did the hairspray gimmick and had a take catfight with Beulah nothing like the shit Francine and Beulah were doing in 1995. I remember Chasity in WCW as Raven’s sister and managing Hak aka Sandman. I can’t believe fucking Sandman and Whipwreck made it to WCW. I don’t know what happened to Lupus? Pretty good Raven vs Dreamer brawl. The Mutants Chanting “We Can’t See Shit” during the Arena brawling is reason #69 Arena brawling sucks. As far as Arena brawling goes this was above average some good table spots and a couple crazy times the table didn’t break. i thought this picked up in the ring. Raven does the drop toehold onto chair which is how he blinded Riggs and made him join the Flock, one of the first wrestling angles I vividly remember. The Rocket Launcher that crumpled the chair was insane. After that there was so much tomfoolery and DDTs that I can’t remember the order but Louie Spicolli got involved. I’ll leave who won as a surprise because the heat on the nearfalls was insane because the pinfall mattered so much. **** lights out in the Impact Zone, it’s Sting up in the rafters...lol...sorry had too...RVD smoking Dreamer with the Van Daminator. Perfect booking. Dreamer, spirit of ECW, against the traitors RVD& Sabu and the invader Jerry Lawler. Amazing angle I had never see. It before wicked entertaining. After all had failed it’s Taz that clears the ring by his presence. He wants Sabu. Fonzie bitches and Taz is about to duplex him and the match is on. Sabu vs Taz - Wrestlepalooza 1997 Put me in the camp that liked this best than Barely Legal. Sabu had so much more energy, spring in his step, clean on his spots and good punches. He worked more on top and made Taz earn it. Sabu purposefully missing the Triple Jump Moonsault and crotching himself is peak heel Sabu. This was the Sabu I know and love. Taz missing a Somersault LegDrop from the top was a great missed spot. Sabu hit a wicked Twisted Bliss through the table for two. I didn’t love Taz pop up no sell Tazmission. Sabu does a version of Survivor Series 96 finish pinning Taz while in the move. I think this is my favorite Taz match ever. **** ECW World TV Champion Shane Douglas vs Taz - ECW Wrestlepalooza 1997 Taz while pinned was not beat and so he unleashed his Path of Rage choking out hapless refs because this is his first loss since November 2 Remember, Goldberg before Goldberg. So Shane Douglas of all people tells Taz to scram. They make a wager. If Taz can choke out Douglas in 3 minutes or less then he wins the TV title. If he can’t Taz has to leave ECW for 45 Days. Douglas works the neck well hits these cool innovative snaps someone should steal. Tazmission of course and Taz wins! The Path of Rage continues and the Monster Babyface Push is fucking on! Great booking here as Douglas did all he could with the TV belt with Raven, Richards gone and Funk just being plain old. It was down to Douglas, Sandman or Sabu to get the belt back and Douglas made the most sense so he needed to drop the TV belt. Doing a Warrior like quick win over Honky Tonk Man here was great put Taz over strong and also gives Douglas a reason once he becomes World Champ to be scared of Taz and duck him. It also gave Taz his heat right back after the loss to Sabu and I like booking that loss as it gives something for Sabu to hang his hat on. Maybe the best one hour TV wrestling show ever! That covers a lot of ground but Paul e at his best!

The BWO was wicked over by all accounts that I have seen from the shirts in the crowd. It makes sense to keep his heat by still associating with the gimmick. I have seen Wrestlepalooza at least once and even if the match falters...this promo is the promo I needed for closure. He nails when he says the difference between him and Raven is that Stevie wants to heal, put that pain in the past, lead a fulfilling life where he wins the World Championship and accomplishes his dream. Raven is trapped in limbo and cant get past his pain because he does not want to. Raven's identity and his pain are so intertwined that he cannot get past it. Whereas Stevie has an identity outside being nerd in high school & being told he would never amount to anything in pro wrestling, he has the BWO and he learned from the BWO that a smile is just as powerful as pain in the world. Nailed it. It got me really excited to see Stevie vs Funk. Stevie should have never, ever left ECW to rehash the same gimmick with Raven in WCW. I get it the money was there and you gotta make hay while the sun shines, but I think 6-12 months on his own maybe even winning the ECW title would have been beneficial to his confidence and acumen to really perform well on the big stage. My heartbreaks that ended up injuring his neck. You can tell how much he loved pro wrestling and his trajectory was really high up on the card if it was not for the injury. A real shame.

Raven & Stevie Richards vs Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk - ECW Buffalo 5/20/97 I am a Big fan of Raven & Stevie but this emasculated Stevie too much. I would have liked to see Richards get a nice shine rather than get his ass kicked and validate Raven’s abuse. Raven’s abuse should ring hollow because Richards ripped it up. The actual action is pretty meh. Funk had good matches left in him but he just looked old in this. His best spot was he takes the table with him on a bump so the table is covering him so he starts kicking out on instinct. That was fun. Funk is in dire straits so Richards slaps on a leg lace!?! Again Raven is correct that would never work. Imagine the heat if Raven told Richards the Spinning Toehold would never work only to tag in and put the Spinning Toehold on! So many misfires. Dreamer whips Raven and looks like he is going to get that pin but the ref is bumped and here’s Louie Spicolli (Madonna’s Boyfriend and Rad Radford) who was getting a huge push against Dreamer breaking Beulah’s neck. Spicolli eats A StevieKick and Stevie puns Funk. Does Stevie pinning Funk make up for 15 minutes of emasculating booking? For a lot of people the finish matters more but for me nope there’s so much they could do. A Dud