Superstar Sleeze

J-Crown Champion Jushin Thunder Liger vs Shinjiro Otani - NJPW 2/9/97 Jushin Liger's take on King's Road. Otani opens as characteristic with his overly dramatic handshake. Austin says you can predict how good a match will be based on the lock up. Well that's a ***** lock up. Great drive in the legs. I have seen this match twice before loved it both times. To call this Mitsuharu Liger vs Shinjiro Kobashi sounds insulting, but it feels that way. It is a bit inaccurate. Ohtani sort of combines the prickly wrestling style of Kawada with this histrionics of Kobashi. Ohtani challenges Liger to come off the ropes and hits a spin kick. He shows some high Wrestling IQ there, but applauds himself instead of following up. Liger dropkicks the knee and zeros in on the leg with his classic inverted deathlock. Another thing separates this match from King's Road is the commitment to double limb psychology and mat works for the first half of the match. The match is also nasty. Liger is repeatedly kneedropping the bad leg and putting boot on the face of Ohtani in the corner. Ohtani fires up in the corner and he bootscrapes Liger. There is definitely a lot of heat here. Liger tries to go back to the knee to quell this rally, but Ohtani fires back with some head rocking shots. Then much like Misawa's mythical elbow, Liger's Shotei bails him out of trouble as he unloads with palm strikes from both wings as Ohtani is trapped in the corner. With Ohtani reeling, Liger goes back to the knee. Ohtani escapes and rubs his forearm bone in the face and grabs a top wristlock then begins to zero in on the left arm of Liger. Why? That Shotei! A very similar strategy that many of Misawa's opponents would use to neutralize the vaunted Emerald Elbow. This is a good change of pace from the perfunctory matwork that usually fills time at the beginning of New Japan matches each man is working a limb with strong selling from both men. Liger is a really expressive seller both verbally and physically even though he is masked. There is one toehold that Ohtani applies with his knee across the ankle, my God you think Liger was having acid poured on it. Great stuff! This allows Ohtani take Liger back down with an armbar. Ohtani cross-armbreaker! Liger gets the ropes immediately but continues the verbal selling as Ohtani would relinquish the hold. Ohanti is standing on the face and throat of Liger. I like how chippy this is. Ohtani throws him in the corner. He crowds him and bullies him. He is just hitting him with these big open handed blows. He is trying to make a statement. Those nasty bootscrapes in the corner, but no running facewash instead of giving Liger one moment to breathe while running, he brings out and drops him with a Single Arm DDT. Wise move. He wants the Cross Armbreaker, but settles for snapping it over his shoulder and Liger sells this like a million bucks. I think my one criticism of this match as I am watching it for a second time today is the lack of escalation and big time transitions to make this feel really epic. Ohtani's arm work is really tight and fierce and he is adding in good prickly work, but there is not a sense that he is building to a big arm submission. Liger for his part sells wicked well and he goes back to the leg enough for his hope spots to tie back to the beginning. He wrenches in some toeholds as the man fighting underneath I think he does his job expertly. When Ohtani applies the Crossface it does not feel like a nearfall, but just another hold even though it is tight same goes for the noogie to the arm. All great work, but does not feel huge. When I was watching earlier today, I knew around the 15 minute time call, they were going to start busting out the bombs. There were no highspots in the first 15 minutes. Liger starts nailing Shoteis in the corner (great fighting through the pain selling), Kappo Kick (instead of the Shotei he hits the Kappo Kick) and then the trademark Superman Dive from the top rope to the floor and then the powerbomb on the floor. The Powerbombs (Ohtani hits one too) on the floor and the whip to railing feels very All Japan. Liger swatting Ohtani out of the way of a springboard dropkick feels All Japan too, but the immediate La Magistral cradle feels more Juniorish and gives it a hybrid vibe. I like them trading nearfall cradles here. Liger hits a Frankensteiner but Ohtani rolls through. Liger goes for the German, but Ohtani lands on his feet. Still too early and Ohtani immediately pounces with a spinning heel kick. The best sequence of the match so far. It feels sudden and unpredictable. I like how Ohtani hits a snap German suplex right afterwards. He didnt go for the release. He is not taking any chances. Here comes those Ohtani histrionics as he is psyching himself up and makes the cardinal mistake of Irish Whipping your opponent. He gave Liger free space and Liger NAILS a lariat, but with the bad arm. Great selling by Liger as he cant capitalize. Liger hits his first big bomb a Ligerbomb for two and Ohtani is definitely on Weird Street as Kal Rudman would say. Ohtani has a great sell of this on the apron as Liger pulls him in. Liger wants the brainbuster, but Ohtani struggles against. The Suplex Struggle is a trademark All Japan spot. Ohtani floats over and it is another snap German. Loving his take on the German. He is lying in wait. Liger makes it to his feet BANG! Springboard Dropkick to the back. Premature celebration. Ohtani thinks he has it in the bag. Dragon Suplex 1-2-NO! Here come the waterworks! Ohtani is beside himself. Ohtani still calling out to the crowd. He wants another Dragon Suplex, but Liger scrambles for the ropes. Ohtani trying to fight, but Liger breaks free. SHOTEI~! Ohtani takes a wicked bump for this! 1-2-NO! Big time nearfall! Liger hits two Fisherman Busters, would have liked to seen more struggle there as Ohtani is ragdolling. On the third bomb, a Brainbuster, Ohtani reverses his weight. Ohtani puts Liger on the top, which is dumb never give your opponent the high ground. He tries desperately to scale the ropes but three times Liger knocks him down. On the fourth try, he hits a barrage of headbutts and a Frankensteiner. Well fuck me, it worked out for the little bastard, but at what cost. SPRINGBOARD HEEL KICK! 1-2-NO! Ohtani had a weird reaction to this. He acted like he won, but he clearly didnt. He collapses. He just keeps covering Liger. He is in denial. Ohtani hit him with his best shots and he cant beat the Beast God. Liger collapses trying to get up. Ohtani goes for another Dragon Suplex, but Liger breaks free...SHOTEI~! Ohtani sticks his chin out. Now they are channeling Choshu/Hashimoto. Liger hits the MUTHA OF ALL SHOTEI! 1-2-3! Jushin Thunder Liger retains! The finishing stretch is truly great one of the best Liger has ever crafted in his matches. Ohtani gets TWO big time runs late and both times you feel like he has a really strong shot to dethrone the Ace. Liger uses the Shotei twice to break free from the Dragon Suplex and turn it back to his favor. The first Ohtani transition landing on his feet on a release German followed by a spinning heel kick was genius. The second one did not feel earned or big. The beginning of the match I really liked and it made a lot of sense. Ohtani going after the arm to prevent the Shotei was smart and Liger going after the legs of Ohtani who uses two springboard moves also smart. Let's be honest if we JIP to Liger splashing off the top rope to the floor do we need to the know the beginning of the match. I say not really besides some arm wringing by Liger it is not that important. This is a small nitpicky complaint because I thought transitioned well between the two and the work was high end. I thought they do a strong narrative of the extremely talented, but immature upstart challenger against the veteran champion with the great equalizer (the Shotei) incredibly well. After much deliberation, I am going to say it falls just shy of ***** for me, ****3/4, still I think this will make my Top 100 matches of all time.

Shinjiro Ohtani vs El Samurai - NJPW 6/3/99 Not quite as good as their 1996 classic, but still a helluva find by Charles & The Yearbook Staff. Ohtani was in the zone in this match channeling his 1996 self. He was his histrionic best. I dont think this match was quite as nasty and detail-oriented as their '96 contest. I really Ohtani's noogie to the eye to break Samurai first attempt at an armbar, but after that the nastiness wasnt quite there. I can see why a lot of people like this because they do away with the perfunctory NJPW juniors opening matwork and replace with very focused and tight double limb psychology. They allude to their '96 classic with Samurai targeting the arm and Ohtani targeting the leg. The work was great but the drama was not there. I remember marking out in '96 when Samurai hit the double stomp to Ohtani's arm as he stretched it out the ropes. Here, I was like I bet that is what happened, it happened and I was like cool. I thought the transitions were good not great a little too "Now it's my turn". I feel like I sound too down. The work was really tight and I thought Ohtani's selling was really good. Ohtani is also at selling winning. He is such a prick when he is winning a match. They pretty much abandon the double limb psychology to start throwing bombs. Samurai to his credit keeps selling. Ohtani hits a WILD, OUT OF CONTROL FACEWASH! I thought he was going to decapitate himself on the ropes. His springboard offense looked incredible as always. He really wiped Samurai out with his ass on that springboard spinning heel kick. For his part, Samurai hit some great dives. I love Ohtani's selling down the stretch. The comedy gold of hugging the ring post to avoid a super back suplex. The exasperation of not getting a three (look at his sell after not getting the three on that late German suplex or when Samurai gets the ropes during the heel hook, incredible). The selling of Samurai's offense is so good. He was so good at the character work in this. Not to be outdone when Ohtani does go back to the leg, I loved Samurai's verbal selling in the heel hook and how he was thrashing around in pain searching for the rope. I didnt like the Draw finish. I just didnt feel like this match was that much of war. A draw feels like it should be because both men are spent instead this felt like both men still had life. This feels like a great bomb throwing workrate match with a strong mat portion at the beginning and tons of great character work from Ohtani. I think the '96 match has a more unique feel and is grittier. That being said this is still wicked entertaining and it is always a treat to get to see more Ohtani. That hugging the ringpost spot is an all-timer. Honestly, I thought Ohtani's reactions and selling is what makes this match stand out more than anything and they are my biggest takeaway. ****1/2

Best of US Wrestling 1977-1982 Part 1 Is it just me or has March Madness been quite tame this year? I guess it cant be every year that a #16 seed upends an #1 seed. However, Pro Wrestling Love is about to experience it is own form of March Madness as this will be the first of NINE blogs over the course of the next ten days! That's right, nine blogs! The deadline for the Greatest Match Ever Project is fast approach and I am disappointed to say I will not be making my goal of watching every important match to take place in Japan and America between 1980-2009. The good news is better luck next year because it will be an annual tradition. The first of this flurry deals with a period of time in US wrestling that is mostly shrouded in mystery due to a lack of footage. It looks at the best of US Wrestling from 1977 through 1982 and as you would expect the three central figures of American wrestling in the 1980s dominate this era too and that is the Nature Boy Ric Flair, Jerry "The King" Lawler and Nick Bockwinkel. Even though it does not make my top 12 matches, everyone should seek out the Lawler/Flair angle from 1982 that is run on TV and as it is Top 5 TV angle of all time. The Lawler vs Bockwinkel matches from the 1980s are some of the best ever and Flair going down to Texas to face the Von Erich boys always produces great matches! All this and much, much more in Pro Wrestling Love Vol. 40! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-40-best-of-us.html

Thank you!

Great Sasuke vs Jinsei Shinzaki - M-PRO 4/29/94 Echoing what many others have said about this match, the beginning totally rules. Sasuke looks like he is going to do the standard throw your fist in the air with his robe during the intro but instead lariats Shinzaki! It is on! Then Sasuke does his trademark swandive splash from the top turnbuckle still in his robe. Awesome visual. I thought he brained himself again because that was a bad landing. Not quite as bad as the time he literally cracked his skull during the J-Crown match against Ultimo Dragon. Sasuke grabs a deep armbar similar to Nagata's version or the Disarmor. Shinzaki powders and retaliates with arm work of his own and then a choke. Sasuke tries to speed up the tempo but gets caught in a military press slam and then a Vaderbomb by Shinzaki for two. Shinzaki stupidly Irish Whips Sasuke and this gives Sasuke the space to create offense and a dropkick causes Shinzaki to powder. Shinzaki gets the hell out of Dodge before Sasuke can dive on him. Sasuke is lying in wait, but Shinzaki catches him and walks the ropes in his signature spot. I thought the match dragged here where all of sudden they were trying to KO each other, but the strikes were not that convincing and there was no much escalation or transitions. Sasuke had some crazy whiffs, but some kicks did connect. Shinzaki catches one of the spinning heel kicks with a slam. Sasuke ends up hitting an Asai moonsault as the match gets back on track as a speed vs power match. The springboard dropkick from a spent Sasuke gets two. The match transitions into the finish stretch. The moves were good but it felt very unearned. Sasuke ran through his standard moveset finish offense: German Suplex nice bridge, the Quebrada into a cover and the Crucifix Powerbomb. There was at least some struggle on the Crucifix Powerbomb. It just felt like bomb-bomb-bomb rather than a fight.I did like Shinzaki getting a rana into a pin on the second powerbomb attempt. The transition to Shinzaki is really good. Sasuke hits a FLYING SPACE TIGER DROP~! Which I am a mark for, but then he tries it again, but comes up short and whacks the back of his head on the floor. Shinzaki throws him down on the powerbomb. Then Shinzaki throws it back in his face with an Asai Moonsault and then hits three diving headbutts from three different corners to win the match in very definitive fashion. The beginning is definitely the best part as it feels totally out of control. Then they settle into a good juniors match. Sasuke has to wait a little, but eventually he is able to unleash his spectacular lucharesu offense. I really liked the transition at the end and Shinzaki's finish stretch was short, sweet and impactful. Thought the middle was not that great and it could have felt more urgent/earned down the stretch, but still this is a great match and Sasuke is definitely one of the great junior wrestlers of all time. ****

This is definitely a workrate match, but it is a BANGER of a workrate match! I would say outside Flair/Steamboat Chi-Town Rumble, the best extended sprint of all time. Everything feels huge and important! IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs Great Sasuke - NJPW 7/8/94 Absolute BANGER! Sasuke dropkicks Liger in the middle of Liger's introduction and the match never lets up from there. This is the best extended sprint of all time. Sasuke was just hurling his body at Liger with reckless abandon trying to prove that the Super J Cup was not a fluke. The dive over the top looks so out of control. Liger is totally overwhelmed. What makes this match so much better than Super J Cup is that this is not a squash-banana peel match. It is an organic match where both men are fighting back. Even though Sasuke is in control of the majority of the match, he has to earn his offense. Liger is still throwing out Shotei and Kappo Kicks. It is not a ragdoll match where Liger is just letting himself get thrown around. I really liked that they replaced the opening New Japan matwork with Sasuke trying pugnaciously to go for the cross armbreaker. I do wish they stuck with it a little longer because it was a good touchstone, but the match did not suffer. Liger sold the arm for a while and then it gradually got better. The Lucharesu sequences came off incredible in this match. A lot of the time they feel rote or artificial. Like it is stage blocking in a musical. Here things came out of nowhere. Sasuke was going for a fancy move and Liger would just nail him with a Kappo Kick and then follow it up with Somersault Plancha. Sasuke's back handspring elbow comes off as sudden because it was Liger that set it up and the Asai Moonsault looked great. If you define workrate as the spots per minute, then this match has a very high workrate. Normally, I would decrying that, but like I said what makes this match work is that the spots are sudden, set up organically and there a lot of counters and missed moves. Sasuke BIG classic dive to outside looked great and the missile dropkick was a great nearfall and the Crucifix Powerbomb was even better. Strong escalation from the mat to dives to the outside, to bombs in the ring. Sasuke misses the top rope reverse sidesault. It is important to me that there are missed moves. I really liked that Sasuke still initiated the next sequence going for the victory roll, but it was Liger that tossed him off and led to a massive Liger release German to reassert himself. I loved that sequence. Liger really felt like a power wrestler in this match against a flyer with the big strikes and throws. It is the Tiger Mask combo (Tombstone/Diving Headbutt), but thats only two. Top Rope Frankensteiner, but it is a cocky cover and that almost costs Liger again as Sasuke sunset flips him . It was hubris that cost him the Super J match. Will his ego be his downfall again? Liger eats knees on the splash and Sasuke gets an inside cradle. This is a great play off the Super J Cup finish with lots of roll ups that make Sasuke look like he can steal one as Liger as established himself on top. Sasuke wants to go upstairs, but Liger meets him and punches him in the gut. AVALANCHE BRAINBUSTER! Liger keeps both hands on Sasuke's arm during the lateral press and does not count along to get the 1-2-3! Notice in the two pinfall covers before Liger took one hand off to count along with the ref. That's ego. Liger was getting worried and he made sure to keep his hands down to take no chances. Details like that make Liger the Juniors GOAT. I said all I needed to right at the beginning. THIS IS A BANGER! It is full throttle, pedal to the metal pro wrestling. However, it has meaningful momentum shifts, the moves have consequence and there was a narrative. Yeah it was that damn good. *****

Count me in as someone who loved this! I feel like Minoru Tanaka is a pretty good shoot-style wrestler having been trained at PWFG. Why do you think he would have embarrassed himself? Did you mean to say Taka? Independent Junior Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku vs Minoru Tanaka - BattlArts 10/30/96 I meant to watch their '99 match but I couldnt find it, but this match still rules! I thought this was a perfect hybrid of shoot and pro style wrestling. Minoru Tanaka having trained at PWFG is a great shoot-style junior who I really came to enjoy during my watching of 2000s Puroresu. He is only in his second year of wrestling but carries himself like a veteran. He never quite hit his full potential due to tumultuous landscape of early 2000s Puro. Taka Michinoku has shown himself to be able to handle himself on the mat. The first five minutes is solid grappling, energetic, good body positioning and lots of struggle. There is a stretch in the middle where they were just wrestling at a ridiculously high level. Tanaka gets the first big submission hold which is a heel hook. The match really becomes about Taka Michinoku and his reaction to this. First, it is to counterattack the leg. We see him get a dragon leg screw and then his own heel hook. At one point he dropkicks the knee and gets a figure-4, but Minoru Tanaka is relentless going after the leg. Then it becomes about Taka's selling. The way he scrambles for the ropes in the hold and holds his knee on the outside was phenomenal. I liked Taka's new strategy which was to go for Knockout blows. He knew he was in deep trouble of losing his belt. He hits an enziguiri here, a punch to the head there. First Michinoku Driver, Tanaka turns into a heel hook, which when we get the really good Taka sell and scramble in the hold. The second Michinoku Driver attempt lands. Except there are no pinfalls in BattlArts! I FORGOT! Minoru Tanaka gets up at 8. Then Tanaka says two can play at that game and just starts dumping Taka on his head. German, Dragon suplexes. MISSILE DROPKICK! TANAKA BLASTS HIM WITH A HEAD KICK! You have to see Taka Michinoku's sell of this. The perfect 9 count sell. The only problem is once you do that you undercut the next one. So when Minoru Tanaka hits a Michinoku Driver, Taka's own move and does the Ikeda wind up motion to say Ballgame. BUT Taka does not have anywhere to go. He already got up at 9 the move before and he already did his best sell. That's moment when I knew the match was going to be AWESOME, just not Top 100 of all time. No shame in that. There is definitely overkill down the stretch, but it is wicked fun and keeps your interest. Taka Michinoku finally quells the Minoru Tanaka run with a German suplex and then clamps on a sleeper/choke which Tanaka makes the ropes but it definitely drains his energy. After the rope break, he is tenacious and re-applies it, but Tanaka grabs a toehold. Taka is selling his ass off in the match. Tanaka gets a heel hook out of it. I love the desperation Taka shows in driving double axe-handles to break Tanaka's grip and lunge for the ropes. SPRINGBOARD DROPKICK! Tanaka unleashes an onslaught of Shotei, Muay Thai Knees, Taka is taking 8, 9 counts repeatedly. Can the young, red hot challenger pull this off? Muay Thai Knees, Clinch, MICHINOKU DRIVIER! Taka back to the choke! Minoru goes for the toehold, but Taka persists and Tanaka passes out. AWESOME FINISH! Really enjoyed this match and highly recommend it. I thought Taka was the standout star. Great, great selling. It felt like I was Taka Flair stave off the latest, greatest challenger to his throne. He made Tanaka look like a million bucks and a future star in a loss. Tanaka looked awesome on offense. On a bigger stage, this would be remembered as the day Taka Michinoku made Minoru Tanaka a star. Just a huge match! There is some overkill down the stretch, but it just so big and badass that I was still eating it up with a spoon. Definitely check out this hidden gem! ****1/2

Don Frye vs Kazayuki Fujita - NJPW 8/2/97 Don Frye looks like the long lost Blackjack in this match. Badass muthafucka. I have seen a couple Frye worked bouts and none of them have been all that great, but this was pretty damn fun. Fujita was a monster in 2000s New Japan here he is the lamb to the slaughter. They are building to Don Frye and Naoya Ogawa in the short run and Frye vs Inoki for Inoki's farewell match in the long run. Frye just kicks ass. He stymies Fujita's takedowns with wicked punches and gets a nice armbar takedown. On the fourth try, Fujita finally gets a takedown to a pop. The best sequence of the match was Frye holds a top wristlock even though Fujita is in the ropes. The crowd boos. Then Fujita takes him down with an STO and attacks him while he in the ropes and the crowd loves it. Frye holds a choke long in the ropes. He is throwing great punches and Fujita has no stand up game. Frye takes a cheapshot. Headlocking him and punching him in the face. He tries to rain down blows to the back of the head, but the ref pulls him off. It is academic at this point as Frye throws him around and chokes him out. He doesnt let go so the wrestler bum rush the ring and Ogawa hops the barricade. Nuclear heat! This is Inokiism at its finest. Inoki is out there. It is Pandemonium and the crowd loves it. Short, but effective match to get Frye over as a killer gaijin heel. ***1/2

Kiyoshi Tamura vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - RINGS 6/27/98 Well they are breaking the RINGS formula here. Usually, it is stand-up->takedown->grapple->rope break->repeat, but the first twelve minutes are all grappling with no rope breaks. Tamura decides to reset by standing. It is amazing twelve minutes. The body positioning, movement and struggle are on full display here. Kohsaka looked great, more offensive minded. He was putting his body in weird positions to be successful. He almost got Tamura twice once with a headscissors and the other a toehold. The toehold looked devastating. Kohsaka was flipping out of full mounts into Boston Crab and Cross-Armbreaker attempts so explosively. Tamura did get a triangle choke from a full mount in a way I have never seen. Like I said it was Tamura who decided to reset and if I was judging I would have given Kohsaka that 12-minute round. The fight gets really good. They do a little stand up and Tamura catches a kick. Great takedown by Tamura. Very immediate and the heel hook he has looks sunk in. Kohsaka gets figure-4 using his arms on Tamura's legs that forces Tamura to use the ropes and that is the first rope break. From 12 minutes of grappling to that explosive exchange on that mat. I like the shifting gear. Tamura as usual when he gets shown up comes out swinging in the stand up. Really good shit. Kohsaka tries to quell this fast break by going for a takedown but Tamura easily spins out and gets behind Koshaka quashing the takedown attempt. This is definitely high end RINGS so far. Tamura is controlling the stand up. Showing himself to be more aggressive, hitting harder and landing more shots. This is forcing bad takedown attempts by Kohsaka and Tamura is controlling the grappling. Interesting that three times, Tamura starts on top during the grappling, he is left scrambling for the ropes. I mentioned one time in the previous paragraph. In addition, he loses control to a heel hook and a top wristlock (transitioned into a cross-armbreaker). It seems very un-Tamura like. Each time, he comes out firing. There is one exception. In between, the second and third ropebreak he does finish a grappling session out. I thought he was going for a neck crank headscissors, but he explosively switches gears to a cross-armbreaker. Watch how Kohsaka immediately bridges. This alleviates some pressure and gives him a chance to get to his belly and make the ropes. Great Kohsaka defensive match. Defensive clinic. Down 3-1, Tamura just light his ass up. You could tell he was not going to relent with these vicious strikes until Kohsaka went down meaning it is now 3-3. Love that aggression and mean streak. Tamura gets loose again. He takes Kohsaka down into a deep, deep side choke, really cranking, but cant finish and it is Kohsaka that finds a way to apply a rear naked choke. They are too close to the ropes so it doesnt count, but still Tamura is just not finishing besides that excellent stand up exchange where he would not be denied. From here on out, they really "sell" exhaustion well (who know they might have been shoot blowed up because this is a very taxing cardio style). Tamura falls on his ass during the next stand up and Kohsaka collapsing on a kick to the shin. Tamura gets a quick rope break by going for a choke. Kohsaka has changed game plans. He is going for big bombs. Huge head rocking strikes. I thought he had Tamura down, but Tamura SWEEPS THE LEG! Tremendous leg bar! Koshaka is forced to get the ropes. Tamura is now winning 5-3 after being down 3-1, scored four unanswered points. Whats interested is that Kohsaka gets the next rope break on the attempt of a submission. Tamura almost never goes for a rope break until he is in trouble. At the 5 minute mark of this match, he would have applied his wizardry to get out now instead he is so exhausted, he is just going for the rope break. Then Kohsaka actually controls a takedown and applies a guillotine choke and Tamura just gets his toe on the ropes. This is a very vulnerable Tamura. A side we dont see too often. It is 5-5 with 3 minutes left in the time limit. Kohsaka gets a very tired takedown that Tamura kneels into. This has gone from Man vs Man to Man vs Self. Each man is battling with his own body. Trying to will a victory when there is very little will left. Kohsaka looks poised to apply a submission, but Tamura wriggles free and climbs his back. REAR NAKED CHOKE! After all the defensive wizardry of Kohsaka, for Tamura to get a counter like this is huge. He leaves his feet dangling. Kohsaka gets the ankle cross. Tamura has to release the choke, but he goes for the cross-armbreaker, but the bell rings signaling a draw and it is a dead heat in points too at 5 apiece. Terrific match. I liked the first twelve minutes, but I LOVED the last 18 minutes. Great story. I was really pulling for Kohsaka masterful defensive wrestling match turning defense into offense on numerous occasions and then becoming offensive-minded down the stretch. Tamura was great striking a balance between vulnerable and asskicker. I loved his mistakes fueled his rage. Then I loved the selling of exhaustion and how this became a struggle against their own bodies as much as it was against themselves. In the running for the best non-Volk Han RINGS match with the Kohsaka/Yamamoto draw from the year before. ****3/4

I LOVED THIS TWEET! Thanks for posting this.

NWA United States Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat - JCP November 1978 I am telling you the greatest match of all time happened in the Carolinas somewhere in 1978 when Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat went at it, but we just dont have it on tape. We have twenty minutes of great Flair vs Steamboat action here, but it is hard to assess how great the match is with so much missing. This coming off the heels of the red hot angle where Flair rubbed Steamboat's face in concrete. I believe as a shoot they roughed up Steamboat's face with sandpaper. It does not look like make up. That is some nasty cuts and bruising. We are JIP to Flair's trademark work in the corner sans Chop. You heard me right, I didnt see any chopping from the Nature Boy. It was odd to say the least. he has a very underrated punch and that was on display. Nice shots to the bad eye. Gotta sting. Steamboat fires back, but the ref stops him from going full bore. Flair butts him in the abdomen. Flair does a nice job working the eye with kneedrops and boot scrapes and also working the ribs. Steamboat misses an elbow and Flair works the arm too. This is a very heavy handed, varied Flair heat segment. Not as much bump 'n' run, workrate more just beat his opponent down. I like Steamboat just lunging at him with a choke. Flair fends him off. At one point, the camera becomes fixed at a certain spot and they are fighting off camera, but there is some hot chick in the front row fidgeting with her bra so an extra 1/4* for that, brutha. Kudos she was also wicked into this match. We cut to a figure-4 and then cut out of it. Flair hits a nice delayed vertical after a short burst of offense from The Dragon. Steamboat hits a big time dropkick that whips the crowd into a frenzy as Flair takes one of his big time bumps. Flair tries to quell the rally with an atomic drop, but that is blocked and Steamboat hits a back suplex. Then it is all Steamboat. He chops Flair so many times in the head that busts him open. The crowd is going crazy as is Steamboat with bloodlust working over the cut with chops and biting the cut. Steamboat looks like a man possessed with between the nasty injury on his face and Flair's blood all over his mouth. Steamboat misses his big splash and seems to hurt his knee. This seems like the prelude to the Figure-4, but the match cuts again and we miss that section. We cut to Steamboat making his final comeback lunging at Flair, overpowering the Nature Boy biting at the cut. He gets two big nearfalls off a top rope chop and a delayed vertical suplex. Big pops. It is confusing. It seems the time is either running out or has run. He is trying desperately to stop Flair from leaving by yanking down his tights as Flair is scampering on his hands and knees. This is great ribald comedy as the cop is grinning ear to ear and the fans are going nuts. Flair breaks free and absconds with his US Championship. Cant rate with all the clipping, but what we saw was less of a workrate match, which is what these two are known for, but rather a match based on hot injury angle and lots of heat by Flair to set up the comeback. The two comebacks we see from Steamboat are the best two best I have ever seen from him. They are heated and violent. The image with Flair's blood all over his mouth is gnarly. The finish is a bit confusing like I said. Definitely worth a watch as it is pretty different from the other Flair vs Steamboat matches.

Thanks to the good brother, PeachChaos! Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee - Memphis 8/22/77 Title vs Hair Great Dundee promo before this match about taking all of Lawler's money and buying himself a Caddie. Lawler tries to interfere in a Dundee match and gets a knuckle sandwich right over the top rope. Great bump! So I am a novice when it comes to Memphis Wrestling History. Having watched a lot of 80s footage, I came in with the natural presumption that Lawler was the face and Dundee was the heel. What I love about this is that from the first punch exchange I could tell I was wrong. Lawler tags Dundee good after a lengthy cautious feeling out process. Dundee comes right back and knocks him off his feet. Immediately, I knew I was wrong. Could you say the same thing about today's wrestling? Could you tell the characters so readily? I dont think so and I think that is a shame. Wrestling is a dance. It is important to know the roles. There is another great punch exchange that Dundee gets the better of. Lawler sells it as a HEEL so well! I go back to this talking point so often. Selling as a babyface and heel is very different and people are only being taught how to sell as babyfaces. The way Lawler sells this punch, you dont feel sympathy for him rather you want him to get punched in the face again. Dundee goes after the leg because Lawler has incurred a previous injury at the hands of Dundee. I loved this work. Both men are so cautious. It really sells the importance of this. Dundee gradually is able to make in-roads on the leg. Going for Figure-4s but Lawler keeps avoiding them. I love the time Lawler comes charging in after one attempt and just gets knocked off his feet for his trouble. Dundee works a single leg crab and a modified Figure-4 because Lawler is defensing so well. I love that because it protects the Figure-4 if Dundee could get it on you believe he would win, but Lawler is just playing defense so well. Lawler makes the ropes, powders and then slams Dundee's knee against the apron. Now it is classic heel Lawler. His manager chokes Dundee with the towel and then it becomes all about the chain. He busts Dundee open and then the footage ends, but thanks to a good brutha I have the finish now! I love when Dundee shows life, Lance exclaims "DUN-DEEEEEEE" it makes me smile. This is pretty much all Lawler with a smattering of Dundee throwing a punch here and there. Lawler is just kicking ass. Lawler overwhelms him in the corner. Lance declares that Dundee is out on his feet in the corner as Lawler pours it on. The NWA rep agrees with Lance's assessment and calls for the bell. Dundee pleads with him to restart the match otherwise he loses his hair. The NWA rep recants and calls for the bell to restart the match to a big pop! Lawler is pissed. Lawler unleashes a furious flurry of punches that needs to be seen to be believed! It was incredible. Dundee survives and lunges at Lawler. There was a blown spot where Lawler misses an elbow drop and the ref counts two, but Lawler forgets to kick out and the ref just stops the count. These two just beat on each other. Lawler misses a second rope elbow drop and Dundee covers him for three to win the title. Lawler's lanky manager, Mickey Poole, who I have never heard of also lost his hair and looked quite ridiculous bald I will say. There needs to be more hair matches in wrestling! I love that even as a heel Lawler found a way to work the majority of the match underneath. It does not drag like most heel in peril segments because Lawler is so good at selling and because you they stakes so well. You are not worried about being entertained. You are worried about the outcome. You really want to see the hero prevail. Lawler was great pouring it on in the corner causing the stoppage and then right after the stoppage was an amazing barrage of punches. I will admit I thought the finish was anti-climatic. I know it is 1977 but an elbow drop from the middle rope c'mon. Also, even if Lawler missed a bigger move, it is more impactful to have the miss and then have the hero hit a move to win. Anyways that aside, this is a great war of attrition match and I have at #3 of the four Lawler vs Dundee matches I have seen. ****1/2

Best of NWA 1983-1987 Part 2 However, what is free is of course Pro Wrestling Love! This time we discuss a match that is on the short list for the absolute Greatest Pro Wrestling Match Ever in History. It pits the World Champion Ric Flair vs teen idol Ricky Morton in a battle of what it means to be a man. There is a lot about Ric Flair the character that is cool: the jewelry, the bravado and the ladies it attracts. It reminds me a lot of Wolf of Wall Street. Leo DiCaprio's character has that same cockswagger that can be very appealing and intoxicating. What the movie does so well is it obliterates that fantasy. The fun & games are over. You are left seeing a small, insecure, and abusive man. In reality, that is who Ric Flair the character is. It is all Woos and struts, until someone threatens him and his sense of self. He lashes out. He tries to permanently disfigure Ricky Morton by rubbing his face into concrete. Why? Because Ric Flair is a small, petty, sorry excuse for what a man should be. That's a great fucking heel! Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton is the pinnacle of wrestling storytelling and its climax inside a steel cage on July 6, 1986 is perhaps the Greatest Match Ever. Also, inside you will find two of Ric Flair's classics against Barry Windham, a hidden gem against Kerry Von Erich in Hawaii and two very famous bloody brawls: Greg Valentine vs Roddy Piper in a Dog Collar match and then many other's pick for the greatest match of all time Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA in an I Quit Steel Cage match. It is a loaded edition of Pro Wrestling Love because it is the Best of the NWA 1983-87! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-39-best-of-nwa.html

Best of the NWA 1983-1987 Part One When I was 8 years old, my Dad bought me the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Almanac 1997. I literally ripped that book cover to cover. Seriously, I still have it and the book spine is held together by blue electrical tape. I have always been fascinated by history and the rich history of pro wrestling was no exception to my childhood hunger for historical knowledge. One thing, I always remember was the passage on The Last Battle of Atlanta. How EPIC does that sound! Now imagine being 8 and you come to find out there is no footage of this bloody cage match that pits Tommy "Wildfire" Rich and "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer. That made the match was THE Holy Grail. All the conspiracy theories surrounding how the footage of the match went missing. It was something that captured my imagination as a child. Then it happened, the tape of the match was found in 2016. It was something truly special that basically unified hardcore wrestling fans from the 80s and 90s together. The Holy Grail had been found. Now it was put up or shut up time, would it live up to the massive hype? Well dont just sit there, click and find out! Also inside so much amazing Crockett goodness, Nature Boy Ric Flair engaging in stiff, manly fights against the Hands of Stone Ronnie Garvin Let me tell you about the ROCK N ROLL! All this and much more inside, it is the Best of the National Wrestling Alliance 1983-1987, thank you Dad for indulging my love of history! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-38-best-of-nwa.html

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Barry Windham - Crockett Cup '87 FINALLY Superstar Sleeze has finished his review of Ric Flair vs Barry Windham at the Crockett Cup! I like my original review as something if I was writing an article on Ric Flair, but I think it was missing the point of this match. Flair is usually seen as the overconfident champion, but up until 85-86 he was wrestling his peers: Steamboat, Dusty and Kerry. In the mid-80s, new faces cropped up. I think he became even more confident. You dont see him Woooing in the middle of top wristlock sequences with Steamboat or chopping Kerry's chest and retreating just to toy with him. Flair respects his opponents, but he does not respect Barry Windham. He wrestled Barry's dad in bloody brawls. To him, Barry is a wet behind the ears kid. The kid did take him to limit in Florida and on Worldwide, but this is Flair so he can be delusional. Flair seems more confident than ever. He is trying to get into the mind of the youngster as I said Wooing in the top wristlock and then chopping & retreating. He was getting BW's dander up. I like the spot where on the third Barry charges the corner, mounts, balls his fist up, looks for approval, but he also knows it is the wrong thing to do. Goody-two-shoes! He climbs down. Flair goes for a cheapshot...block...Windham fires off a punch! Here we go! Dropkick and a nearfall. I like it was an underhanded Flair tactic that finally set off the ultimate good guy, Barry Windham. Flair then tries to use motion to discombobulate Windham, but Windham does not fall for it. He falls into a side headlock and then almost gets a drop toehold as Flair powders. Flair is still pretty calm on the outside. Back in Windham makes a rookie mistake of charging and Flair hotshots him. Here we go! Textbook Flair, heavy chops, pitch him to the outside, do plenty of damage out there with the steel and his heavy hands. They time Windham hope spots well. I like how Windham gets a fast break with those big punches in the corner he promised earlier and now delivers. Then when he goes for the dropkick it misses and Flair wastes no time for the figure-4. Normally, Flair would wait, but now he is freaked out. He thought he had the big youngster where he wanted him, but when Windham showed him he would not fold, he freaked out and went for his big weapon. Flair gets caught using the ropes and I love that immediately went back to Windham hope spot. Surviving Flair's biggest shot should be followed up by another win and this comes in the form of an explosive lariat from the corner, however due to the figure-4 he cant capitalize. There is a small cut here to the floor where Flair is going for the piledriver on the floor, but does not get it. Back in the ring, they do a barrage of nearfalls for Windham and Flair's reaction is to powder and take a hike. Again, I love Flair's fight or flight instincts. First time he is in trouble it is figure-4; second time it is just to leave. Windham gives chase but Flair comes back under his own volition. Flair's strategy upon re-entering the ring is to try to engage Windham in a fist fight and this goes poorly for him, but it is great for the fans as it is very exciting. I like him doing a backwards Flair Flop off the final Windham punch as that gets a two count. Windham gets some rapid fire punches and I love that this leads to a floatover suplex for two. Very scintillating nearfall! The match loses some luster here. Flair is just adamant about not having a heat segment even though there are three massive opening. Windham misses an elbow drop off the top rope, Flair backdrops him on the concrete and the most egregious Flair hits him in the balls. All three spots, Windham is able to counter Flair's next move easily and win control back. Very disappointing because those were great transitions and it hurts the match that Windham is put in a position especially no-sell a ballshot. Now a fourth time, Windham eats knees on a splash after an extended sleeper by Windham on Flair. Flair goes to the top rope and Windham pops up and hits a press slam. Why is this happening? I appreciate making a babyface earn his offense, but it does not feel like Windham is fighting through something rather the preceding moves dont have consequence. Now Windham is applying the figure-4 usually that is at least set up by Flair missing a kneedrop. Flair rakes the eyes so of course Windham hits the next move which is a powerslam for two. Windham has a ton of bombs such as the missile dropkick and the lariat both times Flair gets his foot on the bottom rope. You would think Windham would hook the leg. The first one Tommy Young actually counts three to a pop but realizes his mistake which is a good spot and he sells it well. Windham goes for an O'Connor Roll and Flair reverses for the win with the tights. Flair just does not do championship matches under 45 minutes well. He is fine in a short sprint brawl, but he tries to pack way too much in at the detriment of his own offense. He wanted Windham to shine so badly he forgot to create obstacles for Windham to overcome. The first 15 minutes is EXCELLENT! It had a cool vibe of cocky, veteran champion vs. young, inexperienced challenger. Then it became Windham blows off selling to hit his next bomb for 15 minutes. This was quite disappointing, it is still fun, but I was expecting it to be on the level of the other Flair vs Windham matches. To me something like Flair vs Sting from Clash I crushes this and that has a bum rap now. This is overrated at the all time level more like ****.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich - Hawaii 2/13/85 Flair vs Kerry is probably my favorite US feud of all time. I have never seen these two have a bad match. This match does have a bit of rep and at the same time is overlooked because it happens in Hawaii as opposed to one of the major territories of the time. The contenders in my opinion for the greatest Flair vs Kerry match is the WCCW August 1982 match and the Watt Mid-South match from April of 1985. I have seen this before as it has been on Youtube for a long time. It is currently in five parts please let me know if there is a more complete version out there but I suspect because this is filmed for TV there will just be chunks that we will never have. Pretty routine Flair vs Kerry opening. I have to say I really liked how Flair incorporated amateur wrestling into his matches in 1985. You see the same work with Terry Taylor in 1985. Kerry is able to escape when Flair tries to ride with him, but when Kerry takes Flair down Flair cant escape and is forced to get the ropes. Then he gets pissed and loses a shoving war. It is little stuff like that that make Flair so good. He is so petty that he gets upset after being shown up one time. Kerry looks like a million bucks with his fists cocked and ready to go. From there we get some top wristlock tests of strength that Kerry wins. Kerry works an armbar and a double wristlock as Flair hollers and tries to maneuver out, but to no avail. Kerry moves into the side headlock. They cut a tremendous pace for a sixty minute Broadway. Flair tries crowding in the corner. He seems to make some in roads with his heavy hands. Anyone who has watch a lot of vintage Flair knows he likes to hurl his opponent to the outside. This has the double effect of making his opponent take a nasty fall to the concrete and give himself some time to recuperate. Here we see Kerry land on his feet and immediately jump back in the ring. Flair tries to take the offense right to Kerry but in all the commotion ends up in a beautiful Military Press Slam and now it is Flair with powder. I love that symmetry. There is some really good stand up exchanges here and Kerry does get an early nearfall off a discus punch. Kerry works a front chancery and it is very entertaining with Flair struggling hard against it and them both doing interesting work. We get to around the halfway mark according to the announcers (who are probably an unreliable source) when Kerry misses a dropkick and maybe pulls a muscle in his abdomen. Flair goes to work punting the challenger. Kerry is on point here with his selling really good. If you love crazed Flair, this is good stuff. After getting his ass kicked, he has snapped and is just straight choking Kerry by throttling his throat. Flair begins a King of Mountain sequence. This is a heavy Flair heat segment. Just big, thunderous shots. The apron work is really good. The ref breaks it up and this affords Kerry the opportunity to shouldertackle and go for the Sunset Flip, good hope spot. Kerry lands some punches, but Flair fights through it. Flair is desperate and goes off the ropes and Kerry applies the IRON CLAW to the stomach. Flair should not have given his man that much space. An assuredly fatal mistake if he had not raked the eyes. Kerry sells this so well. This is why wrestling in the 1980s is so good because the eye rake feels like such a big deal. He uses it to escape certain defeat and Kerry sells by writhing in pain. Flair goes to the sleeper, but cant finish his man off. Of course, Kerry applies his own sleeper. Flair sells the sleeper so well fading right next to the ropes with his fingertips grazing the ropes. Kerry goes for the big Kevin-esque splash but eats knees. Flair hits a nice short knee as a follow up to the midsection, but Kerry re-applies the sleeper. This time Flair hits a back suplex and both men are out. Flair misses his Flair Flip in the corner and comes crashing back to the mat. That was gnarly. The second time Kerry whips him he clear the top turnbuckle but tumbles to the floor also gnarly. Flair staggered re-enters the ring and Kerry applies the IRON CLAW~! TO THE HEAD! Wait! He does not have it fully applied. Flair short knee and chops Kerry down. Flair goes for his patented kneedrop but Kerry moves and Flair hurts his knee on the move. FIGURE-4! I love the announcer marking out saying he has never seen this before. Either he is a great liar or he is never watched a Flair match before. Kerry is relentless getting the hold twice, but on the second time Flair rakes the eyes. This time Flair is too hurt to press his advantage. IRON CLAW TO THE KNEE!!! Ok, I am marking out for that too, Dunbar! Kerry drags Flair to the post and wraps his knee around the post. This is excellent! Kerry is working the leg, but misses an elbow drop to the knee. Then he misses a kneedrop to the head. Kerry sells this like death. The next two minutes is incredible. They do a great job selling their respective knee injuries as Flair starts to mount his comeback while hobbling. I like how Flair just moves a step back and lets Kerry miss a dropkick before nailing a PILEDRIVER for two! Back from the commercial, they stop selling the knee injuries, which bums me out, but they are still selling attrition and exhaustion. Kerry gets a series of nearfalls as hope spots as Flair is working on him heavy. Kerry gets Flair up for a big suplex, but only gets two. Here comes the Grand Finale, Flair ballshot, Flair press slam off the top, big bump over the top rope by Flair off a standing dropkick, Flair Flip -> IRON CLAW which popped me huge! The last two minutes of the clock is spent wondering if Flair can last in the Claw and of course he can, but boy oh boy did Kerry come oh so close to recapturing the NWA Championship. Definitely up there with the two other classic Flair/Kerry matches I mentioned. Some really great selling by both men, top notch all the way around. Very exciting, breezy ~40 minutes that we see. The majority of the match was Kerry and you dont think of Kerry as someone with a lot of offense to fill this amount of time, but he does a great job mixing in some big nearfalls and the Claw teases. Flair is a master of just making these long matches thrilling and really putting over his opponent. I think missing as much of the match as we do I cant give it the full five and I think I would put the World Class match over it, but this has some really thrilling moments and it is highly recommended. ****3/4

Thanks, brutha! Well lets keep the party going! With the Top Six Matches of the Bob Backlund Era! Again, dedicated to the Titans of Wrestling: Parv, Pete, Kelly and Johnny! I met Bob Backlund at Survivor Series 2013 (November). My brother came back from getting concessions and told me he was just in the concourse. I had just started watching classic Backlund matches earlier in the year. I was pretty excited but also had no clue what to say to him. It was a total trainwreck of a conversation. He was hollering at me how he wanted to make a comeback and that the McMahons were stopping him. I was trying to ask him about how it was working Greg Valentine and Ken Patera. It was a total oil & water conversation. I got to say thank you and I got to shake his hand. His grip was just as crazy strong as you would believe. In the picture in the blog, that is Bob Backlund deadlifting Hulk Fucking Hogan from a crazy, awkward position. Backlund was just one of those freaky strong people. This is the top six WWF matches of the era and it features Bob Backlund against the biggest names of the era: Hulk Hogan, Sgt Slaughter and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, but there is one match that does not feature Bob Backlund that makes the list...click the link and find out what it is! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-37-best-of-wwf.html

Pro Wrestling Vol. 36: Best of Bob Backlund Era WWF 1978-1983 Dedicated to the Titans of Wrestling, Kelly, Pete, Parv and Johnny! So I wanted to write here a little about linking Roller Derby's popularity in the 1970s-80s to this article on pro wrestling from 1978-83, but holy shit is the history of Roller Derby confusing as all get out. I think the only thing more confusing is the game itself! If you have a chance to go see a Roller Derby match live. DO IT! I did this past Saturday and it was awesome! It is raucous mayhem! Very physical and energetic. You wont know what the hell is going on, but you will love it. The peak of Roller Derby's popularity aligned with the Bob Backlund era of the WWF. Overshadowed by his incredibly famous predecessor (Bruno Sammartino) and his even more famous successor (Hulk Hogan), Bob Backlund's reign as champion is usually forgotten and overlooked. This is a crying shame because Bob was an incredible champion and very versatile in the ring. He was able to have classic championship style matches, bloody brawls, energetic workrate style matches and stiff standup fights. Backlund was a renowned amateur wrestler and just plain freaky strong. I think he has one of the more innovative takes on pro wrestling. He was the babyface hero that truly believed "Anything you can do I can do better". This made for very different matches and he would tailor his matches to his opponent. Eleven out of the top twelve matches are Bob Backlund matches and this first set features matches against Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Sgt. Slaughter, Olympic Strongman Ken Patera, Adrian Adonis and Ivan Koloff all inside Pro Wrestling Love vol. 36! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/03/pro-wrestling-love-vol-36-best-of-wwf.html

I called Scott Keith out on a Twitter for clickbait headline that read "Meltzer is accusing Roman of faking cancer" and if you click the link, he says that is not true and Meltzer has been defending the legitimacy of Roman's illness. This pissed me off even more! Because so many people would just read the headline and think Meltzer actually believe it is a work. Keith himself says Meltzer is not doing that. I have felt indebted to Keith because he was the free PPV reviewer when I was a kid. If it was not for him, I would never have gotten into the rich history of pro wrestling, but after this incident fuck that guy. To me Meltzer on Twitter has been unequivocally clear that Roman's cancer was legitimate and he as been fighting trolls that think it is a work. I dont listen to his audio, but it seems like he does himself no favors, but to me it is very obvious he believes in Roman. As for the disconnect with current critics of pro wrestling, normally I take a "WWE is very mediocre" approach and that extremists on both sides blow it out of proportion. I thought last night was a good-to-great in-ring night, but from story perspective was a total bomb and can believe I saw so many positive tweets from a booking perspective. Shane/Miz has been booked really well and besides Miz's Dad being a total dud and severely undercutting the gravitas of the story with his no selling and they booked it to a logical next step. Besides Shane/Miz, there was nothing. The Handicap match was stupid and pointless. They cut off Owens' and Ali's balls. It was great to see The Big Dog back, but Ambrose should have turned heel. RAW women's main event has become an insane Heyman ECW 2000 angle. People bitch about Russo, but watch Heyman in 1999-2000 in ECW, it is just as bad. Tons of shitty worked shoot promos, Cyrus using insider language. This has Heyman's finger prints all over it. Point is Meltzer has every right to call this WCW 2000 trash because it is flirting with it.

I just rewatched this and I think that this match does so well is be so competitive without being "my turn, your turn" everything is earned. It is two combatants just throwing everything they have at each other. There is no waiting for the other to make a comeback you gotta go take it. It also never feels like a blowout. Steamboat takes an early lead but Flair is a master of breaking momentum. I like gradualism of the heat segment with Steamboat slowly losing that fire as the match wears on only to finally break through. If there is one flaw in the match it is the transition to Steamboat's comeback. To me this is the pinnacle of 80s workrate. I think there are better examples of Flairism as a style as this tones down a lot of the Flairism tropes in favor of being a workrate spectacle. We talk 5, 10 minute sprints, these two had a 20+ minute sprint. Insane!

The only wrestling autograph I have ever gotten was from King Kong Bundy at a local NWA New England show when I was a kid. RIP King Kong Bundy.

American Heavyweight Champion The Spoiler vs Wahoo McDaniel - Houston 4/21/79 Wahoo informs us in the pre-match promo that "Indians like shiny things" and that this is a stepping stone to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. I was really impressed by The Spoiler in his match with Jack Brisco and had to check this out. He is a big dude and very agile. First Fall: No shine, we go right to heat. Apparently Wahoo comes from the Jerry Lawler school of slow starting. Spoiler is back into a corner, but he walks up the buckles and comes crashing down on Wahoo. It is just rope assisted knees galore and throwing Wahoo out. If you watch very closely, you will see him monkey with the mask. I thought he was loading and I was confirmed as correct because when he headbutted Wahoo it split him wide open. Gary Hart calls for THE CLAW~! and Spoiler applies it the to bleeding Wahoo. This is when Wahoo comes storming back. Big time chops and blows that has The Spoiler reeling. Spoiler yanks him hard out of the ring and Wahoo hits the concrete hard. He rams Wahoo's head into the steel post. Wahoo then yanks him out of the ring. Wahoo hits a wicked chop, make sure to check the out girl's reaction in the front row for that. Wahoo returns the favor and slams Spoiler's head into the post and the table. Then he grabs a chair and slams Spoiler with that. This is a WAR! Wahoo hits a vertical suplex, but only gets two. Wahoo misses a kneedrop and Spoiler races up the turnbuckles to hit a double axehandle to win the first fall. Blood, foreign objects, hard chops and brawling. What more do you want? Spoiler 1-0 Second Fall: Spoiler tries to cautiously zero in on the groggy Wahoo who is coming to his feet. Wahoo lashes out with a series of chops, but the Spoiler comes back with some rope-assisted strikes on his own. He goes to his bread & butter the CLAW~! Wahoo is able to make to his feet and send Spoiler into the turnbuckle. Spoiler out of control charges hard into the post. Spoiler is so explosive and a big bumper. I like this dude. He takes a crazy bump off Wahoo's chop and it is all knotted up! Tied 1-1. I am excited for the 3rd fall. Third Fall: I love the selling by The Spoiler at the beginning of this feels so realistic. This is basically Wahoo's Chop vs Spoiler's Claw. They are just going hammer and tong with each other. Great, realistic brawling, neither man giving an inch. I love how Wahoo keeps going after the mask. Another great moment is Spoiler tries to do his trademark of using the ropes for extra force on his blows and Wahoo catches him with a chop. Spoiler finally gets the Claw cinched in. Wahoo is chopping and chopping, but fading. Then in a very memorable awesome finish, Wahoo turns the mask sideways so he cant see anymore! The loosening of the mask mattered. Spoiler puts the Claw on Gary Hart who was trying to help! I love it! Then he puts the Claw on the ref! This is great! Bronco comes out and calls the match for a DQ, but that was a cool finish. Spoiler ends up smashing Wahoo with the mic and the belt. Awesome war of attrition brawling and great selling. Spoiler has looked great in both matches. He was 39 here so the 1960s-1970s were his decades too bad we dont have more. Loved the finish! Do we have the rematch where Wahoo wins the title in May? ****1/2

NWA United States Champion Ric Flair vs Blackjack Mulligan - MACW 10/23/78 Texas Death Match I dont know how long the actual match is, but we got is fucking fun as hell! Flair is the heel and Blackjack is the asskicking giant babyface. Blackjack is wicked over. Listen to the pop he gets when he nails Flair with a punch and signals for the Claw. The Claw puts Flair down for the first fall we get to see. Flair was classic here. I really wish we had Flair from '77-'81 in full. If he wasn't the GOAT before, he would be after we saw all that. He is bumping like a madman. I love how he lunges at one point to strike Blackjack in the throat. The second fall is economical. Blackjack misses the top rope kneedrop (a high risk move that would have ended the match, but now puts him at a disadvantage), the ref gets bumped and Flair pulls out a foreign object. I like how he tosses it in the air and catches. It lets everyone all the way to the cheap seats know he has something. He wails away on Blackjack with it. I like how he gets fall punching Blackjack with it, but since Mulligan's shoulders on down the ref counts anways. Steamboat comes out and chops Flair so hard the object comes flying out of his hand. Blackjack gains control of it and busts Flair wide open. Flair taps a fucking gusher in this. PILEDRIVER! You can count to 100, Gorilla! That's all she wrote. I dont think I can give it a fair rating, but everyone should watch this. It is fun, old school babyface vs heel wrestling.

NWA International Jr. Heavyweight Champion Gino Hernandez vs Chavo Guerrero - Houston 5/22/81 SGR: Lou Thesz You want to be confused check out the history of Junior Heavyweight Championships. This is what I have surmised in my reading. Nelson Royal retires in 1979. There needs to be a new Junior Heavyweight Champion. The NWA was interesting because things are kinda aligned by Japan. You have this loose affiliation of New Japan, WWF, Florida and Los Angeles. While the rest of the NWA and the AWA are aligned with All Japan Pro Wrestling. NWA World Junior Championship (Southeastern Title) basically becomes Les Thornton's title in the early 80s and he defends it in the Southeast. He loses the title to Tiger Mask in New Japan. Then title gets caught over there and the promoters in the US stop recognizing Tiger Mask and continue to recognize Thornton. Then in 84 when Vince buys Georgia, Thornton goes North and the Southern promoters revolt again. They again stop recognizing the current champion. This is as bad the Great Schism of the 14th-15th century in the Catholic Church. Denny Brown ends up the champion, but over in Japan they are still recognizing their lineage. Somehow, Cobra wins the title but I guess New Japan abandons their claim. Denny Brown wins a tournament and is officially recognized as the undisputed NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion. Now to make matters worse that is not even the title we are talking about in this match. The former title was the title of the traditional NWA, but remember I said there was that loose affiliation of New Japan, Florida, WWF and LA, well they decide they want their own. What is strange is the WWF Junior Heavyweight Title already existed and Tatsumi Fujinami was the champion. Steve Keirn wins this version called the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Title right after Nelson Royal retires in 1979. He loses the title to Fujinami. Fujinami comes to Florida to drop the title to Mike Graham. Graham loses the title back to Fujinami in Japan, but then Fujinami gets injured. Chavo Guerrero defeats Kengo Kimura so that is how the title gets to Houston and why this match exists. But then to matters more confusing, Chavo switches allegiances to All Japan Pro Wrestling so now Onita wins the title and defends it in Mexico. Truly International! This ends up becoming All Japan's Junior Heavyweight Championship, but then is abandoned when Misawa moves to Heavyweight and they unveil a new title as All Japan's relationship with America becomes strained. Crazy! Damnit, I forgot what happened in the match now I have to rewatch it. Bear with me. Ok, I rewatched it, good thing it was a great match. First Fall: Gino literally has to fight his way into the ring. He gets into a scrap with a fan. He is definitely a lot more cocky than in the Lothario match. By 1982, this is the Gino we all loved to hate. Chavo lost his championship back in February and he wants it back. Really strong first fall. Chavo wins the quickness battle, but Gino stifles him with a front facelock. Excellent psychology against a fast-paced, explosive babyface challenger. Chavo does a great job struggling. Backbreaker, but Gino pounces on the front facelock. Nothern Lights back drop, Gino pounces on the front facelock. Fireman's Carry, Gino pounces on the front facelock. The more Chavo fights the more energy he expends. It is exciting because the babyface is creating so much movement and you want this to be the spot that gets him free, but Gino is relentless with the front facelock. This is very similar to the Benoit vs Eddy Guerrero sleepers match from Japan in 1996. Of course, Chavo does break free (but it means so much more that it took him four tries instead of one and modern wrestlers should take heed of this) and he applies a wicked tight surfboard. Not upside down just vertical. With this being 2 out of 3 Falls, I bit on this as a finish. You could believe that hold was actually exhausting to Chavo to apply so when he relinquished the hold, he did not look like an idiot, it was just fatigue did him in. Then he got one of those crazy pretzel submissions on Gino's arm, man I thought he was going to break Gino. Gino made it to the ropes. Chavo telegraphs the back body drop and gets punted. Gino hits his Russian Legsweep, which he used as a finish in the Lothario match to pick up the first fall. Didnt love the finish, but the rest of the work was superb. Finish came out of nowhere and I would have liked if Gino cheated more to earn it. Gino 1-0! Second Fall: As is customary, the second fall is short and sweet. Gino hurls Chavo out of the ring and as Chavo is trying to get his wits about him, Gino blasts him from behind and then rams him into the post. Gino does a little Gorgeous George strutting. Gino gets a back body drop for two. I didnt like the transition it was too abrupt. Chavo just hulked up and started punching Gino and kicking ass. He showed great fire, but the transition just wasnt there. It felt like now it is my turn. Chavo hits his finish the German Suplex with a sloppy bridge for three to knot it up. Tied 1-1! Third Fall: Gino is in a bad way. He is clutching the back of his neck. He is asking for time. He is being a baby. Taking refuge in the ropes. So Lou Thesz says if you want to act that way, I will give Chavo the third and deciding fall. That was the ultimate Dad move! Chavo is ROARING! Gutwrench suplex for two! Somersault splash for two! OH NO CHAVO MISSES A DROPKICK! Gino elbow drop for two! Gino is bouncing Chavo around. The action is fast & furious. Tenryu style top rope elbow drop from Gino 1-2-LEG ON THE ROPES! Gino is going for his finish the Russian Legsweep...Chavo blocks...Chavo hits his own Russian Legsweep...1-2-3! He had the tights! The crowd goes crazy, they rush the apron. It is Bedlam! Gino is furious. He attacks Chavo with the belt and draws blood! It BREAKING LOOSE IN HOUSTON! He is going to leave with the belt. NOT ON LOU THESZ'S WATCH! Lou has him by the hair. Tiger Conway Jr retrieves the Championship for Chavo and Gino is left throwing a temper tantrum as the crowd goes nuts for Chavo! Amazing finish that feels like an All Japan bomb throwing war with great transitions. I love Chavo throwing all of Gino's shit in his face. The post-match is great. Awesome babyface vs heel championship match! ****1/2

Jose Lothario vs Gino Hernandez - Houston 1/19/79 Texas Death Steel Cage Match Lothario was a major find of the Houston footage as an asskicking avenger. Hernandez is someone who left us way too soon, but outside the short World Class run and the limited Southwest Championship Wrestling footage, we dont have much. I was going to remark on Hernandez interesting short cropped Caesar-esque hair style as sticking as a sore thumb in the big hair of the late 70s/early 80s, but we find out he had lost hair in a hair vs hair match with the balding Lothario. That's a pretty good deal for Lothario. However, Hernandez did break Lothario's arm at an earlier date. In a neat bit of psychology, Lothario is trying to rip off Gino's arm in response. Gino is the first to send Lothario into the cage out of desperation. But Lothario comes storming back and he lives up to the hype as a badass asskicker, punching his way out of trouble. I like that Gino's response to Lothario first throwing him into the cage is to try to escape. However, we are informed that nobody has ever successfully scaled the cage. Boy, would that change! Gino wins the first fall with a series of Russian legsweeps. This is a one minute respite followed by the ten count. Lothario is able to send him hard into the cage. The crowd screams on for more! Lothario drops fists and knees and legs on the head of Gino until he picks up a fall. At the start of the third fall, Lothario presses, but Gino sends him into the turnbuckle. Now he is punching his forehead, biting, sends him hard into the cage. Lothario comes up bloody. Gino pummels Lothario in the open wound, hits the big splash from the middle rope and picks up the third fall. The fourth fall is short, it is purpose is to show Gino is in dominant position in a about minute's time he pins Lothario just from beating on him. Things look bleak for our hero. Gino is pounding on him, but he is getting a bit cocky. Lothario on his knees and he applies the STOMACH CLAW~! Gino is in a world of hurt and tries to climb the turnbuckles, but Lothario drags him down. Lothario beats his ass from pillar to post. Combination of cage shots and punches bust the Handsome Half-Breed wide open! Lothario picks up the fifth fall. Just as the fourth fall was short to show Gino in dominant so was the sixth fall for Lothario. He picks Gino like a lawn dart drives him hard into the cage face first, a fist drop and he picks up the sixth fall. It is now tied 3 falls apiece. Now Lothario is looking to rip off the arm of Gino. Full on Fujiwara armbar, I am going to take this home with me. Gino submits to end the seventh fall. Lothario is pissed. He does not want to let go. He wants this to be the end of the match. I am loving how Lothario is selling this. Lothario hooks him in a guillotine choke in the eighth fall, but Gino hoists him up as if he to do a superplex, but the cage is in the way and Lothario takes a gentle bump to the canvas. Gino wins the eighth and final fall and I gotta say that was a LAME FINISH! It was lame because it was not cool, it did not look like hurt, the heel won, but it really was not that underhanded, Lothario was not protected. It was lame, lame, lame. It is a bummer because the match up until that point was a badass match. I thought Lothario outperformed Gino. Gino had his moments of strutting and cockiness, but this was the mature, refined product you see against the Von Erichs. He was not yet that heat-seeking heel. Lothario made up for him by kicking ass and taking names. The armbar at the end did a great job connecting the end of the match to the beginning. His comeback in the 5th fall was glorious. This pales in comparison to the greatest traditional Texas Death Match of all time, Chris Harris vs James Storm in TNA, but it was cool to finally see Jose Lothario. ***3/4