Superstar Sleeze

Re-watched this one my phone this morning and I liked it a lot better than my recollection. One of the best spotfests of all time and maybe the best triple threat of all time (Cena vs Lesnar vs Rollins) may have something to say about that. I really liked the opening with Joe & AJ one upping each other on the heel Daniels. I liked Daniels being treated as a strong heel. We know Joe & AJ hit hard as fuck but Daniels was just as stiff as them. The highspots were really HIGH! The AJ Shooting Star Press, Spiral Tap into the Kokina Clutch and Joe's insane dive were all BADASS like the greatest spots ever. Finish was incredible. I like how the undefeated Joe eliminated himself by missing a dive. I liked AJ reversing the Angels Wings into a pinning predictament of his own for the win. My complaints as always with a spotfest is things comes too easy no struggle. I also thought they peaked mid-match with the unconventional highspots so when come time for everyone to hit their stock highspots it was not as hot. Still never a dull moment and just absolute mayhem, maybe the best spotfest ever. ****1/4 Man, I just re-read my review and gotta say chill out, bro. What an angry young man. I popped for Saying Daniels turns off heeling. I Think overall I was too hard on Daniels in my first review except the heeling. Definitely needed more heeling. But yeah I needed to take a chill pill.

X-Division Champion AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe I wrote in 2013: Greatest AJ Styles Performance Ever? I will say his performance against Bobby Roode in an ironman match at Final Resolution 2012 is his greatest performance of all time, but this is probably a Top Ten AJ Performance and thats saying a lot because he has had so many great ones. My favorite moment when I watched in 2013 is the same as when I just watched it again: When Styles does a float-over off a Joe suplex attempt onto the apron instead of doing it fluidly he lands on the ropes to sell the exhaustion. I was in awe. He takes that extra couple seconds to really sell. Consequently instead of immediately following his forearm on the apron he sold more exhaustion before finally to trying to hit a springboard and ate a Joe powerbomb. Sublime. What I think stands out the most about this match compared to so many X-Division matches is the physicality. This match was a fuckin war and AJ got a nice busted up lip for it. Each wrestler earned everything they got. AJ set the tone charging at Joe and manhandling him. You dont see Joe manhandled too often, but AJ was all piss & vinegar. AJ hits fucking hard and he was blasting Joe. I love how pumped AJ was after his snap suplex and his trademark dropkick. This does not get brought up enough, but AJ is so good at his dropdown. The whole point of the dropdown is trip your opponent while he running the ropes OR mess up his timing. Watch that Joe really has to step over AJ because AJ does his dropdown so tight. Since Joe is thinking about that, he does not think about the dropkick. Once Joe gets a hold of AJ the match really gets brutal. These are some of the sickest, stiffest kicks you will ever see. AJ did that sick bump off the apron onto the floor again and took Joe's offense like a champ. Joe kicked is leg out from under him and took a header on the apron. Then the real exclamation point is how Joe just slung him into the railing. This was a total shitkicking. Credit to AJ that he sold like a champ and bumped like a madman, but he never died. He always let us know he life left in his body. Thats huge. There is a great moment when AJ was looking to start a comeback but Joe just shoves him down and then hits a flying kick right to the face. I love how simple & brutal the match is. I loved the transition to AJ's comeback as it was Joe being overzealous and AJ having the presence of mind to back body drop outside the ring. Then he capitalized with a beautiful Fosbury Flop. I love how after each move AJ was going after pins because he knew he was weak and this was his shot. It really sold the urgency, you could feel that his time was fleeting and if he didnt capitalize now everything was lost. I loved the cat and mouse game they did late in the match with AJ duckin' and divin' not allowing Joe to get that full 100% impact. The busted lip happens here and it really had a big fight feel and that moment epitomized it. AJ continues back with flying kicks especially that wicked spinkick that rocks Joe. AJ needed those big bombs and head shots. Tenay & I think he going Styles Clash, but he hits a massive powerbomb for two. AJ tries to charge Joe, but it is a WICKED LARIAT (this lariat is insane; JBL would have creamed his pants for sure) and then a wicked Tiger Driver, but each time AJ kicks out at one. FIGHTING SPIRIT~! There is a great vicious sequence, Joe hits a wicked slap and then AJ hits his Pele Kick. That's the head rocking, stun kick, AJ usually uses to set up the Styles Clash, but here AJ sets the big man up on the top rope. which I dont love. The one flaw is the fact that AJ tried twice to setup Joe for moves on the top turnbuckle, which seemed odd. The second time it led to an awkward sequence and a lame AJ powerbomb (more like a double leg takedown), which only existed to give AJ a way to hit the Styles Clash. It was a minor flaw. AJ goes for a victory roll, but Joe traps him in the clutch and it is Goodnight Irene for AJ. After the match, Joe beats up AJ and tries to give him a musclebuster on a chair, but Daniels saves. I liked this match a whole lot, but I think I liked AJ/Abyss a hair more (I wrote that in 2013 and still feel that way now), but both are neck and neck for Best TNA match ever at this point. I have no idea why the Unbreakable match is the more famous match. This match blows that match outta the water. Again, it is the finish that holds this match back from being *****. To me this combines BattlArts brutality with really awesome bumping from AJ and start of the art offense with a strong story of urgency from both men really wanting to win. ****3/4

Low-Ki vs Bryan Danielson - ECWA 7/21/01 SGR: Ricky Steamboat Low-Ki had to be the first superstar of 2000s Indies boom. He is very over in every match. This was a very popular match in the early 2000s and along with Low-Ki vs AJ Styles the biggest feud of the indies. Danielson is playing the heel. Steamboat seems pretty into the match throughout. These two are just so explosive. Some great chain wrestling and kicks thrown. I love their dueling bridges spot, really good stuff. Ki throws some ferocious kicks that really tag Bryan in the head. It really gets good when Danielson dropkicks Ki's arm just as he is doing a back handspring. Great spot and great writhing by Ki! Danielson goes right to work on the injured arm. You know Bryan is all tight holds and some innovative ways to dish out pain. Bryan shows great urgency always staying on Ki and Ki is very good at selling the arm. You know when you have Steamboat wincing in pain, that there are some ferocious chops being thrown. Ki gets a lucha armdrag hope spots but Bryan pops up and kicks the arm. Great heat segment. I loved Bryan's snap fireman's carry in response to Low-Ki firing up in in a chop battle. Bryan wants the cross-armbreaker, but settles for a short arm scissors (love that move). Low Ki kicks him in the head from his back showing great flexibility. On the second one, he gets him pretty good and even the camera guy oohs at that. Bryan goes for the Cobra Clutch and Ki fights out. He finally evens the playing field with a Tidal Wave. Steamboat pops for it and the crowd chants "Low Ki!". Really well-timed spot. Low-Ki is still selling the bad arm as he hits a forearm and realizes he needs to use his feet. Explosive Kappo Kick in the corner. Bryan grabs a cobra clutch on the apron and Ki bucks him off the apron in a crazy spot. Low Ki gets his Dragon Clutch on the top rope and bends back into a Tree of Woe, but he loses control of Bryans head. They go into a strike exchange, but it is better than your typical New Japan one because they are reacting and trying to find new angles. Poor transition into that strike exchange. Bryan finally blasts through Ki's defense with a Roaring elbow. They headbutt each other from their knees as if they are rams battering each other. Ki hits the Ki Krusher '99 for two, but cant capitalize because of his bad arm. This is the first big nearfall and it is well-timed. Couple good blocks as Ki cant hit another Ki Krusher, Bryan cant hit the Dragon Suplex and Ki misses a flying Karate Kick. This last one affords Bryan the opportunity to hit a German and roll into a Dragon Suplex for two. Bryan wants his super back suplex, but Ki bucks him off and hits a Phoenix Splash for two. I like how missed moves are setting up the nearfalls. Low Ki pays tribute to Masa Chono from 1991 and just starts Yakuza Kicking Bryan in the face repeatedly only getting two. As he signals for the "FINISH HIM" Kick, Bryan wrangles him down in Cattle Mutilation and Low Ki passes out from the pain. I dont know about that finish. I mean Bryan worked over the arm, but I didnt think he really destroyed the arm and I thought Low-Ki passed out way too quickly. Then again, I dont really want to languish in that hold either. It was just a weird hold to pass out to. Weird finish aside, I really enjoyed this. It is very explosive and exciting. Bryan's heat segment is great and Low-Ki sells well and peppers in enough hope spots. Tidal Wave was the perfect tide-turning move. They lost me from the apron spot through the strike exchange. I thought the transitions were not as tight. The finish sequence was awesome. The nearfalls felt big and were set up really well. To me this is the first truly great Indy match. ****1/4

Low-Ki vs Samoa Joe - ROH 10/5/02 The only thing the Smackdown roster is missing right now is Low-Ki. Imagine just a revolving door of AJ, Bryan, Joe & Ki tearing it up on Smackdown every week. I loved this match! It was BattlArts in America. No rope running. No Irish Whips. No intricate sequences. Just hard-hitting, smashmouth in your face action. Neither man giving an inch. They were constantly kicking out at one to prove a point that the other man had not hurt him even though they were beating the dogshit out of each other. Just a great combination of strikes, throws and submissions. This is Samoa Joe's debut and he is a hired gun for the top heel faction led by Christopher Daniels. This is a Fight Without Honor but there are no weapons or cheapshots just man on man, flesh on flesh. They set the tone early with some of the best pro wrestling ground and pound you will ever see. Those punches were STIFF! Ki's chops to Joe's back were brutal throughout. Low-Ki's suplexes looked so damn good in this match. Joe was looking slim & trim. Joe was kicking ass too. Loved the powerbomb into the STF. Joe got a big nearfall with the Island Driver. I love how Ki did NOT do any of his big highspots. No back handspring elbow or Tidal Wave. It shows his versatility and intelligence. You do those in matches with Amazing Red, not Samoa Joe. I love that thought process. He did go for his Dragon Clutch, but that's a submission that was his big nearfall compared to Joe's Island Driver. Then came the ending. Holy shit! They beat the shit out of each other and MY GOD Low-Ki DESTROYED Samoa Joe with those Kawada kicks. It looked like he was shoot kicking him in the face repeatedly. I love the Samoa Joe bellow before Low Ki clubs him to death for the win. When is the last time there was no highspot to win, you just clubbed youre way to victory. Awesome! Yes, they complaint is that the transitions arent that memorable and there is no grand story, but who fucking cares, they kicked ass so hard and it was fucking awesome! ****1/4

Thats why I am leaning towards not watching it. I have no feel for CZW. I think going cold into that match would not do that match justice.

Samoa Joe vs Necro Butcher - IWA-MidSouth 6/11/05 A very famous violent bloodbath that totally lives up to the hype. I am like 95% sure I have seen a Necro Butcher match live in Ring Of Honor in like 2009, but other than that I have never seen a Butcher match. Joe is a great asskicker and Butcher can sure take an asskicking so this makes for a match made in heaven or should I say Hell? There is bleeding hardway from headbutts, there are chair throws, there is a powerslam on Necro's forehead, yes forehead, CM Punk and I are incredulous. Oh by the way, the worst part of this match by far is the commentary. Eddie Kingston is fine. CM Punk's smarky commentary is bad. The most brutal part is Dave Prazak. You know what's worse than Joey Styles, a Joey Styles tribute act, Goddamn you Prazak you fucking blew in this match. Back to the match, the punches were incredible in this match. Rapid fire and stiff as fuck. The Holy Shit Spot for me in this match was when Joe spiked him on his busted open head from the apron to the floor on an exploder. That was fucking crazy. Dave Prazak fucking sucks in this match. The powerbomb on the railing was pretty nuts and one foot cover with bicep flex, but only a two. Wow! German Suplex on the chair! Necro Butcher is Mick Foley nuts! Necro's big comeback with these punches was incredible. Great punches and then Joe just unleashes the most brutal flurry of kneelifts. He nearly takes off his head and then kicks his head straight off for the KO victory. Total asskicker of a match! ****1/2

ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima vs Bryan Danielson - ROH 8/25/07 "He has such a tight small package" - Only in pro wrestling is that a compliment. While not as gruesome as Vader vs Stan Hansen, this was just as scary. You cant really say this is Danielson's best selling performance because he is in very legitimate pain as his retina is detached in the match. The anguish on his face makes it hard to watch at times but it is not as bad as Vader literally putting his eyeball back in his head and the swelling keeping it in place. Speaking of Vader, this is a Vader 101 match through and through. If Morishima even had an 1/8th of Vader's charisma then this would be ***** classic. As it is, Danielson basically figured out a way to drag an amazing match out of Morishima but it almost cost him his eye. Imagine how Vader sells Tamura's or Yamazaki's kicks in UWFi, but now he is selling Danielson's kicks here. Oh my God that would be tremendous! Lets stop talking about Danielson vs Vader dream match and instead talk about the match we got which was really good. They do a great extended sequence where Danielson is evading Morishima at every pass but also sneaking in stiff kicks to the thigh of Morishima. Morishima just cant seem to wrangle the elusive Bryan. He finally corners him and just clubs him into submission. He targets the eye from jump. So really stiff forearms to the eye has Danielson clutching it immediately. Morishima facewashes the eye and then goes so far as to blast on the outside. It is brutal. I am pretty sure that's where he injured it because Danielson is in an insane amount of pain immediately. Morishima drives his ass into Danielson and then the next time Morishima runs into the railing. Danielson dumps him into the crowd and hits his signature springboard somersault into the crowd. The look on his face as he is grabbing his eye is just painful to watch. He whacks Morishima's leg with a steel chair. The dueling psychology is great and both are exploiting it though I am worried for Danielson. I wonder with the language barrier if they were able to explain to Morishima in the middle of the match that Danielson was actually hurt. The rest of the match is Danielson working underneath rolling into crazy leg submissions from all angles while Morishima is just picking up and slamming Danielson to the ground any chance he gets. Morishima kicks out of a leg submission by raking the boot across the injured eye. Great! Danielson tries a barrage of cradles and roll-ups, but on a sunset flip, Morishima just squashes him by dropping his ass on his chest for two. Danielson recovers and fells the Giant with more kicks to the leg. When Morishima crumples, the crowd pops! Fancy that! I loved the urgency in the run up to the finish...German...Elbows to the head...Kicks to the head...Cattle Mutilation...he was suffocating Morishima. Great work! But then he does the dumbest thing imagineable he tries for a Super Back Suplex, Morishima counters mid-air and lands with all his body weight on Danielson. Morishima OBLITERATES Danielson with a lariat for two and then a Back Drop Driver and it is academic. Danielson gave a performance of a lifetime under severe adversity. Danielson was so feisty in this match. He was always fighting back even on his back. I loved his urgency. He was suffocating Morishima every chance he got. Offensively his strategy was sound and focused. It was only when deviated by going for the suplex that he did himself in. Honestly, Morishima's greatest attribute was his weight. He was this riddle that Danielson was trying to solve. Occasionally, the giant riddle would sit on him or come crashing down with all his weight. Ultimately, it was Morishima's sheer size that won him the match. If Morishima had any charisma or just sold better, this would be an all-timer, still an excellent David vs Goliath match and may be Danielson's best individual performance of his career. ****3/4

Good news, I just watched 6th Anniversary Match between Danielson and McGuinness and it is far, far better than the Unified match. I really enjoyed it. I am going to watch a ton of Danielson vs Low-Ki. I have seen the JAPW match before I want to watch that again along with ECWA and the ROH match. I have not seen that much pimped about Danielson vs AJ, but I LOVE AJ so I will definitely be checking those out. Danielson vs Morishima the eye match is a must for me to see. Has the Joe vs Punk trilogy aged well? It does not seem to get much play anymore (I remember on the internet when I was in high school people going nuts for it). I really liked Danielson vs KENTA from NOAH in 2006 so I will check out their ROH match. I am going to watch Low-Ki vs Samoa Joe and Samoa Joe vs Kobashi.

ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson - ROH 6th Anniversary Show 2/23/08 Before the match, Danielson agreed not to attack the head of McGuinness, who has been struggling my concussion issues. They had been doing a slow burn heel turn for Nigel and finally exploded this night as everyone in the Manhattan Center thought he was being a chump. I really feel the dynamics of this match are far better with Danielson as the babyface and McGuiness as the heel. I really like how character driven this is. Danielson remains true to his word throughout the match and never attacks the head of McGuiness even thought he has plenty of opportunities. I always like when a heel wrestles the match straight at the beginning and only resorts to heel tactics when the match is slipping through his fingertips. They start with some of their chain wrestling which I thought had more struggle to it and Danielson clearly had a comfortable lead winning these exchanges. I really liked the callback where Nigel does the headstand in the corner, but this time Danielson dropkicks him in the chest instead of the head. Nice job! Danielson is kicking the back of Nigel and hits a back suplex, but all these shots rattle Nigel's head. I love this because Danielson is staying away from the head, but he cant help it a lot of strikes and suplexes will rattle the head. The fans get on Nigel's case for being overly sensitive. Nigel loses his cool and decks the ref to trigger the DQ. I really liked that spot. Austin Aires & Co. say they will not let Nigel disgrace the title like that and order him back in the ring. I like that it was wrestlers instead of an authority figure that did that. Nigel takes over on the restart, not the best transition, but the heel work on top is solid. He is working on the arm and he is doing a lot of jaw jacking with the crowd. Danielson is very good at selling. Danielson strings together a couple moves, but Nigel ends up suplexing him from the apron to the floor. Nigel rocks him big time European Uppercut up against the railing. Danielson gets a desperation backdrop into the crowd and then hits his big springboard somersault into the audience. Great highspot! I really thought the rest of the match picked up in a big way from here on out. Danielson looked poised to capitalize in the ring when Nigel hits a big time lariat. Danielson does an incredible job selling the lariat. The insufferable ROH fans chant "Same 'ol shit!" and I roll my eyes. I will say the ROH announcers were really good. I was not expecting that at all. The best spot in my opinion of the match was when Danielson goes for a suicide dive and Nigel hits a European Uppercut. Then Nigel summarily hits a Tower of London from the apron. I loved how they both sold, they both bladed especially how Nigel sold the head injury because of the force of his own blow. Since it was on the outside and they were selling, it made sense that Danielson could kick out. Nigel goes for Cattle Mutilation, but cant hold the bridge and Nigel misses his big rebound lariat, but he hits the one when Danielson is hung up on the corner. TOWER OF LONDON! 1-2-NO! Reverse Top Wristlock by Nigel. Danielson finally catches a break with Chaos Theory! Danielson cant capitalize he has taken too much punishment and his arm is just slung to his side. Danielson goes all Fujiwara on us with TREMENDOUS body shots and even busts out a Fujiwara armbar and then elbows to the body. All the while, Danielson refuses to elbow Nigel in the head instead he hits a Tiger Suplex. I really liked when Danielson told the ref to count Nigel for ten after a barrage of body shots. Danielson go home sequence was so great. He stayed away from highspots focused on strikes to the body and submission holds. The best part of the match by far is when Nigel uses headbutts to crack Danielson in his bad eye (Morishima match) repeatedly then elbows him in the head repeatedly in Danielson like fashion. I love that after all that shit was made about Nigel's head he used it as a weapon and went after Danielson's own injury. That is beautiful heel work. Danielson passes out in the reverse top wristlock. Far superior to the Unified match. Great character work from both wrestlers. Danielson was a great babyface fighting from underneath trying to winning earnestly and respectfully. I can get behind that and really sunk my teeth into Danielson's quest to do it a specific manner. Nigel was a great heel he was a prick and he was great at all always selling his head. Of course, the grand hurrah is that after all that stink, Nigel uses headbutts to attack Danielson's bad eye long enough to KO him with Danielson-style elbows to the head. Great finish. There are certain 2000s things that bother me (like people waiting to be hit with moves) and a lot of that is just Nigel's offense. Beautiful story with Nigel making a big stink about his own injury only to exploit Danielson's most famous injury is just excellent pro wrestling. ****1/2

I hit a wall with puroresu. I need to switch it up. Ring of Honor is a massive blind spot for me. This is generally considered the best Ring of Honor match seems like a good place to start. ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson vs ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuiness - ROH Unified 8/12/06 The ROH Pure Championship was a neat idea to create a different type of match that would showcase technical wrestling by changing the rules. I think they should have gone full RINGS rules, but still included pinfalls to really make it distinct as is it was just watered down shoot style rules. I think everyone in Ring of Honor realized this and decided to abandon the championship by unifying it with the World Championship. Apparently, these two had to two prior matches in Cleveland. I am coming into this cold so sorry in advance if I miss any callbacks. Danielson is in the midst of an epic World Title reign. You know what I was going to review this and then finish with this, but I am just going to start with it. What's the big deal? I mean the match is good, but what about this is exceptional? I don't even know what the story is. It was not limb psychology. They dropped that. They kinda teased a brawl twice, but the match was not a brawl. It is not very character-driven. Danielson is kind of a dick. Not doing a Mexican Surfboard as a means to get heel heat is really strange to me. It is not like my entire night was dependent on whether I see a Mexican Surfboard. A reviewer mentioned Nigel's gave a great fiery comeback. I don't know, have I been spoiled by Shinya Hashimoto? It was a fine comeback. It is a not a spotfest in sense that they were not just throwing out highspots. It wasn't overkill at all. I thought it was quite economical. The spot that clearly is the BIG spot of the match is when Nigel headbutts the steel ringpost repeatedly to bleed hardway. That was some Foley Theatre of Masochism. Then he headbutted Danielson repeatedly and I dont think he drew blood but just got his blood on Danielson. I mean writing that does make me feel like that should have been an epic spot of revenge, but it just rang hollow to me. I dont know the match; just felt good. So what did I like about the match? I liked the symmetry of the beginning. Each winning two chain wrestling sequences (a little too slick on the chaining, but it was fine). I liked Danielson slapping the shit out of Nigel and not giving a clean rope break. Nigel earns his slap back by winning a wristlock sequence. That was great. Danielson's work on the arm was really tight. He had to earn his Butterfly Suplex into the cross-armbreaker. It drives me nuts when people stop selling when they make the ropes. It totally undercuts the whole five count. The heel is being evil. He is applying an excoriating hold for an extra four seconds that could be the difference your arm being broken. Fucking sell! Nigel attacking the arm out of revenge was good even if the transition was just ok. The transition back to Danielson was unmemorable thats when the lame Mexican Surfboard spot happened. Danielson hits two big bombs, superplex and diving headbutt, could have used more struggle. He then applies Cattle Mutilation. I hate this submission hold, but that a personal preference. It is very hard to make compelling via selling because your face is buried. It should be a quick tap out or nothing. It is a cool move because I love bridging, but it drags when it is just held. Nigel makes the ropes. Then Nigel just pops up and cuts Danielson off and hits Tower of London. I am just going to say it. If Danielson was not in this match, anyone else would be crucified for allowing that spot. This costs Danielson a rope break and Nigel applies Cattle Mutilation to eliminate Danielson's second rope break. They brawl on the outside. I really liked this spot where Danielson showed a lot of aggression bouncing Nigel's head off the table then trying to choke him out with the table and win by countout. Great spot! The best spot of the match is when Nigel goes for the Ultimo Dragon headstand in the corner and Danieslon dropkicks him in the head. YES! Finally someone smart enough to do that. I marked out for that. Danielson follows this up with the Crossface Chickewing, which is a great submission and Nigel makes the ropes. Danielson is quite smug that Nigel has lost all his rope breaks. Danielson wastes too much time and misses a diving headbutt. At this point, they should just go all in with a character-driven match. Big babyface comeback and all that jazz. But instead they do a bunch of 50/50 wrestling that is not driving the plot forward. Then Danielson does a Crossface Chickenwing on the top rope. I get that Nigel has no rope breaks, but I dont think that means the match becomes Falls Count Anywhere. Head-scratcher! Ok so then we get the stupidity of Nigel headbutting a ringpost to get color hardway. I like brutality in wrestling but this just looked like Nigel headbutting a ringpost. Obviously, there is no safe way to do it, but the safest way to do it is have Nigel be in complete control so Danielson is barley pulling him so it just looks like Nigel is headbutting a ringpost for shits & giggles. The Springboard Somersault into the crowd is always a pleaser. Back in the ring, Nigel hits those revenge headbutts. They just don't look as good as Fujiwara's and he is not roaring in a way that I am invested. I figured it out. I just was not invested in this match. Don't tell me it was because I came in cold to this match. I watched Chris Harris vs James Storm bloodbath cold. I could not give two fucks about Harris or Storm, but they sucked me into their match. Great wrestling can do that. Cattle Mutilation...McGuiness reverses and it is a barrage of Hammer Elbows to the head that KO's Nigel for the win. The finish was great, I will give them that. It was just a match where they did stuff. I dont see the big deal. They gave me no reason to invest in the match. No hook. If this is the best Ring of Honor has to offer color me underwhelmed. ***1/4

Best of Other Heavyweight Puroresu (RINGS, UWFi, PWFG, WAR, SWS, FMW) 1989-1995 Some people find God, I found Volk Han. The Wolf Khan is an absolute master at every facet of pro wrestling. He is a magnificent seller (when he scrambles for the ropes it is a big deal or when he crumples in a heap after a liver shot). His character work is sublime (I love his fist pump celebrations or how pissed he gets when he rarely loses). His greatest trait is his offense. He is the Russian Mat Wizard; he makes every submission move look like the coolest thing ever. Nobody has ever made ankle crossing look so badass. His double wristlock rip takedown are so forceful and compelling. Then if that's not good enough he will just randomly throw an axe kick during stand up. The Man is a God. If you have not watched this Soviet Maestro perform his craft change that pronto and let his saving grace wash you anew. Discovering Volk Han is just one reason why my Pro Wrestling Love burns as bright as it did over twenty years because it just how versatile a form of entertainment it is. In addition to Volk Han, there is a match where the referee is dressed as beekeeper because the ring surrounded in exploding barbed wire and did I mention the ring explodes at the end of the match? Genichiro Tenryu has badass matches with Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Shinya Hashimoto in the early 90s (now thats a trio!). Of course, the Nobuhiko Takada vs Super Vader trilogy. I would argue as would many that PRIDE FC and the UWFi invasion of New Japan would not be as big of deals or straight up dont happen if Vader does not MAKE Nobuhiko Takada a superstar with his terrific selling during their trilogy together. Vader made Japanese Mixed Martial Arts possible now theres your hot take for the day! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/02/pro-wrestling-love-vol-34-best-of-other.html

Real World Heavyweight Champion Super Vader vs Nobuhiko Takada - UWFi 4/20/95 Crazy to think Vader was recognized as a World Champion in Japan for 8 month all the while holding the US Championship in America and feuding with Hulk Hogan. Well, Takada is planning on his big pay day by invading New Japan so he needs fake real world championship back. This is regarded as the least of three, but I thought it was just as good as the December '93 match, but the finish is not as epic. Vader is at his best when he is selling. The way he contorts his face when he is in anguish is so compelling. Vader slaps Takada to start. Takada roars back with kicks that send Vader out to the floor. Red hot start. Vader is pissed and CHOKESLAMS TAKADA! This is one way to start match. It looks like this match is going to go the way of the '94 match, but Takada has a new strategy go all in with the leg kicks. He kicks the shit out of Vader's legs and Vader is such a masterful seller. Vader gets his licks in, but this is all about Vader's selling. When Takada gets him down, he is still trying submissions like the cross armbreaker or choke, but nothing doing. Takada does one of the stupidest things I have ever seen. He has Vader rocking with his kicks, but he closes the gap and clinches Vader. What a moron! Vader CLOBBERS HIM! POWERBOMB! It looks like it is over. Takada gets up. VADER TACKLES HIM! This is insane. Fujiwara armbar by Vader, but Vader cant finish. Stand up. Takada clips him in the chin with the big left kick. The big man is rocked. Takada pounces; he pours it on with big kicks and a huge left KO's the big man. This is a great comeback match from the 1994 match were the valiant hero is able to vanquish the monster. ****1/4

Real World Heavyweight Champion Nobuhiko Takada vs Super Vader - UWFi 8/18/94 What if Goliath wins? Yngwie Fucking Malmsteen of all people is there to present Takada with the flowers. I did a little digging and I guess Malmsteen composed/plays Takada's theme. That has to rank as one of the most Japan things ever. Lou Thesz says that his Original World Championship is on the line. I think viewing this through a shoot style lens is pretty unfair. It is an old school pro wrestling in the sense that there are no Irish whips and rope running, but the idea was to present realistic pro wrestling as opposed to realistic fighting in my opinion. It is all a work anyways. I am choosing to watch this as if I am watching a New Japan match rather than get hung up on the fact that Vader ain't Volk Han out there. Interesting start as there is no shine. Takada is trying to avoid early, but gets caught in the corner with those rhythmic Vader forearms. Vader THROWS HIS ASS DOWN not once, but twice. Takada is starting in a hole. Takada goes after the legs and anytime he can he is trying to apply the cross-armbreaker, which had won him the match in December,. Takada is such a great valiant babyface in this match. This reminds me of a Puroresu version of Vader vs Sting from GAB '92. Sting & Takada get in their hope spots, but neither one has a chance when Vader is in this zone. I think they told a tremendous story of for every three Takada shots, one Vader shot could put Takada down. This is some of the best stand up you will ever see. It was hard hitting and dramatic. Vader was lighting Takada up with palm strikes and forearms. Takada's kneelifts were vicious. Of course, Takada caught him a couple times with that trademark kick combo where the left foot catches you right under the chin. Really strong stand-up. On the mat, I liked it. It was not Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura. It was ugly but effective. Vader used his weight well and when ever he was in trouble he would just palm strike Takada in the face. Works for me! At one point, Takada got pissed about this and just start blasting Vader in the face. Takada never did get his cross-armbreaker applied. It really became a great stand up battle as the match worn on. Just a slobberknocker. The turning point was when Vader was getting rocked and he just grabbed a waistlock on Takada and hurled him in a wicked German suplex. Takada would get a few more hope spots, but they were few and far between. Vader just dominated from there on out with some massive forearms. That deadlift powerbomb as insane. I remember that as the finish, but Takada stood up. The finish was inevitable and eventually succumbed to the might of Vader. Goliath won with exactly what brought him to the dance, raw, unadulterated power and brute force. Vader really sold Takada's attacks well. His register is so good. He would take three heavy shots and then come back with a wild swipe and knock Takada's ass down. Takada would have to start from square one. I think Takada got enough "nearfalls" in his few knockdowns to make it dramatic, but Vader was on fire here, very much like GAB '92. So what happen when Goliath wins? Well David gets a rematch of course. ****3/4

There was no upset in the Super Bowl, but much like Riki Choshu's booking of New Japan in the 1990s there are plenty of upsets in the rankings for the Top Six New Japan Heavyweight Matches of the 90s found in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 33. I will not spoil anything, but was not an upset was the man who is featured in five of the top six bouts and that is Shinya Hashimoto! Shinya Hashimoto garnered a cult following in the 1990s. While many American fans were being wow'ed by Jushin Liger and the aerial tactics of the juniors and others were wrapped up in the incredible drama of All Japan in the 1990s, there were a select few that touted the hard-nosed, no-nonsense style of Hashimoto the Destroyer. He did not have the flash of Liger or the moveset of Four Corners of Heaven, but what he brought to the table was an asskicker's mentality, silent, but deadly. With the Right Hand of Hashimoto, he struck down invaders like Genichiro Tenryu from WAR and Nobuhiko Takada from UWFI and kept his fellow Musketeers, Chono & Mutoh at bay. Is there any scene in pro wrestling more epic than when Hashimoto bellows "CHOSHUUUUUUUUUUU" in his epic confrontation with 1980s New Japan star, Riki Choshu in 1996? Since his tragic death in 2004, the cult of Hashimoto has grown to include more and more fans, myself included who had overlooked him for the All Japan boys and Liger & Co. Time has validated Hashimoto and his American fans showing that his work is truly timeless and something every pro wrestling fan should see. But this is only in regards to his American popularity, his popularity in Japan was always evident as he main evented many, many 50,000+ Tokyo Dome shows. Us Americans can sometimes take a little while to catch up is all. This is my Pro Wrestling Love letter to Shinya Hashimoto The Destroyer, Defender of the New Japan Realm! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/02/pro-wrestling-love-vol-33-best-of-90s.html

Masahiro Chono vs Keiji Mutoh - NJPW G-1 Climax Finals 8/11/91 It is funny, I was watching this match and thinking to myself why did I like this so much a couple years ago and then it kicked me in the teeth. This match is all about build & escalation. First 20 Minutes: The opening matwork was perfectly solid NWA Championship style chain wrestling, but it did eventually become more important as time progressed. Chono took an early lead with a short arm scissors that made Mutoh powder. Mutoh had to go after the left arm which had a bandage around the left bicep. Mutoh did not press this instead he hit his power elbow drop for the first high spot. He could not complete his back handspring elbow and as he ricocheted off the turnbuckles, he was met with a back drop driver. Good spot that reset the match. Big strike exchange. You dont think of these two as preeminent strikers, but this came off well. Mutoh goes for the leg to set up his deathlock spot, which seems weird with the arm injury but Mutoh loves his deathlock spot. The match gets really good once Mutoh busts out Cattle Mutilation. Mutoh was bridging for whole minutes in both the deathlock and cattle mutilation, which is INSANE! Mutoh was in amazing shape. Mutoh goes for the cross-armbreaker on the bad arm. Chono boot rakes the eyes. Now it is on! Chono goes for the Yakuza kicks to the head and kicks him straight off the apron as Mutoh was trying to powder. This time Chono presses his advantage with not one, but two dives. I love this mentality. Chono was losing his grip on the match. Mutoh was dominating him on the mat and could have won the match with the cross-armbreaker. So Chono has that go for broke mentality and wants to dig himself out of a hole. He goes too far though as he hits two piledrivers, but instead of covering he goes for the STF and Mutoh scrambles out of the ring. Chono looks to put a nail in the coffin with the piledriver on the floor, but Mutoh backdrops out. It is Mutoh dragging him over into the stands that hits the piledriver on the exposed concrete. High risk leads to mistakes and now Mutoh is in control of the match. Great transition, Mutoh hits a missile dropkick in the ring and goes for the cover. Mutoh hits two more suplexes and gets a nearfall after each. Mutoh is thinking about winning. Was the opening matwork a little tedious and lacking struggle, yes, but it was NOT perfunctory. It did matter. Mutoh had to go to the arm, but he abandoned that strategy and paid for it. Then he went back to the arm and it freaked Chono out. This triggered the bombfest. Strong transitions right now and everything matters. I am really interested to see the back end. Last Portion: Mutoh sold really well here. Great sells of the missed moonsaults and especially the first STF. Where we left off Mutoh was in total control, the Dragon Suplex is too close to the ropes. Mutoh calls for the finish and wants the moonsault, but Chono moves causing Mutoh to crash & burn. Chono wastes no time...Yakuza Kick...STF!!! Mutoh makes the ropes and he sold this really well. Chono is now in the driver's seat. Suplexes and an Octopus Stretch as he is trying to pour it on. This is commonly reviewed as something that is done in the style 90s All Japan and nothing rings more true than Mutoh winning suplex struggle to transition back to his offense. Mutoh tries his own Octopus Stretch. Mutoh leapfrogs over Chono's counterdropkick, but they both dropkick each other on Mutoh's springboard dropkick. Chono looks for the STF, but cant apply it fully before Mutoh makes the ropes. I love that drama was in the application of the hold rather than in the hold. They do a very All Japan spot of Chono kicking Mutoh who ricochets off the ropes with a flying forearm. Mutoh hits his backbreaker...MOONSAULT...EATS KNEE! Epic sell by Mutoh, great job! Chono powerbombs him for the win! I loved the finish...Mutoh goes for his finish...is injured...then Chono hits his for the win. Efficient and powerful. I love how every transition meant something and they did a great job building this organically from matwork to bombs to the big bombs (STF, Moonsault). I think whats keeping this from ***** is the lack of struggle, some segments were just let me hit my moves, but there was still great drama down the stretch. Chono's best match by a wide margin. I think Mutoh had better matches against Tenryu. Hashimoto vs Tenryu is better in regards to New Japan heavyweights, but this is definitely still one of the best and a real feather in the cap of both men. The future seemed very bright for New Japan in 1991. ****3/4

Now this I am interested in. I am really interested in what you consider to be a better spotfest than this. Because I thought this was a great spotfest that was a mile a minute that was strikes and dives. When I watch a Dragon Gate spotfest, I am bored because it is just modified slams that look stupid. This was fun. I really thought this was one of the best matches in the genre.

This match should be a thrilling spotfest exhibition and thats exactly what this was. If there was ever a time to say "Fuck Psychology. Fuck Selling." it was right here and they want balls to the fucking wall. If you are going to do a spotfest, go all in. My big problem with the Dragon Gate bullshit is their spotfests are just ok and consist of a bunch of modified slams. This was fun and cool. Dream is better in a longer match when he can do his character work. I thought this would be where Ricochet would shine and he did well, but to me the breakout star was Aleister Fucking Black. The Dutch had a great kickboxing tradition in the 90s and early 00s. Aleister Black is the next generation and he looked phenomenal. Those kicks looked incredible. He looked like he kicked some people's heads off. Made me a fan. Excellent match exactly what it should be. ****1/4

Jushin "Thunder" Liger & Dr. Wagner Jr vs Shinjiro Otani & Koji Kanemoto - NJPW 3/6/99 I am watching the Super Bowl with my Dad. Even though, I am from Boston, I am not very into Boston sports. My Dad is so that makes it entertaining, but it also gives me time to write some reviews. First Half: I really liked the first ten minutes of this. Great heeling and fuck you spots. To me it was better than those Liger vs NOAH tags that everyone loves (I like them, just done love them). I like that it is Kanemoto & Otani that start it so it is Liger & Wagner paying them back. The beginning is so, so good. Kanemoto is being a dick. Liger cracks him with a Shotei. Then on the criss cross nails a fucking axe kick! That was so cool. Then he grabs him by the horn and brings him. They fuck with Liger in the corner. I really liked that Otani was shoving his foot in the face and then Liger grabbed the foot and dumped him on his ass. I am not a huge Wagner fan and he is definitely the fourth best in this match. However, they use him wisely and that it is to do double team payback spots and hit bombs. Most of his problems are related to a lack of psychology so if it is just go hit offense, he can do that. Liger and Wagner do a great job paying the heels back in their shine which Wagner mostly takes. I love Liger throwing the facewash back in Otani's face after all those years of wrestling him. So Otani ballshots him! Yes! Otani does his own facewash! Then they mock Wagner's stupid criss cross spot he had done earlier. My disdain for Wagner makes me root for Otani & Kanemoto. The match does kind of fall off the rails as people just start throwing bombs without any transitions or selling. Kanemoto is taking a superplex and then hitting his twisting senton. Then all the dives on the outside. Even without psychology, it is a very good spotfest. Last Half: Great stuff even where there were patches without psychology thanks to Wagner. There is an excellent moment where Kanemoto is pumped to tag in Otani and then Otani EATS a Shotei and Kanemoto is bummed out. Liger is trying to wipe Otani's face off with these Shoteis amazing. Ligerbomb! Kanemoto saves. Wagner attacks Kanemoto. Liger eats knees on a splash. Otani hits his big springboard spinning heel kick for two. Wagner comes in and I just dont like him. He does these weird taunts and then Otani mocks him and I love it. Liger saves Wagner's dumbass with a Shotei to the back of Kanemoto's head. Ligerbomb and then a Crucifix Powerbomb by Wagner that I totally bit on. I thought that was the finish for sure. Good nearfall. Otani nails his trademark spirngboard dropkick to the back and Kanemoto hits a moonsault while Otani keeps Liger at bay, 1-2-3! Otani & Kanemoto were an amazing heel tag team it is too bad they split them up. Kanemoto & Otani as heels against a Liger & Minoru Tanaka tag team with Minoru being groomed for the babyface ace role would have been tremendous business in the early 2000s. Real shame. Fantasty booking, the beginning ten minutes rule hard! It is just heel prick work and babyface payback spots. Then it is just a bunch of bombs...Liger vs Otani came off really good and I am really happy Kanemoto pinned that dumbass Wagner. ****1/2

WCW Light & IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs Wild Pegasus - NJPW 2/10/92 Is Benoit wearing lipstick or is his lip busted? The Beast God takes this match on short rest as he has just won back the IWGP Jr Championship from Honaga two days prior, but it is also important to remember that he re-aggravated a rib/abdominal injury. I had visions of Benoit hanging Liger out to dry with his front suplex on the top rope before the match even started and I was not disappointed. This is basically the Honaga match but Benoit can actually carry his end of the work. Liger gives two of the best selling performances of all time in these two matches. It would be easy to say he did better in the Honaga match, but it just stood out more because Honaga is so bland. Here the subtly was the key. The way he comes up favoring the ribs after an innocuous bow and arrow. Blink and you miss it. Hell, I am not even sure Benoit knew he had injured ribs for like five minutes. Another good one was on the first round of shoulder tackles. Liger wins, but at what cost. I was really enjoying this nuanced performance. Benoit hits a missile dropkick from the top rope to the outside and then whips him into the railing, gotta hurt those ribs. Benoit figure-4s the head and this is my one complaint. I dont mind a hold being used, but why not an abdominal stretch. Liger transition into a upside down surfboard, but his ribs give out. Now he is in a full sell! Benoit smells blood. He buries the knee deep into the midsection and then hangs him out to dry. Yes! Liger hits a desperation Kappo Kick, which is go to bail out move. Then he suplexes him from the ring to floor, which is a crazy spot, but he collapses in the ring and cant follow up. Liger needed that to catch his breath and inflict some damage to Benoit. That was his first real offense. Rapid fire Shotei to the face, Liger figure-4s the head, which I am a proponent of. Liger needs to sap Benoit's energy and regain his breath. This is excellent strategy by Liger to land big blows and then try to control Benoit. Benoit uses the Electric Chair Drop to finish and Liger is agony. Stuff like Benoit forearming Liger when he could kick in the midsection is kind of bumming me out. He gets a German and Belly-to-Belly to get a couple nearfalls. Then he goes back to figure-4 the head, which only seems to exist so that Liger can Man Up and get the surfboard to show he can fight through the pain, but ultimately Liger succumbs to the pain and releases the hold. Great selling by Benoit. Liger hits a shoulder tackle and again that sell after the tackle is so friggin' good. For all the shit I was giving Benoit he makes up for it with a gutwrench gutbuster that is just beautiful and then instead of a diving headbutt hits a BEAUTIFUL SPLASH on the ribs. I wish he kept doing the splash instead of the headbutt. He only gets two so he does the reasonable thing and tries it again, but wrestling is not reasonable and eats knees. He gets dumped on the outside and Liger hits his wicked baseball slide and Asai Moonsault. Ultimo Dragon would be jealous. That was a great sequence. Benoit looked like he had it won with the splash and it is Liger that ends up wowing with the Asai Moonsault. Benoit is committed to the aerial assault as he hits a beautiful top rope leg drop. He is getting very frustrated. Benoit makes the cardinal mistake of putting his head down and Liger hits a powerbomb for two. They do the tombstone reversal, Benoit nails it and Diving Headbutt...1-2-NO! Another great nearfall for Benoit. Liger gets that cool rollup for the win...the one Marc Mero would do. If Benoit had Honaga's commitment this would be an all-timer, still as is, this is their best match together and one of the best matches of each man's storied career. Liger's selling was ***** again, just exquisite. Benoit is a machine on offense. I loved Liger's hope spots and how they were timed. The finish run was perfect with Benoit pouring it on and Liger escaping with the victory. ****1/2

Best of New Japan Heavyweights 1990-1999 Part 1 Sorry to all my fellow dudes out there, but at 31 days into the new year I have already locked up "Son of the Year". I totally knocked it out of the park for my Mom's birthday with a "Travel Guide To Port Charles"! Port Charles is the fictitious upstate New York city (near Buffalo) where General Hospital takes place and to say she loved this 200-odd page book is an understatement. Hell, why I am limiting myself to "Son of the Year", I am "Progeny of the Year", BABY! Just like I dont overlook my Mom and how amazing she is, I have scoured the internet for the best of New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1990s, but specifically from the Heavyweights. You see here in the States, the New Japan Heavyweights from the 1990s get the shaft in favor of their vibrant junior heavyweight counterparts and the epic performances from All Japan in 1990s. This is where I love to tread because this where you find the hidden gems that have been covered by the sands of time. I uncovered some real hum-dingers! I will say Shinya Hashimoto, Defender of the New Japan realm against outside invaders has seen his popularity boosted over the years by re-watches but still great classics like his '94 match against Fujiwara remain mysteriously underappreciated. While Hashimoto The Destroyer also has great classics against Jushin Liger (a dream match come to life in 1994) and Yamazaki in 1998, it was Keiji Mutoh as the Great Muta that came through as a star. Mutoh has become so underrated due to many lazy performances, but when he is on, he is truly great. The Great Muta as a horror movie monster come to life stalking his opponents with bloodlust and a giant spike makes for compelling view. Matches against Hashimoto and Fujianami are hidden gems that display Great Muta in all his violent glory. The infamous match against Hiroshi Hase which created the Muta Scale and maybe the most famous match Stateside of this time period from New Japan holds up to this day. All Bow Before The Great Muta in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 32! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/02/pro-wrestling-love-vol-32-best-of-90s.html

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Genichiro Tenryu - SWS 9/15/92 2 Out Of 3 Falls Flair has since regained the World Championship from Savage and is about to transition it to Bret Hart. There's such a big fight feel/dream match feel to this even though Flair has been wrestling Tenryu since at least 1981 if not even earlier. I think it feels so different because this is now Tenryu's promotion and Flair is in the WWF with shorter hair. First Fall: Two distinct differences from Flair right off the bat is that there is a lot more American Flair heel character work in this match than in his previous matches. Lots of trash talking and bravado. Second, he wrestles this match completely differently from an offensive perspective. Tenryu gets absolutely zero shine. Yes, folks you read that right, heel Flair did not bump 'n' run for his babyface opponent. This was NOT a fire fight either initially. This was a domineering Flair performance. Put that in your pipe and smoke, Flair haters. Flair works the arm with a ton of great holds and lots of tight pinning combinations. Flair shows how you are supposed to actually pin a man by cradling the leg & neck and then clasping your hands! Can we please bring back good pinning! Flair starts working these nasty short punches to Tenryu's face, repeatedly. Tenryu sells as if his nose has been broken. Tenryu had another good delayed sell of a chop. Flair uses his kneedrop on the injured nose and again that tight cradle pinning combination. Flair tries to use the sleeper to no avail. Tenryu armdrags him off and as he comes in Flair throws a wild chop and catches him in throat. This match is really damn good. Tenryu finally nails a lariat that causes Flair to powder. I love how Tenryu always had the puncher's chance. Flair could pour on all the offense he wanted but it was just one lariat that could change the complexion of the match. Tenryu press slams Flair off the top and NAILS an enziguiri. Flair blocks the Lariat! Flair tries for a kneecrusher to stymie Tenryu's momentum, but Tenryu shifts his weight and they topple over backwards, another enziguiri and Tenryu is rolling. Powerbomb...1-2-3! Tenryu up 1-0. Awesome first fall! Second Fall: Wow! I waited far too long to watch this match! This could be heel Flair's best offensive performance ever. Babyface Flair has great offense, but for everyone who has wanted to see offensive-minded Flair needs to check this out. This starts with Tenryu refusing to break on a sleeper and even gets some boos. The Japanese are sticklers for rules. A great fire fight breaks out. This has not been Flair vs Garvin in terms of sustained chopping, but the chops that have been throws have been brutal. Flair begs off and Tenryu is like "C'mon, brutha" and Flair pokes him in the eye! Flair is just firing on all cylinders. Tons of great suplexes and tight pinning combinations. Tenryu tries to mount a comeback and then it is an eyepoke. Flair chop block. Flair works a clinic working the leg and even busts out a new leg move. He looks great. I wish Flair worked full-time in Japan in 1993 instead of going back to WCW. Imagine Tenryu & Flair invading New Japan together! They battle over the Figure-4 maybe the most compelling use of the Figure-4 ever. Eventually succumbs to the Figure-4 via pinfall. It is important that he is does not tap out. I love 2 out of 3 falls matches because moves that are badass like the Figure-4 actually get put over as real finishes. I am loving this match! Third Fall: They fell back to Earth in this fall. I think if they went 5 minutes in this fall instead of close to 15 minutes they would have been much better off. There were a lot of stilted moments where they were sort of thinking of what to do next to fill time. Flair just started strutting around for no reason to kill time. Here's a complaint you never thought would be written...I thought Flair was too focused on working the leg. There was not much forward progression. Also the urgency was lost. The finish was kinda lame. Flair was just on the apron for no reason strutting and Tenryu enziguiris him and Flair hits the post and it is a countout loss. I have no problem with a countout. It was the finish I was expecting. Negative complaints done, there is some good from this fall. The chops are brutal and the leg work is good. The best part is the first five minutes. Flair applies an STF, AN STF! He then goes back to the figure-4. This is just smart. Tenryu gets a kneebar! Flair is hollering in agony. Flair comes up limping. There is this great fight and then Tenryu applies the kneebar on Flair and what a sell! Great job! If they went home right after that, I would be tempted to give this the full monty *****, I really thought the first two falls were spectacular. They bite off a little more they can chew and go longer than necessary, but 35 minutes out of 45 minutes being ***** is still fantastic and I highly recommend watching this very unique Flair performance oh and that Tenryu guy is pretty damn fantastic himself. ****1/2

Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura - RINGS 9/26/97 Some people find God, I found Volk Han. Fan-fucking-tastic. I love how aggressive Han comes out in this match. He wants to rip Tamura's arm off. The normally stoic, nonchalant Tamura was even caught off guard. Han ripped him to the ground and hit a wicked palm strike to break the clasp of Tamura's hands preventing the cross-armbreaker. It set the tone for the entire match. The drama was off the charts. On the second scrap, Han loses the grip on his clasp for a second and then quickly regains before Tamura get him all the way over. That was crazy. Han was just so into the double wristlock. Great double wristlock rip takedown. Tamura is a great fighter, but Han was just imposing his well. Han wraps Tamura up in a pretzel and Tamura escapes right into a double wristlock. Tamura shows some signs of life when he gets a kneebar and forces a ropebreak. Then all of sudden the match changes. Tamura has all this pep in his step and Han has kind of gassed himself. Tamura throws some AMAZING kicks in this match. Han is knocked down but quickly springs to his feet as if to stay dont charge me with a knockdown. The first two times they dont but Tamura is just blitzing him and evrntually Han has to take counts. Two knockdowns are scored back to back. Han catches the next kick, but Tamura wraps him in a guillotine choke. It was all Han in the first part, but Tamura is whuppin' him now. So Han does for his trusty double wristlock, but Tamura partially blocks but it leads to a Han cross armbreaker and Tamura needs a rope break. Han is feeling better and again goes back to the double wristlock, but cant get the right positioning. My favorite moment of the match is when Tamura reverses into a cross armbreaker but just as he breaks the clasp, his grip slips and he loses Han's hand! Han immediately grabs the legs! A close second is right after this, Han comes in with a wicked combination of palm strikes and knocks Tamura down! Han's cocky celebration is magnificent. I fucking love him! Not to be outdone, the finish sequence is a beauty. The struggle it took for Tamura to yank Han down to the mat with a side headlock takeover into a cross armbreaker was awesome! Perfect reaction upon tap out...Tamura is fucking pumped and Han slams the mat in disgust. The only reason I know more perfect matches exist is because I like the other two more, but this is terrific. It is absolutely thrilling with so many character touches. All three of Han/Tamura matches will make my Top 100. ****3/4

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Wellington Wilkins Jr. - PWFG 5/19/91 Pull up a seat and welcome to the Yoshiaki Fujiwara show, the pleasure will most assuredly be all yours. It is all your favorite Fujiwara tricks. This is from the second ever PWFG show and to me this the perfect match. You have your Ace in a showcase match doing what he does best. He is never in any trouble, but you get a feel for everything Fujiwara can do so down the line you can build drama. They grab you attention immediately with Fujiwara's great Boston Crab reversal and Wilkins takes a header for that. Wilkins starts smacking Fujiwara in the head like Fujiwara is a dumbass. Joke is on you, brutha. You are the dumbass. Fujiwara hits him with one of his wicked headbutts and then fucking CRACKS him with a slap in the corner. This is Fujiwara in full "Fuck you" mode and it is glorious. Wilkins keeps trying to play Fujiwara's game of smacking him and in turn Fujiwara hits him twice as hard and twice as much. At one point, Fujiwara has Wilkins in a legbar and just has his head and his head leisurely reclining, if it was anyone else I would be pissed, but I love Fujiwara. I thought the finish was pretty anti-climatic. Just a standard legbar. This is a very fun exhibition of what Fujiwara can do, but he was never in any actual danger, but boy did it put a big smile on my face! ***3/4

I feel like most I accidentally watched the rematch first and came away liking the rematch more, but this match is still pretty good. Vader & John Tenta vs Gary Albright & Kazuo Yamazaki - UWFi 10/08/94 I accidentally watched the rematch first, but thats a good thing because the rematch is the better match precisely because there is less John Tenta. Tenta was trash in this. I thought he was totally useless. It is night and day between Tenta and Vader being there. I am just going to focus on Vader. I thought the Vader vs Albright interactions were better in the rematch until I watched the closing minute. That finish stretch was double hot. Yamazaki used his kicks to create the separation necessary to tag in Albright. Albright hits THREE MASSIVE Suplexes on Vader. Between this and the rematch, he is the best ever at suplexing Vader. These look gorgeous. I also really liked his cornerman screaming loudly "Kick him in the fucking head" twice. The whole point of these two matches is to build to Vader vs Albright as the next big main even feud and it does a great job doing that. But I thought it was Vader vs Yamazaki that had the best chemistry. These two are just made for each other. Some of the best stand up fighting ever in these two matches. Vader BLASTS Yamazaki on multiple occasions, but Yamazaki is not afraid to smoke Vader with some massive kicks. I have watched their singles match from when Vader first joined UWFi in 1993 and they are just great together. I recommend this match, but for my money the rematch is clearly better. ***1/2

I too thought Tenta sucked! Vader & John Tenta vs Gary Albright & Kazuo Yamasaki - UWFi 10/14/94 John Tenta proves that Vader is not just good at shoot style because he is big because Tenta sucks! Besides the sumo slaps, I thought he was useless, but he is not in there long. Vader vs Yamasaki and Vader vs Albright are thrilling! The former is Vader in his Hell selling the David vs Goliath narrative selling his ass off. Yamasaki was just rifling him. Great kicks. Then Vader vs Albright was Vader in his other element: King Kong vs Godzilla! Vader threw some of his stiffest punches and firearms on Albright. OW! Not to be outdone Albright throws Vader with two of the most beautiful Germans. Once the bosses are done, Yamasaki comes flying in full of piss & vinegar before Vader cleans his clock and then THROWS HIM DOWN IN POWERBOMB! To win by KO! Type of Vader performance to remind everyone why he is Greatest Hoss of All Time! ****