Superstar Sleeze

Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs Wild Pegasus - NJPW 8/12/92 Wild Pegasus is actually a great name for a pro wrestler; I dont know if I ever mentioned that before. Anyways, this is the same night as the famous Rick Rude vs Masa Chono match which I have seen once before 5 years ago and have very vague recollections of. No title on the line here as El Samurai beat Liger for the title in June, just a whole lotta of pride. I thought this was a pretty great power vs guile story. I know I am on an island in that I enjoy the perfunctory matwork in New Japan (sometimes people say it like only the juniors did it, but the heavies do it too). I like that it gives me a chance to settle into the match. I liked Benoit shoving Liger down twice on the lockup and then telling him to bring it. So Liger bowls him over with a tackle and says "You bring it, brutha". I love Liger's character work theres another great example of that later. The strength of this match lies in its transitions. They establish Benoit can win this match with straight ahead brute force. He is able to break a deathlock by applying a butterfly stretch and from that position hit a butterfly suplex. Another example is that later when Liger regains control, Benoit is able to hit an electric chair drop from being in a headscissors to gain the advantage back. When Benot is in control, it is all slams and suplexes with great execution and force. I forgot how good of a legdrop he used to have. Now Liger has one thing on his side and that is guile. He hits a weird kick that he never tried again that rocks Benoit. When Benoit is on the floor, Liger feigns a dive and Benoit thinks he has evaded only for Liger to hit a VICIOUS baseball slide that sends Benoit hard into the railing. Liger's celebratory fist pump is a great moment of character work. This is when that electric chair drop I mentioned earlier happens. Benoit takes people over with such force, great great suplexes. He is not quite the march forward asskicker he would become by the late 90s but all the tools are there he just has not put the attitude behind it yet. Liger throws in some hope spots but Benoit quashes him with a wicked lariat and then just slamming him face first into the mat. Then Benoit breaks the cardinal rule of wrestling he turns his back to his opponent and Liger hits him with an Electric Chair Drop from the top. Liger hits another dive this time a somersault plancha to the floor. Liger was a wild child back in the day. He really threw himself into it. It was super en vogue to hit crazy suplexes from the top rope. Top Rope Belly To Belly Suplex By Liger To Benoit! The finish stretch is red hot! Liger misses a top rope diving headbutt. Benoit pounces with a bridging German Suplex then a bridging Dragon Suplex. Benoit tries to put a nail in the coffin with a Tombstone, but Liger does the WCW reversal and hits his own. 1-2-NO! I LOVED Liger going for the desperation Shotei but getting caught in a backslide. I popped for that. KAPPO KICK! Thats Liger setup move. He gets two and you know he is thinking Top Rope Brainbuster, but Benoit reverses into a Holy Shit TOP ROPE POWERBOMB! I LOVE POWERBOMBS! Great power vs guile story and then a red hot finish run. Benoit shows he has tricks up his sleeve especially on that backslide on Shotei. I thought they shared the finish run well and had good transitions set up by missed moves and legitimate reversals it was NOT just everyone hit their spots some spots didnt hit. I really liked the finish, but I wish Benoit did whack Liger a couple times before he hit the move as he was the one in peril at the moment, a nit pick. For me this is the best match I have seen these two, but I have not seen the February match between them. ****1/4

No matter what anyone says this thread is *****. I think it is one of my favorite threads in the history of PWO. I first started coming here in 2012 and I remember reading this whole thing at the time. I still remember Charles' post "You all are breaking my heart." then to see thing start to swing into his favor only for him to come in say he downgraded the match and then Stacy comes in and loves it and we get more people who love it. It is a fucking roller coaster of a thread. So where do I stand on such a controversial match? Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs El Samurai - NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 4/30/92 A very polarizing match in the circle of puroresu fans whether this is a hate-filled brawling classic or a tedious, tone deaf chore. I fall in the former camp, BUT the criticisms of the latter camp is what keeps me from giving this *****. The easiest match to compare this to Naoki Sano, 1/31/90 where Liger takes a hellacious beating and is rendered a bloody pulp. Wouldnt you know that was the last match I watched five hours ago. So how do they compare? Well in the Sano my main criticism is they did too much, too early and it kinda made the match drag not from an action standpoint (Sano delivered that in spade), but in a plot stand point. We were just in heat for a while and we wanted to get our rocks off already damnit. What this match does better is Sammy does not beat Liger past the point of no return like Sano does. Thus I buy into Liger making a comeback and kicking Samurai's ass. In fact, I am looking forward to it. Now here is where I want my cake and eat it too. Samurai does not kick Liger's ass thoroughly enough. Wait I thought that was a good thing? It was until it wasnt. At some point, you have to find that next gear and Samurai just did not have it and thus I thought finish was a little anticlimatic. A lot of the people that really enjoy this match point to the first minute...Sammy spits in Liger's face, rips his mask, hits him with a beer bottle in the back of the head and then a tombstone piledriver on the outside and then inside. That's heallacious, thats GREAT heel stuff. However, the fans of the match all stop talking about Samurai. The critics of the match point out the big issue Samurai does not have a whole lot of gas in the latter stages. There is nothing that makes me believe in Samurai in his second heat segment. He does a beautiful somersault plancha, but whats his finish? Whats he building towards? It is better than Sano as I can believe in Liger's comeback, but worse because I dont believe Samurai can get the job done and also I think the hate fades where Sano does not. I would give the nod to the Sano match that even though I had an issue it was a real asskicker. This match was indeed great so lets get past that famous first minute. I liked opening heat segment it was more focused on choking and holds so it didnt feel like Liger was dying. Samurai needed an outlet for the hate. This all gets Liger revved up and he unleashes the MUTHA OF ALL SHOTEI OUT OF THE CORNER! He smoked Samurai. Suplexes him to the floor. Exposes the concrete and THROWS HIS ASS DOWN ON THE CONCRETE! One proponent said that this was the first time we see Liger this vicious. I disagree, I think that could clearly be seen throughout the Sano feud. This is blood feud Liger. I think the first half of this match is the classic part. The way Samurai's rudo work sets up this ferocious comeback from Liger where he rips Samurai's mask, powerbombs him, and how about that SOMERSAULT from the Top Rope to Sammy just laying on the floor. Then Liger tries to break Sammy's arm with a double wristlock then a cross armbreaker. Thats great shit. I think the second half is where some of the criticism of it being tedious come into play but I think they are a bit over stated. Samurai gets back on offense and just does not do much. He has lost that fire. It does feel like that match stalls. Even Samurai's transition is not that cool is just a flying burrito on a criss cross. He hits a missile dropkick and then a dive to the floor. The hate is gone they have returned to Workrate City. Samurai goes for 3-Handled Moss-Covered Grenduzla and I like how much struggle Liger takes to break it. Then we get the sleeper this what I mean it just feels like Samurai does not have much left. Then it is over for him Liger pushes him off the top rope (never give your opponent the high ground) hits a beautiful splash. Liger is ready to take this match home, he throws Samurai down in a powerbomb and then hits a series of moves from the top rope. Samurai has one German Suplex as a nearfall before missing a move from the top rope and crashing & burning. Top Rope DDT, Top Rope Back Suplex. By the last Top Rope Frankensteiner even the crowd feels like this match has been over for minutes and just wanted Liger to end it. First half is tremendous, I do think it peters out a little because Samurai really does not have enough bombs to go toe-to-toe with Liger and I think Liger was thinking let me just hit as many moves off the top rope as possible and that will be sweet, which in 1992 it was but only holds up so much. It was warranted because Samurai beat him by low blow earlier in the tournament and clearly disrespected earlier in the match so running up the score so to speak was justified. Great early heel work by Samurai, Liger's ferocious comeback is the best part and then match finishes out as a solid 90s workrate match, all and all worth your time to watch and discuss. ****1/4

DaWho, I agree with you brutha, this is an excellent match but where it drops below that Top 100 mark is they go to the heat way too soon and languish there. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Naoki Sano vs Jushin "Thunder" Liger - NJPW 1/31/90 How much a difference a couple years makes! I thought this would be a mortal lock for my top 100, but watching it back I dont think it has a chance. Their 1989 match trumps this one for me and will most likely make it. That is NOT an indictment on this match, but rather how many other AMAZING matches there are in the history of pro wrestling. Lets talk about the greatness of this match first and that this is a heroic match. Sano beats the holy hell out of Liger. A beating that is reserved only for the dude who bangs your girlfriend. There is a part in the match where Liger's mask is ripped and he is just a bloody pulp on the mat it is just so moving. The hero is totally down for the count. Sano is the exact man you want to deliver this beating. He has a wide, wide arsenal of moves. I thought Liger's first hope spot was really well done. The hurricanana into an insane somersault dive was crazy. He went all out in that dive. Sano hit that railing hard. I LOVED Sano raking Liger's eyes in the Surfboard to break. Then Liger cant really hit his hope spots anymore. He misses the Kappo Kick. That is ol reliable. Like Misawa's elbow that always gets Liger out of trouble. He gets a rana again, but this time he is sent sailing over the top rope high into the air on the floor. Then he gets smarter. He starts shifting his weight on suplexes. Sano has tuckered himself out. He hit a lot of moves, but couldnt put Liger away and now his energy is sapped. He is prone to Liger being able to make these reverses the superplex one was great. Sano's last big nearfall is the Tiger Suplex and for this one is not a kickout, but Liger sticking his foot out. Sano calls for the ending and Liger looks destroyed thats when he reverses on the back suplex and hits his own German Suplex! Somehow someway Liger through his resilience has evened the playing field, but when looked dead in the water many times. Sano goes for a rana, but Liger plants him with a powerbomb. TOMBSTONE->SHOOTING STAR PRESS! AWESOME FINISH! So what's my complaint, the heat segments(s) were way too long and had very little struggle. They went to it way too early in my opinion. Liger smacks the taste out of Sano's mouth and starts the match red hot. Sano BULLIES him to the outside. Nails a piledriver on the floor and whips him hard into the railing. I am totally fine with Sano kicking ass that early. But to do the mask ripping and bust him open within 5 minutes thats tough to recover from. It is going to require Liger to die a lot. I dont know how many resurrections I can believe in. Liger did the right thing in selling it like death. Sano brutalized him. I think there is time and place for that, they just did way too early. Pretty much every suplex, piledriver, and kick you can think of Sano hit on Liger. The moves were cool, but when you are doing Boston Crabs and just giving up on it thats no fun. It didnt feel like Sano was trying to finish the match nor do you believe he will because this is a fairy tale match and you know the hero has to make his comeback. I think if you put the mask ripping and blood at lets say 7 minutes to the finish this match really becomes a classic. Sano beats Liger to a bloody pulp but cant put away the Beast God. Liger looks like he has dead at times and has trouble hitting his trusty Kappo Kick, but through a couple timely suplex reversals and a lucky positioning on a Tiger Suplex, he is able to outlast Sano, who is exhausted from the punishment he dished out. Powerbomb->Tombstone->Shooting Star Press is up there for one of the best finish stretches of all time. Classic heroic comeback match, but falls short of being considered one of the greatest matches ever. ****1/2

WCW Light Heavyweight Champion Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Norio Honaga - NJPW 2/8/92 The Beast God lives up to his name! (NJPW World translates "Jushin" as "Beast God"). His best selling performance since the clinic he put on in 1989 against Naoki Sano. It is not often the same man has the best selling performances for two different body parts (the arm against Sano and the ribs/midsection here). Also it is hilarious how he injures himself. It is on the taunt after the terrific, impactful baseball slide. He does one of his classic Liger poses and comes up favoring his right side. Now it is possible there was a pre-existing injury and just re-aggravated it, but still that might be the most unique way someone has injured themselves. It takes Honaga a bit to zero in on this injury as Liger does a good job protecting himself with Shotei but a kick to the midsection change the complexion of the match. Then when Liger tries to stop Honaga from coming off the top he eats a Super Front Suplex and Honaga comes crashing down on his midsection from the top. Brilliant! From there, we are off to the races. Liger is hollering in abdominal stretches, he is collapsing, Honaga is driving him ribs first into the steel post. It is all the good stuff. Liger times his hope spots (Kappo Kick, Surfboard that he cant complete due to his ribs) so well. Honaga deviates from the game plan when he leaves his feet on a plancha attempt and Liger side steps him. Liger hits a barrage of dives to the floor that are just breath-taking. I love the one where he puffs his chest out (Eddie always did this one well too). After this burst of offense, Liger is back in the ring trying to catch his breath. I love the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker he does because as he does it he collapses to the mat as if every move is taking every bit out of him. The Top Rope Diving Headbutt was a dumb move to use with this injury but watch how he sells it and then how bad his cover is because of it. He goes for a Top Rope Elbow and MISSES! Liger is badly hurt and he was going for broke, but was coming up short. The problem with Honaga as he does not have much in the way of offense to make this section count where we should really believe he can win the match. It is really basic stuff. More on Honaga at the end. The best spot is during Liger's rollup onslaught, Honaga quashes a victory roll attempt with an Electric Chair Drop! I thought that was his best chance at winning, but he disagrees as he goes up top. Squandered that opportunity. Liger hits a clothesline as he is coming from the top, not the best version of that spot. Liger hits his Kappo Kick to the head, which is his prelude to the finish and a top rope Frankensteiner an exhausted Liger lays out and gets the 1-2-3 vanquishing Honaga into obscurity. The 1991 Liger-Honaga series is the lost great Liger series. It is predicated on the fact that Liger knows Honaga is not as good as Liger, the fans know Honaga is not as good as Liger and even Honaga knows he is not as good as Liger so he liberally, shamelessly cheats like a muthafucka to win. This match is the Liger show as Honaga shows not personality and really just contributes the offense for Liger to sell. He really does not do anything special, which is a shame because cheating, scuzzcall, Kenny Powers Mullet heel Honaga rules. However, this is right up there with Bret/Bulldog as one of the great one-sided carryjobs. Liger does it through selling and timing his hope spots so well. Jushin Thunder Liger is the Beast God! ****1/2

Wild Pegasus vs The Great Sasuke - NJPW Super J Cup Finals 4/16/94 Probably one of the most famous puro matches, Stateside, pitting the 90s North American wrestling Idol against the Upstart Junior who just beat the Beast God of Juniors Wrestling. Fun Fact NJPW World translates "Jushin" as "Beast God" well thats just the best thing ever! I think this is a great match, but I am worried this sends the wrong message about how to have a great match and what it means to be over. I saw this match a lot as a teenager as I think it is on the Benoit DVD or it was one of the early Youtube videos. I used to enjoy it for what it was "FLYING SPACE TIGER DROP!" "SUPER GUTWRENCH SUPLEX!". This is probably the first time I have watched it in ten years and I really enjoyed it as an exhibition, but they missing that struggle. The Liger/Sasuke suffered from the same problem, but it had a much stronger underpinning story. Sasuke as the Cinderella Darling of the tournament taking down Liger and now going up against the Top Gaijin is a great story, but when it came time to execute that story I feel that just went for I'll hit my spots then you hit yours. In fairness, they are great spots. The beginning of the match, they do try to establish power vs speed. I really liked how Benoit how yanked that snapmare only for Sasuke to do a front flip and land on his feet that sent a good message. Benoit was wary of Sasuke's dives and avoids that early. Can Sasuke not properly do a leapfrog? Benoit catches Sasuke with badass lariats twice on criss cross sequences where Sasuke got too fancy for his own good. This opens up the Benoit portion of the asskicking. German & Dragon Suplexes, THUNDEROUS POWERBOMB (Benoit may be the greatest Powerbomber ever and I love a good powerbomb), Sharpshooter (but he just releases the hold) and the top rope diving headbutt. There is no struggle it is just Benoit kicking ass. Benoit misses a dropkick and this leads to a contested sequence. Sasuke does the worst leapfrog ever with a even shittier lariat. Benoit hits a wicked German for two. Now Sasuke gets a reverse crossbody and a reverse jumping karate kick to the floor. Guess who's turn it is now? The crowd is HYPED! FLYING SPACE TIGER DROP! CROWD LOSES THEIR MINDS! Sasuke then suplexes Benoit from the apron to the floor in a gnarly spot and then a TOP ROPE MISSILE DROPKICK TO THE FLOOR! I remembered the Flying Space Tiger Drop, but I forgot about that spot and I lost my mind on that one. I dont think Sasuke is selling his hip. I think he is in a lot of pain for a shoot. Sasuke hits an ugly moonsault for two. Then Benoit meets him up top for a SUPER GUTWRENCH SUPLEX! Ok that spot needs to be stolen ASAP. The finish comes out of nowhere. It is Benoit kicks ass. Sasuke Wows The Crowd! Finish. Nothing wrong with that, but Sasuke was already over from the Liger match and his spots were next level. You shouldnt think just because you have highspots you will get over. It is still a great match to watch, but not a contender for the Greatest Match Ever. ****

I am in the echo chamber, loved the first 3/4ths and was dying for them to just end it. I still think it was great but they squandered a classic. Koji Kanemoto vs El Samurai - NJPW 6/5/97 Best of the Super Juniors Finals They had a stone cold classic on their hands, but they bit off more than they could chew. We will begin in the beginning where this match ruled. Opening matwork was tight as usual then escalated with some really wicked slaps. Samurai went for the first high spot of the match a top rope kneedrop and missed. I love highspots that miss early. Kanemoto was a beast working the leg. Tight holds, awesome kicks and most importantly a wicked sneer. He flips Samurai off in the toehold and Samurai smacks him but theres nothing he can really do. Great character work from him. He puts his boots on the face and throat of Samurai until Sammy ends up outside the ring. Sammy comes back and hits a dropkick in the tree of woe, but Kanemoto holds on and gets a heel hook now thats badass. I liked that as a hope spot for Sammy, but not a transition as it would have been too easy (they walked a fine line there). Samurai catches Kanemoto with a punch to the eye and Kanemoto is down to one knee. Sammy pounces lots of laces kicks to the face. Kanemoto is selling really well. I didnt love the release belly to belly to transition back to Kanemoto but I agreed in principle that should go back to Kanemoto and again he did a great job zeroing in on the leg. Kanemoto lands on his feet on a moonsault attempt, his first high risk move but Sammy blasts him with a lariat. Samurai suplexes him over the top rope to the floor (not treated as a huge spot, but that was wild!) and Samurai follows with a dive which I thought Sammy sold well before doing. Kanemoto came back in and popped off another suplex. Really strong knee bar and then figure-4! I loved him tying Samurai up in the ropes. AXE KICKS! Kanemoto is a huge prick in this match. Samurai hits with a forearm coming off the ropes and he stupidly goes for a powerbomb with a bad leg. Kanemoto counters into a forward crab but Samurai makes the ropes. I love that Kanemoto keeps missing his highspots. He should just stick with the leg strategy but he gets greedy. He misses his twisting senton and eats mat. The DDT is the perfect move for someone with a leg injury. Two DDTs by Sammy and a top rope headbutt! Great nearfall for Samurai. Samurai smacks Kanemoto around before throwing him out. Samurai looks like he is spent. Kanemoto comes back in and slaps the shit out of him big kick. This is what Kanemoto needed if he wants to hit highspots a KO blow. Now he can hits his twisting senton no problem. Then to establish he is the biggest prick in the world, he rips Samurai's mask. At this point, this is where excess rears its ugly head. Up until this point, it was Kanemoto the prick decimating the leg and he finally hit his first highspot. Samurai has used the missed highspots to create some offense, but besides the DDTs-Top Rope Headbutt has not had much. Great story. Then we get a SPIKE TOP ROPE DRAGONRANA By Kanemoto on Samurai! But he does not cover, which is wise because you want to protect the move but really he should not have done the move. Kanemoto eats knees on his moonsault. Sorry but thats backwards. Spike Top Rope Dragonrana >>> Moonsault. Samurai hits two powerbombs on his bad leg and goes for a cross armbreaker (I appreciate that shoot style is en vogue) Kanemoto could have sold more here, not enough scramble. Kanemoto meets him up top with a beautiful super powerslam. That should actually be stolen. Kanemoto hits a moonsault-Tiger Suplex combo and still doesnt win. He goes for a twisting senton off the top rope and misses. Hey at least they tied that story into the finish. Samurai hits a top rope Slop Drop and then a bunch of reverse suplexes to win. I laid out the story perfectly two paragraphs above and they just abandoned for a bunch of bombs. The Spike Top Rope Dragonrana is the most egregious because it overshadowed everything they did after. Samurai really should have won with the cross armbreaker because he had built up momentum from surviving that move and using knees against Kanemoto's finish, which played into the story that Kanemoto cant hit his highspots. Then Kanemoto does hit his highspots and Samurai still kicks out?!?! Then Samurai's highspots arent as good as Kanemoto's which is another problem. Anyways, first twenty minutes near perfect wrestling, last five is a clusterfuck, but still kind of enjoyable because Kanemoto's spots are good. A very frustrating **** match.

Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 6/24/99 Here we go the match that is supposed to save 1999 from being the worst year for pro wrestling in the footage era until the year 2006 stole that claim from 1999. I have watched this match once a couple nights ago and it didnt smack me in the face as a top end classic, but I chocked it up to being tired. I am going to do something different. I am going to write this review as I watch it. As the ref is checking them, Tamura is a remarkably good looking dude isnt he? Definitely right up there with the likes of Ricky Martel and Ricky Steamboat. But he is way more of a dick than them as he SMACKS Yamamoto in the face right before the bell and IT IS ON LIKE DONKEY KONG! Readinth PWO thread about this, apparently there is legit heat here as these two cant stand each other. I love the opening matwork. It is all arms and legs. They look the Tasmanian Devil in the dust cloud! Tamura gets a single leg catch back heel trip, but Yamamoto evades the knee bar and takes a side mount. He is looking for a double wristlock. He drags Tamura away from the ropes. Lots of struggle here as Tamura is resisting well and Yamamoto tries to position for a cross armbreaker but Tamura shoves him off. Yamamoto maintains side-control. The crowd is red hot for this. Here we go...the controversial part of the match. Yamamoto takes a full mount and hits these dinky little punches, which I think are so pissed off Tamura. I liken it to Nakamura's silly head games the head to the belly button bullshit. I get the psychology but I am coming out and saying it I HATED IT! Sorry, but took me flat out of the match. Yamamoto sinks in a deep figure-4 around the midsection, but Tamura gets to his knees. More of these dinky little punches. Why does Tamura not do anything? Fuck em up! Tamura gets a switch and they stand up and Yamamoto falls back down with a figure-4 around the leg. Yamamoto seems to have a kneebar always hard to tell with Tamura because he doesnt sell too much. Kind of in a bundle of leg locks but Tamura gets a deep toehold and here are those silly punches. A little better this time because it is sending the message that your toehold does not hurt. Yamamoto gets a reverse chinlock. They are very close to the ropes. Tamura is in Yamamoto's guard. Not much going on. Ok here we go, a little more struggle. Here come those dinky punches. Yamamoto finally snaps and starts punching the midsection but gets a Yellow Card which drops him a down. They only have 5 downs was that bullshit just to get the "Yellow Card" over? Tamura has Yamamoto's back. Tamura has been resisting well, but not seeing much from him. Here we go! A good scrap here on the mat. Nice try at a guard pass from Yamamoto. Really, really good shit here. I really feel like Yamamoto is bringing it to Tamura on the mat. He is offensive-minded looking to get mount control and for holds. Tamura is doing a good job resisting, but has been very defensive. Tamura takes him over and has a side-mount, but isnt doing much. Full mount here and again wasted time. Tamura throws some dinky punches and them some harder ones. This is just strange. Tamura is looking for a cross armbreaker, but Yamamoto reverses into a rear naked choke, BIG POP! First big hold of the match and Tamura gets to the ropes. You know when Tamura goes to the ropes quickly it is a big deal because he don't sell shit. The stand up is pretty good, but short. Tamura is pissed. Yamamoto fucking brings it as the stand up fighting resumes. Their 1998 match is a surprisingly good stand up match they are great here. Tamure clinches him in the corner and hits rhythmic knees to the sides. Some damn good stiffness there. I think the dinky punches are over. Tamura has Yamamoto's back on the mat. He wants that cross armbreaker, Yamamoto resists. Tamura tries to punch the stomach to make him let go nice move. Yamamoto gets into guard and starts punching Tamura. Tamura tries for Triangle and then cross armbreaker and Yamamoto ends up in the ropes. 2-1 Tamura is up. Lots of leg kicks in the reset. Yamamoto hits some big slaps but Tamura comes flying back with flying knees that rock Yamamoto. Catches Yamamoto's kick and back heel trip. Heel hook but Yamamoto escapes into a side mount. Yamamoto slows the match down as all the momentum was on Tamura's side. I feel like Tamura is going for rope a dope let Yamamoto have the first half and now Tamura is starting to pour it on. The old Greg Valentine strategy baby! Problem with that is you can let your opponent get too much confidence and that is happening as Tamura is trying to go to the next gear Yamamoto is staying with him getting that legbar to force Tamura to rope break. The stand up exchanges have been the best part of this and I love grappling. They clinch. Yamamoto hits big knees out of the clinch. Tamura slaps him but Tamura does not look great. Yamamoto palm strikes to the face. Yamamoto is building momentum. Tamura has a flurry back to the corner. Yamamoto big SHOTEI! Tamura knee lifts he wont go down. Yamamoto slaps the taste out of his mouth, a big flying kick. Tamura finally goes down. It is Yamamoto up 4-2 and if he knocks Tamura down he wins. Here comes the Tamura comeback baby! Tamura hits a flying enziguiri and Yamamoto is rocked. Big left kick to the head and it a flurry of strikes and Yamamoto is down. Next knockdown wins!!!! Tamura is slapping the shit out of him. Yamamoto takes him down, but Tamura pops out and wants to finish it standing. Tamura with rapid fire kicks to the right side of Yamamoto's body. They fall down and they go to a DRAW! Fuck I forgot this goes to a draw. Terrible DRAW finish! Incredibly anti-climatic. Totally sucked the air out of the room. Yamamoto vs Kohsaka's draw from '97 blows this out of the water. The stand up of this match saves this match, but I even liked their 1998 match better. For anybody else, this is a great match, but given these two and the rep this match has, massive disappointment. ****

Put me on the side that was merely very good, not a classic. H & Mr. Gannosuke vs Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda - FMW 12/12/99 H is an unmasked Hayabusa with a bleach dye job and rocking Stevie Richards' cutoff short jorts. He is about as intimidating as a titmouse the way he looks. He kinda looks like a bird unmasked maybe thats where the gimmick came from. Anyways, the coolest part of Hayabusa was his costume. I have an open mind. I will say he was very adequate. Hayabusa never blew any spots like Sabu, but he does not feel dangerous or interesting. They ditched the brawling except for like a minute of pedestrian arena brawling, which I think detracted from the match. What made FMW stand out was the brawling and the garbage it was fun. This is very, very solid wrestling. The difference between the FMW workers and ECW wrestlers was FMW they chose to wrestle that style, ECW they had to. I dont want to take away from their wrestling but nothing really stood out. The heat segment on Gannosuke's leg was great. Gannosuke really sold it and I thought the holds looked punishing. Hayabusa was about as effective as a gnat in trying to help Gannoske so he just low blowed and eye raked his way out of trouble. Hayabusa was fine on offense. Nothing has changed without the mask. I should explain so the evil FMW commissioner, Kodo Fuyuki forced Hayabusa to retire over the summer and he came back as H. At the previous month's PPV, Hayabusa as H took on HAYABUSA!!! Which I love as a gimmick. Evil forces force the hero to retire than the evil people impersonate the masked Hayabusa. They kind of did this with Sin Cara but this angle actually feels like money. The Hayabusa impersonator was Mr. Gannosuke. Anyways it gets better because the special guest referee was Shawn Fucking Michaels! How ridiculous! Anyways, after the match, Hayabusa and Gannosuke bro it out and are now pals even though they have had the fiercest rivalry of late 90s FMW. Ok, so now we are all caught up. Hayabusa wrestles exactly like Hayabusa without the mask. Kuroda is no selling suplexes like his a Pillar of Heaven at one point. It turns into a bomb throwing fest at this point and since I dont take notes and just do this on memory they matches are the toughest to remember. I remember there being a heat segment on Hayabusa and he actually took a gnarly face first bump on the exposed part of the turnbuckle. Gannosuke looked good as always but he was not enough to make this match awesome. He had an amazing cradle reversal on a Tanaka elbow. Think of a Fujiwara armbar, but then into a cradle it was quite awesome. There were some great powerbombs and I do love a good powerbomb. Hayabusa went for the Phoenix Splash but got caught. Lots of double teaming on Hayabusa but cant get the job done. then Hayabusa come roaring back. 450 Splash...1-2-NO! Yep this match is way into overkill land. Gannosuke hits Greetings Form Asbury Park (the lamest of all piledrivers) and Hayabusa hits a lame Rock Bottom. Hayabusa wins with an Emerald Flowsion. Holy Overkill Batman! More garbage next time please. This didnt feel special or unique. Tanaka and Kuroda have great fire. Gannosuke is a straight up great wrestler, selling and offense. Hayabusa is Hayabusa and you can use him correctly to great results. This match layout did no one favors. ***1/4

Daisuke Ikeda vs Alexander Otsuka - BattlArts 4/26/99 Otsuka is definitely the most pro wrestle-y of all the BattlArts competitors and it seems like Ikeda is the most likely to indulge these tendencies. I thought this was a big step down from their 1997 match. It is still enjoyable but there is a lot less struggle and it is more about the spots. They are just waiting to take these headbutts. The head butt that busted Ikeda open they were lining up and Ikeda did not even struggle he just let it happen. Then Otsuka let Ikeda do the same thing. I should NOT be using the word "let" so frequently in a review. I LOVE pro wrestling and have no problem with them doing a pro wrestling match but they cant forget the struggle. I popped for Ikeda doing the worst Flying Space Tiger Drop Ever because it was cool and I popped huge for Otsuka's dive because it was a badass, out of control dive. Otsuka hit all his big spots and they looked great. It was very entertaining, but they forgot the struggle aspect. They were just letting each other do the moves. Otsuka peaked too early I could just feel it. As he was pouring it on, I knew the Ikeda comeback was coming. Ikeda hit that "Trouble In Paradise" like head kick that just pulverizes Otsuka. That was the move that started Ikeda's big run in the 1997 match, but in the '97 match it was Ikeda that peaked too early. BRAINBUSTAAAHHHHHH! Ikeda chokes Otsuka out! Damn good, economical finish run. Ikeda vs Otsuka decide to have a pro wrestling match, all the spots of a great pro wrestling match are there, but they forgot the struggle. Still fun. ***1/2

Yuki Ishikawa & Daisuke Ikeda vs Joe & Carl Malenko - BattlArts 6/9/99 Forget the Malenko brothers teaming up, forget Joe's retirement, this is Ishikawa & Ikeda teaming up! The BattlArts All-Star Tag Team finally happens so you know this match is a big deal. According to Wikipedia, Carl Malenko was a wayward youth on the streets on Florida that Boris took in and taught wrestling so thats the family connection. Joe comes in with those Dory Funk Jr European Uppercuts and this match is rocking. Oddly enough, this match is really not all that much about Joe. It is mostly about Carl. I dont know if the idea was to get Carl over or if Joe was just being selfless and deferential to his brother who would continue wrestling. Carl would tag in and take his licks. Ishikawa gets a cross armbreaker that causes a desperation rope break. Then Ishikawa & Ikeda trap Carl in their corner. Carl gets some hope spots like his flying karate kick, but mostly this is the Ishikawa & Ikeda show Ishikawa does that 'ol fun spot in the Indian Deathlock where he falls back and so when Joe knocks him down it causes more pain to Carl. That one will always be over with me. Ishikawa had a big smile on his face during all this. Ikeda transitioned into a bow & arrow and Joe came in definitively broke this up. Joe & Ikeda hooked it up. Ikeda was not above raking the eyes to avoid a cross armbreaker. It was a mostly respectful contest, but Ikeda added a little heat. Now it is Ikeda's turn to take heat after Carl took it earlier. Joe gets two near submissions that Ishikawa has to save Ikeda and Carl comes in on the second to try to keep Ishikawa at bay. Joe tags out to Carl and never tags back in. Carl gets some deep armbars and headscissors that require Ikeda to make the ropes. Ikeda BLASTS him with a lariat and here comes Ishikawa. It is the final match up of the match. Ishikawa drops Carl on his head, but misses the enziguiri and that would spell doom for Ishikawa. Carl rifles him with a kick to the head. Ishikawa gets back up only to be blitzed by kicks and another knock down is earned. Ishikawa mounts a comeback and Joe has to save on the sitting Octopus Stretch, Joe saves. Carl shows some personality playing to the crowd before taking down Ishikawa into the LeBell Lock, Ikeda comes in with a diving punch. Joe gets rid of him. Ishikawa gets the abdominal stretch as his last gasp, Carl reverses and Butterfly DDT into his own knee and a Butterfly Stretch (my old submission finish from when I would fight my brother) wins him the match. I did mark out of the finish and my little brother will attest how painful that hold is. I was expecting more Joe, but hey he is retiring and wrestling is about looking to the future and the future with Carl Malenko looked bright. They traded FIP segments, lots of good matwork a lot less in the striking game, the finish stretch was hot and felt more like All Japan with Carl playing to the crowd and doing more pro wrestling spots while Joe kept Ikeda at bay. I am surprised the dream, all-star team of Ishikawa and Ikeda lost, but great match. ****

Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka & Kuroda vs Mr. Gannosuke, Kanemura and Hido - FMW 6/15/99 A pretty great balls to the wall spotfest. Sure there are control segments but really this is all about the highspots and they are really good highspots. For some reason there is a really rickety ladder involved. Hido takes a beating for the heels and they are doing traditional tagging. Faces post his leg and triple figure-4 spot. Dive train in the corner but Hido low blows and a brawl ensues. The result Kanemura tries to kill Tanaka. How is he alive? The chair shots and ladder throws. They stick his head in the ladder ram it into the corner and they hit with the chair. They try powerbombing him to death including the ShieldBomb to no avail. I'm doing this like all my reviews from memory and spotfests are the hardest to do because there is so much going on so I forget how Tanaka tags to Hayabusa. I've mostly thought Hayabusa is overrated but I actually liked him a lot in this setting. It suits him well. No overly long extended epic just let me hit my highspots. Great superkicks and dives. Hayabusa is very influential on today's scene. The finish is very ECW. There are three Hayabusa spots: a great 450, triple team Doomsday Device and a ladder moonsault any of which should have been the finish instead Kurosawa hits a strike to win. Silly. My kind of spotfest lots of great highspots and people trying to kill each other needed more Gannosuke greatness to be better. ***3/4

Yuki Ishikawa vs Carl Greco - BattlArts 4/24/98 The only other Greco match I watched was his 2008 match against Ishikawa in the revived BattlArts promotion and I remember liking that mat-heavy contest. Greco looks like a Backstreet Boys reject with his spiky hair, goatee and one earring. He is very 1998 is what I am saying. Dont let his looks fool you he is a mat wizard. Definitely a grapplefuck contest. Greco's superior bridging and bucking hips are on display (got to love up to my name Sleeze), but in all seriousness he is a wrestler's wrestler. Greco found himself on the losing end of many of these scraps even when he had dominant position. It was a flying karate kick in the corner that changed the complexion of the match and it was a sort of heat segment on Ishikawa. Nice chokes by Greco and a BEAUTIFUL Abdominal Stretch not even Gorilla could take issue with this hold. Those powerful hips are on display as he pops Ishikawa over on a belly to belly throw. I didnt love Greco applying the cross armbreaker and it not really being sold. Should have been more struggle and no full application. Ishikawa throws a wicked back drop driver! Ishikawa kicks ass and takes the match home with a deep Octopus hold. Beautiful wrestling and I loved that Greco needed to resort to the kick to take control and then Ishikawa dropped him on his head to regain control. The match was all about matwork, but the transitions were in the standup game, great blending. ****

Terry Funk & Mike Awesome vs Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka - FMW 9/24/96 A very good ECW tag garbage brawl that more suplexes and athleticism than a typical Public Enemy match. Awesome/Tanaka work their standard opening. Awesome's dives are amazing. Hayabusa is fine here. He has a cool outfit but he feels like a sanitized Sabu and he lacks that right hand that made Sabu awesome. Sabu just feels more violent. Funk needs to get in the Spinning Toehold of course. I liked the table spots. They really whacked each other with the table. Awesome came off the top hard with the table. It is amazing Tanaka still has a functioning brain after all these years of taking exposed shots to the head. Hayabusa gets control of the table smashes Awesome in the head. Tanaka's fighting spirit. Hayabusa gets his standard offense in. Funk throws a chair at him knocking him off the top rope. Awesome then just chucks humans around and it is well awesome. The finish is awesome: it is Top Rope Powerbomb from Awesome on Tanaka and it is just badass. It is the style of match that Awesome and Tanaka excel in and Hayabusa is fine. I didnt think Funk added much at all. ***1/2

FMW Double Champion Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka - FMW 9/28/97 The semi-main event for the big Kawasaki Stadium show headlined by Onita vs Kanemura. Awesome vs Tanaka is one of those feuds that just links these two together throughout history. You can totally see why Paul E made sure to get both of these guys in ECW sooner rather than later. This match is tailored made for ECW and is a step above the average ECW match. It is too bad no one ever taught Awesome psychology and gave him a push. He had all the raw talents. Seeing him with face pain here as The Gladiator, I am thinking a Road Warriors like tag team called The Gladiators in the late 90s with a strong heel manager could have been great in WWF. The Hardyz vs Awesome & Another Beefy Dude (maybe Bradshaw) would have crushed. Anyways enough fantasy booking if you have seen one Awesome vs Tanaka match you have pretty much seen them all. There is all the fixins: Tanaka getting brained, horse collared by chairs, table obliterated over his head, HUGE dives, Powerbombs galore, Tanaka's fighting spirit and roaring elbow. I like how economical they are. There is no bullshit. It is just we are going to just kick ass and hit all our highspots. I really liked the Awesome sitout powerbomb from the apron through the tables. The spot that puts this over their ECW matches is Masato Tanaka avoids being hurled over the top rope onto a table set up on the floor and instead he picks up the HUGE Mike Awesome and javelin throws him over the top rope onto the table on the floor! That was insane! It is an Awesome vs Tanaka spotfest. Dont think just enjoy it because they are highly enjoyable matches. ****

Vader vs Ken Shamrock - FMW 9/28/97 Steel Cage No Ropes UFC Rules What the fuck? Why are Vader & Shamrock wrestling in FMW in the middle of 1997? This is at FMW big Kawaski Stadium show that apparently drew 50k. Vader vs Shamrock have a great match at Cold Day In Hell, this match is a shade below, but I do recommend it for the novelty. It is amazing how Vader works so well in a shoot-style context. Shamrock has injured ribs which was very en vogue in 1997. Vader is controlling the center of the ring but is tentative. Shammy is equally cautious wary of Vader's size. Vader goes after the ribs to get the first knock down. Shamrock comes roaring back with punches to the face. Shamrock goes for submissions. Vader is second to only Flair in verbal selling. His howling during that kneebar is great. They treat the steel cage like ropes which kinda defeats the purpose. Shamrock bodyslams Vader at one point and Vader ditches the mask. He has a nice mouse forming under his eye and Shamrock is blasting him. Vader is giving as good as he got as Shamrock's face does not look that great. Vader back to the ribs and massive powerbomb! Shamrock back up and Vader hits the World's Strongest Slam to trigger internal bleeding and the TKO victory! WOw! I am shocked I figured Shamrock would go over with his shoot fight credentials. Great big match feel. ***1/2

Yuki Ishikawa & Takeshi Ono vs Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda - BattlArts 1/21/97 How are the teams decided in BattlArts? In October, Ono and Ishikawa were on separate teams. Is the only rule that Ishikawa & Ikeda must be opposing sides? This is another Jetlag recommendation nominated in the Greatest Match Every project. Anytime, Ishikawa and Ikeda hook it up it is going to be good. I thought these were some of the best Ikeda kicks I have ever seen. They really played up the striker vs wrestler matchup in the first half of the match. Each of the heavy hitters had to save their junior partner in the opening exchange then they both came in and Ikeda LIT Ishikawa up, but Ishikawa always had the counterpuncher's chance and was able to lock in a deep kneebar. This enabled him to tag out to Ono with the advantage. Ono continued to work the leg, but Usuda saved him with a kick to Ono's back. I thought the Usuda/Ono stuff has been technically good, but is a step down in electricity from Ikeda and Ishikawa. Ono should have tagged out a couple times, but he waits to get the advantage to tag out. Usuda does a great job using his kicks to position Ishikawa into his team's corner and Ikeda & Usuda double team Ishikawa with ferocious kicks. Usuda wisely tags out. Ikeda is just rifling Ishikawa. They are right to the head and he gets a knockdown triggering the count. Ikeda tags out to Usuda, big mistake. He took his foot off the gas pedal. Ishikawa explodes with a backdrop driver and Usuda is OUT! He is easy pickins' for Ono who kicks him in the face for the knockdown. Usuda is able to get to Ikeda to tag him in. Remember how they were working on Ikeda's leg well that turns out to be a big deal. Ono escapes and as Ikeda is getting to his feet, Ono rifles him with a kick and it is ON! Ishikawa tries desperately to submit Ikeda with a variety of toeholds and legbars. A combination of Usuda & the ropes are the only things that saved Ikeda. Ono tries to KO Ikeda, but in the process does not keep himself between Ikeda and the corner. Bad tag wrestling. Ikeda tags out. Ishikawa comes in. I was wondering what the strategy would be. Ishikawa is going with the dump Usuda on his head strategy and then goes for the Fujiwara armbar, but Usuda is game on the mat and traps Ishikawa in a cross armbreaker, Ono quickly saves, but the damage has been done. Usuda's strategy is to go after Ishikawa's arm, but Ishikawa is guarding well. Usuda wrangles a rear naked choke, but Ishikawa makes the ropes. Ishikawa goes for the leg and gets a single leg crab. Ikeda smokes him in the face! Ono comes flying in with a superman knee and that blasts Ikeda in the face. Ishikawa locks in a kneebar, but Usuda desperately makes the ropes. Ishikawa smartly tags out to the fresh Ono who summarily knocks Usuda down with a kick to the face to trigger the count. Octopus Stretch by Ono...Ikeda cracks him in the back of the head. First wild swing by Ikeda misses, BEAR PAW SWIPE STRIKES ONO DOWN! Usuda hits a spinning back chop to Ono's neck and applies a rear naked choke. Why the fuck did Ishikawa just stand on the apron? Usuda taps Ono. BatBat tag matches are definitely one of my favorite genres of matches. They do a brilliant job integrating shoot-style and All Japan tag structure into a beautiful hybrid. I thought this was on the level of the October 96 tag and I would say I would like this a shade more just because I thought the psychology was a bit more pronounced Ikeda really going for the KO, they worked over Ikeda's leg creating a ton of drama, the Ishikawa/Usuda segment was some really tense grappling. Didnt love the finish, I didnt feel like it fit with the wildness of the match, but it was definitive. Another BatBat tag match that everyone should check out. ****1/2

I fucking loved this and cant believe people thought Tenryu was off his game, this is A-Grade Tenryu insanity! Thank you Jetlag for nominating this because I wouldnt have watched in a million years if you didnt nominate. Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobutaka Araya - WAR 1/14/98 J-1 Heavyweight Championship With WAR on death's doorstep, Tenryu says lets make a Heavyweight Championship. I have seen one other Araya match from All Japan in like 2002. He is a chubba wubba. CHAOS! MAYHEM! PANDEMONIUM! I LOVED THIS! Tenryu is picking out shards of the broken Singapore Cane from his arm! THIS IS WAR! This is a fucking street fight. Tenryu just comes out balls to the wall, I am going to decapitate you muthafucka and I am going to hurl my body as a weapon. He just beat the shit out of him. Then when Araya tries to powder, he becomes an Araya-seeking missile of destruction. I love the wipe out of the chairs spots so, so much. No matter who does that is always over with me. Tenryu climbs up on a raised part of the arena and just wipes Araya out. Tenryu has a chair and he is not afraid to use it. He tries to come off the top with it and Araya dropkicks it in his fucking face! Tenryu is bleeding. Araya just moonsaults him. None of this bullshit let me take a fucking minute to make sure Im in position to catch you bullshit, Araya just fucking moonsaults him. Then Araya gets a hold of the Singapore Cane that Tenryu brought. HE FUCKING WAILS ON TENRYU! I am mean WAILS ON HIM! Then he breaks the Cane over the post and WHACKS Tenryu with is and Tenryu is left picking out splinters as his arm is just bleeding. So how the hell can they top this? Well what else do I love...CHAIR THROWS! Tenryu mounts his comeback by throwing a chair at Araya when he is on the top rope about to do a moonsault to the floor! Tenryu just brains him with the chair. TENRYU DOES A SOMERSAULT SENTON FROM THE TOP ROPE TO THE FLOOR! MARK OUT CITY! Back in the ring, there is kick that Tenryu does to Araya's face this is just digusting. As soon as he did I audibly said "Fuck!" Araya was bleeding from pretty much every part of his face. Then they kind of did a Choshu/Hashimoto finish mixed with a little All Japan. They were powerbombing each other and then no selling back drop drivers. Then it was just LARIAOTO CITY! They went full Chishu/Hashimoto and Tenryu hit big, meaty lariats. The final Lariat was a MONSTER TRUCK LARIAT! HE FUCKING SMOKED HIS ASS! Hate, violence and chaos! They beat the ever living shit out of each other. It never let up they just kept coming at each other. I cant believe people were giving this **...this is one of the best brawls ever! THIS WAS WAR! ****1/2

Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - RINGS 5/22/99 RINGS would go full shoot by the end of the year and this is one of the last great worked matches. It is funny if you watch enough RINGS you can actually call the spots beforehand. For instance, on the first rope break by Yamamoto I knew they were going to do the stand up portion next. This follows the usual formula of the wrestler who goes down early wins the match outright at the end. I agree that this is not quite as good as their '97 classic, but thought this was a fantastic Kohsaka performance. Was it just me or was Yamamoto kind of out of it at times. I couldnt tell if he was selling or selling the idea he was being overwhelmed or was just lost. At one point, he just gave up on the ground game and stood up, then as Kohsaka was standing threw a kick. When I first got into RINGS, I thought Yamamoto was better, but now I am second guessing myself as Kohsaka has really given some brilliant performances. I thought the opening matwork was great. Yamamoto is cat-like quick in trying to re-position himself, Kohsaka was great at not getting lost in the blur. He was letting Yamamoto do his thing, blocking and then at the right moment grabbing an ankle and cinching in an anklelock. On the second scrap, he forces the rope break. Yamamoto wants to turns this into a stand up fight after getting bested on the mat. He eventually overwhelms Koshaka sending him down for the count. Kohsaka roars back trapping Yamamoto in the corner and knocks him silly on his feet. Amazing selling by Yamamoto here as he is bouncing off the turnbuckles and the ropes just to stand up right as the ref is counting and then clenches his fists to let the ref know he is ready to return to action. They return to the ground and every action drips with struggle. It is at this point Yamamoto just gives up and stands up and throws a kick like a dick when Kohsaka is returning to his feet. I think Yamamoto is selling haveing his bell rung. Yamamoto catches Kohsaka good with a slap. Good crack. Kohsaka takes him down with a front facelock. Watch Kohsaka's right knee how he uses to create distance between him Yamamoto at all times even as Yamamoto is doing all his quick spins. Kohsaka feels like the ultimate counterwrestler. Yamamoto tries 8 millions ways to try to reposition himself and keeps finding himself in holds such as a triangle choke that forces a rope break. Yamamoto cant crack the code on the mat. Kohsaka rifles him with a kick in the midsection and then a flying knee! Holy shit! Yamamoto Hulks Up! He starts throwing slaps! RINGS is a great standup promotion! This is a fight! Kohsaka throws a knee in the clinch and goes for a flying cross armbreaker, but Yamamoto pancakes him on his head. Nice block by Yamamoto! Yamamoto is just riding him and Kohsaka is breathing heavy but Yamamoto cant do anything and another Kohsaka flash hold with a heel hook forces rope break. On points, Kohsaka is killing him on the mat. It is even on stand up. Yamamoto traps him in the corner and KOs him with a relentless flurry of strikes. Kohsaka was the ultimate counterwrestling genius. Yamamoto is a whole lot of show on the mat, but it was Kohsaka who was the go. Yamamoto was trying to reposition himself but reposition himself into another hold. The stand up was exhilarating and very even. I didnt think the KO was that convincing and didnt feel like Yamamoto earned the victory. I did think up until the finish that this was an incredible defensive wrestling performance coupled with amazing stand up making this one of the best RINGS matches I have seen. ****1/2

Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 9/21/98 In my opinion, the two most fluid pro wrestlers in history going on the match was just a joy to watch. Honestly not much progressed in the first ten minutes, but the lightning-quickness and the wizardy make up for the lack of plot development. In a way it was like watching a shoot-style spotfest. They were more Wowing you than advancing something. That all changed around the ten minute mark when Yamamoto came out swinging and knocked Tamura down. Yamamoto does his favorite celebration with the big windup after the knockdown. That lit a fire under Tamura's ass, but he was too overzealous and Yamamoto came catching him in deep toeholds and forcing rope breaks. Tamura sells these really well and you feel that they could be legitimate finishes. This is following the typical RINGS formula of the winner of the match falling behind in a hole. Yamamoto is up 5-0 and is pouring it on but finally Tamura catches Yamamoto with a kneelift and he does the double bicep flex. Ok, so I am changing my narrative on RINGS, it can be an excellent standup promotion. Tamura comes out with a kneebar forcing the rope break. It is now 5-3. Yamamoto seems unsure of himself on this stand up and Tamura is very pugnacious and offensive-minded. He takes Yamamoto down, but cant get the cross armbreaker or the triangle. Yamamoto counters into a kneebar and there is some laying there. I did think there was more laying there than typical and some holds felt given up on. Like Yamamoto gave up on his hold and Tamura took his turn. Yamamoto gets a choke and Tamura gets a toe on the ropes. On the next stand up, Tamura is RELENTLESS and a jumping high knee scores a knockdown. It is 6-5 Yamamoto is up by one. Yamamoto throws a bunch of hand strikes and one that catches Tamura in the breadbasket knocks him down. If Tamura is knocked down again then the match is over. Again another tedious mat exchange and honestly I am gobsmacked. I was expecting unparalleled mat wizardy the likes of the Yamamoto/Koshaka '97 classic, but left wanting a lot more. There was a lot of lying on one another. Back to stand up and it is rocking! Tamura Blitz! Yamamoto comeback! Tamura's kneebar totally got me as I thought for sure that was the finish but just a rope break. Tamura fucking KOs Yamamoto with a crack to the head and then applies the guillotine choke, but it is academic he was already knocked out. Typical RINGS formula, winner falls behind and then digs himself out. Totally unexpected match, I thought I was going to see the best mat-based match ever, but this was really great stand up and highly dramatic. I thought the front half matwork was very showy, but lacked substance and then second half was actually a chore, but the stand up and overall story more than made up for it. Great finish too! ****1/4

Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Mikhail Ilioukhine - RINGS 1/21/98 Mega-Battle Tournament Final A lot of people liked that Kohsaka vs Ilioukhine match but I thought it was just very good and again I feel like I am step below most other people on this match. There is something about Misha that does nothing for me. He is a stocky, powerful brute and he does not have much charm. He is actually able to impose his will on Tamura early and often. He forced at least three if not four rope breaks before Tamura scored a knockdown. It is not that Tamura looked lost, but he just couldnt get anything going. Misha was getting standing wristlocks and armbars and turning them into cross armbreakers. This fight was more about Tamura's stand up. In the RINGS, I have watched it seems more like a grappling promotion, but Tamura was committed to the stand up game. It almost cost him on a couple occasions. The first go around Miswa caught the foot and Tamura went for a wild back heel kick and lost his balance. Misha closed in with a deep guillotine choke. Tamura eventually did make in-roads. First with a Judy Martin like Kick of Fear, then a legsweep and then a finally a head kick that sent the stocky Russian down. That became the story of the match Tamura trying to avoid the submission and just knock the Russian off his feet. They do my least favorite spot in wrestling: the bundle of leglocks. At least these two apply it properly with the anklecrosses but still it feels like they are just hugging one and another's legs. Upon stand up, Tamura gets him in the clinch and just starts rocking him with the knees. The end feels nigh. Misha gets some token offense, but Tamura knocks him down again and submits him with a cross armbreaker to win the Mega Battle Tournament. Definitely a great standup vs wrestling match and showed how stand up could be effectively used to defend against the takedown and then be converted into offense. Tamura is a wizard of spinning around in submissions and because he only sells in certain moments when he does register pain or scramble for the ropes you know it is a big deal. Tamura just wore down the stocky Russian with a lot of kicks and it seemed like Misha blowed up on his own. Tamura took it. I saw a great match, but not an extraordinary one. ****

Volk Han vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto - RINGS 8/13/97 Coming off a decision loss to Kohsaka in an epic 30 minute match, Yamamoto takes on the Soviet Maestro of the Mat Volk Han, who is a on ten match winning streak and looking to extend his winning ways over Yamamoto. Early on, Han seems content to go to the ropes at will. I would imagine he thinks himself an expert finisher and that it does not matter how man rope breaks he uses as long as he gets Yamamoto to submit. Han had good looks on the mat like a double ankle cross and deep toeholds. Yamamoto looked smooth as silk. He was a regular Harry Houndini out their with his escapes. He looked like a total natural. Han came storming back to force three rope breaks. One he spiked Yamamoto's head on a cross amrbreaker attempt by picking him up and dropping him on his head. Han is so great at selling near-defeats. When a heel hook or a armbreaker is sunk in, he is immediately scrambling and will even make audible noises. He is putting over those holds and his opponent big time. In the scramble, he is dangerous. He keeps going to the ropes thinking he will get that big submission. He has some amazing takedowns where he will grab a single leg and as he is falling down kick out the plant leg to cause further destabilization, simply awesome. Then something funny happens. Yamamoto throws a kick. You know RINGS standup doesnt matter. Wrong! It catches Han in the midsection and he crumples. Thats negative two points. A Judy Martin-esque Kick Of Fear knocks Volk Han back down! One more knockdown and no matter what Han loses! The Japanese crowd loses their shit! Yamamoto furiously kicks Han's leg and just as it looks like he is going down, he grabs the leg and kicks out Yamamoto's plant leg. He has the hold cinched in, middle of the ring. Is it another Volk Han miracle, rabbit out of the hat finish? And...you should really watch the match to find out how it finished. Excellent use of the points system to create drama, amazing mat work, Yamamoto looks every bit the peer of Han & Tamura, Volk Han is the God King of this Style because his submissions look cool as fuck and he SELLS better than anyone else. ****1/4

Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - 4/4/97 "That doesnt look good" - Some ignorant American fan hollering in the middle of the match First 15 minutes: Yamamoto is a wizard and coming out of all my 1996 watching I thought he was a solid 3rd behind Han & Tamura. It was demonstrated in the first half of this match as he was clearly dominating on the match. He was wearing the kick pads but no boots which would leave him open for my dreaded Greco-Roman Toelock. When my buddy comes home, we always wrestle (him being an actual wrestler from back in high school always beats me in the end), and my favorite finish is too grab his big toe and just wrench it. Anyways, the reason not to wear shoes is to evade heel hooks. As typical with RINGS, it is standup->takedown->scrap on the mat->rope break, rinse lather repeat. The interesting stuff is always the mat action. Kohsaka was usually the one taking Yamamoto down, but Yamamoto was the one who would win the scrap on the mat. Kohsaka was breathing heavy about ten minutes into this match. Yamamoto was countering at will. At one point, the crowd popped because they though Kohsaka had a toehold, but Yamamoto remained calm; wriggled free and won the day. It was mostly toeholds that Yamamoto was using, there was a great one he basically did a double wristlock but applied to the ankle. He also had a strong guillotine choke. The sequence of the match thus far was Kohsaka had a side-mount double top wristlock which Yamamoto beautifully turned into a DEEP headscissors and from there a bodyscissors, but left his feet dangling and Kohsaka crossed his ankles to force the break. Late into the 15 minutes, Kohsaka again was about to counter into a toehold that is hard to describe. In the resulting standup something interesting happened, Yamamoto actually connected with a vicious knee that drew blood from Kohsaka's face right above the eyebrow. RINGS in my experience is very much a mat-based promotion and the stand up is usually perfunctory. They take about a minute to check on him and that wraps up the first half. I would say Yamamoto won the first half, BUT Kohsaka looked strong in the last two scraps, however he just took a knee to the face. Will the knee change the complexion of the match and turn it into a stand up fight OR do they keep it on the mat? Fuck, I almost forgot, the coolest submission of the first half was Yamamoto using what can only be described as a Short Leg Scissors. Think of a Short Arm Scissors but applied to the knee instead of the elbow. He had it in their deep. I cant believe I almost forgot that. I marked out for that. Final 15 minutes: Wow I dont think they were selling exhaustion, I think they were exhausted. What a cardio workout that was amazing. Kohsaka comes out hot from the knee to the face. He throws some of his own knees and settles for a heel hook, but thats reversed, Kohsaka does force the rope break. He is off to hot start. The standup has definitely gotten more fierce. Kohsaka comes down from his high. Yamamoto cool & calm as ever takes him down with a guillotine choke and takes the next two rope breaks. Kohsaka takes the next one. By my count, they are even, but I may have missed one. I feel like this match was designed to be very symmetrical. To me the story was Yamamoto is the natural. Kohsaka is the workhorse. Yamamoto makes things look effortless. Kohsaka's strongest attribute is his willpower. It goes full stand up and wow it is amazing. So much desperation. So much exhaustion. Kohsaka throws a kick to Yamamoto's side that crumples him which is an automatic down. That takes me back to the old UWF days when a well-placed mid-section kick could really ruin someone's day. Kohsaka gives as good as he hot as he rips the side of the eye/eye lid of Yamamoto open. Nasty injury! I couldnt really tell how it happened. I bet they didnt plan for blood on either end but it worked into the symmetry story AND how desperately these men wanted the victory. Yamamoto finished the sequence out coming roaring back to knock Kohsaka down. Again the story is symmetry. They tussle on the mat. The end of the match is Yamamoto desperately trying to pry the clasp of Kohsaka's hands so that he can apply the cross-armbreaker. Honestly, when the bell rang, I thought it was a straight up draw, but I think there was one Yamamoto rope break I might have missed, but this was insane. Talk about wanting to win a match these two men make you believe that their entire worlds depend on the outcome of this match. The exhaustion, the nasty, hardway cuts, the desperation grappling, My God. The submission wizardy in the first half was engrossing and the grittiness in the second half had me on my seat. Generally, I am not a proponent of long shoot style matches. I think this is easily the best long shoot style match I have seen, BUT it still had some of the negatives that come with this type of length: there are only so many toeholds, wristlocks that you can do and there is a lot of jockeying. They should be applauded for having a classic match at this length in a genre that does not benefit in going long, but I still think the length was to the detriment of the match. Hate to criticize but I have to because I am always thinking Greatest Match Ever. Still these are two men who honestly I dont care about. I have seen 3-5 matches from each. I dont love or hate them, I just have no emotional connection to either. It is a feather in their cap that they made me care. I was on the ride with them and I wanted to know who the hell was going to win. Incredible gutsy performance from both men. ****3/4

Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono - BattlArts 10/30/96 Am I alone in thinking BatBat tags are superior to their singles matches? Everytime I watch a BatBat tag, I am blown away. Immediately, I reminded by this feeling when Ikeda positions Ishikawa towards to Ono who rifles him in the back from the apron. The ref has to keep Otsuka at bay while Ikeda and Ono kick ass on the outside with kicks. I love BatBat tags! You know who is who from the footwear. Ikeda & Ono are the kickboxing specialists with their shoot style boots with kickpads. While Ishikawa & Otsuka are the wrestlers with their short, high-ankle wrestling shoes. We see Ishikawa grab a kick at one point and try to turn it into a heel hook. When Ikeda gets sloppy in a rear naked choke, Ishikawa crosses his ankle to force the break. We see Ishikawa go for a lot of wristlocks as counterholds as he is getting his shit kicked in. A good wrestler can force a stand up specialist to play his game and thats what Ishikawa and Otsuka do early on by closing the gap and forcing a lot of the action on the mat. Dont get me wrong, Ikeda & Ono get their fair share of licks in but they are trying to finish on the mat and thats where Ishikawa & Otsuka can counterwrestle. Ishikawa and Otsuka can also throw a suplex with the best of them. Ishikawa used a Northern Lights Suplex to create enough separation to tag in Otsuka. Otsuka's first order of business drop Ikeda on his head with a suplex. This is very All Japan with liberal saves from their partners in holds. Your partner is in trouble just casually walk in and rifle your opponent with a kick. There was one time Ishikawa came in and kicked the clasp of I think Ikeda so that Otsuka would have a better arm triangle I thought that was cool. One weird thing is Ishikawa and Otsuka were not abiding by normal tagging rules. They basically would rule to their corner and the other would just come in. It didnt seem like Ikeda and Ono were doing the same thing. There was one point where Ono was legal but Ikeda had broken the hold so Ishikawa just treated Ikeda as legal. It was odd to say the least. The big highlights of the match in my eyes were Ishikawa got a series of three big arm-related submissions (two cross-armbreakers & 1 Fujiwara armbar) in very short order. That was quite dramatic. Another moment of high drama was Otsuka gave Ono the biggest, fastest Giant Swing ever and then hurled him. He launched his ass. He then looked to submission finish him but Ikeda saved. Then Ikeda & Ono had Otsuka on the ropes quite literally. Ikeda just BLASTED Otsuka with a wicked forearm. Finally, Ikeda & Ono were playing to their strength late in the match looking for KOs. Otsuka nails a desperation German to get out of the Hell out of Dodge. After Ishikawa was able to rotate in for Otsuka, Ikeda blasted him for a near KO with a wild forearm. Ishikawa gave as good as he got with a wicked straight right. WOW! Ikeda no sold it in the most beautiful way. Ishikawa catches a kick into a heel hook. Ono saves, but Otsuka tackles him and Germans him. Otsuka detains Ono in All Japan style as Ishikawa submits Ikeda with the Fujiwara armbar calling back to the fast & furious arm submissions in the middle. I thoroughly enjoyed this as an all-action match that dripped with struggle and urgency. The offense was what you expect from BattlArts ultra-violent strikes, head-dropping suplexes and snug submissions. I think tag match allows for more chaos and creates more intra-match stories. One of the best BatBat matches of the 90s I have seen. ****1/2

Royal Rumble 1992 Royal Rumbles are great in the moment. You dont know who is going to come out next and who is going to get eliminated when. The unpredictability makes for a very fun live viewing experience and having been to the 2015 Royal Rumble (I got to boo The Rock in Philly!) I would say it is just as cool as going to WrestleMania. All the positives make it so Royal Rumbles arent all that exciting to re-watch. Except for the consensus best Royal Rumble of all time and that is of course Royal Rumble 1992. Royal Rumble 1992 is a culmination of the 1980s. It is Ric Flair, the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, running the gauntlet against his fiercest rivals, his WWF dream match opponents and the stars of the 90s. In a lot of the long Rumble appearances, you will see guys disappear or take extended breaks, but not Flair. There are many times where he was looking for a fight. Bulldog and Barbarian are doing their thing well let go over and chop the shit out of Tito Santana while he is fighting with Michaels. He could have taken it easy but he didnt he sought the fight. He was incredible in this match as everyone always says. Out of the first ten entrants, the two cool moments for me where seeing Flair against Michaels (future) and Kerry Von Erich (the past). Do you think Michaels or Flair thought that 16 years later Michaels would retire him at Wrestlemania? There was no "Sorry, I love you" before the Superkick in this match, but there should have been "I'm sorry" because that superkick sucked! Flair vs Kerry was such a nice moment. Kerry would commit suicide the next year and it was so nice to see Flair vs Kerry one last time. To me Flair vs Kerry dominated the first half of the 1980s and produced more great matches than any US feud. You could tell Flair was excited to hook it up with Kerry and it was great to see him hit one last Discus punch on Flair. Great sell by Michaels on the Discus Punch. Lets see what else. Davey Boy vs DiBiase was a good opening, I wished DiBiase was later in the draw but I can see wanting to start with two name guys. I feel like Vince was ready to push Davey Boy as he gets an extended run and makes the first three eliminations: DiBiase, Saggs and Haku. Flair vs Davey Boy instantly have a good dynamic. Davey Boy loves to Press Slam and Flair loves to eat it. It was match made in heaven! I really should watch Flair vs Santana from late 91 as that is a dream match for me. Santana is such a great fired up babyface I would have loved to have seen Flair vs Santana in like 1984. I am a Barbarian mark, but he doesnt do much. Repo Man is such a weird gimmick. It has been fun seeing these ten guys come out so far. Here comes The Hammer...YES! YES! YES! Couple Carolina Crockett Boys about to hook it up! The Hammer vs The Nature Boy! It was fun while it lasted. Just some great flesh on flesh, man on man action. You could tell both especially Valentine were having a great time hooking it back up. Valentine's figure-4 popped me and the Albany crowd! Surprisingly of all people the fucking Repo Man eliminates two people Nikolai Volkoff and Greg Valentine. As a big Hammer mark sad to see him go. Bossman was a jolt of energy in the malaise. Bossman looked great and felt like a huge star. There was untapped potential in Bossman. Flair backdrops Davey Boy & Kerry out in short order. Shawn and Tito tackle each other over as they would fight at Mania VIII. I loved Flair high-fiving Barbie only to chop him and then eat the Press Slam. Bossman gets rid of Barbarian. At some point Hercules is in there but I forget when or how. Bossman does the finger wag to Flair. This feel epic. Bossman ends up hurling himself over the ropes and almost decapitates himself on the way put. Short of the finish that is the moment that has always stuck with me from this Rumble. Flair is by himself as we are half way through. He does a Flair Flop and it is his old running buddy and archrival, Roddy Piper! Piper was Flair's first feud in the WWF in late 1991 and this is a barnburner. This has been the best two minutes of the Rumble. Piper is on fire. The Three Stooges fingerpoke to the eyes out of the blocked inverted atomic drop popped everyone. Airplane spin! Sleeper! Here comes Jake. Jake says have at it. Then he joins the fray. Great triple threat actually break out. Flair almost takes the DDT. Here comes Duggan and Watts' Mid-South is being well-represented. When Flair was tearing through Mid-South in 1985 I would have loved a full-length Flair vs Duggan match. IRS is #18 man Rotundo was never really pushed, maybe in Florida. I dont think he ever got a shot at Flair. For being a NWA guy thats pretty impressive actually. Snuka! I dont know too much about Snuka's time in Mid-Atlantic, but I feel like Snuka vs Flair would have been a fun pairing. No Snuka vs Piper though. Undertaker is out at #20. How crazy is this? Undertaker and Shawn Michaels in the same match as all these stars from the 80s and they would be still be main eventing a fucking Stadium show in 2018. Nuts. Undertaker looks so different. He looks shorter but scary. He throws Snuka out in no time. Then goes after Flair. I thought there was an alliance there from the Tuesday in Texas show. Maybe Taker is pissed that he didnt end up with the Title. Taker has Flair goozled. Flair continues to look for action as when Taker goes away he attacks him again. Take has Duggan & Flair double goozled as the MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE RACES TO THE RING LOOKING FOR YOU KNOW WHO... Savage wants Jake! But Jake had slithered out and his ally the Undertaker attacks Macho Man. Eventually Savage gets his hands on The Snake and goes bezerk. Savage throws him out and follows him out, but Taker forcibly removes him and throws him back in. I cant believe how much of a ripoff Berzeker is of Brusier Brody. Why is Virgil in candy-striper tights? I never got that. Iron Sheik playing an Iraqi Colonel is so pro wrestling and apparently he is not a former WWF champion in this gimmick. There is so much star power and then theres Virgil and Berzerker. Flair is still the most active person in the ring, which is pretty insane. Savage has gone into sell mode and is pretty subdued the rest of the match. Flair lowblowing Undertaker and Taker no selling was pretty damn good. Ricky Martel! I am a huge Martel fan and yet another World Champion! Martel was actually pretty heavily pushed as The Model and he would start getting shunted down the card after Summerslam '92. At some point, Duggan eliminated Sheiky Baby, U-S-A! Here comes THE HULKSTER! No staredown with Flair just the 'ol double noggin knocker. Big elimination as Hogan takes out Taker and then back drops Berzerker out and then eliminates his own t-shirt! :p We actually get a lot of Hogan vs Flair for the remainder of the match. They always had good chemistry and while they never had an out and out classic they always had at least good match. I cant think of a stinker that I have seen (never saw that First Blood Match from 1999). They even do a suplex spot on the outside. I think they wanted to and liked working with each other. Very weird, Duggan and Virgil eliminate each other. Odd for two babyfaces with no storyline to do that. They could have been good fodder for Sid. Skinner! Holy shit! I forgot the "Fabulous One" Steve Keirn was in the WWF. Man, I got to watch more Steve Keirn one of the best kicks to the midsection and some really good shit with Mr. Saito and Tatsumi Fujinami. I think there are some hidden gems from Keirn. Martel dumps Keirn. Everytime, I watch this match even back in 2003 the first time I saw it, I was rooting for Rick Martel! I am always left disappointed. It is Sarge, Sid & Warlord to round out the field. I love big, bad Sid walks in takes on midcard fodder, IRS and cant even dump him! Lol! He looks like a chump. Sarge takes his NUTTY CORNER BUMP out courtesy of Sid. That and the Bossman elimination are the two best. Piper eliminates IRS via the tie and Sid & Hogan eliminate Warlord together. Warlord looked like fucking trash in there. We are down to the final six: Hogan, Flair, Savage, Sid, Piper & Martel. Savage has been hiding and Sid looks lost. The other four have been very active especially Flair and Hogan. Sid dumps Piper & Martel. It is the big four that would go onto headline Wrestlemania. Flair high knees Sid which knocks out Savage. Then we get the famous finish where Hogan cant get Flair out so Sid just dumps his ass. Hogan throws a temper tantrum and holds Sid's hand and Flair throws Sid out. Hogan and Sid staredown and then Hogan chases Flair out. Bad booking because it makes Hogan look like a sore loser. I think Sid turning heel in the match by working with Taker or Flair and two people eliminating Hogan would have been better. Incredibly fun way to spend an hour and a helluva performance from Flair! ****1/2

As much as I love to think about Pro Wrestling, the best Pro Wrestling makes you feel. I dissect and critically analyze Pro Wrestling to death. Pro Wrestling is not supposed to live in your mind; it should tug on the heartstrings and punch you in the gut. There is no better moment at this than WrestleMania VII. I have seen it a million times, but this past Saturday when Miss Elizabeth hopped the railing to save the Macho Man from a beating from Sherri, I was done and somehow the room became mighty dusty. When Savage held the ropes open for her, they had me crying like a baby. I think no moment better illustrates the power of pro wrestling than the tearful reunion of Macho Man & Miss Elizabeth. It is the pinnacle of Vince McMahon's creative vision for pro wrestling and Randy Savage's cinematic approach to pro wrestling. Say what you will about Vince, but he thought of pro wrestling as so much more than just two burly, half-naked men fighting in a fixed sport. He saw as a versatile entertainment genre that could provoke intense human emotion. In this Pro Wrestling Love volume, we explore the genius of Vince McMahon and Randy Savage in what could be argued as the most influential WrestleMania Main Event on main event style wrestling when Randy Savage meets Ultimate Warrior in a Career Match. This time period also features the Rockers, Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty, having a litany of amazing matches in the tag team scene with a diverse crop of teams and hell the miracles continue as Rick Rude also gets a great match out of Ultimate Warrior. All this & much, much more in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 31! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/01/pro-wrestling-love-vol-31-best-of-wwf.html