Superstar Sleeze

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler vs Curt Hennig- AWA 7/19/88 Lawler had defeated Hennig in Memphis for the championship and this is the TV rematch on ESPN in Las Vegas. Hennig had one foot out the door at this point for WWF. Wow! What a slugfest! I don't really think of Hennig as a great puncher but goddamn his punches looked and sounded great in this one! I liked he his demeanor in this one. He was more serious and pissed. He has Madusa with him. I liked the shove at the beginning and how each missed punches early were pissed. It was Hennig who landed heavy blows to the chin of The King first but Lawler responded with this classic punches that sent Hennig flying out of the ring. They established the Madusa factor early. Lawler took an absolutely wicked bump! He was on the apron, teetering. Hennig popped him good and Lawler took a fucking Cactus bump on the concrete. Great heat segment follows. Post shot, Suplex in, Madusa's shoe, a piledriver. Classic heel stuff. Hot nearfalls and great Lawler selling. Hennig feels the need to go up top and Lawler catches him with a punch to the gut. Hennig crutches himself. Here comes Lawler! Strap down! Punches! Go baby go! Fist drop but missed!!! Hennig slaps on a sleeper. Lawler threw him over the top rope for DQ and Lawler retains. Weird booking protecting the heel leaving the territory. This seems built for the new babyface Champion to get the win over the former heel champion on national TV to establish himself on the loop. But it is dying AWA! Match is great besides finish. Economical, everything matters, Lawler's bump is insane and great heat down the stretch, great slugfest. ****1/4

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Curt Hennig vs Wahoo McDaniel - AWA 12/27/87 For me, the AWA died on May 2, 1987 when Hennig beat Bockwinkel for the championship. Nothing against Hennig, but Bock was the AWA and was never the same after that. Hennig was Cool Curt a cheating, bumping heel. This is not a hot take but Jesus Dolph Ziggler is a modern Curt. Hennig was bumping like a pinball for the immobile Wahoo. This was a couple goofy facial expressions away from being Michaela vs Hogan. Hennig was finding all sorts of innovative ways to bump for chopping. What's crazy is Wahoo takes like 95% of the match. Besides blading off a post shot, Hennig was just bumping. Off the post shot, Wahoo looked like a grandpa waking up from a nap. Like two minutes he is back on offense shoulder tackle and big Suplex. Wahoo had great offense! Dude just couldn't move. It was painfully obvious that Hennig had to feed him everything. Hennig takes a ton of post shots at the end and some chops of course. It is a double count out as they fight outside. Back in the ring post-match, takes another flying flat back bump off a chop. if you read my review, you know the booking is atrocious so not going to complain. As a individual performance to make an immobile grandpa look like a possible world champion, Curt Hennig knocked it out of the park. As a match it was good. ***

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler vs WCWA World Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich - AWA Superclash III In 1988, the WWF vs JCP arms race was flull blown and the last three major American promotions gave it once last shot to fight these two superpowers. The biggest promotion of the three, the AWA, put their money on the biggest independent star left in American wrestling, the King of Memphis Wrestling, Jerry Lawler. They lost their last homegrown star, Curt Hennig to WWF and had no other choice. The Memphis the smallest of the big American territories was the big winner as their biggest star was finally validated as World Champion. The missing piece was Lawler needed an opponent enter the other major Independent superstar, Kerry Von Erich. It may not be 1982 but in the 1988 landscape Kerry was still a major baby face and the Champion of World Class. So these three promotions made an alliance to put on SuperClash III pitting the last two major independent superstars together. This match is pretty famous and has made many WWE comps, I would hazard to guess the most watched match of either mans career. The first thing I always think of is how Kerry accidentally cuts his left bicep with his blade before the match even starts and can't stop looking at his bicep throughout the beginning. It is just so Kerry Von Erich. They shoehorn Lawler slamming Kerry's arm into the steel to explain the blood but it is mostly no sold besides Kerry constantly looking at it. The beginning is bump 'n' run at its finest. Lawler feeds him, Kerry decks him and Lawler bumps. It was fun. Discus punch! Lawler bites the arm and finally lands a couple punches. Damn he is good as he sends Kerry over the top. Kerry makes a comeback but still can't get the claw. He punches the post with his bad arm and now Lawler has a golden opportunity. He reaches into his trunks and pops Kerry in the head to draw blood. Five alarm bladejob. Total crimson mask. Fist drop. Lawler is cocky. Fist drop but wait THE CLAW! Great set up for the Claw. I popped switches to head but can't get the win. Great stand up battle roars to the end. Great Lawler "hiding the chain" and punches. Amazing selling from Kerry. Kerry proves he is still got it with a great comeback. The finish is fucking garbage. Kerry loses via blood stoppage when he is in the dominant position with the Claw on Lawler who looked passed out. Finishes like that really hurt wrestling. Terrible finish aside this match was a great classic babyface vs heel matches. Just the perfect ideal of both. Lawler bumps so well and then cheats like a muthafucka. Kerry has great big offense and sells well down the stretch. Great bloody brawl to end it. Shame about the end. Lawler is the big winner as he creates the USWA World Championship while AWA & WCCW fold in 1990. Famous match that showcases the beauty of a simple match that builds and builds into a bloody brawl. ****1/4

Bob Backlund vs Masakatsu Funaki - UWF 5/21/89 Total clusterfuck in the most entertaining way possible. Bob Backlund is so Bob Backlund in this. You can tell Funaki has no clue what to do with him. Some great takedowns here from both men. Backlund is so good on the mat. Really deep Scorpion Deathlock at one point. Funaki just blasts him with kicks to the face. At one point I was just like fuck you asshole. Backlund is trying to wrestle fucking wrestle you asshole. I thought it was borderline unprofessional. They just started wrecking each other. Funaki's strikes were brutal. Backlund popped him good with a forearm. Backlund got a good gut wrench. Anytime you thought Backlund was out of it, Backlund would bust out something. The finish was so fitting for such a weird match Funaki hits a middle rope dropkick is DQ'd. Weird, uncooperative train wreck in a good way. Terrible finish. Stiffness was fun and it was just so odd. Hard to rate I recommend watching it because there are few matches like it. ***1/2

Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada - UWF II 11/10/88 With Fujiwara and Sayama not in UWF, this is their money match. This is touted as the best shoot style match of the 80s. First Half: Pretty dull. The kicks are great most are misses or glancing blows but they are sold well. The matwork is boring. Takada tries to counter a wrist lock and ends up being in a more painful armbar and ropebreak. Takada tries his hand on top. Wow! What a snooze fest. He just lies on top of Maeda for a minute. Maeda casually stands up from a leg bar. Starts rifling with kicks! Takada tries body punches but it is too late Maeda knees and kicks put him down! First ref count for ten. Then Maeda takes him down and starts going for pins. What!?! Since when is that legal? Takada has Maeda pinned earlier forever. Maeda has him in a Fujiwara armbar at the half way point to force rope break. Maeda wins on points. Usual story stand up is good, matwork is boring as hell. But it is starting to pick up. Second Half: Ok now I get it. This is one of the all time best stand up exchanges in UWF history. They go to town on each other for ten minutes. Maeda has Takada on the ropes literally and figuratively. Maeda is rifling him with kicks. Takadas selling was tremendous. Great teetering. Great discombobulating. Maeda is up 3-0 and as he goes for the KO blow. Takada gets the best kick of the match with a counter kick to the face. We got a match on our hands. The pace and struggle was great both men were kicking and throwing each other. Takada drives me nuts going for a heel hook and giving it up to Maeda and going for ropes. This counts as a down, must have used all his breaks. He is down 4-1. He comes roaring back. Great reverse roundhouse kick! That was the best kick of the match! 4-2 baby! Takada unleashes more hellacious kicks in short order to make it 4-3! These stand up exchanges are great. Takada gets a Crossface Chickenwing forces a rope break! 4-4! What a comeback! Next down loses no matter what. The fists and kicks are flying. Maeda catches Takada with a left...Takada stays up...Takada kick combination and down goes Maeda! Takada win! This both an amazing comeback story literally (Takada comes back from 4-1) and figuratively (the first ten minutes of this match absolutely sucks.) The timekeeper made a ten minute call and they literally started trying harder. So they they were clearly phoning in the first ten minutes. I can't think of a match that started so boring and ended so great. Fujiwara/Super Tiger from 84 are clearly better matches but if you watch this JIP you could be fooled that this is on that level. ****1/4

El-P A-fucking-Men brutha Nobuhiko Takada vs Bob Backlund - UWF 12/22/88 A weird dream match that happened that no one besides me and a few others care about. These are two of my all-time favorites hooking it up in their prime. I used to watch the shit out of this but it had been four years since I seen it. First ten minutes: Bob Backlund is fucking great isn't he? Takada throws a check kick to say this ain't the WWF anymore. Backlund takes a bunch of kicks to the face because he is a man. Then catches one and dumps Takada on his ass. Then dances around because he is Bob Backlund. Lots of great struggle on the mat. At first I was worried Backlund would have the amateur wrestler in MMA problem where he can take down at will but can't finish. He gets a good leg bar early. I like how he clasps his hands on the cross armbreaker. Thank you! He forces a break with a tight Camel Clutch. Takada comes back with a leg bar to force a rope break. Takada throws a bunch of Muay Thai knees in the clinch and Backlund responds with a back Suplex to get a down. Backlund throws his weight on an armbar to force another break. Takada tries to pop up so Backlund pops him in the mouth with a wicked right forearm to get another down. Takada Fucking Unloads. Kicks, back Suplex more kicks and Backlund is finally considered down and ref starts his count. Absolute war thus far. Second ten minutes: Slowed down here but the struggle is so intense. Dripping with effort on the mat. I love how Backlund's solution to everything is to Bridge out on his neck. Cross armbreaker bridge out. Full mount bridge out. Heel hook bridge out. Backlund was selling and working like a horse for everything. He lost a break on single leg crab. Takada realizes he can't handle Backlunds freaky strength on the mat so just kicks him in the face really hard and draws blood from the nose and two more counts from ref. 3-2 on downs favoring Takada. Takada wants a Suplex so Backlund gets a ferocious hip block takedown and drops into an armbar. Bob Backlund shoot style is awesome. Last Five Minutes: insane finish run. Backlund gives Takada a shiner. He was fucking popping him with those forearms. Big Butterfly Suplex by Backlund! FU OUT OF NOWHERE BY BACKLUND! Sleeper! Crossface Chickenwing? Can't get it. Backlund gets legbar and Takada just wails on him in the face with his free leg. Takada kicks the dog shit out of him. Single leg crab doesn't get down. Backlund is bloody and Takada is bruised. Deep double wrist lock by Takada and the ref calls the match for Takada TKO. Backlund is confused and it is the Iron Sheik all over again. This was wicked exciting. It is not the prettiest or most logical match. But shit is always going down and the struggle for holds is ferocious. Once Takada explodes Backlund's nose the match becomes a total banger. They just ripped into each other. Anyone who has seen Backlund/Valentine knows Backlund is made for this style. God I wish Valentine wrestled in UWF! Huge feather in Backlund's cap showing why he is one of the best. ****1/2

Interesting reviews above. I agree that this was the best exhaustion "selling" of all time. I put "selling" in quotes because I think they have been shoot blown up. They wrestled forever. The finish sequence did not resonate with me as the exhaustion took some punch out of the kicks. In the beginning Those kicks had snap to them. GOTNW I totally agree how they were using submissions here and i didn't like it at all. No drama, undercut the holds. Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki - UWF Starting Over 5/12/88 UWF is REBORN! This time it is Akira Maeda at the helm. He is probably my least favorite shoot stylist. Technically proficient but gives lifeless performances. There is no hook to him in a match. I guess his hook is that he is the boss and if he is not the boss he is prone to being a dick and shoot kicking people in the face. I like Yamazaki against Hashimoto a lot in the 90s. In the 80s he is fine but I wish he kick more and be on the mat less. This match is very technically proficient. The kicks are the best part. Yamazaki's kick land with a real snap. Maeda's counter kicks are brutal. The throws are excellent. Beautiful suplexes from both. The holds look tight. The problem is this is too pro-style. The match is way too long. Like 25 minutes and it really meanders. The submission holds are not used as finishers but as exhibition. The hold is too easy to apply, no selling in the hold or after and no drama in escape. It is like a Kurt Angle match. In shoot style the drama is in applying the hold. Can he get it? Instead of can he survive it? In shoot style long term selling should not exist so holds aren't used as a wear down. The survival aspect can be hot for one maybe two holds but every hold undercuts the match. We saw cinched in wristlocks, triangle chokes, armbars, single leg crab, knee bar and Crossface Chickenwing, cross armbreaker all executed and no long term impact. It was an exhibition. Yamazaki tenaciously went for single leg crabs getting 3 or 4 but they meant nothing. Maeda had a beautiful sequence where he threw kicks to get Yamazaki off balance to set up the butterfly Suplex takedown which in turn setup the double wrist lock side mount finish except nothing happened. Yamazaki escaped the march kept going. That's my rant about holds. The drama should be in the application of the hold not the survival. The stand up game was far better. Great kicks. There was a great one about 2/3rds the way on where Yamazaki is looking to tie up and Maeda catches him on the chin. I thought that was the finish playing off Maeda's penchant for shoot kicking people in the face. Instead, it kept going and going. This could be the greatest showcase of "selling" exhaustion but they could have been shoot blown up. As much as I liked the selling I thought it was to the detriment to how impactful the kicks looked but there was a lot of drama down the stretch. I actually bought Yamazaki had a chance based on the way he was pouring it on. I said to myself like Maeda would actually job in the debut show and then realized that meant I did believe for a split second. Maeda gets a rainbow kick and Crossface Chickenwing for the win. Great exhibition of catch wrestling but too long and feels too much like an exhibition. ***

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Hase vs Nobuhiko Takada - NJPW 3/11/88 Takada is scary over in this match. Like build a whole promotion around him over. That's exactly what happens in the 90s. We are two months away from the rebirth of the UWF in May of 1988. They do everything they can to protect Takada in this match. Hase goes full heel jumping him before the bell with a lariat. Second Lariat and Takada goes into oversell mode. Knocked loopy. Big Takada chants through the three sleepers. Takada is totally discombobulated and this looks to be a rout. Takada reverses an Irish Whip and chops Hase in the face. Belly to belly Suplex! He goes for a series of holds: Single Leg Crab, Armbar and cross armbreaker. The way they just lie in the cross armbreaker drives me nuts and to make even it worse Takada voluntarily releases the hold. The finish stretch is pretty exciting. Some really good Takada kicks. I liked the one that Hase catches and Takada turns into a wicked Enziguiri. Takada gets a ton of big nearfalls: Crossface Chickenwing, teased count out win and a Dragon Suplex (ref got wiped out so crowd got the visual three). The crowd was eating up Takada through all of this. Which is weird the Japanese usually cheer for whoever is selling. Scary over! To me they unconvincingly get Hase back on offense he wins with a Northern Lights Suplex but Takada kicks out right at three. Strong action throughout definitely the positive. Thought the match lacked personality common complaint for Takada but very strange for the charismatic Hase. Takada's strike and throw offense looked great and was exciting. I thought they poured it onto thick for him to lose. It undercut the finish. Takada was super over but on his way out so they were handcuffed. Good offense but don't expect a classic. ***1/2

Antonio Inoki/Riki Choshu/Kantaro Hoshino vs Dick Murdoch/Bob Orton/Scott Hall - NJPW 11/18/88 Elimination Important thing to note is that this contested under elimination rules. It was not until the second elimination that I knew what was going on. Scott Hall in New Japan is weird on paper but he actually fits in pretty good. Really good interactions with Hoshino (Hall looks like a giant) both manhandling the diminutive Hoshino and showing ass for the plucky spark plug. His elimination comes first and it is an awesome cross cross sequence with Choshu that really builds to the Lariat. They utilized Hoshino really well in the match. He is a great size mismatch for the Americans to exploit. But he desperately wants to contribute and comes in as a ball of energy to help even if that means he gets caught over his head. Eventually Orton & Murdoch double team him setting him up for the Murdoch brain buster and Hoshino elimination. In the beginning of the match it is established that Inoki & Choshu fucking hate Murdoch and want to kill him. The Americans try to cheat and double Team as much they can. Orton & Choshu pretty quickly do a spot that causes them both to tumble over the top rope. This sets up the grand finale of the two captains Inoki vs Murdoch. They went for a very epic, dramatic feel with extended spots and selling. There was a cute spot where Orton used his ass to prevent Murdoch from touching the floor. Inoki's big spot was a sleeper. Murdoch got an armbar and his knee surfboard spot as his big spots. Murdoch calls for Brainbuster. Inoki floats over and gets an abdominal stretch not an Octopus Stretch so Captain Redneck makes the ropes. The ref is distracted and Orton pulls Inoki over the top and the rest turns and calls for the bell. WOW! That's the best screw job ending I have seen in sometime. I love Inoki's pissed off reaction. Grabbing a chair from the audience and out for blood. Nothing super spectacular just the fundamentals executed at a high level. Hoshino size mismatch and the heat between Inoki/Choshu vs Murdoch. Loved that screwjob finish. ***3/4

IWGP Tag Team Champions Super Strong Machine & George Takano vs. Riki Choshu & Takyuki Iizuka - NJPW 7/13/89 Iizuka is a wrestler who always looks different every time I see him. The upstart Tag Team Champions defend against Riki Choshu but this time Choshu's partner is rookie Iizuka. Choshu is in the LeBron/Cristiano Ronaldo having to carry a nobody to a championship. Strategy early is simple keep Iizuka out of the ring unless Choshu earned an advantage. He wins the advantage against Takano and tags out to Iizuka. Takano tags out to SSM forcing Iizuka to tag out. Choshu gets SSM down on Mat and tags out. Before you know it SSM takes down Iizuka with a Suplex and Iizuka is in trouble. Iizuka shows some fire in a slap fest with Takano. Iizuka is able to take SSM down long enough to Tag Choshu who immediately goes for a cover. Trying to get the hell out of Dodge. SSM holds Choshu for Takano to hit his patented top rope spinning heel kick. Choshu is forced to Tag out. You know what the kid acquits himself pretty well. He comes out hot but eventually the champs overwhelm him. He tries slapping SSM but SSM just suplexes him. Takano stomps a mud hole in Iizuka. Iizuka gets a headbutt in the abdomen. Tag out to Choshu knee lift to abs. Takano spinning heel kick gets separation for a Tag out. I like all the quick tags it is refreshing from drawn out heat segments. Iizuka missile dropkick saves Choshu from Scorpion. The kid is earning his keep. Some really good leg bars from Iizuka. He is more useful than JR Smith, yeah I am still sour. SSM turns into his own leg bar that is real deep. I dig it. SSM Bridging German Suplex for two! Takano is Roaring. Wicked Brunzell-like dropkick. Choshu saves the pin. Top rope splash by Takano! Nonstop action. Choshu is saving all the time. Takano dropkicks SSM! Miscommunication in Japan! Choshu is a House On Fire! Small packages abound. Scorpion Deathlock Choshu tells Iizuka to block but Iizuka sucks and Takano dropkicks Choshu. The champs double teams Choshu! Iizuka saves! SSM Diving Headbutt for two as Iizuka saves. Takano/SSM are going to do the Hart Foundation Double Team Irish Whip. Iizuka TACKLES SSM out of nowhere. CHOSHU LARIAOTOOOOOOO! 1-2-No! Huge pop crowd loved it so did I! Choshu hits another Lariat to win as Iizuka held SSM at bay. New tag champs. Excellent story of Iizuka being a plucky rookie. He makes saves but also makes mistakes. Choshu was a badass muthafucka but eventually the numbers got to him and his rookie bailed him out long enough to hit two Choshu-sized Lariats to win. They combined this with nonstop action. Super Strong Machine & George Takano what a Tag Team! ****

IWGP Tag Team Champions Riki Choshu & Masa Saito vs Super Strong Machine & George Takano - NJPW 3/16/89 Even with a very high finish (13/175) in the NJPW 80s Project this is not a match you hear about a lot. Choshu & Saito are two of the greatest pro wrestlers who ever lived. Top native heels battling the likes of Inoki & Fujinami throughout the 80s. While to be frank, Supet Strong Machine (Junji Hirata) & George Takano (fka Cobra) looks like the greatest 80s New Japan jobber team. I don't know enough about 80s NJPW booking but there definitely seems to be a large gap in stardom here. But what Takano & SSM lack in star power they make up for in piss & vinegar. The beginning of the match is to establish pecking order. Choshu & Saito beat Takano like a government mule, slams, strikes and sleepers. Takano drives Choshu into SSM to get the tag. SSM can hold his own with the heel superteam taking both Choshu & Saito on the mat and coming out ok. Saito frustrated starts to smack him. SSM powers up and holds him for a top rope spinning heel kick from Takano. We come to find out Takano only has one offensive move hurling his body at his opponent in the form of spinning heel kick. Takano is fired the fuck up. He is ready to prove himself. Saito Suplex quells the rally. They expose the turnbuckle and bust Takano wide open gushing blood. CHOSHU LARIAT! Saito stiffs the fuck out of him. Takano is a bloody mess. Choshu Scorpion Deathlock...SSM LARIAT! Akira bar the door It is breaking down in Yokohama! TAKANO DIVES FOR THE TAG! SSM is a house on fire lariats and dropkicks! Choshu takes a flat back to avoid the lariat and hits how own BIG Lariat. Windup Lariat...1-2...Bloody Takano dives for save. Saito Suplex on SSM for two. The heels are pouring it on. SSM makes Tag...SPINNING HEEL KICK! Go George Go! Another one! DROPKICKS! PLANCHA! Nobody is home! Lol! That was a great jobber moment. Saito beats the shit out of him. SSM comes flying in your screen onto Saito. The count is on. SSM dives from the top rope onto Saito CHAOS! Takano back in he beats the count! The jobbers win WAIT THEY WON THE TITLES!!! This one of the great badass heels vs lead face/plucky underdog matches. Takano takes a lickin but keeps on tickin. Bloody he is still fired up at the end of the match! A wild finish! Great upset victory! ****1/2

Big Van Vader vs Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW 4/24/89 IWGP Tournament Finals On a night of fantastic matches, this wins match of the night for me, just two of the greatest asskickers of all time going shot for shot. Hashimoto knows the strategy against Vader never deviates from the opening bell attack the left arm, attack the left arm, attack the left arm. Vader plays keeps away early but Hashimoto wrenches it and Vader screams in pain. Vader gets the ropes. He baits Hashimoto by dangling his bad arm and then hits a wicked spinning back fist to rock the young upstart. Vader smothers Hashimoto on the ropes and then on the mat. Hashimoto fights to his feet but Vader hits him with a straight right and then a lariat that sends Hashimoto out of the ring. Hashimoto is able to collect himself and when he gets back in the ring starts kicking the bad arm. Double wrist lock and Vader is hollering out with painful screams. Hashimoto gets a two count back on their feet Hashimoto tees off with kicks. Vader's selling here reminds me of Brock. Vader flaying wildly in pain and then just hits that wild swinging bear paw to quash the rally. Hashimoto rolls to outside while Vader collapses on the ropes and his second Rheingains massages the injured arm. Great pro wrestling! You can always tell when Vader is really injured by how quickly he goes for covers. Once they square up again straight front kick, Irish Whip, Vader Splash in corner for two. Boom! Safe, economical. Use his weight gets a quick cover. Goes right back to it this time Hashimoto moves and drives left arm to buckle. INSANE HEAT for Hashimoto doing the over the shoulder armbreaker. Vader body slams out of the double wrist lock. Then VADER HITS THE MOTHER OF ALL DROPKICKS! The Big Man has got ups! Vader deviates from his safe, economical to go up top and is caught by a HUGE SPINNING HEEL KICK! Crowd goes wild! Can the kid do it? CROSS-ARMBREAKER!!! Vader powers out. Hashimoto rifles Vader's arm with kicks. BANG! Vader KNOCKS Hashimoto the fuck out with a right. Two monster lariats (it is a little anti-climatic and Thesz fucks up the count if they just went to the pin after the KO right I think that would have been better) and the Man They Call Vader wins his first IWGP Championship. Man if you watch this with no backstory you never know this was Hashimoto's first big chance at the main event. Had the poise of veteran. Great offense from him never relented on the arm. He built some big time heat for himself. That cross armbreaker had me believing. But his selling ruled that sell of that KO right wow! Vader rules! Busting out shit like that spinning back fist and dropkick shows his variety! Here not feeding and bumping but focusing on selling that arm and kicking ass. Boy did he kick some serious ass! Match of the year contender in a fucking loaded year. These two rule! ****3/4

Shinya Hashimoto vs Victor Zangiev - NJPW 4/24/89 Big night for Soviet Shooters as the main event of this Dome show, sees a tall Georgian Judoka beat Inoki clean for the WWF Martial Arts Championship. A very tall Judoka getting the mega-push to main eventing a Dome show, Inoki I think you got a type. :p Ive seen this before and all I got to say is believe the hype. Definitely in contention for best sub-ten minute match ever. Soviet shooters rule and we need Fedor to go pro. Zangiev is the actual Russian Bear and his coach has one helluva unibrow. It is really to Hashimoto's credit that he never gets exposed by these shooters. He takes his licks but he never looks lost or unworthy of being in the ring. Zangiev takes him down at will. The overhead belly to belly into the side mount double wrist lock is positively RINGS. Hashimoto's sell is pitched perfectly. Besides catching Zangiev on the jaw with a kick this is all Zangiev with big throws like the Fisherman Suplex and Hashimoto avoiding the submission. Zangiev fun escape from a headscissors draws a big pop from the Japanese faithful. Hashimoto spits at Zangiev which on the surface seems like a bad idea. Zangiev is pissed and rips off another overhead belly to belly, but Hashimoto absorbs and rattles Zangiev in the corner to set up SPIN HEEL KICK. Zangiev is out and the Figure-4 leg lock gets a submission victory for young Hashimoto. While Muta is getting over in America, Hashimoto made it to the finals of this Dome tournament going over Choshu and this Soviet badass. Not too bad for a kid. Amazing RINGS-style match, big win for Hashimoto! ****1/4

Big Van Vader vs Tatsumi Fujinami - NJPW 4/24/89 Vader had been in New Japan less than two years at this point but what a veteran performance from the Mastodon. As I mentioned in their match from February, which Vader won, Fujinami vacated the IWGP Championship ahead of this Tokyo Dome tournament. This is a semi-final match and to my understanding the personal series is 1-1. Absolute classic Vader performance the domination but the feeding for Fujinami to keep the match balanced. The amazing verbal selling. This is peak Vader. He is in there with a man argue as the GOAT but you can take your eyes off Vader. Vader smokes Fujinami early with a back Suplex on a headlock attempt by the Dragon. Fujinami sells well. Vader is using his mass to dominate Fujinami just big shots and muscling him around. He is talking so much shit. It is glorious. But he feeds Fujinami too: a vertical Suplex and a dropkick that Vader takes a back flip over the top rope. Vader is such selfless wrestler. Back in test of strength, Fujinami uses two hands on Vader's one. Vader gets a Drop toehold and a beautiful one at that. Vader rules! Vader is just dominating and Fujinami looks out of options. Vader just clobbers Fujinami in the corner. Fujinami fires up with big strikes of his own just as he gets the Mastodon reeling he goes after the injured left arm. I have seen this match before and liked but seeing Vader vs Inoki III really enhanced this viewing. You can still see the scar from Vader vs Inoki III on his arm. It shows how important context is. Vader gives a masterful performance. Hollering in pain immediately as Fujinami wrenches into a cross armbreaker. The way he immediately goes into offense like a wounded bear is great only to feed Fujinami a Suplex. 1-2-Vader powers out and out to the floor. He chose flight that time in fight or flight. Back in the ring, Fujinami goes right for the left arm. Top wrist lock and Vader bellows "Goddamnit". Vader with a nasty, powerful arm drag takeover. Mack Truck Lariat! Watch Fujinami's sell so damn good. It is Vaders power vs Fujinami attack on arm. He gets more kicks in but as he falls back on a cross armbreaker he triggers a rope break. Vader is able to smash him. HUGE VADER BODY SPLASH IN THE CORNER! Vader goes for a second misses. Armdrag! Dropkick! Bodyslam! Fujinami up top. Vader catches him hotshot. Vader looks to go for the kill but lariats the steel post with HIS BAD ARM! Fujinami throws Vaders bad wing into every steel object he can find. Back in he is fist pumping as the Dome roars. Fujiwara Armbar! You can actually buy this nearfall for Fujinami but Vader muscles out. Fujinami makes the boneheaded decision to sunset flip Vader. Dumb dumb dumb. Vader squashes him. Fujinami sells the hell out of it. Vader splash 1-2-3. Vader ruled in this. He is at his best when he plays Wounded Grizzly Bear. Vulnerable but incredibly dangerous. The arm was super effective in creating drama. You can see Vader desperately trying to end the match as soon as the arm psychology kicks in but can never string enough moves together. You really bite on that armbar. As soon as Vader squashes Fujinami he hits a splash and collects his win. Awesome pro wrestling really enhanced once you know the story behind the arm psychology. This is Vader 101 should be seen to understand why he is one of the all-time greats.****1/2

My post got eaten fuck! Nia/Rousey fucking ruled! Rousey is an awesome pro wrestler! Nia embraced her monster and went full Vader! Awesome match and match of the night easily. That was the gist of my post.

Becky is so much more over than her push! Huge fan and really hope that push starts to reflect her popularity

Big Show vs Floyd Mayweather - WrestleMania XXIV It is too bad that Mayweather does not do wrestling full time. He would be an amazing heel, which may be the most obvious thing ever said. He has great facial expressions. He does a great job vacillating between concerned and confident in the beginning. The size differential is staggering. Mayweather's confidence grows as he gets in some body shots and then a couple head shots. It is funny seeing Mayweather have to reach so high up to punch Big Show in the face. Mayweather drinks from a chalice. Big Show is pissed. He takes out one of Mayweather's goons. The fear is re-instilled in Mayweather. When Big Show stomps the hand of Money Mayweather, the selling from Mayweather is awesome. It was such a smart first offensive spot from Big Show. Mayweather TOOK THE OVERHEAD SLAP! WOW! Mayweather is writhing in pain. I have not watched this match since it happened ten years ago. Show Stands on him. Mayweather takes a side slam! WOW! Show big elbow drop. The crowd is super into this. Mayweather's entourage pulls him out and wants to walk out. Show chases and trucks an entourage member. Now Show brings Mayweather back in. Show drops another goon with a chokeslam, but that goon brought in a chair. Mayweather goes to town with the chair and cracks him in the head twice unprotected. Then he gets some brass knuckled and KO shot drops the Big Show. Great way to put over the heel celebrity but protect Big Show. People loved seeing Mayweather gets his ass kicked because we never see that in his shoot matches. It was cathartic. Great finish, awesome action movie spectacle. ****

Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania XXIV I'm sorry; I love this match. I'm a huge Ric Flair fan and this is the Greatest Hits of Ric Flair. Who has a better Greatest Hits than Flair? I was marking out for the Butterfly Suplex and Standing Vertical Suplex like it was 1986 baby! WOOOOOOOOO! I remember wanting to see this match so badly that I figured out how to illegally stream it on Michigan's computers. First time I had ever done anything like that. I would do for every subsequent WrestleMania until 2012 when I went in person. Flair's retirement was a huge deal to me at the time. I remember really liking the match and I still do. A very worthy match for the Greatest of All Time to go out on. Michaels slapping Flair after Flair gets in his face over Old Yeller is such a great moment. So many great leathery chops in this match. I love the sound of flesh on flesh. These two ripped into each other. Flair was busting out his signature spots, but he could not bump anymore so Michaels picked up the slack bumping for two, Flair Flip and that Asai Moonsault on the table WOW! That had to hurt! Flair looked great in the front half. Had his wind and cardio. I think the match was a little long. They should have done the bridge spot earlier and he was clearly blowed up by that time. The first Sweet Chin Music was great and the pop for the kick out was huge. I love Flair cheating like muthafucka for the rest of the match. Chop block and Figure-4. How can you not smile at Vintage Flair? Did I miss the Flair Flop? Was there no Flair Flop in his last match? After all the cheating, Flair is finally downed by Sweet Chin Music. He comes up with his fists clenched, but clearly can take no more. "Im sorry; I love you." ****

Chris Jericho vs CM Punk - RAW 12/22/08 Chris Jericho had a molten 2008 easily his career year while this was CM Punk's breakout WWE Year winning the Money In The Bank and World Championship. This is a random RAW midcard match that is a part of tournament to crown a number one contender for John Cena. This is the definition of a good match. There is nothing wrong with it, but nothing outstanding. CM Punk is an expert martial artist according to Michael Cole, which makes me laugh in 2018. Punk does have good kicks. Solid back and forth affair. I didn't like Jericho's counter from the G2S to Boston Crab at all. Punk gets a couple KO blows with a knee and a roundhouse kick to the head to make it look like he could win. Jericho hits a Codebreaker as Punk springboards in the air. I forget who hyped this match to me, but feel free to skip. It is good but nothing more, nothing less. ***

WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs Shawn Michaels - RAW 2/11/08 Physicality. When you think of these two you don't think of physicality, but they delivered a very physical match on a random RAW main event, non-title before No Way Out 2008. Shawn set the tone early with a fist bump then a knife-edge chop into a cover. He was not here to play nice with fellow babyface, Hardy, he was here to win. Michaels slaps Hardy on the outside and Hardy gives as good as he gets. Now both competitors that both mean business. The spot of the match is when Michaels does the Flair Flip and Hardy comes charging from behind to give him a hard shove that almost slams Michaels into the top of the post. It was raw and dangerous, but exciting. Michaels followed up with a THUNDEROUS Lariat that cut Hardy's lip. These two were going for broke. Michaels really became a great control wrestler in the latter stages of his career. I really like how he play on that conventional spot where you eat a boot from the middle rope. He stops short, grabs the leg and turns it into a single leg crab. Hardy made a good comeback based off a missed Top Rope Elbow Drop. Again watch how Hardy spears Michaels into the corner. It is not conventional. It is rough and tumble. I dig it. Hardy runs through his set up moves. Michaels interrupts before Twist of Fate to get in his sequence. Michaels wants to tune up the band Hardy blocks, but Michaels gets that cool inverted Figure-4 he used late in his career. It actually got a lot of heat. People bought into it. Hardy made the ropes. Twist of Fate->Swanton->1-2-3! Michaels does a clean job to Hardy. I mean they gotta make a bigger deal out of that shit. Great physical contest, solid compact finish run. One of those great random RAW main events that everybody has now forgotten. ***1/2

I got to see Sonya vs Asuka at a Boston House Show right before Mania. I'm a lucky, lucky man. I'm glad others are jumping aboard the Sonya Deville bandwagon. I've been a fan since she murdered Sasha Banks with that clothesline on a RAW last year.

The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania XXVI So I did something interesting I watched this match without having watched XXV in many years. I have not watched this one in many years. I wanted to see how well this stands on its own. I would say very, very well indeed. These are not two legends coasting on their reputations, WrestleMania, and the fact this is a retirement. They built a classic from the ground up using the fundamentals of what makes pro wrestling great. Two men struggling to win a contest. I LOVED the urgency at the beginning of this match. Both men were 45, but they were explosive at the outset. I think they did a great job explaining why each slowed down. For Michaels it was the constant shots to the head and for Undertaker is the unfortunate jamming of his knee on Old School. The urgency at the beginning was refreshing and really felt like two of the best vying to win a crucial match. What I loved about the next portion is that it took about five minutes for Shawn to really injure Taker's leg. He had to EARN that advantage. Taker kept him at bay with his reach using those big jabs to keep Michaels at a distance or his size to bully Michaels around. Michaels for his part was as pugnacious as a bulldog and was going for the leg at every opportunity. Michaels sealed that deal with a figure-4 and then heel hook. Now you believe the match is anyone's ballgame. It will be the big bombs of Taker vs Michaels' attack on the leg. I thought they did a magnificent job down the stretch with each nearfall. It would be easy to fall prey to "My Turn, Your Turn", excessive nearfalls or way too much down time. They paced it perfectly. The Tombstone on the outside was awesome. A big moment, but since it happened on the outside something that Michaels can come back from. The Last Ride into a facebuster due to the bum wheel was great. That first Sweet Chin Music, holy shit, did everyone in attendance bite on that or what! The crowd went nuts for that. The Sweet Chin Music/Moonsault through the table combo was a great Holy Shit spot to send Michaels out on a high note. A sort of salute to the great career he had. Then it was time one more Sweet Chin Music to get that one last nearfall for the Heartbreak Kid. He has nothing left to do but try it again, but this time it is the Chokeslam. We all know the story from there. The Tombstone kickout, the cinematic ending with the defiant Michaels pulling up on Taker and slashing his throat and then Taker giving him the BIGGEST TOMBSTONE EVER! First half was great. Lots of energy early they came with good in-match storyline reasons why it slowed down. The finishing stretch was perfectly paced. They were some nitpicks here and there about transitions especially in holds that keep it up from the full monty, but this is easily the 2010 WWE Match of the Year. I have one last critically acclaimed FUTEN tag team match to watch before I decide if this was 2010 match of the year, but definitely has a good shot. It will be interesting to see if this makes by Top 100 matches. Stellar WrestleMania Main Event, hard to ask for a better one. ****3/4

I'm All In! Excited beyond words at the prospect of this. Good luck!

Micro, interesting take! I remember all Cena vs Punk matches very fondly. Will be rewatching them soon (before the end of the year hopefully lol). Ill let you know. WWE Champion Rey Mysterio vs John Cena - RAW 7/25/11 Ahhhhh the Summer of 2011, the last time RAW was actually must-see. The Summer of Punk had me on the edge on my seat and it was he only time in recent memory I felt the need to watch RAW in real-time. It is too bad they could not sustain that momentum. If you are like me, you may misremember the details around this match. This is NOT the finals to crown a new WWE Champion. Rey Mysterio had already defeated The Miz earlier in the night for that distinction, but John Cena was oddly not included in the tournament. So the former champion is challenging the new Champion for the title on the very night he won it. Excellent babyface vs babyface match. Lawler made a great point on commentary that no punches were thrown in this match. That speaks to the respect these two men have for each other. Kudos to the King. Excellent Power vs Speed dynamic. No one is going to confuse John Cena and Yoshiaki Fujiwara, but work with me here. I just happened to watch a Fujiwara match last night. I thought Cena was wrestling a lot like Fujiwara in the sense of great defense. John Cena knew he can absorb more of Rey's blows than Rey can withstand his power moves. So Cena waited for Rey to take chances before he would shoulder tackle him or clothesline him or powerslam him hard on a 619 attempt. Cena never made himself vulnerable, but Rey has to make himself vulnerable and that's when Cena pounced. Great job, John! That powerslam I mentioned was the turning point. Cena made a point to drive the offense. At some point, he needed to win the match and after taking Rey's shots and getting in his own, he went on offense. Now Rey is a great defensive wrestler in his own right and that's normally his game. Keeping his opponents off balance with speed & agility. Rey kept thwarting at every pass of his standard Cena comeback. The highwater mark of this was when Rey reversed into an STF. Cena sold well and even when got free couldn't do the FU because his bum wheel. His injured leg caused him to end up in the ropes. 6-1-9! Rey went for the splash that won him the title earlier in the night, but ate knees, but Cena has injured knees. Everyone is hurt! Rey goes for 619 again and Cena hits the FU for the win! CM Punk returns and this sets up the Title vs Title Showdown at Summerslam. Awesome dream match here. Neither one heeled it up. This shows how you can have an exciting respectful babyface vs babyface title match. Cena looked awesome in this, great power and selling. Really made Rey look like a million bucks. Rey was on point flying when he was supposed and eating power when necessary. Strong finish run even if the finish itself felt very conventional. In a company that puts offense first, these two put defense first and respected the differences of each other style to culminate in an excellent bout for the WWE Championship. ****1/4

CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio - Over The Limit 2010 Hair vs SXE Pledge After lopsided wager matches, this is the culmination with each putting up the thing they put up in the previous matches. I don't like this style of building to a finale, but I get it. I also wish Rey was putting up his mask instead, but I need to let that go. By far and away, this is their best match together and they really put together a WWE classic here. Watching the first two matches, you got the sense that two great workers were putting on good matches, but they weren't finding that the next gear to really push it. Well if you gonna save it, best save it for the grand finale. Rey's shine is pretty good early on as he drives Punk into the barricade off a rana. That becomes an important plot point, but lets table that for now. Rey Rey goes for the 619 but Punk cuts him off. Rey goes for his classic bellyflop bump. Only one problem there is a fucking barber's chair there. HOLY SHIT! My eyes got so wide and I audibly gasped. Rey went head first hard into the barber chair. Great Holy Shit bump. Meanwhile, Punk cant capitalize. Why? He is bleeding and because this is 2010 the medical trainer has to come in. I was really racking my brain where that could have happened. Plus this is 2010 the height of when blood was taboo. So I was trying to think of where it could have happened. The announcers think it was the barricade. Yep, Punk bladed. I am like 99% sure, no way that could cut you and where it was in the hairline. Classic bladejob. Good for them to add some color. Also given Punk's Jesus look the blood trickling down and pooling in this eyes was an awesome visual. Rey finally returns to the ring and PUNK EXPLODES! Great intensity from Punk here. Putting an absolute whuppin' on Rey Rey. This was the intensity that was missing from their previous matches. Great spot with Barber chair, Punk bleeding and intensity this is what they needed to get over. The finish stretch I thought was a great melding of their moves with lots of drama coming down the stretch. I really thought Rey brought the excitement. CM Punk brought the edge and attitude. CM Punk cutting off the 619 with WELCOME TO CHICAGO MUTHAFUCKER Backbreaker was great. Just a emphatic quashing of Rey's high speed rally. Punk goes for the Go 2 Sleep which he can never seen to hit. When Rey tries to counter, he powerbombs Rey into the buckles and hits a wicked kick to the head of Mysterio. Cole does a great job reminding us that Rey may suffered a head injury running into the barber chair. Good for Cole that was an important plot point and adds to the nearfall. Punk really wants the G2S, but again Rey shimmies out of it. 619! Drop a Dime? No instead he bellyflops on nuthin but canvas. Punk thinks he has this won. Sloppy cover...Rey rolls him into an Oklahoma Side Roll 1-2-3! Punk is aghast! Great facial expression there. Here comes the SES. Kane saves. This was during the time when Kane was consumed with eating Rey Mysterio. The details are foggy but I distinctly remember a promo after this where Kane intimates that he ate Rey Mysterio. Rey handcuffs Punk. This may go down as the greatest shaving ever. You got Punk bleeding, writhing in shame and Rey giving him one of the worst, patchy hair cuts ever with all the black hair everywhere. Great satisfying ending. To me the post- match puts this over the top. Punk does a great job being ashamed and humiliated. The blood helps a lot too. The match itself had big time spots that are memorable, great character work from Punk (intensity, arrogance and shame) and a finish run that keeps you on your toes. Right up there with the Jericho match as a Rey match that shows the WWE midcard could have great matches. ****1/2