Superstar Sleeze

Man, I am all over the place with this match Dustin Rhodes vs Jake The Snake Roberts - WCW Saturday Night 9/26/92 Terrific traditional pro wrestling match! Bruno said he was impressed with how mature Dustin was and I want to echo those sentiments. Dustin looked like a seasoned veteran in there. There was a point where Jake had him in a wristlock and he just threw Jake down. That takes gumption and aggression. Dustin came to play. I loved Jake throwing rights missing and Dustin tagging him back. They did such a great job working the arm. They kept the match moving back and in out of the arm work with the arm work being a touchstone. Jake selling by biting his fingers and rolling to the outside was great. Incredibly effective opening half even without many highspots it was very engaging. Jake does the whole trick knee and eventually catches Dustin with a right when the ref was separating them. I want to give kudos to Bruno here. JR says Jake outsmarted Dustin. Bruno points out Jake outsmarted the ref, Dustin was trying to keep the pressure on Jake and was not fooled. Great job Bruno! Jake does a great job focusing on Dustin's throat once he throws him to the outside. Everything was focused on the throat. In a sleeper, Dustin armdrags out and Jake clotheslines him right in the throat. At one point Jake has to use his bad arm and he wrings it. Love it! Jake signals for the DDT, Dustin reverses into a short arm clothesline. Jake tries to maintain his advantage but Dustin explodes out of the corner with a lariat. Big pop! I like how Dustin earned this comeback. BULLDOG! Too close to the ropes. Dustin has think he has won it. Kick to the back and DDT 1-2-3! Dustin was in that prime young up and comer spot where you believe he can get the upset but it is not the end of the world if he loses. Great Jake match very cerebral and lo-fi. Dustin looked wise beyond his years. Not in love with the I thought I won only to get DDT'd finish, but still a fantastic match and an excellent showcase of pro wrestling fundamentals. ***3/4

Dustin Rhodes vs Cactus Jack - WCW Main Event 9/6/92 I could have sworn I had seen this before but I guess not. Great 7 minute brawl here. I think Falls Count Anywhere is a tough match to work especially back then with no Jumbotron. The crowd heat for a Falls Count Anywhere is never gonna be that great. Some of the cutesy Cactus spots to get over the gimmick like the inside cradle by Dustin and then sunset flip from the apron didn't do much for me. Once it became about kicking the shit out of each other I really enjoyed this. Dustin has such a great punch and Cactus loves getting his ass kicked so this was a match made in heaven. Cactus takes over when he shoves Dustin into the post and then it the table suplex shot and then hitting Dustin in the head with a chair. Dustin is finally done when he takes his crazy bump over the top rope to the floor on bare concrete. Holy shit! I said it out loud. Cactus Elbow! Damn great definitive finish. Why the hell was Cactus not main eventing against Ron Simmons instead of training Barbarian. Somehow I convinced myself he was injured but that clearly cant be the case. Really showed the amazing young talent WCW had at this time. Great wild brawl on a random TV show. That is why I miss WCW is was just so fun & random. ***1/2

Vader vs Guardian Angel - Fall Brawl 94 Love their Spring Stampede match! This was not very good. Slow motion and kind of stilted. Vader moves way too soon on a spot and Bossman looks like an idiot jumping and clotheslining himself. Race is way too eager of a beaver on his spot. Vader clobbers Race. Bossman slam, but ref bump. Race is already back up and headbutts Bossman. Vader is up like nuthin and Vaderbomb for win. Not very good and very weird for these two. Vader vs Sting - Fall Brawl '94 Typical WCW over complication of rules, 15 minute time limit followed by 5 minutes of overtime followed by 5 minutes of sudden death. Whats the difference between overtime & regulation? At least sudden death is different and first man off his feet loses. First Fifteen Minutes: Typically awesome Vader vs Sting. Sting looked the best I ever seen him. Great energy. Perfect timing on his no-sells to really maximize the crowd pop. The vertical suplex on Vader was insane. His clotheslines looked great. Vader was a total beast in this. The way he took that German was incredible. I loved how each segment climaxed really well. At first Sting is defiant and refuses to be bullied by Vader. The crowd is loving this and Vader is selling his shock so well. Takes a bump off a dropkick, great idea for shine. Then Sting hits a brick wall. Vader goes for Vaderbomb early which plays into the fact he just had a match. Hits the first but on the second Sting kicks his ass literally. Vader fires back and gets back up for the second Vaderbomb but crashes and burns. Great mini-comeback for Sting. That clothesline to the outside was ferocious. He suplexes Race on the floor. Insane vertical on Vader. Stinger Splash from the Top Rope eats knees. Vader's offense is always so credible and he misses the Vadersault this time. Sting with a Samoan Drop total deadlift. Wow! Then DAT GERMAN DOE~! Again a good climax to Sting's offense and Vader rallies with some big punches. That's the thing you always believe if Vader can get one punch to the head he can get right back into the match. Vader tries to work Sting over in the corner something we have seen a thousand times when all of sudden Sting is not flinching, he is starting to rally, the crowd comes alive! Sting battles back and Vader is reeling to the outside. It is Fall Brawl so there is a Wargames match and Vader reaches to the other ring. So Sting hits flying clotheslines from the top rope in the other ring. Crowd is rocking. Vader takes his usual slam from the top. Scorpion Deathlock! You gotta watch the people in the front row lose their shit only to realize we are going to overtime as Vader makes the ropes and the hold was never fully applied. Really hot opening stretch from these two old rivals. Five Minutes of Overtime: Match kinda grinds out here until sudden death. Not much in the way of nearfalls or heat. Sting just loses all momentum. Like he gave it his all at the end of those first fifteen and has nothing left in the tank. Vader hits a nice vertical. They fight a bunch on the top rope. Vader ends up hitting a powerslam, splash and then a POWERBOMB...1...2...TIME EXPIRES! Sting saved my bell. I liked the symmetry of Sting having Vader close to defeat in the first section and now the shoe is on the other foot. Still, they were just killing time to sudden death it feels like. Sudden Death: First Man off his feet loses. Very creative idea and in very WCW fashion is never implemented again. Super dramatic and really entertaining. Vader was a beast. Straps down. The look on his face. The intensity. Awesome. Sting was selling and stumbling like a champ. Vader's short arm clotheslines were awesome. Angel/Race brawl and Vader collapses after a collision. CROWD POPS HUGE! Masked Man Tonya Hardings the Stinger and when the ref turns around Vader is back up and Sting is down. In typical WCW fashion, Vader would not get his title shot until February of 1995. I loved the first fifteen minutes and Sudden Death is a great concept that should be used more. They only scratched the surface; imagine what you could do with bodyslam teases! If you skip the Overtime, this is a low-end US MOTYC, but the 5 minutes of Overtime did happen and does detract from the match a bit. Still a great caper to one of the all time best feuds in wrestling history. ****

"A middle finger in the face of adversity." He should have used the middle finger! I am only being partly facetious. I agree that is what they were going for without using the middle finger. But he should have done it in a different way besides laughing in my opinion. Still an excellent match of course. I agree with your booking analysis.

WCW World Tag Team Champions Hollywood Blonds vs Ric Flair & Arn Anderson - WCW Clash of the Champions XXIII A famous match because of the participants, Flair's WCW return match, how over the Blonds were and the Flair for the Old segment, however it is also famous for underwhelming. I watched this a looooooooooong time ago. Lets revisit it. First Fall: Flair is over! I mean he is over. He is wicked fun in the first fall. Working the apron like a madman. It is electric when he gets tagged in. Arn timed that tag so well. Arn/Pillman had a great opening sequence. Pillman is such a great little shit and he did a great job bumping for Arn. The Norfolk crowd started chanting We Want Flair and Arn let them have it. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Nature Boy in the House! It was chops and punches, but the energy and zing was great to watch. I loved how he kept grabbing Austin's mouth and nose and fishhooking him. Real dirty. Chop to Pillman on apron for good measure. The Terrible Towel ends up around Arn's throat. Arn snaps Pillman off the rope, but Austin attacks. Good heat segment with Arn fighting back a lot and providing energy to the heat segment. The Austin misses the rope straddle lands on his feet->camera taunt->Arn DDTs him was so seamless & beautiful. Arn tags in Flair, but gets clipped by Pillman. Flair is on fire. He is taking on both men and just kicking ass. Arn trips up Austin from the outside and Flair crossbodys Pillman for the three count and the first fall. Loved the first fall, wicked fun & energetic. Horsemen up 1-0. Second Fall: I LOVE Flair vs Pillman! I can never get enough of these two exchanging leather. WOOOOOOOOOO! I loved Flair Flip, runs the apron, SMOKES Pillman and then Austin takes a hard back elbow. Flair ends up taking a huge bump onto concrete. Really strong heat segment on Flair. Suplex on the floor and then throat first on the railing. I really enjoyed Flair fighting back but falling over before he can make the tag. Flair was phenomenal in this. Perfect balance of selling and coming back. Arn gets in and Austin is like all Hell No! Pillman clips the knee. I thought the knee work over Arn was great by the Blonds. Really great textbook stuff. Arn collapsing while running the ropes is always a favorite of mine. Just great work. The hot tag to Flair is insane. Flair JUMPS Austin before he gets through the ropes. He is just chopping everything that moves. The crowd erupts for the Figure-4, but here comes Windham to trigger the DQ. Paul Roma saves his Horsemen. Windham is cutting a damn good heel promo when Flair JUMPS HIM OUT OF NOWHERE! I love babyface Ric Flair. I kept waiting for this match to fall apart or disappoint but it never did. Austin/Pillman rocked it as heels: tons of cheating, stooging, and two great heat segments. Flair & Arn ruled here, good offense and energy. Flair was a madman you could tell he was pumped to be back down in South! I agree with everybody the booking keeps this from being a classic. They should have picked up a fall on Arn. Ultimately the match feels more incomplete than bad or disappointing. I had a lot of fun watching this. ***3/4

Cactus Jack vs Bobby Eaton - Worldwide 10/5/91 More random matches should start in the aisleway. Doesn't seem like there was a grudge as Tony just says this how you should fight Cactus by bringing it to him. Eaton hits a suplex on the floor and rams Cactus into the railing. Eaton's right, Oh Lordy, is it Sweet! Cactus hits a clothesline from the apron. He has improved his offense. I like his punches a lot here. He does a cool spot where he does the Stroke but puts Eaton's forearm over his face, which seems both nasty/safe at the same time. Eaton hits a home run right and Cactus sells it so well just falling back. Cactus takes a wicked head drop on exposed concrete. Eaton signals for the Alabama Jam, but Abby hits him with a kendo stick and Cactus picks up the win. A ton of fun packed into 5 minutes!

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair - Halloween Havoc 1994 Steel Cage, Career vs Career Match You can never accuse Hulk Hogan of being lazy or boring. His matches might be overly simplistic, but he always bring a ton of energy to his matches. I loved this up until the finish. They were just going full bore the entire time. They probably could have taken some time to let some things to breathe, but this was fun. Hogan was flying around, throwing punches, raking eyes and throwing Flair into the cage. Hogan had every right to be pissed at Flair because Flair Tonya Harding'd him. Flair got plenty of offense in to attacking the knee (which was injured by a Masked Man attack in August of '94), vertical suplex and chops. Hogan was always quick to come back and attack Flair with punches and slam him in cage. It actually gave the match a lot of excitement because it was so nip & tuck. I liked Flair crotching himself. The ending leg work was really damn good and the figure-4 was dramatic. Then overbooking kicked in with Mr. T ref bump. Sherri climbing the cage, mystery man nails Jimmy Hart & Sting with a pipe, Sherri loses her clothes. Sherri leaps off the cage onto the back of Hogan! Insane! Sherri taking all those bumps was crazy and amusing. She took the big boot. Great Hulk Up! Legdrop and 1-2-3! Flair is retired and WCW briskly moves into the future with Brutus Beefcake being revealed as Mystery Man and Kevin Sullivan & Earthquake (now Avalanche) attacking Hogan kicking off the ill-fated Dungeon of Doom storyline. The ending was some serious overbooking, but it was a really fun match. ***1/2

Dustin Rhodes vs Arn Anderson - Halloween Havoc 1994 Coming off the feel-good Wargames the previous month the Rhodes' family got their revenge on Parker's Studd Stable. I figured this would be the singles blowoff so that Dustin could get a big win over AA, but then I remembered Dustin was still feuding Parker & the Blacktop Bully when he left in early 1995. This was wrestled more like a fun TV match than a heated grudge match built over Double A turning on Dustin at Bash at the Beach in July. I liked the heel in peril at the beginning. Dustin had a counter for everything Arn threw at him. Arn suckerpunches him, he clobbers him. Arn tries to smash him into the post, Dustin moves and Arn hits his arm. It was a fun way for Dustin to earn his shine. Dustin takes an insane bump over the top rope clears the steel stairs and lands in the aisleway. That was wild. He really launched himself. Heat segment is wicked short. Dustin fires up after Arn rakes his face across the ropes. Good Southern slugfest, but just as it is heating up they go him. Dustin lariat gets two. Dustin hooks the ropes to avoid the DDT, which is in line with Dustin being prepared for Arn. Arn holds the ropes on a sunset flip, ref kicks off the arms, Dustin rolls him up for three. Arn lays him out after the match. Definite TV match feel, short, fun, babyface gets a solid win but heel lays him out. Which is weird because it should have been a blowoff. Not nearly as good as the '92 match, but still fun. ***

Great Sasuke, Super Delphin, Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa, Masato Yakushiji vs Kaientai DX - Michinoku Pro 12/16/96 Yakushiji is back! They sure saved the best for last. It is every awesome Michinoku Pro sequence done to perfection. I liked the addition of hate here. Taka and Hamada have a chippy exchange at the outset. Then Sasuke and Taka Michinoku just go at it. Sasuke ends up throwing Taka into the crowd and wiping out a bunch of chairs. Speaking of the crowd, they were electric popping for everything! I love things where earned this bout. Like Naniwa does his crabwalk and Taka dropkicks him out of the sky so Sasuke comes in and puts that Taka prick down and Naniwa hits his crabwalk. They earned that. The first half is just nothing fast-paced, full throttle action that does not let up. If you are going to do a spotfest then go balls to the wall like these guys! To me the match kicks into overdrive during the Sasuke heat segment. It is like all the other great Sasuke heat segment but they add in a CHAIRSHOT TO THE SKULL! It was bonkers! Spike Piledriver & Shieldbomb don't do it. Togo hits a massive German suplex on Yakushiji. Yakushiji tags out to Super Delphin who is a house of fire! Sasuke quebrada on Kaientai. It is breaking loose in Tulsa, BABY! They do that excellent chair throwing sequence from Inoki Festival. This time Yakushiji does not eat the pin but instead hits a dive to the outside. Crazy finish sees Gran Hamada winning the match with hurricanarana on Shiryu! MASSIVE POP! This crowd was raucous the whole time but they popped HUGE for the finish. It is the Greatest Hits of Michinoku Pro plus more hatred plus an insane crowd plus the babyfaces win = best Michinoku Pro match ever! ****3/4

Great Sasuke, Super Delphin, Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa & Tiger Mask IV vs Kaientai DX - Michinoku Pro 12/9/96 Elimination Rules The wrinkle in this match is elimination rules. I am going to miss Yakushiji. I want to echo what others have said about this feeling like all the great Dangerous Alliance six-mans of '92 as they are all fun but there is not sense of progression from match to match and they all seem to end with Dick Togo falling from the sky and hitting a Senton similar to Bobby Eaton's Alabama Jam ending many Dangerous Alliance contests. First elimination: My version has three minutes cut from the first ten minutes. I really enjoyed the opening lots of babyface shine. Usually these openings are much more even here we get TM IV overcoming the 5-on-1 hitting a suicide dive. Sasuke with an Asai moonsault, Hamada and Togo rolling to the outside in a stiff exchange, Naniwa and Taka teasing elimination. Really hot opening. I like the babyfaces giving Kaientai a taste of their own medicine by everyone grabbing a Funaki limb and cranking. Funaki submits to a Hamada single leg crab. Awesome opening fall! M-Pro Sekigun 5-4. Second Elimination: Shiryu gets trapped in a single leg crab by Sasuke. You think Kaientai would save since this is how Funaki just got eliminated. They tease throwing Shiryu over the top rope which would count for an elimination. Kaientai saves. Mens Teioh teases throwing TM IV out. TM IV wants an reverse crossbody but hesitates on the ropes and gets shoves out on his ass to be eliminated. Quick & dirty I like it. Tied 4-4. Third Elimination: They are flying now. Togo saves Shiryu from a Hamada cross armbreaker, but Hamada gets a pin off a hurricanarana on Shiryu. Kaientai is down to its Big Three. Hamada is killing it for his team. The heavy hitters Sasuke & Delphin have not had to do much yet. MPro Sekigun 4-3 Fourth Elimination: This is a biggie for Kaientai. Hamada had both eliminations for his team. Teioh is able to throw Hamada into Taka kneedrop. Taka hits not one but TWO Michinoku Drivers. Teioh & Togo run coverage as Taka pins Hamada. Big victory for Kaientai to even the odds. Tied 3-3. Fifth Elimination: Great 5-6 minute stretch of pro wrestling here. I loved Taka catching that back kick Sasuke uses to set up his Asai Moonsault and yank him down onto the apron. Then Taka hits an insane inside out springboard top rope Asai Moonsault to the floor, which does not count as an elimination. Glorious heat segment on Sasuke follows with everything targeting the head. Just beautiful heel work from Kaientai. Piledrivers, DDTs, brainbusters, the Kaientai pose and dropkick to the head. I bit on the Spike Piledriver hard especially since Kaientai knocked Delphin & Nainwa off the apron, but Sasuke kicked. Shieldbomb, but babyfaces save. Sasuke mounts a comeback! Quebrada on Taka! He has Kaientai reeling. Instead of tagging out, he goes for his back handspring crossbody, Dick Togo catches and uses the momentum to throw him over the top rope!!!! Love, love, love that! Kaientai goes up for the first time in the match and they take out the Ace of the Babyface Team. Kaientai 3-2. Sixth Elimination: Kaientai executes another great heat segment this time on Naniwa. Teioh plays Funaki in the Taka/Funaki double team sequence. Togo hits a massive German on Naniwa. Taka hits a Michinoku Driver and everytime Delfin saves. Delfin's hot tag is electric. He is definitely the best of the babyfaces at igniting a crowd. He eliminates Taka Michinoku with a Tiger Suplex! Huge! All knotted up. Delphin & Naniwa vs Dick Togo & MENS Teioh. Tied 2-2. Seventh Elimination: Babyfaces start off hot with dives to the outside. MENS Teioh almost catches Delphin by rolling through a top rope crossbody. Naniwa saves Delphin from certain doom by attacking Togo before he could hit the senton. Delphin looks ready to put away Teioh when Teioh hits with a low blow. Chokeslam 1-2-3! I think this seals the win for Kaientai as Naniwa is down 2-1. Kaientai 2-1. Eighth Elimination: DOOMSDAY DEVICE~! ON Naniwa! Wow! Togo picks up. Cardinal sin. Teioh hits Togo by accident. Blue Thunder Bomb by Naniwa on Teioh 1-2-3! Oh shit! Dick Togo vs Gran Naniwa. Tied 1-1. Ninth, Final Elimination: Naniwa gets a nearfall off the Blue Thunder Bomb, but this ends as you would expect Dick Togo Powerbomb, Dick Togo SENTON! 1-2-3! Kaientai Rules! I loved the elimination format helped give this match structure and sense of progression. ****1/4

Great Sasuke, Super Delphin, Gran Hamada, Naohiro Hoshikawa & Masato Yakushiji vs Kaientai DX - Inoki Festival 12/1/96 A showcase for Michinoku Pro at Festival promoted by Antonio Inoki. I thought this was definitively better than These Days (10/10, Sumo Hall). The biggest reason is this is about half as long as These Days making this much leaner & meaner. Second is Sasuke being in the match. Sasuke has great spots and is always willing to take helluva beating. But the real big thing is that Sasuke's star power. Everything is bigger with Sasuke & the stakes are so much higher. Sasuke is the baby face that takes most of the heat and all the trademark Kaientai spots. He really gave those guys the rub. Add in that he is only four months removed from his skull fracture and Kaientai focuses on his head. I really thought the leg drops on the bottom rope were nasty. He takes two piledrivers! I loved the Shieldbomb as the climax to this heat segment with the babyfaces saving Sasuke. Really great stuff, everything focused on the head. I thought the other traditional highspots were well-worked and mixed together well. The finish run was insane! Tons of dives and just great heated action. I love Sasuke attacking from doing his Senton and then jumps out the way when Teioh throws a chair which hits Togo. Sasuke hits an Asai Moonsault on Teioh. Yakushiji hits a great hurricanarana from top rope to a standing Togo and gets an awesome near fall. Togo crushes him with a powerbomb to win, but faces save. Powerbomb/Senton combo does him. Fun, lean spotfest with great psychology on Sasuke's head and lots of drama down the stretch highly recommended. Best M-Pro match I have seen yet. ****1/2

Super Delphin, Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa, Tiger Mask IV, Masato Yakushiji vs Kaientai DX (Dick Togo, Taka Michinoku, Sho Funaki, MENS Teioh & Shiryu) - Michinoku Pro 10/10/096 Here it is the most famous Michinoku Pro match. It takes place on their 3rd Anniversary Show at the Sumo Hall which did 7000, awesome for a Northeastern independent. Notable by his absence is Great Sasuke, who was not out due to his skull fracture at J-Crown, but rather he put himself in the legend's six-man tag. The main event was a "dream" match as Michinoku Pro's Jinsei Shinzaki (Hakushi) took on FMW's Hayabusa. First ten minutes: As customary in M-Pro, everyone pairs off. My favorite pairing was Gran Hamada vs Sho Funaki. Michinoku saves Funaki and they do this great bit where Hamada successfully fends off both and Taka hits Funaki. Good stuff. Also fun was Delphin doing the Rick Rude sell of an atomic drop and taking a huge bump into the second row. In the second round of match-ups, I thought Yakushiji really shined with some slick arm drags and ranas. TM IV vs Taka Michinoku is always great juniors shoot-style. Hamada vs Togo is great hard hitting action. The first ten minutes ends with Dick Togo hitting whisper in the wind on Naniwa. So far it has been very good. Waiting for them to kick it up a notch. Second ten minutes: It is interesting that Shiryu (who I feel is a lower tier member of Kaientai) is the one who swings things in Kaientai's favor. He gets a double leg takedown on Naniwa and it is off to the races with all the Kaientai staples. It is interesting that there is clearly a divide between Togo, Teioh, and Shiryu vs Taka & Funaki. Each group has their own double teams. I really liked how Funaki & Taka dropkicked Naniwa in the face before the Kaientai flex. I also thought it was interesting they burned through a lot of their spots early in the first heat segment. Naniwa tags out to Yakushiji who has looked the best for the babyfaces, really slick. Shiryu again takes over but this time Hamada saves. Hamada eats a spike piledriver so that's a Kaientai spot they saved. Hamada gets out and Naniwa stomps the balls of Funaki. TM IV gets trapped in the corner. The mask ripping didn't do much for me. Not enough struggle and where is the help. Still good but waiting for them to really go into overdrive. Final Minutes: I'll admit they lost me. Just a ton of spots. No real connective tissue. Things that I remember, row your boat lead to Delphin doing a rana pin in the middle. Triple stereo rana by Kaientai leading to triple stereo dives. Taka Michinoku's insane inside-out, springboard Asai moonsault. They do a bunch of pair offs for the finish run. It is a barrage of suplexes and flips that don't stick. I thought the finish was good with Delphin coming up short and Dick Togo powerbombing him & senton for the win. This would not be out of place at all in 2018. I think it would heralded as a classic. The more Michinoku Pro I watch the more I think this was the breeding ground of what workrate was to become by hybridizing the Stampede style, NJ Juniors and lucha into one insane style. I have seen better M-Pro and I hate to be a killjoy, but this just did not stick with me at all. I recognize there is a type of fan that would really like this and I did not hate it, but it did not wow me either. Also it was very long and I feel they could have made this a lot leaner. ***3/4

I have no idea how neoliberalism (I am a proud neoliberal) is being conflated with libertarianism. Neoliberalism believes in free market capitalism but also recognizes there are market failures. Market failures can take the form of, but are not limited to asymmetric information, moral hazard, and externalities. Neoliberal economists have every right to believe that free markets free of market failures are the most efficient. Free trade and de-regulation of electricity markets have shown that. However, in the case of market failures, neoliberal economists will cite the need for regulation. This is why neo-liberal economists will promote a carbon tax or a price floor for carbonaceous fuels because the negative externality of pollution is not captured in the price of burning carbon-based fuels. Furthermore, in response to the credit crunch of the late 2000s, regulation was passed to better regulate investment/commercial and the rating agencies (Moody's, Standard's & Poor's) which rate the assets. Libertarians, which tend to follow wacky Austrian School of Economics, believe in no regulation. Neocons believe in classical economics bullshit like the Laffer Curve. I love you all as pro wrestling fans, but jeez. Also I absolutely love that the fake Japanese guy on this board is championing the story of the fake Japanese wrestler as a tribute to Japan somehow being an open, tolerant culture. Give me a break, Rikidozan had to pretend to be Japanese because of how damn racist the Japanese were. It was the greatest work of all time, but lets not give Japan credit here for being an open, tolerant society when they were not. I am told things are better towards Koreans and Chinese now, but they were not then.

Re-reading my review, I agree a lot with what I said but I liked the match better this time having watched a lot more M-Pro. bWo Japan (Taka Michinoku, MENS Teioh, Dick Togo) vs Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Masato Yakushiji - ECW Barely Legal 1997 Very good touring match that I assumed help greatly in getting them a partnership with the WWF in the summer of 1997, which also ended up killing the promotion well that and Sasuke basically retiring. Sasuke has not looked his best in these American outings. He was willing to take a beating, but something felt off. He was not being his daredevil self. I thought Gran Hamada was good. There are times when he can be a mini-Tenryu and be all ornery and pissed off and other times he fades into the background, more of the latter here. The young Yakushiji actually carried the babyface side he was both the best face in peril and the best flier in the match. The crowd really popped for his highspots especially his great armdrags. Kaientai is badass as always. Taka Michinoku has so much charisma. Flipping off the crowd was great. bWo Japan just made so much sense I am glad they did it. So many good Kaientai double & triple teams and the ECW faithful was popping for all of them. The Mutants could be sick fucks, but they were mostly respectful of international styles so kudos to them. The classic Kaientai poses were great. Shieldbomb on Yakushiji. I really like this idea of the Shield watching old Kaientai matches and aspiring to be like them. They fuck up Shieldbomb with Sasuke. Sasuke hits his classic Asai Moonsault. Taka gets his CRAZY springboard splash. The finish stretch is good. Nothing too big until then end when Taka hits a springboard dropkick that even Ohtani would be jealous of on Sasuke and nails a Michinku Driver. 1-2-NO! Now we run through Sasuke's stuff, quebrada, HUGE Crucifix Powerbomb and finally Tiger Suplex. Lets be honest it was a total spotfest, it lacked a lot of structure that the other M-Pro matches had, but they were trying to get over with a new crowd and they did so by throwing out a ton of spots and they were great. Even it is not the best of M-Pro, you can appreciate by watching other M-Pro. ***1/2

Sub in Jeff Hardy for Orton & im there

I will happily eat crow. Tonight was a helluva Smackdown. We got three Smackdowns last year in New England, this one destroyed those by a country mile. Amazing show! Smackdown is so loaded. Watching the GOATs team up live was incredible. Seeing AJ wrestle live is always a treat but my God a Daniel Bryan hot tag! Samoa Joe is such a great promo, Benjamin vs Jeff Hardy was better than it should be. Did "This is Awful" chants during the Charlotte make TV? They finally found a worse chant than "This is awesome". Charlottes chops have improved leaps & bounds. Great heeling from Peyton. They could have not gone back to the armbar so much. It was a mediocre match calling it awful is a gross overstatement.

The Riott Squad was terrible. Looked like low-rent Mickey Mouse jobbers.

Been saying that since last Mania! Hope we get one

They moved NINETEEN wrestlers to RAW?!? What the fuck is the point? I somehow get stuck going to these awful shows all the time. I went to first Samckdown Live in Worcester where they had the draft in 2016. Then went to the Smackdown portion of last year's draft in Boston. Now going to Smackdown in Providence. These shows are so lame to attend live.

Great Sasuke vs Taka Michinoku - RAW 7/7/97 The PPV match is paced way better than this. If they landed all their highspots clean maybe this would contend but lots of misses. Sasuke's swandive looked great. Taka nearly kills himself on his flip springboard top rope moonsault. He does a top rope Asai Moonsault but in a rare WWF camera fuck up we miss it. Brian Christopher is on commentary and is insufferable with his Jimmy Hart laughing and terrible racist humor. Sasuke busts on the Flying Space Tiger Drop, but it is not his best. I liked that Taka went for the moonsault after the Michinoku Driver because it didn't kill off the move like at the PPV. Sasuke hits a monster Crucifix Powerbomb to win. It seems like Sasuke got the message that stiffness gets pops. Watch the PPV match too many misfires here.

Great Sasuke vs Taka Michinoku - WWF Canadian Stampede 1997 After a year, the WWF finally tries to respond to WCW's Cruiserweight division by striking up a partnership with Michinoku Pro. Great Sasuke as the founder/owner/biggest star of M-Pro he is a no brainer. I think Taka is the best of the M-Pro talent to bring over with him charisma, breath-taking highspots and good psychology. This a showcase/touring match like you would see out of Rey vs Psicosis. I enjoyed this one a lot and they won over a dead Calgary crowd. I will say at least Calgary was open to liking the match. They popped for the stiff spots. Sasuke NAILED Taka twice with two wicked kicks. Taka got Sasuke good with an open hand slap. Sasuke busted out his missile dropkick to the floor and Asai Moonsault while Taka had an insane running, top rope, springboard cross body. Wicked air. Michinoku Driver got a good reaction and Lawler marked out. Should have been the finish. Sasuke hit his usual finish sequence: quebrada, Crucifix Powerbomb and adds a Tiger Suplex. WWF was led to believe Sasuke was the star but it was clear Taka Michinoku had the charisma. He had a great smile that can be heart-warming and dickish. I enjoyed this a lot even if it was a no-selling, spotfest. ***1/2

I am surprised you guys didn't like this more. I have this as the best of the ones that are not the big three. Kaientai (Dick Togo, MENS Teioh, Shiryu) vs Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Super Delfin - Michinoku Pro 11/12/96 The World Famous Sportatorium is rocking for another rendition of Freebirds vs Von Erichs excuse me sorry, it is Michinoku Pro and this crowd is on fire for Kaientai vs The All Star Team of Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada & Super Delfin. Before the match, Hamada is honored. Ditch does not know why. I don't know why. This Japanese is absolutely electric. It reminds me of Freebirds vs Von Erichs. They actually BOO Kaientai. It is crazy. Any time someone takes a head shot at Sasuke they boo. Huge cheers for all three babyfaces as they are super over. Delfin is great at playing to the crowd. Lots of charisma. Hamada is in total asskicking mode, lots of hard chops and lariats. Sasuke is Sasuke, a sloppy nut. Kaientai is on point. Big FIP on Delfin working over his midsection after a MENs Teioh double stomp and gutbuster. Delfin makes it to the corner. They end up kicking Sasuke in the head. Crowd boos and Sasuke goes down in a heap. Just classic Kaientai here. All over Sasuke. Spike Piledriver was great. Shieldbomb from the top! They Shieldbomb Gran Hamada when he saves. Delphin makes a HOT AND I MEAN DOUBLE HOT TAG! Delphin was on fire here. Super over. He gets knocked out after trying for his special pin combo. Gran Hamada is on fire next. Sasuke helps out a little by crotching Togo on the top rope and hitting an Asai Moonsault on Shiryu to a huge pop. Gran Hamada's Tornado DDT and Top Rope Frankensteiner are super over! Hamada gets a huge pop for the rana out of the pop-up powerbomb. Sasuke & Delphin hit double missile dropkicks on Shiryu. Delphin wipes out Teioh, Hamada takes out Togo with a tornado DDT. Sasuke is left alone with Shiryu. Ballgame! Sasuke quebrada and then Crucifix Powerbomb 1-2-3 to a MASSIVE POP! I am a sucker for really over babyfaces with badass offense. The crowd ate this up with a spoon. The babyfaces delivered in spades with big offense down the stretch. Kaientai are just superb heels. The first 2/3rds of the match is all about making you want to see Kaientai get their asses beat. Sasuke's head injury got big time heat and he had some really great verbal selling. Delphin, Hamada and Sasuke all shined big time down the stretch. Awesome match! ****1/4

Kaientai (Dick Togo, Mens Teioh, Shiryu) vs Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada & Masato Yakaushiji - Michinoku Pro 10/19/96 A week after their big These Days show, the M-Pro boys are back in Northeast Japan in a small gymnasium tearing it up like only they do. I have never heard of Yakaushiji he is a young, skinny dude dressed up like the Red Power Ranger. This is original Kaientai. Very solid M-Pro match as I am beginning to learn the trademarks of the style and I finally think I am ready to watch the These Days match. I liked Kaientai coming in and triple teaming early and then all flexing. Good crowd brawling. From the handicap match against Sasuke & Delphin, it seems Kaientai was into eliminating Sasuke and letting his partners fend for themselves. Here Dick Togo throws Sasuke through a door and Sasuke never really recovers. Yakaushiji is a total tackling dummy but he has his moments. Hamada gets spike piledrivered trying to save him. Sasuke tries his best but is never really able to sustain offense. I really liked the second heat segment on the Red Power Ranger. They do some false tags. The Kaientai Pose. Some great offense. I am annoyed that Hamada just came into the match and took over. I know it is Lucha rules, but Yakaushiji never left the ring. Again Sasuke looks to build momentum but gets cut off. Sasuke & Dick Togo do the worst monkey flip known to man in this match. I don't know who is more at fault. Men's Teioh is a damn good wrestler. Good heel and great execution. Dick Togo throws a great German on the Red Power Ranger, who is a great tackling dummy. Red Power Ranger gets a suicide dive and Sasuke gets his swanton bomb to the outside. Hamada gets a top rope Frankensteiner inside but Mens Teioh saves. Teioh drops Sasuke on his injured head a couple times to good heat. Sasuke armdrags out of a chokeslam and quebrada gets two. Crucifix powerbomb! 1-2-no! Shiryu saves. Shiryu gets his Fisherman Buster. Mens Teioh punches Shiryu and Sasuke hits a back handspring elbow. YAKAUSHIJI HITS A MISSILE DROPKICK! TOP ROPE HURRICANARANA! CAN THE KID DO IT? 1-2-NO! Pop-up Powerbomb. The Kid is dead. LOOK OUT BELOW! SENTON! 1-2-3! Kaientia wins again! Really liked the ending with Yakaushiji & Dick Togo. The rest there were moment of greatness but they did not connect them, still an entertaining match. ***1/4

J-Crown Champion The Great Sasuke vs Ultimo Dragon - WAR 10/11/96 The rematch from the J-Crown Tournament finale where Sasuke cracked open his skull literally. I always think because of the injury Sasuke loses that match, but nope he is the inaugural J-Crown champion. I liked this better than their first match. The opening chain wrestling is so 90s, but so good. I think growing up in the 90s there is a certain comfort to watching this style of ground work focused on single leg pick-ups and fancy reversals. They do the 'ol Ultimo Dragon headstand in the corner and a great tumbling sequence where both miss spinwheel kicks. These are two of the best at 90s workrate, so fluid. Dragon focuses on the arm. Short arm scissors! Love it! Sasuke powders. Dragon does a quebrada just to show off. That's great! Sasuke goes for the leg and gets a deep single leg crab. Dragon makes the ropes and says play time is over. Drop Sasuke on his injured head with a brainbuster and then with a DDT! Crowd is pissed. Crowd is wicked pro-Sasuke probably due to him making his return. Dragon goes for another brainbuster and Sasuke gets an armbar takedown. After this the match gets a little spotty. Dragon does his usual ropes routine. Sasuke dropkicks him into the post. Sasuke hits a missile dropkick, which I guess is safer than the dive he did where he fractured his skull. Quebrada for Sasuke gets two. Dragon hits a dropkick as Sasuke comes off the top. Top Rope Frankensteiner & Running Ligerbomb win it for Dragon. Did not overstay its welcome. I thought Sasuke could have gotten a bigger nearfall to really put it over. The beginning was excellent and the flying was damn good too. ***3/4

I have begun watching Michinoku Pro from the 90s which is a blind spot for me. I know the general players, Great Sasuke, Super Delfin, Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo, but I still have no clue about the storylines. What I am most interested in is how Super Delphin turned babyface and linked up with Great Sasuke against the evil Kaientai? How did Kaientai form? How did Taka Michinoku & Sho Funaki join to create Kaientai DX? Basically any key angles or storyline developments from the beginning of the promotion in 1993 to Super Delphin & Co. leaving in 1999 would be much appreciated. Thanks!