Bierschwale

The Bed of Nails match is also incredibly weird and equally great & terrible.

Katayama was paralyzed from the neck down after a match in '92 from a dive that went awry.

Navigational/NOAH Style "King's Road" but with workers whose wrestling style is more influenced by modern lucha than anything. Nobody's really having Undertaker matches. I would also call Kenny Omega the first true pseudo-intellectual in wrestling history. Great at doing things that seem smart but aren't intuitive and don't stand up to thinking about them outside of their vacuum. The Rainmaker spot from Dominion is one. Why wouldn't he just deadweight himself rather than have Okada bring him to his feet and THEN cause Okada to miss by "collapsing"?

Excellent!

Perez is one of the most entertaining workers of the '90s. Obscenely versatile.

Damn, I wanna see pre-Z1 Fugo Fugo. But I guess that the Lancashire stuff is lost.

10/8/91 AIW Sunday Transmission TV (for 10/13/91) West Bradley Place Chicago, IL X) Backstage, AIW Championship Committee member Ricky Romero announced the 12-man field for the tournament to crown the first-ever AIW Light Heavyweight Champion. It would include 2 Cold Scorpio, Blue Panther, Eddie Guerrero, Owen Hart, The Lightning Kid, Jerry Lynn, Dean Malenko, Joe Malenko, Misterioso, Naoki Sano, Minoru Suzuki, & John Tatum. The triangle elimination match final would be held at Hallowed Ground with quarterfinal and semifinal matches to be held on Transmission TV episodes into the runup starting with next Saturday's episode. 1) Debbie Combs defeats Mima Shimoda via submission after applying a Figure Four Leglock. (6:02) X) Terry Gordy, joined by Jeff Jarrett and Buddy Landel, came out to voice his displeasure at having to wait for Rick Rude to receive his rematch to get his own shot at the AIW Heavyweight Championship, but that he would gladly take his time to let the two of them "beat each other half to death" so he could just reap the rewards at Hallowed Ground, where he WOULD officially take his title match. For the time being, however, he wanted to conduct some "Cartel business and crack a few skulls" and called out any three men in the locker room to face off with him, Jarrett, & Landel, which was met with the ever-ominous site of the Samoan Death Squad. 2) Fatu, The Great Kokina, & Samu vs. Terry Gordy, Jeff Jarrett, & Buddy Landel ended in a time-limit draw. After the match ended, TNT & The Headhunters rushed the ring and attacked the SDS, who were then faced by Tatanka and the Youngbloods in a now-signature uncontrollable West Bradley Place brawl. (15:00) 3) Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat defeat Bam Bam Bigelow & Black Magic via pinfall by Kroffat on Bigelow after a release German suplex by Furnas followed by a senton bomb by Kroffat. (14:55)

Plus some of them had tons of fun gaijin, W*ING & IWA being the most obvious, with the Puerto Ricans & Headhunters, the slasher gimmick guys, a light heavyweight tournament in W*ING that had fuckin' Jimmy Del Ray and motherfuckin' Bill Dundee. Tokyo Pro might be slightly better-known but even a classic ECW staple like Sabu-Scorpio is better on a card with a Yoji Anjo-Takashi Ishikawa match second from the top.

Just ask the Young Bucks.

NOMINATING KUSHIDA vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (RevPro, 4/13): Just an excellently-worked technical title match. None of either's guys most prominent weaknesses showed up, and with two guys this talented, that just means really good wrestling. I like "really good wrestling". YES to ParK-Rush. It had a "ParK in 2017" finish, sure, but why would you possibly care about that anymore? Two of the most charismatic wrestlers anywhere of the last twenty years just shutting down the building. Such a great match.

The Lesnar title match is GREAT.

10/8/91 AIW Saturday Transmission TV (for 10/12/91) West Bradley Place Chicago, IL X) A photographic recap of the Hellbound main event was shown, including the savage attack and expulsion of The Lightning Kid & Jerry Lynn from the Gold Club. AIW Commissioner Adrian Street said that he knew what had to be done and made the match that had to happen: The Lightning Kid vs. Rick Rude at Hallowed Ground, with stipulations to be determined, as he knew that both men would want their own say in affairs. Street didn't confirm that Rude had forfeited a rematch with Steve Williams for the Heavyweight Championship but that with Terry Gordy having to be named #1 contender after his assault on Chris Benoit, Rude wouldn't be able to claim his challenge at least until Gordy had his own match with Williams, and Gordy had refused to say what he wanted for his match. 1) Lord Steven Regal & Squire David Taylor defeat Chris Youngblood & Mark Youngblood via submission after Taylor applied a cravat hold on Chris Youngblood. (4:35) X) A backstage interview between Boni Blackstone and Rick Rude was held. Rude was his usual self, betraying no guilt or emotion over his actions on the previous Sunday. He called the Kid an "ungrateful little punk" and Lynn "nothing but a babysitter". He said that he looked forward to the Hallowed Ground match and humiliating the Kid in their shared hometown of Minneapolis, but that he'd be sure to inflict more pain to both men before then, and revealed that the main event today would be him taking on Jerry Lynn, but one-on-one, with neither man allowed to have any kind of managerial assistance. 2) Frank Andersson (w/ Bob Backlund) defeats Bull Pain via pinfall after a Northern Lights suplex. Backlund quickly rushed the ring after the match ended to hop onto the microphone and take credit for his new "discovery" and "possible protege", though he did also say that he thought that Andersson could have made quicker work of his opponent. (5:51) 3) Doug Gilbert (w/ Eddie Gilbert) defeats Brian Christopher via pinfall after a piledriver. Eddie was surprisingly apologetic to his younger brother after his victory, stating that his burgeoning career as one of the primary members of AIW's commentary team had been keeping Doug down, and that he deserved a chance to shine on his own. Doug rebuffed this, and told Eddie that his goal was to make the Gilbert family name proud yet again by winning the AIW Tag Team Championship at some point in the near-future, "with no disrespect to our friends in the Pan-Am Connection". (5:17) X) A backstage interview between Boni Blackstone and The Lightning Kid was held. The Kid was completely unlike his former stable leader and mentor, saying that he was willing to do anything that Rude wanted because he trusted him, and that he had even asked Rude if he should take the match at Hellbound against Minoru Suzuki just minutes before the contest because he wanted to do everything that he could to help Rude retain. Rude told him that it was his duty both to take the match and work as his second after it, even telling him that he didn't trust John Tatum to get the job done right or for Paul Orndorff to not put any of his own self-interests first. He asked again before the match was to begin, and was told by Rude that after Orndorff & Tatum had lost in the eight-man tag team match that followed the Kid's victory over Suzuki that "they were losers" and that he "couldn't afford having a loser in his corner". Rude had no respect for anyone affiliated with their group, and took advantage of the Kid's self-described "own stupidity". The Kid was more than happy to take the match at Hallowed Ground, but also admitted to being unsure about how competitive he could be against Rude, though that in the end it wouldn't matter much anyway, because "lightning only has to strike once". 4) Rick Rude defeats Jerry Lynn via pinfall after a Rude Awakening. Lynn seemed to give it his all, even reversing a Tombstone piledriver attempt into one of his own, which only garnered him a two-count. It was clear that Lynn felt just as betrayed as the Kid did, seeming as though he was going to pop Rude's entire right arm out of its socket during many attempts at viciously wringing the arm. Rude suffered through the pain and used as many cheap shots as he could, wanting to belittle Lynn and show him that he wasn't anywhere near the former champion's level as a competitor. The match was long and intense, but one error by Lynn, missing a guillotine leg drop that surely would have won him the match, was all that it took for Rude to hit his trademark hangman's neckbreaker. After the match, he summoned Orndorff & Tatum, who seemed unfazed by the Kid having revealed the candid remarks made to him by Rude about the pair, because their thirst for blood was unquenchable. Rude and Tatum delivered most of the post-match beatdown with Orndorff skulking around, knowing that the Kid wouldn't be able to stand idly by. But the remaining senior Gold Club members were wrong, as the new AIW Heavyweight Champion "Dr. Death" Steve Williams stormed the ring instead, looking as inspired for violence as he had been on the day on which he had just won the title, quickly disposing of both Orndorff and Tatum and turning his attention to a seemingly shocked Rude. He told Rude that he wasn't "like [Rude] in one single bit" and that he relished the chance to be a true fighting champion, and citing precedent used by Rude with the AIW champion's privileges over match stipulations, challenged Rude to a match with only a single-fall to be bound only by TV time limit constraints on October 20. Rude immediately agreed, confident in his ability to take back "his" title. Williams paced a little bit, still seething, before surprising Rude by extending his arm for a handshake, as the crowd slowly erupted in cheers. Rude was slightly perplexed, but accepted it, only to then try a sucker punch on Williams that the champ saw coming which left Rude prone for a devastating Doctor Bomb. And as if all to a plan that Rude would have concocted himself, we found out why the West Bradley Place crowd had erupted in cheers, as ascendent on the nearest turnbuckle was The Lightning Kid, who had walked out during Williams's challenge to Rude, and proceeded to deliver a guillotine leg drop of his own to the downed Gold Club leader. The episode faded to black with Williams helping both the Kid & Lynn back up, with the dismantled Rude at their feet. (17:58)

In AIW, a long-term goal is, indeed, "No Benoit tragedy, somehow". But yeah, I'm with this.

I've had that main event stuck in my head for over a year now, sorry if it's a little bit long.

10/6/91 AIW Hellbound Odeum Pavilion Villa Park, IL 1) Mariko Yoshida defeats Mima Shimoda via submission with a Scorpion Death Lock. (7:09) 2) Jerry Lynn defeats Brady Boone via pinfall after a Tombstone piledriver. (8:13) 3) Owen Hart defeats Naoki Sano via pinfall after a moonsault press. (12:48) 4) 2 Cold Scorpio defeats John Tatum via pinfall after a 450 splash. (9:52) 5) The Headhunters (Manuel & Victor) and Wayne Shamrock & Victor Zangiev defeat Frank Andersson & Bob Backlund, The Wild Bunch (Billy Black & Joel Deaton), and The Youngbloods (Chris & Mark) to advance to the finals. The Youngbloods were eliminated by The Wild Bunch's Billy Black via pinfall on Mark Youngblood after a moonsault press (6:18), Andersson & Backlund were eliminated by The Headhunters via pinfall after a double powerbomb on Andersson as Backlund was nonchalant in helping his rookie teammate escape the predicament (7:23), and The Wild Bunch were eliminated via pinfall by Victor on Black after his overconfidence allowed him to take too long in setting up a moonsault on Victor, who knocked him from the top rope, and then picked him up to deliver an inverted powerslam (9:43). The unlikely pairing of Shamrock & Zangiev was apparently made by AIW Commissioner Adrian Street in order to ally two of his most talented competitors whose rivalry has already become infamous. They seemed to mutually agree on primarily staying out of the match, allowing the Headhunters to run the show. (10:00) 6) The Can-Am Express (Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat) and The Samoan Death Squad (Fatu & Samu) defeat The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal & Squire David Taylor), The Commoner Kings (Danny Boy Collins & Fit Finlay), and The Gilbert Brothers (Doug & Eddie). The Commoner Kings & The Gilbert Brothers were simultaneously eliminated by The SDS via pinfall (Fatu on Doug Gilbert, Samu on Collins) after near-identically powerfully delivered lariats (4:58). The Blue Bloods were eliminated via submission by Samu on Regal after applying a Camel Clutch-like sleeperhold (8:10). The Death Squad were out for blood and the Can-Am Express, not unlike Shamrock & Zangiev with the Headhunters, wisely allowed them free rein and only initiated a fight within the final minute as a desperation attempt to ambush the possibly-tiring Samoans but without result. (10:00) 7) Eddie Guerrero defeats Volador via pinfall after a powerbomb. (9:29) 8) Blue Panther vs. Misterioso ends in a time limit draw; because of this and having won previous matches that were part of the selection process, both men were ensured spots in the upcoming tournament but both desperately wanted to have been able to eliminate the other man from consideration that only after the intervention of several referees did they stop fighting. (15:00) 9) The Lightning Kid defeats Minoru Suzuki via pinfall after a guillotine leg drop; the vicious Suzuki had targeted that leg throughout the match and the Kid seemed to be the obvious worse-for-wear after the match that nearly went to a time-limit draw, something that the Kid might not have been able to afford after a previous draw with 2 Cold Scorpio. He was greeted the also-victorious Jerry Lynn after the match, who helped him to the back, but the Kid's pronounced limp was clear for all to see. (14:49) 10) Bam Bam Bigelow, Black Magic, The Great Kokina, & Tatanka defeat Terry Funk, Jeff Jarrett, Buddy Landel, & Paul Orndorff via submission after Magic applied a Boston Crab on Orndorff. (10:52) 11) Terry Gordy defeats Chris Benoit in a Falls Count Anywhere match via referee stoppage after Gordy hit yet another piledriver on the floor onto Benoit, attempted a pinfall but pulled Benoit up after a 2 count seeing Benoit's right leg spasm and tremble. After this, he dragged Benoit back to the ring, and tied him to the outside of the ringpost with a camera cable, then subsequently delivered three devastating chair shots. Seeing that Gordy no longer had interest in conventionally winning the match, the referee called for the bell in order to end it, calling for Vice Commissioner Ricky Romero to come out and talk sense into Gordy. Gordy said that he'd only stop if he was named #1 contender for the AIW Heavyweight Championship on the spot, to which Romero acquiesced. (13:02) 12) The Can-Am Express won the Superseries final to become the #1 contenders to the AIW Tag Team Championship via pinfall by Kroffat on Shamrock after a senton bomb. The Headhunters and The Samoan Death Squad were eliminated relatively early after their bloodfeud that had began the month before at The Unheard Music overtook the four men who started the match and brawled into the crowd (3:46), leaving the intriguing matchup of the well-tuned Can-Ams against the first-time team of Shamrock & Zangiev, all four of whom were well-rested after not having to exert much in their respective qualifiers. Shamrock & Zangiev wrestled a tight amateur style to keep the Can-Ams from using their exceptional all-around athleticism, but a missed tag left Shamrock prone to a double-team attack which Zangiev was unable to stop. Tag after tag by Furnas & Kroffat kept Shamrock worn out, but he seized his moment after Furnas missed a dropkick and tagged in Zangiev, who proceeded to wreak havoc. The referee seemed to let the action continue unabated as neither team had truly broken a rule by having both members in the center of the ring for long, but Shamrock had only dragged himself into the corner. After having gotten back some of his strength, he tagged himself in and charged at Kroffat, who was the legal man, in the opposite corner as the match broke down. The climax came after a miscue of sorts between Shamrock & Zangiev, too close to one another as Shamrock was caught in the crossfire after Zangiev hit one of his trademark overhead suplexes on Furnas, whose boots caught Shamrock in the side of the head, knocking him out nearly clean. Kroffat had seen it coming and ducked out of the way, allowing for him to deliver a pair of superkicks and a Tiger Driver to Zangiev. Furnas had enough left in him to block Zangiev's path forward as Kroffat ascended to the top rope to deliver the maneuver that would subsequently end the match. After the Can-Ams left, Zangiev and Shamrock both rose to stare directly at each other. They shook hands as Shamrock asked for a microphone and called for one final encounter between the two, with no holds barred, to which Zangiev approvingly nodded. (15:07) 13) Steve Williams (w/ Owen Hart) defeats Rick Rude (w/ The Lightning Kid) to win the AIW Heavyweight Championship in a steel cage match after pinning Rude with a Doctor Bomb and then escaping the cage. Each man had selected a second to help with the cage door. As the cage was being lowered, Rude stated on the house microphone that he knew that he could trust the Kid most of any Gold Club member because he was the one who most loved and admired Rude, and that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he did ANYTHING to potentially cost Rude the win and the title. The stipulation that Rude couldn't win by pinfall or submission seemed to at first throw Rude off of his game, until he first went for a low blow and a Rude Awakening that came far too early in the match, only getting a 2-count. "Dr. Death" was running on pure adrenaline and kept Rude away from the cage door, but couldn't get an opportunity to hit one of his biggest moves that could give him his needed pinfall before leaving the cage. Rude attempted to try a rope-a-dope strategy, knowing that he was strong enough to take anything other than a knockout blow, and if he could just have an exhausted Williams, that the match was his. A pure and simple fight without much in the way of wrestling maneuvers ensued as both men were busted open after meeting the cyclone mesh of the steel cage. Rude went for another cheapshot and landed it, with a punt right to Williams's shins and a stomp on the groin. He knew that the win was his, and called for the Kid to open the door as he slowly and confidently sauntered to that side of the cage, as the Kid struggled to climb even the three steps needed for him to be at ring level. As he, per Rude's verbal instruction, slowly opened the door, Hart rushed him, and the Kid tried to use his pivot foot to kick at him but to little avail. Rude sensed danger ensuing and started to run towards the door, even getting his right leg through the ropes, but as he did, Hart finally pulled the Kid from the cage door by grabbing his leg out from under his leg, which caused the cage door to violently swing back and hit Rude right in the face. The Kid was in shock as he tried to fight his way back up, but Hart had his number. Rude was dazed and trapped in the ropes as the beast that is Williams finally arose, seeming as fresh as a daisy. He picked Rude up, ran straight ahead into the opposite corner to deliver a brutal Oklahoma Stampede, and then pulled him back up to deliver his new signature gutwrench powerbomb for the pin. Even with an open cage door and Hart there to fend off the Kid, he took no time to bask in his potential victory and rushed for the door, exiting and getting down the stairs like a sprint. Allies like Bam Bam Bigelow and Eddie Guerrero came out to congratulate Williams as he was presented with the title. A devastated Kid dragged his carcass into the cage over to Rude, and tried to revive him. Rude reached his feet to immediately strike the kid down and throw him into the cage, leaving his face a deep crimson. He kept putting the boots to him, and as Jerry Lynn ran to save his tag team partner, he was ambushed by Paul Orndorff & John Tatum, leaving him a wreck on the ramp. The two walked into the cage and joined Rude in his beatdown until they dragged him to the center of the ring as the cage structure began to rise up to the rafters. (20:56)

This might be my very favorite pure bell-to-bell match ever, because of how it works in both kayfabe and reality. Togo is brilliant and proves it better than he had ever before or since, giving Honda some utterly amazing selling on his armwork. But Honda does so many little perfect things, like how he rolls over Togo's back after an early leglock. He does SO MANY little things that are just him knowing that Togo taught him everything he has and that he just has to make up for that, his lack of athleticism, the fact that he knows that he's not as good as Dick, SOMEHOW. Those wild swinging punchdrunk hooks. And of course that amazing tope. And Togo absolutely pulls off some small but canny moves in the early going that just seem wonderful, like the kick to the gut/bodyscissors combo because he knows, of course, that Honda is not a sterling athlete. If you do a close reading on a match you like, you'll always scope things that you like just because you want extra reasons, but Honda's GREAT Dragon suplex that he can't immediately bridge is a PERFECT nearfall. Even the cover is beautiful, with Togo giving Honda the respect to do the crossover double leg hook even though the Pedigree/senton combo is obviously enough to win it. It's a great Southern match, it's a great lucha match, it's a great puro match, it's a great "champ vs. champ" match, it's a great "who's the better man" match, it's a great "student vs. teacher" match. Just a great match. Also, we are REALLY lucky to get the version we have without commentary, because it 1) enhances the match so, so much with this being such a snug, tight match AND 2) there's something just incredible about the way that the opening of "Insane in the Membrane" hits almost immediately after the bell as this perfect release of pressure. Add in the really good secondships by Daisuke Sasaki for Honda & Yasu Urano for Togo and it's a great atmosphere/presentation.

NOMINATING: Dominic Garrini vs. Cain Justice (CWF Mid-Atlantic, 2/25). A match completely unique for 2017 between two guys with ~2 years experience between them. Intense, entertaining, short, and just cool as hell. YES to: D. Lee-Takahashi. The snake and the mongoose are simply meant to fight. It is the natural order, and they must also adapt, adding in new variations of now classic spots and just bringing a truly palpable sense of danger in the name of winning.

It seriously is, even though I'm going to have to give a few guys up. Though some are in odd situations that I can borrow from RL in order to keep them around. Example, and it isn't a spoiler, but how the MVC left WCW in '92 because their AJPW deals were more important than being stars for the affiliate of AJPW's rival. Well, say with this, plus Baba putting his foot down very early that they'd need to work with AIW as their American company, that they just never go to WCW in the first place. Other stuff will take... creativity.

I want matches to more often have the inverse build than the traditional one with limbwork, where it's instead a secondary measure and it's used after trying to just win without an explicit strategy, like something that's a card in your backpocket, and when the limb should be weaker from just the regular action of the match.

As always, I like specific feedback.

The match's actual end might be a little underwhelming, but I love the continuous brawling and how great it works as brothers vs. brothers.

9/24/91 AIW Transmission TV (for 10/5/91) West Bradley Place Chicago, IL X) AIW Commissioner Adrian Street called both AIW Champion Rick Rude and #1 contender Steve Williams to the ring in order to determine the official rules of the cage match at Hellbound. Rude demanded that it be escape-only, while Williams stated his preference for it to be pinfall/knockout/submission. Street said that while he was loathing the prospect of allowing Rude a champion's advantage, that he would, but with his own caveat; if Rude wanted it to be escape-only, then it would be... for him. He could not win the match through pinfall, knockout, or submission, but he COULD put Williams down a fall. Williams would have to register at least one in-ring fall AND escape the cage to win. If Rude got an in-ring fall on him, then he would need two in-ring falls in order to win, and so on. Rude seemed confident enough about his chances, while Williams maintained a somewhat stoic glare at Rude throughout the conference, betraying nothing about his own belief that he would win on Sunday. Street then announced a Captain's Choice ten-man tag team match would main event this Transmission, with Rude and Williams each picking four other men as teammates. 1) The Great Kokina (w/ Fatu, Samu, & Tatanka) defeats Warren Bianchi via pinfall after a chokeslam. After the match, Tatanka declared that he would accept the offer to become a Death Squad associate, and that he was willing to dedicate himself to DS domination of AIW. (1:23) 2) Blue Panther defeats Chris Candido via pinfall after La Martinete. Panther seemed to be in the midst of mania throughout his match, sensing that the opportunity to become an AIW champion may never be greater than if he could guarantee his acceptance into any possible Light Heavyweight tournament. (4:24) 3) Misterioso defeats Scotty Anthony via pinfall after a senton bomb. Misterioso was the opposite of his arch-nemesis in Panther, seeming calm and concentrating on fluidity of movement, seeing that as his path forward to tournament acceptance, just pipping Panther's time in-ring against Candido. (4:22) 4) Headhunter Manuel & Headhunter Victor (w/ TNT) defeat Apocalypse & Destruction via pinfall by Victor on both men after a top rope splash with the two Blackhearts stacked on top of eachother. Speaking for his Caribbean brothers, TNT stated that they would be entering the super-series for #1 contendership to the AIW Tag Team Championship. (3:30) 5) Black Magic, Eddie Guerrero, Owen Hart, Bob Holly, & Steve Williams defeat Paul Orndorff, Lord Steven Regal, Rick Rude, John Tatum, & Squire David Taylor (w/ The Lightning Kid & Jerry Lynn) via pinfall by Williams on Tatum after a sitout gutwrench powerbomb; after dragging Tatum out of the ring, The Gold Club rushed to the back as Team Williams were able to stand tall. (20:14)

9/24/91 AIW Transmission TV (for 9/28/91) West Bradley Place Chicago, IL D) Bob Backlund defeats Frank Andersson via pinfall after a leaping piledriver (6:10) D) Doug Gilbert & Eddie Gilbert defeat Brian Christopher & Tony Williams via pinfall by Eddie on Williams after a Hot Shot (7:58) 1) Jerry Lynn defeats Barry Houston via pinfall after a guillotine leg drop (4:52) 2) 2 Cold Scorpio vs. The Lightning Kid ends in a time-limit draw (15:00) 3) Naoki Sano defeats Jeff Jarrett via pinfall after a bridging Tiger suplex (9:41) 4) Chris Benoit vs. Buddy Landel (w/ Terry Funk) ends in a double countout after Funk distracted the referee long enough for Landel to pull Benoit out of the ring and into a chase, which was all a setup for Terry Gordy to ambush Benoit in revenge for the previous week's attack. Bam Bam Bigelow, Eddie Guerrero, & Owen Hart came out to defend their ally in Benoit, leaving the scene in chaos as the episode ended (6:17)