Jetlag

I just did a YouTube search and there are well over 20 matches of his there. On this list of euro tapes, he shows up 36 times. He also had a couple matches in IWE and NJPW that made tape. I think he may also show up in some newly discovered matches through the Richard Land patreon. So I'd round it up to around 40-50 matches on tape.

Did a post about Tadao Yasuda today https://reverseviperhold.blogspot.com/2026/02/rip-tadao-yasuda.html He really does have a lot of great sprints. He was absolute magic in the 1999 G1 and the crowds loved him dearly. That match against Kojima felt surprisingly epic. Yasuda getting fired up while selling his damaged shoulder and trying to somehow get a win was better than almost anything I've seen in 2025. He is remembered for the coward shooter/Inokiist thing but plucky veteran sumo underdog Yasuda who will palm strike the shit out of you is also quite great.

Masakazu Fukuda Incredibly talented guy whose career was unfortunately cut very short by his tragic passing. That said, Fukuda was quite great pretty much from the get go, and he stood out in a big way with his gangly physique and unique style. I would say he kinda wrestled like Tamon Honda before Tamon Honda wrestled like Tamon Honda, just a unique grappler with a knack for cool submissions and nifty suplexes, and not afraid to scrap hard. Apparently his background was sumo and he was even in the RINGS dojo for a bit. Lots of little gem performance from him working WYF, MUGA or NJPW, with the WYF vs Buko Dojo feud being an obvious standout as well as pushing Liger to the limit or having a mat classic with Osamu Nishimura. Really wish I could find footage of his sole appearance in Germany which sounds fantastic too. Recommendations: vs Osamu Nishimura, NJPW/MUGA 5/15/1998 w KAMIKAZE vs Yoshikazu Taru & Takashi Okamura, WYF 4/29/1997 vs Kazuhiko Shoda, NJPW7MUGA 12/8/1998 Super Taira Big fan of Taira who is a really cool stylish indy wrestler that blends shootstyle with lucharesu. Footage of him is hard to come by but pretty much whenever he shows up he's a highlight with his unique approach and not afraid to go insanely hard even in obscure settings like KAGEKI or JWA Tokai. Since he became a regular Sportiva appearance he's looked consistently great while also showing up for free on the internet. I'm also really fond of his match series with Yasushi Sato. He's been around all the way since 1992, and he's definitely someone to look out for because from what I can tell he's always great. Recommended matches: vs Yasushi Sato, JWA Tokai 6/18/2017 vs Kenta Kosugi, Sportiva 10/30/2024 w Cosmo Soldier vs Koji Niizumi & Kitai Kubo, KAGEKI 2/27/2011 Konaka Incredibly unique wrestler who is both a mat genius but also a worshipper of old school match psychology and an immediate standout with his ghoulish appearance and eccentric style. It says enough that he came from the amateur-scene but became one of the most outstanding and most booked wrestlers on the japanese indy scene. Totally capable wrestler who always makes things interesting just by being who he is, and he's in a number of great matches both going at it with technical wrestling masters but also carrying lesser wrestlers. He does his comedy side personas and there's also the fact we don't have many of greatest matches due to Ustream blowing up (I am still praying for a copy of his ironman match with Yasushi Sato to show up somehow). Still Konaka is one of those guys who make me immensely happy to be a wrestling fan. Recommended matches: vs Sae, Sportiva 5/11/2022 vs Taro Yamada, Sportiva 7/5/2015 vs Yasushi Sato, Sportiva 7/21/2018 Chon Shiryu Great, great wrestler as he's basically the Bobby Eaton of the Japanese indy scene all while working an insane gimmick. It's honestly crazy how good he is as I've seen him do multiple styles and roles, from sympathetic Rey Mysterio-like underdog face with unique spots, to working as a sleazy rudo, to hitting the mat in a lengthy grappling clinic, to garbage brawling, to working a psycho bumpfest in a sportsbar. And he does all that while being himself, and all that for well over 20 years now, and the man doesn't seem to slow down. Throw him in the ring with someone half-trained on a tiny show in a basement somewhere and he'll still give you a memorable match. If that's not the sign of an amazing wrestler I don't know what is, but he does have his share of genuinely great matches too. I love his signature spots but the fact he has great substance really makes him great. Recommended matches: vs Masa Takanashi, Choco Pro 1/22/2022 vs Samas, Hot Shushu 5/6/2024 vs Kiku, Ice Ribbon 5/6/2023 Yoichi Shinmei / Yacchae Seven The former ace of the JWA Tokai scene from 25 years ago recently came back in his old age. Very athletic guy who can still go hard. Clearly he's a worshipper of Mitsuharu Misawa with those hard elbows he likes to throw and sometimes downright imitating finishes from famous Misawa matches but I think the way he puts everything together is pretty unique and makes him standout on his own. Clearly a super gifted wrestler who can go like no tomorrow and strikes me as one of the better wrestlers in Japan during his prime. Recommended Matches: w Yuta Oya vs Ali Najima & Masanori Watanabe, Sportiva 20/22/2025 vs Super Taira, Sportiva 3/6/2024 vs Konaka, Sportiva 6/5/2024 Kazuki Niimura/Grappler ASUKA/ASKA Somewhat legendary obscure figure from the Japanese 'amateur-pro wrestling' scene. As far as I can tell a super talented shoot stylist who was consistently a big highlight in that scene with his unrelenting submissions and brutal strikes with a few outstanding matches under his belt. His wider career is a bit of a mystery as he have almost nothing from him in other places like JWA Kansai or even Osaka Pro, though I'd love for more of that stuff to be uncovered somehow. Recommended Matches: vs Tadanobu Fujisawa, K-WEST 2/18/2010 w Fumitake Nakano vs Buffalo Sakata & Yoshiyuki Watanabe, JWA Tokai 8/29/1993 vs Takaku Fuke, JWA Tokai 1/18/2009

When he gets serious he is awesome. Really great at matches with blood, mask ripping and chippiness. Nothing like an angry clown shoot punching and kicking people. But between that... boy oh boy, he is in a lot of hick comedy matches. A compilation of serious Kamen matches would be awesome though. He was also quite fun before he put on the mask but not entirely at the point of greatness yet.

It's a short peak due to her leaving for the states really cutting down her output, though I'd say she was still fun in the US from what I've seen. That said, I'd rather watch a Sumie Sakai match over many other wrestlers. The Yabushita series is great.

But could he keep up with the likes of Okada and Will Ospreay?

Probably WALTER, since he went from an outsider indy guy to top guy in the biggest company on earth, I would assume. For similiar reasons: Eddie Kingston, Hechicero, Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Kana/Asuka, Zack Sabre Jr, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Darby Allin, Bryan Danielson (though his stock was already quite high the last time around). Darlings outside the biggest feds that I would guess have garnered quite a bit of hype: Sareee, Takumi Iroha, Chihiro Hashimoto, Fuminoru Abe, Takuya Nomura In my personal estimation: Yasushi Sato, Blue Panther, Keita Yano, GENTARO, Hiroshi Watanabe (just based on the work they've done in the past 10 years)

Always thought Greg Valentine carrying this lame fake native american to a series of great matches had to be among the crown achievements in Greg Valentines review.

https://reverseviperhold.blogspot.com/2025/11/of-all-things-look-at-tony-garea.html I had fun with this one. Yes, this man Tony Garea is insanely bland, but let's not denigrate him by comparing him to the likes of Dean Malenko. Garea knows how to get fired up and always knows what to do in a match. And this 70s/early 80s workrate stuff of leapfrogs and armdrags and fast bumping heels is fun. That 1982 tag against Rodz and Estrada really is great. I couldn't even find the George Steele matches. Tho I do wonder if Garea ever looked like the best guy in any of these matches. To place him on a Top 100 is a massive stretch to say the least, but one could do worse than spend an afternoon watching old Tony Garea. Also, apparently this guys a kiwi? How is OJ not yet on the case?!

Brian Kendrick hasn't received any comments since February of 2016. A bit unfortunate that the last voting commenced at that time, because just in June 2016, the Cruiserweight Classic would happen and Brian Kendrick was doing some undeniably great work that everyone loved. Really interesting guy because he brought a bit more of a psychologically sound and gritty edge into the modern era cruiserweight era. He is still bubbling around on the indy scene and I'd actually be interested to look into some of that work, as he's had quite the lengthy and solid career.

Wait, so we can't vote on someone if they haven't got a comment since 2016?

You've got these two badly confused. Wagner is the taller German, and Dave Morgan is the shorter Brit, who notably spent a lot of time as a globe trotter and eventually settled in Germany. Wagners reputation as a worker really wasn't very good.

So I actually emailed the Swiss and Monaco TV archive about this stuff... Swiss archivers said they don't have them archived because the reels were purchased from elsewhere. So that confirms the suspicion from earlier, that these were probably French bouts purchased for Swiss TV. Monaco archive said they had some reels but they degraded while in storage and ended up unusable. Apparently they have 1 20 minute match that can be viewed on their premises but that's it, and they didn't specify what it was. Otherwise just newsreel type clips. Bummer, but makes me appreciate the French archiving effort more.