Jetlag

The Kandori match was a disappointment, but Devil had a pretty decent run in JWP before the split: Devil Masami & Itsuki Yamazaki vs. Miss A & Harley Saito (8/12/1990) Rumi Kazama & Shinobu Kandori vs. Devil Masami & Itsuki Yamazaki (JWP 9/30/90) Devil Masami & Rumi Kazama vs. Miss A & Itsuki Yamazaki (JWP 4/26/1991)  Devil Masami & Hikari Fukuoka vs. Itsuki Yamazaki & Cuty Suzuki (JWP 5/25/1991) Harley Saito & Devil Masami vs. Dynamite Kansai & Madusa (JWP 12/7/1991) On the other hand, I was underwhelmed with most all of her singles match during that period. I've come around a bit on her post-prime work, since she is pretty effective in short matches as a bomb throwing monster. That said, people should watch all her stuff, and not just the hyped stuff, to assess her fairly.

He is undoubtedly a good worker and a nice breath of fresh air, as he is one of few guys nowadays who don't wrestle like a blatant ripoff. That said I've yet to see any match of his that blows me away and makes me think he's possibly one of the 100 greatest ever wrestlers. Him not having much to work with in the current landscape is probably a big part of the reason for that.

The last 5 years have been good to Franz in terms of new footage. We get a small stack of French TV appearances and some handhelds that I had never seen listed before. The highlights are obviously the chain matches, his match against Andre which is a real treasure, and an excellent performance against Robert Gastel (another name who probably should be nominated). New French material: JEAN FERRE VS FRANZ VAN BUYTEN (01/20/1968; 16:42) ANDRE BOLLET VS FRANZ VAN BUYTEN (01/01/1969; 38:42) FRANZ VAN BUYTEN VS JACQUES DE LASARTESSE (01/17/1972; 34:42) FRANZ VAN BUYTEN VS KARL SCHNEIDER (08/07/1977; 7:54) FRANZ VAN BUYTEN VS IVAN STROGOFF (08/08/1977; 25:51) IVAN STROGOFF & LE GRAND VLADIMIR VS FRANZ VAN BUYTEN & DANIEL VAN BUYTEN (08/14/1978; 48:15) FRANZ VAN BUYTEN VS BOB UFO (07/28/1984; 20:46) There is also another French 80s tag in that google drive. We got two chain matches, one against an ancient Lasartesse, and another against PCO of all people, both really good. My friend was also kind enough to upload nearly all the Hamburg handhelds. For someone with scarcely any footage available, Franz has a strong body of great matches to him.

Barely a week into the project and this is already a strong contender for my favourite exchange in the entire discourse

Yujiro Yamamoto has had a nice little ressurgence in recent times working good to great matches in his own promotion and other tiny places: Yujiro Yamamoto vs. KATSUO, Dounan Pro Wrestling(?) 3/31/2019 These two had a very good main event in Yamamotos BATTLE And ARTS promotion, so I was delighted to find another match between the two! The BAP match was a match built around Katsuo being a monster and demolishing Yamamoto. This was about Yamamoto picking apart Katsuo with shoot strikes and nasty arm stretches and Katsuo being a tough guy absorbing punishment and firing back with KO worthy potatoe lariats and headbutts of his own. One thing was constant: these two potatoed the daylights out of each other. Yamamoto is quite the offensive tank combining cool arm submissions with a variety of kicks, knees, elbows and open hand strikes. He even mixes in a cool Kido Clutch at one point. And Katsuo is really solid in his role. Fun fun match. Manabu Hara/Keita Yano vs. Yujiro Yamamoto/Katsuo, BAP 2/11/2020 SR: Fun indy main event tag built around the main matchup of Hara vs. Yamamoto. Those two had some slick U-Style exchanges early which really made me long for a straight shootstyle match between them. They are both a lot more beaten up than in their primes from 10 years ago, but they still had no problem throwing some surprisingly dangerous suplexes and really smacking each other. Yano, to my surprise, did not ruin the match. He was mostly kept out of it and his one brief run of offense consisted of some stretches which worked. I also enjoyed Katsuo once again as a crowbar trying to crack skulls. The finishing run was a bit of an indy run with shootstyle touches, so I dug it. The next BAP in 2021 is announced to have a Yamamoto/Hara main event, so let’s see if we can unlock that too. Yujiro Yamamoto vs. Katsuo, BAP 10/22/2019 SR: Katsuo is a Dragon System guy who used to be Cyber Kongcito. I assume he is Yamamoto's friend or owns the ring or something and that’s why he gets to be in the main event. Well, apparently he also works pretty high up the card at Hokuto Pro Wrestling (another indy that Hisakatsu Oya runs). He was this stocky guy in a singlet and a weird hairdo, kind of like a parallel universe Fugofugo Yumeji. And just like Fugofugo he was game to have a nasty slugfest. This was Katsuo laying a brutal WAR sized beating on Yamamoto, big chops, crowbar lariats, jaw loosening elbows and open hand strikes, skull cracking headbutts, the whole deal. By the end of it Yamamatos chest was a nasty shade of red and his bell seemed seriously rung. This had some back and forth strike exchanges, which can get tiresome, but I thought the purpose was to showcase Katsuo as a tough monster as he kept shrugging off Yamamotos attacks, so I bought into them. Yamamoto was working this not really like a shootstylist and more like an indy wrestler with a shootstyle gimmick, which I don’t like as much, but he timed his comebacks well and cut Katsuo down with some precise strikes of his own. Very suitable main event and I would like to see more of this Katsuo now. Yujiro Yamamoto vs. Sho Karasuno, RAW 1/2/2020(?) Yamamoto gets a shockingly good no ring match out of a local Masao Inoueish guy. Yamamoto looks insanely sharp here. Yuki Ishikawa vs. Yujiro Yamamoto 10/28/18 A nice reminescence to their great matches 10 or so years earlier.

He has had some good matches over the last couple years that stand out over the usual output, but man watching infinitely more violent 1950s French wrestling and WAR handhelds has killed my interest in guys like him.

KAORU vs. Aja Kong, GAEA 2/13/2000 w Maiko Matsumoto vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Akira Hokuto, GAEA 2/16/1997 vs. Mariko Yoshida, AJW 8/28/1994 The more KAORU I watch, the more she rises in my estimation as one of the top wrestlers of her era. Obviously one of the workers in the GAEA promotion. Really athletic wrestler, who has a knack for neat moments and well laid out wrestling matches. Looks great both standing up to established stars as well as working with the younger crew. Her match against Aja is a joshi Match of the Decade contender and makes me want to dig more into her 2000s work. I have to revisit her GAEA stuff too and dive deeper into her AJW work. Apparently, she's still wrestling, so that's also something to consider!?

Yoshidas AJW work is worth digging through. Even though she was not yet the spider lady, she was in some quite epic matches that were pretty different from the usual AJW material. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-poooLaCsxo

Probably the most regrettable thing I wrote in the last project, but it was before my ARSION megawatch if I recall Yoshida is a lock and probably Top 20 Japanese wrestlers of all time. She had a few good matches in places like AJW and IBUKI too. I want to go around and fill in the gaps and find some gems. The one regret is how hard ARSION buried her after 2000 or so.

You can try contacting European Catch/Wrestling Museum on Facebook. He is one of the best historians on European I know and he can probably tell you a few things about Italian wrestling. He will also likely be extremely grateful if you can send him some copies of your newspaper articles. You can also try contacting Loss (the admin of this board) to get access to all the French TV we have obtained which features many Italian wrestlers.

Carlos Amano Obscenely underrated worker who is like an almagation of all my favourite wrestling tropes. Hard headded, lithe agile grappler with innovative offense and a knack for cool moments. She has some impressive singles matches in many different promotions and I'm down to do a deeper dive into her work. vs. Mariko Yoshida, GAEA 4/30/2004 vs. Azumi Hyuga, JWP 9/23/1999 vs. Aja Kong, OZ 1/13/2008

I recall a match against Kumiko Maekawa in AJW a that you might particularily enjoy. She was pretty much a journeywoman popping up here and there.

Le Petit Prince If there is one French worker that absolutely everyone should check out, it's the Little Prince. An absolutely mindblowing athletic worker, who did stuff in his matches nobody in the world now could pull off half as cleanly. Makes the most agile luchadores look flat footed. What's more important is that he was also a tremendous babyface who always sells and works hard to have competitive matches. Looks great from the 1960s up to the 80s. Apparently he also had some TV matches in Britain that I'd love to see pop up in the next 5 years. La Petit Prince vs. Michel Saulnier 9/30/67 La Petit Prince vs. Michel Saulnier 10/4/69 Le Petit Prince/Francis Louis vs. Daniel Noced/Jacky Richard 2/22/71 Le Petit Prince vs. Albert Sanniez 10/15/77

Honestly? Shiozaki is among the wrestlers who killed my interest in Japanese wrestling. And in recent years he's looked way worse than as a young guy. At least the Fake Kobashi act had some charm.

I gave a pretty vague comment 5 years ago. I was mostly referring to the Mistico matches, and his various big matches he was having in from the mid 2000s onwards where it's always the same formula. Quick first two falls, then the same robotic finishing stretch built around 2.999999s with no build. I didn't even like the Atlantis match much. Having watched some of his earlier work, I gotta say he was actually a pretty decent worker from around 1998 to the early 2000s. I could see him being a legend if he had more matches in the classic lucha style.

One of the best women workers of the last two decades, although she suffered a hard dropoff with the decline of ARSION. From 1998-2002 she looked incredible. I still look forward to checking out more of her work in the "dark period". She actually reminds me of 2 Cold Scorpio a bit. Athletic worker with extremely sharp offense who can do it all.

He looks absolutely phenomenal in the Inoki match. Everything else I've seen him in has been solid to good, although I was hoping to find more like that performance. I know a weird guy who insists his match vs. Abby is the best thing AJPW did in the 70s. Apparently he was a big star in South Korea and I have a feint hope to see some of that stuff be unearthed sometime.

Great worker when it comes to killing the joshi scene and getting away with it. She's carryable when in the ring with a good worker, and can be pretty dreadful otherwise. I don't think she would make my Top 100 female wrestlers.

She looks good here and there, but she also often looks like every other piece of trash spot blowing no selling Toyota clone. The Maekawa match series is telling of this as some of these matches are good to great and some of them are abominations. Not really someone I consider among the best from an era that was struggling hard to begin with, but I am willing to be swayed with some recommendations.

She looks damn great in GAEA. Which is insane, because she was like a 17-18 year old girl at the time. Her intensity matches anyone in pro wrestling history. In some ways it's more intrigueing than her "prime" work, because her prime is mostly just her carrying lesser wrestlers, and in at that period she had settled less into a "routine". I've not really seen much talk about it and it's a crying shame. I can't remember where I had her last time but Meiko is cruising comfortably into my #1 spot for women wrestlers if I keep finding gems.

I wouldn't put Munenori Sawa anywhere near my list and I'm definitely not gonna put a Munenori Sawa imitator near it. There are so many cooler BattlARTS workers you could rip off, where's my Carl Greco imitator?

Nomura looks like the most talented guy in all of Japanese wrestling once in a while. Problem is he is stuck in a promotion that does fuck all with him, and usually working those robotic bloatsters which is probably the most boring style of wrestling in all of human history. I recall him being in maybe half a dozen matches worth watching in the past decade, which is laughably little even compared to workers who worked in eras where much less matches were even filmed. It's not his fault, obviously. It this rate I can see him building a listworthy resume in maybe 10 years.

Fuyuki seems dreadfully underrated. He has a ton of hidden gems in the 90s. And Fuyuki Gun were just awesome. Fuyuki is the glue holding that stuff together by being a spectacular prick. I have yet to dive into his FMW stuff, but if it ends up just being half as awesome he should be a lock. https://reverseviperhold.blogspot.com/search/label/hiromichi fuyuki Genichiro Tenryu & Koki Kitahara & Animal Hamaguchi vs. Jado & Gedo & Hiromichi Fuyuki - EPIC Alas, the final! And this was a total blast, too. Basically Fuyuki Gun try to do their usual spiel and run into a brickwall. Tenryu and crew wouldn’t have their triple teaming shit, and Fuyuki and his goons got the tables turned on them. Mostly Hamaguchi and Kitahara potatoeing and stretching Jado and Gedo. Anytime Tenryu would come in he would kick someone in the face or chop them in the throat really hard. Fuyuki looked damn great and may have been the best guy in the match. He would constantly run in to make these really violent saves by kicking people in the face, then drop elbows, slap Tenryu, are lariat someone in the jaw. It was as if you had two Tenryus in the match! It builds to a really hot second half with Hamaguchi running wild, and Kendo Nagasaki running in to cause more chaos with a fire extinguisher. It could have ended on that interference spot Attitude Era style and it would’ve been pretty great, but then we also get Kitahara having his leg taken out and stubbornly trying to survive against the nefarious Fuyuki. Great shit, a worthy cap of to this great tournament that produced more great matches than an entire month of 2021 pro wrestling. Wrestle and Romance. Hiromichi Fuyuki & Jado & Gedo vs. Hiroshi Itakura & Ichiro Yaguchi & Hideo Takayama It’s nice to get a full version of that NSPW main event. And this was a pretty great match. Everyone looked good potatoeing the shit out of each other. Fuyuki was so great here punching and stomping these kickpadded wannabe shooters into oblivion, at one point even doing a Terry Funk combo, and as usual there were numerous cool cut offs and double teams from Fuyuki-Gun. Yaguchi was doing a sambo gimmick here, and he is a lot better as a dimestore Volk Han with cool kicks than as a shitty facepainted brawler. At one point he just ragdolled Gedo with a cool wrist throw and that was probably the coolest thing he ever did. Itakura was cool here working fast paced junior sequences with Jado and Gedo, and Hido was there to kick, bleed and get the life beaten out of him. Miss when wrestling was simple and violent. BRAND NEW HERO BIG CHALLENGE: Takeshi Sato vs. Kodo Fuyuk Man, I could watch Fuyuki do high pitched yelling and beating the crud off of a sucker all day long. Really fun match with Sato hitting hard kicks from odd angles and Fuyuki just creaming him. Shiro Koshinaka & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Ashura Hara & Hiromichi Fuyuki Another round of beefy dudes clobbering eachother. This wasn't peak WAR interpromotional material, but I still probably liked the best out of all the matches on the show. Particularily because the whole match felt thoroughly violent, and Fuyuki and Koshinaka were really at each other's throat. They randomly broke out into this super violent exchange that lead to a poor sap getting punched repeatedly and all was right in the world. I continue to enjoy Goto in these Heisei Ishingun tags as old guy with 2 moves who comes in to lariat and backdrop fools and nothing else, altough there was some sloppiness on his part. Hara's career was winding down but he could still take some big bumps. These matches pretty much write themselves but they still work in some things you won't expect. The Great Kabuki & Masao Orihara & Keisuke Yamada vs. Hiromichi Fuyuki & Gedo & Jado This is an awesome looking match up on paper, and it really delivered on it’s promise. The Fuyuki & underlings trio really is one of the most consistently entertaining acts of the 90s in their scummy evilness. And Orihara is a sleazy treasure in this match, flying in and out of the scenery, having heated exchanges with Gedo etc. Kabuki is also awesome just tagging in, hitting awesome punches and superkicks and spraying mist. The juicy part is the heat segment on Yamada, which is really well executed and also really bloody. There was also an unusual intrusion when Yamada’s sister(?) tried to save her brother from Fuyukis nefarious tactics and Fuyuki shakes the shit out of her, it was totally unexpected an really underlines Fuyukis scummyness. Yamada survives a ton of punishment in this, almost too much, but then again he was bankrolling everyone and putting all these awessome IWA Japan shows together, so I guess I am fine with it, and the finish is a good one. Kendo Nagasaki vs. Hiromichi Fuyuki (WAR 11/29/1994) Insane spectacle, which may have been even better than the previous match between Tenryu and Kitahara (which was great). Easily the best Nagasaki singles match I've seen ever, hell it's probably the best for Fuyuki too. This is a lumberjack match which in WAR means guys dressed like ninjas or wearing devil masks and tracksuits are stalking near the ring. Initially it's fun with both guys being locked in the ring to potatoe each other, but things take a crazy turn when Nagasaki takes a big bump to the outside (a remarkable thing in itself) and for no reason decides to shove Tenryu aside. Tenryu gets pissed off and they proceed to hurl chairs at each other as you can feel the tension growing exponentially. Jado & Gedo proceed to get involved, braining Nagasaki with a chair, leaving him bleeding like crazy. It leads to this really fascinating ending run where they just keep escalating the violence while guys from the outside keep getting involved. Nagasaki is especially of the charts here, bleeding and absorbing some sick headbutts and lariats but then turning around and doing some psychotic things, throwing the referee around, teeing off on Fuyuki with chairs, undoing the ring ropes to strangle his opponent, hitting his awesome superkick. I've never really thought of lumberjack matches as a great stipulation or cared for matches that have guys not involved in the match getting involved., but fuck this was great.

I've absolutely loved his late career run in IWA Japan. He's looked quite great as a sleazy Tenryu carrying a seedy garbage promotion. Also, he's in that WAR tag which has to be in the Top 10-20 2 vs. 2 matches ever: https://reverseviperhold.blogspot.com/search/label/great kabuki The Great Kabuki & Masao Orihara & Keisuke Yamada vs. Hiromichi Fuyuki & Gedo & Jado This is an awesome looking match up on paper, and it really delivered on it’s promise. The Fuyuki & underlings trio really is one of the most consistently entertaining acts of the 90s in their scummy evilness. And Orihara is a sleazy treasure in this match, flying in and out of the scenery, having heated exchanges with Gedo etc. Kabuki is also awesome just tagging in, hitting awesome punches and superkicks and spraying mist. The juicy part is the heat segment on Yamada, which is really well executed and also really bloody. There was also an unusual intrusion when Yamada’s sister(?) tried to save her brother from Fuyukis nefarious tactics and Fuyuki shakes the shit out of her, it was totally unexpected an really underlines Fuyukis scummyness. Yamada survives a ton of punishment in this, almost too much, but then again he was bankrolling everyone and putting all these awessome IWA Japan shows together, so I guess I am fine with it, and the finish is a good one. Great Kabuki & Keizo Matsuda & Keisuke Yamada vs. Takashi Ishikawa & Shigeo Okamura & Kishin Kawabata (Broken Glass Window Death Match) This was supposed to be Matsuda/Yamada vs. Ishikawa/Okamura, but Ishikawa gets on the mic challenging Kabuki and it becomes a 6 man tag. This was a wild brawl which was made more entertaining by the tough old guy charisma of Ishikawa and Kabuki. These guys bleeding and punching and booting each other was awesome. Yamada and Okamura were working really hard here, starting with a great exchange that saw Okamura dropkick Yamada in the mouth. The brawling seemed more vicious here than usual in these Korakuen Hall brawls, there was very little of guys wandering around and dragging each other up the stairs and more guys beating on each other and throwing chairs. Yamada ends up taking the insane bump into the glass, cutting up his body, and then eating an insane neck compressing suplex from Okamura, you can tell he really wanted to put his company on the map here with his crazy Honmaesque performance. Really gritty entertaining brawl, exactly the kind of stuff people are looking for when scouring old deathmatch fed tapes. After the match Kodo Fuyuki attacks Kabuki, setting up another really exciting program (sorry, Tokyo Pro wasn't exactly a hot commodity in 1997 anymore). Koki Kitahara & The Great Kabuki vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Masao Orihara, WAR 7/14/1992 - EPIC Do yourself a favour and make it a priority to watch this match asap. Literally one of the most awesome brutal spectacles I've ever seen. It starts out with Tenryu chopping Kabuki in the throat in the middle of an exchange, leaving him suffocating on his back, which sets the tone nicely. The early Orihara sections were pretty fun, as every couple minutes he would try something stupid and get punished swiftly. Kabuki & Kitahara end up putting a massive assbeating on him. Kitahara looks like such a killer in this match, just walloping everyone with kicks left and right and dealing them kicks to the eye and the skull, and Kabuki looks great aswell, dishing out extra mean punches and kicks. It also helps that you can really whip Orihara around, he would eat a neckbreaker and his head would just bounce off the mat. Oriharas initial comeback was pretty much perfect as he ditches his junior offense and just tees off with reckless kicks. Later he would hit these great looking dives. His springboard crossbody is an example of a perfectly timed highspot. Tenryu wasn't in the match a ton but he would occasionally walk in and remind you who he his. Earlier Kabuki had blindsided him so, after he Orihara hit a dive and left Kabuki prone outside Tenryu would casually stroll over and clock him with a chair. It's these kind of moments that help make this sort of match so much more intense. Tenryu going mad with the pre-PRIDE soccer kicks, not letting off and leaving Kitahara bloodied is why he's Top 5 all time. Note how he would also put over his opponents, with Kitahara almost KO'ing him and Kabuki pretty much beating him silly with the punches and super kicks. What a fucking match, I wouldn't be shocked if this ends up in my All Time Top 10 as far as tags go. Keisuke Yamada & Keizo Matsuda & Shigeo Okumura vs. The Great Kabuki & Ryuma Go & Tarzan Goto - EPIC Leave it to a bunch of sleazy dudes and old geezers to have one of the funnest bomb throwing sprints of the year. You know any match with Tarzan Goto & Ryuma Go in it is pure money. If you don't, I hereby decree it. I was expecting a wild brawl, but they mostly stay in the ring and stick to the all star team of Tarzan/Go/Kabuki waffling the shit out of the sleaze greenhorns. Matsuda & Okumura aren't all that great, but that DOES NOT MATTER because they were here to get punched in the face and kicked in the throat a whole LOT. The exchanges between Goto & Yamada were insanely gory and easily the highlight of the match. I also unexpectedly loved Kabuki, who is supposed to be way over the hill and corpse-like at this pound but still BRINGS it - by doing what he always did: throwing punches and thrust kicking dudes really hard. I can't believe people widely don't like this dude - even his nerve hold was awesome! He was KILLING the poor guy with that nerve hold. I imagine if this had a grand stand exchange between Goto & Yamada at the end or something this would have been near all time level, but as it stands it was basically 3 badass vets waltzing in to kick the shit out of anyone and it kind of ruled. Also, do not watch this match if you dislike lariats, because this had about 30 of em. The Great Kabuki & Arashi vs. Keisuke Yamada & Shigeo Okamura The main event was a stupidly good sleazy WAR battle with Arashi basically walloping everyone with stiff lariats all the time and not bumping ever and crusty old Kabuki ruling it doing you know exactly what, hitting the worlds greatest punches and superkicks. Yamada basically gets the shit beaten out of him and eats the fuck out of every lariat and superkick he gets, just drilling himself into the mat with enthusiasm. Okamura is pretty blah but he and Yamada are EAGER and Kabuki is totally carrying this by bumping like a motherfucker and getting chairs chucked in his face and making me give a shit for his nerve hold AGAIN. He teases the fist drop and eats a flying lariat in a sequence that wasn't athletically impressive or anything but awesome in context of the match. I was totally a Kabuki fan before getting into IWA Japan, but seeing him crusty, old and broken down as an improbable but determined company ace who throws fists and gets spin kicked in the face is an enlightenment. Kabuki & Nagasaki vs. Keisuke Yamada & Shigeo Okumura, IWA Japan 7/20/1998 The crusty main event! Kabuki train 98 continues! Everyone in this match gets WALLOPED and it rules. Yamada & Okumura get all uppity and Nagasaki fucking wastes them both with chairs. Kabuki & Nagasaki turn into the worlds lumpiest Anderson brothers and procure some brutal armwork and stomps, with Nagasaki rocking the shoulder dislocating Armbars. It's improbable and strange and great. Kabuki hits his awesome fist drop and starts working the ARMPIT CLAW and it's fucking gross. Okumura & Yamada are not technically great but they are willing to smack the shit out of the crusty old bastards and in return get punched in the face, elbowed in the chin and kicked in the throat a LOT. Kabuki & Nagasaki actually have enough cardio to keep things moving for 15 minutes and we get a handful of great spots and thrust kicks. FEAR THE GREEN MIST! Also, SICK piledriver finish. I loved this.

Gresham has to be one of the most baffling underwhelming wrestlers I've ever seen. Clearly he is very knowledgable on wrestling and aims for a style that goes against the trends, but he's just been a spectacular failure when it comes to having great matches. He reminds me of those Benoit clones you'd see in RoH. I would absolutely rank him below Zack Sabre Jr, and Zack isn't sniffing my top 200