dawho5

Yeah, that one was really wrestling-heavy for sure. My shows tend to be 70-75% wrestling, but this one got really one-sided.

Gun to my head, if I had to put together a top ten right now it would go like this. 1. Hansen 2. Flair 3. Jumbo 4. Terry Funk 5. Kawada 6. Bockwinkel 7. Lawler 8. Misawa 9. Savage 10. Hashimoto 10 - 20 would include: Steamboat, Taue, Rey Jr., Vader, Tenryu, Danielson, Bret Hart, Buddy Rose, Liger, Santo, Breaks

International Wrestling, October 21st, 1983 (Taped October 19th, 1983, Colisée de Rimouski, Rimouski, QC) 4,700 fans Opening matches 0:00 - 11:30 The opening montage leads to a shot of the ring with the Marcus Brothers awaiting their opponents. Jacques, Sr. welcomes the fans to another exciting week of IWA action as the Can Am Express come out to the ring. The fans cheer them, but Lafon and Brunzell are looking very serious tonight. Jacques, Sr. wonders if the Can Am Express isn’t a little upset over losing their match for the Quebec Television Tag Team Championships. The Can Am Express vs. The Marcus Brothers The Can Ams make short work of the Marcus Brothers, cutting any comebacks short quickly. Brunzell tags in Lafon and hits a big dropkick on Bob Marcus, Lafon putting Marcus into the cobra clutch for the victory. Phil Lafon over Bob Marcus by submission with a cobra clutch following a Brunzell dropkick 4:27 Jacques, Sr. is very impressed with how quickly and smoothly Lafon and Brunzell dispatched the Marcus Brothers. We cut to Jacques, Sr. as he talks about the rest of the matches on the card. The camera cuts back to the ring where Tim Gerrard is already waiting. Randy Rose enters the arena floor with Eddie Creatchman and Jacques, Sr. is immediately unhappy to see the “lower than low” Creatchman. Rose is wearing his tag championship belt while Creatchman points to it and taunts the fans. Creatchman and Rose are in no hurry to get to the ring. Jacques, Sr. Reminds the fans that Dino Bravo was in the building last week and helped the IWA wrestlers drive off all four of Creatchman’s crew. Randy Rose vs. Tim Gerrard Rose comes out of the gate hot, but Gerrard manages a short comeback capped off by a crossbody before Rose hits a back kick to the gut and follows with a big side slam. A powerslam from the second rope by Rose puts Gerrard away. Randy Rose by pinfall with a second rope powerslam 4:52 Jacques, Sr. has to admit that was a very impressive win for Rose. Creatchman comes over and has a quick shouting match with Jacques, Sr. about his man wrestling on TV before he and Rose head to the back. Jacques, Sr. apologizes to the fans as we go to commercial. Commercial Break 11:30 - 24:30 The camera cuts to the ring as we return from commercial, Goldie Rogers, Quebec Heavyweight Champion Richard Charland, Dan Johnson and Steve Regal making their way to the ring. The crowd is booing the foursome, Charland takes time out to show off his belt to a few fans while Rogers finds several women to in the front row to harass. Jacques, Sr. is incensed at both Rogers and Charland, both for their behavior tonight and in recent weeks. Tony Parisi, Louis Laurence, Dave Kochen & Tony Ricco step out of the curtain to cheers. Laurence is put over by Jacques, Sr. for dominating his matchup with Charland on October 1st, but falling victim to an attack with the belt that caused a disqualification. Jacques, Sr. Also talks about the differences between Rogers and Kochen of late. Rogers leads the charge as the heels jump the four faces at ringside. Tony Parisi, Dave Kochen, Louis Laurence & Tony Ricco vs. Goldie Rogers, Quebec Heavyweight Champion Richard Charland, Dan Johnson & Steve Regal Referee Pierre Bertrand tries to restore order and finally gets it back to Kochen and Johnson in the ring. Rogers cheapshots Kochen from the apron as Johnson backs Kochen into the wrong corner while held in a front facelock. Rogers tags himself in and the heels end up working over Kochen for a short while. Bertrand misses a tag to Laurence (while Charland is in no less!) when Rogers distracts him. Charland tags out almost immediately and Johnson gets kicked when he telegraphs a back body drop. Charland runs into the ring to stop the tag and knock Laurence off the apron. Regal runs right into a Kochen dropkick off the ropes and Kochen finally tags in Parisi. Parisi is a house afire and takes out the entire opposing team aside from Charland. Charland was dragegd from the apron just before the tag by an angry Laurence, who laid into him with right hands and elbows on the floor for some time. Finally Laurence had enough of beating up on Charland and came back to the apron in time to get tagged in and found a very vulnerable Steve Regal in the ring. The numbers advantage by the faces made holding Johnson and Rogers off while Laurence put Regal into a half crab for the victory easy. Louis Laurence over Steve Regal by submission with a half crab 10:43 Jacques, Sr. is impressed with the fire of Louis Laurence and the teamwork of the four victors. He knows that Rogers, Charland and company are not finished yet, though. Jacques, Sr. knows that Louis Laurence will make the third time a charm in going for the Quebec Heavyweight Championship. Commercial Break 24:30 - 41:30 We come back from commercial to a shot of the ring. The Dungeon masters, Jim Neidhart and Mr. Hito, come out to a decent pop. Jacques, Sr. puts Neidhart over as a powerhouse and highlights Mr. Hito’s experience. The Quebec Television TV Champions The Tongan Terrors and their manager Lou Albano stalk to the ring to very loud boos. Albano makes sure to point out the belts to as many fans as he can without slowing his menacing Tongan wrestlers down. Jacques, Sr. puts the Terrors over as monsters, saying Albano may not be honest all the time, but his two Tongans have proven themselves time and again. The Dungeon Masters vs. Quebec Heavyweight Television Tag Team Champions The Tongan Terrors in a title match (15 Minute Time Limit) Neidhart starts the match for his team and goes toe to toe with both Tongans, holding his own but tiring. After he has to tag out the Terrors destroy Hito. Neidhart saves his partner several times before finally hitting a big clothesline on Tonga John and knocking King Tonga from the ring with a series of right hands. Neidhart drags his partner back to the corner and tags himself in, again going back and forth with the Tongans before he is again forced to tag. The Tongan Terrors again start working over Hito, but this time they refuse to let up when both are in the ring against the Japanese wrestler. Head referee Adrian Desbois counts to five once and starts again, disqualifying the champions as he reaches five a second time. The Dungeon Masters win by disqualification 14:06 Neidhart charges like a bull after hitting the ring, again driving both Tongans from the ring quickly. He keeps a wary eye on the two monsters while tending to his partner. Jim Brunzell and Phil Lafon emerge from the crowd to attack the Tongans from behind, Albano running impossibly fast to put King Tonga between himself and Lafon. Lafon gets caught with a throat thrust as he tries chasing Albano and the brawl is on between the Terrors and the Can Am Express! Jacques, Sr. tells the fans that we have to go to commercial and hope to have this cleaned up by the time we return from break. Commercial Break 41:30 - 48:00 Eddie Creatchman and Earth & Sky are in the ring when we return from commercial, Jacques, Sr. nowhere to be found. Creatchman picks up the microphone that’s in the ring and shrugs. Creatchman: Our Most Professional Announcer Jacques Rougeau, Sr. has once again refused to interview me. I’m hardly surprised. Given what Stonehead Ishimoto is going to do to his son tonight, I doubt he’d have much good to say anyway. You see, tonight Armand Rougeau is wrestling an experienced veteran. A man who has wrestled in more places than just Quebec. And this man knows his weaknesses because I know his weaknesses. So be prepared to be disappointed, all of you Rougeau fans. The crowd boos as Creatchman and Hurricane Kamiguchi leave the ring, Kamiguchi heading to the back after a few words from Creatchman. Armand Rougeau gets a good pop when he comes out, excitedly playing to the fans on the way to the ring. Jacques, Sr. is proud of his son for his recuperative powers and willingness to get back in the ring after such an injury. Armand Rougeau vs. Stonehead Ishimoto Armand comes out firing rights at the masked Japanese wrestler. Ishimoto fights back with chest slaps before landing a big right to knock Rougeau down. He works Rougeau’s neck over for a short while before Armand reverses a front facelock into a hammerlock. Creatchman motions to the back and Kamiguchi comes rushing out to attack Armand, drawing a disqualification from referee Andre Roy. Armand Rougeau wins by disqualification 3:49 Rene Goulet runs out to save his partner and Armand & Goulet clear the ring. Creatchman and Earth & Sky launch verbal attacks at the two from outside the ring. Jacques, Sr. is disgusted by Creatchman and his team, but happy that Goulet has his son’s back. Commercial Break & Upcoming Events 48:00 - 64:00 We come back to a shot of the ring with Goulet and Kamiguchi eyeing one another across the ring, head referee Adrian Desbois standing between them. Jacques, Sr. informs the fans that the main event of the Invaders vs. Lefebvre & Poisson has been changed to a six man Quebec Tornado tag match. All six men will be allowed to fight in and around the ring with no disqualifications until a pinfall or submission is achieved in the ring. The Invaders are the first out, getting big cheers from the crowd. Lefebvre and Poisson are booed, but Lefebvre is still getting a few cheers. Jacques, Sr. isn’t sure this match is a good idea for anyone involved, but admits that it is difficult keeping two men in the ring during these six mans. The Invaders & Rene Goulet vs. Mad Dog Lefebvre, Gilles Poisson & Hurricane Kamiguchi This match is an all-out, bloody brawl. Chairs, the ring post, the timekeeper’s bell and table all come into play as all six men brawl both in and out of the ring. Both Invader 3 and Invader 1 have their masks ripped half off of their heads by the end of the match, Lefebvre biting Invader 1’s exposed forehead at every opportunity. Goulet counters by ripping at Kamiguchi’s mask throughout the last third, finally locking on a scorpion claw hold on the floor. A bloody Lefebvre is quick to break the hold and stomp away at Goulet, but the Invaders use the opportunity to double back body drop Poisson and hit the Catapult for the win. Invader 3 over Gilles Poisson by pinfall after a Catapult 13:16 Lefebvre is again incensed with Poisson after he takes the fall. Poisson stops short of shoving the smaller Lefebvre away, but only barely. Kamiguchi has left ringside long before Lefebvre and Poisson stop arguing and again don’t talk to one another on the way back. The faces havie an exhausted celebration in the ring while all of this is going on. Jacques, Sr. Is ecstatic that the Invaders and Goulet triumphed in a wild match. Don’t forget to tune in next week when Gino Brito and Tony Parisi challenge for the Quebec Television Tag Team Championships! Dark matches Post-Show Gino Brito defeated Dennis Condrey with an inside cradle after Condrey escaped the figure four, Rose ran out post-match to attack with Tony Parisi successfully making the save after a short beatdown by the Midnights

October 20th, 1983, Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec City, QC (4,700) The Marcus Brothers defeated a pair of local jobbers with a Bob Marcus inside cradle Dan Johnson defeated Alex Gerrard with a power slam The Can Am Express, Dave Kochen & Tony Ricco went to a no contest with Quebec TV Tag Team Champions The Tongan Terrors, Goldie Rogers & Steve Regal when referee Pierre Bertrand could not control the match Armand Rougeau, Rene Goulet & Louis Laurence defeated Earth and Sky & Quebec Heavyweight Champion Richard Charland with a Rougeau sleeper after turning Kamiguchi’s blockbuster into a second rope superplex Randy Rose defeated Invader 3 with a second rope powerslam Gino Brito, Tony Parisi & Invader 1 defeated Dennis Condrey, Mad Dog Lefebvre & Gilles Poisson with an Invader 1 heart punch on Lefebvre , Rose ran-in post-match, bringing Invader 3 out for the save

I was a big fan of Dusty winning the title. Seems like it was the way to go and it sets up a Dusty vs. Sullivan's army feud really well. Will Hennig or maybe Mike von Erich join up with Dusty to fight this menace? I'm wondering what direction Piper takes after this show. His Sullivan feud appears to be over, but there is still the chance he joins up with Dusty. Great Dusty and Sullivan promos also, really liking the new direction Florida has taken.

Great promos from Street and Garvin. That was one of the feuds I remember thinking would have been a lot of fun had it really happened. Savage's return seems more and more imminent and I wonder how merciful Randy is going to be despite Lanny's recent actions. Good way to end the show on a high note and send the fans home happy.

Schultz is going to get his title back, I can feel it. It's gonna take a while though. Flair agreeing to the stip before he knew all the details was an interesting choice. I'm wondering if Rogers sticks around once Flair is the champ. The Birds aren't quite ready to dethrone the Russians, but I think they'll give them a scare. Guerrero and Taylor is going to be a fun feud.

Superdome show looks great so far. The 4 team tournament for number one contenders ought to be interesting. Wonder if the Samoans will interject themselves into it or not. Quite the debut for Lanza.

You could also include "drew despite the company actively not wanting him to be a draw" in that list. Which may be included in against the odds, but I think it is above and beyond that.

Great Birmingham show, loved both of the last two matches. The Armstrong are gonna have to pick it up against the..um fire guys? It's nice to see the Shadow Riders still getting their push.

Good catch-up effort on some of the major feuds in the different AWA affiliated promotions. Really liking this highlight show so far.

On that first fall for Rude, he did hook the tights rather gratuitously when he rolled Steamer up after the big knee. Think of it like a fighter getting rocked with a punch and a quick follow-up working to KO him. For that moment he's vulnerable because he just got knocked silly. Rude following up with the Awakening and then the top rope move (agreed that it is a stupid rule) to net himself another pin is a great bit of opportunism, as well as a gamble paying off. One thing I loved about the way it played out after Steamboat's flurry of roll-ups up to the sleeper reversal was that it was a reversed carbon copy of the opening of the match. First Steamer takes 8 minutes to destroy Rude's ribs only for Rude to turn the tides unexpectedly. Now Steamboat does the same after it looks like Rude has him beat, using the very thing he injured in the first place. Such a great bit of storytelling there.

A couple of job guys I made up. Just guys to take a fall at house shows when I run through my four JTTS dudes. Kind of like promotions would pick up local jobbers at times. Never make TV or anything, just there to lay down after getting beat up for three minutes.

October 18th, 1983, Aitken Centre, Fredericton, NB (4,258, sellout) Dave Kochen defeated Alex Gerrard with an abdominal stretch Quebec Heavyweight Champion Richard Charland defeated Tim Gerrard in a non-title match with a piledriver Earth & Sky defeated the Marcus Brothers with an airplane spin Samoan drop/falling headbutt combo on Bob Marcus Rene Goulet defeated Dan Johnson with a scorpion claw hold Tony Parisi & Tony Ricco defeated Goldie Rogers & Steve Regal with a Ricco flying crossbody on Regal Dennis Condrey defeated Louis Laurence with a full nelson facebuster in another test for the spirited Laurence Randy Rose, Mad Dog Lefebvre & Gilles Poisson defeated Gino Brito & The Invaders with a Lefebvre second rope superplex on Invader 1 The Can Am Express defeated Quebec TV Tag Team Champions The Tongan Terrors in a non-title match with a Brunzell schoolboy on Tonga John, the two teams brawled to the back post-match

It's not a great match in the grand scheme of things. If it's *** I'd be surprised. It's just that the Kawada/Akiyama dynamic that drives the major tag team battles between Kawada/Taue and Misawa/Akiyama derive from that match specifically. I wish there was a version that skipped the Albright early match awkwardness and just hit the highlights, but you will need to sit through that to get to the meat of the match. Albright isn't bad for the finish, but as a whole he is a detriment to most All Japan matches he's in.

Agreed on Misawa being Yoda. Another great show, although you guys didn't mention Kobashi turning himself into a human missile during 6/9/95 to knock Kawada off the apron. I have this feeling Taue ranks very high with me, easily top 20. Not only for the sheer amount of great performances, but because I think the guys is criminally underrated because of awkwardness and the company he keeps. As you go into 96 I would suggest at least side watching the 6-man tag involving Kawada and Akiyama on 4/20/96. It will give insight into the rest of their interactions throughout the year. And the 6-man involving Kawada and Misawa on 7/8/95 would be a good backtracking project to see angry Misawa. Which is the best Misawa.

I've recently gone through 6 discs of Memphis (LOVE IT!) and then popped in a mix comp to keep things fresh. Two MPro matches, a lucha match and an AJPW match later I had a thought that I felt deserved a post. I could very easily view all of these non-Memphis matches as very highspot heavy (especially if you remove the AJPW match) and overly reliant on popping the crowd big. I could also look at them as completely different styles of wrestling in different places with different wrestling philosophies, largely because they are all mid-90s matches, guiding the wrestlers involved. Interstingly enough, mid-90s Japanese style is very similar to modern WWE style if you remove the submissions, selling and seriousness (despite some of the goofy masks in MPro) or the action. And add in neck and head bumps by the truckload. Something that strikes me is the idea that psychology within a wrestling match is all very dependent upon the promotion and year. If a fan had not watched one bit of wrestling between 1985 and jumped into 1995 MPro, would they think there was any kind of internal logic to the match at all? Or would they look at it as a collection of really athletic spots done to pop a crowd? Is this dissimilar to how some of us look at certain wrestling styles that we don't care for? I think there is a tendency to look at wrestling in a more narrow sense at a certain point in wrestling fandom. It's very easy to look at wrestling through the lens of your favorite style and balk at things that don't fit within said style. As you watch more though, the realization comes that there are reasons that somebody who wrestles in a style you dislike is not necessarily doing things the "wrong" way. They are working within a different system than you are used to, one that their fans (hopefully) react to the right way. Very often the fans of these styles have been conditioned to react to these things over time, but that is another discussion. So I wonder if I watched, say, 1995 through 1998 Michinoku Pro in a more complete manner would I see a definite pattern emerge in how the wrestlers used their spots in a match? Would certain spots come with a predetermined meaning that I won't catch based on just one match? Would the order of moves that Taka or Sasuke used to get nearfalls be based on something that was successful in the past? Is a certain dive only used in really big matches because of it's meaning? All of these are questions I was asking myself while watching Taka in a singles match with Sasuke. As well as noting that Sasuke had a brilliant moment where he went to kick a facedown Taka and ended up skimming his back, so he spun with the momentum and went into a front facelock on the mat in one flyuid motion. And the sweet Sasuke roundhouse kick to sliding drop toe hold to single leg combo. Ultimately those things were filler, but well executed filler. Yet another question arises. We all know there is filler in wrestling matches. Each style (and every wrestler within said style) has it's own version of filler. As you watch more wrestling it becomes easier to pick out. But at the same time it becomes a question of how it is executed and how it adds to the story of the match. Which again comes down to the internal logic of the wrestling style you are watching. And those rules tend to change between singles and tag matches. So you have several versions of the internal logic within a certain promotion in any given era of it's existence. My question then is this. How am I (or how is anyone else) qualified, based on the limited amount of footage we will most likely watch from a given promotion, to say that a match is a spotfest or your turn-my-turn? Or a brilliant match within the psychology of said promotion/feud/whatever? I know this is a place where we have some of the most obsessive wrestling fans in the world and I would say that there are people here who have watched more than enough of some promotions to be authorities on the subject and have that understanding of what is happening to say with certainty what was going on. But the majority of us, let's face it, do not have that. Several more questions. The people who are authorities on many promotions do not agree on their interpretations. Does this mean that regardless of how much we've watched, personal preference and sentiment will always blind us to some of the reality? If that is the case, does it matter if we haven't seen enough of a promotion to truly understand it when we look at it? Is it enough to look at the major matches and take what you can from them? Should a match both fit within the internal logic of the promotion and time it comes from and be a story in and of itself that will be understood decades later with no other viewing required?

October 17th, 1983, Halifax Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia (11,500) The Can Am Express defeated the Marcus Brothers with a dropkick/cobra clutch combo on Joe Marcus Earth & Sky defeated the Gerrard Brothers with an airplane spin Samoan drop/falling headbutt combo on Tim Gerrard Tonga John defeated Tony Ricco with a running big boot Armand Rougeau, Rene Goulet & Louis Laurence defeated Quebec Heavyweight Champions Richard Charland, Dan Johnson & Steve Regal with a Laurence half crab on Regal Randy Rose defeated Tony Parisi with a sidewalk slam Eddie Creatchman cut a promo on Brito & Parisi Mad Dog Lefebvre, Gilles Poisson & Goldie Rogers defeated the Invaders & Dave Kochen with a Rogers schoolboy while grabbing the tights on Kochen Brito promo, if Brito wins match tonight Midnights put up tag titles next month, Creatchman agrees Gino Brito defeated Dennis Condrey with a prawn hold after a side suplex

To be fair, Matt's original post was a bit over the top. I understand where it was coming from. I also think that that sort of thing is counterproductive to good discussion. I do agree with his point, especially the edited version.

Almost seems like the parentheses should have had "Titans rejoice" in it.

Brody for December 28th please.

I'm looking for Hansen & Brody on the 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th.

What a great transition from the old regime to the new. I'm going to need a few weeks to trust Lanny's change of heart though. Also wondering who is going to finally slam Haystacks and what will happen to them as a result. And whether the ghost of Randy Savage will haunt the promotion until he returns.

October 16th, 1983, Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB (6,800) Dan Johnson defeated Bob Marcus with a power slam Dave Kochen & Tony Ricco defeated Goldie Rogers & Steve Regal with a Kochen abdominal stretch on Regal Armand Rougeau & Rene Goulet defeated Earth & Sky with a Rougeau schoolboy on Kamiguchi, the Midnight Express attacked and Brito & Parisi saved Eddie Creatchman cut a promo on Brito & Parisi Quebec TV Tag Team Champions The Tongan Terrors & Mad Dog Lefebvre defeated the Can Am Express & Invader 3 with a King Tonga thumb spike on Brunzell Lou Albano cut promo on Lafon and Brunzell as the Terrors continued attacking Quebec Heavyweight Champion Richard Charland defeated Louis Laurence by count out after decking him with the belt while Dan Johnson ran out to distract the referee to retain his title Gino Brito, Tony Parisi & Invader 1 defeated Canadian International Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express & Gilles Poisson with an Invader 1 heart punch on Poisson, Lefebvre came out to ringside and argued with Poisson post-match

I am kind of an in-between everyone so far. I do tend to watch a match with little to no note taking the first time through. I want to feel what is happening before I analyze it. That being said, I do have a checklist that will tick off as I watch. How effective were the wrestlers in putting heat on the heel? What were the reasons it was/wasn't effective? Did the match lose me and/or the crowd? Why? Things like that. Then I'll try to remember things that would have stuck out, like structure, execution, selling, timing. But to me, a wrestling match is much more about the emotions it evokes both in myself and the crowd. If it gets the crowd going but I don't care for it, obviously I'm watching the wrong kind of wrestling. The whole idea behind it is that the workers want people to react to what they are doing. So my main focus is those reactions. The more wrestling I watch, the more I can see the cause and effect nature of what the wrestlers are doing and how the fans react. So my best advice is to not force yourself into seeing this, that and the other if it's not coming easy. Just watch wrestling, enjoy it first and foremost, and try to keep the analytical part of yourself running in the background. That way you can connect what happened in the match with what you liked/disliked.