dawho5

I'd put the longer haired guy as White Knight and the guy whose hair you can't see as Super Medico. Opening was all kinds of awesome. The chnilock/sleeper stuff really drags. Finish was pretty wonky and White Knight pulling the knucks out right in front of the first downed referee was such a bonehead move.

Finished my match from Jetlag. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=u0kBmCAHobA Great mat-based match! My review below. I may have labeled the promotion wrong in my haste to get a review posted. http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/40849-jackie-sato-vs-devil-masami-ajw-112780/

I've seen a few Devil Masami matches and am becoming a pretty big fan. This match just cements that even more. Masami's facial expression early when they do a close-up and she's in a submission is this perfect mix of joy and pain. The matwork, which is the majority of the match, is really really good. Counters and escapes are earned, holds are really cranked on when they ought to be. I liked how even though it was very catch-as-catch-can with switched between body parts, it still feels like it means something and is building up. Sato frustrating Masami with a headscissors was really fun. I also liked that when they ran the ropes there was this feeling of "out of control" by both. Even the person who did the original whip was damn near colliding with the opponent when they would hit something like an elbow. It gives it a nice feeling of "other" to break up the matwork, as good as that matwork is. Sato countering a headbutt with an abdominal stretch is phenomenal. Msami's looks of glee as she's torturing Sato with leg submissions are so great. This match is, for the most part, a very gritty match with both really working hard to grind the other down. But then there are parts where it is absolutely cutting edge for 1980 with stuff that comes out of nowhere when you take the rest of the match into account. Some of it I haven't seen in any other matches I've watched. But they make it organic and work it into the story of the match as it unfolds really well. I'd put this up there with most of the really good to great 1980s matches I've seen from the territories easily. Probably better on rewatch. That finish looked pretty gnarly, was that for real?!? This avoids a lot of my complaints with later joshi. Instead of trying too hard to go a million miles an hour and by extension not allowing things to breathe, these two go at each other in a way that allows for better storytelling.

I'll second Rose making a lot of sense in Portland. Also, Rose is never a bad choice in any match, the guy is all kinds of entertaining.

I loved this. Jovica and Abby both juiced big, Abby again sells like a champ and a way-past-his-prime Victor Jovica gets his moment in the sun in a place he is really over. One thing I have always loved about PR is the way the stip is, as Matt D also puts it, front and center. It is, to me, the way a chain/strap/bullrope match should be wrestled. Trying to win, unless context says you need to beat your opponent savagely for whatever reason, should be first and foremost. Als, Abby's selling here was really great. Have I mentioned that yet?

One bit of circumstance here that will add a little to this match. That last 6-man ended with Colon being "blinded" where they put it out there that he might never be able to see or wrestle again. So that might give a little insight as to why this happens the way it does. Abby's false starts on going to the trunks were really great. Abby using the old heel trick of ducking outside the ropes tells you something is up. He usually doesn't go that route, it's almost like he's a little afraid of Colon even before the nastiness starts. Colon's attack on the eye was grisly and awful and horrible. But completely justified given the circumstances. Abby sells it in the most amazing way. I think the description of him looking like he's gone into shock is right. He looks like a guy who is out on his feet and running on pure instinct. This is a great match not for structure, but for Colon's over-the-top brutal offense even for PR, Abby's selling, the grisly close-up camera work and the revenge Colon exacts for being temporarily blinded. Looking back, maybe not Abdullah's best idea ever.

I liked the brawling here a lot. Invader 1's selling of blood loss even during his comeback is great. Brody seems like he is working hard here and the visual of him just trying to get away from Invader as things start go go against him works better than any selling could if you ask me. The fans carrying Invader off after the match is so Puerto Rico.

Duggan, Mulligan and Hall joining forces is going to make things very interesting.

Those last 3 matches from San Francisco look great!

No, concrete said he wanted to join up. No joke I promise. I have a PM to Jetlag asking if he's okay with concrete1992 joining our swap for the week and we each have 2 matches.

Yeah, two title changes is crazy. Varsity Club stuff is as fun as I imagined it would be. How long until Pillman gets kicked out?

Yeah and that's why the next Abby-Colon match has Colon basically trying to blind Abby with his bare hands.

I'm open to watching two matches this week if Jetlag is.

Chicky assuming Invader fell is the only thing working against this. If you can show me a better, more intense and legitimately scarier scaffold match than this I would be surprised. Chicky bumping after that dropkick so close to the edge of the scaffold had me jumping out of my seat. That suplex was probably one of the stupidest (but holy shit amazing and craziest) things I have ever seen. That scaffold did not look like it was built well enough to take something like that. The struggle over the slam near the edge was another moment I was doubting the sanity of both. Chicky's fall was pretty damn scary too. I'd say the blade job Chicky did is pretty nuts for being 20+ feet in the air too. What if blood loss fucks with your balance at the wrong time? And yeah, Invader 3 in the mask. There are so many reasons they should have never done this and it would just not be allowed today. But those are the same reasons that make it great. The brawling was pretty good too with Chicky getting more and more aggressive as the match went on to stave off Invader 3. It's just those aren't the moments you are going to take away from this match. I respect both of these insanely talented wrestlers for doing this, but I also think they should have been forced to take a psychiatric evaluation afterwards. It truly is a wonder neither or both were not seriously injured or killed.

Opening was great with the highlight being Invader 1 punting Chicky in the balls because, well he's Invader 1. I really liked the shine because both Ron and Chicky are so great at stooging and the guys they are in with have good enough offense to make me believe it. Ron is such a damn beast when he's on offense. I am always impressed by how he can bust out really impactful offense in different ways, sometimes right after a ridiculously good few minutes spent stooging for the babyfaces. Abby grabbing Invader 3's mask during the heat is so awesome. Abby seems really motivated in this match overall really. Finish is all kinds of brawly fun, but a little fast for my tastes. Colon's clothesline comes after what offense on Abby exactly? I know from conversations with Boricua that at one point in 86 Abby blinds Colon. I heard the announcers mention ammonia and I wonder if this might be the blinding.

I was more excited about the UWF vs. Mexico match myself.

My understanding is that it was more about the expectations people had for the results. It's not a criticism I have about it, but I did see several comments about the 1980s being really heavily represented in the top 100. The "too mainstream" was more me kind of summarizing the lack of lucha guys in the top 100, Ric Flair being the #1 guy, etc. There were expectations going in that we were going to avoid those, for the lack of better terminology, cliche elements of the final list. Honestly when I would go into a project like that the only list that I am really worried about is my own. I don't care if nobody else ranks my top 10. Those were mine. Obviously I have interest in other people's ballots, some more than others, but it won't make me think any worse of the project as a whole or my own view on wrestling.

I thought that crossbody by Lane early was really good. The Express definitely know how to use their weight to good effect in squashing Lane. RnR RPMs are good as standard babyfaces in these kind of matches, but not anything above that. They definitely got a pop for that win though.

Davis didn't show a ton of fire on the hot tag but that dropkick was really good. This was one of the matches that sold me on Jaggers on commentary, before he just got to be too much. I'd agree this would not look out of place on WCW TV for the next 5 years.

World Wrestling Council Owner: Victor Quinonez Play-by-Play: Rickin Sanchez Color: Hugo Savinovich Interviewer: Hector Moyano Ring Announcer: Eliud Gonzalez Referees: Tomas Marin, Ricky Vargas, Victor Quinonez Roster: 1. Abdullah Tamba 2. Al Madril 3. Angel Acevedo/Mercenario 1 4. Angelo Rivera/El Profe 5. Bam Bam Bigelow 6. Bart Batten 7. Brad Batten 8. Barrabas 9. Bobby Jaggers 10. Butch Miller 11. Carlos Colon 12. Chicky Starr 13. Don Kent/Super Medico 3 14. Dutch Mantell 15. Eliud Gonzalez (ring announcer) 16. Gama Singh 17. Hector Moyano (announcer/interviewer) 18. Hercules Ayala 19. Hugo Savinovich (announcer) 20. Huracan Castillo Jr. 21. Huracan Castillo Sr. 22. Invader 1 23. Invader 2 24. Invader 3 25. Jerry Morrow/Mercenario 2 26. Jonathan Boyd 27. Juan Rivera/Savio Vega/TNT - 5th degree black belt, cobra dinamita 28. Luke Williams 29. Miguel Perez Jr. 30. Miguel Perez Sr. 31. Mike Davis 32. Rickin Sanchez (announcer) 33. Ricky Santana 34. Ricky Vargas 35. Rip Morgan/the Crusher 36. Ron Starr 37. Steve Strong 38. Super Medico 1 39. Tomas Marin 40. Tommy Lane 41. Victor Jovica 42. Victor Quinonez 43. Victor the Bodyguard

WWC adds: Tomas Marín Ricky Vargas Victor Quiñonez All are referees.

I would guess the expectations of some going in were for a less...mainstream I guess is the word...set of results.

I like Luger vs. Reed a lot. Would be fun matches and a young Lex would end up learning a lot. Midnights vs. JYD/Wahoo will be all kinds of fun heeling. The Armstrongs should pretty much always be in blood feuds.

Regal is a great choice. He brings some things to that division that it sorely needs to spice it up. I like Nish also, he can help keep things from constantly having to go forward and show the value in looking back in time to find new ways of doing things.

To me it's more that projects like this seem like "scheduled" watching. Where I have to watch all of this stuff in a certain amount of time. Once you start that it's very easy to get into a mode where you kill your own enjoyment of the matches because you feel like you have to watch them. I very much prefer to watch what I feel like watching right now and not feel like there is a ticking clock on watching this group of matches. I have found that it helps my enjoyment of wrestling a lot.