bucky

My mom died in February. This has been an incredibly fucked up year. I don't post here often, but places like this and Sam's WDKW board have really helped me enjoy wrestling on a granular level like I did when I was younger. I've watched more wrestling this year than I have since 2013 probably. These commmunities are incredibly meaningful to me. My wife will often ask me what I'm doing on my phone during dinner. LOL, my answer more often than not is that I'm looking at posts about wrestling, whether on here or DVDVR or WDKW or WKO, or even on my carefully curated Wrestling Twitter list. Always feel silly explaining that one away. Anyways, thank you everyone for being out chea posting and loving this dumb thing with me. Thank you to Loss and Chad most of all. The 2000s Project. I have all but abandoned my watching for that project, but it did wonders for me in the month after my mom died. Wacky as it is to say, watching early Danielson and Spanky matches was helpful for me at that time, in ways I can't even put into words. Thank you, everyone.

This was exactly the kind of insanity you expect from Gage, only amplified by the fact that he's in there with one of the absolute best wrestlers in the world working a match well out of his comfort zone. David Starr's performance in this match is absolutely fantastic and visceral. He doesn't shy from taking bumps into tacks and wire, and takes a shitload of staples to the head too. The highspots in this aren't the craziest you'll see in a Gage match this year, but they're incredibly well positioned in the structure of the match and the violence escalates gradually at a great pace. The closing minutes have some awkwardness as Starr tries to cut some barbed wire off of a board with some wire cutters that simply weren't strong enough to do the job. That said, Starr's desperation and expression in the moments where he is struggling to cut the barbed wire actually added to the match for me. It was like the hero in a horror movie trying their damnedest to concoct a weapon to overcome the maniacal killer. The finishing sequence itself is one of the sickest and most unique uses of barbed wire I've ever seen. Post-match feels like a legit shoot with some super intense trash talking from both guys, and then Starr challenges Joey Janela to a fans bring the weapons match on New Year's Eve. The whole segment was approaching spectacle levels while also managing to be a well thought out deathmatch. Felt a bit like the smartest Honma or Abby Kobayashi deathmatches. Must-see for fans of either guy. Just shy of MOTYC status.

Yeah, glad I watched this. Definitely not "good" in any traditional sense, but totally worth a look to see what kind of insane shit kids are doing on Mexican indies in an attempt at standing out from the pack. Filed squarely in the Fun And Stupid category.

Hey I've only heard the first pair of these but wanted to let you guys know that this show is genuinely fucking good and unique. I mean, it's not that unique I guess, but it feels incredibly different from pretty much any other wrestling podcast out there. You two are clearly close and seem very comfortable in casual conversation, but the show is always on point and never wanders. I almost wish it did wander to be honest, I'd enjoy listening to the two of you discuss more non-wrestling stuff from time to time. Love the J-pop interludes too, really gives the show a tone that is playful and fun. Can't sing the praises loud enough. Obviously you're covering a very specific niche, but it works so well. Looking forward to catching up.

You missed my point entirely, but that's okay. I suppose I should have said secondary feuds featuring talent that wouldn't be considered top level stars. I also said "in the past decade or so" which doesn't include the time period you cited.

People have talked a lot in the past decade or so that they do too many HIAC matches and it devalues the gimmick. But if they hadn't done that, we would have never gotten classic cell matches for secondary belts like Sasha/Charlotte and Usos/New Day. So actually, it's good. That's my hot take.

Niiiiice. Great job. The wait was eating me alive.

Is that dark match trios available to watch anywhere? For that matter, is the show up as a VOD on Twitch still?

Is there really any doubt about Wagner going over? I can't see AAA having enough money to pay him to drop the mask.

I love how Loss throws down this insane obscure match and then PAS chimes in and he's like "yeah I was there live." This is peak fucking internet here folks.

Don't know if Goodhelmet still sells discs but that Lawler set is incredible and should be essential viewing for any fan of southern wrestling.

I have the DVDVR Memphis discs ripped as .iso files. I'll see if there's an easy way for me to cut the 83 match and get it on YouTube.

Hey what's the plan for distribution of these shows? I finally got to see last year's through Powerbomb.tv, and I don't want to wait as long for this one.

I was there live for this and thought it was very good. Marufuji gives up a ton of size to a guy like Dijak and the match was worked correctly for the difference in size. This told a good story of skilled veteran vs. younger opponent who did his homework, with the size difference adding an extra element. Marufuji was over as hell and we were all losing our minds for his chops. The match had a really nice controlled pace to it, and felt just the right length and speed for what ended up being the semi main event. It was my second favorite match of the night after the tag title match, which was just a wild sprint and probably deserves its own thread.

Whoa, Daniel Makabe, blast from the past there. He and another guy in this promotion (Scott Henson) and maybe a few others were backyard wrestling legends to me and my friends like 13 years ago. Cool to see they're still at it and working with awesome talent. Will definitely check this one out, great find.

I haven't watched this and probably never will, but the .gif of Randy dropping the one Bollywood Boy on his head and then making a hilarious face is six stars.

They took out all of the offense Rikishi got on Hunter. LMAO

I was standing right in the hard cam shot for this and losing my mind. I was a few beers deep but I'd put this at four and a quarter easily. I don't have any memory of the BOLA match, or if I even saw it, but this seemed like the best way to work this match. I also watched Matt Riddle vape what was almost definitely cannabis like 20 feet away from me, and then gave him a really sweaty hug after the match. Great experience, I should probably watch it on tape.

I can't see myself rewatching this, even for the project, but I have to mention Pete Gas smashing his face on the bottom rope. I remember showing that clip to so many friends. At some point, I ended up memorizing the exact timestamp from the DVD. We would watch that bit over and over. One of the most underrated Rumble moments for sure, and maybe my favorite botch of all-time. Bless you, Pete Gas.

I also wasn't going to watch this, but figured I'd give it a shot. Also, the fact that two of eleven replies to this thread mention Muto's godawful hair, I have to see it in action for myself. The entrances here are pretty dope. I really enjoy their match from the 91 Climax, but every other one I've seen was just awful. Definitely a slow start to this one, as I pick up my phone and start scrolling through Twitter. I stop myself after a few minutes. Hmm. Whoops, happened again. OK, I'm turning my phone off. Chono control section with sporadic Muto hope spots is good. Chono is such a weirdly unathletic looking guy sometimes. His execution of a piledriver about halfway through the clip was baffling. Oh damn, the cross armbreaker counter to dragon screw was sick. This is definitely an effective structure they're using here, and the story they're telling, while very simple, is being told really well. HOLY SHIT, the diving shoulder block off the apron! Great impact, and that landing couldn't have been nice for either guy. Oh geeze, dragon screw off the table was scary and sold Muto's desperation well. This gets really good in the middle portion, big moves, fighting over the figure four, Muto attacking the leg relentlessly. I'm really into this now. Chono has very effective facial expressions, gets the pain across in a very sincere way. Finishing stretch is also pretty intense, and the crowd gets way into it. I enjoyed this much more than I expected. It's the exact kind of match I wouldn't ever bother watching without a project like this. I don't have much interesting to say about it. A match like this doesn't lend well to jokes or pop culture analogies. But I was sincerely surprised by how much I got out of it. I'm putting it in the low end of the Very Good category.

Fucking Benoit. Well, guess I'll just get used to him being a dude I watch again for the next six and a half years. Interesting that he's fully made the transition to heavyweight at this point even in the eyes of Inoki, apparently. Was he working against heavyweights in NJ before this? This feels dull overall. Maybe with some heat it would have worked better for me. Good striking throughout, but I really just wasn't feeling it. Benoit hits his standard spots, top rope superplex, rolling Germans, crowd finally comes to life for the cut throat taunt. Tenzan kicking out of the headbutt was surprising. Tenzan looks like he nearly broke his freaking neck on the frankensteiner from the top. Strong finish that got the crowd into it. This didn't totally redeem itself or anything, but by the end I didn't feel like I had wasted my time. I do have to be honest, I don't know how much Benoit bias is getting me here. I've watched and enjoyed a number of his matches in the past years, but I never usually seek them out. I'm going to try really hard to judge them based on the quality of his work. If I can still enjoy a Polanski movie, I should still be able to enjoy a Benoit match.

Man, it's been so long since I watched a Takaiwa match. As cliche as it is for someone my age to say, watching GIFs of him destroying Marufuji and Hoshikawa on early Z1 shows is one of the things that first got me into Japanese wrestling. I had flashbacks around the 5 minute mark of the clip when he nuked Tanaka with a lariat. Ohtani too, one of the first Japanese tapes I ever got was an Ohtani comp with some 96-97 matches on it. When I was thirteen, I had the pleasure of seeing him and Masato Tanaka live at an ROH show in 2002. Still one of my favorite live wrestling experiences. Anyways, I also enjoyed how the bruisers tried to keep this one as a stand up fight. It speaks to how much the bookers loved Minoru (and to his abilities as well) that he is allowed to go toe-to-toe with anyone and everyone in any situation, whether it be on the ground or on their feet. And LOL, right as I say that, Takaiwa with another lariat. OHTANI BOOTSCRAPES. My favorite spot in all of wrestling, somehow not completely overused and ruined by US indie workers in the next 15 years. God, Kashin is such a scrub, but Tanaka does all the work here and completely makes this match. I'm looking forward to re-evaluating him during this project. I wonder how many HEAT matches will make the cut. Really enjoyed this, even though Kashin appeared to forget the climax of what could have been a great finishing stretch. Watching this made me excited for more NJ Jr Tag stuff in 2000, which I've seen very little of. If I remember correctly, don't we get a nice Dr Wagner Jr and Silver King run in there at some point?

Gotta love the two stoned white dudes with the NWO shirts at the beginning of this clip. It's weird to imagine anyone still being super into the NWO by this point. Hart in jean shorts. Laney mentioned above how sad it is to think of this as one of last matches Bret would ever wrestle. I think the saddest part of that is that he wrestled his last matches in fucking jean shorts. Terry definitely looks old and exhausted here, even moreso than some of his other stuff from this period. Hart is such an effective heel. I know it's a broken record at this point but man, that he didn't get a longer run as a top heel in either promotion is such a shame. I think I'm overdue a 1997 rewatch, which I will get to in ten years when we finish watching all this stuff. I think overall this is an effective brawl. Awesome punches by Funk, weapon shots by both that seem pretty stiff. Funk putting Bret in the laundry cart and pushing it over, ending with Bret basically taking a high angle backdrop bump on the top of his head on the floor has Bret checking his dome for blood. He rolls out of the way of the ugliest goddamn moonsault I've ever seen, and then gives Terry a receipt for the laundry cart in the form of one nasty chairshot to the brain. Funk's sell of the Pillmanizer is hilarious, as he decides he'll sell a potentially broken leg by standing up and stumbling around. Bret punches Charles Robinson in the face because why the hell not. Then we get a shot of Arn Anderson and David Flair backstage next to a cooler (because why the hell not) and then the NWO comes out to beat up Terry Funk. Then David Flair The Referee With The Crowbar comes out as I begin to wonder who in the world would be watching this besides us psychos 17 years later. Then, seconds before the show goes off air, Funk takes a Nash powerbomb through part of the stage, landing on his neck and shoulder. What the fuck is wrong with this company?

Yeah man, I don't know what the hell this was. I've heard people talk about the fabled Black Suit Liger era but never watched much of it. This was bizarre. I don't have much to say beyond that really. Worked well as a squash for sure, but I don't know what they were trying to accomplish here. What, let's put this guy, the most famous Jr. Heavyweight in the division, let's put him over as a dominant force? In a division he's already mostly dominated for like a decade? What's the point? Maybe I need more context, but this seemed really weird. Well executed if this is what they were going for, but definitely weird.

I wasn't going to watch much of the AJ/NJ/NOAH stuff for this project because I've seen so much of it already and don't have much to say about it, but I figured I'd rewatch this one since it's literally a top 50 match of all-time for me. Good god, the atmosphere from this right from the start is so intense. Iizuka and Hashimoto wearing shoot gloves lets you know from the start that Shit Is On~ and this is going to be wild. And how wacky is it that this match begins with Hash and Ogawa showing such restraint and class as it's Murakami and Iizuka who go at it to start. Murakami is one of the meanest fucking dickheads in the history of wrestling, and he is just so good here. He takes down Iizuka with ease. He goes and grabs a mic that (apparently) isn't even plugged in at first. Then the AV department figures it out and he starts yelling as Hash. Then Hash begins to fuck him up and the crowd goes bonkers. Then they finally get the next chapter of the Hashimoto/Ogawa saa, and it is perfectly uncooperative and chaotic. Then we get a bell for a DQ/no contest and trash starts being thrown. This is the real main event of this show, do not be fooled by the card placement. Iizuka's skull is probably fractured again, who knows. Hashimoto gets on the mic and calls the shooters a couple of fucc bois (presumably) and orders the match to be restarted (I guess?) and the Inoki gets in with his big stick (lol) and restarts the match. What the hell is even going on. Match is restarted and Iizuka gets a cross armbreaker on Murakami and the whole Dome is losing their collective shit. This is maybe Iizuka's greatest performance. It's either this or the NJ vs. AJ tag from December 2000. Murakami makes it to his feet and goes for a spin kick but gets GRAPPLED and ends up struggling for the ropes. Man, everyone is so good in this. Murakami is fighting from his back in an incredible display of desperation as Iizuka tags in Hash. Hash lets them fight for a moment, then obliterates Murakami with a pair of kicks. Holy shit. The struggle between Spirit vs. Skill here is palpable, it's an easy story to tell in theory, but to tell it this well requires months (years) of build and some very talented and willing individuals. The moment we finally get Ogawa vs. Hashimoto is electrifying. Ogawa keeps his distance with skillfully placed kicks, but at some point Hash gets in close and just headbutts that ugly motherfucker in the jaw and it's brilliant. Then he just rains blows upon him until Ogawa has to roll outside. Hash tears off one of his MMA gloves and starts throwing open palms. This rules. It's honestly better every time I see it. Hashimoto's reluctance to work the ground against Ogawa is such logical storytelling. He just flat out refuses, gets him to come back to his feet, and deadlifts him for one of the ugliest, sloppiest, realest looking suplexes I've ever seen. When he finally does end up in Ogawa's triangle, the crowd immediately gets quiet. Hash then makes the ropes and Ogawa doesn't let get for a good ten seconds. The sequence that follows is incredible, with Ogawa just STOing everyone, mounting Hashimoto, and then Iizuka dropkicks his ugly mug off and out of the ring. Things break down further, Hashimoto maintains some kind of hold on Ogawa on the floor, and Iizuka gets the ultimate redemption by CHOKING MURAKAMI OUT for the win. Post-match is more chaos. I wrote a lot here. This match rules. Best thing in the project so far. I've seen this match probably ten times and I love it more each time. So many little details. Total chaos. This is the best kind of pro wrestling.