G. Badger

Thanks for sticking with me! We're finally to the end of Tiger Mask in NJPW. Or at least to the end of my DVD set! Let's take a look Tiger Mask/Kantaro Hoshino vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi/Isamu Teranishi (7/20/83): One clip in the match but that didn't hurt anything. All high speed action match. The finish was really nice too! Tiger Mask vs. El Halcon - WWF Jr. Title (7/29/83): Return to early form with the Falcon. This was a near great match (***3/4+) since it was just so clean and well executed. It was more lucha than anything done recently. I still felt the sense of competition. It was like two honorable competitors trying to use their techniques to gain victory as opposed to fighting with strikes. A joy to watch! ----- Tiger Mask/Osamu Kido vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi/Isamu Teranishi (8/1/83): jip but what was shown was really good stuff. Lots of trying to steal the mask. Isamu damn near pins Tiger with a German suplex. Great finish...kinda like a leg trap powerbomb! Fighting after the bell too, I love it! ----- Tiger Mask vs. Isamu Teranishi - NWA Jr. Title (8/4/83): The final match goes out with a bang! Teranishi is the Akira Taue to Sayama Tiger's Misawa. They went all out for this with stuff that easily could have been seen in 1993. On top of that Teranishi has the German suplex which damn near beat TM a couple of days earlier. This is the end of the road and anything could happen! ----- To close out the DVD, Sayama (I presume) gives commentary on some of his trademark moves. Too bad that I don't understand Japanese yet its still an excellent quick overview of the set In summary, this has been a fantastic experience. I've gotten so much enjoyment out of this project. I've been able to see a bunch of different wrestlers from the early 80's UK, Mexico, and Japan. I know some folks have differing opinions on Tiger Mask and some of these matches. That's cool but I beg to disagree. The most well-known matches vs Dynamite are still great. I believe only the final encounter is what I would consider a classic. The feud with Kobayashi is more my preference and maybe when comparing ratings, they aren't too different. However the Kobasyashi matches just feel so much more REAL than the D.K. bouts. I'm only comparing because those are the two defining feuds of Tiger Mask. Black Tiger should have been an equal but other than a couple matches, I never felt like he was in the same league. Not only story wise but also performance wise. I think if it was just Marc Rocco and not Black Tiger, we'd be talking about something different. The Gran Hamada matches were something that I heard a little bit about but man, go see 'em. I wish there were more. Hamada is a favorite of mine so these lived up to and exceeded expectations. Pete Roberts and Steve Wright...yeah no idea and was so happily surprised. In fact, I had read mediocre things about many if the non Dynamite -Kobayashi-Black Tiger bouts. I read that the Teranishi matches were crap. What!? In a way, I'm glad that's what I read because it felt like I was finding something special on my own. And that's why I had such a great time. If you can't tell, I highly recommend watching these matches and getting the DVD set if that's your thing. The mix of opponents, match types, and styles made this a blast! I usually list my favorite matches at the end of my projects but I urge you to go back through the posts and re-read. The above mentioned matches should give you an idea of the classic and great ones but there are so many others worth your time as well. Thanks for reading! Stay safe and be kind this holiday season

Thanks for posting this. I agree with your assessment of Jimmy. His work in FIP from the mid 2000's is a fine example of his talent. I'd recommend he & Shingo vs Jack Evan & Roderick Strong or Jimmy Rave & Fast Eddie vs Brian Kendrick & Sal Rinauro. Rave was one of the few that I can think in the 2000s that didn't mind playing a chicken shit heel. He could stooge and cheat but when it called for it, he could keep up with the faces. He never tried to outshine them and always had great timing for when to revert back to cheating or running away He's the glue to so many tag matches especially for this reason. This is another bummer for 2021.

If you've read the blog in the past or you've looked at enough entries, you know this is my busy time of the year for my job. So, I'm going to try in earnest to finish up the Tiger Mask set up before Xmas. I watched all of these yesterday and I have four more that I'm going to try for tonight. I don't like to rush things if you haven't seen yet But I don't want to stretch the set out into 2022. I am looking forward to doing my 2021 Best Match Watched list along with other superlatives at the end of December. I would really like to finish the 2018 ROH Global Wars tour before then as well. I don't want to drag that out. I'm probably not going to finish my AJPW 2012 shows but you never know! If I can get Tiger and ROH done and have energy after work then, I'd like to shoot for it. Anyhow, let's get to the wrestling! Mid 1983 NJPW! Tiger Mask vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi - NWA Jr. Title (6/2/83) - Oh my goodness! This is their best bout so far. This felt like a Misawa vs Kawada match as they have no only had many encounters to build the feud but they are physically and stylistically similar like you don't see very often. This is the match that Tiger Mask wanted to have. He can do lucha and British grappling. It really felt ahead of its time. The stiffness and aggression were amped up. This looked like a fight. I wrote a whole lot more but it may have spoiled the ending and I try to avoid that. It wasn't my favorite ending yet it was a clean finish. ----- Tiger Mask vs. Fishman - WWF Jr. Title (6/12/83, Mexico City, Toreo de Cuatro Caminos) - Good match with some good moves. First appearance of Tiger's Red bell bottoms. Great costumes and atmosphere. ----- Tiger Mask vs. Isamu Teranishi - NWA Jr. Title (7/7/83) - Teranishi is a guy I've seen ringside but had no idea who he was. I always thought he was bald based on Fire Pro R. Not the case! I've seen poor reviews of this feud but you know this was very good stuff. Teranishi looks like a meat & potatoes wrestler but he's got quickness and some tricks up his sleeve. Kobayashi is at ringside and this breaks down after the 3 count and Tiger gets his mask shredded. This match along with the post match elevated this to something great and provides more substance to the larger TM/Kobayashi feud. Hells yeah! ----- Tiger Mask vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi - WWF Jr. Title (7/14/83)- Oh boy, here we go again. This starts out like a shoot match and you can see Tiger's time with the judoka Kobayashi helped his vision for UWF. Much like the encounter above this exemplifies the best of Junior Strong Style. The action is exciting, the mat work is engaging and the stakes are high. This looks and feels like wrestling as competition. Here unlike other classic lucha and British style bouts, Tiger is able to fight a style of his own which combines stiff kicks, minor acrobatics and grappling perfectly. Perhaps it is because Kuniaki is also comfortable in this style that we truly get to see the zenith of TM. That's why I made they Kawada/Misawa comparison. These two bring the best out of each other. Classic match as long as you're OK with the "80s ending. " I may have preferred it to the clean finish in their first match above. Or maybe equal... This was an excellent clutch of matches to get me enthused about finishing the set. Thanks for reading! Be kind! And hope to write again with more Tiger Mask real soon

Here's stop #2 on the 2018 Global Wars tour. We're in Lowell, MA. Matt Taven vs BUSHI - Nice start to the show. Good action from both guys. A little quick but its the opening match so, I can't complain! The Bouncers vs Dalton Castle/Juice Robinson - This could have been good but I skipped it. Too much comedy...I should have Fast Forwarded the intros and maybe I wouldn't skipped this. Frankie Kazarian vs Flip Gordon - Whoa this was your X division title match! Wait wrong company! Good stuff...a little bit too cutesy with moves but some were really sick looking! No selling but for the spot on the card it is acceptable :-) Sumie Sakai vs Jenny Rose - Stylistically this was my favorite match so far. Simple moves, aggressive behavior, and organic progression to the story. Nice selling of pain and exhaustion for an under 9 minute match. Excellent finish too! Liger style avalanche Frankensteiner to pin. Jay Briscoe vs Scorpio Sky- Alright! We get another intense competitive wrestling match. Briscoe and Scorpio Sky hit some big blows here and neither wants to back down. We get a sorta kinda cheap win as things were heating up but this was bordering on a very good match. As it is maybe ***1/2 -ish. I've seen this get * elsewhere but I think that's too harsh. Seriously I would make a concession to go *** but no way is this a poorer match than anything proceeding it. Bully Ray/Silas Young vs EVIL/SANADA- A simple but effective match. Bully is old school heeling and its up to the LIJ team to shut him up. Really fun match but this is a waste of EVIL and Seiya Sanada. Sure Ian says they're keeping a tally (like the WCW vs NJ Starrcade I believe) but that's just fluff. There's no stakes. So then you have to wonder why we can't have another team in there OR why a more dynamic ROH isn't taking place. ROH is very much TNA circa 2005-09 in 2018, that's why. We get dissension after the match. Jeff Cobb vs Christopher Daniels - This was starting to be something good but it finished up rather quickly. It was fun but truthfully underwhelming from both guys considering the legend status of Daniels and the hype of Cobb. It makes Cobb look strong but it looks like an artificial boost in his power rather than him really decimating his opponent Chris Daniels. Mark Briscoe vs Cody - The entrances to the match show why ROH dropped off after the AEW exodus. The people who are chanting "Cody!" and have their Bullet Club shirts, Young Buck fans etc. really weren't long term ROH fans but birds migrating from WWE over to ROH when they got the NJ/PWG/Bucks/Omega hype and have since flown off since the NJ/Elite split. The 2019 crowds were the drizzling shits. I mean Mark Briscoe has the same legend status as Daniels. It terms of ring wars and titles held he's more of one to be fair. This stage of ROH and pop wrestling is all about fan service and interaction, I suppose. People are tired of watching the show, they want to be a part of it. This is obvious to those that still watch WWE or AEW. But to an old timer like me, its a bit of a revelation. I think that's why people can get hyped about a middle of the road talent like Cody. We can see the difference as he floats around like Peter Pan whereas Mark Briscoe moves like he wants to hurt people. Thankfully the better part of this match had Mark doing just that. Cody gets a chicken -shit heel win and the fans cheer. I don't understand this...Cody is like Christian Cage 2.0 with a dye job. Its an OK match. Sucks Cody goes over even though it's splitsville pretty soon. This is a pretty disappointing upper card to the show when the early matches out perform the latter ones. Let's hope that the final two bouts save it. Adam Page vs Tetsuya Naito - Best match so far, thankfully! The crowd was kinda iffy and that hurt the match a little bit. The were sitting on their hands but still gave a 'this is awesome' chant?? Like they were obliged to so. Then later they were shitting on Todd saying he blew a 3 count. Hey dipshits...its not over when you think its over. Its over when its over. I don't think "older" ROH fans would chant 'you fucked up' at the ref if Austin Aries kicked out of KENTA GTS. They would be fucking excited and probably chant a sincere 'this is awesome '...Again these folks want to be part of the entertainment rather than be entertained. Its a different world and I guess I'm being nostalgic but they seem pretty content to chant the 'Elite' chant, cheer Naito when he mails in a ***3/4 match, and mug for the camera. All that said, its a very good match. On a normal show this would have been a a mid card match. Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham vs Vinny Marseglia/TK O'Ryan vs Chris Sabin/Kushida vs Young Bucks - Thank goodness for this match! A great pedal to the metal free-for-all spot match that saved the show and surely sent the wrestling fans home happy! Kinda like a rough around the edges Dragon Gate style match but dammit, it was what we all needed after a pretty uninspired show. I'll say its in the **** range. The last few minutes are pretty stellar and reminiscent of the Dragon Gate matches a decade earlier. ----- This would have been a pretty good FIP show but, for all of the talent on here, that's more of a insult than a compliment. I think if you paid $15 for a ticket then you'd be a happy camper. If this were its own DVD eh...I think the live experience made this better than it was on tape. Bundling this show with 3 other shows makes sense. I waited and bought the set for $5 last Black Friday and this one it was down to $2.50, I think?? The main event here is the only thing I would highly recommend watching. It was fun at times and went by fast but the crowd got on my nerves. For better or worse those people hit the road with The Elite in 2019. Thanks for reading!

I got the 4 disc set from ROH last year on a season sale and shoot might as well check it out. I always wanna watch stuff in chronological order but I got to give that up or I'll never watch everything. This set is $5 for 4 discs. This is disc one...just want to keep it simple. Eli Isom vs Flip Gordon - I skipped this...great start, right? I got too much to watch to spend time with this. Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs The Bouncers - The start of my show and this was the way to do it. Speed vs power and vets vs younger guys...yeah this was very enjoyable. Was it the best use of Kaz & Scorp? No but, it was fun. Jeff Cobb vs Cheeseburger - I can justify The Bouncers but I really can't justify Cheeseburger. Skipped...terrible use of Jeff Cobb here. Matt Taven/Vinny Marseglia/TK O'Ryan vs Dalton Castle/The Boys - ROH Six-Man Tag Title Match - This was a really fun comedy match with some very good moments of wrestling. If you're feeling a PWG 6 man this will do the trick. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Cody/Adam Page - I'm watching these like ROH TV shows where they squeeze 3 matches in an hour. This is my main event for the "episode." And wow! This was a very good match. I'm not a Cody fan but he works really well in tag matches since his weaknesses are well concealed. The Briscoes are the tops and were working on making this a great **** level bout. Page was definitely game for that. Christopher Daniels vs Juice Robinson - This was disappointing but it did confirm my practice of treating every 3 matches like a TV episode. This then was fine for a TV opener. On to the next match! Bully Ray/Silas Young vs Young Bucks- I can understand that people don't want to see Ray in ROH. But this is more TNA then ROH in 2018 and they can really use a guy who can draw some heat...even cheap heat. There's no real faces or heels in the company here. He and Silas actually feel like actual heels and they are in their with the biggest faces of the company (tweener faces I guess??). The biggest stars of the company at least. So they work a real simple face/heel match. Bubba...or Bully bumps for the Bucks, Silas is the athletic heel and the Jackson boys do their stuff. This was a great match. People will disagree but the heel stuff made the Bucks' moves mean something. Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham/Chris Sabin/Kushida vs Tetsuya Naito/EVIL/SANADA/BUSHI - Big names and the main event to this episode and DVD! And you know that it came through! It wasn't as good as the previous match but once it picked up it gave you all the action you wanted to see from the guys. I'm not seeing the NJ guys as much as I used to (fine by me) but this is a nice way for someone only seeing NJPW in ROH to get a taste. Like TNA doing their Global X matches, its a really good 15 minute action match that is fast and exciting without killing anyone. That being said, this didn't have a lot of personality from LIJ besides EVIL. Lethal's team was fun as heck though! This was a really good DVD. I'd totally say this by itself is worth the $5. There's no classic encounter and only one great **** match this was so easy and fun to watch. Thanks for reading!

ShopROH has DVDs half off on stuff from 2017-2019. Mainly B-shows but there's actually some of their best stuff. Gresham vs Lethal, Lethal vs Silas, UK tour and Global Wars sets less than 10 or even $5 in some cases. The shipping is around $9 (steep) but the more you buy the less that actually is per DVD. Also they expanded the Collector's Edition stuff as I mentioned above. That's not on sale but perhaps they'll have a black Friday deal. Just an fyi for all the old timers.

I've been watching some TNA Year One which wasn't really something I thought to blog about. The Low- Ki, Styles & Jerry Lynn ladder match is fantastic though! In the meantime, I wanted to post some more of my fractured photos :-) TNA Double J ----- AJ, Sting & Earl ----- Wahoo & Tully...bleeding ----- Sekimoto Maddness I should be posting some actual written materials shortly...probably some ROH stuff. Hope you enjoy!

Hello again! Part 3 will cover the 03/04 show from Tokyo's K-Hall. Then we close out with a tag title encounter from 03/20 which may be at Budokan or some other larger venue. So its a big time match-up. Let's go! Okabayashi -vs- Takumi Soya: We see a very good to great under 10 minute match between two rivals. Soya (Manabu's brother) is ranked below BJW's Okabayashi but he has tons of fight in him. That intensity raises this match up to be something special. And when I say intense, this at the start reminded me of Stan Hansen or Ishikawa vs Ikeda in Battlarts. It was just frenetic and violent. Takao Omori/Manabu Soya -vs- KENSO/Kaz Hayashi (TLC match for tag title shot): A really fun TNA TV style ladder match. There is nothing too innovative or breath-taking. It was not trying to be an awesome bout as you would expect in the States. ----- Yuji Nagata -vs- Masayuki Kono: An interpromotional grudge match between an aging Nagata and an adroit Masa Kono. This has good action and heat but this isn't something to seek out. Nice to see Nagata though! Yutaka Yoshie -vs- Osamu Nishimura: JIP OK stuff Kohei Suwama -vs- Seiya Sanada - (2/3 Falls): A very good to great match between two of AJPW's best at this time. Here SUWAMA is Jumbo to Sanada's Misawa. Its not a perfect analogy but we get the underdog fight and the fighting spirit of Sanada to survive the big man's backdrop. SUWAMA is heir apparent to the move IMO. Also Sanada uses a bit of Misawa's offense like mulitple elbow strikes and the Tiger Suplex. The first fall has the best action while the second one has the fighting spirit story going for it. Personally I would have liked one longer fight rather than break it up but, it's all the same really. Daisuke Sekimoto/Yuji Okabayashi -vs- Kohei Suwama/Takumi Soya (03/20): This was my main event for the comp DVD. It definitely delivered. This is your big time Tag Title FIGHT! There's history between these teams and the straps are on the line. The strength of Strong BJW is unmatched in 2012. However AJ's SUWAMA is a destroyer and Soya has the heart of a lion. This does not disappoint. Everyone gets banged up, most notably Sekimoto who's go a bruise on his cheekbone egging up. A great story along with great action and timing makes this a Classic match to me. STRETCH PLUM! STRECH PLUM!!! ----- Sekimoto is not happy... ----- This was a really great comp which is available on IVP video as October-November 2012. I think it was an AJPW TV rebroadcast (we get commercials). If you do business with him and are looking for something different to try, this is a good pick. Thanks for reading!

Here we are at Part #2 of my non-comprehensive and completely based around my cheapness look at AJPW 2012. I have this and the 03/04/12 showon a AJPW comp type DVD. I think there's two more shows after that. Let's see how things go! Mutoh/Akebono/Ryota Hama vs Daisuke Sekimoto/Yuji Okabayashi/Yoshito Sasaki - This was a fine example of Korakuen hall 6 man magic. Mutoh and his team's limitations were hidden because no one was in there long enough to be offensive. Also the BJW team (who are some of my faves) have a simple hard hitting style that works well against the giants Akebono and Hama. Mutoh was relatively untouchable and did his trademark moves but - its fun to still see him out there! It was generally a predictable match with the fat guy spots, fighting spirit toughness and the aforementioned Muto spots but it was a ton of fun! Masa Fuchi/Hikaru Sato -vs- Hiroshi Yamato/Yasufumi Nakanoue - This was about 7 minute and had some good stuff but was too short to rate. Kenny Omega -vs- Kaz Hayashi. *All Japan Jr. Title - Overall, I think Kenny Omega is OK. Kinda like how I really like pancakes and french toast but waffles are OK if the other two aren't available. I wanted to say that first and foremost because I think his weird antics and attempts to get heat didn't help this match. The start of the match was a really exciting sequence followed by a spectacular moonsault off of some tables set atop the K-Hall stage. It was something special. After that his control section, which took up the middle of the match, were a series of tepid Muto spots where he was looking for cheap heat from the AJPW crowd. I don't think most people care because in 2012 who the hell was Kenny Omega to the AJPW crowd? It would be different if Muto was at ringside with Kaz. It really just looked bush-league. As the match kicked into high gear, Omega was performing at the level we would see in NJPW. In fact he out performed the veteran Hiyashi who threw some of the worst punches in the strike exchange. Omega was throwing stiff chops but Kaz wouldn't take the bait and dragged this potentially exciting moment down. The finish was pretty darn good but overall this title fight was disappointing. I guess my hopes were for a **** great match. There were glimmers of greatness but in the end this was just a good match with flaws. Jun Akiyama -vs- Takao Omori *Triple Crown* - This is not a mid 1990s Triple Crown defense obviously. But they were able to take this back to the late 80's -'92 era of Triple Crown matches. It was not tremendously spectacular but it was fought with ferocity and guts. And a bit of wits too. What interested me in this period of AJ was Akiyama's return but also in his stylistic choice to go back to the old days of AJ by focusing on smart hard hitting physical matches without the head drops or flash. This was a fantastic example of that as the body of the match focussed on his attempt to weaken Omori's Ax Bomber lariat arm. Omori then trying to fight despite that weakness and then realizing he can't get the win without it. This was a great match between two vets of the golden 90's going out there and showing folks (and probably Kenny Omega) how its done. Solid **** match right here. ---- Overall, this was a pretty good night of wrestling. Nothing that's must-see but I'm sure the Akiyama vs Omori is something that an old fan of AJPW would enjoy. I would recommend that for sure. the BJW 6 man match is also very fun. Again, the Kaz vs Kenny bout had some high points but is more about it being two guys letting me down. But I wouldn't dissuade anyone from watching it ...I still think its got more positive points than negative. Thanks for reading! Stay safe folks!

I checked their shop site and the have a NJ/ROH DVD up there from 2014 listed as Collectors Series. So perhaps this is the first of a few DVDs of older stuff they're going to re-release?? Not that it'll save jobs or the organization. From someone who was watching the current show up until a few months ago, they just had too many people for 1 hr of wrestling a week. The Pure Title tournament showed they only needed a limited number of guys to have a show for weeks. I'm fuzzy on the numbers but the story line was easy to follow and viewers didn't go weeks without seeing a certain wrestler. It got a good amount of attention from people who didn't actively watch the company anymore AND got favorable reviews. Then unfortunately they went right back to business as usual once they got more talent COVID tested and some restrictions loosened. Based on that statement released, I could see them going back to having a dozen contacted guys and then getting talent on a per show basis. Enough to put on a tv show and do "events" like Anniversary shows, Glory by Honor, Final Battle. Then really working on making their back catalog available on their service and doing the collector's series of dvds for old farts like me. They probably should have done this a few years ago after the Elite exodus. Edit: Another thought I had was: do a show of "Best of" episodes/matches from the past. They did this the first few months of lockdown and I enjoyed it. You got to see old stuff as well as more recent footage based on a specific wrestler. They could do this like the AJPW Samurai TV Classics show. Just start with Era of Honor Begins In all honesty, they could have a mix of new matches and "ROH Classics" episodes and it would probably do as well as it has been at a fraction of the cost.

Ring of Honor 2003 was something that was interesting to me for a couple reasons. The first was that it featured so many highly regarded matches with great show titles - 1st Year Anniversary (3 way), London vs Daniels from Round Robin II, The Epic Encounter, Night of the Grudges, Main Event Spectacles, and Bitter Friends Stiffer Enemies and War of the Wire. ROH 2003 was also intriguing because these shows or matches are pretty hard to find. Comparatively 2004 stuff is still easy to track down because of such landmark shows or matches that have sold well over the years. Enough fans bought these back in the day either in 2004 or after that they're available on eBay or Amazon. Or they were significant enough to put on a compilation or two. Think of Joe vs Punk's trilogy, Generation Next, Weekend of Thunder, Final Battle 2004...I even see the Reborn series and some of the highlights now and again. Going back 2003 on paper had as many or more MOTYCs than 2004 but these DVDs don't see the light of day as often as 2004. It was an odd situation. One would think 2003 stuff would be more available and ROH would have gone back an re-printed those shows. I mean I got Joe vs Punk II in 2008 but I don't recall much of any 2003 stuff being available then...save the early compilations which are hit or miss in terms of quality. Sidenote - The best title is 'Let the Gates of Hell Open' which is the Rottweilers comp. Sorry for being long-winded. My point is that part of my interest in 2003 was also based upon its scarcity. 2004 was pretty available and 2002 due to the Takedown Masters and other re-print/re-packging was available (although I dragged my feet on that). Yeah 2003 had all of these classic bouts but never seemed within reach. So back in 2016 I scooped up ROH's Year Two DVD set as fast as I could (along with some other stuff) because I knew ROH's comps always went out-of-print. Knowing the lack of availability of these matches/shows for a fair price, this seemed like the only chance I would have. Its stupid but fear of missing out was at the heart of this. History has shown that to be a good move on my part. Since then ROH has dramatically cut back on their DVD production especially their compilations, which I think is their biggest asset (re-issuing their back catalog). I was finally able to see the all time classics mentioned above and man I was so glad. These were awesome contests and the biggest discovery was just how amazing Paul London was then. Seriously if he had stuck around, ROH would have been a different place for the better. But as you can tell from the title of this post, its not about him. Its not about those matches but the ones that were omitted. There was no Corino vs Homicide. I really wanted to see those but apparently they were omitted to be put in the Notorious 187's comp from the same time. I passed on that due to the problem of too many duplicated matches from other DVDs. So years went by and I just figured I'd miss 'em. That's part of being a fan is knowing you won't see everything you want to. However, at the start of the pandemic a lot of places put stock on sale. ROH was one of them and the Homicide one wasn't available but there was a Steve Corino one!? But there was Bitter Friends Stiffer Enemies and War of the Wire listed. The backstory of the feud has to do with Corino kicking Homicide during a tag match in 2002. Homicide then gets revenge at All Star Extravaganza when he stabs him with a fork ala Abdullah the Butcher. Final Battle 2002 sees Corino hurt 'Cide and take his place in the 4 Way match. That's a classic match you should see. So now we're onto 2003 with the 1st Anniversary show where Corino introduces his ill-fated Group of Samoa Joe, Michael Shane and CW Anderson. This causes a big problem for ROH as this goes against the official booking. Of course this is a work. It doesn't matter because the fans are pissed. The match happens and its OK but the excitement comes from the fans shouting at Joe and company at ringside. It really is at or beyond ECW levels of unrest. Eventually the fans spill over the guard rail and attack Steve and his group. This is crazy! There is some certainty that most of these folks were plants but its been pointed out that a few real people rushed the ring as well. Supposedly Homicide breaks character and protects his foes. I for sure saw Joe beat the hell out of one guy. This was a tremendously risky booking decision but it paid off. I would consider this more of an angle than a match. vs Homicide (Bitter Friends Stiffer Enemies 2003): Here's the first real meeting in my view and its a battle. Its a relaxed rules match and the only real rules enforced are the rope breaks and the ring-out count. Beyond that it appears anything goes! The blood was flowing and hits were connecting. Early on Corino eggs 'Cide to give him his best shot and gets a hard slap in return. This pops Corino's ear drum and as you may know he's left permanently deaf in that ear. What's odd to me is that this blow takes place so soon. I had always thought it took place late in the match. Credit to Corino for continuing after this injury. This was a great match (****) but it left room for the feud to continue. ----- vs Homicide (War of the Wire 2003): It makes perfect sense that they escalated to a barb wire match. Although I'm sure CZW did barb wire matches, I look to this bout as the sequel to Funk vs Sabu in ECW. ROH was the true heir to ECW's throne. To me this match felt like bringing the wire out of retirement after Paul E. vowed never to do another Barb Wire match. As if to say that the hate was so intense that only an ancient and forbidden battle would settle the score. They did it justice as both wrestlers put their bodies on the line. Their seconds got involved as well and made things more chaotic. I think it was a classic ROH match. Do not expect a work rate match with barb wire though. He had it in him in 2002 ASE and Final Battle but he'd gained some weight. More than that, I appreciate that as it puts over the damaging effects of the wire (If you are looking for something like that BJW has you covered.) That being said I wouldn't say it was the best wire match EVER but it was worth the wait. ----- In all honesty, I can't see why this was omitted from the Year Two DVD in terms of quality of content. These matches deserved to be on Disc #2 of that set as both are iconic matches. Secondly, disc #2 is the weaker of the set. I think we all would have picked these bouts over the Scramble Cage Match from Main Event Spectacles or AJ vs Kaz Hiyashi from Final Battle for instance. Perhaps swap one out at least. That being said, I'm glad they were available on this Steve Corino DVD. Like Paul London, I think ROH would have been a different place had Corino stuck around long term. His story in ROH is an odd one. He comes and goes every few years but always feels like an outsider threatening the principles and values of the company. In the included interview, he compares himself to Riki Choshu in this regard. I'm glad I got to see his first invasion and am looking forward to his return and the SCUM storyline in the future. Thanks for reading!

Here we go again with more of our hero Tiger Mask! We're getting close to the end. Tiger Mask vs. Gran Hamada - (2/3/83): This featured great matwork, agility, timing, counters and reversals. Much of this was on the mat and that's where Tiger is best despite being known as a flying innovator. These two are just amazing together. A classic encounter. ----- Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger - (2/7/83): JIP 8 minutes in, good match with state of the art offense. Black Tiger isn't Tiger's best opponent but he's always there to try and foil our hero's plans. Tiger Mask vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi - (2/8/83): 7 minute JIP, what was shown was awesome. Its a shame we didn't get to see their feeling out period and matwork. Spectacular stuff that was 10 years ahead of its time. Check out the Muta lock!! Yeah, Muta got nuthin' on this! ----- Tiger Mask/Kantaro Hoshino vs. Gran Hamada/Kuniaki Kobayashi (2/10/83): Another JIP, 4 minutes in but I think we get enough to not have it be obvious. This is pretty exciting stuff with action from bell to bell. Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid - (4/21/83): The final encounter and the famous restart match. This may be the first "5 more minutes!" match. I think that's what made it a classic match. It was off the hook when both guys got disqualified. The fans were chanting for more time or a re-start...and they give it to 'em!! We haven't seen this level of intensity in awhile...I mean its over the Kuniaki matches when Dynamite Kid is bringing broken bottles in the ring to stab TM with! We haven't seen Dynamite in some time but they really dial it up for this ultimate fight. I have some problems with some move choices and their selling but I think all US fans that grew up with the Undertaker will feel this way. Classic match for everything that goes on here. I've got one more disc of my TM DVD set so probably 2 more posts. I'm still enjoying the heck outta this set. We've got more Kobayashi in singles and tags so, it should be good! Thanks for reading!

I pulled out a few more PWG dvds for a re-watch to see if they were as good as I remembered and to be surprised how stacked some of the shows were. BOLA 2012 - wow...Anyhow, I cherry picked matches featuring Roderick Strong, Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards as well as a bonus match. OK let's take a look Davey Richards vs Roderick Strong (Titannica 2010): Holy cow! This is way beyond what I saw them doing against each other in FIP 2006. On top of that, we get no playing to the PWG crowd, jokes or other stuff that became commonplace in the Reseda VFW. This is just two of the best Juniors going out there and bringing innovation, intensity, speed and stiffness. They brought the energy level up and settled it down, brought it up - settled it down. This was probably my best match watched in 2016. It stuck with me for days..and to boot its still available for $5 on Highspots as of this post. Classic match still to this day. Thankfully! ----- Eddie Edwards vs Roderick Strong (BOLA 2011): I haven't seen their ROH stuff but this was right up my alley as athletic competition/dramatized combat sport. I thought this was a classic BOLA match as the physicality, move choice and timing was excellent. Truly I would say it was on par with a Champion Carnival match of AJPW 90's. ----- Drake Younger vs Roderick Strong (BOLA 2012 n.1): A very good match that if given more time would have been a great one. This was really brutal at times. ----- Kyle O'Reilly vs Eddie Edwards (BOLA 2012 n.1): Two of my favourite guys but they never developed a story here. They just ran through a lot of good stuff but they never gave a chance to mean anything. That's OK because they would go on to perfect this on ROH's Reclamation Night 1. Davey Richards vs Michael Elgin (BOLA 2012 n.1): This was a Showdown in the Sun rematch and they have amazing chemistry. There are great strikes, counters, fighting spirit comebacks and all those things made this great. I hesitate to call this a classic because the stalling suplex spot was too long and they kicked out of one too many good finishes. I mean the ending should have been Davey's absolutely perfect flurry of kicks. It WAS the right moment but they wanted to do a minute or two more. It still works and is certainly the match of the night and was pretty bad ass. I'll say it's a BOLA classic but if a couple things were different this would be an all-time classic. One thing I'll say is folks got pretty drunk and that hurt the show. I felt that they got drunk early too. The guys in the front row are drinking pitchers of beer. Reminds me of college...but yeah lots of chanting, guys trying to get cheap laughs from the crowd, etc. Should have muted this... Adam Cole vs Eddie Edwards (BOLA 2012 n.2): This starts with Cole doing comedy heel shit and Eddie punishing him for it. This was a really good pairing AND fans aren't drinking tonight. Great match! *Bonus* Michael Elgin vs Ricochet (BOLA 2012 n.2): I distinctly remember thinking this was fantastic and I'm glad to say that holds up. This doesn't really come across as a classic but man, its the most logical and well paced match that on the BOLA this year. It was the man-beast vs the high flyer and they did an AWESOME job selling this story. Most of Ricochet's offense was hope spots and counters. And unlike Davey vs Elgin the night before, they didn't empty the tank but they never over did it. A great match and honestly its probably better than that because its smart. ----- Overall this was a pretty fun and rewarding rewatch experience! I genuinely was having a blast watching these matches without the "need" to watch the rest of the show. I would recommend all of the actual dvds if you're into these wrestlers but it was nice to rewatch and pretty much enjoy them like the first time 5-6 years ago. Thanks for reading! More Tiger Mask on the way shortly. Stay safe folks!

Here we go! 1983 Tiger Mask vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi - NWA Jr. Title (1/6/83): This is one of my early favorites of my puro dvd collection. I probably saw it in 2010 or so with my dad along with the Dynamite Kid ones. This is the match that gave me a clue that TM could be more than his feud with Dynamite. This was awesome then and its awesome now. Its ahead of its time with nearfalls, double count outs, etc. This was pretty darn stiff near the end and was very intense. This was a near classic match to me. ---- Tiger Mask/El Gran Hamada/Kantaro Hoshino vs. Los Misioneros De La Muerte (Negro Navarro/El Signo/El Texano) (1/14/83): This was clipped a little bit in the beginning but after that one it was shown in full. Man, this was all kinds of fun! Tiger Mask vs. Negro Navarro (1/20/83): JIP a little as far as I could tell. I wasn't expecting that! Really good stuff that was enjoyable to watch. Based on these two matches, I wish more of this mini feud made the DVD. ---- Tiger Mask/Kantaro Hoshino vs. Black Tiger/Jose Estrada (1/28/83): A fast paced tag match with Black Tiger Rocco thankfully returning to form. He looked best here. This was another fun match. This round of matches from Tiger were a breeze to watch. The variety of opponents he faces make this set stay fresh & interesting. I make sure to take breaks but every time I come back to it, it doesn't disappoint.

I've been reorganizing some stuff around the house and was going through a box of dvds. I found some PWG ones that I'd watched 5 years ago. I wasn't really keeping notes and was in a down period regarding wrestling. I just wanted to check out something different. Anyways, I thought I'd give a few things a re-watch and a proper review. Roderick Strong vs. Joey Ryan (Block A Quarterfinal) - skipped...I'm just over Joey Ryan's shtick. Alex Shelley vs. Matt Sydal (Block A Quarterfinal)- skipped, people really dig this. I'd recommend it too! but I've seen it a few times. It's kind of dry IMO. PAC vs. Claudio Castagnoli (Block B Quarterfinal) - Spectacular at times, Claudio was a fantastic base for PAC's moves. Likewise, PAC moved and bumped brilliantly for Double C. Very good match CIMA vs. SHINGO (Block B Quarterfinal) - Not as spectacular but more well developed and paced. Didn't think a ton about it originally but this was **** great match. Nigel McGuinnes vs. Necro Butcher (Block C Quarterfinal) - This was mainly Nigel being awesome in 2007. Good stuff very easy to watch. El Generico vs. Dragon Kid (Block C Quarterfinal) - Skipped wasn't interested. Having Claudio here would also have worked booking -wise Roderick Strong vs. Alex Shelley (Block A Semifinal) - First off, get the Alex Shelley ROH DVD now if you're a fan of his. Originally watched this after the 2004-05 Gen Next saga including the Embassy stuff. This match TOTALLY extends that feud to 2007 and in a PWG ring...the opening sequences and move theft make this so much deeper than just a very good match. If you know that stuff then this match is great shit! If this wasn't a tournament then they would have went on to wrestle a classic.Makes me wish we got more Alex Shelley in late 2000's ROH. He is truly an unsung great of ROH. CIMA vs. PAC (Block B Semifinal)- I have seen someone call this a classic but I disagree. It is a good spot match with some really crazy stuff. They were getting a little too cute with the moves at times (mainly PAC) but it was a worthwhile watch. El Generico vs. Nigel McGuinness (Block C Semifinal) - I would say this was a very good match but I enjoyed it way more than rating would indicate. Nigel just breaking Generico piece by piece is a thing of beauty...especially skinny 2007 Generico. Don't count the luchadore out though! Chris Hero, Kevin Steen, Tyler Black, Doug Williams, Susumu Yokosuka & Jack Evans vs. Austin Aries, Jimmy Rave, The Human Tornado, Scott Lost, Davey Richards & Karl Anderson- Its fun and there's no comedy b.s. like they would make a habit of doing. A nice match to eat lunch with. CIMA vs. Roderick Strong vs. El Generico (Finals - Triple Threat Elimination) - This was a pretty good ending to a great night of wrestling. Like many tournament finals, its more about the finals being a culmination of the tournament rather than it being an awesome fight. So this was a fun spot based match where it was all big moves with not a ton of story or selling.The right guy won it and that really helps everyone go home happy. This is a no brainer purchase if you're a fan of this era of wrestling. Its akin to an excellent 2007 ROH B-show. Very easy to watch and enjoy the heck out of!

I wanted to provide a index of my FMW posts for the convenience of people who are interested due to the upcoming Dark Side of the Ring episode on Frontier Martial arts Wrestling. Mixed Up Monday FMW M-Pro Spotlight: FMW Pt. 2 Spotlight: FMW Pt. 1 FMW Late 1992 FMW: Late 1991 to Mid 1992 FMW: 1991 Atsushi Onita Feburary 1991 Atsushi Onita FMW 89-90 FMW: November-December 1996 FMW: Funk Masters of Wrestling, 1996 FMW: 1998, Pt. 1 FMW: 1998, Pt. 2 FMW: 1998, Pt. 3 FMW: 1998, Pt. 4 I hope this helps and thanks for reading!

We're back with more from the original Tiger Mask! vs Black Tiger (09/21/82): There were some neat moves here but it didn't flow very well as both seemed off their game. Highlight was Tiger double knee dropping the mat from the top rope. vs Marty Jones (10/08/82): This was much better but not as awesome as I had expected. This match was a very good technician vs technician bout. It was on its way to great things though. vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (10/26/82): KK & TM just despise one another. This felt more like a fight than the above matches. Very aggressive tone to every block, counter and dodge. This is very much Tiger in his element and we're rewarded with logical uses of his speed and agility (rather than doing spots for the crowd). Great match even with an old school ending. vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (11/04/82): A bigger, better version of the above match. I mean Tiger drop kicks Kuniaki before the bell rings. This felt like a grudge match for sure! But what's interesting is that Kobayashi isn't a heel but more of true equal to Tiger Mask...thing is he wants to take that mask...to get TM to stop playing dress up. At least that's what I gather from how the match is wrestled It reminded me of Otani or Kawada letting an emotion get in their way of victory. I'd call this a near classic match. I've seen folks go higher than that so you really want to check it out for yourself. Personally I think this is THE series of matches people should see instead of the Dynamite Kid ones...if you only are going to choose one. That's all for now! We get another match with Kobayashi as well as some lucha action next installment! Thanks for reading! Check out the Kobayashi matches and see ya soon

OK we're on to Part #2 of the Best of TNA 2009 as determined by the DVD put out by TNA in 2009 Sarita vs Alissa Flash (Best Women's match, Impact TV 07/16) : You know I remembered this match and it was alright. TNA's Knockout division was getting pretty good around this time. You could expect quality beyond Awesome Kong, ODB and I think Gail Kim left already to try WWE again. Fun moves Sabin vs Shelley vs Homicide vs Daniels vs Amazing Red vs Suicide (Bound for Glory, October, Ultimate X match, #4 Best Bout) : Red was the champ and this was a free for all, the MCMG fought as a team and came out as a team. Yeah in hindsight they were in here just to spice shit up.And really that's all this was - top notch high risk spot match. It is neat that you have all of this talent but also bummer that they're not fighting for the World Title. They were just so afraid of pushing them beyond the X division. This should have been the main event as it was thrilling and the fans were crazy about it. AJ Styles vs Sting (Bound for Glory, October, #3 Best Bout): A simple but effective World title fight. It reminded me of Sting facing a young version of himself in AJ Styles. You could say it was a little disappointing if you bought the PPV and thought they would top Ultimate X but on tape and a decade removed, its a great match. Samoa Joe vs Daniels vs AJ Styles (Turning Point, November, 3 way, #1 Best Bout): Best Bout? You better believe it! This was a classic work rate match showing their 2005 classic was no fluke. This is in the Top 10 Best TNA matches that I've seen. I remember the build up to this and it was great to see Christopher Daniels as "himself" instead of Curry Man. I missed his early years in TNA and had only heard of these three's 5 star match. I was really jazzed up about this but I never bought TNA shows since I was worried about cheap finishes. So its fantastic to finally see this and know that it lived up to the hype. That said, I don't know how it would stack up against a ROH three way match in 2009 but would still put it at the ****1/2 level. ...and that's it folks! A fun albeit brief look at the Best of TNA in 2009. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

A couple of years ago I found a TNA DVD that I'd never seen before and haven't seen since. It is TNA Best of 2009. I actually got my copy factory sealed too but without a price tag. So its odd that someone never opened this OR maybe this copy just sat around a warehouse for 10 years until I bought it. What makes this such a great find for me is that its right about when I really was paying attention to TNA but also becoming less interested in the program. So it features some of the last good TNA stuff on Spike. In the bonus features it has the announcement of Hulk Hogan joining the promotion which was the beginning of the end. So this DVD features the Top matches of the year and I can't really complain since I can only recall a better Knockout match than the one featured here and that was Cheerleader Melissa vs Ayako Hamada in a no DQ match. That could have been 2010 though. Anyhow, this post is going to focus on the Kurt Angle matches since he's in half of those featured. Personally, his stuff here isn't as top shelf as some of the bouts from 2006-2008 as shown on his TNA solo DVD (Joe matches, vs Nagata). That said those featured here are still very worthy of being some of his best work in TNA wrestling. vs Jeff Jarrett (Genesis 2009 January, #5 Best bout) : This was a No DQ match that was very much an Attitude Era throw back. Boxes were getting checked off: Big bumps, blood, chair shots, etc. But it felt good given the age of the two. I mean Jeff almost lawn darted on a suicide dive and damn near missed the table on a big spot. It worked because they sold the hate. This was a very, very good match. vs AJ Styles (Table match, January, Best Impact TV bout) : The intro video does a great job recapping the AJ & Kurt saga...One I'm very fond of. In a nutshell, Tomko (remember him?) and AJ are tag partners and part of Team Angle. Kurt's babe of an (ex)wife is introduced here as well. Kurt is a egocentric tool and AJ is protecting her. Kurt thinks there's romance brewing but AJ & Karen say they're just friends. Haaft They say this is after all of that but I sorta remember that running into this period of the Main Event Mafia (goan) vs the non former WWF /WCW wrestlers. Anyways, this was a good TV match but it should be clear that TNA was becoming WCW part deux. vs Sting (Empty Arena Match Best Grudge match, Impact TV February): They call it the best grudge match but you'll see the match below is the #2 match of 2009 and that's a grudge match as well. Maybe its the best TV grudge match??? Regardless, this is a battle I remember loving. It felt like something very special to see on TV. I still feel that way (even after all we've seen in the past year). Other than the fantastic and hilarious finish where Kevin Nash yells at them like an angry father (see below), this was a great battle. You could argue that this was more WCW flash backs but, if its done right, there's no problem to me. This was an instance where they did it right. I would give that credit to Sting and Kurt wanting to still put on a good show. It'd be wrong for me to call this a classic match BUT with the match combined with the ending, this was a Classic bit of TNA Impact TV! vs Desmond Wolfe (Turning Point, November, #2 Best Bout) : Its not great when you don't have anything worthwhile for 9 months from your top star to put on the DVD. But here we are! Desmond Wolfe has been gunning for Kurt and has decimated him on TV. Now they have a match to settle things. OK...I'm going to get my rant from 11 years ago out of the way. Why the hell did they change the name and character of Nigel McGuinness? He had so much hype coming from ROH and they just KILLED it by doing this. Doing this seemed like such WCW/WWF level bullshit. Its not worth going into but even Nigel (I know its not his real name but he's used it everywhere else in wrestling) says in a promo/vignette something like, ' I'm going by the name of Desmond Wolfe at the moment ' when introducing himself. He or whoever wrote the segment knew there was still cross over between ROH and TNA and they should acknowledge that this guy was someone else somewhere else. That is convoluted to write but its because it is a convoluted idea! All I can hope is Nigel didn't want to tarnish the character and his legacy by jobbing in TNA. And I can support that with hindsight on my side because he was a mid card jobber to the stars in the promotion. They tried to do the British team thing again but I had fucking tuned out of TNA a little after seeing what they did to my boy! Spoiler alert!!! The writing above should give you an idea on the outcome of this match. It is a great match. Its Kurt big-match-by-numbers but Nigel...I mean Desmond is masterful. To use a line from The Dark Night Returns, this isn't a wrestling ring. Its an operating table and Desmond Wolfe is the surgeon. I wrote more than that but I'm going to leave it there. The match is posted on YouTube so I recommend checking it out. More of the Best of TNA 2009 coming soon! Thanks for reading If you have pets give them a hug today!

The Good, the bad and the Ugly - Snuka, Hogan & Flair Andre vs Inoki Choshu applies the Scorpion Death Lock with Inoki looking on Andre vs Killer Khan Flair vs Steamboat The Dream vs The Superstar I hope that you dig this stuff. If you're like me, you really enjoy old wrestling photography. It really captures the gritty action of the ring.I want to incorporate more art into my blog and I just thought I'd play around with some picture editing software and share some of my work. I hope to have access to a copy machine so I can start up my collages again. No way am I cutting up my old books and magazines! I had made a great one that was my original id pic here on PWO. It was of Fujinami vs Fujiwara with Cherry blossom trees in the background. I titled it 'Heavenly Dream Battle.' An homage to the great titles that Japanese promotions (especially NJPW) give their big matches. To me Fujinami vs Fujiwara is just that type of dream encounter.

Hello again! This covering is episodes 108 & 109 of BJW Deathmatch Wars TV show. Its from 01/02/2007 and in Korakuen Hall so we're looking at something that's at the very least going to be fun. GENTARO & Mammoth Sasaki vs. Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto - The first team I know a little bit from FMW and the second team I know from watching clipped matches on BJW's YouTube channel. They are pretty good and Miyamoto is a great junior wrestler who reminds me of Hayabusa in his toughness, his agility and charisma. Anyhow this is a really good match with old vs young. Miyamoto makes an impression on the main eventers and they invited him to join them as they're in need of a 4th partner. Fluorescent Light Tubes Death Match: Jun Kasai/MENs Teioh/Yuko Miyamoto/Naoki Numazawa vs. Abdullah Kobayashi/Masada/Takashi Sasaki/Shadow WX - So that leads into this match, duh! Ha But for real, this was a sick match! I mean like ill ya know. There was action all over the place early on. Then things settled down in and around the ring but, there were still plenty of fantastic encounters/pairings. As with many multi-man matches, weaknesses were hidden and strengths were on display. Aside from that Yuko Miyamoto was seen as the junior baby who didn't belong in this war but, like Hayabusa he fought bravely and endured. He made his team believe that the made the right decision in selecting him. I'm not going to give away any of the memorable spots other than Masada dragging Miyamoto around the broken glass by his ankles. That was sick! Like F'd up! Overall this was helluva spectacle and great death match. Maybe a classic as it fed off the previous match, kept the fight interest and interesting throughout and the K-hall fans were on fire! We're on to the 2nd show Daikokubo Benkei/MIYAWAKI/Yuichi Taniguchi vs. Kazu Imai/Tomomitsu Matsunaga/Shinobu - Opening comedy type match. I skipped around in this bout. Mad Man Pondo & NOSAWA vs. Coke & Sam Hain - I started to watch but as Jim Cornette would say this was an "outlaw mud show." In all fairness, Jimmy would hate EVERYTHING on this show. Kintaro Kanemura/Tetsuhiro Kuroda/Onryo vs Hiroyuki Kondo/Yoshihito Sasaki/Daisuke Sekimoto - Unfortunately we only get 15 minutes of a 30 minute match but, what was shown was a blast! This is a real treat with FMW vs BJW for me. I believe the FMW team is reppin' Apache wrestling but its a real joy to see two generations of hardcore/death match/Indie wrestlers going head to head. Dekimoto and Sasaki as a tag team are something that I need to see more of. Torture Rack - German suplex combo is probably my new favorite tag move! Really, really good DVD that's still available on Highspots for $10. Not trying to give free ad space but I want to let you know where you can actually get your mitts on this stuff! Certainly worth the cash and maybe wait for a Xmas sale to get it for less. No one really talked about how good BJW was back then... if you can't get into the occasional light tube deathmatch I understand. I felt that way for awhile but its really no worse than the bread and butter thumb tack and barbwire matches of my youth

Generally speaking, I live in a cave with my head under a rock when it comes to contemporary wrestling. I poked it out a little bit last year to see the empty seats of Smackdown for historical purposes. When the Wonder Wall was debuted, I lasted 15 minutes before I became dizzy. I took a small trip away from the cave to see Ring of Honor attempt to return to form with their Pure Title tournament. I thought it was fantastic but they squandered or scared away whatever interest that drummed up. Now with CM Punk (and perhaps Bryan Danielson) in All Elite Wrestling, I am compelled to lift the stone from my head and check it out. So I watched his return promo in Chicago and man! that's entertaining! He's still got it. I'm not going to watch anything else on purpose mind you but I wanted to see that. You know...for historical purposes. I liked Punk's speech because he explained his comments regarding wrestling when he was doing MMA/UFC. He acknowledged his time in ROH and made the distinction between that wrestling and what he was doing for almost a decade in WWE. I was confused by a few (hundred) fans booing ROH in a past life. I'd be less confused if they booed ROH in their present form. Who boos a mention of ROH from 2002-2005? Are these folks completely ignorant of the giant influence the company had on both CM Punk and the current American pro wrestling landscape? That's an aside though.What I thought of after a couple days after is more interesting than the excitement of CM Punk back in a ring. Or more interesting on the historically ignorant fans. What really stuck with me is that Punk's history is kind of not true. Now I know it may have been kayfabe but Mr. Brooks, Phil if you will, has a tendency to blur the lines between a work and a shoot when on the mic. So we can say some of this was true for Punk & Phil. But I don't think any of it was any form of an objective truth. Chick Magnet Punk says that things had run their course in ROH and then went to WWE where he didn't wrestle for almost a decade. Now that's not true because no one wrestled in ROH either. I'll defend WWE's " sports entertainment " ideology in so much that what they do isn't wrestling. Pro wrestling is more dramatized combat with melodrama than wrestling like you'd see in high school, college, the Olympics etc. That's a sport. But frankly, I could say all professional sports aren't sports either but are this sports entertainment since no one's playing in an empty gym (until last year) and people are being entertained either through TV, videos, clothing, games. There isn't intentional and planned melodrama (although it happens organically). It lacks nuance for Punk to say he left wrestling in 2005 and came back now in AEW. It is kinda not true. I've watched his stuff in ROH (as we'll see below) and all in all it wasn't that different from what he was doing in WWE. Punk never mentions UFC. I wouldn't either. What he left in 2005 was the freedom and identity that ROH and the Indy scene afforded him. He could be himself. Brooks left a community that embraced him for an opportunity to make a living and potentially make a fortune. I don't think he anticipated what it would cost. I don't think he knew it would cost him friends and fans and would embarrass himself in the process...I recall him saying if UFC had been around when he was younger he would have gone into that instead of wrestling. Man, you ever hear of karate or judo? That wasn't true when he said it. And I don't think anything he said the other night is true either. This is why I stay in my cave and keep my head beneath a boulder. He's not the same person. I just know too much about Phil Brooks to really believe CM Punk anymore. But maybe that's the state of contemporary wrestling in general? I just know too much to really believe any of it. That's all a lead in to some reviews of when Brooks or perhaps Punk was a wrestler before not being a wrestler (never was a wrestler) and becoming a sports entertainer (always was a sports entertainer) and then a mixed martial artist (a sports entertainer but STILL not a wrestler believe it or not!) and a wrestler again (still not a wrestler). vs Raven (Death Before Dishonor 2003) : This was a dog collar match and I believe the consensus is that this is their best bout. I don't know since its all I got to watch but this is very much a Raven match. If you like his style and character (which I do) then this is something that you want to watch. Its a bit on the loner side but it pretty simple in terms of execution and scope. Its violent like it needed to be. Its got some stuff ECW fans would like too...remember this is only a couple years after they closed so that wasn't as odd as you might think. Great match vs AJ Styles (Tradition Continues 2003) : This is almost a 180 from the Raven ECW style match. Instead we see Punk stay in step with the Phenomenal One. It was full of fantastic counters and reversals. The human game of chess cliche is going to be applied to this match because I'm not always very good at describing what make a good match so very good. I think something I appreciate on this viewing is the teasers they chose to do. It just felt organic and competitive and dammit I'm a fan of that. I'm going to say this is a classic match. If you're keeping track, I wouldn't put it in the top tier but its certainly overlooked because it takes place in 2003 which probably doesn't get much love. And if anyone wants to sample 2003/Year 2 ROH they'll usually go to matches of AJ, Danielson and London putting on masterpieces. But in 2021, do people even do that anymore? Other than me? W/Ace Steel (Second City Saints) vs Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer (The Prophecy) (Death Before Dishonor II 2004) : Second City Saints was an awesome name. BJ Whitmer lousy name. Here's my BJ Whitmer rant: I can't believe that he/they wanted to keep a name with a double entendre in it and not have it purposely imply that 2nd meaning. Case in point D.P. Associates in FIP was a purposeful double entendre for the sake of a bunch of 20 year old guys having a laugh. BJ Whitmer never struck me as the type of talent that had a sense of humor about his in-ring persona. That aside, this was a bananas garbage wrestling spot mtach. This was your typical overkill wrestling to show how tough you were. As a match, it stunk BUT as a violent spot driven spectacular, it was great Its a few years ahead of its time but does bite off more than it needed to in order to get the same message across. vs Jimmy Rave (Manhattan Mayhem 2005) : Here we see Punk's (Phil's) version of the dog collar match. And you know its not bad at all. Its decidedly more move oriented but with Punk and Rave in there I did not mind. Rave is such a great opponent for Punk because he can stooge when he needs to, he can get nasty when he needs to, and he can do moves when he needs to. Frankly he's much like Punk in that regard. We get a good deal of blood from Punk and we get the Embassy interfering. Its quite great to be honest. I've not seen this before but I have seen their cage match and man this was a great (probably forgotten) feud. So there you have it. A few matches from CM Punk's time wrestling/sports entertaining in ROH. As you have already figured out, I picked some unsung ones for 2021. They aren't the Joe matches or Summer of Punk ones. 3 of the 4 are quite like stuff you could see in WWE actually. Again, either he never was a "wrestler" or he never left wrestling when going to the WWE. All semantic games aside- He should have been honest in saying he made a mistake in leaving pro wrestling and its fans when going to the UFC. And if he (Phil is Punk at this stage in his career) should have said thanks for welcoming him back despite his mistakes. In my opinion, CM Punk is the best all around pro wrestler of the last 20 years. His return to the square circle is huge and his promo was exhilarating. He will do great business for AEW. However, I think his cleverness in dissing WWE hides the real hurt of his MMA phase. As great as I know him to be, I just can't trust CM Punk anymore. I have to forgive him first. I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill. I'll be back in my cave. Thanks for reading!

I wanted to go on a little bit more about my FIP experience but I was pretty tired when I was finished with what I already had. So I'll just put some ideas down below. Hopefully they are helpful or interesting to you. Roderick Strong is the big reason why you want to be checking out these DVDs but Erick.Stevens growth as the heart and soul of FIP should not be ignored. He gets better with each show. There's a ton of Japanese talent on just about every show. I mean if you want to see early Shingo Takagi (like I did) then you've got to check out some of these shows. New Year's Classic 2007 for instance. I actually have his 2 matches vs Davey which I'll cover down the road. But you've got Go Shiozaki in 2008 which to me is his most consistent. I've liked what I've seen in his brief AJPW stuff. But you've got YAMATO & BxB Hulk there too. And this won't be the last time I talk about FIP so don't be bummed out. I've got ROH stuff from the same time that has some familiar faces especially Stevens and Kenny King.

Sorry for the delay! No real reason other than I've been watching WCW stuff from the Rise and Fall of WCW, Brian Pillman DVDs and a couple YouTube videos. This is my final Full Impact Pro DVD review and its been a really fun trip. Let's get on to it and then I'll have some closing remarks. Erick Stevens vs. Tyler Black (#1 Contender's Match) : This started with chain wrestling but this wasn't really their forte. It wasn't bad but it was uninspired. And ya know that's what the match felt like. NOW I'm nitpicking because they could have killed it. The final third proves my point. This part was great stuff. But given that this wasn't at the top part of the card, it did its job. Very good match though. MsChif vs. Rain (SHIMMER Title Match): This was a good match but ended when it started to pick up. Go Shiozaki vs. Roderick Strong (FIP World Heavyweight Title Match): This should be the main event so no idea why it's here on the card. Its for the damn main title with Mr. FIP Roderick Strong and the foreign heel. I'll be honest, this was my main event as I watched it last. OK that aside, this was a very well built match. The level of intensity & complexity escalated as it went on, selling along the way. Just about hold or throw was fought over. Their struggle felt real. Things weren't polished or rehearsed. I've been watching NWA/WCW from 87-90 and this felt a lot like that. There were some shenanigans but again that harkens back to that 80's stuff as well. I will call this a classic. Kenny King & Jason Blade vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe (FIP Tag Team Title Match) : This was a rematch from the best match of Unstoppable 2007...one of the best at least. Its been so long! But not only that but its been awhile since we've seen Jay & Mark together. And man! Its a really good one. This is more of a traditional tag match yet full of action when it counts. Again more shenanigans though. Sal Rinauro vs. Chris Jones (FIP Florida Heritage Title Match): No clue why this was the main event. Yeah they build it all up the whole show. But neither guy is main event material...I had this inkling ahead of time. It was a nice story but not top billing. So that's it! Now it went out with a bang since I watched Shiozaki vs Strong last and not Rinauro vs Jones...sorry dudes. Anyhow parting remarks - Watching this has been fun and is full of lost classics if you're a fan of ROH style. Seriously there are a few shows that are diamond in the rough ROH B-shows...especially 2007 & 2008. Stuff earlier than that is worth checking out but if you just want to get the most bang for your buck..get the 2007 & '08 shows that interest you. But also get Strong vs Evans...I think that might still be my top match of FIP. Read the different show reviews since I probably won't do some matches or shows justice now. Plainly, if you are a Roderick Strong fan then you would be a fool not to get a few of these DVDs. Strong vs Evans, New Year's Classic 2007, this show Fallout 2008, and Dangerous Intentions 2008 are no brainers. Heatstroke 2007 Night 1 also...stay safe folks! THANK YOU! I really appreciate you reading and keep watching old wrestling

Let's talk about AJPW in the Spring of 1986! These are the Samurai Classics so no Riki Choshu but hey there's lots of other great stuff going on. Ted Dibiase/Ron Bass v. Motoshi Okuma/Rocky Hata (04/06/86): Kind of a squash match. Of the Japanese guys, I'm not sure who was who. Respectable start to the show nonetheless. Kuniaki Kobayashi v. Masa Fuchi (04/06/86): Now we're cooking! Kobayashi and Fuchi are just beating the crap outta each other and I loved it. Two of my favorites in their prime. Very good match Tenyru/Takashi Ishikawa v. Ted Dibiase/Ron Bass (04/19/86): Oh man everyone is on fire here. We get the nice introduction to the DiBiase & Ron Bass team and now we see what they can do versus one of the top AJ native teams. This was so basic but absolutely wonderful because you don't need big moves and flash to have a great tag match. DiBiase in AJ is the best. He vs Tenryu is money in the bank! Tenyru v. Ashura Hara (04/12/86): Holy cow '86 Tenryu is awesome! The Tenryu/Jumbo vs Yatsu/Choshu match from 01/86 is a classic but now I'm seeing more of him and there's more to the story. He's not quite as well defined as a hard hitting wrestler yet but man does Ashura Hara bring that out in him! It makes sense though as Hara is a tank and I love their tag team during the Revolution era of AJ/Tenryu. This totally exceeded my expectations. I want to call it a classic but I'll pull back a little and just say near classic at ****1/4. Harley Race/Jerry Blackwell v. Tiger Jeet Singh/One Man Gang (03/13/86): Quick bout, Blackwell vs OMG were like 2 sumo but after that it turned into a double DQ. Shohei Baba/Ricky Fuyuki/Takashi Ishikawa v. Rusher Kimura/Ashura Hara/Goro Tsurumi (04/06/86): Really fun 6 man match! Fuyuki and Ishikawa along with Hara kept this really competitive. Goro Tsurumi is an awesome character looking like a manga heel wrestler with afro pirate mustache and skull adorned unitard. Rusher and Baba do their job and yeah this is the stuff that puts a smile on my face. Baba/Ishikawa v. Killer Khan/Masanobu Kurisu (05/10/86): OK, thought I'd like it more with Kurisu & Ishikawa but it didn't do much for me. Tenyru v. Ted Dibiase (UN Title, 04/26/86): Well here is the singles match that I was looking for. And man, it's what I wanted. Great smart arm work by DiBiase. Just a really good give and take in the beginning/middle. This is joined in progress so not sure what the true start is like. Nonetheless, the match goes on pretty long I think. In that time we get solid mid 80's meat and potatoes wrestling from both guys. Its the stuff I could watch for an hour because they have created a world where it looks like their struggle is real and relatable. Not only that but we get two of the best in the world doing it. They are physically and stylistically a great match for each other. A great match for sure! If you're a fan of Tenryu and what they were doing in SWS and WAR, you really want to check out some of these matches. Thanks for reading and stay safe folks!