G. Badger

Here's the trailer. Love how I remember this stuff days later...

Back once again for Full Impact Fridays. This week we're looking at In Full Force - 2007. Without further ado, let's go! Seth Delay vs Hallowicked - A fun opener and a good showing for both guys. Lotsa kids in the audience tonight. Shingo vs Jigsaw - This was a really good match with lots of action and great heel work from Shingo & Prazak. Gotta love fans who chant U-S-A to a Japanese guy in 2007. One meat head adult was getting up in Shingo's face but, Takagi worked him. Good for him, I probably would have punched the guy. This was a little off-putting but, it didn't detract from the match. ***3/4 stuff they, really didn't hold anything back with the time given. It reminded me of a PWG show where an undercard match was trying to steal the show. Black Market vs Claudio Castagnoli & Sal Rinauro (Loser Leaves Town) - I ended up skipping this. There is a period of Castagnoli that comes across as really cheesy and this fell into that category. Sean Waltman vs Chasyn Rance - Skipped this. I'm just not interested in spending time on this. The Briscoes vs Necro Butcher & Mad Man Pondo - First Pondo match and I was impressed. I dug the heck outta this match since I'm an old ECW fan. Lotsa brawling around the venue and hardcore stuff...they went overboard and it probably was too violent for the kids and old folks but, this was a great indy hardcore match. Fans of the Briscoes should like this a bunch! Erick Stevens vs Gran Akuma - Another all action match much like Shingo & Jigsaw. Stevens really is coming into his own and Akuma is a sure thing for good wrestling. These two really put on an offense heavy match and it went over big with the crowd. I'd probably put it at ***3/4 as well. Colt Cabana vs Larry Sweeney - This is a good comedy match but, I don't know if I would have put it right before the main event...I dunno maybe to break up the action. Larry Sweeney had his butt out...I'm thinking he did that on the previous show too. Ha! Still with all the kids there...not sure if that was a wise choice. Roderick Strong vs Davey Richards (2 out of 3 Falls) - I noticed the crowd wasn't a full for the main event. I'm not sure why - the violent tag match, Larry Sweeney's butt, or perhaps the show was going on long? Kids have always been apart of FIP and I think many indy shows especially at this time. That all being said this was another very good match but, it wasn't great. I felt Davey was playing to the crowd too much (not intense enough, playing to the kids) and there wasn't a great build to the finish. Fall 3 came just a sudden as 1 & 2. Now they had a "I Quit" match the night before so, perhaps this is weaker because of that. I feel that they didn't really know how to structure this match for 3 falls OR perhaps just said 'screw it' and just aimed for 'very good' instead of 'great.' Again there were lots of kids and it looks like people had left. Why kill yourself with stiff chops & kicks, backbreakers, dives etc. when basic well timed wrestling along will do the trick too. I watched the match twice in a row just to check. It is a very good match it just doesn't deliver in a Roddy vs Davey type of way. I kinda felt this way of their Fallout 2006 match actually. Overall, this was a really good show where everything I watched was entertaining. I wouldn't say there was one MUST-SEE match but, there were 4 very good matches that really make this worth your $5 especially if you are a fan of some of the wrestlers. So no harm in tacking this on to an order and having a good time. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Do not confuse this with the original New Year's Classic from 2005. That had James Gibson vs Homicide as the main event. This has old school GeNext vs Shingo & Rave. With that cleared up, let's go! (I know its Thursday and not Friday but, I got it done early!) Kenny King vs. Seth Delay - Fun opener with nice moves from both dudes. Unique finish too! Claudio Castagnoli vs. Shane Hagadorn - Skipped The Heartbreak Express vs. Shiima Xion & Pelle Primeau - Wish I would have skipped this. I want to see more of Heartbreak Express since they are a big part of the promotion but, most of the DVDs I own have them in shitty matches. Its not that Xion or Pelle are shitty. This is basically a squash. Sal Rinauro vs. Gran Akuma - The show really starts to pick up here. Sal has gone heel and joined the YRR..Young Rich and Ready to Go. I thought that the last "R" was for ruthless. Maybe they changed it. Anyway, this was fun match and hope to see more of Akuma. Black Market vs. Steve Madison & Chasyn Rance - Black Market are suited for Japanese indies like Zero-One. Madison too...Rance is a dime a dozen. All in all this was all kinds of chaotic fun and was a very good simple grudge match. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Larry Sweeney - So, the mic audio is not great on FIP since they are recording the ambient noise and not the mics (the commentary is most likely done in post-production). That being said the banter between Jacobs and the late Larry Sweeney is gold! A very good match with nice selling from Jacobs and priceless comedy spots. Very much like CM Punk and Homicide were doing in '05. Brent Albright vs. Erick Stevens - I had high hopes for this but, both guys need someone with more experience to keep things interesting. There was a sleeper hold section that just didn't need to be there especially when Albright was brought in to hurt Stevens for the next night's show. Either set up an injury angle and use a submission hold or just beat the crap outta each other. They were just using it to talk and go through spots though. It was good but, it could have been better. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Jimmy Rave & Shingo - Somewhere along the way Jack joined Dave Prazak Associates, which is DP Associates *wink wink get it? D.P ** They make poor tongue in cheek jokes too...like 16 year old boys. Lame. Anyhow, Jack quit the club tonight and Dave isn't happy. That is the background but, who cares right? This IS the bananas all action 2006-07 ROH/Dragon Gate style tag match that you want. All four guys were working DG & ROH at the time so, you do not get the watered down version here. They went ahead and did it here in front of 50 people. If you're a fan of these guys, the style, etc. then spend the cash and check it out. Also this may be one of the last times Roddy & Jack teamed up. Classic match and blew the roof off the joint. You could say this is a one match show but, for $5 that's not a problem. You get the Jacobs/Sweeney and Black Market/YRR matches as bonuses. This was a very, very fun & easy DVD to watch so, for $5 this is a no brainer. Thanks for reading! Edit: I forgot to add the trailer from the FIP YouTube channel

I was going to put this in the original Fire Pro World thread but, this seems a little more recent. If anyone has been on the fence about getting FPWW then now looks like the time. On the PS store, just about everything, main game & DLC's are 50% off or more. The Deluxe Edition is under $30 and has the main game, the promoter DLC & Jr Heavyweight DLC (which has additional moves and wrestlers). On top of all of that there is a move editor which lets you make your own moves and is free to download. That was mentioned above. Its a little complex but, you can download moves that others have made so the sky is the limit. Spike Chunsoft has officially ended their ongoing support/content but, clearly want the game and community to live on.

Glad to be back watching FMW I think it is one of those promotions that might get lost in the sands of time. So, I'm always eager to bring it back to the surface in my little way. Just for reference:I'm using BAHU's best of 1998 matches and the FMW commercial tape Story of F vol. 3 - Best Bouts as my guide here. Do see my earlier posts using the FMW tags or just go back a couple pages for the big list of matches. If there's anything else I come across, I'm going to include that too. Honestly, I just want a reason to get back watching Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling! Masato Tanaka vs Mr. Gannosuke (01/06) - This was a fast paced and intense battle between foes. Gannosuke stabbing Tanaka was sickening (and great)! Everything looked especially vicious in this match - lariats, chair shots, DDTs, you name it. Some might find fault with prolonged or deep selling but, I think it can be explained away by two guys really wanting to murderize each other. I think everything show really reflects that psychology. This was a classic match to me. I was kinda on that fence like ****1/4+ area but, intensity and pace really go along way for me. I'm not one to have to tick off the "how did long did he sell it" when watching wrestling anymore. Its nice to see long term selling and really can elevate a match but, isn't necessary. That is something to keep in mind when going through all of these FMW matches actually. Hayabusa vs Masato Tanaka (03/13) - This match is notable as it takes place in the black ZEN FMW ring which if I understand it all was Onita's stable and freelance group/promotion. I'm thinking like Kensuke Office/Diamond Ring was to NOAH. This is also notable as there were zero weapons or tables used. This was a fantastic clean wrestling match of the company's top stars. It easily could have taken place in an NJ or AJ ring and you would not have known the difference. This was 30 minutes of each guy giving it their all whether it be strikes, joint locks, or slams. I would have liked to see the arm/leg work factor into the finish or be given some more attention later but, like above I'm not going to gripe. They didn't blow it off - it just wasn't the story they were telling. It was very reminiscent of later NJPW Jrs. in that regard but also going for longer bouts like AJPW was doing. So, in this "pure" FMW match they weren't going for one or the other but, simply showing that they could do that too. Like, "we can take the barbwire, explosions, chair shots BUT can also wrestle long well executed bouts. We're not Garbage Wrestling." I think this is sort of the same idea behind BJW Strong Style. I thought this was another classic match -great action, great execution, great intensity...it was fantastic. Jinsei Shinzaki vs Mr. Gannosuke (04/21) - Jinsei is getting crafty against his nemesis by waiting to jump Gannouske as he exits the dressing room. It backfires as W*ING Kanemura is there for back-up and turns into a 2 on 1. Kanemura heads to the back after awhile since it's only a matter of time before Mister finished the Monk off. Or is it? Jinsei has to be legit hurt or dazed after the beating he took so, his fight to come back feels very real. I mean he's bleeding from the back of his head! Every bit of offense he can pull to slow down Gannosuke feels meaningful. Maybe I'm over-rating this but, it felt like another classic match. Much more on the story being told than just the action/intensity aspect. This was a top tier Jinsei singles match. You don't need to know too much about their past matches - just watch how Gannosuke mocks the praying powerbomb *all of the time* and you can understand why Shinzaki want to keep fighting. Atsushi Onita vs Kodo Fuyuki (04/30) - Battle of the FMW leaders. This is a lumberjack match but, I don't recall that playing a big part in this. It was a good match but, I didn't think it was great. I appreciate Fuyuki as a wrestler much more than Onita. This is especially true following him from AJPW to SWS then WAR. He may not have been clocking classics like his contemporaries Misawa & Kawada but, the man put on great matches in that late 80's Tenryu vibe. W*ING Kanemura vs Jinsei Shinzaki (04/30) Revenge on the monk perhaps? Team No Respect in full effect - lewd hand gestures & spitting on Jinsei for instance. They even had their own rudo referee! Anyhow, this is a 12 minute 3 act match capped off by a cool finish. There may be more nuances that I'm missing to make this a great match or a classic but, its quick, fun wrestling. Fans of either guy would be glad to check this out! Hayabusa vs Mr. Gannosuke (04/30) - Damn! What a match! Hayabusa was hitting everything on point but, what made this something special was Gannosuke's Kawada-level selling of the leg. He had to be legitimately hurt, right? But he wasn't out of the fight. He was dodging and blocking moves and went for the patented Gannosuke Clutch early on to try and wrap things up. He was more crafty than normal due to this injury. That's what really makes me appreciate Gannosuke more than I already do. He had the wherewithal to incorporate this pain/limitation into the match rather than hide it. Any complaints of sloppiness or botching that others may mention (there's one particular superplex type move) I think are unfounded. THIS is an instance of deep selling to where even IF it was a screw up, it appeared organic and natural with the ebb & flow of the match. The whole point of selling is to get across the point that the two or more wrestlers are engaged in a legitimate athletic competition which has legitimate consequences. And the point of doing that is to get the audience invested and engaged in what they're watching and they'll want to see more (and spend more). Well, this match did all of that perfectly. And to go back to my point about deep selling elevating a match - this is a prime example. That along with the excitement, the history of the competitors makes this is an all time classic FMW bout. Man, I hope you get a chance to check these matches out. I'm planning on two more installments of FMW 1998 to do alongside my FIP Fridays just in case you're wondering. Thank you as always for reading! I really appreciate it!

Whoa! Sorry for the absence. The past month (January) was kind of crazy both personally and as US citizen. So, my focus wasn't really on keeping on task with my blog. That sucks because I really want to stay on track. Good news is that we've got a Full Impact Pro entry here and part #1 of FMW 1998 on the way. So, I hope you are all doing well. Let's check out this FIP show! *(the listing is reverse on Highspots so the main event is at the top)* Davey Richards vs. Delirious w/Dave Prazak - This reminded me of when CM Punk was main eventing. There's a ton of kids who are SUPER into the match, they dragged out the beginning playing that up but! once things got going we got a really good match where both guys worked their butts off for a long fulfilling main event. Clean finish too! Jerrelle Clark vs. Jay Briscoe - This was a pretty good match with the Briscoes playing cheating heels. That made Jerrelle's comebacks that much sweeter. He had all kinds of 'ranas for them. Definitely want to see more Jerrelle after this! I'll see if he's on any other shows. Roderick Strong vs. Cyber Kong w/Dave Prazak - Unfortunately this was kind of a 'nothing ' match. Strong really put forth the effort and in the 6 man. I mean maybe there was something to it but, not what it could have been. Steve Madison, Chasyn Rance & Kenny King vs. Erick Stevens, Roderick Strong & Seth Delay - Yeah, this was a fun six man match. I would have preferred Madison and King vs Strong & Stevens as I didn't think the other two did anything terribly memorable. But watching those 4 are the draw of this match for sure! Mark Briscoe vs. Canadian Cougar - skipped...I had to get my ass in gear and this just seemed like an unnecessary hurdle to overcome. Allison Danger vs. Lacey - This was alright stuff. I don't have any notes on this match or that below. From memory, I remember liking it as a very sound women's match that plays into the FIP story lines. Black Market vs. Colt Cabana & Sal Rinauro - This was a fun opener but, was a little short still I remember liking the chemistry between the teams. The fans loved Black Market. Overall, the show wasn't a barn burner but, it was a very easy watch. It was a good show and I think delivered for the fans to in attendance. I got this Night #1 show by mistake but didn't want to make a fuss over not getting Night #2. So, I'm happy it wasn't a bust. Maybe I'll pick up #2 and it'll make everything that much better. If they have these on Highspots - pick up both at once. Thanks for reading and stay safe! Be back soon

I was afraid of this. He's been having really good matches on TV (his match vs Josh Woods this week has been Woods' best in recent memory) but he's lost them all except vs Brian Johnson. I don't want to see him go but, you're right...it makes sense. They haven't acknowledged the losing streak either. He looks to be on his way out.

Welcome to my Best Match Watched of 2020 celebration! We've got big stars appearing and a number of musical performances lined up tonight! Let's get this party started! Oh wait, never mind all of that...let's just get onto the Big List of my favorite stuff of that I've watched this year. In chronological order: Pre 1970's: Mighty Atlas vs Angelo Poffo (Chicago 1956) Honorable Mention, Very good match with nice action and pacing. Simple story but, well worked. 1970s & 80s: Tiger Mask vs Gran Hamada (11/05/81) Tiger Mask vs Steve Wright (04/01/82) Tiger Mask vs Black Tiger (05/26/82) Tiger Mask vs Bret Hart (07/30/82) Akira Nogami, Tatsutoshi Goto, K. Yamada, K. Hoshino & S. Koshinaka vs Hiroshi Hase, K. Kobayashi, Kensuke Sasaki, N. Honaga & H. Saito (04/27/88) Tatsumi Fujinami vs Big Van Vader (04/27/88) Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu (05/27/88) Shiro Koshinaka vs Owen Hart (06/24/88) Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu (06/24/88) Tatsumi Fujinami vs Big Van Vader (06/26/88) Riki Choshu vs Antonio Inoki (07/22/88) Shiro Koshinaka vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (8/08/88) Antonio Inoki vs Tatsumi Fujinami (08/08/88) 1990s & 2000s: American Dragon vs Low-Ki vs Christopher Daniels - Era of Honor Begins (2002) American Dragon vs Christopher Daniels - Round Robin Challenge (2002) Daniels vs Low-Ki - Round Robin Challenge (2002) American Dragon vs Low-Ki - Round Robin Challenge (2002) Jerry Lynn vs AJ Styles - Road to the Title (2002) American Dragon vs AJ Styles - All Star Extravaganza (2002) Low Ki vs American Dragon vs Steve Corino vs Samoa Joe Final Battle (2002) Low Ki & Homicide vs Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal (Punk: The Final Chapter 2005) Roderick Strong vs Jack Evans FIP Strong vs Evans (2005) KENTA & Marufuji vs Samoa Joe & Danielson (ROH Best in the World 2006) KENTA vs Samoa Joe vs Bryan Danielson (ROH In Your Face 2006) Low Ki (Senshi) vs Chris Sabin (TNA Bound for Glory 2006) Honorable Mention, An action packed match with 0 TNA bullshit to spoil it. Golden era X Division stuff. Daisuke Sekimoto vs Manabu Nakanishi (BJW 2007) Honorable Mention, A very good to great match that told a great story that that fans & myself could believe. Precursor to the BJW Strong Style revival stuff. 2010 to present: Sami Callihan vs Tommy End (wXw 16 Carat 2011) El Generico vs Kotaro Suzuki (same) El Generico & Emil Sitoci vs Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly " Yoshihito Sasaki vs Sami Callihan " Davey Richards vs Zack Sabre Jr. " Daisuke Sekimoto vs El Generico " Cole & O'Reilly vs Sabre Jr. & Scurll " Sami Callihan vs Big Van Walter " KENTA, K. Kanemoto, Minoru Tanaka, Kanemaru & Genba vs Devitt, Taguchi, K. Suzuki, Nakajima & KAI - All Together (2011) Akiyama & K. Sasaki vs Omori & Takayama - All Together (2011) Fred Yehi vs Tracy Williams ROH Pure Title tournament (2020) Mark Haskins vs Alex Shelley (ROH TV 02/20): Honorable Mention, excellent chain wrestling by Shelley and a good fit for Haskins hybrid style. Crowd actually was into this match which can be tough for live ROH crowds nowadays. -THE BEST of the BEST!- Pre 1970's...well I only watched a few pre 1970's matches and well Mighty Atlas vs Angelo Poffo (Chicago 1956) was the best of the bunch. The rest of my picks are going to be a little more difficult so, I think I'll do a top 3 or top 5 for the others. Then...just maybe will I actually able to narrow it down. 1970s & 80s: Clearly I was all about NJPW in the 80's although I did dip my toe in AJPW a couple times later in the year. They had some good 6 man matches (British Bulldogs w. Kobashi), I didn't see anything that could touch NJPW. Tiger Mask vs Gran Hamada (11/05/81) Tiger Mask vs Steve Wright (04/01/82) Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu (06/24/88) Riki Choshu vs Antonio Inoki (07/22/88) Antonio Inoki vs Tatsumi Fujinami (08/08/88) 1990s & 2000s: And now we enter the Ring of Honor K-hole I was lost in for awhile. Hey, I'm glad I took that journey. I was pretty ignorant of Year One ROH and got me excited to keep watching their current stuff. Plus is encouraged me to check out the sister company FIP which I've been digging. Also, I have made some purchases that have fill in some gaps in my DVD collection. I hope to be hitting up a couple of those for 2021. So, my list boils down to these: American Dragon vs Low-Ki - Round Robin Challenge (2002) Low Ki vs American Dragon vs Steve Corino vs Samoa Joe (2002) - Perhaps a controversial pick against the Era of Honor Begins but, I think this has the action along with the story lines Low Ki & Homicide vs Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal (Punk: The Final Chapter 2005) KENTA & Marufuji vs Samoa Joe & Danielson (ROH Best in the World 2006) KENTA vs Samoa Joe vs Bryan Danielson (ROH In Your Face 2006) 2010 to present: There's a good chunk from the wXw 2011 tournament here but, what can I say? It was a great show. Perhaps similar to the Ted Petty Invitational 2004. Sami Callihan vs Tommy End (wXw 16 Carat 2011) El Generico vs Kotaro Suzuki Yoshihito Sasaki vs Sami Callihan Davey Richards vs Zack Sabre Jr. Akiyama & K. Sasaki vs Omori & Takayama - All Together (2011) The runners up: Tiger Mask vs Steve Wright (04/01/82) - a long technical match with beautiful chain wrestling - counters, escapes, reversals, and counter reversals...distinct from his matches with Baby Face, Hamada, Blackman but, still was athletic and exciting as we've come to expect. KENTA & Marufuji vs Samoa Joe & Danielson (ROH Best in the World 2006) - Felt like a late 1990's AJPW Four Corners tag classic Yoshihito Sasaki vs Sami Callihan - I think this match best encapsulates the awesome hard hitting style that both guys showed all 3 days. I didn't rate it as a classic at the time but, both guys have stuck in my mind all year. Here's my top 3 and I'm just going by my gut: Tatsumi Fujinami vs Riki Choshu (06/24/88) - This was timeless stuff to me. A heavenly dream battle...great grappling, wonderfully engaging storytelling, and a real sense of rivalry. Low Ki & Homicide vs Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal (Punk: The Final Chapter 2005) - I got an out of body feeling when watching this match that was very similar to the first time I saw Kobashi vs Misawa's matches from 1997. Maybe it was the mild hype that lower my expectations but, this blew my mind. Davey Richards vs Zack Sabre Jr. (wXw 2011) - As hard as Sasaki & Sami were in the tourney, these two went beyond that. Davey really only does one thing but, when he's in there with the right person it can be awesome. It has grappling, strikes, nice counters & escapes all with an aggressive pace. Best Wrestler: Fujinami was killing it in '88. Tiger Mask given the right opponent was working magic. Sami, Yoshihito Sasaki, and El Generico were on fire during the wXw tourney in 2011. But I'm going to give it to American Dragon Bryan Danielson specifically for his work in 2002 in ROH. A natural baby face to Daniels' gimmick and Ki's natual demeanor, Dragon is relatable in addition to being a fantastic in ring worker. He has a grip of classic matches but, also elevates his tournament matches into something you want to see as well. Best Surprise: Yoshihito Sasaki was pretty much unknown to me other than a character in Fire Pro Returns but, he's a guy I want to be on the look out for in the future. Seeing as I got a 4 disc Best of BJW in 2006 set, the future might be pretty soon! But, I think the best surprise of this year was Full Impact Pro being pretty great wrestling. I watched their Unstoppable 2007 DVD a few years ago and for the first time a few years before that and it didn't "wow" me. I think my expectations were too high or something. As I watched it again, I saw stuff that I don't think I appreciated in the past. From that I've seen some really great stuff including Roderick Strong vs Jack Evans which is a lost "ROH" classic to me. I'm looking forward to getting back to FIP Fridays! Looking forward to: Tackling the mountain of DVDs I've got - AJPW, BJW, NOAH, NJPW, ROH and more including FIP. Duh right? But I'm also swinging back to FMW and specifically 1998 which may be their very best year. I've already watched a handful of matches (although I'm not including them on this year's list) and I am NOT disappointed. Thank you so much for reading this year! Its been a really crappy 365 days but, I hope I was able to give you a little bit of fun and inspiration. Let's hope for a better new year! Stay safe and keep watching wrestling!

Just stumbled across this and I'm shocked...I've been watching him in old Full Impact Pro and remarking how great of a wrestler he is. This is terrible news but with so many untimely deaths in wrestling, I'm happy to know that he's alive and kicking. ROH has plenty of throwback matches on their YouTube, go watch an Embassy match with him in it today Jimmy Rave fans unite!

OK so I just re-watched the last 20 minutes of the match. This was pretty damn good stuff. I will walk back my remark about there not being enough spirit of competition. They were pretty nasty and it didn't come off as cooperative as I originally thought. I do think some tropes like working Kobashi's arm yet having it amount to nothing (Akiyama is very creative at it), the long count out teases, the "I was almost KO'd now I can reverse a suplex" stuff isn't as novel as it once was. Now it comes off as uninspired storytelling. I know the King Crab necklock was a huge finisher at this time and it was teased but, I think it would have been a better choice in story rather than go back to "hurt Kobashi's arm." Has that EVER worked ? I feel like in 97-98 it might have but, when you've got a necklock that works, why mess with the arm? Unless it's a diversion? That would have been clever! Additionally, the pace didn't seem to pick up when it could/should have. I'm criticizing this but, I have seen a lot of these two. Nonetheless, it still was exactly what you want in this confrontation. Really brutal stuff and definitely worth it if you're interested.

Thanks for the recaps on the show!

This match is now 20 years old - wow! I cannot believe that to be honest. I can do math and probably can remember a few things from each year to prove to myself that 2000 was 20 years ago but, this still seems somewhat modern to me. Perhaps its the green ring mat? That's probably it. But man what kinda gets me is that I've been meaning to see this match for probably 10 years now. Its one of those matches that doesn't quite reach the essential viewing list of many folk like their 2004 match or the one from 1998 or 1999...I can't remember right now. I want to say its 98 though. I'm getting side tracked but maybe that's the point. The Misawa-Kobashi-Akiyama-Taue-Kawada merry-go-round was pumping out great matches at the end of the 90's but, they all start to run together. I think that may be the case with this as well as the fact that Kobashi was in dire need of knee surgery at the start of NOAH. So, he does a few high profile matches and then goes away until 2002 and I think goes away again until 2003. In that regard, not much gets universal praise until the 2003 Misawa match. I'm getting side tracked again...I guess my point is this bout averaged out to middle of the road in folks reviews. I've seen it around ***3/4 to ****1/2. That can be a pretty big difference. But I wanted to watch it for This Day in Wrestling and I wanted to try and end 2020 with a banger of a match! I think its fair to say everyone has had a crappy year and I guess this was a gesture of ending it with a classic King's Road or Ark Style match. Ah...it was not to be Don't get me wrong it was a great heavyweight match but, I felt it was more of a spot match than anything else. It didn't seem to really grab me with a story I could believe in. It had nice attempts with Kobashi working on Akiyama's neck after a particularly nasty ramp DDT. Then Akiyama was able to find some breathing room by drop kicking Kobashi's knees. He then went to work on the arm, as is often the case, but he added some nice twists I thought. This was a slow burner but, it was picking up and I was invested for sure. I just wasn't sure who or what I was invested in beyond enjoying the match and the moves. That slow burn never really turned to rapid boiling. It got close especially during some choice encounters - very stiff and head droppy. So, I think ratings may have been inflated back in the day on those 2 things. Kobashi's eye is swollen shut by the end. And you'd better believe Akiyama gets chopped to a pulp. With all that though, I just don't think there was enough substance in between to say there was a purpose to those moves as you would see in a classic match. I don't think there was enough intensity/spirit of competition to make it feel like a brutal fight either. So instead of being slow yet purposeful building to a dramatic ending OR energetic and violent exploding until there is a victor, it came off as above satisfactory. That is to say, I was satisfied with this as a big match Kobashi vs Akiyama match and was overly pleased with a half dozen spots and strike exchanges. But the socks were not blown off Great but not a classic to me. I'll issue a disclaimer now - I'm pretty burnt out from working customer service and managing late orders and cancellations this holiday season. It has been the worst few months since I've started working this job 8 years ago. If you were waiting on a package or have had some orders cancelled this month, let me tell you there are about a dozen people behind the scenes trying their hardest to get your gifts out. I know its on the news and whatnot but, let me tell you that it has been especially rough with the pandemic both in receiving a flood of online & phone orders and not being able to keep staff or shifting staff because pandemic safety protocols. Let alone the usual Xmas stuff. So, perhaps I wasn't in the best head space watching this match. I am emotionally and mentally dulled right now. Maybe I'm not giving this bout a fair shake. You should take some time and watch this 20 year old match. You may actually be watching it with a clear head. Heck! I might even watch it again after the 25th when my brain can begin to heal Nothing helps the healing process like some lariat-o's! I hope to get my Best Match Watched and other things of note for 2020 together before New Year's Eve! Thanks for reading this year! Stay safe & happy holidays!

I watched the free hour of Final Battle on YouTube. It was pretty good like a bonus hour of the TV show. The 4 way was fun with a surprise win. The pure tag match was good but needs some kinks worked out...or they shouldn't try to test out every rule in the early matches. Tag over the top rope, holding the tag rope, pin break ups count as a rope break etc. I felt that the rules held back what could have been a great match. Still more Yehi in ROH is something I won't complain about. If I had Honor Club, I would have watched the whole thing. If anyone saw it all, what did you think?

We are back with FIP Friday and pick up with Fallout 2006. Lots of big names on this show. Let's see! Black Market vs Jerrelle Clark & Jon Davis - This was my first match and it was fun stuff. Jon Davis was a lot thinner or less jacked than when I saw him in DGUSA. So Cal Val looking hot setting up this #1 contenders match. That aside she is really talented as a manager or valet. Jay & Mark Briscoe vs Sal Rinauro & Erick Stevens - Val didn't like the results of the above match so she said THIS will determine the contender spot to face her Heartbreak Express. This was a really good match. These guys had good chemistry and delivered in a big way. This gladly could have been a few minutes longer. Matt Sydal vs Shingo - Another really good bout where Sydal was going to bust out everything. I felt Shingo held back offensively but, really made Sydal shine bright. You have to remember FIP has a strong face/heel style and since Shingo was part of Dave Prazak associates then, he's not going to pull out his crowd pleasing bombs. But it was really enjoyable. Roderick Strong vs Davey Richards (FIP Heavyweight Title #1 Contenders Match) - This was the match of the night. They wrestled this like an ROH bout and I couldn't be happier about that. I noticed the above matches seemed quicker than usual but, I think it was to give this 20+ minutes. Both guys were drenched in sweat by the end of this battle. A great match for sure. I re-watched this and I do think it could have gone on a little longer since the finish felt quick. But that's a minor quibble. Bryan Danielson & Cyber Kong vs Davey Richards & Roderick Strong - This was a impromptu main event where DP Associates come out and spoil the mood post match. Eventually Kong and Danielson have a pretty good tag bout to keep all the fans happy. I think the 15-30 year olds there were happy with the previous bout but, the kids and old folks dug this one. We get kind of an upset win here and with a legit finish so, this was surprisingly good. Fallout 2006 was super super easy to watch. Again, I'm not sure if some of the matches were shorter or what. Perhaps they were "just right" in duration because for $5 I highly recommend checking this out. The Briscoes tag, Sydal vs Shingo, and Davey vs Roddy are worth it. Everything else is bonus. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Some big news regarding Final Battle per ROH'S site: "As a result of pre-travel testing, the following performers will not appear at the Final Battle pay-per-view on Dec. 18: Bandido EC3 Flamita Kenny King All four performers are doing well and resting at home. ROH wishes them a speedy recovery and looks forward to their return to action in 2021. All other ROH performers, production staff and general staff are safely in the ROH bubble after passing their second round of tests." Looks like Dalton might have a spot after all...I would be sad to see him go so, I hope he stays. This is a giant last minute shake up.

This was a wrestling show held in August 2011 in honor of the victims of the March 2011 Earthquake & Tsunami and the aftermath including the meltdown of the Fukushima power plant. Well, without going and checking dates I'm not sure they knew the scope of the disaster of Fukashima yet. That's one of those things that the company and government wanted to downplay at the time. And they still do. It is certainly one of those things that still exists but, is sadly a footnote in the 24 hour news cycle. It was almost a decade ago but, those people and communities are still gone...and that area is still radioactive. I digress. Ok so on to the wrestling part. This was a joint venture between AJPW, NJPW, and NOAH as well as some big time freelancers to but on a super show in the spirit of solidarity and togetherness in the face of a national tragedy. What better way to do so then have a bunch of dudes beating up on each other? I kid! All proceeds went to the Japanese Red Cross. It was one of those things that I shied away from at the time because I didn't know if it would be a somber show or if it would be dull due to the nature of the show. Its me being stingy with my wrestling dollar. Don't fret though because this show as well as its follow up (and Kobashi's farewell show) are all available in full on Youtube. I haven't been watching a ton of puroresu and thought "Man, this looks like a good way to get back into it after getting lost in an ROH k-hole." I had pretty low expectations but, this features a pretty complete list of top Japanese talent and I should check it out for the sake of it. Kota Ibushi, Taji Ishimori, BUSHI & Yamato vs Kaz Hiyashi, Shuji Kondo, Tiger Mask IV & Ricky Marvin - This was a short but all fireworks spot fest! What a way to start the show. My fears of a dull exhibition show have subsided. This was good stuff. Ricky Marvin was my fave. Naito, Sanada & Taniguchi vs Takahashi, Manabu Soya & M. Yone - I'm not writing out everyone's names. Every match is some form of a tag match and I'm not doing it! You probably know some if not most of the names and the others you can look up Anyhow this was a really good match where Naito got worked over but made a good comeback and tagged out to kick it up a notch - BAM! This was a good mix of guys and although there were some rough patches nothing ruined the fun. Makabe & Akitoshi Saito vs Hirooki Goto & Kea - This was my jam. Hard hitters hitting each other hard. Good chops and slams. These guys had that good upper card tag vibe going, Taiyo Kea and Makabe had good chemistry against each other. Very good match. KENTA, K. Kanemoto, Minoru Tanaka, Kanemaru & Genba vs Devitt, Taguchi, K. Suzuki, Nakajima & KAI - Oh man! They could split all these guys up and have a tag tourney and I'd be a happy man. What we get scratches that it nonetheless. Everyone gets in there and does their thing. KENTA and Koji Kanemoto on the same team!? Get outta here! Attitude for miles! So you've got that and everyone just is super talented and wanted to win, this was a great match. 15 minutes but, it was fantastic. Best match so far. Masakatsu Funaki, Liger & Sano vs Minoru Suzuki, Aoki & Taichi - NJ Dojo classmates united again. Suzuki is right behind them so that's the story of the match to me. Fun little match with good spots toward the end. The Destroyer battle royale - I skipped this... Nagata, Tenzan, Nishimura & W. Inoue vs Akebono, Hama, Y. Yoshie & Morishima - Fun match but, this would have been better with Nagata & Nishimura vs Yoshie & Morishima . Its only 11 minutes and its all good for where its at on the card. Akiyama & K. Sasaki vs Omori & Takayama - So, Takayama was starting to not have "it" by this point but, he could still take a helluva beating. I wanted to say that right off the bat. That being said, this was a near classic macho beat-em up match. All three other guys were still awesome and the crowd was molten hot for this battle. I really really dug this especially at 15 minutes where it was all steak and no sizzle which works wonderfully for this style and the guys' ages. I'm a fan of all 4 so perhaps you think I'm full of it but, I really want to put this as like a ****1/2 match. The final 3rd of the match which had Omori in the ring more really put this up there. Best match of the show and should have been the main event in my eyes. Kobashi & Muto vs Iizuka & Yano - This won the Tokyo Sports GP Best Match of 2011 award. That like many of their awards is based on mass appeal, nostalgia, and star power. That and the finish is really something beautiful if you're a long time puro fan. SUWAMA, Tanahashi & Shiozaki vs KENSO, Nakamura & Sugiura - I totally get why this is the main event. These are the heavy hitter, the aces of their companies, the world champions. That being said I would have LOVED this id it was minus Tanahashi & KENSO because the other four guys are absolute beasts! So, it makes their offense look mid card level. SUWAMA and Nakamura grappling to start, Shiozaki & Sugiura blasting each other...it makes the other two guys stuff look soft. It got really really good though. All that talent in one ring, they had to have a very good match in their sleep. This was that match BUT! they threw a story element in there as well. It was kinda goofy but, the fans loved it and we got to see all these dudes in one ring at once. Kinda like a lucha trios match... Overall this was a really really good show and I think paid off the Dream Show vibe. I would say this would be like getting the '94 Super J Cup tape if you wanted to get into puro but stuff is so easy to come by with Youtube, NJ World, etc. that there's probably more relevant entry points now. But, let's say if you're looking to get into older stuff but, want a more modern presentation and a good introduction than this is a great way for that. I think its also a good reminder of the events that took place all most a decade ago. Thanks for reading !

Here are the matches that have been announced for Final Battle thus far: ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH CHAMPION RUSH vs. BRODY KING GRUDGE MATCH JAY BRISCOE vs. EC3 ROH PURE TITLE MATCH CHAMPION JONATHAN GRESHAM vs. FLIP GORDON ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH CHAMPIONS JAY LETHAL & JONATHAN GRESHAM vs. MARK BRISCOE & PCO GRUDGE TAG TEAM MATCH MATT TAVEN & MIKE BENNETT vs. THE RIGHTEOUS (VINCENT & BATEMAN W/VITA VONSTARR) FOUR-WAY MATCH FOR ROH WORLD TELEVISION TITLE SHOT TONY DEPPEN vs. DAK DRAPER vs. LSG vs. JOSH WOODS ROH WORLD TELEVISION TITLE MATCH CHAMPION DRAGON LEE vs. WINNER OF FOUR-WAY MATCH ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH CHAMPIONS MEXISQUAD (BANDIDO, FLAMITA & REY HORUS) vs. SHANE TAYLOR & SOLDIERS OF SAVAGERY (MOSES & KAUN) FIRST-EVER PURE RULES TAG TEAM MATCH THE FOUNDATION’S TRACY WILLIAMS & RHETT TITUS vs. FRED YEHI & WHEELER YUTA ROH announced they'll be airing the first hour for free on YouTube. The 4 way match is going to be featured. I'm hoping the pure rules tag match will be there as well. Very psyched to see Fred Yehi back in a ROH ring.

Man, it has been awhile since I've covered some straight up Japanese wrestling. That's a sin or something for a wrestling blog with "puro" in the title. I guess I've been covering the "plus more" stuff for a couple months. Anyhow, let's get in our time machines and go back to late 1989 All Japan Pro Wrestling for some good stuff. British Bulldogs & Kenta Kobashi vs Furnas, Kroffat & Masa Fuchi (11/19) - You'd better believe this is in Korakeun Hall! Dynamite is still physically able to go. Kroffat is doing kicks & kip-ups. Davey and Doug Furnas get in a strong man battle. Fuchi is still tough and mean. Kobashi is great right outta the gate. This match has got all of the 'wow!' moments along with some blood. Watch for that exploding guardrail too! Impressive finish on top of all that - Great match! Terry Gordy & Bill Irwin vs Stan Hansen & Tenryu (11/19): So, I've dropped us in the '89 Real World Tag League for better or worse. I say worse because there's usually some good stories running here but, if I try to do that I'm just going to be intimidated to watch this stuff. Like "Ok I have to plan to watch this DVD on this date then, watch these two this week, what if I take a break?" I digress...this match is the perfect reason to just drop right in. Four bruisers chopping and elbowing each other like they mean it. You can't beat it! This was fast paced as you can get for these dudes and there's not a thing to hate on. Very good match that's scratching a greatness to me. British Bulldogs vs Jumbo & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/25): Tag League match. Yatsu has headgear and that was of course a target for the Brits. It was good but, had a little too much stomping & headbutts to be awesome. Still, its neat to see all 4 in the ring. Abdullah the Butcher & Tiger Jeet Singh vs Hansen & Tenryu (11/25): Tag League match. Ah yes, I love these matches. Maybe its because my dad is a Abby fan or that I came into my fandom watching ECW but, this was very good stuff. Fighting in the crowd, bleeding, yeah I mean this was very enjoyable to me. Plus we get a pinfall win! British Bulldogs & Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada, Samson Fuyuki & Yoshinari Ogawa (12/04): Perhaps the first match I've seen of Ogawa wrestling for Revolution. Catch us if you can! I think that was their slogan Anyhow, this was a great 13-14 minute match much like the Can-Am & Fuchi one. Dynamite puts together a half dozen moves tags out to let Davey do the heavy lifting (literally) and Kobashi takes Tom's role in bumping & diving off stuff. I've seen better Footloose matches (Kawada & Fuyuki) but, they are still great here. This was a blast! This was a super easy AJPW Classics DVD to watch. Nothing was a classic but, it was really enjoyable to see the same few guys wrestle. Plus there was a variety of styles. A brawl, a slobber knocker, two 6 man work-rate matches, and a solid story tag bout made this never boring. Now, there were 2 Nasty Boys RWTL matches but, I skipped those. I saw little bits but, eh I only have so much time & energy. If you love Knobbs & Skaggs then you've got to look forward to seeing. I want to finish off 2020 with a few more puro matches or shows before my year end stuff. So, hopefully I can get that in as well as written up. Work has been CRAZY! So, we'll see about that. I do have a couple DVDs in mind so I'm hoping I can get those in along with another FIP show or two. Thanks for reading everyone! Be safe!

I was thinking the same thing with Brody King as a Samoa Joe type bruiser champ. He gets my vote too!

I would have loved to been able to get a new FIP show watched this week. My job in online retail has been absolute bonkers though. It is usually pretty bad just because its the holiday season. This year has been especially rough due to the pandemic. I thought maybe people would be chill since folks have been home and able to online shop probably more now than ever. So perhaps they shopped early...I don't know what I was thinking! Hahaha maybe it was wishful thinking. Anyhow, I wasn't able to watch more Full Impact Pro this week but, I've assembled my watch list for the remaining DVDs. I snagged a new on during Highspots Black Friday sale. I was supposed to get a second one but, it was sold out and I got a refund. Bummer but, it was one I was on the fence about so, I'm not to sad. I wanted to put this list together for folks interest in what's out there beyond what I have already reviewed. As of writing this, these are still available on Highspots website. They usually do an after Xmas sale or a New Years Sale so, if you're interest in scooping a few up I wanted to give a heads up on what I'm digging. So if we have the same tastes then maybe this will help you without having to wait for my slow ass to watch all of these Fallout 2006 The Heartbreak Express vs. Jaison Moore & Bobby Hopkins, Jr. - will skip Black Market vs. Jerrelle Clark & Jon Davis - worth checking out Chasyn Rance vs. Canadian Cougar - will skip Seth Delay vs. Steve Madison - ehhh might check out...perhaps Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Sal Rinauro & Erick Stevens - yeah looking forward to this. Sal & Erick are good stuff in this setting for sure. Matt Sydal vs. Shingo - Sydal was wrestling Dragon Gate and ROH had their DG matches so, this is one to watch Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards (FIP Heavyweight Title #1 Contenders Match) - Can't go wrong with this match especially in this small setting Bryan Danielson & Cyber Kong vs. Davey Richards & Roderick Strong - Other than Cyber Kong this would be a main event on a ROH 2006 B-show. Swap Delirious in for Kong and there you go! Second Year Spectacular Night 1 *(the listing is reverse on Highspots so the main event is at the top)* Davey Richards vs. Delirious w/Dave Prazak - Speaking of Delirious - yup this should be good stuff Jerrelle Clark vs. Jay Briscoe - Interesting to see Jerrelle this high up but, I'm all for it. Roderick Strong vs. Cyber Kong w/Dave Prazak - I'll watch it but, Cyber Kong is an unknown to me. Could go either way... Steve Madison, Chasyn Rance & Kenny King vs. Erick Stevens, Roderick Strong & Seth Delay - Yeah, a 6 man match...this should be fun Mark Briscoe vs. Canadian Cougar - I'm watching it for Mark. Allison Danger vs. Lacey - Yup I'm down for this. Its been awhile since I've seen either wrestle. Black Market vs. Colt Cabana & Sal Rinauro - I liked Black Market from Unstoppable 2007 and Cabana & Rinauro are a fun team. I might watch this whole show! New Years Classic 2007 Kenny King vs. Seth Delay - Maybe based on Kenny King Claudio Castagnoli vs. Shane Hagadorn - Probably will skip but, this is probably a squash The Heartbreak Express vs. Shiima Xion & Pelle Primeau - same as above Sal Rinauro vs. Gran Akuma - yeah, I think I'll watch this. Black Market vs. Steve Madison & Chasyn Rance - Not crazy about this match but, we'll see how I feel when I get there! Jimmy Jacobs vs. Larry Sweeney - I've only ever seen Sweeney as manager so, I'm interested. Him vs Jimmy should be entertaining for sure Brent Albright vs. Erick Stevens - This is an ROH match I remember seeing and it reminds me of an AJPW undercard match. It should be stiff and have some suplexes- I'm game Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Jimmy Rave & Shingo - The selling point of the DVD. Seeing as the ROH guys have experience together and Shingo has been working with them as well. This should be very good stuff. In Full Force 2007 Hallowicked vs. Seth Delay Shingo vs. Jigsaw (FIP Florida Heritage Title Tournament Qualifier) - I'll pick up here...I'm a Shingo fan if you can't tell Black Market vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Sal Rinauro (Losers leave Town) - Hey a tag match with an old school stipulation...I'm hoping its a brawl Sean Waltman vs. Chasyn Rance - Probably will skip The Briscoe Bros. vs. Necro Butcher & Mad Man Pondo (FIP Tag Team Title Match) - Yeah, my hope is this is indy deathmatch crazy. Just see for the spectacle Erick Stevens vs. Gran Akuma (FIP Florida Heritage Title Tournament Qualifier) - Stevens is working his way up the card Colt Cabana vs. Larry Sweeney (FIP Florida Heritage Title Tournament Qualifier) - This is looking like a good comedy match Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards (FIP Heavyweight Title - 2/3 Falls Match) - Selling point right here. These guys are like bread & butter. Violent bread & butter. Heatstroke 2007 Night 1 Steve Madison vs Danny Daniels (w/SoCal Val) Seth Delay vs Austin Amadeus Trik Davis vs Scott Commodity - yeah I'll be skipping the first three matches... Erick Stevens vs Davey Richards - Odd position for this match but, I've got hope. No Disqualification Match - Delirious vs Necro Butcher (w/Dave Prazak) - Even if just for the chair spots I'll watch this! The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) (c) vs Irish Airborne (Dave Crist & Jake Crist) - Brothers vs Brothers plus Airborne were the new thing at the time as well. Roderick Strong (c) vs Tyler Black - Would be ROH main event stuff in a year...yeah I'll watch this. Eight Man Tag Team Bunkhouse Brawl - The YRR (Chasyn Rance, Jason Blade, Kenny King & Sal Rinauro) (w/Becky Bayless & SoCal Val) vs Black Market (Joey Machete & Shawn Murphy) & The Heartbreak Express (Phil Davis & Sean Davis) - This is seemingly the acutal big storyline of FIP at the time and it should be chaotic so, why not. I'm guessing the wrestling main event is Black vs Strong though. Third Anniverary Show Kenny King vs. Seth Delay... Jigsaw vs. Jason Blade... Sara Del Rey vs. Lacey vs. Daizee Haze (Triple Threat Match) - I'll be starting here. Nothing against those guys but, this looks like a good card Irish Airborne vs. Hallowicked & Scott Commodity - I will be skippinh this for the same reason as above Necro Butcher vs Gran Akuma (No DQ Match) - Unless I'm just bored of Necro doing wacky stuff, I'm interested Delirious vs. Larry Sweeney - It depends if I'm in the mood. Sometimes I LOVE a good comedy match. Othertimes, I can't be bothered. Erick Stevens vs. Jack Evans (Florida Heritage Title Match) - Jack in Florida is gold. Roderick Strong & Jay Briscoe vs. BxB Hulk & Yamato - This is whats on the cover and again this could be an ROH B-show main event. Black Market & The Heartbreak Express vs. The YRR (Anything Goes Match) - Clearly these guys haven't settled their differences from the previous show. If that one grabs my attention then, I'm down for this. Dangerous Intentions 2008 Jigsaw vs. Chasyn Rance - No Rex Sterling vs. Chris Jones - Nope Damien Wayne vs. Seth Delay - No way Jose Sal Rinauro vs. Delirious - Again, only so much time and when this is following those then, I'd rather cut to the chase. Black Market vs. Dark City Fight Club - These are some clubbering dudes so this should be good Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards - Again, ROH Main Event in a couple years Kenny King & Jason Blade vs. Jay Briscoe & Austin Aries - Certain to be an all action match Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens (FIP World Heavyweight Title Match - Last Man Standing) - Oh yeah, the top half of the card looks awesome Heatstroke 2008 The Heartbreak Assassins vs. The British Lions Mercedes Martinez vs. Lorelei Lee - Might as well pick up a Women's match where & when I can! Sal Rinauro vs. Chris Jones Chasyn Rance vs. Shawn Osborne Austin Aries vs. Jason Blade - I'm gonna go with this next. Blade is alright of all of the Streets of Rage indy wrestlers Dark City Fight Club vs. Black Market (Weapons Match) - These are some clubbering dudes WITH WEAPONS so this should be good Roderick Strong vs. Kenny King - ROH match right here Tyler Black vs. Necro Butcher - Ditto Erick Stevens vs. Go Shiozaki - If they chop and lariat each other like crazy then I will be a happy person. Fallout 2008 (This is the end of the road with the FIP DVDs available. I think this was billed as Impact of Honor 2 but the DVD was called this.) Shawn Osborne vs. CJ O'Doyle Dark City Fight Club vs. The Lifeguards Chasyn Rance vs. Nooie Lee Damien Wayne & Rex Sterling vs. The British Lions Erick Stevens vs. Tyler Black - Wow, we're just skipping all of that and this looks like a great place to start MsChif vs. Rain (SHIMMER Title Match) - Sure why not! Go Shiozaki vs. Roderick Strong - Sign me up yes, please! Kenny King & Jason Blade vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe - I know these guys can all go so I'm looking forward to this. FIP guys challenging the ROH guys again Sal Rinauro vs. Chris Jones - No idea what this is doing here in the top spot. Its here on the DVD case too. Alright...I'll give it a shot! Whew! That took longer than I thought! Well I hope it helps you if you're thinking about checking old Full Impact Pro stuff out. If you're on the fence then I highly recommend Strong vs Evans as a place to start. I hope these above shows are very similar. If you look at the cards they look more like ROH year One in that the undercards are a little shakey sometimes but, the last 4 matches look really great. There are plenty of other shows that I guess were TOP shows at the time and I might try and find those on eBay but, that's what we're looking at right now. I'm digging it! Thanks for reading!

Ah that makes sense about it on their YouTube show seeing as I don't watch it That being said, they really should cut down on the disconnect between the TV show and YouTube. The Allure & Quinn stuff was never addressed on TV but, was a big deal on their website/YT. I've really enjoyed Brody's matches with Dalton and Shane. He's going to be facing Rush at Final Battle and I wouldn't be surprised if they gave the belt to him.

ROH has their Final Battle commercial up on YouTube. If you look closely Rhett Titus is a member of The Foundation with Gresham, Lethal, and Williams. Not sure if they announced that anywhere but, its from a promotional video/photo so its legit. Not sure how he fits but, he's been with the company a long time so maybe that's it.

I don't want to do a week by week review of Ring of Honor TV. Although it did help keep my blogging on track, I just don't want focus too much on ROH. And besides when do I end it? OK I've said that and so now I no problem doing a "once in awhile" catch up with ROH TV. Anyone reading this maybe wondering why I don't look at WWE or AEW or Impact as well. What about the Indies? Yeah, that's another good reason I am not planning on covering ROH TV on a regular basis. There's just so much new stuff out there and plenty of folks here on PWO do a great job of that already. ROH TV is my jam because #1 is free on TV and #2 I've been a Ring of Honor fan since 2007 or 08. But also because they still have really good no nonsense wrestling. It may not be as AWESOME as the mid 2000's stuff or even as good as it was a few years ago but, man! they are coming back. That's the reason I wanted to do this post. The Pure Title revival has been a success, and like I was hoping for, ROH has stuck more to this athletic focused wrestling. I gotta say I like it a lot better than the stuff when Cody was there. Sure you had the Elite guys who could fart out very good tag matches but, it was too corny for my tastes. Plus too many hi-jinks. That's been a couple years but, after they left and until now ROH seems like it has been searching for it's soul. The Pure Tournament seemed like they had found it again. I really hope they bring some of those guys back especially Yehi & Sydal. So, the weeks after Gresham won the belt have been just as good or even better. I'm acutally digging the Taven vs Vincent stuff despite my initial reservations. The return of Bennett and the introduction of Bateman into the feud seems like great hate filled tag team stuff with a potential for a Ladder War match. EC3 didn't light the world on fire with his stuff but, he's been keeping it interesting nonetheless. I'd like to see him wrestling in actual wrestling boots though. Brody King, who I was waiting to get pushed, has been getting pushed big time. His matches with Dalton Castle and Shane Taylor have been nothing short of great puro battles. Those two deserve a ton of credit too. Longer TV matches that very much would be PPV level bouts in my book. Shane Taylor had a very good match with Kenny King that also was PPV level. And the franchise Jay Lethal has been working his magic with LSG and Josh Woods. Both guys really were great in their fights with him in their Pure Rules bouts. I would have to say LSG's fight against Lethal was about as good any the best matches in the Pure Tournament. It was a great match for sure. As was today's match with Josh Woods. Man, Woods looks better and better with each match. If he can get his confidence up on his strikes (like confident he can go harder without KO-ing someone) then, he really is big star material. I'm just going to speculate on Final Battle 2020 and say that there's going to be a big shake-up with the belts. If they can get the Mexican wrestlers (or if its pre-taped "GOT" the Mexican wrestlers)...if they can get them for the show, I think they're dropping the titles. And if they can't get them there then, perhaps they will be forced to vacate? They have been sitting on the shelf for a pretty long time without being in an ROH ring or doing an ROH promo or TV show. SO, I'm not sure what value they'll be to Ring of Honor back in Mexico. Even Marty Scurll who's gone did a COVID lockdown Best Of show...but not the World Champion? I think Rush was a mis-step as he really didn't connect with the fans. I was excited early on but, again ROH was still soul searching. Getting bailed on by the AEW guys and muddying the relationship with NJPW really forced them to take a look in the mirror. Kinda like getting dumped or fired. Maybe you're more familiar with all of the dirt and inside baseball than me. Maybe I'm off the mark or missing some details but, the way I see it is ROH wants to get back to its roots. That's not a gimmick. Its been shown in the fantastic TV shows they've been having since they started back up. If its not your cup of tea then, that's OK. I really don't have much contemporary wrestling to compare it to than Smackdown and Impact. Both of which I watch sporadically...I usually forget they're on and then miss like 75% of the show. I saw the Bryan vs Zayn match from the other night and that was the only thing that held a candle to what ROH is doing. Even then there was a load of crap I had to wade through to get to it. And that Thunderdome BS hurts my eyes. Impact which is the most analogous show really needs to be trimmed to 1 hour. But I'm watching that on Twitch...so I think ROH knows they're doing OK in comparison. So, again ROH TV might not be your thing but, I think it fares pretty darn well in comparison to its closest competitors. Its not as flashy but, perhaps that's why I like it so much. I'm a fan of puroresu especially older stuff. I favor the simple production, the intense battles, and no nonsense stories. I feel like ROH has been delivering on that and am a happy fan. Thanks for reading! Stay safe and be kind P.S. There will be more puro reviews coming up! Its been awhile but, I'm sure of it! Plus my 2020 Best Match Watched round up is around the corner.

Welcome back to FIP Fridays! Hopefully I can get this puppy in before midnight! Also if you're interested all or at least most of the FIP DVDs I'll be reviewing are available on Highspots. They are having their Xmas sale so, that's a tough deal to beat. Tonight I'm going over the best FIP show I've seen yet - Strong vs Evans! As always I cherry pick but, this has quite a few matches I want to see. Austin Aries vs Jerrelle Clark - This is a really good athletic match with Aries playing heel alongside his stablemates Bryan Danielson & Dave Prazak. For my "opening match" it sets a great tone. They only thing holding this back is that it could have been longer. Clark's handspring moonsault thing was awesome! Bryan Danielson vs Jay Fury - Fury comes out for a little payback for what DP Associates did his tag partner in the previous bout. Very similar athletic match with some heeling from Danielson. He is such a good chicken shit heel! Milo Beasley who is DP's wheelchair riding goon does senton atomico off the apron at one point and it nearly kills him & Fury! Good payoffs here and good wrestling...very good stuff. We are off to a wonderful start. Oh and let me say the venue is much bigger, the crowd is bigger, and the camera angles are spot on. That makes a difference and glad to see that FIP is growing...I mean 14 years ago... Tony Mamluke & Jimmy Rave - Mamaluke's girlfriend is there again I liked this one a bit better than the Homicide match from Heatstroke last review. He and Rave have good chemistry and I think worked on the FL indies together for awhile. It shows..I would says its a good match for sure. Rave gets his mouth busted open...Rave stalls like a goon at the beginning and I loved it. He's probably one of the best heels of the 2000's. Colt Cabana & Sal Rinauro vs Erick Stevens & Steve Madison - First Stevens match I've wanted to see from this period. He and Madison are working their way up the card. They go as The Miracle Violence Connection which of course works since I'm guessing no one there knows about the Gordy-Williams team of the same name from the early 90's They too are a hard hitting team so, the good time Sal & Colt team have their hands full. But man they are a good pair - Sal is underrated as a worker and Colt can still go in 2006. He's in no laughing mood. I thought this was a great match. We get an 80's finish but, man it works and it sets up a revenge pair of matches. Might have to check that out. These teams just clicked in terms of working the crowd but, keeping the action exciting. Main Event time and the name of the show. The first meeting of former tag partners and Generation Next members Roderick Strong vs Jack Evans - To save you some time - this was the best ROH style match in FIP that I've seen so far.This is Messiah of the Backbreaker Strong vs using his offence at the right times Evans. I don't know if they had an encounter in ROH as good as this one and from what I know its their first. Jack was bent like a pretzel and chopped red but, he would not quit. His selling was so excellent because it really looked like Strong was destroying him. Perhaps he was but, like I mentioned above, he was able to get some space and hit some spectacular stuff that really sent Roddy reeling. It reminded me of some of TIger Mask's best matches when he was fighting from underneath and would pull a counter or reversal to turn the tide. Or hit a dive to to show his heart and desperation. All on top of Roddy shit talking the fans made this a classic match to me.I was hesitant to pick this up because I'm not a giant fan of Evans all of the time but, this is the perfect setting for him. The fans LOVE him and he plays such a good face in peril here to all of the kids and girls. Yeah, it just worked so well and they really did not hold anything back believe it or not. If you're an old time ROH fan and are looking to revisit that era or uncover something new from that time, I highly recommend this show. It's $5 and I really think the matches listed above are worth that. If you're a Roderick Strong fan like I am, you will want this in your collection. Thanks for reading! I think I might get this in on time after all! P.S. If you work retail, hang in there! I'm there with you - we'll make it!

Back with FIP Friday after a week off! Here we have Night #2 of the inaugural edition of Heatstroke in Bushnell, FL. I'm cherry picking matches so, this isn't a full show review. And yeah Night 1 didn't interest me as much so, let's roll! Samoa Joe vs Ace Steel - My opening match and its really odd to have Joe being in this position in 2005 or really any year but, he and Ace have a good match with lotsa nice action. It set the tone pretty well for the show. The static camera angle is from around the entrance way and although it catches the crowd and the apron, does seem far away. Plus the lighting here is not that hot. The venue is more typical of an indy show than a a bar or some of the other weird places we saw back on the Best of CM Punk vol. 2 DVD. So, FIP is growing Adam Pearce vs Azrieal - Azrieal is no longer with Punk as the New Dawn sold out. So, Pearce (representing DP Assoc.) is going to teach him a lesson. I forgot what a hard chopper Adam Pearce was! This was a good match. Nothing terribly memorable other than Az not having enough room to stand on the top turnbuckle since the ceiling was so low! (see the tag match above) "Fast" Eddie Vegas & Jimmy Rave vs Spanky & Sal Rinauro - Vegas and Rave are Dave Prazak goons are are the FIP tag champs. Sal is Spanky Kendrick's protege and they're fighting for the belts. To me this is the match of the night. Rave and Vegas do such a good job being heels here along with Prazak. Now that's not an uncommon thing in FIP where those roles are much more defined than ROH. However, Sal & Spanky are just the most baby face team - good looking, wearing pink & teal shorts, the kiddies are screaming for them etc. So, Rave & Vegas decide to work a traditional tag match where there's a face in peril and they gotta make that hot tag. What makes this really tops is that both teams wrestle this like they're at an ROH show with many of their big moves. Hell, they even dislodge some ceiling panels on a move! This is a great match for sure. Homicide vs Tony Mamaluke - The chick in the front row is Tony's girlfriend is pretty funny throughout this match and really all of the matches to some extent. 'Cide jaw jacks with her a little bit which is good for a chuckle. I thought this was a good match and very good at times but, it just didn't keep the excitement level up for me. At these small shows, where it is poorly lit and the camera angles aren't the best mat grappling just doesn't have the same in impact. It really just looks like laying around. When they do switch to the close up camera (as opposed to the far away one also at floor level) you can appreciate the action but, for some reason they use the far away one for a good deal of the match. There are some really good parts though so perhaps you'll like it more than I did. DP Associates attack Homicide afterwards and some good guys make the save including Roderick Strong which leads to the main event... CM Punk vs Roderick Strong - This was a great match with really solid and well executed pro wrestling. Punk was on his tour out of FIP (and ROH) and each show was going to be his last. This night he faced Roderick Strong who was having a breakout year. This match was no exception but, a bit different from his ROH matches in that he wasn't necessarily destroying Punk with chops and backbreakers. In fact, there were 0 backbreakers. And I kinda take that back regarding chops...there were some pretty mean chops here. Punk was able to control Roderick with abdominal stretches, chin locks and sleepers. He knew the Florida native as very explosive and he needed to tire him down. Strong would get breaks but, was quickly cut off by Punk or the meddling head of DP Associates Dave Prazak (Prazak had bought out Punk's New Dawn stable). When Roddy was able to get an opening though he would explode with chops, running elbows and kicks and everything else you want from him (except his trademark breakers). The fans were really loving this match and we get a Punk moon sighting which was pretty funny. I would have liked a 100% clean finish but, under the circumstances it totally works and keeps the breakout 2005 for Strong still going. Don't go in expecting classic ROH style but, both guys really can work a great wrestling match without hitting every big move and tons of false finishes. This was a really good show and very enjoyable. I cherry picked the matches I wanted to see most so, if you're interested in buying this DVD there's more in store for ya. I think this is the last CM Punk in FIP show that I have so in a way this is his final match to me. Here and with all of his matches I've seen, he was a true professional wrestler meant for the big time. Not only did he know what to do in the ring but, he knew what to do with the fans. Also, I'm a Jimmy Rave fan from a lot of the 2005 ROH I have and man that tag match is another feather in his cap. What an interesting heel wrestler here and there. He really is a talent where the sum is greater than the parts. I dunno...I'm rambling. But if you're interested in this era of ROH, I would consider picking this DVD up. Its $5 on Highspots and is definitely worth the money if you're still buying DVDs like me