G. Badger

I wonder how many people got into Ring of Honor through through the mass market Koch DVD releases. I know I count myself as one of those folks. I picked up their "Best in the World" release (not to be confused the 2006 Milestone Series show) and knew that this was a company I should check out. For whatever reason, I stopped there and did not get the three other Koch releases. Now like much of ROH's past releases these are out of production and are pretty desirable themselves. They do a pretty good job of compiling ROH's golden years of 2004-2007 and because they were mass produced, they are a little bit easier to come by than the show DVDs. You might actually find these at a cd/game exchange type store too! Although don't hold your breath. But really, why didn't I purchase the other DVDs? I think I was super eager to get my paws on anything puro and the 'other three' didn't feature Japanese talent. I've eventually come in to possession of these compilations and want to let you know (over a decade later) if you should check these out. The first one I'm going to review is the final one I bought. That is 'Stars of Honor.' As someone who's not a big fan of WWE style stuff, it makes sense why I put this one off. There are two Matt Hardy matches, a Christian match, and an MVP match. But! There is also guys like CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Spanky Kendrick, and Jay Lethal. So, I got it I watched these in order of least to most interested. Let's take a look! Homicide vs Antonio Banks (MVP): This match took place 02/19/05 and is for the FIP Heavyweight title in Elizabeth, NJ. However, that doesn't make sense since 02/19 was the Second Anniversary show Night #1 and 'cide faced Danielson in a Taped Fist Match. I had to research this a little bit and this was probably a dark match and was not shown on the ROH DVD. I'm guessing it was added as an extra on a FIP or ROH show that needed some padding. Why they added this here is beyond me. I never though MVP was a big star back in 2008 when this was released. No disrespect to him but, the gimmick was goofy as hell. He looks way better here versus The Notorious One. This was a fun match with Banks powering the champ around. Matt Hardy vs Homicide (Redemption 2005) - Matt Hardy had already been resigned to WWE but, wanted to fulfill his commitment to ROH during what would become the "Summer of Punk." Hardy's three show participation had to have some effect in getting more butts in the seats. He wasn't a welcome addition to the roster as the fans, much like ECW's, were very hostile toward big company outsiders. I belive Jeff made an appearance earlier and that did not go as well despite Jeff's style being much more conducive to the ROH style. Matt Hardy wanted to prove he was a top wrestler especially with James Gibson/Noble doing the same in '05. Gibson was never given the limelight like the Hardys and many felt by this point in time they were company men. What better opponent for Matt to face than the no nonsense Homicide? That being said, everyone wanted deep down for Matt to do well because he and Jeff had been instrumental in introducing the high risk action of a new generation to WWF. So, it was a 'we hate this guy! (I hope he does well!' sentiment. I was really impressed as they punched and slammed each other all over the place. Homicide can take a beating but, kudos to Hardy for taking a king-sized lariat. Some might not love the finish but, it was smart and it worked! Very good stuff! Roderick Strong vs Matt Hardy (Punk: The Final Chapter 2005): We're going to come back to this show later. ROH has two matches from two shows on this compilation which is pretty weird since it sorta discourages a person from getting those actual DVDs. Anyhow, this is Matt's final appearance and has one final opponent in Roderick Strong. At this point, people were happy to see Hardy but, since it was known he was jumping ship back to WWE, they wanted to see him get destroyed. I think there was no better person than Roderick. And you better believe me & the fans get what we want. This was a great match where Roddy almost kills Matt with a back breaker combo. I mean I lost it when he hit it! That flurry should have been the finish IMO! Things are picking up! Christian Cage vs Christopher Daniels (Generation Now 2006): The second of I believe Christian's 2 ROH shows. I think this was sort of a warm up before he went to TNA. And that's kind of what this match is with Daniels. It never goes into 4th gear but, is very good. Christian isn't one of my faves but, I can't fault them putting this on the DVD. Spanky (Kendrick) vs Bryan Danielson (Best of the American Super Jrs. 2005): For as awesome as 2005 ROH was there was still goofy stuff like this show where Kendo -freaking- Kashin wins a tournament with Danielson, Rocky Romero, Kendrick, Roderick Strong, James Gibson, and more participating! To top it off Kashin dogged it and didn't even wrestle under his own gimmick AND this tournament was supposed to grant the winner a spot in the 2005 BOSJ in NJPW...but that never happened! SO, there was no point in even having the tournament let alone letting Kashin win. That show did produce some really notable matches. This being the first. Many have described this as the BEST opening match in ROH history. I don't know about that but, this was in no way wrestled like a tourney match. Danielson was brutal in grinding Kendrick down but, Spanky would not quit. Great match James Gibson vs Roderick Strong (same show): Strong manhandles Gibson and Jamie is selling the heck outta it. Lotta great mat action here. They leave stuff on the table here but, there is a rematch at the Unforgettable 2005 show which I might have to snag. Very good match. Also may have to find their Full Impact Pro matches too. Now I'm going to say the selling point of this DVD for most (including me) is Joe vs Punk III at All Star Extravaganza 2. Per my guidelines above, I would leave that match last. However, I find that is is not THE BEST bout on this compilation in my view. So, let's take a look now and then get on to the final and best match. Samoa Joe vs CM Punk (All Star Extravaganza 2 2004): I've seen Joe vs Punk II and loved that match. It is a classic in my book. This match is not a classic though. The story of it did not connect with me as strongly. The layout of this did not strike me as much. There are some execution issues that while not egregious do take me out of the moment. All that said, this is a great match. **** stuff to me but, I am in the minority. I have not seen their first match at World Title Classic. I think I might want to. Low Ki & Homicide vs Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal (Punk: The Final Chapter): This is the best match on this DVD and the one I probably knew the least about...other than people recommending it. This is the 3rd Homicide match, the 2nd Joe match, and the second match from Punk's last ROH show. Its an odd inclusion for those reasons. Was it trying to recognize Low-Ki and Lethal? Lethal was building but, Ki was Senshi at this time which was just weird (which would get weirder). I don't care at the end of the day though. This was a WAR! Ki & Homicide are heeling in the worst way and Lethal is the little brother to the juggernaut that is Samoa Joe. This is like an updated version of The Funks vs Abby & The Sheik or the best ECW brawls. There's blood, chair throwing, crowd fighting, and more. This was a classic fight to me. There's an 80's finish but, I mean that in the very best of ways. That bell don't mean a thing. This is the Samoe Joe you wanna see, this is the Homicide you wanna see, Baby Jay Lethal learning how to be a champ in this match. Yup, this is a classic. Get this puppy used online and I'm sure you'll be happy. Its a weird pick of matches and talent especially with the benefit of hindsight. 2 Matt Hardy matches, an MVP dark match, and three Homicide matches seems like they were piecing this one together at the end. I would have preferred a 2nd Gibson match or a Paul London or an AJ Styles match instead. I think they were really focused on the Best Buy or Amazon customer snagging this and seeing those WWE names and going "Yeah why not!" With that in mind, they probably should have put another Punk match on there if they wanted to have 2 Joe matches. But, I'm Monday morning quarterbacking something from 12 years ago You get two very good-great Roderick Strong matches from his break-out year, you get two great-classic Samoa Joe matches, you get a great Bryan Danielson match from a show you probably don't want to track down...so it's a no brainer if you can get this under $10. If you look at this as a show DVD, there's a ****1/2+ match and 3 **** matches. That's a must buy in my book. I've got Bloodstained Honor (terrible title) and Greatest Rivalries to tackle in the next few weeks. Thanks for reading! Stay safe!

Full Impact Pro DVD review for this week goes back to early 2005 and covers CM Punk. Duh right? Its a really good DVD, lets just say that from the start. The big reason why I say that is because it includes matches, promos, and run-ins that feature Punk. So its really easy to get sucked into the story line. Punkster is basically public enemy #1 by feuding with FIP champ Homicide and getting up in James Gibson's and Bryan Danielson's business. Azrieal who was a member of Special K, the raver group in ROH, is his toady and features in some of the early matches. Anyhow, enough explanation. First match is against Antonio Banks and its a fun match. Banks is MVP by the way. Next we gets Azrieal vs James Gibson which gets good after it gets going. This sets up the main event tag match. CM Punk & Azrieal vs Homicide and James Gibson (Unfinished Business 2005) - This is an Anything Goes Match. Punk doesn't want this. He wants a regular match because he's a chicken shit heel. It takes a minute to get going but then, its good in- ring action. Eventually, the fans get we want and the fighting goes to the outside...literally. They're in the gravel parking lot duking it out. And when they get back inside they end really strong. Very good match! CM Punk vs Puma (New Dawn Rising 2005) - Puma is TJP early in his career. This is a fun match but, nothing awesome. CM Punk vs Bryan Danielson (Dangerous Intentions 2005) - Great match. Punk loves working the crowd early on in FIP. There's like 20-30 fans at these shows so, good on him for engaging the crowd and getting some good heat. The fans in the audience love hating on him Anyhow, this was an intense match and the best bout thus far. Danielson always brings it and Punk is game. This is a long match in a good way. We get a cheap win but, it doesn't sour my opinion of the fight. And it works out...you'll have to get the DVD to see what I mean. CM Punk vs James Gibson (With Malice 2005) - Man, it seems like Punk is really turning it on now. I think he already knew he was leaving the Indies and wanted to put on great matches with everyone. I think FIP at this point in time was a place for their talent to work with each other to gain experience and chemistry in front of small but vocal crowds. Then they could bring their dialed in matches to ROH. I really think that is the case with Gibson. If you're a fan of his in ROH but wish there was more available then, check these early FIP shows. He and Punk have a great match. A similar ending as in the Danielson match. It works out and sends the fans home happy. It sets up the next show's big match of Punk vs Danielson 2/3 falls!! And...its not on this DVD. Bummer...I really want to track it down on eBay as its supposed to be pretty awesome. Overall, this is a very good DVD and its $5 on Highspots. Its totally worth buying if you're jonesing for vintage Punk. Here's the video trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1nMMjZO_kJw Thanks for reading!

Yup, I called it! Lethal, Gresham, Williams are "The Foundation" . ROH confirmed it before I posted this blog on their YouTube "live wire" like news video. Guess I could've gotten the drop had I not waited to post after the election Would not be surprised if they add Yehi. Here's the link https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y3Br7-ngoQ

Here we are at the final week of the Pure Title tournament. Jonathan Gresham vs Tracy Williams plus The Briscoe Brothers & EC3 vs Shane Taylor Enterprises. We learn from Quinn that Vinnie and Matt Taven haven been fined for their repeated brawling and destruction of company property. That's cool! A nice throw back to the Code of Honor. I really hope ROH is serious about wanting to get back to the roots or "foundation" of the company. There are spoilers btw. Briscoe Brothers & EC3 vs Shane Taylor Enterprises - This was a pretty good 6 man match! I was really impressed with the SOS guys from STE. Moses and (Nam Here we are at the final week of the Pure Title tournament. Jonathan Gresham vs Tracy Williams plus The Briscoe Brothers & EC3 vs Shane Taylor Enterprises. We learn from Quinn that Vinnie and Matt Taven haven been fined for their repeated brawling and destruction of company property. That's cool! A nice throw back to the Code of Honor. I really hope ROH is serious about wanting to get back to the roots or "foundation" of the company . Briscoe Brothers & EC3 vs Shane Taylor Enterprises - This was a pretty good 6 man match! I was really impressed with the SOS guys from STE. Moses and Kaun looked really powerful and I'm seriously looking forward to seeing more of them. Taylor and EC3 looks like a good feud heating up. The Briscoes can do no wrong at this point. Mark was killing it here. He's still crazy after all these years. Tournament Finals - Gresham vs Williams - Fortunately very little was cut from this match. I was worried since it had a 60 minute time limit. It took a little bit to get going with the first five minutes being good but, not as competitive as I would've liked. The last 8 minutes were pretty darn good and approaching greatness. Then it was over. Yup, nothing clever, no great story line to make sense of the finish. Gresham was able to hook on the Octopus Stretch (it was a mean looking one though) and that was it. Williams shook hands with Gresham and Lethal after the match. Talk about a let down! I really don't think my expectations were too high either. Williams had great matches thus far with Yehi and Lethal. There was no reason why he and Gresham couldn't...even if they only gave them 13 minutes. I really believe that this match is setting up a 3 person group of Lethal, Gresham, and Williams called The Foundation. Maybe Lethal and Gresham are already called this but, after a 5 month break in ROH TV we, the fans, need a reminder. My other clue to this is Ian Riccaboni made a slip by saying something like "two men representing The Foundation" are in the ring. Perhaps not a slip as both men represent the foundation of what ROH was built upon but, Riccaboni didn't say that. His choice of words are pretty good and he rarely mis-speaks. Therefore, one could chalk this up to an intentional foreshadowing OR ROH is taping many shows at a time (perhaps out of order). And this slip was a continuity issue as The Foundation as a group may have already formed in a taped promo/interview format. I would be all for this group and Ring of Honor seems keen on the 3-4 man squads. They are the bread and butter for their live show main events. Nevertheless, I am a bit disappointed with the final match. This is especially true when the guys had a couple weeks off after their first match. Now, in reality, if they taped the entire tournament over a day or two then, I can't blame them for being banged up and doing a short match. This was just not the war that the best two pure wrestlers in the company could have put on. So, it all felt a little flat. e) looked really powerful and I'm seriously looking forward to seeing more of them. Taylor and EC3 looks like a good feud heating up. The Briscoes can do no wrong at this point. Mark was killing it here. He's still crazy after all these years. Tournament Finals - Gresham vs Williams - Fortunately very little was cut from this match. I was worried since it had a 60 minute time limit. It took a little bit to get going with the first five minutes being good but, not as competitive as I would've liked. The last 8 minutes were pretty darn good and approaching greatness. Then it was over. Yup, nothing clever, no great story line to make sense of the finish. Gresham was able to hook on the Octopus Stretch (it was a mean looking one though) and that was it. Williams shook hands with Gresham and Lethal after the match. Talk about a let down! I really don't think my expectations were too high either. Williams had great matches thus far with Yehi and Lethal. There was no reason why he and Gresham couldn't...even if they only gave them 13 minutes. I really believe that this match is setting up a 3 person group of Lethal, Gresham, and Williams called The Foundation. Maybe Lethal and Gresham are already called this but, after a 5 month break in ROH TV we, the fans, need a reminder. My other clue to this is Ian Riccaboni made a slip by saying something like "two men representing The Foundation" are in the ring. Perhaps not a slip as both men represent the foundation of what ROH was built upon but, Riccaboni didn't say that. His choice of words are pretty good and he rarely mis-speaks. Therefore, one could chalk this up to an intentional foreshadowing OR ROH is taping many shows at a time (perhaps out of order). And this slip was a continuity issue as The Foundation as a group may have already formed in a taped promo/interview format. I would be all for this group and Ring of Honor seems keen on the 3-4 man squads. They are the bread and butter for their live show main events. Nevertheless, I am a bit disappointed with the final match. This is especially true when the guys had a couple weeks off after their first match. Now, in reality, if they taped the entire tournament over a day or two then, I can't blame them for being banged up and doing a short match. This was just not the war that the best two pure wrestlers in the company could have put on. So, it all felt a little flat. I really hope that Gresham is able to have some great defenses. His matches in the tournament were good but, not great. This win was no exception. Thanks for reading! Check the big match out for yourself. You might like it more than I did.

I found the YouTube channel for FIP's DVD hype videos. Here's the link for Unstoppable 2007. I'm going to add these hype videos for each show when available. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zVrQZxHy_mg

If you are a fan of ROH's golden years then, I'm sure you have heard of Full Impact Pro wrestling. This was ROH's sister company in Florida that was used as a sort of feeder system for Ring of Honor to varying degrees of success. It doesn't seem like it was a gigantic hit based on the small amount of show/match reviews available online still. But, I don't know if this is really warranted. Many of the cards are pretty darn impressive with guys like Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Danielson, Roderick Strong and others appearing on many shows. Now in some cases they're up against local talent that would be mid card talent in ROH but, often these top stars would square off against one another. And i can't believe that these are crappy matches which I feel is/was most people's impression given the scarcity of information online. There is one site that has archived reviews which I have used as my guide in exploring the back catalog of FIP. Now, I'm aware that it has been revitalized in the past few years but, my interest is in the original incarnation when Gabe was booking ROH and I would guess FIP. Dave Prazak was a big heel manager there so, I think perhaps he had a hand in booking too. He did in ROH's women's wrestling sister company Shimmer. I'm rambling now...anyhow I'm going to start Full Impact Friday with my first FIP DVD that I got in a Highspots freebie -Unstoppable 2007. Jack Evans vs Davey Richards - Lotsa fun watching Jack trying to not be killed by Davey. Nice arm work by Mr. Richards and a fantastic 450 move where Evans nearly destroyed DR. Very good match. The Florida fans love Jack! Heatbreak Express vs Black Market - Now these are guys ROH fans like myself won't be familiar with but, are a big deal in the FIP world. The Heartbreaks are like mid 2000's Buddy Rose & Doug Sommers. This was a good concession stand brawl with all kinds of shit flying. Erick Stevens vs Sal Rinauro - Sal was in under card matches in ROH so perhaps you'll remember him. But as a member of Young Rich and Ruthless (YRR) he's a little higher in the pecking order. Stevens you might know from ROH as well as his matches in wxw's 16 Carat from 2011 that I reviewed. To cut to the chase, this is FIP's version of Kobashi vs Ogawa. So when Erick gets his hands on Sallie Boy! Watch out! He's hitting like Nigel and Roddy. You may call BS on the finish but, a little bit of swerve is part of the charm with FIP. Its more like a JCP/NWA/early WCW promotion vs ROH being a version of NOAH or other puro group. I thought this was a great match. Kenny King & Jason Blade vs The Briscoes - Yup it's that Kenny King! Alright! This should be good as long as Blade can keep up. And yes he does! This is full speed ahead stuff. Blade & King are YRR and they have their BS at play. Dem Boys are in full mid 2000s murder mode. I do think that the fast pace hurt the match some. There wasn't enough time to let everything sink in. Very good stuff nonetheless! Roderick Strong vs Claudio Castagnoli - FIP title in a 2/3 falls match. This is a upper card match in ROH 2007 and they don't let the fans down. Claudio is jaw jacking with the crowd (he too is YRR) and Roddy is the wrestling machine we want. This was a very good to almost great match. I think they left a bunch on the table and the finish was too quick for my taste but, I still liked this match a good bit. I got this DVD for free from Highspots awhile back and a can't complain at all. I'm not seeing it for sale on their site but, I'm sure its available elsewhere. It'd be a steal at $5 but, you wouldn't be wrong if you got it for a few dollars more. It was a blast of a show especially the stuff I reviewed here. I am looking forward to seeing more. My plan is to review a new FIP show every Friday. Thanks for reading! I hope I find some more good stuff.

Here we are at the semi-finals of the Pure Title Tournament. We've got Johnathan Gresham vs Josh Woods and Jay Lethal vs Tracy Williams. Plus Vincent (that's Vinnie to me) versus Matt Taven as well. Sounds like a good show! Gonna try not to spoil anything! Match #1 Woods vs Gresham - This starts out really good with Gresham trying to wrestle Josh. We really see Woods size advantage here. Gresham is 5'4" and just does not have the frame to be out grapple someone of Woods size and amateur background. The Octopus is stymied and goes to the outside early after getting stopped in his tracks and tossed. Then, we get a commercial break which seemingly cuts out 5 minutes of the match!? And apparently these 5 minutes set-up the story of the bout. Both guys are hurt from this and plays into the final 5 minutes. I'm at a loss why they cut 5 or so minutes from a 12 minute match!? (I didn't pay attention exactly so maybe it was a minute or two less). What was shown was good but, I'd have to think it was better if shown in full. Match #2 Taven vs Vincent - Taven gets jumped coming down the steps and this is basically Vinnie's revenge for Matt coming out two weeks ago and laying the smack down. Vinnie goes off the ladder to put Matt Taven through a table. Did they cut Woods/Gresham for this? I mean I thought this was a fun segment but, its the pure title tournament. Focus on that especially on the second to last show... There's an EC3/Shane Taylor promo in there that was nice. Will be nice to see that feud as well as tag wrestling. Match #3 Williams vs Lethal - Well, that was the in the top 2 matches of the tournament...that was a great match! I think it could have been more if fans were there cheering. This featured a fantastic story and work-a-body part wrestling. Lethal looked well...Lethal. Hot Sauce showed so much heart and intensity. Man, and what a great finish to a excellent fight. If they cut down Woods/Gresham in order to only shave a minute or two off this for TV then, it was worth it. Perhaps this is the top match so far. Tracy Williams has the two best matches if you're keeping track. This one and last week's against Fred Yehi. OK so, I'm going to try and do my best not to out-and-out spoil anything here. I'm going to try and not suggest anything either by avoiding talking about the outcomes or booking hypotheses. I want to focus on the performances of the final four competitors throughout the tournament. Jay Lethal - Jay's first two matches (Castle & Finlay) were good but, nothing to write home about. They seemed pretty formulaic but, this week's match was great stuff. He carried over the wear and tear of the previous fights into this match. It really made it stand out. Josh Woods - They were smart to pair him with vets like Kenny King & PJ Black early on. Josh showed a lot of potential and this week's match with Gresham seemed to be his most comfortable (despite the clip job). He is a big guy and should be suplexing the heck outta smaller guys like he was here. ROH doesn't have Jeff Cobb but, Woods could be that next suplex machine. I think he could be a better one too. A few more years and he could be a destroyer. He's got a great sense of humor and is a natural babyface. If he can tap into his killer instinct during the matches, he has the wrestling/MMA background to be a American Dragon type talent. Jonathan Gresham - He said that he's got a bad leg and I don't know if that's true but, his matches have been rather subdued in comparison to what he is capable of. His first two bouts (Yuta & Sydal) had really clever finishes but, we're not seeing him necessarily wrestling circles around folks. And in the Woods match this week, we're not seeing a smart Gresham either. The size disadvantage was rather stark so, after getting gut-wrench suplexed a few times, one would think he should try a war of attrition to break the bigger man down. Tracy Williams - Hot Sauce has really impressed me the most all tournament. He and Yehi but, I really thought they were just tossing Tracy into the tournament for the heck of it. But, man all of his matches have been a joy to watch. The stories are there, the intensity is there...yeah the drama is there too. They have GOT to do something with Hot Sauce in 2021. He's really proved himself during this tournament. I hope they don't drop the ball. OK so, next week is the finals and I really hope they don't cut anything from it. I'm sure they will for commercials but, we'll just have to see. I'm feeling they might have the EC3/Taylor 6 man match next week along with the finals. That could be quite a good show! I'm not really sure what ROH's plans are after the tournament is done next week. I don't know if they thought the COVID stuff would be done and they could resume touring or what. At this point, its safe to assume they're going to keep doing the empty arena shows in Baltimore. That's fine by me! They could just keep rotating the match ups between all of the competitors of the Pure Tournament for the next 2 months and I'd be OK with that. I'm OK with that for longer than that if you've read my other posts on this There's so many good match ups left on the table. They could keep doing different tournaments and round robins like Gabe was doing Year One & Two. Plus you've got the Briscoes, EC3, Taven, Vinnie, Shane Taylor and his crew. I mean, you could just have that be the full roster! Again, bring the lucha guys in here and there like Gabe did with the Dragon Gate/NOAH guys in '06-07. Gimmie the book already!!! Hahaha I hope you're staying safe and having fun watching wrestling. Thanks for reading!

I'm trying to get back into my AJPW DVDs from the 80's as well as a slew of other stuff I want to watch. So instead of making big long projects that are so daunting that I don't want to do them, I have a very elaborate (not) system of flipping coins and rolling dice to get my butt in gear. Here's the end of 1985 and January 1986 of AJPW: British Bulldogs vs Jumbo & Tenryu (12/07/85): This was a good match where both teams got alot of offense in. Davey Boy press slamming Tenryu was the highlight for sure! 80's finish though... Mil Mascaras vs Tiger Mask II (01/02/86): A technical bout in contrast to the above tag match. Things picked up though and other than one miscommunication this was a good fight. Tiger Mask Misawa gets a hand shake at the end of the match so, although this is an 80's finish there's a sign a respect to end the match. Jumbo & Kodo Fuyuki vs Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda (01/86): Yes, this was shown in full! Tons of irish whipping and rope running. You better believe this was a high energy tag match for '85. Everyone brought something different to the table so everyone stood out. Plus we get a winner! Very good match. Windham vs Jumbo is a perfect fit in my eyes..wonder if that happened? Hansen vs Ashura Hara (01/86): Super heated slugfest with Hara taking it right to the Texan. It was quick violent good stuff! Russians vs Jumbo & Tenryu (01/02/86): I'm not going to spend time looking up who the "Russians" were since this was the worst bout of the DVD. It was just lame punch, stomp, bearhug type fare from them. Mil Mascaras vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (01/28/86): If you read my NJPW '88 reviews, you know that I'm a Kobayashi fan. I've taken a break on the Tiger Mask I review but, I'm really looking forward to Kobayashi vs Tiger. But here in 1985, he's in AJPW facing Mil. Both guys are technical wrestlers so this starts out really nice but, it turns into a brawl soon enough. Awesome tope and planchas punctuate the go-for-broke feel. It goes to a DQ but, would love to see a re-match with a clear winner. Good stuff. Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs Harley Race & Jesse Barr (11/30/85): Nice power moves from Barr...never seen him before. Hansen like you would hope was like a wild animal. Barr took a flip bump on the Lariat and landed on his noggin! Very good match in my book...no build up or story-just frenzy! Giant Baba & Dory Funk Jr. vs Jumbo & Tenryu (12/12/85): Before watching this I knew that it was either going to be a shorty or it was going long. And this went long but, dang was it a action packed long match. Jumbo's doing leapfrogs, Baba brings out his big guns, Dory's hitting lifter like no one can and Tenryu eventually channels the grouch inside. You had better believe count outs and double DQs are a real thing in the mid 80's so, keep that in mind when the action spills to the floor. This was a great match! Man, this was a lot of fun to watch and it really seems like the best way for me to watch stuff that I'm 'not in the mood for.' I've been down a ROH rabbit hole however, this was a nice break.

The thing about watching Ring of Honor's back catalog is that you have to plan ahead or have a watchful eye online. Many of the original shows have been out of production for years and although they have put out a lot of fantastic compilations to compensate, those too are no longer in production. I have never bought any of my ROH DVDs as they come out. I'm always running behind...sometimes nearly a decade behind! This is the case with ROH Year One. When I first got into ROH, I was interested in getting stuff that featured puro stars I had not yet figured out a way to get anything of Japanese origin. Fortunately, ROH was in the middle of their partnership with NOAH and I was able to snag stuff with KENTA, Morishima, Kobashi, and Misawa. Some of that stuff is pretty hard to come by nowadays. Cool! I only later got interested in their back catalog but, did not have a good idea of what I should buy. Combine that with having to make the choice between buying classic AJ/NJ/AJW DVDs or ROH stuff, I went with the Puro/Joshi. I still stand behind that decision I have picked up stuff here and there over the past decade trying to fill the gaps of my ROH collection with compilations and keeping an eye peeled on eBay/Amazon. Like I started with, ROH had a fantastic run of compilations from perhaps 2014 covering all of their big stars (and some long time minor stars), factions, feuds, and even years. These have since dried up and only a few are still available at a discount on Highspots. ROH changed warehouses a couple years ago (I have a nice rant about this in one of my earlier blog posts) to MD and got rid of alot of product that wasn't moving. Highspots seemingly bought a bulk of it and do have a Year Four and Best of Alex Shelley set (which I bought a few years ago) that I would highly, highly recommend. I'm on a tangent...sorry. Year One is something that I thought I probably would never get around to seeing. I was able to get ROH's Year Two DVD set (back when I got the Yr. 4 and Shelley DVD) and I've not seen it available for a reasonable price since. Year One wasn't available at that time or if it was I was a dummy. But, I've pieced enough of it together with Youtube posts, Takedown Masters editions, and one compilation match to present to you my review of Ring of Honor Year One! I'm only going to be reviewing the stuff I enjoyed or that have been recommended elsewhere. If I haven't seen something I'll let you know A couple things are from memory but, again I'll let you know. The Era of Honor Begins - The first show. This is from the Takedown Masters Edition. These are the best versions to get IMO because they cut out the junk matches and none of the matches you want to see are messed with. There's some folks saying these are clipped but, that's not true. Seriously, get this version. It'll be cheaper than the official ROH release. Jay Briscoe vs Amazing Red - Good match but they were just throwing everything out there in no particular order. Scoot Andrews vs Xavier - Not Scott vs Xavier I guess had a really good series of matches on the Northeast Indies. This wasn't really any different. I had a good build and was really good sound match. Super Crazy vs Eddie Guerrero - Eddie's looking in a bad way here. Took awhile to get going but was a good match. Tons left on the table. I'm sure this is the match the people paid to see but, we get our main event next. American Dragon vs Low-Ki vs Christopher Daniels - Man! The Fallen Angel gimmick is one I really miss. Anyhow, this is still a classic match. It wasn't full of cliches and really introduced a new era of wrestling in the States. It is steps ahead of the other matches on the show in both layout and execution. I would say if you're into M-Pro wrestling of the 90's or the ECW 3 Way Dances of Super Crazy, Tajiri, Jerry Lynn, Little Guido, Spike, etc.(I'm showing my age right?) then, this is right up your alley. Round Robin Challenge - Show Two and a follow up to the conclusion of the last show.Ditto on this being the Takedown Masters version. This is labeled as Round Robbin Challenge Its all good. Everything you'd want to see is here in full. American Dragon vs Christopher Daniels - This has got to be top 5 or 10 best ROH show openers. This is a near classic encounter. Things were kept simple with Daniels targeting Am Drag's neck. There were plenty of teases and cut-offs to keep it exciting as well. These two rarely disappoint. Daniels vs Low-Ki - Another near classic but, a tad below the above match because in-ring story wasn't as compelling. Still, the intensity was there with the Fallen Angel looking to hit his big moves on Low-Ki and wrap things up early. Ki was just kicking and fighting the whole way. The finishing segments shows how in tune these guys were with their moves. They could seemingly pull a finish out of thin air. Spanky vs Jay Briscoe - I have no idea why anyone thought Spanky was a good wrestling name. Brian Kendrick is a good name and good enough that he's ran used it the rest of his career. So, it sucks to hear the announcers refer to him as Spanky and take him or them seriously. Nevertheless, this was a good match once Kendrick started bleeding. Despite both guys being young and trying to show-off, they kept it simple. Los Maximos (SAT) vs Brian XL & Amazing Red vs Chris Divine & Quiet Storm - On the other end of the spectrum we have matches like this. This was fun but also cringe inducing at times. These guys got into a ring and wanted to do everything they could think of. It wasn't very long and this style does typify independent wrestling at the time so, its a worthwhile time capsule. American Dragon vs Low-Ki - Ken Shamrock guest refs this. Again, they needed someone to put on the posters to get people to show up to the Murphy Rec Center. It makes sense though because both guys have a shoot style influence as well as martial arts background. So, this was what I would call a Inoki Strong Style match. It starts with shoot style grappling and works its way up to pro-wrestling moves as the match escalates in intensity. Historical importance aside, this is a classic match. Low-Ki is a scowling hard ass and Danielson is a baby face here so, its hard not to root for the Am Drag here. But don't be fooled, once Dragon gets that look in his eyes, he's a bad as they come. BUT we don't quite know that in 2002 do we? We certainly find out this match. He is a tough as nails, aggressive, and technically masterful. He has to be if he has any chance of beating the man they call Low-Ki! Classic stuff for sure. A Night of Appreciation - Show #3. I don't have this and cannot find the AJ Styles vs Low Ki match that looks to be the highlight. There is there 07/17/02 TNA on Youtube that could be watched as substitute I suppose. Eddie's last match for ROH. ROH Road to the Title - Takedown Masters Edition. Again, nothing that I wanted to see here was clipped or cut out. There are tons of matches here too. This one is not labeled as a Must See tape like the first two shows but, I disagree. This may not have the classic match but, this is Ring of Honor's first stacked show. Like the others unlike the other shows, I think I may have watched every match. I'm not going to review all of them but, I will talk about the ones I'm recommending. This tournament sets up the 4 way Iron Man match to crown the first ROH World Champ. Jerry Lynn vs AJ Styles - Holy Cow! No one has talked about this match but, it was great. They were doing stuff at NWA-TNA PPVs but, I've never seen those. Maybe those are better but, if so then, I've got to watch 'em. This bout was like one long sequence full of reversals, counters and dodges. If you dug RVD vs Jerry Lynn then, you've got to see this! Near classic match to me. American Dragon vs Doug Williams - Doug's ROH debut and it is a banger. Stiff strikes, powerful suplexes and competitive mat wrestling. It was a great match that could have been something more if it wasn't a tournament match I think. This was a dream match. I wonder if they had a better one than this? -Oh I should mention Spanky Kendrick and Paul London had a good match. There was a botched superplex but, it didn't really look like that. It looked like they were going for something far riskier like a Kendrick dropping London's throat across the top rope from the superplex position- Low Ki vs Amazing Red - This was a little too choreographed for my tastes to be a great match. It wasn't too long and did have some nice moves and Ki was brutal like Yumiko Hotta here. Red or Ki did fumble a reverse rana and that didn't help things. Good match though. Christopher Daniels vs AJ Styles - Like I even need to talk about these two together. There was a lot of mat wrestling here which is probably different than their TNA stuff. It was great as was the whole match. They really might be each other's best opponents since they are so evenly matched. Crowning a Champion - Don't have this DVD but, the main event match is/was on ROH's Youtube channel. It is a 60 minute match and is pretty great. I'm writing from memory but, I'd say it was ****-****1/4. Certainly worth seeing once. Honor Invades Boston - Features Mark Briscoe's first ROH match since they are outside of the Murphy Rec Center and he can legally wrestle in MA. He and Jay have a great match against each other. I've only seen clips from ROH TV when they aired the Briscoes special right as everything shut down for the pandemic. It also features an AJ Styles - Low Ki classic. This takes places days after the aforementioned TNA match so, maybe watch that here in its place. I would like to find this DVD but, I guess there are a lot of DUDs on the card as well. Unscripted - This has some good matches on paper with Dick Togo, Ikuto Hidaka and Takao Omori but, it doesn't amount to much. This is the show where Xaiver (RIP) beats Low Ki for the belt and joins The Prophecy. I didn't see this match but, I've never had a problem with Xavier in ROH. Now I haven't seen a ton but, I think alot of the flack he got was for beating the ROH ace for the belt a couple shows in with A CHAIRSHOT! (and 450 splash). That really seems like the antithesis of what ROH was about especially at this time. The fans champ was beaten by cheating and lost the belt after one show. That does seem like some Sports Entertainment B.S. especially without the benefit of hindsight. Most notable though is Michael Shane vs Paul London. This is a great match and should be seen. This is the genesis of the "Please Don't Die" chant for London. It is warranted. I don't know how much people thought of London at the time but, he is THE underdog dark horse of ROH. Glory by Honor - This is Samoa Joe's debut and this was supposed to be a one time only appearance. He was hired by The Prophecy to beat up Low-Ki. These two just beat each other up and it was pretty great. I don't think it was a classic as its really just a collection of potato shots but, this is the only Ki vs Joe singles match in ROH history. The unofficial re-match is considered to be PWG's All Star Weekend V night 2 in '07. I should get this next Highspots sale. All Star Extravaganza - This is the remastered version and it a ROH release. This is out there still so, I recommend picking it up for sure. It was the first Year One ROH DVD I got and helped encourage me to check more of the early stuff out. Michael Shane vs CM Punk - Punk's debut and its a pretty good one. It is more of an in-ring-story match than full of a bunch of moves. ROH getting more talent in the wrestling department vs the moves department (Maximos, Quiet Storm, Brian XL etc.) is what helped make ROH a lasting promotion. Historical match and vintage Punk is always worth a watch. Like Daniels, he had a character and could talk and that was a big plus for ROH as well. American Dragon vs Paul London - Since I've already watched this show once or twice I wasn't going to sit through the whole #1 Contender Tourney but, London had already beaten 2 guys before facing Dragon. That does not bode well for him. But, do NOT count out Paul London! Most folks do not know how awesome he was year one & year two of Ring of Honor. He was the dark horse underdog of the company for sure. Mid card matches like this prove just how great he would become when given the opportunity. He and Danielson have a very good match where he's hanging with a fresh Dragon on the mat...despite being on his third match. And he throws a mean elbow too! Daniels, Donovan Morgan & Samoa Joe vs Homicide, Doug Williams & Low Ki - Great 6 man match where the tag rules eventually go out the window. I don't mind too much in matches where they're trying to push the level of chaos. Joe vs Doug is a match I gotta see. This was also Homicide coming out party as far as my viewing has gone. He's done alot of throw-away undercard tag stuff but, here he is allowed to be the great maniac we love. Low-Ki & Steve Corino vs Shinjiro Ohtani & Masato Tanaka - This is the main event of the show but, really should be behind the Tourney finals in my book. SO, I watched it before that and am reviewing it first. I've also reviewed it early on the blog for my Masato Tanaka post ECW post. This is still a great match that's full of double teams and hard hits. This wasn't a big time event for Zero One so, this wasn't going to be more than what it was but, it was really great. The fans were really loving it. American Dragon vs AJ Styles - This was like an evolution of the NJ Jr. classics of the 90's. Excellent fast mat wrestling gave way to hard hitting action. AJ's bumping his butt off and Dragon gets busted open. If you can believe it AJ doesn't hit any dives here and it content grappling with THE grappler of ROH. They leave a lot on the table here but, still have a classic match. The organic and brutal finish seals the deal. Post show Homicide stabs Corino with a fork in the eye... Scramble Madness - Oh there's another Doug Williams vs Bryan Danielson match on this. I need to see this...but, nothing else looks too hot. Night of the Butcher - I look Abdullah but, I have no idea why he was booked. There is another Paul London vs Bryan Danielson match here - sweet! I think this DVD is pretty rare so, probably never going to see if (but I do have some stuff from Year Two) Final Battle 2002 - I don't have the show DVD but, this is from the Steve Corino DVD set put out by ROH. They may still have the set available on their website at a discount. It has the following match as well as most/all of the Homicide matches and later stuff with Steen/SCUM from the early 2010's. Low Ki vs American Dragon vs Steve Corino vs Samoa Joe - This was a First Pin or Submission Wins match. There's a lot of back story here with each guy. I've picked up on some in my viewings and have had to read elsewhere but, generally speaking Ki & Dragon respect each other but, are still rivals. Ki & Joe respect each other but, are more than rivals...enemies is probably the best term. Corino is allied with Joe for his Group which was supposed to be the next big thing after The Prophecy but, it never took off (but ignore that part for now). Joe and Dragon are rivals. Ki and Corino tagged at All Star but, I wouldn't say they're friends either. Oh also note that since Corino has been in Z1 he's muted his antics and is much more a puro style wrestler. He stil will take short cuts but, he is not out of place in this match. I could go on about this match as there were so many highlights. My favorite had to be Low Ki double stomping Dragon while we was applying Cattle Mutilation to Joe. What was the craziest part is that Bryan did not break his bridge so, it left Ki standing atop his abdomen like a foot stool. Danielson is a machine! Everyone looked like a beast at some point during the match to be honest. This was another classic for Year One. I've never heard it in that conversation but, it was another must see. It goes long so, set aside some time but, it ends Ring of Honor's first year with a bang. In summary, ROH Year One (2002) is really enjoyable. I am really happy that I have what I would consider the 4 essential DVDs in Era of Honor Begins, Round Robin Challenge, Road to the Title, and All Star Extravaganza. Honor Reclaims Boston seems like another worth seeking out but, the Takedown Master versions make those first 3 DVDs listed much easier to find. The prices do spike but, if you keep an eye on them then, you can get them for under $10 each for sure. As far as I understand it, ROH's Honor Club doesn't show things this old. They show things from the past few years but, their vaults are not open...which is crazy to me since not only do they NOT have these for sale in DVD format but, they are cutting back their DVD production way down. So, the prospect of any of these being available in physical media seems unlikely. Maybe I'm wrong about the Honor Club. And maybe Honor Club members have access to this stuff on Youtube somehow? I'm person that like to have the physical copy and if you are too then, its not too difficult to track down enough of the great and classic ROH matches to really enjoy yourself. The production quality is rough but, that is some of the charm. One thing I'll mention to tie this into the ROH Pure title revival is that most of the great matches in 2002 should be used as a stylistic template for ROH to come. There is no reason that the talent that Ring of Honor has right now cannot emulate the athletic competitive wrestling of Year One. Most of their current roster has much more experience and training than those guys almost two decades ago. Sure there is Hall of Fame talent there but, I'm sure that there is HoF talent in the ROH ring right now as well. I think this Pure Title revival is more than just bringing a secondary belt back. I hope it is a return to the snug aggressive wrestling we see at the heart of ROH's first year. There is still room for high flyers, brawling, hardcore matches, and comedy but, the focus of the company should be on the competition and the "sport" of professional wrestling. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

A return to form for this week of the Pure Title tournament. We have Fred Yehi vs Tracy Williams and Josh Woods vs PJ Black. Yehi vs Williams - Well, this was a great match and certainly the top 2 best matches of the tourney thus far. It was hard hitting and made good use of the rope breaks. This was one of the longer matches and am waiting to see this in full somewhere. A bit of an unexpected finish (it didn't go to a time limit draw like I thought was possible) and the winner was no who I picked. Nevertheless, both guys are winners in my book. We get another promo section this week. Here we get EC3's first appearance and damn he made an impression. His message was fantastic in content and delivery. I really recommend checking this out...it was chilling stuff especially with an empty arena. Then, we get a set up for a Shane Taylor Enterprises vs Briscoes/EC3 match. Who knows when but, that could be some fun stuff. Black vs Woods - Both guys had seconds which actually helped make this a louder match than we're used to. Silas was in Woods corner and Brian Johnson in PJ's. This was more on-the-mat than the Yehi/Williams match if you can believe that. I really liked it and thought it was pretty good stuff. I'll spoil it - Woods wins it. They must be really have a lot of faith in him for the future. That's good because he seems like he'll be loyal to ROH in the future. And after the Elite exodus and others going to AEW, they really need that. So, I'm gonna say who won the Williams-Yehi match now so, if you haven't seen it yet go watch it Then, come back. OK so, here we go: In the Final Four we have Woods vs Gresham and Jay Lethal vs Hot Sauce. That is a little bit of a surprise but, not a giant one. I think the big revelation of today's show were the post match promos that start off the show. Lethal came out and addressed the elephant in the room of the finals being him vs Gresham...which felt like he was talking directly to my last blog post. SO, that means that it probably won't be Lethal Gresham in the finals Or may it will be a double fake-out and it will be Lethal vs Gresham! LOL I am thinking it will be Hot Sauce vs Gresham and that is based on Gresham's promo. He talks about being the foundation of ROH, and bringing the Pure Style back, and then somewhat confusingly says he's looking for stylistic freedom in wrestling (while knocking Sydal's high flying style...even though Sydal did one flip move per match). It was a mixed message I thought but, it was very similar to Hot Sauce's promo (which they re-broadcast) after he beat Rust Taylor. It was about bringing honor back to Ring of Honor. So, Tracy and Johnathan seem to have the same goal, message, agenda. That leads me to believe they are the pillars or Foundation in which they're building the Pure Division upon. Based on Woods' win/push and Yehi's performance, I think they can be included in that. I said it last week that Williams vs Gresham is good in my book. I was thinking Yehi was more likely but, they're rewarding Tracy for being a loyal worker. I'm down with that. Now, some more speculation and brainstorming...Perhaps The Foundation isn't just going to be Gresham's new gimmick but, will be a faction in ROH. I could see it being Gresham, Williams and Yehi as The Foundation. Although Gresham has been with ROH for a couple years along with Williams, they cut their teeth on wrestling this shoot style on the indies along with Yehi. This would also play into the ROH 6 man division which is always fun. Who knows...just throwing that out there. That might be something that happens down the road. I did like that Johnathan Gresham did talk about Sydal after his match. That gives me some confidence that we'll be seeing more of Sydal. I've mentioned Lethal vs Sydal but, perhaps Sydal and Lethal as a tag team? All in all this was a really good week of the show. I'm glad I kept some hope alive Yehi vs Williams is a must see for ROH TV as is the EC3 promo. Can't wait for next week! In the meantime, I'm going to try and type up my ROH Year One review that I've been working on in the background. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Here we are and Round 2 of the Ring of Honor Pure Title Tournament! We've got Jay Lethal vs Dave Finlay and Matt Sydal vs John Gresham. Lethal vs Finlay: I wasn't really feeling this match. It felt rather flat and by the book. Finlay felt rather vanilla and perhaps it was unfamiliarity with Lethal or Lethal knows he's got more matches to go and is pacing himself. Nonetheless, Lethal did a fine job selling the leg work but, this was just an OK match. I didn't have any expectations so, not really disappointed. I think they cut 5 minutes or so of the match from the TV episode btw. The match was at the 5 minute mark then, we went to commercial and then they said 10 minutes has passed. I wonder what if that 5 minutes would have changed my opinion. Then, we get a segment with Vinnie in the ring speaking of some vague nonsense. What is this? Get back to the wrestling! Eventually, we get the answer to the the questions no one's been asking about the The Trend videos ---it's Matt Taven! Taven then proceeds to squash theheck outta Vinne capped off by a sweet flying splash putting Vinnie through a table. There's a couple things going on here for me. I don't want the hokey talkie crap, that's why I watch ROH. That's the benefit of their 1 hour show...they don't have time to waste on guys prattling on about nothing. So, to stick this in the middle of the Pure Title Tournament was jarring for a few reasons. One, it reminded me that ROH still has mediocre guys on their roster like Vinnie that they're trying to do something big with. And in that vein, ROH still wants to play the sport entertainment game despite no one wanting to see it which should be proven to them by the buzz the Pure Tournament is causing. My other concern is that they did this because the Gresham/Sydal match wasn't going long and they needed filler. Thankfully, Taven crushed Vinnie. My hope, although I do think Vinnie has some potential, is that this is the last we see of him in ROH. At least in this Wyatt family/horror movie knock-off incarnation. He and Bateman as a tag team could be good but, I'd take Taven running him out of the company. Its nothing personal but, its a derivative gimmick and looks cheap next to the athletic display of the Pure competitors. Sydal vs Gresham: I've been looking forward to this match since Sydal beat Delirious on week #2 This did not disappoint. It had excellent counter wrestling and strikes but, unfortunately was over just as it was picking up steam. In fact it was over before, I even knew what happened. Gresham did a Mexican Surfboard and then did some position change where he popped Sydal's torso up and to the side but kept the knees locked in the surfboard position. So, all of Sydal's weight was pulling against the leverage point of Gresham's foot and separating Sydal's knee joint. He insta-tapped so, we didn't get much time to study the hold. It looked like a legit reaction/injury. Sydal was back on his feet to shake The Octopus' hand so, perhaps it was just great selling on Matt's part. Good match but, if given a couple more minutes it could have been great. It just didn't feel like it had an ending third. A couple things to note from today's episode. Lethal winning was predictable and Gresham's win wasn't too much of a surprise either. I hate to say this but, I think those two are going to be in the finals as I thought on week #1. The reason, I 'hate to say this', is because the stakes are getting lower for me & others to care about the outcome should that be the case. I still want to see the matches but, if they're going to play this safe and use this as an opportunity for re-visiting Lethal vs Gresham then, this will all be a whole lot of nothing. The whole tournament will be just drawing that obvious match out over the course of 2 months. Last week I had all kinds of ideas with Yehi, Williams, PJ Black, and Josh Woods to a lesser extent. I think ROH may continue to be 'unpredictable' with these matches but, really what does it matter when its seems very clear that they want Lethal vs Gresham? I can see Woods upsetting Black. I could see Yehi going over Williams (that too would be predictable since Yehi is the only invited wrestler to go over an ROH talent thus far further burying Silas Young in the process). I could envision a time limit draw and Lethal gets a by-week into the finals. This would protect Williams and Yehi from losing to Lethal as well as give them a storyline/feud with each other right out of the gate. BUT! That's if ROH was smart and wanted to get to Lethal vs Gresham but, use the losses as part of their booking...and to be honest after this week, I'm really doubting that cleverness. This week's show seemed like business-as-usual in Ring of Honor. Like who ever is booking (is it Delirious still?) has no creativity left and does not want to take any chances. Or perhaps its some suit telling him "No" on doing anything interesting...I was not convinced of that by the mere fact that ROH was doing this Pure Rule tournament in the first place. I want to take a detour and talk about Yehi because his story seems like the only thing 'up in the air.' If they don't do a draw then, I would love to see Yehi 'shock the world' defeat Lethal. That would take some cajones and it would restore my hope in the company. As far as B Block, its got to be Gresham. No one is left in Block B that can beat him. Especially since Gresham went over a vet like Sydal in less than 15 minutes. Yehi vs Gresham in the finals and have it go long...I would be a happy fan. That leaves me with the losers in the tournament. If ROH was smart, they should be moving them in story lines to keep them relevant. I would love to see a program with Lethal and Sydal. He left a LOT on the table in both the Delirious and Gresham match so, I think he's still protected somewhat. So, having Lethal lose to Yehi (or Hot Sauce) would free him up. Who knows if that will happen? I'm starting to feel that Gresham is winning the whole shebang though so, perhaps that'll leave Lethal free anyhow. Dalton Castle should be in that mix along with Silas. All I know is that I want to see these guys more. All in all though, I think I've spent more time fantasy booking this tournament than ROH spent. Some of that perhaps is due to them having to call an audible due to COVID-19. But, I do think some if it is due to uninspired booking. I don't know if they really care about having any kind of interesting story for their fans. And honestly, I don't know if they're interested in giving their fans matches they want to see. I honestly think they still have no idea what to do after the guys who formed AEW left. They were on Bullet Club-The Elite auto-pilot that they didn't even need to book anything so long as the had The Elite and NJPW guys there. I am still hopeful that this Pure Title will help give them some direction and focus. Things aren't going to change completely due to one tournament but, I really do hope that it is a step in the right direction. This week's episode was a mis-step but, want them to get back on track. I know that they can do some really great things. Thanks for reading! Stay safe!

Here we are at week # 4 of ROH's Pure Title Tournament. This week was the weakest on paper to me with Tracy Williams being the only guy I actively enjoy. PJ Black is cool but, the other two I've never heard of. That being said, everyone's interviews got me psyched on them and the match. Rust Taylor seems like a real star in the making for ROH and if they sign him would be perfect for their roster. I guess he's been working NJPW. And Tony Deppen no one even on the show seems to know where he came from but dammit, he's a punk rock skater who's a technical wrestler! I've got to support him! Tracy Williams vs Rust Taylor: The first match but, very good stuff from both men. Taylor looked to have the weight advantage on Hot Sauce as well as a solid gameplan. Tracy looked in big trouble once the arm work started getting to him. He doesn't have the arm/shoulder bandaged anymore but, its got to be a psychological weak point if not a physical one. Very good match overall. I thought the finish was rather quick but, Hot Sauce did push that combination of moves as a finisher so, I bought it. PJ Black vs Tony Deppen: PJ the Darewolf looked to have Deppen squashed after the first few minutes. His size/physique advantage as well as his experience looked to me too much for Deppen. But like a true underdog, Tony wouldn't quit and went for broke! Busting out some stiff strikes and a Shiryu/Homicide dive that was killer! The finish was pretty great as PJ had to empty the tank to keep his hungry opponent down. Overall, this was another great week of wrestling. I thought this was going to be the weakest show but, honestly was one of the better ones as there was a strong simple story for both matches. Little known underdogs taking on ROH talent to advance in the Pure Tournament and secure a spot. I don't know if this is the last we'll see of these two but, I hope not. In fact, they really have the guys to make a shoot style/strong style stable with these two along with perhaps Hot Sauce and Yehi (maybe Gresham?). I'm going to sound like a broken record but, I really prefer to see these type of wrestlers in ROH. We're on to round #2 with the brackets looking like this: Jay Lethal vs David Finaly (A) Jonathan Gresham vs Matt Sydal (B) Fred Yehi vs Tracy Williams (A) Josh Woods vs PJ Black (B) These are 20 minute matches now so, I expect one of these to judge's decision. I'd say Gresham & Sydal or Yehi & Williams. The former would make both guys look strong as you know they're doing something with either after the tournament. Williams vs Yehi has the EVOLVE history behind it and they could use this match as a program starter with the two. They could do the human game of chess type thing for 20 minutes and have it go to a decision. Or with either - they could not I think if ROH is adding on 5 minutes they want to show that somehow. No one was disqualified but, that was the "reason" Kenny King lost in the decision with Woods. Also, Hot Sauce if I remember correctly, was down to 0 rope breaks and looked in big trouble. So, ROH rightfully wants to play up the stipulations. I can't see them changing course in Round 2. I have to see Lethal winning as he is their franchise, ace, etc. I can't see Finlay as an NJ talent going over here. Gresham vs Sydal is trickier. This tournament seems to be a way for Gresham to get singles gold however, ROH has to want to use Sydal big time once things get back to normal. He's still got IT and frankly is ROH's #2 to Lethal in terms of accomplishments within ROH, history and connections to the golden era (which the company is playing up big time with this tournament). So, they could do a lot with either facing Lethal. You may notice I'm treating it as a forgone conclusion with Lethal facing either Sydal or Gresham in the finals. I could be wrong here. It all depends on how much of push they want to give Yehi, Williams, PJ, and/or Josh Woods. And I suppose, it depends how much of a distinction they want the Pure Title to be. If they want it to be like Shoot Style LITE then, I could see Yehi or Williams going over Lethal. I think it was a pretty big deal with Fred Yehi going over Silas Young. Similarly, I could see Woods over PJ Black. An interesting thought is that ROH still doesn't know how to use Silas. I thought his stable with the Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas was pretty fun. But, Silas is top tier heel talent. PJ Black is a guy that I really see the potential in every time he's on TV. This week's Pure Match was no exception. He's got a great look and the moves to also be up there. They're having him mentor Brian Johnson but, I don't know who actually care since Black himself isn't really making waves in the company. The Pure Championship could be a way to do that though. If we look back at who were the Pure Champions from its inception in 2004 to its end in 2006 when Unified with the World Title, we might be able to find a pattern or some logic in how this tourney may go. Champs in order with defenses and the length of their reign: AJ Styles (1 defense, 70 days) - Won in a tournament was vacated & never defeated Doug Williams (3 defenses, 42 days) - Won in a tournament John Walters (6 defenses, 189 days) Jay Lethal (2 defenses 63 days) Samoa Joe (6 defenses, 112 days) Nigel McGuinness (17 defenses, 350 days) Bryan Danielson (0, unified with World Title) The case of AJ and Joe, ROH wanted to have big talent that was signed with TNA still on the marquee. With Joe, it was also about him holding all of the belts in the company and raising the prestige of the Pure Title like he did with the World Title as well. I could see ROH wanting to do that with Jay Lethal as well. He's in a similar situation as they were with Joe. He should be World champ BUT other people need to get pushed and have the spotlight. So, we have him as a secondary champ. In the case of Doug Williams, John Walters, Lethal, and Nigel - these were guys Gabe/ROH saw their talent but, perhaps the fans didn't at the time. Its a venue for them to show their skills. I could see Hot Sauce or PJ being in this territory like Walters or Doug Williams. Depending on what they do with Yehi, I could see him being like Nigel in terms of defenses and essentially being on par with the World Champion. He came out like a beast versus Silas so, I hope they continue to book him this way. I could see a Yehi vs Gresham finals...power vs technique. I don't see Josh Woods going to the finals as he looks like he needs a little bit of work still. Like Nigel, he could be that diamond in the rough and down the road he could get better with each show. He's got the look and the combat sports background. He's got some character work to do as well as snug up his strikes a little bit (probably afraid he's going to hurt someone) and I think he can do a lot. Anyhow, this is just some brainstorming. I could be totally off base but, its fun to think about Oh, there was an EC3 video at the end of ROH TV this week. Looks like he'll be working for both ROH and Impact. I gotta think he's going straight for the World Title. Very excited about this! Thanks for reading!

Another good week of ROH TV with the Pure Tournament in full swing. Here are some more thoughts on that and the outlook of ROH. Fred Yehi vs Silas Young: Very good match and perhaps my favorite. Silas and Yehi are a good pairing. Both big guys were ready to put on a beating. I think the physicality of the bout is what got me over Romero and Finlay. Still the Finlay backbreaker and brainbuster to knee still was great. I think Fred Yehi would be a great permanent addition to ROH. I'm going to try and catch this on the re-braodcast if I can. I can see them having Fred vs Hot Sauce in Round #2. Kenny King vs Josh Woods: Woods is I guy that I like but, does need some polishing still. Nevertheless Kenny & he have a good match. The finish wasn't exactly as I envisioned it. It did put the Pure Rules to good use and was clever in doing so. Fantastic neckbreaker suplex thing off the top rope. It has to be one of the more spectacular moves of the tournament thus far. Another thing of note, I believe ROH has changed their opening title video. I only caught a little bit but, I was glad to see that. This whole tournment really should be about Ring of Honor changing their direction even if that is going back to what made them the best wrestling company in the States. I really value the athletic combat sport presentation that this Pure Tournament has. I frankly think it should spread to the company as a whole. The empty seats plays up to that aesthetic as well. This is sport for the sake of sport. In that regard, ROH has the best fanless show amongst those I've watched during the pandemic (Smackdown & Impact). They are using the interviews to really build the matches up beforehand and disregarding unnecessary gimmickery. Same with the post match interviews we see (on the following week's show). ROH TV really has a good formula going and I hope sticks to it. Its a fantastic use of an hour. I've been watching Impact and while the matches are pretty good there's a lot of goofy fluff that doesn't really need to be there because they're trying to fill 2 hours of TV. They could really learn a lesson with what ROH is doing. But perhaps that's just my preference... I think I also really enjoy that this Pure Tournament is in a bubble from the rest of the promotion. That thought came about when they showed Rush and Dragon Lee during Kenny King's interview. That stuff just looked so out of place from what the last few weeks has been. So, I'm glad its been in a bubble. I was not really psyched on where 2020 Ring of Honor was headed. And I think the whole 'lucha thing' in ROH doesn't really work for me. I made pretty clear my opinion of Rush as World Champ last post. Dragon Lee as TV champ is OK but, really neither guy needs to the belts to help them get over. Los Ingobernables doesn't need to "hold all of the belts" to get over. I, as a long time ROH fan, don't see either guy as an ROH wrestler OR Los Ingobernales as an ROH faction trying to run the company or anything. They aren't Generation Next, The Embassy, The Prophecy, Age of the Fall, or even The Kingdom. They are just blue chippers brought in to drum up interest in ROH. I think that is the case with all of the lucha guys like Bandido & Flamita...is Rey Horus there too? They don't need storylines or belts. Just put them in TV matches with guys that you do want to build the company around. You'll get exciting live & TV matches and that's all the fans want out of them. Have them win some-lose some matches in the tag & six man division. Do some flips, do some dives and we'll be happy. The wrestlers in the Pure Title Tournament is the bulk talent that ROH should be using to push their company along in all regards. Hopefully that is WHY we are seeing them here (and not just dumb luck). Haskins should be in that picture as well as Taven & Scurll (not sure what's going on with him as ROH's roster page is not updated as it shows Alex Shelley and Jeff Cobb still with them). Having Sydal in that mix as well as Yehi, I could see ROH doing something good. I'm going to be honest the guys that I care about in ROH, the guys whose matches I want to see, the guys that put on good athletic matches, that tell good stories in the ring or have characters that I can love or hate are the guys I've mentioned. Lethal, Gresham, Castle, Sydal, Yehi, Silas, Kenny King, Hot Sauce, Haskins, Taven, Scurll are those guys I want to see rep ROH. You've got the Briscoes in the tag division which is where Dragon Lee and Rush should be having great matches with them. Shane Taylor should be TV champ duking it out with Brody King, PJ Black, Flip Gordon some of the lucha guys now and again. Josh Woods is a good guy to put in this division. Then, you've got the 6 man which should kinda be the waiting area for the tag division where you've got the lucha guys, Vinny's crew with Bateman, you can form a group around PCO there, visiting CMLL guys etc. But at the core of the promotion should be the World Title and the Pure Title and the guys who are constantly in the hunt for one of those two belts. Those are guys who every TV episode should feature. Those are the guys stories that should be told week in and week out. They've only got one hour a week to tell it so, why not keep it simple? Make it about wins & losses. Make it about being the best...about being the champion... Thanks for reading!

This is just a musing about what ROH is doing with the Pure Title. Its got a couple take away reviews but, its mainly about my hope that this will be the shot in the arm that the promotion needs. I am very excited to see ROH bring back the Pure Title. I think it helps differentiate them from the other companies out there. It is a gimmick sure but, it is an interesting one and encourages a more technical style. ROH has the talent. I also think it's a better secondary title than the TV title. That belt is passed around like hot potato to guys who leave the company after a year or so. I'm thinking of Punisher Martinez and Jeff Cobb. I was excited for Cobb to stay because they really could have done great stuff with him. Anyhow, Shane Taylor is a good heel TV champ and they should keep him as such for awhile. He's a fantastic rough neck midcard boss. The Pure Title on the other hand I get the feeling is being crafted for either Lethal or Gresham. I think moreso Gresham, he's 5'4" but, it a wizard. I can't see them putting the World Belt on him but, the Pure Title will be his prize I believe. He really goes back to the pure ROH style. If he doesn't win the tournament then, they will get him into the Pure Arena sooner or later. It wouldn't surprise me if it is Lethal vs Gresham for the Pure Crown. It was a great rivalry and we could get another classic/near classic out of it. Will it spell the end for their partnership? Perhaps...I do think the months long Covid break has reset the booking for the company though. The tournament so far: Castle vs Lethal: Good match, good way to start it out with ex champs opposing each other. Add prestige right away to this belt. Gresham vs Yuta: OK match but, a great finish with Gresham bringing out his vicious side. Romero vs Finlay: Good match perhaps the best in terms of bringing out the big guns. Loved the finish from Finlay...he's a guy ROH could use and Romero is a vet that the locker room needs. Delirious vs Sydal: Old rivals back at it again. I'm guessing Delirious put the boots back on since COVID restricted travel to a few guys from overseas. So, firing up the old friendship rivalry to welcome Sydal back was pretty sweet. Probably the best match but, the finish was standard for a round 1 match whereas the Finlay finish (backbreaker and Brainbuster to Knee) was aces. The rest of Round one is looking at: Silas Young vs Fred Yehi Josh Woods vs Kenny King & Tracy Williams vs Rust Taylor PJ Black vs Tony Deppen I've heard good stuff about Yehi and I'm a big Silas supporter so, I'm looking forward to that match for sure. Josh Woods has looked good and Kenny is always able to deliver solid matches for TV. I got to say I'm thinking they're going to pit Young & Woods against each other to test out the tag team partner as opponent angle if they match up in the bracket. Plus, I think King is going to be the first DQ loss of the Tournament. Thus far, the Pure Rules hasn't put anyone into Jeopardy but, they've got to show that they have real consequences sooner or later. King should go over due to his experience and being a title holder in the past BUT he's been on a cheating kick and is a Los Ingobernales member etc. But, I could see him cheating (behind the ref) to get ahead another round. It'll catch up with him if they go this route. For the final show of Round one, I got to say both ROH guys are winning. I've never heard of either of their opponents. So, I can't think they're going to push them ahead of their own talent here. Plus Tracy Williams seems like another guy that the Pure Revival is built around. He's too talented to just squander as filler talent. PJ Black I think may be getting a boost from this as well. I'm ambivelent about him. I've liked what I've seen but, I'm not sure ROH knows what they want to do with him. I mean maybe that's what the Pure Title is all about...figuring out where they're going to put guys like Silas, Woods, Hot Sauce and Black...and Castle for that matter. Hopefully, the guys they brought in for the tournament stick around in some capacity. I hope this is a bonus of the Pure Division. I would love to see Ring of Honor invite different talent in once in awhile to challenge for the Pure belt. Having the above mentioned guys just focus on the the Pure Title would be good stuff. Plus, I know there was some international talent that was slated for the original tournament before Covid shut everything down. Yuji Nagata was one that would have been sweet to see! He would have had to win it IMO just because I'm such a fan. Plus it would give the belt so much prestige...even if he would have only defended it a few times. I also appreciate them bringing back guys from the past like Romero & Sydal. And to that point, I'm glad Sydal is back with ROH. I would be OK with him winning the Pure Tourney for sure. He's got everything but, I'd rather see him as World Title champ to be honest. He's a great babyface and could be booked similar to later RVD or Jeff Hardy. He's got great moves still (as seen from the Delirious match) and is a recognizable talent. I think that's where Rush as champ as failed...I just don't think we was a draw for ROH plus, I don't think his matches were that impressive (on TV) & he's not doing promos to gain new fans. Having him on TV serves no purpose. Putting the belt on PCO was bananas and probably the lowest point for the ROH title if I'm going to be honest. I saw the Final Battle match and wow was that Sports Entertainment. Fun but, not up to the standards of a ROH title match. PCO as a tag wrestler sure, 6 man yup but, on his own...no. And as champ...never. Rush unfortunately has not been much to write home about other than a couple matches. I digress! Getting Sydal reintroduced via the Pure Tournament is a good start. An even better one is getting him in the World title picture. I just browsed the ROH roster online and they've got a ton a guys that would be great for the division like Flamita, Dragon Lee, etc. but, it all is a matter of how they use everyone. But, I think that's the case for ROH in general for the past few years. But this is about the Pure Title right now...I do think it is a step in the right direction having this tournament and hopefully every match shown on ROH TV. The biggest thing I think they need is a story that carries over from one episode to the next. I know they have a pretty big roster for 1 hour a week but, they really need to focus on their titles as the main "story" for each week and show less filler. Right now, The Pure Title seems like a bigger deal than the World Title and if that's what they want to do, I'm OK with it. Like I said above, the World belt's prestige has got to be repaired. I think the Pure Belt will be used like the WWF IC belt was used - as a way to move guys to the top and a way to give a place for top guys to wait for their next big time program. Anyhow, this has all got me thinking and interested in current ROH's stuff. I hope to follow this Tournament here in the blog every couple of weeks

ROH is clearly a property Sinclair bought for weekends and filler broadcasting. Its like saying WCW Worldwide was a means to disseminate Ted Turner's liberal ideology. I think it should be applauded that they (ROH) were not making their talent work during the early stages of the pandemic unlike WWE. The fact that they are testing and re-testing the workers is a commitment to the employees and their safety. So, if Sinclair money was able to suspend touring to protect their workers (wrestlers, film crew, staff) and wrestling fans, its a good thing in my book. Anyhow, per ROH's site regarding the Pure Title Tournament: Pure Title Tournament First-Round Schedule Weekend of Sept. 12 Block A: Jay Lethal vs. Dalton Castle Block B: Jonathan Gresham vs. Wheeler Yuta Weekend of Sept. 19 Block A: David Finlay vs. Rocky Romero Block B: Delirious vs. Matt Sydal Weekend of Sept. 26 Block A: Silas Young vs. Fred Yehi Block B: Josh Woods vs. Kenny King Weekend of Oct. 3 Block A: Tracy Williams vs. Rust Taylor Block B: PJ Black vs. Tony Deppen

Holy crap! 34 episodes would be awesome! I've been preparing myself for each episode being the last one. I'm hoping that they keep showing Underground once the new shows start up as well. My #1 'gripe ' if this were a current tv show would be that everything is out of order Almost comically! Its very much ECW slapped together at the last minute but, this lacks Heyman's neurotic watchful eye. For instance, this week's big match is Johnny Smith vs Kojima for the title. However, show #two or three showed Kojima beating him in clips! I guess this is all post YouTube criticism but, its only one example. There's a couple instances every show where Joey talks about some match we've never seen in passing then 5 minutes later advertises that match for next week or we see a clip of a match that in TV story hasn't happened yet Honestly, that gives it some charm! Anyhow, that's cool that at least 2 people are liking it!!

Bumping this up and apologies if this is talked about elsewhere but, I've been digging MLW showing the TV show from their original incarnation back in the early 2000's, 'MLW Underground.' I never knew that they had a TV broadcast and thought it was always straight to DVD/VHS like ROH so, its really great to see this early 2000's Indy wrestling time capsule. I think I've watched all 6 or so episodes so far and its pretty darn good. Or at least better than I expected! It is very much from the ashes of ECW with Joey Styles being the host and calling the matches. Plus there is more than a handful of late era ECW talent (Corino, Simon Diamond, Super Crazy, Mike Awesome, Jerry Lynn etc.), those scrambled TV signal transitions between segments, the music, heck the whole thing is a an attempted ECW reset. I remember hearing about it in after the fact in '06 and being interested. I never knew it was this close to the bone of a reset though! It works because its mixed in with the indy standouts like Christopher Daniels, Amazing Red and the SAT/Maximos who you could see being in ECW had it gone for a few more years (I think Daniels was actually). Then, there's Satoshi Kojima as the world champ. No idea HOW they got him but, I'll take it! They call it hybrid wrestling but, its pretty random BUT wasn't too different from ROH at the time. Heck CM Punk is just made his first appearance! There are complaints like continuity issues between shows/segments, no real babyface in the company but, tons of heels, not seeing certain guys work for weeks despite being the big stars (Corino vs Funk feud, Raven vs Vampiro, Kojima wrestle or promo) in order to sell VHS/DVD over pushing the Tv program... Anyhow, if you want a fun low stakes weekly wrestling show, it might scratch that itch. There's usually one good to pretty good match per week (any Christopher Daniels match for sure, he and Dick Togo & Ikuto Hidaka vs the SAT and Quiet Storm has been the best so far) and if you're an old ECW fan then, you owe it to yourself to see an episode or two.

Glad to see that this match is on here! It's a really good bout with grumpy Tenryu in effect. 2 of the 3 chairs he throws miss the intended target and go flying off into the audience. If that doesn't make you want to see that then, there's no helping you! Energetic match all around Hiyashi gets chopped, punched, dumped on his head but, still he puts up a good fight. Kojima, who I really like, is doing his thing as the heavy hitter. I've never seen Hirai but, he's in that WAR mold so, he can do the sequences and throw some hits, poppa Tenryu will take care of the rest. 2002 gets glossed over for puro but, dammit, matches like this remind everyone that they were still wrestling hard in Japan...even if it wasn't a banner year. Go watch this, you'll be glad you did.

Per the ROH site: Ten of the 16 competitors for the upcoming ROH Pure Title tournament have been announced. The tournament begins at the TV tapings set to take place this month. The participants (in alphabetical order) revealed thus far are: -- PJ Black -- Tony Deppen -- David Finlay -- Jonathan Gresham -- Jay Lethal -- Rocky Romero -- Matt Sydal -- Tracy Williams -- Josh Woods -- Wheeler Yuta Looks like a pretty good list and I'm pretty excited for it. Additionally, ROH listed their policies and procedures for the TV tapings regarding Covid-19. Good on them for doing that as well as waiting to start back up. I've enjoyed their retrospective programs but, it'll be nice to see what direction they will be going in with reviving the Pure Title.

Just saw this on the ROH site as well...I've been watching year One ROH lately so, this is especially shocking. To hear that he was going to come out of retirement to face Lethal makes this a real bummer.

How are you folks doing? Staying cool and safe hopefully. What a heck of a summer, right? Sorry for taking so long to get the next installment of the blog out. The heat has really zapped my energy by the end of the day & I'm in no mood to turn my TV on to watch old wrestling DVDs. But, I have to press on don't I? Hot weather and pandemic anxieties be damned! In all seriousness, that is pretty much the case for my snail like pace. My goal for the better part of the year was to get a post every week but, its been a rough summer. For the last 2 weeks of work, we have been trying to catch up from what I'll call a total order system collapse. I'm not an expert but, everything ground to a halt as far as taking and shipping orders at work. I was able to get a lot done once we were up and running again but, it was a mighty job of catch-up we had to play. Top that off with the heat and the madness of living in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic...yeah I was lucky enough to enjoy bits of Impact, ROH and Smackdown last week. Making time to actively watch and critique wrestling wasn't happening. Nevertheless, when I saw my opportunity this weekend, I took it. Let's get on with the Spotlight on Tiger Mask! vs Ultraman (06/18/82): Ultraman has a neat outfit similar to Hijo del Santo. The character is based off a live action TV show akin to Power Rangers but, is from the 60's originally. I'm guessing NJ saw how popular the Tiger Mask cross-over was that they wanted to try their hand at a long time character like Ultraman. Welp...you know how that worked out...This was an OK match that could have been more if it weren't for some stumbles and bumbles. We get the debut of the Space Flying Tiger Drop (cartwheel plancha) but, this really could have been a clipped match. Tiger Mask/Tatsumi Fujinami vs Ultraman/El Polaco (06/25/82): Hey, hey! I'm always happy to see a full tag match on this set. One of the reasons I bought this was to see more Fujinami along with other lesser seen talent. This was pretty much just that as the Japanese team squashed the Luchadores. I'm surprised they continued the Ultraman stuff as he kinda got buried here. Nonetheless, we have... vs Ultraman (07/06/82): Despite the first two matches, this was pretty good. Only one little bumble when they try to add too many moves onto a sequence. Seriously, this is the TM vs Ultraman bout to watch. It doesn't get to crazy and has a definitive ending. Good match. vs Dynamite Kid (07/23/82): NJPW probably wanted to get the failed Ultraman feud out of everyone's memory so, they go for a safe bet and start up the bulk of Tiger vs Dynamite storyline for the summer of '82. This chapter closes with the legendary WWF MSG match. But, I'm getting ahead of myself! We're at the beginning here. On the previous occasions, Dynamite has been unable to get the better of the super hero. He's tried traditional rough housing, mat wrestling, and even quick attacks. Nothing has worked though. Here he goes full speed ahead showing that he can keep up with Tiger. There's not a great structure to the match but, the theme is that they are peers. I thought it worked well. Bret Hart's involvement at the end was fun and set up the Space Flying Tiger. Now here we have one of the big faux pas in the series. DK apparently no sells the dive and tombstones Tiger on the floor. To play devil's advocate, the crash & burn of the landing is obscured by the hard camera angle. The floor shot might have shown that Dynamite stepped aside and let Bret take the brunt of the dive. People talk about holy grail wrestling footage...I'd like to see the floor cam angle of that dive! Nonetheless, it was a great match and in terms of intensity and athleticism, this is hard to beat in 1982. Plus, we get an uncommon type of finish. vs Bret Hart (07/30/82): A few days later we see Bret w/ Dynamite at his side. The Canadian hero-to-be tries his hand at pinning the masked man. Let me tell you, this is the superior Bret vs Tiger match. In fact, it may very well be better than the above DK bout. We see a nice face/heel dynamic, Bret looked more confident and worked a smart match where Tiger used is fancy moves as hope spots/comebacks and NOT just to show off. Bret wasn't looking to work as equals he was looking to use his size, smarts, and ability to dominate TM. The story here and in most Bret/DK matches vs Tiger is to shows that they may be better, faster, stronger than TM but, they were hot heads and couldn't resist taking shortcuts. These shortcuts would then backfire. Tiger knew his opponents better and that knowledge is a weapon more dangerous than any spin kick or dive. If he could endure then, Tiger Mask could find a way to win. The finish played really well to this narrative and we get a great overall match. A different style than many of the others but, you could see that Tiger as a character and worker could adapt. Plus, it was a glimpse at what a great storyteller Bret would be. Again, great match! Tiger Mask/Tatsumi Fujinami/Kengo Kimura vs Dynamite Kid/Bret Hart/Greg Valentine (07/31/82): Oh man, this was shown in full & is a 2/3 falls match! Tiger isn't even in that much so, I'm surprised this was shown in full. I'm not complaining though. The North American team focused on beating up Kengo. He was really great at selling this beat down. I mean I've rarely seen anyone try to scramble or dive to make a tag like Kengo did in this match. One criticism I've seen is that Valentine looked like he didn't belong here or that he was bringing some corny WWF stuff to the match. I disagree. He was bringing Heavyweight action to a Junior Heavy match. In fact, I wish this was fought a little slower like Greg than the Red Bull & vodka crazy pace they were running. Still, the story was there with Kengo being the man in peril, the wrestling was on point, and the finish was bananas in the best way. So much fun, a very good bout and a very nice way to end this post! We got off to a rocky start with Ultraman but, settled in with Tiger Mask fighting some of Stampede's finest. That six man match was just bonus. Those three matches are really worth taking an hour and watching. Thanks for reading!

I haven't really paid much attention to Impact other than YouTube clips here and there but, they've got a good mix of talent with both vets and youngbloods. I actually watched the show on Twitch and was pretty happy with it. Its what I hope maybe ROH TV can try for once they get going again but I'm not going to hold my breath. Not that Impact was all gold but, it kept me interested and Eddie Edwards as champ has me stoked as does the MCMG back in action.

After 5yrs. of no "new" material, Chicago Film Archives has post two new matches - a Hans Schmidt and a Lou Thesz match. Hope that there's more to come!

...and we're back! Let's start with clips...ugh great... Tiger Mask/Antonio Inoki/Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Masked Superstar/Don Muraco/Steve Wright (03/30/82) - clips Tiger Mask/Kengo Kimura vs. Steve Wright/Blackman (03/31/82) - great clips of Tiger against Wright & Blackman vs. Steve Wright (04/01/82): This was just excellent. It was a long technical match with beautiful chain wrestling - counters, escapes, reversals, and counter reversals. It was what I consider an aggressive World of Sport style. Since this is a spotlight on Tiger, I want to mention how comfortable he is at this style as well as lucha libre. It was distinct from his matches with Baby Face, Hamada, Blackman but, still was athletic and exciting as we've come to expect. I think I'd have to say this was a classsic bout but, may not be everyone's cup of tea. You really have to want to see wrestling for wrestling's sake. vs. Black Tiger (04/21/82): Rollerball Rocco is the Black Tiger. He had a roughneck but, technical style that is what i imagined Bret vs Tiger would be. The first time, Tiger Mask did not have an answer for his foe. He we see Tiger's true rival (as established in the manga (imagine Vicious & Spike in Cowboy Bebop)) and told through the story of the match. Everytime we thought a TM flurry of kicks or dives would turn the tide, Black Tiger would shut him down. The superhero met his super villain...and Tiger snaps at the end. Almost betraying his vow to fight fair and for good (think like a technico) and turn back to the evil (rudo) ways of the syndicate he and Dark Tiger fight for. A very good match, a compelling story, if you know a little bit of the manga or the trope (again Cowboy Bebop uses it well and The Wild Bunch to a degree). I think what's even deeper is that NJ had the idea to bring in one of Saiyama's best opponents from the UK as his evil counterpart. I think it's the closest the TM and Black Tiger characters had matched real-life...or even tried to. They had a back story and a history. If you're unaware of these things then, its an OK match BUT with some depth, it makes this more substantial. Plus, it is only setting the stage for the future. vs. Les Thorton (05/25/82): This was a good technical match but, lacked any sort of chemistry or fire. Thorton did some good back work on Tiger but, it never went anywhere and then they wrapped the match up. Glad I watched this but, only to see how Tiger works with everyone. vs. Black Tiger (05/26/82): Man is that a hot crowd! They are eating every spectacular Tiger move up! Black Tiger doesn't give a damn. He's making the hero pay. Again, Black Tiger Rocco is staying one step ahead. I really like how BT kept going for the pin by using knuckle locks and leverage holds. This was a brilliant touch because it made the fight feel more real. It wasn't out of desparation to get the match over but, a way to show technical superiority over Tiger. Think of Bryan Danielson or Tatsumi Fujinami winning with a small package. Its not a cheap win like maybe a school boy roll up. Its a display of technical mastery and getting the "W." Even moreso like Danielson, BT Rocco is making Tiger expend all of this energy to kickout. These pin attempts are more like amateur wrestling attempts...making the opponent keep moving and fighting out so that, they'll be tired or hurt later and make a mistake. Honestly, its a simple thing but, so few wrestlers do it. If you're looking a this type of work as rest-holds or think every fucking hold has to set-up the finish then, we're going to disagree on this. I thought this was a near classic match. I've gone through a few of the match archives here on PWO to gauge my opinion against others. I (along with the Vader vs Sting matches) disagree with most folks on Tiger Mask. I'm only 2 discs into the set but, man, I'm really glad I bought this. I'm bummed that I was discouraged by the backlash or the style shift. It reminds me when my comic loving cousin & I said that "Jack Kirby sucked!" at 15 years old; thinking Jim Lee was the shit. Jack Kirby didn't suck but, our minds were so much about Jim Lee, J. Scott Campbell, the Kuberts and other modern artists, that we couldn't appreciate the simplicity, efficiency, and innovation of Kirby. I consider most folks here to have a pretty damn refined wrestling taste BUT, I think a lot of people had TM vs Dynamite as one of their first set of puro matches. It was probably amazing especially in comparison to what was happening in contemporary wrestling and perhaps other tape watching. like 'Whoa this was in the early 80s and they were doing shit 10 years before the NJ Jrs.!" Or AJPW or NOAH or whatever...maybe NJPW from the past couple years is your entry point. Regardless, I think everyone including myself was blown away by the spots, sequences, and bumps from the TM vs DK matches but, the actual matches were a blur because we were still catching our breaths from that amazing move! Then, when people went back, the moves had been surpassed and the trend was very much "how was the selling? did he get put in a leglock? Why didn't he sell the leg the rest of the match?" Under this scrutiny, early 1980s wrestling especially this lucha/World of Sport/Puro hybrid wasn't going to make the grade. I think people have cooled off on this as this is not emphasized in any wrestling promotion anymore for probably the last 10 years. If we were going to watch contemporary wrestling, all of the "is he selling that?" type of analysis had to make a stop. It was really putting a damper on our overall enjoyment of watching wrestling when ANY legwork wasn't sold like '88 RWTL Kawada. Man, I digress...I don't think anyone is going to go back and watch Tiger Mask matches anymore...I mean if they've already watched them. I'm not trying to change minds. Plus, there's so new much stuff out there. I'm an odd duck that I'm trying to pull myself away from the [FREE MATCH] videos and the other distractions and focus on watching what I want to watch. With so much newer stuff available online, I fear that the great wrestling of the past will no longer be pro-wrestling canon and be forgotten. How many great 1950's matches can you name? You may have a Thesz match but that's not the only one..but, no one talks about them so, we collectively are ignorant. Then, we must think if no one talks about them then wrestling then n the 50's must have sucked except a couple matches. We're about 40 years out from these Tiger Mask matches. That's like talking about Thesz vs Rikidozan in the 90's. See how time can get away from you? Ironically, these older bouts' availability online should make it easier to see but, if you've got the WWE network its very easy to get lost and lose years of your life there. Let alone if you've got a personal life! In summary, I feel like I really can trust my own judgement and knowledge at this point. I've been watching puroresu predominately for about 15 years so, I want this blog to still be a guide for folks looking to branch out or trust their own guts. This has been some sort of taste test I guess...if you're on board with what I've recommended in the past then, have no fear. If you think I'm off base here, ah well that's cool too. I thank you for reading and hopefully watching some of this wrestling. Its good to be curious Stay safe and be smart folks! This shit ain't getting better anytime soon...

If you're interested in DVDs like Grandpa here, ROH has 50% of their 2018 shows until the 15th of July. All are at clearance prices already so, we're talking as low as $2 per DVD for some shows.