Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

G. Badger

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1186

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by G. Badger

  1. G. Badger

    AJPW Classics 153 & 154: 1987

    By G. Badger,


    You Might Have Missed
    More 1987 AJPW goodness!
     
    AJ Classics Selection #153
     
    Takashi Ishikawa & Mighty Inoue vs Isamu Teranishi & Masanobu Kurisu (07/30/87): Well, this was a barrel full of monkeys! I loved it. All kinds of different offense or should I say 'awe'fense. Cheesy like Kraft. This took a little bit to get going in terms of direction and pace but, turned into a smile worthy Asia Tag match.
     
    Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask vs Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (07/11/87): PWF tag belts on the line. This was pretty good and had a nice finish. I was groggy when watching this so, probably worth a rewatch. DiBiase was very good as was Tiger.
     
    Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (07/17/87): A great energetic match! Hansen and DiBiase gave great performances. Yatsu and Nakano were vicious in attacking both villiains' knees. If you want working-a-limb psychology that's exciting, watch this! Remarkable selling by Ted & a great emotional performance by Stan. Tough as dirt Yatsu and gutsy Nakano taking it to the larger than life tag champs. Great match! Again, watch this!
     
    AJ Classics Selection #154
     
    Yoshiaki Yatsu & Haru Sonada vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (10/31/87): Haru looks like he's gonna suck but, does not! Revolution kill him anyways. Yatsu vs Tenryu is always good. This IS the hard hitting stuff you want! Haru is surprising the heck out of me. This was very good stuff. Recommended match
     
    Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (07/23/87): PWF title is on the line. Very evenly fought match between the top 2 teams in AJPW. This looked like a really competition for the title and gave them real importance. Tenryu was really brutal with his head kicks. I know that may seem wrong but, hey it's true! Classic Hansen freakout after the bell too. Highly recommend this whole thing!
     
    Giant Baba & Tiger Mask vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (07/30/87): I've come to love Tenryu vs Baba because Genny chops Baba as hard as anyone & vice versa. No one works better with old Baba than Tenryu. TM Misawa's kicks were fantastic looking. I wish he would have kept the kicks along with his elbow based on his use here. Baba took a surprising amount of punishment to the point where I believe he was legitimately hurt. I gotta recommend watching this match. It's like watching Misawa in a WAR match. Tenryu & Hara are real bruisers and generally beat the piss from the bodies of their foes- win, lose, or draw.
     
    HIGHLY RECOMMENDED couple of episodes
  2. G. Badger

    Why not W*ING?

    By G. Badger,


    You Might Have Missed
    The Japanese garbage wrestling scene in the 90's is really interesting. One that I was ignorant of until a while ago was W*ING. I'd seen the wrestlers before in IWA Japan, FMW, or Big Japan. Honestly, the matches aren't too different as essentially IWA Japan was started from the ashes of W*ING. BJPW upped the kooky death match stipulations but, many of the guys were there in the early days like Mr. Danger Matsunaga & Nakamaki.
     
    W*ING featured some really exciting matches though. I'd like to say the heavy Puerto Rican influence & talent contributed to that. Miguel Perez Jr. & the Headhunters especially...
     
    Here's a few of my favorites with the qualifier- any & every death match has the potential to suck based on the performers relying upon the gimmick (weapons, wire, a fall) to make the excitement and drama. These are not those kinds of matches. The gimmicks only enhances the matches.
     
    Miguel Perez Jr. vs The Iceman (3/13/92) I thought it would be Kanemura or Mitsuhiro Matsunaga so I was surprised it was The Iceman vs. Miguel Perez Jr. duking it out. OK fellas...good luck!
     
    Seriously, its a crane scaffold and they raise it to damn near the ceiling. At start, I'm just thinking 'OK, that looks about right...what!? Why is it going up more..no...no they're going to bring it down a lil bit.' Nope...looks like near death height.
     
    The camera shots were great at playing this up and they were able to actually wrestle & brawl and do a few spots including a insane one by Perez Jr. that I won't spoil.
     
    I'm not a scaffold match fan (who is?) but this is well worth a watch!
     
    Elimination Match Puerto Rico vs W*ING: Mr. Pogo & Super Invader & The Headhunters vs. Jason the Terrible, Masaru Toi, Hiroshi Shimada & Mitsuteru Tokuda from 6/92...this was a really great Korakuen multi-man match and pretty straight for a W*ING match. Super Invader did 3 dives in a row, Toi, Shimada & Tokuda brought the wrestling to the wing-ring, Kanemura was at ringside but couldn't help but get involved as well as a surprise W*ING hero. Oh eliminations can come from getting thrown over the top rope. Surprisingly, shown in full so watch this puppy. Its hard to go wrong with these type of matches in the sleazies...
     
    Shoji Nakamaki, Crash the Terminator, Fukumen Taro, Masayoshi Motegi & Nobutaka Araya vs Freddy Krueger, Jado, Gedo, Invader II & Invader III (W*ING Hollywood Nightmare 08/25/93, Captain's Fall Barbed Wire Bat Bunkhouse Deathmatch):First and foremost, watch Victor Quinones' promo for the heel team. Absolute gold
     
    On to the match: This is all out chaos and I loved it! 4 out of 10 people have masks, 6 out of 10 people are wearing red, Nakamaki isn't wearing jeans and a tee shirt, Crash legit looks like he could win the thing since *ahem* Freddie fucking Krueger is the heel team captain.
     
    All kinds of wackiness but, its the good early 90s Indy puro kind you want in this match. There's wrestling in the ring, brawling around the ring, Freddie in the stands chasing fans, Nakamaki laying somewhere in Korakuen bleeding...All the fans chanting his name despite being only visible to 5-10 of them due to the aforementioned bleeding, Indy juniors trying to shine, Crash no selling like a Road Warrior, a guardrail, seats popping off chairs, more Nakamaki chants...
     
    This is W*ING in the best way.
  3. G. Badger

    NOAH SHINY NAVIGATION 09/06/08 review

    By G. Badger,


    You Might Have Missed
    In true Mixed up Monday fashion, I'm going to do a whole show review which is all mixed up since, I usually just toss a couple random fun match reviews up.
     
    I bought the official NOAH DVD from Highspots. Its got English commentary. Its not very good commentary but, its not awful either. Its laughable that at every (yes, every kickout), the lead commentator asks, "Did he kickout!?" Does he mean that he literally cannot see the kickout or is that a dramatic phrase? I wonder even as I write this. It doesn't step on the matches and well, damn that's good enough. On to the show!
     
    A. Ito & I. Ota vs Ricky Marvin & Eddie Edwards: This is how you do a tag match- bring some hate, desire to win, desire to inflict pain or embarassment...something right? You've got to have some energy! 8 minutes of great shit beats 21 minutes of blech. Marvin & Edwards were flipping awesome here. Ito & Otis looked good too but, mainly vehicles to put Rick & Ed over. Fun stuff so, I'd recommend going outta your way to watch this as it's under 10 minutes.
     
    Akira Taue & Mohammed Yone vs Takuma Sano & Yoshi Takayama: Stiff as a drink. Yone channels his BattlArts days. Taue's still got it in '08. Fun match.
     
    Mitsuharu Misawa, Yoshinari Ogawa, Takashi Sugiura vs Jun Akiyama, Takeshi Rikioh, Atsuhi Aoki: Good mix of styles here. They keep is interesting without going move crazy. Haven't seen Misawa (RIP) in awhile (at the time of this viewing). Ogawa is awesome as Rat Boy here. All action inside and out of the ring, double teams, triple teams- Fast and simple 6 man where everyone looks great. Highly recommended.
     
    Naomichi Marufuji & Kento Miyahara vs Bryan Danielson & Davey Richards: NOAH is where Bryan & Davey belong...damn. Marufuji is in a goofy mood tonight but, it's all good, the gaijin team are being especially brutal. Oh shoot! That's Akira Hokuto, yay! Highly recommended? Recommended? Just a fun match? Kinda an extedned squash but, it's a blast to see Danielson & Davey in NOAH. Under 10 minutes.
     
    The Briscoe Brothers vs Katsu Nakajima & Kota Ibushi: Prematch worry: Let's see if Ibushi gets wacky. Match starts and they are pretty evenly matched. The Briscoes look fantastic with their rough house brawling. They do well in taking the Japanese team's offense...I say that considering the range in offense of their opponents. Really, both teams are leaving it all in the ring - I'm really impressed! This is 100% bananas. 16 minutes of insanity. If you're gonna do a Jr. sprint match, this is it! Classic, classic match in this style. As the kids say, OMFG!
     
    Kotaro Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs KENTA & Taiji Ishimori: I don't know how anyone can follow that. It is a bit slower but, still exciting. I appreciate Kanemaru & Kotaro acting as straight heels with their second causing mayhem and cheating like a M.F. 20 minutes and it's a great match. So, I failed to mention that there's a Jr. Tag tournament and this was the last match but, both teams are tied OR they are #1 & #2 and they need to have the final TONIGHT! Either way, we get a second match.
     
    I feel this 2nd bout diminished the awesomeness of the first but, still paid off and was pretty good as a whole. If you wanna take a break between matches, that might be a good idea. In total it was 31 minutes. I tend to side toward brevity nowadays but, I enjoyed the heck out of this nonetheless. I felt KENTA was subdued here so, that could be taken as a plus or minus depending on your preference. Highly recommended stuff but, again the first was my favorite.
     
    Takeshi Morishima vs Kensuke Sasaki GHC Title Match: Stiff clubbering wrestling. Oh so many club shots and clotheslines! I wouldn't say this is a classic title match but, on a super Jr. heavy show, this was a nice change of pace & an awesome way to close out the show. You got tons of speed, fancy manuevers, and nearfalls and now...Here's the tried and true NOAH beatdown title match. Two battleships facing off for the belt. It's that intense Choshu main event style so, if done right it's an easy 4 star match for those keeping score. Great match.
     
    The 09/06/08 NOAH Shiny Navigation was an outstanding show that offered alot of fantastic matchups that really paid off. If a full show DVD is available still and you're into that kinda thing, I say go buy it. This is especially true if you were digging ROH back in the day. Lots of cross pollination at the time between the two companies and very much the style they were going for at the time. Highest Recommendation on this show.
  4. G. Badger

    AJPW You Might Have Missed: Hayabusa

    By G. Badger,


    Spotlight
    I'm a Hayabusa fan. I think my first exposure was from ECW clips of he & Jinsei Shinzaki vs RVD & Sabu. Then around that time, I bought a used copy of WCW vs the World for the PS1. Awesome game, tons of Japanese stars with fake names. I recognized a few though, Hayabusa being one. Thing is, I probably didn't know he was called "Hayabusa." I just knew he was this high flyer with a mask and baggy red pants...and he could keep up with Van Dam & Sabu in the crazy move department. The video game only strengthen that as it featured his standing moonsault, quebrada, phoenix splash, and the Falcon Arrow which the developers made the Steiner Screwdriver. Awesome! Crazy dives and the most head spiking move at the time (other than TD '91).
     
    A few years after this, I was in university and was pretty much over what was going on in WWE or was it F still? Hmm...but, I got my buddies to watch death match tapes and bought Best of the Explosion Death match tape. And bam...there was Hayabusa vs Onita exploding cage death match! So, not only did I learn who 'busa was but, now a name to Onita as well (who was also in the game. His Fire Thunder P.B. was awesome!).
     
    Then grandpa here finally got DVDs and I got a Hayabusa set to enjoy. I don't think the one I have has all of his best stuff but, it has some 'em. I've seen enough to know the wrestler's strengths and weaknesses. One match on there was he & Jinsei vs Misawa & Akiyama from '97 RWTL. Great, great stuff and it showed Hayabusa a bit more toned down. The restriction of AJ improved his execution and pacing (two weaknesses). Wow! as a fan, this was great to see. He looks on par with the AJ guys. There's a Hayabusa in AJ set out there that has a ton of matches. I'm going to watch them all but, here's the first bit that I watched... Totally psyched
     
    Hayabusa & Yoshi Kanemaru vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Kentaro Shiga (04/19/97 AJPW): Where did this match come from!? I've never heard anyone mention this match...even derisively! Sacred steak, this was a loco Jr. action match. All kinds moves and attitude to boot. Shiga and Kanemaru (with hair!) have some beef over who's the skinniest dude in AJ (I'm talking ZSJ skinny). Hayabusa was on point with his kicks. A case of excitement crammed into 14 minutes. Very highly recommended!
     
    Hayabusa & Jun Akiyama vs Takao Omori & Kentaro Shiga (06/06/97 AJPW): This was a really enjoyable tag match up. Excited to see more Hayabusa. This also is a good example that AJ had other stuff going on beside the big four in '97.
     
    Shiga is plucky as all get-out. Of course, Akiyama brutalizes him in response Omori does play big brother to the Shigster...it's a good and necessary role for him here. 'Busa is the fireworks man tonight by busting out his maneuvers to perfection. He is my favorite whilst in tags. I am thankful for Baba or Misawa (or whomever has the Big Book) for keeping him in teams in AJPW. I recommend this match.
     
    Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki vs Giant Kimala II & Jun Izumida (11/15/97): Well, now I've got an idea for a Halloween costume this year. Thanks Izu! But anyways...this was a bundle of fun and different from the high energy AJ at the time. Izumida was really good and played to Kimala the Sequel's strengths. They were a good believable team as a result. It was an interesting and competitive bout. 'Busa and Jinsei were good as always. I didn't want to watch this at first but, I'm really glad that I did! It's put a smile on my face
     
    Hayabusa & Shinzaki vs Tamon Honda & Jun Izumida (02/13/99): JIP w/ a 9 minute run time. Based on what was shown, and ignorant of AJ's roster, you could think these guys were the top stars. Hayabusa was flying, Jinsei looked cool, Honda & Izumida fought like skull crushers. For instance, be on the look out for Izu's diving headbutt to a hunched over Hayabusa. I highly recommend spending the 9 minutes on this forgotten little JIP match.
     
    Hayabusa, Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV vs Yoshinari Ogawa, Manukea Mossman & Masahito Kakihara (05/02/99): This took a bit to get going but, this was a great showcase for the Indy team. Hayabusa looked most dominant and in control. That's saying something since Ogawa is Misawa's #2 man. Kakihara was the highlight for the AJ team though. I think he was particularly dynamic in this setting but, I've liked him in everything I've seen of his in AJPW. Highly recommended stuff, goes longer than you think but, man its fun.
     
    Again, gonna check more out in AJPW. Also going to dig back into FMW 20 years later. I am coming back Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling!!
  5. G. Badger

    AJPW Classics 149 & 150: 1987

    By G. Badger,


    Spotlight
    I've recently acquired a big chunk of the AJPW Classics broadcast in 1999 & 2000. Generally speaking, I've got a good portion of 1988-early 1990 covered. There are a couple notable matches missing but, I'm more interested in finding hidden gems. I'm looking forward to seeing matches people talked about in the distant past and have since been forgotten or brushed aside for the newer slicker wrestling of today. I'm excited to be able to watch wrestling in a somewhat episodic fashion again too.
     
    Starting out I have a couple episodes from 1987 that I was interested in.
     
    AJPW Classic selection #149:
     
    Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (04/23/87): This was a very good all action bout. There wasn't a strong story or a tremendous amount of drama. That's OK since it was more centered on slapping and chopping the other team. Nakano put forth a lot of effort. He was out ranked but, never appeared out of his depth because he was busting his ass. Surprisingly, Yatsu looked strongest in terms of aggression and dictating the pace. He looked to have Jumbo's number. Watch for the powerbomb too. Fun match.
     
    Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (06/09/87): Hara is a beast! but colored me surprised Hara is the one in peril not Nakano. Again, Yatsu really shines in this match. I'd again say he's the best wrestler in there. This was really enjoyable but, over too quick. There was never a dull moment though and features two really great spots. Recommended match
     
    The Road Warriors vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima (06/09/87): This was pretty good when Hawk and Jumbo were in the ring. Wajima if you've never seen him is goofy. That's the case here per usual. Animal does his press slams and such but, is really too massive to be good. The chaotic ending is fun but, comes outta nowhere. It's an OK match. Personally, I hate the Roid Warriors in AJ.
     
    Hiroshi Wajima vs. Animal Warrior (06/11/87): Well, they read my mind and gave me the worst match up of the above match...and perhaps the worst pairing for AJPW '87. I could not see this lasting more than 5 minutes since Wajima is embarrassing and Animal has little ability or personality. I had my fiance time it. Fortunately, it's around 3 minutes. Thank you!
     
    AJPW Classic selection #150:
     
    Giant Baba & John Tenta vs Rusher Kimura & Goro Tsurumi (05/01/87): Goro's afro and mustache is enviable. What an awesome look! Speaking of looks, Tenta is looking really fit & trim here in '87. As always, I'm giving Baba a pass for experience and the effort he puts forth despite his limited capabilities. This is better than the Road Warriors matches by the way. Rusher's overhand chopping Tenta in the throat. The big man looks awesome here...like a champ really. Referee Wada takes the best fucking ref bumps too. This was a fun, fun match. I wish I understood Japanese for Rusher's jokes at the end. Even Baba's laughing!
     
    Jumbo Tsuruta & John Tenta vs The Road Warriors (06/08/87): Ok, this has potential. Switch Wajima for Tenta and we've got something good. And to little surprise Tenta delivered. His stuff vs Hawk was awesome. Oh shit! It's over? That was quick...fun though. Honestly, this is probably the best use for the Warriors in AJ.
     
    Giant Baba vs Tiger Jeet Singh (06/11/87): This is what I want to follow up that short tag match. Great brawling start. Tiger's using a bucket like it's the WWF Raw game from the 90's. Yes! But from there it's more mat wrestling and less blood (if any) than I expected. Started fun but, was just OK.
     
    Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (06/11/87): This was really a lot of fun if a little disorganized. Perhaps chaotic is a more complementary way to phrase that but, that's what held it back from being a great match. Aw screw it, this was a blast especially with Tiger Mask Misawa flying around. He was revolutionary for '87 AJPW and appeared to have Tenryu beat. This match really helped elevate him. Jumbo was a bit off tonight but, wisdom says that was purposeful. It helped Tiger's star shine brighter. Highly recommended match. I think I may re-watch this.
     
    Another couple shows from '87 for next week. DiBiase and Hansen are featured if I recall. Stoked for those as I dig DiBiase in AJ.
  6. G. Badger
    I miss watching 90's M-Pro. Its probably my favorite stuff to just sit back, enjoy, and smile. This tournament really helps capture the nature of the promotion at the time. Its just a lot fun. Another important aspect that's lost is the back injury story that Sasuke carries across the tournament. Here a young Naniwa deals a serious blow to Sasuke and this establishes the anyone can win nature of this tournament.
     
    7/27 Iwate: Super Delfin vs. Gorgota Cross (Jerry Lynn)- A fine first match opener with a real athletic showing by Jerry Lynn. There were a few communication problems & there was meandering feel overall but the big drawback was that the crowd could care less. To have a multi-national masked-man tourney one would expect the crowd to extremely vocal about the inagural match; this really wasn't the case. Still it was an enjoyable start.
     
    The Great Sasuke vs. Gran Naniwa-There was no problem here with two of the home wrestlers paired up. The small gym crowd was loving it and for good reason. This match would not seem out of place in a small venue NJPW show with meaningful matwork being the base from which spots & sequence could be built from. While the execution of a few of things wasn't necessarily up to NJ Jr. standards it was made up for with intensity & excitement. Sasuke must have done 3 dives & Naniwa took the avalanche frankesteiner to new heights. A very good showing from both men in a memorable match.
     
    There was a lengthy highlights portion shown afterwards. What's interesting is that the highlights have there own highlights: The Convict looking like a mummy & the Hamburgular had a baby executing a picture perfect moonsault, King's Cross giving more meaning to the name "suicide dive" than is good for one's health, & Naniwa getting flash pinned by a guy looking like Fuyuki with a mask. Way too many more clips to mention except the dangerous moves section & funny moments, which is cool since it preserves the humor of the promotion.
     
    8/12 Yamagata Shi: The Great Sasuke vs. Super Delfin- By this point in the round robin Sasuke's back is a noticible weak point and Delfin zeros in on it here. This tactic really helps guide him and Sasuke did an amirable sell job to keep it in focus. I have a feeling that the injury wasn't completely fabricated. Anyhow, what was so great was that I really believed the match could end with any submission attempt. So many of the clipped matches are won with relatively insignifcant moves. It seemed that something as common place a surfboard or Scorpion Deathlock deep into the bout screamed match-ender- especially with Sasuke's back being attacked mercilously & with the knowledge that he's not invincible (proven by Naniwa's upset). The real drawback was that the execution was spotty at times but in the context of the other matches it can certainly be forgiven. The crowd was electric so maybe that balances it out a bit; if they can overlook the mistakes so can I. Overall it was a fantastic match and the best one so far. ****+
     
    8/13: The Great Sasuke vs. The Convict (Sergio "Super Boy" Torres)- It's easy to misjudge the Convict as a goof in a striped sweatsuit. He's a real athletic big man and his execution is pretty good. This is a one-sided bout with a big red bulls-eye painted on the Great Sasuke's back. Sasuke tries a comeback with a couple good sequences and near falls that keeps it interesting. Although it's pretty much a display of the Convict's spot-on offense and of the Great Sasuke's selling.
     
    Super Delfin vs. Gran Naniwa- Another very good match-up from two of the home wrestlers. There was plenty of matwork and near-falls in this one so, it was easy to get excited about. It had some awkward bits but certainly was fun & I was pulling for Naniwa in this one.
     
    After this match we get a bit of the clipped matches but nowhere as long as on Disc 1. The highlights include Gorgota Cross Lynn vs. Dos Caras and Sasuke getting a table dropped on his back by the Grand Sheik in a tag match...I think. Another nice clip portion to make you feel like a local.
     
    8/18 Yamagata: Dos Caras vs. Super Delfin- This was a display of Dos Caras' superb ground wrestling. Delfin was in put in a dozen variations of Mr. Saltys and never looked like he was able to be on offense. Somehow he won though. Just sub-par selling on Delfin's part still entertaining because of Caras.
     
    A few more clipped matches finish up the second disc but nothing is too memorable.
     
    8/23 Aomori-ken Mutsu Shi: The Great Sasuke vs. Dos Caras- The meeting between the top two competitors left a lot to be desired. Fortunately we get the payoff in the finals (maybe?). The heart of the match is Dos Caras putting Sasuke in different stretches. Starting off this was really exciting as they were exchanging holds & positions. Sasuke doesn't really want to sell here and Caras isn't going to appear weak to anyone...rightfully so. This tactic makes a ground based match really uninteresting. Dory vs. Jack is so great because they really know how to milk each hold, when to turn it up & bring it back down. This match tried but they zigged when they should have zagged. Still Sasuke's flying moves were great & Caras really did well on offense as well.
     
    8/24 Aomori-ken: Super Delfin vs. Mongolian- It's difficult to get into a match like this. It was alright but really only shown because Delfin was quick pinned while he was going for the namesake clutch. Maybe he's out of the running now...eh...it was alright.
     
    8/25 Aomori-ken Aomori Shi:Mascara Contra Mascara: Gran Naniwa vs. Gorgota Cross- This was like a AJW match because it was all action and near-falls! Really an excellent match and blew just about every other match in the tourney outta the water. It was great to finally see Jerry Lynn given a chance to perform. ****
     
    Fukumen World League Yushosen(finals): The Great Sasuke vs. Dos Caras- Where Naniwa vs. Lynn was AJW, Caras vs. Sasuke was AJPW. A nice slow building match with exciting matwork built into false finish teases & hellish moves...Sasuke did his awesome flying offense and Caras powerbombed Sasuke 3 times that would make Vader wince. ****
  7. G. Badger

    Mixed Up Monday: MUGA & NJPW

    By G. Badger,


    Quickie
    Tatsumi Fujinami & Shinichi Nakano vs Osamu Nishimura & Yuki Ishikawa (03/03/98 MUGA): I hope you know what each guy looks like because everyone has black trunks, black boots, and black hair! This ain't your 2018 NJPW strong style with leather pants, dye jobs, and fancy colors! This is '98 MUGA and it's all about true Inoki style grappling and such.
     
    Most of this puppy was fought on the canvas with a slap, knee or suplex thrown for good measure. 3/4 cup of matwork, scrambling & 1/4 cup slap or knee, preferably stiff.
     
    This is probably my favorite style of matwork so, this was a dream match come true. I favor this over shoot style because I don't care for the point systems and the drama associated with keeping track of them. 1 point for rope breaks, 2 for a knockdown, 6 points for a fractured orbital bone, etc. Just fucking go for it man! That's what I want when I watch wrestling. I do enjoy shoot style but, sometimes it crosses over to 'nearly legit' and then, I remember it's not because no one in their right mind would give up that position in a real fight etc. Some kinda sex joke could probably be made there...go ahead think of one...chuckle. I did
     
    Thank you Jetlag for posting this on the 'tube. This is a great match, a dream match! Go see this!
     
    Osamu Kido & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Masahiro Chono (07/20/93 NJPW): Thank goodness for browsing around Youtube. Who knew this match was floating around NJ in '93? Not me I guess...
     
    13 minutes of old school action here. I really, really dug this match...digging for gold here. Chono vs Fujiwara was the best. I'm a Chono fan so maybe I'm biased but, if you're reading this- go watch it. I highly recommend it and is a fantastic little bit of random wrestling goodness floating on down the information super highway. Mixed metaphor success!
  8. G. Badger

    NOAH Matches You Might Have Missed: NJPW vs NOAH

    By G. Badger,


    You Might Have Missed
    The NJ vs NOAH feud was pretty well regarded in what was considered a down year for puro. This talk was over 5 years ago so, its something I think most people, especially those not hip to pre-Kobashi GHC title run NOAH, may have missed.
     
    Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Jushin Liger & Wataru Inoue (02/17/02): This is one of the earliest in the feud and its full of stiff shots and heat. Its getting hot in here! Like Nelly! Remember him? Not Nelly Furtadoshe was cute though. No the rapper-esque guy with the bandages on his cheek and gold fronts. Yeah, now you remember unfortunately. I was more a Ludacris fan. And I didnt really care for him either. Where was I? Oh! Wrestling!! This was a fun fire building match especially when you pick a side. I picked NOAH. I like Liger but, most of the NJPW roster at this point in time is unremarkable. Inoue is a good example of that. Anywho...It was great seeing Kikuchi of yore. I mean this dude stood toe-to-toe with the likes of Jumbo and Kawada in the early 90s. He brings what remains of that of part of his intestine with him to this match. Kanemaru is fun but certainly needs that surly old goat to help him out against the likes of Liger and Watery Inoue.
     
    Jushin Liger & Minoru Tanaka vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (04/07/02): God what happened to Liger!? Why is he such a jerk-ass heel!? Man does he punk the hell out of old Kikuchi and fancy pants Kanemaru. This was pretty good but, the NOAH team was out classed and outmatched. That doesn't stop them from laying in some shots. I'm a bit of a Minoru fan so, this was a fun one. He was such a dick here! This isn't so much a puro-style match as a fun American heel-babyface type tag match.
     
    KENTA vs Wataru Inoue (08/29/02): This is wrestled like you typical early 2000s junior match. Theres a lot of stiff elbows to no real effect, theres fun spots but, the match isnt awesome or anything. It's a quick small show match with two youngsters. I love me some KENTA and if youre a fan then you'll like this one. He bleeds from his mouth and he wouldn't want it any other way. Its pretty good for two rookies. Solid but, unremarkable. By the way the cross-arm bar and the mounted elbows are really big in 2002 it seems. I think this is from the influence of PRIDE Fighting or Takayama or something.
     
    Koji Kanemoto vs Makoto Hashi (08/29/02): Hashi goes up against king prick Koji! The thing is that Koji thinks hes tough shit but, Hashi is from NOAH- the hardest hitting, biggest bomb dropping-est (what?) promotion in the world. Thats good for Hashi since Koji figures hell practice his kicks on young Makotos lumpy head. Makoto remembers he eats kicks for breakfast - Kid tested mother approved. In turn, he chops and head butts the piss out of Kanemoto. I mean Hashi brings his A game to take out the then IWGP Jr. champ. I'm always rooting against that smirking bastard! I love to hate him. The Noah Doughboy does me proud. Now that I think about it this match reminds me of the early 90s NJ vs. WAR feud. Its good stuff.
  9. G. Badger

    Spotlight: AJW 08/19/90

    By G. Badger,


    Spotlight
    It seems like people are into current joshi and that's cool. I watched some Wave & Stardom a year or two ago. Its not bad. Its cool but, not really my cup of Earl Grey.
     
    Here's a run down of one of my favorite old school joshi shows:
     
    1) Miori Kamiya vs. Etsuko Mita: jip A brief little example of joshi wrestling. There were some nice moves in what was shown.
     
    2) 3 Minutes 5 Rounds: Sakie Hasegawa vs. Kaoru Ito- These are two of my favorite underrated wrestlerskicking each other in the face. They're young and tough. I'll say thatagain joined in progress.
     
    3) Coolie SZ & Bulldog KT (Jado & Gedo) vs. Monkey Magic Wakita & Masa Michinoku (Delfin & Sasuke). This is novelty at best. You get to see what Super Delfin and Sasuke look like before they donned the hoods. Coolie and Bulldog are much better in this but both teams are still green. The M-Pro future could be seen from some of their spots and chemistry. It was slow and scrambled. The joshi fans couldnt have cared less. That sounds like hyperbole but, about 10 people were interested in this match. Considering the success of these 4, its kinda ironic but, we all come from humble beginnings, I suppose. This too is JIP.
     
    4) Mika Takahashi & Kaoru Maeda & Esther Moreno vs. Hyper Cat & La Diabolica & Kyoko Inoue.- This is the first full match we get and boy what a fun match. Its real loose but, the hyper pace helps hide the holes in execution. Esther is excellent however and really provides the greatness as the technica. Maeda and Takahashi are good as well. Diabolica is your standard ruda but, works well with all her opponents. Kyoko is still green but has her moments and Hyper Cat is shaky at first but, shines especially when working with Esther. Again, a match like this reminds me why 88-92 are probably my favorite years for wrestling. The matches, especially non-headline matches, are worked where any move can be a finisher. Also, the fruits of sending young talent across the globe during the early to mid 80s are starting to ripen. This match was a good joshi/lucha hybrid example of this.
     
    5) 3 Minutes 6 Rounds: Yumiko Hotta vs. Mima Shimoda.- I thought that this might be interesting. Ive heard good things about this match. Its kinda like a MMA match of sorts. Its a worked shoot sorta. It is pretty brutal at times. Aww hell- It is boring. Its neither MMA nor pro-wrestling. Its not worth watching. Sure there are worse matches in this kick box-esque style but, why it wasnt clipped like the Hasegawa/Ito match is only because of the stars involved. These kickbox matches are time killers at best. If you have to see everything once, watch this in fast forward.
     
    6) Noriyo Tateno 2000 Jiai: Noriyo Tateno & Medusa vs. Mitsuko Nishiwaki & Suzuka Minami.- This one was an OK tag match. I cant really say there was anything remarkable but, it worked for the crowd as it was Tatenos 2000th match. Shes a good wrestler and its nice to see her honored. She was very good with the Jumping Bomb Angels in the 80s. With that said, this match was like most JB Angels matches- Very good but, nothing terribly memorable. In all honesty, I may chalk that up to Tateno. Her offense is well executed yet pedestrian. Her real attribute is playing the Babyface in Danger. Thats nice but, it doesnt do much for me since, I have no real reason to care. Maybe if I wanted to buy a bunch of AJW from the mid 80s, I might have a soft spot in my heart for her...
     
    7) Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto. Baby Toyota vs. Baby Hokuto! This is full of nice surprises especially from Toyota who doesnt have her 90s moveset just yet. So there are no moments where she bites off more than she can chew nor, times where you can call which one of her favorite tricks she is going to do. Here she has a solid match which is fought manly on the ground. This works because Joshi puroresu is still in the old style where singles matches are mat matches with nice highspots serving as points of action and transition. I like this because moves in this match and other great matches of its ilk are used to secure pinfalls or to shift momentum and then take control back on the mat with a hold. So, with that being my preference when all is said and done, I really enjoyed this match. I would call it a great match but, not tremendous in terms of moves or brutality as many of their 90s matches would be. Again, the style had not shifted at this point but, if you want to look at where it would be going-look to this match. It bridges the gap by pushing the speed, complexity, and accuracy of maneuvers, while working submissions aggressively and inserting classic pinning predicaments. ****1/2 perhaps
     
    8) Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Bull Nakano & Grizzly Iwamoto.- This one was fucking brutal! This was one of the most emotional and destructive spectacles that I have ever had the joy to witness. Everyone was trying to beat the living shit out of one another in some primal kind of way. These women would never be the same after this disturbing confrontation. There is no doubt about it. This match, if you want to call it that, covered Korakuen Hall in boiling hot blood and sweat soaked face paint for days. The echo of their howls could be heard months after. This is a must-see classic. *****
  10. G. Badger

    Assorted NJPW from 1987

    By G. Badger,


    Spotlight
    No one really seems to talk about the 1980's Japan anymore. That ship has sailed and people have moved on to other stuff, I suppose. A few years ago...maybe 5 years...I can't remember, NJPW, AJPW, and essentially UWF were being watched in depth and ranked by a good handful of folks. Pretty awesome stuff. I've got the lists saved on a USB drive. I'm not going to even try to recreate or resurrect the 80's projects with my Saturday posts but, I love the 80's Japan stuff. 1986-1988 NJPW is one of my favorite periods in puro. Even in posting these, I realize how much more I need to check out in 1987 NJPW.
     
    Nobuhiko Takada & Akira Maeda vs Keiji Mutoh & Shiro Koshinaka (03/20/87): Oh my goodness! This match was awesome! The UWF team was soooo stiff and the NJ team was just totally exciting yet, looked good taking a beating. Maeda wasn't going to kick somebody unless he could kick them in the head. This seriously was bell to bell fun. There were moments where the excitement ebbed but then bam! It flowed right back to where it was before. A true lesson in crowd control that frankly you only witness in the finest of wrestling matches. This stuff is timeless.
     
    Takada & Maeda vs Mutoh & Koshinaka (03/26/87): Damn these guys can really go! In six days these guys delivered another must-see tag match. Surprisingly it's in a different vein than the earlier one although there are some similarities. Both teams just have great chemistry and put over each others moves so well. Fast paced action throughout & certainly the stuff tag fans like myself can never see enough of. Not as good as the first but, still really great stuff. The abrupt finish is the only thing holding it back from being an all time classic match. ****1/4+ type scenario.
     
    Takada & Maeda vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kazuo Yamazaki (05/25/87): I'll have to re-watch this as I was a bit tired but, still this was a very good stiff match. I didn't really appreciate Takada killing the momentum in this match with leg locks or arm-breakers when it wasn't really called for. Match was really something with the other 3 guys though as Maeda's perfectly OK with getting kicked in the head.
     
    Takada vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (08/20/87): The '87 IWGP Jr title finals. This took a damn long time to warm up as it was Takada's usual stall job. He uses cross-arm breakers and wakigatame as rest holds! Come on! He's a good worker but doesn't know how to use his submission moves to build heat, he just throws them out there. Kobayashi is pretty cool here but sorta lets Takada go which hurts the match until the final stretch which is pretty top notch. Selling of damage would really help in this setting. ***1/2ish perhaps...
     
    Takada & Maeda vs Fujiwara & Yamazaki (09/01/87): I felt this was better than the 5/25 match because Takada wasn't in too much to kill the momentum. His time killers were ok because he was in just for a little bit. Still the other 3 were much better and Fujiwara really brought his B+ game here especially with Maeda who continues to be one of my favorites because he strives for realism. Case in point he had a Kobashi mouse on his cheek...take your pick which head shot did that! The big downside with these UWF only matches is that the exciting aspects like double team moves and drama generators like saves are eschewed in the pursuit of a "pure" athletic competition. Re-watched: Saw this a day or two later with my Dad who's pretty critical & he really liked it. That's the confirmation I needed this is a damn good match. I wish the ending was better but, still good and more natural than I thought. Plus it helps push Yamazaki forward.
     
    Takada & Yamazaki vs Keiichi Yamada & Shiro Koshinaka (10/25/87): I strongly feel that the best showcase for the UWF guys in NJPW is against regular workers. It lets them work their submission against "trained" sellers so the drama and importance is really played up. Also the UWF guys are really good pro-wrestlers too so they have no problem taking the pro moves as well as incorporate some of their own. This really helps the variety of the match. In any case the best guys to face the shooters are Fujinami, Koshinaka & Yamada. I also liked Mutoh in '87...anyhow...this was another really great match...which I've forgotten the ending of but, I just love how these guys work together
     
    Koshinaka, Yamada & Yamazaki vs. Hiro Saito, Kintaro Hoshino & Kensuke Sasaki (12/03/87): This was an all action 6 man match. It really was a showcase for the stars. I cant say it was back and forth as 5 minutes were skipped ahead. Nonetheless this was a fun action packed match. I dont think there was much drama but, that doesn't take away from how enjoyable this was.
  11. G. Badger
    Giant Baba, Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada, Masanobu Fuchi & Akira Taue (01/29/94 AJPW): What do ya know!? Another match from today's date Just stumbled across this write up in the back of a notebook.
     
    The 6 man matches of AJPW were really something. I know you're probably a little worried about Giant Baba working a match in 1994. I was too! If you've never seen Baba then, do yourself a favor and watch a couple older matches of his. One of many against The Sheik or Abdullah the Butcher. They're usually quick and chaotic...perfect for any of you young workaday kids out there. Once you've got a couple under your belt, come back and appreciate '94 Baba.
     
    So, this is in Korakuen Hall, the best wrestling venue in Japan. The fans are awesome and are chanting Masa Fuchi's name louder than Misawa's!! They are hardcore fans I think Dave M. gave this match 5 pinecones but, I didn't think it was THAT good. Maybe he was there in person and yeah...I'd buy that.
     
    My favorite segments were Kawada dealing with Kobashi. And I'm not sold on the Kawada vs Kobashi single encounters but' these two are magic when on opposite sides of the tag ring. It's beautiful when Dangerous K sneak attacks the more heart than brains Kobashi! I didn't seem to have much more in my notes but, highly recommend this one. I think it's really good to go back and revisit these oddly booked team matches in AJPW. Most people, including your author, focused too much on the super saiyan classic encounters of the 90's and not enough on the odd or unassuming little gems.
     
    Chigusa Nagayo vs Lioness Asuka (02/26/87 AJW): Extremely high workrate and paries were the hallmark of this match. Lioness was the tougher of the two but Chigusa wouldn't back down. There were times this could have been a ***** classic but they went to the finishing-move well too many times for me. The restart only hurt the match.
     
    Re-watch the next day: This is definitely a better match on the re-watch since, I knew what to expect move-wise and the ending. If I understood Japanese, I'm sure I would've caught the announcers talking about time running out, which undoubtedly corresponds to the go-for-broke attitude toward the end. After some thought, I've realized that my initial disappointment stems from the fact that it's less of a shocker-match. The outrageous moves and brutal stiffness just aren't there...so that tendency to give this type of a match a lower rating upon initial viewing has to be overcome by a second or third watching. Classic matches like this forced the moves to be faster and crisper, the strikes to be harder, and the drama to be more nail-biting. It's required viewing for joshi fans.
     
    For the Indy fans out there: This summer, I watched 2 Murdoch in the sleazies matches. In IWA Japan vs Motegi: This was pretty darn good stuff. Technical bout with nice kicks and arm work by Motegi. Dude stayed focused like a laser on Dick's arm. Everyone was buying that pain. Murdoch was no slouch either finding escapes out of holds and pounding the life out of Motegi when he could. High recommendation.
     
    Then, there's Dick vs Matsunaga in W*ING '92. This is more karate vs wrestler than, brawling which is what I was expecting. This was clipped but, again I didn't see any fault in that. Both guys really laid it in...moreseo Murdoch. For every 5 Mr. Danger kicks to the arm & body Capt. Redneck elbowed straight down to the face. Yup, this was good stuff.
  12. G. Badger

    AJPW You Might Have Missed (01/28/86)

    By G. Badger,


    You Might Have Missed
    Its always a bit of fun when you're going back to write about or watch wrestling matches and it's the date of a historically important match. Or is that just me? Today is the 32nd anniversary of the much loved Choshu & Yatsu vs Jumbo & Tenryu tag match in AJPW. It's like a holiday No celebration but, still pretty cool and a reason to be hyped for the day. Plus it's sunny out so, that's nice too!
     
    Here's my take on the match and if you have not watched it, make some time this week to give it a go!
     
    Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86 AJPW): This was a precursor of the great tag matches of the AJPW 90's. The pacing is great, it starts with great tag moves from Choshu/Yatsu but, things break open when Jumbo & Tenryu kick Riki's ribs to dust. Eventually he makes the tag & the remainder of the match is like Funk Bros. chaos. Fortunately Tiger doesn't call for the bell. Tenryu's kicking ass & Yatsu is just amazing. Great near-falls, moves that re-occur throughout the great matches in the 90's, fantastic psychology but, also what I'd consider Joshi like excitement. This is just about a perfect match to me.
     
    I was going to prattle on about some random mid-90's matches today as well but, there's no need. Today's match is so good that it really should stand alone.
  13. G. Badger

    Assorted NJPW Tags from 1986

    By G. Badger,


    Quickie
    Here are some really great tag matches from New Japan in 1986 that don't get much talk. Thought I'd share the love!
     
    Nobuhiko Takada & Osamu Kido vs Antonio Inoki & Keiichi Yamada (02/05/86): Wow what a great little match! The crowd really lets you know what's up since the work isn't mind-blowing or anything. This is the beginning of the legendary UWF/NJ feud and you can tell right here that dammit! It means something. Each guy just does his job well and it really pushes the intensity. Takada is such a bastard here & Yamada is such a good underdog but, we always knew that! Kido was impressive & Inoki is such a badass that anytime he was in the ring the place blew up with cheers as if the smallest offense could end the UWF guys chances.
     
    Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura vs Akira Maeda & Osamu Kido (08/05/86): An excellent strong-style tag match that was awesome when Fujinami & Maeda was were in together. They did some neat allusions to their 06/12 classic with Fujinami dodging the corner wheel kick. Maeda was sort of all over the place with his kicks, in the dangerous kind of way for instance he blasted Kengo in the mouth that almost killed the match. Still that makes him exciting and dangerous...adding to the combat sport aspect of strong-style. I would've liked a smoother finish. Overall pretty great match and fun compliment to the 06/12 match.
     
    Takada & Fujiwara vs Shiro Koshinaka & George Takano (09/05/86): A very good tag match with Takano being much better here than as Cobra, Takada was also much better here especially with his kicks, Fujiwara & Koshinaka are awesome throughout.
     
    Akira Maeda, Kazuo Yamazaki, Nobuhiko Takada, Osamu Kido & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs George Takano, Kantaro Hoshino, Kengo Kimura, Shiro Koshinaka & Tatsumi Fujinami (09/16/86): People don't think this one is as good as the one in March & maybe they're right but, I didn't think so. I thought this one was much better from an in-ring stand point. It was a sprint like the last one but there was actual sprinting and much more involved one-on-one action as the feuds had developed & the NJPW team was better without the fat old blonde guy Ueda & Inoki wasn't there to be the spoiler...it helped put the finish in doubt.
  14. G. Badger

    Spotlight: Hiroshi Hase

    By G. Badger,


    Spotlight
    Hiroshi Hase: Hase is probably the most overlooked great in-ring worker of Japan's 1990's golden era. His abilities and athleticism have been compared to Kobashi in the past. However, he was not regarded as such within NJ. First he was considered an excellent Jr. until Liger and contemporaries changed the style. He was a heavyweight but, would only see tag teams success. That seems very good but, compare that to the successes of his peers in NJ and even AJ at the time. Its clear that he wasn't used to his full potential as a singles star. His political career surely had an effect especially later in the 90's but, this could be a chicken or egg situation.
     
    If we look back through time, we see he was very adaptable to whatever division or style was in vogue. He could do the traditional NJ Choshu style against UWF guys ('88 classic with Takada), tag teamer (early 90s matches against Steiners) as well as do the evolution of Strong style (the brilliant '94 IWGP match vs. Hashimoto). In addition to this, he helped put the Muta character on the map in Japan. It was no small feat and Hase's skills helped frame the legendary villain in an era where the over the top heels were being phased out.
     
    Its unfortunate that he has not been lauded as an all time NJ great. I think his work in AJPW, although brief, is fantastic and a direct line to what the Hashimoto title match showed. His limitations were not in skill but, in booking. He's one of my personal favorites. Charismatic, talented storyteller and a hell of a wrestler. Here is a sampling of the good stuff:
     
    Hiroshi Hase vs. Keichi Yamada (02/04/88 NJPW): A fun, smart, well wrestled match. Each man picked his opponent apart as best they could. Of course Yamada had his moves from the top rope but, Hase surprised me with some of his maneuvers. He was pretty brutal as he was still a protégé of Riki Chosu. This of course wasnt the classic one would hope for but, it was pretty good stuff. I just wish it could have gone on longer as it was just starting to pick up when it ended. Thats really the only knock on this match but, this tendency to go-home around 10 minutes is an 80s Jrs. thing.
     
    Nobuhiko Takada vs Hiroshi Hase (03/11/88 NJPW): I was expecting a mat wrestling clinic but um...we didn't get that. That's OK though since both guys brought their A game and Takada wasn't stalling here and Hase was his great self albeit a bit of a heel/Choshu mode which was very cool because Takada seemed quite vulnerable. Just an awesome match with great performances by both men and a match that goes on their highlight reel. Takada was really getting in a rut in the summer of '87 save a couple matches. This is an awesome match and shows Takada really wanting to go out of NJPW with a bang. Another piece of evidence that the UWF guys or Takada at least was best against NJPW guys. It allowed him to fluff off their "fake wrestling" offence, allowed them to really put over the holds as near-finishes since they weren't experienced "shooters." It provided unorthodox sequences and rope running scenarios and they made so much out of the "fake" offence when it did connect. No one's style was discredited as they were simply different points on the same continuum. Classic match here...
     
    Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Bam Bam Bigelow & Vader (03/01/92 NJPW): I read that people say this match isnt very good but, shit! I thought it was fantastic. The timing and near finishes were just awesome. You knew the hope spots were going to be there but, wow! This was just an awesome match that should be on every one of these guys Best Of comps. The stand-outs were Hase and Vader. The segments they had were just great stuff and very stiff. Vader was just punishing throughout and Bigelow and Mutoh were the charismatic ones who put the flashy bits in. Everything was hitting just right. Like I said maybe this is a case of low expectations and being surprised but I really enjoyed this. Another classic.
     
    Shinya Hashimoto vs. Hiroshi Hase (12/13/94 NJPW): Now, this really is the match I was hoping it would be. It could probably be up there with 6/12/86 and 8/8/88 as the bench marks of Strong Style. This was the modern version so, it wasn't as pure or as outright compelling as those two but, WCW Japan (NJPW) was no longer neck and neck with AJPW in terms of match quality. I would put this next to Chono vs Mutoh at the innagural G1 Climax final. It's really that good. Hash has no problem being brutal as I've come to see but, here it escalates and transitions with drama. Each guy really is giving it his all. It's also clear how good a wrestler Hase. Hash may have many qualities but, he lacks something that really shoots this match into perfect all time must see 5 star territory.
     
    So, this might be a continuation of Hashimoto Strong Style but for all intents and purposes this was about as "halcyon King's Road" as I've seen NJ get in both work & length. That's confusing but, whatever it was a classic bout!
     
    Steiner Brothers vs. Keiji Muto & Hiroshi Hase (01/04/95 NJPW): The best of their matches that I've seen. I could tell from the get go that the Steiners were taking this one seriously. Mutoh was awesome here as the fire plug MF'er that we wish he always could've been. The basic strikes were never the Steiners strong suit (either too soft or near legit) but, if you can get past that it's an awesome tag match. If they were reasonably stiff then this would be a near classic but as it is I'll call it great. A great pay-off & totally unexpected finish.
     
    Hiroshi Hase vs Kenta Kobashi (8/26/97 AJPW): This was such an awesome match. Hase was in top form here. He instilled the direction and psychology of the bout. Knowing that Kobashi is at the top of the food chain in All Japan, Hase set on out-wrestling and disabling Kobashi's legs. The Orange Crush could only really react to Hases offense. This in a sense gave Hase the credibility he needed to challenge Kenta but, in another sense kept this from being a 5 star match. Kobashi did not have a game plan and he got out of his depth as the former Olympian was wrestling circles around him. This may be the in-match story and it certainly deserves a re-watch with this in mind. With all of that being said, this was a fantastic match. It was an older style, very competitive mat based match with perfect pacing and execution. Although Kobashi was excellent, his selling of the leg damage could have been better. Hase was absolutely superb though. He showed vulnerability yet strength in overcoming the pain and fatigue. This is completely what I had hoped for and more.
     
    I'd like to dig deeper into Hase in '88 as well as '99-'02 AJPW stuff. I've got a lot of projects already lined up but, I'm sure I'll make time
  15. G. Badger

    The 2010's: An Ongoing Project

    By G. Badger,


    From the Editor
    I am not one to try and keep up with current wrestling- stateside or internationally. I am curious though and will try and watch stuff that's really hyped. The emphasis is on "try."
     
    The new stuff ends up getting pushed aside by some older match or feud that seems way more interesting or less involved. New or current stuff kinda forces the viewers to keep up in order to get the most enjoyment out of it especially if I want to discuss it here on PWO. I just don't have the time to spend on trying to learn all of the "new" people and their back stories and angles they're working. I'm talking specifically about the US wrestling behemoth who entertains the world.
     
    Its a bit easier to pop my head into the NJPW fish tank since I'm somewhat familiar with their roster. I watched a couple matches from this year's Wrestle Kingdom as well as a couple Omega matches from 2017. I like him. He's fun, he's goofy but, can get serious. I like to think of him as The Joker... more Nicholson than Heath.
     
    I like that NJ has a relationship with ROH as well. This gives me a good chance to see some Japanese stars here in the States but, it freshens ROH up as well. This is something I've liked about TNA in the past. I loved the X international tournament that had DG's Speed Muscle and Rey Bucanero & Ultimo Guerrero in it. I got tired of the tired old WCW revival crap. I digress...
     
    "Current" for me is 2015...maybe 2016. That's pushing it. I'm watching stuff from 2011 and it seems pretty damn modern. I guess watching matches from the 70's then matches from a few years ago days MAY mix my brain up. What I'm getting at is that I'm trying (again emphasis on "trying") to get a little more current with my viewing. Its a project of mine for 2018. Watch more stuff from the 2010's...which is crazy since the decade is winding down!
     
    I've got a list of a bunch of unwatched matches I want to cover but, in the meantime, here are some recent favorites:
     
    Go Shiozaki & Jun Akiyama vs SUWAMA & Takao Omori (07/28/13 AJPW 2/3 falls match) Wow...wow! This was like watching my first Shamu show at Sea World- I'm amazed and changed as a person. Here we have one of the few reminents from Muto AJPW, ace SUWAMA and a cast off from Misawa's AJPW exodus in Omori up against NOAH's ace and Kobashi/Misawa pupil Shiozaki and Jun Akiyama. Let's all remember that Akiyama is former tag partners, champs and friends with Omori. Akiyama got to ride the NOAH wave in the 2000's while Omori was surfing relatively low tide in Zero-1 and washed up back in AJPW like driftwood. This was a battle for a lot. Omori had remade himself in partnership with Manabu Soya however. He was not someone to be kicked around anymore. This was Omori's home, AJPW had been through alot in that time and SUWAMA had been there and is still there. This isn't just his home, it's his kingdom. He had outlasted them all. Akiyama wants back in? Akiyama had been gone for 13 years. Ok that's fine but he has to earn it. Shiozaki on the other hand has no place in AJ. He's an outsider through and through. This was a battle.
     
    A beautifully long match that harkened back to the classics of AJPW '92-'96. The grappling, striking, layout and pacing were conservative. Therfore, the contest was more organic in its story progression and the escalation of aggression. The 2/3 falls usage was brillant and perhaps is what made it so damn good. It provided the wrestlers the framework to bring the level of excitement up and down, to be able to rest the fans energy only to build it back double fold. Classic Match. I had no idea that wrestling could be this good in the 2010's.
     
    Kazushi Sakuraba vs Katsuyori Shibata (07/05/15 NJPW): I watched this on AXS TV originally and the subtitled lead in and post match helped give this match great context. It's Pupil vs Teacher, Anger vs Intelligence, Ace vs Legend- True Strong Style! So, if you see this match available to watch or have it on DVD -go into it with this mindset I felt the contest was a callback to the style of Gotch, Inoki, Fujinami, Fujiwara, Maeda, etc. This is a Classical Strong Style bout and not what NJ is calling strong style OR what people consider stiff chop exchanges to be. No, this was like an actual sporting contest like Mixed Martial Arts. The fact that Saku is a grappling god made the match seem that much more real. Shibata was game as hell too! It was emotional, electric, and intense. This was a classic match and a perfect example of true Strong Style in the 21st century.
     
    Minoru Suzuki vs Hirooki Goto (01/04/18 NJPW): This had that big Dome match aura to it. Intense and violent from the get go and it did not let up. Never overstaying it's welcome, Goto & Suzuki put on a brilliant wager match.
     
    I'm glad this only had one drawn out back and forth elbow exchange and that led to the story of the match. The NEVER belt stuff always seems to be what I'm looking for. I was hoping for something like this for the Jericho/Omega match but, I'm not sure they could have topped it. This felt like a Dome main event from the 90s or 2000s perhaps. Great match
     
    Hoping to post new stuff every Tuesday for the 2010's!
  16. G. Badger

    AJPW & NOAH Matches You Might Have Missed

    By G. Badger,


    You Might Have Missed
    I'm a big giant fan of tag team wrestling. I'd say that I prefer tag and 6-man matches over singles competition. All Japan and NOAH are more known for their epic title matches but, have always had great team wrestling. I don't think that's a surprising statement however, there are others worth enjoying besides the classics. Here are some that I've enjoyed:
     
    Steve Williams & Terry Gordy vs Stan Hansen & Joel Deaton (06/03/93 AJPW): Although it was only 6 minutes & 47 seconds this match was all action. It was rather one sided though, as Gordy ambushed Hansen and the Miracle Violence Connection double teamed the whole time like it was a Tornado Tag match (maybe it was). Deaton tried his best to save Hansen but he was no match for Gordy & Dr. Death. There was no pacing or a match just a display of violence and Hansen's toughness.
     
    Kenta Kobashi, Johnny Ace & Johnny Smith vs Mitsuharu Misawa, Jun Akiyama & Satoru Asako (08/22/97 AJPW): This started out pretty routine although Johnny Smith was the clear bright point. He was very adamant about making the arm work something special. Hes British so, that probably explains a lot ??? It was different, in a good way, and helped slow down Akiyama, who was the fireplug of his team. Jun wanted to take it to Ace and Kobashi but, Smith wasnt going to be ignored. He darn near ripped the Blue boys arm out of the socket. Thats alright because he was pumped and gave the match a little depth. Stop the burgeoning contender! Now, thats not to say the other guys were slouches but, no one else brought the intensity like he did. That is to be expected in a match like this. Akiyama, Smith, Asako are the ones with something to prove.
     
    The story was about ranking and status but, ultimately the athletic competition. This set the outcome in question and was exciting as all hell. The execution, pacing and timing was flawless from all. This the type of match Id love to see at night right before going to bed when I was in high school. I'd be so hyped that couldn't sleep. I'd go through the match in my head and marvelling in how much fun it was and how awesome wrestling can be. I highly recommend finding this match to watch.
     
    Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Gedo & Jado (12/07/02 NOAH): Oh those bastards. Team NO RESPECT!!! Jado & Gedo are some nasty looking dudes. Go back and watch the match they had as Coolie and Bulldog from the 8/19/90 AJW show and scratch your brain. Ok so what happened!? FMW, WAR and all those other mid-90s Indy promotions turned these guys evil! Haha I have not a clue what Im talking about! So the match is kinda like NOAH style American wrestling. It was a ton of fun with Gedo and Jado heeling it up in all those fun US ways. This is stuff that we lost in the 90s as the brawler was phased out of mainstream puroresu because that stuff was left to "garbage" wrestling. Then the hardcore companies gave up quality brawling en lieu of mindless punching in between insane spots. So, Jado and Gedo are a call back to that good stuff from the 70s-80s. And god knows Kikuchi is all for that. Still this is 2002 wrestling so, theres some nice moves from both teams as well. Its a different match especially from this time in wrestling and its damn good!
     
    Takayama & Sano vs Misawa & Rikio (11/01/03 NOAH): People have given Rikio a bad reputation. He's not an all time legend but, he's a big dude that bowls people over and throws a mean clothesline. I cannot hate a guy that stays true to who he is. When tagging, especially with a ring deity like Mr. Green Jeans, he can be downright great! Such is the case with this bout. Stiff elbows, kicks, and knees, oh my! UWFi team vs NOAH could have been an amazing feud if only the stars aligned. Takayama and Sano are such a tough meat and potatoes type team. I always try to watch their matches when available. So, I recommend checking this one out.
     
    Kenta Kobashi, Tamon Honda & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Takeshi Morishima, KENTA & Mohammed Yone (02/17/06 NOAH) Oh sweet Jeebus this match was all kinds of fun. In the beginning, Yone seemed to collapse the excitement when he was in ring...the same with Honda & Kanemaru too for that matter. So, when things start to percolate, it just sneaks up on ya and turns into K-Hall pandemonium. It was as if the Funks with Jumbo were fighting Abby, the Sheik and Brody (fantasy dream match anyone?). I never thought that theyd get back in the ring! The highlight and focus was KENTA vs Kobashi, they brought Budokan level stiffness for sure. Oh my goodness this was brutal. Eventually, Honda and Kanemaru were getting hot and Morishima was pure ruler here too. I mean, Morishima vs Kobashi seemed just as great. If they could have generated that excitement in the slow parts in the beginning, this would have been one of those secret Korakuen klassics. Nevertheless, it is a great match and one where Kobashi is clearly the New Mr. Puro!...as of 2006, at least
  17. G. Badger

    Spotlight: Kotaro Suzuki

    By G. Badger,


    Spotlight
    A couple years ago I found out that my fiancé's college friend (who lives in Japan) was a wrestling fan and regularly goes to shows in Tokyo. Awesome! After talking, it turns out he's good buddies with Kotaro Suzuki. Holy crap, really!? Being the awesome nice guy that he is (both our friend & Kotaro), I received a signed poster and tee shirt in the mail a few weeks later. My mind is still blown
     
    I've become a big fan ever since. So, I'd like to repay his kindness in the best way that a wrestle dork with a blog can...Here's a spotlight on some of my favorite Kotaro Suzuki matches:
     
    Makoto Hashi vs Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH 06/06/03): A really fun opener for a fantastic show. This match would be great for an American TV match albeit stiffer. Recommended match.
     
    Tiger Emperor (Suzuki) vs Ricky Marvin - Mask vs Hair (NOAH 04/02/05): An excellent display of athleticism, speed, and execution. These guys work so well together. I'm really surprised these guys were never brought into ROH at the time. The wager didn't really matter too much to me but, it was amazing lucharesu. Highly recommended.
     
    Takuma Sano vs Mushiking Terry (Suzuki) (NOAH 11/05/05): What started out as just a fun match turned into something I would strongly recommend checking out. There was a neat story as it appeared Mushiking has Sano's rolling solebutt to the gut scouted. He's dodging it at every attempt. This is really smart because it has been shown to be equal to Misawa's elbow strike or Kobashi's chop. Not only strong, it is unpredictable. Sano is the master of this move along with the top rope double stomp. In combination, it usually spells the beginning of the end for his opponents.
     
    Terry (Suzuki) uses speed and craftiness against the the veteran. Smartly he works on weakening Takuma's legs with a variety of holds. This plan looks really good in pulling the upset. Sano's not out of it completely but, I'm buying a Mushiking win. It doesn't matter how much the kids are yelling for their superhero. He can only dodge that kick so many times. Really good match and two masked gimmicks in one year for Kotaro
     
    Low Ki vs Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH 02/17/06): A fun Junior contest between two guys who are brilliant on offense. Their defense was less than developed although Low-Ki showed an avenue of genius. Still this was a fun, highly athletic and competitive bout. Ki was going to win because he out ranked Kotaro but, it was dramatic and exciting. Great match.
     
    Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs Super Crazy & Ricky Marvin (NOAH 07/22/12): Well shit...they went right straight for crazy town here. I mean Super Crazy is in the match so, um I guess its to be expected...They were diving off, over, and through stuff in the first 3 minutes. The balance and timing these guys had was impeccable. There was a bit much in the end especially from Marvin who went full Chaquita Bananas with the finishers. If you enjoy the Young Bucks or the PWG style tag match, this is a highly recommended match. I won't say great but, its something Dave M. would probably give ****1/2 if it was in NJPW today.
     
    Joe Doering vs Kotaro Suzuki (AJPW 08/17/13): An under 10 minute gem where a basic story was told with great execution, move selection, and energy. Highly Recommended.
     
    Shuji Ishikawa & Daichi Kazato vs Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki (08/30/15 Union Pro): Nice tag team dynamics at work here. Kotaro was clearly the lowest man on the totem pole but, he impressed me. My favorite pairing was he & Kazato. Their junior offense was really entertaining. Go and Ishikawa were the destroyers so, it gave the bout a sense of urgency whenever the heavyweights were in with the juniors. Highly recommended match.
     
    I had a few other under the radar recommendations/reviews for Kotaro in a notebook but, its lost in the boxes of junk from my last move. Kotaro became a freelancer after AJPW and was in Wrestle-1 where he had a really awesome title match at the beginning of 2016 (03/13/16) with Minoru Tanaka. Then, another good match with AKIRA in June 2016. I believe he was then doing a lot of work with Zero-1 and is regularly working for AJPW again according to Cagematch. Looks like some really fun stuff went down in the later part of 2017 so, hopefully I'll be able to track some down and share my take on it in the coming weeks.
  18. G. Badger

    An Introduction

    By G. Badger,


    From the Editor
    I know blogs aren't the hip thing anymore. That's probably been the case for a long time actually. I'll admit that I'm out of it. Anyhow, I've been keeping a journal of my views on puroresu since I got hooked on it 11-12 years ago.
     
    I've typed a couple hundred pages of reviews in a Word pad file on a Dell desktop. Then, for some reason a couple years ago, I've regressed into writing reviews into spiral notebooks. I've got to share this with someone, right? Eh, perhaps not the seasoned wrestling fan but, the guy or gal just getting into Puro. Or maybe someone who is looking to branch out from the current NJ style which seems to have become synonymous with Puro the last few years.
     
    My goal or aim of this blog is to share my views on Japanese wrestling as well as other related styles or promotions throughout the years. Generally speaking, 1975-2015. I'm sure that I will hit upon some TNA, ROH, PWG, and wXW along the way but, that's why the blog is called Puro + More. I do want to try and cover current (2016-present) Wrestle 1 and Zero 1 via YouTube and Daily Motion as well.
     
    I'm certainly going to still participate in the Match Discussion Archives. In fact, there may be some duplication there as well as from the Obscure Japanese Indies and WAR topics. Here I can expand upon them a bit more and ramble. In no way do I want this to be a big old review dump though.
     
    I've got a schedule and daily theme set up (in my notebook of course) so, my objective is to post an entry once a day. I want to keep things varied for readers and myself. Plus, I want to keep the blog moving along so, it remains interesting for all. We all know how easy it is to start a project but, keeping up with it can be another matter.
     
    Thanks for reading. I'm excited to get started
  19. G. Badger

    Quickie: Madusa - AJW 1989-1990

    By G. Badger,


    Quickie
    I stumbled on a clip from Madusa's podcast discussing Bret Hart & Curt Hennig wrestling each other. It's pretty entertaining and I think is referring to their '91 Summerslam match which is probably a classic. And this got me thinking about Madusa's time wrestling in Japan. I went through her backlogs to see if there's any reference to wrestling the AJW women or wrestling for AJW. And lo and behold, there were a couple clips. Then that led me to want to check out if she had any interesting match ups. I wouldn't say I have sought out her matches in AJW but I never thought that they were crap either. One thing led to another and I watched a clutch of her matches from AJW in 1989-1990...one of my favorite periods of Japanese wrestling. This is a quickie so I'm just going to provide some takeaway remarks. If you're interested, go check 'em out!

    Mitsiko Nishwaki vs Madusa (AJW - JGP Final 8/24/1989) : A good match that was a showcase for both. It's only 5 minutes so there's not a lot to it but they certainly put on a good show with the time they were given.
    Mitsuko Nishiwaki & Madusa vs Yumiko Hotta & Reibun Amada  (AJW 10/8/1989 - Tag League the Best Match): You could look over this match but you'd be missing out on something really cool. They bring the action but the bring the nastiness too. Madusa does not back down from Hotta one bit. Nishikawa (Hotta's Fire Jet partner) is really good as well. 
    Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs Mitsuko Nishiwaki & Madusa 10/8/1989 - AJW - Tag League the Best Match): Nishiwaki & Madusa are a women's team that Tenryu could endorse. Just a face punching, head slapping and back breaking non cooperative tag team. If you can believe it, they are the reason you wanna watch this & not the Toyota & Yamada team. Really good stuff..that goes for this match as well as the one prior.
    Madusa, Noriyo Tateno & Kaoru Maeda vs Aja Kong, Bison Kimura & Grizzly Iwamoto (01/04/1990 - AJW) : Fun, fun 10 minute match with the heel team doing all sorts of things. Aja beating up the one guest at ring side. Madusa stiffing Aja and Aja responding. Kimura & Grizzly were generic yet competent in their heel performances . Tateno & Kaoru had some fun spots. Yeah this was a gas!
    Noriyo Tateno vs Madusa (AJW JGP 6/17/1990): Excellent under 10 minute match that's head and shoulders better than the '89 JGP match. This was full of chained moves and was absolutely what made this so damn good. This one is worth checking out! 
    I'm not going to watch it since I'm not a fan of the AJW kickboxing shoot style matches but there's Madusa vs Aja Kong 07/21/90 out there.
    Bison Kimura/Madusa Miceli vs Mariko Yoshida/Yumiko Hotta (11/14/90): A fierce frenetic fight! Keep it simple stupid with Madusa & Bison being hard hitting heels and Yoshida & Hotta being the athletic baby faces. This was just a bunch of fun...absolutely what you want for a mid card tag match.
    Aja, Bison, Madusa, La Diabolica & Xochilt Hamada vs Toyota, Mika, Kaoru, Yoshida & Moreno (11/17/90): Whoa!! This is a great 10 woman match! It's an elimination match too but the pace is fast and the action is top notch. And on top of that the final section is just awesome. You might think Madusa is the odd woman out in a way but she provides the kind of variety you want. Maybe the case of low expectations on such a match but this was sweet!
    Jungle Jack (Aja Kong & Bison Kimura)/Madusa vs Manami Toyota/Mika Takahashi/Suzuka Minami (12/01): This is very fun stuff but not much pacing or storytelling. Barely features Madusa at all. I'm not sure if there's a personal problem or maybe she was injured and she had to take it easy. It was Jungle Jack vs the other team. Definitely a respectable under card match.
    I gotta say Madusa in this period is really good...and has given me a new opinion on her as a wrestler. It's raised her stake in my eyes. Hopefully, it'll do the same for you
    Thanks for reading!
     
  20. G. Badger
    We're back with Part Four of my review of Muto's AJPW 2002. Thanks for waiting! There's a bunch of tag matches this post.
    Arashi, Dr. Death, Tenryu, Koki Kitahara, & Masao Orihara vs. Keiji Muto, Hiroshi Hase, Jinsei Shinzaki, George Hines & Kaz Hayashi (08/31): A very good elimination match that was best earlier on. In all fairness, this would have been great if it were a single fall match and kept the pace up. In this form, things dragged on too long with the younger/athletic guys like Hayashi, Hines and Orihara already eliminated. Shinzaki didn't seem motivated and well the WAR team were generally plodding except for Kitahara. All that said, this is still enjoyable but unfortunately with how they booked it, it over stayed it's welcome. It's a big show main event so I think it definitely delivered, if that makes sense. Watching it now, I would have booked it differently but I think it had a big time impact for the fans.
    Dragon Kid, Jimmy Yang & Masaaki Mochizuki vs. M2K (Darkness Dragon, Magnum TOKYO & Susumu Yokosuka) (08/31): Absolutely bananas in pajamas! Wow, this was super dialed in for 2002. The fans loved it as did I. And in all honesty, it's a chaotic spot fest that's more about "wows!" rather than "wows + story/drama" (which is something that these guys do improve on...). But yeah if you're itching for Dragon Gate action - check this out below. 
     
     
    Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi vs Genichiro Tenryu & Nobukazu Hirai (10/06) Very good 16 minute match. Hirai was serviceable. Tenryu vs Kojima was excellent. Kaz of course was whipping boy but this wasn't overdone and he was able to go off with his explosive offense. And that's where Hirai was weakest...he just didn't sell. It was fast paced enough down the stretch to ignore this but I feel like he was no selling as a disservice to Kaz Hayashi.
    Arashi vs. Satoshi Kojima (10/14): Very, very good 10 minute match. This pairing works because they can just hit each other. Nothing fancy is required. There's only one gaff but it sorta worked in the match. Arashi and Kojima did a really interesting sleeper hold section that gave this more depth than just being a slobber knocker.
    Genichiro Tenryu vs Great Muta (10/27): When Muto gives a crap, he can still put on a great match. Heaven knows Tenryu can too. They do that here. Tenryu goes after Muta/o with his own medicine plus pulls out some older offense and different tricks. Great knee selling by the Great One which really makes the second half special. There was a lot different and enough surprises to keep me entertained and interested. GAORA has this for our viewing pleasure:
     
    Dr Death & Mike Rotunda vs. Kojima & Taiyo Kea (AJPW TV 11/23) : Good match with alot to like but I felt there was too much stomp & punch filler in here. Longer matches are not AJPW's strong suit with the older guys...this was 20 but would have been much tighter at 15 minutes.
    Mike Awesome & PJ Friedman vs Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka (11/25): Super fun 11 minute match! This could have relied upon Awesome vs Tanaka nostalgia but every one wrestled balls to the wall. Friedman was the weakest but was an excellent heel sidekick to Awesome so it worked well. 
    Arashi & Nobutaka Araya vs. Mike Awesome & PJ Friedman (11/26): You're watching this for Mike Awesome... I'm not going to mince words. He is the reason why this is a fun house show RWTL match.

    Otani, Tanaka and Mike Awesome give the 2002 Real World Tag League some excitement. I'm looking forward to watching more of their matches next time. Next post will probably be my final post for AJPW 2002. 
    Thanks for reading! 
  21. G. Badger
    Nothing says "Halloween" like two grown men dressing up as skeletons. La Parka is that fun "mom made my costume" skeleton and Mortis is more like you went to Kmart and bought your outfit. Watching all of these matches should hopefully put you in a good mood. Have some candy or pumpkin spiced snacks and check these out
    Mortis vs Silver King (01/09/97): Silver King!!! This is a lot of fun. This is probably a little too even considering the size difference and everything but screw it! It's 2024 and this puts a smile on my face.
    Juventud Guerrera, Super Calo, & Ultimo Dragon vs. La Parka, Psicosis, & Silver King (06/09/97): Holy cow - spot festival to the max! This is so much fun to watch. Sure the seams show here & there but this must have been crazy to see on Nitro back then!
    La Parka & Silver King vs. Juventud Guerrera & Super Caló (06/21/97): Absolute bananas WCW Saturday Night match...so many Looney Tunes spots crammed into 5 minutes. Watch it!
    Mortis & Wrath vs La Parka & Psicosis (07/22/97): You know it's '97 Nitro because they gave them time to work some kind of match. And that was a fucking blast! Parka & Psicosis are bumping all of the place! I even this Psicosis did a purposeful botch just to take a sick bump. Make no mistake, they didn't get bowled over by Mortis & Wrath though. The big men took a beating as well. Really appreciated Mortis/Kanyon's selling too. 
    Mortis vs Psicosis (07/26/97): Saturday Night excellence - A very good mix of high flying & power wrestling. Both guys love to take risks & get creative with the offense so this was very entertaining. And who should come out post-match? but our co-star La Parka! Really dug this. Nice reference back to the previous match there.
    La Parka vs Chris Jericho (07/27/97): A full match! Good, good stuff with both guys putting on a show for the WCW Pro crowd without going spot crazy. This is the longest La Parka match so far (I think).
    La Parka vs Glacier (10/27/97): Fun match with Parka making Glacier look great by taking some great bumps. 
    Mortis & Wrath vs Steiner Bros. (11/01/97): I can't believe that this was on Sat. Night! Surprisingly even fight - it really was simple but good stuff. Big moves from both teams and a clean finish (even though I thought someone was going to run in & spoil it). Definitely worth your time if you're interested.

    Mortis vs Ultimo Dragon (11/08/97): Way too short (Nitro!) but they still packed a lot of neat stuff in here.
    La Parka & Silver King vs Public Enemy (12/14/97): Hahaha! This was a great hard core comedy match for WCW Worldwide. Lots of cool moves, excellent pace, humor...yeah shit like this was my jam as a teenager. Stuff like this is why I think of the WCW C-shows more fondly than Nitro.
    La Parka & Psicosis vs. Rey Misterio Jr. & Juventud Guerrera (12/15/97): What the fuck!? Hahaha - this is awesome! Nearly 7 minutes of double teams, tandem spots, crazy everything. All executed to perfection. Go watch this!
    Mortis vs Juventud Guerrera (01/03/98): Oh!! That was a sick match! So many crazy moves but so well paced and they worked a great David vs Undead Goliath match. This was legitimately a very good match. Chris Kanyon really knew how to work with the luchadores.
    Mortis vs Booker T (01/19/98): Oh shoot! That power bomb!! I'm not sure how competitive this was but they did a lot of crazy stuff here! Definitely worth a watch for the power bomb.
    Mortis vs Raven (01/26/98): Nitro match and this has some pretty good moments. Like Mortis baseball slide kicking Raven's nads
    La Parka vs Super Calo (02/19/98): Super Calo does a bunch of offense and La Parka makes him look great. There's not a lot of flow to this match though. There's a bunch of Calo vs La Parka matches so I'm just watching this one.
    La Parka, Psicosis & El Dandy vs Magnum Tokyo, Shiima Nobunaga & Judo Suwa (04/06/98): A bunch of fun capped off by a bunch of dives and big moves. Give these guys 5 more minutes WCW
    La Parka vs Booker T (04/13/98): Damn this was more competitive than I thought it would be. Maybe it's just me but I like WCW Booker T more than in the WWE. 
    La Parka & Psicosis vs Magnum Tokyo & Judo Suwa (06/14/98): Quick but a lot of fun! Comedy, dives and some cool double teams.
    La Parka & El Dandy vs Psicosis & Juventud Guerrera (07/19/98): Another fun match Neat seeing El Dandy in these tags.

    La Parkavs Eddie Guerrero (01/07/99): Holy cow! They gave this almost 10 minutes! La Parka and Eddie got to tell a story and have a fleshed out match instead of 5 minutes of spots. Good stuff!
    La Parka vs Rey Misterio Jr. (01/21/99): Whew doggy! Rey & Parka killed it. Both guys gave a ton here... both dudes look like they got killed on a couple moves. Definitely recommend checking this out!

    A big take away lesson is that WCW had a ton of dudes in costumes. All of those costumes rocked! That's something I think we're missing out on in contemporary American wrestling. Another thing I've learned about is why I fondly remember WCW Saturday Night and Worldwide. They had some damn fun wrestling!
  22. G. Badger

    AJPW You Might Have Missed - Muto's AJPW - 2002 - Final

    By G. Badger,


    You Might Have Missed
    Here's the final post for AJPW 2002. This covers more of the Real World Tag League.

    Otani & Tanaka vs Dr. Death & Mike Rotunda (11/27): Half shown but no idea where the other half was clipped out. No matter this was great in this format... absolutely back on track with the quality here. We get tastes of Dr. Death vs Tanaka (Tanaka taking the first real Dangerous Backdrop in a few years for instance). I'm not sure this match would hold up in it's full form since the full match time was long but if you find this in it's shorter format then you will have a absolute blast!
    Arashi & Nobutaka Araya vs. John Tenta/Earthquake & Tenryu (11/27): 6 minutes shown but I have no idea where the other 5 minutes are (again!)...it didn't look like this was edited at all. No matter it was the perfect length for these guys. Tenryu beat the crap outta Araya...two insane lariats...Tenta did his thing perfectly... Arashi assisted but stayed out of the way and Araya did his big boy moonsault...yeah 6 minutes of absolute fun.
    Mike Awesome & PJ Friedman vs Kea & Kojima (11/28): Oh yeah, this is a super fun match! We get plenty of Awesome vs Kojima which is what I wanted.  Yeah, all 3 dudes who you want to see put on a show and PJ keeps the energy up. 
    Tenryu and Tenta vs Otani & Tanaka (11/28): I was going to skip this one and am glad that I didn't! Great match! Otani & Tanaka bump so well and make Tenta & Tenryu look more dynamic than they are. And the sumo team did a great job man handling Emblem and when the Zero One guys fought back, it was electric as a light socket!! We kinda get an 80's finish but it works. Actually shown in full as well.
    Arashi & Nobutaka Araya vs Kea & Kojima (12/02? 01?): Great match for what was shown 18 minutes but they said it was longer. Screw it...this is probably the only version available so let's just go with that! And that goes for any of these matches. Kojima vs Arashi is always good because Arashi brings his best stuff. Same goes here! Kea continues to kick ass in the early 2000's. Araya even stepped his game up.
    Yoji Anjo & Mitsuya Nagai vs Otani & Tanaka (12/03): Another one where the match shown doesn't match the time but this was really good stuff. Otani & Tanaka are such a charismatic team. Nagai & Anjo bring the shoot style offense and its a nice change of pace. I've become a fan of Yoji Anjo. 
    I also have to recommend 12/06/02's Kojima & Taiyo Kea vs. Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka for the RWTL final. Unfortunately Kea gets injured. I reviewed it in an earlier post...here's a snippet: "I do think the closing portion was extremely badass. I mean Kojima vs Tanaka is worth your time and its only about 20 minutes long as Gaora shows a bunch of pre and post match fluff."
     
     

    I was gonna end things there but going for one more.
    Keiji Muto & Road Warrior Animal vs Genichiro Tenryu & John Tenta (12/06): This is here just for fun. I'm hoping everyone brings their "A game" since they are on a big show & facing familiar opponents. Muto & Animal were a RWTL team (this is probably the runners up match) but I felt they probably dogged many of the house show matches. But I'm going to give this a shot....and I am glad that I did! It is a lot of fun. Animal vs Tenta is a lot of this but its the unstoppable force vs the immovable object. Tenryu & Muto are in supporting roles. If you're an 80's- early 90's WWF adult, you'll enjoy this
    And that's a good way to end my look into 2002 AJPW. Much of my enjoyment is based on my love of the older wrestlers and seeing many of them giving it their very best, one last time. Then there's a part that sees them interacting with the stars of the 2000's like Kojima, Kea etc. It's been so long since I started that I can't do a proper summary of the year. I did miss Kawada though. WAR vs Muto AJPW was pretty cool but doesn't produce anything earth shattering. 2002 notably does feature the Tenryu vs Kojima matches (which really started pushing Kojima to the top). Kea vs Tenryu similarly. What else? Kawada vs Muto in February was a classic. 2002 AJPW is a lot of fun...it's not always the most ball crushingly brutal wrestling...but it's got it's fair share of very good & great matches. It's got some classics but what it has in abundance is good times. One could probably only get that from watching a bunch of the matches & having a fondness for the wrestlers. If you're a modern wrestling fan, this might not be something you want to start getting into. If you've been watching these guys for a fair portion of your life then, I think you'll be interested in seeing this. Sure some of the guys are long in the tooth but so are you now! I wanted to say, everything I've reviewed is online and on YouTube. The stuff without a Gaora link is part of a block of TV episodes. But search Steve Williams, Kojima, Arashi compilation and you should be able to find what you're looking for.
    Thanks for reading!

     
  23. G. Badger

    AJPW You Might Have Missed - 2011 - Revisted

    By G. Badger,


    You Might Have Missed
    Let's go back to 2011 and see what I missed the first time around. I'll post the links to the Gaora YouTube videos for your enjoyment:
    Minoru Tanaka vs Kaz Hiyashi (01/02/11): This was a very good junior battle with two legends of the style. I think they have something better in them but this was still pretty good stuff. My issue is with how they're not really transitioning control from one guy to the other. It does seem a bit like 'your turn-my turn' and I'd like to see a reason why Minoru is able to now do his arm bar or brainbuster  after getting whooped on for 3 minutes. Same goes for Kaz. And this is the whole thing. They have really great sequences planned but no good or simple way to get to them other than 'OK now we do dueling kicks' or 'now we do the turnbuckle spots.' And they are impressive and athletic on their own but putting 20 of those in a row doesn't make a great match. Watch below and maybe you will feel differently.
     
    Suwama (c) vs. Taiyo Kea (01/11/11): This was a smart match especially by Kea. He stayed focused on working Suwama's neck. And well Suwama worked Kea's ribs throughout. So I really liked that. And this was a good fight. I'd say it ***1/2 stars. Just really solid heavyweight wrestling.

    Sanada/Soya vs Yuji Okabayashi and Daisuke Sekimoto (03/21/11): This was a classic tag match in my book. I think 3 out of the 4 guys wrestle like Riki Choshu/Kensuke and the 4th guy like prime Muto so as long as they stick to that then we're gonna get a very good bout. But this is for the tag belts and they bring everything. Strong BJW is a really fantastic at this time in AJ. This isn't on Gaora  but your 'day to day movement' video website has it for you. Search it out!
     
    Suwama & Masakatsu Funaki vs Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi (05/15/11): Great inter-promotional tag battle! Hard hitting, spiteful stuff. Nakanishi does not get the love he deserves. There's not a ton to go on about here. This is exactly what I wanted and expected. Firm **** stuff

    Yuji Nagata VS Seiya Sanada [2011 Champion Carnival Battle]: Sweet sassy molassy Sanada took a beating. This was a near great match where Sanada took the pain train. An absolute treat to watch for a Yuji Nagata fan - striking mixed with grappling. He was really testing Sanada. But in all fairness Sanada really got a boost going toe to toe with such a decorated wrestler. He kept things fun and the outcome was in doubt. 
     
    KAI vs Kenny Omega (Junior League Match 2011) : Yeah this was borderline great stuff. I continue to be a fan of KAI. Kenny was pretty hit or miss. He's got his mannerisms that work in some regards. When he's selling his abdomen injury then it works but once he moved on to just selling exhaustion/punch drunk it gets a bit melodramatic. That coupled with his ability to snap out of this fatigue/stupor to do drop kicks and other cardio moves takes away from the match. He's just waiting for his turn. That said KAI doesn't get into this behavior. He is the rock of the match and doesn't get too swayed to get carried away. I originally ordered a DVD with this match but got sent the wrong one (which features the awesome KAI vs Kanemoto match). So it was nice to see this finally but am quite happy that I got the Kanemoto match instead.
    ---
    A pretty fun little project. Definitely seek out the Soya/Sanada vs Strong BJW tag match. Then go watch the Nagata matches. The links are above so you've got no excuse
    Thank you for reading!!
  24. G. Badger
    I'm going to dig into wXw's 2010 16 carat Gold Tournament but, am only a few matches in. This is what I've got so far from Day #1:
     
    Ares vs Matt Jackson: Fun 8 minute match with a bit of comedy from Ares.
     
    Munenori Sawa vs Paul Tracey: I'm not familiar with Tracey. Sawa looked good and Tracey was OK. 7 minutes and better than the first bout.
     
    Yuji Okabayashi vs Martin Stone: Best match so far. Very good to see grappling here in this setting. Simple but, effective stuff. Stone gets the upset with a DDT. Recommended first round match.
     
    So, another project of mine is to take a look at 2010's AJPW. I'm going to try and cover it chronologically but, I've got to go back and rewatch a few things since I've lost my one notebook. Anyhow...
     
    SUWAMA, Masakatsu Funaki & Takao Omori vs Seiya Sanada, Taiyo Kea & Manabu Soya (09/25/11 AJPW): This is exactly the exciting, hard hitting match that I hoped it would be. It never treads into parody of former AJPW or NOAH territory with unneeded strike battles or meaningless machismo. The characters play their part during the 20 minutes of action. Highly recommended match.
     
    Koji Kanemoto vs KAI - Jr. Tournament Finals (09/25/11 AJPW): Holy crap! This was awesome They really beat the crap out of each other. KAI is a guy that I've seen a couple times and liked. I'd not yet say, "Hey gotta search out me some KAI footy!" but, he is one to watch. Koji worked on the leg here, setting up for his Ankle Hold. KAI did very well in selling the leg damage (even though he did do some flying moves). I felt he sold it enough within the narrative: He's young and he's going to work with the moves that got him to the finals.
     
    Koji was punk as fuck and the A+ worker that he can be- especially as the tough vet. The match featured loads of stiff strikes, variety and smarts. Both guys were battered by the end. It was a true contest for something important and a classic match in the Jr. tradition.
     
    Kaz Hiyashi & KENSO vs Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto - RWTL (11/26/11 AJPW): KENSO is another guy that I've come to watch for. He's kinda a heel and uses his belt to choke guys. I like this kind of guy in the 2010's. He's got some moves but, is much more of a character than a world class athlete. I'm kinda tired of guys that are young athletes but, rely upon a gimmick rather than their abilities. They work a parody gimmick but, have no idea how their work matches up to their character. So, they do a bunch moves that their character would/should not do. KENSO is a guy where he's got a charisma about him without being a cartoon character with a 100 moves.
     
    Anyways, this match was one long finishing run at 11 minutes. Very exciting rush match. Minoru & Koji are cocky jerks taunting KENSO until he has to smack the taste outta their mouths. At this run time, I highly recommend watching this. Its just good stuff.
     
    Takao Omori & Manabu Soya vs Seiya Sanada & KAI - RWTL (11/26/11 AJPW): Here's that KAI fella again! Omori & Soya have teamed up here as Wild Hearts. The thing is Sanada & Soya were tag partners just a few months ago. Not sure who wanted the split but, they square off right at the bell. Seiya goes for speed and shocks Soya. KAI's in there and they go for the double team. These two young guns look dynamic as all get out!
     
    Oh shit! They are fighting in the stands now. Old man Omori's out there choking Sanada with a child's parasol! Hahahaha! Back on inside the ring and KAI's trying Soya but, come on dude! Manabu is a freaking caveman...and not the Fred Flintstone type either.
     
    Omori gets in there and wisely slows things down with KAI. The K man eventually finds an opening to get Seiya, the fire plug, going. Omori's had enough and puts big Soy sauce in there. Hey, deadlift suplex a motherfucker, Soya! This is a real back and forth match. Omori's trying to Axe Guillotine Driver KAI off the top now. Great! erase his head from existence!
     
    Just tons of double team destruction but, surprisingly never goes into bonkers territory. Both teams were very impressive. This was a great match.
     
    Crazy enough, that was not the main event of the night! I'll get to that next week
  25. G. Badger

    AJPW You Might Have Missed - 2001 - Final

    By G. Badger,


    You Might Have Missed
    I'm back with the second half of 2001...and I bring you more reviews & Gaora videos
    Dr. Death & Mike Rotunda (The Varsity Club) vs. Kojima & Hiro Saito (06/08/01 AJPW PPV): 11+ min match that was 100% action. Obviously Mike Rotunda (even in '01) is going to bring good stuff. I was worried about Saito but no! He was really good. I think he was perhaps as good as Tenzan at least. Another great k.i.s.s match. This easily could have been a match from 1991 instead of 2001 but I find nothing wrong with that at all.
    Masahito Kakihara & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Yuji Nagata & Shinya Makabe (06/08/01): All Asia tag titles on the line and shoot, this delivers! Just about 13 minutes of action... obviously this is more UWF kick & grapple style. That change of style keeps this from blending with the Varsity Club tag...but this is every bit as great. Heck this was better as they didn't keep it simple but really swung for the fences at times and connected. This is a hidden gem for sure in my book. Holy cow, Gaora has this match up!  Didn't see this until watching elsewhere. Here it is:
     
     
    06/08 had some really short but sweet tag matches but also features the great Muto vs Tenryu main event plus Kawada vs Tenzan. I've seen their Jan. 4th '01 Dome Show match (which is really good) so this is a follow up. And I can't skip it. 
    Toshiaki Kawada vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan (06/08/01): It's exactly what you want from these two - chops, headbutts, kicks to the face. No injury story here..really just Tenzan has a big stone head. And that works because both guys really blasted each other. Tenzan's spinning heel kick damn near knocked Dangerous K silly. You better believe he connected with his gamengiri kicks in response. A definite departure in pacing from the tags but where those were a go-go style this was more deliberate and savage.
    These matches coupled with a great Muto vs Tenryu main event which I reviewed last year... this honestly was a great show for All Japan!
    Muto vs Dr. Death (07/14): A great drama match for the Triple Crown. And that drama was derived from Muto selling his bad knees. I thought this was a good twist on his normal attack plan. Instead it was he who would be in pain. He did an excellent job in selling this story to the fans. He would roll out of the ring to safety. He'd collapse on the Irish whip. And it was made better by Muto going for big moves out of desperation. And let me tell you that point of desperation felt real as this was one of the best singles performances by Steve Williams in '00-01. Gorilla Press slam, Doctor Bombs, Dr. Death Backdrop, release Tiger Duplex etc. He wasn't half steppin'! The finish wasn't my favorite as it wasn't as clever and emotional as the rest of the match. Watching again, I think it looked like it was kicked out of and was a flat finish actually... it didn't have that big dramatic effect. Nonetheless, it was a great match. 
    Genichiro Tenryu, Yoji Anjo, Arashi & Koki Kitahara vs. George Hines, Johnny Smith, Nobutaka Araya & Toshiaki Kawada (10/08/01): Well this one almost was skipped over. Holy cow AJPW vs WAR is on! Having George Hines in this as an AJ rep is weird but the fans like him & I like him so it's cool Fuyuki I think wanted to be the ref (Fuyuki in FMW style) and Kawada fucking kicks his face off! Yes!! Things get kicked off this way and although we only get half this is really good stuff. Kitahara vs Kawada is criminally brief and in this edit I'm not sure we see Johnny Smith wrestle. Nonetheless, this is a blast to watch. Arashi/Isao Takagi kinda gets a bad rep but he's perfect in his role as tough old sumo turned pro...I dug him in late 80's/1990 All Japan and he does his thing here. Looked up George Hines and he wrestled as Jackie Fulton (Bobby's real brother) and as The Eagle...damn that's why he's so good...here I thought he was some younger guy
    Genichiro Tenryu & Yoji Anjo vs. Keiji Muto & Taiyo Kea (10/22) WAR vs Muto's AJPW...Kea would be very loyal to Muto once the Baba's were no longer associated with All Japan. He would leave AJ to join Wrestle-1 in 2013. So this a strange match historically (as is much of this time)...Kea at this point is one of the main loyalists and Muto pairing with him bolsters his commitment to AJPW (which is true). It's a that bummer only half is shown but damn this was great! Looks like it was joined in progress half way in. Kea absolutely plays a big role in what makes this great. Along with new ring gear, he's really stepped up his game here. Tenryu and Anjo make a great team of old surly hard-hitters. Muto of course is Muto but it is different than what anyone else is doing so it absolutely works. He pulls out a really awesome spot that reminds you that he can be a fantastic in ring worker.
    Genichiro Tenryu vs Taiyo Kea (10/27): This goes 11+ minutes but did they count the intros in that time? What I saw was 6 minutes and I couldn't see a clip. Anyway this works even at 6 minutes because Kea looks like he's trying to knock Tenryu the fuck out. Tenryu must have told him to lay it in because Kea goes for it. This was too short to rate fairly but it was a lot of fun!
    Kawada vs Fuyuki  (10/27): Oh yes, I dug the heck out of this! Fuyuki still has it here without a doubt. I'm A fan of his but I'll tell you his best work isn't in FMW at the end of his career. Here back in AJPW, he is the Fuyuki of old...even though pretty overweight. His strikes looked great and lord knows Kawada wasn't holding back. Kicks, chops, slaps, lariats...A great 17 minute battle between for former Footloosers. Gaora has this for our viewing pleasure:
     
     
    Muto vs Chono (10/27): This was a gritty hard fought match. That's something that I always like about Chono. He kicks you in the face and grinds you down with joint locks then stretches & chokes you out. Muto definitely brings his 2001 A-game...facing his rival here feels like a big deal. I thought this was a great match. Different than what's come before tonight... definitely more NJ style (obviously) but still quality. Again, Gaora has the goods below:
     
     
    10/27/01 seemed like a pretty sweet show!
    Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Keiji Muto & Taiyo Kea (12/07): Only half shown unfortunately but what was shown was great. One of my favorite parts was when Kea and Muto assassinate Kawada's knee caps :D. Oh man I wish that we got the full thing as it was in that golden zone of 17 minutes.
    We definitely see a big step up in the quality singles matches from 2000. The AJ vs NJ stuff (Pro Wrestling Love) is definitely a big help. I think there's the opinion that Kawada drops off after the NOAH exodus but it just isn't true. He definitely embraces working with the New Japan guys and raises their level. I think Muto & Kojima definitely see notice as they both get a metaphorical shot in the arm working with Kawada, Dr. Death, Muto & Tenryu. Tag bouts are the bread and butter of AJPW which is great for a tag fan like me. It reminds me of late 80's - early 90's AJPW in that regard. Call me surprised but, I really dig this time period of All Japan. 
    If you want to compare 2001 AJPW & NOAH, AJPW is wrestled more in the style of late 80's - early 90's heavyweight (Jumbo, Tenryu, Riki & co.) with a focus on big time matchups while moving a couple key loyalists up (Taiyo Kea most notably). But there's still a focus on older talent like Tenryu, Kawada, Dr. Death. 2001 NOAH is late 90's AJPW style but with more emphasis on pushing younger or mid card talent into more prominent roles than they were in while at All Japan. The talent in pool at NOAH is much deeper. AJPW has a couple high end talent supported by mid card talent that makes up for their lack of talent/abilities by giving it their all. Their under card (if shown on TV) really doesn't get much time...it's treated as filler for the live shows.
    I'm really enjoying this period of AJPW. I won't lie though. A good deal of my appreciation is from being able to watch it for free. Being from the VHS/slim pickings/making every purchase count era, I'm not sure I would have given these the time of day. Like if it was a choice between NOAH & AJ, I'd probably would have gone with NOAH just because I'd think my chances were better at seeing a classic match or something. That's not to say I like this era of AJ more or less than NOAH. It's just far less flashy.
    Anyhow, I'm going to push forward into 2002 but am going to watch a few of my DVDs first. I'm not doing great watching my backlog so I've got to get back to that. But after that, I'll be back to Muto's AJPW.
    Thanks for reading! Definitely check some of these out!
×
×
  • Create New...