G. Badger

Kawada was very good as part of Footloose & Revolution but, I'd say autumn of '91 is when the Dangerous K light got switched on. October specifically leading into his Triple Crown challenge against Jumbo. He moved past his top rope moves and spin kicks from his Footloose days and firmly settled into the character he'd be for the remainder of his career. Matches would be 09/04/91 tag, 10/10/91 & 10/15/91 6-mans, and 10/24/91 TC. As far as when someone went from good to bad, eh I can say when Paul London left ROH in 2003 at Death Before Dishonor. He was on par or perhaps better all around than Danielson, AJ, and Samoa Joe at the time but, no one is gonna say that now.

It took me a damn while but, here we are. The conclusion to 2010 16 Carat Gold Day 2. Main event: Steven Douglas vs Absolute Andy: I started out liking this match but, I'll cut to the chase. This was the worst match that I have seen in a long time. The main detraction was being so fucking long. I can handle a little bit of bad...I watched Baba & Rusher vs Kimala & Abby from '89 the other day for instance. That was relatively brief and knew what it was as a match. This thing...holy shit. It was amateurish and a poorly executed self conscious epic. I don't know who gave them over 15 minutes and the main event slot...considering how good the rest of the night was. I could sorta excuse their execution issues (Andy mostly) if the NO DQ stuff was a bit more brutal. Make this a deathmatch or something! Instead we got the same old tired chair stuff and sheets of particle board for tables!? I couldn't fucking watch anymore. If they would have cut the B.S. down to 15 minutes this would have been a fun match but, this was an overlong turd. I wish I would have known ahead of time and saved myself the trouble. Ah well, I guess that's why we take chance and watch these things. I will add insult to injury and say if this is the standard of most wXw matches then, this is not my type of wrestling company. The fact that this was a world title fight doesn't give me much confidence in wXw. The shows thus far have been above average but, most have been non roster match ups. The DVD set has been worth the purchase price. I'm just really surprised that they would put on something this "local armory/VFW hall Indy" when you've got Chris Hero & Martin Stone putting on a great match right before.

AJPW CLASSICS # 174 Masa Fuchi vs Joe Malenko (01/20/89): This is for the Jr. title. I think it's the PWF Jr. title...that sounds correct. Anyhow, if you've seen either guy before and have enjoyed it then, there will be no disappointment here. This played up to both guys strengths as it wrestled in sorta a traditional title match style. Seriously, you'd be surprised if I told you this match happened in 1989. The only give away would perhaps be the last couple minutes. However 80% of the contest was on the mat. Fantastic mat grappling with 2 or 3 rope breaks total. They're working the holds and escapes, not crawling. Crawling is for babies. Look at Joe! He's a spokesman for Hair Club for Men goddammit! He's a man not a baby! Howabout Fuchi? Howabout Fuchi! Pockmarked and middle aged, he's no baby either! Babies want their bottle...the only bottle these men want is a cold golden bottle of beer. Preferably while celebrating in the locker room with the title you son of a bitch! Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs Abdullah the Butcher & Giant Kimala (03/08/89): I passively watched this...I did an email, played with our cats/chased them off the furniture, etc. Baba was the best, if that's an indication. It's not actively bad but, it's just filler. I get why they put these on the shows especially relatively recently after Baba passed away. It think these were aired in 2000. Great Kabuki & Kenta Kobashi vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (09/15/89): I think the date on this might be 09/15/88 actually. I say that because I think the same Sumo wrestlers are sitting front row and center for that match in Korakuen hall. Also, it seems kinda weird that AJ Classics would be showing matches from Jan. & Mar. and then, September. Everybody goes together like peanut butter and jelly. Kobashi is pretty much brand new out of training and looks fantastic. Yatsu and Jumbo are working their butts of for the K-man. That's not to say Jumbo doesn't try to stomp the youngster's head like a empty can of High Life. Kabuki plays a great mentor/spoiler that Olympic can't quite get a handle on. We actually get a KA-BU-KI chant...how awesome! Plus the soon to be iconic KO-BA-SHI! makes an appearance as well. I really dug this match. It build up incrementally and had a really nice finish as a result. An engaging, great 89 (or 88) tag match! Edit: I checked cage match and it was 09/15/89

Watched this as soon as I read your review. This is like the 89-90 FMW dream match that never happened. Too bad it ended in a DQ but, I loved watching the trainees get swatted nonetheless! This was a lot of fun and an excellent quality handheld to boot!

Ok so the 2nd part of 1992 is not that chock full of stuff. The first half seemed like it was but, much of the year is left to handheld stuff which is not online in the free kind of way. The rest is clipped by the FMW World of F volume #3. We do have the 3rd Anniversary show on 09/19/92 commercial available. Here is the card and you tell me...if you want this in full... Kevin Faule & Chris Jericho vs Eiji Ezaki & Koji Nakagawa Eriko Tsuchiya & Miwa Sato & Kumiko Matsuda vs Rie Nakamura & Victoria Kazumiya & Yumiko Komatsuzaki Sabu v Shoji Nakamaki Amigo Ultra & Ultramancito vs Valtanian 1 & 2 Loc Matrere vs Katsuji Ueda Big Titan & The Gladiator & Horace Boulder vs Sambo Asako & The Great Punk & Ricky Fuji *Stretcher Match* John Tolos v Killer Kowalski Bull Nakano & Akira Hokuto vs Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo Tarzan Goto & Gregori Veritchev vs Leon Spinks & Brian Sayodill Atsushi Onita v Tiger Jeet Singh *No Ropes Exploding Barbed wire Death Match* Yeah, I wasn't too into this show either. Onita = FMW so the card as a whole was never a big concern. The importance of the show is that we see the match that started the interpromotional era in Joshi! Whoo-hoo! I'll get to that in a sec. This is not all in a bubble though. Remember, we've got W*ING in Japan now. It's very clear that although FMW and W*ING are considered to have two separate small but, loyal fanbases...FMW took a talent hit by losing Victor Quinones and his connections. Being a W*ING fan as well, I can say Mr. Pogo, the Headhunters, Miguel Perez Jr. all would have greatly helped Onita & co. out. The tag division became more of a focus in FMW as they had enough workers to actually HAVE a division (see Dec. FMW Street Fight Tag Tag Team Tournament). Sure, it was a way to make Onita look stronger but, eh old man Sheik (who I am a big fan of in the 70s) and Tiger Jeet Singh isn't that appealing to me. This potential for the greatness is very apparent when it was clear how awesome FMW could be by late '91 and the Mexico/USA matches in mid May with just a couple of fresh faces. Ok onto the Joshi! AJW vs FMW! Akira Hokuto & Bull Nakano vs Megumi Kudo & Combat Toyoda (09/19/92): This was clipped to 6 minutes from 14 minutes. I call bullshit but, there's a handheld available. Probably from way back in the seats or down low since this was outside in Yokohama Stadium for the explosions. What we do see on the commercial release is pretty damn good (and well spliced!). It's pretty much all the fast paced highlights. Bull & Akira knock fuck outta the FMW gals but, like Onita they show that never say die attitude. Very enjoyable and recommended stuff. Per BAHU & Steve Ayy's FMW podcast, some AJW girls were considering jumping to FMW's women's division. Of course that didn't pan out but, is probably the catalyst for the AJW owners OKing the interpromotion stuff to keep them happy as well as rake in the bucks. I was going to put a fork in '92 but, I couldn't give up all the way back in Sept. especially when late November and early December does have the Street Fight Tag tourney. It's all clipped matches but, some pretty good. Oh, they take the Street Fight stuff seriously as they're all in street clothes...jeans, tees, etc. These are the one's I wanted to watch: Onita & Veritchev vs Tarzan Goto & Big Titan (11/27/92): Even Greg the judoist or samboist is in street clothes. This is pretty vicious and fast paced but, that's clipping for ya! Onita's bulldogs on Titan are insane! Greg even's off the top rope. What!? Unexpected finish too. 5 minutes of 12:30. Onita & Greggy V. vs Sabu & Kareem Sudan: That Kareem guy is a Abdullah the Butcher clone...no for real. Like he might as well be Abdullah II. Greg & Sabu have a nice sequence of sorts. Goto & Titan vs Gladiator & Horace Boulder (12/07/92): Clipped Mayhem! This looks like the craziest shit ever due to the cut & paste job. Seriously...tables, chairs, fighting amongst the fans, off the ropes, dives...It looks like the last minute or two is show unaltered. 4 minutes of 6:52 shown...c'mon just show the whole thing, right? Onita & Veritchev vs Goto & Big Titan (12/07/92): Tournament finals here and they are a no-rope barb wire and barb wire board (on the floor) match. Good start but, the faces get like 2 offense moves in here. I'm waiting for the Big O headbutt-DDT comeback from nowhere but, it never comes! Like wha!? really? Clever finish but, 6 minutes off about 11 are shown. It's from the same night as above so, it's allowable. I could see diggin' this in a commercial tape format. Onita theatre after the match with the Wild Thing cover playing as the video goes slo-mo and in black & white for that added mother fucking drama. O-NI-TA! It's a suitable close to the year of '92. It's not as stellar as 1990 nor as innovative as 1991 but, it's growing as a company. That much is clear. Just not a ton of complete footage. Here are the possibly worthwhile matches only available as handheld that would have been wonderful if the FMW tape people should've put to VHS. Atsushi Onita, Sambo Asako & Mr. Gannosuke v The Gladiator, Sabu & Horace Boulder (06/26) Atsushi Onita, Sambo Asako & Mr. Gannosuke v Big Titan, The Gladiator & Sabu (07/19) Atsushi Onita, Tarzan Goto & Sambo Asako v Tiger Jeet Singh & Big Titan & The Gladiator (07/29) Looking forward to them putting it all together for a great 1993.

Santo Jr. & Casas are tearing it up in the ring & the FMW guys are wild on the outside of the ring. There is wrestling madness happening in every direction here...in the ring, off the top rope, in the bleachers, at ringside with chairs etc. 15 minutes of chaos. The pacing was set for a 2/3 falls match too so, it's at a break neck speed. I wouldn't rate this as a classic but, would say it is required viewing of some sort. The energy & intensity are so high for 1992 that's it's crazy to see. A great match. Its one I wanted to see for some time now...not as Bosch's 'Garden of Earthly Delights' as I thought it would be but, I had a lot of fun.

In late 1991 and early '92, I would say Onita's matches are NOT the "go to" stuff they were in 89- mid 91. He still is the main attraction and the company is just a vehicle for his accumulation of wealth and adoration but, other talent is developing or getting signed. Ezaki and Gannosuke are the big two that are coming up the ranks although not quite featured players at this point. The American talent is who I am considering at this time. We got Big Titan, Mike "The Gladiator" Awesome, Sabu, and Horace Boulder all really making a name for themselves at this time. Big Titan even beats Onita for the title. That's a big deal! Titan is pretty good in FMW since he and Awesome both bring a athletic big man dynamic to FMW. This is something that hasn't really been featured or displayed in the company perhaps due to Onita's limited ability to work due to his past and probably current injuries. Sabu and Boulder bring this as well. Sabu is also willing to go into the barb wire as much as or more than Onita. Tarzan Goto is coming into his own as a worker as well. He's a bleeder and a brawler but, is much more mobile than Onita. So, Onita-san is being overshadowed in my opinion. The fan base at the time doesn't care but, I'm sure they see it. The FMW fan is more about the Onita theatre than, overall match quality. I say this for the fact that Quinones and Mr. Pogo have left to help form W*ING so, FMW has brought in The Sheik (who is in his late 60's) and um Leon Spinks (ask Inoki how that went). The Onita 1992 program is kinda lackluster in comparison to '90 & '91 but, there are some highlights. I'm thinking of the FMW in North America matches. Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs Big Titan & Gladiator (11/20/91): Wild fighting amongst the fans from the get go. This is a handheld btw. Eventually, things get in the ring and this is more like traditional puro than Onita's Frontier wrestling. So, Onita is the weakest of the three. Titan and Gladiator are like a budget Steiners/Hellraisers/Scott Norton early 90's power team like NJ was doing. It is a nice change of pace to see "moves" amongst the brawling. Goto's kicking ass but, Onita's days of tope suicida-ing are gone me thinks. Recommended match for sure. Tarzan Goto & Ricky Fuji vs Titan & Gladiator (01/10/92): Ricky Fuji is on the rise skill wise. So, this makes for another recommended workrate handheld match. The highlight was Goto chest passing a fucking table into Gladiator's head. Awesome indeed! ;P Now we kinda enter clip city for what's available online. BAHU has these in full as handhelds and some may be worth acquiring. Onita, Sambo Asako & Amigo Ultra (Damien 666) vs Titan, Horace Boulder & Genghis Khan (03/20 or 03/25? 1992): This a clipped match but, here is an example of Onita still having "it." This is wild stuff! 5 minutes of 15 shown. 10 minutes of awesomeness missing or 10 of crap? Onita & Asako vs Sabu & Horace Boulder (04/23/92): Sambo is a roley-poley (rollie-pollie??) or let's say dumpy fat guy. He's not the type of guy you want to go out to the bar with if you're intent on chatting up some birds. He's not much of a wrestler either but, damn he gets the job done No rope barb wire match here and we start seeing some the the death match staples but, remember this is 1992. Hot shotting Sabu on the wire, choking him with it & eventually tossing his ass into it- he gets tangled in it much like his Funker match from '97. If you're an ECW fan, this is the era when 'Bu got all the scars. Not to be outdone Onita gets wrapped in the cut wire which is another innovation...of sorts. Mad Onita theatre at the end of this. It's 3:50 out of 14 minutes but, it compelling stuff. Combat Toyoda vs Megumi Kudo (05/02/92): Toyoda and Kudo are pretty much the ladies division in terms of talent. Alpha & Omega...the other women just aren't that good. So, these two are starting to get some notice esp. Kudo. According to BAHU, she's the #2 draw behind Onita. Just mentioning that to keep things in perspective regarding FMW's growth as a promotion despite Onita using it as a means to an end. Clips again but, man this looked really good. Kudome shows up in a pink princess gown and the Combative One ain't having that sheet. 6:30 out of 11:36 shown and certainly worth looking for in full especially at that run time. Just show the whole damn thing 1992 FMW!! Onita, Mil Mascaras & Hijo del Santo vs Tarzan Goto, Negro Casas & Giant Warrior (05/15/92): Giant Warrior is a giant waste of space here. This was done in conjunction with WWA whom Onita has a relationship with. FMW's belts are technically WWA belts (but were made up for Onita and have no history). The FMW in Mexico & US shows were done to help promote Onita internationally in the hopes that he could become an international star to some extent. I think perhaps like Tenryu & SWS/WWF. More on this in a moment. This was random fun and very lucha oriented as it was in Mexico. Certainly a dream tag team would be Goto & Casas. It was great to see them actually working together here. Frankly, Mil in FMW in '92 would have been cool. Onita & Mil vs Sabu & the Sheik in a street fight match would be a dream match regardless of ages or ability. Onita, Tarzan Goto & Hijo del Santo vs Tim Patterson, Negro Casas & Horace Boulder (05/16/92): This is the 'famous ' one as Dave M. saw it and gave it 5 stars. The pairings are much better and the FMW guys are shining through very strongly. I guess that's why this was given such a high rating. This style was relatively unseen in the States especially at this time. I mean think of '92 WWF and then watch this mayhem Santo Jr. & Casas are tearing it up in the ring & the FMW guys are wild on the outside of the ring. There is wrestling madness happening in every direction here...in the ring, off the top rope, in the bleachers, at ringside with chairs etc. 15 minutes of chaos. The pacing was set for a 2/3 falls match too so, it's at a break neck speed. I wouldn't rate this as a classic but, would say it is required viewing of some sort. The energy & intensity are so high for 1992 that's it's crazy to see. A great match. Now, the interesting part is that this match takes place in CA (I'm guessing LA). It's mainly a Latino crowd but, there are some Japanese fans there rooting for Onita. It's not clear to me if these are people that flew over for the fight or more likely Japanese Americans/exchange students/visitors who are wrestling fans. It's not important in the context of the match. It's more along the lines of where Onita's mind was headed in terms of business. Per BAHU's History of FMW podcast for the first part of '92, SWS wanted to co-op FMW, Onita, and it's fan base in this period. FMW was drawing very very well (much better than SWS). SWS was working with WWF and this in a sense would scratch Onita's back in terms of international exposure/fame and give SWS a boost in the revenue department. Ok I'm going to stop there for today I'm not going to watch/review the Sheik vs Onita stuff for obvious reasons OR Onita vs Spinks...beyond obvious. I will say- watch the Onita & Goto vs Sheik & Sabu Fire Match. It's only a few minutes and is infamous for being the first Japanese fire match AND nearly setting the ring on fire. All the guys had to bail and it was considered a draw within 3 minutes. For more details and awesome historical insight checkout Steven Ayy & BAHU's history of FMW, first part of 1992 which is my source as well as BAHU's FMW site. http://fmwwrestling.us/FMW.html Cheers!

Yeah, this was from a one night tournament. This was actually one of, if not only, times Goto beat Onita This was the best match IIRC. The setup was for Onita vs Kurisu 1st barb wire board death match from Feb. It's great BTW, I think you'll dig it.

Tiger Jeet Singh can be described in a lot of ways but technique and execution among realism isn't some of the ones I've ever heard. histocal imptace also is taken ot account I read it as "historical impotence"

This was the first exploding barbwire board match. Its all about tension and thrilling the audience with suspense. Everyone ate shit. It was great! Quinones and even a camera man nearly got blown up! Onita had a thousand yard stare- covered in blood, eyes wild like a man possessed. Its probably not the most dynamic match in the move department but, is fiercely brutal. At 13 minutes, this was really great.

Electric barb wire cage match. Its getting crazy now! Fierce stare down, dueling headbutts, and Onita takes the first fall into the cage. Oh its a Texas death match in the cage...nice! Oh shoot, double impact- KAPOW! They're cut in all kinds of places. Goto's hitting Onita hard but, the big O turns the tide. Goto hitting the cage again and again but, won't stay down for the count. This was much better than their 1990 electric barb wire match. Onita-san's transition to control stunk to be frank. He just "took over" and ran through his stuff. It was fun and still something I'd recommend but, not the absolute war the stare down teased.

Certainly a dream tag team would be Goto & Casas. It was great to see them actually working together here. Frankly, Mil in FMW in '92 would have been cool as the Sheik was there at the time. Onita & Mil vs Sabu & the Sheik in a street fight match. This match reminds me of WAR's 6 man tag tournament. Random ass teams but, basic fun.

Also check out Lee Gak Soo vs Atsushi Onita (05/19/90). LGS is tae kwon do fighter which is WAY more exciting to watch in these matches than the karate guys. And I love me some Aoyagi & Matsunaga

I think this is for their quarter final match in the wXw 16 Carat Gold tournament. This was really evenly matched and probably one of the better tournament matches thus far. Starts out with both men trying for hammerlocks or wristlocks and then, the gates to stiff strike city are opened. Chops, elbows (from Hero, duh), and euro's & haymakers from Stone. Reversals & fake outs are the hallmark of 2010 wrestling and those were here but, not to the extent that they felt contrived. Stone is a fellow I'd like to see more of. 2010 Hero has been pretty darn good. This was 15 minutes of great stuff. I'd say around the 4 star range.

Missed yesterday's post. I'm running out of suitable material for some of the odds and ends of days like Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays. Or I get distracted trying to find stuff for those days and miss the mark on my projects like today's wXw 2010 16 Carat tournament post. I came through today though! Before my laptop ran out of batteries Martin Stone vs Chris Hero (Day #2 tournament match): This was really evenly matched and probably one of the better tournament matches thus far. Starts out with both men trying for hammerlocks or wristlocks and then, the gates to stiff strike city are opened. Chops, elbows (from Hero, duh), and euro's & haymakers from Stone. Reversals & fake outs are the hallmark of 2010 wrestling and those were here but, not to the extent that they felt contrived. Stone is a fellow I'd like to see more of. 2010 Hero has been pretty darn good. This was 15 minutes of great stuff. I'd say around the 4 star range. Started watching Absolute Andy vs Steve Douglas No DQ & Falls Count Anywhere title match. My battery started dying but, this is what I've got written in my notebook: Starts up on the balcony, a trip through the restroom, up on some tables, Andy takes a tumble down the steps. This is a lot of fun so far! ECW or Attitude era brawl. Hope to watch the rest later and report it here

Yeah, I agree because of Baba's physical limitations. Baba in tags, especially in the late 80's, is very good though. This match had good reason to be bad but, it was great! I avoided watching this because of my hesitation regarding Lou's age in 1975. He's no worse than later Flair in WWE. In fact, he's probably better. 15 minutes of awesome

Not too familiar with Capture. Any details or matches you'd recommend? Sounds like a shoot style promotion?

Ditto it's pretty great Also if no one' s posted, Mutton and Ham has FMW, W*ING, BJW and a lot of death match company stuff old and new as well. Might have to scroll through since there's only a couple playlists etc. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCkZnF9kqb6Glr9tBlHWo3-w

People have soured on the 90's Jr. Style but, think its still pretty fun. This match is one that I've gone back to a few times and should be watched. There might be some spoilers below but, I tried to edit those out somewhat. Ultimo Dragon vs Shinjiro Otani (08/04/96 NJPW): I loved the beginning portion of this match as Shinjiro would not be sucked into a Magistral cradle...a possible parallel to Dynamite Kid/Tiger Mask...not wanting to be tricked into one of the lightning fast moves Dragon & Tiger respectively have at their disposal. Eventually, both guys slowed down and did the usual creative mat wrestling, which was punctuated by Ohtani trying to snap Ultimo's shoulder/elbow in an arm bar. This segment was great but the comparison to Dynamite/Tiger ended here. Too often wrestlers scoot over for a rope break rather than escape the hold. Ultimo Dragon is the king of quickness so I expect him to be able to reverse a hold or escape in spectacular fashion. It's possible that Ohtani was just too smart or too quick tonight for this tactic but I would have liked to see a proper escape only for Ultimo to be snared into a more devastating hold. Both men were equals and I think that this course of action would maintain this point by demonstrating that Ultimo is quicker/craftier but Ohtani is stronger or has more guts. Certainly this match was great despite this difference in taste. To address the general nature of the bout, strikes were stiff when thrown and execution was beautifully accurate. I just loved Ohtani's springboard moves. He really connects! The only downside, which is quite minor, is that the ending was sudden. Dragon seemed to say "Enough of this foolishness! Let's finish it!" Which was smart since the whole match Shinjiro was watching out for the flash-pin only to get out-powered. Neat twist to a NJPW Jr. classic! Rewatch: Yeah this match still is pretty great especially since the matwork is exciting. And the rope breaks didn't destroy Ultimo's cred. RE-re-watch: Oh my goodness this is still one of my favorites. It really makes me appreciate the greatness of Otani too. Hot damn is he good on so many levels. He references back to the early 80s with NJ standard bearers wearing the black trunks (Inoki, Fujinami, Kengo Kimura, UWF guys etc.) and he certainly has the mat skills to back it up. It makes me want to see this Samurai/Otani match by the wayDragon is no slouch either. He is quicksilver and really does appear to be the heir apparent to the Tiger Mask as I guess he would assume for a short time in the mid 2000s. I cant go on too much about this one. Its just one of my favorites because it does everything it needs to do and the more wrestling I watch the more my fondness grows. I crave more Otani and Dragon for sure.

The next batch of DVDs in the AJPW Classics series pick up with 1989 but, I'm not quite done with '88. Here are some more great matches from 30 years ago! Yatsu & Tiger Mask vs Tenryu & Kawada (01/23/88): This is a highly recommended bout. Good action, stiffness, and a little hardcore excitement makes this one memorable. Footloose vs Mighty Inoue & Takashi Ishikawa (03/11/88): This bout was everything amazing about late 80s AJPW- weird moves, teases, tricks, and smart work. A great match for sure! Revolution vs Tiger, Isao Takagi, & Shinichi Nakano (06/09/88): A match full of rope running, strikes, and Tiger Mask II diving. AJPW meets lucha perhaps yet, hard hitting like I hoped for. I highly recommend this match as well. Isao Takagi & Tiger Mask II vs Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (07/16/88): Oh wow! What a great match! It starts out like it'll be just OK but, nothing more. But then everyone Brings IT! (Misawa) Mask does an awesome Shiryu somersault tope. Tenryu just potatoes Isao. I've never seen anyone load up like he does here...busting Isao open. Kawada is on point with his kicks and top rope moves. This is all energy and passion. Great match! Footloose vs Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (07/19/88): Yeah, this deserved the hype it had gotten years ago. Fast & loose 80's AJ style. A very simple Jr. sprint match with many counters/reversals but, nothing flashy or unbelievable. They wrestled to win. Kicks, slaps, clotheslines... wild and fast. Plus there's a rematch! (See last Saturday's post). Great match, a classic indeed. John Tenta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Tenryu and Kawada (10/03/1988): Tenryu and Yatsu hating each other, Kawada trying to prove himself, and a person not typically associated with great matches or work rate just fitting into the mix seamlessly like a later Baba, Rusher Kimura, or Great Kabuki. In this case, John Tenta. He was so good here that you'd think he and Yatsu were regular partners. They looked like quite the force here. This is the type of wrestling that doesn't demand you set aside an hour of your time, doesn't require that you buy into the flash, hype, or gimmicks. It is just there. A simple story with straight forward action. Most importantly, it puts a smile on your face Plus! A 12/10/88 match between Kawada & Tenryu and Jumbo & Yatsu that is really good and a great set up to the RWTL final with Hansen & Gordy. Scanning through some upcoming episodes, we do come back to 1988 for some reason! AJPW Classics up, up and away!!!

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 Inoki Strong Style in the 21st century to me.

Here we are about half way through 1991. The focus is clearly still on Mr. Onita. Goto is back to the #2 and Pogo is the main heel. I found out from BAHU's podcast that Kurisu was let go in '90 for tussling with a fan. So, our camo pants clad villain is the main Onita foe. Atsushi Onita vs Mr. Pogo (05/06/91): This was the first exploding barbwire board match. Its all about tension and thrilling the audience with suspense. Everyone ate shit. It was great! Quinones and even a camera man nearly got blown up! Onita had a thousand yard stare- covered in blood, eyes wild like a man possessed. Its probably not the most dynamic match in the move department but, it's fiercely brutal. At 13 minutes, this was really great. Onita really is the king of the death match. Who else would be crazy enough to say, " yeah throw me into barb wire and have a pyrotechnic go off a foot away from my head"? Tarzan Goto gets in some bull rope fights in 1991! Oh yeah! Tarzan Goto vs Invader # 4 -Hair vs. Mask Match - Bull Rope match (05/29/91): About 5 minutes of madness. This is very good. Headbutts and punches yet a set up for the next show's match. Tarzan Goto vs The Gladiator - Bull Rope Death Match (06/15/91): This is handheld footy but, its stable and clear. So, I'm down Like the Invader #4 match, this gets going right away... No time wasted. This one is a bit longer and better fought. Awesome brings a fire. This is probably the earliest matches of his that I've seen. Lariats, slams, double juice...it's totally what ya want PLUS its not very long. Quick and to the point. Recommend watching this one! Onita vs Tarzan Goto (09/23/91): Electric barb wire cage match. Its getting crazy now! Fierce stare down, dueling headbutts, and Onita takes the first fall into the cage. Oh its a Texas death match in the cage...nice! Oh shoot, double impact- KAPOW! They're cut in all kinds of places. Goto's hitting Onita hard but, the big O turns the tide. Goto hitting the cage again and again but, won't stay down for the count. This was much better than their 1990 electric barb wire match. Onita-san's transition to control stunk to be frank. He just "took over" and ran through his stuff. It was fun and still something I'd recommend but, not the absolute war the stare down teased.

Super Strong Machine, Tatsutoshi Goto & Yoshihiro Ito vs The Great Kabuki, Shiro Koshinaka & Kengo Kimura (06/17/93 WAR): The inclusion of Kabuki made this one a must watch. Glad that I did! This was a nice quick paced brawling-in-the-ring six man. It was fun but became memorable when Kabuki's team started beating up Ito toward what seemed to be the 2/3rd mark. Koshinaka was elbowing him in the jaw, and 'buki snap punched him the in the same fashion all Strong style as the kids say. Raging Staff (Strong Machine's uncomfortably named stable) was adroit. They kept up their end of the bargain... Genichiro Tenryu vs Mr. Pogo (04/19/96 WAR): Started pretty good with Tenryu brushing off Pogo's strikes. Pogo responded, 'it's saw time brutha!' He got a couple good scrapes in along with a bulldog on a chair. Then our hero makes his comeback! Stiff chops and punches, yes! This is fun stuff!... And then Pogo quits. No, seriously he gets his shit, gets in a car, and splits. This totally seemed like a shoot...still..there was a car waiting there WCW style. Its all good because Tenryu beats the ever loving crap out of Pogo's second. The fans cheer this.

Silver King & El Texano vs Takashi Okano & Yoshihiro Tajiri (IWA Japan 03/07/95): Double plus quick lucharesu opening. Tajiri's throwing kicks even in his green pad & trunk days, nice! Texano eats a couple then, says " Hey Silver! You get in there man!" Eventually chairs are brought into the mix & it gets really good. The native team look dusted but, Tajiri is showing all kinds of intestinal fortitude & our man Okano is busting up pins like a bowling ball. Make no mistake though: This is a chunk of Los Cowboys awesomeness. Ultimately, I had little clue something this technically outstanding was shown in full in IWA-J. There's no death match stuff here. Had this been viewed by a larger number of folks at the time, it would be considered a great match in the style. I mean its probably as good as any tag from Eddie, Dean, Chris etc. in ECW from the time. Its not the "cleanest" wrestling like NJ Jr. in '95 but, it sure is exciting!

Akira Hokuto & Etsuko Mita vs Kyoko Inoue & Sakie Hasegawa (W*ING 08/02/92): Who knew this match took place in a W*ING ring? Not I, I sing! Dr. Seuss...It's a pretty darn good match too. Sure, it gets the standard W*ING buzzcut in the middle and it starts raining but, its these 4 in 1992. So, if you ever needed an incentive to check 90's joshi out this might be it: 4 greats, tag match, sopping wet babes, insane dives in the rain, and not a super long epic. Thanks W*ING! Now over to IWA Japan with a little spotlight on Takashi Okano! Super Astro vs Takashi Okano (IWA Japan 11/17/94): It was the Super Astro show so, it had lots of junior/lucha spots. Okano was good in hanging with Astro and making everything look good. Plus he added a little humor in as well. At around 9 minutes, its well worth a watch. Takashi Okano vs El Gran Apache (IWA Japan - 01/08/95): This was much more mat based than the Super Astro match. Okano again hangs in there very well making this a much more substantial match. Its less pizzazz and more of a fight. Highly recommended match. Okano has got talent. Edit: also watched these two guys from 10/16/94 but, its not paced or laid out as well. Its also in 2 parts on YouTube but, its worth just skipping to the 2nd segment. Its in Korakuen to distinguish it from the other. Silver King & El Texano vs Takashi Okano & Yoshihiro Tajiri (IWA Japan 03/07/95): Whoa! Let me catch my breath here. Double plus quick lucharesu opening. Tajiri's throwing kicks even in his green pad & trunk days, nice! Texano eats a couple then, says " Hey Silver! You get in there man!" Eventually chairs are brought into the mix & it gets really good. The native team look dusted but, Tajiri is showing all kinds of intestinal fortitude & our man Okano is busting up pins like a bowling ball. Make no mistake though: This is a chunk of Los Cowboys awesomeness. Ultimately, I had little clue something this technically outstanding was shown in full in IWA-J. There's no death match stuff here. Had this been viewed by a larger number of folks at the time, it would be considered a great match in the style. I mean its probably as good as any tag from Eddie, Dean, Chris etc. in ECW from the time. Its not the "cleanest" wrestling like NJ Jr. in '95 but, it sure is exciting!