G. Badger

They don't call Mitsuhiro Matsunaga "Mr. Danger" for nothing! Along with Jun Kasai, he's got to be my favorite death matcher. I'm not positive but, the Bed of Nails has to be one of his signature death matches...although they aren't always the most spectacular. The fans love it so, I guess they keep doing it! Of course, they probably take too far nowadays but, here are some goodies (baddies?) with Mr. Danger! Leatherface vs Mitsuhiro Matsunaga (Original Spike Nail Death Match) 12/20/92 W*ING Eh this was just alright... Leatherface was pretty bland on offense and frankly Matsunaga was as well. At least I can sense his kicks being harmful rather than Leather's paltry punching and stomping. They tease the nails, kill the heat by incorporating a knee brace story element, and the match ends with one guy rolling onto a single nail board :-/ Mind you they (W*ING) have set up like 5 boards on each side of the ring so, it really looks they're trying to put the 'death' in death match but nah...1 board and then they (W*ING wrestlers) carry the defeated man off in a blanket like volunteers carrying a rehabilitated dolphin back to the ocean. Its Matsunaga...he lost...am I spoiling anything at this point? So, I found the rematch with higher hopes. 5/5/93 Spike Nail rematch So, the rematch was better. The general offense was pretty lame and meandering but, they teased the nails a lot better this time including fighting on the apron. Leatherface went off the top rope a couple times which was an improvement. This finish was a lot better and appropriate for the stipulation. I won't really recommend this match in full form but maybe a clipped version is out there worth checking out. Yuki Ishikawa vs Mitsuhiro Matsunaga (Bed of Nails Death Match, 05/14/99 Battlarts): I thought this really good for awhile as they were teasing the bed of nails so well and the non-wrestling was very good in getting across just how much they wanted the other guy to eat it but, it was not to be. It turned into poorly executed slice and dice and then was over. No one took the nails which was a bit of a letdown since they were teased beautifully. *** but at one point 4 stars, if that makes sense.

Work was busy and the weather was nice so, I didn't get around to watching day #2 of wXw's 2010 tournament I thought about skipping today but, figured I'd share my take on the most popular wrestlers not in WWE- Kenny Omega & the Young Bucks. Although both are sort of the antithesis of the blog as they are just so darn well known and praised by Dave M. And that's cool because I do like them both. No, they're not my favorites or wrestle according to my stylistic preference. But, shit they make it fun and sometimes even great. Tetsuya Naito vs Kenny Omega (NJPW 08/13/2016): I liked this one especially towards the end. All in all this reminded me of a souped up 90's NJ Jr's. match. Didn't get the spitting schtick but, whatever... I'll say this: selling a hurt leg is easy to do. Hop around a little, rub the knee etc. but, selling it well is much more difficult. Omega did a pretty good job down the stretch with nice little touches especially toward the end. Was it Kawada-like? No but, I was believing in a submission... So much modern offense is based on running and jumping that basing a match of a bum wheel can be a recipe for junk but, I have become more lenient in my judgements though. I will give Omega credit for sticking to it as best he could based on his style and the current NJ style. I mean he very well could have blown it off by hulking up, calling upon his fighting spirit or whatever but he did not. Naito was excellent in his selling too...just in a more generalized fatigue/brain damaged kind way. Some of the looks he made after a big move or counter were priceless! So, overall it got me engaged and invested. I bought the leg damage and thought it was a great match. Glad I went out of my way to watch it! The speech afterwards was a nice bonus. Go see this! Kevin Steen & Super Dragon vs Young Bucks (PWG FEAR 12/10/11): The outset of the match appeared to one sided. The hefty Super Dragon & even heftier Steen were mauling the Jackson Brothers. Elbows, punches, chairs, you name it. Obviously, the Bucks mount a comeback and we get one brutal hardcore match. What makes it so special (in addition to Dragon's return) is the intensity that Steen & Super brought. It legitimately looked like they wanted to hurt/kill the other team. The Bucks were heel but, man they garnered sympathy. Every move even if just a punch or stomp gave a little hope that they would survive. It even looked like they had a chance of winning when they'd isolated Steen from Dragon. Its a wonder no one was hurt more than they were. A really well done hateful No DQ (Guerrilla Warfare) match. No glitz no glamour. Kenny Omega vs Hirooki Goto (NJPW G1 Climax Final 08/14/16): I watched this match twice since I saw that people gave it ****3/4. Here are my thoughts from both viewings: Omega is charismatic and his mannerisms and expressions are indicative of a character he's playing rather than "himself." He engages the crowd very well with these attributes which have a tinge of dark humor. It's fun to watch. I am a fan of Goto especially in his IC fights with Nakamura. I thought this would be similar since Omega is playing something like Nakamura's but, Goto came across as bland. He was not as stiff and or intense as I would have liked. They could have traded out Goto for any big/strong wrestler as I felt this was all Kenny. Watching this made the Naito match all that more worth watching again. All in all this was a great match with the powerbomb fake out and the tributes to Ibushi and past Bullet Clubbers. I was hoping that they would play more off of Omega's knee from the Naito match from the previous night...that would have been awesome and a recipe for a classic but, i just had higher expectations than what this turned out to be. Great match nonetheless! Generation Me vs. the Motor City Machine Guns (Full Metal Mayhem match, Final Resolution TNA 12/05/10): This is a recommended TLC match which I'm a little down on as a gimmick. Oh excuse me...Full Metal Mayhem® match! Duh! I liked this mainly because they keep the action moving despite the death trap made in the middle of the ring. The MCMG provide some psych in building this too. "Oh man, I can't get both belts! Its too tall for these ladders!" The Bucks are restrained in their shenanigans but, bring the Indy wackiness. The Guns wisely abstain from their combos (either due to age/injury or a stylistic choice). They still go off the turnbuckles and stuff but, it wasn't a Junior acrobatic type train wreck. And it wasn't a plodding "set up the high spots" match either. I liked it a lot actually. Should mention: Sabin damn near fell off the contraption after the match. Now I will sing Kenny & the Bucks to the tune of Sir Elton's 'Benny & the Jets' Come on and join me!

Ah Big Mouth Loud we hardly knew ye! Now twelve years passed and you are forgotten by all but a few! Seriously though, I remember hearing about this promotion and not knowing what the hell it was about. I think my understanding was that it was a shoot style group. I no longer was into that so, I walked away. Recently however, I'd come across matches recommended by YouTube. Kurisu vs Kudo isn't shoot style! OK, this is something I've got to take a look for myself. It does start out as more shoot based but, ultimately its not really a promotion as much as it is a series of high profile Indy shows. So, it becomes whatever it needs to be based on whatever talent is booked. Its more like NJPW in that regard. Well, older NJ. I haven't seen every match but, these were best that I saw. For those interested there is a thread in the Microscope section here with more details and such: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/36227-big-mouth-loud/ My reviews below are there but, I've consolidated the best here: Kazunari Murakami & Kensuke Sasaki vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Minoru Suzuki (04/19/06): Wow, this was fantastic! Awesome character & heel work from Suzuki and Fujiwara. Sasaki had minimal in-ring time but, was maximum in his effectiveness. Match showcased some comedy, hard way blood, and a really satisfying finishing stretch. Fujiwara at 100 years old here still was very very dangerous and didn't hold the match back one bit. Great match! Katsuyori Shibata vs Katsuhiko Nakajima (04/19/06): Battle of the young stars in K-Hall! Kicks, slaps, elbows and all the other stuff you'd expect outta these two lads. 'jima is outranked and outclassed in 2006 so its a lotta guts and guile from him...well and kicks...he does kick a bit. 12 minute match is just right. Nice compact stuff. Not sure I would have booked this after the tag but, Shibata is the ace so to speak. Highly recommended. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Munenori Sawa (07/02/06): Hot damn this was nifty UWF in NJ type match. Plus its around 7 minutes long so, its all good stuff. Nakajima looks badass in it. Highly recommend checking this one out. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kazunari Murakami & Yuji Nagata (08/20/06): This one, the last match of BML did not disappoint. It is all the striking grappling goodness that I'd hoped for. Minoru Suzuki and Takayama are total awesome destroyer heels. Referee Wada even won't put up with their crap. Nagata is the awesome hero. But, man Murakami was great too. The finish is good but, after the bell was rung and Suzuki starts redecoration of K-hall, that's when I thought this was a damn great match. I'd like to rewatch it because it seems like it could be a mid 2000s Indy classic.

I'm no computer wizard but, uh man, Skynet has taken over wrestling taste making!

I really enjoy puro from the late 80's so, I'll admit that I probably get more rewatch value from pre-Jushin Liger Yamada than most. I think when I think about his work with and without a mask, he's probably in my top 10...I think! There's been a backlash against the 90's NJ Jr. style but, I've also seen that with the 80's Jr. stuff as well. That's cool but, that ain't me. Keiichi Yamada vs Marc "Rollerball" Rocco (09/01/87): JIP, All action plus a leapfrog face to the nuts spot! Yes! This is PWG style complete with Shooting Star Press in '87! Go see this! It's timeless fun stuff plus short. Yamada & Nobuhiko Takada vs Rocco & Owen Hart (09/07/87): Headbands, flashy jackets, it's 1987 alrighty! The Japanese team come out to the Rocky Theme. Oh snap, Rocco's got a studded leather glove like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. British Metal in full effect sucka! Starts fast with Yamada & Rocco but, Takada's in soon. Fan's chants are loud as a jet engine. Owen's in with the T-man. It's a little slower but, still great. Yamada and Rollerball are back and again they are working cobra quick. This is frenetic yet, beautifully executed wrestling. All 4 guys are cardio machines. The finish, while not my favorite, works for this match. I would have liked something ultra brutal or cool but, it'll do Really great match especially if you're open to a Junior workrate match.

Looking over this again, it comes across as a single person's (or perhaps 2-3 people's) list. Its not really like its focused on the US scene and mainstream puro after closer inspection. It's super WWE heavy, with uber pimped NJ matches from the last few years. Then it seems like randomly inserted matches from a variety of top 10 lists. Top AJPW matches from this list sprinkled here, some PWG matches from their Best Of comps with mainstream guys, some ROH matches over there, little WCW/JCP sprinkled in...So it looks like its well balanced but, its so biased. For instance, other than the Steiners '91 WO MOTY there are no other NJPW matches from the 90's...not 1 Liger match for instance. And no Tiger Mask match. So, the 90's Jr. & TM negative viewpoints have reached the mainstream fans? Edit: Never mind saw the TM Dynamite match in there But even then, I get the feeling that's the only match that the list maker(s) saw from 80's NJPW. Like OK, this is the best that 80's NJ has to offer then, that's all I need to see! I think it would have been better had they not numbered the list

A great energetic match! Hansen and DiBiase gave remarkable 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!

PWF title is on the line. Very evenly fought match between the top 2 teams in AJPW. This looked like a real competition for the title and gave those titles 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! ***1/4 seems low to me

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

Here's 1997 til 2000. 2001 kinda looks so-so and 2002 (the last year that FMW was open) didn't make the list. 1997 - (8 matches in the top 50) M. Kudo vs M. Ozaki 04/18 - #9 Onita, Kanemura & Hido vs Tanaka, Nakagawa & Kuroda 05/25 Tanaka vs Kanemura - 08/02 Hayabusa & Shinzaki vs Mr. Gannosuke & H. Oya 08/02 Gladiator, Gannosuke & H. Oya vs Hayabusa, Tanaka & Nakagawa 08/31 Hayabusa & Shinzaki vs Kenta Kobashi & Manukea Mossman 09/28 (handheld) - #5 Gladiator vs Tanaka 09/28 - #26 Hayabusa, Shinzaki, Tanaka & Nakagawa vs Kanemura, Kuroda, Hosaka & Hido 10/21 Kanemura & Gannosuke vs Hayabusa & Tanaka 11/28 - #34 Hayabusa vs H. Oya 12/05 - #45 Tanaka vs Kuroda 12/05 Hayabusa & Shinzaki vs Kanemura & Gannosuke 12/19 - #18 Onita vs Tanaka 12/19 - #36 Hayabusa, Shinzaki & Tanaka vs Onita, Gannosuke & Kanemura 12/22 - #3 1998 (8 matches in the top 50: 6 in the top 25) Tanaka vs Gannosuke 01/06 - #19 Hayabusa vs Tanaka 03/13 - #22 Shinzaki vs Gannosuke 04/21 - #12 Hayabusa vs Gannosuke 04/30 - #11 Kanemura vs Shinzaki 04/30 - #41 Onita vs K. Fuyuki 04/30 Hayabusa vs Tanaka 05/19 - #2 Fuyuki & Kanemura vs Tanaka & Hayabusa 05/27 Tanaka vs Kuroda 06/19 Hayabusa, Daisuke Ikeda, Oya, R. Fuji vs Fuyuki, Nakagawa, Kanemura & Gedo 06/19 Kanemura vs Kuroda 10/06 The Gladiator v Yukihiro Kanemura 7/10 Hayabusa vs Fuyuki 11/20 - #13 Gannosuke vs Kuroda 11/20 Hayabusa vs H. Oya 12/13 - #40 H. Oya vs Kuroda 12/13 1999 - (9 matches in the top 50) Hayabusa vs Kuroda 01/05 Tanaka vs H. Oya 01/05 Tanaka vs Kuroda 02/27 - #35 Hayabusa & Shinzaki vs Tanaka & Kuroda 03/19 - #16 Tanaka & Kuroda vs Hayabusa & Fuyuki 03/29 - #49 Gannosuke, Oya, Kanemura, Hosaka & Hido vs Ishikawa, Ikeda, Yone, Hijikata & Usuda 05/05 - #14 Hayabusa & Shinzaki vs Tanaka & Kuroda 05/05 - #25 Gannosuke, Kanemura & Hido vs Hayabusa, Tanaka & Kuroda 06/15 Tanaka vs Gannosuke 08/20 - #6 Hayabusa vs Gannosuke 08/25 Tanaka vs Kanemura 08/25 Fuyuki vs Tanaka 11/23 - #33 H vs Gannosuke 11/23 - #39 H & Gannosuke vs Kuroda & Oya 12/11 H & Gannosuke vs Tanaka & Kuroda 12/12 - #37 2000 - (3 matches in the top 50) Tanaka vs Kuroda 01/05 - #28 H vs Kyoko Inoue 03/27 Hayabusa vs Tanaka 05/05 - #32 Ryuji Yamakawa vs Kanemura 05/05 H vs Kuroda vs Gannosuke 05/28 Hayabusa vs Fuyuki 09/21 Fuyuki vs Hayabusa 09/26 - #7 2001 The only in the top 50 is Hayabusa vs Kanemura 08/11 (#10 out of 100). Just out of the top 50 is Kuroda, Kanemura, Gannosuke & Mammoth Sasaki vs Tenryu, Fuyuki, Arashi & Kitahara 12/09 at #51. FMW vs WAR in an 8 man tag sounds pretty great.

I've been really getting back into FMW from reading BAHU's FMW website. It is really chock full of great insight and history on the promotion and the wrestlers. Take a look: http://www.fmwwrestling.us Also he's been doing a podcast on the history of FMW but, this also touches on other like promotions such as W*ING. Here's his post here on PWO: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/40981-history-of-fmw-podcast/ BAHU is the master of FMW so, his top 100 FMW match list is another awesome resource that's listed on his site. I've been going over this list like all week- organizing it by year, how many top 10, 25, and 50 matches per year, how many top 100 matches the stars like Onita, Hayabusa, Goto, and Masato Tanaka have. I probably should have counted Kuroda as well! Here's the link to the original list: http://fmwwrestling.us/FMW100.html Here's my chronological rearrangement for '89-'96 but not with any ranking: 1989 Onita vs Aoyagi 10/06 Onita vs Aoygai 10/10 1990 Onita and Goto vs M. Kurisu and Dragon Master (K. Nagasaki) 04/01 Onita vs Lee Gak Soo 05/19 1992 Onita, Goto, Santo Jr. vs N. Casas, H. Boudler and T. Patterson 05/16 B. Nakano and A. Hokuto vs C. Toyoda and M. Kudo 09/19 1993 Onita vs Terry Funk 05/05 M. Toyota and T. Yamada vs C. Toyoda and M. Kudo 05/05 Ontia vs Mr. Pogo 08/22 1994 Onita vs Tenryu 05/05 C. Toyoda vs M. Kudo 06/19 1995 - (4 matches in the top 50) Ontia vs Hayabusa 05/05 - #15 Hayabusa vs H. Oya 06/27 - #29 H. Oya vs Hayabusa 08/31 - #4 Hayabusa vs Gladiator 09/05 W. Kanemura and M. Tanaka vs Haybusa and M. Matsunaga 10/28 Hayabusa, Sasuke, K. Nakagawa vs Delfin, R. Fuji and TAKA 12/21 - #47 Aja Kong and M. Kudo vs C. Toyoda and Bison Kimura 12/21 1996 - (8 matches in the top 50) Matsunaga, W. Kanemura and Hido vs Hayabusa, Tanaka, Nakagawa 01/10 Matsunaga, W. Kanemura and Hido vs Tanaka, R. Fuji, and T. Kuroda 02/23 - #27 C. Toyoda vs M. Kudo 05/05 - #1 Hayabusa and M. Tanaka vs Terry Funk and Mister Pogo 05/05 - #24 K. Nakagawa vs TAKA 05/05 W. Kanemura vs M. Tanaka 08/01 - #20 M. Tanaka, T. Kuroda and K. Nakagawa vs Kanemura, H. Hosaka, and Hido 09/01 - #42 Hayabusa vs H. Oya 09/20 Terry Funk and Gladiator vs Hayabusa and M. Tanaka 09/24 - #48 Hayabusa vs TAKA 11/16 - #31 TAKA vs W. Kanamura 12/10 W. Kanamura vs Gladiator 12/11 - #43 M. Kudo vs S. Kandori 12/11 Hayabusa vs Great Sasuke 12/11 I'll have to wait to put 1997-2002 up but, from my count Hayabusa has 46 & Masato Tanaka has 31 of the top 100 matches to their credit. Hopefully, I'll be able to get more up tomorrow in this by year format. I'm hoping to use this list as a guide to go down the Frontier Martial Arts rabbit hole

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.

But all styles aren't created equal. The fact that joshi and shoot style are basically dead, and lucha has no currency outside of Mexico, indicates that they are inferior styles, at least on a certain level. I had a similar reaction to most members when the list came out. Some stuff I could understand and other stuff I was pissed/confused about. All wrestling is not equal from a popularity/money standpoint but, its comparable to some degree and that's maybe the issue. The results were skewed because the criteria for review & the minimum material to be viewed needed to be standardized. Also the sampling pool was skewed as I gathered from the results. And really that pool was skewed only because a lack of resources and certainly not the efforts of those running it. GWE was university dissertation in wrestling level stuff. Probably beyond that to be honest...I'm sorry to see that it burned a good chunk of the PWO pillars out If its any consolation in 2018, the post GWE discussion will be as or more useful for new fans as the actual lead in or results.

I'm psyched anyone is talking about any Onita in 2018 to be honest His recent exploding baseball bat stuff is fun but, quite goofy BTW. For example: Atushi Onita, Aja Kong & Okamoto vs Bob Sapp, Jaguar Yokota & TARU - Explosion match (05/12/17 Zero-1) Also, Quack vs Claudio is a blast. The finish is kinda mind blowing IIRC.

I would have to think that Tenryu's WAR promotion has the most love themed name. Wrestle and Romance...ah yes, that is passion!! I feel like they were also Wrestle and Roses too. I could have made that up, I dunno. I love it anyhow! Other Valentine appropriate wrestling names in my opinion are the AJW tag teams Tokyo Sweethearts, Crush Gals (crush like a school boy not as in skulls) & Honey Wings. That was just an aside. Here are some of my favorite Romance matches: Tenryu, Kitahara & Masao Orihara vs Koshinaka, Kengo Kimura Aoyagi from 10/21/92 War vs NJ. Orihara's awesome opening...hell Orihara's awesome performance overall. The dude made the match. All of the Tenryu vs Koshinaka interactions...straight up windpipe chops. I love both of these guys' enthusiasm/hatred. Kitahara vs Aoyagi kicking the crap outta each other is good. Would like me to see more...The violent chaotic finish...I mean Kimura is eating chops to the face...how is that not fantastic!? Women are crying, men are shouting, Ishikawa comes out, streamers...oh yeah!! The main event to WAR's 02/14/93 show: Tenryu & Ishikawa vs Fujinami & Hase. This was a dream match for me. Marky Mark for all four wrestlers but, this wasn't some exhibition or feud transition match. This was fiery and exciting as heck! All four guys were quick and on point all match with that WAR gang rumble pace. Everybody really impressed me...this was a great match. Then when Hashimoto came out after the bell, it sealed the deal. This whole segment, or whatever you wanna call it in today's terms, was classic! WAR 05/05/97 Tenryu, Kitahara & Jun Kikuchi vs. Abdullah The Butcher & Tarzan Goto & Ryo Miyake Cage Match. Pandemonium from the get go with the heel team waiting with chairs by the WAR team's entrance. Tenryu nearly falls thru the cage at one point, he & Abby have a nifty strike exchange, Goto brings glass into the mix, Kitahara is rocking camo pants and ups his manliness quotient by 10% (like he needed it), and this is random awesomeness.

OK so, I've finished Day #1 of wXw's 16 Carat Gold tournament for 2010. Its been a pretty good day or evening for wrestling. Unlike PWG's BOLA the guys pace themselves and the card actually builds to the main event. I'm going to put everything for day #1 in this post. 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. Claudio Castignoli vs Johnny Kidd: Slower & more cerebral than any match thus far. Wrestled the traditional British style. 13 minutes of light hearted fun. Kagetora vs Nick Jackson vs Tommy End: Kagetora looks the best to me. Nick did his thing which was exciting but, Tommy was still young here...more like Tommy Beginning. I would have been OK with a Nick vs Kagetora match. 9:30 time and worst match so far. WXW DAY 1, DISC 2 Adam Polak vs Erick Stevens: Shazam! I haven't heard or seen of Erick Stevens in a while. I liked him as a really solid upper midcarder. Polak reminds me of Moby or perhaps Billy Corgan in a sparkly unitard...Yeah this was pretty fun. They're fighting on the outside. Stevens was charismatic as heck baby face here. Polak whom I've never seen before did well. Nice finishing stretch and probably the 2nd best match thus far in the night. Switchblade Conspiracy (Jon Moxley & Sami Callihan) vs Up In Smoke: Mox & Sami are tag champs. I'm liking this as I'm watching. It's clear they've got chemistry and experience working together. High energy but Switchblades slow the pace and take control. Hot tag happens but the Knifeboys retake the reigns. Sam's heel work is very good. The babies do all kinds of fun moves which is a shit ton of fun. Highly recommended match. 10 minutes of well worked exciting stuff. Best match of the night so far! Big Van Walter vs Daisuke Sekimoto: Psyched for this one. 15 minutes of hard clubbering action. I got into this one, I'll be honest. Daisuke, as jacked as he is, is dwarfed by the Big One. It was hard not to get behind Sekimoto when Walter is challenging the Japanese star to give him his best shot and the Austrian isn't even phased. Highly recommended match right here. Chris Hero vs Bad Bones: Ok, here we are. The closer to night one. Bad Bones brings an axe to the ring. The fans are pumped for Hero. I am as well but, Bad Bones cannot match him in the energy department. So, in my view, it was clear that Hero was coming out on top. This got pretty good in the end and I certainly want to see more of Metropolis' own and perhaps Bad Bones in a tag scenario in the nights to come. Pretty good wrestling and I'm sure a blast for the live crowd. I'll say I was disappointed by the main event but, I'm liking the potential for Night 2. Those should be some really good match-ups. Not only the tourney matches but, the matches with the losers as well. I think Night #2 will be better than the first.

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.

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!!

Hara is a beast! but colored me surprised Hara is the one in peril not Nakano. 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

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.

Um, that's a jump to conclusion with what I asked...its not a political comment. Its a mainstream outside the wrestling world remark... I don't watch WWE so I'm generally curious if that's the level of mainstream notice that people are talking about. She seems like the face of WWE to me already. That's why I led off with the word "honestly"

Honestly, I only know what's going on in the WWE because of PWO so, I wonder how much "they" want Stephanie to be mainstream? Like Rocky at the 2000 Republican national convention mainstream?

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. ****

Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Tatsumi Kitahara & Shinichi Nakano (02/14/92 SWS): Tenryu looks jacked here. This was good but, a little one sided for me. Tenryu & Hara really beat the shit outta Nakano (AJPW payback?). This just got a little too samey for me to be really good. Kenta Kobashi & Junji Izumida vs Genichiro Tenryu & Shiro Koshinaka (12/04/05 NOAH):I'd consider this an overlooked gem especially for 2005 Noah. So much hard chopping machismo fighting spirit stuff came from 2005 Mr. Kobashi that you wouldn't think he was capable of anything else. ...and you wouldn't be totally wrong but! his mini feud with Tenryu in 05-06 showed us that Chopbashi was capable of garnering different emotions from fans/viewers other than, "Chop him dammit! Chop him Kobashi!!" and "Oh he's dead..." This is like a WAR match because you got Tenryu, Koshinaka, and Jun Izumida (not sure if he was in W-A-R but, he's built for it) and this was wrestled in this style. So, no head drops, apron moves, moves at all per say...this is all punches, chops (come on its Tenryu-Kobashi) and laid out so well that's it probably the most fun yet serious Noah match Kobashi had outside of his defense vs Ogawa in '03. Ass chops, Tenryu throwing shit, Izumida eating potatoes like its Thanksgiving, Koshinaka still ruling in '05, brawling after the bell...and Kobashi chopping people dead. Great match

Fang Suzuki vs Sumie Sakai - Chain Rope, Chair pit & ladder match (12/29/2000 JD'): Not sure if that's the official name of the match...but, it presents a helluva visual, right? This was a great match. I'll just say that right off the Louisville. There were dives, blood, moves on the chairs...it was right there with ECW, FMW, or WWF at the time, in terms of inventive gimmick and actual execution. Even better, they didn't give us the fucking tour of the arena as was the fashion of the time. I liked that then, I won't lie but, only if it seemed organic. I've seen quite a few fights where there is pretty much zero reason to traipse amongst the ticket holders. Anyhow, this was Sumie kicking ass and Fang being an excellent foil. The real joy of the match is in the surprises. They had every right to milk the stips and stomp & headbutt their way into a couple highspots and bloodlettings. I don't want to spoil this for anyone. I will say the finish wasn't my favorite but, was an emphatic end to a war. Great stuff. Susumu Yokosuka vs Milano Collection vs Touru Owashi vs Dragon Kid - 4 Way Elimination Match (08/28/04): Fantastically fun 4 man match! Although it took me a minute to figure out the gimmick w/ the turnbuckle & the hidden golden tickets. What is this Willy Wonka Wrestling!? Really cool match that was pretty crazy once things got goin' and goofy in a good way at times. The stiff lariats from Mr. "Too Many U's in my Name" really helped make this a legit match & balanced the goof troop stuff...so it was real fun, dog