G. Badger

Just watched a few Fujita matches last night from this era and I agree with 98% of what joeg said in the original post. Kaz is a legit badass and has a great look...I was thinking of Lesnar as well. He is a great worker from a technical standpoint... Making his stuff look legit while not hurting his opponent. His north-south knees to the head could be super dangerous if done incorrectly. The matches I liked are: Kaz Fujita vs Yuji Nagata (10/14/02) Kaz Fujita vs Katsuyori Shibata (07/19/04) Kaz Fujita vs Masa Chono (08/14/05): G-1 final I'm not sure I can get behind having him at the top of the card and IWGP champ for more than one run so I think booking was the big problem. He would be great as an 2nd tier champion like I.C. or Never champ (had those things been around then). Definitely worth seeing more of his stuff.

Davey & KENTA have a score to settle. And holy cow, this is a match! Not a super long epic with a great internal story but damn do they push the limit with the action. And let's be honest, that's what you want with this kind of fight. Tons of great strikes, suplexes and high spots...I think the pace and building intensity is what makes this special. That all culminates with a awesome finish! That really pushes this over the top to a Classic match at around 18 minutes.

ROH has this one so I'm posting it! Enjoy! This is a pretty high profile 6-man match and damn! It definitely delivered. Intense from the get-go, lots of backstory, a good face-heel start and really a stretch run of fantastic action for the last 2/3rd. This is the type of stuff you're watching old Ring of Honor for. A low end classic, I think. It's the best ROH on HDNet match so far...from what I've seen at least.

I didn't know any of that with Billy Graham and Patterson... I think I'm probably going to learn more "Dark Side of the Ring" secrets/tidbits from reading everyone's posts than from the actual show at this point. I really feel like they have exhausted the premise of the show unless they're going to get in the mud with some of these types of things. Maybe I'm expecting too much because of the early seasons...

I'm still trying to get through my pile of DVDs. A big blind spot is Ring of Honor starting with the HDNet era stuff. I'm going to start with 2009 and I'm going in with the DVDs that I got: Best of ROH on HDNet vol. 2, American Wolf: Davey Richards comp and Best of the American Wolves that was a bonus DVD compilation with Champions vs All-Stars 2011 (pretty obscure place to put a Best of Comp). I think I have 3-4 matches from YouTube. I'm not going to find more...there's way too much material to shift through that YouTube channels post..I'm kinda burnt out on hunting on YouTube. So if you're interested in finding more, by all means - go for it! I'll post links to ROH's YouTube where available. Overall, I think I've got a got sample of 2009 especially the top stuff along with middle of the road stuff to pad things so I get the vibe. KENTA & El Generico vs Nigel McGuinness & Davey Richards (Steel City Clash 2009): Ohhh shit! This was badass! Sure you get the awesome fast paced action and it's a great match on that alone. But the added wrinkle of Nigel being hurt is what makes it a classic. Davey has to fight even fiercer, KENTA smells blood but Nigel, still the champ is hurt and in a way more deadly. This is a fantastic setup to he & KENTA's title fight the following night but it's a classic match in its own right. ROH has this up so, enjoy! ...and here's the Nigel vs KENTA match from the 7th Anniversary Show the next night. It's a classic but definitely different from what you'd expect due to Nigel's arm injuries: Now let's get to ROH on HD net Vol. 2: The first couple matches are actually bonuses not listed on the case - sweet! Jerry Lynn vs Delirious (ep. 1) Fun match and a good showing from both guys. First match for ROH on HDNET. Jerry Lynn is an ageless wonder. I never understood why people had problems with him winning the title. He's been a staple of indie wrestling in the States, he's one of THE guys in ECW that inspired a generation to wrestle a certain style... and he proves here that he has the goods. Nice to see this after my ECW project. Nigel McGuinness vs Jay Briscoe (ep.2) - Man this was really good stuff. Smart work a body part match. Nigel targets Jay's shoulder ALL match. Jay does a great job selling the damage but refraining from using it. Chops & elbows with the strong arm and kicks for his big moves. Yeah super enjoyable non-title bout for TV between two of the best ROH has ever seen. ----- Davey Richards vs KENTA (Supercard of Honor IV 2009): Picking back up after Steel City Clash... Davey & KENTA have a score to settle. And holy cow, this is a match! Not a super long epic with a great internal story but damn do they push the limit with the action. And let's be honest, that's what you want with this kind of fight. Tons of great strikes, suplexes and high spots...I think the pace and building intensity is what makes this special. That all culminates with a awesome finish! That really pushes this over the top to a Classic match at around 18 minutes. Davey has officially levelled up in 2009 and KENTA in early 2009 is on a roll. ----- KENTA & Tyler Black vs Austin Aries & Katsuhiko Nakajima (Take No Prisoners 2009): This is a late addition but since this is a puroresu centric blog, I gotta see this. And very glad that I did! It's one of those ones that got better as it went along. Having seen a bunch of wrestling, surprises are appreciated and I felt that's what made this a classic. Hayabusa era FMW tags are like this just when you think you have it figured out they hit you with something different and ratchet up the pace or intensity and end things beautifully. I think this did that. I had this as a near classic for the last 3/4 of the bout but the couple minutes and the finish made this a classic all action tag. What's different than was expected in terms of characters is that Aries is in his chicken shit heel era. So this isn't badass 2004-2008 GenNext Aries but you know what? It works because it makes this different and eases you into the match. Shit that's too serious at the start puts me off a match. Like, "oh I gotta be in the right place to enjoy this." This actually feels more American in style early and it's funny to see Aries squirm & get beat up. So, I definitely recommend it if you're interested. ROH has this up also: This was an absolute great start! Enough variety to keep things interesting but still some classics to take note of. Thanks for reading!

Here we are with the second half of 2002 GAEA. If you're new to this project, I am cherry picking what looks to be the very best that GAEA has to offer. This is based on reviews others have given and now that I've watched a good chunk, some personal preferences. Meiko Satomura vs. Chikayo Nagashima (06/02): Who the fuck is clapping when they trade finishers and no sell them? Do they actually believe it would be a pin? Talk about killing their moves off and not thinking. It makes no damn sense. And its a shame because they were doing so well but they cannot go longer than 15 minutes in singles...They sell the pain, they sell the desire to win but fuck its Death Valley Driver and Fisherman Buster every three moves or so it seems. Fuck...for real...I nearly gave up on this...it's stupid at this point...but it was over a minute later. Although it sounds like I absolutely hated it, the selling and intensity were fantastic but they repeated way too much for me to say this was anything beyond an OK match...like *** stars would be generous..it's just more of what I didn't like about the 04/14 match. If you're gonna pick, watch the 04/14 one. KAORU vs Meiko Satomura (06/30): This was suggested to me and I thought 'why not?I haven't seen enough KAORU for '02.' And whoa this was a great small show ace baby face vs heel (and her seconds) match. Lots of shenanigans but everything was really well timed with fun spots. It's not trying to look epic and therefore feels more organic... and it a better match. Satomura looks badass as ace in this one. Meiko Satomura & Ayako Hamada vs LCO (07/14/02): Oh yeah, about 15 minutes long, this is all killer! LCO still has it and Hamada & Satomura put on a near classic match. I dug the intensity and scrappy nature of the bout. I also liked all of the strikes here. It was a good example of Satomura using her strikes later in the match instead of repeating the Death Valley Driver. You know they didn't pull out everything and maybe why I reserve considering this a classic bout but damn it is awesome. The finishing stretch was phenomenal and the ending felt perfectly timed and fitting. Manami Toyota & Aja Kong vs. Meiko Satomura & Ayako Hamada (08/30/02): 20 of 22 minutes shown and this was a classic GAEA tag match! Everything looked and worked great - perhaps since there's so much familiarity? But this is a relatively fresh match up with Toyota and Hamada. What I really liked were the cut-offs. There were a few occasions where it looked like one move was going to happen and an opponent would cut it off. So, this had that that element of surprise that is so important in making a bout feel like a competition. Carlos Amano vs. Ran YuYu (10/20): Saw this recommended on the match discussion archives and am glad I checked it out! Jetlag created the entry. Man! This was great stuff. It's way more creative and fresh than Satomura vs Nagashima... I don't know how these two (who are curtain jerking this big show) understand some of the basics better than your top two homegrown wrestlers. This was full of surprises. I definitely recommend it to anyone interested. I'm glad that I took the time to watch this one! Mayumi Ozaki & KAORU vs. Meiko Satomura & Ayako Hamada (10/20): This was a blast! Maybe chalk it up to me watching TNA & ECW lately but I dug the shenanigans with KAORU & Oz (Police too) cheating - sneaking in weapons, fighting with the ref etc. None of it hurt the match but that possibility was always there...that the heels would get a cheap win. Instead we get an action packed match with weapons, fun tag spots and a good heel vs baby face battle. Satomura and Hamada are a great team and seeing them against Ozaki and KAORU was great. They brought out the best of each other. I thought this was a classic match but only if you can enjoy a bit of cheating and ref distractions etc. in the name of fun ECW & FMW fans would want to see this. Chikayo Nagashima vs. Manami Toyota (10/20): Very good title match for Nagashima vs the veteran Toyota. Lots of good moves and appreciated the mat wrestling. I don't really like the onslaught of nearfalls for the finishing segment. Anymore, I like to be surprised and I think that 'trading near falls' trope is played out. And that's not a criticism of this match alone...I think 2000's and beyond wrestling falls into that...without offering genuine surprise. GAEA benefits from 15 minute or less matches and I think this goes longer than they needed and padded with near falls. Toyota and Kyoko are the progenitors of this style with their 05/07/95 being the start of it. Still I think this was a very good match and an good showing from both wrestlers. Nagashima is tremendously limited as a singles wrestler though... she only does 5 moves when she gets into the final stretch and that hurts her. **Spoiler** I'm glad to see the strap off her waist...hopefully 2003 will get her back in tag matches. Manami Toyota & Aja Kong vs. Meiko Satomura & Ayako Hamada (11/10/02): 18 of 27 minutes shown. This isn't as top of the line as their other match as Aja gets hurt on a brutal STO onto a metal can. But damn they feel like they are fighting... it's not the big time epic in terms of moves since there's a couple strikes that don't hit (and I'm guessing other flubs may have been clipped out). All that said, this was a hard fought tag team battle. Everyone was beat up by the end of this. Gritty joshi tag match. I dug it. Chigusa Nagayo & Toshie Uematsu vs Mayumi Ozaki & KAORU (12/15): Awesome super intense 5 minute match. Chigusa and Toshie (who I haven't seen in awhile) have buzz cuts. I am pretty sure Chigusa got buzzed from losing a match with Ozaki. Perhaps the same is true with Toshie. I clearly haven't seen enough of this feud in 2002 but I want to. The brawling element is always a component of GAEA which must be from Chigusa vs Dump. And this really taps into that, especially the hair buzzing. I hope they do more of these teams feuding in 2003 or I might have to go back to this in '02. Post match interview with Ozaki and KAORU talking shit and acting bitchy with dried streams of blood on their face is absolutely badass! Devil Masami & Aja Kong vs. Meiko Satomura & Carlos Amano (12/15): Had to include this since Carlos Amano was impressive above. Satomura vs Kong in tag matches is always good. Plus, I've got to see some Devil Masami. 11 of 13 minutes and this did not disappoint! Action from bell to bell with Carlos fitting in just fine at this level. Her work with Devil was really enjoyable as it was reminiscent of Legolas fighting the Oliphant in 'Return of the King' Aja vs Meiko was top notch as ever although I do wish it wasn't so expected. I suppose I'm the one cherry picking the matches so I'm probably skipping over a dozen other tag matches they had throughout 2002. It's like if Tanaka and Mike Awesome face each other, they are going to do some nod to their feud. It's a silly comment for me to make but, I really dug Carlos vs Devil Very good to great work. I'm hoping to see more Carlos Amano in 2003. Ayako Hamada seemed like the MVP of 2002 GAEA from what I watched. She brought a freshness to the tag division, and really kept Meiko Satomura in good standing with me. Their tag bouts were outstanding and I might have a hard time remembering in December, their tag matches are the best stuff of 2002 GAEA. Carlos Amano is someone else who was a standout for the year. I watched a couple of her matches earlier in my GAEA journey but, I may have been ignoring her too much. Aja Kong is the rock of GAEA though. I dug her team with Toyota. It's a dream team come true. Anyhow, I really dug 2002 GAEA. This second post was longer than the first as I just kept finding different matches to watch. Thanks for reading!!

The time has come when nearly all of the 2002 GAEA matches that I have wanted to watch are up on YouTube! It's been a year and I'm in the middle of another project but dammit! we're getting back to GAEA for Joshi January! Meiko Satomura vs. KAORU (01/14): Unfortunately only half was shown but it was really good stuff. Ozaki and Police (their toady) were interfering and it really seemed like a handicap match. But it was great seeing Satomura repelling their attacks. A strange outcome given how 2001 ended...but I understand they are pitting the ace vs the biggest baddies. Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita vs. Akira Hokuto & Aja Kong (01/14): They very easily could have phoned this in but Aja Kong is bleeding when we join this match in progress. Hokuto is going off the top rope to the floor, Mita & Shimoda are swinging chairs and kicking people in the face. This was great stuff...a little unorganized but the intensity makes up for it. Chigusa Nagayo & Aja Kong vs. Meiko Satomura & Chikayo Nagashima (02/08): JIP by like 6 minutes but from what was shown, this was awesome! Great moves from both teams, Aja vs Meiko in tags is still one of the best things in '02 wrestling. Nagashima who more the high flyer/lucha of the class definitely has proven she should be at the top tier. Chigusa is as badass as ever. There's not much wrong here..other than the missing time. Near classic. Akira Hokuto, Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs. Mayumi Ozaki, Dynamite Kansai & Toshiyo Yamada (02/08): Old school Las Cachorras Orientales vs Oz & Kansai + Yamada. Just on paper this is exciting to me! Nostalgia aside, this was a great, hectic 6-woman tag match. Everyone had something to do and it his any limitations of age and injuries. Plus there were nice surprises like Kansai kicking Mita in the face every time she went to go for the Death Valley Driver. About 20 minutes of action only hampered some more intricate spots but that's a preference... they pulled them off perfectly. This is shown in full and one I'd recommend to anyone new here wanting to see GAEA. Meiko Satomura & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Aja Kong & Akira Hokuto (03/17): We only get the last 6 minutes but what was shown was good stuff. But not necessarily fast paced finishing sequence type stuff so I think I'd need to see a lot more to give a rating or recommendation. If you find this in full then, I'm sure it's quality wrestling. GAEAism has a lot of post match in case you think you're going to find the full version there Dynamite Kansai vs Aja Kong (04/07): Good stuff based on the effort by both women. This is not Kong vs Dynamite in their prime but dammit they really pushed themselves. Meiko Satomura vs. Chikayo Nagashima (04/14):Yeah this was a great match! There's a lil spamming of moves which is a perennial gripe with Satomura singles matches but, it's not bad at all. There's a lot to like - good mat wrestling, aggression, creativity and a real sense they are trying to beat each other and win the match. Yeah this was a great match and perhaps a near classic. Ayako Hamada vs Carlos Amano (06/02): This is from a one night tournament to see who would challenge Satomura for the belt. Spoiler it was neither of these two. But let's dig this anyhow! A gutsy performance from both wrestlers. Both ladies took some hard shots and big bumps but kept on fighting. I think that their quickness and execution were top notch. Carlos' technical moves and Hamada's aerial moves flowed seamlessly. Great 10 minute match! GAEA is still kicking in 2002! Thanks for reading!

I wonder if Petey Williams is as or more historically important than Danielson for creating the Canadian Destroyer... It's like people who never saw a Jake the Snake match know that he created the DDT. I wonder if it's the same for Petey??

Just curious if you've been able to watch anything you were interested in? If so, any thing you'd recommend?

I'm doing a quickie this week even though I've got some stuff ready to go. I always think about the New Japan Tokyo Dome show for January but - nah! You can get that somewhere else. Let's do an old TNA show instead! 20 years ago there was TNA Final Resolution 2005. If you're getting long in the tooth like me then, 2005 seemed like just a few years ago. Christopher Daniels, Kazarian & Michael Shane vs. 3 Live Kru (BG James, Konnan & Ron Killings) - Fun but pretty much a misuse of Daniels, Kaz & Shane as they were pretty much bowled over by 3 Live Kru. There's good action though and a good way to start the show. Elix Skipper vs. Sonjay Dutt - This is your movez match of the card (so far) and it's good. Lotsa fun stuff to get you amped to be watching TNA Kid Kash vs. Dustin Rhodes - This is a weird angle but I guess Kash & Dusty had a angle going and this is an extension of that. Gotta say I love Dustin's punches... they remind me of Great Kabuki's...just a lot of snap to them and not so much stomping.. just looks like he really is popping the guy in the jaw. Anyhow they used some good psychology and made this different than a David vs Goliath match. It was really, really smart and really good. Erik Watts vs. Raven - Just happy to see more Raven. I really should see more of him in early TNA. This was a lot of fun and actually a good match. Raven was calling it for sure but Watts did an excellent job despite getting hurt early on. I actually enjoyed this one. Scott Hall vs. Jeff Hardy (Special Referee: Roddy Piper) - RIP Roddy & Hall. This was a fun match...not sure if it's ppv worthy (it's not) but it was fun. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Monty Brown vs. Kevin Nash (#1 Contendership Three Way Elimination Match) - This was OK...Monty wins and is going to face Double J in the main event. Team Canada (Bobby Roode & Eric Young) (w/Scott D'Amore) vs. America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) - Wow! What a relatively simple but red hot match. The fans are going crazy, the announcers are going crazy, Scott D'Amore is going crazy and this is so damn exciting. It's great to see TNA talent shine finally. This is one heck of an exciting match. There's shenanigans at the end (of course) but it works. It keeps the feud going and this absolutely delivered. I'm going to call it a classic TNA tag title match. If there's one thing older TNA should be remembered for, it's their excellent tag division. Petey Williams (w/Scott D'Amore) (c) vs. Chris Sabin vs. AJ Styles (Ultimate X Match) - I've actually seen this one as I have the TNA Best of the X-Division vol. 1 DVD. That's a highly recommended item if you like this stuff but, clearly a lot of it is on YouTube if you know how to find it. Shoot, it's probably been 7-8 years since I watched this so let's see. Yeah! this was a very good spot match...they did some pretty crazy rana & power bomb spots. And they told a lil story with AJ hurting his arm and had no way to shimmy across to capture the belt. AJ also takes an iconic bump here as well. Definitely a lot of fun NWA World Heavyweight Title Match Jeff Jarrett (c) vs. Monty Brown - I'm going to try...the other Monty Brown match is the kind of why I turned off wrestling in the 2000's ... rigid muscle bound guys with no skill and old timers that couldn't work anymore but cashed nostalgia checks. Now I'm not a Jeff Jarrett fan but the dude could still work in 2005 so I'm going to see....OK this starts out pretty fun but eh..this is goofy. I watched this and drifted into watching an episode of 'Taxi' and I don't feel like I missed anything. This was a fun TNA PPV but I've seen better. There's a lot of talent on here but they didn't use them to their potential. There's certainly a lot of Monday Night War veterans clogging the card up, if I'm being honest. Kid Kash vs Dustin Rhodes & Raven vs Erik Watts were the exceptions. I think the could have booked DDP vs Jeff Hardy and that would have been pretty good. Monty Brown was on too much of the card. He would have been best in that 6 man match or some other kind of tag. The Ultimate X match was really good and something completely different... the kind of stuff the X Division is there for. You definitely want to see Roode & Young vs America's Most Wanted if you're a tag team fan. Again, it's a classic TNA tag match. So don't feel bad if you skip ahead to that and the ultimate X match Thanks for reading!!!

I really thought it would be worthwhile to check out the matches of Jerry Lynn outside of ECW. That's really where I know him from. Since I'm starting to look at ROH in 2009, I'm coming across a few matches featuring the man. It dawned on me that I really dig his work. He's really what holds the best RVD matches together and his stuff in ECW with others was always very good to great. Anyhow, I combed through YouTube, an old review and heck through in ECW match I missed in order to do this Spotlight on Jerry Lynn. vs Lightning Kid (Sean Waltman) GWF 1991 2 out of 3 falls - Always wanted to see these guys...as in...how good could this really be ? This isn't their best match as that/those were a year earlier but wow! this was move wise light years ahead at times. Perhaps a little more than was necessary but they definitely were pushing the envelope! Dynamic Lynn (Jerry Lynn) & Lightning Kid (Sean Waltman) vs. Coolie SZ (Jado) & Sakigake Gantetsu (Dick Togo) (Universal Pro 05/24/92) - Two out of Three Falls. First fall is an onslaught of fancy offense from Jerry & the Kid. Gantetsu/Dick is getting the crap beat outta him! Selling it really well. Coolie/Jado gets the tag and there's fall #2. Fall #3 is more about the drama and storytelling and really brings this all together. It's a very good match and one that I had no idea about! Just a lot of fun. Look for "Universal Pro Estrella in Mayo '92" on the 'tube and it's the first match. Gran Naniwa vs. "Gorgota Cross" (Michinoku Pro - 08/25/95) - Cross is Jerry Lynn here sorta...Sasuke told him to wear the mask for the tournament. So put the name in quotation marks here. Also on this trip is when Jerry had his Mr. JL mask made. Anyhow, this was all action and near-falls! Really an excellent match and blew just about every other match in the Masked Man tourney outta the water. It was great to finally see Jerry Lynn given a chance to perform in this tournament. Jerry Lynn vs. Taka Michinoku (ECW 1999) - Not sure on the date but it's at the Elks Lodge/Madhouse of Extreme. Maybe joined in progress or TAKA jumps Jerry. Anyhow, this is about 7 minutes of top notch junior action. So clean but still feels competitive and both guys sell as much as needed in a short match. Happy to see this one...totally missed it for my ECW project... glad to recommend it to you now! vs AJ Styles (TNA PPV #20 11/06/02) - Pretty much a tank emptying X Division title match. This was fantastic! Tons of excitement and surprises...the only issue that I had was the outside interference wasn't needed. It was a little too much when you already had a great match going... thankfully it didn't spoil the match. I gotta call this a near classic match. TNA has this available and if you're a fan of either guy,go watch it! vs Juventud Guerrera (TNA 05/03/03) - It's a fun match! It's a little rough at times because of Juvi but they get super complex with the spots and I don't think he can keep up. But it's never sloppy or botched or anything like that. It's a enjoyable match and it totally is worth the 9 minutes... this could have been a great match had everything been as clean & quick as possible. They were swinging for the fences and they hit an off the wall double Triple X (Elix Skipper & Christopher Daniels) vs Jerry Lynn & Amazing Red (TNA 09/04/03) This was interesting because of the multi generational indie talent involved here. Well holy crap was this an ambitious spot-fu match and they pull it off! I think stylistically Daniels vs Lynn would have been my preference and this felt more like Elix & Red at times. This was around 14 minutes and there's not a dull moment. I could say that they don't sell, that they don't let allow anything to sink in before the next spot...but they did what they set out to do and have a big time fireworks tag title match. If you're interested, search this on YouTube and enjoy. I'm going to call it a classic TNA tag match. Spanky & Low Ki Vs Justin Credible & Jerry Lynn (06/02/04 Debut show World-1 wrestling) - Lynn & Credible had very good to great matches back in '98 in ECW. Their tags with Tanaka and Awesome are worthwhile. So this piqued my interest. This is new school vs old school. Almost forgot that Jerry has a bunch of experience working with Low Kids back in the early days of TNA. It shows as they continue to have great chemistry. Heck everyone gels here like they've been wrestling each other for awhile. Credible who might be the odd man out, fits perfectly by adding his heel shtick. This is a lot of fun and a very good match. I think I've seen a couple World-1 matches over the years. Jerry Lynn vs Eric Young vs Taichi vs Mr. Aguila (NWA-TNA PPV #95. shown 05/26/04): You're gonna wanna watch this if you're looking for a spot match with ladders. It's not an overblown spectacle like WWE. It's that TNA type stuff...which is appropriate but, they really do have their own type of match. This seems like a precursor to Ultimate X. Just turn your brain off, watch Jerry Lynn and Eric Young (Aguila & Taichi are window dressing...this could have been Lynn vs EY and it would have been just as good). Fun, fun stuff! (TNA has it listed as PPV #96) vs Sean Waltman (TNA Sacrifice 2005) - I probably don't give Waltman enough credit for his work. His "look" is off-putting but he's got talent in the ring. Here, Jerry and he really go for it like it's 1995. Seriously there's a couple spots where I was totally surprised they actually did (and didn't just teased) them. This was a blast and I'd probably call it a great match. There's very little to find fault with. Watching a WSI shoot interview on the 'tube and Jerry said this feud was the last time he felt there was real heat. I guess Jerry was bringing up real life history between him and Waltman (specifically Waltman getting picked up by WWF and leaving Jerry behind). Homicide vs Jerry Lynn (TNA/UWF 06/10/06) - This looked cool because it's an ECW guy going up against a JAPW guy...but you know it's TNA. Anyhow a house show but damn this was TV main event or even PPV quality. They totally could have phoned it in until the finish but nope! Good sequences, high flying, teases and all the big moves capped off by a slick finishing sequence. Very, very good match! vs Nigel McGuinness (ROH Southern Hostility 2008) Was trying to watch Nigel vs Lynn at Supercard IV...thought ROH had it up but found out afterwards that its from 2008 Southern Hostility. Still a damn good match...a near classic. Nigel is cleverly desperate and Lynn really is that never say die vet wrestler. I dug the heck outta this. I appreciate surprises and I think it had a few...they do a lot with simple elements. Great storytelling too. Reminds me of Nigel as Pure Champion. Bryan Danielson & Jerry Lynn vs Jimmy Jacobs & Delirious (ROH Proving Ground 2009) - I'm just geeking watching the pre-match with Jerry Lynn clapping for Danielson and Bryan looks to be having a great time. You know he was picking Jerry's brain in the locker room. But he and Jerry look like buddies talking and smiling before the match. Normally, this is something I'd gripe about but, both guys can instantly turn the intensity instantly. I thought this was a great all action, keep it simple stupid match...and maybe they did get clever towards the end but that was the right time to do it. Just a joy to watch at around 16 minutes or so. Here it is! I gotta say, none of these matches felt repetitive or that Lynn kept doing the same old moves every year and every match. And he had a pretty long in-ring career (1988 start date I believe) so, he definitely could have phoned it in after ECW (and a very short WWE run)...I'm glad that so many of these matches are available and easy to find. In fact, everything here is on YouTube if you do a simple search. At this point, I think I'm a bigger Jerry Lynn fan than I was even during my ECW watching days. Definitely looking forward to seeing more of him in my upcoming Ring of Honor 2009 project. Thanks for reading! Stay safe!

Finally getting around to watching some ROH on HDnet stuff from 2009. I'm liking it... Reminds me of the better stuff TNA was doing on PPVs. It's not at the level of the DVDs/actual events though. I could see being a little nervous that the quality was going down hill if you saw these as replacing the normal ROH at the time. Been watching some other 2009 ROH as well and they are definitely still putting on amazing matches...

WWE Vault YouTube just put Gargano vs Shingo up today, if you're interested:

It's that time of year where I like many people look back at the past year and make lists or hand out superlatives My reason for doing this is to provide a guide for people looking for new or different wrestling especially starting out. All the different lists people made helped me either get started in watching old wrestling or helped me decide where to go next. HR stands for Highly Recommended or honorable mention... near classic match, stars denote an all time classic...these are the front runners. Every thing else is a classic.. right around that ****1/2 range. I definitely recommend checking all of these out! Also I am going to use show titles/event names for American promotions since they are easier for you & me to track down than using the dates. If you're looking for reviews then, go back and take a look at the associated blog post from this year 1980's Tatsumi Fujinami & Kantaro Hoshino vs Dynamite Kid & Steve Keirn 01/18/80 - HR Tatsumi Fujinami vs Dynamite Kid 02/05 Antonio Inoki vs Stan Hansen 02/08/80 - HR Tatsumi Fujinami vs Ashura Hara 04/03/80 Tatsumi Fujinami vs Chavo Guerrero 05/09/80 - HR Kengo Kimura vs Tatsumi Fujinami 09/25/80 Kengo Kimura vs Chavo Guerrero 11/03/80 Riki Choshu vs Tatsumi Fujinami (11/04/82) Kobayashi & Hiro Saito vs Shiro Koshinaka & Naoki Sano (05/25/89) - HR 1990's Rob Van Dam & Sabu vs. Perry Saturn & John Kronus (ECW Cyberslam 1997 Feb. 1997) HR Taz vs. Sabu / Franchise vs. Taz (06/06/97 Wrestlepalooza '97) HR Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Sabu (ECW World Title) 1997 HR Mike Awesome vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (ECW Wold Title - 12/02/99) HR on the fan cam footage 2000 Tajiri vs Super Crazy (ECW on TNN 01/21/2000) - HR 2001 Akira Hokuto & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Chigusa Nagayo & Meiko Satomura (03/11) GAEA - HR Akira Hokuto vs Meiko Satomura (04/29) GAEA Aja Kong & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Meiko Satomura & Toshie Uematsu (05/13) GAEA Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama vs Takao Omori & Takashi Sugiura (06/16/01) NOAH Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama (07/27/01) NOAH Vader vs. Jun Akiyama (12/09/01) NOAH - HR 2002 Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori (02/17) NOAH Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata vs Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa (02/17) NOAH - HR Jushin Liger/Minoru Tanaka vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi - (8/29) NOAH Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio vs. Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama (09/23) NOAH Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama (09/23) NOAH - HR 2003 +Elix Skipper & Christopher Daniels vs Jerry Lynn & Amazing Red (09/04) TNA+ 2006 Motor City Machine Guns vs Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black (All Star Weekend IV 2006 night 1) PWG No Remorse Corps vs. Kings Of Wrestling vs. MCMG vs. Super Dragon & B-Boy (All Star Weekend IV night 2) PWG 2007 El Generico vs. PAC (All Star Weekend V - Night 1) PWG Low Ki vs Samoa Joe - PWG All Star Weekend V - Night 2 - PWG - HR 2008 Beer Money vs LAX - (Hard Justice) TNA *AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle (Hard Justice) - TNA* Davey Richards Kota Ibushi (ROH Bedlam in Beantown 2008) 2009 +KENTA & El Generico vs Nigel McGuinness & Davey Richards (Steel City Clash 2009) + +Davey Richards vs KENTA (Supercard of Honor IV 2009) + +KENTA & Tyler Black vs Austin Aries & Katsuhiko Nakajima (Take No Prisoners 2009) + Shingo vs Naruki Doi (Open the Historic Gate) DGUSA - HR Davey Richards vs. SHINGO (Open the Ultimate Gate) DGUSA Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. Real Hazard (Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito) (Open the Ultimate Gate) DGUSA Naruki Doi/Masato Yoshino vs Shingo/Dragon Kid (Open the Freedom Gate) DGUSA - HR + These matches have been watched this year for an in progress project. Reviews will be published after this list. 2010 CHIKARA Sekigun (Hallowicked, Jigsaw & Mike Quackenbush) & Masato Yoshino vs. KAMIKAZE USA (Akira Tozawa, Gran Akuma, Jon Moxley & YAMATO) Enter the Dragon -DGUSA *Bryan Danielson vs. SHINGO (Enter the Dragon) DGUSA * Bryan Danielson vs. YAMATO (Untouchable 2010) DGUSA Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw vs Naruki Doi/Pac (Uprising 2010) DGUSA Shingo/YAMATO vs CIMA/Dragon Kid (Uprising 2010) DGUSA - HR BxB Hulk vs Masato Yoshino (Uprising 2010) DGUSA BxB Hulk vs Shingo (Bushido 2010) DGUSA 2011 Austin Aries vs Akira Tozawa (United Philly 2011) DGUSA Akira Tozawa vs BxB Hulk (United Finale 2011) DGUSA YAMATO vs Austin Aries (Mercury Rising 2011) DGUSA Masato Yoshino/Pac vs YAMATO/Akira Tozawa (Fearless 2011) DGUSA Akira Tozawa vs. Ricochet (Open the Ultimate Gate 2013) DGUSA - HM Akira Tozawa vs Shingo (Mercury Rising 2013) DGUSA - HM Best Match Watched of 2024: Bryan Danielson vs. SHINGO (Enter the Dragon) DGUSA It looks like it's a toss up between Bryan Danielson vs. SHINGO (Enter the Dragon) DGUSA 2010 & AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle (Hard Justice) - TNA 2008. But I'm going to put Tatsumi Fujinami vs Ashura Hara - NJ 04/03/80 & Kengo Kimura vs Tatsumi Fujinami - NJ 09/25/80 in the mix. Any of this is a toss up honestly. Danielson vs SHINGO is your quintessential late 2000's technical, yet stiff with bombs & big spots match. AJ vs Kurt is toned down just a little bit for TNA but still has everything you want along with the drama of a great story. Then you've got the Fujinami matches which are excellent representations of wrestling as sports combat - Hara is a bit more mean & Kimura is technical throughout. You can't go wrong with any of these. I'm going to say Danielson vs Shingo though. One time only Dream match fulfilled and that's why it beats out the others this year. Best Project: ECW I think I knocked some long time projects off my "to watch" list. Dragon Gate USA was a good one which I was really surprised by. Again, I don't always like the go-go action match so often but damn! these guys know how to do it! I dipped my toe into PWG again and watched a couple DVDs & some YouTube videos. Getting to finally watch 1980 New Japan especially Dynamite vs Fujinami was pretty awesome. Again very, very surprised I would love it. So much more modern feeling than I thought it would be. Early 2000's NOAH and AJPW was pretty good too. I think I prefer early NOAH as it's trying to push forward while early 2000's AJ relied upon old stars too much...we get some great matches and it's very fun but it just doesn't hit the same way as NOAH. ECW was my favorite though. Totally could blame that on a recency bias. And you could apply nostalgia to it a bit as well but I will say I haven't seen like 95% of the matches I watched... so while I may have be familiar with the characters and stories (where applicable), this wasn't a trip down memory lane. It's the one project that I didn't get burnt out on until the very, very end (was going to watch another match or two and I was forcing it so I stopped myself). Usually, I hit a rut with most projects where it's just too much of the same thing over the course of a few weeks. ECW since it was briefly covering start to finish of the company, offered enough variety in matches and wrestlers along with some actually entertaining storylines. Best Wrestler: Kuniaki Kobayashi This is a tough one. I could say Tatsumi Fujinami as he was lights out fantastic in 1980 and beyond. I could say Keiji Muto for his quality matches in early 2000's as well and moreso for invigorating the promotion with his take puro, booking foreign talent etc. Just his overall presence. I could say Jun Akiyama for his performance in early 2000's NOAH and really helping make it something different than AJPW with a new name. I also could put Shingo & Davey Richards there too. Their work in the late 2000's and early 2010's was amazing. Perhaps the peak of that type of junior wrestling? I'm going to say Kuniaki Kobayashi though. Some part is because he passed away this year. But another part is that while doing a post looking back at his work (some new-to-me), I really appreciate what he did and the longevity of his quality despite not ever being a headliner. If you look at lists of Great Matches (including mine), he fades in the late 80's. His career seems to matter against Tiger Mask I & II and a little bit against Takada & Koshinaka and poof! But that's not the case. And even between those big time matches, he delivered in tags, 6 mans, and under card singles matches. So although it is a extremely small honor, I name him my wrestler of the year. Check out my post if you haven't: https://forums.prowrestlingonly.com/blogs/entry/949-thank-you-kobayashi/ Surprise of the Year: Dragon Gate USA A quick one is that Madusa's matches in AJW were really good! I have to check more late 80's AJW out. Another is that ECW aged pretty well as long as I didn't try to compare it to NJ or AJ of the time. If you look at it as a complete package - ring action, storylines, characters, holy shit spots, sleaze etc., It's a damn good time! It's over the top escapism for the MTV generation... and it holds up for me at least Another surprise is that 1980 NJPW wasn't slower paced wrestling like I have seen in AJPW at the time. No, things were quick and combative. If I'm talking quality matches alone, Tatsumi Fujinami and his work in 1980 and later is off the chain! If you're looking for that technical Inoki wrestling as fighting sport Strong Style stuff But the surprise of 2024 (wrestling wise!) is Dragon Gate USA. I had a few DVDs that I bought during the pandemic lock down and was very skeptical other than a couple matches. Boy was I surprised! This was badass... not everything but the matches with the big names from ROH that came over along with the actual Dragon Gate guys (including PAC) were sweet! Again, perhaps the peak of that style of junior wrestling. I'm going to say if you're interested, stick with 2009-2011. It does have a short shelf life as it becomes more Indie darling wrestling than Dragon Gate action beyond then. Worst Wrestler: Johnny Gargano Ugh, I'm pretty much just saying it's him because I think his work in Dragon Gate was such a letdown. It was just so bush league and cosplay wrestling with all of the over the top (for wrestling!) facial expressions and mannerisms & special movez. I'm going to copy/paste from my review of his match versus Shingo. "He's "play wrestling" like many people of that generation of pros (Young Bucks were some of the first I remember). He doesn't always seem like he's in a fight, in a competition etc. He looks like he's the main character in TV show or movie with exaggerated facial expressions and hand gestures & posing. He is hamming for the camera and crowd way too much." This was in 2013...Ricochet had gotten his shit together by then... what's wrong with Johnny? (Not that Ricochet is the gold standard but you can see improvement in DGUSA). I've got an NXT Best of DVD with a few of his matches so we'll see. Not to be a jerk, I did like these matches of his: DGUSA Fearless 2011 - Austin Aries vs Johnny Gargano - Very good DGUSA Untouchable 2010 - Drake Younger vs. Chuck Taylor vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Rich Swann - Great What is in store for 2025? I want to watch more joshi. I had a whole DVD of AJW 1999 that I was planning on watching but don't have it available at the moment. So I'm going to get back to GAEA as well as 80's Bull Nakano. I've been wanting to push a little farther with GAEA to see if it's got some life past 2001. The Bull project is one I've wanted to do for awhile... just looks like fun. I've got a couple projects in progress. One on Jerry Lynn post ECW...mainly TNA stuff. Another is a maybe 4-6 post look into ROH 2009. Both of these projects have bouts that made the BMW list above. If you've read other posts, I'm trying to work through my DVD backlog so another one is Big Japan 2006. I got a set from Highspots right before they stopped selling DVD-R stuff. I'd also like to watch more stuff from Puerto Rico...drawn to Savio Vega, Miguel Perez Jr. so that might guide me a little. Probably will see what other stuff Tajiri & Super Crazy did for IWA as well. After that we'll see! Thanks for reading! Let's hope 2025 is better for everyone!

WWE vault YouTube has posted Tajiri vs Super Crazy - Mexican Death Match in full. Watched it and definitely a near classic match. I'm going to share it below:

Watching all of that late stage ECW got me interested in checking more IWA Puerto Rico. This period of IWA Puerto Rico is definitely worth tracking down. It's Victor Quinones' development territory for Vince. Paul Heyman was already working with or perhaps for Vince at this time.. which is why there's a ton of crossover between the three promotions plus Michinoku Pro and CMLL. That's pretty darn cool that we get to see it here for a short time! I've skipped reviewing them but Gangrel & Edge are here as well as Val Venis. It's really fun stuff especially if you loved the under card and B/C shows of WWF back in 98-00 like WWF Shotgun, ECW Hardcore TV & WCW Worldwide and the like. Junior Heavyweight Battle Royal (05/21/99) Super Crazy, Tajiri, Christopher Daniels, Mr. Águila (Essa Ríos), Black Scorpion, Danny Boy, Pablo Marquez, Pepe Prado, Reckless Youth, Taka Michinoku, Alexander Otsuka, The Great Sasuke, Tiger Mask IV and Jeff Hardy...I'm not a Battle Royal fan but with that much talent it's worth checking out. The Hardy Boyz vs. Ricky Banderas & Ricky Santana - Simple fun match...just neat to see the Boyz in this setting. Ricky Banderas vs Dick Togo - Whoa this was a really good match! Togo jumps Ricky in the locker room and we've got a grudge match. Nice face/heel dynamics, excellent moves from both guys but this isn't just a collection of spots. Wish there's more Dick Togo is IWA Puerto Rico available... his heel work is great in this setting. Hijo del Santo vs Antifaz - Antifaz attacks Hijo del Santo with a chair and sets up this little feud. Here we get a straight forward match with a lot of flying. It was pretty good stuff. There's a good flow to the match. Hijo del Santo vs Antifaz #2 - A much more heated and traditional match. There's a face-heel ebb and flow to this one. Transitions from offense to defense felt more natural/earned. The first bout was the appetizer and this felt like the meal. Really good match. Hijo del Santo vs Rey Bucanero - More good stuff..not as good as the above Antifaz match in terms of telling a story. That said the ending is more about the overall feud. Hijo del Santo & Jesús Cristóbal vs. Bad Medicine & Rey Bucanero - Good stuff. Heels be cheatin', faces be shinin' ...yeah enjoyable TV wrestling. Ricky Banderas, Hijo del Santo, Jesús Cristóbal vs. Antifaz, Bad Medicine, Rey Bucanero - This feels like it was one big shine segment for the baby faces. It's only 1 fall so there's not a lot to it but it's enjoyable. ...and that's all there seems to be of the feud..but it's fun stuff like you'd see on WCW Worldwide. We do get more Antifaz & Rey Bucanero... and vs my old favorites... The Headhunters! Headhunters vs. Brett Sanders & Julio Sánchez vs. Antifaz & Rey Bucanero - Fly fat ass, fly! This was just an absolute blast!! The 'hunters add a great dynamic with their size and weight. The baby faces are fun, the heel team is great with the Big Twins. It's a quick match and definitely could have gone on a minute or two more. Some form of this would have been a hit in ECW in 1999...at least for a short program. The Headhunders vs. Antifaz & Jesús Cristóbal (10/29/99) - Who's to say if this is before or after the Hijo del Santo stuff but the poster added a date. Says its the first episode of the one TV show... so probably before the feud??? This is fun...little rough at times but still had some cool offense. ...found this nugget as well: Taka Michinoku & Pepe Prado vs. Super Crazy & Rey Bucanero - Holy cow that was crazy! No pun intended... Taka was off the hook here. Crazy and Bucanero were the heels and were more about power bombs than anything else. Prado impressed me too. Yes, this was really good stuff that would have gone over fairly well in ECW at the time as well. All of this is available on YouTube for you to enjoy. If you're looking for some fun, under 10 minute wrestling to watch during this holiday season then, I highly recommend this! To all of you working this season in customer service, packing, shipping, delivery - hang in there!!! To those going through tough times, I'm right there with you. We'll make it one day at a time. Hope my blog puts a smile on your face and gives you some good wrestling ideas to look forward to. Thanks for reading!

It's a classic but definitely different from what you'd expect due to Nigel's legit arm injuries. ROH has this up...see for yourself!

Here's the final post for the ECW Unreleased vol. 1 DVD. This is for the year 2000. Strangely, the DVD has more matches from this year than any other year. It's also not terribly representative of the year as they've avoided Steve Corino as a wrestler... was he doing commentary for ROH when this was released? Or maybe still wrestling with them? But I think he's a really big part of ECW from 1999 until closing. I really dug his feud with Dusty Rhodes for instance. I'm going to start with that. YouTube time: Dreamer & Dusty vs. Corino & Jack Victory - "Jacksonville Street Fight" (Jacksonville, FL early 2000) - Can't pin the date but it's probably the first couple months of 2000. Mainly clips but it's fun stuff. Corino was a great scrawny weasel. Dusty was great and really gave ECW a bit of a shot of energy/interest when things were getting stale. Rhino comes out as does Sandman. And that's another great fresh set of matches (looks like we'll get to that shortly)... although the story did seem reminiscent of Sandman vs Raven. There's a fan cam (02/04/00) of this show if you're interested. Jado & Gedo vs Roadkill & Danny Doring (Asbury Park, NJ fancam 03/03/00): Happy to include a Doring & Roadkill match...vs Jado & Gedo... that's a no brainer! Doring & Roadkill along with Chetti & Nova were great on the undercard. Honestly they felt like part of the main event... cool moves and comedy every time. Anyhow 10 minutes of fun...really we get great action from both teams, cool moves, nice heel & face work. There's everything to like about this one! OK DVD time: Taz vs. Tommy Dreamer (ECW Cyberslam 2000, 04/22 - ECW World Heavyweight Title Match) - Taz never should have left ECW...I mean that as a fan...Taz wasn't getting paid in Philly though. This was OK..Taz did some good suplexes. Everyone knew Dreamer was going over so they were just happy to see him again. I understand why this is on here. It's a historic moment...and that leads to... Tommy Dreamer vs. Justin Credible (ECW Cyberslam 2000 ECW World Heavyweight Title Match)- Another OK match but it's really one big segment and is fun overall. Francine is out there (still as Raven's valet if you're following along) and is supporting Tommy...but she betrayed him (and Raven I suppose) and sides with Justin. She takes off the Raven grunge gear and goes back to lingerie basically. She has a nip slip moment (WWE blur it) but it's pretty funny actually. She's a super likable person and she mentions flashing the audience only once and I have to believe this was it She says something to ref Jim Molano (sp?) the ref and is laughing to herself. I'm talking about this because it's more interesting to me than the outcome of the match in 2024. And in all reality, Francine is just as much ECW as anyone else from the Pitbulls to Franchise to Tommy to Raven to Justin Credible...she spans about 5-6(?) years of the company's history. She absolutely is due a helluva lot of respect. The Queen of Extreme is damn right! YT: Masato Tanaka vs. Balls Mahoney (ECW 2000) - This is from ECW on TNN and is the rematch from Heatwave 2000...supposedly. It's clipped so we're just seeing the big spots. It's a lot of fun and despite Tanaka being more of a straight up wrestler at this point in FMW, he's still pretty damn hard core...he and Balls use tables, chairs and thumb tacks in this one. DVD: Rhino vs. The Sandman - ECW Heat Wave 2000, 07/16/00 - ECW World Television Title Match - Fun, fun match. They used a guardrail in the ring for a bunch of cool spots. But it's what most of the match is and then some run-ins. And honestly, I feel like the booking lost its zip. It just felt a little too much like WCW and WWF by this point. These two had a neat feud when Rhino was going after Sandman's wife. The Network (of TNN) vs ECW was actually kinda lame in hindsight. As a fan at the time, you felt it because I could tell ECW was changing but it's uninspired. I dunno what they could've done differently. Rhino vs. Spike Dudley - ECW Massacre On 34th Street, 12/03/00 - ECW World Television Title Match - Now we get a really good match. This is like what Rhino would do in TNA. Big spots for both guys but good wrestling in the middle. Here Spike wants revenge for Rhino breaking his leg. He's looking to repay the favor! There's really good work here but Rhino is still too green to sell it to the extent that he needs to. If he did this would be even better. It does feel like the company is just about trying to one-up itself in terms of spots and reflexively, that's what the fans are there to see. I think this did a good job of actually telling a story and delivering the highspots. ----- Jerry Lynn vs. Christian York (ECW Hardcore TV #401, 12/31/00, taped 12/15) - This is a good example of how ECW had changed... the commentary is Joel Gertner and Joey Styles talking about Jerry Lynn's storyline (kayfabe) rather than calling the match. And not a couple comments but straight up WCW/WWF conversing about something else while quality wrestling is happening. So I'm going to mute that. Anyhow this feels like an early ROH match...heck Gabe S. is filming the fancam. It's definitely a shape of things to come match with the indie guys starting to make a splash. This is kinda when "movez" wrestling started going mainstream.. like I don't think York does one traditional wrestling maneuver all match. But its only 2000 so honestly to my 2024 eyes, its nothing bad at all So its a fun match and a good inclusion to show where things were headed (and maybe still are???) Mikey Whipwreck & Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Kid Kash & Super Crazy vs. Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke - ECW Guilty As Charged 2001, 01/07/01 - Tag Team Three Way Dance_- I guess I could kinda say the same thing with a match like this. It doesn't really feel like ECW anymore but it's still a great match. Like pretend it takes place in TNA and there's nothing stopping me from enjoying it. And ECW isn't all chairs and tables, which this has little to none of. ECW grittiness wasn't really there...so it's no surprise that many of these guys were able to get on ramped to WWE. I totally dig the Tajiri & Mikey w/Sinister Minister. I think it was the only thing I was paying attention to at the end. ----- I had to include the Tajiri vs Super Crazy 2000 "Death Match" trilogy..or what I could find... Tajiri vs Super Crazy "Mexican Death Match" - Unfortunately this is clipped for TNN which seems like a common occurrence for ECW but also other promotions around this time (Arsion, GAEA, AJPW) but we get all the big moments. This looks like a helluva great match!! I'm not sure if this is available in full though. I read the Match Review Archives and it seems people are seeing the full match but the TNN episode has little clips in it. It doesn't seem that they cut any wrestling from other matches where I've found the full version but it does disrupt the flow. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy "Japanese Death Match" (ECW 2000) Hardcore TV - confusing since they use the ECW on TNN entrance way. This is in Jacksonville and is from the same show as the Dusty match above. This looked equally as interesting (and clipped) but even from the clips didn't seem to have the same intensity. That one was a Philly show so that might have something to do with it. ....OK I tracked down the fancam footage and this is from 02/04/00 Jacksonville, FL. It's relatively short and its really a collection of spots but showing the full match would have been better on TV. There's no real reason to clip this other than TV time. It's a good match. Super Crazy vs. Tajiri (Tv Title "Japanese Death Match") ECW on TNN 2000 - Hell this is even more clipped than the others! Could be good? They clipped this down to nothing for post match shit which is more Network vs ECW. I think that's why I stopped watching ECW around this time. Wrestling took a backseat to storyline shit...Anyway, I believe one or more might be on a Best of Tajiri DVD comp from RF video before he stopped selling DVDs. I checked the website and he doesn't even have a boatload of the old Best of compilations available. So very glad that I was able to order a few things a couple years ago. If I do have fancam versions, I'll be sure to rewatch and review them. I had a blast watching ECW the past few weeks. To me '97-99 seemed like the peak years to me in terms of roster, storylines, and match quality. 2000 really seemed transitional to a future that never happened. Or not with this roster... original MLW actually really feels like ECW just changed its name...moreso than ROH did in 2002-03. Clearly ROH had a better idea to move forward rather than live in the past too long. And maybe that's the thing, wrestling was changing and ECW was heading that way but just didn't have a chance. Anyone that Vince wanted he got and used up...and ultimately that's what was always gonna happen. I don't think that's the case with ROH just because the company lasted like 20 years compared to 6-7 years of ECW. ROH went through a few more ups and downs and few people were there more than a few years at a time. If you've dug this, I'm going to do a little more stuff... Fancams & IWA Puerto Rico for a teaser. I'm also going to get back to ROH, if you couldn't tell from the above paragraph. Anyhow, I recommend anyone who loved ECW checking this DVD out but you definitely will get the itch to watch more than what it offers. If you've been interested in ECW then it's a good place to start. I would recommend watching some of the YouTube matches first because as they used to say, "It's Not For Everyone." But for real, you'll have fun Hang in there and thanks for reading!

Daddy done did it again! Watched a bunch of YouTube videos in addition to the DVD... It's 1999 and may be the last great year of ECW so it was tough to keep it even this lean. I'm planning on doing a fan cam 1999 post in a few weeks. Shane Douglas vs. Taz - (ECW Guilty As Charged 01/10/99 - ECW World Heavyweight Title Match) - They are in big time now. This is a big arena for a PPV and the fan base has changed as the Monday Night Wars era is in full swing. I remember the cool kids in High School asking me about wrestling... like wrestling was cool. And you can see that at this show. The crowd is full of frat boy marks who are geeking on themselves. Sure wrestling is going on but, they want to be on camera, throw shit, etc. This might sound stupid but you can tell by the haircuts and clothing. The real tell is that they chant "ECW" for next to nothing...Oh they're down in Florida.. that makes sense..this wasn't ECW country. And this is the match that has a couple run-ins and they have a great rematch for the "real" fans on Hardcore TV. Still this was a lot of fun and is a WCW/WWF match in essence... more storyline than match..but it felt more real. Also if you have the hots for Francine, you'll probably want to see this one. ----- YouTube: Little Guido vs Yoshihiro Tajiri - (Ft. Lauderdale, FL. 04/30/99)- Master Blaster vibes when Guido is riding on Big Sal's shoulders. Also I think MLW ran some shows here back in the early 2000's. This was a great under 10 minute curtain jerker. What a way to kick things off! It begins with a little comedy then goes into an all action match with Guido adding the psychological depth looking to damage the arm for the win. Tajiri busts out his kicks and even gets bloodied... almost looks like by the corner of his eye - ouch! This was recommended on the PWO 1999 yearbook so I had to watch to of my faves from this era go at it! Super Crazy vs Mosco de la Merced - Found out that Mosco de la Merced passed away this year back in August. Thank you for your exciting work in ECW. Always remembered him and wish we got to see more (maybe I will going through FanCams). The fans were doing the "you fucked up!" chant at couple of his "missed" move spots but are dumb marks and didn't recognize the spots or just wanted to be like the ECW Arena and shout. Anyways, this was a super fun match. Tons of cool dives & other spots...great follow up to the Tajiri vs Guido bout..excellent showcase of the wrestling ECW offered at this time. To the DVD now! Rob Van Dam & Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible & Lance Storm (ECW Heat Wave 1999, 07/18/99)- Wow, the entrances took awhile like this was a Tokyo Dome show. Anyhow, this was a great match! All four guys have experience wrestling each other and that goes a long way in the quality of their spots and sequences. I thought the ending was a lil overbooked but what the heck, it was fun This is one that I definitely missed out on. If you're an old ECW head, go check this one out! The focus is totally Lance Storm in this picture...100%. In all seriousness, Dawn Marie was one of the best valets in ECW and helped keep the heel scene fresh. Absolutely hilarious character too. She struck a balance between sexy and legitimately funny that I'm not sure I've seen elsewhere. That was a great role because Lance & Justin were so damn serious. Another awkward Justin Credible photo ----- The 'tube: Super Crazy vs Yoshihiro Tajiri Dayton, OH. (10/30/99) - Bell to bell action... sure this was just another show on the road but this easily could have gone on TV. Not a 100% clean finish but it actually works given the story (kinda?) You should check this one out if you're a fan of either guy. Tracey Smothers vs Sabu - I think Tracey has been separated from the FBI here. Tommy Rich is gone, I think. So the FBI is just Sal and Guido...and actually comprised of actual Italian Americans.This match has some length to it and they do quite a bit with tables and chairs here. Smothers (along with Candido) were great working anyone's type of match... that's no exception here. Very good stuff... if you dig Sabu then, you're gonna dig this one. Both guys gave a great performance. Taz vs Mike Awesome - Fun tour of the arena to start then pretty cool spots back in the ring. I wish Taz would have stuck in ECW longer to see a true Taz vs Mike Awesome feud. I'm glad we get glimpses though. Back to the DVD! Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka - (ECW November To Remember 1999 ECW World Heavyweight Title Match) - At the end Joey Styles says "this might have been the greatest ECW World Heavyweight title match we've ever seen. " Announcers are prone to hyperbole and hyping, Joey Styles especially, but he makes a good point. This was a great match. Yes, it was a collection of brutal spots but no one was even coming close to these anywhere else. Sure earlier ECW had matches with crazier spots but the matches themselves stunk like crap in many (not all) cases. Few if any were able to put on a match like these two. I think this may be the definitive Awesome vs Tanaka ECW match. I don't know if it's their greatest but it hits everything you want in their encounters and it provides twists/surprises/teases. They were doing what people loved about the Jerry Lynn/RVD or Tajiri/Super Crazy feuds but at an extreme level, no pun intended. This felt like a heavyweight title match in ECW should. I'm very lucky that I got to see this live on PPV (and taped it) as it lived up to the hype which could not be said for many PPV big matches. In fact his PPV was probably the best later ECW PPVs with a Tajiri/Super Crazy/Jerry Lynn 3 way dance, Sabu vs Chris Candido, RVD vs Taz in his final ECW match, and Impact Players + Rhino vs Dreamer, Sandman & Raven as the main event. **That was my review back in Feb. 2023 for my FMW post. I actually got this PPV and loved it and taped the thing. Sadly I don't have that anymore. This feud opened my eyes to puro beyond just death matches of BJW, IWA Japan etc. And finally back to YouTube again: Mike Awesome vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (ECW Wold Title - 12/02/99) This is neat to see Scorpio back in ECW. It seems like he might have been passing through. I wish he would have gotten the welcome back he deserved but it's understandable. He didn't get the attention that Raven or even Sandman got when they went elsewhere. So I wonder if some folks knew he was a former ECW TV champ & Tag champ. This was in Atlanta so my guess that they were pretty unaware. Regardless this was an Awesome match!! No pun intended. It's unfortunately clipped up for TNN but many of the clips only seem to remove a couple seconds at a time...odd. The fans were going nuts for this so I can't believe the clips were hiding botches or dull periods. It seems it was just for time. I'm wondering if this is complete on fan cam...it's definitely worth tracking down. But if you're a fan of either guy then you need to see even this TV version! EDIT: Found the fan cam Atlanta. Jazz is Scorpio's second and I forgot how awesome she was. Her feud with Jason was great under card stuff. Anyhow, there's no screw ups covered by the clipping so go find the fan cam version in full...sure the angles aren't as up close as the TV but this is a great title match! In fact if it had gone on a minute longer, it'd be a fan cam near classic. Heck its a fan cam hidden gem in my book! Super Crazy vs. Ikuto Hidaka (ECW on TNN 1999) This one is in the ECW arena... can't recall if I have seen this one before. I have RF Video comp with a match (or two of them) but it's been years so I'll watch it again It's a lil over 6 minutes and it's a blast... just moves, moves, moves ! Hahaha but it's all good because that's what you want in a 6+ minute match just like those WCW junior or "cruiserweight" matches. I remember seeing stuff like this and it'd stick with me for a few days...just so damn fun & exciting. **bonus** Gladiator vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW - 09/04/99) I thought I would include this to compare it to how Awesome would work elsewhere at the same time. I have a shoot interview that he said he & Tanaka would do crazier stuff in FMW but actually I think their work in ECW is crazier from a spots & tables/chairs perspective. I've seen Gladiator vs Kobashi in 2004 NOAH and think it's slept on in terms of Kobashi's reign... he definitely met Awesome in the middle and it was a very good to great match iirc. I did review this for my FMW 1999 project so I'll put the main review below: ...these two had really good chemistry and unfortunately could have done a nice little program or feud. I think they left a lot on the table. I saw their match in NOAH and I think that they went bigger despite being older and more busted up. But this match was all Awesome/Gladiator and Kobashi was very gracious to let Mike drop so many bombs. If you're a a fan of both wrestlers, you need to see this. Heck if you just want a point of reference for how big Awesome was this is worth a gander. Dude is bigger than Kobashi. I really wish he would have stayed in Japan... In reference to ECW, like we saw with Dean & Eddie, Mike could work according to his audience. He knew the All Japan fans appreciated the slower storytelling style that was punctuated by big moments. ECW was the place to keep the tempo up and barrage the fans with spot after spot. In some ways it was good that Awesome left when he did. There wasn't really anywhere for him to go except lose the World Title to RVD. That would have been a helluva program but I think only bolster Van Dam's reputation. If Awesome was going to leave afterwards to WCW or WWE then, I'm not sure that they would have booked him any differently. You either saw the value in him or you didn't. He's not a monster you could have given a manager AND he's not a baby face. Heck looking to Muto AJPW, he was put in tag teams & stables when match quality-wise he should have been challenging for the belt (unfortunately got concussed vs Kawada in '03). I'm glad he got some time in NOAH which should have been his new home. But in some regards, I think his time overseas might have contributed to some his personal strife etc. Nevertheless, thank you "Gladiator" Mike Awesome. Masato Tanaka vs Balls Mahoney (FMW 12/11/99) - This might as well be up in the ECW section. These two had a really good match in '98 and I know teamed together. Balls (RIP) was really underrated for his actual wrestling... sure the hard-core chair swinging was great but he could work an actual match. So we get some wrestling in the beginning and then we get some good brawling and hard core spot wrestling - tables and chairs. I liked this..it's definitely an ECW match as 1999 Tanaka in FMW is a more straight forward wrestler. This wasn't a deep match or anything but it's enjoyable with a couple really sick spots. I always give a lot of credit to Awesome vs Tanaka for starting me down the puroresu road but watching bits of ECW 1999, I could pin my future love of puro on this year in ECW. Just look at the roster and it's pretty plain to see why ECW had trumped WWF as my top promotion... not only the roster and the matches booked but the athleticism and performances given by the wrestlers. WWF was just doing ECW (albeit watered down) but they couldn't copy the excellent matches ECW was putting out on Hardcore TV or on TNN. That paired with the heavy metal/hard rock music and gritty aesthetic... it was the best. FMW, BJW and IWA Japan were clearly the first places I went... to varying degrees of enjoyment Hey, I was going off of word of mouth and the match titles written on the paper Scotch taped to the VHS box! But to be real with you, I went to a new school for my freshman year of high school and had 0 friends and wrestling on Monday Night and ECW were the highlight of my life at that time. Eventually (and I have no idea how) I made friends and a few of 'em dug wrestling so I didn't feel so all alone. Thank goodness for wrestling getting popular (not that we were). But only the "real" wrestling dorks watched ECW which was cool because I knew that it was hardcore compared to everything else on TV. Thanks for reading! Hang in there!

Victor Quinones is probably the common thread that runs thru Puerto Rico, Japan, ECW and WWF. So you might also be interested in the 1996 Funk Masters of Wrestling era in FMW with Quinones managing a North American stable with Terry Funk, Mike Awesome, the Headhunters (I think), Horace Boulder/Hogan. And if you want to go deeper, W*ING & IWA Japan (as well as early FMW &BJW) had the horror movie gimmick characters like Leather Face, Jason the Terrible and pretty outlandish gimmick death matches. But those might be steering away from the cartoonish aspects... But back to Quinones - he had a hand in many of the early 90's Japanese sleazies being a broker for talent..this later would apply for ECW, WWF and Puerto Rico (and Mexico to a smaller extent) later in the 90's. He's probably the most cartoonish manager in the era of Japanese wrestling with big sunglasses and smoking a big cigar. His promos are legendary nonsense and very funny (unintentionally). He too is central to W*ING & IWA Japan. When I think of cartoon wrestling, I think it's somewhat geared towards kids with bigger than life characters along with sorta fantastical storytelling elements...Undertaker right up til American Badass era is a great example. In Japan, there's less importance on marketing directly to kids so it doesn't have to be as "safe" while still have outlandish characters and stories so Hustle is like that...which is kinda an extension of the WWF Attitude era's crazier/sleazier moments/characters etc. and go over the top. Late FMW under Fuyuki would predate Hustle trying to implement Entertainment Wrestling but not to the same level as Hustle. Here's a quote from the Wikipedia page on Hustle: "In July 2009, the leader of the Monster Army, Generalissimo Takada was "killed" when a new enemy by the name of "King RIKI" (played by actor/singer Riki Takeuchi) showed up at the "HUSTLE AID 2009" event and repelled one of Takada's lasers, sending it back towards him and wounding him. The following show the Monster Army was disbanded, as the direction of the company started to change." Really anything with a supernatural or sci-fi character would qualify as cartoon wrestling. Or anytime there's a wrestling clown... So I don't think ECW would fit especially as it tried to portray it self as a more real (hard-core) version of pro wrestling compared to WCW and especially WWF. Even when WWF went to the Attitude era, it was hesitant to add the realism to its more sensational stories. I think Lucha Underground is a great example of cartoon wrestling.

I'd recommend the defunct Hustle promotion in Japan. That definitely should be what you are looking for. And perhaps Osaka Pro as well. What's some of your criteria for cartoon wrestling?

I've enjoyed reading this and thinking about it quite a bit. I think it's difficult to judge historical importance this close...like maybe 10 years from now we can have a better idea. But I don't think wrestlers have historical importance within wrestling unless they are absolute revolutionary figures. And I'm not sure Danielson is one. Like most wrestlers, I think he's just part of a revolutionary group of talent that helped change things. I think his lasting legacy might be his technical abilities in a time where it was no longer important over flashy moves & spots...and having the Wrestling Observer Best Technical Wrestler of the Year Award be renamed the Bryan Danielson award might be his lasting legacy. Not even CM Punk has that distinction.

I'm not going to go crazy with YouTube videos this time. 1998 is when I started watching so I could really go too far with the nostalgia trip from 1998-2000. So I'll keep things manageable this week A couple YouTube videos to kick things off: The F.B.I. (Tommy Rich, Tracy Smothers & Little Guido) vs. Balls Mahoney, Axl Rotten, & Tommy Dreamer (Houseparty '98 01/10/98) - OK I'm marking out but this is the most fun I've had watching wrestling in a long ass time. This was an absolute blast of a hard-core comedy match. The wrestling was on point and the jaw jacking from the wrestlers and the crowd was perfect in setting this up. Stuff like this is what people didn't see...the perfect blend of character/Mic work, playing to your audience, wrestling that tells a story (even a funny one) and good action once things start cooking. I am going to give my highest recommendation if you're an ECW fan & appreciate humor in wrestling - find this & enjoy! Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Big Dick Dudley & Jack Victory vs. Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Spike Dudley & New Jack (ECW Hardcore TV 06/17/98 Team Streetfight/Brawl): We get clips in essence so I wish I could see this in full. The clips were fantastic! I'd definitely recommend checking it out especially if you find a full version. Rob Van Dam & Sabu vs. Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki - (ECW Heat Wave 1998): Oh this could have been great but, it's an unrealized dream tag match. It's cool that it happened and there's neat spots but everything was off. But that's my take knowing what Hayabusa & Shinzaki are capable as a tag team at this time. And 1998 is maybe the best in ring year for Hayabusa... this wasn't up to his standards. But in all honesty, like I said about Eddie and Dean, Hayabusa and Shinzaki weren't doing the same stuff in ECW that they did in Japan because they knew they didn't have to. But don't let me stop you - this is for sure on the WWE YouTube. ----- Rob Van Dam vs. Lance Storm (ECW TV Title 1998) - Putting this here as Storm and Candido are tag partners still. Good athletic spot match between RVD & Lance...definitely a practice run for RVD vs Lynn. Sabu comes out and we get a triple jump elbow on Lance and Van Dam gets the W. Chris comes out and its action hyping the two teams meeting in Philly in a title fight. Chris Candido vs. Lance Storm (ECW August, 1998) - So Lance was part of the Triple Threat for a bit when Franchise & Bigelow were fighting for the title. Candido & Lance were tag partners. It seems that has dissolved and Bam Bam is back-back with Shane & Chris. Unfortunately this is basically clips for the TV show but there's lots of good moves from two of the best all-around in-ring workers. (Also they might have been tag champs still). Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn (ECW Hardcore TV #277, 08/12/98) - Joey Styles sums up the RVD character, "The thing I hate about this guys is he might be as good as he thinks he is." That's the thing people who hate Van Dam's stalling or posing...he's a heel character. And even when he's a babyface - he's a cocky bastard. And Jerry Lynn was the opposite... all business. Lynn is the antidote to Van Dam's bullshit. All that aside, this is a sick match! This maybe the first match between these two and its not bloated with trying to one up themselves. No, here they are satisfied with putting on a good spot oriented match. And as a result, we get a great one! It's definitely worth checking out! ----- Jerry Lynn vs. Mikey Whipwreck & Chris Candido (ECW 09/19/98 for first match) - The Candido vs Lynn match is probably a week or two later. The poster doesn't have the broadcast date. Anyhow, we get two clip job matches but what was shown was great. Lynn vs Mikey had a program going. Candido is still feuding with Lance Storm (who finally has Tammy Lynn Bytch aka Dawn Marie) too. Tammy Lynn Sytch aka Sunny is out with Chris and man things are a little too real but hey different strokes for different folks. Anyway, this was a great mix of jaw jacking, junior wrestling and T & A if that's your thing. I think what's so crazy is that this much thought and effort was placed on a mid card feud. That's what made ECW great... something like this was just as interesting and entertaining as the upper card. And if you compare it to what WCW was doing... it blows it out of the water. WWF could complete but no way would they make it as organic as this. Great stuff! Tommy Dreamer vs Rob Van Dam (ECW 11/14/98) - I'm unclear exactly when this took place but it aired on this date. Anyhow, this is a great match by two fan favorites. It's a neat pairing that we really only saw during the Mr. Monday Night era RVD...when he, Sabu & Fonzie were team WWF. I think that was all over by now so in 98 until ECW closed, RVD & Dreamer existed in separate ecosystems. So, this was a great match with both guys entering their peak periods. We get some interference and run ins but nothing match wrecking but man that trend really was overplayed during this time in the U.S. I was used to it and never did it spoil anything in ECW unlike WWF & especially WCW. More great stuff for 1998. Thanks for reading!

This is post #3 where I'll be looking at the 1997 matches from the ECW Unreleased vol.1 DVD and a boat load of matches from YouTube Rob Van Dam & Sabu vs. Perry Saturn & John Kronus (ECW Cyberslam 1997 Feb. 1997) - ECW World Tag Team Title Tables & Ladders Match - An absolute war between the two most innovative tag teams in ECW. Bell to bell craziness... it's hard to tell what was planned and what was on the fly. Expect a few blemishes, this was a great ECW tag title match without a doubt. ----- Sabu vs. Taz (ECW Barely Legal, 04/13/97) Very good grudge match! The crowd was kinda sedate for this match which is totally weird since they'd been building this up for sometime. A straight ahead match for the most part and that's what made this so enjoyable. Others have said they're not the best opponents for each other and that's true. Sabu wrestles a faster pace and Taz either does a squash or something closer to a puro match. The pacing could have been quicker for the intensity factor but I think both guys got legit hurt....maybe I've seen to many Tenryu/Choshu type matches. I think that's the weaknesses - I didn't think they hated one another. And the finish could have been more dramatic. Again, I think I've seen better and am comparing it (duh, it's a review! That's what you are supposed to do!). Watching this right after the tag match above also may have influenced me. Also post match angle which was pretty significant but goofy. ----- On YouTube: Taz vs. Sabu / Franchise vs. Taz (06/06/97 Wrestlepalooza '97) - Taz vs Sabu here is better than Barely Legal because it's at a quicker pace. It's under 10 minutes and is a stripped down version so it keeps it's intensity. It feeds off the events of Barely Legal so the story is that much stronger ...plus you get what you want from both - suplexes & high risk moves. I dig the finish a lot too! But then it gets better... Franchise starts shit talking Taz from the crow's nest. We get a special challenge match for the TV title. It's more of a story arc device but it works so well especially right on the heels of the previous match that I think the whole segment is a classic. Taz & Chris Candido vs. Sabu & Rob Van Dam (ECW 05/08/97) Pretty chaotic action packed match. They are flying off the top rope, there's a suplex or a move with the chair. Not necessarily a dramatic match but a high energy one...good, good fan cam match. Everything you would want... Candido was great in ECW. Sabu does a great leaping frakensteiner off the chair to Chris. Elks Lodge is like the Hammerstein Ballroom. Probably my favorite ECW venues since the balconies makes it feel so epic...like there's so much to be said for the old architecture compared to modern arenas. But I think the Elks Lodge is the best...everyone is just packed in there..That said the Fan Cam shot is really shaky here because Feinstein keeps needing to move in order to get the shot. So there's a couple other good looking matches from this show that I am going to skip for now...well just one more... Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull #1 (05/08/97) - It dawned on me that these DVDs don't include the Pit bulls and I've skipped them over too. So we can't have that! It's fun but holy shit, Rick Rude carrying Francine like that :S That's a bit pervy even for ECW. Now you're going to look it up for this - oh great! Butt...whoops...but anyways we get to see the Triple Threat (Franchise, Candido & Bigelow) plus Pitbull #2. *Edit since posting: Been listening to clips from Francine's podcast (super interesting btw) and she mentions this incident and it was unplanned. She says Rude pretty much did whatever he wanted with her in this and at other times. She's over it but yeah that's pretty fucked up. Just wanted to add some info from Francine since I found it* Mikey Whipwreck vs. Spike Dudley (ECW 1997) - Not sure on the date but this is really good stuff! I forgot how much fun Spike was on offense. I think I just recall him taking sick bumps but he was much more than that. Mikey and he wrestled their asses of and this was a precursor to the Super Crazy - Tajiri - Spike - Guido - sometimes Jerry Lynn matches from a year or two later. I put this here chronology because Mikey and Spike shake hands and looks like team up later in '97. D-Von Dudley (w/ Joel Gertner) vs. Tommy Dreamer (w/ Beulah) ECW (05/30/97 Hazelton, PA) - Fancam at a gym show and this one is a lot of fun. Pre-match jaw jacking and then a simple but enjoyable singles match. Beulah & Gertner at ringside are great. D-von and Tommy can do a match like this in their sleep but dammit! It put a smile on my face Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Spike Dudley (As Good as It Gets 09/20/97): A famous ECW moment as Bigelow press slams Spike into the crowd from the ring!! And the ECW Arena fans body surf him! It's a fun match with a great moment. A person in the YouTube comments was there and said on the 2nd toss into the crowd, no one caught Spike and they thought he was dead. They eventually resuscitate Spike & surf him though... Holy Cow! Jerry Lynn vs Justin Credible (10/31/97 ECW Fright Fight Stamford, CT) - Really good junior style match. Lynn & Credible worked really well together. This was pretty early in their ECW careers so I think they were working a program to get some interest in them. Not sure if there's much more to it than that! Back to the DVD! Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Shane Douglas - (ECW November To Remember 1997 - 11/30/97) - In Pittsburgh (Monaca, PA to be exact), The Franchise takes on his former Triple Threat member, Bam Bam Bigelow for the ECW title! And it's a good match - lotsa drama here, lotsa Bigelow working the pro-Franchise crowd. I wasn't a fan of the slow pacing but there were some choice spots and Francine did a great job as usual. This was good stuff if you like both guys & if you're watching a chunk of ECW like me. Also a nice allusion to the Bam Bam vs Spike match above. If you're not a fan or your not invested then, this is not going to keep you entertained. Missed posting this last week, now it's up! ----- Sometime in 1997: Chris Candido vs. Dr. Tom Prichard (ECW 1997) - Great all action match! It's under 10 minutes and there's a section clipped out for TV. Had to watch this one Not sure on the date so I'm tacking it on at the end. Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Sabu (ECW World Title) 1997 - Not sure when this one was either. It's a TV match so we get the get camera angles for the Elks Lodge. And although this match doesn't have a decision, everything that happened before all of the run kind was great! This is a great example of Sabu doing his match - its quick, frenetic and he's using his body as a weapon. It makes sense against the Beast from the East. Bigelow just needs to be a monster and this works! Bam Bam in ECW was awesome! Al Snow vs. Paul Diamond (w/ Chastity) ECW 1997 - I gotta have an Al Snow match. I couldn't find many but Snow and the head gimmick was so over in 97 & 98. It confused the hell out of me how he'd be on ECW and WWF (for a time) but in a way Snow helped me get into ECW because I at least recognized him from the WWF shows and magazines. Same with Bigelow. This isn't much of a a match but it's fun & if you look it up, it is A good representation of Al Snow during this time. Also didn't realize that his Snow Plow finish is a Northern Lights Bomb - sick! I kinda went overboard for 1997. There's only 3 matches on the DVD which I found wasn't representative of the roster or all of the neat pairings. As I kept looking for stuff, I kept finding interesting matches. The roster seemed pretty damn stacked in 1997. There was fresh blood and new angles (ECW vs WWF/Jerry Lawler for instance) as well as PPVs. They had lost talent but it didn't slow down. 1997 was ECW turning a corner into bigger & better things. Bigelow was just awesome in this setting. Yeah, 1997 seemed like a very good year. Hang in there and thanks for reading!

It's the second installment of the ECW Unreleased Vol.1 DVD and we're looking at 1996. As before, I'm adding some things not on the DVD to flesh things out. Shane Douglas vs. Cactus Jack - ECW Cyberslam 1996: Absolute great match! There's a real grit and intensity to this match. There's no brawling in the stands or crazy table spots. Instead both guys look like they're really trying to hurt each other. This is American wrestling so we don't necessarily get a clean finish... I mean it's ECW so that's not uncommon either...we get a great match, great conclusion to a storyline and in brutal fashion from the mind of Mick. I think I like this match more as I get older. On YouTube Sandman & Scorpio vs Gangstas vs Headhunters (ECW Big Ass Extreme Bash - 03/09/96): This is a great ECW bedlam match. Cat fight, canes & chairs swinging, moves off the top & to the outside... something going on seemingly everywhere. So not a great match in the traditional sense but this was so much fun!! Great to see the Headhunters! The Gangstas vs The Eliminators (03/30/96): Not so much a match but two separate brawls from one night. Just absolutely fun stuff...New Jack's promo is great and kicks things off. Nothing fancy about this but the energy & hate is palpable. Tommy Dreamer & Dr. Death Steve Williams vs. Taz & Brian Lee (ECW - The Doctor is In 08/03/96): A super fun dream match of sorts. It gives you a little bit of everything that you'd want - Tommy takes a hellacious bump, we get Beulah vs Fonzie, Dr. Death man handling Fonzie in retribution, Taz vs Dr. Death... it's not a good match but it's more like a great TV segment. Back to the DVD Chris Jericho vs. Too Cold Scorpio - ECW The Doctor Is In - 08/03/96: Oh yeah this was cool! Scorpio comes out wearing his fancy Japan only pants. And don't you know it he & Jericho have a technical puro style bout. It's really good stuff too! It just looks hotter than hell in the ECW Arena and that does effect the pace a little bit. But they eventually pick up the pace, get their second wind, make moves they probably were too hot & tired to do and made this a very good 20 minute match. I didn't know this one happened but really glad it did & that I own it. ----- And finally back to da 'tube Eliminators vs The Gangstas - Cage match (ECW Natural Born Killaz - 08/24/96): Oh man! This is a great ECW tag match! Brawling, weapons, blood, jumps off the cage AND a real sense that these guys want to hurt each other. There's a good amount of Pro-Wrestling inside the cage as well. Saturn is the star here just going off the top a few times. This would get some love if it was in IWA Japan or BJW. It's not polished but is really exciting and chaotic. If you're an ECW fan or of the old sleazy Japanese promotions - go watch this! This was a lot of fun. I think most ECW guys excelled at tag matches because they didn't necessarily have to work smart and tell a story. They could do their spots and then switch out. Additionally, they could brawl on the outside and in the fans and it would generate excitement without actually doing anything too difficult. That's not knock but an observation and a smart way to work. Paul Heyman was smart to emphasize the importance of tag wrestling. Hang in there! Thanks for reading!