Boss Rock

Really great match with some excellent storytelling. Tenryu starts off as THE battle-hardened veteran. He's been through so many wars, every time Kawada hits him he gives him that "You're gonna have to do better than that, kid" expression. It almost gets to the point of no-selling but the longer the match goes on, the more and more visibly hurt Tenryu is. He really makes Kawada earn it through each kick and chop. Kawada overcomes some near KO-worthy punches and leg submissions to start absolutely dominating, busting open Tenryu's nose and battering him on the outside. But just as it appears Kawada has this in the bag, Tenryu proves that the old man still has some fight in him by landing some wicked lariats, a KO punch, and Ki Crusher for the win. I thought Tenryu was a bit too dominant in the beginning for him to get a win, but Kawada weathering the storm and absolutely beating the shit out of him in the second half makes the victory well-earned.

Randy Orton and Alberto el Patron. Orton to me is someone who COULD be great because his timing and execution is downright beautiful at times, but there's absolutely no heart or soul to anything he does. He's had his fair share of good to great matches, but they were usually with someone who was far more interesting (Christian, Bryan, etc). I feel the same way about Patron. I feel like he SHOULD work as a heel being the arrogant aristocrat and he played a good bully to Kalisto last year. But similar to Orton, he's a technically proficient dude with absolutely nothing behind it. And I never liked him as a face, even in LU.

In creating my own list, my top 3 comes down to Hansen, Kobashi, and Misawa. At the end of the day, I'm more inclined to go Misawa for a couple of reasons Took part in some of the greatest singles if not THE greatest singles matches of all time. Took part in some of the greatest if not THE greatest tag matches of all time. Had a case for best in the world for close to a decade. Was an offensive dynamo with incredible execution yet still a masterful storyteller. Could still put on an entertaining and logical match past his prime. While late-90's AJPW could get a bit excessive with multiple kick-outs and false finishes, Misawa (and to their credit the other 4 pillars as well) knew how to build up to those moments. Almost everything he did made sense and made those spots like the tiger suplex in the '98 Kobashi match really feel as big as they were. He was also a fascinating worker to watch outside of those big epics, especially as an underdog where he had to resort to the forearm simply because it was the only thing that could hurt guys like Morishima or Vader. Simply put, Misawa was awesome.

Really good match and a showcase for Morishima. He absolutely batters Misawa for about 70% of this match with Vader-like looping strikes and lariats. Old man Misawa still looks good here as well, occasionally flying but mostly relying on his trusty forearm to wear the big man down. Misawa actually loses his cool twice and just beats the shit out of Morishima with forearms in a "Stay down!" sort of way. Really reminded me a lot of the Misawa-Vader matches with Misawa having nothing but the forearm and roaring elbow to even phase the big man. Misawa gets the win but Morishima looks like a million bucks.

While Hansen and Misawa may not have been each other's best rivals, I do think their matches are underrated. I loved this. Misawa went after Hansen from the get go, playing his game by taking things to the outside and just absolutely brutalizing him and his arm. For a match focused almost entirely on limb work, they made this engrossing as hell. And while Hansen was still able to finish off Misawa with just one lariat, I think it fit the story perfectly. Hansen selling and showing ass has always been to portray him as a wounded animal-vulnerable and in trouble, but still very dangerous. And seeing as how Misawa's mega-push was coming later, this match did a terrific job in making him a legitimate and credible challenger. A fun, crazy brawl with great limb work and an excellent story.

When I was younger, I remember thinking the countless gimmick matches were cool but looking back it's like...wow, that was really, REALLY stupid.

Was a great facial reaction, especially considering how serious Itami is most of the time.

I think Dave is just trying to always stay "ahead of the curve". i.e. evolutions to styles were almost always met with derision and Dave wants to make sure he's part of the "just wait, this stuff will be celebrated years later" crowd. I think there's something to that in change doesn't always mean "killing the business" and people who like PWG stuff shouldn't be told they're stupid or don't "get" wrestling. But I also think not all change is necessarily for the better. Sometimes angles or in ring work gets too meta as opposed to working face/heel dynamics or doing heated, personal feuds. Not to say that's always a bad thing, but I'd hate that to become the dominant force behind all matches. I also think it's possible to find enjoyment out of everything and don't think it should always be an "us vs. them" scenario. I like Kenny Omega and think Jerry Lawler is one of the greatest wrestlers to have ever lived. I find the Young Bucks entertaining while the Holy Demon Army is my favorite tag team of all time.

Really good episode. Almas squash was a lot of fun, Lars destroying people makes me long for a match with Braun, and the main event was good. Still not crazy about Deville. The presentation of her as an MMA fighter just seems so forced (which is ironic considering she did MMA) as opposed to the more natural charisma and presence of Shayna.

Pushing Braun as a top face and champion is a bit of a conundrum, but I lean more towards just going for it and see what happens. On the one hand, the amount of television WWE produces dictates that Braun will need to be on TV a lot. I think WWE could easily rectify this by not having him show up every week or at least keep him out of random matches for the sake of filling time, but that doesn't seem to be WWE's MO anymore unless you're Brock. And while I think they could give him a Goldberg-style monster face push, I do wonder if there is a shelf life for that due to, again, how much TV there is. On the other hand, Brock doesn't move the needle in any significant way, the fans have made up their minds about Reigns, and they seemingly have no interest in pushing an over babyface like Finn. Why not take a chance on a guy who's already super hot with the audience?

This. Not to say there's anything wrong with disliking a particular style, but the whole "those fans" mentality is something I've always hated.

2005 was probably their peak in terms of in-ring quality. But there was still lots of good stuff to be had scattered around amidst all the absurdity.

Finished the second round of videos. Really good stuff overall. While I'm not sure it's quite reached the peaks of the CWC, it more than makes up for it in volume and consistency. Kairi and Shayna have been the MVP's thus far, but Mercedes, Toni, and Piper have stood out as well. And seeing how Bianca did against Kairi, the sky is clearly the limit for her.

21st anniversary of this match! Don't think it's as good as their '91 or '93 encounters, but still an absolute perfect match to end the Kobashi-Hansen rivalry with. Every time Kobashi would get just a liiiiiitle bit closer to victory only to fall short, but this time Kobashi is Hansen's clear superior and has what it takes to take down his fiercest rival of all time.

This is probably one of the greatest matches I've ever seen and if it doesn't surpass their January '97 match, then it is at least on par with it. Great escalation and some absolutely incredible offensive sequences. They did a great job telling the story of Kobashi being on Misawa's level and perhaps on the verge of surpassing him when Misawa hit a huge move (the insane Tiger Suplex) that Kobashi could never fully recover from. The only criticism I would offer is that they probably could have ended the match after the Tiger Driver '91 and really hammer home the point that Kobashi had nothing left after the Tiger Suplex. Everything else afterwards felt just a tad excessive. But I can understand the need to make Kobashi look as resilient as possible, so mission accomplished. All in all, an absolute classic and if not a contender from greatest match of all time, then at least a contender for greatest AJPW and 90's match. *****

I love a bloody lucha brawl and this did not disappoint. Has a real shoot fight feeling with the superb selling and Sangre Chicana puts on an exceptional babyface performance.

Been alternating between AJPW, NOAH, and old CMLL. Gonna finally watch Dandy-Azteca tonight.

August 23 episode: The mask vs. mask match between Sexy Star and Veneno never really happened as Joey Ryan almost immediately interfered and exposed Veneno as Cortez Castro. Looks like Castro's cover is blown. And as much as I hate commentary, I got a laugh out of them mentioning Super Fly and saying "Remember him?" Prince Puma vs. Pentagon Dark faced off in a pretty good match for the Cueto Cup. Some of the strikes were a bit off but still a rather fun, fast-paced affair. Destroyers galore and Puma ended up winning with the 630. He and Vamp mocked Pentagon with the cero miedo sign and the fans booed this pretty hard. It's still clear that Pentagon is their favorite and they were none too pleased that he fell short yet again. Rey Mysterio vs. Johnny Mundo was the match of the night. Rather long as it clocked in at nearly 20 minutes, but still very good. Before the match, Johnny and his stupid agent (really dislike this character) warned Dario that if he Johnny loses, he'll jump to another promotion with the belt. While Rey is certainly past his prime, he's still a great high-flier and is very smooth with a lot of his moves. Rey took the advantage early with his speed and aerial maneuvers while Mundo regained control by utilizing his size and strength advantage. Ref bump led to Mundo trying to hit Rey with the belt but Dominick came in and tackled him before being chased off by security. Rey looked to have the match won but Dario interfered and began slapping Rey. Like, I get Dario interfered to protect the title, but trying to bully Rey just looked so stupid. Rey hit a 619 on Dario but the distraction caused Mundo to nail him with the belt and retain with End of the World. Crowd was torn over the finish. Overall a pretty solid episode. The last two matches were good, especially the main event, but Dario interfering kinda hurt the finish (even if I enjoy a heel needing to cheat to win, which is something WWE never seems to do anymore). August 30 episode: Show starts with Dario visiting Matanza, telling him he was wrong about Matanza's desire for revenge and that Rey humiliated him and the family. A match between the two will take place in two weeks. Son of Madness vs. Mascarita Sagrada was a pretty short but decent affair. Sagrada came out with the vest Havoc gave him during the Famous B feud, which explained the reason behind the match. Madness won pretty quickly and was looking to inflict more punishment before Havoc came in. Security separated the two and Dario set up a Boyle Heights Biker Brawl for an Aztec Medallion. Paul London meanwhile carried away the still-dazed Sagrada. Sexy Star vs. Joey Ryan was a bit awkward to watch considering what happened at Triplemania. Still, they had a better-than-expected match with Sexy primarily in control. She's usually sloppy as hell but looked a lot smoother this time. I really hate to compliment her at this point. Joey took advantage when Taya came out with a Sexy Star sign and mock cheered her around the ring. Sexy looked to have the match won but, like an idiot, attacked Taya who wasn't even interfering and got hit with a superkick for the loss. Joey tried to put his lollipop in Sexy's mouth (gross and an unnecessary visual) but Castro attacked him with a kendo stick. Dario set up a 5-0 Street Fight between the two next week for a Medallion. Marty the Moth beat Argenis in a pretty solid match. Marty was dominant throughout but not your typical squash as the match went longer than 5 minutes. Marty slammed Argenis into the bleachers and tore his mask, leading to Mariposa slamming his head into the post. Pretty much half of Argenis' face was covered in blood as Marty picked up the win and proceeded to unmask him. Marty then challenged Fenix to a match at Ultima Lucha Tres for his mask. Fenix attacked both Mariposa and Marty before accepting the challenge, but demanded that it be mask vs. hair. For some reason, I'm not as into this feud as much as I should be. Marty is a good heel and did a great job being despicable in this match, but I still think he over-does the gimmick sometimes. I dunno, I feel like there's room for more subtlety but maybe I'm way off. Main event was match of the night, as Havoc and Madness had a really fun No DQ match. Havoc won with a beer bottle to the head and a shooting star press before taking back his vest. Only thing I was disappointed about was that there were motorcycles and helmets around the ring and neither were used! A surprisingly good episode considering most of the top talent was nowhere to be seen. Ultima Lucha Tres was also announced as a four night event, starting in four weeks. And in regards to Aztec Medallions, the Rabbit Tribe and Son of Havoc each have one and another will be determined next week between Joey and Castro. That leaves two left for Gift of the Gods.

One of the first TNA matches I ever saw. Overall, a pretty fun hardcore match. I also liked how they sold the stipulation of "no food and water for 24 hours" by having each guy appear disoriented by the bright lights. Monty Brown was indeed a star in the making and while turning him heel is probably what killed him, you could also argue he was the first victim of the "push every WWE guy we can grab" trend.

And in regards to the Nexus, I believe the plan was always for them to lose. Cena just wanted that specific finish and then realized "Yeah, probably shouldn't have done that". If anything, Cena seems to be more of a measuring stick for someone's success (i.e. determining if someone has "it" or not). http://www.pwmania.com/john-cena-was-allegedly-not-impressed-with-dolph-ziggler

First round was good. Only match I thought was truly bad was Marti-Rachel. I have heard good things about Rachel elsewhere, so we'll see. Favorites so far have been KLR-Sugehit, Jazzy-Abbey, Yim-Logan, and Kairi-Blanchard. And dammit I wish they had signed Jazzy, she's awesome. Not to mention the division is in desperate need of a monster heel not named Nia Jax.

Yes on Ishikawa-Miyahara. Thought it was a step above their previous encounter and a great David vs. Goliath story. There was a bit too much no-selling on the suplex trading and the fact that Ishikawa couldn't put Kento away with three finishers seemed a bit excessive, but Miyahara did a tremendous job selling the accumulated damage and looking all sorts of resilient. An almost perfect match for Miyahara, a guy who I've come to like a lot, to reclaim the title.

Wow, what a tag match (and a thank you to Loss for your top 500 matches of the 90's list that led me to finding it)! This is the only AJPW tag match I've seen that follows the simple yet effective "babyface in peril" formula. Kikuchi was great in this match, showing a ton of fire in his offense while also selling absolute desperation for Kroffat and Furnas. Builds beautifully to Kobashi tagging in and clearing house. Usually when I watch 90's AJPW, I just take in everything I see and enjoy it for what it is rather than get invested in a winner. This time, I was on the edge of my seat pulling for Kobashi and Kikuchi. Great stuff.

This is definitely my favorite Misawa-Jumbo singles match. While I really liked the June match, I had the same issue with Childs in that Misawa looked too much like an opportunistic cruiser as opposed to a rising heavyweight star challenging Jumbo's supremacy. Misawa was great as always but this was primarily a Jumbo match, just absolutely beating the tar out of this guy who just won't go away. Misawa first goes for his barrage of forearms to soften Jumbo up but when those aren't quite getting the job done, he opts for the jumping kicks which look to do more damage but leave him open for offense. Jumbo gets to a point where he's absolutely had enough and just wallops Misawa with a chair on the outside, driving home just how badly he wants to prove that he's better than Misawa. Still, Misawa won't go away and tells Jumbo he has to earn it. My only issues were a few weird things Misawa does during this match. He might be my pick for the GOAT, but him adjusting his tights while selling will never not be weird to me. Not to mention once getting hammered with the chair he's able to make it back to the ring under his own power without much issue, but when Jumbo immediately throws him out THEN he sells like he's exhausted. Nevertheless, a great match and arguably the best non-tag Jumbo-Misawa meeting.

This is a pretty terrific match and maybe the best singles bout of Jun's career. Great story of Jun being good but still not on Kobashi's level offensively so he needs to go for the injured knee. Kobashi does a tremendous job selling the damage and with his mobility compromised, has to rely on chops and lariats. While the chopping got a bit out of hand during Kobashi's NOAH years, they definitely make sense here because they're pretty much all he has with the injured leg. And though Kobashi proves that he's still the better man, Jun looks like an absolute world-beater. My only issue with this match is that the fighting spirit spots get to be a bit much. You have one spot in the middle where the two are suplexing each other back and forth where it doesn't really make sense to do so, and in the end you see Kobashi immediately pop up after an exploder to hit a lariat and then collapse in exhaustion. Other than that, this is a fantastic match and probably the best of 1998.