TheBean

AAA 07/05/00 in Tokyo Octagoncito VS Mini Abismo Negro: Two of my favorite AAA minis and they didn't disappoint! A spectacular display of acrobatics and athletics. They had a couple flubs right at the end because they were pushing themselves so hard for the previous 7 minutes. But its no matter because they did their job and kicked off the show with a bang! Elimination Match: Psicosis II & Maniaco & Histeria vs. Aguayo & Alebrijo & Path Finder vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Minoru Tanaka & Genki Horiguchi vs. Picudo & Charly Manson & Espiritu: The best kind of Japanese indie cluster-fuck type of match. So many wacky ass costumes, a couple blown spots but that just made guys go faster & more recklessly! Then you had real mother fucking pros like Psicosis II & hungry young guns Perro Jr., Genki & Marufuji holding this thing together. I am a sleazie indie wrestling fan at my core so I loved this! Favorite spot of the match is with Alebrije & his mini Cuije (who is quite small) going after Psicosis II. Alebrije knocks Psico. to the floor and launches his mini Cuije into the fucking atmosphere for a pop up plancha to the floor. Psicosis somehow catches him! looks around and unceremoniously tosses the mini five feet into the chairs like a turd bag 😆...moments later Alebrije hits a tope! Gotta Recommend this one 🙂 07/06/00 in Osaka Pentagon , Xochitl Hamada and Mini Abismo Negro VS El Oriental , Esther Moreno and Octagoncito: Crazy fast paced curtain jerker. A lil loose in places but not enough that this wasn't a blast. Oriental was flawless and makes me want to see more of him around this time period. He & Pentagon were great. Xochitl & Esther weren't hitting everything perfectly but they definitely were doing everything super quick despite being a little heavier than they were in the 90's. The minis were excellent as usual but Octagoncito was a tad off tonight but again nothing so much that this wasn't a good time 🙂 Abismo Negro and Electro Shock VS Hijo del Perro Aguayo and Hector Garza: Damn! This was really good! I'm used to 2009 Abismo and he can really go in 2000. Electro Shock is still a big lumbering dude but the benefits of youth are still upon him. Perrito & Hector are just awesome. So much energy and fire from both of them. Sadly only Electroshock is still alive...that is wild 🙁 =-=-=-=-= Crazy Boy & Último Gladiador vs. Nicho el Millonario & Joe Líder (03/04/09): I think it's a safe bet that Nicho & Joe matches are going to be fun and have at least 2 crazy spots in them. This went above and beyond. Not a coherent match but an indie feeling spot match that captures the fun of watching wrestling as a teenager. Mesías vs. Konnan, Chessman (03/04/09): These main events are the best matches but damn, this is great TV! The fans are apoplectic! Konnan is working them into a frenzy. 03/15/09 Rey de Reyes Latin Lover vs. Abismo Negro vs. Ozz vs. Black Abyss, 2009/03/15 [Rey de Reyes]: Lot of fun. Abismo Negro was in a bunch and looked good. He vs Ozz was best. Pretty sure he did a ganso bomb (relatively safe version rather than pure head spike). This would be Abismo Negro's last TV match as he died a few days later under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Octagón vs. Súper Fly vs. Electroshock vs. Nicho, 2009/03/15 [Rey de Reyes semifinal]: Nicho gets eliminated too soon - boo! Octagon gets eliminated next, yay! So we get Super Fly vs Electroshock which is good stuff. It's pretty much heel vs face with the ref being a heel. So every Super Fly move has the crowd hoping it'll be enough to put the big man away. Charly Manson, X-Pac, Alex Koslov vs. Zorro, Jack Evans, Teddy Hart: Good match with everyone working hard. There's a fan at ringside and Teddy & Jack grab her and throw her in the ring (kayfabe) and Juvi comes out to make the save! Maybe we get Juvi with D-Mex later on??? El Mesías vs. Chessman: Heavyweight title, cage match. Six sides of steel (AAA is using the TNA ring still), chairs, light tubes & tables inside, barb wire canopy, pin fall or submission wins it. In terms of sports entertainment, death match-as-spectacle, this was a classic. The video package preceding the match gives you enough to know that this is intense & extreme (like "hard-core" extreme). It shows the Foreign Legion's involvement in trying to take over AAA (Konnan & his hired army). So on and so forth. So, what we get here is a payoff. If you're watching the shows then, they have the crowd eating out of their hands. For me, that's good and well but this is 2026 & I'm looking at a long run time for a AAA match so, they have to deliver the in ring goods. I think they did that. Again it felt like a WWE Attitude era PPV title match - outside interference, blood, big spots, goofy cage climbing logic/fatigue but it all works given the stakes and the setting. I LOVED This... absolutely appeals to myself as a wrestling fan at 14 - Nitro, Raw/Warzone & ECW Hardcore TV 😁 If you dug that stuff then, I think this era of AAA would appeal to you. 03/20/09 Aero Star & Fabi Apache vs. Oriental & Cinthia Moreno: Holy cow! This was a great all action match. Aero & Fabi vs the sibling duo of Oriental & Cinthia is excellent. They were laying into each other and going for all kinds of big stuff. Definitely recommend this one - gotta keep an eye on these matches going forward! Excellent post match where maybe Aero asks Fabi out but Ex-husband Billy Boy puts an end to that. Again, did I mention this reminds me of ECW/WCW/WWF of the late 90's? 13-man domed cage match: This is to "determine placements in the subsequent match-ups in the tournament for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship." That's directly from the source, the YouTube poster. So, this is mad cap bonkers, demolition derby type shit. It's easier for me to share the names of the participants than describe what happened. They are: Jack Evans, Joe Líder, Alex Koslov, Teddy Hart, Extreme Tiger, Laredo Kid, Billy Boy, Nicho el Millonario, Alan Stone, Escoria, Crazy Boy, Súper Fly & Juventud Guerrera. What's neat is that some storyline elements come into play as the "match" goes on. This thing is 35 minutes long but it kept my attention and kept me entertained. WCW Rey Mysterio Jr vs Psychosis Saturday Night July 13th, 1996: This match is always a winner in WCW. Psicosis is a great foil to Rey not only because he's bigger but because he wrestles like he's bigger. He slams him, he chops him hard, he throws him throat first into the ropes. Sure he can do fancy moves but his priorities lie in mangling Mysterio 😋 Eddie Guerrero vs Psychosis Saturday Night July 3rd, 1999: Good little match here. Eddie works Psicosis' knee. I wish they would have let this be a tad more competitive... Psicosis did get some big ass moves in...hmm so I guess they would have given this more time then. It's 1999 WCW so I should be thankful we even got this!!! Vampiro vs Psychosis Worldwide July 31st, 1999: Shorter match, less developed but way more exciting. Both guys went for big moves the whole time and when the finish came, it felt definitive. Fun!

AEW/ROH is keeping up with posting HDNet episodes. Here are some episodes with excellent Bryan Danielson main events. All are 2009. Danielson vs Aries Danielson vs Tyler Black # 1 Danielson vs Tyler Black # 2

July & August 1987 Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask vs Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (07/11/87): PWF tag belts on the line. This was pretty good and had a nice finish. DiBiase was very good as was Tiger. Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (07/17/87): A great energetic match! Hansen and DiBiase gave great performances. Yatsu and Nakano were vicious in attacking both villiains' knees. If you want working-a-limb psychology that's exciting, watch this! Remarkable selling by Ted & a great emotional performance by Stan. Tough as dirt Yatsu and gutsy Nakano taking it to the larger than life tag champs. Great match! RECOMMENDED! Ted DiBiase vs. Tiger Mask II (07/19/87): Very good to great action packed match. I really appreciate the head lock work early on. Ted in All Japan is so excellent. This is no exception. Recommend this one. Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (07/23/87): PWF title is on the line. Very evenly fought match between the top 2 teams in AJPW. This looked like a really competition for the title and gave them real importance. Tenryu was really brutal with his head kicks. Classic Hansen freakout after the bell too. HIGHLY recommend this whole thing! 07/30/87 Takashi Ishikawa & Mighty Inoue vs Isamu Teranishi & Masanobu Kurisu: Well, this was a barrel full of monkeys! I loved it. All kinds of different offense or should I say 'awe'fense. I am cheesy like Kraft. This took a little bit to get going in terms of direction and pace but, turned into a smile worthy Asia Tag match. These four dudes are great. Giant Baba & Tiger Mask vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara: I've come to love Tenryu vs Baba because Genny chops Baba as hard as anyone & vice versa. No one works better with old Baba than Tenryu. TM Misawa's kicks were fantastic looking. I wish he would have kept the kicks along with his elbow based on his use here. Baba took a surprising amount of punishment to the point where I believe he was legitimately hurt. I gotta recommend watching this match. It's like watching Misawa in a WAR match. Tenryu & Hara are real bruisers and generally beat the piss from the bodies of their foes- win, lose, or draw. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Isamu Teranishi (08/21/87): We only get 4 minutes but dang it, it's Bockwinkel vs Teranishi! Toshiaki Kawada Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Ricky Fuyuki (8/21/87): Pretty much the start of the Jumbo vs Tenryu program as far as what I'm watching. This starts as a tag but Kabuki green mists Tenryu. Kawada jumps into the ring in outrage. Fuyuki comes out and this becomes a 6 man. It's got a quick pace and is a lot of fun. It's rough around the edges but still exciting and impressive. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Mighty Inoue (All Japan TV August 29th, 1987 - 9:18 shown): Did this happen? Yes! and it's a really good technical wrestling match. Neither guy is a spring chicken but my goodness, these two have still got it. Might not thrill everyone but it worked for me! Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu (08/31/87): A heck of a match & a heck of a finish! 80's finish is/was a derisive term used to signify anything other than a clean pin fall or submission. After watching a lot of 80's wrestling the past few years, it's a shame they did away with these types of finishes. There's so many variations that leaves the door open to more excitement down the road...plus everything isn't working towards finishing moves. It feels more natural.. this match is a great example. One other thing is that I like Jumbo using the enzuigiri.

More Omori! Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki v Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori (All Japan 06/04/99): Hells yeah! What a great match! They bring so much variety to the table. This was so cool because they needed to use a ton of aerial stuff and their quickness to combat the beast Takayama. Omori is pretty frigging big too so they had their work cut out for them. Tons of excitement and surprises in this one. I think calling this a near classic especially in regards to the Hayabusa/Shinzaki team is appropriate. Their 1999 stuff is awesome! A well paced and nicely laid out fight. Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama vs Takao Omori & Takashi Sugiura (06/16/01) - Oh!!!!What a finisher!! 21 minutes of great tag wrestling. Just so well paced and never gets gratuitous. In fact it's rather simple. That keep it simple stupid mentality is what makes great matches when the talent and athleticism is there. Its 2001 so everyone is still in their prime. Sugi is the face-in-peril as a rookie. What's great is that with his frame, Saito and Akiyama can just lay into him. Everyone is on point here, everyone is excited to be doing this new promotion NOAH - its something I'd feel good giving ****1/4. That finish was just the right thing at the right time and gives it that extra 1/4 star and "near classic" designation. Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Shinjiro Otani & Takao Omori (NOAH October 12, 2001) Back in the green ring of Noah. This is neat as Omori is here as a cast off from the early days of Noah but there's that great AJPW history that ties him to Ogawa & Misawa. Then you've got Otani who has no love for Ogawa or Misawa whether you want to draw upon his NJ history or as one of the top stars of the fledgling Zero One. It's a simple match but a great one. I think what elevates it is that the little touches are done right. And perhaps it's because it is 2001 and we're not that far away from when wrestling (as in holds, storytelling over moves etc.) mattered.

Kanemura is a great worker overall for a time and probably the best death match wrestler, when he wants to be. Headhunters vs Miguel Perez Jr. & Yukihiro (Wing) Kanemura ( W*ING 05/09/93): Barbwire Cage match. I was hyped that I found this. Perez Jr. is a guy that I've become a fan of through W*ING. This match was fantastic with everyone tasting the wire, guys going off the top rope & cage etc. The fact that it was a non escape match was a plus. May have had some clipping (a constant with W*ING & IWA) but nothing offensive. A great death match, heck a great match in general. Masato Tanaka, Kuroda & Koji Nakagawa vs W*ing Kanemura, Hido & Hosaka (FMW - Exploding Barbwire match - 09/01/96): Fourteen plus minutes of brutal, dramatic deathmatch wrestling. The fighting was top notch and the barbwire and bomb spots were extremely meaningful in terms of the drama. Seriously, this was one of the best FMW matches and the best deathmatches that I've seen. Classic match Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki vs Mr. Gannosuke & W*ING Kanemura (March '98 Michinoku Pro): 13 minutes of a 19 minute match which is typical of M-pro commercial tapes to save a little off the front end. Picks up with agressive, violent heel work focused on destroying the Hakushi. Jinsei's bleeding bad, get the falcon man in dammit!! With his home fans rooting him on, he's able to tag in emerald outfitted Hayabusa. These guys know what they are doing- the crowd is rocking and the camera work is only enhancing the viewing experience. Highly recommend checking this out! Kintaro Kanemura vs. Ryuji Ito (08/24/03 BJW): Kanemura works so much better with Ito than Shadow WX. Ito can still move, wants to do pro wrestling and while Kanemura is broken down some, he's willing to meet the young guy in the middle. As a result we get a great, dare I say classic Cage Death Match. While it isn't in the upper echelon of cage matches, this is right below as it conveys the intensity, they use the cage as a weapon, they use their other weapons but at almost 15 minutes, this never overstayed it's welcome. They do a little bit of everything and it hits just in the right way. I think one of the near falls should have ended it but, nothing afterwards feels superfluous. They made it work and went back to "wrestling" at the end. And that's a good sign for BJW to come. If you're a hard-core/garbage wrestling fan, I Highly Recommend this one. More recommendations to come down the road...

AAA I found a great source for 2009 lucha libre and have been digging into that for the last week or so. I've been watching AAA since there's less available than CMLL and thus an easier project to devote time to. Also the energy & vibe is much more American style wrestling so it's a super easy thing to watch. It reminds me of ECW in a way with many of the story lines and segments intertwining. I'm cherry picking as usual and only giving recommendations for the matches that I think deserve it. Can't watch everything so I'm sure I'll miss something. X-Pac, Alex Koslov, Rocky Romero vs. Ozz, Escoria, Cuervo (12/06/08): This was a blast. Lots of cool offense from the baby faces... I can't really call them technicos as this is pretty close to TNA X Division. Cool finish and a excellent post match that actually makes me want to watch more of this angle. Helps that I know just about everyone (saw Dark Ozz & Cuervo in AJPW 2010's). Joe Líder & Nicho el Millonario vs Jack Evans & Teddy Hart vs Extreme Tiger & KENTA (12/17/08): Holy crap, this was pretty wacky! It's a ladder match for the tag titles. Nicho is Psicosis btw. All kinds of way too dangerous spots but Teddy and Jack are in this so, you probably suspected that. Anyhow, not necessarily lucha libre but a demolition derby. Extreme Tiger & KENTA vs. Joe Líder & Nicho el Millonario (12/19/08): A straight tag match and this is pretty fun. Lots of cool action. Excellent face/heel stuff where you want Tiger & KENTA to whoop Joe & Nicho's ass. The finish was a lot of fun too. Liked this a bunch. Octagoncito/Mini Charly Manson/Mascarita Sagrada vs Minis Psicosis/Abismo Negro/Histeria (12/19/08): Holy cow! This was awesome! These guys wrestled their asses off. I sorta knew this about the minis but this was way more than I expected. Loved it! Laredo Kid, Aero Star, El Ángel vs. Tigre Cota, Río Bravo, Tito Santana (01/18/09): All acrobatic action. Crazy moves! Mesías, La Parka, Silver King vs. Joe Líder, Nicho el Millonario, Electroshock (01/25/09): Oh this was good stuff! Having Lider & Nicho/Psicosis in there made this better than the typical match with Konnan since they infused more wrestling & hard-core action. I'm glad to see Silver King but I'm not sure he added a ton...I think he'll be great to have him in the mix. Loved this one! Mesias/Banderas is a cool heavyweight tweener hero for AAA. Mesías, La Parka, Silver King vs. Kenzo Suzuki, Nicho el Millonario, Joe Líder (01/31/09): More good stuff! Silver King had some nice moments. Kenzo/KENSO is a simple heel but is a nice complimentary partner to Nicho & Joe. Liked this one! 02/07/09 Mini Charly Manson/Octagoncito/Mascarita Divina vs. Minis Chessman/Psciosis/Histeria, 2009/02/07: Holy cow, Octagoncito is like 10x more exciting than regular Octagon! This was a blast. The mini matches feel relatively traditional compared to some of the main event stuff. They like all of this period of Triple A are 1 fall but have a rudo/technico dynamic. I'm a fan of the story stuff too. Excellent post match also which ties the main event stuff all the way to the curtain jerkers. Extreme Tiger & KENTA vs Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov: Very good all action match. I was going to say Extreme Tiger should go to NOAH but he has! We get shenanigans towards the end but it works for the storyline and it's a pretty cool finish. AAA - Silver King, La Parka, X-Pac vs. Zorro, Nicho el Millonario, Joe Líder, 2009/02/07: Good stuff and even crazier as Silver King turns on his team & AAA. Konann is working the fans into a frenzy post match. This compelling stuff even if you don't know Spanish. Mesias vs Chessman: No DQ match. This started with a bang! It dipped as Chessman worked Mesias' leg with chair shots. He sold them until it was time for the spectacular comeback. I wish people would just stop attacking the legs...it really requires you to devote the rest of the match to storytelling. Anyhow, fuck it, it's TV so the comeback is pretty fun and the finish/end of the show is pretty crazy. This was a really exciting episode of TV and I get ECW vibes from it in the best way. It's got a bit of everything. 2/18/09 Superfly & Laredo Kid vs Nicho & Joe Líder: Super Fly indeed! This was fun - crazy dives & moves. A sweet post match with Parka & Silver King. La Parka vs Silver King: A good brawl with a nice double count out ending. I don't mind that kind of finish when the guys are duking it out in the crowd. Really fun stuff! 2/28/09 Aero Star, Súper Fly, Laredo Kid vs. Río Bravo, Tigre Cota, Tito Santana: Crazy ass move match. These actually seem closer to the lucha libre of CMLL whereas the bigger money matches are pretty close to American style wrestling. La Parka, Crazy Boy, Alex Koslov vs. Silver King, Nicho el Millonario, Joe Líder: Pretty good main event. Rudos beat down the technicos...again feels more heel & face stylistically... good guys make an exciting comeback... especially Alex Koslov. I definitely recommend checking this stuff out. It is super fun and simple to follow along. If you have a hard time getting into lucha, AAA is a great place to start. It's one fall, matches are structured like American matches a little bit more than CMLL and like ECW rules are relaxed to say the least. Many matches have crooked refs but I don't think they ever ruin a match...I think they add to the drama. From what I've seen the pure match quality isn't on par with CMLL's best. That said, it's a clear alternative and watching both promotions seems easy. And that's my plan 🙂 CMLL 07/03/09 La Máscara vs. Felino: Lighting match, 1 fall. This is 6 minutes of pure action! It's essentially a WCW Cruiserweight or TNA X Division match on TV. Just one awesome move, counter move or sequence after another. I like that it's not at a breakneck pace so you're able to actually absorb what you're watching. Easy recommendation for lucha novices. Místico, Volador Jr., La Sombra vs. Averno, Mephisto, Ephesto: Quick & spectacular first fall. Fall #2 was a lil slow but Fall #3 is where it's at! Honestly, this could have just been the 3rd fall and I'd still recommend it. If you like flyin' lucha libre, you'll dig this! La Máscara vs Ephesto (07/10/09): Another lightning match and another very good action packed bout. I'm really digging the pacing of these ones...maybe it's the single fall? That's something that I do like about AAA over CMLL. These lighting matches don't necessarily tell a story but there's never a perfunctory 2nd fall to slog through on occasion. Mascarita Dorada vs. Pequeño Warrior (07/17/09): The CMLL ring babes seemed particularly frisky dancing to Sean Paul and they had one that had a cyber punk look who showed her tongue ring! This was all pretty crazy to start. And then Peq. Warrior Running Razors Edge buckle bombed Mascarita! Later M.D. did a diving rana on Peq. Warrior and swung him straight into the front row! This was all pretty pretty damn wild 😄 M.D. is a little person but Peq. Warrior is an average sized man. In fact he's a muscular guy just not as jacked as Black Warrior (his analog). So this in a way is a David and Goliath match. That's a great dynamic for any wrestling bout. LOVED this from start to finish! Místico vs Mephisto (07/19/09): 2/3 falls title match. Very good stuff but rough in a couple spots. The good outweighs those moments though mainly because its acceptable for lucha to be rough in spots like WAR or Indie stuff. Here they probably get too complicated but again, A singles match that delivers. Mephisto has my favorite mask of the 2000's guys. NJPW 07/16/82 Tiger Mask & Kengo Kimura vs Dynamite Kid & Bret Hart: This was very exciting. It had great moves but they also kept it simple. Dynamite and Bret were great rough neck heels while still showing they were technically adept. I think this should be included in the list of Tiger vs Dynamite matches to see plus its another excellent Bret in Japan match. So a must see for any Hitman Hart fans. This is a great all action tag match. Easy recommendation! Adrian Adonis, Greg Valentine & Rick McGraw vs Tatsumi Fujinami, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Tiger Toguchi: Scrappy & full of personality, quick pace & nice action - this is one for fans of 80's US & Japanese wrestling alike. Vader vs Shinya Hashimoto (09/14/90): A fantastic battle of violent hippos! They were blasting each other with strikes. And man, those were ring rattling slams & suplexes. Great stuff! This era of Vader may be his best. Also I'm really digging his outfit and thinking about painting a squad of Chaos Marines like him in all black with red veins/lightning bolts. Any 40k dorks out there? 😋

AEW/ROH posted this:

The long awaited Part #2 of New Japan 1990. Muto vs Choshu (05/24) Unfortunately, I didn't take any notes on this one but I did write that it was a great match! Watched the couple minutes to have some comments and Muto actually seems pretty animated and actually interested. I think my big Muto gripe as time goes on is he just seems to space out in terms of facial expressions... like he doesn't know he's on camera. It's not a stoicism thing...he just looks surprised or tired. Anyhow, Muto's still engaged and am looking forward to him in '90. I saw in the 1990 year book, people gave it ***3/4-**** and that seems right. Jushin Liger vs. Aoyagi (NJPW 6/12/90) - Worked shoot match. I thought it really picked up in round #3 of 4. Aoyagi went after Liger's mask. Liger/Yamada took it off and went bat shit crazy for the next two rounds. It's an interesting novelty match. Riki Choshu vs. Animal Hamaguchi (NJ 6/12/90) - Absolutely LOVED IT! Animal jumps Riki in the aisle and he's bleeding. These two beat each other from pillar to post. Animal is bleeding now. Under 10 minute master class in intense, believable pro wrestling. Great, great match. Koshinaka, Hoshino, Iizuka & Kobayashi vs Super Strong Machine, Honaga, Tatsu Goto & Hiro Saito (06/18) - Last seven minutes but this is how it is done. Hoshino is bleeding from the nose, everyone is putting forth full energy & enthusiasm and dammit, I'm having a good time. No crazy moves needed 😁 Muto & Chono vs Hashimoto & Sasaki (06/18) 16 minutes of action! Chono & Sasaki were flying out the gate! Muto & Hashimoto slowed it down for a moment. Then this kept going at a steady pace until the finish. Chono had an awesome segment with Hashimoto involving the STF. Honestly everyone was excellent here. This was a very good tag match with four soon to be super stars. Riki Choshu, Koshinaka, Hoshino, Sasaki & Kobayashi vs Super Strong Machine, Hamaguchi, Kurisu, Tatsu Goto & Hiro Saito (06/26) 2/3 Falls 26 minutes of chaos. This is fast and frenetic as all get-out! There are so many participants and match-ups that really everyone shines. I will say Kensuke Sasaki gets the biggest boost from his performance here. Early and late career Kensuke is damn enjoyable. Um, what else without blathering on about specifics?? I thought Falls 1 & 3 were the best but, hey isn't that usually the way? It's just great wrestling and perhaps a classic match at that. It should be in the conversation concerning the legendary NJ multi-man matches of the '80-90's. It is really that great- time well spent! Steve Williams & Pegasus Kid vs Bam Bam Bigelow & Owen Hart (06/30) - This is like a WCW vs WWF fantasy match or something. A little jip but they probably shouldn't have spent the time on the intros. Anyhow, good match. I felt it was a good showcase for Owen & Pegasus (to a lesser extent). Owen looked really cool with his drop kicks and other moves. Animal Hamaguchi, Masanobu Kurisu & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto (06/30) - This was about 15 minutes worth of goodness. No team likes each other but Kurisu really doesn't like Riki & his team. The feeling is mutual. By the end of this match you're going to be fans of Animal, Kurisu & yes, even Goto. Hell! especially Goto! This was really good 6 man wrestling. Keiji Muto vs. Brad Rheingans (06/30) - Good match! This was a good pairing. Nice simple wrestling work on the legs & arms. Then followed up by slams, suplexes and moves which eventually led to the 1-2-3. Simple stuff but done right. If you want to see Part #1, click the link below:

June Jumbo Tsuruta & John Tenta vs The Road Warriors (06/08/87): Ok, this has potential. Switch Wajima for Tenta and we've got something good. And to little surprise Tenta delivered. His stuff vs Hawk was awesome. Oh shit! It's over? That was quick...fun though. Honestly, this is probably the best use for the Warriors in AJ if not facing Jumbo & Tenryu. 06/09/87 The Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Tiger Jeet Singh & Jason The Terrible. - Tremendously non AJPW match 😄 The heels were hitting the faces in the head with a folding table...in the ring...in front of the ref! This could be good or bad depending on your preferences. I think it was fun either way. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano: Hara is a beast! but colored me surprised Hara is the one in peril not Nakano. Again, Yatsu really shines in this match. I'd again say he's the best wrestler in there. This was really enjoyable but, over too quick. There was never a dull moment though and features two really great spots. Recommended match The Road Warriors vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima: This was pretty good when Hawk and Jumbo were in the ring. Wajima if you've never seen him is goofy. That's the case here per usual. Animal does his press slams and such but, is really too massive to be good. The chaotic ending is fun but, comes outta nowhere. It's an OK match. 06/11/87 Hiroshi Wajima vs. Animal Warrior: Well, they read my mind and gave me the worst match up of the above match...and perhaps the worst pairing for AJPW '87. I could not see this lasting more than 5 minutes since Wajima is embarrassing and Animal has little ability or personality. I had my fiance time it. Fortunately, it's around 3 minutes. Thank you! Giant Baba vs Tiger Jeet Singh: Great brawling start. Tiger's using a bucket like it's the WWF Raw game from the 90's. Yes! But from there it's more mat wrestling and less blood (if any) than I expected. Started fun but, was just OK. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara: This was really a lot of fun if a little disorganized. Perhaps chaotic is a more complementary way to phrase that but, that's what held it back from being a great match. Aw screw it, this was a blast especially with Tiger Mask Misawa flying around. He was revolutionary for '87 AJPW and appeared to have Tenryu beat. This match really helped elevate him. Jumbo was a bit off tonight but, wisdom says that was purposeful. It helped Tiger's star shine brighter. Recommended match. Stan Hansen vs Hiroshi Wajima (06/15/87) - I think this is good to watch as it's the payoff of all of their tag matches.Very good to great match to be honest. It's 10 minutes and it's Stan guiding Wajima through a big time title match. And Wajima does really well...the only thing he didn't know what to do with were a couple eye rakes. So Stan just hit him over the back very hard...he got the message then 😄 What works about this pairing is that Stan & Wajima both have simple, straight forward offenses. Or at least Hansen keeps it simple so he & Wajima look even. So then the fight is only about who tougher. Additionally, Hansen makes sure there's a good story with Wajima focusing on the Texan's arm & Stan on the yokozuna's ribs.

AAA J.Liger, T. Mask III , HD Santo & Octagón vs La Parka, Psicosis, B. Panther & E. Guerrero (05/15/94): Fun stuff with a lot of stars in the match. 1st & 3rd falls were best. Jushin Liger and Eddie Guerrero were the standouts for their teams. Tiger Kanemoto was in quite a bit but looked just OK. He's already good as himself in '92 but he's not a Tiger Mask except for his kicks. Psicosis also is pretty good here - taking crazy bumps. Highlights of the match are the dives. Makes me want to watch Eddie vs Liger in New Japan along with a Koji match...to remind me that he doesn't stink 😁 AJW Manami Toyota, Mariko Yoshida & Takako Inoue vs Cynthia Moreno, Esther Moreno & Mika Takahashi (06/18/91 - 7/21 TV): A dizzying display of speed & technique. Everyone was on fire. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED especially for ladies lucha libre or joshi fans. 14 minutes or so. Near Classic. Classic UK wrestling Mark Rocco vs Sammy Lee (Sayama) (04/04/81): This is an amazing match. I think since Sayama is being showcased here, he is more spectacular than most of his Tiger Mask matches. Rocco is an excellent foil here by letting Sayama shine, working/selling his maneuvers brilliantly and being a shit head, thus giving the match meaning. It's under 13 minutes and I LOVED IT. Definitely recommend this one! I'd actually highly recommend it if you're a fan of either guy. CMLL Blue Panther vs Ultimo Dragon (01/31/92): Stumbled upon this while looking for other matches. This is really good stuff that definitely would appeal to puro or U.S. style wrestling watchers. I find that Ultimo Dragon does a good job adapting to each style and is probably the proto international hybrid style worker. This has big moves, big dives and moves along at a good pace. It's stuff that any modern viewer should be down with. A recommendation for any lucha novice like myself. More seasoned lucha fans or old school fans might be interested but I think it doesn't have enough essential lucha libre qualities to grab their interest. Wrestlingstreaming service NJPW Solitario Vs Tatsumi Fujinami (1981): Another outstanding match from these two. Technically oriented but a bit more fisticuffs than I recall from their '79 bout. Additionally the pace is slower perhaps to match Fujinami's rank as a heavyweight. Therefore a small step down from that 1979 match (in comparison) but on it's own merits, this is great and RECOMMENDED. 13 minutes. See both if you can! Jushin Liger vs Black Tiger (Rocco) (07/12/89): Where has this match been!? 😃 I loved this. Heated junior wrestling, B.T Rocco choking Liger with his towel. Simple yet big moves & counter moves. Some reason NJ skips round #3 on the tape (yup there's rounds...which actually works well here) but no matter. 15 minutes or so of near classic junior wrestling. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for fans of the style or Liger. Wrestlingstreaming service

Last Spring, I took very brief look at 2009 Ring of Honor but I definitely feel like I got a great sampling of what the company had to offer. I admit I didn't see enough of Tyler Black or Austin Aries however, I saw enough to see how they had changed from the Age of the Fall era. I like Aries as the hammy heel champ as he offers something completely different than the wrestling machine he was in the Generation Next days. Black/Rollins was always pretty good and it's been cool seeing him on his own (I did love him & Jimmy Jacobs team). Danielson had a pretty good year from what I saw and this probably isn't my favorite era of his in ROH, when he needs to deliver, he really does. If you want to know, I think there's too many smiles and repeating of popular/standard Danielson moves in smaller bouts..that's working smart and getting ready for WWE. From my totally lopsided viewing, Davey & Steen were the standouts of the year. Totally skewed that way, I know BUT I felt that they delivered on every match AND met the booking demands and transitioned to the big stars of ROH for 2010. I'm watching through another sampling for 2010 ROH currently. So be on the lookout for that. Here's the list for those tldr folks. I've noted ones posted on YouTube, videos are embedded in my posts for your convenience. p.s. Be sure to check out post # 3 as I added a review and video link for Tyler Black vs KENTA in the comments. Links for full reviews & pics: Ring of Honor You Might Have Missed - 2009 PART #2 PART #3 PART #4 FINAL PART Must See: Bryan Danielson vs Davey Richards (Final Countdown: Boston 09/25/09) Highly Recommended: -KENTA & El Generico vs Nigel McGuinness & Davey Richards (Steel City Clash 2009) YT -Davey Richards vs KENTA (Supercard of Honor IV 2009) -KENTA & Tyler Black vs Austin Aries & Katsuhiko Nakajima (Take No Prisoners 2009) YT -American Wolves vs KENTA & Roderick Strong (Violent Tendencies 2009) -KENTA vs Tyler Black (End of an Age 06/27) YT -American Wolves & Chris Hero vs Steenerico & KENTA (ROH on HDnet ep #17 aired 07/18/09) YT -Austin Aries vs Davey Richards (Aries vs Richards 11/13/09) Recommended: -American Wolves vs Steenerico (ROH on HDnet ep #11 aired 05/30/09) -American Wolves vs Steenerico (Manhattan Mayhem III 2009) -Bryan Danielson vs Tyler Black (ROH on HDnet ep# 18) -American Wolves vs Briscoe Brothers (Final Countdown: Chicago 09/19/09) -Kevin Steen & El Generico vs the Young Bucks (Final Battle 2009) YT

AEW/ROH posted the first episode ROH on HDNet. Pretty cool. I have a few of the Best of DVDs that were released years ago. Would be cool if AEW released these HDNet episodes regularly. We can't probably hope for the Sinclair episodes to be seen (?).

AJPW Watched "The Patriot" matches because I like a gimmick and it's almost 4th of July in the States... seemed like a good one..plus I have been meaning to watch more midcard AJPW 90's. Most/all of these are joined in progress. I LIKED them all but maybe you'll see one here that looks more interesting than others. vs Kenta Kobashi (06/03/92): An offensive move display from both. Good near falls. w/ Kobashi vs Dr. Death & Terry Gordy (09/05/92): Damn! This was really good! Extended beat down of Kobashi then makes the hot tag to Patriot. Then its just big moves and excitement. I understand how things get lost in the mix in 90's All Japan but, this one gets my pick as the one to check out. 11-12 minutes. It's from 09/20/92 TV btw. w/ Eagle vs Kobashi & Kikuchi (02/25/93): Rough at times but a big move/tag move fest. w/ the Eagle vs Dr. Death & Terry Gordy (05/14/93): Last 4 minutes but oh so good! w/ Eagle vs Stan Hansen & Bobby Duncum Jr. (09/02/95): Good fun, enjoyed watching Patriot knocking Stan & Bobby over 😃 Classic UK wrestling •Dalibar Singh vs Caswell Martin: Not sure on the date but seems later in the 80's based on the graphics on screen as well as a bit more American style moves (by my estimate). Also this is edited to pretty much just show the falls. Still very athletic, entertaining wrestling. Singh's European upper cuts were nasty. LIKED IT CMLL •Corazon de Leon vs Bestia Salvaje vs Dandy vs Felino vs Negro Casas vs Ultimo Dragon (03/03/95): The way this match was talked about in the '95 Year book/Match Discussion you'd think people were actively shitting their pants during the contest. Maybe it's with those low expectations that I really enjoyed this match. Bestia & Felino get eliminated too soon but then we have a essentially a tag match. Except Leon/Jericho doesn't come in until the very end. Everything prior is very, very good stuff. Jericho is no luchadore though so this resembles more typical junior fare but let's not say Casas & Dandy can't adapt - they can. So this continues to be very good just in a little different way. I LIKED IT. Can't comment on the booking or anything but, it's a fun match that moves along well, tells a simple story and has good action throughout. FMW •Hisakatsu Oya vs Hayabusa (06/27/95): Having watched FMW, this match was a step in the evolution of FMW wrestling. With Onita's (temporary) retirement, the promotion could move a tad away from the slice & dice and more towards the wrestling. This feels like a big move towards that and while they would improve upon it, I still really LIKED this match. Probably didn't need to be as long as it was but, since you're probably watching it online feel free to speed it up during the slower parts 🙂 NJPW •Antonio Inoki vs Tatsumi Fujinami (08/19/82): Roughly 15 minutes of grappling. If you want to see technical wrestling, this is your ticket. A technical duel between master & student. Definitely recommend this one! LOVED IT •Kengo Kimura & Tatsumi Fujinami vs Hiroshi Hase & Iizuka (06/27/89): Emphasis on technical wrestling, Iizuka & Kimura grappling was a highlight. LIKED IT •Vader vs Riki Choshu (06/27/89): Vader gets his mask ripped and they are looking to destroy one another! THIS is what you want with these two. Awesome ending too. LOVED THIS! •Randy Savage vs Jushin Liger (07/17/96): Damn! Randy took a bunch of hurty Liger offense! I doubt any other older WCW guy would have worked that way with Liger. Let's hear it for Macho Man! Fun match - LIKED IT •Fujinami, Koshinaka & A. Nogami vs Chono, Tenzan & H. Saito (07/17/96): That is how you do a 6 man match! What a finishing run there! They built the match right up to it, popped the crowd and ended it. LOVED THIS! SWS •Ultimo Dragon vs Jerry Estrada (12/12/91): This was a lot of fun. Estrada made Ultimo Dragon look great. It had spots he was doing in Hamada's UWF/FULL but they did more. RECOMMENDED UWA •Can Am Express (Furnas & Kroffat/LaFon) vs Los Cowboys (Silver King & El Texano) (07/04/92): 2/3 falls but that's the only lucha libre part about this. The match was much more junior/Puro oriented. It was rough around the edges but would have been right at home in W*ING or other indie. HIGH RECOMMENDATION for fans of either team. Great stuff, glad I saw it!

Yoshihito Sasaki is a guy that is under the radar because he mainly worked B level promotions like Zero One & BJW. Also he had a relatively short career at about 10 years. He has become one of my must watch wrestlers though. Lots of intensity and stiff as a starched shirt. Here's some recommendations: Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita vs T. Kuroda & Yoshihito Sasaki (08/31/04 Zero One Wrestling): Classic structure Jr. tag match with an awesome high energy final act. Great to see FMW alum Kuroda kicking butt! And man Sasaki had a relatively short career but he's so impressive even this early. No one talks about him so I'm going to praise his work and no frills style every chance I get. Here Fujita's execution is on point and the man Hidaka is his usual wizard self. He is just so quick and clean in his movements that it's a joy to watch. Fujita's hot tag to Hidaka is just sick! This is a very very good match. Masato Tanaka v Yoshihito Sasaki (12/24/07 Zero One) This was called Best of 2007 because these two were the best Zero One Wrestling had to offer. They did not disappoint me. There was good wrestling on the mat. Tanaka tries to weaken Sasaki's arm seeing as the lariat is a big weapon of his. But let's be honest, this is not the point of the match. No, there was fighting on the floor, there are big moves and very hard strikes were there too. Sasaki got busted open the hard way from a table thrown by Tanaka. So he was bleeding most of the match. What really put this above just another great match was the counter moves. There were a few choice moves that really surprised me. It made this really feel like two of the best that Zero One had to offer. By the end both men were loopy and although only one man got his hand raised, both were winners in my eyes. I would call this a classic and highly recommend it. Sami Callihan vs Yoshihito Sasaki (wXw 16 Carat Gold 2011 - Night 2) - Man, this looks promising! Sami really looks like he's got a screw loose! He brings so much intensity and bravado to the ring that, I'm invested before the bell rings. A handshake to start the match means Sasaki and Sami are going to be rough. And good gravy, this is violent wonderful wrestling and a near classic bout.

April & May 04/02/87 Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs. Hiroshi Wajima & Takashi Ishikawa - Surprisingly good match! Wajima is limited but Ted & Stan sold it. Ishikawa is the workhorse. He employed slightly more advanced offense and bumped & sold his butt off. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tommy Rich - Good title match but no way was Tommy Rich going to beat Jumbo. Still is was somewhat competitive and entertaining. It's definitely an improvement from their tag match! Dory Funk, Jr. & Hiroshi Wajima vs. Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (04/05/87): Stan starts things off right, nearly crushing Joe Higuchi in the process! He & Ted are THE tag team for 85-87 All Japan. The brawler/wrestler dynamic is good and a change of pace from the Brody/Hansen monster team. This match, Wajima looked really good. He did a few more complicated moves like a back drop suplex & Cobra Twist stretch. This was a pretty darn good tag match. It was fast paced in Stan's style and everything was of good quality. It's funny, Wajima & Dory Funk Jr. aren't that old in '87 but looked like wrestling grandpas here 😋 Note: I thought the Hiroshi Wajima matches were very good overall. I read that he started wrestling to pay off debts. Once he earned enough money, he stopped wrestling. So, in all he wrestled part of '86, all of 1987 and some of '88. I think this is partially why 1987 AJPW is odd. Anyhow, Wajima was limited but actually a good tag wrestler! 04/23/87 The Great Kabuki & Tiger Mask vs. Ted DiBiase & Pete Roberts - A very good bout especially with Tiger Mask II in there. He & Pete Roberts even got to work a swanky Greco Roman knuckle lock sequence in there. Kabuki wasn't his normal fiery self but the other three did great. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano: This was a very good all action bout. There wasn't a strong story or a tremendous amount of drama. That's OK since it was more centered on slapping and chopping the other team. Nakano put forth a lot of effort. He was out ranked but, never appeared out of his depth because he was busting his ass. Surprisingly, Yatsu looked strongest in terms of aggression and dictating the pace. He looked to have Jumbo's number. Watch for the powerbomb too! Giant Baba & John Tenta vs Rusher Kimura & Goro Tsurumi (05/01/87): Goro's afro and mustache is enviable. What an awesome look! Speaking of looks, Tenta is looking really fit & trim here in '87. As always, I'm giving Baba a pass for experience and the effort he puts forth despite his limited capabilities. This is better than the Road Warriors matches by the way. Rusher's overhand chopping Tenta in the throat. The big man looks awesome here...like a champ really. Referee Wada takes the best fucking ref bumps too. This was a fun, fun match. I wish I understood Japanese for Rusher's jokes at the end. Even Baba's laughing! Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoshiaki Yatsu (05/09/87) ROY TV has last 10 minutes...only half shown. I think those minutes are the best after finding this in full. Lots of fire and energy which tapers off as Yatsu works over Tenryu's knee. Still very good stuff in full though.