TheBean

Genichiro Tenryu vs Ashura Hara (07/04/86) - I needed a Hara fix so I went scanning through the Roy TV episodes and saw this one. Boy, it did the trick. It is not a long match but it's a very good one. These two are evenly matched. A worthy follow up to their match earlier. This felt big or innovative for '86. There's things, spots, that seemed ahead of their time. The pacing as well feels more like what we'd see in the 90's. It's not the Choshu/Hansen frenzy nor the "work a hold for 10 minutes" style either. Very good stuff here. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask II vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Isamu Teranishi (07/05) Fun match where Yatsu's aggressive wrestling (as in actual wrestling) was really cool. It felt like he was kinda-shooting in on Tiger & Jumbo. Those segments felt really good. Otherwise this was good 80's wrestling. Exciting ring action, a couple cool moves but I'm sure an appetizer to a bigger match. I liked it though. It's good to watch simple wrestling done right. Tenryu & Giant Baba vs Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (07/05) - An appetizer for the Stan vs Tenryu match later in July. This is one of those matches where Stan really lays in his shots on Baba. When that happens, it is on like Donkey Kong! And that is this match. Everyone is just excellent with their timing and urgency. And the spot that sets up the finish is wonderful! And the post match is a bonus treat...yeah this was a near classic tag match. It's not a long match, under 15 minutes but that is all they need. RECOMMENDED Takashi Ishikawa/Mighty Inoue vs Goro Tsurumi/Ashura Hara (07/10) - I had to watch this lineup. It's too good to resist. Only 5 minutes is shown but we get a taste of the action: Ishikawa and Hara slapping the taste from each others' mouths, Goro Tsurumi doing a couple really cool moves, Mighty Inoue being the spark plug of All Japan juniors... yeah this was fun. Tiger Mask II & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ted DiBiase & Pete Roberts (07/26) - Wow! What a sprint! 8 minutes of action. I was actually surprised Pete Roberts & Misawa didn't do anything slick. In fact, Ted was in quite a bit. This was just fast paced all action wrestling. Lots of rope running, quick roll-ups and organic sequences...I thought this was great! Stan Hansen vs Genichiro Tenryu (07/26) - Two of the best to ever wrestle put on a great match for the AWA belt (I think this was one of the defenses Stan made with the "stolen" belt!). In either case, they beat the HELL out of each other. Stan blasted Tenryu a few times including a sternum crushing elbow drop. That's OK because Genichiro Tenryu is no wimp & gets payback...I'm pretty sure he got Stan in the face on an enzuigiri. I guess that makes it a gamengiri. What's notable beyond that is Tenryu really does a great job going after the Texan's lariat arm. Stan sells the heck out of it and once weakened, gets bloodied. Hiro Saito vs Brad Armstrong (07/31) - A good match that's really just neat to see Brad Armstrong working in All Japan. This could have been something special but it's more a novelty than anything. Don't feel bad if you miss it but it's nice if you watch it. Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31) - A grudge match with Killer Khan's knee drops serving as the highspots. Other than that & the ringpost hits there were no spots or sequences of note. This did hurt the match but the intensity was there but, neither wrestler is dynamic or exciting enough to elevate this to something overly memorable. Maybe if there were a couple spots of note this would have been more than just a very entertaining match. I'm really not sure how this is a top 100 match of the 1980s when many matches listed above were better than this. Watch for yourself and decide 🙂

WCW vault YouTube page posted this. They keep up the good work with putting time stamps up. I knew that they could do it 😄 Anyhow, this is a great one stop place to view the best version of Muta.

That's awesome!!!

Baba & Ishikawa vs Killer Khan/Masanobu Kurisu (05/10) - This is only OK as Baba really weighs this down. It's noticeable here where it wasn't in the 04/06 match. It's pretty much filler but not a long match. Tenyru vs Yoshiaki Yatsu (05/10) -An excellent, aggressive & technical singles match. This felt closer to something we'd see in 1988-89. It's not the brawling style seen at this time in All Japan. It's Tenryu's style that helps define late 80's AJ and the King's Road era. Here we see it for the first time in my viewings. We see it from Yatsu too. Yatsu is pretty underrated. So good technical start, hard strikes which build into stronger moves working towards a clean finish. That's not the cleanest explanation but it's not the methodical technical work of the early 80's nor the high energy excitement of Choshu & Hansen's style that you see in big singles matches. I thought this was great. 05/17 Tiger Mask/Masa Fuchi vs Kuniaki Kobayashi/Masanobu Kurisu - Yes! Action packed angry junior AJ wrestling! Kobayashi attacks the faces before the bell and folks get whipped into the guardrail and it blows apart. Then someone else gets whipped into it before its reassembled and crushes a the front row of fans. This is the Kurisu match I wanted. He and Kuniaki are great. So is Fuchi...pairing him with Misawa/Tiger II is a good choice. It brings out his mean streak. Rusher Kimura/Ashura Hara vs Shoehi Baba/Haru Sonoda - A Baba vs Rusher tag match that's actually worth your time! I thought it would be good only because of Hara & Sonoda (AJ's version of Tatsuo Nakano... chubby, mustache dude but really good). But Baba & Rusher were inspired to work tonight. This was fun stuff. Shunji Takano/Hiro Saito/Strong Machine vs Killer Khan/Shinichi Nakano/Teranishi - This had the same energy as the junior tag. It made the simple stuff so much more exciting. Guardrail gives out a few times during this one too! You have to be a wrestling dork to get excited about this lineup. If this is the stuff you're looking for then, I think you'll have a fun time with this one. I wish it was a couple minutes longer truthfully. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tenyru vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Animal Hamaguchi - This was a fantastic tag match. Yatsu & Hamaguchi were just pressing Jumbo & Genichiro the whole time. Yatsu vs Tenryu is a sure thing. I really liked their 09/89 match together and they had that rough & tumble chemistry in '86. Their earlier singles match was not a fluke. Animal is becoming one of my new favorites. He is high energy & impact. His attacks look great especially against the larger Tsuruta. He needs to lay everything in. Jumbo in turn has to keep his head on a swivel...Choshu might not be here but this team is no joke. LOVED THIS ONE! June Choshu & Animal Hamaguchi vs Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito (6/07) - Fierce fight! 10+ minutes of pro wrestling mayhem. This is how you do simple but effective tag team wrestling. Watching this I get the vibe that '86 is way more about Strong Machine vs Choshu than anything Jumbo has got going on. This feels very alive compared to seeing more Tsuruta vs Hansen. Animal is a madman here. Great match! Masa Fuchi vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (06/07) - Hard way blood from a top rope fist drop? I think so! This match-up delivers again. If you're interested in Masa Fuchi then he's got great opponents in '86. If you know these two then, you'll want to see this. Great! Tenyru vs. Strong Machine (UN Title, 06/12/86) - A great match and something different. Tenryu tries to bowl Machine over at the start. Hirata/Machine counters him and gets the advantage for most of the bout. He neutralizes Tenryu with a variety of arm locks. This keeps the former sumo at a disadvantage. Here's a great example of Machine having a great singles match (I always think of him as a tag teamer) plus Tenryu working from underneath. I really dug this one. Masanobu Fuchi vs Hiro Saito (6/12 jip) Oh man, this was really good! I just wish we got more of it. Somehow Fuchi is bleeding from the side of his head. We get excellent action here nonetheless. It's gritty junior style wrestling. Matchups like this has be considering 1986 to be the most interesting, if not the best, roster in All Japan history. *There's a full version out there, if you're interested!

WCW vault posted this and thought it would be a good place to share especially for anyone looking for a easy way to see WCW Rey Jr.

I kinda agree with little bits of what everyone has said. It's a bit shallow but its on the mid card of the show. The demon gimmick isn't my jam especially the overly long entrance and the body paint is distracting although I am glad that he wrestled the same. I didn't want Balor/Devitt to do a Muta act. So we get two of the best of their generation wrestling in #1 Contenders match (it's a tournament final - go watch Balor vs Itami from 02/04 as well - great tv main event). I have to say I really am liking Neville with the toned down flips (...he's the one guy [well Jack Evans too] that I don't mind the flips) and this match is a great example of that. Ok onto the match, I had a hard time getting my bearings at first. I would have wanted some more mat wrestling but they did slow things down with headlocks. They worked into a good flow. They had some really choice spots without being tricky or cute. So, not cooperative. And most of the match was at that Very Good (VG) level like a couple people have rated it (***1/2-***3/4), I thought the finish really bumped it up to another level. Maybe because it's WWE but I thought that one near fall was IT so the kick out popped me and the true finish was great. Near classic match. This definitely felt like something they would do in Japan or in ROH and not necessarily NXT. The best match I've seen in NXT so far. Perhaps that's where the style was going as they were given more leeway at this time in NXT?? Or its just the wrestlers?

Tenyru vs Ole Anderson (04/05/86) - Ole & Tenryu deserve more time than this. They are a great pairing in terms of physicality. Here Ole goes berserk on Tenryu's arm. And Tenryu eventually finds some breathing room. Then there's a flurry of offense and the match is over. Weird...it makes some sense given the moves that ended it. But I was left wanting more. It reminds me of a tournament match or a fall in a 2/3 falls match. But it is a single fall. This has been recommended by some and it is definitely memorable. It is over too soon for my liking. Still it's fun. It is intense... man I just wish there was more. Hahaha have I said that yet? Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu (4/5/86) This is an older review: This match could have been better & could have been much worse. The best way I can make it sound good is by saying it would be a good match for the near end of a T.V. show. The ending was awkward though...there were two lame looking lariats from Hansen and a third Riki ducked & hit Joe Higuchi. Joe obviously didn't get hit with the real deal & this now explains why the earlier ones thrown were so weak. If Hansen had thrown 2 monster lariats and the third was pathetic, it would have look tremendously odd. All in all this match put the PWF belt on Riki for his DQ victory over Hansen. Very little drama or overt excitement in this match but was a transition match. The best parts were Riki trying for the deathlock, the Riki Lariat & Backdrop. Hansen was rough on his offense but was nothing great. Ted Dibiase/Ron Bass vs Motoshi Okuma/Rocky Hata (04/06/86) - Heck I think it's neat that a match with Motoshi Okuma & Rocky Hata made it to Samurai Classics. I see these guys at ringside and never knew their names. It's a fun, if forgettable match. But sometimes you need something like this to raise your spirits. Kuniaki Kobayashi vs Masa Fuchi (04/06/86) - Kobayashi has jumped Fuchi at the start! Fuchi doesn't stand for that an ups the ante and pulverized Kuniaki with chairs. He rams his head into the ring posts and Double K is bleeding. Masa Fuchi dominates for awhile but Kobayashi isn't a push over. This is really good stuff and really comes together in the final third. This is more brawling than the typical athletic junior style. If you're a fan of either guy, you'll enjoy this! Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenyru & Tiger Mask vs. Shunji Takano, Hiro Saito & Strong Machine (04/06/86) - Oh boy! This is what I'm talking about!! An action packed 6 man match that is as good on paper as in the ring. The Takano, Saito, Machine team makes up for the lack of star power with superior tag team tactics. They're getting in quick tags, double teams, and dynamic offensive moves. Tsuruta, Tenryu & Tiger are fighting to keep their shoulders off the mat. Great match & a great post match too! Shohei Baba, Ricky Fuyuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs Rusher Kimura, Ashura Hara & Goro Tsurumi (04/06/86) - AJPW vs IWE. Really good 6-man match. This was bordering on great when Baba & Rusher weren't in the ring. Actually Rusher was still halfway decent. Baba was still trying to be technical and it just doesn't fit the style or times. Thankfully he wasn't in that much. OK that's pretty much the ONLY downside to the match. This is mainly Hara & Goro vs Ishikawa & Fuyuki... and that's absolutely what you want! Genichiro Tenyru vs Ashura Hara (04/12/86) - That was great!! This was way better than I thought it would be. It's probably the best singles match so far. These two were doing stuff ahead of their time in my opinion. There's an emphasis on the head lock and sleeper hold that I appreciated. It's not boring but definitely controls the flow of match. These two guys know how to work holds. And heaven knows they know how to hit each other! I can definitely see the influence Hara had on Tenryu's style. Tenryu still wrestles closer to Jumbo's style. He focuses on his technical ability. 1986 is a good transition year for Tenryu because he's slowly incorporating a little bit more attitude. I loved the Tenryu/Hara tag team. Ashura Hara is becoming one of my faves. This is a classic match! Ole Anderson vs. Haru Sonoda (04/19/86) - Good match especially when Ole & Sonoda were trading blows. Sonoda's sleeper hold control section was kinda making me sleepy actually. But they worked out of it and got things going again. So, a good match but not something that you need to make an effort to see. This is the last appearance of Ole Anderson for '85 so I've appreciated his inclusion by the Samurai TV folks back in '99 🙂 Genichiro Tenyru & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Ted Dibiase & Ron Bass (04/19/86) - A really good showing from both teams. I thought it was best when it was Ted vs Tenryu. I'm looking ahead and it seems like that was on purpose. They have a big match later in April. I think they teased it well. Ron Bass is always fun as a hulking figure. I like when he fills in for Stan Hansen. Ishikawa was enjoyable although I think I like him better later in his career. He doesn't seem to have the fire in him quite yet. Stan Hansen vs Jumbo Tsuruta (04/19/86) - This was a great big time match! Jumbo came out using Stan's fast start assault plan. Things never really let up. They were wrestling on the mat. Jumbo controlling Hansen's head & neck. Stan was working Jumbo's arm later on. I think the pacing was really good throughout. It felt like they were fighting for something meaningful. I think this was a rated highly by the DVDVR Best of the 80's All Japan project. I totally agree with that. Samurai Classics did a good job including this one. Genichiro Tenyru vs Ted Dibiase (UN Title, 04/26/86) - Great fierce title fight! Two of the best go at it. They really bring everything here. They're technical, they're off the ropes & the turn buckles, heck! Tenryu does a dive. This was fantastic stuff. Tenryu & Ted really gel. This lived up to expectations. This absolutely is one I'm glad was on this Samurai Classics set.

Holy cow this was 90% awesome and 10% tired old shit the farts in the office can't part with - ref bumps and using the title belt as a weapon. Nothing is ruined but WWF/E always fucks with the flow of the finish. It makes two of the best workers of the late 2000's have to insert this crap into an otherwise brilliant match. If this doesn't bug you as much as me then, you might call this a classic. All that said, that 90% awesome goes a long way. So, I'd still say this was a near classic and the best NXT match that I've seen thus far in my small sampling. Heck of a post match too.

Wow! Yeah I didn't have expectations with this match beyond it being 'good.' This was a great match. It was extremely technical for a WWE match. It was pretty darn old school in it's pacing and moves. I just really dug how they let them have time to wrestle. I honestly felt that was the best part of the match and they really did seem like kids raised around a ring. Even when they got into the moves section, it really didn't get to be '2014' or any shade of indie wrestling. Everyone above wrote in depth reviews above so read those if you're looking for more. I'm taking a really spotty sampling of (black &) golden era NXT but this maybe the best NXT match that I've seen so far.

Click over on TAJIRI You Might Have Missed #3 for more reviews and pics 🙂 Great Muta/TAJIRI vs Gold Dustin/Hakushi (AJPW 02/17/07) - Hahaha! Yeah this match is great fun! This kinda reminds me of when they did NWO in WWE. Like, let's just not give a crap and just have some schlocky fun. Muto has it right by just doing one match instead of a whole program. If this was a PPV, it's getting the old fans to tune in. They do comedy, tease some moves, actually get some wrestling in there & generally provide entertainment. It's memorable and certainly interesting.

Tenryu & Tsuruta vs Choshu & Yatsu (02/05) - Great, hard fought match! Choshu & Yatsu assault Jumbo at the outset. Tenryu is the guy you want to make a hot tag to! At one point I thought he & Yatsu were going to go at it for real. They get back in the groove. Damn near everyone gets worked over at some point. It's a real physical affair - the stuff you typically associate with Hansen...just violence at every opportunity. All that said, it doesn't seem to have big peaks and valleys in the story or excitement level. It's peak actually is at the beginning. Just straight upwards and then keeps that level until the finish. It's a heck of a neat finish too! Great match Tiger Mask & Mighty Inoue vs Ashura Hara & Great Kabuki (02/22) - This was a very good tag match! Wow, this was really enjoyable. There was plenty of action in the beginning. They slowed it down in the middle with some leg locks. Finally, the brought it back up for an exciting final third. The finish was great too. I think what I enjoyed was the contrast of the junior style (Tiger & Inoue) with the more rough & tumble style. March Jumbo Tsuruta vs Animal Hamaguchi (03/13/86) - This was a sick match! 😋 Animal jumps Jumbo at the bell...he's crazy! There's a lil down time where Animal works the arm but after that this cooks. Animal is out ranked big time but dammit, he's fierce. He pisses the All Japan ace off. Jumbo pulls Hamaguchi up a couple times from his own pin in order to punish his foe some more. This backfires as Animal doesn't know the meaning of quit. And he's got moves and takes some crazy bumps...which makes this quite exciting. This was a very good match. If you've wanted to see an Animal Hamaguchi match, this is one to try! Harley Race & Jerry Blackwell vs. Tiger Jeet Singh & One Man Gang (03/13/86) - This is one I'm watching because it's part of my AJPW Samurai Classics DVD collection. I would have skipped it otherwise. It's fun though 🙂 We get Blackwell vs O.M.G executing fat guy moves on each other. Both dudes are pretty fantastic for their size. Then Harley & Tiger Jeet take over. It's typical stuff from Tiger trying to attack with the spike and we get a DQ. Still, you're not watching these to see who wins. These are meant as pure fun and it accomplished that goal. Stan Hansen vs Jumbo Tsuruta (03/29) - You're always going to get a quality match with these two. They will lay in some meaty shots and get physical at the very least. And that's really what most of the match was - Stan & Jumbo rough & tumble wrestling. Stan locks on a chin lock here and there but his main weapon is dropping knees on Jumbo's head. Tsuruta is a little more technical going for arm breakers in between clubbing blows & jumping knees. It's not beyond their standard match except the rather hazardous finish. That was quite memorable. So if you're going through 1985 AJPW then it's definitely worth your time. It's very good because it's Jumbo & Hansen in their prime. +Plus+ There's some really fun matches from the 03/15 TV show that are edited down. Fuyuki vs Kurisu & Kobayashi vs Ishikawa get the most time. Both were excellent from what was shown. Glad I found these even if in edited format. Mighty Inoue vs Killer Khan is there but doesn't get as much time. The full matches (or fuller) are Jumbo vs Animal Hamaguchi and Choshu vs Tiger Mask. Jumbo vs Animal is above. Riki vs Tiger sounds cool.

I definitely think he entered pro wrestling a little too late. That's to say, I think he would have been a great player in mid to late 80's AJPW with the sumo background. Wajima wasn't a very good wrestler but had very good matches with Hansen because of the raw physicality of his style. Tadao Yasuda definitely would have benefited from that style more than the 90-00 style allowed. I think the matches he is best in tap into this instead of the shoot wrestler he was molded into. Just a "what if..." thought.

Punk vs Bryan Danielson (Dangerous Intentions 2005) - Great match. Punk loves working the crowd early on in FIP. There's like 20-30 fans at these shows so, good on him for engaging the crowd and getting some good heat. The fans in the audience love hating on him 😄 Anyhow, this was an intense match and the best bout thus far. Danielson always brings it and Punk is game. This is a long match in a good way. We get a cheap win but, it doesn't sour my opinion of the fight. And it works out...

1986 Click the match titles, they're links to my blog posts with more details and pics 👍 Nikita Koloff/Krusher Kruschev vs Yoshiaki Yatsu/Isamu Teranishi (01/01/86) - Squash match Tiger Mask vs Mil Mascaras (01/02) - OK Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs Nikita Koloff & Krusher Khrushchev (01/02) - Good tag match, worked smart and told a nice story Mil Mascaras vs Takashi Ishikawa (01/11/86) - Good Jumbo Tsuruta & Samson Fuyuki vs Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda (01/11) - Fun all action match. Mil Mascaras vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (01/28) - Really good junior technical wrestling Tiger Mask vs Great Kabuki (01/28/86) - Near classic Tenryu & Tsuruta vs Choshu & Yatsu (02/05) - Great, hard fought match! Tiger Mask & Mighty Inoue vs Ashura Hara & Great Kabuki (02/22) - Very good tag match! Really enjoyable. Terry Gordy vs Jumbo Tsuruta (03/10) - Very Good, scientific match Jumbo Tsuruta vs Animal Hamaguchi (03/13/86) - VG, exciting Harley Race & Jerry Blackwell vs. Tiger Jeet Singh & One Man Gang (03/13/86) - Fun Stan Hansen vs Jumbo Tsuruta (03/29) - VG Tenyru vs Ole Anderson (04/05) - Fun, needs more time Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu (04/05) - Good Kuniaki Kobayashi vs Masa Fuchi (04/06) - VG, brawl Shohei Baba, Ricky Fuyuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs Rusher Kimura, Ashura Hara & Goro Tsurumi (04/06) - VG 6 man Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Ted Dibiase & Ron Bass (04/19) - VG Genichiro Tenyru vs Ted Dibiase (UN Title, 04/26) - Great fierce title fight! Tiger Mask/Masa Fuchi vs Kuniaki Kobayashi/Masanobu Kurisu (05/17) - VG-Great, action packed Tenyru vs. Strong Machine (06/12) - Great, something different Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask II vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Isamu Teranishi (07/05) - Fun, wrestling done right Stan Hansen vs Genichiro Tenryu (07/26) - Great, beat the hell out of each other Genichiro Tenryu vs Yoshiaki Yatsu (07/31) - Near classic, fierce fight! Hansen & Medico vs Jumbo & Ishikawa (08/30) - Fun Riki Choshu vs Tenryu (09/03) - VG - Great, great fighting

The more Rusher that I watch, the more I like. Not enough to put him in my top 100 (yet?). I haven't seen his IWE work so thanks for these links. I was having a hard time finding the Gypsy Joe one especially. Definitely going to have to watch more IWE.

1985 cont...Click the underlined matches. They are links to the full reviews with pics when applicable 🙂 Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa & Haru Sonada vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu & Animal Hamaguchi (07/08) - Great, excellent finish Ashura Hara vs Masanobu Kurisu (07/12) Fun Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu/Takashi Ishikawa vs Riki Choshu/Killer Khan/Animal Hamaguchi (07/12) - Great Takashi Ishikawa & Akio Sato vs. Animal Hamaguchi & Isamu Teranishi (07/18): Great All Asia tag match Mighty Inoue/Tarzan Goto vs Kuniaki Kobayashi/Norio Honaga (07/28) - Very good action Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Norio Honaga (07/30) - OK, good start though Stan Hansen v. Shoehi Baba (07/30): VG Riki Choshu/Killer Khan vs Genichiro Tenryu/Jumbo Tsuruta (08/02) - Great Terry Funk v. Stan Hansen (08/23): Great, wild match! Dory and Terry Funk v. Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (08/29): VG Kuniaki Kobayashi vs Tiger Mask (08/31): Classic, close to Kings Road Stan Hansen/Ted DiBiase vs Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu (08/31) finish was cut from my vers. Near classic Tiger Mask vs Marty Jannetty (09/05): jip. fun Tiger Mask/Takashi Ishikawa vs Norio Honaga/Kuniaki Kobayashi (09/09): VG, exciting Jumbo Tsuruta/Tenyru v. Yoshiaki Yatsu/Killer Khan (09/14/85): VG-Great, Yatsu is impressive Jumbo Tsuruta v. Harley Race (09/19): VG-Great, more deliberate pace but hard hitting October '85 - Will just link the month since all below are in the same post. So click the month 🙂 Riki Choshu vs Ashura Hara (10/04): Fun, full speed ahead ass kicking. Dory and Terry Funk v. Road Warriors (10/19): Fun Ric Flair v. Jumbo Tsuruta (10/19): Great, technical and hard hitting Shoehi Baba/Takashi Ishikawa/Mighty Inoue v. Ashura Hara/Rusher Kimura/Goro Tsurumi (10/21): Really fun Kabuki v. Killer Khan (10/21): Good brawl but short Dory and Terry Funk/Tiger Mask v. Billy Robinson/Terry Gordy/Chavo Guerrero (10/21): Fun Jumbo Tsuruta/Tenyru v. Road Warriors (10/21): VG heavyweight fireworks Ric Flair v. Rick Martel (10/21): Classic match Dory and Terry Funk v. Terry Gordy/Art Crews (10/22): Good stuff Mil Mascaras v. Norio Honaga (10/22): Quick fun match. Ric Flair/Rick Martel v. Jumbo Tsuruta/Tenyru (10/22): Great, dream match November '85 Riki Choshu vs Jumbo Tsuruta (11/04) VG - Great looking, long didn't watch in full Stan Hansen/Ted Dibiase v. Dynamite Kid/Davey Boy Smith (11/23): Great, fast paced, all action Jumbo Tsuruta/Tenyru v. Nick Bockwinkle/Curt Hennig (11/23): Great Shoehi Baba/Dory Funk Jr. v. Harley Race/Jesse Barr (11/27): Long match but a really good one. Tiger Mask v. Dynamite Kid (11/27): VG Jumbo Tsuruta/Tenyru v. Rusher Kimura/Goro Tsurumi (11/27): Good match with a really good final third Stan Hansen v. Ashura Hara (11/27): Good, wish was longer but violent bout Stan Hansen/Ted Dibiase v. Harley Race/Jesse Barr (11/30): VG- Great, fast paced and move heavy. Dynamite Kid/Davey Boy Smith v. Tiger Mask/Mighty Inoue (11/30): Great all action match. Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu (11/30): Classic December '85 Stan Hansen/Ted Dibiase v. Nick Bockwinkle/Curt Hennig (12/07): Very fun, great showing from Curt Jumbo Tsuruta/Tenyru v. Dynamite Kid/Davey Boy Smith (12/07): VG match Harley Race/Jesse Barr v. Dynamite Kid/Davey Boy Smith (12/12): Great! Perhaps the best Race match of '85 Shoehi Baba/Dory Funk Jr v. Jumbo Tsuruta/Tenyru (12/12): Near classic-classic, excellent pacing and layout Stan Hansen/Ted DiBiase vs Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu (Real World Tag League Finals) (12/12): jip by 14 minutes, great, maybe a classic in full? Rick Martel v. Stan Hansen (AWA Title, 12/29): AWA match but Very good - great match one of the most psychologically strong matches of '85

Cool! yeah the other ones I remember from '85 were a Road Warriors squash and a joined in progress 6 man when he's on the same team as Tiger Mask Misawa but Goto gets in a beefy power slam & backdrop suplex. Definitely hope more quality mid 80's Tarzan Goto sees the light of day someday

Have you seen Mighty Inoue/Tarzan Goto vs Kuniaki Kobayashi/Norio Honaga (07/28/85) in All Japan? That's a really good all action match. I wouldn't say he's the Goto we know and love yet but, I was happy to see it.

Nikita Koloff/Krusher Kruschev vs Yoshiaki Yatsu/Isamu Teranishi (01/01/86) - A squash match which is kinda a waste of Yatsu & Teranishi. Koloff & Krusher had some nice offensive moves. Tiger Mask vs Mil Mascaras (01/02) - Good on paper but bad in reality. That badness is due to Mil. If Misawa had a tell-all book, he would have a story about this match. It reminded me of Mick Foley's recounting of his match with Mil. No it's not the worst thing but it ambles, Mil doesn't seem to know what's up, and he couldn't care less. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs Nikita Koloff & Krusher Khrushchev (01/02) - Yeah, Krusher Khrushchev is Barry Darsow. I thought so 😁 Good tag match in the sense that they worked smart and told a nice story by working Jumbo's back. The "Russian" team wrestled more like how I wish the Roid Warriors worked. The looked strong but Jumbo & Tenryu were competitive. This was enjoyable stuff & put a smile on my face. Mil Mascaras vs Takashi Ishikawa (01/11/86) - A little slower version of the Kobayashi match. Still it sucked me in. It was technical and competitive but very old school for '86. Most of the match consisted of stretches leveraged into pin attempts. Hey! I'm a fan. You might not be. Then the finishing segment was a play on the finishes of the previous Mil matches but with surprises. I liked this. I'm not going to overdo it. I thought it was a good match. Jumbo Tsuruta & Samson Fuyuki vs Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda (01/11) - These four guys in '86? Yes please. This is a really fun all action match. Nothing fancy or complex but they keep the energy up. And that's what you want in a tag match like this. I don't think I'll see anymore Windham or Rotunda here but this is a good match for a project like this. Mil Mascaras vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (01/28) - Now this is what I'm talking about! Mil came to wrestle. Really good junior technical wrestling punctuated by Kobayashi & his temper. He turns this into a brawl and The Man of a Thousand Masks is down to fight. Personally I'd prefer the technical wrestling from Mil but it keeps the intensity up and isn't much of the match (*cough it sets up the finish *cough). Skip the Tiger Mask match and watch this one. Tiger Mask vs Great Kabuki (01/28/86) - Kabuki wrestled a technical match. He kept Tiger under control with arm bars for much of the early portion of the bout. Thankfully, they knew how to keep wrestling while working the arm. This would have been pretty bland otherwise. Eventually, our masked hero snaps and attacks Kabuki with a chair! Whoa!! The Great One is bleeding buckets. Everyone is fully invested now. This is beyond what folks saw coming. Before you know it, things get out of hand...and then they get really out of hand! This is wild actually! The match itself is really smart and a great one overall. The whole segment is a near classic. I'm not sure if we get an explanation in the booking later on in the year. I'm not sure a non Japanese speaker can exactly make 100% sense but, dang it! That's pro wrestling for ya! 😄

Great big time match! The storytelling was excellent. Bret & Roddy are a great pairing where they just worked really well together. The finish was a little too quick after the bell part BUT in a way goes back to earlier when Bret was faking the injury... He was smart and using any opportunity that Piper would give him. There's probably too much punching as I prefer a little more variety but that's minimal. I don't think this is on the same level as the Valentine matches but THIS is how to do a match in a this setting/venue. It is big, grand melodrama with the in ring action to back it up.

1985 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu & Takeshi Ishikawa vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu & Isamu Teranishi (01/06): Great, exciting stuff Tiger Mask/Magic Dragon vs Kuniaki Kobayashi/Isao Takagi (01/26): Joined in progress. Great action Choshu, Masa Saito & Killer Khan vs Jumbo, Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa (01/26): Violent, intense stuff - great match! Jumbo & Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (02/01): Great Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu vs Riki Choshu/Masa Saito (02/05): Great match with four legends. Giant Baba vs Tiger Jeet Singh (02/05) - skipped. British Bulldogs vs Animal Hamaguchi & Kuniaki Kobayashi (02/09) - Fun stuff, lots a cool moves Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu/Takashi Ishikawa vs Riki Choshu/Masanobu Kurisu/Yoshiaki Yatsu (02/28): VG extremely enjoyable Harley Race & Klaus Wallas vs Killer Khan & Mananobu Kurisu (03/09): Fun Tiger Mask II vs Kuniaki Kobayashi (03/09) - Fun Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs Road Warriors (03/09): OK Road Warriors vs. Riki Choshu & Killer Khan (03/14) OK Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (04/21) : Great well paced and hard fought match. Riki Choshu/Animal Hamaguchi vs Genichiro Tenryu/Takashi Ishikawa (04/21) - Great action Ric Flair v. Jumbo Tsuruta (NWA Title, 04/24/85): Long match, great fight between two of the very best. Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu vs Riki Choshu/Animal Hamaguchi (05/17): Very good match Shoehi Baba/Jumbo Tsuruta/Tenryu v. Tiger Jeet Singh/Terry Gordy/Mario Milano (05/31/85): Fun match Road Warriors v. Takashi Ishikawa & Tarzan Goto (05/31/85): Too short to rate Road Warriors v. Killer Khan/Masanobu Kurisu (06/02/85): Too short to rate Dynamite Kid/Davey Boy Smith v. Tiger Mask/Magic Dragon (06/02/85): Excellent Bulldogs match! exciting Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Animal Hamaguchi vs Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu/Motoshi Okuma (06/02): Great, absolutely crazy match Dynamite Kid/Davey Boy Smith v. Kuniaki Kobayashi/Shinichi Nakano (06/04/85): Another really good Bulldogs match! Jumbo Tsuruta v. Terry Gordy (06/04): Great match around 20 minutes. Dynamite Kid/Davey Boy Smith vs Tiger Mask/Toshiaki Kawada (06/05): jip Fun stuff Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Magic Dragon (Mask vs Hair) (06/05): jip, good, good stuff. Giant Baba v. Rusher Kimura (06/05): Good pace is quicker Jumbo Tsuruta/Tenyru v. Road Warriors (06/05): VG Ashura Hara v. Haru Sonada (06/21): Quick match Kuniaki Kobayashi v. Tiger Mask (06/21): Classic match Jumbo Tsuruta/Takashi Ishikawa v. Yoshiaki Yatsu/Animal Hamaguchi (06/21): Excellent pacing, excellent action & smart finish. Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu (06/21): Near classic - classic Damn, that's a lot of 1985! I'll put the 2nd half of '85 in a new post so it's easier to locate stuff.

1984 Jumbo & Baba vs Gordy & Hayes (01/20) - Fun Jumbo & Kabuki vs Gordy & Hayes (01/22) - Fun-good, cool finish Bockwinkel vs Jumbo (02/23) - Great, slow burn title fight Bockwinkel vs Jumbo (02/26) - Great compliment to previous match Chavo Guerrero vs Mighty Inoue (02/26) - VG technical match Jumbo vs Black Jack Lanza (03/04) - Good, AWA bout Billy Robinson vs Jumbo Tsuruta (03/11) - VG title fight, AWA bout Jumbo Tsuruta vs Jim Brunzell (03/15) - Good-VG, AWA Baba vs Stan Hansen (03/24) - Great match because of the story Jumbo vs Greg Gagne (04/19) - Great, tech. & athletic Gagne performance High Flyers vs Dory Jr. & Kerry von Erich (04/24) - Great, exciting spots, excellent wrestling Brody & Hansen vs Jumbo & Tenryu (04/24) - Great big time tag match Brody & Hansen vs Baba & Dory Jr. (04/25) - VG, fast paced Jumbo Tsuruta vs Jim Brunzell (04/26) - VG-Great, excellent pace Dory Funk Jr. vs Stan Hansen (04/26) - Great, authentic feeling w/ little things done right Rick Martel vs Jumbo Tsuruta (05/13) VG-Great, AWA Harley Race vs Ric Flair (05/22) - Great, steady pace w/ plenty of surprises Jumbo Tsuruta vs Kerry von Erich (05/22) - Classic, best singles bout of AJPW '84 Baba vs Stan Hansen (07/31) - Great, intense w/ a great post match Tiger Mask II vs La Fiera (08/26) - Fun, top notch sequences and moves for '84 Brody & Hansen vs Baba & Dory Jr. (08/26) - Classic, all time perhaps? Furious pace, stiff w/ great post match Onita & Fuchi vs Hector & Chavo Guerrero (09/03) - Great Jr. tag action + comedy Jumbo & Tenryu vs Brody & Blackwell (09/03) - Great, excellent pacing & sense of doubt in the outcome Hamada & Mighty Inoue vs Hector & Chavo Guerrero (09/12) - VG, great lucha bits Jumbo & Ishikawa vs Brody & Moon Dog Moretti (09/12) - VG Tiger Mask II vs Jerry Estrada (10/05) - Fun, nice moves Rick Martel vs Ashura Hara (10/05) - VG, wish match was longer Rick Martel vs Jumbo Tsuruta (10/11) - VG, emphasis on parity Jumbo & Tenryu vs Gordy & Hayes (10/16) - Good Jumbo Tsuruta vs Terry Gordy (10/29) - VG once Jumbo starts bleeding Kabuki & Tiger Mask II vs Buzz Sawyer & Fiera (11/03) - Fun, great moves Funk Bros vs Jumbo & Tenryu (11/28) jip, great, hard shots, blood, well paced Bockwinkel & Race vs Ishikawa & Inoue (12/08) - Exciting, all action at junior pace Tiger Mask II vs Pirata Morgan (12/08) - Great, dazzling moves Brody & Hansen vs Funk Bros (12/08) - All time classic, peak chaos & animosity Funk Bros vs Bockwinkel & Race (12/12) - jip, only half shown but great stuff shown Jumbo & Tenryu vs Brody & Hansen (12/12) - All time classic, fast paced, intense fight Click the underlined matches. They are links to the full reviews with pics when applicable 🙂