TheBean

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.

AJW •Esther Moreno & Suzuka Minami & Yumiko Hotta vs. Debbie Malenko & Mika Takahashi & Miori Kamiya (06/05/91 - 06/30 TV): Esther stole the show with her moves. Mika had a couple good ones too. Everyone looked good. Nice quick pace, super easy watch. RECOMMENDED •Debbie Malenko & Suzuka Minami & Yumiko Hotta vs. Mariko Yoshida & Takako Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada (06/05/92 - 06/22 TV): Everyone did something interesting & although no one stood out, the whole was greater than the sum of it's parts. Recommended for their energy and effort. Classic UK wrestling •Johnny England vs Sammy Lee (Sayama) (02/14/81): Funny bit with Mick McManus before the bout. Great showcase for Sammy/Sayama. Impressive stuff - lots of fun! NJPW •Tatsumi Fujinami & Gran Hamada vs Perro Aguayo & Anibal (03/06/81): Very good technical tag wrestling with some fisticuffs from the rudos. 12 minutes of quality wrestling. I really dig this stuff 🙂 •Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs Naoki Sano & Shinji Sasazaki (06/27/89): Liger vs Sano is a known quantity. Don't doubt this is anything less than a quality encounter just because it's a tag match. •Jushin Liger vs Pegasus Kid (11/01/90) Oh yes! This was great stuff wrestled at an urgent pace. Each guy was going for the win whether it was from a big move or a quick pinning maneuver. LOVED THIS. Not overwrought or cliche. Solid RECOMMENDATION •Chris Benoit vs Dr. Wagner Jr (09/17/97): Very fun match with good wrestling on the mat + big moves. It's a WCW TV match essentially but if you are in the mood for one then, it's a good pick! •Hiroshi Tanahashi & TAJIRI vs TERRIBLE & Texano Jr (11/03/10): Pretty sweet, action filled tag match! Everyone came to wrestle. Lucha moves, power double teams, Tanahashi doing his big stuff even though it's a small show. Yeah, this was a lot of fun. I recommend it. Also, Rest in Peace Joe Doering...thank you Joe.

Definitely want to share some recommendations since Kotaro is great junior wrestler and nothing substantial has been said. I haven't seen much of him recently but I will update this sporadically. There's quality stuff people are missing. Takuma Sano vs Mushiking Terry (Suzuki) (NOAH 11/05/05): What started out as just a fun match turned into something I would strongly recommend checking out. There was a neat story as it appeared Mushiking has Sano's rolling solebutt to the gut scouted. He's dodging it at every attempt. This is really smart because it has been shown to be equal to Misawa's elbow strike or Kobashi's chop. Not only strong, it is unpredictable. Sano is the master of this move along with the top rope double stomp. In combination, it usually spells the beginning of the end for his opponents.Terry (Suzuki) uses speed and craftiness against the the veteran. Smartly he works on weakening Takuma's legs with a variety of holds. This plan looks really good in pulling the upset. Sano's not out of it completely but, I'm buying a Mushiking win. It doesn't matter how much the kids are yelling for their superhero. He can only dodge that kick so many times. Really good match and two masked gimmicks in one year for Kotaro Kotaro Suzuki vs El Generico (wXw 16 Carat Gold 2011 - Night 1): This is a pretty high profile match for 2011. It's like an unofficial Best of the Super Jrs. match. It had lots of good action that kept the excitement and drama going. Who would win? Generico is a mega star in indy wrestling and Kotaro is GHC Jr. champ...every nearfall felt like the one that would do it. They both have so many tricks in the bag so, the end was always in doubt. Great match. Recommend it Shiozaki, Suzuki & Aoki vs Otani, Hidaka & Hashimoto - (NOAH 05/09/12) - I loved this match. Korakuen hall 6 man tag magic here with every pairing offering something interesting or outright exciting. The big story is young Hashimoto being able to hang in there with Noah top dogs especially Shiozaki. Otani keeping Go in check was enjoyable as all hell since Shinjiro looks like someone's buff dad. I think what made this great beyond the actual talent was the pacing. It was around 20 minutes and built up steam little by little until at the end, the excitement was at a fever pitch. Never did they over do it or go down a road narrative wise only to abandon it. In fact the story finished what it began with twists and turns along the way. I think this was a classic 6 man tag. Not necessarily a Suzuki focused match yet I Highly Recommend it! Kotaro Suzuki, Yoshinari Ogawa & YO-HEY vs Daisuke Harada, HAYATA & Tadasuke (01/06/19 NOAH): This is Korakuen Hall six man action and damn it is very good! NOAH still knows how to do this 17 minutes of excitement. This had heat and the tandem moves most notable Ogawa and Kotaro (Misawa's other protege besides Marufuji) doing Untouchables moves - Oh man! so cool to see 20 years later!

Sharing match recommendations here: Tajiri & Zumbido vs Chicago Express & Black Warrior (05/29/97 BJW): 7-8 minutes of lucha sweetness. Nearly constant movement. BJW shows the whole thing. Even they knew how good this was - hidden gem. RECOMMENDED Tajiri vs Chicago Express (05/30/97 BJW): Reminds me of Tajiri vs Super Crazy - dives, cool arm drags, ranas - you'll dig it! Tajiri & Ikuto Hidaka vs Super Crazy & Super Calo (12/18/99 ECW) Chattanooga, TN. This would be so awesome to see at your high school gym! These fans saw something special. Spring board moves, tilt-a-whirls, dives, fighting in the crowd... the ending came sooner that I would have wanted but that's not a complaint but a preference. Very good stuff! RECOMMENDED Tajiri vs Tommy Dreamer (03/25/00 ECW): Wichita, KS. Corino is talking crap on the mic. Dreamer comes out to shut him up but Tajiri intervenes. This was a fun house show type match yet had some pretty good spots. Definitely scratches an itch for your standard ECW match. Everyone had fun, me included. Hiroshi Tanahashi & TAJIRI vs TERRIBLE & Texano Jr (11/03/10 NJPW): Pretty sweet action filled tag match! Everyone came to wrestle. Lucha moves, power double teams, Tanahashi doing his big stuff even though it's a small show. Yeah, this was a lot of fun. I recommend it. The video is below.

Sharing some recommendations for posterity. I have watched a good bit of 2000-2010's Omori and he's awesome. But I think he's probably someone you have to "get into" and understand his journey/history to fully appreciate. But it's not some big task to do that. Tag partner to Akiyama, tag partner to Takayama, challenges Kobashi in Champion Carnival before the NOAH exodus, exiled from NOAH, goes to Zero One for awhile, returns "home" to AJPW as a vet etc. His 2010 has depth beyond that arc especially once Akiyama & co. come into AJPW. Will update this periodically: Jun Akiyama vs Takao Omori (09/04/99): If you are a fan of either guy then, damn man, you need to watch this!! Knees, lariats, armbars, attacks off the top rope, man! Why did people thing AJ sucked in '99? It has a big match feel, it has a nice early focus on grappling then, organically transitions to big moves but no MKII finishers which was refreshing. This is very similar to 2012-2015 actually Great match! Takao Omori & Mohammed Yone vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takashi Sugiura (05/26/02 NOAH): A little bit earlier there's a schism in No Fear. Akiyama calls Omori out saying Takayama is using him...during the match Takayama wants to decimate Akiyama with double team moves (they do) but Omori says enough is enough and hit his partner with the Ax Bomber and splits. That looks to be on the 05/09 show. That sets up this match. Anyways...this was some great hateful hard hitting wrestling. It boils down to two parts 1) Takayama getting his ass kicked 2) Omori getting his ass kicked. Yone & Sugiura were very secondary in their roles. Yone was especially stiff with Takayama...I've got to see more of his NOAH work. I would have liked a little bit better of a finishing segment but, we get 20 minutes of potatoes so I can't gripe too much. If you're interested in watching this then, you should! Takao Omori & Manabu Soya vs Seiya Sanada & KAI - RWTL (11/26/11 AJPW): Omori & Soya have teamed up here as Wild Hearts. The thing is Sanada & Soya were tag partners just a few months ago. Not sure who wanted the split but, they square off right at the bell. Seiya goes for speed and shocks Soya. KAI's in there and they go for the double team. These two young guns look dynamic as all get out!They are fighting in the stands now. Old man Omori's out there choking Sanada with a child's parasol! Hahahaha! Back on inside the ring and KAI's trying Soya but, come on dude! Manabu is a freaking caveman...and not the Fred Flintstone type either.Omori gets in there and wisely slows things down with KAI. The K man eventually finds an opening to get Seiya, the fire plug, going. Omori's had enough and puts big Soy sauce in there. Hey, deadlift suplex a motherfucker, Soya! This is a real back and forth match. Omori's trying to Axe Guillotine Driver KAI off the top now. Great! erase his head from existence! Just tons of double team destruction but, surprisingly never goes into bonkers territory. Both teams were very impressive. This was a great match. Go Shiozaki & Jun Akiyama vs SUWAMA & Takao Omori (07/28/13 AJPW 2/3 falls match): Here we have one of the few reminents from Muto AJPW, ace SUWAMA and a cast off from Misawa's AJPW exodus in Omori up against NOAH's ace and Kobashi/Misawa pupil Shiozaki and Jun Akiyama. Let's all remember that Akiyama is former tag partners, champs and friends with Omori. Akiyama got to ride the NOAH wave in the 2000's while Omori was surfing relatively low tide in Zero-1 and washed up back in AJPW like driftwood. This was a battle for a lot. Omori had remade himself in partnership with Manabu Soya however. He was not someone to be kicked around anymore. This was Omori's home, AJPW had been through alot in that time and SUWAMA had been there and is still there. This isn't just his home, it's his kingdom. He had outlasted them all. Akiyama wants back in? Akiyama had been gone for 13 years. Ok that's fine but he has to earn it. Shiozaki on the other hand has no place in AJ. He's an outsider through and through. This was a battle. A beautifully long match that harkened back to the classics of AJPW '92-'96. The grappling, striking, layout and pacing were conservative. Therfore, the contest was more organic in its story progression and the escalation of aggression. The 2/3 falls usage was brillant and perhaps is what made it so damn good. It provided the wrestlers the framework to bring the level of excitement up and down, to be able to rest the fans energy only to build it back double fold. Classic Match.

Hamada UWF / FULL SUPER ESTRELLA '90 Gran Hamada vs Perro Aguayo (06/01): 11+ minute, really good lucharesu but too many moves followed by a pin attempt which stifled the flow. A pet peeve still a quality match. Hijo del Santo vs Fuerza Guerrera (06/04): 9+ minutes, pretty good- great under 10 min. match. =-=-=-= Yoshihiro Asai vs Cuchilla (06/04): Another really good under 10 min. match. A good portion of this was mat wrestling. Aja Kong, Bison Kimura & Grizzly Iwamoto vs Manami Toyota, KAORU & Mika Takahashi (06/04): Aja & co. are brutal bruisers while Toyota & Honey Wings are technical and fast. Pretty much exactly what I wanted with this one. Near classic match, LOVED IT! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Gran Hamada, Perro Aguayo & Kendo vs El Signo, Texano & Negro Navarro (06/04): Really fun first fall, nice pace & structure. 9min. 2nd fall featured a great technico shine with the rudos dominating towards the end to get the pin. 7 minutes. Quick moving third fall, 7 minutes. This match was a lot of fun! Yoshihiro Asai vs Negro Casas (06/07): Great match that should be part of the 90's junior canon. Mat wrestling, fierce chops and slaps plus nice twists & surprises. RECOMMENDED! =-=-=-= Kato Kung Lee & Super Astro vs Blue Panther & Cuchilla (06/07): Good stuff with good moves. I would have preferred a quicker pace but it had a nice rhythm nonetheless. Hamada UWF / FULL 1991 Yoshihiro Asai vs Bestia Salvaje (06/07): These guys threw caution to the wind! A year later, Asai puts on another awesome match. He & Salvaje brought the intensity and the moves. Great match, RECOMMENDED! Gonna keep my eye out for more Bestia Salvaje in the future. IWE Strong Kobayashi & H. Eigen vs Isamu Teranishi & Mighty Inoue (06/29/80): 2/3 falls. Great match! Match builds wonderfully. A match for old school tag wrestling fans. 20 min or so. RECOMMENDED NJPW Tiger Mask vs Villano III (06/24/81): Amazing technical encounter. Two greats engaged in a battle of wit & will. A classic bout - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Toryumon CIMA & Sumo Dandy Fuji vs Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV (06/04/00): Very good action tag match. Cool moves & big dives. 13 min. CIMA vs Sumo Dandy Fuji: Follow up to the previous fight. Speed vs Power wager match. Sumo Dandy Fuji impressed me with his lariats & chokeslams. 7 minutes. UK Classic Wrestling Marty Jones vs Bernie Wright (08/87): Great technical first fall. Jones fights his way back into the 2nd fall. Fall #3 was quick and emphatic. Very good 10-11 min match. UWA Hamada, Solar & Hijo del Santo vs Negro Casas, Dr. Wagner Jr. & Baby Face (05/30/92): Excellent first fall, technical wrestling with Solar & Wagner, Puro style with Casas & Hamada then fast spectacular moves with Santo & Baby/Babe Face. Fall #2 is rudo score evening. Fall #3 brought it home. 16 min, fun, fun wrestling!

Now we're on to 1987. Change of pace, just going to post the reviews/write ups & pics here. Jan-March 01/10/87 Riki Choshu vs. Ashura Hara: Very good stuff with these two water buffalos locking up. Unfortunately not long enough to really develop into something special but with these two you can't go wrong. Animal Hamaguchi/Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu : Intense, urgent tag wrestling. This is how it should be done. And don't be confused, this isn't Jumbo & Tenryu carrying anyone. Animal & Yatsu are criminally underrated. Two of the best Japanese tag wrestlers of the 80's. Great match and little more than that to be honest. 03/12/87 Yoshiaki Yatsu/Animal Hamaguchi vs. Terry Gordy/Art Crews: A very good all action tag match! There's lots of rope running and simple but good looking moves. I'm unfamiliar with Art Crews but he keeps the party going so this is a winner of a tag match. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. The Road Warriors - Great big time tag match! Lots of action and the Warriors actually used some wrestling holds. And sold for Jumbo & Tenryu. This was pretty much what you want with this matchup. 03/28/87 Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Pete Roberts: This is one for the real wrestling fans in All Japan. 8 of 9 minutes of these two trading holds & fighting for leverage. Then we get about a minute of big moves to set up the finish. I'm glad that we get to see Pete work a technical match. I think Yatsu is the man to have it. I really am starting to really appreciate him. This is a fast, athletic and competitive bout. Very good stuff, an easy recommendation. I see Pete vs Masa Fuchi get recommended, this is better. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask vs. Tommy Rich & Jerry Oates. - I don't care for this match. There's nothing special about it. Feel free to skip right past it. Genichiro Tenryu & Hiroshi Wajima vs. Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase. - Wajima was a yokozuna in sumo which makes sense why Baba would have him debut in his late 30's. The focus on the bouts is Stan vs Wajima... which kinda seems like a waste of Tenryu. However, he improves any match with him in it. So he does the bulk of the nuts & bolts work for his team. Wajima wasn't as bad as I remember though. He does very well when he has his moments. I didn't write a rating but I would say this was good to pretty good.

Lucha Libre: World Wrestling Peace Festival '96 and IWE '81 IWE Cobarde & Herodes vs Isamu Teranishi & Mach Hayato (02/28/81): Great action tag match! Tons of stuff going on here. Definitely recommend this one! Ref kinda muffs the finish but it doesn't really matter. Mach Hayato vs Cobarde (03/02/81): Pretty cool stuff, paced closer to Mil in AJPW but moves similar to NJPW lucha libre at the time. joined in progress Carlos Plata & Jose Luis Mendieta vs Isamu Teranishi & Mach Hayato (04/08/81): This was off the hook! Joined in progress but fast paced action with some really crazy moments. Definitely recommend this one! Herodes vs Mighty Inoue (1981): Roy's got this listed as El Cobarde but it's Herodes. Very good stuff, Herodes is quite the the chicken shit heel. Good face/heel match with Inoue finding his openings. Exciting finish too. World Wrestling Peace Festival 06/01/96 Lady Apache & Reina Jubuki (Akira Hokuto) vs Bull Nakano & Neftali: This was Bull vs Hokuto with Lady & Neftali as help. A fun time! Negro Casas vs Hijo del Santo: Great match, they packed a lot into a short time. That dive was badass. RECOMMENDED Black Cat vs Tatsumi Fujinami: Fun, simple yet clever wrestling. Rey Misterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Psicosis & Heavy Metal: Rey & Ultimo showcasing spectacular offense. Fun fireworks match. Perro Aguayo & La Parka vs Pierroth Jr. & Cibernetico: A blast! A bunch of action plus Parka is a hoot. RECOMMENDED Dos Caras, Atlantis & Hector Garza vs Dr. Wagner Jr, Silver King & Gran Markus Jr: LOVE IT, technically minded, BIG RECOMMENDATION to lucha novices like me.

Rey & Ultimo showcasing spectacular offense. Fun fireworks match but not much more. Other stuff from this show I'd recommend above this match are: Lady Apache & Reina Jubuki (Akira Hokuto) vs Bull Nakano & Neftali: This was Bull vs Hokuto with Lady & Neftali as help. A fun time! Negro Casas vs Hijo del Santo: Great match, they packed a lot into a short time. That dive was badass. RECOMMENDED Black Cat vs Tatsumi Fujinami: Fun, simple yet clever wrestling. Not recommended above Rey/Ultimo tag BUT feels like a definitely good stuff. Perro Aguayo & La Parka vs Pierroth Jr. & Cibernetico: A blast! A bunch of action plus Parka is a hoot. RECOMMENDED Dos Caras, Atlantis & Hector Garza vs Dr. Wagner Jr, Silver King & Gran Markus Jr: LOVE IT, technically minded, BIG RECOMMENDATION to lucha novices like me.

Well, that was a war! I wasn't quite sure what to expect but the hate in this match was off the charts. It wasn't the quick burst of hate type match but more of a smoldering hate. Shit talking on the mic, stare downs, nasty looks and gestures and of course blood and kicks to the face. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't a fast paced match but I thought that it was wonderfully laid out. The match was almost a series of escalating encounters of violence. I could see some fans of more modern wrestling not liking this. In my book though this was a classic. Very distinct and memorable for sure.

On the same card: Takako Inoue & Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa vs. Mariko Yoshida & Kaoru Ito & Rie Tamada. A bit rocky in the beginning but the pace was great throughout and it was quite exciting. Takako/Mariko was the focus. ***3/4 Aja Kong & Reggie Bennett vs. Lioness Asuka & Bison Kimura. - It was a very neat match but not spectacular other than Aja brutalizing Bison. ***1/2 Minami Retirement Memorial: Suzuka Minami & Yumiko Hotta vs. Las Cachorras Orientales. A great AJW style tag match with Minami being in the majority of the match. Hotta was minor in her role...I'm not sure this was because it was Suzuka's retirement match or what. Still it was very exciting and I really wasn't sure who was going to win. Really emotional too which is nice to see. LCO were pretty good here in their berserk heel mode giving Suzuka a tough retirement match. ****1/4 - Match of the Night

This was clipped to 6 minutes from 14 minutes. I call bullshit but, there's a handheld available. Probably from way back in the seats or down low since this was outside in Yokohama Stadium for the explosions. What we do see on the commercial release is pretty damn good (and well spliced!). It's pretty much all the fast paced highlights. Bull & Akira knock fuck outta the FMW gals but, like Onita they show that never say die attitude. Very enjoyable and recommended stuff. Per BAHU & Steve Ayy's FMW podcast, some AJW girls were considering jumping to FMW's women's division. Of course that didn't pan out but, is probably the catalyst for the AJW owners OKing the interpromotion stuff to keep them happy as well as rake in the bucks.

This was a ferocious match. The Yamazaki & Harley team was one I wish I could see more of but we're almost to the end. This was a great match...seek this one out!