Hi folks! I'm back with more shoot style wrestling. This time we're looking at 1993. Let's get started with UWFi. As a reminder, I'm avoiding the big names like Albright, Takada & Vader since I think their matches have been reviewed in depth before.
Dan Severn vs Yoji Anjo (02/14) Damn was this fun. Severn is way bigger than Anjo and was throwing suplexes. Anjo tried for strikes but Dan was absorbing them. I really LIKED IT
Steve Day vs Hiromitsu Kanehara (04/10) - This had a bit of everything - strikes, suplexes, judo throws, hurty-looking submission holds. And it all looked and felt urgent and real which is important. Kanehara threw strikes while grounded to break Days concentration which was a nice touch. Day wanted to use throws & takedowns but knew he needed to throw a knee here & there in order to get inside and get Kanehara on the defense. LOVED IT
Masahito Kakihara vs Naoki Sano (04/10) - You gotta love Kakihara's fire. It definitely gives all his bouts an adrenaline shot. Sano is a smooth operator though. It was a real fire vs ice bout. Excellent work in stand-up and the ground. These somewhat shorter matches force the guys to really push the pace and competitive feeling. I LOVED THIS
Bad News Allen vs Yoshihiro Takayama (05/06) - Fun stuff with a slower pace since they're heavyweights. Well Allen certainly is at this point. He's still bad news though. His throws and submissions look great. That arm bar neck lock was a beauty! I LIKED IT
Yuko Miyato vs Kazuo Yamazaki (05/06) - Hard fought battle for a 12 minute match. I think this one had it all - kicks, suplexes and working on the mat. I really enjoyed that both guys were able countering and escaping while on the mat. I also dug how heated this was. This wasn't a dry competition... I got the vibe they weren't happy with one another. Anytime they can incorporate storytelling like that in shoot style and have great action - it's something special. I LOVED THIS ONE
Dennis Koslowski vs Yuko Miyato (08/13) - Dennis is a bronze and silver medal winning Greco-Roman wrestler. But he's susceptible to strikes as you'd expect. Miyato knows he's got to keep hitting the big man if he's going to have a chance. Koslowski is entertaining as hell here. Suplex City baby! But his submission holds look great too...he's not looking for a KO and wants to finish it on the mat. I LIKED IT ALOT
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yuko Miyato (10/04) - Miyato was like fuck this shit, I'm not wrestling Tamura on the mat. Dude wisely starts laying in the hits. His shots to the abdomen are vicious! You can't count Tamura out though. This was excellent stuff with great strikes and super dynamic mat action from Tamura. LOVED IT
Tatsuo Nakano vs Yoji Anjo (10/04) - Damn, this was a gutsy performance by Nakano. He's essentially the level one boss of a beat-em up game. Anjo who's usually pretty sure of himself got real scared when Nakano nearly German suplexed him in the early goings. I really got into this match. At the very least a Tatsuo Nakano match will be entertaining. You get to see him get beat up & keep going. This was a different kind of match. I REALLY LIKED IT
Now let us shift over to RINGS. General principle applies here too but I'm focusing more specifically on Nagai, Naruse, and Grom Zaza.
Masayuki Naruse v Nobuaki Kakuta (3/5/93)I wanted to skip as it looked like a shoot on initial viewing. But I've come back and it's a work. They just happen to get the UWFi style & speed down pat. RINGS really seems half speed in comparison to UWFi at this time. This is an exception. Really good striking & competitive mat wrestling. I LIKED THIS
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Masayuki Naruse (RINGS, 5/29/93) - Matwork marathon, matwork masterpiece. These guys scrambled for nearly a half hour. They worked the whole time. It feels like what you you're looking for when talking about highly technical professional wrestling. Ishikawa and Naruse aren't fighting for real of course. The concept of a "guard" is treated as foreign for instance. So you know it's a work 🙂 Then the next conclusion I think is "this is exactly what Inoki had in mind." This harkens back to that. And harkens back to the original UWF as well. I LOVED IT. Naruse is someone I'm glad I'm seeing in this project.
Volk Han vs. Dick Vrij (RINGS, 7/13/93) - This felt stilted to me. There's a great emphasis on strikes. Those didn't look great though. Han's strikes looked good. Dick should have looked vicious but looked neutered. IT'S OK
Grom Zaza vs Nikolai Zouev (08/21/93) - A little bit of everything in this match - strikes, suplexes and submission moves. They felt pretty evenly matched and was pretty entertaining for the most part. They lose steam or focus as it went on. There was drama with the points at the end but I felt that they didn't actually do much to work that drama. It felt like like they knew the order of rope breaks but didn't really build towards them though. I LIKED IT overall though.
Todor Todorov vs. Masayuki Naruse (RINGS, 12/8/93) - Nice even match up. There's some nice strikes, a few great suplexes and constant mat action. I wish there was a better angle on the finish because it was hard to see what did the job. I LIKED IT
I'm not really sure if RINGS is my jam. Ishikawa vs Naruse has probably been my favorite and I'm not getting that excited by everything else. It's good but it's not encouraging me to invest more time into it. And you might say, "well that's because of who you're watching." That's true but I don't know if I'm breaking any news then or at least giving these a fresh take.
Also want to recommend that you also check out my new blog: Wrestling Dream Battles
Thanks to the folks that have already checked it out!
I find the layout over on the new blog is a lot easier to read on phones & tablets...which is kinda what I gear my writing to. I want you to be able to read my blog while you're on the train, waiting for your food to be delivered, or on your lunch break. This way you're pumped up to go check wrestling out when you get some actual free time 😁 Also I think it's a better place for wrestling pictures because I can adjust some things better. So if you dig pictures with your blogs, check it out!
Currently I am posting about NJPW 1995 and will be tackling NJ vs UWFi there. Also did a cool Bull Nakano in the 80's post with a bunch of pictures.
Good day, wrestling fans!
RVD has posted or re-posted Sabu matches in honor of his late friend. There's plenty of stuff that I'd never seen before or was hard to find or only on compilations etc. I'm going to focus on stuff from Japan since it's been awhile since I've seen Sabu in Japan. Let's do a triple jump dive right in!
Atsushi Onita & Sambo Asako vs. Sabu & Horace Boulder (FMW 04/23/92) - I saw this back in 2018 but decided to watch the full handheld. I think my original take holds up: Sambo is a roley-poley (rollie-pollie??) or let's say dumpy fat guy. He's not the type of guy you want to go out to the bar with if you're intent on chatting up some birds. He's not much of a wrestler either but, damn he gets the job done No rope barb wire match here and we start seeing some the the death match staples but, remember this is 1992. Hot shotting Sabu on the wire, choking him with it & eventually tossing his ass into it- he gets tangled in it much like his Funker match from '97. If you're an ECW fan, this is the era when 'Bu got all the scars. Not to be outdone, Onita gets wrapped in the loose wire which is another innovation...of sorts. This is all pretty crazy. Mad Onita theatre at the end of this too!
Terry Funk & Tarzan Goto vs The Sheik & Sabu (FMW 08/22/93) - Absolutely bananas fun match! It's really great match if you're a fan of these guys and this style. It is very chaotic yet Sabu & Goto did pro wrestling so its a wonderful mix of brawling, hard core spots, blood, a few moves...and it's a fantastic length even with the post match fighting. Definitely recommend it!
Uncle Sheik
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Sabu vs Hayabusa (FMW 08/28/94) - RVD has the edited down version but there's a full version out there. I watched that. Thanks to the super fan who spliced the commercial footage with the handheld footage! It's pretty fun stuff...basically both guys just doing really crazy spots. It's not much more than that to be frank. I think if they had a match in '97-98 then you might have had a very good to even great match. Here they were really trying to wow the crowd with crazy stuff. Reminds me of stuff Jack Evans, Ricochet and others would want to do.
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Sabu vs Eddie Guerrero - Black Tiger II (NJPW 06/12/95) This was a great match! Eddie was just as crazy as Sabu and both guys bring the excitement here. Sabu doesn't get enough credit for his selling because most people don't know that he's not always hurt. Certainly there's times where he is but most of the times he's putting things over. This match, he does a great job selling his back after the culmination of moves. He starts selling it right after flipping out of a back body drop. Normally a wrestler will shoot back onto offense but he shows that the move took it's toll. He forces Eddie to slow down and let the match breathe between maneuvers (Eddie & Chris were moves, moves & more moves at their worst). Here by slowing down, we get denied the flurry until the final third & we are pumped for the excitement. Highly Recommended for fans of Sabu & Eddie especially.
For more great reviews and pics check out my other blog Wrestling Dream Battles:
wrestlingdreambattles.blogspot.com
I'll be covering my longer year in review projects like New Japan '95 as well as wrestler & rivalry watch guides and more. Going through my watch list, there should be more Sabu in New Japan in the 1995 posts up now. Go check it out 😁 Back to the action!
Abdullah The Butcher vs Sabu (Tokyo Pro 06/26/96) -They stab each other in the head with nails and they bleed.......and it was great! Just a blast to watch them stumble around Korakuen Hall. The fans are eating it up. Abby has his goons come out and start beating on Sabu then Ishikawa (with a heavenly mullet) saves the day.
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Sabu vs 2 Cold Scorpio (10/18/96) Tokyo Pro. Holy crap! It was great. At about half their Cyberslam match this was pure gold...great punches, chair stuff, and the aerial moves. Sabu hit everything perfectly (in a Sabu kinda way) and Too Cold was on point. Plus he does the Macarena...what's not to love!?
Sabu & Gary Albright vs Stan Hansen & Takao Omori (AJPW 11/24/96) - Whoa, didn't know about Gary & Sabu teaming. Actually didn't know about Sabu in All Japan. This was fun. Gary is suplexing everyone. Sabu & Gary are a fun team. I wonder if they worked any spots where he suplexed Sabu on someone. This is joined in progress but we get most of it. You're going to enjoy this. *Note Sabu does a botch but re-does it in his hurried, animal - energy way (making it twice as dangerous) and nails the move perfectly.
Sabu & Rob Van Dam vs Stan Hansen & Takao Omori (AJPW 01/20/97) - A little clunky start with a young Omori in there but, this shaped up. Hansen got it back on track and sold for Sabu and this puppy was as right as rain. Fun action moves from RVD & Sabu. They were there to razzle dazzle. Omori was with the program and bumped. Post-1995 Stan the Man is great. He's not fully out of commission but he's not as limber. I just get that he's in pain and cranky in '95 and onwards. That translates well here. He can't keep up with the ECW guys kicks but he can hit hard still dammit! Really fun stuff, good under card match.
Sabu & RVD vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Kintaro Shiga (AJPW 05/13/1997) - joined in progress..we get half but this is excellent stuff. Shiga & Ogawa work really, really well with Sabu and Rob. They are quick and athletic. They have a lower risk offense but still have their moves. Shiga, who I became a fan of when looking at NOAH 2001-02, impressed me here. This would have been a cool match to see in ECW...totally would have worked!
Sabu & Rob Van Dam vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinari Ogawa (AJPW 06/06/97) - Oh this was pretty sweet! I wish it was a little bit longer. These two teams worked great together. I thought Ogawa was especially good again. I definitely would recommend it if you're at all interested. It's not going to blow your mind but, it's fun! I think the above match is better but then again that's got Shiga. But I'm taking anything away from this one. Watch both.
Sabu & Rob Van Dam vs Hayabusa & Tommy Dreamer (ECW/FMW 12/12/98) (jip) - Um did Tommy Dreamer just do an Emerald Flowsion!? Innovator of violence indeed. Or at least right on the heels of Misawa here 😋 This was joined in progress and was clipped. We only get have but it is a ton of fun. Just a spot cornucopia from Sabu & RVD. I think Dreamer gets like 5 offensive moves. I'm not sure Hayabusa gets more. I wonder what we missed. I'm guessing there was either some botching or something. I'm not sure actually... this was for a commercial tape and this seems like a match you'd want most of. They jam packed those FMW tapes though. So 9 minutes was a lot when some matches would get like 3 minutes.
Sabu vs Rob Van Dam (AJPW 03/03/01) - 12 out of 15 minutes were shown - man, I wish they had the full version. I have watched enough AJPW from this time to know better. I'm glad that we got 80% or so. Anyhow, this was very good stuff! This was what I envisioned Sabu vs Hayabusa to be. Tons of flashy, crazy moves BUT surprises too! Those surprises are what made the match. The video quality isn't awesome... very old school underwater early 2000's style 🙂 But if you're a fan of either guy then, you'll dig this one!
BONUS!!!
Sabu vs Too Cold Scorpio (ECW Hardcore Heaven 1994) - Oh yes, this is great. Both guys are in good shape and are doing all kinds of dangerous shit. All in all it's probably a spot fest but it does feel competitive and like they are trying to win a damn wrestling match. Additionally, I never felt like that they were just "showing off." I actually prefer this to their 1996 match (Cyberslam again?) since this was shorter than that & I felt the pace was better.
Thank you Sabu!! and thanks for reading folks!
Greetings from the internet! This time we're looking at Zero One Wrestling from 2004 & 2005. It's a grab bag though. There's a few stand alone matches from 2004. I was able to find a full show but only three matches interest me. Also please check out my new blog Wrestling Dream Battles. Just posted New Japan 1995 part #3 up there.
OK let's look at Zero One Wrestling!
2004
Leonardo Spanky vs. Josh Daniels (01/30) - Good back & forth juniors match. Simple stuff and although it didn't build to the big finish, it felt like the right time & move to end it. I LIKED IT
Frankie Kazarian & Low Ki vs. Emblem (Masato Tanaka & Shinjiro Otani) (01/30) - Really, really good action match! Kaz & Low Ki were an excellent team to take on Emblem. Kaz kept things pretty simple (a reviewer on Cage match mentioned he botched stuff... I saw zero botches). Low Ki was more in heel junior mode than strong style warrior or whatever he does when he kicks people really hard. Tanaka and Otani were their normal good selves. Nothing mind blowing but they allowed the American team to shine. The final few minutes was an excellent bomb exchange and was very exciting! I LIKED IT ALOT
Jun Kasai & Shinya Hashimoto vs. Riki Choshu & Tomohiro Ishii (01/30) - Oh yeah! 12 minutes of what you wanted. Ishii is forced to lay everything in on Hashimoto. Hash ignores him to call out Riki. Jun reminds you he wrestles. When we finally get Hash vs Riki, it's great. Years worth of history and they give you what you want. I LIKED IT ALOT
Frankie Kazarian vs Leonardo Spanky vs Low Ki (01/31) - A good time, smile on your face fireworks junior 3 way dance. Way too many moves to remember them all but everything they did was in their wheelhouse. They never got too complicated or too cute with what they were attempting. They used the ramp to good effect which makes me wish the US Indies could have afforded a ring ramp 😋 Hard to rate this honestly so I'll just say I LOVED IT. Definitely one to watch if you're interested!
Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita vs. Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Yoshihito Sasaki (08/31/04) - Starting out mildly, this kept building to something more exciting. Oh thought, "oh this is just a small show. they'll do some signature stuff and wrestle by numbers and do a couple moves to finish." Whoa, they went beyond that and delivered a really good tag match! Like FMW tags, they shifted into a higher gear and the last third was truly exciting stuff. In truth, the first third was forgettable but those other 2/3rds made up for it. Hidaka's execution was great, Fujita was on point and Kuroda & Sasaki were excellent counterparts with their elbows, spears & lariats. ...you know this is a re-watch...went through my old notes but yup I had the same rating "very good" so glad to see that it holds up.
2005
I have had trouble finding an Zero One Wrestling or Zero One Max from 2005. I think I'd just find what I had uncovered awhile back when doing a Ikuto Hidaka spotlight. So I had to get creative and look at other promotions that featured Zero One talent.
Pro Wrestling NOAH
Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Kotaro Suzuki (03/05/05) - Great match! Thought it was just going to be a fun one but ultimately nothing too wild. I was fooled! They were treating Misawa like he was invincible. This was a great ploy. Once team Zero One was able to weaken him then things got very interesting. Otani was in full dick head mode and Takaiwa was his enforcer. Kotaro's Rey Misterio Jr inspired moves were great as he used them in desperation rather than to show off. Jaw cracking elbow strikes, thrilling rope rope moves and some genuinely exciting near falls - LOVED IT!
Differ cup 2005
05/07
Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita vs. PSYCHO & TAKA Michinoku - This was a total blast! It got really good when it was TAKA vs Hidaka and didn't quit after that. Excellent high spots, a little bit of comedy and an interesting finish. This put a smile on my face!
05/08
Takaiwa Tatsuhito & Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. TAKA Michinoku & PSYCHO & Sonjay Dutt - Hahaha! Yes!! This is fucking sweet! They actually told a story with TAKA's team being out matched in strength. PSYCHO (new to me this show) just couldn't get a break. Eventually he made the hot tag to TAKA who went straight violent with his kicks! Gawd that one combo was great. It never calmed down after that. Fireworks display with great surprises. The randomness of this put me on the edge of my seat. This could be a cluster fuck at any second. But these dudes pulled it off in my book. Let's here it for the Differ Cup shows
Riki Pro
Ikuto Hidaka vs. Takashi Sasaki (06/05) - It was a pretty enjoyable junior bout. I think of Takashi Sasaki as a death match wrestler. He is a remarkable junior singles and tag worker though. He's got a solid move set and has great execution. I really dig his super kicks. I always like Ikuto Hidaka. His leg work here added a little variety. This was a fun 10 minute curtain jerker.
Yoshito Sasaki & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Dick Togo & GENTARO (06/05) - This was wrestled at a quick pace. I would have wanted them to slow down at the beginning to get me acclimated. I don't mind a quick start but I wasn't sure of the direction. Small complaint as they found their groove. It was one move after another and was quite the fireworks tag match. I think they wrestled this way because it was an indie show and just needed to add some razzle dazzle in the middle of the card. This was a very fun tag match and although isn't a hidden gem, it's cool to see these kind of match ups on the indie shows at this time.
Shiro Koshinaka & TAKA Michinoku vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (08/14/05) - Fun match but only 10 minutes. This could have gone a few more as they never hit their stride. Still we get beefy lariats, flying hip attacks, a couple dives and just enjoyable wrestling.
Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita vs Jody Fleisch & Jonny Storm (10/09/05) - This is actually the only Zero One Wrestling match but I couldn't get into it. There's some crazy ass spots though!! It just reminds me of an early 2000's ROH/indie style. I think by 2005 in ROH at least, had become antiquated. Anyway, I just think this would have worked for a crazy 12 minute match but this was nearly 20 minutes. Not my thing but you might dig it. Jonny Storm has it up on his YouTube page so I'll share it below:
Zero One Wrestling has been a lot of fun. I'm definitely interested in going forward with it. I've got a few DVDs that I'm going to use to center a project or two.
Thanks for reading!
Hello fellow wrestling fans! We're back for the final installment of Mid South Wrestling for 1985. It's been a helluva project! Definitely check out the previous entries or my entries on G. Badger Puro + More for pre '85 Mid South. Without further ado, let's go!
November & December 1985
Ric Flair vs Butch Reed (11/07 ep.#322) Al Perez was a big deal in MS at the time...holding tag titles for a good deal of '85 with Wendell Cooley but I thought I would include this match as a nod to how hard MS was pushing Perez. But Reed takes his place. This is a great segment that ties in with the Slater confrontation last week. And we get a fun TV main event and wild post match - this is a helluva segment!!!
So now both Hacksaw Reed and Duggan are united against Dick Slater, Buzz Sawyer & Ric Flair.
Hacksaw Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer (11/11) - WOW! This the is violence we've been missing. Blood soaked bedlam. These guys just beat the crap out of each other. There's not a difference between the match and the "post match." This is pay back for Buzz destroying Duggan's lady...and it seemed real. THIS is the Jim Duggan you've been wondering about. He drops 2-3 f-bombs, swearing, screaming and sweating. He's like a barbarian out there. Buzz is no push over but good gravy Duggan is looking for a homicide tonight. If you don't think so, they're fighting in the bowels of the auditorium like it's 1999 Raw is War but this shit feels real. Classic brawl...more of this please!
*Ric Flair vs. Ted DiBiase (11/14 ep. #323 (DVDVR #3)) - Tremendous, tremendous TV segment here. The match itself is a gutsy, bloody affair but this whole segment is classic. Before the match, Dick Murdoch complains to Flair (during an interview) that the shot at the belt should be his. It should be Butch's because of last week's match but Reed can't compete because Slater as Flair's henchman injured him. Murdoch who was right up there with Reed in the North American title pack thinks he's next in line not DiBiase. Now Dick brought Ted into wrestling appeals to him to step back and give up his spot. Ted knows this is his time and refuses Dick. That goes real well...and Ted bleeding more than that knight in Monty Python. They're going to call the match...DiBiase is in the back and he doesn't wanna forfeit. That's just the lead in to the match! And if you're following along Ted has been THE heel but dammit they turn him baby face on a dime! This is #3 in the DVDVR Best of Mid South. I don't think it's the best match but it might just be the best segment and if you watch the TV episode (instead of just the WWE dvd) you see they've got EMT's working him post match. This is Onita levels of wrestling theatre.
Ric Flair vs. Jake Roberts (11/24/1985 (DVDVR #14))- Whoa! Mid South is on a roll! Obviously Flair is giving these guys great competition and they can show us their talent. A truly unique start to this match. Great heat and once Flair is ready to start, you know the end is one DDT away! I just thought this had great pacing and tons of nice little unexpected moments as well as moments you wish would happen coming true! You can tell that these two think about what they are doing in the ring. They tell micro stories each segment and weave them together to tell the larger tale of the match. The VQ of what I saw was pretty iffy but this would have been a no-brainer to include on the WWE DVD if they had the masters. DVDVR #14... I could go with that. Near classic match at the very least. Jake the Snake fans wanna see this one! RECOMMEND THIS ONE
Jake the Snake vs Lord Humongous (11/29/85 (#126)) - Cage match in Houston. Jake's got his own hockey mask! He's been complaining to have Humungus remove his so, he's gonna fight fire with fire. This is a great match & doesn't need a back story. These two are fighting in the cage. Jake eventually trades the hockey mask for the crimson mask. He looks in trouble. Humongous is going to use the Snake's cowboy boot against him but Jake ain't having that shit! He gets back in the fight! Things get wilder from there. Great finish that would work in wrestling for the next 15 years.
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Hacksaw Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer (Dog Collar 12/27/85)- Really good fight especially once Jim starts bleeding. It doesn't hold a candle to the 11/11 battle though. In fact, watch this first then watch the 11/11 match...I think you will get more out of it that way.
Jim Duggan vs. Dick Slater (12/31) - Oh wow! They brought Duggan's chick back from the shadow realm...with super blown out 80's hair & leather pants! This was a fun match. Nothing too complicated, Duggan probably got in more offense than I would have liked but it's a good time 🙂
Butch Reed vs Buzz Sawyer (Dog Collar 12/31/85 (#36)) - This is actually in the Mid South territory where the Duggan dog collar match is in Houston. That's my guess why they would run these less than a week apart. Still very good stuff that's not very long but is better than the Duggan one. It was more back & forth. There's more athleticism. Plus we get post match! So a great segment overall!
Ted Dibiase vs Dick Murdoch (12/31/85 (#15))
This is a follow-up to the events of the Flair match above essentially. A good punch, stomp & bleed match. They conveyed their animosity without going overboard. Nothing to go gaga over either in my opinion. Just good meat & potatoes brawling but I felt the pace was too deliberate as time went on. It got voted #15 in the DVDVR results but I can't endorse it that strongly. I think it was another very good match with a great finish. The 12/31 show had some exciting wrestling (if a bit similar).
This was a great project! I definitely got out of my puro watching here. I think it translates well especially if you're looking at All Japan or New Japan of the 1980's. I think that's my bridge into Mid South - Ted DiBiase, Buzz Sawyer, Dick Slater, The Fantastics and so on. They definitely brought a style here that translates well to Japan. I think I will check out Dr. Death vs Terry Gordy in '86 when it becomes UWF. That rivalry seems like a no-brainer for late 80's-early 90's All Japan fans like myself. One other thing to mention is that I didn't watch a lot of other quality stuff from Mid South TV. So if this wrestling is your thing then, you want to dig into those episodes online. I think you can purchase the DVDs as well.
We'll be moving back to New Japan, UWFI & RINGS and Zero One Wrestling in the next few weeks. Stick around! Thanks for reading 🙂
Hello! Now we're on to 2003 & Zero One Wrestling. I was able to selectively watch a couple shows. Also I will include the WEW matches featuring Zero One wrestlers. This is a doozy of a post. There's lots of quality wrestling here! Read on!
Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Vansack Acid vs. Low Ki & Paul London (ZERO-ONE 03/02/03) - Oh yeah! This rocked! This is what the ROH guys were trying to do in tag matches in '03. This had great spots and never over stayed it's welcome. Paul London was excellent and I wonder if there's more of him in Zero One available. Anyhow, Vansack Acid is a Muy Thai fighter turned wrestler and is a good opponent for Low Ki. Takaiwa is the power house and base for a lot of cool moves. It's this sorta randomness is appealing to me. It's unusual but it all works. I thought this was a great junior fireworks tag match. LOVED IT!
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The next batch are from the Zero One Wrestling event (05/02/03):
Naohiro Hoshikawa & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. MIKAMI & Wataru Sakata - I skipped ahead on this one to watch the last couple minutes. They get a ladder. It looks fun. I wanted to see this for Hoshikawa & Sasaki but the beginning didn't grab me. The flow or direction felt off. IT'S OK
Katsumi Usuda, Kazuhiko Ogasawara & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Hideki Hosaka, Kuroge Wagyuta & Masato Tanaka - At around 12 minutes, this is a god damn blast!! It's like someone did random wrestler select on Fire Pro Returns. Usuda is shoot style, Ogasawara is in his own fucking karate world...not knowing how to bump but still in a wrestling match, and Fujiwara thinks it's '86 popping his own eyebrow open with headbutts. Tanaka and Hosaka are team FMW but Wagyuta is like a budget Kensuke or Tenzan acolyte. It's great he and karate man just want to beat the crap outta each other. Yes, this is what I wanted and more. LIKED IT A LOT
Low Ki vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa - Holy cow! That ended up being a great junior match! I think the middle section where Takaiwa started focusing on grounding Ki and then working over his knee gave this a good foundation. They actually worked this bit of psychology for a good portion of the match. Although they did stray away from it as things got further along, it was touched upon just enough to make us remember. My favorite parts were the surprises where they would counter or reverse a move. I thought this was really creative and went a long way in making this a great match. LOVED IT
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Keiji Muto & Satoshi Kojima vs. Naoya Ogawa & Shinya Hashimoto - This isn't necessarily a "good" match but it IS a lot of fun. Kojima vs Hashimoto are the best parts. Ogawa & Muto play their parts very well. And the ending is a blast too! Watch it for Kojima and Hash laying strikes in hard and then assorted fun stuff 🙂 Stick around for the post match!
These are from WEW 05/03/03. This was the penultimate WEW show.
Jun Kasai & Yoshihito Sasaki vs Bad Boy Hido & G. Goshogawara- A garbage wrestling romp! Nothing was earth shattering in the pacing or storytelling department but we get some very enjoyable Korakuen brawling, chair swings, and ladder spots. Jun & Sasaki were more impressive than the WEW team. The WEW team actually did a good job isolating Kasai so there was some drama for him to make the tag to Sasaki. This was a street fight so that's code for them just doing a lot of different things without much purpose other than "this will be cool." BUT that's all it was supposed to be and they nailed it.
TAKA Michinoku vs Steve Corino - Two perennial heels face off. This was a fun match...as in it was a good match that had a lot of enjoyable moments. There's comedy, good wrestling moves, a little bit of everything. Both are characters and is what made it special. In fact, I would be interested to see if they worked together more because they could have taken this little program around for a few months in Japan. I LIKED IT
Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsu Kuroda vs Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka - This is a match that I hoped existed. I had no knowledge that it did before today. I'm so glad that I went searching. This is a dream match fulfilled. They very, very easily could have done their routine and some comedy and a nice finish. Everyone would have been happy, myself included. These crazy bastards went for IT! This was for the wrestling fans of Korakuen Hall. They put their wrestling boots on this night and blew my expectations to smithereens. This was high energy excitement from bell to bell. A classic tag match that any FMW fan should see. I absolutely LOVED IT ~ MUST SEE!
Is that a real sword?
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Back to Zero One:
CM Punk, Josh Daniels & CW Anderson vs Ikuto Hidaka, Vansack Acid & Naohiro Hoshikawa (07/31/03) - This has been on YouTube for 15 years and actually (maybe) was posted by Vansack Acid or a fan of his? Anyhow, this is an awesome fireworks match. It's an absolute sprint to the finish. There's too many moves to keep track of it all. It's 12 minutes of no story, no depth just fun! LOVED IT!
From the show: ZERO-ONE Summer Festival 2003 - (08/31/03)
Naohiro Hoshikawa vs. Yoshihito Sasaki - Under 10 minutes but a lot of fun. They are just running through moves. That's what I want in an opening match. Good strikes, good suplexes, good intensity/energy. I like both guys so no complaints from me. Wish both could have had longer careers but I'm thankful that we got what we did from both.
Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs. Kazuhiko Ogasawara & Tatsuhito Takaiwa - This was SO much fun!! 😀 Comedy, Ogasawara doing karate moves then getting hit in the nuts multiple times, Takaiwa bringing the serious wrestling moves, team FMW/WEW doing hardcore spots...this puts a grin on my face. I LIKED IT
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Hirotaka Yokoi & Kohei Sato vs. King Adamo & King Joe - "Shoot style lite" team vs Team Pacific Islanders. King Joe is Samoa Joe btw. So you know it's going to be good while he's in there. King Adamo is a bigger crazier looking dude and does a couple Too Cool/Rikishi comedy spots but also has some big man moves too. It's a lot of fun. King team brought the actual entertainment to this match and actually Joe vs Kohei Sato was pretty good stuff. I LIKED IT
Low Ki vs. Wataru Sakata - Wow, Low Ki does nearly every move that he knows. So that's fun but is also what limits this. That said, you're rooting for Sakata to whoop Ki. And does he! Hahaha, yeah Low Ki might do more moves but Sakata does more damage. The final third really brings it together and makes this worthwhile. Very good match. I LIKED the match as a whole and LOVED the final section.
CW Anderson & Steve Corino vs. Emblem (Masato Tanaka & Shinjiro Otani) - E-C-W! E-C-W! 😄 Seriously, this would have been a great match for an ECW ppv...maybe with one or two more chair spots 😋. But this was a blast! CW & Corino are such smarmy heels plus they have their own heel ref. I usually hate that kind of thing but it was done right. They didn't over do the gimmick. Besides, the actual wrestling was on point & fast paced. At around 13 minutes, this was just right. Very good to great match...definitely a recommendation for late stage ECW or early ROH fans. LOVED IT
Yes! This was a pretty sick show (from what I watched). This is why I'm interested in watching more & more Zero One Wrestling. They had a little bit of everything. Nothing was too long or drawn out. The show moved at a nice pace and was actually really fun to watch.
I've got one more match for the "main event!"
Masato Tanaka vs. Shinya Hashimoto 11/7/03 - Great match!! It seems this match (along with the others vs Hashimoto) helped cement Tanaka's future for decades to come. My feeling is that these matches and this match helped elevate Tanaka. He's one tough SOB. Does he take Hashimoto to his limit? No. But Hashimoto definitely takes Tanaka to his and makes him a better & stronger wrestler for it. That said, don't expect this to be Dangan getting beat up for 15 minutes. The dude definitely fights back and gives the former IWGP champion a lot to worry about. I particularly liked how Tanaka went over Shinya's bad shoulder (one that I believe was giving him problems here towards the end of his life). He was fighting to win not just prove his toughness. I've been a big fan of Masato Tanaka for over 25 years and I'm really glad that I saw this. As I have been watching more 90's New Japan (and early Zero One), I'm becoming a bigger fan of Hashimoto. With those things in mind, I definitely recommend this match. It's got a boat load of views online so I'm pretty late to the party BUT there's new folks getting into puroresu, 2000's wrestling, etc. every day ...or old ECW/FMW or 90's wrestling folks who want to get back into it...maybe their kids are into WWE or AEW and they are bopping around the interweb to see what they missed. So to them I say, check this out! I think it's a great intro to two icons of Japanese wrestling. LOVED IT
I mentioned it a few times but fans of last days ECW & early 2000's Indie wrestling like ROH would be wise to check out this stuff. Low Ki, Corino, London, CW Anderson all were staples but the fresh attitude and slightly experimental feeling is what I'm getting at. Nothing quite feels established and therefore anything is fair game. So you get really unique feeling match ups. I have covered Zero One Wrestling sporadically in my original Puro + More blog and this is always the feeling I got from the promotion. You never know who you're going to see there. Go watch some of this stuff 😁
Also please check out my new blog, Wrestling Dream Battles.
wrestlingdreambattles.blogspot.com
It will be covering classic Japanese wrestling along with retro ROH wrestling. This blog will be handling the longer viewing projects like year in reviews, wrestler & feud profiles and editorializing. I want to have more organization and space to do this in than solely on PWO. I also want this to be a good resource for people looking to get into classic Japanese wrestling & folks wanting to look back on golden era Ring of Honor.
I'm going to continue with The Further Adventures of Puro + More here on PWO. This will be for the shorter projects and one-off spotlights and quickie show reviews. I'm going to finish this little run of early 2000's Zero One but will be doing my planned Zero One 2007 & 2008 year book over on Wrestling Dream Battles for instance. If I wanted to do a Low-Ki in Japan project, I would do it here on Further Adventures of Puro + More.
Thanks for reading! Hope you check out the new blog 🙂
Hello! I'm continuing my selective look into 90's shoot style. Seeing as I'm cherry picking and avoiding tags & Takada, Albright, et al. we're starting mid way into 1992 with UWFi. Let's go!
Yoji Anjoh vs. Masahito Kakihara (6/28/92) - This is looking to be a shoot style squash match early on as Anjo dominates. Kakihara delivers a gutsy performance. It's like the enhancement talent isn't going to go down so easily. This is a fine example of drama and storytelling in shoot style. This is a stand out in that regard. LOVED IT
Tatsuo Nakano vs Masahito Kakihara (09/21) - Kakihara goes berserk with palm strikes and bursts Nakano's nose. It's bleeding like a faucet. There's blood all over both guys. You gotta watch this for the stand up fighting. The ground stuff is perfunctory because the sanguine stuff is over both and they can't get a grip. For that matter, I think this has to end early and that's a shame. This is one I'd recommend to any wrestling fan for the reasons above. LOVED IT for what it was.
Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Yoji Anjo (09/21) - Yamazaki gets Anjo in a shoot dragon sleeper at one point - hell yes!! A ten minute match but one that crammed with the intensity and technique. I really dig watching these two scramble on the mat. It's probably not as godlike as Tamura but its the right amount of speed for me. This also had a good bit of drama with it as well. I generally understand the points system and this match used that but didn't rely upon it. You could see the momentum swing just by watching the bout. Amazing finish. LOVED IT
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Kazuo Yamazaki (UWFI 10/23/92) - This was pretty dang awesome for most of the match. But it gets very close to being samey...like "oh they are working the Achilles hold again." But it's as if they knew this and kicked it back up. The finish was great too but I really wish they gave it a minute more to develop. Still this was excellent stuff. LIKE/LOVED IT...
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Hiromitsu Kanehara vs Yoshihiro Takayama (UWFi 12-20-92) - Takayama is only 6 months into his career. Kanehara is also young. So this is a youngster match. They'd been having them each show. Anyhow, this is thought to be their best. I thought it was really exciting stuff. Takayama seemingly was ready to go. Throw knees to the abdomen and take a shot. Kanehara was still developing but clearly seemed much more well rounded. Still their enthusiasm to show the crowd something special paid off. Takayama was light enough he delivered an awesome flying knee and Kanehara had a few spectacular strikes too. No wizardry on the canvas but it was solid and kept things moving along - telling the story of Takayama's height/reach could nearly get him a rope break from anywhere. Really LIKED IT
Nobuhiko Takada vs Naoki Sano (12/20/92) - Our first Sano match! I'll make an exception and allow Takada. Sano is great here. It was clear to me that he was intentionally trying not to win though. Do you know what I mean? Takada is like Muto in that you have to wrestle his match and he has to do his stuff. So Sano has to wrestle much slower and let Takada just slip out of holds like he's a master technician despite not employing any real speed, strength or technique. Takada just kinda ends up getting out of a hold and into one of his own by magic. Still this was fun because it's a sampling of what to expect with Sano. And while I'm firm in my avoidance of Takada in UWFi, this was still a good performance by him if you lean into this more as typical puro that shoot style. I like him in UWF 1 & 2 and NJPW and this felt closer to those. He's a no good in UWFi as he's drunk on his ego and that's my issue here. Seeing how much work Anjo & Yamazaki do, it's apparent how much Takada phones it in by comparison. LIKED IT for the reasons mentioned.
Let's see what RINGS is up to!
Volk Han v Grom Zaza (5/16/92) - Don't watch this for the kicks 😋 Watch this for the grappling. Han, a Sambo practitioner, and Zaza, a wrestler, throw as good a kick as you'd expect. And that's my complaint. There's downs from strikes more than rope breaks. These two should just be mat scramblin' ! I think that they probably were given orders to do more stand-up here. Fuck dat! Zaza suplexing & throwing Han more is what I want! Thank you! Still it's a lil longer than it needed and isn't exactly what you want all the time. IT'S OK
Dick Vrij v Mitsuya Nagai (5/16/92) - In case you forgot it was 1992 or weren't old enough, Nagai's neon yellow-green ring wear will inform you. What now is considered safety wear was athletic fashion wear. Good start and then Nagai gets booted in the nuts. Afterwards it's fun. Nagai shows a lot of guts as Dick takes his time and picks him apart. It actually looked like Nagai might have had him with a toe hold. IT'S OK
Grom Zaza vs Shtorm Koba (RINGS 8-21-92) - Shoot suplex city right here! Hell yes! Was that a shoot Gorilla press slam!? This was extremely fun, exciting stuff. Lots of throws and hold and an excellent showing from Grom. Not sure if we see more Koba down the road but he's not to be taken lightly. LOVED IT...favorite RINGS match so far
Mitsuya Nagai vs Sergei Sousserov (RINGS 12-19-92) - I liked that they went for Tiger Mask kicks but were actually interested in wrestling! It made the stand up fun but brief. Then got to the real business of trying to snap each others knees & ankles. That said, Sergei is bleeding from the mouth. This was great, competitive stuff. I LIKED IT
UWFi from what I'm watching is better than RINGS. I'm guessing that the main reason is the UWFi guys have way more experience in shoot style pro wrestling. Many of the non Japanese RINGS competitors are martial artists who are only learning how to apply their craft in a entertainment setting. My guess is that Nagai & later Naruse are taught catch wrestling, striking as well as how & when to work. UWFi has been doing this in some form for almost a decade. My intention isn't to compare & contrast the two groups. I'm just stating an observation and opinion. I like UWFi better but am eager for RINGS as well.
Thanks for reading!
Hello there! We're going to look back at 2002 Zero One Wrestling. This post we're going to be looking at Kodo Fuyuki's post FMW league, WEW, and matches featuring Zero One wrestlers. So it's a WEW post about Zero One wrestlers, make sense?
Shinya Hashimoto & Shinjiro Otani vs Atsushi Onita & Great Sasuke (05/05/02 WEW) - An absolute spectacle. You have to know that with Onita going into this. That is what he does. That said, he does a remarkable amount of straight pro wrestling or for him at least. Sasuke is here to fly and get beat up. Otani was really good holding much of the match together (on offense and defense). Hashimoto is the destroyer of worlds. He doesn't hold back. Sasuke crumpled under the onslaught. You might think, "oh he'll take it easy with old man Onita." No. No he doesn't. He downward chops that raspy bastards neck all the same. Fuck Onita for being a selfish person (and a skeezy one)...Hashimoto is the avatar of vengeance. You will enjoy watching Hash blast Onita with chops & kicks. But in the end, remember Onita never loses. He brings it back to himself... Onita theatre & spectacle is what it's all about. And if he's a heel then this is what he's going to do. And as selfish as he is, he's the best at creating a spectacle. Do I wish we got another independent wrestler like Shinzaki to pair with Sasuke? Yeah, we might have gotten a great match. Onita gives you a moment to remember though. I don't like him but he's good at what he does.
Ikuto Hidaka & Tomohiro Ishii vs Takashi Sasaki & GENTARO (09/14/02 WEW) - By gawd they're going wild! Under 10 minute sprint. Surprisingly Hidaka is the one with execution issues but, it's a short match more about the energy than anything else. That said this was a ton of FUN 😀 Takashi Sasaki & GENTARO are such a good junior team. Ishii was just mauling them but they were busting out movez when they could. This was a good time. I
Otani, M. Tanaka & K Wagyuta vs T. Kuroda, TAKA & G. Goshogawara (10/23/02 WEW) - The Otani vs TAKA part at the beginning is pretty salty...yes! Otani is Tenryu-like in his stiffness and non-cooperation all match actually. Gosaku gets the worst of it and even I'm rooting for him! Otani power bombs him pretty viciously and he gets loopy. Wagyuta tries his best but this little bit was spotty. Fortunately TAKA & Kuroda knew what was up and got him out of there & got it back on track. Very good match!
TAKA & Kuroda vs Otani & Wagyuta (11/04/02) - Sort of a rematch. Unfortunately, they cut half of it out but was was shown was really good action. Wagyuta is growing on me. He's a good beefy toadie for Otani. He & Kuroda's lariat battle was sweet! TAKA really showed everyone up here. Perfect quebrada and lit Otani's skull up with kicks. I really wanted the whole thing. LIKED what was shown
Kintaro (W*ing) Kanemura vs Masato Tanaka (WEW 11/04/02) - FMW lives on! This was a mix of the old style FMW garbage wrestling along with the athletic style. Here they used tables, chairs, the lighting rig and a flaming barb wire bat. That shit was dangerous! Tanaka went for it one last time. Fans of ECW, FMW, BJW and all the rest really will want to see this. It's a great death match. Plenty of holy shit moments along with great pro wrestling. LOVED IT
"Umm guys...how long am I supposed to hold this!?"
This was a fun post. I was able to see WEW finally. I was curious about the post FMW promotions and this post made it a "two birds with one stone" scenario. There's not a ton of Zero One Max online from this time period. I will probably have to employ this method as I go. It's cool though. It's definitely widening my scope of smaller Japanese promotions at the time.
Thanks for reading!!!
Hello folks! Let's keep taking a look at Mid South Wrestling in 1985.
September & October 1985
Dr Death vs Dick Murdoch (09/19 ep.#315) - This was shaping up to be a very good match. Bob Sweetan (who is teaming with Williams while DiBiase is in Japan I think) gets involved. He hits Butch Reed who's also at ring side. Sweetan & Doc start beating up Murdoch. Reed comes into help but no good deed goes unpunished. Murdoch thinks Butch attacked him. And that sets up the next big feud!
Butch Reed vs Dick Murdoch (09/22/85 DVDVR#6)- I'm an old man & this is a long match. And I occasionally will watch a long match if I'm not aware of it going into it. Well I'm aware of it so I watched this in chunks. And I thought this was a classic bout! They were working the whole time. Both guys were fighting while on defense. Everything looked snug. Both Butch & Dick were excellent in selling the pain & exhaustion. It was pretty organic and felt like competition. I don't think it needed to be as long as it was (not an hour draw thankfully fyi). It is over 45 minutes though. I think something around 30 would have been perfect. That's a preference though 🙂 Post match is great & kinda why I think match time around 30 + the post match would have absolutely ideal. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
The Fantastics vs. Dutch Mantell & Bill Dundee (9/22/85 Oklahoma City) - A great match for sure! Dutch and Sir William assault the Fantastics as they're getting hugs & kisses from the women. It's a well structured match. There's a good internal story with the ref being unable to keep up with the action. It's a lil annoying but there's a payoff. And the finish is what catapults this into being a great tag match. All four guys worked their butts off. Awesome post match too!!
The Fantastics vs Ted DiBiase & Steve Williams (09/26 ep.# 316) - All action tag match with no down time at all. Really fun match. A little rough around the edges but totally acceptable for a 1985 TV match. Dr Death maybe does the first Dangerous Backdrop on Bobby Fulton...its on accident as I think Fulton meant to flip over & land on his feet but landed on his head instead. It works though because Dr. Death was doing a move..Confused? I guess you'll just have to watch this one 🙂
The Fantastics vs. Dutch Mantell & Bill Dundee (10/03 ep.#317) Being old school TV, this probably was taped prior to the above match in OKC. But maybe not? This is a bull whip on a pole match. This is mayhem! Yes! The match and post match are one in the same. This was a trip! Fun, fun stuff!
Butch Reed vs Flair (10/11/85 #51 DVDVR) - Now this is more my speed. You young whippersnappers can watch the time limit matches. I will take this 20 minute match. It's a wonderful "keep it simple/Flair working from underneath" match. We get to see all kinds of work from both guys. I think it avoids most of the Flair tropes/cliches...or at least tackles them in a way that's interesting. I felt this was a classic bout with the last few minutes pushing it up on that "classic match" pedestal. I, along with the fans, would have preferred a different finish but it definitely works. And the match as a whole delivers. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Butch Reed vs Dick Murdoch (10/14/85 DVDVR #11)- Great match! It took awhile to get going though. Reed working the arm didn't set my world on fire. They make it interesting as time goes on and this gets good. Dick works over Butch's knee. In response, Reed goes back to Murdoch's arm. And boy are they hurting! Excellent selling again, excellent sense of competition & intensity. The finish is a bit cheeky but it's absolutely something you'd still see on TV today (I bet) so there's no problem there.
Tommy Rogers vs Dick Slater (10/17 ep.#319) - Lots of great moves here especially from Slater. This one is fun. Also shows that the Fantastics are greater than the sum of their parts.
Fantastics vs Dick Slater & Buzz Sawyer (10/24 ep.#320) - Dark Journey is a great 80's comic book hero name. She's cool & makes Mid South a little hip. She actually reminds you that MTV and a world outside of the Mid South territory exists. It's not all cowboy boots & ZZ Top 😄 Anyhow, back to wrestling - Vicious back breaker from Buzz! Fun stuff but they're too tough for the Fantastics BUT we're not done...Hacksaw Duggan comes out with his wife/girlfriend for his scheduled match. Then decides to shit talks Dark Journey and Slater. They're in the ring now and they're fighting... Sawyer comes back out to help. In a complete moment of insanity, Duggan's chick tries to help her dude. Sawyer ain't going for it and removes her ass from this plane existence!!! Hacksaw ain't doing too great himself. You gotta see this!
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Jake Roberts vs Dutch Mantell (10/24 ep.#320) - This is actually before the above match/segment but I thought it would flow better to put in in this order. Good promo from Jake talking about facing Lord Humongous and getting him to remove the hockey mask. The Mad Max movies huge at this time and this is probably the most direct copy of the character(s). Thunder Dome came out in the summer of '85 - two men enter! one man leaves! So Jake is feuding with him. But this match with he & Dutch was a lot of fun. Can Jake catch Dutch in the DDT?
Jake the Snake vs Lord Humongous (Tulsa Convention Center 10/27/85)- The lord is managed by Oliver Humperdink. This is a lot of fun. It's Jake trying to chip away at the monster and avoid his grasp. Meanwhile, Humperdink is causing chaos on the outside.
Butch Reed vs Dutch Mantell (10/31 ep.#321) - Fun match where Dutch ambushes Butch. Reed can't be stopped. Fun bit of wrestling but it sets up Butch vs Dick Slater. Reed shit talks Dark Journey & she slaps him (rightfully so) but Slater is a shit heel hiding behind his girlfriend. Still, we get to hear some stuff that Reed says that is pretty sketchy regarding race & gender roles etc. 😬 The fans seem to enjoy it and this definitely 1985 Mid South!
This batch of wrestling is phenomenal! Honestly, if you just wanted to jump in here and watch these fall matches, you'll be loving it. Seriously, if you want to dip your toe into the Mid South pool, September and October '85 would be the time to do it.
Thanks for reading!
Greetings true believers! We're talking about more Mid South wrestling from 40 years ago! This is great stuff so, let's dive in!
July & August 1985
Ted DiBiase vs Terry Taylor (07/04 ep.#304) 1st match on episode, impromptu match...DiBiase legit slaps Taylor in the mouth!! Hahaha oh shoot 😄 We get a real spirited back & forth match and we get a winner too.
Dutch Mantell vs Terry Taylor (07/11 ep.#305) 1st match on the episode. Way to open the show...they know what they're doing! Pretty Boy Taylor vs Dirty Dutch. This was a very good bout for the TV title. These guys really gelled. I could have watched another 3-4 minutes of what these two were doing. Dug the finish too!
Jake the Snake vs Ted DiBiase 07/28/85 #42 - wrestle fest '85 - Oh yeah, this was great. Jake is going for the DDT early to end this but Ted keeps slipping out. Eventually the dastardly DiBiase takes over and makes Roberts pay. Just timeless stuff here. Excellent pacing and what a finish even when you think it might go sour. Two of my favorite heels from my childhood.
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Butch Reed vs Dutch Mantell (07/28/85 Wrestlefest '85) - Tough act to follow Jake & Ted. This was still a fun match but there wasn't anything too memorable.
Hector & Chavo Guerrero vs. Ted DiBiase & Dr. Death Steve Williams (1985/07/26) - I like that this starts with Ted jaw jacking with a fan. Like c'mon dude...who would win a fight? You or the big dude in the steel cage & the championship belt? Anyhow Ted & Dr. Death... such a badass team. Hector has bleached blonde hair! The Bros. dominate early on but here comes the beating...this was very good stuff! Not fancy but super entertaining! Too bad about the finish but it keeps their heat! I am pissed 40 years later 😄
Butch Reed vs Ted DiBiase (07/25 ep.#307) 2nd match on this episode looks like Reed vs Tom Prichard but Ted comes out...Impromptu match! This would be a main event normally and damn! they wrestle this like a TV main event. Two greats put on a show. I loved this! Excellent pacing, teases, the outcome was always in doubt - Great match!
Butch Reed vs Dutch Mantell (08/01 ep.#308) - The rematch from Wrestlefest sorta - instead we get a fantastic segment where Mantell is looking to hurt Butch and collect some $$ from Ric Flair. So Dutch jumps Reed with his whip and Chaos ensues!!! It's a couple minutes but is so much more memorable than their match!
Butch Reed vs Ric Flair (08/09/85 #24) - It's a long match and am hesitant about watching another long Flair match. I want to mention this in case you're interested but, I'm not watching it. They have more matches coming up...
Jim Duggan vs One Man Gang (08/29 ep.#312) - Hacksaw Duggan has been feuding with Skandor Akbar and Kimala after the battle with DiBiase ended earlier in 1985 (see my blog post on that). I'm not interested in this feud & Duggan goes onto better stuff in a couple months but I wanted to represent him. He's still active in Mid South. One Man Gang seems like a good opponent for him 😋 O.M.G has been hired solely to hurt our hero. The match itself is OK but the post match is what you want! A chain gets involved and things get interesting!
Butch Reed has been a great "new" wrestler for me. I'm so glad I finally got to see his work. And Ted DiBiase is definitely the front runner for my 2025 Best Wrestler Watched. More Mid South to come! Thanks for reading folks!!!
Thanks for reading folks! This is part #2 of Mid South Wrestling from 1985!
April thru June 1985
The Fantastics (Fulton/Rogers) vs. The Dirty White Boys (4/14/85 Convention Center, Tulsa) - This was a great face/heel tag match. Excellent selling from the Rogers, the Dirty White Boys have a great clubbing style, great finish too. They really hooked me with this one!
Terry Taylor vs Chris Adams (1985-05-26 - Convention Center, Tulsa, OK) - This was a good match but felt a little bland for some reason. I appreciated Adams' British moves here & there plus his awesome super kick. I think Terry Taylor was just too vanilla in this match. And Taylor's appeal is that he is a cookie cutter baby face but he's got to be in there with a heel who's got character like Ted or Jake. Watching WCW '94, I think Steven Regal would be a good opponent for Terry Taylor.
*The Snowman vs. Jake Roberts (06/01/85) - There looks to be plenty of other Jake matches they could have included that were better but Muhammad Ali was involved. Nevertheless it was a spectacle with Ali, John "Barbarian" Nord. It's weird that this was the only Jake content they included on the WWE Mid South DVD but Jake was still in pretty bad shape when this was released so maybe they didn't want to over promote him??
*Ric Flair vs. Terry Taylor (06/01/85) (DVDVR#16) - This was a classic match! I really dug Terry's fire in this match. Flair truly brought out the best in him. He looked like a gutsy, never say die baby face here...trading shots with Flair. Whew, there's a real intensity here. Taylor is really representing Mid South style. It's a Flair title match so you know some of what to expect but in the same breath there's a lot that's unexpected. He had so many tricks up his sleeve and knew when use them. And this was perfectly paced too... Honestly, it might be an all time classic. It just did everything right and was a treat to watch at 30+ minutes... and I don't say that much anymore. MUST SEE
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Ted DiBiase & Steve Williams vs The Fantastics (06/13 ep.#301) - Badass 10 minute TV match! Bell to bell action that honestly could have taken place in an AJPW ring in '85. This had a great in ring story of Rogers & Fulton needing to use speed & technique to overcome the strength advantage of Williams and DiBiase. I could give it more praise but I'll just say it's a very good match.
The Fantastics vs The Dirty White Boys - 6/30/85 - Really fun stuff! Begins with The Fantastics shining and a bit of comedy. Eventually the DWBs get to clubbering & body slamming. Simple tag team wrestling done right!
Lots to love with this stuff! More to come next post. Be sure to check out a match or two in the meantime 🙂
Hi there! I'm getting back to Mid South Wrestling. Thanks for following me with the new name & blog title. I've tried to make it pretty seamless. If you're just seeing this now, check out G. Badger's Puro + More for 7 years of old school wrestling reviews. I'm focusing on Japanese wrestling but review American wrestling as well like ROH, TNA, WCW and Mid South Wrestling. So I'm continuing that here so I can continue to entertain & inform 🙂. I am most interested in getting folks hyped on watching older wrestling. And if you already do, watch older stuff then, I'm trying to suggest some things that you might have missed or passed over.
Mid South wrestling is a great example of something that I passed over. It interested me though. The big names on the roster is what attracted me as an late 80's/early 90's wrestling kid as well as a Japanese wrestling fan - Ted DiBiase, Dr. Steve Williams, Terry Gordy, Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Jake Roberts. It was wrestling that I would get around to and a few years ago I bought the WWE Mid South DVD from a 2nd hand game/CD/DVD shop. If you've read some of my reviews before, you know that DVD sat for awhile in a stack. But the time has come and I started chipping away at my DVDs and this puppy got picked.
At the end of Puro + More, I was covering the early 80's by looking at a few big stars of the era like Junkyard Dog, Magnum TA, Rock n Roll Express & others. After looking at the DVDVR Best of Mid South Wrestling, it looked like 1985 was a year worth focusing on though. As I started compiling my watch list, it grew as I saw just how much talent they had coming through the territory. This was going to be a big project and probably my one 1980's deep dive for the year. I've got the big matches but also TV episode matches to fill in gaps. And I'm leaving a bunch of stuff out. For instance, Eddie Gilbert is in Mid South later on in the year but there's no mention of him from me. I just have to skip stuff like that to keep the project lean & mean.
January thru March 1985
Dr. Death vs Brad Armstrong (01/10 ep. #279) Good, good main event for TV. The Doc works the arm but Brad stays in the fight. Nothing complex but entertaining stuff.
Rock'n'roll Express vs Guerreros (01/17 ep. #280) - Hahaha, the Guerreros have Jim Cornette in their corner! Cornette in a sombrero is priceless. That sets the tone - this match is a blast! Just what you want, tons of action, great spots & bumps (even Corny eats a bump). Two refs but will that stop the Guerreros from cheating to win?
Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Steve Williams (02/07 ep.#283) - This is good stuff and part of the Duggan vs DiBiase stuff as Williams is Ted's tag partner. Nothing earth shattering but it sets up a wrinkle to the story where Dr. Death needs a forearm brace and it becomes another potential weapon like Ted DiBiase's loaded glove.
Guerreros vs Rock'n'roll Express (02/14 ep.#284) - The tape is a little jumpy but stick with it. This is a great fucking match! I think it's exactly what you would want between the two teams. Bell to bell action, exciting offense, double team moves, everyone, even the refs, are taking bumps...and I think it's pretty intense too. It's not a gymnastics routine.. they are trying to win or beat each other up. I could rate this higher but for now I'll Recommend this match!
Guerreros vs Rock'n'roll Express (02/21 ep.#285) - Fun match and probably a good one too but it's the weakest of the three. Still its the Guerreros vs Rock'n'rolls! Clever finish and some really neat spots.
Terry Taylor vs. Jake Roberts (03/07) (ep. 287) - This was a phenomenal Jake performance and really added so many nice touches. Terry, the face, went along for the ride and made everything look like his doing when really you know something this good was Roberts' architecture. Heck of a match & aftermath. Great stuff!
Ted DiBiase vs Terry Taylor (03/14 ep.#288) 1st match on episode - The week before was Jake vs Terry and well that plays a part here. This was a lot of fun. Watching Ted work was poetry in motion. There's no wasted movement during one section... my appreciation for DiBiase has greatly improved from this project.
Hercules Hernandez & Jack Victory vs Tom Prichard & Brad Armstrong (03/14 ep.#288) Fun, fun action packed match. You really can't settle much more with a TV tag match.
Also remember that DiBiase vs Duggan is happening during this period of 1985. Damn! More to come! Thanks for reading!
I've wanted to get back into shoot style for years. Paradoxically, I've wanted to avoid shoot style for years. The reason is that I have a difficult time transitioning back to traditional pro wrestling. It just looks slow or fake after watching shoot style for too long. Another reason is that I don't know if I necessarily enjoy how some shoot style matches are laid out and paced. Somethings are too quick and realistic and I'm unfairly comparing them to a real kickboxing or MMA bout. That or I'm just unable to keep up with what's actually happening. The hook is that I really dig shoot style when it's just right. I believe I prefer technical wrestling more than any other form. Shoot style is the purest form of that.
So UWFi and RINGS are two big blind spots for me. My natural inclination is to watch every recommended Kiyoshi Tamura match. Or watch everything that's been pimped over the years. I know that will burn me out. Instead I'm going to borrow a tactic from my 1994 WCW project. I'm going to select a few wrestlers and watch their recommended stuff along with personal picks. Much like WCW '94, I am going to avoid the main event scene and the superstars where/when I can. So little to no Takada or Vader in UWFI for sure. Avoiding Gary Albright too. Instead I want to see what Anjo, Yamazaki & Sano were doing. These are guys that I already know and enjoy. That gives me a firm foundation and should also capture highly recommended matches. But I'm going to limit the amount of Tamura matches with them. Again, I'm a noob so I'm just sampling for now.
In RINGS, I'm not blacklisting Maeda or Volk Han for instance but, I am going to focus on the unusual suspects that most first time watchers would skip. I want to see what Nagai, Naruse, & Zaza were doing. Mitsuya Nagai is a guy I'm very familiar with during his time in All Japan. I dug his work there. Naruse is someone I got acquainted with during my look into early 2000's New Japan earlier this year. Dick Vrij & Grom Zaza are two guys that I've seen pop up on recommendation lists but mentally skip over for the shiny Han, Tamura, TK and Yamamoto matches. So I'm purposely avoiding those guys. Like Tamura in UWFi, Han is going to come up here & there so I'm going to limit myself.
This method should get me some great matches as well as broaden my horizons without exposing me to bouts that are too rich for my blood. Finally, this plan should also keep the scope of the project within reason. I'm trying for less is more, if I can. Also since I'm relatively unfamiliar with how to rate shoot style, I'm going to use LOVE, LIKE, & OK as my ways to rate. Take'em with a grain of salt. Perhaps as I go forward, I'll be more comfortable putting these in the same boxes as other pro wrestling. All that said, I will probably stop after 1996 when UWFi closed it's doors. If the spirit moves me AND I've made headway on other things, I'll push on with selected RINGS '97-99. This is an internet only project so I've got to put up some firm boundaries 🙂 Enough gabbing! Let's get on with it!
1991
Kazuo Yamazaki & Tatsuo Nakano vs. Yoji Anjoh & Yuko Miyato (5/10/91) - I liked parts of this. Anjo comes off as a prick. Nakano is already scrappy and bleeding from the nose. Yamazaki looked the strongest in my eyes just by how he composed himself. I felt 20+ minutes was longer than they needed to accomplish what they were going for though. I didn't quite like the finish considering this was a tag match either. I'm probably going to shy away from tags..shaky start. IT'S OK
Yoji Anjoh vs Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFI 7/3/91) -Yes! This is badass! Anjo is a bad man. Tamura is as slippery as an eel. Dude pulls out some Matrix shit here. A mat wrestling master class to be sure. But the strikes were ferocious at times too. It's Anjo so you know he is nasty and brings the hits as well. Knee drop of doom for instance. Tamura plays it cool but he can stand only so much and unloads on Yoji. This match gets high praise and I agree. LOVED IT
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Kazuo Yamazaki vs Billy Scott (UWFI 7/30/91) - Billy "TNT" Scott because he's explosive! Yamazaki thought he was going to kick his way to an early victory and Billy went ape shit with slaps. That settled that. This was predominantly a mat based match though. In fact, it was a fine example of shoot style chain wrestling in my novice opinion. They didn't over use the rope breaks but really tried to escape or counter first. This kicked into high gear for the final few minutes as both guys smelled blood in the water. They went for broke and we got a great finish. LOVED IT
Kazuo Yamazaki vs Yoji Anjo (09/26/91) - This was fantastic stuff. These two are excellent together. There's an emphasis on laying in kicks then waiting to catch a kick for a take down. It's not that one dimensional as there's some excellent suplexes as well. Anjoh is a helluva striker especially when he blasts Yamazaki's liver a few times. LOVED IT
Billy Scott vs. Yoji Anjo (10/06)- Yeah Billy Scott brings the intensity and fire again. Anjo is happy to oblige. This seemed pretty evenly matched where Anjo had an overall advantage yet Billy Scott was able to slam Anjo pretty consistently. So Anjo would lay in some wicked knees to the gut. Billy would absorb them and punish him a good slam or takedown. This was really spirited and entertaining. They were always working. They always looked ready to go in for the win. LOVED IT
Now over to RINGS!
Akira Maeda v Dick Vrij (5/11/91) - Oh yeah, this was enjoyable. Dick is a dick. That makes this translatable to traditional pro wrestling's heel vs face dynamic. He throws some pretty exciting kicks as well. This felt also very much striker vs grappler. Dick Vrij seemed more competent on the ground than Maeda did striking in this match. But Maeda knew absolutely what he wanted to do when on the ground. LIKED IT
Akira Maeda v Dick Vrij (8/1/91) - The rematch was pretty one sided. From a booking standpoint, I completely understand why. I think the guy on offense looked pretty damn impressive. That said this wasn't much of a match from a competitive/enjoyment standpoint. IT'S OK
Mitsuya Nagai v Herman Renting (9/14/91) - Wow Mitsuya Nagai with hair and no goatee! It really seemed like they did not like each other. There was good sportsmanship after the match so it was just adrenaline, I guess. Anyhow, Renting was very well rounded. His strikes were good, he had good throws/take downs and he had a ground game. Nagai was no slouch but only seemed to have an advantage on the mat. Still Renting couldn't put him away and Nagai would make him pay. This was exciting stuff. The only knock is that they started running out of steam towards the end. But they were going full stream ahead all match so it made sense..I'm actually surprised that it didn't go to a draw. We get a winner. LIKED IT
Dick Vrij v Willie Peeters (12/7/91) -This was the spunky baby face trying to take it to the badass heel. That's fun. Willie was flying all over with leaping kicks and such but it wasn't a compelling bout to me. IT'S OK
I love in the online comments people are still like "this isn't a real fight." No fucking duh! I'm guessing these are kids or young people who don't know their history. It's funny because even 34 years later, shoot style still fools people to the extent that they have to let everyone know that they "figured it out" & have to tell everyone 😄 It's a testament to how serious the wrestlers were about their craft. UWFi has been excellent and I don't feel like I'm missing anything by watching selectively. RINGS has been good but I get the impression that I'm not seeing the best it has to offer. I feel like UWFi starts strong right out the gate in '91 and I'm liking it more than RINGS right now.
I'll update with more in a little bit. In the meantime, if you're waiting for more Mid South wrestling, I'll be back with that next post. Thanks for reading!
Hi again! If you've been following my Puro + More blog, you've noticed that I've been getting more & more interested in old school New Japan over the years. Well maybe you haven't. I did do a 1984 & 1985 AJPW deep dive and Muto's All Japan but, just trust me! I've found that I really dig New Japan's heavyweight style. It produces a lot of very good to great matches. Occasionally it offers up a classic as well. I think I enjoy it because the matches aren't as long as All Japan's during the King's Road era. The duration seems to be just right for the type of story they're telling. AJPW needs more time & I wouldn't change that at all.
Anyways, a BIG project of mine is to do an overview of New Japan in the 90's. This is one of those projects that I need to be discerning in my picks or it will get out of hand. Even in the planning stages it's daunting. Much like the PWO Yearbook project, I'll be doing this out of chronological order 🙂 I think it will be easier for me that way. Additionally, I don't know how in depth I will go for each year. Some years might be in-depth while others might just be the G1 Climax. More about this in a later post. Here I want to kick it off with early 1990 as a teaser of things to come. I'm super excited for 1990. 1988-1990 puro may be some of my favorite stuff. Let's jump in!
Liger vs H. Saito (01/18): Oh man! Loved this finish! This had a lot more in common with ECW than what you'd call NJPW Jr. style. Chair shots, fighting in the crowd, pile driver on a table. Saito's senton's are great and Liger goes off. Very good stuff.
Liger vs Akira Nogami (01/20): joined in progress. Now this is your junior vs junior match. And both guys are going for broke on those dives - holy cow! The more that I see of Akira Nogami, the more I like him. Not sure how much we miss but what we see is a ton of fun!
Choshu & Hase vs H. Saito & T. Goto (01/25): Fast and furious tag wrestling done right! Everyone was fantastic since the focus was on beating the crap outta each other. Under 10 minutes of uncomplicated action.
Masa Chono vs Vader (01/25): jip but not much? Still this was sweet! I love the story of everyone trying to take down the ultimate monster. Vader is just that here. He scoop slams Chono from the ring to the floor! Chono is determined to get the win though. There's a dynamism in this match because both guys are still in good shape in 1990. Big moves, bumps and athleticism... there's a lot to like here.
Kiss your ass goodbye Chono!
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Liger & Nogami vs Naoki Sano & Pegasus Kid (02/10 Tokyo Dome Super Fight): At around 11 minutes in the match, I was beginning to think they were running out of steam. This is 1990 baby - they had a 2nd wind and then some!! A banger of a curtain jerker for the Dome show. This is a harbinger of NJPW Jr wrestling to come for the decade. Great match for sure! If you still dig the style then, check this out!
Osamu Matsuda vs Takayuki Iizuka (02/10 Tokyo Dome Super Fight): Yeah this has been slept on because of the other, bigger matches. This is a very, very good technical junior match..heck it's probably a great one. It reminds me of the 1980 junior style - aggressive, with an emphasis on intensity. I loved the final third. Matsuda is El Samurai if that makes sense as to why this is so good. But for real, this is one that probably should have been included in the 1990 PWO yearbook as I think it's right in line with a lot of folks dig.
This has been a real strong start. There's variety and an excitement to the wrestling. No one has the "90's style" in place so it's very transitional in the best of ways. Big moves can win just as much as a quick pin. Simple but clean moves are more important than the flashy highspots. Matches aren't just building to a finisher. Additionally, the hierarchy of the 90's hasn't been established so every match feels up for grabs.
I'm definitely excited to get back to 1990 but I'm working on 1995 at the moment. So once that's finished, I think it's back to '90. It's actually the year I wanted to watch most - don't ask me why I started with '95 then 😄
Thanks for reading folks!
Hi folks! Wanted to share a quickie review of ZERO-ONE from 2002. I think most folks might know the Spanky vs Low Ki match but, there's some other stuff worth your time. The main event especially might be appealing. It brings a '89 FMW, '92 NJ Karate vs Pro Wrestling vibe that I know I dig. Let's go!
Fugo Fugo Yumeji & Kuroge Wagyuta vs. Kamikaze & Yoshihito Sasaki - Good match! This surprised me. Nice, hard hitting action. Nice way to kick things off!
Hirotaka Yokoi vs. Kintaro Kanemura - MMA type vs hard-core hero...this is an excellent styles clash. This was a blast...Kanemura leads Yokoi through a fun under 10 minute match with hard-core elements, big spots and couple nifty holds. I only know of Yokoi from Fire Pro Returns so it was neat to finally see an actual match of his
Naohiro Hoshikawa, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Wataru Sakata vs. Dick Togo, Ikuto Hidaka & Kohei Sato - Really good stuff with all of this talent. Hoshikawa was the standout for his team and Dick, Hidaka & a young Sato delivered as well. I didn't dig the finish as it came out of nowhere but there's plenty to like beforehand so it's not ruined in the slightest.
Leonardo Spanky vs. Low Ki - This felt too choreographed and purposefully epic, at times. Other times it felt right. The last minute was done just right..So all said, this was a very good match. It's a lot of fun with the surprises and variations on moves you thought you knew. The familiarity is present and if you're into the early 2000's indie scene or founding fathers of ROH etc., this is one to watch.
Masato Tanaka & Shinjiro Otani vs. Kazuhiko Ogasawara & Shinya Hashimoto - This was early 90's NJ with Ogasawara being a Karate black belt teaming with Hash vs Emblem. And I loved it! It had that odd flow with the Karate guy going 70% strength and blasting Otani and Tanaka with punches and kicks (and occasionally missing). Hashimoto would direct Ogasawara what to do next both as leader/vet but also to keep the match interesting. Hash would get beat up early on (going after his knee) which unfortunately was pointless and my only big complaint. Eventually he would just unleash upon his opponents. All that said, Otani and Tanaka did not go soft on either of their opponents. This was very much a WAR match in a Zero-One ring. Four guys just beating each other up. Highly recommended!
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Zero-One along with BJW are two promotions that I have dabbled with here & there (see the Puro + More blog) but I really need to focus more on these. I am going to be looking into even more in the future. My internet only projects keep getting bigger while my stack of DVDs doesn't shrink. That said, my DVD projects get slowly taken over by internet based videos that are meant to augment originally. At the end, they become 75% internet and my DVDs augment that! I've got to be more discerning!
Anyhow, more wrestling tomorrow! Thanks for reading!
Hey folks! due to some technical issues with the site, I lost access to my G. Badger account. So I'll be using this new account to continue my blog & post here on PWO. Just wanted to let you know! The Further Adventures of Puro + More... is a continuation of my Puro + More blog than I've been doing since 2018.
Fortunately, my wife had made a profile on here a few years back while I was getting her into different types of wrestling & she was kind enough to loan me her profile. Let's be honest, I don't think she used it! But it definitely came in handy when the machine gods of the PWO site decided to hobble my access after changing some settings.
Anyhow, this is a good time to talk about what's coming up next. It's been awhile since we looked at Japanese wrestling. I'll be posting some stuff from Zero One, New Japan and UWFi & Rings. These are meant to be a part of larger projects but I want to get something up for you guys. Think of them as teasers for projects down the road.
I'll use this reintroduction to pontificate, if you don't mind. First, I'd like to reiterate my perspective on pro wrestling. It is fun. It is a diversion. So when I watch wrestling, I'm in it to have a good time. That said, I'm along for the ride. I'm interested in the story the booker and wrestlers are trying to tell me. I want to feel the ups and downs. So when I write my reviews, I'm trying to convey that emotion to the reader. I want you to get pumped to watch a match. If I'm lukewarm or cold, I want you to know why. I'm just one voice and my taste might be different than yours. This is why I try to reference other matches or wrestlers. I want you to be able to compare & contrast with your own opinions. Additionally if you have a preference for or against a certain wrestler, style or promotion, I try to add a remark in my reviews. You might see things like, "Great TNA tag match," "Classic FMW main event," or "If you're a fan of Jun Akiyama or Stan Hansen then see this match." I'm not just being colorful. I want to give you a little bit more information. There's so much wrestling available with the internet that I don't want you to blow time on something you're not going to enjoy.
I don't do star ratings very often anymore. I think after Meltzer got goofy with those, they've fallen out of usage by many people. Still they are helpful especially if you trust the reviewers. I stopped doing them awhile back because I get too caught up in trying to quantify. If wrestling is a fun diversion then I don't want to quantify it numerically. Numbers are too exact even if using whole numbers. I mean that every match is different so if I give Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe 5 stars and I give Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat 5 stars then they must be equal (5=5). But they aren't actually equal in all or even many ways. So I think by saying both are All Time Classic matches, I can indicate the highest level of quality, my highest level enjoyment without making a direct equivalence. So you may say, "That's good and well Badger but couldn't you just assign a number to each of your ratings? So All Time Classic is a 5, Classic is a 4, Very Good a 3 etc. And then you would be quantifying. Aren't you just trying to trick yourself?" And I would then say, "You go to hell!" 😄 Seriously, you can do that number jazz if you want. I'm a qualitative data person when it comes to this stuff. I'm in it to get you amped to watch wrestling not to work on spreadsheets. I want to get people excited to watch different stuff. That's what a lot of the early projects here on PWO did for me. It got me out of my bubble and tried new things.
OK, I got that out. Let's do a wrestling art show 😋 Haven't done one for awhile. Just for fun.
Misawa vs Takayama
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The Sheik in FMW
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Black Moth Super Rainbow Mr. Wrestling II
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Thanks for reading folks! Thanks for sticking around! Be back soon with some wrestling!
