Control21

Great to see Little Guido get some shine! I always thought he was underrated. Looking forward to Battle of the Belts

Jim Cornette really adds a lot of flavor to SMW, which already had tons of flavor! Really good stuff all around.

Fall Brawl delivered as expected. It's good to see the Latin Connection with gold around their waists The clash between Tarzan Goto/Abdullah and DiBiase/Williams lived up to the hype. It'll be interesting to see how the Samoan Swat Team does in WCW. The Horsemen face a setback after losing to Sting and Luger, but what other schemes do they have...

Interesting idea. I think one of the big what-ifs for NJPW is if COVID-19 never happened and they had a normal 2020.

That was jam-packed with action! Hogan losing the belt was a bit shocking, but I guess you should never underestimate the Macho Man. The Rockers are red-hot and have the world at their finger tips. Really enjoyed reading this, made me feel like I was in 1988!

The Varsity Club is in WWF! They are going to make some waves, for sure. SNME is looking pretty good, plenty of action top to bottom for that event. Hogan vs Savage is going to be interesting.

1). I've never been a fan of NJPW's tag team division so I don't disagree here. This is one of Gedo's weak points. 2) I think they should go back to simplicity when it comes to the G1, BOSJ, and NJ Cup. The expansion of those tournaments over the years has diminished their quality somewhat. Going back to a 16-man tournament for the NJC and two blocks of 10-12 for the G1 and BOSJ would probably be the best course of action. You have to leave some guys out then, but those tournaments should be the best of the best. 3) I agree here, the KOPW title hasn't added much and it's a cute gimmick that gets old quickly unless you get cool matches out of it like the O-Khan/Shingo match. 4) I like the NEVER Openweight title on paper, but the booking is lacking sometimes. I think NJPW would be better off by bringing back the IC title again, but that will never happen. The US title should probably be retired. 5) HOT seems like an independent unit already, it's only a formality. But in general, I find the House's shtick very tiresome. The same goes for the new "War Dogs" Bullet Club...at this point, the Bullet Club gimmick has run its course. I'm a firm believer in that. It's reaching NWO levels of creative fatigue. New Japan should borrow from Dragon Gate's playbook and disband factions more often...freshen things up once in a while.

A very good show in Calgary. Looking forward to the showdown between Haynes and Windham.

Oh sorry, guess I missed that. But yeah, I'm cool with that too.

Heyyyy...I had a lot of money riding on Kamala! I guess that's why you shouldn't bet on pro wrestling outcomes. Ron Garvin probably deserved that win though. I guess we'll see if he faces Orton or Manny Fernandez, but Orton vs Garvin sounds like a top-tier match-up

Another fantastic episode of NWA. I enjoy reading these and you put a lot of fine detail into this. Lots of good matches on this card, with the main event and Taz vs Chris Benoit standing out.

Jim Cornette is back in SMW! Fireworks are going to in plentiful supply with him around. Can't wait for the Halloween show!

Wasn't Perfectly Straightedge booking WCW or did he step away? It's fine with me too but I was just curious.

The Rockers are on fire! I'm tipping them to beat the Rogeaus next, but let's see if I am right... Can't have a classic 1980s WWF episode without the Ultimate Warrior squashing some poor guy. As always, I really enjoy the format you use and the authenticity you bring to these write-ups.

Can't wait for Fall Brawl! Steve Williams/DiBiase vs Goto/The Butcher is sure to be a "treat." The main event also looks delicious with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson vs Sting and Lex Luger!

Night 2 was awesome! The main event certainly delivered and it's great to see Kerry get a nice moment in the spotlight. Great work with these events as always, I enjoy reading these and the detail you put into it.

Another fun entry that I really enjoyed reading. Looking forward to October 31st! Meanwhile, the Miss Kentucky storyline continues to be very entertaining and I enjoy the thought you put into that.

PCW in Calgary will be appreciated by the fans there, especially with the Harts vs Bam Bam Bigelow and Chris Adams!

I have a few Word documents that I use to keep track of things and to make notes. I don't think I would be able to keep everything in my head but I do brainstorm about stuff from time to time.

UWF Newborn – “Fighting Network Yokohama” October 14th, 1988 Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium Yokohama, Japan Attendance: 5,000 (sellout) The UWF theme plays in the Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium and each competitor comes out to some form of reception, particularly for the newcomers, Duane and Dennis Koslowski, and the fan favorites Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Satoru Sayama. Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada come out to their usual overwhelming greetings, but neither will be on the card tonight. As Akira Maeda explains to the fans, both will are taking a "small rest" to recuperate from their previous bouts. Maeda gives a special shoutout to Billy Robinson, who is at ringside for tonight's events, dressed in a fancy red jacket. Maeda also welcomes the two Olympians, saying they will test their mantle inside the squared circle for the first time tonight. Sayama thanks the fans for coming tonight and says Chris Dolman will be a good opponent for him. Shigeo Miyato vs Erik Paulson An interesting contrast between the leaner, quicker Erik Paulson and Shigeo Miyato, who is a bit more “stocky” in comparison. Paulson tests Miyato right out of the gate with sharp low kicks and an aggressive stance, keeping Miyato on the backfoot. Miyato takes a bit of time to find his range but starts to answer back with some low kicks of his own. This makes Paulson switch things up a bit as he begins to go for the clinch while also looking for a good takedown opportunity. When Paulson finally gets his opponent to the canvas, he demonstrates quick, clean grappling as he flusters Miyato, who is a bit slow on the draw and is unable to get much counterwork going as Paulson begins to look for openings. Paulson continues to keep the pressure on, which results in a 1-0 lead after Miyato exhausts two rope breaks. The lead climbs to 2-0 after a brief stand-up exchange involving strikes, and the two once again go to the canvas where Paulson continues to give Miyato fits. Miyato senses he needs to keep this match where is more comfortable, which is the striking part. The two exchange more strikes, and Paulson is really feeling it as gives Miyato several combos to deal with. Miyato answers back with a combo of his own, and gets a much-needed point as he knocks down Paulson for the first time around the 7:00 mark. Miyato, knowing he needs to keep it going, resumes applying more pressure after Paulson stands back up and the referee restarts the match. The crowd heats up as the match begins to take the form of a back-and-forth affair and Miyato scores another knockdown to make it 2-2 around the 10:00 mark. Paulson has more tricks in his playbook though, and it doesn’t take long for him to clinch up with Miyato while delivering several sharp knees. This gives him the chance to look for a smooth leg lock opening, as he delivers a low-angle kani-basami (flying double-leg takedown). Miyato briefly tries to hold Paulson at bay, but the American Shooto prospect finds the leverage needed for a painful heel hook. Yuji Shimada is right there to give the “shoot’ signal with his right hand and Miyato sees the inevitable, tapping out to end the formalities. Paulson gets the submission victory. Paulson defeats Miyato via submission (heel hook), 11:55 Yorinaga Nakamura vs Masakatsu Funaki Nakamura and Funaki gave each other all they could handle. Funaki was eager to beat Sayama’s second-in-command and demonstrated why he is highly regarded as a top prospect. From the start, this was a high-octane contest with a mix of both heated striking and committed grappling. Nakamura started the proceedings with a mix of kicks and strikes, which Funaki responded to. Nakamura’s lower kicks seemed to give him the edge though, and Funaki had to quickly adjust to his opponent’s powerful Muay Thai-style kicks. Funaki, choosing to close the distance quickly, grapples with Nakamura at any opportunity. The two go to the canvas after Funaki insists through a series of clever takedown attempts, but Nakamura remains confident and never looks to be real in danger as he would perhaps appear more refined as a Shooto competitor compared to the younger Funaki who is a bit more raw. To Funaki’s credit, he does force Nakamura to use a rope break after a leglock battle where the former NJPW Noge dojo product manages to hook his opponent. By the 5:00 mark, both have used a rope break, and the two test each other again with their striking skills, with neither doing much damage. The match continues mostly on the canvas with brief intervals, and they continue to exchange rope breaks as they push each other, with things eventually standing at 2-2 in terms of the score. Nakamura does appear to be growing more comfortable as adapts to Funaki’s quickness and athletic counterwork. Nakamura finds more openings, which frustrates Funaki, perhaps making matters worse as his openings become more frequent for Nakamura. Nakamura even manages to score a knockdown on Funaki around the 12:00 mark, as Funaki chooses to unleash a flurry of palm strikes, but they aren’t very well-time, leaving Nakamura with an opportunity to counter with a nice high kick. As Funaki visibly shows signs of fatigue, both mental and physical, Nakamura moves in to seize the opportunity. Nakamura clinches with Funaki and eventually works his opponent to get the advantage by finding Funaki’s back. Funaki struggles but can’t do much as Nakamura works in the rear-naked choke for the submission victory in the middle of the ring. Nakamura defeats Funaki via submission (rear-naked choke), 12:42 Yoji Anjo vs Naoki Sano Newcomer Naoki Sano demonstrated some very proficient grappling against Yoji Anjo, who at times struggled with Sano’s quickness and creative moves. Sano, another NJPW Doge dojo product, is more known as a promising junior heavyweight at this point but demonstrates his knowledge of the grappling arts very quickly. Anjo gives something back to Sano though, applying pressure on Sano whenever he can when the two are standing up. Anjo’s strikes keep coming and coming, and he corners Sano into a turnbuckle where he delivers several jumping knees as Sano attempts to cover up. Anjo’s onslaught leads to an early knockdown and Anjo celebrates a bit for the crowd as Ryogaku Wada begins the count. Sano gets up relatively early and the two square off again. Sano shows off a series of nice mid kicks to Anjo’s thighs, which gets his opponent on the back foot. The spirited match continues at a good pace, and Sano manages to even the score up at 1-1 as Anjo is forced to the ropes twice in short order. Eventually, the score finds itself at 3-3 after Anjo scores another knockdown, and exchanges rope breaks with Sano as they commit to more grappling on the canvas. Sano’s counterwork continues to be very good, but Anjo finds his openings when he needs them and is particularly good at catching Sano’s arms for a wristlock or kimura. The match reaches its endpoint when Anjo manages to clinch with Sano, delivering a series of knee strikes to his opponent’s body. Anjo then brings Sano back down to the canvas with a single-leg arm-drag takedown and finds himself in the position to grab one of Sano’s legs for a side-angle version of a single-leg Boston crab. The torque on his leg forces Sano to tap and Anjo celebrates his victory with the crowd. A good showing by Sano, but not enough to overcome his opponent. Anjo defeats Sano via submission (side-angle single-leg Boston crab), 15:04 Wayne Shamrock vs Duane Koslowski (Duane Koslowski makes his entrance into the Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium) There’s a bit of a contrast in styles here, as Koslowski appears to be more comfortable in trying to grapple with Shamrock using Greco-Roman holds, while Shamrock prefers to go down avenues that would lead to a takedown. Koslowski has very good defense though, and even as Shamrock tries to use his knees to strike a blow to Koslowski’s abdomen, the Greco-Roman bronze medalist appears to be unbothered. Shamrock is clearly the better striker, as expected, and keeps his opponent distracted with targeted mid-kicks and palm strikes. Whenever Duane can close the distance and lock up with Shamrock though, the former looks more confident than the latter. Duane applies a mid-body hold on Shamrock and takes him down. Koslowski briefly has a basic full mount before Shamrock tries to turtle, but Koslowski is comfortable working from this position and attempts to work in a chokehold, but Shamrock eventually works his way out. The match continues to be a bit of a stalemate, with Koslowski trying to out-wrestle Shamrock with his somewhat limited Greco-Roman toolset, and Shamrock trying to adjust to this approach. Koslowski manages to get another firm mid-body lock on Shamrock, and this time manages to score an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. This gets the crowd going as the execution is almost impeccable. Koslowski tries to go for a kimura from side control, but Shamrock defends rather well. Shamrock slips from the guard position and manages to get control of Koslowski’s back. After some indecision on Shamrock’s part, he attempts to go for a rear-naked choke but Koslowski smartly bridges out and flips out of the hold. Shamrock decides to unleash a barrage of strikes with the two standing back up, but Koslowski closes the distance quickly and locks Shamrock in for another overhead suplex. As Koslowski tries to lock in another kimura attempt, Shamrock again manages to work his way out. The stalemate continues, with neither exercising any rope breaks nor scoring any knockdowns. Shamrock and Koslowski trade positions through counterwork, but neither can get any holds on their opponent to change the flow of the match. Finally, a decisive moment comes when Koslowski clinches with Shamrock and works to gain control of Shamrock’s back with a Greco-Roman lock, and quickly scores a devastating high-arching German suplex in the center of the ring, popping the crowd again with the show of strength and technique. With his opponent down, Koslowski quickly goes for the cross-armbreaker. Shamrock feels his arm tighten very quickly and taps as Ryogaku Wada calls for the bell. Duane Koslowski celebrates his victory in front of a very impressed group of fans that he just gained. Koslowski defeats Shamrock via submission (cross-armbreaker), 13:27 Dennis Koslowski vs Norman Smiley Dennis will have a tough time following up on his brother’s act, but as a silver medalist, he has the tools to one-up him once again. Norman Smiley is a tough opponent however, and the grappler quickly demonstrates that right away by frustrating the impressive Olympian by going for low-angle leg takedowns, which is a bit of an unknown to someone with a Greco-Roman background. Dennis’ defense on the ground is good enough, but Smiley is very quick at moving from hold to hold and keeps Dennis working to prevent Smiley from hooking him early. They spend the early minutes of the match mainly on the canvas, with Smiley mostly in the dominant position as Dennis Koslowski works to adjust his strategy. Neither competitor chooses to spend much time striking, with Smiley confident he can outmaneuver Koslowski’s strength and Greco-Roman holds, which can be dangerous enough as Duane Koslowski proved earlier. Koslowski does manage to clinch with Smiley several times, but Smiley expertly uses his body weight as leverage to avoid any takedowns so far. They both throw tentative palm strikes here and there, but as the match progresses, it is mainly a grappling affair with no breakthrough. Dennis is finally able to get some offense going, as he adjusts his technical approach and finally manages to enough of Norman for a side-angle German suplex. Dennis keeps his hold locked in though, and and transitions his positioning to allow for a belly-to-suplex. The back-to-back suplexes are enough to give Dennis some room to work from side control, and like his brother, he goes for a basic yet logical kimura lock. This time, the pressure is enough to force Smiley to go for a rope break and he works to move towards them slowly but somewhat in control as well. With the two standing back up, the highly technical grappling affair continues. Norman scores a leg sweep for a takedown, and immediately grabs onto Koslowski’s legs as he goes for a leg lock, and Koslowski for the first time is in real danger as he scrambles to reach for the ropes while his opponent looks for a heel hook or kneebar. Smiley looks to apply one just as Koslowski reaches for the ropes and the two are tied on rope breaks. Koslowski, looking to change the flow of the match, scores a sweeping low-angle fireman’s carry on Smiley and immediately follows up by clinching with Smiley. As he applies a mid-angle Greco-Roman hold, Koslowski positions himself and lands a high-angle belly-to-back suplex on Smiley, and as the crowd gets louder for the great action they are seeing, the match reaches its apex as Koslowski grabs one of Smiley’s legs for a standing ankle lock, and Smiley has nowhere to go. Knowing there’s no shame in losing to an Olympic silver medalist, Smiley decides to tap and Motoyuki Kitazawa raises the Olympian’s arm in victory. Koslowski defeats Smiley via submission (standing ankle lock), 15:29 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Minoru Suzuki While Suzuki was still at the NJPW Noge dojo, Fujiwara was his trainer, giving one of UWF’s most promising young stars a chance to face off against his former mentor. Suzuki starts things off with a bang, immediately going after Fujiwara with a running dropkick. Fujiwara calmly sidesteps away and offers a chance for Suzuki to grapple with him. Suzuki goes for a low single-leg takedown and shows off his quickness and conditioning while looking for several positions in which to hook Fujiwara. Fujiwara’s defense causes Suzuki to choose another route instead and stands up to stomp on Fujiwara’s face several times. To the shock of the crowd, Suzuki follows this up with several leg drops right to Suzuki’s head! To the delight of the crowd, Fujiwara gets up as if nothing happened. Suzuki does not appear flustered though, and resumes a sporting grappling affair with his former mentor, showing off his skillset while Fujiwara works from a position of experience. Suzuki gets Fujiwara in a spot for a double-leg Boston crab, but the veteran wows the crowd by twisting his legs and throwing off his feet with and towards the turnbuckle. Fujiwara immediately comes after his ex-student and corners him while delivering some very hard palm strikes to Suzuki’s face. Suzuki, perhaps not learning a lesson quite yet, grapples with Fujiwara again in the center of the ring as he comes out of the corner. As Suzuki gets the better of Fujiwara with some clever holds, he works his way to Fujiwara’s back and manages to score a side-angle German suplex. Suzuki immediately goes for a cross-armbreaker, but Fujiwara rolls out of it quite easily and eventually reverses himself so he can grab Suzuki’s leg for a kneebar. Suzuki quickly goes for the ropes and causes a break. As Suzuki grapples with Fujiwara again by grabbing both of his hands, Fujiwara creates some distance and lands a few headbutts to his former student in the upper part of his chest, giving the crowd something to get loud about again. Fujiwara seems to be doing things with more intent now, and despite Suzuki’s best efforts to get the advantage, Fujiwara finds a way. As Suzuki attempts to grapple with Fujiwara again, Fujiwara goes for some sharp low kicks, catching Suzuki off-guard. Fujiwara sees an opening and gets Suzuki in the position for a double-underhook suplex. Fujiwara sticks his tongue out before sending Suzuki flying backward. With the ability to get side control, Fujiwara moves for a kimura lock very quickly. The master remains the master, and the apprentice remains the apprentice as Suzuki taps. Despite the somewhat heated encounter, Fujiwara and Suzuki embrace each other before Fujiwara continues to celebrate. Fujiwara defeats Suzuki via submission (kimura), 9:57 Satoru Sayama vs Chris Dolman With the main event now on hand, Sayama enters Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium with a loud welcome. The fans are clearly behind Sayama as they chant his name, and he enters the ring following Chris Dolman’s introduction. The Dutchman’s placement in this main event should not go unnoticed either. Despite Sayama’s background and experience, he faces a formidable opponent in Dolman and the two get to work as the bell rings. Both choose to engage in grappling from the start, with Sayama testing Dolman’s form by looking for openings. Dolman uses his defense quite well and manages to reverse Sayama’s attempt by bringing the Shooto founder down to the canvas. Dolman positions himself in a shoulder hold position, and he looks for the lock as Sayama expertly scrambles his way out of danger. Sayama is quick to find Dolman’s back as the former SAMBO and amateur wrestling champion turtles up and closes any potential angles for Sayama to attack from. The two continue to engage in counterwork that isn’t particularly high-paced or flashy, but enough to keep the fans studious and engaged. Dolman surprises Sayama twice as the engagement continues, and Sayama is forced to the ropes to give Dolman a 1-0 lead in points. Sayama, knowing he has to mix things up, begins to try and lure his opponent into a striking engagement. Sayama goes deep into his playbook and begins to utilize a flashy combo of kicks as each strike moves quicker and quicker. Dolman has his hands full as he tries to block, but Sayama lands several. Sayama evens the score at 1-1 after scoring his first knockdown with a spinning mid-roundhouse. Dolman stumbles to the canvas but is quick to get back up. Not known for his striking prowess, Dolman chooses to close the distance whenever he can to grapple with Sayama. At this stage of the match, it is a bit of a back-and-forth affair. Dolman manages to score a beautiful Judo throw on Sayama, and looks to try and submit him with another shoulder hold attempt, but Sayama again finds a way out. The score evolves as the match enters the late stage, with Dolman managing to score two more points through rope breaks, and Sayama two more with a submission attempt and another knockdown. Sayama continues to dig into his old playbook with a series of flashy strikes to throw Dolman off, knowing that his ability to throw athletic striking moves can frustrate an opponent more familiar with grappling. With the match tied at 3-3 and Dolman starting to wear down Sayama, Sayama manages to launch a spirited offensive against the Dutchman and scores two more knockdowns in a row to win the match via TKO. After Sayama scores the final knockdown, the crowd erupts as the rising tension reaches its climax, and the old fan favorite is embraced by the jam-packed Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium. Masami Soranaka, the referee, raises Sayama's arm to the delight of the crowd. Sayama defeats Dolman via TKO, 17:03 Sayama celebrates with the fans and the UWF theme once again plays loud and clear. Dolman and Sayama exchange pleasantries and bow slightly towards each other. Dolman raises Sayama's hand and the fans take in the moment as another UWF event is in the books.

Yeah, and preferably they should be living in the country of the specific category in question (Japan, Mexico, etc). Of all the public ballots I've seen, it is very Western-oriented. I'm not saying that's bad, but I think there's a serious lack of in-country experts being polled.

The fact Fujiwara still isn't in the WON HOF when the likes of Kota Ibushi are is beyond me. I'm convinced the WON HOF voting base isn't really reflective of certain regions, including Japan or Mexico. A lot of these voters are driven by the narrative Meltzer created himself. It took how long for Akira Taue to get into the HOF? And he had to get in as part of the Holy Demon Army. If Ishii gets in this year over Fujiwara, I'm also convinced the voting base isn't collectively that comprehensive in terms of historical knowledge or understanding.

SMW keeps the good stuff coming with this episode. The new tag team champions make an interesting impression (good promo, by the way!) while The Moondogs and RnR Express try to make a statement of their own in the main event. Chris Candido is showing a ton of promise.

Great episode! Taz getting the upset win over Steve Williams is huge, and Brian Pilman making waves in the main event after his match Lance Storm is an interesting twist. Terry Gordy vs Barry Windham also sounded like a very good match too. I really like the direction you are taking the NWA at the moment.