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Kamala continues his dominant run. I'm backing him to go all the way. Meanwhile, Wahoo McDaniel teaches Ron Garvin a lesson in the value of experience. Brett Sawyer continues to rock the boat. Interesting matchups next week with Bob Orton vs Jimmy Garvin and Tom Prichard vs Manny Fernandez.

That was very enjoyable to read. Jim Duggan has a point to prove and Mantell may have bitten off more than he could chew. Good way to debut the Moondogs as well.

Fujinami and Canek get some unpleasant surprises! It's cool to see The Sheikh in AWA. Lanny Poffo vs Paul Orndorff should be interesting. The main event was a great way to close out the show.

UWF Dynamism - Budokan Super Bout (1/10/1989) Shigeo Miyato vs Yoji Anjo Your typical shoot-style match that opens the show with two young lions figuring things out and working out the kinks of the style. Nothing too exciting, but decent enough. Miyato is looking a bit better than he did in the summer of 1988, and Anjo is slowly growing into his own as well. *** Norman Smiley vs Bart Vale Solid match in terms of the style at the time, Smiley carried most of the match and got the better offense in as Bart Vale is still figuring out how to work shoot-style at this point. This was a bit of a grappler vs striker clash, which made it more compelling than a match between Anjo and Miyato. The match went on a little longer than it should have. ***1/4 Tatsuo Nakano vs Mark Rush I did not enjoy this match at all. This was very boring even by the standards of the time. Both appeared to be uncomfortable working with each other, and the grappling was like watching paint dry. I'm not sure what went wrong here. I can tolerate slower-paced grappling but this was just bad. Mark Rush's previous match wasn't that bad either. Maybe the chemistry just wasn't there? Either way, this was a bit of a dud. **1/2 Kazuo Yamazaki vs Trevor Clarke A classic wrestler vs kickboxer match. Trevor Clarke was a kickboxer from the UK and worked pretty well here all things considered. Maybe matches like this help Yamazaki in presenting his GWE case because he is able to put together good matches with folks like Trevor Clarke who don't have any experience in professional wrestling. The striking could have been better and Clarke was obviously pulling them, but it didn't take me out of the match. The match also had a round system, but things flowed pretty well. ***1/2 Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada Another excellent clash between Takada and Maeda. The crowd was firmly behind this match and both guys got plenty of offense in and made you believe either could win at any moment. This was very physical at times, with both landing their strikes pretty hard, including closed fists, and Takada getting one or two nasty backdrop suplexes in. The grappling might have felt slow at times, but I don't think they did things just for the sake of it. Maeda was pushed to his limit by Takada but was determined to get his win back from November and prove he was the top guy in UWF as Takada's popularity was quickly growing. It didn't have the great closing stretch their previous match in November did, but it was probably better end-to-end. This certainly represented what UWF was all about in the late 1980s. ****3/4

Piper rubs people the wrong way but he is entertaining. That was a good way to debut Bull Nakano. I'm not entirely sure but I don't think intergender matches were all that common in the 1980s, so it was cool to see that used here.

Bad News Brown is already looking strong and primed for a run in the WWF. Love to see that. Speaking of potential tag team contenders, the British Bulldogs could make things interesting. Loved the Macho Man promo and the Brother Love show. Another very faithful show to the era and flavor of the WWF in the 1980s. Keep them coming!

RINGS signs Lenne Hardt as a ring announcer

If no one has any serious objections, I would like to use one of my October roster slots a little early and add Mark Fleming.

Eddie vs Owen sounded like a match of the week contender.

Bob Orton and Jimmy Garvin get important wins in the Starrcade Series. I'm sure fans are already dreaming of the potential Bob Orton vs Kamala blockbuster. The Road Warriors and Beasts of Burden continue their rivalry. Who's going to emerge from two of the best tag teams in North America clashing? Looking forward to seeing how the Starrcade Series shakes out with Kamala vs Robert Fuller on the horizon. The leaderboard definitely helps as a reference point!

Aldo gets a huge win! Didn't see that one coming. The Mankind promo was very true to the era. Great job recapping that moment. Steve Austin vs Mero was a good match and Austin advances to face either Razor Ramon or Davey Boy Smith. Both will be formidable opponents. The bracket is shaping up to be very interesting.

I'm cooking...

He did wrestle in December 1988 for Ryuma Go's promotion so I don't think a few months is a big deal.

FMW in 1988 would be pretty fun, maybe you can bring some of that magic here.

You just gave me a cool idea...

UWF Newborn drops Ryuma Go and adds Atsushi Onita

Sure but he wasn't a rookie at this point and he would be eligible to be picked up by someone now if they wanted him

Also worth noting Atsushi Onita didn't work any North American dates in 1989. At that point, he was getting ready to launch FMW (late 1989) and wouldn't make any North American appearances until much later.

Yeah... there are some interviews that Karl Gotch did on YouTube and elsewhere (look up his conversations with Jake Shannon, they are interesting). He also did an interview with the Observer in 1990 where he famously called Harley Race a "kamikaze." The impression I got is that he didn't really pay attention to kayfabe when talking about wrestling, and he wasn't particularly fond of the American scene at the time. So I guess when I have him say "educate the audience" here, it is meant in more of a "stop goofing around and take it back to the basics" kind of way. There are probably people who could capture Gotch's voice a lot better than I can.

WXFL Channel 8 goes into their nightly news report, and the sports segment features a rare TV interview with Tampa’s very own Karl Gotch recorded earlier in the week. First, we get scenes of Karl Gotch doing conditioning and demonstrating the use of Indian maces for bodyweight training, and the narrator covers Karl Gotch’s background and accomplishments, including the invention of the bridging German Suplex. The narrator goes into Karl Gotch’s emphasis on conditioning and strict requirements before anyone can be instructed on his grappling knowledge. Karl Gotch: I require everyone to meet these strict standards because if you are exhausted in a match, you can’t think clearly and you’ll leave yourself open. If you are not thinking about how exhausted you are, you’ll already have an advantage. Wrestling is the toughest sport because you have to know how to attack and defend from three different positions. Standing up, on all fours, and underneath. In amateur wrestling these days, rounds are a lot shorter than they used to be so they go for 3-4 minutes and then you see nothing. Back in the 1930s, rounds were for 20 minutes so the conditioning requirements I’m used to are a lot higher. The narrator goes into Karl Gotch’s philosophy and describes how Karl Gotch sees grappling while old footage of Gotch in a wrestling match with Antonio Inoki is shown. Karl Gotch: Wrestling isn’t about strength, it’s about timing, balance, and knowledge. It’s circular. If it doesn’t come back full circle, then it won’t make sense. People often see wrestling as linear, from point A to point B, but it’s like geometry or mathematics, you deal with an equation and figure it out. Catch wrestling is all about using your opponent’s reaction against him. That’s why the key bodyweight training principles I teach incorporate circular motion. Footage is shown of Gotch doing Hindu and Moon pushups. Scenes are shown of Gotch watching a wrestling show on TV, with Gotch having a bit of a stone face. The narrator covers Gotch’s feelings about professional wrestling today and how his philosophy differs from promotions people are familiar with today, like AWA or WWF. Karl Gotch: I’m not afraid to say it because there used to be 34 territories in this country, and I got kicked out of all of them. It’s like watching a dance, but there’s no song or music. There’s too much emphasis on the entertainment aspect and choreography. When people do diving headbutts or acrobatics, I roll my eyes. I think wrestling has moved away from authenticity to getting the most reactions out of people with flash and pomp. I understand it’s a business, but I believe people appreciate authenticity. The narrator says that Karl Gotch keeps in touch with his trainees in Japan, including Akira Maeda and Yoshiaki Fujiwara. The creation of UWF Newborn is discussed, and the narrator also says that Karl Gotch has at least one wrestling promotion that follows his philosophy. Video is shown of Karl Gotch going through old pictures from his trip to the first UWF dojo in 1985. Karl Gotch: I taught those boys in Japan a lot, and I am very glad to see them carry on my lessons in a wrestling promotion that stays true to the things that make wrestling great. Fujiwara told me a few months ago that when he realized UWF was being launched, he couldn’t turn down the opportunity because it was the best way to honor me as a teacher. I am very grateful for that. UWF has stayed true to the fundamentals of wrestling, they’ve minimized the theatrics and focused on presenting a legitimate sporting contest. It’s refreshing compared to what is on TV today. I don't agree with everything they do, of course, I told Maeda that he should bring back pinfalls. For some reason, they took those out. I don't understand why. TV reporter (also the narrator): Do you think that version of wrestling can be successful in America today? Karl Gotch: I think it’s possible, you have to educate the audience. I don’t think wrestling fans are dumb, but you have to explain why certain holds are dangerous, and why you should be on the edge of your seat when someone applies an ankle lock. You know, no matter how big you are, everyone’s ankle size is the same. That’s what Billy Robinson said to me once and he was pretty popular here in America for a while. People appreciate authenticity. Footage is shown of Karl Gotch teaching the TV reporter the Gotch toe hold in Gotch’s garage, and of course, both laugh about it while the TV reporter is put through the baptism of having one’s ankle in a bad place. TV reporter: Who would you say is the greatest wrestler of all time? Karl Gotch: No one could touch Strangler Lewis. That’s the first name that comes to mind. Lou Thesz and I didn’t always see eye to eye, but he was very good. Ever heard of Waino Ketonen? He was a Finnish wrestler. George Hackenschmidt deserves a lot of credit as well. You know, they said America has the greatest wrestlers in the world. The reason for that is that this country has a mixture of nationalities, they all came here and added lessons of their own. The English with Lancashire Catch, the Germans with what they knew, the Finnish…and of course, the Eastern Europeans and Iranians as well. They combined all of that and called it American catch-as-catch-can. It was part of what we call the melting pot of America I suppose. The narrator closes the segment by saying that even if Karl Gotch keeps his distance from professional wrestling today, Tampa should be proud to call a wrestling icon and living legend one of their own. More footage is shown of Karl Gotch putting the TV reporter in several other holds and Gotch doing a handstand against his garage wall. The segment cuts back to the TV news anchors, with one of them saying Tampa’s mayor is due to issue a proclamation declaring a day to honor Karl Gotch in the future. Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson on a ferry in Japan, circa 1971

Wrestling in Nashville! Things are off to an interesting start with a seemingly repentant Tojo Yamamoto. Miss Elizabeth's presence will certainly be making waves and it looks like she sees something in Jamie Dundee. That's a huge endorsement.

Two very good shows. Everything is structured well and there is a clear identity already. Chris Candido is already making a name for himself, and while he has the talent to carry himself far, he's doing things the easy way. Not everyone expected to see Mantell win the title, but perhaps he will bring early heat to the title chase picture, which will attract attention. Dutch Mantell vs Jim Duggan is the type of match that will certainly bring a lot of buzz to the promotion. Things are already looking promising for the SMW revival.

Thank you! Speaking of the Olympics, I plan on debuting the Koslowski brothers next month and I think by December, the Russians will be fully involved. Lots of interesting things are planned for UWF over the next few months.

I completely forgot about that.