PeteF3
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This is a hell of a match indeed, with a terrific Lizmark performance for the first fall and Estrada stepping up his game in the third. The psychology surrounding the Tirabuzon submission is great--Lizmark outwrestles Estrada at every turn, but Estrada seems to have one submission in his holster that Lizmark doesn't have an answer for. After tapping him to win the second fall the third fall is about Lizmark trying to escape being put in that hold again. I think I have the 2/14 trios match as the current Lucha MOTY but this is a solid #2.
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Mascara is pretty limited--he can't do much more than punch, kick, and roll people up. But damned if this isn't a Pat Patterson-level booking masterpiece. The first two falls are over quickly in that perfunctory "let's get them out of the way" manner, but the finishes are delightfully screwy. First, Aguayo is going to town on 2000 in the corner, raining punches on him, when suddenly Chocolate calls for the bell for a low blow. Very cool and out-of-nowhere finish and good use of the standard long lucha replay, as we break down whether or not Aguayo really punched him low or not. You can almost see Chocolate under the hood trying to find "indisputable evidence" whether or not to overturn the call. The ruling on the field stands, and Aguayo is down 1-0 before he has a chance to take a breath. Universo 2000 makes his presence known in the second fall than then Mascara gets greedy, clobbering Aguayo with brass knucks so blatantly than even the heel ref Chocolate has to DQ him for it. That's two falls out of the way in about 5 minutes, leaving about 20 for the rest of the match. Aguayo does a monster blade job off the knucks shot and levels Mascara with every bit of offense that he has, while Ano is just trying to keep his head above water with small packages and cheap shots from Universo. Eventually Mascara's mask is all red, and I can't tell if it's because he bladed himself or it's Aguayo's blood. Universo nails Aguayo as he bounces off the ropes, and as Chocolate goes over to reprimand him, Aguayo recovers to BLATANTLY uppercut Mascara in the nuts as the crowd loses their shit. Universo throws a fit, but Chocolate doesn't see anything and Aguayo covers for the win and the mask. The crowd loves it, and I rejoice never having to tell Universo and Mascara apart again going forward. One of the most markout-worthy finishes on any Yearbook, a perfect poetic-justice ending built across three falls. I tend to dislike the heel ref shtick in lucha because they never seem to get any comeuppance, so when they inadvertently aid the babyfaces through their own incompetence that sort of feels like a satisfying payoff. AAA would copy this sort of layout with Tirantes, Los Gringos Locos, and Blue Panther in the famous double apuestas match the next year, to similarly great results. As a match, this wasn't as good as Cien Caras' mask loss, but from a booking standpoint it's a highlight of any year. This also has Universo, who does one of the greatest jobs of a ringside second I've ever seen. -
The one-fall stip threw me, twice over--once at the false finish and again after the restart. This still built well from matwork to lots and lots and LOTS of near-falls, probably the most of any lucha match I've seen. Also countout teases for near-falls. All the bailouts gave this a very disjointed feel, but it did make the counts more meaningful. Speaking of which, the story here is another officiating controversy, and again it's done in an ambiguous, real-sports bad-officiating way rather than just a plain blind referee. Gotta say that having this on the same card as Aguayo/Mascara is overkill, even by lucha standards where the heel refs are part of the show. La Parka gets every benefit of the doubt on every close two-count and at least one near-COR, though replays seem to support the referee. He then ties up Lizmark and gets a three-count, with Lizmark not getting the same benefit. Replays again seem to support the referee, and Dr. Morales and Arturo Rivera sound like they're one step away from coming to blows themselves in the booth. But after a LONG delay, long arguments, and a conference with the Box y Lucha commission, apparently the match is restarted and we pick up where we left off. The turning point is Parka taking a horrific bump into the corner post, and it's pretty much downhill from there, as Lizmark locks on a shootstyle side mount submission. This was good, and a really coming-of-age performance for La Parka, but as I said--disjointed. The match was building up a ton of momentum and I'm not opposed to the idea of the restart, but the absurd length of time it took (it must have been close to 5 or 6 minutes, or more) stopped things dead in their tracks. And the officiating controversy didn't pay off as spectacularly as it did with Perro and Mascara Ano, though Lizmark deciding to go with a submission after not making any headway with pins was a clever touch. One for a La Parka comp, no question, but overall not quite as fun as the mask match on the same card.
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Can't watch all this stuff without getting to the finals. This may or may not be Hokuto's "retirement," which I know is bullshit but I'm not really clear on what the story with that is. Anyway, Aja really seems to have almost nothing left in the tank at this point, and they compensate by having her work a leg injury. Smart move, as it leads to a rare body-part-focused joshi match and Aja does a great job in selling it. However, the match still stands as a disappointing anticlimax. The finish probably could have been on the Yearbook just because it ended a show of such magnitude, but I can see why the match itself was left off. Hokuto, for whatever reason, seems to lack aggression when the opening is there to take Aja out, and a burned-out crowd (that was quiet to begin with) certainly doesn't help the atmosphere any. They throw a curveball at us by having Hokuto go "out" on top, which I certainly wasn't expecting. It's a nice moment for her, and she tearfully refuses Aja's WWWA title in another melodramatic post-match scene, but it certainly didn't come as the result of an inspiring performance. Lorefice's review has him incredulous that the card didn't end with Aja going over Manami, and I'm inclined to agree with him on that point. Jobbing your champion to a woman going into retirement (...right?) just smacks of being too clever by half.
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Had to watch this to make a comparison to SummerSlam. It is really cool how many promotions got involved with this show--I don't know if getting the WWF to contribute to this was really a major deal in Japan or not, but to me it is. Alundra gets a full-fledged motorcycle brigade as an entourage, so maybe it was. This was pretty well-worked but it suffers in front of the cavernous Dome crowd instead of the super-hot fans at the United Center, plus in Chicago they were really going balls-out to try to get over in front of a more skeptical audience while this is a little closer to going through the motions. It's also a very one-sided match in Bull's favor with Alundra getting in a few hope spots, including a badly blown attempted reverse dive off the turnbuckle. Decent match but I liked SummerSlam better and I suspect their Raw match next spring is better as well. This is a weird instance of a Japan show seemingly booking a match in a "death slot," WWF-style.
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I have no idea who LCO's opponents are. More slob-like ring gear for them, with oversized purple trousers and wifebeaters. I don't know why I'm so fixated on joshi fashion all of a sudden, but it's striking me as odd. They look like Japanese trailer trash, if such a thing exists. LCO themselves come out with the most ridiculously elaborate entrance of the year, with a choreographed dance troupe and being carried out King Haku-style, except somebody forgot to bring the thrones. Amusing contrast to the LLPW team. There are parts here that would fit right into a traditional southern tag--the LLPW team does lots of cheap double-teaming, and even some referee distraction spots and eye pokes to maintain or gain an advantage. There's also a payback spot involving their kendo stick, and Mita catching one of them in a fireman's carry and flinging them into their own partner in the corner, which is a basic spot that somebody should steal today. There are also some sloppy parts here, and while the LLPW team takes a hefty chunk of the match, it never really feels like LCO is in danger of losing. Also absolutely no heat for anything--I know the Dome could suppress crowd noise but this was pretty damn stark. I liked seeing what the mid- and under-card joshi types were doing, but this could have been pruned and the earlier tag given more time as a result.
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Basically a tale of two matches. When Yamada and Kandori are in the ring, it's gold--tremendous heat, and the action lives up to one's expectations of these two badasses going at it. The partners add very little other than making saves and taking up space, and things die off when they're legal. It's more like a singles match with two assist characters than a straight tag. Yamada throws kicks and Kandori twists her limbs in various directions, before Shinobu catches Yamada coming off the top in a Fujiwara armbar for a tapout. Somehow in the middle of a 10-hour show this match still felt rushed, but the action was good while it lasted and has you wanting to see these two women go at it again.
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I wasn't planning to start with this but the downside of a 5-hour Youtube video with no timestamps is that picking the match you want to see is an inexact science. I haven't seen Reggie before so when this started up I stuck with it. Reggie doesn't seem like a bad fatso worker and she would have been a better monster heel option for the WWF than Bertha Faye, but the tank top+jorts look is awful. She doesn't look like a monster, she just looks like a slob. Her splashes off the turnbuckles look nice, however. Reggie works typical American-style holds and Nagayo throws a few decent strikes from underneath, then gets in one roll-up for a sudden (and ambiguous) pin. Chigusa does make sure to point to her head after the match, which is nice, I guess. Pretty half-assed match from a bored-looking Nagayo, and Reggie actually seemed to work harder.
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Oh my God, this was AWESOME. Absolutely fucking smokes Bash at the Beach, because Mero is on here. He actually hangs with Regal on the mat to open, and even busts out an airplane spin--which is a great move for him that he really should have kept. Plus it allows Regal to do a great dizzy stooging sell on the floor, before Badd levels him with a pescado. Badd whiffs on another flying tackle in the ring, and Regal, having been outclassed on the mat, absolutely fucking loses it, just raining forearms and palm strikes and punches down on him in the corner and this turns into a borderline Japan-style "out of control for real" shoot-angle type situation. Some absolutely great hope spots and good selling from Badd and great cut-offs by Regal, and they throw in some cool false finishes playing off past Regal victories, before Badd catches Regal with a backslide to take the TV belt. Fire this sumbitch up on the Network--this is one to put on a supplemental set for sure. Absolutely the match of Mero's career to this point and really just a shade behind the Zbyszko matches.
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This wasn't at the level of Stampede, but this was a nice gritty sequel anyway. Vader busts out a spin kick (!) among some other new tricks, and the Angel responds with some awesome punches and power spots. Race hands Vader a telescopic baton, but the Angel gets it and gets disqualified just for holding it. Laaaame--and Schiavone makes sure to beat us over the head with the idea that he's a Guardian Angel and thus would NEVER use a nightstick. The limitations to wrestling brought upon by the use of the Angel name, and the problems therein, are already coming to light.
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After the TV title match, Gene Okerlund delivers a fawning intro for Antonio Inoki, as we get a mini-Slamboree-type presentation for no particular reason other than to set up a farcically contrived angle for the match with Regal at the Clash. No one in the crowd has a clue who this guy is or what this is about, until Regal comes back to save the segment. He actually gets the crowd invested into this, though they were hot coming in. Jesse takes over at the commentary's table and is visibly very, VERY annoyed and irritable. I'm guessing he wasn't happy about being demoted upon Heenan's arrival to start with, and the arrival of Hogan couldn't have sat well with him either. Still, he's acting pretty unprofessionally right off the bat, and it's about time for the Body to go away.
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Badd's been pretty quiet lately. The last memorable thing of his that I can recall was the Maxx Payne feud, an angle that I always rather liked against my better judgment. He's a sub for Sting, who's out with a "scratched cornea" courtesy of Sensuous Chaplin on WCWSN. Badd is game, especially down the stretch, but this is really a Regal carry job all the way. His selling of the arm is tremendous and basically sets up every possible transition. Great moment towards the end as Regal bails after eating Badd's big punch, and while William is consoling him, Badd suddenly flies in from out of nowhere and takes both guys out. Then a callback to the Regal/Arn sunset flip finish with the umbrella. This time Nick Patrick catches it, but Regal finds another reversal to escape with the title. Calling this possibly the best PPV opener ever is a little crazy--Rey-Psicosis is right there even if you're just talking about WCW. But it is a truly standout performance by Regal.
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Nagayo's SNK-sponsored video game entrance gear is rather amusing. I'm not sure to what extent the "generation battle" aspect of this meant anything, but this was definitely more epic in scope than the Kong/Kansai match. Ozaki brutalizes Nagayo on the floor to start with, but Chigusa begins a reocurring theme of the match by cutting Oz off with her "Super Freak" (tilt-a-whirl power bomb). Nagayo keeps it in the ring a bit and then pays Ozaki back on the floor with everything Oz did to her--including talking trash on the mic. There's sort of a story of Oz using weapons and chairs and whatnot while Nagayo keeps it basically to wrestling, but by the end of it Ozaki is the one who's bleeding a gusher. Ozaki throws all her big moves at Nagayo but Chigusa keeps kicking out, and then a finish that's similar to Hasegawa/Toyota, as Nagayo slips down Ozaki's back and levels her with one big surprise move for the pin. Very good match. I honestly hesitate to say if it was Match of the Night--I was clearly the way-high vote on Kong/Kansai and it was probably a little bit tighter and not really any less intense. This is definitely one for a supplemental set, though. It *feels* somewhat historic even if I'm not sure if it really is.
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I barely have any breath left after the Bullrope and Broad Street Bully matches, but okay, one more to go. This isn't on the level of the best of this series--a lot of it's more low-key, and even mat-based until they unleash the big bombs at the finish. Vader working over Sting's knee is an interesting way to go, but it works. A lot of this is standard, including all the Harley Race bits, and if Slamboree had an overriding flaw it was an overreliance on referee drama, as we get a gratuitous ref bump here. But we've still got great Sting power spots, still got great moves from Vader, and a few nice twists and turns. Sting hits an awesome splash off the top to regain the vacant International World belt. The fall-out-of-bed match between these two, but those are always welcome. Schiavone was fantastic during this, it should be noted, reciting almost the entire history of this rivalry and placing every spot in its necessary larger context. A rare instance of Sting/Vader not being match of the night, which speaks to how strong this card was.
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Holy SHIT. Doc is just absurd at this point--it's one thing to start putting on great matches with the Four Corners, but to have a match THIS good and THIS well-worked with Jun (who's still not a Corner, despite his tremendous rookie credentials), after where Doc was just a couple years ago, would have been beyond my comprehension. This opens with some of the best matwork seen in an All-Japan ring in years--I daresay I'd put it up against almost any '80s Project match outside of Robinson vs. Bockwinkel. Then we progress, and it's another star-making performance from Jun in defeat, but this may be the most star-making of all. Some great hope spots and comebacks from Jun here, set up perfectly by Doc. I particularly liked Jun taking a page from Williams' book and ramming his back into the turnbuckle before hitting the Northern Lights. Williams fails to put Jun away with the Stampede and then Jun counters the Doctor Bomb, leaving Doc no choice but to bust out the backdrop driver for a tough, tough win. Williams is making a strong Wrestler of the Year push, and he's still got a lot of big matches to go! I enjoyed this as much as almost any match I've seen so far on this Yearbook--it was THAT good. And a very different style of match by '90s All-Japan standards. Easily the best of Jun's career to this point--he deserves to get a pin over somebody before the year is out.
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Pretty similar layout to the Misawa/Akiyama match--Akiyama gets beaten down, makes a comeback, goes down quickly afterward when the Exploder can't put him away. Misawa actually seemed to give more--he was clearly saved by the ropes and looked "out," whereas Kawada kicks out of it, granting that Jun was slow to cover. Kawada was nastier in the opening, working over Jun on the floor and twisting him into knots on the mat. I liked this a little bit more--Kawada worked a little harder and they threw in some more complicated sequences.
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Nothing fancy here--just two guys stiffing the shit out of each other in gritty, gritty fashion. Kawada seems to have an answer for what most of Hansen tries, and has some cool counters to the Lariat. But eventually Hansen catches him with it. Kawada has seemingly been lost in the wilderness since losing the Tag Titles--he desperately, desperately needs a signature win or three. As it stands at the moment, no one could possibly expect that he "should have gone over" on 6/3.
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Very effective ace vs. upstart match, with a closing stretch even better than I anticipated. Akiyama's Exploder is not yet named but is now being treated as a big move--Misawa acts desperate to avoid it at first, and when Akiyama hits two of them, Misawa is saved by the ropes from what looks like a huge upset. That's the last bullet in Akiyama's chamber and Misawa effectively takes control with his elbows soon afterward, but a good little scare was put into him nevertheless. This isn't an all-time performance for Mitsuharu but it's a good look at him as the dominant ace, who shows just enough vulnerability to put Akiyama over but effectively re-establishes himself in short order.
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Talk about it here.
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Well, on paper these two are almost perfectly matched for each other: one of joshi's nastiest individuals against one of its most sympathetic underdogs. There's actually some fine counter-wrestling on display for most of this, before Kansai asserts herself with her sick kicks. From there this is an extended squash with a few timely hope spots from Hasegawa. I had trouble with this because the Youtube video was off circa-1978 equipment and woefully out of sync, so maybe this would be better on rewatch. As it is, not really essential viewing by either woman's standard, but a good Champions Carnival-style match.
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This had everything that I should like about the older, slower-paced JWP style, but for whatever reason I had trouble keeping my attention on this one. Plum just brutalizes Nagayo with an opening barrage for the ages, busting Nagayo open, but she settles down afterward and is content to stick with her more traditional leglocks and such. Nagayo pays her back and then some, heeling it up for a crowd that's apparently backing Plum 100%. There wasn't anything wrong here, and I should really be more appreciative of a joshi match build around a sleeperhold, but in the end I didn't feel like the Yearbook was poorer for missing it. The best thing about viewing this was that the Youtube uploader added subtitles to the post-match talk. Chigusa cuts an angry-sounding promo that's really a motivational speech for Plum, then a pure-sports-build locker room interview follows, as she announces her desire for a match with Kansai and also discussing the booing.
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I think I've seen Takao twice in my life--the 1996 Royal Rumble where he didn't do anything, and the 2000 Carny match with Jun...not a whole lot to extrapolate from that marathon. Omori is full of pep and energy in his first big showcase match. Unfortunately for him Team Misawa sees to it that his hopes and dreams are swiftly and efficiently crushed, leaving undoubtedly a bitter cynical shell of a man. Omori gets the absolute snot beaten out of him--even Akiyama gets to act like a grizzled old veteran stiffing the shit out of some young snot. Omori is in peril for a LONG time, and we must go about 15 minutes before Kawada tags in. He's doubtless still working hurt, but when he tags in for the first time it's with Misawa down and vulnerable, and having milked the big showdown for quite awhile the crowd is suitably amped for it. The other running subplot from this and other recent matches is the budding rivalry between Kobashi and Taue--every exchange they've had recently has been stiff and exciting and full of hate. Anxious to see a singles match between the two now, and that's probably the least notable of the Four Corners match-ups. After being on a big hot streak, by the end of this Kobashi is back to being the gutsy overmatched underdog having to hang on for dear life--not necessarily because he's outranked but because the numbers game overwhelms him. Taue eventually puts him away with a nodowa to put more heat on that matchup. I guess this is it for Omori's major involvement in these stable wars, and honestly it's kind of hard to evaluate how he'd place in future matches--he looked promising but he really didn't do a lot besides act as a punching bag.