ohtani's jacket

He's not necessarily that high. I wouldn't list Fujinami, the Brain Busters, the Islanders, Lawler or Michaels. I'm not sure which Fujinami match you're referring to. Bret did work well with a large variety of opponents in the WWF, though.. It's a strength of his. I forgot about the Savage match too.

The Backlund match I was referring to was the Superstars match not the Survivor Series one. Davey Boy Smith being there as one of the Bulldogs makes no sense whatsoever. It's not my criteria , but I'd list him twice. I think you're referring to the Diesel title change not any title change with Undertaker. To me Survivor Series '95 was the epitome of "memorable" and that wasn't their only memorable match together. I don't really get where you're coming from on this when you load up your favorites with memorable opponents. The 123 Kid RAW match isn't memorable? I'd warrant it's more memorable than Bret's bouts with DiBiase. What's he doing there? What about the jdw favourite against Savage? The Steamboat match people love?

I quite liked the 8/92 Triple Crown match. It was a nice blend of an older, more traditional build mixed with slightly more modern elements, and decidedly different from anything Hansen was doing with the other kids. Whoever raised the point about Hansen's matches against Misawa being deliberately different than against Kawada or Kobashi is spot on. The only thing I didn't love was the finish. Misawa knocking Hsnsen out with his elbow is a bit of a hard sell, but I really wish Misawa hadn't gone down afterward and teased the double knockout and rolled him over straight away or fallen on top of him after hitting the elbow. Everybody "feels" finishing stretches differently, but to me the pause before rolling him over was a false note. I can understand trying to milk the moment for all it's worth, but I would have bought the knock out blow more if Hansen hadn't stayed down for so long.

How come you don't include the 123 Kid or Backlund for Bret? Or Bulldog, Undertaker, Yokozuna or Diesel? Hakushi and Jean-Pierre Laffite also spring to mind as examples of his versatility.

I quite liked the 8/92 Triple Crown match. It was a nice blend of an older, more traditional build mixed with slightly more modern elements, and decidedly different from anything Hansen was doing with the other kids. Whoever raised the point about Hansen's matches against Misawa being deliberately different than against Kawada or Kobashi is spot on. The only thing I didn't love was the finish. Misawa knocking Hsnsen out with his elbow is a bit of a hard sell, but I really wish Misawa hadn't gone down afterward and teased the double knockout and rolled him over straight away or fallen on top of him after hitting the elbow. Everybody "feels" finishing stretches differently, but to me the pause before rolling him over was a false note. I can understand trying to milk the moment for all it's worth, but I would have bought the knock out blow more if Hansen hadn't stayed down for so long.

I thought I'd approach the Misawa/Hansen series with as open a mind as I can muster, but y'know the JIP 1991 bout is pretty good. It's impossible to know how good it was in its entirety, but the dynamic was way better than I was expecting and even the lariat spot felt fresh.

The 1994 Champion Carnival bout against Hansen is a pretty good watch, but I can't help but feel something is missing from their rivalry much like with the Hansen/Tenryu series, Not sure why it doesn't grab me as it seems like the perfect match-up on paper, but I think it's because it doesn't really progress over the four or five year period it was run.

Felt like watching a Robinson/Jumbo match and watched the Miami one. Now there's a mistake. One thing I can't work out is why Jumbo was so mediocre on the mat. Surely, a guy with amateur credentials like his should he a bit better than he was.

There's a Fujinami vs. Canek match on YouTube that the uploader says is from '78, but I think is actually from '79. It's quite different from the typical Fujinami match in that it's less mat driven and more character based. There's a stronger heel/face dynamic than other Fujinami matches from the 70s and it feels more stereotypical in terms of native vs. foreigner bouts. It's not the best Canek I've seen, but not too shabby either.

I didn't realise Hansen and Kobashi had a match in 1990 or maybe I watched it and don't remember. In any event, even in 1990 it seems clear that Hansen vs, Kobashi is the best version of Stan vs. the kids. I'm not sure what made Kobashi Hansen's best opponent, but it would be interesting to theorise about.

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR Ep 45 Fit Finlay vs. Kung Fu (Eurosport circa 1989) I can't think of a more mediocre match-up in all of European wrestling than Finlay vs. Kung Fu. It doesn't matter whether it's in Joint Promotions, All-Star, Reslo or EWF, it's mediocre every time. Fit Finlay/Skull Murphy vs. Johnny Wilson/Don Eagle (8/27/86) As down as I am on this period of Finlay's career, it's a testament to his ability as a worker that he was able to make Eagle look this good. I'm sure the promoters saw this and thought there was money in Eagle. Even Walton was getting excited about him. He ended up being a flash in the pan and Walton was beyond disappointed the next time he saw him. Entertaining tag match with Wilson being typically solid and the Riot Squad still the best in the business. Battle Royal (11/3/82) This was a Battle Royal full of small guys. Walton had such a hard time calling it. It came down to Alan Dennison, Black Jack Mulligan and Bobby Barnes, and I thought for all money that Dennison would win. Barnes had him half way over the top and Dennison was using all his strength to stop from going over. "Well, there's the tease," I thought. But hot damn it, Barnes actually won! And he got a laurel wreath and a winner's sash to boot. King of the Ring 1982. Eat your heart out, Owen Hart. Barnes' victory pose was worth the five minutes alone. God I love Bobby Barnes. Dave Morgan vs. Dave Taylor (Eurosport circa 1989) This was a decent little match. Taylor was playing heel, which he wasn't very good at, but the in-ring work was solid and it's always a pleasure to see Dave Morgan work. MC John Harris was the commentator for these early Eurosport matches and thinks everything is awfully pleasant. Flesh Gordon vs. Dick Murdock (Eurosport circa 1989) I finally got around to the infamous Dick Murdoch match. Murdock looks like the French wrestler Alain Lesage, but I don't know how to confirm that and I'm sure as hell not going to the trouble on Christmas Day. His valet is carrying a rather sedated snake. John Harris complete ignores the fact that Gordon's valets have their tits out. That's almost better than the fact that Gordon's valets have their tits out. Gordon is one of the worst workers you'll ever see but this wasn't exactly terrible. I swear Harris called him "Flash" Gordon the entire time. Definitely something everybody should see. Giant Haystacks vs. Franz van Buyten (Eurosport circa 1991) So, the great Franz van Buyten has to work with Haystacks on one of those nights where Haystacks felt sluggish. At least he did what everyone should have done and attacked him with a chair. Orig Williams claimed Haystacks was off to the States to wrestle Hogan. Y'know, there's a part of me that wants to see that. Not a very big part, but I wanna see it. More than I wanna see van Buyten get the shaft like this.

Merry Christmas one and all. Ric Flair vs. Ronnie Garvin, 3/31/86 Cage match from the Omni. I liked this a hell of a lot more than the 3/9 match. Flair put a hurting on Garvin to start with, which was something he didn't do enough of in the 3/9 bout. Some Flair fan in the crowd kept calling for a body bag and a stretcher and "whooing" every time Flair took Garvin to school. Right on cue, Garvin hulked up, or did a Lawler, take your pick. Flair was whipped from pillar to post and both guys juiced. Twice Ric tried escaping over the top of the cage and twice there was a full moon. I'm not sure why Ric told the girls he'd wear jeans when folks saw his ass in every match. The match went into a bit of a lull after they'd finished hurling each other into the cage, and the finishing stretch wasn't much to write home about, but the fans got more bang for their buck than at the beginning of the month. Ronnie Garvin promo, WWW, 4/26/86 These Garvin promos keep getting worse. He's trying to cut a promo about Tully and Arn breaking his hand and Crockett makes him comment on footage of Flair breaking Morton's nose. That throws him off and when he gets back on track he mangles some analogy to the US dropping bombs on Libya. Ric Flair promo, WWW, 4/26/86 This is mostly Flair cutting a promo on Morton, but he mentions Garvin's earlier promo and says he's right about one thing and that's that Regan and the Horsemen and the heroes America needs right now. Ronnie Garvin vs. Tully Blanchard, WWW, 5/3/86 One of my all-time favourite matches. This has to be Garvin's career match. I can't imagine he had a better performance than this in regard to selling and psychology. Tully is the perfect foil as he basically wrestles exactly like Flair but the bout isn't about him like it would be with Flair. Dusty's presence adds so much on commentary and the Dusty finish is better with him standing there in his cowboy hat while Crockett goes mental about the quarters. Love this bout. Garvin does a fantastic job putting over the injury and working hurt. Tully is Tully and awesome. If he'd had more years like '85 and '86 the sky would be the limit for GWE polls. All-time great match. And that's the end of disc two, but here's a little something that wasn't on the discs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujfew2t8Sbk Not the complete match, but shot from a much better ringside angle than the March stuff. Some old Flair\Gavin spots, but exciting to see close-up.

Cool, I'll check that out.

What does your comic book podcast cover?

i watched that MVC vs. Hansen/Deaton match from '93 where the MVC jump Hansen and beat the shit out of him all match long. Great selling from Stan and everything, but I don't see how we're supposed to feel sorry for him. The guy had been doing the same shit to people his entire career. What goes around, comes around, Stan.

Ric Flair vs. Ronnie Garvin, 3/9/86 Now it's time for a handheld from the Omni in Atlanta. Pretty much what you'd expect from these two if you'd been following the TV. Flair had made every excuse under the sun for being knocked out by Garvin from a loaded fist to a cheap shot to a lucky punch. He spends the early part of the match goading Garvin into punching him. Garvin threatens to start boxing Flair and Ric starts begging off. Garvin beats Flair up until Flair does something underhanded to get back into the match. Garvin fights his way back and gets a pinfall opportunity. Flair manages to kick out and the crowd blame Tommy Young. The footage is clipped and there a lot of jump cuts, which makes it difficult to get into the flow of the bout, but it basically continues along similar lines. It's a lot slower than their studio stuff, which obviously suits Flair from a kayfabe point of view. They chase each other around the ring a lot and Garvin pulls Flair's tights down four times, which was probably three times too many. He knocks Flair out, but his leg buckles and he can't make the pin. Eventually, they get counted out and the heat just vanishes. Garvin knocks him out again and claps a three count, but the building is dead. Pretty average.

Yeah, I've seen the Mendoza match as well as the Angel Blanco match, though I was probably focusing more on the luchadores at the time. He's certainly a great worker in the '78-79 footage we have. The junior heavyweight style is a bit limiting in terms of the matches being sub 15 minutes for the most part and Fujinami pretty much always winning with a german or dragon suplex instead of on the mat, but he was as good as anyone I've seen from the period.

Ronnie Garvin promo, WCW, 3/1/86 Garvin cuts a weakish promo laying down a challenge to Arn Anderson and claiming he's become a carpenter as well as a truck driver. Ronnie Garvin vs. Arn Anderson, WCW, 3/1/86 Solid World Television title match between Garvin and Anderson. Flair shows up after the commercial break to add some spice on commentary. Flair's ongoing battle with Crockett has been one of the highlights of the discs thus far. The match goes the distance and Flair distracts Garvin long enough for Arn to deliver a gourdbuster. Flair is a little too excited by this counting three on Garvin and getting up in Crockett's face. The replay of the gourdbuster looked like it hurt Arn more than it did Garvin. Ronnie Garvin promo, WCW, 3/8/86 Garvin's an electrician now. Ric Flair promo, WCW, 3/8/86 One of those rambling promos Flair was guilty of from time to time. He salvages it though with a great line about a wrestler without a title being like a man with no country.

Some of Fujinami's other 70s stuff: The Seoul match against Hoshino is a fairly standard juniors match but has plenty of decent action. The Tony Rocco match from LA is nowhere near as good as their match from the 80s set, but still has its moments and Rocco is definitely a guy I wish we had more of. Fujinami vs. Ted Adams from the Garden is sloppy at times, but I enjoyed Lord Alfred Hayes' play-by-play. Fujinami vs. Mando Guerrero was probably the best match of the stuff I watched this evening, but even I'll admit it's a little dry. Fujinami vs. Greg Valentine was rad, but that may be the Hammer fan in me talking. I also saw a couple of minutes of Dynamite Kid vs. Fujinami from Stampede, but it wasn't a patch on Dynamite's UK stuff. So far, the Go stuff is head and shoulders above the rest of Fujinami's 70s output.

You've watched a lot of his well known singles matches already. I don't think there's much point in recommending trios matches. You could try the 1993 title match against Ultimo Dragon, the double hair vs. mask Scorpio/Bestia vs. Santo/Casas match from '99, and the Panther hair match from 2012, which is worked more like a title match than a hair match. I know you didn't like the '92 Santo match from the yearbook, but there's a 1991 handheld between them and a commercially released bout from '91. He's had a run of singles matches in recent years that others love more than me. If you want to go deeper than they're easily available.

The 2/93 Hansen match is one I've never been as high on as others and that continued to be the case this time. The match is too evenly weighted between the pair, and I just don't care about the transitions to and from offense, especially after watching so many other Hansen matches lately. It also bugs me that he works Kawada's leg over yet the entire stretch run is Kawada throwing kicks. That wouldn't bother me ordinarily but other workers get called on that all the time. I preferred Kawada's work with Williams to this.

The Ryuma Go series from '78 to '79 is frigging awesome. Individually, I wouldn't consider any of the matches among the greatest of all-time, but the series as a whole is one of the best I've seen from the 70s. The matches are mostly worked on the mat, which means the last few minutes are spent ditching all that beautiful matwork and trying to win the match with throws, but the way the matwork escalates over the three match series is phenomenal. The matwork is more shoot style like than other 70s stuff, and when they start using open handed palm strikes and Go's mouth is bloodied hard way, the series tips from exciting juniors work to classic match-up territory. Go was a fantastic worker, but I'm still impressed that Fujinami could have a series this good with a native peer during the same period where so many guys were billed with foreigners. Gem of a series. People should check it out if they haven't.

There are different theories about why he took the name Antonio but one of them is that Rikidozan wanted to push him as a Brazilian nisei whom he found working on the fields in Sao Paulo. Nisei is the name given to second generation children born to Japanese immigrants. Inoki made it public after Rikidozan's death that he was born in Yokohama, but the nisei thing must have stuck because you can find people writing about it prior to the Ali fight. The first time he used the name was on November 9th, 1962 in Okinawa according to a Baseball magazine reference on his Wikipedia page. In the early part of the 20th century, Brazil had a labour shortage on their coffee plantations and signed a treaty with the Japanese government permitting Japanese migration to Brazil. Roughly 240,000 people immigrated between 1906 and 1993 with the second biggest period being the post-war years of 1956-60.

Lizmark spent a lot of time working trios matches with Atlantis and Rayo Jalisco Jr. in those years. After he dropped the NWA World Middleweight title to Satanico at the end of '83, I think he challenged for it again during Satanico's reign, but in the light heavyweight class, Ringo Mendoza and then Rayo Jalisco Jr were the tecnico NWA champs in that time period and nobody seemed to care about the National title. Lizmark was involved in the establishment of the WWA title in '86, but not the promoters choice for the initial champ, which was El Cobrade II.

I couldn't find any more Liger matches so I ended up watching the 1993 Top of the Super Juniors final against El Samurai. It was a pretty good match actually. Better than any of the Liger bouts. I needed to go out, but I was keen to see the finish and toyed with being late, which has to be the sign of a good match. Benoit's selling and transitions sucked, and I thought El Samurai was easily the better worker, but like Dynamite Kid, Benoit brought the offense like few others. Good match in spite of Benoit's pop-ups.