ohtani's jacket

English bachelor's degree here and I was taught that it's impossible to ignore context when talking about anything because the meaning behind the language of a text (or the wrestling moves in a wrestling match) is ultimately a direct product of context. Even when people claim to be looking at something "out of context," they're really just looking at it in a different context than it was intended to be viewed in. So it makes no sense to me to say that you rate matches while ignoring context. People watch matches out of context all the time. I watch matches out of context most days of the week. The very first pro-wrestling match I watched was completely out of context. To say that I don't watch things out of context because I contextually understand how a pro-wrestling match works isn't really what people mean by context in this situation. If I encourage people to go watch a Brian Maxine bout, the majority of people on this site will have never seen him work before. No doubt they'll be able to judge the match based on whatever experience they have watching British wrestling in the past or indeed their collective experience of watching pro-wrestling, but aside from making loose associations to other wrestles or other styles (namely Jerry Lawler in the case of Maxine), they'll be forced to piece the context together through Maxine's behaviour and Walton's commentary and come to some form of understanding of the characterisation of the Brian Maxine character. But even then they have nothing to judge it on having never seen Maxine work before. Unless Walton manages to clue them in somehow, they have no idea whether he works like this all the time or if this is a deviation from his standard bouts. Context is something you piece together over time through repeat viewings of the same wrestler, the same promotion and the same style. It may be omnipresent, but that doesn't mean you can just tap into it. When I was a kid, I learned to understand and enjoy pro-wrestling by watching it on a week to week basis and I don't think that process changes simply because I have thousands of matches under my belt. You learn as you go and you piece things together.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89) Different dynamic here with the big boys squaring off. It was the final night of the tag team tournament If I'm not mistaken w/ a winner takes all scenario, so they set about creating a showpiece. We often talk about wrestlers who make a lot out of a little. I sometimes feel like Japanese wrestlers make a lot out of plenty. This was a really dense match. There were so many moves, so much action, so many passages of play that I almost felt like I needed to watch it two or three times to catch all the details. Case in point, I was "rewinding" to catch a transition I'd missed and went too far. Before I knew it, I was re-watching the previous 10 minutes and picking up on a ton of details I'd missed. That type of match is rewarding, but it requires a huge amount of concentration and if you're looking for a quick and easy match that grabs your attention it's a bit like watching a difficult foreign movie when you'e really in the mood for Laurel and Hardy. With so many moves happening, it's easy to zone out and forget who's attacking whom. It didn't really settle into a rhythm until Hansen ripped off Yatsu's head gear and they began working him over and even then it wasn't super compelling. I kind of question the logic of Yatsu throwing a bunch of headbutts when he had a head injury. I know Baba tried to explain it away on commentary, but still. What was really good about this was the stretch run. That was kind of the whole point since they built the entire thing to a grandstand finish, but it was still cool. You had Hansen bleeding, Yatsu with his head all taped up, and Jumbo and Tenryu's personal vendetta spilling over into the battle for the yusho. Again, the Jumbo/Tenryu dynamic was outstanding, and I wonder if what was missing from the Tenryu/Hansen series was the heelish, nonchalant attitude of Tenryu's when he went up against Jumbo. With Hansen he more or less played the native underdog against the big, bad foreigner, but with Jumbo it was a mix of disrespect and spite. Far more layered and much more compelling. Match was long and demanded repeat viewings. Full of All Japan tropes, which aren't so exciting the millionth time around, but in fairness they delivered on their showpiece. Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89) This was a fun match, but at the end of the day it was still Tenryu and Hansen beating on a pair of geriatrics. Baba stayed down for a long time after Tenryu's tope, which was more like a flying forearm smash in execution. For some reason, the ring boys worked on Baba's chest and stomach instead of his head, but with Baba's minimal selling it didn't make much difference anyway. He looked pretty bad in this. You could kind of suspend disbelief because of how beloved he was, but I've never seen Hansen or Tenryu pull their shit as much as they did here. When Hansen bodyslammed Baba, he pretty much laid him down on a bed of feathers. The Baba vs. Hansen and Tenryu segments were cluttered and the whole thing dragged on for too long. You'd have to really be into the storyline to think this was one of the best All Japan matches of the 80s.

I'll probably be exploring a bit more Grey in the coming days, so I'll put this here to begin with: Steve Grey vs. Ritchie Brooks (7/3/86) Excellent bout, and refreshing too after watching so much shoddy wrestling of late. I have no idea whether I've seen this before as Brooks is the kind of guy I would have turned my nose up at in the past. Reminds me of the Sanders/Grey feud I overlooked in the past because of my prejudices. I'll have to take a look at the other Brooks matches, and the series with Danny Boy Collins as well, as Grey clearly wasn't as washed up as I thought in '86. It was weird seeing the beefed up, mulleted Brooks as a lightweight. He acquitted himself well, I thought. It was a title match, which naturally brought out the best in Grey, but Brooks showed more talent than I've given him credit for in the past. Egg on my face? A pleasant surprise? I won't mind being wrong if the other Grey matches are this good. Steve Grey is incredible. He really is. Every time you watch him it's the same thing yet every time it's awesome. How does that work? Such a class act.

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR Ep 21 Steve Grey vs. Ritchie Brooks (7/3/86) Excellent bout, and refreshing too after watching so much shoddy wrestling of late. I have no idea whether I've seen this before as Brooks is the kind of guy I would have turned my nose up at in the past. Reminds me of the Sanders/Grey feud I overlooked in the past because of my prejudices. I'll have to take a look at the other Brooks matches, and the series with Danny Boy Collins as well, as Grey clearly wasn't as washed up as I thought in '86. It was weird seeing the beefed up, mulleted Brooks as a lightweight. He acquitted himself well, I thought. It was a title match, which naturally brought out the best in Grey, but Brooks showed more talent than I've given him credit for in the past. Egg on my face? A pleasant surprise? I won't mind being wrong if the other Grey matches are this good. Steve Grey is incredible. He really is. Every time you watch him it's the same thing yet every time it's awesome. How does that work? Such a class act. Dave Finlay vs. Steve Logan (2/29/84) This was during Finlay's metamorphosis into his "Superman" Fit Finlay gimmick. He was growing out his skinhead and had grown the beard that would eventually be trimmed into the goatee. He'd also begun wearing the green and white tights with the shamrock, and Paula was in his corner. The difference was that he was still a wrestler and not a brawler. This was also a title match. Marty Jones was at ringside at the beginning and end wearing those horrendous bifocals of his that made him look like a certifiable psycho and carrying a cheaply made "Finlay is a fake" placard. He looked like a school teacher on a rampage. Think Olivier Gourmet in that Dardenne brothers' film The Son. This was a good match with Finlay looking sharp. Travesty is too strong a word, but it's a damn shame that he moved away from this style of wrestling. There was some conjecture over whether Walton accidentally gave away the finish. The first I time I watched it I thought it was the sort of mistake he occasionally made, but this time it sounded like he completely let it slip. He also kept mentioning that Logan had put on two stones while he was in Canada and how they like to build up bodies over there. Suspicious!

Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV) What the hell happened to Yatsu? I know something happened to Yatsu as people always talk about it, but surely he wasn't that physically shot between this and his SWS run. Must have been one fat paycheck. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the dynamic here. A side from Kawada looking to get noticed, there were some important teases for the next Jumbo vs. Tenryu match. At one point, I was a pretty big Jumbo fan; not so much anymore, but he was excellent at nailing the big spots that send a roar through the crowd. Tenryu as challenger is glorious and a thing to be savoured. Pretty much note perfect. I thought this was a notch or two tighter than the previous bout. It's always tough when you have to stretch out a bout to fill in the allotted time like this, but the stretch run was a step above the Kobashi bout, and they dreamed up a better finish than Hansen and Jumbo buggering about on the outside . Good match. I even heard "soccer kicks" dropped so Tenryu wasn't far from his WAR-self.

Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89) This was a solid TV main event. Everyone had clear roles, which I think helps in Japanese bouts. Kobashi was stepping up into a main event role and Jumbo had pre-existing rivalries with both Hansen and Tenryu. This was shortly after the Budokan match between Jumbo and Tenryu, but they didn't let that dominate proceedings. In fact, there was more emphasis on Hansen and Tenryu's team work and Kobashi finding himself in the main. I liked Tenryu's attitude here. He was much more vicious than during the Hansen feud, and the look on his face whenever Kobashi dared press the attack spoke a thousand words. This was a teaser for what Tenryu vs. the Young Generation Army might have look like and it as pretty cool. The match lost steam towards the end as they went around the bend too many times, and the submissions were awful all match long w/ "Jumbo pace" being no bloody good, but those were the only weak points. Jumbo sometimes comes across as a bit ungainly to me, but he was awesome whenever he focused his attack on Tenryu. Kobashi also went hell for leather whenever he was paired w/ Tenryu. I loved the slaps he rattled off. They were ill-advised, but drew Tenryu's ire. Tenryu delivering a kick to the ribs at the end was classic Tenryu. I need to back track to the point where he no longer gave a fuck. The low blow in the 10/88 match against Jumbo was the walk off home run of not giving a shit and and he worked this in the same vein. Consider me satisfied.

You're overlooking the fact that it's a stupid hold to put on someone during the finishing stretch as it never gets a submission. Since Fujiwara was so shaken, if he'd gone for a proper submission hold like an arm bar or a different sort of leg lock, he would have gotten a pop, but the crowd knew that Takada's leg lock was a base hold he used whenever he was pooped. That doesn't excuse Fujiwara's selling as he could have grimaced more and fought to free his leg, or gone for the reversal sooner, but nobody's popping for that leg lock as the finish. And even if Fujiwara had gone down on the corner kicks, the chances are Takada would have still had to take it to the mat. The leg lock was his go-to takedown. It was like muscle memory for him. Unless they worked a finish where Fujiwara caught a kick and countered with a take down or submission, or went back to the headbutt, that leg lock was coming into play.

Takada wasn't all that bad in this just as he wasn't all that bad in the Tenryu matches I watched. Time to call a truce on all this Takada bashing.

Paula was his first wife, a British female wrestler who became his manager "Princess Paula" up until they split in the early 90s. They had this act going where Paula would demand the MC introduce her as the "beautiful, vivacious Princess Paula" or something similar. Finlay wouldn't begin wrestling until he'd gotten a kiss from her and if he lost a fall she'd tear strips off him. She'd interfere in his bouts and they'd have miscommunication spots; all of which was commonplace in US wrestling but like nothing the UK had ever seen. Since Joint Promotions didn't promote women's wrestling, Paula was essentially the first woman to appear on ITV as a performer. Together they got tremendous heat, but the quality of Finlay's work took a nosedive. He went from feuding with guys like Marty Jones to working squash matches and main eventing against Daddy. His NJPW stuff is another dull patch. I wonder if people who's first introduction to Finlay was the Regal feud realise how atypical that was of Finlay at the time.

Finlay in the early 80s was a super worker on par with anyone you care to name in the UK. He was even part of a tremendous tag team with Skull Murphy and British wrestling doesn't do tag wrestling well. When Paula got her mittens on him, he made a pile of money working for Wanz, Williams, Crabtree and Dixon, but his matches became shorter, screwier, and full of shtick. And the heavier he became, the worse his wrestling got. He was tremendous as a mid-heavyweight, but pain sufferingly boring as a heavyweight. There is a good ten year period from 1986 until he shows up in WCW in 1996 where he's as frustrating as Rocco, another great wrestler who was shtick mad. Ten years is a long time to remain frustrating. That's a fair whack of his prime. I doubt many people will care as they're more familiar with his American work, and can probably tolerate or even enjoy his earlier stuff, but having seen how good he was before he hooked up with Paula, to me it's like when a favourite band stops putting out albums worth listening to. My current frustration is with his Reslo work, but his ITV stuff after wrestling became a stand alone show is just as bad.

If I were making a list this guy would have slid right off.

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR Ep 20 Dave Finlay vs. Tony St Clair (Germany, taped 1992) This was from Hannover, I think, but aired on Reslo. No Paula, but still boring as piss. Finlay's European work, I wanna say from 1986 onward, is such a drag. It's not so much that he didn't work the Dave Taylor/Steve Regal style, but that for someone who was supposed to be an asskicker he didn't kick ass. He'd wear a guy down, but in the most tedious way possible, and if there's one thing I'm weary of lately it's boring beat downs. Dave Taylor vs. Drew McDonald (Llantrissant, taped 2/6/91) Drew McDonald, clean shaven with a full head of hair, is unrecognisable until he starts wrestling. He's another guy who suffers from boring beat down disease. Who thought Dancin' Dave Taylor was a good idea? Jesus. King Kendo & Barcud Du vs. Orig Williams & Kung Fu (Unknown location, taped 1985) Orig's big moment... and it's a boring beat down... that was to be expected with King Kendo and Johnny South doing a masked heel gimmick, but it's sapping my will to watch this channel. Barry Johns vs. Tony Prince (Llandudno, taped 1982) Is there a more Welsh sounding name than Barry Johns? Probably Evans, Jones, Williams, Davies or Thomas, but I immediately thought of the great Welsh flyhalf, Barry John, when this popped up. Fairly standard Euro wrestling from a pair of average practitioners. Not the best hour I've spent on this channel. Better luck next time.

Just standing there implies that he was literally standing there doing nothing when he was clearly recoiled and taking a battering. There was a marked difference between how he sold those flurries and the early strikes when his legs were still fresh and he could absorb the impact or the times that he was able to block or evade them, and a clear escalation in terms of Takada being able to break through his defences and the effect his strikes were having. Protecting your head while taking a beating isn't doing nothing. Doing nothing would be learning back against the turnbuckle or just standing there while you're being kicked. He was in a compromised position; he just didn't go down for a count. Takada is a brilliant defensive wrestler? We must have different definitions of what a defensive wrestler is. Even you admit he doesn't have the mat ability to pull off a brilliant defensive counter and I don't think he's brilliant at selling by any means. I'll take your word for it on him feeding holds, but you're describing things that are all flash and designed to push the match forward and not defensive minded strategies.

Well, that forced a re-watch. I don't buy that Fujiwara was no-selling the kicks. He put over both Takada's kicks and also his palm strikes. Even when he was absorbing the blows it was obvious they were hurting. He was continuously on the back foot and little by little he couldn't block them to the point where he was taking a battering and simply trying to shield his face. He went down twice. Once he sprang back up immediately and started mocking Takada's fighting stance and the second time he was hurt but did one of his carny tricks of tying up his shoelaces while still under the count. I do agree that his selling of the leg lock was weird both times. The first time he let out an audible "fuck" and lay on his back with his arms covering his face, and the second time was similar. He could have done more in that situation, though it was a go-to Takada spot, and he did it in every match regardless of whether he'd gotten a down from corner strikes. He loved that leg lock. It's a stupid hold and signature Takada shittiness; both times they transitioned into something better, but I agree that Fujiwara could have done more with the initial hold as each time it stuck out like a sore thumb. I also thought he could have teased a knock out properly and done more to put Takada over, but for whatever reason he wasn't in the mood. I don't believe there was any great story to this and I think by and large it's a mistake looking for story in worked shoots. I don't think Fujiwara weathered the storm, outfoxed the youngster, or won because of any wily veteran tricks. It was a striker vs. mat wrestler bout that was a little rough around the edges. The only reason Takada appeared to be pushing the pace is because the only time he looks good is when he's on the offensive. Take away his stand-up game and he's a bit of a slug. Having said that, this wasn't a top drawer Fujiwara performance either, and I think Jerome is right that Fujiwara's selling was weird in those holds.

I'm not really sure what the problem was. My instant reaction would be that Hansen is overrated and Tenryu wasn't that good yet, but that's probably too simplistic. Baba wanted them to square off, but also protect them as the number one gaijin and the number two native (or thereabouts) and so booked some bullshit finishes. Working backwards from the schmozzes, they couldn't find a way to really ignite the crowd. Neither guy really lifted the intensity and they just didn't ratchet things up to the extent that you'd expect from this match-up. Then again, it's only really a dream match-up on paper. In '88-89 it doesn't feel that earth shattering. Perhaps if it had occurred in the Triple Crown era it may have had more gravity to it. I don't think they were really clear in their roles during their feud whereas Hansen as the aging vet in '93-94 was clearly defined. It may also have something to do with the fact that Hansen couldn't have a recognised classic with Jumbo either, but as Childs said, people who are partial to both Tenryu and Hansen seemed to be satisfied with the series. I don't think selling was the issue. The match layouts and the lack of intensity would be my two biggest criticisms.

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/29/89) This had a more orthodox build than their previous matches. Hansen looked to dominate Tenryu physically and clobber him into submission while each of Tenryu's comeback attempts where snuffed out before they could really begin. Finally, Tenryu got some momentum going until Hansen stopped him dead in his tracks with the finish from Nagano; only this time Tenryu wasn't losing copious amounts of blood, and wasn't going to lose the same way twice because he'd learned from that experience, done his soul searching and gone bone deep, blahdy blah blah. He survived the count out this time, rolled back into the ring, and hit a bunch of his big stuff. Momentum was on his side, and it seemed like the match would go in his favour, but Hansen kicked out of a few too many pinning predicaments and nagging doubts turned into painful reality when he reversed a power bomb attempt into a pin. Orthodox stuff -- a little bread and butter maybe -- but Hansen was better in this. Even his mat work had a sense of purpose to it. The highlight of the bout was a short arm version of the western lariat that knocked Tenryu's block off. Tenryu's performance here wasn't great, though. At first it seemed like he'd grown into his role more than in 1988, but his weak transitions and uninspired counter attack were pockmarks on an otherwise solid bout. At one point he reached for a chair for no reason whatsoever. Hansen had done nothing to instigate the act and the commentators had been going on and on about how he was wrestling a clean fight. Tenryu seemed bereft of ideas. I'm slowly shifting my mindset to not expect the soccer kicks or the Funk like punches, but pre-WAR Tenryu has yet to win me over.

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (7/27/88) This was arguably the best of the Hansen/Tenryu matches, which is damning it with faint praise as they were all subpar. I mean they're good matches, but you don't sit down to watch Tenryu vs. Hansen on the off chance it'll be good. These are meant to be two of the top 25 workers ever. They made the top 25 of the Smarkschoice GWE list, and they'll do the same on the PWO one, possibly even top 10 on a number of people's ballots. I don't expect that to translate into an all-time classic, but I do expect them to have at least one four star match. The thing is, they weren't even close. This had more of a focused narrative with Hansen busting Tenryu open before the bell and working him over for the most of the bout. The cut was nastier than the usual Tenryu colour, so he really had something to sell this time. The sacrifice there was that we didn't get to see much offence from him. Fortunately, Hansen utilised his elbow and knee strikes instead of slapping on a submission, which at least gave the impression that he was stalking his prey, but it did veer off into "slow and methodical" territory at times. The Japanese commentator called his performance "my pace," which is Japanese English for doing things at your own pace or in your own way. Tenryu's comeback wasn't all that exciting as he didn't transition into it in a dramatic way and the crowd weren't hooked on what they were doing, and the finish was lame. I didn't like Tenryu's sell on the western lariat. Falling out of the ring like that and jumping over the guardrail was stupid. I don't think an older Tenryu would have done that. Didn't get the belt changing hands on a "ring out" either. I really need to revisit some 90s Hansen matches to see what changed in either his ring-work or the match layouts, or if his opponent were simply better than Tenryu at this stage.

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88) This was awesome when they were beating on each other and slow and meandering when they weren't. Fortunately, there was more beating than meandering, but it still didn't hit the spot. The finish didn't make Hansen look like a GOAT contender at all. He just looked like an idiot. But it's the match layouts that stop me from taking Hansen seriously as an elite guy. Tenryu was quite clearly SWS Tenryu here, which isn't as good as WAR Tenryu. That meant he was going to sell, work from underneath and make fiery comebacks. Not great, but that's where Tenryu was at both in terms of his development and his career. The onus was on Hansen to deliver an awesome performance and all he delivered was a match; nothing more and nothing less. And to me that's sort of lazy; but also indicative of this period in Hansen's career. You want to see earlier incarnations of Hansen vs. Kawada or Hansen vs. Kobashi and they're just not there. He didn't slap on as many restholds here, but it wasn't a particularly dramatic bout, and he didn't go all out with the stiffness. Of course, if it had been something special it would have been part of All Japan folklore already, but it did finish pretty high on the DVDVR set, so I was a tad bit disappointed. Not sure 80s Tenryu is the direction to be heading in.

That hairdresser video was weird, but it was to keep you all on your toes no doubt.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/8/15) * It's been a while since I've seen a Tanahashi match. Unfortunately, the only version I could find featured dub over English commentary from two guys who meant well but went over the psychology of each move in minute detail and kept trying to paint a bigger picture of a tension between Tanahashi and Shibata that they don't quite understand. After enduring a few too many "oh my god's" and "are you kidding me's?!" surrounding each high spot, I muted the match, put a record on, and went back to the beginning. * Solid bout, but at no point was it as exciting as English dub over dudes wanted you to think it was. They weren't wrong about the psychology as such; they simply overreacted about it. I thought the finish worked quite well as opposed to the usual dramatic grandstand. A really good tournament finish and paid off Tanahashi's strategy throughout the bout. * Somewhere between *** and *** 1/2 stars depending on how much Tanahashi facing a different sort of challenge floats your boat.

That Horner video sounds like many a night at karaoke. No harm. no foul.

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/9/88) Man, it's weird seeing Tenryu in his thirties. This is going to come across as a strange observation but his complexion was so much whiter. In Japan, white skin has traditionally been considered the height of beauty, and as strange as it may sound, for men nowhere is that truer than in sumo. I used to know a woman that went to the same gym as Genichiro Tenryu, but I wonder if he also hit some sort of tanning clinic because I can't believe he went on vacation enough to get the darker skin tone he had throughout the 90s. Oh well, I told you it would be weird. This was awesome when they were beating on each other -- as in 'everything you want from a Tenryu match' awesome -- and not so awesome when Hansen did his "ask him!" submission holds. I understand the rationale behind taking a break, but they were restholds pure and simple. I guess it makes sense now why Tenryu worked from underneath so often in SWS as that was his modus operandi here, but it's a bit more compelling when it's Stan Hansen beating you up. I hated the small package finish here, though, and the post-match rampage from Hansen bordered on parody. Going apeshit with the cowbell, beating up the ref and shit might be cool for some but it's a cop out finish in my book and didn't make Tenryu look strong. On the contrary, he looked like the Bret Hart of Japanese wrestling and not in a good way. Still, this was a decent appetiser for more Tenryu/Hansen matches. .

Ian Campbell vs. Adnan Al-Kaissie (Karbala, 1960s) At first I thought this was the Baghdad match shot from a different angle until I put two and two together and realised it was a different match. Again there was a lot of tough, no frills matwork in this, and again I thought Campbell took too much needle without striking back, but I guess he was brought in to make the national hero look good and that's what he did. Al-Kaissie liked to clobber the back of his opponent's head and neck and there were a few holds where he looked like he was trying to twist Campbell's head off. You'd think that would be like poking a bear, but the most Campbell retaliated was with some thumping side headlock takedowns. He did kick out of the Al-Kaissie body slam, which was a small triumph, but then there was a huge cut to both men sitting in the corners being toweled down without any indication of what had happened, whether they'd been a fall, and who'd won. In the same vein, the finish wasn't shown. I think we can presume that Al-Kaissie won, though it would be amusing if state censorship had erased any documentation of a Campbell win. I liked when they'd intercut a shot of the nervous dignitary watching on as Al-Kaissie basically dominated the physical contest. Still, this is an important historical record of wrestling in the Middle East and I'm glad I took the time to watch all three matches.

I think that's true in general, but the 1994 Williams match is outstanding.

Ian Campbell vs. Adnan Al-Kaissie (Baghdad, 1960s) I think this is from either 1968 or '69, but I can't be sure. Ian Campbell was a giant 20 stone Scotsman who like most British big men had impeccable mat technique for a man his size. It never ceases to amaze me how skilled the British big men were. Apparently, he was a fiery rule breaker in his pomp. but he was wrestling here in front of a huge Iraqi crowd and had to play it nice. In fact, he copped a fair bit from Al-Kaissie but didn't really dish any back. There were moments where they would have slid into a forearm smash contest in the UK, but I guess Campbell thought discretion was the better part of valour in front of the Minster of Defence and what looked like a hundred thousand Iraqi fans. Pretty long broadway where the psychology was more about trying different strategies to win a fall than targeting a particular body part. There was a lot of tough, no frills matwork and a few holds that went nowhere, but for the most part it was an old-school chess like contest. Al-Kaissie again won a fall with that body slam of his. That was all right I suppose, but later on when Campbell body slammed him, Al-Kaissie kicked out at one. When in Iraq, I guess. The finish saw Campbell not able to recover from a leg submission Al-Kaissie had used and Al-Kaissie kicking the shit out of his leg and dumping him over the ropes a couple of times. Each time Campbell got up bruised and battered, covered in dust and a little weaker than before. I thought he could have shown a bit more fire as he was allegedly a pretty fiery rule breaker in his pomp, but he was there to do the job to Al-Kaissie and did so tidily. Some moments of skill, but a big investment of your time so be warned. Campbell seemed like a fun worker, though. Apparently, he once wrestled on Coronation Street and he was in the cult film Wicker Man, so that's cool.