ohtani's jacket

I was kind of torn about whether it was a good idea to book this match. You're basically saying to the audience that you've got this guy who's the ex-champ that's so much better than the guy who's the current champ. On the other hand, Joe deserved a return match. Aries ran from him too often at the beginning of the match, which is not the kind of image I'd want to present if I were the newly crowned champ, but eventually there was some good back and forth action and Aries began fighting with the guts that won him the belt. Unfortunately, the finish was botched. It was supposed to be a fluke pin where Joe's shoulders were accidently caught on the mat, but the ref counted three before Aries was ready and it looked incredibly awkward as Aries reserved the hold after the ref had already called for the bell. Positives from the match -- Joe went hard and I'm enjoying his 2005 more than his title run.

Hans Schmidt vs Zack Malkov (NWA Chicago, 1950s) This was already out there. Benito Gardini & Al Williams vs Cyclone Anaya & Walter Palmer (NWA Chicago, 05/26/1950) I had forgotten how shocking Al Williams' tattoos were for this era. It's kind of like when you see guys with long hair and sideburns. Not a lot happens in this match, but I can totally see Gardini becoming Matt D's favorite 50s comedy worker. He reminds me of Porky at times. He does this great spot where he's desperately trying to stretch over the ropes to make a tag and ends up bouncing up and down on the ropes. And the comical interactions between Gardini and Williams are more entertaining than the match itself.

Bob Backlund vs. Larry Zbyszko (WWF, 11/08/80) This is a return match but the heat is on Zbyszko vs the special guest referee, Tony Atlas, making Bob a passenger at times. OK for what it was, but not a very satisfying return bout.

Just watched the Shocker/Wagner 2005 Copa Jr final and it caps an amazing run from Shocker from 2000 to 2005. One of the best big match workers of the era. Give him his props. Give him his flowers.

This was the final of the La Copa Junior. I'm not sure what was up with Shocker's face paint but it must have been representative of something. What a great match. One of the best CMLL matches of the first half of the decade. The crowd heat was unbelievable. I can't remember seeing a final to a lucha tournament that was as good as this match. I'm sure there have been other matches, I just can't recall any. Shocker was an incredible big match worker and the promotion is going to miss him when he jumps to AAA. Fans of old school lucha may turn their nose up at this bout, but I liken it to the Cena vs. Angle bout from No Way Out. Given the limitations -- two quick falls and a long tercera, I can't imagine Shocker and Wagner coming up with a better bout. This isn't the last Shocker match to make tape before he leaves, but it's the most important. It's been a hell of a ride. I remember getting a comp of Shocker matches back in the day and thinking it was okay, but not the lucha I really wanted to see compared to 1989-92 CMLL, but finally immersing myself in the era, I can unequivocally state that this was very, very good.

This would have been a huge match if it had happened in AEW and here we get it as a throwaway match. They match up well and do some cool stuff together, but there's a house show vibe throughout and they never really ratchet up the stakes. The potential was there for them to have a great match at some point down the line.

The revival in my interest in Kawada continues. I've come to peace with the fact that he's not a great worker in the 00s. You're not going to see classic All Japan matches anymore in 2005. The infrastructure wasn't there anymore, and there's a graphic at the beginning of the match that tells you Kawada is 41 years old. It's about time I accepted that we are firmly in Kawada's post-prime and that his matches aren't going to be great. That doesn't mean that they can't be fun. I love me some Kojima and this is a Kojima style match -- big, dumb and earnest. It's about hitting your opponent as hard as you can until they can no longer lift a shoulder. It lacks the psychology of classic All Japan matches, but it's better than watching Kawada try to carry folks.

This was an interesting matchup. I haven't followed Super Dragon's career as closely as I should have, but I know about enough about him that he makes for an outstanding foil for Joe. They did some really cool stuff, and Dragon gave as good as he got when it came to the strikes. They were building to something good-to-great until the count out. Joe's tope was awesome.

This was such a smartly worked bout. The intensity and focus from Cena was remarkable. I damn near bought into his story and it's 20 years later and the match was commentated by Taz and Michael Cole. The defining thing about the bout was that they established the psychology and stuck to it. It was clear that Cena couldn't outwrestle Angle on the mat and that his only way of beating Kurt was to force him into a more traditional pro-wrestling bout. So often in WWE matches the early psychology of the bout disintegrates into finisher spamming, but in this bout they rode it out to the end. The selling during the finishing stretch isn't something you usually associate with Kurt Angle matches, but Cena was working this bout like it was the biggest match of his life. I have no idea who wins when I watch most of these bouts, so I naturally assumed it would be Angle, but they worked me good. I like being worked. Being worked is good. I don't know if this was a star-making performance for Cena, but it sure as hell got my attention. Even the finish was brilliant in its own way. This had all the hallmarks of whoever laid out those brilliant Eddy matches from 2004. Word Life.

A taped fist match is one of the coolest stipulations in the history of professional wrestling, but they couldn't replicate the atmosphere of an old-school territory match here and instead worked a weak 90s walk around the arena, no-DQ brawl. Danielson bleed for the first time in ROH, but it didn't amount to anything. They worked some nearfalls during the finishing stretch, which is lame in a taped fist match, and the finish was pure sports entertainment. What happened to ROH being a flagbearer for the anti-sports entertainment sect? They should have watched some old Mid-South tapes and worked a 10 minute bout to a blood stoppage. They could have even done the shitty sports entertainment finish if the in-ring drama had been better. Weak bout.

Bob Backlund vs. Larry Zbyszko (WWF, 10/11/80) This was so much fun. Zbyszko has the most punchable face in the history of professional wrestling. The part where the crowd booed him and he blew them a kiss was priceless. Zbyszko spent an eternity stalling, which forced Kal and Dick to fill in the time. Also priceless. Kal kept telling Dick what was happening in the match to the point where Dick got exasperated. Once Zbyszko took over, it was high IQ stuff and a brilliant manipulation of the fans, a hot headed ref, and a typically fired up Backlund. This isn't my first choice professional wrestling, but I happily acknowledge that Zbyszko was a master at it.

Bobby Bruns vs Benito Gardini (NWA Chicago, 04/28/1950) Gardini was a fun comedy worker, though his matches do encourage Russ Davis to do some of his most annoying commentary. He keeps slipping between a Mexican and Italian accent for some reason. Karl Johnson vs Chief Brave Wolf (1930s) (I think) I'm pretty sure this is from the 50s as I've seen this venue before in other Californian matches. This was a two-out-of-three falls match but for some reason they taped each fall as an individual match. Makes you wonder how often they did that. Not the most exciting bout in the world and the finish is missing.

They wore such shitty clothes to the street fight. Why wear identical outfits? This was a typical WWF street fight match involving chairs, ladders and a kendo stick (looked more like a pool cue to me.) Michaels deserves credit (not sure if that's the right word) for blading so hard for a TV match. There was a sick chair shot towards the end that was absolutely hellacious and then a bunch of hammy crap, but Michaels' bladejob made it stand out from other TV matches.

This was much better than the Orton vs. Christian match from the week before and the type of roll-out-of-bed crowd pleaser that WWE workers do so well. It was a reunion of sorts for the Edge and Christian team, which JR smartly tapped into and even Edge's hammy acting and Christian's corny Captain Charisma shtick couldn't derail the premise. Lots of quick tags, lots of exciting action, and even an RKO chant from the crowd. Was t Was the WWE wrong to turn Orton? Inquiring minds wish to know. There's no way if you tuned into this in February 2005 that you wouldn't have been entertained.

These guys didn't match up as well as I would've expected. Their strike exchanges looked phony and the Captain Charisma stuff came across as goofy. Orton was still a face here and they created this minor thing with Christian to give him something to do for February's TV, but it didn't do a ton for me.

Tommy Martindale vs Mitsu Arakawa (NWA Chicago, 10/22/1954) I don't remember seeing Tommy Martindale before. Arakawa is part of the lineage of American-born Japanese heels, but he uses a lot more holds than his predecessors and is almost like a proto version of Hiro Matsuda ("almost" -- don't get too excited.) His gimmick in the territories was that he was a Hiroshima survivor hellbent on vengeance against Americans. That was never gonna fly on Chicago TV in 1954 so this is mainly a straight up wrestling bout.

Hans Hermann vs Yukon Eric (NWA Chicago, 10/22/1954) This was a fun comedy match. Hans Hermann was making his TV debut in the territory and they worked some amusing test of strength spots. Nobody will ever confuse Yukon Eric with being a great wrestler, but he's the type of guy who grows on you and becomes one of the cast of characters in 1950s wrestling. Fun match with a neat bear hug submission. I love how old school submissions like the sleeper hold or bear hug are taken so seriously in the 50s. The urgency with which they're applied is in stark contrast to the mid-match rest holds they'd turn into.

Sandor Szabo & Wilbur Snyder vs Karl Davis & Mr. Moto (NWA Los Angeles, 02/08/1954) This was an exciting match. It may be the best tag match I've seen from the 50s, and that's saying something since I'm not a fan of 50s tag wrestling in the slightest. It starts off in typical 50s fashion playing to everything the audience enjoys and nothing that I like, but it's a great cast of characters. You've got the older-than-dirt, ex-world champion Sandor Szabo, the young, handsome football star, Wilbur Snyder, "Killer" Karl Davis (has there ever been a wrestler with the nickname "Killer" who wasn't awesome?), and Moto with his judo strikes and devastating sleeper hold. There's a great back and forth struggle between the two, leading to an awesome third fall where they do a fantastic nearfall with Szabo almost succumbing to the sleeper hold for a second time. The crowd at ringside are on their feet and the heat is sensational. We have a couple of other Szabo & Snyder tags on tape, but I don't recall any of them leaving an impression as impressive as this one. Great match.

Pat O'Connor vs Sky Hi Lee (NWA Chicago, 05/08/1953) This was out there in the wild but not easily accessible. Really fun big man vs. small man match. Pat O'Connor is the real deal. Larry Chene vs Bobby Nelson (NWA Upstate, 1950s) This was uploaded on YouTube a few years ago in better video quality.

This was a solid match. These guys had matched up so many times that there wasn't anything new they could do, but when Angle is beating on a smaller guy like Mysterio it reminds you what a beast of a wrestler he was. They were given over 15 minutes and slowed the pace down from what we're used to.

I had no idea that the WWE did an episode of RAW in the Saitama Super Arena in 2005. Smart decision to open the show with a pair of wrestlers the fans knew well. I wish the the match had been longer, but they got a decent amount of time for an opening bout and the crowd were into it.

Roy McClarity & Jack Guy vs Kimon Kudo & Walter Achiu (Clark Sports, Chicago Rainbo Arena, 09/13/50) This was already in circulation. Billy Goelz vs Jack Owens (NWA Chicago, 08/13/1960) Goelz is one of my favorite workers from the 50s. He was a bit older here but still kicked ass. This was similar to a lot of 60s wrestling we've seen where it feels like more of a studio match than an arena bout. It was a fun bout though with Jack Owens going ape shit at the end. Reggie Lisowski vs Ivan Kalmikoff (Southwest Sports, 06/23/1952) This was interesting but unfortunately it was a scrap of footage.

Black Panther vs Gene Stanlee (1950s) You wouldn't know it from this newsreel footage, but the Black Panther Jim Mitchell was an important figure in the history of pro-wrestling becoming the first African-American superstar. Instead, the focus is on pretty boy Gene Stanlee, one of the original blond main eventers and early TV stars and the changing image of wrestling in the 1950s. Which would have been great if the voiceover commentary hadn't been such cornball crap.

He's a teenager in those bouts, so you have to compare him to other wrestlers his age. He's okay, but not exactly a protegee. Breaks had a knack for pulling those types of performances out of young workers and did it on more than one occasion. Davey also had a great match with Dave Finlay, but ultimately it's a case of another guy who left before it was clear how good he could be in a UK ring. The matches certainly don't hurt his case, though. He could have totally stunk but he holds up his end.

Angelo Poffo vs Tony Morelli (NWA Los Angeles, 07/16/1951) This is basically the finish. Poffo was working as a babyface in the LA territory and had a brief flurry before the end. Morelli was a tough as nails worker. Sonny Boy Cassidy vs Farmer Pete (Capitol Wrestling, 1950s) This was already in circulation. It's a newsreel film of midget wrestling. Ruffy Silverstein vs Mr Moto (Jiu Jitsu) (NWA Chicago, 1950s) This was new. Russ Davis calls it a jui-jitsu match, but it was more commonly referred to as a judo jacket match in other territories. The Chicago Film Archives has a number of these matches in their collection which haven't been digitally preserved yet. It's basically a submission match with both guys wearing gis. It's not a particularly exciting match, but it's a chance to see Ruffy Silverstein again. If you remember, he was in a Thesz match that notable for them working fairly stiff. Interesting find if nothing else.