ohtani's jacket

Play-by-play Ichiro Shimizu (1972-78) Takao Kuramochi (1976-1990) Kenji Wakabayashi (circa 1985-1995) Akira Fukuzawa (1989-1997) Colour Takashi Yamada (1972~) Hiroshi Tatsuruhama (1972-85) Kosuke Takeuchi (early 90s) Basically, there would be a main announcer and a secondary announcer who worked for NTV and then colour commentators who were sports writers or worked for the magazines. The dates are a bit rough, but somewhere within that ball park. Kuramochi and Wakabayashi are the most famous All Japan play by play announcers and Kuramochi & Yamada the most popular pairing among fans. Akira Fukuzawa often gets the credit for Wakabayashi's work. I'm 99% sure for example that Wakabayashi called Misawa's win over Jumbo, for example.

I'm not a big fan of that Masami/Nakano match either. It felt like one giant stalemate. To an extent that's what they were going for, but there were too many momentum shifts and I agree that it was largely filler. The part that bothered me most was about 10 minutes in when Devil gave Bull the power bomb on the outside. That was an opportunity for Devil to take control of the match and enjoy some sustained momentum, but Bull countered the very next attempt and did a stomp off the apron. Those back and forward momentum swings typified the match and I hated that they reset the bout halfway through with Devil passing her the nunchucks. The length didn't really bother me, but I did watch it in a detached way. The stretch run was okay. Overall, it felt like they were going for a slow build without there really being a slow burn. It could have been more boring I suppose if they'd just laid around in holds. Be thankful for small blessings. I kind of felt it vindicated my views that modern NJPW isn't such a far cry from what wrestlers were doing in the 90s structure wise.

I would avoid that Satanico/Jerry Estrada/Pirata Morgan stuff at all costs. The Pirata Morgan vs. Estrada mano a mano match is one of the single worst things I've seen from AAA.

Marty Jones is the kind of wrestler that people around here are geared towards liking. I have no doubt that Regal and Finlay would tip their hat and call Jones the Daddy. He had the kind of psychology that people like from those sort of workers. Here's my list of recommended matches: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones (6/30/76) Terry Rudge vs. Marty Jones (11/30/76) Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones (7/26/78) Marty Jones vs. Tony St. Clair (9/26/78) Marty Jones vs. Johnny South (10/7/81) Marty Jones vs. Dynamite Kid (1/19/83) Marty Jones vs. Dave Finlay (4/4/84) Marty Jones vs. Dave Finlay (11/23/84) Marty Jones vs. Bull Blitzer (Steve Wright) (4/23/86) Once you get deeper into the Marty Jones catalogue there are the inevitable disappointments and his form wavered as he gained weight in '85, but even late in the television run he's one of the more consistent workers and tries to carry the flag with a series of title match defences. They just clip the shit out of his matches, that's all.

Most of the AAA I suggested got taken down. Sorry.

Octagon had a pretty average mano a mano bout with Satanico in '91. Not as bad as his title matches against Blue Panther but not a patch on the first match against Fuerza. You should check out the Jerry Estrada/Satanico hair match from 1990. I thought Estrada ruined it, but you might get something out of Satanico's performance. Satanico vs. Perro Aguayo from 1994 is disappointing given who it is, but you should probably check it out as well. And the Infernales/Dinamitas feud if you can find it.

I'm getting this mental image of a war picture where Jumbo lets his injured platoon member save himself.

I can see that. If you view it as just another Japanese pro-wrestling fed then I guess it's a step above SWS. If you're a big Vader fan or even enjoy the fish out of water element I can understand enjoying it. If they were pro style matches in a shoot style vein and completely mind blowing like Hashimoto/Zangiev, I would be all over it.

The only good thing about that Yamazaki bout is the few times Vader stiffs him for real. Vader's pro-style selling of the Yamazaki's kicks, including that spot where they tumbled over the ropes, is awful, and he can't counter the single piece of matwork (Yamazaki's armbar) in a compelling way. The chokeslam is terrible. Chokeslams have no place in shoot style to begin with, but that wasn't even a good one.

I've never quite understood why you hate his UWFI matches so much. Is it more what he did or more your dislike for the whole aesthetic of that promotion? Or both? He just looked so ungainly. It reminds me of that big Korean guy who did MMA. White didn't have a clue what he was doing half the time, which takes you out of the fight. Plus I don't like the way he was presented backstage as some kind of psychotic lunatic. Character portrayal is something that hurts Vader in my eyes and that's as equally true for Japan as it is for the WWF.

Well, he had those punches. I don't think you can overestimate the effect of those punches. He's a guy I like, but I don't think he was ever a great worker. During the Smarkschoice WCW poll I often mentioned his cookie cutter match structure and how telegraphed it was. I actually think I like his stuff from before '92 more than his prime. His shoot style stuff was awful and that's accounting for the fact he wasn't a shoot style guy. I would rather watch him fight Otto Wanz a million times than ever watch him face Nobuhiko Takada again (who I saw on television the other day, incidentally.) If I vote for him it would be somewhere around 75. That could go up if I watch some matches.

I think you can argue that from '76 to '84 Jones was one of the best workers in the world. He has a strong case for being the best guy in the UK during that period as well. Grey and Breaks were consistently better television appearance to television appearance but Jones had the most high end matches. I can think of at least five Jones matches that would be contenders for the ten best WoS bouts on tape.

His CWA stuff against Wanz is arguably better than his New Japan stuff.

Have you seen the Pirata Morgan/Satanico hair match from AAA? It's a real hidden classic. Also check out the trios Matt D recommended to me the other day -- Satanico/La Parka/Psicosis vs. Santo/Azteca/Super Muneco. His AAA work is disappointing, but he was the complete opposite from a Pena style worker so it's not surprising.

Jose told me about this once, but I can't remember the details. Either people thought Blue Demon was the better worker or Demon used to say so himself. Santo looks good in the films, but they're only films.

Bobby Barnes -- former tag partner of Adrian Street who carried on their gimmick after Street had left for the independents. A very good performer in his own right with an uncanny ability to keep a straight face. Tony "Banger" Walsh -- rarely has so much been made from so little. Average worker who turned himself into a heat merchant. Unfortunately, he was so hot he ended up facing Big Daddy more than any other worker, depriving us of better bouts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgTnsd9cfEU

Sid Cooper, long time television heel personality. Always reminds me of a heel Ringo Starr. Very similar to Breaks though more of a natural brawler. Zoltan Boscik, another Hungarian mat wizard with a name that sounds like an Ian Fleming villain. Turned into an excellent heel by the late 70s.

Vic Faulkner -- would probably be your mum's favourite WoS wrestler. For heel fans, the biggest smart arse to ever grace a ring. Just look at that shit eating grin. Was a bit of a prankster and loved to pull tricks on opponents. Would get fired up if the tables were turned. Bomber Pat Roach, for my money one of the best big men ever. Also had one of the more interesting acting careers of any wrestler, starring in the classic television series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and appearing in everything from Indiana Jones to Stanley Kubrick.

Cheers, Jetlag. Catweazle, 11th century time traveling wizard or guy who looks a lot like him. This is the only Catweazle match I have ever liked. Colt Cabana shat on it once saying McManus wouldn't give Catweazle anything. Regal agreed with him momentarily lowering my opinion of Lord Steven Regal.

Jackie Turpin Jr was from a famous boxing family in the UK. His father Jackie Sr was a successful featherweight boxer, his uncle Dick a former British and Commonwealth middleweight champion, and their brother Randy Turpin a household name in England after defeating Sugar Ray Robinson for the World Middleweight Championship in 1951. Jackie Jr fought 32 professional fights between 1967 and 1975 and went 24-7 with one draw. He was British Rookie of the Year in 1971 going 12-0 on the year with 11 knock outs. According to his father's autobiography, Jr didn't train hard enough and got caught up in the limelight. After a pair of bad losses, the Board of Control withdrew his license as unfit to box. A court case followed, and three years later Turpin was allowed to box again, but after being knocked down three times in his final fight he quit the fight game and entered the wrestling business. Randy Turpin had also worked professional wrestling bouts after retiring (mostly because he was desperate for cash) and for a while played off his name in the independent circuit. Jackie Jr has been impressive in the matches I've seen him in against Breaks and Grey, so I bit the bullet and got a comp made of his work. Jackie Turpin vs. Tally Ho Kaye (3/23/76) This was Turpin's television debut some five months after he quit boxing. I'll have to see if I can find out who trained him. He was pretty green here. He was trying especially hard to sell properly. Kaye didn't carry him all that well, I thought, but it was one of those bullshit television tournaments (this time team sports, The TV All-Stars vs. The Challenge Team), so it was never going to be a great bout. Kaye looked amazingly young. He aged rather dramatically in a short span of time. The MC was this older guy who always made mistakes about the match length or the number of falls needed. You could hear Walton correct the announcement then throw his head set down and complain that the MC got it wrong. Ha ha, nothing pissed Walton off more than incorrect graphics on the screen and the MC making a mistake. The finish to this saw Turpin instinctively start boxing and get DQ'ed for his lapse. Not an auspicious start to his wrestling career. Jackie Turpin vs. Tally Ho Kaye (8/2/78) Two years later and Turpin had made a big improvement. His selling in particular was much better. Kaye could also work with him more easily here. Kaye was a decent worker though not really in the class of other charismatic heels such as McManus, Breaks or Cooper, but his heel shtick was generally good and he had some great one-liners. The crowd loved to see him get his comeuppance and were riding him on every bump, More of the Tally Ho Kaye show than a standout Turpin performance, but definitely an entertaining bout. Since we were talking about DQs just the other day, Crabtree DQ'ed Kaye here and if you hate referees who over step the boundaries he not only kneed Kaye to break up a hole, but told him to take a hike at the end as well. That was partly down to his MC shtick where he'd lambaste the heels, but I can't see Crabtree being too many people's favourite ref. He did an awesome dismount from the ring afterwards, though, which got a small pop.

Onita was a junior heavyweight in those days not a death match worker.

I'm not a fan of Bridges, but I may be the only person in the world who likes that Nagasaki match. I thought it was goofy and a ton of fun. It's Nagasaki so you shouldn't expect too much. Steele I have a soft spot for, but I can see him boring the pants off most folks. Roach and Roberts are gods among men. I know Pete doesn't like Dalibar Singh, but for me the worst is Count Bartelli.

I'm not the person to ask, but my general understanding is that bloody brawls among other workers became more common after the success of the Funks vs. Abby/Sheik feud.

It took me a while to get into St. Clair as well since I was predisposed to thinking he sucked, but the CSB feud as well as the McManus matches changed my mind on Tony. The heavyweights are more difficult to get into than the lightweights and middleweights, but stick with them. They're all part of the WoS family.

Possibly Kent Walton's favourite wrestler of all-time and one of the great technicians of the post-war era, Mike Marino: Exciting, fast paced heavyweight Tony St. Clair, here embroiled in a heated feud with one half of the infamous Caribbean Sunshine Boys, Dave Bond: