ohtani's jacket

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Lioness Asuka (1/22/89) This was the Crush Girls' last big singles encounter before Chigusa's retirement. Not their best match, but it should make it onto the Yearbook fairly easily. Both girls had bulked up by this point and looked more like their post-retirement selves than their ultra-skinny bathing suit days. As always, they were pushing the form and borrowing elements from other styles. Chigusa, in particular, seemed heavily influenced by the UWF style. There was a real emphasis on the knockout as a possible means of victory, which led to some great strike exchanges by Joshi standards. Chigusa did a really cool counter to the giant swing where she punched Asuka in the eye, and a lot of the moves like the dueling pile drivers seemed designed to bludgeon their opponent into submission. The matwork was also fairly tight, however the UWF influence meant the match was a lot more narrow in scope than your typical Crush Girls clash. Depending on your viewpoint, that may be a good thing, but I prefer their sprawling encounters where things are a lot more epic (and messy.) I didn't like the finish here either. Asuka kicked out of a german suplex from Chigusa and was able to counter into a backdrop suplex of her own which she held for a three count, but I thought there was a missing beat where Asuka did something to stun or daze Chigusa first; otherwise, why could Asuka kick out the suplex but Chigusa couldn't? They'd both sustained the same amount of damage, relatively speaking, so it didn't wash. Memorable enough match though, and the crowd heat was what you'd expect.

I do a lot of reading for recommendations, but I rarely participate in any film or music discussions. I don't know how to talk about music and film conversations are too involved. Rugby I talk about on another site, but certainly it's hard to find the PWO of other interests.

For the 80s, you should start with Chgusa vs. Dump and the Chigusa/Asuka rivalry. From there you can determine which style of wrestling you prefer, heated brawls or relentless workrate.

I also have multiple hobbies, but the worst thing about that is I'll be watching a match and suddenly I'll start thinking about a movie or some music and want to pause the match to do a quick search. Oftentimes I watch matches while listening to music to kill two birds with one stone. I also go through cycles where I'll barely watch any wrestling. Then I'll read the boards and get inspired. Without this place, I probably would have given up a long time ago. The strange thing is I don't rate wrestling as highly as my other hobbies yet I spent the most time talking about it. In terms of rekindling the spark, just wait until you're in the mood for some wrestling. In my experience that's better than forcing yourself to watch some.

I was never a strictly heel fan, but I can definitely relate to this. I got into comics right before I started to watch wrestling and I think the initial appeal of wrestling was that it was like a comic book come to life.

I don't know that Malenko was the sacred cow of the 90s IWC. That was Benoit. People were more into Jericho than Malenko.

Vince vs. Austin with one hand tied behind his back was a big deal when WWF won the ratings the next morning. Mankind's HITC spots. Foley winning the title. Halftime Heat. Vince being revealed as the Higher Power. Growing up, the Mega Powers explode, Hogan vs. Warrior, the snake biting Randy and Bret winning the title at Survivor Series '95 were big moments for me.

I like Malenko in short TV matches where he can bust out a bunch of cool shit without much need for rhyme or reason, but who was his best opponent in longer matches? Ultimo?

Arandu vs. Guerrero Negro (Hair vs. Hair) (1988) This is a hair match from Arena Coliseo de Monterrey in 1988. Guerrero Negro you'll be familiar with from his work with Los Bravos. I think I mentioned earlier that he returned to the Coahuila region after the '85 earthquake, but that doesn't appear to be the case as he worked in the Federal District up until 1993 and was rumoured to have been doing the La Avispa gimmick in AAA after that. Arandu was a Monterrey regular who was based in Eagle Pass, Texas just across the border from his hometown of Piedras Negras, Coahuila. In the States, he worked for Joe Blanchard's Southwest Championship Wrestling and was a main stay at Arena Valadez where he and his tag partner El Horoscopo headlined shows and trained new wrestlers. He also worked extensively in Southern California and throughout the lucha independent circuit. His main selling point was his hair, which drew strong reactions from crowds and allowed local promoters to book him in apuesta feuds wherever he went He originally wrestled under a mask as Principe Aries before losing it to Jorge Reyes (I believe) in 1981. He then adopted the Arandu gimmick based on the 1970s comic book, Arandú, El Príncipe de la Selva. Arandu's luchas de apuestas record is not well documented, but he had a notable match with Kato Kung Lee in Monterrey in September of 1990 and a hair vs. mask match with La Parka in '95. He still wrestles today in Baja California and has three kids in the business. I believe that Arandu's valet's name was Layla and that she was an American.

The video description makes it seem like Aledo vs. Kidd, but the actual match isn't. George Kidd footage from the 60s is a holy grail, so it was quite a disappointment.

You forgot the Machines, Parv.

Unfortunately, that match is actually Francis Louis vs. Bob Plantin.

Marcel Montreal vs. Jean Menard Another great catch video. This time it was a pair of veterans doing the French take on the rule-bender versus the blue eye. Marcel Montreal was a big thick set guy and a heavy hitter, and Menard was a great heel, a real Cien Caras type right down to the silver hair. The match was a brawl basically with Menard doing a bunch of dirty shit and Montreal retaliating. The parts where they went toe-to-toe were the kind of shit you'd love if you love Fit Finlay. Just real hard-arsed brawling. Menard threw in a chair at the end, which isn't the type of behaviour you usually associate with the Euro style, but I've heard in the halls there was a lot of blood, brawling and gimmick matches away from the prying eye of television censors. Lots of fun this.

Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto (6/89) This was apparently the first singles match between these two. It's a short bout, but full of energy. Manami Toyota has been hands down one of the most interesting things about 1989, though I suppose it helps that I ignore a lot of her short comings. Hokuto wasn't outstanding here, but she struck to her match strategy and it paid off. Nice prelude to one of the more underrated feuds in Joshi.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (7/26/14) * I haven't enjoyed Shibata's bachi bachi style in the past despite being a big shoot style fan, but I thought it made for a great styles clash here. It helped that I read up about Tanahashi's views on Shibata prior to the match as there was a real tension there that I wouldn't have caught otherwise. * The opening was a little cutesy, but it worked for me. The body of the match was solid. I'm not a huge fan of outside brawling in Japanese wrestling, but I thought the ringside spots were good and the basic narrative of Tanahashi having to avoid the penalty kick and try to neutralise Shibata's kicking power was decent. Shibata managed to vary the strike exchanges so that they weren't all centre of the ring, and I thought his forearms in the corner were great. * Tanahashi going up for the second High Fly Flow was a bad mistake from a kayfabe perspective. You could see that wasn't going to end well. The finish itself was absolutely spectacular. As much as I've bitched about New Japan strike exchanges and as typical a one as it was (this being the "we're out on our feet" version where they're fighting through the fatigue), but the variations on the final strikes were fantastic and the Shibata spinning strike that knocked Tanahashi to the ground was beautiful. The ref was great here as well as it looked like he wanted to call for the doctor. And the set-up for the penalty kick was great. That's how you job in a big wrestling match. Tanahashi's no Misawa, but that was a Misawa style job. * Great match! At least ****. Maybe even **** 1/2 for the excitement levels. Shibata was great in this. Tanashi sold well and as usual the match layout was strong, but Shibata wrestled with so much purpose and really deserved his win.

Tanahashi/Shibata was a great match. That ending was incredible. I can't believe they worked an awesome finish out of a New Japan strike exchange.

Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada, AJW title (12/9/89) I was really quite impressed by this. They went the full time limit, which was ambitious for such young wrestlers, and I was kind of dreading the match length, but apart from the down time during submissions, it was a well paced match with plenty of intensity. Toyota attacked Yamada before the bell and Yamada retaliated by whipping Toyota with her jacket, and that set the tone for an edgy bout that neither girl was prepared to lose. Toyota's selling was inconsistent and there were other problems you'd expect like repetitive spots (though the single leg Boston they kept going back to looked really good), but I loved the ongoing struggle over the waistlock, and again for young girls this was a hell of a performance.

Honma vs. Ishii was pretty good, but it was mostly two thickheaded guys trying to injure each other. I don't know much about Honma, but his gimmick seems to be that he has no sense of self-preservation. The strike exchanges were shit, especially the chops, but they fired up the crowd. The high impact stuff was good, but a bit telegraphed, and I didn't bite on any of the near falls. I like Ishii, but I think he's a bit overrated in some circles. Mind you, just about all modern wrestling is overrated. In ten year's time when people start revisiting this stuff, we'll probably see a more accurate appraisal of the work, similar to how not every Joshi match in the 90s was **** 3/4 ala Mike Lorefice.

The story that is always told in Japan is that after Jumbo defeated Brody for the NWA International Heavyweight title, Baba went into the dressing room and told Jumbo "kyo kara omae ga esu da" or "you are the ace from today."

Everyone and their dog were doing dropkicks from the 70s onwards if not earlier. It was a staple babyface move. I imagine the wrestlers who first started doing it used it as either a finisher or a specialty move, but as more and more wrestlers began doing it, it evolved into a regular move. Okada's dropkick is more of a specialty move than either a regular dropkick or an old-school dropkick. The height he gets on it is phenomenal, and surely that boils down to athleticism.

This has always been a problem in wrestling.

Walter Bordes/Gerard Bouvet vs. Pierre Payden/Le Samourai Another quality French tag albeit more about athleticism and rule-bending than cool European holds. Le Samourai was a masked wrestler with a body suit, who was sort of like a French version of the British wrestler Kung Fu, but without the kung fu. He's probably the worst catcheur I've seen from bob ALPRA's videos, but it might just be the gimmick. Without knowing who he was, it's hard to judge his skills as a wrestler. He didn't really do anything special, though, and that's what we're looking for when we watch this stuff. Bordes, Bouvet and Payden were excellent, so that made up for whatever shortcomings the Samurai had. EricR came up with a standard for this matches that I like -- "impossibly cool." This wasn't impossibly cool, but it was a glimpse of three top catcheurs, which helps expand our knowledge of one of wrestling's last frontiers.

Some rare 70s footage: Peter Rann vs, Bert Royal (aired 6/28/72) Rann was one of the biggest rule-benders in the middleweight division, but he wasn't at all flamboyant. Aside from his mop of grey hair, he was indistinguishable from the blue eyes he fought against, and this in the era of the Streets and the Maxines. A talented grappler, he'd usually spend the first round working a clean bout then start his tricks from round two. One of his favourite tricks was sitting on his opponent's chest while pretending to adjust his trunks. While the ref checked the shoulders, Rann would reach behind his trunks and punch his man in the stomach. Royal got royally fired up at this; disproportionately so it seemed. That led to a ton of niggle and any chance of a wrestling match got thrown out the window. Royal seemed just as guilty to me, but part of Rann's schtick was that he'd get himself DQ'ed in the stupidest of fashions. Here it was after he'd taken the opening fall. He picked Royal off the canvas and punched him in the face, after the bell and right in front of the ref. That was an automatic disqualification and a rather premature end to the bout. To be honest, I would have rather seen them wrestle as Rann wasn't domineering enough to work the sort of match where a blue eye gets roughed up by the heel and Royal took too much of the bout. Peter Rann vs. Alan Colbeck (6/27/73) I've only ever seen Colbeck as a ref. He was an excellent technical worker, though perhaps a little dry. His work had a real Ken Joyce feel it though. That classic British maestro feel. I loved the way he'd push down on the head when he executed a back breaker. Little details like that really make it seem like they've trapped their opponent. Rann again wrestled a straight bout before getting into his usual tricks. Another trick he did was untie his opponent's bootlaces. It wasn't clear why he did this, but he loved that spot. This followed along similar lines as the Royal bout, though Colbeck wasn't anywhere near as fazed as Bert was. Rann got himself DQ'ed again with a punch right in front of the referee, and it really seemed as though he needed help for this problem. Some kind of clinical psychiatrist or behavioural . Poor sod. I liked this better than the Royal match as when they wrestled it was high calibre stuff. Ray Steele vs. Ali Shan (3/29/77) Excellent heavyweight contest between Steele and a Pakistani wrestler that Walton tried to bill from the Kashmir, but who probably wasn't. Shan was carrying some sort of finger injury, which seemed legit, but Steele being the sportsman that he was didn't take advantage of it. He did get a bit fired up when he couldn't put the Pakistani away, but went after the leg and not the fingers. Good action in this one, as you'd expect from Steele, and in the end a quality draw. Another very good British heavyweight contest.

Michel de Santo vs. Michel Chaisne This was fantastic. Every move was a struggle whether it was a body scissors or a headlock and they put maximum effort into their holds and counter holds. It wasn't exactly what you'd call shoot style, but they exerted a similar amount of energy. Even interference from another wrestler (Fred Magnier, I think) and a non-finish couldn't detract from this.

The cage match was only 13 mins long.