ohtani's jacket

Jack de Lasartesse vs. Al Gamain (aired 1/7/61) Lasartesse is brilliant, isn't he? We've seen a lot of great heel workers in French Catch, but Lasartesse still finds a way to stand out. His swagger is second to none. Gamian looked like he was from decent stock, but if he thought this was going to be a fair fight he was dreaming. Match turns into a scrap and Lasartesse wins it with a killer knee drop. Jacques Bernieres vs. Jean Martin (aired 4/21/61) We get the final leg of this. Martin looks like a fun worker. The crowd throw him a peanut, or something, and he eats it in glorious fashion. Monsieur Montreal vs. Jack Rouxel (aired 9/15/61) JIP. A pair of big boys trading blows. Iska Khan & Serge Gentilly vs. Yves Amor & Pierre Rouanet (aired 9/15/61) This was better than it appeared. Gentilly hasn't left a strong impression on me to date, but I thought he worked well with Amor and Rouanet. I've complained a bit about shitty judo in Catch, but Khan does the gimmick better than most. Gentilly does the lion's share of the work here and Khan mostly works the hot tag. He works the comedy angle once too often, but he has the same relentless offense as Great Togo. Amor is great. In Amor we trust. Rouanet is also impressive, but Amor holds this together by being the most solid of heels. Gentilly gets a chance to shine instead of being in the JIP bouts. This gets the thumbs up from me.

I am completely up to date with Attack on Titan. I think the last chapter comes out next month. Wow. So many twists and turns. I have no idea who is good or bad, right or wrong. The story became so big that it could have easily spiraled out of control, but it was gripping up until the penultimate chapter. One of the great manga series. The Jonah Hex stories have greater continuity once he gets his own title. I'm up to the origin story. It was all right. I would have gone in a different direction with the facial scars, but Fleischer's reveal was decent enough. Conan the Barbarian continues to be a great book. The Conan books were definitely a highwater mark for 70s Marvel. It's amazing how much b*tching went on in the letter column, however. So many complaints about one of the great Marvel books. I have taken it as my self-appointed duty to find good Marvel books from the 90s. So far, I've started reading the Inhumans mini-series by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, Earth X, and Punisher War Zone. I also read Amazing Spider-Man #400. Inhumans was decent, but the art isn't fluid. I guess it doesn't matter since there's so much narration over the top of it. Earth X was a slog. Amazing Spider-Man #400 was okay, but I prefer the work J. M. DeMatteis did on Spectacular Spider-Man and thought SSM #200 was a better anniversary story. Punisher was probably the most fun of the lot. It helps that I like early 90s JRJR artwork, but like a good genre flick, it's not trying to be anything more than what it is. I also started reading Comico's Jonny Quest. That second issue. Wow. A tearjerker that early?

There's a famous story that after Jumbo beat Brody for the NWA International Heavyweight Championship in '83 that Baba gave Jumbo his blessing in the locker room and told him he was the ace from that day forward.

Man, if you want to read about a wild dude, read up on Ikki Kajiwara, the creator of Tiger Mask. There's even a wrestling tie-in, since he once held Inoki captive in a hotel room after Inoki allegedly stopped paying for the rights to the Tiger Mask gimmick.

Btw, this article has some more info about their marriage -- https://gossip-history.com/g01169/ Jumbo giving her a chikan prevention bell as a first gift is a Yamanashi country boy move. Maybe they were popular at the time.

Pimping.

I don't know who Gillen is, but I am far from trying any other post-94 X-Men. Baby steps.

It's possible. I suspect that being a woman in a high company position played a part in it. There's always truth on both sides, but women in power are an easy target.

BTW, I know Gordi is friends with Jumbo's son, but one of my wife's best friends is married to Jumbo's cousin. Dunno how many Kevin Bacons that is, but I always get a kick out of meeting the dude.

I'm not familiar with that story. When I first started trying to tap into Japanese info, there was a lot of sleaze thread level stuff, especially about Joshi wrestlers. Eventually, I lost interest. Personally, I'd take it with a grain of salt like all of the Motoko Baba stories. I'm intrigued by the idea of Jumbo not being Japanese enough. The salaryman quote is well known, but something changes around the time of the Misawa feud because all the salarymen are popping like mad for him. I guess they aged with him.

I took the plunge and began reading Grant Morrison's X-Men. It was a bit jarring at first as I couldn't relate to how the characters looked or spoke. There's no real explanation as to why this group are the current incarnation of the team, and the art is off-putting, especially the way Quitely draws Cyclops. By the third issue there were enough hooks to keep me interested. I followed Michael Golden from Micronauts to The 'Nam. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book, but Golden's cartoony style surprised me. Sometimes it looks like a daily strip about 'Nam. I guess in my mind I associate Vietnam with stark realism. I'm not saying it's bad. It's just different from what I expected. I also followed Barry Windsor-Smith onto Weapon X. I'm thinking that might have been a mistake. Fantastic art, but there's nothing in the story that rises above the early 90s comics milieu. Not yet, anyway.

Karl von Kramer & Karl von Chenok vs. Gaby Calderon & Luc Straub (aired 9/29/60) This was exactly what you'd expect -- nerve holds vs. crappy judo. I can't complain too much since I saw it coming a mile away. Jacky Corn & Roger Laroche vs. Giacomo Guguliemetti & Jo Czernieski (aired 12/9/60) This was the most entertaining Catch match I've seen in weeks. There were proper holds, Guguliemetti and Czernieski were good heels, and Corn and Laroche made fiery comebacks. I know a lot of people gravitate towards the heels when they watch this footage, but my experience has been that the faces make the matches. I can't think of too many better faces in Catch than Jacky Corn. Everybody knows knows the traditional sympathetic babyface, and the outrageously skilled babyface, but the tough guy babyface is a special breed and Corn is tough as nails. Inca Peruano vs. Al Araujo (aired 12/30/60) The first time I saw this we had labelled it as Inca Peruano vs. Jose Arroyo. That was back before we really knew Who's Who, but it's still kind of embarrassing considering Arroyo has that distinctive shaven head. That said, at least we have another Araujo match. I was full of praise for Peruano the first time I saw this, but considering that Araujo is one of my favorites from the archives, I felt it was more of a two man show this time. Neat match. One of the best from the 60s as far as I'm concerned. The body of the match is everything you'd hope for from the matchup, Definite South American-infused Catch but all the better for it.

There's nothing unusual about a Japanese woman quitting her job to get married. It happens all the time. The fact that she resisted marriage at the beginning was progressive enough for the times. I'm fairly certain that if she decided to quit her job and marry Jumbo that she was ready to leave the airline industry. Working again after Jumbo died doesn't really strike me as progressive. It seems tragic to me, as though it filled a gaping hole.

This was a ridiculous looking matchup on paper. Giant Silva vs. Great Khali? From what I could see through the unwatchable VQ, the parts with the Mexican and Japanese workers was surprisingly good, and the surreal Giant Silva vs. Khali matchup was something I can't imagine too many wrestling fans wouldn't want to watch.

This ruled. I am digging the shoot style/MMA/Japanese influence on 2002 US indies. It may have bugged people at some point or another, but 20 years later I find it refreshing. I have no idea why people crap on Low Ki. I don't know what sins he commits later on, but in the early 00s he is the most interesting worker in the US. There's some bomb throwing toward the end of this, and the type of strikefest that was already turning folks off New Japan in '98, but it didn't stop this from being badass.

The fan has to be willing to put the hard yards in. If you want to participate in something like this, you have to watch stuff. I don't see the point in letting a guy who only watches current stuff submit a list of a 100 guys they know. It may be a list of their 100 favorite wrestlers, but what value does it add to the project? If I were in charge, I would only let people who actively participate in the discussions vote, and I wouldn't cast out a net on social media trying to scrounge up extra votes. Invite folks in at the beginning. If they like it and they're serious about it, then let them vote. If that seems off-putting to some folks, then perhaps they're not really that invested in the idea.

I would have mad respect for someone who put Londos number one.

Really? I love WCW Jesse. He had tremendous chemistry with Schiavone and personal, legitimate animosity with Ross. I can't think of a moment where he was bad. I love Heenan, but he had zero charisma with Schiavone. I feel like different people want different things from their commentators. It's almost like folks having different tastes in their standup comedians. I like Vince by himself. I hate him later on. I like Gorilla with Heenan. I hate him with anyone else. I love Jesse with everybody. I'm indifferent towards Solie. I have a love/hate relationship with JR. I adore Lance Russell and Kent Walton. I can't stand Akira Fukuzawa, but I love David Crockett. I also have a soft spot for Bob Caudle. We've had Spanish speakers in the past shit on Dr. Alfonso Morales and some of the lucha commentators. Announcing is an acquired taste.

It’s a Kinks album.

I finished up the Dark Ages storyline in Astro City. The Silver Agent special was really moving. Not ashamed to say I got a bit teary-eyed at the end. The next series was really jarring, though. That Broken Man character and the manga chibi character that I can't say I really appreciated (felt like a stereotypical representation of manga/anime to me, though I'm sure it wasn't meant as a swipe at the culture.) For all the talk of Dark Ages being difficult to get through, the new series is the one that has caught me off guard. Still going strong with Starman. It drifts from time to time with crossovers and flashbacks, but when it focuses on the core relationships between the characters and doesn't try to be too hip, it's as solid a superhero title as I've read in a mighty long time. It's interesting because I'm still not sure if I like the lead character or not, but I love the world around him. Jonah Hex has been enjoyable. When Michael Fleisher came on board, he fleshed out Hex's backstory a bit, but the title is still largely episodic. I can accept that, though it does become repetitious if you binge read it. I try not to read too much of it at a time. Buscema is starting to get into his stride on Conan, although I sometimes feel like his Conan looks too old. I felt the same way about Buscema's Wolverine, who looked ancient when he drew him in Marvel Comics Present and the solo title. I wasn't aware of the backlash over Buscema taking over from Smith. For a guy who is largely accepted as the definitive Conan penciller, he wasn't well received in the beginning. Roy Thomas even addressed it the letters page, giving a lengthy response to a fan who complained bitterly about the change. Micronauts kind of fell off a cliff. Apparently, there was some type of conflict between Shooter, Mantlo and Golden over whether Micronauts should be set in the Marvel Universe. Golden lost interest in the book when Shooter and Mantlo got their wish and had Marvel characters appear. The book lost some of its intrigue after that, though I didn't mind the Man-Thing appearance, and Man-Thing is a title I have been struggling to get through. It's really hard to get into a book where the main character can't think or feel. Gerber's satire does nothing for me at this point, and I honestly wish the book was a creepy gothic horror like the Man Thing story in Savage Tales. I guess I wish it was Swamp Thing. Speaking of Gerber, am I a philistine or is Howard the Duck not very funny? I began reading All-Star Squadron again, sort of inspired by the use of Golden Age characters in Starman. I know it's a loving tribute to Golden Age characters, but I can only read a little bit at a time because of the tone. I guess I cut my teeth on grim superheroes and have never really warmed to more wholesome stuff. I've been slowly making my way through Mark Waid's run on Flash. So far I've really enjoyed the arc where Barry Allen returned and I also liked the storyline where Wally had a meltdown over not being able to save that woman from horrific injuries, but aside from that I don't really see what's so special about Waid's run. I enjoyed the Baron and William Messner-Loebs' runs far more. That is partly due to nostalgia as I used to hunt for those runs in secondhand bookstores when I was a kid (my primary means of tracking down back issues before I discovered that comic book stores existed, which incidentally was a glorious day in my life.) Waid's run feels generic in comparison and the art has become really cartoony. Aside from that, I have been re-reading 60s Doom Patrol, which is one of my favorite titles from the Silver Age, and I am making my way through the 5 Year Later run of Legion of Super-Heroes, though I still don't understand what's going on. That book used to intrigue me whenever I'd go to the comic book store and pick up that free Direct Currents newsletter. It was a book I also wanted to get into, but it was one of the expensive titles. I cannot understand what is going on from one issue to the next. The last time I read it, it was after going through the famous Legion runs, and I don't remember being this confused.

This was my first time to see a Super Dragon match. I thought the match was pretty weak, choreographed, and unconvincing, and I don't get the Super Dragon gimmick. What is he meant to be? An American guy trying to dress like Great Sasuke?

Cheri Bibi & Pierre Bernaert vs. Rene Ben Chemoul & Mic Charre (aired 7/22/60) Fairly standard long form tag. This isn't my favorite style of catch. It gets better when Bibi and Bernaert start delivering a beating, but I got more enjoyment out of crowd watching than the action in the ring. I think this was our first look at Mic Charre. It was hard to get a gauge on him since it was a formula match, but I guess he played his part all right. Some of the spectators needed cooling down so I guess you'd have to chalk this up as a success. Better heel work from the Convicts, but again, Ben Chemoul was nothing special.

A match against Kimura would have taken place in the 80s. Outside of the WWF, how many good matches did Bret have in the 80s? I've never seen a good 80s Bret Hart match from Calgary, WoS or Japan. From memory, Bret started to have good singles matches against the likes of Steamboat and Savage in '86-87 and then started to break out in '89 with matches against Hennig and Dibiase. It's possible that he could have had a good match with Kimura around that time, but I wouldn't bet on it. Bret didn't really come into his own until his IC runs where he really started developing the Hitman character. Bret Hart the worker, with no Hitman character, was pretty boring. Calgary Bret Hart. on excursion in New Japan, is gonna have an exciting match with Kimura? I don't see it. Ironically, the best Calgary match I've seen was Dynamite Kid vs. Fujinami. Even if you're talking about Bret in his prime vs. Kimura, it's still far removed from the WWF environment that Bret was so entrenched in. We used to have these discussions back in the day about whether Bret would have been great in WCW if he'd jumped in '92 and I have my doubts. I think he was a real dyed-in-the-wool WWF worker. I've never had a problem with Fujinami's fire or character work. He's always been a pretty emotive worker dating back to his juniors days. I can see it being boring for folks, I guess. Bret wasn't hugely emotive, either. He was more subtle and nuanced than a lot of acclaimed workers. Sometimes it felt realistic, sometimes mechanical. It's not like we're coming Fujinami and Terry Funk.

I remember enjoying St. Valentine Day’s Massacre, but I hated it when Vince won the title.

No, Fujinami couldn't have pulled off the double turn or the feud with Austin, but he had equally famous rivalries of his own with Inoki and Choshu. If you put Bret in a Japanese match, it would suck. I have no faith in the idea that Bret would be interesting in Japan.