ohtani's jacket

Rocco had been suffering from dementia for a while, but it's still sad. I love Rocco's Joint Promotions stuff from the 70s and early 80s. His feud with Marty Jones is legendary and should be required viewing by everyone. When people say Dynamite Kid vs. Sayama was the start of juniors wrestling, they're wrong. It began with Jones and Rocco.

FIt Finlay vs. Owen Hart (Wien '90) Neither good nor interesting.

Last one. This was a good match, but I thought it was several notches below their best matches. It was dramatic and the crowd were into it, and I can understand the appeal it has as the culmination to their rivalry. There's not too many other wrestlers who've had a post-prime match this good, though I suppose you could argue that they weren't being positioned as post prime. I'm not sure if I'd call this match excessive, however I did think they moved on too quickly from the big spot sequences like the Tiger Suplex off the ramp. Personally, I didn't find the finishing stretch as exciting as the '98 match or even the Takayama match. I don't know if they transitioned from Misawa's last nearfall to Kobashi's finishing sequence as well as they could have. You kind of want to give them a pass because they're older, but 11 is a really high placing for this match, IMO.

We have footage of David Smith-Larsen doing the Batman gimmick up until 1974, which is wild. I just found out Larsen became an opera performer after he retired. Interesting dude. Batman vs. Inca Viracocha (aired 12/20/69) This was from a 3 on 3 heel vs. face series, which is something I've seen a lot of from World of Sport but never in Catch. At the beginning of the match, the wrestlers drew names from a hat to determine whom they'd face. I had high hopes for this since the South Americans are almost always entertaining, but this was a lot weaker than I expected, and it finished with outside interference from another heel, which is something else we haven't seen a lot of in Catch (fortunately.) Batman & Paco Rameriz vs. Inca Viracocha & Jo Gonzalez (aired 5/17/71) This was another match that didn't meet my expectations. I would have thought three South Americans together would have put on a show, but this was tepid at best. Gonzalez was great, but I'm a bit worried about Viracocha. What's going on buddy? Abdul Khan vs. Batman (aired 3/27/72) Abdul Khan was doing a Mongolian gimmick or something. Extremely limited, as you might expect. I guess Smith-Larsen can't really make other wrestlers shine. I keep expecting to get another match like the Leoni one, but it ain't happening.

Fit Finlay vs. Chris Benoit (Street Fight, Wien '91) The Wien trilogy is complete. This was more of the same from Benoit and Finlay. Both guys bladed but a lot of the action happened on the far side of the ring so we missed out on the more compelling stuff.

This was better than I expected. It wasn't a deeply layered, psychological masterpiece like some Real World Tag League matches you may be familiar with. Instead, it was four dudes trying to have a decent match. I tend to like the Mutoh vs. Kawada match up, so I focused on that instead of lamenting what All Japan had become. There were a shit ton of photographers at ringside, which seemed to pen in the wrestlers a bit. I was surprised by how often all four guys were in the ring instead of guys fighting on the outside, but the match was thoroughly decent especially compared to the shit show in the AJW final.

This was so much fun. The Villanos were on point in this match and the crowd was hot. Pierroth continues to be one of the best performers in the company.

This had a lot going for it. Felino was being given a singles push again, Black Warrior and Black Tiger had a burgeoning feud, and there was some awesome brawling between Satanico and Mascara Magica. It's always great watching guys face off again after an apuestas, so it was cool that we got this match up. I was really into this and then they did a bullshit finish. I could have cried. Where's the Commission?! Why don't they do something about these bullshit finishes, huh? Tarzan Boy is so annoying. Hey, you worked me, but you ruined the match jackass! I really liked what they had going here.

This was a decent match. A bit long maybe, but they held my attention throughout. Angle was as light as a feather duster with Shane in the early exchanges and Shane can't sell for shit, but the thing they did well was work a narrative. That's one thing the WWF style has over most other wrestling styles. The highlight of the match was definitely Angle trying to suplex McMahon through the glass set. I hate to say that because it's about as far away from wrestling as it gets, but it was pretty goddamn brutal. It's just a shame McMahon couldn't sell better.

People living outside of Japan often have this hang up about the word gaijin. If you are suffering from racism in Japan there are worse things happening to you than being called a gaijin. It's just a word. Some people use it loosely, other people in a bigoted way. Just like English speaking people do with the word "foreigner." Why even call the wrestlers foreigners? Why not call them Americans or New Zealanders? Labeling them foreign is hardly distinguishing them from being gaijin.

She wouldn’t have had the same gimmick or style though. She would have been slimmer. They might have given her a Omori/Hotta/Yamada style gimmick eventually. I can’t jmagine her being pushed as an idol type. There’s a real chance she might have had a short career.

I wonder how long Aja's career would have lasted if she'd gotten her wish and been a babyface.

This was the yusho for the Tag League The Best '01. Definitely not the best final in the tournament's history. It was mostly a set up for the Hotta vs. Ito cage match (a match I have zero interest in watching.) There was this long stretch where Hotta dragged Ito around Korakuen while Toyota stood on the apron. WTF? I hate the Korakuen balcony spot. Has any Joshi pro-wrestler ever been thrown off the balcony at Korakuen Hall? No? Then stop teasing it. They actually dropped a pair of scissors into the crowd from the balcony, which was as stupid as the brawling. Back in the ring, Toyota and Momoe traded some decent near falls, but Toyota and Hotta ended up winning the tournament. Really? Looks like the AJW renaissance has gone off the rails like everything else in 2001. This would have been much more interesting if it had been Momoe & partner vs. Ito & partner. Toyota and Hotta added nothing. That revisionist push about Hotta in the GWE was madness. 80s and early 90s Hotta, maybe, but she was god awful in 2001.

Fit Finlay vs. Chris Benoit (Wien '91) It's Benoit vs. Finlay in Wien again. No major revelations here. You know what I would have liked to have seen? A Finlay vs. Dynamite Kid series. That would have been amazing.

This match was a joke. This is your big historical unification match? There's more run-ins than there are exciting moments. What the hell were they thinking with this shit show?

What is with Jericho dying part of his hair red? I haven't paid attention to The Rock since he had that feud with Benoit that I liked. Jericho is a heel now? What was the point of all that effort getting him over as a babyface? I don't understand 2001 WWF at all. I haven't checked out the series between these two but this seemed better than the Austin/Angle match. Ross and Lawler took great delight in talking about Whipper Billy Watson, Gene Kiniski and Paul Boesch. This really is a strange pay-per-view. Overbooked finish that works up until the low blow and disappointing finish. If I were a fan at the time, I would have been expecting Austin vs. The Rock.

Rene Ben Chemoul & Walter Bordes vs. Black Shadow & El Arz (aired 7/25/70) This is the last bit of footage from 1970. I think we have 13 matches in total. Holy crap, it's a young Black Shadow! That won't mean much to most of you, but if you've gone through the 80s catch, you'll be familiar with a middle-aged Shadow, who was one of the better workers left in the business. His partner, Josef El Arz was a Lebanese wrestler, apparently. This started with Ben Chemoul and Bordes dancing, carrying on and having a good time. Then El Arz started cheating. Then Ben Chemoul and Bordes taught the heels a lesson and danced some more. A bit one-sided but it wasn't boring.

I never finished going through this. Great match. Takayama was huge here. He looked like a Japanese Andre. Talk about a guy who knew the best way for him to wrestle with the shape he was in. Kobashi's knees were shot, but thanks to his theatrics and his rapport with the crowd, he was able to make this work. I actually think the pair of them hobbling about and working slower added to the drama and let the big moments sink in. I really liked the match these guys had in 2000 with the amazing selling of the arm. This was a different sort of match but equally good. I'm glad we have a pair of great matches between the two. I didn't realize this match had such a big rep. I thought this was one of their bouts where they sank into excess. This bout must have improved its reputation over the years because I swear people used to say that 6/98 Kawada/Kobashi was the last great All Japan match. Then again, this did win the WON MOTY and Tokyo Sports MOTY, so I guess those folks were right all along. Anyway, this was a great match. I don't get excited about All Japan often, but this was fucking great. I'm not even sure I'd call it excessive. Did we have any idea what excess was back then? Personally, the Tiger Driver off the apron got a "holy shit" from me, and I thought the Tiger Driver '91 was crazy as well. It seems some folks think Kobashi should have gone over here, and others think the match should have ended after the Tiger Driver '91. I didn't have an issue with how it played out. I even liked the double elbow finish, though the crowd weren't really in sync with it. What a match. I have another Misawa vs. Kobashi match to get through, but I think I'll save it for another night.

Finally got around to watching this. Really good match. Harley took the fight to Kandori, which you had to do otherwise she'd eat you alive. Initially, I thought the false pin slowed things down a bit, but it was important in the finish. I loved how Kansai had a go at Kandori afterward.

Jacky Corn & Guy Mercier vs. Ted Lamar & Jo Marsallon (aired 1/1/70) I'm actually quite surprised at what little footage we have from 1970. This is a nice follow on from Segunda Caida's Tuesday is French Catch Day from the other week with Jacky Corn and Mercier tagging and more Corn vs. Lamar. I'm pretty sure Lamar's partner is Jo Marsallon, who used to wrestle with his brother in a tag team known as Les Gorilles. Whoever he is, he's a canny vet. There's a lot of good wrestling in this and Lamar continues to stake a claim as a decent hand. Mercier is growing on me too. Having watched the Corn/Leduc team a lot, there's no denying that Mercier was fresher and peppier than Leduc at this time. Kurt Kayser vs. Remy Bayle (aired 2/1/70) This was a rarity in the catch we've seen -- a squash match. They called him "Kurt" Kayser, but I'm pretty sure this was Peter Kayser, the guy who fought Mercier twice. Batman vs. Cesar Leoni (aired 6/29/70) I'm not sure why you'd do a Batman gimmick without a mask, or why Larsen was still doing the Batman gimmick in 1970 after the craze was over, but this was a really good match. Exciting, up tempo the entire way, and a real crowd pleaser. I really enjoyed this. And I had a chuckle at the end when the commentator said, "Bravo, Monsieur Batman!"

I watched him cut a promo. The accent is too much for me.

Wait, there is a New Zealand pro-wrestler in New Japan?

This unification business led to some strange commentary where Ross mentioned Gotch vs. Hackenschmidt, the King's 1988 AWA title victory and Lou Thesz in the same breath. Later on, he mentioned that Austin worked in WCW from '91-94. I thought wrestling wasn't supposed to exist outside of the WWF? This was face Austin vs. heel Angle, not that you can tell from the match. This would have made for a perfectly good television match, but it was well short of PPV standards.

I didn't really care for the match these guys had in All Japan in 2000 that everyone seems to like, but a year later I just want to see something good. This was good, so that automatically makes it one of the better matches of the year. That's a sad indictment on Japanese men's wrestling in 2001, but that's the reality, especially with Kobashi on the shelf. The amazing thing about these NOAH matches is how much they lack the psychology and storytelling of classic All Japan. If Baba hadn't gotten sick and died, and Akiyama had earned his big moment over Misawa in an All Japan ring, you can be damn sure this would have been better. Again, it wasn't a bad match, but can you look me in the eye (over the internet) and with a straight face tell me this is up to the usual pass the torch standards in Japan? You can't! Because Kobashi comes back with bung knees and has better matches than this. Perhaps Misawa was exhausted from working that style. I'm not sure if Akiyama ever really mastered it. But this was All Japan-lite.

This was from a weird venue. It was an outdoor amphitheater at some Seaside Park in Okinawa. Ishikawa got his win back from earlier in the year, but I'm not sure how much it mattered in the grand scheme of things. Short fight, but one of the better BattlARTS matches of the year. As far as I can tell, this was their last show until the following year. Another reason to dislike 2001.