Vinnie B

June: Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Bull Nakano & Kyoko Inoue (AJW 6/18/91) **** 1/4 Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt Slaughter (Desert Storm Match) (MSG 6/3/91) **** Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (NJPW 6/12/91) *** 3/4 Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey (AJPW 6/27/91) *** 3/4 Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Masa Chono & Hiroshi Hase (Clash 6/14/91) *** 1/2 Eric Embry vs. Danny Davis (USWA TX 6/7/91) *** 1/2 Ric Flair vs. Bobby Eaton (Clash 6/14/91) *** 1/2 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Terry Gordy (AJPW 6/1/91) *** 1/2 Steve Williams vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (UWF 6/9/91) *** 1/2 Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (SWS 6/26/91) *** 1/4 Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Brian Pillman & Bobby Eaton (Main Event 6/9/91) *** 1/4 Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Bobby Eaton & Big Josh (Power Hour 6/8/91) *** 1/4 Terry Taylor & Arn Anderson vs. Bobby Eaton & Dustin Rhodes (Main Event 6/2/91) *** Steve Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 6/1/91) *** Freebirds & Badstreet vs. Young Pistols & Dustin Rhodes (WCWSN 6/15/91) *** Six Man Tag (USWA 6/29/91) ** 3/4 Chris Candido & Don Cha Mang vs. Rob Zakowski & Danny Davis (USWA 6/22/91) ** 3/4 So I did manage to finish June, it's a shame I have to go away from the physical DVDs and player again now, as I was just getting back into watching a good deal of this. June was generally very solid, and at the very least was pretty compact, so you never had to wait too long for something good. Memphis, and especially Embry, had a really strong month that kept the angles ticking along. Quick word about Bull Nakano. I may have mentioned that before the yearbooks I didn't have that diverse a wrestling pallet outside of post-1996 US stuff and 90s All-Japan. The Joshi so far has been great, and Bull Nakano has definitely been the best wrestler I've found because of this project. Everything she does just comes across as so...badass. Another great match for Joshi!

May: Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (NJPW 5/31/91) **** 1/4 Ric Flair vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (SuperBrawl 5/19/91) **** 1/4 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 5/24/91) **** El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas (WWA 5/17/91) **** Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Masahito Kakihara (UWFI 5/10/91) **** Jushin Liger vs. Hiroshi Hase (NJPW 5/6/91) *** 3/4 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Wellington Wilkins Jr. (PWFG 5/19/91) *** 3/4 Bill Dundee vs. Eric Embry (Cage Match) (USWA TX 5/24/91) *** 3/4 Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW 5/31/91) *** 3/4 Toshiyo Yamada vs. Yumiko Hotta (AJW 5/26/91) *** 3/4 Sting & Lex Luger vs. Rick & Scott Steiner (SuperBrawl 5/19/91) *** 1/2 Barry Windham vs. Brian Pillman (Taped Fist Match) (SuperBrawl 5/19/91) *** 1/2 Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong (AJW 5/26/91) *** 1/2 Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Steve Williams & Terry Gordy (AJPW 5/24/91) *** 1/2 Jeff Jarrett vs. Tom Pritchard (Cage Match) (USWA TX 5/24/91) *** 1/2 Jeff Jarrett & Robert Fuller vs. Steve Austin & Tom Pritchard (Tennessee Street Fight) (USWA TX 5/3/91) *** 1/2 Atlantis, Mascara Sagrada & Octagon vs. Los Brazos (CMLL 5/17/91) *** 1/4 Eddie Gilbert & Brian Christopher vs. Tom Pritchard & Dirty White Boy (USWA 5/18/91) *** 1/4 Arn Anderson vs. Bobby Eaton (SuperBrawl 5/19/91) *** El Dandy, Popitekus & Super Astro vs. Los Brazos (CMLL 5/3/91) *** Akira Maeda vs. Dick Vrij (RINGS 5/11/91) ** 1/4 Atsushi Onita vs. Mr. Pogo (Death Match) (FMW 5/6/91) * 3/4 Can't say I have too many thoughts on May as there was nearly a year gap between me watching most of it and the last few matches this week. All I can say is that from those last few bouts, the Liger/Honaga match caught me very well - a great, bloody brawl. Don't think I'll be able to finish June 91 in the next few days, so maybe I'll provide an update in 2016?

If it helps, I'm through to the end of May 1991 in Yearbook chronology, and I'd say March 1990 was the 'worst' (or least awesome) of all the months. I think everything from May really picked up (actually I think May had the most enjoyable run of angles of any part of the yearbooks so far), and October/November has a really tremendous string of matches. Whilst I don't think I've watched enough wrestling for me to vote on the GOAT thing, I think watching the Yearbooks really gives you an insight into how good a wrestler is - it shows how the functioned week to week, and surely their consistency counts for something?

April: Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (AJPW 4/20/91) **** ¾ Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Manami Toyota & Esther Moreno (AJW 4/29/91) **** ½ Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 4/18/91) **** ¼ Ric Flair vs. Brian Pillman (WCWSN 4/13/91) **** Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (AJPW 4/18/91) **** Akira Hokuto vs. Suzuka Minami (AJW 4/29/91) **** Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 4/6/91) **** Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (NJPW 4/30/91) **** Barry Windham vs. Brian Pillman (Pro 4/6/91) *** ¾ Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey vs. Steve Williams & Terry Gordy (AJPW 4/18/91) *** ¾ Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart (NJPW 4/28/91) *** ¾ Ric Flair & Barry Windham vs. Ricky Morton & Tommy Rich (WWW 4/6/91) *** ¾ Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 4/5/91) *** ¾ Jushin Liger vs. Negro Casas (NJPW 4/30/91) *** ½ Bret Hart vs. Ted DiBiase (SNME 4/27/91) *** ½ Kenta Kobashi vs. Dan Kroffat (AJPW 4/18/91) *** ½ Barry Windham vs. Brian Pillman *** ½ Pegasus Kid vs. Norio Honaga (NJPW 4/30/91) *** ¼ Jeff Jarrett vs. Tom Pritchard (USWA TX 4/12/91) *** ¼ Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW 4/30/91) *** Roddy Piper vs. Ted DiBiase (MSG 4/22/91) *** Hulk Hogan vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu (WWF/SWS 4/1/91) *** Jeff Jarrett vs. Tom Pritchard (Chain Match) (USWA Texas 4/19/91) *** Sgt. Slaughter vs. Ultimate Warrior (SNME 4/27/91) ** ¾ So I went on holiday for a week in the middle of watching April and just came back with no desire to watch wrestling. Not even burnt out, just not that interested. I mean, I could recognise that matches were great but I just wasn’t enjoying them as much as I was before. Whilst I’m sure I’ll get my passion back soon, I think I’m going to stop, or cut down for a little while at least, because there’s no point if I’m not enjoying myself fully. That said, April is probably the best in-ring month of the yearbooks yet. If you take out my personal love for Wargames, then the 4/20 tag is probably the MOTY so far and just an epic. Loads of other great stuff from All Japan, two great Joshi matches, some strong NJ Junior stuff and several excellent WCW matches. Liger, Jumbo, Pillman and Misawa have all been great this month, but like a lot of 1991, it’s been consistently great/excellent across the board.

March: Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior (Mania 3/24/91) **** Hulk Hogan & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Legion of Doom (WWF/SWS 3/30/91) **** Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (AJPW 3/23/91) **** Jushin Liger vs. Akira Nogami (NJPW/WCW 3/21/91) *** ¾ El Hijo Del Santo vs. Negro Casas (UWA 3/1/91) *** ¾ Eric Embry & Steve Austin vs. Bill Dundee & Gary Young (USWA TX 3/8/91) *** ¾ Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW/WCW 3/21/91) *** ¾ Ric Flair vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW/WCW 3/21/91) *** ½ Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (NJPW 3/14/91) *** ½ Jeff Jarrett vs. Tom Pritchard (USWA TX 3/1/91) *** ½ Tommy Rich vs. Arn Anderson (WCWSN 3/30/91) *** ½ Sting vs. Larry Zbyszko (Main Event 3/10/91) *** ½ Jeff Jarrett vs. Tom Pritchard (USWA TX 3/22/91) *** ½ Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter (Mania 3/24/91) *** ½ The Rockers vs. Haku & Barbarian (Mania 3/24/91) *** ¼ Marty Jannetty vs. Pat Tanaka (MSG 3/15/91) *** ¼ Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect (World Tour 3/11/91) *** ¼ Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee vs. Eric Embry & Gary Young (USWA TX 3/1/91) *** ¼ Naoki Sano vs. Masakatsu Funaki (SWS 3/30/91) *** ¼ Perro Aguayo, Villano I, Villano III & Villano IV vs. El Brazo, Brazo de Oro, Brazo de Plata & Super Brazo (Hamada's UWF 3/9/91) *** ¼ Sting vs. Great Muta (NJPW/WCW 3/21/91) *** ¼ Jeff Jarrett vs. Tom Pritchard (Tennessee Street Fight) (USWA TX 3/29/91) *** Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Cactus Jack (AJPW 3/26/91) *** Steve Austin vs. Gary Young (Coal Miner’s Glove Match) (USWA TX 3/15/91) *** Eric Embry vs. Bill Dundee (USWA TX 3/29/91) *** March was a month in which there were a large, large amount of matches I would definitely class as good/really good, but matches that were truly exceptional were a bit sparse. It probably wouldn’t have felt it at the time though, there were three supercards loaded with good matches. But sometimes with the yearbooks that doesn’t always translate. It was still enjoyable, especially with the consistently enjoyable matches, but in a way that was different to say January. Having been born two years after Wrestlemania 7 happened (nearly to the day), and not really been that gripped by the build-up, I thought I wouldn’t be as into Warrior/Savage as other people. Yet I’m glad to say that all changed when the match began. I thought it had a big fight feel to it, which always benefits matches, and superb drama. It got a little silly at times, but as a whole it was a fantastic spectacle. This was really Texas’ month to shine, with a string of really great matches. Although I wasn’t as into Jarrett/Pritchard as others (and I even watched it twice to see if I missed anything) there are still 7 matches at *** and above, which is impressive for any company. I think it’s nice that nearly every promotion in the world has given us some really great matches so far, and maybe it’s me, but I think the first few months of 1991 has been far better than this period in 1990.

I haven't actually. I've always wanted to watch 1992 but now I might just wait for the 92 yearbook. Watching this made me want to go and watch the Wargames DVD for some of the earlier ones. I think that as other people have said the match does have some flaws, but the good (obviously the first 5 minutes, but the intensity and brawling throughout) far outweighs the bad and hides the flaws unless you are looking for them. Also whilst he did botch the finish and messed a few spots, I thought Sid was pretty good in this. Throughout 1990, Pillman looked like a breakthrough star, and this was his magnus opus, demonstrating really what could have been.

February: War Games (Wrestle War 2/24/91) **** 3/4 Atsushi Onita vs. Tarzan Goto (FMW 2/26/91) **** Arn Anderson & Barry Windham vs. Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner (WCWSN 2/2/91) *** ¾ Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Steve Williams & Terry Gordy (AJPW 2/26/91) *** ½ Lex Luger vs. Dan Spivey *** ½ Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Steve Williams & Terry Gordy (AJPW 2/26/91) *** ½ Arn Anderson & Barry Windham vs. Ricky Morton & Tommy Rich (Pro 2/2/91) *** ½ Vader vs. Stan Hansen (Wrestle War 2/24/91) *** ¼ Jeff Jarrett vs. Eddie Gilbert (USWA TX 2/22/91) *** ¼ Megumi Kudo vs. Combat Toyoda (FMW 2/27/91) *** ¼ Arn Anderson vs. Bobby Eaton (Power Hour 2/2/91) *** ¼ Bill Dundee vs. Eric Embry (USWA TX 2/22/91) *** Los Brazos vs. Kato Kung Lee, Super Astro & Volador / El Santo Feature (CMLL 2/8/91) *** Jerry Lawler & Jeff Jarrett vs. Steve Austin & Rod Price (USWA TX 2/8/91) ** ¾ February wasn’t quite as hot as January, but there was still a lot to like. War Games is the first 5 star match I’ve given out so far on the Yearbooks. The 1992 games is very much my ‘I’ve never seen Star Wars’ match, but I watched this version a few years ago and thought it might be one of my favourite matches ever. It holds up perfectly as an incredible match with a bit of everything – blood, drama, athleticism. Just a superb match all round. I have to say Memphis has been consistently good so far in 1991. Not just a good angle or promo here and there, but thoroughly enjoyable and exciting week on week. It’s unfair to attribute that all to Eddie Gilbert, but he’s probably my standout character this year. As a history student who’s just done a lot of work on Vietnam, I’ve found the Hogan/Slaughter stuff to be...unsettling. Everyone plays their parts excellently, and I wouldn’t even use the word distasteful. Just unsettling.

Aaaand we're back. Don't know if I'll be moving again soon so won't be able to complete the year, but hoping to keep going for as long as possible on another stellar yearbook. Like some of the music so far as well! January 1991: El Hijo del Santo vs. Brazo de Oro (UWA 1/13/91) **** ½ Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (AJPW 1/15/91) **** ½ Akira Hokuto vs. Bull Nakano (AJW 1/4/91) **** ½ Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Masa Fuchi & Akira Taue (AJPW 1/27/91) **** ¼ The Rockers vs. Orient Express (Rumble 1/19/91) *** ¾ Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto (AJW 1/11/91) *** ¾ Jeff Jarrett vs. Eddie Gilbert (USWA TX 1/5/91) *** ¾ Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 1/2/91) *** ¾ Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Bull Nakano & Kyoko Inoue (Hair vs. Hair) (AJW 1/11/91) *** ½ Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Funk (USWA TX 1/5/91) *** ½ La Fiera vs. Jerry Estrada (Chain Match) (Monterrey 1991) *** ½ Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham & Sid Vicious vs. Sting, Brian Pillman, Rick & Scott Steiner (WCWSN 1/19/91) *** ½ Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW 1/19/91) *** ½ Ric Flair vs. Scott Steiner (Clash 1/30/91) *** ¼ Vader vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW 1/7/91) *** ¼ Brian Pillman vs. Rip Rogers (WCWSN 1/5/91) *** ¼ Eric Embry vs. Gary Young (USWA Texas 1/18/91) *** Kyoko Inoue vs. Mika Takahashi (AJW 1/5/91) ** ¾ Wow, really great start to the year match-wise. Felt like everyone picked up right where 1990 (or October and November, at least) left off, but also improved. I was all ready to be disappointed with the Brazo/Santo match like much of 1990’s Lucha, but it was a match that had a bit of everything and was really enjoyable. 3 promotions put forward MOTYC’s for me this month, and there was a lot of variety up and down the match list. Even if not great, nearly everything was entertaining, which helps to keep me glued for a few hours a day. Angle-wise, the US promotions all had interesting feuds simmering nicely, and I really enjoyed Cornette and the Fabs in Memphis. It strung everything together quite nicely, but this was definitely a match-centred month. But when the matches were this good, who am I to complain?

Thanks! I'd love to post more about various topics on here but I feel I watch so little wrestling these days that I can't really put forward an argument that would be worthy! To that extent, I watch so little that I often feel rewatching stuff isn't as good as taking in stuff new to me, so I would've liked to re-view a few matches but would probably rather move on to 1991. Looking back, I'd say the yearbook has taught me that my mood is a serious variant in how much I enjoy watching wrestling matches, a great match just isn't 'great' unless I'm in a mood to watch it properly. Which probably isn't a great means of rating favourite matches of the year. Overall, I'd say it reinforced my enjoyment of stuff I already enjoyed such as All Japan and Joshi, thoroughly improved my view of New Japan, was sort of hit and miss for a lot of the rest. Lucha was really hit and miss for me (I just didn't dig the El Dandy. I liked El Satanico more, but mainly the trios matches were my favourites). WCW was certainly a mixed bag but I enjoyed a lot. WWF struggled to hit the heights but had its points. I liked Memphis at points but I started to grate after awhile. Texas really surprised me, I went from not caring to loving it. That's not to say I'm ambivalent about the set, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, but its nice to make the distinctions between good and really outstanding.

December: Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada & Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue (AJPW 12/7/90) **** ¼ Barry Windham & Arn Anderson vs. Doom (Street Fight) (Starrcade 12/16/90) **** El Dandy vs. El Satanico (Hair vs. Hair) (EMLL 12/14/90) **** Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami (AJW 12/9/90) *** ¾ Luger vs. Stan Hansen (Bullrope Match) (Starrcade 12/16/90) *** ½ Jushin Liger vs. Negro Casas (NJPW 12/26/90) *** ½ Arn Anderson vs. Tom Zenk (WCWSN 12/29/90) *** ¼ Roddy Piper vs. Mr. Perfect (MSG 12/28/90) *** ¼ Rip Rogers vs. Brian Pillman (WCWSN 12/8/90) *** ¼ Nick Bockwinkel vs. Masa Saito (NJPW 12/26/90) *** ¼ Hansen & Dan Spivey vs. Steve Williams & Terry Gordy (AJPW 12/7/90) *** ¼ Terry Taylor vs. Rip Rogers (Pro 12/22/90) *** Thought December was a pretty flat month, but had its highlights, and was pretty short and easy to breeze through. Sadly I’m back at Uni now, but would’ve liked to rewatch some stuff and make a top matches list. Looking forward to moving on to 1991 or 1992 in the Summer.

November: Pirata Morgan vs. El Faraon (EMLL 11/16/90) **** ½ Aja Kong vs. Bull Nakano (Cage Match) (AJW 11/14/90) **** ½ Lightning Kid vs. Wellington Wilkins Jr. (PWA 11/90) **** ½ Aja Kong, Bison Kimura, Madusa Miceli, Tarantula & Xochilt Hamada vs. Manami Toyota, Mariko Yoshida, Kaoru Maeda, Mika Takahashi & Esther Moreno (Hamada's UWF 11/17/90) **** ¼ Keiji Muto & Masa Chono vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW 11/1/90) **** ¼ Jerry Lawler vs. Eddie Gilbert (WWA 11/9/90) *** ¾ Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (NJPW 11/1/90) *** ¾ Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami vs. Manami Toyota & Kyoko Inoue (2/3 Falls) (AJW 11/14/90) *** ¾ Los Brazos vs. Gran Hamada, Yoshinari Asai & Kendo (Hamada's UWF 11/12/90) *** ½ Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 11/1/90) *** ½ El Dandy, Ringo Mendoza & Sangre Chicana vs. El Satanico, MS-1 & Ken Timb (EMLL 11/16/90) *** ½ Ultimate Warrior vs. Ted DiBiase (The Main Event 11/23/90) *** ¼ Arn Anderson vs. Terry Taylor (Pro 11/10/90) *** ¼ Brian Pillman vs. Rip Rogers (WCWSN 11/10/90) *** Terry Taylor vs. Rip Rogers (WCWSN 11/24/90) *** Undertaker, Ted DiBiase, Honky Tonk Man & Greg Valentine vs. Hart Foundation, Dusty Rhodes & Koko B. Ware (Series 11/22/90) *** Ric Flair vs. Buddy Landell (Power Hour 11/23/90) *** Atsushi Onita vs. Mr. Pogo (FMW 11/5/90) *** Arn Anderson vs. Terry Taylor (Pro 11/24/90) ** ¾ Arn Anderson vs. Terry Taylor (Pro 11/17/90) ** ¾ Sting vs. Bobby Eaton (WCWSN 11/10/90) ** ¾ November was absolutely LOADED with great matches. Not so much in the way of great angles or interviews, but the quality of wrestling worldwide more than made up for it. I really loved the Pirata Morgan/El Faroan match, it struck a chord where a lot of lucha has not this year. Where the Joshi cage match maybe lacked in some areas, it was shockingly brutal and I could not tear my eyes away from it, which for a person with such a short attention span is a big achievement. Lightening/Wilkins is definitely the most unique match I’ve seen this year, and my personal favourite of Waltman’s. Most months have been lucky to get one serious MOTYC, this had 3, plus a slew of other top level matches. These improvements seem to have lit up crowds, and is much appreciated from my perspective!

Breezed through October during some short stays at home. Thought it was one of the most consistent months for wrestling action with an array of great, or at least fun, matches, but lacked in the angles department (aside from Jarrett/Gilbert and the SNME with Dustin Rhodes). That AJPW MAY have been better than the August one, but I’d need to watch both again to compare. Wasn’t huge on the USWA title tournament, but loved all of Halloween Havoc. I haven’t taken to Shoot-style very well, but I enjoyed the two matches in October more than the others this year. Was very disappointed with the Dandy/Satanico match, but it may be my 4 months away from Lucha, just another one for the rewatch pile I guess. October: Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (AJPW 10/19/90) **** ½ Lightning Kid vs. Jerry Lynn (No DQ) (PWA 10/90) **** ¼ Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Nasty Boys (Havoc 10/27/90) **** ¼ Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWF 10/25/90) **** Akira Maeda vs. Masakatsu Funaki (UWF 10/25/90) **** Genichiro Tenryu vs. George Takano (SWS 10/11/90) **** Midnight Express vs. Ricky Morton & Tommy Rich (Havoc 10/27/90) *** ¾ Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Doom (Havoc 10/27/90) *** ¾ Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Midnight Express (WCWSN 10/13/90) *** ¾ El Dandy vs. El Satanico (EMLL 10/26/90) *** ½ The Rockers vs. Hart Foundation (Ft. Wayne 10/30/90) *** ¼ Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (JIP) (AJPW 10/7/90) *** ¼ Jeff Jarrett & Bob Orton vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Kabuki (SWS 10/10/90) *** Terry Funk vs. Jerry Lawler (USWA Title Tournament 10/8/90) *** Legion of Doom & Ultimate Warrior vs. Demolition & Crush (SNME 10/13/90) ** ¾ Jeff Jarrett vs. Eddie Gilbert (USWA Title Tournament 10/8/90) ** ¾ Terry Funk vs. Brickhouse Brown (USWA Title Tournament 10/8/90) ** ½ P.S: clearly my old lists have been ruined, but realistically, they weren't that great anyway!

This will be my last rankings for a few months due to me returning to university. I’ll try to do more at Christmas, but it probably came at the right time because I’m feeling a little burned out at the moment. All-Japan obviously had a fantastic (no pun intended) month, and I loved all of it. Interestingly, WCW had a bit of a mini-revival with lots of really good matches. I finished watching September about a week ago, and so have sadly forgotten most angles and promos, but Eddie Gilbert running over Lawler may have been my favourite angle so far this year. If you’re wondering, I couldn’t pick between about 5 AJPW guys for MVP, so I went with the other standout performer of the month, Bobby Eaton. I hadn’t seen a great deal of him before the yearbook, but I’m now convinced he’s an all time great. See you at Christmas! I’ve LOVED watching the yearbook over the summer! September: 1. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue (AJPW 9/30/90) **** ½ 2. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 9/1/90) **** ½ 3. The Fantastics vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (AJPW 9/7/90) **** 4. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (JIP) (AJPW 9/29/90) **** 5. Great Muta vs. Hiroshi Hase (NJPW 9/14/90) **** 6. Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (Clash 9/5/90) *** ¾ 7. Rayo de Jalisco vs. Cien Caras (Mask vs. Mask) (EMLL 9/21/90) *** ¾ 8. Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Isao Takagi (SWS 9/9/90) *** ¾ 9. Fantastics vs. Joe Malenko & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (AJPW 9/1/90) *** ¾ 10. El Hijo del Santo, Eddy Guerrero & Satanico vs. Los Brazos (EMLL 9/14/90) *** ¾ 11. Scott Steiner vs. Bobby Eaton (Power Hour 9/21/90) *** ¾ 12. Bobby Eaton vs. Ricky Morton (WCWSN 9/29/90) *** ½ 13. Bobby Eaton vs. Tracy Smothers (Power Hour 9/28/90) *** ½ 14. Rip Rogers vs. Big Stephen Pettipas (Maritimes 9/22/90) *** ¼ 15. Arn Anderson vs. Scott Steiner (Main Event 9/23/90) *** ¼ 16. Vader vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 9/14/90) *** ¼ 17. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (Pro 9/22/90) *** ¼ 18. El Hijo del Santo, Ringo Mendoza & Lizmark vs. Konnan, Perro Aguayo & Ken Timbs (EMLL 9/21/90) *** ¼ 19. Aja Kong vs. Bull Nakano (Cage Match) (AJW 9/1/90) *** ¼ 20. Ric Flair vs. Scott Steiner *** 21. Perro Aguayo, Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 vs. Konnan, Ringo Mendoza & Rayo de Jalisco (EMLL 9/14/90) ** ½

August: 1. Bull Nakano & Grizzly Iwamoto vs. Aja Kong & Bison Kimura (AJW 8/19/90) **** ¾ 2. Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (AJPW 8/18/90) **** ¾ 3. Fit Finlay & Marty Jones vs. Mile Zrno & Franz Schumann (Vienna 8/3/90) **** 4. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 8/31/90) *** ¾ 5. Atlantis, Angel Azteca & Javier Cruz vs. El Dandy, Emilio Charles Jr & Satanico (EMLL 8/24/90) *** ¾ 6. Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (NJPW 8/19/90) *** ½ 7. Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto (AJW 8/19/90) *** ½ 8. Steve Austin vs. Chris Adams (USWA TX 8/3/90) *** ½ 9. Hart Foundation vs. Demolition (2/3 Falls) (SSLAM 8/27/90) *** ½ 10. Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee vs. Gary Young & John Tatum (USWA TX 8/31/90) *** ¼ 11. Larry Zbyszko vs. Harley Race (AWA 8/27/90) *** ¼ 12. Vader vs. Riki Choshu (NJPW 8/19/90) *** ¼ 13. Jerry Lawler & Jeff Jarrett vs. Sweet Daddy Falcone & Gary Young (USWA TX 8/3/90) *** ¼ 14. Bill Dundee & Steven Dane vs. Rock & Roll RPMs (USWA TX 8/31/90) *** ¼ 15. Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior (Cage Match) (SSLAM 8/27/90) *** 16. Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake (SSLAM 8/27/90) *** 17. Owen Hart vs. Dave Finlay (Vienna 8/26/90) *** 18. Steve Austin & Jeannie Clark vs. Chris & Toni Adams (Cage Match) (USWA TX 8/31/90) *** 19. Rockers vs. Power & Glory (SSLAM 8/27/90) ** ¾ 20. Midnight Express vs. Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (WCWSN 8/18/90) ** ¾ 21. Atsushi Onita vs. Tarzan Goto (No Rope Barbed Wire Electric Current Explosion Death Match) (FMW 8/4/90) ** ¾ 22. Eddie Gilbert vs. Cowabunga (USWA 8/25/90) ** ½ 23. Lex Luger vs. Arn Anderson (Main Event 8/19/90) ** ½ 24. Steve Austin & Percy Pringle vs. Chris Adams & Chris Von Erich (USWA TX 8/17/90) ** ¼ 25. The Pearl vs. Joe Cazana (WCWSN 8/4/90) * ¾ Match of the Month: Bull Nakano & Grizzly Iwamoto vs. Aja Kong & Bison Kimura (AJW 8/19/90) **** ¾ : You know in June when I said about wanting certain things out of certain matches? Well this had everything I could possibly want. Blood, hatred, weapons, an insanely high level of violence, all somehow weaved into a compelling story. The only thing that took this down from being perfect was the last few minutes was a step below and the finish was not great, although I can understand why they did it and I’m fine with that. But seriously, how violent was this match? I’m not sure wrestling will ever be the same again for me. It just so happened that my no.1 and 2 matches so far this year happened a day apart. Promo of the month: Dusty Rhodes (Summerslam). Dusty is the best poet in wrestling history. A lot of hate for Sapphire on here, but screw it, I really enjoyed them together and was disappointed they were split up. Still, Dusty is so damn great and fiery. Even though I was wearing my Bob Dylan t-shirt at the time, I still missed the reference until Loss brought it up, so I’m an idiot, but Dusty can just manipulate my emotions as a wrestling fan so easily. Angle of the Month: Chris Adams vs. Ed Robinson (USWA TX 8/25/90): This started off really goofy with Pringle in a dress, but then gets really sinister with him choking Von Erich with a coat hanger and general chaos, locking people in cages etc. Just great stuff. MVP of August: Going to say Jumbo Tsurta for his two stellar matches this month, and generally being kick-ass in both of them, although Chris Adams has a strong shout for holding his feud together so well. Other thoughts: Well the 8/18 AJ 6-man was incredible. Whilst they’ve obviously had some great matches so far, this felt to me like the first everything really all clicked together within their respective roles, and told one of the best stories I’ve ever seen. So many side-stories also being told, with Kikuchi vs. Fuchi, Kawada trying to prove himself, Misawa and Taue going at it, and Kikuchi taking a tremendous beating, as well as the Misawa and Jumbo interactions being really intense and awesome. I decided the Joshi tag was my MOTM because it was so unique, but it was by no means an easy choice, and this really is fantastic. The Austin/Adams feud continues to be a great story, with interesting developments each week. I loved the come as you are match, and the cage match felt like a nice way to end it before it outstays its welcome. Summerslam was a lot of fun, all the matches had something interesting and enjoyable about them, although perhaps not always being ‘classics’. Perhaps not the most ‘consistent’ month, as I thought some stuff was just ‘alright’ or good rather than great, but we got a lot of high-end stuff that I loved. 2/3 of the way through the yearbook, I’ve realised the beauty of this concept is how many matches it has exposed me to that I wouldn’t have bothered watching otherwise. I would never have bothered watching any of my top 5 matches for August, usually sticking to what I know I like or the ‘safe’ classics, when really there’s a lot out there to see! Great job guys, thanks a lot!

July: 1. Midnight Express vs. Southern Boys (GAB 7/7/90) **** ½ 2. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW 7/7/90) **** 3. Manami Toyota vs. Bull Nakano (AJW 7/21/90) *** ¾ 4. Mr. Perfect vs. Tito Santana (SNME 7/28/90) *** ¾ 5. Steve Austin & Jeannie Clark vs. Chris & Toni Adams (USWA TX 7/20/90) *** ½ 6. Ric Flair vs. Sting (GAB 7/7/90) *** ½ 7. Doom vs. Rock & Roll Express (GAB 7/7/90) *** ¼ 8. Harley Race vs. Tommy Rich (GAB 7/7/90) *** ¼ 9. Demolition vs. Rockers (SNME 7/28/90) *** ¼ 10. Stan Hansen vs. Tommy Rich (WCWSN 7/14/90) *** ¼ 11. Jeff Jarrett & Billy Travis vs. Sweet Daddy Falcone & Chico Torres (USWA TX 7/4/90) *** ¼ 12. Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior (SNME 7/28/90) *** ¼ 13. Tommy Rogers vs. Jimmy Backlund (IWA 7/28/90) *** 14. Steve Austin & Jeannie Clark vs. Chris & Toni Adams (USWA TX 7/4/90) *** 15. John Tatum vs. Bill Dundee (USWA TX 7/4/90) *** 16. Jeff Jarrett vs. Iceman Parsons (USWA TX 7/13/90) *** 17. Dean Malenko vs. Ricky Rice (IWA 7/28/90) ** ½ 18. Zeus vs. Abdullah the Butcher (WWC 7/7/90). Awful...why did they think going this long was a good idea? Great monkey flip though. Match of the Month: Midnight Express vs. Southern Boys (GAB 7/7/90) **** ½ : Even though I love southern tags, not all of the matches so far this year have been sure-fire hits to me. But this felt a lot like the best Mid-South tags, who I felt did the style best. The pace was much different to other tags so far this year, and everything had time to sink in and seem important. If this had a slightly better finishing stretch, this may have pushed it over the edge into one of my favourite matches ever, but as it was, I thought it was really good and maybe my MOTY so far. Promo of the Month: Eddie Gilbert Interview (USWA 7/14/90) I think this is the one I’m thinking of, but really I could’ve chosen any of his promos. He beats up a fan trying to take a picture and demands his money from Dundee and Lawler, ranting and raving and generally being awesome. I’d like to add he’s gotten more heat during only his second promo in 1990 than Lawler had throughout his entire heel run. Angle of the month: Steve Austin & Jeannie Clark vs. Chris & Toni Adams (USWA TX 7/20/90) The feud that just keeps on giving, aside from a great match, they somehow manage to involve characters from some of the other big feuds in Texas into the story of the match. Pringle is great and a really chaotic ending that generally sums up why TX has been so good since May. MVP of July: Eddie Gilbert. Breathed fresh life into Memphis, is entertaining in everything he does, and even the highlights of those matches with Lawler/Dundee have been great. Never seen too much of him before other than his ECW feud with Terry Funk. He was great in that as an obnoxious prick, and he’s just as good here. Other thoughts: This was a short month, I blasted through it pretty quickly. Not too much to say other than most things were good, or at least entertaining. GAB had a few good matches, but not as good as Capital Combat. I love how Texas has gone from being a promotion I really couldn’t care less about at the beginning of the year, and in 3 months has become my favourite wrestling of all. I’m really enjoying the Lawler/Dundee vs. Seemingly the rest of the roster rivalry at the moment in Memphis. The build for Summerslam seems much more interesting the Wrestlemania, and the SNME this month was much better than I expected. With a quiet month in Japan and Mexico (although I liked the AJPW matches), this is probably the first month that US wrestling was definitively better than anywhere else in the world.

June: Riki Choshu, Kantaro Hoshino, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Kensuke Sasaki & Shiro Koshinaka vs Animal Hamaguchi, Super Strong Machine, Tarzan Goto & Hiro Saitu & Masanobu Kurisu (NJPW 06/26/90) **** ½ El Dandy vs. Angel Azteca (EMLL 6/1/90) **** ½ Manami Toyota vs. Yumiko Hotta (AJW Grand Prix 6/17/90) **** ¼ Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 6/8/90) **** ¼ Aja Kong, Grizzly Iwamoto & Bison Kimura vs. Honey Wings & Manami Toyota (Hamada's UWF 6/4/90) **** Vader vs. Stan Hansen (NJPW 6/12/90) **** Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 06/30/90) **** Lightning Kid vs Jerry Lynn (PWA 06/90) *** ¾ Stan Hansen vs Steve Williams (AJPW 06/05/90) *** ¾ Espectrito & Piratita Morgan vs. Mascarita Sagrada & Aguilita Solitaria (EMLL 6/22/90) *** ¾ Bull Power vs Otto Wanz (CWA 06/30/90) *** ¾ El Satanico & El Dandy vs. Angel Azteca & Atlantis (EMLL 6/15/90) *** ½ Dave Finlay vs Steve Wright (CWA 06/30/90) *** ½ Gran Hamada, Perro Aguayo & Kendo vs El Signo, El Texano & Negro Navarro (Hamada's UWF 06/07/90) *** ½ Akira Maeda vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWF 6/21/90) *** ½ Riki Choshu vs. Animal Hamaguchi (NJ 6/12/90) *** ½ Negro Casas, Blue Panther & Fuerza Guerrera vs. Super Astro, El Hijo del Santo & Kendo (Hamada's UWF 6/4/90) *** ½ Jushin Liger vs. Aoyagi (NJPW 6/12/90) *** ½ Gran Hamada vs. Perro Aguayo (Hamada's UWF 6/1/90) *** ¼ Negro Casas vs Yoshinari Asai (Hamada's UWF 06/07/90) *** ¼ Midnight Express vs. Rock & Roll Express (Clash 6/13/90) *** Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (WWA 6/23/90) *** Perro Aguayo, Ringo Mendoza & Lizmark vs El Satanico, Sangre Chicana & Ken Timbs (EMLL 06/08/90) *** El Hijo del Santo vs Fuerza Guerrera (Hamada's UWF 06/07/90) *** Jumbo Tsuruta vs Terry Gordy (AJPW 06/05/90) *** Owen Hart vs Keiji Muto (NJPW 06/30/90) *** Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto (AJW Grand Prix 6/17/90) ** ¾ Barry Windham & Arn Anderson vs. Road Warriors (WCWSN 6/2/90) ** ¾ Kerry Von Erich vs. Matt Borne (Cage Match) (USWA TX 6/1/90) ** ¾ Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee (USWA TX 6/1/90) ** ¾ Ric Flair vs. Junkyard Dog ** ½ Steve Austin vs. Chris Adams (USWA TX 6/8/90) ** ½ Match of the Month: Riki Choshu, Kantaro Hoshino, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Kensuke Sasaki & Shiro Koshinaka vs Animal Hamaguchi, Super Strong Machine, Tarzan Goto & Hiro Saitu & Masanobu Kurisu (NJPW 06/26/90) **** ½ : I’ll talk about Dandy/Azteca in a bit, but that may have probably been a better match, but I found this to be possibly the most entertaining match on the yearbook so far. They cut an incredible pace, Saito was amazing with his bumps, Kurisu was awesome, actually everyone was awesome. Massive heat from the crowd as well. There was so much going on here, it was fun but also had a serious side as well. Really made me want to watch the highly pimped 80s 10 mans now as well. I just thoroughly enjoyed watching it, and so gave it MOTM. Promo of the month: ANYTHING with Percy Pringle. He’s easily been the best promo man, so entertaining yet so easily loathable. His comment about putting another Von Erich in the ground was incredibly harsh, but in nearly every promo he’s been intense and really good at getting the feud over. Angle of the Month: John Tatum’s nervous breakdown: USWA Texas has really been the highlight of the month in terms of angles, and this was definitely the most interesting. Tatum’s unbelievably overacted ‘changed man’ schtick is beautiful to watch, and the whole concept actually seems quite three-dimensional for such a traditional promotion. Him throwing a jobber into the crowd was obviously another brilliant highlight. I really want to see where they go with this. MVP of June: Lots of people put out lots of stellar performances for the month of June. Dandy, Hansen, Toyota, Perro Aguayo and Choshu all had numerous great matches. All the big 3 feuds in Texas gave people lots of chances to shine. I think I’m going to say Stan Hansen – not only did he have 3 entertaining/great matches, he was also the focal point of all 3. Other thoughts: Well, if May was all about the awesome angles and promos, June was certainly about the matches. Almost too many great matches to appreciate them, but I thought I’d talk about a few: I can see why people really, really love Dandy/Azteca, but ultimately, everyone wants something different out of their wrestling. I think for this mat-heavy style I liked it as much as I possibly could – I was very surprised that it kept my attention all the way through and they had some beautiful exchanges, but it lacked certain elements that would keep it off my GOAT list. It was those same elements that made me not a huge fan of Casas/Asai. Man, was the Jumbo/Misawa match disappointing. I first watched it for the first time when I was 12 and thought it was one of my favourite matches ever. Just didn’t have the same emotional appeal, but I think I’ll rewatch it at the end and see what I think. New Japan had a really fun show on 6/12 – all 3 matches shown had serious blood and hatred. Actually, having never really watched much New Japan before the 2000s, I’ve never been a big fan, but they’ve been excellent so far this year, loads of heated exciting matches. Felt that most of the angles fell off a cliff in June, Lawler/Snowman has settled down and just feels like another Memphis angle so far, and NWA has grown stale. That said, Texas has really grown on me and all their main angles are firing hot and I’ve really enjoyed everything they did in June. Halfway through the year, I’m very surprised/impressed that Flair/Luger is still my MOTY. There have been so many good performances in the last few months I now have no idea who my WOTY is. Maybe still Flair, but Dandy and Satanico are creeping up on him.

May: Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Masa Fuchi (AJPW 5/26/90) **** ½ Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami vs. Yumiko Hotta & Mitsuko Nishiwaki (2/3 Falls) (AJW 5/13/90) **** Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (Cage Match) (Capital Combat 5/19/90) **** El Satanico, El Dandy & Emilio Charles Jr vs. Atlantis, Javier Cruz & Angel Azteca (EMLL 5/11/90) **** Midnight Express vs. Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (Capital Combat 5/19/90) **** MS-1, Emilio Charles Jr & Ulises vs. Atlantis, El Dandy & El Satanico (EMLL 5/4/90) *** ¾ Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Doom (Capital Combat 5/19/90) *** ¾ Riki Choshu vs. Keiji Muto (NJPW 5/24/90) *** ¾ Atlantis, Angel Azteca & Javier Cruz vs. El Dandy, El Satanico & Emilio Charles Jr (EMLL 5/18/90) *** ½ Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (WWW 5/5/90) *** ½ Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 5/28/90) *** ¼ Steve Austin vs. Chris Adams (Barbed Wire Match) (USWA TX 5/25/90) ** ¾ Kerry Von Erich vs. Matt Borne (USWA TX 5/25/90) ** ¾ Steve Austin vs. Chris Adams (5/12/90) ** ¾ Tiger Mask & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Ricky Fuyuki (AJPW 5/14/90) ** ¾ Jeff Jarrett & Billy Travis vs. Dirty White Boy & John Tatum (USWA TX 5/11/90) ** ½ Bill Dundee vs. John Tatum (USWA TX 5/4/90) ** ½ Match of the Month: Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Masa Fuchi (AJPW 5/26/90) **** ½ : I thought this actually got off to a pretty lame start, but after the beginning of the Kobashi legwork, this just built and built until it was awesome. Even though the focus is obviously on Misawa and its his first big moment, I thought Kobashi and Taue looked just a good, better in some parts. The other three just look like total badasses. Real great match, no.2 for the year so far, but it pushes Flair/Luger for first. Great, great match. Promo of the month: Four Horsemen Interview (WCWSN 5/5/90) There were so many great promos this month. Especially loved Dusty Rhodes and Jimmy Valiant delivering emotional, fiery speeches, but the horseman were on fire all month, and this one, after Windham returns, was the best of the bunch. Call me dumb, but until the yearbook, I had no idea that AA was one of the best promos in the business. Angle of the month: The Snowman...all of it. No contest, but I’ll talk about other angles in a bit. This felt so fresh and original. When the other companies were simply doing cartoony stuff, or ‘I’ll beat you up’ rivalries, the USWA saw its popularity dipping and decided to go in a different direction, blurring the lines of reality and storyline, and creating a really interesting rivalry as well as fascinating tv. The first rivalry where I now want to go and watch the match because of the angle. MVP of May: Who was booking USWA-TX? Or Memphis? Was it the same person? Either way, probably them. They’re putting out pure gold at the moment. Other thoughts: Even though this was probably the highest quality of matches of any month so far, this was all about the angles. Luger/Horseman? Slam Dunk. Von Erich/Borne? Home run. Dundee/Tatum? Great (Tessa wins hottest lady of wrestling in 1990. This feud can carry on all it wants if she’s involved). Misawa unmasking and feuding with Jumbo felt really important. I even enjoyed the Hogan/Earthquake attack. On any other month, these all could have won ‘angle of the month’. It made the yearbooks so much easier to get though but making me intrigued and excited for every segment. But as I said, matches were also superb and consistent all the way through. Capital Combat was a great show. I’ll have to go back to rewatch the Wrestlewar match because right now, MX/Pillman Zenk beats the RnR match. And even though the ending sucked, I couldn’t in good conscience not call Flair/Luger the best match of the show because I enjoyed the main part of it just as much as the Wrestlewar match. In all the excitement of April, there was no Lucha, so I kind of forgot about it, but I think after 3 great trios this month as well as their March efforts, Dandy and Satanico are up there with the best wrestlers of the year, and I really liked Emilio Charles. LOVED the Joshi effort this month. Actually, wrestling in May 1990 generally felt like it had more energy and purpose. I try not to be TOO negative in these reviews anyway, but it’s so much easier to be positive about May than any other month because I’ve spent much less time yawning, rolling my eyes or sighing. This is the first month I can say for certain that I got what I wanted and expected when I got the Yearbooks – good/great/awesome matches strung together by riveting angles. Good job guys. Busy at the moment so June will take a little while probably, but there should be lots to enjoy there as well! I’ve been really busy as of late, including going away for a few days, so June’s taken a long time to go through, which was a shame because I had hoped to watch it as one block over a fortnight, and it’s sort of interrupted the flow of the month, but there’s still lots to discuss:

April: Lightning Kid vs Jerry Lynn (PWA 04/90) **** ¼ Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs Masanobu Kurisu & Dragon Master (FMW 04/01/90) **** ¼ Randy Savage vs. Genichiro Tenryu (WWF/AJPW 4/13/90) *** ¾ Nobuhiko Takada vs. Yoji Anjo (UWF 4/15/90) *** ¾ Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF 4/15/90) *** ¾ Hulk Hogan vs. Stan Hansen (WWF/AJPW 4/13/90) *** ¾ Ryuma Go vs. Masaji Aoyagi (Pioneer 4/5/90) *** ¾ Midnight Express vs. Rock & Roll Express (Main Event 4/22/90) *** ½ Midnight Express vs. Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (Power Hour 4/20/90) *** ½ Hart Foundation vs Rockers (WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 04/28/90) *** ½ Akira Maeda vs. Tatsuo Nakano (UWF 4/15/90) *** ½ Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 4/19/90) *** ½ Shawn Michaels vs. Ted Dibiase (WWF 4/24/90) *** ¼ Rock & Roll Express vs. Freebirds (2/3 Falls) (WCWSN 4/14/90) *** Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior (WWF Wrestlemania VI 04/01/90) *** Hulk Hogan vs. Mr. Perfect (SNME 4/28/90) ** ¾ Mr. Perfect vs. Tito Santana (WWF 4/23/90) ** ¾ Jerry Lawler vs. Jeff Jarrett (USWA TX 4/20/90) ** ¾ Ultimate Warrior vs. Ted DiBiase (WWF/AJPW 4/13/90) ** ½ Match of the Month: Lightning Kid vs Jerry Lynn (PWA 04/90) ****1/4: This really could be a toss-up between this and the FMW match, I really loved both of them. But it was only at the end of this match that I realised that I had just watched a really well thought out match where everything feels like it matters and is impactful. Not just a bunch of spots strung together, but combining a hate-filled brawl with lots of perfectly-executed, impactful moves that were fairly unique to the US at the time. The ending is super as well, as after destroying each other, it only takes one smart counter-move to finish Kid off. Great stuff, but only a touch above the FMW tag, which was just a fantastic brawl, one of the best 10 minute matches you’ll ever see. Promo of the month: Jake Roberts Interview (WM 6): This is intense, believable, just really fluent and mesmerising. Probably the best promo on the yearbook so far. This should have been done before the actual event, I would’ve had a match to be excited for. Angle of the Month: Jerry Lawler + Ben Jordan / Jerry Lawler vs. New York Mauler (USWA 4/28/90) Jimmy Valiant Interview (USWA 4/28/90) Jimmy Valiant + Jerry Lawler + Ben Jordan/Jerry Lawler vs. Ben Jordan (USWA 4/28/90): All of this stuff is just a lot of good, simple fun. I didn’t think much of the match but the overtime was pretty good, and the promos surrounding it were all great. I’ve been somewhat disappointed by a lot of Jerry Lawler so far, I feel he’s been a suffocating presence without delivering too much great stuff, but this is probably the best he’s performed. MVP of April: Having complained a bit about Lawler, this was definitely his best month so far, so it should probably go to him. His promos are far less...douchey? and far more convincing. Its also worth shouting out the Midnight Express, as they are probably the most consistent wrestlers in the world right now, and had another 2 great matches. Other thoughts: Definitely felt that things really picked up in April! Those first 2-3 weeks especially felt like the first really hot run where all the matches were either great, or provided something interesting to watch. The FMW match was simply incredible, the Pioneer match really surprised me, and without the language barrier it could be a classic angle as well. I think the big thing that sticks out to me this month was fun. A lot of the matches weren’t technically great, but very, very fun. That Savage/Tenryu match was such a unique match, made all the better by Sherri having one of the best performances on the yearbook so far. The Hogan/Hansen match was a real slugfest, and was on its way to being even better, but I felt it had an abrupt finish. This also goes for a lot of the promos and angles as well – the Dusty Rhodes/Savage angle was really good, Billy Jack Haynes stuff was interesting, things like Robocop and Rhythm and Blues are really goofy, but in an entertaining way. And PRAISE THE LORD for the end of Hogan/Warrior and their weird promos, WWF seems a lot fresher ever since. Shoot-style has delivered a bit better in April. I thought the Takada/Anjoh match was the best so far, and all of them had interesting/entertaining elements about them. A third of the way through the year, there are some definite themes occurring. WCW is clearly putting on the best wrestling so far, but has some hindrances in its booking that stop it from being completely great. USWA is probably putting out the most ‘fun’ wrestling, with great promos, angles, and real simplistic wrestling matches. WWF is blowing hot and cold, with me really enjoying some bits but not others. AJPW has been providing some good matches, but it feels they’re a bit lost, waiting for something to happen rather than making it happen. We’ve barely seen anything from NJPW. Lucha has had some great matches, but I don’t know enough about the context to comment on the booking. Elsewhere there is lots of great stuff, and it often feels like a battle between those trying to keep it ‘old school’ (ICW/AWA) and those trying to do something new (PWA/FMW/Hamada’s UWF). After a few weeks reflection, Flair/Luger is still far out as my MOTY, with Liger/Sano, Estrada/Satanico and the two April matches I just discussed comfortably in my top 5. Flair, MX, RnR and Tenryu are currently my favourite workers. If I had to pick out some breakout stars who would go on to the greatest success in the 90s, it wouldn’t be Austin, Cactus and Misawa, but Jeff Jarrett, Brian Pillman, Billy Joe Travis and Yoshihiro Asai. Those four have had the most potential. In summary: Lots of good matches, a few great ones, some interesting angles and a generally high standard for promos. Things are simmering, ready to really ignite!

March: Jerry Estrada vs El Satanico (EMLL 03/23/90) **** El Dandy vs Angel Azteca (EMLL 03/23/90) *** ½ Tiger Mask vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 3/6/90) *** ½ Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton (WWW 3/24/90) *** ½ Atlantis, Villano III & El Satanico vs. Pirata Morgan, Jerry Estrada & Emilio Charles Jr (EMLL 3/16/90) *** ½ Eddie Gilbert vs Cactus Jack (NWA Power Hour 03/23/90) *** ¼ Midnight Express vs. Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (WCWSN 3/10/90) *** ¼ Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee vs. Robert Fuller & Brian Lee (USWA TX 3/30/90) Perro Aguayo vs. Gran Hamada (H-UWF 3/2/90) *** Negro Casas vs. Yoshihiro Asai (H-UWF 3/2/90) *** Bret Hart vs Rick Martel (WWF MSG 03/19/90) *** Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee vs. Billy Travis & Terrence Garvin (USWA TX 3/9/90) *** Angel Azteca, El Dandy & El Texano vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Pierroth Jr & Jerry Estrada (EMLL3/2/90) ** ¾ DC Drake vs Larry Winters (TWA Spring Spectacular 03/31/90) ** ¾ Steve Austin vs Chris Adams (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 03/23/90) ** ¾ Billy Travis vs. Jimmy Valiant (USWA TX 3/30/90) ** ¾ Tully Blanchard & Destruction Crew vs The Trooper, DJ Peterson & Paul Diamond (AWA 03/18/90) ** ¾ Ultimate Warrior vs Mr. Perfect (WWF MSG 03/19/90) ** ½ Jerry Lawler vs. Jimmy Valiant (USWA TX 3/2/90) ** ½ Jerry Lawler vs Kerry Von Erich (TWA Spring Spectacular 03/31/90) ** ¼ Tony Atlas vs. Atsushi Onita (ICW 3/17/90) ** ¼ Steve Austin vs. Chris Adams (USWA TX 3/9/90) ** ¼ Hulk Hogan vs. Dino Bravo (Superstars 3/10/90) ** Match of the Month: Jerry Estrada vs El Satanico (EMLL 03/23/90) **** : I really liked how this developed from a really intense brawl into a match where both men had expended all their energy and had to pull out the big guns. Satanico brought the great headbutts, Estrada brought the crazy bumping and selling. I wouldn’t call it a real classic, but it was still excellent, and like Liger/Sano, had that feeling that it was a real ‘war’ that I really like in big matches. I also like how I’ve picked a MOTM from US, Mexico and Japan, showing that even if they weren’t always firing out great shows, they all had excellent matches to offer. Promo/Angle of the month: MX and Cornette attacks Pillman (WCWSN 3/10/90). This was a bit difficult as nothing really stood out in March, but this was a real solid beatdown, sold well by JR and got big heat from the fans. I agree that Flair is still carrying on his prime well into 1990, but it should also be said that Cornette looks as good as he ever has in the last few months. I also really liked the Percy Pringle/Embry/Devestation Inc. Segment. MVP of March: Jerry Estrada: Not a lot of consistency from anyone else during this month, but Estrada lit up all the 3 matches he was in, especially the hair match. Bumping, selling, flying, brawling: all performed very well. Obviously there’s the language barrier, but he appears to be far more charismatic than the rest of the luchadores so far. Other thoughts: The downside of March was that it has been the weakest for matches so far, and the angles and promos erred towards the bizarre (Furniture/Piper/Warrior/ICW) rather than necessarily good. But on the upside, we got a lot more variety in March, seeing more promotions, and a wider array of wrestlers in those promotions. Regardless of what I thought about this month, I still got through it in a week, enjoyed a lot of things, laughed at others, and am super-excited to move into April. Also, as a man who has spent a lot of time in the last 6 months getting into A Tribe Called Quest and older hip-hop in general, shout out to the music of disc 6! Lucha has really begun to pick up, with all 3 matches offering something different and interesting. They appear very advanced in terms of offense than anywhere else in the world, with styles that we would see filter into US and Japanese wrestling during the 90s, firstly in the independents, then through the undercards, until, around the mid-00s, into the top levels of major promotions with guys like Misterio, Tanahashi, Punk etc. The final fall of the Azteca/Dandy match was one of the best bits of the yearbook so far, let down by a lifeless first two. Talking of looking into the future, I watched the ’92 Joshi tag you included by accident. It was awesome, hypothetical #1/2 for the month, and made me itching for some great Joshi to come along! I was a lot bigger fan of the Kobashi/Tiger Mask match than most others, and I thought Kobashi looked really good. King’s Road All-Japan is just my favourite wrestling ever, so even the hints provided here made me really happy. It probably won’t be the last time I’m high on what may be a fairly pedestrian AJPW matches. I’ll give Hogan his due, his promos have been better in March, if a little cult-ish. Warriors are still weird. And bad. I’m looking forward to the match because I have seen it before and remember it to be better than you would expect, and just to have all this stuff over with, rather than any desire to watch them wrestle. Roll on April!

February: Ric Flair vs Lex Luger (NWA Wrestle War 02/25/90) **** ½ Midnight Express vs Rock & Roll Express (NWA Wrestle War 02/25/90) **** ¼ Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask vs. Riki Choshu & George Takano (NJPW/AJPW 2/10/90) **** Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido (NJPW/AJPW 2/10/90) **** Larry Zbyszko vs. Masa Saito (NJPW/AJPW 2/10/90) *** ¾ Ric Flair vs. Brian Pillman (WCWSN 2/17/90) *** ½ Rock & Roll Express vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (Main Event 2/18/90) *** ½ Midnight Express vs. Rock & Roll Express (WWW 2/10/90) *** ½ Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF 02/27/90) *** ½ Ric Flair vs. Tom Zenk (Power Hour 2/2/90) *** ¼ Atsushi Onita vs Masanobu Kurisu (FMW 02/12/90) *** ¼ Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF 2/9/90) *** ¼ Midnight Express vs. Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (WWW 2/17/90) *** Ric Flair, Arn & Ole Anderson vs. Buzz Sawyer, Dragon Master & Great Muta (Cage Match) (Clash 2/6/90) *** Jerry Lawler & Billy Travis vs. Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee (USWA TX 2/2/90) *** Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (Challenge 2/11/90) ** ¾ Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage (WWF Main Event 02/23/90) ** ½ Match of the Month: Ric Flair vs Lex Luger (NWA Wrestle War 02/25/90) **** ½ : This is just so well laid out, so intelligent, and so fun. Flair has to use to brains to make Luger miss in order to gain control. Luger is far from a broom, as he sells pretty well and puts in an incredibly energetic performance, but this is totally the Ric Flair show and no one has looked so good at any point so far during the yearbook. I really liked the finish as well, Luger looks like a nice guy saving Sting, Flair keeps the title and it furthers the feud. I’m going to stop doing star ratings because I’m just messing them up, because this is definitely no.1 for the year for me so far. I wouldn’t call it the best ever or anything, but off the top of my head I’m struggling to think of 10 American matches I prefer to this. Promo/Angle of the month: Jake Roberts vs Ted DiBiase (WWF Superstars 02/03/90) I was trying to put my finger on quite what I loved about this so much. I think it was just how much they packed in to this short segment and how it all made sense. Bossman does a great turn, Slick looks like a douchebag, it furthers the Dibiase/Roberts feud and Jake keeps the belt. All interesting developments, all weaved together really well. That said, USWA has had consistently great promos and angles. Every show has probably produced something that could take the no.2 spot, especially the last bits with Valiant and him battering jobbers with the set. February MVP: Ric Flair. No contest. Whether he was booking at this time or not, he’s delivering stellar match after stellar match. Also producing good promos most weeks as well. From the four and half discs so far, no one can touch Flair as best wrestler. Other thoughts: Maybe I’m just becoming used to the context of 1990, but I certainly feel as though the angles have gone up a notch. In particular NWA and USWA are doing stuff every week that’s really interesting and enjoyable, which definitely makes the discs easier to get through. On that note however, the Warrior/Hogan stuff is awful. I mean, I’m sure it appealed to some kids in 1990, but as a 20 year old in 2013, its utter shit, when I often enjoy a lot of cheesy shit. I often wonder why something as awesome as wrestling gets such a bad public reputation, this may be my answer. WCW has been on fire. Matches 6-9 were all brilliant tv matches. Week after week the quality is exceptional. I think February was marginally better than January for match quality, mainly due to those TV matches, Wrestlewar (which produced the two best US matches so far) and the NJPW/AJPW joint show. I’m still not really sure about shootstyle. I like seeing guys kick the crap out of one another as much as the next man, but it’s all the grappling and jockeying for position that totally disengages me, probably one of the reasons I don’t watch a lot of MMA. Take Fujiwara/Takada, I only had any interest during the last 10 minutes, but that was pretty good. So I’m not going round hating it yet, but I’m certainly not going to start singing its praises on the evidence so far. I’m really surprised at how quickly I’m getting through this. On my free days I’m watching at least two hours a day, which is something I probably haven’t done in about 7 years. So yeah, thoroughly enjoyable stuff overall.

Well, I’ve been around a long time, but never posted before, and haven’t written about wrestling in absolutely ages, but I felt it would be a shame to not start again after all the hard work that’s been put into this great set. I’m currently not putting thoughts match by match, promo by promo, but that may change. Anyway: Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (NJPW 01/31/90) **** 1/2 El Hijo del Santo, Yoshinari Asai & Gran Hamada vs. Negro Casas, Blue Panther & Fuerza Guerrera (WWA 1990) **** Ron Garvin vs. Greg Valentine (Submission Match) (Rumble 1/21/90) **** Akira Hokuto & Yumiko Hotta vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Etsuko Mita (AJW 1/4/90) *** ¾ Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki (AJPW 1/14/90) *** ¾ Akira Maeda vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWF 1/16/90) *** ¾ Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Isao Takagi (AJPW 1/20/90) *** ¾ Jeff Jarrett vs. Billy Joe Travis (Guitar on a Pole match) (USWA TX 1/26/90) *** ½ Rockers vs. Powers of Pain (MSG 1/15/90) *** Ric Flair vs. Bobby Eaton (Main Event 1/7/90) *** ½ Jushin Liger vs Owen Hart (NJPW 01/30/90) Ric Flair, Arn Anderson & Sting vs. Buzz Sawyer, Dragon Master & Great Muta (Power Hour 1/26/90) *** ½ Arn Anderson vs. The Great Muta (Power Hour 1/12/90) *** ¼ Arn Anderson vs. Buzz Sawyer (Power Hour 1/19/90) *** ¼ Roddy Piper vs. Randy Savage (Wrestlefest 1/22/90) *** ¼ Rock N Roll Express & Dynamic Dudes vs. Midnight Express & Fabulous Freebirds (WCWSN 1/27/90) *** ¼ Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior vs. Mr. Perfect & The Genius (SNME 1/27/90) *** Bill Dundee, Chris Adams & Eric Embry vs. Billy Travis, Gary Young & Skandor Akbar (USWA TX 1/19/90) *** El Hijo del Santo & Blue Demon Jr vs. Eddy & Mando Guerrero (WWA 1990) ** ¾ Cactus Jack vs. Lee Scott (WCWSN 1/13/90) ** ¾ Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Yoji Anjoh (UWF 1/16/90) ** ¾ Jerry Lawler vs. Junkyard Dog (USWA TX 1/20/90) ** ¼ Match of the month: Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (NJPW 01/31/90) **** 1/2. Wow. The beatdown of Liger is just brutal. His dive on his comeback was absolutely insane. Liger just took so much punishment, and really looks like a hero by fighting back. Him going nuts after the match is an added bonus. The first real MOTYC, for sure. Promo/Angle of the month: All of Flair and Arn’s promos inviting Sting to join were excellent. You can really tell the audience really wanted to get behind the horsemen as faces, it’s a shame that I didn’t really think J-Tex were great foes, as a better heel group would’ve given them a longer, better run. I also loved all the Billy Joe Travis stuff; it’s cheesy as hell but just great fun. MVP of January: I’m going to pick Billy Joe Travis, he’s been fantastic on promos, and the whole Travis/Lawler/Jarrett feud is the feud I’m most interested in. He also took some great bumps in the Jarrett match, which is just a perfect sub-10 minute match. I think Arn and Tenryu both run him close for second place though. Other thoughts: I haven’t really watched a great deal of stuff other than American and AJPW/NJPW, and even with that, I’d say I’ve only seen about 2% of this stuff before, which is why I chose to start at 1990. So I’m really looking forward to checking out more lucha and shootstyle (I’ve never had a problem with the styles, but it takes me quite a long time to really understand and appreciate styles, but they’ve both produced really good matches so far) and Joshi (which I already know is a style I love, but I just haven’t seen too much stuff). Some of these star ratings are quite close together, because I’m not really sure what I’m comparing them to for the rest of the year, but I think the rankings are pretty close. I was a bit disappointed by the Flair/Eaton match, but I think that was more to do with it being really liked on here, and thinking I was going to really enjoy it. But, like quite a few matches already, when I get round to finishing it’ll have to be rewatched. Misawa and Cactus are two of my favourite wrestlers ever, and it will be really interesting to see them progress throughout not just 1990, but the yearbooks in general. Having just finished the ECW set, where it feels like a real transition is being made and is really creating original content, I think I’m naturally inclined to see the start of 1990 as very ‘conservative’, but I guess there was no need to push boundaries, because it seems business was good everywhere. There were certainly a few fantastic gems, and nearly everything was enjoyable, but I would call 1990 solid if unspectacular so far