soup23

Listened to Northern Navigation and New Horizons shows. Appreciated insight to dealing with international merchandise sales and what not. I was out on watching ROH at this point but the Northern Navigation show in particular seems really strong.

Very good match for two guys I am pretty blah on. I thought the sequences and counters they got to for this type of hard hitting style match were very logical and they didn't overextend themselves into no selling or blowing through their entire arsenal. THis was just what I want from a third match from the top in a g1 show. ***1/2

Date Promotion Match. Ranking 12/06/96 AJPW Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue ***** 10 05/05/96 FMW Megumi Kudo vs. Combat Toyota ***** 9.9 12/16/96 Michinoku Pro Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Super Delphin, Gran Naniwa & Masato Yakushiji vs Dick Togo, Mens Teoh, Taka Michinoku, Shiryu & Shoichi Funaki ***** 9.8 01/21/96 NJPW Shinjiro Ohtani vs. El Samurai ***** 9.8 12/06/96 CMLL El Dandy vs El Hijo Del Santo vs Negro Casas ****3/4 9.7 11/17/96 WWF Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin ****3/4 9.6 09/22/96 WWF Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind ****3/4 9.6 09/25/96 RINGS Volk Han vs. Kiyoshi Tamura ****3/4 9.5 09/05/96 AJPW Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi ****3/4 9.5 11/29/96 CMLL El Hijo del Santo, Scorpio Jr. & Bestia Salvaje vs. Negro Casas, El Dandy & Hector Garza ****3/4 9.5 10/10/96 Michinoku Pro Gran Hamada, Super Delfin , Tiger Mask IV, Gran Naniwa & Masato Yakushiji vs. Dick Togo, Mens Teoh, Shiryu, Taka Michinoku & Shoichi Funaki ****3/4 9.4 08/04/96 NJPW Ultimo Dragon vs. Shinjiro Ohtani ****3/4 9.3 10/15/96 CMLL El Dandy vs. Black Warrior ****1/2 9.2 11/29/96 AJPW Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue ****1/2 9.2 07/24/96 AJPW Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue ****1/2 9.2 05/23/96 AJPW Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue ****1/2 9.1 08/24/96 RINGS Volk Han vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka ****1/2 9.1 06/11/96 NJPW Wild Pegasus vs. Black Tiger ****1/2 9 12/01/96 Inoki Fest Great Sasuke, Masato Yakashiji, Norino Hoshikawa, Gran Hamada & Super Delfin vs. TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo, Men's Teioh, Shiryu & Sho Funaki ****1/2 8.9 07/09/96 AJPW Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue ****1/2 8.8 10/30/96 BattlARTS Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs. Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono ****1/4 8.7 04/20/96 AJPW Steve Williams vs. Akira Taue ****1/4 8.7 09/28/96 AJW Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda vs. Kaoru Ito & Mariko Yoshida ****1/4 8.7 06/07/96 AJPW Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace ****1/4 8.7 10/18/96 AJPW Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi ****1/4 8.6 03/15/96 CMLL El Hijo Del Santo, Atlantis, El Dandy y Lizmark vs. Blue Panther, Felino, Dr. Wagner y Negro Casas ****1/4 8.6 10/11/96 WAR Genichiro Tenryu vs. Great Muta ****1/4 8.6 09/21/96 NJPW Steven Regal vs. Shinya Hashimoto ****1/4 8.6 08/30/96 AJW Aja Kong vs. Kyoko Inoue ****1/4 8.5 03/16/96 Michinoku Pro Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV & Shiryu vs. Super Delphin & Taka Michinoku & Gran Naniwa ****1/4 8.5 11/22/96 CMLL El Hijo del Santo, Scorpio Jr. & Bestia Salvaje vs. Negro Casas, El Dandy & Hector Garza ****1/4 8.5 04/29/96 NJPW Genichiro Tenryu vs. Tatsumi Fujinami ****1/4 8.5 03/31/96 WWF Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels ****1/4 8.4 02/25/96 NJPW Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs. Yoji Anjo & Yoshihiro Takayama ( ****1/4 8.4 09/02/96 WCW Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael vs. Kevin Sullivan, Big Bubba, The Barbarian & Meng ****1/4 8.3 07/29/96 WCW Ric Flair, Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael vs. Sting, Lex Luger & Randy Savage **** 8.2 09/05/96 AJPW Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace **** 8.2 08/02/96 NJPW Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto **** 8.2 06/16/96 WCW Rey Misterio Jr vs. Dean Malenko **** 8.2 07/21/96 WAR Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yoji Anjoh **** 8.1 12/13/96 WAR Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobuhiko Takada **** 8.1 06/05/96 NJPW Black Tiger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani **** 8.1 06/16/96 JWP Dynamite Kansai & Kanako Motoya vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Reiko Amano **** 8.1 09/11/96 UWFI Nobuhiko Takada vs. Genichiro Tenryu **** 8.1 03/17/96 NJPW Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani **** 8.1 03/31/96 AJPW Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi **** 8 06/26/96 UWFI Nobuhiko Takada & Masahito Kakihara vs. Tatsumi Fujinami & Yoshiaki Fujiwara **** 8 06/12/96 NJPW Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger **** 8 04/28/96 WWF Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel **** 8 01/04/96 NJPW Vader vs. Antonio Inoki **** 8 02/10/96 CMLL El Dandy, El Hijo Del Santo & Silver King vs. Negro Casas, Apolo Dantes & El Satanico **** 8 10/27/96 WCW Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko **** 8 06/12/96 NJPW Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs. Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka **** 8 04/29/96 NJPW Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shinya Hashimoto **** 7.9 05/18/96 JWP Mayumi Ozaki vs. Takako Inoue **** 7.9 11/16/96 AJPW Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace **** 7.9 11/17/96 WWF Psycho Sid vs. Shawn Michaels **** 7.9 12/09/96 Michinoku Pro Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Super Delphin, Gran Naniwa & Tiger Mask IV vs Dick Togo, Mens Teoh, Taka Michinoku, Shiryu & Shoichi Funaki **** 7.9 02/15/96 NJPW Jushin Liger & Black Tiger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto **** 7.9 08/18/96 WWF Shawn Michaels vs. Vader **** 7.9 07/07/96 JWP Dynamite Kansai & Cutie Suzuki vs. Hikari Fukuoka & Kaoru **** 7.9 05/24/96 AJPW Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi **** 7.9 07/07/96 WCW Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis **** 7.9 10/20/96 WWF Undertaker vs. Mankind **** 7.9 11/22/96 AJPW Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace **** 7.9 05/05/96 FMW Terry Funk & Mr. Pogo vs. Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka **** 7.9 08/06/96 NJPW Masa Chono vs. Keiji Muto **** 7.9 04/20/96 JWP Dynamite Kansai & Takako Inoue vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Kyoko Inoue **** 7.8 08/10/96 WCW Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko **** 7.8 10/11/96 WAR Ultimo Dragon vs. Great Sasuke **** 7.8 11/24/96 WCW Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon **** 7.8 12/11/96 FMW Atsushi Onita, Mr. Pogo, Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs Terry Funk, Hisakatsu Oya, Headhunter I & Headhunter II **** 7.8 03/09/96 ECW Rey Misterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera **** 7.8 12/29/96 WCW Ultimo Dragon vs Dean Malenko **** 7.8 10/20/96 NJPW Jushin Liger vs. Great Muta **** 7.8 03/24/96 WCW Steven Regal vs. Fit Finlay ***3/4 7.7 10/06/96 AJW Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong ***3/4 7.7 04/05/96 NJPW Jushin Liger, El Samurai & Gran Hamada vs. Shinjiro Ohtani, Koji Kanemoto & Taka Michinoku ***3/4 7.7 02/18/96 WWF Shawn Michaels vs. Owen Hart ***3/4 7.7 03/31/96 AJPW Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue ***3/4 7.7 06/28/96 CMLL Negro Casas & El Felino & El Satanico vs. El Dandy & Silver King & Lizmark ***3/4 7.6 11/22/96 AJPW Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Kenta Kobashi & The Patriot ***3/4 7.6 05/11/96 ECW Shane Douglas vs. 2 Cold Scorpio ***3/4 7.6 06/17/96 NJPW Jushin Liger vs. Dick Togo ***3/4 7.6 04/20/96 AJPW Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Johnny Ace & Gary Albright ***3/4 7.6 08/06/96 NJPW Riki Choshu vs. Masahiro Chono ***3/4 7.5 02/16/96 CMLL El Hijo del Santo, El Dandy & Dos Caras vs. Blue Panther, Apolo Dantes & Emilio Charles Jr. ***3/4 7.5 03/16/96 AAA Rey Misterio Jr vs. Juventud Guerrera ***3/4 7.5 06/16/96 WCW Sting vs. Steven Regal ***3/4 7.5 12/28/96 WCW The Giant vs Lex Luger ***3/4 7.5 09/23/96 NJPW Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka ( ***3/4 7.4 08/18/96 Michinoku Pro Jushin Liger, Gran Hamada & Gran Naniwa vs. Dick Togo, TAKA Michinoku & Shoichi Funaki ***3/4 7.4 04/13/96 ECW Sabu vs. Mikey Whipwreck ***3/4 7.4 12/01/96 Inoki Fest Shinjiro Otani & Koji Kanemoto vs. El Samurai & Jushin Liger ***3/4 7.3 06/01/96 WWPF Rey Mysterio Jr. & Ultimo Dragon vs. Heavy Metal & Psicosis ***3/4 7.3 11/12/96 Michinoku Pro Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada & Super Delphin vs. Dick Togo, Mens Teoh & Shiryu ***3/4 7.3 02/12/96 AJW Manami Toyota, Mariko Yoshida, Kaoru Ito & Yumi Fukawa vs. Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue, Chapparita Asari, Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa ***3/4 7.3 12/25/96 UWFI Kazushi Sakuraba vs Hiromitsu Kanehara ***3/4 7.3 07/08/96 WCW Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko ***1/2 7.2 08/17/96 UWFI Genichiro Tenryu vs. Naoki Sano ***1/2 7.2

Piper excels in conveying that he was good one more time and now its time to know he should hang it up. The NWO and beatdown was effective and it helped get Giant over as the first person to go against the NWO after being in it. It does seem a bit too soon since he just joined around 3 months ago but he didn't really fit anyway. You are seeing some slight cracks between that and mid card like VK Wallstreet in the NWO but overall, they were a tour de force for US wrestling when they came on the scene.

I like the shirt but yeah not one of the more witty skits from the NWO.

DDP is really starting to get it and the will he or wont he aspect of him joining the NWO is one of the most open ended questions heading into 1997.

Hogan with Bischoff as the mouth piece is pretty humorous celebrating like they had a great victory. Considering that PIper wasn't getting another shot until Feb and Giant was on deck but not full blown yet, this was a good intro promo of gloaty Hogan to end the year.

Big celebration for NWO but Giant doesn't stay nothing initially. When given the chance, he asks about the World War 3 title shot. Hogan tries to deflect but tells Giant he has no shot of being top dog and to not screw up again. DIbiase realizes the camera is still running and he shoos it away.

A good match with some great heat but certainly not without its flaws. Hogan outworked Piper here IMO and was a sleazy asshole controlling things on top. The stuff with Giant screwing up was unfortunate as it looked pretty weird and goofy. The finish also happening on a sleeper was kind of anticlimactic. I would have had PIper standing tall to end the PPV. *** (6)

Can't believe this match isn't talked about more. I loved it and the story of GIant dominating and even though LUger is really strong, he is outmatched. The crowd heat was incredible and they way they kept teasing the Rack was also really smart when Luger does get his flurry and ends up winning the match. Tony puts it over huge that this is the first time NWO has lost. A great moment and a really underrated match. ***3/4 (7.5).

Fun finish with Eddy winning and then fending off the NWO. DDP is over like huge now and Eddy got a rep bump too in there. Nash beating up Eddie is a bit much but NWO was still fresh enough where that didn't really matter.

Easily my MOTN for Night 1. THe leg work by Suzuki to begin was gripping and pure torture and then Tanahashi sold it well when he regained his base. The fact that the leg work that Suzuki worked so hard to craft ended up being the downfall of Suzuki was great storytelling. Finishing run was exciting and I agree that the time was extremely beneficial to my overall thoughts. ****1/4

WIth CHilds here. Really hollow match that just wouldn't end and not once did I buy Cody winning. **3/4

A good match but one where you know what to expect coming in and therefore it didn't feel out of the ordinary or great in any way. THey slugged it out, the mostly no sold for any extended point. They kicked out of big bombs. ***1/4

I didn't like this much at all. I thought the opening of OKada being a prick to White was good as maybe the senior of a faction taking the young upstart to the woodshed. Then White takes over and starts going after the back and he does a bunch of stuff that is flashy and trying to be violent but he still fails to convey either the reckless violent nature of a FUnk inflicting violence or a cerebral extreme of someone like Suzuki. After the White work we go to the finishing stretch with even more bells and whistles but everything felt hollow. The ref bump was heavily praised on twitter but it seemed nothing out of the ordinary for me and WHite looked like he really deliberately hit the ref and didn't make it look convincing otherwise. White also picked up the upset win which was insanely predictable given the booking in the past few years. I liked the Juice match a good bit but thought this was a step back and pretty big thud to end NIght 1. **3/4

Agree with the sentiment that this was merely good that has to be considered disappointing given the two guys in the ring and this being essentially their one big showcase. LIger really dominated most of the match and perhaps with a hot crowd getting behind Rey as the underdog the match overall would have been better received. They saved the highspots for the finishing run of the match and they all meant something which made the match more rewarding for me. I also liked how Rey kicked out of the finishing LIger Bomb right at 3. ***1/2 (6.9)

Listened to the first show and added the pod to the rotation. I appreciate using something like Something to Wrestle as some inspiration but adding your own flavor and having less disputes and arguments just to create controversy. Hagadorn is a great co host and adds good insight such as his point about Danielson being so gifted, perhaps he couldn't really relate that to training in the ROH Dojo. I am going to catch up on the archive.

Stevie, Madden and Tony is quite the broadcast team. A good showcase match for all six of these guys and you do see the potential here but I do think watching things in retrospect lessens the effect here. Yes, in the confines of WCW this is the most athletic and fresh looking stuff we have seen but it isn’t groundbreaking by 2018 standards at all and even in 2000 eyes, if you followed the US indies, guys like Trent Acid were more impressive. Of course in 2000, people worshipped at the altar of Ric Blade so retrospect can be a gift at times. This had mostly showcase sequences intertwined between all six guys. The biggest reaction was Leia Meow doing a dive on the outside to all six. 3 Count ended up getting the win which was a bit of a surprise to me. *** (6.1)

Really dry lucha action. Pimpinela has some moments and the brawling on the outside in the row of seats was a highlight but beside that, this was a huge slog to get through and I still think Monterrey has had some highlights but its fair share of pedestrian stuff. This is even worst than that and below average overall for lucha action. Finish has Escarlata with the pin even though Niebla has his foot on the rope. One of the worst lucha matches we have seen this year that wasn’t AAA overbooked nonsense. *1/2

Another mundane tag and this tag league overall hasn’t been a high point for NJPW. That is par the course as usual in modern times but you see the effects here. Sasaki vs Chono is the clear highlight pairing here and they milk the interaction there for as long as they possibly could. Norton still has some strong power moves but I was more impressed by Dr. Deaths resurgence in the early portion of the year than what I have seen from Flash in the Tag League. The finish here completely shocked me as Norton ends up getting a pin on Sasaki after a lariat. **1/2

It is comical that Dave has TenKoji on the WON HOF ballot as a tag team as here we are in the peak of their run as a team and they are fine to good but not even close to one of the best cohesive units we have seen in 2000 much less an all timer team. This match exemplifies that. Yoshie and Nakanishi are both limited workers but they can rise to the occasion based on their opponents. TenKoji raises them up to the level of this being a good match and nothing more with not a lot of tangible story to really grab hold too. The power moves and ebbs and flows are fine as standalones but they never really develop into a great match that reaches a fever pitch in the back third of the match. Tenzan and Kojima end up running through a lot of offense at the ending stretch and Tenzan puts Yoshie away at just shy of 16 minutes. *** (5.9)

Solid tag match. I am unsure though how beneficial it is to see Tajiri in IWA-PR but at least he is getting work in I suppose as ECW limps to the end of existence. Still, the lack of respect for him even being the most over guy in these matches is depressing as he takes the fall here for no good reason. Crazy does a great hot tag and has some great dives and overall most net positives of this match were a direct result of him and Tajiri. **1/2

Nicky Benz is Nick Berk. Ric Blade continues to be a chore to get through almost all of his matches. Here he hits a lot of stuff cleanly so that is an improvement but some of the flippy spots are so contrived and ridiculous that it is tough to take the match as a whole seriously. Blade introduces a table but Berk gains the advantage and does a back suplex from the second rope with Blade through the table. Of course after that crazy spot, Blade comes back and is on offense running through a flurry of big dives and nearfalls. The corkscrew dive that does win the match from Blade is gorgeous and hits cleanly. We have a new EWF Light Heavyweight Champion. **

Dawn Marie is with Simon and the crowd is large for ECWA. Simon trips getting into the ring and that is the most memorable part of the match. Otherwise, it is certainly a match where time has not been kind to it with sloppy and dated looking 3 way spots and a lot of contrived spots with the heels working together and then it blowing up in their face. Even the finish is a big trope as Simon hits the big move only for Bradley to steal the pin. A slog to get through. *1/4

Good indie cage match. It had some good punches and use of the cage. Action got some good color and mounted a nice comeback. I figured we were in for a swerve with the seconds and predictably we get that here to derail things for the finish but overall this was a nice treat for individuals that were watching this promotion weekly. Good cameo by Hotstuff Hernandez at the end to save Action Jackson too. *** (6.2)