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KB8

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  1. KB8
    Black Terry instantly comes to mind. Tenryu and Navarro were still pretty great at that age (Navarro still is). Fujiwara was over 45 when he had that Murdoch match in '96, wasn't he? And then a bunch of good stuff after that.
  2. KB8
    I'm a pretty big fan of this.
  3. KB8

    Matches of the Month

    KB8 replied to Loss's topic in 1993

    May: 1. Tatsumi Fujinami & Shinya Hashimoto vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa (WAR 5/24/93) 2. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen (AJ 5/21/93) 3. Hollywood Blonds vs. Marcus Bagwell & 2 Cold Scorpio (WWW 5/8/93) 4. Naoki Sano vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFI 5/6/93) 5. Terry Gordy vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJ 5/29/93) 6. Akira Hokuto vs. Toshiyo Yamada (AJW 5/3/93) 7. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (AJ 5/14/93) 8. Mr. Perfect vs. Doink (RAW 5/24/93) 9. Brian Christopher vs. Jeff Jarrett (Hair vs. Title) (USWA 5/1/93) 10. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Hiroshi Hase (NJ 5/3/93) 11. Terry Funk vs. Atsushi Onita (No Rope Explosive Barbed Wire Time Bomb Death Match) (FMW 5/5/93) 12. Chris Benoit & Bobby Eaton vs. Marcus Bagwell & 2 Cold Scorpio (Slamboree 5/23/93) 13. Tatsuo Nakano vs. Vader (UWFI 5/6/93) 14. Vader vs. Davey Boy Smith (WCW Slamboree 5/23/93) 15. Ciclon Ramirez vs. Felino (AAA 5/21/93) 16. El Hijo Del Santo vs. Heavy Metal (AAA 5/14/93) 17. Megumi Kudo & Combat Toyota vs. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada (FMW 5/5/93) 18. Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty (RAW 5/17/93) 19. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Terry Gordy & Steve Williams (AJ 5/20/93) 20. Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect (Providence 5/2/93) 21. Sting vs. Scott Norton (NJ 5/3/93) 22. Hulk Hogan vs. Great Muta (NJ 5/3/93) Fuck, what an amazing month. I almost feel bad putting Jarrett v Christopher at #9, but there was so much good stuff that month. Hansen/Misawa and the NJ/WAR tag are pretty much interchangeable at the top, but I went with the WAR tag by a hair. The WAR/NJ feud is seriously becoming one of my favourite "things" in wrestling history and more or less every match it produces is interesting to me on some level. I'm big time hyped for the Tenryu/Hashimoto singles matches because any time they pair off in tags it rules. Tenryu punting Hash in the eye to break up a pin and Hash responding by walking over to him and blasting him with an enziguiri, then Tenryu's subsequent AWESOME KO sell, might honestly be my favourite moment/spot on the entire yearbook so far. I'll be shocked if the Worldwide tag from the 8th doesn't land in my top 5 US matches of the year at the end. Right now I've only got it behind Sting/Vader, and unless something comes out of the blue, I can't see it not finishing as my #1 US tag, at least. I don't really like AAA in general, but I'm gonna watch Santo/Metal again at some point. I recall a few nifty spots, but nothing else about it is jumping to mind. This was probably my favourite month overall so far, even though I can't see any one match landing in my top 10 at the end.
  4. KB8

    Matches of the Month

    KB8 replied to Loss's topic in 1996

    January: 1. Shinjiro Ohtani vs. El Samurai (NJ 1/21/96) 2. Manami Toyota vs. Yumiko Hotta (AJW 1/22/96) 3. Vader vs. Antonio Inoki (NJ 1/4/96) 4. PG-13 vs. Tracy Smothers & Jesse James Armstrong (USWA 1/20/96) 5. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (NJ 1/4/96) 6. Aja Kong vs. Combat Toyota (FMW 1/10/96) 7. Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka & Koji Nakagawa vs. W*ING Kanemura, Mitsuhiro Matsunaga & Hidoh (Barbed Wire Spider Net Double Hell Glass Death Match) (FMW 1/10/96) 8. Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (Nitro 1/8/96) 9. Ric Flair vs. Sting (Nitro 1/15/96) 10. Sabu vs. Stevie Richards (ECW 1/5/96) 11. Rey Mysterio Jr vs. Juventud Guerrera (Cage Match) (AAA 1/31/96) 12. Psicosis vs. Ultraman (AAA 1/18/96) 13. Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan (Nitro 1/29/96) 14. Jerry Lawler vs. Tommy Rich (USWA 1/13/96) 15. JC Ice vs. Tracy Smothers (USWA 1/27/96) 16. Sting & Lex Luger vs. Harlem Heat (Nitro 1/22/96) 17. Juventud Guerrera & Psicosis vs. Volador & El Mexicano (AAA 1/12/96) 18. Smoking Gunns vs. Psycho Sid & 1-2-3 Kid vs. Razor Ramon & Savio Vega vs. Owen Hart & Yokozuna (RAW Bowl) (RAW 1/1/96) 19. Vader vs. Savio Vega (RAW 1/22/96) 20. Brian Pillman vs. Eddy Guerrero (Clash 1/23/96) 21. Public Enemy vs. The Gangstas (Public Enemy Farewell) (ECW 1/5/96) 22. Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert vs. PG-13 (USWA 1/6/96) 23. Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair (Nitro 1/22/96) 24. Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan (Nitro 1/1/96) 25. Koji Kanemoto vs. Jushin Liger (NJ 1/4/96) Some of the stuff down towards the bottom has pretty much vanished from my memory (Liger/Koji seems really low, but that's a match that I've never much liked and it stands out more for that reason as opposed to being "worse" than something like Savage/Flair), but I really liked everything in the top 13 for one reason or another. The Psicosis/Ultraman match is a train wreck, but Psicosis was doing so much crazy shit that I couldn't not enjoy it on some level. If I'm able to whip up a top 100 like Loss did at the end, I imagine Ohtani/Sammy will be somewhere around the top 20.
  5. KB8
    This genuinely made me laugh for, like, 5 minutes.
  6. KB8
    This was great stuff, and more reason why this feud rules the fucking earth. Doesn't have the violence of the 4/2 tag with Choshu in Fujinami's place - although this is WAR so the violence is still there - but the interesting sub-story of Fujinami's arm was a really cool addition. Ishikawa just punching him in the arm to break the dragon sleeper was a great spot, and Fujinami going back to it and reapplying it with the OTHER arm rocked as well. Still, this is all about Tenryu and Hashimoto and I am ridiculously excited about the singles matches coming up. These guys having a fucking STARE DOWN is better than most stuff these days; just the best contemptuous facial expressions imaginable. Tenryu kneeing Hash in the back of the head as he's hitting the ropes was an awesome spot. Tenryu's AMAZING KO sell of a Hashimoto kick a little later, just going dead weight in the corner and hitting every turnbuckle on the way down, was even better. Ishikawa puts Fujinami in a Scorpion Deathlock so Hashimoto comes in and threatens to rip his head off. This annoys Tenryu so he flies across the ring and lariats Hash so hard he hurls himself out to the floor. And then both guys start chucking chairs at each other while the partners take it home in the ring. Loss, where would you put Tenryu on a WOTY list for '93? I recall you saying you were going to come up with a top something or other wrestlers of '93 in one of the match threads, and since you've watched the whole set I can't think of anybody better to ask. At this point I can't see him not winding up in my own top 3 at the end (right now he's my #1).
  7. KB8
    That finish was INSANE. Scorpio lands with his ENTIRE body weight flush on Benoit's face/head. Just fucking ridiculous. Match itself is really good, but yeah, that finish...
  8. KB8
    "piece of Scandinavian snake feces" might be the best insult ever.
  9. KB8
    Is this the 30 minute draw? If so, I watched this earlier in the year and thought it was really good, if a little "down-timey" at points. I recall some Anjoh prickyness which is always good times.
  10. KB8
    Some of this was like FUTEN with lady parts; just harrowing violence. Toyota's one of the more polarizing wrestlers you'll come across. I don't really have much of an opinion on her either way, but she isn't afraid to take a complete ass stomping and she takes a fucking ASS STOMPING here. Even on offense she takes some reckless bumps, including a missile dropkick to the floor where she lands right on her tailbone. There's been a lot of talk in the '93 Yearbook section about how Hotta either chose not to pull any strikes or simply wasn't good enough to know how (among other things), and well, she REALLY lays in the kicks here, full on straight in the face. She also rifles off a knee right to Toyota's nose that looked disgusting and throws some headbutts that sounds like someone knocked two bowling balls together. Whole match is basically built around Hotta throwing the nastiest, stiffest strikes possible and Toyota not just trying to survive them, but give back as good as she gets. Final few minutes are really weird, to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if Hotta legit rung Toyota's bell with any number of those strikes. Hotta goes for a powerbomb and Toyota kind of slips down her back and crumples in a heap. So Hotta kicks her in the face a bunch more. She goes for another powerbomb and the exact same thing happens, so she kicks her in the face some more. Then she tries a wheel kick and completely misses, so she gets up and naturally kicks Toyota in the face again. The third time she goes for the powerbomb Toyota manages to successfully stay upright when she slips out of it, but she looks really groggy and just sort of grabs Hotta and slowly and awkwardly turns her into position for a powerbomb of her own. Thought this was really good, but that ending hurts it. That was some pimp shit.
  11. KB8
    Man, how many dudes' wives does Savage have accompany him to the ring? Nancy (although I'm not sure she was actually married at this point), Debra McMichael, Linda Hogan (I'm 99% sure that was her at the front)...I like to believe the others were married as well. Match itself is pretty fun. And Hogan really comes across as a douche before and after it. It's honestly a level of douchebaggery that seems deliberate. I know it's not, but I just can't see why they'd think this wouldn't make him look like a pain in the ass.
  12. KB8
    I actually haven't seen this before, but I'm REALLY looking forward to watching it whenever I pick this up. By the sounds of it this is the kind of thing that might propel Rude ahead of the pack if one is trying to pick the best US wrestler of the year (which would obviously mean not limiting that to only performances *in* the US).
  13. KB8
    I didn't like this as much as Loss, but my own personal God of lucha totally ruled it as Metal's second. I fucking love Fuerza.
  14. KB8
    Between the All Japan 80s set and this yearbook, I'm beginning to think Hansen is the best ever. Thought the first third was fine, but then Misawa tries to drag Hansen into the ring and Hansen just goes to town on his arm, and from there it gets awesome. I don't know if there's anybody I'd rather watch lay a beating on someone than Hansen -- everything he does just looks super nasty. At one point he grabs hold of a monitor and some guy in a suit refuses to give it up and I am SHOCKED Hansen didn't turn round and punch him in the mouth. Thought Misawa's selling was totally on point as well, throwing elbows because they're a huge weapon even though he's not doing himself any favours in the process. There's one moment where he throws one in the corner and then instantly clutches the arm, and there's a clear "oh shit" reaction from the crowd. It's like showing any sign of weakness against Stan Hansen is as good as losing already. Misawa going to the facelock, both to wear Hansen down as well as to buy himself some time to recover, was a cool touch, and man did that last elbow look suitably teeth-loosening. Thought this was a definite step down from the 2/28 Hansen/Kawada match, but it's still a Hell of a contest and a good indication of the level these guys were at in '93.
  15. KB8

    Other 1993 worth watching

    KB8 replied to Loss's topic in 1993

    Watched the Jerry Estrada/Lizmark title match from AAA (6/18/93) again last night and it's excellent. OJ did a great write-up of it for his blog and it's definitely something worth adding to a supplemental set. It's probably a top 10 match of the year for me, actually.
  16. KB8
    Every time I think Tenryu is running away with WOTY, Kawada goes and does something like this. Didn't think it was a great match, but Kawada's performance was ALL that. Punching Kobashi in the teeth to end a chop flurry was SO great, and that brainbuster Loss mentions really looked brutal. It's as if he did it just because he could. I mean who's going to stop him? The way he held Kobashi at bay at the end by casually sitting with a knee across his throat was awesome, too.
  17. KB8
    Yeah, this was terrific stuff. I know the Blonds have been taking a whipping (the *team*, anyway) for a little while now, but I still dig the shit out of a lot of their stuff. The early foreign object shtick was awesome (I was actually a little disappointed they didn't follow up on it at some point) and Pillman almost took Bagwell's head off with that towel spot. This might be a top 5 US MOTY. Certainly can't think of a better tag match, at least.
  18. KB8
    This was like a snuff film, or some experiment where you stick a real life South Park character in a cage with a polar bear and see how long it takes for the polar bear to claw the South Park character's face off. Vader looked totally unfuckwithable here and Nakano is a guy that has absolutely no qualms with getting cracked in the face.
  19. KB8
    This was so fucking good. SANO is so fucking good. Tamura isn't quite at the "so fucking good" level yet, but he's clearly on the way there. I love how Sano would just keep smothering Tamura, like when he's twisting and pulling at his arm. Tamura manages to break free and tries to catch a little breather, but Sano sees him holding the arm and jumps all over him again. There's a really nasty spot where Sano has a hold of Tamura's leg and turns it in such a disgusting angle that his ankle is directly in line with his face. Of course Tamura refuses to give an inch and the moments where he gets downright belligerent are great, like when he's on top and Sano is sort of waiting for him to make a move. He has a hold of the leg, but instead of trying to lock in a hold he just slaps him in the face. Sano slaps him back, Tamura returns another few of his own, and THEN hooks in a kneebar. Sano just laying there before the finish was a little weird, but I wasn't expecting Tamura to win this so I was pretty shocked at the end. Should be interesting to see how this stacks up to the other shoot style stuff from '93. It isn't fucking with Sano/Anjoh as the shoot style MOTY, but it might be top 5.
  20. KB8
    Man, I thought Funk was spectacular here. I was basically fixated on him the entire time. I love his reaction to Onita's first bump into the barbed wire (he sort of throws his hands up in shock, like "Well...I didn't expect THAT), and he hits a totally different level once he goes into the wire himself. I have no idea how you go back first into barbed wire and come up with a cut forehead, but it's FUNK and it was awesome. I don't think I've seen anybody milk and tease those "close calls" like Funk does here. There's one spot where he punch-drunkenly staggers halfway across the ring and sort of teases falling face first into the wire, and there's this audible gasp from the crowd. When he takes his second barbed wire bump he starts convulsing on the mat with this look of "How the fuck did I get myself into this?" on his face. Also looked like Onita opened up a pretty horrendous cut on his finger as a result of that bump where he goes out of the ring. That looked nasty as Hell.
  21. KB8
    I talked about this on WKO earlier in the year and my thoughts aren't much different: I've got a weird thing with handhelds sometimes. If this did indeed air on TV, I'd probably like it even more if I watched the televised version . That said, this was boss. Opening matwork was really good and smokes all of the other New Japan matwork that I had recently been watching from the '90-'93 period. Fujiwara's headbutts and subsequent taunting has been mentioned, but I'll go ahead and add my name to the list of people that loved it, anyway. Fujiwara really fucking ate those uranages; the first one kind of caught me off guard, then he went and took another one on his neck just for the fuck of it. Is this one of the all-time great Fujiwara flash finishes? The way he just grabbed Hase's arm clean out the air was spectacular. I mean, there's a shit ton of great Fujiwara flash finishes, but if you can judge it on the "lean on rewind" scale, this really had me leaning on rewind. I obviously first watched it as a handheld, and sure enough I liked the TV version even more.
  22. KB8
    I really liked Norton as the absolute brick shithouse who still managed to convey a sense of vulnerability. The posting that led to the blade job looked super nasty, to the point where I wasn't sure whether it was a blade job or not initially. And of course he bleeds all over the ship.
  23. KB8
    I fell asleep the first time I tried to watch this and almost skipped over it. I'm glad I didn't because it was really good. I liked how few momentum shifts they worked into it. There's basically the "feeling out" (with a nastiness to it -- Hokuto's crazy looking "snap" piledrivers) --> Yamada taking over and working the arm --> Hokuto applying another bandage to the shoulder and taking control after the breather --> Yamada spin kicking her in the fucking teeth --> finishing stretch. I can sometimes be taken out of joshi because the comebacks and transitions occur so regularly, but I thought this was structured and laid out really simply and I enjoyed it quite a bit as a result.
  24. KB8
    When I went through the '92 WCW stuff last year, this wound up being my favourite match. I'm also with Loss in that I'd rank it ahead of the Flair/Steamboat WrestleWar match, but I'd probably go one step further and put it ahead of the Chi-Town Rumble match as well. I plan on watching that again at some point soon so I'll see how I feel after that. I'd still take the Clash match over it, though. Then again I might be one of the few guys left that still thinks that's a top 3 match in history.
  25. KB8
    I'm guessing it's too late at this point (and it's entirely my own fault for not remembering/speaking up sooner), but the Rockers/Powers of Pain match from the 1/15 MSG show is an awesome tag that I think lots of people would dig. Shawn and Marty bump around like LOONS for Barbarian and Warlord, there are great cut-offs (with more bumping like LOONS), super hot crowd, it's short at
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