Matches of the month

[Loss]

January:

 

#1 - Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (NJPW 01/31/90) ****1/2

#2 - El Hijo del Santo, Yoshinari Asai & Gran Hamada vs Negro Casas, Blue Panther & Fuerza Guerrera (WWA 1990) ****

#3 - The Rockers vs Powers of Pain (WWF MSG 01/15/90) ****

#4 - Ric Flair vs Bobby Eaton (NWA Main Event 01/07/90) ****

#5 - Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Isao Takagi (AJPW 01/20/90) ****

#6 - Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada (UWF 01/16/90) ***3/4

#7 - Eddy & Mando Guerrero vs El Hijo del Santo & Blue Demon Jr. (WWA 1990) ***3/4

#8 - Akira Hokuto & Yumiko Hotta vs Toshiyo Yamada & Etsuko Mita (AJW 01/04/90) ***3/4

#9 - Ric Flair, Arn Anderson & Sting vs Buzz Sawyer, Dragon Master & Great Muta (NWA Power Hour 01/26/90)

#10 - Ron Garvin vs Greg Valentine (WWF Royal Rumble 01/21/90) ***1/2

#11 - Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (AJPW 01/14/90) ***1/2

#12 - Jeff Jarrett vs Billy Joe Travis (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 01/26/90) ***1/2

#13 - Midnight Express & Fabulous Freebirds vs Rock & Roll Express & Dynamic Dudes (NWA World Championship Wrestling 01/27/90) ***1/2

#14 - Bill Dundee, Chris Adams & Eric Embry vs Billy Joe Travis, Gary Young & Skandor Akbar (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 01/19/90) ***

#15 - Arn Anderson vs Great Muta (NWA Power Hour 01/12/90) ***

#16 - Kazuo Yamazaki vs Yoji Anjoh (UWF 01/16/90) ***

#17 - The Fantastics vs Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (AJPW 01/03/90) ***

#18 - Arn Anderson vs Buzz Sawyer (NWA Power Hour 01/19/90)

#19 - Randy Savage vs Roddy Piper (WWF Wrestlefest 01/22/90)

#20 - Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior vs Mr. Perfect & The Genius (WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 01/27/90)

#21 - Jushin Liger vs Owen Hart (NJPW 01/30/90)

#22 - Cactus Jack vs Lee Scott (NWA World Championship Wrestling 01/13/90)

#23 - Jerry Lawler vs Junkyard Dog (USWA KTVT 01/20/90)

 

Overall thoughts: I included the WWA matches here since they didn't really have a home. I've been really impressed at the quality of NWA TV matches, but almost every singles match included in full has been good at the very least. Great start to the year.

[Loss]

February:

 

#1 - Ric Flair vs Lex Luger (NWA Wrestle War 02/25/90) ****1/2

#2 - Midnight Express vs Rock & Roll Express (NWA Wrestle War 02/25/90) ****1/2

#3 - Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF 02/27/90) ****1/4

#4 - Akira Maeda vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF 02/09/90) ****

#5 - Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask vs Riki Choshu & George Takano (NJPW/AJPW Tokyo Dome 02/10/90) ***3/4

#6 - Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs Rock & Roll Express (NWA Main Event 02/18/90) ***3/4

#7 - Ric Flair vs Tom Zenk (NWA Power Hour 02/02/90) ***1/2

#8 - Larry Zbyszko vs Masa Saito (NJPW/AJPW Tokyo Dome 02/10/90) ***1/2

#9 - Ric Flair vs Brian Pillman (NWA World Championship Wrestling 02/17/90) ***1/2

#10 - Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido (NJPW/AJPW Tokyo Dome 02/10/90) ***1/2

#11 - Vader vs Stan Hansen (NJPW/AJPW Tokyo Dome 02/10/90) ***

#12 - Midnight Express vs Rock & Roll Express (NWA World Wide Wrestling 02/10/90) ***

#13 - Jerry Lawler & Billy Joe Travis vs Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 02/02/90)

#14 - Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage (WWF Main Event 02/23/90)

#15 - Midnight Express vs Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (NWA World Wide Wrestling 02/17/90)

#16 - Atsushi Onita vs Masanobu Kurisu (FMW 02/12/90)

#17 - Ric Flair, Arn & Ole Anderson vs Buzz Sawyer, Dragon Master & Great Muta (NWA Clash of the Champions X 02/06/90)

#18 - Jake Roberts vs Ted DiBiase (WWF Superstars 02/03/90)

#19 - Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels (WWF Challenge 02/11/90)

 

Overall thoughts: I'm still liking 1990 quite a bit!

[Loss]

March:

 

#1 - Jerry Estrada vs El Satanico (EMLL 03/23/90) ****1/4

#2 - Eddie Gilbert vs Cactus Jack (NWA Power Hour 03/23/90) ***3/4

#3 - Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton (NWA World Wide Wrestling) ***3/4

#4 - El Dandy vs Angel Azteca (EMLL 03/23/90) ***3/4

#5 - Midnight Express vs Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (NWA World Championship Wrestling 03/10/90) ***1/2

#6 - Atlantis, Villano III & El Satanico vs Pirata Morgan, Jerry Estrada & Emilio Charles Jr. (EMLL 03/16/90) ***1/4

#7 - Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee vs Robert Fuller & Brian Lee (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 03/30/90) ***

#8 - Bret Hart vs Rick Martel (WWF MSG 03/19/90)

#9 - Tiger Mask vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 03/06/90)

#10 - Tully Blanchard & Destruction Crew vs The Trooper, DJ Peterson & Paul Diamond (AWA 03/18/90)

#11 - Jimmy Valiant vs Billy Joe Travis (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 03/30/90)

#12 - Angel Azteca, El Dandy & El Texano vs Fuerza Guerrera, Jerry Estrada & Pierroth (EMLL 03/02/90)

#13 - Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee vs Billy Joe Travis & Terry Garvin (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 03/09/90)

#14 - Perro Aguayo vs Gran Hamada (Hamada's UWF 03/02/90)

#15 - Jerry Lawler vs Jimmy Valiant (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 03/02/90)

#16 - Negro Casas vs Yoshinari Asai (Hamada's UWF 03/02/90)

#17 - DC Drake vs Larry Winters (TWA Spring Spectacular 03/31/90)

#18 - Ultimate Warrior vs Mr. Perfect (WWF MSG 03/19/90)

#19 - Steve Austin vs Chris Adams (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 03/23/90)

#20 - Jerry Lawler vs Kerry Von Erich (TWA Spring Spectacular 03/31/90)

#21 - Hulk Hogan vs Dino Bravo (WWF Superstars 03/10/90)

#22 - Tony Atlas vs Atsushi Onita (ICW TV 03/17/90)

 

Overall thoughts: After thinking about it some more, I don't think Flair/Morton is quite as good as Flair/Eaton, despite what I said in the thread, mainly because Flair was better in the January match. Cactus/Gilbert was outstanding. With Q1 down, WCW has been the best in-ring promotion in the world by a pretty healthy margin.

[Loss]

April:

 

#1 - Lightning Kid vs Jerry Lynn (PWA 04/90) ****1/4

#2 - Ryuma Go vs Masaji Aoyagi (Pioneer 04/05/90) ****

#3 - Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs Masanobu Kurisu & Dragon Master (FMW 04/01/90) ****

#4 - Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki (UWF Fighting Area 04/15/90) ****

#5 - Hulk Hogan vs Stan Hansen (WWF/AJPW Tokyo Dome 04/13/90) ***3/4

#6 - Randy Savage vs Genichiro Tenryu (WWF/AJPW Tokyo Dome 04/13/90) ***3/4

#7 - Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoji Anjo (UWF Fighting Area 04/15/90) ***3/4

#8 - Midnight Express vs Rock & Roll Express (NWA Main Event 04/22/90) ***3/4

#9 - Midnight Express vs Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (NWA Power Hour 04/20/90) ***1/2

#10 - Akira Maeda vs Tatsuo Nakano (UWF Fighting Area 04/15/90) ***1/2

#11 - Hart Foundation vs Rockers (WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 04/28/90) ***1/2

#12 - Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW Yokohama 04/19/90) ***1/4

#13 - Shawn Michaels vs Ted DiBiase (WWF Hottest Matches 04/24/90) ***1/4

#14 - Rock & Roll Express vs Fabulous Freebirds (NWA World Championship Wrestling 04/14/90) ***

#15 - Mr. Perfect vs Tito Santana (WWF 04/23/90) ***

#16 - Jerry Lawler vs New York Mauler (USWA TV 04/28/90) ***

#17 - Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior (WWF Wrestlemania VI 04/01/90) ***

#18 - Hulk Hogan vs Mr. Perfect (WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 04/28/90)

#19 - Jerry Lawler vs Jeff Jarrett (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 04/20/90)

#20 - Ultimate Warrior vs Ted DiBiase (WWF/AJPW Tokyo Dome 04/13/90)

 

Overall thoughts: Quite the month for hidden gem matches!

[Loss]

May:

 

#1 - Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Masa Fuchi (AJPW 05/26/90) ****1/4

#2 - Riki Choshu vs Keiji Muto (NJPW 05/24/90) ****

#3 - El Dandy, El Satanico & Emilio Charles Jr. vs Atlantis, Javier Cruz & Angel Azteca (EMLL 05/11/90) ****

#4 - Midnight Express vs Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (WCW Capital Combat 05/19/90) ***3/4

#5 - MS-1, Emilio Charles Jr. & Ulises vs Atlantis, El Dandy & El Satanico (EMLL 05/04/90) ***3/4

#6 - Kerry Von Erich vs Matt Borne (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 05/11/90) ***1/2

#7 - Ric Flair vs Lex Luger (WCW Capital Combat 05/19/90) ***1/2

#8 - Jeff Jarrett & Billy Joe Travis vs Dirty White Boy & John Tatum (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 05/11/90) ***1/4

#9 - Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami vs Yumiko Hotta & Mitsuko Nishiwaki (AJW 05/13/90) ***1/4

#10 - Rick & Scott Steiner vs Doom (WCW Capital Combat 05/19/90) ***1/4

#11 - Riki Choshu vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 05/28/90) ***1/4

#12 - Ric Flair vs Lex Luger (WCW Worldwide 05/05/90) ***

#13 - Atlantis, Angel Azteca & Javier Cruz vs El Dandy, El Satanico & Emilio Charles Jr. (EMLL 05/18/90) ***

#14 - Steve Austin vs Chris Adams (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 05/25/90) ***

#15 - Kerry Von Erich vs Matt Borne (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 05/25/90)

#16 - Tiger Mask & Toshiaki Kawada vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Ricky Fuyuki (AJPW 05/14/90)

 

Overall thoughts: I was starting to lose faith in 1990, thinking 1990 EMLL had been overhyped, that the Japanese promotions weren't as good as they should be and that WCW was the only promotion in the world with consistently good matches, with even those having the tinge of bad booking. But toward the end of the month, my faith started getting restored. The kickoff to the Misawa & Co. vs Jumbo & Co. feud was terrific, and Choshu had a pair of matches with Muto and Hashimoto that give me hope for New Japan. The trios matches started improving and WCW kept the match quality going in spite of the bad booking. So I'm really looking forward to the second half of the year now.

[Loss]

June:

 

#1 - El Dandy vs Angel Azteca (EMLL 06/01/90) *****

#2 - Manami Toyota vs Yumiko Hotta (AJW Grand Prix 06/17/90) ****1/2

#3 - 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) ****1/4

#4 - Akira Maeda vs Nobuhiko Takada (UWF 06/21/90) ****1/4

#5 - Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa (AJPW 06/08/90) ****

#6 - Aja Kong, Grizzly Iwamoto & Bison Kimura vs Manami Toyota, Mika Takahashi & Kaoru Maeda (Hamada's UWF 06/04/90) ****

#7 - Negro Casas vs Yoshinari Asai (Hamada's UWF 06/07/90) ***3/4

#8 - Gran Hamada, Perro Aguayo & Kendo vs El Signo, El Texano & Negro Navarro (Hamada's UWF 06/07/90) ***3/4

#9 - El Dandy & El Satanico vs Atlantis & Angel Azteca (EMLL 06/15/90) ***3/4

#10 - Jushin Liger vs Masaji Aoyagi (NJPW 06/12/90) ***3/4

#11 - Stan Hansen vs Steve Williams (AJPW 06/05/90) ***1/2

#12 - Espectrito & Piratita Morgan vs Mascarita Sagrada & Aguilita Solitaria (EMLL 06/22/90) ***1/2

#13 - Bull Power vs Otto Wanz (CWA 06/30/90) ***1/2

#14 - Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 06/30/90) ***1/2

#15 - Lightning Kid vs Jerry Lynn (PWA 06/90) ***1/2

#16 - Vader vs Stan Hansen (NJPW 06/12/90) ***1/2

#17 - El Hijo del Santo, Super Astro & Kendo vs Negro Casas, Blue Panther & Fuerza Guerrera (Hamada's UWF 06/04/90) ***1/4

#18 - Riki Choshu vs Animal Hamaguchi (NJPW 06/12/90) ***1/4

#19 - Dave Finlay vs Steve Wright (CWA 06/30/90) ***1/4

#20 - Perro Aguayo, Ringo Mendoza & Lizmark vs El Satanico, Sangre Chicana & Ken Timbs (EMLL 06/08/90) ***1/4

#21 - Terry Funk vs Stan Hansen (WWA 06/23/90) ***

#22 - Gran Hamada vs Perro Aguayo (Hamada's UWF 06/01/90)

#23 - Jumbo Tsuruta vs Terry Gordy (AJPW 06/05/90)

#24 - El Hijo del Santo vs Fuerza Guerrera (Hamada's UWF 06/07/90)

#25 - Midnight Express vs Rock & Roll Express (NWA Clash of the Champions XI 06/13/90)

#26 - Owen Hart vs Keiji Muto (NJPW 06/30/90)

#27 - Kerry Von Erich vs Matt Borne (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 06/01/90)

#28 - Road Warriors vs Barry Windham & Arn Anderson (NWA World Championship Wrestling 06/02/90)

#29 - Bill Dundee vs John Tatum (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 06/15/90)

#30 - Jerry Lawler vs Bill Dundee (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 06/01/90)

#31 - Kerry Von Erich vs Matt Borne (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 06/15/90)

#32 - Lex Luger vs Sid Vicious (NWA Clash of the Champions XI 06/13/90)

 

Overall thoughts: I got a little sidetracked in June because it's holiday season, so it took me a little longer to complete, but June was the best month of 1990 so far, in terms of variety, but also in terms of quality. I'm pretty sure El Dandy vs Angel Azteca is my favorite match of all time at this moment, and it's the obvious highlight of the month and year (and possibly decade), but Toyota/Hotta was tremendous too, as was the New Japan 10-man tag. One thing I have to mention is the Lawler/Snowman series. It feels wrong to do a listing like this and not include anything from that feud, but it was so clipped and the one complete match that aired ended in four minutes, so I didn't feel like I should list it. But I still think it's the best feud of the year, with some really creative booking and unique matches. I'm glad to see Lawler turning as the month comes to a close, but it's sad what has happened to WCW. Not a single strong TV match in the month of June (and that's a month that had a Clash) but tons of angles based on race baiting. I'm hoping the Bash is as strong as I remember, and I'm hoping the TV quality picks up as the year comes to a close, but thus far, there has been an immediate decline under Ole's leadership.

[Loss]

July:

 

#1 - Midnight Express vs Southern Boys (NWA Great American Bash 07/07/90) ****1/2

#2 - Masa Fuchi vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (AJPW Brody Memorial 07/12/90) ****

#3 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW 07/07/90) ***3/4

#4 - Jeff Jarrett & Billy Joe Travis vs Sweet Daddy Falcone & Chico Torres (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 07/04/90) ***3/4

#5 - Manami Toyota vs Bull Nakano (AJW 07/21/90) ***1/2

#6 - Mr. Perfect vs Tito Santana (WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 07/28/90) ***1/2

#7 - Jeff Jarrett vs Iceman Parsons (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 07/13/90) ***1/4

#8 - Doom vs Rock & Roll Express (NWA Great American Bash 07/07/90) ***1/4

#9 - Rick Rude vs Ultimate Warrior (WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 07/28/90) ***

#10 - Steve Austin & Jeanne Clark vs Chris & Toni Adams (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 07/20/90) ***

#11 - Harley Race vs Tommy Rich (NWA Great American Bash 07/07/90)

#12 - Dean Malenko vs Ricky Rice (IWA TV 07/28/90)

#13 - Stan Hansen vs Tommy Rich (NWA World Championship Wrestling 07/14/90)

#14 - Ric Flair vs Sting (NWA Great American Bash 07/07/90)

#15 - Demolition vs Rockers (WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 07/28/90)

#16 - Steve Austin & Jeanne Clark vs Chris & Toni Adams (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 07/04/90)

#17 - Bill Dundee vs John Tatum (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 07/04/90)

#18 - Tommy Rogers vs Jimmy Backlund (IWA TV 07/28/90)

#19 - Abdullah the Butcher vs Zeus (WWC Anniversario 07/07/90)

 

Overall thoughts: The yearbook has picked up in a big way since the beginning of June. Every promotion featured did something worth watching at the very least. Even the "bad" is interesting.

[Loss]

August:

 

#1 - Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs Bull Nakano & Grizzly Iwamoto (AJW 08/19/90) ****1/2

#2 - Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (AJPW 08/18/90) ****

#3 - Jumbo Tsuruta vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 08/31/90) ***3/4

#4 - Manami Toyota vs Akira Hokuto (AJW 08/19/90) ***1/2

#5 - Jushin Liger vs Pegasus Kid (NJPW 08/19/90) ***1/2

#6 - Atsushi Onita vs Tarzan Goto (FMW 08/04/90) ***1/2

#7 - Steve Austin vs Chris Adams (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 08/03/90) ***1/2

#8 - Dave Finlay & Marty Jones vs Mile Zrno & Franz Schumann (CWA Vienna 08/03/90) ***1/2

#9 - Atlantis, Angel Azteca & Javier Cruz vs El Dandy, El Satanico & Emilio Charles Jr. (EMLL 08/24/90) ***1/2

#10 - Midnight Express vs Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (NWA World Championship Wrestling 08/18/90) ***1/4

#11 - Harley Race vs Larry Zbyszko (AWA 08/27/90) ***1/4

#12 - Jerry Lawler & Jeff Jarrett vs Sweet Daddy Falcone & Gary Young (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 08/03/90) ***

#13 - Hulk Hogan vs Earthquake (WWF Summerslam 08/27/90) ***

#14 - Rick Rude vs Ultimate Warrior (WWF Summerslam 08/27/90) ***

#15 - Fantastics vs Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (AJPW 08/29/90) ***

#16 - Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee vs John Tatum & Gary Young (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 08/31/90) ***

#17 - Vader vs Riki Choshu (NJPW 08/19/90) ***

#18 - Rockers vs Power & Glory (WWF Summerslam 08/27/90)

#19 - Hart Foundation vs Demolition (WWF Summerslam 08/27/90)

#20 - Bill Dundee & Steven Dane vs Rock & Roll RPMs (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 08/31/90)

#21 - Steve Austin & Jeannie Clark vs Chris & Toni Adams (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 08/31/90)

#22 - Midnight Express vs Rock & Roll Express (NWA Main Event 08/26/90)

#23 - Owen Hart vs Dave Finlay (CWA Vienna 08/26/90)

#24 - Eddie Gilbert vs Cowabunga (USWA WMC-5 08/25/90)

#25 - Eddie Gilbert vs Bill Dundee (USWA WMC-5 08/04/90)

#26 - Lex Luger vs Arn Anderson (NWA Main Event 08/19/90)

#27 - Steve Austin & Percy Pringle vs Chris Adams & Chris Von Erich (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 08/17/90)

 

Overall thoughts: Lots of solid matches and a couple of great ones. I can't complain.

[Loss]

September:

 

#1 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue (AJPW 09/30/90) ****3/4

#2 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 09/01/90) ****1/2

#3 - Great Muta vs Hiroshi Hase (NJPW 09/14/90) ****

#4 - Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa vs Yoshiaki Yatsu & Isao Takagi (SWS 09/09/90) ***3/4

#5 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (AJPW 09/29/90) ***3/4

#6 - Fantastics vs Joe Malenko & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (AJPW 09/01/90) ***3/4

#7 - El Hijo del Santo, Eddy Guerrero & El Satanico vs Los Brazos (EMLL 09/14/90) ***1/2

#8 - Fantastics vs Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (AJPW 09/07/90) ***1/2

#9 - Ricky Morton vs Bobby Eaton (NWA World Championship Wrestling 09/29/90) ***1/2

#10 - Ric Flair vs Lex Luger (NWA Clash of the Champions XII 09/05/90) ***1/4

#11 - El Hijo del Santo, Ringo Mendoza & Lizmark vs Konnan, Perro Aguayo & Ken Timbs (EMLL 09/21/90) ***1/4

#12 - Rayo de Jalisco Jr. vs Cien Caras (EMLL 09/21/90) ***1/4

#13 - Arn Anderson vs Scott Steiner (NWA Main Event 09/23/90) ***1/4

#14 - Vader vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 09/14/90) ***

#15 - Scott Steiner vs Bobby Eaton (NWA Power Hour 09/21/90) ***

#16 - Bobby Eaton vs Tracy Smothers (NWA Power Hour 09/28/90) ***

#17 - Perro Aguayo, Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 vs Konnan, Ringo Mendoza & Rayo de Jalisco Jr (EMLL 09/14/90)

#18 - Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (NWA Pro 09/22/90)

#19 - Aja Kong vs Bull Nakano (AJW 09/01/90)

#20 - Ric Flair vs Scott Steiner (NWA World Championship Wrestling 09/22/90)

#21 - Eddie Gilbert vs Cactus Jack (TWA Autumn Armageddon 09/15/90)

 

Overall thoughts: All Japan rules the month. WCW had some good TV matches too, but the magic from January and February is long gone.

[Loss]

October:

 

#1 - Lightning Kid vs Jerry Lynn (PWA 10/90) ****3/4

#2 - Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF 10/25/90) ****3/4

#3 - El Dandy vs El Satanico (EMLL 10/26/90) ****1/2

#4 - Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (AJPW 10/19/90) ****1/2

#5 - Genichiro Tenryu vs George Takano (SWS 10/11/90) ****

#6 - Akira Maeda vs Masakatsu Funaki (UWF 10/25/90) ****

#7 - Rick & Scott Steiner vs Nasty Boys (NWA Halloween Havoc 10/27/90) ****

#8 - The Rockers vs Hart Foundation (WWF Fort Wayne, IN 10/30/90) ***3/4

#9 - Midnight Express vs Ricky Morton & Tommy Rich (NWA Halloween Havoc 10/27/90) ***1/2

#10 - Jerry Lawler vs Dick Slater (USWA Unified Title Tournament 10/08/90) ***1/4

#11 - Steve Williams vs Paul Orndorff (UWF TV 10/29/90) ***1/4

#12 - Jeff Jarrett & Bob Orton vs Genichiro Tenryu & Kabuki (SWS 10/10/90) ***

#13 - Rick & Scott Steiner vs Midnight Express (NWA World Championship Wrestling 10/13/90) ***

#14 - Terry Funk vs Brickhouse Brown (USWA Unified Title Tournament 10/08/90)

#15 - Jerry Lawler vs Mark Callous (USWA Unified Title Tournament 10/08/90) ***

#16 - Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs Doom (NWA Halloween Havoc 10/27/90) ***

#17 - Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (AJPW 10/07/90)

#18 - Jeff Jarrett vs Eddie Gilbert (USWA Unified Title Tournament 10/08/90)

#19 - Terry Funk vs Dick Murdoch (USWA Unified Title Tournament 10/08/90)

#20 - Jerry Lawler vs Austin Idol (USWA Unified Title Tournament 10/08/90)

#21 - Jerry Lawler vs Terry Funk (USWA Unified Title Tournament 10/08/90)

#22 - Jeff Jarrett vs Danny Davis (USWA TV 10/27/90)

#23 - Legion of Doom & Ultimate Warrior vs Demolition (WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 10/13/90)

#24 - Ivan Koloff vs Nikita Koloff (UWF TV 10/15/90)

 

Overall thoughts: Definitely the best in-ring month of 1990.

[Loss]

November:

 

#1 - Pirata Morgan vs El Faraon (EMLL 11/16/90) ****1/2

#2 - Lightning Kid vs Wellington Wilkins Jr. (PWA 11/90) ****1/2

#3 - Keiji Muto & Masa Chono vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW 11/01/90) ****1/4

#4 - 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) ****1/4

#5 - Jerry Lawler vs Eddie Gilbert (WWA 11/09/90) ****1/4

#6 - El Dandy, Ringo Mendoza & Sangre Chicana vs El Satanico, MS-1 & Ken Timbs (EMLL 11/16/90) ****1/4

#7 - Aja Kong vs Bull Nakano (AJW Wrestlemarinepiad 11/14/90) ****

#8 - Jerry Lawler vs Terry Funk (TWA 11/10/90) ***3/4

#9 - Riki Choshu vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 11/01/90) ***1/2

#10 - Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey vs Dory & Terry Funk (AJPW 11/15/90) ***1/2

#11 - Manami Toyota & Kyoko Inoue vs Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami (AJW Wrestlemarinepiad 11/14/90) ***1/2

#12 - Atsushi Onita vs Mr. Pogo (FMW 11/05/90) ***1/2

#13 - Jushin Liger vs Wild Pegasus (NJPW 11/01/90) ***1/4

#14 - Los Brazos vs Gran Hamada, Yoshinari Asai & Kendo (Hamada's UWF 11/12/90) ***1/4

#15 - Ultimate Warrior vs Ted DiBiase (WWF The Main Event 11/23/90 ***1/4

#16 - Arn Anderson vs Terry Taylor (NWA Pro 11/10/90) ***

#17 - Brian Pillman vs Rip Rogers (NWA World Championship Wrestling 11/10/90) ***

#18 - Terry Taylor vs Rip Rogers (NWA World Championship Wrestling 11/24/90) ***

#19 - Ted DiBiase vs Dustin Rhodes (WWF Superstars 11/03/90)

#20 - Undertaker, Ted DiBiase, Honky Tonk Man & Greg Valentine vs Hart Foundation, Dusty Rhodes & Koko B. Ware (WWF Survivor Series 11/22/90)

#21 - Legion of Doom vs Orient Express (WWF Superstars 11/10/90)

#22 - Sting vs Bobby Eaton (NWA World Championship Wrestling 11/10/90)

#23 - Ric Flair vs Buddy Landell (WCW Power Hour 11/23/90)

#24 - Eddie Gilbert vs Jamie Dundee (USWA WMC-5 11/24/90)

#25 - Arn Anderson vs Terry Taylor (NWA Pro 11/24/90)

#26 - Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior & Tito Santana vs Ted DiBiase, Rick Martel, Hercules, Paul Roma & Warlord (WWF Survivor Series 11/22/90)

#27 - Eddie Gilbert vs Jeff Jarrett (USWA Nashville 11/17/90)

#28 - Arn Anderson vs Terry Taylor (NWA Pro 11/17/90)

#29 - Sid Vicious vs The Nightstalker (NWA Clash of the Champions XIII 11/21/90)

 

Overall thoughts: I love the progression of this yearbook from ecclectic wrestling to great wrestling. We'll see if 1991 continues this, but it's been clear to me watching 1990 and 1992 that the huge gulf between match quality in the U.S. and Japan and Mexico didn't really happen until 1993. That was a combination of the groundwork Japanese promotions laid for the first few years paying off, and the American scene sinking. There was a lot of great wrestling everywhere around the end of 1990. I only wish that could have continued on a consistent basis as the decade progressed.

[Loss]

December:

 

#1 - El Dandy vs El Satanico (EMLL 12/14/90) ****3/4

#2 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue (AJPW 12/07/90) ****

#3 - Barry Windham & Arn Anderson vs Doom (NWA Starrcade 12/16/90) ****

#4 - Roddy Piper vs Mr. Perfect (WWF MSG Network 12/28/90) ***3/4

#5 - Lex Luger vs Stan Hansen (NWA Starrcade 12/16/90) ***1/2

#6 - Terry Taylor vs Rip Rogers (NWA Pro 12/22/90) ***1/4

#7 - Arn Anderson vs Tom Zenk (NWA World Championship Wrestling 12/29/90) ***1/4

#8 - Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami (AJW 12/09/90) ***

#9 - Jushin Liger vs Negro Casas (NJPW 12/26/90) ***

#10 - Brian Pillman vs Rip Rogers (NWA World Championship Wrestling 12/07/90) ***

#11 - Nick Bockwinkel vs Masa Saito (NJPW 12/26/90) ***

#12 - Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey vs Steve Williams & Terry Gordy (AJPW 12/07/90)

#13 - Sting vs Black Scorpion (NWA Starrcade 12/16/90)

#14 - Konnan & Rey Misterio Sr. vs Chris Adams & Norman Smiley (NWA Starrcade 12/16/90)

#15 - Mr. Perfect vs Kerry Von Erich (WWF Superstars 12/15/90)

#16 - Masa Chono vs Lou Thesz (NJPW 12/26/90)

[Matt D]

Looking at this, you have Rockers vs Powers of Pain as your (solely) WWF MOTY at ****, followed by a tie between 12/28 Piper vs Perfect and 10/30 Rockers vs Harts at *** 3/4 each.

 

Also, Lightning Kid vs Jerry Lynn (PWA 10/90) at ****3/4 is your US match of the year by this.

 

Is that how you feel still?

[Loss]

Yes. I just sorted out my Top 100. I really want to do comments on each one this time, so I'm going to start posting them incrementally.

[jdw]

The year of Lucha at the top spot.

 

John

[Vinnie B]

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:

1. Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (NJPW 01/31/90) **** 1/2
2. El Hijo del Santo, Yoshinari Asai & Gran Hamada vs. Negro Casas, Blue Panther & Fuerza Guerrera (WWA 1990) ****
3. Ron Garvin vs. Greg Valentine (Submission Match) (Rumble 1/21/90) ****
4. Akira Hokuto & Yumiko Hotta vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Etsuko Mita (AJW 1/4/90) *** ¾
5. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki (AJPW 1/14/90) *** ¾
6. Akira Maeda vs. Nobuhiko Takada (UWF 1/16/90) *** ¾
7. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Isao Takagi (AJPW 1/20/90) *** ¾
8. Jeff Jarrett vs. Billy Joe Travis (Guitar on a Pole match) (USWA TX 1/26/90) *** ½
9. Rockers vs. Powers of Pain (MSG 1/15/90) ***
10. Ric Flair vs. Bobby Eaton (Main Event 1/7/90) *** ½
11. Jushin Liger vs Owen Hart (NJPW 01/30/90)
12. Ric Flair, Arn Anderson & Sting vs. Buzz Sawyer, Dragon Master & Great Muta (Power Hour 1/26/90) *** ½
13. Arn Anderson vs. The Great Muta (Power Hour 1/12/90) *** ¼
14. Arn Anderson vs. Buzz Sawyer (Power Hour 1/19/90) *** ¼
15. Roddy Piper vs. Randy Savage (Wrestlefest 1/22/90) *** ¼
16. Rock N Roll Express & Dynamic Dudes vs. Midnight Express & Fabulous Freebirds (WCWSN 1/27/90) *** ¼
17. Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior vs. Mr. Perfect & The Genius (SNME 1/27/90) ***
18. Bill Dundee, Chris Adams & Eric Embry vs. Billy Travis, Gary Young & Skandor Akbar (USWA TX 1/19/90) ***
19. El Hijo del Santo & Blue Demon Jr vs. Eddy & Mando Guerrero (WWA 1990) ** ¾
20. Cactus Jack vs. Lee Scott (WCWSN 1/13/90) ** ¾
21. Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Yoji Anjoh (UWF 1/16/90) ** ¾
22. 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

[Dylan Waco]

Awesome post Vinnie. I love reading stuff like this.

[Loss]

Welcome! 1990 is the most novel yearbook, but along with 1991 it lays the groundwork for some stuff that really starts to pay off in a big way in 1992, especially in Japan.

[soup23]

Great post Vinnie, I look forward to reading tons more in the future.

[Vinnie B]

February:

1. Ric Flair vs Lex Luger (NWA Wrestle War 02/25/90) **** ½
2. Midnight Express vs Rock & Roll Express (NWA Wrestle War 02/25/90) **** ¼
3. Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask vs. Riki Choshu & George Takano (NJPW/AJPW 2/10/90) ****
4. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido (NJPW/AJPW 2/10/90) ****
5. Larry Zbyszko vs. Masa Saito (NJPW/AJPW 2/10/90) *** ¾
6. Ric Flair vs. Brian Pillman (WCWSN 2/17/90) *** ½
7. Rock & Roll Express vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (Main Event 2/18/90) *** ½
8. Midnight Express vs. Rock & Roll Express (WWW 2/10/90) *** ½
9. Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF 02/27/90) *** ½
10. Ric Flair vs. Tom Zenk (Power Hour 2/2/90) *** ¼
11. Atsushi Onita vs Masanobu Kurisu (FMW 02/12/90) *** ¼
12. Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF 2/9/90) *** ¼
13. Midnight Express vs. Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (WWW 2/17/90) ***
14. Ric Flair, Arn & Ole Anderson vs. Buzz Sawyer, Dragon Master & Great Muta (Cage Match) (Clash 2/6/90) ***
15. Jerry Lawler & Billy Travis vs. Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee (USWA TX 2/2/90) ***
16. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (Challenge 2/11/90) ** ¾
17. 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.

[soup23]

Keep it coming Vinnie. Loving reading these monthly status reports.

 

I agree with Flair, everyone knows about his 1989 but I think he extended that really well up until the title change in 1990 as one of the best stretches of his career.

[Vinnie B]

March:

 

1. Jerry Estrada vs El Satanico (EMLL 03/23/90) ****
2. El Dandy vs Angel Azteca (EMLL 03/23/90) *** ½
3. Tiger Mask vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 3/6/90) *** ½
4. Ric Flair vs Ricky Morton (WWW 3/24/90) *** ½
5. Atlantis, Villano III & El Satanico vs. Pirata Morgan, Jerry Estrada & Emilio Charles Jr (EMLL 3/16/90) *** ½
6. Eddie Gilbert vs Cactus Jack (NWA Power Hour 03/23/90) *** ¼
7. Midnight Express vs. Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (WCWSN 3/10/90) *** ¼
8. Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee vs. Robert Fuller & Brian Lee (USWA TX 3/30/90)
9. Perro Aguayo vs. Gran Hamada (H-UWF 3/2/90) ***
10. Negro Casas vs. Yoshihiro Asai (H-UWF 3/2/90) ***
11. Bret Hart vs Rick Martel (WWF MSG 03/19/90) ***
12. Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee vs. Billy Travis & Terrence Garvin (USWA TX 3/9/90)
    ***
13. Angel Azteca, El Dandy & El Texano vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Pierroth Jr & Jerry Estrada (EMLL3/2/90) ** ¾
14. DC Drake vs Larry Winters (TWA Spring Spectacular 03/31/90) ** ¾
15. Steve Austin vs Chris Adams (USWA Dallas Sportatorium 03/23/90) ** ¾
16. Billy Travis vs. Jimmy Valiant (USWA TX 3/30/90) ** ¾
17. Tully Blanchard & Destruction Crew vs The Trooper, DJ Peterson & Paul Diamond (AWA 03/18/90) ** ¾
18. Ultimate Warrior vs Mr. Perfect (WWF MSG 03/19/90) ** ½
19. Jerry Lawler vs. Jimmy Valiant (USWA TX 3/2/90)
    ** ½
20. Jerry Lawler vs Kerry Von Erich (TWA Spring Spectacular 03/31/90) ** ¼
21. Tony Atlas vs. Atsushi Onita (ICW 3/17/90) ** ¼
22. Steve Austin vs. Chris Adams (USWA TX 3/9/90) ** ¼
23. 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!

[Vinnie B]

April:

1. Lightning Kid vs Jerry Lynn (PWA 04/90) **** ¼
2. Atsushi Onita & Tarzan Goto vs Masanobu Kurisu & Dragon Master (FMW 04/01/90) **** ¼
3. Randy Savage vs. Genichiro Tenryu (WWF/AJPW 4/13/90) *** ¾
4. Nobuhiko Takada vs. Yoji Anjo (UWF 4/15/90) *** ¾
5. Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF 4/15/90) *** ¾
6. Hulk Hogan vs. Stan Hansen (WWF/AJPW 4/13/90) *** ¾
7. Ryuma Go vs. Masaji Aoyagi (Pioneer 4/5/90) *** ¾
8. Midnight Express vs. Rock & Roll Express (Main Event 4/22/90) *** ½
9. Midnight Express vs. Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (Power Hour 4/20/90) *** ½
10. Hart Foundation vs Rockers (WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 04/28/90) *** ½
11. Akira Maeda vs. Tatsuo Nakano (UWF 4/15/90) *** ½
12. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 4/19/90) *** ½
13. Shawn Michaels vs. Ted Dibiase (WWF 4/24/90) *** ¼
14. Rock & Roll Express vs. Freebirds (2/3 Falls) (WCWSN 4/14/90) ***
15. Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior (WWF Wrestlemania VI 04/01/90) ***
16. Hulk Hogan vs. Mr. Perfect (SNME 4/28/90) ** ¾
17. Mr. Perfect vs. Tito Santana (WWF 4/23/90) ** ¾
18. Jerry Lawler vs. Jeff Jarrett (USWA TX 4/20/90) ** ¾
19. 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!

[soup23]

Really feel like things pick up in April and ride that momentum until July or so before tampering off a bit and then having a great September/October stretch.

 

Glad to see you giving a shout out to the Mauler/Jordan/Lawler stuff as angle of the month as I had a perpetual smile on my face watching that.

[Vinnie B]

May:

1. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Masa Fuchi (AJPW 5/26/90) **** ½
2. Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami vs. Yumiko Hotta & Mitsuko Nishiwaki (2/3 Falls) (AJW 5/13/90) ****
3. Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (Cage Match) (Capital Combat 5/19/90) ****
4. El Satanico, El Dandy & Emilio Charles Jr vs. Atlantis, Javier Cruz & Angel Azteca (EMLL 5/11/90) ****
5. Midnight Express vs. Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk (Capital Combat 5/19/90) ****
6. MS-1, Emilio Charles Jr & Ulises vs. Atlantis, El Dandy & El Satanico (EMLL 5/4/90) *** ¾
7. Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Doom (Capital Combat 5/19/90) *** ¾
8. Riki Choshu vs. Keiji Muto (NJPW 5/24/90) *** ¾
9. Atlantis, Angel Azteca & Javier Cruz vs. El Dandy, El Satanico & Emilio Charles Jr (EMLL 5/18/90) *** ½
10. Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (WWW 5/5/90) *** ½
11. Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 5/28/90) *** ¼
12. Steve Austin vs. Chris Adams (Barbed Wire Match) (USWA TX 5/25/90) ** ¾
13. Kerry Von Erich vs. Matt Borne (USWA TX 5/25/90) ** ¾
14. Steve Austin vs. Chris Adams (5/12/90) ** ¾
15. Tiger Mask & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Ricky Fuyuki (AJPW 5/14/90) ** ¾
16. Jeff Jarrett & Billy Travis vs. Dirty White Boy & John Tatum (USWA TX 5/11/90) ** ½
17. 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: