Riding Space Mountain

[Superstar Sleeze]

The Wrestling Culture Podcast has done a great job explaining why Dustin Rhodes rules the school by a career retrospective and saying he has about 3 MOTYCs this year (two against The Shield and the TLC 4-Way). Thus Riding Space Mountain also gets timely by looking at an overlooked point of Dustin's career his 1993 US Title feud with Rick Rude. I argue that he is a victim of circumstances that WCW's woefully 1993 inept booking and Rude's injuries are too much for him to overcome. Still, they managed to put together a couple good matches on Saturday Night. Of course, the vast majority of fans have only seen the rather boring Iron Man Match. In the second Saturday Night match, Rude pulled a classic 1992 performance out his ass and in the tag match with Flair and against Rude & Sid Rhodes pulled out one of the better face in peril performances.

 

These are the recommended match not because they are great matches per se, but displayed the positive attributes of teh combatants.

 

Dustin Rhodes , Sting & Davey Boy Smith vs Rick Rude, Vader & Sid Vicious - Clash XXIII

 

Dustin Rhodes vs Rick Rude

WCW Saturday Night 08/28/93 Best of 3 Series VACANT US Champion

Match #1

 

Dustin Rhodes vs Rick Rude

WCW Saturday Night 09/4/93 Best of 3 Series VACANT US Champion

Match #2

 

Dustin Rhodes & Ric Flair vs. Rick Rude & Sid Vicious - WCW Saturday Night 09/18/93

[Superstar Sleeze]

Jun Akiyama had some of the worst birth timing ever. Ten years in either direction, maybe just five years and he would have been golden. Instead, he is in-between generations of superstar unfairly compared against his more popular predecessors and too gold to be effectively used as an ace against his successors. During what I would argue as his drawing peak between 2000-2002 where he was positioned with wins over Misawa and Kobashi, given the first headlining feud in NOAH history, the second GHC champion, two NJPW Dome main events and then the ace of the tag division, he still did not feel like the ace. When Kobashi beat Misawa in 2003 and went on his epic run it finally felt like Kobashi had superseded Misawa as the Man. If you think about it that took about 9 years because Misawa still had something to give. In a lot of ways the fact that Misawa and Kobashi could still draw hampered Akiyama's ability to be the Ace. In the aftermath of 2002, which I have not familiarized myself with yet, there may have been some booking botches as others have pointed out to me. I will say that the fact he was positioned as a heel during this big push hurt him. Misawa was a face squaring off against Jumbo and people were cheering him. Japanese fans are conditioned to see their Aces as a babyfaces so it hurt Akiyama in his build to being an Ace to be portrayed as a heel in my opinion.

 

I highly recommend both the 02/00 Misawa bout and the 12/00 Kobashi blowoff both are spectacular matches with great visual fireworks, but substantiated by great stories (I would say that Misawa match is a bit more story driven which is why I prefer it). Akiyama has excellent performances in both as a cold, relentless force looking to exploit any weakness to grab the torch from the two All Japan standard bearers.

 

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/20...-heaven-or.html

 

The rankings for the Best of Puroresu from 2000-2009 thus far:

1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

2. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

 

3. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

4. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00

5. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

 

6. IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title

7. Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 04/01

8. Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya - AJPW 6/30/01

 

9. Kenta Kobashi vs Takao Omori - Champions Carnival Final '00

10. GHC Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 07/27/01

11. GHC Tag Champions Jun Akiyama & Atikoshi Saito vs Kenta Kobashi & Kentaro Shiga - 10/19/02

12. Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - Budokan 07/23/00

13. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki - 01/04/00

14. Genichiro Tenryu vs Toshiaki Kawada - Vacant All Japan Triple Crown 10/28/00

15. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - NOAH #2 08/06/00

 

16. GHC Champion Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa - Budokan 09/23/02

17. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Vacant GHC Title 04/15/01

18. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 07/07/02

19. IWGP Champion Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihiro Takayma - Tokyo Dome 05/02

 

20. Keiji Mutoh vs Yuji Nagata - Sumo Hall 08/12/01 G-1 Climax Final

21. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Budokan 02/17/02

22. Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama - NOAH #1 08/05/00

23. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 02/24/02

 

24. Yoshihiro Takayma vs Osamu Nishimura - G-1 Climax Semifinals

25. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax Round Robin

26. Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Tokyo Dome 10/08/01

27. Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Zero-One 3/2/01

28. Toshiaki Kawada vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 06/06/01

29. GHC Tag Team Champions Wild II vs Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito - Budokan 9/23/02

[Superstar Sleeze]

Taking a break from puro, I take a look at Antonio Cesaro's tremendous 2013 campaign with inspiration from the fabulous Wrestling Culture Year In Review podcast. Cesaro is great at meshing strongman spots with gritty work that incorporates a sense of struggle to it. His matches never feel like exhibitions or performances, but contests. One of the last practitioners of the Austin mantra "Think shoot but work"

 

Match listing includes Sheamus, Daniel Bryan Gauntlet, Ziggler, TLC PPV and NXT matches against Zayn and Regal.

Check out my thoughts on the Swiss Superman here: http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/02/swiss-superman-antonio-cesaro-in-2013.html

[Kevin Ridge]

Masa Fuchi is my new hero. He had one helluva performance in the All Japan versus New Japan tag match in 12/00. He stole the show with his cocky, prickly antics and followed by his great selling. All Japan falls off a quality cliff in 2002, but from 2000-2002 it was still providing quality wrestling even though it was not sustainable due to the age of the stars, Kawada, Tenryu and Mutoh. I greatly enjoyed the tag matches I reviewed here as unusual suspects really elevated their game to match the likes of Tenryu and Kawada such as Taiyo Kea, Masa Fuchi and Nobutaka Araya. On the flip side, I did not find the Kojima all that great though he did finally have a pretty good match against Tenryu.

 

Check out All Japan strikes back!

 

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/20...aki-kawada.html

 

I enjoy Fuchi but I think Ana Rica might be a better looker.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Good guess, but it is Satinee Capona (at least I think that's her name. I am at work so I am not about to figure that out). Just when I thought Masa Fuchi had stolen my heart was not giving it back, I think Minoru Tanaka has stolen it from him. So much to love so far in 00s puroresu.

Another run that I absolutely love is the Brian Pillman run from 1991. He is such a vicious, revved up babyface throughout this entire run. I think we and a lot of wrestlers/announcers get stuck on "Flyin'" moniker and forget how adept he was in violent confrontations going chop for chop with anyone. In addition, I think this was the peak of Pillman's star power as he is feuding with the Horsemen (prominent single matches with Flair, AA and Windham all within April) and an entire midcard angle built around him in the form of the Yellow Dog. I argue that the Yellow Dog should have been a star making angle, but it was 1991 WCW so they dropped the ball and shoehorned Pillman into being the keystone of the DOA Light Heavyweight Division. Check out all the great Pillman matches in Wargames, Taped Fists and Yellow Dogs.

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/02/wargames-taped-fists-yellow-dogs-brian.html

 

 

[Superstar Sleeze]

After a kickass trip to Toronto, I am finally back with a compilation of my reviews regarding the Junior Heavyweights of Japan in 2000-2002. Minoru Tanaka really won me over as I originally planned to watch only 6 matches, but couldn't get enough and upped it to 10 after watching his amazing performances in the IWGP Junior Tag Championship match with Kanemoto vs Ohtani/Takaiwa that was one of the stiffest, most brutal matches I have ever seen. Don't ever put me in the ring with Ohtani or Takaiwa. Some other highlights from Minoru include his great shooty-style match with Murahama which features one of the best cross-armbreaker segments ever in terms of generating real emotion for a submission and his tags with Liger against the NOAH crew and probably what is the best display of testicular psychology in history.

The rankings for the Best of Puroresu from 2000-2009 thus far:
1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00
2. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

3. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01
4. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00
5. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

6. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW 6/25/00
7. IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title
8. Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 04/01
9. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01
10. Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya - AJPW 6/30/01

11. Kenta Kobashi vs Takao Omori - Champions Carnival Final '00
12. GHC Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 07/27/01
13. New Japan (Liger & Minoru ) vs. NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 4/7/02
14. GHC Tag Champions Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Shiga - NOAH 10/19/02
15. Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - Budokan 07/23/00
16. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki - 01/04/00
17. Genichiro Tenryu vs Toshiaki Kawada - Vacant All Japan Triple Crown 10/28/00
18. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - NOAH #2 08/06/00

19. GHC Champion Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa - Budokan 09/23/02
20. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Vacant GHC Title 04/15/01
21. IWGP Jr Tag Champions Kanemoto & Minoru vs Liger & Makabe - NJPW 9/12/00
22. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 07/07/02
23. IWGP Champion Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihiro Takayma - Tokyo Dome 05/02

24. Keiji Mutoh vs Yuji Nagata - Sumo Hall 08/12/01 G-1 Climax Final
25. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Budokan 02/17/02
26. Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama - NOAH #1 08/05/00
27. New Japan (Liger & Inoue) vs NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 2/17/02
28. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Liger & Minoru vs. Kikuchi & Kanemaru - NJPW 8/29/02
29. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 02/24/02

30. Yoshihiro Takayma vs Osamu Nishimura - G-1 Climax Semifinals
31. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax Round Robin
32. SUWA vs Dragon Kid - Toryumon 08/24/00 Hair Vs Mask
33. Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Tokyo Dome 10/08/01
34. NJPW(Liger, Minoru , Makabe) vs Osaka Pro(Delfin, Murhama, Tsubasa)-NJPW 12/14/00
35. Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Zero-One 3/2/01

36. Toshiaki Kawada vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 06/06/01
37. Naoki Sano vs Minoru Tanaka - Battlarts 01/30/2000
38. Dick Togo vs Tiger Mask IV - M-Pro 08/25/02

39. GHC Tag Team Champions Wild II vs Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito - Budokan 9/23/02

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/02/minoru-special-japanese-juniors-2000.html

[Guest stanley]

Here comes The Ax! Here Comes The Smasher!

 

Slow day at work, means that I can finally get this blog up. I know that Demolition has been a firebrand on this site. I have to say I fall in the middle. I recognize Demolition's strengths: match layout and more competitive matches with less of an exhibition-feel. However, their matches can meander and fall flat. There are plenty of faults, but they guys should not be dismissed just because they look like their Road Warriors. They should be judged based on their own merits. I would highly recommend their matches against Hart Foundation - Summerslam '88 and against the Rockers 10/88 MSG show as their two stand-out matches.

Still waiting on a demolition DVD. There's a Zack Ryder DVD but no Demolition? Fuck that

 

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/20...es-ax-here.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

Finished my first installment on my Triple H series. It is not as tight as I want it to be, but that may be because I don't have all the data I need to draw my conclusions yet. Still I set down my hypothesis and feelings going into the match. Hell, there was actually one very good Triple H match in 1999 it was of course fellow Kliq buddy, X-Pac. I have always enjoyed that match. http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-time-rise-of-hhh-wwf-1999.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

Shinya Hashimoto has the Dome rockin' against Ogawa in a tag match and the bittersweet end of Four Corners of Heaven and Vader are highlighted in these two blog posts...

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/02/rockin-dome-shinya-hashimoto-2000-2002.html

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/03/invader-demise-of-four-corners-of.html

Tomorrow, I have my big blowout to cap off 2000-2002 in Japan.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Before I launch into Kobashi's extraordinary GHC title reign (4 matches in and it was been bitchin), I wanted to wrap up with some final thoughts on the 2000-2002 Japan landscape.

1. 2000 was a return to form for Japan and actually their best year since 1997 and was a really enjoyable year to watch.

2. The structure was unsustainable. All Japan has Tenryu, Kawada, Mutoh; NOAH had Misawa, Kobashi and Akiyama and New Japan had Nagata and a bunch of MMA fighters. There were too many over the hill guys that could bust out a one-off performance but nothing to build company around. The people coming up (Kojima, Akiyama, Nagata) had no credible opponents. What made the Three Musketeers and Four Corners work is they had each other to elevate themselves.

3. The resulting huge dropoff quality. 2001 was still a pretty good year, but holy shit 2002 sucked resulting in the two highest rated matches of the year coming in at ****.

4. In this past year, by my count WWE (including NXT) had about 7-8 ****1/2 or greater matches. From 2000-2002 from the three different companies, Japan only produced 5. In some ways, we are just spoiled now, but it is also clear that Japan in 2001 & 2002 was in a stark decline.

Here are the awards for the end of my look at 2000-2002 Japan:

1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

2. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

3. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

4. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00

5. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

6. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW 6/25/00

7. IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title

8. Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 04/01

9. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01

10. Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murkami - Tokyo Dome 01/04/00

11. Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya - AJPW 6/30/01

12. Kenta Kobashi vs Takao Omori - Champions Carnival Final '00

13. GHC Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 07/27/01

14. New Japan (Liger & Minoru ) vs. NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 4/7/02

15. GHC Tag Champions Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Shiga - NOAH 10/19/02

Match of the Year, 2000:

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

Match of the Year, 2001:

All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

Match of the Year, 2002:

New Japan (Jushin Liger & Minoru Tanaka) vs. NOAH (Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) - NOAH 4/7/02 Finished #14 overall

Match of the Year (2000-2002), New Japan Pro Wrestling:

Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00

Match of the Year (2000), Pre-Split All Japan Pro Wrestling:

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

Match of the Year (2000-2002), Post-Split All Japan Pro Wrestling:

All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

Match of the Year (2000-2002), Pro Wrestling NOAH:

Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

Match of the Year (2000-2002), Junior Heavyweight Division:

IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Champs Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka - NJPW 6/25/00

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/03/best-of-japan-2000-2002.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

I have been slacking on updating this. The latest post looks at a half dozen matches from the first half of the SHield's run last year. Big ups to Jimmy Redman for posting that Top 100 WWE matches from 2013 helped me immensely in culling together a good match listing. Watched the TLC debut match for first time and absolutely gave it 5 stars based on how unique it was, well laid-out and just great action. Best debut match in promotion I can think of. Thought the Elimination Chamber 2013 match was a high end match, but below a MOTYC. Thought overall they had some very good TV matches with Daniel Bryan.

Believe The Hype and Believe in the Shield!

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/04/believe-hype-shield-wwe-2012-2013.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

With all eyes focused on NOAH in 2003-2004, what the hell was going on New Japan? Shoot fights on pro wrestling cards, 10 champions and 2 vacancies in two years, Chono vs Chyna and then Hogan and Bob Sapp as champion. BOM-BA-YE! That is dying days of WCW levels of batshit insanity, but still there a handful of good matches. I enjoyed the change of pace from the NOAH epics with all but one match (that match featuring a NOAH wrestler) clocking in at a tidy 15 minutes. The matches featured hard-hitting strike exchanges that led to payoff of one or two bombs and were a great representation of Strong Style.

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/04/inoki-bom-ba-ye-new-japan-2003-2004.html

 

Rankings getting out of control, I will post top ten and new additions from now on.

1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03

3. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

4. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

5. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00

6. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

7. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW 6/25/00

8. IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title

9. Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 04/01

10. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01

 

23. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax '04

26. Genichiro Tenryu vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan - Vacant IWGP Championship 02/15/04

30. U-30 Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuyuki Fujita - Vacant IWGP Championship 6/5/04

33. All Japan Triple Crown Champ Toshiaki Kawada vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW 11/03/04 Non-Title

36. Jun Akiyama vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - G-1 Climax Finals 08/17/03

[Superstar Sleeze]

Shit, I have been slacking again and updating this. Since I did puroresu last time on here, here's a plug for the second half of the Shield in 2013. Nothing got to the heights of the TLC 2012 debut, but the feud with Goldust/Cody delivered three badass matches, bionic elbows on Ambrose and a superplex to teh floor. I loved the layout of the handicap match. Then at the end of the year, Ambrose and Rollins proved their mettle against the top two babyfaces (Punk and Cena) in singles matches not filled with spots, but smartly worked, fundamentals-based matches.

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-shield-part-two.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

These are a couple oldies that I never threw up here because I kept forgetting that chronicle ten matches from Kobashi's most excellent reign. Really there is not much to add as an intro. It is Kobashi's reign. It is fuckin awesome. The only match that took me by surprise was the Ogawa match. It was such a great dynamic. Sleazy dick heel way over his head cheats and claws at Kobashi. Then Kobashi finally EXPLODES~! It is not the best match of the decade, but it is my favorite.

 

Four new additions to the top ten and seven new additions to top twenty. Not a bad title reign at all.

 

1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03*********

3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04***********

4. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

5. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

6. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00

7. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04 ***************

8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03 *********

9. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

10. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW 6/25/00

13. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue - NOAH 09/10/04

16. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13/03

19. GHC Tag Team Champions Sterness (Akiyama & Saito) vs Burning (Kobashi & Honda) - Budokan 6/6/03

21. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yuji Nagata - Budokan 9/12/03

27. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki - Budokan 01/08/05

47. Sterness vs. Burning 8-Man Tag - NOAH 08/03

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-burning-champion-vol-1-kenta.html

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/04/burning-champion-vol-2-kenta-kobashi.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

This blog looks at the miscellaneous hyped heavyweight matches from 2003-2004 that did not involve Kobashi or happen in New Japan. The result was my first reviews of shoot-style (I have watched UWFi before), which I found hard to rate/breakdown even though I enjoyed both matches. In addition, looked at other two big heavyweight NOAH matches in a really efficient and enjoyable Taue/Nagata match, definitely my favorite Nagata match so far. I did not like the Misawa/Ogawa tag match as much as most, but it was a solidly good match, but I am not seeing why anybody would say that overwrought match constitutes Match of the Decade consideration. The meat of the review focuses on the AJ/Z1 feud which produced a badass, chaotic slobberknocker between Kawada/Ogawa and the Kawada/Hashimoto dream match. Kawada may not have been producing on a night in/night out basis anymore, but he proved he can still go.

 

Also as a bonus I posted my review of the amazingly energetic workout/spiritual guru hypeman that The Knife had open their show in Boston. It was tres bitchin as the French would say.

 

New additions have their star ratings

1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03

3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04

4. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

5. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

6. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00

7. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04

8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03

9. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

10. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW 6/25/00

14. Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa - Zero-One 12/14/03 ****1/4

20. Akira Taue vs Yuji Nagata - NOAH 6/6/03 ****

21. Triple Crown Champion Toshiaki Kawada vs Shinya Hashimoto - AJPW 02/22/04 ****

30. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Hiroyuki Ito - U-Style 08/18/04 ****

41. Kiyoshi Tamura vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - U-Style 02/04/04 ***3/4

58. GHC Tag Champs Misawa & Ogawa vs Saito & Inoue - NOAH 9/10/04 ***1/4

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/04/space-tornado-ogawa-vs-dangerous-kawada.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

Taking a break from Japan going back to where I belong Dubbya-See-Dubbya baby! This is Volume 1 of the Dangerous Alliance Chronicles. Starts off with two matches that technically predate the storyline but set the table with Steamboat coming back and winning the tag titles from The Enforcers in a well-known, badass match and Rude taking the US Title from Sting under nefarious circumstances. A great, great way to book two hotting returning stars and set the promotion afire after the GAB '91 debacle. In addition, standout TV match is a singles affair from Eaton and Steamboat that mixes brawling and technique to build to a hot, hot finish. As a big Eaton mark very happy to find such a good Eaton singles performance.

Match Listing:

 

WCW World Tag Team Champions The Enforcers (Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko) vs. Dustin Rhodes & Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat - Clash of the Champions XVII ****1/2

WCW US Champion Sting vs "Ravishing" Rick Rude w/Paul E. Dangerously - Clash of the Champions XVII (Not a great match per se, but a great angle)

Dustin Rhodes & Bobby Eaton vs Arn Anderson & Steve Austin - WCW Worldwide 11/23/91 (Wonder what happens in this match?)

Larry Zbyszko vs Barry Windham - WCW Main Event 11/24/91 (Larryland is the most magical place on Earth. Great heel performance)

Bobby Eaton w/Mad USA vs. Ricky Steamboat - WCW Saturday Night 12/14/91 (Chairshots, Barrage of pinning sequences and an awful Madusa suit) ***3/4

WCW TV Champion "Stunning" Steve Austin w/Paul E. Dangerously vs Big Josh WCW Pro 12/21/91 (Poor Matt Bourne)

Dangerous Alliance (Bobby Eaton & The Enforcers) vs All Gold Everything (Brian Pillman, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes) - WCW Pro 12/21/91 (First of many fun, solid six-man tags)

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/05/rude-awakening-history-of-dangerous.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

I am still working my way through KENTAFuji (I find myself enjoying KENTA, but fuck Marufuji is awful), but I am already finished with the second installment of the Dangerous Alliance Chronicles. It is just so much breezy than constant 25-30 minute matches for KENTAFuji. This one just looks at January of 1992, which includes the awesome Arn Anderson/Dustin Rhodes Saturday Night, which I know a lot of people on here have raved about and pointed to show that Dustin deserved his spot on the card. I have watched it three times myself and it has only gotten better. It is a fantastic outing from both men. A match that I think is a little underplayed is the six-man tag team at Clash 18 that featured Barry Windham return after having his hand crushed by Larry Z. I thought that was a really fun, energetic match that whetted your appetite, but left you looking forward to Windham really getting a hold of Larry Legend and exacting revenge at SuperBrawl II.

 

Match Listing:

 

Match Listing

Arn Anderson w/Paul E. Dangerously vs Dustin Rhodes - WCW Saturday Night 01/04/92 **** (Arn & Dustin own it in a fantastic match)

Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton) vs

Sting's Squadron (Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Marcus Bagwell) ***1/4 (Sting is over like rover. Definitely peak overness until the Crow Era Sting. Love the build to Sting/Rude confrontation)

Dangerous Alliance (Larry Zbyszko, Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton) vs.

Dont Step To Sweetwater (Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes & Ron Simmons) -

Clash of the Champions XVIII ***3/4 (Barry Windham is back and he is out for revenge, Yep it is as fantastic as that sounds)

Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude & Steve Austin) vs. Dragon's Sting (Sting & Ricky Steamboat) Clash of the Champions XVIII *** (Bit disappointing given the talent, but Rude's selling and the post-match make up for it.)

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/05/alabama-jam-history-of-dangerous.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

I have been watching plenty of wrestling, but have been lazy about writing it all up well this week changed all that as I have a lot to say about the Dangerous Alliance. The Dangerous Alliance if nothing else has been a great device to create awesome match-ups. Steamboat versus any of these 5 has just been friggin' awesome. Rude is on fire throughout the beginning of the year. Zbyszko & Paul E. are a total heat magnets. Austin is really coming into his own.

Match Listing:

Larry Zbyszko w/Paul E. & Mad USA vs Ricky Steamboat - Worldwide 01/25/92 (Great post-match angle that adds more heat to Steamboat/Rude)

WCW TV Champion Steve Austin w/Mad USA vs Ricky Steamboat - Power Hour 2/8/92 *** (Austin has such a solid grasp of heel psychology and Steamer is on fire)
WCW US Champion Rick Rude w/Paul E. vs Brian Pillman WCW Pro 2/15/92 ***1/2 (Great showcase for the type of year Rude is having)

Dangerous Alliance (Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko) vs WCW (Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes)

WCW Saturday Night 2/22/92 **** (Great build to Rude/Sting confrontation, great Dustin FIP and great Steamboat hot tag. Cant ask much from a TV multi-man tag)

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/06/burniate-history-of-dangerous-alliance.html

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Unlike usual, where I focus on looking at a specific promotion, wrestler or stable, I go more traditional to review a whole show. I did not have the patience to review the whole show, but I did review the five major matches of SuperBrawl II. As much of a Luger defender as I am and I do defend him in the review, there is no denying it is just an average match that main events the show even though Sting winning title there feels like a much bigger deal than in 1990. It is such a shame because this PPV should be considered one of the greatest supercards of all time with three matches clocking in at ****+ by my count.

WCW Light Heavyweight Champion Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs Brian Pillman WCW SuperBrawl II ****1/2 (Match of the night for me in a loaded night. This holds up remarkably well that not only showcases Liger and the New Japan Junior style, but it is also a string struggle for the newest WCW title. I loved the finish as a "live by the sword die by the sword" spot)

Dangerous Alliance (Larry Zbyszko & Steve Austin) w/Mad USA vs.Lonestar Blonds (Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes) - Superbrawl II ****1/4 (One of the best tag team matches in 90s WCW history. Barry and Dustin are red-hot looking for revenge and Zbyszko & Austin are excellent heels in every way. This is a must-see match)

WCW World Tag Champions Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton) w/ Mad USA vs The Steiner Brothers - SuperBrawl II ***1/4 (Dream match on paper underwhelms. They did not seem on the same page and nothing really flowed)

WCW US Champion "Ravishing" Rick Rude vs Ricky Steamboat - WCW SuperBrawl II ****1/4 (This match is not talked about enough. Yes the Beach Blast match is better and candidate for best WCW match of the 90s. This match does have the sort of weak finish, but features some absolutely great wrestling and Rude proving why his '92 run is one of the greatest in history)

WCW World Champion Lex Luger w/Harley Race vs Sting - WCW SuperBrawl II (This is not Luger being lazy. He was leaving for a new job and was conditioned for that new job. It is clear early that he was trying hard to get his buddy, Sting over. Even if the match is underwhelming, Sting has come such a long way since 1990 and really feels like the Ace of WCW)

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/06/superbrawl-ii-review-history-of.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

I have been absolutely terrible at updating this thread. I finished and posted this blog on 2005-2007 New Japan Pro Wrestling a while ago. With Inoki being ousted, the company has a fresh, reinvigorated feel. Nagata seems more confident as the Ace and makes for a good interim Ace for Tanahashi to take over. Nagata versus Makabe was a really great bloodbath was the best New Japan match since 2000. I thought Tanahashi and Nakamura put together a pretty damn good bout in 2006. Things are looking up for New Japan.

 

1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03

3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04

4. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

 

5. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

6. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00

7. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04

 

8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03

9. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

 

10. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW 6/25/00

 

12. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Togi Makabe - NJPW 07/06/07

 

22. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 12/10/06

 

33. Yuji Nagata vs Koji Kanemoto - NJPW G-1 Climax 08/12/06

42. Yuji Nagata vs Giant Bernard - New Japan Cup Finals 04/30/06

 

56. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Giant Bernard - NJPW 06/18/06 Vacant IWGP Championshi

 

69. U-30 Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - Tokyo Dome 01/04/05

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/06/new-japan-05-06.html

2005 Heavyweight NOAH Blog should be up soon!

[Superstar Sleeze]

Slacking again...

 

This blog chronicles the Best of Heavyweight Matches in NOAH of 2005. Begins with a discussion of how a wrestler needs to have credibility and cache with an audience like an authority figure (a politician, military general, CEO etc.. ) that just does not come from wins like a sports figure would. This comes up because of Rikio defeated Kobashi and Misawa at the Budokan in 2005 and was the GHC Championship, but he was unquestionably a flop. Of course, the bulk of the post is reviewing five great matches from NOAH. The two most famous of the year from the Dome show are not Match of the Decade contenders, but are entertaining enough. The first Tenryu tag match is really good and the second one getting Taue involved and building off the first tag match is one of the best tag matches of the decade.

 

1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03

3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04

4. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

5. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

6. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00

7. Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05 ****3/4 (Return to All Japan 90s tag style. Fantastic build to a exciting climax)

8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04

9. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03

10. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

17. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH 11/5/05 (Action packed, young guns shine) ****1/4

21. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Jun Akiyama & Genichiro Tenryu - Budokan 4/24/2005 (Tenryu's chest is a murder scene, Shiozaki bites off more than he can chew) ****1/4

29. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - Tokyo Dome 7/18/05 ****

46. Kenta Kobashi vs Kensuke Sasaki - Tokyo Dome 7/18/05 ***3/4 (Kobashi descends into self-parody and the excesses of the NOAH style)

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/07/2005-noah.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

KENTAFuji are definitely a polarizing tandem. Their adherents see them as the bastion of workrate masters with their innovative moves and break neck pace. Their detractors cite no structure and glue to give these spots any weight or consequence. The truth of course lies somewhere in between. Left to their own devices, Marufuji and KENTA indulge their worst inclinations and deliver unmemorable clusterfucks. However, when they are in their with wise veterans like Liger, Misawa or Takayama the results can be truly spectacular. They are very carryable wrestlers and when their opponents provide the structure their matches can be classics.

1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03

3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04

4. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

5. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

 

9. GHC Tag Team Champions Misawa & Ogawa vs KENTAFuji Budokan 04/25/04 ****1/2 (Misawa and Ogawa kick ass for the first half and in 15 seconds the game changes and a monster finish run unfolds)

 

21. KENTAFuji vs Jushin Liger & Murahama - GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Final 07/16/03 ****1/4 (Balls to the wall action with Liger providing structure)

 

43. Low Ki vs AJ Styles - Z1 01/05/03 (Cocky douche AJ vs ultra-serious Low-Ki is always a great match)

 

58. Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA - NOAH 11/13/04

 

61. Takaiwa & Hoshikawa vs Dick Togo & Hidaka - Z-1 12/26/03 (Hoshikawa is great and Takaiwa seems content just to hit spots. Match of two halves)

 

80. GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Champs KENTAFuji vs Kanemaru & Hashi Budokan 9/12/03 (Watch this and Liger&Murahama to see the difference between great and mediocre KENTAFuji)

 

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/07/kentafuji-best-of-junior-heavyweights.html

 

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With that post, we can finally put 2003-2004 to rest. Pretty much single-handlely thanks to Kobashi the quality level was able to match 2000-2001 and rise from the nadir of 2002. Kobashi was in the five of the top six matches including match of the decade contenders against Misawa and Takayama. The Misawa match is particularly astounding as it is Misawa's Last Stand as the Undisputed Man of Japan. It is not so much a passing of the torch, but Kobashi seizing it in an incredible match that jumpstarts and incredible title reign. Even though, he did not have the output of Kobashi (he did not have quite the same list of opponents), Toshiaki Kawada managed to have two best non-NOAH heavyweight matches of the year against Ogawa and Hashimoto as he embarked on his own 1.5 year title reign as Triple Crown Champion. Kawada had a sneaky good front half of the decade with six matches in the top thirty and legitimate match of the decade contender with Fuchi against Nagata & Iizuka.

Kobashi is leading the field in terms of quality matches with 13 matches in the Top Thirty. Misawa who has the top two matches at this time has four matches in the top thirty. Akiyama who is the other person in top ranking has a total of 6 in the Top Thirty. The fifth pillar of heaven, Taue has three matches in Top Thirty and one in the Top Ten. Takayama who has two 5 star matches (#s 3 &4) has no other matches in top thirty. The Grumpy, Old Man of Puroresu, Genichiro Tenryu has four matches in the Top Thirty and Two in the Top Ten.

 

Here are all the matches from Japan in 2003-2004 that gave four stars or more to:

 

1. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03

2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04

3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04

4. GHC Tag Team Champions Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs KENTAFuji - Budokan 4/25/04

5. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03

6. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue - NOAH 09/10/04

7. Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa - Zero-One 12/14/03

8. Toryumon Trios Four-Way - Toryumon 08/30/03

9. KENTAFuji vs Jushin Liger & Takehiro Murahama - GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Final 07/16/03

10. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13/03

11. Akira Taue vs Yuji Nagata - NOAH 6/6/03

12. AJPW Triple Crown Champion Toshiaki Kawada vs Shinya Hashimoto - AJPW 02/22/04

13. GHC Tag Team Champions Sterness (Akiyama & Saito) vs Burning (Kobashi & Honda) - Budokan 6/6/03

14. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yuji Nagata - Budokan 9/12/03

15. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Hiroyuki Ito - U-Style 08/18/04

16. KENTA vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 6/27/04

17. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax '04

18. AJ Styles vs Low-Ki - Z1 1/05/03

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/07/best-of-japan-2003-2004.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

Three blogs two days!!!! So much bang for your buck! Wait you don't pay for this content?!?!?! I am no gigolo. I am one man gangbanging your brains out because I love doing it! You know who has been blowing my mind: Akira Taue! Old muthafucka just don't how to quit. After winning 2005 Japan Match of the Year, he says Father Time FUCK YOU! I aint done yet. I am going to toss another MOTYC with Jun Akiyama! While those two vets kicked old school, the Youth tried to rise to the top. The results of this "ascension" is best described in my favorite title yet, "Youth Gone Mild". Click it, stud muffins and foxy ladies. Riding Space Mountain has it all and then we throw in a Pope Leo X quote. Because what is a ONE MAN GANGBANG without some Papal lovin'! Aint much of one in my book, BABY~!

18. GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 01/22/06 - ****1/2 (Throwback match as they two rip it up. Akiyama looks like it is 2000 in there. Badass)

 

70. Kenta Kobashi/Kensuke Sasaki vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Katsuhiko Nakajima (Is the beating on Nakajima still going on? I am surprised they didn't finance a film where Godzilla jobs to the Sasaki & Kobashi mega-team, very masturbatory)

53. Akira Taue vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 3/6/04 ***3/4 (Marufuji blocking the Nodowa was a mark out moment. Taue does it again, the king of efficiency)

 

57. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takeshi Morishima - Budokan 3/5/06 ***3/4 (Misawa plugged Morishima into the formula, but Morishima did not bring much)

 

44. Kenta Kobashi vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 4/23/06 **** (Last Kobashi Budokan match until 2007. Marufuji's big singles coming out party)

 

46. KENTAFuji vs Wild II (Morishima & Rikio) - Budokan 7/16/06 **** (The Big Four of the New Generation square off and Mori-Fuckin-Shima comes to play!)

 

92. GHC Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA - Budokan 10/29/06 (Holy Clusterfuck Batman! Marufuji suplexes himself at one point. Embarassing)

 

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/07/2006-noah.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

Toryumon/Dragon Gate is always something I read about in the mid-00s, but never really bothered to check out because I was too busy catching up on 90s All Japan and such. I am no spotfest hater. I don't know if I would like to sit through an entire Toryumon/Dragon Gate show, but one match a card would be the perfect amount. Their precision and technique is par excellence. They are highly skilled at what they do and I absolutely love that incorporate comedy into their matches. That is an added element missing from a lot of American Indy spotfests. What is more impressive to me is that their structure still builds to a good fundamental wrestling finish. The first 3/4s of the match may just be fun bullshit, don't get me wrong it is good-looking bullshit, but that last 1/4 is a ball-to-wall sprint with spots that have consequences on the outcome of the match.

 

Genki Horiguchi is just incredibly awesome. I thought the testicular psychology during the New Japan vs NOAH matches was good, but the SCALP PSYCHOLOGY~! during Horiguchi matches was absolutely hilarious. Horiguchi is a very unique heel that added a lot to the presentation of the matches.

Match Listing:

 

22. Toryumon Trios Four-Way - Toryumon 08/30/03 (Must watch spotfest. Dont even read the review. Just watch the match. Words cant keep up with the action)

 

55. M2K vs. Do Fixer - Toryumon 6/29/03 (With just one team against another this is their best straightforward wrestling match but with the comedy and high-flying that Toryumon excels at)

 

81. Toryumon Trios Three-Way - Toryumon 7/7/02 (A good spotfest)

 

82. SUWA vs Dragon Kid - Toryumon 08/24/00 Hair Vs Mask (SUWA is really fuckin good, but Dragon Kid leaves a lot to be desired)

 

87. Toryumon Trios Three-Way - Toryumon 08/14/01 (Just another manic spotfest)

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/07/best-of-toryumon-genki-horiguchi-magnum.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

I heard you missed me. I brought my pencil now give me something to write on.

 

Anybody who has been following the 1998 Match Discussion Archive knows how I have been having some fun rewatching some 1998 WCW and reliving my childhood. This blog post does not just contain match reviews from the surprisingly excellent Souled Out 1998, but also makes the case for how healthy WCW was at the point in history. WCW always could fall back on a strong roster, but in January 1998 they seemed poised to continue to follow their successful 1997 with the same focus on strong long-running stories. The avenging angel Sting was the focus of 1997, it seemed the impending New World Order civil war would carry the company to another banner year. However by bungling a surefire hit storyline, WCW signed their own death warrant. But this blog deals with happier times, Souled Out 1998 when the midcard and main event combined to put on one of the best complete PPVs of the NWO era.

 

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/11/wcw-souled-out-1998.html

[Superstar Sleeze]

Is it WCW management's fault for Sting flopping as champion or should Sting take personal responsibility? Does anyone else exist on the WCW roster besides Hogan and Savage? Hogan and Savage are feuding, sort of, well they fight each other, then tag, has anything happened these two months after Souled Out in WCW? You decide in the latest edition of Riding Space Mountain.

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/11/dropping-ball-wcw-february-march-1998.html