Dylan Waco Posted October 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 Bull Nakano vs. Devil Masami (04-18-1993) How do I say this....this wasn't very good. In fact if not for an impressive stretch run (from a spot perspective more than anything, though the set up for the finish I thought was great), I would say this a really bad match. It got something like 36 minutes and I'd say the first two thirds of that at minimum were complete filler. Yeah they did some fun spots in there but none of it meant anything as momentum swings came and went at random, and no one sold any of the big moves like that had any meaning at all. I got excited when Bull started working the leg but that went nowhere too. Things at least started to develop a more natural pace when they went to the crowd brawling, but even still I thought they jammed a bunch of shit into the back end in the way of kick outs, and big spots, that really had little effect because the selling was wonky and the first half of the match was so weak. I get that there may have been a storyline reason for the way this was laid out, but in isolation this was alarmingly bad for a match involving two allegedly brilliant wrestlers. I really, really hope this is an aberration and my Joshi rewatch isn't going to be filled with needlessly long disappointments like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted October 2, 2014 Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 I didn't think the match was bad as the stretch run and finish were exciting, but man was it ever long and I can understand why you might have been down on it on the whole. There was just no reason at all for going to long. I just can't dislike something that wraps up so well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted October 2, 2014 Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 I'm not a big fan of that Masami/Nakano match either. It felt like one giant stalemate. To an extent that's what they were going for, but there were too many momentum shifts and I agree that it was largely filler. The part that bothered me most was about 10 minutes in when Devil gave Bull the power bomb on the outside. That was an opportunity for Devil to take control of the match and enjoy some sustained momentum, but Bull countered the very next attempt and did a stomp off the apron. Those back and forward momentum swings typified the match and I hated that they reset the bout halfway through with Devil passing her the nunchucks. The length didn't really bother me, but I did watch it in a detached way. The stretch run was okay. Overall, it felt like they were going for a slow build without there really being a slow burn. It could have been more boring I suppose if they'd just laid around in holds. Be thankful for small blessings. I kind of felt it vindicated my views that modern NJPW isn't such a far cry from what wrestlers were doing in the 90s structure wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted October 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr vs. The Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher (9/19/78) I've seen this a million times and love this feud. I am a fan of the hide the object stuff. I am a fan of blood loss. I am a fan of Sheik and Abby antics. But I am especially a fan of babyface Terry Funk in All Japan. I'm not positive it's my all time favorite babyface run, but it's pretty close to it if nothing else. I will never tire of the way he sold beatings there and the boxing jab comeback that leads to the big hook gets me every time. I don't want to see Dory short here because he worked stiff and added to the match, but I really don't see how he was the star of things here. Not at the level of the best match of this series, but still a hell of a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted October 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 Europe -- Steve Veidor vs. Gwyn Davies (5/26/76) I probably need to revisit this when I don't have ten thousand things going on in the house. Even still I thought this was a great match. A truly great multi-fall or multi-round match needs to escalate in a logical, but progressive way, from fall/round to fall/round. This match absolutely fit that. I imagine that the first portion of this would be slow going for some, and you could argue that the over reliance on the cartwheel escape was a bit much, but aside from that this was very sharp stuff. Davies is a great heel both in mannerism, delivery of the cheapshot and look and Veidor was great as the babyface trying to do the right thing and eventually snapping, only to pay in about the most brutal way possible given the context of the promotion. This match also includes the single best "milk the bodyslam" spot I've ever seen as they go from teasing a splash, to teasing a slam, to teasing a slam, to tease a press and then finally a slam in the most organic way ever. It sounds tedious and stupid when I type it out like that but everyone should watch it to see what I'm talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted October 3, 2014 Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 I don't want to sell Dory short here because he worked stiff and added to the match, but I really don't see how he was the star of things here. See, this is one of three key problems that Dory faces: 1. He can put on an amazing psychotic performance like that and STILL he gets overshadowed by Terry. 2. The focus is often on the 80s, and for some even 90s, rather than the 70s. 3. Negative campaigning from one Goodhelmet driven by hatred and prejudice. For what it's worth I'd probably give Sheik MVP for that match. I guess anyone who watched the 78 Abby-Sheik vs. Funks match should also watch the 79 one, which most people (well, pretty much everyone except me) see as the best in the series. This has been a good initiative Dylan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawho5 Posted October 4, 2014 Report Share Posted October 4, 2014 Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr vs. The Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher 9/19/78 I could see arguments for Dory, Terry or the Sheik as MVP after watching. The Funks work a great babyface vengeance, with Dory really bringing a lot of fire late and post-match. The Sheik's early match stalling and heeling is excellent and sets the table for the rest of the match well. I still like the Viedor vs. Davies match better, but this was definitely a great watch. Mayumi Ozaki vs. Hiromi Yagi 3/3/96 There's parts of this I really like and parts I don't. Ozaki's selling of the ribs and Yagi's continued coming back to them is really good. The late transitions are too similar (burst of energy when the other goes up top) or too obvious (Yagi's 5th time off the ropes to kick Ozaki and guess what, she gets it caught) for me. Ozaki hitting big powerbombs during her early offense is a bit over the top. The dueling strategies of Ozaki (big bombs to wear down Yagi quickly) and Yagi (keep putting on holds and find a way to get to the ribs) was interesting even if I don't enjoy Ozaki's way of doing things. I thought the first arm submission Yagi put on should have been somebody's finisher at some point. Ozaki's arm was bending in a very unnatural way for a few moments there. Ozaki's spinny sleepers were interesting and pretty damn brutal. The whole is less than the parts when you put it all together though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted October 4, 2014 Report Share Posted October 4, 2014 For the next week I'd recommend: -U.S Indies: Takeshi Morishima vs Bryan Danielson - Manhattan Mayhem II (Not sure if I can post this link as it's not from youtube/dailymotion...I can upload it on one of those 2 sites if it's necessary) http://videos.sapo.pt/EgyNzlKkBZGrI9h1SM4Y http://videos.sapo.pt/aC9Blu987OzpuVkZnOe9 -00's Japan Shinya Hashimoto & Yugi Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - 3/2/01 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vZoqX4aRzs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawho5 Posted October 4, 2014 Report Share Posted October 4, 2014 I also have a nomination. Tenryu/Fuchi vs. Kawada/Arai 6/30/01. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEA_2MfRMu4 Short, to the point, and it hits three guys in the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawho5 Posted October 5, 2014 Report Share Posted October 5, 2014 Allary vs. de Lassartesse was great. Allary is (if I'm right) the darker haired, shorter guy. Lassartesse is the strutting, tall, blond heel. And man is hre great at it. Even just walking around the ring he's got this "I'm so much better than you" strut going. He takes great shortcuts, rushing Allary off of rope breaks, pushing the ref out of the way after dropping a knee or stomping (it looks like the ref gives a count here after one attack to a grounded pponent, to give the a chance to get back up). Allary is pretty good at the fiery babyface comeback, but I wish he'd do more than uppercuts and elbows some of the time. The ref is god damn great when it comes to keeping Lassartesse in line. He gets physically involved a few times, at one point putting a submission hold on the big man to enforce the rules. Lassartesse starts working over the throat near the end and hits the diving knee drop he crashed and burned on earlier for the ten count. Some of the selling seems a bit off, but this is the first French match I've seen so I don't know if that's normal or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSR Posted October 5, 2014 Report Share Posted October 5, 2014 Dropping a nomination for Clay Thomson vs Alan Sarjeant (06.06.73, WOS). It's on YouTube in two parts and I rewatched this earlier today. It'll give a nice primer for what Sarjeant is all about and I'll pop a review up in a day or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted October 5, 2014 Report Share Posted October 5, 2014 For the record, I didn't nominate the Allary/Lassartesse match because it's a great match per se, but instead to get Lassartesse out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawho5 Posted October 5, 2014 Report Share Posted October 5, 2014 Any parts of the match that were great were mostly Lassartesse, so I can see that. He's like the French Ric Flair or something the way he struts around the ring. Also, the few times he didn't were very telling. For what it's worth, I'm in no way unhappy that I watched the match. Just there are some inconsistencies and things I wasn't sure about, and I didn't know whether to chalk them up to mistakes made in the ring or idiosyncracies of the style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted October 5, 2014 Report Share Posted October 5, 2014 I see. My comment was more for anybody who might be wondering why I chose the match. Lassartesse is a guy both Jetlag and I have enjoyed from the 80s where he's a thousand years old so it was great to see the two catch bouts from the early 60s. I haven't watched enough catch to know what I should chalk things up to, but there are certainly idiosyncrasies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 Jungle Jack vs. Manami Toyota & Esther Moreno 4/29/91 is a good pick at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 Shinobu Kandori & Utako Hozumi vs. Bull Nakano & Takako Inoue (LLPW 11/9/93) -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M2uotMgvY4 Thought this was phenomenal, and a great example of how you put together a hot match without going long and building a superfight down the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawho5 Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 Since not many are volunteering matches, I'll throw one in. Fujinami vs. Nishimura 9/25/06 It takes place in Japan in 2006, but if you imagine it taking place in the 70s (would have worked well in the States too) it wouldn't have been out of place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted October 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 I didn't even make it one week before I got bogged down. I'll try to get to everything here eventually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawho5 Posted October 8, 2014 Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 To be fair, a lot of the already nominated matches were 30 minutes or more. 30+ tends to wear me down more than I'd like to admit. My sweet spot is 18-25 minutes. Enough time to build something up, but not so much that it becomes a chore to watch if it's not done really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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