[1980-03-31-IWE Japan] Rusher Kimura vs Johnny Powers

[Jetlag]

Years after putting over Inoki in a historic match, Johnny Powers returns to japan to face another japanese top gaijin in a much less historic match. Powers is looking somewhat older and sadder, like a Bob Ross gone off the rails here. Powers still has really nice basic offense, mean looking elbows and knees and stomps and what not. He spends what feels like 20 minutes beating on Kimura and this would've been good had Kimura sold any of that and ens gaged powers in some significant form before the poor finish. There's also about 4 or 5 nut shots in this match. Thesz was the ref and him punching Powers in the face for doing the exact same stuff Thesz was doing 20 years earlier was the funniest moment of the match. But yeah, don't watch this.

[SAMS]

1980-03-31
IWE
Rusher Kimura (c) vs. Johnny Powers
IWA World Heavyweight Title Match
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Card
★

The IWE Title is on the line here. I realised just before the bell that I’d seen Powers in some terrible match with Inoki in the mid 70s and I feared the worst. Low and behold, those fears were well founded. I don’t know what to say about Kimura, he tried his best. His chops had fire and he was able to generate some drama at the end with his juice job and screaming in agony from the “Powers Lock”. But honestly, he just wasn’t good enough to fashion a good match out of Johnny Powers.
Powers, honestly, was a terrible wrestler. He had no authenticity. His offense was terrible, his selling was worse, I’m not sure he could even bump. Considering this was a title match I’m not sure how he even sniffed the matchup in the first place. Lou Thesz, in his mid-60s at this point, looked like he could beat Powers in a fight and the best part of the match that actually involved Powers was Thesz giving him a stiff forearm to break up his shenanigans with Kimura in the ropes.
Honestly just a terrible match. So disappointing considering the two that preceded it on the show.