MIKAMI & Chou-un Shiryu vs. Yasu Urano & Yukihiro Abe - 4
Danshoku Dino vs. Keisuke Ishii - 2
Hoshitango & Masa Takanashi vs. HARASHIMA & KUDO -5
Michael Nakazawa vs. Poison Sawada JULIE vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Sanshiro Takagi - 5
Here we are in 2009 and in a rainy theme park with the DDT boys up to their usual shenanigans. The first match I actually kind of enjoyed. There wasn't much in the way of psych or story-telling, but it appeared to me that all the guys in this match were going all out. MIKAMI looked the most solid out of the four, but this Shiryu fellow caught my fancy as well. His vocal selling was great. Every time he'd eat a piece of offense he'd let out a cry that sounded like a mix between a dojo boy being taken advantage of and extremely weak lion that was dying a slow, intestinal disease-related death.
The second match was...interesting. Dino's in-ring style rivals that of JBL'S homo-erotic hazing and ribbing techniques. I found myself feeling quite sorry for Ishii having to put up with all of the dick rubbing that was occurring. Most interesting spot occurred inside of a photo booth, oddly enough. I couldn't tell what was going on in there from the camera angle, but I'm sure I didn't want to know. Dino hit a piledriver while simultaneously tucking Ishii's head into his pants. Yikes.
The next match was quite good. The striking, my LORD, the striking was awesome. HARISHIMA and Kudo looked great. They both ate so much offense that if it were sushi they'd probably get mercury poisoning. Hosh was there to be his gray hairy self and serve as a base for the two junior heavyweight style opponents. I was surprised how much offense he took. Match really showed the abilities of HARISHIMA and Kudo as legitimate wrestlers. Just really crisp offense mixed some heavy striking had me from hello.
The final match was just too much fun. This is why I enjoy watching DDT -- because it doesn't take itself seriously. It doesn't need to. With so many other companies in Japan being serious and stiff, DDT finds it's outlet in the form of entertainment mixed with some great wrestling. This match was no different. Guys were bouncing around the park like pinballs -- especially Ibushi. I loved the swan ride spot where all four men were chasing one another on a merry-go-round-esque ride intended for teenage lovers to make out in. The action would move to a few different rides, but my favorite part was when Ibushi was selling like he was going to puke from motion sickness after riding the bumper car-like ride. The action moved back to the ring and what we got there was a solid, five minute sprint that saw Ibushi dominate in offense. So goofy yet so much fun.
Definitely an odd show, but if you want a laugh and simple enjoyment, pop this in your DVD player and watch it.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
NOAH 9/11/10
NOAH "ONE FOR ALL, ALL FOR ONE"
11.9.2010 Tokyo Differ Ariake
1,800 Fans - Super No Vacancy
1. Takashi Sugiura & Ricky Marvin vs. Takeshi Morishima & Masao Inoue - 3
2. Yoshinari Ogawa 25th Anniversary Match: Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Shuhei Taniguchi - 2
3. Takuma Sano vs. KENTA - 6
4. Go Shiozaki vs. Kotaro Suzuki - 5
5. Mohammed Yone 15th Anniversary Match: Akitoshi Saito vs. Mohammed Yone - 4
6. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Taiji Ishimori - 5
7. Atsushi Aoki vs. Genba Hirayanagi - 6
I've got lots of '10 NOAH but something about this card always baffled me and I had no idea if the booker just called in sick that day or ate a lot of psychedelic mushrooms before he crafted this in a Jesse Pinkman-like drugged stupor. The show opens with an explanation. Bare with me, they did some sort of goofy raffle, then around ringside a bunch of fans each wearing lanyards with cartoon caricature portraits of NOAH wrestlers on them stood around. In the center of the ring was a tarpaulin covering a bunch of ropes (sort of like a big, stupid elaborate game of shortest straw) that the fans wearing garish illustrated necklaces grabbed and depending who had the other end of your rope determined who the wrestler on your makeshift necklace was working that night. I don't know who thought this wacky shit up but kudos.
My fear is that this'll be an excuse to work lax since much of this won't really fit into the NOAH continuity canon but I could be wrong. Opener doesn't do much to quell my rising concern. Inoue was in far too much of this for my tastes. He did some goofy shtick with the referee and it's way too early into the evening to start with that. The smaller guys are generally booked so weak against the heavies that Marvin looked practically effeminate against Morishima. Next match took a toll on me. Granted, it was late at night, I'm recovering from a cold, but this was droll and needlessly long and the cheap finish just further irked me. Taniguchi has failed to impress me and here his selling of Ogawa's leg work was as stirring and believable as the acting in the Christmas pageant at your local church. (Okay, the next morning I re-watched this and while it was sort of directionless it's definitely not as bad as my initial response. Still, I never hand over, nor do I alter any scores once they've been dealt so they're stuck with an embarrassing score.)
Sano is my favorite wrestler in NOAH and here I feared he'd be feed to their superstar KENTA. Boy was I wrong! KENTA blasted Takuma in the face only to be savagely slaughtered like a calf by a lion. This is the textbook way to do a story of someone biting off more than they can chew. Sano just stood there and out-stuck KENTA on their feet and what gave this a bonus point was the unbelievable spinning back kick Sano used to take KENTA's head off for the finish. Kotaro looks like Naruki Doi but is vastly superior to him in the ring. Suzuki and Shiozaki in large part had the house show standard which, while most people are down on, I found supremely satisfying. The final stanza did pick up as they both broke out their best stuff in effort of putting the other away in a quality final stretch with plenty of good nearfalls and excitement.
Saito and Yone looked like two black bears fighting over Amie Huguenard. The first act was all about the kicks. Each guy threw big leg kicks at the other and we all grimaced not unlike finding a nude picture of your sister when she accidentally left her e-mail open on the family PC. My favorite sell of the entire show came when Mohammed was spiked with a German suplex and he just set up with a stunned bewilderment as if he just woke up and looked at the morning newspaper and its date read "February 12, 1945".
Kanemaru may be the best junior NOAH has ever had (save for Scorpio). This was a nice change of pace. Forget Yoshino as Ishimori is the true fastest man in the ring. Yoshinobu dishes things to the floor and beats Taiji up some out there. The finish was slick and showed Kanemaru the craftier of the two. I may be slightly overrating the main but felt in the unlikely situation these guys delivered a good bout. Genba is not just a clown, although his playfulness is one of his most key virtues, including sneaking in an occasional kiss here, he's also devious, and used that to his advantage. Aoki ate stuff mostly well, he's no standout in the personality department, if this were Skins he'd be Abbud but he's certainly not a Tony. Atsushi did stick diligently to working at Genba's arm, though, and that was his gameplan. Being a main they event broke out an entrance ramp spot. My favorite moment was when Aoki was on the floor Hiyayanagi, perched on the apron, grabbed him by the skull, planted his foot in the base of his Aoki's neck, and just shoved him full-force into the metal rail. Atsushi didn't give up on that arm and that's what got him the victory in the end.
11.9.2010 Tokyo Differ Ariake
1,800 Fans - Super No Vacancy
1. Takashi Sugiura & Ricky Marvin vs. Takeshi Morishima & Masao Inoue - 3
2. Yoshinari Ogawa 25th Anniversary Match: Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Shuhei Taniguchi - 2
3. Takuma Sano vs. KENTA - 6
4. Go Shiozaki vs. Kotaro Suzuki - 5
5. Mohammed Yone 15th Anniversary Match: Akitoshi Saito vs. Mohammed Yone - 4
6. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Taiji Ishimori - 5
7. Atsushi Aoki vs. Genba Hirayanagi - 6
I've got lots of '10 NOAH but something about this card always baffled me and I had no idea if the booker just called in sick that day or ate a lot of psychedelic mushrooms before he crafted this in a Jesse Pinkman-like drugged stupor. The show opens with an explanation. Bare with me, they did some sort of goofy raffle, then around ringside a bunch of fans each wearing lanyards with cartoon caricature portraits of NOAH wrestlers on them stood around. In the center of the ring was a tarpaulin covering a bunch of ropes (sort of like a big, stupid elaborate game of shortest straw) that the fans wearing garish illustrated necklaces grabbed and depending who had the other end of your rope determined who the wrestler on your makeshift necklace was working that night. I don't know who thought this wacky shit up but kudos.
My fear is that this'll be an excuse to work lax since much of this won't really fit into the NOAH continuity canon but I could be wrong. Opener doesn't do much to quell my rising concern. Inoue was in far too much of this for my tastes. He did some goofy shtick with the referee and it's way too early into the evening to start with that. The smaller guys are generally booked so weak against the heavies that Marvin looked practically effeminate against Morishima. Next match took a toll on me. Granted, it was late at night, I'm recovering from a cold, but this was droll and needlessly long and the cheap finish just further irked me. Taniguchi has failed to impress me and here his selling of Ogawa's leg work was as stirring and believable as the acting in the Christmas pageant at your local church. (Okay, the next morning I re-watched this and while it was sort of directionless it's definitely not as bad as my initial response. Still, I never hand over, nor do I alter any scores once they've been dealt so they're stuck with an embarrassing score.)
Sano is my favorite wrestler in NOAH and here I feared he'd be feed to their superstar KENTA. Boy was I wrong! KENTA blasted Takuma in the face only to be savagely slaughtered like a calf by a lion. This is the textbook way to do a story of someone biting off more than they can chew. Sano just stood there and out-stuck KENTA on their feet and what gave this a bonus point was the unbelievable spinning back kick Sano used to take KENTA's head off for the finish. Kotaro looks like Naruki Doi but is vastly superior to him in the ring. Suzuki and Shiozaki in large part had the house show standard which, while most people are down on, I found supremely satisfying. The final stanza did pick up as they both broke out their best stuff in effort of putting the other away in a quality final stretch with plenty of good nearfalls and excitement.
Saito and Yone looked like two black bears fighting over Amie Huguenard. The first act was all about the kicks. Each guy threw big leg kicks at the other and we all grimaced not unlike finding a nude picture of your sister when she accidentally left her e-mail open on the family PC. My favorite sell of the entire show came when Mohammed was spiked with a German suplex and he just set up with a stunned bewilderment as if he just woke up and looked at the morning newspaper and its date read "February 12, 1945".
Kanemaru may be the best junior NOAH has ever had (save for Scorpio). This was a nice change of pace. Forget Yoshino as Ishimori is the true fastest man in the ring. Yoshinobu dishes things to the floor and beats Taiji up some out there. The finish was slick and showed Kanemaru the craftier of the two. I may be slightly overrating the main but felt in the unlikely situation these guys delivered a good bout. Genba is not just a clown, although his playfulness is one of his most key virtues, including sneaking in an occasional kiss here, he's also devious, and used that to his advantage. Aoki ate stuff mostly well, he's no standout in the personality department, if this were Skins he'd be Abbud but he's certainly not a Tony. Atsushi did stick diligently to working at Genba's arm, though, and that was his gameplan. Being a main they event broke out an entrance ramp spot. My favorite moment was when Aoki was on the floor Hiyayanagi, perched on the apron, grabbed him by the skull, planted his foot in the base of his Aoki's neck, and just shoved him full-force into the metal rail. Atsushi didn't give up on that arm and that's what got him the victory in the end.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
All Japan 1st PPV- 02/24/2002
1- Nobukazu Hirai v. Ryuji Hijikata- 3
2- Hi69 v. Yaz Urano v.Gran Naniwa - 4
3- Masato Tanaka & Hideki Hosaka v. Hernandez & Kasey Geyer - 6
4- Steve Williams & Mike Rotunda v. Tomoaki Honma & Shigeo Okumura- 4
5- Kendo Kashin v. Kazushi Miyamoto - 3
6- Mike Barton, Jim Steele, & George Hines v. Yoji Anjoh, Arashi, & Nobutaka Araya- 5
7- Taiyo Kea v. Mitsuya Nagai- 7
8- Genichiro Tenryu v. Satoshi Kojima- 6
9- Toshiaki Kawada v. Keiji Mutoh- 5
I have no idea who the two guys in the opener were, although the guy in green looked slightly like the star of "The Host." They started out pretty typical of opening match guys only doing armlocks and faux stiff elbows, but found their groove after a few minutes. Hijikata could show Randy Orton a thing or two about snap powerslams and he also ate a kick that was stiffer than the free salad lettuce at work.
This is a triangle match, although i'm completely dumbfounded on what that means anymore. Naniwa is stomping down s ohard on Hi's head he even stops to look up at him like "what the hell was that for?" Match didnt' go too long nor have a lot of substance, but Naniwa was fun watching get stiff with the young boys.
This tag was a solid effort from all invovled, Hernandez and Geyer were basically dressed like shieks even though both looked like tan white guys. Hernandez was much more fun to watch here, he wasn't concerned with being some crazy powerhouse but was just feeling it, spinning side kick, transitioning to his slingshot splash so naturally. Geyer was capable too, controlling the pace and doing some fun cutoffs. Tanaka was the star tough because as soon as he got some steam behind him, he rolled through both men like a tank.
The end put this higher for me, as Honma was a selling machine, making Rotundo's whip in outside (which had the same force I exert to butter my toast in the morning) look like he was tossed into an oil tanker by the Incredible Hulk. Doc and Rotundo both looked to be working with ailing back pain, but Doc was on his best defense, jumping back at errant shots even if they didn't warrant it. Rotundo and Okamura did the minimum. Near fall of the Doctor Bomb was better than the finish itself.
This match had some heat, not Bisping-Rivera level but obviously there were some issues that needed resolved. Like the story here, short but Miyamoto tried to just bull Kendo over, but as soon as he locked on his patented armbar, that was all she wrote.
This six man is def. all the leftover guys thrown in a match together. we just completed our World Wide 94 project so it's funny seeing Jungle Jim here 8 years later. He's improved, a lot more aggressive, watching him break Araya's full nelson was a lesson in acting that Michael Scott could desperately use. Anjoh's a castoff from Tenryu's old fed and he seems only concerned about trying out tried and true submission holds, even if no one wants to oblige him. Steele's selling was actually off the fucking charts, one of my favorite things as well as the finishing sequence between Barton and Araya.
Next bout was just, pure and simple, a great wrestling match. Nagai's leg work was precise as a surgeon early on and was relentless. Some fun teasing outside gave this some sturdier legs to stand on without going overboard. Kea was taking loads of punishment, with his cropped damp black hair he looked like Thomas Mitchell from Gone with the Wind. They teased Kea's RKO the whole match too, Nagai was super game in this and I'm wondering why I haven't heard more from him. Kea also utilized two moves I'd done for years in our own wrestling group, a behind the head kick that was executioner like and a Cobra Clutch suplex that snapped Nagai in half. Kea's selling while trapped in an anklelock looked like he was trapped in his own personal hell (wonder if it's viewing episode after episode of the Nanny- that's mine)
These two started out stalking each other like two hungry lions on the savana. There's something very special about a big Tenryu match, he's tough as tanned leather. Tenryu's punches are straight from Double Cross Ranch, he belts Kojima like Balboa did a slab of beef. There were some misses too; Kojima trying a Koji cutter off the apron was garbage, Tenryu dropped to his knees like he was about to work in the garden at home. Tenryu on offense is still dynamic, at this time, he has a sick folding powerbomb. Kojima held nothing back either, he did some clotheslines that nearly ripped his head off like JFK's. I also liked when Tenryu would take a big move, he'd start punching himself in the mouth like he just had novocaine adminstered.
It was a lot of fun seeing these two distinct performers mix it up; in the end, I can't recommend it overall. One thing was repetition, Muto, from near the opening bell was going Shining Wizard crazy, but yet not even making covers, that made no sense. When either man was selling, it was masterful, Kawada acting as if he was losing his leg then that famous squint whenever he's trying to clear the cobwebs. Muto was taking so many kicks he probably felt like a soccer ball, and his selling was so dead on, just flopping whereever he pleased. But as i said, selling wasn't always there. Lots of strong style comebacks. Another thing is they used the same moves the previous match did, powerbomb, brainbuster, lariat, all Japanese staples, but i liked the previous match's incarnation better. Kawada does get in one nasty headdropping bomb that would have killed most mortal men; but this is Muto we're talking about. Check it out yourself, you may like it a lot more than me.
2- Hi69 v. Yaz Urano v.Gran Naniwa - 4
3- Masato Tanaka & Hideki Hosaka v. Hernandez & Kasey Geyer - 6
4- Steve Williams & Mike Rotunda v. Tomoaki Honma & Shigeo Okumura- 4
5- Kendo Kashin v. Kazushi Miyamoto - 3
6- Mike Barton, Jim Steele, & George Hines v. Yoji Anjoh, Arashi, & Nobutaka Araya- 5
7- Taiyo Kea v. Mitsuya Nagai- 7
8- Genichiro Tenryu v. Satoshi Kojima- 6
9- Toshiaki Kawada v. Keiji Mutoh- 5
I have no idea who the two guys in the opener were, although the guy in green looked slightly like the star of "The Host." They started out pretty typical of opening match guys only doing armlocks and faux stiff elbows, but found their groove after a few minutes. Hijikata could show Randy Orton a thing or two about snap powerslams and he also ate a kick that was stiffer than the free salad lettuce at work.
This is a triangle match, although i'm completely dumbfounded on what that means anymore. Naniwa is stomping down s ohard on Hi's head he even stops to look up at him like "what the hell was that for?" Match didnt' go too long nor have a lot of substance, but Naniwa was fun watching get stiff with the young boys.
This tag was a solid effort from all invovled, Hernandez and Geyer were basically dressed like shieks even though both looked like tan white guys. Hernandez was much more fun to watch here, he wasn't concerned with being some crazy powerhouse but was just feeling it, spinning side kick, transitioning to his slingshot splash so naturally. Geyer was capable too, controlling the pace and doing some fun cutoffs. Tanaka was the star tough because as soon as he got some steam behind him, he rolled through both men like a tank.
The end put this higher for me, as Honma was a selling machine, making Rotundo's whip in outside (which had the same force I exert to butter my toast in the morning) look like he was tossed into an oil tanker by the Incredible Hulk. Doc and Rotundo both looked to be working with ailing back pain, but Doc was on his best defense, jumping back at errant shots even if they didn't warrant it. Rotundo and Okamura did the minimum. Near fall of the Doctor Bomb was better than the finish itself.
This match had some heat, not Bisping-Rivera level but obviously there were some issues that needed resolved. Like the story here, short but Miyamoto tried to just bull Kendo over, but as soon as he locked on his patented armbar, that was all she wrote.
This six man is def. all the leftover guys thrown in a match together. we just completed our World Wide 94 project so it's funny seeing Jungle Jim here 8 years later. He's improved, a lot more aggressive, watching him break Araya's full nelson was a lesson in acting that Michael Scott could desperately use. Anjoh's a castoff from Tenryu's old fed and he seems only concerned about trying out tried and true submission holds, even if no one wants to oblige him. Steele's selling was actually off the fucking charts, one of my favorite things as well as the finishing sequence between Barton and Araya.
Next bout was just, pure and simple, a great wrestling match. Nagai's leg work was precise as a surgeon early on and was relentless. Some fun teasing outside gave this some sturdier legs to stand on without going overboard. Kea was taking loads of punishment, with his cropped damp black hair he looked like Thomas Mitchell from Gone with the Wind. They teased Kea's RKO the whole match too, Nagai was super game in this and I'm wondering why I haven't heard more from him. Kea also utilized two moves I'd done for years in our own wrestling group, a behind the head kick that was executioner like and a Cobra Clutch suplex that snapped Nagai in half. Kea's selling while trapped in an anklelock looked like he was trapped in his own personal hell (wonder if it's viewing episode after episode of the Nanny- that's mine)
These two started out stalking each other like two hungry lions on the savana. There's something very special about a big Tenryu match, he's tough as tanned leather. Tenryu's punches are straight from Double Cross Ranch, he belts Kojima like Balboa did a slab of beef. There were some misses too; Kojima trying a Koji cutter off the apron was garbage, Tenryu dropped to his knees like he was about to work in the garden at home. Tenryu on offense is still dynamic, at this time, he has a sick folding powerbomb. Kojima held nothing back either, he did some clotheslines that nearly ripped his head off like JFK's. I also liked when Tenryu would take a big move, he'd start punching himself in the mouth like he just had novocaine adminstered.
It was a lot of fun seeing these two distinct performers mix it up; in the end, I can't recommend it overall. One thing was repetition, Muto, from near the opening bell was going Shining Wizard crazy, but yet not even making covers, that made no sense. When either man was selling, it was masterful, Kawada acting as if he was losing his leg then that famous squint whenever he's trying to clear the cobwebs. Muto was taking so many kicks he probably felt like a soccer ball, and his selling was so dead on, just flopping whereever he pleased. But as i said, selling wasn't always there. Lots of strong style comebacks. Another thing is they used the same moves the previous match did, powerbomb, brainbuster, lariat, all Japanese staples, but i liked the previous match's incarnation better. Kawada does get in one nasty headdropping bomb that would have killed most mortal men; but this is Muto we're talking about. Check it out yourself, you may like it a lot more than me.
AJW Dreamslam II
1. Sakie Hasegawa vs. Hikari Fukuoka – 6
2. Leo Kitamura, Mikiko Futagami, & Utako Hozumi vs. Kaoru Ito, Seami Numata, & Tomoko Watanabe – 4
3. Bat Yoshinaga & Terri Power vs. Rumi Kazama & Miki Handa – 5
4. Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo vs. Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda – 4
5. Yumiko Hotta, Kyoko Inoue, & Takako Inoue vs. Cutie Suzuki, Plum Mariko, & Boirshoi Kid – 4
6. Suzuki Minami vs. Harley Saito – 5
7. Bull Nakano vs. Chigusa Nagayo – 6
8. Akira Hokuto & Aja Kong vs. Shinobu Kandori & Eagle Sawai – 6
9. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki – Best of Three Falls Match - 8
Been sitting on this show for a while now so I figured since it’s puro/lucha month, what better time to drag it out than now. I was really impressed with the first bout, so much that I ended up giving it a recommendable score. Kukuoka laid in a great half crab that had Hasegawa writhing in pain. Hasegawa’s offense was really good, especially the five continuous double underhook suplexes she delivered. The dive sequence was fun, especially when Hasegawa crashed and burned. Ending saw two straight DDTs from Fukuoka that made me cringe and then Hasegawa nailing a spinning back kick for the win.
Second bout really had no sense of direction. It felt for the majority of the match that it was just thrown together at the last minute. Ito’s offense seemed to be very hit and miss and not very impressive. Couple nice moves from the Futagami trio, especially the flying bulldog delivered by Kitamura off of Futagami’s shoulders. Watanabe was the glue for her team, although she had some minor mishaps, including one spot where she went for a moonsault and on the way down accidentally kneed Kitamura right in the face. The end was a giant mess with everyone just randomly running in, brawling, and breaking up pinfalls.
Things got a little better here. Bat Yoshinaga I’m seeing for the first time and boy, does she work stiff. Attitude era WWF fans may recognize Terri Power as Tori. She was very limited in what she could attempt in the match due to an arm injury. Her chops were really awful but she was very vocal during her ring time. Of all the competitors here, Bat really impressed me the most. She almost broke Handa’s back with a half crab and won the bout for her team with a brutal spinning kick. The lone highlight from the opposition team included Kazama hitting some nice spin kicks of her own.
Toyoda and Megumi were two of the few FMW representatives on the card and looked really sloppy at points. Kudo hit a bad double underhook bomb, Toyoda followed it up with an even worse elbow from the second rope. However, they also hit some decent spots with Toyoda dropkicking Shimoda so hard that she probably felt it in her ovaries and the outside segment with Toyoda hitting a crazy powerbomb and then Megumi following it up with a table spot. Didn’t seem to be much chemistry going on in the ring as everyone just sort of did their own thing.
Another six-lady tag and this one started out with a bunch of comedy between Boirshoi Kid and Kyoko Inoue, sporting Warrior-esque face paint, which actually had me smiling at parts. Boirshoi played a great Spike Dudley by getting beat up and bounced around the whole match. There was a big dive spot, similar to that of what can be seen in multiple-man cruiserweight matches from WCW circa ’97. Hotta flipped Mariko over her head in a weird move that made her land face first on the match. Suzuki got a good nearfall off of a backslide attempt and there was another one after Kyoko took three straight mushroom stomps from the top rope. Mariko ended up as an afterthough, sad considering the fact that four years after this show, she’d be dead due to a taking a Liger bomb in a house show match in Hiroshima for JWP that triggered an abscess on her brain to start bleeding.
I enjoyed the Harley Saito match a lot. Not enough to put it into the recommended category but after the foolishness of some of the previous bouts, it was a welcome change. Both ladies were very vocal in the ring, on both offense and defense. Harley has some really good kicks. Minami hit a very nice spinning back breaker and executed a wild dive that almost sent both of them into the crowd, and a senton from the top rop that almost crushed Saito’s chest. Some good nearfalls, including one really hot one off of a double underhook suplex, made the bout that much more enjoyable for me.
Bull and Chigusa had a hell of a fight. Not only did it start off with them trading some hard chops on the apron, but the damn thing broke down into a crowd brawl! Chigusa got thrown so hard into the railing that it broke open the gate! Once the bout settled down and got back in the ring there were some great mat work section where they traded submissions. Bull’s chicken wing looked a lot better than Backlund’s. Wonder what kind of sauce she puts on that? The look on Bull’s face when Chigusa kicked out of a top rope legdrop defies words. Some really good hot nearfalls here and Chigusa’s awesome selling made this one for me. The only thing that brought down the score was that the match seemed to lose steam as it went after starting off so hot.
Kandori’s offense looked really awful but yet she seemed to be getting the most ring time. I think this was built around a Hokuto/Kandori rivalry but I’m not sure. Kong was a beast. She dropped Kandori right on her head and then tossed Sawai over the top rope. This was capped off by a double team senton from Kong and Hokuto where Hokuto just ruined the opposition by landing directly on them. Kong’s kicks were so brutal that they could probably collapse someone’s lung. Not sure how Akira Hokuto got busted open. Great spot where Kandori came in the ring to break a submission and hit Kong. Kong dropped what she was doing, got Kandori back in the corner, and dropped her. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the kick from Hokuto that just killed Sawai. It was so gnarly that I replayed it 3-4 times. The ending really hurt the score as they just randomly stopped it with Kandori applying an armbar to Hokuto. Too much good stuff here to mention in detail.
Main event time. I’ve heard about this match online so I was anxious to see if it was really going to live up to the hype bestowed upon it from the basement dwellers who inhabit most of the wrestling forums on the net. First fall was over in about 12 seconds when Kansai powerbombed the shit out of Yamada. The remaining falls were what joshi wrestling is all about. Hard ass kicks, wild submissions, whiplash inducing lariats, dive sequences, hot nearfalls, etc. I found Toyota’s moonsault to the outside after she dropkicked Ozaki on the buckle charming. Did I mention the second rope dropkick from her that caught Kansai right in the fucking mouth? I found myself growing tired throught the middle of the third fall, probably by that point I’d been up for about 14-15 hours and a lot of that was spent watching this show, but nonetheless enjoyed the action. I would suggest that any fan go find this match and download it now. It’s a hell of a lot better than what you’ll find on American TV these days.
2. Leo Kitamura, Mikiko Futagami, & Utako Hozumi vs. Kaoru Ito, Seami Numata, & Tomoko Watanabe – 4
3. Bat Yoshinaga & Terri Power vs. Rumi Kazama & Miki Handa – 5
4. Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo vs. Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda – 4
5. Yumiko Hotta, Kyoko Inoue, & Takako Inoue vs. Cutie Suzuki, Plum Mariko, & Boirshoi Kid – 4
6. Suzuki Minami vs. Harley Saito – 5
7. Bull Nakano vs. Chigusa Nagayo – 6
8. Akira Hokuto & Aja Kong vs. Shinobu Kandori & Eagle Sawai – 6
9. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki – Best of Three Falls Match - 8
Been sitting on this show for a while now so I figured since it’s puro/lucha month, what better time to drag it out than now. I was really impressed with the first bout, so much that I ended up giving it a recommendable score. Kukuoka laid in a great half crab that had Hasegawa writhing in pain. Hasegawa’s offense was really good, especially the five continuous double underhook suplexes she delivered. The dive sequence was fun, especially when Hasegawa crashed and burned. Ending saw two straight DDTs from Fukuoka that made me cringe and then Hasegawa nailing a spinning back kick for the win.
Second bout really had no sense of direction. It felt for the majority of the match that it was just thrown together at the last minute. Ito’s offense seemed to be very hit and miss and not very impressive. Couple nice moves from the Futagami trio, especially the flying bulldog delivered by Kitamura off of Futagami’s shoulders. Watanabe was the glue for her team, although she had some minor mishaps, including one spot where she went for a moonsault and on the way down accidentally kneed Kitamura right in the face. The end was a giant mess with everyone just randomly running in, brawling, and breaking up pinfalls.
Things got a little better here. Bat Yoshinaga I’m seeing for the first time and boy, does she work stiff. Attitude era WWF fans may recognize Terri Power as Tori. She was very limited in what she could attempt in the match due to an arm injury. Her chops were really awful but she was very vocal during her ring time. Of all the competitors here, Bat really impressed me the most. She almost broke Handa’s back with a half crab and won the bout for her team with a brutal spinning kick. The lone highlight from the opposition team included Kazama hitting some nice spin kicks of her own.
Toyoda and Megumi were two of the few FMW representatives on the card and looked really sloppy at points. Kudo hit a bad double underhook bomb, Toyoda followed it up with an even worse elbow from the second rope. However, they also hit some decent spots with Toyoda dropkicking Shimoda so hard that she probably felt it in her ovaries and the outside segment with Toyoda hitting a crazy powerbomb and then Megumi following it up with a table spot. Didn’t seem to be much chemistry going on in the ring as everyone just sort of did their own thing.
Another six-lady tag and this one started out with a bunch of comedy between Boirshoi Kid and Kyoko Inoue, sporting Warrior-esque face paint, which actually had me smiling at parts. Boirshoi played a great Spike Dudley by getting beat up and bounced around the whole match. There was a big dive spot, similar to that of what can be seen in multiple-man cruiserweight matches from WCW circa ’97. Hotta flipped Mariko over her head in a weird move that made her land face first on the match. Suzuki got a good nearfall off of a backslide attempt and there was another one after Kyoko took three straight mushroom stomps from the top rope. Mariko ended up as an afterthough, sad considering the fact that four years after this show, she’d be dead due to a taking a Liger bomb in a house show match in Hiroshima for JWP that triggered an abscess on her brain to start bleeding.
I enjoyed the Harley Saito match a lot. Not enough to put it into the recommended category but after the foolishness of some of the previous bouts, it was a welcome change. Both ladies were very vocal in the ring, on both offense and defense. Harley has some really good kicks. Minami hit a very nice spinning back breaker and executed a wild dive that almost sent both of them into the crowd, and a senton from the top rop that almost crushed Saito’s chest. Some good nearfalls, including one really hot one off of a double underhook suplex, made the bout that much more enjoyable for me.
Bull and Chigusa had a hell of a fight. Not only did it start off with them trading some hard chops on the apron, but the damn thing broke down into a crowd brawl! Chigusa got thrown so hard into the railing that it broke open the gate! Once the bout settled down and got back in the ring there were some great mat work section where they traded submissions. Bull’s chicken wing looked a lot better than Backlund’s. Wonder what kind of sauce she puts on that? The look on Bull’s face when Chigusa kicked out of a top rope legdrop defies words. Some really good hot nearfalls here and Chigusa’s awesome selling made this one for me. The only thing that brought down the score was that the match seemed to lose steam as it went after starting off so hot.
Kandori’s offense looked really awful but yet she seemed to be getting the most ring time. I think this was built around a Hokuto/Kandori rivalry but I’m not sure. Kong was a beast. She dropped Kandori right on her head and then tossed Sawai over the top rope. This was capped off by a double team senton from Kong and Hokuto where Hokuto just ruined the opposition by landing directly on them. Kong’s kicks were so brutal that they could probably collapse someone’s lung. Not sure how Akira Hokuto got busted open. Great spot where Kandori came in the ring to break a submission and hit Kong. Kong dropped what she was doing, got Kandori back in the corner, and dropped her. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the kick from Hokuto that just killed Sawai. It was so gnarly that I replayed it 3-4 times. The ending really hurt the score as they just randomly stopped it with Kandori applying an armbar to Hokuto. Too much good stuff here to mention in detail.
Main event time. I’ve heard about this match online so I was anxious to see if it was really going to live up to the hype bestowed upon it from the basement dwellers who inhabit most of the wrestling forums on the net. First fall was over in about 12 seconds when Kansai powerbombed the shit out of Yamada. The remaining falls were what joshi wrestling is all about. Hard ass kicks, wild submissions, whiplash inducing lariats, dive sequences, hot nearfalls, etc. I found Toyota’s moonsault to the outside after she dropkicked Ozaki on the buckle charming. Did I mention the second rope dropkick from her that caught Kansai right in the fucking mouth? I found myself growing tired throught the middle of the third fall, probably by that point I’d been up for about 14-15 hours and a lot of that was spent watching this show, but nonetheless enjoyed the action. I would suggest that any fan go find this match and download it now. It’s a hell of a lot better than what you’ll find on American TV these days.
Monday, March 14, 2011
DVDVR's Top 3 Lucha matches of the 90's
Here it is, this select group of fanboy's top selections of their their deepest love affair
#3- Psicosis v. Rey Mysterio jr (AAA, 09/22/95)- 8
For any fan who doesn'tknow about these guys history, this is an excellent trip through the Lucha Libre textbook. We've all seen their WCW work, the classic ECW style but this is in their home. 1st fall shows you that even aireal wizards like these two had to train in a dungeon somewhere to learn the basics and they must have trained together because they had a similar strategy, mostly armlock stuff. 2nd fall was the majority of their Nitro work, tons and tons of counters and working off the last big spot they pulled off. Psicosis has always been a little off the mark but here rey is so active you never notice and Psicosis relishes being the big guy and Rey's born to take punishment. 3rd fall was dive city, they took to the floor so many times youd' thought they were playing in the NBA. Dive after dive and they didn't hold back on any of them. And the near falls were dynamite, i haven't been lifted off the couch watching something like this since the ending moments of The Secrets of their Eyes. See this- now.
#2- El Hijo del Santo/ Octagon v. Love Machine/ Eddy Guerrero (AAA, 11/06/94, Mask v. Hair)- 7
It's always fun to relive this bout, i've seen it so many times and reviewed it several as well. The dynamic between Eddy and Barr was such a dynamic element I don't know if that kind of force has been seen in AAA since. 1st fall was super fast paced the crowd heat was off the charts, the LA Sports Arena filled with die hard Lucha fans and Eddie & Art playing the best heels they could, making swimming motions as if they jumped in the drink to get there. First caida goes fast with the heels dominating for an easy win. Barr is such a natural at the sport, bumping huge and playing to the crowd so well. 2nd caida gets down to Octagon for the super comeback and featured one of the most beautiful Lucha dive spots of all time as Santo and Octagon hit picture perfect suicide dives to the floor- they were the very mathematical definition of "parallel." 3rd caida gets really dramatic, as Barr hits the dreaded piledriver (illegal in AAA) to eliminate Octagon and they do a whole stretcher angle for him, as the tecnicos 2nd, Blue Panther evens the score with his own piledriver. Barr and Octagon are superb, lying on the mat for the whole 3rd round as if in a coma. Eddie and Santo go out with Eddie hitting huge power move one after the other trying to put the legend away, but can't do it and gets pinned in a rollup for a face win. Some of the spots were pretty bad looking, as far as technical aspect and there certainly were some flubs, such as the Gringos trying to outdo the faces suicide dives and failing miserably, but all in all this is still a wonderful match and introduction into AAA at the time.
#1- Negro Casas/ Atlantis/ Ultimo Dragon/ El Dandy/ Mascara Magica/ Shocker/ La Fiera/ Brazo de Oro v. El Hijo del Santo/ Dr. Wagner jr/ Felino/ Scorpio jr/ Black Warrior/ Kevin Quinn/ Satanico/ Silver King (CMLL, 04/18/97, 16 Man Cibernetico match)- 8
okay think i'll take a brief intermission, im' about 34 minutes into this 53 minute match. It's felt like a breeze watching this, the deal is both teams just exchange guys but also it works as a lumberjack/ elimination match. All of these guys are in their prime still and are moving like lightning. The fluid work, the armdrags, counters and work on the ground are just so refreshing to watch. My boy Atlantis scores first blood by taking out Kevin Quinn. Shocker pulled off an absolutely nutty dive where he went over the first row and landed on his head like he was a javelin in an Olympic game. He just spiked himself from about 8 feet away in a truly insane moment. Santo's team is getting picked apart incl. a very controversial Wagner jr elimination. Casas & Santo engaged in a nasty brawl, both stomping each other in the head like they were trying to kill a cockroach. Felino then went on a tear, taking out 4 guys in a row, some of them felt sort of weak. Ultimo and Felino squared off in the finale and why i liked this is it was all about intricate pinfalls, not big power moves ala Japanese style. I would love to see other fed have this kind of match, I thorougly enjoyed it.
#3- Psicosis v. Rey Mysterio jr (AAA, 09/22/95)- 8
For any fan who doesn'tknow about these guys history, this is an excellent trip through the Lucha Libre textbook. We've all seen their WCW work, the classic ECW style but this is in their home. 1st fall shows you that even aireal wizards like these two had to train in a dungeon somewhere to learn the basics and they must have trained together because they had a similar strategy, mostly armlock stuff. 2nd fall was the majority of their Nitro work, tons and tons of counters and working off the last big spot they pulled off. Psicosis has always been a little off the mark but here rey is so active you never notice and Psicosis relishes being the big guy and Rey's born to take punishment. 3rd fall was dive city, they took to the floor so many times youd' thought they were playing in the NBA. Dive after dive and they didn't hold back on any of them. And the near falls were dynamite, i haven't been lifted off the couch watching something like this since the ending moments of The Secrets of their Eyes. See this- now.
#2- El Hijo del Santo/ Octagon v. Love Machine/ Eddy Guerrero (AAA, 11/06/94, Mask v. Hair)- 7
It's always fun to relive this bout, i've seen it so many times and reviewed it several as well. The dynamic between Eddy and Barr was such a dynamic element I don't know if that kind of force has been seen in AAA since. 1st fall was super fast paced the crowd heat was off the charts, the LA Sports Arena filled with die hard Lucha fans and Eddie & Art playing the best heels they could, making swimming motions as if they jumped in the drink to get there. First caida goes fast with the heels dominating for an easy win. Barr is such a natural at the sport, bumping huge and playing to the crowd so well. 2nd caida gets down to Octagon for the super comeback and featured one of the most beautiful Lucha dive spots of all time as Santo and Octagon hit picture perfect suicide dives to the floor- they were the very mathematical definition of "parallel." 3rd caida gets really dramatic, as Barr hits the dreaded piledriver (illegal in AAA) to eliminate Octagon and they do a whole stretcher angle for him, as the tecnicos 2nd, Blue Panther evens the score with his own piledriver. Barr and Octagon are superb, lying on the mat for the whole 3rd round as if in a coma. Eddie and Santo go out with Eddie hitting huge power move one after the other trying to put the legend away, but can't do it and gets pinned in a rollup for a face win. Some of the spots were pretty bad looking, as far as technical aspect and there certainly were some flubs, such as the Gringos trying to outdo the faces suicide dives and failing miserably, but all in all this is still a wonderful match and introduction into AAA at the time.
#1- Negro Casas/ Atlantis/ Ultimo Dragon/ El Dandy/ Mascara Magica/ Shocker/ La Fiera/ Brazo de Oro v. El Hijo del Santo/ Dr. Wagner jr/ Felino/ Scorpio jr/ Black Warrior/ Kevin Quinn/ Satanico/ Silver King (CMLL, 04/18/97, 16 Man Cibernetico match)- 8
okay think i'll take a brief intermission, im' about 34 minutes into this 53 minute match. It's felt like a breeze watching this, the deal is both teams just exchange guys but also it works as a lumberjack/ elimination match. All of these guys are in their prime still and are moving like lightning. The fluid work, the armdrags, counters and work on the ground are just so refreshing to watch. My boy Atlantis scores first blood by taking out Kevin Quinn. Shocker pulled off an absolutely nutty dive where he went over the first row and landed on his head like he was a javelin in an Olympic game. He just spiked himself from about 8 feet away in a truly insane moment. Santo's team is getting picked apart incl. a very controversial Wagner jr elimination. Casas & Santo engaged in a nasty brawl, both stomping each other in the head like they were trying to kill a cockroach. Felino then went on a tear, taking out 4 guys in a row, some of them felt sort of weak. Ultimo and Felino squared off in the finale and why i liked this is it was all about intricate pinfalls, not big power moves ala Japanese style. I would love to see other fed have this kind of match, I thorougly enjoyed it.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
AAA 1-8-11
Alex Koslov vs. Xtreme Tiger - 5
Ultimo Gladiator vs. Silver King & Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Hermandad 187 & Pimpinela Escarata - 3
Electroshock vs. Mr. Anderson vs. El Messiah - 4
Match started off hot with the rudo Koslov attacking the hell out of Tiger, whipping him over the guardrail and into the fans. Tiger looked to have a possible back injury as he struggled to get back in the ring. Perhaps just some good selling. Koslov handled Tiger lack a wet sack of tiger feces by slamming his limp body around the ring. Koslov really shows a nice dominance in the ring over his opponent with quick, yet heavy offense. Tiger seems rather reckless, hitting a 450 splash onto the awaiting Koslov... on the arena floor! While Tiger possess said element of recklessness, he also possesses a very fluid form to his offense that's kind of mesmerizing. Koslov just had this dominating, heel personality in the ring that worked quite well for him. They busted out a thumbtack spot which was quite awesome, but Koslov sold it more like he walked into a room and witnessed his parents in the thralls of... "activity." Good opener.
Got a cheap laugh out of seeing Silver King come out to "Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. As far as the match was concerned, I had no idea what the hell was going on for the majority. Seems like, despite there being things called "lucha rules," this match had no rules. Cassandro (Pimpinela) kind of shocked me. I really enjoyed, um, him, for a long time, but he just looked so out of it in this match. After being Irish Whipped in to the corner, he lolligag across the ring like he was being chased by a bee. Psicosis looked good, selling a chair shot to the back like someone was pulling his arms off behind his back. Wagner looked the best of all, though. His strikes were snug and he looked competant in the ring. For the most part, the match consisted of interference and a heel referee. That's never fun. The end was fun, however, with the older face ref coming in and dropkicking the shit out of the heel ref.
This had a big match feel, featuring a true Lucha veteran facing one huge Mexican and one American star. I don't know how I feel about Anderson representing America. 'Shock and Anderson worked over Messiah with double teams in the beginning of the match. Messiah looked rather helpless through the beginning, garnering sympathy from the fans. Messiah, despite his size, brought a really nice quick element to the match, but unlike a lot of small lucha guys, he also brought an element of stiffness and badass-ness. This might be due to having Anderson in there, but the match felt so much like a typical TNA Impact style main event -- rushed. It would've been nice to see some slower pacing in the match instead of being beat over the head with move after move after move by all three guys.
Ultimo Gladiator vs. Silver King & Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Hermandad 187 & Pimpinela Escarata - 3
Electroshock vs. Mr. Anderson vs. El Messiah - 4
Match started off hot with the rudo Koslov attacking the hell out of Tiger, whipping him over the guardrail and into the fans. Tiger looked to have a possible back injury as he struggled to get back in the ring. Perhaps just some good selling. Koslov handled Tiger lack a wet sack of tiger feces by slamming his limp body around the ring. Koslov really shows a nice dominance in the ring over his opponent with quick, yet heavy offense. Tiger seems rather reckless, hitting a 450 splash onto the awaiting Koslov... on the arena floor! While Tiger possess said element of recklessness, he also possesses a very fluid form to his offense that's kind of mesmerizing. Koslov just had this dominating, heel personality in the ring that worked quite well for him. They busted out a thumbtack spot which was quite awesome, but Koslov sold it more like he walked into a room and witnessed his parents in the thralls of... "activity." Good opener.
Got a cheap laugh out of seeing Silver King come out to "Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. As far as the match was concerned, I had no idea what the hell was going on for the majority. Seems like, despite there being things called "lucha rules," this match had no rules. Cassandro (Pimpinela) kind of shocked me. I really enjoyed, um, him, for a long time, but he just looked so out of it in this match. After being Irish Whipped in to the corner, he lolligag across the ring like he was being chased by a bee. Psicosis looked good, selling a chair shot to the back like someone was pulling his arms off behind his back. Wagner looked the best of all, though. His strikes were snug and he looked competant in the ring. For the most part, the match consisted of interference and a heel referee. That's never fun. The end was fun, however, with the older face ref coming in and dropkicking the shit out of the heel ref.
This had a big match feel, featuring a true Lucha veteran facing one huge Mexican and one American star. I don't know how I feel about Anderson representing America. 'Shock and Anderson worked over Messiah with double teams in the beginning of the match. Messiah looked rather helpless through the beginning, garnering sympathy from the fans. Messiah, despite his size, brought a really nice quick element to the match, but unlike a lot of small lucha guys, he also brought an element of stiffness and badass-ness. This might be due to having Anderson in there, but the match felt so much like a typical TNA Impact style main event -- rushed. It would've been nice to see some slower pacing in the match instead of being beat over the head with move after move after move by all three guys.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
SWS in Tokyo Dome - 12/12/91
1. UWF Rules: Masakatsu Funaki vs. Jerry Flynn – 1
Jerry Flynn and his mullet make an appearance in this brief, five-minute bout that felt more like a UWF exhibition than an actual match. In the highlight department, Flynn hit a nice outside-in kick and Funaki had some sort of weird hold on to get the submission. The norm in UWF matches in kicks and ground work and this had a ton of it
2. Ultimo Dragon vs. Jerry Estrada – 6
This was more lucha in flavor than puro. Ultimo did some arm work after a beginning that, as good ol’ JR would say, was quicker than a hiccup. Dragon attempted his handstand in the corner but not sure if he slipped or not but he took a nasty spill to the floor. Estrada actually took a fall that looked worse when Dragon monkey flipped him over the ropes. Dragon didn’t really seem to sure of himself when he was running the ropes at points. More fun from the aerial department included Dragon hitting a senton to the outside, Estrada doing a Cactus Jack-style running somersault flip off the apron, and Dragon hitting perfectly on one of the craziest Asai moonsaults I’ve ever seen in my life that resulted in both guys going three rows deep in the ringside fans. Dragon hit a German for the win but added to it by doing an awesome floatover. Some really good stuff here.
3. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Haku vs. Ashura Hara & Davey Boy Smith – 5
We are joined in progress at the 9 minute mark with Haku eating some nasty chops from Hara. Hara and Yatsu had a tremendous headbutt exchange with some goofy facials added in for good measure. Besides Bulldog almost knocking Yatsu’s block off with a sick clothesline when he ran in to save his partner, he didn’t really contribute much, althought I’m guessing he provided an amply supply of pre-match somas. Haku played this kind of game before and worked pretty stiff as well. Best parts of the match for me were the exchanges between Hara and Yatsu. Bulldog got a post-match beatdown from the opposition which delighted me. Maybe next time he’ll learn to lay that shit in. Grade is based on what was shown and had the whole match aired, it probably would’ve gotten a point higher.
4. The Rockers vs. George & Shunji Takano – 4
This is joined in progress as well with Jannetty and George doing some mat work that didn’t really go anywhere. Shunji is a big, lanky dude with a Terry Gordy haircut who moves really awkward. He hit a nice looking dropkick from the second rope that woke up Jannetty. Shawn’s superkicks were spot on. The Rockers seemed like they would rather be working a house show in Boise than working here but George and Shunji did their best to sell but they seemed light on offense as well. Post match saw Shawn and Marty work the split angle.
5. Ted DiBiase vs. Kerry Von Erich – 4
Kerry was completely gone. I lost count of how many times during the bout I saw a drug induced far away look in his eyes. DiBiase had to guide him through everything, even go up for him on suplexes and what not. Von Erich totally sandbagged when he was supposed to go up for a DiBiase vertical suplex. They did a brawling segment on the outside that I thought might lead to a double count out. Kerry’s offense was pretty much non-existent but what was there was supported by some great selling for DiBiase, such as the discuss punch sell where he went all the way back into a corner. He also made Von Erich look good even when he was selling one of his own moves, most notably when he missed a second rope back elbow and did a fantastic sell. Points here for DiBiase’s performance as this felt like a match that could be found in MSG during this period.
6. Naoki Sano vs. Rick Martel – 5
I know I’m probably doing myself a disservice by not watch much Sano but after seeing this I definitely want to watch more of bouts. He killed Martel with two wild high risk moves. First, a somersault to the outside from the top turnbuckle only to top himself by doing an insane running swanton over the top rope where he jammed his head into Martel’s shoulder. Martel didn’t do a lot of high impact stuff but his ground work had some effectiveness to it. Of course, it helped tons that Sano sold them like he was being tortured a la Mel Gibson at the end of Braveheart.
7. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Ishinriki – 3
I didn’t really see a lot that I liked here. Ishriniki was on offense for the majority of the bout and had this constant “Holy crap I’m in the ring with Fujiwara” look on his face. His slaps looked like something you would see on a playground between two eight year old girls. Eventually, Fujiwara stopped messing around, trapped Ishriniki’s arm with his legs, and damn near ripped it off his body and ate it. Lesson #1 young Ishiriniki … Thou shalt not fuck with Fujiwara.
8. The Legion Of Doom vs. The Natural Disasters – 3
Started off pretty wild with some brawling outside the ring which was highlighted by Animal wailing on Quake with a few hard chair shots. Animal seemed to be the most energetic person throughout the bout. Disasters seemed content to no sell a lot of LOD’s early offense and do simple, sloppy power moves. The spot in the middle of the bout where Earthquake just dropped Animal through a table was pretty cool. Finish with LOD doing a Hart Attack type move with Hawk coming off the second rope was pretty sloppy.
9. Hulk Hogan vs. Genichiro Tenryu – 6
To me this didn’t seem like the typical Hogan match. He seemed more inclined to actually wrestle instead of going for his usual choreographed American style schtick. The strike exchange between the two was nice. Hogan got in a good elbow and a good knee that ended up hurting his own knee. Tenryu capitalized on said knee injury by working over it with a chair. Interesting spot where Hogan caught Tenryu with a couple short elbow that resulted in Tenryu giving him a hard Kawada kick right in the face. The nearfalls weren’t up to par with many Japanese main event bouts I’ve seen but they still had some heat behind them. Tenryu got in a nice powerbomb and reversed an attempted enziguri into a leglock. A crisp lariat finished Tenyru and capped off a really fun bout and a fun show overall.
Jerry Flynn and his mullet make an appearance in this brief, five-minute bout that felt more like a UWF exhibition than an actual match. In the highlight department, Flynn hit a nice outside-in kick and Funaki had some sort of weird hold on to get the submission. The norm in UWF matches in kicks and ground work and this had a ton of it
2. Ultimo Dragon vs. Jerry Estrada – 6
This was more lucha in flavor than puro. Ultimo did some arm work after a beginning that, as good ol’ JR would say, was quicker than a hiccup. Dragon attempted his handstand in the corner but not sure if he slipped or not but he took a nasty spill to the floor. Estrada actually took a fall that looked worse when Dragon monkey flipped him over the ropes. Dragon didn’t really seem to sure of himself when he was running the ropes at points. More fun from the aerial department included Dragon hitting a senton to the outside, Estrada doing a Cactus Jack-style running somersault flip off the apron, and Dragon hitting perfectly on one of the craziest Asai moonsaults I’ve ever seen in my life that resulted in both guys going three rows deep in the ringside fans. Dragon hit a German for the win but added to it by doing an awesome floatover. Some really good stuff here.
3. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Haku vs. Ashura Hara & Davey Boy Smith – 5
We are joined in progress at the 9 minute mark with Haku eating some nasty chops from Hara. Hara and Yatsu had a tremendous headbutt exchange with some goofy facials added in for good measure. Besides Bulldog almost knocking Yatsu’s block off with a sick clothesline when he ran in to save his partner, he didn’t really contribute much, althought I’m guessing he provided an amply supply of pre-match somas. Haku played this kind of game before and worked pretty stiff as well. Best parts of the match for me were the exchanges between Hara and Yatsu. Bulldog got a post-match beatdown from the opposition which delighted me. Maybe next time he’ll learn to lay that shit in. Grade is based on what was shown and had the whole match aired, it probably would’ve gotten a point higher.
4. The Rockers vs. George & Shunji Takano – 4
This is joined in progress as well with Jannetty and George doing some mat work that didn’t really go anywhere. Shunji is a big, lanky dude with a Terry Gordy haircut who moves really awkward. He hit a nice looking dropkick from the second rope that woke up Jannetty. Shawn’s superkicks were spot on. The Rockers seemed like they would rather be working a house show in Boise than working here but George and Shunji did their best to sell but they seemed light on offense as well. Post match saw Shawn and Marty work the split angle.
5. Ted DiBiase vs. Kerry Von Erich – 4
Kerry was completely gone. I lost count of how many times during the bout I saw a drug induced far away look in his eyes. DiBiase had to guide him through everything, even go up for him on suplexes and what not. Von Erich totally sandbagged when he was supposed to go up for a DiBiase vertical suplex. They did a brawling segment on the outside that I thought might lead to a double count out. Kerry’s offense was pretty much non-existent but what was there was supported by some great selling for DiBiase, such as the discuss punch sell where he went all the way back into a corner. He also made Von Erich look good even when he was selling one of his own moves, most notably when he missed a second rope back elbow and did a fantastic sell. Points here for DiBiase’s performance as this felt like a match that could be found in MSG during this period.
6. Naoki Sano vs. Rick Martel – 5
I know I’m probably doing myself a disservice by not watch much Sano but after seeing this I definitely want to watch more of bouts. He killed Martel with two wild high risk moves. First, a somersault to the outside from the top turnbuckle only to top himself by doing an insane running swanton over the top rope where he jammed his head into Martel’s shoulder. Martel didn’t do a lot of high impact stuff but his ground work had some effectiveness to it. Of course, it helped tons that Sano sold them like he was being tortured a la Mel Gibson at the end of Braveheart.
7. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Ishinriki – 3
I didn’t really see a lot that I liked here. Ishriniki was on offense for the majority of the bout and had this constant “Holy crap I’m in the ring with Fujiwara” look on his face. His slaps looked like something you would see on a playground between two eight year old girls. Eventually, Fujiwara stopped messing around, trapped Ishriniki’s arm with his legs, and damn near ripped it off his body and ate it. Lesson #1 young Ishiriniki … Thou shalt not fuck with Fujiwara.
8. The Legion Of Doom vs. The Natural Disasters – 3
Started off pretty wild with some brawling outside the ring which was highlighted by Animal wailing on Quake with a few hard chair shots. Animal seemed to be the most energetic person throughout the bout. Disasters seemed content to no sell a lot of LOD’s early offense and do simple, sloppy power moves. The spot in the middle of the bout where Earthquake just dropped Animal through a table was pretty cool. Finish with LOD doing a Hart Attack type move with Hawk coming off the second rope was pretty sloppy.
9. Hulk Hogan vs. Genichiro Tenryu – 6
To me this didn’t seem like the typical Hogan match. He seemed more inclined to actually wrestle instead of going for his usual choreographed American style schtick. The strike exchange between the two was nice. Hogan got in a good elbow and a good knee that ended up hurting his own knee. Tenryu capitalized on said knee injury by working over it with a chair. Interesting spot where Hogan caught Tenryu with a couple short elbow that resulted in Tenryu giving him a hard Kawada kick right in the face. The nearfalls weren’t up to par with many Japanese main event bouts I’ve seen but they still had some heat behind them. Tenryu got in a nice powerbomb and reversed an attempted enziguri into a leglock. A crisp lariat finished Tenyru and capped off a really fun bout and a fun show overall.
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