November 1978

I believe that this match took place in Charlotte NC on November 4, 1978 (Not 79)

I am almost 100% certain this is the correct date, it's the only record I can find of this unusual pairing. (Not 79)

Karl Mildenberger is a german boxer. He was the european boxing heavyweight champion and even fought Ali for the title. Hence this being billed as wrestler vs boxer, though the boxing part is more present in how they lay out the match. They both wear boxing gloves and Inoki tries to hang with Mildenberger on the feet. Occassionally he tries leg kicks and takedowns but they get blocked, don't do much damage or the ref makes them stand up. Initially it starts out with a lot of swaying, gauging the distance and the stuff you'd expect from an actual boxing match but as it progressess Mildenberger manages to find openings, first cornering Inoki and making him go on the defensi…

I'm glad we got some more footage of Wahoo in Houston.He was a mega start there. This was a nothing match. Can't have all winners. sssssssssssss

Basic match with simple, well executed offence combined with an interesting angle and efficient match structure. After opening the match with pretty standard matwork spots they move into the FIP segment where Sawyer refuses to help Gilbert, Gilbert eventually snaps, tries to fight back and even strikes his own partner but ultimately falls short. ***

A nothing match. Headlocks for a minute before the time limit expired. Seems like a weird way to end the show but oh well.

I'm not sure what a lot of Valiant's moves were even supposed to be. His partner looked a lot better in terms of actual work, had some nice knee strikes and a good right hand. I did get a kick out of Valiant's goofy antics. **1/2

Fun little match, Bounty Hunters had simple but good looking offence, their punches definitely met Memphis standards but I also really liked their elbow drops that looked like they were just smashing the back of their opponent's head. I liked the chaotic brawling at the end, though the corner post shot looked way more dangerous than the Piledriver on the floor they based the angle around. **3/4

Hard to write a novel and fresh comment on a match where you get the opening two minutes of pretty much......any match ever with lock-ups and hammerlocks and then Koko hits two nice Dropkicks for the win. The *wrestling* looked fine and I like how wrestlers often kinda tease kicking out after they get pinned. I'd give this match, like............52%. Still an average match but something that will give you a good impression of workers in it if you watch it.

Although televised as part of an episode of All Japan TV, this was an IWE match held towards their World League tournament. While there were AJPW wrestlers who participated in the round-robin tournament itself, Jumbo was given a free pass to enter the quarterfinal without fighting his way through a block, and that quarterfinal is what we see here. If you've seen Inoue's singles work then you know what to expect from him, and this definitely feels like he's the one leading the way here. With all that said, this is definitely a good match, and one I wish I'd seen when I was doing my big 70s Jumbo viewing a little while back. This is mostly mat-based, but Inoue is good and a…

This match is a masterclass. Not only in pure technique but how to make someone look dominant while keeping the loser relatively strong. Inoki had no answer for Roland Bock, and as the rounds progressed (10 European rounds), this became more clear. Bock dwarfs Inoki in size and sets the tone early on by suplexing Inoki and dominating him on the mat. This rarely happened at the time, although it probably didn't surprise the German crowd too much considering Bock's status in Europe. Inoki has his moments, and this isn't a total squash, but Bock just keeps pressing him and Inoki's exhaustion sets in pretty quickly. Towards the end, they both get pretty feisty and Roland gets…

I am almost 100% certain that the correct date for this match is 11/26/78 (Not 77)

Enjoyed this a shade more than their 7/27 match. Similar competitive touch-and-go matwork to open with neat takedowns and reversals, including Fujinami showing off his strength as he lifts Go while he’s still in the armbar to reach the ropes. After jockeying a bit for control, things heat up as they start throwing some heavy slaps. Go is persistent with his little side kicks to break up a leglock and a pissed off Fujinami busts him open with a hard smack to the face. The fans eat up that violence. Again, while Go isn’t quite as slick as Fujinami on the canvas, he more than holds his own and works an effectively aggressive style, never letting up on Fujinami, keeping him o…