September 1988

Good tag title match made cool by young Shiro Koshinaka putting on a gutsy performance against the overwhelming force of Choshu & Saito and a blazing hot finish sequence with Fujinami bleeding and Choshu hitting a massive lariat. Could've used slightly more efficient structure but the level of work was good, Shiro kept played his "underdog who will slap your shit" role to the max and the blood on Fujinami made this quite epic for a few moments. This is why it's worth going through the NJ handhelds.

Starr comes in in his pomp. The next thing that happens is Invader angrily beating on him with a stick and having to be restrained. About 10 seconds into the match Starr is a bloody mess and Invader proceeds to make minced meat off of him. Starr does pretty fun job hanging on by a thread and making narrow cheating comebacks. Very very minimalist pro wrestling though which depends on how much you like well executed face vs. Heel stuff.

Vader vs Bam Bam Bigelow - NJPW 9/12/88 Very underwhelming hoss fight. Bigelow doesnt do it for me. You think a dude with fucking blue flames tattooed to his head would be more menacing but here he is fucking cartwheeling again. Vader is getting excited about the puffs of steam coming out of the helmet. Bigelow decides to wrestle this like he is Steamboat doing somersaults to avoid locking up with Vader and playing to the crowd. They fucking do a dropdown, hiptoss counter hiptoss as Vader powders and Bigelow soaks in the cheers. Flair & Steamboat eat your hearts out! Vader does a test of strength and thankfully cleans this punk's clock. BEEFY SHORT-ARM CLOTHESLIN…

It's an awesome match, thrilling from the beginning to the end. The end with Fujinami, Choshu and Saito is really great. A must see. ****3/4

All-Asia Tag Team Champions Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki - AJPW 9/15/88 This series ushered in the golden age of the All Asia Tag Team titles which climaxed with the very famous red-hot Can-Ams vs Kobashi & Kikuchi match. It really started with Footloose. It became more of a juniors/young lions division which gave it such a vibrant energy. There was a pretty big gulf between this and the first match on the 80s All Japan DVDVR rankings, but I through it was pretty comparable to the first match. Either we dont have Takano & Nakano title win on tape or it didnt make the set, they had just won the titles six days prio…

Greg Gagne defends the AWA International TV Title.

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler vs WCWA World Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich - AWA Nashville 9/17/88 The weakest of the Lawler vs Von Erich matches. I thought this would be a rematch in Memphis based on the hot ending to the June match. This takes place in Nashville and is under Memphis rules, but it is produced by AWA with the AWA camera crew and announcers for ESPN. It is the weakest because of the convoluted finish. Kerry had taken charge of the match with the Iron Claw. He was definitely the face and Lawler was acting more heeling. Lawler revved up and STRAP DOWN! Slugfest and they both nail the ref. Kerry wants a restart. Again another g…

Really nice. Everything seems fluid and natural. El Dandy is very good. So is Pirata Morgan. ****

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler vs WCWA World Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich - WCCW 9/23/88 Superb match! As good if not better than the more famous SuperClash match. Kerry is such a great babyface. The early portion of the match is so interesting. It is like when the home team has a sluggish start. Lawler is getting clotheslines and dropkicks, but Kerry can't buy a move. Kerry does such a great job conveying this slight frustration. It is nothing he can't come back from but he is annoyed he can't execute. Lawler is stellar. So cocky! You really want to see Kerry haul off and smack em. Lawler is also cautious he knows Kerry can ignite any time is n…

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Randy Savage vs Andre The Giant - WWF MSG 9/29/88 Smartly laid out match given Andre's limitations. First five minutes was all stalling around Heenan accosting Liz and Savage getting pissed. Pat Patterson sends him to back under threat of suspension and a heavy fine. Savage should have decked that asshole. Andre blasts Savage from behind. Andre was slow, but packed a heavy punch. I thought this was pretty good Andre offense. The hope spot was Andre getting in the caught ropes. I liked when he got free he just started swinging that heavy hand and was knocking the Macho Man back. Savage was hitting double chops to knock Andre down, but mis…