October 1988

The most enjoyment I have had watching a pro wrestling match this month. By far. This is exactly what I was in the mood for when I went poking around the All Japan Archives. It's not an epic, not a great match. They aren't going for five stars, they are just trying to hurt each other and win the match. This is zero filler, 100 per cent big hoss clubbering action. Exactly what you'd hope for based on seeing those names lumped together like that. Worth watching * just * for the chop Tenryu lays in on Big John to save Kawada from the Canadian Back Breaker. Also: Tenryu and Yatsu do NOT go easy on each other. John just towers over Kawada. Kawada does not back down. Tenry…

Man Choshu is sick of doing hold for hold wrestling. Anytime he gets the chance he is stomping Inoki's ass. Inoki is not having it and... removes the turnbuckle pad? Choshu also agrees to remove 1 turnbuckle pad and this is now an Onita deathmatch with the exploding barbedwire boards replaced by exposed turnbuckles! They do some cool phone booth fighting throwing punches and trying to be the first to smash the other guy into the corner. Inoki dominates for a bit, but Choshu finally catches him and... breaks his own hand doing a backdrop. Choshu bloodies Inoki and works over him with nice punches but they are forced to do a quick finish with Inoki choking Choshu in the rop…

The lore for this match is very deep and it feels like a minor miracle that footage exists, but it's a shame that the footage is stop motion choppy at times and you can't really see most of the third fall. Either way, that third fall has a really beautiful moment. The Brazos clear the ring and a Villano (I have no clue which one it is) comes up with their mask completely destroyed and just gets mobbed by all three Brazos. This match was probably great but it's hard to tell.

Iconic segment that sparked one of the best drawing Hogan programs of all time. Brother Love is such a great slimeball character. They ought to have a stir the pot character like this now. I love how Brother Love puts on glasses as he starts to berate Hogan about attacking him previously. Cant hit a man with glasses. Brother Love has a benefactor and that benefactor has provided him with protection in the form of the Big Bossman and Slick. Hogan cuts a good promo. Bossman jabs the nightstick in his throat and then Slick sprays him with hair spray. Bossman cuffs him to the railing and beats him down with the nightstick. Hogan hulks up and chases them to the back with raili…

Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts - MSG 10/24/88 For such a famous angle (Rude hitting on Cheryl Roberts), the follow up matches are never talked about. Why is it that they did not wrestle at Summerslam 88? Why did they only have one match at MSG? The feud seemed to be used to draw in LA which WWF was running a lot in the summer of 88. I thought this was a good match. The pre match stipulation stated the first person to hit their finish (DDT vs Rude Awakening) would win. Rude did some good stooging early on in the wristlock. High stepping, going over the top rope just to be dragged in. I liked the tease of the DDT early. I thought the transition to heat was weak. It was an ey…

Some years back, I saw Demolition on a Chikara King of Trios tape. They were old, fat, and frankly ridiculous in their ring gear. And they put the Chikara guys to shame. While the indy guys were trying to get their flippy spots in, Demolition put on a clinic about how to pace a match and build drama so the crowd got involved. I see a lot of that here, too. They control a great deal of the match, dictating the pace and allowing some breathing room between spots so that heat can develop. When Shawn and Marty come in for their high-flying antics, it's a lot of fun. (If sloppy - I swear Marty didn't hit a target once, apart from the final pinfall. His punches, dropkicks,…

Taped on 10/6/88 in Toledo OH, originally aired on PTW. Now available on the 2018 WWE DVD "Shawn Michaels The Showstopper Unreleased" disc one. Talk about it here

Well, Holy Hell, this is awesome. Stan Hansen in a match with Ricky Morton... There's nothing else you'd need to say. Why wouldn't this be entertaining? This starts out with Morton getting in some quick offense on Kroffat, but damn ... You can see Hansen bouncing on the outside with anticipation... he's hungry... then... watch the fuck out Ricky Morton! Hansen hops the ropes after Ricky Morton like he just heard Ricky's been sleeping with his daughter or something... it's nuts! Hansen is ready to murder him! All four guys get into the ring, and lucky for Morton it gets broken up and Hansen is back in the corner. I can't understand what he is saying, but it looks lik…

Bigelow is a guy whose matches I have definitely watched in the past that I have absolutely no opinion or one way or the other, this wasn't a very good showcase for him. Early shine with Inoki punking Bigelow was fun but Bigelow's control segments did very little for me, mediocre strikes, slams and clotheslines as well as faux-athletic big guy moves that don't look good and serve no purpose, Inoki might as well have been facing Kane. Inoki's comeback attempts and comeback were totally badass though, you have him going fiercely going after Bigelow by throwing great punches, raking his eye and dragging him in the ring over the ropes with a Choke Sleeper which looked absolut…

There's a moment in here where Tenryu irish whips Jumbo into the guardrail and Jumbo just goes completely berserk and starts beating the shit out of Tenryu that might be the beginning of Jumbo as an all time great worker for me. Tenryu really brought out the best out of him. The ending is just completely transcendent with some of the best chaotic brawling you'll ever see. As gratifying as a DQ finish can be. Still a level below their 1989 classic but man what a great match. ****1/4-****1/2