Superstar Sleeze

I think you are overcomplicating this, brutha. "Minnesota" Flair is just babyface Flair. "Carolina" Flair is his heel version. 1983 he is clearly the babyface in Mid-Atlantic. 1984 is a year of transition (youtube "1984 year of transition") and when begins to turn heel because Dusty is in the territory. He does not go full bore until 1985 with the Horsemen. Feel free to prove me wrong because I have not watched all the footage, but it seems pretty clear that is all this is. 1993 Flair against Vader is "Minnesota" Flair. By 1996, Flair was doing the crazy old man as a babyface because people just loved it. I have used Hisa's lists to randomly pop names into youtube to see what I can get for Flair. Charles, this is God's work. Once, I finish watch all this 00s Japan stuff. I am just going to back to mama's home cooking and watching nothing, but 80s Flair in all his glory.

Gedo & Jado vs Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue - NJPW 3/4/05 Weirdly enough, the only Gedo & Jado match I have ever seen was live at ROH this past May. I actually enjoyed that match as I believe the opener (may have been second on). I read some reviews for this one and Gedo/Jado are famous enough that I ought to watch some more to get a feel for their work. I know their rep as Southern-style workers in Japan that sometimes suck out loud, but then can always flip a switch and rip it up. That being said, I do not think Gedo & Jado are not the critical drivers that will determine your feelings for the match. That will rest with Wataru Inoue. I remember Wataru Inoue as the young punk badass from the first Liger/NOAH tag match, but this match almost seems like retrogression as he young boy victim for the brutality and violence of Gedo and Jado. This is easily one of my favorite styles of Japanes wrestling: Veteran & Young Boy versus the brutal heels. I did not think this one really superseded some of the better ones I had seen (Miyamoto and Shiga). The strong point of the match was also the weak point. They lived and died by that heat segment. Inoue getting blasted by that chair and tapping a gusher was great, but then he just died. I need some hope spots. Otherwise, it is really no different than finish run overkill. Hope spots can be generated from Kanemoto, who only interfered once. Inoue deadweighting and then kicking out was just not sitting well with me. It was all there for them to knock this one out of the park. It is one of those things where too much of a good thing (babyface selling) did them in. The transition to get Inoue out of there was pretty lame. He basically just hits a flip lariat after Kanemoto had some interference and they ran a tease spot. Don't get me wrong, it gets a huge pop. There was just not much struggle, it was abrupt and it was a just generally lame move. As for the rest of the match, the beginning was boring as all hell, just fast forward to the chair shot. Kanemoto is a pretty good house of fire because his facewashes are a great crowd-pleasing spot, but he seems to be looking for the tag too quick. The double heel hook was a great visual. I liked Kanemoto saving Wataru from the crossface and the superbomb, but he needed to do that earlier. Jado reminds us it is 2005 with rolling Germans and a barrage of Crippler's Crossfaces. Wataru goes for flash finishes with a cradle and then gets a submission does not even hurt. He literally has the arm bent in a way it should go. This was sillier looking than the Cena STFU (let me squeeze my biceps together). The match has a ton of potential, but suffers from too many problem for me to consider this in my Top 100. It is entertaining with a hot hook and a great crowd. I recommend it for a watch, everybody else seems to like it more than me, but I think mileage may vary based on how much you liked that heat segment. ***

That is another strong point for the leg work. I think it is a combination of everything mentioned. I wonder how much being a Mutoh mark is really the impetus though.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Suwama - AJPW Champions Carnival 2008 In 2007 it seemed New Japan had left the dark ages of Inokism behind them, but 2008 was like the Black Death before the Renaissance we are witnessing today. Admirably, they tried to create a star on Tanahashi's level by having him drop the IWGP championship to Nakamura on the Dome show. This match did not make the project, but it is definitely, I am going to check out. To see how they since progressed (or perhaps retrogressed) since their great 2006 encounter and to see if Tanahashi plays the heel in the match. Much like in 2005 & 2006, it seems New Japan had partnered with All Japan, which included Mutoh winning the IWGP Championship. This was a death knell for championship match quality for the rest of the year. In addition, we saw Tanahashi wrestle in the Carnival against All Japan's hot, young prospect, Suwama. I liked this match up a lot on paper before I even saw it for two reasons. One is both wrestlers are on the cusp of becoming The Man in their respective promotions. So you get a hungrier version of an Ace vs Ace showdown. In addition, there are few match ups I like more than the powerhouse versus the cocky pretty boy. This match, especially beginning, felt like I was watch Hiroshi Flair versus Lex Suwama. The cool paradigm shift in this match compared to the Flair vs. Luger series was Suwama was on Tanahashi's level so Tanahashi is even more tenuously in control than a Flair would be. Hiroshi Tanahashi have the best consistent heat since the Kobashi title defenses. This crowd was red hot. Booing the shit out of Tanahashi and chanting for Suwama throughout the match. It does not matter if it is Greensboro, NC or Tokyo, JP, every crowd is going to love the pretty boy slam -> gloats, but unaware of the powerhouse no-sell -> pretty boy gets slammed. I love when wrestling transcends both time and cultures like that. INCOMING!!! Huge pop for Suwama's suicide dive! Tragedy strikes for our hero as he was re-entering the ring, Tanahashi grabbed his leg and wrenched it with a timely dragon leg screw. Again, Tanahashi takes away the base of his stronger opponent. He is able to work a body part, but also create an opening for his preferred moves. Plus, cocky, shit-eating grin Tanahashi is awesome at working over the leg. I loved when Tanahashi is jaw jacking with the ref and gets speared, but it is right back to work on the leg. Suwama slaps the ever loving taste out of Tanahashi's mouth to HUGE cheers and mounts the comeback. Unfortunately, Suwama does not really bother selling and the match does lose its way a bit. It is a bit too easy for Tanahashi to regain in intervening moments when Suwama should either be kicking his ass or making him earn it more. I liked Suwama going for a knee for a knee with a heel hook, but only lasted for a hot second. The Sling Blade countered into a Back Drop Driver is such a great spot. Tanahashi is a crazy bumper. He was getting absolutely tossed around by Suwama. Suwama hits this crazy German Suplex that Cesaro would be proud of, it was a sick dead lift. Tanahashi is overkilled, just like the Goto match, but to an more extreme degree. Tanahashi has not been hit with the powerbomb. Tanahashi hits a High Fly Flow hits knees in mutual destruction, but Tanahashi comes out on top. He applies the Texas Cloverleaf, which won him the Goto match. This time it was just not in the cards. Tanahashi crumples him with a Dragon Suplex. He goes for another one, but countered into an overhead belly to belly. Here comes the powerbomb, but Tanahashi counters into a roll-up. Tanahashi showboating gets his head taken off with a lariat and finally the powerbomb ends it. This and Goto matches are very close for me. Tanahashi is really excellent in both of them as the cocky, pretty boy heel that uses the dragon leg screw as a game changer. I loved the addition of the Texas Cloverleaf to the arsenal. I like Suwama better than Goto because he has more charisma and has some cooler power spots. I thought the beginning of the Suwama match was better because it was even more clear in its face/heel dynamic and was really entertaining. However, the finish run was definitely more overkill in this match. Tanahashi should not have survived that many slams on the neck to only get back on offense. The finish of the Goto match overwhelms the beginning of the Suwama match for me to put the Goto match ahead, but both will do very well. ****1/4

Thanks Jim Ross from Smackdown! vs. Raw 2006. I know it is a relatively common expression, but my brother and I always do it in the JR voice because anytime you played HBK, he trotted that line out.

All Japan's reign of dominance at #1 ends, but damn if they did not get close. They had more high-end matches (60% of top 5) than 1997, but could not grab top spot. I am going to try to watch the top 5 soon. Also interesting that WCW managed to nab 22 slots to WWF's 7. WCW's "best" year is probably 1997 from overall combination of being mainstream and quality storylines, but they had a hard time cracking top 100 last year. WWF grew in popularity, but declined in quality matches. Do you feel WCW was able to grab more slots due to an overall decline in quality work or because WCW mid-card stepped it up?

IWGP Heavyweight Champion HiroshI Tanahashi vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW 11/11/07 This time period has been a real eye-opener for me because I never knew Tanahashi worked full-blown heel in his matches.You can draw many parallels between Cena and Tanahashi. One respect was I thought once both got on top they worked as top faces, but here is Tanahashi working heel as the champion in his home promotion. Not surprisingly, it was a great match because I have seen Tanahashi work on top as a face in a match and that is much harder than working on top as a heel. Can Goto look and wrestle anymore cookie cutter? He is the Platonic Ideal of a 00s Strong Style Warrior. Suwama, from All Japan, also fits the generic mold that they are super-serious, lariat-hitting, Kensuke Sasaki-wannabes. I prefer Swuama over Goto in the two matches I have seen because he does a bit more character and color. However, I liked the Goto match as a whole better than the Suwama match, but they are very close. This all being said, if you are going to do the ultra-serious, proud Strong Style Warrior gimmick there is no better opponent than the cocky pretty boy. Tanahashi has this down pat. I will get into this more in the Suwama match, but Tanahashi is gold as the travelling NWA Champion. The beginning of the Suwama match, I thought I was watching Hiroshi Flair vs Lex Suwama. I know NJPW probably has Tanahashi on lock down, but if you are the WWE he is the Japanese pro wrestler to get, not KENTA because Tanahashi understands American psychology way better inherently than KENTA. From these 2007 Tanahashi matches, I really believe that his working the leg is different than the way we think of it here in America. He is not necessarily setting something up. Yes, he does have the Texas Cloverleaf, but that is not always his endgame. He is using it to level the playing field. Most of his opponents are better at him at a certain thing. For instance Nagata will out-strike and out-mat wrestle you. Suwama and Goto can outpower him. However, Tanahashi is incredibly well-rounded. He is really good at everything, but not amazing at one skill. So if he messes up your leg, now you are favoring something and this allows Tanahashi not to exploit the leg necessarily, but remove your advantage, Now at a level playing field, he can hit his preferred spots and to build to a victory. Either that or I am overanalyzing and he is just a Mutoh mark. I like my explanation better though. With that mind, let us see how it fits. Tanahashi is a general dick early so GOTO SMASH~! In desperation, Tanahashi smashes his head into turnbuckle and while dazed he hits the Dragon Leg Screw. It stops the bleeding and allows Tanahashi to catch his breath, set the pace and attack the knee. Tanahashi is great at attacking the knee and it becomes even better with those heel special effects (the posing and bad-mouthing). I love how the bad-mouth leads to a Goto lariat hope spot. Tanahashi does the Dragon Sleeper reversal, which pops the crowd, but he should probably refrain from that since he is the heel. Tanahashi starts running through his splashes and then goes for the kill with a German on the apron. That is the ticket, the leg work opened up this part of his game, which would not have been afforded to him due to Goto's power advantage. Goto gets chippy -> BOOM! Dragon Leg Screw. Tremendous cutoff. The Goto transition is a little lame as he bashes Tanahashi's head into apron. It is a good transition because it causes a plenty of damage, but is a bit too out of nowhere. Goto runs through a surprising amount of high flying stuff, which you wished he would sell the knee, but Tanahashi picks up the slack. Then in one of the most shocking surprises of the decade, a strike exchange that actually goes somehwere. I know after zoning out for 2-5 minutes a match in this decade, you actually have to watch this one because it is important. Goto loses his cool and starts hammering Tanahashi with closed fists to the point he is booed. The ref admonishes him, but he throws him down. Tanahashi punts him in the balls and now the boo birds are really out. Excellent, excellent work! Put a little sympathy on Tanahashi and then he reminds you he is a total prick. Now if the match ended after the Tanahashi barrage of offense (suplexes, High Fly Flow, Cloverleafs). This is yet another MOTDC. It is getting ridiculous by the way how stupid this is becoming. That these matches could be on par with previous decades if they just went home. When all is said and done, I will most likely be a Tanahashi supporter in the Great Hiroshi Tanahashi Debate. However, if the second Nagata match and this match ended at the right times, I would already be on the bandwagon beating his drum as loudly as Meltzer. He is sooooo painfully close to being an all-time great. You need to know when to go home. That being said this finish does not kill the match dead and there still some good in it. I agree that Goto needed some more nearfalls to be credible and be seen in the upper midcard, which you probably should have fitted in before the ballshot, but that is fine. I did like the story of Tanahashi going Ricky Steamboat with nearfall barrage in an effort to save his title, but in the process on one of them he gets dropped on his neck. They sell this as a shoot injury with ringsiders going in to check on him and Goto throws the, Goto does a great job focusing on the neck, but once he goes all out on the neck it becomes overkill. Tanahashi should not be able to comeback with anything unless Goto fucks up or catches him by surprise. There is of course Tanahashi bridging on his bad neck. Fuck! They were so close. Tanahashi hits High Flow Fly on the knees and the Cloverleaf secures the victory. ****1/4

Koji Kanemoto vs Osamu Nishimura - NJPW G-1 Climax '04 Kanemoto really blew this one. Kanemoto avoided Nishimura on the mat and dominated with kicks. I was waiting for Nishimura to kick it up a notch, which he did with his amazing European Uppercuts, but Kanemoto answered with facewashs and planchas. Nishimura almost seemed cocky against the junior heavyweight Kanemoto and before he knew he was in a big hole. Nishimura was really great at selling and not just the eventual leg selling, but selling throughout the match. He was putting Kanemoto and his offense over huge in hanging with the heavyweights by demonstrating that he has underestimated Kanemoto. Nishimura is always dangerous with his millions of pinning combinations and he applied one, but Kanemoto countered into a heel hook. Nishimura sells this like a million bucks. Kanemoto ramps up to the moonsault, but cant get the job done. Nishimura goes for a banana split cradle, which Kanemoto counters into the heel hook and just when you thinks he has it, Nishimura rolls him onto his shoulder and Kanemoto does not let go. It was a cool little story that put Kanemoto over. Nishimura's selling really made this special. Kanemoto can run cold with me and this was one of those performances. Against somebody who was not selling as well, this would not have been as good. Regardless, definitely a match to watch if you appreciate great selling and a neat 15 minute story. ***3/4

Florida Express (Kensuke Sasaki & Florida Brothers) vs. Do Fixer (Magnum Tokyo, Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi) w/Akira Hokuto - 9/17/04 Kensuke Sasaki in American Flag tights being taught how to properly celebrate America style with hip thrusts and booty bumps is something every wrestling fan needs to see. The amazing thing about pro wrestling is how well it transcends cultures and languages. I don't know a lick of Japanese, but I sure appreciate their wrestling. This time I think understanding Japanese would have made this even funnier than it already was. The Florida Brothers are a spoof on Americans. You had Akira Hokuto ashamed of her husband's silly antics with the Florida Brothers. Then she gets challenged by the creepy Stalker Ichikawa and beats him with a Northern Lights Bomb. The match proper gets started and Sasaki is totally game for all the silly antics that ensue. The ref armdraging everybody, armbar chains, and miming imaginary barriers against Magnum Tokyo. The finish is too funny and fits perfectly with the theme of the match. I want to get this on my Top 100, but there maybe so many good outright matches that it will not make it. As comedy match, this is pretty top-notch.

Their Cinderella story at Survivor Series '88 was really compelling especially with The Body selling it. Demos/POP double turn meant shit to me because the matches sucked either way, but that Conquistadors surviving against all expectations was a great hook to make you care.

My brother explained this one pretty well. If you wait for Cena or Lesnar to win they will be on rough, but competitive shape, but costing Cena the match when Brock is on the verge of losing is much, much smarter play than waiting for the match to end. Still fucking stupid finish

My brother with the line if the night already: "it shouldn't be Stardust, It should be Spazdust"

How much 70s is there? I just thought there were a handful if All Japan matches

Bock is one of the few pure American wrestlers (Stan Hansen is clearly American, but I associate him with Japan) that I could see as my number one. I know I am just beating a dead horse, but it is the lack of footage that is hurting him. He is truly an excellent wrestler in every facet of pro wrestling.

If you are not considering AJ for your top 100, you are the one missing out on a great wrestler. He is a mortal lock for my top 100 and have only seen two of his 2014 matches (one was live, which is always bitchin). In an era of faceless X-Division wrestlers, AJ Styles stood out because he was so well-rounded. AJ throws a punch way better than those lame gymnast poseurs. He can go on the mat and take to the air. His commitment to selling means that moves have consequence and from that consequence comes smart transitions. Here is a bunch of AJ matches I reviewed: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/19786-aj-styles/?hl=styles If you think AJ is one year wonder, watch these matches: vs Abyss - Lockdown 2005 - Great, bloody little man vs big man steel cage match vs Samoa Joe - Turning Point 2005 - Incredible match. Styles sells the beating and exhaustion so well and makes everything mean so much Against All Odds 2006 Triple Threat against Daniels and Samoa Joe is the Triple Threat to watch in my opinion not the more famous Unbreakable one. Joe is such a force so Styles and Daniels know they can't beat him so they try to beat each other. It is a really smart spotfest w/Daniels vs AMW - Slammiversary 2006 - Perfect meddling of X-Divison and Southern Style Tag wrestling The LAX feud was a great angle, but did not produce any great matches from when I rewatched them, but I didn't get to see the Impact Street Fight, which I remember liking a lot. Again the Angle feud was a great angle, but Kurt Angle flat out refused to wrestle the matches violently and just killed it dead. 2009 Triple Threat was absolutely amazing and also must-see. AJ is given the keys to the kingdom and rocks it. He wrestles two different strategies to overcome Daniels and Joe. He is so adaptable. Watch this. His 2005 matches are probably better, but I loved his 2009 match against Daniels TNA World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels - Final Resolution 2009 Daniel puts in a career performance and AJ puts on a performance that is on par with his best. This match is worked so much differently than most TNA matches as they let spots breathe, use strikes effectively to set up spots and has psychology. I was really floored how friggin good this match was. The story is how AJ would overcome Daniels' combination of ruthlessness and familiarity with his moves. Daniels takes advantage of two early rope breaks to take cheap shots at Styles. He also is able to counter an AJ kip up by sitting down on an armbar and pick an ankle on a criss-cross spot because he knows AJ just that well. They really work the mat effectively I wish they would work this way more often. When AJ does take control because Daniels gets cocky he really lets the fists let and talks some trash to Daniels. Hate in a TNA match??? Whaaaaaattttttt? When Daniels regains control, he sets up AJ to get smacked with a chair and as the ref discards that chair he Rock Bottoms AJ through an chair. This sets up the back psychology and a really fuckin good heat segment. AJ gets a hope spot and goes up top to capitalize, but Daniels wails on his back. Then Daniels manages to hoist AJ up and basically do a backbreaker but use the top turnbuckle as his knee. If you are going to do innovative spots, then at least make them violet and that fit in perfectly. AJ re-establishes control by hitting a nasty powerbomb on Daniels onto the floor when Daniels tries to hit a huricanrana. AJ follows up with more strikes and trash talk. This does not feel like a TNA match at all and the TNA crowd does not how to react. Daniels uses AJ's own momentum against him crotches him on the ropes. Now Daniels is using some wicked open hand palm strikes. They fuck up a super Franeknsteiner. They fight over a suplex and AJ hits a wicked brainbuster. They struggle over Styles Clash; AJ kicks him the back and Daniels with open hand strikes. Daniels rakes the eyes to set up BME. AJ gets a catapult and then follows up with a Styles Clash kickout. AJ gets set up on top ropes; Daniels hits a big palm strike; goes for another super Frankensteiner this time he eats a super Styles Clash. This match unlike most TNA matches actually followed the story of the angle. It was two wrestlers pissed off at each other trying to prove they were better than the other. Daniels was great at heeling it up and he left most of the goofy moves at the door. He was out to use his guile and experience to best AJ. He started off really working the arm well before zeroing in on the back with ferocity rarely seen in TNA. AJ is such a great babyface at both selling and those fiery comebacks. His punches were really on point and he too did not work all his usual offensive spots and instead focusing on executing moves that fit the match and would finish his opponent. I liked the finish a lot because it combined smart escalation (Top Rope Styles Clash) with Daniels going to the well once too often (2nd attempt at Super Frankensteiner).

Pretty cool that Bray Wyatt, Blackjack Mulligan, Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda voted last time. Mike Rotunda does not Bolieve!

Rick Martel's babyface work in the WWF (87-88) is really underrated in my book. The Islanders feud is incredible. I really believe Martel/Islanders (the two singles matches are really good before Tito gets involved) is one of the best feuds of the Hulkamania era. I am pretty down on Demolition overall and thought matches were decent. I liked the Martel/Tito feud, but it could have been so much more. Tito is such a great blood feud worker that this feud could have been an all-time great one if it was booked too have more matches and a proper blowoff. Here is a ton of Martel in WWF (87-90) Choice cuts: Choice Cuts from Strike Force: AWA World Tag Team Champions High Flyers vs Rick Martel & Tito Santana - 8/29/82 St. Paul Rick Martel vs Tama - 7/87 MSG Strike Force vs The Islanders - 9/87 MSG Strike Force vs The Islanders - 10/87 MSG 2 Out of 3 Falls WWF World Tag Champs Strike Force vs The Hart Foundation - 11/87 MSG Survivor Series '87 Rick Martel & Fabulous Rougeaus w/Jimmy Hart & Slick vs Tito Santana & Rockers - Summerslam 89 Rick Martel w/Slick vs Bret Hart - Primetime 10/89 Rick Martel w/Slick vs. Tito Santana - SNME 11/89 Rick Martel vs Tito Santana - Main Event 11/90 Rick Martel vs Haku - 8/87 MSG WWF World Tag Champs Strike Force vs The Islanders - Philly 12/87

GO BLUE! On a favorites list, he makes it, no doubt. I will have to work hard to see if i can prove his mettle for the List. Also whoever said Angle is this great bully jock, meet the real bully jock. Angle is just a pretender to the throne.

Kurt Angle as the happy go lucky comedy character was awesome. Kurt Angle The Wrestling Machine (who more aptly be named Spot Monkey) is so lame. I have no problem with a quick pace or go, go, go. Wrestling does not have to be wrestled at a crawl for me to be entertained, but the spots have to have consequence and need to be connected. I don't know how many times I have seen Kurt Angle take somebody's offense and then just get up break up a lock up and throw his mediocre punches and then hit his suplexes. It is no different than when I playing my brother in SD! Here Comes The Pain and I happen to hit Square more times then he hits Circle. That is not wrestling. Angle has decided he is tired of taking offense and now wants to do his. Spots are meaningless. So why I should I invest them? The transitions are horrendous. There is no defense for the transitions that happen in a Kurt Angle match. The last time I watched Angle was when I was watching a ton of AJ Style. I am a huge AJ Styles mark. I think he is really an incredible wrestler. The feud over Karen was great and violent. The matches were totally disconnected from the storyline. Neither was pissed at each other. AJ was trying to work a "prove yourself to the vet" match and Angle was doing fuck knows what. Even the commentators where stupefied because they were hyping this bloody brawl because these guys hate each other and instead it was just spots. That is Kurt Angle. If you do not impose your will on him, the match will suck. He can be carried to a great match because he has all the athletic tools, but he has the worst wrestling IQ ever. He has been a part of enough good to great stuff that I will consider him, but I really feel that is all his opponent's doing. If Kurt Angle had it his way, he would just keep wrestling like a video game.

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 10/08/07 Holy Clusterfuck! They essentially have two completely different matches over the course of one match. The first "match" was incredible and if they had just tacked on a 2 minute finish onto would have rivaled or exceeded their first encounter in greatness. The second match was standard 00s puroresu that is good, but overstuffed. Now the reason why I contend it is two separate matches is that if you JIP'd after Tanahashi's first comeback from neck injury, you would think that you missed maybe 5 minutes of matwork and that match was just revving up. You would never know that Nagata's knee had been worked on and that Tanahashi neck was fucked up. That is the definition of disjointed. What a glorious beginning it was! The intense jockeying for position remains from last match, but this time there is no Nagata beatdown due to a slight. Tanahashi goes right for the legs and he flips off the fans! The new wrinkle that makes this all the more engaging is that Tanahashi is heeling it up. I think he was working a very subtle heel in the April match with the early match "insults", but it much more prominent in this bout to great effect. This pretty boy is very good at exuding that cocky aura and laying waste to the knee. This really gets the crowd behind Nagata, who was already the fan favorite in the last match. It makes perfect sense for Tanahashi to come in with a new attitude and edge. He was a young champion dethroned and he wants to prove himself. Now he has a bit of an attitude, I like that. Tanahashi goes fo his second figure-4, but a kick to the head rocks him. Nagata versus a douchey heel is Nagata at his best so I was pumped for this comeback. Great callback as an escaping Tanahashi catches Nagata's running kick attempts the Dragon Leg Screw, but Nagata chops out of it this time! Nagata with knees now and a BRAINBUSTER ON EXPOSED CONCRETE! Tanahashi needs a count of 19 to get back in. He is really favoring the back of his neck. Ref checks on Tanahashi and Nagata pulls him off. Nagata hits a piledriver for 2. Forearm to back of neck and a Crippler's Crossface. Tanahashi si fucked. Tanahashi sweeps the leg to save himself from a roundhouse kick to head. If the match ended two minutes later with Tanahashi pulling out a desperation bomb or getting a leg submission. I would fight tooth and nail for this match to get respect it deserves as a Top 5 match of the decade. Up until this point, it was just amazing wrestling. I would argue the brainbuster on the concrete actually did a mid-match turn and made Tanahashi a very sympathetic babyface. This clawing out a victory would be great for his standing as it firmly entrenches him in the upper echelon, but leaving open rematch possibilities. Unfortunately, the second half of the match did happen. In a vacuum, it was fine, entertaining 00s style puroresu. It is something on its own that might make the bottom 10 of a Top 100. After Tanahashi sweeps the leg, all selling is turned off and Tanahashi just runs through his standard offense. If you JIP'd to this part, you would never know they had been wrestling 15 minutes, which drives me bonkers. Basically it is a barrage of sling blades and exploders. Tanahashi does go back to the leg for a hot second with a Texas Cloverleaf, but nothing doing, which does set up the actual finish. Nagata is not able to capitalize on a back drop driver due to his knee and an onslaught of High Fly Flow wins it for Tanahashi. As infuriating as KENTA/Nakajima was, this just seems that much more annoying. Tanahashi/Nagata were putting on a classic and then just dropped everything to do a bombfest. When two halves of a match are this irreconcilable, you can not even rate, you can only think of what may have been.

Holy shit! How good was that Jericho/Kane match with all that struggle, wicked stiff strikes and interesting spots. I was thinking TINDERRRRRR Break and I pick me head up and Jericho had Kane in a nasty cravat trying to take him over. Kane hits back and throws Jericho up in the air. I was hooked. Jericho was laying his shit in. Kane who usually is pretty light and was hitting Y2J pretty damn hard. We even got hardway blood from the chin. I loved the dropkick counter to the flying clothesline. The tease and payoff with the exposed turnbuckle was awesome. I loved how urgently they both worked this. They came off like two guys trying to win a match rather than going through the motions and hitting their spots. It was really good action/reaction type wrestling. If you glanced by it, give it a second look.

This was the Buddy Rogers Show and it was a joy to watch it. In fairness, Lou was very good, but the straight man tends to get overshadowed when the show piece is that good. I loved that Lou did those subtle heel tactics from the Silverstein match and threw them in Rogers' face to the joy of the crowd. Rogers outcheated him, but Thesz gave as good as he got. It was interesting there was not much of a babyface shine instead Rogers controlled with headlocks. Thesz applied a sweet, sweet drop toe hold. I loved Rogers' burst of energy and the piledriver finish for the first fall. The second and third fall were crazy heated. The knee lifts to the head were nasty. The punches on the ropes and the bumps over them were awesome. AIRPLAN SPIN FU!!!! The highlight of the match to me was at the beginning of the third fall Rogers is about to walk into a Thesz move puts on the brakes and struts. It was crazy cool. "I don't like him either, mother" - Russ Davis, made me laugh out loud. The ending with Rogers head caught in the ropes shows that pretty much everything has been done before. This is a perfect way to do an intense mat-based contest, but blending in color and showmanship.

I really liked the match. My only complaint might be that it was too repetitious with the same Thesz tactics over and over, but Silverstein not really countering with much until its too late. That being said I loved the subtle heel touches from Lou like the constant crowding on the ropes and sneaking in those closed fists. When Silverstien finally did get going with those flying headbutts he had me rocking. The pacing was tremendous. It was really perpetual motion and just constant, intense matwork. Those "rips" were killer. I thought the Thesz Press finish was a great way to end it. Silverstein is an admirable opponent, but not in Thesz's league.

From my understanding, it is a donation towards the preservation of that specific collection (i.e. the Wrestling comes from the Sylvia & Russ Davis Collection). The link is here http://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/donate/adopt-a-collection and I am sure there is a number or email to inquire what our money would go towards.

So I was going to donate to the Chicago Film Archive myself because this is really tremendous stuff, but then I saw the "adopt a collection". I was wondering if there was interest on here to pool our money and adopt this collection. I don't know if this something being discussed on Wrestling Classics or other boards. Anyone who is interested let me know. I can't watch to all the Thesz/Rogers/Gagne stuff. Is there a Gagne/Roger match?