Superstar Sleeze

ROH World Champion Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles - ROH 11/29/03 They did a really good job building AJ Styles up right before this match with big wins in marquee matches against CM Punk and Bryan Danielson. These two would go on to have classics and some of the best matches of all time against each other. One of the coolest things, I can say I saw them wrestling live under a tent in Cape Cod. This is one of my favorite pairings. That being said this is not one of their best matches. Very good but for their level, this is disappointing. There is a lot of pressure in the 21st Century for big men to both be very giving and to prove they can "work". Even though using their size and protecting themselves is actually better work, we get Samoa Joe taking mid-match Powerbombs for no reason. Joe is not actually that big if you take into account WWE size wrestlers, but for ROH he was and he has a tendency not to wrestle like one see the aforementioned powerbomb and a really bad hurricanarana at the outset of the match. Vader was very giving and while did agree with all of Vader's choices, I think he picked his spots well and made up for with brutal offense. Joe was being picked up and thrown down repeatedly. It was ridiculous. I know Joe can work like a killer see his match against Sabin July 2005 in TNA, but he didnt here. The 2005 series with AJ is a lot better. With the negative out of the way, lets get to positive, some brutal, stiff fucking action. These two stiffed the hell out of each other. The less said about that rana shit at the beginning the better. Once they go to grappling, it was much better. Usual AJ start with the dropkick and knee. Punk in a veiled way brings up my point that AJ should not be able to pick up Joe so early in the match. AJ telegraphs a discus punch and Joe rocks his shit. Best bump of the match and probably spot of the match was when Joe kicked AJ through the ropes. I have seen AJ do this bump before and maybe some others, but it always gnarly. Wicked suicide dive by Joe wipes him out. AJ does his spot where he hops over the railing and sprinboards using the railing to wipe out Joe. Loved that transition. Here comes that powerbomb I hated. JOE FUCKING THROWS HIS ASS DOWN ON THE URNAGE! I have always loved that spot from Joe. Facewash. Powerbomb receipt as called by Punk. STF into crossface, but AJ makes the ropes. I loved the use of the Pele here by AJ to turn the tide. He needed a head rocking move. AJ loves that back flip into the Slop Drop. AJ Backbreaker, AJ sells the leg because Joe is heavy but doesnt stop him from manhandling the Champion. Heavy sigh. There were some lulls down the stretch at a time when you really dont want lulls late. AJ gets Joe in the Styles Clash with ease. Honestly maybe Joe is not as heavy as we think and AJ is wicked strong. Joe kicking out of the Style Clash made a lot of sense. That was a great use of kicking out of a finisher because Joe was being put over as this killer champion. Island Driver by catching the second Quebrada to set up Muscle Buster and Koquina Clutch was an efficient finish. At like 16-17 minutes, I loved how breezy early ROH is. I think this did not have the plot progression, narrative building I prefer and also there was some disrespect to size difference. But they laid their shit in and there was a lot of great moments so still very good. ***1/2

AJ Styles vs CM Punk - ROH 10/16/03 On paper, this looks like it could be a styles clash (pun fully intended), but I think people dont give early CM Punk enough credit. I have enjoyed what I see and I am of course a big AJ mark. I think working with Punk helped slow AJ done. Dont get me wrong, the match with Danielson & Low-Ki bang, but sometimes they bang too hard. It is just so much action that it becomes supersaturated. This match was really hard-fought, very organic, but also very simple. I really like the commitment of the First Generation of the Indy Boom to wrestling especially scrapping on the mat. AJ & Punk did a great job doing the old Tasmanian Devil Dust Cloud beginning. I liked how that led them to an organic hold which was Punk butterflying AJ's groin and AJ fighting through it. AJ worked his usual dropkick and knee at the beginning. I thought Punk's Saito Suplex throw was a little early, but he covered for it by selling AJ's kick to his leg. The reason I think this match is great and not just good is because of their commitment to AJ's aerial tactics backfiring on him and the more grounded Punk taking advantage. It began with AJ trying his backflip into the Slop Drop (aka Quebrada into an Inverted DDT) off the apron. Punk moved. AJ Landed on his feet, but Punk TACKLES AJ into hard into the guardrail. Thats the hook. Punk has laser focus on the back with backbreakers and suplex and strikes to the back. AJ lands the Pele kick, but it is just a hope spot as Punk cuts off using the back. Brilliant. AJ goes for the Backflip->Slop Drop, but Punk catches him into a gnarly backbreaker! This is a moment when I knew I loved the match. The big counter into the finish run is Punk leaves his feet for a Split-Legged Moonsault and eats knees. That should have been the transition, they fucked around for a little bit and AJ did his kip up rana into the finish run. Nobody is perfect. They both hit complicated intricate moves down the stretch, but I didnt think it was overly cooperative and thought it came off as organic. They did a good job teasing the Pepsi Plunge and the Styles Clash down the stretch. The Shining Wizard into the Styles Clash was a nifty finish. I should expect more out of the GOAT, AJ and always very game CM Punk. Great simple, but effective pro wrestling match. ****

I finally have some time to watch pro wrestling and World Class is just alright so lets go to North Carolina and see whats up! Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling September 1985 9/7/85 Background: So World Championship Wrestling and Worldwide exist so this definitively the C-Show if two Sam Houston promo segments were not enough to clue you in. Match of the Night: Rock N Roll Express (World Tag Team Champions) vs The Not Rock N Roll RPMs of Tommy Lane & Mike Davis. As soon as you hear the fans chant Rock N Roll thunderously you are like thats a smart move. Not an evil corporate move, but a very wise and practical move. Just a really fun Chicken Soup for the Pro Wrestling Fan's soul type match. Shine, heat segment, Double Dropkick, see ya later, thanks for putting a smile on my face, a have a nice day type of match. RNR Express are feuding with the Russians namely Uncle Ivan & Khrushchev. Morton said the USSR stood for something lame which got me thinking how many Americans during the Cold War actually knew what the USSR stood for? Uncle Ivan is hollering about winning the titles and that Nikita will beat Flair. Flair still has not turned. Krushchev had a squash, couple good power moves. Andersons are pissed they are the National Tag Champs and the RNRs are World Tag Champs. If Ole though Tassles would make him wrestle better, he'd be covered in him, got a pop outta me. Flubs Abound: You expect Danny Spivey aka American Starship Eagle (maybe the worst name in the history of wrestling) to get tongue-tied and needing Caudle to bail him out but surprisingly JJ gets tongue tied trying to tell an elaborate joke and just blows the punchline. Spivey won a squash. I dont get the gimmick. I think Dusty was high as fuck when he came up with that name. He pledges his allegiance to Sam Houston in his fight against the Andersons & Tully. Dusty & Mags are not here tonight. C-Show, Baybay! JJ is still managing Buddy Landell. It is so weird hearing JJ talk shit about Flair. Nobody got fucked harder by the Four Horsemen than Buddy. I know a lot of people like Buddy. I think he is fine. He does Dimestore Flair well. His squashes are always way too long. Squash of the Night: The Andersons rule at squashes. So damn good. They gave Sam Houston 26 stitches and a broken arm. No Tully tonight, but it sounds like they are aligned. They piss on the RNRs too. Manny Being Manny: I just like that phrase lol. Manny Fernandez had a great squash very fun. Loved it. Him and Bass were out yelling about Abby and Paul Jones. 9/14/85 We get two Sam Houston promo segments again but this time we at least get two Dusty and one Flair baby! Main Event: I do not know what's weirder Dusty praising Flair or Flair shitting on Tully. @Loss was bringing this up on Twitter recently, the way Flair was booked and presented in the summer of 85 is so interesting. He is feuding with Nikita, he is taking a dump on Tully, "you say it is Diamond Time, not Rolex Time, I will make it Double Diamond Time", but at the say time, he is calling Magnum TA a dumb jock. Really cool stuff. Nikita is definitely still has main feud. Nikita won a quick squash. Dusty & Magnum are more aligned against Tully & Andersons. At first, I thought they were positioning America's Team against the Andersons, but from the promo this week, it is clear they are going all in on Magnum vs Tully. Enjoyed Tully's promo with Baby Doll and the Diamond Time. I gotta admit that was a helluva watch. With Magnum/Tully paired and Flair/Nikita, what's Big Dust to do well enter Paul Jones & Barbarian. I will be interested to see if they get any matches together. Tag Teams: Midnight Express and Andersons Squashes on the same show. Yes Please! I think I liked the Anderson one a little bit. There were no competitive matches on this episode so those were the Matches of the Night. Looks like they are positioning MX vs RNR at some point with the fans chanting Rock & Roll during the MX match and the commentators bringing up Express vs Express, this is of course natural given the Mid-South feud. I really like how they are presenting the RNRs with The Russians, Andersons and MX all gunning for them. Makes them feel big time. They get two promo segment. We see The Russians beat up RNRs and hang Morton with the Chain. He has the Russian Chain to remind him of this savage beating and the RNRs are going to get their licks in too. I really need to see that Starrcade match. RNRs also did commentary on the Andersons' match. Again really good matrix booking that Dusty did better than anyone else. The RNR Squash was good too, very fun. Midcard Mania: Buddy Landell is being positioned high end still as the Flair end looks imminent but with 2022 eyes we know he is about to be fucked royally by the formation of the Four Horsemen. He got a good Flair-style squash here, but still too much armbar and long. Ron Bass has turned face, but Black Bart is still aligned with Landell & JJ. Terry Taylor won his squash. Watts invested so much in him. I am surprised he left. Sam Houston with not one but two promo segments. If Dusty and Magnum are tied up, the Andersons do need dance partners. Houston gets a little lost so he goes to tried and true strategy of just yelling really loud. More people should do that. The second promo segment, Houston comes off great. He introduces Danny Spivey aka American Starship Eagle ok I will just ask it...is he supposed to be an American Indian? Spivey fucking sucks on the mic. Houston tries to get the crowd riled up. When Spivey finishes, both Caudle and Houston pause because they both dont think that could possible be his closer, but yep he is that anti-climatic. I liked this show more than the previous one because we got Flair, Dusty and Tully on it with good Anderson and MX squashes. 9/21/85 Main Angle: Midnight Express win a squash over Rocky King and someone else with a Rocket Launcher. MX attack King after bell and the announcers say that it is because Valiant had to rely on help in the Paul Jones feud so he is paying it forward. Valiant cuts his typical promo. Cornette's promo before the squash is all about the RNRs. He cuts a racist promo against Rocky King and Valiant. He does commentary on the Abby match (Abby looked fine). Abby was being managed by Paul Jones and it is unclear how he will be used. As Barbarian is being positioned against Dusty. This was the kick off angle that led to MX vs Valiant & Miss Atlanta Lively. Angle #2: Wow! Two angles! Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling has felt like the Sam Houston show has gets a ton of air time. It finally all paid off as he has beaten Arn Anderson in the middle of the ring! Mags help distract! Houston is ecstatic! Arn is beside himself and hems and haws. He ends up using astronomical wrong like Flair would the next year. The chances of a person like Houston beating Arn are infinitesimal or astronomically low. I wonder who taught it to who wrong. There's an alternate reality where Houston and Shawn Michaels switch careers. Houston victory got a huge pop. He had to fall in love with Baby Doll. Main Event Promo Mania: Lots of heavy hitters tonight: Flair, Tully, Dusty, and Superstar Graham. Flair is a little more complimentary than normal to everyone, but it is a typical fun time listening to Flair. Tully worked Flair's comments into his saying if he beat Mags for the US Title he must be even closer to Flair and thats why Flair doesnt talk about him. Tully is deep in the Mags feud. Dusty was great talking about the luxury arms race between him and Flair over who has the nicest shit. He is the TV Champ and is programmed with Barbarian. Superstar kept his squash short & sweet. I loved the Superstar promo. He might be washed up in the ring but he's still a hoot on the mic. Squash with a side of Squash: No match of the night, nothing but squashes. RNR, MX, Mags, Buddy, Superstar, six-man featuring Ron Bass winning with Sam Houston and Pistol Pez Whatley and Abby the Butcher. Bass is feuding with Landell & JJ now that he is a babyface. MX had the best squash. 9/28/85 Sam Houston Megastar: Man alive, based on September 1985 Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling footage only, you'd think Sam Houston was going to be the biggest star in pro wrestling in the late 80s. Multiple promos every show. He sucks at promos, but it is not due to lack of effort. Sammy is trying his little heart out. The end to that second promo was especially rough when he said he was not strong enough to lift the bigger guys, I dont need my strength said with a whimper. Major angle to open and the show and it is a doozy. Tully & Andersons mauled Houston in the parking lot. Houston was really parading how elated he was to have defeated AA on TV. Arn being embarrassed lashed out and jumped the poor kid. I am a mark for these type of wrestling stories. A heel is embarrassed or ashamed and just lashes out and takes it too far. That is perfect heeling. Really added a ton of fuel to the Dusty/Mags/Houston vs Tully/Andersons fire. Tully and the Andersons of course deny either saying Houston was stepping out on his girl or alternatively satisfy his woman and either scenario it is the girlfriend that laid the beating on him. Baby Doll looks she would fuck up his day. It is funny listening to Dusty rant & rave about how he would protect Houston when he is the one of sabotaged his career by sending him to Central States all because he had the hots for Baby Doll. Notwithstanding that, Dusty's promo was absolute fire and the killer clincher, Ole you know my red card, I will be walking alone with my bags along, lets see how bad you are. It was bitchin'. I was disappointed they had Houston wrestle on this show. It seemed too soon after such a hot angle. He wins. The jobber tries to get his heat back and BELLY 2 BELLY! Crowd popped big. Those Houston promos sucked. Dude gets two promos every episode and besides Spivey is the worst promo in the territory but bless his heart he is trying. I loved the angle, great use of young boy Houston. Caudle asks about Tully's budding alliance with the Andersons...it is happening! Main Angle #2: A ten minute video package on Magnum TA, ok maybe it wasnt 10 minutes but it felt forever. They show his soft side on the beach and with his mom. He is also a MAN who like Harleys and Barbells. Hell Yeah! The Road to Moscow is no longer paved to Gold because it is the Ride For Gold culminating in his hometown of Norfolk. I love how Flair is feuding with Nikita and Magnum simultaneously. Tully wants Magnum to win so he can take the Ten Pounds of Gold from him to win. Double Russian Chain: Big gimmick match for around the horn as it looks like the house show loop is going to get the RnRs vs the Russians in a Double Chain match. Sounds great to me. They won their squash. Squash With A Side of Squash: No match of the night again as they kept it squash-heavy. Abby/Barb won a JIP squash. Superstar Graham looking strangely like 2002 Hulk Hogan won his squash, he was in his Autumn Colors, which popped me. I loved his outfit. Bitchin' as fuck. Valiant is still paling around with Rocky King and he calls Jim Cornette a wide load. He popped me a couple times in this one. Terry Taylor won his squash. He is feuding with Black Bart over the National Title. Man, Mid-South is looking pretty good. Landell refreshingly wins his squash quickly. JJ, who manages Bart, scuffles with Terry Taylor who drops a shit on air. Probably the best episode of the month because of how hot the Sam Houston angle was.

There's nothing quite like Saturday Morning Wrestling! World Class Championship Wrestling September 1985 So when we last were watching World Class they were showing footage from the David Von Eric Memorial. Lets see what has changed. Main Angle: We are building to the Cotton Bowl card on October 6th. The main event will be Kerry & Kevin vs the Dynamic Duo in a Hair vs Hair match. From Bill Mercer, we learn that Adams & Hernandez had been going around cutting people's hair. If memory serves me, this whole feud began the year prior at the Cotton Bowl when Kevin Von Erich faced Chris Adams in what was supposed to be a babyface vs babyface friendly but ignited this feud. Very cool they were able to get a whole year out of this feud and it went full circle. I remember really enjoying the Cotton Bowl Hair vs Hair Match, I am pretty sure I had it Top Ten for World Class and ****1/2. Mike Von Erich is recovering from his legitimate Toxic Shock Syndrome from a should injury suffered overseas in Israel. Sounds like it was dicey. Kerry just says one sentence about Mike before saying We love the people of the Middle East. It is all about business baby. Fritz comes in and is very Fritz. I believe Mercer said the Dynamic Duo "attacked" Mike in the hospital great heat-seeking. The main event was Dynamic Duo vs Kerry & Adidas. Solid main event tag. Kerry worked the first FIP. Adidas the second. Kerry is so much better than Adidas. The contrast really helps put over how much a marvel Kerry was. The Adams Superkick out of nowhere was a killer spot. I liked the Discus Punch to get the hot tag to Adidas. Both heat segments were a little too chinlock heavy. Adidas dropkicks out of trouble. Kerry goes bezerk so the heels get the match thrown out by cheating. They go for the GOLDEN scissors, they cant just be scissors, they are GOLDEN scissors, I fucking love pro wrestling. They are going to cut Adidas' hair, but Kerry stops it and almost gets Gino's hair after a Discus Punch ties him up in the ropes. *** This is exactly what you want on TV to hype the hair vs hair tag at the Cotton Bowl. Midcard Mania: World Class has a positively tiny roster. Iceman is holding down the midcard. He is actually the top singles champ, the American Champion. I had to look that up. I wonder why he was not being promoted as such. He is feuding with Gary Hart and his cadre led by One Man Gang and also includes Mark Lewin & Tim Brooks. Iceman has Kabuki on his side. Iceman wrecks Jacko Victory's shit with the Rear View. Naomi take notes. It was a midcard 80s match. The opener was a women's match: Misty Blue vs Linda Dallas. Never heard of either of these ladies. Blue was billed as the World Champ. In what promotion? People get on women's wrestling for all the hair-pulling and nonsense, but fuck give me that over chinlocks. Dallas pulling hair and biting fingers and cheating like a muthafucka was pretty entertaining. Misty had some good leg holds. I liked it more than Iceman vs Victory for what it is worth. 9/14/85 This was shaping up to be the absolute worst episode of 80s TV Wrestling I have watched, but they salvaged it with a strong last half. Main Angle: They show clips from the Labor Day show. Gino defeated Adidas to win the Texas Title using a foreign object. It was alright. However, they did show the kickass Kevin Von Erich vs Chris Adams, which I have seen and I went **** Awesome heated singles blowoff, with Gino suspended in a cage above the crowd. Gino tries to throw Adams something, but it ends up with Kevin who knock him out. The real money is in the hot and I mean double hot post-match angle which leads to the double hair vs hair match between The Von Erichs and the Dynamic Duo. This is the last gasp of World Class. Match of the Night: I am not really a Iceman Parsons or a One Man Gang fan, but this was pretty damn good. Iceman is the American Champion but again is not billed as such, which just smacks me as peculiar. Iceman tags OMG with some great boxing combinations that sends OMG to the floor. Gary Hart says this is only due to the taped fists. He forces the ref to remove the tape. Great David vs Goliath match ensues. OMG looks strong on top. Iceman peppers in some hope spots. The finish takes this to the next level with some terrific Butt Butts that are executed well and sold well. Parsons finishes with a boxing combination that sends OMG to the floor. Gary Hart calls it. Iceman wins by Countout. Good booking. They put Kerry over OMG. They will squeeze the last bit out of OMG before he leaves. Shit with a Side of Shit: First we opened with some Southern Jobber who Bill Mercer says looks he like escaped from a Shakespearean Production. I didnt know Hamlet had a mullet. He was taking on some dude from Tahiti they didnt know how to spell his name sounded like Ragini to me. This was the most boring shitty match I have seen in quite some time. The Tahitian didnt even win with a highspot, it was a fucking small package. This somehow gets topped for being shitty by Bruiser Brody vs Hollywood John Tatum. This is my first chance getting to see Tatum, a BIG reason why I am watching wrestling this way is to see wrestlers like Tatum who I have heard about, but because they dont have classics I have not gotten to see before. Mercer calls him a dandy which popped me. I liked Tatum a lot. Good bumper, great heel seller and just seems like he would get tremendous heat. I actually would prefer him to Gino Hernandez just based on this small sample size. But Bruiser fucking Brody cmon man. I was just starting to come around on him, but he laid an egg. Every bad Brody stereotype, zero gusto on offense, no passion, just going through the motions, no bumping, weird selling, odd timing. Brody can have great matches but he sucked in this one. Tatum tried, but this was the shits. 9/21/85 Main Angle: The best episode of World Class of 1985, probably and it is all thanks to Main Event! Kerry & Kevin took on the Dynamic Duo in a *** bout but it was all about the post-match angle. 1985 has been littered with matches between these four. There was a really good one on TV back in March. They are building to the big Cotton Bowl Hair vs Hair blowoff which was fucking great. This was good not great. Kevin worked a tight headscissors early but ended up in the heel corner. He took the FIP first until a missed splash. Kerry heavily relied on the discus punch but it looks so good. He traded sleepers with Gino in a lukewarm FIP. Double Claw but Gino breaks free and helps Adams. Kevin gets a hot tag and hits a Top Rope Reverse Crossbody for what should be the win and the American Tag Team Titles, BUT Adams breaks it up with a belt shot. To trigger the DQ. I like this call from David Manning here and I think if I ever become a booker I would use a three strikes and youre out rule too. He says they have done this bullshit three times so he is holding the titles up as vacant, which is great. Gino somehow has a bloody nose. They braw. The Dynamic Duo try to cut their hair, but the Von Erichs get a hold of the scissors and cut a tuff of Chris' hair to a massive pop. Great angle! September had been a brutal month for World Class, but this was killer. Brian Von Erich: Brian Adidas was the honorary third Von Erich. We see him beat jabroni, Jim Powell here with a deadlift press slam which was impressive because how much struggle there was. Adidas does nothing for me. He is about as milquetoast as they come. There were also clips of him and the Von Erichs defeating Gary Hart's Team of One Man Gang, Lewin and Jacko Victory for the Six-Man Tag Belts. Kevin got a top rope sunset flip for the win in what looked like an ok match. Midcard Mania: Usually there's only three matches, but in addition to the main event, Adidas and the clips of the Six-Man Tag Title Change we got two more squashes. The great Rangi experiment is over as Lewin put the Tahitian combatant out with a sleeper. Hart & Lewin had the audacity of not reviving him after. Hollywood John Tatum got a win with a front suplex over a jobber. Not as good of a performance as last year. Very basic bleach blond heel work from Tatum nothing even close to rivalling a Flair, Tully or Michael Hayes. The episode looked like it was going to be trash city, but they gave the main event 10-12 minutes or so and it was a strong match with a hot angle! Thumbs up! 9/28/85 Main Angle: The main angle is actually a midcard angle as a lovely, well-built blonde (Mark Lowrance's words not mine) has debuted in the Dallas area, none other than Missy Hyatt! She has been paired with Hollywood John Tatum, whose look I love. He was taking on Scott Casey who was managed by Sunshine. Missy attacked Sunshine after Sunshine slapped Tatum. Sunshine had a censored wardrobe malfunction that gave the front row an eyeful. Definitely a hot start to this angle. Tatum is pitted against resident midcard anchor Brian Adias in a long match. This could have been a major showcase for Tatum but he leaves a lot to be desired. He is no Gino or Chris Adams. In fact this seemed like the most average 80s match possible pitting a very definitively average babyface against a definitively average heel. I love 80s wrestling so there was nothing wrong with this per se but it could have been so much more. Tatum is working an injured hand gimmick that he has taped up. This is of course tantamount to a taped fist. This taped fist is what he uses to start his heat segment after a pedestrian shine. Mercer gets in a good line that hand only seems to hurt when Manning is inspecting it. Adidas' comeback is the best part of the match, but then he goes back to the chinlock which was weird. Missy distracts him, in fairness, who would not be distracted by Missy. Tatum gets a roll-up without the tights for the win. Missy looked great so it was worth it for that, but the wrestling the epitome of milquetoast. I hopefully Tatum gets better. Bizarre Von Erich Angle of the Week: Mike Von Erich has clearly been rocked by his really high fever. He does not look well at all. Everyone is pressuring him to be ready by the Cotton Bowl show in a week for the big double hair vs hair match. It is really fucked up shit. The doctors must have been this family is looney tunes. I did like the recap of the Von Erichs vs Dynamic Duo feud, which had been a year in the making as Chris Adams turned at last year's Cotton Bowl State Fair show. I had seen that, but I had not seen prior to that how Jake the Snake and Stella Mae French (who I have never seen but just read about) was involved. I should check that out. Main event was Kerry & Iceman vs Gary Hart's boys of Mark Lewin and Jacko Victory, the heartthrob of New Jersey. The people of Texas must have thought people in New Jersey were ugly as sin. This is a weak stable Gary has got. Lewin/Hart do the lamest hide the foreign object shit. Eventually Lewin wrecks Iceman's shit with it. It is a blunt object that he attacks the throat. Kerry decks Lewin when he has Iceman in a sleep hold and Iceman rolls up Victory for the win. Below average match that is forgettable. Midcard Mania: Replacing the Tahitian newcomer Rangi, is LA debutant, Tommy Montana who is wrestling the Southern jobber Ragni wrestled that apparently looks like he is from Hamlet with Mullets. Opening 80s match shit between two vanilla dudes. If it was not for Missy looking scorching hot and debuting this would definitely be one of the worst episodes of this I have watched.

Shawn Michaels vs Shelton Benjamin - WWE RAW 5/2/05 My brother was over and wanted to watch some nostalgia wrestling from when he was a kid. Shawn Michaels & Shelton Benjamin are his two favorites so this popped to mind and it has been something I have been meaning to watch forever since I had not watched it since it happened. We found out it was in Boston. My Dad really dropped the ball. I would have been almost 16 at the time of this, but I was not going at following along where they were going. I probably was shocked that day to find out they were in Boston. I am bummed now because this match ruled. Classic Shawn here trying to outwrestle the amateur wrestler. Shawn was really good at throwing in wrestling in a lot of different matches. He would have been excellent in New Japan with their opening 5 minutes of chaining in every match. Shelton shows him up and Shawn sells this well. This was a really good babyface shine to let everyone know that Shelton could not just hang but best Shawn and that you should invest in the idea that he could win. I thought Shawn gave Shelton a lot like the Samoan Drop, an excellent Leg Whip Heel Kick and that Insane Jumping Top Rope Reverse Crossbody. Was that a regular highspot for Shelton because that was insane! Shawn did a good Misawa-style comeback. Working the Flying Burrito, Kip Up, Elbow Drop and Sweet Chin Music, but expanding it and letting Shelton fill in the gaps. Each of the highspots landed really big and popped the crowd because they were given time to breathe. The Springboard directly into the Sweet Chin Music is one of the few iconic images that has lasted from this era. The 80s and 90s Vince was so good at drilling those iconic moments in our head. The 21st Century is has been very in one ear out the other. That finish still rocks and is remembered to this day. The whole match rocked. They really should have given Shelton Benjamin a bona-fide shot. ****

AJ Styles vs Bryan Danielson - ROH Main Event Spectacles 11/1/03 Everyone here is raving about this match, but I had never heard this talked up. This ruled so hard! I think early ROH is going to be my next project. ROH is such an interesting promotion. It was marketed as a workrate promotion, but it has very few matches that are canonized as all-time classics in the Pantheon of the Greatest Matches of All Time. I dont think this match quite gets to that level but it is definitely an MOTYC. In a particularly weak year in the USA, I think this would be my pick over HHH vs HBK, XXX vs AMW in a Cage and a shockingly good Brock vs Big Show Stretcher Match at Judgement Day (is it really that shocking since Brock is involved?). That being said I have seen neither of the heralded London matches which will be next on my list. It is getting kind of late here (I dawdled on my review), but I thought this was fantastic. My recollection of the match from a year prior was that it was too competitive to be described as a spotfest, but it was too noisy to be described as something truly classic. This was a clear step up from both. I am a massive AJ Styles fan and sometimes that comes with having an inferiority complex with Danielson. Both people can be great and they truly are. I really do think AJ Styles is the better wrestler, but that doesnt mean I dont think Danielson is Top 50 of all time. These two just work so well together. The opening sprawling and amateur grappling is exactly what I want from pro wrestling, tons of struggle and ferocity. I loved them being dogged even on the outside. Thank God the dweebs leave the commentary booth and we can just watch them wrestle. I think one thing everyone agrees on with regards to ROH is how shitty their commentary is. I have zero context going into this other than Danielson has not been in ROH since April. Can anyone tell me why? Danielson shows heelish tendencies and is clearly the heel by mid-match. He sneaks in a punch on a non-clean break and hits a very nice Saito Suplex. Great Euro Uppercut on the floor. These two know how to lay it in. The AJ spot using the guardrail is very nifty. I love they do some teases before the payoff. Nice use of the dropdown, dropkick by AJ to keep Danielson off balance. I liked how Danielson bumped onto AJ after the dropkick and AJ sold it. Danielson trapped the arm in the ropes and went to town. I liked how they slowed it down, but it never dragged. Danielson worked a really entertaining heat segment on the arm. He did some good jawing with the crowd. Loved the Butterfly Suplex attempt with those kneelifts great reversal by AJ to backdrop into the pinning predicament. AJ dumped Danielson onto the floor with a desperation suplex and Danielson comes up selling his knee. This is when the match kicks into overdrive. Daniels shouts at him to "stay away you dick" and watch how AJ dropkicks the knee. He dropkicks THROUGH the knee it looks so much better that way. The Kneecrusher on the railing was fucking sick! He drew blood from Danielson's knee. Danielson's counter of a leg submission into his own single leg crab while grinding AJ's face was beautiful. This was such a terrific competitive pro wrestling match. It built so organically, but it had much more time to breathe than the ROH matches from the year prior. Danielson lures AJ into the corner and gets the boot up. They do a great job countering each other. AJ counters a super back suplex. Danielson jostles the ropes when AJ goes for a springboard. This leads to Danielson getting the back suplex he just missed but from a more interesting vantage point from the apron back into the ring. I love, love, love when not everything hits. There needs to be more misses, mistakes and counters in wrestling. I love when the moves are earned. Danielson was able to get the Back Suplex from a more organic way. I dont love Cattle Mutilation, but AJ makes it to the ropes quickly. It is one of those submission either submit or tap quickly because it is not an interesting one to work within. Danielson goes back to it after from crisp shots to the arm. He cant hold it. Great use of the Pele from AJ here was a head rocking move to get him back in it. AMAZING PUNCH FROM AJ! WICKED! Massive lariat too that Danielson really made him earn. AJ goes for the Styles Clash, Danielson does enough to have AJ drop him and he goes for a Triangle/Cross Armbreaker, but AJ powers up enough for the Styles Clash! He cant capitalize right away only gets two! STYLES CLASH 1-2-3! Another one for the good guys! Loved the opening. I thought the arm work was crisp and well-executed. I didnt think it lasted long enough or was violent enough that AJ had to carry it through the entire match. I thought AJ stopped Danielson's offensive onslaught early enough. I though AJ's brutal kneecrushers on Danielson's knee was enough that Danielson should have carried through the rest of the match. This has been an issue for me with Danielson for a long time which is blowing off selling. However, I did like this Danielson as opposed to million miles per hour KENTA-esque Danielson. Danielson that takes his time and really build his match is the best Danielson. I thought the last five minutes was really strong work that built nicely into that organic finish. ****1/2

Akira Taue vs Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 1/15/91 It has been a while since I did one of these; lets see if I can still do it. In the context of watching nothing but 2021-2022 wrestling since Mid-November, this comes off so awesome! Apparently, there was some build to all this hate besides this being a battle of the second bananas in the Misawa vs Jumbo feud. There was a very languid, tepid battle royale going on while Taue and Kawada had a ferocious brawl in the stands. You could tell there was some bad blood. They were out to settle it here. Taue immediately bullrushes Kawada knocks him off the apron hard onto the railing. That spot sets the tone for the rest of match: Total War. I loved how relentless Taue was in this match forcing Kawada to work the entire match from underneath and put on one of his gritty, scrappy performances to best the larger, ferocious Taue. Also, the fact the crowd was right top of the action added to that claustrophobic feel. Taue was suffocating Kawada as he right on top of him never letting up on offense. Great use of Taue to put over this relentless full court press. Kawada comes out hobbled from Taue just ramming a chair into his knee in the crowd. This is nuts! Kawada in desperation was able to grab his leg at one point and ram his head into the railing busting him open. This was such an explosive fury from Kawada! However, Taue catches one of Kawada's kick and in one fluid motion whips that leg into the guardrail. I popped huge for that. Taue zeroes on that knee with fierce tenacity: wicked kneecrusher onto table, wrapping it around the post, chairshots to it. I love that Taue sort of realizes in a leg lace or a toehold Kawada is able to kick him in the head really hard so he tries the figure-4, which will tie up that free leg. Excellent psychology, I also like one time when Kawada was wailing on Taue trying to get out of a hold, so Taue just mounted him and reigned down heavy blows. One of my favorite moments, is when the camera zooms in on Taue trying to pick up Kawada and all of sudden you just see a flash of yellow connect with Taue's head. Kawada is just fucking tremendous from underneath with all these kicks. I love how they work in Taue's size as he is able to reverse a press slam off the top and a powerbomb by just landing on top of Kawada. If you want to see a really good, heated, intense strike exchange watch these two pop and react to each other. None of this silly macho stand around shit. They just lay into each other with elbows, slaps and headbutts and try to knock the other the fuck out. I actually bit on the powerbomb reversal finish as Taue really crashes down on top of him. If Kawada has kicks, Misawa elbows and Kobashi chops, then Taue should have kept the headbutts as they look way better than any of his punches or forearms. He did have some great elbows in this match. Kawada's out of nowhere Axe Bomber for the finish was the perfect end to this war. Taue unleashed his entire arsenal and Kawada had to hit that sudden bomb to secure the victory. I will echo all the other comments; All Japan could have added a lot of variety by sprinkling some short 10-15 minute brawls with the 30+ epics. Kawada and Taue brought the hate in this match and this is one of the all-time best blood feud brawls. I had seen this before, but loved it all over again on rewatch and just wanted to spruce up my original review. Dont sleep on this one! ****1/2

Hey Yo, no this is not the return of Pro Wrestling Love, sadly, BUT I did get to do a podcast on the North-South feed with Good 'Ol Will from Texas aka Goodhelmet and Johnny formerly filled with Sorrow, but not longer. Shout out to Tyler dont know if youre on here. I got asked for a pretty fucking sad reason...I am one of two people Will knows that still watches WWE. I discuss something I pretty much only discuss on my Twitter and that's WWE's male main event division from 2017-Present. Come listen to me talk about this part-time malaise, part-time dumpster fire with the boys! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-south-connection/id1501057347?i=1000551898466&fbclid=IwAR1Bhc3NZ1cZb_AkNO4t26cytovehjd6VMzlQX7kjK1R_Kxba_vRS_alMt4

Hi @blackholesun Here is my list of the Best of Puroresu from 2000-2009. There are probably some slight changes since 2015, but I do love all these matches: https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2015/05/year-by-year-puro.html If you like podcasts, here are 5 episodes, I did with @dawho5: https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-68d57-fd5d59 https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-e7xtm-fd5d60 https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-s62dm-fd5d67 https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-h5t24-fd5d6c https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-jh2h7-fd5d70 Enjoy!

Bob Backlund vs Greg Valentine - WWF 3/25/1984 This is the table-setting for the criminally underrated classic between these two in April. If you not have seen the April 1984 MSG match between Backlund and Valentine do yourself a favor and get on it. Double body part psychology dripping with struggle it is just perfect pro wrestling. This is a shortie but a goodie. Backlund is making his triumphant return to MSG after losing the title to Iron Sheik last year. I cant remember if he already switched over in 1983, but he has the buzz cut and singlet here. Gorrilla and Pat do a great job talking about his neck and shoulder injury. Backlund vs Valentine is one of the all-time great feuds and this is a worthy addition to the catalog even if it is short. Valentine pops him really good a couple times in the corner. They do the excellent Backlund Short Arm Scissors Lift that looks so impressive with the stocky Valentine. I loved the single leg pick up right after that. The bridge in the Short Arm Scissors before the lift popped me. Reminded me of when Backlund worked in UWF REBORN just countered everything by bridging it was so sick. Valentine worked the leg a little bit, but ended up missing the Hammer Elbow. Backlund went for his Chickenwing Crossface and they spilled to the floor. Good stiff brawling on the outside that leads to the Double Countout. They do a nice Stand & Bang in the ring after the bell and Valentine fled. It is not going to change your life, but it is a fun way to spend ten minutes. If you have not seen the rematch from the following month do so! ***1/2

WWF World Champion Bob Backlund vs Ivan Koloff - WWF 4/25/83 1983 was a tough year for Backlund as he had a lot of retread opponents and while he first face Koloff in a classic in 1978, Uncle Ivan is a change of pace in 1983 WWF. I thought if this was watched similarly to a 90s New Japan Juniors match this would be highly regarded. The beginning just was not tight. The spots were good, but how they got there was so loose with no struggle. One thing I love about Backlund is that his matches drip with struggle. Look how weak those lock-ups were or the transitions to the bodyslams. It was disappointing. I was surprised how much offense Koloff got at the beginning of the match. There was no real shine. Backlund worked his usual "anything you can do, I can do better with" with his bodyslams, Full Nelson and the headlock/headscissors. Backlund's offense looked great. Koloff looked like he was coasting. The short arm scissors into the Backlund lift popped my mom who was watching with me. I liked he had to try multiple times to get it. I think if you started watching JIP from there you would think this match is great. Uncle Ivan laces up his working boots and goes for it. It is a 28 minutes or so match, so he probably had to pace himself. Backlund works the arm, classic Bob, you work his arm, he is going to tear it off and take it home with him. Crossface Chickenwing tease, but Uncle Ivan in the ropes. Some really good work in and out of the bearhug. Uncle Ivan goes after the back and he goes on a tear. Really strong heat segment leading to the Riding Backlund Wave With A Knee in the back from the Top Rope ala Dicky Murdoch. That was a great nearfall as Backlund's leg was under the ropes. Vertical suplex by Koloff gets two. Goes for another but Backlund slips down the back for a Crossface Chickenwing for the submission victory. Watched JIP it is ****, the beginning was fine, so lets split the difference call it ***1/2. Backlund haters will probably enjoy that Backlund does not gobble up Uncle Ivan. I would argue that Uncle Ivan does not get his ass in gear until halfway through the match so Backlund should have just dominated but oh well. It is always nice to see an unseen Bob match. He is just so much fun. You cant have a bad time watching Backlund work. ***1/2

I disagree with this sentiment. Elvis was an incredible singer but didnt write any of his songs. He made other people's pieces classics. There are wrestlers that can create on their own (a singer-songwriter if you will) and others who need a great writer/booker/producer but once the bell rings they bring the vision to life. There's no wrong way to skin a cat.

Bitch all you want but there are no wrestlers I enjoy in the ring now more than the Creed Brothers. They are throwing dudes around mercilessly. Legit the best Gutwrench Suplex I have ever seen. That squash they did on the first episode of NXT 2.0 was love at first sight. It is like how JR described Doc wrestling but they actually wrestle like it. As a massive Clueless mark, I’m stoked for the Tiffany Stratton gimmick, who is an ex-Team USA gymnast. Personally I believe variety is the spice of life so I am really glad there is a promotion focused on ex-athletes. Most of my favorites are ex-athletes I think this will help de-homogenize wrestling. I already saw with the Creed Brothers. Nobody wrestles like them. If I want Indy workrate I could go to non-WWE. If I want beefy, power amateur wrestling then I could go WWE hopefully. Yes WWE sucks and yes they change their minds but the last couple months of the Creeds and a Bron Brekker have been sick.

Yeah I regret introducing the comparison to Stan Hansen. It was a different time and there is a lot of speculation surrounding it. I am sorry. The point I really want to drive home was I like when people truck people, smash people, work snug, but I want them to be safe. That is a very thin line. Nia Jax clearly went over it. I think my disconnect is that it seems some people think Nia Jax is a shitty wrestler plus a dangerous worker. I think it is a completely justifiable conclusion to say Nia Jax is a bad wrestler because she is unsafe. What confuses me is the people who say even if you take away all the injuries she causes, she still sucks. Thats where I am confounded and feel like I am watching a different Nia Jax than everyone else, but I appreciate the three or so people that spoke up that enjoy some matches of Nia's. I really enjoyed her offense, her commitment to wrestling large (timing her bumps) and her verbal selling. I am happy that a lot of the Nia detractors laid out their arguments against her so that when I do go back and review her matches in the next 5 years or so, I know what to be on the lookout for when I give her matches a keener eye. For instance, I know I really liked those Charlotte matches because how shoot-y they felt but I didnt know what started it because I am always working when I watch RAW and so when I picked my head up it was already uncooperative and awesome. I watched the rest of the match without rewinding. Just some insight also how I watch 2021 wrestling.

Nia Jax is so much better than Nyla it is not even close. Nyla is one of the worst power wrestlers I have ever seen in my life. She wrestles so small. The amount of bumping she did for Riho was so terrible. There's a difference between Vader bumping for Sting and for the size of someone like Riho. An easy example of a great, extreme David vs Goliath match is Undertaker vs Rey Mysterio at Royal Rumble 2010. Undertaker was not going over on Sunset Flips for Rey Rey. It is not just Nyla. I just watched Britt Baker go over for a Northern Light Suplex from Riho. It is just disrespectful to the interesting stories they can tell. If you dont respect size differences then you ruin the uniqueness of everyone. What makes Rey interesting is how he figures out how to get people into the 619 without disrespecting the size differential. In addition to wrestling small, Nyla also has very weak offensive commensurate with her size. The notion of Nia jobbing to her makes me very sad. I know I am the lone Nia Jax fan apparently on the planet, but I think she has been grossly underrated. Look I wish she was safer of course. I dont want anyone to be injured, but how is she any different than Stan Hansen who was notoriously unsafe. It seems hypocritical to decry one not the other. Stan Hansen has two points in his favor: 1. it is always easier to watch things historically rather than watch an injury happen in real-time. 2. Injury reports were more scant and a lot of his opponents most likely just worked through it so we dont know the extent of how much damage Hansen did. Is Nia Jax as good as Hansen or Vader? Hell No. Is she the best American Power Wrestler of her generation? Hell Yeah! Her match with Rousey was terrific and grossly underrated. Her work around WrestleMania against Tamina was some of the best Mid-South Hoss Battles I have seen in a while. I loved her shoot-style shit against Charlotte. Her run in the Men's Royal Rumble was super fun years back. Nia Jax trucking fools when it was safe was super fun. Another underrated aspect of Nia Jax is her verbal selling. She was one of the best verbal sellers, male or female in recent memory. It is not even the my hole stuff which was fun. Her last appearance when Shayna "broke her arm" is some of the most compelling acting I have seen a wrestler do in a long time. It really made the viewer feel uncomfortable at what was about to happen and feel sympathy for her. It was really strong. Is Nia Jax dangerous? Yes. There is a way to be a great power wrestler and be safe. She needs to work on that. Outside of the danger, Nia Jax is a great pro wrestler. She is the best Goliath I have seen in US wrestling since Awesome Kong's run in TNA. Her offense looks like a million bucks, she knows how to modulate amount she bumps for a given opponent, she knows how to have heated battles with opponents with struggle and is a great struggle. I would be really sad if Nia Jax never wrestled again, but I understand her personal reasons and also it doesnt seem like she is wanted. In a world that doesnt have any great female power wrestlers, it would be a big loss, but again if she is having mental health troubles and no grassroots fanbase I would understand hanging it up.

New Japan 1985-1989 Part 2 Went on vacation to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Vegas and FINALLY made my Rock 'N Roll Pilgrimage out to the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood to see where Glam Metal was born! So bitchin' bruthas! This is the Top Six New Japan Pro Wrestling Matches from 1985-1989 according to me. I had a hard time ranking the UWF vs New Japan Gauntlet match as it felt like rnakinG A Royal Rumble but it was too iconic to leave off. Inoki gets a bum rap as there was a bunch of killer Inoki matches from this era. We see the 90s come early with some choice cuts from Vader, Hashimoto and Liger! Click the link and let me know what I ranked too high, too low or what I missed all together. https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2021/11/pro-wrestling-love-vol-71-best-of-new.html

Completed my civic duty! Voted for the Top 100 Best Pro Wrestling matches of all time at gweproject.freeforums.net and you should too! Deadline is November 21st!

Best of New Japan 1985-1989 Part 1 I love All Japan but it is a known commodity. You know the players and you know what to expect. New Japan appeals to my two favorite styles of wrestling: shoot-style and big carny, freakshow angles. I love that Inoki loved the two most disparate parts of pro wrestling and tried to marry them in New Japan. The rockstars they had: Inoki, Choshu, Fujinami, Maeda (fucking hate him, but he is undeniable), Fujiwara, Takada and Masa Saito and later Vader. It was a murder's row of talent and a great diversity of match types. I highly recommend taking the time and doing a deep dive into New Japan. It is the one DVDVR set that I think does have holes in it which is weird because it is also the biggest so please use New Japan World to track down stuff too. https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2021/11/pro-wrestling-love-vol-70-best-of-new.html

Top Six All Japan Matches 1985-Apr 1990 I would say my Top 4 are business as usual and no surprises, but I think #5/#6 will surprise people and I hope get them talking and reviewing those matches because I loved them! Best of New Japan 1985-1989 coming soon! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2021/11/pro-wrestling-love-vol-68-best-of-all.html

Akira Maeda & Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Osamu Kido & Kazuo Yamazaki & Nobuhiko Takada vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Seiji Sakaguchi & Keiichi Yamada & Kengo Kimura & Shiro Koshinaka - NJPW 5/1/86 Gauntlet Match Wait! Inoki is not in this match! Part of me is disappointed because he brings so much star power. Inoki vs Maeda~! Inoki vs Fujiwara~! always feels huge! Part of me is also happy because it would be a foregone conclusion that Inoki would be standing tall at the end. Now I am not so sure. This is a Team Gauntlet Match. To my knowledge the only of its kind. One member of each team starts out, whoever wins the singles match stays in the ring, the loser exits and another member from the losing team enters. The match continues all members of one team are eliminated. It is conceivable that one wrestler could sweep and thus the other four member from his team do not get to wrestle, but this being pro wrestling, I am sure we will get full monty and it will come down to the fifth wrestler from each team. Lets check this out. Round #1: We are starting with Takada vs Yamada and the size difference is stark. It is amazing Takada was considered a Junior in the 80s. He is massive compared to Yamada. He nearly takes Yamada's head off with a kick but it more of a glancing blow. I think this is only the second or third match I have seen pre-Liger. Takada is schooling him on the mat. It looks like he is wrestling a gnat. Yamada gets a pretty deep toehold but Takada does not seem worried. Takada's leg is bigger than Yamada's body. This is crazy. Did the Liger bodysuit just make Yamada look bigger or did he stop wrestling large dudes. Very nice double leg takedown from Takada. After watching suplex-heavy, highpot-oriented All Japan, nice to get back to some grappling. Takada applies a deep double wristlock on Yamada. Crowd is reacting. Could it be over early. Yamada makes it to the ropes. Interesting strategy New Japan basically starting with their weakest competitor. Nice Fireman Carry throw but loses control of the takedown and Takada back to the cross armbreaker. Yamada rakes eyes with boots. Great waistlock takedown by Takada controls into a side mount. Takada into a toehold loses control. Takada chinlock. Yamada nice drop toehold out. Ref was right with them ready to count when anyone's shoulder were down. Yamada tries to get a Leg Crab on Takada but his leg is too big. Takada regains side control and back into a deep double wristlock. Doesnt look good for little Yamada. Yamada scoots to the ropes. Wow. I thought that was it. Yamada goes for a bunch of kneelifts and throws Takada with a gutwrench suplex and figure-4s the head. This is Takada's fall to lose. He is letting it slip away. Takada popped out and wicked wicked kick. Here we go! Yamada catches back heel trip into the toehold. I am really enjoying all this grappling. It was so nice when different promotions actually had different styles instead of being homogenized. Yamada inverted Indian Deathlock which was a Staple as Liger. Rude Awakening by Liger. Yamada does for the powerbomb that was silly. Back drop. Takada LIGHTS him the fuck up with kicks. The ref pulls him off to count. Yamada gets up and Takada rifles him again and then another series with the spinkick to the face. Yamada catches the fourth set and Figure-4! Takada actually broke the hold. I think the only time I have seen that. Yamada Saito Suplex! Yamada Lariat wrestling like his a mini-Choshu! Can the kid pull it off! Backslide for two! This match rules. Takada body shot. Takada steals one from Fujiwara the armbar out of a German Suplex attempt. Takada has it cinched in but again Takada lets him to get to the ropes. Where is the killer instinct? Amazing kick combination from Takada. Saito Suplex and only gets two. Takada applies his leg lace which I hate but Yamada uses free leg to heel kick him. Yamada makes ropes again. Wow. Takada suplex and Leg Lace again and he finally wins. That match alone was awesome nevermind there would be 8 more. I have no idea how I am going to rate this. This was an excellent David vs Goliath shoot style match. Really dug the vibe. Round #2: Takada goes up against old man Sakaguchi who is out for blood early. Takada finally has to pick on someone his own size. Sakaguchi is probably the biggest man in this match. Maybe Maeda. Sakaguchi knows Takada has been in a war and needs to out him early. Takada weathers the early onslaught and is trying to keep Sakaguchi at bay with kicks. Sakaguchi back on mat with a fierce chinlock. Back to the ropes for Takada. Rifle kick by Takada. Sakaguchi throws him down out of the corner. Old Man Sakaguchi's brute strength versus Takada's technique is great. Takada back to cross-armbreaker. Takada shoves Sakaguchi. There needs to be more shoving in pro wrestling. Sakaguchi gets in and takes Takada's back! Rear Naked choke! Middle of the ring! Sakaguchi lost it and Takada's long legs meet the ropes. Takada rifle kicks thinks he as a missile dropkick set up but Sakaguchi evades. Takada crashes and burns. Skaguchi nearly loses him on an Argentine Backbreaker but recovers and forces the submission. Another excellent contest! Round #3: Sakaguchi vs Yamazaki! I could see this one going either way. Sakaguchi again looking to use strength to pick up a quick one. Yamazaki is a smaller version from Takada, look for lightning kicks. I dont think he will be as suited to contend with Sakaguchi's strength. Lets see what happens. Yamazaki check kicks early. Sakaguchi headlock but Yamazaki wriggles free. Sakaguchi weathers some more check kicks and takes Yamazaki down. Yamazaki needs to put some zip on those kicks or this will be a short night. Yamazaki avoids a crucifix. Sakaguchi gets a deep roll up. Sakaguchi lets Yamazaki up. Yamazaki tries single leg pick up well that was something different. Yamazaki loses control of the takedown but gets the toehold, Sakaguchi pries him off and Yamazaki goes for the Takada leglace. Sakaguchi isnt selling shit. Yamazaki looks so young. Yamazaki slaps the shit out of Sakaguchi in he hold. Good for him. Yamazkai repositons in the center. Sakaguchi stands up and repositions into his own like a BOSS! That was the most Alpha move I have seen in forever! That was sick! Yamazaki Saito suplex into a cross-armbreaker fully on, but Sakaguchi forces a pinfall break. Sakaguchi grabs the kicks and a deep single leg crab, tap this chump out! Lets Go Sakaguchi! I am the biggest Sakaguchi fan ever now! Sakaguchi Alpha Boss 4 Life! Oh cmon! Rope break. Sakaguchi throws Yamazaki down. Deep Boston Crab! Yamazaki taps out. Sakaguchi Alpha Boss is going to run the table! Round #4: Sakaguchi vs Kido. Kido is like the older version of Takada. If I recall correctly, Kido love his punt kicks. I dont really know what to expect. My heart wants Sakaguchi to run the gauntlet, I think he has a good chance against Kido but I could see him taking the L here too to freshen things up. Kido's first move is a toe kick so I was not far off. Kido gets a crossface. Kido is grittier than Takada and Yaamzaki that will work in his favor against the larger Sakaguchi. That and Sakaguchi had already had two opponents. Some nice grappling exchanges between these two. Kido punt kicks on the Greco-Roman knucklelock as Kido is true to form. Sakaguchi slaps Kido around. Sakaguchi SMOKES Kido with a wicked high knee. Looks like he got him right under the chin. Sakaguchi Alpha Boss 4 Life! Kido recovers and is looking for a single leg crab on the tree trunk that Sakaguchi calls a leg he steeles for a leg lace and Sakaguchi makes the ropes. Sakaguchi says fuck this, Atomic Drop! Kido small package, Count to Three! BOOOOOOOOOO! Round #5: Koshinaka vs Kido. Koshinaka spices thigs up before I can preview this matchup by hurling Kido to the outside and piledriving him on the floor! That was sick! Team New Japan is doing Alpha Boss shit. Koshinaka showed me a lot in the Takada series so I am excited for him here. Lets see how long before he slams his ass into Kido's face. Koshinaka chinlock loses control into a Kido chinlock. I think Koshinaka takes this one so that Maeda or Fujiwara can go on a little run. Kido gets a deep double wristlock but Koshinaka breaks the plane of the ropes. Koshinaka figure-4s the head. So much for that red hot start. So far the most boring rounds have been with Kido, but they are still good just not as good as the first three. Yamada is definitely my favorite so far. Kido takes his back and gets his hooks in. They're in the ropes. Koshinaka uses his ass to to crash down on the knee of Kido which is different for him. I am still waiting for Koshinaka/Dustin/Naomi as the ultimate WAR trio with Michael Cole on commentary to shout "THEY CALL THAT THE REAR VIEW" during the simultaneous Ass Attack spot. Koshinaka is working the knee which is a good hook. Boston Crab! Kido powers out and gets two. Koshinaka bodyslam and gets two. Koshinaka maintains a side mount and double wristlock. We Want Fujiwara! We Want Fujiwara! The crowd is not chanting it but I am from my couch. Koshinaka shoves his ass in Kido face so Kido sledges him. That was an appropriate response. HE CALLS THAT REAR VIEW! YES! 1-2-NO! BOOOOOO! RESPECT THE ASS! Kido evades the flying splash! Kido nails a beautiful dropkick and Koshinaka powders. Koshinaka yanks Kido to the outside. Koshinaka throws Kido over the railing. The bell rang; they might have both been counted out. Interesting. They essentially reset the match to be Maeda & Fujiwara vs Fujinami & Kimura, which would be a sick tag match on its own. Kinda surprised since Sakaguchi got two wins I figured either Meada or Fujiwara would get two. Round #6: Fujiwara vs Kimura! The second bananas! So this is definitely coming down to Fujinami vs Maeda! Fujiwara is one of those dudes that because of his DVDVR love you think he is a bigger star than he might have been. I feel like he takes this so Fujinami can at least get one fall if he does job to Maeda. But I dont know how much of that is DVDVR hype making me believe Fujiwara is a big deal. I have seen plenty of Kimura matches he is fine. He will do his Running Leg Lariat thing and probably a piledriver. It is Fujiwara he could have a great match with a potted plant. Lets do this! Wait Im wrong! Kido is in the ring! Only Koshinaka got eliminated since he was on the floor first! Fucking Kido got to eliminate two people. Are you shitting me? Fuck this dude Kimura! They struggle over a Kido takedown attempt. Kimura stomps him in the ropes and Kido powders. He needs to worry this ref doesnt fuck around with his count. Kido nice drop toehold he is trying to get in my good graces but I want Fujiwara! Kimura armdrag. Kimura whiffs on the school boy I have never seen that before. Another armdrag by Kimura. Kido applies an armbar on Kimura. Kimura rocks Kido with some European Uppercuts and then backbreaker. Nice knee to break free of cover. Kimura chinlock on Kido. We want Fujiwara! We want Fujiwara! Kido Saito Suplex. Kimura kicks out at 1. Kimura running Leg Lariat on the Criss Cross! Single Leg Crab! Kimura wins! Yes bring on Fujiwara! Round #7: Read what I wrote for Round #6 originally. Fujiwara has this one in the bag in my opinion. Kimura throws Fujiwara into the railing and post. That was sick! Kimura plays to crowd. That was Kimura's best chance head Fujiara off at the pass while he was making his entrance. Kimura is all revved. THAT IS BLOOD! Kimura piledrives Kimura! He spiked his ass! Kimura is clawing at the cut! Great facial expression from Fujiwara there. Fujiwara Headbutt! Crowd has come alive! Fujiwara HEABUTTS! FUJIWARA CHOKING THE LIFE out of Kimura ! Fujiwara inverted Triangle as Kimura makes the ropes. Fujiwara looks like a killer right now. Kimura looks fucked. Kimura gets a chickenwing out of a headlock into a Fujiwara armbar on Fujiwara, but Fujiwara break free into a great transition to a Butterfly lock into the Fujiwara armbar, Kimura wriggles free and powders. Kimura gets a chinlock and then figure-4s the head. Fujiwara reaches up and Fujiwara headbutt! Kimura comes up with a sick, tight headscissors! Fujiwara potatoes Kimura in the ropes. Kimura unleashes hell on the ropes but FUJIWARA GRABS THE ANKLES BOY YOU FUCKED! Fujiwara kneebar and and Kimura gets to his stomach and the ropes. His eyes say it all. Kimura knows he escaped death. Fujiwara almost completes the armbar takedown and Kimura waistlock takedown. Kimura Scorpion Deathlock on Fujiwara surprisingly very few attempts at his popular move. This has been really good. Fujiwara stands on his head and back to leglace but Kimura uses the momentum to make the ropes. Fujiwara grabs the arm and but Kimura makes the ropes. Fujiwara gets it in deep This time it is over. Watch Fujiwara's face on that one! He looks so determine to submit his ass. Round #8: Fujiwara vs Fujinami! Fuck yes! Fujiwara has no prayer but this is going to be sick. Fujinami looks stacked! Fujinami headbutt and Fujiwara isnt selling shit. Fujinami into a tight chinlock great Fujiwara facial expressions. Fujinami and Fujiwara are not easy names to keep straight while typing and watching at the same time. Wish me luck. Fujiwara bucks Fujinami off. Fujinami back to headlock but Saito Suplex by Fujiwara. Love the struggle here. So much intensity. Fujinami back to the chinlock. Both men wants this so bad. Fujinami kick to Fujiwara on the mat. Fujiwara uses the hair and Fujinami maintains the chinlock. This may be the best chinlock sequences I have ever seen. Fujiwara back to the hair but Fujinami wont let go. Fujiwara is so close to the ropes, Fujinami uses his leg to keep Fujiwara from making the ropes. Fujiwara looks like his about to fade. He is so close! Come on. Fujinmai resets and Fujiwara makes the ropes! That was dramatic! I bought into it. Fujiwara powders. Fujiwara is a master of drama. Fujiwara like a wild animal yanks Fujinami to the outside. He starts throws vicious headbutts. Fujiwara hold Fujinami from getting into and applies a choke in the ring. That was wise for but Fujinami switches back to his own choke. Watch a great expression from Fujiwara. Nobody sells the sleeper/chinlock better. Fujiwara makes it to his feet and buckles. Fujinami sunset flip gets two. Fujiwara Single Leg, Back Heel Trip, Leglace. This how we won the last match. Fujinami gets to his belly. Fujinami is tenaciously staying on the choke. He is sticking to his strategy. Fujiwara selling is otherworldly. Fujiwara fades into the ropes. Fujiwara busts out his tricked Boston Crab escape on instinct. Fujinami dropkick back to the choke. It doesnt look good for our hero he collapses into the ropes and powders to the floor still in the hold. Fujiwara rams Fujinami's head into the post! There is light! Vicious headbutt barrage! Fujinami into the railing back to the headbutts! Go Fujiwara Go! Koshinaka should be pissed. They have spent an eternity on the floor. Fujiwara piledriver on a bloody Fujinami. Fujiwara choking Fujinami. We are getting on our money's wort Fujiwara blocks Fujinami's re-entry. Big fight to get back in the ring. Fujiwara has a choke and they return to the ring. Fujinami suplexes out. Fujinami's is wearing the Crimson mask. Fujiwara headbutt! This rules! Fujiwara Headbutts! European Uppercuts! Fujinami backslide! Count to three! Fujiwara throws a couple more headbutts for good measure to soften up Fujinami for Maeda! Here we go! Round #9: Damn! This could go either way! If Maeda wins, Fujinami is protected because he had a hellacious bout with Fujiwara. Fujinami wins, it is an insane overcoming the odds story! Lets go! Fujinami looks like he just went through a Slasher Flick. Maeda is a big boy. Maeda goes for the big Kick right to the mush. He wastes no time. Single catch back heel trip, Fujinami loses control of the takedown and Maeda gets the cross-armbreaker. Fujinami rolls onto his knees, smart, but Maeda rolls into a new position of strength. Great grappling. Maeda maintains pressure on the arm. Fujinami escapes into a Scorpion Deathlock which applies on the large legs of Maeda. Maeda makes the ropes. Maeda rifles him with big kicks as Fujinami falls backwards. Snap suplex back into the crossarmbreaker. MAEDA WICKED KICK TO HEAD. AGAIN AND AGAIN! THIS BRUTAL! Headbutt to wound. Tons of kicks to the head. Fujinami shouldertackle, Massive kick to head on a charging Fujinami! Maeda stole the Dragon Suplex! 1-2-NO! Crazy! back to cross-armbreaker. I thought it was over for Fujinami. This feels like a reset. Fujinami makes the ropes. Maeda soccer kicks Fujinami's head which fires Fujinami the fuck up! Fujiwara armbar out of the German suplex, textbook by Maeda. Fujinami does it back to him. Cant believe Maeda just made that mistake. Fujinami into a hammerlock. Maeda's long legs make the ropes. Fujinami catch kick and into the German Suplex for two. RAINBOW SPINING HEEL KICK! Maeda hurled his body at Fujinami! Fujinami makes it back up. Maeda wipes him out with another! The ref calls it for blood or beeing out on his feet. The TKO is a good face saving finish for Fujnami. The beginning ruled and the ending ruled. The Kido stuff dragged. Trying to rate this is like trying to rat a Royal Ruble. I will say ****3/4 but everyone shoulw atch this. Takada vs Yamada was my favorite until Fujinami vs Fujiwara. Those last two falls were ***** dramatic wrestling! Peak shit! s

I cant believe it has been over a year, but Pro Wrestling Love in written form is back BABY! The audio version of Pro Wrestling Love took up a lot of free time, but I have been binging a lot of Puroresu from the late 80s and here are the fruits of my labor. The first part of my top 12 of Best All Japan Pro Wrestling Matches to take place between 1985-April 1990 (Tenryu's departure). Just in time for the Greatest Match Ever Voting on gweproject.freefourms.net the deadline is Sunday November 21st. 1989 All Japan was fucking loaded! Let me know what you think. https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2021/11/pro-wrestling-love-vol-67-best-of-all.html

Oh! I saw Eric posted on Twitter that this is the new 2021 Segunda Caida Match of the Year but didnt click the link. I should have and would have seen your thoughts. It felt more like 1993 All Japan than 1998 All Japan or 2000s NOAH for instance. It was definitely not overwrought. It just had all the things that made King's Road style really good without the need to really feel like they need to top themselves over and over again. Glad you liked it!

Matt when you asked how the match was live before The rest of the world got to see it, I told you it was Top 5 Best Live Match for me which was true. In the back of my mind, I knew it was a 90s All Japan match which I know is not your favorite style, but I didn’t want to tell you. I forgot to follow up so What did you think of the match? Personally I have preferred Punk’s run over Danielson’s. Punk is having excellent Pro Wrestling matches that crescendo to satisfying climaxes. Danielson is doing his workrate thing which is fine sometimes it clicks for me, sometimes it doesn’t. Danielson vs Kingston was way better than anything I’ve seen from Punk. But I’ve enjoyed Punk as a whole more.

NWA International Tag Team Champions Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 2/5/87 Only 11 days after their last match, they are back at it. I smell a title change as Choshu is New Japan-bound. This is the last MAJOR 80s All Japan match left for me to watch. There are still plenty of interesting matchups for me to check out but this is the last big one. We ready for a blog soon. Stream of consciousness follows: Will Jumbo redeem himself for his gaffe last match? Choshu is pretty damn over during the introduction. Yatsu charges and kneelifts the shit out of Tenryu and throws him out like yesterday's garbage. He slaps Tenryu. I guess their strategy it to piss off the other team. Tenryu works a headlock early. Tenryu shoulderblock. I am diigging this start. Jumbo tags in and it is a kneelift by him. I like how Yatsu whole body was wrapped around his knee. Abdominal stretch into a Banana Split Cradle, they work in & out. Yatsu rolls Jumbo into Choshu and tags out. Lock up. Jumbo wrist control and chops Choshu. Choshu slaps back and bashes Jumbo into the turnbuckles. Choshu singe leg/back heel trip. Jumbo standing headlock and tags in Tenryu. Choshu blocks the Enziguiri and then applies a Scoprion Deathlock. Nice sequence. Loved the struggle to turn him over. Jumbo breaks it up. Yatsu comes in. Yatsu bars the arm and tries to take him down, but Tenryu resists so Yatsu goes the other way with a Russian Legsweep. Back drop by Yatsu. Again nice struggle on trying to turn him in the Texas Cloverleaf but Tenryu makes the ropes. Tenryu tags out to Jumbo. Jumbo sets too early. Jumbo back elbows out of the German. Classic Jumbo Bodyslam and then hits a Jumping High Knee from Top Rope which we have not seen in this series. Jumbo is chopping Yatsu and tags in Tenryu Double sledge on Yatsu and Tenryu wipes him out with the Enziguiri. Suplex struggle. Tenryu gets the vertical suplex. Tenryu figure-4s the head. Choshu tags in. Choshu back ebow on Tenryu. Bodyslam. Choshu figure-4s the head. They have definitely dropped the energy level here. Tenryu pops out and gets the Bow & Arrow, a classic sequence. Tenryu chop/Enziguiri combo. Choshu kicks out. Choshu Saito Suplex feels like the first big bomb of the match. Yatsu stomps away at Tenryu. Tenryu bullies Yatsu into his corner and Jumbo tags in. Jumbo chops and back elbows Yatsu. Jumbo seems to have the highest intensity level. He slaps on a tight chinlock on Yatsu. Yastu gets his dropkick but weirdly not on a tag in. Yatsu/Choshu Double Dropkick! Ricky & Robert watch out for Riki & Yoshiaki! Choshu works hard on the Scorpion Deathlock and Yatsu elbow drops Jumbo in the hold. Yatsu powerslam on Jumbo. Yatsu abdominal stretch on Jumbo. Jumbo walks to the ropes and hiptosses Yatsu over the top. Tenryu whips him into railing and rolls him back in. Jumbo works a stepover toehold on Yatsu. Match has been solid but nothing too special. Jumbo counters into the Inverted Indian Deathlock. Similar to the last match just a lot of solid work no real hook. Jumbo stomps Yatsu. and tags in Tenryu. Tenyu big, meaty chops to Yatsu and gets two. Yatsu comes back with an Enziguiri and tags in Choshu. Tenryu tries for Saito Suplex but loses control of Choshu on the way up but ends up applying a Full Nelson that was cool. Jumbo and Choshu work a cool criss cross sequence that ends with Jumbo scoring not one but two High Knees and heres a third! Chosh is too close to the ropes. Choshu Saito Suplex and tags out to Yatsu. Theres the Yastu dropkick on a tag in. Classic Yatsu. Yatsu Saito Suplex and tags out to Choshu. CHOSHU MACK TRUCK LARIAT ON JUMBO! Tenryu saves! That was sick! Choshu tags out. Yatsu Bulldog! Yatsu German Suplex for two. Spike Pieldriver on Jumbo! I like that way more as a late match move! So much better placement there. Yatsu Belly to Belly Suplex. Yatsu blocks the Jumbo Death Lariat. Jumbo Saito Suplex out of the Yatsu Bulldog. Tenryu tags in. Good transition. Tenryu Mack Truck Lariat. He clobbers Yatsu with a Lariat and then an Enziguiri. Yatsu powerslam o the charging Tenryu. Tenryu backpedals Yatsu into the buckles and winds up and hits an Enziguriri->Tenryu Powerbomb, Choshu races across with a Lariat to save the match bulldoze Tenryu. Jumbo tackles Choshu. Tenryu German Suplex for the win! Count to Three! New International Tag Team Champions! Very similar to the January '87 match. I liked the finish of the January match a little more but this had the feel good win. Just another strong All Japan tag style match to end this era for me. ****

NWA International Tag Team Champions Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 1/24/87 We skip forward a year to see these two teams together again. I dont want to check the International Tag Team Titles History to see if Choshu & Yatsu have been champs since February 1986 but here they are as the Champs going into this a year later. I also dont recall who won the 1986 Real World Tag League, ok let me check that. It was Jumbo & Tenryu beating Hansen & DiBiase must have been one of those Leagues that was not for the Tag Titles (which makes sense as there were two sets of titles at that point both the PWF & International Tag Team Belts). Gordy & Khan was a tag team! After their hellacious World Class match, thats pretty cool. Did any of that make tape? Look like their match against Jumbo & Tenryu did, I should check that out. Stream of consciousness to save some time: Jumbo & Choshu to start! Jumbo wins a shouldertackle and snapmare they are tussling to start. Choshu rebounds with a shouldertackle of his own, snapmare into a Scopron Deathlock but Jumbo slaps out. Nice symmetry. Jumbo is red hot. Choshu gets a singles leg pick up and tags in Yatsu who elbow the knee and then right into the Spinning Toehold. Jumbo bullies him into the ropes and then slaps the taste out of Yatsu's moth. Yatsu single back heel trip into Spinning Toehold and starts paintbrushing Jumbo on the ground. Jumbo headlock takeover. Jumbo wrenches the headlock on Yastu. He tags in Tenryu and this is more a conventional start to their tag match. Yatsu scores early with a kneelft an some overhand chops but Tenryu goes to Jumbos strategy and works the side headlock. Yatsu tags out. Tenryu scores a kneelift and chops and Enziguiri for two. Swinging neckbreaker. It is a full court press from Tenryu who figure-4s the head. Choshu pops free and they tussle on the mat. Tenryu tags out. Choshu breaks free and is apprehensive watcing Jumbo. Jumbo grabs wrist control. Choshu goes for a bodyslam but Jumbo deadweights him. Great stuff there. Jumbo back to wrist control to set up chops, Choshu absorbs and fires back and he forces Jumbo into his corner. Yatsu dropkick which is a Yastu staple when he enters a match. He slaps Jumbo which seems like a bad idea. JUMBO HIGH KNEE! Jumbo chinlock. Told you it was a bad idea. Jumbo/Tenryu Double Sledge on Yastu. Tenryu lariat and smashes Choshu on the apron for good measure but Choshu doesnt sell shit. Yatsu tags out. Tenryu attacks at pass. Tenryu misses, Choshu misses. Tenryu Russian Legsweep into a cross armbreaker in an ELECTRIC SEQUENCE! Crowd is alive for this. Choshu is trying for the clasp but cant get it. Lazy transition into the Choshu Saito Suplex but I do love a good Saito Suplex. Yatsu/Choshu Double Team on Tenryu. We may have our first heat segment. Nope Tenryu tag out. Yatsu bullies Jumbo into the corner. Jumbo big boot, Jumbo Death Lariat and he got all of that one. Jumbo back elbow to break free of the Yatsu German. Jumbo holds onto the ropes and Yatsu missed the dropkick. Jumbo stepover toehold into the Inverted Indian DeathLock. This has much more the standard All Japan Workrate Tag match between these four. Doesnt have their personalities or magnitude of the previous matches. Still great but not as special. Jumbo working a standard toehold and now trying for a Boston Crab but Yatsu makes ropes and Tenryu gets an ugly German Suplex as he comes in. Tenryu clamps on a Front Chancery. I think this is our first heat segment nope Spike Piledriver on Tenryu as Choshu tags in! Definietly more All Japan-y with the frequent tags. Choshu applies the Scorpion Deathlock three-quarters on Tenryu who is resisting in pushup position ok Choshu has it. That was a sick struggle. Dug that. Yastu elbow drops Tenryu in the hold always a sick spot. Choshu vertical suplex on Tenryu but Tenryu gets his foot on the ropes. Double suplex on Tenryu. This is our first really good heat segment. Here we go. Yatsu Bulldog! Yatsu stomps on Tenryu in the ropes. Choshu blitzes with a reverse elbow and tries for a Scorpion Deathlock. Choshu Scorpion Deathlock but Jumbo breaks it up. Yastu Saito Suplex but Tenryu is too close to the ropes and is pretty close to Jumbo. Tenryu dropkicks Choshu and tags in Jumbo. Not the best transition. Jumbo Misses the Death Lariat they do the Double Clothesline spot that hey are fond of. Choshu Saito Suplex as the crowd starts to get into it. Jumbo tags out already. Tenryu ENZIGUIRI! Tenryu bodyslam you know what comes next, but Choshu heads him off at the pass. Jumbo Saito Suplex on Choshu. Tenryu Enziguiri on Choshu as Jumbo and Yatsu brawl on floor. Tenryu Saito Suplex. Jumbo Death Lariat on Choshu. Did Jumbo pull him up? Rewind! He did! He pulled him up! But why? Some crazy Sandwich spot gets fucked up. Jumbo and Yastu on the floor. Chosu Mack Truck Lariat 1-2-3! Jumbo looks like a fool! I dont understand Japanese but I am pretty sure the interviewer asked Jumbo "You had him down for three, why did you pull him up?". I think my favorite Japanese phrase is "Count to three" which they seem to use as a way to say pinfall or victory. I wonder if the finish was to plant the seed of dissension between Jumbo & Tenryu to foreshadow their impending breakup later that year. For me this was just standard All Japan workrate tag team wrestling which is elevated by the fact that these are four of the best all time to do it, but it lacks the hooks that the first two matches had. ****