Superstar Sleeze

Cena has the best friggin' leapfrog ever. He has springs for legs. When are they going to book Cena/Cesaro into a program already.

They busted that spot out at Superstars taping here in Boston and we loved it. I actually forgot that spot and I think he should bring it back especially as a face now. I have enjoyed his mid-90s Randy Savage-inspired matches as no one makes the heels look better on TV than Dolph. I always thought those two had pretty good chemistry with each other. I think Kofi is useless with pretty much everyone else and I think Dolph never seems to reach his full potential, but together they always have enjoyable matches. I always associated "pinball" bumping with the style mentioned by khawk (Hennig, HBK, Flair) that is over the top. But John and other make a good point that is not really how a pinball works. A pinball is rapid fire bouncing off the walls. I hardly think ths thread will change conventional naming, but I think "trampoline" bumping is more accurate description of what is going on as someone pointed out already. Flair, Hennig etc... all felt as if they coming off a trampoline more so than a pinball clanging all around.

WWF World Tag Team Champions Colossal Connection vs Demolition - MSG 12/28/89 For my money, this is the best babyface Demolition match I have seen. I still would not rate it that highly, but it was decent. If this match was wrestled with 1984 Andre this could have been a great match up. Ax only seems to sell for Andre when wrestling face. Now there have been claims that Andre was a very effective worker at this stage, but how much was it actually his opponents making him look effective. Andre's headbutts and general offense looks like shit, but it is Ax & Smash that make it worthwhile. Andre understood his limitations and had a enough tricks to work around them, but he seriously needed to be carried. One of those tricks was his facial expressions and his charisma. At the beginning of this match, he has the most smug look on his face. "Be me guest, Haku, start the match it makes no difference we are going to smoke them either way", all in one facial expression. Smash starts the match for Demolition and after Ax's pitiful kayfabe performance it is probably for the best. Haku misses an elbow drop early and it's clubbering time, Tony! Haku hits a couple kicks to free himself to tag Andre. Andre misses the ass splash and the best part of the match begins. Demolition is relentless in their efforts to keep Andre at bay in their corner with clobbering. Andre just keeps swatting at them. There is such a great sense of struggle in this portion and how important it is for Demolition to contain Andre. That segment sums up the significance of Andre in the late 80s. Andre eventually beats back Demolition and tags in Haku. Ax gets an atomic drop on Haku, but cant capitalize due to his beating from Andre. Andre is back in with some choking and Haku misses his three-point stance splash in the corner. He eats an reverse elbow and here comes the Smasher. Smash is a pretty lukewarm hot tag. After basic hot tag offense, Ax drags Haku to the outside allowing Andre to headbutt Smash from behind and toss him out for the countout victory. Never turn your back on a giant, shaking my head. Demolition takes exception and they double clothesline Andre and then hit Demolition Decapitation on Haku, a portent of things to come? This match was Demolition's bread and butter: well-laid out, solid match that emphasizes everyone's strengths, but is nothing all that memorable. WWF World Tag Team Champions Colossal Connection vs Demolition - WrestleMania VI Pat Riley made a couple bucks off Vince with all this Three-Peat talk. Andre and Ax were effectively done with the WWF after this match and it is memorable for that more than being a good match. They had a very bare bones match to get the titles back on Demolition and turn Andre face for his final send-off. They do the melee start like at the TV title change, but this time Andre's heabutt is inconsequential. There is a super short babyface shine, before Ax takes heat due to a spike to a throat. Haku gets a two off a backbreaker. Andre chokes Ax out with the tag rope. Haku hits a shoulderbreaker for a 2. Ax gets his boot up in the corner. Smash goes through his usual hot tag offense. They double clothesline Andre. Andre is able to grab a headbutt from behind, but this time Haku crescent kicks Andre. Andre falls and does his trademark tied up in the ropes spot. Demolition hit a double hotshot and a Demolition Decapitation to a massive pop. Heenan gives Andre the bidness so Andre kicks his ass and then Haku's ass. Fools, if you think you are going to hijack Andre's ride back in that little ring. It is a pretty simple match, but it popped the crowd, got the belts back on Demolition and accomplished Andre's farewell so mission accomplished. Demolition is done! Final thoughts should be up on Thursday.

I needed some WCW and puroresu to clear my mind and I am ready to watch the last couple matches to finish this. WWF World Tag Team Demolition vs Colossal Connection w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan - Primetime Wrestling 12/13/89 Ax gets his ass kicked the whole match!!! ELEVENTY BILLION STARS~! I am just kidding. It is short, sweet and effective, but it is not going to change anyone's world. Andre in 1989 is WWF's version of a wrecking ball. Hey, that headbutt maybe not be coming that fast, but it has a lot of mass behind it. In the opening fracas, Andre headbutts Ax, which fucks his shit up the rest of the match. Pretty much Haku takes it from there beating Ax down and throwing him into Andre's head and there is plenty of double-teaming. They have a couple decent hope spots: Haku missing a three point stance and Ax hitting Haku with an atomic drop, but tagged Andre while up in the air. The finish is a crescent kick followed by Andre elbow drop. When Andre hits the mat, you best believe a 3 count is happening. I will say the fact that Demolition never let anyone kick their ass like this actually made the commentary point, "I have never seen Demolition manhandled like this" valid. It definitely builds suspense towards the Wrestlemania rematch, which would Andre's and Ax's swan song. Of course, a nice moment for Andre as he gets to win a title on his way out.

When you get a chance, Takayama/Nishimura G-1 Climax '02 & Hashimoto & Nagata vs Misawa & Akiyama from Zero-1, I download the files and it is just the audio. Takayama/Chono G-1 Climax '02 does not download at all. Thanks.

Couldnt get the rest of the G-1 Climax (later started to work) so instead I watched Takayama's GHC Title Defense against Misawa in '02. I have not yet reviewed the '01 match, but I did watch just a few days ago. I would say these matches are close, but I'd give the '02 match the edge due to better complete match pacing and a great story of the elbow versus size.. GHC Heaveyweight Champion Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa - Budokan 09/23/02 The most in-demand puroresu star of 2002 continues his run of excellent matches against NOAH ace, Mitsuharu Misawa. Takayama won the GHC Title from Yoshinari Ogawa and was used as a high-profile transitional champion to Misawa to set up the famous 03/01/03 Misawa vs Kobashi encounter. In their match from 2001 to decide the first GHC Champion, I found the first half of the match to be sluggish before the dramatic home stretch seeing Misawa crowned as the GHC Champion with Emerald Flowsion. In this match, they cut a quick pace from the outset of this match and never really let up even though towards the end they did seem fatigued. This featured a great Takayama heel performance, which makes Misawa's famed extended comeback all the better. It all boils down to Misawa's elbow versus Takayama's size. Takayama started off dominating Misawa with an assortment of kicks that sent him out of the ring and reeling into the corner at different moments. Takayama boots him off the top turnbuckle. He sends him crashing into the railings before clobbering him with the big boot over the railing. Early on, it seems the size and power of Takayama will be too much for Misawa to handle. Takayama, cocky as ever, covers Misawa with one foot in the ring. They go back to a test of strength something Takayama had won early, but this time Misawa executes a fireman's carry out. During a Misawa chinlock, Takayama feigns choking so as to get the ref to break it. Takayama is fuckin awesome. Takayama dumps Msiawa out onto the apron only to be hit by a short-arm elbow and a running elbow over the top rope. A dropkick to the outside sets up Misawa's diving elbow, which looks particularly brutal given how Takayama lands and Misawa follows this up with another elbow from the apron sending Takayama through the railing. Misawa effectively began to use his elbow as his equalizer against Takayama. Takayama as devastating weapon of his own: the kneelift. He catches Misawa coming off the top with a wicked kneelift triggering big Misawa chants. Takayama hits a bridging butterfly suplex, never seen that one before, for two. There is a lame sequence of kicks that just kinda ends with a Misawa single-leg takedown. Here comes the Misawa offensive onslaught: roaring elbow, German, Tiger Driver, Frogsplash and facelock. Takayama throws him off on Tiger Suplex attempt. A roundhouse kick to the head ends a elbow versus boot exchange and gets two. Takayama just fucking unlodas with knees driving Misawa into the corner. He hits a dropkick to Misawa's face and another knee only to get two triggering more Misawa chants and causing a bloody lip. Takayama has proven he has bombs of his own that can counteract Misawa, but has not yet put him away. He signals for the German suplex; he hits it, but rolls through to hit another one and Misawa gets his foot on the rope. He goes for a capture German suplex, but Misawa turns that into a double underhook overhead belly to belly suplex (is there a shorter name for that. It feels like one of the IUPAC names for an organic molecule). You know they do a reverse tombstone piledriver spot in WCW. Well the try to do the same thing but with the Emerald Flowsion version of that and fuck it up resulting in a bloody nose for Takayama. They run through a sequence, but they seem blown up at this point. Misawa takes home with elbows and after a barrage of them wins his second GHC title. ***3/4 They lose a bit down the stretch, but it was a dramatic thrill ride as Misawa was able to vanquish the Bleach Blond Giant of Japan with his trusty elbow. Takayama laid a pretty damn good beating on Misawa. Those Takayama kneelifts were bitchin' as all hell. It is too bad they botched the Emerald Flowsion shot as it seemed to mess up their finish, but it was a very well built match.

Takayama in G-1 Climax '02 Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax '02 Sasaki is wearing a doo-rag because he has cut the most bitchin' mullet of all time off. Mullet > Doo-rag. However, I cannot deny he is rover like over like this crowd and they may have been able to get a little bit more out of him before transitioning into the Nagata era. Sasaki looks to power straight through the monster early with lots of stiff shots to the mid-section and head. This flurry overwhelms the Bleach Blond Giant look enough to hit a powerslam on the ramp and a brainbuster before a HUGE knee lift puts on a stop to that. The crowd even gasped for that kneelift. For all the love the lariat gets, the knee lift is just as badass. Takayama is his usual dickish self putting just one foot on Sasaki counting along. He hits a nice jumping knee on the ramp and then his jumping knee/butterfly suplex combo. A cocky Takayama lets Sasaki take a standing count only to eat a lariat, big mistake. Sasaki is able to apply the scorpion deathlock, but Takayama is too close to the ropes. They start trading wild forearms and this turns into a battle of the big boot versus the lariat. Some of those lariats by Sasaki were vicious and Takayama ate them like a champ. Takayama goes for the German. Sasaki blocks it and then throws Takayama to the ground on his jumping knee attempt. This time the lariat fells the giant. He signals for the Northern Lights Bomb and the crowd pops huge. It is academic as Sasaki picks up the points in this match. ***1/4 It felt like a really high-end TV match, just simple, but exciting spots strung together in a cogent fashion to advance the tournament. Takayama came off as a bigger prick in this match and someone you will root against from now. The big take home was just how over Sasaki was in this match. The home stretch is how they should have ended the Nagata match. Sasaki basically used Takayama's size against him when he threw him down and then hit his big finish to a nice pop.

Bleach Blond Japanese heel, who kicks ass, what is not love about my boy, Yoshihiro Takayama. I love how Takayama is one of the few native Japanese not afraid to heel it up. He is an arrogant giant that knows he can kick your ass and he still throws in an eye-rake. He is definitely one of those puro's wrestlers that gives off the badass aura even if Don Frye shattered that illusion. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Tokyo Dome 05/02 From winning the 2001 G-1 Climax to main eventing the 01/04 Dome against Akiyama, now Nagata defends the IWGP title against the shoot-style giant, Yoshihiro Takayama. Takayama just carries himself so differently from a typical Japanese pro wrestler and at 6' 5'' he looks and wrestles like a giant in his match. He does not outright heel it up, but just his demeanor and his methodical pacing seems to mock the IWGP Champion and the crowd. He is a giant playing with his prey, before he breaks it into submission. Nagata looks a lot better in this match than Mutoh match as he is bringing it to the Bleach Blond Giant rather than reacting. It is not as good as Tenryu/Sasaki in terms of cementing a new champion, but Nagata earned a lot in terms of credibility by taking a lickin' and kept on tickin'. There is an gritty struggle to start on the mat that is how much the IWGP Championship means to these two combatants. Nagata gets a couple early slams (overhead belly to belly and back drop driver), but neither phases the monster, who shrugs them off. Nagata goes for the back drop driver again only to eat a German suplex and a roundhose kick to the head that knocks him out. The only thing says Nagata is he rolls out of the ring. He does an excellent sell where he collapses on an irish whip. Takayama works an effective heat segment, just punishing Nagata with kicks. Nagata gets a hope spot in like a rolling heel hook out of a German suplex attempt, but Takayama cuts him off with a wicked kneelift. Then he starts to hulk-up, he kicks Takayama's base foot out from under him and roundhouse kicks him in the head to level the playing field. He slaps on his variation of the figure-4, but Takayama makes it to the ropes. Takayama hits a knee to the head and a slugfest breaks out. The punches are awfully weak and they punch each other at the same time. They get back up and slugfest ensues. Takayama whiffs on a roundhouse kick and Nagata hits two kicks to the head to win. ***3/4 They built the match up well with Nagata bringing the big moves early and Takayama established as this imposing tour de force he has to overcome. However, once they hit the Nagata Hulk-Up they lost me. The slugfests were a pretty lame to payoff the build. The build was David vs. Goliath and they paid it off with a toe to toe slugfest. It seemed too disjointed. Still, I like seeing Nagata as the champion bringing the offense to his opponent, which is a step-up from the Mutoh match.

I have not watched it in a long, long time, but I do remember actually liking it. When I first saw Mutoh vs Kawada that I reviewed above I thought it was that match, but definitely had not seen the Champion's Carnival until this project. The Mutoh/Kawada TC title change is not on Ditch's list. So I am torn as to keep watching more Mutoh and seeing what happened. He was really good in the Tenryu, Nagata matches and good enough in Kawada CC '01 match (Kawada carried the weight a little more in that one). It just seems strange that he falls off the cliff so quickly after 2001.

Keiji Mutoh vs Yuji Nagata - Sumo Hall 08/12/01 G-1 Climax Final The objective of the match was to get over Yuji Nagata as a hybrid MMA/pro-style wrestler through submission-style counter-wrestling, which was en vogue at the time. However, the match became so focused on Nagata's counter-wrestling that it seemed like he did not have any offense of his own. This whole match was run through Mutoh, which is a problem in fact in 2001 running a match through Mutoh is sensible especially since Nagata was just beginning his ascent up the card. However, Mutoh did not really fight from underneath rather he would string some moves together and Nagata would counter into submission. Nagata's offense never strung together combinations, but let Mutoh dictate the match. I am not trying to damn the style of counter-wrestler just that Nagata was miscast. We all know that Inoki was trying to force shoot-style/MMA-style down the audience's throats with Fujita as IWGP champion and his Bom-Ba-Ye. That all being said, I think they had a very strong match and the best match they possibly could have given the environment. Mutoh was compelling on offense, sold well for Nagata and they built to a helluva finish run. Nagata for his part did the best he could some of his submissions looked lame and some looked good. Once the more "pro-wrestling" finish kicked in, he looked way more comfortable. The opening chain sequence ended with Mutoh in a guillotine choke. Mutoh begged off into the corner and took a powder. It established Nagata as the "superior" ground wrestler and that Mutoh is now wary of mixing it up on the ground with Nagata. Mutoh gets in the ring, slaps Nagata and tries a double leg takedown. I like Mutoh trying to distract him with the quick slap. Mutoh goes for his handspring elbow, but Nagata counters into a crippler crossface. After a rope break, Mutoh executes a dragon leg screw after catching a kick. Mutoh may have been unprepared for the ground game, but he has countering the kicks all match and finally now is ready to execute Mutoh v.2001 Strategy. However, he goes for the figure-4 too soon and gets caught in a triangle choke. Imagine Dusty putting Flair in a triangle choke that would have been awesome. They stand back up and there is a really intense struggle as Nagata is trying to kick Mutoh;s legs and Mutoh keeps trying to wrangle his knee and finally hits a dropkick to the knee. Now the standard Mutoh leg work kicks in and he applies the figure-4. They do the sequence again and again, but when Mutoh goes for the figure-4 a third time Nagata connects with a kick to head and a weak-looking heel hook. Back up, Mutoh hits a frankensteiner into a cross-armbreaker and poorly reversed into Nagata's version of the figure-4. So far, guillotine choke, crossface, triangle choke, a heel hook and now a figure-4, but everything feels so isolated and no submission holding is having any consequence on the match. Whereas, Mutoh's work has been tight, connected and he has sold well for Nagata's stuff (Mutoh sold his figure-4 better than Nagata sold his). The finish stretch was the best part of the match for me. Mutoh hit his top rope frankensteiner followed up with a moonsault. He goes for a cross-armbreaker and this time Nagata has to get to the ropes because Mutoh finally has punished him so much. Mutoh goes for the Shining Wizard in the corner, but Nagata dodges. He hits a nasty German that folds Mutoh up like an accordion and then gives him the wrist-clutch exploder; only for Mutoh to pop up and hit the Shining Wizard. The place goes fuckin' nuts for that. They were sitting on their hands for the most part until that sweet sequence. Then they exchange some of wicked shitty kicks (why was Nagata given a shoot-style gimmick). He blocks the Shining Wizard and applies the crippler crossface to win the 2001 G-1 Climax. ***1/2 Nagata came off as so reactionary in this match. Mutoh was constantly moving forward and had a clear game plan. Mutoh was going to counter the kicks and use his knee psychology to win. Nagata just countered and never followed-up. I have not watched enough Nagata, but I don't think that was inexperience on the big stage as much as it was having a style foisted on him that did not suit him. It is actually a testament to both men that this match is so great given how far outside their comfort zone this was. I enjoyed Mutoh's performance a lot. He got Nagata over as a submission specialist while still making himself look strong. I liked the flash submission stuff as first, but I was hoping it would go somewhere. Like I said above, the finish sequence was great. It is not up with Mutoh's best stuff from the year, but it does demonstrate the year Mutoh was having: winning the Champion's Carnival, Triple Crown, Runner-Up in the G-1 Climax and headlining the Dome in October. He is right up there with Akiyama as hottest commodity in puroresu in 2001.

All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01 Slow and steady wins the race. One wrestling cliche that I feel is misappropriated for many wrestlers is "no wasted motion". In this match, there was no wasted motion. Every single move mattered, was milked and was given time to breathe. At one point, I popped for a dropkick to the knee like it was a frigging Burning Hammer. That is pro wrestling. On the surface, this match is about Mutoh's hyper-focused strategy: the knee, the knee, the knee and Tenryu's consequent retaliation. However, perhaps buried in this match is Tenryu's masterful performance working underneath and selling Shining Wizard from the first minute of the match to the transition to finish. That is pro wrestling. Mutoh comes out all guns blazing and is looking to end it early. Tenryu, off-guard, catches Mutoh's foot who uses it as a step stool to hit a Shining Wizard. He hits his backbreaker, but Tenryu powders before the impending moonsault. The headshot Tenryu suffers prevents him from mounting pretty much any offense in the first ten minutes of the match. When Tenryu is able to string together three moves punctuated with a powerbomb, Mutoh hits a kappo kick to the head sending him reeling to the outside. Mutoh follows up with a plancha and his knees strike Tenryu's head. When Tenryu is climbing back into the ring, Mutoh pounces at the opportunity with two dropkicks to the knee. A desperate Tenryu hits a brainbuster on the apron and a diving elbow through the middle ropes. That is the price you pay for the All Japan Triple Crown. Unfortunately, It is too little too late as Mutoh grabs his leg and dragon leg screws him off the apron and immediately hits a dropkcik from the apron to the knee. Tenryu does his best to try avoid Mutoh's relentless onslaught on the knees, but ends up in the figure-4. After a rope break, Tenryu lands a punch, then a dragon leg screw and then the Ultimate FUCK YOU Dropkick to the knee. I have never popped so hard for a dropkick to the knee. After all the NOAH matches with their constant strike exchanges, we get a shot basement dropkick exchange, which is bitchin'. Tenryu wins with a dragon leg screw and he get his own figure-4. He applies a Texas Cloverleaf, but his knee gives out. Tenryu, feeling in control now, is comfortable to start hitting his big bombs to put away Mutoh. SPIDER GERMAN~! and falling reverse elbow (a combo someone has to crib) get two. Mutoh gets his hope spot with an out of nowhere Frankensteiner. Tenryu blocks the follow-up Shining Wizard. He hits a brainbuster for two. Frustrated, he hits a top rope Frankensteiner for two. He goes back to the well one more time with the brainbuster and eats a knee to the head. He just collapses calling back to the initial Shining Wizard at the outset of the match. They square off once more, but Mutoh hits a bicycle kick and you can feel the end is nigh for Mr. Puroresu. Mutoh hits two Shining Wizards, but neither puts him down for three. Mutoh hits his trademark backbreaker/Moonsault combo to win the Triple Crown and become only the third wrestler to have won both the IWGP Heavyweigh Title and Triple Crown title (Vader and Genichiro Tenryu are the other two who preceded him). ****3/4 (I am not a huge fan of star ratings, but I need something to keep track of all these matches. With that said, I could see me giving this five stars) Mutoh and Tenryu delivered near perfect individual performances that intertwined to deliver one of the best matches I have seen from 00s Puroresu. Tenryu gave one of the best resilient, sympathetic underneath performances ever. Mutoh was on point with every transition making sense, his strategy was worked to a tee, and he sold well. The whole match Tenryu was hitting home run shots because Mutoh got him off-balance early and even though he recovered by giving Mutoh a taste of his own medicine. Mutoh was able to hit him in the head twice to finally set up for the finish stretch and still Tenryu did not go down without taking 2 Shining Wizards and a moonsault. The only criticism (you have to nitpick when you are trying to determine the best match of the decade) is that it is worked on the slow-side with lots of downtime. I can see other NOAH matches when put together as well as this plus the pace they work edging this out. I think this is a definite MOTDC.

I'm guessing he previously wrote a really big piece on him and wanted to shoehorn it into the book?

Victim of circumstance feels right to me. He just happened to be at the tail end of a great generation, while still being classed with that generation. I feel like if he debuted ten years later, he could be the flagship of NOAH now. Alas. Interesting, you bring up Nagata, but I always felt Sasaki was the Akiyama to the Three Musketeers. Technically in the same generation as the Musketeers but a couple years younger and not pushed as hard. They both had their semi-breakout years in 2000. Only for both to take a step back a bit and settle into a number two banana in a promotion type role, never really being an Ace again. Guess I never really thought of Nagata that way. I agree all the above does make it harder for Akiyama. I don't think circumstances make it an absolute fait accompli that Akiyama would be a second-tier player. It is the confluence of circumstances and not having charisma of other the Four Corners doomed him. He could do all the same moves as everyone else and he could have Match of the Decade Candidates like everyone else. From what I have seen, he just didn't have IT like Misawa, Kobashi and Kawada did.

When I first started watching puro back in 2006-ish, I, much like most, was all about Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi. I have grown to love Taue and how focused he is. Everything builds to Nodowa and he may be the greatest apron worker of all time with the great teases. His 1995 is one of the best calendar years in wrestling history. However, Akiyama was just someone who never stood out from the other four. He was good, but in a serviceable type way. In watching his matches for Ditch's poll, I have grown to like his in-ring work more from a lay-out and execution perspective. He is not as focused as Taue, but he tends to be more focused than Kobashi and less get all my shit in like Misawa. His attack on Misawa's neck on 02/27/00 and Kobashi's arm on 12/23/00 were some of the best parts of those matches. He was more willing to tie it up on the mat noted by his New Japan Dome tag against Mutoh and Hase. His submissions were actual finishers in All Japan as he polished off Kobashi on 08/00 with his guillotine choke. I think my major hang-up with Akiyama is I don't think he ever found his personality in the ring the same way the others did. We all know Misawa as the stoic Ace with the amazing extended comebacks, Kawada as the persistent "I think I can, I think I can" Number two with some of the greatest selling in wrestling history, Kobashi as the fiery bastion of machismo with flair for the dramatic, and Taue as the heelish fucker that is willing to claw someone's eye out for the win. Who is Akiyama? It sounds like a dickish question, but in Japanese wrestling without promos (for us at least) everything needs to be conveyed in the ring. The Four Corners of Heaven knew exactly who they were and what role they played. That is what made them so transcendent as opposed to the interchangeable wrestlers presented today. Maybe someone can flesh out who Akiyama is for me. Maybe it will come in time with watching more footage. Now, Akiyama's 2000-01 is so intriguing to me because from a booking perspective he strikes me as the absolute hottest wrestler in puroresu. Feb '00 - Pins Misawa Aug '00 - First NOAH show, chokes out Misawa, pins Taue and drops tag partner Kobashi with a back drop driver. That is a huge friggin' angle. The next night he chokes out Kobashi to win. Dec '00 - Kobashi gets his win back, but needs to use the Burning Hammer July '01 - Pins Misawa to win the GHC Title Oct '01 - Headline NJPW Dome show against Mutoh & Hase with Nagata Jan '02 - Pin Nagata headlining 01/04 Dome show Feb '02 - He pins Kobashi in a tag match against Kobashi & Misawa with Nagata April '02 - Drops title to Yoshinari Ogawa, WHAT THE FUCK!?!? Just like that Akiyama stops being the hottest commodity in puroresu. I know that he made his debut in 1992, but given where he was in the late 90s (solidly as Kobashi's tag partner against No Fear and a smattering of Triple Crown title shots) he had a rocket strapped to his ass and he was pushed to the puroresu moon. I think he made a lot of this opportunity. The Feburary 2000 Misawa is on my list for Match of Decade Contender. The 12/00 Kobashi and '01 Misawa matches are MOTYCs for their year. He had a super hot angle with Kobashi and worked outside shots for NJPW in a headlining capacity. This is where everything intersects. I don't think Akiyama was a very good heel in the ring and it caused a disconnect with the angle. The finish for 08/00 Kobashi match clearly casts him as one. He chokes out Kobashi, they are giving Kobashi CPR and Akiyama gets into a scuffle with the young boys and he kicks their ass. However during the ring action it just felt like another good to great NOAH match. Akiyama is a great wrestler there is no doubt about it. The booking launched him and he wrestled well enough to do the bare minimum. Most wrestlers could never even do the bare minimum. He take it that next step in my view to be in that next level. I have seen the '04 Kobashi match, but not in context. I look forward to seeing Akiyama more and trying to garner a better understanding of how he is. I think the "heel" turn hurt him because it is not who he is like Taue or Takayama being a natural heel and it felt foisted onto him. Also, why the hell did he drop the belt to Ogawa? I get setting up Misawa/Kobashi, but why not Takayama directly?

I may be misinterpreting Dyaln's question. I don't think he was asking why Warrior was profiled. I think Warrior is an essential person to profile in the history of the WWF post-1984. It is why Warrior got his own Interregnum Era? Usually Bret & Shawn get the sort of bridge era between Hogan & Attitude Era with Warrior being a failed experiment in the Hulkamania era. However, he recasts history as Hogan -> Warrior->Modern (New Generation, Attitude, and Now). Thus it does seem weird to me. That maybe another great formatting question. How did he break down the eras? Why is the modern era not further parceled into the New Generation, Attitude and Modern era? Why is Warrior treated as an interregnum era?

I wanted to ask a question about he chose to format the book and how that ties into the objective of the book, but first could someone confirm this is the actual table of contents (got this off the Amazon Sample Page): Goldern Era Hackenschmidt Territorial Era Gorgeous George Fabulous Moolah Von Erichs Terry Gordy Bruiser Brody Wahoo McDaniel & Chief Jay Strongbow The Spoiler Wrestlemania Era (Awfully termed) S.D. Jones JYD Andre Capt. Lou Savage Liz Road Warriors, Fabulous Kangaroos Rude Bulldog Perfect ULTIMATE WARRIOR (LOL, he gets his own era. Suck it Bret & Shawn!) Modern Era Attitude Era Crush (WTF) Bossman Owen Yoko Borga Pillman Kanyon Benoit & Guerrero Is that really the table of contents? If so, why did he exclude JCP/WCW wrestlers? (Arguments can be made for Roadies and McDaniel, but overall they were clearly neglected) What was he trying to achieve with this book? Is it supposed to be a survey of the colorful characters of pro wrestling or something more? How did he decide which wrestlers to include? What is the take home message of this book? What specific assertions about the tenets of pro wrestling did he try to convey in this book? Since the book reaches back to nascent carny period of wrestling at the turn of the 20th century, how does he feel the fundamentals of wrestling have changed? Obviously, the presentation has changed, but if you strip away the big arenas, all the production values has pro wrestling really changed from Gotch vs Jenkins or Gotch vs Hackenschimdt? Asshole question: When WWF gloriously rescued pro wrestling from the smoke-filled recreational halls, dingy bars and sweaty bingo halls in 1984, did all other pro wrestling promotions cease to exist? Based on the table of contents, I feel like this is supposed to be a series of vignettes aimed at childhood 80s WWF fans as they garner a little more insight of their favorites whilst feeling intellectually stimulated as the author masquerades as deep by connecting these vignettes to larger social issues. I gleaned that just from the table of contents. I could be totally off base so I would really like to hear his answer for the the intent of the book. The evolution question, he could easily side-step or miss the point and does not interest me as much as why he chose to do this book as a series of profiles.

Watching a lot of Misawa recently, any time he takes a head drop makes me cringe worse than just about anything else in wrestling right now.

Well this is as good a place as for someone to drop the 411 on me, why Akiyama dropped the belt to Ogawa of all people in 2002. He begins 2000 by beating Misawa in what kind of feels like the Misawa/Jumbo of 2000. Then at the first NOAH show they run the angle of him dropping Kobashi like a bad habit. Then Kobashi/Akiyama basically runs on top throughout the rest of 2000. Then he beats Misawa again in 2001 for the GHC title. Watching all the matches for Ditch's poll, Akiyama seems like the biggest deal in puroresu from the beginning of 2000 right up until his title victory. Why did it fizzle? Why does he drop to Ogawa? The beauty of Misawa's rise against Jumbo was he had Kawada and Kobashi to back him up. Maybe there was not enough depth to have the same six-man style war? If anyone can help explain that because given Akiyama trajectory in 2000-01 he should have been puro's biggest star that decade and a stone cold lock for the HOF.

El Torito >>> Rosa

Finally watched the past two RAWs, Cena/Sandow stood out as an excellent match, the Six-Man had one of the best home stretches in forever, and Punk/Harper and Orton/Langston were both good. I usually only do match reviews, but when I was younger I loved to do booking analysis. Here we go with some booking analysis of Current WWE: It is funny if I was not going to Survivor Series, I would have said Big Show/Orton is logical and applauded them for sound booking. Given the pop, the Big Show/Triple H confrontation got on the 10/28 they have clearly done an excellent job with the Big Show. HOWEVER, I am going to the event and am not excited about that main event in the least. I have actually enjoyed Orton since Wrestlemania and especially since the heel turn. His headbutts and his cutoffs are usually really well-timed. His Langston match was a really good champion vs rising mid-carder. He gave a lot to Langston, but everything was earned and it felt like a real struggle (the one exception was the pop up backbreaker after the splash, but the rest was really sound). He was powdering, headbutting and clawing, but Langston was always overpowering him until he crashed and burned on a cross-body. There have been other Orton matches this year like the No DQ match with Bryan when he was still face and the Miz beatdown that I enjoyed. Big Show, I know he does well in these parts, just has never done much for me. He is actually my Dad's favorite wrestler and my Dad is pumped about this news. So at least there is that. Bryan/Punk just makes sense. During the stretch without Cena, it felt like they were caving to the hardcores just like in 2004 with Benoit & Eddie as the top two faces now Bryan and Punk were positioned as the top two faces. It makes sense they needed to return on their Wyatt investment. The Wyatts came in at a horrible time and clearly after Summerslam they had nothing for them. I really see this as Bryan/Punk moving into the number two storyline and one where they can give the fans what they want without Punk & Bryan being overshadowed by Cena. Do we really live in a world where Cena is the number four babyface? When you are feuding with Sandow and Del Rio, that sure as hell what feels like. Two weeks in a row he was in the match of the night on RAW and two weeks in a row he has not cut a shitty promo. I am a reformed Cena hater on ring work. I truly think he is best worker of his generation in the WWE. I still he think he fuckin blows on the mic more often than not, but past two weeks he has been fine. His JBL impression may have been his best impression ever and was actually relevant. Sandow's promo where he is divorcing himself from the Intellectual Savior to a real person that wants the title that happens to be really smart is a good direction. Sandow has potential I think, but I have never said to myself that Sandow fella needs to be pushed. Del Rio's character work sucks. He was openly mocked on commentary by everyone and he did nothing about it. He is enjoyable in the ring now that he has ratcheted up the aggression, but Mexican Million Dollar Man he is not. Glory be, in 2013, WWE has a real tag team division. Goldust is so fucking awesome. He owned that match from an offensive perspective. Cody just reeks of midcarder to me. He is a solid mechanic, but I don't see main event. I like Jack Swagger. I always felt like he should be better. I remember being impressed by his ECW run. Cesaro rules. I don't watch the B-shows. Has Cesaro vs Goldust one on one happened yet? I like the Usos more than Matadores, but I really enjoy El Torito so it is a push. Then again Titus' bark is one of the best things about the WWE. 3MB needs to drop Mahal and add somebody worth a damn. McIntrye and Slater are perhaps the greatest JTTS in history. Slater is the best bumper on the roster and Drew has enough high-end offense for heat segments. They need to get the title off of Curtis Axel and put it on Langston pronto. He is dead in the water and he needs to be repackaged in a tag team to even up the sides between faces and heels. Langston has a shitty finisher, but he tries and the Orton match was pretty good. Ryback and Ziggler, who I both like, seem fucked. They are both above the midcard titles. Ryback has feuded with Punk and Cena already. Ziggler wrestles a good Randy Savage formula match, but I don't see any where he can break through the main event. Maybe they will feud against each other. I would like that a good deal. The Shield also seems directionless. Roman Reigns has been my favorite member of the Shield since the outset and I am excited at the prospect of his push. but I agree it is too early. Ambrose has had a real lackluster US Title reign due to lack of opposition. I dont see that changing anytime soon. WWE is so babyface-laden on top that I can see why Daniel Bryan feuding with Wyatts would be considered a "de-push", but I think the way the story is structured he is just being down cycled. It is just like Austin feuding with Undertaker in late '98 while Rock/Mankind feuded for the title. Bryan is still very much at the top of the card and I would argue ahead of Cena. I truly believe they think they are appealing to smart marks by teaming Bryan with fellow internet darling CM Punk against the Wyatts. From my scanning of other forums, the Wyatts are heel internet favorites with their cryptic, esoteric gimmick. Personally, I think Bray Wyatt's promos suck, but Harper friggin's rules so you got to take the lumps with the sugar. Here's my projected Survivor Series Card: Orton/Show Punk/Bryan/Ziggler/Miz vs Ryback/Wyatts (Im a Ryback mark, FEED ME MORE!) Cena vs Del Rio vs Sandow Rhodes Family vs Real Americans Axel vs Langston Ambrose vs Kofi? Shield vs Usos Womens Match So when does Sheamus come back turn heel and feud with Cena in a bunch of **** matches. I can dream right?

Maybe he's talking about this match from the 80s DVDVR Texas set: 22. Abdullah the Butcher vs. Bruiser Brody (8/4/86) 4,953. Beat me to it. I liked that match. "Superstar" Graham is shockingly (to me at least) the longest reigning heel champion they have ever had. He did not institutionalize the dominant heel champion, which besides Yoko and HHH was never really attempted. However, to say he was just a transitional champion seems to be an understatement. The exchange between him and Simmons about no one every writing "this" way about wrestling was revolting. Normally, I just brush this stuff aside, but to just act like not only he is the standard bearer, but the innovator of wrestling critique is insulting and infuriating.

LOL. Before I was on these boards, I wrote pieces called 2 Out Of 3 Falls where I would take three wrestlers and rate their matches against each other. Ditch's Best Of 00's Japan poll is perfect for this. My first installment of this poll looks Kawada, Tenryu and newly inducted WON HOF member Kensuke Sasaki in their 2000 contests against each other. http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/20...aki-kawada.html

I remember back in the late 2000s, I think circa 2008. Kane innovated this new resthold that my brother and I dubbed the Kane Snuggle. Where Kane would apply a reverse waistlock to his opponent then fall to the mat with him and spoon him for about 2-5 minutes. We still bring it up from time to time. I miss the Kane Snuggle. Kane is definitely a front-runner for most boring wrestler ever.

I like to do triplet comparisions in relatively the same timeframe of three wrestlers. A vs B, B vs C and A vs C. The current triplet that will be in this post will be Misawa, Kobashi, and Akiyama in 2000. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Champions Carnival 4/11/00 The point of interest in this bout is how Misawa works on top for most of the match. For a wrestler with as much offense as Misawa, you would expect him to work on top more often, but I have seen mostly work from underneath. Though I have found the wrestler who works underneath in Japan most likely wins thus since he won a lot it may have necessitated him working underneath. Reinforcing that conjecture is of course, Kobashi did win over arch-nemesis, Misawa in this bout. I thought Misawa was going through the motions in this match, which let's be honest is better than 95% wrestlers ever, but at the same time a pity. He has so much offense that the match is never boring, but he just is not wrestling with a panache. It is harder to discern with stoic Misawa if he is trying, but I feel like he was just there. He opened the match with a great array of aerial attacks that found their mark on Kobashi. In a HOLY SHIT~! transition spot, Kobashi hotshots Misawa off the apron onto the railing. He just lays in a beating on the outside to Misawa. Kobashi was definitely the more fired up of the two for this match, but that makes sense as he is younger and still hungry. Misawa starts coming back with a flying head scissors to counter the Kobashi powerbomb. It was nice to see struggle over a suplex on the apron as some of the match felt like they would use a facelock reset to move onto the next spot. Kobashi's selling and histrionics are the highlight in this match as he begin to take Misawa's best offense. Misawa may be peaking too soon and could the Emerald of All Japan be peaking too early in this match? I like the sequence of Kobashi hitting the 3/4 nelson suplex to level the playing field as he does not just pop up and do it, but rather earns it. I am a total mark for powerbombs onto the top turnbuckle and Misawa takes a wicked one. Misawa counters the Burning Hammer and begins to use his elbows to set up his finish stretch. Kobashi blocks Emerald Flowsion and only the ropes can hold him up. Kobashi hits a sleeper suplex for two and immediately follows up with an Axe Bomber and a Burning Lariat to get the duke. It is 2000 All Japan. You get a ton of high-end offense with a couple head drops with some Kobashi Fighting Spirit. It is good, but there is really nothing here to separate it from the pack. Misawa seemed uninspired even though it was refreshing to see him work on top. The only spot that really stood out to me was the Hotshot onto the Railing, which needs to be cribbed. It should have been a late transition spot for more impact in the match. This is a match that blends into All Japan portfolio, but still an entertaining watch. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - NOAH 12/23/00 NOAH sure is different than All Japan. They actually ran a fucking angle on their first show where Akiyama pinned Misawa & Taue clean in a two out of three falls match and then dropped his partner, Kenta Kobashi. I watched the last two minutes of that and never before have I seen Akiyama as such a big star. It felt red-hot in a way All Japan could often feel like a flood of molasses. I believe this was supposed to be the big blowoff match from the first show angle. It does not quite hit the level of visceral hatred that Kawada/Taue '91 or a Hansen match could achieve. It was a very good tit for tat match with Akiyama showing Kobashi anything he could do, he could do better. As in most puro matches those with upper hand in the beginning falter down the stretch. I thought the early part with Kobashi taking offense to an early slap and chopping the shit out of Akiyama was good. However, they got on the ramp and match went into "epic" mode with Akiyama challening Muto hitting running forearm down the ramp. They tease the Explodere off the ramp, but settle for a nasty DDT onto the ramp. Kobashi may have the best facelock ever the way clasps his hands on teh bridge of the nose that looked nasty. I fuckin love how Akiyama sold off Kobashi pushing him off during his knee to the corner. The way he sold his neck made it seem like such a big spot and then Kobashi zeroed in on the neck further enhancing the storyline. Akiyama was looking to turn the tide -> Kobashi desperately swats him -> huge boon for Kobashi. It feels like an organic struggle as opposed to the ramp bs. I like the tit for tat sequence with each catching the other in their signature strike with their signature suplex. Akiyama finds his own weak point by going after Kobashi arm with a particular fury. Between this and the neck work in the Misawa match, Akiyama is like a more athletic Taue in how he has such a focused attack in his matches. Akiyama's arm work is by far and away the best part of this match. It such good arm work as he using every part of his body and the surrounding area to knot up that arm it sucks that it does not play into the finish. Kobashi hits the out of nowhere sleeper suplex to level the playing field. While it is great he is still selling, I wanted some more struggle. Kobashi hits a 3/4 nelson suplex on ramp and Akiyama does a tremendous dead weight sell. At this point, the match has entered Kobashi mode and there is disconnect with the previous angle hurts the match. Akiyama hits his exploder on concrete and Kobashi is dead weight to mirror the preceding ramp spot. Akiyama climaxes with the wrist-cluthc exploder for 2 and he is fucked. Akiyama takes a nasty spill off the top which is a blown spot that enhances the match because it looks a wicked transition. Kobashi cannot negotiate the pin with Burning Lariats. We get a close up of his face and his left-eye is swollen shut. When the hell did that happen. So he busts out his WMD: Burning Hammer~! Hand shake. After reading about and seeing the angle that set this up, I wanted to see an 80s style All Japan grudge match. I would be remiss to say that this is a bad match. It is a very good spectacle match worked to a great cresencendo Kobashi neded the Burning Hammer to put away Akiyama. With the ending hand shake, both men respect each other as warriors. I hate to judge a match based on what I think it should be, but if there is a disconnect between an angle and a match than I am calling it out. The match drifts in out of Kobashi Mode where he feels compelled to get his shit in. I mean the suplex Ace Crusher was cool, but I don't know how it really fit into the match. There was some good psychology in the middle before Kobashi just sort of decided it was his turn. Transitions are really important to me and this is a match that lacked in transitions. There was some good mirror spots sprinkled in especially the mirror dead weight sells off the signature suplexes. It was just too disjointed for me to rate this as an all-time great match. I watched Misawa/Akiyama 02/00 a while ago so I need to rewatch to do a proper write up. I will say that so far I have it as my number one match of what I have seen. That was fuckin' classic. I wanted to end on a more positive note. I will edit in the review hopefully tonight.

I said this as a person who has not watched the Bruno/Larry footage and I don't doubt for one bit that it is as bitchin' as you all say it is. I will say that you don't give WWE enough credit for slow-burn feuds especially given brother vs. brother. Bret vs Owen and Taker vs Kane both had reluctant brothers unwilling to fight their brothers not because they knew they would beat them because they did not want to inflict physical and emotional damage to them. It is why the klitschko brothers have not and will never fight. It is why the Williams Sisters tennis matches are some of the greatest psychological moments in sports. You have to look across the net to see the person you grew up with that you love as much or more than any other and know that you have to rob them on happiness. In none of the four major sports, will you see this is kind of tense individual interaction. The Mannings never take the field at the same time. So when you add the physical element of wrestling, not only do you have to beat your brother, but you have to beat either into submission or negotiate a pinfall for three seconds on a National stage. Have I fought my brother? Fuck yeah, I have. Could I actually FIGHT my brother? Hell no. I know the intention of wrestling is not to maim to your opponent, but to win a fall. However, in the process, you still have to deny your brother. In that ring, he is just another victim. I could never do that. That's what makes these angles so riveting and some of the best of all-time. So I see why Larry Z felt the need to declare himself his own man by challenging Bruno, but I agree with Bruno. Individual competition against someone you love especially in a combat sport sounds cruel, but it sure is fucking great TV. Other slow-burn feuds off the top of my head where you could see the heel side of things: Hogan/Orndorff and Hogan/Savage. I am really having trouble coming up with some NWA/WCW counterparts, which is weird because I prefer their angles.