Superstar Sleeze

Matt brutha, there is no such thing as too much Rockers love. :p I will watch it when I am not too busy not nearly dying in Miami. Holy shit, take a post-vaccination vacation to Miami to celebrate no one told me that Miami was the scariest place in the world to drive. I grew up driving in Boston, have driven in Manhattan, Queens, you name it, driven on the other side of the road in tiny teeny roads in Ireland and inner city Dublin never have I feared my life more than driving in Miami. The Everglades were bitchin' as hell...saw so many alligators, so fucking cool. So sorry for being a tardy to the party on this post to let everyone know episode #3 with @PeteF3 on the Best of WWF 1988-97 is here, but the aforementioned trip to Miami and then back to back night shifts drew my attention elsewhere. This kickass episode where are still talking about match off the beaten path before we get more canonical in the Top10. Give it spin and let us know what you think. https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-hifpf-100c9c0

None other than @PeteF3 is back for more on the Pro Wrestling Love! As we continue our continue down of the Best WWF Matches from 1993-1997. We have bust up laughing about the weirdest tangent on Bret Hart. We have a good time talking about Hulk Hogan vs Sgt. Slaughter and Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund. The Jumping Bomb Angels make my list and that leads to interesting tangents about St. Louis Wrestling and Powerbombs in America. This one is chock full of goodness so dont miss out! Click the link, download & enjoy! Let us know any feedback! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-bx682-100c965

NWA International Champion Giant Baba vs Fritz Von Erich - JWA 12/3/66 Two Out of Three Falls I watched the first fall about a week ago late one night and I thought it was bitchin' I wanted to come back to it when I was more awake and after I had seen more Baba. The first fall is still bitchin' as all get out. First Fall: ***** first fall! Incredible! Fritz is rocking a turtleneck like it is 1966, daddy, oh shit, it is 1966! Fritz is trying to intimidate Baba during the ref going over the rules. When that does not work, he clobbers him! Then just repeatedly punts him really hard in the shoulder. It was fucking wicked. You can see where Kevin got his style from. Fritz was stiff as fuck. The bell had not even rung after all these cheapshots. Baba looked bad. After a watching a ton of Baba, I know he loves to sell and work underneath so this start does not surprise me in the least. Once the bell rings, Fritz slams his head into the turnbuckles repeatedly. He throws him to the floor and beats him up. He slaps on the Iron Claw while he is in the ring and Baba is outside. Fritz has Baba dead to rites but needs to finish him in the ring. Fritz has Baba prone on the mat and is about to slap on the Claw when BABA MOVES! Fritz slams his hand into the canvas. Baba stomps the hand! OH HELL YEAH! Baba unleashes HELL & FURY ON FRITZ! GIANT CHOPS TO THE HEAD! BIG BOOT! GIANT CHOP! I love how Fritz chooses to sell this. He doesnt take flat back bumps which look ridiculously especially after the Giant Chop. He does a great discombobulated falling forward sell. Baba pins him for the first fall. It is a little controversial because Fritz was squirming, which I liked. Fritz shoots him hand up and grabs the Iron Claw! He applies it for a minute, draws blood and it takes forever for the referee to pry him off. This looks like the ultimate Pyrrhic Victory for our hero, he is up a fall but looks the worse for wear due to the nefarious tactics for Fritz Von Erich! Second Fall: They are maintaining an insanely high level. Fritz's punts are insane. They are ferocious. Fritz goes for the Claw in the corner, but BABA BLOCKS! THE DRAMA! THE TENSION! I live for this! This is why pro wrestling is the best. They milk the work in the corner so well. Fritz slowly grinds Baba from a standing position to being slumped in the corner, but still he cant apply the dreaded Claw. Fritz takes a swipe at a photographer or official. Baba throws a wicked chop and Fritz just crumples. I think this is the key to the whole match. Fritz sells every Baba blow like the most painful thing he has ever experienced. He has to fight through all this pain. On top of that, it means the Giant is never out of it, if he can land just one blow that could be the blow that puts Fritz out. Baba throws more chops at Fritz from his back. This is glorious. Fritz regains control on the outside. There is another great shot by Baba on the outside where Fritz doubles over and really takes the match to the next level. Fritz tries to apply the Claw in the ring, but slams his head into the canvas again. Baba starts clawing at the ear; this is wicked! The struggle is so real and violent. These two are scratching and clawing at each to win. Baba finally regains his composure. On the outside, Fritz is in full back pedal mode away from the pissed off Giant Monster. He throws the official in the ring to stall the Giant. I love how Fritz is cowering after all the bullshit he has pulled. Just when it looks like Fritz is going to get his, he unleashes one of those wicked punts and then slams Baba's head into the apron and then the announce table. Fritz uses the Claw to SLING BABA ACROSS THE RING! Iron Claw puts our hero away! Fritz attacks this official again throwing him out of the ring and he loses his shoe. So he whips his shoe down across his back and it makes a great sound. I am excited to see what they have in the 3rd fall because this has ruled so far! Third Fall: They complete the cycle and this is officially a phenomenal match! Fritz comes in for the kill after hitting a home run at the end of the second fall. True to form once Baba gets in that first shot, Fritz sells it like he has been shot. Fritz is left slumped in the corner. Baba gives him the universal signal for "Get up and fight like a man!". Baba is clawing the ear a chopping it. Fritz takes a huge bump over the top rope and crashes to the floor. They come back into the ring for the big finish run. This is just as nasty and scrappy as it had been the whole match. They are on the ground near the ropes trying to claw the other into submission. Fritz gets the CLAW~! on the ground! Baba ends up on the outside. He is sick and tired of this Claw business, he grabs a chair and crushes Fritz's Claw hand with two chair shots. He tries to bring the chair into the ring, but Fritz gets a hold of it and CROWNS HIM for the DQ! Great finish! An arm has to hold Fritz back and in the fracas, that official who had been bullied by Fritz, twisted Fritz's bad ear! Fucking ***** just for that! Incredible heel performance from Fritz! If you could make a Top 100 Greatest Wrestler Ever list based off one match this is the performance. He crushed it on offense, those punts, the build to the Claw and just being a jerk. Then on the flip side, I dont think anyone has sold so well for Baba. He made Baba look like a total monster. The energy was off the charts. Great brawl! Baba was terrific as the come from behind hero and avenging monster. Best Baba Match I have ever seen! I thought the finish was very satisfying as it paid off the Claw angle and the unhinged brawling nature of the match. It was match that went off the rails before the bell even rang and was pretty hanging onto the track throughout. Kickass. *****

United States Champion Johnny Valentine vs "Wild" Bull Curry - Houston 6/20/69 Two Out of Three Falls Johnny Valentine is billed as United States Champion, but I dont know which version. Apparently, Valentine injured Bull's son, Fred, so shit is personal. Bull Curry is an ugly mutha from Connecticut who looks like he could be my great uncle. Bull Curry is already 56 years old at the time of this bout! I was watching some video apparently from 1972 where they interviewed some Houston Wrestling fans. One older lady said "If Bull Curry can love as good as he fights, I would like to take him home". After watching this match, I gotta say if that woman was right and got her wish, she would have a helluva time! First Fall: Bull Curry is basically good at one thing, punching Valentine in the face. If you are going to only be good at one thing in pro wrestling make it punching people in the face. Valentine crowds up against the ropes so Bull pops him right in the jaw and Valentine is so good at selling. Valentine goes for a wristlock, whats Bull's solution to punch him in the face. Valentine is so great at clutching his jaw and selling like he is in there with a wild man. Valentine decided to grind this out with one of the most brutal, painful chinlocks you would ever see. This takes some starch out of Bull. Eventually Bull sees an opening and punches him in the gut. STAND & BANG! Johnny tries to throw hands with Bull, bad idea! Bull whups him! Johnny heads for the hills and behind the referee. This is as great as advertised. Johnny plays King of the Mountain. I think this is smart. Bull got his shine. Johnny tried to grind, Bull shined in that so now they have progressed to something new. Johnny slams him into the table. He drops The Hammer right in the mush! He keeps cutting Bull off at the pass and knocking him off the apron. Great stuff all around thus far. FIST FIGHT BREAKS OUT! Bull grabs the hair and just pounds Valentine into submission. Valentine takes a hard left jab right in the nose/cheek bone. Here comes a right! Valentine rips Bull to the ground and wrestles him down for a three count. Love the sudden finish. Bull is clearly pissed and out for blood. Valentine is here to win and retain. He squeaks out the fall. Second Fall: Johnny Valentine tries to press his advantage by throwing hands with Wild Bull, bad idea Johnny. LEFT JAB SQUARE IN THE MUSH! Bull just fucking tees off for the rest of the fall. I love bumping as much as the next guy. I think we have swung the pendulum too far in everyone bumps for everything, all the time (although my girl, Jade Cargill didnt bump except for once against Red Velvet recently so I have hope that she will do well). We could just use stand & bang stuff. Johnny is registering and selling here. He is selling on his feet. He is letting Bull do his thing which is throw wild haymakers. The facial expressions from Johnny are pitch perfect. Bull rains down the punches and busts Johnny open! YES! YES! YES! The whole Bull beating the shit out of Johnny and the way Johnny was telling the story with his eyes and you know any moment he would bump and finally that big punch lands and TIMMMMMBBBBBAAAAAAHHHHHH! Even Paul Boesch makes a Timber reference. Johnny Valentine cant answer the ten count and he loses the fall by TKO. If youre a fan of Lawler/Dundee, you gotta watch this! Third Fall: HOCKEY FIGHT! Bull has him backed into the corner, got the hair and teeing off. Ref just to break it and Bull pops him for good measure. Luckily this is not the finish. They brawl on the outside! Bull has a chair and slams Valentine. Of course it is a double countout. Bull ends up punching Danny McShane and the ref as they try to break it up. This match is for those who just love great punching. This is definitely a Memphis classic that just doesnt happen to take place in Memphis. What really elevates for me was Johnny Valentine's selling. He really ratcheted up the entertainment factor. Bull Curry was a crushing the brawling game. The finish takes it down from the super high highs but this is still a stand & bang classic. ****1/2

"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers vs Cyclone Anaya - Chicago Wrestling 1/5/51 Two Out of Three Falls After a Baba/Kiniski was looking for something different. "Nature Boy Buddy "I am Repugnant" Rogers" - Russ Davis making his presence early and often. Ouija boards existed in 1951?!?! He uses the term "Hornswoggle". First Fall: Entertaining bout, great application of holds, lots of struggle, good movement. Anaya worked the top wristlock a lot early. Buddy opted for the headlock using side headlock takedowns. Loved how hard it was for Anaya to apply the headscissors. Anaya was really good at arm dragging from the collar-elbow tieup position. Good split leg from Anaya, Rogers picks him up like a sack of potatoes and gets out of it. Nice move by Rogers at one point to evade an Anaya move by grabbing the ropes and little Peacock strut there, put a smile on my face. Rogers is tempted to bodyslam Anaya over the top rope, but thinks better of it, Russ lets us know that would've cost him. Buddy takes Anaya down with an ugly ass headscissors, but Buddy makes up for it with a stupendous hammerlock. Buddy works a helluva hammerlock as we close in on the 15 minute mark when Anaya makes the ropes. Nature Boy rips Anaya over with two of the most ferocious snap mares you will ever see, but into all the chaos, Anaya grabs an abdominal stretch and makes the heavy favorite submit to win the first fall. Anaya 1-0. Second Fall: Is very strong, really good stuff. You can see Rogers is more offensive here being down a fall. He blocks multiple takedowns from Anaya. Anaya goes back to the well immediately going for the abdominal stretch, but Roger immediately takes him down and works a wristlock. Anaya tries to work an arm drag takedown from a collar-elbow and Rogers just deadweights him and clamps on a tight bodyscissors. Great work in the bodyscissor morphs into a crucifix. Anaya ties him in a stepover toehold looking for a pin, it looks like he might have in a standing figure-4 but Russ accurately predicts that Rogers will trip and regain control and that is what happens as he moves into a calf-slicer. Cyclone starts to pick up the pace with some shoulder blocks and Rogers powders. Roger throws a couple cheapshots up against the ropes. Russ points out that these are the first roughhousing tactics we have seen thus far. Rogers slaps Anaya. Anaya is pissed starts to punch Rogers in a headlock. Anaya looks to be running away with this when Rogers NAILS a dropkick and a beauty. Two vicious snapmares and a brutal piledriver take the fall for the Nature Boy! Tied 1-1! Bravo! Third Fall: Anaya cannot respond to start the third fall so Rogers takes the fall by TKO. Tremendous finish! Really puts over the piledriver! Love it! Really enjoyed the matwork in this. Rugged, forceful and organic. Loved the Rogers block of the arm-drag directly into a bodyscissors. Really stood out to me. Rogers felt like a big time star. Anaya seemed like a solid babyface mechanic. Rogers' snapmares were terrific. The piledriver finish was tremendous. ***3/4

NWA International Champion Giant Baba vs Gene Kiniski - JWA 12/3/70 Two Out of Three Falls Kiniski has since lost the World Championship to Dory Funk Jr and it has been about three years and some change. Kiniski is already over 40! Big Thunder still looks great. First Fall: We lose about 5 minutes at the beginning. Kiniski works a sitting crucifix that I didnt find all that interesting. Lots of similar stuff to what we saw in the 1967. Attacking the windpipe although not as much throttling. Some really good heavy hands. The footage quality of this a lot higher so the sound is crisp. Baba stands and bangs with him and that sends Kiniski scurrying although he doesnt leap over the top rope like last time. Like last time he uses a little assplay to get Baba down at one point. It is a lot of figure-4s around the head. Baba loves to work from underneath and he is a great seller. The crowd is all over Kiniski for using leverage and the ref is all over Baba when Baba breaks a hold applies his own but Big Thunder is already in the ropes. At about the 15 minute mark, business picks up as Baba starts to build momentum. He gets a really nice, forceful, organic headscissors that popped me. He has him tied up in that. Baba's second headscissors is even better and it pops the crowd too! He gets a third headscissors. This match is pretty fucking boring otherwise. I have a lot of patience and high tolerance for matwork but it is not really going anywhere and it doesnt look good. It is a lot of them 69'ing each other for lack of a better term and getting one counts. The ref is pretty frustrating in this match as there is a clear time Kiniski has Baba in a banana split but the ref never counts do they never get any heat on the hold. There was another time this happens but I forget the details. Around the 30 minute mark, shit picks up, Baba slaps the piss out of Kiniski. Kiniski slashes with some nice chops. This is pretty heated. Baba DROPKICK! One count! Baba dropkick 1-2-3! Pretty boring first fall. Lets see if they can salvage this. Baba 1-0. Second Fall: A marked improvement. Kiniski works the armbar to start, Baba morphs that into his own abdominal stretch. I love how Kiniski sold for Baba as Baba stomped a hole in him. He really looked like he wanted no more. Baba goes for the ab stretch again, but too close the ropes. Baba is pouring it on. He goes for the Giant Chop, but Kiniski holds onto the ropes. Baba says no one makes him look like a fool and he ties Kiniski up in the ropes. He comes charging in like he is a Big E, but Big Thunder moves and GIANT BABA BASICALLY SUICIDE DIVES TO THE FLOOR WITH NO ONE TO CATCH HIM! HOLY SHIT WHAT A BUMP! That woke my ass up! I thought he would just eat the countout finish. Big Thunder hits the Bombs Away kneedrop from the apron. Shockingly, Baba beats the count but succumbs to the backbreaker. Alright that was much better. Tied 1-1. Third Fall: Another very good fall. Forget to mention Kiniski has Johnny Valentine with him and a blond wrestler. They congratulate him as he continues to attack Baba in between falls. Baba is in really bad shape. He starts the third fall down and Kiniski is just beating the tar out of him. Another backbreaker for two. Baba is fighting from his back and knees, but Kiniski is in the driver's seat. As expected, the hero, Baba builds some momentum and even a Big Boot. It looks like he is going to vanquish another foreign foe. When out of nowhere, Kiniski gets behind Baba and DRILLS HIM WITH BACK DROP DRIVER! Baba sells this like a million bucks. 1-2-3! WHAT THE FUCK NEW CHAMPION?!?! Ok, I was spoiled on this as I was looking up the International Title history for the Bobo Brazil match and saw Kiniski had won it. Brazil and Kiniski are the only two men that beat Baba for the title so this was pretty crazy. This is like the end of a Nitro as the crowd is throwing all their garbage into the ring. Surprisingly they do not riot. They just pelt Kiniski with garbage. Last two falls are much better but that first fall is a snorefest. ***

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Gene Kiniski vs NWA International Champion Giant Baba - JWA 8/14/67 Two Out of Three Falls Big Thunder won me over during Sam Muchnick's retirement ceremony. Quick-witted, funny man and ex-baseball star & announcer Joe Garagiola roasted Kiniski before having him come on. Kiniski said "Joe, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit" and then totally scorched for a couple minutes. That's when I became a fan of Big Thunder! First Fall: We are JIP 30 minutes maybe even 35 minutes in so I probably wont be able to rate this, but it looks like we have the back half of a 60 minute draw so I will check it out. This might be the only footage we have of Gene Kiniski as the World's Heavyweight Champion. Baba has a full nelson on Kiniski but he falls to his back and works a crucifix. great mat work. When Kiniski breaks free, awesome attacks on the knee and the windpipe. Really liked those stomps heeling it up. Immediately, Kiniski looks like a better athlete than Bruno in terms of coordination. Good strikes and moves well. GIANT CHOP! BIG BOOT! 1-2-3! Baba up I believe 1-0! That could have been the second fall. I'll update this if I am wrong. Second Fall: This was the Kiniski revenge fall. JIP to a Kiniski hammerlock. They stand up. Stand & Bang. Kiniski literally runs away and hops over the top rope. Kiniski goes for a little assplay, that cheeky devil, that brings Baba down to the mat. Kiniski goes full bore heel with a ton of choking, knee on the throat, figure-4 the head. Baba gets in his hope spots, but Kiniski is cutting him off with cheap shots. Kinski chucks him in the crowd. They dont do too much. I liked the finish a lot. BIG THUNDER GOES UP TOP! a pair of Bombs Away Kneedrops! As called by the announcer! Best part was before the second one a fan hopped on the apron and tried to shake the top rope! The heat! Kiniski takes the second fall! Tied 1-1. Third Fall: Here come the bombs! I love how organically Baba applies a reverse waistlock into an Atomic Drop. Then theres a proto-Dangerous Back Drop Driver by Kiniski! Kiniski works in a nice comedy spot getting table topped by Baba. Lots of strikes go flying. Kiniski is choking and cheating. Baba is pressing trying to win the World Championship. Curious finish as Kiniski hits a nice, nasty backbreaker on Baba. He goes for the Bombs Away Kneedrop again and has fight off a fan. Baba catches him coming off the top in a headlock. As time expires it is Kiniski beating down Baba. Weird usually the babyface is winning at the end of regulation and leaves you feeling robbed. WAIT! What's this? They are signaling for FIVE...MORE...MINUTES! Doesnt matter if it is 1967 or 2017 that shit is always over! Five More Minutes: Excellent! BABA DROPKICK! WHAT A SELL BY BIG THUNDER! BABA FELLS THE OAK WITH A GIANT CHOP! 1-2NOOOO! I AM LOSING MY MIND 55 YEARS AFTER THE FACT! KINISKI STARTS CROWDING IN THE APRON! BOOOOOO! BACKBREAKER! FUCK NO! NOT THIS WAY! SOME FAN GET UP THEIR STOP HIM! BOMBS AWAY! FUCK NO! CMON BABA! BIG THUNDER SCALES THE TOP ROPE! BOMBS AWAY! BABA MOVED! BABA MOVED! BABA MOVED! GO BABA GO! GET EM BABA! HE'S GOING FOR THE LEG! KINISKI IS ROLLING INTO A BALL! DONT GIVE UP! BOSTON CRAB! NO SINGLE LEG CRAB! THERE'S A NUCLEAR MELTDOWN GOING ON! WE ARE ALL COLLECTIVELY LOSING OUR SHIT! TAP! TAP! TAP! CMON BABA! THE BELL RINGS! SOME FAN JUMPS IN THE RING! THE REF HAS HIS FIST COCKED & LOADED! I FUCKING LOVE PRO WRESTLING! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! DAMN I CANT BELIEVE DIDNT WIN THE WORLD TITLE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN FUCKING BITCHIN AS FUCK! ~**** too much cut out to rate it, but fuck watch this shit!

NWA International Champion Giant Baba vs WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino - JWA 8/7/68 Been about a year & half since these two hooked it up. They have good chemistry lets see what they got in store for us this year. First Fall: Bruno dominated on the mat for the first five or so minutes. Worked the arm, hammerlocks, wristlocks, you know the deal. Baba's has some serious fillings going on. As a man with many fillings due to the witch doctor as a teenager, I notice these things. Baba is such a great seller. Baba starts to target the leg. I have not seen the Kiniski or Fritz matches, but this is the first time I have seen serious long-term body part psychology in Japan. Bruno sold really well throughout the fall, hobbling and limping. Baba went back to it repeatedly, wrenching the knee across the apron. Big Boot! I thought for sure that was the finish, got me good. Bruno comes back attacks the arm. I love that Bruno is always moving forward. They trained their babyfaces well in New York back in the day. Baba attacks the leg again. It looked like Baba had all the momentum on his side when all of sudden Bruno literally whipped Baba from pillar to post. Then hung him up in a modified Argentine Backbreaker. I say modified because Baba is literally a Giant, he did not get the waistlock on properly instead it more like he had Baba hooked for a Backslide but didnt go for the backslide if that makes any sense. Fun little fall. Like Bruno's tenacity and Baba's selling. Bruno 1-0. Second Fall: Explosive Second Fall! Bruno immediately lunges for the Bearhug, but Baba retaliates with a GIANT CHOP~! Honestly, this is my favorite aspect of Baba vs Bruno, Giant Chop vs Bearhug! Baba is fighting from his back and throwing chops and kicks wildly to stave off the charging headlong Bruno who is going for the kill with the Bearhug. Giant Chop is a great false finish. Mega Dropkick! 1-2-3! It is all knotted up. This is shaping up to be my favorite of the trilogy. Lets see if they can take it home in grand fashion! Tied 1-1. Third Fall: YES THEY DID! Awesome fall to complete an awesome match! Baba goes back to the leg which I liked a lot. I think that explains Bruno's dogged determination for the Bearhug in the second fall. He knew he was hurt and wanted to go in for the kill and make it a clean sweep. Great offensive work from Baba. While Bruno's defense was great here with the bolo punches and the knees. What really put this over the top for me was the excellent King of the Mountain Bruno did here. Baba was surrounded by the young boys trying to get back in and Bruno keeps knocking back with those knees. Finally Baba CHOPS his way back in! We get the bitchin' finish! Baba dropkicks Bruno out of the ring! Remember the dropkick won the second fall so it is explosive move. They brawl into the crowd! Baba crowns him with a chair! YES! YES! YES! Countout victory for the national hero! I would say I'd like the Dick The Bruiser match just a frog's hair more just a little more violence but these two are neck & neck for 1968 match of the year. ****1/4

NWA International Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba vs WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino - JWA 3/7/68 2 out of 3 Falls This is less than a week after their first match which was worked in a Clash of the Titans style. Bruno won the first fall with an excellent bearhug and Baba won the second fall in a rousing comeback using the big chop to the head. The third fall was a big melee as Bruno was dogged in try to use the bearhug and Baba was using the Big Chop to break free. First Fall: This is worked very much in the NWA Championship style but with two people who dont have much flair on the mat. I would say for the most part Baba has the upper hand working an assortment of armbars, wristlocks and hammerlocks. When Bruno does try things, he ends up getting bodyslammed, monkey flipped or bieled for his troubles. There is an amusing moment when they both try arm drags and they both fall down. Bruno finally starts to get something going with a Full Nelson and gets a cover. From there, he is able to take more control again with an assortment of armbars, wristlock and hammerlocks. Shortly before the 20 minute mark, Baba revs up and just kicks Bruno ass, whipping him into the ropes and throwing him around at will. Giant Chop and a kneedrop and Baba picks up a very pedestrian, run of the mill first fall. Baba 1-0. Second Fall: Much better than first fall. It revolves around Bruno working the arm of Baba tenaciously. This is much better because Baba has such skinny, little arms that it looks like Bruno could snap them at any moment. Plus Baba is much better working underneath and selling. His face told the story of anguish. He was really good. Lastly, they would work hope spots in the arm work that Baba would break free, come up short and FINALLY he would get the headlock. The first time the crowd and I popped huge. They worked the exact same sequence again to diminishing returns. Again they kick the wheels into motion. In some rope running, Bruno applies the dreaded Bearhug! GIANT CHOP TO HEAD! Baba bodyslams Bruno. He goes again, but Bruno leaps up and topples Baba with a crossbody for three. Much more entertaining fall. Tied 1-1. Third Fall: They sure made up for those first two languid falls, they WENT BALLS TO THE WALL HERE! It was twenty minutes of non-stop action. 2020s workrate has nothing on 60s workrate they fucking let it fly. If you JIP'd to the third fall, you'd be duped into this was a great match. The third fall was build around made their last third fall great the Bearhug vs The Giant Chop. What took to the next level was the tenacity of both men! Bruno was just lunging at every chance to apply the Bearhug. He would do it traditionally, he would do it from behind, he would do it from his knees, he would do it on the mat, he did it everywhere! If Baba let his guard down, Bruno was wrapping his arms around him. Nobody sells the Bearhug as well as Baba! When he was not using the Bearhug, he was throwing these awesome uppercut closed fists and WICKED knees! Baba was using the Giant Chop so well and then also mixing in kneelifts sometimes it looked precariously low and well-timed rope breaks. No will confuse these two for the deepest arsenals, they definitely repeated spots, they did double knockdown on the shouldertackle three times. They made it up for intensity. Baba was fighting from his back and knees, throwing chop and kicks to keep Bruno at bay. He would catch a Giant Chop or Big Boot but couldnt get the three count. Really enjoyable, not much in the way of psychology or narrative, but they made up for it in intensity and you totally bought in how bad each man wanted to win. I cant go higher than ***3/4 when the first two falls (35 minutes) were such a snorefest.

Not surprised you all on SC are pretty thorough. Glad people are aware. I will dig in after I finish 60s Japan.

Not pictured in the above picture, that Verne tag is a double feature, Thesz vs Bronko Nagurski is on the back end of that video.

Were people aware Chicago Film Archives after being dormant for years uploaded more footage in this past year...2 ladies' matches, a Thesz Match, a Hans Schmidt, and Verne Gagne match?

NWA International Champion Bobo Brazil vs Giant Baba - JWA 6/27/68 Somebody needs to do a documentary on Bobo Brazil! World Heavyweight Champion in Los Angeles when that mattered, Top Babyface Draw/Champion in Detroit at the peak of Detroit and Champion in Japan even if it was only for two days is a big deal. I would love to know more about him. First Fall: Very elementary. JIP to a bearhug. Bobo works a hold, Baba revs the crowd up with a comeback, Bobo goes back to a hold. Bobo's holds are bearhug, a leg lace and a sleeper/choke. Baba's best offensive work is going after Bobo's leg after the leg lace and just stomping it to smithereens. I loved Baba's selling. That really made the holds look a lot better especially on the choke. Three Coco Butts! That's all she wrote. Baba 1-0 This is not an indictment on them but something I have noticed in a lot of this 60s footage, are we sure long-term selling had been innovated yet? Like is it even a thing? If you follow pro wrestling to its logical conclusion which is to build a narrative then long term selling makes sense. If you think of pro wrestling as a simulation of combat then it does not, which is why in shoot-style there's very little long-term selling. Are we sure they were even thinking in the mindset of long-term selling & narrative-building? This applies to everything I have watched so far in the 60s. Second Fall: Baba comes out roaring and goes after that leg again. That's pretty funny after what I just wrote, but Brazil again sells it in the moment, but not ever again, which is a point favor of my assertion in fall one. Brazil works a hammerlock. Baba comes back with a ton of chops. Dropkick 1-2-NO! Is it 1968 or 1998? You can see Baba's propensity of nearfalls and repeating finishers in high stakes matches all the way back to 1968! Very cool. Two more dropkicks! The trio of dropkicks just like the trio of Coco Butts fells the giant. That's another thing I knew Bobo was big, but he is a giant! He is just as big as Baba. That's impressive! Tied 1-1. Third Fall: What a finish! Brazil hits a pair of bodyslams to open the fall, but cannot negotiate the pinfall. I love how the crowd pops for Baba reversal of a headlock into a hammerlock, simpler times! GIANT CHOP! Brazil catches air on the flat back! 1-2-NO! Big Boot! Brazil comes back with a pair shouldertackles. On third, Baba dropdown, tabletops him and Brazil goes careening into the ropes and GETS HIS HEAD CAUGHT IN THE ROPES! WOW! In 1968 couldnt believe it! Kinda silly finish as the ref counts Brazil out and awards the match & championship to Baba! Crowd is thrilled and throws their seat cushion into the ring as the physical manifestation of their joy & exuberance. I noticed this in a prior Baba match but forgot to mention it. I think this is a much more fun and not to mention safer way to express your joy than throwing chairs into the ring like in ECW. I liked the finish a lot. Its elementary, but everything made sense and the finish to each fall was awesome. ***1/2

NWA International Tag Team Champions Da Crusher & Dick The Bruiser vs Giant Baba & Antonio Inoki - JWA 8/13/69 Two Out Of Three Falls My boys are the fucking champs! They had won it two days prior to this. First Fall: We are JIP but it is like 30-60 seconds into the match based on the match times we have. The majority of the match is face in peril. The Bruiser is working over Inoki. It is really hard to tell Bruiser and Crusher apart especially from the back. Bruiser doesnt have as good of a body even though Crusher is three years older. Crusher would have been 43 at time, looks like a million bucks. Crusher was in his late 50s in the 80s, what the fuck! That's crazy, he is awesome in that tag w/Greg against the Sheiks in the Cage. Baba gets in and stands & bangs with Crusher. Crusher with a surprising single leg pickup into a stepover toehold. Bruiser comes in and works the same hold. Bruiser is slightly dirtier. He always takes the time to throw in that extra boot scrape or eye rake which I like. Baba breaks free. Inoki comes in, right back to face in peril. Bruiser looks like he is going to slam Inoki, but carries him over to Crusher who nails him with the knuckledusters from the Baba matches. He plays to the fans well, making very sure everyone sees him put in back in his tights. Plays off the ref well. It is wicked confusing what happens in the finish to the first fall. One of the times, I wish I understood Japanese. A melee breaks out on the floor and it looks like a double countout to me, but the ref awards the fall to Inoki & Baba. I agree with Crusher & Bruiser, that looked like home cooking to me. B-I Cannon 1-0 Second Fall: Another short fall. Begins with Crusher & Bruiser beating the tar out of Inoki. The hot tag to Baba does not really feel earned, just felt like Crusher stopped trying. Baba is in and raring to go. Crusher wallops him with the knuckledusters but Baba no sells and pries the knuckles out of his hand! Baba plays to the crowd and COLD COCKS CRUSHER! ALL THE STARS! That just paid off all the Baba/Crusher matches so well! I am so glad Baba finally got a hold of the knuckles and used them against Crusher! BABA DROPKICK! Which seems like his finish. Bruiser breaks that fall up and the next fall involving the Big Boot. Tag into the bloody Inoki from all the knuckles shot, Abdominal Stretch, but Bruiser breaks it up. B-I Cannon gets smart to this. Baba detains Bruiser and Inoki makes Crusher submit to the Abdominal stretch to win back the Tag Team Titles! Not quite dream match levels I had in my head, but fun and Baba getting the knuckledusters from Crusher after watching the last two matches made it worth it. ***1/2

NWA International Champion Giant Baba vs Da Crusher - JWA 1/3/68 Single Fall, No Holds Barred? The rematch from the excellent, dirty brawl from December. I was surprised this match was single fall and I am almost positive it is some sort of No Holds Barred, Death Match. I know the refs in Japan are extremely lenient but the one surefire trigger for DQ is when a wrestler attacks the ref and we see that here and Crusher is still not disqualified so I am like 99% positive it is no disqualification. I thought this match was even better than their previous effort and on par with the Dick The Bruiser match which happens about a month after this. This match is just as dirty and bloody as the previous match but I thought they built to a bigger crescendo in this one. I really liked the opening where Crusher is back into the ropes, does not give a clean break, lands a shot on Baba and Baba FIRES RIGHT BACK! Crusher complains to the ref he didnt get a clean break. Excellent heeling. Crusher goes for the eyes on the lock-up and Baba attacks the eyes on the next one! Crusher complains again! Awesome! Crusher goozles Baba and then steps on the throat so Baba retaliates with Chops to the ear. He literally yanks Crusher by the ear and then chops him in the ear repeatedly. Crusher sells this well. The action spills to outside, but we get a clip to a bearhug then Baba uses a knee to break. They spend most of the rest of the match brawling on the outside which is fine by me. Crusher tries to trap Baba's head in the apron skirt. Baba breaks free, does the same thing to Crusher and just punches him in the head. This match is the best payback match ever. Crusher gets the upper hand on the outside only for Baba to throw a seat cushion at him! Bitchin'! Crusher is pissed. He grabs some sort of rope/cord and chokes Baba with it! The ref is right there which is why I think this is No DQ. Baba then does the bulldog headlock into the ring post to bust Crusher open! Crusher goes into the tights and bloodies Baba with knuckledusters. Baba is bleeding profusely and so good at selling He keeps them on and just wallops Baba. The ref refuses to count and Crusher goes all '97 Macho Man on him, cold cocking him and ripping his shirt. I am a mark for ref abuse so I love this. Crusher KOs Baba but there's no ref! Baba tabletops Crusher who takes a huge bump to the floor. Bodyslam on the floor by bloody Baba, Atomic Stomp from the apron! BIG DROPKICK! Ref is back in! 1-2-3! Baba wins! Awesome babyface vs heel brawl, Baba fought fire with fire, never a dull moment, they ripped into each other, Crusher got meaner and more vicious as the match went on and Baba's selling and comeback were awesome! ****1/4

It is time for the FIFTH Season of Pro Wrestling Love and as always I think my guests are the biggest hook to listen as this time I have none other than @PeteF3 of right here on the PWO! Pete kicks ass in the Yearbook threads and throughout this board and I was so happy to talk to him for hours and hours about the Best Matches from the WWF between 1988-1997. The first episode looks at our #25-#21, but there is so much more! We are proof positive that there is hope that we can all get along as Pete is a Buckeye (Booooooo!) and I am a Wolverine (Lets Go Blue!) and we never came to blows! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-tzv3j-100c956

NWA International Champion Giant Baba vs Da Crusher - JWA 12/6/67 Two Out Of Three Falls My new favorite genre is Giant Baba vs. Midwestern blue collar, barroom brawlers. This was a total no holds barred, knock down, drag out fight. There are two holds in the whole match and maybe two moves, it is just asskicking, rip roaring brawling. I didnt think it was quite as heated and intense as Dick The Bruiser's match with Baba, but this was still pretty damn good. I see there is a Baba & Inoki vs Crusher/Bruiser match that Im hyped for and that this is building to a rematch. First Fall: On the first lockup, Crusher goes for the eyes and that sets the tone for the whole match. There are no takedowns. Crusher did a couple dirty headlocks where he wrenched, went for the eyes and throat as the only holds. This was dirty and filthy as it gets. Baba didnt take shit lying down. After a couple dirty lockups & dirty headlocks, Baba just started jabbing and thumbing the eyes right back. For people that like babyface fighting fire with fire this match is for you. Baba gets just as low-down and dirty as Crusher. They spill to the outside they brawl, a chair or a bench gets slammed. I loved the finish. Crusher PUNTS Baba in the balls in plain view of the ref, bodyslams him and Brusier-esque atomic knee/stomp for the first fall. So there was two more moves in that fall. Great stuff! Crusher 1-0. Second Fall: In the break, Crusher is hitting the double bicep flex, Crusher looks like million bucks and is stomping Baba in the break. Baba comes ROARING back! I love how heels when they realize they have done gone fucked up as Baba is just SMACKING them around. It spills to the outside. Baba really loves the Bulldog headlock ram into the post, I thought that was going to be the finish, but he aint done he comes back and chops the cut! Baba hits a big boot only gets two and it is a big time dropkick that gets three. This was awesome comeback fall. Baba is such a great come from behind wrestler. Tied 1-1 Third Fall: Baba continues the asskicking until he crashes and burns on the dropkick. Crusher, who is bleeding like a stuck pig now, reaches down into his tight pulls out a pair of knuckledusters and blows Baba away. DOUBLE JUICE! Both men end up STANDING & BANGING! Crusher punching up into the cut and Baba chopping down. They do a good countout tease where Crusher slams Baba's head into the announce table. Titles can change hands on countout in Japan so that had some heat to it. Baba's bowing up, bring it on gesture back in the ring made the crowd and me come alive! Crusher went back to the knux to get the advantage Baba sold great. Ref refuses to count. Crusher beats Baba to a bloody pulp. When the ref tries to intervene, Crusher rips his shirt and throws him out of the ring to trigger the DQ. Awesome third fall to set up the rematch. Double juice, stand up brawl with ballshots, chops to the head and brass knuckles what more do you want? ****

NWA International Champion Giant Baba vs Dick The Bruiser - JWA 2/28/68 Two Out Of Three Falls HOLY SHIT! This match fucking rocked! After watching basically 12 discs of Dick The Bruiser from St. Louis Wrestling at the Chase from 1978-1981 I can tell you there is a lot that is endearing about Dick The Bruiser but absolutely none of it is due to his wrestling. I asked Twitter if he was the first rulebreaker to be presented as a babyface, but Twitter came back and said it was most likely "Wild" Bill Longson. He is just this great blue collar everyman who takes no shit. I love his hoarse, gravel-gargled voice, it sounds like he exhales a pound of sawdust when he speaks. I desperately wanted to find that awesome Dick The Bruiser match but it just wasnt possible from the time period I was watching. I got really excited at the prospect of Bruiser vs Baba in 1968 and it delivered in spades. Baba rules and this has become so clearly evident. His selling in the 1960s is otherworldly on par with Steamboat and Morton. He totally snaps in this match and delivers an asskicking. Also this is the first match I have watched recently that I felt followed a more typical psychological layout. A lot of the JWA matches I was watching felt too workrate-y, noisy, just a lot of shit that was not really connected. This felt more what I was accustomed to while also being a chaotic brawl. First Fall: We are JIP about 4 minutes in because we hear the 5 minute time call about a minute later. Oh at the start of the video they show some sort of press conference where The Bruiser in a suit with a huge ass stoggie rips a poster of Baba. I love it! They are working beautiful dueling psychology. Baba is working an absolute clinic on the arm. Great arm wrenches and attacks. Baba's knee is bandaged. Bruiser goes to that whenever he gets into trouble. Bruiser has pitbull tenacity which I love. He hits the Atomic Stomp on the knee and then executes a Single Leg Crab. The ref is asking him to break which confuses me, but it is because Baba has submitted. Baba LOVES working underneath and he is so adept at it. DB Up 1-0! Second Fall: Bruiser is fucking with the top turnbuckle. It turns out he has the tag rope, but it looks like a steel cord. He plays hide the foreign object before choking Baba in the corner and then punching Baba with it. I am officially residing in MARKOUT CITY! BRUISER BITES THE BAD KNEE! HE GOES FULL MIKE TYSON! ALL THE STARS IN THE SKY ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR THIS MATCH! Baba selling the bad knee is so good needs to be seen to be believed. Baba just starts SMACKING BRUSIER AROUND! Giant smacks to the head. Fuck you KNIFE-EDGE CHOPS RIGHT TO THE FACE! I love how Brusier will not let go of the knee and drags him out. Brusier still has the foreign object and Baba just fucking has pry him off by hitting him really hard in the face! Baba bulldogs Brusier into the ring post. Bruiser blades on camera and loses by countout. Tied 1-1. This match rules. Third Fall: Brusier is pissed and grabs a chair! Baba tussles with him and is pissed at all this bullshit that Bruiser has been trying to pull. BABA SNAPS~! He chokes the shit out of Brusier with an electrical cord. RAUCOUS MAYHEM! The ref finally rings the bell for the third fall when they are both in the ring. BABA SEES RED AND JUST CHOKES THE SHIT OUT OF HIM WITH HIS BARE FUCKING HANDS WITH BLOOD STREAMING DOWN BRUISER'S FACE! BRUISER KICKS THE BAD KNEE! Bruiser bites the bad knee again! Baba will not be denied; chops, chops, chops! Brusier tries to go for the Single Leg Crab again, but ends up tumbling to the floor. They brawl at ringside and Baba throws him in the chairs. BABA SLAMS HIM HEAD FIRST INTO THE POST! GIANT CHOP~! 1-2-3! Greatly exceeded my expectations! We are missing the first four minutes of a 20 minute match...I dont think I can go higher than ****1/4 in good conscience, but this rocked so hard. The great Dick The Brusier match has been found! Baba combined an excellent selling performance with a badass, asskicking comeback!

NWA International Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba vs WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino - JWA 3/2/67 Two Out of Three Falls Cagematch says this was only for Baba's International Heavyweight Championship, but Bruno comes out strapped up so it is unclear to me. I am pretty excited to see Bruno in his prime. Two of the biggest stars in the history of pro wrestling! Clash of The Titans! Huge fight feel! Feels like a real worlds collide match! First Fall: Bruno can wrestle! He is aggressive to start. In the pre-match interview, a lot is made about Baba's size. It could be a case that a good offense is a good defense and Bruno would rather dictate the pace. You see Baba bodyslam or shove off in these holds. No one is gonna confuse Bruno with Dory or Jack but he is adequate. Baba likes to fight from underneath which is an interesting decision, but he makes it work. He is a great sympathetic babyface even with his size. I didnt think Bruno was too heelish in the first fall. They trade full nelsons at one point. Bruno uses his patented Bearhug which looked great especially how Baba sold it for the finish to the first fall. Bruno up 1-0. I was surprised Bruno won clean in the first fall. Second Fall: As customary, this is the shorter fall. We get some crowding in the corner and even some dirty boxing from Bruno. Baba is left clutching his back from the Bearhug. Bruno locks it in close to a corner and the ref forces the break. Here comes Baba! Big HEAVY Hands from The Giant! Love his chops. They are like half-Garvin, half-Liger, but from a Behemoth! There is a great overhead chop when Bruno is on his knees that the crowd pops huge for. I thought that would be the finish, but no Baba sends him for the ride and it is JUMPING CHOP TO THE HEAD FOR THE WIN! Tied 1-1! Third Fall: Is built around each man's respective finish and I loved that psychology. Bruno would keep locking in the Bearhug and Baba would keep crowning Bruno with a wicked big chop. It was so simple and so damn effective. It is only 4 minutes but is so BIG and Titantic befitting these two international superstars. Baba started off pressing his advantage. Crowding Bruno in the corner felling the powerhouse with chops and then repeatedly stomping him when he was down in the corner. Massive boot from Baba pops me huge! Bruno comes and drives his knee into Baba's head repeatedly. He steps on Baba's throat repeatedly really heeling it up now. Goes for the cover and gets two. Bruno drives the knee into Baba's back, kicks to the back, double axehandles to the injured back. Baba is such a great seller. BEARHUG! Great sell! BIG CHOP TO THE HEAD! Bearhug won the first fall for Bruno and the Chop to head won the second fall for Baba! Bodyslam by Bruno as he keeps pressing but only gets two. Great fight over the BEARHUG! Two times in a row Bruno tries for the Bearhug and each time Baba chops the head. Then Baba rolls to the apron. Bruno does the Bearhug through the ropes! I love the tenacity! Chop to the Head! Baba is selling like a million bucks. Baba collapses to the floor. It is a double countout finish to set up the big rematch in less than a week. Bruno gives a promo saying that Baba is not a real champion because he does not finish the match in the ring, he is weak and is coward, basically. That third fall took what I thought was a very good match and made it a great match! Baba's selling was next level and really drove the match for me. Bruno not to be outdone his tenacity was awesome! Looking forward to their one hour broadway! ****1/4

Running a little behind schedule...work was a bear last week and totally blanked on hyping my show...last week's Pro Wrestling Love was the Season Finale with @dawho5 thanks Mike for joining me! We are count down our Top 5 Best matches to take place in Japan between 2000-2009. Mike & I agree on the best match! Do you? Let us know! What did we miss? What did we have too high? Too low? Let us know! https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-jh2h7-fd5d70

WWA World Heavyweight Champion Toyonobori vs The Destroyer - JWA 2/26/65 Two Out Of Three Falls There is a little title controversy here. This WWA Championship is the Los Angeles version of the World Championship not to be confused with Dick The Bruiser's Indianapolis promotion. On top of that, Toyonobori is the reigning & defending champion according to JWA but LA did not recognize this. This led to a weird split where Pedro Morales won the championship from The Destroyer and "Crazy" Luke Graham won it from Toyonobori then I guess Pedro defeated Graham to sync it back up. First Fall: I think a lot of how much you like the Destroyer is predicated on how much you like his schtick. I would posit that a lot of the novelty is that he is a masked man known for his technical abilities but he is out there hootin' & hollerin' talking a lot of trash in 1965. All those things combined make for a very novel act when viewing through 21st Century eyes. There are people that do trash talk well filed under Henry, Mark. As much as I love verbal selling, actual talking in coherent sentences is usually a turn off for me. It can come off as inorganic and forced. Doing it for the sake of doing it. My personal jury is out on that aspect of The Destroyer. Toyonobori I dont know much about and I should have done some research first. He is a stocky, bare-foot fellow. The first 15 minutes of the match is worked around an arm stretcher (or arm puller). Destroyer is complaining about mask pulls at the start. I liked that Toyonobori swept Destroyer's head on a bridge with his right foot. I am a mark for sweeps and I enjoyed that a lot. Basic premise is Destroyer almost gets out and gets pulled back down. When he does get free, Toyonobori uses an Oo-soto-gari for 3-4 occasions to bring him back down into the same hold. I would predict that we are moving out of the arm-stretcher now. The last escape was Destroyer made it to the ropes and was barking at the ref about counting to five and breaking the hold faster. This feels like a complete reset. That reminds me if you enjoy Destroyer trash talk probably the most memorable spot is when stands up in the arm-stretcher forcing Toyonobori's shoulders down and yells "Count 1-2-3!". Again this reminds me of 21st Century heeling as he did this in the Inoki match I watched. I am still forming my opinion. He is not a slam dunk, love at first sight wrestler like Dick Murdoch or Yoshiaki Fujiwara. They actually do go back to the arm-stretcher to both my surprise and chagrin (I have a lot of patience, but it was wearing thin). Destroyer is using more boot scrapes and seems to be angling for the Figure-4. As he was about to apply the Figure-4 while stepping on Toyonobori's head, Toyonobori pulls the mask of Destroyer to take him down. This leads to an amusing visual. Destroyer uses a combination of boot scrapes and eye pokes to gain the advantage. Then it is a flurry of knee lifts and the Tree of Woe that do Toyonobori in. Not the most climatic finish to the first fall. Toyonobori's camp and the referee accuse Destroyer of those knees being a little low. Destroyer's retort is "I have never hit a man below the belt, what do you think my name is Blassie?" popped me huge. Alright, Destroyer fans I think he has won me over. That was fucking awesome! Second Fall: Longer second fall than traditionally. Toyonobori gets a modicum of revenge in a firefight in the corner that leads to a biel by him. Destroyer goes to the Surfboard Test of Strength. The Puroresu fascination with Surfboard started early. I like tests of strength spots so I am all for it. Would like to see it make a comeback nowadays. Destroyer ends up on the losing end and goes to the ropes. Destroyer works a Short Arm Scissors next, which I love. Plenty of hootin' & hollerin' and shenanigans like the ol shin across the throat while barking at the ref. Toyonobori plucks at the mask. Toyonobori gets his foot on the ropes, but Destroyer is being purposefully obtuse asserting this his elbow to the side is not illegal, but the ref is really trying to break for the ropes. Destroyer sneaks in a knee. Toyonobori is finally pissed. Destroyer looks funny with his mask and doing the 'ol Timeout spot. Toyonobori asskicking levels dont get to where I want them to be. I want a Garvin or a Hashimoto that just tears through this asshole and we dont get that. Destroyer is outside complaining about something. What a blowhard! He wants the ref to raise his hand for some reason there was a sleeper/choke in the ropes, maybe thats it. Shut the fuck up and wrestle. A real slam, bang finish stretch. Bodyslam, backbody drop and Boston Crab dead center in the ring for the submission victory for Toyonobori. I think The Destroyer is entertaining but flirts with annoying. He definitely does not get to the intensity level I want in my pro wrestling. Needed to go to Mass, prayed for Destroyer & Toyonobori as they have both passed. Got me some Chipotle and I am ready to finish this bad boy. Third Fall: Destroyer is cowering in the corner. I checked Cagematch and it said the match is a 60 minute draw. We dont have the complete match then. I think we are missing 8-10 minutes of the third fall. Unless they are counting the breaks in between falls as a part of the time. Nice Greco-Roman takedown from the Destroyer out of a bearhug. Lots of leg grappling near the ropes. Toyonobori wrenches the Destroyer's leg across the apron. Destroyer takes two of the Ray Stevens/Ric Flair Flips in the corner which were highlights. The heat was off the charts when Toyonobori went for the Boston Crab at this point. I thought this was the climax of the fall. The wrestling kinda petered out after that. Destroyer bodyslams Toyonobori on the fall. Drops the knee from the apron. The countout tease was pretty good there. Toyonobori has the Full Nelson on Destroyer stomps his bare feet and the bell rings signaling time has expired. Definitely not the best one hour draw I have ever seen. There are amusing parts to it. I like camp in wrestling and I like clowning. Destroyer has not really done it for me yet besides that one quip about Blassie that popped me. Toyonobori didnt quite bring the fire like I wanted him to. He would slug him here and there and I would be excited, he's really going to rip into him, but never happens. Baba and Inoki have much more charisma than him. I did look up his Wiki and it is extremely interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyonobori I highly recommend it. He was basically the second banana after Rikidozan. When Rikidozan died, he took over as the top star. It sounds like there was a power play and Baba took over as the top star expelling him. Then Toyonobori became affiliated with the first rival promotion to JWA, IWA. He was also a Rikishi in Sumo, which I kinda figure since he was bare foot. Baba & Inoki are the more interesting wrestlers so not surprised he was supplanted even if sucked for him. It was an alright match which is fine to say after 20 minutes or so, but after an hour that is damning with faint praise. ***

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk Jr vs Giant Baba - JWA 12/3/69 Two Out of Three Falls Junior had been World Champion for almost a year at this point having defeated "Big Thunder" Gene Kiniski in Tampa, Fl. First Fall: Big Match Atmosphere. Dory Funk is 28 years old and Baba is 31 years old and they are in their prime. I think thats the weird thing about analyzing Dory & Baba is that if youre looking at the 80s footage only they are already in their 40s! They are really late 60s/70s wrestlers and need to be evaluated on that basis. It is cool we have this match. For Baba, it really makes a light year's difference watching this. You see Baba has the charisma and the psychology in the 80s, but he is a bit too gentle, awkward, and stilted for me. In the 60s, the dude was a rockstar, athletics and an amazing sympathetic babyface, which seems so counter-intuitive but it just works. Junior has someone in a Ten Gallon hat, I am assuming it is Terry but I cant get a good look at him. Baba works a seven-ten split standing Toehold. Baba lands a wicked overhand slap. This aint 80s Baba. Junior works out of it and they tussle in the corner. Dory bars the arm and then works a Short Arm Scissors, one of my favorite holds. Baba is so good selling and struggling in the hold. Baba goes back to the toehold and then morphs into a single leg crab. Dory comes out swinging. He can NOT negotiate the Butterfly Suplex twice and even the Spinning Toehold is too difficult to apply to Baba because he is do damn big. Baba kicks off forcefully and Junior powders. I get a good look at the man in the Ten Gallon hat. God it looks like Terry, but he looks older than Dory then it hits me IS THAT SENIOR?!?! I looked up Wiki, yep I am 99% sure it Dory Sr. based on pictures and the fact he didnt die until 1973. That must have a cool experience for father-son to get travel the world and get to watch his kid wrestle as the World Champion. I have never seen Senior before; I marked out. Baba comes out roaring with a Sleeper...Senior says that's his hold, fight it. Dory does fight it, but Baba is dogged and Baba lands his patented neckbreaker drop to win the first fall to a big pop! Baba 1-0. Apparently, there was a ten minute cut at some point, I didnt even notice. Second Fall: As is customary, this is a short fall. Baba builds off the momentum of the first fall. He is just slicing and dicing Junior. Chops, big boots, really doing him. Dory is throwing wild punches missing by a mile, great bump off the bottom rope came right back up and fed Baba. Baba goes for the chop, Dory puts on the breaks and heads for the hill. His Dad tries to coach him up. It works at Dory is tenacious going for the Spinning Toehold. After two failed attempts this fall, the third time is the charm and it takes about half a dozen rotations to get the Giant to submit. Effective, exciting fall that got the Spinning Toe hold over. I love that Dory Sr. on the break looks to check on Baba only to nonchalantly step on the bad leg. Great heeling and leads to some garbage flying. Third Fall: This would not look out of place at all in 2021. The more things change, the more they stay the same. It is total slam, bang, bombfest, light on selling/consequence/reaction just more workrate and there is even a table. There is a very obvious cut. Baba is on fire here with the Sleeper and Surfboard. Senior is barking not to give up, the time limit is almost up. I love Senior being held back but scoops up his son's leg to break up the surfboard. The ref I thought ejected Senior, but I see him later. The Cobra Clutch Baba used had the most heat of all "the nearfalls" I think thats when the crowd and myself believed Baba had the best chance to pull this off. Dory goes to the eyes. The first time was cool and felt desperate & cheap. Then he kept going back and it was weird that the ref didnt get involved. I forget this was before or after the Cobra Clutch but Dory somehow in the midst of a sleeper scoots over the top rope. I think this leads to the big brawl on the floor, which leads to them fighting over a chair. Then Junior throws a table in the ring! IN 1969! He ends up smashing the table into Baba's head. Baba basically no sells it to go to the next spot which I believe is a Big Chop nearfall. Nothing has changed, folks. There are some real good chops especially from Baba. They feel thunderous. I would have liked more of those bitchin' Junior European Uppercuts. I think these guys would be best just trading hands. They were trading nearfalls and bombs down the stretch. They are throwing hands down the stretch and it is a Baba backbreaker but Junior is saved by the bell. Total slam, bang action. I think we get 25 minutes of a 60 minute draw so not enough to rate it, but enough to tell that Senior was an all-timer as a manager and these two could do mat grappling, big bomb throwing or trade hands. Worth a watch probably in the **** vicinity,

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk Jr. vs Seiji Sakaguchi - JWA 12/9/71 Two out of Three Falls Very interested by this match as most JWA matches feature either Baba or Inoki, so this is a seemingly rare glimpse to see what Sakaguchi future New Japan lieutenant could do when left to his own devices. This NWA Championship belt is the generation before the Ten Pounds of Gold and Junior has Terry & Dicky Murdoch with him. First Half: Very enjoyable NWA Championship wrestling. I do not understand people that say Junior is dry or slow. His European Uppercuts look phenomena (the fired off a couple off at the beginning and even went for the Butterfly Suplex early, but surrendered) and he is always shooting for takedowns or working in and out of holds. No one would confuse Dory with Harley or Flair, but he does let Sakaguchi win most of the mini-battles in the beginning. Lots of great Fireman Carries and I loved Junior's drop toehold and seamless roll into short leg scissors (calf-slicer). Sakaguchi has a nice power out. They do the Benoit/Scorpio monkey flip/knucklelock sequence in 1971 and Dory ends up in a body scissors. I am sure other people aped it even before Benoit/Scorpio, but they were the first I ever saw do it and I remember my mind was blown. Junior expertly transitions this Body Scissors into a Boston Crab. Sakaguchi powers out again. Dory is maybe looking for an abdominal stretch but he executes a banana split roll-up. Sakaguchi proficiently transitions this into an Inverted Deathlock ala Jushin Liger and his leaves Dory hobbled. Sakaguchi is like a shark smelling blood and zeroes in on the leg. Dory escapes to the outside and Terry & Dicky massage the leg. This match has been sneaky. I was just vibing with the matwork and all of sudden we got serious drama on our hands. Sakaguchi tries for an abdominal stretch too close and Dory biels out. Sakaguchi executes a nice single leg pick up from his knee. I love the tenacity. In the spot of the match thus far, Junior applies a headscissors with his ankles instead of his knees and it looked painful as hell. He then snapped Sakaguchi off. Awesome spot. Enjoying this one and excited to see where it goes in the backhalf. Got hungry and was listening to Jericho's pod and found Headbanger's Ball was back so I needed to check that out. I am back now with the second half. Second Half: Dory comes out from firing from the headscissors as Sakaguchi attempted another single leg pick up. European Uppercuts then the Funk family tradition of crashing down on an opponent's neck & spine when they are sitting. It looks brutal. I love how Sakaguchi fights through Junior's offense and earn his comeback with stiff overhand chops. Crowd comes alive for the backbreaker but really loses it for the Atomic drop! 1-2-3! First fall to Sakaguchi. Terry & Murdoch look worried. Second fall goes longer than I expected. When it spilled to the outside, I thought Sakaguchi was going to drop the fall by countout. Dory gets pissed when he cant negotiate the Buttefly Suplex. Terry and Murdoch jump on the apron. Sakaguchi grabs a sleeper...Dory slips out tries ab stretch...Sakaguchi bucks him off...headlock...Dory back suplex 1-2-3! All knotted up. Dory reminds me of Flair when he was in a grueling contests, really selling overwhelmed. The Sakaguchi camp is claiming it was only two, but Sakaguchi looks rough. They came out all Slam Bang in the third fall. Both men looked beat up and exhausted, they were just going to throw it all out there. Dory hits that gnarly splash on the sitting opponent. I love that the finish is a Butterfly Suplex. I have seen enough Junior matches to know I like him a good bit, but this cements it for me that Junior is a fun, Slam Bang wrestler. Sakaguchi was fine, but he just does not have the presence of a Baba or Inoki. ****

Antonio Inoki vs The Destroyer - JWA 5/19/71 This is on the same show as the JWA World League Final pitting Giant Baba vs Abdullah The Butcher so a pretty stacked card. This is my first ever Destroyer match so I am pretty psyched! Is The Destroyer the Father of LOLWrestling (TM Johnny P)? He had the crowd snickering throughout. I can appreciate a good strut after escaping the headscissors, but landing on the ref and making a joke out of it and the small package spot made people laugh was a bit much, counting loudly 1-2-3 quickly when he had reversed a headscissors into pinning predicament sounds like something an annoying wrestling heel in 2021 would do. Maybe 21st century wrestling has ruined it for me, but his shenanigans didnt do much for me. I liked some of his more charismatic moment such as getting dumped over the top rope and jawing with the fans, the aforementioned strut and I liked the run up the ropes side headlock takedown. It didnt help that this match out of these moments is pretty dry. The only thing cool thus far are Inoki headscissor takedowns. The reason I like these so much is that Inoki is performing them while Destroyer is bent over making them look more organic. I especially liked the first one while Destroyer was running the ropes. Halfway through this has been more miss than hit. That being said, this is NOT one of the Destroyer's more heralded matches so if it ends up being a stinker thats fine, I have a couple more to get to so no one panic. :p I thought I was halfway through turns out there was like only five minutes left. One thing I liked in addition to Inoki's headscissors takedowns was how Destroyer was blocking the Abdominal Stretch. Loved how Inoki countered the Figure-4. The Destroyer missed a dropkick great crash & burn. Inoki goes in for the kill with the Abdominal Stretch but Destroyer reverses into the Figure-4. Good struggle, they end up tumbling to the outside for the double countout. The post-match puts the Figure-4 over huge. Recommendation to skip nothing to see here. The only strong positive was how Inoki was doing his headscissor takedowns. I will continue to watch The Destroyer with an open mind.

NWA International Tag Team Champions Giant Baba & Antonio Inoki vs Dory & Terry Funk - JWA 8/4/1970 Two Out of Three Falls Cagematch has Baba & Inoki listed as B-I Cannon which I dont know how I feel about, but a cool piece of trivia. We only get 12 minutes or so of a 32 minute match so no rating, but this has a lot going for it. Terry Funk with bright blond hair definitely stood out, took me a second to recognize him. The Funks worked as very American heels. Loved Terry taking the Ray Stevens bump into Dory Funk as Dory was hanging in the Tree of Woe. It is interesting that Baba was the one who liked to sell more and play that sympathetic role while Inoki brought the piss & vinegar on the hot tag. Baba did come roaring back. The Funks needed to double up all their moves on the Giant, double fists and double butterfly suplex. When Baba & Inoki look like they have things going their way, The Funk clobber the ref and throw him out. This triggers the DQ in the first fall. Missing 20 minutes of the first fall. The second fall is complete. It features a great Terry Funk bump to the floor and some badass Baba offense. He starts red-hot against Dory and then just dismantles Terry's bandaged knee. If we had the full thing, I bet this would go down as an all-time great tag team match!