Superstar Sleeze

ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima vs Bryan Danielson - ROH 8/25/07 "He has such a tight small package" - Only in pro wrestling is that a compliment. While not as gruesome as Vader vs Stan Hansen, this was just as scary. You cant really say this is Danielson's best selling performance because he is in very legitimate pain as his retina is detached in the match. The anguish on his face makes it hard to watch at times but it is not as bad as Vader literally putting his eyeball back in his head and the swelling keeping it in place. Speaking of Vader, this is a Vader 101 match through and through. If Morishima even had an 1/8th of Vader's charisma then this would be ***** classic. As it is, Danielson basically figured out a way to drag an amazing match out of Morishima but it almost cost him his eye. Imagine how Vader sells Tamura's or Yamazaki's kicks in UWFi, but now he is selling Danielson's kicks here. Oh my God that would be tremendous! Lets stop talking about Danielson vs Vader dream match and instead talk about the match we got which was really good. They do a great extended sequence where Danielson is evading Morishima at every pass but also sneaking in stiff kicks to the thigh of Morishima. Morishima just cant seem to wrangle the elusive Bryan. He finally corners him and just clubs him into submission. He targets the eye from jump. So really stiff forearms to the eye has Danielson clutching it immediately. Morishima facewashes the eye and then goes so far as to blast on the outside. It is brutal. I am pretty sure that's where he injured it because Danielson is in an insane amount of pain immediately. Morishima drives his ass into Danielson and then the next time Morishima runs into the railing. Danielson dumps him into the crowd and hits his signature springboard somersault into the crowd. The look on his face as he is grabbing his eye is just painful to watch. He whacks Morishima's leg with a steel chair. The dueling psychology is great and both are exploiting it though I am worried for Danielson. I wonder with the language barrier if they were able to explain to Morishima in the middle of the match that Danielson was actually hurt. The rest of the match is Danielson working underneath rolling into crazy leg submissions from all angles while Morishima is just picking up and slamming Danielson to the ground any chance he gets. Morishima kicks out of a leg submission by raking the boot across the injured eye. Great! Danielson tries a barrage of cradles and roll-ups, but on a sunset flip, Morishima just squashes him by dropping his ass on his chest for two. Danielson recovers and fells the Giant with more kicks to the leg. When Morishima crumples, the crowd pops! Fancy that! I loved the urgency in the run up to the finish...German...Elbows to the head...Kicks to the head...Cattle Mutilation...he was suffocating Morishima. Great work! But then he does the dumbest thing imagineable he tries for a Super Back Suplex, Morishima counters mid-air and lands with all his body weight on Danielson. Morishima OBLITERATES Danielson with a lariat for two and then a Back Drop Driver and it is academic. Danielson gave a performance of a lifetime under severe adversity. Danielson was so feisty in this match. He was always fighting back even on his back. I loved his urgency. He was suffocating Morishima every chance he got. Offensively his strategy was sound and focused. It was only when deviated by going for the suplex that he did himself in. Honestly, Morishima's greatest attribute was his weight. He was this riddle that Danielson was trying to solve. Occasionally, the giant riddle would sit on him or come crashing down with all his weight. Ultimately, it was Morishima's sheer size that won him the match. If Morishima had any charisma or just sold better, this would be an all-timer, still an excellent David vs Goliath match and may be Danielson's best individual performance of his career. ****3/4

Good news, I just watched 6th Anniversary Match between Danielson and McGuinness and it is far, far better than the Unified match. I really enjoyed it. I am going to watch a ton of Danielson vs Low-Ki. I have seen the JAPW match before I want to watch that again along with ECWA and the ROH match. I have not seen that much pimped about Danielson vs AJ, but I LOVE AJ so I will definitely be checking those out. Danielson vs Morishima the eye match is a must for me to see. Has the Joe vs Punk trilogy aged well? It does not seem to get much play anymore (I remember on the internet when I was in high school people going nuts for it). I really liked Danielson vs KENTA from NOAH in 2006 so I will check out their ROH match. I am going to watch Low-Ki vs Samoa Joe and Samoa Joe vs Kobashi.

ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson - ROH 6th Anniversary Show 2/23/08 Before the match, Danielson agreed not to attack the head of McGuinness, who has been struggling my concussion issues. They had been doing a slow burn heel turn for Nigel and finally exploded this night as everyone in the Manhattan Center thought he was being a chump. I really feel the dynamics of this match are far better with Danielson as the babyface and McGuiness as the heel. I really like how character driven this is. Danielson remains true to his word throughout the match and never attacks the head of McGuiness even thought he has plenty of opportunities. I always like when a heel wrestles the match straight at the beginning and only resorts to heel tactics when the match is slipping through his fingertips. They start with some of their chain wrestling which I thought had more struggle to it and Danielson clearly had a comfortable lead winning these exchanges. I really liked the callback where Nigel does the headstand in the corner, but this time Danielson dropkicks him in the chest instead of the head. Nice job! Danielson is kicking the back of Nigel and hits a back suplex, but all these shots rattle Nigel's head. I love this because Danielson is staying away from the head, but he cant help it a lot of strikes and suplexes will rattle the head. The fans get on Nigel's case for being overly sensitive. Nigel loses his cool and decks the ref to trigger the DQ. I really liked that spot. Austin Aires & Co. say they will not let Nigel disgrace the title like that and order him back in the ring. I like that it was wrestlers instead of an authority figure that did that. Nigel takes over on the restart, not the best transition, but the heel work on top is solid. He is working on the arm and he is doing a lot of jaw jacking with the crowd. Danielson is very good at selling. Danielson strings together a couple moves, but Nigel ends up suplexing him from the apron to the floor. Nigel rocks him big time European Uppercut up against the railing. Danielson gets a desperation backdrop into the crowd and then hits his big springboard somersault into the audience. Great highspot! I really thought the rest of the match picked up in a big way from here on out. Danielson looked poised to capitalize in the ring when Nigel hits a big time lariat. Danielson does an incredible job selling the lariat. The insufferable ROH fans chant "Same 'ol shit!" and I roll my eyes. I will say the ROH announcers were really good. I was not expecting that at all. The best spot in my opinion of the match was when Danielson goes for a suicide dive and Nigel hits a European Uppercut. Then Nigel summarily hits a Tower of London from the apron. I loved how they both sold, they both bladed especially how Nigel sold the head injury because of the force of his own blow. Since it was on the outside and they were selling, it made sense that Danielson could kick out. Nigel goes for Cattle Mutilation, but cant hold the bridge and Nigel misses his big rebound lariat, but he hits the one when Danielson is hung up on the corner. TOWER OF LONDON! 1-2-NO! Reverse Top Wristlock by Nigel. Danielson finally catches a break with Chaos Theory! Danielson cant capitalize he has taken too much punishment and his arm is just slung to his side. Danielson goes all Fujiwara on us with TREMENDOUS body shots and even busts out a Fujiwara armbar and then elbows to the body. All the while, Danielson refuses to elbow Nigel in the head instead he hits a Tiger Suplex. I really liked when Danielson told the ref to count Nigel for ten after a barrage of body shots. Danielson go home sequence was so great. He stayed away from highspots focused on strikes to the body and submission holds. The best part of the match by far is when Nigel uses headbutts to crack Danielson in his bad eye (Morishima match) repeatedly then elbows him in the head repeatedly in Danielson like fashion. I love that after all that shit was made about Nigel's head he used it as a weapon and went after Danielson's own injury. That is beautiful heel work. Danielson passes out in the reverse top wristlock. Far superior to the Unified match. Great character work from both wrestlers. Danielson was a great babyface fighting from underneath trying to winning earnestly and respectfully. I can get behind that and really sunk my teeth into Danielson's quest to do it a specific manner. Nigel was a great heel he was a prick and he was great at all always selling his head. Of course, the grand hurrah is that after all that stink, Nigel uses headbutts to attack Danielson's bad eye long enough to KO him with Danielson-style elbows to the head. Great finish. There are certain 2000s things that bother me (like people waiting to be hit with moves) and a lot of that is just Nigel's offense. Beautiful story with Nigel making a big stink about his own injury only to exploit Danielson's most famous injury is just excellent pro wrestling. ****1/2

I hit a wall with puroresu. I need to switch it up. Ring of Honor is a massive blind spot for me. This is generally considered the best Ring of Honor match seems like a good place to start. ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson vs ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuiness - ROH Unified 8/12/06 The ROH Pure Championship was a neat idea to create a different type of match that would showcase technical wrestling by changing the rules. I think they should have gone full RINGS rules, but still included pinfalls to really make it distinct as is it was just watered down shoot style rules. I think everyone in Ring of Honor realized this and decided to abandon the championship by unifying it with the World Championship. Apparently, these two had to two prior matches in Cleveland. I am coming into this cold so sorry in advance if I miss any callbacks. Danielson is in the midst of an epic World Title reign. You know what I was going to review this and then finish with this, but I am just going to start with it. What's the big deal? I mean the match is good, but what about this is exceptional? I don't even know what the story is. It was not limb psychology. They dropped that. They kinda teased a brawl twice, but the match was not a brawl. It is not very character-driven. Danielson is kind of a dick. Not doing a Mexican Surfboard as a means to get heel heat is really strange to me. It is not like my entire night was dependent on whether I see a Mexican Surfboard. A reviewer mentioned Nigel's gave a great fiery comeback. I don't know, have I been spoiled by Shinya Hashimoto? It was a fine comeback. It is a not a spotfest in sense that they were not just throwing out highspots. It wasn't overkill at all. I thought it was quite economical. The spot that clearly is the BIG spot of the match is when Nigel headbutts the steel ringpost repeatedly to bleed hardway. That was some Foley Theatre of Masochism. Then he headbutted Danielson repeatedly and I dont think he drew blood but just got his blood on Danielson. I mean writing that does make me feel like that should have been an epic spot of revenge, but it just rang hollow to me. I dont know the match; just felt good. So what did I like about the match? I liked the symmetry of the beginning. Each winning two chain wrestling sequences (a little too slick on the chaining, but it was fine). I liked Danielson slapping the shit out of Nigel and not giving a clean rope break. Nigel earns his slap back by winning a wristlock sequence. That was great. Danielson's work on the arm was really tight. He had to earn his Butterfly Suplex into the cross-armbreaker. It drives me nuts when people stop selling when they make the ropes. It totally undercuts the whole five count. The heel is being evil. He is applying an excoriating hold for an extra four seconds that could be the difference your arm being broken. Fucking sell! Nigel attacking the arm out of revenge was good even if the transition was just ok. The transition back to Danielson was unmemorable thats when the lame Mexican Surfboard spot happened. Danielson hits two big bombs, superplex and diving headbutt, could have used more struggle. He then applies Cattle Mutilation. I hate this submission hold, but that a personal preference. It is very hard to make compelling via selling because your face is buried. It should be a quick tap out or nothing. It is a cool move because I love bridging, but it drags when it is just held. Nigel makes the ropes. Then Nigel just pops up and cuts Danielson off and hits Tower of London. I am just going to say it. If Danielson was not in this match, anyone else would be crucified for allowing that spot. This costs Danielson a rope break and Nigel applies Cattle Mutilation to eliminate Danielson's second rope break. They brawl on the outside. I really liked this spot where Danielson showed a lot of aggression bouncing Nigel's head off the table then trying to choke him out with the table and win by countout. Great spot! The best spot of the match is when Nigel goes for the Ultimo Dragon headstand in the corner and Danieslon dropkicks him in the head. YES! Finally someone smart enough to do that. I marked out for that. Danielson follows this up with the Crossface Chickewing, which is a great submission and Nigel makes the ropes. Danielson is quite smug that Nigel has lost all his rope breaks. Danielson wastes too much time and misses a diving headbutt. At this point, they should just go all in with a character-driven match. Big babyface comeback and all that jazz. But instead they do a bunch of 50/50 wrestling that is not driving the plot forward. Then Danielson does a Crossface Chickenwing on the top rope. I get that Nigel has no rope breaks, but I dont think that means the match becomes Falls Count Anywhere. Head-scratcher! Ok so then we get the stupidity of Nigel headbutting a ringpost to get color hardway. I like brutality in wrestling but this just looked like Nigel headbutting a ringpost. Obviously, there is no safe way to do it, but the safest way to do it is have Nigel be in complete control so Danielson is barley pulling him so it just looks like Nigel is headbutting a ringpost for shits & giggles. The Springboard Somersault into the crowd is always a pleaser. Back in the ring, Nigel hits those revenge headbutts. They just don't look as good as Fujiwara's and he is not roaring in a way that I am invested. I figured it out. I just was not invested in this match. Don't tell me it was because I came in cold to this match. I watched Chris Harris vs James Storm bloodbath cold. I could not give two fucks about Harris or Storm, but they sucked me into their match. Great wrestling can do that. Cattle Mutilation...McGuiness reverses and it is a barrage of Hammer Elbows to the head that KO's Nigel for the win. The finish was great, I will give them that. It was just a match where they did stuff. I dont see the big deal. They gave me no reason to invest in the match. No hook. If this is the best Ring of Honor has to offer color me underwhelmed. ***1/4

Best of Other Heavyweight Puroresu (RINGS, UWFi, PWFG, WAR, SWS, FMW) 1989-1995 Some people find God, I found Volk Han. The Wolf Khan is an absolute master at every facet of pro wrestling. He is a magnificent seller (when he scrambles for the ropes it is a big deal or when he crumples in a heap after a liver shot). His character work is sublime (I love his fist pump celebrations or how pissed he gets when he rarely loses). His greatest trait is his offense. He is the Russian Mat Wizard; he makes every submission move look like the coolest thing ever. Nobody has ever made ankle crossing look so badass. His double wristlock rip takedown are so forceful and compelling. Then if that's not good enough he will just randomly throw an axe kick during stand up. The Man is a God. If you have not watched this Soviet Maestro perform his craft change that pronto and let his saving grace wash you anew. Discovering Volk Han is just one reason why my Pro Wrestling Love burns as bright as it did over twenty years because it just how versatile a form of entertainment it is. In addition to Volk Han, there is a match where the referee is dressed as beekeeper because the ring surrounded in exploding barbed wire and did I mention the ring explodes at the end of the match? Genichiro Tenryu has badass matches with Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Shinya Hashimoto in the early 90s (now thats a trio!). Of course, the Nobuhiko Takada vs Super Vader trilogy. I would argue as would many that PRIDE FC and the UWFi invasion of New Japan would not be as big of deals or straight up dont happen if Vader does not MAKE Nobuhiko Takada a superstar with his terrific selling during their trilogy together. Vader made Japanese Mixed Martial Arts possible now theres your hot take for the day! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/02/pro-wrestling-love-vol-34-best-of-other.html

Real World Heavyweight Champion Super Vader vs Nobuhiko Takada - UWFi 4/20/95 Crazy to think Vader was recognized as a World Champion in Japan for 8 month all the while holding the US Championship in America and feuding with Hulk Hogan. Well, Takada is planning on his big pay day by invading New Japan so he needs fake real world championship back. This is regarded as the least of three, but I thought it was just as good as the December '93 match, but the finish is not as epic. Vader is at his best when he is selling. The way he contorts his face when he is in anguish is so compelling. Vader slaps Takada to start. Takada roars back with kicks that send Vader out to the floor. Red hot start. Vader is pissed and CHOKESLAMS TAKADA! This is one way to start match. It looks like this match is going to go the way of the '94 match, but Takada has a new strategy go all in with the leg kicks. He kicks the shit out of Vader's legs and Vader is such a masterful seller. Vader gets his licks in, but this is all about Vader's selling. When Takada gets him down, he is still trying submissions like the cross armbreaker or choke, but nothing doing. Takada does one of the stupidest things I have ever seen. He has Vader rocking with his kicks, but he closes the gap and clinches Vader. What a moron! Vader CLOBBERS HIM! POWERBOMB! It looks like it is over. Takada gets up. VADER TACKLES HIM! This is insane. Fujiwara armbar by Vader, but Vader cant finish. Stand up. Takada clips him in the chin with the big left kick. The big man is rocked. Takada pounces; he pours it on with big kicks and a huge left KO's the big man. This is a great comeback match from the 1994 match were the valiant hero is able to vanquish the monster. ****1/4

Real World Heavyweight Champion Nobuhiko Takada vs Super Vader - UWFi 8/18/94 What if Goliath wins? Yngwie Fucking Malmsteen of all people is there to present Takada with the flowers. I did a little digging and I guess Malmsteen composed/plays Takada's theme. That has to rank as one of the most Japan things ever. Lou Thesz says that his Original World Championship is on the line. I think viewing this through a shoot style lens is pretty unfair. It is an old school pro wrestling in the sense that there are no Irish whips and rope running, but the idea was to present realistic pro wrestling as opposed to realistic fighting in my opinion. It is all a work anyways. I am choosing to watch this as if I am watching a New Japan match rather than get hung up on the fact that Vader ain't Volk Han out there. Interesting start as there is no shine. Takada is trying to avoid early, but gets caught in the corner with those rhythmic Vader forearms. Vader THROWS HIS ASS DOWN not once, but twice. Takada is starting in a hole. Takada goes after the legs and anytime he can he is trying to apply the cross-armbreaker, which had won him the match in December,. Takada is such a great valiant babyface in this match. This reminds me of a Puroresu version of Vader vs Sting from GAB '92. Sting & Takada get in their hope spots, but neither one has a chance when Vader is in this zone. I think they told a tremendous story of for every three Takada shots, one Vader shot could put Takada down. This is some of the best stand up you will ever see. It was hard hitting and dramatic. Vader was lighting Takada up with palm strikes and forearms. Takada's kneelifts were vicious. Of course, Takada caught him a couple times with that trademark kick combo where the left foot catches you right under the chin. Really strong stand-up. On the mat, I liked it. It was not Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura. It was ugly but effective. Vader used his weight well and when ever he was in trouble he would just palm strike Takada in the face. Works for me! At one point, Takada got pissed about this and just start blasting Vader in the face. Takada never did get his cross-armbreaker applied. It really became a great stand up battle as the match worn on. Just a slobberknocker. The turning point was when Vader was getting rocked and he just grabbed a waistlock on Takada and hurled him in a wicked German suplex. Takada would get a few more hope spots, but they were few and far between. Vader just dominated from there on out with some massive forearms. That deadlift powerbomb as insane. I remember that as the finish, but Takada stood up. The finish was inevitable and eventually succumbed to the might of Vader. Goliath won with exactly what brought him to the dance, raw, unadulterated power and brute force. Vader really sold Takada's attacks well. His register is so good. He would take three heavy shots and then come back with a wild swipe and knock Takada's ass down. Takada would have to start from square one. I think Takada got enough "nearfalls" in his few knockdowns to make it dramatic, but Vader was on fire here, very much like GAB '92. So what happen when Goliath wins? Well David gets a rematch of course. ****3/4

There was no upset in the Super Bowl, but much like Riki Choshu's booking of New Japan in the 1990s there are plenty of upsets in the rankings for the Top Six New Japan Heavyweight Matches of the 90s found in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 33. I will not spoil anything, but was not an upset was the man who is featured in five of the top six bouts and that is Shinya Hashimoto! Shinya Hashimoto garnered a cult following in the 1990s. While many American fans were being wow'ed by Jushin Liger and the aerial tactics of the juniors and others were wrapped up in the incredible drama of All Japan in the 1990s, there were a select few that touted the hard-nosed, no-nonsense style of Hashimoto the Destroyer. He did not have the flash of Liger or the moveset of Four Corners of Heaven, but what he brought to the table was an asskicker's mentality, silent, but deadly. With the Right Hand of Hashimoto, he struck down invaders like Genichiro Tenryu from WAR and Nobuhiko Takada from UWFI and kept his fellow Musketeers, Chono & Mutoh at bay. Is there any scene in pro wrestling more epic than when Hashimoto bellows "CHOSHUUUUUUUUUUU" in his epic confrontation with 1980s New Japan star, Riki Choshu in 1996? Since his tragic death in 2004, the cult of Hashimoto has grown to include more and more fans, myself included who had overlooked him for the All Japan boys and Liger & Co. Time has validated Hashimoto and his American fans showing that his work is truly timeless and something every pro wrestling fan should see. But this is only in regards to his American popularity, his popularity in Japan was always evident as he main evented many, many 50,000+ Tokyo Dome shows. Us Americans can sometimes take a little while to catch up is all. This is my Pro Wrestling Love letter to Shinya Hashimoto The Destroyer, Defender of the New Japan Realm! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/02/pro-wrestling-love-vol-33-best-of-90s.html

Masahiro Chono vs Keiji Mutoh - NJPW G-1 Climax Finals 8/11/91 It is funny, I was watching this match and thinking to myself why did I like this so much a couple years ago and then it kicked me in the teeth. This match is all about build & escalation. First 20 Minutes: The opening matwork was perfectly solid NWA Championship style chain wrestling, but it did eventually become more important as time progressed. Chono took an early lead with a short arm scissors that made Mutoh powder. Mutoh had to go after the left arm which had a bandage around the left bicep. Mutoh did not press this instead he hit his power elbow drop for the first high spot. He could not complete his back handspring elbow and as he ricocheted off the turnbuckles, he was met with a back drop driver. Good spot that reset the match. Big strike exchange. You dont think of these two as preeminent strikers, but this came off well. Mutoh goes for the leg to set up his deathlock spot, which seems weird with the arm injury but Mutoh loves his deathlock spot. The match gets really good once Mutoh busts out Cattle Mutilation. Mutoh was bridging for whole minutes in both the deathlock and cattle mutilation, which is INSANE! Mutoh was in amazing shape. Mutoh goes for the cross-armbreaker on the bad arm. Chono boot rakes the eyes. Now it is on! Chono goes for the Yakuza kicks to the head and kicks him straight off the apron as Mutoh was trying to powder. This time Chono presses his advantage with not one, but two dives. I love this mentality. Chono was losing his grip on the match. Mutoh was dominating him on the mat and could have won the match with the cross-armbreaker. So Chono has that go for broke mentality and wants to dig himself out of a hole. He goes too far though as he hits two piledrivers, but instead of covering he goes for the STF and Mutoh scrambles out of the ring. Chono looks to put a nail in the coffin with the piledriver on the floor, but Mutoh backdrops out. It is Mutoh dragging him over into the stands that hits the piledriver on the exposed concrete. High risk leads to mistakes and now Mutoh is in control of the match. Great transition, Mutoh hits a missile dropkick in the ring and goes for the cover. Mutoh hits two more suplexes and gets a nearfall after each. Mutoh is thinking about winning. Was the opening matwork a little tedious and lacking struggle, yes, but it was NOT perfunctory. It did matter. Mutoh had to go to the arm, but he abandoned that strategy and paid for it. Then he went back to the arm and it freaked Chono out. This triggered the bombfest. Strong transitions right now and everything matters. I am really interested to see the back end. Last Portion: Mutoh sold really well here. Great sells of the missed moonsaults and especially the first STF. Where we left off Mutoh was in total control, the Dragon Suplex is too close to the ropes. Mutoh calls for the finish and wants the moonsault, but Chono moves causing Mutoh to crash & burn. Chono wastes no time...Yakuza Kick...STF!!! Mutoh makes the ropes and he sold this really well. Chono is now in the driver's seat. Suplexes and an Octopus Stretch as he is trying to pour it on. This is commonly reviewed as something that is done in the style 90s All Japan and nothing rings more true than Mutoh winning suplex struggle to transition back to his offense. Mutoh tries his own Octopus Stretch. Mutoh leapfrogs over Chono's counterdropkick, but they both dropkick each other on Mutoh's springboard dropkick. Chono looks for the STF, but cant apply it fully before Mutoh makes the ropes. I love that drama was in the application of the hold rather than in the hold. They do a very All Japan spot of Chono kicking Mutoh who ricochets off the ropes with a flying forearm. Mutoh hits his backbreaker...MOONSAULT...EATS KNEE! Epic sell by Mutoh, great job! Chono powerbombs him for the win! I loved the finish...Mutoh goes for his finish...is injured...then Chono hits his for the win. Efficient and powerful. I love how every transition meant something and they did a great job building this organically from matwork to bombs to the big bombs (STF, Moonsault). I think whats keeping this from ***** is the lack of struggle, some segments were just let me hit my moves, but there was still great drama down the stretch. Chono's best match by a wide margin. I think Mutoh had better matches against Tenryu. Hashimoto vs Tenryu is better in regards to New Japan heavyweights, but this is definitely still one of the best and a real feather in the cap of both men. The future seemed very bright for New Japan in 1991. ****3/4

Now this I am interested in. I am really interested in what you consider to be a better spotfest than this. Because I thought this was a great spotfest that was a mile a minute that was strikes and dives. When I watch a Dragon Gate spotfest, I am bored because it is just modified slams that look stupid. This was fun. I really thought this was one of the best matches in the genre.

This match should be a thrilling spotfest exhibition and thats exactly what this was. If there was ever a time to say "Fuck Psychology. Fuck Selling." it was right here and they want balls to the fucking wall. If you are going to do a spotfest, go all in. My big problem with the Dragon Gate bullshit is their spotfests are just ok and consist of a bunch of modified slams. This was fun and cool. Dream is better in a longer match when he can do his character work. I thought this would be where Ricochet would shine and he did well, but to me the breakout star was Aleister Fucking Black. The Dutch had a great kickboxing tradition in the 90s and early 00s. Aleister Black is the next generation and he looked phenomenal. Those kicks looked incredible. He looked like he kicked some people's heads off. Made me a fan. Excellent match exactly what it should be. ****1/4

Jushin "Thunder" Liger & Dr. Wagner Jr vs Shinjiro Otani & Koji Kanemoto - NJPW 3/6/99 I am watching the Super Bowl with my Dad. Even though, I am from Boston, I am not very into Boston sports. My Dad is so that makes it entertaining, but it also gives me time to write some reviews. First Half: I really liked the first ten minutes of this. Great heeling and fuck you spots. To me it was better than those Liger vs NOAH tags that everyone loves (I like them, just done love them). I like that it is Kanemoto & Otani that start it so it is Liger & Wagner paying them back. The beginning is so, so good. Kanemoto is being a dick. Liger cracks him with a Shotei. Then on the criss cross nails a fucking axe kick! That was so cool. Then he grabs him by the horn and brings him. They fuck with Liger in the corner. I really liked that Otani was shoving his foot in the face and then Liger grabbed the foot and dumped him on his ass. I am not a huge Wagner fan and he is definitely the fourth best in this match. However, they use him wisely and that it is to do double team payback spots and hit bombs. Most of his problems are related to a lack of psychology so if it is just go hit offense, he can do that. Liger and Wagner do a great job paying the heels back in their shine which Wagner mostly takes. I love Liger throwing the facewash back in Otani's face after all those years of wrestling him. So Otani ballshots him! Yes! Otani does his own facewash! Then they mock Wagner's stupid criss cross spot he had done earlier. My disdain for Wagner makes me root for Otani & Kanemoto. The match does kind of fall off the rails as people just start throwing bombs without any transitions or selling. Kanemoto is taking a superplex and then hitting his twisting senton. Then all the dives on the outside. Even without psychology, it is a very good spotfest. Last Half: Great stuff even where there were patches without psychology thanks to Wagner. There is an excellent moment where Kanemoto is pumped to tag in Otani and then Otani EATS a Shotei and Kanemoto is bummed out. Liger is trying to wipe Otani's face off with these Shoteis amazing. Ligerbomb! Kanemoto saves. Wagner attacks Kanemoto. Liger eats knees on a splash. Otani hits his big springboard spinning heel kick for two. Wagner comes in and I just dont like him. He does these weird taunts and then Otani mocks him and I love it. Liger saves Wagner's dumbass with a Shotei to the back of Kanemoto's head. Ligerbomb and then a Crucifix Powerbomb by Wagner that I totally bit on. I thought that was the finish for sure. Good nearfall. Otani nails his trademark spirngboard dropkick to the back and Kanemoto hits a moonsault while Otani keeps Liger at bay, 1-2-3! Otani & Kanemoto were an amazing heel tag team it is too bad they split them up. Kanemoto & Otani as heels against a Liger & Minoru Tanaka tag team with Minoru being groomed for the babyface ace role would have been tremendous business in the early 2000s. Real shame. Fantasty booking, the beginning ten minutes rule hard! It is just heel prick work and babyface payback spots. Then it is just a bunch of bombs...Liger vs Otani came off really good and I am really happy Kanemoto pinned that dumbass Wagner. ****1/2

WCW Light & IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs Wild Pegasus - NJPW 2/10/92 Is Benoit wearing lipstick or is his lip busted? The Beast God takes this match on short rest as he has just won back the IWGP Jr Championship from Honaga two days prior, but it is also important to remember that he re-aggravated a rib/abdominal injury. I had visions of Benoit hanging Liger out to dry with his front suplex on the top rope before the match even started and I was not disappointed. This is basically the Honaga match but Benoit can actually carry his end of the work. Liger gives two of the best selling performances of all time in these two matches. It would be easy to say he did better in the Honaga match, but it just stood out more because Honaga is so bland. Here the subtly was the key. The way he comes up favoring the ribs after an innocuous bow and arrow. Blink and you miss it. Hell, I am not even sure Benoit knew he had injured ribs for like five minutes. Another good one was on the first round of shoulder tackles. Liger wins, but at what cost. I was really enjoying this nuanced performance. Benoit hits a missile dropkick from the top rope to the outside and then whips him into the railing, gotta hurt those ribs. Benoit figure-4s the head and this is my one complaint. I dont mind a hold being used, but why not an abdominal stretch. Liger transition into a upside down surfboard, but his ribs give out. Now he is in a full sell! Benoit smells blood. He buries the knee deep into the midsection and then hangs him out to dry. Yes! Liger hits a desperation Kappo Kick, which is go to bail out move. Then he suplexes him from the ring to floor, which is a crazy spot, but he collapses in the ring and cant follow up. Liger needed that to catch his breath and inflict some damage to Benoit. That was his first real offense. Rapid fire Shotei to the face, Liger figure-4s the head, which I am a proponent of. Liger needs to sap Benoit's energy and regain his breath. This is excellent strategy by Liger to land big blows and then try to control Benoit. Benoit uses the Electric Chair Drop to finish and Liger is agony. Stuff like Benoit forearming Liger when he could kick in the midsection is kind of bumming me out. He gets a German and Belly-to-Belly to get a couple nearfalls. Then he goes back to figure-4 the head, which only seems to exist so that Liger can Man Up and get the surfboard to show he can fight through the pain, but ultimately Liger succumbs to the pain and releases the hold. Great selling by Benoit. Liger hits a shoulder tackle and again that sell after the tackle is so friggin' good. For all the shit I was giving Benoit he makes up for it with a gutwrench gutbuster that is just beautiful and then instead of a diving headbutt hits a BEAUTIFUL SPLASH on the ribs. I wish he kept doing the splash instead of the headbutt. He only gets two so he does the reasonable thing and tries it again, but wrestling is not reasonable and eats knees. He gets dumped on the outside and Liger hits his wicked baseball slide and Asai Moonsault. Ultimo Dragon would be jealous. That was a great sequence. Benoit looked like he had it won with the splash and it is Liger that ends up wowing with the Asai Moonsault. Benoit is committed to the aerial assault as he hits a beautiful top rope leg drop. He is getting very frustrated. Benoit makes the cardinal mistake of putting his head down and Liger hits a powerbomb for two. They do the tombstone reversal, Benoit nails it and Diving Headbutt...1-2-NO! Another great nearfall for Benoit. Liger gets that cool rollup for the win...the one Marc Mero would do. If Benoit had Honaga's commitment this would be an all-timer, still as is, this is their best match together and one of the best matches of each man's storied career. Liger's selling was ***** again, just exquisite. Benoit is a machine on offense. I loved Liger's hope spots and how they were timed. The finish run was perfect with Benoit pouring it on and Liger escaping with the victory. ****1/2

Best of New Japan Heavyweights 1990-1999 Part 1 Sorry to all my fellow dudes out there, but at 31 days into the new year I have already locked up "Son of the Year". I totally knocked it out of the park for my Mom's birthday with a "Travel Guide To Port Charles"! Port Charles is the fictitious upstate New York city (near Buffalo) where General Hospital takes place and to say she loved this 200-odd page book is an understatement. Hell, why I am limiting myself to "Son of the Year", I am "Progeny of the Year", BABY! Just like I dont overlook my Mom and how amazing she is, I have scoured the internet for the best of New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1990s, but specifically from the Heavyweights. You see here in the States, the New Japan Heavyweights from the 1990s get the shaft in favor of their vibrant junior heavyweight counterparts and the epic performances from All Japan in 1990s. This is where I love to tread because this where you find the hidden gems that have been covered by the sands of time. I uncovered some real hum-dingers! I will say Shinya Hashimoto, Defender of the New Japan realm against outside invaders has seen his popularity boosted over the years by re-watches but still great classics like his '94 match against Fujiwara remain mysteriously underappreciated. While Hashimoto The Destroyer also has great classics against Jushin Liger (a dream match come to life in 1994) and Yamazaki in 1998, it was Keiji Mutoh as the Great Muta that came through as a star. Mutoh has become so underrated due to many lazy performances, but when he is on, he is truly great. The Great Muta as a horror movie monster come to life stalking his opponents with bloodlust and a giant spike makes for compelling view. Matches against Hashimoto and Fujianami are hidden gems that display Great Muta in all his violent glory. The infamous match against Hiroshi Hase which created the Muta Scale and maybe the most famous match Stateside of this time period from New Japan holds up to this day. All Bow Before The Great Muta in Pro Wrestling Love vol. 32! https://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2019/02/pro-wrestling-love-vol-32-best-of-90s.html

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Genichiro Tenryu - SWS 9/15/92 2 Out Of 3 Falls Flair has since regained the World Championship from Savage and is about to transition it to Bret Hart. There's such a big fight feel/dream match feel to this even though Flair has been wrestling Tenryu since at least 1981 if not even earlier. I think it feels so different because this is now Tenryu's promotion and Flair is in the WWF with shorter hair. First Fall: Two distinct differences from Flair right off the bat is that there is a lot more American Flair heel character work in this match than in his previous matches. Lots of trash talking and bravado. Second, he wrestles this match completely differently from an offensive perspective. Tenryu gets absolutely zero shine. Yes, folks you read that right, heel Flair did not bump 'n' run for his babyface opponent. This was NOT a fire fight either initially. This was a domineering Flair performance. Put that in your pipe and smoke, Flair haters. Flair works the arm with a ton of great holds and lots of tight pinning combinations. Flair shows how you are supposed to actually pin a man by cradling the leg & neck and then clasping your hands! Can we please bring back good pinning! Flair starts working these nasty short punches to Tenryu's face, repeatedly. Tenryu sells as if his nose has been broken. Tenryu had another good delayed sell of a chop. Flair uses his kneedrop on the injured nose and again that tight cradle pinning combination. Flair tries to use the sleeper to no avail. Tenryu armdrags him off and as he comes in Flair throws a wild chop and catches him in throat. This match is really damn good. Tenryu finally nails a lariat that causes Flair to powder. I love how Tenryu always had the puncher's chance. Flair could pour on all the offense he wanted but it was just one lariat that could change the complexion of the match. Tenryu press slams Flair off the top and NAILS an enziguiri. Flair blocks the Lariat! Flair tries for a kneecrusher to stymie Tenryu's momentum, but Tenryu shifts his weight and they topple over backwards, another enziguiri and Tenryu is rolling. Powerbomb...1-2-3! Tenryu up 1-0. Awesome first fall! Second Fall: Wow! I waited far too long to watch this match! This could be heel Flair's best offensive performance ever. Babyface Flair has great offense, but for everyone who has wanted to see offensive-minded Flair needs to check this out. This starts with Tenryu refusing to break on a sleeper and even gets some boos. The Japanese are sticklers for rules. A great fire fight breaks out. This has not been Flair vs Garvin in terms of sustained chopping, but the chops that have been throws have been brutal. Flair begs off and Tenryu is like "C'mon, brutha" and Flair pokes him in the eye! Flair is just firing on all cylinders. Tons of great suplexes and tight pinning combinations. Tenryu tries to mount a comeback and then it is an eyepoke. Flair chop block. Flair works a clinic working the leg and even busts out a new leg move. He looks great. I wish Flair worked full-time in Japan in 1993 instead of going back to WCW. Imagine Tenryu & Flair invading New Japan together! They battle over the Figure-4 maybe the most compelling use of the Figure-4 ever. Eventually succumbs to the Figure-4 via pinfall. It is important that he is does not tap out. I love 2 out of 3 falls matches because moves that are badass like the Figure-4 actually get put over as real finishes. I am loving this match! Third Fall: They fell back to Earth in this fall. I think if they went 5 minutes in this fall instead of close to 15 minutes they would have been much better off. There were a lot of stilted moments where they were sort of thinking of what to do next to fill time. Flair just started strutting around for no reason to kill time. Here's a complaint you never thought would be written...I thought Flair was too focused on working the leg. There was not much forward progression. Also the urgency was lost. The finish was kinda lame. Flair was just on the apron for no reason strutting and Tenryu enziguiris him and Flair hits the post and it is a countout loss. I have no problem with a countout. It was the finish I was expecting. Negative complaints done, there is some good from this fall. The chops are brutal and the leg work is good. The best part is the first five minutes. Flair applies an STF, AN STF! He then goes back to the figure-4. This is just smart. Tenryu gets a kneebar! Flair is hollering in agony. Flair comes up limping. There is this great fight and then Tenryu applies the kneebar on Flair and what a sell! Great job! If they went home right after that, I would be tempted to give this the full monty *****, I really thought the first two falls were spectacular. They bite off a little more they can chew and go longer than necessary, but 35 minutes out of 45 minutes being ***** is still fantastic and I highly recommend watching this very unique Flair performance oh and that Tenryu guy is pretty damn fantastic himself. ****1/2

Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura - RINGS 9/26/97 Some people find God, I found Volk Han. Fan-fucking-tastic. I love how aggressive Han comes out in this match. He wants to rip Tamura's arm off. The normally stoic, nonchalant Tamura was even caught off guard. Han ripped him to the ground and hit a wicked palm strike to break the clasp of Tamura's hands preventing the cross-armbreaker. It set the tone for the entire match. The drama was off the charts. On the second scrap, Han loses the grip on his clasp for a second and then quickly regains before Tamura get him all the way over. That was crazy. Han was just so into the double wristlock. Great double wristlock rip takedown. Tamura is a great fighter, but Han was just imposing his well. Han wraps Tamura up in a pretzel and Tamura escapes right into a double wristlock. Tamura shows some signs of life when he gets a kneebar and forces a ropebreak. Then all of sudden the match changes. Tamura has all this pep in his step and Han has kind of gassed himself. Tamura throws some AMAZING kicks in this match. Han is knocked down but quickly springs to his feet as if to stay dont charge me with a knockdown. The first two times they dont but Tamura is just blitzing him and evrntually Han has to take counts. Two knockdowns are scored back to back. Han catches the next kick, but Tamura wraps him in a guillotine choke. It was all Han in the first part, but Tamura is whuppin' him now. So Han does for his trusty double wristlock, but Tamura partially blocks but it leads to a Han cross armbreaker and Tamura needs a rope break. Han is feeling better and again goes back to the double wristlock, but cant get the right positioning. My favorite moment of the match is when Tamura reverses into a cross armbreaker but just as he breaks the clasp, his grip slips and he loses Han's hand! Han immediately grabs the legs! A close second is right after this, Han comes in with a wicked combination of palm strikes and knocks Tamura down! Han's cocky celebration is magnificent. I fucking love him! Not to be outdone, the finish sequence is a beauty. The struggle it took for Tamura to yank Han down to the mat with a side headlock takeover into a cross armbreaker was awesome! Perfect reaction upon tap out...Tamura is fucking pumped and Han slams the mat in disgust. The only reason I know more perfect matches exist is because I like the other two more, but this is terrific. It is absolutely thrilling with so many character touches. All three of Han/Tamura matches will make my Top 100. ****3/4

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Wellington Wilkins Jr. - PWFG 5/19/91 Pull up a seat and welcome to the Yoshiaki Fujiwara show, the pleasure will most assuredly be all yours. It is all your favorite Fujiwara tricks. This is from the second ever PWFG show and to me this the perfect match. You have your Ace in a showcase match doing what he does best. He is never in any trouble, but you get a feel for everything Fujiwara can do so down the line you can build drama. They grab you attention immediately with Fujiwara's great Boston Crab reversal and Wilkins takes a header for that. Wilkins starts smacking Fujiwara in the head like Fujiwara is a dumbass. Joke is on you, brutha. You are the dumbass. Fujiwara hits him with one of his wicked headbutts and then fucking CRACKS him with a slap in the corner. This is Fujiwara in full "Fuck you" mode and it is glorious. Wilkins keeps trying to play Fujiwara's game of smacking him and in turn Fujiwara hits him twice as hard and twice as much. At one point, Fujiwara has Wilkins in a legbar and just has his head and his head leisurely reclining, if it was anyone else I would be pissed, but I love Fujiwara. I thought the finish was pretty anti-climatic. Just a standard legbar. This is a very fun exhibition of what Fujiwara can do, but he was never in any actual danger, but boy did it put a big smile on my face! ***3/4

I feel like most I accidentally watched the rematch first and came away liking the rematch more, but this match is still pretty good. Vader & John Tenta vs Gary Albright & Kazuo Yamazaki - UWFi 10/08/94 I accidentally watched the rematch first, but thats a good thing because the rematch is the better match precisely because there is less John Tenta. Tenta was trash in this. I thought he was totally useless. It is night and day between Tenta and Vader being there. I am just going to focus on Vader. I thought the Vader vs Albright interactions were better in the rematch until I watched the closing minute. That finish stretch was double hot. Yamazaki used his kicks to create the separation necessary to tag in Albright. Albright hits THREE MASSIVE Suplexes on Vader. Between this and the rematch, he is the best ever at suplexing Vader. These look gorgeous. I also really liked his cornerman screaming loudly "Kick him in the fucking head" twice. The whole point of these two matches is to build to Vader vs Albright as the next big main even feud and it does a great job doing that. But I thought it was Vader vs Yamazaki that had the best chemistry. These two are just made for each other. Some of the best stand up fighting ever in these two matches. Vader BLASTS Yamazaki on multiple occasions, but Yamazaki is not afraid to smoke Vader with some massive kicks. I have watched their singles match from when Vader first joined UWFi in 1993 and they are just great together. I recommend this match, but for my money the rematch is clearly better. ***1/2

I too thought Tenta sucked! Vader & John Tenta vs Gary Albright & Kazuo Yamasaki - UWFi 10/14/94 John Tenta proves that Vader is not just good at shoot style because he is big because Tenta sucks! Besides the sumo slaps, I thought he was useless, but he is not in there long. Vader vs Yamasaki and Vader vs Albright are thrilling! The former is Vader in his Hell selling the David vs Goliath narrative selling his ass off. Yamasaki was just rifling him. Great kicks. Then Vader vs Albright was Vader in his other element: King Kong vs Godzilla! Vader threw some of his stiffest punches and firearms on Albright. OW! Not to be outdone Albright throws Vader with two of the most beautiful Germans. Once the bosses are done, Yamasaki comes flying in full of piss & vinegar before Vader cleans his clock and then THROWS HIM DOWN IN POWERBOMB! To win by KO! Type of Vader performance to remind everyone why he is Greatest Hoss of All Time! ****

Real World Heavyweight Champion Nobuhiko Takada vs Gary Albright - UWFi 6/10/94 The other semi-final besides Vader vs Tamura is an uneven performance. The first half is sluggish. After just watching Shamrock vs Sano and Fujiwara vs Malenko rock it on the mat, I know the difference between interesting defensive wrestling and lethargy on the mat. Why did Albright break the Full Nelson the first time? Thats a finisher, brutha! I hate when people give up on holds. I did think Takada's and Albright's toeholds and anklelocks were sunk in...though they went for the bundle of legs too much. This match picked up in the second half a lot and they did salvage the match. Overall, I do think this was an entertaining main event. I really liked Takada getting a heel hook on the first German Suplex attempt. Boy, what that big Cornhusker gets Takada up and sends him flying that felt huge. I loved Takada blocking the Dragon Suplex vigorously. My favorite part of the match was when Takada made the ropes on a hold (I think a Boston Crab) and Albright just spear/tackled him to the ground, felt huge! Takada comes back with kicks to the leg to get a knockdown. So Albright just SLAMS him DOWN! Great! UWFi feels like pro wrestling without dives or Irish Whips or rope running, but it very much pro-style, which I can dig. Takada retaliates with a backdrop driver. With all these bombs, I feel like Im watching All Japan! Takada quickly tries for the cross-armbreaker but Albright gets the ropes. Takada unleashes an incredible bevy of strikes. I could watch Takada kick and kneelift all day. Albright charges, but Takada defends well with palm strikes and then kneelifts in the clinch. Albright is able to manage to wrangle Takada into a double underhook takedown, but is too exhausted to finish. Takada hits his signature kick combination finish that always looks fantastic. Takada is just blitzing him, BIG KNEE TO THE HEAD...CROSS ARMBREAKER! TAKADA WINS! Takada vs Albright is the feud that defines peak UWFi and I couldnt do a Greatest Match Ever Project without watching one match. This one got better reveiws than the 1992 match where Takada beat Albright to win the Real World Heavyweight Championship, but I think a lot of the criticisms of UWFi Takada apply he just is not compelling on the mat. He is a great stand up fight and knows how to have a dramatic finale. Once the matches comes about suplexes and kicks to the face, this match picks up in a big way and feels like a great native hero vs foreign Cornhusker menace match. ***1/2

SUPER Vader vs Kiyoshi Tamura - UWFi 6/10/94 How damn good is Vader? What amazing selling! I have come to learn from the RINGS stuff that Tamura is a legit great in his own right, but this only works because Vader is so committed to selling everything. The way he hollers out in pain. I often say Brock is the best seller on today's roster, but I think the case can be made for Vader being the seller in the 1990s he is that damn good. Everyone says it because it is true...this is a mighty fine David vs. Goliath sprint. Tamura slaps Vader before the bell and Vader removes his headdress. It is on punk! Tamura like a gnat is kicking Vader's leg and Vader is just swatting him away. Playing with his food. This is a semi-finals of a tournament...Takada vs Albright is the other semi. The look on Vader's face when he traps Tamura in the corner twice just says: DEAD MEAT. Each time Tamura comes out kicking and Vader is left screaming in agony. Tamura does get a kneebar on him twice and manages a total of four rope breaks. Eventually Vader gets a hold of Tamura and you know it is just a matter of time. Vader lights up Tamura the first time with that crazy bear paw swipe. A wounded bear can be the most dangerous. It is tied 12-12. Tamura gets one more kneebar, but after that it is all Vader in the corner. Vader just hits those big meaty blows. Then he goes full pro-style, big powerslam and then THROWS TAMURA DOWN IN THE POWERBOMB! TKO! Tamura shows a lot of moxie, but Vader is just too much man for Tamura too handle. ****

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Joe Malenko - PWFG 6/1/93 Doing a live watch. I love Fujiwara so any time something with him get recommended I have to watch. This was nominated for Greatest Match Ever. PWFG is a huge blind spot. I dont know what has and has not been touted. It does not seem as prolific as the Original UWF or RINGS. I have seen two Joe Malenko matches in my life so excited to see some more. Pretty basic takedowns thus far. Pretty cautious wrestling. Fujiwara seems to go away in the 90s besides a really great Hashimoto match in '94 and Tenryu match in '97 (both are underrated). and of course the Takada classic in '90. Fujiwara is the opposite of Chono as his breathing adds to the match instead of being distracting. They are doing a bundle of leg locks. But both have their two holds so sunk in that it is pretty good. Joe relents and grabs the ropes. Only Volk Han is better at that spot and thats a spot that is usually a real killer for me. Malekno gets a nice hammerlock. Good squeal from Fujiwara. Fujiwara uses his own abdomen to block the hammerlock. Fujiwara comes up trying for a double wristlock, but Malenko blocks by keeping his arm forward. Fujiwara grabs the ankle lets go and they stand up. Shake hands. Thats nice. Good hipblock/oo-soto-gari takedown by Malenko. Joe is thinking short arm scissors but Fujiwara blocks and evades. Fujiwara gets a front chancery and Malenko muscles him into the ropes. Joe takes him down more forcefully and pounces into a toehold. Fujiwara reverses efficiently into a cross-armbreaker attempt as Joe is moving towards the ropes. Fujiwara casually puts his hand to head to say he is resting. He is a cheeky bastard and I love it. Fujiwara gets his takedown and is trying for his armbar, but Joe blocks. Nice bridge by Joe to reverse. This is all matwork. Very tight and great struggle. Fujiwara is just grabbing joints from crazy positions. Fujiwara is the one who needs the ropes when his toehold fails. This is grapplefuck to the highest degree. No strikes. No highspots. Even the takedowns arent that exciting. Basic takedowns a lot of them falling together. It is all grappling and chaining on the mat. Joe is starting to dominate nice crossface and headscissors. Fujiwara squeals are so important to sell all this. Fujiwara stands up with a hold of the leg. They are all wrapped up. I cant tell who has who, but in a good way! They are both attacking and defending. Joe applies a modified Crippler Crossface but Fujiwara rolls into and gets a full mount. Fujiwara is close to a top wristlock. Joe gets on his stomach and sit outs into a Fujiwara armbar on Fujiwara! Fujiwara uses his legs to get on his toes and drive out of the hold. This is high end technical wrestling. Malenko gets a double wristlock from underneath that looks like it could be a finishers, but again Fujiwara is using his weight balance to block some of the move to avoid the maximum damage. Fujiwara kind of had an armbar, but they ended up in the ropes. Joe locks into a front chancery more conventional oo-soto-gari takedown with the back heel trip. Joe gets on top with a side mount looking for a double wristlock. It is a top one. Fujiwara ends up on top, I got to rewind, I missed that. Fujiwara scissors the leg causing pain to Joe and that allowed Fujiwara to flip him. Malenko gets a headscissors from underneath. Get sell from Fujiwara. Fujiwara has the hands clasped to avoid an armbreaker. Nice short knee by Malenko on top (good Fujiwara sell) and Malenko grabs a front chancery as they stand up. Fujiwara gets out of that into his Fujiwara armabr, center of the ring and thats the finish. ***3/4

Cant believe no one has mentioned Shamrock's mullet yet! Wayne (Ken) Shamrock vs Naoki Sano - PWFG 5/19/91 Doing a live watch. Shamrock's hair is glorious as they trade kicks in the standup. Shamrock throws a high one, caught by Sano roll through but end up in the ropes. Sano shoots for the single leg and Shamrock comes down and goes for an ankle. Sano ends up on top of his back and scissors the arm. Nice escape by Shamrock. Shamrock looks like Sean Penn with this hair cut. This is generally regarded the best PWFG match. PWFG was born out of the Newborn UWF's dissolution. Lots of struggle on the mat as Shamrock is working a legbar. Everyone is always trying to escape or apply. PWFG was founded by Fujiwara and he was accompanied by Shamrock, Funaki and Suzuki. Really nice top wristlock from Shamrock in the side mount and great verbal selling from Sano to clue you in that something is happening. Sano makes it to his belly. PWFG would later give birth to Pancrase and BattlArts. I know the least about PWFG compared to UWFi and RINGS. Sano is someone I have liked from the Liger and Misawa matches, but had not seen the deep cuts. They are working hard on the mat. Sano is trying for a double wristlock in the side mount. He gets it. Great verbal selling from Shamrock and nice bridge escape. They are doing a great job chaining. Lots of body contact. Lots of smart weight distribution to impede the other from gaining an advantage. Snap takedown by Shamrock sort of a side German suplex. Shamrock is laying on his head, but Sano sneaks out. This is wrestled so differently lots of work from side mounts and from the back. I am surprised there are not more choke. Shamrock almost gets a calf-slicer, but Sano immediately blocks. Shamrock gets an amazing roll (basically he flips Sano using his left leg onto Sano's back) into a cross-armbreaker, but Sano has his hands clasped. Shamrock figure-4s Sano's midsection and here is our first choke attempt. Not as strongly sold as the other holds but Sano gets the ropes. Shamrock I would say won that lengthy exchange. Back to stand up and they let the hands fly. Sano catches him with a kneelfit and grabs a front chancery and spikes him on his head. Nice organic DDT. Sano immediately goes for the cross-armbreaker. Shamrock rolls in and gets on top driving into an armbar, but Sano blocks. Shamrock gets a hammerlock, but Sano gets to his knees. Shamrock seems to have any answer for everything and is getting Sano's back. Shamrock drops back into a choke again. Sano makes the ropes. Wicked double underhook suplex by Shamrock! He looks damn good here! Tries to get a top wristlock from the side mount immediately but Sano scrambles out. Shamrock quashes him and just rides him. Shamrock was thinking Fisherman Suplex, but Sano breaks free with a kneelift. A series of slaps and a roundhouse kick gives us our first knockdown as Shamrock takes a nine count. Shamrock beats the shits out of him with palm strikes and then gets him in the clinch with knees. Sano throws a wild slap. Shamrock gets him in the corner and the ref breaks it. Shamrock takes him down. Some really good stand up. Shamrock has been owning Sano on the mat thus far. Shammy is riding, but seems to have his arm trapped. Shamrock ends up almost getting a double wristlock but Sano escapes. The crowd is very intelligent they are reacting to almost applies submissions and escapes. I feel this is very amateur wrestling based a lot of side mounting on the back. Nice headscissors on Sano while on top of his back. I like how they are organically standing back up. Sano rolls nicely into an STF, but Shamrock is too close to the ropes. That was Sano best submission. Shamrock almost takes Sano's off with a wicked kick. These front kicks by Shamrock the way he flicks his foot look deadly. Sano is selling the midsection. Shamrock comes in with a flying knee and a ton of kneelifts. He takesdown Sano down via a front chancery to get a nine count on Sano. Shamrock comes flying back into the screen with wild palm strikes. Sano tries a back heel trip, but Shamrock rolls through to end up on top. Shamrock has Sano's back again. Sano looks like he doesnt know to shit or wind his watch. Great organic German Suplex. Shamrock has a waistlock, Sano stands up and Shamrock hoists him and dumps him on his head for a nine count. Great flurry of strikes and Shamrock wins the clinch with a kneelift & front chancery. Sano finally gets Shammy's back when they go to the mat. Not much happening right here. Shamrock definitely is doing more of the moving in this match. Shamrock wriggles out and looks for a toehold, Sano has a waistlock. First time, this match has dragged. I cant believe Shamrock is out wrestling Sano. Shamrock pops out with a deep legbar. Sano makes the ropes. Shamrock is outclassing Sano. Sano catches the kick, but Shamrick tries for a legscissors. Nice block by Sano who has his arms figure-4'd around Shamrock's left leg, but again cant do anything. Shamrock gets a kneebar and Sano makes the ropes. Thank God for the Ropes if you are Sano. Sano gets a double underhook takedown. Both guys are working incredibly hard. This is such a physically demanding match and style and to be going 20+ minutes is insane. They are struggling against each other so much. I know I said it before, but the weight distribution and balance is so impressive here. They are both doing so well to keep a wide base. The defense here is top notch. This is a defensive wrestling fan's dream. Are there defensive wrestling fans? I am pretty traditionalist, but I dont even like defense that much. Really great rolling ankle pick, but again Sano gets a great facelock to pry Shamrock off his ankle. Nice, nice defense. Let it fly, boys! Shamrock shoots in for the double, but Sano pancakes him. Shamrock has a waistlock, but Sano picks the ankle rolls through into a kneebar and Shamrock gets the ropes. Shamrock comes up swinging. SOME BRUTAL SHOTS! Wicked kneelifts. He is swinging for the fences. DRAGON SUPLEX~! Sano applies a Fujiwara armbar immediately for the tapout. The struggle was definitely real in this match. The standup was excellent. Shamrock hit some big boy shots in this match. He was letting it fly. I thought the matwork was very tight. Some really cool setups for the application of a wide variety of submissions. I thought Sano was good on defense but was lacking on the mat during offense. Some of the matwork did long in the tooth without any immediate payoff. I thought Shamrock was the most dynamic and explosive wrestler here. Surprised more of his shoot style work is not more heralded as he looked great here. ****

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Vader vs Stan Hansen - NJPW Dome 2/10/90 King Kong vs Godzilla! The infamous Eye Pop Out match where the especially gruesome injury overshadows how actually great this match. This is one of those Watts hoss battles that I love. It was a better match than that Doc vs Gordy series. I still think I like their AWA match a little more, but is a crazy, stiff, physical brawl where neither man gave an inch. There is not much bumping in this match. I saw this match many moons ago and I could have sworn I saw the eye pop out easily. But this time I had a harder time to seeing it. It was nasty. Jesus! They were very handsy with each other in the face. I believe in football they would call this illegal hands to the face. I could not tell if it one of the two stiff forearm shivers to the arm or if it was a thumb to the eye. I cant believe Vader did not fucking KO him. You can tell there is a problem is when Vader goes into the clinch and then an armbar. You can see Vader put the eyeball back in place and then thankfully for Vader the swelling kept the eye in place. Everyone talks about receipts in pro wrestling. To me the only receipt is to fucking KO Stan. Vader is a nice and tough man. Nice that he didnt KO Stan and tough because he fucking wrestles for the next 15 minutes with his eye held only in place by swelling and his orbital bone broken. Anyways, the rest of the match is great. Vader wrestles like there is nothing wrong. He is still doing all his spots and landing them. No bumping, just kicking ass. Vader works over the ribs and it was really good selling from Hansen. Really good work for Vader on top. Vader beats him up in the crowd. Lands some wicked lariats and stiff shots. He even comes off the top rope and hits his Vader Flying Body Attack. Vader ends up charging and eating the steel post. Hansen takes over. He kicks the injured eye! Then kneedrops the injured eye. This is fucking Hansen so that means those were not light kneedrops. What about infection with the flat of the boot thats terrible. Hansen wants the Lariat but Vader hits a dropkick. They both trade two big meaty lariats and then it is a double countout. This is an insane, heated brawl. It really lives up to King Kong vs Godzilla. The eye injury adds to the drama, but you hate to see that happen. Thankfully, the doctors were able to save Vader's eye. It is tough to stomach this match, a couple of the close-ups are just grizzly, but if you can manage it this is a great match. ***3/4

I read the first sentence and had a mini-heart attack. Thank God, he moved it. Yes, I am glad he still hosts. A lot of what I am watching for Greatest Match Ever (http://gweproject.freeforums.net/) I found in a Ditch.