cactus
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Everything posted by cactus
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What a way to re-introduce Shibata and Sakuraba to the audience. An absolute war with a red-hot crowd. Everyone has a role here, and they play it magnificently. Laughter7 are here to kick ass and show precisely zero fucks, Inoue is the whipping boy with a belly full of fire and Makabe is here to flip people off and to receive a hot tag, so thankfully he doesn't bog this match down too much. Pretty much a squash with a few hope spots. Inoue's spear was a thing of beauty and it caught me completely off-guard. Makabe & Inoue realize they have to play dirty if they want to stand a chance. They rush the illegal Sakuraba of the apron in order to double-team Shibata, but this is only a minor setback for Laughter7 who then make quick work of the Always Hypers. ★★★¾ -
Sakuraba's first singles match in a long, long time and you can feel that there's something special in the air. The mat work is dominated by Saku and even if you aren't you aware of him before this match like I was when I first saw this, you now know that he's no pushover. The first few minutes establishes that Nakamura has no chance beating Sakuraba in a grappling match and he has to resort in using a lucky strike to bring down the mighty Saku. Nakamura makes the mistake of going for a take down and is met with a legitimate looking knee, a direct call back to when Nakamura attempted a take down on Takayama many moons ago. Nakamura manages to slide out of an armbar and takes Sakuraba out with a violent Boma Ye, the only pin attempt of the match. Still as great as it was when I first saw this back in 2013. It's like Lesnar v Cena at Extreme Rules, but worked as a shoot style match, and who could hate that? ★★★★½
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Choshu and Misawa start off, the crowd is hot, then Misawa tags Tenryu and the crowd reaches absolutely molten levels and all four guys manage to keep the crowd that hot for the remainder of this 20 minute match. Everyone puts their work in this match, but Tenryu and Choshu are the stars of the show here. Riki Choshu is Japan's answer to Jerry Lawler. Doesn't do that many moves, he just knows when to use them. Just impeccable timing and psychology. He has Misawa in the Scorpion Deathlock and the way he doesn't take his eyes off Tenryu is brilliant. Tenryu always looks like he legits hates his opponents and that's why he's so fantastic. It can be a bit hard to follow at times due to the chaotic nature, but I guess that's why this is such a great brawl. You don't get these kind of matches and atmosphere in wrestling matches nowadays. ★★★★¼
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I don't know how this storyline with Sting and the Horseman plays out exactly, but I do know that Flair and Sting became huge rivals by the end of the year, so I was expecting a turn at some point, but doing it here came as a jarring surprise. Very rushed. Decent promo from everyone involved though.
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The opening portions off this was slow and uneventful, with the exception of Zbyszko's subtle heel facial expressions and gestures. Things pick up once Larry ups the heel tactics to 11 and hits Saito with a low blow. The crowd go apeshit and then we get a hot finishing stretch, with every backdrop feeling like they could be responsible for ending the match. ★★★½
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These NWA cage matches where you can still get DQ'd and you have to tag in and out have never set well with me. Leading on from the Horseman heel turn earlier in the night, this has a much difference dynamic than the tag match match The Horseman had with Muta, Sawyer and Dragon Master a few weeks prior. The crowd cheer for Sting as soon as the bell rings and the evil foreigners actually end up getting cheered. Buzz Saywer was great here, he really puts everything into the match and not caring for his own well being. He full-on hits the steel beam of the cage with his head multiple times. He even attempts a splash from the cage, but with all the commotion going on with Sting and Flair, no one in the crowd seems to care much. Decent enough for what it is, but I do wish we got the advertised match with The Horseman as the babyfaces.
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The match is short, but the post-match angle is the real meat of this segment. Roberts and DiBiase have an enjoyable back and forth match until Bossman comes out and nails Roberts with the nightstick. Bossman refuses to retrieve DiBiase's belt for him from Jake's bag after he finds out he's been bribed. Bossman then verbally dresses down the heels and he helps Roberts, turning him face. I've not heard of this let alone seen this before and it's bloody brilliant. Bossman's passion is off the charts. A beautiful piece of cheesed-up American wrestling.
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Even at this point in time, it's clear that Liger is something special. He starts of the match by slapping Sano and rushing him before Sano eventually gets a hold of him and starts mauling him. He rips apart Liger's mask to the point where his entire face is exposed, with the mask hanging off the rest of his body suit making a great visual. Thankfully Sano is a all-round great guy and bloodies up Liger to help him conceal his identity. What a pal. Liger's hope spots in this match are a treat to watch. The handstand used to evade Sano's running attack is the main one that sticks to mind. Liger knows how to create drama during ever near-fall and Sano knows how to dish out a beating, so this winning combination allowed this match to be a hate-fueled war. Best match of 1990 so far. A high end MOTYC. ★★★★½
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A squash, but a truly fantastic one with a memorable post-match angle. Jeff Jarrett is full of fire and has a brilliant punch. Just going by this match alone, Jarrett looks like he could of been a top babyface if he didn't become a bit shit later in his career. Billy Joe Travis is a guy who I've never heard of before embarking on this yearbook set and he's made me a fan alright. Takes a beating well and he just gets mauled by Jarrett, eating a nasty DDT on the announce table.
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We only get the finish, so I'm not going to rate this, but what we saw here was good. This six man tag descends into a fiery brawl and eventually Tenryu snaps after getting counted out. Angry Tenryu is the best Tenryu. I was quite impressed with Mighty Inoue here too. He was building up to a nice comeback before the match abruptly ends.
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First time seeing Bill Dundee and I understand the hype. Dundee throws a beautiful punch, and Travis knows how to take a punch, so predictably this was good. I love the comedy spots at the start of the match. Adams gets his leg worked on sells it well. The ending played out perfectly. ★★★
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This is hard to rate. Most of this match was grappling that went nowhere, it just felt like a boring shot. Very dull. However, there are moments sprinkled throughout where I can see why this match was included on this set. I loved Maeda's comeback where he hits a gorgeous capture suplex. Takada showed great fire when he has a fighting chance against the superior fighter, and he sold the fatigue of the fight brilliantly. The eyepoke spot create some compelling drama the pop at the finish of the match was deafening. I would of enjoyed this a lot more if it was clipped, I reckon.
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You know, I was looking forward to this show until I opened this thread and came to my senses and realized what little this card has going for it. I want Jinder vs Shinsuke to be decent, but their encounter at Summerslam was mediocre beyond belief. Nakamura isn't exactly a guy who can carry someone to a good match. Owens vs Shane could be an intriguing overbooked car-wreck, but I expect it to play out like Shane's plodding HIAC match with Undertaker. New Day vs Usos could be really fantastic. Everything else looks forgettable.
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Surprised I've never heard of this match before being a big Shawn Michaels mark and all. This deserved to be on PPV. Just an utterly fantastic power vs speed match. The Rockers work around their limitations with some cool double team moves and they don't look out place working on the Powers of Pain. The height Jannetty got on those flapjacks was insane. I have no idea how that didn't injure the little creep. ★★★★
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I really dug this. Tenryu rough houses Tiger Mask in this, and here I was thinking Fuyuki trying to rip up and expose Tiger's face to world would be the worst thing the future Misawa would experience in this match. Jumbo eventually makes the save and tee's off with Tenryu and it's all so good. I really should go back and check out their 80's stuff again. Don't even get me started on the finish to this, absolutely genius. Go watch. ★★★★¼