ohtani's jacket

Ran is back in her element working midcard matches in JWP. She looked much more comfortable here than she did against Toyota.

This is such a great feud. The video montage gives you goosebumps, doesn't it? It's Pro-Wrestling 101. There are a million reasons why this feud works. One reason is that the context is similar to Misawa vs. Jumbo and other classic puroresu narratives. Another reason is that Satomura is a shooter type akin to Chigusa or Yamada and not an idol type like Toyota. From Aja's perspective, it reminds her of her struggle to dethrone Bull. From Satomura's perspective, it's reminiscent of her mentor's battles against Dump. Folks can write their own narratives about how the match unfolds but I thought it was pretty clearly the most anticipated Joshi match of the year and the one bout that felt like it belonged in the big time.

This feud has been one of the better things in Joshi during the first half of the year, but I'm not sure that this match worked all that well. The flash pin is an old staple in Joshi but it's usually reserved for the underdog team and not the champion. Maekawa and Watanabe taking the quick fall was meant to be a show of strength but it came across like a challenger move to me and did nothing to dispel the notion that LCO were the better team. The second fall was notable for how lightly Shimoda worked with Maekawa compared to Mita who was prepared to take her lumps, and we had to sit through some ponderous crowd brawling before the match settled into any sort of rhythm. Watanabe's bladejob looked gruesome, but it was completely pointless in terms of its impact on the match. There was a stretch where LCO worked the cut but it was short lived. Joshi usually has an extended finishing stretch and that portion of the match was compelling. I thought Mita was a workhorse and excellent throughout the match and there were some nice nearfalls down the stretch but despite Watanabe's crimson mask it lacked the passion that you expect from a bout like this, and it didn't go to the end of the line where no other ending is conceivable beyond the one they delivered. But at least things picked up once they stuck to the ring and not the bleachers.

Poor Bobby. That really closes another chapter in my fandom.

Ran Yu Yu gets a shot at the Big Red Belt. That's cool. She looks out of her depth to start with. Toyota had this habit as she got older of channeling the same bitch mode as Mima Shimoda and Takako Inoue. She treated Ran like a lower rung opponent and unfortunately Ran didn't have much of a reply to it. Then there was the botch. Now we've all seen Manami Toyota blow spots, but I can't recall anything that looked as painful as the botch here. It was hard to know how hurt she really was but it changed the complexion of the match completely. Suddenly, Ran was on the attack and the match was much more focused. Toyota favored her arm throughout the remainder of the bout, and if you know anything about Toyota you'll know she's not that good at sustaining her selling. Despite working with one arm, the injured stretch was by far the best part of the match. I can't imagine the finishing stretch being anything out of the ordinary if Toyota hadn't wrecked her shoulder, The one arm dives weren't exactly heroic but they were memorable. Ran ended up being overshadowed by the injury but she was too much of an unknown quantity to begin with. The match was more interesting than good but it picked up once Toyota got hurt. She wrestled again the following night so I guess she was all right. When I was a kid we used to call that "axing" yourself,

This was further proof of the genius of Ishikawa just in case you needed any. What more can be said about Ishikawa? A lyrist, a stylist, a Fujiwara for the 00s! Ishikawa played to Nagai's strengths here and made him look like a beast, but the real talking point was Nagai dominating him on the mat. I don't think anyone would have expected that heading into the match. Nagai winning by submission was a clever touch that legitimised him as more than just a striker while the rope breaks and Ishikawa's unrelenting toughness salvaged any credibility he may have lost by losing to a non-specialist wrestler. Nagai came out of this looking like a legit fighter and not just some meathead striker and clearly had an A game above anything that punters were aware of. Ishikawa got his tactics wrong in retrospect and that wry cockiness of his probably cost him the bout. But he wanted to front Nagai from a striking perspective and Nagai ended up surprising him on the mat. Strong bout that elevated Nagai and helped stamp his mark on BattlARTS.

This was all right but all that legwork reminded me of Takada and that's never a palatable thing.

This was pretty cool. I'm not a big Otsuka fan -- at least not as big a fan as some people I know -- but I thought this was one of his better performances. Taira was a 36-year-old shoot boxer on debut. If I hadn't told you that, you might have thought he had been around the pro-wrestling scene for longer such was the strength of Otsuka's performance. Taira was awkward at times but that's part of the charm of shoot guys doing works (unless they're being pushed to the moon like Ogawa.) Interestingly, the strength of Otsuka's performance didn't come from his matwork or power moves but rather his selling. That's not the first thing you look for in shoot style but his selling was excellent here and he reacted well to the offense Taira brought to the table. I didn't love the finishing stretch but Otsuka loves to throw in pro-wrestling moves as is his wont. It didn't take away from an extremely good effort from the man and a successful debut for Taira aesthetically, anyway.

That's all that I've seen but I was mostly interested in it because it featured British wrestlers. There may be other footage out there.

Oh my God, we're back again... I rocked that song at karaoke the other night, and you know it was a shout out to Los Guapos... These teams picked up where they left off the week before. The Guapos looked slick in the opening caida. They're possibly the best working trio in Mexico at present. This wasn't as dynamic as the week before but there was enough action here to whet your appetite for more from these teams.

This served its purpose by advancing the Perro vs. Mascara feud. The trick to these sort of matches is having a throughline that can be traced from the beginning of the match through to the end and I thought Perro and Mascara accomplished that with their brawling segments. They also did a good job of mixing things up so it wasn't just Perro and Mascara brawling at ringside ad nauseam. Of course, that meant all eyes on Satanico. And being the Satanico tragic that I am, every time he squares off with someone I see "program" written all over it, but there's nothing more tantalizing than an Atlantis vs. Satanico program. If I could have anything in 2000 CMLL right now, that would be it. And therein lies the tease of trios matches, and the reason why hardcores watch even the most obscure bouts: to get little snippets of matches that probably aren't going to happen. I know we're not getting Atlantis vs. Satanico but it sure is fun to dream.

I thought they could have done a bit more with this. After the amazing electrocution angle, I've developed a taste for edgier brawls in CMLL but they didn't do much with the falls and the brawling was pretty mediocre. Perro continues to look geriatric. He has the odd flurry where the fire is still there but he has a hard time moving about. I remember that Eduardo and I loved his apuesta match with Universo 2000 when we watched it together but watching him week to week is wiping away any illusions I had about that match.

It's a list of everything I've seen. The dates and names may not be 100% accurate. The Iraq stuff is on YouTube.

There's also these matches from Iraq; John Lees vs. Adnan Al-Kaissie (Iraq, 1960s) Ian Campbell vs. Adnan Al-Kaissie (Baghdad, 1960s) Ian Campbell vs. Adnan Al-Kaissie (Karbala, 1960s)

French catch: Albert Falaux vs. Guy Robin (1953) Gilbert Cesca vs. Billy Catanzarro Jean Rabut vs. Venta Costella (1/22/60) Michel Allary vs. Jack de Lassartesse (1/22/60) Isha Israel/Jean Corne vs. Les Blousons Noirs (Claude Gessat/Marcel Mannevau) (4/21/60) Michel Allary vs. Johnny Stein (1960) Jack de Lassartesse/Robert Duranton vs. Andre Drapp/Bernard Vignal (1/20/61) Dan Aubriot vs. Pierre Bernaert (9/11/62) Bernard Vignal vs. Grand Vladimir (5/15/64) Les Copains (Dan Aubroit/Bob Plantin) vs. Les Blousons Noirs (Claude Gessat/Marcel Mannevau) (5/15/64) Rene Ben Chemoul/Gilbert Cesca vs. The Black Diamonds (2/28/65) Gilbert Cesca/Rene Ben Chemoul vs. Anton Tejero/Inca Peruano (3/12/65) Remy Bayle/Dan Abriot vs. Victor Castilla/Pancho Zapata (11/28/65) Cheri Bibi/Eric Husberg vs. Marcel Montreal/Remy Bayle (1965) Le Vicomte Joel de Noirbreuil & Pierre Lagache vs. Georges Cohen & Abraham Edery (10/16/66) Bruno Asquini/Gilbert Leduc vs. Les Blousons Noirs (Claude Gessat/Marcel Mannevau) (5/6/67) Anton Tejero vs. Walter Bordes (8/29/67) Michel Saulnier vs. Le Petit Prince (9/30/67) Batman vs. Teddy Boy (9/30/67) Francis Louis vs. Bob Plantin (1968) Rene Ben Chemoul vs. Gilbert Cesca Gilbert Cesca vs. Cheri Bibi Teddy Boys (Aldolphe Sevre/Robert Le Boulch) vs. Gilbert Cesca/Rene Ben Chemoul Gilbert Cesca/ ReneBen Chemoul vs. Cheri Bibi/Pierre Bernaert Francis Sullivan/Albert Sanniez vs. Bernard Caclard/Tony Martino Albert Falaux/Bob Elandon vs. Rene Cabellec/Gilbert Puydebat Les Celtes (Jean Corne/Michel Falempin) vs. Inca Viracocha et Jose Gonzales ('68?) Bruno Asquini/Gilbert Cesca vs. Les Blousons Noirs (Claude Gessat/Marcel Mannevau) Iska Khan/Gen Tilly vs. Yves Amor/Pierre Rouanet Gilbert Leduc vs. Quasimodo Gilbert Leduc vs. Le Bourreau de Bethune

These are the 60s British matches I have: Len Wilding vs. Jack Cunningham (10/28/61 TV) Albert Wall vs. Ernie Riley (11/25/61 TV) Billy Howes vs. Jacques Lageat (5/5/62) Mick McManus vs. Jackie Pallo (5/5/62) Honey Boy Zimba vs. Docker Don Steadman (10/18/67 TV) Alan Miquet vs. Tony Borg (10/18/67 TV) Julien Morice vs. Johnny Williams (9/20/69) Peter Szakacs vs. Len Hurst (late 60s) Tibor Szakacs vs. Ivor "Pat" Barratt (late 60s) Wild Man of Borneo & Steve Haggerty vs. Ray Hunter & Al Hayes (Paul Lincoln Promotions 1960s)

Soon all mankind will witness the rebirth of.... The Undertaker.

This was a quality atomicos. Even with the butchering, we could see a clear throughline from the early rudo beatdown to the tecnico victory. I thought Casas was excellent in this. You see a lot of workers pair off in trios matches but only the great ones like Casas can turn things into an issue. I loved the way he paused before striking Scorpio just long enough for the crowd to egg him on. Then he launched into the stomp without needing any approval. Great finish too with Casas getting payback for the first fall. Casas always brings different dimensions to his matches but badass Casas is one of my favorites especially with how camp and effeminate Casas can be at times. Niebla also featured prominently in this, and while I think he was a bit heavy to be working the classic Lizmark/Solar/Atlantis role, his power stuff looks awesome especially his suplexes and the extra weight adds more impact to the heavy contact stuff. Tarzan Boy is still getting booed by the crowd but he took some nice licks in the opening fall and brought the high impact dives that made the tercera pretty to watch. Shocker continues to look good but took a backseat here to Casas vs. Scorpio and Zumbido flew around taking some nice bumps. Los Guapos have been a pleasant surprise for me so far. Backstreet's Back gets me every time, especially when Bestia is dressed like an extra from the Sopranos.

This was supposed to be a fast paced match with plenty of flying but the action was middling. The dives were all right but the bout could have done with more classic lucha exchanges to set up the dive trains. The rudos didn't show much character and no-one stood out from the tecnico side. There was a large contingent of tecnico fans in attendance but if this showcase was for them then it fell kind of flat.

What an entrance by Valentin Mayo. He sure saw himself as a star even if the crowd didn't know who he was. This was a bare bones apuesta match. Don't expect too much from it and you won't be disappointed. The most notable about it was Brazo's cut. There was some decent action in the third caida but it's hard to get a feel for the rhythm of a bout with some much left on the cutting room floor. Brazo looked distinctly un-maestrolike, I thought, but the crowd was behind him. Might have meant more to us if we'd seen the build up.

Ramona TeSelle vs. Sharon Lass was a fairly generic 50s match with the heel cheating until she won. Russ was depressed by the result but hoped we liked it. Oh yeah, Russ, we're pumped. Billy Darnell vs. Hans Hermann was another match with endless cheating. Matches like these never get started. The heel cheats, the face retaliates and you get the occasional flash of offense. Darnell looked like a decent worker but they were taking it pretty easy. Dick Afflis vs. Ivan Rasputin was apparently Afflis' debut in the territory as Davis knew nothing about him. Afflis was a mean bugger but the only time his work is compelling is when there's an extra edge to it like in the Gomez fight. Rasputin continues to be a fun worker. If you have an appreciation for journeymen you'll dig Rasputin. Great Yamato vs. Len Rossi was long but somehow Yamato manages to work decent matches with very little wrestling involved. That takes a fair amount of skill, I guess. It helps that he's a short, stocky guy who hits hard and like Rasputin looks like he has a strong center of gravity. Both of them look immovable which is a cool trait for a wrestler to have. Tom Thumb vs. Little Beaver was a neat midgets match. Little Beaver looked like a minis version of Chief Don Eagle and knew how to work a hold. Competitive bout with both men working hard, There was a lot of niggle in the clinch as there often is in 50s wrestling but it was gritty and tough. The midgets represented.

Damn. That is cool.

Violet Viann vs. June Byers was a decent match. Viann was this sassy, diminutive worker who kept chewing gum the entire bout and Byers, while lacking in charisma, looked better than in any of her other bouts. I think it was because she was working in favour of her size advantage instead of just looking to brawl and draw heat. Apparently, some of the modern WWE women watched this match and borrowed one of Byers' signature moves. Mechanically, she was strong in this. Next up was the Zaharias Brothers vs. Rudy Kay & Al Williams. This was a short brawl between four barroom brawler types. FIne while it lasted. Vittorio Apollo vs. Miquel Torres was a short squash match designed to introduce Chicago to the latest Argentinian sensation. Apollo worked just like Rocca and bounced all over the show. One Rocca is probably enough for my money. Also on the short side were Johnny Gilbert vs. Jack Terry and Bearcat Wright vs. Big Moose Cholak. Terry was an old campaigner with a busted nose and cauliflower ears that kept giving his opponent judo "licks" while Gilbert was a younger, flashier opponent who liked putting Terry in a head-scissors and smashing his face into the canvas. Wright wasn't a great worker and Cholak was a huge lug who drew good heat but their bout was interesting enough for the time it last.

I had this uncle who was the black sheep of the family. He was living in Australia and nobody had seen or heard from him in 15 years. One day he decided to reconnect with his family and came over to New Zealand to stay for a few weeks. We were all sitting around my grandmother's living room and my uncle suddenly said he wanted to watch WWF Superstars. I had just gotten into comics at the time and was massively into X-Men. My first memory of wrestling was that it was like a comic book come to life. The wrestlers looked like real life superheroes and I was fascinated from the get-go. The episode of Superstars we watched had an Andre vs. Duggan match where Duggan hit the Giant with his 2x4. That was my baptism into wrestling. But the angle that really got me hooked was Outlaw Ron Bass raking Beefcake's face with his spurs. That blew my mind. I remember asking my uncle whether Beefcake could sue. WWF took off at school around this time and was all we would talk about. People would bring the magazines to school and trade the bubblegum cards. I remember sticking some nails in a piece of wood, wrapping some rubber bands around them and having PPV after PPV with my GI-Joes. I started watching during the lead-in to SummerSlam '88. Hogan was off making a movie at the time and the angles mainly involved Savage, DiBiase and Andre. I can still remember the first time I saw Hulk Hogan and watching SummerSlam on TV then over and over again on tape. Wrestling remained huge until WM 6 though the peak was definitely WM 5. After that, we shifted our attention to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which was the craze that ended the wrestling boom. I still enjoy wrestling but I'll never recapture those times where it was larger than life. Summer of '88 to Spring 1990. RIP, Uncle Kev.