ohtani's jacket

Yip.

The 6/92 Hansen match has a strong performance from Kawada. Hansen took an interesting route of trying to work Kawada's leg over, which led to a lot of sustained leg selling (obviously a strength of Kawada's.) He let Hansen throw him around like a rag doll on a big gutwrench suplex and a high release power bomb. Hansen was licking his chops out there by the end of the bout. I wasn't crazy in love in the theatrical bump Kawada took off the final lariat, but one of the better pre-1994 singles matches from Kawada.

The 6/92 Hansen match has a strong performance from Kawada. Hansen took an interesting route of trying to work Kawada's leg over, which led to a lot of sustained leg selling (obviously a strength of Kawada's.) He let Hansen throw him around like a rag doll on a big gutwrench suplex and a high release power bomb. Hansen was licking his chops out there by the end of the bout. I wasn't crazy in love in the theatrical bump Kawada took off the final lariat, but one of the better pre-1994 singles matches from Kawada.

The Solar/Navarro matches are more quintessential than that Panther bout.

i watched a full length version of this with commentary from Taz and Michael Cole. A more rounded juniors match with the build included, but they drop shit and move to the next sequence with no concern for psychology (in the old parlance.) The internet, surprisingly, doesn't have that many Liger/Benoit matches floating about, so I guess I won't be watching the series in full.

Flair/Ole/Arn vs. Garvin/Whatley/Taylor, WCW, 11/16/85 Super fun six-man tag with Flair and the Andersons looking to cut the ring off and work their man over while the babyfaces keep making spirited comebacks. I love how Flair delivers a running commentary in these studio bouts telling guys how he's gonna take them to school and now they're gonna pay. The Flair fans are awesome as well ("take him to school Ric!") Some great Flair/Garvin action here even if Ronnie hadn't really gotten under his skin yet. Great energy to the bout. Really entertaining TV. Flair/Garvin confrontation and challenge, WCW, 12/21/85 I expect so much of Flair on the mic that sometimes I get a little disappointed when his riffs fall flat, but Flair was brilliant here. Garvin was a fairly limited mic worker and the way Flair played off him was masterful. Ric's at his best when he's indignant about some perceived slight or insult. His rising indignation at Garvin's defiance was a joy to watch. Garvin was limited, but he could get his point across, and this was a great challenge. Ric Flair promos, WCW, 12/21/85 and 12/28/85 Flair cuts a couple of promos hyping the upcoming Garvin match and talking about his sexual prowess. I liked Flair's annoyance at the insinuation he was afraid of Garvin, but this was mostly Flair getting off on being Flair. He was so high on himself in the second promo that he signed off the promo with: "Tony, you're a handsome man." I love the different ways he'd treat Schiavone depending on his mood. Ric Flair vs. Ronnie Garvin, WCW, 12/28/85 Awesome match. I love how serious Flair was after all the shit talking he'd done and the way the violence escalated to the point where they were just about fish hooking each other. Flair crying out "God damn you!" was an awesome moment. Ronnie looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel he was so fired up. Even when he was trying to put Flair in a front face lock it felt like a "shoot." That much intensity in a studio setting meant the bout could only end with a double countout or a run-in or some sort, so I didn't mind the interference, but it did keep in at the "great TV match" level rather than being anything transcendent. Ronnie Garvin/Dusty Rhodes/Magnum TA promo, WCW, 12/28/85 The babyfaces deliver a suitably fired up group promo condemning the actions of Flair and the Andersons. Dusty threw the set about playing off a riff about there not being enough room for all six men in the studio. Fun little riff from an all-time great promo guy.

alexoblivion put it up for us before that.

I only listened to the first 10 minutes out of curiosity, but the dude's Vince wasn't as good as he thought it was and the Flair wasn't worth snickering over. I doubt either of them were alive in 1984, though, so they're hardly going to have nostalgia for what was a fucking awesome year. I didn't realise Judy Bagwell was a Kiwi until I read this thread. I miss the days of getting wrestling news from The Truth and the TV guide, bubble gum cards, action cards and cheap knockoff sweaters. If your dad bought you the official WWF magazine from a stationary shop in the late 80s you were the coolest kid in school for a day. I still remember the used book stores being fill of comic books and Apter mags. It was sad when those stores closed one by one.

I watched the 8/92 Liger vs. Benoit match, which is all right and everything, but after a while I began wondering: "well, what's the difference between Liger popping up when Benoit's climbing the turnbuckles and Angle doing it?" And then you start to wonder how the match is any worse than Toyota bout or anything else synonymous with the 90s. People talk a lot about Tiger Mask's stuff not holding up, but a decade on the same is surely true of 90s workrate heroes. I realise there's been a backlash to the juniors style over the years, but Liger somehow remains immune.

This is one I kind of disagree on. Maybe it's blasphemous to say, but Blue Panther usually disappoints me. The stuff against Atlantis is one of the all-time great in-ring rivalries and better than the rivalry with Santo, which I haven't seen deliver much outside of a few AAA exchanges and those two matches in Monterrey (wasn't a fan of the Essex, UK stuff.) I steadfast believe he had stuff as good as the Atlantis stuff, but not on tape. One of the most frustrating things about him is you *don't* get 4-5 minutes of great matwork in the average Panther trios. I wouldn't call him the best trio match worker for the simple fact that he wasn't that flash a rudo, but also because he doesn't bring the matwork on a regular basis. He can even be (dare I say it) sloppy on the mat at times. I'd take Fuerza, Emilio Charles Jr or Satanico over Panther any day when it comes to watching a random trios and that's just for starters. I also think he's weak at singles matches. I'm not even talking about his old man Panther stuff, which I think is overrated, but his weak stuff against Love Machine and Octagon. Pena may shoulder some of the blame there, but Fuerza excelled in the same environment and people don't put him in the same lofty sphere as Panther. I always feel kind of dirty typing this stuff, but is Panther really better than say Solar?

It's not really fathomable to me how someone could like that Cota match more than the Fiera match, but at least you found something you like.

The 4/91 match was a big step up from their 1990 match I watched. People will say that it wasn't worked the way a mask vs. mask match should be worked, but if you got to an Indian restaurant in Japan, or an Italian restaurant or a Mexican restaurant, it's not going to taste the way it's supposed to. The problem was that it wasn't a particularly dramatic match by *juniors* standards as opposed to not going to the places where a masks match should go. Offensively, it was much better than the 1990 bout and the excitement level was around a third.

I got these discs a long time ago and never watched them. With the winter season coming up it seems like a good time to hole up with some Flair/Garvin. Ric Flair vs. Ronnie Garvin, GCW, 6/17/84 This was Flair challenging for the television title instead of Garvin challenging for the world title, but let's just pretend that Flair was interested in using the television title as a coaster. The important thing is that the action was good. They kept up a rapid pace through the 10 minutes starting with some decent chain wrestling, moving through some mid-range and then letting the fists fly as Flair got a taste of what to expect from "Hands of Stone" Ronnie Garvin. Nice little appetizer for what was to come. Garvin looked good here as he did in his Georgia matches w/ Jake Roberts. Not one of the all-time great Flair studio appearances, but thoroughly entertaining.

So, it occurred to me that I've never watched the Liger/Pegasus Kid series in its entirety and I've been kind of wanting to watch Liger of late, whom I've been down on the past few years. The version of 8/19/90 I watched was JIP and showed the pair going through the motions of a finishing stretch. The excitement level for me barely rose above zero. There's something wrong w/ Benoit wearing a mask. It didn't fit Owen either. They seem too jacked up to wear one. Few luchadores had the builds they did and the ones that did looked stupid in a mask as well except for maybe Scorpio Jr. Benoit seems way too big for Liger as well even though Yamada was also juicing. Weird match-up. I'll give a point to the robot criticism since he was wrestling that way here and I remember him doing the same against the Villanos in his UWA run.

I watched the '94 CC bout again, and I think it's a shame that Kobashi's win came in probably their worst match. I can live with the ribs injury being the excuse for Hansen's loss, but it wasn't ideal given how close Kobashi had been to beating Hansen in their '93 bouts based on his own skill and ability. Granted, you could argue that Hansen was still dangerous when injured and could still hit the lariat at any time, and that Kobashi showed a certain amount of skill by evading the attack that led to Hansen's injury, but that's fishing for excuses. Mostly, they tread over old ground, and in some cases regressed on what they had accomplished in previous bouts. The crowd were thrilled with what they witnessed, though, and seemed to view it as something special. I did like Kobashi face down clinging to the streamers as the magnitude of what he'd accomplished set in. It's too bad it had low quality dubbed in commentary instead of Wakabayashi.

I watched the '94 CC bout again, and I think it's a shame that Kobashi's win came in probably their worst match. I can live with the ribs injury being the excuse for Hansen's loss, but it wasn't ideal given how close Kobashi had been to beating Hansen in their '93 bouts based on his own skill and ability. Granted, you could argue that Hansen was still dangerous when injured and could still hit the lariat at any time, and that Kobashi showed a certain amount of skill by evading the attack that led to Hansen's injury, but that's fishing for excuses. Mostly, they tread over old ground, and in some cases regressed on what they had accomplished in previous bouts. The crowd were thrilled with what they witnessed, though, and seemed to view it as something special. I did like Kobashi face down clinging to the streamers as the magnitude of what he'd accomplished set in. It's too bad it had low quality dubbed in commentary instead of Wakabayashi. Also, I keep overlooking the fact that Hansen had more than one match per year with a lot of these guys. The 1992 Carnival bout against Kobashi is JIP and doesn't add much to the feud, but it's an enjoyable 15 minutes or so.

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR Ep 43 Pat Roach vs. Ray Steele (5/4/88) This was the lousiest of all the Roach/Steele matches I've seen. Usually, you can count on some pretty decent heavyweight action from them, but Steele retired hurt with an injury and Roach pleaded in an over emoting way for the decision not to stand. Lame. Jon Cox vs. Peter Stewart (aired 4/25/81) Iron Duke Pete Stewart! Love me some Pete Stewart. This one somehow slipped under my radar, but it was a tough as nails, gritty, no frills contest between the Duke and big Jon Cox. Cox was a bit docile for a man his size, but the great thing about British wrestling is that guys got to have their match (minimum four rounds or whatever it was) regardless of how dynamic they were. Everyone got to use the same canvas, and in many ways the form (as dictated by the Mountevans rules) was more important than personality. Meaning there was room for everyone even the John Coxs of the world, which is a roundabout way of saying I dug this even though Cox was colourless. John Elijah vs. Tony Francis (aired 4/18/81) This was supposed to be Al Kilby vs. Francis but Kilby was out injured. Francis is a guy who worked a lot for Stu Hart in Calgary and his most high profile stuff in England was as fodder for Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, but this was a rare "serious" match and exactly what you'd expect from John Elijah. As sure as the sun will rise, John Elijah will have single pace, solid power wrestling matches. Kilby appeared on crutches at the end with a nurse at his side. Walton claimed he had a burst blood vessel in his leg, but he wanted to shake Elijah's hand. Francis was unspectacular, but I'm always lulled into a type of home comfort when I watch a John Elijah bout. Danny Boy Collins vs. Rick Wiseman (4/8/87) This was Collins' first British Welterweight title defence after his kidney operation. Nothing fancy. The mulleted look wasn't Collins' best. Walton kept telling porkies about Collins getting a title shot against the Welterweight champion of the world, Mando Ramos from Panama City. The only Mando Ramos I can find any record of was a popular Southern California boxer from the 60s. The last time Walton had mentioned the world champion he was a "Mexican." In any event, the title bout never happened.

So I watched the 7/93 Kobashi match for the first time in donkey years. It's kind of interesting watching it as the next chapter in the feud rather than in anticipation of one of the best All Japan matches of the 90s and one of the greatest matches of all-time. It's not quite as special as the work a lot of the same sequences they'd done previously, but I got behind Kobashi more than I would have if I'd watched it in isolation. People sometimes argue that Kawada should have gone over in his 6/94 match with Misawa, and I kind of thought that ignoring the lay of the land in 1993, the way they laid this out, Kobashi maybe should've gone over. I'm not sure he got much closer here than he did in the 4/93 Carnival match. Kobashi going over seemed like the next logical step in the way they worked the matches even if it didn't fit the booking. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of Kobashi doing the moonsault and that seemed his undoing here so thems the breaks. I think I'll rewatch the '94 CC match and see if I like it more in context.

Or Wrestlemania VIII... Who in the world is gonna protect your nose?

The 4/93 Kobashi handheld rocked pretty hard. Kobashi took it to Hansen's lariat arm at the start and was battering the shit out of Stan for a good while, but that damn lariat. Kobashi must have had nightmares about it. Still, getting closer...

The 7/92 Kobashi match is another worthy entry into their feud. Unlike the '91 match where he's damn near KO'd at the start, Kobashi fights every inch of the way to assert control. There's a tremendous struggle early on for Kobashi to gain dominant position from a side headlock, which is paid off beautifully later on when he comes close to actual submission from the same position. Hansen really showed his versatility in this match showing he could just as easily work "hurt" as he could from a commanding position. One thing that struck my mind during the bout was how unique Kobashi vs. Hansen is in terms of one guy wanting to pin the other. There's no title chase, no personal vendetta, just one guy trying to prove he can pin another. Another thing that occurred to me is that Hansen doesn't really get the credit he deserves for having better matches with the younger generation than Jumbo regardless of the hepatitis. Great stretch run here. I can't say I've encountered "crying Kobashi" against Hansen. That damn lariat must have driven him nuts, though.

I'm sure a big Benoit fan, if any still exist, could expand on Benoit's range. Charisma, or lack thereof, is pretty subjective. There are people who say Volk Han didn't have charisma or show much personality in the ring, but a Volk fan wouldn't agree.

I will certainly spare a thought for you and your family.